Q: Take the time and talk to your partner, and more importantly, listen. Engage your partner by asking open-ended questions, then leisurely reflect upon what he or she says. Be open with sharing your feelings, and allow your partner to do the same. You can practice reflective listening by saying, “I hear you saying that things are difficult between you and your parents” or, “It sounds like you’re feeling really stressed about work.” With jobs, families, and other issues that require your time, sometimes the relationship is the part that suffers the most from time taken away. Stress is a normal part of life, but chronic stress causes a spike in cortisol, a hormone that can reduce the desire for physical intimacy. Needless to say, this can cause damage to your relationship in the long run. Eliminate stressful elements from your life if possible, and combat stress by exercising regularly, doing yoga, or meditating. Encourage your partner to do the same, especially if he or she struggles with stress.  Manage your time to avoid the stress caused by rushing to meet a deadline. Take care of tasks as they come up rather than letting them pile up, and use a planner to keep track of obligations. Spend more time doing things that you enjoy. Life can’t be all work and no play, so make it a point to devote at least one day each week to doing what you love. Find something that will interest both of you and work toward it. Having a long-term goal assures that you will spend time together during your week and can lift you out of the work-family life rut. Some possible projects might be:  Train for a sporting event together such as a triathlon. Learn a new language together, then visit a country where it’s spoken. Build something like a boat, a shed, or a garden. Trying something novel can increase intimacy. Choose an activity that neither of you has done before, and maybe even one that’s a little scary. Sharing the experience of having trepidatious misgivings and then going through with an activity anyway will probably bring you closer in ways you never imagined. Plus, the experience will provide a great conversation topic among your friends.  Try rock climbing, skydiving or paragliding. Go on a backpacking trip. Take a wild and native foods cooking class. Being in a long-term relationship can lead to focusing only on yourself and your partner. To rekindle your relationship, it may be necessary for you and your partner to get out of this mindset. You may need to find a way to expand your horizons and connect through this experience.  Try to engage in a spiritual practice together. If you and your partner share a spiritual belief, then you could attend services together. If not, then perhaps you can explore spiritual beliefs together. Engaging in a spiritual practice may help to reignite the spark between you and your partner.  Consider volunteer work. Volunteering with your partner may also help you to get out of yourselves and bond over the experience of helping others. Try volunteering at a local food bank or animal shelter. Work together to raise money for charity. You and your partner might also be able to change your focus by working towards a charity’s financial goals. Consider helping out with a telethon or run a charity 5K with your partner.
A: Be a good listener. Manage stress. Do a long-term project together. Try something new. Find ways to focus on the big picture.

Q: It's best to ice the cake on the same dish you plan to use to serve it, since after the cake has been iced it will be difficult to transport it to a different plate. Put the cake in the fridge to give the icing time to completely set. After half an hour, it will be ready to eat.
A: Set the cake on a platter. Let it set.

Q: The down payment will be the largest immediate cost of buying a home. If you can pay for at least 20% of the total cost of your home up front, you will not have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI), which protects the lender against you defaulting on your loan. If you must buy PMI, your monthly payments may be significantly higher. You’ll also be able to get a better interest rate from mortgage companies, saving you money in the long run.  You don't have to save up a 20% down payment in order to buy a house. Some loans will allow you to put 0% down, while others may require 3%, 3.5%, 5%, or 10%. Work with your lender to find the best option for you. However, paying this little will cause you to have to pay PMI.  Some companies may allow you to skip PMI in return for paying a higher interest rate. This may or may not be a better option for you. Talk to a tax advisor to find out the best way to keep costs down. Closing costs include the inspection fees, property taxes, appraisal fees, escrow fees, lender insurance, recording fee, and the prepaid interest charged by your mortgage company. You may also need to pay extra fees directly to your lender, such as a charge to check your credit and a loan origination fee. All together, these will usually total between 2-5% of the total cost of the home. Moving expenses in the U.S. will generally run you between $400 and $2,000 USD.  Although your inspection and appraisal fees are part of your closing costs, you will pay them when the services are rendered. In some cases, you'll need to pay for your first year of home insurance at closing, as well. Prepaid interest is the total interest that accrues between the day you close on your mortgage loan payment and your first official mortgage payment. Chances are that when you move in, you’ll want to make some repairs. You may also want to fill up some empty rooms with new furniture! Since you should expect to invest about 1-3% of the total cost of your home each year in maintenance, plan to spend about that much right after you buy the house as well. It’s never a good idea to get behind on mortgage payments, so make sure you’re starting off your relationship with your lender on the right foot. If you’ve got enough saved to make at least a half-year of payments, you’ll be prepared for any emergencies that could come up. Dedicate some of your savings to covering emergencies. You should always have enough money in savings to pay for 6 months of your total expenses (including food, utility bills, childcare, and everything in between). If buying a house would wipe out this emergency fund, you’re not quite ready to take the plunge yet!
A: Shoot for a down payment of about 20%. Add in the closing costs and moving expenses. Have some cash ready for repairs and decor. Set aside enough to cover 6 months of mortgage payments. Do not plan to empty your savings account.

Q: Take a chef's knife and lay it on the clove so the flat side is resting on top of it. Hold the knife handle with one hand and bring the palm of your other hand down on the flat blade. The pressure of your palm will smash the clove. You don't need to flatten the clove of garlic as you smash it. Just apply enough pressure to loosen the peel.
A:
Push the flat side of a knife on the clove to loosen the peel.