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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Peppercorn-Sauce | How to Make Peppercorn Sauce | To make a classic peppercorn sauce, start by heating olive oil or steak drippings in a skillet over medium heat. Next, mince shallot and garlic, and sauté both in hot oil for about 1 minute before adding cognac, beef stock, and peppercorns. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with heavy cream and whisk it into the sauce in the pan. Finally, stir in mustard and let it simmer for 5 to 30 minutes, leaving it on longer for a thicker sauce, and serve with steak. | Heat the oil and chop the shallots and garlic. Pour 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil or steak drippings into a skillet and turn the heat to medium. Peel a shallot and 1 clove of garlic. Use a sharp knife to mince the shallot , so you get 1/3 cup (35 g). You should also mince the garlic. Sauté the shallot and garlic for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the minced shallot and garlic into the hot oil. Stir and cook the aromatic mixture until the shallot softens. This should take 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cognac, beef stock, and peppercorns. Keep the heat on medium and stir in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of cognac or brandy, 2 cups (475 ml) of beef stock or broth, and 1 tablespoon (8 g) of coarsely crushed black peppercorns. Dissolve the cornstarch in heavy cream and whisk it into the sauce. Get out a small bowl and pour 1/3 cup (80 ml) of heavy cream into it. Add 4 teaspoons (10 g) of cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Whisk the mixture into the skillet with the sauce. Stir in the mustard and simmer the sauce for at least 5 minutes. Whisk 2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 g) of Dijon mustard into the skillet and bring the sauce to a gentle bubble. Simmer the sauce until it's as thick as you like. This could take 5 minutes (for a thinner sauce) to 30 minutes (for a very thick sauce). Serve the classic peppercorn sauce with your favorite steak. Store the leftover peppercorn sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat it and use it within 1 to 2 days. Crush the black peppercorns. Measure 4 teaspoons (15 g) of black peppercorns into a mortar. Use a pestle to crack the peppercorns until they're slightly crushed and aromatic. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can put the peppercorns in a seal able plastic bag. Hit the peppercorns in the bag with a rolling pin until they're slightly crushed. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Place 2 1/2 tablespoons (35 g) of butter in a small saucepan and turn the heat to low. Stir 4 1/2 tablespoons (35 g) of flour into the melted butter. Keep stirring and cooking the roux mixture until the flour is absorbed. Cook the roux for 2 minutes. Stir and cook the roux over low heat for 2 minutes. The roux should become thick and pasty. Stir in the brandy. Pour 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of brandy into the roux and stir it until the liquid is absorbed. The alcohol in the brandy will cook off. Whisk in the milk. Measure 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons (200 ml) of milk and slowly pour it in while you whisk the mixture. Keep whisking to prevent the sauce from becoming lumpy. Stir in the chicken stock and peppercorns. Once the sauce is smooth, stir in 1/3 cup plus 4 teaspoons (100 ml) of chicken or vegetable stock. Stir in the crushed black peppercorns. Season and serve the sauce. Taste the sauce and add as much salt as you like. You can serve the hot sauce over your favorite meal or continue to simmer it to make a very thick sauce or gravy. You can store the leftover peppercorn sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. Heat the butter and chop the shallots. Place 1 tablespoon (14 g) of butter into a skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Peel 1 shallot and use a sharp knife to chop it into small pieces. You should have about 1/4 cup (25 g). If you cooked steaks in the skillet, you could use 1 tablespoon (14 g) of drippings instead of the butter. Sauté the shallots for 2 minutes. Stir the chopped shallots into the melted butter. Cook and stir the shallots until they soften. This should take 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the beef broth, whipping cream, cognac, and green peppercorns. Add 3/4 cup (180 ml) of beef broth or stock, 1 cup (240 ml) of whipping cream, 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of cognac or brandy, and 2 tablespoons (5.5 g) of drained green peppercorns. Stir the sauce until the ingredients are combined. You can also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Simmer the sauce for 6 minutes. Turn the heat on to medium-high until the sauce begins to boil. Reduce the heat to medium, so the sauce bubbles gently. Stir and simmer the sauce until it thickens a little. This should take 6 minutes. Season and serve the green peppercorn cream sauce. Taste the sauce and season it with salt and ground pepper according to your taste. Spoon the hot sauce over steaks, chicken, or rice. Store the leftover peppercorn sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat it and use it within 1 to 2 days. | Heat the oil and chop the shallots and garlic. Sauté the shallot and garlic for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cognac, beef stock, and peppercorns. Dissolve the cornstarch in heavy cream and whisk it into the sauce. Stir in the mustard and simmer the sauce for at least 5 minutes. Crush the black peppercorns. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook the roux for 2 minutes. Stir in the brandy. Whisk in the milk. Stir in the chicken stock and peppercorns. Season and serve the sauce. Heat the butter and chop the shallots. Sauté the shallots for 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, whipping cream, cognac, and green peppercorns. Simmer the sauce for 6 minutes. Season and serve the green peppercorn cream sauce. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Pork-Rinds | How to Make Pork Rinds | If you want to make pork rinds, start by purchasing pork skin from a butcher's shop or international meat market. Next, remove any fat from the skin and cut the skin into bite-sized pieces. Once you've finished cutting the pork, place the pieces skin side down on a baking tray. Then, bake the skin at 250 degrees F. After 3 hours, remove the pork from the oven and heat some lard or peanut oil in a pan until it bubbles. Finally, fry the skins in batches for about 1 minute or until they're puffy. | Purchase some pork skin. Pork skin is easy to find at smaller butcher shops, charcuteries, or international meat markets. Alternatively, buy a large cut of pork belly with the skin on it. Make sure there is at least a quarter inch (0.6 centimeter) of skin on the meat. Buy at least a pound (420 grams) of pork skin, not including the meat. Use the skin within 3 days of purchase. The high moisture content of pork skin causes it to spoil quickly. Trim the skin away from the fat and meat. Cut away any meat by slicing through the fatty layer. Next, use the back of a knife or a large spoon to scrape the fat away from each strip of skin. The more fat you remove, the puffier the skins will become. Make sure you always practice good knife safety when handling tough cuts of meat. Pork skin is tough and rubbery. The fat will be soft and easily scraped away. The leftover fat can be rendered into lard or discarded. The meat can be saved for a pork dish. Cut the skin into bite-sized pieces. Once most of the fat is removed from the skin, cut the pork skin into small, bite-sized squares. Aim for pieces that are 2 x 2 inches (about 5 x 5 centimeters). The pork skins will double in size when fried. Therefore, avoid making excessively large pieces. Wash your hands, knife, and cutting surface after handling raw meat. Consuming raw meat can cause severe illness. Preheat your oven. Set your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius.) Many modern ovens will beep or ring when they're done preheating. However, if your oven doesn't have this feature, let the oven preheat for at least ten minutes. This will ensure that it comes to temperature properly. Place the pork skins on a baking sheet. Use a shallow baking sheet of any size. Place the pieces of pork skins directly onto the baking sheet, skin side down. Make sure the skin pieces aren't touching or you'll crowd them. Depending on how much pork skin you're cooking, you may need more than one pan. If you want to make your cleanup easier, line the sheet with foil or wax paper. Bake the skins for 3 hours. When the skins are cooked at a low temperature for a long time, the skins become dehydrated. This will allow them to become puffy and delicious when fried. When the pork rinds are finished dehydrating, they will look dry and brittle like beef jerky. It's better to dehydrate the skins for too long than not long enough. If they don't seem dry, let them cook for another thirty minutes or so. Heat some oil or lard for frying. Find a deep stainless steel pan and fill it 1/3 full with lard or frying oil. Next, place the pan over medium-high heat for five to eight minutes, or until the oil bubbles. Avoid using low smoke-point oils like olive oil. Appropriate frying oils include: Peanut oil (don't use if you have nut allergies) Coconut oil Rendered animal fat, also called lard Test the heat. The oil needs to be 385 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (196 to 204 Celsius) to properly fry the pork rinds. If you have a cooking thermometer, hold the metal end in the oil for a few seconds to get a temperature reading. If not, dip the end of a piece of bread in the oil. If the oil vigorously bubbles around the bread, the oil is hot enough. If the oil barely bubbles around the bread, the oil needs to heat up longer. Fry the skins until they’re puffy. Drop three to four pieces of pork skin in the hot oil. Let them fry for thirty to sixty seconds. Once the pork rinds are large, puffy, and floating on the surface of the oil, they're finished cooking. Fry the skins in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. Use a metal slotted spoon to remove the cooked pork rinds onto a paper-towel lined plate. Season and serve the pork rinds. Mix a small bowl of seasonings and sprinkle them liberally over the fresh pork rinds. Many people prefer a simple blend of salt and pepper. However, a variety of seasoning mixtures can be used, including: A spicy-sweet blend of 1.5 teaspoons salt, 0.5 teaspoons ancho chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of maple sugar A teaspoon of Chinese five spice and a teaspoon of salt A teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of pepper, and a sprinkle of paprika Store leftover pork rinds. Keep any leftovers in an airtight plastic container or re-sealable bag. If the container isn't airtight, the rinds will become stale. Eat any leftover pork rinds within a week. Pork rinds can be stored on the counter or in your pantry. If your pork rinds begin to smell rancid, don't eat them. This means that they've spoiled. Finished. | Purchase some pork skin. Trim the skin away from the fat and meat. Cut the skin into bite-sized pieces. Preheat your oven. Place the pork skins on a baking sheet. Bake the skins for 3 hours. Heat some oil or lard for frying. Test the heat. Fry the skins until they’re puffy. Season and serve the pork rinds. Store leftover pork rinds. Finished. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Draw-Mario-Characters | How to Draw Mario Characters | To draw Mario, start by drawing an oval and a circle underneath it for his head and body. Then, draw 4 rectangles coming off of the circle to outline Mario's arms and legs, and add ovals at the end of each one for his hands and feet. Next, draw Mario's face, including his mustache, and add his hat to the top of his head. Finally, draw Mario's clothes before erasing any unnecessary lines and coloring in your drawing. | Learn How to Draw Simple Super Mario. Learn How to Draw Graphic Super Mario. Learn How to Draw Cartoon Yoshi from Mario. Learn How to Draw Simple Yoshi from Mario. Learn How to Draw Princess Peach. Learn How to Draw Princess Daisy. Draw an oval with a bit flattened base and flattened sides. Draw a circle just below the oval leaving a narrow gap. Attach four irregular rectangles to the circle, one on either side for the hands and two at the bottom for the legs. Attach further ovals at the wrists and hang down circles overlapping the ovals. Draw egg-shaped ovals at the bottom for the shoes of the character. Now get back to the head and draw an overlapping circle for the cap. Draw two protruding ovals on either side of the head for the ears. Draw a curved line joining the roof of the ears for the cap-end. Also, draw a tapered oval for the nose between the ears. Draw a couple of ovals with pupils for the eyes and draw a curved line each over the eyes for the eyebrows, a rounded curved rectangle for the moustache overlapping the nose. Add details to the head by drawing a circle on the cap for the 'M', sideburn on either side and a small curved line just below the moustache for the mouth. Also, hang two rectangles from the shoulders. Erase all overlapping lines. Based on the guidelines, draw details on the entire figure to complete the drawing part. Clean-up all the guide strokes and color the drawing. | Learn How to Draw Simple Super Mario. Learn How to Draw Graphic Super Mario. Learn How to Draw Cartoon Yoshi from Mario. Learn How to Draw Simple Yoshi from Mario. Learn How to Draw Princess Peach. Learn How to Draw Princess Daisy. Draw an oval with a bit flattened base and flattened sides. Draw a circle just below the oval leaving a narrow gap. Attach four irregular rectangles to the circle, one on either side for the hands and two at the bottom for the legs. Attach further ovals at the wrists and hang down circles overlapping the ovals. Now get back to the head and draw an overlapping circle for the cap. Draw a curved line joining the roof of the ears for the cap-end. Draw a couple of ovals with pupils for the eyes and draw a curved line each over the eyes for the eyebrows, a rounded curved rectangle for the moustache overlapping the nose. Add details to the head by drawing a circle on the cap for the 'M', sideburn on either side and a small curved line just below the moustache for the mouth. Erase all overlapping lines. Based on the guidelines, draw details on the entire figure to complete the drawing part. Clean-up all the guide strokes and color the drawing. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-YouTube-Channel | How to Make a YouTube Channel | To make a YouTube channel, come up with a clever name for your channel that's appropriate for the videos you're going to make. Then, go to YouTube and log in with your email or Google account, and choose a profile picture for your channel. Add a description of your channel, select a picture to use as your channel art, and link to your social media accounts. Once you've made some videos for your channel, edit and upload the video. Be sure to choose a name for the video, and add tags so people can search for your video. | Choose a good name for your channel. Think of a name not many people will use, but will easily remember. If it's inappropriate, you'll have a bad image. You can choose to use your real name if you'd like, or you can make up a good one yourself. Just remember once you've decided it may take a while before you can change that username again. For example, if you decided on the name "Ready Spaghetti" and then realized it to be a bad choice you might have to wait up to three months to change that name. So choose wisely. Remember to make a cool username and a catchy channel name. You don't want it to be like any other channel so be creative and make a totally new one that nobody but yourself could think of. Be aware of potential misunderstandings. For example, the word "artistic" sounds a lot like "autistic," especially if you have a British accent. Unless both words apply to you, you might want to choose something different. Avoid saying "channel" in your channel name. Just like "Star Wars" sounds cooler than "Star Wars: The Movie," it's better if you leave out the word "channel." For example, "Brad's Math Channel" sounds less professional than "Math with Brad" or "Brad the Math Man." Try puns and rhymes. For example, if your name is Jane Doe and you're an artist, you could name your channel Jane Doe the Art Pro, PicassDoe, or Doe Vinci. Go to YouTube and log in with your Google account. Once you are logged in, you will see your name or username at the top of the left menu. Click this to access your user page. Add a profile picture. It's a necessary piece of your YouTube channel. Make sure it has something to do with your channel name to ensure it's not confused with someone else's that looks similar. Add channel art. This is an image that is seen at the top of your channel page. YouTube will show examples of how the image will be displayed on the website, a TV, or a mobile device. Try to put the focus of the picture in the middle; when your channel is viewed on a mobile device, the sides of the picture will be cut off. You don't want to be left with half your face! Choose art that grabs viewers' attention. It should be 2560 x 1440 pixels, and it must be relevant to your channel's message. Include your channel's name or a message in the channel art. This will help solidify your name in the viewer's mind. Change your channel art regularly. Unless you want to set a brand image by keeping the same picture, consider regularly changing your channel art about what content you are releasing in your channel. For example, if you are doing comedy sketches, change the channel art so that it relates to your current set of sketches. You don't need Photoshop. GIMP, Picmonkey, Pixlr, and Krita are examples of programs you can use to draw for free. Don't steal art. Never take someone else's work without permission. Use free stock photos or draw your own. Describe your channel. Add a brief description for your channel to let the viewer know what kind of content to expect. To adjust the channel description, click the About tab in the main channel window. From there click the “+ Channel description” button. Use the description to include links to your other websites, or to update news about your channel. Discuss who appears in your videos and link other related channels. Make sure your description makes sense, because it is publicly visible at all times. It should most likely be a brief description of you and your channel. Name your channel. Look at your description and the intended video content. Use this to determine the name. For example: if your videos are about knitting beautiful hats, you could call it: Proudly Knitted; The Infinite Knitter; or Woolly Mountains. And so forth. Add some links. If you add links to your social media from your channel, make sure you have created a separate account for each example, Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account. But remember, it's not always recommended to do this. Look at what's out there. The first step to adding content is deciding what you want to share with the world. People use YouTube for a huge variety of things, from watching music videos, laughing at comedy sketches, learning with tutorial videos, and much more. Think about what you can bring to audiences that they aren't getting from anyone else. Determine what your strengths are. If your friends keep telling you that you're funny, consider making comedy videos. If singing is your thing, upload some videos of you performing. The key is to create content that will keep your viewers coming back to see more. Consider doing reviews. Reviews are a great way to gain viewers, especially if you are reviewing something that people will be searching for. People always want to see good reviews before making the decision to purchase a product or service. There are a variety of possible review topics, including: New albums The latest gadgets TV and movies Video games Books Restaurants and other food products Businesses Film as much as possible. Constantly try to create more content for your viewers. Not only will a steady stream of content keep your audience glued to your channel, it will also help you improve your craft as you continue to develop your style. Brush up on basic video-making techniques. If you're talking into the camera, make sure that the camera is steady and that you are speaking clearly and at a good volume. You may have the funniest skit in the world, but nobody is going to watch it if they can't hear or see you properly. If you are making a YouTube video for a gaming channel, you will need a recording software. There are many recording software out there, Bandicam being one of the most popular. With the Bandicam free trial, you can make videos up to ten minutes for free! Practice editing your videos. Cut out unneeded parts of the video, and add music to keep the viewer on your video. A well-edited video will make a much stronger impression on viewers than a hastily thrown together creation. Spend some time learning the ins and outs of your video editing software. Look up tutorials on how to perform basic editing functions. There are a variety of free and open source video editors available online. Many of these contain the same features or similar features as expensive professional editing software. For beginners, feel free to get acquainted with the free software that comes with your computer. For Macs, iMovie and for Windows, it's the Windows Movie Maker. After you become acquainted with these interfaces and the technology behind them, you can progress to more complicated and more powerful software. If you use music, it will have to be Non-copyright music, or music with permission of the maker. Make your introductions compelling. Most viewers will determine a video's worth in the first few seconds. Strive to make your intros both entertaining and informative. The longer viewers watch your video, the higher YouTube will rank your videos on search results. Show a teaser of clips from the video that the viewer is about to watch. Make sure that your personality is front and center from the start of the video. Talk directly to the audience. Introduce the video personally, quickly discussing what to expect (don't give away your twist if you have one!). If you've built a brand, such as your name or a series that you are creating, make sure that is distinct and professional looking at the start of your video. When making a nonfiction video, such as a review or tutorial, make sure that the purpose of the video is clear at the very beginning. This will keep viewers from looking for another, more informative video. Capitalize on buzz. The media constantly creates hype around events throughout the year, in virtually every field of interest. These are referred to as “Tent-pole” events. Examine your programming and determine which events are tent-pole events for your audience. Create videos leading up to the event to capitalize on pre-event searches. As anticipation grows for an event, more and more people will be searching for related content. Create videos during the event to cover it as it is happening. This is great for viewers that can't otherwise experience the event themselves. Create follow-up videos after the event. Use this time to summarize what happened and analyze any information. Interact with your viewers throughout the process to keep them coming back to your channel. During big events, increase the amount of content you release to continue capitalizing on new viewers. More content shows viewers that you are knowledgeable and passionate about the event. Tell a story. Every video, fiction or nonfiction, essentially needs to tell a story. There should be a definitive beginning, middle, and ending. This is as true for comedy sketches as it is for a tutorial on taking care of flowers. Break up long videos into segments that focus on different aspects of the larger issue that the video is addressing. This will make the content more digestible for the viewer. Use annotations. These are boxes of text that appear in your video stream. Use them to direct viewers to other videos, channels, external websites and more. You can use annotations to easily allow viewers to subscribe to your channel. Use annotations on old videos to link to updated content. Annotations can act as a “table of contents” for long videos, allowing you to link to specific times in the video. Throw a change-up every once in a while. If you have made a name for yourself making skits, spend an episode talking directly with the audience, answering popular questions from the comments and discussing the process of your creativity. This behind-the-scenes look will create a stronger bond with your audience and make them feel like they have an impact on your work. Post as often as possible. Although it's great to post every hour, not everyone is that enticed to post that often. You may want to upload a new video daily or every other day. Use some good recording software such as FRAPS and Xsplit. But if you can't afford those, you can try Bandicam, until you have earned enough capital. Upload your videos. Log in to YouTube and click the Videos tab in your User page. From here, click the “+ Upload a video” button to start uploading your content. Click the “Select files to upload” button to browse for video files, or drag them into the window. YouTube will begin converting and uploading the video. If you want to control who watches the video, click the Privacy drop-down menu and select Private. You can then add the YouTube usernames or email addresses of the people who you want to be able to view the file. You can send up to 50 private invitations per video. If you want to upload videos that are longer than 15 minutes, you will need to verify your account with Google. Give your video a name. You can't upload something if you can't give it a name! The titles of your videos are the trigger to earning views, likes, comments, and even subscriptions at times. Come up with creative tags. Tagging your videos will help make it show up when viewers search for content. Make sure that your tags apply to your video, but also make sure that you aren't using the same tags as everyone else in your genre. Try to narrow down your appeal to a few keywords when coming up with tags. For example, instead of tagging your video as “singing”, narrow it down to the style: “blues singing”, “country singing”, “freestyle rapping”, etc. You can tag videos any way that you think people will search for it. Your tags should thoroughly describe the content of your video. Use a mixture of broad and specific tags. For example, if you are making a short comedy film about ninjas, use the tags “short film”, “ninjas”, “funny”, “martial arts”, “action”, “fighting”, “silly”, etc. You can use tags to create “sets” of videos. Create a unique tag and then apply it to each video that you want to keep together. This will lead to more clicks through to your related videos. Keep a schedule. When recording, make sure you keep a schedule of what day you need to record so that you don't pressure yourself with recording every day. Keep adding videos. If you want to have a successful channel, you will need a steady stream of content. Try to update your channel every couple of weeks. Let your viewers know if you are going to be taking an extended break, and when you'll be back. Setting a consistent release schedule can help build a following. Think of it like a TV show; everyone looks forward to a new episode of their favorite show, and they know exactly when it will be coming. Try to update weekly or every other week. Interact with the viewers. Try to respond to comments when you have time. This will create a stronger bond between you and your viewers. Viewers that feel that the content creator cares about them will be more inclined to return and watch more content, as well as tell others about it. Spend a few hours after uploading a video responding to the comments that viewers make about it. These viewers are your most die-hard fans because they are the ones eagerly anticipating the release of new content and are brave enough to comment on it. Treat them with respect, and you will see their numbers grow. Moderate the comments on your page as much as possible. While reading nasty comments can be funny, they detract from your channel and drive viewers away. Remove comments that would offend others and report abusive users. This will help create a friendlier environment for your regular viewers. Pose questions to your viewers. Try to keep the questions simple, such as Yes/No questions or “Voting” questions. This will keep negative feedback down and promote good discussion amongst your viewers. Bring back old videos. If you have older content that your newer viewers probably haven't seen, stick it in your feed so that everyone sees it on the front of your channel page. This can give your old videos some increased traffic. Keep watching other channels. You should be spending as much time as possible logged into YouTube, even when you're not actively maintaining your channel. You should be watching other's videos, interacting with other users, and browsing for like-minded content. Link to other user's content that you feel complements your own. This will help your channel show up on searches as related viewing. Try to maintain a schedule for adding other links to other videos. Curate your linked and liked videos on days that you are not uploading your own videos. This will help break up the wait between your videos, keeping your viewers active on your channel. When liking other videos, make sure that they are videos that you feel will appeal to the widest audience of your viewers as possible. You don't want to turn away your audience because no one likes the video you liked. Review your comments on past videos. Once you upload something, there's a bit of a chance that your video will get views, and sometimes people like to leave their thoughts about the video you uploaded down in the comments section. So, it's a good idea to always keep check of your videos. Feature your viewers' videos. Try to incorporate viewer commentary and creations into your videos. Post submission guidelines such as requiring a subscription to your channel. Collaborate with other content creators. Forge relationships with other creators in the same field as yourself. Cross-promote each other's channels to boost viewership. Do guest spots on another person's videos, and invite others to guest start in yours. Make sure that your viewers can easily reach the channels that you are collaborating with. You want them to be spending their time delving into the content that your community has created. Use social media to get your name out. Link videos and playlists from your channels into Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as other social media outlets. Encourage your friends, both online and offline, to pass your links on to others. Avoid spamming your social media networks with links to your channels. A friendly reminder now and then is good, but almost no one reacts positively to being hammered with links. Tell your viewers and friends to spread the word. Don't force it down their throats, but suggest that viewers share your videos if they like them. These messages are best saved for the end of the video after the important content has been viewed. Remind your viewers to “like” your videos. Visualize this scenario, you're popular in the community, everyone likes your videos until someone re-uploads your videos in their channel and calls it their own. That's bad. If you somehow feel that when you're popular enough and people are re-uploading your content, search on YouTube the name of your videos to see if someone re-uploaded them without your consent. Warn the re-uploader. If you found your videos in someone else's channel, warn them. No need for conflict, unless they don't stop doing that then you can report them to YouTube. | Choose a good name for your channel. Remember to make a cool username and a catchy channel name. Go to YouTube and log in with your Google account. Add a profile picture. Add channel art. Describe your channel. Name your channel. Add some links. Look at what's out there. Determine what your strengths are. Consider doing reviews. Film as much as possible. Practice editing your videos. Make your introductions compelling. Capitalize on buzz. Tell a story. Use annotations. Throw a change-up every once in a while. Post as often as possible. Use some good recording software such as FRAPS and Xsplit. Upload your videos. Give your video a name. Come up with creative tags. Keep a schedule. Keep adding videos. Interact with the viewers. Bring back old videos. Keep watching other channels. Review your comments on past videos. Feature your viewers' videos. Collaborate with other content creators. Use social media to get your name out. Tell your viewers and friends to spread the word. Visualize this scenario, you're popular in the community, everyone likes your videos until someone re-uploads your videos in their channel and calls it their own. Warn the re-uploader. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Learn-to-Accept-Yourself | How to Learn to Accept Yourself | To learn how to accept yourself, catch yourself when you think negative thoughts, like "I'm such an idiot," by asking yourself if you would say something like this to a friend or loved one. If not, change the thought to a kind statement like “Although I might not know this topic, I'm intelligent in other ways and that's okay.” Additionally, try daily affirmations to help overcome your inner critic and build self-compassion. For example, you can write down statements like “I'm able to get through tough times and I'm stronger than I think.” | Acknowledge your strengths and attributes. Acknowledging your strengths, or attributes you value, in order to help give balance to the work you will do on accepting the parts of yourself that are less valued. Additionally, realizing your strengths may help change your conceptualizations about yourself. Start by listing your strengths, or list one strength per day if it is challenging to think of them. For example: I am a loving person. I am a strong mother. I am a talented painter. I am a creative problem solver. Make a list of your accomplishments. Identify and acknowledge your strengths by making a list of your accomplishments. These might include people you have helped, your personal achievements, or troublesome times you have overcome. These types of examples can help place your focus on actions or deeds. More concrete examples will help you identify your strengths. For example: My father's death was hard on our family, but I am proud that I was able to help support my mother through the hardship. I made a goal to run a half-marathon, and after 6 months of training, I crossed the finish line! After losing my job, it was difficult to adjust and to pay the bills, but I learned a great deal about my own strength and I am in a better place now. Recognize how you judge yourself. Recognizing your own judgment is important in helping you identify areas where you are overly critical of yourself. Being overly critical is when you create areas or find attributes of yourself that you have unproductive feelings about. These might include shame or disappointment, and these feelings can squash self-acceptance. Start by writing a list of negative thoughts you might have about yourself. For example: I'll never be able to do anything right. I'm always taking others' comments the wrong way; something must be wrong with me. I'm too fat. I'm horrible at making decisions. Recognize how other people’s comments affect you. When other people make comments about us, we often internalize these comments and work them into our opinions about ourselves. If you can figure out the root of your self-judgements, you can start to rethink how you perceive yourself. For example, if your mother always criticized your looks, you may not be very confident about your looks now. But understand that her criticisms were rooted in her own insecurities. Once you realize this, you can start to rethink your confidence about your looks. Catch yourself when you think negative thoughts. Once you know the specific areas of your life for which you are most critical, it is time to start quieting your “inner critic.” Your inner critic tells you things like: “I'm not the ideal body size” of “I can never do anything right.” Quieting your inner critic will reduce reinforcement of your negative thoughts about yourself which will aid you in creating room for compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance. To quiet your inner critic, practice catching these negative thoughts as they come up. For example, if you catch yourself thinking, “I'm such an idiot,” ask yourself these things: Is this a kind thought? Does this thought make me feel good? Would I say this thought to a friend or loved one? If these answers are no, then you know that your inner critic is speaking again. Challenge your inner critic. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts about yourself, challenge and quiet this inner critic. Be prepared with a positive counter-thought or mantra. You can use the strengths that you've identified in previous steps. For example, if you catch yourself saying, “I'm unintelligent,” change the thought into a kind statement: “Although I may not know this topic, I am intelligent in other ways and that is okay.” Remind yourself of your strengths: “We are not all talented in the same things. I know that my talent or expertise is in another area, and I am proud of that.” Remind your inner critic that the negative statement is not true. “Okay, inner critic, I know you are used to saying that I am not intelligent, but it's not true. I am learning that I have the strength of intelligence in important and specific ways.” Be sure to always be kind to your inner critic. Remind and teach yourself, because you are still learning to alter your thoughts about yourself. Focus on self-acceptance first before self-improvement. Self-acceptance is accepting yourself just how you are in the present. Self-improvement focuses on changes that need to be made in order to accept the self in the future. , Identify areas with the intention to value them as they are now. Then, you can decide whether you want to improve them in the future. For example, you might want to lose weight. First, start with a self-acceptance statement about your current body weight: “Even though I want to lose weight, I am beautiful and I feel good just as I am.” Then, frame your self-improvement in positive, productive terms. Instead of thinking, “I am not the ideal body shape, and when I lose 20 pounds I will be beautiful and feel good,” you can say, “I would like to lose 20 pounds so that I am healthier and I have more energy.” Alter expectations of yourself. When you set unrealistic expectations for yourself, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. This will, in turn, make it hard to accept yourself. Shift your expectations of yourself. For example, if you say, “I am so lazy. I didn't even clean the kitchen today,” change your expectations to say, “I made dinner for the entire family. I can get the kids to help clean the kitchen tomorrow after breakfast.” Learn that you are worthy of compassion. It may seem odd or uncomfortable to say that you will create compassion for yourself because it may seem self-centered, but self-compassion is the bedrock of self-acceptance. This is because compassion is the “sympathetic consciousness of others' distress with a desire to alleviate it.” You are deserving of this same understanding and kindness! The first step in self-compassion is validating your own self-worth. It is easy and quite common to allow others' thoughts, feelings, opinions, and beliefs to dictate our self-approval. Instead of allowing your approval to be the decision of others, make it your own. Learn to validate and approve of yourself without needing it from others. Practice daily affirmations. An affirmation is a positive statement meant to encourage and be uplifting. Using this method for yourself can be a powerful tool in helping to build self-compassion. Having compassion for yourself makes it easier to empathize and forgive your past self, which will help you overcome feelings of guilt and regret. Daily affirmations also help to slowly change your inner critic. Build compassion daily by telling, writing, or thinking affirmations. Some examples of affirmations include: I am able to get through tough times; I am stronger than I think. I am not perfect and make mistakes, and that is okay. I am a kind and thoughtful daughter. Take a compassion break. If you are having a tough day accepting a particular part of yourself, take a moment and be kind to build self-compassion. Acknowledge that your judgement of yourself causes pain and that self-judgment can be overly harsh. Remind yourself to be kind and practice self-affirmation. For example: If you think, “I am not the ideal body shape; I am fat,” acknowledge that these thoughts are unkind to yourself: “These are unkind thoughts and I would not say them to a friend. They make me feel down and worthless.” Say something kind: “My body may not be perfect, but it is mine and it is healthy and it allows me to do things I love like playing with my children.” Practice forgiveness. Practicing self-forgiveness can help reduce feelings of guilt from your past which may be preventing you from fully accepting your present. You may be judging your past based on unrealistic expectations. Forgiving yourself will lift your shame and will give you room to build a new, more compassionate and accepting view of your past. Sometimes our inner critic is reluctant to let us forgive ourselves for the past. Sometimes we are unkind to ourselves by carrying around guilt. Take special notice of the guilt you may have. Try to evaluate if there were external factors involved in the situation. Sometimes events are out of our control, yet we hold on to those feelings of guilt. Evaluate if the actions were truly out of your control and resolve to forgive in abundance. To help you practice self-forgiveness, the exercise of writing a letter can be a powerful emotional and cognitive tool to start the process. Write a letter addressed to your younger or past-self, and use a kind, loving tone. Remind your younger self (inner critic) that you may have made mistakes. But you know you are not perfect, and that is okay. Our mistakes often offer valuable learning opportunities. Remind yourself that how you acted or what you did may have been all you knew how to do in that moment. Turn guilt thoughts into gratitude statements. Remembering that you often learn from past mistakes can help you think about your past in a productive way. Practice being thankful for what you have learned and accept that making mistakes is a part of life. Then, your past guilt or shame will not keep you from accepting yourself in the present. Write down the guilt phrases/thoughts you have, and turn each into a gratitude statement. For example: Unkind thought/inner critic: I was horrible to my family when I was in my 20s. I am so ashamed I acted that way. Gratitude statement: I am grateful that I learned about behavior at that age, because it has been helpful in raising my own children. Unkind thought/inner critic: I tore apart my family because I could not stop drinking. Gratitude statement: I am grateful that I can mend relationships and try again in the future. Surround yourself with loving people. If you spend your time with people who negate your self-worth, you may have a hard time accepting yourself. When people are constantly critical of you, it will be harder to convince yourself that you have strengths. Spend time with people who are supportive of you and who love you. These people will give you the boost you need to accept yourself for who you are. See a therapist. A therapist can help you peel back the layers that may be preventing you from accepting yourself. This person can help you delve into your past to understand why you think certain things about yourself. He can also help you come up with ways to talk with yourself, giving suggestions for self-affirmations and so on. Establish boundaries and communicate assertively with others. When you do need to interact with people who are critical or who are not supportive, you may need to set boundaries with them. Talk to these people so that they understand how their comments are unproductive and hurtful. For example, if your boss is always criticizing your work, you can say, “I feel like I don't get enough support with my project. I want to do good work, but I feel that it's hard to please you. Let's work on a solution that will work for both of us.” | Acknowledge your strengths and attributes. Make a list of your accomplishments. Recognize how you judge yourself. Recognize how other people’s comments affect you. Catch yourself when you think negative thoughts. Challenge your inner critic. Focus on self-acceptance first before self-improvement. Alter expectations of yourself. Learn that you are worthy of compassion. Practice daily affirmations. Practice forgiveness. Turn guilt thoughts into gratitude statements. Surround yourself with loving people. See a therapist. Establish boundaries and communicate assertively with others. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Rainbow-in-Soccer | How to Do a Rainbow in Soccer | The easiest way to do a rainbow is to start with the soccer ball between your feet. Use your dominant foot to roll the ball up your non-dominant calf. Once the ball reaches your knee, guide the ball off of your leg as you follow through. Land on your dominant foot and kick the ball up behind you with your non-dominant heel. | Use your dominant foot to roll the ball up your opposite leg. If you're right handed, press the ball against your left ankle with your right foot. Raise your right foot and roll the ball up the side of your left leg. Do this quickly and with some force. If you don't roll the ball up quickly and with force, it will drop back to the ground before you have time to complete the move. Follow through with your foot. Once the ball rolls up to knee level, follow through with your foot so that the ball gets some air as it rolls off of your leg. You want the ball to be positioned just over your heel. So if you used your right foot to roll the ball up your left leg, guide the ball off of your leg once it reaches the knee; it should float down just behind your left heel. Land on your dominant foot as you kick the ball with your heel. Now the foot you used to roll the ball should land on the ground. At the same time, use the heel of your other foot to kick the ball upward with your heel. For right-handers, that means your right foot will hit the ground as your left heel kicks the ball, arcing it over your head. This process must happen very quickly in order to work properly. Practice rolling and kicking over and over until you're able to move your legs fast enough to get it right. You want to strike the underside of the ball in an upward motion to get it to arc up and over your head. Practice until the ball lands right in front of your body. Lean forward a bit as you land and kick. This will help the ball move in the right direction. Dribble the ball fairly quickly towards a defender. You can use the rainbow to switch the direction of the ball right when a defender is trying to steal it. Place your dominant foot's heel in front of the ball while leaning forward a bit. This is important because if you don't lean forward, the ball will go backwards. Bring your non dominant foot behind the ball. The ball should now be positioned between your feet, ready for the rainbow technique to begin. Use your dominant foot to sweep the ball up the opposite leg. Use a motion that will cause the ball to roll off the leg at the knee and drop down toward the heel. Lean forward and kick the ball up with your heel. Do this as you land on your dominant foot. The ball should arc up and over the defender, and they will likely be confused about where it went, and you can run around the defender and continue moving with the ball. Finished. | Use your dominant foot to roll the ball up your opposite leg. Follow through with your foot. Land on your dominant foot as you kick the ball with your heel. Dribble the ball fairly quickly towards a defender. Place your dominant foot's heel in front of the ball while leaning forward a bit. Bring your non dominant foot behind the ball. Use your dominant foot to sweep the ball up the opposite leg. Lean forward and kick the ball up with your heel. Finished. |
https://www.wikihow.pet/Treat-Respiratory-Problems-in-Rabbits | How to Treat Respiratory Problems in Rabbits | If you think your rabbit has respiratory problems, take it to your vet as soon as possible so they can find out what's wrong and treat it. You might need to leave your rabbit with the vet if it has pneumonia so they can keep an eye on it overnight. Once you've taken your rabbit home again, follow your vet's directions for any medication, even if it seems better, to get rid of all of the bacteria. If you have more than one rabbit, isolate the sick one in a different cage until its infection has cleared up to make sure your other rabbit doesn't get sick too. | Consult your vet. Several types of bacteria cause respiratory infections in rabbits, including Pasteurella, Bordatella, and Staphylococcus. If your rabbit has a bacterial respiratory infection, your vet will prescribe an antibiotic. To choose the appropriate antibiotic, your vet will perform a diagnostic test using a fluid sample from your rabbit. This test will identify the bacterial 'culprit' and determine which antibiotic will work best against that bacteria. Whichever antibiotic your vet prescribes, it will very important for you to follow the treatment instructions carefully. Proper treatment will give your rabbit the best chance of getting better. An upper respiratory infection (URI) is called 'snuffles.' It is most commonly caused by Pasteurella or Bordatella and causes runny eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing. Pneumonia affects the lower respiratory tract. Begin treatment as soon as possible. A tiny sneeze in a rabbit can progress to a major respiratory problem and possibly cause other health issues. If your rabbit has a URI, early and aggressive treatment will be needed to prevent the infection from spreading to the lungs and other parts of the body. A URI caused by Pasteurella can be very difficult to treat, since the antibiotic may not kill all of the bacteria. Treatment may take as long as 6‒8 weeks. Pneumonia in rabbits can be fatal if left untreated. Prompt treatment for pneumonia is also recommended. Hospitalize your rabbit, if necessary. Pneumonia can make a rabbit very sick. If your rabbit has severe pneumonia, your vet will want to hospitalize it for intensive treatment. In addition to medication, this treatment would include fluid therapy, oxygen therapy, and assisted feeding (if your rabbit is too weak to feed itself). Your vet may use a nebulizer to administer the oxygen and medication. A nebulizer is a device used to administer medicine directly into the lungs. It can also be used to clear the airways of excess mucus. You will be able to take your rabbit home once it is strong enough for at-home care. Complete the full course of antibiotic treatment. This is very important! Give your rabbit all of the antibiotic your vet prescribes, even when your rabbit starts getting better. If you stop the antibiotic treatment too early, not all of the bacteria will be killed. The remaining bacteria can build up antibiotic resistance, making it more difficult to kill them. Your vet will prescribe enough antibiotic for you to administer beyond the resolution of symptoms. In addition to oral antibiotics, your vet may prescribe antibiotic nasal drops. Ask your vet to demonstrate how to give your rabbit the antibiotics. Isolate your sick rabbit. Pasteurella is a very contagious bacteria. If your rabbit's respiratory infection is caused by Pasteurella, keep that rabbit away from your healthy rabbits until the infection has cleared. Place the sick rabbit in a cage that is clean, comfortable, and away from drafts and loud noises. Allow your vet to correct your rabbit’s dental problem. Surprisingly, dental problems can cause respiratory problems. When the bones in your rabbit's mouth start breaking down, the tooth roots (located above the gum line) of the molars and/or incisors get pushed into the skull bones. These roots could block the tear ducts, causing runny eyes. The blocked tear ducts could also get plugged with mucus and bacteria. Dental problems typically occur in older rabbits. Treating the dental problem may be extensive. For example, your vet may need to remove the problem teeth. Treating dental problems in rabbits require surgery. While your rabbit is anesthetized, your vet will also do a nasolacrimal flush. This technique will help clear out the plugged tear ducts. Have your vet surgically remove an airway obstruction. Sometimes, a foreign object will get stuck in rabbit's upper airway, causing a chronic runny nose. A nasal tumor can also obstruct the upper airway. Your vet will use different imaging techniques (x-ray, endoscopy) to locate the obstruction, then perform surgery to remove it. If your vet finds a tumor in your rabbit's lungs, surgical removal may not be possible. Endoscopy involves using a long tube with a small camera on the end. Your vet would slide the tube through your rabbit's nose to find the obstruction. Follow at-home care instructions after surgery. After your vet has performed surgery, they will give you specific instructions to care for your rabbit at home. For example, you will give your rabbit antibiotics. Since your rabbit will probably have some pain after surgery, you will also need to give your rabbit pain medication. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can provide pain relief in rabbits. Examples of rabbit-safe NSAIDs are aspirin and carprofen. Follow all prescription instructions carefully. Keep your rabbit’s housing clean. A clean cage is essential to preventing respiratory problems in rabbits. Each day, you should remove any leftover food, refill the water bottle with fresh water, and remove soiled bedding. Once a week, thoroughly clean the food dish and water bottle with hot, soapy water and sweep around your rabbit's cage. Once or twice a month, do a deep clean of your rabbit's cage. After removing everything from the cage, use a mixture of vinegar and water to clean the cage inside and out. Allow the cage to dry completely before putting items back into the cage. Lower your rabbit’s stress. Stress can weaken your rabbit's immune system, making a respiratory infection more likely. Stressors for rabbits include dirty housing and overcrowding. Keeping your rabbit's cage clean and ensuring that it is large enough for all of your rabbits will help reduce your rabbit's stress. If the cage is too small, consider purchasing an additional cage so each rabbit will have enough space to play, sleep, and eat. Your rabbit may also become stressed because of boredom. Giving your rabbit lots of interesting toys to play with will keep it busy and lower its stress. Examples of good rabbit toys are shredded newspaper and cardboard boxes with holes cut out. Switch out the toys frequently so your rabbit does not get bored with the same toys. Isolate new rabbits. If you bring a new rabbit home, isolate it for 2 weeks. Since respiratory infections in rabbits can be very contagious, you would not want the new rabbit infecting your other rabbits or pets. During the 2-week isolation period, monitor the new rabbit for signs of respiratory disease (e.g., runny eyes, runny nose, difficulty breathing). If the new rabbit looks sick, take it your vet for treatment. | Consult your vet. Begin treatment as soon as possible. Hospitalize your rabbit, if necessary. Complete the full course of antibiotic treatment. Isolate your sick rabbit. Allow your vet to correct your rabbit’s dental problem. Have your vet surgically remove an airway obstruction. Follow at-home care instructions after surgery. Keep your rabbit’s housing clean. Lower your rabbit’s stress. Isolate new rabbits. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Perfume | How to Choose a Perfume | To choose a perfume, start by sniffing it in the bottle to see if you like the scent. If you do, spray it on your wrist and let it sit for 10 seconds before smelling it again, since the smell changes slightly on contact with your skin. If you're finding it hard to choose between several options, spray them on to separate sample strips so you can sniff them side by side before deciding. To help you make a final decision, ask a store assistant if you can have a free sample so you can try the perfume for a few days. | Decide on a price point. Perfume is a luxury item and its cost can vary hugely between products. Some perfumes are under 20 dollars while others cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Before you go shopping, decide how much money you want to spend on a perfume. If the perfume is a gift, consider both your personal finances and your relationship with the recipient of the gift. If you are giving perfume to your wife, you may want to spend more than you would on perfume for an acquaintance you don't know very well. Choose a scent concentration. Perfumes have different names depending on their lasting power. Typically, the most expensive perfumes are the ones that last longest, while cheaper perfumes don't have as much staying power. You can usually see the type or concentration of the perfume under its name on the front of the bottle. Eau de cologne has the lowest fragrance concentration, lasting about two hours. It is 3-5% oil in a mixture of water and alcohol. Eau de toilette is a slightly more concentrated type of perfume and will last three to four hours. It is a about 4-8% oil. Eau de parfum has a higher oil concentration than eau de cologne and lasts around six hours. It is 15-18% oil mixed with alcohol. The perfume with the highest concentration is simply called perfume or parfum. It has great staying power and will last all day. It is 15-30 oil mixed with alcohol. Narrow down a scent family. Consider which scents you or the perfume recipient enjoy. Perfumes generally are separated into four scent categories, though many perfumes contain a subtle mix of scents. If you are buying perfume for someone else, see what kinds of perfumes they use. If you have no idea what kind of scents you like, don't worry: you can figure out what scent family you prefer when you are trying perfumes in the store. Floral/Sweet perfumes smell like freshly-cut flowers. Common scents used in floral perfumes are rose, lavender, carnation and orange blossom. Floral perfumes are the most popular perfumes for women because of their sweet, feminine scent that most enjoy. Citrus/Fruity perfumes smell like fruits, particularly citrus fruits. Common tones are citrus fruits like orange, grapefruit and lime, but also other fruit like apricot, apple or peach. In general these scents are bright and refreshing. Oriental/Spicy perfumes smell musky and complex. Many of them contain tones of spices like star anise, cinnamon and vanilla. Woody/Chypre perfumes smell woody and earthy. Many contain scents like bergamot, oakmoss and patchouli. Ask others what kind of perfume they use. Be conscious of the scents people around you are wearing, no matter if you're at work, on the train or in class. If you catch a whiff of something you really like, ask the wearer what kind of perfume it is. You never know, you could find your new scent without even stepping into a store. If you don't like the scent of your friends' perfumes, try to pinpoint what about them you don't like. This is valuable information that will help you narrow down your options. Spread out your shopping. Don't try to pick the perfect scent in one shopping trip. The more scents you smell, the more your nose will get desensitized to the smell of the perfume, making it hard to try multiple perfumes. Because you'll want to smell a range of scents to make your decision, try to space out your shopping trips over a few days. Don't wear scents when going shopping. When you are shopping for your perfume, don't wear any scented skin products like body lotion, body sprays or even strongly-scented deodorant. These scents can distract from and interfere with the scent of the perfume. Bring along a friend. Consider bringing along a friend to help you make your decision. Especially if the perfume is a gift, the input of another person who knows the recipient can be very useful. If you are picking out the perfume for yourself, consider whether inviting a friend would be helpful or if it would make your decision harder. Research your stores. Pick out the stores that you are visiting carefully. Makes sure that the stores are reputable with a knowledgeable staff, and that they provide personalized customer service. Also make sure that the stores you go to are within your price range. Department stores like Macy's have great customer service, though their products tend to be expensive. Small boutiques may be pricey and have less variety, depending on the size, but their products and customer service should be high quality. Try to shop at a store where perfume is one of the major products sold. If you go to a clothing store that also sells a few perfumes, there won't be many options and their staff may not be as knowledgeable as the staff at specialty stores. Ask a salesperson for help. By now you should already have a good idea of what scent you are looking for. Approach an available salesperson and ask if they can help you find the right perfume. They will be happy to help and their knowledge about the products will make the search much easier. You can say something like, “I was wondering if you could help me pick out a perfume for myself. I'm looking for a semi-long lasting perfume with a clean, citrus-y smell. My price range is $70-120.” If you have no idea what you like, ask the salesperson to let you smell one of the most popular perfumes from all four scent categories. If you are giving the perfume as a gift and have no idea what the recipient likes, ask the salesperson to show you the most popular perfumes, especially floral scents since these are the most universally liked scent category. Only test six fragrances each trip. Don't overload on fragrances. Limit yourself to trying six fragrances a trip at most. This will allow you to fully appreciate the complexities of each scent, and won't overload your sense of smell. Because you have already narrowed down your options, you won't have to waste your smells on perfumes that are wrong for you. Sniff from the bottle first. When you are testing perfume, first take a whiff from the bottle. This will give you an indication of whether you like the perfume or not. If you end up not liking the smell at all, you will be glad that you didn't spray it on yourself. Don't inhale too heavily, as it may make your sense of smell dull even quicker. Spray perfume on blotter sheets. If you smell a perfume in the bottle and like the scent, spray a small amount of perfume onto a blotter sheet. Allow the scent to set on the sheet, about ten seconds, then smell it. If you still like the scent, label the sheet and put it into your purse or your bag. This way you can smell it later and remember which perfume it is. Spray favorite perfumes on your skin. If you really like a perfume and think it could be the one, spray a small amount onto your wrist or the crook of your elbow. Give the scent about 10 seconds for the alcohol to dissolve, then gently inhale the perfume. The scent of a perfume changes slightly upon contact with your skin, so it's important to test top contenders on your skin as well as from blotter sheets. Don't apply more than one perfume on each arm, or the scents will start to mix. Refresh your nose. Between each scent, refresh your senses by smelling something neutral, like your skin or your shirt. The neutral scent will refresh your sense of smell so that the smell of the last perfume won't linger and interfere with the next perfume you smell. Ask for samples. If you try a perfume that you love, keep the blotter sheet you sprayed and also ask if it's possible to get a sample of the perfume. Tell the salesperson that you are thinking of buying the perfume but want to sleep on the decision. Most major perfume carriers have samples of their products that they are happy to give away if they know that the customer is seriously interested. Compare perfumes side by side. After you have visited all the perfume stores you planned to and have several choices, gather all the samples and blotting sheets. Use the same procedure as in the store to test each perfume. Keep narrowing down your options until you make your decision! Consider purchasing a sampler set. If you can't seem to settle on just one scent, buy a sampler set from a store like Sephora or Ulta. Sampler sets contain sample or travel-sized bottles of multiple perfumes. You can test out each perfume over the course of a few weeks and eventually purchase a regular sized bottle of the one you like best. Some of the sets even come with a certificate for a full sized bottle. | Decide on a price point. Choose a scent concentration. Narrow down a scent family. Ask others what kind of perfume they use. Spread out your shopping. Don't wear scents when going shopping. Bring along a friend. Research your stores. Ask a salesperson for help. Only test six fragrances each trip. Sniff from the bottle first. Spray perfume on blotter sheets. Spray favorite perfumes on your skin. Refresh your nose. Ask for samples. Compare perfumes side by side. Consider purchasing a sampler set. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Extend-Unemployment-Compensation | How to Extend Unemployment Compensation | If you need to extend unemployment compensation in the U.S., visit your state's Department of Labor website or call your local unemployment office to determine if extended unemployment benefits are available where you live. If benefits are available, follow the same process as applying for unemployment in the first place, but be prepared to show evidence that you have been looking for a job during your unemployment period. | Find out if your state offers extended unemployment compensation. Although the federal government used to mandate that states had to offer extended unemployment benefits, Congress did not renew this law in 2013. It now varies from state to state whether extended benefits are available. Your first step before moving on should be finding out if your state offers extended benefits. Most state Department of Labor (DOL) websites will let you know if extended benefits are available. Try visiting your state's DOL site and searching for extended benefits. If you're unsuccessful on the DOL site, you could contact the state unemployment office directly by phone or in person. Employees should be aware if the state offers extended benefits. Make sure you still fit the criteria for unemployment benefits. Since unemployment insurance is managed by the states, there may be different criteria for who can file a claim. The basic definition, however, is that you've lost your job due to no fault of your own (like being laid off) and are actively seeking work. If you've given up actively seeking work, you're usually no longer eligible for unemployment insurance. Immigrants and permanent residents in the US are also eligible for unemployment benefits. The process is often the same as for anyone else, but contact your state Department of Labor to find out if there is anything else you have to do for benefits. Gather all of the necessary information and documentation. Applying for extended benefits is similar to when you originally applied for unemployment compensation. If your state offers extended benefits, you'll need a few key pieces of information to get started. Gather all of this and have it on hand when you contact the Department of Labor to make the process as smooth as possible. Your social security number. A complete work history. Your reason for unemployment. The Department of Labor will probably check with your last employer about the conditions of your losing your job, so don't lie here. If you claim you were laid off but were actually fired for fighting with a coworker, you could be charged with fraud. The penalties for this crime can range from a fine to prison time. Since you're applying for extended benefits, the DOL may also ask about your job search and inquire about why you've been unable to find work so far. Also be truthful here. The DOL may contact jobs you've applied for to confirm that you sent in an application. If the DOL finds that you've lied about your job search, you could also be charged with fraud. Contact your state's Department of Labor. Since laws are different from state to state, the process of applying for an extension will depend on what state you live in. For example, some states have a fully online application, while others want materials mailed. The best source for information on how to apply is your state DOL. Follow all the instructions they provide to ensure a successful extension of benefits. Fill out all the necessary paperwork. In addition to your employment history and proof of citizenship, there will be several government forms to fill out to request an extension. When you contact the DOL, they will either mail you these forms or tell you where you can access them on the internet. Fill them out completely and either fax or mail them to the unemployment office, depending on your state laws. Make sure all information is up to date and accurate. If the DOL has information that you submitted with your original request for unemployment compensation, double check it. If there are any errors, there could be an unnecessary delay in getting your benefits. Wait for an approval to come in the mail. After you sign and submit all the necessary paperwork to your state unemployment office, you'll have to wait to receive word that you've been approved for extended benefits. When you get word that you've been approved, you should keep receiving payments for as long as the extension lasts or until you find work. Payment may come in the form of a check, but direct deposit into your checking account is more popular. Continue looking for work. When you receive your extension, don't slow down your job search. The extension may only be for a few more weeks, and then you probably won't be able to get another one. Take this time to continue your job search and find work before your benefits run out. | Find out if your state offers extended unemployment compensation. Make sure you still fit the criteria for unemployment benefits. Gather all of the necessary information and documentation. Contact your state's Department of Labor. Fill out all the necessary paperwork. Wait for an approval to come in the mail. Continue looking for work. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Someone-to-Take-Over-Your-Car-Payments | How to Get Someone to Take Over Your Car Payments | If you're stuck with a loan on a car that you don't want any longer, you may be able to transfer your payments to someone who's interested in buying your car. Start by looking over your loan contract to make sure there's an option to sell the car and pay off what you owe. If you're unsure about your options, contact your loan company or an attorney. Once you know you can transfer your payments, get your loan company's permission to sell your car privately and use the money to pay off the amount you owe, with the new owner making payments to the bank or loan company. | Determine whether it is a lease or a loan. You will no doubt already know this, but if you are in any doubt be sure to clarify whether your have leased the car or have an auto loan. A loan would mean that you have in effect bought the car and you are paying off the cost in instalments to a bank, auto dealer, or other financial institution. A lease, on the other hand, is a limited term contract that will expire after a certain length of time. If you are leasing a car it is generally easier to transfer the lease to another person than it is to transfer a full auto loan. It is often not possible to directly transfer one loan between two people, but there are alternative ways to bring about the same result. Check your loan contract. Before you go any further you need to make sure you understand your contractual situation. Thoroughly read through all the documentation you have about your auto loan, looking for information about your options if you are struggling to make the payments, or want to get out of the contract early for whatever reason. There may be options in your contract to sell the car and pay off what you owe, or to trade in the car for another model and adjust the loan accordingly. If you are uncertain about your position, contact the loan company and consider getting some legal advice from an attorney. Speak with your creditors and find a buyer. Once you have established your position with your loan company, you may well find that your best option is to sell your car privately. You could then use the money to pay off the amount you owe, with the new owner making the payments to the bank or loan company. If you decide this is your best option you need to have the agreement of your loan company before you go ahead with it. Until you have paid off all the debt on the car, you will not completely own it, so you will need to get permission from your loan company to sell it. Taking responsibility for the sale yourself will make it more likely that you will get a good price than if you left it to the creditor to sell. Defaults and repossessions are costly for creditors so they will most likely be interested in alternatives if you can't make the payments. If you have an agreement with a friend or family member this can help the process move more quickly. Come to an agreement with the buyer and your loan company. The simplest way to effectively transfer an auto loan between between two people is for the new owner to take out a loan which he uses to buy the car from the old owner. The old owner will use the money from the new owner to pay off the amount he owes to the loan company and the car's ownership would be transferred to the new owner. If you are operating with one loan company this process could be more straightforward than if you are dealing with multiple organisations. By doing this you are basically transferring the loan and the outstanding payments to another person. Make sure that you also transfer the title of the car to the new buyer, in accordance with the laws in your state. Notify your insurance company that the car is no longer in your possession. Check your contract. The first thing you need to do is make sure that there is an option in your leasing contract to transfer it to another person. This varies from company to company so you need to know where you stand. If you are unsure whether your lease agreement allows assumption of the lease, consult the leasing company or an attorney. Generally, leases are easier to transfer to another person than loans are. If you are only leasing the car, you are not working towards buying it outright, so the contract will be shorter than a full auto loan. Speak to the leasing company. After you have checked your loan agreement, you should contact the leasing company directly to discuss your options and the possibilities. Before any lease assumption can be made, you will need to have it signed off by the leasing company, so it's a good idea to talk to them in the early stages. Some leasing companies might work with you to determine whether they consider an assumption as a good and viable option. Some companies may work on a case-by-case basis, so they may be able to help you with the process. Consider your options. If you are struggling to keep up with your lease payments or your circumstances change and you decide to try to pass on the lease, you should take some time to consider your various options and the impact they will have financially and on your credit rating. It can be very expensive to terminate a lease early, and defaulting on the lease will lead to repossession and a significant black mark on your credit record. One alternative might be just to sell your car outright rather than transferring the lease to someone else. If you are in negative equity, meaning the value of the car is less than the amount outstanding on the lease, selling the car won't cover your debts. You may be able to work out a deal with your creditors that enables you to turn in the car. So always speak to the leasing company about your options. Contact a specialist company. Perhaps the easiest way to find someone to take over your lease is to go through a company that matches people with leases. For a fee, these companies will help buyers and sellers connect and act as a go-between which can assist in the process and vet potential buyers and sellers. Search online for car lease swap companies and look for customer testimonies and companies with positive feedback. Weigh up the costs of the fees with the value of the service being provided. If you need to find a buyer quite quickly, it could be worth it. Some lease swapping websites will enable you to search by make, model, and year. List your lease online. An alternative to employing a lease swapping company is to list the lease online yourself, and deal with any interest you get from the advert. If you opt for this approach, you will have to do more of the work to find a buyer and negotiate a deal, but you will avoid the costs of employing someone else to do it. There will be listing and registration fees, so be sure you shop around to find the best deal with a reputable company. The fees will vary but you should expect to pay around $200 to register with the listing site and place your listing. There will be optional extra costs that will boost the visibility and presence of your advert. Advertise it locally. The classified section of your local paper is a good place for an ad seeking potential drivers to assume your lease or take over your loan. Run an advert with a photograph of the vehicle, mileage, general condition, amount of monthly payment, and term remaining on the lease. You can also use social media websites. If you use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or any other social media site, post an ad on it. Be sure to include a photograph and the amount of the monthly payments, as well as the remaining term of the lease. Talk to friends, family, and co-workers. Let friends, family, and co-workers know that you are looking for someone to take over your loan or lease. Contact your lease company. Once you have found someone to assume the lease, you need to work with your leasing company to ensure everything is properly agreed and all the paperwork is complete. Each financial institution has its own procedure for lease assumption, but the procedure generally includes: Submission of credit application by the new owner. When taking over a lease, a potential owner/lessee will have to fill out a credit application and be approved for the total amount remaining on the lease. Payoff or transfer of the current lease. Once the new owner/lessee is approved for purchase/lease of the vehicle, the lease or title will be transferred to him or her. Creation of new lease in new lessee name. When lease for the vehicle has been opened or transferred, the new lessee becomes responsible for the remaining payments on it. If you are operating through a lease trading company they will guide you through this process. Take the buyer for a test drive. The buyer will no doubt want to take a test drive in the car before completing the deal. They will also want to inspect the vehicle to verify that is in the condition you stated in the listing or advert. This is important for both buyer and seller, as you will both inspect the car together and agree on its condition. Having a clear and recorded understanding will avoid potential disputes down the line. The seller should always accompany the buyer on the test drive. Be sure you are present for any independent inspections of the vehicle. It can be helpful to take photographs to ensure that you have proof of any minor blemishes or damage. Prepare the vehicle for its new owner. When turning over a vehicle to a new owner, you will want to be sure to remove all personal items. That means taking out your iPod, gloves, charger cord, and any other items of personal property out of the vehicle. After this, be sure you clean the interior of the vehicle. Wipe down the dash, doors, and steering wheel, and clean the inside and outside of all the windows. Take the vehicle through the car wash or wash it yourself. Be sure to put a nice wax on it when you are through. Turn over the vehicle. Depending on the arrangement you have reached, you will pass the car on to the leasing company, lease trading company, or directly to the person taking over the lease. Follow the instructions you have been given by your lease company to turn the vehicle over. Most companies will pick up the vehicle and handle turning it over to the buyer. If you are in possession of the title to the vehicle, you will need to sign it over to the new owner or your financial institution. Check with the lease company for instructions on whom to sign over title to. Contact your state's Motor Vehicle Department to transfer ownership. This will eliminate the possibility that you might be held liable for any damages after the transfer. Once the paper work is all complete, and you have handed over the keys, the process is complete. Ask around friends and family. Another option is to allow someone you know and trust to use the car and make payments to you which you then use to make your lease payments. If you are considering this option, you should approach trusted friends and family who might be interested in taking over the lease. Contact your lease company. Before you consider this you should check your leasing contract to see if such an arrangement is expressly forbidden. Simply allowing someone to take over your lease contract without the involvement and approval of the leasing company is likely to violate your contract. If you have a trusted family member lined up to take on the lease, the company may look on the proposal more favourably. Speaking to the leasing company can help you decide whether to transfer the ownership completely by putting the lease in someone else's name. If you do this the new lease holder will have to be checked and approved by the lease company. The alternative is to keep the lease under your name and have the other person pay you directly, but this may breach your contract, so be sure that you are clear. Understand the risks. This more informal arrangement comes with inherent risks that you should understand. If someone is using your car and making payments to you, you essentially become a creditor so if the person stops making payments to you, you will have to repossess the car. This can be difficult and complicated. You will still need to make the payments on the lease regardless, so you are exposing yourself to risk. Any damage to the vehicle will see its value depreciate and push you into negative equity. If you own the car, you will need to add the new driver onto your insurance, which will likely raise the premium. If you do not, the driver will not be covered, which is often illegal. Due to these risks you should carefully consider the risks before embarking on this kind of arrangement. Think about the trustworthiness of the person, as well as his ability to make the required payments to you. | Determine whether it is a lease or a loan. Check your loan contract. Speak with your creditors and find a buyer. Come to an agreement with the buyer and your loan company. Check your contract. Speak to the leasing company. Consider your options. Contact a specialist company. List your lease online. Advertise it locally. Contact your lease company. Take the buyer for a test drive. Prepare the vehicle for its new owner. Turn over the vehicle. Ask around friends and family. Contact your lease company. Understand the risks. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Paper | How to Write a Paper | To write a paper, review the assignment sheet and rubric, and begin your research. Decide what you want to argue in your paper, and form it into your thesis statement, which is a sentence that sums up your argument and main points. Make an outline of the argument, and then start writing the introduction to the paper, which grabs your reader's attention and states the thesis. Then, include at least 3 paragraphs of supporting evidence for your argument, which makes up the body of the paper. Finally, end the paper with a conclusion that wraps up your points and restate your thesis. | Review your assignment sheet and rubric. Your paper needs to fulfill your teacher's requirements, so make sure the topic you're planning to write about fits the assignment. Then, check that you're writing the correct type of paper and using the proper research materials. You don't want to do all of the work to write a paper and find out you did it wrong. If you have a rubric, then you know exactly what to do to earn a high grade. Think of your rubric as a checklist for your paper. Research your topic to find your thesis. Learn about your topic and try to form your own ideas about it, based on your research. Take notes as you find interesting points and follow what interests you. Shape your notes into a thesis about the topic. The research you find will be used as your sources, so make sure they're legitimate and can be shown to your teacher. Utilize the internet, books, and various academic databases to find solid primary and secondary sources. If you've chosen a topic that isn't quite amounting up to what you thought it would, it's still early. Pick something else that you may find easier to write about. Brainstorm a thesis. This paper will present your ideas. As you do your research, what questions do you find yourself asking? What patterns are you noticing? What are you own reactions and observations? Delve into yourself to find your thesis--the string that ties it all together. A good thesis will succinctly express the main idea of your paper in one or two sentences. It should also: Touch on all the points made in your paper Explain the significance of your argument Be logically sound Appear at the end of the introductory paragraph Here's an example: In his tale, the pardoner shows his hypocrisy by admitting he satisfies his own greed, committing the same sin he condemns, and attempting to sell his pardon's after the story. Conduct additional research to back up your claims. In most cases, your first round of research won't be enough to write a great paper. You need to do specialized research to find sources that back up the claims you plan to make. You'll be switching from a general search about your topic to a targeted search aimed at finding information that backs your own ideas. Choose the sources that most strongly support your ideas. Check that your sources are reliable by making sure they're unbiased, finding the credentials of the writer, and verifying that the publisher is trusted. Books, academic journals, and online databases are the best places to find good sources. Make an outline. This should organize your thoughts and be a skeleton of your points. Don't worry about citing examples now, simply plan out how you want your paper to flow. It'll save you loads of time in the long run. Write down what points come from where. Finding information a second time can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Organize your outline to address the introduction, body, and conclusion. Bring in the reader and state your thesis in the intro, support your reasoning in the body, and wrap it all up at the end. Develop your introduction. Think of your paper as a sandwich--the introduction is the first piece of bread. In the first paragraph, the reader's attention should be grabbed and your thesis made. Introduce the topic in which you will be talking about. Start with a relevant quotation, intriguing question, or by addressing the counterargument. Make sure that your thesis statement is clearly stated and leads into your paper. The reader should have a fairly good idea by the end of this first paragraph what they are about to be a part of. Build the body. This is the "meat" of the sandwich: the part where the true argument and taste of your paper lies. It should be three paragraphs long, all addressing a different, yet related, point. Make sure each point is logically sound and adds weight to your thesis. A topic sentence (generally the first sentence, but not always) should clearly say what this point is. Then, introduce your first piece of evidence, followed by 1-3 sentences that connect your evidence back to your thesis. Explain how your evidence supports your points. Next, introduce your next piece of evidence for that point. In most cases, you'll have at least 2 pieces of evidence for each point, but you may have more in a longer paper. Follow the same format for each paragraph. The spotlight should dote on each point separately, allowing you time to argue in favor of it. How does it relate to your thesis? Are you leaving anything out? Three paragraphs is standard for the traditional 5-paragraph paper. If your paper is longer, support your points as need be. If your points aren't all equally strong, sandwich your weakest point in the middle. End with a strong conclusion. This is the "bottom bun," the last paragraph in your paper. All you need to do in this paragraph is bring your paper to a close, restate what you have already mentioned in the opening statement, and leave the reader feeling satisfied. End on a memorable thought, quotation, or call to action. Or, if your paper calls for it, allude to the consequences of your thesis if left unaddressed. What should the reader walk away thinking or wanting to do? Know what your teaching is looking for. They've probably said it in class 5 different times, but if anything is foggy, ask. Do they want your paper in MLA or APA format? Are they a stickler for third person? What's their take on page numbers and margins? How many sources do they require? Are there sources that are unacceptable? Check for grammar and content errors. You've been going over this paper for so long it may be difficult to truly see it in all its glory. Take a break for a bit, go back, and read it twice. It's a good idea to get someone else to go over it for you. Your writing may be clear to you but difficult to understand for someone else. What's more, have them go over punctuation and grammar as well--you may have read it so many times you stopped noticing. Use transitions. An easy way to make your paper flow is to incorporate transitions even within points. Show the logical connections between your ideas. Transitions make it clear that one paragraph flows into the other. What's more, your topic sentences should ease into the evidence effortlessly. There are dozens to choose from, but here is a short list: in the first place, comparatively, likewise, coupled with, in addition, in the light of, by the same token, etc. Write in the third-person present tense. Though once in a while a certain teacher will tell you it's appropriate not to, the majority of papers should be written in present day third-person. This means never using the word "I." Use the present tense regardless of the time period you are referring to. Your paper is making a point that is relevant now. Instead of, "Ralph and Piggy struggled for order and democracy," it should be, "Ralph and Piggy struggle for order and democracy." If you feel weight could be added to your argument by using "I" statements, ask your teacher if he/she is okay with it. They very well may be. Do not summarize or plagiarize. The first will result in a fail and the second will result in a fail. Whatever you do, avoid these two things. A paper that summarizes is not your own work. Your teacher is looking for something coming from you--some idea that would not be found in another reader. Because of that, you cannot (within reason) be wrong. Stand by your opinion and use it to create a unique thesis all your own. If you plagiarize, your teacher will know. Each person writes differently and your paper will be interrupted by the change of style. If you're thinking about plagiarizing the entire thing, know that all teachers have access to sources that identify this in addition to being able to recognize when it's not your style of writing. | Review your assignment sheet and rubric. Research your topic to find your thesis. Brainstorm a thesis. Conduct additional research to back up your claims. Make an outline. Develop your introduction. Build the body. End with a strong conclusion. Know what your teaching is looking for. Check for grammar and content errors. Use transitions. Write in the third-person present tense. Do not summarize or plagiarize. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Nuwave-Air-Fryer | How to Use a Nuwave Air Fryer | A NuWave Air Fryer is a great way to cook food without using unhealthy oil, and it's relatively easy to set up and operate. Once you turn the fryer on, place your food inside the base tray. Press the “Start / Pause” button to cook on the default setting, which will fry your food at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Alternatively, manually set your unit to cook your food perfectly. To put in your own settings, press the “Temp / Time” button once and use the up and down arrow buttons to adjust the temperature. Hit this button twice and use the same arrows to adjust the cooking time. You can find air fryer recipes and instructions online. Also, look at the instruction booklet for select recipes and a chart for cooking times and temperatures. | Clean the appliance and accessories before using them. Use a mild dish soap and clean water to rinse off all of the accessories, such as the basket and base tray, before using them. Use a damp cloth to wipe down the appliance — you don't want to submerge this in water. Set up the air fryer on a stable, heat-resistant surface. When choosing a spot for your air fryer, place it on an even surface that's heat resistant, most likely in your kitchen. Keep it away from large amounts of water, like the sink. Make sure the air vent isn't blocked or covered. Place the base tray and basket in the air fryer. To get your air fryer ready for use, fit the fry pan basket into the base tray. Now slide both the base tray and the basket into the air fryer. Plug the air fryer into a standard wall socket. Find the nearest outlet and plug in your air fryer. The air fryer comes with a 4 feet (120 cm) cord, making it easier to reach the outlet. Press the On/Off button to turn the air fryer on. Pressing the On/Off button on the digital touch screen will turn on the air fryer, lighting up the controls. The control panel should read “0,” showing that you haven't selected a cooking temperature or time yet. To turn the air fryer off, simply press On/Off again. Place the food inside the base tray. Slide the base tray out using the handle and put your chosen food onto the tray. Once all of your food is set on the tray, slide the tray back into the air fryer. Press Start/Pause to begin cooking on the default setting. Once your food is in the air fryer, press the Start/Pause button to enable the default setting. This will begin cooking your food at 360 °F (182 °C) for 10 minutes. Changing the temperature and time settings manually is talked about in the next section. Use the Start/Pause button to pause the cooking process. If you need to momentarily stop the air fryer, press the Start/Pause button while it's cooking. This should pause the cooking process, allowing you to remove the base tray, if necessary. Press the Start/Pause button to resume cooking. If you press Pause and don't hit any other buttons within 5 minutes, the time and temperature settings will be cleared. Use the On/Off button to clear all of the settings. If you pause the air fryer to remove your food before the timer is done and you don't want to put the food back in, press the On/Off button. This should clear all of the settings and turn off the fryer. Find out the temperature and time you’ll need to set for your food. You NuWave Air Fryer should come with an instruction booklet containing a few recipes. Look at the chart to find out how long to cook your chosen food, as well as at what temperature. For example, if you're making homemade fries, you would set the temperature to 360 °F (182 °C) for 18-30 minutes. You can find many air fryer recipes online that will tell you the temperature and time settings. Press the Temp/Time button once to set the cooking temperature. Find the Temp/Time button on the digital touch screen at the bottom left of the screen. Press the Temp/Time button 1 time to activate the temperature controls. The “Temp” button should be flashing, and the default setting of 360 °F (182 °C) should be showing as well. Adjust the temperature using the up and down arrow buttons. After the temperature settings pop up, you can use the up and down arrows on the right of the screen to set the desired temperature. The temperature will change by 5 °F (−15 °C) each time you press an up or down arrow. Hold the arrow down to adjust the temperature in 50 °F (10 °C) increments. If you need to change the temperature while the food is already cooking, you can use this same process. Press the Temp/Time button twice to set the cooking time. While you pressed the Temp/Time button once to change the temperature setting, pressing the Temp/Time button twice will allow you to set the timer. This should bring up the time settings, showing you the digital clock. ”Time” should be flashing, and the default setting of 10 minutes should be displayed. Press the up and down arrows to adjust the time by 1 minute. The arrows on the right of the screen can be used to set the desired cooking time. Pressing on an arrow will increase or decrease the time by 1 minute. If you want to speed up the settings, you can hold down the arrow button, adjusting the time in 10-, 20-, and then 30-minute increments. If you're cooking between 100 °F (38 °C) and 345 °F (174 °C), the air fryer can cook for up to 99 hours and 59 minutes. If you're cooking between 350 °F (177 °C) and 390 °F (199 °C), the air fryer can cook for up to an hour. Place your food in the basket immediately to start cooking. Unlike preheating, you can place your food into the air fryer right after you've chosen the temperature and time. Slide the base tray and basket back into the air fryer carefully once it contains your food. There's no need to wait for the air fryer to warm up — it will start cooking as soon as you press start. Don't fill the basket more than ⅘ full. Don't use the base tray without the basket in it. Press Start/Pause to begin the timer. Once your food is in the air fryer, press the “Start” button. This will allow the timer to start counting down, and your food will begin cooking. Use the “Preheat” button for crispier foods. Preheating the air fryer before putting your food in will allow it to get to the perfect temperature first. Once you use the Preheat setting, the air fryer will notify you once it's ready for you to insert the food. The Preheat option is great for foods like chicken tenders, fries, or frozen appetizers. Preheat the air fryer using the preheat button. After you've turned the air fryer on using the On/Off button, press “Preheat.” Then, press the Temp/Time button once to set the cooking temperature, and then press the Temp/Time button again to choose the right cooking time. If you'd rather use the default setting of 360 °F (182 °C) for 10 minutes, stop after pressing the Preheat button. Press Start/Pause to begin the preheating process. Once the temperature and time have been keyed in, hit Start/Pause on the digital touch screen. This will cause the air fryer to begin preheating. When you press start, the screen will display the current temperature, so don't worry if it's not the same as the one you're preheating the air fryer to. Wait for the beep and "Ready" signal. When the air fryer has reached your desired temperature, it will beep and the screen should say “Ready.” Once the fryer beeps, you need to insert your food within 5 minutes. The time that you set for the food to cook won't start counting down until the air fryer has preheated. Insert the food into the fryer to begin cooking. Once you insert the basket into the air fryer after it has preheated, the timer will automatically begin counting down. There's nothing that you need to press to start the cooking process. Make sure you don't fill the basket all the way up with food. Don't use the base tray by itself in the air fryer. Press the Start button twice to add food before it’s preheated. If you pressed Preheat but want to insert your food before the air fryer has reached the desired temperature, press the Start button twice. This will start the timer immediately so that your food will cook for the set time. Note that you don't need to preheat the air fryer if you've just cooked something — it will still be hot. Pull the basket and base tray straight out for removal. To take the basket or grill pan out of the air fryer, hold onto the handle and pull straight out. This should remove the basket/grill pan and base tray. Be careful not to press the demounting button on the handle when you're pulling them out. Place the base tray on a heat resistant surface. Once you've removed the basket/grill pan and base tray, set the base tray down on a surface that won't be damaged by the heat. This could be a potholder, silicone pad, or any other type of heat resistant surface. Remove the basket from the base tray, if necessary. If you want to pour your food onto a plate or bowl from the basket, you can remove the basket from the base tray to get rid of unwanted weight. Lift the safety cover on the handle and press the demounting button. This will allow you to lift the basket from the base tray. You can repeat the same process using the grill pan accessory. Interchange the basket and grill pan, when necessary. Both the basket and grill pan can be inserted into the base tray. Both accessories fit into the base tray and can be removed by pressing the demounting button. The basket is best used with foods such as fries, onion rings, or other snacks. The grill pan can be used to cook steak, hamburger, and other meat. Unplug the air fryer to let it cool. Before cleaning the air fryer, you'll want to unplug the unit. Allow it to cool completely, waiting at least 15 minutes before checking to see if it's still hot. Place the basket and base tray on a heat resistant surface once they're removed from the air fryer to let them cool down faster. Clean the air fryer and accessories after each use. After the air fryer has cooled, use a damp cloth to wipe down the appliance, making sure not to submerge it in water. You can clean the base tray and accessories using a mild soap with water, being careful to use a soft sponge so that they don't get scratched. Submerging the appliance in water will cause damage. Your air fryer and accessories need to be cleaned each time you use them. If there's food residue in the base tray, fill it with hot water and let it soak for 10 minutes before trying to clean it. | Clean the appliance and accessories before using them. Set up the air fryer on a stable, heat-resistant surface. Place the base tray and basket in the air fryer. Plug the air fryer into a standard wall socket. Press the On/Off button to turn the air fryer on. Place the food inside the base tray. Press Start/Pause to begin cooking on the default setting. Use the Start/Pause button to pause the cooking process. Use the On/Off button to clear all of the settings. Find out the temperature and time you’ll need to set for your food. Press the Temp/Time button once to set the cooking temperature. Adjust the temperature using the up and down arrow buttons. Press the Temp/Time button twice to set the cooking time. Press the up and down arrows to adjust the time by 1 minute. Place your food in the basket immediately to start cooking. Press Start/Pause to begin the timer. Use the “Preheat” button for crispier foods. Preheat the air fryer using the preheat button. Press Start/Pause to begin the preheating process. Wait for the beep and "Ready" signal. Insert the food into the fryer to begin cooking. Press the Start button twice to add food before it’s preheated. Pull the basket and base tray straight out for removal. Place the base tray on a heat resistant surface. Remove the basket from the base tray, if necessary. Interchange the basket and grill pan, when necessary. Unplug the air fryer to let it cool. Clean the air fryer and accessories after each use. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Dodge-a-Punch | How to Dodge a Punch | To dodge a punch, start by rotating your body clockwise and shifting a little weight onto your rear leg. Next, pivot both feet in the same direction and pull your head out of the way. If you can't fully dodge a punch to the face, tilt your chin down so the blow lands on your forehead, which is the hardest part of your face. Alternatively, dodge a punch by rotating your hips and body counterclockwise and shifting weight onto your forward leg. Then, pivot your rear foot in the same direction, duck, and bob back up in a U shape around the punch. | Hold your fists up. Hold your clenched fists in front of your face to protect it. Keep them around cheek level to protect as much of your face as possible. Clench your fists with the thumb on the outside, not the inside. Keep your elbows at your side. Your arms and shoulders should be relaxed for easy movement, with your elbows kept down to protect your torso. Tuck your chin down. Keeping your chin down makes your face a smaller target and protects your neck. Don't tuck it so far down you have trouble watching your opponent. Adopt a defensive stance. Turn slightly sideways with one leg (usually the right leg for right-handed people) further back than the other so your torso isn't facing the opponent. Your legs should be at roughly shoulder width or a little wider. Keep your knees bent so you can stay balanced and mobile. Don't turn too far sideways; if you are standing at right angles to your opponent you can be knocked to the side. Stay alert but don't stare in one place. Your eyes detect movement faster from the side of your vision than from the front, so an unfixed gaze will serve you better than a close stare at your opponent's hands. Be aware of your opponent's shoulders, eyes, and foot movement as well as their hands. If a particular opponent always steps forward before punching, you can use that information to react more quickly. The more practice you have, the faster your movements will be. Combine these steps into one movement. If you successfully dodge with this method, you will end up on the outside of your opponent's punch, ready to move further away or throw your own long distance punch. Remember to keep your fists up during the dodge to keep your guard in place. Rotate onto your rear leg. Rotate your hips and body clockwise (if your left leg is in front) and shift a little weight onto your rear leg. Optionally, you can take a step backwards with your rear leg as part of this movement. Pivot both your feet in the same direction. Keep your knees bent and your torso above your hips for maximum balance. Use the movement of your knees and hips to pull your head back out of the way. You can lean back with your neck a little as well, but the main motion should be the sideways rotation of your feet and torso. Minimize bending from the waist, as this can make you severely off balance. Only move as much as necessary. You only need to move a short distance to avoid a punch. Smaller movements keep you more balanced and give you more time to make your next move (whether that's a counterpunch or knocking your opponent over and running). If you can't avoid a punch to the face, take it with your forehead. Tilt your chin further down so the blow lands on a hard part of your skull rather than your nose or jaw. Simultaneously move back or rotate your head in the same direction the punch is traveling to minimize the force of impact. Only dodge punches to the head this way. The goal of this dodge is to end up on the inside of your opponent's punch (next to his body), ready for a strong counterpunch. If your opponent is aiming for your body, you might end up moving your face right into a fist. This dodge works best against a straight, strong right-handed jab. The bigger the punch, the better it is to dodge since your opponent will be off balance and spend more time recovering. You may want to block shorter jabs or feints or dodge them by moving further away instead of closer. Rotate onto your forward leg. Rotate your hips and body anticlockwise (if your left leg is in front) and shift more weight onto your forward leg. The main motion should come from your hips, not your waist. Pivot your rear foot in the same direction. Keeping your whole body in line with your hips keeps you balanced and mobile. Duck down with your knees and shoulder. Move your shoulder rapidly downward and inward at a 45º angle across your chest to get your head out of the path of the punch. Bend slightly with your knees as well. Don't overdo this movement. You only need to move your head about six inches (15 cm) to dodge a straight jab. Don't lean too far forward, as this makes it hard to balance and to watch your opponent. You should be using your knees and shoulder much more than your back. If you're as tall or taller than your opponent, you may be able to dodge the punch by raising your head instead, so the fist passes below your chin as you rotate to the side. Raise your rear hand slightly. Be prepared to use it to block or deflect a follow up punch from the other hand. Step closer (optional). If you need to, use your leading foot to take a short step toward the opponent. This is useful for constraining their movement for the next punch, but mainly for setting up a counterpunch. Counterpunch (optional). Once the punch is dodged, you can take advantage of your close position to retaliate with a punch of your own. Bob back up in a U shape. As you return to your original position, weave in a "U" shape around the punch. If you simply move straight back up you may walk right into another punch. Clench your stomach muscles. This protects your internal organs from injury. Exhale sharply through your nose just before impact. A short, quick burst of air will automatically cause your abs to flex and further protect yourself. Block the punch with your hands. Try to push your opponent's arm away with your hand to deflect the punch, or at least receive the punch on your knuckles rather than directly on your torso. Move with the punch. Step back or rotate your body in the direction of the blow. If the point of impact is moving in the same direction of the punch the force will be greatly reduced. | Hold your fists up. Keep your elbows at your side. Tuck your chin down. Adopt a defensive stance. Stay alert but don't stare in one place. Combine these steps into one movement. Rotate onto your rear leg. Pivot both your feet in the same direction. Use the movement of your knees and hips to pull your head back out of the way. Only move as much as necessary. If you can't avoid a punch to the face, take it with your forehead. Only dodge punches to the head this way. Rotate onto your forward leg. Pivot your rear foot in the same direction. Duck down with your knees and shoulder. Raise your rear hand slightly. Step closer (optional). Counterpunch (optional). Bob back up in a U shape. Clench your stomach muscles. Exhale sharply through your nose just before impact. Block the punch with your hands. Move with the punch. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Crockpot-Chicken-Tacos | How to Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos | To make crockpot chicken tacos, start by adding chicken, onion, pepper, salsa, and taco seasoning to a crockpot. Then, cover the crockpot and cook everything on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Next, take the chicken out and shred it with a fork. Finally, wrap the shredded chicken and cooked vegetables in soft flour tortillas before digging in. | Put the chicken in a Crockpot. Add the onion and pepper if you want. Mix the seasoning with salsa and pour over chicken. You can add some more water if you think it needs more liquid, but the salsa and the chicken will produce ample liquid as it cooks. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low for 6 to 8 hours. The chicken is done when it can be shredded easily with a fork. Lift the chicken out and shred it with a fork. Serve with soft flour tortillas, a spoonful of the veggies if you used them (lift them with a slotted spoon to drain out excess liquid), and your favorite toppings. Try any combination of lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, and tomatoes. Finished. | Put the chicken in a Crockpot. Mix the seasoning with salsa and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low for 6 to 8 hours. Lift the chicken out and shred it with a fork. Serve with soft flour tortillas, a spoonful of the veggies if you used them (lift them with a slotted spoon to drain out excess liquid), and your favorite toppings. Finished. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Bake-Thick-Cut-Bacon | How to Bake Thick Cut Bacon | To bake your thick-cut bacon, first preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line a baking tray with aluminum foil to catch the grease, and lay the bacon in a single layer so it doesn't overlap. Cook your bacon for 10 minutes or up to 20 if you like it crispy. If you like your bacon coated in maple syrup, take it out when it starts to get brown and crispy on the edges, brush it with syrup, and put it back in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. | Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and line a sheet with foil. Use a large, rimmed baking sheet to catch the grease. Lining the bottom and sides of the sheet with aluminum foil will make clean up easier. Lay the bacon in a single layer on the foil. Get out 1 pound (453 g) of thick-cut bacon and lay the strips in a single layer on the foil. The strips can touch each other, but avoid overlapping them or they won't cook evenly. If you want crispier bacon, set a baking rack on the foil-lined sheet. Arrange the bacon on the rack, so air circulates under the bacon as it cooks. Bake the thick-cut bacon for 10 minutes. Put the sheet in the preheated oven and cook the bacon for 10 minutes before you check it. Depending on how thick the bacon is and how chewy you like your bacon, it could be finished after 10 minutes. Cook the bacon for another 10 minutes, if desired. If you want your bacon to crisp up more, continue to cook it for another 10 minutes before you check it again. You don't need to flip the bacon. Transfer the bacon to a plate and serve it. Lay a few paper towels on a plate or platter and wear oven mitts to take the sheet of bacon out of the oven. Use tongs to transfer the bacon to the plate. The paper towels will absorb excess grease. Serve the bacon immediately. Store leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Place the bacon in an airtight container. You can use the bacon while it's cold, keeping in mind that the bacon will lose its crispiness as it's stored. To reheat the bacon, heat the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until the bacon is heated through. You can also reheat the bacon in the microwave. Set the bacon on a microwave-safe plate and heat the bacon in 20-second increments until it's heated through. Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and lay foil on a baking sheet. Cover the sides and bottom of a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. If you don't have aluminum foil, you can use parchment paper. Set a baking rack on the sheet. Lay the bacon on the rack. Arrange 3/4 pound (340 g) of thick-cut smoked bacon on the rack so the slices aren't touching. Cook the bacon for 15 to 20 minutes. Put the sheet in the preheated oven and cook the bacon until it starts to turn brown and crispy around the edges. Brush the bacon with maple syrup. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of maple syrup into a small prep bowl. Put on oven mitts and use them to take the baking sheet out of the oven. Dip a pastry or barbecue brush in the maple syrup and spread it over each slice of bacon. For the best result, use real maple syrup (not pancake syrup) for this recipe. Use caution when handling the sheet because there will be hot grease under the baking rack. Cook the bacon for 3 to 5 minutes. Put the sheet back in the oven and cook it until the bacon is completely browned and crispy. Serve the bacon. Remove the sheet from the oven and lay paper towels on a serving platter. Use tongs to transfer the bacon from the rack to the paper-towel lined platter and serve the slices immediately. Refrigerate leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days. Put the bacon in an airtight container. If you like, use the bacon while it's cold, keeping in mind that the bacon will lose its crispiness as it's stored. You can also reheat the bacon by heating it in a skillet over medium heat until the bacon is heated through. You can also reheat the bacon in the microwave. Set the bacon on a microwave-safe plate and heat the bacon in 20-second increments until it's heated through. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (191 °C) and line a sheet with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, you could use aluminum foil. Ensure that the bottom and sides of the rimmed baking sheet are covered. Arrange the bacon on a rack on top of a parchment paper-lined sheet. Set a baking rack on the foil-lined sheet. Take 8 slices of thick-cut bacon and lay them on the baking rack so there's at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space between them. The rack will allow air to circulate under the bacon, so it becomes crispy. Cook the bacon for 15 minutes. Put the baking sheet with bacon in the preheated oven. Cook the bacon until it begins to crisp a little at the edges, but hasn't finished cooking in the center. This should take 15 minutes. Mix the pecans, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cayenne. Get out a small bowl and put 1/2 cup (65 g) of finely chopped pecans into it. Stir in 1/2 cup (100 g) of brown sugar, 1/4 cup (60 ml) of maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) of cayenne powder. The mixture should be sandy. Spread the praline mixture over the bacon. Remove the sheet of bacon from the oven and divide the praline mixture evenly among the strips. Use a spoon to spread the mixture across each strip. Bake the maple praline bacon for 8 to 10 minutes. Return the sheet to the oven and cook the bacon until it's completely baked and the topping becomes crispy. This should take 8 to 10 minutes. Serve the bacon or let it cool. Transfer the maple praline bacon to a platter and serve it immediately. If you'd like the praline to harden, let it cool completely or refrigerate it before serving. Refrigerate the leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days. Put the bacon in an airtight container. Use the bacon while it's still cold. You won't be able to reheat the bacon because the praline will liquefy and run off of the bacon. | Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and line a sheet with foil. Lay the bacon in a single layer on the foil. Bake the thick-cut bacon for 10 minutes. Cook the bacon for another 10 minutes, if desired. Transfer the bacon to a plate and serve it. Store leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and lay foil on a baking sheet. Lay the bacon on the rack. Cook the bacon for 15 to 20 minutes. Brush the bacon with maple syrup. Cook the bacon for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the bacon. Refrigerate leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (191 °C) and line a sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon on a rack on top of a parchment paper-lined sheet. Cook the bacon for 15 minutes. Mix the pecans, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cayenne. Spread the praline mixture over the bacon. Bake the maple praline bacon for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve the bacon or let it cool. Refrigerate the leftover bacon for 4 to 5 days. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Accessorize-With-Jewelry | How to Accessorize With Jewelry | To accessorize with jewelry, make sure the pieces you choose complement your outfit. For example, if you're wearing a bold outfit with a bright print, choose simple, quiet jewelry. However, if you're wearing a plain and simple outfit, pick fun, creative pieces to transform your look. If you have a statement piece of jewelry you want to wear, use this to style your other pieces. For example, if you're wearing a loud statement necklace, choose a simple pair of earrings and a bracelet to balance it out. Also, don't be afraid to mix and match your jewelry! Feel free to mix up different metals, sizes, widths, and textures for a stylish look. | Accessorize for the occasion. Your jewelry should be appropriate for where you are going. Are you wearing jewelry to work? This is time to be more conservative with your accessorizing. Are you at a formal event? If so, consider wearing more fine jewelry and gemstones. Are you hanging out with friends or going to a party? Then be playful, fun and more daring with your look. Small, dainty jewelry is best for work. Stud earrings instead of dangling earrings are acceptable. Your jewelry at work should never be distracting. If you are unsure what is appropriate, see what the other women at the office wear and follow suit. Know all of your options. You have so many options when it comes to jewelry. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, watches, and rings are all available. All jewelry comes in different shapes, lengths, materials and widths. Whatever you choose should compliment your outfit and personal style. If you are new to accessorizing, start with a pair of stud earrings. Studs are appropriate for every occasion and can be worn with other jewelry as well. Take your outfit into consideration. If you are wearing a busy outfit with a loud print, your jewelry should be more subdued. If you are wearing a plain, simple outfit, you can wear more creative jewelry to transform your outfit. Remember your jewelry is an addition to your outfit and should never compete with what you are wearing. If your outfit is already embellished with jewels, skip the necklace and wear some simple earrings. Your jewelry can also be used to bring your outfit together. For example, if you are wearing a black dress with red shoes, you could wear some red jewelry to pull the outfit together. For example, you would not wear a huge, statement necklace with a leopard print top. However, you could be much more adventurous with a plain white tee or blouse. Mix and match. It used to be taboo to wear gold, silver, copper, rose gold, etc. However, this is no longer the case. Feel free to mix up different metals. Another way to mix and match is by playing with size, width, and texture. Wear bracelets of different widths or necklaces of different lengths. You can also stack rings on your fingers as well. Try doubling up or wearing a regular ring and a midi ring on the same finger. Necklaces and wrist wear (e.g. bracelets, bangles, cuffs, and watches) can be stacked as well. Think about your neckline. A necklace should compliment the neckline of your clothing. You want the necklace to be visible, yet not compete with your outfit. The right necklace can emphasize and enhance your outfit. On the other hand, the wrong can be a distraction and take away from what you are wearing. Try a long pendant necklace if you are wearing a deep V neckline. The necklace should hit right above your cleavage. A short, statement necklace looks great with a sweetheart neckline. Layered necklaces and statements necklaces look nice with crew neck cut clothing. Choose a centerpiece. An easy way to begin accessorizing is to build around one piece of jewelry such as a statement necklace, ring, or bracelet. This piece would be the focus of your outfit, and then all the other pieces would be minimal. For example, if your earrings are the focal point, you may wear a simple band on your finger and a dainty necklace. If your necklace is the centerpiece, wear stud earrings and minimal rings or bracelets. Your watch and bracelet could also be the focus of your accessorizing. If this is the case, do not wear earrings or necklaces that would compete with your wrist jewelry. Avoid being matchy-matchy. The color of your jewelry does not have to be the exact same color as your outfit or the other jewelry that you are wearing. You can wear multiple complimentary colors or wear a pop of color if your outfit is all neutral colors.If you are unsure what colors will look best with your clothing, take a look at a color wheel. Find whatever color you are wearing on the wheel and then look across the wheel to determine which colors are complimentary. Wearing metal jewelry is always a safe bet if you are not sure about what colors to wear. Diamonds and diamond-looking jewelry are also safe no matter what colors you are wearing. If your outfit is a neutral color (e.g. black, white, gray, etc.), you can wear some bright colored jewelry to add some color and personality to your look. Choose earrings that frame your face. Different styles of earrings are more flattering depending on the shape of your face. If you have a long or oval shaped face, try studs or shorter drop earrings. If you have a square or round face, pendant earrings will look nice. Hoop earrings compliment every face shape. These are just suggestions for choosing earrings. At the end of the day, wear earrings that you like and that you feel confident wearing. Wear rings that flatter your hands. Rings are a beautiful addition to any outfit. To make your fingers look longer, wear narrow bands. If your fingers are already thin, you can get away with wearing wider bands. As a rule, your left hand is for serious jewelry like wedding and engagement rings or family heirlooms. Your right hand is for more playful and over-sized rings. Consider your skin tone. Jewelry is worn close to your skin so look for jewelry that compliments your tone. Cool skin tones have bluish colored veins and have more pink and red undertones. Warm skin tones have greenish colored veins and more yellow undertones. If you have a cool skin tone, platinum and white gold will look best. If you have a warm skin tone, yellow gold and rose gold will look best. Rose gold actually looks good with a variety of skin tones. Go ahead and give it a try. Gemstones such as yellow diamonds, Citrine, Garnet, Morganite, Ruby, and Peridot are recommended for warm skin tones. Emerald, Opal , Amethyst, Aquamarine, Zircon, and Tanzanite are recommended for cool skin tones. No matter your skin tone, diamonds or diamond-like jewelry will always look nice. Compliment your frame. Jewelry will look different depending on your height, body type, and bust size. If you have a smaller frame, thin and dainty jewelry is very complimentary. However, dainty jewelry may not stand out as much on a larger frame. If you have a larger frame, try some chunkier jewelry. If you are 5'4" or smaller, go for necklaces that sit on or just below your collarbone. If you are tall and/or have a long torso, any necklace length is usually fine. Keep in mind that shorter necklace lengths may get lost. The shorter your neck, the thinner the necklace should be. For example, you would not wear a choker if you have a very short neck. | Accessorize for the occasion. Know all of your options. Take your outfit into consideration. Mix and match. Think about your neckline. Choose a centerpiece. Avoid being matchy-matchy. Choose earrings that frame your face. Wear rings that flatter your hands. Consider your skin tone. Compliment your frame. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Homemade-Pasta | How to Make Homemade Pasta | To make homemade pasta, start by mixing flour, salt, and eggs in a bowl until a dough forms. Then, knead the dough for a few minutes and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. After an hour, cut the dough into small pieces and pass them through a pasta machine. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out and cut it into thin strips with a knife. Finally, cook the pasta in boiling water for around 3 minutes. | Mix the flour and salt. Combine the sifted flour and salt until evenly distributed. If you plan on mixing the dough entirely by hand, combine the flour directly on a well-floured counter. Afterward, use the flour to form a mound with a crater in the top. If you plan to use a stand mixer, combine the flour and salt inside the bowl of the stand mixer. Break the eggs into the flour mound. Add the eggs to the flour, breaking them into the crater at the top of your flour mound on the counter. If using a stand mixer, you can break the eggs into the flour anywhere. Mix until smooth. Slowly combine the flour into the eggs using your fingers. Continue mixing in this manner until the dough comes together. If using a stand mixer, combine the ingredients with a paddle or dough hook attachment until the dough comes together. Knead for at least 3 minutes. Knead the dough using the heel of your hand until it feels very smooth and no longer feels sticky. If using a stand mixer, turn the dough out on a well-floured counter and knead for 3 minutes. If the dough still feels sticky, knead in an additional sprinkle of flour. Let the dough sit for 1 hour. Wrap the dough in wax paper and let it sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Note that the dough can sit out at room temperature for several hours. The dough should not be refrigerated. Make spinach dough. Before adding the egg, mix pureed spinach into the flour, creating a green dough. Puree 3/4 cup (180 ml) frozen cooked leaf spinach in a food processor or blender. Squeeze the spinach before and after to remove excess moisture. Mix the spinach puree into the flour before proceeding with the basic dough recipe as usual. Color the dough with tomato. Tomato paste can be mixed into the flour alongside the egg to create a red pasta. Add 2 Tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste to the flour as you add the eggs. Reduce the number of eggs from four to three. Continue the recipe as usual. Use beets in your basic dough. Roasted beets can be mixed into the flour alongside the eggs, but you will need to puree or grate the beets first. Roast the beet in a 400 degree Fahrenheit (205 degree Celsius) oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft. Let sit until cool to the touch. Grate or puree the beet in a food processor. Add 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of the beet to the flour alongside the eggs. Reduce the number of eggs from four to three. Continue preparing the pasta as usual. Make sweet potato pasta. You can add sweet potato paste to the dough alongside the egg, as well. Puncture a medium sweet potato several times with a fork. Microwave the sweet potato on high for 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Puree the sweet potato in a food processor or blender. Add 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of the sweet potato paste to the flour when you add the eggs. Reduce the number of eggs from four to three. Prepare the remaining recipe as usual. Prepare a simple herbed pasta. Chopped fresh herbs can be added to the flour with the salt. Use green herbs, like oregano, parsley, and cilantro. You can use a single herb or mix-and-match as desired. Use at least 3 Tbsp (45 ml). More can be added to taste, if desired. Mix the herbs into the flour before adding the eggs. Continue with the rest of the recipe as usual. Whisk together the flax seed and water. Combine the flax seed and water in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes. The mixture should thicken, turning into a gel consistency. Pile the chickpea flour onto the counter. Create a small indentation or well in the center top of the mound. This dough is a little more fragile than the basic dough, so it is recommended that you mix it by hand instead of using a stand mixer. Combine the flour and flax seed mixture. Spoon the flax seed gel into the flour mound. Gently bring the walls of the flour well in, combining the flour with the flax seed gel evenly. Only mix the dough as long as necessary for it to come together. Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature. This dough can stay out longer than 30 minutes, but the gel may begin to break down if you leave it out for more than a few hours. Do not refrigerate the dough. Flour the counter. Sprinkle the counter with enough flour to coat it lightly yet evenly. Even though the dough should not be very sticky at this point, as you work with it, the heat from your hands will cause the dough to begin sticking more. Flouring the counter minimizes this effect. Cut the dough into several pieces. Use a knife to cut the dough into 6 to 8 even pieces. Pass the dough through a pasta machine. The easiest way to flatten pasta dough is with a pasta machine. Flatten each piece of dough one at a time. Start by passing through one portion of dough through the pasta machine on the widest setting. Fold the dough in half before passing it through again. Repeat once more on the widest setting Pass the dough through the pasta machine several more times, closing the opening by one notch for each pass. Continue until your pasta is as thin as desired. Repeat with each section of dough. Alternatively, roll the dough flat using a rolling pin. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out each portion of dough as flat as possible. Make sure that both the surface and rolling pin are well-floured. Roll the pasta dough as thin as you think possible. If it is not paper thin at this point, push yourself past your comfort zone and keep rolling until the dough becomes even thinner. Cut the pasta into strips. The simplest way to cut pasta is to cut it into strips. You can use your pasta machine if it has an attachment, but if not, you can cut the pasta easily using a smooth kitchen knife or pizza cutter. Create lasagna noodles by cutting the pasta into 3-inch (7.6-cm) strips. Capellini and fettuccine strips are only about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, if not smaller. Spaghetti noodles are the thinnest and should be less than 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) wide. Make garganelli pasta. Garganelli pasta is shaped like small tubes. Cut the pasta into 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.6 cm) squares using a knife or pizza cutter. Wrap each square around a clean wooden skewer or chopstick. Press the overlapping corners together to form the tube shape. Form farfalle pasta. Farfalle pasta is better known as "bow tie" pasta. Cut out rectangles measuring roughly 3 inches (7.6 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Use a knife or pizza cutter. Pinch the rectangles together in the middle. Coat your pasta noodles in flour. Toss your pasta in flour as soon as you finish forming it. This is especially important if you plan on drying and saving the pasta. Otherwise, the pasta will stick together as it dries. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Fill your saucepan with cold water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Add salt to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking as it cooks. Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes. Add your pasta to the water and cook, stirring occasionally. Check for doneness after the first 3 minutes, and continue cooking until done. The pasta will be done once it feels soft but no longer sticky. The vegan pasta will usually be done completely after the first 3 minutes. Note that the length of time needed for the pasta to cook will vary depending on how large the pieces are. Drain. Pour the contents of the saucepan through a colander. Serve cooked pasta with butter or sauce as desired. Make noodles from wheat flour. If you're looking for a healthier version of traditional pasta, use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. . Create healthier buckwheat pasta Buckwheat pasta is a traditional homemade pasta made in the Lombardy region of Italy. Use buckwheat flour to make it. Prepare a batch of egg noodles using your food processor. Egg noodles can be prepared using a food processor if you don't have a stand mixer available for use. Use your bread machine to prepare pasta dough. A bread machine can also be used to simplify the process of mixing pasta dough. Try making ravioli. Stuffed pastas are a little more complex than their non-stuffed counterparts, but you can still make your own pasta dough and cheese filling at home without too much difficult. . Make macaroni pasta Macaroni pasta can be tricky to form, but the concept is fairly simple. Form tubes of pasta dough and bend the tubes slightly to give them the trademark macaroni shape. . Prepare large batches of Yi min noodles These noodles are made from wheat flour and tend to be fairly chewy once cooked. The pasta can be somewhat tricky to work with, but once you learn how to make these noodles, you can make large batches with ease. Try making gnocchi. Gnocchi are a cross between pasta and dumplings. These small pasta shapes are made with potatoes, eggs, and flour. | Mix the flour and salt. Break the eggs into the flour mound. Mix until smooth. Knead for at least 3 minutes. Let the dough sit for 1 hour. Make spinach dough. Color the dough with tomato. Use beets in your basic dough. Make sweet potato pasta. Prepare a simple herbed pasta. Whisk together the flax seed and water. Pile the chickpea flour onto the counter. Combine the flour and flax seed mixture. Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Flour the counter. Cut the dough into several pieces. Pass the dough through a pasta machine. Alternatively, roll the dough flat using a rolling pin. Cut the pasta into strips. Make garganelli pasta. Form farfalle pasta. Coat your pasta noodles in flour. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain. Make noodles from wheat flour. . Prepare a batch of egg noodles using your food processor. Use your bread machine to prepare pasta dough. Try making ravioli. . . Try making gnocchi. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Homophobic-Parents | How to Deal With Homophobic Parents | Dealing with homophobic parents can be a challenge but try to listen to their views without arguing so you can understand their position. Then, give your own opinion calmly and politely, which will make them more willing to listen to you. Use articles, pamphlets, and documentaries to back up your side of the issue. If you're gay yourself, make it clear that you're not asking for your parents' permission, since you didn't choose your sexuality. Say something like, “I understand you don't approve, but I'm not asking for permission to be who I am. I'm just hoping for your acceptance and tolerance.” If they don't accept your sexuality, try to come to terms with the fact that you don't need your parents' acceptance to be happy in the long term. | Listen to their concerns so you can address them. The only way to convince another person to change their views is by first getting a good understanding of what their views are. You may have heard your parents make homophobic comments before, but maybe you don't really understand why they feel the way they do. Start a dialogue with them about their feelings about gay people and use active listening skills to truly hear their side of things. Avoid interrupting them or defending your own views, even if it what they say is upsetting. You will get your chance to talk later. Ask questions so you can better understand how they feel. Your parents have reasons for their beliefs, and understanding their views will help you see things from their perspective. Your parents may try to shrug it off when you ask "Why are you against gay people?" by responding "Because it's just wrong!" Press them for more information by asking clarifying questions. You might ask, "Why do you think it's wrong?" In some cases, this might pertain to their religious beliefs, but you might also uncover a deeper, or more personal reason that they are against gay people Give religious parents time to adjust their views. If your parents are religious, they may have learned that homosexual relationships, being transgender, or being nonbinary are wrong. They may struggle to accept that homosexuality is natural and part of who you are. Don't try to attack their religion, as they'll likely just push back. Instead, work on educating them with current research. If you know people in your religious community who are accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals, invite them to talk to your parents to share a different viewpoint. Explain your perspective to your parents. Tell your parents about your feelings and experiences as an LGBTQ+ individual. Invite them to ask you questions and answer to the best of your abilities. You can also help them find articles, pamphlets, and other educational materials to read. If you aren't LGBTQ+, but are simply trying to broaden their views, you might share an experience of a friend or watch a video with them that portrays an inside perspective. If your parents aren't willing to open their minds and learn more, there's not much you can do to convince them. Don't push too hard, since that might make them even less inclined to listen to you. Don’t give up on your parents. If you love your parents and want them in your life, you'll have to accept them as they are. Keep reaching out to them, and they will probably respond eventually. They may even have a change of heart and stop being so homophobic. Even if your parents remain homophobic to some degree, they may soften up over time to maintain a relationship with you. Decide whether coming out is a good idea. You deserve to live your life out and proud, but always put your safety first. Unfortunately, coming out to your parents can have harmful consequences if you're a minor. For instance, your parents might kick you out or say very harmful things to you. Make sure you're sure your parents won't threaten your wellbeing before you tell them you're LGBTQ+. To figure out if they might be ready, consider their responses to your questions about their LGBTQ+ beliefs. Always listen to your intuition! If you feel afraid to tell them, wait until the timing feels right. Make a plan for how you’ll handle a bad reaction from your parents. Before you tell your parents that you're LGBTQ+, arrange for a place to stay and someone to talk to in case things go wrong. Additionally, determine how you'll support yourself if your parents cut you off. While it's scary and painful to think about these things, it'll help you protect yourself if things don't go well. For example, you might arrange to stay with a supportive family member who can help cover your costs until you're ready to be on your own. Alternatively, you might stay with a friend's family. Find a good time to come out. Talk to your parents when you and they are calm and in a good mood. Avoid coming out during a busy or emotionally tense time, like a holiday, a big family event, or an argument. You want your parents to be as receptive as possible to what you have to say. Think about what you'll say ahead of time, so you don't get tongue-tied. Ask a trusted friend or adult to help and support you during this conversation. Be kind and compassionate with your parents as they adjust. Your coming out may come as a shock to your parents. They might react with sadness, confusion, or denial. Try to understand where they are coming from, and be as gentle as you can during your conversation. Reassure them that you're happy, and tell them you can still do things like get married and have kids. Give them a chance to respond, but leave if you’re unsafe. Your parents might get upset or may try to argue with you about your LGBTQ+ identity. This can be very painful, but it doesn't mean they won't eventually accept you. Listen to them if they're not threatening you, and try to reassure them that what you really need from them right now is for them to just love you. Try not to argue with them, as this might escalate the situation. Instead, say something like, “I understand that you feel that way, but I hope you'll understand that this is who I am,” or “I hear what you're saying, but I don't agree with your beliefs. I know you love me, and I just hope you'll accept me as I am.” Give your parents time to process what you said. Your parents may need time to think about what you said and to accept that you're LGBTQ+. Your relationship with them might feel awkward and strained for a while before it starts to get better. Be patient with them as they let go of their previous goals for you and accept who you really are. Emphasize that you’re still the same person. Your parents may be afraid of losing the child they love, so show them you're still the same person. Live your life like you normally do. Talk about your day, discuss your plans, and invite your parents to do things you'd normally do as a family. Acting the same as you always have will help your parents feel “normal” about your relationship again. Explain that accepting your LGBTQ+ identity makes you happy. Your parents may fear that being LGBTQ+ will make you a target for bullying or that you won't live a fulfilling life. These fears may make them fight to change who you are. Help them understand that these fears are unfounded. Tell them that what's most important is that you have their love and support. You might say, “I can see why you'd be worried about me, but I'll be okay. I just need you to love me.” Follow your backup plan. If your parents don't take the news well, grab your packed bag and go to the place where you've planned to stay. Focus on taking care of yourself during this time. Later, you can reach out to your parents to see if they're open to acceptance. Go somewhere safe if your parents become violent or threaten you. Unfortunately, your parents may lash out at you after you come out. You don't deserve this type of treatment, and it's important that you move to safety. Leave the situation and call someone you trust for help. Then, move to a safe location until you feel ready to contact your parents. It's best to arrange to stay with a friend or family member before you tell your parents. If you don't have anywhere to go, contact local LGBTQ+ organizations to get help finding a place to stay. You might also try local shelters if there are any near you. If you're a member of a faith community, you might find someone there who will allow you to stay with them. Recognize verbal abuse when you hear it. It's not okay for your parents to say cruel, hurtful things to you. In addition to insults, your parents may threaten you, make jokes about you, or withhold affection from you. If your parents say these types of things to you, try not to take them personally. Until you can move out, remind yourself that your parents are speaking from a place of fear. Talk to a counselor or friend who can help you deal with your parents' harmful statements. Verbal abuse is still abuse. It may be best for you to arrange to live somewhere else if your parents continue to treat you this way. Surround yourself with people who support you. You likely have people in your life who accept you for who you are. If you don't, reach out to members of the LGBTQ+ community, either in person or online. Ask these supporters to be there for you during this time. Talk to these people when you need to vent or get advice. Spend time with your supporters to boost your mood. Rely on your support system when you need a place to stay, financial support, or food. Talk to a counselor who can help you process your feelings. Feeling rejected by your parents is a painful experience. A counselor can help you deal with your emotions and create a healthy mindset. Look for a counselor online, through an LGBTQ+ support group, or at your school. You may be able to get counseling for free through your school or a local university with a psychology program. Additionally, there may be free support groups for LGBTQ+ individuals in your area. Ask your parents to attend family counseling if they can’t accept you. It's really painful to feel rejected by your parents, but your relationship can get better. Counseling may help you communicate better with your parents. Additionally, your counselor may help you all understand things from each other's perspective. Tell your parents that you want to improve your relationship and ask them to make an appointment for counseling. Even if your parents don't want to talk to a counselor, consider getting individual counseling for yourself. If you're in high school or college, you can probably talk to a school counselor for free. Make it clear that you aren’t asking for permission. Your parents might try to forbid you from being anything but straight. Don't get into an argument with them – you won't win, and it might make the situation worse. Instead, calmly tell them that you aren't going to change, but you still want a relationship with them. Say something like, “I understand that you don't approve, and I'm not asking for permission. I'm just hoping for your acceptance and tolerance.” Live your life for yourself. You are the one who has to live your life, so resolve to do it on your own terms, not your parents'. Your parents may be unhappy or even angry about your sexual orientation, but it's not their place to make you behave or feel a certain way. However, remember that if you're living in your parents' house, they still have some say over your activities. If you're worried about how coming out will affect your day-to-day life, it may be time to step out on your own. | Listen to their concerns so you can address them. Ask questions so you can better understand how they feel. Give religious parents time to adjust their views. Explain your perspective to your parents. Don’t give up on your parents. Decide whether coming out is a good idea. Make a plan for how you’ll handle a bad reaction from your parents. Find a good time to come out. Be kind and compassionate with your parents as they adjust. Give them a chance to respond, but leave if you’re unsafe. Give your parents time to process what you said. Emphasize that you’re still the same person. Explain that accepting your LGBTQ+ identity makes you happy. Follow your backup plan. Go somewhere safe if your parents become violent or threaten you. Recognize verbal abuse when you hear it. Surround yourself with people who support you. Talk to a counselor who can help you process your feelings. Ask your parents to attend family counseling if they can’t accept you. Make it clear that you aren’t asking for permission. Live your life for yourself. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Register-to-Vote | How to Register to Vote | Registering to vote in most U.S. states is a quick and easy process. To be eligible to vote, you must be a U.S. citizen, and at least 18 years old by election day. If you are under the age of 18, you may be able to pre-register to vote if allowed by your state's laws.If you are a first-time voter, you will need to provide proof of identity when registering such as a driver's license, state ID, or passport. You may also need to provide additional proof of residence such as a current utility bill or bank statement. Check your State Election Office website for a list of acceptable documents.Note that there may be additional eligibility requirements for your state. For example, some states may not allow those with former felony convictions to vote. You can learn more about your state's requirements by visiting your State Election Office website.If you meet your state's requirements, you're ready to register. There are three ways you can submit your registration: in person, by mail, or online. You can register to vote in person at your local or state election office, or at the DMV if your state has what is known as a “motor voter law.” You can register by mail by using a National Mail Voter Registration Form or via your state's voter registration form. If you don't have access to a computer, you can pick up a registration form at many government offices, such as the Post Office, your local DMV, or a public library. In several states, you can also register to vote online. Currently, 39 states plus the District of Columbia offer online registration.If you plan on voting in an upcoming election, make sure to register to vote before your state's deadline. You can find your state's voter registration deadline, as well as same-day registration details on your State Election Office website or a nonprofit, nonpartisan website like Vote.org. The earliest state deadline for the 2020 presidential election is October 3, 2020. If you miss the registration deadline, your state may offer same-day registration in-person during early voting as well as at polling centers on Election Day. | Follow the registration guidelines for the state you live and will vote in. Every state in the US has the power to choose their own voting requirements and process for registering new voters. You should register to vote in the state of your primary residence. If you move, you may switch which state you vote in, but you'll need to re-register to vote in your new state of primary residence. However, it's illegal to vote in two states for the same election. In order to vote in a state, you may be asked to provide proof of residency, such as a state ID, utility bill, or lease agreement. Confirm you're eligible to vote based on your age and citizenship status. In all states, you must be at least 18 years old on Election Day and must be a U.S. citizen. Federal law requires you to show proof of identification the first time you vote. You may be exempt from this requirement if you submit a copy of your ID when you mail in your voter registration form. If you are a first-time voter or live in a state that requires you to show an ID order to vote, you may need to bring additional identification to vote, even if you submit photocopies that meet federal requirements with your application. Check your state's Voter ID requirements at https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/. If you are under the age of 18, you may be able to pre-register to vote if your state allows it. If you aren't yet 18 and your state does not have pre-registration, sign up at https://www.vote.org/pledge-to-register to receive a text reminder on your 18th birthday and a link to register to vote. Check your state's additional eligibility laws. Some states have additional requirements to be eligible to vote, such as living in the county you'll vote in for at least 30 days or not having been convicted of a felony. You can find your state's full eligibility requirements here: https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-rules/. Note your state's registration deadline. In every state, you must submit your registration paperwork before the next election. You can find your state's registration deadline here: https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/. Unless you move or change your name, you don't need to re-register to vote for every election once you're registered. However, it's a good idea to confirm your registration before each election at https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/ to make sure nothing has changed. Check if your state offers online registration. As of May 2020, 39 states plus the District of Columbia allow you to register to vote online. If you live in a state with online registration, you can conveniently fill out the electronic form. However, you will need to register in person or by mail if your state doesn't have online registration. You can find a list of states that offer online registration and links to each registration site, here: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/electronic-or-online-voter-registration.aspx#Table%20of%20states%20w/ovr. The states that do not allow online registration are Arkansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Find the online application form to register to vote in your state. Each state has their own registration process. You can find your state's form at your State election office website, or you can use websites like https://vote.gov/ or https://www.vote.org/register-to-vote/ to start filling out a general application before being redirected to your state election website. In most states, you can fill out the same application form if you need to update your personal information, such as changing your name, address, or party affiliation. Fill out your personal information in the form. You will need to list your full name, address, and date of birth in the form. If you have a different mailing address, be sure to provide it in the appropriate box. You may also see boxes for your email address and phone number, but they may be optional. Provide a state-issued ID to confirm your identity, if needed. Your state may require a valid driver's license, state-issued ID, Social Security number, or other identification. Your ID number usually is the number listed on the top of your driver's license or other state-approved ID. Type in the numbers exactly as they appear. Some states allow you to register online even if you don't have a state-issued ID. If you don't have a state ID or social security number, you're still allowed to register to vote using the paper registration form. You may need to bring an ID and additional proof of residency, such as a pay stub or current utility bill, when you vote. Check your state's Voter ID requirements at https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/. Federal law requires you to show proof of identification the first time you vote. Select your preferred political party if your state requires you to do so. Look for the section of the form that asks you to choose a political party and read the instructions to find out if you need to choose one. You can select the party you affiliate with the most, or if your state allows it and you would like to skip this step, you may choose the option for "No Party." Some parties you can select may include Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, or Independent. Some states require you to choose a political party in order to be allowed to vote in primaries, caucuses, or conventions. Look over your information and make sure you spelled everything correctly. Check every box to make sure you've entered your information correctly. Then, double-check that you've completed all required boxes. Fix any errors that you find. If you have any questions about filling in the online form, most states offer a help hotline you can call. Submit your application before the registration deadline. Some states require you to register as many as 30 days before the election, so make sure you're meeting the deadline for your state. The deadline to register online will be posted on your state's registration site, and you can also find it by visiting https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/. Submitting your online registration form does not automatically register you to vote, and your state will still need to review your form. Processing time varies by state, but it may take a few days for your registration to be accepted. You can check your voter registration on your State Election Office's website. Download the National Mail Voter Registration Form. This form can be used in most states to register to vote by submitting your application in the mail. The form can be found at https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/Federal_Voter_Registration_ENG.pdf. It is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Download and print the form so you can fill it out. Currently, this form is not accepted in Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To learn more about voter registration in these places, visit your State Election Office site or Overseas Vote Foundation at https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/home.htm. If you live in New Hampshire, you can only use this form to request an absentee ballot. North Dakota does not have voter registration. Read the federal and state instructions on the form. Read the general instructions and application instructions at the beginning of the form. Then, go to the back of the application to find and read your state-by-state instructions as well. You can also refer to your state's election website to get information and forms. Fill out the form with your accurate information. Never lie, skip required information, or use nicknames on your voting form since it may result in your application being delayed or denied. Use black or blue ink to fill out the application. Check the boxes at the top of the application to confirm your eligibility. Find the boxes at the top of the form that verify your eligibility to vote. Put an “X” or checkmark in the appropriate boxes showing you're eligible. Provide your personal information in the boxes provided. Follow the instructions for each box, writing your full legal name, current address, and date of birth. You may also enter your phone number but aren't required to do so. Follow your state’s instructions for boxes 6, 7, and 8. Look for your state in the back pages of the application so you know what form of identification you need to provide in Box 6, and follow these instructions accordingly. Then, check your state's instructions in the back pages of the application to see if you need to choose a political party, and fill out Box 7 based on those instructions. Follow the same process for Box 8, looking up your state instructions and providing the information as needed. If you don't have an ID or Social Security number, check your state-specific requirements. For example, they may have you leave it blank or write “NONE.” You may get assigned a unique voter ID by your state when they process the application. Sign and date the bottom of the form. Verify that everything you've entered on your form is correct. Then, sign the form to confirm it's accurate. Make sure to fill out Sections A, B, and C at the bottom of the form if they apply to you. (Optional) Include a copy of your identification. If you are registering to vote for the first time and are mailing this registration application, Federal law requires you to show proof of identification the first time you vote. You may be exempt from this requirement if you submit a copy of your ID when you mail in your voter registration form. If you'd like to submit a copy with your voter registration application, make a photocopy of your current and valid ID, such as a passport or driver's license, and of other documentation that shows your name and address like your utility bill, bank statement, or paystub, based on your state-specific instructions. Put the copies in an envelope with your form. If you are a first-time voter or live in a state that requires you to show an ID in order to vote, you may need to bring additional identification to vote, even if you submit photocopies that meet the federal requirements with your application. Check your state's Voter ID requirements at https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/. Send your application to the election office listed for your state. Check the end of the application's state-specific instructions to find the address for your election office. Put your registration in the mail before the listed deadline for the election you want to participate in. Make sure you have written the mailing address correctly and add a stamp for postage. Deadlines are usually between 7–30 days before the scheduled election, but they will vary state by state. Some states have “postmarked by” deadlines and others have “received by” deadlines, so make sure you know the rules for your state and leave yourself extra time in case there are unexpected delays. Check your state's deadlines in the state-specific instructions after the application or at https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/. Your state may send you a voter registration card in the mail to confirm your application was processed successfully. Find a location in your area where you can register. Registering to vote in person can be an easier option for some people. Locate your nearest local or state election office, which is usually in a municipal building or town hall. You may also be able to register at a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Armed Forces recruitment center, or a public assistance office. You may also find National Voter Registration Forms at other government buildings, such as libraries and post offices. You can find your state's election office here: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/eoddomestic.htm. Check your state's registration eligibility requirements. To vote in any state, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the state where you're registering, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. Your state may have different eligibility requirements for registering, so check online to make sure you're able to register. Make sure you register before the deadline posted for the election date, or you may not be eligible to vote in it. You can check your voter eligibility requirements here: https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-rules/. You can check your state's in-person registration deadline at https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/. Bring the appropriate documents. Your state may require specific documents like a valid state-issued ID, Social Security Number, or other documents to verify your identity. Check your state's specific instructions for what documents you need to bring with you while you're registering at https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/. Your state may also require additional proof of residency like a utility bill or paystub. You are allowed to bring your registration form home and return it at a later date if you forget something. Fill out the application form with your personal information. Read the instructions for the form carefully so you fill it in correctly, including the state-specific instructions that follow the application. Write in your full legal name, address, and date of birth in the appropriate boxes. Check your state-specific instructions to see your ID requirements and if you need to provide a party affiliation or information about your race or ethnicity. Sign and date the bottom of the form when you're finished. If you have any problems filling out the form, ask the official at the election office for assistance. Register to vote before the election. The deadline for in-person registration may be later than online or mail-in applications, but it will vary from state to state. Try to register as early as possible in case there are issues with your paperwork. Registering in-person is quick and easy, so get it done sooner rather than later. In-person voter registration locations may get crowded as Election Day gets closer. Give yourself plenty of time to make sure your voice gets heard. Some states have Election Day registration where you can register and vote on the same day. Check if your state offers same-day registration here: https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/ | Follow the registration guidelines for the state you live and will vote in. Confirm you're eligible to vote based on your age and citizenship status. Check your state's additional eligibility laws. Note your state's registration deadline. Check if your state offers online registration. Find the online application form to register to vote in your state. Fill out your personal information in the form. Provide a state-issued ID to confirm your identity, if needed. Select your preferred political party if your state requires you to do so. Look over your information and make sure you spelled everything correctly. Submit your application before the registration deadline. Download the National Mail Voter Registration Form. Read the federal and state instructions on the form. Fill out the form with your accurate information. Check the boxes at the top of the application to confirm your eligibility. Provide your personal information in the boxes provided. Follow your state’s instructions for boxes 6, 7, and 8. Sign and date the bottom of the form. (Optional) Include a copy of your identification. Send your application to the election office listed for your state. Find a location in your area where you can register. Check your state's registration eligibility requirements. Bring the appropriate documents. Fill out the application form with your personal information. Register to vote before the election. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Well-Groomed | How to Be Well Groomed | To be well groomed, shower daily, and apply deodorant after your shower to stay smelling fresh all day long. Additionally, brush your teeth at least twice daily, once in the morning and again in the evening before bedtime. If your hair is long enough to be styled, men can use pomade, waxes, muds, creams, or gels to add shine and control, while women can create a shiny, smooth finish to either curly or straight hair by applying a lightweight mousse. After tending to your body, turn your attention to your clothing, which should be clean and fit your body well. | Take a shower everyday. A requisite for a well groomed appearance is cleanliness. Start everyday with a shower and the soap of your choice. Do this unless specified otherwise by a medical professional. Certain soaps are healthy for your skin and contain less harmful chemicals. Use deodorant. After cleaning your body, ensure that your smell stay fresh. Apply deodorant after your shower. Choose a sensitive or aluminum free variety if you suffer from allergies. Spend time to find the smell that is right for you. Brush your teeth. Brushing twice a day should be a minimum for your routine. Brush once in the morning and once at night, but don't feel like you can't brush whenever you have the urge. You should also floss once a day. Even if you could floss twice a week will help. Flossing decreases your bad breath by removing bacteria build up from your mouth. Shave or groom your hair. Not everyone subscribes to shaving their face, legs or other parts of the body everyday. Only shave your face, legs and armpits if you believe this is necessary. Men can look well groomed with facial hair, but it needs to be controlled and cared for. For ladies it is typically viewed as necessary to shave your legs and armpits to look well groomed. There are many groups challenging this notion because men don't shave these parts and still look well groomed. Do what is right for you. Half of looking well groomed is the confidence around you. If you have sensitive skin, consider shaving less frequently and find a shaving cream made for sensitive skin. Carry the essentials. Have a “survival kit” with you at all times to combat a blemish once out of the house. You can use a strong zip lock bag and include items for dry skin, broken nails, or messy hair. Use some of the following for your own kit: Lotion or vaseline Mini comb Mints Mini mirror Pins Hair bands Perfume or cologne Compact towel Miniature sewing kit Style hair for guys. You can pull off any type of haircut with the proper hair styling technique. Here's a few products to help for the many hairstyles out there: Pomade can be used effectively for sleek look on short and textured hair. Waxes are great for adding a shine and control to your short hair. Muds and fibers help with the disheveled look for mid length hair. Creams can control frizz and fly-aways for longer hair. Gel can be used for a strong hold and wet look. Style your hair, ladies. Before styling your hair, you should understand what type of hair you have. You can determine the thickness of your hair by how many times you need to wrap it for a ponytail. One wrap means your hair is thick, 2-3 wraps is medium, and anything more is fine hair. Use a high wattage blow dryer (above 1800 watts) to prevent frizz and create a shiny, smooth finish. Curl your hair. If you plan on curling your hair apply a lightweight mousse while your hair is wet. Then use a ceramic curling iron once it has dried. Keep the curls all day by using a frizz fighting hair spray. Straighten your hair. Choose a hair straightener with ceramic plates and prep your hair before straightening. Use shampoo and conditioners that are meant for smoothing. Add volume to your locks by adding a volumizing gel while your hair's wet from a shower. Do this at night and put your hair up in a bun before falling asleep. Then let your hair down the next morning for a healthy bounce. When all else fails, wear a hat. Wear clean clothing. After cleaning and drying your clothes always fold immediately after to avoid wrinkles. Take any clothing with stains for immediate treatment at a dry cleaner. Make sure there aren't loose threads, the buttons are intact, and the hem is clean. If you take care of yourself, take care your clothing. Use a lint roller on your clothes if it's needed. De-pill your clothes. Pilling is the build up of fibers and threads that create little balls on your clothes. You don't need any special equipment to de-pill your clothes. First clean your clothes then if you notice pilling, shave it off. Take a standard razor you'd use on your skin and shave off the pilling. Use a lint roller afterwards for a clean finish. Be slow and gentle with the razor. It is easy to cut a hole if you aren't careful. Wear clothes you love. If you aren't in love with an article of clothing, ditch it for something that excites you. When you enjoy the clothes you own, you tend to care for their condition more. Dressing in your favorite clothes will make you look great and boost your self-esteem. If you love a coat or pants but they don't fit well, take them to an alterations store. Dress in style. Notice the trends around you by noting what someone wears that strikes you as being well groomed. As a general rule, keep it simple. You don't have to dress up everyday, but you can go a long way by wearing something simple that compliments itself and your body. When you know what works for you, go for it and double up. Don't hesitate if you know something looks good on you. Embrace your shape. Whatever you've got, you can find clothing that accentuates your flattering qualities. Make sure your clothes fit you. Don't wear anything too loose or tight. Always try clothes on before you purchase and get a second opinion. Wear clean and polished shoes. Shoes are always the first thing many people look at. They tell a lot about a person. If you're shoes become dirty due to dirt or salt, clean them that night. Wear a decent fragrance. Finish off your clothing choice with a quick mist of fragrance. Go for a nicer type of perfume or cologne. Be aware that some people are violently allergic to certain scents. A fragrance should be discovered, not announced. If in doubt find a health and beauty store, and pick out an essential oil based fragrance. Using essential oils can even help elevate your mood, decrease your stress, and smell incredible. Treat your leather. About twice a year, go through all your leather goods and give them a thorough cleaning. If you're leather articles are too dry and appear to scab, apply a leather dressing or cream to them. Try to use something recommended by the leather's makers since all leather is different. Clean dirt smudges with a damp cloth. You can use a leather soap if you want. The trick is to never let your leather get too wet. Never let your leather dry in direct sunlight. Keep hair cut and styled. Well cut hair allows you to present a confident image. Plan on cutting your hair every four weeks to retain a healthy look. Even if you are trying to grow out your hair, cutting the tips will prevent split ends and promote a healthy growth. Don't be a stranger to your barber or stylist. While you are there, schedule your next appointment to ensure your hair stays well groomed. Wash hair when needed. People with straight hair may choose to wash their hair daily while others with very curly hair may need to do so less frequently. There is some debate on how daily washing can dry out hair and strip the scalp of important nutrients. When you do shampoo, lather the product on your scalp and don't worry about the rest. For curly hair that becomes very dry, consider conditioning your hair more frequently than shampooing. Use conditioner for your mid length hair and tips. These parts of hair are more vulnerable to becoming dried out. Trim your nails. Shorter nails look neater. Men should always have trimmed nails. If you have longer nails, keep them in good condition. Never hesitate if you want to take your nails to the nail salon. Do not bite your nails. This doesn't make your hands look well groomed. Always use clippers or take them to a nail stylist. Use a mirror. Double check your look in a mirror before leaving the house. Mirrors can help you catch easy to miss blemishes that could ruin your look like: Red patches on your face Wrinkled clothing Untidy hair Weak collars Faded clothing | Take a shower everyday. Use deodorant. Brush your teeth. Shave or groom your hair. Carry the essentials. Style hair for guys. Style your hair, ladies. Wear clean clothing. De-pill your clothes. Wear clothes you love. Dress in style. Wear clean and polished shoes. Wear a decent fragrance. Treat your leather. Keep hair cut and styled. Wash hair when needed. Trim your nails. Use a mirror. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-Your-Dog-Has-Been-Abused-in-the-Past | How to Tell if Your Dog Has Been Abused in the Past | To tell if your dog has been abused in the past, consider whether it frequently acts anxious or aggressive, which can be a sign that it has suffered from abuse. However, keep in mind that dogs adjusting to new homes or dogs in shelters sometimes act anxious and aggressive even if they haven't been abused. You can also look for physical signs of past abuse, like difficulty moving, an unusual gait, poor fur quality, and overgrown nails. | Take note of the dog’s general appearance. A dog's physique will vary widely depending on its breed. However, no dog should appear too thin. For example, if you can clearly see where a dog's bones are below its skin, it may be emaciated. Since neglected or mistreated dogs are sometimes not adequately fed or are even starved, emaciation can be a sign of prior abuse. Examine the quality of a dog’s fur. Some dogs have short, stiff hair, others have long, soft hair, while still others fall somewhere in between. Whatever breed a dog is, however, its fur should be clean and free from unexplained clumps or tangles. If your dog has overgrown or matted hair, it may indicate that it has been neglected in the past, not cared for or groomed, or perhaps made to live in substandard conditions. Pay attention to any fur loss. If your dog has patchy fur, or if its fur seems to be falling out in clumps, this may be a sign of prior abuse. Possible causes include inadequate grooming or an untreated disease. Notice if the dog’s nails are overgrown. While it may seem like a relatively minor thing, overgrown nails can be a sign that a dog has been abused in the past. This condition can indicate that the dog's previous owner neglected to care for the animal, or that the dog was kept in conditions in which it could not naturally wear down its nails. Watch for untreated skin conditions. You should observe a dog's skin very closely. If you see certain unexplained skin conditions (that is, you don't know how they came about), these may indicate that the dog was abused physically or did not receive adequate veterinary care in the past. These signs include: Scabs Wounds Bumpy skin Scaly skin Burns Be on the lookout for infestations. Dogs that have been abused or neglected may be infested by fleas, ticks, or other parasites. While there are other reasons a dog (even one that is well-cared for) can become a host to one or more of these parasites, a serious, unexplained infestation might indicate mistreatment, especially if there are other signs of possible abuse. Know what kind of behavior to expect. Be careful not to assume that all unusual behavior is a sign of abuse. For instance, dogs that are adjusting to new homes may express certain behaviors (anxiety, excessive chewing, whining, etc.) because they are excited or nervous. Likewise, a dog at a shelter that seems nervous, frightened, or aggressive might not necessarily have been abused.Instead, the dog might not be used to being around so many dogs, or to being confined. All dogs need a period of time to be socialized and to adjust to new settings. If you are thinking about adopting a dog, try to observe it in a quiet place first. This can give you a better idea of its normal behavior, and help you decide if it is likely to have been abused in the past. Observe how the dog moves. Sometimes, past abuse can leave no obvious signs on a dog's skin or fur. However, if you notice lameness or difficulty moving, this can indicate that the dog was injured in the past due to physical abuse. Signs of such a problem can include: Unusual gait Moving slowly (lethargy) Not liking to be touched in certain areas Difficulty getting up, laying down, or sitting One or more legs moving differently than the others (slower, stiffly, etc.) Watch for aggressive behavior. Some dogs that have been abused react by becoming aggressive. However, aggressive behavior in dogs can have many other causes, so it is important to talk about your dog's symptoms with your veterinarian, trainer, or animal behaviorist. Signs of aggressive behavior in dogs include: Growling Barking Snarling Baring teeth Biting Look for signs of anxiety. Dogs that have been abused may also react by becoming withdrawn, shy, or fearful. As with aggression, there are many potential causes of anxiety in dogs, so it is important to talk with your veterinarian or another expert to narrow things down. Signs of anxiety in a dog can include: Excessive whining Excessive panting Drooling Chewing Digging Pacing Dislike of being left alone or separated Urination or defecation when separated from its owners Know which breeds are likely to have been abused. A dog of any type or gender can be abused. However, breeds that are used for dog fighting and security are more likely to have suffered abuse or neglect. This includes breeds such as pit bulls and Rottweilers Those that abuse these dogs may isolate, starve, and drug them, train them to be extremely aggressive, and cause them to be injured or even die in dogfights. Contact the dog’s previous owner or caretaker. If you ever have any questions about your dog's past (such as an unexplained injury or defect), you should feel free to get in touch whoever had the dog before you. Reputable breeders, kennels, animal shelters, and pet stores will all be happy to openly share any information they have. If the previous owner or caretaker does not want to respond to your questions, or provides answers that don't make sense, it could be a sign of a problem. The Humane Society offers helpful tips for finding a reputable dog breeder. Ask your vet to analyze your dog. Whenever you adopt a dog, you should take it to a veterinarian as soon as possible in order to check its overall health. If you suspect that your dog has been abused in the past, it is imperative to contact your veterinarian right away. He or she can give the dog a full examination to assess any problems, including behavioral ones, and develop a treatment plan if needed. Take action if necessary. In most developed areas, animal abuse is a serious offense and punishable according to a number of laws. If you know or suspect that a dog is being or has been abused, contact your local law enforcement agency and/or animal protection agency. Try to document the abuse if possible, using photographs or other evidence. However, do not put yourself in danger. Stay off of private land, and away from any individuals or animals that seem dangerous. | Take note of the dog’s general appearance. Examine the quality of a dog’s fur. Pay attention to any fur loss. Notice if the dog’s nails are overgrown. Watch for untreated skin conditions. Be on the lookout for infestations. Know what kind of behavior to expect. Observe how the dog moves. Watch for aggressive behavior. Look for signs of anxiety. Know which breeds are likely to have been abused. Contact the dog’s previous owner or caretaker. Ask your vet to analyze your dog. Take action if necessary. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Your-Ferret%27s-Hair-Healthy | How to Keep Your Ferret's Hair Healthy | To keep your ferret's fur healthy, feed your ferret a high-quality, nutritious ferret food so it's getting all of the nutrients it needs. Look for a food that has 30 percent meat protein and 15-30 percent fat, since ferrets need a diet that's high in protein and fat to be healthy. Additionally, consider adding a taurine supplement to your ferret's food, which will help with its coat and skin health. Just make sure the supplement you use is made specifically for ferrets so your furry friend doesn't get sick. Remember to regularly brush your ferret's fur too, which will remove any debris and keep it free of tangles. | Brush the fur. Use a rubber brush or a grooming brush intended for kittens or cats. Hold the ferret in one hand or have a helper do this. Use quick gentle strokes, and make sure you eventually brush all areas of the ferret's fur. Ferrets tend to fidget when brushed so you may want to do frequent short sessions instead of longer attempts Feed a hairball preventative to your ferret. Laxatone is the usual preventative hairball treatment given to ferrets. Administer laxatone by putting it on the ferret's nose or paws for them to taste and ingest. These are orally administered medicines to smooth passage of hair in the ferret's digestive tract. Laxatone works by allowing the hair to slide through the ferret's gastrointestinal tract, and out of the body without a hairball ever forming. Laxatone is available in many pet stores. Feed the ferret a proper diet. Feed the ferret every 3-4 hours. A standard ferret diet should maintain good coat and skin health. The ideal ferret diet should be 30-35 percent meat protein, and 15-30 percent fat. Ferret's need a diet high in protein, high in fat, low in fiber, and low in carbohydrates. Ferrets have a high metabolism so think about leaving some food out all of the time. Whole prey (such as a live mouse) is ideal for a ferret's diet, but may not be practical for most pet owners. Ferret-specific foods are available in many pet stores. Cat food can sometimes be substituted, but ask your veterinarian. Add taurine. You can either find a ferret food with this already in it or add it in artificially. The taurine comes often in “FerretVite.” FerretVite should be added to the water in liquid form 1 teaspoon daily. FerretVite is a multivitamin that will help with overall nutritional health including coat and skin health. It also comes in the form of an edible paste. Mix an arachidonic acid supplement into your ferret’s diet. The usual supplement given for ferret's for arachidonic acid is “FerreTone.” Mix 3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml) of the supplement into the ferret's food daily for adults or 1.5 teaspoons (7.5 ml) for kits, pregnant, and nursing ferrets. This is not normally necessary when feeding your ferret a normal diet, but may help with maintaining skin and coat health. Arachidonic acid helps with fur health, neurological health, and skeletal health. Fill a tub or sink with warm water. Ferrets have a slightly higher normal body temperature than people. Water that is warm to us may be cold to a ferret. Whatever container you use needs to be just full enough of water so the ferret's head is just above the water when it stands up. A ferret's normal body temperature is 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Apply shampoo to your ferret. You'll need to purchase a shampoo specifically designed for ferrets from a pet store, or ask your veterinarian. Hold the ferret in one hand or have a helper do this. Work the shampoo into the ferret's fur gently with the warm water into a lather. You may want to use a grooming brush to do this. Use long soft strokes. Avoid the ferret's eyes, ears, and mouth. These shampoos are set to a special pH (acidity) balance for a ferret's skin. Kitten or tearless baby shampoos may also work. Consult your veterinarian if you need a special type of shampoo such as for a flea condition. Rinse off your ferret. Use warm water and be thorough. Run the warm water over all areas of the fur. Ensure no shampoo or soap residue remains or you risk drying out the skin. Dry your ferret with a towel. Avoid letting the ferret get chilly or near cold air drafts while damp. Use a towel to pad down the ferret's fur until it's only damp. Lay the ferret on one or more bunched up towels to allow the ferret to dry themselves by rolling around. Don't dry the ferret so roughly that you scrape their skin. Dry your ferret with a blow dryer. Set the blow dryer to its minimum setting. Hold the blow dryer at least one foot from the ferret. Activate the blow dryer and use it until the ferret is dry. This is an alternative to towel drying your ferret If you are worried about over-drying then you should use the blow dryer just until the ferret is damp and let them burrow into towels to complete the drying process. | Brush the fur. Feed a hairball preventative to your ferret. Feed the ferret a proper diet. Add taurine. Mix an arachidonic acid supplement into your ferret’s diet. Fill a tub or sink with warm water. Apply shampoo to your ferret. Rinse off your ferret. Dry your ferret with a towel. Dry your ferret with a blow dryer. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Poop-Less-Often | How to Poop Less Often | It's possible to poop less often by making a few simple changes to your diet. Start by reducing the amount of fiber you eat each day, as high-fiber foods can increase the frequency of bowel movements. Some high-fiber foods include pears, apples, and oatmeal. It can also help to limit the number of dairy products you eat, as lactose can cause some people to experience diarrhea. Similarly, replace coffee and other caffeinated drinks with water, juice, or tea, as caffeine stimulates the muscles that produce stool. Making lifestyle changes can also help you to poop less. Try to manage your stress well, as excessive stress can increase the frequency of bowel movements. Seek medical advice if you have a sudden increase in bowel movements or if they're accompanied by pain or blood. | Monitor the types and amounts of food you consume. Often times, frequent trips to the bathroom can be indicative of a food allergy or intolerance. Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat and what time you eat it. When you have a bowel movement, chart this in your diary as well. Eventually, a pattern may emerge. For example, perhaps every time you eat spicy food, you have an increased number of bowel movements. Eat only at meal times. Snacking can add to the amount of poop you will need to get rid of from your body, and also increases the regularity and continuity with which stool progresses to its exit. If you must eat, eat moderately. Take care in consuming dairy products. Lactose intolerance is a common condition found in adults. People who are lactose intolerant cannot break down the lactose sugar found in dairy products. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea. You may be able to keep eating cheese. Some people with lactose intolerance can still tolerate cheese, as many varieties have low amounts of lactose. Generally, the more aged the cheese is, the less lactose it contains. Check the label of dairy products. Lactose is a type of sugar, so the less sugar a dairy product has, the less lactose it will likely contain. Avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks. Caffeine stimulates the muscles that are responsible for producing stool. Try replacing caffeinated drinks with water, juice, or tea. Try cutting down on the number of caffeinated drinks you consume each day. For example, cut down from 4 cups of coffee to 2 cups of coffee per day. Alternatively, try “half-caf” coffee, which has half the caffeine of a standard cup of coffee. Cut down on high-fiber foods. Consuming an excess of foods with high fiber content can increase the frequency of bowel movements. If you're eating an excessive amount of fruits and vegetables, which contain high amounts of fiber, you may want to cut back. The Centers for Disease Control recommends 2.5-3 cups of vegetables today for adults who exercise less than 30 minutes per day. Those who exercise heavily may consume more vegetables. Foods that are high in fiber include: Raspberries Pears Apples Spaghetti Barley Bran flakes Oatmeal Split peas Lentils Beans Artichoke Green peas Broccoli Write down a list of medications that you take. Many medications can increase bowel movement frequency or cause diarrhea. Check the package insert that came with your medication. If diarrhea or any changes in bowel frequency are listed as possible side effects, consult your healthcare provider if you experience these symptoms. Adderall has diarrhea listed as a side effect. Metformin, a common medication for diabetes, also cause significant diarrhea. Check with your doctor if you are having significant GI symptoms while on metformin. Other common medications can cause diarrhea, including misoprostol, laxatives, and stool softeners. Avoid drinking alcohol in excess. Alcohol can also cause diarrhea and may exacerbate bowel-related medical conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Manage your stress levels. Stress may contribute to increased bowel movement frequency and can cause diarrhea. People often feel anxious about relationships, finances, education exams, or other big life events. Avoid the stressors you are able to avoid. This can include changing your plans to avoid areas of high traffic, or avoiding a particularly difficult coworker. Treat your time as valuable. Learn to say no when someone asks you to help with a last-minute deadline or other activity that you really just don't have time for. Communicate with respect. If your neighbor is running a basketball tournament out of their house and creating a traffic snarl in your neighborhood, politely ask the person to change their behavior. Perhaps they could encourage parents to carpool or park farther away. Be up front about how much time you can allocate to a project, conversation, or other activity. For example, if your coworker rushes up to you just as you're about to leave for a meeting, politely tell them that you only have 5 minutes to listen. Forgive and move forward. Staying angry and holding a grudge takes energy – your energy. Talk with the person who has wronged you and honestly express your feelings. Know that their answer may or may not be what you want to hear. Sometimes shrugging your shoulders and moving on is the best thing you can do for you. Be adaptable and flexible. As important as it is to have a plan for many things, life always throws us curveballs. Ask yourself if having a pristine house is truly important, or if simply having a clean house is acceptable to you. Evaluate whether or not the thing that is bothering you will really matter a year or five years from now. Know when you are pooping too much. Generally speaking several bowel movements per day is considered more than normal, especially if this changes suddenly. Increased bowel movements or changes in the consistency, volume, or appearance of poop can indicate an underlying medical condition. Seek medical attention if your bowel movements are accompanied by abdominal pain, mucus, pus, or blood. Be prepared to inform your healthcare provider about your bowel habits, and the typical consistency, frequency, and appearance of your poop. Understand diseases that can cause increased frequency of bowel movements. Celiac disease involves an immune reaction to gluten found in wheat, barley, and rye products. You should follow a gluten-free diet. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disease of the bowel. It is a disorder that can affect any part of the bowel from mouth to anus. Hyperthyroidism, also called overactive thyroid, can cause diarrhea and changes in bowel movement frequency. Hypothyroidism can cause constipation. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can cause constipation and diarrhea. You may also have issues with your skin, joints, eyes, and bones. Ulcerative colitis is another kind of inflammatory bowel disease that usually affects only the colon. Blood tends to be associated with this disorder. Many medications can cause changes in bowel movement frequency. | Monitor the types and amounts of food you consume. Eat only at meal times. Take care in consuming dairy products. Avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks. Cut down on high-fiber foods. Write down a list of medications that you take. Avoid drinking alcohol in excess. Manage your stress levels. Know when you are pooping too much. Seek medical attention if your bowel movements are accompanied by abdominal pain, mucus, pus, or blood. Understand diseases that can cause increased frequency of bowel movements. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Rock-Fish | How to Cook Rock Fish | To cook sautéed rockfish, start by heating 2 tablespoons of cold butter in a pan. Next, season the rockfish with salt and pepper, and place it on the pan skin-side down. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip the fish and cook for 1 minute. Finally, add 1 tablespoon of cold butter to the pan and cook for 1 more minute. Serve the fish immediately, and refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. | Preheat the oven and heat a skillet. Turn the oven on to 450 °F (232 °C). Set a large oven-safe skillet in the oven on the middle rack. The skillet should become hot as the oven heats. Cut the rockfish and brush it with soy sauce. Get out 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) of rockfish and use a sharp knife to cut the fish into 4 even serving-sized pieces. Pour 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of soy sauce into a small prep bowl. Dip a pastry brush in the soy sauce and brush it over each piece of the rockfish. Turn the pieces over and brush the other side of each piece. Set up a dredging station. Place 3 shallow bowls or plates on your work surface. Place 1 lightly beaten egg in one bowl. Measure 1 cup (90 g) of panko breadcrumbs into the next bowl and add a large pinch of salt. Place 1/2 cup (60 g) of all-purpose flour in the other bowl. Dip the rockfish in the flour. Lay each piece of rockfish in the bowl with the flour. Turn the pieces so they're completely coated. Lift them up and gently shake them to remove the excess flour. Coat the rockfish in the egg. Dip the floured rockfish into the beaten egg so it's totally covered with the egg. Lift the pieces up and let the extra egg drip back into the bowl. Roll the rockfish in the panko breadcrumbs. Place the rockfish in the bowl with the panko breadcrumbs. Gently press the fish to coat both sides in the panko breadcrumbs. Pour oil into the hot skillet and arrange the fish in the pan. Use oven mitts to remove the hot skillet from the oven. Pour 2 (30 ml) of vegetable oil into the skillet and lay the fish in it so they're in a single layer. If your skillet isn't big enough to hold the fish in a single layer, you might have to bake the rockfish in 2 batches or use 2 skillets. Bake the rockfish for 4 to 8 minutes. Put the skillet back in the oven and bake the fish for 2 to 4 minutes. Cook the fish for less time if the pieces are thin. Turn the rockfish over and bake the fish for another 2 to 4 minutes. Serve the crispy baked rockfish. Remove the fish from the oven and ensure that it's cooked completely. The fish should flake easily if you brush a fork across the center. Serve the fish while it's still hot. You can refrigerate leftover rockfish in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days, but it will become soft as it's stored. Heat a sauté pan and season the rockfish. Place a large sauté pan on the stove and turn the heat to high. Sprinkle 2 pounds (907 g) of rockfish filet with salt and pepper according to your taste. If you're using large pieces of rockfish, cut them in half so they cook evenly. Place the fish in the pan with some of the butter. Place 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter into the pan and lay the seasoned fish skin side down in the pan. Cook the fish for 3 minutes. Sear the rockfish over high heat without moving the fish at all. The skin should darken and crisp up a little. Flip the rockfish and cook it for 1 more minute. Use a fish turner or spatula to carefully turn each piece of rockfish over. Cook the fish for another minute over high heat. Add the butter and cook the fish for 1 more minute. Place the last tablespoon (14 g) of cold butter and add it to the pan. Cook the fish for one more minute while you spoon the melting butter directly over the fish. It can help to tilt the pan a little so you can spoon up the melting butter. The rockfish will sauté for a total of about 5 minutes. Serve the sautéed rockfish. Stick a metal skewer into the thickest part of the rockfish. The skewer should be hot when you pull it out of the fish. You can also check to see if the fish flakes when you run a fork over it. Serve the rockfish while it's hot. You can refrigerate leftover rockfish in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Combine the blackening seasoning. Measure all of your seasoning ingredients into a small prep bowl and mix them until they're combined. You'll need: 1 tablespoon (7 g) paprika 1 teaspoon (2 g) cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon (1 g) garlic powder 1 teaspoon (2 g) dried thyme leaves 1 teaspoon (2 g) dried oregano leaves ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt ½ teaspoon (0.5 g) ground black pepper Preheat the broiler and grease a baking dish. Turn your broiler on and get out a large baking dish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of vegetable or melted coconut oil in the bottom of the dish. Season the fish and arrange it in the pan. Lay 1 pound (453 g) of rockfish in a single layer in the greased baking dish. Cover the fish with the blackening seasoning and use your fingers to rub the seasoning into the fish. Try to rub the seasoning on the sides of the fish too. Broil the rockfish for 6 minutes. Place the baking dish 3 to 4 inches (7 to 10 cm) below the broiler. Broil the fish until it's cooked throughout. Test the fish by brushing a fork against the center of a piece. If it's cooked, the fish with flake apart. If the fish isn't cooked enough, broil it for another 2 to 4 minutes. Serve the blackened rockfish. Remove the blacked fish from the pan and serve it while it's hot. Consider serving it over Cajun-spiced pasta or along with rice and vegetables. Store the leftover rockfish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. | Preheat the oven and heat a skillet. Cut the rockfish and brush it with soy sauce. Set up a dredging station. Dip the rockfish in the flour. Coat the rockfish in the egg. Roll the rockfish in the panko breadcrumbs. Pour oil into the hot skillet and arrange the fish in the pan. Bake the rockfish for 4 to 8 minutes. Serve the crispy baked rockfish. Heat a sauté pan and season the rockfish. Place the fish in the pan with some of the butter. Cook the fish for 3 minutes. Flip the rockfish and cook it for 1 more minute. Add the butter and cook the fish for 1 more minute. Serve the sautéed rockfish. Combine the blackening seasoning. Preheat the broiler and grease a baking dish. Season the fish and arrange it in the pan. Broil the rockfish for 6 minutes. Serve the blackened rockfish. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Makeup-from-Clothing | How to Remove Makeup from Clothing | To remove makeup from clothing, start by dabbing at the stain with cold water. Then, squeeze a tiny drop of hand soap onto the stain, and rub the fabric against itself to work the soap in. Once you see the makeup starting to lift from the fabric, wipe the area with a cold, damp cloth to wash away the makeup and soap. Finally, machine wash your garment on a regular cycle to remove the last traces of the stain. | Don’t rub the makeup with anything dry. When you get makeup on an item of clothing, definitely do not rub it with a dry napkin, paper towel, or cloth. Doing this can spread the makeup around and rub it deeper into the clothing. Wait until you have access to a sink and some soap to touch the makeup. Dab the spot with cold water. At a bathroom sink, run the corner of a sturdy paper towel or a clean cloth under some cold water. Dab the cold water onto the spot of makeup without rubbing it. Get just enough water onto the spot so that it's wet through the other side of fabric. Always avoid using hot water to remove stains from clothes. Hot water tends to set stains in deeper, while cold water lifts them. Apply a tiny amount of soap to the makeup spot. Squeeze a tiny drop of regular hand soap directly onto the stain. The amount of soap you use should be smaller than a dime. The color of soap that you use shouldn't matter; you can use any soap in your bathroom or a public restroom. As long as you don't use too much, the soap shouldn't stain your clothes. Rub the fabric against itself to rub the soap in. When the soap is on your clothes, hold the underside of the spot between your fingers and fold it together to rub the soapy spot against itself. Continue rubbing the spot until you see the makeup starting to lift. When the makeup is lifted, stop rubbing the fabric. Try to avoid touching the spot directly with your fingers. Use a wet cloth to wipe the soap and makeup away. Take a clean corner of a wet cloth, or a clean paper towel, and run it under cold water again. Use this clean wet cloth or towel to rub the soap and makeup off your clothing. You may have to repeat this several times to get all the soap and makeup off, especially if it was a lot of makeup. Be sure to use only the wet cloth, and not your fingers, to touch the spot. Wash your clothing as soon as possible. When you get home, place your stained clothing in the washing machine and wash it on a regular cycle. If the soap and water didn't remove all of the makeup, try spraying the spot with a stain-lifting solution before putting the item in the washer. Use a makeup wipe to remove any makeup from most materials. Makeup remover wipes do more than wipe makeup off your face; they can also work to get makeup off your clothes. Gently blot or rub the wipe on the spot until the makeup is lifted. This technique works best on a fresh makeup spill, before the makeup has had time to settle into the fabric. If you're trying this idea on silk or other delicate fabric, test the wipe on a small hidden area like under a collar or on a spot that gets tucked in before using it on your makeup stain. Try shaving cream to remove foundation from white clothing. If you happen to get a smear of foundation on some white clothing, grab some white shaving cream and spray the foam directly onto the area. Allow the foam to sit for 3-5 minutes, then rub the fabric against itself to rub the cream into the stain. Rinse the area with cold running water under a sink to remove the makeup and foam. Be sure to use shaving cream and not gel for this technique. Gel doesn't have the same effect on a clothing stain. Use hairspray containing alcohol to remove lipstick stains. To get a lipstick mark off of a clothing item, squirt enough hairspray onto the spot so that the fabric looks wet around the lipstick. Allow the hairspray to dry for about 20 minutes, then dab the spot with a soapy sponge, cloth, or a wet wipe. Don't use hairspray that doesn't contain alcohol for this technique; hairspray without alcohol will not work on the stain. Try a blow dryer set to cool on powder makeup. If you've ever spilled face powder on your clothes, you know that trying to rub it off just causes it to spread worse. Grab your blow dryer to blast the powder off your clothes using the cold setting, since hot air may cause the powder to set more. For any remaining streaks, try dabbing the area with a cloth that you've dampened with cold water to remove them. Blot rubbing alcohol on lipstick or eyeliner stains. Rubbing alcohol, a key ingredient in makeup wipes and some hairsprays, also works well on its own. Try it for removing eyeliner or lipstick from an article of clothing by wetting a cotton ball with it and blotting your stain. Allow the alcohol to sit on your stain for 5 minutes, then blot the stain with a clean damp cloth. Use ice on any makeup stain. Any time you are trying to remove makeup from clothes, you always want to avoid using hot or warm water. Hot water will set the stain in deeper into your clothes. Try rubbing an ice cube on the makeup spot to lift it out. Try a detergent wipe or pen on any fabric. Detergent wipes and pens are nice stain-removing items to keep with you on-the-go. Remove excess makeup from the area first with a damp cloth before wiping it with the pen or wipe. The wipes or pen you use should get the area clean until you can wash it later. Most of these products are safe even for dry-clean only materials. | Don’t rub the makeup with anything dry. Dab the spot with cold water. Apply a tiny amount of soap to the makeup spot. Rub the fabric against itself to rub the soap in. Use a wet cloth to wipe the soap and makeup away. Wash your clothing as soon as possible. Use a makeup wipe to remove any makeup from most materials. Try shaving cream to remove foundation from white clothing. Use hairspray containing alcohol to remove lipstick stains. Try a blow dryer set to cool on powder makeup. Blot rubbing alcohol on lipstick or eyeliner stains. Use ice on any makeup stain. Try a detergent wipe or pen on any fabric. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Persuade-Your-Parents-to-Let-You-Have-a-Sleepover | How to Persuade Your Parents to Let You Have a Sleepover | To persuade your parents to let you have a sleepover, show them that you're responsible and ask them politely. You can ease any concerns that they have by inviting over friends of yours that they've met before and by giving them a full game plan. For example, tell them who you plan to have over, what you'll be doing, and where you'll be sleeping. Help out a little bit more around the house to show them you're responsible. Go above and beyond to do your chores, and finish all of your homework so they're not worried you'll fall behind on your studies. Wait until your parents are in a good mood and the time is right to ask them, like when they're relaxing after dinner. Ask them if you can have a sleepover at an appropriate time such as after dinner. Be polite and ask directly by saying something like, “May I have a few friends over to spend the night?” | Ask your parents when they are in a good mood. When it comes to asking your parents for something you want, timing is everything. Your mom or dad are much more likely to say yes in the middle of a relaxing Sunday afternoon on the porch than when they come home from a stressful day at work or have spent all day cleaning the kitchen. Look for a time when your parents are relaxed, when they don't have a million things on their to-do list, and when they're generally happy with you. Though it may be impossible to know exactly what's going on in their minds, you can watch them for a little while to get a sense of whether or not they would really listen to your proposition. Though you may not know exactly what your parents are worrying about, you should avoid asking them right before your grandparents visit, when they're doing work at the kitchen table, or when they just generally seem too tired to really listen. Though you can't wait forever to ask them, it's better to wait until the time is right unless you're really in a rush. Ask to have the sleepover at a convenient time. Another thing to think about is when you actually want to have your sleepover. Don't ask to have the sleepover the night before your grandma comes to visit, and don't ask to do it when you know your parents will be doing some spring cleaning. Pick a time when they won't have much to do around the house or too much on their minds. The more convenient the time, the more likely they'll be to say yes. You should also pick a time when you are relatively free so they'll be less likely to make an excuse like, "You have a math test/soccer game/spelling bee competition that day." You may really, really want to have a sleepover as soon as you ask for it, but it's important to think at least a few weeks ahead to improve your chances. Be polite instead of demanding. When you approach your parents to ask for something, whether it's for them to buy you a new video game or to get a ride to the movies, tone is everything. If you come in there acting like, "I'm going to have this sleepover and you're nuts if you think you can stop me," then they will say no faster than you can walk through the door. Instead, be kind, understanding, and let them know that they have the power. Instead of rude statements, use a polite statement like “[parent name here], I want to have a sleepover with my friend [friend name here]. May you allow it please?”. This will make them much more inclined to say yes. Though it can be hard to remember to respect your parents when you really want them to give you what you want, this is something you should do at all times. After all, they make the rules around your home, and provided that they are fairly reasonable, you should avoid complaining or being mean if you don't get what you want because it'll only make things worse. Keep the first sleepover simple. If you've never had a sleepover before, it's probably not a good idea to invite every girl in your fifth grade class to spend the night at a Twilight themed party. Instead, just invite two or three friends, at most, and don't have any special theme or complicated food requests. If your parents let you have a basic fun and simple sleepover, then they may be willing to let you do more in the future, but you should avoid overwhelming them with complicated requests because they'll be more likely to say no. Offer to do something kind in exchange. You may just expect your parents to say yes and give you exactly what you want. However, you should think more about it and realize that they would appreciate, and that they would even deserve, to have something in exchange. You can offer to help do the dishes more, to do more of the chores that your parents do, or to find another way to help out either around the house or in some other way. If you're old enough, maybe you can help with the grocery shopping, walk the dog, or do something else to give your parents a bit more free time. You shouldn't even wait for them to say no. When you finish asking your question, you can finish by saying, "And in exchange, I'd be happy to clean out the fridge/take out the trash all month/clean the kitty's litter box from now on." Think about it: is there something your parents really dread doing that they would love for you to do? Maybe they always complain about picking up the mail, answering the phone when they know a telemarketer is calling, or having to weed the garden. See if there's something that you can offer to do that they would love so much that they'd have to let you have a sleepover in exchange. Show them that it will be a good opportunity for you to socialize. Though you don't want to make your parents feel guilty about making you look like you have no friends or not letting you hang out with people, you can make a casual point about how it's pretty common for kids your age to have sleepovers and that you don't want to miss out. Tell them that you'd like to hang out with your friends in a nighttime setting and that you think it'll be a fun way to get to know them better. Make your parents feel like they'd be making you miss out on a fun opportunity. If the basics aren't working, try a more drastic approach. Okay, so if you've tried being nice, pointing to times when you were responsible, or just saying "pretty pretty please?" and it's a no-go, you can try some tactics that are a bit more drastic. Here are some options: Tell your parents that your friend really wants you to sleep over her house. After they say no, you can say, "Well then, can she sleep over here?" Most parents are really afraid of having their kids go sleep in some other parents' home and are much more comfortable letting kids sleep over their place. If this is the case with your parents, then they'll be more likely to say yes after you pose the first question because they'll see having the sleepover at your home as the lesser of two evils. Ask them if you can do something more extreme first. You can also ask your parents if you can do something a little more extreme, like going on vacation with a friend and her family, getting a dog, or taking horseback riding lessons, and then wait for them to say no. After they've said no, be really upset and give it a day or two so they think you really mean it. Then, casually ask them if you can have a sleepover. If they're not on to your tricks, then they'll be more likely to say yes. If you have a pesky younger sibling or two, you can say that they can also join the sleepover. That way, your parents get a babysitter for free and can take the night off. Give them a game plan so they know what to expect. Parents aren't so different from their kids all the time. Sometimes, the biggest thing that they don't like is the unknown. They may say no to a sleepover because they don't know what to expect, and picture ten kids having a crazy pillow fight and ruining all of their antique furniture. If you want to ease their worries that nothing horrible will go wrong, then the best thing you can do is to tell them exactly what the night would look like. Here's what they'll need to know: How many people are invited (example statement: “4 friends are coming over tonight.”) What you'll be eating (example statement: “We will be eating popcorn, chicken, and burgers.” What movies, if any, you'll watch (example statement: “We are gonna be watching Inside Out.”) Where your friends will be sleeping (example statement: “My friends will be sleeping in the bedroom 2 doors away from the kitchen.”) What time they'll arrive and when they'll leave (example statement: “My friends will enter at 4:30PM today and leave 2:15PM tomorrow.”) Tell them that you'll do all (or most) of the work. Another reason your parents may not want you to have a sleepover is because they can already picture themselves making a big dinner and having to clean up a big huge mess in the morning. They may also be worried about cleaning the house so it's presentable to your friends and their parents. Tell them that you'll do all of the cleaning before and after and that you'll make sure your friends won't make a big mess. Also, say that you'll do something simple and cheap like ordering pizza so they won't feel like they have to do a million things to keep your friends happy. Once you make it clear that your parents won't have to do a ton of the work, they'll be more likely to let the sleepover happen. They'll also be impressed that you're taking so much initiative and showing responsibility. Have them meet your friends before they sleep over. If your parents haven't met the friends that you want to sleep over yet, then you should invite them by so that your parents see that they're nice, normal people who can be trusted to stay the night. Invite your friends to a baseball game with your family, or to have dinner or watch a movie at your home, so your parents see that there's nothing to be afraid of. If your parents are worried about letting your friends sleep over, then letting them see that they're good people can go a long way in making them change their minds. Your parents may also feel more comfortable if they meet your friends' parents when they pick them up. Tell them that they can check in on you and your friends at any time. The best part about having a sleepover, for your parents, may be that they can theoretically check up on you almost any time, unlike when you're out at another friend's house. Tell your parents that they're welcome to check in on you when you're eating, watching a movie, or just hanging out with your friends. They can bring you milk and cookies or even make you breakfast in the morning, if they want to do that; chances are, they'll mostly leave you alone, but they'll feel comforted by the fact that they'll be able to easily see what you're up to. Say you'll leave your door open a crack or that you'll come say hi to your parents every few hours. Though this may be a bit much for you, it's better than not having a sleepover at all! Point to other times when you've behaved well with friends. If you really want to get your parents to say yes, then after you ask them if you can have a sleepover, you can remind them of what a responsible, awesome person you've been in the past when you've hung out with your friends. Maybe the same friends who you want to sleep over had hung out at your house the last week. You can say something like, "Remember when Maggie came over to watch TV and eat pizza? Nothing bad happened, right?" Show them that it's not a big deal that your friends, who you're good at hanging out with already, just spend a few extra nighttime hours in your home. Your parents need to see that you can behave well instead of just being promised. Make a list of times when you've played well with others in the past so you can bring it up to put them at ease. Show that friends won't distract you from being a good student. If you want your parents to let you have a sleepover, then it's not a bad week to bring home some As. Show your parents that you're a good student, that you're focused on your work, and that you won't be distracted by a few friends. Having friendships is healthy and important to your development, and you should show your folks that you have the whole balance between work and play under control. If your grades aren't so hot, your parents can use that as an excuse to keep you from having a sleepover. Work to be a good student and to show them that you have things under control and they'll be more likely to say yes to you. Not everyone is meant to be at the head of the class, but doing your best is important. Help out around the house. Another way to persuade your parents to let you have a sleepover is to be extra helpful around the house. You should not only do your chores, but go above and beyond to make sure that everything is spic and span. Do the laundry, make your parents' beds, and even offer to cook dinner or to pick it up, if you can. You can even vacuum, dust, or do some of those other less than pleasant tasks that your parents are always doing. Your parents will see that you're really responsible and will be impressed. Of course, you shouldn't help out only so that your parents let you have a sleepover. Demonstrating responsibility can help you grow as a person. Follow your parents' rules. This may sound obvious, but many kids are surprised when their parents say no to them even after they've had a string of bad behavior. If your parents tell you to come home at a certain time, don't overstep your boundaries. If they tell you to help your little sister, don't ignore them. If they ask you to get up for school, don't complain in bed for an extra ten minutes. The more you listen to what they say, the more they'll be likely to listen to you when you ask then if you can have a sleepover. If you disobey your parents, then they'll have something to point to when they explain why you can't have a sleepover. It's better to obey them so you can point to positive behavior to support your case. Be a good host when your family has guests. If your family has guests, whether it's your cousins or your parents' childhood friends, act like a good host by taking their coats, bringing them food, and showing them where everything is. Let your parents see that you'll be a great host when the time comes for your friends to sleep over! Be kind to your siblings. Another way to show your parents that you're responsible enough to have a sleepover is to treat your siblings fairly and kindly when you have the chance. Whether you have a pesky younger sister or a jokester for an older brother, you should do your best to be nice to them as much as you can. Help them out when they need it, don't tattle on them if they haven't really done anything, and work on being a good sport and a good sibling. If you're respectful to your siblings, then your parents may see that you've earned the responsibility of having a sleepover. | Ask your parents when they are in a good mood. Ask to have the sleepover at a convenient time. Be polite instead of demanding. Keep the first sleepover simple. Offer to do something kind in exchange. Show them that it will be a good opportunity for you to socialize. If the basics aren't working, try a more drastic approach. Give them a game plan so they know what to expect. Tell them that you'll do all (or most) of the work. Have them meet your friends before they sleep over. Tell them that they can check in on you and your friends at any time. Point to other times when you've behaved well with friends. Show that friends won't distract you from being a good student. Help out around the house. Follow your parents' rules. Be kind to your siblings. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Portfolio-Manager | How to Become a Portfolio Manager | To become a portfolio manager, start by earning a bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration. Next, complete an internship in the finance industry and earn a master's degree in finance or business administration. Then, look for entry-level financial analyst positions at investment banks or portfolio management firms. Finally, submit a great resume that details your job experience, internships, and education. | Take advantage of internship opportunities. Starting in high school, do an internship with a bank or financial investment company or at least do a one-day job shadowing. This will help ensure you are really interested in becoming a portfolio manager as you'll learn what the job entails. Earn a bachelor's degree. Enter a college or university and study a finance-related major such as finance, accounting, economics, or business administration. A bachelor's degree takes four years to complete. Also take a variety of science classes as you may be evaluating pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, and mining companies for your clients. Proficiency in a foreign language will help you advance in your future career, particularly if you speak Chinese, Russian, French, Spanish, or Japanese. Do an internship in the finance industry. Your college career center should help you line up an internship for a semester or a summer job. This is a great way to get experience even if you work for free. Earn a Master's degree in finance or business administration. Take courses in options pricing, asset management, and bond valuation. If you can get a job in a financial investment firm with a Bachelor's degree, they might pay for you to get your Master's degree part time. A Master's degree program takes approximately two to five years to finish, depending if you attend part or full time. Seek an entry-level financial analyst position. This could be at an investment bank or portfolio management firm. A financial analyst position is the most common route to becoming a portfolio manager. Look for job opportunities. Make use of college career placement centers or search online job websites such as Monster or Indeed, or look in newspaper employment classifieds. Arrange for informational interviews with professionals in the finance industry to learn more about the positions. An informational interview is when you ask someone to tell you about his or her job and the education and experience required. This is different from an interview where you are applying for a job. Write a great resume and cover letter. Include any job experience and internships you've had, even if you weren't paid. Emphasize if you implemented a new program, saved a company money, or managed cash. In your cover letter describe how your background and experience would relate to a financial analyst position, as well as your personal qualities such as drive, determination, attention to detail, being a team player, etc. Stand out in an interview. Dress appropriately with a jacket and tie for men and a skirt and jacket for women. Offer a firm handshake and look the interviewer right in the eye. Again, describe your personal qualities giving examples from past job experiences. Describe how your background would be a perfect fit for a financial analyst position. Join a professional association. One example is the International Association of Quantitative Finance (IAQF). Many professional associations welcome student members and offer reduced rates. This will help your networking, and will give you leads on jobs and career training. Complete training programs required by employers. You will also need to pass your licensing examination, such as the Series 7, 63 or 66. You typically won't have to pay for the examination, because employers sponsor the licenses. You need to be sponsored by a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA, (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), in order to take the Series licensing exams. Earn a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. This is offered by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute and will greatly enhance your career as a portfolio manager. You may also need a federal license if you will be selling securities. To meet eligibility requirements for the CFA certificate, you need to have a combination of formal post-secondary experience, such as a college degree, and work experience. You will also need to pass three examinations. The examinations are on topics such as risk management, professional ethics, portfolio management, and quantitative analysis. To get a license to sell securities you need to be sponsored by a broker-dealer and spend many months studying before you can take the licensing exams. Advance to a portfolio manager position. This will take several years of experience working with one firm. If you can do a great job as a financial analyst by proposing better ways of analyzing data or finding good companies to invest in, you will have a good chance of being promoted. Other ways to advance in your career are to show initiative, volunteer to take on additional projects, work with or lead a team to design new programs, and choose investments that generate good earnings for clients. | Take advantage of internship opportunities. Earn a bachelor's degree. Do an internship in the finance industry. Earn a Master's degree in finance or business administration. Seek an entry-level financial analyst position. Look for job opportunities. Write a great resume and cover letter. Stand out in an interview. Join a professional association. Complete training programs required by employers. Earn a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Advance to a portfolio manager position. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-a-Frog-and-a-Toad | How to Tell the Difference Between a Frog and a Toad | To tell the difference between frogs and toads, first look at their hind legs, because a frog's are longer and bigger than their head and body, while a toad's are smaller. Next, examine the feet to see if they have the webbed foot of a frog or the separated foot of a toad. You can also check the skin, since a frog's skin is smooth and rubbery, whereas a toad has bumpy, warty-looking skin. Finally, pay attention to the animal's coloring, since toads are darker and olive-colored, while frogs tend to be a lighter green color. | Look at the hind legs. You can tell the difference between a frog and a toad by the length of its legs. If you can get close enough, get a good look at the back legs specifically. A frog's hind legs are very long, as frogs hop more frequently than toads. A frog's hind legs will be bigger than its head and body. A toad's hind legs will be smaller, as toads tend to crawl. Their hind legs will be shorter than their heads and bodies. Examine the feet. Frogs have webbed feet, as they spend most of their life in water. They will usually have webbed back feet, and some will have webbed front feet. You may also see sticky pads on a frog's feet. Toad feet are generally not webbed and do not have pads. Consider the shape. Frogs tend to be slender and athletic in appearance. Toads, on the other hand, are shorter and stubbier. A slender looking amphibian, with longer limbs, is probably a frog. A short, chubby amphibian, with smaller legs, is likely a toad. Take note of the skin. Frog skin is a lot smoother than toad skin. A toad's skin will be bumpy in appearance. While a frog will have smooth, rubbery skin, a toad may look like it's covered in warts. Look at the color. In general, frogs are lighter colored than toads. They tend to look greener. While toads may have a greenish skin, they tend to be darker overall than frogs. Toads come in various shades that range from a dark green to an olive green. Frogs are on the more yellowish, brighter side of the green spectrum. Frogs may have a yellow-olive color. However, do not rely on color alone. Always consider other factors, as some frogs do have a brownish green appearance. Watch how the animal jumps. Both frogs and toads jump. Frogs, however, tend to jump more often and much higher. Frogs take very high jumps, and can also jump great lengths. Toads take very small hops and lack the ability to jump very far. Notice if the animal ever crawls. Toads are much more likely to crawl than hop. Crawling is a toad's main form of movement. You will rarely see a frog crawling. An animal that is crawling is very likely to be a toad. Always consider other factors, as an injured frog may crawl. Consider where you found the animal. Frogs need to be close to water to survive, while toads can spend a lot of time out of water. An animal that stays close to water is likely to be a frog. If you find an animal far away from water, it is probably a toad. A frog is unlikely to wander far from a source of water. Dim your lights to reduce noise from frogs. Frogs can make a lot of noise at night, especially when they're breeding. Frogs eat insects and bright lights can attract insects near your home. This may also cause frogs to gather in your backyard. Keep things like your porch light off at night. You can also use curtains at night to keep light from inside your house from attracting bugs. Keep dogs away from frogs and toads. Some frogs and toads may be toxic to dogs. If a dog picks up a toad in its mouth, toxins could be released that are poisonous to your dog. If you see your dog carrying a toad, take your dog to a vet immediately. This is a medical emergency. Symptoms of toxins from a toad include excessive drooling, pawing at the mouth or eyes, seizures, difficulty breathing, and unsteady moving. If your pet has any of these symptoms, it needs immediate treatment. Wash your hands after handling frogs or toads. In general, refrain from handling wildlife. However, if you touched a frog or toad, wash your hands afterwards. If a young child picked up a frog or toad, make sure to have them wash their hands. Do not take in wild frogs and toads as pets. It's never a good idea to take in a wild animal as a pet. Frogs and toads in the wild are not raised in captivity, and will not take well to being captured. They may also carry diseases. If you want a pet frog or toad, get one from your local pet store. Care for a pet toad or frog properly. Pet stores do sell frogs and toads as pets. If you want a pet frog or toad, make sure you care for it properly. Provide the right environment and shelter for your pet. You will have to clean your frog or toad's tank every day. Dirty tanks can pose a major health risk for a frog or toad. Frogs and toads need a varied diet. You can buy food from a pet store, composed of crickets and mealworms, but you will also need to give your frog or toad plenty of other insects to survive. You will need to feed a frog or toad things like grasshoppers, snails, and silkworms as well. Limit touching a reptile or amphibian pet. Even one from a pet store can carry diseases. Wash your hands after handling your pet, do not clean their cage in your bathroom or kitchen, and do not kiss or cuddle a pet frog or toad. | Look at the hind legs. Examine the feet. Consider the shape. Take note of the skin. Look at the color. Watch how the animal jumps. Notice if the animal ever crawls. Consider where you found the animal. Dim your lights to reduce noise from frogs. Keep dogs away from frogs and toads. Wash your hands after handling frogs or toads. Do not take in wild frogs and toads as pets. Care for a pet toad or frog properly. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Harmonize | How to Harmonize | To harmonize, you want to add notes that complement the melody of a song. Every note blends and agrees with some notes more than others, so you'll need to determine which notes to sing or play together to create a harmony. For example, the notes C, E, and G go nicely together, and you could play all 3 notes at the same time to harmonize. To practice harmonizing, try using a sing-along-harmony app on your phone or computer. | Sing a C major triad to get a feel for intervals. A triad is a chord created by 3 notes; the C major chord is made of the notes C-E-G. Sing or hum along as you play the notes on a piano (or a virtual keyboard app) one at a time. Then play all 3 notes on the piano at the same time, and notice how the notes blend and agree with each other. The root note in this chord is C, and the distances between C and the other notes in the chord are called intervals. Different intervals create harmonies with distinct tones. In relation to C, E is a major third and G is a perfect fifth. These intervals blend well with the root note, creating a pleasing harmony. Practice finding a root note’s major third. Find the C key on your keyboard. If you count the 4 black and white keys to the right, you'll land on E. For any root note, a note that's 4 half-steps away will always be a major third. On a piano, a half-step is the distance between 2 keys that are right next to each other. For a white key that's next to a black key, the black key counts as a half-step and the next white key over is a full step. However, white keys like E and F, which aren't separated by a black key, are a half-step apart. Sing or hum along as you play root notes and major thirds on the keyboard. Play a note, then count 4 half-steps and play that note. Singing a root note and its major third will help you learn how to find a good harmony note by ear any time you hear a melody. Move onto minor intervals after getting a feel for major chords. Instead of playing C-E-G, play C-E♭-G (E♭ is the black key to the left of E) to create a C minor chord. Sing or hum along as you play each note one at a time, then play all 3 notes together. Note how a minor interval sounds darker or more unstable than a major chord. Count 3 half-steps to find a root note's minor third. Sing or hum along as you play a root note and its minor third. While there are countless exceptions, in Western music, composers often use minor thirds to evoke sadness and major chords to convey happiness. Understanding major and minor thirds is key, whether you want to write harmonies or sing a harmony by ear when you hear a tune. Try holding and moving the harmony note as the melody note changes. As the notes in a melody change, you don't necessarily have to move the harmony note with it. Try keeping the harmony note the same as you play a melody on the keyboard. Pay attention to how the note combinations blend, convey feelings, or clash with each other. For instance, the harmony note doesn't need to change with the melody to maintain a major third interval. It may stay the same until the melody moves to a note that clashes with it. Experiment with note combinations to get a feel for coming up with your own harmonies. If notes clash or sound bad together, try moving the harmony note the same number of steps as the melody. Continue practicing with a piano. From kids' tunes like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to contemporary pop hits, play basic melodies on the piano and practice singing along. To focus on hitting the right notes, hum or sing “La” instead of singing a song's lyrics. A piano or virtual keyboard app can help you visualize the relationships between notes, which is the foundation of harmonizing. Listen closely for harmonies in your favorite songs. Now that you know more about creating harmonies, listen closely to your favorite songs. See if you can identify relationships between melodies and harmonies. As you listen, ask yourself what kind of intervals a harmony employs, if it blends seamlessly with the melody, and if there are dissonant, or tense, note combinations. As you listen to a song, work on memorizing the harmony. To make things easier, look online for harmony-only tracks of the song. Practice with a sing-a-long harmony app. Useful apps include Sing Harmonies and Harmony Voices. Download an app, learn a song's harmony, then practice singing your part as you play the melody. When you first practice singing the harmony, lower the volume of the melody so you won't get drawn away from your part. Harmonize with recordings of yourself singing melodies. Record a track of yourself singing a melody, then play it while you sing the harmony. Gradually increase the volume of the recording each time you practice. This will help you learn how to stay on your part without getting distracted by other singers. Additionally, note any rough spots when you listen to recordings of yourself singing. If necessary, spend extra time practicing those sections of the song to improve your pitch and timing. Practice singing chords with 1 to 2 partners. Using a piano or virtual keyboard app as a guide, start by practicing a simple C major chord. For the note C, sing “one;” sing “three” for E and “five” for G. Sing “one” together at C, then have one person sing “three” at E while the other 2 hold the C. Then, have someone sing “five” at G while the other 2 hold a C and E, respectively. After practicing C-E-G, try other combinations, such as G-B-D and F-A-C. If you're practicing with 1 other person, just work on 2-part harmonies. Learn your part perfectly to avoid getting distracted by other singers. It's easy to get distracted by other singers when you're harmonizing. The key to sticking to the harmony is to learn your part inside and out. Work measure by measure to commit each of your part's notes to memory. If you're in a choir, don't rely on others in your section (such as other altos or baritones) to stay on track. Additionally, don't assume that you'll always be surrounded by other members of your section when you perform. If you have trouble sticking to your part, practice singing with a recording of the melody. Play it softly at first, then gradually increase the volume. Join a choir to put your harmonizing skills to the test. The best way to learn how to harmonize is to sing with others in a group. Look for a choir or chorus group at your school or place of worship, or look online for one in your community. If you're a soprano and want to harmonize better, try to join a choir as an alto. Sopranos usually sing the melody, while alto, tenor, and baritone sections sing harmonies. Take lessons from a voice teacher. While apps and other resources can be super helpful, nothing beats working one-on-one with an experienced voice teacher. In addition to harmonizing, a voice teacher can help you with other singing techniques, such as breath control and vocal health. Additionally, consider taking classes in music theory to learn more about how harmonizing works. | Sing a C major triad to get a feel for intervals. Practice finding a root note’s major third. Move onto minor intervals after getting a feel for major chords. Try holding and moving the harmony note as the melody note changes. Continue practicing with a piano. Listen closely for harmonies in your favorite songs. Practice with a sing-a-long harmony app. Harmonize with recordings of yourself singing melodies. Practice singing chords with 1 to 2 partners. Learn your part perfectly to avoid getting distracted by other singers. Join a choir to put your harmonizing skills to the test. Take lessons from a voice teacher. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-Water-Retention | How to Reduce Water Retention | To reduce water retention in your body, try eating fewer salty foods, like deli meats, chips, and canned foods, since high-sodium foods cause your body to hold water. You should also make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to avoid becoming dehydrated, which causes your body to retain water as a survival mechanism. Aside from eating well, you should exercise for 20 minutes each day to flush the excess water out of your system. You can try going on a walk, riding your bike, or jogging. If you notice you're retaining water in your legs, try lying down and propping your legs up on a pillow to reduce the swelling. | Look at a calendar if you are a woman who gets a monthly period. Water retention is a classic symptom of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Hormonal changes associated with your menstrual cycle may cause monthly water retention problems. For most women, period bloat occurs 1 or 2 weeks before their periods begin. Water retention is also a common problem during pregnancy and menopause for the same reason. Hormonal changes that occur during these longer transition periods in the body cause excess fluid retention that may be constant, cyclical or intermittent. See your doctor if you notice signs of water retention that you know are not hormone related. Your doctor may run various types of tests, such as blood or urine tests, depending on your other symptoms. These will check the health of your heart, kidneys, liver, circulatory, lymphatic, and thyroid systems. He or she may also ask you about symptoms of arthritis or allergies, both of which can also cause water retention in some cases. See your doctor right away if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms along with your water retention: swelling in the feet, legs, or ankles, swelling in the abdomen, chronic coughing, or extreme fatigue. Water retention that is heart related is a result of changes in your blood pressure. Typically, the legs, feet, and/or ankles will start to swell. Fluid will also build up in the lungs, giving the patient a chronic cough. A doctor may order blood tests, a chest X-ray, or an electrocardiogram (ECG) to determine if your water retention is a symptom of a heart condition. A urine test will determine if you are losing protein through the kidneys and your water retention is a sign of a more serious kidney problem. A physical exam and/or blood tests can determine if there is a liver problem. Again, with a more serious liver condition you would likely have swelling in the feet, legs, ankles, and abdomen. This is actually one of the first signs of liver disease. Finally, blood tests can determine if your water retention is a symptom of circulatory system problems (leaky capillaries), a congested lymphatic system, or a thyroid disease (hypothyroidism). Keep a food diary. Notice what you ate for a few days leading up to the water retention. It may take a couple of days for your body to retain excess body fluid after you eat salty foods. Food sensitivities and/or malnutrition can be causes of water retention. If you have food sensitivities and are still eating these foods, or you are not eating a healthy diet in general, this will show up in your food diary. You can then take steps to change what you are eating. High salt intake and dehydration are leading causes of water retention. How to stay hydrated and eat a balanced healthy diet are discussed more in the next section, "Reducing Water Retention With Diet." Stay hydrated. 8 glasses of fluids per day is a general guideline- this is about how much most people need to not feel thirsty and have clear or light yellow urine. More active people may need more. All fluids count, but keep in mind that some are not as healthy as water. If you are retaining water, consider whether you are staying hydrated; if your body is suffering from dehydration, it retains water as a survival mechanism. Drink plenty of water, fruit juices, herbal teas and other non-caffeinated beverages allows your kidneys to flush out excess fluids. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, because they contribute to dehydration. Avoid too many sugary drinks or drinks containing high fructose corn syrup (sodas, juice cocktail drinks) because these are simply unhealthy and cause people to gain unwanted weight. Cut back on the sodium in your diet. High-sodium diets are the number one cause of excess water weight. Avoid processed foods, deli meats, salty snacks and other foods that are high in sodium. Don't add salt to cooked meals at the table. Avoid foods like potato chips and salted nuts. Prepare meals using fresh (not canned) vegetables and fruits, grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products. Watch how much salt you use while cooking; don't add more salt than a recipe calls for. Or, use specifically low-sodium cookbooks and internet recipes. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes a lot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and other high-fiber foods. Six servings of grains (at least half of which are whole grains - check the labels) are recommended per day. One serving is one slice of bread, or 1/2 cup (about the size of a baseball) of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal. Four servings of vegetables are recommended per day. Eat a variety of colors and types (if you find that you eat mostly potatoes and corn as your vegetables, you should change this). One serving is one cup of raw leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, lettuce - the size of a small fist), 1/2 cup of cut up raw or cooked vegetables, or 1/2 cup of vegetable juice. Be careful of added sodium in some vegetable juices. Four servings of fruit are recommended per day. Again, eat a variety of colors and types. One serving is one medium sized fruit (about the size of a baseball), 1/4 dried fruit, or 1/2 cup frozen, canned, or fruit juice. Be careful of added sugars in canned fruit or fruit juices and try to avoid these. Check the ingredients list in processed food and drink items before you buy them. Avoid ingredients like MSG (monosodium glutamate), sodium nitrates and nitrites, butylated hydroxy-anisole (BTA), sodium and potassium benzoates, artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, sucralose), corn syrup, palm oil, and food colorings (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow). This can be a hard habit to stick with. But, there are countless hidden added ingredients that are unhealthy in: frozen foods (chicken nuggets, French fries, TV dinners), anything from a can (beans, meats, vegetables, fruits), boxed foods (rice and pasta side dishes), children's cereals, and popular drinks (sodas of course, but even teas, juices, and flavored waters). Allow time for cooking. It can be difficult to make time to cook meals using fresh ingredients and making the move away from quick, processed foods, but it can make a huge difference in your health. Get your family involved in looking up recipes and cooking with you to make it a fun activity that everyone looks forward to. If you must use certain processed foods in a recipe, there are ways to adapt them, such as draining and rinsing the salt from your canned beans before putting them into the meal. Get 20 minutes of physical exercise daily. Exercise is a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle and has shown to be helpful in controlling water retention. Take a walk or go hiking with friends or family. Ride a bike, go swimming, or go jogging. Grab a basketball or baseball and glove and hit the courts or the field. If you live close enough, ride your bike or walk instead of driving to work or to run errands. You would also be helping the environment by driving less. Just be sure to wear a helmet and abide traffic laws while biking. If you have to clean the house, put on music and dance while you clean. You would be surprised all the ways there are to exercise! Elevate your feet and legs. Standing for too many hours or sitting all day with your feet on the floor may cause fluids to drain into your feet and legs, which causes swelling. Lie down or sit with your feet elevated when resting and taking breaks. While lying down, have your feet elevated at least 12 inches above your heart level. You can put them on top of a stack of pillows or blankets. Take extra care to heed the diet, hydration, and lifestyle recommendations if you are a woman who experiences PMS. Often women who experience PMS crave extra salt and sugar. Try not to give into these cravings especially if you are someone who experiences severe cramping and bloating during the 1-2 weeks before your period. Regular exercise is also known to help women experience less PMS symptoms. If you are following all of the diet and lifestyle recommendations but still experience extreme monthly cramping and bloating, discuss this with your gynecologist. You may have another nutrient deficiency or gynecological problem that he or she can help you with. Follow your doctor's advice and all directions for prescriptions if you have been diagnosed with a health problem that can cause water retention. Be sure that you report any changes in your health or your symptoms right away if you have a more serious condition that requires frequent medical supervision. Consult with your doctor about taking nutritional supplements if your diet may be lacking in certain nutrients due to food sensitivities. Deficiencies in protein, calcium, magnesium and vitamins B1, B5 and B6 may lead to problems with water retention. Your doctor or another qualified nutrition specialist can help you determine what nutrients you may be lacking based on your food diary or a basic summary of what you eat. Consult with your doctor about trying a natural diuretic. Some herbal remedies are known to increase the kidney's fluid output, which helps control water retention. Dandelion has no harmful side effects and can be used indefinitely. Add 10 to 20 drops of dandelion tincture to salads or other foods daily. Dong quai is best added to an herbal tea and taken at bedtime because it has a mild sedative effect. Some teas are sold with dong quai in them, or you can purchase it as oil and add a few drops to your favorite tea. In addition to being a diuretic, dong quai is known to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Essential oils used in vaporizers, gargles, baths and massage may help combat water retention. Lavender, rosemary, geranium and cypress are known to have good results. Consult with your doctor about taking a chemical diuretic sold over the counter, or one that can be prescribed for you. "Loop diuretics" such as Lasix are most common, and they inhibit sodium reabsorption into the bloodstream, causing more water to drain as urine. This type of diuretic is especially helpful for patients suffering from renal impairment, liver cirrhosis, or heart conditions. While they can drain the body's store of potassium and contribute to osteoporosis, there is a kind that includes an extra potassium supplement in it (Lasix K). Other types of chemical diuretics include thiazide diuretics, which produce similar effects as loop diuretics, and potassium-sparing diuretics such as spironolactone, which only inhibit the absorption of sodium and not potassium. Some prescription and over-the-counter medications interact with or counteract diuretics. Check with your doctor to make sure a diuretic will not negatively affect any medication you are taking. | Look at a calendar if you are a woman who gets a monthly period. See your doctor if you notice signs of water retention that you know are not hormone related. See your doctor right away if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms along with your water retention: Keep a food diary. Stay hydrated. Cut back on the sodium in your diet. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes a lot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and other high-fiber foods. Check the ingredients list in processed food and drink items before you buy them. Allow time for cooking. Get 20 minutes of physical exercise daily. Elevate your feet and legs. Take extra care to heed the diet, hydration, and lifestyle recommendations if you are a woman who experiences PMS. Follow your doctor's advice and all directions for prescriptions if you have been diagnosed with a health problem that can cause water retention. Consult with your doctor about taking nutritional supplements if your diet may be lacking in certain nutrients due to food sensitivities. Consult with your doctor about trying a natural diuretic. Consult with your doctor about taking a chemical diuretic sold over the counter, or one that can be prescribed for you. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Surprise-Someone-on-Their-Birthday | How to Surprise Someone on Their Birthday | To surprise someone on their birthday, try starting the day by making them a birthday breakfast with their favorite foods. Alternatively, you could fill their room or car with balloons so they'll be showered in balloons when they open the door. You can also make them a “birthday in a box” by filling a large box with gifts based on something they enjoy, such as popcorn, candy, and a DVD for a film buff. If they have a locker at school, decorate the inside with streamers, wrapping paper, and post-it notes with messages from friends. | Write a note to the person. Instead of just giving a traditional card, write the person a small note or letter. You can leave it on the kitchen counter if you live with them, mail it to them if you live far away, give it to them in person, or talk to a co-worker to put it on their desk or work station. Make your note interesting by shaking up the message. Instead of just saying, "Happy birthday!" write, "Hope your birthday is rocking!" or "Have a birthday full of joy!" Write a personalized letter letting the person know how much they mean to you. Make the person a birthday breakfast. Waking up to breakfast in bed, or walking into the kitchen to find there favorite breakfast will make the birthday girl/boy feel extra special. Think about what their favorite breakfast foods are. Does he/she like pancakes, muffins, or eggs? You want to surprise then with there favorite foods. Get up early, make the breakfast, and put it where they usually sit for breakfast. Or you can take it into their bedroom and wake them up with a tray of there favorite foods. Put a small note wishing them a happy birthday in a spot they will find it. This is a great idea for spouses and significant others, parents, children, siblings, and roommates. Fill their space with balloons. Blow up balloons, and then fill a cupboard, the person's closet, or the car with the balloons. When they open the door, they will be showered in balloons. Or use crepe paper to gently secure balloons to their bedroom door so that when he/she opens it, balloons cascade in front of them. If you have the time, write messages on the balloons. You can write, "I love you more than ____" or "Reason #___ that I love you is ______." If this is a surprise for a friend, sibling, child, or parent, write reasons you appreciate him/her on the balloons. Another idea is to write memories, funny stories, inside jokes, song lyrics, and meaningful words on the balloons to show them how special they are to you. Make a birthday in a can. Repurpose a tin can to make a special surprise for someone. Fill the can with streamers, candy, and small gifts that the person will like and that will make her smile. All you need is a can with a pop top, some tape, a can opener, and a hot glue gun. Use the can opener to open the bottom of the can. Remove the label, remove the food, and clean the can well. Cover the sharp edges on the can and the top with masking tape, clear tape, or washi tape. Make a few paper chains and hot glue them to the inside of the pop top. This will make the paper chain come out as soon as the person pops the top of the can. Then fill the can with small gifts, candy, and treats. Replace the bottom of the can and secure it with clear tape. Fit the outside of the can with paper that you can decorate. Add ribbon, glitter, sequins, or any other accents to the paper. Hot glue the paper to the can. Bake them a cake. One simple way to surprise someone is to take the time to bake his/her favorite cake. This is meaningful because you took the time to make it (even if it's from a box instead of scratch) instead of a buying a cake from a store. Plus, homemade cakes usually taste better. Make cupcakes or pie if your loved one prefers either of those desserts to cake. Collect letters from their loved ones. One way to surprise your special someone is to collect letters or notes from his/her's loved ones and friends. These notes can be general well wishes, memories, song lyrics, inside jokes, lists - whatever the person wants to share with the birthday person. Put the notes in envelopes to open, or place them in a scrapbook or notebook for them to look through. Put the notes on post-its. Stick the post-its on a wall, on the door, in his/her car, or around his/her work space. Choose different colors for a pretty array of messages. Decorate their usual places in a theme. To surprise your loved one, decide what he/she likes. Then leave little surprises for him/her during the day at his/her regular spots. Leave a surprise by the bed when he/she wakes, along his/her regular jogging path, at his/her's desk in the office, or in his/her's car. If he/she likes music, start the day off by leaving a piece of paper with song lyrics where she/he can find it. This can be taped to his/her alarm clock, the bathroom mirror, rolled up in his/her coffee mug, or texted to his/her phone. The song lyrics should be either from his/her favorite song or have a significant meaning to the two of you. Make them a mix CD and leave it in the car for them to listen to on their commute to work and at work. String musical notes along the path where he/she normally jogs. Text him/her a video of their favorite song or a song that means a lot to both of you. This can work with movies, sports, animals, or anything else your loved one likes. Decorate the person's locker. This is a fun way to surprise your friends when in middle and high school. If you go to the same school, decorate the outside of their locker. Make sure your school allows it before doing it so you don't get in trouble. Think about using the following things when decorating: Ribbon and streamers Balloons A huge card Wrapping paper A locker mirror. Write in lipstick, "You look great!" Candy. Tape the stick of lollipops to the locker. You can also tape Tootsie rolls, candy bars, and other treats to it. A group photo A Christmas stocking filled with fun stuff Glitter Cute magnets Magnetic whiteboard. Write something nice on it. You might even get friends to leave messages on it. If you can't decorate the person's locker, leave post-it notes on it with messages. Plan a surprise party. The classic way to surprise your loved one on his/her birthday is to throw a surprise party. You can even share the responsibility. Have one friend bake a nice cake, other friends, make a card, and one friend make decorations. Make sure to consider what your loved one likes. Decorate the party in a theme that reflects his interests. Make sure the cake is his favorite flavor. If he/she has a favorite drink and snack, make sure the party has that. Schedule a day of fun. Make a day of fun for your loved one. Think about what he/she loves to do, where he/she loves to eat, and where he/she loves to go. Make a schedule and give it to him/her so he/she sees what you have planned. Or keep each new stop a surprise and make them wait in anticipation as you move from one place to the next. Take him/her to his//her favorite diner for breakfast pancakes, pack a picnic lunch to eat at his/her favorite park, and take him/her to eat at his/her favorite restaurant for dinner. Spend the morning taking a hike, the afternoon playing miniature golf or paintball, and the night watching a double feature at the drive in. Let your imagination run wild as you fill the day with things he will love. If his/her actual birthday is a bad day to do this, make it the weekend before or after. You can also make it a week or weekend of fun instead of just a day! Make it a 12 days of birthday celebration. For the 12 days leading up to the birthday, give him/her a note, a card, a letter, his/her favorite candy bar, or even an activity. Spread out the fun instead of putting it in one day. Make a birthday in a box. Surprise your loved one with a themed box filled with everything for a perfect night. Or if you are away from someone, use it as a themed birthday care package filled with things you'd give him/her in person, along with inside jokes. This can be tailored to anyone. Try a romantic themed one for your significant other, a game themed one for your best friend, or a princess themed one for your daughter. Try a movie night box filled with popcorn, movie theater size candy, a soft drink, a blanket, and your favorite movie. For a romantic box, try massage oil, bath robes, scented candles, bubble bath, body scrub, massage oil, body lotion, love notes, and chocolates. For a birthday themed box, place birthday cake Oreos, cotton candy, and cupcakes. Decorate the flaps on the box with birthday messages and stickers. Surprise him/her with a picnic. Set up a picnic at a park, at the end of a hike, or in a field. Decorate the area with balloons or Chinese lanterns, but since you're outside, you can keep the decorations minimal. Spread a blanket, and pack a basket full of his/her favorite foods. Another way to surprise your loved one is, is to go on a hike, take a walk, or just go for a nice ride. Take him/her to the same place you have the picnic set up, and keep it a surprise until you just happen upon the blanket, basket, and balloons. Take him/her somewhere he/she has always wanted to go to. Maybe your loved one has always wanted to go to Disneyland, on a movie tour, or to the beach. Arrange it so he/she can miss work (or school if your loved one is a kid or teenager) or if it falls on a weekend, that's fine. Pick him/her up early in the morning and surprise him/her with where you end up. If you both have the time, make a weekend out of it. You can plan a weekend trip your loved one, but remember to keep the destination a secret. You can also pretend you are going to one place (Example: Grocery store or the Bank) but then surprise him/her with the real destination. Host a surprise dinner. Instead of a surprise party, take your special someone out to dinner and have friends and family be waiting on him/her. Or have the friends and family show up for dinner at your house. This is a simple, yet nice surprise for the birthday boy/girl You can have the guests bring gifts, treats, or birthday wishes with them. You also can host the dinner as a potluck, with each guest bringing a dish they prepared for the birthday boy/girl. Hire a limo. Surprise the person you love with a limo to chauffeur him/her around all day. Have it pick him/her up for work/school, then from work/school. Make him/her feel special by letting him/her ride around in style all day long, it'll make them happy and you'll feel glad you did it. When the limo picks him/her up from work/school, have it filled with friends and family, ready to go to dinner or a fun activity. | Write a note to the person. Make the person a birthday breakfast. Fill their space with balloons. Make a birthday in a can. Bake them a cake. Collect letters from their loved ones. Decorate their usual places in a theme. Decorate the person's locker. Plan a surprise party. Schedule a day of fun. Make a birthday in a box. Surprise him/her with a picnic. Take him/her somewhere he/she has always wanted to go to. Host a surprise dinner. Hire a limo. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Apricot-Seeds | How to Eat Apricot Seeds | The safest way to eat apricot seeds is to limit yourself to 3 small seeds a day if you're an adult. Don't give toddlers more than half of 1 seed a day. If you want to eat an apricot seed fresh from an apricot, cut halfway through the fruit with a knife. Pull the apricot apart with your hands and remove the pit in the center. Use a nutcracker to crack open the pit and remove the seed. | Avoid eating more than 3 small apricot seeds a day if you're an adult. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), adults that eat more than 3 small apricot seeds a day are at risk of developing cyanide poisoning. If you're going to eat apricot seeds, carefully count the number of seeds you're consuming so you don't accidentally eat more than 3. Don't give more than half of one apricot seed a day to toddlers. The safest way to avoid cyanide poisoning in toddlers is to avoid feeding them apricot seeds altogether. If you do decide to feed a toddler apricot seeds, cut one seed in half and limit their daily intake to half of one seed. Contact a medical professional if you feel ill after eating apricot seeds. Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include nausea, headaches, insomnia, thirst, nervousness, body pain, fever, and low blood pressure. If you experience any of these symptoms after eating apricot seeds, stop eating the seeds and contact your doctor. Use a sharp knife to slice halfway through the apricot along the seam. Don't cut all the way through the apricot. Once you hit the pit in the center of the apricot with the knife, stop cutting. Pull the apricot apart using your hands. You need to use your hands to split the apricot in half since you can't cut through the pit in the center with a knife. Remove the pit from the middle of the apricot. The pit is the hard brown part in the center of the apricot. The apricot seed is inside of the pit. Once you've taken out the pit, slice up the rest of the apricot if you want a snack. The actual fruit part of the apricot doesn't contain amygdalin and it won't cause cyanide poisoning if you eat it. Use a nutcracker to crack the apricot pit open. Place the apricot pit at the end of the nutcracker and squeeze the handles together to crack it open. Once you've cracked the pit open, dispose of the broken pieces and remove the apricot seed. There should be 1 apricot seed inside of the pit. Limit yourself to 3 small apricot seeds if you're an adult. If you're feeding the apricot seed to a toddler, cut the seed in half with a knife and don't give them more than half a seed per day. Eating more seeds than this can lead to cyanide poisoning. | Avoid eating more than 3 small apricot seeds a day if you're an adult. Don't give more than half of one apricot seed a day to toddlers. Contact a medical professional if you feel ill after eating apricot seeds. Use a sharp knife to slice halfway through the apricot along the seam. Pull the apricot apart using your hands. Remove the pit from the middle of the apricot. Use a nutcracker to crack the apricot pit open. Limit yourself to 3 small apricot seeds if you're an adult. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Waste-an-Hour | How to Waste an Hour | It's easy to passively waste an hour if you have internet access. Try browsing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to catch up on what your friends are doing. You could also read through forums such as Reddit to learn more about any given topic, or you could play online games to have some fun. If you want to be productive while you're wasting an hour, try cooking or baking a new recipe. You could also clean your home to make everything shine. Reading a book is another easy way to waste an hour whether you're at home or out and about. | Watch TV or a movie. Watching something can be a great way to relax, decompress, and veg out. If you have Netflix, or any other similar streaming service, there are plenty of quality shows and movies to help you fill that hour. Take a bit to browse through the thousands of titles online, which itself may take an hour! If you want some suggestions for shows or movies, check these out: Arrested Development: a quirky comedy about an incredibly dysfunctional family. Mad Men: a serious period piece about ad executives in the changing social scene of the 1960s. Toy Story: a classic Pixar movie about childhood toys come to life. Both of the sequels are excellent too. King of the Hill: an animated comedy about life in suburban Texas. It is surprisingly heart-warming and hilarious. If you want to be exact, watch the show 60 Minutes. Browse social media. You can easily waste away an hour browsing various social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This is a great way to catch up on what your friends are doing. Try not to spend much more than an hour browsing social media as it can lead to depression. Here are some good social media platforms (note that you will need an account for these): Facebook: the largest social media platform. View statuses, photos, interesting news articles, and anything else your friends have liked. You can also chat with your friends through Facebook's built-in messenger system. Instagram: view photos that people you follows share. These photos are usually more artsy. This is a great platform for following celebrities. The simple User Interface makes it easy to browse through tons of photos. Twitter: view shorts statuses from friends and interesting people. This is also a great platform for tracking up-to-date news. Browse through forums. Forums are places where anybody can post about a topic. Some forums have specific topics like literature or philosophy, but others accept any posts. Chances are that if you can think of a topic, you can also find a forum related to that topic. This is also a great way to make online friends since you know you will both already share an interest. Check out some of these forums: Reddit.com: a large aggregator of different forums and interests. Most anything can be found in different sections of this website, called "subreddits." It is incredibly easy to waste an hour on this forum. Pinterest.com: general forum with excellent design. This site attracts people who like to talk about fashion, design, and art. 4chan.org: for the more adventurous. This is another general forum which attracts people very invested in internet culture. Beware that there are some dark areas of this website. Browse YouTube.com. YouTube has endless amounts of information and new content is constantly being added to the site. Poke around for a while to find some good channels and then subscribe to them. Cook/bake something. If you have the time, you could cook or bake something for someone. And if you are going out, you could bring cookies that you have baked for someone on the way! You could also make a nice, fast meal for someone at home. Try looking some interesting recipes up at the at the internet, something that you maybe haven't tried before, and something that doesn't take more than an hour. Also, check of you have the ingredients at home. Check out these wikiHow articles for some ideas: Make cupcakes. This will cheer anyone up. Make an omelette. A great recipe to learn for breakfast. Make a tasty burrito. This is also a great thing to know if you are cooking for yourself frequently. Play games online. There's a lot of fun games you can play online, and it's a fast, fun way to spend an hour. There's just about every type of game, including shooting, dancing, strategy, adventure and many more. Some good sites are: Newgrounds Miniclip Armor Games Clean your house. Of course, this only applies if you are home. There's always somewhere you can clean up, do the dishes, or the laundry, or wash the floors or the bathroom. Make everything shine in one hour, and have fun with it! Try listening to good music while you clean your house. It can make the process much more exciting than cleaning in silence. Practice your hobby. Do you like to play guitar, knit, draw or something similar? If you have a whole hour to spend, you could spend some time on a new project or at least plan one. Even if you do not have the materials handy, you can still plan a new project. Take advantage of any free time you have to practice your hobby. You will only improve if you put in the effort. If you have a busy life, a free hour likely does not come around too often. You can even try pursuing a new hobby like a new instrument or a programming language. Read a book. While not as active as others, reading is a great way to stimulate your mind and imagination. There are so many good books to read that it can initially seem overwhelming. Try to commit to a book and you will likely gain something from it. Try these suggestions to start: Dune by Frank Herbert. This novel takes you to another planet far into humanity's future. This book helped kickstart the sci-fi genre and continues to be an inspiration for modern sci-fi writers. Be aware that it is more about politics than action, though. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Set in the near future, this sci-fi book is an adventure through a world ravaged by overpopulation, water shortages, and crime. The majority of the population spends most of their time living in a virtual world. Great for any video game lovers. Exercise. Go for a walk or a run. Go to the gym. Go for a swim. Bike or skate around your neighborhood. Just go out and be active! It is important to get your blood pumping and your body moving, so take advantage of the free hour you have in your day. Write something. Writing is a great way to exercise your mind and to engage your creative side. It is also incredibly satisfying to transfer abstract thoughts into concrete ideas. You can write anything you want, including short stories, scripts, movie reviews, or song lyrics. Try to just let the ideas flow through you onto the paper when you first get started. You can edit later if you are serious about producing something powerful. Listen to music. Sitting and listening to music can really help you relax and clear your mind. Try listening to something you enjoyed in the past for a nostalgia trip or find new bands on Spotify or Pandora. Knowing about bands can also help you find common ground with other people, which is always a good thing. | Watch TV or a movie. Browse social media. Browse through forums. Browse YouTube.com. Cook/bake something. Play games online. Clean your house. Practice your hobby. Read a book. Exercise. Write something. Listen to music. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Strawberry-Margaritas | How to Make Strawberry Margaritas | To make a strawberry margarita on the rocks, blend 2 tablespoons of cold simple syrup with 1¼ cups of strawberries until you have a smooth puree. Next, combine your puree with 2.5 ounces of lime juice, 1 ounce of orange liqueur, and 2 ounces of tequila in a tall pitcher. Stir the mixture, then add ice and stir again to chill the margarita. Alternatively, combine the margarita mixture with ice in a martini shaker, and shake until the sides of the shaker are cold. | Make a simple syrup. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with 1/4 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Cook the syrup until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate this syrup till it's cold. It will only take a few minutes for the sugar to dissolve and create a syrup. This should make about 1/4 cup of simple syrup. Always be careful when handling hot sugar syrup since it could burn you. Make a strawberry puree. Wash 1 1/4 cups of strawberries and cut off the stems. Put them in a blender with 2 tablespoons of your cold simple syrup. Blend the berries and syrup until you have a smooth strawberry puree. If you'd like to leave a few chunks of strawberry for your drinks, simply pulse the berries and syrup until you have the consistency you'd like. Combine the puree with your other ingredients. Transfer the strawberry puree to a tall serving pitcher. Add 2 1/2 ounces of freshly squeezed lime juice, 1 ounce of orange liqueur (like Triple Sec) and 2 ounces of tequila. Stir this mixture to combine it. Taste the mixture and add more simple syrup if you'd like it sweeter. Shake or stir the margaritas. Add ice to the pitcher and stir the margaritas to chill them. Or you can pour the margarita mixture into a martini shaker. Add ice to the shaker and shake the margaritas until the sides of the shaker are cold. Avoid letting the margaritas sit in the shakers with the ice too long. The ice will begin to melt and will dilute your drinks. Serve the margaritas. Fill your glasses with crushed ice or ice cubes. Pour the margaritas into your glasses. This recipe should make two margaritas. Garnish the margaritas with thinly sliced limes or strawberries and serve them immediately. Have straws available for serving. Choose thin cocktail straws since this will make the drink last longer than if you use large smoothie-sized straws. Place the ingredients in your blender. Add 3 ounces of tequila, 1 ounce of orange liqueur, 4 ounces of frozen strawberries in syrup, and 2 ounces of frozen limeade concentrate into your blender. You could use fresh strawberries instead of frozen, but your margaritas may not be as cold. You may also need to taste the margaritas to adjust the sweetness. Add ice and crush the mixture. Fill your blender halfway full of ice. Turn on the blender so that you completely crush your ice. If you prefer a smoother blended margarita, you could also use a shaved ice machine. You can also purchase crushed ice to use, although it may be chunkier than ice you crush yourself. Blend the margaritas. Cover the blender and turn it on. Blend the ingredients for about 30 seconds or until the margaritas are completely smooth. If you'd like some texture in your margaritas, you may want to just pulse the margaritas so they remain somewhat chunky. Serve the margaritas. Pour the blended margaritas into your glasses. This recipe should make two margaritas. If you want your margaritas to stay cooler for longer, consider chilling the glasses in the freezer before filling them. Try to serve the margaritas as soon as they're blended. They may begin to melt, especially if it's hot outside. Make a salt rim. Have two small plates ready. Add enough kosher salt to cover the bottom of one plate and pour a little lime juice onto the other plate. Make sure the plate has a bit of a lip so the liquid doesn't run out. Dip the rims of your margarita glasses in the juice and immediately dip the juiced rims into the salt. The juice will help the salt stick to the glass. Consider chilling the glasses in the freezer before salting the rims and serving the margaritas. Cold glasses will make your margaritas stay cooler longer. Try a sweet rim. If you don't want the salty-sweet taste of a margarita served with a salty rim, you may want to make a sugar rim. Keep in mind that this will add to the overall sweetness of your drink. To make a sugar rim, have two small rimmed plates ready. Pour a little water onto the bottom of one plate and add enough sugar to cover the bottom of the other plate. Dip the rims of your margarita glasses in the water and immediately dip them into the sugar. Different sugars will give different textures. Try demerara sugar if you want a lot of crunch and a rich flavor. For a light crunch, use granulated sugar. You probably don't want to use powdered sugar since it may dissolve too quickly. Garnish your margaritas with fruit. Since strawberry margaritas aren't as common as classic margaritas made with lime, garnish with strawberries. This way, if you're serving the cocktails to guests, they'll be able to tell what flavor the drinks are. Slice limes and strawberries thinly to float in the drinks. Since fruit won't easily float in the frozen margarita, you may want to leave the fruit whole or in larger slices. Simply cut a slit in a whole strawberry so you can set it in the rim of the glass. Try a different flavor. You can easily add different fruit flavors to your strawberry margarita. For example, you can add frozen sliced bananas for a strawberry banana margarita. Or for a strawberry lemonade margarita, replace the lime juice with lemon juice (or use frozen lemonade concentrate). To make a strawberry coconut margarita, add a little sweetened cream of coconut for an extra tropical flavor. To garnish, consider adding sliced banana, sliced lemons, or shredded coconut on the rim of the glass. Make a virgin strawberry margarita. If you'll be serving drinks to minors or those who can't drink alcohol, you may want to make a batch of non-alcoholic margaritas. Simply leave out the alcohol. You may need to adjust the consistency of the blended margarita by adding more lime juice or strawberry puree. You can still make salt or sugar rims for serving virgin margaritas. | Make a simple syrup. Make a strawberry puree. Combine the puree with your other ingredients. Shake or stir the margaritas. Serve the margaritas. Place the ingredients in your blender. Add ice and crush the mixture. Blend the margaritas. Serve the margaritas. Make a salt rim. Try a sweet rim. Garnish your margaritas with fruit. Try a different flavor. Make a virgin strawberry margarita. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Glue-off-a-Car | How to Get Glue off a Car | If you need to get glue off of a car, pour a small amount of gasoline onto a soft, clean cotton rag or old T-shirt, being careful not to get any of the gas on your hands. Rub the glue residue with the gasoline-dampened rag, working in small circles as if you were washing the car. When you've removed all of the glue, clean the area with warm water and car soap, then rinse the surface of your car thoroughly and use a clean rag to dry it. | Use a wet cloth to soak the glue. Many kinds of glue will loosen up if you let them soak in some warm water for 30 minutes or so. If the glue is on a window, you may need to hold the wet rag against the glue to allow it to soak. Slide a razor blade into the glue at a 45-degree angle. While you shouldn't use razor blades on paint, you can often use them effectively to scrape glue from glass. Press the blade into the window about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the glue, then slide it into the glue repeatedly to peel it up. Be careful to maintain the 45-degree angle, because if you press the blade directly into the glass, you could still scratch it. Wipe away chunks of glue as you scrape them off. You may be able to remove all of the glue just using the razor blade. Use an adhesive remover if the razor doesn’t get it all. With most of the glue removed, there may still be a residue or a thin layer of glue left behind. The best way to remove it is to use a commercial adhesive remover you spray on and then wipe away. You can purchase adhesive remover at most hardware and even many grocery stores. Be sure to follow the directions on the bottle. Use nail polish remover if you don’t have adhesive remover. In a pinch, the acetone found in nail polish remover can be an effective way to break up the glue on your window. Be careful not to get any on the paint of your vehicle, however, as it will also remove the wax. Put the acetone nail polish remover on a cloth and then use the cloth to apply it to the window. Scrub the glue with the cloth until it comes off. Spray glass cleaner on the glass to remove any residue. Whether you used a chemical to help break up the glue or not, you should wash the window to clean any last bits of glue or debris from it. Spray on the glass cleaner and then simply wipe it away with a paper towel or clean rag to clean the window. Wipe the cleaner away in a circular motion to avoid streaks. Wash the area with soap and water. It's important to make sure you're not scraping any dirt or debris into the paint of the car as you remove the glue, so the area around the glue needs to be clean before you begin. Use a capful of car wash soap mixed with a bowl of warm water to wash the area. Make sure the area is thoroughly rinsed with clean water after you're done. You can use a towel to dry the area faster if you wish. Warm up the glue with a hairdryer. Warming the glue before you scrape it will make it softer and easier to work with. Set the hair dryer to its hottest setting and then move it back and forth over the glue until it becomes soft and tacky. Depending on the kind of glue and hair dryer, this may take several minutes. You may use a heat gun instead of a hairdryer. Be especially careful if you do, as you can glaze the clear coat on the paint if you heat it too much. Scrape the glue off with a card or scraper. Once the glue is warm, place a credit card or plastic scraper down on the vehicle about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the glue. Keep the card or scraper at a 45-degree angle and slide it into the glue repeatedly to make it come up. Do not use a razor blade on any painted surface. Pay close attention to the paint as you scrape. If you notice light scratches starting to appear, it's because of dirt or debris. Wash the area and start the process over again to avoid adding more scratches if that happens. Reheat the glue as necessary. If there's a lot of glue to remove or you're working in an area with a cold climate, the glue may harden again before you're finished removing it. Keep the hair dryer handy and reheat the glue if it starts to harden up. Continue to scrape and reheat the glue until it's all been removed. You may need to wipe away bits of glue with a rag or paper towel as you scrape them off. Wash and wax the area you scraped. Chances are good that the glue removed the wax and possibly even some of the clear coat on your vehicle's paint. First, wash the area with car wash soap and water, allow it to dry, and apply a layer of wax using the supplied applicator. Once the wax is completely dry, buff it off the paint with a chamois cloth. Follow the instructions on the wax you used to know how long it will take for it to dry. Scrape dried glue off with a credit card or scraper. If there are any loose chunks of glue, or bits of glue you can peel off with your fingers, doing so can really speed up the process. Often, hardened glue will peel away from cloth or upholstery. You can use a plastic scraper to try to remove some glue but don't use anything sharp or you could tear the upholstery. Soak any glue that’s left in warm water. With the loose chunks removed, you can loosen up the remaining glue by placing a warm, wet cloth over the glue and letting it soak in for 30 minutes or so. You may want to ring out the rag, wet it again, and place it back on the glue about halfway through the 30 minutes to keep it warm. Mix 2 cups (0.47 L) of water with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of dish soap. You can use upholstery cleaner to help remove the glue and stain, but dish soap will actually do a pretty good job of it. Mix the soap and water in a medium-sized bowl so you can bring it with you into the car. Add more soap if the solution doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Some effective commercial cleaners include Orange Degreaser, Purple Power and Krud Kutter. Scrub the glue stain using the mixture and a clean sponge or rag. It helps to use circular motions or to scrub the glue stain from multiple angles, to make sure you thoroughly remove all of it. Dip the sponge back in the water repeatedly as you scrub. Make sure to scrub from the outside of the stain to the center so that you don't spread the stain around. The soap and water should also remove the dark stain left behind by the glue. Blot the spot dry with a towel. Once you're satisfied with the glue removal, press a dry towel into the upholstery to soak up the water. Scrubbing the wet area may not be as effective as blotting it, because you want to soak up the water beneath the upholstery as well. You can also use a hair dryer to dry the upholstery more quickly. Once the upholstery is dry, look it over. You may want to repeat the process for better results. | Use a wet cloth to soak the glue. Slide a razor blade into the glue at a 45-degree angle. Use an adhesive remover if the razor doesn’t get it all. Use nail polish remover if you don’t have adhesive remover. Spray glass cleaner on the glass to remove any residue. Wash the area with soap and water. Warm up the glue with a hairdryer. Scrape the glue off with a card or scraper. Reheat the glue as necessary. Wash and wax the area you scraped. Scrape dried glue off with a credit card or scraper. Soak any glue that’s left in warm water. Mix 2 cups (0.47 L) of water with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of dish soap. Scrub the glue stain using the mixture and a clean sponge or rag. Blot the spot dry with a towel. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Grasshopper | How to Catch a Grasshopper | To catch a grasshopper, approach the insect slowly, stomp the ground or rustle the grass to make it jump, then scoop it up with a fine mesh net. If you'd rather set a trap, spray a fuzzy blanket with sugar water, sprinkle a few breadcrumbs on it, and spread it out near the grasshopper's habitat. Then, leave the trap overnight and check back the next morning. Any grasshoppers that move across the blanket will get their legs caught in the fuzzy fibers, allowing you to pick them up or collect them in a glass container! | Search at peak times. To catch a grasshopper, start your search in the morning or at dusk when it's cooler out- they are slower in the lower temperature than they are in the afternoon heat. Since grasshoppers have the ability to leap across incredible heights and distances, this sort of advantage is very helpful; these creatures can project themselves up to one metre ahead and 25 centimeter (9.8 in) high. Grasshoppers also have the ability to fly, which they often employ when threatened, so trying to catch them when they are operating at a slower pace is an excellent idea. Locate grasshoppers. Grasshoppers can be found almost anywhere in the world, save for extremely cold regions like the North and South Pole. Grasshoppers generally live in meadows, fields, or anywhere else they can find food. Look for holes in the tissue and leaves of plants in order to spot where grasshoppers might be feeding. You can also listen for their "singing", or the chirping sound that occurs when they rub their large hind legs against their wings. Get a grasshopper into your container. Use a fine mesh net, a container with a lid and air holes, or an old shirt or sheet to catch a grasshopper in an area where you've already identified their presence. Grasshoppers are not difficult to catch; stomp the ground or rustle grass to agitate the grasshoppers and make them "jump" (i.e.catapult themselves off the ground) Once they are moving, position your container, net, or other trap to catch one. When grasshoppers feel threatened, they spew a brown liquid as a defense mechanism; the liquid is harmless, but it may stain your clothes. Make your container inviting to grasshoppers. If you're trying to catch a grasshopper in a container, fill the container with bits of food that will attract the insect. Put in a slice of apple, some bits of bread, a carrot, or some lettuce. Ideally, use food that is starting to turn, which you would not be consuming anyway. Set a molasses trap. To catch a grasshopper, try laying out a bucket or small container containing a 10:1 solution of water and molasses. To catch multiple grasshoppers, fill a pond or wading pool with the same solution. Avoid this method if you wish to catch a grasshopper alive; the insect will likely drown in the solution unless retrieved right away. Set a glass and soapy water trap. Another option for catching grasshoppers on a larger scale is to set up a pane of glass and a vat of soapy water in a field. Position the pane of glass vertically, with the vat in front of it. The grasshoppers will leap at the pane of glass, fall back into the soapy water, and drown- the soap cuts the surface tension of the water, causing the grasshoppers to sink. Set a fuzzy blanket trap. To catch a live grasshopper, to observe or keep as a pet , lay out a fuzzy blanket in a field or other grasshopper-friendly area. To attract grasshoppers to it, spray the blanket with sugar water and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Leave the trap overnight. Grasshoppers that move across the blanket will get their legs caught in the fuzzy fibers long enough to be picked up or collected in a container. To speed things up, agitate the grass around the blanket to drive grasshoppers to leap onto it. Set a bottle trap. Cut off the top of an ordinary plastic bottle and reinsert it upside down, so that the opening sits inside the bottle. Tape it together and insert some grass, then leave the trap outside. Grasshoppers will get into the bottle easily by way of the funnel-like top, but they will be unable to get back out. Make a yellow trap. Grasshoppers seem to be attracted by the color yellow, so setting a trap that uses this color is worth a shot to catch one. Insects see in the UV spectrum, and light colors reflect more UV light, making them more appealing. Set up a molasses trap in a yellow bucket, or a fuzzy blanket trap with a yellow blanket (or yellow accessories on the blanket) to catch a grasshopper. | Search at peak times. Locate grasshoppers. Get a grasshopper into your container. Make your container inviting to grasshoppers. Set a molasses trap. Set a glass and soapy water trap. Set a fuzzy blanket trap. Set a bottle trap. Make a yellow trap. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Add-5-Consecutive-Numbers-Quickly | How to Add 5 Consecutive Numbers Quickly | To add 5 consecutive numbers quickly, start by identifying the middle number in the series. For example, if you were trying to add 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, then 3 would be the middle number. Next, just multiply that number by 5 to get your answer! So in this example, you would multiply 3 by 5 and get 15, which is the same number you'd get if you were to add up 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. | Identify the middle number in the series. Let's say you're given the numbers 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55. 53 is the middle number in this case, since it has two numbers before and after it in the series. Multiply the middle number by 5 in your head. This is easier if you're given small numbers like 1 through 5, of course (since 3 x 5 = 15). But it's not that much more difficult to mentally multiply 53 x 5 = 265. First, separate 53 into 50 and 3. Second, multiply 50 x 5 = 250. Then, multiply 3 x 5 = 15. Finally, add those two results together: 250 + 15 = 265. Confirm that your result ends in 5 or 0. The sum of any 5 consecutive whole numbers will always be divisible by 5, which means it will end in either 5 or 0. So, if your mental math gave you a result of 264 or 266, you know you need to recalculate. Try it with larger numbers or negative numbers too. For instance, say your consecutive numbers run from 1,263 through 1,267. To mentally multiply the middle number, 1,265, you could add up 5,000 (= 1,000 x 5), 1,000 (= 200 x 5), 300 (= 60 x 5), and 25 (= 5 x 5) to get 6,325 as the sum of 1,263 through 1,267. Or, let's say that your given series is -3, -2, -1, 0, 1. You still multiply the middle number by 5 to get your result — in this case, -1 x 5 = -5, which is also the sum of (-3) + (-2) + (-1) + 0 + 1. Grab a pencil and paper to see how it works. You can figure out the sum of any series of consecutive whole numbers by using the following formula, in which x = the sum, a = the first number in the series (e.g., 51), and n = the last number in the series (e.g, 55): x = (n x ((n + 1) / 2)) - ((a - 1) x (a / 2)) x = (55 x (56 / 2)) - (50 x 25.5) x = (55 x 28) - 1275 x = 1540 - 1275 x = 265 (and 265 / 5 = 53, the middle number) Pick any 5 consecutive numbers. For a simpler example (Example A), try 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. For more of a challenge (Example B), try 232, 233, 234, 235, 236. Multiply the highest number by 5. For Example A, 15 x 5 = 75. For Example B, 236 x 5 = 1,180. Subtract 10 from your result to get the sum of the series. For Example A, 75 - 10 = 65. For Example B, 1,180 - 10 = 1,170. Use the lowest number instead by multiplying by 5 and adding 10. For Example A, (11 x 5) + 10 = 55 + 10 = 65. For Example B, (232 x 5) + 10 = 1,160 + 10 = 1,170. As you can see, you end up with the same results. Compare your result to multiplying the middle number by 5. In Example A, 13 is the middle number, and 13 x 5 = 65. In Example B, 234 is the middle number, and 234 x 5 = 1,170. To do Example B in your head, remember that you can break it up: (200 x 5 = 1,000) + (30 x 5 = 150) + (4 x 5 = 20) = 1,000 + 150 + 20 = 1,170. Use the formula to further confirm your result. Use x = (n x ((n + 1) / 2)) - ((a - 1) x (a / 2)), where x = the sum, n = the highest number, and a = the lowest number. For Example A: x = (15 x (16 / 2)) - (10 x 5.5) x = (15 x 8) - 55 x = 120 - 55 = 65 For Example B: x = (236 x (237 / 2)) - (231 x 116) x = (236 x 118.5) - 26796 x = 27966 - 26796 = 1170 Add four consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 4 and subtracting 6. For example, try 11, 12, 13, 14; 14 x 4 = 56, and 56 - 6 = 50. Or, you can multiply the sum of the middle two numbers by two. In the above case, 12 + 13 = 25, and 25 x 2 = 50. Add six consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 6 and subtracting 15. Say you have a consecutive series from 11 through 16. You'd multiply 16 x 6 = 96, then subtract 15 to get 81. Alternatively, you can multiply the sum of the middle two numbers by 3. In the above case, 13 + 14 = 27, and 27 x 3 = 81. Add seven consecutive numbers by multiplying the middle number by 7. If your series runs from 11 through 17, 14 is the middle number. Thus, 14 x 7 = 98. For any odd number (3, 5, 7, etc.) of consecutive numbers, you can always just multiply the middle number by the total number in the series. Add eight consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 8 and subtracting 28. If your numbers run from 11 through 18, multiply 18 x 8 = 144, then subtract 144 - 28 = 116. You can also multiply the sum of the middle two numbers by 4. In the above example, 14 + 15 = 29, and 29 x 4 = 116. | Identify the middle number in the series. Multiply the middle number by 5 in your head. Confirm that your result ends in 5 or 0. Try it with larger numbers or negative numbers too. Grab a pencil and paper to see how it works. Pick any 5 consecutive numbers. Multiply the highest number by 5. Subtract 10 from your result to get the sum of the series. Use the lowest number instead by multiplying by 5 and adding 10. Compare your result to multiplying the middle number by 5. Use the formula to further confirm your result. Add four consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 4 and subtracting 6. Add six consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 6 and subtracting 15. Add seven consecutive numbers by multiplying the middle number by 7. Add eight consecutive numbers by multiplying the highest by 8 and subtracting 28. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Waterpik-Water-Flosser | How to Use a Waterpik Water Flosser | To use a Waterpik water flosser, first fill the reservoir with lukewarm water. Avoid using hot or cold water since it might feel painful on your gums. Then, hold the Waterpik for about two seconds over each tooth, following your gum line around. Make sure to trace each tooth from the front and back. You should try starting with the lowest pressure setting and increasing it to a rate that is comfortable for you. Additionally, hold the tip away from your teeth and gums, which is more comfortable than touching them directly. | Decide where to shop. The Waterpik is available at many major retailers like Target and Walmart. You can also find it at some electronics stores like Best Buy or internet retailers like Amazon. Pick the right model. The Waterpik comes in a variety of models with different functions and prices. Shop around and decide what works best for you. The countertop model is designed to permanently sit on your counter. It has a large reservoir, making it ideal for family use. These models typically cost between $45 and $59. The cordless model has no cord and a larger base to hold the water. It is ideal for travel, but it has less power and may be harder to handle. These models typically cost between $47 and $69. There are Showerpik models that are cordless and externally waterproof for use in the shower. They use only the shower pressure which may sometimes be low. These models typically cost around $69. The deluxe and ultra models often include a sonic toothbrush that can dock on the unit itself. You can change the tips of these models, making them usable for all family members. These models typically cost around $99. There are various kid's models available as well. They are smaller and generally decorated to be kid friendly. They are designed for kids age 6 and older. These models typically cost between $35 and $49. Pick the right specialty tips. The standard model typically comes with only one tip; however, there are a variety of specialty options you can purchase individually, in a package deal or with deluxe versions of the unit. The classic jet tip, included in all Waterpik models, will provide a steady flow that is ideal for direct application to the gums and teeth. The toothbrush tip allows you to brush your teeth with a steady flow of water coming through the center of the brush, improving the quality of your brushing. The plaque seeker tip is ideal around crowns, bridges, and implants. The orthodontic tip is ideal for dental braces. It will remove plaque and debris from around brackets and under wires which are hard to reach with floss and other methods. The pik pocket tip removes plaque deep within periodontal pockets. This is ideal for people who have chronic periodontitis. Fill the water reservoir. The reservoir is the large water container. It should have a removable top where it can easily be refilled. Use lukewarm water. Don't use water that is uncomfortably hot. Add a small cup of chlorhexidine mouthwash twice a week to create a sterile environment. Do not use salt water as you may block the pipes of the Waterpik. Select the right tip. Choose the tip that works best for you. The options are the classic jet tip, the toothbrush tip, the plaque seeker tip, the orthodontic tip and the pik pocket tip. Place the tip in the handle. There should be a way to lock the tip in place, either by twisting it or pressing a button on the handle. Consult the product manual if necessary. Place the tip in your mouth. Start with your back teeth. Hold the tip away from the teeth and gums rather than touching them directly. Lean over the sink so you don't splash water on your countertop. You can either start with the outside of the teeth or the inside, but make sure you spray every interdental area where a regular brush can't reach. Turn on the unit. There will be either an on-button or a dial that adjusts the water pressure. Start with the low pressure setting. Increase the water pressure as you go along to a rate that is comfortable. Follow your gum line. Go tooth by tooth to ensure you get everything. Aim for the top of the tooth, the baseline of the gum and the space between each tooth. Trace both from behind your teeth and from the front. Essentially, you'll be making four passes to reach the front and back of both and bottom rows. Hold the Waterpik for about two second over each tooth. The entire process should last for about two minutes but take your time to rinse if you feel like it. Empty the reservoir. You should pour out any remaining water. Leaving stale water in the reservoir can cause bacteria to grow. Use the instruction manual. Each Waterpik unit comes with an instruction manual. If you lose it, you can download another copy on the Waterpik website. Buy replacement parts. The Waterpik is an elaborate device with several parts that can break and require replacement. The Waterpik website includes a section where tips, accessories and replacement parts are available for sale separate from the main units. You should replace the tips every three to six months. Fix a drop in water pressure. A common issue is that the device sometimes loses water pressure. You can attempt to fix this issue before having to replace the device. Ensure the black valve in the reservoir tank is inserted with the dome side facing up and the four-pronged side facing down. Fill the reservoir at least half full to support pressure. Confirm that the unit is plugged into a fully functioning electrical outlet. Regularly clean the unit by adding a few teaspoons of vinegar or chlorhexidine mouthwash to a full reservoir of warm water. Then drain the reservoir through the handle into the sink until it is empty. Fix a leaking reservoir. A reservoir leak is another common issue. You can attempt to fix this issue before having to replace the device. Remove the black rubber valve from the water tank by pushing it out from the bottom. Run the valve under warm water and massage with your fingers. Return the valve to the tank. Ensure the dome side is facing up and the four-prong side is showing on the bottom. | Decide where to shop. Pick the right model. Pick the right specialty tips. Fill the water reservoir. Select the right tip. Place the tip in the handle. Place the tip in your mouth. Turn on the unit. Follow your gum line. Empty the reservoir. Use the instruction manual. Buy replacement parts. Fix a drop in water pressure. Fix a leaking reservoir. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-a-Sore-Throat | How to Get Rid of a Sore Throat | To get rid of a sore throat, mix 1/2 a teaspoon of salt with 1 cup of warm water and then gargle with it, which will reduce swelling in your throat so it feels better. You can also try drinking some chamomile tea since chamomile helps fight infections and relax sore muscles. If you have honey on hand, add a spoonful of it to your tea, which will coat your throat and reduce inflammation. | Gargle with warm salt water. This is one of the oldest remedies for a sore throat, and it works like a charm. When your throat is sore, the mucous membranes are swollen and inflamed, causing the feeling of pain and scratchiness. Salt draws water from the mucous membrane cells, reducing swelling and helping your throat feel better. Make a saltwater rinse by mixing 1/2 teaspoon table salt with 1 cup of warm water. Don't just rinse your mouth out with the saltwater - gargle it. Tip your head back and make sure it hits the back of your throat, since that's the part that's inflamed. Gargle for about 30 seconds before spitting out the rinse. You can gargle salt water up to 3 times per day. Using the rinse more often could end up drying out the mucous membranes too much, leading to increased irritation. Try adding a drop of bergamot essential oil to the salt water to soothe your throat even more. Make a hydrogen peroxide rinse. Hydrogen peroxide is a mild antiseptic that can relieve throat irritation. Bottles of the substance are available over-the-counter at drugstores. To make a rinse, follow the instructions on the packaging, which will usually direct you to dilute a capful of hydrogen peroxide in a cup of water. Put the mixture in your mouth and swish it around so that it hits the back of your throat. Spit it out after one minute. Use a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide. This should be clear on the label of the bottle you buy. Hydrogen peroxide has a bitter taste. You can add a little honey to the mixture to make it easier to rinse if you'd like. The hydrogen peroxide may bubble in your mouth--that's normal. Use a vapor rub. Vapor rubs contain aromatic decongestants like menthol or peppermint that soothe the throat and help cut back on coughing. The decongestants are mixed with petroleum jelly to create an ointment. Pick up a vapor rub at the drugstore and rub some on your throat and chest to help you breathe more easily and cough less. You can also make your own vapor rub in the following way: Melt 1 tablespoon of beeswax in a double boiler Stir in 1/2 cup coconut oil. Add 10 drops of peppermint oil Pour the mixture into a glass container and let it cool before using. Make a mustard plaster. Using a plaster to soothe a sore throat and relieve congestion is an old home remedy. It's particularly useful if you have a deep cough and the soreness extends into your chest. Ground mustard is said to bring warmth and circulation to the chest and throat area. Try out a small bit of the plaster first to make sure you don't have a bad reaction. Mix 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed powder and 1 tablespoon of flour. Add enough water to make a thick paste. Spread the mixture onto a paper towel. Sandwich the paper towel between two clean pieces of cotton, such as dish cloths. Place the plaster on your throat and chest, making sure the mustard mixture never actually touches your skin. Leave it in place for 15 minutes, or until the skin becomes warm and rosy. Use throat spray or lozenges. Throat spray and lozenges both contain ingredients that help to soothe the throat and open the nasal passages. Look for honey-based lozenges that contain menthol or peppermint. You can also get medicated spray or lozenges, which have a mild anesthetic to gently numb the throat area and relieve pain. Take pain relief medication. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help ease the inflammation that leads to throat pain. Be sure to take no more than the recommended dosage on the packaging. Aspirin is associated with a rare condition called Reye's syndrome, so be cautious when you give it to children and teens. You might try sucking on a small aspirin tablet (81.5mg) for relief. This dosage does not increase risk of Reye's syndrome. Children and teenagers recovering from the flu or chickenpox should never be given aspirin. In general, children should not be given aspirin unless there is no other medication available. Alternatives like tylenol work just fine. Make a honey, cayenne drink. Honey is an important ingredient to include in teas and other drinks you make when you have a sore throat. Studies support what people have found to be true for centuries: it coats the throat and eases inflammation, as well as helping to suppress coughing. Cayenne is another sore throat-fighting powerhouse: it contains capsaicin, a natural substance found in peppers that acts as a pain reliever. Make a soothing, healthful drink by adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon honey to 1 cup of boiling water. Let the mixture cool, then sip it slowly. If you're very sensitive to hot peppers, reduce the amount of cayenne to 1/8 teaspoon or less. Honey should not be given to children under the age of 1, as it has been known to give babies botulism. If you swap out the cayenne for one ounce of whiskey and add some extra lemon, this drink becomes a hot toddy. Make chamomile tea. Scientific research has shown chamomile, a fragrant flowering herb that people have been using for centuries to beat sore throats and colds, does indeed contain substances that fight infection and relax muscles. Brewing up a few cups of chamomile tea each day you have a sore throat will relieve your throat pain and help you feel more relaxed. Chamomile tea is particularly soothing just before bed, since it will help you sleep a little better. Chamomile tea is widely available in supermarkets. Check the ingredients and choose a box made with pure chamomile flowers, or one in which chamomile is one of the main ingredients. Follow the instructions to brew your tea. Add a spoonful of honey and a squeeze of lemon (an astringent that helps to shrink swollen tissue) to make your tea even more beneficial. Try garlic broth. Garlic is thought to have antiseptic and antibacterial properties, as well as the power to fight infection and build up the immune system. While its medicinal benefits have not yet been substantiated by scientific research, many holistic health practitioners recommend taking it to soothe sore throats and fight respiratory infection. Make a savory garlic broth to ease your throat irritation by peeling and crushing 2 garlic cloves and pouring a cup of boiling water over them. Add a pinch of salt to make the drink even more beneficial for your throat. If you love the taste of garlic, you can receive the same benefits by simply peeling a clove, crushing it, and sucking on it for a few minutes. If you aren't a fan of garlic's distinct taste and smell, try taking garlic tablets instead. Drink licorice cinnamon tea. Licorice contains chemicals that are thought to ease sore throats by thinning the mucous membranes and decreasing swelling. Licorice-flavored candy doesn't contain high enough concentrations of these chemicals, but you can access them when you make licorice tea from dried licorice root. Cinnamon has natural antibacterial properties and complements the flavor of the licorice nicely. To make a delicious drink, mix 1 tablespoon licorice root and 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon with 2 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into a cup and enjoy. Stir in some honey or a squeeze of lemon to make the drink even more healthful. Drink ginger water. You probably already knew that ginger helps ease an upset stomach, but did you know this powerful herb can also be used to ease a sore throat? It opens up your sinuses and helps to clear your nose and throat, as well as having anti-inflammatory properties. Use fresh ginger, not dried or ground ginger, to get the maximum benefits. Peel and chop about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of fresh ginger root. Place it in a mug and pour a cup of boiling water over it. Let the drink steep for 3 minutes, then strain and enjoy. You can add honey, lemon or a dash of cayenne to taste. Make a batch of chicken soup. If you're looking for another savory sore-throat soother, you can't do better than old-fashioned chicken soup. Recent scientific studies have pointed to the idea that chicken soup really does have components that heal infections and open the nasal passages - it's not just an old wives' tale. Since it's packed with nutrients, chicken soup is a good choice if you're not feeling hungry enough to eat substantial meals. Be sure to make the soup from scratch, or buy it from a place that makes it from scratch from a fresh chicken. Chicken soup from a can isn't likely to have the same health benefits as soup made with a fresh chicken. If you want, you can strain out the solids and just drink the broth. Drink lots of water. Water will help your body heal and will keep your irritated throat moist. Stick with warm water, which will help to relieve the inflammation in your throat. Cold water can hurt more than it helps. Get plenty of rest. If you get up early and stay up late at night to fulfill all of your obligations, your body won't have time to heal. If you don't want that sore throat to progress to a full-blown cold or flu, you need to take time to rest and get a good night's sleep every night. When you feel the first pricks of a sore throat coming on, take it easy for the rest of the day. Get plenty of fluids, eat healthy meals and stay in for the night instead of going out. You might need to take a day off of work or school to let your body rest. If that's not possible, find times during the day to take a nap or at least be still for 15 minutes. Take a warm shower or bath. The steam from the hot water will moisten your dry, irritated throat and help with both soreness and congestion. Try to breathe in the steam through your nose and your mouth, allowing it to enter your throat and nasal passages. If you decide to take a warm bath, add some herbs or essential oils to the tub. Try a few drops of peppermint or eucalyptus oil to help soothe your throat the same way a vapor rub would. If you just want a quick steam, but not a bath, close the door to your bathroom and run the water at its hottest until it produces steam. Stand or sit in the bathroom and breathe the steam for 5 to 10 minutes. You could also do a quick facial steam by bringing a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Turn off the heat, drape a towel over your head and put your face over the pot, letting the steam bathe your nose and throat. Turn on a humidifier. If the air in your home is dry, it can wreak havoc on your throat, especially when it's sore. Humidifiers add moisture to the air, making it friendlier to the soft tissues and membranes in your throat that need to be moist to stay healthy. A humidifier might be especially useful during the winter months, when the air tends to be drier. Make a warm compress for your throat. Sometimes a little heat goes farther than any other remedy when it comes to pain relief. Run some hot water over a dishcloth, wring it out, fold it, and lay it on your throat until it cools. The heat will aid circulation in the area and help to bring down the swelling a little. Be sure not to scald your skin. The water shouldn't be so hot that it hurts when you apply the cloth to your throat. You could also use a hot water bottle for a longer application. Stay away from throat irritants. Make sure your home environment is clear of chemicals that could be further irritating your throat. When you breathe in harsh chemicals and smells, they might cause your throat to swell and become scratchy. Clear the air of the following irritants: Chemical perfumes, such as those found in cleaning supplies, air freshener, body spray, scented candles, and other scented items around the house. Cleaning products like bleach, window cleaner and detergents. Smoke from cigarettes and other sources. Allergens, like dust, cat dander or hair, mold, pollen, and anything else you might be allergic to. Keep your distance from other people. Your sore throat may be contagious, so stay at home if you can to avoid spreading the infection. It only takes one coughing student at school to get the whole classroom sick! If you can't stay home, try wearing a mask around your nose and mouth. Avoid coughing on others, and cover your mouth when talking near another person. It's best to stand as far away from others as possible. Even if you're only experiencing the first signs of a sore throat, you should avoid kissing and hugging other people. Know when it's time to see a doctor. If your sore throat doesn't go away on its own after a few days, and new symptoms arise, make an appointment with your doctor to see if you're dealing with something more serious than the common cold. You might have a bacterial infection like strep, which the doctor can test for quickly and easily, or a viral infection. If you have difficulty breathing, head to the emergency room. If you experience the following issues, see your doctor as soon as possible: Difficulty swallowing Joint pain Earache Rash A lump in your neck A fever over 101 °F (38 °C) Blood in your phlegm Red, inflamed tonsils or pus spots when you shine a light on the back of your throat A very bad taste in your mouth | Gargle with warm salt water. Make a hydrogen peroxide rinse. Use a vapor rub. Make a mustard plaster. Use throat spray or lozenges. Take pain relief medication. Make a honey, cayenne drink. Make chamomile tea. Try garlic broth. Drink licorice cinnamon tea. Drink ginger water. Make a batch of chicken soup. Drink lots of water. Get plenty of rest. Take a warm shower or bath. Turn on a humidifier. Make a warm compress for your throat. Stay away from throat irritants. Keep your distance from other people. Know when it's time to see a doctor. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Self-Pedicure | How to Do a Self Pedicure | Doing a self pedicure at home is a great way to pamper yourself and save some money, and all you need are a few beauty supplies. Before you start, lay down some towels, and fill a clean bucket with Epsom salt and hot water, which you'll use for a foot bath. Gently scrub any calluses or dry patches on your feet with a pumice stone. Then, place your feet in the bucket for 5-10 minutes to soak and soften your skin. Once you're done soaking, clip your toenails and file them into a smooth, rounded edge. Dry your feet and apply some lotion to soften your skin. To finish your pedicure, apply whatever color nail polish you like. | Take inventory of what you already own. If you are familiar to at-home spa treatments, you may already have some of the necessary supplies on hand. Check your cupboards for epsom salts, nail clippers, an emery board, a cuticle pusher, a file (or pumice stone), cuticle cream, toe separators, nail polish remover and nail polish. Although not all of these tools are absolutely required, having all of them will result in a salon-finish at-home pedicure, rather than an amateur one. Go to a beauty supply store. If you are lacking any of the above ingredients, visit your local beauty supply store and pick them up. Talk with the store clerks and ask which tools are best for at-home use versus salon use. Some manicure and pedicure kits are designed for professionals, and will contain tools you will likely not use. Purchase the basic needs for your at-home pedicure, leaving salon-grade tools to the professionals. Do not assume cheaper means better; although you do not need a set of professional pedicure set, you do not want a set that is flimsy, either. Test the strength of the tools, and make sure the metal is thick enough to resist bending. Grab a clean bucket and some epsom salts. Purchase a clean bucket, if necessary, and some epsom salts for soaking your feet. Although you can use many things in the place of epsom salts, such as magnesium and specialized foot soaks, epsom salts are inexpensive, relaxing, and effective. Ideally, use a bucket that can house both of your feet simultaneously. Although you can soak one foot at a time, soaking both feet at the same time will be more comfortable and will make the process go by more quickly. Lay down some towels. Before you begin your pedicure, lay down a towel or two to catch any stray water, and to dry off your feet after your soak. Have an extra hand towel and old rag at the ready in case of spills or polish mishaps. If possible, do your pedicure on a hard surface, such as tile or linoleum, as these are water-resistant. If you are working on carpet or wood, clean up any spills quickly. Choose towels you don't mind getting dirty or worn down. Although you will want to avoid a spill of any of your ingredients, they do happen, and both nail polish and nail polish remover stain fabric. Grab your favorite CD, book, or TV show. At-home pedicures can involve 10-30 minutes of downtime. Grab a book, turn on some music, or turn on your favorite show to keep your mind engaged while you soak and clean. If you struggle to multitask, put in some classical music to avoid cutting your nails too short or spilling your ingredients. Scrub hardened calluses or dry patches. You can use a body brush for this, or a specialized tool, such as a Ped Egg or pumice stone. Keep your foot over the water as you scrub, as some skin may fall to the ground. Pay particular attention to your heels and the edges of your big toes, as these are the most common hiding places for calluses and dead skin. Do not scrub until you feel pain; the idea is to remove dead skin, not still-living tissue. If you begin to feel pain or discomfort, you have removed the dead skin, and should move on to the next area. While you may prefer to soak your feet first and scrub second, most callus removal tools are designed to be used on dry skin. If you choose to soak first, make sure your feet are completely dry before scrubbing. Place hot water and salts into your bucket. The bucket you use can be a cleaning bucket, or a foot spa specifically designed for soaking your feet--either one will work fine. Fill your bucket with hot water and salts, and allow the salts to dissolve. If you'd like a more relaxing foot bath, you can include a few drops of lavender or cedarwood oil, both of which are used to induce relaxation and may have antibacterial properties. Place one or both feet into the saltwater mixture. Place your feet (or one foot at a time, if space does not permit both feet) into the bucket, and set a timer for 5-10 minutes, according to your preference. If you must do one foot at a time, be sure to complete the soaking and cleaning process entirely on one side before moving to the next. Clip your nails. Clip your nails straight across to prevent the risk of ingrown toenails. Although you may be tempted to follow the natural curve of your nail, you run the risk of cutting too short, or encouraging nails to grow inward rather than outward. Make sure your clippers are not dull, as using dull clippers can also encourage ingrown toenails. If you find it difficult to cut through your nail, sharpen your clippers. Clean any remaining dirt or grime from underneath your toes. Clipping your nails will likely remove some of the dirt and buildup deposited there, but you may still have some grime to remove. Clean your nails with soapy water (or the water from your soaking basin), until you no longer see any dirt or debris, and your nails are clean and light in color. File the edges of your nails. Doing so will also minimize the risk of ingrown nails, and will give a smooth, rounded edge to otherwise-sharp nails. It seems small, but do not skip this step. Sharp, bumpy edges can lead to discomfort, as well as make the application of polish more difficult. Opt for a 180- or 240-grit nail file since they're more gentle and you won't be as likely to split a nail. Apply lotion to your newly-cleaned feet. Gently dry your feet with a towel, and apply oil or moisturizer to your feet, ankles, and calves. This is not the time for a quick run-over with lotion; instead, take the time to really massage your legs and feet. If your feet are naturally dry, use a thicker lotion or oil, such as olive oil. This will help seal in moisture and ward off calluses and dead skin buildup. If your feet are naturally oily or moist, a thin lotion or lighter oil such as coconut oil will be a better fit. Apply cuticle cream to your cuticles. Dab cuticle cream into the cuticles of all five of your toes. Start with one foot, then move to the other, and allow the cream to rest for 2-5 minutes, or as indicated by your particular brand's instructions. Again, this is an important step. Failing to soften your cuticles with cream before pushing them down could result in tearing or otherwise damaging your nail and cuticle. Be sure to properly moisturize before working on your cuticles. Gently push down on your cuticles. After the cream has softened your cuticles, take your cuticle pusher and gently begin to press down, bringing your cuticles to the same level as the bottom of your nail. Dry your toenails. Remove any remaining lotion or cuticle cream, as both will interfere with the application of your polish. If need be, dip a rag into the epsom salt mixture and wipe your nails down first, to give the polish a dry, clean surface to grip. Apply nail polish. Separate your toes using a toe separator or rag to make application easier. Beginning in the middle of your nail, apply long, soft strokes to your nail, gradually moving outward, until all of the nail is covered. Move on to the next nail, allowing nails to dry fully before applying a second coat. Follow this pattern on each of your nails, no matter how small. Using this technique provides an even all-over application, and will prevent streaking and clumping. If you want to try a French pedicure, put white nail polish on the end of each nail. Use a round brush dipped in nail polish remover to clean up the white tip on the inside of the nail so that the white line appears nice and round. Finally, apply a sheer pink on top so that the white is not too harsh, and follow with a top coat to make the polish last. Dry your nails. Once you have applied all coats, dry your nails using a specially-designed light, a hair dryer, or the most common method: letting your nails air dry for 10-20 minutes, or until the polish is no longer tacky to the touch. Letting your nails dry properly will mean the difference between a long-lasting pedicure, and one that flakes or chips within a few days. If you do not let your polish dry completely between coats or before your topcoat, your polish will be prone to smudging and scraping. Apply a topcoat. Apply a clear topcoat to keep color from chipping. If your nails are prone to breakage, apply a second layer after the first has dried. Swipe a thin strip over the top of your nail to seal in the tips of your nails and prevent chipping due to your nails striking against your shoes or floors. Choose a thin, clear topcoat. A heavy topcoat will only add bulk and increase the likelihood of smudging. If you do add a second layer of topcoat, keep the brushstrokes thin and long, and wipe any excess off of the brush before applying. Maintain your pedicure. To keep your pedicure lasting longer, wash and moisturize your feet regularly. Use a gentle cleanser and cleansing tool to avoid chipping polish, and avoid salt soaks until your next pedicure; the salt in the soak can tear at your polish. If you shower daily, wash your feet daily and follow up with moisturizer. Even if you don't shower daily, clean and moisturize your feet each night. | Take inventory of what you already own. Go to a beauty supply store. Grab a clean bucket and some epsom salts. Lay down some towels. Grab your favorite CD, book, or TV show. Scrub hardened calluses or dry patches. Place hot water and salts into your bucket. Place one or both feet into the saltwater mixture. Clip your nails. Clean any remaining dirt or grime from underneath your toes. File the edges of your nails. Apply lotion to your newly-cleaned feet. Apply cuticle cream to your cuticles. Gently push down on your cuticles. Dry your toenails. Apply nail polish. Dry your nails. Apply a topcoat. Maintain your pedicure. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Great-Morning-Routine-Before-School | How to Have a Great Morning Routine Before School | It can be tough getting up on time and getting everything ready before school, but by preparing the night before and making a morning routine, you can do it. Set out the outfit you want to wear before going to bed, which will save you looking for clothes in the morning. You should also pack your lunch the night before so you just need to pick it up on the way out. Get up 10 minutes earlier than you think you need to, since you'll almost always take longer to get ready than you think. You should also go to the bathroom and splash cold water over your face or take a shower, which will wake you up if you're feeling tired. Remember to eat a healthy breakfast, like cereal with milk or eggs with toast, which will give you energy for the day. | Pack your bag so it’s ready to go for the next day. Put all your books, homework, papers, school supplies, keys, and any other items you will need in your bag. This will save you time in the morning and decrease the chances that you forget something important. You can put the final items, such as your lunchbox, in your bag in the morning. Just try to get as much organized as you can the night before. Make as much of your lunch the night before as possible. Prepare anything that can be made ahead of time, such as sandwiches or sliced fruits, and put them in containers or resealable bags. You'll be able to quickly pack them in your lunchbox in the morning this way. If your parents prepare your lunch for you, then ask them nicely if they can do it the night before so you can have a great morning routine. Pick out an outfit with the weather in mind to save time in the morning. Check the forecast for the next day to help you decide what kind of outfit you want to wear. Pick out all the pieces of the outfit, then lay them out or hang them up somewhere where you can easily grab them all when it's time to get dressed quickly in the morning. This way, you'll also notice if you happen to be out of clean underwear or another item of clothing and can wash and dry some so they are ready in the morning. Charge all your electronic devices so they have power the next day. Plug in your phone, laptop, tablet, and any other electronic devices that you take to school with you. Leave them charging overnight so they will have full power in the morning and you won't be rushing to charge anything before school. If you use your phone as an alarm, then leave it charging across the room to force you to get up to turn off the alarm in the morning. This will help you get out of bed earlier and give you more time to get ready. Shower before bed to save yourself time in the morning. Wash your body and hair at night so you don't have to do it before school. You'll wake up feeling clean and have less to do to get ready. Taking a warm shower about 1 hour before you go to bed can also help you relax and fall asleep easier. Go to bed at least 8 hours before you have to wake up. Create a routine where you get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Set your alarm for the same time every morning to help you get in this routine. This means that if you have to get up at 7:00 in the morning, you need to go to bed by 11:00 at the latest. Keep in mind that if it generally takes you a long time to fall asleep, you will need to go to bed even earlier to account for this. Get up 10 minutes earlier than you think you need to. The amount of time you need to get ready and get to school on time depends on lots of things, such as whether you can walk to school or if you have to catch the bus at a certain time. Figure out how much time you need to get ready each morning and wake up 10 minutes earlier so you aren't in a rush and don't end up arriving late to school. Use an alarm on your phone or get an alarm clock to help you get up in the mornings. If you have curtains or blinds in your room, leave them cracked to allow light through in the morning. This will make it easier to get up. Make your bed so you aren’t tempted to go back to sleep. Quickly arrange your pillows, sheets, and blankets. You'll be happy you don't have to do it later after a long day of school. Making your bed is something that takes just a couple of minutes, but is a good habit to help you become a more organized person in the morning. Not only that, but your parents will probably be happy too! Go to the bathroom and take care of your personal needs and grooming. Do what you need to in the bathroom, then wash your hands and face. Take a shower if you didn't shower the night before. Cold or hot water will help you wake up and refresh you for the school day. Mint-scented body wash or face wash can help you wake up in the mornings. You can brush your teeth now if you want to or wait until after breakfast. Get dressed in the outfit you picked out the night before. Grab the outfit from wherever you laid it out or hung it up and put it on. Put any heavy items of clothing, such as a jacket, by the door with your shoes and put them on right before you head out the door. Take a look outside and check the forecast again to see if anything has changed. Add anything you need to your outfit, such as an umbrella or rain jacket, if the weather is different than the forecast said the night before. Style your hair and do your makeup if you want or need to. Do your hair any way you like or just leave it as it is if it's not necessary to do anything to it. Put your makeup on if it is something you wear. This totally depends on what your personal style is! For instance, if you have long hair, you might want to comb it after you shower to keep it from getting tangled. If you have short hair, you can put a little gel in it to style it for the school day or just leave it as is. Eat a healthy breakfast for energy. Try to eat a combination of protein and carbs for breakfast to give yourself lots of energy for the day. Things like cereal with milk, eggs with toast, or yogurt with granola are great choices. If you didn't brush your teeth earlier, remember to do it after you eat breakfast. This is important for your dental health and to freshen your breath! Pack your lunch and put it in your bag. Prepare anything you need for your lunch that you didn't prepare the night before. Put everything in your lunchbox and then put your lunchbox into your school bag. It's a good idea to pack a bottle of water as well so you can stay hydrated throughout the school day. Do any morning chores once you are all ready to go. Take your dog out or feed your cat, for example. Help younger siblings, if you have any, get ready for school as well. Avoid the temptation to sit down and watch TV or browse the Internet. Try to fill your mornings with productive activities that help you and your family get ready for the day. Grab your bag and head out the door to get to school on time. Double-check to make sure you have everything you need in your bag and put on any final items of clothing like a jacket and your shoes. Turn off all the lights and lock the doors if you're responsible for doing this. Have a good day at school ! Even if it's hard to do this all at first, keep practicing and doing your best. Having a great morning routine before school is all about creating good habits. You'll get there eventually! | Pack your bag so it’s ready to go for the next day. Make as much of your lunch the night before as possible. Pick out an outfit with the weather in mind to save time in the morning. Charge all your electronic devices so they have power the next day. Shower before bed to save yourself time in the morning. Go to bed at least 8 hours before you have to wake up. Get up 10 minutes earlier than you think you need to. Make your bed so you aren’t tempted to go back to sleep. Go to the bathroom and take care of your personal needs and grooming. Get dressed in the outfit you picked out the night before. Style your hair and do your makeup if you want or need to. Eat a healthy breakfast for energy. Pack your lunch and put it in your bag. Do any morning chores once you are all ready to go. Grab your bag and head out the door to get to school on time. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Apply-Toothpaste-on-Pimples | How to Apply Toothpaste on Pimples | Before you apply toothpaste onto a pimple, you should wash your face with a gentle cleanser and warm water, then pat your skin dry. Then, apply a very small amount of toothpaste directly onto the pimple. Leave the toothpaste in place for at least 2 hours, or let the toothpaste stay on overnight for extra drying. When you're ready to remove the toothpaste, use a damp washcloth. | Try other options if you can. Although toothpaste can fight acne in a pinch, there are other acne-fighting techniques that are probably more effective. Before trying toothpaste, try: Other Acne Fighting Methods Effectiveness Potential Issues Acne Medication Should achieve long-term results after 2-3 weeks. Can be expensive; requires daily application. Hydrogen Peroxide Easy, safe, and generally effective after 2-3 days. May irritate skin when done repeatedly. Sea Salt Bath All natural; helps pimples disappear without scars Requires wearing a mask, may not get rid of pimples directly. Baking Soda Regulates skin pH and helps remove excessive oil. While it is good for healthy skin and fighting acne, it may not target specific pimples well. Tea Tree Oil All-natural; will aid with inflammation and dry skin. Can be applied a variety of ways. Not clinically tested; can be expensive. Aspirin Minimizes swelling and tenderness while weakening the pimple. Requires you to cut up aspirin and apply for at least 15 minutes. Banana Peels Naturally protects and exfoliates skin from pimples, reducing inflammation with Vitamin A. Not clinically tested; requires a fresh supply of banana peels. Steam Cleaning Warmth and moisture open up pores, making it easier to get rid of irritants and pus. Minimizes pimples without damaging skin, but it may not entirely get rid of a pimple on its own. Popping Instantly removes pimples, works well with steam treatments and salt baths. May lead to scarring if done improperly. Hiding/Masking Pimples Easy, quick, and prevents scarring. Does not actually remove pimple or help keep skin healthy. Go for white-colored toothpaste. When choosing a toothpaste for acne treatment, go for an all-white version, not a toothpaste with red, blue or green stripes. This is because the ingredients which help to dry out pimples - such as baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and triclosan - are contained in the white part of the toothpaste, while the colored sections may contain ingredients which will irritate the skin. Avoid teeth-whitening toothpastes. Whitening toothpastes contain bleaching agents (for making teeth whiter) which may actually bleach or burn the skin, causing patchiness. This is particularly true for people with darker skin tones - as the extra melanin in the skin makes it more reactive, and therefore more prone to marks and blemishes. People with fair skin may be less affected by such ingredients, however it is better to avoid whitening toothpaste regardless. Steer clear of gel toothpastes. Gel-type toothpastes have a different formulation than actual "paste" toothpastes, and so may be lacking the active ingredients necessary to effectively dry out pimples. Avoid using, as it will not do your skin any good. Choose a toothpaste with a lower fluoride content. Fluoride is added to over 95% of toothpastes in the U.S. as it helps to remove dental plaque and prevent gum disease. However, many people actually suffer from a mild topical allergy to fluoride, and it may cause dermatitis (a skin rash) if it comes in contact with the skin. For this reason, it is best to find a toothpaste with as low a fluoride content as possible (or fluoride-free, if you can find it) to minimize the risk of skin irritation. Go organic. Organic toothpastes are probably your best option when it comes to treating pimples. They contain no fluoride (unless it's naturally derived) and no nasty growth hormones, pesticides or other chemicals. On the other hand, they still contain the ingredients necessary for drying out pimples - such as baking soda and tea tree oil - with the addition of natural soothing and anti-bacterial substances like aloe, myrrh and eucalyptus oil. Wash your face. As with any spot treatment, it is important to apply the toothpaste to clean, dry skin. This ensures that there is no dirt or excess oil on the skin that may limit the effectiveness of the treatment. Wash your face well with warm water and your favorite cleanser, then pat dry to lock in moisture. Squeeze a little toothpaste onto your finger. Squeeze a little toothpaste onto your index finger or the back of your hand. A pea-sized amount should be enough, depending on the number of pimples you're treating. Apply a small amount of toothpaste directly onto the pimple. You will only need to apply a very small amount of toothpaste to the pimple for the treatment to be effective. Just make sure that you apply the toothpaste directly onto the pimple itself, not on the surrounding skin. Toothpaste should never be spread all over the skin or used as a face mask. This is because the toothpaste works by drying out the skin, which can cause redness, irritation and peeling if applied anywhere but the pimple itself. Leave the toothpaste on for two hours or overnight. Leave the toothpaste to dry on the skin anywhere from two hours or overnight, for best results. However, if you have extremely sensitive skin, it may be best to remove the toothpaste after 15 minutes to half an hour, in order to gauge your skin's reaction. If it seems to be handling the toothpaste okay, you can leave it on for increasingly longer periods. Some people advocate placing a band-aid over the pimple to help the toothpaste stay in place. However, this is not advisable, as it may cause the toothpaste to spread on the surrounding skin, leading to irritation, while also preventing the skin from breathing. Gently wash off. You can wash off the toothpaste with a damp washcloth, using small, circular motions. Make sure to do this very gently, as rubbing too hard might irritate or damage the skin. When all the toothpaste has been removed, splash your face with some warm water and pat dry with your hands or a clean, soft towel. You may want to apply a soothing moisturizer if your skin feels very tight and dry. Repeat no more than four times a week. As mentioned before, toothpaste may be irritating, especially if you have sensitive skin, so this is not a treatment you should be using multiple times a day, or more than four times a week. After applying the treatment once a day, 2-3 days in a row, you may notice an improvement in the size and color of the pimple. From that point on, you should allow the pimple to heal on its own. Be aware that toothpaste is not a dermatologist-approved acne treatment. Although using toothpaste as a quick-fix for pimples is a popular home remedy that's been around for years, there are very few dermatologists, if any, who would recommend it as a treatment. This is because toothpaste can be very drying on the skin, causing redness, irritation and sometimes even burns. Regular toothpaste also contains none of the anti-bacterial ingredients that make over-the-counter creams more effective in treating and preventing pimples. For this reason, toothpaste should only be used as an emergency treatment for pimples, and you should stop using it immediately if your skin is reacting badly. There are many other spot treatments you can try, as safer, more effective alternatives to toothpaste. Try benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is a great topical acne treatment that fights blackheads, whiteheads and larger pimples. It works by killing bacteria in the pores, preventing acne from forming in the first place. Though effective, benzoyl peroxide can cause the skin to become dry and peel, so it should be used sparingly. Benzoyl peroxide is available over-the counter, in creams, lotions, gels, medicated pads and cleansers. Give salicylic acid a try. Salicylic acid is another effective over-the-counter acne treatment. It works by reducing inflammation and redness, while also exfoliating the skin. Unlike most acne treatments, salicylic acid actually helps to soothe and calm the skin, making it a good choice for sensitive skin-types. Salicylic acid is available in varying strengths and in many different forms, so ask your pharmacist or dermatologist about which type is best for you. Use sulfur. Sulfur is an excellent pimple-buster for those with sensitive skin. It is extremely gentle, but also very effective at drying out pimples. It does this by drawing oil out of blocked pores and regulating sebum production. The only downside is that pure sulfur smells like rotten eggs, so you may need to use it in combination with another product in order to mask the smell. Try tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is a pleasant-smelling, natural remedy for acne. It is an effective antiseptic, which helps to reduce the size of existing pimples, while also helping to prevent future breakouts. As it is an oil, tea tree will not strip skin of its natural moisture, making it a good option for those with very dry skin. Tea tree oil should be applied directly onto pimples, using a q-tip. Apply crushed-up aspirin. The official name for aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, which is closely related to salicylic acid, mentioned above. Aspirin is a powerful anti-inflammatory, making it an effective treatment for reducing the size and redness of pimples. You can either crush one or two aspirin and mix with a little water to form a paste, which you can apply directly to the pimples, or you can dissolve 5-8 tablets in a few drops of water to make a face mask that will reduce redness and leave skin glowing. Use baking soda. Baking soda is one of the best and safest home remedies for acne treatment. It contains anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, as well as being an effective exfoliant. Simply mix a teaspoon of baking powder with a little water to form a paste. You can then apply the paste to individual pimples as a spot treatment, or apply it all over the face as a mask. See a dermatologist. Finding an acne treatment that works for you can be a process of trial and error, but if you continue to suffer from breakouts, you should consider seeing a dermatologist who can provide stronger topical and oral acne medications. Getting rid of pimples once and for all will give you a major confidence boost and allow you to feel proud of your skin! | Try other options if you can. Go for white-colored toothpaste. Avoid teeth-whitening toothpastes. Steer clear of gel toothpastes. Choose a toothpaste with a lower fluoride content. Go organic. Wash your face. Squeeze a little toothpaste onto your finger. Apply a small amount of toothpaste directly onto the pimple. Leave the toothpaste on for two hours or overnight. Gently wash off. Repeat no more than four times a week. Be aware that toothpaste is not a dermatologist-approved acne treatment. Try benzoyl peroxide. Give salicylic acid a try. Use sulfur. Try tea tree oil. Apply crushed-up aspirin. Use baking soda. See a dermatologist. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-a-Tractor | How to Maintain a Tractor | It's important to properly maintain your tractor, so read through the manual for your specific make and model to be sure you're aware of any special instructions or products you need. When you're inspecting your tractor, check the tire pressure and look over the whole machine for any parts which are obviously broken or worn out. Test the lights and inspect all of the belts, hoses, and the air filter. Change the oil every 100 operating hours, and check the radiator fluid level regularly. In addition, have a professional change your hydraulic fluid every 400 operating hours. | Familiarize yourself with your tractor’s manual. There are many different types of tractors on the market with a wide variety of applications and associated accessories. To be sure you properly maintain your specific make and model of tractor, you should read through the manual that came with it. Many tractors require specific types of lubricants and hydraulic fluids that you can identify in the manual. Using the wrong kind could damage your tractor. If you do not have a manual for your tractor, you may be able to find the information on the manufacturer's website. Give the tractor a visual inspection. Before you get started with any planned maintenance on your tractor, give the whole thing a good once over to see if anything looks overly worn, broken, or dirty. Many newer model tractors even have plastic windows on fluid reservoirs to check things like hydraulic fluid levels. Give your tractor a visual inspection before and after each use. Make note of any issues you identify to make sure you address them before the next time you use the tractor. Do a tire pressure check. Use a tire pressure gauge on each tire and compare it to the tire's pressure rating written on the sidewall. Tractor tires can last years, but operating a tractor with under-inflated tires can ruin the sidewall and cause the tires to wear faster than they should. Under-inflated tires will also cause the tractor to burn more fuel in normal operations. You may want to adjust tire pressure for different types of jobs. For instance, if you plan on driving your tractor on the road, you might want to add a few more pounds of air. Reducing tire pressure on slick surfaces like mud can help increase traction. Tires lose pressure more quickly when temperatures change from cold to hot, so you may want to check your tire pressure more frequently in the spring and fall. Test the lights. Some tractors may not be equipped with any lights at all, while others could have an extensive lighting system that includes turn signals and interior lighting. Check each of the lights after each use of the tractor so you can address any electrical issues as they arise. If a light fails to work, it may be a blown out bulb or fuse that needs to be replaced. If neither of those solve the problem, your tractor may need to be serviced by a technician. Check your owner's manual to find the correct type of bulb or fuse needed to fix a bad light. Inspect the belts and hoses. Just like in a car, a tractor's engine relies on a number of rubber hoses and usually at least one belt. Look all of the rubber components over for signs of wear or damage. Excessively worn rubber components should all be replaced. Look for glazing on the sides and bottom of any belts that may indicate that it's been slipping. Any rubber that has cracked should be replaced. Replace the air filter as needed. Depending on the environment you use your tractor in, you may need to change your air filter more or less frequently. Locate the air filter using the tractor's user manual, then visually inspect it. If it's really dirty, it should be replaced. There's no real rule of thumb with air filters; they should just be replaced as they appear dirty. You should check your air filter after 8 hours of use or so. Test the hydraulic system. You need specialized tools to check your tractor's hydraulic system. If you have the correct coupler fitting and a pressure gauge, you can connect it to any of the black ports on the hydraulic system while it's running, and compare that figure to the correct specifications outlined in the manual. If you don't have the correct tools, it's recommended that you have your hydraulic system serviced by a professional after every 500 hours of use. Verify the oil level. Start your tractor up and let it run for a few minutes to warm up, then remove the oil dipstick, wipe it off, and reinsert it into the engine. Pull it out again and look at the oil level indicated on the stick. The dip stick will show the high and low marks for you to compare your oil levels. If it's low oil, you should add some, or just change the oil if it's due. Shut off the tractor. Doing any kind of maintenance on a tractor that's still running is dangerous. After you shut the tractor off, remove the keys and set them aside to ensure no one accidentally starts it back up. Tractors with mowers can be especially dangerous to work on while running. If you let the tractor warm up to check the oil, you may want to wait a bit as it cools. Lower the hydraulics. Use the controls of your tractor to do so. If you're unsure of how in your specific application, refer to the user's manual. Tractors that have a bucket or other hydraulically powered accessories will need to have the hydraulic load removed by lowering them to the ground. Otherwise, those accessories may fall suddenly as you work on the hydraulic system. Many hydraulic accessories can be extremely heavy, and may really hurt you if they were to fall. Change the oil every 100 hours (or as specified in the manual). Different tractors are designed to operate for different amounts of time between oil changes, so be sure to consult the manual to determine how long you can go between them. To change the oil, remove the drain plug from the oil pan and let the oil drain out into an appropriate container. Once the oil has been drained put the drain plug back in and remove the oil filter. Screw on the new oil filter and fill the tractor with the right amount of oil, as specified by its user manual. Check the radiator fluid level. It's totally normal for the level of coolant and water in your radiator to diminish over time, and it may need the occasional topping off. However, checking the fluid level regularly will also provide you with an early warning if there's a serious leak anywhere in the cooling system. Check the owner's manual for your specific tractor to know what type of coolant to add to the radiator. Don't operate the tractor until it's been repaired if you notice a serious drop in radiator fluid. Change your hydraulic fluid. You might want to consider having your hydraulic fluid changed by a professional, as it will require capturing and disposing of as much as 15 gallons (57 L) of fluid in some cases and involves the use of specialized tools. You should have your hydraulic fluid changed every 400 hours of use. You should also have the hydraulic fluid filter changed. Keep the tractor clean. While it's nice to have a good looking tractor, the most important reason to keep it clean is to prevent debris from causing any damage to the tractor's moving parts and so you can clearly see any issues as they develop. Cleaning the tractor will also help you identify any damage to the paint that could lead to rusting. Be sure surfaces you step on are clear of debris and anything that might make them slippery. Disconnect the battery before storing it. Leaving the battery connected will eventually kill it, and leaving a battery uncharged for too long will ruin it. Avoid this by using the appropriate sized socket to loosen the fasteners on both of the two battery terminals, then remove the battery. Make sure to remove any strap that may hold the battery in place before you try to remove it. Store the battery somewhere with climate control, and if possible, leave it connected to a battery maintainer (available at most auto parts stores). Seal off the air filter before storing your tractor. If you leave a tractor outdoors or in a barn, chances are good that animals seeking shelter will find their way into places like the tractor's air inlet. Use paper and tape to seal off openings before leaving the tractor for the season. You can also use plastic wrap and tape. Make sure to remove all paper, plastic, and tape before starting the tractor again next year. Drain the fluids from the tractor before winter. If the tractor will be stored in an area that goes below freezing, you should drain any water from it. Freezing water expands and can destroy reservoirs or even coolant lines. The gasoline will go bad if stored over the winter as well, so be sure to drain the gas tank. Only dispose of drained fluids at authorized chemical disposal locations. Do not store the gasoline for later use. Gas goes bad over time. Condensation will allow water to form in the fuel tank and mix with the fuel if you don't drain it. | Familiarize yourself with your tractor’s manual. Give the tractor a visual inspection. Do a tire pressure check. Test the lights. Inspect the belts and hoses. Replace the air filter as needed. Test the hydraulic system. Verify the oil level. Shut off the tractor. Lower the hydraulics. Change the oil every 100 hours (or as specified in the manual). Check the radiator fluid level. Change your hydraulic fluid. Keep the tractor clean. Disconnect the battery before storing it. Seal off the air filter before storing your tractor. Drain the fluids from the tractor before winter. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Yoga-Bolster | How to Make a Yoga Bolster | The easiest way to make a yoga bolster is to take a large pillowcase and stuff it with rolled up towels or blankets. Start by laying your towels or blankets flat on the floor, then roll them up tightly lengthwise. Next, bind the rolled-up filling with rubber bands or string to help keep it tight while you're using the bolster. Then, insert the filling into the pillow case and add additional towels or blankets if you want a longer or thicker bolster. Finally, secure the ends of the pillowcase using safety pins or rubber bands. | Gather your supplies. To make a bolster, you will need some old blankets (to use as stuffing) and a sheath for the stuffing. If you want to make a temporary bolster that can be taken apart at will, use a pillow case and string or safety pins. If you want a permanent bolster, you can use 3/4 yard of the fabric of your choosing and sew it shut. You can also use old towels instead of blankets, if you prefer. No matter which materials you choose to use, make sure that the final product will give you sufficient lift and support as you practice your yoga positions. Blankets may be bulkier than towels, but ultimately either material should work well in a bolster. Decide how to secure the bolster. There are a number of options when it comes to binding the bolster together. One popular option is to use safety pins. However, these may be uncomfortable during certain yoga poses. Another alternative is rubber bands, which can be stretched around the width of the bolster to hold everything in place. Yet another option is to use yarn or string to bind the bolster. Use whichever materials you prefer, or whatever you have on hand. Determine how long to use the bolster. If you intend to take your bolster apart and use the blankets or towels inside, you may want to secure the open end of the bolster with string or a rubber band. If you will be using the bolster as a permanent addition to your yoga practice, you may wish to sew the opening shut for greater stability and durability. Roll and insert the filling. The filling, whether you choose to use old blankets or towels, will need to be rolled up lengthwise. Lay the filling out flat and roll it up tightly, like a yoga mat. Consider using rubber bands or string to bind the rolled-up filling. This will make it easier to stuff the filling inside your pillow case or cloth, and will also help keep the bolster tight during use. Once the filling is rolled, you'll need to insert it into the sheath. If you're using a pillow case, this should be fairly easy. All you'll need to do is slide the filling inside the pillow case, while retaining the tight wrap of the filling. Check your measurements. If the bolster is too small, you can add additional filling (towels or blankets) to create a longer or thicker bolster. If it's too large, you can scale back on your filling. Ultimately, though, the size of the finished product should be determined by your body and your needs. A common size for cylindrical bolsters is 24 inches long by eight inches high. Some yoga practitioners find this height ideal for well-supported forward bends and a deep chest opening. Some yoga practitioners prefer a smaller bolster for supporting the neck, knees, and spine. If you want a smaller bolster, try aiming for 16 inches long and five to six inches high. Secure the bolster. If you used a pillow case, securing the open end will be easy. Simply use a rubber band or piece of string to tightly tie the open end shut. This will give you a functional bolster that can still be taken apart as needed. Roll the filling. Similar to the temporary bolster, you'll need to roll the filling lengthwise into a tight, compact bundle. Whether you are using blankets or towels, decide on how thick you want the finished product to be, and roll them up accordingly. If you're worried about the materials coming undone, either during the sewing process or after the bolster is finished, you may want to bind the rolled-up filling with rubber bands, string, or even strips of velcro. Check your measurements. If this is your first yoga bolster, you should check the measurements before sewing it shut to ensure that it is adequately thick. Or you could simply make multiple bolsters to suit your various yoga needs. If the bolster is too small, add additional filling (towels or blankets) to the existing bundle to create a longer or thicker bolster. If it's too large, then you'll need to scale back on your filling. Ultimately, though, the size of the finished product should be determined by your body and your needs. Many yoga practitioners find 24 inches long by eight inches high and ideal height for well-supported forward bends and a deep chest opening. Many yoga practitioners prefer a smaller bolster for supporting the neck, knees, and spine. If you want a smaller bolster, adjust your bolster to measure 16 inches long and five to six inches high. Measure your sheath materials. If you're using a 3/4 yard piece of cloth, lay the filling down at one edge of the cloth and wrap the filling tightly inside the cloth. For smooth ends on the bolster, you'll also need to measure two round end caps. To measure the end caps, trace a medium- to large-sized dinner plate on a piece of cloth. If it is an adequate size for your bolster, trace a second circle using the same dinner plate to use as the other end cap. Secure the bolster. Sew the bolster shut if you're satisfied with the size and will not need to access the materials inside. If you may need the towels or blankets that you used as filling, consider using string or rubber bands to tie the bolster shut. If you're using a pillow case and want to make it a permanent bolster, you can simply sew the open end closed. If you're using end caps, sew them in place to cover each end of the rolled up bolster tube. | Gather your supplies. Decide how to secure the bolster. Determine how long to use the bolster. Roll and insert the filling. Check your measurements. Secure the bolster. Roll the filling. Check your measurements. Measure your sheath materials. Secure the bolster. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-School-Stress | How to Deal With School Stress | If school is stressing you out, pause for a second and take 3 deep breaths to calm yourself down. As you breathe in through your nose, feel the air go all the way down to your belly before letting the air escape slowly through your mouth. To avoid stress in the future, make a daily schedule of what you need to accomplish so you don't end up feeling rushed or hurried. Be sure to schedule time for short breaks in between work, as this will help keep you relaxed and focused. Whatever you do, don't wait until the last minute to do the bulk of your work, since this will only burn you out. Instead, break large assignments into small steps and schedule them out 2 weeks ahead of your due date. | Get to know the way your body experiences stress. Do your shoulders get tense? Do you start to breathe rapidly, or notice a sour taste in your mouth? If your stomach feels tight, or your palms start to shake or sweat, you're likely feeling stress. By learning to recognize the signs of becoming stressed, you can more easily connect the feeling with its source. The sooner you start to notice signs of stress or tension, the more rapidly you can take steps to remove yourself from the situation or calm down. Identify the source of your stress. Is there a certain person, situation, or environment that's causing you to feel stressed out? An important tool in learning to handle your stress is to find out more about what's causing it. Sometimes it will be easy to identify one cause, and other times you might find that your stress is the result of a combination of stressors. Common sources of stress at school include homework, grades, sleep deprivation, packed schedules, peer pressure, and bullying. If you are being bullied, talk to your parents, your teachers, or a school counselor to get help. Identifying your stressors is the first step in defining your situation as manageable. If you feel like you can find a solution, this in itself should decrease your feelings of stress. Try to avoid judging yourself as wrong or bad for feeling stressed. When you locate the source of the stress, keep an objective attitude. Tell yourself, "I'm feeling stressed right now. That's a natural response. I am not my stress." Take 3 deep breaths. Taking deep breaths from the diaphragm triggers the relaxation response in your body, which comes from the parasympathetic nervous system. Taking in air through the nose, breathing all the way down to the belly, and allowing breath to escape slowly through the mouth will help you calm down in a stressful situation. It might help to raise, lower and roll your shoulders, or gently turn your neck. Your body often holds these muscles tense when you're feeling stressed. By relaxing these muscles you're also decreasing your feelings of stress. Taking deep breaths before entering a stressful situation can help you stay relaxed and focused. Ask for help. If you don't know how to respond to a stressful situation, find someone to help you. If you're at school, you might ask a teacher, a counselor, or a peer for help. If it's a problem that you need help with right away, talk to someone in your classroom or ask for permission to talk to someone in another part of the building. If it's a long-term problem, consider asking your parent, your teacher, or a counselor for help. Everyone has to ask for help at times. Asking for help doesn't mean you're not independent or intelligent. In fact, it's a sign of genuine intelligence to recognize your limitations. When you ask for help, include as much information as you can about how you've identified the problem, and things you've tried to make the problem better. Practice thought-stopping. Sometimes feeling overwhelmed in a stressful situation results in rapid, or "racing", thoughts. If this happens to you, try a strategy called "thought-stopping." This means what it sounds like: interrupt your thoughts, stop, or "park" them out of your immediate attention, and temporarily turn your attention to something else for a while. You might try saying (either out loud or to yourself): "That's enough of those thoughts for now. I will get busy (doing something else) and come back to this after lunch." This strategy is also known as "adaptive distancing". Move away from the situation if you can. If you're unable to cope with a particular situation, person, or place, one method of handling it is to leave. Physically removing yourself from a situation provides relief from stress and worry. You can take a break by taking a walk outside, going to the bathroom (always an option for taking a private moment), or something else. You might invent a story about forgetting something in your car, which will give you a reason to leave the immediate situation and walk outside. Having favorite, safe, places in your school setting will be helpful. For example, if you feel better in quiet spaces, go visit the library when you're feeling stressed. There are times when this is not appropriate. For example, you should not leave an exam or presentation in the middle of it. However, you could decide to leave the situation if, for example, you are having a conversation with someone that is stressing you out. Try saying something like, "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I'm going to take a little break, okay?" Make a schedule. A daily schedule should include plenty of time for your daily activities, study time, and even time to plan what you're going to wear. A lot of stress is the result of feeling rushed or hurried. If you aren't a morning person, schedule time every evening to plan ahead what you'll be wearing to school the next day. Set aside time for completing homework assignments every afternoon. A schedule can be written down for you to see, or it can be memorized. The benefits of writing a schedule down is that it's more likely to make you feel accountable to holding to it. Also, there's the benefit of being able to "check off" items that are finished. You can also use a variety of schedule apps to create structure for your day. The reason that using a schedule addresses stress is because it allows you to know what work you're supposed to be doing, and where you're supposed to be doing it. You won't have the stress of making those decisions at the last minute. Keep a calendar in a visible, central location. A calendar is a great organizing structure for reminding yourself of project deadlines, events that will disrupt your daily schedule (such as doctor appointments or visits from Grandmother). Keeping it in a public place allows for your family to know what you have scheduled. If you have a project that will take several days or weeks to complete, use a calendar to divide your larger project into smaller steps. Using a calendar for accountability helps prevent the feeling of stress that comes from last-minute cramming for a deadline. Create an organized workspace. Setting aside a particular work area for yourself will help you feel less stressed. Find a workspace that's free from noisy distractions, where you feel you can focus on your work. Have a supply of visual reminders, markers, and materials you might need while you're studying. Remember that your organizational system doesn't have to look like anyone else's. The important thing is that it works for you. If you're working on a computer, consider turning off your internet browser, or setting limits on yourself so that you don't end up spending your study time on other online activities. Turn off your phone. Having your phone nearby when you're studying can prevent you from staying focused on your schoolwork, even if you're not looking at it. If your phone is on, you can get texts or messages from friends - and even if you're not, your attention will be distracted by the possibility that someone might call. Instead, turn your phone off (or put it in "airplane mode") so you can be fully attentive to your studies. If you are too distracted by having your phone nearby, consider putting it another room (still turned off). This is also true for your other screens, including tablets and computers you're not using for your schoolwork. Set reasonable times for studying. The most effective length of time to schedule for studying is 40-90 minutes. If you study more than that, your attention will be weaker. If you study less, you won't have sufficient time to focus your attention. Use a timer if you need to to set limits around your study time. Take a 10-minute break away from your workspace after every study session. During breaks from studying, stand up. Move around. Exercise helps with your concentration when studying. Turn large assignments into small steps. If you have an assignment that feels overwhelming, break it down into smaller parts that you know how to do. Be specific. Rather than scheduling "work on history test," write, "read pages 112-224, and write 6 study questions on the material." If you have a long paper, you might start by writing an outline. Then write 5-8 pages on each topic listed in your outline. Combine these short papers to make your long paper. If you're studying for a large test , break down the material into manageable steps. You can study by topic, by chapter, or by subject. Don't wait until the last minute. If you are the kind of person who waits until the night before a major project is due to get it finished, or reads the whole book the night before a test, you know how stressful that can be. An extra burst of intense studying at the last minute can help you get through exams, but the best studying relies on information learned in the weeks beforehand. Use a calendar to schedule study time for a major project 2-4 weeks ahead of time. You might need to become a little bit of a hermit for a time, but using a calendar can remind you that you'll be free to socialize after the deadline has passed. Ask for help. Everyone needs help sometimes. If you can't figure out how to get organized, ask someone to help you. Another person can take a fresh look at your workspace, and see ways to organize that you can't. You can always borrow ideas from the way another person has learned to organize her workspace. Look online for ideas, or notice the way your friends organize their own study spaces. If hiring a professional organizer is a possibility for you, this might be an effective way to get a new system in place. The difficulty is that, unless you learn how to use this organizational system, you'll bring your old habits into the new space and quickly develop the same habits you always had. Figure out how you're feeling. If you're the kind of person who doesn't prioritize her own feelings, you might end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed more quickly than someone who notices her stress level inching up. You might need to include checking out your feelings as a part of your daily schedule. Try using a "feelings thermometer" to take your emotional temperature. Your thermometer might range from "Piece of cake!" to "Out of control!" or similar. If your temperature is too high, do something relaxing. If it's too low, it would be a good time to try something new. If identifying feelings is hard for you, try looking at a "feelings chart" that can help you remember the different emotions, and identify the one that's true for you. Learn to say no. It's great to be involved in a variety of activities, but if you don't have enough time to do them all, you'll end up stressed. Learning to say no is an important quality of living independently and successfully. Remember that saying no isn't always selfish, and saying yes isn't always healthy. As you learn to practice saying no, you're also learning to prioritize your own mental well-being. Figure out what you can put off. If you won't be taking the SAT within the next year, you might be able to put off studying for it. If you have a major project due in one subject, see if you can put off studying for a test that won't occur until next week. If you've planned well, you should have scheduled adequate time for both. But don't waste time blaming yourself if you find yourself in a bind. Make the best of it, and prioritize what needs to be done first. Remember that not everything has to be done perfectly. If you're taking a class "pass-fail" then you don't have to make a perfect grade in it. Doing something "good enough" is an important life skill for a perfectionist to master! Try to set attainable short-term goals. It's a lot less stressful to set goals that you can actually accomplish, rather than setting goals that describe the kind of lofty ideals that you might prefer. If your goals are attainable, you'll be encouraged by the feeling of success that comes with completing a goal. For example, if you're in a new school, you might feel overwhelmed by how much you don't know about your new setting. An attainable short-term goal might be to learn your way around, and perhaps find one new person to talk to. Setting goals that are attainable means that you'll have to know your own strengths and challenges. Think about your long-term goals. You might make a list of what you'd like your life to contain in the future. If you're in high school, you'll need to start thinking ahead to what you want to do after graduation. If you want to be a veterinarian, for instance, you'll need to think about how to balance your love of animals with your need to study trigonometry in order to get into a good veterinary college program. Post images, words, and reminders of your long-term goals near your study space. If you aren't sure what your job goals are, that's okay. Instead, think about your priorities and values. For instance, if you know working outside is important to you, explore careers that are based in nature. Talking with your parents, a career or guidance counselor, or another trusted person can provide some good support for this process. Don't let social pressures stress you out. School stress isn't limited to academic pressures. Peer interactions, personality conflicts, subtle bullying and discrimination can all interfere with your ability to learn. To counterbalance the stresses that come from daily pressures, find someone to talk to. You can talk to your parents, trusted friends, a mentor or a professional counselor. Consider telling your teacher about any social issues that she may be able to help with. Try using role-playing around the situation, or develop scripts to use that can help you avoid conflicts. Learning to stand up for yourself can help you feel less stressed over time. Try to use "I" statements to talk about your responses to social pressures. For example, stating that "I feel anxious when you do this, because it makes me feel left out." This provides clear information about your experience while still identifying the problem to another person. Get exercise. Research shows that not only is exercise a great stress-reliever, it improves your ability to concentrate and study. Find something that you love to do, and try to set aside part of every day to do it. You might like running, bicycling, walking, dancing, or another exercise. Both aerobic exercise (exercise that makes you breathe more heavily) and anaerobic exercise (like weight-lifting) can help you get rid of stress. Regular exercise actually changes your brain chemistry to get rid of stress, according to research. Exercise will improve the quality of your sleep, an important factor in preventing stress. Find ways to blow off steam. If you're stressed , you'll need to find healthy ways to get rid of it. Punch a pillow, or take a deep breath. Take a short run. Your goal should be to recognize when you're stressed, and find ways that you can use to not take out your frustration on other people. Pretending that you're not stressed isn't really a successful long-term solution. You can literally "blow" off steam by blowing on a pinwheel or a feather. The way this works is to encourage deep breathing and distracting your attention from the thing that's upsetting you. Schedule relaxing activities. Even when you're feeling stressed, taking time to schedule relaxing activities for even short periods of time will help you avoid getting overwhelmed. Taking short walks, bubble baths, or setting aside time every day for meditation are all ways to include relaxation as a healthy part of your daily schedule. Find relaxing activities that don't take very long to do, such as jumping on a trampoline for the length of your favorite song, or spending 10 minutes playing with your dog. Remember that doing things that make you feel relaxed and happy are essential part of living a successful life. They shouldn't make you feel guilty. Make time to laugh. Laughter is consistently shown to be one of the best ways to counteract stress. Taking 30 minutes to watch your favorite sitcom, or reading from a humorous website to relax are great ways to deal with stress. Browse through a joke book, or watch a scene from your favorite comedic movie when you need a break. Laughter serves to relieve your stress response, and stimulate relaxation. It even releases pain-relievers within the body. Laughter Yoga is a new trend that is becoming popular. Look for videos of laughter yoga online if there's not a class happening near you. Chances are, even watching other people engaged in laughter will cause you to chuckle. Try singing away your stress. Singing serves to reduce stress by lowering your heart rate and releasing endorphins that help you feel better. Whether you sing in a choir, or only in the shower, singing is a great way to lower your stress. Singing loudly maximizes the benefits that come from singing. If you life with other people, you might feel shy about doing this. Possible solutions are to sing when you're alone in the house, or go to the car and sing there. Sing along with the radio or with your favorite artist if you're too self-conscious to sing alone. Get enough sleep. If you're feeling stressed, chances are you're getting less sleep than you need. Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep per night, and some may need more. Some common ways that stress interferes with sleep are racing thoughts as you settle into sleep, and repetitive and persistent thoughts that cause you to feel stressed as you try to get to sleep. Avoid strenuous exercise within 2 hours of sleep. Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule on weekdays and weekends. Sleeping late on the weekends may seem pleasant, but it interferes with your circadian rhythm. Eat a healthy diet. A common response to stress is overeating foods that are high in calories, sugar and/or fat. However, poor eating habits result in more stress overall, spending more on foods and overeating, often resulting in weight gain. Maintain a healthy diet by sticking to foods that are high in nutritional content and fiber. Instead of chips, try snacking on healthy things like apples, carrot sticks, or raw chopped up vegetables. If you crave sugar when you're stressed out, make a smoothie from a banana, some blueberries and some non-fat yogurt. Other fruit combinations will also help satisfy your sweet tooth without resulting in more stress. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Both caffeine and alcohol deplete the stress resources of your body and result in a higher level of stress. Caffeine interferes with your ability to get to sleep at night, while alcohol affects the quality of sleep you get. Be aware than many products contain caffeine. Tea, coffee, sodas, and energy drinks are all possible sources of caffeine. The Mayo Clinic suggests that you limit yourself to no more than 100mg of caffeine per day (about the amount in a cup of brewed coffee) if you're an adolescent, and no more than 400mg per day if you're an adult. Both caffeine and alcohol may be used in moderation in times when you're not stressed. However, in stressful circumstances, these substances have a negative effect on the body. Do not use alcohol if you are underage. People who drink underage are more likely to engage in other risky behaviors, including drug use and unsafe sex. They are also more likely to fail out of school. If you are of drinking age, consume it in moderation, which the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines as no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men. | Get to know the way your body experiences stress. Identify the source of your stress. Take 3 deep breaths. Ask for help. Practice thought-stopping. Move away from the situation if you can. Make a schedule. Keep a calendar in a visible, central location. Create an organized workspace. Turn off your phone. Set reasonable times for studying. Turn large assignments into small steps. Don't wait until the last minute. Ask for help. Figure out how you're feeling. Learn to say no. Figure out what you can put off. Try to set attainable short-term goals. Think about your long-term goals. Don't let social pressures stress you out. Get exercise. Find ways to blow off steam. Schedule relaxing activities. Make time to laugh. Try singing away your stress. Get enough sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Take-Acidophilus-With-Antibiotics | How to Take Acidophilus With Antibiotics | If you're taking antibiotics and want to preserve the balance of good bacteria in your gut, talk to your doctor about taking acidophilus supplements. Follow their instructions to determine how much acidophilus you should take and how often. To get the best effect from your acidophilus, take it 1 or 2 hours before or after your antibiotic dosage. You should also make sure that your supplements have been stored properly and are not expired. As an alternative to taking supplements, consider eating foods that contain acidophilus, such as yogurt. | Consult your physician about what type and how much acidophilus to take. Your doctor will able to best indicate a daily dosage and the form of acidophilus to take. Dosages can range, however for antibiotics-associated diarrhea, 10 – 20 billion CFU per day has been shown to help. Your doctor may suggest you take smaller or larger dosages depending upon the antibiotic taken, length of time you are taking the antibiotic, and your likeliness to get colitis. Some antibiotics, like cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and clindamycin, are more likely to cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea. In addition, there are many different dosage forms available such as capsules, tablets, and powders. Use only the form of acidophilus your doctor recommends. Do not mix different types of acidophilus, such as tablets or powders, because each formula contains different strains of bacteria. Use for as long as your doctor recommends. Generally probiotics are used for at least one to three weeks longer than the duration of antibiotic treatment. Take acidophilus and antibiotics separately. If you take both at the same time, they will not work as effectively. This is because the probiotic is promoting good bacteria, while the antibiotic is depleting your system of good bacteria. Take acidophilus at least one to two hours before or one to two hours after you take your antibiotic. Some recommend two to four hours apart. Take acidophilus appropriately to increase effectiveness. Make sure the supplement has not expired and has been stored correctly. Expired supplements or supplements that should have been refrigerated but were not may lose effectiveness. Make sure you take it routinely. Sometimes manufacturers or prescribers may suggest taking it with food or taking it right before breakfast as a higher gastric pH may be favorable. Consider eating foods high in acidophilus. The most common of these foods is yogurt. Many commercial brands of yogurt contain probiotics, such as acidophilus. There are even brands that advertise the probiotics that they contain. Eating yogurt daily will add acidophilus to your diet, but a lower amount than if you take a supplement. Learn about acidophilus. What is acidophilus? Acidophilus (Lactobacillus acidophilus or L. acidophilus) is a type of “good bacteria” in your body. The good bacteria helps to break down food in your colon and protect against “bad bacteria” by producing lactic acid. Acidophilus is naturally found in your body and may be taken as a probiotic supplement to help with various GI issues and other conditions. In addition to acidophilus, there are many other probiotics available, some in the Lactobacillus species. However, Lactobacillus acidophilus is the most commonly used probiotic. Know what acidophilus is used for and how it works with antibiotics. Clinical studies have found that acidophilus suppresses the growth of pathogens (something that can cause disease, such as bad bacteria) in the digestive tract. It can be used to manage gastrointestinal conditions (such as irritable bowel syndrome), aid digestion, reduce vaginal yeast infections, help with other conditions such as lung infections or skin issues, and reduce antibiotic-induced diarrhea. In the case of antibiotic-induced diarrhea, when you take antibiotics to rid your body of the bad bacteria that is causing infection, you can lose some of the beneficial bacteria that are in your gut. A decrease in healthy bacteria can lead to the overgrowth of “bad” bacteria that can produce toxins, and cause inflammation and diarrhea. Understand why preventing antibiotic-induced diarrhea important. Most of the time, antibiotic-associated diarrhea is mild and goes away after you stop the antibiotic. However, sometimes it can lead to serious issues like colitis (inflammation of your colon) or a serious type of colitis called pseudomembranous colitis. About one third of the time, long term (usually hospital) antibiotic use can lead to a Clostridium difficile infection, which is a serious infection that is hard to cure and causes frequent diarrhea. Recent important studies have shown that probiotics like acidophilus can prevent or reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea and may also be helpful in preventing C difficile infection. C. diff occurs most commonly after the use of fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and penicillins. | Consult your physician about what type and how much acidophilus to take. Take acidophilus and antibiotics separately. Take acidophilus appropriately to increase effectiveness. Consider eating foods high in acidophilus. Learn about acidophilus. Know what acidophilus is used for and how it works with antibiotics. Understand why preventing antibiotic-induced diarrhea important. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Teflon | How to Clean Teflon | To clean Teflon cookware, start by filling it up with water and white vinegar. Then, bring the mixture to a boil and turn off the heat. Dip a paper towel in the mixture to absorb any oils and use a slotted spoon to scoop out any pieces of food. Once you've cleaned out any oil and food residue, empty the cookware and wash it with warm water and dish soap. If there's stubborn burnt food residue on your Teflon cookware, fill it with baking soda and water and let it sit overnight. Then, use a sponge to scrub off the residue. | Remove any loose food. When has cooled down and is safe to touch, use a paper towel, wooden, or plastic spatula to remove off any loose food from the pan. Be sure to use a pot holder to hold the pan handle if the pan is still a bit warm. Be sure to use a non-metal utensil on your Teflon surface. Metal utensils can scratch and remove the Teflon layer on your pots and pans. If you are saving the rest of the food in the pan, use your non-metal utensil to sweep the food into a container that you can store later. Put the pan in your sink. Wait until the pan cools down to insert the pan into your sink basin. Depending on the size of the sink, the pan may be able to fully fit in the sink, or it may stick out a little bit. Since you will be holding and rotating the pan as you wash it, it's okay if the pan doesn't fit completely in the sink basin. Turn on the sink faucet, and run warm or hot water. The pan will be cool enough to handle with your hands when you can comfortably touch the pan and not burn your hand. Keep in mind that cleaning cookware is sometimes easier when the cookware is still warm. However, the cookware still needs to be cooled down enough to safely touch with your hands. Wash the pan. Use a soft nylon scrubber, sponge, or paper towel sprinkled with a few drops of dishwashing soap to wipe the Teflon surface clean. Be sure to wipe all areas on the inside of the pan, but also wipe down the outside bottom of the pan and the pan handle. Rinse off all soapy residue from the pan. Do not use abrasive cleaning pads on Teflon pans. The abrasive material can damage and remove the non-stick coating of the pan. Since Teflon is used mainly for cookware, these cleaning directions can be applied to a wide variety of Teflon coated cookware. These cleaning directions aren't solely restricted to Teflon coated pans. Dry the pan. Use a paper towel, dishrag, or drying rack to dry the Teflon pan. That way, the pan is ready to use again, or ready for storage. Add water and vinegar to the pan. If you have an oily layer and some food particles cooked onto the Teflon surface, wait for the pan to cool, and fill up the pan about half way with water. Then, add about ½ cup of vinegar to the pan. Boil the water and vinegar. Place the pan on a stove burner, and bring the water and vinegar to a boil. This may take somewhere between 5-10 minutes depending on how high you put the flame. As the water and vinegar gets hotter and starts to boil, the oil and food particles will begin to rise to the surface of the water in the pan. Collect the oil. Once the oil has risen to the surface, turn off the flame, and use a bunched up paper towel to dab at the pools of oil. The water will be very hot, so be very careful not to touch the water as you collect the oil. Once you have collected most of the oil on the paper towel, dispose the paper towel. If there are any floating food particles, use a perforated plastic spoon to collect the food, and throw it in the garbage. It's recommended to use a perforated plastic spoon so you can collect the food particles while letting the hot water drain from the spoon. When all the food debris is removed, carefully pour the rest of the water down the drain. Wash the pan. Let the pan sit in the sink and cool down before you start washing it. To cool the pan down quickly, you can try running cool to lukewarm water on the pan about a couple of minutes. Use a soft nylon scrubber, sponge, washcloth, or paper towel with a few drops of dishwashing soap to gently clean the pan in your kitchen sink. Gently rub the pan surface to remove any food particles that may still be stuck to the pan. Thoroughly rinse the pan with clean water to remove any remaining soap. Dry the pan. Use a drying rack, or some sort of towel to wipe down and dry the pan completely. The pan will be ready for another use, or to be stored for later use. Cover burnt areas with baking soda. Once the pan has cooled from cooking with it, pour a small amount of baking soda on the areas of that pan covered with burned food. Then add a small amount of water to the baking soda piles, and allow the pan to sit overnight. The baking soda and water should look like a paste mixture. Scrub off the residue. After allowing the pan to soak overnight, scrub the pan with a soft, nylon scrubber or sponge to remove the burned food. The food should come off the pan rather easily, but if there are any stubborn areas, try using a bit more pressure to scrub off the food. Wash the pan normally. Once the burned food is removed from the pan, wash it in the sink as you usually would. Use warm to hot water, a soft nylon scrubber or sponge, and a small amount of dishwashing soap to wipe and clean all areas of the pan. Rinse the pan with clean water to remove and soap or food residue. Dry the pan. Use a dishtowel, paper towel, or drying rack to dry off the pan. Once the pan is dry, it's ready to be used again for cooking, or stored for later use. | Remove any loose food. Put the pan in your sink. Wash the pan. Dry the pan. Add water and vinegar to the pan. Boil the water and vinegar. Collect the oil. Wash the pan. Dry the pan. Cover burnt areas with baking soda. Scrub off the residue. Wash the pan normally. Dry the pan. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Repot-an-Orchid | How to Repot an Orchid | Before repotting an orchid, start by removing the orchid from its old pot and clipping away any dead roots. Then, gently transfer the plant to a slightly larger pot. Next, cover the potting mix you'll be using with hot water before straining it through a piece of cheesecloth. When all the water has drained out, gently pat the soil into the pot around the orchid's roots. Finally, stake the plant so it stays upright and won't grow crooked. | Determine whether it's time to repot. The ideal time to repot an orchid is right after it finishes flowering, when it begins to produce new growth. However, you don't need to repot your orchid every time this happens; rather it should be done no more frequently than every 18 - 24 months. If you're not sure when your orchid was last repotted, and it seems to be growing out of its pot, yours may be overdue for a repotting. Take a look at your orchid for the following signs to know if it's ready to be repotted: Several roots are growing over the pot. If you see many roots - not just one or two - dangling over the pot, your orchid needs more room, and it's time to move it to a bigger space. Some of the roots are rotting. If they seem soggy, and the potting material is no longer draining properly, you'll need to repot the orchid. The plant is growing over the edge of the pot. If the bulk of the plant is leaning way over the edge, it needs more space. Don't repot orchids unless you really need to. Being overzealous with orchid repotting can throw off the plant's growing cycle. An orchid should only be repotted if the above symptoms are evident. If it looks to be healthy and well contained in its current pot, put off repotting for another year. It's better for the orchid to get a little overcrowded than to be repotted too soon. Figure out what potting material you need. Now that you know it's time to repot your orchid, it's important to figure out the right type of potting material to use. Many orchids used as house plants are epiphytic, rather than terrestrial, meaning they don't grow in soil. These types of orchids will die if you repot them in regular potting soil. A combination of fir bark, sphagnum moss, charcoal and coconut husks is appropriate for many orchid genera. Most common orchids will do well with this mixture: 4 parts fir bark or coconut husks 1 part medium charcoal 1 part perlite If you're not sure exactly what kind of orchid you have, packaged potting mix for orchids is a safe bet for most epiphytic orchids. It's available at many nurseries and home and garden centers. If you have a terrestrial orchid, you'll need soil that is crumbly and retains water well. It should have a high content of perlite and wood matter. Ask at your local nursery for the particular mix that's right for your orchid genus. Decide what size pot to use. When repotting an orchid, you'll need a pot just an inch or so bigger than the pot the orchid originally came in. You want to provide a little more space, but not too much - otherwise, the orchid will concentrate its energy on growing roots, and you won't see flowering for many months. Look for a plastic, clay, glass or ceramic pot suitable for your orchid size. Make sure the new pot has drainage holes. If it doesn't drain properly, the orchid roots will rot. Some orchid species have roots that can photosynthesize. If you have a Phalaenopsis, consider getting a clear glass or plastic pot to let the sunlight in. If you need to choose a pot that's on the larger side, you might want to add some broken terra cotta chips to the bottom of the pot. This will help the potting material in the middle of the pot, which tends to stay wet, drain more effectively. Measure out the potting material you need into a large bucket or bowl. Fill your new orchid pot with the potting mix, then dump it into a container about twice its size. To prepare orchid potting mix, you'll need to soak it in water overnight. This will help it retain enough moisture to sustain the orchid. Cover the potting mix with hot water. Go ahead and fill the bucket or bowl to the top with hot water. Don't use cold water, since the potting materials won't absorb this as well. Be sure the soil is at room temperature before repotting the orchid. Strain the potting mix. You can use a strainer that you'd normally use for food (you'll want to clean it well afterward) or a large piece of cheesecloth. Drain out all the water so that all you're left with is wet potting mix. Run more warm water over the mix to rinse out any dust. Remove the orchid from its old pot. Carefully lift the orchid from its old pot, loosening each root individually. If the roots are stuck to the pot, use sterilized scissors or knife to help free them. It's important to use very clean equipment, because orchids are prone to getting diseases. You can sterilize your trimming tools by wiping them with rubbing alcohol on a rag. Remove the old potting mix and dead roots. Use your fingers and a clean pair of scissors to carefully clean up the roots. Pick out the old mix - charcoal, wood chips, moss, and so on - and discard it. Use the scissors to clip away rotten or dead roots, taking care not to damage any healthy plant matter. Roots that are soft and limp are probably dead, so go ahead and remove them. Untangle the roots carefully by easing them apart with your fingers. Get the new pot ready. If you're using a pot that you've used before for orchids, clean and sterilize it with boiling water to get rid of toxins and kill potential disease vectors. If the pot is large and deep, line it with broken pieces of terracotta or packing peanuts to help with drainage. If you're using a shallow pot, this step isn't necessary. Place the orchid in its new pot. The older growth should go toward the bottom of the pot, with the newer growth toward the sides, where it will have more room to spread out. The top part of the root mass should be at the same level it was in the previous pot. That means the new shoot should be above the surface of the pot, with most of the roots below the surface. Press the potting mix into the pot. Pour some in around the roots. Shake the pot and tap on the side of the pot to help the potting material settle lightly packed around the root coils. If you do use your fingers, press gently so that the live roots are not damaged. Make sure there are no big air pockets. If parts of the roots are left uncovered, they won't grow properly. It helps to pour in just a little potting mix at a time. Work that around the roots with your fingers, then pour in more mix and keep going. Continue pressing in the mix until it's level with the top of the pot. Make sure the plant is able to stand upright when you're finished. Stake the plant upright or clip it to the side of the pot so it does not fall over or grow crookedly. Continue caring for your orchid as before. Place your orchid in a temperate spot with partial shade. Water it sparingly or according to the needs of your particular orchid. | Determine whether it's time to repot. Don't repot orchids unless you really need to. Figure out what potting material you need. Decide what size pot to use. Measure out the potting material you need into a large bucket or bowl. Cover the potting mix with hot water. Strain the potting mix. Remove the orchid from its old pot. Remove the old potting mix and dead roots. Get the new pot ready. Place the orchid in its new pot. Press the potting mix into the pot. Make sure the plant is able to stand upright when you're finished. Continue caring for your orchid as before. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Eczema-Around-the-Eyes | How to Treat Eczema Around the Eyes | To treat eczema around the eyes, use an ice pack or cold compress to soothe the skin and reduce any itching. Additionally, apply a fragrance-free cream or ointment to the skin whenever it feels dry. You can also try taking an antihistamine, but make sure to take it at night since it can cause drowsiness. If you're dealing with a lot of stress, practice conscious breathing or meditation to stay calm, since being stressed increases the likelihood of an eczema flare-up. For example, close your eyes and focus on taking slow, deep breaths until you feel yourself calming down. | Understand the basics. Atopic dermatitis is a skin condition that most often appears in childhood. It is related to environmental allergies, hay fever, and asthma, meaning that if you develop one of these conditions, you are more likely to develop the other conditions. Atopic dermatitis is an immune response. Typically, an irritant (called the "precipitant" or immediate cause) comes into contact with your body. The body gets confused and overreacts, causing inflammation of the skin even in areas that weren't exposed. Know the symptoms. If you develop acute (short-term) eczema, you may see small, red, itchy bumps on your skin. There might also be some swelling and scaling. If the eczema continues, the symptoms may reach the chronic stage, developing into itchy, thicker patches of skin that turn brownish or reddish. In addition, the bumps may weep, meaning they produce liquid. You may also have scaly, dry skin. Learn how eczema acts. Atopic dermatitis can come and go over time. When the symptoms are worse, it's called a flare-up. However, you can go for long periods when you may exhibit no symptoms. Understand how atopic dermatitis is passed. This condition is not contagious, meaning you can't catch it by coming in contact with someone who has it. However, it can be passed genetically from parent to child. Be aware how atopic dermatitis can affect your vision. This condition can cause problems with your vision. If you think your vision is being affected by a recent flare-up, always speak with your doctor. One way it affects your vision is the skin around your eyes can be red and puffy, making it difficult to see. However, this disease has also been linked to a higher occurrence of cataracts and spontaneous retinal detachment, even when treated. Use an ice pack or cold compress around your eyes. Application of cold causes temporary numbness of the nerve endings, leading to reduced sensation, soothing the skin, and reducing your urge to itch. It also helps in sloughing off dead skin, leading to a smoother appearance and quicker healing. Put cold water in a bowl with some bath oil. If you want it colder, you can add some ice to the water. Soak a paper towel or clean washcloth in the water. Hold it on your face over the affected area for about 5 minutes. Apply a moisturizer to your face. A cream or ointment is best, as they have more oil than lotions, which are heavier on water. The oil helps protect and moisturize your skin better. Pick a cream that is fragrance-free, and make sure to keep it out of your eyes when applying it. Apply moisturizers as often as your skin feels dry. Applying it after a shower or washing your face is especially effective. These moisturizers soften skin and help heal and prevent flare-ups. Stay healthy and comfortable. Stress can make your eczema worse, as can exposure to chemical irritants. Because of this, it often helps to use a holistic medicine approach. Aromatherapy, massage, and similar techniques can help reduce stress and potentially bolster your immune system. Many alternative medicine skin preparations are soothing and irritant-free, such as a light layer of unrefined coconut oil. If you are currently taking medication for your eczema, consult your doctor before taking any dietary supplements or skin care treatments, including herbal remedies. Essential oils are highly concentrated and should not be used undiluted, especially around sensitive areas such as the eyes. Even when diluted, take care not to let any get in your eyes. Ask about oral antibiotics. Oral antibiotics are sometimes used when you get an infection related to your dermatitis. Because the eye area is more sensitive, your doctor may want to prescribe you an antibiotic if you develop dermatitis around one or both of your eyes. Avoid known allergens. Eczema is often caused by exposure to an allergen. Avoiding your personal triggers is the number one strategy for controlling flare-ups. If you know you are sensitive to certain substances, do your best to avoid them. Remember that the allergen does not need to come into contact with the affected skin. Your body can detect the allergen in one location and react with a flare up in a different place. Keep stress levels at a minimum. Stress can increase flare-ups, so try to keep stress levels down. Learn techniques to keep you or your child more even throughout the day. Identify stressors. When your stress levels are running high, think about what's affecting them. Write about what makes you worried or excited, and think about what you can do to reduce the stress of that event. For instance, if you find your job stressful, maybe you can reduce stress by asking your boss if you can telecommute once a week. Try conscious breathing to calm yourself. Take a moment to close your eyes. Let your breathing fill up your mind. Focus on slow, deep breaths, and think only about your breathing. Keep focusing until you feel yourself calming down. Try animal sounds with your kids to meditate. Have them breathe in deeply while raising their arms. As they lower them, have them make extended sounds such as hissing or buzzing. This exercise helps them slow down their breathing and takes their mind off of what is stressing them out. Don't scratch. Scratching will only make the rash worse. In fact, when eczema appears near the eyes, scratching can cause swelling, as well as make the skin red and puffy. Scratching can also cause you to lose part of your eyebrows and eyelashes. If you or your child scratches at night, try wearing gloves or trimming your fingernails to help reduce the problem. Take an antihistamine. Over-the-counter antihistamines, such as loratadine and fexofenadine, can help control the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Because this disease is related to other types of allergic reactions such as hay fever, antihistamines can provide relief, especially for the itching. Follow the directions for the antihistamine you chose. With most non-drowsy antihistamines, you take them once day. Begin a regimen when you have a flare-up. However, if you're having trouble sleeping because of your eczema, an antihistamine that caused drowsiness can be helpful to take at night. Identify allergens and irritants. Allergens and irritants can contribute to flare-ups. Sometimes changing a product such as laundry detergent or soap may help in treatment of eczema. Attempt to isolate what causes you issues by slowly switching out products to help determine what bothers you. While you are having a flare-up, it's best to skip make-up altogether. It may help to keep a diary recording the food, perfume, scents, and other substances you come into contact with, along with the eczema flare-ups you experience. Look for patterns in the substances you contact in the days before a flare-up. You can visit an allergy specialist to help identify your allergies. The face and eye area can be especially problematic because so many products are applied in this area, particularly on women. Sunscreen, make-up, soaps, and fragrances can all cause flare-ups. Avoid certain foods. While food allergies have a specific definition (they cause an immediate reaction), foods can contribute to flare-ups. Most common allergens are found in peanuts, egg, milk, fish, rice, soy and wheat. If you're breastfeeding a child with eczema, you should avoid tree nuts, as you can pass them to your child. Pick a soap that is extra moisturizing. When washing your face, choose a soap that has a high fat content, rather than one that dries out your face. Also, pick one that is unscented. Skip soaps that are antibacterial, as they can dry out your skin. Also, avoid soaps that have alpha-hydroxy acid, as it can also remove moisture from your skin. Look for cleansers that say "gentle" and "fragrance-free." Avoid frequent baths and showers. Too much hot water and soap can make eczema worse, especially in the delicate skin around the eyes. Lower the temperature of the water and wash less frequently, or take baths without soaking the affected skin. Use a humidifier. Hot, dry air can irritate your skin and make itching and flaking worse. If necessary, run a humidifier to add moisture to the air. Keep your skin away from sunlight and extreme heat. This goes from anything from hot showers to direct sunlight, to hot climates. Use lukewarm water when you shower or wash your face. Avoid hot water, which can irritate your sensitive skin. Don't spent too much time in hot weather; the heat can easily irritate your skin and cause more inflammation. | Understand the basics. Know the symptoms. Learn how eczema acts. Understand how atopic dermatitis is passed. Be aware how atopic dermatitis can affect your vision. Use an ice pack or cold compress around your eyes. Apply a moisturizer to your face. Stay healthy and comfortable. Ask about oral antibiotics. Avoid known allergens. Keep stress levels at a minimum. Don't scratch. Take an antihistamine. Identify allergens and irritants. Avoid certain foods. Pick a soap that is extra moisturizing. Avoid frequent baths and showers. Use a humidifier. Keep your skin away from sunlight and extreme heat. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Attract-Purple-Martins | How to Attract Purple Martins | To attract purple martins to your yard, start by getting birdhouses designed specifically for purple martins since they can be picky about where they nest. Then, find an open space that's at least 40 feet away from any trees, and put the birdhouses on poles that are at least 10 feet tall. Purple martins won't nest around trees or close to the ground, so make sure the birdhouses are out in the open and high up. Once you've set them up, try placing a couple of purple martin decoys on the perches since purple martins feel safer in large numbers. You should also clear out the nests of any other birds that try to inhabit the birdhouses so they don't scare away nearby purple martins. | Stay within 120 feet (36.6 m) of your living space. Over time, Purple Martins have come to view humans as protectors because the birds are less often harmed by predators when humans are nearby. Because of this, you'll have much more success with attracting Purple Martins if you set up their housing no further away from your house than 120 feet (36.6 m). Pick an open area. Purple Martins are aerial feeders, meaning they need open air space in order to find insects to eat. Because of this, they tend to live around meadows, fields, and farmland. If possible, put the birds' housing near these kinds of habitats. If you don't have access to these, any clearing should work fine. Put the housing at least 40 feet (12.2 m) away from any trees. Areas with a lot of trees, such as mountain tops, repel Purple Martins. Surrounding trees allow some of the Purple Martins' predators, including hawks, to easily ambush, capture, and kill them. Purple Martins will only feel safe living 40 feet (12.2 m) or further from tall trees; 60 feet (18.3 m) is ideal. If you're trying to attract Purple Martins in the southern half of their breeding territory, then you may be able to get away with having trees 25 feet (7.6 m) away from the housing. Choose a location with access to water. Purple Martins prefer large natural water sources to smaller man-made ones, such as birdbaths. If possible, set up your Purple Martin housing near a pond, lake, or stream to improve your chances of attracting them. Buy martin houses for an easy solution that Purple Martins like. While they're the more expensive housing options, conventional martin houses are easier to find and purchase. They're also a good option because they last longer and are easier to clean between seasons. You can also choose to build a conventional martin house. This will require more work, but less money. Conventional martin houses typically cost between $75 and $275. If you choose to build a conventional martin house, expect to pay $40-75 and spend 15-30 total hours building it. Build gourd houses for an affordable option that the birds enjoy. Either buy fake plastic gourds, or purchase real ones that are large, have short stems, and have thick skin. If you go with real gourds, cut a 2-inch (5 cm) entry hole in the side of each one and 4 ¼-inch (0.64 cm) holes in the bottom for drainage. Finally, cut two more ¼-inch (0.64 cm) holes in the top of each gourd for hanging, and remember to clean out all pith and seeds before mounting. Gourds typically reach near 100% occupancy while martin houses only make it to about 60%. Go with durable wooden structures. You can get or make Purple Martin housing structures that are made of wood, metal, or plastic, but wood is the best choice. Go with a durable wood, such as cedar, that will hold up against the elements over time. Wood is also porous, which makes it better at providing insulation. Paint the houses white. Purple Martins are most likely to be interested in the housing you provide if it's white or a light pastel color because these colors best reflect the sun's light. The Purple Martin's young are less susceptible to dying of heat stress if they're inside of a white structure. Put the houses on poles at least 10 feet (3 m) tall. Purple Martins will nest anywhere between 10 feet (3 m) and 20 feet (6 m) from the ground. If there are absolutely no trees around, you can put the housing structures 10 or 12 feet (3 or 3.7 m) high, but you'll need to place them closer to 18 or 20 feet (5.5 or 6 m) if there are trees nearby. Make the housing stable and stationary. If the structures spin or twist, the Purple Martins may become disoriented and leave. Securely mount the houses to a telescoping pole and secure the pole in concrete. This way, you'll have easy access to the houses and the Purple Martins will feel safe and secure. Make sure the houses have desirable compartments. Your martin houses or gourds should have 12-24 6 inch x 6-inch x 6 inches (15.2 cm x 15.2 cm x 15.2 cm) compartments that are completely separated from each other. Purple Martins like having many different “rooms” in their homes. Provide perches and good ventilation. Because Purple Martins prefer open spaces, they get more sun exposure. Keep the birds cool by providing housing that allows some airflow. Purple Martins also enjoy sunbathing, so they'll be interested in a structure that has perches on the outside. Open the housing 4-6 weeks after the “scouts” arrive. Depending on your location, the birds may be in your area sometime between January and June. The key is to keep an eye out for them. The first ones that arrive will be the older birds, or the “scouts,” who likely already have a place to nest. Open your housing 4-6 weeks after the scouts first arrive, because this is when the younger “yearling” Purple Martins should be arriving. Don’t allow other species to inhabit the housing. Other birds, such as House Finches and Tree Swallows, may move into the housing before any Purple Martins get a chance to. If this happens, you'll have to clean out any nests, trap and remove the birds, and then clean the houses out. Plug the entrance holes with paper cups until you see the Purple Martins coming around. Make the houses seem lived in by Martins. Purple Martins won't be interested in living in housing that looks abandoned or undesirable to others, because they feel safer in large numbers. Put a Purple Martin decoy on one of the perches, smear some mud inside the houses, and play the Purple Martin dawn song nearby so that the birds think Purple Martins already inhabit the space. Put cones and collars on the poles to protect from ground predators. Predators, such as raccoons and snakes, are able to get up the poles and into the housing. Put cones or collars on each pole so that the Purple Martins will feel protected. | Stay within 120 feet (36.6 m) of your living space. Pick an open area. Put the housing at least 40 feet (12.2 m) away from any trees. Choose a location with access to water. Buy martin houses for an easy solution that Purple Martins like. Build gourd houses for an affordable option that the birds enjoy. Go with durable wooden structures. Paint the houses white. Put the houses on poles at least 10 feet (3 m) tall. Make the housing stable and stationary. Make sure the houses have desirable compartments. Provide perches and good ventilation. Open the housing 4-6 weeks after the “scouts” arrive. Don’t allow other species to inhabit the housing. Make the houses seem lived in by Martins. Put cones and collars on the poles to protect from ground predators. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Control-Your-Dog%27s-Behavior-by-Becoming-Pack-Leader | How to Control Your Dog's Behavior by Becoming Pack Leader | To control your dog's behavior by becoming a pack leader, start by creating boundaries, like only feeding it once it's calm or not allowing it on furniture. Then, stay consistent with your boundaries, since bending the rules will confuse your dog. Additionally, walk through doors or gates ahead of your dog to show it that you're in charge and confident in your authority. When you're with your dog, remain calm and assertive, because losing your patience will cause it to lose trust in you. | Determine if your dog is poorly behaved. If you've noticed your dog showing common behavioral issues, like pulling on his leash during walks, having bad manners around other dogs and people, or barking and whining, your dog might not understand the rules of how he should behave. Without an established leader, your dog will misbehave, which can cause the behavioral problems. If you take on the role of leader, you can reduce your dog's anxiety and nervousness. Your dog will also be less likely to act out, potentially harming you or others. Fortunately, you can make changes to the social structure of your household no matter how old or young your dog is. Think like a dog. To better communicate, realize that your dog tends to live in the present much more than you do. This means your dog is much more comfortable with learning new things or new situations, regardless of any trouble he may have had with them in the past. If you start to think in the present too, you'll understand your dog better. Since dogs don't communicate the same way as humans do, learn to read your dog's dog body language so you can understand your dog's state of mind. Create boundaries. Your dog should look to you for guidance in certain situations. If your dog usually decides when to use these areas, then the boundaries are not clear within your family. You should also set boundaries by only responding to calm behavior. For example, teach your dog that he will only get his food if he's relaxed, not jumping up on you begging to be fed. Be firm with the boundaries you set. For example, if you never allow your dog to play in a certain room, offer him alternative spaces to play and make sure he never plays in an off-limits area. Bending the rules will only confuse your dog. Have fun and play with your dog. Don't forget that playtime is important for your dog's mental stability and your relationship with your dog. Part of your job as leader is guiding your dog through life by being a confident, loving, tough, and fair leader. Remain calm. In the wild, leaders enforce rules and boundaries with a calm and assertive energy. Leaders don't bully or use violence to show their authority, and neither should you. While it's easy to become frustrated with your dog if he continually breaks rules, never lose your patience. Remember, your dog can sense changes in your attitude and energy better than other humans can. This makes it especially important to stay calm during emotional situations. Show your dog that you're in control. One way to prove yourself as leader is to always walk through doorways or gates ahead of your dog when entering or leaving your home. This shows your dog your dog that you're in charge and he can be confident with you as his leader. This will also teach your dog good manners. This trust and confidence in you helps reduce the likelihood that there will be any separation anxiety in situations where you leave your home without your dog. Set rules for walking your dog. Set the rules for an enjoyable walk with your dog on his leash. Don't allow your dog to walk in front of your or pull and tug on the leash. Instead, have your dog walk beside or behind you. To do this, you should walk your dog with a standard, 6-foot, non-retractable leash. Hold the leash so that there's only enough room for your dog to stay by your side without being able to move in front of you. You should always be the frontrunner in any walk. This will signal to your dog that you're in control. Train your dog in basic commands. You're responsible for raising a good canine citizen. Teach your dog basic commands including, "sit," "stay," " come ," and " lie down." Your dog should eventually learn to respond quickly and correctly to your commands. To encourage your dog, use positive reinforcement techniques, by rewarding your dog with treats, affection and positive words, such as "good dog." Commands show your dog that you're in charge, help you keep your dog's behavior in line, and teach your dog how to be a well-rounded member of your family. You can start training puppies at 1 to 2 months old and even old dogs can learn new tricks. If positive training techniques don't work, try another training method that doesn't involve strong discipline during training. Keep your dog active. It's your job as leader to make sure your dog stays active and healthy, allowing him to thrive. Take your dog one or two 20 to 30 minute walks a day. This can keep your dog mentally and physically healthy. If your dog is inactive, he can become restless and bored. This can lead to unwanted behavior, like chewing, or barking. Be consistent. As a leader, you need to be consistent and clear with your rules. Occasionally bending rules only confuses your dog and sends the message that you're not a reliable leader. Your goal is to always remain strong and fair in your dog's eyes and show him that you are the best choice for a trustworthy leader. Repetition and consistency are best ways your dog will learn. For example, if you reprimand your dog for begging at the dinner table today and then feed him scraps from the same dinner table tomorrow, you are not being clear and consistent with your rules. This can plant a seed of doubt in your dog's mind that you may not be a very strong leader. Respond to misbehavior. Calmly and in a firm voice, give your dog a basic command. Your goal is to reassert your authority and remove him from the bad behavior. For example, if your dog jumps up on other people, calmly and firmly tell him to "sit." If he still misbehaves, remove him from the area, withdrawing your attention. | Determine if your dog is poorly behaved. Think like a dog. Create boundaries. Have fun and play with your dog. Remain calm. Show your dog that you're in control. Set rules for walking your dog. Train your dog in basic commands. Keep your dog active. Be consistent. Respond to misbehavior. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Beans-and-Peas | How to Grow Beans and Peas | To grow beans and peas, pick a spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day. Next, till the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches and add sand or manure, as well as compost if you have dense soil that doesn't drain well. Then, add 5 pounds of low or no nitrogen fertilize. Once the soil temperature is over 60 degrees, transfer the seeds to a plastic bag, spray them with water, and pour Rhizobia bacteria over them to help the seeds absorb nitrogen. Finally, plant the seeds in rows 1 to 1 ½ inches deep and 2 to 6 inches apart. | Choose a spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. Beans and most peas prefer full sun. Observe your yard throughout the day, and note which areas get good sunlight. Since afternoon sunlight can be intense, go for a spot that gets lots of light in the morning, but is partly shaded later in the day. Some peas do well in partial shade, or 4 to 6 hours of sun. When you go shopping for seeds, check the plant's light preferences on the package's label. Till the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm). Use a hoe or garden spade to dig into and turn over the soil. Lightly water the soil beforehand to make it easier to till. Turn all of the soil in the area where you plan on planting your vegetables. Beans and peas thrive in well-draining soil. If you have dense soil, add at least 10 to 15 lb (4.5 to 6.8 kg) of sand or well-aged manure and compost when you till. Try digging a shallow hole, then water it for about a minute with your hose. If the water sits in a puddle and doesn't really drain, you'll need to amend it with organic matter or sand. You can also pick up a handful of soil and form it into a ball. If it holds a compact shape and doesn't crumble much, your soil is dense. Add about 5 lb (2.3 kg) of low or no nitrogen fertilizer. Check a fertilizer's 3 NPK numbers. Choose one with 0 or 1 as the first number and high second and third numbers, such as 0-10-10. Spread the fertilizer over your planting area, then mix it into the soil. The 3 NPK numbers refer to a fertilizer's nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents. A 0-10-10 bag of fertilizer is 10% phosphorus and 10% potassium; the rest is substrate, or filler. Beans and peas don't require much fertilizer, and they can absorb nitrogen from the air. Frequent or heavy applications will lead to abundant foliage, but fewer pods. Acidify your soil if the pH is above 6.5. To test pH, mix 1 part each of soil and distilled water, insert a test strip into the mixture for 20 to 30 seconds, then compare the strip's color with the kit's color key. Beans and peas need slightly acidic soil; aim for a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. If your soil's pH is greater than 6.5, add an acidifier, such as sulfur or aluminium sulphate. Find acidifiers and other soil amendments at a garden center. Read the instructions, and sprinkle the amount specified to meet your target pH. As a rule of thumb, sprinkle 4 to 8 oz (110 to 230 g) of sulfur per square yard or meter, then rake or hoe it into the soil. If your soil is too acidic, add an alkaline amendment, such as lime. It's best to test and amend your soil's pH during warm weather. Additionally, you should add an acidifier to your soil at least 3 months before planting to ensure it has time to take effect. Purchase seeds at your local garden center. There are a wide variety of beans and peas, and they loosely fall into 2 categories. Climbing or pole beans and peas are vines that can grow at least 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) tall, and they need to be trellised. Bush beans and peas don't grow as tall, so they don't need extra support. Green beans, lima beans, and dry beans (such as kidney beans) are common choices among gardeners. Many types of beans, such as green beans, come in both pole and bush varieties. Commonly grown peas include English peas, snow or sugar peas, and sugar snap peas. Like beans, many peas are available in both bush and climbing varieties. If you don't want to put in the extra effort to install and build a trellis or pole, go with a bush variety. On the other hand, climbing vines could be a good choice if you like the look of a vine-covered trellis, or your garden backs up to a tall structure, like a fence. Beans and peas have delicate roots and don't tolerate being transplanted. For this reason, it's best to grow them from seed directly in the garden. Sow your seeds once the threat of frost has passed. Before planting, make sure the soil temperature is over 60 °F (16 °C). The most accurate way to test soil temperature is with a soil thermometer, which is an inexpensive tool available at most garden centers. Insert the thermometer about 3 to 4 in (7.6 to 10.2 cm) into the soil to take a reading. You could also use average air temperatures to estimate soil temperature. To find an average air temperature, add together a day's high and low temperatures, then divide by 2. Find the average air temperature for the last 3 days. The soil temperature should be roughly equal to that number. Using this strategy, you can use forecast temperatures and predict when the soil will be warm enough to plant. In general, the best time to plan is mid-spring, or in mid-May for temperate climates in the Northern hemisphere. Consider staggering your planting if you plan on growing lots of plants. For instance, plant 5 one week, another 5 a few weeks later, then another 5 a few weeks after that. You'll space out your crop instead of getting overwhelmed with a big harvest all at once. Apply Rhizobia bacteria to the seeds for healthier plants. Rhizobia bacteria help peas and beans absorb nitrogen, and applying them to seeds is a common practice. Open your seed package or transfer your seeds to a plastic bag. Mist the seeds lightly with water, pour the package of Rhizobia bacteria into the bag, then shake it to ensure all the seeds are covered. You can find Rhizobia bacteria online and at garden centers. Rhizobia is a bacteria of the soil, and it fixes nitrogen by forming a symbiotic relationship with the legumes. Plant the seeds 1 to 1 1⁄2 in (2.5 to 3.8 cm) deep and 2 to 6 in (5.1 to 15.2 cm) apart. Push your finger into the soil, pull it out, then place a seed into the hole. Plant your seeds in rows; if you have multiple rows, leave about 2 to 3 ft (0.61 to 0.91 m) between them. Check your seeds' package for that plant's specific space requirements. In general, space bush beans about 2 to 4 in (5.1 to 10.2 cm) apart. Space pole bean seeds about 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) from each other. Plant pea seeds 3 in (7.6 cm) apart. Provide a support for pole beans and tall-growing peas. Climbing varieties need the support of poles, bean teepees, trellises, or a face. Insert individual 6 ft (1.8 m) bean poles into the soil by each seed hole, or tie bamboo sticks together to construct teepees. Don't cover the planted seeds with soil until you've added the supports. The holes will help you keep track of where to place the supports. Since beans and peas have sensitive roots, you'll need to erect supports when you plant the seeds. Doing so after they've sprouted could injure your plants. If you're using a trellis, be sure that it doesn't block sunlight from reaching the planted seeds. Cover the seeds and firm the soil with your hand. Fill in the holes, then press down gently on the soil where you planted each seed. You don't want to pack the soil; just pat it down with your hand to encourage germination. Good soil contact will help protect the seed and encourage it to sprout. Water your garden area lightly after planting the seeds. After covering the holes and firming the soil, water the planting site just enough to get the soil moist. You'll need to keep the soil moist, but it shouldn't be waterlogged. Check your soil's moisture daily, and avoid letting it become dry. Since too much moisture discourages germination, just get the soil damp, and don't water it before planting as you might with other kinds of plants. Additionally, avoid planting bean and pea seeds right after heavy rain. Depending on the type of beans or peas you've planted, expect the first sprouts to appear within 1 to 2 weeks. Water your garden at least 2 to 3 times weekly to keep the soil moist. To test the soil, push your finger into the ground. If the soil feels dry and doesn't stick to your finger, it's time to water your plants. Remember that the soil shouldn't be waterlogged. Beans and peas like consistent moisture, or about 1 in (2.5 cm) per week. Water the planting area with a light spray to avoid injuring seedlings. As the plants mature, Try to water directly into the soil to avoid getting the leaves wet. Wet leaves can promote disease. To best way to prevent disease is to keep your plants' foliage as dry as possible. Water earlier in the day so the sun can dry any moisture on the leaves, and don't prune leaves or harvest pods when your plants are wet. Tie the sprouts to their supports when they're 2 to 4 in (5.1 to 10.2 cm) tall. Once the seedlings are too tall to stand up straight, carefully tie them to the support with garden twine. As they grow, tie the vines to the support in 1 ft (30 cm) intervals. Alternatively, if you're using a trellis or fence, weave the vines into the rails as they grow. If you allow the vines to fall over, they could rot or tangle. The majority of bean and pea varieties have no trouble climbing a support after they get started. Harvest pea shoots, or the top immature leaves, if desired. Tender pea shoots are delicious, and can be eaten raw or cooked. When your pea plants are 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) tall, cut off the top 2 sets of leaves with clean hand pruners. Try sautéing your harvested pea shoots with a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a splash of lemon juice for about 1 minute. Not only are shoots good to eat, pruning your pea plants will encourage further growth. Remove pests by hand or, if necessary, use an insecticide. Check your plants regularly for insect larvae, beetles, slugs, and other pests. If you only find a few here and there, just pick them off of your plants. For infesting insects, such as aphids, use an insecticide labeled for the the type of pest. Read your product's instructions and use it as directed. If you want to avoid using chemicals, rinse away infesting insects with a sharp, steady stream of water from your hose. Be sure that the stream isn't so hard that it'll injure your plants. Remember to rinse away pests in the morning to prevent disease. To combat aphids, you could also order ladybugs online and introduce them to your garden. They'll eat the aphids, but leave your plants alone. Keep in mind that you may have to wait a season or 2 before you see any changes. Apply nitrogen-free fertilizer when your plants flower. Flowers should appear a few weeks after your seedlings sprouted. Use a slow-release fertilizer that doesn't contain nitrogen to give your plants a little boost. Legumes don't need a lot of fertilizer, but a light application after they've spent lots of energy to bloom can help sustain their growth. If you use slow-release pellets, carefully mix about a tablespoon into the soil around each plant. Alternatively, dilute a liquid fertilizer and apply it with your hose. Since beans and peas can extract nitrogen from the air, avoid using a nitrogen fertilizer. Too much nitrogen will lead to fewer pods. Harvest the pods when they're crisp, firm, but still immature. Depending on the variety, you should have your first harvest about 2 months after germination. For legumes with edible pods, such as sugar snap peas and green beans, it's best to pick the pods before the seeds inside fully develop. The pod should be crisp, firm, and tender, and the seeds inside should be small and immature. Field peas and dry beans, such as kidney beans, should be left until the seeds develop completely. They'll be ready to harvest when the pod easily opens. Avoid harvesting pods while the plant is wet. Wait for morning dew to evaporate to pick pods, and don't water them right before harvesting. Allow a few pods to mature completely at the end of the growing season. Let some of the pods to mature until they're just about ready to fall off naturally. Open them up and collect the seeds, then store the seeds in a cool, dry place until next spring. Start the process all over again, and replant a bean and pea garden next year! Wet seeds will go bad, so don't wash the seeds before storing them. For best results, choose another spot in your garden for next year's crop. | Choose a spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. Till the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm). Add about 5 lb (2.3 kg) of low or no nitrogen fertilizer. Acidify your soil if the pH is above 6.5. Purchase seeds at your local garden center. Sow your seeds once the threat of frost has passed. Apply Rhizobia bacteria to the seeds for healthier plants. Plant the seeds 1 to 1 1⁄2 in (2.5 to 3.8 cm) deep and 2 to 6 in (5.1 to 15.2 cm) apart. Provide a support for pole beans and tall-growing peas. Cover the seeds and firm the soil with your hand. Water your garden area lightly after planting the seeds. Water your garden at least 2 to 3 times weekly to keep the soil moist. Tie the sprouts to their supports when they're 2 to 4 in (5.1 to 10.2 cm) tall. Harvest pea shoots, or the top immature leaves, if desired. Remove pests by hand or, if necessary, use an insecticide. Apply nitrogen-free fertilizer when your plants flower. Harvest the pods when they're crisp, firm, but still immature. Allow a few pods to mature completely at the end of the growing season. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Centipedes | How to Get Rid of Centipedes | To get rid of centipedes, try sprinkling some cayenne pepper around the entryways to your home, which will deter the centipedes so they don't come inside. You can also try setting up some sticky traps on the floors around your home to catch the centipedes when they walk on them. If the centipedes persist, sprinkle a natural pesticide, like boric acid or diatomaceous earth, over the areas where you usually spot them. | Kill them on sight! Their freakishly long legs make them very fast so you'll have to be quick. Centipedes don't usually invade homes in large numbers, so you may be able to get rid of your problem just by stomping on, or bug-spraying, every one you see. Note that if you are afraid to even approach or be near the centipede, even vacuum cleaners won't be useful. If you don't want to kill the centipede, you can try to catch it in a jar and release it outside, but this usually leads to a high-pitched scream, a broken jar, and a free centipede. Try setting up sticky traps. Just place them in corners and crevices where centipedes tend to hunt. You may also catch other insects that are sneakily crawling around your home. Know that larger centipedes that walk over sticky or glue traps may escape by simply leaving behind a couple legs. Sticky traps are most effective for smaller centipedes, not larger ones. Try an insecticide if none of these natural remedies work. Keep in mind that insecticides are only temporary solutions. Any garden supply store will carry these products. Just make sure to follow the package directions. Even though these products shouldn't kill pets or humans, it's best not to have prolonged contact with them. Sticky traps could possibly alert you to heavy traffic areas, allowing you to spray these areas or place more sticky traps. If one of your sticky traps turns out to be really popular and none of your other ones do, chances are the popular one is where you should focus most of your attention. If you want to kill the centipedes, but you don't want to poison the earth, yourself, or your pets, you can use natural pesticides like boric acid or food grade diatomaceous earth for continual centipede control. Products containing pyrethroids (cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, permethrin or tralomethrin) will exterminate centipedes on contact, and can be used as a fog or spray. Put down a barrier around your entire home. Whether it's chemical insecticide, natural insecticide, or other, think about creating a moat-like barrier around the outside of your house. Because centipedes originate outside and come inside. When they do, they'll travel into the insecticide barrier. If they happen to make it inside, they should be dead or near death by the time you find them. Try using the organic pesticide containing cyhalothrin, which is used mainly for ants but does double duty for centipedes. Look for professional help. If you've tried everything under the sun to help eradicate the creepy-crawly pests, it may be time to pony up and hire an exterminator. Exterminators may crawl your home for potential entrance points, locate and destroy any centipede eggs, and spray parts of your home with effective pesticides. We probably don't want to admit it, but exterminators do a better job of locating the problem and ensuring that it goes away. They're worth the money if you can afford it and are at your wit's end. Get rid of all other pests in the home. The centipedes will have nothing to eat, and will hopefully die or move in with the neighbors A centipede without food is as good as a dead or soon-to-be-vacating centipede. Keep your home dry. Centipedes dry out and die if they don't stay in a moist environment. Clean up basements, closets, or any other damp areas, and use a dehumidifier. Place packets of silica in the dampest places of your home. Silica is an absorbent that wicks away moisture from the air and ground. Look for silica packets in new shoes, for example, or buy some cheaply. Keep them in the dampest places of your home. Remove organic material from the side of your house. Place firewood, mulch, tarpaulins, and compost bins away from the perimeter of the house and as far away as possible. Remove any compost, leaves, wood, and organic debris. Consider getting rid of damp items like compost bins if possible. Close off all entrance points. This will keep the bugs from entering your home in the first place. Seal any cracks in concrete foundations, and caulk spaces around doors and windows. Apply weatherstripping to the outside of your house to discourage centipede intrusion. Caulk any holes between walls. Look at gutters and downspouts and clear away away leaves, branches, or other material that may be blocking the water's natural flow down the gutter. This could be a potential home for centipedes. Try cayenne pepper. For a natural way to discourage centipedes from vacationing in your home, try laying down a thin layer of cayenne pepper at entrance points, both outside and inside your home. Dogs and cats should stay away from it, although they won't be seriously hurt if they happen to get a little curious. | Kill them on sight! Try setting up sticky traps. Try an insecticide if none of these natural remedies work. Put down a barrier around your entire home. Look for professional help. Get rid of all other pests in the home. Keep your home dry. Remove organic material from the side of your house. Close off all entrance points. Try cayenne pepper. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-the-Best-of-Working-in-a-Fast-Food-Restaurant | How to Make the Best of Working in a Fast Food Restaurant | To make the best of working in a fast food restaurant, use your job as an opportunity to build customer service and stress-management skills. If you have to interact with rude customers, remember that they don't know you personally, and handle the situation professionally by keeping your emotions out of it. If there's a bit of down time, ask your supervisor to teach you new tasks—they'll be impressed that you're taking initiative! | Build your customer service skills. Customer service is a very important part of the fast food industry, and a skill that will serve you well in all future jobs and endeavors. Knowing how to deal with difficult people in an appeasing matter, even when said people are in the wrong, is a strength that is applicable to both your personal life and professional life. To improve your customer service skills, try to: be friendly and polite apologize for any delays or errors smile Learn to deal with stress. Working in a fast food environment can be stressful and chaotic , but learning how to deal with that kind of pressure is an invaluable lesson. Prioritizing tasks, recognizing what's worth stress and what isn't, and seeing stressors as a finite things are good ways to adapt. Learning how to breathe, stay calm, and collect yourself is important to both your job performance and health. Ask to learn new tasks. To learn as much as possible from your fast food job, ask your manager or supervisor if you can learn new tasks. This will show your initiative and enthusiasm, and it will also broaden your work experience and skills. New tasks may include: taking inventory preparing side dishes, like salads or soups operating cooking equipment replenishing supplies Appreciate the flexible hours. Since fast food restaurants are open all week, typically for many hours a day, employee work schedules are usually flexible. This industry is especially accommodating to employees who want extra hours, an opportunity that is not always available with a strict 9 to 5 schedule. Take advantage of the opportunity to work at different times of the day and request shifts outside of typical work day hours; this will allow you to avoid rush hour hassles, and possibly cut down the time of your commute. Enjoy the social interaction. Working in the service industry provides you with an opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. You're likely learning how to read people, which is a valuable skill; additionally, the camaraderie and fun you may develop with your fellow employees doesn't exist in all working environments. Social interaction is a crucial part of human life and is thought to be a factor in extending lifespan. To bond with co-workers, try: organizing after-work outings and get-togethers. sitting with them during your breaks participating in team-building activities sponsored by the company (charity events, sports, etc.) starting discussions about workplace experiences (e.g. "I just served a really difficult customer. How do you deal with that kind of situation?") Welcome the fast pace. Most jobs are stationary - in other words, many people have desk jobs where they are required to sit for long periods of time. Sitting for too many consecutive hours on a regular basis can result in neck and back pain, an increased risk of heart disease, poor posture, and difficulty concentrating. To avoid getting overwhelmed by the fast pace of your fast food job, take advantage of your break time to regroup, relax, and focus on your breathing. Having a job that requires physical activity not only makes the time pass quickly, but it keeps your body active. Make sure to take care of your feet; buy a pair of comfortable shoes and breathable socks to prevent injury and hygiene issues while you're on your feet for long periods of time. Make the best of working on holidays. While working on holidays is an unfortunate reality of fast food employees, there are positive things to consider. Working on days that you would prefer not to shows dedication, loyalty, and professionalism - qualities that will earn you recognition from your supervisors. In addition, postponing your own celebrations will allow you to celebrate during off-peak times, which can be less hectic and expensive. Don’t let angry customers get you down. Working in the service industry means that you will inevitably encounter angry or rude customers from time to time. Remember that this is part of your job and not something that you should take to heart; customers don't know you personally, they can only speak to their experience of the product or service you are providing. Do your best to handle each difficult situation in the best, most professional way you can and, if possible, take a few minutes to yourself if a situation really gets you down. Do what you can with a lower salary. One of the biggest disadvantages of working at a fast food restaurant is the low wage you are likely to be earning. Do what you can to make the most of your money; work out a firm budget for your spending, open an account at a bank with low fees, and shop around for a high-interest savings account. These efforts to bolster your savings will make a difference over time. You may also take advantage of the non-monetary rewards of your fast food job, like free or discounted food and drinks. Consider your employer's management training program. Completing a training program has the potential to increase your income and benefits. Ask your manager or supervisor about such opportunities, or do your own research on your employer's website. Keep in mind that some fast food restaurants promote their service staff to management positions; do your best to be a model employee and express interest in advancing your career with the company. Build your resume. You'll acquire important skills by taking on more responsibility - experience as a supervisor is applicable anywhere. A strong work ethic, dependability, and motivation are all skills that are highly valued by prospective employers, and all of these qualities can be learned from your fast food job. The more skills and experience you obtain, the more your resume is likely to impress future employers. Think about your education. Keep in mind that some fast food franchises offer scholarships and grants to their employees.This initiative gives employees the opportunity to further their education and career while working at their fast food job, and helps fast food chains attract and retain workers. Visit your employer's corporate website to apply for any opportunities available to you. Look into your employer's corporate career opportunities. Many fast food chains provide opportunities for restaurant managers to move into corporate positions. Benefits at the corporate level typically include medical, dental, profit sharing, incentive pay and recognition programs. Look into your options and go for any opportunities that are available to you; it is worth the risk to move towards the kind of career you want. Remember that many successful people started out in the service industry; think of your experience as preparation for bigger and better things! | Build your customer service skills. Learn to deal with stress. Ask to learn new tasks. Appreciate the flexible hours. Enjoy the social interaction. Welcome the fast pace. Make the best of working on holidays. Don’t let angry customers get you down. Do what you can with a lower salary. Consider your employer's management training program. Build your resume. Think about your education. Look into your employer's corporate career opportunities. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Build-an-Online-Business | How to Build an Online Business | To build an online business, first choose something to sell that will satisfy a customer problem or need. Then, once you have a product and an ideal customer, set up a website online through a platform like WordPress and include e-commerce features so your customers can buy your product. To help attract potential customers to your website, publish blog posts or other helpful articles on it, which will improve your ranking on search engines. Also, try marketing your site on social media, and consider advertising through Google AdWords. | Solve a customer problem. Consumers buy products and services to satisfy a physical or emotional need. However, customers only buy when the need is paramount in their mind. For example, a homeowner will hire a plumber if he has a leak, men and women will buy new clothes to enhance their appearance, or a student will take special lessons if he believes completion will lead to a better job. Your online business product or service must stimulate and then fulfill that need before a sale occurs. Use your industry knowledge or experience to identify a customer problem that needs to be solved. In your work or life do you see any common problems with no obvious or simple solutions? Think about ways this problem could be solved by a company. This is your business idea. Say, for example, that many of your friends are interested in purchasing vintage wristwatches, but don't have any way of verifying that they are genuine. If you have an eye for detail and the right knowledge, you could turn identification of these timepieces into an online business. Analyze your skills, interests, and capabilities. Before starting a business, you will need to assess your own ability to do so. Look at your own skill set to determine what, exactly, you are good enough at to do professionally. What industry or profession are you most knowledgable, experienced, and skilled in? You need to be able to compete against existing businesses. Next, analyze your interests. What would you do if money weren't important? You need to love whatever it is that you're doing, or your business will not be successful. Finally, look at your capabilities. Do you have the financial stability, savings, time, and personal stability to start a business right now? Make sure that your family is behind your starting a business. If they're not, this will lead to problems down the road. Identify your ideal customer. Your ideal customer is the set of traits shared by people that who are likely to buy your product. Knowing these demographics (age, sex, income, etc.) will help you focus on this audience and tailor the rest of your business model to their wants and needs. Whether you're starting a product from scratch or improving an existing product, you can perform research on your ideal customer. Your ideal customer becomes the basis for your marketing strategy. You develop your marketing strategy with the ideal customer in mind. To learn more about marketing strategy, see how to develop a marketing strategy. To identify your ideal customer, simply consider the type of people that would be most interested in your product or service and have the financial ability to purchase it. In many cases, this is more art than science, but a Google search for consumer trends may reveal useful information. Assume, for example, that you want to research the ideal customer traits for your timepiece identification service. You could start by considering who would have the money for this kind of hobby (probably adult to middle-aged people), who would have an interest (mostly men), and what type of person is likely to demand this kind of verification. Refine your offering. Determine the features of your product or service and whether they provide real benefits and solve the needs of your potential customers. Use what you find to reassess and refine your product or service until it more perfectly meets the described need. Try to identify changes that other businesses have made to similar products that have resulted in higher sales volume. Determine the market size. Assume that you're considering ideas to start an online business for the first time. You use the same process as you would to assess an existing product. You're taking more risk because the sales performance of the product is completely unknown. Find tools to research your potential market. You may choose to examine existing businesses that offer a similar service. What are their clients like? What are they willing to pay for this type of service? How crowded is the market? For your identification service, you might choose to examine the type of people who comment on watch forums and other watch websites. Assess their needs and really consider if there is enough of a market for your services to make starting a business worth it. Determine your costs. In order to plan for your business, you'll need to assess how much you will need in startup money. This will vary widely between business types, with some requiring almost zero startup money, and others requiring many thousands of dollars. Start by looking at equipment or inventory you currently have. Then, figure out what you need. Think about inventory, production equipment, website building expenses, and any other costs that you can expect in your first months of operation. Locate these items used or at a discount if you can and then record the prices to determine your startup capital needs. Develop financial projections. Financial projections can be difficult to project, especially if you haven't yet begun operations. However, do your research by searching for sales data relevant to your industry online. Check with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to find this data and other important information. Then, use this data to estimate your sales volume over your first three years. Your projections don't have to be perfect, but they need to be reasonable and backed by concrete numbers. Subtract your projected startup costs and cost of goods sold during this time to estimate your profitability. Assess your capital sources. Unless you have startup and working capital in a savings account, you will need a source of capital to get your business started. Your options include loans from a friend or family member, bank loans, and selling equity to investors. Bank loans may be difficult to obtain, unless you opt for one backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Check with local banks to see what SBA loans they offer. You will need to have a strong business plan to qualify for such a loan. Loans from friends and family are a great source of capital as well. However, the risk is that you lose the money that they lend you and your personal relationship may suffer as result. Write a business plan. A business plan is a roadmap for your business and its growth over the years. It includes several distinct parts that outline your operational plans and business information for prospective investors or lenders, or just for your own guidance. Include all of the above information in this part in your business plan. In addition, you'll need: A description of the business and its offerings. A marketing plan. A description of business structure. Management profiles. A break-even analysis. An explanation of how and where borrowed funds will be used. Build brand equity. Once you start selling a product that solves a problem for clients, you can build brand equity. Brand equity is how customers recognize that your product is better and different than products offered by your competitors. To find out more about brand equity, see how to build brand equity. As customers use your product and get good results, they may keep buying your products and not consider your competitor's brand. Think about products or services that you buy repeatedly. You may have that same view, which is why you keep buying the same product. Brand equity can result in customer loyalty. Loyal customers may continue to buy your product, even if the price increases. Most importantly, a loyal customer is more likely to refer other people to your business. Generating referrals is the fastest way to grow your sales. Set up a website. Your website is normally the first impression that you make online. The first experience a prospect has with your online business is seeing your website. It's critically important to have an engaging website. Think about hiring a professional website builder to design and build your site. Use search engine optimization (SEO) to direct traffic to your website. SEO allows your website to show up higher on search engine results. This drives internet users looking for a specific product or service to your website before your competitors'. SEO involves researching keywords and setting up your website in certain ways. For more on SEO, see Optimize Your Website. Consider an online publishing platform to create your site. These platforms allow you to build an attractive website without needing any programming knowledge. WordPress is a publishing platform that is used by over 20% of all sites on the Internet. This platform gives you hundreds of themes that you can choose for your website. Once you choose a theme, you can build pages and decide how to layout the information on each page. It's particularly important to have a home page that gets a viewer's attention. Your goal is to have a great home page that attracts readers to stay on your site and find out more about your product or service. Once your client decides to stay, make it easy to navigate your site. Google has recently changed their search ranking criteria for websites. Sites with good online content are now ranked higher. If you continually add good content to your site, you will move up in Google search rankings. Track all of your online marketing results. Analyze your website traffic, the number of opt-ins and the percentage of viewers you are able to convert into customers. Make changes to increase the results of your online marketing efforts. Build easy navigation and e-commerce features into your website for customers. Your initial goal is to get viewers to see your home page. If they want to find out more about your product, make it easy for them to navigate to other pages. Make sure that the pages and drop down menus are clear and easy to access. Organize your pages into a logical order. Assume that you have page links that are listed vertically on the left side of your website. You put the home page at the top as the first link. Below it, you provide links to product/service information pages. Below those, you list ecommerce links. If viewers have to invest too much time to understand how your site is set up, they may leave. Keep the prospect engaged by making page navigation easy. Work with an ecommerce consultant to set up ecommerce functions like accepting orders and payments on your website. Use content and provide your audience with useful information. A great way to build a relationship with customers is to provide content, such as blog posts and articles. If you consistently add good content to your site, viewers may visit your site frequently. For more on blogging, see Start Making Money Blogging. Maintain Customer Contact. Provide an opt-in button for people who read your content. The button allows a viewer to subscribe to your site. The reader provides their email address, so they can get more information and content from you. If a viewer subscribes to your site, they are more likely to buy your product. Over time, you will build up a valuable email list of subscribers that you can send out regular updates to. Market your site using social media. Consumers are spending more of their time on social media. If you want to get in front of your customers, make sure that you have an effective presence on social media sites. This is a good place to start advertising, because posting on these sites is free. Create a complete LinkedIn profile for yourself and any key managers at your firm. Post links to the content you create, including blogs and articles. People use LinkedIn to network, to look for business and to find jobs. Many professionals look at LinkedIn several times during the day. Build your connections by adding people to your network. Create a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and any other sites that your customers frequent. When you survey your customers, ask them which social media sites they use the most often. All social media sites continually make changes. Make sure that you stay on top of site enhancements that can make your marketing more effective. Post regularly in online forums. Forums are where internet users congregate to discuss common interests. Think of users of a forum relevant to your product or service as potential customers. By posting regular, insightful, professional comment, you can gain the trust of these online communities and actively promote your product or service. This is especially relevant for providers of services. Displaying your knowledge will help you gain clients more easily. For example, your watch identification service could get started by providing free advice or help on forums relevant to watch collecting. Advertise through Google AdWords. Those ads on the side when you search for something on Google are the result of companies paying for Google AdWords. This service allows websites to advertise on certain keywords that internet users search. It also displays your ad on relevant websites that also contain your keywords. Google AdWords drives traffic to your website in return for a fee paid per click. Even a small AdWords budget, like $10-20 per day, can drive a lot of traffic to your website and could bring a large amount of potential customers. Engage in joint marketing efforts with complimentary businesses. Almost any website or blog with a readership with sell you advertising space on their site. Remember to make sure that any site you advertise on is very relevant to your own business and that the users of the site are your target audience. Focus particularly on niche websites, like blogs and highly-specialized websites, to save money. The advertising costs on this type of page will likely be cheaper than it would be on a large site. You can also engage in joint venture endorsement marketing to take advantage of an established business's customer base. | Solve a customer problem. Analyze your skills, interests, and capabilities. Identify your ideal customer. Refine your offering. Determine the market size. Determine your costs. Develop financial projections. Assess your capital sources. Write a business plan. Build brand equity. Set up a website. Build easy navigation and e-commerce features into your website for customers. Use content and provide your audience with useful information. Maintain Customer Contact. Market your site using social media. Advertise through Google AdWords. Engage in joint marketing efforts with complimentary businesses. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Symptoms-of-MRSA | How to Identify Symptoms of MRSA | To identify symptoms of MRSA, look for breaks in the skin, as well as bumps or reddened and inflamed skin. Additionally, note if the skin is warm, tender, swollen, or breaks out in a red rash. You should also be aware of any fluid filled cavities as these can be signs of MRSA. If you suspect you have MRSA, seek medical attention immediately before the bacteria spreads deeper into your system. | Look for breaks in the skin. MRSA infections are common where there are cuts or wounds in the skin. Look close to hair follicles. It is also common in hairy areas of the skin, such as the beard area, back of the neck, armpit, groin, legs, scalp, or buttocks. Watch for bumps or reddened and inflamed skin. MRSA manifests as a bump or sore area on the skin. Many times this can be confused with insect bites, such as spider bites, or it may look like a pimple. Pay attention to any areas of skin that are red, inflamed, painful, or hot to the touch. Keep an eye on minor bumps, cuts, scrapes, and redness. If they become infected, see your doctor. Look for cellulitis. MRSA can lead to cellulitis, which is an infection of the layers and tissues beneath the skin, which looks like a widespread swollen rash. This causes the skin to look pink or red. The skin may be warm, tender, or swollen. Cellulitis can start out as small red bumps. Some areas of the skin may look like a bruise. Be on the lookout for a rash. A rash is reddish colored areas on the skin. If you have widespread red areas, watch it carefully. If it is hot to the touch, spreads quickly, or painful, you may want to see your doctor. Decide if the lesion is purulent. If you have a bump or lesion, look for a fluid filled cavity that is movable and compressible. Look for a yellow or white center with a head. There might also be draining pus. Look for boils. Boils are pus-filled infections of the hair follicles. Check in your scalp for bumps. Also check any other places with hair, like your groin, neck, and armpit. Look out for abscesses. An abscess is a painful pus-filled lump in or under the skin. An abscess might require surgical drainage in addition to antibiotics. Keep an eye out for carbuncles. Carbuncles are large abscesses that has pus draining from them. Be wary of a stye. A stye is an infection of the oil glands of the eyelid. This causes inflammation and redness on the eye and eyelid. The stye can be internal or external. The lump will usually have a whitish or yellowish head that looks like a pimple. It may hurt to blink. Watch out for impetigo. Impetigo is a pus blister on the skin. These pus blisters can be large in size. They may burst and leave a honey-colored crust around the infected area. Track your improvement. If your doctor has diagnosed you with staph infection and given you antibiotics, your condition should improve within two to three days. If you do not see any improvement, there is a chance that you have MRSA. Once you are colonized with MRSA it is likely that you can become reinfected more easily. Keep an eye on your condition, and be prepared to return to your doctor on short notice. Watch out for headaches, fever, and fatigue. Any of these symptoms might indicate a serious infection when coupled with a staph or MRSA diagnosis. The combination may feel similar to flu symptoms. You may also experience some dizziness and confusion. Take your temperature if you think you might be running a fever. A fever of 100.4 or higher is cause for concern. Notice the signs of a deeper MRSA infection. As the infection spreads through your body, it can choke the lungs; inflame your urinary tract; and even begin to eat your flesh. Untreated MRSA can result in necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but horrific flesh-eating disease. Notice the signs that MRSA has spread to the lungs. If the infection is still undetected and left untreated, there is a risk that it can spread to the lungs. Look out for coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. A high fever and body chills, possibly accompanied by urinary tract infection, are signs that the MRSA has spread to other organs of the body, such as the kidneys and urinary tract. Necrotizing fasciitis is very rare, but not unheard-of. This may manifest as a severe pain in the infected area. Seek treatment immediately. If you think that you're infected with any stage of MRSA, act as quickly as possible before the bacteria eats its way any deeper into your system. Even if you aren't sure: ask a doctor. MRSA can be a serious and life-threatening condition, and it isn't worth it to take any chances. Treatment for community-acquired MRSA is Bactrim and if you are hospitalized it is IV vancomycin. | Look for breaks in the skin. Watch for bumps or reddened and inflamed skin. Look for cellulitis. Be on the lookout for a rash. Decide if the lesion is purulent. Look for boils. Look out for abscesses. Be wary of a stye. Watch out for impetigo. Track your improvement. Watch out for headaches, fever, and fatigue. Notice the signs of a deeper MRSA infection. Seek treatment immediately. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Man | How to Be a Man | To be a man, focus on developing your own values to live by such as trusting in friends and helping others, and be ready to make sacrifices. Remember, being a good man means doing the right thing even when no one is watching. You can also show your ambition by setting both long and short-term goals and becoming knowledgeable about something, whether that be cars or women. | Know yourself. Find out who you are and be happy with that person. There's no one way to be a man. A 'real' man can be a logger who wears plaid and doesn't shower for 10 days; a 'real' man can also be a professor who talks about Milton and Shakespeare. All men, however, know who they are and respect themselves in and out. Be knowledgeable about something. It doesn't really matter what it is, but you should consider yourself pretty familiar with one area of expertise. Men may not know or want to use fancy, two-dollar words, but when it comes time to getting things done, they know how to act. They use their smarts to get it done. What area of expertise do you know? Here are just a few areas you might consider diving into. General knowledge. You're the jack of all trades. You could win a pretty penny on Jeopardy! if you cared at all about being on TV. You know the difference between participles and parts of speech, pterodactyls and pterorhynchus, and a $99 suit and a $6,000 suit. History. Increasingly rare, the man who's a student of history gives himself the benefit of a very wide lens when contemplating problems: he can draw on Roman artillery strategy, Cold War negotiating tactics, and obscure French economic policy, among others. He knows that history isn't just about preventing the mistakes of the past from happening in the future. Women. Some men turn the opposite sex into a field of study. If you want to be knowledgeable about women, be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them. There's nothing worse than a man who thinks he's God's gift to all women, but who's stubbornly insulting, cavalier, and clueless. Note that this does not apply to all men and that such stereotypes like "being a lady's-man" are not only out-dated, but also presumptuous. Know when you've made a mistake and know when to say "I'm sorry. " There's nothing wrong with making a mistake. Only the insecure man thinks that making a mistake is bad, because he's not comfortable with who he is in the first place. Confident men know when they're wrong and aren't afraid to admit it. Learn to say "I'm sorry" in different ways. Men know that saying "sorry" doesn't always have to be verbal. A ticket to a baseball game, breakfast in bed, and a camping trip are all ways to say "I'm sorry" without moving the old vocal chords back and forth. Men know that these are often more effective ways of communicating regret than two measly words. Know the man-code. What is the man-code? The man-code is an unwritten set of rules that some men live by, often evolving but rarely changing. If it means something to you, take the man-code seriously. It might tell other men that you respect them as much as you respect yourself. Remember that this is all to be taken with a pinch of salt. Every man is different, you are different and if this list doesn't resonate with you or mean anything to you, do not feel as though you have to go out of your way to achieve these things. Here are a few items on the list: Dating no-nos. You may never date another friend's sister (or sibling), unless you actually intend on marrying them. You may never date another friend's ex unless you have his explicit permission. Explicit permission means actually asking him. Share your possessions when possible. If a friend asks for a pair of work boots, a drill, or a crock-pot a day in advance, you should be kind enough to loan it to him. Cars, lucky items, or partners are not necessarily applicable. Birthday presents for other men are always optional. If pressed for information, you may always lie and tell them your significant other ordered you to act. Never initiate conversation with other men at a urinal station. It is never acceptable to choose a urinal immediately adjacent to another man if an open, further-removed urinal is available. No smiley-faces or emoticons are necessary when texting another guy. Although acceptable (not preferable) to use when texting love-interests, keep use to a bare minimum. Let go of self-destructive thoughts or customs. Understand that all men in all cultures may have, to some extent, been socialized in ways that may be psychologically and culturally damaging, and may bring unhappiness. The first step in creating a sense of self in manhood is to examine the environment in which you were raised, as objectively as you can. Did you grow up in a culture where it was acceptable to abuse someone, whether physically or verbally, who was "out of line" or insubordinate? Violence is more often the result of cowardice than a genuine impulse to solve a problem. Using violence or threats against friends or family to "show your authority" is unhealthy and damaging. Were you taught that being "tough" means suppressing emotion, holding in tears, and never exposing vulnerability? The drawback here is that you also learn to internalize and suppress these emotions which then fester and get worse. Focus on being a different kind of tough: be a reliable, strong figure who can handle adversity. Were you taught to hate/fear anyone who's homosexual? Understand that only one thing makes you gay: having a romantic and sexual preference for people of the same gender. The kind of music you like, the clothes you wear, whether you cry at sad movies, buying your wife flowers, being sensitive or nice to others — none of that makes you gay. Outward displays of homophobia point to a man's own sexual insecurity, not his prowess and is not cool in any way, shape or form. Clean yourself, even if you are living out in the woods. A man knows that cleaning ones body is necessary, every animal does it, but don't fall into the trap of "grooming yourself" as part of some modernist social trend. Grooming has become a business and corporations and companies never tire of convincing you that you need endless amounts of unnecessary products. The modern "grooming" and "manscaping" business is all done in order to make money, not because its noble, healthy or moral. You don't have to shave every day, especially not if you are growing a beard. Some men can not grow a proper beard, and that's okay, maybe then its better to stay clean shaven. Other men have very good beard growth, which is natures call to them to grow a full beard. Men tend to be afraid of what potential partners think of facial hair. No one should dominate (or manipulate) you into shaving your beard when you don't want to. Be yourself, as nature created you, be your own master. You don't have to shave or trim your chest hair, back hair or any body hair in general. You don't have to live up to any nonsensical and superficial image of "smooth, chiseled (plastic) man" created by modern fashion, advertising and movie industry, again in order to make money. Some men are very hairy, others are totally smooth, either way, be proud of your body and all the physical attributes nature has created to give you your male identity. Shower and bathe when necessary. A man benefits from showering when he is dirty or smelly — not necessarily every day. Some may choose to stay dirty or smelly for a good reason (working on a car, or about to work out). You can cut your hair and finger nails regularly. Most men like no-nonsense haircuts, although some men prefer hair that is a little longer or style and that is fine also. Exercise. Being a man doesn't mean you need to be ripped. It does mean you need to take care of your body (For some men, that does mean lifting weights.) Adjust to the responsibility of being by keeping fit: do cardio, yoga or pilates (not only for women), strength training, body building, or sports, combined with a healthy diet. At the very least, walk about 30 minutes a day to burn fat and build some muscle. Wear clothes that fit you. Your clothes don't need to be designer or cost an arm and a leg. They do, however, need to fit you. Not all men are muscular and stocky, and therefore don't look great in baggy, loose-fitting clothes. All men will need: Great jeans. One pair of casual jeans, one pair of work jeans, and one pair of formal jeans should round out your wardrobe. Build around the basics. Some button-down shirts. Again, a couple casual item, a couple for work, and a couple formal button-downs should be enough for the average man. Decent shoes. Men probably want between three and five different kinds of shoes at any given time: formal shoes (for work and/or big occasions), tennis shoes, work boots, casual shoes (chukkas, lace-ups, sneakers, etc.), or slightly-less-than-formal shoes (oxfords, top-siders, loafers, etc.). Mix and match depending on your needs and habits. Don't use drugs as a crutch. Men are born adventurers, making the lure of drugs very real. Men who are comfortable with themselves tend not to rely on the crutch of drugs for support. Even with bills weighing them down, work staring them in the face, and personal projects (not to mention football) looming, men find a way to appreciate the beauty of life without sedating themselves. Develop your own principles. A man isn't always comfortable being judge, jury, and executioner, but he knows right from wrong and expects others to play by the same rules. Look inside yourself and ask: would I want someone else doing that to me? This should help you develop principles to live by. A man never steals, even if he is desperate. A desperate man learns to ask others to help him instead of helping himself to something he is not entitled to. A man helps others in need. He knows when others are down on their luck and need a helping hand, even if the utility lies in the gesture itself. A man trusts his friends, significant others, and family. He follows through with what he says he'll do and expects others to do the same. A man never lies — to himself or others. He develops a conscience that gives him good feedback and allows him to be comfortable with the truth, even if it hurts. Be ambitious in your own way. Men are naturally ambitious. We want to be breadwinners and have the admiration and respect of our peers. Not all men choose the same career paths, however, so ambition doesn't always amount to the same thing. Whatever career or profession you choose (you may have many), set goals for yourself, live up to or exceed them, and reinvent yourself whenever you need to. Define your own idea of success. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. The main difference between a man and a boy, and adult and a child, is that men are responsible. Men honor their commitments, accept their duties and are accountable for their actions. Men clean up after themselves (figuratively and literally). Men know that anyone can father a baby, but only a man who understands and accepts responsibility can be a good father. Men refuse to make anyone do anything they themselves are unwilling to do. As a result, they appreciate the difficulty and risk other people take on their behalf. Learn to make sacrifices for the people you love and care about. Making sacrifices is part of growing up, whether you like it or not. The difference between a man and a boy is that a man steps up to the plate, while a boy hesitates or complains. Especially for the people in his life that he loves, a man looks at sacrifice — whether it means devoting time, money or other resources to people aside from himself — as his duty. Be a good man. Integrity is doing the right thing, for the right reason, even when no one is watching. It can be tempting to think that by meeting your self-defined responsibilities as a man, your job is done, but that doesn't always make you a good person. Never stop trying to do the right thing and re-evaluating your character and integrity. If you're going to be a man, be a good man, or else it's no better than remaining a boy. Use your inner gentleman. Your inner gentleman tells you the things to do that you know you should — but sometimes are too lazy — to do: Paying for dates, unless the love-interest in question views the act as some barbaric throwback to a more misogynistic time. Treat with caution. Opening doors, helping into chairs, and saying "please" and "thank you." Generally putting the lover in question ahead of yourself out of respect. Doing domestic duties. Some men who are already in long-term relationships shirk their domestic duties: forgetting to take out the trash, do the dishes, change the diapers. Real men know that they must share in domestic duties, as unpleasant as they may be. Being a gracious loser. Man are naturally competitive, making this a tough one for some. Accept defeat with the same grace that you accept victory. Easier said than done. Don't kiss and tell. Men love the chase of romance, but too often get lured into bragging about the conquest. Don't fall victim to the notion that if you don't brag about it, it didn't happen. Success in love speaks loud enough for itself. A quiet confidence will perhaps even suggest to your friends that you're a regular Lothario, even if you're not. Always treat your significant other with respect. A simple list of dos and don'ts: Do : Listen to what they have to say. Forgive them when they make a simple mistake. Follow through on what you say you'll do. Treat them the same way you'd like to be treated. Don't : Hold them to unrealistic expectations. Manipulate them to get whatever you want. Treat them as an object instead of a person. Assume that you know how they'll feel or react. Don't rush a relationship. Lots of guys rush people into uncomfortable situations. By doing this, they not only alienate the lover but also keep themselves from getting what they want. Straight men know that when it comes to dating, the lady sets the pace: if she wants to rush into a whirlwind romance, he's usually game; if she wants to take things slower, he'll reassure her that he's there for the long-haul. By letting her set the pace, the man sets the relationship up for success and usually ends up richer in the bargain. This can apply to non-heterosexual relationships also but remember for all, the best thing in a relationship is the communication. Talk to your partner! Keep a little mystery in the tank. Being intriguingly puzzling can be very alluring and seductive to some. Being mysterious does not mean being the strong, silent type. It just means holding back a little for a later time, surprising with an unexpected skill, trait or gesture. | Know yourself. Be knowledgeable about something. Know when you've made a mistake and know when to say "I'm sorry. Know the man-code. Let go of self-destructive thoughts or customs. Clean yourself, even if you are living out in the woods. Exercise. Wear clothes that fit you. Don't use drugs as a crutch. Develop your own principles. Be ambitious in your own way. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Learn to make sacrifices for the people you love and care about. Be a good man. Use your inner gentleman. Don't kiss and tell. Always treat your significant other with respect. Don't rush a relationship. Keep a little mystery in the tank. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Acid-Stain-Concrete | How to Acid Stain Concrete | Before you acid stain concrete, cover the walls of your room with masking paper to protect them and use a chemical cleaner to thoroughly clean your concrete surface. Then, mix your acid stain and test it on a small area before you use a sprayer to apply it to the whole area. Wait 3-4 hours, then neutralize your stain with a 4:1 water-ammonia solution. Use a shop vacuum to clean up the floor before it dries. You can then finish your floor by applying several thin coats of sealant to protect the stain and a final coat of wax to protect the sealant. | Familiarize yourself with your concrete flooring. Concrete flooring that has been poured recently (in the last 10 years or so) is more likely to have been smoothed and troweled mechanically. What that means is that even though mechanically troweling the floors creates a nice, smooth top surface, it is too smooth for the acid stain to penetrate through. So, keep that troweling method in mind along with a few other conditions when figuring out if your concrete surface would be a good surface for acid staining: For concrete surfaces that are older, power-washed, or have been profiled using a machine, the surface of the concrete has to be virtually pristine before adding an acid stain. That means there should be no areas of damage revealing exposed underlying concrete or sand granules. If there are areas that are damaged, those areas are going to absorb the acid stain abnormally, and may cause areas of inconsistent coloring. The concrete slab should be free from waterproofing agents, or muriatic acid. The acid stain reaction cannot occur on surfaces treated with these products. You can usually tell if a concrete surface has a layer of waterproofing by performing a water test. All you do is pour water onto the concrete surface. If the water beads up and does not absorb into the concrete, it's treated with a waterproofing agent. If the water sinks into the concrete, your concrete should readily absorb acid stain. Familiarize yourself with the factors that can affect your acid staining. The current condition of the concrete is one of the biggest factors to consider when acid staining is the current condition of the concrete. An initial questions to ask yourself before staining is, “What's on the floor now?” Depending on the answer, your concrete surface could be ready for cleaning and a direct acid stain (meaning applying the acid stain directly onto the concrete surface in its current condition), or more floor prep (and possibly a surface modification) before the acid stain application. Some other factors that can affect your acid staining include different flooring material covering the concrete surface, how the concrete surface was troweled, if the concrete has ever been patched or repaired, and if there was carpeting, if the carpet underpad was glued onto the concrete. The ideal candidates for direct acid staining are usually new construction projects (where nothing has been applied to the concrete floor and it has been kept clean), and exterior projects. Remodels are harder, as any imperfections left behind from the previous floor covering (tile, linoleum, wood, carpet, laminate, etc.) will show up to some degree in the final acid stained concrete floor. Remodels mostly require more prep work before the acid stain application. Perform a water test to check for a sealer. Sprinkle or spray water in several places on the concrete surface. If the water beads and the color of the concrete doesn't change in the areas you sprayed, then a barrier (usually a sealer) is present on the concrete surface, and must be removed during the floor prep process. This barrier must be removed because it will prevent the acid stain from even penetrating the concrete surface. You can remove this barrier by sanding the top layer of the concrete, or applying a micro finish overlay on top of your concrete. These barrier removal steps may also require a combination of chemical cleansers to dissolve any additions made to the concrete's surface. Modify your concrete surface if necessary. Not all concrete surfaces will require this step, but for surfaces that have a chemical barrier on top of the concrete, are too smooth because they were machine troweled, or contain excessive contaminants from previous flooring, may all need some surface modifications. This is when sanding or a micro finish overlay may be required. Sanding the floor with a high-speed buffer and an 80-grit sanding pad provides a roughened concrete surface that helps ensure maximum adhesion of the acid stain. Sanding also helps to remove superficial contaminants like paint or surfaces stains, while removing the top layer of a sealer. After sanding, the entire floor will feel like sandpaper and the surface debris will all be sanded away. A micro finish overlay is a thin, smooth coat of concrete that resurfaces the floor to cover up defects left behind from previous flooring. This is because any residue from your previous flooring (carpeting glue, nail holes, tile adhesive outlines) can leave a “ghost image” that shows up later in acid staining process. A micro finish overlay is a little more expensive than a direct acid stain, but the resurfacing virtually eliminates all imperfections on the floor, and creates an even, covering over the original concrete that ends up looking a lot like leather. This step could get tricky for someone doing this project by themselves, and may require the professional assistance. Choose your concrete cleaner. Once you have made your concrete surface ready for proper acid staining absorption, you need to clean the concrete surface. There are a few different concrete cleaners that can rid your concrete surface of impurities in their own way. Knowing the differences between these cleaners will allow you to clean your concrete surface with a cleaner best suited for your surface's deposits. Consider using a pH-neutral cleaner. A pH cleanser is mild in nature, and are normally used for cleaning indoor concrete surfaces that are already sealed. These pH cleaners can also be used on unsealed exterior or interior concrete that only requires gentle, non-irritating cleaning. Consider using an acidic cleaner. These are the most popular types of concrete cleaners. Acidic cleaners are mainly used to get rid of staining, dirt contamination, and other contaminants that can be broken down by its acidic properties. Acidic stains come in ready-to-use applications or more concentrated solutions, and they are applied right onto any area that is affected by contamination. Acidic cleaners sometimes need to be scrubbed into the contaminated areas, and may even require more than one application. Consider using alkaline cleaners. Alkaline cleaners are mostly used to get rid of tough stains like oil, grease, or other hard to remove hydrocarbon-based stains. These cleansers are very effective in breaking down oily and greasy contaminates due to the high alkalinity. Alkaline cleansers reap the best results when the cleanser is scrubbed into the concrete stains. A big mistake people make when using this cleanser is not giving it enough time to work its magic and remove the stain. Depending on how bad the oil stain is and how far it has seeped into the concrete, you made need to apply this cleanser many times to fully eradicate the stain. Each application will require a sitting time of approximately 3 hours. Mask the walls. Protect your walls from getting acids stain on the bottoms and edges by covering them with masking paper. Cover all exposed walls by pulling the masking paper tightly across the wall (covering the areas closest to the floor), and securing the back of the paper to with wall with double sided tape (a piece of tape taped onto itself, sticky side out, making a loop). Spread the tape out about every 12 inches to ensure the masking paper is applied evenly. Clean the concrete surface thoroughly. For general-purpose cleaning, sweep the floor to pick up any superficial dirt, and then scrub the floor thoroughly with trisodium phosphate (TSP). To scrub the TSP, consider using a machine powered floor scrubber with a heavy duty nylo-grit scrubber designed for aggressive concrete cleaning. Then use an industrial wet vacuum to remove all water and debris. Remove caulk and mastic residue. Mastic and caulking compounds are incredibly difficult materials to remove from concrete. Use a putty knife or floor scraper to scrape and remove as much of the sticky substances as possible. Then use a chemical concrete chemical stripper to remove whatever leftover residue remains. Apply the cleaning agent to the concrete surface, and allow it to sit for approximately 1 hour, so it has time to soak into the concrete. Then, thoroughly rinse the surface with water, and clean up the water and debris with a wet vacuum. You can find a concrete chemical stripper at any home improvement store. Also consider using a poultice to remove mastic substances. To make a poultice, mix a fly ash or hydrated lime with denatured alcohol. This mixture makes a paste that can be added to contaminated areas. After you apply the poultice paste to the areas that have mastic residue, wait for the poultice to dry (close to an hour, maybe more depending on how thick you applied the paste), and then scrape off the now crumbling mastic debris with a putty scraper or stiff brush. Do a final cleaning of the floor. It's very important to clean the floor one more time after using all the chemical cleaners, to remove any and all remaining residue. Scrub the concrete surface one more time with TSP, and then follow up once more with a thorough washing and rinsing with clean water. After the final rinsing of the concrete, again, use a wet vacuum to pick up all the remaining water and leftover particles. Put on your safety equipment. Remember to use goggles, gloves and a ventilation mask while working with concrete acid stain. A activated charcoal respirator may be your best defense against fumes, especially with staining concrete in areas of poor ventilation, like basements. However, even basements should be has well ventilated as possible, using fans and open windows to circulate and draw in fresh air. Also consider wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants, combined with knee guards, in case you have to get on your hands and knees. Mix the acid stain. The acid stain mixture contains strong chemicals and fumes, so be sure to mix the stain somewhere outside, or in an area that has adequate ventilation. Pour the mixed acid stain into a plastic pump. Usually a two-gallon pump is sufficient, but be sure that it is made completely of plastic. It is important that the applicator or spray wand is also made of plastic rather than metal, because hydrochloric acid (one of the key ingredients in the acid stain), corrodes metal very easily. For floors that have been troweled and smoothed out by hand, dilute the acid stain with a 1:4 ratio of 1 part acid stain to 4 parts water. For floors that have been troweled by a machine, (which are mostly industrial or commercial flooring), the acid stain mixture will be more concentrated, with a 1:1 ratio of one part acid stain to one part water. When mixing and diluting the acid stain, you need to pour the acid into the water rather than pouring the water into the acid. This is because acids release a lot of heat when mixed with water. The water is added to the acid so you can start with a very diluted and weak acid mixture instead of adding water to the acid, and starting with a very strong acid mixture. Test a small area of concrete. Always apply a test sample of stain to a small, inconspicuous area of the concrete to be treated. Because so many variables can affect the final color, that's the only way to get an accurate preview of the finished look, and even then, the final outcome might look a bit different. Apply the acid stain to the concrete. Normally, the most effective and efficient way to apply acid stain to concrete is to use a sprayer. A sprayer helps to evenly coat the concrete surface while providing quick and complete coverage. It also helps to avoid creating puddles with the stain by spraying a large area at a time rather than smaller, more concentrated areas. The spraying container you use must to be made out of plastic, and have plastic parts (like the spraying tip). That's because the hydrochloric acid in the acid stain is highly corrosive to metal, and can cause a dangerous acidic reaction while ruining your sprayer. Start your spraying in a rear corner of the room so you can spray the entire floor and walk out of the area without walking on top the acid. Spray the acid stain with the spraying wand about a foot and a half above the ground. Consider using figure 8 patterns to spray the acid stain randomly but evenly, to thoroughly coat the floor with the stain. When you apply the acid stain, the lime deposits in the concrete are what react with the acid, giving the flooring its different coloring. Let the first coat of acid completely dry (about an hour) before adding a second coat. You can stop applying acid after the second coat, or keep adding coats until you get the coloring you want. Be very careful when walking around the stained area. Footprints from stepping in acid stain and then walking on unstained concrete can leave “burn” marks in the concrete (basically acid stains of shoe prints). Acid resistant spiked shoes (similar to soccer or golf shoes, and made with acid resistant stainless steel), are really helpful for walking around during the acid staining process, because they leave minimal shoe markings on the floor. The spikes cover less area, making foot prints a lot less visible and easier to blend into the rest of the acid stain. Don't expect color consistency or perfection. Variations are inherent in the staining process. Neutralize the applied stain. Wait until the chemical reaction of the acid stain is complete before you neutralize the staining. It generally takes a minimum of 3 to 4 hours after applying the acid stain for the full chemical reaction to take place. The neutralizing solution is a 4:1 ratio mixture of four parts water and one part ammonia. Spray this neutralizing mixture on the floor using a plastic pump sprayer like you did with the acid stain. After spraying the neutralizing solution, the floor will look like you are washing away the acid stain. Don't be alarmed, this is just the stain residue. The acid will have already reacted with the concrete. To scrub and properly neutralize the floor, use a broom that has stiff bristles (perhaps a broom with medium bristles - not too soft not too hard), or a slow-speed floor scrubber, and work the neutralizing solution across the entire concrete surface. You may need to perform many scrubbings to fully neutralizer the surface, especially if the acid stain used was a darker color. Clean up the floor. Use a clean mop or a big push brush with soft bristles to wash the floor and scrub off any extra water and neutralizing agent. Then, use a shop vacuum to immediately suck up the residue from the floor before it has time to dry. After you vacuum up the water and residue with the shop vacuum, you should have a general idea of how the acid coloring will look on the concrete. Allow the floor to dry completely before you add on your sealer. At this point in the process, there's not really a way to make touch ups to the floor. You will have an idea of how the finished floor will look, but until you add the sealer, the final product is still unpredictable. If there is any remaining amount of moisture on the floor before the solvent-based sealer is applied, the concrete will have a cloudy haze covering the entire floor. This haze can only be removed by stripping the sealer and reapplying. One of the easiest ways to check if the floor is moist is to use blue painters tape. Try to stick the tape to the floor. If the tape sticks, the floor is thoroughly dried. If not, the floor is still moist and needs more time to dry. Know what kind of finish you want on your concrete. Apply a sealer to seal in the acid stain and add a layer of protection to your concrete flooring. Adding a sealer can also help boost the appearance of the acid stain coloring. For interior acid staining projects, film-forming sealers (sealers that provide a protective top coat on the concrete surface) are the kind most often used. However, there are several different types of these sealers, and each type has its own benefits and restrictions. Consider using a penetrating sealer. These sealers include silanes, siloxanes, and silicates. These are mostly used on outdoor concrete surfaces because they provide excellent protection from harsh, outdoor weather conditions. Consider using an acrylic sealer. Acrylic sealers are used on both indoor and outdoor concrete surfaces. These types of sealers help bring out color from stained surfaces, and usually dry within an hour after application. They are available in both solvent-based and water-based formulas, but the solvent-based acrylics generally heighten color appearance better than their water-based counterparts. When acrylic sealers are used on indoor surfaces, they usually need many coats of wax (to act as a barrier), preventing scuffs from shoes and floor traffic. Acrylics normally wear faster than polyurethanes and epoxies. Consider using a polyurethane sealer. Polyurethane sealers are used mostly in places like restaurants or entryways because of their durable resistance to things like shoe markings and stains. These sealers come in a wide variety of shine levels, and have a clear finish once they dry. Consider using an epoxy sealer. Epoxies (which normally consist of a mixture of two highly protective compounds) form an extremely defensive coating on concrete surfaces. Since epoxies tend to yellow when exposed to UV rays, they tend to be confined to indoor concrete surfaces. Epoxies give a long lasting, durable finish while also being extremely water resistant. However, because of their nonporous nature, epoxies can sometimes trap water and moisture within the concrete. Seal the floor. Rather than applying one heavy coat of sealer, apply many thin coats. Sealers can be applied with either an applicator sprayer, or paint roller, but using a spray tends to be the easiest application method. If you use a sprayer, avoid spraying too much in one area and creating small pools of sealer. If you used a paint roller, push the sealer on the floor rather than pulling it. Pulling the paint roller will result in streaks across the concrete. Allow adequate drying time (normally about 1 hour) before adding addition coats of sealer. However, a second coat of the sealer must be applied within four hours of applying the first coat. After four hours of sitting time, the first coat of sealer is too hard for the second coat to bond properly. If you use a sprayer to apply your sealer, consider using a cone-shaped spray tip rather than a fan-shaped spray tip. Allow a minimum of 4 hours before subjecting the surface to foot traffic. Within 3-4 days, the sealer will be fully dried and ready for everyday wear and tear. Wax the concrete surface. To protect the sealant, it's best to apply a wax finish on top of the concrete flooring. The easier way to apply wax to the acid stained floor is using a mop and a mop bucket. Pour the wax into a mop bucket, wring out the mop so it's not dripping with wax, and then apply the wax on the concrete in figure 8 patterns. After you apply the first coat of wax and wait about a half hour for it to dry, you can take down all the parchment paper you used to protect the bottoms of the walls. If the masking paper pieces fall on a concrete floor that has just been sealed, hasn't had time to dry, and hasn't been waxed yet, they can stick to the floor practically like glue. However, if the pieces of parchment paper have the chance to fall on the wax coating, they can be picked up right away. Normally within an hour of applying the final wax coating, you should be able to walk on the concrete surface. However, you should wait at least 24 hours before you move any furniture onto the freshly waxed surface. The longer the wax gets to settle on the floor, the harder and more protective it becomes. Supplementary wax coats are usually applied every three to six months to ensure the finish continues to look its best. | Familiarize yourself with your concrete flooring. Familiarize yourself with the factors that can affect your acid staining. Perform a water test to check for a sealer. Modify your concrete surface if necessary. Choose your concrete cleaner. Consider using a pH-neutral cleaner. Consider using an acidic cleaner. Consider using alkaline cleaners. Mask the walls. Clean the concrete surface thoroughly. Remove caulk and mastic residue. Do a final cleaning of the floor. Put on your safety equipment. Mix the acid stain. Test a small area of concrete. Apply the acid stain to the concrete. Neutralize the applied stain. Clean up the floor. Know what kind of finish you want on your concrete. Consider using a penetrating sealer. Consider using an acrylic sealer. Consider using a polyurethane sealer. Consider using an epoxy sealer. Seal the floor. Wax the concrete surface. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Cope-With-Your-Father%27s-Death-(for-Young-People) | How to Cope With Your Father's Death (for Young People) | Losing your dad is one of the hardest things in life, but it will slowly get easier with time. If you feel like crying, let yourself cry so you're not bottling up your emotions. When you're feeling sad, remember happy memories you have with your Dad and look at pictures or videos of him. If you have questions about his life or death, ask your family members, so you can get the answers you need. You can also write your thoughts down to get them out of your head, if you don't want to talk to anyone. Although you might not feel like doing anything fun, make time to do normal things, like watching TV or playing with your friends, which will help you feel better. Adjusting to your new life will take time, but it will get better and eventually you'll start to feel like yourself again. | Seek answers from adults. Your dad's death may have left you with lots of confusion or unanswered questions. Though your mom or other relatives might be trying to protect you, it's understandable that you want to know the truth. Talk to your family and tell them what you'd like to know. You might say, “Hey Aunt Judy, I know everyone is saying that Dad got in a car wreck, but no one is saying how. I have a lot of questions. Can you answer them for me?” The more you know about the situation, the easier it will be for you to properly grieve. Don't be afraid to ask questions that you want or need to know the answer to. Cry it out if you need to. During this difficult time, try to spend some time each day just being sad. Crying can help you grieve by getting your emotions out. Don't be embarrassed to show how you're feeling, even if you have to cry in front of others. They'll understand. Sometimes, you might also feel numb or completely in shock, and that's okay, too. If you can't cry, don't force yourself. Just take some time to be alone with your thoughts. Spend time reminiscing. Take some time to reflect on all the memories you have of your father. Pull out some photo albums and remember him as he was. This will probably make you feel sad, and that's normal. You'll also feel moments of happiness as you reflect on good times. Reflect especially on the times you spent alone with your dad. Remember that those memories are special because they are only between the two of you. If you have painful or difficult memories of your dad, try not to feel guilty. It is normal for some people to feel angry during grief. Talk to your siblings if you have any. Though it's nice to talk to adults during this time, sometimes conversations with others can be more helpful. If your dad had other kids, talk to them, especially if you're around the same age. They'll be able to understand your pain better than anyone because he was their dad, too. Write down your thoughts. Writing can help you release all of the pent-up feelings you may have. At the end of each day or when you're having a really tough moment, jot down your feelings on paper. Sometimes, getting your thoughts out can be just the release you need to feel better. For instance, you might write, “I just had a breakdown because I was shopping and saw some fishing gear and Dad always loved fishing. I wish I could fish with him again.” Express your feelings in creative ways. Maybe you don't really feel like talking about your dad right now, or maybe you feel more angry than sad. You can find other ways to get your emotions out. You might choose to draw, paint, listen to music, or reorganize your room. Just do what feels right to you. Try drawing or coloring memories that you have with your father. You might choose to create images that would have been meaningful to your father. For example, if your father loved to fish, you might draw a lake. Pick a few items of his to keep. There are probably a few really important things of your dad's that you'd like to have. Having some of these things can help you feel close to him and can keep his memory alive. For instance, you might want to keep your dad's high school ring, one of his ties, or a book he used to read to you. Ask for some time off from school if you need it. If you're still in grade school, you might find that it will be hard to focus while you're coping with the loss. Ask your mom or guardian if you can stay out of school for a week or so. Though you'll still be dealing with your dad's death then, some of the shock will have worn off. You can say, “Hey Mom, I know that school starts back on Monday, but I just don't feel ready. I'm still really sad and I'm afraid I'll cry in class. Can I have a few days off?” If you have to go back to school, try to take it day by day. Tell your teachers what happened and take notes so you can stay focused. Find ways to honor your dad on important days. After your dad's death, his birthday, Father's Day, or other major holidays may be really tough for you. Instead of dreading these days, do something for your dad instead. Plan a family dinner where you all can share stories about how funny he was. You can also do something that he always enjoyed doing, like playing baseball or volunteering. Try not to be alone on these days since they can be really tough. It might be hard to face important holidays, but try to do it. Actively remembering your father on these days will help the healing process go faster, not slower. Remember that it's not your fault. Sometimes, when people close to you die, you might blame yourself. You might be thinking, “If I were better to my dad, maybe he'd still be here.” Remember that there is nothing you could have done to prevent this and it's not your fault! It's normal to wish your dad were still here, but don't beat yourself up about things you didn't do or can't change. If you had a fight with your father in his last days, remember that your father would have forgiven you. Try not to blame yourself. Talk to people you trust. Try not to isolate yourself during this time. Talking about the loss of your dad can really help you cope. Find a few people you can confide in about how you're feeling and have them on speed dial for the particularly bad days. You might choose to talk to your mom, grandparent, sibling, guidance counselor, or friend. For instance, you might call up a friend who lost her mom a while back. You can say, “Hey, I know you lost your mom a few years ago. I guess I always knew my dad would die one day, but this was so sudden. I didn't get to tell him goodbye and I'm having a hard time with that.” If you try to talk to someone whose parent recently passed, be aware that they might not be ready to talk about it yet. Spend time with friends and family. Though alone time is necessary, too much of it during this period can be isolating. Try to be alone for no more than three hours during the day. Instead, spend some time with your family and friends, particularly those who were close to your father. You'll be able to help each other get through it. If you need some time alone, that's OK too. Try to balance alone time with social time. This will give you have room to heal without isolating yourself from your loved ones. Ask your family for stories about your dad. Though you may have known your dad well, there are probably lots of cool stories you don't know. Take some time to find out some things you didn't know from people who knew him before you were born. For instance, his siblings might have some funny or interesting stories about him. Accept and ask for help when you need it. If your friends reach out to you offering assistance with something, let them help you! This is a hard time for anyone, so if you need a little help, that's okay. That's what friends and family are for. For instance, if you're hungry and your friends offer to bring you lunch, accept it! You can return the favor one day when they're in need. Also, if you need help, ask! You can say, “Hey Sara, would you mind coming over to study with me for the math exam? My brain has been all over the place since my dad died and I could use a little help.” Find a support group in your area. Support groups provide space for you to share your feelings on your dad's death and learn from the perspective of others. It can be helpful during this time to be around others who know exactly how you're feeling, so look for support groups in the area. For instance, you might search “grief support groups” or “loss of a parent support groups” online to see if there are any local results. If you can't find any support groups in your area, consider finding one online and chatting with other folks in similar situations. Get help from a professional counselor if you think you're depressed. This loss of a father can be heart-wrenching, so it's okay if you need a little (or a lot) of extra support. If you're feeling like you have no one to talk to or think you might be depressed, get some help. There are many therapists trained to help you get through this. If you're in school, there is probably a social worker, guidance counselor, or therapist on staff who can help walk you through this. Take care of yourself physically. Just as your mental and emotional health is important, so is your body. You may have lost your appetite lately or feel that it's impossible to get to sleep. Try to have three meals a day, even if they're small. Drink a lot of water so you don't get dehydrated. If you can't sleep, try taking a relaxing bath before bedtime and cutting out caffeine after 12 PM. Exercise is great, too! It gets your endorphins going and is a natural mood booster. Try to exercise at least three times a week for thirty minutes. You can start out small by walking around your block. Incorporate fun back into your life slowly. Even though you might not feel like doing anything fun right now, plan at least one thing per day. You can start off small by watching a TV show you like or having ice cream. As time goes on, you'll eventually feel like doing more, like going to the beach or dancing again. Help others in need. You've probably needed quite of bit of help and support from others lately. Once you start feeling a bit better, begin returning the favor. Got a friend who is moving soon? Help them pack. Or perhaps there is a clothes drive in your neighborhood for those in need. Lend a hand! Begin to find a greater purpose through service to others. Give it time. Even when you manage to have a good day, it might be followed by two bad ones. You might make a lot of progress only to wake up one night crying your eyes out because you miss your father. You are not alone and your feelings are normal. Coping with your father's death is a lifelong process and it's something that no one can ever get over completely. But you're going about it in the most healthy way possible, so hold your head up! | Seek answers from adults. Cry it out if you need to. Spend time reminiscing. Talk to your siblings if you have any. Write down your thoughts. Express your feelings in creative ways. Pick a few items of his to keep. Ask for some time off from school if you need it. Find ways to honor your dad on important days. Remember that it's not your fault. Talk to people you trust. Spend time with friends and family. Ask your family for stories about your dad. Accept and ask for help when you need it. Find a support group in your area. Get help from a professional counselor if you think you're depressed. Take care of yourself physically. Incorporate fun back into your life slowly. Help others in need. Give it time. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Determine-Order-of-Reaction | How to Determine Order of Reaction | To determine the order of reaction in a chemical equation, identify the rate equation from the reaction. Identify the order of each reactant based on its exponent, but do not include reactants with an exponent of 0. Add the order of all of the reactants together to find the overall reaction order. This number is usually less than or equal to 2. | Identify the rate equation from the reaction. The rate equation can help you determine the order of the reaction. This equation shows the increase or decrease of a particular substance with respect to time. Other equations related to the chemical reaction will not help you identify the order of the reaction. Identify the order of each reactant. Each reactant listed in the rate equation will have an exponent of either 0, 1, or 2 (above 2 is very rare). That exponent denotes the order of that reactant. Looking at each exponent: A zero means that the concentration for that reactant has no bearing on the rate of reaction. A one means that increasing the concentration of this reactant will increase the rate of the reaction in a linear way (doubling the reactant doubles the rate). A two means that the rate of the reaction will increase by the square of the increased concentration (doubling the reactant will increase the rate by four times). Zero order reactants are often not listed in the rate equation, since any number to the zeroth power is equal to one. Add the order for all reactants together. The overall order of a reaction is the sum of each reactants' orders. Add the exponents of each reactant to find the overall reaction order. This number is usually less than or equal to two. For example, if reactant one is first order (an exponent of 1) and reactant two is first order (an exponent of 1) then the overall reaction would be a second order reaction. Find the variables that create a linear graph of the reaction. A linear graph refers to a graph that has a constant rate of change. In other words, the dependent variable will change as much in the first second as it does the second, third, and so on. A linear graph looks like a straight line on the page. Graph concentration of reactant versus time. This will indicate how much reactant remains at any given point during the reaction. If this graph is linear, it means that the concentration of the reactant has no bearing on the rate at which the reaction proceeds. In this case, the reactant is a zeroth order reactant. Plot the natural log of the concentration of reactant versus time. If graphing the natural log of the reactant results in a linear graph, the reactant is a first order reactant. This means that the concentration of the reactant impacts the rate of reaction. If the graph is not linear, you must graph test for a second order reaction. Make a graph of [1/concentration of reactant] versus time. A linear graph of [1/concentration of reactant] indicates a second order reaction. This means that the rate of the reaction will increase by the square of any increase in reactant. If this graph is not linear, you must try graphing zeroth and first order reactions. Find the sum of the order for all reactants. Once you have found a linear graph for each reactant, you will know the order of each reactant. This allows you to calculate the overall reaction order. Add all reactant orders together. This is your reaction order for the whole reaction. Determine the order of a reaction when doubling either reactant results in a doubling of the rate. You must know that if doubling the concentration of a reactant causes the rate to double, then that reactant is of the first order. In this case, both reactants are first order. The sum of two first order reactants is a second order reaction. Find the order of a reaction in which doubling both reactants leads to no change in rate. If changing the concentration of a reactant produces no change in rate, that reactant is said to be of the zeroth order. In this case, both reactants are of the zeroth order. Reacting two zeroth order reactions gives you an overall reaction order of zero. Determine the order of a reaction in which doubling one reactant quadruples the rate. The reactant that impacts the reaction rate is of the second order. The second reactant has no impact on rate and is of the zeroth order. The sum of orders is two, thus this is a second order reaction. | Identify the rate equation from the reaction. Identify the order of each reactant. Add the order for all reactants together. Find the variables that create a linear graph of the reaction. Graph concentration of reactant versus time. Plot the natural log of the concentration of reactant versus time. Make a graph of [1/concentration of reactant] versus time. Find the sum of the order for all reactants. Determine the order of a reaction when doubling either reactant results in a doubling of the rate. Find the order of a reaction in which doubling both reactants leads to no change in rate. Determine the order of a reaction in which doubling one reactant quadruples the rate. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-an-English-Bulldog | How to Care for an English Bulldog | To care for an English bulldog, feed it twice a day, making sure to provide a high protein dog food with slowly digestible carbs like sweet potatoes and barley. Along with a healthy diet, take your dog for short walks throughout the day, but make sure you don't overwork it since bulldogs have lower energy levels than most other breeds. Additionally, use anti-fungal wipes to clean between its folds every day to prevent skin diseases like yeast intertrigo. You should also avoid bathing your dog more than twice a year to help the skin retain its natural oils. | Wipe between your dog’s folds with an anti-fungal wipe. Because English bulldogs' skin is layered in folds, it is susceptible to diseases like yeast intertrigo, a condition which leads to itchy rashes on the skin. Wiping between your dog's folds one time each day will prevent this. Choose the right wipe for your dog's skin. Use a nontoxic anti-fungal wipe. Try to choose one with many natural ingredients like cucumber and chamomile. Avoid wipes that have many chemicals and additives. If you have concerns, ask your vet for a recommendation as to which anti-fungal wipe is best for your dog. Begin cleaning your dog’s skin folds early. If you wait until your dog has already developed a rash within its skin folds, it will cause your dog pain when the skin is finally cleaned. Start daily cleaning with your dog from the time it is a small puppy. Familiarize your dog with the cleanup process by having it sit in the same spot every time you begin the cleanup. Make the cleaning process enjoyable for your dog. If your dog comes to associate cleaning within its skin folds with pain, your job will be that much harder, and cause your dog undue stress. Give your doggie a treat both before you begin the cleaning process and after the process is complete. This way, the dog will come to associate having its skin cleaned with positive feelings and the knowledge that it will soon be rewarded. With one hand, part the folds and use your other hand to apply the wipe gently to the skin within. You will probably need to wipe the same area several times, moving the wipe in overlapping swipes along folds of your dog's body. You may need several wipes to complete the job, but your dog will thank you and remain healthy. Be sure to wipe its back, tummy, legs, and face. Healthy bulldog skin is smooth and soft. Check your dog's face for irritation. Facial skin should be loose and wrinkly, but should not hang off the face. Check the belly for redness or signs of itching. If present, these may be signs of springtime allergies. Keep an eye out for signs of irritation. If your doggie is having skin troubles, it will let you know. If you see your dog constantly scratching, rubbing, or biting itself, this is a sign that your dog's skin is irritated. Nasty odors -- especially those emanating from the face, groin, ears, and stomach -- might also be signs of irritated skin. You might also observe a brown discharge coming out from between the folds of your dog's skin. When you observe that your dog's skin may be irritated, investigate why and take proactive steps to solve the problem. Contact the vet. If you cannot help your bulldog with its irritating skin problems despite your best efforts, contact your vet. Vets are specially trained to deal with severe problems like infected, itching, and dry skin. Bathe your dog once or twice each year. If you bathe your dog more frequently, you could remove the natural oils which protect its skin. Of course, if your dog starts to smell or has a romp in the mud, bathing is the only option. Generally, though, avoid bathing your dog often. Use tear-free shampoo and work it into your dog's skin folds when bathing. Lather the shampoo and let it sit for a minute or two before rinsing. Feed your puppy frequently. Young bulldogs need several small meals throughout the day. Your puppy may need to eat up to four times a day as a puppy. Your dog will increase its weight rapidly -- possibly by as much as seven to eight times its birth weight -- within its first twelve months of life. Puppies generally need about 20-70 calories per pound of body weight. For instance, if your pup weighs ten pounds, it will need between 200 and 700 calories each day, depending on its activity level. Don't just leave food out for your puppy. Even though it needs to eat more frequently than an adult bulldog, it is still susceptible to overeating. Removing bowls of food after your puppy has finished will keep it healthy. Change your dog’s diet slowly. Do not change your bulldog's diet until it is at least three to four months old. After obtaining your bulldog (of any age), wait at least two weeks before changing its diet. After two weeks, gradually introduce new foods into its diet and alternate new foods with its standard diet. Monitor your dog's reaction. If it has soft or excessive stool, switch back to the old diet, then try again later to introduce a different new food after two more weeks. Feed your adult bulldog more as it matures. The caloric needs of your bulldog will depend on its age and activity level. After about 18 months, your bulldog should be treated nutritionally as an adult. Older dogs usually need about 937 calories per day. Typical adult bulldogs need around 1,145 calories each day. A very active English bulldog could need as much as 1,300 calories in a day. While puppies require four meals each day, an adult will usually eat just twice each day. Use the nutrition label on your dog food to calculate how many calories your doggie is taking in. Adult bulldogs can weigh anywhere from 45 to 55 pounds, however, each dog's ideal weight varies depending on frame size. Learn to body score your dog so you can monitor the fat cover over the dog's rib and backbone, and decrease their ration if necessary. Talk to your vet about how much your pet should weigh. Feed your bulldog a nutritious diet. Your bulldog should receive a healthy balance of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals. There are many commercial dog foods available which can satisfy your dog, and some dog foods that are designed specifically for bulldogs. Look for a dog food that is nutritious and ask your vet if you have specific concerns about what your dog is eating. Avoid dog foods that are predominately carbs like corn and sugar. Dog foods that include high protein contents and slowly-digestible carbs like sweet potatoes and barley are good choices. Feed your dog both food and water out of stainless steel bowls. Do not use plastic. Keep your bulldog within a healthy weight. If your bulldog is overweight, it may have heart, hip, and breathing problems later in life. Obesity also increases your dog's chances of developing cancer by as much as 20%. You can keep its weight down by feeding it only moderate meals and providing opportunities for regular light exercise like going for walks at the park, or romps at the local dog park. Feed your bulldog small kibbles so that it eats slowly. This will prevent both overeating and gas. Give your dog some variety in its diet. While table scraps can often upset a bulldog's tummy, there are many ways to include new foods and make fun changes to your dog's meals. For instance, your bulldog might enjoy apple cinnamon drops. To make apple cinnamon drops, you'll need a large apple, a quarter cup of honey, a half cup of water, a half teaspoon of cinnamon, one cup of oatmeal, one and a half cups of flour, plus another eighth of a cup of flour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and mince the apple into small pieces. Combine the apple bits, water, oatmeal, and cinnamon into a dough by mixing together in a large mixing bowl. Place individual spoonfuls of the dough on an ungreased baking sheet spaced about two inches apart. Place the eighth of a cup of flour in a small bowl. Rub the bottom of a flat-bottomed cup in the flour and stamp the spoonfuls of dough down on the baking sheet. Bake for fifteen minutes, then remove and flip each apple cinnamon drop over. Bake for another fifteen minutes. Then, reduce heat and bake for thirty minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid toxic foods. There are many foods that humans find yummy but are toxic to bulldogs. For instance, grapes, raisins, beer, raw bread dough, chocolate or anything caffeinated, garlic, and onions should never be consumed by dogs. English bulldogs, like all dogs, should especially avoid alcohol, grapes, and raisins. Foods that are nonfatal but may irritate your bulldog include peas, beans, milk, and fatty or spicy foods. Check your dog’s eyes often. There are many problems that can develop in your dog's eyes. Look closely at your dog's eyes each day and monitor any unusual changes. Wipe away crusty bits or goop that often accumulates in the corners of bulldogs' eyes. If you notice a heavy crusty layer and excessively runny eyes, take him to a vet. If your dog's eyelids are rolling inward, it might have entropion, a condition that can lead to tearing, squinting, and ulcers in the eye. If your dog's eyelids are sagging or appear to be rolling down, your dog might have ectropion. Your dog might display signs of dry eyes by blinking with unusual frequency. If you observe any of these symptoms, or any other unusual eye problems in your dog, take it to a vet immediately. Feed your dog foods high in beta-carotene. Beta carotene strengthens the eyes. Foods high in beta-carotene are hard to find in dog food. However, adding small portions of foods high in beta carotene to your dog's diet can keep its eyes healthy. Sweet potatoes and carrots, for instance, are good sources of beta carotene and dogs love them. Look out for cherry eye. Cherry eye is a common problem in English bulldogs. The red swelling is a tear gland that has prolapsed forward. It should be kept well lubricated to prevent secondary infections. While it does not usually cause pain for your dog immediately, if it gets infected, it may. To treat cherry eye, take your dog to the vet. They will recommend the best course of treatment for your dog, whether that's a surgical procedure, as is usually recommended, or simply showing you how to keep the gland lubricated. Dogs eight weeks old or younger usually get cherry eye. In older dogs, surgery may be necessary to correct cherry eye. This procedure involves repositioning the gland back in its original place. Provide light exercise for your dog. English bulldogs are notoriously low-energy animals. Still, they require exercise to stay healthy. Take your dog on short walks around the block as often as possible. As your dog builds stamina, extend the length of the walks. When the weather is nasty, throw a ball for your dog to chase, or play tug of war with it inside the house. Giving your dog a chance to move also gives you and your dog time to bond. Your dog might also enjoy playing with other doggies at the local dog park. Be patient when training your English bulldog. They can be trained, but getting there can be difficult. Start slowly when training your English bulldog. Don't expect it to learn tricks as fast as your other dogs. Practice a trick for a short time each day -- ten to fifteen minutes per session -- and keep at it. Don’t overwork your dog. English bulldogs have lower energy levels than other dogs. Their small bodies perform well when going on short walks or playing around the house, but have a hard time running long distances or engaging in vigorous exercise. English bulldogs have flattened noses and so find it more difficult to breathe. It is important to be cautious in hot weather as they are prone to heat stroke. Take them on gentle walks in the cooler parts of the day, stick to the shade, and provide them with plenty of water. Work within the confines of what your dog wants to do. If it is panting heavily or seems lethargic, don't push it to run around or exercise. Neuter or spay your dog. Dogs that are neutered or spayed are less aggressive and easier to control than dogs that are not. A neutered/spayed dog is more focused on you than other dogs, and feels less obligated to prove its dominance to you or other dogs. Talk to your vet about setting up an appointment to neuter/spay your dog. Neutering/spaying has many other positive benefits, such as as lower licensing fees, reduced chance for prostrate disorders, and reduced chance for testicular cancer. Keep your dog cool. English bulldogs have weak respiratory systems and have even greater difficulty breathing in hot, humid weather. During the hot season, keep your doggie in air-conditioning. Monitor your dog when it plays outside on hot days to ensure it doesn't tire itself out. Do not leave your dog in a hot house or car. Give your English bulldog lots of attention and love. Bulldogs thrive off attention from their owners, and it'll help form a bond that will last as long as your Bulldog lives. Let the dog bond with you. | Wipe between your dog’s folds with an anti-fungal wipe. Begin cleaning your dog’s skin folds early. Make the cleaning process enjoyable for your dog. Keep an eye out for signs of irritation. Contact the vet. Bathe your dog once or twice each year. Feed your puppy frequently. Change your dog’s diet slowly. Feed your adult bulldog more as it matures. Feed your bulldog a nutritious diet. Keep your bulldog within a healthy weight. Give your dog some variety in its diet. Avoid toxic foods. Check your dog’s eyes often. Feed your dog foods high in beta-carotene. Look out for cherry eye. Provide light exercise for your dog. Be patient when training your English bulldog. Don’t overwork your dog. Neuter or spay your dog. Keep your dog cool. Give your English bulldog lots of attention and love. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Obtain-a-Copy-of-Your-High-School-Diploma | How to Obtain a Copy of Your High School Diploma | If you've lost or damaged your high school diploma, you can easily obtain a new copy. If your high school has a website, look for an online record request. If you can't find one, call or email your school to request a copy of your diploma. You may have to fill out an official form and you'll usually have to pay a small processing fee. Alternatively, you can request a copy of your diploma directly from your school district or your state's Department of Education websites. If you can't find a records request page, call or email the district or Department of Education. Whichever method you use, you should receive your diploma by mail within a few weeks. | Look for an online record request system on your school’s website. Search the name of your school online, being as specific as possible. Some high school names are not unique, so adding information about the location of your school can help you find the right website. The website may have a page for information about requesting student records. Call or email the school if their website doesn’t have information about getting records. Your school's website may not have a page for requesting records, but it will have details about contacting them. If your school has a registrar, contact them directly. If not, get in touch with an administrative assistant and ask them to point you in the right direction. Request a copy directly from the school or ask where you can get one. Some schools issue copies of diplomas themselves, but others do not. In those cases, you will be directed to a different agency, most likely a school district office or a state's Department of Education. If you can request a copy from the school, they will explain the process to you. Fill out request forms if applicable. You may have to fill out an official request form, either in paper or online. Commonly, these ask for just some basic information, such as your name, address, date of graduation, and signature. If you now live in a different city or state, you can either print the forms from the Internet or request to have them mailed to you. Pay the processing fee, if required. Expect to pay a small fee to get your copy, usually somewhere between 5 and 15 dollars. If you're mailing in the official request, expect to need either a money order or certified check, rather than a basic personal check. Online systems usually accept credit or debit cards. Wait several weeks to receive your copy in the mail. Diploma copies are almost always sent by mail. Do not expect to receive an electronic copy unless you're told otherwise. Plan to wait between 2 and 3 weeks on average for your request to be processed and delivered. Your school should be able to tell you the average processing time. Find how to request a copy on your school district’s website. If your school has closed down since you graduated or they could not help you, get in touch with the office of the school district. Their website should be easy to find through an Internet search. Find your state’s Department of Education website if you can’t reach the district. Even if you can reach your school district, there's a chance they'll refer you to the Department of Education, if they handle diplomas in your state. If you'd like, you can try contacting your Department of Education before contacting your school district. The agency that handles these requests varies from place to place. Departments of education usually have websites that are easy both to find and to navigate. Find the records request page if there is one. You might find this page under an unexpected heading in the site directory. On the page for the New York Department of Education, for instance, the information about requesting diplomas is under a section titled “High School equivalency.” If you can't find the information you need by navigating the website, try a Google search for something like “Tennessee Department of Education copy of diploma.” Call or email the Department of Education if you have questions. The school district or Department of Education website should have contact information if you need additional help. Most likely, the listed number will call an administrative assistant, who can redirect you to the person you need to speak with. Fill out any required forms. Once you have learned about the specific process for your school district or state, simply follow the guidelines. As with requesting a copy from your high school, there will usually be both a form you need to fill out. In most cases, it will ask you for basic information, like your name, mailing address, year of graduation, and your signature. Pay the processing fee. Most of the time, the Department of Education or the school district will charge you a processing fee. Typically, it is somewhere between 5 and 15 dollars. Be prepared to provide a money order or certified check if you're mailing the forms in. You often cannot use a personal check. If you're paying online, you should be able to use a credit card. Wait 2-3 weeks to receive a copy of your diploma. Almost always, this will be mailed to you. Only expect an electronic copy if you are specifically promised one. It will take the Department of Education or the school district about 2-3 weeks on average to process your request and send your copy. | Look for an online record request system on your school’s website. Call or email the school if their website doesn’t have information about getting records. Request a copy directly from the school or ask where you can get one. Fill out request forms if applicable. Pay the processing fee, if required. Wait several weeks to receive your copy in the mail. Find how to request a copy on your school district’s website. Find your state’s Department of Education website if you can’t reach the district. Find the records request page if there is one. Call or email the Department of Education if you have questions. Fill out any required forms. Pay the processing fee. Wait 2-3 weeks to receive a copy of your diploma. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Tack-Up-Using-English-Tack | How to Tack Up Using English Tack | Before you tack up a horse using English tack, brush its coat to remove any potentially-irritating dust or mud, and clean its hooves with a hoof pick in case there are any painful stones or debris stuck in them. Then, place a saddle pad on your horse's back, followed by a saddle, and attach the girth to the billets on each side of the saddle so it stretches under your horse's belly. Next, place the reins over your horse's head, and place the bit in its mouth. Finally, bring the headpiece over its ears, and buckle the throat latch and noseband. | Attach a halter and a lead rope to your horse. Approach your horse calmly and allow it to sniff your hand. Slip the noseband over your horse's nose and buckle the crown piece just behind the ears. Clip the lead rope to the tie ring that's under your horse's chin. You can now lead your horse to where you want to tack up. Secure your horse with a quick-release knot. It's important that your horse is safely secured while you are grooming and tacking up. Make a loop in your horse's lead rope and bring it around the hitching post. Then make another loop, this time in the part of the rope by your horse, and pull this second loop through the first. Make a third loop in the loose end of the rope and pull this through the second loop. Tighten the knot by gently tugging on the part that connects to your horse and release the knot by pulling on the free end of the rope. Quick-release knots are the safest option to use. These knots will stay tight if your horse pulls against them, but can easily be released if you pull the loose end. Groom your horse to remove any dust or dry mud from its coat. Use a body brush to groom your horse's coat, paying the most attention to where the saddle pad, girth, and bridle will go. Use a dandy brush on any areas of stubborn mud. Remove all of the dirt and make sure that your horse is clean before you begin tacking up. Dirt that is stuck between your horse's skin and the tack can cause irritation and pain. A body brush is a soft-bristled brush that can be safely used all over your horse. A dandy brush is a hard-bristled brush that should only be used for removing excess dirt and hair. Don't use a dandy brush on your horse's legs or face, as these areas are too sensitive. Clean all 4 of your horse's hooves with a hoof pick. Stand next to your horse's body, facing its tail. Run your hand down its leg, squeezing gently to get your horse to raise its hoof. Support the hoof with your inside hand and use your outside hand to remove any dirt or small stones with the pick. Pick out your horse's hooves until they are clear. Be careful not to hurt the center of your horse's hoof, the frog, with the hoof pick. Always make sure that your horse has clean hooves before you begin riding. If your horse has any stones in its hooves, this can cause injuries. If your horse is wearing shoes, this is a good opportunity to check that none are loose. Contact your farrier if you find any problems with your horse's shoes. Place the saddle pad on your horse’s back. Position the saddle pad so that the front of the pad rests on the withers. Make sure that the saddle pad rests flat on both sides and isn't folded or tucked in, as this could hurt your horse. The withers are on the top of your horse's back where the mane stops and the shoulder blades meet. The saddle pad is higher up than it needs to be, however, once you saddle your horse it will slide down slightly into the right position. Place the saddle on the saddle pad. Lift the saddle up and gently rest it on your horse's back. Line up the front of the saddle, the pommel, with the front of the saddle pad. Slide the saddle back carefully by 1–2 in (2.5–5.1 cm) until it settles and doesn't slide back easily any further. Pull the top of the saddle pad up slightly so that it touches underneath the pommel and looks like a small tent. If they aren't already, slide the stirrups up on the straps before you place the saddle on your horse. This stops the stirrups from hitting your horse's sides. English saddles are much smaller and lighter than Western saddles. This is because English saddles are designed to give the rider closer contact with the horse, whereas Western saddles are designed for comfort during long rides. Buckle up the girth. Attach the girth to the billets on the right side of the saddle first, by simply buckling it in place. Then move to the left side of your horse and reach under its belly, grasping the girth gently. Bring the girth under your horse's stomach, making sure that it rests flat, and buckle it to the billets on the left side. Tighten the girth on the left side slowly until it feels snug. Billets are the straps that connect the saddle and the girth. These are buckled together. Some horses take a big breath to expand their stomachs as you tighten the girth. Wait for 10 seconds and check the girth again. You may need to tighten it a little further. English saddles tend to have 2 billets whereas Western saddles often have just 1 latigo (the Western equivalent of a billet). Undo the halter noseband. You need to move the halter out of the way before you begin putting the bridle on your horse. Unbuckle the noseband but leave the halter still attached around your horse's neck. This means that the horse is still secured, but the halter is out of the way of the bridle. Hold the bridle in your right hand and place the reins over your horse’s head. Stand on the left side of your horse and gently bring the reins over its face to rest on the neck. Keep holding the rest of the bridle as you adjust the reins. The bridle is a piece of equipment that goes on your horse's head, helping you to communicate during riding. It has a reins that you hold, a headstall that is fitted to your horse's head, and a bit which sits in your horse's mouth. English bridle reins are designed to be held with both hands while riding, whereas Western reins are only held in 1 hand. Place the bit in your horse’s mouth. Keep holding the bridle in your right hand and bring your right arm under your horse's head to the front of its face. Using your left hand, place your fingers on either side of the bit and gently guide it into your horse's mouth. Bring the headpiece up and over your horse’s ears. Hold the top of the bridle and place it over each ear. Make sure that it rests flat behind your horse's ears and that none of the straps are twisted. Try to work gently so that you don't tug unnecessarily on the bit. When the bridle is correctly placed, all of the straps will be flush against your horse's face. Pull your horse's fringe neatly over the browband. Buckle up the throat latch and noseband snugly. Reach under your horse's cheek and bring the throat latch over to the left side. Buckle it under the cheek, making sure that it feels snug. Find the noseband buckle under your horse's face, just up from the nose and buckle this gently too. Make sure that you can fit 3-4 fingers in between your horse, the throat latch, and noseband. This means that the bridle isn't too tight. Take off the halter. Undo the quick-release knot in the lead rope and unbuckle the halter from your horse's neck. You can lead your horse using the reins. Ensure your horse is tacked up correctly before you mount. Make sure that the bridle and reins are resting flat, aren't too tight, and none of the straps are twisted. Check that the saddle pad and saddle are snug-fitting and in the correct position. Make any adjustments if you need to. Check the girth to make sure that it's tight. Place 2 fingers between your horse's belly and the girth. Make sure that the girth feels very snug and tighten it again if you need to. If you aren't sure if the girth is tight enough, gently tug on the saddle. It will move if the girth is too loose. Mount your horse. When you have checked all of the tack and tightened the girth, you and your horse are ready to go riding! Use a mounting block to get into the saddle or lift yourself up using the left stirrup and gently swing your right leg over. Always hold the reins as you mount to keep both you and your horse safe. | Attach a halter and a lead rope to your horse. Secure your horse with a quick-release knot. Groom your horse to remove any dust or dry mud from its coat. Clean all 4 of your horse's hooves with a hoof pick. Place the saddle pad on your horse’s back. Place the saddle on the saddle pad. Buckle up the girth. Undo the halter noseband. Hold the bridle in your right hand and place the reins over your horse’s head. Place the bit in your horse’s mouth. Bring the headpiece up and over your horse’s ears. Buckle up the throat latch and noseband snugly. Take off the halter. Ensure your horse is tacked up correctly before you mount. Check the girth to make sure that it's tight. Mount your horse. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Train-a-Horse-to-Walk-Through-Water | How to Train a Horse to Walk Through Water | To train an adult horse to walk through water using a tarp, start by laying a tarp on the ground and placing an orange cone at each corner. Then, stand on one side of your horse, and lead it across the tarp by the reins. Do this several times, going back and forth across the tarp. Once your horse seems comfortable crossing the tarp, move the orange cones to a shallow body of water that's about 3-feet deep, and practice walking your horse across it. As your horse gets more comfortable walking across water, gradually expose it to deeper waters up to a level that reaches the middle of its chest. If your horse is still hesitant, try starting out in even shallower water, like a large puddle. | Train your horse to do a half-halt. A half-halt is a horseriding maneuver that briefly slows your horse's pace and prepares it to make a new movement or change in speed. Teaching your horse to half-halt requires using the saddle, your legs, and hands. Squeeze the reins gently a few times. This will alert your horse to pay attention to you. Once your horse begins to slow, add another cue. Keep your upper body rigid, tall, and motionless. Let your weight settle into your legs. Use your legs to give your horse a light squeeze around its sides. Hold your legs in this slight squeeze for two or three paces before giving your horse its next command. If your horse isn't responding to your cues, try the half-halt again a few steps later. A successful half-halt results in an alteration of your horse's gait. Train your horse to recognize cautionary cues. Walk your horse around its pen and slow it down while saying, “Hold,” “Easy,” or another verbal cue. Repeat your verbal cue of choice every time you slow your horse. This way, your horse will come to associate the word you selected with the action of slowing down and moving more cautiously. Start your horse out young. The best way to train a horse to cross water is to get it used to the feel of wading into water when it's young. By the time the horse is an adult, walking through water will be second nature to the horse. A foal cannot, obviously, cross water at the same depth that a larger adult horse can. Train young horses in a wide puddle of only a few inches deep. This early training will build up the horse's confidence and make it comfortable with being in the water. Gradually increase the amount of water the horse trains in. Help your horse conquer its fear. If your horse is truly uncomfortable with water, walk it and train it near a garden hose. After your horse can adequately perform all your commands near the garden hose, turn the hose on, allowing just a trickle to come out. Continue training near the garden hose, slowly increasing the flow of water from the hose over time. Once the water is coming out of the hose at its maximum rate, expose your horse to more direct sources of water such as a sprinkler system. Start training your horse at a distance from the sprinkler that the horse is comfortable with, and gradually move your horse toward the sprinkler during training sessions. Teach the horse that water is fun. Lead your horse into deeper water, especially on hot summer days. Many horses enjoy splashing and playing in pools and rivers. When your horse has a positive association with water, getting it to walk through water will be easy. Prepare the tarp for the horse. Using a tarp to train horses to cross the water is simple and painless. The tarp will imitate the surface that the horse will encounter when walking through water. Lay a 6' x 6' (2 meters x 2 meters) tarp on the ground. Place an orange traffic cone on each corner. Walk across it several times so your horse can see that it is a safe and secure surface. The traffic cones are designed to keep your horse moving in a straight path over the tarp. Some trainers use a wooden rail instead. If you use a wooden rail to guide your horse, ensure it can be later moved and assembled easily at a site of actual water. This method can be used with a horse of any age, but is most appropriate for older horses who have not had much exposure to water. Lead the horse onto the tarp. Stand on one side of the horse. Holding your horse's reins in one hand, slowly lead your horse across the tarp. This will help the horse learn to trust you and build up its own confidence. Don't stand in front of the horse, or it will think that the goal of the exercise is to come toward you. Let your horse sniff and explore the tarp before it walks across. Train your horse barefoot on the tarp. If your horse is shod, its horseshoe might catch on the tarp, and cause the horse to panic. Trade the tarp with actual water. Once your horse can comfortably walk across the tarp with two cones on each side, remove the tarp and bring the horse to a large shallow body of water about three feet (one meter) deep. Place two cones in front of the water. Guide your horse into the water while standing at one side. Over time, you can gradually expose your horse to deeper waters, up to a level that reaches the middle of its chest. If your horse is hesitant to jump in water even one meter high, start out with a wide puddle just a few inches deep. Work your way up from there. Start small. Before riding through water of any significant depth or distance, you should walk your horse through lots of shallow water. Water that is even just a few inches deep can help acclimate a horse to the process of walking through water. Walk your horse through shallow water, then trot it back through again. Repeat frequently to build your horse's confidence. Let your horse relax around the water. When your horse first enters the water, it might snort and show general reluctance to jump in. It might get in and out of the water a few times before it's ready to make the crossing. Let your horse take a few minutes to drink if it chooses to. This will show the horse that water is a friend, not something to be feared. Your horse might also left and right along the length of the river or lake before it jumps in. Sometimes it helps to have an experienced horse go across a stream first and let your horse follow it. Ease your horse forward. Once your horse has acclimated to the presence and feel of the water, begin crossing the stream. Give your horse a slight nudging in the side with your legs to get it moving forward. With each step your horse takes toward the water, release the pressure of your legs on the horse's sides. This will keep it moving in the right direction. If necessary, dismount and lead your horse through the water, standing at its side just as you would have during the tarp training. However, you must never lead your horse from the front. This is a recipe for disaster. The horse can easily crush you, if it gets anxious or alters its speed. Be patient with your horse. Doing so will only lead to accidents and injury for your and your horse. Use verbal cues and half-halts to keep you and your horse safe. If your horse feels pressured or scared, he might bolt or make a big, dangerous jump straight into the water. If your horse is being excessively hesitant, take it for a quick walk around the area. Walk it up and down the shore, or just walk it in a tight loop several times. This will help the horse burn off its nervous energy. Your horse will indicate its readiness to walk through the water when it lowers its head, blows out through its nostrils, and gently mouths the bit. Guide your horse cautiously. If you can see through the water, keep your horse away from larger, jagged rocks that might trip him up. Support your horse's head with both reins to keep him from veering off in one direction or another. If you encounter large slabs of rock, have your horse cross them closer to their middle, not their edges. If your horse steps on a large rock slab's edge, the rock might wobble. Your horse will probably have a few slippages on rocky stream beds. When this happens, comfort and reassure your horse by patting its mane and saying things like, “You're okay,” or “Easy.” Use a route with a flat, broad bank. If the bank into or out of the water is steep, crumbling, or strewn with loose rocks and roots, it offers many more risks than a bank that is part of a flat, clear, well-trod route. The bank should be easily visible from the shore, free of dense foliage, and composed of sand or dirt. Check the water. The current should not be too strong and the water should not be too deep. Avoid walking your horse through water right after a heavy rain, or during the spring. Know the depth of the water before crossing. Water that reaches just above your knees is the ideal height for walking a horse through. Many well-trod horse trails that cross water have a post sticking up out of the water at their deepest point indicating the water's depth. Cross at the narrowest points of the river or stream. The route will be easier when you choose to cross a body of flowing water that is relatively narrow. Well-trod paths have usually been selected for repeated use for the very reason that they are the narrowest points in a river for some distance. If you're forging your own path, however, look for rivers and streams where the banks of each side are closest to each other. For instance, if you're crossing a river that is 30 feet (10 meters) wide, but upstream you can cross at a point where the river is only 20 feet (6.6 meters) wide, head upstream to make your crossing. There are limits to this rule. Water crossings should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) wide. Crossing water of a distance less than that could cause the horse to try to make it across in a single jump. | Train your horse to do a half-halt. Train your horse to recognize cautionary cues. Start your horse out young. Help your horse conquer its fear. Prepare the tarp for the horse. Lead the horse onto the tarp. Trade the tarp with actual water. Start small. Let your horse relax around the water. Ease your horse forward. Be patient with your horse. Guide your horse cautiously. Use a route with a flat, broad bank. Check the water. Cross at the narrowest points of the river or stream. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Watch-the-Star-Wars-Series | How to Watch the Star Wars Series | If you want to watch the Star Wars series in the order it was released, start with episodes IV, V, and VI so you'll understand the story's context and politics from the start. Then, follow up with episodes I, II, and III to get the main characters' backstories. Make sure to pay extra attention to keep the characters and plot straight. Alternatively, use the more popular chronological order, in which you start with Episode 1 and work through to Episode 6 so the plot develops naturally. | View the films in the order they were released for the original experience. If you want the authentic experience of seeing the films in their original order, watch them in the order that they were released. This is considered by many fans to be the best method for viewing the Star Wars films, but there are several downsides. The tone shift from Return of the Jedi to The Phantom Menace may be jarring, and the narrative can get kind of confusing since you're watching the films out of narrative order. If you're planning on watching the movies with younger children, starting with the older films may be kind of tough if they're used to contemporary animation. Start by viewing the original trilogy. Starting with 1977's A New Hope and ending with 1983's Return of the Jedi , view the original trilogy first. The original films are considered to be classics by critics and fans alike, and starting with the iconic Luke Skywalker's storyline is an excellent way to begin the series. There are 2 different versions of the original trilogy: the original release, and the 1997 remastered version. The remastered version isn't narratively different—it has all the same characters and plot points—but the animation is updated. This may be a good choice if you're watching with younger viewers, although film purists tend to shy away from the updated versions. Watch the prequels after you’ve finished the original trilogy. Once you've completed Luke Skywalker's story arc, move on to the prequels. Start with The Phantom Menace , then watch Attack of the Clones. Close out the second trilogy with Revenge of the Sith to complete Darth Vader's backstory and learn about Luke's origin. You'll also get to see Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker when they were kids, which is fun if you like making connections between films. The prequels aren't essential to understanding everything that happens in the original trilogy, and their tone is radically different than the other Star Wars films (they're goofier and emphasize the comedy). Some adult viewers that are interested in the action and main story opt to cut the prequels altogether. The prequels take place narratively before the original trilogy, meaning that the events in these films happened before the start of 1977's A New Hope. This can become a tough narrative to follow if you're taking long breaks between viewings, since the events at the end of the last prequel ( Revenge of the Sith ) lead into the first film ( A New Hope ). View the Disney releases in order, including the “Stories” if you want. Once you're done with the prequels, watch the newer Disney films. Start with The Force Awakens and follow it with The Last Jedi. Close out the series with The Rise of Skywalker. You can watch Rogue One after The Force Awakens and Solo after The Last Jedi if you want, but those 2 films are called “stories” and are inessential to the main story if you want to skip them. The Force Awakens , The Last Jedi , and The Rise of Skywalker are collectively called the “sequel trilogy.” They're an extension of the main story line from the prequels and the original trilogy. Rogue One and Solo are called “stories” because they both have the subtitle A Star Wars Story. They provide some context and backstory for the main films, but they aren't mandatory viewing. It's totally up to you whether you want to include them or not, although they're critically considered to be solid additions to the Star Wars universe. Opt to view the films chronologically to fully understand the story line. One of the major downsides of watching the films in the order that they were released is that the narrative can become hard to follow. This is especially a problem when going from the first trilogy to the prequels and from the prequels to the sequel trilogy. To make the story easier to follow, rearrange the order that you watch the films to put the story in chronological order. Since the prequels tend to be a little goofier and lighter than the other films, this is a good choice if you have younger kids that you want to share the films with. It'll also make the story easier to follow, which can be a problem for younger viewers. Start the series by watching the prequels first. To watch the films in chronological order, go back to the beginning of the narrative arc when Darth Vader was still a kid. Start with The Phantom Menace and watch Attack of the Clones next. Finish the prequels off by watching Revenge of the Sith. One of the downsides to this method is that it places the prequels first. The prequels are almost universally considered to be the worst films in the canon, and viewers with a more critical eye may be turned off to the entire endeavor if they start with the prequels. Watch Solo, followed by Rogue One, after Revenge of the Sith. Solo and Rogue One are optional, but if you want to include them, watch them after the last prequel. They'll provide some interesting backstory for a few key players in the original trilogy, and they're generally considered to be good films. You won't be totally lost if you choose to skip them though. Rogue One is largely about the origins of the Death Star and the Empire's first foray into conquering the universe. Solo is Han Solo's backstory, and you'll learn a lot about Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and the Millennium Falcon. See the original trilogy after the prequels or the “stories. ” After you've wrapped up the prequels and either seen or skipped the stories, watch the original trilogy. A New Hope picks up right where Revenge of the Sith ends, so you'll have an easier time identifying key characters, knowing every character's motivation, and tracking the events as they unfold in the story. One of the upsides to watching chronologically is that the Empire's violent behavior makes a little more sense at the beginning of the A New Hope. Unfortunately, the big twist at the end of The Empire Strikes Back won't be as surprising since it's explained thoroughly in the prequels. This is considered to be the biggest downside of watching in chronological order. Watch the Disney films to catch up to the most recent events. Close out your viewing experience by watching the sequel trilogy. Watch The Force Awakens , The Last Jedi , and The Rise of Skywalker to finish the Star Wars films. The events in the sequel trilogy contain a lot of references to the original trilogy, and many of the characters from those original films make an appearance. Go with the Rinster order to enhance the impact of Return of the Jedi. This viewing order is named after Ernest Rinster, the fan who invented it. The goal of this viewing order is to preserve the twist ending at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Essentially, you start with the first 2 films in the original trilogy and then watch the prequels before watching the third film. This is sort of a compromise between the chronological order and the release date order, and treats the prequel films like a long flashback before finishing the original trilogy. For many diehard fans of the Star Wars films, this is the best way to view the films since it reduces the role of the prequels by treating them like a long flashback. This also preserves the clarity of the narrative while increasing the emotional impact of the final film in the original trilogy. It will also increase the emotional impact of Return of the Jedi since you'll be more invested in Vader's backstory. Watch the first 2 films in the original trilogy. To follow the Rinster order, watch A New Hope first. Then, follow it up with The Empire Strikes Back. Once you've completed the first 2 films in the original trilogy, hold off on the final film and set it aside for later. Insert the prequels before finishing the trilogy with Return of the Jedi. After you finished The Empire Strikes Back , throw on the prequel trilogy. Watch The Phantom Menace , Attack of the Clones , and Revenge of the Sith. The Empire Strikes Back ends with a big reveal relating to Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's relationship, and the prequels are all about Darth Vader's youth and his descent into villainy, so you'll know a lot more about Vader and Luke when you finish with Return of the Jedi ! Since Return of the Jedi ends right before the climax of the original trilogy, you should have a pretty easy time following what's going on when you come back to the originals. Watch the contemporary Disney films, saving Rogue One and Solo for last. Finish up with the sequel trilogy, which follows Rey, Kylo Ren, and Finn—new characters that are the spiritual successors to Luke, Vader, and Han Solo. Many of the characters in the original trilogy show up in these films, so you'll have a blast seeing how their characters develop as they get older! Save Rogue One and Solo for last if you want to watch them. With the Rinster order, Rogue One and Solo serve kind of like separate stories that aren't related to the main narrative arc. This keeps the order faithful to the intended purpose of the films, since Rogue One and Solo aren't intended to be core parts of the main story. Slot Rogue One in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back for more backstory. If you're watching chronologically or using the Rinster order, you can watch Rogue One after A New Hope but before The Empire Strikes Back if you'd like. Rogue One provides ton of context for the Death Star and the nature of the Rebellion's motivation for fighting the Empire, which will enrich the viewing experience of The Empire Strikes Back. The nature of the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire is sort of left unexplained in the original films. The Empire are simply taken to be evil and the Rebellion is assumed to be good. Rogue One gives a lot of background information about why these 2 factions are fighting in the first place. Watch Rogue One and Solo before starting the original trilogy for tons of context. If you're watching chronologically or with the Rinster method, you can choose to watch both of the optional films first. Doing this reveals a lot of the backstory in the original trilogy, and watching these films first won't ruin any plot points or reveals since they're not necessary to understanding the main story. The actual order of these 2 films doesn't matter if you're watching them first. Remove The Phantom Menace to streamline the Rinster Order. This method is commonly referred to as the “machete method” because it cuts the first prequel film, which many fans believe is the weakest film in the canon. This is a good choice if you want to streamline the story, since The Phantom Menace doesn't add a ton of important information to the story and most of the events are inconsequential to the other films. The Phantom Menace is visually interesting, but the story is often criticized as being boring and silly. If you're into action and cool set pieces though, it's not a bad viewing experience. Watch the prequels last and pretend they’re a flashback. Many diehard fans dislike all of the prequels, and choose to put them at the very end of the series to keep the tone, story, and tempo of the original and sequel trilogy consistent. You can even choose to cut them altogether if they don't seem like something you're interested in! | View the films in the order they were released for the original experience. Start by viewing the original trilogy. Watch the prequels after you’ve finished the original trilogy. View the Disney releases in order, including the “Stories” if you want. Opt to view the films chronologically to fully understand the story line. Start the series by watching the prequels first. Watch Solo, followed by Rogue One, after Revenge of the Sith. See the original trilogy after the prequels or the “stories. Watch the Disney films to catch up to the most recent events. Go with the Rinster order to enhance the impact of Return of the Jedi. Watch the first 2 films in the original trilogy. Insert the prequels before finishing the trilogy with Return of the Jedi. Watch the contemporary Disney films, saving Rogue One and Solo for last. Slot Rogue One in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back for more backstory. Watch Rogue One and Solo before starting the original trilogy for tons of context. Remove The Phantom Menace to streamline the Rinster Order. Watch the prequels last and pretend they’re a flashback. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Biting-Your-Fingers | How to Stop Biting Your Fingers | If you tend to bite your fingers when you're bored or anxious, there are a few tricks to help you stop. Try painting your nails and fingertips with a bitter-tasting nail polish, vinegar, or lemon juice, which will be unpleasant when you bite your fingers. You can also cover your fingertips with bandages or clear tape to protect your skin and remind you not to bite. If you catch yourself getting stressed, take some deep breaths to help distract you from biting your fingers. If nothing works and you're damaging your fingers, talk to a doctor to explore professional treatment options, like cognitive behaviorial therapy or medication. | Learn to anticipate when you're going to bite. If this is a relatively new habit, start by thinking harder about when you're about to bite. Figure out what feelings lead to the impulse. By being more aware of what you're doing, you might be able to catch yourself before you bite. Next time you raise your finger to your mouth, stop and think. Ask yourself what you're feeling in the moment you raise your finger to your mouth. In most cases you'll feel anxious or bored. Other signs of anxiety include shallow breathing, a faster heartbeat, and sweating. Next time you have that same bored, nervous, or anxious feeling, you'll consciously realize what's going on. You can put down your finger before you bite. Cover your nails with bandages. If you're having trouble catching yourself before you bite, try using bandages on your fingertips. Wrap an adhesive bandage around each fingertip to completely cover it. Wear the bandages throughout the day so that each time you bite, you get a mouthful of bandage. The unpleasantness of biting into a bandage, as well as the feeling of self-consciousness and embarrassed you may feel about wearing bandages in public, can help you get rid of your habit. For a more discreet option, try using clear tape. You could also cover just the fingertips you tend to bite most often. You could also wear gloves to cover your fingers. Use a bitter-tasting nail polish. This works for nail biters and finger biters alike. Get a bitter tasting nail polish, also called a "nibble inhibitor." Paint your nails with the product. Use a generous amount and allow it to cover the skin around your nails as well. When you put your fingers in your mouth, the bad taste will repel you. You could also try a different bitter substance, like vinegar or lemon juice. Or rub your fingertips with a mixture of coconut oil and cayenne pepper. Just be very careful not to touch your eyes. Keep your fingers and mouth busy. If your fingers and mouth are otherwise occupied, you won't be able to pursue your habit. Keeping your fingers and mouth busy is also called the "competing response technique." After using it for a few weeks, your impulse to bite your fingers should go away. To keep your mouth busy, chew gum, eat breath mints or hard candy, or carry a water bottle that you sip every few minutes. To keep your fingers occupied, try doodling, knitting, folding your fingers together or sitting on your hands. Take it one finger at a time. Some biters find it helpful to focus on keeping one finger "safe" at a time. Choose the finger you're most likely to bite. Consciously focus on not biting that finger. You're allowed to bite the others, but that one is safe. After a week or two, you'll see what a difference it makes to leave one finger alone. Your safe finger will not be swollen, bloody or otherwise damaged. It will look healthy in comparison to the rest. Seeing this difference can be motivation to stop biting all of your fingers. One by one, keep more of your fingers "safe" until you're no longer biting any of them. Try progressive muscle relaxation. This is a physical technique you can use to relieve stress and distract yourself from finger biting. When you feel yourself getting anxious in a given situation, try this to resettle yourself. It also works if you're feeling bored. Start by tensing the muscles in your arms as hard as you can. Breathe in as you do this. Hold your muscles tight for five seconds. Exhale and relax your muscles. Stay relaxed for 15 seconds. Tense another muscle and inhale for five seconds. You could tense your back muscles, abdomen, thighs, calves, and so on. Exhale and relax for 15 seconds. Continue until you have tensed and relaxed all of your main muscle groups. The urge to bite should have subsided. If it hasn't, repeat the process. You may need to rotate between muscle groups for ten or more minutes. Do a deep breathing technique. Deep breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, is a known stress relief technique. Studies show that it can be used to help put an end to many types of bad habits. When you feel the urge to bite your fingers, use this technique: Sit or stand up straight with your shoulders back and your head upright. Take a slow, controlled breath that fills out your abdomen. Your stomach should move out when you inhale. If only your chest moves, your breathing is too shallow, and you need to focus on inhaling more deeply. Exhale and let your belly recede. Continue deep breathing in this way for at least five minutes, or until the urge to bite your fingers passes. Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is another word for being fully in the present moment. It's easy to get distracted by bored or anxious thoughts. When you're mindful of what's going on in the present, you're less likely to unconsciously bite your fingers. Practice mindfulness as often as possible, since it gets easier with time. When you feel your thoughts wander in an anxious direction, focus on your physical senses. Think about what you see, taste, hear, feel and smell right now. Keep focusing on the present moment until the urge to bite passes. If you're having trouble getting your mind into the present, try looking down at your fingers and flexing them. Try alternative medicine treatments. If your finger biting seems related to a larger problem with anxiety, alternative medicine may work for you. Speak with an alternative health practitioner about which treatments might be best for your situation. Here are a few popular choices: Acupuncture. This is the ancient Chinese practice of inserting needles into certain areas of the body. Some studies have shown that acupuncture can be a helpful treatment for anxiety. Hypnosis. This involves working with a practitioner to tap into your unconscious mind and take steps to relieve anxiety. Meditation and yoga. Studies show that these practices are helpful in getting in better touch with your body and treating the physical and mental symptoms of anxiety. Try making lifestyle changes. Certain lifestyle habits can make anxiety worse, contributing to the state of mind that leads you to bite your fingers. Addressing anxiety by making simple changes can go a long way toward helping you kick a bad habit. Try doing the following: Eat a nutritious diet. Studies show that whole grains, almonds, maca root and blueberries can help with anxiety. Avoid foods high in refined sugar. Cut back on alcohol and caffeine. Both of these substances have properties that can make anxiety worse. Regular exercise releases endorphins that reduce anxiety. Getting plenty of sleep is another important way to reduce your anxiety and sense of well being. Get a diagnosis for dermatophagia. Dermatophagia is a psychological condition similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you feel that your finger biting is uncontrollable no matter what, you may have this treatable condition. The symptoms of dermatophagia are as follows: Bleeding skin. When you have dermatophagia, you bite the skin around your nails so much that it causes bleeding. Skin discoloration is common. Hangnails and other nail damage may occur. The fingertips may be calloused from excessive biting. Seek the help of a therapist. If you have dermatophagia, it's important to get outside help to deal with the condition. Like obsessive compulsive disorder, it's very difficult to cure this on your own. Make an appointment with a therapist who knows what the disorder is and has experience treating your condition. A therapist will be able to help you figure out if your condition is caused by anxiety, and treat the underlying problem. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of therapy that focuses on the relationship between thoughts and behavior. This has been found to be very helpful in treating anxiety disorders. Seek out a support group, either in person or online, for extra help in dealing with the disorder. Consider medication. Make an appointment with a psychiatrist to explore whether medication could be the right choice for you. Some anxiety disorders respond very well to medications in addition to psychotherapy. Depending on your needs, a psychiatrist may prescribe one of the following types of medications: Antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) Buspirone Benzodiazepines | Learn to anticipate when you're going to bite. Cover your nails with bandages. Use a bitter-tasting nail polish. Keep your fingers and mouth busy. Take it one finger at a time. Try progressive muscle relaxation. Do a deep breathing technique. Practice mindfulness. Try alternative medicine treatments. Try making lifestyle changes. Get a diagnosis for dermatophagia. Seek the help of a therapist. Consider medication. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Say-Beautiful-Girl-in-Spanish | How to Say Beautiful Girl in Spanish | The best way to say “beautiful girl” in Spanish is to say “mujer hermosa,” which translates to very beautiful woman. When speaking to a young girl, you can say “preciosa niña,” which means beautiful young girl. To describe any girl as beautiful, say “bella chica,” or beautiful girl. | Choose a word for “beautiful. ” If you're trying to make your intentions clear, you may want to use a word that is slightly suggestive. There are may words to choose from, so you can pick one that feels like it gets your message across. "Atractiva” means, “attractive.” "Preciosa” means, “beautiful.” "Hermosa” means, “very beautiful.” "Mona” means, “cute.” "Deslumbrante” means, “stunningly beautiful.” "Guapa” and “linda” are also ways of saying a woman is good looking. "Bonita" means, "pretty." Choose a word for “girl. ” You might want to use a word that means “girl,” or you might want something more adult. You can use a translation of “woman,” or something that translates more directly to, “young woman.” "Chica” means girl, but can be used casually to describe an adult woman. In Mexico, you can say, “muchacha” to mean a young woman. "Mina” is a colloquial way to refer to a young woman. You can also use “mujer,” which means, “woman.” Use your words in a flirtatious phrase. Even if your Spanish isn't very good, you can put together a short phrase or sentence, rather than simply saying “beautiful girl.” Think about the kind of message you're trying to get across, and look up how to say something along those lines. You can find flirtatious phrases in language books, but they may be cliche or come off as canned. You can say something like, “¿Cómo se siente al ser la chica mas bella en esta sala?” This translates to, “What does it feel like to be the most beautiful girl in this room?” To be more dramatic or poetic, you could say, “Y entonces la vi, la chica preciosa con la que había soñado toda mi vida.” This translates to, “And then I saw her, the beautiful girl I had dreamed of my whole life.” Pick an appropriate word for “girl. ” There are different words that you can use depending on how old the girl is and what your relationship is to her. Make sure to choose a word that is appropriate, so that you don't sound disrespectful. "Niña” means “young girl.” The tilde, or squiggle over the “n” means that the “n” is pronounced like “ny.” So the word would be pronounced, “neen-ya.” "Joven” is a more formal way of referring to an adolescent girl. "Chica” or “muchacha” is a more casual way of referring to an adolescent girl or young woman. "Hija” literally translates to “daughter,” but can be informally used to refer to any young girl who you would consider your own, such as your daughter. Pick a word for “beautiful. ” Choose something that is age-appropriate. Consider the context of your comment. Are you telling the parents that they have a beautiful baby daughter? Or are you complimenting a young woman on her quinciñera? "Bonita” is a very literal translation of, “beautiful.” "Bella” and “preciosa” are nice ways to describe a beautiful young girl. Put together an appropriate phrase. If you're looking at a new infant or young child, you may only need to say, “What a beautiful little girl!” However, if you're talking to a young girl, you may want to say more. To parents, you can say, “Tu hija es muy hermosa.” This means, “Your daughter is very beautiful.” You could say, “¡Qué niña tan hermosa!” This means, “What a beautiful little girl!” Pick a generic term for “girl. ” There are many words that translate to “girl.” If you're not sure exactly what the context is, you'll want to pick a word that could most easily translate to a number of different situations. "Chica” is a word that is used very frequently to refer to little girls as well as young women. This is a good bet in many situations. Remember that Spanish is spoken in many different countries. Each country has different slang words, and uses the language a little differently. Find out the local lingo for "girl." Choose a word for “beautiful. ” If you want to refer to someone as beautiful without implying that you're attracted to them, you'll want to stay away from suggestive words. This is also useful if you don't know the age of the girl being spoken about. "Bella” is a common colloquial way of saying “beautiful.” You can also use, “linda” or “bonita.” Combine the words. In Spanish, the adjective generally comes after the noun. In English, we say, “the beautiful girl.” However, in Spanish, you would say, “la chica bella.” In this case, “la chica” is the noun (the girl). “Bella” is the adjective (beautiful). You can experiment with building sentences, such as “You are a beautiful girl,” or, “Eres una chica hermosa.” | Choose a word for “beautiful. Choose a word for “girl. Use your words in a flirtatious phrase. Pick an appropriate word for “girl. Pick a word for “beautiful. Put together an appropriate phrase. Pick a generic term for “girl. Choose a word for “beautiful. Combine the words. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Find-the-Area-of-a-Quadrilateral | How to Find the Area of a Quadrilateral | Before you can find the area of a regular quadrilateral, start by identifying the type of quadrilateral in the problem, since different types of quadrilaterals require different equations. For rectangles or rhombuses, simply multiply the base by the height to find the area. For squares, multiply one side by itself to get the area. If you have a parallelogram, multiply the diagonals and divide by 2 to get the area. To find the area of a trapezoid, add the base and the height together, and divide that number by 2 times the height. | Know how to identify a parallelogram. A parallelogram is any four-sided shape with two pairs of parallel sides where the sides across from each other are the same length. Parallelograms include: Squares: Four sides, all the same length. Four corners, all 90 degrees (right angles). Rectangles: Four sides; opposite sides have same lengths. Four corners, all 90 degrees. Rhombuses: Four sides, all having the same length. Four corners; none have to be 90 degrees but opposite corners must have the same angles. Multiply base times height to get the area of a rectangle. To find the area of a rectangle, you need two measurements: the width, or base (the longer side of the rectangle), and the length, or height (the shorter side of the rectangle). Then, just multiply them together to get the area. In other words: Area = base × height , or A = b × h for short. Example: If the base of a rectangle has a length of 10 inches and the height has a length of 5 inches, then the area of the rectangle is simply 10 × 5 (b × h) = 50 square inches. Don't forget that when you're finding a shape's area, you will use square units (square inches, square feet, square meters, etc.) for your answer. Multiply one side by itself to find the area of a square. Squares are basically special rectangles, so you can use the same formula to find their area. However, since a square's sides all have the same length, you can use the shortcut of just multiplying one side's length by itself. This is the same as multiplying the square's base by its height because the base and height are simply always the same. Use the following equation: Area = side × side or A = s Example: If one side of a square has a length of 4 feet, (t = 4), then the area of this square is simply t , or 4 x 4 = 16 square feet. Multiply the diagonals and divide by two to find the area of a rhombus. Be careful with this one — when you're finding the area of a rhombus, you can't simply multiply two adjacent sides. Instead, find the diagonals (the lines connecting each set of opposite corners), multiply them, and divide by two. In other words: Area = (Diag. 1 × Diag. 2)/2 or A = (d 1 × d 2 )/2 Example: If a rhombus has diagonals with a length of 6 meters and 8 meters, then its area is simply (6 × 8)/2 = 48/2 = 24 square meters. Alternatively, use base × height to find the area of a rhombus. Technically, you can also use the base times height formula to find the area of a rhombus. Here, "base" and "height" don't mean you can just multiply two adjacent sides, however. First, pick one side to be the base. Then, draw a line from the base to the opposite side. The line should meet both sides at 90 degrees. The length of this side is what you should use for height. Example: A rhombus has sides of 10 miles and 5 miles. The straight-line distance between the 10 mile (16.1 km) sides is 3 miles (4.8 km). If you want to find the area of the rhombus, you would multiply 10 × 3 = 30 square miles. Be aware that the rhombus and rectangle formulas work for squares. The side × side formula given above for squares is by far the most convenient way to find the area for these shapes. However, because squares are technically both rectangles and rhombuses as well as squares, you can use those shapes' area formulas for squares and get the correct answer. In other words, for squares: Area = base × height or A = b × h Area = (Diag. 1 × Diag. 2)/2 or A = (d 1 × d 2 )/2 Example: A four-sided shape has two adjacent sides with lengths of 4 meters. You can find the area of this square by multiplying its base times its height: 4 × 4 = 16 square meters. Example: A square's diagonals are both equal to 10 centimeters. You can find this square's area with the diagonal formula: (10 × 10)/2 = 100/2 = 50 square centimeters. Know how to identify a trapezoid. A trapezoid is a quadrilateral with at least two sides that run parallel to each other. Its corners can have any angles. Each of the four sides on a trapezoid can be a different length. There are two different ways you can find the area of a trapezoid, depending on which pieces of information you have. Below, you'll see how to use both. Find the height of the trapezoid. The height of a trapezoid is the perpendicular line connecting the two parallel sides. This will not usually be the same length as one of the sides, because the sides are usually pointed diagonally. You will need this for both area equations. Here's how to find the height of a trapezoid: Find the shorter of the two base lines (the parallel sides). Place your pencil at the corner between that baseline and one of the non-parallel sides. Draw a straight line that meets the two base lines at right angles. Measure this line to find the height. You can also sometimes use trigonometry to determine the height if the height line, the base, and the other side make a right triangle. See our trig article for more information. Find the area of the trapezoid using the height and the length of the bases. If you know the height of the trapezoid as well as the length of both bases, use the following equation: Area = (Base 1 + Base 2)/2 × height or A = (a+b)/2 × h Example: If you have a trapezoid with one base of 7 yards, another base of 11 yards, and the height line connecting them is 2 yards long, you can find its area like this: (7 + 11)/2 × 2 = (18)/2 × 2 = 9 × 2 = 18 square yards. If the height is 10 and the bases have the lengths of 7 and 9, then you can find the area simply by doing the following: (7 + 9)/2 * 10 = (16/2) * 10 = 8 * 10 = 80 Multiply the midsegment by two to find the area of a trapezoid. The midsegment is an imaginary line that runs parallel to the bottom and top lines of the trapezoid and is exactly the same distance from each. Since the midsegment is always equal to (Base 1 + Base 2)/2 , if you know it, you can use a shortcut for the trapezoid formula: Area = midsegment × height or A = m × h Essentially, this is the same as using the original formula except that you're using "m" instead of (a + b)/2. ' Example:' The midsegment of the trapezoid in the example above is 9 yards long. This means we can find the area of the trapezoid simply by multiplying 9 × 2 = 18 square yards , just like before. Know how to identify a kite. A kite is a four-sided shape with two pairs of equal-length sides that are adjacent to each other, not opposite each other. Like their name suggests, kites resemble real-life kites. There are two different ways to find the area of a kite depending on which pieces of information you have. Below you will find how to use both. Use the rhombus diagonal formula to find the area of a kite. Since a rhombus is just a special kind of kite where the sides are the same length, you can use the diagonal rhombus area formula to find a kite's area as well. As a reminder, diagonals are the straight lines between two opposite corners on the kite. Like a rhombus, the kite area formula is: Area = (Diag. 1 × Diag 2.)/2 or A = (d 1 × d 2 )/2 Example: If a kite has diagonals with lengths of 19 meters and 5 meters, then its area is simply (19 × 5)/2 = 95/2 = 47.5 square meters. If you don't know the lengths of the diagonals and can't measure them, you can use trigonometry to calculate them. See our article on finding the area of a kite for more information. Use the lengths of the sides and the angle between them to find the area. If you know the two different values for the lengths of the sides and the angle at the corner between those sides, you can solve for the area of the kite with the principles of trigonometry. This method requires you to know how to do sine functions (or at least to have a calculator with a sine function). See our trig article for more information or use the formula below: Area = (Side 1 × Side 2) × sin (angle) or A = (s 1 × s 2 ) × sin(θ) (where θ is the angle between sides 1 and 2). Example: You have a kite with two sides of length 6 feet and two sides of length 4 feet. The angle between them is about 120 degrees. In this case, you can solve for the area like this: (6 × 4) × sin(120) = 24 × 0.866 = 20.78 square feet Note that you need to use the two different sides and the angle between them here — using the set of sides with the same length won't work. Find the lengths of all four sides. Does your quadrilateral not fall into any of the tidy categories above (for instance, does it have sides with all different lengths and zero parallel sets of sides?) Believe it or not, there are formulas you can use to figure out the area of any quadrilateral, regardless of its shape. In this section, you will find how to use the most common one. Note that this formula requires knowledge of trigonometry (once again, here is our basic trig guide. First, you must find lengths of each of the quadrilateral's four sides. For the purposes of this article, we will label them a , b , c and d. Sides a and c are opposite from each other and sides b and d are opposite each other. Example: If you have an oddly-shaped quadrilateral that doesn't fit in any of the categories above, first, measure its four sides. Let's say that they have lengths of 12, 9, 5, and 14 inches. In the steps below, you'll use this information to find the shape's area. Find the angles between a and d and b and c. When you're working with an irregular quadrilateral, you can't find the area from the sides alone. Continue by finding two of the opposite angles. For the purposes of this section, we'll use angle A between sides a and d , and angle C between sides b and c. However, you can also do this with the two other opposite angles. Example: Let's say that in your quadrilateral, A is equal to 80 degrees and C is equal to 110 degrees. In the next step, you'll use these values to find the total area. Use the triangle area formula to find the area of the quadrilateral. Imagine that there is a straight line from the corner between a and b to the corner between c and d. This line would split the quadrilateral into two triangles. Since the area of a triangle is ab sin C , where C is the angle between sides a and b , you can use this formula twice (once for each of your imaginary triangles) to get the total area of the quadrilateral. In other words, for any quadrilateral: Area = 0.5 Side 1 × Side 4 × sin(Side 1&4 angle) + 0.5 × Side 2 × Side 3 × sin (Side 2&3 angle) or Area = 0.5 a × d × sin A + 0.5 × b × c × sin C Example: You already have the sides and angles you need, so let's solve: = 0.5 (12 × 14) × sin (80) + 0.5 × (9 × 5) × sin (110) = 84 × sin (80) + 22.5 × sin (110) = 84 × 0.984 + 22.5 × 0.939 = 82.66 + 21.13 = 103.79 square inches Note that if you're trying to find the area of a parallelogram, in which the opposite angles are equal, the equation reduces to Area = 0.5*(ad + bc) * sin A. | Know how to identify a parallelogram. Multiply base times height to get the area of a rectangle. Multiply one side by itself to find the area of a square. Multiply the diagonals and divide by two to find the area of a rhombus. Alternatively, use base × height to find the area of a rhombus. Be aware that the rhombus and rectangle formulas work for squares. Know how to identify a trapezoid. Find the height of the trapezoid. Find the area of the trapezoid using the height and the length of the bases. Multiply the midsegment by two to find the area of a trapezoid. Know how to identify a kite. Use the rhombus diagonal formula to find the area of a kite. Use the lengths of the sides and the angle between them to find the area. Find the lengths of all four sides. Find the angles between a and d and b and c. Use the triangle area formula to find the area of the quadrilateral. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Bottle-Feed-a-Newborn | How to Bottle Feed a Newborn | To bottle feed your newborn baby, start by sterilizing the bottle and nipple in boiling water for 5 minutes before filling the bottle with milk or formula. Then, hold your baby in a semi-upright position while supporting their head. Next, place the nipple on their lower lip to get them to open their mouth, and tilt the bottle upwards as they suck. Once their sucking slows down, remove the nipple partially from their mouth and let them draw it back in to help pace the feeding. | Start with a slow-flow nipple when your baby is very small. Very young newborns in the first days are more easily able to choke when they're eating. Start with the lowest number level of nipple available with the bottles you have. As your baby gets older, you can increase the flow speed to suit their preference. your bottle and nipple daily. Sterilize There are several ways to sterilize bottles, but you can submerge your bottle, nipple, and any other pieces in boiling water for 5 minutes as a simple method. You can also use the sanitize setting on your dishwasher. Check the manufacturer's label about the safety of sterilizing plastic bottles. Some plastics contain chemicals that should not be exposed to high heat. Many parents choose glass bottles for this reason. You should sterilize anything going into your newborn's mouth once per day until their immune system becomes stronger after a few months. You can clean the bottles with regular dish soap and water between sterilizations. Talk with your baby's pediatrician about when you can decrease how often you sterilize bottles. Wash your hands before preparing a bottle. Rinse your hands under warm running water in a sink. Apply hand soap to your hands and rub the soap between your hands and fingers for 20 seconds. Rinse the soap from your hands completely, and dry them on a clean towel. Mix your formula powder with clean water according to package instructions. If you're using formula, read the package instructions on mixing the formula powder with water, and follow the instructions exactly. Do not use more formula powder than what is called for in the instructions; doing so can give your baby painful gas or cause them to become dangerously dehydrated. Breastmilk is the healthiest option for feeding your newborn. If you are able to breastfeed your baby or pump expressed milk to feed them in a bottle, you should do so. If you are unable to breastfeed, pump your breastmilk, or purchase donated breastmilk, infant formula is the only safe alternative for feeding your baby. Do not feed an infant under 6 months old cow's milk, other animal milk, or milk alternatives such as soy milk. Breastmilk and infant formulas are the only safe milks for babies under 6 months. Be sure that you have clean, safe drinking water to use for your formula. Warm cold breastmilk in a bottle warmer or pan of warm water. If you are using expressed breastmilk to feed your baby, they may prefer it to be warmed if it has been refrigerated or thawed from the freezer. Warm a pan of water on the stove until it is warm but not boiling, then remove it from the heat. Place the bottle of milk in the pan and allow it to warm until it's no higher than 100 °F (38 °C). You can use a clean food thermometer to check the temperature if you like. Do not warm your bottle directly on the stove, use a microwave, or let the milk get higher than 100 °F (38 °C). Doing so increases the risk of burning your baby's mouth. It is safe to feed your baby cold or room temperature breastmilk. Many parents warm breastmilk after it's been refrigerated or frozen to make it closer to the temperature of milk during breastfeeding, and because their babies prefer it, but it is not necessary to warm it. There are commercial bottle warmers available for sale that you can use if you prefer. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on using it if you have one. Test the flow and temperature of your milk or formula on your arm. Place the nipple and cap securely on your bottle. Turn the bottle upside down and allow a few drops of milk or formula to come out onto your forearm. Check that the drops feel cool or warm but not hot, and that they flow steadily from the bottle in continuous drips. If you have to squeeze the nipple or shake the bottle to get drops to come out, the hole may be blocked. Check the nipple hole to be sure it is clean and unobstructed. If the milk or formula seems to pour out of the nipple, the hole may be damaged. Replace the nipple with a new, sterilized nipple before feeding your infant. It's much better to give your baby breastmilk that's cooler than to burn their tongues with breastmilk that's too hot. Feed your baby when they show hunger cues. Newborns show that they are hungry by moving their heads from side to side, opening their mouths, sticking out their tongues, sucking on their fingers or fists, or trying to suck on anything that comes near their cheek. Crying is actually a late hunger cue, and it's best to try to feed your baby before they are crying because it's easier to calm them down to eat. Babies sometimes fuss or cry for reasons other than hunger. If your baby is fussing or crying just an hour after a good feeding, they may need a diaper change, be tired, bored, overstimulated, or too hot or too cold. You can check these other things before trying to feed them again. Hold your baby in a semi-upright position and support their head. When it's time to feed your baby, sit in a comfortable chair and hold them with their head in the crook of your arm and your hand down around their bottom. Their head should be comfortably above their belly. This is called the cradle position Never feed your baby when they're lying flat on their back. This can cause them to choke or cause them to get ear infections. You can also hold your baby on your lap and let their head rest against your chest when you feed them. Just be sure to support their head with your hands and reposition them if they start to slide down off your chest. This position works well for babies that have reflux because they are more upright. Place the nipple against your baby’s lower lip to prompt them to open their mouth. If your baby is hungry, they will open their mouths to accept something that's placed on their lower lip. Gently place the bottle nipple against their lower lip. If your baby turns their head away, they may not be hungry at this time, or they may be too uncomfortable to eat right now. Check for other reasons that they are fussing or crying, such as their diaper, before trying to feed them again. Tilt the bottle to keep the nipple full of milk or formula. As you feed your baby, you want the nipple to stay full so that your baby doesn't suck air. Keep the bottle tilted with the bottom pointed up while it's in your baby's mouth. Allow your baby to draw the nipple into their mouth and suck. As you bring the nipple up into your baby's open mouth, they will latch onto it and start to suck and swallow. This is their natural response when they are hungry. When they start to slow their sucking and swallowing, bring the nipple partially out of their mouth and allow them to draw it back in again. Allowing your baby to draw the nipple back into their mouth throughout the feeding is called “pacing” the feeding, and it simulates the starting and stopping of milk flow during breastfeeding. Your baby will eagerly draw the nipple back into their mouth as you move it away if they are still hungry. If they become upset at having the nipple moved out of their mouth, you can tilt the bottle downward momentarily to slow or stop the flow of liquid. Tilt the bottle back up as your baby starts sucking again so they suck less air. Look into your baby’s eyes and cuddle them or talk to them while feeding. To add to the feeding experience and bond with your baby, you can talk to them, cuddle them, and look into their eyes while they drink. They will look forward to feeding moments not only to satisfy their hunger, but as a way to spend time feeling loved by you. At night time, to encourage your baby to go back to sleep, you may want to decrease how much you talk to them during feeding. You can cuddle and look at them, but try to keep other interactions to a minimum. It is also helpful to keep the lights off or dim during night feedings. Follow your baby’s lead for how much and how often to feed them. Little babies differ from one another in how much and how often they need to eat. In general, a formula-fed newborn will eat 2–4 fl oz (59–118 mL) of formula 6-8 times every 24 hours up until 2 months old. Babies who drink expressed breastmilk may need to eat more often, as breastmilk is metabolized faster than formula. Don't worry if your baby doesn't want to finish a bottle, or if they want more after they finish a bottle. Sometimes they'll want to eat less, and sometimes they'll have a growth spurt and need more. The suggested feeding amount is a general guideline, and if they are drinking between 12–32 fl oz (350–950 mL) of milk within 24 hours, they are eating enough. The amount your baby eats will increase at 2 months old to approximately 5–6 fl oz (150–180 mL) of formula 5-6 times per day, or 25–36 fl oz (740–1,060 mL) in 24 hours. At 3-5 months old, the amount increases again to 6–7 fl oz (180–210 mL) 5-6 times per day. Again, babies drinking expressed breastmilk may need to eat more frequently. Wake your baby every few hours to eat during their first few weeks of life. Tiny babies have tiny tummies, and they also like to sleep a lot: to ensure proper weight gain during their first month, you may need to wake your baby if they are sleeping for long chunks of time. Wake a breastfed baby every 3-4 hours and a formula-fed baby every 4-5 hours to eat until they are 1 month old. After 1 month, as long as your baby is gaining weight well, you do not need to wake them up to feed them. If your baby's doctor is concerned about your baby's lack of weight gain, follow their recommendations for feedings. Throw away any unused formula or breastmilk from each feeding after 1 hour. When your baby seems finished eating, you can try burping them again to see if they'll eat more after a burp. If they still are uninterested in eating more, you can keep the bottle for 1 hour after you started the feed in case they want more within the hour. When the hour is up, throw away the milk or formula away by pouring it down the sink drain. Don't store a leftover bottle for future use longer than 1 hour. It can become contaminated quickly after it's been sucked on. Throw the milk away and wash the bottle before you use it again. Set the bottle down and try to burp every 2–3 fl oz (59–89 mL) of consumed milk. Bottle-fed infants suck a lot more air during a feed than infants eating from a breast, so it's important to burp them frequently during a feed. Burping them throughout the feed makes them more comfortable and more likely to finish their bottle. Try to burp your baby at least after every 2–3 fl oz (59–89 mL) of milk or formula they drink, or more frequently if they seem squirmy, fussy, or otherwise uncomfortable. Drape your baby over your shoulder. To burp your newborn, hold them with their head high up and resting over your shoulder, supporting their head the whole time. Holding them this high places slight pressure on their tummy and eases the air out through a burp. Firmly pat or rub their back. To help your baby's burp come out, put some pressure on their back by patting or rubbing it. Your baby will be calmed by the repetitive patting or rubbing, and more likely to burp. Resume feeding after a couple minutes even if your baby doesn’t burp. If your baby hasn't finished their bottle, you can try feeding them again after about 2 minutes of trying to burp them whether they actually burp or not. If they are not interested in eating more but seem fussy, you can try burping them again or check to see if they need a diaper change. If they seem content but uninterested in eating, they are probably full and have finished eating for this feed. | Start with a slow-flow nipple when your baby is very small. your bottle and nipple daily. Wash your hands before preparing a bottle. Mix your formula powder with clean water according to package instructions. Warm cold breastmilk in a bottle warmer or pan of warm water. Test the flow and temperature of your milk or formula on your arm. Feed your baby when they show hunger cues. Hold your baby in a semi-upright position and support their head. Place the nipple against your baby’s lower lip to prompt them to open their mouth. Tilt the bottle to keep the nipple full of milk or formula. Allow your baby to draw the nipple into their mouth and suck. Look into your baby’s eyes and cuddle them or talk to them while feeding. Follow your baby’s lead for how much and how often to feed them. Wake your baby every few hours to eat during their first few weeks of life. Throw away any unused formula or breastmilk from each feeding after 1 hour. Set the bottle down and try to burp every 2–3 fl oz (59–89 mL) of consumed milk. Drape your baby over your shoulder. Firmly pat or rub their back. Resume feeding after a couple minutes even if your baby doesn’t burp. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Kittens | How to Clean Kittens | To clean a kitten, note that there are certain parts of their bodies that kittens can't reach to clean themselves, including their head, back, and behind. Therefore, you should clean these areas for them using a damp cloth. You should also wipe its body with a damp cloth after its eaten as many kittens are messy eaters. As you wipe your kitten, move in the direction of the fur to avoid irritating it, and pay special attention to the area under the tail, which can get dirty. When you wipe its face, work from the front to the back so you don't get water in its eyes. Alternatively, if your kitten doesn't seem that dirty, use a brush to clean its coat. | If your kitten isn't too dirty, wipe her down with a wet cloth. Kittens habitually clean themselves with their tongues, but there are some spots that they have trouble reaching – namely, the head, the back, and the behind. Mother cats usually help kittens clean these spots. Your job, as surrogate mother cat, is to clean your kitten regularly to ensure that she is healthy and hygienic. Wiping with a wet cloth also uses less water than a full bath. This makes it a good way to gradually and safely introduce kittens to water and washing. Aim to clean her after every feeding. Many kittens, especially young kittens, are very messy eaters. After the kitten has eaten, massage her entire body with a clean, moist cloth. Pay special attention to the abdomen and genital region – this may encourage her to relieve herself. Wet a soft, dry cloth with lukewarm water. Make sure that the towel is not rough enough to irritate your kitten. If the kitten is particularly dirty, consider dabbing the cloth with a vet-recommended pet shampoo. You can find special kitten shampoos in most pet shops. Start washing the kitten's back. Use a cloth wet with warm water. Always follow the direction of the fur to avoid hurting or irritating your cat. Hold your kitten and talk to her in a soothing voice to make her comfortable. Many kittens are used to being petted on the back, so restrain your cleaning to that area until the kitten is okay with the cloth. If your kitten gets nervous or scared at any time in the cleaning process, stop washing for a moment and hold her close. Continue to talk in the soothing voice. Your kitten may begin to trust you more once she knows that you will respond to her complaints. Gently wipe your kitten from front to back. Start from the face and forelegs, move to the back and abdomen, and finish with the hindquarters. Avoid the kitten's eyes, ears, and nose! Unless the kitten's head is extremely dirty, it may be best to avoid the head altogether. Don't worry, however: the kitten will likely clean its head on its own after the bath. Pay special attention to the area beneath the tail. Kittens have trouble cleaning this area by themselves, and it is where their mother likely helped them the most. This is why cats will often turn around and stick their back ends in your face while you're petting them: it's a sign of trust, like they trusted their mother at a very young age. Consider cleaning your kitten's behind every few days, especially if she does not clean herself. This will help keep your kitten happier and healthier, and it will keep odors away. If your cat isn't cleaning herself, it can be a sign that she is overweight. Keep on wiping your kitten until she is clean. If there is still more dirt on her coat, you can repeat the process by using another cloth. When your kitten is completely clean, put her in a warm place to cuddle up while she dries out. Blot the excess water with a dry towel to make sure that your kitten is almost completely dry. If you leave her wet and shivering, she may be at risk of falling ill. Give your kitten a bath if she is very dirty. Again, cats naturally lick themselves clean, so your kitten only needs a full bath if she is especially dirty – or if she has fleas. To clean a heavily soiled kitten, you'll need to her a bath rather than just a simple wipe-down. Bathe your kitten immediately after she gets soiled; if you wait too long, she may be uncomfortable and she may develop a rash. Prepare the supplies before you bathe your kitten: A clean flannel and towel(s) Cat shampoo; avoid human soaps, and harsh chemicals or cleaners A basin, sink, or any watertight tub. Avoid washing your kitten outdoors — if it tries to escape the bath, you will have much more trouble tracking it down outside. Make sure to buy a shampoo that's designed specifically for cats. Do not use human shampoo, human soap, or dish soap to wash your kitten! Your kitten's fur and skin are very sensitive, and human soaps will dry out its skin. Plan for after the bath. Once you have chosen a bathing location, you should also prepare a warm and welcoming space for the kitten to wind down after its bath. Choose a room in the house that you can close off with a door, a curtain, or a pet gate. Prepare a warm, cozy spot beneath a desk lamp (or other light source). Plug in a pet-specific heating pad, if you have one. Your kitten will be cold and wet after its bath, so it will want to find a warm location to clean itself. Have a treat (or dinner) ready so you can give it to your kitten after its bath. A yummy treat will be a nice reward for your kitten. Fill a shallow basin or sink with warm water. Use lukewarm water – neither too hot nor too cold. The water should feel comfortable on the skin of your wrist. It is very important to use temperate water. Kitten skin is sensitive: hot water can burn your kitty, while cold water can reduce its body temperature to a dangerous level. Make sure that the water is not deep enough to completely submerge your kitten. Gently set your kitten into the washbasin. Fill the basin before you introduce your kitten to the water. Many cats aren't actually afraid of water itself, but of the loud noise of running water. Once they are startled by running water, they learn to fear it. Gently stroke your kitten to make her feel safe and calm. Talk to her in a soothing voice throughout the cleaning process. Introduce her to water slowly at first. Set her down in the water and let her stand in it for a few seconds. Then, pull her out and dry her feet. Give her a treat to reward her good behavior. If your cat is very resistant to bathing, ease her into it over the course of two weeks. Towards the end of the second week, you should be able to wash her without a struggle, even under the tap. Lather your kitten with cat shampoo. Make sure that your kitten is completely wet before you start to lather. Squeeze a small amount of shampoo onto a cloth or your hand, and rub it into her coat. Gently lather the shampoo over the kitten's whole body, from her head down to her tail. Use a wet finger to remove any urine or feces that have dried onto the fur. Avoid washing kittens with soap unless you are treating for fleas. If this is the case, consult with your veterinarian to find a soap that is safe for your kitten. Keep everything—water, soap, etc.—out of her eyes and off her face. This might irritate her eyes and cause her to panic. If she panics, she'll develop negative associations with bathing. Completely rinse your kitten. Fill a cup of water and pour it slowly over her body. Pour slowly and carefully, and try to be efficient. Wash away all of the lathered shampoo. Use a damp flannel or washcloth to wipe soap from your kitten's face. Speak to her in a calming voice if she's resisting or seems afraid. If your kitten is getting feisty at this point, have someone else hold the kitten down while you pour the water over its body. If your sink is outfitted with a detachable spray nozzle, feel free to use this. Make sure that it isn't on a powerful setting, or you might hurt your kitten. Do not run tap water directly onto a young kitten's head. If you do, water might get into her eyes and startle her. Use as little water as possible. Do not submerge your kitten in water deeper that it can comfortably stand in. Your cat may not be strong enough to pull itself out. Instead, use your hand to wet the kitten's hindquarters and lower belly. Wrap the kitten in a dry, clean towel when you're done. Bathe your kitten as quickly as possible, then dry her fur with a clean towel. Swaddle the kitten with another soft, dry towel, and put her in a warm place until dry. Stay with her, if possible, and cuddle her to help her calm down. Hasten the drying process by rubbing the soft towel in the direction that your kitten's hair grows. This will get her warmer faster if she seems cold. Brush your kitten's coat if she isn't terribly dirty. It may not be appropriate to brush kittens if they are too heavily soiled – wash first, then brush. However, if your kitten isn't very dirty and the fur doesn't seem contaminated, you can easily clean her by brushing. Brushing is very helpful to remove any fleas from wild rescued kittens. It also helps to stimulate subcutaneous blood circulation, and it may actually improve the condition of your cat's skin. Brushing is especially important for long-haired cats. With long fur, it's much easier to get things stuck, smeared, and generally dirty. Choose the right brush for your kitten. The brush or comb will differ from kitten to kitten based on the length and pattern of her coat. Check your kitten for fleas: if she is flea-ridden, you will need a special thin-toothed comb to remove the pests from the skin. You can purchase specially designed metal combs from most pet shops. Consult with your local vet if you are confused about which brush to select. Brush your kitten from head to tail, in the direction of her fur. Brushing in the wrong direction can irritate your kitten and cause her to lose hair. Brush her whole body thoroughly, focusing on the abdomen, back, and hindquarters. Some kittens may resist brushing. Be gentle, and do not force. Use a calm, soothing voice when you're grooming your kitten, and try to make her feel comfortable. Clean your brush periodically during the process. Dirt and hair may clump on the bristles, making the tool less effective. Try using two brushes in case your kitten resists the first brush. Cats naturally groom themselves, and your kitten may take offense when you try to help her. She also may just be curious. If she begins biting at the brush, simply lay it in front of her so she can smell it, then use the second brush to keep brushing. This gives the kitten a chance to see the brush while she is being groomed. Eventually, she may learn to love brushing, and she may allow you to groom her freely Repeat as needed. Keep switching out the brushes. Whenever she grabs the brush you are using, just pick up the other one and continue to brush. | If your kitten isn't too dirty, wipe her down with a wet cloth. Aim to clean her after every feeding. Wet a soft, dry cloth with lukewarm water. Start washing the kitten's back. Gently wipe your kitten from front to back. Pay special attention to the area beneath the tail. Keep on wiping your kitten until she is clean. Give your kitten a bath if she is very dirty. Make sure to buy a shampoo that's designed specifically for cats. Plan for after the bath. Fill a shallow basin or sink with warm water. Gently set your kitten into the washbasin. Lather your kitten with cat shampoo. Completely rinse your kitten. Use as little water as possible. Wrap the kitten in a dry, clean towel when you're done. Brush your kitten's coat if she isn't terribly dirty. Choose the right brush for your kitten. Brush your kitten from head to tail, in the direction of her fur. Try using two brushes in case your kitten resists the first brush. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Yourself-As-Bisexual | How to Accept Yourself As Bisexual | It can be difficult to accept your bisexuality because of social pressures, but your sexuality is natural and you can embrace it by being confident and building a support system. Being bisexual means different things to many people, but you should think about how it defines you and understand that there's no right or wrong way to be bisexual. If someone says you're indecisive or that you should pick a side, tune them out and tell them that it's not possible. Remember that each time you identify as bisexual without compromising, you're helping people around you be more aware and accepting. To feel more accepted, reach out to local LGBT communities or online groups where you can talk about your experience. Consider taking what you learn in these groups and using it to inform your family and friends who might not understand your sexuality. | Define your bisexuality on your terms. The word bisexual means different things to different people. In general, it means being attracted to men and women. However, there are varying degrees of bisexuality. If you want to embrace your sexuality, spend some time thinking about what the label means to you. Sexuality is fluid and difficult to define. Understand that, when using the word bisexual, it's okay if it means something different to you than other people. You may be interested in both men and women sexually, but only men romantically. You may have always had sexual feelings for men and women, or you may have developed sexual feelings for a particular gender later in life. There is no right or wrong way to be bisexual. While there are some people that insist that 50/50 makes someone bisexual, this view does not match up with reality. While some people do experience equal levels of attraction, others do not. If you are bisexual, it's acceptable to define yourself however you want. Pay attention to yourself and your own feelings. It's okay if your definition of your bisexuality differs slightly from another person's bisexuality. Everyone is different. Ignore those who tell you to pick a side. Many people do not understand bisexuality. People may feel you should pick a side instead of dating both men and women. A common criticism bisexual people get is that they're indecisive or greedy. Ignore these criticisms. Remember, many people are attracted to both men and women. You cannot change your sexuality, and so it's impossible for you to simply choose between genders. If you feel attraction to both genders, you should not have to choose. Many bisexual people feel torn between the gay and straight community, as they do not feel quite one way or another. You don't have to choose between one gender or another, or one community or another. As the LGBT community gets more diverse, you can feel a full part of that even if you still feel sexual and romantic attraction to people of the opposite sex. If people tell you to pick sides, try to tune it out. Say something like, "I'm bisexual and attracted to both genders. I don't need to pick a side and it's actually not really possible for me to do that." Remember you do not have to compromise your sexuality. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma surrounding bisexuality. Some people do not believe bisexuality exists. Some people do not want to date bisexual people for fear of infidelity. Never play down or deny your bisexuality for the sake of others. You should not tolerate those who don't accept you for you. Never avoid labeling yourself or discussing your feelings of attraction for both men and women. Some people may express confusion, or even make offensive comments. However, it is not your job to make people like you. This is especially true if you have to hide your identity to fit in. True friends and allies will support you without question. You get to choose the people you spend time with and should not tolerate friends or romantic partners who do not offer support. Remember the world is always changing. Each time you identify as bisexual and refuse to compromise this, you're helping people around you be more aware and accepting. Understand that infidelity means being unfaithful to a partner you have agreed to have a committed, monogamous relationship with. Recite a personal mantra. Many people will try to tell you there's something wrong with you. There are people who feel any type of same-sex attraction is wrong. There are also people who feel it's greedy or selfish to pursue men and women. Some people may deny bisexuality exists altogether. Create a mantra for yourself that reminds you that bisexuality is not wrong and it's natural to be attracted to both genders. If you feel bad about your sexuality, remind yourself of this. Say something like, "I am bisexual, that is perfectly natural and valid, and there is nothing wrong with me." While no one knows precisely why and how sexuality develops, people have little control over feelings of physical and romantic attraction. Your sexuality is who you are. It's never an indication there is something wrong with you. Know you're not alone. It can sometimes help to remind yourself of how many other people identify the way you do. Coming out can sometimes be a lonely process, especially if a lot of your friends and family members are heterosexual. However, even if it feels like it at times, know that you are not alone in your feelings. There are thousands of people who identify as LGBT. A quick internet search for bisexuality is bound to find many resources where people discuss being bisexual and what it means for them. Remember, bisexual is LGBT, as the "B" stands for "bisexual." It may not seem like it just because, say, you're a bisexual female and you are dating a heterosexual male. You are still bisexual, you have not chosen males over females just because of this heterosexual male. Never feel like you're the only one who feels this way. Reminding yourself that there are thousands of bisexual people in the world can help you remember it's a valid identity. Work on liking yourself the way you are. You have a right to feel good about yourself. This can be difficult at times, as there's still a lot of stigma surrounding bisexuality. Try to work on building your self-esteem and embracing yourself for who you are. Seek out bi-positive people to talk to. Talk about your sexuality with supportive friends and family members. If there is an LGBT resource center in your community, try seeing if they have bisexual discussion groups. Remind yourself that you are okay. People may tell you it's wrong to be bisexual, but let them have their opinions while reminding yourself that you are happy and healthy. Your sexuality does not define your sense of self, self-esteem, or overall happiness. Accept there is no right way to be bisexual. Many people feel they should act a certain way if they identify as bisexual. You may, for example, feel you should be extra committed to monogamy because of stereotypes about bisexual people being prone to infidelity. However, remind yourself your sexuality is only one component of who you are. There is no right way to be bisexual, because every aspect of your behavior is not related to your sexuality. Some people who are bisexual prefer committed relationships. Other are polyamorous or prefer open relationships. Others are still dating around and uninterested in committing to a single person. This spectrum of romantic and sexual preferences exists for any sexual orientation. One's feelings about things like fidelity and monogamy are not related to whether they identify as straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, or any other orientation. Pursue whatever types of relationships you want and that will make you happy. If you want a monogamous relationship, be in a monogamous relationship. If you want an open relationship, be in an open relationship. You do not have to follow any rules regarding relationships or dating simply because you are bisexual. Open up about being bisexual. Don't feel pressured to talk about your sexuality, but understand that it can be a positive experience. You don't need to label yourself if you don't want to, and you don't have to choose between your faith and your sexuality. It may be helpful to read about how other people came out to their friends and family. You may also want to open up to one person and tell them you are bisexual. When you feel comfortable with that step, you can move on to telling others. Read online forums such as “Empty Closets,” which show how others handle coming out and other issues related to their bisexuality ( https://forum.emptyclosets.com/index.php?threads/advice-on-coming-out-to-parents-as-bisexual.259741/ ). Talk to others about your sexuality. If you want support, reach out to others. Let them know you're bisexual and explain to them what that means on your terms. Let them know what they can do to support you. Be direct when talking about your sexuality. For example, say something like, "I just wanted you to know I'm bisexual. I've dated men and women. A lot of people assume I'm straight, but I'm not." Let the person know what they can do to help. Maybe you just need someone to vent your feelings to someone at times. It can be frustrating to be a part of a marginalized group. Maybe you just want people to watch about the assumptions they make. For example, "If I mention going on a date, I don't want you to assume that it was with a particular gender. It's okay to ask me if I was on a date with a man or a woman." You should also let people know if there are some people you don't want to know about your sexuality. It's okay if you don't want to tell everyone you're bi at first. Many people initially come out to a few close friends, so let people know if you're not ready to be out to everyone right now. For example, "Just so you know, I haven't told a lot of people yet. Can we keep this between us for now?" Share information with friends and family members about your sexuality. Not everyone will understand your sexuality right away. If people are confused or need more information, refer them to a website about bisexuality. You should also let them know they can feel free to ask you any questions they have about your orientation. You should encourage your friends to explore information about the LGBT community so they can better understand your feelings. Embrace your place in the LGBT community. Many bisexual people feel they don't have a place in the LGBT community, as they don't fit into a single category. However, if you are bisexual, you are on the LGBT spectrum. It's okay to identify as such, and participate in LGBT oriented events. This can help you find support. Remember, who you choose to date does not define your sexuality. If you're currently in a relationship with someone of different sex, you do not need to feel alienated from the LGBT community. You're still bisexual, regardless of your current relationships. Remember that your identity is valid. Do not feel like you're intruding by becoming involved in the LGBT community in your area. Learn about other bisexual people. You may feel support knowing there are well-known people who are bisexual. Learning and reading about others can help you normalize your own views about your sexuality. Research celebrities or famous people from the past, such as artists and authors, who were bisexual. This will make you feel your orientation is valid and one that many share. Attend support groups. Meeting more bisexual people can help you get advice on self-acceptance. Find a local group that is bi-inclusive. Go to conferences that centered bisexuality. Look for support groups online. Reaching out to other bisexual people can help you accept yourself. | Define your bisexuality on your terms. Ignore those who tell you to pick a side. Remember you do not have to compromise your sexuality. Recite a personal mantra. Know you're not alone. Work on liking yourself the way you are. Accept there is no right way to be bisexual. Open up about being bisexual. Talk to others about your sexuality. Share information with friends and family members about your sexuality. Embrace your place in the LGBT community. Learn about other bisexual people. Attend support groups. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Hug-Your-Boyfriend | How to Hug Your Boyfriend | To hug your boyfriend, start by stepping toward him and putting your left arm between his right arm and his body, with your hand on his lower back. Then, raise your other arm and put your hand on the back of this neck. If you want, you can lean your head against his shoulder. Next, give him a gentle squeeze, but don't hug him so tight that it's uncomfortable. Finally, hold the hug for a few seconds before letting go. | Make sure that you look good and smell nice. Wear clean clothes, deodorant, and perfume if you wish. If you do decide to wear perfume, make sure that you don't overdo it. Step forward and put your left arm between his right arm and side of his body. Gently place your left hand on his lower back, right above his backside. Raise your right arm and place it on the back of his neck. Place your thumb along the side of his neck and bring your head toward his right shoulder. Rest your head on his right shoulder. Gently squeeze him, and press your body against his. Remember not to squeeze too tight, just tight enough to make the hug more intimate. Hold the hug for a few seconds. Hug for longer if you haven't seen your boyfriend for long periods of time, your boyfriend needs comforting, or if you simply feel like a longer hug. Hug your boyfriend differently than you would hug your friend. Use the same steps listed above to hug a friend, but instead: Place your hand higher on his/her back. Squeeze gently, but do not press your body as close. Pat his/her back to make the hug more casual. Hold the hug for as long as it seems comfortable for both parties. Know what makes a great hug. No matter who you are hugging, there are important things to remember such as: Always hug with both arms. Adjust for height differences. This can include resting your head on his chest, bending your knees, or standing on your tippy toes. Hug for as long as you both feel comfortable. Pay attention to body language and break the hug if you or your boyfriend seems anxious or uncomfortable. Simply enjoy being with the other person. Understand the importance of physical contact. According to a famous group of studies known as the Harlow Studies, monkeys preferred a cloth doll without food to a metal doll with food, emphasizing the need for mammals to have physical contact. Many studies have shown that babies that are held more are less stressed as adults. Realize that hugging produces oxytocin. Hugging a loved one or even a stranger releases a powerful hormone that affects the body's limbic system. Releasing oxytocin promotes feelings of contentment and belonging, while lowering blood pressure and heart rate. Learn the benefits of hugging. Giving and receiving hugs have a number of psychological and physical benefits, including: Lower blood pressure. Reduction of stress. Feeling of belonging and euphoria. Increased dopamine, a hormone that stabilizes mood. Enhanced immune system. Sense of security. | Make sure that you look good and smell nice. Step forward and put your left arm between his right arm and side of his body. Raise your right arm and place it on the back of his neck. Gently squeeze him, and press your body against his. Hold the hug for a few seconds. Hug your boyfriend differently than you would hug your friend. Know what makes a great hug. Understand the importance of physical contact. Realize that hugging produces oxytocin. Learn the benefits of hugging. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Recognize-Spina-Bifida-Symptoms | How to Recognize Spina Bifida Symptoms | To recognize spina bifida symptoms, look for discoloration or birthmarks along the spine, which could be the result of a neural tube defect. You should also examine the spine for fatty lumps, protrusions, or dimples since they can indicate a malformation of the spine or the fat that's over it. Additionally, check for small clumps of hair along the spine, which could be the result of the backbone not closing properly. In addition to irregularities along the spine, some other symptoms you should keep an eye out for include difficulty eating and breathing and an abnormally large head. | Check for spinal area discoloration or birthmarks. The color change could be the spot of neural tube incompletion. There may also be a malformation on the spine. Keep in mind that many birth marks are normal and do not indicate a problem. Ask your doctor to check any birth marks that you have along your spine if you suspect a problem. Feel the spine for fatty lumps, protrusions, or dimples. There may be a malformation of the bone, fat, or membranes over the spine. This is usually a sign of closed neural tube issues. Look for small clumps of hair along the spine. When the backbone doesn't close the way it should, there is sometimes a tuft of hair at the opening. This can be undiagnosed until after birth, as with some other symptoms, because the ultrasound did not show the spine at the correct angle. Consider potential severe symptoms. In some cases of spina bifida, there may be some severe symptoms, such as lower body issues, which includes deformities as well as muscle weakness. These may include: Physical and intellectual disabilities. However, most people with spina bifida without hydrocephalus are of normal intelligence. Paralysis. Urinary and bowel control problems. Blindness and/or deafness (rarely). Look for an exposed sac of fluid. The sac will be protruding from the spinal column area, which is either the meningocele (no spinal cord connection) or meningomyelocele (spinal cord connection) form of spina bifida. Sometimes there is a thin layer of skin covering the sac that protrudes from the back. Other associated symptoms follow: Partial or total paralysis may occur. Bladder and bowel problems are possible. Look for eating or breathing issues. A condition called Chiari II malformation is possible, where a portion of the brain protrudes lower into the neck area or spinal canal. This causes various issues, which also includes some upper arm function. Be aware of an abnormally large head. A buildup of fluid around the brain, also called hydrocephalus, may occur, creating harmful pressure on the surrounding area. The most common indications of hydrocephalus in babies is an increased head size, but babies can potentially have a litany of symptoms including seizures, drowsiness, grouchiness, lowered eyes, and nausea or vomiting. Babies might develop meningitis, an infection in the tissues surrounding the brain. Meningitis can cause brain injury and threaten the life of the baby. There may be learning disabilities such as short attention span , difficulties with language and reading , and problems with math. Get a spinal column x-ray, MRI, or CT scan. Usually this is for spina bifida occulta (SBO), the mildest form of spina bifida, but it can confirm other types as well. The primary method of discovering forms of SBO that may cause problems is an x-ray that can detect a small gap or abnormality of the spine, or less often a spinal cord that is tethered, thickened, contains a fatty lump, is split in two, or connected to skin. This can also be detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or computed tomography (CT) scan. Most people with SBO don't have any problems. However, there may be some other associated symptoms with SBO, such as: Pain, numbness, or weakness in the back or legs Deformed legs, feet, back Change in bladder or bowel function Get the maternal serum alpha fetoprotein (MSAFP) test. During the second trimester (it's not detectable in the first trimester), at roughly 16-18 weeks, spina bifida is typically detected via the MSAFP which measures something called alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Higher levels of AFP are a potential sign of an uncovered neural tube. Keep in mind that the MSAFP test is not 100% accurate, and further tests may be required. Have an ultrasound. If your AFP levels are high, then your doctor will probably want to do an ultrasound. An ultrasound can provide images of an unborn baby's spine and spinal cord, which may enable the doctor to diagnose spina bifida. Request an amniocentesis. During amniocentesis, the doctor extracts some amniotic sac fluid that protects the fetus. Using the fluid, the doctor can screen for high levels of AFP. The one downside to this test, however, is that it is not thorough enough to know the degree to which spina bifida has affected the baby. Ask for an internal scan for spina bifida. Scans that are postnatal, after the baby is born, are often the only way milder forms of spina bifida are discovered. An x-ray, MRI, or CT scan examination can be performed. This option is used primarily when the spina bifida symptoms are not clearly visible. | Check for spinal area discoloration or birthmarks. Feel the spine for fatty lumps, protrusions, or dimples. Look for small clumps of hair along the spine. Consider potential severe symptoms. Look for an exposed sac of fluid. Look for eating or breathing issues. Be aware of an abnormally large head. Get a spinal column x-ray, MRI, or CT scan. Get the maternal serum alpha fetoprotein (MSAFP) test. Have an ultrasound. Request an amniocentesis. Ask for an internal scan for spina bifida. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gluten-Free-Flour | How to Make Gluten Free Flour | To make gluten free all-purpose flour, start by pouring brown rice flour, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, and tapioca flour into a large bowl. Next, add xanthan gum as a gluten replacement and to allow for better binding. Then, use a whisk to blend the ingredients together. After 3-5 minutes of mixing, transfer your flour mix to an air-tight container. You can use your gluten free all-purpose flour as a substitute for regular flour. | Pour all four flours into a large bowl. If you can't find tapioca flour, you can use tapioca starch instead; it's the same thing. If you'd like to make this blend using smaller amount, simply use equal parts of all four flours, then add ¼ part of tapioca flour/starch. If you are allergic to tapioca, use potato starch instead. Do not use potato flour; it's not the same thing. Add the xanthan gum as a gluten replacement and to allow for better binding. The trouble with gluten-free flour is that it is gluten-free. This means that when you use it instead of regular flour in a recipe, you might get slightly different results. Adding xanthan gum is not completely necessary, but it will help bind your ingredients and give you better results. Blend the ingredients together well with a whisk. Do not skimp on the blending; if your flours are not well-blended, your baked goods will not turn out right. It will take 3 to 5 minutes of whisking. Store the flour in an air-tight container. Depending on the recipe, you can use it as a direct substitute for regular flour. You may have to use a little more/less flour depending on the recipe however. It works great in just about any baked good, including breads, cakes, crepes, muffins, and even waffles. Pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl. The ingredients in this flour will give you a similar result to what regular, self-rising flour gives you. Stir everything together with a whisk until it is well blended, about 3 to 5 minutes. Don't rush through this step. If your flours and starches aren't well-blended, your recipes won't turn out right. Store the blended flour in a large container. When you are done, transfer everything into an air-tight container. Keep it in a cool dark place. Use the flour in your baked goods. This blend is ideal for tings like cakes, cupcakes, muffins, and scones—basically, anything that uses baking powder as a leavener. Pour the white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch into a large bowl. Make sure that you are using potato starch and not potato flour. If you can't find any tapioca starch, however, you can use tapioca flour; it's the same thing. Add the nonfat dry milk powder. This is the secret ingredient that will help improve the structure of your gluten-free cakes, breads, cookies, muffins, etc. The added sugars will also create a browning reaction and lend your baked goods a more complex flavor. Combine the ingredients with a whisk until everything is well combined. Don't get lazy on the mixing! If you don't mix things well enough, your baked goods will have poor results. It will take about 3 to 5 minutes of good mixing. Pour the blended flour into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 months. Make a simple, all-purpose blend using three different types of flours. Combine the ingredients listen below, and use as a substitute for anything that calls for all-purpose flour. 3 cups (450 grams) brown or white rice flour 1 cup (125 grams) potato starch ½ cup (65 grams) tapioca flour/starch Make a blend using soy flour if you can't use potato starch. If you need a simple flour, but can't use potato starch, you can use soy flour instead. Gather the ingredients listed below, mix them well, and use the flour in your recipes. ½ cup (75 grams) brown rice flour ¼ cup (25 grams) soy flour ¼ cup (30 grams) tapioca flour/starch Try a coconut flour blend. The coconut flour gives this blend a slightly sweet flavor, making it ideal for cakes an pastries. Mix the ingredients below, and store them in an air-tight container. 1 cup (150 grams) white rice flour 1 cup (100 grams) oat flour 1 cup (100 grams) coconut flour 1 cup (125 grams) tapioca flour/starch ¼ cup (30 grams) cornstarch 3½ teaspoons xanthan gum Try a gluten free Bisquick blend. Bisquick is used to make pancakes and waffles, but the store bought kind contains gluten. You can make your own by mixing the ingredients below: 2 cups (300 grams) white rice flour 1¼ cup (125 grams) coconut flour 1 cup (125 grams) dry milk powder ¼ to ½ cup (55 to 115 grams) granulated sugar ½ cup (65 grams) cornstarch 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt Add some xanthan gum or guar gum to make your recipes more effective. Gluten helps bind ingredients together. Unfortunately, when you use gluten-free flour, you lose this important property. Fortunately, xantham gum and guar gum are great substitutes for gluten, and adding them will make your blended flours more effective. How much xanthan gum or guar gum you add depends on what you are making. Each of the measurements below are for 1 cup (100 grams) of flour. If you are using more flour, use more xanthan gum or guar gum. If you are making bars, cakes, cookies, muffins, or quick-breads, add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum. If you are making yeast bread or baked items containing yeast, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum. If you are making pizza dough or pie crust, add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum. Know that you can use single, non-gluten flours instead of blends when you are cooking. Just because a recipe, such as a sauce, calls for flour does not necessarily mean that you have to whip up a batch of blended flour. You can always substitute any of the flours below: Use arrowroot, amaranth, and tapioca flour to thicken roux, sauces, and pie filling. Use chickpea flour, besan, and garbanzo bean flour to bind burgers and meatballs. Substitute corn masa to make tortillas. Try corn flour and millet flour when breading meat. Use sweet rice flour to thicken gravy and sauces, and make noodles. | Pour all four flours into a large bowl. Add the xanthan gum as a gluten replacement and to allow for better binding. Blend the ingredients together well with a whisk. Store the flour in an air-tight container. Pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Stir everything together with a whisk until it is well blended, about 3 to 5 minutes. Store the blended flour in a large container. Use the flour in your baked goods. Pour the white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch into a large bowl. Add the nonfat dry milk powder. Combine the ingredients with a whisk until everything is well combined. Pour the blended flour into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 months. Make a simple, all-purpose blend using three different types of flours. Make a blend using soy flour if you can't use potato starch. Try a coconut flour blend. Try a gluten free Bisquick blend. Add some xanthan gum or guar gum to make your recipes more effective. Know that you can use single, non-gluten flours instead of blends when you are cooking. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Pick-up-Girls | How to Pick up Girls | If you'd like to get better at picking up girls but don't know where to start, pay attention to their body language, so you know when to make a move. For example, you'll have better luck approaching a girl who's checking out the crowd, than a girl who's having a serious conversation with a friend. Make sure you show confidence by making eye contact with her as you introduce yourself. Avoid cheesy pick-up lines, so the girl takes you seriously, but don't be afraid to flirt a little. Try giving her a small compliment on something harmless, like the way she styles her hair, to show you're paying attention. Also, ask her questions about herself, so you can learn more about her and find common ground. Then, if it seems like she's enjoying your company, ask for her number. | Know when to approach. One of the most important parts of picking up a girl is knowing when to make a move. If the girl is giving you signals, like making eye contact, looking at you and smiling and then looking away, or standing with a group of friends looking out into the crowd, then it's pretty safe to assume you'd be welcome when you say hello. Though you can't wait around forever for the most perfect situation, you should choose your timing carefully to improve your chances. Here are some things to consider before you approach: Read her body language. Is she turned toward the crowd and looking around her instead of deeply involved with her friends? If so, then this is a sign that she'd welcome an approach. See if she looks bored with her company. If she checks her phone a lot, plays with her hair, or rifles through her purse a lot, then this may be a sign that she'd be open to meeting new people. Make sure the girl isn't having a deep, serious-seeming conversation with her friends. If they are leaning in towards each other, talking intensely, and if one of them even looks like she's on the brink of tears, then tonight's not your night. You don't want to interrupt an important girl catch-up session. Impress her with your confidence. Women are drawn to confident men, and if you want to pick up a girl, then you have to let her see that you're comfortable with who you are. While it can take time to truly build your confidence, there's no harm in faking it when you approach a girl so you'll be closer to feeling that inner peace from projecting outward confidence. Here are some ways to get the girl with your confidence right away: Let her see that you're not afraid. Make eye contact as you approach her and smile at her. Don't be bashful and look at the floor. Show confidence in your body language. Turn your body toward her, stand tall, and avoid slouching or looking down. Don't put yourself down immediately. If you make comments like, “You probably don't want to talk to a guy like me…” then you'll be discouraging her from wanting to talk to you. Part of confidence is looking the part. Wear well-fitting clothes that are clean, crisp, and appropriate for the occasion. Most importantly, wear clothing that looks nice while making you feel comfortable, so you don't look visibly uncomfortable. Have a solid opening. If you want the girl to take you seriously and even to consider going on a date with you, then you need to choose your words carefully. Some people say that girls make a decision about whether or not they like you in the first fifteen minutes, so you can't waste too much time making small talk instead of charming her with your words and manner. Here are some things to keep in mind: Avoid cheesy pick-up lines. No matter what you read online or what you hear from your friends, they rarely work. What's more, they'll make the girl think you only see her as a conquest, not as a person you want to get to know. Introduce yourself and ask the girl her name. Nothing fancy. Just say, “Hey, I'm Chris—what's your name?” Keep it short and simple. Be forward. Don't be timid when you come up to her. Make it clear that you want to talk to her, and don't act like you think you might be inconveniencing or bothering her. If that's the case, then you'll know soon enough, anyway. Flirt a little bit. Once you start talking to the girl, it's time to get your flirt on as soon as you can without laying it on too thick. Make eye contact, lean your body toward her, and show her that you're interested in her. You can even tease her a little bit, as long as you don't end up offending her by taking it too far. Just keep up a light, jokey, playful banter, and make sure she's responding well. Flirting is important if you want to get her attention. Say something like, “Do you always wear pink because it looks so good on you?” Make a comment about her clothes or something she's wearing to show you're interested without being too serious about it. Give her a small compliment. Tell her you like the way she styles her hair, or something else that's harmless to show you're paying attention. Don't avoid saying something nice to her because you think she's heard it all before. Just because you're sure every other guy she knows has mentioned her gorgeous eyes doesn't mean you have to ignore them. Show interest in only her, not her friends. Though you may think that you raise your chances of picking up a girl if you flirt your way into a crowd of girls and see who bites, you're actually far better off focusing your energy on just one girl at a time. If you make it seem like you'd just be as happy hitting on her friends as you are with talking to the girl, then she'll see you as a player and will quickly lose interest. Instead, you need to make it clear that she's the one for you. No girl wants to feel like a piece of meat. She wants to feel like you think she's special, not like she's just one of a number of girls you want to hit on. Plus, if you start hitting on her friends as well as her, then they'll discourage the girl from liking you because they'll see that you're a player, too. Approach her in places other than bars or nightclubs. If you want to raise your chances of picking up a girl, then you have to think outside the box a bit. Sure, a lot of guys like to pick up girls at bars and nightclubs, but you may actually be able to pick up a girl more easily at a coffee shop, farmer's market, mall, or even the gym, because she'll be less likely to expect it and her guard may be down. Don't think that you can only look for girls in the most obvious places and always be on the lookout for cute girls who spark your interest. If you're at a coffee shop, see if you can strike up a conversation with a girl about a book she's reading. She'll be impressed that you're suave and smart. If you're at the farmer's market or even a grocery store, don't be afraid to strike up a silly conversation about produce or by asking the girl what she plans to do with that bunch of kale. If you're at the gym, make eye contact with a girl when you're working out and come up to her later, when she's wrapping up her workout, so you don't catch her off guard too much. Ask her questions. If you want the girl to be into you, then you have to show that you actually want to get to know her. You don't need to give her the first degree, but you should at least ask her a few questions about her interests and who she is so she feels like you're making an effort. Make sure you open up about yourself, too, so you create a fair balance. When it comes to picking up a girl, it's much more important to be interested in her, than to be interesting yourself. Here are some things you can ask her about: Her hobbies Her pets Her friends The town where she grew up Her favorite bands, movies, or actors Find common ground. You don't have to have everything in common with the girl you're trying to pick up, but finding something you can bond over certainly won't hurt. This can be your love for the Warriors, your obsession with the show Community, or even the fact that you happened to go to the same college three years apart. You can even find something much more silly to have in common, such as your dislike of the bartender, or your love for the color black. Once you find your thing, make a real human connection with the girl over it. If you find that you don't have any sports teams, shows, or musical interests in common, then you can tease her about her taste a bit, but only if she teases you, too. Show that you think she's special. Let her know that she really stands out to you. Compliment her eyes or her clothes, tell her why you think she's unique, and let her see that you're not just smooth talking her. Make her get the feeling that you genuinely care and that you're not just there to get any girl to go home with you. Lean closer to her, tell her she has the greatest laugh you've ever heard, and just make an effort to show that she really does stand out to you. No girl wants to be looked at as a piece of meat. Make her see that you see her for her, and that she's not just any other girl. If she's really different in some way — in a good way — then let her know. Tell her something like, “I've never met anyone who knows so much about indie rock.” Don't come on too strong. While you want her to see that you're pursuing her, you don't want to creep her out, either. Let her know you like her without telling her you want to get married, and ask her questions without talking about how many people she's kissed in her life. Make her see that you're a fun, cool, and casual guy and that you're not putting too much pressure on yourself over this. The harder you try, the more put off she'll be. Don't be jealous about other guys. If you see other guys checking her out or saw her talking to another guy in her circle, don't start asking a million questions about who they are or how she knows them. Just play it cool instead of coming off as insecure. Try to avoid questioning her feelings about you, or making it look like you're too desperate to please her. Don't take yourself so seriously. Remember to keep things light and fun. There's no need to be nervous or to worry about what she's thinking of you every two seconds. Just think of it as having a fun conversation that can lead to something more. If you're too worried about how she's responding to you, then she'll be able to tell and it may lead to some awkwardness down the line. Instead, just be casual, stick to light topics, and don't be too intense about the whole thing. Remember that the girl is out to have a good time, too. If you put too much pressure on yourself to have this amazing connection right away, that will actually make it less likely that it will happen. Don't flaunt your wealth. You may think that a girl at a bar will want to hear all about how much money you have, but you should actually avoid this topic of conversation if you want to get anywhere. Girls want to be impressed by who you are, not what's in your bank account, and if you make too much of a big deal about paying for things or talking about your sports car, then they'll be turned off before you know it. Even worse than flaunting your wealth is lying about your wealth. If you want to get anywhere with a girl, then don't bother with this. Break the touch barrier. Once you and the girl start hitting it off, don't be afraid of a little casual flirting and touching. Just lean closer to her and place a hand on her arm or her shoulder and see how she reacts. If she flinches or moves away, then you should probably back off. But if she moves closer to you or even touches you back, then this is a sign that she wants you to break the touch barrier. You can also give her a playful tap on the arm when you're teasing each other, so it looks like you're just kidding around. You can be bold and compliment her earring or bracelet while reaching out to touch it as an excuse to get closer to her. If you're sitting down, move a bit closer so that your knees, thighs or feet are touching. Ask at the right time. You should ask the girl out when things are at their peak. When you're laughing, having an amazing time, and when she's clearly enjoying the conversation, you should say something like, “I'd love to keep having this conversation about Radiohead, but I've gotta get going. Can we pick it up again over dinner or drinks soon?” Make it sound casual, so she doesn't get caught off guard. If things are going well, then she will be more likely to say yes. If you wait too long to ask her out and the conversation has gotten boring, then she'll be less likely to talk to you. If you're already running out of things to talk about, then why would she want more of that another day? Ask for her number. Just casually ask for her phone number. Simply say, “Hey, can I call you some time?” Or, “I'd love to meet up again. Can I have your number?” Don't make a big deal of it or tell her that you think she's the perfect girl for you. Just ask for her number, plain and simple, and let her see that you weren't too worked up over asking. Remind yourself that the worst thing that can happen is that she will say no, which really isn't such a big deal, in the scheme of things. Don't ask if you can contact her on social media as a first resort. Though you may think its more low pressure to say, “Hey, can I Facebook you some time?” this actually comes off as not being as serious. If you really want to pick up the girl, then get her number. Ask her to hang out more. If you want to see if the girl will go home with you that night, then you really want to be suave about it. You can go for the, “Hey, let's get out of here,” approach, or you can be a bit more gentlemanly and ask her if you can go to the wine bar across the street or another public place to talk at first. You can even say, “I just like talking to you so much, but I want to go somewhere more private. What do you say?” Let her see that you really want to spend more time with her, and that you're interested in more than just getting laid. Hey, if you really are just wanting to have a roll in the hay, there's nothing wrong with that, but you shouldn't make the girl think that you want something more if that's the case. Know when you're not welcome. Learn to read the signs that tell you to abandon ship. If the girl is looking away, staring at the floor, repeatedly checking her phone, or waiting for her friends to save her, then things are probably not going well. If she barely responds to you and keeps stepping away subtly, then you shouldn't try to pick her up. Maybe she has a boyfriend or she's just not feeling it. Whatever the reason, it's best to back away while you're ahead. Read her body language to see if she's into you. If she keeps turning her body away from you, crossing her arms over her chest, or moving back slightly if you touch her, then she's probably not feeling it. It's okay to admit when you're not wanted. Maybe the girl just wanted some time with her friends. Don't let it get to you and focus your energy on the next girl who strikes your fancy. | Know when to approach. Impress her with your confidence. Have a solid opening. Flirt a little bit. Show interest in only her, not her friends. Approach her in places other than bars or nightclubs. Ask her questions. Find common ground. Show that you think she's special. Don't come on too strong. Don't take yourself so seriously. Don't flaunt your wealth. Break the touch barrier. Ask at the right time. Ask for her number. Ask her to hang out more. Know when you're not welcome. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-College-Application-Essay | How to Write a College Application Essay | To write a college admissions essay, start by coming up with one or two life experiences related to the prompt. Then, choose one topic and focus on it, like a situation in your life that made you challenge your beliefs. Also, try to begin your essay in a unique way to grab the reader's attention, like by turning it into a story. Next, use a few detailed examples to show the skills you have, such as leadership, rather than using lots of different ones. In the conclusion, make a statement on your main theme without repeating yourself. | Spend some time thinking about the question. Most admissions essays come with a prompt or a question you need to answer. Read the prompt or question carefully and then give yourself some time to think about it. Don't just go with the first idea that comes to mind when you read it. Consider writing down a list of ideas that come to you after you read the question or prompt. Once you've written your list, look it over and see which topics or ideas jump out at you as something you could write about. Some colleges or programs will give you several questions or prompts to choose from, or even give you the option of responding to more than one prompt. Choose the question(s) that you think you can answer the most effectively. Some places like the Common App will release the essay prompts from previous years, if you want to get an idea of what topics you might be asked to write about. Avoid reusing essays for other applications. If you're applying to colleges, you're probably writing a lot of essays. Resist the temptation to just rework an essay from another application to fit the new prompt. It will be obvious to the admissions officer reading your essay if you're answering a different question. If you have to write 2 essays from very similar prompts or questions, it's okay to reuse ideas or modify a previous draft. Just make sure that your essay effectively addresses all aspects of the prompt. Think about what makes you different. When you're brainstorming ideas for your essay, think about the things that have made you stand out: what are your strengths? Your best personality traits? What types of compliments do you receive the most from your friends and teachers? These are good things to build an essay on. For example, maybe you're a creative thinker, or a great problem-solver. Emphasize this in your essay by writing about a time that those qualities helped you in your day-to-day life. Don't limit yourself to reciting extracurriculars. When you're thinking about possible themes for your essay, remember that many applicants will have participated in the same groups and organizations as you have. To set yourself apart using the same things other people use will require some creativity. Try to consolidate all your experiences into a resume or brag sheet. Then, break them down by how much time you spent with the organization or project. When did you start? Finish? What were your accomplishments? Your tasks and responsibilities? What were some of your successes and challenges? Reflecting on those experiences will give you ideas for creative, unique ways you can portray them to admissions officers. Tell them something new. Your essay also shouldn't just repeat things that you've already listed elsewhere on your application. Tell the admissions officer something they can't learn about you from the other paperwork you've filled out. It's okay to expand on points you only mentioned in passing in other parts of the application, but make sure you are adding new information and presenting it in an engaging, creative way. For example, you could tell a story that illustrates how much you enjoy helping take care of others as a way to explain why you want to do a pre-med major. You could also explain how you overcame a particular fear. Tell a story. If you can tell a story in response to the prompt or question, do so. Telling a story will be much more engaging or interesting than just listing a bunch of reasons why you want to go to college. Admissions officers are often looking for students who can engage their audience, and the more interesting your essay is, the more an admissions officer will want to read it. A personal story can also help the reader connect with you on a personal level and learn something about who you are as a person. If you're not sure how to start this type of narrative/personal essay, you can look some examples up online to give you an idea of what you should be shooting for. Focus on one topic. Once you've brainstormed a list of ideas, choose one as the theme of your essay. Focusing on one theme helps keep your essay organized and to the point. Like any essay, the college admissions essay should have a clear thesis that summarizes your main ideas and presents your theme in an engaging way. For example, your essay might focus on a situation where you found yourself questioning or challenging one of your own beliefs. Recount an incident in your life when this happened to you, and reflect on how the experience changed you. Start with a few lines that introduce the topic of your essay in a compelling and personal way. Have a great opener. The person reading your essay will be reading stacks of them, so getting their attention right away is a great way to get the reader's interest immediately. You could start with a quote, or a piece of advice you once received, or even a provocative way of setting up the theme of your essay. For example, maybe your essay is on how you're pursuing biology because you've always been interested in how things grow and survive in adverse conditions. You could say something like, “Watching grass grow is the most boring thing most people can think of. I love it.” Write in your own voice. Don't try to copy someone else's tone in your writing. You don't have to sound like anyone else, you just have to sound like you. An easy way to write in your own voice is by avoiding clichés. Don't use phrases that you've heard repeated over and over, unless you can put your own, creative spin on them. For example, avoid saying things like "dream come true," "long story short," or "outside my comfort zone." Many, many people will use these phrases over and over, and relying on them prevents you from using your own words to describe your experience and feeling. Don't feel like you have to limit yourself to the five-paragraph intro, body, body, body, conclusion format. When it comes to telling your story and sharing how valuable your experience will be to a school, portray it in the format that will be the most attractive to the school. Write a first draft. Once you've chosen the topic for you essay, write a first draft. Don't worry about making it perfect, just write down everything you can think of that relates to your topic. You might find it helpful to start with an outline listing the major points you want to cover. Show, don't tell. When you're writing your essay, provide examples to support the things that you're saying about yourself. Anyone can say they're a good leader or they love to learn, but what can set you apart is demonstrating how those things are true in your life. For example, don't just say “I love being in leadership positions.” Instead, give examples of when you've been the leader in groups or taken the lead in situations with other people. Don't embellish. It's tempting to embellish or overstate what you've done when you're trying to make yourself stand apart from others. You should not do this in your essay under any circumstances. Don't say you've done something or been somewhere you haven't. Don't overdo the humor. You might be tempted to try to make the admissions officer who is reading your essay laugh. Humor is a great way to make friends or break the ice with someone new, but you should try not to rely on it in your admissions essay. You have no way of knowing what the admissions officer's sense of humor is like, and you don't want to run the risk of a joke falling flat or, even worse, offending someone. Use a positive tone. College can be difficult, and one thing that admissions officers might be looking for is evidence that you've overcome obstacles and been able to work through hard situations. Using a positive tone in your essay helps emphasize that you've been able to get through and learn from difficult situations. For example, if you're writing about a time when you helped a friend through the loss of a parent, part of your essay will obviously be sad. But you can also strike a positive tone by saying something like "It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and it changed my friend in a lot of ways. But I also learned that you can never take a single day for granted and what it means to really be someone's friend." Appeal to your readers' emotions. Be honest and open about what getting into college means to you, personally. This will help the admissions officers connect with you and your story on a personal level, and will make your essay stand out. Don't exaggerate; just be sincere and earnest. For example, you might say, “I've known that I want to go to college for engineering ever since I went on a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in fourth grade. I'm always happiest when I'm working on a technical problem or surrounded by people who share my passion. When I toured the Big State U. robotics lab last month, I felt like I was home.” Tie it all together at the end. A powerful closing statement is just as important as a good opener. Look for a way to connect the ending of your essay to the themes you presented at the beginning. Use a few sentences to make a final point that underscores your main theme without repeating what you've already said. For example, maybe you started your essay by talking about how a teacher inspired your love for a particular subject. You might end by sharing something meaningful that that teacher said to you, or briefly summarizing how you grew as a person after taking their class. Give yourself some space. After you've drafted your essay, walk away from it for a while. This could be for a few hours or a few days. Once you come back to it, it can be easier to see where it needs editing, what you can keep, and what just doesn't work. For example, write your admissions essay on a Saturday morning and then don't look at it again until Sunday or Monday night. After writing it, you'll have a better idea of what you actually wanted to say. It will be obvious after some time away where you're saying what you mean and what areas need work. Proofread your essay. Once you've drafted your essay, reread and edit it more than once. Read your essay first to make sure that it says exactly what you want it to say. Then read it again for spelling and grammar errors. You can also ask someone else to proofread your essay for you. Asking a teacher, parent, or older sibling is probably the best way to go, since they might be more familiar with what's expected from college admissions essays. Write succinctly. Make sure that your essay does not exceed the maximum word and page length. This might mean cutting out whole sentences or it might mean using fewer words to say the same thing. If you have trouble with this, ask a friend to check your writing for unnecessary words. For example, instead of saying "I want to tell you about the process I went through to decide to become a doctor," you could say, "I want to share how I decided to become a doctor." In addition to excessive wordiness, check for unnecessary tangents. When you're drafting your essay, you may end up adding things you didn't originally plan on. Go through your essay and make sure these points serve the main purpose of your essay. If not, take them out. Vary your vocabulary. Don't use the same words over and over in your essay. Most word processing software has a “thesaurus” function. If you find you're repeating the same words, use it. Make sure you're replacing your original vocabulary with words that mean the same thing. Different words have different connotations, and not every suggestion from the thesaurus will have the exact meaning you're looking for. | Spend some time thinking about the question. Avoid reusing essays for other applications. Think about what makes you different. Don't limit yourself to reciting extracurriculars. Tell them something new. Tell a story. Focus on one topic. Have a great opener. Write in your own voice. Write a first draft. Show, don't tell. Don't embellish. Don't overdo the humor. Use a positive tone. Appeal to your readers' emotions. Tie it all together at the end. Give yourself some space. Proofread your essay. Write succinctly. Vary your vocabulary. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-You-Snowboard-Regular-or-Goofy | How to Tell if You Snowboard Regular or Goofy | To tell if you snowboard regular or goofy, start by standing at the bottom of a set of stairs. Then, without thinking about it, start walking up the stairs like you normally would. If you step onto the stairs with your right foot first, that means you're regular footed and should ride with your right foot strapped into the back of your snowboard. If you step onto the stairs with your left foot, you're goofy footed and should strap your left foot into the back of your snowboard. | If you put your left foot forward, you have a regular stance. It's easy to tell which stance you have by strapping in and riding (or even just by looking at your bindings). A regular stance leads with the left foot and places the right foot in the rear for steering. In this stance, you turn your neck to the left to see where you're going. If you put your right foot forward, you have a goofy stance. On the other hand, the goofy stance has the right foot leading and the left foot steering in the rear. In this stance, you turn your head to the right to see where you're going. Slide across a slippery floor in your socks. First, take off your shoes so that you're in your socks. When you're ready, get a running start and jump forward. Try to land on both feet. Let yourself slide forward and come to a stop. Look at your feet — the one you put forward should be the one you put forward on your board. For example, if you put your right foot forward while sliding, you probably have a goofy stance. This test has a small risk of slipping and falling, so only do it someplace that's clear of furniture, obstacles, and other people. If you're worried, you can always wear a helmet or try one of the other tests. Use a surprise shove from behind. Tell a friend that you want her to come up behind you in a few minutes and surprise you with a gentle shove. Your friend should pay attention to which foot you step forward with. The foot that you stick forward to catch yourself should be in the front when you ride. For example, if you step forward with your left foot, you probably have a regular stance. Play a game of tug-of-war with a few friends. After a few seconds of pulling as hard as you can, have everyone freeze. Look at your feet. The foot that you put forward should be the one that you put forward on your snowboard as well. For example, if you tend to put your left foot forward while playing tug-of-war, you probably have a regular stance. Climb a set of stairs. Walk to the bottom of a set of stairs. Stand close enough so that your next step will be on the first step. Now, start walking up the stairs. The foot you step with first should be in the rear on your snowboard. For example, if you step with your right foot first, you probably have a regular stance. The tricky part of this test is that it's easy to think about it too hard and use a different foot than you would naturally. Try not to focus too hard on the test — for instance, you may want to bring a magazine so you can read it for a minute to get your mind off the test, then step suddenly. Drop-kick a ball. Grab a good-sized ball like a soccer ball or a rubber kickball. Hold it in front of you and kick it hard as it falls to the ground. The foot you use to kick should be in the rear when you're on your snowboard. For instance, if you find that you naturally kick with your left foot, you probably have a goofy riding stance. Simply check your skateboard or surfing stance. If you skateboard or surf, the stance you use for these sports is almost always the same one that will naturally suit you when snowboarding. For instance, if you put your left foot forward when you ride your longboard, it's very likely that this regular stance is what you should use for snowboarding as well. | If you put your left foot forward, you have a regular stance. If you put your right foot forward, you have a goofy stance. Slide across a slippery floor in your socks. Use a surprise shove from behind. Play a game of tug-of-war with a few friends. Climb a set of stairs. Drop-kick a ball. Simply check your skateboard or surfing stance. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Juice-a-Softball-Bat | How to Juice a Softball Bat | Juicing your softball bat can help you hit harder and boost your game. Keep in mind that juiced bats are often illegal during a game, so only use one for fun. One way you can juice your softball bat is by using a bat rolling machine. You would just roll the bat through a rolling machine a few times on each pressure increment. Then, turn the bat parallel to the machine and roll it this way to get any spots you might have missed. Another option is shaving your bat with a lathe to make it lighter. All you need to do is remove the end cap and set up the lathe so it can trim down the inside of the bat. You'll want to shave off no more than 3/4 of an inch. You can also end-load your bat by adding polyurethane to it. Pry open the end cap with a screwdriver, then use epoxy to glue a polyurethane disk to the inside. | Get the right kind of bat. Not all bats will be well suited for use in a bat rolling machine. Alloy or metal bats are not meant for rolling and won't gain much benefit. Composite bats are the best to roll and can gain a noticeable increase in performance. Make sure your bat is a composite bat before having it rolled. Rolling a bat will simulate the wear and tear that will come from regularly using your bat. Composite bats are made from graphite and carbon layers. These bats will perform better the more you use them, allowing them to benefit from being rolled. Aluminum and wooden bats won't benefit from being rolled. Because rolling your bat increases its performance levels, you may have an unfair advantage over other players. This advantage is the reason that juiced bats are illegal to play with. Find or purchase a bat rolling machine. You will need to have access to a bat rolling machine in order to get the best results. Rolling a bat is an accelerated way to break the bat in and increase its performance during play. Bat rolling machines will evenly break the bat in, targeting all areas along the “sweet spot” and giving your bat a bit more power. A bat rolling machine is a vice with three rollers. These rollers allow the bat to move while it is compressed. There are bat rolling services that will roll your bat for you. You can try purchasing your own bat rolling machine. Perpendicularly roll the first section of the bat. You will begin by rolling the length of the bat first. Place the bat into the machine perpendicularly to the machine's rollers. You'll then need to turn the top lever to increase the pressure and compress the bat. Use the side lever to move the bat back and forth, compressing the bat's “sweet spot”. Insert the bat into the machine, perpendicular to the the rollers. Start with one quarter turn of pressure. Do around 7-10 passes for each pressure increment. Increase the pressure on quarter turn. Don't go any further than 1 or 1¼ turns of pressure. Avoid getting to close to the taper or the end cap. Remove the bat and move to the next section. Once you've rolled one section of the bat, you can move on and roll the next. You will need to roll the entire face of the bat in order to get a fully balanced roll. After you've completed rolling each area of the bat's barrel, you can move onto rolling the bat parallel to the rollers. Rotate the bat about ¼” and roll this new section. Once the section is rolled, move to the next section on the bat. Roll all the way around the bat and end at your starting point. Roll the bat parallel. Now that your bat has been rolled perpendicularly, you can roll it parallel to focus on areas that may have been missed. Insert the bat in the side of the rolling machine so that the rollers are hitting the area between the bat's end cap and the taper. Try to focus on this area as you work to roll the bat parallel to the rollers. Start with a quarter of a turn of pressure. Do around four or five full rotations before increasing the pressure another quarter of a turn. Continue until you've reached around 1 ¼ turns of pressure. Gain access to a lathe. To properly shave a bat, you will need to either know someone who owns a lathe or have access to one yourself. The lathe will be used to accurately and evenly trim the inside of the bat, removing material and increasing the performance of the bat. If you don't have access to a lathe of your own, try asking someone who does to learn if they can help you shave your bat. You may consider using a professional service to shave your bat for you. Do not attempt to operate a lathe if you have not had proper training. You can shave aluminum or composite softball bats. Shaving a bat removes material from the barrel, resulting in thinner walls. These thinner walls will compress and spring back with more force than a regular bat. This extra force can increase the speed and distance of your hits. Because of the unfair advantage a shaved bat can bring, they are illegal in any official baseball game or league. Remove the end cap of your bat. The end cap of the bat will need to be removed before it can be properly inserted into the lathe. The lathe will need to shave the inside of the bat's barrel. Caps can be easily removed using a screwdriver and some leverage. You can follow these basic steps to remove the end cap from your bat: Some people will apply gentle heat to the end cap before trying to remove it. Insert a screwdriver into the gap between the end cap and the barrel of the bat. Gently use the screwdriver to apply leverage against the end cap. Work to push the end cap up and out of the barrel of the bat. Don't apply too much force as you could damage your bat or the end cap. Use the lathe to shave the bat. Fix the bat into the lathe in a way that will allow the bit to shave down the inside wall of the bat's barrel. Set up the lathe so that it will trim off no more than.075” from the inside of the barrel's wall. Shaving more material off might result in greater power behind your swings. However, taking more material off of your bat will also make it less durable and more likely to break. Composite bats seem to benefit the most from shaving. In one case, shaving off four layers of material from a composite bat added 6.5 mph (10.5 km/h) to batted-ball speed. Replace the end cap. After the bat has been shaved, you will need to replace the end cap. Putting the end cap back on will help make your bat look as good new. You can use these basic steps to replace your bat's end cap. Clean the inside of the bat's barrel. Put a coat urethane epoxy on the inside of your bat's barrel. Place the end cap back into the bat. You may need to lightly hit it with a mallet to make the fit a secure one. Wipe away any excess epoxy that may have spilled over the edges. Let the end cap dry. Before you can begin using your bat to play ball, you'll need to let it completely dry. Allowing the epoxy time to form a tight bond between the bat's inner walls and the end cap will prevent the end cap from coming loose during play. Make sure the epoxy has had plenty of time to dry before using your bat again. Allow the bat up to two days to dry. You can secure the end cap with a ratchet strap while it dries. This can help achieve a firm bond between the bat and the end cap. Find the right kind of bat to end-load. End-loading your bat can give you more power behind your hits. To get started, you'll need to find a softball bat that is hollow and will allow you to remove the end cap. Many aluminum and composite bats will be capable of being end-loaded. Before you continue, make sure your bat is capable of being end loaded. End loaded bats will have weight added or shifted to the end cap of the bat. This extra weight can add more power to a hit, sending the ball flying faster than normal bats. End loaded bats are usually not permitted to use during an official game. The advantage that these bats provide is considered unfair to players who are using regulation bats. The inner barrel of your bat should be hollow. You should be able to remove the end cap from your bat. Remove the end cap of the bat. To end-load a softball bat yourself, you will first need to carefully remove the end cap from the bat. Removing the end cap will allow you to add material to the cap, causing the weight of the bat to shift to the end. You can use these steps to help you remove the cap from your bat: Gently work a screwdriver in between the end cap and the wall of the bat. Use the screwdriver's leverage to begin pushing the cap up and out of the bat's barrel. Move the screwdriver to another spot between the cap and the barrel. Don't push too hard. Forcing the cap out could damage the bat or the cap. Some people have found applying gentle heat to the end cap can make it easier to remove. Add polyurethane to the end cap. Once you've remove the end cap, you can apply polyurethane to add weight to the end cap. The end cap should be entirely filled with polyurethane to ensure that enough weight has been added. Allow at least one full day for the polyurethane to dry completely. Replace the end cap. After you have made sure your polyurethane filling has totally dried, you can add the end cap back onto your bat. Adding the end cap will make your bat ready to use again. The new end cap will have shifted the weight of the bat into the end, changing your swing and adding more force to your hits. Use these steps to help you add your end cap back to the bat: Make sure the inside of your bat is clean. Apply epoxy to the inside of your bat's barrel. Place the end cap back in the bat. You may need to use a rubber mallet to get it all the way back into position. Clean up the bat and wait for it to dry. Don't start swinging your bat just yet. You'll need to give the epoxy plenty of time to dry before you can use the bat. If the epoxy doesn't dry completely before you use the bat, the end cap may come flying off of the bat. Make sure that the epoxy is fully dry before heading out to use your new bat. Allow your bat around two day's time to dry. Clean up any epoxy that has spilled onto your bat. Any epoxy that dries outside your bat will be very difficult to remove once it dries. Purchase a pre-made end-loaded bat. There are many end-loaded bats that you can purchase, saving you the trouble of creating your own. These bats will come with a polyurethane filled end cap, putting extra weight in the end of the bat and your swing. If you want an end-loaded bat without the hassle of making one, try looking on-line for one that you can purchase. You can also find pre-made end caps that are already weighted for you. You can find end-loaded bats for around the same price as a regular softball bat. | Get the right kind of bat. Find or purchase a bat rolling machine. Perpendicularly roll the first section of the bat. Remove the bat and move to the next section. Roll the bat parallel. Gain access to a lathe. Remove the end cap of your bat. Use the lathe to shave the bat. Replace the end cap. Let the end cap dry. Find the right kind of bat to end-load. Remove the end cap of the bat. Add polyurethane to the end cap. Replace the end cap. Clean up the bat and wait for it to dry. Purchase a pre-made end-loaded bat. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-the-Tension-on-a-Sewing-Machine | How to Adjust the Tension on a Sewing Machine | If you need to adjust the tension on a sewing machine, find the tension regulating dial, which is a small knob with numbers on it. These are located in different places on different machines, so if you're not sure which knob it is, check your sewing machine manual. If you need to tighten the thread, turn the dial to a lower number, or make a clockwise turn with the knob. If you need to lower the tension in the thread, turn the dial to a higher number. If you still need to adjust the thread, use a very small screwdriver to turn the screw on the side of the bobbin case. | Find the thread guides. The thread guides are the metal devices that help regulate tension. They are various loops that you run the thread through before looping it into your needle. They keep the thread from getting tangled and distribute the tension evenly from the spool to your fabric. Find the tension discs and regulator. The tension discs and tension regulator together are called the tension assembly. The tension discs squeeze the thread as it passes between them, while the tension regulator controls the amount of pressure on the discs. The tension regulator is elementary: when adjusted to a higher number (turned clockwise), the discs move closer together, increasing the pressure. Turned to a lower number (counterclockwise), the discs move apart, decreasing pressure. On older machines there are only two tension discs, controlled by a screw or knob. On newer models there are three discs controlled by a dial or keypad on the front of the machine. Unless you have a newer machine that makes automatic upper-tension adjustments, using a thicker thread without resetting the dial will increase the pressure and cause the upper thread flow to decrease. Find the bobbin. The flat bobbin-case spring exerts pressure on the thread as it comes out of the bobbin case. You can either have a loading drop in bobbin (you won't have a bobbin case), or bottom loading with a bobbin case in a compartment below the needle. The amount of pressure on the bobbin is regulated by a small screw at the rear of the spring. Both the spring and screw are easy to locate when the machine has a separate bobbin case. When the machine has a drop-in bobbin with a built-in bobbin case, locating the tension screw can be more challenging but a little bit of searching will prove it's there. In either case, to increase the resistance, use a small screwdriver to turn the screw clockwise (to a higher number) or counterclockwise (to a lower number). Turn the screw in small increments and never more than a quarter-turn between tests. Understand tension. Tension is what keeps your bottom and top stitches in equal tension with one another. In other words, it is what keeps your front and back stitches looking the same. Both the top and bottom tension must work together in order to create consistent stitching. If your top and bottom stitches aren't even, it may be due to your tension not being right on the top or bottom. Most domestic sewing machines are of the "lockstitch" variety. That means an upper thread and a lower thread "lock" together. When they don't “lock” together properly, you could have an issue with the tension. Sew a test seam. Using a small swatch of fabric, run a couple of seams down the middle of the square. Observe the top and bottom surface of the seams, using a magnifying glass if need be. Remember you want your stitches to look even on both sides of your fabric. If the thread is so tight it's causing the fabric to bunch around it or if the stitching is loose and falling apart, you might have an issue with the tension. If your stitches look perfect and your sewing machine is sewing wonderfully, don't touch your tension knobs! Identify your problem. You've sewn a test seam or two and you've inspected the seams. A perfect stitch will have threads locked midway between the two layers of cloth, with no loops on the top or bottom of the seam and no puckers in the cloth. An easy way to think of the thread balance is tug of war. You have your top thread and your bobbin thread pulling on each side. If they're both pulling equally, the seam will be even and consistent. If one side is pulling too much, the thread from the other side will be visible. If the bobbin thread shows on the top side of the seam and the top thread is straight, the upper tension is too tight. If top thread shows on the underside of the seam and the lower thread is straight, the upper tension is too loose. Inspect your machine. There are multiple problems that could be causing issues with your sewing machine that aren't the tension. Make sure to check these possible causes before adjusting your tension knobs. Incorrectly threaded machine: Is all of the thread running through the thread guides? Is thread unwinding freely from the spool or is it catching? Is the bobbin inserted correctly? Dirty machine: Thread ends can get lodged between tension discs, around the bobbin case, and under the throat pale. This can cause an increase in resistance and restrict the thread flow. Check all of these areas to ensure they're clear. Damaged machine parts: Bent needles and bobbins and rough or damaged surfaces on the needle eyes, thread guides, tension discs, take-up lever, throat plate, presser foot, bobbin case, or in the bobbin area can all cause problems. Give your machine a general inspection and remember that even the tiniest damage can distort tension. Pay attention to your needles, threads, and fabrics. Different thread sizes on the top and in the bobbin can throw off your basic tension settings. A needle that is too large or too small can also unbalance your stitches. If you're getting puckers on a lightweight fabric, trying shortening the stitch length to 1.75mm. All of these small details can wreak havoc on your project so make sure you're detail-oriented when setting up your machine for a project. Polyester thread is a a true all-purpose thread, and it's a good choice for most sewing projects. Wool thread, on the other hand, is very thick and if you were to use it, you'd have to adjust your tension. Common heavy duty fabrics include canvas and burlap while cotton and polyester are common fabrics with a standard weight. If you're switching between heavy fabrics and something of a lighter weight, you'd have to adjust your tension to keep the stitches even. Needles come in various sizes for different purposes. There are thicker needles designed for denim that won't break when they're being used and thin needles that won't damage thin, delicate fabrics. When buying needles, you can consult someone in the store to help you find the best option for your fabric. Find your tension regulating dial. It will be in a different place on every machine so if you're not sure which knob it is, you can check your sewing machine manual. If you don't have a manual, it is the knob with numbers on it that doesn't change your type or stitches or length. Adjust your top tension if it’s too loose. To increase your top tension if it's too loose, turn your knob so that the numbers are increasing. Try ½ to 1 number lower, then test the stitches on a piece of scrap fabric. Continue until it looks even on both sides and you can no longer see the bottom thread on the top. If you are unable to get it completely even, proceed to adjusting the bobbin tension. Adjust your top tension if it’s too tight. To decrease your top tension if it is too tight, turn your knob so the numbers are decreasing. Try ½ to 1 number lower, then test the stitches on a piece of scrap fabric. Continue until it looks even on both sides and you can no longer see the bottom thread on the top. If you are unable to get it completely even, proceed to adjusting the bobbin tension. Adjust your bobbin tension. You should always try to adjust your top tension first because you shouldn't need to adjust your bobbin tension unless you are using a heavier or lighter thread than usual. If you've done that and still need to adjust the lower thread, locate your bobbin in either the top loading drop in bobbin (you won't have a bobbin case), or bottom loading with a bobbin case. With a bottom loading bobbin, an easy way to test the tension is to take the thread hanging from your bobbin case in your hand. If it doesn't unwind at all, your tension is too tight and needs to be loosened. If the thread unwinds with no effort, your tension is too loose and you'll need to tighten it. You want to hold the thread and have it drop just a few inches. When that happens, your tension is perfect. Use a tiny screwdriver and turn the screw on the side of the bobbin case by ¼ turn. Turn it right to increase the tension and left to decrease it. Test the tension again. Repeat until the thread only drops a few inches. Similarly, with a top loading bobbin, you use a screwdriver and turn the screw by ¼ turn, testing your tension between each adjustment with a test seam on scrap fabric. The good old righty tighty lefty loosey applies in this situation as well. Test your tension until it’s right. Keep sewing test patches until your tension is right and you've got even stitches on both sides. Once you're happy with the tension, finish setting yourself up, and start your project! | Find the thread guides. Find the tension discs and regulator. Find the bobbin. Understand tension. Sew a test seam. Identify your problem. Inspect your machine. Pay attention to your needles, threads, and fabrics. Find your tension regulating dial. Adjust your top tension if it’s too loose. Adjust your top tension if it’s too tight. Adjust your bobbin tension. Test your tension until it’s right. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Squishy-Ball | How to Make a Squishy Ball | To make a squishy sock ball, start by getting a sock and cutting it in half. You should keep the half with the toe part of the sock. Then, stuff the sock with a few other old socks or fabric. Secure the open part of the sock with a small hair tie or rubber band to finish your ball, which should look like a small sack bag. You can also decorate your squishy ball with gel pens, if you want. You could draw on a face or any other design that you like. | Cut two equal pieces of cloth into a square shape. Using fabric marker, draw two circles or ovals on the fabric. Cut out the circles or ovals. You can vary the shape but it the shape is too complicated, you may not be able to turn the ball inside out later. Stitch the ball together. Thread a needle with some cotton in a similar color to the cloth. Sew along the edge of the ball, leaving a small edge. Use small, close stitches to keep the filling inside. Stop when you have stitched about 3/4 of the way around. Turn the cloth inside out. Stuff the ball with cotton filling. Continue sewing together, making sure that the edges of the cloth are tucked inward while sewing, so they cannot be seen when you finish. Finish by tying a knot or two close to the surface of the fabric. It needs to be strong enough to prevent the fabric from unraveling. Decorate the squishy ball. You can add buttons, beads or other decorations but not too much. Or, just leave it plain. Done. It can now be played with. Get one sock and cut it in half. Get the half without the heel of the sock, and stuff it with five or six socks. Tie it with a small hair tie or rubber band. Tie the part with the opening. It must look like a small sack bag. Decorate it. Gel pen is recommended as long as it isn't too liquid. Draw something on it, such as a face, your favourite animal, or anything else you would like. This step is optional. Finished. The squishy ball is now ready for play. | Cut two equal pieces of cloth into a square shape. Stitch the ball together. Stop when you have stitched about 3/4 of the way around. Stuff the ball with cotton filling. Finish by tying a knot or two close to the surface of the fabric. Decorate the squishy ball. Done. Get one sock and cut it in half. Tie it with a small hair tie or rubber band. Decorate it. Finished. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Motivation | How to Improve Motivation | To improve motivation, start by breaking down a large goal you might have, like getting a new job, into smaller, measurable goals, like developing your resume and finding likely companies. Then, create an action plan with the steps you'll need to take to achieve your goal and make sure to track all your progress. Additionally, consider choosing a mantra to repeat throughout the day such as “I am strong, powerful, and can achieve my goals” and put the mantra where you will see it often, like on your phone's lockscreen. Mantras will help you to keep a positive mindset and boost your confidence. | Choose a mantra or set of mantras that motivate you. You can create a mantra yourself or use a quote. Make a habit of saying your mantra aloud at scheduled times during the day, such as when you wake up, at lunch, or right before bed. It's also helpful to post your mantras. Examples of great mantras include “Every day is a new beginning and a chance for change,” “I'm strong, powerful, and can achieve my goals,” and “If I believe it, I can achieve it.” If you want to post your mantras, you can use something basic like post-it notes, or you can opt for art prints that incorporate the quote. Post them on your refrigerator, near your bathroom mirror, or on the walls of your home. Choose a place where you'll see them every day. Use positive self-talk. Everyone has an internal voice, and it's not always friendly. Turning that voice toward the positive, however, can change your life for the better. You can do this by catching negative thoughts and reframing them in a positive way. Additionally, consciously tell yourself positive things about yourself, your life, and your goals. For example, your mind may say to you, “You're not good enough.” You can switch this around and say, “I am good enough, but sometimes I get overwhelmed when faced with challenges. Tomorrow things will look different.” In general, tell yourself things like, “I'm proud of myself for working hard every day,” “I've accomplished a lot, and the best is yet to come,” and “I know I can do this if I keep working hard.” Boost your confidence via an accomplishment. This is especially helpful for people with long-term goals. Complete a mini-goal that's related to your long-term goal, or try something that's always intimidated you. Keep in mind that accomplishing something can mean just giving it a try. For example, if your goal is to perform your own music, you could boost your confidence by participating in an open mic night. If you're feeling like you're in a life rut, you could accomplish something bold from your bucket list, such as skydiving. This will give you a sense of control over what you're doing with your life, which helps your motivation. Reframe activities that you don’t enjoy. It's normal to not enjoy parts of your journey toward your goal. You may love your job but hate parts of your workday, or you might want to run a cross-country marathon but hate running hills. You can alter your perception of something by imagining it getting dimmer and then inserting new emotions about it. For example, imagine that your stress about deadlines is fading away, then imagine how good you feel when you finish a project. Focus on the aspects of these activities that you enjoy or that benefit you. For example, running up hills may be difficult, but it also gives you a better view of the landscape. One way to do this is to focus on what you are actually doing and feeling while you do the activities you don't enjoy. For example, you may hate work meetings, but you could focus on the change of scenery, the opportunity to chat with your coworkers, or the chance to make a good impression on your boss. Connect with others who share your goals. Make friends who are on a similar journey as you, or join a group for like-minded individuals. They can be awesome motivators to stay on track, and they may even have useful advice for times when you're struggling. Look for like-minded friends online or at places related to your goal. For example, you could attend an open mic night to meet other aspiring musicians. You can also look for groups on sites like meetup.com. Don't spend time with people who are dragging you down. Instead, choose your motivators. Compare yourself to past you, not others. It's so tempting to compare yourself to other people , but this is always a mistake. No matter how well you are doing, you will always rank yourself second. It's better to compare yourself to you! Consider where you were in the past and where you are now. Try to be better than past you was. When you catch yourself comparing yourself to others, remind yourself that you're likely seeing their highlight reel -- not the nitty gritty of every day. The only fair comparison is between you and yourself. Make a list of your positive traits and accomplishments to remind yourself of how far you've already come! Make a gratitude list. By acknowledging everything you have to be grateful for, you can create the positive mindset you need to stay motivated. Write down everything good in your life, especially the things you've worked hard to get. Post your list somewhere you can see it, such as on your refrigerator or on your phone's lockscreen. It's best to make gratitude lists often. You might even write down 3-5 things you're grateful for every day. Over time, your gratitude list will make you feel more positive about your life, which helps improve your motivation to keep working toward what's important to you. Keep your goals small and measurable. It's great to have big goals for yourself, but you need to shrink them down in order to make them easier to accomplish. Break your larger goals down into small goals. Then identify criteria to help you measure them. For example, your big goal might be to publish a novel. You could set yourself a small goal of creating an outline or finishing a chapter. This goal is easy to measure because it'll be complete when the outline or chapter is finished. Similarity, your big goal might be to run a marathon. You might set a small goal of running a 5K. You could measure this goal by tracking how far you run every day or by signing up for a race. Create an action plan for your goals. You can create an overall plan to reach your big goal, or you can narrow it down to your small goals. Include what you want to achieve, the steps you will take to achieve it, and how you will measure success. For example, your big goal could be to run a marathon, and your small goals could consist of running a mile, running a 5K, running a 10K, and running a half marathon. Don't get bogged down in the details. Write out a basic framework for your action plan, then get started working toward your goals. You can always change or add to the plan later. Keep it basic with a brief outline. You don't need to plan every detail. For example, you could start your marathon action plan by just focusing on the steps you need to take to run a complete mile, such as buy new shoes, download a running app, and run 3 times a week. Display your action plan where you can see it every day. You can post them in your home, place them in your planner, or make them your digital wallpaper. Refer to it daily to see if you're on track. It's okay to get behind sometimes, but your action plan can get you back on track. Try posting your plan on your refrigerator. If you have a workspace, post your plan there. Choose a place that's easy for you to reference. Connect hard tasks and obstacles back to their purpose. This helps you push through and keep going when things are tough. Every goal comes with hard work and obstacles, and it's normal for motivation to decrease. You can stay motivated by giving these difficult times more purpose. For example, running bleachers at your local track may not be fun, but they can improve your physical condition to help your athletic performance. Similarly, getting a lot of criticism on a poem you wrote may make you feel discouraged, but it can help you improve the poem and grow as a writer. Track your progress. Seeing how far you've come can be a huge motivator! Keep track of all of your accomplishments, both great and small. Even a single step toward your goal is progress, so give yourself that credit! Write down all of your achievements so that you can read over them when you feel discouraged. You could also create a visual reminder of your progress. If your goal is to run a marathon, you might put up a poster with a trail on it. Divide the trail into 26.2 separate sections. Each time you increase your running distance, color in another section. Reward yourself for hard work and persistence. Rewards encourage you to stay on track toward your goal. Choose a reward that appeals to you. If possible, choose something that helps you work toward your goals. Here are some great ideas: You could reward sticking to a goal of writing every day by treating yourself to a new notebook. Get a massage to reward yourself for meeting your running goals. Enjoy a special meal with friends after turning down plans so that you can work on your goal. Take a bubble bath. Buy a set of weight gloves to celebrate your kickboxing progress. Treat yourself to a yoga session. Enjoy a good book. Do something you enjoy every day. Even working toward something you love can feel overwhelming, so take time for yourself. Spend at least a few minutes every day treating yourself to something you love, whether it's an episode of your favorite TV show, a favorite treat, or coffee with a friend. This will help you stay motivated when times get tough. Prepare yourself for setbacks. Setbacks are part of life, and they happen to everyone. They don't mean that you're a failure! Make a brief plan for how you'll overcome any obstacles that arrive, and remind yourself that you can do it. For example, your plan may be to talk to a friend that motivates you, take a day to brainstorm solutions, and then complete a small task that can help you complete your goal. Say to yourself, “This is all part of the journey. I can overcome this obstacle just like I've overcome them in the past.” Spend time working on your goal every day. When you're actively working toward your goal, your body releases dopamine, which is the hormone that helps you take action. Luckily, you can increase your dopamine with even a small amount of progress. Even if you can only spend 15 minutes working toward your goal on a given day, you'll see results. Avoid overthinking about your work and goals. Thinking too much can actually be counterproductive for two reasons. First, it keeps you in your head, preventing you from taking action. Second, it results in you thinking up possible problems that will likely never come to pass. When you catch yourself getting buried in your thoughts, take action, starting with a small task. Checking off that task will get you back on track. When you start to overthink, write down what's on your mind, then try to create a to-do list so that you can get to work. You may not be able to address all of your concerns today, but you can make some progress. Build your routines around your goals. Whether you're working on personal or professional goals, it's important to have routines. Get into the habit of setting aside blocks of time to accomplish the tasks you need to do. For example, get up early every day to work on your goal, such as going for an early morning run or spending an hour working on your manuscript. Start your workday the same way each day. For example, you might check off the easiest things on your to-do list that day, respond to emails, or create a daily action plan. Develop a post-lunch habit that helps you get back on track. For example, you could schedule all of your meetings for right after lunch to help you immediately get back on task. Take control over your own schedule. People and other responsibilities will demand parts of your time. It's up to you to balance your schedule to ensure that you have time for everything. That means that sometimes you will need to say “no” to some things to make time for others. Don't live your life according to what others want -- spend your time doing what's important to you. Schedule appointments with yourself so that you can pursue personal goals. You can also use this time to do things that make you happy. Learn to say "no" to things you don’t want to do. When someone asks for your time and it conflicts with working toward your goal, it's okay to say no without guilt. Set boundaries to protect your time, and practice saying “no” to people. When the time comes, give the person a compliment and then gently turn them down. Say, “Your Halloween party sounds so fun, but I've already committed to something that day.” You don't have to explain why you aren't going, so don't feel pressured to justify your decision. Ask for help if you need it. Sometimes you might find yourself procrastinating because you've encountered a difficulty, such as a hard task or a lack of resources. When this happens, ask for help! Everyone needs help sometimes. For example, you may need the person you live with to cut you some slack around the house so that you can meet a deadline. You might ask your running friends for help staying hydrated during long runs. You could borrow a piece of equipment that you need. | Choose a mantra or set of mantras that motivate you. Use positive self-talk. Boost your confidence via an accomplishment. Reframe activities that you don’t enjoy. Connect with others who share your goals. Compare yourself to past you, not others. Make a gratitude list. Keep your goals small and measurable. Create an action plan for your goals. Display your action plan where you can see it every day. Connect hard tasks and obstacles back to their purpose. Track your progress. Reward yourself for hard work and persistence. Do something you enjoy every day. Prepare yourself for setbacks. Spend time working on your goal every day. Avoid overthinking about your work and goals. Build your routines around your goals. Take control over your own schedule. Learn to say "no" to things you don’t want to do. Ask for help if you need it. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Hair-Dry-Faster-Without-a-Blow-Dryer | How to Make Hair Dry Faster Without a Blow Dryer | To make your hair dry faster without a blow dryer, make sure to condition your hair after shampooing to prevent water from being absorbed into the hair shaft. Then, squeeze out the excess water from your hair, and shake it out using your fingers to get air flowing between the strands. Next, use a microfiber or other super absorbent towel to blot your hair in sections. As you blot, focus on the roots by squeezing or blotting the area multiple times, since the roots take longer to dry than the ends. | Condition your hair. While in the shower, make sure to condition your hair. Conditioner not only promotes healthy hair, but also helps repel water. Conditioners include coatings that stick to your hair and help the water slide off instead of being absorbed. If you have curly hair, smooth leave-in conditioner over your hair. This helps fight frizz during the air drying process. If you have fine hair, put some oil onto any dry ends. Remove water before getting out of the shower. You can start the drying process before you even step out of the shower. Gently squeeze the excess water from your hair. After you squeeze as much water out of your hair as you can, take your fingers and comb through the strands. Fluff your hair so the strands separate. This helps your hair dry faster. Try not to get your hair wet again after you rinse your hair. Pin it up as you finish your shower, or keep it out of the spray. This decreases the water in your hair. Shake your hair out. After you get out of the shower, flip your head upside-down. Shake your head around for a few minutes. Use your fingers to lift the roots to speed up the drying time. Shaking your hair gets air flowing between the strands. This helps it dry faster than letting the strands stick together. Blot your hair with a towel. Use a towel to remove water from your hair. Make sure to use a microfiber or other super absorbent towel instead of a regular towel. A regular towel can make your hair frizzy and cause breakage. Use an absorbent towel to soak up moisture. Try to remove as much water as possible. Place your hair in sections. Squeeze the hair in the towel for a few seconds. Release and move on to the next section. Go over your hair and blot again as many times as needed. Use a different section of towel each time you dry a new section. This ensures you are not placing water back onto your hair. Don't rub your hair too vigorously with the towel. You can cause damage to the cuticle even with a microfiber towel. Instead of a towel, try using a soft cotton shirt or a pillowcase. The cotton will absorb the moisture and protect your hair. You can also try blotting with paper towels, but you will need to use several if you have long and/or thick hair. This helps reduce frizz. Focus on the roots. While drying your hair, focus on the roots instead of the ends. The ends will dry faster than your roots. To make your hair dry faster, remove as much water from the roots as possible. Blot or gently squeeze the roots multiple times with your towel. Use a smaller towel to get closer to the roots as a large towel will not work. Fluff the roots of your hair continuously. Turn your head upside down and run your fingers through the roots. You want to get as much airflow to the roots as possible to make it dry faster. Comb your hair with a wide-tooth comb. Hair experts say you should never use a brush on wet hair. Instead, untangle your hair starting at the ends and working up to the roots using a wide-tooth comb. This helps keep frizz down and reduces damage done to your wet hair. After combing, make sure to use your fingers to separate the hair strands or shake your head. Keep the strands loose to promote airflow. Add hair care products either before or after you comb your hair. Your hair needs products in it so you can style it when it is dry. Depending on what you want, try curling lotion, anti-frizz serum, or sea-salt spray. Use the comb to set your part. Then try not to touch with your hands. This can lead to frizz. Let your hair finish air drying. After blotting all the water and loosening the strands, let your hair air dry. The time it will take to dry completely will depend on the thickness of your hair, how much water you removed, and the weather. If it is taking a long time to dry, flip your head upside down every few minutes. This gives the air access to more surfaces of your hair, allowing for a faster drying time. Another option is to run your fingers or a comb through your hair every 10-15 minutes. Wrap your hair in a towel turban. Use a microfiber towel turban to wrap your hair in after your shower. Leave the hair in the turban while you get ready, eat breakfast, or do other tasks. Check in about 10-15 minutes, and your hair should be on its way to being dry. Make sure to remove excess water before putting it up in the turban. Gently squeeze the water from the strands, then blot the excess moisture from your hair. Then wrap it in the turban. Instead of buying a special turban, just wrap your hair in a microfiber towel. Try plopping your hair. Plopping is a great way to air dry curly hair. Start by applying a curl enhancing cream or mousse to your hair. Wrap a soft cotton t-shirt around your head. Instead of wrapping the shirt like a turban on top of your hair, twist the shirt so it curls around your ears. Each side will look like sausage rolls. Secure the ends at the base of your neck. Keep the towel on your hair for 20-30 minutes before removing. Make sure to remove excess water and blot your hair before twisting it in the t-shirt. Use a microfiber brush. A microfiber brush is a brush that has microfiber bristles. These sponges soak up extra moisture in your hair. Keep running the brush through your hair to help remove water. Try brushing your hair a few times with the microfiber brush. Shake your hair to help the airflow around the strands. Then about 5-10 minutes later, repeat. Shake your hair dry. Remove the excess moisture and blot your hair. Then, turn your head upside down and shake it. Use your fingers to separate and fluff the roots of your hair. Hold your hair and gently shake it up and down. Bend over and shake your head around. The shaking motion helps air circulate around the strands. It also breaks up clumps of hair that contain and hold water. Use caution when you shake your head because you may get dizzy after only a minute or 2. Sit in the sun. The heat from direct sunlight will help dry your hair. If you have the time, sit outside or take a walk as your hair dries. Make sure to remove excess moisture and blot your hair before you walk outside. Shake your hair and fluff it at the roots. This will help it dry faster. If you do this on a windy day, you will be able to dry your hair even faster. | Condition your hair. Remove water before getting out of the shower. Shake your hair out. Blot your hair with a towel. Focus on the roots. Comb your hair with a wide-tooth comb. Let your hair finish air drying. Wrap your hair in a towel turban. Try plopping your hair. Use a microfiber brush. Shake your hair dry. Sit in the sun. |
https://www.wikihow.pet/Deal-with-an-Aggressive-Cockatoo | How to Deal with an Aggressive Cockatoo | To deal with an aggressive cockatoo, give it a 5-minute timeout by removing food and toys from the cage immediately after the aggressive act. Make sure to avoid yelling or flinching, which can reinforce the bad behavior. Additionally, let your cockatoo out of its cage at least 1 hour a day, since isolated cockatoos are often more aggressive. During this time, handle the bird and introduce it to the members of your household so it gets used to people. | Anticipate aggressive behavior and prepare for it. Knowing when and why your cockatoo will exhibit aggressive behavior is the first step in curbing it. Identify the events that trigger the behavior, such as walking too close to the bird's cage. This will allow you to augment your behavior and help the cockatoo become less aggressive. For example, if your cockatoo attacks you when you wear red, the color could be a trigger for aggressive behavior. Try keeping a log of your bird's aggressive behavior. Think about what happened right before the bird became aggressive. Take note of any changes in the bird's surroundings, including the entrance or exit of other family members. Place the cockatoo in a brief time-out after an aggressive episode. Taking away your cockatoo's privileges can be an effective way to stop aggressive behavior. If your cockatoo is aggressive while out of its cage, immediately place the bird back in its cage for a 5 minute time-out. This can help teach the bird that aggressive behavior has consequences. Never isolate your cockatoo for long periods of time. Do not respond with flinching, yelling, or other dramatic gestures. It is important that you do not acknowledge your bird's aggressive behavior with dramatic gestures. Yelling or flinching can reinforce negative bird behavior. Instead, act as calm as possible during aggressive episodes. Make sure you socialize your cockatoo regularly. Cockatoos are social creatures and need regular interaction with other members of your family. Extensive isolation can lead to aggression in some breeds of cockatoos. To avoid this, make sure you spend at least an hour a day with your cockatoo and allow it to leave its cage during this time. You can spend quality social time with your cockatoo by letting it sit on your arm or shoulder while you read or watch television. Try playing with a toy during your bird's social time. This can mentally stimulate the cockatoo and help it bond with family members. Make an appointment with your veterinarian. Sometimes aggressive behavior in birds is caused by an underlying medical condition. If your cockatoo continues to be aggressive, make an appointment with the vet. They can determine whether an underlying condition is to blame for your cockatoo's aggressiveness, including hormonal changes or medical issues associated with aging. Try moving the cockatoo’s cage. Sometimes cockatoos will aggressively lunge at humans, especially when the cage is in a high traffic area. Curbing your cockatoo's aggressive behavior may be a simple as moving its cage. Keep the cage in the room where your family regularly gathers, but make sure it's tucked into a protective nook, like a corner. This will allow your bird to socialize with the family without feeling threatened. Give your cockatoo toys it can chew on. One of the hallmarks of cockatoo aggression is biting or the destruction of household items by using the bird's beak. You can help ease some of this beak-centered aggression by giving your cockatoo bird toys that it can chew on. Try a wooden puzzle toy with a treat inside, which will allow your cockatoo to exercise its beak for long periods of time. Minimize your cockatoo’s exposure to sunlight if you see hormonal behaviors. A lot of cockatoo aggression stems from hormonal issues. If your cockatoo acts aggressive, engages in sexual behaviors such as tail lifting or rubbing its vent (the opening under its tail) on objects or surfaces, or frequently regurgitates food, your bird's sex hormone levels may be elevated. You can calm hormonal behaviors by making sure your parrot gets 11-12 hours of darkness each night. If you don't have a room that you can darken completely, put a bird-safe cover over your cockatoo's cage at night. If your cockatoo does not respond to limited light exposure, talk to your vet. They may be able to recommend other options, such as changing your cockatoo's diet or—in severe cases—putting your bird on medications to control its hormone production. Be patient. Cockatoos need time to adjust to new surroundings and circumstances. If your bird is acting aggressively after a change in its environment, like moving its cage or adjusting to a new home, give it time. It is likely the aggressive behavior will resolve itself as the cockatoo adjusts to its new surroundings. Reward good behavior with treats. Positive reinforcement is an essential element of training any bird. Offering treats builds trust and gives your cockatoo an incentive to be on its best behavior. If your cockatoo approaches you in a friendly manner, responds to a command, or performs a trick, reward it with a small piece of fruit or other favorite treat. If you are unable to get close enough to your cockatoo to give it the treat directly, put the treat on the floor of its cage or offer it on the end of a shish kebab skewer. Try clicker training if you can’t get close to your cockatoo. With clicker training, your cockatoo will come to associate a clicking sound with a reward. Start by placing some treats in your cockatoo's cage, then click the clicker when the cockatoo eats them. Your bird will soon make the connection between hearing the click and getting a treat. Encourage good behaviors by using the clicker whenever you see the behavior happening. After rewarding with a click, set out a treat for your cockatoo. Stick-train your cockatoo so you can move the bird safely. Stick-training is a variant on the basic “step-up” training, in which you ask your cockatoo to step onto your arm or finger. By using a stick instead of your finger, you can minimize the risk of injury to yourself and help your cockatoo feel safer. Gently push the crossbar of a T-shaped perch against your bird's belly, and say a simple command, such as “step up” or “up.” If your cockatoo is not too agitated, it will probably step onto the perch. If your cockatoo successfully steps up, reward it with praise and a small treat. Do not punish or yell at your cockatoo if it fails to step up. This will only increase your bird's frustration and fear. If your cockatoo starts to become agitated, calmly return it to its cage, and try again later. Ask your cockatoo to do a trick to distract it from agitation. If you've trained your cockatoo to do tricks (such as waving with a foot, spreading its wings on command, or dancing), use these to divert your bird from an unwanted behavior. If the cockatoo starts to do something you don't like, gently ask it to do a trick, and then reward it with praise and a treat. | Anticipate aggressive behavior and prepare for it. Place the cockatoo in a brief time-out after an aggressive episode. Do not respond with flinching, yelling, or other dramatic gestures. Make sure you socialize your cockatoo regularly. Make an appointment with your veterinarian. Try moving the cockatoo’s cage. Give your cockatoo toys it can chew on. Minimize your cockatoo’s exposure to sunlight if you see hormonal behaviors. Be patient. Reward good behavior with treats. Try clicker training if you can’t get close to your cockatoo. Stick-train your cockatoo so you can move the bird safely. Ask your cockatoo to do a trick to distract it from agitation. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Sequence | How to Play Sequence | To play Sequence, start by dividing into teams, then set up the board, distribute the chips, and deal the cards to the players. Next, the first player selects a card from their hand and places it in the discard pile. Then, they place a chip on one of the corresponding spots on the board before drawing a new card. Each players repeats the same process when it's their turn. The object of the game is to get sequences, or 5 chips in a row, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally on the game board! | Pick a number of players and divide into teams. You can play Sequence with 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, or 12 people. If there are more than 3 people playing, you'll need to divide into either 2 or 3 even teams. If there are 4 people playing, break up into 2 teams of 2. If there are 9 people playing, break up into 3 teams of 3. If there are 12 people playing, you can either break into 2 teams of 6 or 3 teams of 4. Sit down between opposing teammates. Players must alternate their physical position with opponents. Have each player sit in a seat around a table that's in between 2 players from the opposing team. This way, each team will have turns in a fair, consistent order throughout the course of the game. Sit around a kitchen or dining room table in order to have ample space for the board, cards, and chips. Unfold the board and distribute chips to each player. Take the game board out of the box, unfold it, and lay in flat on the table. Take out the blue chips and green chips if there are 2 teams, and also the red chips if there are 3 teams. Then, decide which team will get which chip color, and divide the chips equally among the players of the team. For example, if 1 team of 2 is blue and 1 team of 2 is green, each member of the blue team will be given half of the blue chips and each member of the green team will be given half of the green chips. The red chips will go back into the box. Only use the red chips if you have more than 2 teams; there are less red chips than there are blue and green. Cut the deck to determine which team goes first. Sequence comes with 2 regular decks of playing cards. Shuffle both decks separately and arrange them into 2 neat stacks with the cards facing down. Put one of the decks off to the side. Have a player from each team cut the other deck by picking up a part of it. Look at the bottom card of each team's part. Whoever has the lowest card deals first. Deal the cards. Have the dealer shuffle the cards and then deal the deck by creating as many piles of cards as there are players. Each pile should have an equal number of cards, which depends on how many people are playing: If there are 2 players, each player gets 7 cards. If there are 3-4 players, each gets 6 cards. If there are 6 players, each gets 5 cards. If there are 8-9 players, each gets 4 cards. If there are 10 players, each gets 3 cards. If there are 12 players, each gets 3 cards. Start to the left of the dealer and move clockwise. Organize the leftover cards into a stack and place them on top of the other complete deck. Each player will draw from this pile at the end of their turn. Once all of the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the dealer will take their turn to start the game. After their turn is done, have the player to their left go. Continue taking turns in this clockwise fashion throughout the game. Observe the board. The Sequence board is made up of 100 miniature images of each card in 2 complete decks of playing cards, besides the 4 jacks. As your cards are being dealt to you, become familiar with the board. Try to find the 2 spots that look like smaller versions of each card you have. This way, you can get an idea ahead of time of where you might put your chips. Select a card from your hand to use and discard it. When it's your turn, take a look at all of your cards and look at the corresponding spaces on the board. Once you've chosen which card you want to use, place it in the discard pile so that you can place a chip on the corresponding spot. Place a chip on 1 of the 2 board spaces. After you've discarded, take 1 of your chips and place it on the board where the card you discarded is represented. Since there are 2 places where each card is represented, you'll need to decide between them and place the chip on the one you prefer. Draw a new card. Finally, you'll need to finish your turn by drawing a new card to replace the one you just discarded. Don't forget to do this, or else you may have to continue the rest of the game with 1 less card than everyone else. If you fail to draw a new card before the next player discards theirs, then you no longer have the right to draw a new card for that turn. This is called “Loss of Card.” Win by getting 1-2 completed sequences first. The object of the game is to get sequences, or 5 chips in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. If you're playing with 2 teams, then 2 completed sequences are needed in order to win. If there are 3 teams, then only 1 sequence is needed to win. For example, if there is a blue team and a green team and the board has 5 green chips in a row horizontally and 5 green chips in a row vertically and the blue team does not, then the green team wins. Build your team’s sequences and block your opponent’s sequences. This is the best strategy to have going into each turn. If your team has 3 or 4 chips in a row somewhere on the board, prioritize building onto one of the ends and creating a sequence. If the opposing team has 3 or 4 chips in a row, prioritize blocking them so that they can't create a sequence. Use the corners as bonus spaces. At each corner of the board, there is a space that doesn't represent any card. These spaces can be used as bonuses, meaning you only have to have 4 cards to create a sequence if it branches off horizontally, vertically, or diagonally from a corner. Multiple teams can use the same corner space at the same time. For example, if there are 4 blue chips in a row extending horizontally from a bonus corner and 4 green chips extending vertically from that same bonus space, both teams have a completed sequence. Use two-eyed jacks as wild cards. There are no jacks represented on Sequence boards. This is because they have special uses. If you have a jack and can see both of its eyes on the card, then you can use it to place a chip wherever you want once it's your turn. It's a good idea to hold onto your two-eyed jack until you only need 1 more card to complete a sequence. Take away a chip with a one-eyed jack. If you can only see 1 eye on your jack card, then you can use it as a anti-wild card. This means that you can remove any chip from the board once it's your turn, as long as it isn't from a sequence that has already been completed. Take away an opponent's chip to keep them from completing a sequence. Say “dead card” if chips already cover both spots for a card you have. You may end up with a card that you can't use because chips are already covering both of the spots on the board that represent it. If this happens, say “dead card” and place it in the discard pile at the beginning of your turn. Then complete your turn as you normally would. Don’t coach your teammate. In Sequence, it's against the rules to encourage your teammate(s) to or discourage your teammate(s) from making certain moves or having certain strategies. If you do this, then each member of your team must discard a card of their choice as punishment. | Pick a number of players and divide into teams. Sit down between opposing teammates. Unfold the board and distribute chips to each player. Cut the deck to determine which team goes first. Deal the cards. Start to the left of the dealer and move clockwise. Observe the board. Select a card from your hand to use and discard it. Place a chip on 1 of the 2 board spaces. Draw a new card. Win by getting 1-2 completed sequences first. Build your team’s sequences and block your opponent’s sequences. Use the corners as bonus spaces. Use two-eyed jacks as wild cards. Take away a chip with a one-eyed jack. Say “dead card” if chips already cover both spots for a card you have. Don’t coach your teammate. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Call-in-Sick-when-You-Just-Need-a-Day-Off | How to Call in Sick when You Just Need a Day Off | To call in sick when you just need a day off, call your boss early in the morning as you are more likely to get their voicemail, which means you won't have to field any questions. Also, your voice may sound rough after waking up, adding authenticity to your claim. If you talk to your boss on the phone, sniffle or cough a little, and be prepared to answer a few questions, like when you'll be back or if you're seeing a doctor. Finally, end your conversation by promising to return as soon as possible and being available to help out with anything you can from home. | Call your boss or supervisor early the next morning. Don't delay––the sooner you tell your boss, the better. Additionally, you'll have a rather rough voice after waking up, giving you that added credibility. Plus, if you call early, you may be more likely to get your boss's voicemail or to catch your boss when he's off guard. If you call too late, then it'll look like you didn't really consider your boss's feelings. Keep the conversation short. Though knowing your “illness” well can help you feel prepared, you should remember that stories are typically the embellishment told by liars. Don't get too detailed––just say that you're not feeling well and won't be coming in. Give just enough information for your boss to believe you, such as saying "I was up all night" or "I'm having awful stomach problems." You can also say something like, “I knew I should have said something at the end of the day yesterday, but I was hoping I would sleep this thing off.” Without being too obvious about it, make a point of showing how much you really hoped you would come to work. Make sure you sound sick. While you shouldn't overdo it when you call your boss, it won't hurt you to actually sound a little sick. In addition to having a hoarse voice from calling early in the morning, you can sniffle or cough very occasionally so your boss thinks you're sick without having to overdo it. You can also talk a little more slowly or softly to show that you don't have your full strength. Practice this act aloud so it sounds convincing. If you want to make your voice sound extra hoarse, you can scream into a pillow for ten seconds or so before you make the call. But this will hurt your throat, so make sure it's worth it. You can also just try to sound a little bit out of it and disoriented. If you sound extra sharp and are super snappy to answer any question your boss has, you may not be very convincing as a sick person. Be prepared for questions. Is your boss the nosy type? Try to imagine what kinds of questions he or she might have. For instance, if you work in food service, your boss might wonder how contagious you are. He or she might also ask if you've tried everything possible to make yourself feel well enough to come in. The best policy is to say that you think you're contagious, and that you've tried every remedy you can muster (painkillers, antacids, more liquids, etc.) but all to no avail. Casually mention you've called your doctor's office and are waiting to hear back on an appointment time as they're booked out. During peak cold and flu seasons, it may be several days before they could squeeze you in for an office visit. If your employer demands a note after you get back, you can always say your appointment isn't until later in the week. It gives you time to run to the doctor. End the conversation on a good note. When you get done talking to your boss, try to leave a positive impression as much as you can. Say that you'll do your best to recover to come to work the next day and that you're grateful that your boss can be so understanding. Show how committed you are to the job and how eager you are to return to your responsibilities without overdoing it. Make your boss feel like you're truly sorry to take a day off instead of that you can't wait to watch TV and ditch your job. You can even tell your boss to reach out with any questions if you think he'd really need your help. If you're willing to be disturbed during your fake sick day, you can say, “I'll be in bed all day, so give me a call if you need me…” But do this only if you think your boss will really be at a loss without you. End the conversation by thanking your boss for being so considerate. Follow up on your sickness when you return to work. Don't walk into work after your sick day looking perfectly healthy. Play it up like you're still getting over your illness. Blow your nose a few times or cough softly. You don't have to play it up too much or act a little too much like a martyr for returning to work. Don't mention your illness and let other people ask how you're feeling. You should play it down to be even more authentic, saying something like, “I'm not feeling so bad anymore, really,” or, “I just need one more good night's sleep and I'll be just fine.” If you want to look extra authentic, don't get a lot of sleep the night before so that you show up to work looking haggard and exhausted. This bolsters your credibility for the next time you call in sick (and gives you an excuse to stay up late). Act a little more reserved that day. Don't be extra friendly or chatty with your coworkers, and turn down invitations. Remember that you still need to save your strength. Don’t tell your coworkers that you faked being sick. You may think that you're close with your coworkers and that they would never rat you out, but you should still be careful about announcing that you were pretending to be sick. Your coworkers won't want to high-five you, and will think you were being irresponsible or just plain annoying. Plus, if just one coworker repeats what you've said and it gets back to your boss, then you will not only get in trouble, but you'll never be able to fake sick again. Furthermore, getting called out for faking sick will also make your boss more suspicious the next time you're actually sick. You don't want to have to defend yourself for the rest of your time at work. Hey, we all need a day off from work once in a while and there's no judgment. Still, this doesn't mean you should go bragging about it, or it'll show that you really don't take your work seriously. Be friendly to your boss. After calling in sick, you should be nice to your boss when you return to work. You don't have to mention the illness or thank your boss for being so understanding, but you should work on having a good attitude and sending positive vibes your boss's way. Make him or her remember what an awesome employee you are and don't leave a shadow of a doubt in your boss's mind that you might have been playing hookie. You don't have to exaggerate your friendliness or go on and on about how much you love your job and how much meaning it brings to your life. Put in a good day’s work. When you return to work from faking sick, you should try to put your best foot forward. This is not the day to roll in an hour late or to spend two hours on the phone making personal phone calls or booking your next vacation. Instead, you should stay at work the full time you need to be there, contribute to meetings, respond to emails promptly, and do anything else you can to ensure that you're making a good impression. You may love to complain to your coworkers when you come to work, but you should ease up and be a bit more positive after you return. You don't want your boss to hear you complaining after you've taken a day off. It's okay to fake sick every once in a while, but if you get into the habit of slacking off in general, then your job may be in jeopardy. Make an effort to whistle while you work as much as you can when you return. Pick a good time to do it. You may think that every day is a good day to fake sick, but if you're really determined to fake your illness, then you should put a bit more thought into it. If you pick the wrong day to fake sick, then it'll be a lot harder to make a convincing case for yourself. Instead, make sure that the odds are in your favor before you execute your master plan. Here are some things to keep in mind: Be prepared to be extra convincing if you call in on a Monday or Friday. It'll be harder for your boss to believe you're really feeling sick during a long weekend. Make sure you haven't recently been sick or taken a lot of time off. Don't fake sick right after you've had an altercation at work, or after you've done a lot of grumbling. You don't want your boss to see your fake illness as an affront. Your illness will be much more convincing if all was fine and dandy the last time you went to work. Try not to conveniently miss a particularly unpleasant day at work. If your boss knows you hate the dreaded monthly meetings, then you shouldn't fake sick on this particular day — no matter how good it will feel. Try to fake sick when someone else at work was sick, or if it's flu season. That way your boss won't be too suspicious, since everyone is getting sick. Lay down some groundwork. If you plan to call in sick, then you should make an effort to seem sick the day before without being too obvious about it. Don't fake a cough throughout the day, but act a little bit under the weather and even sniffle a little, leading your coworkers to ask if you're feeling sick while brushing them off. Act like you're sick, but in denial about it, so that your coworkers don't suspect that you're faking it. Setting up this foundation the day before will make it more convincing when you take the next day off. Act more reserved that day, too. If you're extra energetic one day and then call in sick the next day, people will be surprised. Turn down invitations to lunch or happy hours the day before you call in sick. Try to “subtly” take an Advil around your coworkers. Blow your nose a little more often than usual. If you do have lunch with your coworkers, don't eat all of your food so it looks like you don't have much of an appetite. Look slightly unkempt that day. Tussle your hair a bit, don't wear your best outfit, and be okay with looking a little tired around the eyes. Know your illness inside and out. Though your boss may not ask too many questions, it's important to know what you're sick with before you call. Instead of just saying you don't feel well, saying you have a migraine, stomach flu, or just a regular cold can help make your argument more convincing. You should prepare to answer any questions your boss may ask you, like when you started feeling sick, when you'll be back, and whether you'll see a doctor. You don't want to sound uncertain, or your boss will suspect that you're faking it. If you want to take off multiple days, pick a good illness. A migraine or a bad case of gastroenteritis can get you off for two or more days, as they can carry on for a long time and pop up at any time. Pink eye and strep throat can drag on longer. Whatever you choose, do your research thoroughly so that you can discuss the symptoms with clarity. You can even rehearse the conversation with a close friend to make sure you can pull it off. Chances are, your boss won't want to get into the details of what's going on with your stomach or throat, but it's best to be prepared. Prepare to take it easy at home. Don't fake sick and then go hiking with your wife or throw a wild party for your friends. If you fake sick and then act super social, it'll get back to your boss. Instead, you should call in sick when you really feel like just being in bed, hanging out around the house, and taking it easy — doing pretty much what you would do if you were actually sick, minus the feeling ill part. Besides, if you spend your sick day outdoors and show up to work with a tan, that will look pretty suspicious. While you're at it, it's a good idea to log off any social media sites that you might be tempted to visit on your "sick day." That way, your boss won't stumble over photos of you hiking in the middle of your supposedly debilitating illness or leaving comments that raise suspicions of good health. | Call your boss or supervisor early the next morning. Make sure you sound sick. Be prepared for questions. End the conversation on a good note. Follow up on your sickness when you return to work. Don’t tell your coworkers that you faked being sick. Be friendly to your boss. Put in a good day’s work. Pick a good time to do it. Lay down some groundwork. Know your illness inside and out. Prepare to take it easy at home. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Paksiw-Na-Pata | How to Cook Paksiw Na Pata | To cook Paksiw na Pata, start by sauteeing some pork legs over medium heat until they brown. Then, transfer the pork to a plate, and saute garlic in the empty pan until it turns fragrant. Once you're finished cooking the garlic, add the pork back to the pan, along with some water, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorn, and bay leaves. Next, bring everything to a boil, and then simmer it over low heat for 2 hours. Finally, add vinegar, sugar, and banana blossoms to the pan before simmering everything for 15-20 more minutes. | Sauté the pork legs in oil over medium heat until they brown. Heat about 4 to 5 tablespoons (60 to 75 mL) of cooking oil in a wok, then add 3.3 pounds (1½ kg) of pork leg, sliced into 1 ⁄ 2 in (3.8 cm) sections. Sauté the pork leg pieces until they are lightly browned on all sides. Use metal tongs to turn the pork legs as they cook so that they brown evenly on all sides. If you don't have a wok, use a heavy-bottomed pot instead. Remove the pork pieces and set them aside on a plate. Don't pour out the oil, however; leave that in the wok or saucepan. Instead, use a pair of metal tongs to take the pork pieces out and set them on a plate. You don't have to drain the fat from the pork; you just need to get it out of the way while you prepare the garlic. Sauté the garlic in the wok over medium heat until it turns fragrant. Peel and mince 8 to 10 cloves garlic, then add them into the oiled wok. Sauté them over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spatula, until they turn fragrant. This will take a few minutes. Alternatively, try 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced and 4 to 5 minced garlic cloves instead. Add the pork, water, soy sauce, and half of the vinegar into the wok. Place the pork legs back into the wok or saucepan. Pour in 2 cups (470 mL) of water, ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of soy sauce, and ⁄ 4 cup (59 mL) of vinegar. For a more sour flavor, try ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of vinegar instead. You'll need another ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) later. Toss in the peppercorns and bay leaves. How much you use is really up to you, but around 1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns and 4 to 5 dried bay leaves would work the best. Bring the stew to a boil, then simmer it over low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours. The stew is ready when the meat starts to turn tender. Don't overcook it, however; you still have another 15 to 20 minutes of cooking left. Plan accordingly. You can also transfer the stew to a pressure cooker, then cook it for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Add the rest of the vinegar, sugar, and the banana blossoms. Pour in the remaining ⁄ 4 cup (59 mL) of vinegar. Add ¼ cup (50 g) of brown sugar and ½ cup (100 g) of dried banana blossoms. If you can't find dried banana blossoms, try dried lily buds. For a more intense flavor, use ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of vinegar instead. Simmer the stew for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep the heat on low, and allow the stew to simmer until the meat is tender. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. If you used a pressure cooker, transfer it back into a pot, and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes over low heat. Season the dish with salt, then serve it with steamed rice. How much salt you use is up to you, but about 1 tablespoon would be good. Once the stew is to your liking, serve it hot with steamed white rice. Place any leftover stew into an airtight container and refrigerate it. Eat it within 3 to 4 days. Place the pork leg pieces into a pot, then cover them with water. Chop 3.3 pounds (1½ kg) of pork leg into 1 ⁄ 2 in (3.8 cm) sections. Place the pieces into a large, heavy-bottomed pot, then cover them with water. How much water you use will depend on the size of the pot. About 2 to 3 cups (470 to 710 mL) should be enough, however. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer the legs for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up on the stove to high, then wait for the water to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for 5 minutes. Don't worry if the pork pieces aren't fully-cooked at this point. Drain the water and clean the pot. Remove the pork pieces with metal tongs and transfer them to a plate first. Next, pour the water out, then scrub the pot clean so that there isn't any pork fat sticking to it. Alternatively, you can pour the water through a strainer, then set the pork pieces caught inside it on a plate. Don't save the cooking water; you'll be adding fresh water later. Return the pork to the pot, then add the garlic, peppercorn, bay leaves. Place the pork pieces back into the clean pot. Slice 1 head of garlic widthwise, then add it to the pot, along with 3 tablespoons of peppercorns and 3 dried bay leaves. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, about 2 cups (470 mL). Don't peel the garlic; if you do, the cloves will come apart! Cover the ingredients with water, then simmer them for 45 minutes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat first, then reduce it to a simmer. Allow the stew to cook for 45 minutes. Check the water every 10 to 15 minutes, and add more water if it starts to get too low. You need just enough water to cover the pork legs. If you can see the pork legs, add more water. How much water you add depends on how fast it is evaporating. Just use enough to cover the pork legs back up again. Add the green chilies, vinegar, onion, and fish sauce. Toss in 3 green chilies along with ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of vinegar. Peel and quarter 2 medium red onions and add them into the pot as well. Finish off with a splash of fish sauce. How much fish sauce you use depends on your personal taste. About 1 tablespoon (15 mL) should be plenty, however. Cook the stew for another 30 minutes. If the stew stopped boiling with the addition of the new ingredients, bring it to a boil over high heat first, then reduce it to a simmer over low to medium heat. Allow the stew to cook for another 30 minutes or so. It is ready when the meat turns tender. You don't have to add more water/vinegar this time. Serve the stew with steamed white rice. Once the stew is seasoned to your liking, transfer it to a serving dish, then serve it alongside some steamed white rice. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy them within 3 to 4 days. | Sauté the pork legs in oil over medium heat until they brown. Remove the pork pieces and set them aside on a plate. Sauté the garlic in the wok over medium heat until it turns fragrant. Add the pork, water, soy sauce, and half of the vinegar into the wok. Toss in the peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring the stew to a boil, then simmer it over low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours. Add the rest of the vinegar, sugar, and the banana blossoms. Simmer the stew for 15 to 20 minutes. Season the dish with salt, then serve it with steamed rice. Place the pork leg pieces into a pot, then cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer the legs for 5 minutes. Drain the water and clean the pot. Return the pork to the pot, then add the garlic, peppercorn, bay leaves. Cover the ingredients with water, then simmer them for 45 minutes. Add the green chilies, vinegar, onion, and fish sauce. Cook the stew for another 30 minutes. Serve the stew with steamed white rice. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Speak-at-a-Funeral | How to Speak at a Funeral | While speaking at a funeral can be difficult, remember that it's okay to show your feelings when talking about the departed. Tell stories and describe them in a way that helps the audience members frame their own memories. You might list their best qualities, most endearing quirks, or their deepest held beliefs. Say what you'll miss about the departed, but don't focus on how you feel. Instead, tell stories that showcase your loved one in the best light. You can describe your relationship with them and discuss their other important relationships and how widely they'll be missed. | Write it down. You can't improvise a eulogy, and memorization should be backed up by notes at least. You may be too sad, and you can't laugh it off if you forget what you were going to say. Write a small page of notes, or type up the whole thing and read from it. If you're having trouble getting started, brainstorm. Set a 15 minute timer, think about your loved one, and write down anything that comes to mind. Think about your loved one, your relationship with them, and how they affected your life. Use photographs, scrapbooks, and other mementos of the person to inspire you as you write. Base the time on the number of speakers. Most speeches are around 2-10 minutes long. If many people are speaking, err on the shorter side. If you are the closest relative or the only speaker, you may go longer. A five minute speech will be around 650 words long. Describe the departed. The focus of your eulogy should be the departed. You are telling stories and describing them in a way that helps the audience members frame their own memories. Therefore, focus on the exact qualities of your loved one. You might list their best qualities, their most particular quirks, their fervently held beliefs. Say what you'll miss about the departed, but don't talk too much about how devastated you are. Your feelings are relevant, but they are not the primary focus of the speech. Tell stories. Illustrate your statements about your loved one with true stories that show them in their best and most endearing light. These can be from the childhood and the adulthood of your loved one, and they will have the most oomph if you witnessed them yourself. For instance, if your loved one always stuck up for the underdog, you might tell a story about the time they stuck up for someone. If they were exceptionally clever, you might tell a story of the time they got the two of you out of a bad situation with quick thinking. Talk about their life. Let your audience know what your loved one experienced, and how they changed over the course of their life. What were their loves, and what were their struggles? Don't dwell on the negative, but acknowledge any defining difficulties, such as a long illness or a tragic loss. Identify struggles that they faced and conquered. For example, if they lost someone close, talk about that loss and how it affected them. Describe the important relationships of the departed, including your own relationship with them. For example, you can talk about how much they loved their daughter. Talk about their passions, hobbies, and talents. Quote when it adds something. If there is a text that you associate strongly with the departed, you may quote it during your speech. This is not required! However, if there was a poem, or a religious verse, or some song lyrics, or even a joke the departed truly loved, it may be appropriate to quote it briefly. The quotation should not take up more than a minute of your speech—your words will ultimately be more meaningful. Time yourself. Practice reading your speech aloud with a timer. Make sure you are reading at a slow, natural pace. Try to get it slightly under the time you will actually speak—you might cry or have another interruption when you try to deliver it during the funeral. Memorize it if you want. Go over your speech so that you're sure of exactly what you want to say. When you read, you may find it hard to remember, or conversely you may find it easy to remember but hard to understand your own notes. To memorize, simply read aloud many times until you feel like you might be ready to read it without the page. Next, say your speech without reading, though you may glance down whenever you forget what's next. Do this many times. Focus on areas where you forget what to say, and practice them extra. You aren't required to memorize the speech, and it might even be more natural if you didn't. Plan ways to calm yourself. You may get emotional while you read, or you may suffer from stage fright in front of the assembled mourners. It is OK to show some emotion, but to make sure that others can hear you, practice calming yourself even when you already feel calm. Take deep breaths. Drink water. Look at a friend or family member in the audience for support. Command yourself by name. Giving yourself short mental commands while addressing yourself by name helps you stay in control. If you start to lose it, think "Patricia, calm down." Rehearse in front of someone you trust. To ensure that your speech is concise, appropriate, moving, and that you deliver it well, practice in front of an audience. This can be one to several people you love. Ask them to listen and give you notes on your presentation. Look at the audience. Stand tall and face the mourners. Straighten your shoulders and pretend there is a string from the ceiling to the nape of your neck. Put your notes on the podium, if there is one, or hold them at your waist. Don't stare down at your notes or at the podium. Address the family. Remember to speak to the front row—the ones who loved the deceased the most and are the most saddened by the death. They are listening to you attentively, and the rest of the room is also witnessing your speech to them. When you talk about someone, look at them. Speak loudly and slowly. As you speak, notice how you feel. If you feel nervous, tell yourself to slow down. You may be speaking more quickly than you think. Project your voice—don't yell, but breathe from your stomach, and try to hit the back wall with your words. Speak in a conversational tone. There's no need to pitch your voice for drama—the situation will speak for itself. Speak more slowly than you normally would. Not only will this help the audience understand you, but it may keep you calm as well. Wipe away tears and keep going. You may cry. Keep going unless you are choking up. If you are choking up, use your calming techniques that you planned. The audience will not be shocked if you cry—they will be sympathetic. | Write it down. Base the time on the number of speakers. Describe the departed. Tell stories. Talk about their life. Quote when it adds something. Time yourself. Memorize it if you want. Plan ways to calm yourself. Rehearse in front of someone you trust. Look at the audience. Address the family. Speak loudly and slowly. Wipe away tears and keep going. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Arrest-Someone | How to Arrest Someone | Police officers have strict rules about when and how they can arrest someone. If you're a police officer, you need to have witnessed a crime or have probable cause that it was committed to arrest someone. Tell them that they're under arrest, and use reasonable force if they resist. Once you've immobilized them, handcuff them, search them for any weapons or illegal items, and transport them to the local police station. You need to read them their rights before you can ask them any questions that can be used against them in court. Citizen's arrest laws vary between countries and states but generally, if you're not a police officer, you can legally restrain someone who's committed a crime until the police arrive. Make sure you only do this if you're not putting yourself in danger and don't use excessive force. | Confirm you have reason to arrest. Legally, you can only make an arrest in a limited number of circumstances. For example, you can arrest someone in the following situations: You have an arrest warrant signed by a judge. You observed a crime being committed. You have probable cause to believe the suspect has committed a crime. To find probable cause, you must have specific facts and not a hunch that the person has committed a crime. Immobilize the suspect. To make the arrest easier, you need to stop the suspect's movements. You can use many different methods, such as verbal commands or Tasers. Your police force should have a “use of force” policy that lays out what force you can use and when. Know this policy by heart. If you don't follow it, you can be sued for excessive use of force. Typically, the manual will explain a continuum of force. For example, you can start by issuing a verbal command: “Let me see your ID” or “Stop.” If the suspect doesn't comply, you can use empty hand controls such as grabs or holds. The officer can increase the force up the continuum until the suspect complies. The final point on the continuum is deadly force. Your manual will explain the situations in which deadly force is appropriate. Use of force is so important you should receive training on it before being allowed into the field. Ask a supervisor if you have questions. Gain control of the suspect. Once you immobilize the suspect, you need to control them. If you don't, then you can injure yourself as you try to get the cuffs on. If necessary, you may need to move up the use of force continuum until you get sufficient control. Be alert for the suspect to attempt to break free at any point before they are handcuffed. Handcuff the suspect. You should handcuff someone behind their back. If you handcuff in the front, they have too much freedom to move and may reach for a weapon or hurt you. Always cuff in back. Always place the backs of the hands together. This prevents suspects from sliding their hands down to the feet. After cuffing, make sure the handcuffs aren't too tight. Also confirm they are secure. Search the suspect. After cuffing the suspect, you should search them. Search for a weapon or other evidence of a crime. You can never be too careful. Search everyone, regardless of their gender, age, size, or race. Even very young and very old suspects have killed police officers. You might not be able to conduct your search immediately after arrest. For example, weather conditions might prevent a safe search. Also, you might have arrested someone with a mob of people around you. Move the suspect to a secure location before searching. Check the waist and groin areas first. A weapon is most likely stored there. Also be sure to conduct a second, more thorough search. If necessary, ask another officer to search the suspect as well. Transport the suspect. Remain vigilant during the transport. You might relax, thinking everything is under control because the cuffed suspect is in the backseat. However, the suspect's anxiety will increase the closer you get to your destination. Accordingly, you should be prepared for erratic or irrational behavior when you near the end of the transport. Remember to search the subject each time you transfer them to another officer or drop them off at a location. You might have overlooked a weapon, or the suspect could have obtained one during transport. Give Miranda warnings if you want to ask questions. Once a suspect is in custody, you can't interrogate them without giving Miranda warnings. If you don't give the warnings, then the prosecutor can't use the suspect's statements in court. There are four warnings: The suspect has the right to remain silent. Any statement the suspect makes can and will be used against them in court. They have the right to an attorney. If the suspect can't afford an attorney, one will be provided to them. Identify if you have reason to make an arrest. In some countries, private citizens can make arrests even if they are not sworn police officers. However, you can only make arrests in certain limited situations, which vary by location: You suspect the person has committed a felony, such as murder, rape, burglary, etc. However, your suspicion must be reasonable. Furthermore, the felony must actually have been committed. If it didn't, you can be legally liable for the arrest. In Canada, and in some U.S. states, you must have actually observed the violent crime being committed before you can make a citizen's arrest. Someone is breaching the peace. In many U.S. states, you can make a citizen's arrest if you personally witnessed someone breaching the peace. For example, someone breaches the peace by fighting or making a loud disturbance. Consider the risks. You shouldn't attempt a citizen's arrest without consider the risks and consequences. For example, quickly analyze the following: Does the suspect have a gun, knife, or other weapon? You don't want to jeopardize your own safety or the safety of those around you by attempting an arrest. Is there a police officer nearby, or can you quickly call one? It is better to involve trained police. If possible, you can focus on getting a detailed, accurate description of the suspect instead of attempting an arrest. Can you quickly turn over the suspect to the police? If not, then don't make an arrest. Do you know whether the suspect committed a felony? What qualifies as a felony differs depending on the state or country. If you're unsure, simply report the suspicious conduct to the police. State you are making a citizen’s arrest. You'll need to give an explicit warning that you are arresting the person. Shout, “Stop! I'm making a citizen's arrest!” This will give the suspect a chance to turn themselves over. Also give the suspect a reason why you are arresting them. For example, "You're breaching the peace by fighting" is a sufficient reason. Use reasonable force to subdue the person. You cannot use excessive force in order to make an arrest. Instead, use only the amount of force necessary to subdue the suspect. For example, if the person struggles only briefly, you can't give him a left hook that knocks him out cold. A suspect might be desperate to avoid arrest. If so, they could put up quite a fight. Always remember to protect your own safety. If the arrest turns into a brawl, you should let the suspect go. Call the police. As soon as possible, either call the police or ask another bystander to call the police. Don't delay, since the arrested might become agitated. Ask the suspect to cooperate. Say, “Will you calm down? The police are coming. You don't want to make any more trouble.” Avoid questioning or searching the suspect. In the United States, a citizen's arrest is not subject to the same Constitutional requirements as a police officer's arrest. Accordingly, you aren't prohibited from asking questions or searching the suspect. However, you probably should avoid doing so. Leave it to the police when they arrive. If you make an arrest at the request of the police, then your arrest is subject to the Constitution's restraints. However, suspects can blurt out incriminating information. For example, a suspect might shout, “I didn't know the gun was loaded!” Don't follow up with questions, but you can give the police this information. Tell the officer what happened. When the police arrive, give the facts of the incident. Be as accurate as possible and answer any questions about why you suspected the person of committing a crime. Also discuss what you did and said to arrest the person. | Confirm you have reason to arrest. Immobilize the suspect. Gain control of the suspect. Handcuff the suspect. Search the suspect. Transport the suspect. Give Miranda warnings if you want to ask questions. Identify if you have reason to make an arrest. Consider the risks. State you are making a citizen’s arrest. Use reasonable force to subdue the person. Call the police. Avoid questioning or searching the suspect. Tell the officer what happened. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Promote-Classroom-Inclusion | How to Promote Classroom Inclusion | Promoting classroom inclusion will help to meet all your students' needs and help them feel comfortable. If you have any students with special learning requirements, make sure you have all the teaching materials you need for each class, like large print or Braille worksheets for students with visual impairments. Deal with any bullying or meanness as soon as you notice it. Teach your students to be kind and help each other with their work to create a better learning environment for everyone. When you're teaching new skills, break them down into small steps so students who learn slower can keep up. Try to adjust your teaching style to your students' needs. For example, for visually impaired students, you might need to verbally describe what you're doing during an activity. | Learn about your students' needs. Get to know each student one-on-one. Your classroom may include students who have some disability and students who have none, and specific disabilities may vary among students who face them. To promote an inclusive environment, you'll need to know which needs exist and must be met. Keep in mind that no two disabled students are the same. Some disabilities exist on a spectrum (such as varying degrees of low vision), and others are extremely complex (such as autism). Talking to the parents/guardians, and getting to know the child, will help you understand their unique needs. Recognize that not all disabilities may be diagnosed yet. Sometimes, people close to the child haven't recognized that the child is different or struggling. You may have several students with unrecognized disabilities. Don't assume that you can defeat or cure disability. Instead, work with the child at their level, and encourage them to gain skills one step at a time. Make the physical environment accessible. You'll need to use the right tools if you want to meet the needs of students in your classroom. A physical environment that is somehow “off limits” to some of your students will make it impossible for those students to learn or feel welcome. The exact tools will vary based on students' needs. For instance, students with vision impairments may need materials in large print or Braille. Those with speech impairments may benefit from speech synthesizers. Those with hearing impairments may need a sign language interpreter and subtitled instructional videos. Some students will have needs that are not immediately obvious. For instance, some autistic students may have a sensitivity to light and sound, so rooms with soft light and minimal noise create a preferred learning environment. View each student as an individual. Unfortunately, even well-meaning individuals can end up labeling disabled students by their disabilities. Instead of fixating on the things your students cannot do, focus on your students' abilities and individual accomplishments. Viewing disabled students with pity or guilt does not empower them. Instead, you may accidentally send the message that they are less capable or less whole. Avoid assumptions. Mean-spirited assumptions aren't the only hazardous ones to watch out for. In fact, well-intended assumptions can be just as damaging and might be harder to prevent. If one of your students appears to need help with something, ask instead of automatically jumping in to help. Some students may prefer to work through certain difficulties themselves. Others may appreciate your help, but may also want you to help using an approach you may not have thought of. Watch your tongue. Language is important when creating the right attitude. As a general rule, use language that affirms the identity of each student while avoiding language that is considered derogatory or language that otherwise focuses on the disability instead of the individual. Refer to disabilities in simple language free from emotional judgments. In other words, instead of saying that someone "suffers from" or "is crippled by" a given disability, it would be better to simply state that they are "a person with" that disability (or, in the case of deaf, blind, or autistic people, a "_____ person"). Over-sensitivity can actually be harmful, too. Awkwardness over common phrases can draw unwanted attention to an impairment and may make a student feel more left out. If such phrases come up, it is best to gloss over them without making a fuss about them. For instance, if you or another student says "see you later" to a blind student, it is best not to point out the awkwardness of such a phrase unless the blind student indicates that they are upset by the remark. Guide student behavior. As the instructor, you must guide non-disabled students in your classroom as they interact with their disabled peers. Encourage a positive and cooperative attitude among all classmates under your care. Pay attention to your own biases and preconceptions, then correct those errors as soon as possible. You will serve as a role model to your students, and poor behavior you demonstrate will be taught to them. Set ground rules regarding discussion and classroom behavior. When someone violates these rules and behaves inappropriately to another student, point out the violation and issue an appropriate consequence. Follow through consistently regardless of whether or not disabled students are involved and, if so, regardless of which position they find themselves in (i.e., the attacker or the victim). Don't enforce rules with disabled students that non-disabled students can get away with breaking. Nip bullying in the bud. Make it clear that students need to respect others' boundaries, praise students for intervening if they see bullying, and take victims seriously if they report being bullied. Work with everyone involved. In most cases, others will be actively involved in the care and education of the disabled students in your classroom. Work directly with these guardians, counselors, and advisers when addressing those students' needs. Discuss your students' needs with their guardians. You may have insight to share with them, and they will almost certainly have insight to share with you. Depending on the circumstances, students with disabilities may need therapy from an outside specialist. These specialists may work through the school or may come from another source. Either way, it can be to everyone's benefit to communicate with such specialists when determining the best way to arrange classroom activities and instruction. Use icebreakers. Good icebreaker activities will allow students to introduce themselves to one another in a non-threatening manner. Through these activities, students can relate to the similarities they share and appreciate the differences between them more effectively as a result. For younger students, consider using a simple icebreaker that requires each student to compare and contrast favorites with others in the group. Ask everyone to write their favorite of something (color, animal, food, etc.). Each student must sign their name and hand in the paper. Read the answers to the whole group without revealing the name, and ask students to guess which of their peers wrote each answer. For older students, form groups of three to five and instruct each group to find similarities shared by all members of the group. To encourage discussion amongst group members, these similarities should be fairly distinctive (e.g. each student has at least two siblings) instead of general (e.g. each student is a girl). Don't force people to speak or remember long strings of information, as this may be an access barrier. Allow people to use alternative communication (e.g. writing), and avoid games that involve memorizing facts about people. Scale down new skills. When introducing new material to students, break it down into smaller pieces and teach the skill step-by-step. Doing so may make it seem less overwhelming and more accessible to everyone. For instance, when teaching a new skill that builds off information or skills that were taught previously, you may need to spend time refreshing your students on those previous skills before introducing the new material. As you introduce the new material, demonstrate how it connects to the information your students already know. Choose activities that address each need. Build some of your lesson plans so that they include activities and techniques that specifically address the various needs of disabled students in your classroom. For students with speech delays, you may need to talk more while performing various activities and include activities that encourage children to develop their speech skills (singing, activities with verbal instructions, etc.). Let them use AAC if they can't do it. For blind or visually impaired students, you might need to verbally describe what everyone is doing during an activity and play games that involve other the senses (touch, taste, hearing, smell). For deaf or hard of hearing students, you may need to provide written instructions for each activity and include activities that rely on senses other than hearing. For autistic students and those with ADHD, anxiety, or behavioral problems, build routines and wait until students are naturally rested or relaxed before introducing new skills and challenges. Involve all participants. Make sure that the lessons you teach address all students in your classroom, including those who have disabilities and those who do not. A classroom that caters only to students with disabilities is not truly inclusive since it neglects the needs of those without. Depending on the circumstances, this may mean that you'll need to set different standards and parameters for each student in your classroom. Involve all students in an activity or lesson when possible, but consider altering the way that lesson must be completed for students whose disabilities would prevent them from completing it in the same way the rest of the class must. In this way, you can adequately challenge and encourage all students based on their own abilities. Modify activities when necessary. Observe the results of each activity and lesson. Prepare yourself to make changes on an “as needed” basis. Make sure that you alter activities in ways that make them more effective while preserving the integrity of the overall lesson. Consider reducing the number of items each student must learn or complete during an assignment to better match students' abilities. Another option under some circumstances might be to increase the amount of time students are allowed for a certain learning task or evaluation. You may need to develop an individual schedule for each student based on his or her needs. Alter the method of instruction. In some instances, you may need to change the way you approach instruction and evaluation within the classroom. This, too, should be done only on an “as needed” basis. For students with learning disabilities, you may need to increase the amount of one-on-one instruction they receive from you and from classroom tutors. Make sure, however, that you are still available to other students in the classroom when they need you. Consider changing the way that instruction is delivered during lessons. Try different visual aids, auditory aids, and hands-on activities. Make accommodations easily available. If other students get jealous that a student gets to use manipulatives in math, let them use them too. This can de-stigmatize disability, and may be helpful for undiagnosed disabled students. Students who struggle with various forms of output may need the opportunity to express themselves in a non-standard way. For instance, students with speech impairments may need the opportunity to write a report rather than give an oral presentation. Encourage assistance and cooperation. Include activities that encourage students with disabilities and those without disabilities to work together. Both groups of students should be able to help one another. Consider working with other instructors and school administrators to set up peer-mentoring programs. Give older students without disabilities an opportunity to tutor or mentor younger students with disabilities. Similarly, give older students with disabilities the opportunity to mentor to younger students with and without disabilities. In all circumstances, make sure that all students involved are benefiting from the program. | Learn about your students' needs. Make the physical environment accessible. View each student as an individual. Avoid assumptions. Watch your tongue. Guide student behavior. Work with everyone involved. Use icebreakers. Scale down new skills. Choose activities that address each need. Involve all participants. Modify activities when necessary. Alter the method of instruction. Encourage assistance and cooperation. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-White-Hot-Chocolate | How to Make White Hot Chocolate | If you want to make yourself a cup of white hot chocolate, begin by gathering 1 cup of milk, 2 ounces of white chocolate, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Warm the milk in a saucepan, then add the chocolate and stir. Bring it to a simmer, then remove the hot chocolate from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour it into your favorite mug, garnish with whipped cream or marshmallows, and enjoy! | Pour 1 cup (240 milliliters) of milk into a small saucepan. You can use any type of milk you'd like. If you want something richer, you could even try heavy cream of half-and-half. Add 2 ounces (60 grams) of white chocolate. You can use solid white chocolate, chopped into pieces, or white chocolate chips. For best results, use good-quality white chocolate. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until it starts to simmer. Stir the mixture often to prevent scorching and do not let it come to a boil, or the chocolate will burn. Take the saucepan off the stove, then stir in the vanilla extract. This will help give the white hot chocolate a more complex flavor. Pour the white hot chocolate into a large mug and serve it immediately. If you'd like, you can make it extra special by garnishing it with some whipped cream or mini marshmallows. Heat the milk in the microwave, then set it aside. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe mug, and heat it for 1 to 2 minutes. Pause the microwave every 30 seconds, and give the milk a stir. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Put the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Take the mug out of the microwave, and put the bowl in. Heat the chocolate for 1 minute, then give it a stir. After that, heat it at 15 to 20-second increments, stirring in between, until it melts. You can use solid chocolate or chocolate chips for this. If you choose to use solid chocolate, be sure to cut it into chunks first. For best results, use high-quality white chocolate. Pour the melted chocolate into the milk, and stir. Keep stirring until everything is mixed together. If the milk has cooled down too much for you, you can pop it into the microwave for another 30 seconds. Garnish the hot chocolate, if desired, and serve it. You can serve it as is, or you can add some mini marshmallows or whipped cream for an extra-special treat. Add some peppermint for a minty treat. Cook 1 cup (240 milliliters) of milk and 2 ounces (60 grams) of white chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium-low heat. When the mixture starts to simmer and the chocolate has melted, take the saucepan off the stove, and stir in ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and ⅛ teaspoon of peppermint extract. Pour the hot chocolate into a large mug, and garnish it with some whipped cream, crushed peppermint candy, or mini marshmallows, if desired. Try making an extra-rich white hot chocolate. Heat ¼ cup (45 grams) of white chocolate chips with ¼ cup (60 milliliters) of heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. After the chocolate melts, stir in 1 cup (240 milliliters) of half-and-half, and cook until hot. Pour into one large mug, or two smaller mugs. Garnish with a swirl of whipped cream, if desired, and serve. Give it a boozy twist, but only if you're of legal drinking age. Heat ¾ cup (180 milliliters) of milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to steam. Add 2 tablespoons (20 grams) of white chocolate chips, and stir until they melt. Pour 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of vanilla-flavored vodka into a mug, then pour the hot chocolate over it and stir. Garnish with some mini marshmallows and cocoa powder, if desired, and serve. Try some spiced white hot chocolate for a crowd. Tie up a 6-inch (15.24-millimeter) cinnamon stick and 8 cardamom pods in a piece of cheesecloth, and put it into a slow cooker. Add 3 cups (700 milliliters) of half-and-half, 3 cups (700 millimeters) of milk, and 1½ cups (265 grams) of white chocolate baking pieces. Cook the mixture, covered, on a low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours; stir it after 2 to 2½ hours. Just before serving, take out the spice bag, and stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. If you are in a hurry, cook the hot chocolate over high heat for 2 to 2½ hours. Stir it after 1 hour. If you can't find any white chocolate baking pieces, try white chocolate chips instead. | Pour 1 cup (240 milliliters) of milk into a small saucepan. Add 2 ounces (60 grams) of white chocolate. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until it starts to simmer. Take the saucepan off the stove, then stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the white hot chocolate into a large mug and serve it immediately. Heat the milk in the microwave, then set it aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate into the milk, and stir. Garnish the hot chocolate, if desired, and serve it. Add some peppermint for a minty treat. Try making an extra-rich white hot chocolate. Give it a boozy twist, but only if you're of legal drinking age. Try some spiced white hot chocolate for a crowd. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Cashier | How to Be a Good Cashier | To be a good cashier, try to always be polite to your customers, and make sure you understand how your cash system works so you can cash people out quickly and efficiently. Smile and make eye contact with your customers so you seem friendly and happy to see them. Ask them if they're having a good day, and actually acknowledge their response. You should also learn how to do all of the basics with your cash system, like using the $20 button or making a card payment. After a customer pays, count back the change to make sure you get it right. Once you're settled into the job, learn how to do things that come up less often, like selling a gift card or what to do if you give the wrong change. | Smile and be nice. If you've had a bad day, leave it at home and be polite while on shift, even to the meanest customers. You don't need to be a pushover, but you're more likely to leave your customer happy and satisfied if you're slower but in a great mood than if you're the fastest cashier ever but snappy and rude. If you can't sincerely be cheerful, at least try to fake it. Ask the customer if "they are having a good day". Actually listen to their response and acknowledge their response. When they are walking out of the store, they will feel properly acknowledged and will likely come back to your store. Call for backup. If your store has a protocol to call for backup when the line gets too long, call for backup and try not to rush through the entire line yourself. Stop talking to coworkers when service is required. Customers feel uncomfortable at best and disrespected if cashiers keep chatting around or over them while being served. This is your job, and just as other people don't chat away at work constantly, neither should you. Learn to drop and pick up conversations when it is appropriate. Get to know the basics of your cash system. Whether it's an old manual cash register or a state-of-the-art computer system, you should know how to do all the basic things that will come up at least once every three or four customers. If your cash register has quick buttons for some cash amounts, like $5, $10, or $20, get in the habit of using them. For the first few days, review your basics constantly while it's not busy, and ask a more experienced cashier to double check you to make sure you're doing everything exactly right. Count back change. When there is not a long line, get into the habit of counting back the change to the customer instead of just handing them a bunch of bills. This cuts down on mistakes. Good practice in small retail businesses includes calling out large notes so that your coworker hears it. If there is a dispute and a customer claims to have given you more money than they did, you can use this standard practice to show that this is unlikely. Keep note of how the customer will be paying. Someone paying in cash has to search for change, while someone paying with debit needs to type their pin and wait for the transaction to go through. This is a great time to do something else they'll need done, like bagging their purchases. Learn how to do things that come up reasonably often, but not every day. For example, if you only sell a gift certificate once every week or two, it's still a good idea to know the routine by heart. It's also a good idea to know what to do if you make a mistake or a small problem comes up - what's the routine if you give the wrong change but have already closed your cash, if someone wants a refund, or if your debit machine goes on the fritz? If this wasn't part of basic training, ask your manager or a more experienced cashier. Know where to go for more info if something more rare comes up. You probably can't memorize every routine in the book, especially the ones that might never come up while you work there, but you need to know where your guidebook or user manual is if those once-in-a-blue-moon occasions come up. It's a good idea to at least skim the full guidebook, so you'll know roughly what's in it and where to go if, say, the power goes out and you have to use that dusty manual debit card press in the back. Know the store's products well enough to make suggestions and compliments. Even if you're only a cashier and never expected to work the floor, you're still an employee and might be asked questions. If you happen to know something is a particularly good purchase, let the buyer know that they just got the first of a brand new product, or that you think that one's the nicest in the store and they made a great choice. Be sincere about this and don't overdo it, but a little compliment can create the perception of added value and make a customer even happier with their purchase. | Smile and be nice. Ask the customer if "they are having a good day". Call for backup. Stop talking to coworkers when service is required. Get to know the basics of your cash system. Count back change. Keep note of how the customer will be paying. Learn how to do things that come up reasonably often, but not every day. Know where to go for more info if something more rare comes up. Know the store's products well enough to make suggestions and compliments. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Fix-Thigh-Holes-in-Jeans | How to Fix Thigh Holes in Jeans | If you've discovered a thigh hole in your favorite pair of jeans, you've got a couple of options. First, you can try hand sewing the hole closed. Cut away the frayed parts of the hole with scissors, then stitch up the hole with a needle and thread. The most secure option though is to patch the hole. Cut away any frayed edges like if you were sewing the hole closed, then cut out a patch of scrap denim that's about twice the size of the hole. Place the patch over the hole on the inside of your jeans and sew it into place. Cut off any excess fabric around the stitching, and voila! | Cut away the frayed parts of the hole with scissors. The frayed parts of the hole in your jeans can cause them to rip further. Use a sharp pair of scissors to remove the parts of the hole that are fraying. Be careful not to cut away any actual fabric. This will also make your sewing much easier. Thread a sewing needle with cotton thread and tie a knot at the end. Choose cotton sewing thread that closely matches the color of your jeans. Put the end of the thread through the eye of the needle. Loop the thread through the needle to create a tail and then tie the 2 ends of the thread together. You don't have to use thread that matches your jeans, but it might stand out more and be more noticeable. Pinch the hole closed and stitch vertically up each side. Turn your jeans inside out. Hold the hole in your jeans together with 1 hand so that it is mostly closed. Start at 1 end of the hole and use a whipstitch. Push your needle through 1 side of the fabric, bring it up and over the hole to the starting side, and push it through again. Continue working your way upwards until the entire hole is sewn shut. This stitch reinforces the fabric of your jeans to prevent further holes. Tie the thread off and cut away any excess. Cut the needle off of your thread so that there are 2 strands of thread hanging out of your jeans. Tie these strands together twice so that the thread stays in the fabric. Use your scissors to cut away any extra thread. Remove the frayed edges of your hole with sharp scissors. It is important to get rid of the frayed parts of the hole in your jeans so that they don't rip further. Use scissors to cut off the frayed edges of your hole until you have smooth lines surrounding the hole in your jeans. This will also help the patch look more seamless in your jeans. Cut a patch or denim scrap about 2 times larger than the hole. You can purchase a denim patch at a craft store or use a scrap of denim that you already have. Use scissors to cut this down until it is about twice the size of the hole in your jeans. Tuck the patch behind the hole in your jeans and pin it in place. Position the patch behind the hole in your jeans so that it covers the entire area with a little bit of room on the sides. Use 4 sewing pins to keep the patch in place. If you have an iron-on patch, you can use a hot iron to stick the patch to the inside of your jeans once it is in position. You can still add stitches on top of that to make sure it is secure. Stitch the patch to your jeans in a straight line around each edge. Use a sewing machine or sew by hand with a straight stitch to attach the patch to your jeans. A straight stitch is created by sewing in 1 straight line and connecting each stitch. Do this on all 4 sides of the hole so that your patch is secure. Use a thread color that matches the color of your jeans. Use a new needle so it is strong enough to punch through the layers of denim. Cut off any excess parts of the patch or denim scrap. Turn your jeans inside out and use sharp scissors to remove any part of the patch that isn't sewn down. This will stop the excess parts of the patch from rubbing on your thighs when you wear your jeans. Make sure not to cut any of the thread holding the patch to your jeans. Wear long underwear or boxers. The thighs of your jeans tend to rub together without any padding in them if you aren't wearing anything underneath of them. Put on boxers or long compression shorts that cover your thighs to give your jeans a little extra lining and prevent friction. You can also wear leggings under your jeans on cold days to prevent friction and keep you warm. Wash your jeans once a week or less. Washing jeans makes them wear out faster in all areas, not just the thighs. Try to only wash your jeans when they are really dirty. The less you wash your jeans, the longer they will last. You can hang your jeans outside on a clothes hanger to air them out if they are smelly. Air dry your jeans instead of putting them in the dryer. The dryer is a bad place for your jeans since the heat breaks down the fibers in the denim. Hang your jeans on a clothes hanger or a drying rack instead of putting them in the dryer to avoid holes in the thighs. If you do need to dry your jeans in the dryer, put it on low heat. Sew patches into the thighs of your jeans before they rip. If you are prone to holes in the thighs of your jeans, you can take a preventative measure and sew patches on the inside of your jeans where they rub together. Use denim patches to reinforce the existing material and prevent thigh holes from happening If you aren't sure exactly where your jeans normally get holes, put them on and see where your thighs touch. This is usually the area that starts to rip. | Cut away the frayed parts of the hole with scissors. Thread a sewing needle with cotton thread and tie a knot at the end. Pinch the hole closed and stitch vertically up each side. Tie the thread off and cut away any excess. Remove the frayed edges of your hole with sharp scissors. Cut a patch or denim scrap about 2 times larger than the hole. Tuck the patch behind the hole in your jeans and pin it in place. Stitch the patch to your jeans in a straight line around each edge. Cut off any excess parts of the patch or denim scrap. Wear long underwear or boxers. Wash your jeans once a week or less. Air dry your jeans instead of putting them in the dryer. Sew patches into the thighs of your jeans before they rip. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Bathroom-Sink-Drain | How to Clean a Bathroom Sink Drain | If your bathroom sink is clogged, try cleaning it with boiling water, baking soda, and white vinegar. Start by carefully pouring ½ gallon of boiling water down the drain to break up the debris. Follow up by plunging the drain 5 to 6 times, which will loosen the blockage and help it move down the drain. To break up the clog even more while neutralizing bad odors, slowly pour 1 cup of baking soda into the drain. Let it sit for a few minutes, then pour in 1 cup of white vinegar, which will react with the baking soda to break down the remaining blockage. Allow the mixture to sit for an hour, then pour in another pot of hot water to rinse everything down the drain. | Remove debris from the drain weekly. To prevent buildups, remove any pop-up stoppers or drain guards on your sink and discard the debris that they've collected. Rinse them before replacing them. Most bathroom sinks feature an adjustable metal stopper than can be used to plug the sink. These can be removed by pulling them out of the drain. If your sink stopper is used by pushing and pulling a rod behind the faucet or is otherwise attached, remove the nut on the back of the drain pipe, pull out the retaining rod, then remove the stopper. Use a non-corrosive drain cleaner when necessary. Your bathroom sink collects bacteria that can contribute to unwanted scents and deposits within the drain. To kill this bacteria, use a biodegradable, non-corrosive pipe-cleaner once a month. Hydrogen peroxide is a great option that can be poured directly down the drain. Note that many well-advertised drain cleaners are full of chemicals that pose a risk to both your health and your pipes. Follow the directions on any natural, store-bought cleaning products. Bleach and antibacterial products are not recommended. They are unnecessary and can potentially damage plumbing systems. This is especially important if you have a septic tank. Clean your drain monthly with household products. Instead of a packaged drain cleaner, use salt, baking soda, vinegar, and/or lemon juice to deodorize and clean your sink. Mix whichever of these you have on hand into about a cup of solution and pour it into the drain. Let it sit for an hour before flushing hot water down the drain. Pour boiling water down the drain. To remove stubborn buildups, start by boiling about ½ gallon (roughly 2 liters) of water and carefully pouring it down the drain. High temperature water will begin to break apart and dislodge the blockage. Plunge the drain. Encourage the buildup to proceed down the drain by plunging the drain 5 or 6 times. While this may not fully remove the buildup, it will help loosen it further. Use a plunger that can create an airtight seal over the opening of the drain. Put baking soda in the drain. Slowly pour about 1 cup (220 grams) of baking soda into drain. Allow the baking soda to sit for a few minutes. Not only will the baking soda absorb unpleasant odors, it will help physically break apart the buildup. Add vinegar. Pour 1 cup (240 ml) of distilled white vinegar into the drain after waiting a few minutes. The baking soda and vinegar will react with one another and begin to foam. Cover the drain, as this will encourage the baking soda and vinegar mixture to work it's way into the clogged portion of the drain and break down the remaining blockage. Allow the mixture to sit in the drain for an hour or so. Vinegar is also a natural deodorizer. Together, this mixture will also help remove any odor the deposit caused. Cider vinegar or lemon juice will work in lieu of white vinegar. After allowing the mixture to sit, rinse again with hot water. Repeat the process to eliminate residual odors. Snake the drain. Stubborn deposits may require more physical disruption. Get a drain snake from your local hardware store. These are essentially long, thin strips of plastic with hooks on either side. Use it to break up and push or pull away any deposits that have clogged your drain. Keep inserting and removing the snake until no hair or clumps are attached to it when you pull it out. Alternatively, you can bend a metal coat hanger so it has a hook at 1 end and use that. If it gets stuck, pull it out with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Follow this with a baking soda and vinegar soak to remove unpleasant odors. Keep trash out of the sink drain. Perhaps the most important part of keeping your drain clean is being mindful of what you put in it. This is especially true for bathroom sink drains, which will inevitably accumulate natural detritus, such as hair. As a rule of thumb, if you're unsure whether it's okay to go down the drain, throw it away instead. Avoid washing dishes or disposing of any food products in the bathroom sink. Don't dispose of personal care products, such as cotton balls, dental floss, or bits of toilet paper in the sink drain. Take care not to let the small round liner underneath the lid of personal care products go down the drain. Use less soap and other products. Even soap and other things that you regularly dispose of in your bathroom sink, such as toothpaste and shaving cream, can contribute to build up in your drain. As such, get in the habit of using smaller amounts of these products. A small dollop of toothpaste is plenty, and a single pump of hand soap is sufficient to wash your hands. Let the water run down the drain for a few seconds after using soap or toothpaste so it gets flushed away. Avoid commercial drain cleaners. There are a lot of reasons not to use commercial drain cleaners that rely on chemicals. They can corrode your pipes and damage other components of your fixtures and plumbing system. They are also toxic, and can work their way into the ground water in your area. | Remove debris from the drain weekly. Use a non-corrosive drain cleaner when necessary. Clean your drain monthly with household products. Pour boiling water down the drain. Plunge the drain. Put baking soda in the drain. Add vinegar. Snake the drain. Keep trash out of the sink drain. Use less soap and other products. Avoid commercial drain cleaners. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Roast-a-Leg-of-Lamb | How to Roast a Leg of Lamb | To roast a leg of lamb, start by removing the meat from the refrigerator for 1 hour to bring it to room temperature. Next, rub olive oil and lemon juice all over the lamb and sprinkle it with salt, pepper, and any herb you like, such as rosemary or sage. Then, place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes at 400°F. After that, reduce the heat to 350°F and cook for another 30 minutes to 1 hour. Finally, let the lamb cool for 15 minutes, then serve with a mint sauce or gravy. | Buy from a high-quality butcher. When you're planning to make roasted leg of lamb, buy the lamb from a butcher you know and trust, rather than picking it up on sale from the grocery store. That's because the quality of the meat will have a big impact on the taste of the finished roast. Ask for a leg of lamb at market weight, meaning it was butchered at the proper age. Lamb that's below market weight was butchered too early. Butchering a baby lamb is unethical and isn't a common practice among reputable farmers and butchers. Lamb that's over market weight was butchered later in the animal's life. Older meat will taste more like mutton (the meat of an adult sheep) than lamb. Mutton has a much stronger taste that some people find distasteful. Choose bone-in or boneless. Bone-in lamb, like other bone-in meats, tends to be more flavorful than boneless meat. As the bone cooks it releases juices that flavor the meat. However, bone-in lamb is a bit more difficult to cut than boneless, so you might find it easier to go with the boneless. Boneless meat usually comes in an oven-safe net or wrapped in twine, to keep the meat in the shape of a leg. With the bone, a leg of lamb will weight about 6 1/2 to 8 pounds. If your boneless leg of lamb does not come in an oven-safe net, use kitchen twine to tie the meat together in several spots along its length. Get it with the shank or shankless. The part of the lamb's leg that is edible is the upper leg, or the thigh. The bottom part of the leg is called the shank. Some people like to roast the entire leg, for an impressive presentation, while others prefer to just use the top part of the leg. The shank doesn't have enough meat to eat, but you can use the bone as a soup base. Have the fat trimmed. If the butcher hasn't already trimmed away the fell, a thick cap of fat that encases the leg, have them do so. If you roast the lamb leg with the fell, it will be more likely to taste of mutton, and it will be less tender. However, don't have the butcher remove all of the fat. Keeping some of the fat intact will help to flavor the lamb and keep it moist. Remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Bringing the meat to room temperature will ensure that it cooks evenly. If you put it in the oven cold, you may end up with an undercooked interior and burned exterior. Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Rub the meat with spices. Lamb is so tender that it doesn't need to be marinated. You can follow a recipe to marinate the lamb, but it's easier to complement the meat's flavor with a simple rub. First, rub olive oil and a few tablespoons of lemon juice all over the lamb. Then, sprinkle the leg with salt, pepper and 3 tablespoons or so of your favorite spices. Try the following, either alone or in combination: Crushed rosemary Dried thyme Dried sage Minced garlic Place the lamb in a roasting pan. Use a pan that's just slightly larger than the leg. Roast the lamb for 30 minutes. Roasting for the first 30 minutes at a high heat will give the lamb a nice sear. Reduce the heat and continue roasting. Turn it down to 350 °F (177 °C) for the remainder of the roasting time. Roast for another 30 minutes to an hour or more, depending on your preferred level of doneness. No matter what, use a meat thermometer to check the meat's temperature after about an hour to see how the lamb is progressing. Here are the general guidelines for roasting times: Rare meat : roast until the internal temperature of the meat is 125 °F (52 °C), which will require about 15 minutes per pound. Medium-rare meat : roast until the internal temperature of the meat is 130 °F (54 °C), which will require about 20 minutes per pound. Medium meat : roast until the internal temperature of the meat is 135 °F (57 °C), which will require about 25 minutes per pound. Well done meat : roast until the internal temperature of the meat is 155 °F (68 °C), which will require about 30 minutes per pound. Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest. Give it at least 15 minutes before you start carving the meat. This allows time for the lamb's juices to absorb back into the leg, which will make the meat more flavorful and moist. Carve the lamb. If you used boneless lamb, simple cut it into 1-inch thick slices. For bone-in lamb, set the leg on a cutting board. Make perpendicular cuts an inch apart down the length of the leg, using a sharp knife to cut until the knife hits the bone. Stand the leg on its tip and use the knife to cut parallel to the bone so that the meat falls off in slices. Serve the lamb with sauce. Leg of lamb is traditionally served with a mint sauce or a gravy. The tender meat tastes delicious with a complementary sauce, and these choices don't take much extra time to make. To make mint sauce, blend 2 cups fresh mint leaves, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/4 cup plain yogurt in a blender. Pour over the lamb slices. To make lamb gravy, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a small saucepan and heat it to medium high. Add 1 chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add 1 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup wine, and simmer until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the lamb slices to serve. Store the leftovers. Leftover lamb will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can also freeze lamb by wrapping the slices individually in aluminum foil, then reheating them as needed in an oven heated to 350 °F (177 °C). | Buy from a high-quality butcher. Choose bone-in or boneless. Get it with the shank or shankless. Have the fat trimmed. Remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Rub the meat with spices. Place the lamb in a roasting pan. Roast the lamb for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat and continue roasting. Rare meat Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest. Carve the lamb. Serve the lamb with sauce. Store the leftovers. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Know-if-You%27re-Too-Sick-to-Go-to-Work-or-School | How to Know if You're Too Sick to Go to Work or School | If you're not sure if you're too sick to go to work or school, consider whether your illness is contagious. If it is, you'll be doing yourself and everyone else a favor by taking a sick day. Signs that you're contagious include running a fever, vomiting, coughing uncontrollably from deep in your lungs, and diarrhea. One potential exception is if you have a cold, in which case you might feel good enough to go to work or school. In that case, it's important that you take precautions so you don't spread your cold to others, like washing your hands frequently, avoiding physical contact, and not sharing food or drinks. | Stay home if you have a fever over 100 °F (38 °C). Fever is your body's natural reaction to an infection or an illness. If you have a high fever, you are most likely contagious and you need to stay home from work or school to avoid spreading your illness to anybody else. Stay at home until your body temperature gets back to a normal range and stays there for 24 hours, which is usually around 98 °F (37 °C). Taking medication to reduce your fever does not make you less contagious. A high fever is also likely to be accompanied by periods of sweating and chills. Avoid leaving your home if you have uncontrollable coughing. If you have a cough that you aren't able to control, or your cough is accompanied by scratchiness in your throat or difficulty breathing, it could be a sign of a respiratory illness, many of which are highly contagious. Stay home from work or school so you don't spread anything to the people who are in proximity to you. Mild coughing frequently occurs due to a cold or allergies. You may also have a stuffy, drippy nose and sneezing. If you feel up to it and no other symptoms are present, you can still go about your daily routine. Coughing that feels like it comes from deep within your lungs could be a sign of a serious infection. Some illnesses, like the flu, also feature coughing as an illness. Contact your doctor to see if you should get your cough checked out. Cover your mouth when you cough and wash your hands frequently. This will help prevent you from spreading germs and viruses. If you have trouble breathing during coughing fits, go to the emergency room to get medical attention. Keep away from other people if you’re vomiting regularly. Persistent vomiting will dehydrate you and make you feel weak, as well as being a sign that you have a contagious illness. If you're unable to hold any food down, stay home, rest, and hydrate so you can recover and won't spread your illness to another person. Take care of yourself by drinking plenty of liquids. If you can't keep a glass of water down, you might try sucking on ice cubes to make it easier to keep down. If you are unable to keep any liquid down and are at risk of becoming severely dehydrated, you may need to go to an emergency room.. Symptoms of dehydration include weakness, headaches, infrequent urination, passing dark or cloudy urine, and crying without tears. Take a sick day if you have morning diarrhea. A very loose or watery stool can often be a sign of infection and the extra water that you lose can dehydrate you. It's best for you to remain at home near a bathroom, so don't try to go to work or school until you stop having diarrhea and feel better. If the diarrhea is caused by food or medication, then it's not contagious. In this case if you are well enough to be able to go about your daily routine, you do not need to stay home unless you will not be able to use the toilet when you need it if you go out. It's important to replenish your liquids by drinking lots of water, even if you don't feel thirsty. Wait until your doctor says your child can return to school. If your child has an illness or disease that was treated by a doctor, keep them home until your doctor clears them to go back to school or daycare. If your child comes into contact with other children who weren't vaccinated for a disease or have weakened immune systems, then your child could spread it to them. Additionally, if your child is recovering from cold, flu, or another illness, they could potentially spread it, even if they're feeling better. Wait until their doctor says it's safe for them to return. For some illnesses or conditions, such as scabies, lice, and Fifth's Disease, it's safe to send your child back to school after they start treatment. But always consult their doctor first. Let your child stay home if they have pink eye. Pink eye, also called conjunctivitis, is an infection where the eye becomes red and leaks sticky yellowish-greenish goo. Pink eye is easily treated with over-the-counter creams that you can pick up from your local pharmacy, but it's highly contagious, so keep your child home to prevent them from spreading it to other children. Because the eye may be itchy, children often rub their eyes, and then touch other children or shared toys, causing it to spread. Once your child has begun treatment, they may be able to go back to school once your doctor says they are unlikely to be infectious. Keep your child at home for 1 day after being treated for impetigo. Impetigo is a common skin infection that affects children and babies and usually appears as red sores around the mouth as well as on the hands and feet. Impetigo isn't too serious, and can be treated with over-the-counter creams, but it's highly infections, so keep your child home from school until it clears up. Once your child is receiving treatment under a doctor's supervision, it should be okay for your child to return to school, unless your doctor advises against it. The pustules that may form must be covered when your child goes to school. Allow your child to stay home if they have strep throat. Strep throat is an infection characterized by a sore throat. It's painful, highly contagious, and can potentially lead to a more serious infection, so don't send your child to school if they have it. Take your child to your doctor so they can be examined and prescribed antibiotics if they need it. Your child may feel well enough to go back to school after being on antibiotics for 24 hours. Check with your doctor to see what they recommend. Take precautions to prevent spreading a cold to other people. You probably don't need to stay home if you just have a cold. But, even if you feel well enough to go to work or school, there are some simple precautions that you can take to protect others, including: Washing your hands frequently Not hugging or shaking hands Avoiding sharing drinks or food with others Sneezing or coughing into your elbow instead of your hands Using tissues if you have a drippy nose Avoid getting too close to people when you are sick. If you must go to work or school when you are sick, you can still minimize the chances that you will infect others by keeping a distance. Many illnesses can be passed to other people simply by coming into contact with you, so maintaining social distancing can help prevent their spread. You can: Avoid giving hugs. If necessary, you can explain to people that you feel a little unwell and don't want to infect them. Chances are they will agree that it is best if you stay away. Don't lean into people when talking or looking over their shoulder at a computer screen. Wear a face mask, to prevent accidentally breathing on others. Minimize the amount of handshaking you do. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Coughing or sneezing expels mucous, germs, bacteria, and viruses from your nose, mouth, and lungs into the air around you, which can spread your illness to other people. Cover your mouth with a tissue and throw it away afterwards or sneeze or cough into your elbow, which is much less likely to come in contact with other people and communal surfaces than your hands. If you cough or sneeze uncontrollably, wear a face mask. Wipe down communal surfaces that you touch such as tables, desks, computer keyboards, and doorknobs with disinfectant wipes. Wash your hands often and thoroughly. Washing your hands is the simplest and one of the most effective ways you can prevent the spread of germs, bacteria, and viruses that can make other people sick. Wash your hands before you prepare food, after you use the bathroom, after you blow your nose, after you sneeze or cough, before you touch another person, or anytime you touch a surface. Go to the doctor if there are signs of a serious infection or complications. Serious infections can be life-threatening and may only be treated with antibiotics that are prescribed by a doctor. If you or your child have any of these symptoms, see a doctor: Difficulty breathing Fast breathing A bluish tinge to the skin Dehydration Unresponsiveness or unable to wake up Extreme irritability Fever for more than 3 days Fever with a rash Flu-like symptoms that go away, then come back with a fever and bad cough Pain in the abdomen or chest Pressure in the abdomen or chest Dizziness Confusion Severe vomiting Listlessness Severe head or throat pain Contact your doctor and stay at home if you have a strange rash. If you have a rash that has open wounds with fluid leaking out or is rapidly spreading, you should call your doctor. Do not go into work or school until your doctor determines that it is not contagious. Rashes due to allergies are not contagious. If you have the symptoms under control enough that you can think and concentrate, then you can go to work or school. For mild rashes, you may be able to go to work or school if the rashes are covered. Check with your school nurse or doctor to be sure. See a doctor if your child has ear pain or fluid draining from their ear. Ear pain or fluid draining out of your child's ear is a sign of a possible infection. Infections can lead to serious issues and possibly hearing loss, so take your child to a doctor to see if they need antibiotics or other treatments. An ear infection can make it difficult for your child to concentrate or learn, so let them stay home until they feel better. Bring your child to the doctor immediately if they show signs of hepatitis A. Hepatitis A is a very contagious liver infection that causes nausea, vomiting, pain near the liver, joint pain, dark urine, clay-colored stool, and yellow skin and eyes. If you think your child has hepatitis A, bring them to the doctor immediately. It can take up to a week or more for your child to start feeling better after being treated for hepatitis A, so let them stay home until they're ready to return to school. | Stay home if you have a fever over 100 °F (38 °C). Avoid leaving your home if you have uncontrollable coughing. Keep away from other people if you’re vomiting regularly. Take a sick day if you have morning diarrhea. Wait until your doctor says your child can return to school. Let your child stay home if they have pink eye. Keep your child at home for 1 day after being treated for impetigo. Allow your child to stay home if they have strep throat. Take precautions to prevent spreading a cold to other people. Avoid getting too close to people when you are sick. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often and thoroughly. Go to the doctor if there are signs of a serious infection or complications. Contact your doctor and stay at home if you have a strange rash. See a doctor if your child has ear pain or fluid draining from their ear. Bring your child to the doctor immediately if they show signs of hepatitis A. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Mocha-Coffee-Drink | How to Make a Mocha Coffee Drink | To make a mocha coffee drink, start by brewing a strong pot of coffee. While the coffee is brewing, mix equal parts warm water and cocoa powder in a bowl to make chocolate syrup. Then, pour some of the coffee and chocolate syrup into a mug and stir the drink thoroughly. Finally, heat up some milk in the microwave or on the stovetop and pour it into the mug to finish your drink. | Gather your ingredients. Here is what you'll need to make a mocha coffee drink using brewed coffee: 8 ounces freshly brewed coffee (or instant) 1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk 1 tablespoon (15 g) cocoa powder 1 tablespoon (15 g) warm water or warm milk (milk makes the mocha richer and creamy) Sugar (optional) Whipped cream and cocoa (optional, for topping) Brew as much coffee as you want. To be closer to authentic, you'll want to use double-strength, dark-roasted coffee. And you could use instant coffee if you're in a pinch, but brewed coffee is just so much better. Coffee reaches "double-strength" when it's around 4 tablespoons (60 g) of coffee grinds to 6 ounces of water. Make a cafe-style chocolate syrup with warm water and sweetened cocoa powder. Combine equal parts of each and stir up in a small bowl. You'll need about 2 tablespoons (30 g) for one mocha drink. In your mug, combine the chocolate syrup with your coffee. The more coffee you have, the more chocolate syrup you'll probably want. But be sure to leave room for milk! Steam some milk or heat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. How much? Well, how big is your mug? 1/3 to 1/2 cup (3 to 4 ounces) is usually plenty. You want the milk between 140 and 160°F (60 - 70°C). Any hotter than that and the milk burns, losing its flavor. Fill your mug with heated milk. If there's any foam, be sure to hold it back with a spoon, so it layers above the mocha on top. If you like a really, really sweet mocha, add a teaspoon of sugar to your drink before you top it with foam. Top with whip cream, a sprinkling of cocoa powder, and enjoy! Chocolate or caramel syrup -- or even cinnamon or turbinado sugar -- is a nice touch, too. Gather your ingredients. Here's what you'll need to make a mocha coffee drink using espresso: Espresso Roast (regular or decaf) 2 tablespoons (30 g) hot water 1 tablespoon (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon (15 g) sugar A pinch of salt 1/2 cup milk (any variety) 1 tablespoon flavored syrup (optional) Combine the hot water, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt right in your mug. This will make the classic chocolate flavoring you can find in your favorite cafe; it will be so much more gratifying than just pouring Hershey's syrup into your coffee. That stuff is for children. Brew up some espresso. You want enough to fill just about half of your mug. If you don't want that much caffeine, consider combining it with a decaf roast or using fewer beans in your brew. Steam 1/2 cup of milk. If you have a steamer, of course. If you don't, you can just add your milk straight to your espresso and heat in the microwave or throw the milk onto the stovetop and heat to 160°F (70°C). But if you have an espresso machine, you probably have a steamer! Make sure the tip of your steamer isn't too near the bottom or too near the top of your milk. You want it not too be too bubbly and aerated, but also not burned and over-steamed. It should only take about 15 seconds, and if you have a thermometer, stop around 160°F (70°C). Is your mug Central Perk-style large? Then you may want closer to 3/4 of a cup. Add the steamed milk to your chocolate syrup. But be sure to hold a large spoon to the edge of your steamed milk to hold back the foam. You want that stuff to go on top, after the milk and chocolate have combined. Once all the milk has gone into your mug, spoon out the foam so it rests uniformly on top, putting the proverbial icing on the cake. Add in your espresso. Bam! Mocha created. If you have a flavored syrup lying around that you'd like to add (maybe caramel or raspberry), add it at this stage. Garnish with whip cream and a sprinkling of cocoa. Because it's not enough that it tastes good, it's got to look good too. You can also top it with caramel, cinnamon, or turbinado sugar. Heck, birthday sprinkles and a cherry if you'd like. Now all you have to do is drink up! | Gather your ingredients. Brew as much coffee as you want. Make a cafe-style chocolate syrup with warm water and sweetened cocoa powder. In your mug, combine the chocolate syrup with your coffee. Steam some milk or heat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. Fill your mug with heated milk. Top with whip cream, a sprinkling of cocoa powder, and enjoy! Gather your ingredients. Combine the hot water, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt right in your mug. Brew up some espresso. Steam 1/2 cup of milk. Add the steamed milk to your chocolate syrup. Add in your espresso. Garnish with whip cream and a sprinkling of cocoa. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Kiss-Your-Crush-out-of-the-Blue | How to Kiss Your Crush out of the Blue | Finding a way to kiss your crush out of the blue may seem tough, but you can increase your chances by following a few simple steps. Spend time bonding or flirting with your crush while you're together, like during after school clubs or break, so you can get to know them. If your crush seems comfortable around you, like if they keep their arms open and smile a lot, try holding hands or gently touching their arm, which may make them feel more intimate. You could also try making eye contact and giving them a compliment when you're alone, then saying nothing for a few seconds. This will create a natural pause that can be perfect for a kiss. If you're worried about going straight in for a kiss on the lips, try kissing your crush on the cheek first. | Try to connect with them during shared activities or classes. Use events or meetings you'll both already be attending as an opportunity to bond with your crush. This will create an opportunity to flirt. For example, if you're both going to be taking Chemistry together, try sitting close to them so you can ask questions. Invite them to do things in a group. After you've been getting along in settings where you both have to be somewhere, you should invite your crush to do something fun in a group. Group activities, such as having lunch out or playing softball, are great because your crush can get to know you without the pressure of a date. Try to pick an activity that fosters conversation. Pick a game night instead of a movie, for example, so you can talk to each other more. For example, you could say, “My friends and I are trying a new BBQ place downtown this weekend for lunch. Do you want to come?” Be sure to mention that you are going in a group. After one successful group hang out, your goal should be to schedule more. Try to integrate your crush into a social aspect of your life. This way when kiss them out of the blue it feels more like the exciting culmination of building anticipation rather than a rude surprise. Be patient. This process can take time. Try one-on-one activities. After a few successful group hang outs, ask your crush to hang out one-on-one. It's not necessary to define this as a date. The goal is for your crush to enjoy spending time with just you, so they can begin to consider you in a romantic way, setting up your surprise kiss. For example, to ask your crush out, you could say, “It's supposed to be a nice day Saturday. Want to go play putt putt golf with me?” or “I've been meaning to try that new Café on Green street. Want to grab a bite on Thursday?” Try to avoid something overtly date-oriented like dinner and a movie, which will create expectations around your kiss. A competitive activity can be fun and will keep your crush guessing. If your crush rejects your offer to hang out one-on-one or seems unreceptive, understand that not all crushes are requited. You probably should not try to kiss them if they feel uncomfortable hanging out just you two together. Read their body language. Your crush's body language can tell you a lot about how they are feeling when you are together. More open postures like legs set wider and hands on hips indicate comfort. More closed postures, knees crossed or arms crossed over their chest indicate unease. Try to read your crush's body language to gauge their physical comfort with you. This can help you read if a moment for an unexpected kiss is right. Try to hold hands. If your crush's body language tells you they are feeling comfortable with you, try some physical contact, like brushing their arm or even holding hands. This can help you feel out if a kiss they aren't anticipating will go over well or not. Attempt a cheek kiss. If you're afraid your kiss out of the blue may be rejected by your crush, try kissing them on the cheek. If they are comfortable with that, they could be receptive to more intimate kissing from you. Linger at the end of a one-on-one outing. At the end of a one-on-one outing, linger with your crush just a little longer than normal. Attempt to draw out natural pauses in your speech. Even if you're nervous, try not to fill every moment with words. This allows a natural moment of anticipation to build. Creating more anticipation for the kiss will make it seem more exciting and out of the blue. Practice good oral and personal hygiene. If you want to make yourself as kissable as possible, be sure your breath is fresh and that you don't have any body odor. It's also helpful to apply an unflavored lip balm for soft lips. Brush your teeth twice a day (especially your tongue) and floss regularly to keep your mouth ready for kissing. Always wear deodorant. It's especially important if you find you get nervous and sweat a lot around your crush. Try to minimize the physical distance between you. This will signal that you're hoping for a more intimate moment without being too obvious, enhancing the element of surprise. If you're walking your crush to their door, for example, don't trail far behind. Walk with them. If there are steps, you can even level a height difference between you by stopping a stair above or below where they do. Say something kind and unexpected. Now that you've created a moment of physical closeness, it's time to bridge any emotional distance. Say something sweet and surprising to make them feel close to you. It's important that you believe the thing you say here, as the emotion behind your sentiment will be obvious. For example, making eye contact, you could say, “I felt really attracted to you today.” Pause and look at their lips. Don't say anything after your sincere surprise comment. Simply draw out the moment. Shoot a brief glance at their lips, not longer than two seconds, and then make eye contact with them. Try to keep your mouth gently parted, receptive to a kiss, during this look. If they look at your lips too, that is a great sign. Lean in for the kiss, gently pressing your lips against theirs. If your crush feels the same way, they will meet your kiss. If they turn away, don't force them to kiss. Respect them and understand that they may not share your feelings. If you're feeling unsure about whether your crush will be receptive, lean in for the kiss very slowly. This gives your crush time to stop the kiss if they do not want it or realize that, however unexpected, you want to kiss them. | Try to connect with them during shared activities or classes. Invite them to do things in a group. Try one-on-one activities. Read their body language. Try to hold hands. Attempt a cheek kiss. Linger at the end of a one-on-one outing. Practice good oral and personal hygiene. Try to minimize the physical distance between you. Say something kind and unexpected. Pause and look at their lips. Lean in for the kiss, gently pressing your lips against theirs. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-a-Turnip | How to Prepare a Turnip | To prepare a turnip, start by rinsing it under cold running water to remove any dirt on the skin. Next, use a potato peeler or paring knife to remove all the skin, and cut off the green tops. Cut your peeled turnip into bite-sized pieces, then prepare them for cooking. You can sauté them in butter or oil until crispy, you can coat them in oil and roast them in the oven until golden brown, or you can even boil and mash them. | Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel your turnips. Wash your turnips in cool water, making sure all the dirt is removed from the skin. Lop off the green tops. If you have baby turnips, there's no need to peel them, but mature turnips have a thick skin that is easily peeled using a potato peeler. Cut the turnips into bite-sized pieces. Use a paring knife to cut them into 1-inch pieces. It's fine to make them smaller if you prefer. You can also up some onion, carrots or parsnips to add to the mix if you'd like. Toss the turnip pieces in oil and seasonings. Put the pieces in a bowl and toss them with the olive oil, a few pinches of salt and some pepper. Make sure the pieces are evenly coated. Spread the pieces on a baking sheet. Spread them out in one single layer so that they'll cook evenly. Roast the turnips. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast the turnips for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven, stir them around, and roast for another 10 minutes. The turnips are ready when the crust is crispy and golden brown. Wash and peel the turnips. Scrub them under cold water and use a potato peeler to peel off the tough skin. If you have baby turnips, this step is unnecessary. Slice the turnips. Use a paring knife to slice them into discs. This will ensure they cook evenly in the pan. Heat the butter or oil. Place it in a skillet or frying pan over medium high heat. Place the turnips in the pan. Spread them evenly so they don't overlap one another too much. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. As the turnips are sauteed, add some salt, pepper, and other seasonings you like. Stir the turnips. Help them along by stirring them with a wooden spoon, so they don't burn on one side. Serve the turnips. When they're tender and slightly browned, the turnips are ready to serve. Wash and peel the turnips. Scrub them under cold running water, then chop off the green tops and peel the tough skin. Chop them into pieces. Use a sharp knife to chop them into a few rough pieces. This will help them to cook faster. Cook the turnip pieces. Place them in a medium saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and continue cooking until the turnip pieces are very soft. This should take about 15 minutes. Drain the water. Transfer the turnip pieces to a colander and drain out all the water. Put the turnip pieces in a mixing bowl. Mash the turnips. Put the butter in the bowl with the hot turnips, so it will begin melting. Add the salt as well. Use a potato masher, two forks, or a hand mixer to mash the turnips until they're smooth. Add the mix-ins. The creamy mashed turnips are a delicious base for a variety of sweet or savory flavors. Try adding one of the following combinations, then mix it well with the mashed turnips. Add 2 tablespoons of honey or brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped chives and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of cooked, chopped bacon and 1/4 cup sauteed onions. Wash, peel and chop the turnips. When you peel mature turnips, be sure to take off at least one layer of skin, so the turnips won't taste too starchy. Chop the turnips into 1-inch pieces to so they'll cook more quickly. Slice the leeks. Chop off the green portion of the leeks as well as the tip of the roots. Slice the white portions of the leeks into discs. Blanch the turnips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the turnip pieces and 2 teaspoons salt. Blanch the turnips for 1 full minute, then remove the from heat and drain them. Set them aside. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a stockpot. Let the butter melt completely, then add 1/2 cup water. Add the leeks and turnips. Stew them together until the leeks are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and spices. Pour the milk into the pot, and add the thyme and a teaspoon of salt. Cook the soup until the turnips are completely soft, stirring occasionally. Puree the soup. Working in batches, pour the soup into the a blender and puree it until smooth. Garnish the soup. Serve it with fresh thyme sprigs or a dollop of sour cream, plus salt and pepper to taste. Finished. | Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel your turnips. Cut the turnips into bite-sized pieces. Toss the turnip pieces in oil and seasonings. Spread the pieces on a baking sheet. Roast the turnips. Wash and peel the turnips. Slice the turnips. Heat the butter or oil. Place the turnips in the pan. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Stir the turnips. Serve the turnips. Wash and peel the turnips. Chop them into pieces. Cook the turnip pieces. Drain the water. Mash the turnips. Add the mix-ins. Wash, peel and chop the turnips. Slice the leeks. Blanch the turnips. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a stockpot. Add the leeks and turnips. Add the milk and spices. Puree the soup. Garnish the soup. Finished. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Develop-Your-Intuition | How to Develop Your Intuition | To develop your intuition, try journaling about your thoughts and feelings for 20 minutes every day, which will help you get to know yourself better. You should also try meditating or going for a mindful walk every day since being more mindful of your surroundings will help you tap into your intuition. Once you start becoming more mindful of your feelings and the world around you, pay attention to how specific people and situations make you feel. If you experience shallow breaths, an upset stomach, or a tightness in your chest, it could be your intuition telling you that something isn't right. | Keep a journal. Take 20 minutes each day to write about what's on your mind. This might include your goals, your anxieties, your relationships, your successes and failures, and your likes and dislikes. Keeping a journal will help you get to know yourself better by clarifying your thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes, and personal goals. It can even help you break through mental blocks and resolve problems. Journaling is most effective when you do it with pen and paper. Motivate yourself by buying a nice book to write in and a nice pen. Meditate daily. Meditation has been shown to improve mental stability and enhance overall well-being. It also helps quiet your mind, giving your intuition space to grow. Some popular types of meditation: Guided meditations involve being walked through a relaxing imaginary space or situation. Mantra meditations involve silently repeating words to calm and inspire — for example, “I am love”. Mindfulness meditations involve sitting quietly and working on experiencing the moment as fully as possible by keeping a clear mind: when thoughts come into your head, you observe them without judgement, then let them pass. Aim for 10 to 15 minutes of meditation each day. If you find that daunting, start with 1- to 3-minute meditations and then work up to longer periods of time. Go for a mindful walk. If you're having a particularly hard time quieting your mind for meditation, try going for a walk instead. Be mindful during your walk, paying attention to the sensations of walking and breathing, and to the sights, smells, and sounds around you. Walking is an effective way to boost your mood and clear your mind. Often when our minds are clear, difficult decisions become more clear too. Live in the moment. Bring the lessons of meditation and mindful walking into your daily life. Try to live each moment mindfully, paying attention to what's happening in that very moment rather than thinking about the past or the future. Don't be discouraged if your mind wanders as you learn to live in the moment. Even gurus admit to struggling with this. When your mind wanders, just catch it and bring your attention back to the moment. Over time, you will learn to catch your mind more quickly and put it back on track when it wanders. Pay attention to your bodily sensations. In particular, pay attention to your breath, your stomach, and your chest. Quick breathing, an upset stomach, and a heavy, sad-feeling heart are your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. Research has proven that our bodies often know what's up before our minds do. In one study, participants experienced an increased pulse and sweaty palms long before they mentally realized that they were in a negative situation. Pay attention to what your mind is drawn to. Is there a song you can't get out of your head? Do you keep seeing certain words over and over again? These “coincidences” may very well be signals of what's going on in your subconscious mind. Taking time every day to clear your mind — for example, through meditation or mindful walking — will help you recognize these signals more clearly and, if necessary, act on them. An example of this might be that you keep hearing songs and seeing people who remind you of one of your friends who you haven't spoken to in a while. Upon consideration you might realize that you miss your friend, so you set up a time with them to reconnect. Consider your life experience. Intuition is linked to emotion. If someone or something reminds you of a previous person or experience you've had, you're likely to associate it with the same emotions, good or bad, that you had in the past. For this reason, you should still question your intuition, because it may be bringing up associations from a past experience that may not be relevant to your current situation. Gather experiences. Research suggests that intuition is mostly about matching patterns based on experience and knowledge. For this reason, your intuition is more reliable in areas in which you have more experience. Travel, socialize, and learn new things. The more life experience you have, the better your intuition will be, as you'll have more data to draw from. Allow your gut and your mind to work together. Studies have shown that relying only on logic does not guarantee the best possible outcome. In fact, people often have more success starting with a hunch and then testing that hunch with logic. Research suggests that our initial response to a situation is often the correct one, and that overthinking things won't always yield the most accurate results. Pay attention to body language and words. We often see what we want to see in people, and what we see is often wrong. Instead of going with your gut or first impression of someone, really pay attention to their body language as well as their words to get a sense of who they are. The more you get to know the person, the better you'll become at being able to tell when something is off with them. Keep an open mind. If you have a bad feeling about someone, it's okay to be careful around them, but don't let it prevent you from being a kind person. They may be perfectly nice, but just socially awkward or perhaps from a different culture. You don't have to become close friends or share your deepest secrets — in fact, if you have a bad feeling about them, definitely don't do those things. Over time, you'll get to know them better and will be better able to judge whether your intuition was right. Ask yourself whether it’s worth expressing your hunches. Some hunches are best left unsaid for the sake of your relationships. If you do decide to test whether your hunch is correct by bringing it up with a friend/partner/colleague, choose your wording wisely. For example, if you have a hunch that your partner thinks someone else is attractive, but there isn't any danger of them actually acting on those feelings, it might be best to let them have their crush instead of accusing them of liking someone else and getting into a fight. As long as it's only a passing attraction and nothing more, it's perfectly natural. Don’t dwell on the negative. If you're prone to anxiety and worry, you're more likely to intuit when those close to you are having negative thoughts and feelings, but you're less likely to be able to tell when they're having positive feelings. Dwelling on the negative, and talking about those negative hunches, can sabotage your relationships. Use your brain. When making a decision, start by considering all of your options. Consider the pros and cons, the facts, the consequences, and all of your options. You might even want to write all of these things down or enter them into a Word document or spreadsheet. Listen to your heart. Once you've thought about your decision logically, switch your focus to your heart. Clear your mind and breath deeply, then think of someone or something you love. Say a word that opens your heart (e.g. “love” or “gratitude”). Once your heart is open and your mind is clear, reconsider the same situation you just considered using your brain. Again consider the pros and cons, the facts, the consequences, and your options. Are any of these different when you view them from an emotional angle? Think with your gut. Once you've considered the situation with your brain and your heart, it's time to see what your gut thinks. Sit up straight, breath deeply, and relax. Think about a time when you were particularly gutsy, and say the word “courage” to yourself as you exhale. With your gut engaged, think about your decision once more, considering the pros and cons, facts and consequences, and all of your options. Ask yourself what will happen if you fail? What are the risks involved? How do your thoughts differ this time from when you considered your decision using your brain and your heart? Take a break before making the final decision. Distract yourself with something fun, then return to your decision with a fresh mind and see where your intuition weighs in compared to the data you've collected. For distractions you might go for a walk, take a shower, cook a meal, play a musical instrument, or whatever else it is that you enjoy doing. Bring your brain, heart, and gut together. Now that you've listened to your brain, heart, and gut, try to find a decision that balances all of your answers. Maybe you'll find that your brain, heart, and gut are all in line with one another. In this case, your decision will be pretty easy! Flip a coin. If you're really struggling with making a decision after considering it from all angles, try flipping a coin. You don't have to follow the result of the coin toss. What's more important is how you feel when you see the result. For example, if you've done a pros and cons list, and you've agonized over taking that new job but still can't decide, flip a coin: heads is yes, tails is no. If the coin lands on yes and you feel sick about it, or it lands on no and you feel relieved, you'll know that you actually don't want the new job and probably shouldn't take it. Try a blind reading. Blind readings are a fun way to explore your intuition. To do a blind reading: Think about a decision you're struggling with and write 3 possible solutions for it on individual index cards — 1 solution per card. Turn the cards over and shuffle them, then assign a percentage to each card based on how much you're drawn to it. Make your decision based on the card with the highest percentage. | Keep a journal. Meditate daily. Go for a mindful walk. Live in the moment. Pay attention to your bodily sensations. Pay attention to what your mind is drawn to. Consider your life experience. Gather experiences. Allow your gut and your mind to work together. Pay attention to body language and words. Keep an open mind. Ask yourself whether it’s worth expressing your hunches. Don’t dwell on the negative. Use your brain. Listen to your heart. Think with your gut. Take a break before making the final decision. Bring your brain, heart, and gut together. Flip a coin. Try a blind reading. |
https://www.wikihow.com/Hand-Feed-a-Horse | How to Hand Feed a Horse | If you want to hand-feed a horse that's not yours, always get permission from the owner first. If you have permission, approach the horse slowly and in full view, staying slightly to the side. This will help prevent the horse from being startled. You can also let the horse know you're coming by speaking softly to it or clicking your tongue. Once you've successfully approached the horse, offer it a treat with your hand open and flat to prevent accidental nips. Make sure to feed the horse appropriate goodies, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, or manufactured horse treats. | Get permission to approach and feed horses that are not yours. If you see some horses grazing in a pasture on the side of the road, don't assume you can simply approach the fence and offer them food. You must always as the owner's permission before approaching or feeding any horses that do not belong to you. Some horses might be on a very specific diet, and offering them food outside of that diet could be harmful. Alternatively, some horses may have biting tendencies or aggressive behaviors, and you don't want to approach any horse without being aware of these tendencies beforehand. Approach the horse with caution. Never run at a horse. Do not come at the horse from behind, as you might spook it. Approach the horse from the front, and off to the side a bit. Approaching at a slight angle toward the shoulder will allow it to see you a bit better. Don't approach a horse directly from the front since that's where its blind spot is. Make sure you are coming to it from the side a bit as that is where its best vision is. Walk slowly and don't lunge towards the horse or make any sudden movements. Let the horse know you are coming. Talking softly, clicking your tongue, or speaking the horse's name will let it know you are approaching. You might see its ears twitch as it hears your voice, and it may turn to look at you when it hears you. This will let you know the horse has acknowledged your presence and you haven't startled it. Don't make any strange or overly loud noises to let the horse know you're there. Just speak quietly or make noises it is used to hearing. Hold your hand out flat. When offering a horse food with your hand, you want to make sure your hand is flat with your fingers together and the food or treat on your palm. Doing this will keep your fingertips away from the horse's mouth, and it will be less likely to accidentally nip you while taking the food. Avoid holding your hand too high. Let the horse drop its head down to take the treat from your palm. That way, the horse will be reaching down into your palm rather than coming straight onto your fingertips. Offer the horse fruits, vegetables, or manufactured horse treats. Horses particularly love apples and carrots, but you can also offer a myriad of other things, including melons, snow peas, pumpkin, and strawberries. You can also choose to offer treats made specifically for horses that can be purchased at horse supply stores. For a sweet treat, you can even offer the horse a few peppermint candies or sugar cubes. Make sure you only give these occasionally, and only a few at a time. Break off small pieces to feed to the horse. Some horses might chew and swallow the treats you give them, while others might be more prone to swallow without chewing. Breaking up larger pieces will prevent anything from getting stuck in the horse's throat. Watch the horse as it eats its treats to assure it doesn't have trouble chewing or eating whatever you have chosen to feed it. Avoid feeding horses any treats that may produce gas. Things like potatoes, onions, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage should be avoided. Horses are prone to bloat which could lead to health complications, so you don't want to feed them things that could lead to excessive gas. Avoid giving your horse raw garlic. Garlic is sometimes given to horses in supplement form, or incorporated into certain kinds of feed, but should not be given raw as a treat. Chocolate is also a bad treat choice for horses. The same chemical that makes chocolate toxic to dogs also makes it toxic to horses in large amounts. Still, a tiny piece now and then won't do much harm. Give treats in moderation. Overfeeding treats adds unnecessary calories and could disrupt the bacteria and microbes present in a horse's digestive tract that are balanced to keep things working properly. As an alternative to treats, you can hand feed a horse its regular feed, or handfuls of the grass it likely spends most of its day munching on out in the pasture. Incorporate a verbal command or cue. If you associate a hand-fed treat with a verbal cue, the horse will eventually learn to only expect a treat when the word is spoken, rather than all the time. This will discourage them from constantly nudging or nipping for treats. Speaking a word like “Treat!” when you want to give your horse a treat will help it wait for this cue to expect a treat. Stand at the horse's shoulder. Rather than standing in front of the horse and offering a treat to it outright, stand beside it and face in the same direction as it. Hold the treat in the palm of your hand and reach a little over to its other side. This will force the horse to turn its head slightly away from you to take the treat. Doing this will teach the horse to expect hand-fed treats in this manner, and the horse will be less likely to nip or nudge people for treats. Avoid pulling your hand away as you feed the horse. Rather than pulling your hand back towards yourself as the horse takes the treat from your palm, guide the treat into the horse's mouth and direct your hand toward it instead. Pulling your hand away might signal to the horse that you are going to withdraw the treat, which might cause them to lunge for it in an attempt to get it before you take it away. This could lead to an accidental nip or bite. Feed the horse treats in a bucket or feeding trough. If a certain horse has particularly bad hand-feeding manners, stick to feeding that horse with a bucket or feeding trough. This will generally be the safest way to feed a horse. Hand feeding is sometimes frowned upon in the horse-owner community because of the nipping behaviors it can occasionally create or foster. If your horse has a tendency towards these behaviors, feeding the horse treats in a bucket or feeding trough is a safe alternative. | Get permission to approach and feed horses that are not yours. Approach the horse with caution. Let the horse know you are coming. Hold your hand out flat. Offer the horse fruits, vegetables, or manufactured horse treats. Break off small pieces to feed to the horse. Avoid feeding horses any treats that may produce gas. Give treats in moderation. Incorporate a verbal command or cue. Stand at the horse's shoulder. Avoid pulling your hand away as you feed the horse. Feed the horse treats in a bucket or feeding trough. |
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