Freedom from Necessity ©2017 Joan M. Newcomb,

Thanksgiving Day is the beginning of a month of expectations. Let family and friends gather together, let there be an abundance of food and gifts. That everyone is supposed to be warm and loving to each other.

Freedom from Necessity by Norman Rockwell

My family of origin lived up to those expectations for the first fifteen years of my life, until the patterns began to break. And we had pretty high expectations. My Great Uncle Jim McCabe is in the iconic Norman Rockwell painting.

My earliest memories are of big holiday meals, although we lived abroad for most of those years, so we sometimes had goose instead of turkey.

The family began to unravel when I was sixteen, and perhaps I initiated, contributed to, or reflected that unraveling… I was hospitalized for depression in an adolescent ward of a psychiatric hospital during the holidays that year.

The following year, I just remembered, I had Thanksgiving with my great-uncle’s family in Connecticut (after visiting him in Vermont). I was at university and my parents were in Sweden. My father left my mother soon after; I don’t really remember any Thanksgiving with them after that.

As an adult, I valiantly tried to create holiday meals like the ones I had had in my early childhood. But the family I created split up when my children were young. Since his father was a gourmet chef and I had never cooked a turkey, I built it into the parenting plan to spend every “big meal” day with him. I had no idea that he set me up to be alone for all those vacations.

At some point my kids found out from their cousins ​​that they had two Thanksgivings. The cousins ​​would see both sets of parents on the same day. Since my cooking skills couldn’t match his father’s, I had our Thanksgiving meal the previous Sunday, which avoided competition and meant they ate my leftovers before going to his father’s house for the rest of the week.

During every Thanksgiving, for years, he would always fight to be “adopted” somewhere to eat with other people. It was always a painful and lonely time.

When I remarried, our first Thanksgiving together, my mother-in-law was insulted that she had my husband and his job in the turkey. After that, we would go out for Chinese food.

When you look at Thanksgiving from the perspective of Consciousness, you see the tangles of expectations and dysfunctional patterns that actually create separation and lack.

You can be with family and lots of food, and if it’s full of assumptions and craziness, you’ll feel far removed from any sense of connection and abundance.

Thanksgiving is not about the big meal. It is not about the gathering of family and friends. It’s not even necessarily about gratitude. As Awareness, it is about appreciation.

Appreciation is the neutral form of gratitude, because it comes from the sense of the creator rather than the recipient. Since we exist as Consciousness and in body, we can experience both, but it is important to note the difference. Gratitude implies appreciation for or of something outside of yourself. Appreciation acknowledges and enjoys creation. That can even be the creation of chaos and discord.

When you shift your perspective from your body/personality to yourself as Consciousness, you know that you already have everything you desire.

As Consciousness there is no separation. You are always connected, even with loved ones who have passed away. As Consciousness there is no lack, because Consciousness is the Source of all creation. As Consciousness there is no discord, because Consciousness is essentially love.

This year, my husband and I are at that midway point, where our parents have passed away and our adult children still have no offspring of their own. A son is in Spain; We won’t see it until Easter. Another one is in Vashon, with his dad. We’ll do our lunch on Sunday (I cook salmon instead now).

I appreciate having good relationships with both my children and my husband. I can create new patterns instead of transmitting the historical ones.

This holiday season, when you feel caught up in the craziness, take a moment to change your perspective (this may require leaving the room). See it all from Consciousness, appreciate this playground of a planet and watch your reality transform!

House training a puppy in 7 days is not difficult to do and is often thought to be impossible to do. While it may be tricky at first, it’s certainly doable and with a little practice, your pup will be housebroken in 7 days or less. It usually takes about a day or two for your pup to really understand what house training is all about, but it largely depends on the breed of dog and how old they are.

House training doesn’t have to take months to accomplish, so let’s look at some things you can do to effectively house train your puppy in 7 days.

One of the most important things is to set a schedule for your puppy to follow. This can be as simple as taking him outside to go to the bathroom after every meal and feeding him at the same time every day so he gets used to the fact that he has to go to the bathroom at a certain time. Young puppies often don’t know they have to go potty until it’s too late, so if you can get them out before they do, you’ll have a much better chance of avoiding an accident on your carpet.

Give your pup a treat and say something positive like “good boy!” right after he finishes going to the bathroom will also help him learn to go to the bathroom faster. It works well and should not be overlooked when house training your puppy. Puppies want to please you and love food too, so if you can show him that he is pleasing you and give him food; he will understand you much better.

Of course, there will be times when your pup just won’t be able to get out on time. This is normal and part of raising a puppy, so when it happens, don’t panic. Yelling at you won’t do you or your pup any good and may even make things worse and confuse your pup. The best thing to do when this happens is to let it go and clean the place with a good pet disinfectant. You don’t want your pup to be able to smell the floor he went on and think it’s okay to go there.

It is possible to house train a puppy in 7 days, but you will still need to constantly monitor your puppy to make sure he doesn’t have any accidents. After that, you shouldn’t have to worry about your puppy pottying at your house again.

To be successful in any job in life, you need a mentor who will motivate you to achieve your dreams. According to STATISTIC BRAIN research, people who are clearly determined are 10 times more likely to achieve their goals than those who are not. New York event planner Michael Cerbelli is a born event planner, I would say. He started his career at the age of 13, as you may know, and now he has become a paradigm in the events industry. But not all high profile professional event planners are born, they can also be made.

You can become one by learning from professionals, for example you can learn from these:

5 Case studies from 2016.
Demonstrate your expertise to customers.
Get certified by event management certification programs, which will make you more attractive to clients.
Take advantage of the event management software market that Technavio analysts forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10.29 percent in the space of 2017-2021.

What I mean by that is that you should follow the industry trends. Don’t let technology catch you off guard.

Here are qualities beginning event planners could learn from Michael Cerbelli:

#1. He is productive: his productivity could become a seed for the expansion of his business.

Michael surrounded himself with friends who made him more acute. We have a moral sense, “iron sharpens iron.” Who are your friends?

He created a strategic union of mega stars such as:

Guy Fieri, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Lee Anne Wong. That kind of alliance could make you productive

You can build relationships with the most influential people in the event industry through social media. You may ask, “how do I get to them?” simple, just grab your browser, go to google search and type in, influencer marketing tools. You will see a list of them by different websites, click on your list of choice. So sign up with them; Find influencers in the events industry and start connecting.

A Freeman survey of leading corporations and event marketers and strategic insight states that leading exhibitors and marketers have found increasing event reach through social media to be very important, and many are still generating ideas. So social media could be your gold mine to connect even with new customers.

#two. Creativity and Excellence: He (Michael) has developed the spirit of excellence and his creativity has made him a global event planning mega star.

Meeting Professionals International reported that it held some of the main events:

The economic forum in Davos Switzerland and a birthday party event for the King of Morocco.

What could bring this type of opportunity is undoubtedly ‘creativity and excellence’. As an individual, you have these creative abilities within you. You just need to make Michael your role model, for him to help you bring out the best in you.

#3. Energetic: distance and language have never been a barrier for Michael Cerbelli.

His tireless energy allows him to efficiently tackle both local and international productions. This earns the trust of your customers. You can be energetic. You should ask yourself the question, what is Michael’s secret? Expect! You are not far from the fact. From a psychological point of view, it could increase your energy to achieve great things like Michael.

And again, as the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology says:

“Energy psychology (EP) is a mind-body approach to understanding and improving human functioning. EP focuses on the relationship between bioenergy systems, neurological and electrophysiological processes, and mental functions involving thoughts, emotions, sensations and behaviors”.

#4. Charismatic: Michael is a charismatic figure.

With this quality in place, you can turn every challenging project into an admired experience; by using the human and other resources at its disposal. Michael makes his work more attractive by bringing different perfumers together during an event. Creating something interesting as they say, “audiences like mashups on stage”.

#5. Tech Savvy – according to Harvard Business Review research; leaders who have vast knowledge and understanding in different fields tend to manage innovative organizations.

Michael Cerbelli was on stage at MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) 2017 from June 19-22 in Las Vegas, presenting some technology ideas in the industry, such as:

Drone technology, photographic technology and food according to MPI report.
As a beginner event planner, that’s the type of event worth attending to improve your skills.
You could learn how Michael put technologies together to accomplish a certain goal.

Bottom line: Learning from the qualities of Michael Cerbelli I highlighted earlier, I think smart beginning event planners could carefully work on productivity by throwing their fishing nets into the ocean of social media.

Also keeping up to date on upcoming Michael Cerbelli events and working to enhance your creativity and excellence. Also be tech-savvy, as the events industry grows in this digital age; You must improve your appeal to increase your customer base.

I think we can all agree that, whether it’s a short story, a novel, or something in between, THE most important thing about none the story is this:

• Something has to change at the end—or there is no story.

Whether or not you’ve seen that statement in a book or article, you intuitively know it’s true. You can remember none story where there are no changes at the end? I thought not.

Now, you may not realize it, but absolutely each published story change at the end always relates to some strongly expressed value Early in history, either by or on the main character.

And that early statement of strong value is always an evaluation or description related to the main character, or one of the main characters, on-

• has a characteristic golden streak,
• a goal,
• a problem,
• one wish, gold
• an opinion or point of view.

That’s what I call the old view.On the other hand, the change at the end I call the New view. Y

• the new view is always a reverse of the old and strong opinion previously established.

With that one principle, you can make sense of literally every story ever written and published. And you don’t have to bring a bunch of literary devices to test your analysis, either.

However, you should know that there is a big difference between a short story and a long story, or novel. In a short story, the mainstay of the relationship between the old point of view and the new point of view is the main character description, which often involves descriptions of your feelings, thoughts, conversations, and actions, although a physical description can also be used to powerfully support the new vision. For example, in the first section of his famous tale A rose for EmilyWilliam Faulkner uses a very suggestive physical description of Miss Emily as a black widow spider, which obviously supports the repulsive revelation about her at the end of the story.

But in a novel, the main support for the relationship between the old point of view and the new point of view in the story is the use of sheets.

HAS frustrate is a character in a story that serves as a contrast to another character. Usually the strongest and most important contrasts are with the main lead character or one of the other main characters. And the contrasts often serve to highlight specific traits of the main character and thus reinforce the relationship between the old and the new point of view, the change from the beginning to a reverse ending.

Plates are important factors in novels, not short stories, because it takes much longer to adequately develop a contrast between two or more characters. In fairy tales, there is simply no space or time for that.

Before looking at examples of prints, let’s first take a close look at the novelty factor, or the old view-new view relationship, in the famous popular novel, pride and prejudice by Jane Austen. And then we’ll see how the plates are used in the story as an important tool to support the new reverse view at the end.

On pages four and five of the story, the narrator makes a strong value statement about one of the two main characters, Mr. Darcy. The townspeople of Meryton take a biased or prejudiced opinion against Mr. Darcy, whom they have just met at a town dance:

…he was found to be proud…and above all pleased…He was the proudest, most unpleasant man in the world, and everyone hoped that he would never come back there again.

At the ball, Elizabeth Bennett and her mother were rudely snubbed by the proud Mr. Darcy, so her prejudiced views of him matched everyone else’s. For his part, Mr. Darcy did not like “country people” either, expressing to his friend Bingley that they were beneath him, which is more direct evidence of his pride.

Okay, now that we’ve identified the strong old view assertion, let’s move on to the new view inversion at the end.

Near the end of the story, Elizabeth discovers that Darcy has saved Lydia’s reputation and the fragile reputation of the rest of the Bennett family, as well as her own. This allows her reverse your prejudiced opinion of him and falling in love with him the rest of the way (after finding out the truth about Wickham from Darcy and visiting his vast and rich estate and meeting his kind sister, she was beginning to like him and change her mind, but not quite until discovered that he had rescued his own good reputation and the good reputation of his entire family). She expresses her reverse feelings to Darcy near the end of the story when Darcy proposes to her for the second time, which Elizabeth gladly accepts, based primarily on her growing respect and appreciation for her character.

With Elizabeth’s engagement to Darcy, her family also reverses their feelings towards him (probably the town as well, though they won’t tell us) at the end of the story: a perfect old pattern of sight to new sight, a pure new seeing pleasure reversed. !

To firmly establish the old view of Darcy as proud and prejudiced in history, Jane Austen provides Darcy with important foils in the form of Bingley, Mr. Collins, and Wickham. In conversations with Jane, Elizabeth constantly compares Darcy’s arrogant manner unfavorably to Bingley’s courteous and friendly demeanor, as well as Darcy’s being “proud and obnoxious” to Bingley being “so nice”. Even Bingley expresses to his friend his distaste for Darcy’s pride at the first ball they attend at Meryton, as well as after the ball.

With Mr. Collins, Austen shows the contrast between him and Darcy in their behavior at Bingley’s party and at the mansion of Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy’s aunt. In both cases, and many more, Mr. Collins’ subservient demeanor is constantly on display, set against Darcy’s dignified, if arrogant, mannerisms. So Darcy actually comes out ahead in contrasts to Mr. Collins — Darcy may be proud and not as nice as Bingley, and he may even be accused of displaying his pride and arrogance towards Mr. Collins, but he’s clearly very more sensitive and respectable than Mr. Collins. You have to give him that.

The crucial contrast is with Wickham, who quickly takes a liking to Elizabeth because it confirms his negative view of Darcy. Wickham cements the old, developing view of Darcy as proud and arrogant, even more so than previously thought, by telling everyone a story that portrays Darcy as deeply unfair in his dealings with him. As well as being seen as a victim in the service of sympathy, Wickham is shown to be quite friendly and charming with the ladies, which is in marked contrast to Darcy’s arrogant and aloof demeanor.

However, Darcy’s unfavorable contrast with Wickham changes abruptly, at least with Elizabeth, when she visits her friend Charlotte, then married to Mr. Collins. After Darcy proposes to her and Elizabeth rebuffs him with accusations about his gross behavior towards Wickham (among other things), Darcy writes her a letter explaining how Wickham tried to elope with Darcy’s fifteen-year-old sister, Georgiana, to get his hands on her. inheritance. , disproving Wickham’s story of Darcy’s abuse of him. When Elizabeth returns home, she shares the incident with her sister, Jane, and concludes that she now sees Darcy as a good man and Wickham as a scoundrel. Add to that Elizabeth’s visit to Darcy’s rich estate and meeting her sister, who loves him as the perfect older brother, and the old view of Darcy as proud and arrogant begins to dissipate, at least for Elizabeth.

Finally, when she discovers that Darcy went to great trouble and expense to help Lydia and Wickham (a man she detests deeply) marry, and thereby saved the good reputation of the entire Bennett family, especially Elizabeth’s, she does not it can help to fall in love with Darcy, seeing him as a person of high ideals, like her, who appreciates her, cares about her and loves her. So Wickham, as a foil to Darcy, actually helps enlighten Elizabeth about Darcy, ultimately by highlighting Darcy’s high moral character and his goodness as a person. That is what has made the new opinion reversed at the end — the complete reversal of the universal negative opinion of him, including Elizabeth’s, so well established at the beginning — so strong and so satisfying, endearing, in reality, for millions of people. of readers for some two hundred years, all over the world.

Now for Elizabeth’s main contrasts: Jane, Charlotte Lucas, and Miss Bingley (Mr. Bingley’s single sister).

Elizabeth is closer to her sister Jane than anyone else, so the contrast is easy and natural. Elizabeth herself often notices the contrast when she talks to Jane, envying her sister’s kindness rather than her own derisive and cynical comments about people, such as:

Until I have your willingness, your goodness, I can never have your happiness.

Elizabeth’s best friend, Charlotte Lucas, provides another great contrast through her attitude of pragmatism towards marriage, the opposite of Elizabeth’s idealism. That is shown when Charlotte admits to Elizabeth that she would marry Mr. Collins for purely pragmatic reasons, not for love, which is the complete opposite of Elizabeth’s rejection of her marriage proposal for idealistic reasons, including lack of love. for him. (That fulfills her commitment in the conversation with Jane, in which Elizabeth sternly promised not to marry for money or social advantage, but only for love.) And Miss Bingley is another good fit because she’s cynical, like Elizabeth, but, more than any. that, she is also vicious and deceitful, which is not Elizabeth. Each of these plates helps readers focus on a different characteristic of Elizabeth, so we know her better because of these contrasting personalities, these useful plates.

The perfect contrast, perhaps — in other words, the perfect contrast or reversal — of the old view of Darcy’s pride and arrogance so well established at the beginning of the story, is the new statement of change of Elizabeth’s vision when speaking alone with her father about her love for Darcy: “I love him. In fact, he has no improper pride. He is perfectly kind.”

Like our review of Jane Austen’s novel, pride and prejudice, he has shown, the plates are a key factor in presenting the relationship between the old and the new point of view in the novels. Now you will be able to see the plates, old points of view and new points of view more easily in the next novel you read, analyze and write in your literary analysis essays.

Patients need proper care and protection and a patient advocate should be the first line of defense. A patient advocate is someone who advocates on behalf of a patient who; for the most part, she is unable to stand up for herself or advocate (as the need arises) to ensure her needs are met when she is in a hospital, care facility, or nursing home setting.

What does a patient advocate do?

1) A patient advocate provides comfort

It is normal to want company when you are well, even more so when you are sick and alone. It’s comforting to know that someone you know and trust is available and close by.

2) A patient advocate provides additional care

Care facilities are often understaffed and nurses are overworked. If the patient has an immediate need, such as the need to use the bathroom, a patient advocate can quickly get the attention of a nurse who may not be aware of the need. The defender can handle simple things like closing curtains for privacy, turning on a TV, picking up dropped objects, etc.

3) A patient advocate provides superior care

Who isn’t on their best behavior when they know someone else is watching? Of course, in today’s world there are some who don’t give a ‘penny’, but I think for most people, workers tend to do their best work when they know they’re working under a watchful eye. .

4) A patient advocate can provide an emergency response

If the patient has an adverse reaction to a medication and the nurses are out of the room, the patient advocate can get help right away.

5) A patient advocate provides eyewitness testimony

Things happen, abuse can and does happen. A patient advocate can document any misconduct by staff members that they witness (either in writing or caught on camera), which can be helpful in the event a lawsuit is filed against the facility or the workers involved. However, any concerns should first be raised with the management staff for them to be addressed. If management seems unconcerned or aloof, a small threat of a few public reviews can often spark a call to action.

Case in point…

Recently, my mother had a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. It so happened that there was a dark-skinned male nurse with a strong foreign accent. I just didn’t have a good feeling about him, which isn’t to say I’ve done anything wrong that I know of, but I’ve learned to trust your gut. Since I have heard many reports of patient and elder abuse, I wanted to be more vigilant when it came to my own mother. I thought a good policy would be to never allow a nurse to be alone with a patient, especially when the curtains are closed. I looked to see if this would be the case or not. It began that a nurse accompanied him when they attended to mom but at some point he was alone with her and that did not make me feel comfortable. I stayed close as much as I could. I couldn’t pinpoint anything definite like I said, but I still didn’t have a good feeling about him. The mother was soon moved to a different, more permanent room so that he would no longer be her nurse.

Along with her new accommodation, however, came a new team of nurses. Once again, multiple ethnic groups. The head nurse had a British accent and was very caring, patient and kind. The others were fine for the most part as well. However, a dark-skinned nurse came in at one point to present some medication in a small cup to my mother, and instead of helping my mother take the pills, she let my mother try to get them out with her fingers despite that he had poor coordination just having the punch. As a result, my mother ended up dropping the pills between the bed and the bed rail. The nurse stood there and watched my mom struggle to reach them until she finally stepped in and helped pull them out, put them back in the cup and give them to my mom! I was horrified, first because she didn’t help in the first place, and second because she didn’t go get some fresh medicine to take! I’m mad at myself for not standing up and saying something. She should have said something like, “If it was you in bed, would you want to take those meds? Or how would you feel if it was your mother? Please go get some new pills for her to take.”

Since I was my mother’s patient advocate, I slept in the room (if you can call it sleeping) and I am glad to be available not only to her but also to her roommate. When a patient needs the bath, she needs the bath! I was able to locate some help when needed in this regard. Also, my mother’s room only had a curtain partition. Her roommate had a machine with an IV attached. Based on my overheard conversation the nurses had with her roommate, the machine sounded an alarm every time bubbles entered the IV, which turned out to be quite frequent. The alarm would not go off until a nurse practitioner came and reset it. None of us could sleep with that thing constantly beeping, so every time I got up I tracked down a nurse so we could all try to sleep. More than once he would walk out into the hallway and find no one in sight! I say to you…

After being away for a while, I returned to my mother’s room just in time to find her looking ill. I asked her if she was okay and she told me that she was not feeling well. I tried to get her to clear up and she had a haunted look on her face, she leaned over the bed, looked at the floor and then reached for the nearby sink. I deduced that she needed to throw up, so I quickly slid the trash can next to her bed, where she quickly made use of it. When the nurses came back, I told them and they prescribed anti-nausea medication, but again they were not present at the time of her need. Imagine the mess that would have been if I hadn’t been there to help her!

In addition to the examples above, I also did a number of minor things like helping with the blanket cover, fixing the curtains for privacy, helping carry her water cup and straw to make sure she was comfortable.

I can also talk about the time I walked into the ER with a broken toe. I got the impression from how I was viewed and treated that the initial conclusion of most of the staff was that my toe was not broken and was just a nuisance. After check-in, a nurse told me to follow her into the exam room as she ran off like an express pony. I tried to keep limping as fast as I could while she was in pain, but she pushed away from her and turned a corner without even looking back. Granted, my toe didn’t look visually broken, but is that any reason to make me “walk like an Egyptian” down the long hallway? After the x-rays were reviewed, the attendant told me “you did a number on him.” Really? It would be nice if they treated you as if you DO know your own body.

I have experienced enough patient and hospital care firsthand to know that it is always a good idea to have an advocate there to help you and witness any quirks. Whenever I have a doctor’s appointment or hospital stay, I always try to have someone with me as a witness to how I was treated.

A warning about staying short or long term…

Before assuming the responsibility to act on behalf of a patient on a short-term or long-term stay. It is a good idea to find out from the people who work directly with the patient what they are and are not allowed to do. You can avoid violating company policy and a possible lawsuit if you act in an unauthorized manner with someone who is not in your designated care. This is especially important if you are not an immediate family member or if you are coming in after the fact to be a patient advocate.

A recent survey of more than two thousand adults aimed at establishing some key facts related to fragrances yielded some interesting findings. For example, fifty percent of the women interviewed said they would never buy a perfume without trying it out first. Now, that’s not exactly shocking news, is it? I mean, how many of us would go out and buy a perfume or aftershave without knowing what it smells like? Despite this, it seems that the fragrance industry as a whole doesn’t seem to understand this obvious point, or if it does, doesn’t seem to think it’s important.

This particular survey clearly emphasized the importance of ‘try before you buy’, particularly with women under the age of twenty-four. In fact, research from the previous year showed that as many as eighty-eight percent of consumers select a fragrance based on scent rather than any other factor. So, given these undeniable facts, why doesn’t the fragrance industry provide more opportunities for consumers to try products? Surely, if consumers have more opportunities to try new fragrances, they are more likely to buy or it could be that the industry would prefer that we drive purchase, making our purchase decisions based solely on the evocative fragrance marketing behind each product. In essence, they’re not selling a fragrance, but rather the idea that wearing a particular brand will make you irresistible to the opposite sex, or exude confidence like whatever celebrity they’ve gotten to endorse it.

But as consumers, are we really that naive? Research seems to indicate otherwise, so maybe it’s time for the industry to accept that fact and make fragrance sampling more accessible. Of course, we could all head down to our local beauty shop or dedicated perfume shop to sample some of the limited samples available, but that’s not always practical. On top of that, to really try out a new fragrance, you can’t just go into a store and coat yourself in twenty different scents and then expect to make a decision on the spot. Perfumes evolve over time and change the longer they’ve been on the skin, so ideally try them one by one, over the course of a few hours.

Occasionally, sample vials of new products are available in store or, if you’re lucky enough to find them, online, but those promotions expire soon. So what is the answer? One niche brand in particular, Ormonde Jayne, has found a clever solution. They sell something called the Discovery Set, which is made up of twelve 2ml mini sprays of each of their perfumes, along with a booklet explaining each scent. Not only is it a great way to discover the brand’s products, but it also makes a perfect gift. Some of the big brands have produced mini perfume sets, with 10ml or 15ml perfume selections, but these tend to be hard to find and aren’t necessarily the most cost-effective ways to try out new fragrances.

Sample vials are definitely the best way for consumers to try out new fragrances, but the real challenge is how to get those vials into the hands of consumers. Obviously, there is a cost to producing sample vials, so it is not feasible to give away unlimited supplies, even for the big brands, but if the price is realistic, would consumers be willing to pay for samples? A trial perfume sample service conducted in 2009 by a UK-based online retailer seemed to indicate that consumers were willing to pay a small amount to try new products, so hopefully over time , more perfume makers will follow the example set by Ormonde Jayne and allow us to try out new fragrances in the comfort of our own homes.

You may have noticed itchy welts on your skin, blood stains on your bed sheet, or seen an insect in the house that you suspect is a bedbug. The first thing you should do is correctly identify the pest and do a bed bug inspection. Check the bedroom first. Pests tend to stay as close to the host’s resting area as possible.

If after inspecting the bed you find that the infestation is serious, the next place to inspect is the perimeter of the room. In a severe infestation, the pests tend to move away from the bed to other places.

what to look for

has. blood stains

b. dark fecal stains

against Eggs, eggshells, discarded skin

d. Bed bugs (adults and nymphs)

me. Pungent musty shoes or a disgusting sweet smell of an oily fluid discharged from glands in the chest

inspection tools

has. a strong flashlight

b. Magnifying glass

against Plastic zipper bag

d. crevice tool

me. Compressed air

f. screwdriver

gram. small tool kit

H. Alcohol, cotton swabs/baby wipes

Yo. sticky traps

d. Gloves, soapy water, cloth and sponge.

k. mirror with handle

ME. a notepad

Mister. on camera

No. Wrench

Y. hammer

Inspect the perimeter of the room.

has. Remove all wall hangings (eg mirrors, paintings, pictures, etc.) and inspect them.

b. If there are photos or framed artwork on the wall, open the frames and inspect inside and under the paper backing.

Cons Check behind loose wallpaper and peeling paint.

d. Remove curtain rods and examine them carefully.

me. Check under the hardware in the walls.

F. Inspect all door frames within the room, including the bathroom, closet, and other door frames.

gram. Inspect the inside of the latch hole on each door.

H. Inspect dome lights and fixtures. If bed bugs are found in ceiling lights, it may indicate that they are moving from the upstairs unit.

If you find bed bugs on the wall, they may be hiding under ceiling moldings, smoke detectors, and thermostats.

In an established infestation, bed bugs will spread around the perimeter of the room (walls, trim, and carpets) and hide in the floor and under the bed.

Yo. Inspect the trim and where the floor meets and examine the walls closest to the bed. Slide the crevice tool in an upward motion behind the moldings to flush bed bugs out of the shelter.

d. Gently fold back the edges of the carpet from wall to wall and check for pests. Pay attention to the tack strip on the rugs.

k. Check under the edges of area rugs.

ME. Remove the power switch plate and the outlet plate and phone plug with a screwdriver and inspect behind them.

Inspect unusual locations

has. Inspect the TV and the battery compartment in the remote.

b. Inspect cell phones and cordless phones.

against Inspect lamps and alarm clocks.

d. Inspect computers and other electronic devices.

me. Inspect children’s toys and stuffed animals.

F. Inspect jewelry boxes.

gram. Inspect books, magazines, newspapers, and files.

H. Inspect brick walls and textured ceilings.

Yo. Inspect the air conditioning unit, ductwork, and heating unit.

d. Inspect wheelchairs.

In a severe infestation, the insects sometimes make their way into adjacent rooms or units through electrical, heating, and telephone lines. They can also crawl under doors and through hallways. In this case, it is important to extend the bed bug inspection to the rooms.

Evidence that suggests insects are moving through rooms includes:

has. The pests are found in the ceiling lamps.

b. Pests get in and out of electrical switch plates in walls and droppings found on the side of switch plates or near ductwork.

against Pests are often found in the bathroom or kitchen.

In this case, the pests may be coming from a severely infested room adjacent to the kitchen and bathroom. They make their way to the kitchen and bathroom along the water pipes.

Bed bug inspection is time consuming, especially with severe infestations. You must have a lot of patience to locate all the ports to eliminate the pests.

A question that I am asked over and over again is how to spend the holidays. I’ve written other posts about it, but then it got me thinking there really isn’t a “holiday season”. What I mean by that is, yes, there are holidays, but we have events throughout the year when we are faced with less than desirable food options. If you live in colder climates, January through April or so is your time for comfort food, which is generally heavier food. Let’s not forget Valentine’s Day, when most people go out to eat. There are also baptisms, first communions, Holy Week, Easter, etc. There is mother’s day in May, father’s day in June. Memorial Day kicks off summer parties, golf, barbecue season, right? So now it becomes oh man, how do I go to these picnics week after week and stick to my diet? Now we come to the big holiday of Labor Day, local fairs, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, New Years. Oh, and that doesn’t include all birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. Do you see a pattern here?

Temptation
The real fact of the matter is that there is no season when we have temptations. They confront us every day. We need to determine if and how we want to make lifestyle changes to get through all of these events. They’re always going to be there and if you allow yourself that “oh it’s just pig day every once in a while” that’s one thing. But look at all the days in a month that can add up. They can add up to at least 4 or more times a month. That’s not once in a while, that’s completely sabotaging your hard work. So you have to decide what is most important to you. Bust your butt all week with a clean diet and amazing workout routines to blow it up every weekend? Or would you rather work your butt off all week with a clean diet, awesome exercise, and learning to control what you eat and drink?

invitations
I already know what you’re going to say, because I hear it all the time. Well, so-and-so invited me, I can’t be rude. Well, first of all, if so-and-so is your family, friend, or colleague and they’re inviting you, they should know your lifestyle well enough to know what’s important to you. There’s nothing wrong with asking what’s on the menu. Say you’d like to bring a plate. If he says no, he has a lot, say OK, but could you tell me anyway? Would it be okay if I brought a bottle of wine appetizer? Then at least you’ll know what they’re serving. And if you know that all the food won’t be anything you can eat, then bring something you can eat. Yes, I did. If they insult them, then they don’t really respect or care about you. I cook beef when friends come over because I know they enjoy it. It’s not my favorite so I make it for them and I always have a salad and lots of vegetables. So I’ll stick to that, or do chicken or something else along with the meat dish. You have to decide what you feel comfortable with and what is important to you. If it’s someone you don’t know very well and you’re just making friends, then what the hell do you eat before you get there. And either way, bring something to the host/hostess. Sorry, I don’t care how well you know them or not, they told me it’s impolite to show up anywhere empty handed. You could even bring flowers. It doesn’t matter even if it’s one of my sister’s houses, they say don’t bring anything, I’ll bring something.

tips
Let me see if I can break down some tips for you.

• Eat something beforehand so you don’t starve (which will give you more motivation to say no to the “junk” you know your mind wants but your body doesn’t crave).
• Bring something healthy that you know you are going to eat and that you can share with others.
• Go for the healthier appetizers: veggies/no sauce (or maybe hummus), shrimp cocktail, gravy (over veggies or baked pita wedges)
• For the main course, select mainly vegetables, salad, etc. limit your amounts of animal protein (no larger than the palm of your hand) and skip carbs if it’s after lunch.
• If it’s a picnic; stay away from any mayonnaise salad (including coleslaw) or potato/white pasta salad. (Besides ewwww mayonnaise in the heat? I think not.)
• Choose salads made with salad dressing, fresh vegetables like broccoli salad, coleslaw without the creamy dressing.
• If you’re going to eat animal protein, skip the bread and cheese. Be careful with the seasonings.
• Fill up on fruits and vegetables.
• Drink lots and lots of water.
• If you are drinking alcohol, try mineral water with a little alcohol or wine. You’ll still get the alcohol, but fewer calories and you’ll drink it more slowly.
• If you want dessert, allow yourself a taste, not a whole piece. Ten bites of something won’t taste any better than the first bite. Savor it and enjoy it, do not overdo it.
• If you go out to dinner, skip the bread and carbs entirely.
• Order a salad, extra veggies and order your meat/fish grilled or baked and don’t ask for “salsa/adobo” unless it’s on the side.

when harry met sally
We’ve all seen the movie When Harry Met Sally, right? Sally orders everything on the side, or she’s completely different from the menu. That’s how I am. I’ll tell you, I have friends who still crack me up at how annoying I am when we go out to eat. Here’s what I tell them: “I’m paying for it, so I should get what I want. If it’s on the menu, I should be able to have it with my meal. Frankly, I cook better than most places we end up.” eating, so if I’m going to pay money, I’m going to get what I want.” I don’t care if they like it or not, because it comes down to my health. And if people choose to eat salads soaked in dressing to look like soup, food fried, butter, sour cream, that’s up to them. It’s not my business. I try very hard not to say anything when they complain about how they feel and how they should lose weight. I bite my tongue and take a deep breath. The bottom line is that you you can decide what you want to do. It’s your health and your body. You only have one life: make the decisions you can LIVE with.

I hope you find these tips useful. Here’s to your health and conscious decisions.