Do you want to improve customer relationship management , but don’t know where to start? What practices should be adopted? What are the keys to success? Find out in this article what you need to know about customer relationship management.
What is the customer relationship?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a holistic approach to maintaining and improving the relationship between a business and its customers. It brings together a set of systems implemented at each stage of the sales cycle and at each point of contact between customers and the company. It therefore requires close coordination between the different departments of your company.
Why has customer relationship management become essential?
The customer is the raison d’être of any business. Indeed, without a customer, there is no business. That’s why it’s crucial to always put the customer at the center of your marketing and sales efforts .
Customer relationship management has many benefits, including:
- Improve the quality of service;
- Reduce costs;
- Build customer loyalty ;
- Increase sales, turnover and boost business performance ;
- Ensure the growth of your business.
Customer relationship management strategies and tools
There are many IT tools and applications to implement effective customer relationship management.
Use CRM software (Customer relationship management)
Customer Relationship Management is a customer relationship management approach. This approach gave its name to the management software: a tool that allows efficient management of customers thanks to an ergonomic and intuitive interface.
Above all, CRM makes it possible to centralize all customer data in the same platform accessible to the different members of your team (sales force, salespeople, marketers, communicators, etc.). Thus, all the information useful for monitoring each customer is grouped together: first name, last name, company, sector of activity, LinkedIn™ profile , contact details (email, telephone number, billing address, etc.), product purchased, date of purchase, last call, report of customer appointments , etc.
CRM is used throughout the relationship with the customer: from prospecting to sales and after-sales.
There are many free or paid tools on the market. Here is a list of CRMs:
- Microsoft dynamics crm software ;
- SalesForce (or Salescloud);
- Microsoft Dynamics 365;
Deploy a chat or call center to promote direct customer contact
Even if it has a recognized usefulness, the postal mail does not allow a direct and fast relationship with your customers. In order to streamline the often urgent expectations of your customers, the establishment of a real-time point of contact has become essential. To do this, deploy solutions such as online chat or a call center . In addition to offering immediate and easily accessible service, you provide your customers with a personalized relationship to answer their questions instantly.
An online chat assures you:
- personalization of responses with your customers;
- the collection of data and information on the expectations and needs of your customers;
- an improvement in your commercial efficiency and therefore in customer satisfaction.
Integrate email marketing to maintain customer relations
Email marketing is an effective way to build a lasting relationship with your customer. This is because personalized messages are sent to customers who have already made an order or purchase.
Email is a powerful tool that allows you to:
- Respond accurately to a request for information;
- Send information such as promotional offers;
- Create a relationship of trust by sharing useful advice with high added value in a Newsletter.
In order to save time and optimize your costs, you can use a marketing automation solution. This allows you to segment your database according to different criteria and to automate the distribution of your emails according to the different scenarios that you have identified.
Betting on an information system (IS) and fluid management
The management of the customer relationship (and of a company) encompasses a set of tasks at the marketing , administrative and commercial level. Thus a company is confronted with Big data , ie massive and varied data. The use of management software and artificial intelligence makes it possible to streamline the management and analysis of information in order to better understand the customers, and thus, better manage customer relations.
Many players offer innovative and reliable solutions for your information systems: CRM, accounting software, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), such as this service provider Apogea, a management software integrator and IT service provider.
Developing impeccable customer service
Customer service includes all the actions that a company deploys to support the customer throughout the sales process. It operates at different levels:
- Before the sale: provide useful information to customers and answer customer questions.
- During the sale: simplify administrative procedures: quote, contract, invoicing, guarantee, etc.
- After the sale: facilitate the use of the product/service sold: provide assistance with installation, ensure delivery, manage after-sales service, offer a loyalty program, etc.
All communication channels with the customer should be optimized and harmonized: email, telephone, website, social networks, etc. Your customer must be at the heart of all your marketing and communication actions.
Use social media to communicate with your customers
Social networks such as Facebook™, LinkedIn™ or Twitter™ are real communication channels. With the evolution of mores, digitalization and the development of the mobile Internet, the use of social media to communicate with a company or a customer is frequent. Just like the telephone or email, social networks are an effective way to manage customer relations.
By integrating social networks into your communication strategy , you have the possibility of:
- deliver high value-added content to help your customers through publications , posts, videos and articles;
- offer special offers;
- get in touch directly with people using messaging tools. For example, you can use LinkedIn™ messaging to chat with your business clients.
Conduct satisfaction surveys to assess the quality of your services and products
In order to evaluate the customer experience, offer satisfaction surveys or polls to your customers.
Field surveys have two main challenges:
- Measure customer satisfaction.
- Collect key information to improve your products, your articles, your services, your communication tools, your processes…
There are many online platforms to carry out your satisfaction surveys such as Google Forms, Typeforms, SurveyMonkey, etc.
The user experience is a set of sensations, emotions, perceptions and values experienced by a customer with regard to a brand and/or a product. It is felt throughout the customer journey: before, during and after the sale. Care should therefore be taken to optimize each point of contact between the customer and the brand.
Set up a FAQ, a simple solution to provide information to customers
Integrating frequently asked questions (FAQ) on your website or in your emails is a simple way to inform your prospects and customers about the questions they have. A good FAQ will not only improve your brand image , but also reduce the number of emails and calls from people looking for information.
Here are some tips for an effective FAQ:
- answer the questions that your potential clients and customers have;
- write simple and short answers using a vocabulary adapted to your target;
- structure the content in the form of questions / answers;
- name the section where your FAQ is located with a title “FAQ” or “Frequently Asked Questions”.
Customer relationship management, in conclusion
Customer relationship management allows you to better understand your customers and better meet their needs. It also helps you improve your profitability and turnover by boosting sales and reducing costs. Here are the solutions to adopt for a good customer relationship:
- Use CRM software to centralize all customer information;
- Promote direct and quick contact points such as a chat or a call center;
- Integrate email marketing into your communication actions;
- Betting on a fluid information and management system;
- Develop impeccable customer service;
- Use social networks to communicate with your customers;
- Conduct satisfaction surveys to retrieve key information;
- Set up a FAQ on your web pages (or in your emails)
Customer relationship management, to summarize in 5 questions
What are the principles of customer relations?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategic approach to managing customer interactions. CRM is based on three axes:
- The first axis is communication with customers in terms of messages sent, conversations held and the management of complaints.
- The second axis is a marketing strategy that includes the planning of marketing campaigns, their execution and the monitoring of results.
- The third axis is based on the commercial aspect of the customer relationship. That is to say the management of sales: offers, quotes and contracts.
What are the objectives of customer relationship management?
There are several objectives to managing your customer relationship well:
- Improve customer satisfaction, which is important for the reputation of the company, to limit the costs of return rates and to increase loyalty.
- Increase customer loyalty and therefore benefit from a favorable lever on the sustainability of the company.
- Get to know customers and their needs better, which makes it possible to offer them appropriate products and services.
- Improve the quality of the products and the service provided.
How to manage the customer relationship?
To manage a good customer relationship, it is recommended to:
- listening to what the customer wants and needs;
- make yourself available to him, and give him all the information he needs;
- listen to their criticisms, and try to use them to improve your collaboration;
- to collaborate with him as much as possible, and make him proposals that will really help him.
What is a good customer relationship?
A good customer relationship means ensuring the best user experience for your customer at all stages of the buying process and even after the sale. It is also a relationship in which both parties are in open and close communication, where both parties respect and appreciate each other, and where both parties try to collaborate in a win-win exchange.
What are the disadvantages of not managing your customer relationship?
There are many downsides to poor customer relationship management. First of all, a poorly informed or poorly served customer can quickly become a dissatisfied or even dissatisfied customer. The latter then tend to let those around them know and to spread negative opinions on social networks. This has repercussions on the image and reputation of the company. Second, poor customer service can lead to an immediate loss of revenue with the termination of commercial contracts. And finally, in the event of a major disagreement or dispute, poor customer relations can lead to legal consequences.


True, long lasting love is something we don’t see much of anymore.
This couple is the epitome of what every marriage should be.
They just celebrated their 69th anniversary together and are still so in love.
Mrs. Rose Marie’s advice on keeping a happy marriage, “never go to bed mad at each other.”
As we were cleaning up Mrs. Rose Marie didn’t know we were listening and Dr. H.R. mentioned he was going to change.
Big mom told him, “It’s so nice to see you in a suit, you look so handsome.”
“big dad, when you smile you look so much better”


In this article, we are going through marriage in Africa.
Marriage in Africa is a union between two or more individuals who have embarked on a journey to build a family and do life together. In this process, a man will pay dowery to the family of his soon wife and after the family of the girl is satisfied the two will be considered married. This union in Africa in all cases consists of one man who marries one or more wives and they are all recognized by the community and all the families involved.
In Southern Africa, marriage is an institution that serves quite several purposes. Looking at the set-up which was dominant back in the 70s, marriage was seen as an institution for childbearing to expand the family as much as the married couple could. Women were told when they were living in their homes that their core business in the family they are now joining was to bear as many children as possible. Also, marriage would bring a full workforce for the man when the children were born and were fully grown, they were the ones to work in the fields and produce food and wealth for the family. Men also in these setups were freely allowed to marry as many wives as they wished as long as they were capable of taking care of them and satisfying all of them which is referred to as polygamy.
Also, when it comes to the issue of whom to marry in Africa in some cultures the elders from both families, the man, and the girl are the ones to choose the perfect matches for their children. In this process, the elders put their heads together and arrange a match for their children when they see that they are now ripe for marriage. These people could be neighbors, close family friends, or even from extended families. Normally they know each other perfectly well and in doing this they believe they will be strengthening their bonds and relationships.
However, in other cultures within Africa, young adults are given a chance to explore and choose whom they want to do life with, to start a family with, and spend the rest of their lives with as husband and wife. In this type of marriage set up a woman chooses her life partner and introduces him to the elders of the family, starting with the aunties up until the introduction reaches the biological parents. In this type of marriage mostly the parents agree to the choice of their daughter and on the side of the man his parents also ought to respect his choice and decision, though there are a lot of misunderstandings surrounding this issue, it’s a story of another day’’. After the introduction, the man now comes to pay dowery which is in form of money, clothes, cows, and goats depending on the desire of his in-laws. Thereafter he is then given his wife and they go and start their own family separately. This type of marriage has become very popular among the young generation and they prefer it more since they are at liberty to choose their life partner
In conclusion, marriage is a perfect and sacred union which must be enjoyed and, in my view, young people should be given the liberty to choose their life partners with guidance from the elders also, for they know better due to their wisdom and experience


Lydia Heston is married to her long time love, but dealing with the devastation that they may never have children...
Miles finds an unexpected connection with Lydia, the only woman who fills up the spaces that had been empty for so long and who he can truly be himself with...
Will their fated meeting alert them to what they both lack the courage to face or will destiny intervene and disrupt
Short erotic romance story, about two strangers who find each other while out jogging in the park...
Allegra Kane is a novelist from the UK who writes about love, ambition, crisis, power and justice and the choices we make that shape our destiny. She has no formula for her novels, but writes stories that she would like to read.
You can find her reading, travelling or sipping on a chai latte when she’s
not busy working on her next release.
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This one I decided to draw by hand instead of using my laptop. I still feel more of a sense of control with a pencil. Enjoy!
The nature of the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens is subject to debate among historians, but I happen to agree with the evidence that points to their relationship being a romantic one. I have drawn Lams drawings such as this one for a long time (they're part of what inspired me to do this blog). This one I drew today for a blog posting by my historian sister, Megan Gackler, in which she discusses Hamilton and Laurens's relationship in detail. You can read her article here.


Friendship is one of the most rewarding things life has to offer, and I refuse to take it for granted.When I first saw you, I just wanted to be with you, to hug and kiss you until we both ran out of breath.You have covered up for me like how many times? I owe much to you.Siddharth holds a certification in Relationship Coaching and a masters degree in communication and journalism from the University of Hyderabad.We have come so far as individuals and as friends.We may be far apart from each other, but I know our bond is stronger than the distance between us.I guess following this rule worked out just fine for me as it led me to you.You make me better every single day.And it has to be mutual.Falling in love with you is the most amazing feeling in the world.Tell me what you would like to do or where you would want to go today.I cannot express more in words what I feel about you.In your eyes, I see so much of love and feel it too.You are the type of boyfriend any woman would die for.My world is a million shattered pieces put together, glued by my tears, where each piece is nothing but a reflection of YOU.When there was a moment of doubting myself, you never gave up on your trust in me.You and I have the strongest bond ever, and looking at you still gives me chills.Emotional Support: Childhood friends serve as a reliable source of emotional support.Have the best year ahead, mate.We are pretty much clones of each other and I love it! I tell you this every day, but you are the most beautiful person I know, inside and out, and I see that more clearly with each passing day.Those conversations were a true reflection of the deep bond that we share.You can make any mundane thing beautiful.If you have wondered how to touch her heart with love words, use the letters below.Sometimes I become jealous because you have everything of her.Hope to see you pretty soon.Good morning, my love.I am proud of the person that you have become, and I feel honoured to have been a part of your journey.Her coverage includes entertainment, beauty, lifestyle, parenting and fashion content.Wish your brother a happy birthday with the best messages and greetings.I have known you for a while but it feels like you have been my best friend forever.I love everything about our friendship because it is unique and different to any other.Have a day as beautiful as you! Wherever I am, whatever I am doing, you are always in my heart and mind.The rollercoaster ride of life becomes worthwhile with you by my side.You are that someone that makes my days brighter and my smile wider.Keep shining your light, my friend, and never stop spreading positivity and love wherever you go.I am sure you will love her as much as I do.Previously, he worked in the Latest Articles.I know things have been chaotic with bills and other responsibilities, but I will never abandon you.You treat me like any woman dreams of being treated.And now, all those traveling lessons have made me a professional traveler.I also take care of my new puppy.Are you searching for the perfect birthday paragraph for your best friend? Read on to discover the ultimate way to convey your feelings and create a memorable birthday celebration for your beloved friend.I know I am in love with you because I see the world in your eyes and your eyes everywhere in the world.And then I realize how blessed I am.Thanks for being so kind, and I trust you a lot! I would like to have you in my life again and again.Before I met you, the world had no color.Advise them to worry less.I have so much confidence in us and our love, how I feel about you, and the way you feel about me.I have the best, most caring, and sweetest boyfriend.You have a special place in my heart that no one else can fill.A letter allows you time to put your words together and review the message before sending it.You are kind, caring, handsome and gorgeous.Whether you need someone to listen, to laugh with, or to cry with, I will be there.Sometimes when I think of you, all I want to do is shout from the rooftops how I feel about you.So, penning down some sweet words for your brother on his day makes it unique.You are a unique soul who is not only kind and forgiving but also so sweet and caring.Happy Birthday, my dear! Happy Birthday, my best friend! You have always dealt with my moods, listened to my tantrums patiently, and adored me with your arms wide open! You have always been my lighthouse in a blinding storm, spread happiness even in the darkest hours, and held my hand throughout everything!I am so honored and blessed to be born as your son.You are a thoughtful and warm father, who even gets tough when you have to teach me discipline.You are one of the best things that have happened to me.You are not just the best sister; you are a good, beautiful human both inside and out.I would cherish them all my life.If I could take away all your stress and pain, I would do it a million times over.You are not only the sails that steer my ship, but you are also the waves below that carry me.Yes, no plans, just hitting the road, like the old times.Hold me close and never let me go, because being in your arms is what perfection is.I promise to always cherish, respect, honor and love you so much with every breath in me till the end of time because a friend like you is very rare.Your circle should be well rounded and supportive.I love you, and I love the person you make me when I am with you.You are the best friend that anyone could ever ask for.My soul weeps with grief.I am the luckiest man in the entire universe because I was given an opportunity not just to meet but also have someone as special, beautiful and amazing as you are as my best friend.The joy in my heart is beyond what words could explain.You are the light of my heart, the joy of my life, and the first thought on my mind.Your love drives me to fight the hardships of life.For every minute, I feel you.I want you to fill your day with a smile and cheers because my love is still there for you.But you are much more than that an example of a perfect man.Here are some inspiring quotes to share with them:.Most of all, I admire your hard-working nature and your beautiful soul.You can come to me with anything, and I will be there for you.It is may not be easy for everyone to put their exact feelings into words, and sweetest I love you message will help you express your deepest emotions.What you did is your fault.But this is not the case anymore.If you feel sad, it is best to try to heal through other means or therapy than cause trouble for someone else.Sincerely, I promise to be your queen if you will be my king.I have your habit and now I cannot live without you for a second.Your love is more dazzling than the stars, more alluring than the full moon, and brighter than the sun.And they make for the perfect happy birthday quotes to include in their birthday card.I enjoy sunny days, cooking with friends, and reading about world news.Highlight the little things you adore about her, like her quirks, habits, or shared inside jokes.You are like a flower that has many fragrances in it.Send a letter to best friend to make her cry tears of joy.Do not make us enemies to each other.Rain or the sunshine, you will always be my best friend forever.We have shared a special bond all these years, and I am glad that nobody else could have given me the guidance, inspiration, and support you have given me.Make his special day even more special with these heartfelt birthday wishes for your brother.You always change for the better.When are you coming home? I have a lot of things to tell you and lots to show you, too.The birds singing reminds me of the beauty of your voice.I know there are a lot of people out there who love you, but I want you to know that I am the one who loves you the most.But when we are apart, I can feel every ticking second of the clock hammering one nail after another straight in my heart.I hope you will continue to let me show you how much I love you every single day.These quotes will help you convey your feelings in a powerful and meaningful way.It marks the time when someone who is like a second father .I got your back just as I know you got mine.Since not everyone has poetic talent, send your partner a pre-written romantic loving you SMS.We thank him for the great works He has been doing in our lives.I want to spend the rest of my life with you forever, cherishing all the days the good, the bad, and the ugly.Depth of love often calls for more elaborate expression.Assuring a woman of your love will make her happy and confident as she goes about her daily life.You are my road to redemption.You are such a blessing.A love paragraph about a significant other can express deep affection, admiration, and appreciation.You truly care about me and I appreciate that! I love you and thank you for always being there for me.A good night message should include a warm greeting, words of affection, encouragement and good wishes.You are the reason for who I am today.Thanks to you, dear brother.One of my favorite things about our friendship is how much fun we have together.And then I see your face, and hear your voice, and realize that I love you 10 times more every single day! But I already know that I have the best fish!I know that this is goodbye because it breaks my heart to leave you.I used to get mad at your criticism about me, but now I know all was for my well-being.No matter what the situation may be, he listens attentively and offers advice without criticizing or belittling me.Too many to handle? However, little love notes can scale your love venture to unfathomable heights.Someone falls in love first.The refreshing feeling I get every morning when I think of you is simply out of the world.Thank you for always putting up with my bad sides.You can make your crush fall in love with you by putting yourself out there, making subtle gestures, and spending time with them.Our relationship is like a precious gift from above.


Once you find out you are moving, you definitely need to take steps to prepare your friends and family for your move. After making the decision with your spouse or partner and children, it is time to inform your friends and family. It is important to realize that your friends and family will have to get used to the idea of you leaving. This will take some time and understanding. However, when you are moving time eludes you and your patience and understanding is in limited supply. Therefore, when you break the news, stay positive. This will help them find your excitement and sense of adventure. Also, you want to make time to schedule meetings and meals with them. This is important for you and them. The sooner you schedule these the better. As you get closer to your move, you will quickly find that time flies and it is harder to make time to do this.
With all the social media outlets and Skype, keeping in touch is very accessible. Make arrangements to make those connections once you move. This will help you and your family with feelings of being homesick and will make for a better transition into you new life. Once you move, it will take time to cultivate new relationships. Therefore, keeping these connections will help you tremendously.


Introducing a new pet into your home?
Struggling with difficult pet behavior issues?
Looking to create a harmonious relationship between you and your pet?
PHX Animal Behavior Center is here to help. Owner Carrie Seay, CBCC-KA, MS-CABAC, has the experience and education needed to help you eliminate problem behaviors and maintain balance and harmony in your household. Carrie works with force free, science based methods when training and doing behavior modification, helping to build a relationship between you and your pet while also tackling challenging problem behaviors. Training services for both cats and dogs are available in person or through video/phone consultation.


β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition is pathognomic for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but may occur in normal elderly people without apparent cognitive effect. Episodic memory impairment is an early and prominent sign of AD, but its relationship with Aβ burden in non-demented persons and in AD patients is unclear. We examined this relationship using 11C-PIB-PET as a quantitative marker of Aβ burden in vivo in healthy ageing (HA), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD. Thirty-one AD, 33 MCI and 32 HA participants completed neuropsychological assessment and a 11C-PIB-PET brain scan. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted relating episodic memory performance and other cognitive functions to Aβ burden. Ninety-seven percent of AD, 61% of MCI and 22% of HA cases had increased cortical PIB binding, indicating the presence of Aβ plaques. There was a strong relationship between impaired episodic memory performance and PIB binding, both in MCI and HA. This relationship was weaker in AD and less robust for non-memory cognitive domains. Aβ deposition in the asymptomatic elderly is associated with episodic memory impairment. This finding, together with the strong relationship between PIB binding and the severity of memory impairment in MCI, suggests that individuals with increased cortical PIB binding are on the path to Alzheimer's disease. The data also suggests that early intervention trials for AD targeted to non-demented individuals with cerebral Aβ deposition are warranted.
mild cognitive impairment
β-Amyloid (Aβ) deposition in the brain is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is central to current aetiological theories (Masters and Beyreuther, 2006). While a strong relationship is evident between neurofibrillary tangles and cognition, consensus has not been reached on the relationship between Aβ burden and cognition (Cummings, et al., 1996; Nagy et al., 1996; Bartoo et al., 1997; Kanne et al., 1998; Mufson et al., 1999; Bussière et al., 2002; Giannakopoulos et al., 2003; Guillozet, et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2005; Markesbery et al., 2006; Prohovnik et al., 2006).
Most research into Aβ burden and cognition has focused on people with dementia, despite evidence for a long preclinical phase preceding the diagnosis of AD. Subtle cognitive deficits are present up to 9 years before dementia is diagnosed (Amieva et al., 2005) and neuropathological studies in Down syndrome have demonstrated cortical Aβ plaques decades before the usual onset of dementia that almost invariably develops in these individuals (Beyreuther et al., 1992). Neuropathological studies have also documented moderate numbers of Aβ plaques in the cerebral cortex of more than a quarter of nondemented persons aged over 75 years, equivalent to the prevalence of dementia at age 85 years (Ferri et al., 2005), suggesting that neuropathological changes precede the clinical expression of AD by many years (Price and Morris, 1999; Bennett et al., 2006).
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional stage between healthy aging (HA) and AD (Petersen et al., 2001), although up to 40% of people meeting the criteria for MCI do not develop overt clinical dementia (Busse et al., 2006a). The degree of neuropathological change in MCI is variable, with many demonstrating AD-like pathological features (Markesbery et al., 2006; Petersen et al., 2006), but the relationship between Aβ burden and cognition in MCI is not well understood.
While post-mortem studies provide a comprehensive assessment of the neuropathologic changes at the time of death, conclusions from such studies can be limited by substantial delays between cognitive assessment and death in patients with AD, and the advanced age at death of non-demented cases (Bennett et al., 2006). New Aβ-specific PET radiotracers allow quantitative analysis of Aβ burden in vivo and can therefore overcome such limitations. The best validated of these radiotracers is ‘Pittsburgh Compound-B’ (11C-PIB; Klunk et al., 2004), a carbon-11-labelled derivative of the thioflavin-T amyloid dye, that binds with high affinity and high specificity to neuritic Aβplaques (Klunk et al., 2003). 11C-PIB-PET studies in AD have shown robust cortical binding (Klunk et al., 2004; Kemppainen et al., 2006), and correlations with the rate of cerebral atrophy (Archer et al., 2006), parietotemporal hypometabolism (Edison et al., 2007), and decreased CSF Aβ42 (Fagan et al., 2006).
The current study utilizes 11C-PIB-PET to investigate the relationship between Aβ burden and concurrent cognitive performance, and finds a strong relationship between PIB binding and episodic memory impairment in HA and MCI participants, but not in those with AD.
The study included 31 participants with mild to moderate AD, 33 people with MCI, and 32 asymptomatic volunteers from a healthy ageing study. Participants were excluded if they were not fluent in English, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was less than 12, or there was a history of acquired brain injury or alcoholism. Written informed consent was obtained prior to participation. The relevant committees at Austin Health and Monash University granted ethics approval. All AD participants met NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD (McKhann et al., 1984). All MCI participants met the following recently published consensus criteria: (i) clinical opinion that they were neither normal nor demented, (ii) subjective report of decline over time with objective evidence of impairment, (iii) no significant functional loss (Winblad et al., 2004). Participants were classified based on their clinical history, presentation and neuropsychological assessment where objective impairment was regarded as at least one neuropsychological test score falling 1.5 SD or more below relevant normative data. On neuropsychological assessment, 24 of the MCI participants had objective memory impairment (amnestic MCI), six had objective cognitive impairment without memory impairment (non-amnestic MCI) and three were classified as MCI based on self and reliable informant report of progressive decline (termed here ‘subjective MCI’). The subjective MCI participants had evidence of premorbid superior cognitive abilities but current cognitive performance in the average or low average range. Most of the HA participants (91%) were recruited from the longitudinal healthy ageing study being conducted at the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria (Weaver Cargin et al., 2006). In all participants, apolipoprotein-E (ApoE) genotype was determined by PCR amplification of genomic DNA.
As shown in Table 1, groups were well matched for age, years of education and gender. HA were less likely to have an ApoE ε4 allele (Fisher's exact test = 0.004) and more likely to have a first-degree relative with AD (Fisher's exact test = 0.009) compared with MCI and AD participants. Characteristics of MCI participants are also shown in Table 1. Non-amnestic MCI cases were younger than those with amnestic MCI and all were male.
↵Note where Levene's test for homogeneity of variance was violated the appropriate t test was conducted. AD = Alzheimer's disease; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; HA = healthy aging; aMCI =amnestic MCI; nMCI = non-amnestic MCI; sMCI = subjective MCI; PIB+ = PIB positive (Standardized Uptake Value Ratio >1.6); PIB− = PIB negative (Standardized Uptake Value Ratio ≤1.6); MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination. Data are presented as mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated. an = 29. bCalculated as the average of the z score for California Verbal Learning Test Second Edition long delayed recall and Rey Complex Figure Test 30 minute delayed recall. cCalculated as the average of the z scores for Rey Complex Figure Test copy, Digit Symbol – Coding, Boston Naming Test, Letter Fluency, Category Fluency, Digit Span (forwards), and Digit Span (backwards).
↵*P < 0.01. Significant differences are for MCI with both HA and AD, or for nMCI or sMCI compared to aMCI, or between the PIB+ and PIB− MCI groups.
Participants were administered the MMSE (Folstein et al., 1975), 30-item Boston Naming Test (BNT; Saxton et al., 2000), Digit Span forwards [DSp(f)] and backwards [DSp(b)] and Digit Symbol-Coding (DS-C) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Third edition (WAIS-III; Wechsler, 1997), California Verbal Learning Test – Second edition (CVLT-II; Delis et al., 2000), Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT; Meyers and Meyers, 1995), letter fluency (Benton, 1968) and category fluency tasks.
A composite episodic memory score was calculated by taking the average of the z scores (generated using the HA group as the reference) for RCFT (30 min) long delay and CVLT-II long delay. A composite non-memory cognition score was designed to examine participants’ average performance on tasks not involving episodic memory. This was calculated by taking the average of the z scores for the BNT, letter fluency, category fluency, DSp(f), DSp(b), DS-C and RCFT copy.
All participants had a 3D spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) T1-weighted MRI for screening and co-registration with the PET images. Within 11 ± 22 days of the neuropsychological assessment, participants also had a 11C-PIB-PET scan, as previously described (Rowe et al., 2007). PET standardized uptake value (SUV) data acquired 40–70 min post-PIB injection were summed and normalized to the cerebellar cortex SUV, resulting in a region to cerebellar ratio termed the SUV ratio (SUVR). The cerebellar cortex was used as a reference region as it is relatively devoid of senile plaques and shows no PIB binding in controls or AD (Price et al., 2005; Rowe et al., 2007). Regions of interest (ROI) were drawn on the individual MRI and transferred to the co-registered PET images. Neocortical Aβ burden was expressed as the average SUVR of the area-weighted mean for the following cortical ROIs: frontal (consisting of dorsolateral prefrontal, ventrolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal regions), superior parietal, lateral temporal, lateral occipital and anterior and posterior cingulate. No correction for partial volume was applied to the PET data.
The data were further analysed using a receiver operating characteristic curve to establish the most accurate cut-off value to distinguish AD from HA. This approach generated a cut-off value for 11C-PIB SUVR of 1.6, which was used to categorize participants into those with ‘AD-like’ (PIB-positive, SUVR >1.6) images or those with ‘HA-like’ (PIB-negative, SUVR ≤1.6) images.
Data were analysed using SPSS software (version 11). Differences between groups for binomially distributed data were assessed using χ2 tests. Independent sample t-tests were used to compare means of AD and HA to MCI, and to compare means within the MCI subgroups. Pearson's correlations were used to assess bivariate relationships. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the possible mediating effect of diagnosis on the relationship between PIB binding and cognition. Moderated regression was also conducted to examine whether the relationship between PIB binding and memory differed across groups. Diagnosis was dummy coded using two variables: AD (participants with AD were coded 1, HA or MCI were coded 0) or HA (HA were coded 1, AD or MCI were coded 0). The interactions between PIB binding and group (AD × PIB; HA × PIB) were calculated by first centering the variables and then multiplying them together (Aiken and West, 1991). Age, gender and education were controlled in all analyses.
HA participants demonstrated significantly lower neocortical PIB binding than did MCI participants (P < 0.001), who in turn demonstrated significantly lower binding than AD participants (P < 0.001), as shown in Fig. 1. As Levene's test for homogeneity of variance was violated a corrected t value was computed to correct for heterogeneity of variance. Ninety-seven percent of AD cases were PIB-positive, compared with 61% of MCI and 22% of HA. The PIB scans with the median SUVR of the AD group, and the PIB-positive and negative divisions of the MCI and HA groups are shown in Fig. 2. All six of the non-amnestic MCI participants had a PIB-negative scan, whereas 18 (75%) of the amnestic subgroup and 2 (67%) of the subjective subgroup were PIB-positive. As shown in Table 1, 80% of MCI participants with a PIB-positive scan carried an ApoE ε4 allele, compared to only 23% of those with a PIB-negative scan (P = 0.003 by Fisher's exact test).
Box plot showing the neocortical SUVR values (SUVR NEOCTX) for Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy aging (HA). Box indicates interquartile range. Circles indicate individual SUVR values, with outliers shown by *. Within the MCI group, the amnestic MCI cases are indicated by open circles, nonamnestic MCI by black circles, and subjective MCI by grey circles. Cases above the dotted line (at SUVR = 1.6) have PIB positive scans. Ninety-seven percent of AD, 61% of MCI and 22% of HA fall above this cut-off.
Typical mid sagittal and transverse 11C-PIB PET images. The scans shown are those of the participant with the median SUVR for the following subgroups: PIB negative HA (SUVR = 1.21), PIB positive HA (SUVR = 1.94), PIB negative MCI (SUVR = 1.25), PIB positive MCI (SUVR = 2.21) and AD (SUVR = 2.36). SUVR is the ratio of standardized uptake value in the neocortex to the cerebellar grey matter reference region and is a measure of neocortical Aβ burden. The scans have been registered to a standard average MRI (left).
As shown in Table 1, HA participants had higher composite scores for both memory and non-memory cognition than MCI participants, who in turn had significantly higher composite scores than AD participants. As expected by definition, the amnestic MCI subgroup demonstrated worse episodic memory than did the non-amnestic MCI subgroup, as shown in Table 1. The composite episodic memory score for PIB-positive MCI participants was 2.7 SD below HA, compared with 1.1 SD below in PIB-negative MCI participants. There were no differences between these MCI subgroups on the non-memory composite score.
Similarly, within the HA group, participants with a PIB-positive scan performed 0.8 SD worse on the composite episodic memory score than those with a PIB-negative scan (P = 0.023), but there were no differences on the composite non-memory score.
β-Amyloid burden and cognition
PIB binding had a strong negative relationship with composite episodic memory (r = –0.73, P < 0.001), and a moderate negative correlation with composite non-memory cognition (r = –0.50, P < 0.001). Figure 3 demonstrates that AD cases cluster in the region of high PIB binding with low episodic memory scores, conversely, HA cases cluster around the region of low PIB binding with high episodic memory scores, while participants with MCI are distributed across the spectrum.
Relationship between Aβ burden (SUVR neocortex) and composite episodic memory score (r = –0.73, P < 0.001).
We conducted a series of multiple linear regression analyses to examine whether diagnosis could explain the associations of PIB binding with episodic memory and with non-memory cognition, controlling for age, education and gender. The first set of analyses demonstrated that increased PIB binding was related to being diagnosed with AD (β = 0.60, P < 0.001) and not being diagnosed as a HA (β = –0.59, P < 0.001). Impaired memory performance was related to increased PIB binding (β = –0.67, P < 0.001), being diagnosed with AD (β = –0.27, P < 0.001), and not being diagnosed as a HA (β = 0.58, P < 0.001). In a model combining both PIB binding and diagnosis, the relationship between memory performance and PIB binding had diminished, but was still significant (β = –0.30, P < 0.001). Thus, diagnosis only partly explained the relationship between PIB binding and memory. The same method of analysis applied to non-memory cognition and PIB binding demonstrated a less robust negative correlation (β = –0.50, P < 0.001) that was eliminated when diagnosis was controlled (β = –0.01, P = 0.91).
Pearson correlations for each group showed a strong relationship between episodic memory and PIB binding in MCI (r = –0.60, P < 0.001) and HA (r = –0.38, P = 0.034), but not in AD (r = 0.04, P = 0.85), as shown in Fig. 4. The correlation in MCI persisted when only amnestic MCI were included (r = –0.46, P = 0.023). There was also a strong correlation when all non-demented (MCI and HA) PIB-positive cases were included (r= –0.51, P = 0.006).
Relationship between Aβ burden (SUVR neocortex) and composite episodic memory score in (a) AD (r = 0.04, P = 0.85), (b) MCI (r = –0.60, P < 0.001) and (c) HA (r = –0.38, P < 0.034).
Comparison of Pearson correlations can be misleading, however, when the variance of the independent variable—episodic memory in this case—differs between groups (Baron and Kenny, 1986). To address this issue, we conducted a moderated regression with episodic memory as the criterion variable and the following predictors: age, gender, education, PIB binding, diagnostic variables and the interaction between each of the diagnostic variables and PIB binding. Moderation is indicated by a significant interaction (Aiken and West, 1991). There was no significant effect of the HA × PIB product term (β = 0.06, P = 0.41). There was, however, a strong trend (β = 0.14, P = 0.056) for an effect of the AD × PIB product term. This trend supports the results of the Pearson correlations and tentatively suggests that there is a different relationship between PIB binding and memory in AD compared with nondemented participants (MCI and HA), when age, gender and education are controlled. We explored the nature of this trend further by deriving equations from the standardized β values in regression analysis to represent the relationship between PIB binding and memory in AD compared with MCI and HA. These equations demonstrated a stronger negative relationship between PIB binding and episodic memory in the nondemented groups (β = –0.25), compared with AD (β = –0.12).
Aβ burden, assessed in vivo by 11C-PIB PET, was related strongly and inversely to episodic memory performance, but this differed between groups. A much stronger relationship was evident in the HA and MCI participants than in those with AD. Other cognitive functions had a weaker relationship to Aβ burden, which disappeared when diagnosis was controlled. The stronger relationship of AD-related pathological changes to episodic memory compared with other cognitive domains is consistent with previous post-mortem research (Nagy et al., 1996; Thomas et al., 2005; Bennett et al., 2006). All the non-amnestic MCI participants had a PIB-negative scan, compared to only 25% of the amnestic MCI cases.
β-Amyloid distribution and episodic memory networks
Although a central role for the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in episodic memory function is well established (Cohen and Eichenbaum, 1993; Squire and Zola, 1996), Aβ deposition does not occur there early or in abundance (Braak and Braak, 1991; Edison et al., 2007). This poses questions about the basis of the association between Aβ distribution and episodic memory impairment. The MTL may be particularly sensitive to the neurotoxic effect of Aβ (Roder et al., 2003; Resende et al., 2007), either directly or through Aβ-induced neurofibrillary tangles, which are known to correlate with memory impairment in established AD (Nagy et al., 1996; Guillozet et al., 2003; Bennett et al., 2004). Alternatively, memory impairment may be related to the presence of soluble Aβ oligomers in the MTL (Klein, 2006), which 11C-PIB-PET is not thought to detect. It is also plausible to postulate that Aβ is related to memory performance through its effect on other parts of the memory network. Specifically, the posterior cingulate demonstrates hypometabolism (Minoshima et al., 1997; Buckner et al., 2005), atrophy (Buckner et al., 2005) and Aβ deposition early in AD (Buckner et al., 2005; Mintun et al., 2006), and has been implicated in memory processes by virtue of its anatomical (Nestor et al., 2004; Buckner et al., 2005) and functional MTL connections (Buckner et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2006).
β-Amyloid burden and memory in HA and MCI
Despite documentation of Aβ in non-demented cases, only one previous study (Guillozet et al., 2003) examined the relationship between Aβ burden, memory and non-memory cognition in non-demented participants. They reported no relationship between any of the cognitive tasks and Aβ plaque density, but the sample was small (5 HA, 3 MCI). In contrast, with a much larger sample, we found a strong relationship between Aβ (as measured by PIB binding) and concurrent episodic memory performance in both HA and MCI. This is consistent with a recent report from a large post mortem study of reduced memory performance in HA participants who had AD neuropathologic changes at autopsy (Bennett et al., 2006). Together with the findings of a preferential relationship with memory, the earliest and most predictive cognitive change detectable in AD, these results suggest that Aβ deposition is an early event in the pathological process of AD.
In addition, we found that our PIB-positive MCI subgroup were more likely to carry an ApoE ε4 allele and demonstrate worse memory impairment (resembling AD) compared with the PIB-negative MCI subgroup. These characteristics are indicative of early AD and suggest the PIB-positive MCI group represent preclinical AD. Our rate of PIB positive scans in MCI is also in accord with the expected proportion that will develop AD (Busse et al., 2006a). Although our longitudinal follow-up assessments are not complete, 18-month follow-up data has been obtained on 5 of the 33 MCI participants. These consist of three PIB-positive amnestic MCI participants who have all converted to AD, a PIB-negative amnestic MCI participant who has shown stable cognitive functioning and a PIB-positive subjective MCI participant who has developed objective cognitive impairment and now meets criteria for amnestic MCI. Forsberg et al. (in press, Neurobiology of Aging) also report conversion of PIB-positive but not PIB-negative MCI cases to AD over an 8-month follow-up period. As none of our non-amnestic MCI participants had PIB-positive scans, we hypothesize that the aetiology of their cognitive problems may include depression (Aggarwal et al., 2005), dementia where Aβ deposition is not a feature (e.g. frontotemporal dementia; Rowe et al., 2007), or they may prove to be part of the 5–10% who have stable MCI, or the 20% who revert to apparent normality (Busse et al., 2006b).
One of the limitations of our study is the high proportion (50%) of HA participants with a family history of dementia. This represents a selection bias, with many of our HA participants volunteering because they had a family member with dementia, and is somewhat concerning given that family history is one of the primary risk factors for AD (Blacker and Tanzi, 1998; Zekanowski et al., 2004). It could mean that our HA group have an increased risk of developing dementia compared to healthy elderly individuals randomly recruited from the population, and that they may be more likely to have a PIB-positive (‘AD-like’) scan.
β-Amyloid burden and memory in AD
In contrast to the strong relationship between PIB binding and memory in MCI and HA, a much weaker relationship was found in AD. Some studies have reported a relationship between Aβ and memory in AD (Nagy et al., 1996; Kanne et al., 1998; Thomas et al., 2005; Edison et al., 2007), but the relationships are inconsistent and disappear when different pathological criteria are used (Nagy et al., 1996; Edison et al., 2007), or are only present after particular corrections (Kanne et al., 1998). Our data suggest that by the time dementia has developed and AD can be diagnosed, Aβ deposition is well advanced and the relationship between Aβ and memory has reached a plateau. This finding raises several possibilities. It may be that the continued presence of a given level of amyloid progressively destroys cell function, with accelerating cognitive decline as all reserve function is exhausted. Alternatively, factors such as ischaemic neuronal damage, perhaps due to microvascular amyloid angiopathy, may contribute to acceleration of cognitive decline in people with AD.
Methodological explanations for the observed lack of correlation between PIB binding and memory impairment in AD include the restricted range of dementia severity in our study (MMSE 22.7 ± 3.6) and ‘floor’ effects with cognitive testing. Almost all our AD participants had very low scores on the episodic memory tasks, limiting the range of results and therefore possibly obscuring a correlation. With less demanding tasks, however, we also found no correlation between performance and Aβ burden in the AD group (e.g. for MMSE, r = –0.08, P = 0.68). Our findings accord with a recent report that PIB binding does not change significantly in AD over a 2-year period, even in participants with significant cognitive decline between scans (Engler et al., 2006). Of interest, Nagy et al. (1996) found that the relationship between Aβ and memory in AD was best represented by a square root function, lending support to our idea of a relationship that plateaus.
In conclusion, our study shows that Aβ deposition is associated with impaired episodic memory in non-demented individuals, providing support for the proposal that Aβ imaging can detect the preclinical phase of AD. Further longitudinal study is required to confirm this interpretation. These findings have implications for the timing of potential anti-amyloid therapeutics, suggesting that such therapy should be evaluated in mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals with increased brain Aβ burden to assess the potential for the prevention of dementia.
Unrestricted educational research grants were provided from Neurosciences Victoria, Austin Hospital Medical Research Foundation, and the Commonwealth Government of Australia Department of Health and Ageing. The authors wish to acknowledge the valued assistance of David Darby for recruitment of healthy elderly participants, Sylvia Gong and Graham O’Keefe in image acquisition and processing, Tiffany Cowie for ApoE genotyping, and Uwe Ackermann, Henri Tochon-Danguy, and Clare Smith for synthesis of PIB. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the Commonwealth Government of Australia Department of Health & Ageing.
↵8Present address: Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science (MACCS), Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
. Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA work group under the auspices of department of health and human services task force on Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1984;34:939-44.
. Hippocampal pathology reflects memory deficit and brain imaging measurements in Alzheimer's disease: clinicopathologic correlations using three sets of pathologic diagnostic criteria. Dementia 1996;7:76-81.
Kerryn E.Pike, GregSavage, Victor L.Villemagne, StevenNg, Simon A.Moss, PaulMaruff, Chester A.Mathis, William E.Klunk, Colin L.Masters, Christopher C.RoweBrain(2007)130 (11):
2837-2844DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awm238First published online: 10 October 2007 (8 pages)


Mediation is the process by which couples or other family members seek to reach an agreement about matters that are important to them with regards to a relationship breakdown, in the presence of a trained neutral party – The Mediator. At Victoria House Mediation we have two qualified mediators, Ann Davies and Laura Bell.
Mediators do not make decisions. Their role is to help couples co-operate, resolve conflict, reach joint decisions and most importantly to focus on the needs and feelings of the children. It is important to remember that mediation is not reconciliation or counselling.
Benefits of mediation
- Can be cheaper the using the Court
- Can help clarify and minimise the areas of conflict
- Can be quicker than using the Court
- Can be better for the children
- Lessens the stress of the relationship breakdown, and tries to keep couples talking and working together
- Can be used by other family members – such as grandparents
- Focuses on the future and not the past
- Can result in an agreement that the couple is happy with, rather than having a solution imposed by the Court


I found out an old friend is in the hospital. He’s not someone I talk to regularly or even have in many years.
But he IS someone who holds a very high influence on the person I am today. We met during my exploratory years. He introduced me to so much music I’d never give a listen to. The mixed CDs we used to share. The stories we told over drinks. The music he played.
Do other people feel such strong connections with folks they don’t even talk to? Or is it just me? If it’s just me, I guess I’m okay with that? But maybe I should express my adoration a bit more.
My promise to myself – I will show appreciation when it’s due.


It’s my love letter to Dad but its not your typical linear memoir. Instead, it’s a reflection; on all the laughs, the tears, the joy and the heartache. It’s a reflection on what Dad taught me, how he taught me and how he still talks to me every day.
Peter Clark, R105695 served in the Royal Australian Navy for over 25 years, predominantly at the bottom of the ocean on board submarines. Peter was many things- a submariner, a brother, a father, a husband, a friend and a mate. His incredible life and his death at the young age of 59yrs inspired me to share our story.
This is a story of the power of love between a girl and her dad.


so glad you're here!! im glad i picked you to be my mom...and i'm glad we get to live together and watch romantic girl movies together, and never ever talk about kissing again...and im glad we look alike...
love you love your mom.im real glad she picked you too.and im real glad you picked justin to date,and byu-i to go to schoolso we could meet and be bff
gorgeous pic.i love your mom! and i love her cooking. tell your mom i want that green drink recipe.
what a lovely picture. your mom is special and you are both lucky to have eachother.
your mom is hot.
So cute Shawna!!! I hope you are well!!
Crap, I mean Shauna. Sorry I spelled your name wrong the first time. Please forgive me.
You add such joy to our home and I love having you here. You brighten my days - especially when you sing (LOUD!) I'm glad I picked you. AND, talking about kissing again would be worth it just to see all the shades of red your face can turn. Love, your favorite Mom
i love the retro lori pic... it's great. somehow it made me all nostalgic and reflect on the time we all went shopping at the esprit outlet in sf and then sang the oscar meyer weiner song the whole trip home. good memories.


Christina and Eric met while Christina was on a trip to Chicago. It was one of those things where they just knew it was meant to be! Six months later Eric moved down to Florida where their relationship flourished. Sunken Gardens was the perfect backdrop for their engagement session. It's so lush and tropical representing their growing love in a tropical place like Florida!
Christina and Eric brought some of their personal passions into the engagement session and it couldn't have turned out cuter! We absolutely love it when our clients get creative with their engagement session and bring in a personal flair. Christina brought a cupcake while Eric brought a exercise weight! A Sweet and Strong relationship is a Life Long one ;)


"So he's in trouble for cheating on his wife because he's married."
"Yeah, meanwhile Jeeter and A Rod don't have wives but bring home different women every weekend and it's no big deal. All because they're not married. "
"Really, if you aren't married you can do anything, except dog fighting."
"Basically, stay away from the bitches."


Like Real People Do
March 25, 2021
One great thing that music offers us is the opportunity to relate to something when it seems like you’re the only one who feels the way you do.
Andrew Hozier-Bryne, more commonly known as Hozier, is a singer-songwriter from Ireland. Hozier has a way of writing that makes it easy to relate to what he’s saying. One example of how he does this is his song Like Real People Do.
This song is so beautifully written that it’s hard not to love it. Not only is the music satisfying to listen to, but the lyrics carry something special and entirely different from anything you’ve ever heard.
The lyrics tell a story of two people who get into a relationship with a lot of baggage. However, neither of them want to share their past. They want to move forward and forget. In order to achieve this, they don’t tell each other the weight that they are carrying.
The first verse goes as follows, “I had a thought dear, however scary, about that night. The bugs and the dirt, why were you digging? What did you bury, before those hands pulled me from the Earth?”
This first verse is the thought of one of the people in the relationship. He is asking himself what the other person’s life was like before they met each other. He is curious about what things haunt their partners’ past.
The last line of the first verse also hints at this person carrying a lot of hurt from a past relationship.
After a hard breakup from a relationship that you thought would last forever, you might feel a little hopeless or, to be more dramatic, dead. The last line of this verse is important because it helps you understand where the person is coming from.
The line says, “Before those hands pulled me from the dirt.” This symbolizes that his partner pulled him from his dark spot and showed him how to love again.
The pre chorus is next, “I will not ask you where you came from. I will not ask you, neither should you.”
This line of the song is one that stands out to me. The person in the relationship is telling their partner that he won’t dig into their past or ask questions about it because that’s what he wants in return. He wants to move on with his life and escape the things that were following him and he respects that they might want the same thing.
The chorus of the song follows, “Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips. We should just kiss like real people do.”
In the chorus he is telling his partner not to question, or think, or worry. Instead, just love and kiss him “like real people do”. It’s his way of escaping the world.
The next verse is, “I knew that look, dear eyes always seeking. Was there in someone that dug long ago? So I will not ask you why were you creeping, in some sad way I already know.”
What this verse is showing is that he recognizes a look in his partners eyes. Whether it’s fear or anxiety of their past catching up to them, he sees it. He says again that he won’t ask them why they’re hiding things because he’s already guessed at what it is and he knows the pain that comes with it.
The song ends with the pre chorus and the chorus repeating two more times.
Hozier has a gift of writing that helps people relate to his music. This song doesn’t have to be about people with traumas relating to past relationships. It could be about abuse, family losses, or even things that are much darker.
That’s the amazing thing about music, you can make it about whatever you want it to be about.
This song will always hold a place in my heart because not only does it sound peaceful with the guitar picking pattern but, in my opinion, the lyrics tell a story of two beautifully broken people who live their lives after the circumstances that broke them in the first place.


What do I say when I’m unhappy with someone?
One of the most common reasons individuals attend our communication courses is to learn the skills of assertiveness. That is how to tell someone you’re unhappy without causing more upset or conflict.
A couple of years after leaving high school I remember doing an assertiveness course at our local technical institute. It was run by a woman who was known at the time for being at the rather outspoken and held some strong feminist views, and the approaches taught were direct with a focus on getting my needs met. There was no mention of win-win, or how to maintain the relationship or the mana of the other party involved, which is an important piece of the assertiveness puzzle.
When communicating, it’s always helpful to have given thought to what you want to achieve, before you have the conversation as it can help you stay focused. If I’m unhappy with someone a key skill for me to remember is to talk about my unhappiness with the situation, how I feel about it and what impact it has on me. Using the word ‘I’ means it’s my unhappiness with the situation not the other person’s. They may be completely unaware that I’m unhappy with what they’re doing.
When expressing my unhappiness, I also want to ensure that I get my needs met, that the situation I’m unhappy with changes and that I preserve the relationship with the other person. There’s no point in my yelling and shouting and accusing them of things, particularly if I have to continue to work or live with the person. Tearing down the self-esteem or mana of the other person doesn’t help and when people feel bad about themselves it’s not always easy to live or work with them. I remember from my assertiveness course that it was all about making sure I had my needs met and that I told the other person what I expected of them. However, is it reasonable and fair of me to expect that they need to change or do something different so that I can feel okay about the situation? That was the old way of asserting – by telling the other person what they need to do or change. Sometimes the conversation may start forcefully with anger, particularly if I want to make my point, and that could cause the other person to get upset. In situations like this I might find myself in the middle of an argument or disagreement and things can easily get heated and out of hand from there. John Gottman refers to this as a ‘harsh start-up’. How I start a conversation when I’m unhappy and want to assert myself will determine my success. Using a well-crafted ‘I’ statement that refers to the problem or behaviour I’m unhappy with, the effect it has on me and how I feel about it is a much better way to open the communication. In our course we refer to this as a three-part I-message.
If you’d like to know more about having the tough conversations in a way that leaves you and the other person feeling okay about each other, then get in contact about our upcoming Transforming Communication course. You can find information here.


A reflection for the fourth week of Advent: Love
‘There’s a power in love. There’s a certain sense in which when you are loved, and you know it, when someone cares for you, and you know it, when you love and you show it – it actually feels right,’ as Bishop Michael Curry put it at the wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle.
Psychotherapist Judith Blackstone writes, ‘The ability to love goes beyond having an emotional response to or understanding another person. It requires a capacity for contact, and this contact does not necessarily have to be physical. It can include how you speak to them, the emotions you display to them, and the awareness you have about them. It’s about being in tune with another person.’
We may experience, give and receive such love in many different ways. From the Greek, the Bible indicates four different types of love:
- Eros: sensual or romantic love.
- Storge: family love, the affectionate bond that develops naturally between parents and children, and brothers and sisters.
- Phileo: love for and from fellow humans: care, respect and compassion for other people.
- Agape: divine love that comes from God. Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.
Expressions of love based on eros are often felt most strongly within loving, sexual relationships, and it’s important to remember this is not experienced by everybody. Arguably, the vast majority of people will both give and receive love which stems from storge and phileo, although they are not without complications at times either.
What’s happened in the last week that showed you you are loved by other people?
Agape. The love that comes from God. This is the God who loved Mary and Joseph. This is the God who loved King Herod. This is the God who loves you.
God’s love for us is agape love. Love that is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.
‘Where you see love, you know the presence of love,’ writes Jane Williams. ‘Out of love, God the Son comes to die, so that we can be drawn back into the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In God, then, love is not an abstract quality, but one we experience very directly as activity. God acts lovingly towards us, and that is how we know that he is indeed love. In God, being and doing are not separate – he is love and acts lovingly.’
So, how do we know we are loved by God?
Of course, the familiar words trip off the tongue: ‘God is love’… ‘God so loved the world…’ ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of God’. There are so many affirmations of the truth: and what reassuring and comforting words they are.
It can often be easier to acknowledge God’s love for us when life is going well. Times when his love for us is tangibly demonstrated through answers to prayer, unexpected blessings, love from others – again, so many ways: and how reassuring and comforting they are too.
We can see God’s love for us in all the ordinary things of life. A sunset, children playing, older people laughing, a dog running in to the sea. A text, email or phone call. A card, a present. Those times when God says: ‘Look. That’s for you.’ Those moments of joy. Times when we are hopeful. Moments when the peace of God passes all understanding.
In the reality of our lives, how do we know we are loved by God, truly know, deep down inside, when life is tough and horrible?
Ah, if only there was a simple answer… and maybe accepting there isn’t is helpful in itself.
Michael’s Curry’s words are as true of the love people have for each other as they are about the love God has for each of us:
‘When you are loved, and you know it, when someone cares for you, and you know it, when you love and you show it – it actually feels right.’
What’s happened in the last week that showed you you are loved by God?
What’s happening on Christmas Day that will do the same?
May I wish you a Christmas which brings you hope, joy, peace and the knowledge of God’s love.


Isn’t it funny how most women have a checklist of requirements for dating men? These women think finding a guy is like ordering a sandwich – a little more height please, easy on the love of sports, and can you throw in a weekend house in the mountains and a willingness to support some other guy’s children?
Everyone has at some point seen personal ads. Whether you’re looking for for that special someone or just the flavor of the night, dating sites are EVERYWHERE. If men wrote their personal ads the same way a woman does, we would expect to see something like this:
Looking to meet the woman of my dreams. Someone who appreciates me for who I am. I love big TV’s, big trucks, baseball caps, and wife-beater tanks. I love going out with my friends to get drunk at strip clubs too. I’m looking for a nice woman who is not looking to jump into a relationship too soon but who knows what it means to be sexy and take care of her partner. Please no BBW’s (sorry) but you won’t look good on my arm when I wear a white t-shirt.
You must love dogs and my beer can collection. My dogs, my cans, and I are a package, so if you’re not into them then please move on. I like to let all 6 of my dogs sleep in my bed with me, so hopefully you don’t have a problem with that.
Likes to shop too much
Obsessed with height (i am short)
talks about yourself too much
always wanting to talk about the relationship
small breasts (sorry, there is nothing sexier than grabbing onto a nice pair)
doesnt like to cook for her man
always wanting to get up early in the morning
intolerance of me and my habits
pressure to have kids
large breasts (very sexy)
has her own friends and won’t try to make me watch chick flicks
doesn’t expect me to pay all the time
intelligent but not too intelligent (i dont like nerdy girls)
doesn’t have a relationship calendar, i.e. doesnt wonder after 3 months if we are going in the right direction.


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Our goal is to build a relationship with our clients as well as our employees, and to provide a balance between the needs our customer and the needs of our workforce, with our critical eye toward safety, quality and service. The relationships we build have been the foundation of White Construction and have led to many repeat clients and a dedicated team, which makes White Construction successful in such a competitive industry.
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Alireza and Yas were a couple who decided to take different photos of their wedding day before their wedding ceremony, which we call couple photography or pre-wedding photography.
In this type of photography, couples can take photos without stress and with clothes that are more comfortable and different from the wedding day.
Some couples take these photos in wedding dresses and others in casual or sportswear.
around my city- Shiraz/ Iran
CAMERA/ Nikon D800
Edited by/ Photoshop


Not sure when #CoupleGoals became a thing, perhaps around the same time as #SquadGoals? But anytime that particular phrase pops up alongside an image of two young things, I simply edit it in my mind to #lookhowfuckinggreatwethinkwearegoals.
Essentially, someone who captions their photos like this is saying one of two things:
- I think my relationship epitomises the ‘holy grail’ of social media-worthiness and is therefore something you should adore and lust after like a mindless sheep ‘likemelikemelikeme’
- Or…I’ve been studying the staged, glossy, idealistic photos of Pinterest for SOO long that I think I’ve finally cracked this pose in real life…what do you reckon? ‘likemelikemelikeme’
I’m willing to bet that 8 out of 10 people are thinking this….
I’m no relationship expert, but friends do sometimes come to me for advice on what makes men and women tick. Perhaps because I’ve got close mates of both sexes I can see each side of an argument equally. I’m never going to side with the girl just because she’s being a diva, and likewise the boy isn’t always in the right just because he wants to be a ‘lad’ and avoid commitment.
So.. I decided to re-write some #CoupleGoals based on my own view of the world and what I think generates a happier relationship (which will hopefully last longer than the time it takes to refresh your fb feed).
- Just because it’s on social media doesn’t make it perfect. You can smooth over the lumps and bumps to make a picture look good on Instagram – but that doesn’t mean you can do the same in real life. Work on how it feels, not how it looks!
- Keep some moments personal to you – if I take some smoochy pics I keep them between me and the fella in a private folder…why does my cousin or my ex colleague need to see it? The answer is they don’t! Putting them out there (especially if your other half isn’t keen to share) will probably just make them question who you’re trying to prove something to.
- Put down the phones at least 30 mins before bed – you won’t be starring into each other’s eyes while you’re both glued to a shiny screen. Charge up the passion…and leave the phones on charge
- Don’t play the blame game – if you see those stylised couples shots being posted on your feed – don’t wave the phone under the nose of your partner and moan that your relationship isn’t like that. NOBODY’S IS! Despite how it might look, most of what you see is posted from insecurity. If your date nights, flowers, choccies and cards aren’t on social media – that’s a VERY good indication that your relationship is based on what you mean to each other – not to the world
- Check your motivation – if you’re about to post something which shines a light on your relationship for whatever reason, just think about why you’re doing it. Is it for likes or for love? The two can be easily confused.
If I ever feel like my relationship isn’t perfect (which it isn’t) and that maybe that’s a bad thing and maybe I should ‘up my game’ and post more about what my fella means to me. I stop, look at him and remember I didn’t fall in love with the 2D version of him that exists on his FB profile, I fell for the guy I met before any of that existed. The guy who swept me off my feet during my first week of uni, tucked me into bed and brought me marmite on toast in the morning even though it made him gag. I fell in love with someone who hates selfies, hates arrogance and who quietly gets on with life without batting an eyelid at what anyone else is doing – and fundamentally that’s exactly WHY I love him.


CWR Relationships TNT with J. Thurman, B.A.
Burning Question #21 – Why Is It That Some Men Can Romance You and Stay the Same Until the End, While Others Become Comfortable and Forget About the Things They Did to Get You?
This question, once again, tackles one of the twenty-one questions that women do not ask men. A woman’s priorities when it comes to need versus want become blurred while trying to get to know someone. Food, clothing and shelter and other physiological needs top of the list when it comes to finding out if a man can provide these things not only for himself, but for the woman he is interested in as well. I suggest discussing your ideas about love and belonging early in the encounter, so that the person you have an interest in is clear as to what you mean by romance.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs gives a basic starting point to investigation and find out how something like romance exists in the mind, of not only men, but women as well. Maslow uses the concept of love and belonging and says that if these terms are applied to a person’s life the individual can live a more balanced life. That person can live free from the deprivation that takes its toll on the whole body by not having a sense of belonging or acceptance. From my perspective romance provides the space in a person’s life to offer good love and a deep sense of connecting causing a person to feel accepted internally and externally.
The under layers of human needs like a sense of belonging in a relationship are important, but talking about it often falls off the list of things that must be discussed. Playing detective, which for some women is their favorite sport waste a lot of time, money and energy while spoiling a ripe opportunity to get the sometimes elusive truth from men. Learn when a man is most susceptible to being truthful, then strike.
Most times if a person does not know what romance is, just accepting something that sounds good is good enough? One should never complain when you just accept what somebody gives you, especially when you have ample time to talk about it. Some men are just professional boyfriends while others are just warm bodies passing off as one. What do you think is romantic and how do you grow it; cultivate it and sustain it? I know that of all the things that move and oscillate in the known universe creativity and imagination can help you concoct the elixir of romance in ample portions. The challenge is having the courage to express it even in a situation where you feel rejection is eminent. The trick to remember is that your persistence and sincerity makes all things happen.
Try with these basics point to help navigate the conversation:
· Romance entails a sense of connection that is deeply and passionately attentive and physically spiritually expressive. If you bargain with this and “settle” for someone that is a good earner, then that is your choice. Look for tendencies in you and in the person you are interested in. Do not assume you can hint guilt or plant a romantic nature into everybody you meet.
· Work out the Intimacy bugs by building a frame together as to what intimacy is. Then build a masterpiece of trust. You will find that most people do not even know what intimacy is and are too egotistic to find out. Only in the end when their significant other craves for it do they find out they cannot fake it any more. By definition intimacy is trust and without this sincere romance is an illusion.
. Friendship is the main ingredient for a successfully consistent romantic experience every time. Subtle nuances that keep romance fresh come from the basic components of friendship. A person that listens with both ears and humility can stock pile new and fresh information that make the next romantic experience hot and heavy. Friendship or the appearance of friendship creates an environment that allows the other person to say things that they would normally be in reserve to express. This information makes the romantic experience easier and more detailed to the person you are trying to satisfy.
· Connection is vital for a romance. Ask yourself what connects you to that other individual besides primal attraction and if it is just primal, respect that, and know where you stand. A shared sense of adventure or shared sense of conservatism, it does not matter whatever it is needs to be drawn out. Find a common thread and start to weave a tapestry that is beautifully unique together. We spend a lot of time avoiding connecting because of our fear and insecurities and in the end it causes us more trouble than it’s worth. Our connection as a human family affects our overall health inside and out. Connection is natural. Having a solid and authentic connection is pure gold and allows everything to flow effortlessly.
With that said you get what you pay attention to. What are you paying attention to?
Rule #4081 Men want women to stay the same (physically & sexually), while women want men to change (intellectually and spiritually). When that change does not happen women realize they have been blindsided by the fact that “he is what he is” and was that way the whole time. You were just under the influence (New-ness, Attractive-ness, Horny-ness, and Might be the one-ness, etc…). Stay Above the Influence!
When it comes to being romantic some men come out with guns blazing and then run out of ammunition, others cliché you to death, but at least they make an attempt. Some do not even try. Romance is purely subjective when it should be objective, more of a personal experience, but if there is no romantic experience to compare it to, then what? Men don’t forget what it took to get you, they simply forget, “YOU”. Often time people forget each other and depend on the other to uphold the newness that once sparked that special encounter, but that’s another article for another time. They run the term and forget what’s important, “us” and spend the duration of the time together disrespecting the relationship. They disrespect the love and the sense of belonging that encourages a healthy sense of acceptance. That situation can be corrected, but do not spend your life time doing so.
The guy that doesn’t even try…..well what can you say? Remember the scene in the movie “300” where King Leonidas kicks the messenger of Persia into the endless pit….. I believe you get the picture. Then there are men that are obsessed with pleasing the person they are in a relationship with and romance oozes from their pores. They are natural romantics. These men can’t help it they appreciate their woman and reciprocate naturally. But no matter what, if having a romantic life is important or unimportant, you can make it happen. Instead of worrying about what someone else is not giving you live with a romantic spirit and all that you want will come. Ladies, remember you get what you pay for, rather it be a pair of Manolo Blahnik five inch heels or a man that cannot warm your side of the bed, you choose.
About J. Thurman, B.A.: A native of Chicago, J. Thurman uses his experience as a researcher, educator, and historian, to bring forth an offering that will start the movement to redefine the ideas of relationships between men and women. As a published author and relationship guru, he constantly pushes the envelope in the war between truth an honesty in relationships. He is a graduate of Southern University and currently lives in Atlanta, GA. He currently speaks and tours all over the country.


So... Stephen and I have been married for over four years
but have yet to decide on wedding bands.
The woman who married us gave such a strange look when we told her we had none...
I think its about time we got around to it.
This is what I chose.
But with an oxidized finish.


This tool will help you to better understand your Core Values & how they relate to your relationship with money!
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- Guide to uncover your Core Values
- Prompts to link your Core Values to your relationship with money
- Values Venn Exercise sheet
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