Pet your cat when it approaches you. Never corner the cat or force its attention to you. Stroke the cat under its chin, on its back, or behind its ears. Rub it methodically and gently or knead its fur. Do not pet your cat’s stomach unless you know it likes this. If your cat is reluctant to get near you, keep some treats in a pocket and from time to time drop one on the floor, so the cat associates you with tasty treats. Use soothing words. You can even purr a little yourself. Repeat sounds or even sing it a lullaby. Avoid staring at the cat as this is a sign of aggression in cat language. Sit with your cat on your lap whenever you can. Hold it and pet it when you’re on the couch. Lie next to it while it rests in the sun and give it a cuddle. If your cat enjoys cuddling, snuggle with your cat whenever you carry it.
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One-sentence summary -- Pet your cat. Talk to your cat gently. Cuddle with your cat.


It’s not enough to have friends and family in your life for it to be meaningful. While having friends and family may contribute to happiness, it’s the deep relationships that allow you experience growth, a sense of depth, and connection.  Be open and willing to be vulnerable with the people you love. Make time for the special people in your life and resolve to create meaning in your relationships. Share your thoughts, emotions, fears, struggles, accomplishments and goals. Isolation can make your life feel empty, yet community can enrich many people’s lives and add to a greater good. You may feel like if you had made different decisions earlier in life, you’d be so much happier now or more fulfilled. On the contrary, you may feel like you live in the future, constantly weighing your options and asking “what if?” Part of dealing with existential fear is learning to live in this very present moment, right now. Let go of the past and don’t attach to the future. Instead, focus on what happens now. If you notice yourself saying, “I should have done this” or “I regret not doing that,” bring yourself into the present moment and instead ask yourself, “What can I do right now?” While living in the present can help center you and keep you from regrets, a meaningful life pulls aspects of the past, present, and future together. Think about what aspects of your past have contributed to your current strength, courage, and emotional well-being. Then, think about how you can use these characteristics you’ve cultivated to influence the future. Find ways to integrate your past, present, and future in a meaningful way. For instance, if you’re an athlete, you may make a goal to compete in a specific event. All of your training, injuries, mistakes, and frustration led you to be skilled enough right now to enter the competition. In preparing for the future, examine the ways you’ve overcome and how you will continue to overcome. Difficult situations and emotions are unavoidable and in some ways unite humans altogether. No human lives life without experiencing hardships, pain, or suffering. When faced with difficult events or situations, don’t run away or avoid them. Instead, determine to engage the challenge and confront the emotions. Find ways to derive meaning throughout the process.  Meaning can come from recognizing the benefits of the lessons you’ve gained. Think, “How has this impacted my life and what lessons have I learned from this experience?” Humans tend to be drawn to stories of overcoming obstacles and becoming stronger as a result of facing fears. This theme is present throughout history, such as told by The Wizard of Oz, Joan of Arc, Mulan, Helen Keller, Marie Curie, and Malala Yousafzai. Valuing yourself means expressing yourself fully and engaging in a sense of purpose. Recognize that what you contribute to the world is valuable. Find something that makes you feel fulfilled and go do it.  You may feel at your best when you’re volunteering with children or when you’re rock climbing. Recognize that your passions  are important to your self-identity, bring you joy, and help you contribute to your own personal understanding. Valuing yourself means fully expressing yourself in a way that feels joyful to you. Explore your creativity through music, dance, painting, drawing, speaking, writing, or whatever helps you express yourself.
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One-sentence summary -- Cultivate deep relationships. Experience the present. Derive meaning from the past, present, and future. Engage in challenging processes. Value yourself.


You can use either a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
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One-sentence summary -- Beat the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa, butter, coffee and vanilla in clean mixing bowl. Use either a cheese spreader or a butter knife to spread frosting on the cooled cookies. Serve the cookies with a glass of cold milk.


Crabgrass spreads quickly. If you let it grow for a whole season, or if you miss a particular area, you could find yourself with an infestation. Whenever you see a bit of crabgrass, simply pluck it out by hand.  Picking crabgrass at a young age is effective at reigning the total population in. Young crabgrass has only two to four stalks and is showing no splayed head. If plucking, water the area with the crabgrass thoroughly beforehand. This loosens up the soil and increases your chances of pulling out all the root systems when plucking. Alternatively, you can also use a pair of pliers to grab and gently pull up the crabgrass. Mature crabgrass has splayed seed heads with dozens, if not hundreds of seeds. Picking this crabgrass creates a divot in your lawn into which as many as 5,000 seeds — coming from a single plant — can fall. Instead of picking mature crabgrass, spray it or let it die naturally in the fall. Then cover the area with pre-emergent herbicide in the spring to keep the seeds from sprouting. Postemergence herbicide takes about 2 weeks to fully work, which is roughly the same amount of time it can take for a seeding crabgrass plant to drop its seeds, nullifying the effect of the herbicide.  Apply postemergence herbicide on a warm day with little or no wind. For best results, use the herbicide when the soil is damp but the crabgrass itself is dry. Water the area thoroughly in the late morning and wait until the afternoon to spray. Apply moderately in two spread-out application to avoid hurting your turf. Get prepared to spray at least two rounds of herbicide — per instruction, of course — unless the crabgrass is very young.
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One-sentence summary --
Pick the crabgrass when they're still young. Resist picking mature crabgrass. Spray postemergence herbicide on larger patches of crabgrass that have not yet gone to seed.