Expert tips how to pair wine with chicken, beef, pork, fish, or vegetarian entrees at your wedding. Plus formulas to help you decide how much wine to buy.
There are plenty of things to stress over while wedding planning, but picking the right wine - and how much to buy - shouldn’t be one of them. Firstleaf has put together a guide that covers everything you need to know.
Ultimately, you want to pick something that wine novices and enthusiasts can both enjoy and that compliments your meal. The trickier part is determining how much wine to order, as this depends on the number of guests, the length of the event, and what else you’re serving. Firstleaf has a breakdown of a formula that will make sure everyone gets to drink their fill.
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Read 6 tips to help you combat anxiety without leaving your home The world is such an uncertain place at the moment and we're facing some unpredictable and completely unprecedented times. We're worried about getting sick, our families getting ill, losing friends and loved ones, not earning any money, potentially losing our jobs or businesses folding under the economic pressure. All this coupled with the stress and strain of keeping away from others and anything else life can throw at you on an average day, it's no wonder many of us are finding each day more difficult than the last. Anxiety is crippling at the best of times, but these days it seems to be all-consuming. So, what's the solution? Now it's never been more important to take your mental health seriously and practice self-care wherever and whenever you can. Want to know more? Discover some simple ways you can combat and calm your anxiety without leaving home. Reach out to a psychic Did you know that people have sought the advice and comfort of psychics for centuries, and while many people reach out in the hope of connecting with lost loved ones, you can reach out to psychics and mediums for other reasons too? Speaking to someone who can connect with the unknown and perhaps give you confidence and reassurance about your current situation is going to do wonders for your anxiety. You don't even have to leave the house, check out mediumchat.co.uk for an online reading. Practice deep breathing Breathing techniques aren’t just for women who are going through labour! They’re actually a simple, yet effective way to remain calm and keep your emotions and anxious thoughts in check. Practice breathing in for four seconds and then exhaling for another 4 seconds. Do this for around 5 minutes and you’ll find that controlling your breathing helps relax your body and settle your heart rate. Go for a walk Getting plenty of fresh air and moving your body is great for managing anxiety. A change of scenery, fresh air and getting your blood pumping is good for your mental health. Write down your troubles Writing down your concerns and worries is another simple way to combat and manage your anxiety levels. When you write down what’s troubling you, it gets those worrying thoughts out of your mind and onto a slip of paper instead. You may see how small your concerns really are and realise how manageable they can be. Remove triggers Does watching the news and checking your social feeds trigger those feelings of anxiety? The best option is to recognise what triggers these concerns and remove them. Avoid following the news as closely as you may have been if someone on your social media is being particularly worrisome then unfollow them for a while, make an active choice to only follow sites that are reliable sources and focus on the things that make you happy and relaxed instead. Reach out to friends and family Whether it's coronavirus that's giving you anxiety or you're worried about money, family, home-schooling your children, then don't be afraid to reach out to your friends and family for reassurance. Do you have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep? Read this curated guest post to learn some great tips on how you can get a good nights rest. Sleeping is one of the easiest things to do, so why can it be so difficult to fall asleep and then stay asleep? Personally, I have fought with insomnia in different periods of my life. The problem was always clearly related to stress and having too many worries, but the underlying reasons and possible solutions differ from person to person. Here’s what some of the experts say: ALESSA CARIDI – JOBUFIT Walk it out We spend SO much of our work days sitting only to come home, cook dinner, eat dinner sitting down, and then catch up on our favorite TV series sitting down. Get where I am going with this? This seated statue feeling doesn’t help me go to sleep. In fact, it does the opposite, I’m not tired at all when it comes to my bedtime. So, I plan some light movement before I head to bed. Not a traditional workout, but some light housekeeping. I tidy of the living room, maybe fold a basket of laundry (standing up), and I clean the kitchen / load the dishwasher. This movement, combined with the time of the evening, allow my body to feel tired and really look forward to climbing into bed. CINDY PERLIN – ALTERNATIVE PAIN TREATMENT DIRECTORY Do some gentle range of movement exercises and stretches before you get into bed. One of the contributors to difficulty falling asleep and waking in the middle of the night is trigger point pain. A trigger point is a hyper irritable spot, a nodule in a taut band of skeletal muscle, that causes pain, often in an area distant from the spot. Emotional stress, overexertion and inactivity all activate trigger points and the pain can be severe. If you’ve been immobile for too long, either before you go to bed, or during sleep, the inactivity can cause trigger point activation and pain. Move your head and neck through a full range of slow motions, rotate your arms backwards and forwards, make bicycling movements with your legs while lying down, rotate your feet and ankles and move them back and forth, twist your upper body from one side to the other and so forth, making sure to do the movements slowly and gently. These and similar movements will reduce the chance that trigger point pain will keep you from falling asleep or staying asleep. ELISE MARIE COLLINS Good sleep starts at sunrise Get out early to get light on your eyes. The sun resets your biological clock so that you feel sleepy at night and alert in the morning. Daylight wakes you up your physiology by halting melatonin production. LOREN FISHMAN – SCIATICA.ORG Get the clock out of sight The commonest form of insomnia is the worry: “It’s so late. If I don’t get to sleep right now I’ll be a wreck tomorrow,” which makes the worrier so anxious that she/he looks at the clock, worries even more, is less able to relax, and lo, it’s even later than it was before. This, naturally, brings about another time check. Intervene on this vicious cycle by taking the clock out of the recurrent equation. ROBERT HERBST – W8LIFTERUSA.COM The inability to fall asleep is often in one’s head and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. People tell themselves they have trouble falling asleep and then they start dreading going to bed and when they get there, expect not to fall asleep. It’s like when say they can’t sleep on airplanes and then immediately turn on a movie when they get to their seat. Through years of necessity, I have told myself that I can sleep anywhere-planes, trains, and automobiles-and I take advantage of the quiet time. I have gotten off a long flight from New York to Australia fresh and ready to go. So when one gets into bed, they should just know that they are going to fall asleep and relax. RHODA CLIMENHAGA – YO1 Work at Sunrise, Rest at Sunset As the sun rises, the Qi and blood in our bodies move from the inner organs to the exterior channels to facilitate activity. As the sun goes down, specifically between 11 p.m. – 3 a.m., the Qi and blood return to the organs. If you are not resting during this time, these organs will not be able to do their job and you will, at the very least, feel sluggish the next day. DOMINIQUE HODGIN – DR. SEARS WELLNESS INSTITUTE Read for at least 5-10 minutes before bed Reading has been proven to lower cortisol levels. It helps to calm your mind and body at bedtime. There is something about relaxing and enjoying written words, especially ones of encouragement or humor, which sets the stage for sleep. Just make sure what you are reading is lulling and not over-stimulating, like a murder mystery or work emails. It is also preferable to keep your reading off a back-lit screen — or at least use a blue light blocking app or glasses. MARTIN REED – INSOMNIA COACH Always get out of bed at the same time every day Getting out of bed by the same time every day strengthens the sleep/wake cycle and ensures that adequate sleep pressure builds during the day. Over time, this will make it easier to fall asleep at night and improve sleep quality.
Having a dog is a big responsibility. Read this post on how to keep your dog as happy and healthy as possible. Our dogs aren't pets; they are our fur kids, members of the family, and our unconditional friends. It is no surprise then that we want to take care of them in the best way possible and ensure their happiness, as they contribute to ours. Read on to find out how. Feed them right One thing that it is vital to do for your pup is to feed them properly. Yes, I know that your pup will look at you with those big gorgeous eyes and practically transmit the message into your brain that they want a scrap of what you are eating. However, often time this can do them harm in the long run. In fact, many human foods can be dangerous for our doggy friends such as caffeine, chocolates, garlic, and onions, and therefore we owe it to them to protect our doggos from these. Also, it's vital that you get the level of nutrition in you pupper's food right for their breed their activity level, and their size. Otherwise, you can end up over or under feeding your dog and causing them harm. It's even necessary that you get the right feeding bowl for them to use, as dogs with long neck will need their dish lifted off of the floor. While those pups with long ears will need a high sided bowl so they don't end up getting their dinner in all the places it shouldn't be. Groom them Next, to keep your dog happy it's essential that you groom them regularly. Now you can get a professional dog grooming service to do this for you, or you can you do it yourself at home. Of course, to do a proper DIY job you will need to get some professional dog grooming clippers, as well as nail clippers or buffers, and some doggy brushes. The latter being particularly important because you must brush your dog's coat before you bathe them. Otherwise, you can end up with tiny pin knots in their fur which are super painful when you try and brush them out! Provide love Perhaps our most important task as dog moms or dads apart from caring for them physically is to show them love and kindness as well. Of course, this can be particularly tough if you have a nervous dog that finds it tough to calm down or be shown affection physically. Although, there are some strategies available that can help you cope with such issues such as pet Reiki, a spiritual practice that can help calm your dog and improve the friendship between you. See to their medical needs Regular vet checks will keep your pup healthy and happy.
Lastly, don't forget that, as well as love and care, your dog's specific medical needs, must be dealt with as well. This means checkups for dogs that are in good health, as well as treatments and even surgeries for dogs that are not. Of course, all these things can be provided by your local veterinary clinic. Something that makes it's a good idea to register with them as soon as your pup comes to live with you. Then you will be able to access any medical care they need and keep them as well as and happy, just like they deserve. Don't give up on staying healthy and active just because you are getting older. Read these great tips to learn how to keep your mind and body healthy. No matter how hard we might try, there is no way of stopping the clock or even turning back time. There is no amount of anti-aging creams that will help you hold onto your youth, and new beauty treatments that can keep you in your twenties or thirties forever. We need to come to terms with the fact that we are all going to get old at one point - it’s just a part of being alive! But getting old doesn’t mean that you need to stop being healthy and enjoying your life. You just need to know what to expect once you do start to age so that you are better equipped to deal with these changes. Read on to find out more! Weakened Bones As we age, our bones begin to weaken and their density decreases. This is especially the case in women who have already gone through the menopause. In some worst-case scenarios, this can lead to health conditions like osteoporosis. Lots of old people also find that it takes longer to recover from injuries such as broken bones. There are ways to prevent your bones weakening too much, though. You just need to increase your intake of vitamin C and D as well as take part in a lot of exercise. Incontinence Issues Our bones aren’t the only thing that weakens in our bodies as we grow older - our bladders do too! This is something else that is a major issue for women. Thankfully, there is a lot of help at hand. If you suffer with bladder problems, you might want to start buying incontinence products so that you don’t have to go through any embarrassing situations when you are out and about. Doing some pelvic floor exercises should help to strengthen the bladder which can improve bladder function. Memory Problems
Lots of people also experience a decline in their memory as they age. The best way you can prevent this from affecting you too much is to start working on your brain now. Doing a crossword or Sudoku puzzle each day will help strengthen the mind so that it isn't too badly affected by the aging process. The Metabolism Slows Down Many people find that their metabolism slows down as they enter old age as well. This means that your body won’t be able to metabolize food quite as quickly as it once could. As a result, you could find that it is a lot easier to put on weight. However, a slowing metabolism should also reduce your appetite, so you might find that you don’t eat as much as you used to, which can help you maintain a healthy weight. Teeth Troubles You need to keep on top of your dental hygiene once you age as old people are more susceptible to teeth problems, such as cavities and gum disease. Visiting your dentist on a regular basis should help you with this. If you follow all of the advice above, you shouldn’t find old age to be too much of a drag! |