Chinese New Year 2018: The Year of the Dog

Chinese New Year: Year of the DogChinese New Year commences today on Friday 16th February 2018, bringing in the year of the Dog and saying goodbye to the year of the Rooster.

The Years

Those born in 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018 were born in Dog years. The next Dog year after 2018 will be 2030. The Dog is the eleventh position within the Chinese zodiac, following the Rooster and falling before the Pig.

Elements

China also works with element theory, so each zodiac sign is also associated with one of the five elements: Gold (metal), Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. The characteristics of a person are therefore impacted by both their animal sign and element. (more…)

Valentine’s on a Budget

Valentine's DayValentine’s Day is here again, and there is nothing better than the feeling of love. However, Valentine’s Day does bring with it the issue of money and gift buying. Just how much should you spend? If money is tight, does that mean you love them any less?

In 2017, the UK spent a whopping £713 million on Valentine’s Day. It was found that there was a peak in spending on the weekend prior to the 14th February. As a result, ‘Red Saturday’ was coined. A massive £69 million was spent on flowers and a further £42 million on chocolates. Research found that £77m went towards buying a loved one jewellery, while one in every £8 spent went on a romantic getaway.

But if you are not flush with cash, then there are many ways to say ‘I Love You’ without the need for a string quartet or breaking the bank… (more…)

Is it time to talk about money?

Burying your head in the sandMoney is an uncomfortable subject at the best of times, but there are some simple steps to makes sure that you are making grown-up moves with your money in 2018, rather than fighting fire!

Savings

Experts recommend that we have 3-6 months money in savings equivalent to our salary. This is rainy-day money to cover emergency things like something going wrong with your boiler or car, or at the worst end of the scale ill-health or being made redundant.

If you have money in savings, then now is the time to look around at better rates. Interest rates on savings have stayed stubbornly low, but with The Bank of England having just raised interest rates, some financial institutions have raised their saving product rates – make sure you get the best rates you have for whatever money you have. (more…)

Is it worth setting New Year Resolutions?

New Year ResolutionsStatistics show, and possibly your own experiences bear out that we often struggle to stick to New Year Resolutions. Failing in our attempts can be psychologically damaging and have us starting the year feeling despondent and like we lack self-control and will-power.

But on the other hand, reflecting on the past year and reviewing what has gone well and what made us happy as well as where there is room for improvement is a positive thing. It is one way of making sure we do not get bogged down in the humdrum of every day life and that we make time for what truly brings us joy and that we address the things that are really making us unhappy.

So, if you want to make changes in 2018, it would seem that you have to tackle New Year Resolutions in such a way that they are actually achievable. (more…)

Boost Your Immune System in Unexpected Ways

Immune SystemAt this time of year coughs and colds are prevalent, the stress of Christmas and sometimes burning the candle at both ends during the holiday season can leave your immune system a little under par.

Rather than turning to the medicine cabinet, why not try boosting your immune system in a more holistic way? You might be surprised at what works:

Mingle

It is easy to stay at home in-doors when the weather is wet and cold, but actually getting out, meeting with friends and family and having meaningful interactions reduces chronic stress, which in turn reduces negative impacts on your immune system. (more…)

Have a Spiritual Halloween

HalloweenI often think of Halloween as being a ‘festival’ that is highly celebrated in America, but according to statistics the UK spent in excess of £300 million in 2016 on things related to celebrating Halloween.

Perhaps it is not surprising as supermarkets and shops embrace the holiday and find new ways to entice us into buying fancy dress costumes and trick or treat chocolates and so on. No sooner have ‘back to school’ items been put away then the isles will be filled with a sea of witches’ hats, and all things black, orange and purple!

Of course if you have children you may need to embark on a few of these more commercial adventures, but perhaps you could also look at new and more spiritual ways to ring in All Hallow’s Eve, as many of the day’s origins are far more sacred in nature. (more…)

Mythical Unicorn

UnicornIf you are active on social media sites, you will no doubt realise that there has been something of a ‘unicorn fever’ building. From unicorn toast, to unicorn cakes, unicorn hair to unicorn nails… The current unicorn trends feature magical rainbows of pastel colours with a heavy sprinkling of glitter…

No doubt in the next few months for children the delight in unicorns will only grow further with movies like ‘Despicable Me 3’, featuring Agnes and her quest to find a real unicorn. The movie suggests that only those ‘pure of heart’ will see one… And for any adults that see the movie they will surely like the line “Life is like that, honey. You expect a unicorn but you get a one-horned goat.”

Mythical Animal

Although the unicorn is seeing resurgence in popularity the reality is that it has been a long revered mythical creature.

Often in pagan religions the unicorn is associated with or thought to belong to the moon goddess. It is depicted as looking like a white horse, but with a single horn protruding from the centre of its forehead. Its magical healing abilities were believed to derive from the horn.

The unicorn is long associated with purity, and it is believed that only those with an honest heart could tame it. (more…)

Home Again

Home Again - Reese WitherspoonIn Home Again Reese Witherspoon plays the part of a recently separated mother, whose friends encourage her to start dating. The trailer shows that at 5 months she thinks it is too early, but encouraged by her birthday (where she always goes a little bit wild), she falls for a much younger man. So young that he is carded at the bar!

Alice Kinney (Reese) is 40 years old, and is separated but not yet legally divorced, starting over in Los Angeles she is pushed by her Mother who is played by Candice Bergen to let out her guest house to three aspiring and young filmmakers, one of whom just happens to be the guy from her birthday…

Of course no Rom-Com would be complete without a twist, and in this film that is in the form of her estranged husband (played by Michael Sheen) re-entering the picture.

The film is released on the 8th September and you can see the trailer here: http://homeagain-movie.com/ (more…)

Finding Love

Searching for loveWhat to do and what not to do, if finding love is a goal for you this year…

Things to do:

Be You!

It is important that right from the beginning of a relationship you are authentic; you want to attract a partner based on your personality and your belief systems. It is natural that we want to put our best selves forward at the beginning of a relationship, but ultimately a relationship needs to be built on trust and honesty, and you want them to fall for the ‘real you’.

Love You!

It sounds corny but before embarking on a relationship you have to love yourself first, working on your own confidence, self-worth and self-esteem will lead to happiness for you. Once you are in a good place it is much easier to attract a partner that will find it easier to fall for you. After all you do not want to just settle for any person just to fill a void in your life. (more…)

The Strike Series

Holliday GraingerThe Books

J.K. Rowling wrote a series of detective books, under a pseudonym – Robert Galbraith, but of course in this day and age it’s difficult to keep a secret and it wasn’t long before people realised the identity of the true author. The books went on to critical acclaim, making the best-sellers lists.

The debut book is called Cuckoo’s Calling, followed by The Silkworm and then Career Of Evil. Rowling has recently been teasing her fans over the name of her fourth book in the series, with one person guessing the name correctly as Lethal White. It is believed that she is planning at least six more books in the series.

On her website for the books she explains why she wanted to write under a pseudonym: “To begin with I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer than it did. I was grateful at the time for all the feedback from publishers and readers, and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith was all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer. Now my cover has been blown, I plan to continue to write as Robert to keep the distinction from other writing and because I rather enjoy having another persona.” (more…)

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