Tips For Having A Fun Fall Getaway At The Cabin

Fall is the perfect season for getting away to the cabin. The air is crisp, the leaves are colorful and you can always count on the kitchen smelling of delicious baked goods. The weekends are an ideal time to escape the chaos of everyday life.

Make sure your trip goes off without a hitch by planning ahead. Confirm all members of the family and any guests are aware of your departure date and what to bring. You’ll have a better time knowing you haven’t left any items behind at home. See tips for having a fun fall getaway at the cabin.

Pack Properly

Do your best to pack light. You want to have as much space and legroom in the car as possible when you’re traveling far distances. Tell each member of the family, so they know to only bring what’s absolutely necessary. It’s also a good idea to pack for the fall weather. Check the forecast while you’re gathering your belongings and put in warm enough clothes. Do your best to bring items that you can easily layer.

Plan Meals in Advance

Before you head up to the cabin, come up with a meal plan. Map out exactly what you’ll be eating at each meal and on which day. Make a grocery list so you know what to bring with you on the trip and which of the items you’ll need to buy at the store once you’re at your cabin. Consider going out to eat one night so you can have an evening off from cooking and entertaining. Some families also like to switch off taking responsibility for meal planning throughout the weekend. Do what works best for your group.

Protect your Dog

Bringing your dog with you makes your time at the cabin a lot more fun. The trouble is that there are many opportunities for your pet to encounter pests. Apply a flea med for dogs to help you combat any issues and protect your furry animal. You don’t want any of these bugs getting into your home or on your body or clothes. Think ahead and start the application months in advance of your trip, so you have nothing to worry about while you’re at the cabin having a good time. Everyone will be happier knowing you’ve taken the proper precautions.

Organize Activities

Decide what you and the group will do once you arrive onsite. Plan an apple picking trip, a hike and bonfires to keep everyone entertained. Have a few planned activities, but don’t go overboard. Some people may want to relax and spend time by themselves or out in nature soaking up the sights and sounds. Offer up suggestions and ideas, but don’t be too pushy about it if someone doesn’t want to go along.

Conclusion

Fall is a great time to be outside and enjoying the outdoors. Getting away for a few days will allow you to clear your head and soak up the season. These are tips for having a fun fall getaway at the cabin. 

How You and Your Family Can Take Care of the Family Pet

Having a pet in the family is a big responsibility, especially if they are ones that depend you a lot such as hamsters and rabbits. However, they are also a huge opportunity to teach your children about being responsible owners. They should be encouraged to help out when cleaning and feeding you pets because this will teach them a lot including respect for the animals.

Keep Regular Check-Ups with the Veterinarian

Unlike humans, many animals cannot tell you when they are ill, so it is important that you visit your veterinarian for regular check-ups. As well as checking their health, the vet can also administer and injections or vaccinations that your pet needs. Your vet will also monitor their weight to make sure that they are not getting too fat or too thin. It is also vital that you see your vet if there are any signs for concern with your pet.

Feeding the Correct Diet

It can be tempting, especially for dog owners, to give them some of your food. Doing this can be bad for your animal’s health as they need certain vitamins and nutrients to stay healthy. You will need to stick to this from the beginning or you will teach your pet that you will give them food. Once you start doing this, it can be an incredibly hard habit to break. There are many companies such as Betsy Farms that offer healthy treats for your dog, and there are other sites that cater to other animals. If your pet becomes too overweight, then they can suffer from other health issues that will need to be monitored.

Keep Your Home Pet Safe

If you have an animal that like to run around the house or garden, then you should make sure that your home is secure and safe for them to play. It isn’t just important to stop them getting out, it also prevents other animals coming in and attacking your pet. Make sure that fences are high enough to keep out animals and that there are no gaps in the fence. Patch up any small holes in the house that a small animal such as a hamster can explore. 

Steps to Take Before Ending a Marriage

Relationships are hard work. They require time, commitment, and often luck to succeed, and not every relationship does. When you are a parent and have children, however, splitting up isn’t always the first or best solution. Before you and your partner decide that it’s time to call it quits, you need to make sure that there is no way to salvage your relationship. This guide will help walk you through the process of deciding whether ending your marriage is the best solution for you. If you two reconcile before you reach the divorce stage, your marriage is back on track! If you do divorce, try to make it as amicable as possible. 

Try to Figure Out What is Wrong

Whether you are angry or indifferent, or even betrayed, you owe it to yourself and to your partner to try to figure out what is wrong with your marriage. You were happy and in love at one point – what has changed? Sometimes all you need is to be open and honest with your partner to reconcile differences and move on together. If you aren’t listening to the other person, or if they aren’t listening to you, however, you’ll need extra help.

Optional: Marriage Counsellor

Going to a marriage counsellor can be expensive, which is why it’s not ideal for everyone. A marriage counsellor allows for open discussion. If you cannot or won’t go to a marriage counsellor to help air out your complaints and problems to work on getting to the root of the problem, it might be time to separate.

Separate

Separating is beneficial for a few reasons. For one, it allows couples to cool off for a while. It also allows each party member to see how they feel, and how they cope without their spouse. Have a set time for how long you two will be separated, and once this period is over you need to discuss. 

Discuss

Depending on the outcome of the separation, you two will have to discuss either one of two things. If the separation made you realize how important the other person is, it is time to revisit step two. If, however, the separation has made you realize how much happier you are without your spouse, it will be time to start discussing issues like visitation and finances.

Divorce

When you have decided to divorce, it is time to seek out professional services. Hire an attorney in your area, so, for instance, if you live in California contact a divorce lawyer in Fresno CA today. You will need an attorney regardless of whether the divorce is amicable or not. The more amicable, however, the better your children will be able to adapt and cope to their new circumstances.

Divorce is always a tricky business. For couples with children, however, there can be this pressure to stay together even if it makes you miserable. Instead of trying to stay together for the sake of your children or even for appearances, it’s better to seek a solution that works for you. Your children will benefit from two happier, separated parents than two miserable ones under the same roof. 

How Literacy Influences Us

How many times did you stop to read something today—a text message, directions to a lunch meeting, instructions to prepare breakfast, a street sign, a pamphlet? Literacy affects every single person in the world. Being able to read is a huge source of empowerment that lots of Americans take for granted daily. Imagine how many things you would be discouraged from doing if reading was a barrier. Would you be able to perform your job? Often, reading and answering emails and invoices, processing documents, and even interpreting phone messages are daily tasks that would be impossible.

Aside from work and household functions, simply understanding what is happening in the world would have to come from auditory sources. Social media outlets, newspapers, magazines, and other print would be completely inaccessible. The effect can be ostracizing and result in feelings of loneliness.

This cycle of empowerment starts as young as grade school. Unfortunately, one in four children grows up without learning how to read. Inability to read by the end of third grade means quadruple the chance of a kid dropping out of school, while inability to read by the end of age four drastically increases the chances of ending up on welfare or even in jail. The correlation is so strong that prison systems have been known to use primary school data as a predictor for necessary resource allocation in the future.

Countries with low rates of literacy typically also have lower life expectancy, less social inclusion, and higher poverty levels, whereas countries with high literacy rates show the opposite trends. In general, being able to read is positively correlated with social support and a sense of community. Regardless of the United States’ ninety nine percent literacy level, there is incentive to decrease illiteracy even further. Unemployment, poverty, and welfare assistance are still significant issues that affect not only individuals, but the entire country.

By starting early and being preventative toward illiteracy, these phenomena can gradually decrease and ultimately disappear. Encouraging kids to read whatever they are interested in is a great place to start. Taking children to the library, asking them about what they are reading, and being engaged about literacy will go far when it comes to fostering a love of reading. Ideally, children will be able to converse about their reading material and start to foster the related social connections that become so important. Well connected, literate kids are happier, healthier kids.

Check out the full infographic from Books A Million for more information.

How to Be a Good Receptionist

How to Be a Good Receptionist

When you are a receptionist, you are often the first person that someone meets in connection with the business you work for – you are the first impression of your company.  That can put a bit of pressure on you and make the job seem intimidating.  But if you are trained and prepared for the role, then you can be a good receptionist and make that winning first impression.

Skills for the job

If you are considering a career as a receptionist, then it definitely pays to get some professional receptionist training both to learn the basics of the job and to have a qualification behind you to enhance your CV.  There are lots of good courses available around the country that can help with the soft skills, customer services, telephone skills and even assertiveness that you will need in the role.

But what skills do you need to be a successful receptionist?

Technology skills

For starters, you need to have a good mastery of the tools of the trade – often phone systems, computers and other office equipment.  While you may encounter specialist systems within a business, if you have good basic skills then it will be easier to adapt them to the bespoke system the company is using.  Areas such as the use of spreadsheet and word processing software, email systems and being fluent on the internet will all help with the daily role.

Organizational abilities

There’s no doubt that you need to be a natural organizer to take on this kind of role because you are effectively organizing the whole company.  You guide people to the right people within the business, either in person or on the phone.  You handle queries and questions, help find information for customers and other businesses and handle correspondence both electronic and physical.  This all takes high-quality organizational abilities.

Great listening skills

Sometimes we aren’t natural listeners, only hearing part of what is being said because we are focused elsewhere.  But as a receptionist, your listening skills need to be top notch.  You might be handling a number of phone calls at one time as well as people visiting the business.  You need to listen to what they are telling you and act on it, while not being distracted by everything else that is going on.

Personable approach

There’s a certain expectation that the first person you meet in the business will be friendly, personable and able to help you – as the receptionist, that is often your role.  Therefore, you need to cultivate this personable approach, being upbeat and having a smile on your face even if you are grimacing internally.  Asking if you can help before someone tells you what they need, greeting them on entry, all of these little touches can make a person feel welcome and therefore impress them.

Laser focus

Despite being required to do multiple things at once, you also need to have a laser focus on your jobs as a receptionist.  People might think you are just there to chat for a bit while they wait for their appointment or want to have a little banter with you while they wait to be transferred.  Be polite but be focused and don’t allow others to distract you from what you need to do.  Just let them know you are there if they need you and carry on with the next person.

Conclusion

The receptionist is a crucial role for many types of business and is always in demand.  With the right training and honing your natural abilities, you can be one of the people who makes that instant winning impression on someone when they reach your company.