Standing Up For Yourself Is Important

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One of the vital skills that we are supposed to learn as children is the ability to stand up for ourselves. Sometimes, we may understand the principles of this lesson, but fail to apply them until later in life. Of course, this is a lesson that hardly loses its value, because all throughout our lives, no matter how old we are, how successful we are, how rich or poor we may be, sooner rather than later, standing up for ourselves is important.

It may be that your neighbor seems to have no idea as to what volume levels are coming from their television, and despite multiple attempts at contact you need to escalate the situation. This small situation is a microcosm for how many other scenarios in life can play out, and it’s always best to defend yourself when they do.

Thankfully, you needn’t feel small or out of line for protecting yourself. Thankfully, with the following advice, even those who are meek or somewhat nervous in disposition can find the value of standing up for themselves:

Trying Your Best Each Day

Many people think that standing up for themselves no matter what is the best thing they can do. Of course, this is true if being taken advantage of. However, it’s important to understand just how effective you are in this will often be based on how much you think you have to prove, or not. For example, someone who focuses on being their best self each day, on living honestly, on working hard, or on performing within their ability and trying to grow will often feel much more justified in defending themselves than someone who simply chooses not to work in the slightest, as this second person will be defending out of fear than of strength. It’s food for thought, and worth considering.

Accepting No Humiliation

There’s a thin line between being tolerant and being humiliated. In a famous episode of the UK Apprentice, a candidate who had been thrown under the bus by his team during that week’s challenge decided to exit the process after being spoken down to, removing himself from the untrustworthy folks around him and forfeiting the prize he no longer saw as valuable. This way, he avoided humiliation and defended himself through grace. This is an example worth thinking about.

Taking Legal Action

Taking legal action is sometimes the best and only rational means in which to stick up for yourself. Of course, this doesn’t mean that threatening everyone with a lawsuit is the right way to go about things. However, you may find that if experiencing defamation against your professional character, this can be important. It’s certainly crucial if you have experienced a personal injury at work, which also gives you the opportunity to use the best lawyers such as McGilberry & Shirer LLP. Sometimes, financial justice and recompense is the best means in which to put a manner to bed.

With this advice, you’re certain to stand up for yourself correctly.

Keeping An Eye On Your Body As It Gets Older

As we get older, our bodies no longer perform the way they used to, which can be frustrating, particularly when you are in the prime of your life, and you can’t enjoy the fruits of your labor! Here are some tips for keeping an eye on your body as it gets older.

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Don’t Do Things That Apply Too Much Pressure

As we age, the bones in our body don’t get any stronger and in fact, any amount of strain on the body could be potentially dangerous. This shouldn’t mean that you should stop doing the things you love. Of course not! Instead, though, there should be a bit more consciousness on how much you’re doing and to not put too much excessive pressure on yourself. So if you’re working out at the gym, don’t go pulling weights that are clearly too heavy for your body to manage. When you’re moving furniture around your home, do it safely and with the help of others if they’re available.

Eat The Right Food

Everyone wants to eat healthily, especially as it helps keep the body feeling energized. Eating the right food is what it’s all about, so you should make sure you’re getting plenty of protein for the body. Vegetables and fruits are going to be your best friends, and something like fruit is good to snack on when you’re feeling the urge to snack. Try to boost your intake of iron and calcium. Focus on extra additions like supplements that contain all the essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for your body. You don’t need to be eating everything that’s healthy and recommended, it’s making sure you eat the right food that counts.

Have Good Health Insurance

Looking after your health is key, but there’s only so much protection you can provide for yourself. The rest is down to pot luck and ensuring you are always careful of what you’re doing. Sometimes accidents happen and if you wind up falling ill, then you better hope you’ve sorted out your health insurance from somewhere like Medicare Nationwide. Getting ill and not being able to work can be damaging to your 

Keep Going To Medical Appointments

Medical appointments are a must, but it’s too often that many people will miss them due to being too busy. You should never be too busy to prioritize your healthcare, particularly when it could help you catch something that you were not aware of having. Stay updated with your medical checks and knowing when you need to go in for a general health checkup. There’s so much that could crop up in between, and so it’s really important that you go, and you also make appointments when something doesn’t feel right. 

Keeping an eye on your body as you get older is good because no one wants to fall ill or leave a shorter life because they didn’t take care of what they had. Attend those medical appointments, get good insurance, and look after yourself.

The Legalities of Getting Married: What You Should Know

Getting married is one of the most magical days you’ll experience in your life. It’s a moment you’ll treasure forever and if everything goes without a hitch is just about perfect.



It’s the tie that binds couples both emotionally and legally, but with so much to think about, from the right dress to the catering, venue and flowers the legal sides to the big day can often be forgotten about.



There are many ways around this. Using a legal firm who specialise in family law, such as Simmrinlawgroup is a useful way to ensure no stone is left unturned, whether that be for a prenuptial agreement or child support issues. But there are also many other legalities surrounding marriage which should also be considered, many of which you perhaps wouldn’t even think of.



Below you’ll find some of the more common legal aspects of getting married that you could need to consider...

Children

If yourself or your partner already has children, discussions are required to determine whether their legal guardians will change once married. This naturally needs to be done sympathetically as it can affect a number of people, including the children themselves and the biological parent.



Discussing it with all parties is a must and explaining what it means to the children clearly and in a language and tone they’ll understand.

Prenuptial Agreements

Prenups aren’t exactly considered romantic and many people avoid them to avoid any arguments before even tying the knot. However, they can also save arguments should the relationship end in divorce.



You can highlight and plan for who would receive what in the instance of divorce, alongside any special agreements, all of which have to be signed off by both partners.

Name Changing

It’s traditional for a female to change her surname to that of her husband in marriage and with that you’ll be required to change your name on things such as bank accounts, social security cards and insurance companies. In fact, there’s a long list of items and accounts which will need to be updated.

Insurance

Once married there are various insurance plans that can be changed to cover both of you, including retirement, life and health insurance.



With the latter, you can join the insurance plan of your partner which can save money in some instances. It’s always worth shopping around, and as well as updating health insurance, updating life insurance is also a must to fully cover your partner should you pass away.

Wedding contracts

As well as the legal aspects that could affect you outside your wedding day, it can also be useful to have legalities in place for your big day too.



We all know that not everything can run smoothly on a wedding day. It’s rare that it goes completely without a hitch, but you can avoid some of the biggest hiccups by having legally binding contracts in place.



For example, you might wish to get a written contract for the venue to ensure you know exactly what you’re receiving, alongside avoiding being cancelled on. The same applies to the likes of wedding bands, caterers and more.

The Death Of A Parent: What To Expect

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The loss of a parent as an adult can be an extremely confusing, challenging time. While everyone will experience the situation differently - we all grieve in our own way, to an extent - there are a few things that can make this difficult situation more manageable, as we have discussed in more depth below. 

1) Accept offers of help for the practicalities 

For adult children, grief can often be overtaken by the sheer number of tasks that suddenly arise following a parents death. From planning the initial funeral to managing estate litigation, there’s simply so much that demands your attention. To help keep everything in hand - and ensure you do not have to overwork yourself while also grieving - accept offers of assistance from friends and family; try to remember that you don’t have to do everything alone. 

2) Consider professional bereavement therapy 

Talking to a therapist about your loss can often be preferable to talking to friends or family, especially if your friends and family are also dealing with their own grief. A therapist is an uninvolved party who can lend an ear and allow you to work through how you are feeling, so it may be worth scheduling a few sessions to see if you find them beneficial.

3) Don’t try to predict your emotions

The emotional response to the loss of a parent can be extremely varied, and tends to differ between people. Some people feel lost, abandoned, or fearful without their parent; others feel more upset, unsure of how to proceed; while others may primarily feel able to focus on celebrating their parent’s life rather than mourning their death. What matters is that all of these responses (and more) are completely valid, and you may cycle between various (and sometimes contradictory) thoughts and feelings every few days or even hours. These changes are all part of the natural grief process, so just try to go with the flow rather than ‘expecting’ to feel a certain way at a certain time.

4) Tell yourself, over and over, that your grief is entirely natural 

It is an unfortunate truth that, societally, the death of a parent is often treated as rather… standard, something that happens to everyone eventually, and is something that any adult child knew to ‘expect’ one day. When combined, all of these ideas can coalesce into a strange sense that a death of a parent is simply not that significant… which couldn’t be further from the truth. Whatever your age, losing a parent is an incredibly difficult experience; it’s okay not to be okay and to grieve for as long as you feel it necessary - remind yourself of this every day, and let your emotions, rather than the expectations of others, be your guide.

You will likely experience many different emotions and thoughts when grieving the loss of a parent, and there’s so much to think about, the whole combination can quickly become overwhelming. Hopefully the advice above can help provide a route through and ensure you can find a way through this trying time - and at your own pace, of course.

Make a Homemade Chore Chart and Toothbrushing Chart

*Originally posted April 2013 but I brought it out of the vault for anyone who might need it. The kids are now ages 10-18 and don't need help in this area to remember to brush their teeth or do their chores, and they regularly come back with a NO CAVITIES report at the dentist! (don't forget to include the little handheld flossers in the routine!)

I think I might FINALLY have something in place that will get all the little things done that need to be done around the house. And no, I did not have 5 children so they could be my minions. I am merely instilling responsibility in them now since when they grow up they will be doing chores around their own pad.

Who am I kidding? Odds are at least two of the five will turn out like me: MESSY and SLOBBY but can find anything in a pinch for about 20 years after leaving home and THEN the realization will hit them around 40 that keeping things kinda picked up and purged is a lot easier than cleaning for days at a time after it gets out of hand!

My sweet and crazy kids after church one night at Cure of Ars, where my husband and I got married in 1998 and where I was baptized, etc. in 1999.

So here's the link to my recently made combination Homemade Chore Chart and Toothbrushing Chart on Google Docs so you can check it out and then make your own in Excel however you like. Or you can just look at it and laugh or make fun of me or whatever crumbles your cookie.

We've tried many different chore charts over the years but my kids like how I set this one up. They love that I store it in a plastic page protector, keep it on the fridge, then they can use a dry erase marker to cross things off as they complete them. They LOVE using the dry erase marker!

Note: I had to add in pencil at the bottom that Joel feed the dog breakfast, Michael feeds him dinner and Callie is in charge of keeping water in the dog bowl. I got tired of catching the poor dog drinking from the toilet because he had no water in his bowl!

Wondering how I get them to clean the bathroom? Check out my Funny Bathroom Cleaning Instructions with a funny ecard here!