Family, Legal

5 Myths About Divorce You Must Not Believe

March 23, 2021
5 Myths About Divorce You Must Not Believe

Whenever family lawyers meet with a client there will be many things they need to discuss. There is obviously the divorce and no doubt the client will have several questions which they need to ask. In addition, the divorce lawyer may have to dismiss many of the assumptions and misunderstandings that their client may have about the whole process.

Some of this will understandably be due to the fact that most clients are not experts on divorce law, otherwise, they would be sitting on the opposite side of the table. In addition, there can undoubtedly be elements of the client’s beliefs about divorce that have sprung up due to some of the many myths that surround it.

Many of these myths get passed from friend to friend and relative to relative, no doubt in a spirit of trying to help, but they actually achieve the opposite by sowing the seeds of doubt and worry. Another reason myths can occur is due to the media that we see on our television and online. These can include movies that use dramatic license to create legal and courtroom scenarios that bear little relationship to the real thing.

One point about movies is that we get many of them from Hollywood which being in the USA will base their storylines on American law and the legal system as it applies to divorce there. The differences between how divorce is enacted in the USA and Australia are significant, so again this can lead to confusion and concern thinking that what happens in a movie is going to happen here.

So, in order to try to eliminate some of the concerns people have about divorce, we are going to dispel 5 of the most common myths about divorce in Australia.

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Family, Legal

What Does Annulment Of A Marriage Mean

March 3, 2021
What Does Annulment Of A Marriage Mean

When some people hear that a marriage has been annulled, some of them simply assume that it is a fancy word for divorce and means exactly the same. However, experienced family law firm Davies Family Lawyers advise that to get your marriage annulled, the process, legalities, and criteria surrounding it would be completely different from those that apply to a divorce.

For a start whilst the legal framework that applies to both divorce and annulment is laid out within the Family Law Act of 1975, if you were to look them up in the Act, you would find several significant differences.

For a start, the legal document that certifies that a marriage has been annulled is called a Decree of Nullity. What that decree will state is that the marriage in question did not exist legally and regardless of whether a bride walked down the aisle in a white dress, a wedding service took place, and confetti was thrown, the marriage is void, and in the eyes of the law, never existed.

To some, this might sound confusing given that there may even have been officials present conducting the marriage, but the point here is that even though they may have genuinely believed that they were conducting a legitimate marriage ceremony, there were one or more reasons why it was not actually a legal marriage.

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Home & Garden

Top 3 Reasons You Will Love Having A Concrete Pool

February 23, 2021
Top 3 Reasons You Will Love Having A Concrete Pool

Suppose the idea of having a concrete pool on your property is one that you are currently debating either within your own mind or with your family. In that case, you may have been trying to think of the positive reasons why you should justify going ahead with it.

We hope you have thought of several of those reasons, but just to make sure, and possibly to highlight some you may not yet have considered, then here are 3 of the top ones which are the benefits of having a concrete pool on your property.

You Have an Almost Unlimited Choice of Designs

Many people have this concept that a concrete pool at home is going to be the same boring rectangular shape as the pool you see at the Olympics. Whilst it can be if you so wish, we hope you want to be more creative than that. In fact, the only limits on the shape, size, and design of your concrete pool are your budget and the area which is available for it to be installed in.

Otherwise, you have a free choice as to how you want your concrete pool to look both in terms of the shape and with regard to the tiling and other aesthetics such as the decking and the landscaping around it.

This means that not only do have a functional swimming pool that you and your family can enjoy swimming in, but you can also have an eye-catching feature on your property depending on how artistic you decide to go with the tiles and other features of the pool.

This can include water features, a slide, and a spa for example, and do not forget there is still the possibility of continuing with your creativity when it comes to the landscape design of the other areas on the outside of your property such as your garden.

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Home & Garden, Legal

Legally Using Self Defence Against Home Intruders

January 10, 2021
Legally Using Self Defence Against Home Intruders

One area of the law which criminal lawyers at www.pclbcriminallawyers.com.au are often asked their advice on is self-defence, and in particular, whether or not it is legal to use self defence against someone who has broken into your home. As is often the case when it comes to criminal law, the answer a criminal lawyer might give you is, ‘It depends’.

That might not seem particularly helpful to a lot of people, but the simple fact is that as the law currently stands in Australia at the moment, when it comes to self-defence in your own home, or anywhere else for that matter, there is no precise answer.

For example, whether or not someone has stolen something, or have driven at excessive speeds tends to be a matter of fact. In other words, they took something from a store and did not pay for it is a fact, or that they drove 20 miles per hour over the speed limit is also a fact.

Therefore, when those individuals are taken through the criminal justice system, the decision with regards to their guilt is fundamentally not open to interpretation because the evidence against them is explicit.

With regards to self-defence and whether someone was either justified in using it, or if they did so to a degree which is lawful, is far more open to a subjective opinion, should they ever be tried for doing so unlawfully.

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Health

Why The Cleaning Of Health Care Facilities Should Only Be Done By Professionals

December 1, 2020
Why The Cleaning Of Health Care Facilities Should Only Be Done By Professionals

Healthcare facilities, clinics, hospitals, and dentist offices regularly need professional commercial cleaning services. Given how critical cleanliness and hygiene are to an individual’s health, if you think that cleaning healthcare facilities is similar to cleaning offices and other types of commercial premises, then you are mistaken.

Cleaning health care facilities should not be left to amateurs because you need these premises, not just to be clean. Still, they also need to be thoroughly sanitised and left in as hygienic a condition as possible, so only professional commercial cleaners should be trusted to do it. Here are some more reasons why.

Knowledge And Experience

Anyone could pick up a mop. a brush, and a duster and say they are a cleaner. We must admit that in some basic business premises like a small office, they could probably do an ok job with just those ‘tools’. However, when it comes to cleaning and sanitising healthcare facilities, doing an ‘ok’ job is not good enough.

We are talking about people’s health, so doing that work effectively requires experience and specialised knowledge. Knowing what chemicals you can use to clean and sanitise or what areas require even greater levels of hygiene are just two benefits a professional commercial cleaning company can offer.

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Health

7 Types of Psychological Disorders

December 1, 2020
7 Types of Psychological Disorders

Just as doctors at a local surgery have to treat a wide range of physical conditions, the exact same principle applies to psychology. The Experienced Psychologists at www.southsidepsychology.com tell us many people are under the misconception that a psychologist treats something called ‘mental illness’, but that is the same as calling muscle strains, broken bones, heart conditions, respiratory and digestive problems as simply a ‘physical illness’.

The most likely reason for it is that most people are simply not aware of the many individual types of psychological disorders that an individual can suffer from, and so we are going to outline, in no particular order, no fewer than 7 of them right now.

#1 Eating Disorders: These get a lot of publicity due to the number of celebrities who have suffered from them.  They include conditions such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa which each have the sufferer consuming too much, or too little food, respectively. Other behaviours can include inducing themselves to vomit, taking laxatives, and a self-loathing of their appearance.

#2 Stress-Related Disorders: Specific conditions include adjustment, acute stress, and post-traumatic stress disorders. These are usually triggered by specific events or a series of events which have induced high levels of stress. Unlike other people, sufferers are unable to reduce their stress levels and experience the likes of flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and feelings of isolation.

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Health, Legal

Understanding the Health Effects of Workplace Discrimination

June 26, 2020
Understanding the Health Effects of Workplace Discrimination

 

Despite the governments best efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination from Australian culture and society, it still remains. In the workplace, things like racial, gender and religious discrimination are common, especially against minority groups.

Because of this, thousands of people across the country suffer some form of mental illness every year. Even low-level workplace discrimination can have a cumulative effect which can impact absolutely anyone.

As you can imagine, it’s important that we’re able to identify and deal with these impacts before they become too severe. Below, we’ve outlined a few strategies to help you with office sickness, regardless of your exact situation.

Pay Careful Attention to Your Mental State

For starters, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re aware of your mental state and any lasting irregularities. This is true regardless of whether or not you’re being discriminated against.

The key to maintaining mental health is to be mindful of the following:

  • Any loss of motivation or lack of energy that could signal the onset of depression, anxiety or any other illness.
  • Lower self-confidence, including in social settings where you would have been comfortable in the past.
  • A desire to stay home from work. Everyone loves a day off from time to time, but if you find yourself having trouble getting out of bed for work every day, you could have a problem.
  • Any increase in alcohol and/or cigarette consumption.

If you identify these or any other mental health warning signs, be sure to speak with a psychologist or other medical professional as soon as possible.

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Family, Health

How You Know Your Child Might Have a Language Disorder

February 6, 2020
How You Know Your Child Might Have a Language Disorder

If someone has ever recommended that your child see an expert in speech pathology, then you might be quite confused by what they mean. If your child doesn’t have problems with stuttering or pronunciation, then how can they need to see a speech pathologist?

You may be surprised to know that communication goes beyond just speaking, and speech pathology can be a way in which to help children with many disabilities. Read on to learn what indicators may be present to identify a language disorder, and why a speech expert could be of assistance.

How to Define a Language Disorder

You can define a language disorder as having trouble expressing your thoughts vocally, or finding it problematic to understand what other people are saying. Speech, reading, and writing all form part of a language disorder, with treatment options depending on what that disorder is. Language disorders can go hand in hand with other conditions, such as developmental disabilities, autism, and ADHD.

What Does a Language Disorder Look Like?

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), a language disorder can be broken down into:

  • Phonology
  • Syntax and Morphology
  • Semantics
  • Pragmatics
  • Social, emotional, and behavioural considerations

Phonology relates to problems with early speech, limited phonological awareness (rhyming, blending), limited vocalisation compared to same-age peers, and difficulties with speech sound. Morphology and syntax, on the other hand, refers to errors with verbs and pronouns, trouble with grammar, and challenges relating to complex sentences, among other things.

Children with language disorders may also find it challenging to play and relate to peers, comprehend social situations, and contribute in classroom environments.

What Can a Speech Pathologist Do?

A language disorder should always be diagnosed by an experienced professional, so the first step for any worried parent should be their child’s GP. If they have concerns, they may refer the parent to a speech pathologist to intervene and provide a diagnosis and treatment options.

How someone in speech pathology can help depends on the age of the child and the severity of the language disorder, not to mention whether any other disabilities and conditions may play a part.

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Health

Simple Ways to Avoid Sickness in the Office

January 16, 2020
Simple Ways to Avoid Sickness in the Office

Self-care most certainly comes into play when you are trying to stop yourself from succumbing to the “office ‘flu”. You use hand sanitiser, are wary of communal areas, and stay on high alert for the sneezer in your workplace who never seems to cover their mouth.

However, there’s something extra that can help reduce the risk of office sickness, and that’s using a “infection control-style” commercial cleaner is better than DIY methods. Read on to learn what those might be, and why they are worthwhile for your workplace.

Daily Surface Disinfecting & Cleaning

You might think it’s going a little overboard to clean and disinfect surfaces in your workplace every day, but think how many people are in your business? How many people touch the bathroom door, the kitchen benches, and the office phones?

Any surfaces in communal areas, and even your own cubicle, should be considered for daily cleaning and disinfecting. A commercial cleaning company can be of assistance by cleaning them with an all-purpose cleaner, followed up with disinfectant spray.

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Health

5 Things to Know Before Your Cataract Surgery

December 20, 2019
5 Things to Know Before Your Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery is a routine procedure during which a foggy and blurred lens is removed from the affected eye and replaced with an artificial lens. Although cataract surgery is very common, it can still be scary for some.

The best thing to do in the face of an unknown and frightening procedure is to get some helpful information. We’re here to give you our top five tips to know before you go in for your cataract surgery.

1. Cataracts Form Naturally With Aging

The first thing to realize about cataracts is that they are quite normal. They occur naturally as we age, and most often they are quite harmless. As they start to cause blurring, early treatments can help greatly, such as stronger prescription glasses.

It’s only when cataracts start to really interfere with your vision that they become necessary to remove. They aren’t going to become deadly overnight, and most often you’ll know when your cataracts are starting to get worse. You will have plenty of time to plan ahead with your doctor.

2. You May Still Need Glasses After Your Surgery

There are a couple of different types of surgeries and two varieties of lenses you can choose for your procedure. Depending on your choice, your long distance vision will improve but not necessarily your short range vision.

A monofocal lens will generally restore only your long distance vision, whereas a multifocal lens will restore your reading vision as well. Your choice will depend on several factors, like price point, necessity and what your doctor recommends. Regardless of your decision, it’s important to know that cataract surgery is not a magical fix-all, and its primary function is to restore normal eyesight rather than create perfect vision.

3. Cataract Surgery Is Often Covered by Insurance

The type of lens you choose will also determine how much of your surgery is covered by insurance. Monofocal lenses are usually covered by insurance, whereas multifocal lenses typically are not because of the higher expenses associated with them. Similarly, basic cataract surgery is covered by insurance, whereas newer methods of advanced laser eye surgery usually aren’t.

Out of pocket expenses for cataract surgery typically range from $1000 to $3000 per eye depending on the exact procedure. Obviously, it can be costly without insurance. Therefore, if pricing is an issue for you, make sure to factor the qualifications for insurance coverage into your planning process.

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Health

Why Fish Oil is Something Worth Adding to Your Diet

September 26, 2019
Why Fish Oil is Something Worth Adding to Your Diet

Many Australians are on the hunt for ways to improve their health and fitness. Eating well, along with regular exercise, is at the top of the list. However, there are also supplements, vitamins, and minerals you can consume to provide unparalleled health benefits too.

Fish oil is something that you might not think would factor into your diet, but could have more benefits than you think. Omega 3 fatty acids, which are in fish oil extracted from the tissue of fish, can support your health and can be more rewarding than you might think. Read on to learn why adding this oil to your shopping cart could be a good idea.

Heart Health

Illnesses relating to heart health are all too prevalent, which is why many people are on the hunt for ways to improve their heart health, or at least maintain it. Fish oil may be the answer. Some studies show that fish oil in a supplement form can reduce your risk of heart disease. It can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Talk to your GP to see if fish oil supplements might be right for you.

Weight Maintenance

Eating well is an excellent way in which to lose weight or maintain healthy body weight, but fish oil can’t hurt the process. If you take a fish oil supplement while consuming a balanced diet and exercising, you may be able to reduce some of those obesity risks.

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Beauty, Health

Why You Need to Use a Body Exfoliator

September 30, 2018
Why You Need to Use a Body Exfoliator

Body exfoliation is something that can be beneficial for anyone with any skin type. While traditionally, such body care products as a body exfoliator were for removing dry and dead skin, it can do so much more. What’s more, you don’t even need to have dry skin to reap the rewards. If you’re not yet convinced of the benefits of a body exfoliator product, then read on. You will be more than surprised.

Removes Dry Skin

Of course, the first and most well-known benefit from a body exfoliator – be it a natural body care product or a synthetic one, is that it can remove dry skin. Every day, your toned body needs to shed a lot of skin, and exfoliation products can help to speed up the process.

Unclogs Your Pores

Do you find yourself with whiteheads and blackheads more often than not? Then try an exfoliating body product. When you exfoliate your skin, you’re getting rid of dead skin as well as surface debris that builds up during the day. By doing so, you’re unclogging your pores and stopping the formation of whiteheads and blackheads. If you don’t unclog your pores, they build up with all manner of dirt and skin, causing oil production under the skin and the resultant pimples.

Reduces Acne

By using a natural body care product such as a skin exfoliator, you can reap the rewards of reduced acne or a reduced risk of getting it in the first place. While exfoliators help to unclog your pores and reduce blackheads and whiteheads, it can also help to prevent acne. You can use a skin exfoliator once or twice a week to clean out your pores and reduce your acne risk.

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Health

5 Ways Improving Your Dental Health Can Improve Your Overall Wellbeing

August 11, 2018
5 Ways Improving Your Dental Health Can Improve Your Overall Wellbeing

It is a well known fact that your oral and dental health is linked to your general well-being. It is very important to make sure that you visit your dentist regularly to make sure that your teeth and gums remain in great condition.

However, with this in mind, you may be wondering exactly what sort of benefits a healthy mouth can have with respect to your general health and wellbeing. Luckily for you, we have put together a list of our top five ways that improving your dental health, creating your perfect set of teeth, can improve your overall wellbeing. These include:

  1. Healthy Saliva Will Keep Your Gut Healthy

Your saliva is your bodies first defence against harmful bacteria and viruses within your body. Disease causing organisms can easily enter your mouth, and from there they are able to move down into the heart or lungs – if they aren’t stopped first. Saliva contains antibodies which can destroy pathogenic organisms, including those that cause things like the common cold or HIV infections.

  1. An Unhealthy Mouth Can Cause Digestive Infections

Everything which goes through your mouth eventually ends up in your stomach and digestive system. If you have infections in your teeth, gums or elsewhere in your mouth, they can spread to your stomach and the rest of your digestive system, causing all sorts of problems.

  1. An Unhealthy Mouth Smells!


There is nothing worse than someone with terrible breath. One of the best ways to make sure that you have bad breath, is to make sure that your mouth is unhealthy. While bad breath won’t directly impact your health, it will make it hard for you to have meaningful social interactions and relationships, and it may even make it hard for you to find a job. This can affect your mental health.

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Beauty

How to Measure and Select Engagement Rings

July 23, 2018
How to Measure and Select Engagement Rings

When you are beginning to go down the exciting path of choosing engagement rings, you will find it’s not smooth sailing like choosing cake. While the journey to selecting the best engagement ring is rewarding, it can be fraught with challenges.

According to Diamonds and Pearls, you need to work out what size ring finger you both have, figure out how to measure your fingers and rings, and ensure that at any time of the day, your ring is going to fit perfectly. It’s not as straightforward as you may think, but it’s a worthwhile process to ensure the perfect fit. Here is how to go about it.

What You Will Need:

  • Dental floss, fine string, or a long strand of cotton
  • A pen
  • An accurate and clear millimetre ruler
  • Access to a ring chart

How to Measure Your Engagement Rings:

  1. Grabbing the string, wrap it around the base of your finger.
  2. Mark the ending point on the string with the pen – the place where each piece of the string joins each other.
  3. Lay the string out flat with the pen mark visible.
  4. Measure the end of the string up to the pen mark to the nearest millimetre.
  5. Compare your results to a ring chart.

NOTE: Make sure you choose the ring size that compares to your ring’s country of origin. Each country has different size options, such as Japan, Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Canada, and France.

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Beauty

The Dos and Don’ts of a Waist Trainer

May 12, 2018

Waist Trainer

If you’re new to waist trainers, getting a firm grasp on what you should and shouldn’t do can take some time. Whether you’ve already purchased a waist trainer or you’re looking to do so, we’ve included some helpful ‘dos and don’ts’ to help make your experience that much more beneficial.

Do:

Buy Quality

Several different waist trainers are on the market, but not all are high-quality or provide the best results. Always shop from a well-known stockist with plenty of customer reviews and pay close attention to the material quality. Latex waist trainers are preferred for those looking to flatten their stomach and accentuate curves. Even if you have to pay a little more, getting the desired results is worth it.

Choose the Right Size

If you buy from a reputable seller, they will have a size guide so you can choose the size that best suits your body shape and size. Always select the size that matches your measurements, as remember they are designed to be tight. If you choose a size smaller, you risk it being too tight and if you go a size larger, it will not have the same benefits.

Break It In

Your body will go through an adjustment period, so breaking your waist trainer in is crucial. Try it for half an hour at first, then gradually build up that time until you can wear it for several hours.

Don’t:

Buy Without Doing Research

Buying a waist trainer does take a lot of research. You need to know your goals and how that particular waist trainer can help you achieve them. As there are several different ones, you need to be sure that the one you’re looking to purchase will suit you properly.

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Health

Peer Pressure and Drug Abuse: How to Deal with It?

February 18, 2018
Peer Pressure and Drug Abuse How to Deal with It

We are social beings, and it is in our nature to fit in with the rest of society. This innate nature of being sociable might be advantageous because it gives us more opportunities to acquire knowledge and increase our network.

That is, however, if you use it properly.

What if you lost your way and you mixed with a group of people who didn’t seem to care about what’s right or wrong? Would you let yourself be influenced by them? Most probably yes. In fact, statistics state that 55% of teenagers use drugs because of peer pressure and this is another reason for the growth and importance of drug rehab centres.

However, that’s not the only reason why the number of drug incidents are increasing. There are also other factors that cause this serious issue — lack of guidance from family and personal problems being the two biggest reasons.

Spend time with the right people.

Surround yourself with the right people. Before making close friends with someone, make sure that you know who they are, where they’re from, and what kind of friends they have. Stay away from them if you think they’re into drugs or other vices.

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Family

8 Wedding Tips for the Groom

December 25, 2017

wedding-tips-for-the-groom

Wedding tips for the bride are available by the thousands, but for the groom? Not so much. This is a major problem, because many grooms-to-be, do next to nothing to support and help their fiancée with things like bridesmaid gifts and wedding arrangements etc. So grooms, don’t be a wimp, but get in there and have a say about the wedding hire arrangements and other things to do with the wedding. Your fiancée will be relieved to know you can shoulder your share of the responsibilities of ensure your wedding reception is terrific.

Here are some tips to help the groom before the wedding.

  • Choose a few things that interest you and take responsibility for arranging them – in consultation with your wife to be, of course. The wedding DJ, sound system, music, limos, food are all good for guys to handle.
  • Expect to have a say in your future home as well as the wedding. Your wife may love an all-pink bedroom, but it’s time for each of you to meet halfway on that if you hate it.
  • The bride seems to do most of the wedding planning and this can lead to stress, overload and even a grudge against you for letting her. So make sure you do nice things such as cooking her a meal and cleaning up afterwards, letting her choose her favourite movie – or renting one you know she’ll love to watch and watching it with her. You could even give her a foot massage. Let her know that all the planning and work is really worthwhile.

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Travel

Pros and Cons of Renting a Car on Holidays

November 30, 2017
Pros and Cons of Renting a Car on Holidays

Whether you are holidaying at home or abroad, you may be considering renting a car if you are flying to your destination. It is true that having a car will give you a good amount in independence to travel where you like, some accommodation from Luxury Villas Bali will offer a transport service, however there are both pros and cons to car rental that you should consider before making any arrangements.

Pros

  • As mentioned, you will have more independence from public transport and the time limitations it offers when you can travel in your rental car.
  • Some areas you might want to visit may not be serviced by public transport, or the times could be inconvenient.
  • It would probably work out cheaper than taxis but more expensive than public transport.
  • It is convenient to stow your luggage and you can take extra if you don’t have to carry it by hand.
  • You can stop at any place that looks interesting, or stop for a rest or a snack whenever you want.
  • You can change your mind at the last minute about going somewhere.
  • You don’t have to book seats or tickets.
  • If you travel with a group of friends there will be plenty of drivers

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Food

How to Easily Get Five Serves of Fruit and Vegetables a Day

August 15, 2017
How to Easily Get Five Serves of Fruit and Vegetables a Day

The latest food recommendation is to have 5 serves of fruit and vegetables a day. This may seem difficult for some people, especially those who don’t like vegetables, or just prefer to eat other things. Fresh fruit and vegetables are not only healthy, they actively fight off certain diseases such as cancer, so it’s a good idea to make sure you include them in your diet.

Here are a few easy ways to get the vegetable and fruit you need each and every day.

  • Juice them – there are many great recipes for smoothies on the internet. You can combine fruit and vegetables to give you a refreshing drink packed full of vitamins and other essential, health giving nutrients. Try combinations of apples, carrots, oranges, celery and spinach. Add berries, beetroot or broccoli. Use the type of juicer that doesn’t waste the fibre, but includes it in the juice.
  • Add them to breakfast. Fruit, especially is great with cereal. Try slicing a banana over oatmeal or cold cereal or add berries, peach slices or any other fruit you like.
  • Have fruit and/or vegetables for snacks. Keep prepared carrot and celery sticks in the refrigerator so they are handy to grab. Add an apple, banana or other fruit you like.
  • Banana sandwiches are a delightful end to a light meal. But they have to be prepared and eaten quickly, or the banana goes brown.
  • Having tinned fruit salad? Add some fresh fruit to it, to make it taste especially good. Diced apple, sliced bananas, fresh mandarin segments, berries, and sliced peaches are all great choices. Better still, make your own fresh fruit salad.

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Home & Garden

How to Add Value to Your Property

August 14, 2017
How to Add Value to Your Property

Homeowners and landlords would agree that one good way to add value to a property is with landscaping.  If that landscaping also includes the use of beautiful limestone blocks for pavers and stone cladding on feature walls then the value is assured. It can also be used for ornamental and functional garden walls, retaining walls along with outdoor seating and tables.

Using it for garden furniture means you never have to worry about bringing it inside due to bad weather conditions, be that rain, wind, hail or snow. Stone can stand up to those kinds of conditions just as it does when in its natural environment. You might think that seating would be too uncomfortable on a stone bench, but so is any kind of seating without cushions.

The only thing you can do is add some outdoor cushions to the bench. This will also add a pop of colour, enhancing your outdoor setting all the more. While these may have to be brought in due to wind, most outdoor cushions will stand up to a bit of weather.

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Family

Grandparents Rights after Divorce

August 1, 2017
Grandparents Rights after Divorce

One major casualty after divorce is the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren.  Most grandparents are passionate about their grandchildren and being deprived of any rights to see them is very hurtful and painful to both them and their grandchildren. Happily, Robinson Family Lawyers will tell you that you have rights to see your grandchildren after their parents’ divorce.

Divorce is never an easy time and it is difficult not to take sides when you are close to the situation. Sometimes, parents of each spouse are very opinionated about the relationship and don’t hesitate to make their views known. It is this as much as anything that can make the custodial parent want to eliminate any visiting rights for the grandparents. But in doing so they harm their children, who often need that extra love and understanding once they have to live without a parent they love.

If the grandparents are from a different culture, depriving the children of enjoying interaction with them can deprive them of important aspects of their heritage.  Even if they are from the same culture, grandparents do now have certain rights with regards to seeing their beloved grandchildren.

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Food

4 Tips to Get the Best Out of Your Food

July 15, 2017
4 Tips to Get the Best Out of Your Food

While we all know the importance of a healthy diet, it is sometimes easy to forget that even the healthiest of foods can be spoiled by poor cooking, the addition of other less healthy accompaniments and even by the way we eat. Here are some tips to ensure you get all the nutrients possible from your healthy diet.

  • Cooking – never overcook vegetables. They should be lightly steamed or sautéed to ensure all the nutrients remain in them. Boiling them reduces the nutrients most of which are tipped down the sink along with the water. Juicing vegetables is a good way to ensure a healthy addition to your diet, especially if there are some goodies you don’t actually like. Mixed in with other vegetables you’ll never notice the taste. Eating them raw is also a good way to keep all the nutrients from being spoiled by heat. However, not everyone can eat veggies raw and light cooking does make the nutrients more easily available in some cases.
  • Less healthy additions – these can be added by the way you cook, e.g. frying vegetables or meat means they absorb some of the fat. Even frying in olive oil is not as good as steaming. Even though olive oil is a ‘good’ fat, heating changes it to some extent, although not as much as heating other kinds of vegetable oils.

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Health

Remove Health Worries with Help from a Financial Planner

March 25, 2017
Remove Health Worries with Help from a Financial Planner

Few people know what their future holds with regard to their health. As we age especially, health problems seem to pop up more frequently and this can be a worry. But with help from a financial planner like Andep, you can take a lot of the worry out of the health concerns in your future. The right financial planning will ensure that your family can be taken care of should you not be around to do it.

A good financial advisor will lead you through the steps needed to ensure you not only have a Will, but you’ve given Power of Attorney to someone you trust to handle your affairs and administer your estate properly.  They will help you plan for the possibility of health problems that can prevent you from making business or any other decisions. Of course, a lawyer can do this too, but they don’t give financial advice; just legal advice.

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Food, Health

Pros and Cons of Dieting

January 22, 2017
Pros and Cons of Dieting

There have never been so many different diets around and yet we know that many people suffer from being overweight. If the media is to be believed the western world is suffering from the worst plague of all eating disorders – obesity. Most people – women at least – have tried dieting at some time in their lives. Sometimes they achieve their goal to lose weight; sometimes they don’t.  The main trouble is the weight usually goes back on once the diet is no longer followed.

This must tell us that what people have for their ‘normal’ food is not good for them, causing excessive weight gain that is bad for their health. And yet, even this is not the whole story. In some cases we have the kind of jobs that don’t allow us to have enough exercise to burn off those calories, but still make us too tired to do any kind of exercise after work is done for the day. Or in some cases we are too busy doing other essentials like housework and supervising children to hit the gym or go jogging.

This is where dieting comes in. Once that weight starts to become more noticeable we look around for ways to reduce it. But is dieting really the answer?  Here are some pros and cons of dieting.

Pros

  • It does in some cases help to get the unhealthy weight off.
  • It gives us a feeling of control because we are doing something to make us healthier.
  • We learn more about healthy nutrition as we research which diet to go on.
  • We become more aware of what we eat.

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Health

21 Tips to Stay Healthy in the Heat

November 20, 2016
21 Tips to Stay Healthy in the Heat

Not every country suffers from intense heat and so tourists visiting Australia may not realise that the kind of heat they are likely to encounter in outback areas or during heatwaves during summer can actually kill. This summer has been one of the hottest experienced for several years so it is likely to catch people unawares. Some of the things we do to cool off in summer are no longer safe when the temperature climbs to 36 or 40C.

Here are 21 tips to keep you healthy in the hot weather.

  • Stay out of the sun. Even wearing sunscreen and a hat won’t protect you from the heat that is reflected from pavement.
  • If you have to work outside, don’t wear shorts as your legs will burn. Wear cotton pants and long sleeves.
  • Don’t wear synthetic fabrics in the heat, they will make you sweat and lose more fluid.
  • Keep in air conditioning if possible. Spend the day in the mall or library if you don’t have it at home.
  • Stay away from the beach. The water may cool you but you’ll get sunburned on all those portions that are not under the water – including your head.
  • Never sit on the sand, even if you are covered up and under an umbrella. The sand reflects heat and you can get burned or suffer from dehydration.

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Family

How to Treat Your Home Business Professionally

October 12, 2016
How to Treat Your Home Business Professionally

Many people set up a business at home both for convenience and cost-savings. You can easily convert a spare room into an office or workroom for your business, but just because you are running it from home doesn’t mean it should not be professional and that can include having a website. If you want your business website to stand out and be successful, use a digital agency to design, create and advertise it, just like any other professional business would.

The mistake many people make with their home business is to put too much emphasis on the ‘home’ part. Just because you run your business from home doesn’t mean you should sit there in your PJs, not open for business on time, or go surfing whenever you feel like it. Nor does it mean you should allow your website to be anything but professional. No other business or prospective customers will take you or your business seriously unless you do.

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Home & Garden

The Qualities You Need in Your Handyman

July 22, 2016
The Qualities You Need in Your Handyman

When you need repairs done to your property it is time to look for a home services helper or property Maintenance Company who offers the kind of services you need. Unfortunately, not all handymen are equal and some don’t do as good a job as others. This may be because they accept a job that is actually beyond their skill set to complete.

Instead of not taking the job, they try to do it and end up making things worse than ever. When you finally work out the problem and find another handyman to help you the job is likely to cost twice as much for them to fix. So what qualities do you need in your handyman?

  • First of all you need honesty about what they can do and what they can’t do. Honesty with the quote is also a bonus. That said, a cheap price may well get you a cheap job.
  • You need someone with a high work ethic so that the job they do will be done well.
  • It is also good if they are clean and tidy and clean all the mess up before they go. Many jobs are quite messy and you don’t really want to have to vacuum up sawdust or clean grout or paint off the floor after they have gone.
  • You need a handyman that is highly motivated and communicative so that they will get to your job as soon as they can and let you know if there is an unavoidable delay.

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Health

15 Tips on How to Stay Safe with Heating

May 9, 2016
15 Tips on How to Stay Safe with Heating

Every winter, we hear of homes burning and people getting burned or worse due to a fire in their homes – often caused by leaving a heater on. Experienced electricians such as Electrician Perth Experts can provide sound advice over the media each time the weather turns colder. Yet, people don’t notice it enough or fall asleep before they have time to turn their heater off.

The trouble is that nighttime and early morning are the coldest parts of the winter, so that is when heaters are set to high and left on. Here are some tips on staying healthy and warm without being at risk of having the house burn down.

  • Choosing a safe type of heater with a thermostat is good, as is the kind that won’t roll over.
  • Teach children safety procedures with heaters, such as not covering the top, leaving paper close, and not sitting too close to them.
  • Never leave a plug-in heater going overnight. Snuggle into a rug and turn the heater off if you feel sleepy.
  • Always keep heaters away from drapes, clothes and sofas that could catch fire.
  • If you have carpet, get your carpet cleaned professionally regularly and keep the heater off long piles that may get too close to the elements.
  • Toddlers can do anything without realising the harm, so if you have a floor heater in the bathroom, ensure the cord from it is not long enough to allow it to reach the bathtub if picked up and thrown.

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Beauty

12 Top Tips for Applying Make-up

April 19, 2016
12 Top Tips for Applying Make-up

Nearly every woman who wants to improve her looks uses make-up of some kind. Some might just add a touch of lipstick while others go the whole hog and apply layers of make-up to ensure they have that wow factor. No matter how you use make-up there are many beauty tips available to help you get the most out of it. Here are 12 top tips for applying make-up.

  • Don’t use concealer or foundation on your eyelids as it is too thick and will become creased.
  • Sometimes a sheer foundation coverage is better than a thick one. Achieve this by applying it with the fingertips and leave the brush until you want a medium or thick coverage.
  • Apply powder to shiny areas of the face first. This is usually the T-zone – the forehead and fridge of the nose or the nose and chin area. Once that is done, a very light dusting can be added to the rest of your face.
  • If using bronzer, don’t just use it on your face, as this will give a two-tone effect. It should also go on the neck and chest, if that part is showing.

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Health

10 Reasons to go to the Dentist

March 17, 2016
10 Reasons to go to the Dentist

Most people don’t like the idea of going to the dentist because they equate it with pain, or at the very least, discomfort. Another reason could be that they can’t afford it, or prefer to spend their time and money on something more pleasant. However, if you neglect this important area of your health you will certainly pay for it in terms of discomfort later on. Here are 10 reasons you should make regular dental check-ups a regular part of your routine.

  • You’ll suffer less if you have a tiny decay seen to quickly, than if you wait until it is a really big one that aches badly. The treatment will be easier to undergo and the cost will be less when the decay is only small.
  • The dentist can correct problems that are not decays, making your teeth a lot stronger so they’ll last longer. For instance, getting teeth straightened will prevent them breaking off as you get older due to pressure they weren’t meant to withstand.
  • Your health will be better if your teeth are not decayed.
  • You won’t have to get false teeth with their discomfort.
  • The dentist will not have to perform extractions if your teeth are healthy. He can often do small corrections that prevent you getting decay, such as filling a deep crevice in a molar that is not yet decayed, but is likely to be soon.

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