• WorldWide

    PURINA PRO PLAN CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF THE INCREDIBLE DOG CHALLENGE

    To kick off the 20th anniversary of the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge (Olympics for dogs!), Pro Plan is partnering with dog-loving, tennis hall of famer, Andy Roddick as part of Pro Plan’s “Call For Incredible” initiative and partnership with America’s VetDogs.

     

    From now until November, “Call for Incredible” will highlight all of the ways in which dogs are incredible—especially Andy’s! Dog owners are encouraged to get involved by visiting proplan.com/callforincredible to submit a photo and story about what it is that makes their dog stand out from all the rest. They can also enter for a chance to win a trip to San Diego during Veterans Week in November to attend the Incredible Dog Challenge demonstration on the historic USS Midway Museum and see some of the most incredible canine athletes and military dogs in action. For every entry, Purina Pro Plan will donate one pound of food to America’s VetDogs, in support of the important work they do with service dogs and veterans with disabilities.

    FROM INCREDIBLE JUMPS TO RECORD-BREAKING DIVES, PURINA PRO PLAN CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF THE INCREDIBLE DOG CHALLENGE

     

    Brand Partners with Andy Roddick and America’s VetDogs to Launch “Call for Incredible” Campaign Highlighting Incredible Dog Stories

     

    1. LOUIS, (April 25, 2017) – For two decades, the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge (IDC) has been giving competitive canine athletes a stage to demonstrate their amazing abilities in Olympic-style events around the country. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IDC, Pro Plan is partnering with Tennis Hall of Famer Andy Roddick to kick off the “Call for Incredible” campaign to highlight all the ways dogs are “incredible” and call on dog owners to share their own stories. For every entry in the Call for Incredible Sweepstakes[1] on proplan.com/incredible, Purina Pro Plan will make a donation to America’s VetDogs, to support the “incredible” and important work they do with service dogs and veterans with disabilities.

     

    “Call for Incredible” is a year-long celebration showcasing all kinds of incredible dogs – from canine athletes like Incredible Dog Challenge competitors, to military dogs, and lovable couch companions like Andy Roddick’s two English bulldogs, Bob Costas and Billie Jean. Purina Pro Plan is calling for dog owners to share a photo and story on what makes their own dog incredible by visiting proplan.com/incredible. Here, dog lovers can also enter for a chance to win a trip to San Diego during Veterans Week in November to attend a special Incredible Dog Challenge on the historic USS Midway Museum, featuring some of the most incredible canine athletes and working military canines in the country. And for every entry, Purina Pro Plan will donate one pound of dog food, up to 20,000 pounds, to America’s VetDogs, which trains and places guide and service dogs to veterans with disabilities.

     

    “The Incredible Dog Challenge is more than a competition; it’s a passionate community of dog owners, who feel the same way that we do – that all dogs are capable of amazing things,” said Christi Maginn, Brand Director, Purina Pro Plan. “’Call for Incredible’ gives us the chance to celebrate 20 years of these amazing athletes, as well as the incredible dogs that have impacted our own lives.”

     

    The “Call for Incredible” campaign will also highlight incredible dogs whose lives are dedicated to helping military veterans, such as the guide and service dogs that work with America’s VetDogs. America’s VetDogs recognizes the powerful impact dogs can have on a person’s life and is committed to training and placing assistance dogs with veterans to help better their quality of life.

     

    “We’re excited to partner with Purina Pro Plan to highlight the impact that highly-skilled service dogs can have to help veterans live with dignity and independence when they return from duty,” said Wells B. Jones, CEO from America’s VetDogs. “We know they are incredible and deserve recognition for the unwavering love, companionship and care they provide to their owners.”

     

    Purina Pro Plan is committed to delivering high quality nutrition to help fuel dogs so they can do the incredible. Whether they’re jumping off docks, opening doors or napping on the patio, there’s a Pro Plan formula specially designed to fit each dog’s specific needs. Purina Pro Plan is dedicated to helping promote healthy living in dogs of all ages and activity levels through nutrition that performs.

     

    For more information on the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge or “Call for Incredible” campaign, visitwww.proplan.com/incredible.

     

    About Purina Pro Plan:

    Purina Pro Plan is the food of choice for 10 of the past 11 Westminster Best in Show winners*. Our goal is to give your dog the nutrition to be his absolute best, helping him to be energetic and resilient, and maintain an ideal body condition, healthy skin, and a stunning coat.  Because being the best he can be means something different for every dog, our wide range of dry and wet foods and snacks, sold exclusively at pet specialty stores, can be found in five specialized categories formulated for a dog’s unique needs. For more information, visit www.proplan.com or follow @ProPlan on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Google+. The brand is manufactured by Nestle Purina PetCare, which promotes responsible pet care, humane education, community involvement, and the positive bond between people and their pets. A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestle Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestle S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health, and wellness.

    *Handlers or owners of these champions may have received food or compensation as a Purina ambassador.

     

    About America’s VetDogs

    Since 2003, America’s VetDogs (www.VetDogs.org) has trained and placed guide and service dogs to provide independence, enhanced mobility, and companionship to veterans with disabilities from all eras. In 2015, VetDogs opened its programs to first responders, including fire, police, and emergency medical personnel. America’s VetDogs is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded by the Guide Dog Foundation. VetDogs relies on contributions from generous individuals, corporations, service clubs, and foundations to fund its mission to help those who have served our country live with dignity and independence. It costs over $50,000 to breed, raise, train, and place one assistance dog, but America’s VetDogs provides its services completely free of charge to the individual.

     

    Be sure to catch Charlie, the VetDogs ‘Puppy with a Purpose’ daily on NBC’s TODAY.

     

    America’s VetDogs has been accredited by both the International Guide Dog Federation and Assistance Dogs International.

     

    About USS Midway Museum

    The USS Midway Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1992. The Museum opened in June 2004. It is governed by a board of directors. Its vision is to become America’s living symbol of freedom, and its mission to preserve the historic USS Midway and the legacy of those who serve, inspire and educate future generations, and entertain museum guests.

     

    [1] NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes begins 12:00:01 a.m. ET on 4/17/17 & ends 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 9/30/17. Open to 50 U.S./D.C. residents who are at least age 21 in MS, age 19 in AL/NE or age 18 in other states/D.C. at the time of entry. To enter & for prizes, odds & full Official Rules, go towww.ProPlan.com/Incredible. Void outside 50 U.S./D.C. & where prohibited. Sponsor: Nestlé Purina PetCare Company.

     

    Beginning at 12:00:01 a.m. ET on 04/17/2017 and ending at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 09/30/2017, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (“Purina”) will donate one (1) pound of food to America’s VetDogs for each entry into the Purina Pro Plan Call for Incredible Sweepstakes, with a minimum donation of 10,000 lbs. and a maximum donation of 20,000 lbs. of food.  For more information about America’s VetDogs, please visit www.vetdogs.org.

  • WorldWide

    How To Ensure Sleep Confidence For Your Children

    Most parents sleep beside their children. We sleep with our kids because we want to ensure they have all their needs throughout the night. Moreover, we want to let them feel how loved they are and how close we are to them.

    On the other hand, some parents share a room with their children and do what they can to ensure their kids will have a good sleep. At some point, though, it becomes advantageous for our children and for us to let them sleep in their beds.

    Nighttime routines most likely help everyone loosen up from a stressful day and help sustain healthy sleep habits. There are many to choose from, and you can experiment to find the right method that fits best for your child.

    Sleep habits may change as the child grows and matures. As parents, you must understand and remain flexible. You must also address the fact that your child must learn how to sleep in his or her bed.

    When the time comes for a child to move to his or her bed, you must make sure there is a gentle transition. You need to check if the move will make your child upset, anxious, or afraid. And you have to respond to these reactions your kid is having.

     

    Developing Sleep Confidence

    Source: https://stocksnap.io/photo/HZW0GXOTWW

    You child’s transition to his or her bed will build his overall confidence because it raises his trust for himself or herself knowing he or she can sleep alone. Weaning your child from your family bed may take effort, understanding, and patience on your part as a parent.

    As a parent, you must be able to assess the right timing to do this. The weaning will depend on the state and health status of your child. It may also depend on whether there are issues your child is facing.

     

    Helping Your Child Get Over The Fear and Anxiety

    Source: https://pixabay.com/en/baby-child-birth-small-child-face-1459641/

    Your child faces a lot of fears and anxieties on his or her own. Many things happen that may overwhelm and surprise them. The world is very unpredictable, fast, and uncertain. That is why it isn’t surprising for our children to feel frightened or terrified sometimes.

    Parents are responsible for consoling and comforting their children whenever these feelings show up. Our kids, especially the young ones, depend on us to ease the sense of fear and anxiety. If you can listen, understand, and pour in care, the child can overcome such feelings.

    However, there are also drawbacks on always consoling and comforting them. If our children become too dependent on us for support in addressing negative issues, it might become detrimental to their mental health.

    The feelings harbored from not addressing it get stored up and might mean trouble later on. It wakes them up at night, makes your child restless, or makes him or her afraid to sleep unless he or she can feel instant comfort from you.

    What you can do is let your child release these stored feelings. Let him or her burst out, cry, scream, tremble, struggle, or sweat. Helping your child release his or her emotions will eventually allow your child to attain peace of mind.

     

    Everyone Needs A Good Quality Sleep

    Source: https://pixabay.com/en/child-girl-face-blond-sleep-666133/

    A good quality sleep doesn’t only benefit you internally but also helps the people you love. You and your child need sleep. When there is a necessity to wake up many times in the night, sleep deprivation seeps in. It can drain your patience and happiness. Moreover, it can cloud your judgment and thinking.

    Sleep deprivation also has a toll on your relationships. As a parent, you must always be on the go and ready to do things, having less to no sleep can cause significant drawbacks on your responsibilities.

     

    Takeaway

    Being a parent is an all-out and nonstop role. One of the major things to address as a parent is developing the sleep confidence of our children. Some parents might be hesitant to let their kids sleep in their beds because of issues on securement.

    They think their children aren’t independent enough or are still young enough to let them sleep in their beds. However, we must understand that our children cannot forever depend on us. Our children will soon mature and grow. They may experience fears and anxieties now, but they will eventually get over it with our support and guidance.

    Moreover, parents should also understand that children have their natural way to recover from fears and overwhelming experiences. When you decide to help your child feel safe in his or her bed, you must understand and listen to his or her feelings, and support and encourage him or her. Eventually, all those negative feelings will cease to exist.

     

  • WorldWide

    For the First Time: Fruit Fibers is the Future of Textile Industry

    Cotton holds at least one-third of the fiber consumption in the textile industry. To produce cotton, it requires severe labor and usage of tons of pesticides, chemicals, and fresh water.

    However, recently there are a lot of innovations and revolutionary discovery that could be an alternative to cotton. Fruit fibers are making its way to be the future of the textile and fashion industry.

     

    Pineapples leaves

    Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/beach-sand-fruits-seashore-27269/

    People usually think of pineapples as a healthy drink or pizza topping. However, Carmen Hijosa thought differently. When Hijosa visited and worked as a leather goods consultant in the Philippines, she discovered the wonders of pineapples.

    Piña fabric is already known and used in the Philippines as fibers for traditional clothing. The fabric is known for its lightweight and fine qualities. The fabric is perfect for warm climates. Besides for traditional clothes, the agricultural waste is also alternative materials for home textiles, apparel, nonwoven industrial fabrics, and upholsteries.

    Usually, the pineapple fibers are naturally glossy in ivory-white color. The dreamy and delicate cloth is soft and fine with a high luster translucent texture. Considering that there are only a few hand weavers that weave the fabric, it is precious and limited, which makes it expensive as well.

    Except for the piña fabric, pineapple leaves now creates leather. Thanks to Carmen Hijosa’s idea, pineapple wastes are now useful for the textile industry. A brand called Piñatex introduced the pineapple leather to the public. The company made the pineapple leathers an alternative to traditional leather. Leather consultant Hijosa used the Barong Tagalog as an inspiration.

    The unique thing about the piña leather is it’s completely vegan. Moreover, the leather is also biodegradable which will help Mother Nature’s preservation. It won’t contribute any destructive pollution to the environment. Compared to the piña fabric and traditional leather, the leather is inexpensive. The leather is capable of having different textures, colors, and thickness.

    The new textile will help combat pollution and waste issues. It will also benefit pineapple farmers financially as pineapple leaves are the waste to most of them.

     

    Coconut Husk

    Source: https://pixabay.com/en/coconut-nuts-market-brown-1583223/

    Coconut palm or has recently strengthened its nickname as the tree of life. The humble fruit goes beyond its milk, water, and meat. Among its uses, the fruit’s husks possess fibrous qualities. In every thousand coconuts, there is at least 10 kg of fiber.

    Fibers made from husks are good choices for sportswear. However, the husk fiber doesn’t limit itself in sportswear only but are also perfect for women dresses, bras and leggings. Usually, fabrics for any active wear are problematic because it must be comfortable and can take the wearer anywhere.

    The fabric is from the recycled coconut husks. The fibers and yarns from the husks contain activated carbon. The fabric consists of some properties that give a lot of benefits to sportswear designer. Additionally, coconut textiles dry faster compared to cotton. Also, the fiber provides less odor when sweating because it reduces absorption in the fabric pores.

    The textile is longer lasting and highly durable compared to cotton and bamboo. Also, it is wrinkle-resistant and provides sun protection.

    If not yet satisfied from the valuable benefits of the husks, let’s add that it is useful for farmers when turned into a bio waste-based charcoal. It also helps in improving soil quality and aids in reducing pesticides.

     

    Banana Stems

    Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Posola.jpg

    The fabric made from banana stems is good enough to be a substitute for real silk. The material of the fiber is from the banana stalk. The idea is not new to some Asian countries mainly Japan since they’ve used it since the 13th century.  

    The fiber from banana has a natural sheen, and its inner strands are very fine, which allows the fiber to reflect the hand of silk. However, banana is also an alternative to other fabrics. Banana fibers’ quality varies to the inside of the stalk, same goes with the type of textile produced.

    When the inner strand is fine and smooth, the outer parts are coarser. The banana fibers can also be hand weaved like pineapple and produced to linen or hemp. For the fibers that are coarse and thick, they mostly turned those to handbags.

     

    Takeaway

    Instead of cotton, the three fruit can also create fibers that will aid in bringing success to the textile industry. On the positive side, these fruit fibers help in pollution and waste problems. Moreover, they are biodegradable which is helpful to the environment.

    The recent innovation is great alternatives for cotton and is making way for textile and fashion industry.

  • New York,  WorldWide

    Stay Fresh For Any Festival/Spring Adventure With Cailyn Cosmetics

    Whether you’re camping at Coachella or living it up at Lollapalooza, packing for a music festival should be just as much about your makeup as it is your outfits. Store up on the essentials with Cailyn Cosmetics! Bring on the music with natural, cruelty-free ingredients from a brand you can trust.

    Outdoor festivals are notoriously unpredictable. Be prepared to battle whatever Mother Nature has in store with the dynamically engineered products from Cailyn Cosmetics. Get through the scorching heat and shop the summer must-haves to ensure you look fresh-faced and fabulous while you dance the day (and night) away:

    • V11 Total Care Serum ($58)With ingredients like green tea, acai berry, and levan, this uniquely designed serum soothes and improves for ultra smooth skin and a new glowing vitality. Not only does it enhance skin texture, this formula tightens pores and brightens skin tone for flawless makeup application. As an added bonus, this salve is packed with fullerene, an active, Nobel Prize winning antioxidant that shields and stabilizes pure Vitamin C to keep your skin feeling fresh.
    • O! WOW Brush ($32)Through its velvet-like bristles and densely packed ultra fine fibers, this beneficial brush is made to ensure an airbrushed effect, with an immaculate streak-free touch. With a dome, angular shaped surface, this brush is beautifully crafted to blend foundation, powder, cream, moisturizer, and primers seamlessly into your skin. The ultimate travel buddy, the sturdy, self-standing handle with a slip off cap prevents bristles from germs, dirt and dusts.
    • BB Fluid Touch Compact ($32.00)Experience this all-in-one beauty cream in a perfectly portable compact! This moisture rich formula brightens, corrects and conceals skin imperfections. With Vitamin E delivering essential hydration to maintain a dewy and luminous finish to your complexion, this handy and unique compact will help your beauty bloom this season!

    Achieve gorgeous skin while you gear up for the jam-packed music lineups of festival season! From the desert on the outskirts of Palm Springs to the funky fog of San Francisco, you could wear out your luggage going to see your favorite band and DJs – don’t wear out your skin. Tote the essentials from Cailyn Cosmetics around those festival grounds for a beautiful boho style! Visit www.cailyncosmetics.com for more information.

  • New York,  Technology

    At a Glance – Bixby

    Samsung’s release of the S8/S8+ brought a lot of new software into Samsung’s Ecosystem. A notable one is Bixby. An AI system to rival Google and Siri, it works on making your life easier. Its launch version will be in various features, including, Bixby Voice, Bixby Vision, Bixby Home and Bixby Reminder, for example.

    A quick way to get an idea of Bixby, is this:

    1. Bixby is a complete solution: it is designed to let you carry out a full range of interactions, rather than launching an app for example, or carrying out a single task. Samsung says that Bixby will be able to do just about everything you can do with an app using touch.
    2. Bixby is contextually aware: this is one of the buzzwords of AI, demonstrated by Google Assistant, for example. This will mean that Bixby can recognise the state that the app is in and take the right actions based on your requests, also letting you mix voice or touch.
    3. Bixby understands natural language: this means that you don’t need to use set phrases, but you can give incomplete information and Bixby can interpret and take action. Natural language recognition has been key to the rise of Alexa, for example, and is now a key element of modern AI.

    Bixby Home

    What used to be Flipboard, is now replaced by Bixby Home on the Galaxy S8. With a swipe to the right from the home screen, a stream of information ranging from smart reminders for tasks you commonly carry out on your phone, to news and weather are displayed. Remember, this is all contextual information, so you will get a lot of reminders about frequent contacted people, setting up alarms at around a usual time, etc.

    I use it quite often, especially when I want to take a quick glance in everything that I need to do on a given moment. The best part is to see scheduled reminders come up, first thing. I do like having my feed with constant reminders! My only concern is how LIMITED the app support is. With such little support, it may be hard to get a buy-in from consumers on Bixby Home. I see the potential however. From Twitter feeds and Facebook updates, it has the potential to be a better version of Google Cards.

    For an AI assistant, it seems to be weak in app support.

    Bixby Vision

    Bixby Vision is a great way to find information about an item that is close to you. Utilizing the Camera app, you are able to take a photo of almost anything and get an image identification, or get the option of where to shop for the item. Its fast, responsive and doesn’t encounter too many hiccups. Bixby Vision starts to process the item, and creates a box of what is that you are looking for. (You can always make the box bigger or smaller) I was able to get information on the NES system rather quickly.


    It does need to be noted that this feature is powered by Pinterest to search for Images and Amazon for Shopping. Its rather straight forward and easy to use. Another feature it can do is translation. Powered by Google Translate, it does a good job in translating a good portion of text from a photo.

    Final Thoughts

    While this isn’t an initial impression, there are a few things that stuck out to me that needed to be mentioned for Bixby. Once Bixby Home comes out oficially for the US, I will give  amore detailed review on it. But Samsung has the right idea, and I hope to see it grow into fruition.

     

  • Las Vegas

    Zuly Tries New Macadamia Professional Shampoo!

    Macadamia Professional Nourishing Moisture Shampoo  offers richer hydration for Medium to Coarse hair textures.  It contains the exclusive PRO OIL COMPLEX of Macadamia and Argan Oils to help strengthen and repair while Avocado and Hazelnut Oils nourish and lock in moisture. A blend of Vitamins A, C and E bring balance to hair and helps to improve tensile strength.

    Macadamia Professional Nourishing Moisture Conditioner is a luxurious formula infused with the exclusive PRO OIL COMPLEX of Macadamia & Argan Oils, plus Avocado and Hazelnut Oils for deep hair and scalp moisturization.  A combination of Collagen and Silk Amino Acids help to repair and strengthen hair.

    I love how great it smells and that it lasts All Day! Also, I had not realized that my hair was dull. Using this shampoo and conditioner leaves my hair soft and shiny, without weighing it down. The shampoo lathers up so nicely. Personally, I appreciate a shampoo that suds up!

    I can’t wait to try more of their products!!

    Macadamia Professional and ColorProof Evolved Color Care products you’ll never be fooled.  Macadamia hair products are color safe, cruelty-free and free of sulfates, gluten and parabens while ColorProof is 100% sulfate-, salt-, gluten- and paraben-free and 100% vegan and never tested on animals.

    www.MacadamiaHair.com

    by Zuly G Schoeppner