Monthly Archives: February 2012

6 Table Skirting Ideas

Do you need some help with table skirting? If you do, then you are definitely on the right page! Here are some table skirting ideas that will help you turn those tables at that event into something amazing!

  1. Gathered top design – this will look great, with this, the fabric will be drawn together at the top by the threads sewn into the fabric. Tighten the garter because it will give it a fuller and more poufed bottom.
  2. Knife or accordion pleat – this particular design has narrow folds and they are all pointing at the same direction which fit around the top edge of the table. The skirt bottom can be full like a gathered top or you can have it pressed so the pleats will extend to the floor.
  3. Box pleat – this is a series of pleats that folds back-to-back. The bottom is not as full and this will give it a neat, tailored apperance. This particular table skirting design will be perfect for business meetings and trade shows. There is also the French box pleat and this one has narrower pleats that can create a fuller effect at the bottom. You can press it so it extends to the floor.
  4. Valances and scalloped drapes – these can go over the skirt. Also, it can add color to the design of the table. You can use this to create an overall color scheme or allow for companies to have better branding in a showroom.
  5. Overlays – these are square pieces of fabric that are layered on top of th etable and over the skirt. It can add interest to the table design or draw focus to a specific area on the table.
  6. Table toppers – the use of these will be great as well. Cover the entire table top and hang over the table edge a few inches on all sides. These are used for more color scheme and branding.

These table skirting designs will help you decorate your tables and make that even look wonderful and in sync! In fact, table skirts are one of the keys to a great looking event! Even without any other decorations, table skirting can change a room full of bland mismatched tables and chairs into a beautiful recpetion hall or an attractive showroom.

All About Wedding Photographer Prices

Wedding photography is very in demand these days as more and more people are wanting creative shots of that fateful day. However, for those who are new to this and who are about to get married and are dying to know wedding photographer prices, it is about to be revealed on this page.

Here are the typical costs:
First of all, wedding photographer prices can be broken down into four basic categories:

  • Budget
  • Moderate
  • Upscale
  • Luxury

Now, here are wedding photography prices:

  • Budget photographers – prepare to spend under $1,000
  • Moderate photographers – $1,000 – $3,000
  • Luxury wedding photographers – $3,000 – $5,000
  • Upscale photographers – $5,000-$10,000

If you have a very limited budget, you can ask a friend or a relative to take ceremony photos with the use of a digital camera. Also, you can place disposable cameras on each table so your guests can take candid shots.

Now, what should be included?
For basic wedding photograph packages under $500, it may include 1-4 hours of coverage by one photographer, proofs in an online or hard cover album and a limited number of prints or printable images of a CD or DVD. If you go for a package that costs $500-$1,000, it will include more hours by one photographer and an assistant plus additional prints or special albums. For packages between $1,000-$3,000, it may include an additional photographer and up to 8 hours of coverage, additional special albums, parents albums or photo books. Lastly, for packages that costs upwards of $3,000, it may include unlimited coverage up to three photographers, multiple shoot locations, or albums or photo books.

Now that you know about the wedding photographer prices and what it may include, you should also ready some money because there might be additional costs. What are these additional costs:

  • More hours of coverage
  • Additional photographers
  • Special albums or photo books
  • Parent albums
  • Additional shoots

Now that you know all the things that you should know about wedding photographer prices and the packages, it is time that you find the best photographer to take shots and capture moments during your wedding day!

5 70th Birthday Gift Ideas

When someone turns 70, the birthday is very special. People at this age are in total control of their lives and they may even be having the time of their life. If a loved one is turning 70, it is time that you gather some 70th birthday gift ideas.

Here are some tips to help you with your 70th birthday gift ideas:

  1. What that person represent to you – you should determine this when you are about to give them a present. Is that person an artist or a business person? The answer to such questions help you become a step closer to finding the perfect gift.
  2. Their hobbies – what does that person love to during his or her free time? What makes him or her happy?
  3. Practicality – when it comes to buying 70th birthday gifts, it is always best that you stick to practical gifts which means that it can be used and at the same times functional to that person.
  4. Keep in mind their physical limitations – they may look strong or they are strong but you always have to keep in mind that they don’t have the strength and stamina that they had when they were 20.
  5. Stick to a budget – don’t go overboard. Set a budget before you shop for gifts.

These are 5 simple steps that will help you generate some great 70th birthday gift ideas. You will definitely love how it can affect your decision making because you have set your priorities well. This also means that everything will be in order.

Finding the perfect gift for a person who is about to turn 70 isn’t too difficult at all. The best part of that gift will be your sincerity and thoughtfulness, anyway. As they say, “it’s the thought that counts”. That is why you don’t need to spend too much on a gift, just always stick to your intentions and you will definitely love the outcome and that person will definitely appreciate the effort.

Long Sleeve Maxi Dress

A long sleeve maxi dress is not so common but a lot of women today sees the beauty in it. It clearly expresses mystery but still going for that very flattering style that can flaunt out the assets of a woman. Also, it is something different from the usual maxi dresses that are often seen today worn by a lot of women. It’s not everyday that you see a woman sporting a long sleeve maxi dress and isn’t that just like a breath of fresh air?

The growing popularity of a long sleeve maxi dress urged a lot of retailers to stock up on a couple of long sleeve maxi dresses in different designs and patterns. Today, you will find a lot of retailers whether online or not offering a couple of long sleeve maxi dresses.

The best thing about a long sleeve maxi dress is that you never get to appreciate its beauty once you wear it. It’s like a magical piece of clothing that transforms you into a prettier you once you wear it. Since there are a lot of wonderful styles to choose from, you have a lot of options on how you want to wear a long sleeve maxi dress.

There are styles that are very sexy while there are some that are perfect to be worn at formal events. The patterns and styles can make all the difference because they capture the eyes of women especially when they are showcased in window displays of stores. This way, women get more drawn to it.

Here are some of the stores that offer the best long sleeve maxi dresses today:

 

  • Shopstyle
  • Nextag
  • Asos
  • Shopbop

There are also a lot of famous designers that are creating a long sleeve maxi dress carrying their names and their style. A lot of Hollywood stars have been seen wearing long sleeve maxi dresses on the red carpet and this signals a new trend.

Home Inspection Checklist Form

A home inspection checklist form is a-must for home inspectors. The checklist will guide them through the whole inspection process. It will also help them check all the details that need to be checked inside a house.

What should your home inspection checklist form contain?

  1. Property information – this part includes all the details regarding the property, address, type, sale price, style, age, total square foot and orientation.
  2. Neighborhood information – this will include the average family income, average home prices, services available in the neighborhood, its distance from establishments like public schools, business district, shopping centers, and so on, its proximity to hazards/nuisances and the utilities around the neighborhood.
  3. Rooms and sizes – in this part, a building inspector should take note of every room as well as the size of each room. Other structures must be put into detail as well.
  4. General structural info – in this part, it should include the foundation type, wall framing and roof type.
  5. Exterior components – this includes the roof covering, age and condition of the roof covering, gutterns and downspouts, type of exterior, condition of exterior surfaces, window types, window frames, condition of the windows, decks/patios, condition of decks/patios, type of driveway/sidewalks and condition of driveway/sidewalks.
  6. Heating and Air Conditioning – this includes the type of furnace, type of fuel, age and condition of the furnace, air conditioner present, age and condition of the A/C and fireplaces.
  7. Plumbing – includes type of main water line, type of water piping, type of waste lines, condition of plumbing lines, water heater capacity, type of fuel, age and condition of the water heater.
  8. Electrical – this part includes the main service capacity, service panel type and condition of wiring.
  9. Interior and Finishes – this includes the material of wall and ceiling, condition of walls/ceilings, floor finishes, conditon of windows/doors, condition of floor finishes.
  10. Appliances – each appliace in the home should be inspected carefully by a home inspector.
  11. Energy insulation – this includes the thickness of the wall insulation, type of wall insulation, attic insulation thickness, attic insulation type, R values and energy upgrades made to the house.
  12. Garage – a home inspector should check if the overhead door is large enough for vehicles. Does it come with automatic opener? Safety auto-reverse operational? The length of the garage. Can the doors be locked? Electrical supplied to garage, condition of electrical in the garage and overall condition of the garage.

As you can see, a home inspection checklist form contains a lot of things that a home inspector should check. These are very important, and that is why a home inspection usually takes 3-4 hours, sometimes even more depending on the type of the home and how big it is.

Aside from that, this is also the reason why home inspection cost can go up. It is not expensive at all. As you can see, the cost is very reasonable.

What You Need to Know About Home Inspector Insurance

A home inspector job often revolves around investigation of a soon to be purchase home and for your client, this may be the single yet the largest purchase they make. It is true that being a home inspector means that you have to deal with a lot of expectations and there are emotions included in the job as well. As you do your job, there are potential pitfalls that you might encounter and that is why there is a need for a home inspector insurance.

Potential pitfalls that a home inspector may encounter are divided into two categories:

  • Physical damage to people or property
  • Mistakes or misses in inspection or reporting

There are two types of insurance coverage for the protection of these two potential perils:

  1. General Liability
  2. Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions

General liability hazards

This can be defined as a bodily injury and property damage to a third party. If a home inspector caused damage to a third party’s property or person while he or she is doing his or her job, the home inspector might incur a General Liability claim. To help you understand it more, here is an example:

Example:
If you are inspecting a house that you can access through the floor, you forgot to close the cover and suddenly, the owner accidentally falls in through that cover that you left open and unfortunately, he or she broke his or her arm. The injuries that were acquired as a result of the fall would be a General Liability claim.

Professional Liability Claim

“It is an insurance coverage that protects and defends professional advice and service-providing individuals and companies from a negligence claim and damages aware in such a civil lawsuit.” One great way to better explain this particular home inspector insurance coverage is that if you as a home inspector, failed to notice a defect during your inspection or you notice the defect but you failed to report it. Either way, it simply means that you have made an errors or omitted something from the inspection.

Since both types of perils exist, it is sensible that a home inspector get both types of home inspector insurance. So, when you are looking for a policy, you have to make sure that you secure a coverage that will provide you with coverage for both types of perils that are mentioned above.

Locksmith Tools

If you want to pursue a career as an automotive locksmith, you must have all the necessary locksmith tools for you. Your locksmith tools should be technologically advanced tools and equipment to replace or make new locks for vehicles.

Being a locksmith

These locksmith tools will enhance the efficiency of your process and it will also increase goodwill of your firm. Today, almost all the models of vehicles are fitted with advanced remote keyless systems, so being a locksmith, you must have all the tools that are needed for replacements and decoding the transponder keys.

Since you are not yet a locksmith yet, it’s okay that you don’t have all the tools and equipment yet that you will need because locksmiths usually start that way but over time, they will build up tools that are worth a thousands of dollars. Being a locksmith, there is more that a slim jim, lock picking kit and a few key blanks.

Your locksmith tools

Key blanks can take up much space and money and there are many categories of this that you must have in handy. Aside from this, you will also need a machine to actually cut the keys and these vary in size and price depending on what he wants. You will need a lot of supplies to keep up the key blanks, from tags to key towers, expect that you will spend a large amount on these. Also, you will tools to pick and change and install locks and this will require picking sets, tools and locks themselves.

Newer vehicles today will require a machine to code the keys. Being a locksmith means you should really have all the necessary locksmith tools because you never know what car you will fix, an old one or a new one. A professional locksmith should have either of the two ready. It’s part of the job. However, you must remember, if you don’t have enough budget to fund all these tools, you might want to start from something small first like most locksmiths out there, then work your way from there.

Diabetic Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are very healthy and are perfect for people who are on a diet. However, what about people who are diabetic yet they are craving for oatmeal cookies? No problem! There are are diabetic oatmeal cookies that one can purchase or make! Making your own will be better because you get to personalize it according to your own taste and preference.

Follow this simple diabetic oatmeal cookies recipe:

Sugarless Banana-Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 3 bananas (mashed)
  • 2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup raisings
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • ¼ cup fat-free milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, beat well.
  2. Let the mixture set for 5 minutes for the oats to absorb moisture.
  3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Let stand for 1 minute before you remove the cookie sheet.

In this particular diabetic oatmeal cookies recipe, it is better if you use medium to large ripe bananas. If you have only small bananas, use 3 ½ to 4.

Here’s another diabetic oatmeal cookies recipe:

No Sugar Added Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs or ½ cup egg substitute
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 5 packets Sweet ‘N Low
  • 1 2 cup milk
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup flour
  • 2 cups raw oats
  • ½ cup raisins

Directions:

  1. Beat together the eggs, vanilla, oil, milk, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and Sweet ‘N Low.
  2. Add flour and mix thoroughly.
  3. Add the raisings and oats
  4. Mix well and drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet that’s been sprayed with vegetable oil spray.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes.

There you have it! These diabetic oatmeal cookies recipes are very easy to make. You can also add more fruits to it if you want to. These recipes are also perfect for those who are on a diet! Satisfy your sugar cravings with these diabetic oatmeal cookies recipes!

Medical Assistant Degree

Getting a medical assistant degree is one of the best moments aspiring medical assistants can achieve. However, before you get to that point, one you should be able to complete a medical course first and pass the certification test. Although a certification test is not mandatory, it promises more opportunities and higher salaries for registered medical assistants.

There are different medical courses that you can take and it is very important that you know them for you to be able to get a medical assistant degree.

  1. Most institutes offer full time degree courses in all the four branches of medical assistant courses. The time span of these courses usually last for three years and that includes practical practice of the course. On the other hand, the time span of the medical assistant degree courses is more than that of similar certificate courses because in degree courses, students are given extensive training about the different aspects of the treatment.
  2. There are some institutions that offer part time degree courses. These degree courses are meant for students who have jobs. Such medical assistant degree courses are available in all the above four branches or nursing and completing the part time course that usually takes 4 years.

Now that you know these courses, you will be able to determine which medical assistant degree you wish to pursue. There are some universities that offer part time courses in medical assistant and also full time courses. These courses are an ideal way to start your career in healthcare which has proven to be largely a recession proof sector. The increasing demand for trained medical professionals simply means that you have a lot of opportunities to look forward to and having a medical assistant degree will enable you to take these opportunities and have a wonderful job and high pay.

You should know that most employers prefer applicants who have a medical assistant degree. This is because they are more trusting to those who have completed all the courses or programs because this only means that he or she can handle all the challenges and the tasks that will be thrown his or her way. Aside from this, you should know to yourself that having a degree will lead to a lot of opportunities and brighter future.

Teepee Tents for Camping

Teepee tents for camping lets you be different. We all know that most campers today stick to the traditional tents because of its advantages and convenience. However, teepee tents have made history and they are now more advanced and convenient. In fact, most people still think that this particular type of tent is still the most comfortable and stable tent that one can use during camping trips. You might also be surprised to know that these teepee tents have become so stylish, more comfortable and more convenient. Here are the reasons why:

Cath Kidston Cowboy Teepee Tent

Who would ever think that a designer like Cath Kidston will design a tent? However, we all know that she has always had a distinctive range of camping gear and this particular tent is above all others. It is very luxurious and it can sleep up to three people. In fact, it is large enough and there is a red flag at the center of the “roof” of the teepee tent. There are also matching sleeping bags that will let you sleep in style. This is considered to be one of the best teepee tents for camping today.

Outwell Indian Lake Tipi Tent

This is the father of the Teepee tents today. It can sleep up to siz people and it has four panoramic windows with roll down curtains. It’s not just a for show with its roof vent that creates a cooling effect. Aside from these wonderful features (yes, there’s more!), there is an adjoining porch which is such a useful feature with its detachable bathtub of groundsheet and it will pitch flysheet first or as one and it is only supported by just one telescopic alloy poll. It stands at over three meters high and it has two bedrooms with an adjoining living area. However, this is not suitable for extreme camping expeditions and it weighs 36kg, it is fairly heavy but its cotton canvas will be a perfect summer tent.

Tesco 12 Man Teepee

If you are on a budget yet you want to get a teepee tent that can fit a lot of people, this one will be perfect. It can fit 12 people inside and it is very comfortable.

These are some of the best teepee tents for camping today. You might be very surprised with all these new wonderful facts about teepee tents today. Don’t you just want to have one for yourself? You will surely enjoy it and it will be a great bonding experience for you and your family!