by ·Comments Off on How I found Kik friends
kik usernames

This is how I met Andrew before Valentine’s Day.

I’m probably the shyest person that you’ll ever meet, and this is why my friends convinced me that I should try my luck on Kik to get to know someone because I have been single since quite a while now. Most of my friends have Kik profiles, and I decided to make one myself. Every time we go out somewhere by best friends all have their phones out that their eyes on the screens, swiping and chatting all evening. I am not the type of person that hangs around on Tinder and such kinds of apps, but I thought to myself that if I give Kik a try, this cannot hurt. I don’t have to make a boyfriend necessarily, and all I may do online is chat with someone because it’s true that I have been isolated enough since I broke up with my horrible ex.

Anyway, after I made a Kik profile, the next thing was finding friends who I could talk to. I didn’t know how exactly to do this in order to be able to avoid all kinds of weirdos. A friend of my recommended me this website and told me that it would turn out to be more than useful. It’s supposed to help you find new friends on Kik. The website is pretty easy to use even for a noob like myself, and you are able to search for new Kik friends by gender, age, orientation, and country. I submitted my own Kik usernames, and that was it.

I checked out both female and male list in this website to see more people because as I already told you I was not necessarily interested in making a boyfriend, all I wanted is getting to know new people. I found a bunch of users who seemed interesting, and I chatted a bit with them, but it turned out that I had a few things in common only with one of them, Andrew. I didn’t want anything particular, all I wanted was to chat about life, movies and so on. I discovered that he likes Stranger Things as well and I must admit that I am a crazy fan myself and this was the subject that we chatted about for two days. I have been taking to Andrew for a week now, and he asked me to go out to the movies for Valentine’s Day. At first, I was not sure what to answer by my friends keep nagging me and telling me that I should definitely go.

I decided that I’ll go and only the thought of having to dress nice and go out makes me really excited. I don’t know why I was so terrified of making this Kik profile and meeting someone because now it doesn’t seem such a big deal anymore. One of the best things I found out about is this website that I was telling you about, usernamesfinder.com, because you can easily find the people who are eligible to talk to. Tomorrow I’m going to see Andrew and see how it all works out.

by ·Comments Off on Wounded gut – the leading cause of weight gain
best probiotics for weight loss

I just read an article that seemed really interesting, and I thought that I would share the info with you. I was searching all kinds of healthy ways to lose weight besides diets because I’m done with them after failing every time I tried one.

Anyway, the article was describing the way in which a long time ago farmers were giving antibiotics to their livestock to keep them healthy and then they noticed something bizarre. All their pigs, chickens and cows were free of infections, but they were also getting fatter.

After that, since the early ‘50s, antibiotics were given to livestock to control and avoid infection and boost their weight on the scale. It seems that antibiotics do not make only animals fatter, but humans as well. You must have heard by now that conventionally farmed meat is usually loaded with tons of antibiotics. The main problem with antibiotic consumption is that they wipe out our inner ecosystem and they also destroy our good bacteria from the gut.

Five ways in which harmed gut leads to weight gain

Here is what I learned about the ways in which the gut health influences our weight:

  1. The metabolism

The gut bacteria harvest energy from the foods that we eat, and some of them harvest more than others. It seems that the bacteria living in our guts provide up to 10% of our daily calories.

  1. The hormonal balance

The gut bacteria regulate the release of the gut hormones, and these are the hormones that control blood sugar and encourage the feeling of satiety.

  1. Genetics

The genetic element also shapes our inner ecosystem, and for instance, mutations are able to affect the levels of leptin – a satiety hormone that is associated with fat-forming bacteria.

  1. Inflammation

The unhealthy gut bacteria can produce toxins that trigger a systemic inflammatory response. These toxins have higher levels in the people who struggle with overweight and obesity.

  1. Leaky Gut

The leaky gut is also known as intestinal inflammation, and this leads to obesity. A leaky gut involves a leaky barrier in the gut that allows the toxins to make their way into the bloodstream.

The whole conclusion was that with the help of probiotics you are able to fix all these gut issues that eventually lead to weight gain. If you’re wondering how can probiotics help, well, they can restore the healthy inner ecosystem that was once destroyed by antibiotics and unhealthy lifestyle.

Including probiotics in your daily diet

The main thing I learned during my weight loss journey was that after the inner ecosystem is healthy, you will naturally drop excessive weight. It’s not hard at all, and you just have to include probiotic foods or supplements into your daily diet. Such foods are cultured vegetables, kefir, and yogurt and these will literally increase the beneficial bacteria in your gut. It’s that simple and easy to lose weight with these probiotic supplements. This leads to eliminating inflammation and harmful bacteria.

The diet with probiotics was the only thing that helped me to lose weight and what I want you to remember was that this whole thing was possible because my gut was healing. And as my gut was getting healthier, the stubborn unhealthy fat from my body started to disappear.

I was never a fan of natural solutions because I always felt that medication and treatment would work best to solve any problem, not only excessive weight. But now, I really want to start promoting this natural weight loss way because it’s the easiest one I tried and it also provides the best results that last in the long term as well.

You can read the studies related to antibiotics that I was telling you about at the beginning of this post if you want to. Here it is: Jukes, T. H., & Williams, W. L. (1953). Nutritional effects of antibiotics. Pharmacological reviews.

by ·Comments Off on How to Stop Going Crazy Over an Itchy Beard
how to stop beard itch

I don’t know about you, but I’ve most definitely had that scratch that was never satisfied when growing out my beard. You can sit there for 10 minutes straight scratching and pulling on the same spot until it feels raw underneath, but it still keeps itching. If you’re anything like me, this drives you absolutely nuts, but you deal with it because beards are great. At the end of the day, with all of the itching that I go through, I end up looking like a caveman that’s never seen a comb in his life, instead of the neat-freak that I am. After finding some tips on Grooming Adept’s website, I was able to reduce the amount my beard itches by an incredible amount, and couldn’t help but to share the info.

So why is my beard so itchy?

This may be the first question that your mind shoots to, and I’ll be able to answer it for you. While there are a ton of reasons your beard may seem itchy, one of the top reasons is that it itches during the initial stages of hair growth. If you’re going crazy over the itch of your stubble, it’s not because of anything you’re doing wrong, it’s just how the beard hair grows in. Beard hair is typically more coarse than the hair on your head, which is why you may feel a great deal of itch when it comes through.

The process – when the hair grows out of your skin on your face, it pushes out of the follicle, which means that it’s pushing through your skin. Since skin typically doesn’t like to be poked and prodded, your brain tells you to scratch this slight tingling irritation. If you have a really close shave, and you don’t continue to maintain that, you may see more irritation than anyone that comes across the article – including my caveman-itchiness. You should wait a few days or maybe even a week before deciding to shave your hard-earned stubble, as it’s generally only temporary; however, some aren’t so lucky.

Other causes for an itchy beard:

If you don’t moisturize often, or ever, and you seem to be quite itchy underneath, your itchiness may be to due to dry skin. If you feel the skin above your beard on your face, and it doesn’t seem that moisturized, you may be in the market to buy a product that will assist you in such. Don’t think that buying these types of products takes away your “man card”, and if you do, then you can just deal with the itching and be stubborn!

Maybe you’ve been using a normal shampoo on your beard lately. While some may be okay, generally, they aren’t great for the coarse hair on your face. Shampoos that aren’t made for the beard area may contain chemicals that itch the skin and face, since it’s not made for such a sensitive area. These chemicals may also dry out the area beneath your beard, and cause itching. From what I’ve read, I don’t suggest trying to patch this extra problem with moisturizing, just because you don’t want to switch shampoos. We as men are great problem solvers (sometimes sarcasm…), but if you know the culprit early on, there’s no reason to stick with it and add more.

When you don’t brush ingrown hairs properly, you may feel an itch in your beard because of the direction of the hair. Play around with brush, and see if this eliminates your problem.

Other solutions I’ve found when trying to maintain my beard include:

I’d like to mention this weird tip that I’ve found in my research, and one being that you should probably dry your beard when you get out of the shower (or bath, for those that like a bit more “me” time). Since hard water runs rampant through our plumbing systems, the “contaminants” inside this hard water can dry out our skin and cause us to itch. When you get out of the bathroom post-shower or bath, you should dry your skin off yourself to remove the stuff from the hard water.

What hard water is: if you have no idea, hard water is when there’s magnesium carbonates and calcium within the water. Water without these are generally filtered and called, “soft water”. If you’re rich enough to shower in soft water, well then, I’m coming over!

It’s worth noting that your bed sheets and pillowcases may be the culprit for your itchy beard, as dirty linens are one of the many ways dead skin cells and bacteria can be transmitted. If you’re thinking “TL;DR”, here’s the short:

  • Wash your linens
  • Use beard oils and combs
  • Dry your beard out of the shower
  • Moisturize your face

Who knows, you may be coming back and thanking me!

by ·Comments Off on The Types of Waterproofing Options for Foundations
basement waterproofing

You may have heard of Toronto basement waterproofing companies, but have you heard of foundation waterproofing? While they sometimes go hand in hand, if you have an issue with your foundation and leakage or seeping, you may want to hire a foundation waterproofing company that specializes in correcting these issues.

It’s worth noting that just because foundation is solid, thick, and can keep out a lot, that doesn’t mean it’s waterproof – in fact, your typical concrete isn’t anywhere near waterproof. While there may be some cracks here and there, the composition of the material is what keeps most of the water out; however, there are some that aren’t so lucky, and waterproofing is needed.

What Happens During Foundation Waterproofing?

When your foundation is being corrected regarding waterproofing, the primary goal of the contractor is to ensure that the water is being drained and taken away from the foundation. Sometimes, though, it’s easier said than done, and a professional foundation waterproofing company is a must. The aforementioned is due to the fact that the topography, climate, soil conditions, and foundation depth are factors in a successful foundation waterproofing session.

You may find that your contractor presents the following solutions when waterproofing your foundation:

  • Water draining away from the foundation’s bottom half
  • Treatment on the walls of the foundation for moisture prevention
  • Treatment on the ground surface area that’s adjacent to your building’s foundation to ensure that the water is directed away from your building

For ground surface treatments, you may see a few of these procedures done:

A foundation waterproofing company may set you up or guide you towards someone that can install a thorough gutter system. An efficient gutter system will collect all of the water and take it away from your home, rather than let it sit and dampen the foundation. Normally, a proper gutter system will take the water away at a minimum of 10 feet. You also don’t want to settle for the smallest components either, as you’ll see that there would be more overflowing and issues for your foundation to combat.

Another procedure that is done is to compact backfill in lifts around the walls of the foundation. If you don’t, you may see that it will cause a reverse slope to occur, encouraging water to come closer to the foundation.

Speaking of proximity to the foundation, you should be aware that tress shouldn’t be as close to your foundation. For example, the general rule from the Department of Housing and Urban development is that the height of the tree should be the distance from your house. If not, you’ll find that roots will clog drain pipes and other systems implemented for water drainage. The bigger the tree, the farther away from the house it should be.

It’s also worth mentioning that with these resolutions, you may find that you’ll need to re-address and maintain with a professional to ensure that everything is continuously in working order. If you leave it for too long without addressing, you may find that you’ve been allowing your solutions to become vulnerable – which may encourage water to come back. Maintenance is key when combatting anything, and being a homeowner means being responsible for these things.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you should seek out a foundation waterproofing company in Toronto that will offer a proper resolution for your foundation issues. Even if you don’t have any currently, but want to implement maintenance strategies, a company specializing in such can aid you properly. If you do have problems with your foundation, the proper contractor can also assist you with waterproofing your basement, as well.

by ·Comments Off on Babycarementor.com – My New Favourite website
happy mom with baby

If there is one topic that can always start a complicated debate with endless sides, it is child rearing. Everybody has their own opinions on when you should have kids, how many you should have, how you should raise them, who should watch them, it goes on and on forever.

If you are pregnant or have ever had a child, you already know exactly what I am talking about. People, total strangers, give you unsolicited advice, and a lot of them will even judge you or tell you you’re doing something wrong. I know I went through this a lot when I was pregnant, and it was hard to ignore it. I felt like as a first-time mom I had no right to ignore well-intentioned people. But eventually, I realized that everybody and every baby is different. What worked for some random lady’s baby at Walmart, ishttp://www.butterflyworldproject.com/wp-admin/options-reading.phpn’t guaranteed to work for me and my baby.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate help whenever I can get it, but it can get irritating listening to strangers, or people without kids tell you how to raise yours. They simply do not know what it’s like to try to bathe a squirming and screaming baby, or just how long it takes to get them to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find advice from anybody without a slight tinge of judgments or pushiness. It is rare that you will find someone who will just tell it like it is, just the facts. I found it impossible to do, which is why I turned to the internet for answers. I found thousands of message boards with moms just like me, looking for answers on things no one prepared them for. And just like in real life, when a mom asked even a very basic question, there seemed to be lots of contradicting answers, bickering, and arguing. I thought I had found a site that could help me, but it turned out to be the same thing as in real life, lots of talk and little actual progress or learning. So I kept searching, I knew there had to be a site out there with clear advice and without the judgemental tone. Then I found Baby Care Mentor and I knew it was just what I was looking for.

The Perfect Website for Moms

Baby Care Mentor is an extremely informative site. Their articles are really helpful, interesting, and informative, without being boring or monotonous. They also don’t sound at all judgey or negative in any way. Instead, all the articles are personable, relatable, and very friendly. When it comes to kids, there is practically nothing you can’t find on this site.

Whether you are looking to learn how to make baby food, or how to pick the best baby food maker, Baby Care Mentor has got your back. They write on such a wide variety of topics that there is something for everyone.

Don’t have kids? No problem. If you plan on having then one day, it’s never too early to start learning. It is always better to be prepared for when you do actually have kids.

Don’t have kids and don’t plan on having any? Well, then you probably won’t benefit from this site as much. But, if you ever get invited to a baby shower and have no clue whatsoever to bring as a gift, then Baby Care Mentor can help you out. With endless product recommendations, you’ll have plenty of options of great gifts for the mom to be.

I can definitely see the difference Baby Care Mentor has made in my personal life, and I see no reason why it wouldn’t have the same affect on yours. Since finding Baby Care Mentor, I have felt less stressed, more relaxed, and I feel like I am even enjoying my time with my kids more. I’m not going to make any crazy claims and say it’ll save you thousands of dollars or drastically improve your life and solve all of your problems, but nonetheless, it has improved my life and it can do the same for you. All you have to do is let it, cheesy I know. But seriously, go browse around the site for a few minutes, and if you can’t find a single thing you find helpful, well then you can close it out and never go back. But, if you find something helpful, you should definitely sign up for their newsletter to get updates about the site and free tips by email.

by ·Comments Off on Tips to Speed Up Hair Growth
hair regrowth

Many of us have suffered the beauty pains of a terrible haircut and I’m sure at one point the majority of us have received some type of cut or trim that was shorter than our original expectations. Maybe we didn’t explain ourselves well to stylist. Maybe the stylist was sadistic. Maybe we thought the cut would look super foxy on us, maybe the stylist did. Whether you’ve lost sleep over it or stood before you vanity just staring at the atrocity, one thing eventually occurred, it grew out.

For those in that miserable little boat right now, floating out there wondering where is the magical wand to wave for faster growing locks I’m here to comfort you! I have been in that boat, I have painfully pondered what to do next, I have made it through along with so many millions of others and you will as well.

There are so many misconceptions and old wives tales about tricks to make hair grow faster. What science has proven is that hair growth rate is approximately one half inch to one inch per month for Caucasians with a slightly slower growth rate for African Americans. Keep in mind here, that growth rate can be as individual as the person so some will have a faster growth rate than others will.

The first step is keeping it healthy. Split ends don’t go away; they keep splitting until they break off. So to avoid them cut back on processes that dry hair and cause breakage. Coloring, perms, heating products all strip hair of its natural oils. If you still want to do, just use care. Weekly deep conditioning and moisturizing shampoos will help with that as will treating your hair right with leave in conditioners that protect against heat and have a sunscreen in them for those of us that are beach babies.

I know it’s recommended to have your hair trimmed every six to eight weeks. I don’t and I never have. I’ve kept my hair healthy by taking care of it and I’ve been getting by with trims every eight to twelve weeks. If you don’t need a trim than skip it. If your ends aren’t split and dry and if you’re still okay with styling it than why hack it off?

Get your vitamins. So for those that aren’t on the healthiest of diets, if you change that you will see a huge transformation. A diet rich in greens, dairy, eggs, nuts and fish works best for me. Calcium is fantastic at promoting hair growth, as is Manganese and potassium. It’s also been suggested to take a prenatal vitamin since they are packed with vitamins and minerals. The reason that so many believe this will encourage the hair to grow faster is because women’s generally grows at a faster rate while they’re pregnant. Estrogen is a large contributor to that factor, but getting a good vitamin in does help tremendously. Leary about a prenatal – talk to your doctor and take a multi-vitamin daily.

Drink plenty of water. This combined with a healthier diet and vitamin will not only have your locks looking great but your skin and nails as well. Triple beauty benefits plus a healthier you! What’s not to love about the plan?

Exercise, get the blood flowing and the circulation going. Without good circulation the scalp isn’t going to get the delivery of all the wonderful vitamins and nutrients from your healthy hair diet. Therefore your hair isn’t going to grow any faster. You can also try massaging the scalp to promote circulation, it feels great and helps de-stress you as well. Stress and fatigue are horrible for those dreaming longer locks, so make sure you get your beauty rest. Studies have shown that people who get a better nights rest have a faster hair growth rate. At least seven to nine hours is the recommended amount.

Another tidbit, smoking, alcohol and drugs whether they are prescription, or not, can stunt hair growth tremendously. They’re horrible for your health and if you don’t have your health you won’t have hair that grows any faster. If you still feel your hair is just not growing at all, you might want to talk to your physician about having your thyroid checked.

So there it is, plain and simple, get healthy for longer locks. Your hair, skin and nails will look fantastic and you will feel fantastic. You don’t have to jump into a full blown regime immediately, but the more of these tips you add to your daily routine the better the results and quicker you’re going to start seeing those results.