Lilac City Momma

Lynn

Family Counselling in Central Coast

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When it comes to finding a good family counselling service, you want to make sure that you can trust your counselors to help ease your troubled minds, and finding the right ones will mean that you are able to heal whatever is ailing you mentally and even be closer to your family or loved one. Most of the best family counselors may even offer things like relationship and marriage counseling as well. In this guide we’re going talk about how you can find the best family counselling in all of the Central Coast area.

Don’t Look in the Phone Book

Believe it or not, while most businesses will have business listings in the phone book, it’s important to know that some of the best physicians may be online, but they’re not listed in advertisements in the phone books and newspapers. The more advertising in the public eye (other than the internet, which is often cost effective) that you can find about a clinic, means that they’re “selling” themselves, and they’re often more expensive and have a bad reputation that they’re trying to protect. Instead look for ones that are referred online.

Ask Someone Close to You

You may want to ask someone in your local area about a counseling service if you’re in the Central Coast area. You may be surprised at how many people in your local area may have needed help at one point and time, and visited a good office.

Getting Help is the Most Important Goal

If you’re needing to actually get help, you’ll know it. And while you may be in denial of your problems at times, you may know they’re already there if you’re looking for a good counselling service. If this is you, you’ll want to know that they should be able to possibly help you if you give the office of your choosing a call. Talk to them, and see how they treat you. If they just treat you like a patient instead of a person, then you’ll want to move on. Most of the best counselling services will offer some sort of phone consultation, and then ultimately schedule an appointment to help better serve you than what they could over the phone.

Ask them About Insurance & More

Believe it or not, the best mental health services actually will help provide things like Medicare rebates, and even offer after hours appointments for things like one on one and house sessions. You’ll want to make sure that your counselor is well equipped to be able to accept y our insurance, and if they don’t, that they can provide services for a reasonable payment plan and price as well.

At the same time, you want to make sure that you are going to a professional clinic with a therapist that can offer mental health services that actually has the education to back up their practices.

Conclusion

When you’re looking for the top counselling Central Coast, Newcastle, Hunter, or even the Lake Macquarie area in New South Wales, you’ll want to go talk to Adam at AJR Counselling, Coaching & Consulting. They offer professional counselling services for families, children, and even individual life coaching and counselling, and have helped hundreds of people in the area with their various programs.

 

A Howling Good Time at Busch Gardens this Halloween

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Some people look forward to Halloween all year long. The people at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL may put themselves in that category as well. They have been hosting a killer event known as Howl-O-Scream for the last twenty years every Halloween season.

Howl-O-Scream runs from September 20 to November 2 this year. Howl-O-Scream 2019 should be particularly scary as it celebrates “20 Years of Fear” with sinister surprises at every turn. Brave guests can explore horrifying houses, terrifying scare zones, and thrilling rollercoaster rides in the dark for 22 select nights. The park promises to unearth some long-buried Halloween icons of the past while unveiling new nightmares that will haunt you for years to come.

When you go to Howl-O-Scream, you can expect many spine-tingling scares. Some of the unique events The Residence, a suburban home overrun by domestic demons; Death Water Bayou: Wrath of the Queen; Motel Hell: Infestation, where the exterminator turns on you; Simon’s Slaughterhouse; and much, much more.

Area resort hotels start taking reservations for this particular event early in the year as they know that people are going to line up for it, but there are still spots available. You should work on reserving your spot and then take a look at some of the other things that you can do while visiting Orlando.

Sea Life Orlando Aquarium

Consider checking out the marine life that has made the region so famous in a safe and family-friendly way. The Sea Life Aquarium in Orlando has many of the species that you are familiar with and perhaps a few that you are not. You and your family can enjoy spotting the creatures that you would normally see out in the ocean. Gain some knowledge about these majestic creatures in this very fun experience.

The Florida Mall

Check out some of the best shopping opportunities in the entire South at the Florida Mall. This is the kind of place where you can find shops of all types. You can move from shop to shop at your leisure and kill some time while you are waiting.

Orlando Science Center

Grow your brain knowledge when you visit the Orlando Science Center. It is the best place to go to get your children excited about science and the world around them. There is so much to see and do and it is changing all the time. New exhibits come around throughout the year to keep things fresh. If you are ambitious about it, you can sign up ahead of time to reserve a birthday party for your child. The museum hosts these kinds of things for your child and all of his or her friends.

Try Out An Escape Room

Escape rooms are gaining in popularity throughout the country and there are some great ones in Orlando. Escapology is a premier escape room in that area. You can try out their various rooms to see if you can solve the clues. These are best done with a group of people, so you may want to see if you can get other people attending the Howl-O-Scream to come along with you.

It is important to know that first-time escape room customers often have difficulty figuring out the clues they need to get out of the room in an hour or less. It is difficult but a lot of fun.

Area Accommodations

Orlando is packed with great hotels for the whole family. One popular pick is the Hyatt Place across from Universal Orlando Resort. It offers 24/7 on-site dining and free shuttle service to area attractions for your convenience. There’s also a heated outdoor pool for when you want to just lounge around.

Hilton Orlando is another popular pick. This sprawling hotel covers some 26 acres and features seven dining options, two pools, a lazy river, and tons of other fun activities right there.

 

Should You Accept Cash From Tenants?

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Although every day is different in the life of a landlord, some situations occur more often. One question that some landlords will inevitably face is whether or not they should accept cash from tenants as payment or deposit on their rental property. Online software can help you with free tenant screening to ensure that a tenant applying to rent your apartment has a good credit history; however, just because someone has good credit doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be able to reliably pay their rent in cash. Here are some things to keep in mind when considering cash versus check or credit card. 

The benefits and weaknesses of cash

While it’s less common, some people in the world don’t have bank accounts. If they do have a checking account, they’d be able to either write you a check or you could set up auto deposits with their banking account’s routing info. Still, just because someone doesn’t have money in a bank account doesn’t mean that they can’t pay their rent each week. For example, having your rent paid in cash means that you get immediate access to your monthly rent. You don’t need to be concerned about whether or not a check will bounce or a credit card charge will be reversed, either, which can also provide peace of mind. 

Accepting cash as a form of payment for rent does have some drawbacks. For example, nobody is likely to send a lot of money through the mail, and it’s more tedious to find time to meet a tenant in person and then deposit their rent in the bank. Checks can be deposited electronically, which makes it much easier to handle rent payments if you’re a busy landlord. While property managers who have only one or two rentals may be willing to make these concessions to rent their apartment, larger operations will likely need to avoid cash-only tenants if they’re pressed for time. 

Online payment is on the rise

While writing a check to pay rent is still the norm for many tenants and landlords, more and more landlords are accepting payment online, too. With platforms like PayPal and Venmo gaining more users every day, it makes sense that landlords would want an option that’s convenient and quick as they try to appeal to tenants. This doesn’t help individuals who want to pay in cash, of course; however, if they don’t have a checkbook but do have a bank account, online payment can be a great solution. 

Money orders are an option, too

If a tenant only has access to cash, they can find a more secure way to get their money by using a money order. Anyone can go to the bank and exchange their dollars for a money order, which is similar in function to a check. This enables your tenant to mail the rent payment each month without having to schedule a day and time to meet with you in person each month. For both the convenience that they offer and the fact that they enable you to appeal to and work with a variety of tenants, it’s worth considering accepting money orders if you’re interested in helping tenants who only have cash. 

Ultimately, you decide how you run your business. Some landlords want to accept cash payments for rent and others want to choose a less time-consuming option. Pick the one that fits your style and keep the above points in mind, and you won’t go wrong in your property management journey.

First Home Inspection? Here’s What You Should Be Looking for in Your Property

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The prospect of house hunting and owning your first home (or selling your first home) can be exhilarating. However, this overwhelming excitement can cause you to overlook important parts of the buying process, such as conducting a home inspection. Even if a house looks move-in ready, you’re still going to want to conduct a thorough home inspection to make sure that no inherent issues exist with the structure or appliances. After all, the more problems there are with the house, the more it’s going to cost you to take care of these later on. Whether you’re hiring someone for your inspection or doing a quick sweep through yourself, here are some of the key areas you should be examining during the process.

Foundation and water drainage issues

While foundation issues can occur on their own, they often go hand in hand with water drainage issues. This is because water that is allowed to flow back towards the house can deteriorate the materials your house is made of. When this happens, you can end up dealing with serious mold and mildew issues, insect problems, and other conditions that may make it dangerous to live in the house without making some serious repairs first. Take a close look at the gutters and drain pipes around the house to make sure that they’re functioning properly. If there’s anything wrong with these areas, do what you must to eliminate any moisture or damage before buying or selling.

Old or faulty electrical and plumbing systems

Older electrical systems contain wiring methods that may be dangerous. When circuit breakers are tripped on these types of systems, you may end up with fires and electric shocks as a result. Even if you’re not looking at or selling a house that is older, there’s always the potential that the house was not wired properly or that the wiring has somehow worn down throughout the years. Similarly, plumbing systems that have been in use or out of commission for a significant amount of time can have issues. A home inspection will review the overall water pressure and whether or not there are any issues in the piping that takes waste out of your home. Along with the foundation, these are two important areas that must be checked during a home inspection.

Roof and chimney strength and quality

Because the roof is out of sight, it’s often also out of mind. However, the roof is what keeps out unwanted moisture and other elements of nature that may also be trying to get in. Roofs that have been ignored will show signs of rotting and moisture underneath the shingles. This can then affect the space directly underneath the roof. If you have a chimney, it will also need to be inspected. Despite being sturdy, chimneys can still break down and wear away over time. Your entire roof should be watertight so that nothing comes in and the only thing that goes out is the smoke from your fireplace.

Along with these main sections that need to be checked during an inspection, you will also want to examine your HVAC system, any internal fan systems, and potentially dangerous building materials. If you need a home inspection but aren’t able to conduct it yourself, reach out to a professional company such as Above All Leveling to take care of the inspection process and some of the more difficult repairs.

To read more on topics like this, check out the life hacks category.

How to Use Design Principles to Decorate Your Home

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If you’ve ever watched a television show on which individuals flip homes or remodel spaces, you may be jealous of the results. After all, you most likely own your home, as well, but it might not seem as put together as one that is professionally designed by an interior decorator. One of the reasons that home remodels look so great on television is because of a few principles of design that go a long way in transforming a space for good-looking to great. Here’s how you can use the same design principles that professional decorators use to decorate your home.

Balance the space, especially if it’s small

Balance is one of the best principles to follow when you’re decorating your home. Put in layman’s terms, balance means that things are evenly distributed throughout your home and each room in it. You don’t want too many items in one space, otherwise, the room will feel small and cramped. At the same time, however, having too few items will make it feel like your home isn’t ever lived in and is empty. In addition to considering quantity, it’s also a good idea to have items at different heights throughout the room. If all of your bookcases and other furniture make it so that there’s a lot of space above the five foot line in your home, it may make people feel uncomfortably tall. Balance is the difference between looking like a cluttered packrat or someone without enough money to decorate and somebody with taste and style.

Create emphasis with accent pieces

If you’re on a budget, emphasis is a great way to take advantage of a design principle without breaking the bank. Emphasis ensures that there are focal points in every space of your home, directing guest’s focus so that they look where you want them to. Emphasis also helps underline the function in each room, such as drawing everyone’s eye towards the television in the room you watch sports on or accenting an impressive dishware hutch in your dining room. Emphasis allows you to show off your best pieces, which also means that you can focus your budget on these items instead of needing to purchase expensive pieces of furniture and decor throughout your home. Think about emphasizing something in every part of your home, including in hallways. Even an inexpensive, yet personal piece of artwork from Simple Canvas Prints can go a long way in creating dynamic design in your home.

Unity ties a room together

An additional design principle to consider when decorating is unity. This principle, which is also known as harmony, refers to how each aspect of your room works together to form a cohesive statement. Without unity, things in your home will feel mismatched and slapdash, rather than carefully thought out. Selecting similar shapes, textures, materials, and color palettes are all ways to create unity in a room. At the same time, however, you must remember to balance the space, too, or it may feel too one-note. You can use contrast to disrupt unity and create excitement and emphasis in each space once you’ve established a pattern of materials and colors. This allows you to pick a theme for each room without overwhelming yourself or your guests with too much of one thing in a manner that appears obsessive.

Each design principle seems simple, and they are on their own. However, when you begin to combine different design principles together, you can create an elegant, cohesive space that impresses others without having to break the bank. Keep concepts like balance, emphasis, unity, and contrast in mind as you approach each room in your home, and you’ll be able to create a stunning transformation with little thought and careful planning.

To read more on topics like this, check out the life hacks category.