4 Things to Consider Before Getting a Tattoo

There’s no denying that tattoos are pretty trendy these days. And it’s not hard to see why: they can liven things up, allow people to show off their personality, and we’ll be darned if they don’t also look pretty good too. But of course, part of the appeal of tattoos is that not everybody has one. They are exclusive. And for this reason, there’s much to consider before getting one yourself. Below, we take a look at a number of the key considerations to mull over before getting inked.

Pexels - CC0 Licence

Whether You Can Handle The Pain

It’s highly likely that you’ve never intentionally subjected yourself to pain, but that’s just what you’ll be doing when you get a tattoo. There’s no pain-free way to get ink onto your skin, after all. If you’re planning anything bigger than an inch, then you’ll want to think about the pain aspect. Even some of the toughest people around have made comments about the pain they experienced when they were getting their tattoo. The pain won’t last forever, but it is something that you’ll have to endure when you’re actually getting the tattoo. 

What’s the Design?

There’s some pretty good advice about how you should decide what the design of your tattoo will be. They say that you should hang the design up on your wall, and if you’re not sick of it after six months (or longer), then you’ll know that it’s the right option. At the very least, be sure not to jump into anything -- an idea needs space to breathe. You can’t come up with an idea and then put it into practice straightaway. Well, you can, but you’ll be greatly increasing the chance that you end up regretting it. Remember: your tattoo will be forever!

A Reputable Tattoo Artist

Just as with any other profession, there are good and bad tattoo artists. Unlike other professions, it’s greatly important that you pick a talented artist who really knows what they’re doing. There are good and bad chefs, but the only thing you’ll end up with if you choose a bad one is a bad meal. If you pick a bad tattoo artist, you’ll be wearing their lack of talent on your body for the rest of your life. Get recommendations, and ask to see their previous work. As well as their artistic talents, look at their professionalism. Do they use a high-quality needle cleaner? Does it look like they are running a professional operation? Don’t have any doubts. This isn’t something that you want to take any chances with!

The Right Time

You’ll also want to pick the right time to get your tattoo. Your tattoo will need care once it has been put on your body, so it’s best to choose a period when you don’t have much on (and especially nothing that could knock your tattoo). Because new tattoos can be vulnerable to sunlight, you may want to consider getting it during the winter months -- which is also an especially good time to lay low. 

The Importance of Eating Together as a Family

Whether your kids are young, and still living at home, or they are long gone, and it’s just you and your partner, no matter how big your household is, it’s so important that you all try to eat together as often as you can. Even if your kids have left home, it’s always good to invite everyone around for a meal, and there’s nothing better than all sitting down around the table together. 

Of course, it’s not always easy. Learning how to make your own meatloaf just like Paula Deen and other great recipes will give you brilliant family-friendly meals to tempt everyone. But, that’s only half of the problem. You might find that even when you’ve created gorgeous meals that everyone enjoys, you all have busy schedules and it’s hard to sit down together. You might even find that when you do sit down at the same time, you have the TV on, you are all looking at your phones and other devices, and there’s not much conversation. 

Many families find that reinstating family mealtimes, and even leaving mobile phones in a tub in a different room while they eat has many various benefits. Here is a look at some of them. 

CC0 Licence - https://www.pexels.com/photo/family-having-meal-at-the-table-3171200/

You’ll Talk

So many families live in the same house but barely speak to each other for more than a few minutes at a time. We’re all busy. Your kids might spend a lot of time playing on computers or out with friends. You might work late, or bring work home, and it can be hard to spend time together, let alone have proper conversations. Even when you are together, you might all be distracted by different things. 

Families that sit and eat together without distractions are more likely to talk. They share worries and anxieties; they talk about school and work and discuss their relationships. They really know each other. They are less likely to argue and more likely to maintain healthy and positive relationships throughout life. 

Your Family Will Build Healthy Relationships with Food

So many young people today struggle with eating disorders. Others binge eat. Some only enjoy unhealthy foods and struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Part of this is because they have formed unhealthy habits and views on food. They eat in a rush, they don’t sit down to enjoy food, and they don’t see their parents eat. 

Families that sit down together are more likely to build and maintain positive relationships with food. Eating with your children gives you a chance to become their eating role model. 

Your Kids are More Likely to Cook

Kids that come from families that eat together are more likely to take an interest in food and eat a more varied diet. They’ll be more likely to cook and eat with their own children when they are older. 

Increased Self-Esteem

All that talking that you do over the dinner table can lead to massively increased self-esteem. You’ll talk about problems and worries, you’ll find solutions, and you’ll have a chance to lift each other up when you need it. 

3 House Hunting Tips to Help You Find the Home of Your Dreams

Looking around for a new house can sometimes feel like an overwhelming experience. Maybe you have a ton of homes you absolutely love. Or, maybe you haven’t been able to find any that appeal to you. 

Whatever the case, the right house is out there and it’s important to keep the faith. Once you’ve put your own home up for sale and you’ve tried to boost its curb appeal to help it sell quickly, you’ll find that you’re likely more motivated to seek out the perfect house for your future. 

So, what can you do to make house hunting easier, or to make sure you’re choosing the right home for yourself and your family? 

Pixabay

1. Know Where You Want to Live

Location, location, location. It’s one of the biggest factors when you’re making a move. You might find the house of your dreams, but if it’s in a location that doesn’t appeal to you, it’s just not going to work. 

When you’re considering the right location, think about the school district (if you have kids), how far of a commute it will be from your job, and whether you actually like the neighborhood itself. Remember, you’re not going to spend every waking moment inside your house. You’re going to go out into the neighborhood, go to school events, go shopping nearby, etc. Making sure you like the area is a huge factor you’ll need to consider. 

2. Create a Check-List of “Must Haves” 

It’s okay to be picky when you’re buying a new home. In 2019, there were 673,000 homes sold in the U.S., which is over 12% more than the year before. The trend keeps going upward, so sellers know that buyers are interested and they’re going to want to do whatever it takes to make their home appealing to you. 

So, don’t settle for something less than what you really want. Chances are, you’ll start your search online. It’s easy to fall in love with houses when you’re looking at them on a phone or computer screen. But, make a checklist of the things you want your new house to have, and see which places fit those criteria. If they seem to check off the boxes online, you can do a walk-thru in person and continue to compare what the home really has to the list of things you want. 

3. Work With a Realtor

Some people hesitate when it comes to working with realtors, but they really are extremely helpful when you’re looking for a new place to live. Not only do realtors know a lot about houses, but they can also take show you some hidden gems and tell you things about the history of a house that may not be posted in its listing or description. 

A realtor, like William Pitt of Sotheby’s International Realty, can give you guidance on what to look for in a house. You can show them your checklist, and they should be able to tell you quickly whether or not a certain home is right for you. 

This is supposed to be an exciting time, and your dream home could be just around the corner. Don’t let the idea of moving start to overwhelm you. Instead, keep these three tips in mind as you hunt for your future home, and enjoy the journey!

Protecting Your PC While Working Remotely

Pixabay License

Free for commercial use

No attribution required

Do you work remotely? Did you know that it is your responsibility to protect yourself while doing so? Remote working is becoming a practical option for many organizations and businesses today. But, there are network risks, and YOU need to manage them. Below, we are going to take a look at protecting your PC while working remotely in further depth, as well as providing some examples of where people go wrong. 

Let’s take a look at an example scenario...

Your network at home is secure. Your work network is also secure. So, you assume there is nothing to worry about. However, when you were traveling, you connected to a network, and this was untrustworthy. Hackers gained a way into your system, and just like that, crucial company data was compromised. 

What could you have done differently? There are many simple security measures that need to be taken to secure a device. 

These include…

• Using an approved computer, with protection in place. You can contact LifeLock for more information about this.
• Updating your computer regularly.
• Watching out for phishing attacks. 
• Fully encrypting your laptop. 
• Separating personal and business items.
• Locking your device and using a strong password.
• Using social networks responsibly.

And, if something does go wrong, make sure you inform your IT services apartment immediately, so the issue does not get out of hand. 

You really need to be extra cautious when using public Wi-Fi

If using public Wi-Fi access, you must be very careful. You have no way of knowing if these networks can be trusted. This is why all online activity must be encrypted beforehand. And, never connect to your organization’s network through a public computer. If you do this, you are simply asking for trouble.

But what about the risk of something being stolen physically while working remotely?

Physical crime is yet another risk. We’re going to use another scenario to help you understand this in further detail. 

While on the way to a meeting, you make a quick stop at a newsagent for a bottle of water. You leave your laptop in the car. You are only going to be a minute after all. But this minute was enough time for criminals to smash the car window and grab the valuable laptop. 

You learned the hard way that you should never leave your devices where people can see them. Since then, you have also invested in a cable lock. These are two ways to protect yourself from the threat of having your devices stolen while working remotely. 

If your device has been stolen… or you have lost it… you MUST report this immediately. Ignoring the issue will only make it worse. 

So, while remote working may be practical, it requires responsible use. You need to protect yourself, and you need to start today. Hopefully, the information that has been provided in this blog post will help you to understand the different steps that you need to take when protecting your PC during remote work. 

3 Signs That Now Is The Right Time To Propose

Pexels - CC0 License

Proposals can be tricky. As can be seen by the plethora of videos online showing a couple both proposing to one another at the same time and being shocked and amused by that, it’s easy to see how sometimes we can be oblivious to the plans of the person we’re wiith even as we plan to pop that golden question. Not only this, but it’s altogether possible to propose too early out of a feeling of obligation, or sometimes to leave a partner concerned with the fact you haven’t proposed a decade into the relationship.

Of course, if you’re not interested in proposing or getting married and that’s a mutual agreement, more power to you! But if you both have that traditional mindset and wish to bind yourself together in the eyes of your family using this most timeless of practices, then finding the opportune moment to push forward with these plans can be a vital use of your time. In the following advice, we hope you can be aided by the three signs that now is the right time to propose:

You’re Financially & Emotionally Stable

It’s important to get to grips with being financially and emotionally stable with one another before you even consider the potential of tying yourself to each other through both of those considerations. If you can trust one another with money, if you rarely if ever have heavy disagreements or deep arguments, if you have the blessing of one another’s family in this direction and you can both commit to making the realities of married life work, then this is a great sign that you’re making a solid decision. After all, maturity is a huge part of marriage, and it can’t hurt to work on both of these considerations if you’re not there yet.

You Have The Right Ring

The right ring can be a great means of finding success before a proposal, and it can also be a sentimental marker of your declared love for the individual. This is where finding the best diamond engagement rings via Whiteflash whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/tacori/ can be important, because not only do they offer you the best Tacori engagement rings but also educate you on what is best to look for, and what may be suitable for your particular needs.

You Have Room For Life Plans

If you can see yourself living the rest of your live with this person, and not only that, but you both have plans that help you rely on one another thanks to a proven track record of thiis working out in the past, then by all measures you are married in the most important sense, and that’s defined by how bound your lives are to one another. In this case, proposal can be a matter of clarity and of seeing the course through, but is no less important as a milestone in your relationship.

With this advice, we hope you can propose in the best manner.