GuestBlogger – Page 3 – Mommy's Hangout/Atlanta Mommy Blogger/Jen Williams

3 Tasks to Add to Your Home Project List

June 20, 2014 by GuestBlogger

Home improvement comes in all shapes and sizes, and can be simple or very complex. Whether you are looking to get your hands dirty by taking on the DIY approach, or letting a professional like Mabey Hire Australia take the reigns, your task options are endless. If you’re stuck for where to start, below are three common tasks to get the creative juices flowing.

Landscaping

Maybe you have already planted a few shrubs along the house, but a proper landscaping project can do wonders to beautify your property and reduce the need to water a lawn. Consider lining walkways with drought resistant species of flowers that create an inviting pathway to your front door. Creating small raised hills for planting flowers, cacti and trees is another popular landscaping feature that can help convert a flat uninspiring yard into one that feels more natural. You can also consider integrating a patio into your landscaping project. With the help of companies like ckclandscapinginc.com, a patio can make for a wonderful place to set up a barbecue and have the opportunity to spend some time in your newly designed outdoor space.
Finally, fast growing species of trees can also be a fantastic option in order to create shade and block the wind from your house. Be sure to do your research and pick species that require too much water and beware of planting too close to your house where falling branches can cause damage.

Breakfast bar

Often times the interior design of house is lacking. Rooms can be too closed off in the common areas which can leave the perfect opportunity to use your imagination to redesign a space. Usually the easiest and most common alteration is a wall separating the kitchen and dining room or living room. It is very possible that even if the wall is load-bearing, it can modified without extensive reconstruction. Removing the entire wall may be an option, but simply cutting out a section, installing a counter or tile and sliding in a few stools can do wonders. It is surprising how drastically different the area looks and feels with this simple project.

Hot water

The hot water systems consisting of tanks and gas or electric heating elements that have been installed and used in homes for many are years have become antiquated. They are constantly using resources to keep water hot even when it is not needed. On-demand, or tankless, hot water heaters have been growing in popularity due to their much higher efficiency ratings with a minute sacrifice in convenience. They typically take the form of a small wall-mounted box that can easily fit in a small closet. The heater has powerful elements that only heat water when it is needed. Since the device heats water as it is needed, you will never run out of hot water like a tank does. Make sure to check with a professional when choosing a model to ensure you purchase one that can keep up with your household needs.

The best guide you’ll ever read on choosing your online bingo username

June 18, 2014 by GuestBlogger

Pretty much the first thing you have to do when you sign up to any kind of online bingo or gambling site is create a username and password for your account so you can log in whenever you play. Now, we all know how important it is to create a strong password (you can do it here), but how much thought do you put into creating your username?

Why is it important?

So why is your username important? Take this scenario: You’re playing your UK bingo games from Bright Bingo or wherever and you’re on the live chat making friends. As you do. You start chatting to a guy/gal and all is going well until they see your username is ‘XxHoTBbZ95xX’ and run for the hills due to the dodgy capitalisation and annoying abbreviation. Now you’re alone. Again.

Quite a specific scenario but it could happen. So what should it be? Here are some rules to live by when choosing your username…

Be creative

Just having ‘John.Smith’ as your username is as boring as watching darts in the dark. Not only will it almost certainly not be available due to someone other boring person having it, but it doesn’t exactly exude confidence and panache, does it? Get that thinking cap on and come up with something a bit more interesting.

Let it reflect your personality

Decide what you want your username to say about you. Do you want to go all William Wallace and strike fear into the hearts of your fellow bingo players or do you want to appear all fluffy and approachable? Either way, you should let it speak your true personality, unless you want to use the whole thing as a personality transplant and live the life you never could as an alter ego. Like Batman or something.

But be careful with that…

Don’t be dishonest

This might seem pretty obvious but don’t go pretending you’re a 20-something female fashion designer if you’re a 45-year-old male trucker. Not cool at all.

Keep it simple

As we’ve established, it’s good to be creative with your username to make it unique and standout. However, in what may seem like a slight contradiction (it’s not), try and keep it relatively simple. You’re not making an unhackable password so ‘Wi!&hjfh7d>/’ isn’t a good choice; it’ll probably just make you look like some kind of automated spam bot or a 3-month-old child who hasn’t refined their fine motor skills enough to use a keyboard properly.

Come up with a system

Have you heard those little ‘games’ that people play where they work out their Game of Thrones name or whatever by taking the first name of their favourite footballer and combining it with a household object. I’ve just made that up, but hopefully you get the idea. Well you could do the same with your online bingo username. Maybe take your favourite colour and combine it with an animal you’d see on an African safari? How does ‘black rhino’ or ‘purple gazelle’ grab you?

Transform Your Home with Replacement Vinyl Siding

June 4, 2014 by GuestBlogger

Older homes that were manufactured with less durable materials like wood or brick tend to deteriorate over time. As a result, homeowners look to improve the appearance of the outside of their homes with easy solutions, such as fresh coat of paint or new wooden shingles. However, these are only temporary fixes. A longer lasting option to consider is replacement vinyl siding.

Why Choose Vinyl Siding?

When a homeowner is considering replacing their current siding, vinyl can be an easy choice for a number of reasons. Vinyl is both affordable and low maintenance, requiring no more than periodic inspections and occasional rinsing off. It cost much less to upkeep as it does not require yearly repainting like other materials. Today’s vinyl siding is built to withstand years of inclement weather–it is impact-resistant and the color will not fade over time. In addition, the vinyl siding creates an envelope that will positively contribute to a home’s energy efficiency. Lastly, vinyl comes in a wide variety of attractive colors and styles that truly can transform the look of a home.

Low Maintenance and Durability

Many homeowners prefer to use vinyl siding because it does not require much maintenance nor does it frequently require a fresh coat of paint. In addition, vinyl is a strong product that easily withstands all types of extreme weather such as strong winds, rain, snow, and even blizzards. Because vinyl siding is so durable, you should expect a minimum of a 30 year warranty, with 50 years being even better. It is an economical choice that does not sacrifice quality for cost, in any way.

Energy Efficient

When a home’s regular siding is replaced with vinyl siding, an envelope is created around the home at the same time. The addition of a home envelope helps improve a home’s energy efficiency, impact resistance and color retention. In fact, some manufacturers have developed vinyl siding boards that are backed with foam insulation. The added insulation helps keep a home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter without the added energy costs associated with cooling and heating. Not only does the insulation make the siding more efficient, it also blocks more noise and is more impact-resistant.

Design Options

Vinyl siding provides a vast number of options when it comes to design. The material is made in all types of styles, making it easy to find one that fits a unique home design. From smooth finish and wood grain textured to horizontal and vertical panels, vinyl is suitable for all types of structures.

Choosing a different color for your home can give it a completely new look and enhance its curb appeal. Vibrant colors are emerging as a new trend in home exterior coloring. Now, homes are covered in bright colors like bright blues, reds, yellows and greens. For those interested in updating their home’s appearance with a bright color or those looking to stick with a more neutral tone, replacement vinyl siding is a perfect choice as it is readily available in a wide range of colors.

Contact a Professional

Since it was introduced in the 1960s, vinyl siding has quickly become the top siding choice in the United States due to its affordability, versatility and low maintenance. If you are in the market to replace your home’s siding, it is great to get recommendations from friends and neighbors, especially if you are interested in their homes’ style of replacement siding. In addition, schedule an appointment with an experienced contractor, who will go through the replacement job process and explain what is to be expected during the project. The company should provide a full detailed estimate, and include a warranty on both the materials and installation of the siding job.

About the author

This article was written by Heather Rich, a blogger for Thompson Creek Window Company. Heather is passionate about DIY projects and improving her home from the inside out. With 23 years of experience in real estate, homebuilding, and residential and commercial contractors, her useful posts cover a wide set of topics related to seasonal home improvement. From making your home more energy efficient to choosing the perfect replacement siding, you will find it all on the Thompson Creek Blog.

How To Prevent Teen Dating Violence

June 3, 2014 by GuestBlogger

Parents want their sons and daughters to find partners that will truly love, respect and honor their precious children. But sometimes, reality takes a bad turn. Instead of a woman finding a good man, she ends up being with an individual who disrespects her, or worse, beats her. The sad part is that it can be pretty difficult to determine people with violent tendencies because, most of the time, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Still, if you are a parent worried about his child, it’s vital to watch out for signs of violence in your daughter’s boyfriend (or son’s girlfriend) early on. This way, you’ll be able to protect her from teen dating violence.

What Is Teen Dating Violence?

There are teenagers who complain that the people that they are dating beat or hurt them on purpose. This is known as teen dating violence, and it can occur in any relationship, whether the teens are just dating, or in a romantic or sexual relationship. This also includes verbal abuse.

Protecting Your Child

Here are a few indications that the individual that your teen is dating may have violent tendencies. Take note that it is not just the male who abuses his partner. Sometimes, it is also the female.

Exhibits controlling behavior

A person who has a tendency to become violent towards others shows controlling behavior. He may demonstrate this very early on. He wants to be in control about what his partner does or does not do. He wants to know everything, and he even makes his partner choose between him and her friends. He may even ask his girlfriend to make a choice between him and her family. All in all, he wants to have total control over his partner.

Abuses his partner emotionally

If your daughter is afraid of her boyfriend, then it is an indication that she might be emotionally abused. Other signs include – fear of angering the boyfriend; refusal to disagree with the boyfriend because she does not want to make him mad; or developing a low self-esteem because of her boyfriend’s relentless abuse. This could include embarrassing or debasing her in the presence of her peers or strangers.

Resorts to psychological intimidation

Sometimes, a teenager might feel very important or even loved if her partner declares “If you leave me, I’ll kill myself!” That is surely a bold statement that can incite all sorts of strong emotions. A youngster might think that this person truly loves her because he can’t live without her. But instead of feeling loved or being very flattered, the teen must seriously consider talking to an adult about it. The parent must then explain to his child that this is a form of psychological abuse.

Is abusive sexually and physically

It is common for a person with a violent personality to also resort to sexual and physical abuse. Physical abuse can be easy to distinguish if you are observant enough. Scratches, cuts and bruises are a few indications. Wearing clothes that are inappropriate for the season, such as donning on long-sleeved shirts during summer, can indicate abuse because the victim could be hiding his injuries.

Citations:

Kara Allyson. “Winter Blues”. February 8, 2010. Online image. Flickr. April 29, 2013.

Featured images:

License: Creative Commons image source

Muay Thai training tips

March 30, 2014 by GuestBlogger

Basically there are two types of people who practice Muay Thai – those who want to be professional Muay Thai fighters and those who do this to stay in shape and strengthen their bodies. No matter if you belong to the first group or the second group or maybe you haven’t still decided if you want to become professional fighter there are some tips that apply for everyone. So it is completely irrelevant if you are training to become a professional fighter or you just want to lose weight and build up muscles the following tips will certainly help you.

1. Choose the right facility:

If you are interested in traditional Muay Thai consider visiting a camp in Thailand. Some might think that traveling to Thailand just to practice Muay Thai is too much. But think about it as an adventure and investment at the same time. You will meet new people; new cultures and you will have an original Muay Thai experience. There are many Muay Thai training camps in Thailand and a lot of them have professional staff, quality equipment, and excellent training session that can help you. Remember that you don’t need to be professional to visit them. They are open for everyone. In order to spare you from wasting your time and looking for the right camp we will suggest you visit Suwit Muay Thai – an established camp with long tradition, qualified trainers, top-notch equipment, and own accommodation. Suwit Muay Thai camp is located on the island of Phuket in Thailand and it will provide you the best combination of training and relaxation.

2. Have a realistic goal:

Although trainers will estimate your possibilities you should be honest about your shape and set a realistic goal. You can’t look like a pro fighter in one month if you haven’t done any exercise over the past year.

3. Be Patient:

Results don’t come over night. This is a little bit longer process and if you are following the guidance of your trainers you will feel the effects of the training faster.

4. Change your diet:

Include healthy food in your diet and watch what you eat. Look for food that contains high amounts of proteins, so-called good fat and carbohydrates