5 Easy Steps to Potty Training Your Puppy

February 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Are you one of the many people who perceive puppy potty training difficult—or even impossible? It’s actually easier than you think.

Today we’re going to give you advice straight from a professional puppy trainer on how to potty train a puppy from as young as 6 weeks old. So whether you’re a breeder who wants to sell ready-trained puppies, or a new dog owner; these tips will help you and your puppy succeed.

Develop a Routine

Routine is by far the most important factor in getting your puppy trained fast. There are three routine steps to take into consideration:

  • A feeding routine
  • A potty routine
  • A sleeping routine

Let’s look at each one more closely.

A Feeding Routine

Ensure that you feed your puppy at the same time every day. Your puppy will start expecting to be fed at that time each day, which will automatically prompt a potty routine.

Avoid leaving food out for your puppy for it to eat whenever it feels like it. If it isn’t hungry, take the food up and feed it again at the next interval. A great way to create a feeding routine is to feed your puppy once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Take your puppy outside about 15 – 20 minutes after its meals to do its business outside. With repetition your puppy will be potty trained within a matter of days.

A Potty Routine

Apart from its normal feeding & sleeping routine, take your puppy outside at the same time each day. You’ll soon start learning how often your puppy needs to go outside to potty, so set designated times for it to do so. three or four times in the middle of each day should be sufficient—depending on how much it eats and drinks.

A Sleeping Routine

Your puppy’s sleep routine ties into its potty routine too. It’s important to let your puppy go outside just before it’s being put to sleep. Your puppy will quickly learn that potty before bedtime is the norm, and this will reinforce the habit of doing its business outside.

Read the Signals

There will be times outside of feeding and bedtime when your puppy will need to potty. It will give you signals that it is about to go by one or more of the following:

  • Circling around
  • Sniffing the ground
  • Folding its body

Dedicate yourself to watching your puppy. If it shows these signs or any other characteristic sighs of wanting to potty, pick it up and take it outside quickly. It will quickly learn that doing its business inside is unacceptable.

Establish a Designated Potty Area

Throughout your puppy potty training, always direct your puppy to generally the same outside area every time. The smells of previous potty sessions will trigger its memory, and with repetition it will learn where it needs to go for a comfortable wee or pool.

Deal with Accidents Effectively

When accidents happen, see this as a training opportunity rather than a failure. Punishing your puppy won’t do much good in the long run. A stern “No!” is all your puppy needs to know that what it has done is not acceptable.

If it’s a poo take it outside to its designated area and show your puppy that next time this is where you want it to do its business. If it’s a wee, pick your puppy up and put it outside for a few minutes.

Also be sure to clean up the mess with something that takes away the smell completely.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Be patient and calm while training your puppy and you’ll be amazed at how quickly it responds to your training efforts. Before you know it your puppy will be potty trained and automatically go outside when it needs to.

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Knitting And Crocheting – Is There Really Any Difference?

February 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Once you have started knitting, crocheting or both you will quickly see that there is a difference in the way these two methods are completed and the finished result. However, this is not always obvious to the untrained eye, hence why this article will help you to understand the difference.

It is worth noting that both techniques use the same type of yarn, you can find a huge array of products if you click here; that should give you the inspiration to get started!

Knitting is believed to originate from before Christian times, making it an ancient art. There are certainly many examples of it through history.

Crocheting, on the other hand, appears to be a much younger practice. It dates from the 19th century and has been referred to as ‘shepherd’s knitting’.

The Differences

There are several clear differences as illustrated below:

Needles

The first thing you need to note is that the procedure for creating items is very different. Knitting uses two needles. Stitches are placed onto these needles and are referred to as live, because they can all be added to.

In contrast crocheting uses one hook and has one live stitch.

The result is a fabric which feels different and generally feels lighter with crocheting.

The Bumps

Crocheting results in sideways stitches, as opposed to knitting where it is more like weaving.

This means that knitting provides a closely woven material which is excellent at keeping you warm. In contrast crocheting will have loose stitches which almost appear to have holes in. This is not great or warmth and can even be an issue for modesty. Of course; in warmer climates this can be seen as preferential!

Speed

Crocheting generally appears to be faster as you deal with just one stitch at a time. However, the length of each row does need to be the same as knitting so this might be more of an appearance issue than an actual fact!

Your speed at either crocheting or knitting will depend upon your experience and confidence.

Dropping Stitches

You work with just one live stitch when crocheting which makes it virtually impossible to miss a stitch. In contrast it is relatively easy to do this when knitting, which can be extremely frustrating when you are several lines along before realizing! You have to literally unpick all your stitches!

Design

Both crocheting and knitting use patterns to assist you in creating your desired design. However, knitting will generally allow you to make a much more detailed and ornate piece that crocheting will. This is simply the nature of the technique and a matter of personal preference regarding which style you prefer.

There are a great number of followers of both techniques and many people learn both, but be assured they are different and do produce a different feel and look when completed.

You can always seek support from one of the many knitting and crocheting forums on the web, this will ensure you are never short of ideas and get your designs right!

 

Filed Under: crafts, lifestyle items Tagged With: ,

Kirby Encourages Fans to Perform Random Acts of Kindness

February 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment

While the nation celebrates Random Acts of Kindness Day this weekend, Kirby, the charming hero known for his powerful Copy Abilities, is preparing a celebration of his own at this year’s Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. Attendees of Emerald City Comic Con will not only be among the first to play the Kirby Star Allies game for the Nintendo Switch system and try out Kirby’s new Copy Abilities before the game launches on March 16, they will also have the chance to earn cool Kirby themed items for being nice to people around them – just like Kirby himself!

In Kirby’s new game, he uses a new ability to turn his enemies into friends to create a powerful team to save Planet Popstar. But despite his friendly appearance, Kirby brings some seriously powerful new moves and abilities to his new game that would even impress the most hardened video game players. In fact, Kirby’s moves in Kirby Star Alliesare some of his most powerful and impressive yet.

And just like Kirby, attendees of Emerald City Comic Con will have the opportunity to unleash some powerful moves of their own – the power to make the world a better place through acts of kindness! Kirby would be so proud.

Select Nintendo representatives will be walking around Emerald City Comic Con March 1-4 to reward people for performing random acts of kindness for other people. If these mobile Nintendo teams catch a Comic Con attendee doing something nice, from holding the door for a stranger to picking up litter, that person will get the chance to earn fun Kirby themed items.

These same mobile teams will also be surprising people waiting in lines around the convention with the opportunity to play Kirby Star Allies for Nintendo Switch in Handheld Mode. The game will also be available to play at the Nintendobooth in TV Mode.

“Many of our classic characters are heroes in numerous ways, but Kirby epitomizes what it’s like to be powerful, but also kind,” said Cindy Gordon, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Strategic Communications. “While we love bringing our games directly to fans at events like this, we wanted to do something a little different this time to show that teamwork and kindness are two of the most powerful forces around.”

Kirby Star Allies is one of the largest and most robust games in the Kirby series – and the first on Nintendo Switch! In the game, Kirby can recruit enemies by tossing out hearts to gather friends for a party of up to four characters. This newly formed party can be used to solve clever puzzles or unleash powerful friend abilities. In addition to familiar Copy Abilities like Sword, Fire, Ice, Stone, Bomb and more, Kirby will have access to new abilities like Spider, Artist and Staff. Some Copy abilities can even be imbued with different elements, such as wind, water, fire and electricity. Kirby uses this large collection of powerful moves and abilities to make his way through a wide variety of colorful and challenging worlds.

Up to four players can play together in local co-op, with one player controlling Kirby and, for the first time in the series, the other players taking control of the recruited enemies (additional accessories may be required in multiplayer mode). Players can still embark on the adventure solo, though, with team members automatically controlled by the game.

Emerald City Comic Con runs March 1-4 at the Washington State Convention Center at 705 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101. For Comic Con hours and more information, visit https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com/.

For more information about Kirby Star Allies, visit https://kirby.nintendo.com/star-allies.

Remember that Nintendo Switch features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about other features, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo Switch™ system and the Nintendo 3DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.5 billion video games and more than 710 million hardware units globally, including Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS™ family of systems, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™, Wii™ and Wii U™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Americas. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nintendo.com/.

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Subscription Box Gifts for Everybody in The Family + Coupon Codes for Each One

February 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Are there times you give and give and give only for you to realize that you totally forgot about your needs? If yes, it is about time you did something about that. It is okay to be selfless but how about you tried out something that would give to your family and you as well? One way to achieve this is by subscribing to monthly gift boxes. The following are some of the coolest subscription gift boxes for your entire family. Notice that all of these boxes offer discount codes, Coupon Cause is a great site for finding the most recent deals for any of these subscriptions.

Fido – PawsAndPals

Subscription by Paws And Pals delivers high-quality toys, accessories, treats for your furry pal. At PawsAndPals.com you will find three subscription plans – deluxe bag at $40, novelty bag at $ 30 and the sample box at $20. Paws And Pals allows you to custom size your gift box by indicating the size of your dog. Now the ball is in your court- place an order and get your Fido’s tail wagging!

Paws And Pals Coupon: 10% Off with Newsletter Sign Up

Teenage Son – LootCrate.com

LootCrate.com is one of the best website leading to fun such as entertainments, sports, gaming and pop culture to deliver monthly theme subscription boxes for geeks and gamers. Loot crate provides a monthly mystery crate for pop culture fans that comes packed with super amazing exclusive collectibles and apparels from your favorites games, movies, and tv shows. In the monthly crate, you will find super cool t-shirts, capes, fancy sunglasses, and a cartoon magazine for the teens.

LootCrate.com coupon: +5% Off First Month Crate with Code LOOTR15

Mom – BeanBox.com

Are you a mom that loves coffee? Then beanbox is the subscription box for you. BeanBox delivers monthly subscription gift boxes with coffee right at your doorstep. BeanBox.com offers different types of coffee packages which include, a single bag of coffee and some other four different coffees in a smaller bag. Read about organic coffee brands at thehomemakersjournal.com if you don’t have good ideas about the benefits of different coffee box. BeanBox is known as the U.S coffee capital due to the variety of coffee they offer such as the Lighthouse Roasters, Conduit Coffee, Kuma Coffee and Herkimer Coffee.

BeanBox coupon: 50% Off any Bean Box Subscription with code FRESH50

Dad – BBQ Box

Most men are not naturally acquainted with cooking. But there’s need not to worry anymore since the BBQ Box is there for you, BBQ Box is a package of packed foods, that stimulates your craving for food. The sets include marinade, Rub, Jerky, snack, a package of premium wood chips, and one custom recipe from Myron Mixon showcasing the best of your box from BBQ. Therefore, dads have all reasons to celebrate BBQ Box since all the stressful time when wondering how to get cooking and come up with that delicious pie is over. All that is left for you to do is to place an order and the pie will be delivered to your doorstep   

BBQ Box coupon:15% Off First Box – CMOON15

The Artistic One – Doodle Crate

Most children are artistic in nature and they love drawing, shading and other simple art projects. This art increases the creativity of the little ones. Doodle Crates offers different materials for assisting the young kids from the age of nine to sixteen years in their artwork which includes yarn, washi tapes, inspiration sheets, video tutorials and easy to follow step by step instructions to guide the children as they do their artwork. The packages are delivered to the doorstep once you place an order.

Doodle crate coupon: 30% Off First Month’s Crate with Code CAUSE30

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Fat-Burning Ingredients That Benefit Your Health: Proven by Science

February 15, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing many dangerous diseases. Therefore, shedding that excess pounds benefits your health by default. However, there are some fat-burning ingredients that have additional positive effects on your wellbeing. Including them into your weight loss program will boost its results overall.

3 Best Fat-Burning Ingredients Your Diet Needs

Caffeine

That morning cup of coffee you love so much is doing great things for your health. Recently, researchers have been working on identifying the health benefits of caffeine and they’ve yet to call a stop on their findings. So far we know that caffeine can:

  • Enhance cognition
  • Reduce the risks of the Parkinson’s disease, throat cancer, and type 2 diabetes
  • Boost the efficiency of your workouts
  • Reduce pain (combined with Ibuprofen)

The Telegraph lists some more proven benefits as well as studies that back up those claims. You can also check out a detailed review of recent human studies on coffee benefits available at Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. It compiles all most relevant research on various positive health effects of caffeine that range from enhanced cardiovascular health to the prevention of liver disease.

The benefits of caffeine as a fat-burning ingredient are directly connected to its effect on exercise. A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise has shown that regular consumption of caffeine combined with exercise results in a massive increase in fat reduction. This effect also helps with maintaining one’s results after achieving the desired level of weight loss.

Please bear in mind that caffeine is a stimulant and therefore might have some negative effects when taken in excess. In particular, it increases anxiety and can interact with certain medications.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin is the element that makes chili peppers taste ‘hot’ and it literally makes your body hotter, hence its presence in the list of fat-burning ingredients. The reasons why capsaicin is present in today’s most effective diet pills are:

  • It burns off fat through oxidation.
    There’s a great study from PLoS One that explains why adding capsaicin to weight loss supplements provides visible effects. Usually, to lose weight you must achieve a negative energy balance (meaning to consume fewer calories than you burn). However, doing this naturally slows down your metabolism. This study shows that capsaicin can prevent this and oxidate the fat cells. As a result, you’ll be getting the maximum benefits of your diet.
  • It helps promote vascular health.
    The increased risk of heart disease is one of the main dangers of obesity. This study published in Open Heart proves that capsaicin isn’t only a fat-burning ingredient. It’s also a heart health booster. This element helps prevent plaque formation and natural flushing of cholesterol. It also achieves the weight loss effects mentioned above without bringing your blood pressure up.
  • Capsaicin-induced fat oxidation is so effective, it helps maintain your weight loss results.
    A study from the British Journal of Nutrition showed that people who ingest capsaicin are more likely to prevent weight regain after completing their fat-burning program. Note that these results can be achieved only by maintaining a well-balanced diet.

Citrus Aurantium (Bitter Orange)

Citrus Aurantium has been used in Chinese traditional medicine and in other cultures for millennia. Its main applications are the treatment of digestive disorders, anxiety, and insomnia. Unfortunately, its effects on health aren’t as well-researched as its efficiency for weight loss.

The latter has been proven beyond any doubt, as you can see from this review of human clinical studies from the International Journal of Medical Sciences. This element performs best when combined with other fat-burning ingredients, especially caffeine. Together they enhance the metabolism helping your body shed excess weight faster. Bitter orange is safe to use in dietary supplements and can be taken by people who aren’t sensitive to this particular element.

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Traveling to Madrid with Kids: 3 Tips That’ll Make Your Trip Perfect

February 15, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Madrid is a spectacular city that children of all ages can enjoy exploring alongside their parents. However, a perfect vacation there isn’t only a matter of choosing the best places to see. When traveling to Madrid with kids, you have to plan, prepare, and stock up on the essentials that will help keep your children safe, happy, and well-fed during your adventures.

3 Tips to Prepare for Traveling to Madrid with Kids

Consider Dietary Requirements

If your children have food allergies, are picky eaters, or have some other dietary requirements, you’ll need to plan the trip well. The delicious Spanish cuisine is one of the main reasons travelers enjoy this country so much. However, it’s not really dietary-friendly. You also aren’t likely to take kids on a tapas bar crawl.

The most important thing to do if your children have special dietary requirements is to prepare a list of foods they can/cannot eat. It must be in Spanish and preferably laminated as you’ll be showing it around quite a bit. It’ll also be wise to learn how to make specific food-related requests. You can use online translation services or traveler forums in case you don’t know anyone who can translate them for you.

You also need to research cafes and restaurants in the neighborhoods you’ll be visiting. Pick which are safe to try beforehand so you don’t waste your time on this during the trip. If dietary requirements or other health issues are a major concern, plan your entire journey around them. For example, check out which places are safe for your kids when picking a walking tour in Madrid. Pick the one that will take you to the area where those places are located. If it’s a matter of timing, choose a tour that doesn’t take too long so your children can eat before and after it. Find out about the possibility of bathroom breaks for any activities of this kind.

If you are traveling with a baby, you’ll be able to buy milk in grocery stores and baby formula in farmacias (Spanish pharmacies). Make sure that the place you stay at has the conditions needed for preparing formula.

Build Up the Excitement

The splendid Madrid architecture might be a wonder to you, but kids need a bit more than pretty buildings to keep their attention. To make sure your trip doesn’t fall flat, you need to prepare your children for what they are going to see.  The best ways to do this are watching videos featuring the sights and reading books about them.

Short clips that show glimpses of the main Madrid’s attractions and offer snippets of historical facts will be best. You can find plenty of videos like this on YouTube and use them to pick which places you want to see together. It’s very important to get the kids involved. This way you can get them to look forward to seeing these places in real life.

Get Safe

Children and parents can get separated and lost. These things happen and the best you can do to ensure the tragedy doesn’t strike your family is to use a variety of precautions. The most important one is to set up a procedure your children will follow in case you do get separated.

The best thing to do is to equip your kids with means of contacting you, like a mobile phone. If it’s not possible, make sure they have a card with your contact information, name, and the hotel address on it. Instruct children on whom to show this card and if they are old enough, teach them how to contact the local emergency service for assistance.

When traveling by public transport, make sure everyone knows the name of your final stop. You should also set up a procedure of where and how to meet up in case you get separated.

Never forget, you can’t be too careful when traveling to Madrid with kids. Use every precaution you can think of and stay safe!

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Oral Hygiene And Your Overall Health

February 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment

It is sad that your eyes are the window to your soul, although it is actually the pupils which give away the most information regarding the emotional state of a person.

But, did you know that the teeth and your oral health are the window to your overall health? This is not a new theory but it is one that has been proven to be true. In fact, once you read the issues that can develop through poor oral hygiene you’ll be booking an appointment with Rickard Dental and practicing better oral hygiene in no time!

Heart Problems

If you don’t keep your teeth and mouth clean then bacteria will collect. This can then enter your blood stream, which is extremely easy to do from your mouth. Unfortunately the bacteria can then travel round your body and cause an infection.

A common collecting point is your heart; a build-up of bacteria can actually cause a heart attack.

A condition known as Endocarditis refers to the build-up of bacteria in the inner linings of your heart. This will cause inflammation and the infection which can cause heart attacks and heart failure.

Stroke

Science has shown that oral bacteria in the blood stream will make you blood clot easier. While this is a good thing when you have a cut it is not so good when your blood clots inside your veins. But that’s not all!

Oral bacteria are also believed to contribute towards the narrowing of your arteries, making the blood flow less and a clot more likely.

A cot will cut off the blood supply to vital organs, including the brain; causing a stroke.

Inflammation

When you have gum disease your gums become inflamed and tender. This is a serious issue in itself. However, inflammation can travel around your body. This is known as systemic inflammation and cause a number of other health issues including pain and limited mobility.

Arthritis

Bad oral health will not cause arthritis as this is done by damage to your joints. But, it will worsen the pain you are feeling from arthritis. Scientists are not sure of the exact link but numerous studies have shown it to be true.

Lung Disorder

Oral bacteria can get all round your body, this includes your lungs. In general this will not cause an issue. But, if you have an existing lung condition or pneumonia then it can make it much worse.

Blood Poisoning

Perhaps the most deadly of the health issues created by bad oral health is blood poisoning. Gum disease or decaying teeth can cause an abscess which can become infected. If this is left untreated the infection can enter the bloodstream and cause septicemia, which can be fatal.

The first step in your fight for good oral health is to adopt good dental practices. Your dentist can advise you on the right approach. It is also essential to book regular dental appointments, this will ensure any issues are picked up early and dealt with.

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Top 7 Advantages of Online Casinos

February 9, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Online casinos have become very popular these days. Millions of gamblers from around the world log on to online casino sites every day to play, either for fun or for real money. The main reason why online casinos have these huge numbers of players is because of the benefits they present. This has made gaming online more convenient than playing at a physical casino.

So, what are the benefits of playing at an online casino? Here are a few reasons why online casinos have enjoyed such a huge success and you will also learn what gives online gambling an edge.

 

  • Convenience

 

This is basically the main advantage of online casinos. Players only need internet connection to access online casinos. They can play any time, whether it is day or night and from the comfort of their homes. You can try your hand on Blackjack or earn some extra cash with a long slots session. You can choose from the many great multiplayer online casino games of play by yourself. You can either focus on the game fully or simply play it as a pastime as you do other things such as watching TV.

Regardless of the method you use to play, it goes without saying that online casinos have made gaming a lot more convenient than before, However, taking this step further, the factor of convenience is boosted when you keep in mind the fact that PCs, mobile phones and tablets now allow you to play your favorite games from anywhere in the world provided you have internet connection.

It’s pretty clear that convenience is the main advantage of online casinos and the reason why many gamblers choose to play online.

 

  • Free casino games

 

Another benefit associated with online casinos is free casino games. Today, most online casinos offer a free play version of most games. The good thing about playing free online casino games is that it is 100% risk free. A significant number of people use free games when starting out so that they can understand the basics before playing for real money. With the free version of games, gamblers can play for as long as they want to.

The benefits of online casinos here outweigh the advantages of a physical as the latter does not offer free games. This is mainly because physical casinos have a certain number of gaming tables and machines; therefore, they cannot allow players to enjoy any games for free and won’t risk paying customers not getting space. On the other hand, online casinos can handle an infinite number of players at any particular time; therefore, they don’t face this issue

 

  • Online casino bonuses

 

One of the main online casino advantages is the welcome bonus. Nearly every casino offers its players a Welcome Bonus as an incentive to play at that particular online casino. The welcome bonus however varies in type and size. Online Casino Bonuses include reload Bonuses, No Deposit Bonuses, and Match Bonuses and often range from between CA$100 and $3,000. Physical casinos don’t offer such advantages; therefore, gamblers will always have to spend their money without any perks.

 

  • Loyalty points

 

Loyalty points can be very useful online casino benefit since they reward players for their loyalty to that particular casino. That means that when you are playing online casino games and you are on a losing streak, you will still accumulate loyalty points which you can use later on to win prizes or buy Casino credits.

The more you play, the more points you accumulate and so you will receive more rewards. You won’t find these at physical casinos. But they usually come in the form of hotel upgrade, dinner or drinks.

 

  • Selection of games

 

Despite many physical casinos being very large and offering a range of casino games to play, they are still limited by size. One of the main benefits of online casinos is that they don’t have a limit to capacity and a wide range of casino games.

A good online casino offers hundreds of the latest and the best online casino games, including classic games that you can find at a physical casino plus many more casino games.

 

  • Bet sizes

 

When playing at a physical casino, there will be stringent restrictions on bet sizes and maximum/minimum stakes set by the casino. The reason being the overheads at the physical casino are high to cater for all the costs of operating a real life establishment. On the other hand, online casinos are cheaper to operate; therefore they offer a wide range of wagering options.

This means that gamblers of all budgets can play at the same casino and even on the same casino games, but of course with different stake sizes.

 

  • World wide access

 

Last but not least, online casinos give players the chance to play and compete with other players around the globe. This is an exciting and interesting way to meet new people. For example, you might be playing poker with someone from a different culture and background.

Filed Under: lifestyle items Tagged With: ,