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How to Prepare Your Family for a New Dog

It’s not a question of if, but when. You know that you and your family are going to add a new dog to your household- it’s just a matter of time. But before you can bring that new pup home, there are some things you need to do to prepare yourself and your loved ones. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps you need to take in order to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved!

The first step is to decide who will be the primary caregiver for the new dog. This should be a decision that is made as a family, as everyone will need to be on board with taking care of the dog. The primary caregiver should be someone who has enough time to devote to caring for the dog, and who is also responsible enough to make sure that the dog is taken care of properly.

The next step is to decide on a name for the new dog. This can be a fun family activity, and it’s a great way to get everyone excited about the new addition to the family. Be sure to choose a name that everyone will love, and that will fit the personality of the dog.

Once you’ve chosen a name, it’s time to start preparing your home for the new arrival. This includes creating a space for the dog to sleep, as well as setting up some basic supplies like food and water bowls. You may also want to invest in a crate or kennel, which can be a great way to train the dog and give it a place to stay when you’re not home.

Finally, be sure to talk to your family about how the new dog will fit into the household. This includes discussing rules like whether or not the dog is allowed on furniture, and what kinds of things it can and cannot chew on. It’s important to set some ground rules early on, so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to taking care of the new dog.

By taking these steps, you can help ensure a smooth transition for both you and your new furry friend!

Looking for a Home Espresso Machine? Read This First.

If you’re an avid coffee drinker like me, then you have likely taken a jump into the world of espresso and other alternative coffee drinks at one point or another. Maybe you’ve even developed a fiendish double espresso habit to help get you through the work day. Don’t worry, I won’t judge. I’m the exact same way.

There’s just something so satisfying about coffee as you wake up for the day and start taking care of business. There’s the warm, roasted smell that coaxes you out of your foggy mental state early in the morning. Then there’s the cleansing sensation in your stomach as you follow up a light breakfast with a cup. By the time you’ve sat down to work you’re already alert, and your body starts to tingle slightly with great anticipation for the day that is to come.

It’s nice to have a Starbucks or your local coffee shop to retreat to when you need a change of scene. There are plenty of times though when you have a hankering for a cappuccino but leaving your home or office just doesn’t make sense. Not to mention the fact that repeated visits to the coffee shop can rack up quite the tab.

For aficionados like us it really makes sense to look into our very own home espresso machines. It’s kind of insane how many different products you’ll encounter when you start to look around the internet, or even in stores. It’s enough to make your head spin. I’ve been through this a couple of times before, and I actually just purchased a new DeLonghi espresso machine for my home. I figured this would be a great opportunity to shed my thoughts on this buying process.

Define Your Budget

The very first thing that you’ll notice when you start looking at home espresso machines, and a main proponent of why this process is so mind-boggling, is that the prices range drastically. You can find products for under a hundred dollars and you can find products well into the thousands of dollars – even the tens of thousands of dollars for some of the super high-end models. What in the world is an espresso machine supposed to cost?

This is why it’s important to set your budget right from the get-go. This is especially true if you’re just buying your first home espresso machine, as you’re likely to find some features that aren’t your favorite in your first purchase. Set an amount of money that you’re willing to spend and be comfortable with before you even start looking seriously. That way, you can make sure things don’t get out of hand too fast. Once you’ve had some experience with your espresso maker you will have a better idea of what works best for you, and you could always buy a better one later on down the road.

Get Familiar With The Lingo

There are quite a few different designs that you’ll encounter when it comes to home espresso machines, and they have different functionalities. I want to give you a quick run-down of the important features to save you some digging and reading as you go on your search.

You’ll want to pay attention to how the espresso machine physically brews the espresso. You definitely want something that makes use of high pressure during the extraction, as this is one of the primary factors that truly separates espresso from a regular ol’ cup of joe. The most basic models are heated on a stovetop, and the steam passes through the grounds. These will work OK, and they’re probably what you’ve seen your Italian Nonna using. You can find much better espresso machines out there though.

Mechanical designs are the next step up. You create the pressure for the extraction manually by pulling a lever. These can certainly get a richer and creamier cup of espresso than the design we just discussed, but they’re still rather rudimentary. They allow for inconsistency due to human error – that is, how much pressure the person operating the machine uses during the extraction. Another large drawback is that they rarely, if ever, come with a steam wand.

Steam wands are essential if you want to make lattes, cappuccinos, or other coffee drinks that require frothed milk. You’ll start to find them on the more sophisticated espresso makers out there. The next steps up are the semi automatic and the super automatic espresso machines. I’m going to gloss right over the capsule based machines, as the big brands (I’m sure you’ve heard of them) have enough of a marketing budget to get the word out.

Semi automatic espresso makers are where most people end up when making their first purchase. They utilize an electric pump to create the pressure during the extraction, ensuring you have sufficient and consistent pressure for a repeatable cup of espresso, every time. The pump also allows them to have a steam wand on board. Because the components of these designs are still fairly simple, you’ll find them in the low hundred-dollar range.

If you’re really looking to take your espresso game to the next level then look no further than the super automatic espresso machines. They have all of the benefits of the semi automatic machines, and then some. They’ll take care of everything from grinding the beans, to tamping and brewing. All you have to do is select a recipe and press a button. The largest benefit comes in the customization. You can set extraction temperatures and pressures to really get the perfect brew from the beans your using. Don’t expect this to come cheap though, as many of these models come with a price tag in the thousand dollar range.

So how do you feel, are you ready to go find your perfect home espresso machine? By now you sure should be. One last word of warning before we sign off though – keep on the look out for cheap knock-offs. You might be able to save you a few bucks, but at the end of the day you’re going to get a product made from inferior components. You get what you pay for, and these simply won’t hold up to long periods of use. Espresso machine components see a lot of wear and tear. Good luck out there, and if you have any questions while you’re on your search please don’t hesitate to give me a shout.

The Importance of Teaching Children History

Children are a symbol of the future; they are also humanity’s only hope for the future. Teaching children about their history is vital to establishing a basis of understanding within them; one that they could be referred back to in times of need.

It is essential that children understand that no matter how bad the situation is, we have all experienced it. There have been generations before them, that have been through the same bumps and trials, and seeing them now at 39 or 65, lets us know that if they survived, we can too. That is why teen, child, even adult suicide, is so detrimental to our society because it is all mental. An idea that was developed of self-perceived isolation that could have very easily been remedied by education and discussion. It is true; it is all about perception. Children and adults should be able to take all of their collective knowledge, and use it to transform the world to fit their purpose-whether that be curing illnesses or educating the next generation.

The main issue some adults have is not wanting to assume responsibility for the enormous pressures that society places on us to be selfless. It never feels like there is enough time for us to young and make silly mistakes, before we are faced with another wave of decisions. However, then we look at our past and our childhood, and we wonder if we had have known a particular thing or maybe if our parents had have raised us as their parents had raised them, perhaps life would not have been so hard.

Children are clay molds begging to be formed in their parent’s likeness. Just like it is indispensable as a parent, to share your favorite Baseball team with your son, or your favorite scarf with your daughter, it is equally as important to share your story. I have seen many parents neglect this parent-child social aspect, and then wonder why their son or daughter has strayed or made the same mistakes they have made. It is because of the lack of honesty. Yes, we want to shelter of kids for as long as we can but protecting them from ourselves, restricts their growth. Children should know about their place in society, their role within their families, and how they were born to make an impact. Nothing is sadder than to see a teenager lost. Unsure about their future and distrustful of their peers and elders. As adults, we should be asking ourselves how is this happen, and how can we make a change in this young person’s life? It is easy for children to lose hope. A bad grade on an exam could spell the end of the world, for a 16-year-old trying to get into an Ivy League college. Because we have lived longer than that little girl or boy, we can laugh and say, hun, you will get another chance to prove yourself.

Though they are sure not to believe us, we can rest easy knowing that one day when they reach our age, they will. Just like we remember various talks we have had with our elders, ones that at the time seemed mundane and counterintuitive; now they seem to be the only things getting us by, and we are thankful to them.