By Lorrie Browne
Do you enjoy reading before you go to bed? What should you do for lighting? We all know that overhead lighting in the bedroom seems harsh and does not provide an inviting glow. And please do not tell me you use the light attached to the fan! For reading, nothing beats a swing arm lamp. You are able to read well into the night without disturbing your partner and you are able to adjust the lamp to your comfort.
A few things to keep in mind:
Cheap lamps do not swing well and will not last long, so do not even bother. Invest in a decently priced lamp ($150 and up per lamp). Dimmer switches or 3-way switches make them even better. The Classic Swing Arm Lamp has a diffuser (an acrylic disc that sits at the bottom of the shade) which provides soft light that is very comfortable to read by.
Installation - You have a couple of choices when it comes to installation. You can hire an electrician to hard wire the lamp into the wall at your chosen height. The lamp will appear to float on the wall and you will not see the cord. The other choice is to mount it on the wall with hardware that is usually provided. The cord will hang down and you can hide it by buying a cord cover. They usually have them in the basic finishes (Black, White, and Brass) or you can finish them yourself. If you buy a lamp with a very special finish, you will want to seriously consider hiring an electrician or the effect will be lost with the ugly cord hanging down or a finish on the cover that does not quite match.
Height - What height should you mount the lamp? You need to keep in mind the overall height of your mattress and the height of the user. Generally you want the bottom edge of the lamp to be 20 inches above the top of the mattress. Adjust higher or lower for people who are not average height. Jump in bed and have someone hold it at different heights to make sure you get it right.
For more free decorating advice please come and visit Lorrie Browne at:http://www.mydesignsecrets.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lorrie_Browne
8/02/2008
Did You Know That Audio Books Are Free?
You may think that audio books are expensive. As it appears to be – they are not. In fact, I was listening to audio books for many years and have never paid a dime for it. And I am not talking piracy here, just read on.
The best source of free audio books is your local library. Libraries have a great selection of audio books on tapes and CDs right on their shelves. Any library is usually a part of a big Network or a Consortium of libraries and funds. This Network comprises dozens of local libraries and has combined collections of millions of items. In the online catalog you can find and request most of the audio books ever published. This is great! And I cannot stress enough: libraries have most of the audio books ever published. There is one disadvantage though: it may take days, or even weeks, for your order to arrive to your local library for you to pick it up. So this option is for patient readers. If you finally got the book you so much desired, you may want to make the listening process even more convenient and enjoyable by converting it into the mp3 format.
Another option for more impatient listeners also can be found at your local library. Digital catalogs are relatively new, but they become more and more popular among the libraries. They provide a very convenient means for you to download audio books, and they have a great selection. The download services are provided by OverDrive and NetLibrary nationwide.
NetLibrary might not allow burning CDs but Overdrive does. If your local library is not yet participating, you can initiate the process by referring to the digital provider OverDrive. In just a few minutes, even the newest user can be enjoying a downloaded title. Instead of burning a CD, you may want to use your mp3 player for listening.
Bear in mind, however, that not all mp3 players are good for audio books. Also, both OverDrive and NetLibrary provide audio files in the secure DRM wma format designed by Microsoft. iPods, designed by Apple, don’t support wma. So if you decide to use the digital download services provided by you library, make sure your audio player supports this format. You can find more information on mp3 file conversion and mp3players for audio books at http://www.booksalley.com
As you can see now, audio books are not at all expensive. In fact they are free. And they are great fun. So, why not try giving music a break and switch to a great alternative - audio books. Audio books may give you many hours of unforgettable pleasure. Try it out, and who knows, this might just become a new hobby!
http://www.booksalley.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vladimir_Ravkin
Marrying a Man, Raising a Husband
By Carine Nadel
With a title like this, most readers will be expecting either a very serious "How-to" book from possibly some noted counselors from the 1960's or a guide at realizing how humorous the relationship call marriage really is.
Marrying a Man, Raising a Husband turns out to be is anecdotes from the authors about situations that have come up during the course of their combined long lasting relationships. The stories are humorous, thought-provoking and very much ones that all women who are in a long term union can identify with, no matter how short or long those unions have been around. All the stories tell how they have learned to communicate with their spouses.
They show how men interpret what we say and how we need to learn how to state what it is we want to get across in "speak" that leaves them no choice but to understand us.
My personal favorite of the book was the way a shopping list gets interpretated by our spouses. Here are some of the prime examples of how husbands and wives differ:
Lashawn's list: milk vegetable oil bread
Husband's list: beer motor oil cookies
I think you get the picture. My own hubby of 27 years has his own "speak", which is why I loved the grocery list entry the best. My entry that I would have loved to have added to the same chapter would go like this:
Carine's list: Fruit Vegetables Chicken fish tofu Soy milk
Steve's list: red meat red meat red meat red meat
Then he'd spend a fortune at the said "meat" counter and tell me we certainly didn't need to go to the market again for a very long time, because "look at all I bought and the freezer's full".
The authors didn't write the book to criticize husbands-more to bring to light what we need to do to understand them and "raise" them to a level where we love them for who they are and in turn raise ourselves to who we want "us" as a couple to be.
Carine Nadel is on The Reader's Advisory Panel of Woman's Day magazine and has had numerous articles and recipes published both on various websites and print publications. To read more of her work, log onto: http://www.Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carine_Nadel
With a title like this, most readers will be expecting either a very serious "How-to" book from possibly some noted counselors from the 1960's or a guide at realizing how humorous the relationship call marriage really is.
Marrying a Man, Raising a Husband turns out to be is anecdotes from the authors about situations that have come up during the course of their combined long lasting relationships. The stories are humorous, thought-provoking and very much ones that all women who are in a long term union can identify with, no matter how short or long those unions have been around. All the stories tell how they have learned to communicate with their spouses.
They show how men interpret what we say and how we need to learn how to state what it is we want to get across in "speak" that leaves them no choice but to understand us.
My personal favorite of the book was the way a shopping list gets interpretated by our spouses. Here are some of the prime examples of how husbands and wives differ:
Lashawn's list: milk vegetable oil bread
Husband's list: beer motor oil cookies
I think you get the picture. My own hubby of 27 years has his own "speak", which is why I loved the grocery list entry the best. My entry that I would have loved to have added to the same chapter would go like this:
Carine's list: Fruit Vegetables Chicken fish tofu Soy milk
Steve's list: red meat red meat red meat red meat
Then he'd spend a fortune at the said "meat" counter and tell me we certainly didn't need to go to the market again for a very long time, because "look at all I bought and the freezer's full".
The authors didn't write the book to criticize husbands-more to bring to light what we need to do to understand them and "raise" them to a level where we love them for who they are and in turn raise ourselves to who we want "us" as a couple to be.
Carine Nadel is on The Reader's Advisory Panel of Woman's Day magazine and has had numerous articles and recipes published both on various websites and print publications. To read more of her work, log onto: http://www.Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carine_Nadel
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