Life provides many occasions to celebrate momentous events! Who doesn’t look forward to a birthday party, baby shower or retirement celebration? Unfortunately, party planning can be a stress-inducing task that can wring the life out of the party planner. Arm yourself with these tips and tools and your friends may start to wonder if you’re the next Martha Stewart.
- Invitations, yard signs to direct guests, and celebratory banners are essential elements that bring an air of excitement to your party. Start planning as early as possible to ensure everything will be ready for your guests on the day of the party.
- Here’s a party-planning tip you may not have considered: Ordering imprinted swag items so guests can take home a memorable token. These make for sweet memories once your event is over.
- Choose a theme to add some pizzazz to the event. Whether it’s very specific, such as ‘A Night in Paris’ or a color theme that visually ties everything together, having one in mind from the get-go will start those creative juices flowing. Colorful, customized banners and paper tablecloths will add that festive touch to your occasion.
- There’s great news for harried party planners: You can rent almost anything you could possibly need for your party. From food preparation equipment, to dishes and serving utensils and even entertainment for the little ones. That way you can enjoy the party, too!
- Ensure all the decorations and any special instructions for serving guests are taken care of before the event, so food and treats are served in a timely manner.
- Communicate all final guest counts, and make any required deposits to the caterer and hosting facility.
Now let the good times roll!
From inches of snow to cool breezes, winter months can take a toll on our plants and flowers. The elements can just be too harsh to bear.
That’s why it’s important to prepare your perennial garden beds for wintering over so you preserve your investment in your landscaping.
Despite the heavy toll that Jack Frost can bring, keeping your plants alive during the winter is possible.
If you’ve made a significant investment in your landscaping, then choose one of those last warm days before cold weather moves in to protect those garden beds. That effort will pay off with gorgeous blossoms emerging in the spring.
Before a light frost, give plants a healthy drink of water. This will help retain the earth’s heat. However, if plants are watered just before a hard freeze it can actually damage plants from the roots up.
Using mulch or insulation liners can heat plants as well. While upper portions will still be exposed to the elements, the roots (and heart of the plant) will have an added layer of protection.
Talk to your local greenhouse or gardener for advice; they’ll know what’s best to plant and the proper steps to help keep each plant healthy.
If you have extensive garden beds, we have a wide assortment of garden equipment that can cut the job of preparing your landscaping to survive the winter to just one afternoon. Protect tomorrow’s beauty and you’ll have a delightful sight greeting you next spring.
Not all crimes are equal.
No two defendants are the same.
Most judges who actually hear cases 
Congress, from its back seat in Washington, apparently does not.
Federal lawmakers over the years have taken a one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing, preventing judges from considering the circumstances of each individual case when meting out punishment.
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have contributed to an exploding federal inmate population – up 55 percent since 2000 – and a ballooning prison budget – up nearly $2 billion in the past five years. There’s also the matter of punishments that don’t fit the crimes.
An unlikely duo of legislators is taking on the issue, however.
Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, have introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013. It would expand the discretion federal judges now have to sentence below mandatory minimum guidelines in certain drug cases to all federal crimes. The House is considering a similar bill.
“As a former prosecutor, I understand that criminals must be held accountable, and that long sentences are sometimes necessary to keep violent criminals off the street and deter those who would commit violent crime,” Leahy said in a statement. “I have come to believe, however, that mandatory minimum sentences do more harm than good. As Justice (Anthony) Kennedy said, ‘In too many cases, mandatory minimum sentences are unwise and unjust.’”
In other words, justice should be blind – but not dumb.
Nearly half of U.S. workers fail to save even a small portion of their paycheck. Should employers automatically enroll employees in 401(k) savings plans? Or will that idea launch the next “tea party?” Maybe there’s a better way … option trading.
