Get tips for easy apartment living and ideas for fun things to do in the area!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Thought this was cute and wanted to share it! Thanks Blake Flannery Here is a list of funny new year's resolutions that you can laugh at before you set yourself up for failure this year. Write your own funny new year's resolutions at the bottom of this page, so the list can be even longer. Good luck on your resisting falling into the new year's resolutions trap. New Year's Celebration
Plan your holiday round robin or other multi-house party with these progressive dinner party ideas
Looking for a unique party idea this Christmas season? Consider a progressive dinner party, whereby a group of friends plan a meal together. Then each couple prepares and serves one course at their home. The party moves from place to place during the night.
Eight to 10 people (four to five couples) is a nice number for progressive dinner parties. Keep in mind, the more people and courses involved, the more time you'll need for the party.
Course options include appetizers, soup and/or salad, main course, cheese or vegetable course, dessert and after-dinner drinks.
Have a representative from each couple meet to discuss the menu. Look for recipes that have make-ahead qualities. (Each host should also provide beverages that suit their dish.) Determine who will take each course and decide on a schedule for the evening.
Allow 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours at each location (the appetizer course may need less time while the entree may need more). Travel times will depend upon the distance between each home.
Appetizers
The host of the Progressive Dinner Party's first course has a little less pressure to get things done in advance. But there are some do-ahead elements that will make entertaining even easier.
Try serving Pinecone-Shaped Blue Cheese Spread which you can make early in the day and refrigerate. Just before guests arrive, unmold, garnish with nuts and serve with crackers.
Have the ingredients for cocktails ready to go on your counter. But make the drinks as requested by guests.
The dessert course is great to host because sweet treats can be made in advance.
Make the Peppermint Angel Roll two days in advance.
Bake Chocolate Mint Cream Cake the day before.
Remove the torte from the freezer 10 minutes before serving and garnish as desired.
Last Course Lessons
End the evening on a sweet note with after-dinner drinks and Apricot Sesame Cookies cookies.
In the morning, prepare the glasses dipped in chocolate to be used for the Viennese Coffee; refrigerate.
Before leaving for the first house, start the coffee in the slow cooker and grate the chocolate.
Whip the cream and refrigerate. Stir the cream before using.
Friday is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21.
But it's not all about astronomy.
Since ancient times people have marked the winter solstice with countless cultural and religious traditions—it's no coincidence the modern holiday season surrounds the first day of winter.
Solstice in Space: Astronomy of the First Day of Winter
During the winter solstice the sun hugs closer to the horizon than at any other time during the year, yielding the least amount of daylight annually. On the bright side, the day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days leading up to the summer solstice.
"Solstice" is derived from the Latin phrase for "sun stands still."
That's because—after months of growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice—the sun's arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days. Then the arc begins growing longer and higher in the sky, reaching its peak at the summer solstice.
The solstices occur twice a year (around December 21 and June 21), because Earth is tilted by an average of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun—the same phenomenon that drives the seasons.
During the warmer half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. The northern winter solstice occurs when the "top" half of Earth is tilted away from the sun at its most extreme angle of the year.
But, though the winter solstice is essentially the darkest day of the year, it's not the coldest.
Because the oceans are slow to heat and cool, in December they still retain some warmth from summer, delaying the coldest of days for another month and a half. Similarly, summer doesn't hit its heat peak until August, a month or two after the summer solstice.
Winter Solstice Marked Since Ancient Times
Throughout history, humans have celebrated the summer solstice, often with an appreciative eye toward the return of sunlight after the winter solstice.
Germanic peoples of Northern Europe honored the winter solstice with Yule festivals—the origin of the still-standing tradition of the long-burning Yule log.
The Roman feast of Saturnalia, honoring the God Saturn, was a weeklong December feast that included the observance of the winter solstice. Romans also celebrated the lengthening of days following the solstice by paying homage to Mithra—an ancient Persian god of light.
Many modern pagans attempt to observe the solstice in the traditional manner of the ancients.
"There is a resurgent interest in more traditional religious groups that is often driven by ecological motives," said Harry Yeide, a professor of religion at George Washington University. "These people do celebrate the solstice itself."
Pagans aren't alone in commemorating the winter solstice in modern times.
In a number of U.S. cities a Watertown, Massachusetts-based production called The Christmas Revels honors the winter solstice with an annually changing menu of traditional music and dance from around the world.
"Nearly every northern culture has some sort of individual way of celebrating that shortest day," said Revels artistic director Patrick Swanson. "It's a lot of fun for us to dig up the traditional dance and music and even the plays [honoring] that time of the year."
Of course, as the name suggests, The Christmas Revels mix ancient winter solstice traditions with customs of the holiday that largely replaced winter solstice celebrations across much of the Northern Hemisphere—Christmas.
Winter Solstice's Christmas Connection
Scholars aren't exactly sure of the date of Jesus Christ's birthday, the first Christmas.
"In the early years of the Christian church, the calendar was centered around Easter," George Washington University's Yeide said. "Nobody knows exactly where and when they began to think it suitable to celebrate Christ's birth as well as the Passion cycle"—the Crucifixion and resurrection depicted in the Bible.
Eastern churches traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 6, a date known as Epiphany in the West. The winter date may have originally been chosen on the basis that Christ's conception and Crucifixion would have fallen during the same season—and a spring conception would have resulted in a winter birth.
But Christmas soon became co-mingled with traditional observances of the winter solstice.
"As the Christmas celebration moved west," Yeide said "the date that had traditionally been used to celebrate the winter solstice became sort of available for conversion to the observance of Christmas. In the Western church the December date became the date for Christmas."
Early church leaders endeavored to attract pagans to Christianity by adding Christian meaning to existing winter solstice festivals.
"This gave rise to an interesting play on words," Yeide said. "In several languages, not just in English, people have traditionally compared the rebirth of the sun with the birth of the son of God."
THE corporate necktie could join corsets, top hats and coattails as a thing of
the past with the workplace moving to more casual dressing, according to a
recent poll.
The rise of “creative industries” is driving the trend, the telegraph.co.uk reported, with almost three-quarters
surveyed saying ties would become obsolete within 20 years.
Just under a
quarter of those surveyed by DealJungle.com -a UK deals site for small business
- even put the tie’s demise in under a decade.
''The
success of businesses such as Facebook and Google, where even the CEO turns up
wearing jeans and a hoodie, also seems to have had a corrosive effect on the
idea of dressing formally for work,” a DealJungle spokesman said.
In
Australia the view was divided, with professional style consultant Ondina
Gregoric saying while fashion was changing there would always be an element of a
corporate look to business.
“Even if you have a look at Apple, Steve
Jobs had his look,” Ms Gregoric said. “It was corporate but he didn’t wear a
tie. But he wasn’t a slob either.”
She said industries weighted to
finance and the law - where clients were seeking serious professional advice -
would stay clean cut.
“Imagine seeing your financial advisor in his track
gear,” she said.
Professional image consultant Chris Rewell said she
expected a tie would eventually become a novelty for most of the workforce -
similar to the bowtie now.
“I imagine there will be creative or other
individuals [in the future] who will wear neckties to differentiate themselves
and be a bit unique,” Ms Rewell said.
And image consultant Julie Hyne
said the more relaxed attitudes of industries like marketing, advertising and
fashion would likely spill into other sectors.
Ms Hyne said places like
banking could adopt a more casual dress code to help create trust and build
rapport with “mum and dad” customers.
“They need to be able to fit in
with the general demographic of who they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis,
and that may cause [banks] to adapt uniforms for that situation,” she said.
Getting your security deposit back and obtaining a good reference from your
landlord when you move out is easy if you know and follow a few simple
guidelines. With the number of tenant disputes on the rise, there’s no better
time to take in these quick tips on being a good tenant in order to avoid undue
stress, conflicts with your landlord, and even legal trouble.
Visit our Properties
1. Read your lease before you sign and agree to it.
Be aware of what is allowed and not allowed. If the lease says no pets and
you’re dying to get a puppy, don’t sign your lease and try to sneak in an animal
later on. Go over the rules about noise, garbage, guests, and on-property car
repairs. Breaking your lease even on one occasion is a permanent mark on your
reputation as a good tenant.
2. Be considerate of your neighbors.
Respect the fact that they may have different work hours and sleep schedules
than you. They may get migraines, have a baby sleeping, or may just not have
the same taste in music, so save the blaring tunes for your headphones or your
local nightclub. If you sit outside late at night on the phone or with your
friends, keep it down. Noise complaints are one of the most common and most
frustrating complaints for a landlord. Even if you aren’t that disruptive,
complaints are considered a hassle by your landlord.
3. If pets are allowed, clean up after them.
If you have a cat, clean the litter box regularly and dispose of the trash as
soon as possible. If you have a dog, clean up after it when you take it on a
walk around the property. Always keep your dog on a leash outdoors. Not
everyone loves dogs or knows how great your dog may be, and you risk making a
neighbor feel uncomfortable or being reported to the landlord if you let your
dog run around without restraint.
4. Know that you are responsible for your guests.
If you have friends who are disrespectful or who tend to get out of hand at
parties, keep this in mind. You and you alone are responsible for any damage to
your apartment and the common areas caused by your guests. If you decide to
have a lot of people over, know that any resulting damages or complaints are
ultimately your responsibility. Be smart.
5. Keep your apartment presentable.
A clean apartment shows that you have pride in the place you live, and
landlords will be less likely to worry about or anticipate damage to the
property while you reside there. Keep food properly stored to avoid attracting
insects and rodents, and don’t let your trash sit for more than a few days. As a
courtesy, don’t leave your trash bags outside for your neighbors to see.
6. Be considerate about parking.
Parking outside your assigned spot is another frequent complaint that you
don’t want associated with your tenant history. Use common sense. If there is
guest parking, don’t let your guests make excuses about parking in other
people’s spots. Imagine how you would feel if you came home and found that your
spot was occupied by some random car. If there is no assigned parking, park
properly between the lines and never leave trash from your car on the curb or in
the parking lot.
7. Avoid being high maintenance.
If it’s an easy fix, don’t immediately resort to calling maintenance or your
landlord. Keeping buildings safe and running smoothly for tenants is a
full-time job, and regularly calling to have something like a light bulb
replaced or your sink unclogged, when you can just as easily do it yourself, may
seem a little demanding. On that note, never try to fix a leak, a furnace, a
faulty dryer hookup, or anything that has the potential to get complicated. You
risk exacerbating the problem for maintenance and getting yourself into
trouble.
8. Prior notice.
Give the proper notice as stated on your lease agreement to your landlord
when you decide to move on. Keep in mind your landlord will serve as your
reference to the next. A tenant who communicates with his or her landlord will
find it easy to get back their security deposit and transition smoothly with
good references for future living situations.
9. Pay On Time (The Golden Rule for Tenants).
Do everything you can to pay your rent on time. That being said, some
landlords understand that things happen sometimes. If you’re going to be late
on your rent, give the property manager as much advanced notice as possible. Be
honest about the situation and try to give them a reasonable time line for when
you will have your rent. Avoiding your landlord or lying to them will cause you
to quickly lose credibility in their eyes. Making them chase you down is never a
good idea, and doing so will only make the situation worse for you in the long
run. Be an adult and confront the issue head on.
Getting your security deposit back and obtaining a good reference from your landlord when you move out is easy if you know and follow a few simple guidelines. With the number of tenant disputes on the rise, there’s no better time to take in these quick tips on being a good tenant in order to avoid undue stress, conflicts with your landlord, and even legal trouble.
1. *Read your lease* before you sign and agree to it.Be aware of what is allowed and not allowed.If the lease says no pets and you’re dying to get a puppy, don’t sign your lease and try to sneak in an animal later on.Go over the rules about noise, garbage, guests, and on-property car repairs.Breaking your lease even on one occasion is a permanent mark on your reputation as a good tenant.
2.Be considerate of your neighbors.Respect the fact that they may have different work hours and sleep schedules than you.They may get migraines, have a baby sleeping, or may just not have the same taste in music, so save the blaring tunes for your headphones or your local nightclub.If you sit outside late at night on the phone or with your friends, keep it down.Noise complaints are one of the most common and most frustrating complaints for a landlord. Even if you aren’t that disruptive, complaints are considered a hassle by your landlord.
3. If pets are allowed, clean up after them.If you have a cat, clean the litter box regularly and dispose of the trash as soon as possible.If you have a dog, clean up after it when you take it on a walk around the property.Always keep your dog on a leash outdoors.Not everyone loves dogs or knows how great your dog may be, and you risk making a neighbor feel uncomfortable or being reported to the landlord if you let your dog run around without restraint.
4.Know that you are responsible for your guests.If you have friends who are disrespectful or who tend to get out of hand at parties, keep this in mind. in mind that yYou and you alone are responsible for what happensany damage to your apartment and the common areas caused by your guests.If you decide to have a lot of people over, know that any resulting damages or complaints are ultimately your responsibility.Be smart.
5. Keep your apartment presentable.A clean apartment shows that you have pride in the place you live, and landlords will be less likely to worry about or anticipate damage to the property while you reside there.Keep food properly stored to avoid attracting bugs,insects and rodents,and don’t let your trash sit for more than a few days. , and especiallyAs a courtesy, don’t leave your trash bags outside for your neighbors to see.
6. Be considerate about parking. Parking outside your assigned spot is another frequent complaint that you don’t want associated with your tenant history.Use common sense.If there is guest parking, don’t let your guests make excuses about parking in other people’s spots.Imagine how you would feel if you came home and found that your spot was occupied by some random car.If there is no assigned parking, park properly between the lines and never leave trash from your car on the curb or in the parking lot.
7.Try to aAvoid being high maintenance. If it’s an easy fix, don’t immediately resort to calling maintenance or your landlord.Keeping buildings safe and running smoothly for tenants is a full-time job, and regularly calling to have something like a light bulb replaced or your sink unclogged, – ifwhen you can just as easily do it yourself–, may seem a little demanding.On that note, never try to fix a leak, a furnace, a faulty dryer hookup, or anything that has the potential to get complicated.You risk exacerbating the problem for maintenance and getting yourself into trouble.
8.Prior notice. : Give the proper notice as stated on your lease agreement to your landlord if everwhen you decide to move on plan on moving.Keep in mind your landlord will serve as your reference to the next. A tenant who communicates with his or her landlord will find it easy to get back their security deposit and transition smoothly with good references for future living situations.
9. The Golden Rule: Pay On Time – The Golden Rule for Tenants:. Do everything you can to pay your rent on time. That being said, some landlords understand that things happen sometimes.If you’re going to be late on your rent, give the property manager as much advanced notice as possible.Be honest about the situation and try to give them a reasonable time line for when you will have your rent.Avoiding your landlord landlord or lying to them will cause you to quickly lose credibility in their eyes. and mMaking them chase you down is never a good idea, and doing so will only make the situation worse for you in the long run.Be an adult and Cconfront the issue head on.
Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching various online degree programs and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Being a good dweller on our part lessens all the trouble in apartment living. More so, some considerations may be given to you by the landlord and the neighbors if you happen to enter a tight situation.
Great Post! Definitely enjoyed some of your tips! I run a blog on Rental housing as well! Doormouse.ca
Keep in touch,
Brendan Benson