Nerdistan

You and your landlord share a common goal: You both want to
ensure the protection of your interests. Obtaining a security
deposit from you — usually ranging from $100 to a full month’s
rent, and averaging $250 — is how your landlord obtains a
degree of insurance from you. The deposit covers your landlord
should you cause any damage to your apartment while you are a
tenant. Your landlord, in turn, may keep the deposit if you fail
to pay your rent or you leave before the end of your lease.
However, if, as a tenant, you keep your end of the bargain –
following the terms of your lease and leaving your apartment in
good condition when you leave — the deposit is refundable.

So how do you protect your own interests as a tenant? Renters’
insurance. If you’re an apartment-dweller, you’re probably
accustomed to brochures dangling from your door that advertise
various renters’ insurance policies. And if you’re like many
renters, you probably disregard them. But you may want to
consider taking out insurance. Before you say, “But I’m not
going to cause any damage to my apartment,” remember that
renters don’t always cause damage themselves. Mother nature, or
other tenants with little regard for your property, could prove
to be the source of your problems later.

According to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, policies
typically provide coverage for the following renters’ pitfalls:

* Damage to personal property from fire or wind * Theft *
Personal liability in the event you are sued over accidental
injury to others who are in your apartment * Accidental damage
to property of others in your care * Living expenses if you are
forced to live elsewhere while your apartment is being repaired

This list doesn’t begin to elaborate on the multitude of other
possibilities for disaster: An electrical surge fries your
computer, television, and/or stereo; while visiting your
neighbor, you tip over his barbecue and start a fire; or you
accidentally cause injury to someone away from your apartment;
and the list goes on and on. And of course, as we’ve all
discovered, we can never discount such crazy-sounding
possibilities — because they can and do happen if and only if
we’re not prepared (or covered) for them.

Note that renters’ insurance policies may differ according to
the insurance company in question, as well as the laws in your
state. An insurance representative will be able to determine
what type of policy best meets your needs. If you’ve thrown away
all of those brochures dangling from your door handle, the
Internet is a good place to do your homework — specifically
apartment-search sites. Links to renters’ insurance information
will fill you in on the details, and you may apply online.

A Living Will is a legal document addressing only deathbed
considerations; a client unilaterally declares his/her desire
that life-prolonging measures be discontinued when there is no
hope of ultimate recovery.

On the other hand, people use a Durable Power of Attorney for
Health Care to appoint someone to make all healthcare decisions,
limited by certain elections regarding deathbed issues.

The client must be at least 18 years old and mentally competent
at the time he/she executes either document but incompetent to
participate in the decision-making process when either is
implemented. It is important to remember that both documents are
only applicable if the client is incompetent.

Under the a Living Will, a client declares that if he/she is
certified to have an incurable, terminal injury/illness and/or
to be permanently unconscious by two examining physicians
(including the client’s attending physician), that artificial
life-support systems be withheld or disconnected. The client may
also elect to discontinue artificial nutrition and hydration
(intravenous feeding) by so designating on the form. (Find more
information at: legalhelper.net/living-will.aspx)

Under the Health Care Power of Attorney, the client makes three
separate and independent elections authorizing the agent:

1.To direct disconnection of artificial life-support systems in
the event of terminal illness;

2.To direct disconnection of artificial life-support systems in
the event of irreversible coma; and

3.To direct discontinuation of artificial nutrition and
hydration.

In addition, the Health Care Power of Attorney form provides a
space for the client to set forth any specific medical,
religious or other desires concerning his/her health care. The
client may also use this section as a backup source for organ
donation. (Find more information at:
legalhelper.net/power-of-attorney.aspx)

Both documents are signed in front of two witnesses and a notary
public or a justice of the peace who acknowledges the client’s
signature. The witnesses to a Living Will are sworn by the
notary public/justice of the peace and indicate that the client
is at least 18 years of age and signed the instrument as a free
and voluntary act.

The Living Will witnesses may not be the client’s spouse,
attending physician, heirs-at-law or person with claims against
the client’s estate. The Health Care Power of Attorney witnesses
may not be the designated agent, the client, spouse or heir or
person entitled to any portion of the client’s estate upon death
under Will, Trust or operation of law.

People are frequently confused as to why both a Living Will and
Health Care Power of Attorney are necessary or appropriate.

The Living Will is helpful as a backup document: In the event
that the client enters an irreversible coma and the health care
agents designated in the Health Care Power of Attorney are
deceased or unloadable, the Living Will sets forth the desires
of the client concerning his/her death-bed treatment which may
be followed by attending physicians. The law provides that to
the extent that a Durable Power of Attorney conflicts with a
Living Will, the Health Care Power of Attorney controls.

Copies of both the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and
the Living Will are forwarded to the client’s primary care
physician for inclusion in medical records.

Both documents are revocable through normal revocation
procedures.

To think that in the beginning the only sewing patterns used
were to measure from ankle to dirt and chop off the animal skin
so that it would not drag on the ground. Now you can get sewing
patterns for everything from a simple square sewn together to
create a throw pillow to an elaborate wedding dress. You can
find sewing patterns by the thousands at any fabric or specialty
store, and find specialized catalogues, which cater to custom
sewing patterns for any size and style. You can now also buy
sewing patterns online from all the classic pattern
manufacturers, and the technology of the internet allows
formerly unknown pattern manufacturers a chance for the
spotlight.

Sewing patterns are simply sheets of tissue paper, which are
marked with the dimensions needed in order to produce the
garment pictured on the front of the package. When laying sewing
patterns on the fabric be sure to avoid laying them on the wrong
size or against the wrong part of the grain. It is advisable to
take a sewing class before you tackle a pattern, which can be
daunting to the novice seamstress.

Sewing can be a wonderful pastime. Sewing patterns for clothes,
plush toys, home décor, etc. are endless. Stop in any fabric
store and look at the array of fabrics to compliment your home
décor or your fashion statement. Many fabric shops offer free or
low cost sewing lessons. If you need a wonderful hobby, then
sewing could be your answer.

For more information, visit
www.SewingInfoCenter.com

If you are planning a bridal shower for a bride to be, the last thing you want to do is hold a boring shower. Starting with the bridal shower invitations, the whole thing should be fun and interesting, whether it is a martini bridal shower, an outfit the kitchen shower, or a bridal shower with any other type of a theme. If you don’t have enough action going on at the bridal shower people are going to start getting bored, and there is nothing worse than dealing with a boring bridal shower. However, with the right planning and some good bridal games, you’ll be able to avoid dealing with this problem. So, let’s take a look at some great ideas for bridal games that you can use at the bridal shower.

One great game to at the bridal shower is a trivia game about the bride. This can be a lot of fun, especially if the shower includes many people who know the bride fairly well. All you’ll need to do is ask the bride some questions before the shower and then make up a sheet for everyone with the questions that you asked her. Have everyone at the shower fill out what they think her answers were. Whoever gets the most right is the one that wins. This can be a lot of fun, and everyone will really get to see how well they know the bride.

So, when you send out the bridal shower invites, let everyone know they need to come prepared to have a great time.

Whoever writes all those fancy cookbooks has never been a
parent. To begin with, the pages are never spill-proof, almost
guaranteeing that somewhere in the middle of mixing ingredients,
a spill will cover the remaining two ingredients listed. This
means that parents must learn to improvise.

Some would suggest that the very thrill of cooking is
experimentation. So what’s the big difference between oregano
and cayenne pepper, anyway?

Then there are all those “quick” recipes to “serve your family”
gracing the pages of women’s magazines. NO recipe is quick with
Little Helper’s assistance.

For the benefit of parents everywhere, I have taken my favorite
cheesecake recipe and translated it into parentease. The
non-parent version is available in Cooking By The Book — a free
bonus I offer with every purchase of The Get Happy Workbook at
http:/ hehappyguy.com/happiness-workbook.html .

Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (Parent Version)

Mix one cup of ginger snap cookie crumbs and one tablespoon of
olive oil. Add more cookie crumbs to make up for the ones that
disappeared about the same time your Little Helper walked into
the kitchen.

Press the crumby oil mixture … “Sorry, Little Helper
distracted me.” Press the oily crumb mixture into the bottom of
a 9-inch spring-form pan, and up around the edges about one
inch. Put it in the refrigerator to cool - best to slip it in
safely behind the broccoli and that thing that’s been turning
blue for three weeks in case Little Helper gets inspired

Soften three bricks of cream cheese, ideally in the microwave.
If you can’t separate the cheese from Little Helper’s hands, let
her keep doing what she’s doing until the cheese is good and
soft. Cream the cheese with one and a half cups of pureed
pumpkin, three large eggs, two tablespoons of cream, and one cup
of brown sugar. Keep mixing until creamy.

Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you are fortunate enough
to have help at this stage, you have three options:

1.Rename it ” Harvest Pumpkin and Vanilla Cheesecake”. 2.Try
scooping out the extra cup of vanilla Little Helper poured in
for you. 3.Start over.

You will also need to add a tablespoon of cinnamon. If Little
Helper is in a generous mood, don’t worry. You still have three
options:

1.Rename it ” Harvest Pumpkin and Cinnamon Cheesecake”. 2.Try
scooping out the extra pile of cinnamon Little Helper poured in
for you. 3.Bang your head against the counter and start over.

There is also a tablespoon of ground ginger to add. Sorry about
that. Don’t worry, you still have three options…again:

1.Rename it ” Harvest Pumpkin and Ginger Cheesecake”. 2.Scoop
out as best you can the extra heap of ginger Little Helper added
for you. 3.Bang your head twice on the counter and start over.

I almost hate to mention this, but you’ll need to add a teaspoon
of ground nutmeg. And a half teaspoon of salt. And a half
teaspoon of allspice. Go ahead and bang your head some more if
it makes you feel better.

Fortunately, there is a parental failsafe. It is sort of like a
“get out of jail free card”. Look in the bowl. Observe the
quantity of creamy things. Observe the quantity of spicy things.

If the quantity of creamy things is even slightly greater than
the quantity of spicy things, keep going and pretend you didn’t
have any help. Maybe nobody will notice. If the quantity of
spicy things is greater than the quantity of creamy things, open
another can of pureed pumpkin. Keep adding cans of pureed
pumpkin until creamy things are greater than spicy things — or
until your grocer runs out of cans.

Pour the filling into the crust. Note, if you had to add too
many cans of pureed pumpkin, this could get messy. I recommend
hip-waders…especially for Little Helper.

Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until the
top is slightly brown and almost as cracked as your head and the
counter. Do NOT let Little Helper eat the cake while it is still
in the oven.

Let it air cool in a safe place — like at a neighbor’s house –
then refrigerate overnight

Just before serving, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with
pecans. Oops. I just wrote that last line in non-parentease. It
should read: “Now that the whipped cream is polished off, shake
the remaining sprinkles on the cake. Unless Little Helper ate
them, too.

Now you can sit down and enjoy your Harvest Pumpkin Pie
Cheesecake (Parent Version). Oh yes, don’t forget to laminate
this page to avoid more impromptu experimentation in the future.