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Your First Trimester of Pregnancy

You’re pregnant, and you probably have a lot of questions right now. Thankfully, there are books you can buy that will help you track your pregnancy week by week, as well as blogs and other online information.

You may be thinking, however, that you don’t want to wait to read a pregnancy book; you have some questions now that you want answers to. These can include, but are definitely not limited to, those listed below.  For your convenience, the answers are given right under the questions.

  • When will the cravings start?

If they haven’t already, the cravings will likely start closer to the end of the first three months, especially if you’ve experienced some morning sickness.

  • I don’t have morning sickness. Is this normal?

Yes. Many women do not.

  • What changes will my body go through during the first three months?

Your breasts will become very tender, and you will most likely notice a darkening of the areola and nipple area. In addition, especially if you’re fair-skinned, you’ll probably notice that the veins in your breasts are more noticeable.

  • Am I supposed to be crying at sappy commercials, the sight of puppies or kittens, and other random happenings?

Yes, mood swings are very normal during this time.

  • How big is the baby right now?

If you’re at about 7 weeks, your baby is about one-fourth inch long.

A pregnancy week-by-week book can be a lot of fun as well as informative, especially if you find one that shows pictures of weekly fetal development. Even if it doesn’t show that, the book will still give written information about your baby’s weight and length, as well as the different organs, limbs, and other body parts that are developing. This will help you understand the amazing changes occurring within your body during this exciting time of your life.

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How to Get a Loan Even if You Have Bad Credit

Having bad credit isn’t the best position to be in, even if you are dedicated to getting your act together and paying off all your debts. Sometimes, your bad credit isn’t even your fault, but you’re stuck with the reputation as well as the debt. You feel stuck. After all, if you can’t get money to pay off your debts, how are you supposed to get back on track and recover your good reputation? Well, you could try getting a short term loan.

The short term loan is available to middle and lower class Americans. This is a type of loan that you pay back within a year. When you apply for a short term loan, companies such as GreatPlainsLending look more at your employment records than your credit history. Their main focus is on whether or not you bring in a steady income. There are different options for repayment of the loans. Some companies set you up with monthly payment plans. Others take some payment whenever you get a paycheck. This could be once a week, twice a month, once a month, or other agreed-upon schedules. Still, other companies might offer you a loan with collateral. This means that you agree that an object you own will belong to the lender if you don’t pay off your loan in a timely manner. If you are certain that you are good for your payments, this might be a good idea. Paid-off vehicles are commonly used as collateral.

Short term loans are very helpful if you can’t get a credit card. Remember, your goal is to pay back all your debt as quickly as possible, and you also want to get a good name for yourself. You can begin to prove yourself as trustworthy once again by paying your short term loan back on time. This also helps you avoid late charges.

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How to Deliver the Perfect Marriage Proposal to Your Girlfriend

If you want to propose to your girlfriend, there are a lot of things to think about. How you’ll be able to afford that engagement ring is one thing, and whether there’s enough dough in your bank account for it, even if you find a good deal at engagement.jrdunn.com, for example. Even before that, it is wise to make sure this girl would ever consider marrying you, so try bringing up the possibility of it happening in the future. The surprise factor is important, in that she won’t suspect the marriage proposal at any given moment. However, if you two have never talked about marriage before, she may not even know how to react.

Finding that special ring can be a collaborative decision. It can be tough to bring up engagement rings in a conversation and not give away the secret, but some girls do like to have the chance to pick out a ring. When you finally do pop the question, there aren’t many rules for how to give her the ring, but one thing you don’t want to do is hide it in some type of food. Even if by some chance your leading lady swallows it by mistake, she might be turned off by this unoriginal, uncreative idea.

The perfect set up can make the proposal experience something neither of you will ever forget. Make it personal and be creative, while expressing what she means to you, but don’t make it too complicated. Complicated plans just make it more likely things won’t go right, but most of all, it should be personal. The proposal can and should include favorite things you both enjoy, including foods (without the engagement.jrdunn.com ring in them, of course), and most of all your individual personality, as this is likely why she fell in love with you in the first place.

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Money Won’t Buy You Love

Generations of people hear song lyrics that declare money can’t buy love. In a seemingly materialistic society, money contributes to a variety of relationship issues. According to author David Niven in “100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships,” concerns and arguments about money contributes to stress in daily life.

Lack of money is naturally a concern for a lower class person or family in need of shelter, food and the necessities of life. Having money and managing money concerns the upper class. Middle class families want more money to fund retirement or buy a better home.

Teaching children about money helps to prepare them for the future. Authors Jamie Kyle McGillian and Ian Phillips offer a great list of ways money is cool, and ways it’s not. Having money is naturally preferred to not having it. Earning money yourself and spending money on someone other than yourself is cool! Spending all your money—even your bus fare—definitely isn’t.

How much money is enough? That’s different for everyone. John D. Rockefeller’s answer—“Just a little bit more” may differ from your answer. Your perception of how much money is enough may depend upon your social class perspectives, according to “How Much Is Enough?” Teaching children about the meaning of “enough” is an apparent problem for some upper class families, according to the authors. Lifelong traditions of excessive spending and lifestyles that boast excess may create personal problems for children of the upper class. Fortunes are made and lost faster than ever in today’s technology-reliant world.

Author Tim Kasser reflects on “The High Price of Materialism.” Pursuing wealth for its own sake doesn’t seem to make people happier in the long run.

 

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Throw a Wild West Theme Party

Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean that your parties have to be boring — reduced to dinner and drinks, or maybe an outdoor grilling party. You can liven up the party and have some fun by throwing a theme party. Many of us equate theme parties with costume parties where we all find our old Halloween costumes and wear them in all their dusty glory. However, there are many other fun theme parties. How about a cowboy and Indian-themed party?

We all imagine being transported back to the Wild West and all the action and romance of that era. Your party can embrace all this excitement and your guests will be sure to remember this party for many years to come. Here are some tips to help make your party a Wild West success.

Use bandanas as invitations. Write the party information using a fabric pen. Add some western stickers and, of course, instructions that attendees should come dressed in appropriate cowboy or Indian costumes. Suggest that they can get costumes at online sites such as costumeexpress.com.

Set up a teepee in the party room or outdoors. Decorate the tent with Indian art including animals and other wildlife. You can also place an artificial fire either in the teepee or just outside for added ambiance. Place artificial cactus around your party space to give it that western feel.

Games with that cowboy and Indian theme will be a sure win. Even when adults say they don’t want to play games, give them a stick horse and set them on a race track and they’ll soon be whooping it up.

Serve your food in camp plates for an authentic feel. Put beverages and ice in galvanized buckets. These buckets will work well for chips, pretzels, utensils, napkins and more.

With a just a bit of planning, your cowboy and Indians-themed party will be a big success in the Wild, Wild West.

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Social Class and the Value of Communication Skills

According to a recent post in Science Daily, upper class people don’t read the emotions of others as well as members of the lower class. Because lower class individuals must rely upon their abilities to understand the content and intentions of others to sustain basics, like housing or childcare, they work harder to communicate.

Conversely, members of the upper class don’t need to rely as much on what another person really means when they communicate.

Communicating well—and using available technology to communicate with a broad audience—can make you rich. AOL, Inc.’s purchase of the Huffington Post for more than $300 million demonstrates the value of communication in today’s world.

Author James William Neuliep expands the concept of upper class communications in “Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach.” Depending upon the level of stratification in the society in which a person operates, identifiers—such as a person’s occupational post or family status—communicate the person’s relative societal distinction outside their own country. In the financial industry, for example, a variety of hierarchical details about the individual establish prospective employment suitability.

Generations of Americans have been raised to believe in equal opportunity. That’s the benefit of growing up in the newer, Western world. Any child of any family, rich or poor—lower class, middle class or upper class—may aspire to and achieve vast materialistic success.

Rodney Dangerfield made a signature of his statement “I got no class.” Mr. Dangerfield made a fortune by making fun of his humble beginnings.

“Equal opportunity” doesn’t assume that all individuals have equal gifts, talents or assets. Regardless of a person’s lifestyle, his family relationships or the perspective of generations impressed upon him by that family, he has the right to a compete for greater opportunities.

 

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