Problem: Article: Brush all of your hair until the brush moves through your hair easily, with little or no resistance. Make sure that there are no tangles and that your hair is ready to be put into pigtails. Separate your hair into two low pigtails on the sides of your head. Bring the ends of the pigtails in front of your shoulders so that you can see what you are doing. Secure the towel with a strong hair clip or safety pin. The towel will help prevent hair from getting on your neck and clothing.  You may also want to put some newspaper on the floor to catch the hair that you trim off. Identify the amount of length that you would like to cut and hold your hair around this section using your middle and index fingers. For each pigtail, cut the hair in a straight line just below where you are holding it with your fingers. Make sure the scissors you use are meant for cutting hair and that they are very sharp. You can cut your hair at a slight angle if you’d like a bit of a slant to your cut. Just make sure that you cut the other pigtail at a similar complementary angle. Take your hair out of the pigtails, run your fingers through your hair, and shake out your curls. Inspect your hair from all angles and make sure it looks how you want it to look. Use the scissors to touch up any spots that don’t look right. Look for any strands that are drastically longer than others or that are angled differently and trim as needed.
Summary: Detangle your hair. Put your hair into pigtails. Wrap a towel around your neck and shoulders. Decide how short you want to go. Cut your hair. Remove the elastic hairbands. Inspect your curls.

Problem: Article: The vibe in the living room will be very different from the vibe in the bedroom. Think about how the room is used--is it a place to relax, a place to gather with friends, a place to work, a place to sleep--and how you want to feel when you are in the room.  The function of the room is just as important as the overall look. The main function of your bedroom is as a place to unwind and sleep, so while you may be loving those loud prints, they might be better suited to a room with more action. Make a list of words that describe how you want to feel in the room: productive, quiet, social, inspired. Keep these words in mind when you're decorating and ask yourself if the furniture, colors, and accents you are choosing support the mood you want.  Do a little research on color theory to help emphasize mood. Bright colors encourage social behavior, so they work well in a living room. A room that is all one color isn't as exciting, but works well where you want a calm vibe, like a bedroom. Use a website like Pinterest to collect images of rooms you like. Only select the rooms that really inspire you and look like places where you would enjoy spending time. Once you have a good collection, go through the pictures and pick out any common elements to incorporate into your own design scheme.  Look at colors, textures, themes and styles (like rustic, modern, or nautical), furniture, lighting, or anything else that you notice popping up in your inspirational rooms. Remember to consider the feel of the room. If one of your inspirational rooms makes you feel happy, try to pinpoint what it is about that space that brings out those feelings. Is it because there is a lot of natural light? Or the bright colors? There are tons of websites and apps that allow you to enter the measurements of your room so you can play around with furniture placement. You can see if a queen-size bed overwhelms your small bedroom, or if your desk looks better at the foot of the bed or against the opposite wall.  Take your measurements whenever you go furniture shopping, so you don't accidentally end up with furniture that won't fit in your room. Consider the spaces just outside your room as well: you might not be able to get that huge sofa through the door if there are lots of tight corners leading to your room. Measure doorways and elevators, and find out if you can take larger furniture apart. Even unscrewing the legs off a couch may help. Mark the location of your outlets so you can plan where your lighting, television, computer, and other electronics can plug in.
Summary: Determine the purpose and mood of the room. Get ideas from design blogs and magazines. Measure the length, width, and height of the room and make a floor plan.

Problem: Article: Using an enzymatic cleaner to treat blood stains is a good choice, as enzymes are proteins that have been engineered to break down other proteins. Purchase an enzyme-based pre-treatment spray, or make an enzyme soak using 4 cups of cold water and 1 tbsp. of enzyme detergent. Let the treatment set in for 30 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Avoid using enzymes on wool or silk items.
Summary: Pre-treat stains with an enzyme solution.

Problem: Article: Your child may have lots of questions about the death of a friend. It is important for you to answer these openly and honestly, again using concrete explanations. Keep it simple. It is also fine to admit when you don’t know something.  Children might wonder if death is like going to sleep. Explain that during sleep the body still works, while with death it doesn’t. Be clear about the differences so that your child doesn’t start to fear sleeping. Kids may also ask about pain, i.e. “Does it hurt to die?” You might say that doctors and nurses can use medicine to take away the pain and make it hurt as little as possible. Be honest if your child asks more generally about death and whether he or she will die. Explain that everyone dies at some point, but that most people live for a long-time – and that someone will be there to look after your child if you yourself die. Questions of meaning are harder. It’s OK to admit that you don’t know why your child’s friend had to die or say that you are upset and confused, too. Should you take your child to the funeral of a friend? The answer to this question is very personal. Your child should be able to join in any mourning ritual – but only if he or she wants to. Don’t pressure the child to do so.  First, explain what your child will see at the funeral or memorial service, i.e. the friend’s body may be in a casket and there will be many others there, too. Explain what will take place, as well. For example, other people will probably speak about the friend who’s died and other mourners may be crying. If you are religious, you can also share your faith’s spiritual beliefs about death and what these mourning rituals mean. Make sure to respect your child’s wants at the funeral, too. Don’t force your child to stay if he or she wants to leave. Children learn how to cope with emotions and to grieve by watching what adults do. They are very aware of how you react to death and loss. That said, try to model healthy grieving. Sitting quietly, crying, and displays of emotion show children that these behaviors are natural and OK.  It is OK for your child to see you cry. This can make the child more comfortable with showing his or her own emotions. Your child should also know that it’s OK to feel strong emotions when a friend has died, like anger, sadness, and fear. Continue to model grief by encouraging your child to express how they feel in healthy ways. Allow adequate time and don’t press the child into resuming “normal” activities before they’ve had a chance to process and deal with the death.  For example, you could give your child the chance to say a final goodbye by writing a letter for the graveside or casket or by releasing a balloon. You can also encourage your child to draw pictures or write poems or stories about the friend and how they feel. Put limits on grieving behavior, though. It’s normal for kids to react to death with some regressive behavior, but limit acting out and displays of physical aggression.
Summary:
Be ready to answer questions. Decide whether or not to attend the funeral. Model healthy grieving. Encourage your child to express emotions.