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Sources in Hong Kong for jade jewelry: https://www.thejadejewellery.com/categories/bracelets?page=4&sort_by=&order_by=&limit=24 Introduction There are two minerals that are commonly called jade, nephrite and jadeite. The traditional Chinese jade, is nephrite. Just to make things even more confusing, in New Zealand, jade is called pounamu or greenstone. As one of the world's oldest decorative stones, jade has been prized for its beauty across the world. Properties Close up of a carved nephrite slab, from Marsden River, New Zealand. Bown Collection Source: Geoscience Australia The two jade minerals, nephrite and jadeite are both tough and have small granular crystals giving a fibrous appearance. They have quite different chemical compositions and structures. Nephrite is a type of amphibole mineral and jadeite is a type of pyroxene mineral. Nephrite can be white, yellow, green and brown to black, depending on the amount of iron and magnesium in the mineral. Jadeite can be green, pink, purple, brown and white. Nephrite jade is very tough, the toughest known natural mineral, three times tougher than ceramics and even tougher than steel. This explains why it was used in neolithic times for knife blades, axe heads and later for ornamental carvings. While it is not as hard as some other minerals like diamond, nephrite is made from an interwoven meshwork of fine fibres or needle-like crystals so is not brittle and does not break easily. Coarser crystals and alignment of minerals decreases the toughness of the mineral. Jadeite is the second toughest mineral known, but is not as tough as nephrite as its interlocking crystals are less fibrous. The interlocking crystals or fibrous structures of these two jade minerals mean they can be polished easily, so are ideal for carvings and jewellery. The Properties of Jade

The concept of “Rumspringa” is a uniquely Amish tradition. It is a period of adolescence where Amish youngsters are allowed to leave the community and experience life outside their own. This period of soul-searching marks a transition from their childhood in the community to adulthood, and it’s up to them to decide whether they want to stay and continue farming or leave for a more “modern” way of life. This period of self-reflection illustrates the Amish’s embrace of choice and individuality within the boundaries of their community’s traditions and beliefs. After you are done messing about in life's various rumspringas, it's usually time to get back to work. If you want to achieve great success in life, it’s important to lock down what cornerstone habits you need to build. As you build these habits, keep the initial task simple so that it does not require much motivation to complete it. Here are some examples: For your spiritual life: Try starting your morning with five minutes of meditation. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, close your eyes, and breathe. If you need help getting into the right headspace, several apps can help guide you through it. When you can let the thoughts go in and out of your mind without judging them and aim to find stillness in the moment, you’re setting yourself up to reap the benefits.  TM and yoga sun salutes are great ways to start this habit. For your physical health: It’s vital that you get enough sleep every night. Use a smart device to help track your sleeping patterns and statistics. To decide when you need to get to bed, count backward from your wake-up time to ensure you

For Men The selection of your attire significantly influences how others perceive you, creating immediate impressions upon initial encounters. The initial impact is driven not by your intelligence or charm but by your outward appearance. Haberdashers sell hats and other furnishings for men. Milliners cater to women.  A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, zippers, ribbons, and other notions, as well as men's clothing and accessories like hats, gloves, and neckties. In a broader sense, a haberdasher is associated with the retailing of men's clothing and various items related to sewing and textiles. The term is often used to describe a seller of men's clothing, particularly one who provides a variety of elegant and high-quality items. We love Tom James.  A lot of their finer wool fabrics come from Saville Row Holland & Sherry. Haberdashers work to provide custom suits, coordinated ties and shirts, and shoes from higher end sources such as Allen Edmonds or high-end used classics from https://classicshoesformen.com/. As opposed to less customized outfitters such as https://statelymen.com/products/moscow-mule?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=20230323%20%232%20%28Jenny%29&utm_id=01GW7GJK6Q5CCKYNXX3FQN8VJQ&utm_klaviyo_id=01GGE7ND23V16A3FB588CFSAXX&_kx=MgBDYsBp9h6PDGLBt_nIcXL_qgRpzWy9aip3-Y7Kt58%3D.KVxanq For Women https://www.meghansfashion.com/what-meghan-wore Here are some classic office fashions for women: Suits: Dark-colored suits and ties Blazers: Can smarten up simple looks Shirts: Crisp button-down shirts or blouses Skirts: Should reach at least the top of your knees Shoes: Heels, loafers, or flats Colors: Neutral colors like black, brown, or dark grey are preferable Patterns: Can be added to an outfit Statement jewelry: Can be added to a suit Poplin dresses: Can be polished for humid days Linen-blend shirts: Can be good for hectic commutes To look your best, you can keep your clothes clean, pressed, and wrinkle-free. You can also dress to impress, but not necessarily for success.

The best piece of relationship advice I ever got was to take a sheet of paper and write down all of the attributes that you are looking for in a partner.  Honest, funny, curious, bubbly, easy-going, reliable, etc.  THEN BECOME THOSE THINGS.  You attract what you become. What you are thinking now is creating your future life. You create your life with your thoughts. Because you are always thinking, you are always creating. What you think about most or focus on the most, is what will appear as your life. But being happy in a relationship is something you learn. It's not inherited or given. It's created by ordinary people with the will and courage to make extraordinary commitments.  All you need is persistence and a good map.  And picking a partner that is free from mental health issues. But some can't always pick their family, for instance, the children of BPD parents have a tough road.   Many mental health issues are out there, as shown in the neurodivergent umbrella below, but perhaps the most troubling of all are the ones that defy traditional medication and treatment.  There are 14 million adults in the U.S. who are estimated to have borderline personality disorder (BPD). They make up 2 percent of the general population but 20 percent of psychiatric inpatients. Most are women, and they typically turn the ups and downs of everyday life into a roller-coaster ride of moods. In doing so, they don't just alienate others around them, they subvert their own life trajectory. Explosively reactive, and often struggling to get a grip on themselves, borderlines have difficulty maintaining stable relationships or even holding down a job.  Borderlines are interpersonal tornadoes.  Chaos and crises, in fact,

Lesson 1 In lesson number one, Happiness Masterclass will teach the rudiments of breathwork, which is one of the simplest and most powerful techniques for unlocking inner happiness. Happiness Masterclass explains, “Breathing is something we do all the time, we don't even have to think about it. However, how we breathe can do a lot to improve the physical state of our brains and our bodies.” She adds, “In times of stress, we tend to tense up, our heart rate increases, our blood pressure may rise, we perspire, our metabolism changes, and our breathing rates become shallow. This shallow breathing restricts the flow of oxygen into our body, which is vital for well-being and happiness. In this lesson, we’ll have a look at why bringing more awareness to our breathing can be very beneficial for increasing our happiness.” Lesson 2 In lesson number two, Happiness Masterclass will teach practical techniques for overcoming negative thought patterns which often interfere with inner peace and happiness. In Happiness Masterclass’s words, “This life-changing session is all about how to create a mindset for happiness. So, if you've been frustrated trying to create happiness in your life so far, or often find your happiness derailed in the same or similar circumstances, this session will help you better understand your experience and show you how to restore and protect your happiness.” Lesson 3 The focus of lesson number three is Gratitude. Recent studies show that feeling and expressing gratitude leads to better physical health and even slows down the ageing process, as it activates the feel-good hormones in our body. In this session, Happiness Masterclass will teach you how to use gratitude to turbocharge your happiness. “If you try using gratitude

How many words are enough?  There are an estimated 171,146 words currently in use in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, not to mention another 47,156 obsolete words.  Most adult English language speakers high school graduates from the United Kingdom from 20,000–35,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 8 already know 10,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 4 already know 5,000 words. But the average American high school graduate knows only about 12,000 words.   Shockingly, the average American only uses about the same 100 words in day to day conversations. So is 1000 words enough to speak a new language?  Some linguists believe that 800 words are enough to hold a basic conversation. However, your vocabulary should be over 8,000 words if you want to speak a language as well as a native speaker. Some dogs can understand 250 words. Dogs are man’s best friend, and the canine ability to understand human words has gone a long way to solidify that world-changing relationship. According to the American Psychological Association, the average dog can understand 165 words, and “super dogs” — those in the top 20% of canine intellect — can understand around 250 words. Dog intelligence can be divided into three main types: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (what a dog learns from its environment), and working/obedience (what a dog is trained to do). Research into the levels of working/obedience intelligence in various dog breeds shows that border collies displayed the highest levels, followed by poodles, German shepherds, and golden retrievers. With the ability to also understand simple math (1+1 = 2, for example), these “super dogs” have an estimated cognitive ability of 2- to 2.5-year-old humans. Although 250 words

We got a new Dope Rope from Lauren Jumps.  She says: These are the most common jump rope mistakes that I see a lot of beginners making: Make sure your rope isn't too long - most new jumpers start and keep their rope too long. The excess rope leads to poor form and less efficiency and more effort required to spin the rope. The heavy impact of the rope on the ground leads to more wear and causes the rope to bounce up, resulting in more trips. Avoid wide arms - this is linked to the point above.  A long rope can lead to wide arms as the user aims to compensate for the excess cord. The optimal jump rope arm positioning is elbows back and hands in next to the hips. When the hands are close to your sides, you can use a shorter a rope, improve your efficiency, go faster and perform tricks and skills more easily Not 'elbows in' - another common mistake is to have the elbows in to the hips which leads to the hands sticking out wide. The elbows need to be in but set back to allow the hands to be in next to the hips. Avoid jumping too high - keep bounces low, only enough for the rope to pass underneath. This lowers the impact on your legs and allows you to go faster. Don't do too much too soon - if you do long sessions at the start, you may get injured. Get used to the movement with shorter sessions of 5-15 mins and only 3-4 times a week max and build up slowly from there. Use the correct rope type - if you want to learn skills and good form, you need something that isn't too

I had to remind my daughter the other day, sometimes you meet the right person at the wrong time. People will change horses, you may get really excited about somebody and then all of a sudden realize, ‘Eh, not really my cup of tea.’  The full expression is “don't change horses mid-stream” (or, sometimes, “don't swap horses midstream”). The expression is usually credited to Abraham Lincoln who, during the Civil War, said that voters should re-elect him because it would be foolish to change leaders in the middle of such a turbulent time.  However, not all is fair in love and war.  And the only constant, these days, is change.  Family love, romantic love, the love of an old friendship – it’s not only in our nature to love, it's our evolutionary advantage.  It’s also our highest calling as human beings to love another person fully and completely.  In fact, relationships are our biggest opportunity for spiritual growth.  Love is something we all seek.  It's our highest purpose. But we all come to relationships with different wiring, conditioning, cultures, belief systems, biochemistry, and a blueprint for what love looks like.  And, yet we often make the mistake of thinking our experience of how love should be is the same as our partner’s.  Then, we think we’ve made a mistake or lost love when conflict arises or the chemistry subsides. In reality, this is our opportunity to go deeper.  People think relationships are about selecting the right person.   They are more about becoming the right person.  Using love to grow, to learn and to challenge yourself to find and give more.  Be open to love and love has a way of finding you with the right person, at the

There is a long English history of the phase "women of a certain age" because "it has a long history in French, where it refers to women of fortyish and thereabouts who are able to initiate boys and young men into the beauties of sexual encounters. The early use in English seems to be about spinsterhood, but the French meaning has nothing to do with marriage." In French, the phrase has erotically or sexually charged overtones. "It comes from a society where sexuality is freer," Dr. Rubin notes, "and more understood as an important part of human life." The phrase in French is femmes d'une certaine age. The term, however, can apply to either sex. Without the certain, the phrase un homme d'un age translates literally as "a man of an age" and is defined in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary as "a man of advanced years." Une femme d'un certain âge is a French expression (“a woman of a certain age”) that suggests a positive attitude toward age, and alludes to the wisdom, experience, and elegance that we acquire along the way.