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For some, the chance for a bright, shining new smile is a dream come true. Many patients save money for years or even take out loans so that they can afford the cosmetic dentistry help they need.

In the past, extensive dental work was a painful undertaking with a long recovery time. Cosmetic dentistry has now evolved to the point that a full smile makeover can be performed in only a few visits, with little downtime for recovery.

When it’s time for a total smile makeover, use our Top Five Tips to ensure that you get the long lasting results you desire:

1. Choose a Great Cosmetic Dentist

The right cosmetic dentist can make your smile makeover experience a great one. Ask friends and family who have had cosmetic work such as bridges, veneers, or teeth whitening for referrals. Or, check your local Yellow Page listings to find qualified cosmetic dentists in your area. Your regular dentist may even recommend one for you.

Once you have located a few different cosmetic dentists, call to book an office visit. This is not a consultation and you should not expect to pay a fee. This initial visit allows you to determine if the office is one you can be comfortable having your work done in. The cosmetic dentist may be very busy, but their receptionist or dental assistant should be able to show you an exam room. Look for a clean, tidy work area, comfortable chairs, good lighting and equipment that is in good condition.

Ask them to show you the cosmetic dentist’s portfolio, or before and after pictures from other patients. Inquire about the level of experience the dentist has in different procedures, as well as the types of technology they use to perform their work.

2. Get Financing in Place

Once you have selected a cosmetic dentist you are confident in, book a consultation. The cosmetic dentist will have you fill out a questionnaire about your overall health and oral health history. Give as much relevant information as possible, including past surgeries, medications and dental procedures to ensure that they have all of the information they need to properly evaluate your needs.

The cosmetic dentist will examine your mouth and may take x-rays or other pictures to help them determine the extent of the damage. Ask questions about your treatment options including preparation, recovery time and what results you can expect. If you are unsure of any of the terms your dentist uses, ask them to further explain.

Once your cosmetic dentist has determined the type and amount of work you need done, ask for a written estimate. Perhaps you’ve been saving for this treatment for awhile, or you may have credit or a loan you can use to fund the makeover. Once you have a cost estimate in mind, you can make sure that you have the financing in place. Many cosmetic dentists offer payment plans, as they understand that not everyone can afford to pay for the treatment upfront. Discuss your financial situation with them to see what type of arrangement you can make.

With financing in place, you are ready to book your treatment appointments!

3. Design a Custom Cosmetic Dentistry Treatment Plan

Work closely with your cosmetic dentist to formulate a treatment plan that works for both of you. Some treatments, such as dental implants, require more than one visit. Others, like root canals, require a bit of recovery time. Make sure you set this time aside in your schedule to prepare, have the work done and recover.

If you are having several procedures done, discuss the schedule with your cosmetic dentist. They may choose to do several in one visit, or to leave recovery time between each step. If you are getting crowns or implants, make sure you will have a temporary piece to cover the damage from the preparation until the permanent solutions are ready.

4. Follow Your Cosmetic Dentist’s Instructions to the Letter

Listen to your cosmetic dentist! Follow their instructions for preparation exactly. After all, cosmetic dentistry is not cheap and you don’t want to sabotage your treatment. For example, most cosmetic dentists require that you stop smoking (or cut back dramatically) if you are having dental implants done. There is a good reason for this: the risk of the implant failing to join to the bone increases if you continue to smoke. When your dentist tells you not to chew hard foods with a temporary piece in, don’t do it. It’s simply not work the risk of ruining the work that has be done so far.

5. Treasure Your New Glamorous Smile!

After-care instructions are crucial. Your dentist will give you a detailed oral hygiene plan after the work is completed. Regular brushing, flossing and check-ups are still important, but you may need to avoid certain foods, stop smoking, use special mouth washes or take other measures to make sure your smile stays white, bright and glistening for years to come.

If you play sports, always wear a mouth guard to protect your investment. Avoid hard candies, which can cause chipping or cracking and lead to tooth decay. Food items such blueberries, coffee, tea and wine are major culprits in staining teeth, so avoid these whenever possible. If you can’t kick your coffee habit, use a straw.

Most cosmetic treatments, such as teeth whitening and bridges, have a “shelf life”. They will last longer with proper care, but they won’t last forever. Ask your cosmetic dentist when you should expect to have the treatment repeated, or any of your fixtures replaced. Inspect your teeth monthly for signs of wear, decay or damage. Report any troublesome signs or symptoms to your cosmetic dentist. If problems are caught early on, they may be easier to fix.

A comfortable couch, a warm blanket, the soft, dancing, high definition glow from the screen – what could be more romantic than watching TV in your living room? Ok, so maybe you’ve never thought of it as being especially romantic, but with the economy in the state that it is, the time has come to look for less expensive ways to spice up your dates, and your home entertainment system might be just the thing you need.

You already have the necessary equipment; it just requires a little extra ambience for setting the mood. First, clean up. If you are going to have a date over, you want your space to be immaculate and comfortable, so clean up your clutter, chase around the vacuum cleaner, and get your living room in top shape. Of course, you might want to sneakily strategize so that the only free place to sit is close together on your couch. That one-person armchair might just “happen” to have a stack of books in it.

Next, make sure you’ve got the technology to impress your date. Are you still living in the old days of small screens and local broadcasts? Or have you upgraded to modern standards of HD and satellite service? Do you have a clunky box and or a sexy flat screen? Surround-sound always adds to the effect of any good movie or music, and lets you control the volume. Some soft background lighting will also help set the mood.

Obviously, you need to have your programming worked out in advance. You can always rent a movie, but with the endless options of satellite TV, there is really no need to do that. Maybe the two of you both love Lost, and you can make it a weekly excuse to cuddle up together on the couch. Maybe reality shows are more your speed. If you are a very lucky man, your date will be dying to watch the NFL Sunday Ticket with you, but if she’s not a sports fan, don’t push your luck. You don’t want your date getting bored, or for you to be so into the game that you forget all about her. Quite the opposite, you must be willing to make some sacrifices for her taste, occasionally watching a romantic comedy or a sappy tear-jerker. As with everything in dating, compromise is essential.

If the date is going to be special, more than just the average TV watching, some refreshments will go a long way toward enhancing the evening. Offer some red wine or fresh lemonade. You can do anything from cooking a whole meal to just having a few hors-d’oeuvres, as long as there is something to munch on, (potato chips straight from the bag are not going to cut it). As your high definition date unfolds, bring out some fresh strawberries or decadent truffles.

You can have a very cozy and pleasant date in your own home if you are willing to create the right atmosphere and do some advance planning. Don’t blow your budget on restaurants and movie theaters, instead use the resources you already have, and cuddle up close with some satellite TV.

1. Meet the First Canarios

The Museo Canario in Las Palmas is lovely and showcases fascinating information about the often-puzzling history of early Gran Canaria inhabitants, the Guanche. You will learn about their magic and religion, housing arrangements, early pottery and art.

2. Be Dazzled at Maspalomas

The golden sand dunes of Maspalomas have such natural beauty that tourists are often found gazing for hours at a time. Nearly 1000 acres (400 ha) of reserva natural especial de las Dunas de Maspalomas. Warm and rolling sand embrace a resort with a vibrant golf course. It’s an excellent place for bird watching. Birders will see migrating birds such as kingfisher, heron, egret, kestrel, osprey and curlew.

In the Maspalomas, you can also visit the lighthouse that has been a popular landmark since its construction in the late 19th century.

If you want to see Gran Canaria from atop a camel, the camel rides in the Maspalomas are only a half hour but are an adventure worth taking.

3. Spiritual Satisfaction in the Jardin Botanico

Where else can you visit Spain’s largest botanical garden? Located in the Guiniguada ravina, the peace and beauty is obvious. You will stroll through the lovely gardens and bear witness to many rare species such as the Garoe tree in the Laurel Forest and many different cactuses. Look for La Gomera because the sap from the tree is used to make up a local honey. The Jardin Botanico is located in Tafira Alta. Best time to visit is in January and February.

4. Architectural Tour in Teror

If inspired styles of architecture are attractive to you, you will not be disappointed in Teror. This quiet town in Gran Canaria is worth a focused stroll to understand the deep urban culture. The most important religious building on the island is Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pino located in Teror. There is a museum, Casa de Cultura and a lovely town square, Plaza Teresa de Bolivar.

The most architecturally significant area is the Calle Real de la Plaza. You will see the uniqueness of the Canarian architecture. When you are finished with your architectural tour in Teror, treat yourself to the famous sausage, chorizo, in the Market which is Gran Canaria’s oldest market.

5. Volcano Hopping

Yes there is an extinct volcano in Gran Canaria and it’s worth the visit as one of our top five cheap holiday ideas. Located in Caldera de Bandama, it is often overlooked but the views of the large crater are simply stunning. This is one of the best hikes you’ll ever experience. You can hike all the way down to the center of the crater. Along the way, you will see volcanic farming at its best. The farmland is exquisitely rich and fertile for grape vines which produce local wine.

If you can get to Gran Canaria, you can have a cheap and glorious holiday! If you have time, you can hop over to the island of Lanzarote to continue your holiday in the Canary Islands. http://www.Cheapflightstolanzarote.org. Enjoy.

“There is a difference between dining and eating. Dining is an art. When you eat to get the most out of your meal, to please the palate, just as well as to satiate the appetite, that, my friend, is dining.”

I have a confession. I am a snob. Not the kind of snob who thinks she’s better than everyone else, because, to be honest, my good ole’ Southern mama would give me a big smack down and reality check if I walked around with that attitude.

However, I am a food snob, which is why I’m able to fit into a cute dress, eat delicious foods and go to bed each evening feeling good in my body.

I’m also a lover – a lover of life, good food, great conversation, animals and ideas.

However, that wasn’t always the case.

I remember those holidays (or any day, for that matter) when I would have major meltdowns because I couldn’t find a cute, sexy dress to look great for the office party because of my muffin top. Then, I’d become extremely depressed because nothing fit and then decide to just eat whatever the hell I wanted, increasing the odds that nothing would fit.

I remember those holidays when I didn’t feel love or anything other than sadness and hopelessness. So, I ate more, avoiding the feelings as best I could.

Fed up with my excuses and fixation on myself, I stumbled upon a world of love and snobbery at the perfect time in my life.

Now, I’m not talking about the”I’m-better-than-you” snobbery, but the “I-value-myself-and-my-food-so-I’m-not-going-to-eat-a-bunch-of-crap-just-because-its-in-front-of-me” attitude. I’m talking about a food snob.

With practice, my snobbery blossomed into love – love for my body, love for my food and the people who grow it, love for the people I share the table with, and that love has just continued to spill over into my entire life.

But, how did it begin? How does a hopeless, pitiful girl go from being a single, overweight mom to a loving food snob?

Welcome to France.

The French are known for their deep passion for food as well as their deep passion in the bedroom (but that’s not necessarily the kind of love I’m talking about here).

When I started visiting France on a regular basis over five years ago, I experienced the love-food connection where guilt or dieting is not part of the equation. However, it requires a form of snobbery that I had not learned from my Southern roots, where I was not above eating meat from a can or a pack of “nabs.”

At the time, my relationship with food was anything but loving, and so, having a French girlfriend say to me, “The reason you Americans are so overweight is because you don’t enjoy your food or life” was a big wake-up call.” What do you mean I don’t enjoy my foods? I’ve got a muffin top to prove it.

But, she was right. I didn’t respect food. I didn’t even enjoy it most of the time. It was a habit, unconsciousness and a refusal to deal with life that had brought me to this point.

However…

I began to redefine my relationship with food and life, and thanks to the French people, I learned how to eat with pleasure, look fabulous and rule my own little world.

While they have some fabulous little tricks up their vintage Chanel sleeves, which I teach in my program, I want to share with you the art of food snobbery and how it is one of the most loving things you can learn.

So, here’s a Food Snobbery 101 crash course to help you emerge on New Years Day looking and feeling fabulous while also eating delicious foods without guilt.

• Start your day at the end. Fast forward to the evening right before drifting off to sleep. How do you desire to feel? Stuffed, guilt ridden, hopeless? Or, would you rather feel sensual, confident, empowered, healthy, joyful and loving? Choose your top 3 feelings, and let your desired feelings guide you throughout the day. In any situation (before taking the first bite, before debating with Uncle Billy about politics, before choosing to watch Desperate Housewives instead of going out for a nice stroll with the family), ask yourself, “What would my ________, _________ and ________ self do?
• Think consistent nourishment. You are not some storage tank that needs to be emptied out to increase storage space for the big Thanksgiving meal. You are a beautiful, dynamic creature that desires to be consistently nourished throughout the day. So, eat a sensible breakfast so that you don’t show up at Aunt Betty’s house like a starved, ravenous beast.
• Save the stuffing for the turkey. Food snobs hate feeling bloated and stuffed. So, set your intention to eat just the right amount of food before you take the first bite.
• Before ordering or preparing your plate, take note of the foods available and choose the foods that look most appetizing. This means that you can probably skip the rolls and butter or veggie tray.
• Breathe. Deep breathing relaxes the body, and when the body is relaxed, your digestion is turned on.
• Eat the highest quality foods available. If you are going to eat a slice of pumpkin pie, then skip the Costco version and bake it yourself using the best ingredients you can buy.
• Eat your meal in courses, which means not piling one plate with six different foods. Eat one (or two max) at a time. There’s nothing appetizing about the turkey gravy running into the beautiful fruit salad.
• Sit down. Don’t eat standing up while talking with Uncle Bob about his new Ford purchase. Your food deserves your full attention.
• Eat slowly. If you are to become a food snob, you must slow down your eating to at least thirty minutes for your largest meal of the day. A true food snob eats slowly, spending time with each bite. Which leads me to the next point…
• Put your fork and knife down between each bite. Your mouth is not a wheelbarrow waiting to be shoveled more food. Pause between bites. Breathe. Talk. Savor.
• Savor. Food snobbery requires that you engage with the food experience, noticing the texture, aromas, presentation and overall flavor of the dish. Pretend that you are Frank Bruni, a well renowned food critic, and eat as if you were going to write a paper about the experience.
• Ooh and Aah. Food is sacred and delicious, which is why it’s more than just fuel for me. (Sorry to all you masculine “food is fuel” people out there.). When you are feeling your car up with gas, it’s not a pleasurable experience, but when you are savoring delicious foods, it is. So, moan and groan when you taste something delicious. Talk about how divine it is. Celebrate it. Give your mama a big kiss for her amazing pecan pie. The more you savor and celebrate your food, the less fear you’ll have around it, and when you’re not afraid, you eat less.
• Become a taster, not an eater. Food snobs know that the first 3 bites are the most delicious; all bites following loses its flavor, so slow down and enjoy those first three bites.
• Listen to your body. A food snob is very attuned to her body, and therefore, she might refuse certain things because she honors her body’s wisdom. For example, if you know you don’t tolerate dairy well, then you may want to skip the eggnog for a glass of wine or water.
• Stop when you are elegantly satisfied. Eating to the point of feeling like the stuffed turkey on the table is NOT aligned with being a food snob, and it’s certainly not very slim, chic and savvy. Elegant satisfaction is NOT feeling stuffed. It’s not even feeling full. It’s eating until that point of feeling full of life energy, not comatose.
• Stay in your business. Trying to please your husband, mother, best friend or anyone else, for that matter, will lead to overeating and self-loathing. A food snob could care less whether someone gets pissed if she decides not to eat the fruit cake. She doesn’t eat to please others. She eats to please herself. The gift that she gives is her own happiness.
• Remember, you can always have more later. Food snobs don’t overeat, because they know that they can have more delicious foods later when they are hungry again. They don’t walk around telling themselves things like “You better eat all you can because your fat a is going on a diet tomorrow.” No! They simply eat delicious foods in moderation as a way of life.
• Move your body. Food snobs take their desire to eat more food and channel it into living their life, and there’s no better way than to step away from the table and move your body.
• Celebrate! It’s the holidays, so celebrate your food, life, family, friends and health by honoring yourself with delicious foods, time with those you love, but most of all, by honoring your soul and body with the love and care it deserves.

(Bonus Food Snobbery tip: Even food snobs overeat on occasion, so if you eat past the point of elegant satisfaction, don’t beat yourself up. Rather, investigate what happened without judgment, recommit to your intention and eat again when you’re hungry. No biggie!)

Becoming a food snob will allow you to enjoy the many pleasures of the food kingdom without ever dieting again. Plus, learning the art of food snobbery is useful throughout the year, whether you are on a date or at a business meeting. A true food snob is sexy, confident and leaves many people perplexed at how she can dine like a queen while looking like a goddess.

Knowing how to dine is an art form that has been lost to a fast paced, unconscious culture. However, I am living proof that it can be learned with commitment and practice.

So, what does all this snobbery mumbo jumbo have to do with love? EVERYTHING!

Because, when you care about what you eat, you are showing love to your health.

When you care about where your foods come from, you are showing love to the environment.

When you take time with your foods, you are showing love to the present moment.

When you savor the foods, instead of unconsciously eating, you are showing love to the cook.

When you are moving your body, you are showing love to your body.

When refuse to eat just anything in any way, you are showing a love and appreciation of life.

So, in the name of love, I’m proposing that we start of revolution of food snobbery. Are you in?

Please leave me a comment.

Alcohol is part of lifestyle in some countries. A lot of people like drinking it during any special occasion. Yet, alcohol contains some level of carbohydrate. If you go on carbohydrate diet, it will be a dilemma. There are some ways which allow you to drink alcohol even when you go on carbohydrate diet.

Low-carbohydrate dieting is an excellent way to stay healthy and fit. You can still drink alcohol on low carbohydrate diet. Therefore, you have to make a wise choice and consume it moderately. Also, you have to recognize all the facts about alcohol so that you can pick it wisely. You can also navigate the list of the cocktail for your favorite bar.

Step one: read all the options of drinking with low carbohydrate.

You can find and read those options in low-carb diet books. They usually provide you thorough information about the level of the carbohydrates in the alcoholic beverages. It will help you recognize what you can have and what you should not have.

Step two: drink alcoholic beverages with “low-carb” label.

Common alcoholic beverages such as beers are packed with carbs. You have to choose the low-carb brew so that you can keep yourself away from the carbohydrates of around five up to ten grams.

Step three: choose a glass of dry wines

Another thing you can do is to choose the dry white or red wine yet not ones with the sweet taste. In each five ounces of chardonnay or Shiraz has carbs at around three grams and in each five ounces of dessert wine has carbs at around twenty grams.

Step four: choose the right mixers

There are some types of beverages which contain zero carbohydrate such as straight liquor including vodka or rum and gin. Inappropriate mixers such as sweet and sour can lead the count of the carbs through the roof. As an alternative, you can mix diet cola, club soda, lime juice, or fresh lemon.