October, 2010

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31
Oct 10

Looking After Your Orchid

Looking after your orchid needn’t be a difficult job if you get the basics right. These plants are very hardy which accounts for the vast number of unusual places they can be found growing in nature. Largely, orchids like to be left alone to grow and flower in peace, but there are five main things that you should try to control to give them the best possible environment in which to live happily.

1. Planting Medium

Orchids simply cannot grow in ordinary potting compost as this is too dense and will pack too heavily around the roots and choke them. Instead, use a specialist orchid medium made of a mix of various organic and inorganic materials.

The roots need to be well aerated so do not pack the medium too densely and use a pot that contains them snugly without being so large that it retains unnecessary moisture.

2. Watering

Always water your plant with extreme caution. Less is definitely more where hydration is concerned and your orchid will not thank you for being too over-enthusiastic in this department. It is possible to go a week or more without hydrating and you even then you should check the dampness of the planting medium beforehand.

3. Temperature

Orchids require daytime temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees F; the exact amount will depend on the specific variety. Most species need a drop in their overnight temperature as well as a cooler environment during their dormant or resting phase if they are to re-flower successfully.

In most cases, achieving a suitable temperature indoors is not a problem at all and no special measures will need to be employed to provide this environment. If this does prove to be a problem, it may be necessary to relocate the plant to another location at certain times of the year.

4. Illumination

Orchids like a generous amount of sunlight as long as it is not too intense to cause scorching to the foliage. A reddish hue to the leaves is often a warning sign that this may be happening so it may be useful to use a curtain or a shade to diffuse the illumination.

5. Humidity

In nature, orchids generally tend to grow in misty humid regions such as rainforests and mountains and they do best if this is replicated wherever they are housed. Except for the bathroom, this habitat is not easily simulated in most homes or indoor environments so you can boost the atmospheric humidity by frequently misting the area surrounding the plant. Placing damp pebbles, bowls of water or even an indoor decorative water feature are other helpful measures in achieving this.

Growing orchids in greenhouses is also a brilliant idea wherever possible as these tend to be higher in humidity and also allow good ventilation and air circulation.

If you follow this basic advice, you will find it no effort at all to take care of your splendid orchids. You will have the satisfaction of wowing all your friends with your supposed gardening prowess when you actually know that you didn’t have to do very much at all.

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31
Oct 10

Event Catering

Food! One of the most important ingredients to a great event. In order to really get the best event catering possible, you want to cut costs in other areas that will not cheapen your event. Well, one way you can do that is by creating free party invitations for your event.

Unique Party Invitations

You want to cut costs on party invitations but you don’t want them to look cheap and scrappy, so what do you do? Well, create free party invitations online.

Free party invitations done online are not only cheap but they can also be truly unique. With over 60 different multimedia applications at your disposal the limit is really just your imagination, so go wild. Create a page that perfectly reflects the great evening you have planned (and all the wonderful food that will be available!)

Once you have a great page up (just remember to add the details such as where and when) then send emails to your guest list and tell them to respond online. When they do you and those doing your event catering will quickly and easily be able to see how many people to cater for and you can even make a note on your page asking that people inform you of any food allergies or special dietary requirements they have.

Party Planning Ideas

Once your invitations have gone out and your event catering has been organized there is still plenty else to do and you really don’t want to do it alone, so get people involved. Use the task manager to tell people what to do. Delegating some party preparations actually makes the party more fun for everyone, so see who is willing and put them to work.

You also want to make sure that you don’t spend too much on other party supplies, so use the budget manager to ensure that you cut costs wherever possible (leaving more to spend on food.)

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31
Oct 10

Printable Homework Charts Keep Mom From Pulling Her Hair Out

If you are battling with your kids over doing homework, there is a simple tool that can really help. Printable homework charts have made a difference in many homes and they can work in your home, too.

This premise is amazingly straightforward. Kids, like most adults, need structure. However, most kids do not understand their need for structure and will not institute any on their own. That’s normal and where you, as a parent, can really shine.

Helping your student get organized using homework charts is easy. Realize you may have to make tweaks in your system over the first few weeks. Many parents are frustrated with a new system that doesn’t work perfectly the first time. Don’t fall for that! Making changes over time is called progress and should be celebrated.

Start by sitting down with your child and going over his homework needs with him.

- How many classes or subjects does he have?

- What are the daily assignments that never change; such as daily reading or memorizing math facts.

- Are there days of the week he never has homework?

Use this information to get a feel for your child’s homework needs and then head to your computer to get some printable homework charts. There are a wide variety of charts available online; some simple and some quite sophisticated. Take a look at your choices and print some charts out to get started. You can always get different ones later on.

Fill out the homework chart for the first week or month. Consider that this is a new habit for your child and some motivation to stick with the program will probably be needed. This is not so much about grades as about becoming responsible for doing the homework with minimal prodding from you.

Let the homework chart be the ‘heavy’ or authority on this issue. Explain to your child about this new system designed to help make her life easier (which it will absolutely do if she gets on board with it). Tell her there will be frustrations at first, that’s fine, but grown-ups push through frustrations with a decent attitude.

Then get started. Each day point to the homework chart and ask if she has completed it for the day or how far she has gotten. Keep pointing out the natural consequences for not keeping on top of homework and establish your own family consequences for not keeping school a priority.

If you begin this system when your children are young and just starting out with their educational careers, you will find that you don’t have any difficulties nagging about homework as they grow. If your kids are older and have already established non-productive homework patterns, then your work will take longer, but you can still get the job done. Let’s face it. Adults complain loud and strong when they have to make changes they don’t like, so why should we expect our half-grown children to be any different? That’s human nature and as parents, we can be patient and show our kids the great skill of changing ourselves willingly and intentionally.

Use printable homework charts in your home to develop strong self-discipline habits and a healthy appreciation for education. Good homework habits are worth their weight in gold over the lifetime of your family.

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30
Oct 10

When Babies Cry, We Don’t Know Their Level of Pain

Have you ever heard a baby cry? That answer is probably an astounding yes. On city buses, at malls, even at fancy restaurants, you will hear a baby cry. Sometimes these tears are from nothing more than a baby wanting to eat. Sometimes the baby needs to be burped. Other times, the baby may have a messy diaper. But what if it was something much more serious? What if the baby has a real issue he or she is dealing with that isn’t going to heal itself?

It’s nearly impossible to tell if a baby has a serious health risk just by hearing them cry or moan for help. Some babies will cry at the drop of a pin, and others are brave young soldiers that will almost never cry.

When do we know when those tears are tears we should be worried about? This is an often debated subject that has experts struggling for answers. Of course, the short answer is to check out the baby, and see if they have been cut, bruised, bumped or have any other effect of foul play on their body. If not, it could be something internal.

Many internal factors can make a baby cry. Starting with the babies internal temperature. The body temperature of a baby can be hot, and one may not feel it. Not even the mother of the baby, at times can feel this increase in natural body temperature. It’s simply a tough temperature to gauge unless it is your own.

Also, the baby could be cold, or could be out of place. Some babies do not feel in the comfort zone when in the presence of others, and will cry to let everyone know. It’s not abnormal for a baby to let out tears when a new person holds them for the first time. Often times, strange things such as a mustache or bear on a new person the baby has yet to meet can really throw them off and make them feel out of their element. This of course can lead to tears.

If a baby cries too much, consider calling your physician. They will most likely take the baby through several tests to make sure all the normal things we take for granted are lined up and in place. Chances are, the baby is crying because he or she is simply being a baby. But it’s important to know if a baby is in pain so you can properly deal with it should there be an issue.

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30
Oct 10

Saving Money Tips – Grow Your Own

We all enjoy the taste of good quality fresh fruit / veggies and herbs and we all know that often by the time our produce reaches the stores it is often days / weeks / months old. We also know that the cost of buying these items just seems to keep going up and up and up. So how about considering growing some for yourself?

Here are some clues to help you get started:

1. Work out what you want to grow:

  • Write a list of your favourite fruits / vegetables / herbs
  • From this list, what would you like to grow?

2. Research how to grow your chosen produce:

  • How easy is it to grow your favourite fruits / vegetable / herbs?
  • Find out what grows in your local area / region
  • What condition/s does your plant / tree grow best under? sun / shade / well drained soil etc
  • What seasons / climatic changes will affect what you are trying to grow? frosts / winds / summer / winter
  • Consider bush foods / native produce more accustomed to growing in your local area / region
  • Consider growing plants that compliment each other. Some gardeners adopt a method of?companion planting where certain plants are grown in and among other plants to ward off pests or to help stimulate growth
  • Talk to your local nursery / plant growers association
  • Surf the internet / read some books

3. Where will you grow your fruit / veggies / herbs?

  • What space do you have available to grow produce?
  • Where could you grow your produce?
    • in the garden
    • small yard
    • acreage
    • flower bed
    • on a patio / deck
    • in a tub
    • indoors
    • outdoors
  • Does the area you choose meet the climatic conditions / requirements your plants will need? eg adequate sun / sufficient drainage

4. Write a list of the items you will need to get started?

  • Garden materials
    • pots
    • old tyres
    • wood
    • concrete edging
    • old wash tub
    • old wheelbarrow
  • Organic soil / potting mix
  • Seeds / seedlings
  • Stakes / trellis / wire frames
  • Fertiliser / manure / compost
  • Herbicide / something to deter pests
  • Water / Water crystals
  • Watering Can
  • Love

5. Think about who can help you

  • Get the whole family involved – the children will love caring for something that they can grow to eat
  • See if your neighbours can get involved. How about you grow certain items and they grow certain items and you can then swap produce with them

6. Think about what you will do with your produce?

  • Eat fresh
  • Store / freeze for later
  • Sell / give away / swap
  • Make some thing from it to sell – pickled vegetables, jams, chutneys, preserves, herbed oils

7. Research how you can preserve the produce you grow as you might find if you are very successful you have a good abundance of fruits / vegies / herbs

  • Pickling
  • Freezing
  • Blanching
  • Stewing
  • Wrapping / Storing

How much is it costing you to buy your fruit and vegetables each week? Maybe the next couple of times you visit your grocery store or greengrocer it might pay to take a note of how much the items are costing you per kilo / pound. Take particular note of the items you have thought you might like to grow.

If you didn’t have to buy these items each and every week how much would you save on your groceries each week? Also if you could grow produce to sell, how much money could you make?

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30
Oct 10

Growing Herbs Outdoors Or in an Indoor Herb Garden

Growing herbs that are ready to be picked from your herb garden to add to the dishes you are preparing is an enjoyable thing to do. An outdoor herb garden with plenty of light and good soil drainage can produce a variety of flavors for many foods. An indoor herb garden makes it possible to have fresh herbs throughout the year. Indoors, a sunny window and pots with good drainage are needed. When growing herbs, the flavors are best when picking them and using them when fresh. However, herbs can be stored either frozen or dried.

Herbs add special flavors to your food. Try experimenting with small amounts of individual herbs by mixing them with a small amount of butter and spreading the mixture on crackers. You will soon learn the flavor of that particular herb. When adding herbs to dishes that take a longer period of time to cook, such as soups and stews, the herbs should be added near the end of the cooking time to preserve the flavor.

A favorite with many people, chives are very easy to grow, producing grass-like leaves that grow to be about twelve inches long. The leaves can be cut with a pair of scissors. Chopped chives can be sprinkled on a variety of foods. The chive flowers can also be eaten, often being tossed on a salad as a special addition. The chives leaves do not have as good a flavor after the plant has bloomed so the flowers can be cut off when they begin to appear, leaving the leaves to be at their best.

Sweet basil, also a very popular herb, is great for salads, vegetable dishes, vinegars and pesto. Begin picking the leaves when the plants are twelve to eighteen inches high and pick them regularly to keep the new growth coming on. Dill weed is also a common herb. Dill weed is actually the feathery leaves of the dill plant. The seeds of the dill plant are called dill seeds and are considered to be spices rather than herbs.

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30
Oct 10

Spending Quality Time With Your Child

Our world is more complex than ever before. Events that will shape the future of not only our lives but of our children’s lives seem to be flying past us as break-neck speeds. We as a society have been bombarded by the negative cadence of such events by the media and others within our community who may be in a state of panic or stress. As adults it has become much more difficult to reconcile bad behavior and ethics as they appear to be rewarded time and again. Even more serious is the negative effects these events are having on our children. There has never been a greater need than now to spend quality time with our kids. Our children are being subjected to upside down values and double-talk on a daily basis. If we as adults are not willing or able to offer a counter-balance and voice of reason to our children then who will?

Economic times have forced most households to rely on more than one wage earner just to make ends meat, raising the challenge of physically being able to spend quality time with our kids. For some, down time translates into rest and recharging the internal batteries. So what’s a parent to do?

Surprisingly even small amounts of time spent giving unconditional devoted attention to our kids can make a huge difference in their lives. Watching television or a movie with your kids is NOT quality time. Showing an interest in THEIR interests, listening attentively to what THEY have to say and acknowledging their efforts is time much better spent.

Quality time is more than just listening. Quality time should also include a means for which life lessons can be shared in an open and non-judgmental way. Stories are a great way to get the message across, while allowing the child to come to the conclusion of the moral on their own. After all, who hasn’t heard the story of the Hare and the Tortoise or other such Aesop fables?

Take a moment to turn off the television, video games and other such distractions and pickup a short story to read to your child. Let them share their results and conclusions with you. Remember to not pass judgment on their findings, but do encourage an open dialog.

The investment of quality time now, will return huge dividends with the relationship of your child in the future and will also help to anchor and ground your child for the situations they may encounter.

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29
Oct 10

Love Scrapbooking? You’ll Adore Decoupage

Decoupage is the art of cutting out paper images and applying them to various objects and even walls. It originated in Italy and France in the 18th century and became highly popular in England in the 19th century as a suitable handcraft for Victorian ladies. However, though the techniques are traditional, the results can be as shabby chic and vintage or as modern and funky as you prefer depending on the images you choose.

You will need to prepare the base so that it’s smooth. It’s best to start with easy objects with flat surfaces that are already clean – like trays or new, cheap, wooden furniture. Bare new wood will require a coat of shellac to stop the sap seeping out, but that’s easy in comparison with the work required to prepare an older piece for decoupage … though if you have the time it’s a great way to recycle old objects.

Then comes the fun bit – choosing your images – whether you go for vintage styleor prefer more modern images, there’s plenty to choose from – the only limit to collecting your scraps for this craft is your imagination. To cut out your images use scissors, a craft knife or even a scalpel for intricate detail. Take great care at this stage because any awkward or badly cut shapes will really show up on the finished article.

The next step is to glue your images to your base – a bit like traditional scrapbooking. Use starch or white glue for preference – gum glue can give a brownish tinge. Apply the adhesive to the base, not the paper. Then place your image in position, face up, and smooth it down, working from one side to another to make sure no air bubbles are trapped beneath the paper and that the edges are properly pressed down. Then wipe it over with a damp sponge or cloth and remove any excess adhesive around the edges. If you’re using larger scraps then you may like to smooth them down with a roller, again working from the centre outwards, as quickly as possible before any air bubbles form as these may become compressed into creases.

The final stage when completing your handcrafted article is to varnish the piece. The varnish must be thick enough to leave a completely smooth surface so the edges of the paper scraps cannot be felt – you’ll need to apply about 10 coats. Modern acrylic varnishes dry quickly and are clear, though you can always tint them with pigment – to give that vintage look for example – if you wish. Then why not team your decoupage piece with some of our vintage-style bunting – for that truly authentic shabby chic look!

As you can see, the basic techniques of decoupage are – like scrapbooking – really easy – just requiring a degree of care and time. But, like scrapbooking, the art is in arranging the pieces to form a pleasing composition. The way to tackle this is to arrange your pieces first on a flat surface, then shift them around until you like the design you’ve created. Then following this design, fix the pieces to your base with a little blu -tack or sticky tape. Fix tracing paper over the top and trace your design as a final record of where the scraps should go. Then finally peel back the tracing paper a little at a time and glue your scraps one by one, replacing the tracing paper to check the positioning.

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29
Oct 10

Flashlight Collecting

Why do people collect flashlights? For a lot of reasons. Some enjoy studying their design and having a variety of different models to use. Others search for rare or special edition models that only add to their collect-ability. Still other look for flashlights with cutting edge technology that push the envelope for performance. That performance could be in terms of brightness, size, battery life, or all of the above. Sometimes people also enjoy modifying and customizing flashlights in order to change their performance or simply personalize them.

There are also flashlight collectors who enjoy building their own flashlights from parts. Wide varieties of parts are available to build flashlights of all styles. Flashlight builders usually also want to maximize the performance of the lights by buying the latest drivers and marrying them to state-of-the-art LED lamps. Builders can also personalize flashlights with the addition of accessories such as tritium vials that glow brightly in the dark. The vials are inset on the flashlight and can serve a practical purpose or simply be “cool.”

For someone looking to start collecting flashlights, what do you look for? High performance in today’s world generally means LEDs (light emitting diodes) instead of the older technology incandescents. The advantages of LED lights are that they can be made brighter than a similar sized incandescent and draw less current from the battery.

Some brands to look for are Fenix, Surefire, INOVA, ARC, and NovaTac. Many other brands exist that are cheaper and available at local mart stores, but those named are generally considered to be some of the best. To begin with, you may want to purchase flashlights that you can use or carry. Many collectors like flashlights that they can carry with them everyday. Others simply store them in protective cases. Your intended use for the light will determine what size and style you should purchase.

In the end, it is all about having fun. So buy what you like and what makes you happy and enjoy the hobby.

Benjamin Buford is has been collecting flashlights for two years. He prefers to collect rare Surefire flashlights, as well as ones that are on the cutting edge of flashlight technology. He is anxiously awaiting the release of the Surefire UB2 Invictus, which is his grail flashlight.

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29
Oct 10

Pregnancy – Reasons And Causes Of Pregnancy!

It is quite tough to exactly identify what causes a miscarriage to happen. Even as a great number of miscarriages are due to factors not within your control, it is certainly not easy to prevail over it. Quite a few people are of the opinion that they should be aware of what causes a miscarriage in order that they pick up the pieces of their lives and move ahead. In reality, often a physician is not particularly certain as to why this comes about.

A number of women suffer a miscarriage in the initial three months of pregnancy. Most women tend to miscarry without being aware of it since it takes place very early. These days, with precise early home pregnancy kits being widely available, more and more women are alert to miscarriages due to the early pregnancy test carried out. Quite a few women undergo multiple miscarriages not related to any lapse or mistake on their side and for no proof-based cause.

The reasons for a miscarriage are very frequently ascribed to genetic or chromosome defects in an embryo that leads to it being not capable of surviving. Well, this is definitely not something anybody can foresee and certainly not something, which can be set right. Of course, this is indeed cold comfort to the person who is hurting inside due to the loss, but in truth, there are a lot of couples who go through a miscarriage or sometimes even two but can, in spite of everything, conceive quite naturally and without any difficulty in the future.

In case a miscarriage happens again in a woman and she experiences three repeated miscarriages, a physician will, in all probability, work uncompromisingly and determinedly to ascertain the reason for miscarriage in that particular woman.

Other reasons may be present that are health related including blood complications or complications in the utero, which make it a negative and unfavorable surrounding for the development of the embryo. There can also be a possibility of a woman having an inadequate cervix that is unable to sustain the pregnancy on its very own. The causes and reasons of a miscarriage are many in number.

Diseases that are sexually transmitted can bring about a miscarriage, as also can alcohol and drug consumption. The moment a woman realizes she is pregnant, safeguards should be put in place for the benefit of her health as well as the wellbeing of her yet to be born child. It is vital to bear in mind that even though you have undergone a miscarriage, it is more than just possible that you can successfully conceive in the near future.

Usually, after a miscarriage, a person is left with an enormous sense of loss and there seems to be a void in their life. A couple usually becomes connected with a pregnancy the instant they receive the positive affirmation of the pregnancy test. Coping with the loss linked with a miscarriage needs a lot of healing time and the comforting support of near and dear ones.

There are a number of books and support groups that could assist you in coming to terms with your anguish. It is imperative that you fully recuperate and also recognize that a miscarriage possibly will not prevent you from conceiving in the future. It is advisable to consult with your physician about trying to get pregnant once more when you are up too it, but a majority of doctors counsel waiting a couple of menstrual cycles in order to provide your body the opportunity to be nursed back to health.

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