Being prepared for injuries and illnesses is important for a child and adult’s well-being. Many items should be in your medicine cabinet. Yet, the odds are high that most homes are missing these essential products.
For first-aid purposes, you should always have a variety of band-aids. Keep a stock of different sizes, as no cut is alike. There may be large scrapes requiring large bandages or small paper cuts requiring small ones. Surgical tape and gauze pads are necessary for deeper cuts that do not need stitches, but require more padding. Also, keep some antibiotic ointment, such as Neosporin, to prevent infection and hydrogen peroxide for washing out scrapes and cuts. Splinters require the use of tweezers. Be sure you spend the money and get a pair that really grabs. Other items that should be on hand are butterfly closures for jagged cuts, nail scissors, fingernail clippers, toenail clippers, muscle rubs (Bengay), and cortisone cream for itchy rashes and bug bites. Finally, keep an ace bandage handy in case of emergency.

Medications that should be kept on hand include pain relievers, aspirin, nausea remedies for indigestion, cold medicines including decongestant, cough syrup for persistent coughs, and throat lozenges or sprays for sore throats. Keeping a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on hand is an excellent idea during the winter when stomach viruses are common.

There is plenty of debate over pain relievers. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is not recommended for those who have a few drinks because it can damage the liver. Ibuprofen (Advil) reacts to a number of medications. Many people are allergic to aspirin.

Despite this, aspirin is beneficial in thinning the blood. Keep aspirin on hand, even baby aspirin will work, in case of a heart attack. The pills can save a life.

Many new parents are told to keep Ipecac syrup on hand in case of poisoning. There is debate on this issue now, as many doctors say the medicine does not help remove poison from the stomach at all. In some cases, proper treatment must be delayed until all of the ipecac is vomited by the child. Only in rare occasions is ipecac helpful. I still suggest keeping a bottle on hand, but only use it if your pediatrician has given you the okay.

Every medicine cabinet needs a thermometer. The new digital kinds work quickly and easily. They take up little room, so there is no reason to bypass this important tool. If you have older thermometers, they may contain lead. Dispose of them at your local pharmacy.

Other items that are helpful to keep on hand include cotton swabs, cotton balls, Vaseline for chapped lips or cracked skin, Epsom salts for sprains, and witch hazel for bruises.

It is important that you check and update your medicine cabinet on a regular basis. For the face, it is advisable to stack up on best vitamin c serum for face that you can find in the market too.

At the beginning of every season, you should go through your medicine cabinet, dispose of any outdated medicines, and inventory your supplies. Medications that are past their expiration date can be toxic and you want to restock the items that you have run low on.

All right, I confess. I’m a bachelor. I eat out a lot more than most folks I know. I cook maybe twice a month, and that’s if you consider boiling spaghetti cooking. I eat at my local Hardee’s restaurant about once a week. This past week, the location I frequent started carrying Red Burrito food. I had my chance to sample this cuisine.
Now, I don’t live in the Eastern Carolinas, or anywhere where Red Burrito exists as a stand-alone restaurant. I have never seen one in my life. I have been informed recently that many Hardee’s restaurants already offer the dual-branded service. Why did it take so long to get to me? I could have had it all this time. Where they holding out on me? Who cares? It’s a great thing.

I remember as a kid, I could count on one hand the times I ate at Hardee’s. That’s not per week or year. That’s for my entire childhood, including my teen year! Hardee’s just wasn’t competitive with the other burger joints. But sometime in the last ten years, Hardee’s repackaged their entire franchise and drastically improved their menu. They even rebranded their water bottles using water bottles custom label. I’ve enjoyed their Thickburgers about once a week ever since.

Now, there’s more to the selection. Of course, I love fast-food prices, but let’s face it. When it comes to Mexican, fast-food hasn’t been so kind. Taco Bell is far from authentic. Although I’m a Taco Bell fan, too, I know the Bell is anything but realistic. I even lived in South Texas for seven years, on the Rio Grande border. I know authentic Mexican food, and Taco Bell is not authentic.

Red Burrito is certainly not more of the same. Red Burrito menu selections feature a distinctly more authentic flavor than the Bell. If you’re looking for good Mexican food at fast-food prices, you’ve got it there. The beans I had took me back to the Border. The rice took me back to the Border. But for me, the coup de grace was the taco shell. It wasn’t hand-made, but it was much closer to authentic than anything Taco Bell has ever given me.

So I conclude this by saying simply that I love Red Burrito. No, I’m not quitting Taco Bell. I’ll just eat at Taco Bell when I just want to eat food. If I want a more authentic Mexican meal, I’ll eat at Hardee’s/Red Burrito. Sure, I’d like to eat at a sit-down authentic Mexican restaurant, but I can’t afford to do that once or twice a week. Fast-food is my way for now. Hardee’s/Red Burrito has my business.

As a professional web designer from top digital marketing strategies company for over ten years, I have had to overcome some hurdles, both in terms of actually designing web sites and training clients on the importance of owning and properly maintaining a web site.
Hurdle 1: Train Yourself

Imagine sitting to take a test for a subject you know nothing about. This is how a client might feel if you approach them and do not at least know some basics of web design. Whether you are working with software to design the web site or hand coding as I do, knowing how to use your tools is the first step.

One such tool every web designer needs, regardless of how you design the web site itself is communication. How well you know a subject can be seen in how well you are able to explain it to someone else. Imagine going to purchase a car and all the salesperson is able to tell you is that you put gas in it and turn the key. They are unable to tell you anything else. Would you buy a car from that salesperson? Probably not.

Remember, your client will most likely not be a web designer.

Hurdle 2: Training the Client

The first question I ask all clients is, “Why do you want a web site?” Silly question to ask a client, right? Yet the typical answers I get are mind blowing. I get answers like “everyone else has one” and “shouldn’t I have one?” Sure a web site is a helpful marketing tool to either share information about a company or product to generate customers and revenue. Remember, most of your clients are not going to be web designers and many might not fully understand what a web site can do for their business.

As a Web designer, your first job behind educating yourself on designing web sites is to train the client. This can include everything from explaining the difference between a web site and a web page. Try to avoid technical terms if you can. Do not dummy things down for clients, but do make sure to explain items in a way they will be able to understand.

For example, you might try equating a web page to a page in a book and a web site as being the whole book. Just as a book is broken into chapter, a web site can be broken down into sections, and then further broken down into pages.

A web site is not a magic bullet. It will not grow revenue all on its own.

Hurdle 3: Marketing

If no one knows about the web site, no one will visit. Simply adding the web site to a search engine might have seemed enough back when the web was young, but unfortunately today this will not work. Decide if you will be offering this service yourself or outsourcing to another company.

Business cards and other marketing material the client is using might need to be updating to including the web site address, especially if the web site is new to the client.

Hurdle 4: Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Do not be afraid to evaluate your abilities and scope out the pricing of other web designers locally. Most clients will want to work with local web designers if possible or at least my experience has been such.

Know your strength and weaknesses. This is where knowing the competition as well as those in related areas come in. Say you are really good at writing the code and laying out the page, but not so hot graphically. You might need to outsource this part of a project. Having contacts who are graphic designers might be of some value to you when you approach a client who desires a graphic heavy web site.

If you don’t know something, make sure this is communicated. Do not be afraid to let the client know you are unable to assist them or that you might have to do some research before committing to a project. The worst thing for you to do is to commit to something you know you cannot do and then not deliver.

This is where networking skills are very important. If your weakness is in writing proper code or graphics, network with something who can. Even networking with those in other areas such as the printing business might be beneficial, for possible mutual client sharing.

Hurdle 5: Sell Yourself

When you approach a client regarding designing or redesigning their web site, remember you are selling more than just a service. You are selling yourself: your experience, your reliability, your talent. This is where knowing your tools comes in. Remember, your tools are more than just your ability to design a web site.

First impressions are so vital as you never get a second chance to sell yourself the first time again. Make sure your attire is appropriate and you have a business card to present the client. Also, if you are familiar with the business or products, this could also be a plus to bring up in an appropriate manner.