A History of Chafing Dishes

Chafing dishes have been around for millennia and are a sort of indoor barbecue set in the form of charcoal-burning braziers and, possibly, the forerunner to the fondue set. Beautifully crafted bronze chafing dishes were found in the ruins of Pompeii, showing they were in during the first century AD. They were highly prized by the Romans at their lavish banquets and later mentioned in historical letters dating to 1520, when the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, described to Charles V their profuse usage for keeping plates and dishes warm during sumptuous banquets for hundreds of gormandizing noblemen at the height of the Aztec empire. The sixteenth century baroque painter, Diego Velazquez, portrayed a woman preparing a meal of eggs in a chafing dish and Louis XV's kitchens used them to keep the dainty dishes for the epicurean courtiers piping hot. By the seventeenth century this form of cookware was being documented in household inventories in America.

Velasquez's chafing dish appears to be earthenware, but silver chafing dishes used as plate-warmers were mentioned during the reign of Queen Anne, at the end of the seventeenth century. It was George II, around the middle of the eighteenth century, who had the foresight to put handles on the chafing dishes, which must have made life so much easier for the cooks and scullery maids of the time! The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, exhibits a gleaming copper chafing dish with brass fittings dating to circa 1895. Copper is an ideal metal because it is hard-wearing and conducts heat evenly while the brass handles remain cool enough to lift and move around.

In the 1950s the hostess trolley was designed. This was essentially a large chafing dish (or series of dishes) on wheels in a wooden surround to imitate a piece of furniture. It was thought to liberate women from the kitchen, enabling her to prepare food in advance and keep it warm, while she entertained the guests along with her husband. These fell out of fashion relatively quickly as the penchant for formal dining declined along with tastes for food left standing on a hot plate for several hours! With the demise in popularity of the hostess trolley came the revival of the chafing dish, more versatile, space-saving, portable and attractive than the great wooden tiered hearse for plates.

Nowadays a silver chafing dish (or at least, silver plated) is a popular accessory to any dinner table and can cost as little as $15.00 and whether your taste runs to Princess House Fantasia collectibles or traditional silver salver serving trays, there will be a chafing dish out there to match your decor and tastes and make entertaining friends for dinner just that little bit easier for you.

About The Author

This writer also enjoys write articles regarding items such as stainless steel chafing dish and shopping.

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The Best Way to Help Yourself Look Good and Feel Great

When people feel unattractive they move in a more lethargic or despondent way. Often less care is taken in dressing smartly, personal hygiene can become unimportant. By digging deep and finding the motivation to take more care and make an effort it becomes possible to start looking good and feeling better about oneself.
Let's look at how this can happen:
- Become a good friend to yourself. Spend money on yourself from time to time, buy a treat, watch films in the afternoon, indulge yourself occasionally. Learning to say 'no' can be an important step. Many people feel guilty if they say 'no' to others, but sometimes it is an important way of putting boundaries and parameters in place. There are times when you need to remind people of the importance of treating you well, that you need to be respected and considered. Improving your confidence levels helps you to look good, stand tall and feel great.
- When you make the effort to look nice and dress smartly other people often comment and give positive praise. This in itself can be enough to boost your confidence and make you smile. It makes the effort worthwhile and can encourage you to continue looking as good as you can. Review your look from time to time. Be aware of when you last updated your hairstyle, makeup or wardrobe and be receptive to change.
- Remind yourself of all the good things in your life. Do you have a pleasant home, caring friends, good neighbours, supportive family members? Do you live near to lovely places to visit, the countryside, the beach? What about the views, wildlife, culture? Count your blessings and focus on the good things in your life. When you remind yourself of the positive things available you can then commit to enjoying them again. Doing pleasurable, rewarding activities enables you to relax, look good and start to feel more motivated.
- Think of all the good things about yourself. Are you kind, loyal, a good friend? Do you make an effort to help and be supportive of others, have integrity, be generous? All these are positive traits that may be so much a part of your personality that there are many examples you can recall. Write down examples as a reference to remind yourself. Are you a hard worker, a good cook, make a regular effort to commit to the gym, be a good friend or relative? Boosting your personal sense of confidence and wellbeing is a positive component in looking good and feeling great.
- Bring colour into your life. Whether it be clothing, decor, paintings, introducing colour can really succeed in raising your spirits. Even a bright scarf, tie, belt, pair of socks can make all the difference to your mindset. Brightly coloured cushions and paintings in your home can make the place feel fresh and inviting. They introduce a welcome note.
- Smell and fragrance is important too. Using scented candles, cologne, lovely oils in the bath can lift your spirits, especially after a hard day's work or as the evenings draw shorter. Bring fresh flowers and plants into your home. They are an important way of de-stressing and relaxing at the end of the day.
- Look after yourself by eating healthy meals, commit to sleep at sensible times, drink plenty of water and take exercise whenever possible. Put yourself in your diary and tell yourself that you are important and worth it. It can be all to easy to rush around after others, at work, children, friends or family, and end up exhausted and irritable. Looking after yourself helps you to look good, become more relaxed and as such, feel better.
Looking good, doing the things you enjoy and being with the people who support you and make you feel good are all positive ways to commit to a good quality of life. The more calm and relaxed you are, the better you look and feel.

Susan Leigh is a Counsellor and Hypnotherapist who works with stressed individuals to promote confidence and self belief, with couples in crisis to improve communications and understanding and with business clients to help support the health and motivation levels of individuals and teams.
Further information, advice and articles are available.
For more information see http://www.lifestyletherapy.net

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The Best Internet Marketing Strategies for Coaches

Read this article to know the best internet marketing strategies that you can use when promoting your coaching business in the World Wide Web.
Start by making sure that your website has what it takes to capture the attention of your visitors. You don't want these people to leave your website without knowing who you are and what you offer. They'll surely stay a bit longer if your website is well-designed, engaging, and full of useful content. In addition, you need to ensure that your site speaks volumes about your expertise in your field and your professionalism. This is the first step in winning the trust and hearts of your visitors.
Secure better rankings on Google and other major search engines. There's a reason why hundreds and thousands of internet marketers are spending so much time, energy, and lots of money to get their website listed on top of search page results; it's the best way to boost web traffic by up to a hundredfold. There are so many different ways to get this type of ranking. Start by doing on and off page optimization, by building lots of high quality inbound links, and by promoting your website through PPC advertising and search engine marketing.
Learn and master the ropes of email marketing. Every person from all points of the globe has at least one email address. With that, it's safe to say that the fastest way to reach out to them is through email marketing. Through this, you'll be able to send them email ads or newsletters. However, keep in mind that you cannot just send these people anything without their permission. You don't want them to feel that you're spamming them otherwise, you'll lose their trust and business in a heartbeat.
Get the help of affiliate marketers. Obviously, you'll be able to reach out to more people if you get freelance marketers to help you promote your website and your coaching programs in the online arena. Hire those who have the needed expertise, experience, and exposure. You will need to give them pre-determined commission each time they make a sale or each time they're successful in getting interested parties to visit your website.
Hire an internet marketing consultant. If you think that you're not getting the process right and if you feel that you'll need direction from people who know the ropes of internet marketing, I would recommend that you hire an internet marketing consultant. I can guarantee you that you'll benefit from his experience and expertise.
Attract more traffic and build a responsive email marketing list. Be very aggressive when promoting your website and when attracting traffic. Ensure that you capture the attention of those people who are truly interested on what you offer. Get them to sign up to your newsletters and make regular follow-ups until such time that you're able to convert them from potential clients to paying customers.
Use blog marketing. Create your own blog where you can offer your potential clients with useful information and where you can easily get in touch with them. Blogging is now highly recommended after Google's algorithm change.

By the way, do you want to learn more about how I teach my clients to build simple coaching programs that create much more revenue than just creating information products?
If so, download my free guide here: How to Sell Coaching
Or do you want to learn more about using articles like this to drive traffic to your website and increase online conversions?
If so, I suggest you check this out: article marketing traffic.

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

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How to Use a Membership Website Profitably

To use a membership website profitably, you need three things: subscription site software, subscribers and products. Many people believe that it's sufficient just to have the subscribers, but if you fail to make use of them then you are leaving a good part of your potential income on the table.
Let's have a close look at each of these three components, and how to use them to your best advantage.
The Subscription Website
First the subscription site itself. The site should be managed by a good membership site package that enables you to make it uniquely yours and not just another member site, looking the same as everybody else's does that is using the same software. You should be able to use your own logo, graphics and name so that you brand it as exclusively yours. This is a very important aspect when you create a membership site.
There are subscription website packages available online that enables you to run it from your own domain if you wish to, and to use your own site as the membership site. That offers complete customization, so there is no sense of a loss of identity or branding. Each site produced using it will be unique, and you can also use the same package to run a number of different domains and membership sites.
It is very important that your site is populated with information of interest to your members. Try to mix it up a bit, and not have it all in the same format: such as all articles, or just a list of videos. Offer some articles, some videos and perhaps one or two PDF eBooks for them to download. Anything that gives the impression of value for money is good. Simple instructional videos are easy to make using a webcam.
Keep in mind that your members will be paying you every month, and expect to get value for their subscription fee or they will go. Your content must change monthly, or at least be expanded with something new each month to offer value for the money they are paying.
The Membership
You must attract members, which means promotion. You should promote your member site just as you would any other product. There are several ways to do that, including blogging, article marketing, search engine marketing and using social network sites. You could set up a Facebook fan page on your niche, with a link to the membership website included.
You should respect your members when you have them, and offer them good content. Pull yourself back each month, look at your site dispassionately and decide if you would pay the membership fee for what you are offering them each month. Perhaps you have a unique form of software that people will use regularly, and is worth the monthly fee - examples of that type of subscription site run by others include Wordtracker and some article distribution services.
Unless your product is of that type, you will have to keep on updating your site and adding fresh content. Members might agree that what they get on joining is worth the fee, but why should they keep paying you if nothing changes next month, and the month after that?
The Products
If you are to use a membership website profitably, or as profitably as you possibly can, then you should also sell products as well as offer information. Yes, you get paid each month by your members, but keep in mind that you now have a captive audience, so why not make use of them and sell them products that should interest them? Don't stuff products down their throats, but have them available for any member that might consider them useful.
There are membership software packages available that you don't purchase outright, but use by subscription. Your first few members will easily cover your monthly fee for using it, and in return you get the membership site software plus new products added each month.
Some of these products can be customized as though you originated them. You should also seek out your own affiliate products, from ClickBank for example, and you might even add a few CPA banner ads that relate to the niche. Check out Offer Vault for good CPA offers to add yet another stream of income to your site. There are many ways to monetize a membership site including selling advertising space once your membership has grown to a reasonable size. You can find out how much to charge online - it is usually based on your membership numbers.
These are the three important elements of a profitable membership website: the membership software, the membership and the products. The content is also of extreme importance, because without fresh content appearing each month, you won't have a membership. If you look after each of these three, then your subscription website will be profitable and you will be ready to get started on your next member site. That's the secret of online success - find out what works and then repeat it, again and again.

Information on how to create a membership website is available from the Member desk site at MemberDesk.com where you will also find one of the most powerful membership software packages available online. Member Desk is the authority on everything membership website!

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The Best Internet Marketing Strategies for Coaches

Read this article to know the best internet marketing strategies that you can use when promoting your coaching business in the World Wide Web.
Start by making sure that your website has what it takes to capture the attention of your visitors. You don't want these people to leave your website without knowing who you are and what you offer. They'll surely stay a bit longer if your website is well-designed, engaging, and full of useful content. In addition, you need to ensure that your site speaks volumes about your expertise in your field and your professionalism. This is the first step in winning the trust and hearts of your visitors.
Secure better rankings on Google and other major search engines. There's a reason why hundreds and thousands of internet marketers are spending so much time, energy, and lots of money to get their website listed on top of search page results; it's the best way to boost web traffic by up to a hundredfold. There are so many different ways to get this type of ranking. Start by doing on and off page optimization, by building lots of high quality inbound links, and by promoting your website through PPC advertising and search engine marketing.
Learn and master the ropes of email marketing. Every person from all points of the globe has at least one email address. With that, it's safe to say that the fastest way to reach out to them is through email marketing. Through this, you'll be able to send them email ads or newsletters. However, keep in mind that you cannot just send these people anything without their permission. You don't want them to feel that you're spamming them otherwise, you'll lose their trust and business in a heartbeat.
Get the help of affiliate marketers. Obviously, you'll be able to reach out to more people if you get freelance marketers to help you promote your website and your coaching programs in the online arena. Hire those who have the needed expertise, experience, and exposure. You will need to give them pre-determined commission each time they make a sale or each time they're successful in getting interested parties to visit your website.
Hire an internet marketing consultant. If you think that you're not getting the process right and if you feel that you'll need direction from people who know the ropes of internet marketing, I would recommend that you hire an internet marketing consultant. I can guarantee you that you'll benefit from his experience and expertise.
Attract more traffic and build a responsive email marketing list. Be very aggressive when promoting your website and when attracting traffic. Ensure that you capture the attention of those people who are truly interested on what you offer. Get them to sign up to your newsletters and make regular follow-ups until such time that you're able to convert them from potential clients to paying customers.
Use blog marketing. Create your own blog where you can offer your potential clients with useful information and where you can easily get in touch with them. Blogging is now highly recommended after Google's algorithm change.

By the way, do you want to learn more about how I teach my clients to build simple coaching programs that create much more revenue than just creating information products?
If so, download my free guide here: How to Sell Coaching
Or do you want to learn more about using articles like this to drive traffic to your website and increase online conversions?
If so, I suggest you check this out: article marketing traffic.

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6642603

Make Your Website Profitable

Running a website can be a heavy expense for many people. With the cost of webhosting, shopping carts, hiring a web designer and/or graphic designer as well as everything else, there is an on-going amount of money being invested into a website. Business owners can make money their website profitable on many different levels, depending on the type of site that they are hosting.
Blogs & Information Sites
Blogs and information sites have become increasingly more popular as many people prefer to find information on the internet. If you have chosen a highly targeted topic such as "internet marketing" or "food allergies" for your site then you will easily gain the traffic that you want. There are a few ways to make this type of website profitable.

1. Membership.If your site has good quality information then you can place a membership access widget on the site that will charge people in order to access the site. For most informational sites a rate of $4.95 to $9.95 per year is acceptable.
2. AdSense. Many businesses already use pay-per-click advertising to help promote their business. By creating an AdSense account and adding the Google AdSense widget to you website you will be able to generate revenue based on the number of advertisements that are shown on your site and clicked on by the viewer. If you have a lot of web traffic or have multiple sites, AdSense can easily generate a substantial profit for your website.
3. Advertising Space.Today's internet businesses enjoy being able to advertise on various websites that feature similar content to what their company is about. You can sell advertising space by the month in the form of banner ads on your website to make it more profitable.

Sales Websites
When selling products and services on the internet you want to make an income. That is the primary goal of any internet marketing and sales business. The layout of your website can drastically alter whether your company is getting the business or the competition. Boost your appeal of your website with the following tips so you will have a more profitable sales website.

1. Keep it Clean.There is nothing worse than an unorganized website that has information and clutter on it. This is an instant turn off for web viewers. Each one will want to see exactly what is available to them. The homepage of our website should feature minimal written content and have an easy to navigate layout for the visitor.
2. Promote Products. Customers do not want to navigate through a sea of products to find the specific item they are looking for. Help boost the overall concept of your products by having a featured product section on the homepage. This should display two or three of your most popular items. Customers will click on it to see more and be brought to your webstore.

Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the most important aspect of any website. If your site is not optimized with the right keywords and content then consumers will be unable to find it. If you are not sure how to optimize your website, hire a professional.

Are you looking for more information on "how to make your website profitable". Visit http://www.inboxatmgenerator.com today for a free ebook to download, "Inbox Cash Techniques".

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5 Ways to Not Fail at Online Business

Why do some people "make it", and achieve their goals, while others don't?
I find this topic fascinating. Across all areas of life, some people achieve greatness, while others never reach their goals.
For example, I read the disclaimer on a popular Internet Marketing training product the other day that said "99% of people who try this method will fail."
Really? 99% of people will fail?
That's crazy. Then I started to think about it... Yes. I believe that's true.
The majority of people who say they want something are not prepared to do what it takes to get it. This seems to be true in almost every aspect of life: business, fitness, weight loss, etc.
You want a 7 figure business? - SURE!
Want to do the work to get it? - No, thanks.
See, that's how it goes. Most people want stuff, but don't want to work for it.
We want money, success, fame, a thriving business, fitness, choices, and freedom. But we also want to sleep in, eat junk food, watch TV, gossip, and read trashy magazines. We want it all instantly, we don't want to pay much money for it, and we certainly don't want to have to work for it!
Something doesn't add up...
Despite what their fancy sales letters and seductive promotional video launches say, there are no Magic Buttons that deliver you instant riches when you install a WordPress plugin on your affiliate website.There are no Magic Pills that cause you to lose 50 pounds overnight while still eating donuts and candy.
There is, however, something else.
That 'something else' is the passion inside you that makes you plow through everything and anything to get where you want to be. You can have what you want if you're willing to make sacrifices to get it.
I think a lot of people don't want "it" that badly, and that's OK. This "online business" thing isn't for everyone. It's really, really hard work. It takes a TON of dedication and blood, sweat, and tears. Most of that happens behind the scenes, and no one ever sees all the gory details.
So, please understand, that it is OK if this is not for you. It is OK to have smaller goals that suit your family or your lifestyle. And it's fabulous if you can identify that now before your pour a whole lot of money and time into something that just isn't a good fit for you or your family.
But, if you are one of those people who has been wishing, hoping, dreaming of a successful business, and it hasn't arrived - now is the time to take a good, hard look at what you're doing (or NOT doing).
"You need to be doing lots of the right things, regularly, to build a solid business." (James Schramko)
What if this IS for you? What if you really DO want to build a six or seven figure business online? What should you know?
How I've built an online business that ROCKS...
1) Know what you want
There are a million and one different ways to make money. Which one will you choose? Is your overall goal to be well-known or a leader in your field? Or do you want to replace your current "job" income? Do you want to build a big business, with offices around the country?
You need to start somewhere. Start with knowing how you can help others.
What do you know that other people need to know?
What do your friends ask you about?
What do you talk about most?
Are you known in your circle of friends for something?
Can you teach that to others?
How can you serve the wider community with what you know?
The important point here is that this is not all about money. Yes, we all want and need to earn a living. But that is not enough. If you keep your focus purely on financial gain, you'll soon find this loses it's impact after awhile. Once you've paid off your debts, and you have a steady income, what will motivate you to keep striving for bigger things?
People who are extremely successful in business almost always have a bigger plan. They're striving for something HUGE, something bigger than themselves and their family. What are you striving for?
2) You must master the basics
If you're brand new to business, or internet business, you'd be very wise to learn the basics before you go any further. I highly recommend a free, comprehensive, online training program by Ed Dale called The Challenge. It is the best place to learn how to make your first dollar online.
I recommend these smart and honest people. They have a TON of excellent value to share: Lynn Terry of Clicknewz.com, James Schramko of Internet Marketing Speed.com, and Sandi Krakowski of A Real Change.com.
It takes most people years to learn the basics of building a solid online business. So, be patient with yourself. Learn one thing at a time, practice it, and then move on to the next thing. Now, you don't have to become an expert at everything, because eventually you'll be able to hire experts to help you in those areas. But when you're just starting out, it's important to understand the basics of an online business and what needs to be done.
Whatever you do, please find someone you trust to guide you. Read this post on avoiding the common pitfalls in the IM industry, and don't fall for the latest "shiny object" sales tactics.
Choose one or two leaders to follow in your field, and read everything they distribute, attend their events, join their coaching programs, be their best student. And that will bring you to the next step... FOCUS.
3) Focus on the activities that get results (ie: $$$ in the bank)
You're not in business if you're not making sales. And you can't make sales if you don't have a product. You can waste a whole year preparing your product, website, logo, auto-responders, Facebook page, etc. That, my friends, is not a business.
My suggestion is to get your product to the market as quickly as you possibly can - ask for feedback - and make changes as you go along. It isn't easy. It's scary, and a whole lot of hard work to get a product out to the market. Continuous improvement is important, but you must have something out there before you can improve on it.
My friend, James Schramko says "You're either the one reading the emails, or you're the one sending them.". Keep the focus well and truly where it belongs. What actions will bring you the best results? Yes, reading emails can be important. Just don't dedicate your entire day to consuming other people's information. Create the information.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Product creation is difficult. But it is the key to a long-term, sustainable business. Of course, other things bring results too... building a list, writing excellent blog posts, serving clients and customers, advertising, publishing great content, building your network, training your team, etc.
4) Ask yourself "What's next?"
Once I complete one project, I immediately ask myself "What's next?". Standing still will kill you and your business. Like a shark, you've got to keep moving to stay alive. Our brains are always searching for the next accomplishment, the next challenge.
I'm not suggesting you work like a crazy-person without ever taking a break. What I am suggesting is that you develop a VERY clear road-map for your business, and you work towards it with passion and diligence.
When you have a clear goal in mind, you're more motivated, inspired, and driven to accomplish the next thing on your list.
I have a list here on the wall with 14 new project ideas, and I add to it every week. In addition to that, I've already planned out my entire year for 2012, and I know once this current project is completed, we will start work on the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Get yourself a flip chart or a white board and start making a list of projects you'd like to complete this year.
5) Stay positive even when the $%!# hits the fan
There is no room for negativity here. Be kind to yourself. You're not alone. We are all human. We make mistakes. There is a lot you don't know yet. But, there is no point in getting all upset, or stressing over things that are beyond our control. Do your best. Be honest. Communicate clearly. And move on.
When things get really bad, call on your support network. Take action quickly, and resolve differences before they become gigantic problems. Stay out of gossip circles, and avoid negative, fake, and shady people at all costs.
I really hope these tips and learning from my experiences help you stay well ahead of the pack. And I'm sure there are about a hundred things I could have added in here that I forgot, or missed out on. And... as always.... I am sure some of you totally disagree with me, or think I've missed the point.
Whatever your thoughts, please share them with me here. This is a discussion... not a soap box.
What has helped you get through the rough patches? How do YOU keep going when it gets tough?
Please let me know your thoughts by commenting in the box below... I look forward to chatting with you! ^Jen

Jennifer Sheahan is the founder of The Facebook Ads Lab, a full-service ads agency specializing in Facebook PPC ads. The FBAdsLab provides ad campaign management, training, and mentor programs for marketers. The goal of the FBAdsLab is to help business owners learn all they need to know to be successful in advertising on Facebook; to take control of their traffic so they can stay ahead of their competition and be leaders in their field. Helping people understand Facebook marketing and delivering outstanding results are the most crucial aspects of the FBAdsLab mission.
http://www.fbadslab.com

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