Life Tips

Few things are as stressful as a custody dispute and the grief that comes with the breakdown of a family system. Not only can a custody dispute take a toll on you and your children’s mental health, but going through a child custody case can mean major changes in lifestyle. If you and your family are facing this substantial change, it’s a good idea to consider calling a therapist to help you and your co-parent to navigate the child custody process.

Regardless of how you and your former partner feel about each other, it’s in any child’s best interest that both parents are working toward a parenting plan that makes the child’s needs a priority. A therapist can help parents manage feelings, work together, and accept outcomes of things like child support and child custody modifications. If you’re in the middle of a child custody battle, here are three ways a therapist can help your family today.

1. Managing Feelings

Change is hard, and that’s true whether it’s adolescents or adults experiencing the shift. Whether you are happy with your current child custody arrangement or not, it’s normal to struggle with relationship issues, anger, grief, and a myriad of feelings that come up at times of significant change. A family therapist can work with you and your family to offer group and individual counseling to help you learn to cope with feelings around your specific situation.

Many people hesitate to get counseling during a child custody battle because they are so busy with getting legal advice and working with courts to determine the best interest of the children. However, in getting help for yourself as you work through custody arrangements, you’ll be in a better position to make decisions in you and your child’s best interest. That is, with a clear head and a safe place to vent frustrations about your situation, you’ll be better equipped to navigate decisions that will impact your child’s life forever.

Finding a family therapist with experience in child custody cases is as easy as a Google search for your location. If you lived in Washington, DC, for example, a Google search for ‘DC therapist‘ would bring up listings of licensed and registered family therapists with years of experience helping families. These therapists can work with you online or in-person, and often help when it comes to communicating with co-parents about visitation schedules and more.

2. Strengthening Relationships

Like it or not, you and your co-parent will be in each other’s lives for the long haul. Unless domestic violence was a cause for your separation, it’s likely you’ll be seeing each other as time goes on and milestones for your child arise. A family member through your child, a therapist will be able to give you tools to communicate with your former partner in positive ways. From helping you to come from a place of compassion to understanding your co-parent’s motives, a therapist can work with you to strengthen this life-long relationship in its new context.

One way a therapist will help is by reminding you of common ground you and your co-parent still share. Perhaps your teenage daughter is on a search for shirts for women for an upcoming first job interview. Maybe your ex has a good fashion sense and would be willing to go with you and your child on a shopping trip to support this milestone. Your counselor could work with you ahead of time to establish boundaries and a plan for a trip in your daughter’s best interest.

3. Accepting Outcomes

Many families spend years amending custody agreements based on their child’s needs. This can be a fantastic way to approach child custody as a child’s needs change. At the same time, because change is stressful, having a therapist to give you a little help as changes come is always a good idea. While it might make sense, for example, to change a teenager’s living arrangements, having the extra support from a trained family therapist is a good way to ensure you and your ex-partner are on the same page.

A good therapist will also help when it comes to accepting the outcomes of your child custody battle. There is no way to ensure that a judge or court will agree with your idea of what’s best for your child. This can be incredibly difficult for parents who find themselves in the position of working with a custody order they don’t agree with. A therapist will give you tools to make a custody order work better for you and your family, even when you don’t believe it’s ideal.

At the end of the day, a licensed therapist can help you and your co-parent come up with the best version possible for your new family setup. With the ability to help you and your child gain specific skills to accept child custody outcomes, these relationship experts will not only help give you peace of mind, but will make a big difference in your quality of life.

There are two main things to worry about when a tropical storm or hurricane comes through: high winds causing flying debris and rain and the storm surge flooding your home. Both aspects of the storm can be devastating to homeowners in coastal areas who stand to lose their belongings and their houses in just a few hours.

While you can’t guarantee that your home will be protected from a storm, you can take steps to secure everything in your control. Follow these steps to mitigate the effects of storm damage.

Protect your electrical system from the elements.

Your electrical system is your lifeline and source of comfort during the storm. It keeps your air conditioning running and preserves the food in your refrigerator. You can’t control when the city power lines go down, but you can protect the wires in your house.

Ahead of the storm season, call an electrician to evaluate your home. Different electricians will have specialties based on your area. For example, Albuquerque electricians will be able to help you prepare for flash floods, while Tampa electricians can offer advice on hurricane preparedness and humidity.

You need to get any electrical service done before a storm hits; that way, you don’t lose power or face a fire risk.

Identify the most high-risk items in your home.

Ahead of a storm, look around your home and yard to determine the most important items to protect. While it may be frustrating to replace a patio table, it’s not nearly as expensive as replacing a car.

Make sure the most important items are secured. This could mean storing your car in a friend’s garage or bringing items from the outside into your living area. The first time you go through this process might be overwhelming, but many locals have years of experience with large storms and will be eager to help.

After the storm passes, evaluate your property damage. What items did you miss? What hazards need to be secured differently? Keep these notes in mind as they will be key steps to help avoid damage during the next storm.

Start planning during the dry season.

Don’t wait until there is a hurricane watch in your area to create a plan. During a major storm, people start to panic. This is why you see videos of Americans fighting over generators or frantically grabbing water jugs at the last minute.

The time to prepare for a storm is in early spring. Put together an emergency kit of non-perishable food items that can last you two weeks (you can donate these to a food bank after the storm season ends). Make sure you have flashlights with extra batteries and little conveniences like portable fans and puzzles to stay entertained. You may even want to invest in plywood to cover your windows from debris caused by high winds.

When the severe storm is getting closer, pull together items like your passports and birth certificates so they won’t get lost in the floodwaters. Having these on hand will be useful in the event of an evacuation.

Listen to local government agencies.

Follow the guidelines of your local leaders ahead of a storm. Know when you need to evacuate because of a hurricane and when you need to seek shelter because of high winds.

Ahead of storm season, these agencies will likely distribute checklists and best practices ahead of a storm. By following these, you can make sure your home is protected and your family is safe.

There’s no reason to panic when there’s a hurricane watch in your area. If you take steps now to protect your home from debris and water hazards, then you should be able to ride out the storm safely.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Getting a good night’s rest is about more than feeling good in the morning and staying active during the day. Of course, it’s important for those reasons, but you also need to sleep well to maintain healthy blood pressure, keep your mind sharp, help you keep control of your weight, and even promote a healthy immune system. In other words, proper sleep provides a wide variety of health benefits, and it’s crucial for keeping a good quality of life.

If a lack of sleep continues long-term, you’ll likely face more symptoms than just feeling like you need a nap or slight irritability. Poor sleep over long periods can negatively affect your mood, decrease your cognitive abilities, increase your risk for injury, and lead to frequent headaches and other issues. It may even result in serious mental health issues if it keeps up. Fortunately, if you have regular difficulties with sleeping, there are some steps you can take to improve your chances at a good night’s sleep. Here are a few solutions to try.

All-Natural Tinnitus Supplements

 

Tinnitus is a condition where a person experiences ringing, buzzing, or similar noises in their ears, even when there is no external sound. As you may imagine, having a constant noise in your ears can make it extremely difficult to sleep.

Tinnitus generally manifests as a symptom of an underlying condition, such as an ear injury or natural age-related hearing loss. Tinnitus symptoms may be objective or subjective, but subjective tinnitus is far more common. When your tinnitus symptoms are subjective, only you can hear the sounds. In the rare cases of objective tinnitus, the symptoms may come in time with your heartbeat or another bodily function, and your doctor may even be able to hear it with a stethoscope.

If you experience tinnitus, and it’s affecting your ability to sleep, then you may want to try Tinnitus911. This is a supplement made with all-natural ingredients that calms your nervous system and may put an end to feelings of panic, dizziness, and other unpleasant feelings that come along with tinnitus.

A capsule may even be able to provide relief for the sounds you hear in your ear as well. The supplement works by improving your blood circulation, which helps the nerves in your ears relax. Since it’s a natural solution, it can also be paired with other natural remedies meant to encourage good sleep, such as green tea and herbal supplements. In fact, green tea extract is one of the active ingredients.

HVAC System Maintenance

Homeowners have plenty of experience with regular maintenance, but as important as it is, it can be easy to take your HVAC system for granted. That is until you start feeling hot at night, and your home temperature starts to affect your sleep quality. If you’re having difficulty maintaining a comfortable temperature at night, it may be time to replace your thermostat. Sometimes, just getting a new thermostat is enough to bring your temperatures back under control, assuming the thermostat is where the fault lies.

An old thermostat may fall into short cycling, which is basically where the thermostat causes the air conditioning system to shut off before it’s completed its entire cooling cycle. This means that your home will never actually reach the temperature that your thermostat is set for, which can make for some frustrating nights.

Getting your thermostat replaced with a smart thermostat will not only eliminate this problem but will also allow you to set your temperature from anywhere. This way, you can save money on cooling during the day when you’re at work, and you can set your comfortable night temperature on your way home, so the house is ready when you arrive.

With a little maintenance and some creative thinking, you’ll likely discover your own ways to sleep better as well. Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Going into surgery is daunting, no matter the size of the surgery or the reason for having it done. It is a stressful and worrying thing to go through, but it is the recovery that you should be focused on as this is something that you have control over. It is vital that you take your surgery recovery period seriously, especially if it is a large procedure that will put you out of action for a while. So, what are a few tips to help with your recovery? Obviously, it will depend on the type of surgery that you are having, but read on for a few general tips that should help.

Follow Doctor’s Orders

The most important thing to do is simply to follow your doctor’s orders when it comes to recovery. They know best, and their instructions should never be ignored; otherwise, you could do some serious damage and/or set back your recovery. It is a good idea to write down everything that your doctor says in case you forget it and to ask any questions that you have before and/or after the surgery.

Inspect Your Wound & Prevent Infection

Another important tip is to inspect your incision wound multiple times a day to make sure that it is healing and not infected. It is vital for your recovery that you prevent infection, which means that you need to always wash your hands before touching the area, keeping the wound clean and dry, and changing your dressing regularly (as advised by your doctor).

Maintain a Healthy Diet

After putting your body through a major event, it is important that your body has the fuel that it needs to recover while minimizing complications. In order to do this, you should make sure that you are eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water. It is best to avoid unhealthy foods, alcohol, and smoking during your recovery period. Often, people do not feel like eating after surgery, but you should try to stick to regular eating habits if you can, as it is so important for recovery.

Rest but Walk When You Can

It is important that your body gets plenty of rest after surgery, especially after a major procedure. While it is important to rest, you also should walk when you are able to in order to prevent complications like deep vein thrombosis – it is also helpful for getting light exercise and preventing cabin fever during recovery.

Consider Legal Action If Malpractice Occurs

In most cases, everything will go according to plan, but sometimes issues can arise with surgery. Surgery gone wrong is one of the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits and can have serious ramifications for your wellbeing, including long term health issues, lost wages, further medical bills, and pain and suffering. If the medical professional responsible for your care shows negligence, you will want to contact a medical malpractice attorney like BIKLaw Firm to take on your case and seek compensation.

 

These tips should help with your surgery recovery and hopefully help you to get back to normal before too long and avoid any complications.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Retiring is expensive, and you’ll need money saved up if you want to retire comfortably. Whether you’re looking to retire after decades of work or you’re hoping to retire early, it’s never too early to start saving and planning for your future. Here are four simple money-saving tips that could help you save more and live better in your golden years—whenever they may be!

Pay Off Your Debt

Whether you have student loans or credit card debt, one thing is certain: Debt will cost you. Each month that you’re in debt, you’ll accrue more interest, meaning you could be charged interest on the interest in future months.

To avoid this, try to pay off your debt. It’s important to do this before you open a savings account or start investing, as interest on the debt will continue to grow over time, so you’ll be losing money regularly.

Why not use a credit card debt calculator to figure out how much you could save on your credit card balance? Use tools to help you pay off your debt, then start saving.

Make a Saving Plan

Once you’re free from debt, you should create a plan to save for your retirement. There are a number of options available, and you may want to make use of more than one retirement saving scheme.

You could make regular payments into a 401(k) plan—your employer can also contribute to this. You could also start an individual retirement account (IRA). Automate payments so that a certain amount of your paycheck each month goes into the savings account. This will ensure that you’re adding to it regularly and that your savings will increase with time.

Do some research into the pros and cons of each type of savings plan, and choose one (or more!) that suits you.

Consider Investing

Savings accounts are relatively low in risk, but they’re also not the most efficient way of earning money from your existing capital. On the other hand, investing is a higher-risk strategy, but you may reap the benefits of investing if you know what you’re doing.

Look into investment opportunities that appeal to you, and weigh up the pros and cons of investing. All investing involves risk, but in the long run, it could be an effective way to build a larger nest egg to help you retire. Go for low-risk investments and watch your money grow.

Generate Passive Income

No matter how much money you save over the years, living on savings alone can be stressful once you reach retirement age. If there’s an unexpected cost, how will you pay for it?

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to generate some form of passive income so that money can continue to come in once you’ve stopped working. Some easy ways to generate passive income include:

• Starting a website (earn through ads or affiliate links)
• Creating YouTube videos
• Selling stock photos

Find a method that plays to your skills and keep the money coming in year after year.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Churches strive to support their community and their attendees to the best of their ability. That being said, finding new ways to get involved can be difficult, especially when we’ve been faced with so many challenges during the course of the past year. Whether you’re ramping up your efforts or finding new ways to serve others, here are some unique ways to serve your church and its members that you may not have thought of yet.

1. Help seniors thrive by providing them with resources to better navigate their day-to-day lives.

The older adult population was an especially vulnerable group in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the pandemic begins to wind down, however, seniors with special care needs or those who have been economically impacted may need greater support. This can mean offering your own workshops with daily activities that seniors can engage in, helping seniors with disabilities or diseases like Alzheimer’s find and afford assisted living communities, or even supporting them with medical care and bills. Even though this may seem minor to you, it means the world to seniors who need caregivers or wish to lead more independent lives.

2. Serve your local homeless population by offering them the support they need for a better tomorrow.

The good word may attract a number of people to your organization, especially those who may be facing hardships like homelessness. The state of homelessness can be quite shocking to learn about, especially when it comes to the lack of resources that people need to lead a better quality of life. Although you can’t singlehandedly get a handle on homelessness, taking the time to find ways to feed, clothe, and direct these individuals towards resources that will supply them with housing and jobs can be life-changing. Sure, you may have to invest in some new offering supplies to spur generosity in your congregation, but seeing how much good you can do for those less fortunate is truly inspiring.

3. Create events and fundraisers that aim to make your town a better place to live in.

Chances are that there are ways to make your city better for not only your congregation but for all the citizens that live there as well. One of the best ways to get involved is to host your own events where you can sell tickets to raise funds for certain projects or engage in a community-changing event with the support of your church community. Some ideas to help you get started include:

• Putting together a community cookout where you can raise funds for a special cause and connect with others in your community.
• Hosting an event like a race or a competition where you can encourage others to donate a certain amount to charity (you may even want to host raffles and provide other incentives to get more people involved).
• Going out with your congregation to pick up litter in your area or even collect old items that can be repurposed and donated to others who need these goods.

No matter what stands out most to you, get creative and come up with some events that can help you do good for your church, the people in your church, and the community as a whole.

Figuring out exactly how you can help your church and the city you live in can seem like a difficult task. However, there are so many great examples and ideas out there that you’re bound to come across one that works for you. If you operate a church and are looking for ways to give back, use some of the ideas listed above to gain inspiration and insight into how you can begin.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Did you know that there are about six million car accidents in the United States every year?

That number might be hard to put into perspective. So, just how common are car accidents? Six million accidents a year means there are over sixteen thousand car accidents a day in the US alone.

Car accidents are more common than many people think. Not every accident will be a serious one, but it’s important to know the risks involved with driving a car.

How Common are Car Accidents, Really?

Based on the numbers from earlier, more than eleven car accidents in the US happen every minute of every day!

Some studies show that more car accidents happen at city intersections than on major highways. Many factors contribute to this, including turns, people trying to catch yellow or red lights, and more.

Internationally, car crashes are the number one cause of death for people aged 15 to 24.

Most car accidents are minor ones, but over half of all car accidents lead to injuries or death. And the majority of car accidents, even minor ones, often result in some kind of property damage.

Car Accident Causes and Complications

Car accident deaths are pretty common, in fact, almost one and a quarter million people die in car accidents globally every year.

Even if you survive a car accident, there is still a high risk of serious injury. Concussions are a common complication of car accidents, and over 17 percent of concussions are caused by car accidents.

Car accidents are often caused by drunk or distracted driving. According to the CDC, nearly 30 people die in drunk driving accidents every day.

Distracted driving, such as texting while driving, also accounts for a large percentage of car accident deaths. Wearing a seat belt while driving can cut your risk of injury in a car accident down by half.

Car accidents also cause billions of dollars of property damage every year. Some of this is personal property, such as totaling your car, but a lot of this also goes towards replacing accident-damaged street lights or traffic signs.

What Should You Do If You Get in an Accident?

If you do get into a car accident, the first thing you should do is check and see if you and your passengers are okay. If anyone is injured or seriously hurt, see if you can call an ambulance.

Then, try to get to safety. Once everyone is safe and you are off the road, you should exchange insurance information with the other driver, and call to file a police report.

You should also check out Street Lawyers for everything else you need to know after a car accident.

The Importance of Safe Driving

So, how common are car accidents? Common enough that you need to protect yourself in case it ever happens to you. It’s important to remember that you can prevent some car crashes by practicing safe driving.

Remember not to drink and drive, and remember to wear a seat belt! If you do get into an accident, remember to stay calm, and call for help.

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Family is the most important thing in this world and spending time with your family is of utmost importance to build congenial relations that will last for a lifetime. Celebrations come often within a family and spending them in a wonderful manner is very important. Let us look at some tips to plan a family occasion in a proper manner so that it can give lasting memories.

Pick an appropriate date

A big occasion needs a proper date. You cannot just invite everyone instantaneously and expect them to be there. Take care of everyone’s schedule and plan the occasion accordingly. Everyone needs to be content with the timing of the occasion so that they can come and be present at the celebration. It shouldn’t be hasty and you should tell everyone well in advance about the celebration.

A proper location or property type needs to be fixed

Decide well in advance and according to everyone’s preference where you want to stay and celebrate. It can be a resort, cottages, a banquet hall, etc. You need to decide whether you need a luxury location or a normal one, or you want to have the gathering at your home itself. Everyone needs to be informed about the location well in advance so that they can make necessary arrangements on their side to reach the location on time.

Budget

No matter what the celebration is about, a proper budget needs to be in place. Take help from your family members in planning a budget as you would clearly know what things are needed and what are trivial. For instance, there might be people in your family who must be deep into the benefits for eating healthy and they might need a different buffet altogether. So, you need to take care of all these things and plan your budget accordingly. Preparing a budget soon enough will guarantee you a wonderful family celebration because you do not want money issues to come in between a happy family celebration.

Checklists

Since everyone in your family has a different taste of their own, maintaining a checklist that caters to each one of them is also very vital. Everyone wants to have certain basic things at the occasion and in a certain order, so you need to make sure that the checklists are there adequately. For instance, one of your uncles might be diabetic and would want sugar-free sweets. You can get a cake online through sugar-free cake delivery in Chandigarh and other prime locations all over the country.

Personal touches

Who knows your family better than you? No matter how lavish planning you do for the occasion, a slight personal touch will always win over lavishness because that is what our loved ones want from us. It feels wonderful when someone remembers subtle personal details and choices. If you can add a personal touch to the celebration and everything around it then the family will come closer and will be able to celebrate the occasion in a better way.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

If you’ve been a wine lover for a long time, maybe the idea of starting a wine collection has crossed your mind. Wine collections are a great way for amateurs to always have their favorite wines on hand. We recently read an article on how to pick the perfect wine for special occasions, and one of the choices cited was aged wines. And, the best way to age wine is to do it yourself in your cellar.

The only issue is that buying wines as a collector is very different from buying them as an amateur. It’s easy to make mistakes with your first wines, but when you have a solid foundation, you’ll know which ones are worth it and which ones would be a waste of money. Let’s take a look at what the people at Underground Cellar had to say on how to start a wine collection.

Start with a Big Enough War Chest

You need to have a lot of disposable income to start a serious wine collection. It’s not only the wines that will cost you, but the equipment too. You might have to make modifications to your space or pay a third party to store the bottles for you. There are other things such as documentation, insurance, and security you’ll have to worry about as well. So, if you’re having trouble making rent, don’t even think about it.

Keep Track of Your Bottles

You will also need to keep a journal of the bottles in your inventory. This will allow you to avoid buying too much of the same wine. You’ll also be able to have better control over your purchases. You might also want to drink some of your wines, so you have to know which of your bottles have been opened and which ones have not. Thankfully, there are software solutions that can help you with this, but you can keep everything written down with pen and paper as well.

Understand what Makes a Wine Valuable

Many things have to be considered when looking at the price of a bottle of wine and unless you understand what makes a bottle valuable, you might end up overpaying. One of the most important things is scarcity. A rare wine will usually increase in value over time. Initial value plays an important role as well. You can’t expect a bottle of Santa Julia, as good as it is, to start skyrocketing in price.

Sometimes, it’s the story surrounding the bottle that makes a difference. For instance, two bottles of champagne were sold for $78,400 because they were recovered from a 170-year-old shipwreck. So, if you find a bottle with a great story, you could have a treasure on your hands.

Other very important factors include how great the vintage is, the reputation of the vineyard, and the score of critics.

Keep Track of Documentation

You have to make sure that you keep all the documentation on your wines. And by all, we mean all. Whether it’s a receipt, auction text, or the business card of whoever sold it to you, the more you have, the more it becomes traceable. Also, you have to make sure that you constantly have your inventory appraised as wines can greatly fluctuate in value year after year.

Now that you know a bit more about how to start a wine collection, you can start hunting for great finds. We would suggest that you start small and learn as much about wine collecting and wine in general before spending a dime.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category

Luxury is often seen as something reserved to the wealthy and elite and usually conjures up images of ostentatious and indulgent items that are far beyond most people’s everyday lifestyles. However, luxury can also mean something high quality and exceptional, and this doesn’t need to be beyond the limit of your own life. Adding a little luxury to your everyday can in fact, be a wonderful way of bringing in more comfort and joy, and make even the most humdrum or mundane tasks that little bit more special. Read on for some suggestions on simple luxuries that you might want to try out in your life.

Premium coffee

If you need to start your morning with a fresh caffeinated brew, then it might be time to ditch your lukewarm takeout cup and invest in something a little more distinctive instead. Homemade coffee isn’t just for would-be baristas with a complicated setup worthy of a lab – it’s actually easy to make your own freshly ground coffee, and the delicious fresh flavor makes it worth the extra effort.

Try looking into specialty coffee and coffee-making equipment to get you inspired – with a variety of beans, types, and flavors, there is plenty to indulge in, without having to spend a fortune. Over time, you can also begin to appreciate the more subtle and complex ranges of choices available and develop a more refined palette.

Luxury stationery

While the bulk of our communication these days might be done via a digital device, there’s still something quite special about well-made paper and stationery items. Receiving a beautifully handwritten letter or writing in a journal with a smooth flowing pen can be a pleasurable experience in itself and can also give you something permanent to look back on in later years.

If you journal or keep a diary, try using a specialist pen or better quality paper, and see how that transforms your writing experience. You might also want to try monogrammed stationery to use when sharing important correspondence or messages, giving your communication an air of gravity and value to your lucky recipients.

Premium sleepwear

Sleep is one of the most important things to ensure you have a healthy lifestyle, and yet many of us treat it as something barely worth giving any consideration to. Yet the clothes we wear and the environment we sleep in can make a huge impact on whether or not we have a good night’s rest, and this, in turn, can impact our mood, productivity, energy levels, and much more.

There are many different ways to add a little more luxury at bedtime, from using silk pillowcases to ensure you stay cool and refreshed through the night to cozy and comfortable sleepwear designed to help you enjoy a perfect night’s sleep. While these items can often seem a little extravagant and expensive, the value and benefit they can add to your life make them a worthwhile investment.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Life Tips category