Have you ever wanted to try your luck on the stock market?  We took the plunge and have been doing very good.  We opened an account with Scottrade and are pleased with the service.  Scottrade charges $7 for each trade, which is quite a bit less then we were paying MorganStanley to manage our account. 

     With my husband being semi-retired we do our stock trading together.  We have set a goal  and are ahead of our expectations.  Keeping track daily is very important, at any point you want to see exactly what you done and how much you are making or losing.  Scottrade allows you to put stop trades, which means if your stock pick is going down you set the limit of how much you are willing to let it go down.

     Scottrade is very easy to use.  They have streaming quotes which we have running on a separate moniter.   All kinds of charts are available and updated news on the stocks.  They even have a glossary of terms which I use a lot.    One of my favorite places to check for the latest updates on what is happening with the stock market is Yahoo Financial.  

The recent news concerning the outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico, and the subsequent cases in the United States in California, Texas, and Kansas, and now suspected cases in New York, has brought anew the fear of an uncontrolled influenza pandemic.  Thankfully, all of the victims in the United States have recovered. We hope that the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, is able to control the spread of this flu.

In the interest of public health, please read and observe the following actions that you and your family can take everyday to help prevent the spread of the germs that cause the respiratory illnesses like influenza. (These tips come from a state Department of Homeland Security e-mail to its emergency responders.)

1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

2.    Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

3.   If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from    infecting them. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

The Centers for Disease Control are posting all the latest information on their wesite at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine 

Be careful out there.

The Titanic's loss is perhaps the best known maritime disaster. One is hardpressed to find someone who is not aware of at least the basic history: "Unsinkable" ship hits iceberg, sinks in a few hours, 1500+ lost, not enough lifeboats available. The discovery of the wreck site by Bob Ballard in 1984 and the subsequent pictures and artifact recovery brought a resurgence in interest, resulting in a 1997 Hollywood blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and the display of artifacts in exhibits worldwide.

When observing the picture, above, of a rack of virtually undisturbed china as it was discovered resting on the ocean's bottom, it is hard not to get chills. Captain Edward John Smith certainly did not foresee the end of these dishes placed on board before the voyage.

Enter the Paranormal aspect of the Titanic. There have been many reports of spirit or ghost activity at the exhibitions of Titanic artifacts: many are traveling, some are now permanent museum displays. The Orlando, Florida display, Titanic the Exhibition, opened in 1999, has been the site of many paranormal haunting activities. Modern actors portray the passengers and crew of the ill-fated White Star Lines ship. These actors have reported seeing ghostly apparitions, mostly of women. They have reported the faint scent of seawater in the air. Perhaps the most 'famous' spirit to haunt the exhibit is that of young (then) seven year old Catherine Johnston. This delightfully charismatic girl reportedly loves to romp and play, pulling on the dress hems of unsuspecting visitors. A favoritie ball of hers is often seen moved from its place in the display.

TAPS, of Ghost Hunters fame on the Sci Fi (Science Fiction Channel) TV show, has jumped on the Titanic Haunting bandwagon. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, the founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, have produced a new episode filmed at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, current home of yet another Titanic relics exhibition. The episode debuts on Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

In October of 2008, the Atlanta Lournal-Constitution reported that members of the Rosewell Georgia Paranormal Investigations group were invited by the Georgia Aquarium to perform an investigation into the paranormal activities reported by visitors and staff. “We’ve had a number of volunteers report strange encounters when they were working the Titanic exhibit,”  spokeswoman Meghann Gibbons for the Aqauriuim said. The local group is reported to have captured recordings of spirits, and sightings of "shawdowy" figures roaming the exhibit halls.

Can it be that by retrieving artifacts from the bottom of the sea, where the Titanic has rested in peace with her many victims for decades, has aroused the spirits of those who lost their lives on that frigid night in 1912? All human emotions were manifested in abundance that night: Fear, courage, betrayal, hope, love, devotion, and many others. Hauntings are felt by many to be the continued release of emotions. Are the emotional energy fields still in place in and around the artifacts the source of the apparitions being reported at the many Titanic exhibitions?

Look at the photos from the sea floor. Imagine the emotions of the victims. How can that energy not be still strongly tied to what has been returned from the watery grave?

This is a common question that we get asked.

 Your Guardian Angel and your Spirit Guide are different.  An Angel has never lived a physical life on earth.  Angels may appear to us and they may use a physical form so they don't scare us.  This is most reported in car accidents where someone can remember a person being there and helping them, and then when they are ready  to thank the person  for helping, the person is no longer around.

 Your Spirit Guide is the spirit of someone who has lived a life on earth and have taken on the task of helping you thru this life.  They know the plans and accomplishments that you are here for.  They will gently lead you to this path.  They never take control, and you always make your own decisions.  They will not appear in human form, but they make contact in different ways.  Such as you knowing who is on the phone before you answer it, or knowing it is going to ring.  Until you have developed a way to make contact with your Guide, you will not realize that a lot of your intuitiveness is from your Guide.