Lifestyle

As a pet parent, you want to provide the best care possible for your animal, which entails performing regular, everyday chores to keep them content and healthy. Follow these ten basic pet care recommendations every year for happy, healthy pets for life.

Have regular vet appointments.

Scheduling regular vet visits is the most important aspect of responsible pet ownership. Because dogs and cats live shorter lives than people do, they should be examined at least once or twice a year. While your pet may visit the vet more frequently when they are young, depending on their immunization schedule, keeping up with vet visits as they age is crucial to establishing and maintaining good pet health.

Dogs typically relish car rides. Take your dog on fun excursions to prevent him from associating getting into the car with going to the vet. When you find a veterinarian who is a good fit for your pet, many dogs don’t mind going there.

Get your pets spayed.

Aside from minimizing the number of homeless animals, spaying your pet helps to prevent many health problems, including difficult pregnancies. By having your pet cat or dog spayed, you can decrease their chances of developing cervical and ovarian cancer and keep your pets from having heat (animal menstruation) which reduces the likelihood that they’ll leave the house in search of a partner and makes any nearby male cats or dogs uncomfortable.

Your pet will be less aggressive after being neutered, and it will not develop testicular cancer. Because neutering or spaying is a surgical procedure that requires general anesthesia, your pet will most likely spend at least one night at the vet’s clinic for monitoring and recovery.

Get them vaccinated and booster.

Vaccinating your animals is part of providing them with the care they require. Make a vaccination appointment as soon as you bring your new pet home. During your initial visit, the veterinarian will set up a vaccination program for your small dog or kitten to protect them from illness and disease. Vaccinations should be administered to your puppy within the first few weeks of his arrival.

During your initial checkup, discuss with your veterinarian the best time to schedule that visit. They aid in the prevention of diseases such as rabies and distemper. Ensure that the adult or senior animal you have adopted has also received its vaccinations. Not just for young animals but for all animals, booster vaccinations are necessary.

Give nutritional meals.

The proper pet food will improve your pet’s quality of life by providing them with the vitamins and minerals they require. There are a lot of different options for meals, which can be confusing. However, by becoming informed about the key ingredients and how they benefit your dog or cat, you can quickly become an expert. In the cat food you choose, look for the right balance of protein, carbs, and fats. These ingredients are required for dog food, along with plenty of fiber for the digestive system.

Consult with your veterinarian before switching your pet to a special diet by selecting a pet food formula that is suitable for your pet’s age, health, and degree of physical activity.

Socializing and pet training are important.

Making sure your cat or dog is well-trained is one of the most significant aspects of good pet care, and regular socializing is part of that. Although it is ideal to begin when they are young, it is never too late to learn new skills.

Toilet training and making progress on dog obedience should come first for any animal you share your home with. When your dog or cat learns socialization skills, it will strengthen its bond with you and other pets. A joyful pet makes a satisfied owner, and untrained animals do as well.

 

If you have a young child who’s just at the beginning of learning how to read, you may find that they might be struggling with certain parts of the reading process. When this happens, it can be very easy for them to become discouraged and want to give up reading entirely. But in order for them to continue learning and become a strong reader, you have to find a way to help them overcome these challenges and work with their learning style.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to help a child who’s struggling with reading.

Take It Slow When Reading Together

When your child is first learning how to read, one of the best things you can do with them is to read together. As your child sees you read more and gets into books with you, they will learn to recognize letters and words, learn how the cadence of reading goes, and learn from you your love of reading.

During this part of learning to read, you should make sure that you’re taking it slow as you read together. Ideally, you should use your finger to follow along with the words that you’re reading so that your child can keep track. This can be especially helpful if you think your child might be dyslexic, as going slow can help them not to mix up their letters and words as much.

Build Their Confidence With The Right Books

Another thing that might be making it harder for your child to succeed with reading is reading the wrong books. If your child is reading books that are either too easy for them or too challenging, they might now want to read as much as they should.

To find books that are just right for your new reader, consider speaking with their teacher or a tutor about books that you should look for. Generally, if your child can read almost all of the words on a page of a book with minimal help, that is likely a book that is at or just above their reading level.

Make Reading Fun With Games And Apps

For many kids, just sitting down and reading a book can sometimes seem like punishment, especially if you’re wanting to have them read before they get to do something that they want to do.

To avoid this obstacle, try to find some fun games or apps that your child will enjoy while also building on their reading skills. There are all kinds of educational games and apps like this that your child can spend a lot of time playing and will come out as a better reader because of it.

If you want to help your child overcome their struggles with learning to read, consider using the tips mentioned above to see how you can do this with your child.

 

Poker has been considered a “man’s game” for decades, but that shouldn’t stop women from enjoying the game just as much as their male counterparts. In fact, we’re seeing more prominent women in the pro poker ranks of late, and one study even showed that 81% of women who have actually played before have enjoyed it! There’s simply no reason to consider the game a domain for men.

This is even more the case when we’re talking about poker at home. While it’s understandable that some women would still rather avoid the male-dominated poker rooms at actual casinos, hosting a poker night with your girlfriends makes for an excellent night in. You can catch up, enjoy some food and drinks, and enjoy a bit of playful competition in the process. If this sounds like a good idea to you, we have a few fun tips for how to make the evening memorable.

Make Some Cocktails

Ladies’ night in is a great time for a few nice cocktails regardless of what else you’re doing. And around the poker table, it can help everyone loosen up a bit! Your instinct may be to turn to some of the numerous poker and casino-themed drinks out there, and to be fair, some of them are sort of fun (you might even replicate the “Vesper” from Casino Royale). But really, you should focus on drinks that everyone will enjoy before drinks that fit a given theme. For the summer season ahead, we like both of the girls’ night in cocktails that The Spruce Eats promoted last year –– “Pretty in Pink” (made with vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice with a rosemary garnish), and “Blueberry Pomegranate Slushies” (a frozen blend with blueberry, pomegranate, lemon, and gin). But those are just a few examples. The best approach is to poll your group and figure out what people like and then track down a recipe accordingly. Consider making “mocktail” versions as well, for those who may not want to drink for one reason or another.

Have Some Food Ready

Whether or not you set up accompanying cocktails, it’s always a good idea to provide some food to your guests. Because it’s not usually convenient to have a whole dinner plate in front of you while playing poker though, the best move is often to set up a bunch of snacking options for company to enjoy (or ask everyone to bring something small and easy to eat!). For some inspiration, we’ll turn to some great finger food suggestions that The Pioneer Woman posted last December –– most notably pizza rolls, deviled eggs, cranberry brie bites, and classic pigs-in-a-blanket. You can opt for plenty of other finger foods as well, but these are easy ones to consume that won’t get people’s fingers too dirty or greasy (though napkins should still be handy), and which are thus easy to enjoy during a few rounds of poker.

Invest in a Poker Set

A poker chip set can make for an excellent item to pick up for your own home poker nights. Playing with chips isn’t strictly necessary, but if you’ve played with them before, you know they add a certain level of professionalism to the game. Plus, let’s be honest: We all feel kind of cool fiddling with them by the side of the table. Similarly, having great cards (newer, thicker, and shinier, usually) will enhance the experience of the game. And while some of this might sound like a splurge, it all comes quite cheap. A nice set of chips and cards can be had for under $100, and new cards alone –– from the likes of good brands Bicycle or Theory 11 –– can cost as little as $10.

Buy a Poker Table

There are a lot of options when it comes to buying a real poker table, or some version of one. At the very high end of things, you can invest thousands in a permanent piece of furniture with a custom-made felt topping, special features (like drink holders), and matching chairs. If you’re not looking to spend a great deal on your table though, there are also options such as foldable tables, fold-up table toppers, and even mats that can roll out over a table to provide a more satisfying playing surface. You may want to keep a simple wooden interior design in your room and thus not even bother with a topper. The most important thing though is to have that surface, as it makes the game look more real and helps cards and chips slide more smoothly. Beyond that though, your choice will depend on your own preferences and the amount of space you have.

Set Up a Poker Atmosphere

This last suggestion is one to have fun with, and it can mean any number of things. Perhaps you want to set up some soft jazz or bossa nova music in the background to establish a retro casino feel; maybe you want to put up some poker décor (posters of classic films for instance, or poker paintings you find online), or maybe you want to control the atmosphere through some dimming lights, or an affordable chandelier hanging directly over the table. Whatever the case, give some thought to the kind of poker night you want to host and think of some options like these that can help you establish the accompanying atmosphere. The game will be better for it.

Girls’ night doesn’t have to be a night out at a cocktail bar or an evening dedicated to venting, as stereotypes would have us believe. A poker night gives you a great way to let loose with the girls, enjoy a specific activity together, and simply hang out with friends. And with the tips above, you can set up a great one –– and possibly even a new regular tradition.

 

Luckily, most car accidents are small and don’t result in major injuries or too much property damage. But for the times when big car accidents do take place, it can be helpful to know what you can do to better protect yourself, your vehicle, and any passengers in your car from getting more hurt than they otherwise could have been.

To help you know what you can do to prepare, here are three safety tips to know if you get in a bad car accident.

Prepare By Keeping Your Car Clean

When in a car accident, one thing that can make things much more dangerous is having free-moving items in your car. Any items you have in your car will essentially become projectiles launching around when in a high-velocity car accident.

Knowing this, it’s best to keep your car as clean as possible when you’re driving around. If you bring something into the car with you and it doesn’t need to stay in there, it’s best to take it back out of the car with you at the end of your ride. And for things that do need to be in your car, make sure that those items are securely fastened down. This way, if and when you get in a car accident, the items won’t get thrown around to hurt you or break windows, which can cause even more harm and damage.

Keep Important Tools Nearby

In the event that you do get into a bad car accident, there are certain tools that it can be incredibly helpful to have close by your seat so that you can easily grab them and use them if necessary.

One thing that you’ll want to keep close by is a seat belt cutter. In some accidents, the seat belts can get stuck or you might not be able to reach the seat belt to unbuckle. In times like these, having a seat belt cutter will make it possible for you to exit the vehicle. Additionally, having a glass breaker near your seat can be helpful if you can’t get the door open but need to get out of the car in a hurry.

Get Out Of Potentially Dangerous Situations

After a bad car accident, it’s very common for people to be in shock and not functioning how they normally would. But despite this, one thing that you should keep in mind that will help to keep you safe is to move out of potentially dangerous situations as quickly as possible. This means moving your vehicle out of traffic if you can, staying far away from the road, and trying to get out of the vehicle if you smell gas or see that something is on fire.

To help you stay safer the next time you’re in a car accident, consider keeping the above-mentioned information in your mind every time you get in the car.

 

While selling your home is almost inherently going to be a stressful situation, there are things that can be done to limit the stress that you feel and help the process go along as smoothly as possible. So if you’re someone who finds themselves getting stressed out about things easily, here are three ways to reduce the stress associated with selling your home.

Work With A Trusted Real Estate Agent

One of the best things you can do to help make the selling of your home easier on you is to work with a trusted real estate agent. Especially if you don’t have much experience in real estate yourself or this is the first time that you’re selling a home, it can be very overwhelming to try to take everything on yourself.

But with a real estate agent that you like and know has your best interest at heart, you can put so much of the responsibility on their shoulders. They can take care of so many of the aspects of selling a home for you. And if you’re looking to do things like sell your home as-is or get an all cash offer, they can use their expertise to help ensure that you get exactly what you want without having to stress yourself out too much in the process.

Be Realistic About When To Have Showings

Something that causes people the largest amount of stress when selling their home is the showings. Before most people look to buy a house, they want to actually walk through the property. And to make sure your home looks irresistible to anyone who does a walk-through, you’ll want to have your home looking immaculate.

While keeping a home in this state might be easy for some, for others it can be a huge headache. So to help limit some of the stress associated with showings, it’s best to be realistic about when to have showings. If you really can’t handle showings during the day, set these boundaries with your agent. While this might make it harder for buyers to see your home, it can help to reduce your stress.

Focus On What You Can Control

There is so much about the home selling process that is, frankly, out of your control. You can’t control how the housing market changes or what your neighbors choose to do that might impact your home value. You also can’t control what buyers are interested in or what they might offer you. And while these things can cause stress, stressing out about something that you really have no control over is very unproductive.

If you’re able to, try to focus more of your attention on what you can control. This way, you can feel like you’re doing something to help your cause even if things might not work out the way you wanted.

If you’re going to be selling your home soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to keep your stress in check during this process.

Whether you are planning a birthday party, an anniversary, a fundraising event, an art show, or funeral services, there is a lot that goes into the planning of an event. You may start to feel stressed out or like there is no way you will be able to pull things off the way you want to, but don’t fret! Here are 4 simple tips to help you plan any type of event.

Start Early

Start your planning as soon as possible to account for any snags that may end up coming in your way. It may feel strange to start planning a Christmas event during the summer, but time will run out before you know it and you will be glad to be able to get things done ahead of time. Of course, certain things cannot be planned much in advance. If you are planning a funeral for example you may not have much time. Just do the best you can with the time that you have and don’t let time constraints increase your stress levels too much.

Get Help

You may opt to hire professional event planning help, or you might choose to do everything on your own and ask some friends or family members to help you out with planning. Either way, make sure you have extra hands, eyes, and brains in some form! It is extremely difficult to single handedly plan any event, no matter how small, so don’t expect too much out of yourself. Take help where you can get it and set aside some of your budget just in case you need to bring in a professional later on.

Budget

Make sure you have a budgeting plan for your event as a whole as well as every individual aspect of it. Planning even a small event can get expensive very quickly and you don’t want to overspend and end up having to backtrack later. Do not allow yourself to go over budget by making lists of pros and cons of certain event aspects in case there is something you need to choose to cut out.

Stay Organized

Keeping organized with calendars, notebooks, spreadsheets, and reminders in your phone will go a long way in helping you to plan any event with much less stress. As long as you have lists so that you know exactly what needs to be done each day you will be able to manage your time wisely so that nothing gets forgotten.

Planning an event is a large task and you should be proud of yourself for undertaking it. As long as you start your planning as early as possible, get help when you need it, budget properly, and keep organized, everything will turn out exactly as you envision it.

 

 

In addition to getting things like a hunting license and all of the necessary equipment before you leave on a hunting trip, to have the best possible experience, you may also want to spend some time preparing your body for what you’re about to put it through. So to help you in accomplishing this, here are three ways to prepare your body for a hunting trip.

Exercise Your Body Correctly

When thinking about preparing your body for going on a hunting trip, one of the biggest considerations is how you’ll train physically so that you can withstand all of the physical activity you’ll be doing throughout the hunt.

To help you with this, Josh Kirchner, a contributor to GearJunkie.com, recommends that you spend most of your time focusing on your legs, core, and cardio training. By building up these parts of your body, you’ll be able to handle all the walking involved in hunting as well as find that your body can better support itself under the weight of your pack. And with all that extra weight you’ll be carrying throughout the day, you’ll be glad you did some cardio training so that you aren’t completely wiped out when it comes time to take care of the meat you got on the hunt.

Get The Right Equipment And Gear

Another part of preparing your body for going on a hunting trip is making sure that you have the gear and equipment you’ll need so that you can be safe and comfortable.

As part of this, Hunter-ed.com recommends that you get appropriate clothing for your trip and get the right gear to use. Depending on what type of hunting you’re doing and what time of year you’re going out, the right clothing could range from a basic hunting t-shirt to full winter clothes. Along with this, the gear you’ll bring will vary based on what you’re hunting too, so make sure you do research beforehand to best prepare yourself and bring what you’ll need.

Prepare Yourself Mentally

It’s not only physical preparation that you should undergo when planning to take a hunting trip.

According to Tyler Freel, a contributor to OutdoorLife.com, going on a hunting trip can be just as mentally taxing as it is physically taxing. Knowing this, you can prepare yourself mentally by realizing that you’ll likely be very physically uncomfortable throughout a lot of your hunt, what with walking for miles and miles in unpredictable weather. Additionally, the thrill or disappointment that you might feel when your trip is over should be something you prepare for as well.

If you’re wanting to go on a hunting trip in the near future, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you be physically and mentally prepared for this excursion.

 

The holiday season is finally here, which means it is time to start preparing to send the holiday cards. However, with all the holiday photo card templates available, making up your mind on which to send is a daunting adventure. On the other hand, the holiday stationery allows you to exercise your creative mind to develop a photo card that will be unique and exceptional. This is a great time to showcase the family’s joy while everyone is dressed in their favorite holiday wear.

Have a List of Recipients

The first step towards making the perfect card is to create a list of everyone you wish to send the cards. The list you make will guide you as to how many cards you need to create. The list also guarantees that you will not have anyone left out when you start sending the cards. It will be easy for you to keep close ties with your friends and family throughout the holiday session. With the list, it will also be possible for you to arrange your time appropriately. You will not have to keep going back through creating cards while in the middle of mailing them to respective people.

Have a Holiday Theme

Making a holiday card is a fun time you have to put your creative mind into action. Come up with a holiday theme that is personalized and unique. In your card, you can go for any theme based on what entices you the most. For instance, you may want to make cards with your pets or close friends, you can decide on a color scheme, and you can get as creative or simple as you’d like.

Use a Quality Photo

Holidays are about happy moments, and the best way to show family happiness is by using high-quality family photos on the card. You can arrange to get a professional photographer to take a family picture or do it yourself at home. The secret to a quality photo is to ensure you have great lighting and a crisp focus. Using the best photo quality will guarantee that your card is exceptional. Even if you compromise on other things, your photo should be exceptionally outstanding.

Remember the Fonts and Colors

Fonts and colors are the most challenging step of designing a holiday card. It is often tempting to use all the available options to make your card special. However, that is usually not the best choice; you can still get a perfect card using simple colors and fonts. When choosing the color, ensure to use colors that will synchronize with your photo and theme without complicating the design. Lastly, it is essential to select an appropriate size for your cards.

It will be easy for you to decide the type of materials, including photos, to use when you have a holiday card size in mind. Visit Mixbook to select a card that will best convey your message to your loved ones.

While most women eventually have some kind of skin care routine that they stick with throughout life, many men don’t fall into a good system with their skin care, either as teens or as adults. However, with a little effort and some knowledge, men can easily come up with a regimen that can help them to have softer, healthier skin within putting in too much time or money.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for caring for your skin as an adult man.

Wash Your Face At Night

Taking the time to wash your face twice a day isn’t something that many men are willing to do. But luckily, this isn’t really required for many men to do in order to have a healthy skin care routine.

According to Cynthia Cobb, a contributor to Healthline.com, it’s not vital for men to wash their faces every morning. Rather, it’s best for men to wash their faces at night. This allows for everything that comes onto your skin during the day to be washed off before you sleep on your pillow each night. And by just using a gentle cleanser each night before you go to sleep, you will have cleaner, clearer skin that you currently have.

Don’t Worry Too Much About Exfoliating

For women, one of the mainstays of skin care is to exfoliate. But for men, exfoliating their faces isn’t something that they should be particularly worried about.

The reasoning for this, according to Garrett Munce, a contributor to Esquire.com, is because many men shave their faces every day. When you shave your face, you automatically exfoliate without actually having to use an exfoliating product. But because you can count shaving as exfoliating, you’ll want to be sure that you’re using quality shaving and skin care products so that your skin doesn’t get too rubbed and scrubbed each day that you shave, as this can cause irritation.

Pick The Right Moisturizer

Due to what your skin goes through on a regular basis, whether you’re actively adhering to a skin care routine or not, it’s important that you’re giving your skin the best chance of protecting itself by properly moisturizing it.

According to Sarah DiGiulio, a contributor to Men’s Journal, it’s best to apply moisturizer right after you’ve shaved your face while you still have some moisture on the skin. This will allow the most moisture to be sealed into your skin. Even if you have a beard or scruff, it’s still important that you apply moisturizer after cleansing your skin so that you can avoid dry skin and dandruff in your facial hair.

If you’ve yet to have a consistent skin care routine in your adult years, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find something that will work for you.

 

A diamond undergoes grading according to its value. There are different ways to achieve this and among them is through polish and symmetry. They determine how well a diamond’s finish and craftsmanship is.

What is a diamond’s polish all about? How can this determine a diamond’s value? How is the diamond’s polish checked?

It helps to know small details of how diamonds are being valued. Below are some simple explanations on the importance of polishing. Know how to select your diamond.

What You Should Know About Polishing and a Diamond

Planning on getting diamond rings? If so then you would want to buy those that have good value. Looking at its polish will give you a good idea of how well a diamond’s cost is.

A diamond’s polish refers to the smoothness and the surface of a diamond. When a diamond has crisp reflections and undistorted light transmissions, they are well polished.

A polished diamond can either be excellent, ideal or very good. There are available grading systems that can rate a diamond on how polished they are. Experts allow a diamond’s cut grade to be a rating higher than its polish rate.

Identifying a Diamond’s Polish Features

A diamond is a popular choice for wedding rings. This is why so many people look for ways to buy the best ones. Before you buy one, you might want to check these polish features.

• Abrasion-These are being caused by a series of nicks found on the facet or on girdle junctions.
• Burn marks- These are white-looking hazes from high temperatures. Most come from a jeweler’s torches or polishing wheels.
• Lizard skin- These are the bumpy-looking textures on the stone
• Scratch- These are transparent white lines on the surface of the stone.
• Rough girdle- These are those unpolished girdles left behind after bruting.
• Nicks- These are small notches that are on the facet or the girdle junctions.

What Matters the Most

The cut grade does rely on the diamond’s polish. But you should note that the cut itself gives the most value. A well-polished stone is great, but if you like another cut then you should go for it.

If you’re interested in the light performance of the stone then polishing will be a good factor. You may need to choose stones that have better cuts or better polishing. Go with what your budget can afford.

When you want the most “ideal” looking stone, go with a diamond in an “excellent” grade. This is the best option when it comes to a diamond that looks the most brilliant under the light.