Monday, July 29, 2013
Hot new released for Kindle Fire HD 7″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 32 GB
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Wholesome Advantages of Ray Ban Polarized Sunglasses
You are out shopping for a new pair of goggles to protect your eyes, but are bewildered as to which brand to opt for? Which design or model to choose? How much will it cost? Then, look no further, we are here to answer all you questions. Human eye is a priceless gift given by the almighty. So in order to protect them well, a clever person will not mind spending a few bucks. The choice is yours, either go in for a cheap brand and risk you eyes from protection or opt for a brand quality and safeguard your precious eyes from the sun's glare. The best suggestion to buy a pair of sunglasses would be from the house of a reputed dealer of Ray Ban, the undisputed leader in the optical industry since 1937. A Polarized Sunglass from Ray Ban will not only look stylish and trendy but will also be very effective in blocking the dangerous UV rays from the sun.
Jaw-dropping styles and models, plenty of varieties plus 100% protection from ultra violet radiations at 400 nm which eliminates rays from the sun, Ray Ban manufactures only the best quality of shades. Minimizing the strain on the eyes, these polarized aviator sunglasses are available in various colors with optimized depth perception and overall visual acuity.
Sunglasses
With an added advantage in water over land, for fishermen and people who love boating, Ray Ban would be the perfect choice as they are immensely effective in protecting the eyes from prolonged exposure to bright sunlight. In the same genre, people who like or have to spend their time outside the house or who are actively involved in sports can benefit a ton using these polarized aviator shades. The polarized lenses are made using special technology that helps neutralize the glare when reflected on flat surface of the lens. The resulting output is a much clearer vision attributed to the vertical polarizer which nullifies the horizontal rays of sun. Moreover, these shades help in maintaining the original colors of an object with minimum color distortion. Now you know the reason why doctor prescribe the use of a polarized sunglass immediately after an eye surgery.
The Wholesome Advantages of Ray Ban Polarized Sunglasses
The popularity of these sunglasses has reached such great heights that the youngsters of today that they have it an obligatory component of their fashion. The shades are attractive, colorful, trendy and sleek and hence have become an important part of fashion statement. All the more - there are a number of models and designs of Ray-Ban Polarized Sunglasses available in suitable size of your budget as well.
The Wholesome Advantages of Ray Ban Polarized Sunglasses
Buy Polarized Sunglasses Online at http://www.spectglasses.com.
Looking for Freelance Writer!! Look No further..
FCWS Freelance Content Writer Services are pioneer in Content Writing since past 6 years.
We have provided more than 50000 articles, Ebooks, Reports, Research Work, Academic Writings and more with more than 1200 satisfied clients. We Have Expert Writers in All Niche Like Travel Writer, Finance Writer, Health / Medical Writer, Pets Writer Interior Designer / Home Improvement Writer,Internet Marketing / SEO Writer and Many More.
Visit our site Freelance Writer
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
10 Ridiculously Easy Christmas Gift Basket Ideas
There are many themes you can use when crafting your own holiday gift baskets. However, the list below contains some traditional gift basket ideas as well as a few for special friends on your gift list. You can get most of your crafting supplies at local stores like Hobby Lobby, or if you shop on the Internet, simply type "gift basket supplies".
Let's start with one of my favorites to share with your inner family and close friends.
1) The Traditional Christmas Gift Basket:
10 Ridiculously Easy Christmas Gift Basket Ideas
Fill your basket with hot apple cider mix large mugs, homemade Christmas ornaments, a letter or poem on why Christmas is important to you, matching mittens, hat and scarf (or, depending on your climate you could substitute sunglasses, sun block lotion, a cool destination theme cap) some mistletoe and or other fragrant scents. You could even include a popular Christmas music CD, and for a super nice touch... some home made Christmas cookies - with the recipe included.
2) Christmas Decorating Gift Basket
Fill a basket with nativity set, assorted Christmas ornaments (store bought, but better if hand-made by you,) decorative lights, homemade candles or seasonal candles from your local craft store and a little traditional mistletoe and holly
3) Coffee Lovers Gift basket
Fill a basket with gourmet coffees, coffee mugs, novels, or books on coffee regions and making processes, dark chocolates, and a decorative bookmark that you make yourself)
4) Chocolate Lover's Gift Basket
Fill a basket with, chocolate cookies (home baked is best,) chocolate bonbons, chocolate sauces, chocolate syrup, chocolate dipped coffee spoons and for a special touch wrap them in cellophane with a bow, hot chocolate mix, chocolate covered coffee beans, chocolate flavored coffee beans and some chocolate recipes from around the world
5) Christmas Survival Kit
Spray paint a basket white, then stencil the International Red Cross symbol on each side. Fill the basket with Tylenol - to take away the headache of overdoing, Tea - to calm, relax, and soothe away the tension, peppermints - to settle the tummy from overindulging, Slimfast - to kick off the diet you will need to start, pocket date book - to track all of the 'to do's, CD that includes soothing quiet music to listen to while wrapping gifts, tape - to use to wrap the gifts because you forgot to buy any, a package of gift tags that you made, your favorite quick and easy yummy cookie cookie recipe and last, but not least include some nice bath oil or bubble bath to soothe the weary body
6) Faraway Grandparent (or relative) Gift basket
Fill a basket with children's artwork, gifts made by the kids, frames for family pictures (let the kids buy plain wooden frames and decorate them with stickers,) videos of the family, a long-distance calling card. Extras: fill out the basket with candy, coffee, tea, biscuits, Christmas ornaments, candles, etc. Include printed notes from the kids with "why I love you Grandma/Pa sentiments)
7) Golf Lover's Gift Basket
For the golfer, fill a basket or a golf bag with golf tees, golf balls, a baseball cap, sunscreen, score cards, a small towel, a can cooler to keep a can of pop or beer cold. A nice touch is to personalize the towel or baseball cap (you can stitch on them, use fabric paints, etc.)
8) Fisherman's Gift Basket
Find a large basket or, use a tackle box and fill with assorted lures, leaders, long nose fishing pliers, gloves, guide to local fishing, DVD's on fishing tournaments, and gift certificate for a rod or reel
9) Baby Boomer's Gift Basket
Fill a basket with books and magazines on men or women's health issues, a variety of herbal teas, skin care lotions for maturing skin, hair care products with herbal scents, skin care accessories such as exotic sponges, brushes and loofahs, humorous coffee mugs, 60's CD's of great groups like the Beatles and of course... humorous articles on aging
10) Father/ Mother Gift basket
Fill a basket with subscription to his/her favorite magazine, favorite cologne/perfume, comfy warm slippers, a handmade coupon book... i.e., (take the day off Dad/Mom...I'll mow the lawn this time, wash the car, run errands, paint a room, etc.,) a gift certificate to his favorite sports shop favorite cookies or treat, a personal letter (in your own handwriting) telling him why you love and what you admire about him/her, favorite popcorn spices, favorite movie, a nice picture frame (with the picture of the family in it)
OK! There you have it. But Wait! Here's your bonus! Just kidding... I guess I'm watching too many infomercials. Your going to get several more great gift basket ideas, just because the Holiday season is all about giving. Here are two more great homemade Christmas gift basket ideas.
Idea #1 Executive Gift basket
Fill a briefcase with a Daytimer, business card holder (one for the wallet, one for the desktop,) pen and pencil set, business newspaper subscription, emergency shoe polish travel kit, reference books like a new updated dictionary, CD of business forms, coffee mug with gift certificate to Starbucks, etc.
Idea #2! Exerciser's Gift basket
Fill a tote bag or backpack with microfiber towels, water bottle, workout DVD or magazines, power bars, sports drinks, sports socks, headband, and for a really good boss... a trial spa or gym membership
Take these Christmas gift basket ideas, mix them up and use them any way that makes sense to you. Just remember one thing. Everyone loves to receive a personalized gift basket. You don't have to wait for Christmas or any other holiday. Just sit down and organize your ideas for each person you'll be giving a basket to. Many times you'll get a break by purchasing in bulk. Use this to your advantage and don't go shopping and buy on impulse. You'll end up spending more than you planned; become a smart shopper this season.
10 Ridiculously Easy Christmas Gift Basket Ideas Check For The New Release in Health, Fitness & Dieting Category of Books NOW!
Check What Are The Top Cooking Books in Last 90 Days Best Cheap Deal!
Check For Cookbooks Best Sellers 2012 Discount OFFER!
Check for Top 100 Most Popular Books People Are Buying Daily Price Update!
Check For 100 New Release & BestSeller Books For Your Collection
The "Making Gift Baskets Guide" will cut your Christmas basket making time in half with its easy to implement tips and tricks. Learn the secrets the pro's won't share and give a basket that is both useful and appreciated. Go to http://www.aaagiftbasketideas.com You'll find the informative 34 page "Ultimate Gift Basket Crafting Guide."
It doesn't matter if you're wanting to design and make gift baskets for your family and friends or, that you can picture how you might learn to earn some extra money from your home based gift basket business. The "Making Baskets Crafting Guide" at http://www.aaagiftbasketideas.com will make you a pro in no time at all.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
How to Catch a Fish on Any Beach in the World
I'm sure you've seen them there, when you went to the beach: sunglasses, hat, and shorts wearing barefoot guys with long slender fishing rods staring off to the horizon. I also bet you wondered about what, if anything they ever caught and how they know where and when to fish.
I know I did until I tried my hand at surf fishing, and after a many hours of getting nothing but pruney toes, I finally figured out what surf fishing is all about, and since then, it has become an almost spiritual hobby, being alone on the beach, at first off hours of the day staring off into the sunset, truing to outsmart wily surf fish.
Sunglasses
The truth is that when the surf fish are running, they're almost ridiculously east to catch so long as you understand the basics of surf fishing. Every year, between Christmas and New Years, I head down to the beach with a bucket and a fishing rod, and half fill the bucket with barred surfperch, a staple of Southern California and the coast of Baja California down Mexico way. Barred perch spawn in this time so there are plenty to catch in a couple hours to make up a nice meal for a crew of six or eight.
How to Catch a Fish on Any Beach in the World
After mastering the barred perch, I've turned my attention to other denizens of the beach, including Corbina, the king of California and Mexico surf fishes, and Spotfin Croaker, one of the finest eating fishes of the surf. I have friends who even target Halibut form the surf and have seen them land 36 inch California Halibut fishing with a fly from the surf. In fact, the Halibut world record holder fly fisherman in two separate line classes fishes regularly form the surf not 5 miles from my home, and it is there that he hooked his record holders.
I have exported my surf fishing knowledge successfully deep down the Mexican Pacific Coast, the Gulf Coast of the US, the Northeast, the Mid Atlantic States, and even in the Far East. I fished along side and Old Japanese man sitting on a beach on the inland sea in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the southern tip of Honshu Island, as he explained to me in excruciating detail exactly how to catch, handle, and hook the appropriate bait.
H was speaking in Japanese of course, as I smiled, nodded and interjected an occasional "ah so." Actually I do speak some Japanese but it's limited to ordering food, finding the bathroom, and teasing young girls, so the vast majority of what he was saying was going totally over my head, but I would never have let on that I was only catching about every fourth word.
Ok, so much for my surf fishing exploits, I'm sure you're wondering, "How DO I catch fish in the surf anywhere in the world?" Well, I'm glad you asked. The first thing you have to understand is that the fish you are going to catch in the surf know what they're doing. This is their habitat. These aren't fish that normally inhabit deeper water but just happened to wander to the water's edge, these fish are there intentionally. It's what they do. They're good at it. The only reason they're here is that they're hunting for food. They've leaned how to carve out an existence by eating what is on the very beach you are standing on.
I have to laugh when I talk to surf fisherman that I happen across. I was talking to one particularly frustrated guy who was fishing in Malibu and was complaining that the guy who had this spot just before he came was catching lots of perch but he wasn't having such good luck. I asked him what he was using for bait and he showed me this package of fresh shrimp he'd just bought at the supermarket. Well, trust me, this wasn't fresh shrimp, it was defrosted, and it sure looked to me like the farmed shrimp from Thailand.
He's have been far better off taking those shrimp home, sautéing them in some butter, garlic and lemon, and pouring them over some pasta, than wasting his time fishing with them on a California Beach. This was mistake number one.
As I stood there watching and talking with this fisherman, I also noticed another serious gap in his surf fishing knowledge. The tide was receding. A receding tide is the worst time to fish in the surf. Take a moment to think like a fish that lives and hunts in the surf. The tide recedes exposing the beach to the other great predators of the surf line, the birds. The birds scatter about prodding and poking in the sand looking for small creatures to eat.
They unearth clams, sand crabs, worms, and ghost shrimp, whatever they can find to munch on, now that the newly uncovered seabed is exposed, they find a kill all sorts of critters and leave a mess. They dig small holes with their beaks, scratch up the sand with their feet, and do their best to leave no stone unturned.
As the tide starts to come in, each wave goes a little father up onto the beach, chasing the birds away and dragging the newly loosened sand hither and yon. While the sea birds found lots to eat, they certainly didn't get everything. Many creatures successfully evaded the birds, but their semi secure burrows, nooks and crannies where they hid are now in disarray and the incoming tide breaks them down even further. Many of these creatures now find themselves being washed away by the swirling whitewater of the surf.
The now free creatures are now fair game for the sea-bound predators, the surf fish. The surf fish follow the tide in feasting on the buffet the birds uncovered and the incoming surf is now washing free. This is how the surf fish make their living.
OK, you should have learned two very important principles so far. First, is that surf fish are looking for natural food as they hunt the surf. A piece of cut squid, a deep water denizen, is out of place in the surf line, and while a particularly dumb fish night snap at it because it looks interesting, or a fish frenzied by the spawn might eat it in his spawning stupor, the average, intelligent (since it's lived this long) surf predator will view it with some suspicion.
When you go to a surf beach, look for local, natural bait. Dig around in the sand at the surf line looking for small shellfish, clams, sand crabs or worms. The best time to do this is at low tide because you'll have the most amount of undersea surface exposed. You'll probably chase the birds away as you poke and prod in the sand. In Southern California, the most common beach critter is the sand crab.
These pea-sized shellfish are rather easy to catch with a special rake that allows you to sieve them through a screen that passes the sand but not the crabs. You can also catch them with a bucket and some water, just like you would be panning for gold.
You'll do so much better using local natural bait than anything else. I know a well off retired man who surf fishes and still hasn't figured out this fact. He sends off to Maine to buy special worms that cost .50 each and has them Fed Ex'ed in to surf fish with and can't understand why the kids with their home made sand crab rake out fish him. If you'd rather buy bait, find a local bait shop and ask them what works best and what they have for sale. They often do have local baits, usually live to sell to serious surf fishermen.
The second principle is to fish the incoming tide. The surf fish wait for the tide to come in. They know when it comes in and are lined up waiting for it to come in. Experience and a keen nose have taught them that the time to eat is the incoming tide. The absolute best time to surf fish is from halfway between two hours before high tide until the high tide.
This is the only time I fish - those two hours. It comes around twice a day so you should be able to work that into your schedule. While you're at the bait and tackle store ask them for a tide table. They're usually free, and if not there are tide calculators on the Internet that will allow you to calculate the tides on any day anywhere in the world.
Here's a surf fishing secret that I'll bet you never thought of, but given my stories and explanations above, I'll bet sounds logical to you. How far out do you think you have to cast to catch fish in the surf? Well, I'm sure you've seen guys with 14 foot long rods that they wade into the water waist deep and hurl several hundred yards away from the beach - and I'm sure that there are some kinds of fish that are caught that way, like striped bass along the East Coast.
If you're targeting surf fish, not deep water species, though, the correct answer is, not very far. I catch the vast majority of my surf fish in ankle deep water - certainly shallower than knee deep. Sometimes along the Pacific coast beaches, I see fish feeding literally with their backs out of the water!
I like to cast just in front of the braking wave - into the white water. This is the home of the surf fish. They're in close. I retrieve slowly dragging my bait up the beach slope, and if I get a hit, more often than not, it's in very shallow water, like between ankle and knee deep. Surprised? I was when I first started leaning about surf fish. It's now my "market' where I stop by to pick up some fresh fish any time I'm in the mood.
So there's my secrets: 1) fish with local bait you can collect from the beach yourself at low tide, 2) fish the last two hours of the incoming tide, and 3) fish shallow.
How to Catch a Fish on Any Beach in the World
Jeff Spira is a fishermen and writer of fishing and seamanship books. His web site Southern California Ocean Fishing offers further insights into this fun sport and has links to online sources for his books on the subject.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
How to Open a Halfway House Or a Recovery Home
To begin with, let us tell you that this article is going to smash any preconceptions out there regarding opening a halfway house in the USA. You do not need a license, permit, or any other document to open a halfway house. If any person, government official, government agency, zoning commission, etc. tells you otherwise, they are engaging in illegal and unfair practices. Know your rights (see bellow links to know your rights).
NATIONAL LAWS (ADA) ALWAYS SUPERSEDE LOCAL LAWS.
Sunglasses
Just for a hypothetical situation; let's say that 3 people who have depression decide to become roommates in a home. Should they be shut down and kicked out of the neighborhood because of their disability? Does that mean they have to get a license or permit to stay? Of course not. They are protected under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), as well as other determinations (see links below) against such discrimination. Havingchemically dependent persons in a home is no different!!! Alcoholics and addicts have the same laws to protect them.
How to Open a Halfway House Or a Recovery Home
It is a well known fact that City Councils have tried to stop halfway houses in their neighborhoods by stating that a halfway house with alcoholics and/or addicts, in other words disabled persons, (and alcoholics and addicts qualify as disabled under the ADA), must not have roommates (as in 2 people in a room at a house), which prevents most halfway houses from opening.
If you have a house, and you want to open a halfway house, and your mortgage payment is 0.00 per month (see additional expenses at the bottom of this paragraph), there are many things to consider before accepting residents into your house. Let's say, hypothetically, you follow licensing and zoning guidelines. With the average charge to a resident with a substance abuse problem, being around 5.00 per week, you can see that if you went with what the license division / politicians tell you, (which are illegal tactics), you would be out of business shortly. Keep in mind that in addition to your mortgage payment are things such as: utilities, phone service, water, food, furniture, cooking utensils, beds, sheets- basically everything you would need to survive, etc.
On the other hand, if you did not license your house, you could put in 2 or 3 people in a room and keep your halfway house open. In other words, helping others to get a hand up at living sober. Please read more details below...
NATIONAL LAWS (ADA) ALWAYS SUPERSEDE LOCAL LAWS.
How to open a Recovery Home, Halfway House, Sober Living Home OR starting a Half Way House/Recovery Facility*- Resources to assist you. This article includes information on the standards and requirements of opening and operating a Halfway House/Recovery Home- NOTE: Not every county in the United States approaches standards and licensure in the same way- it is best to contact your local licensure department and/or zoning division.
The first thing you should know about opening a halfway house is that you do not need a degree or special certification to open one, and that most operate without a license/permit. Also, under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and The Fair Act Amendment, as well as other determinations, makes it illegal to discriminate against halfway houses and the people who own, operate, and live in them. Please see our links below for more information concerning these issues. There are a number of other important issues to cover concerning opening a halfway house that are vital to know.
You must first decide where you will operate. Once you have determined a location you have a choice in whether to license* the facility or not. There are also other permits, inspections, zoning variances, etc. to explore prior to opening up a halfway house. Please keep in mind that it is your choice whether to obtain a license, permit, and other certifications for the operation of a halfway house. If you choose to open a halfway house without a license, there are certain parameters you must operate under to make sure you are not shut down by the county/city you operate within. It is always best to check into what is required, allowed, and not allowed by contacting your local licensure agency and zoning department.
Most halfway houses that are not licensed are mandated to NOT provide on-site counseling or other wrap-around services- to avoid additional
paperwork and hassles, you could provide these services at a local church or other building. Most halfway houses that are licensed may need to
obtain a zoning variance, simply because (in the eyes of politicians) you are basically operating a business in a residential area. You may find that
because you are licensing it, the county (Zoning Commission) will limit the number of people you can have in any one room and at any one residence.
A halfway house that is going through the licensing process (and this may take months, even years to work out) will be required to have certain
structural adaptations made (water/fire sprinkler lines installed- which is very expensive) wheel chair accessible, parking and traffic issues to deal with, etc.
There are some overhead details to work out before you start taking in residents. You should know how many residents you will have in each room, what you are going to charge each resident, and what services are included in this cost or rent. You may also have to contend with residents coming in with no money, or that some residents will be late and/or short of the entire rent monies owed. It's up to you how you handle these situations. If you have a house ready to use as a Halfway House (providing you have decided whether to license it or not) and your mortgage payment, for a 4 bedroom home, is 0.00 per month (estimate), you will also need to factor in start-up and continued costs like food costs per week, water and utility costs, household needs, (paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, cleaning chemicals, phones, etc.), as well as monthly and yearly costs, (beds and sheets, TV, computer(s), Internet connection, towels and face clothes, shampoo, dishes and utensils, pest control services, vucuum(s), maintenance, etc.)- basically everything you would need if you were starting from scratch in a new home (considering you have nothing on hand) only this time it is for X number of people. Also include additional items, if licensed, like license and permit charges, health inspection fees, reports, paperwork and filing, accounting, etc. With the above example you can clearly see that many licensure and zoning variances would limit you to having only 4 people at your house, so meeting your overhead is not possible- you would be operating in the red every month.
Fair Housing Act
A case in point (actual court case) in which, for a period of more than 1 year, a city violated the provisions stated within the Fair Housing Amendments
Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. §§3601-3619) and denied the operating of a Halfway House within a residential area.
In an effort to assist individuals, agencies, religious affiliations, etc. open recovery places and tackle the unfair and illegal tactics politicians and others are using to stop them, NICD has put together some basic, and very needed, resources to aid in the journey. Counties are using zoning
codes/variances to try and control halfway houses/sober living homes and the total census allowed within these centers. Some of the bias is a
NIMBY, (Not In My Back Yard) situation, while others include property value concerns. In any case, the reasons for discrimination and unfair tactics are not based on fact or material circumstances. These counties and individuals are in violation of the law as it relates to the ADA, (Americans With Disabilities Act), Section 36.209 section 510 which describes alcoholics/drug addicts as people with disabilities. The Federal Fair Housing Act, (see link below), 42 USC section 3604(f)(2) makes it unlawful "to discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with such dwelling because of a handicap." The 42 USC section 3604(f)(3)(B) provides that unlawful discrimination includes failure to make "reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices.
providing some resources that you can use in starting up a program.
There are numerous obstacles to overcome in trying to open up a halfway house for alcoholics and/or drug addicts. NICD will attempt to help you by
Note: Please feel free to copy/print this page, as we have waived the copyright for this page only.
Some additional concerns you may encounter:
The next section has some rules that should be a part of any quality run halfway house. In addition to these is a section for navigating your way
through getting your residents into benefits and entitlements.
Specific: Halfway Houses Rules- A good halfway house should have rules. We have constructed some that we feel are essential.
RULES & REGULATIONS
IMMEDIATE DISCHARGE
*Being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs
*Possession of alcohol/drugs
*Possession of weapons
*Threats either verbal or physical, or acts of violence, fighting
*Property destruction or altering the physical construction of the premises, including interior walls
*Failure to submit a U/A (which are always at your cost)
*Unaccountable or discrepancies in times off of premises
*Lies, either found on your intake paperwork or otherwise, stealing, unusual behavior, and any criminal activity
*Failure to comply with rules and/or staff directions
1. You are required to attend at least 3 12-Step meetings per week, have a program book, (Big Book, NA Text, etc.), and have your meeting slip
signed by a member of the group, and not another resident, and attend on-premises "House Meetings" which are held 2 times per week, 1-2 hours per meeting.
2. House meeting attendance is mandatory, (which means you must arrange for employment that does not interfere with these meetings), there are
no exceptions to this rule.
3. For the first 30 days you are to remain on premises, (during this time you are expected to be working on your steps), and must arrange 12-Step meeting attendance with another resident who is not on restriction, and this must be pre-approved by the house manager.
4. You are required to sign-out when leaving the premises, and sign-in upon return- all leaves must be pre-approved by the house manager in
advance, and any inconsistencies in leave times are grounds for discharge.
5. Rent must be paid every Friday directly to the house manager, and kept up to date without exception.
6. You must see the house manager at least 1 time per week to discuss your recovery program- it does not count as a visit to discuss program while paying rent, unless the house manager chooses to do so.
7. You must obtain a Home Group and a Sponsor (You must provide a contact name and phone number), within the first week of residency, and this will be verified.
8. You must have Steps 1,2, and 3 in writing, and present these in the House Meeting by the 3rd week, along with a copy to the house manager.
9. You are required to be employed full time, and you are not permitted to quit a job without first discussing it with the house manager, (employment status will be checked on periodically).
10. There are certain types of employment that are not allowed, and you must speak with the house manager
11. No cab driving, working in bars, clubs, or places that sell alcohol.
12. Your room must be kept neat, with your bed made at all times, rugs vacuumed, toilet cleaned, kitchen area clean, which means absolutely no
glasses, dishes, forks, knives, spoons, etc. left in the sink at any time, and any trash disposed of in a timely manner.
13. You will be assigned daily and weekend chores (these are mandatory as part of your stay).
14. All vehicles will have current tags and insurance, and this must be verifiable. Also, there will be no storage of vehicles, and no working on vehicles on the premises.
15. Bikes and other modes of transportation must be stored in the appropriate locations, and security for these are at your own cost.
16. Any situation that requires police involvement must be discussed with the house manager before the police are called, (any police involvement
without house manager approval will be grounds for discharge).
17. There are absolutely no visitors allowed on premises without prior approval from the house manager.
18. There will be no congregating outside, no loud music or discussions, no walkmans, caps, sunglasses, bandanas, or inappropriate dress allowed, and you are required to attend to daily hygiene needs.
19. No one is allowed in another residents room- period.
20. There are no sharing of clothes, personal property, loaning money, borrowing vehicles, including bikes by either staff or residents.
21. You may be requested to submit to a U/A at any time, which may include either with cause or without.
22. Any resident who is aware of a rules infraction and does not notify the house manager immediately will be subject to discharge, which includes
finding out later that you knew about it.
23. All rooms are subject to inspections at any given time, and any room that does not pass inspection may cause all residents in that room to be
discharged.
24. Smoking is not allowed in rooms.
25. There will be no illegal hook-ups of cable, or use of cable boxes. Cable hook-ups will be done legally, at your cost, and your risk. If bills are not current you will be required to cut-off services until the bill is paid for.
26. Phone hook-ups are your responsibility, as are the bills that go along with it.
27. Any cooking done by residents requires immediate clean-up.
28. Any delegation, directive, or request that is made by staff will then become a rule.
29. Any medical conditions and/or injuries must be brought to the attention of the house manager.
30. Calls to 911 for medical conditions, injuries, etc. must be approved by the house manager before calling.
31. If there is an emergency, call 911, and then notify the house manager immediately.
32. Any and all medications, including pain pills, psych. meds, aspirin, Advil, cold, flu, sinus, etc. will be kept, and locked up by the house manager and dispensed according to the instructions on the bottle- any Rx. or
33. House shut downs will occur if chores are not done, the grounds and buildings are not cared for, rooms are not kept clean, or general attitudes are not in line with house etiquette, and is done so at the discretion of the house manager.
34. All rules and regulations are subject to additions and changes at the house managers discretion.
This is not a complete list of all the possible rules and/or violations that may happen, so to insure a healthy, happy, drug and alcohol free recovery
environment please do your part to use common sense when it comes to either doing or not doing something that may affect yours and others
continued stay.
Finally, staff will not take the role of cop, lawyer, or investigator. This means discharges will occur without investigation of who did what, what was said, who is, or who is not at fault.
The NIMBY Syndrome, (Not In My Back Yard), is one area that an owner of a recovery home / halfway house will have to contend with. It is usually best to address this issue up front before you open, or before construction is started. Your local Zoning Commission office should be able to provide information on the area you plan on opening the halfway house in. The census bureau can provide information on the neighborhoods make up, (economic base, average salaries made, gender average, average cost of homes in the area, and other good information to educate yourself with).
Check to see if there is a homeowners association, as that could be your best bet in getting to know your neighbors, and them getting to know you.
You should plan on going to one of their meetings before you open, but definitely after you have been armed with the information that you know will come up for discussion. Some concerns will be on whether or not you will accept violent offenders, psychiatrically unstable residents, how your home will affect property values. You can convince people that you plan on running a safe, drug free, and strict program by bringing a copy of your intake protocol and halfway house rules. Let them know how you plan on handling the situation when one of your residents comes up positive on a drug
screen. You should develop, in writing, protocols for dealing with this and other situations- there should be a plan of action that all staff and residents are to follow in any given situation. There will be some fear there, as no one wants a drug addict discharged/kicked out in their neighborhood at 1:00 A.M. on a weekend or any other time.
You need to arm yourself with the facts and also how you will handle all sorts of possible situations. If you take the lead and let your neighbors know, before they ask, what they can expect from you, you will go far in gaining their trust. Just be sure you follow through as you promised. It will pave the way to open another site, if you want to, if you have a great relationship with those that live around your halfway house.
In six major studies of communities where halfway houses were opened, no significant change in average housing prices could be found (MacNeil & Kappel, 1986, Part III.A.).
How to Open a Halfway House Or a Recovery Home
Dr. Stephen J. Murray, NICD Director
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Bike Riding for Weight Loss - Tips for Beginning A Bicycling Plan
If you are one of those people who leisurely pedal around the block or over a flat stretch of scenic road, you've probably been riding for sheer pleasure. Riding bikes for pleasure is a good form of aerobic exercise. But unless you map out a plan to "push yourself," you probably won't lose much weight.
I really get sick of hearing people say, "No pain, no gain!" But the old adage is true when it comes to riding bikes to lose weight. By pushing your cycling distance or speed, you are sure to feel some pain in your leg muscles, your hands, wrists, and your derriere-- even some pain in your throat and lungs as your body tries to accommodate your increased demand for oxygen.
Sunglasses
HEALTH TIP: Stretching exercises prior to exercising are helpful in preventing injury!
Bike Riding for Weight Loss - Tips for Beginning A Bicycling Plan
GETTING YOUR BICYCLE READY...TO ROLL OFF THE WEIGHT
Your first concern will be outfitting your bicycle. If you need an excuse to purchase a new bike, this is an excellent opportunity! I went from a 3-speed bicycle for leisure riding, to a 24-speed bicycle for more committed exercising. Once I learned how the different gears worked, I was very thankful for the extra speeds. They make my ride faster and the hills a lot easier to handle.
We've found the guys at the bicycle shop to be very helpful, and concerned for our unique cycling needs. Rather than simply steering us toward the most expensive bicycle available (as I had expected), they asked how much riding we would be doing, whether we were trying for speed or leisure, and whether we would be riding on paved roads or dirt trails. When you honestly share your goals and level of experience, the sales clerks can match you with exactly what you need. They want you to be successful in your biking venture!
Some state laws require bicycle lights. But if you will be riding anytime from dusk to dawn, common sense demands that you have lights on your bicycle. These little accessories are battery-operated and last a long time. There are a variety of lights to choose from. My tail light has different blinking speeds, and is designed to make my bike visible to cars approaching from both the rear and the sides. Check for brightness before you buy one. Install the light where it makes the most sense.
We held off on buying a speedometer and odometer unit for our bikes, but once we got serious about losing weight and getting in shape, this feature became a "must have." You simply cannot track your progress without knowing how far and how fast you're riding.
If you already have a bicycle, take it to the bike shop for a safety inspection each season. They should check the gears, tires and brakes to make sure everything is working properly. They can adjust your seat to fit your height and adjust the handlebars to fit your reach, making your ride more comfortable. If you're lucky, they might even clean and polish your bike!
If you want to save money in the long run, you can find books and videos that teach you how to care for your own bicycle. It's always a great idea to know how to change your own flat tire and adjust a loose chain.
Another must have is a bicycle pump. Ask your bike dealer how many pounds of air pressure to put in your bicycle tires. Check the tires each time you get ready to ride! We guessed at the air pressure one summer day, and lived to regret it. We rode the bikes to the swimming pool, not realizing that one tire was too full. While we were cooling off in the water, the hot sun was rapidly expanding the air in the tires-one tire blew as it sat in the parking lot. The day in the sun was not so fun, once the pool closed and we had to wait for a truck to haul us home!
HEALTH TIP: Talk with your doctor first, and get his or her blessing before you increase your rate of physical activity!
STAYING COMFORTABLE ON YOUR BIKE
Sitting for long periods of time on a bicycle seat can cause pain, discomfort, and even serious blood circulation problems in avid bicyclists. At your local bike shop, you'll find a variety of bicycle seats made specifically for your comfort and health. The salespeople at our local bike shop encouraged us to try out new seats on our bikes for a few days. My husband found the split seat to be more comfortable for himself, while I opted to keep my old gel seat. Someone has even invented seats that look more like a bird perch than a bicycle seat!
HEALTH TIP: Get off your bicycle seat and walk around every 25 minutes or so to get the blood flow to important unmentionable parts of your body.
Think about your clothing...you don't have to have padded biker shorts and special clothing to start riding bikes. There are actually scientifically engineered fabrics designed to pull sweat away from your body in the summer and to keep you from getting hypothermia in the winter. But for now, just wear layers of comfortable sports clothes.
Make sure your clothes aren't so tight that you are miserable trying to pedal. But they shouldn't be loose enough to become entangled in the bicycle chain, either! If you become overheated, strip off a layer. If you get cold, add a layer. Wear light or bright colors to allow drivers to see you easily.
It really helps to have a small cargo rack on the back of your bike. Mine looks like a little shelf over the back tire. It has two bungee cords to keep any cargo securely fastened to the bike. I've used it to tote a small picnic cooler, a shopping bag or extra clothes.
I had the bike shop attach a water bottle holder to the bike under my seat. I can grab a quick swig as I ride or pour some water over my pulse points to cool off a bit. Take small sips of water when needed during your bike ride, rather than chugging huge gulps.
A helmet is almost a must. Life is filled with hazards-and biking has its share. Be smart. Wear a helmet. You can buy a cool rear-view mirror for your helmet. The mirror helps you see when it's safe to turn and lets you observe traffic coming up from behind.
I recommend wearing sunglasses-both for the sun and for bugs! At certain times of the year, the air is thick with flying insects. Getting a tiny bug in your eye is a painful event. For contact wearers, carry a contact case and lens cleaner on bike rides for just that reason. Some day you'll be glad you did!
HEALTH TIP: Shake your hands downward frequently to get the blood flowing and to prevent pain or numbness in your arms and hands.
MAPPING OUT A WEIGHT LOSS PLAN
You will want to keep a record of your daily diet and food intake, your weekly body measurements and weight, as well as your bicycling miles and time.
The web site http://www.OpenFitness.net is an excellent way to track your progress. It is very easy to use-simply type in your information you wish to track. As the only community fitness web site of its kind, you'll find it to be a fantastic motivation tool that will print out charts and graphs to show how much progress you've made in a few days, a week, or a month!
It keeps track of your food, vitamin, and supplement intake. Thousands of foods have already been analyzed by experts for number of calories, fat, carbs, and protein. You simply select the foods you ate from a pull down feature, and the daily total is tallied for you. Make sure you don't exercise when you've just eaten, or when it's almost meal time. Both times will slow you down.
No matter how humiliating it is, measure your arms, legs, chest, waist, neck, hips and thighs once a week. The software keeps track of your weight and body measurements. The thrill of seeing those same inches melt away in the coming weeks will be worth the effort. It's especially impressive seen as a graph!
Consider investing in an instrument that actually measures body fat-there are inexpensive pincer-type instruments that measure fat by pinching you, or buy a set of bathroom scales that cost more but calculate body fat quite painlessly.
Try to ride 4-6 days per week. When you map out your weight loss plan, your short-term goals will change as you change. You'll quickly develop stamina for longer distance. As fat turns to muscle, your speed will increase. Each week, try to increase either your mileage or your speed.
You know how far you've been able to ride, thus far. Start keeping track of the exact route you are taking, the total mileage, and the length of time it took you. Make notes in your records for special circumstances. Did it get dark outside so you were forced to cut your ride short? Did the road crews dump a layer of gravel on your normally paved road?
What was the weather like? Was it dangerously hot? Was it windy? The wind can be your friend or your enemy. When the wind is behind you, your ride is a breeze...but coming from any other direction, be prepared to huff and puff. Accept any length of time as a job well done and simply get the ride accomplished!
Finally, add an upper body workout three times per week. Bicycling works your legs, but to get the rest of your body firm and trim, you'll need to exercise your upper body, as well. The http://www.openfitness.net web site, created by a certified personal fitness trainer, has excellent features which allow you to design and track this portion of your fitness program, as well.
Bicycle riding is a fun, inexpensive form of aerobic exercise-it's good for every part of you. But be warned-you will need to buy a whole new wardrobe for the thinner, more beautifully fit body that emerges!
Bike Riding for Weight Loss - Tips for Beginning A Bicycling Plan
Sharyl Calhoun
See our 9 Day Cleansing & Fat Burning Program page at [http://www.fastandnaturalweightlossprogram.com]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)