The Eclectic Female: Lifestyle Blog For Women

Let’s just face it after a divorce, relationships with the ex-spouse can be a little strained. If you’re one of the fortunate few who has always had a great relationship with their ex, then kudos for you. For the rest of us, let’s look at some specific steps you can take to try to move the relationship in a more positive direction.

1. Acknowledge that it’s uncomfortable - It doesn’t matter whether this is jsaid just to yourself or aloud to your ex. The point is to recognize it. That’s the first step in being able to fix anything.

2. Deal with your junk - You need to deal with any feelings you have about the divorce. Holding onto anger, resentment and hurt as a result of the divorce will make it almost impossible for you to be able to have a civil relationship with your ex-spouse. Just talking to them (or even hearing their voice) will cause all of those emotions to come flooding in and you won’t be able to make good decisions.

3. Your attitude - Change your perspective on the way you view this person. I recently had a coaching client who had a unique solution to this. He never refers to his ex-wife as his “ex”. Instead he calls her “my boys’ mom.” Ex-spouse has a negative connotation of someone from your past. Instead, he’s choosing to focus on the relationship they have together now - raising their boys.

4. Don’t let them push your buttons - This person knows you well. They know just what to do or say to hurt you if they want to. Rather than allow yourself to fall for that same script of arguments, turn the other cheek. I know it’s MUCH easier said than done, but what’s the alternative? You’ll just end up in the same argument you’ve had a million times.

5. Be respectful of their new life - You each have your own lives now with separate schedules and responsibilities. Try to be respectful of these, especially when it comes to their parenting time. Don’t just assume it’s ok for them to switch days with you or for you to drop the kids off an hour early.

6. Go out of your way to be kind - Have you ever heard the phrase, “kill them with kindness”? I know this is a hard one. If the relationship is especially difficult though, something needs to be done to make it better. Someone has to make the first move. Why can’t it be you? It’s not about being a doormat and letting them walk all over you. It’s more about you taking the first step. This is done more for yourself and your children than it is for your ex-spouse.

Ultimately, all of these actions are not only in your best interest but also the best interests of your children. While divorce is difficult for kids, the research shows time and time again that it is heart breaking for them when their parents don’t get along.

Does this stuff sound easy? I doubt it. But, the big take away for you is that while you have no control over how your ex-spouse treats you or responds, you have COMPLETE control over YOUR actions and your responses. Make them good ones.

Tax deadline is now less than a month away! If you haven’t already filed for your refund (or perhaps paying more in tax), it’s a good time to start looking into it!

It’s gorgeous. You have your dream wedding dress and at last the search is over.

But what about the jewelery and the tiara to match it? Maybe you’ve never worn a tiara before and do you need a necklace, bracelet, earrings to go with it as well?

Usually the most important planning is for the dress and then the jewelery is chosen to go with it. Only occasionally as a jeweler have I met brides who have chosen their jewelery and then embarked on a search for a dress. I once spoke to a young woman who was looking for a wedding ring and I asked when her wedding was. She replied that she hadn’t met a man yet - she just fancied having the ring first - but that’s another story.

So here is a general guide to buying your wedding jewelery. Of course all these guides and rules can be broken - if it feels right for you, then that’s all right.

The necklace is usually the easiest to decide on because you will already know what sort of thing you like. If the design of the dress is very elaborate, then choose a simple necklace and let the shape of the necklace follow the neckline. For instance, a “v” shaped dress looks good with a necklace. A gentle scooped neckline looks good with a round shaped necklace. An off-the-shoulder dress can look stunning with a choker or collar necklace. If the dress is more plain in style then the more elaborate the necklace can be. In this case, a matching bracelet or drop earrings can also complement the outfit. Brides with long necks can wear an elaborate necklace and long drop earrings very well. With a shorter neck, it’s best to wear necklaces a bit lower.

The tiara is the hardest to decide on. It’s not something you can wear every day as you can with the necklace, earrings and bracelet. It’s a good idea to try on as many tiaras as you can and see what suits the shape of your face. When you begin trying them on you may be surprised to discover that what you had been certain about, isn’t right for you. Generally, tall curvy girls can look really good in a bold, large tiara and can take a tiara of 3 inches or 7 cms high. Smaller girls look best in a more dainty tiara with a height of up to 1.5 inches or 3 cms.

A lot of my customers worry about how to wear a tiara, thinking there are definite rules - but there aren’t : it just depends how it looks. Most tiaras are malleable to some extent so don’t be afraid to adjust the base so that it fits more comfortably. Do you wear the tiara at the front or the back of your head? Again that’s up to you - and possibly your hairdresser to decide - but they can be held in place with a small hole in the back or even with a pair of plastic combs attached at the back.

If your tiara is very bold or elaborate choose a simple necklace or even omit the necklace and keep the earrings to a simple stud. This will ensure that the focal points of your dress look just right. If the necklace is highly elaborate, then perhaps a flower or comb at the back or the side of the head rather than a tiara keeps the balance just right.

Finally, remember this is just a general guide and once again, rules can be broken - because once you look in the mirror and smile, you know it’s right!

To see our range of tiaras, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, visit our web site: http://www.zinniajewellery.co.uk

For examples of gold and silver jewellery visit the Zinnia Jewellery website

http://www.zinniajewellery.co.uk
John Cartman is the co-owner of Zinnia Jewellery and sells gold and silver jewellery at fairs and exhibitions in the UK.

Copyright J.Cartman 2008

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Cartman

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that more and more of my girlfriends are quicker to find boyfriends than in the past. I remember in high school, it was a rarity for a couple to get together. Now, it seems people just jump from relationship to relationship. Perhaps people are better able to relate to others as we get older. Or maybe, we all just get a little less picky! Could it be that men are all much more alike than different, so it really doesn’t matter which one you choose? We’ll see. I feel like the bond between two people that grows over time is more important than chemistry. While it’s great to hit it off, the trust and faith you have through a developed friendship is something that cannot be replaced.

Tiger Woods, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Oprah Winfrey and Venus and Serena Williams are born in an American society where well over forty percent of prison inmates and students in special education share their ethnic background. Many researchers would argue that because of their race or ethnic background they would confront additional psychological and economical obstacles than non-minorities that would make it extremely difficult for them to be successful.

Regardless of their chosen profession, what Tiger Woods, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Oprah Winfrey and Venus and Serena Williams have in common is not their race, money or level of education; what they have in common is good old fashioned, down-to-earth, excellent parenting. Most parents would like to believe that there is some type of magic in raising successful children because it relieves them from the guilt of not giving their children the proper spiritual, psychological, and emotional skills that they need to be successful in life. What do Beethoven, Thomas Edison, and Sigmund Freud have in common with Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Venus and Serena Williams and Dr. Benjamin Carson? You guessed it! Excellent parents. Quality parenting has nothing to do with whether or not a child is raised in a two-parent or single-parent home; what matters the most is the parent’s ability to instill in their child an impervious sense of self-worth, self-respect and self-love.

Listed below are the secrets to raising extraordinarily successful children:

Model appropriate behavior
1. Model the behavior that you expect from your child. Many parents believe that it is okay to tell their children, “do as I say and not as I do.” Studies show that if the parent smokes, there is a high chance that the child will also smoke. Don’t tell your children to read, when they have never seen you pick up a book. Don’t ask your children to clean their bedroom when your bedroom is a mess. I worked in the child welfare system for 13 years helping to reunite families. One of the most important lessons that I learned from working with parents whose children were removed from their home due to neglect and/or abuse is that even when parents didn’t think their children knew that they were using illegal drugs, drinking excessively, or having multiple sex partners; during family counseling sessions, the parents were surprised to learn that their children were always aware of their behavior and viewed them as hypocrites and liars. Do and be all of the things that you want your children to do and be.

Give them Self-esteem
2. Children see themselves through their parent’s eyes. When you smile at them they feel loved and accepted. Children are constantly looking into your eyes for approval and validation of their self-worth. Babies are capable of detecting their parent’s emotions that even the parent is not aware that they are emitting such as anger, guilt and sadness. If the parent refers to the child as dumb, stupid, or clumsy this is how the child will perceive herself. Do not call your child derogatory names because this becomes a part of their psychological dictionary of their self concept. Tell your child how wonderful, smart and intelligent he is. Tell her that it is okay to make mistakes and let them try again. Let the child help you make rules and consequences for breaking them for the home. Give them chores. Children, like adults, feel good about themselves when they feel that they are contributing to their own well-being to the best of their ability.

Teach Self-Discipline
3. Teaching a child to control their own behavior in spite of their moods or feelings is the greatest gift that a parent can give their child. Self-discipline will give the child the confidence to excel in every area of their life. Self-discipline is the skill that will help them understand when they have had too much to drink or that they need to get enough sleep at night to perform well on a test the next day. The secret to teaching self-discipline is to coordinate must-do-tasks with enjoyable activities. All children should have a study schedule. A time that is set a side just for doing homework. The study schedule should not conflict with their favorite television show, sports or other activities. Your child can reward themselves by spending time on their myspace account, talking on the phone or visiting friends.

Teach Critical Thinking
4. Teach your children to ask questions, gather facts and make decisions on their own regardless of the source of information. When you are watching cartoons or primetime shows with your children ask them if they think the show should have ended differently and why. Read stories to your children and ask them whether or not they think the story is plausible. Ask your child their opinion about various topics and ask them to support their answers with evidence. Giving your child the ability to think critically and analyze situations from various perspectives and viewpoints is the greatest gift that you could ever give them to live harmoniously in a multi-cultural society. When a child is able to critically think for herself and make rational sound decisions; they will be less likely to engage in sexual activity, use illegal substances or participate in gangs. They will be able to determine if their actions are taking them closer to their life goals or further from their life goals. Most importantly, they will not make their decisions based on whether or not they will be caught or punished by authorities; they will make their decision based on their conscience of what is right and wrong. Teach them that greatness is not always about having the right answers or pleasing others; greatness is about asking the important questions and doing what is right, even if you stand alone.

Sense of Purpose
5. Find out what your child is naturally good at and give them as many opportunities as possible to express their natural gifts and talents. Include these activities when helping them to do their home work. Study Howard Gardener’s 9 Types of intelligence and analyze which type of intelligence best fit your child. Read data about learning styles and determine if your child is a left or right brain learner, and how they best process data in terms of whether the information is auditory, visual or kinesthetic. Some children do not fit into society’s standard mode of intelligence and are labeled as academic poor achievers. However these same children may be gifted at building things, painting, drawing or creating music. It is important for parents to tell their children that they were born with the perfect physical and intellectual gifts and talents to make their dreams come true. Birds were born with wings to fly, not to swim under water. Let your children know that there is a special place in the world just for them. Teach them to appreciate who they are when no one is looking.

Mental Toughness
6. We have all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but word will never hurt me.” Yet, we all know, that nothing hurts the human soul more than words. I bet you can immediately think of three or more times that someone has said something to you that hurt you so deeply that you could not sleep at night. You teach your children to be mentally tough by telling them that the most important person’s opinion of them that matters is their own and secondly, would be the opinion of someone who loves them deeply. Tell your child that people with fake confidence only believe in themselves when they are winning or things are going their way. People with real confidence believe in themselves regardless of the outcome because they only focus on the things that they can control. Teach them that they can not control the grade that the teacher will give them after a test; they can only control how long they study and how well they prepare before the test. Teaching a child to be mentally tough is teaching them to focus on the things that they can control and to ask themselves honestly, “Did I do my best?” If they can answer yes. There next question should be, “What can I do differently next time?”

Compassion
7. Compassion is the universal language of feelings, emotions and morality. Teaching your child about compassion does not always include man-made laws and rules because these laws have created unspeakable conditions of human suffering such as slavery and what happened to the Jews. Teach your children that if they want to know how someone would feel or whether or not an act is right or wrong, tell them to ask themselves, “Do I want this to happen to me or someone I love dearly?” Their answer will connect them to the sincerest form of compassion that is connected to all of humanity.

Cassandra George Sturges MA, MA, Psy.D is a mother of two teenagers, a full-time psychology instructor, advice columnists for Today’s Black Woman Magazine, Seminar facilitator, author of “A Woman’s Soul on Paper” ISBN: 0595171435. Dr. Sturges is the author and publisher of Authentik Beauty Magazine. A 1 year subscription to Authentik Beauty Magazine is only $49.99 for 6 issues; mail request to: Authentik Beauty Magazine, P.O. Box 980679, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. Caution: Articles and clipart are sensuously and beautifully designed for a mature audience only. We accept cash, checks & all major credit cards. If you are seeking retail therapy or the perfect gift for someone else, I am an independent AVON representative, shop my website at http://csturges.avonrepresentative.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cassandra_George_Sturges

I had been dating a waiter for about 3 weeks.  One weekend, he called me while I was working overnight at the hospital.  I got home and listened to the voice mail:  “Hey, I was just calling to see what you were up to.  Call me back whenever you get this.”  Cool, I thought, in my sleep-deprived state.  I threw my phone back on the floor and collapsed into my blankets to finally cool off my over-worked brain.

Three days later, I hear my phone ringing while I’m in the shower.  I run out of my bathroom, soaking wet, a torrent of steam behind me, and manage to answer before my voicemail picks up.  “Hey! What’s up?  Sorry I didn’t call you back earlier.”  “Yea,” he replies. “I was kinda’ expecting a phone call,” he laughs one of those it’s-not-really-funny laughs.  “I’m sorry, I was busy,” I say.  “You’re busy.  I’m busy.  We’re all busy.”

I wanted to say “Yes, but if you screw up at work, the worst that could happen is that someone chokes on a bone or maybe has an anaphylactic reaction because they have are allergic to the seafood or peanuts that you accidentally brought them, whereas if I screw up, someone stops breathing or dies of a heart attack or gets kidney failure from the drug I accidentally give to them.”  Instead, I say, “I’ll call you.”  “Forget about phone calls,” he says.  I laugh, one of those it’s-not-really-funny laughs.  “I’ll call you,” I repeat, before hanging up on him.

I thought about what he said, though.  It was true, to some extent.  We’re all busy.  And if someone is not engaging enough to tear you away from your busy life, are they really worth it?  If they are already complaining, after 3 weeks, that you’re not giving them enough attention, what will they do later in the relationship?  If they’re bringing you more stress than joy, is there a point in continuing to see them?  My answer, ultimately, was no.  No, we’re not right for each other, and no, it’s not worth it.

A few weeks later, my friends and I were walking home from a big party downtown.  My phone started ringing.  I picked it up and saw his name.  I turned the phone off and stuck it back in my pocket and continued my conversation with my friends.

Later, when I listened to the voice mail, I hear “Hey! I saw you walking down the street and I tried shouting your name, [pause here as he tries to shout my name out of his car window again] but I don’t think you heard me.”  So, that means he probably saw me picking up my phone and putting it back in my pocket.  Oops!

Oh well, my loss.  Or his.  Depends on how you look at it.

Hmmm, maybe I’ll hang on to the birth control for a bit longer

With the advent of modern-day birth control, people are better able to control when they start a family. Not only is bringing a child into the world a heavy responsibility, the pregnancy itself can be quite cumbersome. Here are some things to think about:

1. Are you financially ready to have a baby? Raising a child can be very expensive. While finances shouldn’t deter your from starting a family if you really want one, be prepared for a higher strain on your finances. You’ll be spending less time in the mall for yourself and more time in the baby aisles of the supermarket.

2. Are you emotionally ready to have a baby? It is much easier to raise a child with a loving partner. Having a baby often puts a strain on the marriage, since the raising of a child can be quite stressful.

3. Is your biological clock ticking? While the above two questions might make you want to put off having a baby, remember that you only have so much time to have a child. It is much easier for a woman to have a healthy baby in her 20′ and 30’s than if she attempts to do so in her 40’s. While modern medicine can cure a lot of diseases, it still cannot turn back the biological clock.

Asking yourselves these three questions might make having a baby feel like a cold, calculative decision, like buying real estate or deciding whether to invest in a business. Obviously, starting a family is highly emotional and something only the heart can decide. Nevertheless, it’s good to rationally think about your decision to have a baby. After all, you are creating a new human, someone that needs to be looked and cared after.

Charles writes for a pregnancy website that is a complete resource for new mothers, including information such as pregnancy nutrition and pregnancy stages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Johnson

Some good advice to think about if you’re marriage is getting kind of rocky:

A book could be written to describe all the reasons why married couples get divorced. I want to highlight a few of the major components behind marital divorce. It is important not to be tricked into thinking that couples just wake up one day and decide to divorce each other. Most often, divorce is just the icing on a cake that has been in the oven for months, or even years. The following are a few ingredients in that cake:

Lack of Communication and Disclosure

You never hear a recently divorced person say that the reason they got a divorce was because their spouse was an excellent communicator who was too trustworthy. Often, a marriage that is largely healthy can spiral into a divorce simply because each participant refuses to acknowledge minor flaws. The majority of marriages begin as a wonderful, romantic, almost fairy-tale interaction between two people. That is what is known as the “honeymoon phase”. This phase doesn’t last forever. In a marriage, it is important that each partner is mature enough to acknowledge that, eventually, you’re going to get annoyed or frustrated with the other person. By doing so, when the honeymoon phase does end, and the normal day-to-day problems of marriage begin to rear their ugly head, they won’t come as such a surprise. Couples who are honest about the reality of life and relationships are much less likely to get a divorce. Life is not like the latest chick-flick starring Hugh Grant. Be sure your partner is aware of this.

Significant Changes in Body Weight or Appearance

Needless to say, physical attraction is a very significant part of an intimate relationship. The reason most married couples ever got together in the first place was likely because they were physically attracted to one another. After several years of marriage, it’s not uncommon for one (or both) partners to stop taking care of their body like they did when they were single. Infidelity is one of the leading causes of divorce. It goes without being said that one major contributor to infidelity is a spouse who no longer seems physically attractive.

Children

The decision to create a child is arguably the most important choice many couples make. It would be easy to fall into a trap of thinking that children are wonderful and perfect and “a gift from God”, but the reality is that children place a significant burden, in a multitude of ways, on marriage. All too often, after the honeymoon phase of marriage ends, couples attempt to rekindle this passion by creating children. Ironically, it can often have the opposite effect. Since children require so much time and money to raise properly, married couples will soon discover that they hardly have any time to themselves. One spouse may be working longer hours to foot the additional expenses of a child while the other is investing several hours of their day to ensure the child’s upbringing. Before you know it, years go by and the couple realizes they’ve hardly spent anytime maintaining their marriage.

Boredom

It sounds simple, but there are some people in this world who are just not meant for the institution of marriage. These people were often called “free spirits” or “adventurers” throughout their lives. Often, they are able to flip a switch and exist in a marital relationship without a problem. But if one spouse in a relationship was “trapped” into the marriage, don’t expect them to stick around forever. Sometimes people simply get bored and decide to make a change. Before marrying, it is important to identify these traits in a potential spouse. It could save the emotional and financial headache of divorce years down the road.

Personality Shift

An ideal marriage involves two people fully secure in who they are who have reached a point in their lives where they simply wish to share themselves with another person. The majority of marriages do not meet these standards. Instead, people marry too young before they’ve had a chance to explore life on their own and reach some conclusions for themselves. Eventually, people will gravitate toward their mind’s calling of who they really are. It is inevitable. It is the purpose we have for being alive. When two people marry each other before one (or both) have had the chance to become entirely confident in who they are as a person, there will be troubles down the road. One spouse will notice the other asking for more space and attempting to spend more time by themselves. This is a reaction, a flight response, that is our mind’s way of separating itself from outside influences so it can just “be itself”. Many-a-marriage have resulted in divorce following a significant change in values and personality from one participant.

The author has written articles on how to catch a cheating wife as well as how to get a divorce

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Johnson

Exercise is a vital component of weight loss after a pregnancy. As it can also clear your head so that you’re better able to meet the demands of motherhood.

It takes serious determination, a daily exercise regiment and a healthy diet. Perhaps the best approach is to concentrate on reasonable eating and exercise habits. The calories lost from breastfeeding, exercise, and avoidance of unnecessary calories should help you to lose a pound a week—a safe amount for most breast-feeding mothers.

Instead, reform your habits and your attitudes about yourself, stop apologizing for your size and find a reasonable, sustainable weight and exercise plan that is suitable for YOU.

Size acceptance means treating your body lovingly, with good nutrition and exercise to help take care of it. Take an overall, long-term view of your health, and find some exercise (like walking or swimming) that you can do regularly and enjoy enough to maintain consistently. Don’t let exercise be a chore; find the activities that will make it a joy in your life.

And if you are having problems getting a babysitter try finding exercises that can be done with your baby to make it easier to fit them into your routine

1. For example you put your baby in a sling or in a baby seat and dance to music, blow the dust of your favorite “girlie” cd and just let go whether its “Girls just wanna have fun” or what ever music makes you want to get up and boogie. This will certainly help with your stress levels and cheer you up if you’re having a bad day.

2. Go for a walk with your new baby in a stroller it good for the two of you they get out in the fresh air and it gives you the chance to clear your head. Also try to find a hill with an incline to increase the amount of calories burned.

And if the idea of walking alone doesn’t appeal to you try finding a partner to go out walking with. Whether your partner or a close friend but if you’re having problems finding one you could put a small classified ad in the local paper for other new mums interested in losing those pregnancy pounds.

You may be surprised how many other mums are in your local area, this could be a way to make new friends and get back out into the world and share your baby experiences with each other.

3. Get a book or DVD on Yoga or Pilates and learn some stretching exercises this is great in that it helps to get the tone back into those muscles and gets the blood flowing. While you may not be able just yet to work on the stomach muscles you can tone up your hips and thighs.

Breastfeeding For Weight Loss.

Breastfeeding often helps many women with easy, natural weight loss, since about 500 extra calories are burned up just in the process of nourishing the baby. Breastfeeding is so good for baby’s health and helps lower your own chances of certain types of cancer that you should do it, regardless of whether or not it helps you lose weight.

Studies do show that breastfeeding women do tend to lose weight more easily than those who do not breastfeed, but there are some women for whom it does not make a difference.

In a few women, sometimes breastfeeding can make it hard to lose the last couple of pounds, because the body needs to hang on to a little extra fat reserve for energy. So although breastfeeding does help most lose some weight, this is not always true for every woman.

One significant concern is that if you lose weight too quickly while breastfeeding, your milk supply may decrease significantly. Remember also that abreast feeding woman NEEDS extra calories to build and maintain a healthy milk supply, especially in the first 5-6 months when she is baby’s sole source of nutrition (you usually need to add about200 calories to your pregnancy diet, though this will diminish after baby starts solids.)

As a matter of fact, your pregnancy fat built up as a resource for the natural process of breast feeding. But if you are bottle feeding your baby instead of breast feeding, you’ll need another way to burn off the post-pregnancy fat.

Conclusion.

By sticking with a healthy diet, watching the number of calories and fat that you are eating and getting some healthy exercise it is possible to lose that post pregnancy fat quickly and easily. So if you are eating the right things, getting some moderate exercise and breastfeeding you will soon begin to see that post pregnancy fat melt away.

Instead of trying to change your weight, consider trying something radical—–work on maintaining your weight while also increasing your fitness. A new baby can take up all our time, let alone energy, and it will be all you can do to think about losing your pregnancy fat, let alone endeavoring to do it.

Be creative, we all might not have the personal trainers of the major celebs to get back in shape but that doesn’t mean we have to give and resign ourselves to always having to carry around pregnancy fat.

And when it does get you down remember that bundle of joy you got from that pregnancy and I’ll bet it’ll put a smile back on your face.

Barry J McDonald is helping people turn their lives around with his new site, http://www.InterviewWithAWeightLossExpert.com drop by now and pick up 3 FREE Gifts natural weight loss. While you’re there visit our blog for more great quality articles and FREE weight loss help.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barry_J_McDonald

Makes me want to visit Maui, don’t you

For many good reasons the Hawaiians say “Maui no ka oi” - Maui is the best. Ranked annually in traveler polls as the best island in the world, Maui captivates everyone; a vacation here is an experience you will want to repeat time and time again. Maui is blessed with wonderful weather, mild tropical breezes and abundant sunshine year round. Development here is at an optimal point with enough hotels, condos and restaurants to suit every desire and budget but not yet so overdone as to interfere with the timeless beauty of the island. To say that Maui is paradise is an understatement; it gets under your skin in a good way, calling you time and again to its shores to once again repeat the adventures that thrilled you, to discover new ones, to seek out its beauty once again and to relax at one of its fine resorts returning home refreshed and renewed and glowing with the spirit of aloha.

You can choose from various locales to call home base, whether it is Kaanapali or Kapalua to the north, or Kihei, Wailea or Makena to the south, yet easily explore any other part of the island in a day or less. Must see sights include the 10,000 foot Haleakala National Park, the road to Hana and the Oheo Gulch through tropical rainforest and spectacular waterfalls, the gorgeous Iao Needle and the quirky town of Lahaina. Adventures abound on Maui including biking down from the volcano, horseback riding in the crater or on the beach, hiking along the coastline or through the rainforest, golfing the superb golf courses, swimming and snorkeling in the beautiful bays, surfing, scuba, windsurfing, parasailing and more.

During the winter and spring months, whale watching is a joy as mother whales give birth to babies and the whales in general are relaxed and often playful. Whale watching is available both on boat tours and even from the shore as the whales love to swim and play along Maui’s coast, making Maui the number one choice for whale watching in Hawaii.

Maui has some of the best snorkeling in North America. Whether you are snorkeling in one of Maui’s gorgeous bays, out at the crescent shaped crater of Molokini or at neighboring Lanai, you will be overwhelmed by the undersea beauty - the colorful tropical reef fish, the coral and, of course, the amazing green sea turtles.

There are numerous golf courses on Maui and it can rightly be called a golfer’s paradise. Most resort areas have several courses to choose from, one more beautiful and challenging than the next.

Eating on Maui is also an adventure with nationally acclaimed chefs creating mouth-watering dishes, utilizing the abundant fish found in local waters as well as fresh produce grown on the island. You can find a wide variety of restaurants here from the typical U.S. chains to very high end gourmet experiences. Shopping is also an adventure with locally made Hawaiian crafts and colorful aloha wear fun souvenirs.

The best reason to visit Maui is the spirit of aloha that you will feel while you are here and that you will bring home with you. This is a place to truly relax even while partaking in all the beauty and adventures around you. Spend some time relaxing on one of Maui’s lovely beaches or at your hotel’s swimming pool. Memories of your Maui vacation will make you smile, fill you with aloha, and eagerly plan your next visit!

You can check out the author’s guide to Maui for more Maui travel tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jessica_Spinner