The key to survival when taking to the wilderness alone lies in preparation. A backpacker should never embark on a lengthy solo hike without first mastering the fundamentals of survival. This preparation can be accomplished by studying topographic maps of the area, learning water purification and first aid techniques, and familiarizing yourself with native plant and wildlife species.

Why is this important? In a worse-case scenario, your two primary challenges will be finding food and water and avoiding encounters with poisonous snakes, insects, and wild animals. For this reason, it is a good idea to know which plants are edible and which are not, and which species of animals are poisonous or potentially dangerous. Becoming familiar with your surroundings is a great way to stack the cards of survival in your favor.

Before embarking on a solo hike, always inform a friend or family member to your whereabouts in case you become lost or encounter severe weather conditions. Rescuers cannot find you unless they know where to look. Always check weather conditions before you begin the hike; a slight rain can turn torrential in a hurry, transforming even the smallest stream into a flash-flood hazard.

During your hike, you may encounter many unforeseen inconveniences. One example is getting lost. It is always a good idea to stick to familiar trails and terrain when backpacking alone. In the event that you become lost, the number one rule is to not panic. When a person panics, they cannot think rationally and rational thinking is a key to survival in the wilderness. Climbing a hill or a tree can often solve this problem; you will gain a better vantage point and can usually find familiar landmarks to point yourself back to the trail.

Another inconvenience can be the need for drinking water. Regardless of how clean or pure a source of water may appear, never under any circumstances drink water without boiling it over an open fire. Failure to treat drinking water can lead to severe abdominal cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea. The fluids you may lose due to a bacterial infection can often lead to dehydration, which is a recipe for disaster in the wilderness.

Perhaps the most important tip for solo backpacking is to employ common sense. Never put yourself in a situation that can become dangerous. Never hike in bad weather, never eat fruits or berries unless you know that they are not poisonous, never get too close to wildlife, and always stick to the trail.

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Winter activities in Cincinnati
Fountain Square. Downtown Cincinnati’s fountain square is the bustling center of this river edged town of business and industry. Winter activities in Cincinnati start with the tree being placed in the square but this is no boring ceremony. There is ice skating, caroling, hot chocolate stand, vendors, charities, choirs, and of curse, Santa’s. This is the beginning of things to do in Cincinnati, OH during the winter and holiday season. Admission to the square is free and shuttle service from most neighborhoods is available.

The festival of lights at the Cincinnati zoo. This is a stunning display of Christmas and holiday themes done in lights. Huge, waving palm trees hang over exotic bird cages and glowing fish line aquariums and tanks. It is a colorful tribute to the start of the holiday season and includes caroling, pictures with Santa, merrily dressed workers, and when nature provides the timing, zoo babies. No trip or life in Cincinnati is complete without seeing the amazing collection of endangered babies the Cincinnati zoo helps bring into the world. What man has almost wiped out, these dedicated professionals work endlessly to replace. It is the top of the list of winter activities in Cincinnati, OH.

The holiday in lights, in Sharonville. Just off interstate 75, the festival in lights is a mile long drive through the woods that are full of holiday light displays. From current film and animation to the classics most people grew up with, this short drive is well worth the admission price. The best part? You never have to get the kids out of the car and yet, you are having a family bonding moment that does not include the newest toy in your kids meal.

Sled riding. When the hills and valleys are covered in layers of white, join the kids on their inner-tubes and fly down sloping slides of fun while I test my new tactical flashlight amazon. Announced to the news, properties open their empty hills to allow youngsters to play, using a do so at your own risk policy. many winter activities in Cincinnati are like that. Falls are likely, as this part of Ohio sees a lot of ice.

New for 2010, is the concept of holding sled riding races to raise money for local homeless and animal shelters.

More winter activities in Cincinnati

Many neighborhoods host snow ball fights for charity, along with parades, winter carnivals, and bazaars. A local paper will have a huge list of each weeks events.

Sleep outside night raises awareness for the homeless and has become an annual event that has helped those less fortunate all over the city.

Home lighting contests are rampant throughout the city and entry is free.

These are some of the best things to do in Cincinnati, OH during the winter.

My family calls it being cooped up all day, and not letting my daughter be around other kids, spectators say I need to take a break and get out of the house, others say my daughter needs to be around other people than her immediate family of three. These are the voices of people who comment on my choice to be a stay at home mom. It seems as though they are turning what is supposed to be a positive decision into a negative one. Despite how annoying and sometimes hurtful some of their comments can be, I just remind myself that these comments are made by people with limited knowledge of staying at home with children because they have opted to work full-time for fear of raising sheltered, anti-social- children who suffer from separation. or because they had no choice but to work outside the home.

I choose to stay at home with my child because it is essential for me to be there to raise and care for her. I always say to myself, my social life can always be rebuilt but I can not get back the first years of my daughter’s life, so I indulge in the time I get to spend with her. The idea of day care did cross my mind, but I just could not bear to send her, because images of teacher’s neglecting her, other children, hitting and fighting her, began to fill my mind. I even thought about her getting sick from the other kids frequently and, I thought about how much our bond would loosen. All those thoughts were scary, so from there, I made a vow to myself to avoid putting my daughter in daycare and instead let them attend school in Teddy Kids Kinderopvang. From that point on, I adjusted my life for what I see as her convenience. for our bond, and for her security, and for maybe my assurance.

My daughter used to suffer from separation anxiety, whenever I had to leave her she would throw tantrums and not let anyone console her, a relative made a snippy comment saying that she would only get worse, if I did not let her go to daycare. This angered me greatly because this relative refused to see that my daughter was throwing a tantrum for a reason and it was because she did not feel secure, and that she needed me, to help build her security. I was even told that I shouldn’t carry her around the house a lot because I would not get anything done. I did not take their advice and two years later I have an emotionally, healthy, independent, secure two year old.

I stayed home with my baby and no, I didn’t keep her locked in the house everyday, we went for walks around the block, we went to parks, and beaches, we went to the library I signed her up for parent-child playgroups where she could interact with babies her age as well as adults. I believed my daughter benefited greatly from me staying home with her, I have been able to teach her new things each day. We spend time reading books, learning numbers, colors, playing and making music and doing arts and crafts and various projects that help her learn. Despite what people have said bout “sheltered” children, my daughter is very smart, she is very vocal, her vocabulary is expansive and clear, and she has no problem at all formulating sentences. When we have to separate she does much better and I know it’s because she is secure now, she knows that mommy is not leaving her. Staying at home with her has made our stronger which has given her the confidence to interact with others. My daughter is not anti-social or reclusive she is a people -person.

I am glad I did not listen to those who told me not to stay at home with my child.I believe that it’s the bond between parents that determines a child’s emotional success, and sometimes physical success like career wise, or as far as goal setting. I don’t look down or judge parents who have to work outside of the home or parents who choose not to stay at home with their children for their own personal beliefs, I just believe that sometimes we leave our children too early, leaving little time for creating a secure bond, which in some children may cause attachment problems which then may effect social skills. Of course my beliefs are just my own, there have been reported cases of children having a strong bond with their parents despite going to daycare and I agree that once a child is secure with a strong bond with parent(s) that he/she will be able to separate without jeopardizing the parent child bond. My daughter is more secure than she was a year ago and she show signs of an eagerness to be around other children now, and to support this urge, I am going to enroll her in a toddler group, for once a week for 3 hours by herself.

Just look for the signs that your children give and follow them, they may show signs of insecurity, or even independence you just have to examnme them closesly and support them,

Every parent is different and every child and family is different, moms should do what’s best for them whether it’s to go out and work or stay at home with the kids. I just wanted it known that not all stay at home children are sheltered, reclusive, anti social. Or possess a great problem with separation of anxiety, it all depends on the way parents, raise their child.

One thing that is 100-percent certain: if you don’t tell people what you want them to do, you shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t do it.
Just as it is your job as a manager to determine the most effective leadership style for your “workers,” you also bear the responsibility for effective communication.

Telling people what you want them to do is “communication” and (after examining your “management philosophy” and learning the concepts of “situational leadership”) is the third simple step toward effective management.

Parts of communication
Communication always has two parts – “sending” and “receiving.” Communication is a two way process, one person “sends a message” another person “receives the message.”

Communication can come in different forms. Two people having a private conversation, sending email/writing a letter, and giving a speech to a group are all “forms” of communication. Information is sent and received then information is returned.

“Listening” is an essential part of communication. Listening is more than just “hearing” what is said. A large part of person to person communication is “non-verbal” (some researchers say it is 95% of the message). We pay more attention to “how” something is said than to “what” is being said.

Imagine the many different ways someone could say “I’m so happy” – If they say it while jumping up and down, in a high voice, with a smile on their face – you get one message. If they say it while slumped in a chair, in a monotone, with a frown – you get a much different message.

This lack of non-verbal communication is a problem with the written word. Email doesn’t allow you to see the person’s face, or hear their voice, and it is easy to misunderstand the message. Punctuation and emotes have been developed to combat this problem (e.g. “I’m so happy!” 😉 or “I’m so happy? 🙁 “) but don’t count on them to get your message across. Be sure to select the right “medium” (e.g. face-to-face, email, chart) for your message.

The “simple” concept = You knowing what needs to be done is not enough, you must communicate what needs to be done to others. It is possible to give too much information (which can be irritating), but it is much more common to give too little information (which is much worse).

More Information
Countless books have been written on “business communication” (your local library probably has over 100 books on the subject).

If you are looking for a way to leverage communication to give your company a competitive advantage, there has been a trend towards “open-book management” which relies heavily on communication between management and employees. The big idea being: If your “direct reports” don’t know the plan (i.e. “how the company makes money”) they won’t be able to contribute to the success of the “company.”

Tips for Effective communication

The well worn advise to “be yourself” is still true. People are always good at smelling out “fakes” or “posers” and quickly tune them out. Being genuine doesn’t guarantee that your audience will agree with (or even understand) what you are saying you, just that they will listen.

Do not “yell” and do not use profanity. This isn’t a morality issue, people have the tendency to shut down and dig-in when they feel attacked. Your audience may miss the point you are trying to make and simply remember that you used certain words.

Craft the message to the audience. You may know what you are saying, but does the audience understand what you are saying? Do not “talk over” your audiences head but don’t “dumb it down” either.

Repeat important points. Tell them what is important, then tell them again. People learn through repetition, you cannot “tell them” once and expect them to understand completely.

It is never “OK” to lie. Again this is not a morality issue, if you are a habitual lier then you will lose credibility. Once you’ve lost credibility then you’ve lost your ability to effectively lead. If you don’t know something, say you don’t know. If you are wrong about something, admit you were wrong.

Conclusion
Management communication can be boiled down to “shampoo instructions”: communicate, observe, repeat. Simple, but (again, for the last time) that doesn’t mean “easy.”

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The natural warmth of Western décor has a way of turning a bland home into a luxurious and cozy space. The combination of leather furniture, rich woods, and earth tones, are appealing and soothing to the senses. Unfortunately, a house filled with plush leather furniture, expensive antler chandeliers, and handcrafted accents and even wooden dinnerware that characterize a traditional Western décor theme, are beyond the reach of many budget-minded homemakers. Luckily, the look and feel of a comfortable Western lodge can be captured at a fraction of the cost by zeroing in on a few basics.

The first step toward capturing the ambiance of Western décor is to eliminate plastics and synthetics from your home. Take them down and move them out, and get ready to replace them with some real wood, leather, and other organic materials.

Look for hidden wood, covered up by layers of synthetic flooring or paint, that you can remove.

Rather than buying leather furniture for thousands of dollars per item, use genuine leather cowhides, deerskins, or buffalo hides, as throws over beds, couches, and chairs. This will change the look and feel of your room dramatically. A sheepskin or fur pelt thrown over the leather creates a warm look and feel.

Find fabrics with earth tones, American Indian, or oriental motifs, for bedspreads and throw rugs.

Don’t underestimate the power of windows and their decorations. Replace plastic window treatments with natural fibers and fabrics with earth tones.

Use earthy colors and hues on the warm end of the spectrum for walls and trim, and apply the subtle muted effect of orange lighting in corners or hallways.

Scour rural second-hand shops for collectibles to use as focal points. Replace plastic containers with rustic tins and tubs. A washboard, hand grinder, or even a rusty scythe, will be reminiscent of the Old West when used as a tasteful decorative accent on a wall or shelf.

The beauty of expensive antler art pieces created by master craftsman can be suggested by simply incorporating shed antlers in decorative centerpieces with items from your rural treasure hunts.

Use candles and lanterns to suggest the natural flame of fireplaces and woodstoves that are always part of the rustic country home.

You can capture the laid back luxury of a rustic Western lodge with these guiding principles: use materials that nature provides, incorporate earth tone colors, warm the room up with natural flame, and scour second hand stores for country collectibles. Incorporating these elements will allow you to embrace the luscious ambiance of Western décor without spending a fortune on things like leather furniture and expensive antler creations.