Tips to Avoid or Dealing with a Hijacking Situation

In South Africa, one hijacking occurs roughly every 32 minutes. Over 12 000 vehicles were hijacked in SA between April and December 2016 – 14.9% more in 9 months than in the previous financial year.

This means it can happen to anyone but unfortunately, women, especially driving alone, ,are easy targets’.

But what can one do? The best is to avoid hijacking hotspots as regularly announced by the SAPS in the media and to prepare oneself whenever you are in such a situation but also take some precautionary measures.

Here are some good tips and advice from DialDirect Insurance:

• Use a GPS to avoid getting lost and becoming an easy target. Inform someone at your destination about your estimated time of arrival.
• Always be aware of your surroundings and look out for anything suspicious.
• Limit distractions, such as checking or talking on your cell phone when walking to or from your car.
• Avoid driving with windows open, keep the doors locked and lock valuables out of sight.
• Install smash-and-grab window protection if possible.
• If you suspect you are being followed, make a couple of false turns. If someone is still following you, drive to the nearest police station.
• Leave enough room between you and the car in front of you to avoid being boxed in.
• Slowdown in such a way that the light is green by the time you reach a traffic light, especially late at night – this prevents you coming to a complete stop and reduces your risk of becoming a target.
• Always park in a safe, well-lit area.
• If you sense you are in danger, use the panic button on your tracking device or contact your armed response company.
• Check the back seat before getting into the car, even if you left it locked.
• A well-maintained car is less likely to break down – keep your car in good condition. If you do break down then pull over, turn the hazard lights on and call for emergency assistance.
• Avoid distractions while driving. 

What to do if confronted by a hijacker:

• Remain calm
• Do not argue
• Do not make sudden gestures
• Avoid eye contact but try to remember what the carjacker looked like by identifying and remembering special features.
• Comply with the hijacker’s directions – within reason
• Try and get away from the area as quickly as possible
• Don’t be a hero – your life is worth more than your car

Taking Care of Dry, Flaking, Cracked Skin

Dry flaking, cracked skin can be painful and irritating, particularly if of the heels of the feet.

During summertime when women wear open shoes, this is particular common. Fortunately, there is an easy, homemade remedy for this:

Every morning and evening after your shower or bath, place 1 drop of Sandalwood into a couple of Rosehip oil or Calendula oil and massage thoroughly. 

This is an excellent remedy for dry skin anywhere on the feet, especially if you play sport or are very active, when skin more readily dries and hardens.

Recipes 101

Danie de Villiers

Tips for Cleaning the Interior of a Car

Protecting the Carpets

Fitting loose rubber mats can be a great help. They will prevent the worst dirt from soiling the carpets and they can simply be lifted out and brushed or washed of when cleaning the car.

Using Cleaning Material

A large range of interior cleaning products is available, including various types of upholstery cleaner, dashboard cleaner and carpet cleaner. Shop around to buy the products that will suit your needs and car. You do not need a cupboard full of products but the right products will be more than adequate - and remember something to keep your car smelling fresh.

Get a Vacuum Cleaner

A good vacuum cleaner will be a big help. Regular vacuuming will make interior cleaning a lot easier. And do not forget to vacuum under the seats and the boot. Car vacuum cleaners are inexpensive and usually come with a range of attachments to reach awkward nooks and crannies.

Looking after the Seats

Check the seats for dirt marks and use a fabric cleaner to deal with it. Allow any damped seats to dry before using the car. A wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner can speed up the drying process.

Caring for the Windows

Windows are best cleaned using chamois leather and stubborn stains can be removed with a household glass cleaner, buffing finally with a soft cloth.

Recipes 101

Danie de Villiers – Freelance writer

Keep Your Cool!

Here are some good tips for keeping your cool when your stress levels are high:

• Eat more fruits and veggies; limit your intake of meat, sugar, coffee, processed food, and preservatives (for healthy recipes visit my food blog - Recipes 101)

• Drink more water(at least 8 glasses; choose warm water over cold)

• Exercise regularly(take a walk for 30 minutes, you don't have to stretch too much or lift weights)

• Try meditation

• Help others

• Give thanks for what you have; count your blessings

Make a commitment to eliminate stress in your life and act on it. Get all the help you need whether it be from books, resources, other people, etc.

Danie de Villiers - Freelance Writer

Tip for Healthy Feet

Give your feet a break by alternating high heels with flats at least every other day. Wearing high heels too often can permanently thin your foot’s natural padding.

Exercises on the Go

Sitting for hours in a plane, train, car, or bus can leave you tired and listless. By exercising along the way, you can reach your destination feeling more refreshed. Here are a few techniques to try. 

1. Sit with your shoulders back, stomach in, knees together, and feet flat on the floor. Starting with your shoulders and working down, contract each major muscle group, holding it for the count of five and then relaxing. This can be especially effective for the buttock, stomach, and back muscles. Car drivers: Be sure to keep your eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel. 

2. Keep your body moving to prevent stiffness and fatigue. At least once an hour, wiggle, bend, or rotate all movable parts. Start with your toes and ankles. Next, bend your knees and straighten them. (Be careful not to kick the seat in front of you). Stretch your arms and shoulders try reaching up to the ceiling. Bend your arms over your head to get a good back stretch. End by shrugging your shoulders and rotating your head.

How Improve Your Love Life

Here are moves that a woman can make in order to get a man to fall in love with her:   

Become mega-attractive:  Do your best to improve your overall appearance.  Be healthy and fit.  Make sure that your hair, skin, teeth, and nails are appealing.  Ask for professional help in the area of style and dress.  Develop self-confidence and raise your self-esteem by raising the self-esteem of others.  What ultimately attracts or repeals potential mates is your attitude about yourself. 

Find and fix your blind spots:  Get accurate feedback or find a good checklist of things that could reveal your hidden weaknesses.  These are things that are evident to everyone else except you.  Examples of blind spots would include:  bad breath, unpleasant body odor, bad language, poor manners, dishonesty, and excessive gossiping.  Seek out your weaknesses and fix them so they don't taint the positive impression that you're trying to make. 

Master your people skills:  Getting people to like you is the natural by-product of consistently practicing effective people skills: begin in a friendly manner, avoid arguments, make the other person feel important, never tell the other person they are wrong, talk in terms of their interests, give sincere compliments, and don't criticize or complain.

Get good at small talk: Become a master conversationalist by speaking and listening. Have something good to say,  say it well, speak with the appropriate emotion,  know what not to say,  focus more on listening, give him your full attention, offer positive non-verbal feedback, and  help him get into his flow.

Get him to lower his guard: Take the pressure off of any situation by being down-to-earth and adding tasteful humor.  Admit some of your minor mistakes in an effort to make yourself more real in the man's eyes.  Some tasteful teasing may also entice the man to do the same.  

Give him a fresh taste of your best.  Make a favorable impression on a romantic level by showing the "hottie," "sweetie," and "real" sides of your personality.  The "hottie" side means to highlight your sexy, feminine qualities.  The "sweetie" side is the part of you that is caring, kind, warm, and sensitive.  The "real" side of you shows your true character as an all-around decent human being.
 
Your love life can be a frustrating and disappointing experience when you haven't got a clue as to what causes things to happen.  But dating, romance, and love can be wonderful experiences when you learn and grow into a woman who naturally deserves and attains the dreams she desires.

Skincare Tips for Beautiful Women

Ideas for Romantic Love Letters

Sometimes we find difficult to express our love, don't worry if you are very nervous, you feel that you can't talk and your hands are sweating, well that's why romantic love letters exist.

What can be more romantic than sending a handwritten love letter to your loved one, full of romantic words and genuine feelings you have for him/her? Love letters are one of the best ways to show your special loved ones how you feel for them and how much you love them. 

A heartfelt love letter also makes the perfect gift for Valentine's Day, but you don't have to just limit yourself to that specific day. Every day is a great opportunity to make your loved one happy by sharing your deepest feelings with him/her. 

To write a more romantic and heart-warming letter, here are 5 tips that will give you good ideas to write about: 

1. What was the first time you felt you were in love with him/her? Did anything special happen that made you realize your love? 

2. What is the number one thing he/she has that makes you feel so much in love with him/her whenever you think about it? It could be about looks or about personality. 

3. What positive changes have you made since he/she has entered your life? What valuable lessons have you learned from him/her? 

4. It's also a good idea to include a heartfelt romantic love poem at the end or the beginning of your letter. Sometimes nothing can show how we feel better and deeper than a good poem. 

5. And as the last tip: Don't forget to say "I Love You" at the end of your letter. This simple yet effective sentence will really seal the deal in your loved one's mind.

Motivational tips for losing weight for women

In recent years the psychological approach called behaviour modification has proved highly successful in treating eating disorders from the mild to the very serious. Because many experts believe that external stimuli, or cues in the environment trigger eating, they have focused on altering habits that are, in fact conditioned responses to false stimuli. What many people read as signals to eat are in fact symptoms - or sensations - of fatigue, depression, anxiety, boredom or tension.

The aim of behaviour modification is to teach you to recognise when you are most vulnerable to false stimuli and how to change your behaviour to thwart inappropriate responses. By attending to your patterns, your habits and your responses, you can avoid the feeling of helplessness that overtakes troubled eaters.

 The following tips should help to get you started:

- The first step is to decide you really do want to change. List the benefits you believe will result if you succeed in gaining control of your eating.

- Set realistic goals. Weight gained over 10 years cannot be lost in a week or two.

- Focus on patterns, not kilograms. You are teaching yourself new responses, not counting every bite.

- Do not collapse in guilt if you breakdown and have a chocolate biscuit. Just put away the rest.

- Keep a food diary. Be honest and precise.

- When you’ve become aware of your personal danger zones, take action to avoid them: plan ahead; change your routine; avoid temptation.

- Eat three meals a day. Do not skip. Have a good breakfast and make every meal an occasion. If you must snack, make it low-kilo-joule.

- Eat only sitting down and, when at home, in a place designated specially for eating.

- Present food attractively. Divide your meals into two or more courses, even if the second course is only coffee or tea with biscuits.

- Eat slowly. Taste your food. Put down your knife and fork after every two or three bites. Make each meal last 20 to 30 minutes.

- Never shop when you are hungry. Make a list and stick to it. Buy only what you need right now. Buy small packages, even if they are not the best bargain. Buy foods that require preparation-and enough time to think about whether you really need to eat.

- Build support for success. Educate those close to you to reinforce your efforts. But weight control and eating habits are your responsibility. Do not ask someone else to control your actions.

- Act thin. Stand erect. Walk confidently at any weight and you will look better, feel better.

- Look at yourself in the mirror once a day, but weigh yourself only every week or two. Weight fluctuates from day to day, and you could unfairly become discouraged by failure to lose or by suddenly gaining a kilogram or two.

Once you reach your desired weight or state of health, don’t revert to old habits. Remind yourself that you have accomplished something terrific. And, if you do find your weight creeping back up, start a dairy again to find out where you are having trouble.

You will have had a lot of practice running your own life by then. It should not take you long to get yourself back on the right track.

The Importance of Protein for the Body

How to accept yourself

A large part of how we view other people is based on how that person presents him or herself. Therefore, if you view yourself as sexy, and act that way, then others will perceive you as sexy.

It is therefore imperative to truly look at and appreciate your own body. It is true; it has faults, just as every body does. However, what matters is to accept the faults, accept yourself as a work in progress, and flaunt what you have.

You will find that people react positively to your positive self-image.

Tips for stretching

My beautiful country

Woman to woman discussions

The healing powers of lemon

For thousands of years lemons have been praised as a food and medicine. The antioxidant properties of the high vitamin C content make lemons helpful in speeding healing, retarding the signs of ageing, and warding off cancer.

Although lemons are generally regarded as acidic, during digestion the acids are metabolized to produce potassium carbonate, which helps to neutralize excess acidity and protect the lining of the digestive tract. This makes lemons helpful for many digestive problems including hiccoughs, heartburn, nausea, constipation, and worms. Lemons act as a tonic to the liver, stimulating bile production when the juice is taken in hot water one hour before breakfast each morning. Mixed with olive oil, lemon juice helps dissolve gallstones and even a fish bone stuck in the throat! It is also used to dissolve uric acid. Lemon juice is powerfully antiseptic, providing a boost to the immune system, an effective remedy for all kinds of infections, and it helps to bring down fevers. As a gargle, it relieves sore throats and tonsillitis. One tablespoon of juice in water half an hour before each meal can help relieve asthma. Lemon’s antifungal properties make it a valuable cure for thrush. As a cleaning and diuretic remedy, lemon juice can be used for water retention, arthritis, and rheumatism.

Lemon juice’s astringent action stems bleeding. Apply it on cotton wool to the nostrils for nosebleeds and massage bleeding gums with it in the morning and at night. Lemon juice also makes a good lotion to prevent sunburn. Mixed equally with glycerine, it soothes chapped lips; helps keep the complexion clear, and tones greasy skin.

Tip: To treat coughs, colds, and flu, add lemon juice to 3 cloves and honey in hot water.

My beautiful country

Women

Salad recipes - very delicious!!

What is femininity?

Femininity is created from the inside out and for a woman to be more feminine, she must prioritize, and work on what goes on internally.

Femininity is not so much about following a set of rules, because rules are rigid and there is nothing rigid about femininity. To start with, femininity must occur from within. A fake feminine woman will never, ever, ever fool all smart, good men. If you want a good, truly masculine man to love you, protect you, adore you, take care of you, and worship you for life, you must have the feminine qualities to attract that kind of man.

The truth is, men want a feminine woman. The good men are also not fooled by trashy looking, egocentric and insecure women who will give their bodies and feminine souls entirely, all for the sake of feeling as if they are enough, or worthy, for a night.

A truly feminine woman is not trapped in her head. She is free. Women are nurturers. Truly beautiful, feminine women take care of things.

Love hurts

In order to be more feminine, a woman must allow herself to be vulnerable. If you are not vulnerable, you do not need a man. It is important to be aware that if a man is masculine at his core, then it is important that he does feel needed to an extent. A woman can hold her own and make her own money – being feminine is just more about respecting his role and allowing him to do certain things for you.

Breaking down hate

The freedom of a feminine woman is in her ability to be spontaneous and to go by feeling. This is the opposite of being indifferent. A feminine woman is not always about what’s ‘realistic’, she’s more able to feel, and she empathizes with humans and all living things.

Tips to be feminine

Use music: Music is one of the best ways for changing your state and influencing your mood. Listen to music that makes you feel grateful, soft, peaceful, happy, serene, joyful, and free. You can even dance to it in your own home.

Accentuate the attributes you have that are the opposite of a man’s: It’s in the way you sit, the way you talk, the words you use, how you use your hands, how you smile, how you touch others, how you greet people (words and the physical aspects). A lot of women stand and walk like men, drink like a man would, unknowingly. They stand with their hands on their hips the way a man would do it, and sway their arms and legs in the way that a strong and powerful man would do.

Work-out on accentuating and improving every feminine aspect of your body: This includes the buttocks, the legs, the tummy, and the breasts (weights to help the breasts defy gravity. Do smaller weights with more repetitions that keep your arms toned, rather than strong looking.

Feminine women are delicate: Any jewellery that is overly harsh starts to take away from the woman and draw attention to fashion.

Men go crazy over a woman who can give them a genuine smile: It does not matter what her physical attributes are, if you give a man a genuine, happy smile and look him in the eye – he is going to be profoundly affected. Ask any man who is in touch with his masculinity whether a smile is extremely important in a woman and he will say yes.

Appreciate men for being men: Always show appreciation for a masculine man.

Travel SA

How to kiss!

Every woman has her own kissing style that comes about as a result of her mouths anatomy, the length of her tongue and her personality, either she is going to go full tilt or be coy about it. However, the mechanics of kissing will always be the same. First, slant your head to one side, but be sure that it is the opposite way to your partner.

Then, open your lips slightly allowing your partner time to part his lips in reaction, once this has happened add some tongue action and explore each others mouths this way. Once you’ve got the basics down you can choose to lust it up or mellow it down, this is completely situation specific. 

If you are both ready to go for it there is nothing like a wild, passionate kiss. But, if you or your partner needs some time to get into it, start slowly, lick his lips gently, make deep eye contact and let things heat up naturally.

My Beautiful Body

Date Rape Prevention Tips

Dating safety is not a joke and everyone can benefit from reading these easy to follow safety procedures, to ensure your well-being on or off a date.

1. Use the buddy system. There is safety in numbers. Group dates are less tense not to mention extremely safe.

2. Don't accept blind dates.

3. Never get in a car with someone you don't know. Always "meet" somewhere on the 1st date. Less romantic but much safer.

4. Never let a first time date know where you live. Again it sort of puts a damper on the romance but it could save you from stalkings and other unpleasantness.

5. Stay away from secluded beaches and other private "date" spots until you feel comfortable with them. Even if you're in a group, secluded areas are not recommended.

6. Whatever you do don't give out personal info until you know that person well . This means address, social security number, bank card, etc. Height, weight (optional), likes and dislikes are okay.

7. Make sure at least one other person knows where, when, and who you will be with.

8. For first dates pick a time to call this other person and do so just to "check in". This might remind you of high school but it could save your life.

9. Scope out the restaurant and know where the phones are located. Bring extra change in case you find yourself stranded. (If you are following Rule 3. you won't need this rule.)

10. This is the most important rule. Go with your gut, if it doesn't feel right it probably isn't. Go home and rent a movie but never do anything you don't feel is in your best interest.

Your Guide to Masturbation