Becki Coats was proud of them, but she didn’t want anyone to see pictures of herself with her new grandchild.

“I couldn’t stand thinking about people saying, ‘Oh, my, what happened to you,’” she said. “Well, I’d become a fat, cuddly grandmother who cannot play with her own grandbaby, that’s what.”

Coats weighed 230 pounds. At 49, she was too heavy — and sidelined with herniated disks and a bum knee — to do her job as a firefighter, so her bosses gave her a desk job. But her physical pain was no match for the anguish to come when over the next year and a half her teenage son died in a car wreck, her mother died and she lost a friend to cancer.

“It was just constant bad news. I was told that if I didn’t lose weight, I was going to lose my job entirely,” she said.

Required to attend a work fitness program, Coats learned about Sparkpeople.com, a free fitness social networking site that, like Facebook, relies on its users to sustain it. They provide basic biographical information and weight loss goals and are automatically transferred to Spark Teams, small chat groups bound by similar shape-up goals.

The ad-supported site lets users build their own Sparkpages — which can be linked to Facebook — and have access to the lively written Sparkblog, which offers advice from certified trainers, the latest health articles and studies and recipes.

When Coats logged on she was connected with seven other women in a “40-something with 25 to 49 pounds to lose” message board. She quickly felt a kinship with these women she’d never met.

“They were talking about life — jobs, husbands, their kids, traveling, getting to know each other like they were your girlfriends sitting at your kitchen table having coffee,” she said. “It’s not like you sign on and it’s all about ‘Drop that weight!’

“Here were women who are going to encourage me to get off my butt but weren’t going to judge me if I didn’t look like a swimsuit model in six months,” she said.

Coats and several of the other women in her chat group met for the first time earlier this month to run the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, California. Each ran a different distance, and they met at the finish line.

“It meant a lot to us to do this together, something that each of us never considered that we’d ever do,” she said.

Spark was launched 10 years ago by a wealthy early eBay investor. It is among the best known secrets in the weight-loss world. According to Comscore, it’s the most visited fitness site with 7 million users (162 million page views in January), but Spark has taken a low-key, word-of-mouth approach compared to its big bucks advertising competitors like Weight Watchers.

“Spark is built on a truth that people love feeling like they’re needed on a team,” said founder Chris Downie, who, along with two business partners, sold his late 1990s online auction site to eBay for a reported $72 million and started Spark.

Power Publicity

Here’s what makes sites like Spark and others so popular.  The anonymity between “chatters” serves as a motivator for otherwise exercise phobes.  When you create a chat room among like-minded individuals, whether you are discussing how to make invitations or exchanging recipes, you create a common bond.  But with the anonymity between you and your online friends, you are more open to others’ ideas and comments, whether they are critiquing your idea for talking birth announcements, or offering advice about teen drug use.  You are more likely to listen and join them on a hike or a run when you’ve already established a connection in some other way.

Downie spends much of his day in his Silicon Valley home messaging back and forth with Spark users or reading what people are talking about in the Sparkcafe. (On February 3, among the 798,784 cafe chatters, nearly 10,000 people were involved in a “Should you eat breakfast?” thread.)

“I always had shyness and anxiety as a kid, and I wanted to create something that would allow users to remain comfortably anonymous if they wanted but still connect,” Downie said.

“The key to me is that I felt supported and not judged,” said Jennifer Lang, an upstate New York psychotherapist who is part of the group. After having her fourth child at 41, Lang weighed 228 pounds.

“I had not exercised in 20 years,” she said. “Really. In 20 years. It just wasn’t a part of my life until it had to become my life or else.”

She found Spark while surfing the Internet and joined other Spark groups, including the pointedly named “Mothers with 2-year-olds.” She faithfully filled in her nutrition tracker every day, a function that not only automates calories but tells you when you type in “Dannon yogurt” what the heck’s really in that container and whether it’s really good for you. It also provides ideas for substitute meals. Spark’s software won’t allow someone to program a diet less than 1,200 calories a day.

A year later, Lang is 50 pounds lighter.

Stories like Lang’s and Coats’ are ubiquitous on Spark. CNN.com signed on to the site and messaged with several users who said they’d shed 5 to 100 pounds.

Many said they didn’t even mind being sent the flurry of Spark e-mails they say didn’t strike them as spam. A few examples: “Where to find the nearest running trail near your home” and “5 Ways to Avoid Hitting the Snooze.” A hip and glute stretch video was short and direct, and another e-mail containing a low-cal recipe did not, like so many in its genre, produce food that tastes like cardboard.

As Lang got healthier, Tammy Rones signed onto the women’s chat group as “Marathon Mom,” even though the 49-year-old’s problems with weight and a clubbed foot sidelined her from most sports over the past few years.

“I never got past being that little girl who thought she couldn’t run,” she said, describing how she would watch Ironman competitions with amazement at the monster triathlon. A trainer told her about Sparkpeople.

Shortly after registering, Spark “woggers” (runners who walk) began sending her instant messages, motivating her to join a real-life running club to work on her foot. Months later, in a burst of extra motivation, Rones completed a 2.4 mile ocean swimming competition and 150-mile bike ride. She also started competing in Spark’s online 5K and 10K races where users post their real-life mileage. It might take a week, but in the virtual races, the first one to complete the total distance wins.

“I’ve always had a competitive side, but Spark has given me the chance to appreciate my successes as opposed to comparing myself to everyone else,” Rones said after running the half portion of the Surf City marathon. “I don’t need to look at a magazine anymore and say, ‘Oh I need to strive for that.’ I’m a size 12, not a size 6, and I’m happy with that, that’s OK.”

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My Take: I love the idea of urban meet ups, I don’t care if it’s to talk about Greek apparel, how to craft or make custom bowls.  The idea of a bunch of strangers in real time meeting up to share common interests after creating cyber-connections is fascinating to me.

I have friends who get online every day to talk with people half way across the world about everything from taking photographs for making kids stationary, to the meaning behind the symbols on a Greek shirt.  Women especially benefit from online communities, particularly when it comes to legal issues.  With other women on line to talk to and share ideas or trade experiences with, they arm themselves with information on how to do things like search for a alimony attorney.  Maybe one woman has experience hiring and working with a divorce lawyer and another is about to start the process but not sure what the costs are, what questions to ask on a first visit, or what to expect going forward.  These online connections build strength, confidence and friendships, and, if the chatters decide to take it a step further and join a reading club at a local Starbucks, run a marathon in Jamaica, or take over a golf course for a three-day convention, I say more power to them.

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Other Resources

Access to Dentists Sometimes Restricted

A new report suggests that a shocking thirty-three million people currently live in an area that where dentists are scarce and do not have access to someone close by in the dental profession. In addition, some areas have dentists who do not provide the range of services people require after receiving Florida health insurance quotes and setting up an insurance plan that includes coverage for dentistry. The statistics include almost five million children who went without dental care in the last year due to a dentistry shortage and statistics also suggest that a full two-thirds of retired individuals did not have dental health care coverage.

Nostalgic Signs

This retailer realizes not all people want wood propellers or any aviation gift for that matter, brass bells, lake house signs or even the coolest hockey gift there is. These best sellers only scratch the surface of what you will find at online store. But the vendor is pretty sure you will not find such an eclectic group of nostalgic products anywhere else.  In fact, you can find personalized bar signs on the website.  Admittedly, they didn’t invent nostalgic wood signs, but they like to think they have the best combination of price and selection in the sign making industry.

A Marketing Guarantee

One retailer is unlike any other online company.  Other online companies just SELL promotional products.   They are ready to help you with all of your advertising, employee recognition, special event, trade show, fundraising, corporate gifts, promotional giveaways, imprinted pens and other giveaway needs.  They are your partners in promotion!  They have worked with organizations of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, universities and non-profits.  This retailer can help you generate excitement and build brand awareness with imprinted promotional items tailored to your event!  Your satisfaction is guaranteed!  They want to be your promotions partner and will go that extra mile to earn your business.

Garage Floor Epoxy Kits

There are many ways to cheaply epoxy something and very few ways to do it right so you never have to read do anything!  One vendor has sold over 300,000 DYI epoxy kits and millions of gallons of epoxy to military, industrial, commercial and residential users.  They specialize in garage floor mats and epoxy flooring.  Remember, just because it says epoxy paint on the label does not mean it is a real epoxy product!  Most of these type of products are water based latex or oil based enamel paint that have epoxy additives or some form of cheaper hybrid solids like cycloaliphatic.  This vendor even sells garage floor coating that you can use instead of mats.

Skin and Aging

Dr. Alkaitis will tell you that skin care is not something that is reserved for ‘old people’!  You should start caring for your skin at a young age. In fact, the younger you start using quality natural skin care products, the greater the benefit and the longer you will be able to delay the signs of ageing.  Remember your skin ages throughout your entire life.  You can start by using Perfect Organics body wash that will give you some of the benefits ‘as’ you grow older. You should take preventive measures to protect your skin. Cleansing and moisturizer are the two important things that you need to do regularly on your skin.

Source: Dallas Morning News

Model Cindy Crawford is extending her brand with a new line of fine jewelry priced from $79 to $299 that will be exclusive to J.C. Penney beginning in April.

The One Kiss by Cindy Crawford collection will launch with 45 pieces. Necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings are made from sterling silver and gold-plated silver featuring a henna symbol that means “to kiss.” Some pieces have diamonds, smoky quartz, lemon quartz, garnet-colored rhodolite and deep purple iolite.

This is the 44-year-old model turned entrepreneur’s second venture with Plano-based Penney. Last year, Penney started selling her Cindy Crawford Style brand of home furnishings and accessories, a line that offers window coverings to recently added outdoor furniture.

Crawford isn’t just lending her name, said Pam Mortensen, Penney’s senior vice president and general merchandise manager for fine jewelry. “She really has a customer focus. It’s a true collaboration. Everything in the line is something she would wear.”

In an interview, Crawford said she visits Penney’s headquarters every other month. “I feel like I’m in business school,” she said.

Star Power
Crawford isn’t the first famous model or actress to delve into the retail world.  Products ranging from wickless candles and wall mats to sofas and perfume are being sold under the names of some of the fashion and movie world’s most beautiful women.  Former model Kathy Ireland has a firmly established line of furniture and home décor products ranging from sofas to window coverings, and even former Charlie’s Angle Jacklyn Smith has a retail clothing line she’s been running successfully through K-Mart.

Working with Penney to bring merchandise with style but at affordable prices speaks to her blue-collar upbringing in DeKalb, Ill., she said. “I don’t want to put my name on a line that only a few people can afford.”

Penney plans to promote the jewelry heavily for Mother’s Day. Crawford said the symbol resonated with her because of its meaning. It’s a universal love symbol, yet “also appropriate for children to give to their mothers or good friends to give to each other,” she said.

As a luxury category, jewelry sales were hit hard during the recession. It recovered some at Christmas, but that’s all the more reason to give shoppers an affordable alternative, Mortensen said. “We may add gold later in the year, but silver jewelry has been hot sellers at Tiffany and David Yurman for years.”

This isn’t Crawford’s first jewelry connection. She worked with Kay Jewelers for several years and is associated with Omega watches.

One Kiss is Penney’s first exclusive fine jewelry brand, but one of several throughout the store in recent years as Penney steps up its style.

This fall, Penney will add Liz Claiborne-branded merchandise throughout the store under an agreement announced last year, Mortensen said. It will include a line of Liz watches.AT A GLANCE One Kiss products

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My Take: I’m not a big fan of brand names, but I do think it’s pretty savvy of these former glamour girls to take their hard-earned money and create a business with it.  Looks, after all, will fade, but money has staying power.  I know the business model for some of these companies they are starting is pretty formatted and, in many cases, they drop their names on a product line and sit back and watch the sales figures.  But with Crawford, the products sound like high-quality and she sounds like she’s pretty involved in the R&D development process, which makes her seem smarter than the average supermodel.

I’ve got no idea how you can make money off of selling candles, but there are some great new wickless candles from Scentsy that are fun to sell as home-party products.  You get your girls together and have food and drinks and make sales in the process.  Moms are making legitimate living’s selling Silpada jewelry and weaving in their home life around their “jobs.”  It’s never been easier to become an entrepreneur, thanks to the Internet and the new franchise business models out there.

Speaking of franchises, if you are thinking about buying a franchise and are scoping out locations to build a new store from the ground up, you might want to think about hiring an experienced construction software company to help.  What a good construction estimate software plan can do for you is help you figure out your construction costs in advance so you don’t waste money needlessly, save time on your plans and create the most efficient hard box location you can.

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Other Resources

Optical Display Options

There are a variety of options for creating unique and beautiful optical display for your business or office and the assistance of a lighting professional can help to turn your basic floor plan into something pleasing to the eye. Utilizing personalized recommendations for your office or company space will ensure you obtain the correct lightning for your particular business as no two spaces are alike and every store or company has its own selling philosophy. Businesses such as supermarkets, florists, art galleries, and beauty salons can benefit just as much from personalized lightning recommendations as can any homeowner with a space to light.

School Support

Does your kids’ school have a good wall graphics design and logo on the gymnasium floor?  They make excellent padded wall mats that you can have custom designed to feature your school’s mascot or even a product, like Cindy Crawford jewelry or J-Lo’s perfume.

The Pick Gun

The pick gun has evolved from the old bent wire model that was common decades ago and many different versions of the lock picking gun have come and gone.  But most modern versions use a specific manual design that defines the lockpicking gun category and this design is virtually unchanged in models made by HPC, Lockaid, Southord, Brockhage and others.  The truly fine model by Lockaid is much in evidence in the lockout kits of professional Locksmiths, simply because it is a proven commodity with a real Lifetime Warranty like many lockpicks. Brockhage has followed suit by offering the same guarantee on their BPG-10 model. HPC has long held that their HPG-10 is the best around.

A Real Texas Lawyer

It is well known that Texas has real cowboys.  However, many do not realize that they also have real Austin family law lawyers, lawyers that provide comprehensive client service to individuals with legal issues.  They handle such a wide variety of issues such as divorce, child custody, alimony, and even bankruptcy and personal injury.  In Austin TX divorce lawyer can give you highly sophisticated legal advice that reflects their knowledge of state and federal law that applies to individuals as well as the business market environment.  They will provide legal solutions to your legal issues.

The Los Angeles Court Reporter

Today, the court reporter has many names, court reporter, stenotype reporter, digital reporter or transcriber.  These are the people who transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, typically using machine shorthand or a voice silencer and digital recorder to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other proceedings. There are 3 methods of live court reporting – digitally recorded, machine shorthand and voice writing. Machine shorthand allows the stenotype reporter to keep up with the flow of speech so that no words are missed. The voice writer repeats verbatim what attorneys, witnesses and others are saying in a proceeding. Digitally recorded verifies the written record as verbatim in Los Angeles Court reports.

Flame Resistant Clothing

When those people think flame resistant clothing, they think of firemen and what they wear when they fight a fire such as the flame retardant coats every firemen wears.  These coats reduce the flammability of materials by blocking the fire physically from harming the firemen.  In fact, one manufacturer, Carhartt, has always designed their product to protect from cold temperatures and harsh weather conditions. They have also always made their clothing to last whether you work in the farm fields, oil refineries or are doing jobs around the house.

Prom Night in America

The search for perfect prom dresses is usually done in groups.  That is because in America, prom night is one of the most important nights for every female high school junior and senior.  The prom dress code is usually limited to formal or special occasion dresses and tuxedos.  Most high schools hold one or two proms, a junior prom for those finishing their 11th grade year and a senior prom for those who are graduating high school or a combination. When the junior and senior proms are combined, the junior class will usually plan, organize and even decorate for the prom.