Shopping Product Reviews

Learn what to buy with an iTunes gift card

This upcoming Christmas season, many people are already thinking of different gift ideas for their loved ones. And since we are now in the digital age when most people are already using iPhones and iPads, it is a very smart idea to opt for an iTunes gift card. As well as being a clever idea, this one is also unique and practical.

For people who love to listen to music all the time, having access to their favorite songs is simply a great feeling. So if you know someone who loves music, why not give them an iTunes gift card? This is a very special gift idea for the holidays.

On the other hand, if you are the person who received this gift, it is best to know what to buy with it. Check out the following items you can purchase with your gift card below:

– Membership with Apple Music. Many are actually unaware that there is an exclusive membership for Apple Music that will allow you to access certain videos. This membership will also give you access to recommendations from editors, ad-free music stations, and many other things that you will surely enjoy as an Apple user. This is one of the main reasons why many people buy it.

– Phone applications. There may be many free apps that you can find online, but there are also many good and interesting apps that are not free. And to get these apps, you may need to pay with your credit or debit card or iTunes gift card. The applications that are available in the App Store vary according to the specific tastes of the user, so to help you make a purchase easily, use your iTunes gift card. The usual apps that people download are games, entertainment, digital tools, and home DIY apps.

– e-books. For new readers and those who love to read books, an iTunes Gift Card can be used to purchase as many books as you’d like, based on the value of the card you have. There are many different types of books available in the online store and you can definitely choose and buy any book you want to make it more convenient for you. It is also very secure because you no longer need to give your bank details.

Learn more about what to buy with the iTunes Gift Card here.

Sports

Verbal abuse disguised as jokes that ridicule and demean you

He says he’s just kidding… but my core felt degraded and devalued.

Verbal abuse can start as little digs disguised as jokes. Your boyfriend or husband teases, ridicules, and humiliates you with sarcastic comments about your appearance, personality, abilities, and values. If you tell him “I don’t think that’s funny” or ask him to stop “making fun of you,” he may get defensive, irritated, or angry.

He tells you, “You’re too sensitive” or “You can’t take a joke.” His guilty pleas are convincing, causing you to question your ability to reason. You wonder if you’re exaggerating and doubt your perception of his abuse.

Her denial of her experience of her abuse adds another layer to her abuse.

Makes comments about you in front of friends who make fun of you or put you down. He hides his acrimony with a smirk and a laugh. His public mockery is unexpected, throwing you off balance and embarrassing and humiliating you. Your friends may laugh at their jokes, but your heart felt the pinch and your brain struggles to interpret the true meaning of their scorn. If he shows shock or disgust, he may patronize you with a hug and tell you he was just “joking around.” He maintains his nice-guy façade, and your friends wonder why you get too excited over a silly joke.

It takes a quick mind to come up with ways to belittle a partner, be it rudely or with wit and flair. This type of abuse is not done in jest. It cuts instantly, touches the most sensitive areas and leaves the abuser with a look of triumph. This abuse never seems funny because it’s not funny.- Patricia Evans, The Verbally Abusive Relationship

Over time, your teasing and put-downs can seriously damage your self-esteem, sense of identity, and integrity.

I should have paid attention to the first time Dr. Dirtbag made fun of me for my weight. We were having dinner in front of the TV and out of nowhere he said, “You know, the reason fat people are fat is they don’t know when to stop eating. Your plate is so clean when you’re done eating I don’t even have to wash it.” .

I froze mid bite. He could see the pain in my eyes. Instead of apologizing, she feigned innocence and said, “Oh, did I say something wrong?” He swore she didn’t mean it, but he never apologized. Instead, he blamed me and said, “Wow, I was just trying to help. You told me you wanted to lose five pounds. I can’t tell you anything. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

His sole purpose was to shock and hurt me with his spiteful contempt.

Examples of verbal abuse disguised as jokes:

She can’t remember anything; she has sticky notes everywhere.

She is so funny; she burns everything she cooks.

You can’t find your way to the grocery store without a GPS.

Do you have a bad hair day?

You act like your mother. (We all know that she is very crazy).

You’d forget your name if it wasn’t on your driver’s license.

He’s saying, I can say whatever I want to say about you because I’m “just” being funny.

Understand that the sole purpose of their hostile and derogatory humor is to victimize, belittle, and insult you. If you don’t react to his ridiculousness, he won’t be able to control you, dominate you and have power over you.

How to react to verbal abuse disguised as jokes.

  • Don’t be swayed by their attempt to belittle you. Don’t acknowledge her apology. DO NOT get into a debate with him.
  • Tell him emphatically that you don’t like being the butt of his humor and you want him to stop, don’t wait for his response.
  • Say, “Are you feeling better now?” and she leaves the room.
  • Ignore it and grab your phone and call a friend or go for a walk.

Get the image?

Chances are your abusive partner will change sometime, but you can change the way you react to their verbal abuse.

Tours Travel

What to do in New Orleans: a day by day guide

New Orleans is one of those magical places where there is always something to do. It is a city where fun is as important as work, with a culture that embraces this philosophy.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite things to do, per day, to make your time in New Orleans unforgettable.

Monday: It’s tour-ific!

Having a “Monday case” is impossible in New Orleans. It may be the start of the work week, but it’s also just the start of the fun in New Orleans.

To Do: Tour the city.

New Orleans is one of the oldest and most peculiar places in the United States. We vote by touring one (or more) of our many neighborhoods with a New Orleans historian. He will learn about the distinctive history and character of each neighborhood. There is the French Quarter, whose streets are full of seduction and mystery; the Garden District, where it’s easy to spend hours visiting famous homes, cemeteries and restaurants; or the Lower 9th Ward, famous for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Local Council:

Some restaurants, museums, and attractions are closed on Mondays (hey, everyone needs a day off), including the Audubon Zoo, Aquarium of the Americas, and the Children’s Museum. Don’t forget to do your research before you leave!

Rebirth Brass Band plays at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans.

Tuesday: Who needs gold when you have bronze?

Not many people say that Tuesday is their favorite day of the week, but not many people are from New Orleans.

To Do: Renaissance at the Maple Leaf Bar

New Orleans is built on music. With artists like Louis Armstrong, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, and Dr. John calling New Orleans home, it’s easy to see (and hear) that there’s something special about this city’s music.

Head to Oak Street, at the end of the St. Charles Streetcar line, on Tuesday nights for one of the best brass bands in the world. The Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band takes to the stage every Tuesday night (10pm sharp) at the Maple Leaf Bar. You can’t help but feel the magic of the music as you dance and sing along.

Local Council:

After dancing with 200 of your closest (and new) friends, head to Camellia Grill for a giant breakfast omelette, served until 2am. It’s a New Orleans landmark and you can’t miss it!

Wednesday: To the Plaza you go!

Hump ​​Day means it’s time for free live music, the best New Orleans food, and local crafts, all for a good cause.

To do: Wednesday in the square

Each spring, the Young Leadership Council hosts a free 12-week concert series in the New Orleans CBD (Central Business District) in Lafayette Square. Both locally and nationally recognized musicians take the stage, while businessmen, fresh off work, kids, graduate students, and tourists sit back and enjoy New Orleans food and music.

Lafayette Square is smack in the middle of bustling downtown New Orleans, just steps from most hotels. Come on an empty stomach and get ready for a unique New Orleans good time. PS All proceeds from the food go to the YLC!

Local Council:

Bring a blanket and/or lawn chair. You will take your food and drink, but you will need a place to enjoy it. These two articles are really helpful.

Thursday: Are you happy to be here?

We take you on a tour of the world’s largest collection of southern art, just steps from your hotel.

To Do: Ogden After Hours

The New Orleans art scene is boosting. We even have an entire district dedicated to it: the Arts District, naturally. Head to Camp Street for exquisite art, live music and interviews from Southern music historians.

The Ogden Museum celebrates the art, music and culture of the South. Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm, Ogden opens its doors to visitors, providing a Southern art experience like no other. There’s live local music (including notables like Trombone Shorty and Anders Osborne), artist interviews, light food, and cocktails.

Local Council:

Ditch the jeans and t-shirt and try a smart casual look. James Beard award-winning restaurants surround you, so ask your concierge for recommendations and enjoy the night.

A bar on the New Orleans cocktail tour.

Friday: Sazeracs and Pimms Cups and Hurricanes, wow!

You are in the city that “invented the modern cocktail”. It’s time to pamper yourself.

To Do: A Cocktail Tour

New Orleans and cocktails literally go hand in hand. The city celebrates excess in everything it does, and drinking is no different. It features famous mixologists, bars that started the modern cocktail revolution, and even a week-long festival dedicated to the art of modern cocktail making called “Tales of the Cocktail.”

Take your story straight with a cocktail tour. Your guide will take you to the best and oldest bars in the city that invented some of the most famous cocktails in the world. Learn the stories behind Sazerac, Pimms Cup and Hurricane, along with many others.

Local Council:

It’s Friday night in the French Quarter. Once your tour is over, head to Marigny for some of the best live music in town.

An art market in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Saturday: Remarketable purchases.

Take home a piece of New Orleans culture at one of its many art markets.

To Do: Art Market

Saturdays are market days in New Orleans. Every neighborhood, from the Warehouse District to Bywater, hosts an open-air market, where artisans promote their crafts and local farmers share their wares. Experience the renaissance of New Orleans by visiting an art market.

One of the largest markets is the French market. Hundreds of vendors set up their stalls on the outer edge of the French Quarter, making the open-air market stretch for blocks. You can buy trinkets, souvenirs, local products and handicrafts. If you’re staying near the French Quarter, you must go, if only for the fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade.

Local Council:

Bring cash. Since art markets have individual vendors (and there are usually no ATMs), some vendors may accept credit cards and some may not. You don’t want to fall in love with something without payment!

Sunday: Eggs with a side of Jazz.

It’s been a long week of revelation. Now it’s time to slow down, eat and enjoy some New Orleans jazz.

Things To Do: Jazz Brunch

If you’ve come to New Orleans, you’ve come to eat. The entire culture of the city revolves around its gastronomy. There’s no better way to end (or start) your week in New Orleans than by attending a jazz brunch.

Some of the city’s culinary greats offer Jazz Brunch -Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace, Palace Café… -so save room for Eggs Sardou and traditional New Orleans jazz. Don’t rush during brunch. Take your time. You’re in New Orleans, remember? Things move slower here. Appreciate your wonderful food and the live jazz that surrounds you.

Local Council:

Take a stroll around the neighborhood after your brunch is over. You’ll see the beauty of New Orleans while burning some calories.

We mean it when we say, “The fun in New Orleans never stops.” Head to the Big Easy to let the good times roll, no matter what the day!

Arts Entertainments

5 stages of exhaustion

In my last article, I discussed burnout risk factors, and at the end of that article, I asked you to rate your burnout risk level. The experience of burnout is not an overnight event. Burnout is something that develops over time because we don’t recognize the warning signs or do something about it. We recognize that warning lights and strange sounds coming from our car mean it’s time to find out what’s wrong and fix it. But we often ignore the warning signs that come from our bodies. I’ll cover the five stages of burnout so you can better recognize the warning signs and have a chance to do something about it before the effects of burnout take over your body, mind, and life.

There are five stages of exhaustion. There are no set rules for how you will progress from one stage to another. How long you spend in each stage depends on your particular situation. You can stay in a particular stage for years and never progress to the next stage. You can make adjustments in your life that bring you to a lower stage of burnout or eliminate it altogether. No matter what stage you’re in, it’s never too late to make adjustments that can improve your life.

honeymoon stage

This is the stage you are in when you start a new job or a new project. Regardless of what the new event is, you dive in wholeheartedly. You don’t mind the long hours, the extra demands on your attention and energy, or the learning curve required to succeed at this new challenge. You are happy and you love everything about this new opportunity, even if it is stressful. The downside of this stage is that you are completely overlooking the cost to your mind, emotions, and body of maintaining this high level of productivity. You could be close to running out of power and not even know it.

speed bump

After a while, you begin to notice that you are not functioning as before. Maybe you are a little tired. You may notice that you are making mistakes here and there. Start working even harder to maintain the same level of productivity you started with. A part of you recognizes that you need a break. However, if you don’t take that break, you’ll start to see some of the signs of burnout I talked about in my last article. The job, the project, the event will not be as exciting as it used to be and you may not be as excited about working on it as you used to be. As you work at it, you may find that you’re not as productive or effective as you used to be. You may have a hard time shutting your mind off. While you were in the honeymoon stage, you didn’t mind thinking about it all the time but now it’s negatively affecting your ability to sleep or put it behind you for fun. This can lead to compensatory behaviors such as overeating, drinking, or shopping to “reward” yourself for working so hard.

Chronic stress stage

This is the stage where you are no longer in denial that something is happening to you. You may or may not connect your symptoms to the new job, project, or event, but you no longer deny that you need help managing your symptoms. You may see a doctor to help you sleep or if you have headaches or stomach problems. Your problems probably aren’t limited to the physical realm, either. You may feel constantly irritated, worried, have difficulty concentrating, and feel overwhelmed. This is a critical stage. This is the stage when most people seek stress management in the form of a vacation, a new job, a new project, and/or medication. The danger is in finding yourself back in the honeymoon stage only to progress back to this stage. This cycle around the honeymoon stage, the downturn, the chronic stress stage, and vice versa can be avoided with regular stress management practice. As mentioned in The Art of Loving Life, awareness is the key to managing stress. Increasing your understanding of the stages of burnout and their particular effects on you can keep you from having to go through these stages over and over again. It can certainly prevent you from progressing to the next stage.

crisis stage

At this stage, you become a walking time bomb. The symptoms of the chronic stress stage have been exacerbated, but your efforts to cope with it are ineffective. You may be fired, be hospitalized, experience serious relationship problems, or cause significant problems for others. You may find yourself worrying about worst-case scenarios that can lead to extreme thoughts such as running away, committing suicide, filing for bankruptcy, and other fantasies of escaping your life.

exhaust stage

In this stage of exhaustion, exhaustion implies that the resources of your mind and body have been completely depleted. You have been hospitalized for a serious illness, attempted suicide or alcohol/drug addiction, or in jail due to a distorted attempt to escape your situation. Recovery from this stage is a long process. At this stage, it takes more than managing stress to recover, but recovery is possible with professional help.

Recovery is really possible at any stage. Regular stress management can help you maintain the productivity level of your honeymoon stage and reduce the likelihood that you will hit the doldrums stage or beyond. If you recognize that you are in a stage of chronic stress or burnout, seek professional help. Incorporating stress management, even at these stages, is helpful and can complement other forms of professional help, but stress management alone is not enough.

This article was adapted from The work stress connection by Robert Veninga and James Spradley and The art of loving life.

Technology

Earn money online by taking surveys for beginners

If you are new to paid surveys, you may be wondering how do I start earning money by participating in online surveys. This article is a guide for paid survey newbies and be sure to follow my step-by-step instructions below to get started quickly and well.

1. Please note this: DO NOT pay anyone to take paid online surveys in any way. It is usually FREE to take paid surveys and get money. Licensed paid survey and market research companies do not charge you, in fact, they pay you for your opinion.

2. Create a dedicated email account. You will receive many emails and will need a separate email address for survey invitation emails. Note: You will need to turn OFF your spam filter or set the spam filter option to not delete the emails in the spam folder instantly, normally you may lose the survey emails.

3. You may want to open a free PayPal account. Several of the survey sites provide their payment through PayPal. It’s 100% free to send money, and 100% free to accept payments if you have a basic account, a low transaction fee is used for Premier and Business accounts to get cash, and it’s generally faster than paying by check.

4. Sign up for every real online survey business you can find, starting with the top 10 survey panels that pay cash. Be sure to verify your membership in the survey panel. This often involves clicking the link in the confirmation email that comes from the survey dashboard after you sign up. This is an essential step to register. I highly recommend that you take the time to subscribe to EVERY genuine survey site you can find. The reason is very basic, the more survey sites you sign up for, the more survey invites you have to do.

5. Tips to stay away from scams.

has. If you come across a survey website, be sure to check their policy. If you are not happy with privacy or they don’t have an online privacy policy, please avoid them.

b. Take note of the main difference between paid survey sites and paid registration offer websites. The latter often claim to be survey sites, in fact their main business in particular is paid offers. They are the places where you get paid to register offers and you often need to pay or provide credit card details while registering for free offers.

cons Avoid any website, paid or free that offers known scam or spam, commonly those sites claim that they have a list of 300+, 400 or even 500+ paid survey sites, the fact is that THERE ARE NO THREE HUNDRED survey sites they pay!) They are simply trading anything they can find for commission regardless of whether it is a scam or spam and cannot be trusted.

6. Tips for conducting surveys.

has. Be genuine with your personal profile details when joining survey corporations.

b. Respond to survey invitations promptly. Many surveys have a fee and are quick to complete, especially surveys that pay a lot and qualify quickly.

7. Tips for receiving payments.

Be sure to keep invitation emails for surveys that you qualify and have completed, especially those in the interactive web survey focus group. You want to have proof of your involvement when there is a problem.

8. Be patient.

This is very essential for survey newbies. It may take a while to receive money as many survey sites have a minimum payment requirement and it will take time for them to process the payment. It also requires time to acquire more surveys. For me personally, I didn’t get any kind of cash or other benefits in the first month, I had various points or others but not many to collect, and the cash didn’t start coming in until the end of the second month. . It’s just as well after two months, I started getting and meeting the criteria for additional surveys, incorporating those high-end surveys like online surveys and focus organizations.

Taking paid surveys doesn’t help me get rich, but I revel in it. With the survey money I earned, I bought a brand new laptop for myself last year! I also bought toys, DVDs, gifts, books, and other products for my son, wife, and relatives. Paid survey is undoubtedly a fun and easy way to increase cash spending, and it really pays off!