The best investment for most folks is mutual funds. Investing money in these investor-friendly funds is the way to go for those who need help with money management and don’t really know how to invest in stocks or bonds on their own. Mutual fund investing is a great way to start investing, and a good way to invest money for your future. Trust me; you don’t need to be a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to invest money here.

If you are afraid to invest money because you feel you don’t really know much about how to invest … relax. You are in the majority. Most people know little about money management and investing. That’s the point of mutual fund investing. These investment packages are designed for the majority of the population who find investing money as comfortable as biting their tongue.

If you want to invest money and watch it grow, invest in a few different types of mutual funds. I’ve written numerous articles on the subject of mutual fund investing, and as a financial planner I recommended mutual funds to hundreds (or thousands) of my clients. Why? Because they are the best investment for most people who want to make more money than they can at the bank, at an acceptable level of risk.

Let’s get real basic and look at the advantages of mutual fund investing. No matter what you read some places, the disadvantages are few and far between if you go with one of the major mutual fund companies (I’ve listed my favorites in previous articles).

Professional money management and diversification are the BIG mutual fund advantage. What do you pay for this? Not that much if you invest money in one of the major no-load fund families like Vanguard, Fidelity or T.Rowe Price.

You can start investing with as little as a few hundred or a few thousand dollars.

Investing money in mutual funds is quite simple. You invest a dollar amount and the professional money management people who run the fund make all of the investment decisions for you. This is how to invest the simple and easy way.

Basically, you can invest in stocks, bonds and safe money market securities by investing money in mutual funds. That’s all the choices you need. You can pick and choose which stock funds, bond funds and money market funds to invest money in.

Or, if you don’t feel comfortable picking the different types of funds you can start investing with funds that invest in a combination of all three of the above investment categories (balanced funds). Now your only investment decision is how conservative or aggressive you want to be.

For years the investment of choice for most investors has been mutual funds. They are, in my opinion, still the best investment for most people.

There’s a big difference between saving and investing money. If you need a cash reserve and total safety keep some money in the bank. If you want to invest money and make it grow, go with mutual fund investing. For most of the people most of the time, mutual funds are the best investment.

It’s the unique gift that makes the biggest impact. Americans are always looking for it – that mysterious something we know is the perfect gift for the right person to celebrate a special occasion. However, finding a truly different gift can turn into a futile fishing expedition, especially if you don’t know where to cast the line. There are untapped sources for unusual gifts. Try looking around on and off-line for local artists and artisans.

Using just one state (Virginia) as an example, artists hone their crafts all over the state, creating paintings, jewelry, toys, and wood carvings. In Virginia alone, you’ll find a wealth of ideas for uncovering exquisitely handmade art – perfect for making the impact you want and perfect for creating lasting memories. Think of the wealth of surprises you can find by searching the local art world. Visiting the state of Virginia, you will find fascinating artists steeped in their crafts who have won national and international acclaim. Their creations make extraordinary gifts.

Peter Chapman is an award winning Blue Ridge Mountain artist and woodworker who can astonish us with his handmade art, three dimensional interlocking puzzle animals that stand alone as impressive art or as challenging puzzles for adults or clever children. New to the collection is the Stock Market Bull, destined for the investor’s desk. When taken apart this puzzle yields a little bear inside. Chapman animal puzzles include a wide array of selections including a Labrador Retriever hiding a duck inside, a Golden Retriever with a Frisbee, and more – alot more.

Mary Myers is a famed folk artist who has recently hand carved her 6,000th wooden nutcracker. Commissioned by the White House to design ornaments for the nation’s Christmas tree, she has taken a love of toys, antiques and woodcarving to transform blocks of wood into magical nutcrackers. She is licensed by the Museum of American Folk Art Collection and her creations have been featured in dozens of magazines. One of her latest is the George Washington Nutcracker, and the Thomas Jefferson Nutcracker, both intriguing toy likenesses of important figures in American history. Myers’ whimsical nutcrackers have become collectors’ items that will either add interest to home décor or actually work to crack nuts!

Patricia Palermino is a contemporary folk artist who uses imagination, imagery and genius to depict famous places and history. Taken from one of her original paintings, the print, Holiday at Mount Vernon depicts George Washington’s home brought to life in a wintry holiday scene. Her whimsical commemoration of colonial history is called Williamsburg Illumination. Fireworks brilliantly illuminate a crisp wintry scene in a delightful celebration of life and the independence of our nation. On a more contemporary note, nothing exemplifies the spirit of the holidays like her painting of the huge, brightly lit Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. Palermino prints are limited editions, signed and numbered, mounted under glass and presented in hand-painted frames.

James O. Phelps, a Lexington, Virginia photographer, has perfected the art of the panoramic photograph. His Harper’s Ferry Panorama features that little town at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, the strategic location that changed hands between the Union and Confederate armies no fewer than 12 times during the Civil War. Photographed on Henry Hill, The Manassas Battlefield shows the site of the first major battle of the Civil War, and Panoramic Appomattox depicts where our nation was reunited at the conclusion of that war. Rendered in stunning sepia tones, these are samples of his many panoramic photographs offering amazing 360 degree views. They are matted and framed in brushed bronze with a walnut hue, and signed and numbered by the artist.

Greg Sandage is a renowned Lexington, Virginia artist who offers handmade collections of sterling silver jewelry that have been dubbed masterpieces and shown in art galleries around the world. His collar (handmade necklace) and slide/pendant creations feature geometric shapes and fine swirls of silver as represented in Eternity Circle Earrings, the classic Zigzag Bracelet, and Multi Shape Slide. New for his 2009 collection is “Strands of Silver” – a slide and matching earring set featuring the finest threads of silver wound into a double-circled pendant in a completely new look. Sandage creations are truly unique additions to any jewelry collection.

Sylvan Spirit artisans of Lexington, Virginia, are known for their designs of bridal tiaras for Vera Wang and their creations have been showcased in Brides Magazine. Inspired by nature and all hand crafted, the Sylvan Spirit White Rose, Peach Cherry Blossom and Blue Trillium jewelry sets feature exquisite porcelain flower pendants with hand sculpted petals. Of special interest, the Coin Pearl Necklace and matching earrings sets, named for the similarity to round or oval coins or flat discs which give them an intense depth to make them even more lustrous than ordinary fresh water pearls. Sylvan Spirit creations are classic examples of fine jewelry originals.

Mary Ann Vessey is an acclaimed Virginia artist offering limited edition, signed and numbered prints of her wondrous paintings. Her beautiful farm scenes and depictions of home leave the viewer feeling oddly tranquil. Her Dash Away All print features a snow-covered fantasy world and the wonders of the night before Christmas at the family farm. And her Heavenly Peace print of a country church is a dreamy image of a silent night before Christmas. Much of her inspiration comes from the sweeping grandeur of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and her paintings are personalized with ordinary people, creatures, and bucolic scenes. Her works have been featured in a series at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. Vessey prints are limited editions, signed and numbered.

These artists are only a sampling of the many talented individuals working and residing in Virginia. Each of their products are handmade or duplications of their own original works. If you are looking for unusual gifts, keepsake gifts, handmade gifts, or gift accessories for home décor, begin your search with a look at local artists, wherever they are, and examine what they have to offer. You’ll find something new, exciting, and best of all – guaranteed to please the person who has everything.

An unblemished wedding day is a dream of every girl out there— a day just for us, all splendour and twinkle. That said, the one thing that we have had our eyes on is how perfect these brides look on their D-day. In the backdrop of this much talked about glowing magnificence of the lady of the day, lies hours of effort of the makeup artist his labor, backed by his skills, eye for perfection and of course his knowledge of the best of beauty brands and suitability. Budget is often at the heart of our wedding plans. Needless to say, with ever the rising inflation skimpiness sets in. Resorting to DIY bridal makeup instead of hiring a reliable makeup artist in a bid to save money – can turn out to be a costly gaffe on your end.

Read on to find out why opting for a professional over doing it yourself is a legitimate pick.

They know it better: It’s not like other days when you do your daily makeup. These professionals know their work; they can do justice when it comes to highlighting our face contours. It is their scope of study wherein they have acquired knowledge about colour theory. Plus they have the required tools to make the “look” stay throughout the day.

An expert knows all about skin types:A radiant skin is indispensable on your special day as it harmonizes well with makeup and photography. A professional will be able to hand out to you ways in which you can take care of your skin prior to the day so that you look flawless and awe-inspiring.

Are you ready for the camera? Imperfections and shade differences get easily captured in camera. An artist will know best to use the right colour palette and blend it uniformly so that you are picture-perfect. Not only will you look wonderful but the photographer may find his work painless as well as editing might not be needed recurrently.

It’s your day! Yes, you are the bride and from the start of the day till the last call all eyes will be on you. It is the day you have been dreaming for so many years so let it be like a dream and not a bad reality. Don’t hold back on the amount that you have to spend for the artist. This industry exists for a reason and the impeccable charisma on your face will unravel what these magicians are worth. Every bride looks her best on the day of her wedding but the ones who have booked themselves with these artists just don’t stop at that— they stand out a mile.

Let the pro take care of how you look on that day you already have so much on your plate. Memories are forever and let not the wedding photos get blurred as you decided to cut the makeup budget and hire someone without experience. Enjoy your day with little to worry about and let your makeup artist do his thing!

There is now a new artificially intelligent identity theft group using software called “cyber lover” and this program is one, which flirts with people online. Unfortunately, it is now being used by Russian hackers in the hopes of using social engineering to trick people into giving out personal information or luring them to a website that will give their computer malware. The program is able to flirt online either through e-mail or in chat rooms and dating websites.

The person you think you’re flirting with is not a human and all rather an artificially intelligent program that mimics human behavior in a flirtatious way. After the individual target thinks they are flirting with a real person, the program tells them to go to a blog or a personal website on a social network, which then delivers malicious code to their computer.

Just one copy of CyberLover, can carry on 10 different relationships online in 30 minutes and its victims cannot distinguish it from being a human.

One might say that the old cliché; Don’t Trust Anyone; now needs to be rewritten: Don’t Trust Anyone or Any Computer. Apparently, the identity thieves are getting to be quite good at their trade and they are using the best trick of all, social engineering. Folks who are lonely and looking for friends on the Internet are much more vulnerable to such attacks and sophisticated Mal ware can spread the virus through social networks like wildfire.

The government authorities now say that the US Internet users must be very careful and they recommend the following things to protect your self online:

• Never give your personal details to anyone over the Internet.
• Consider using aliases/fake names on social networking sites and when chatting online.
• Carefully monitor the online behavior of your family members and educate them of the dangers.
• Ensure you have up-to-date AntiVirus and Anti-Spyware installed, with real-time and behavioral protection

Of course, this may not be enough, because if a user is lured to a website to watch a video or look at a picture, even if the antivirus or anti-spyware catches it, the user may still open up a dialogue with the computer, and later be handed off to an individual to steal their identity. Something to contemplate in 2008.

Let’s be honest. Most folks don’t really want to heal. What they want is less pain and suffering.

What most folks want is the “magic bullet”, microwave approach to alleviate their pain, their discomfort, their frustration – at work, at home, at play, in their relationships.

The truth is that while most folks say they to want to heal – intellectually and emotionally – their solution is the quick fix – the pill, the chemical or non-chemical (e.g., food, alcohol, TV, sex, surgery…) quick-fix to mask their discomfort and treat their symptoms.

Their drive for healing exists with the pain; but the real choice to take action to heal is non-existent. Once the discomfort disappears, the move is back to “normalcy”, not towards healing.

For most folks, true healing is scary and threatening. Why?

For one thing, true healing requires asking ourselves two questions:

1. How am I contributing to my own discomfort? How am I responsible for the situation (mental, emotional, spiritual, psychological, social, financial, health, relationship…) situation in which I find myself? Which of my thoughts, beliefs, preconceptions, values, assumptions, choices and actions are responsible for the imbalance, dis-harmony and unhappiness I am experiencing in my life?

2. Am I willing to make the necessary changes and take action to reduce and eliminate the imbalance, dis-harmony and unhappiness I am experiencing in my life at work, at home, at play or in my relationship?

Simple, but not easy — which is why many folks often think about change (simple) and rarely take positive and sustaining action (not easy) to effect true and real change.

So what’s the real deal about healing? What stands in the way of most folks’ willingness to change is ego.

Ego is necessary. Ego supports us to interact with living our life on the planet. Ego is our personality, our individuality. It’s like a “suit” we put on in the morning that helps “me be me” when I go out into the world. Ego helps us to pretend that we are individuals and ego helps us to remember where we left our wallet and what time the team meeting is.

Unfortunately, our ego also feels it’s its job to keep us safe and protect us from harm and in so doing, the lenses that the ego wears often see the world as scary and hurtful and so we spend much of our life defending ourselves again others – being in judgment, being critical, defensive, resentful, jealous of, and resistant to others in some way, shape or form – all in an effort to avoid pain and suffering. Fear comes from the ego.

Our ego defines our thoughts, beliefs, assumptions, preconceptions. Just consider how many of our thoughts are “healing or loving” thoughts and how many are “killing, i.e., fear-based, judgmental, negative” thoughts? The latter, most likely, for most folks.

Our ego’s job is to feel safe and secure so when it comes to changing our (the ego’s) beliefs, thoughts, preconceptions, assumptions, etc. about our life and living in the world, our ego becomes scared, afraid and, in subtle and insidious ways, attempts to insure that we continue to think, believe, and behave exactly as we have in the past. Change is hurtful to us, according to our ego, and it wants us to feel it’s acting on our behalf, to keep us safe, by “not acting,” i.e, not changing.

Our ego believes that even our most painful, limiting beliefs are necessary, because the small amount of pain that we experience actually protects us from a much bigger pain: death in some way, shape or form.

Often, when we consider true and real change, we begin to feel there is something “bad” or “wrong” about our current thoughts or beliefs. This triggers our ego and we spend a huge amount of time beating ourselves up for thinking we are, in fact, bad or wrong for what we have been thinking or believing.

The deal with true and real change is to allow our beliefs, our thoughts, whatever they are – just observing them, allowing them and not judging them. This action quiets the ego and our Inner Judge and Critic that wants us to feel small, invisible, scared, wrong and bad.

When our ego senses there’s nothing wrong with our thoughts or beliefs, we sense the freedom and have the opportunity to introduce new thoughts and beliefs and with these new thoughts and beliefs, we create the capacity to make new choices, and take new action.

The point to understand is that we created most of our limiting and painful beliefs we hold about ourselves and the world in childhood, using whatever resources we had at that time, so we could feel safe, secure and garner mommy and daddy’s love, attention, approval, recognition and acknowledgement.

Our beliefs worked then. They don’t work so well now. So, they need to be updated.

The bottom line is that we can change our words, our thoughts and our beliefs. We can, in fact, change our lives at work, at home, at play and in relationship by creating new, supportive thoughts and beliefs by choosing to do so. So, if you really do want to heal, that choice is yours to make. What better time than now?

So, some questions for self-reflection are:

What stories do you tell yourself that keep you from making true and real change in your career, home, play or relationship areas of your life? What beliefs or blockages prevent you from experiencing change in your life? Do you recall any of these beliefs or blockages from when you were young?

Do you ever follow your intuition, your “gut”? Do you trust your intuition?

Do you constantly beat yourself up? Why? Would you allow your friends and colleagues to speak to you the way your Inner Judge and Critic speaks to you? Do you constantly judge yourself as “bad”, “wrong” or “not good enough” in some way? Why? Really, why?

The average person has “16,000” thoughts a day. Would you characterize the majority of yours as “healing” (love-based) or “killing” (fear-based)?

Did you ever just observe your thoughts without getting caught up in them, or in a “story”? What is that like?

What one or two debilitating or limiting beliefs would you like to update right now? Can you do it? Will you?

What one or two baby steps can you take this week or next to make changes in your life by creating new thoughts and beliefs about your self and then taking action?

What beliefs do you have about: career, teamwork, meaningful work, money, health, men, women, relationships, appearance, fun, chores, children, personal or spiritual growth, marriage, clothes, hair, pets, etc.? Do these beliefs bring you true and real happiness (be honest) or pain and suffering (be equally honest)? If the latter, why do you continue to hold these beliefs and allow them to run your life? If the latter, how can you heal yourself?

Whether it’s the anniversary of a public event like the Boston Marathon bombings or the Columbine shootings, or a not-so-public anniversary of a friend or neighbor’s tragedy, it’s important to reach out and show that you have not forgotten. Many folks will jump in to help right away and that is so necessary, but there is always an opportunity to show that you are still remembering much later.

So, what can we do months or even years down the road?

• Remember the anniversary. Some people are very organized and enter the date of a loss or sad event in their phone or date book so a reminder pops up a year later. Others of us may just remember the season… when the trees began flowering, the fish were jumping, the leaves were falling, or the snow started to fly. Just remembering and saying or doing something comforting is the key.

• Visit a memorial site. In some traditions, people place a pebble on the headstone to show their remembrance and their respect. Others may place fresh flowers. Either way, it lets the family know that someone visited and they are not forgotten.

• Send a random note or email. A quick card or email saying “I was just thinking about you today. I saw a… (butterfly, flowering tree, baseball game, drag race) and thought how much… (Danny, Jan) would have loved to see it too. I miss… (him, her) so much.”

• Send or drop by some flowers. It doesn’t need to be an expensive bouquet or plant; just some pretty flowers from the grocery store will do.

• Send a photo of the loved one. Don’t let those photos sit in boxes or on your camera or phone. Share them with the folks who would love to see them.

• “Pay it forward” by doing something in memory of the ill or deceased loved one. Let them know you remember by… (running a race to earn money, planting a tree, donating blood, volunteering for a charity) in honor of the loved one.

• Perform a random act of kindness. Let the family know you did it because “that is what… (Sam, Maria) would have done.”

• Just spend time. Take the friend, neighbor or relative to coffee, lunch, a game, or for a walk around the block.

• Be a Secret Santa ANY time of the year. Drop off some baked goods, toys or fun art supplies for the kids, or treats for the dogs. Who wouldn’t love a random surprise at the door and then enjoy the mystery of who delivered it.

We would all like to take away the pain and struggles that follow a trauma or death, but we can’t. We can, however, walk along side our friends and loved ones, offering a bit of comfort to their troubled lives. Now is a good time to make this happen.

Copyright 2014 Allidah Hicks and Bonnie Knuti. All rights reserved.

Advance/or Afterward “Winter is Coming”:

We all seem to have been born in an era of ‘Once upon a time,’ and feel and hope fairy tales can reach out to us at any time. Nowadays, age becomes less of a factor, less than mood, and we venture back onto the stage to the play, the facts behind us are really nothing when we become old, no one can raise the dead, so mental processes start, we want to grab the spirit of romance, perhaps once, just once more. Sometimes we leap, for cupid or Psyche, for the gothic mind, old people dream, just like young people, but old people are at the end of the road, not the beginning. The harps are playing, the invisible harps–when they will stop, a daily guess. Too often the old die feeling unwelcome on earth, choosing to die, I fear without a filled heart. They realize there are softer winds in heaven, and so they let go of the useless pain they endure here on earth trying to please. Sweet ones, dear ones, they go, thus seeking harmony in another world.

In this story, “Winter is Coming” I try to bring a short delay, so a few people could refine their last days, true and obedient to their hearts. For they all know, from the first paragraph to the last, someone will have to carry them to the tomb, soon. I do believe Roberta in the story realizes her smiles can turn into weeping, but perhaps there might be some joy in grief, but I suppose she still wants to see the face of her husband, in her death. Sammy has found his true heart I do believe, and it pleases him, and he wants to leave that thought grow, leave it there; he doesn’t want anyone to take it away, perhaps he feels he will not have time to find it again, wittingly he loves, desires, trays to conquer. Ezra, is perhaps thinking he adores beauty, laughter, he endures Sammy, even though Sammy is shy, but he doesn’t try much, he’s perhaps tired of it all, if it happens, it happens, and stale in comparisons to him is Sammy, yet Sammy takes the intuitive step to have a last romance. But should he leave? He’s comfortable. And at the end, God’s plan takes care of it all. Simplicity for the inadequate, you could say, numbered we are among the earthly many.