Allied Van Lines is the worst moving company in America. I am here to tell you about my experiences with Allied Vans.

mediaimage
There are many moving companies out there. A lot of them are reputable and will carry your goods safely, reputably and respectfully. Then, there’s Allied Van Lines. It has to be the most nightmarish company to deal with. As a consumer advocate, I feel compelled to explain how horribly Allied Vans was when it moved my stuff. I didn’t want to use Allied Movers, because I heard bad things about them, but I’m in the Navy and the Navy uses them. I had to use Allied Moving twice, in fact, but the second time was the worst. We were moving from Florida to Virginia, trusting many nice things to Allied Vans. For example, we had a leather sofa, love seat and recliner. Well, Allied Movers damaged them right away. Allied Movers tried to say that the sofa was already ripped on the paperwork the employees turn in, but I was smart enough to check it out. Then, a woman Allied Van Lines employee tried to move our queen sized bed BY HERSELF. She didn’t even bother to try to take it apart, she just went to take it as it was. Who can believe one person could move an entire bed? Well, I guess an Allied Vans employee thinks so. The bed was broken by the Allied Van Lines mover, and we didn’t get any compensation for it. In fact, because the Allied Moving company’s employee was so stupid, we had to buy a new headboard and footboard, costing us a lot of money.Also, Allied Vans broke a lot of things while packing up our stuff. There were four of them to do the entire 3 bedroom apartment. Maybe they got tired, because the Allied movers were there for 9 hours, but they took so many breaks and a lunch that it was ridiculous. Whatever the excuse, these Allied Van Lines moving “specialists” managed to break so many things. When they got to Virginia, they broke even more things as they were unpacking. The movers Allied are supposed to take all the boxes off and place them in the rooms and then unpack them. Well, you would think Allied moving could get that right, wouldn’t you? Well, no way. We asked the Allied Vans people to please unpack everything and put it all in piles in each room. However, they didn’t. In fact, it took them only 38 minutes to unpack a 3 bedroom apartment because the Allied Vans moving people simply cut open each box no matter what it was and dumped the contents on the floor. We took photos of the ginormous mess the Allied Vans people made and then called Allied Van Lines customer service to come out and assess the damage. The Allied movers got into some trouble; the Allied Moving rep said they shouldn’t have done that because they wouldn’t want the same thing happening to them, but I doubt these movers Allied really cared. The pictures prove that everything was dumped upside down. A lot of figurines, picture frames and things with sentimental value were broken.If I have to move again, I’m going to watch the Allied Vans employees the entire time. Or I’m going to convince the Navy not to use Allied Van Lines ever again. This company is just horrendous!

Small group Vatican tours are the ideal way to introduce children to the art and history of this inspiring cultural icon.

mediaimage
For anyone who wants to experience the full glory of the Eternal City, a visit to the Vatican is essential. The centre of the Roman Catholic Church is one of the richest sources of culture, history, and architecture in Europe, and is home to some of the most iconic Renaissance art in the world.

For those with children, it may seem like a fairly big challenge to engage in a cultural excursion of this proportion. However, with a little bit of planning, it can actually be an extremely fun and fulfilling experience for young ones – and anyone with a family knows that’s great news for parents.

Vatican Tours: Perfect for Families

Exploring the Vatican alone can be overwhelming, but with a family it can be positively exhausting. Booking one of the organised Vatican tours can eliminate the stress entirely, allowing you to focus on the truly awe-inspiring experience it should be.

Eschew the Queue

As one of the most popular attractions in Rome, entry queues can stretch as long as several hours in high season – a guaranteed red flag for the attention span of children. But the beauty of booking organised small-group Vatican tours is that you’ll meet up with your guide and get streamlined access to the complex.

Art History Can Be Fun

Once you’re inside, the benefits of having a guide who’s intimately acquainted with the floor plan of the Vatican’s museums really can’t be overstated. The sheer size and scope of the collections (there are over four miles of corridors and galleries) can take a first- time visitor by surprise, making it all too easy to wander aimlessly and bore the children. But with the expert guides’ extensive knowledge and experience, the masterpieces of the Vatican will come alive in young hearts and minds.

Engaging youngsters in art and history is so much easier when they’re face to face with the subjects. A passionate guide can make the stories behind the art pieces fascinating with rich, child-friendly renditions of the Greek myths that form the backbone of Roman mythology. Instead of simply glazing over at the sight of a crumbling statue, children will be able to recognise characters like Mercury and Hercules and make a connection with their history.

Pieces like the Statue of Laocoön and His Sons and Apollo del Belvedere, the hallowed chambers of the Gallery of Tapestries and the Gallery of Maps, and the exquisite detail of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel become meaningful and, therefore, memorable.

The lasting effects of such an immersive art history experience don’t end when the tour is over. Once exposed to this vast cultural legacy, children will be able to see its influence everywhere they turn on the streets of Rome and beyond.

Before You Go

In order to make the most of Vatican tours, it’s a lovely idea to introduce your children to some of the art work they’re going to see beforehand. With the aid of books and videos, you’ll be able to gauge what’s likely to pique their interest, and can ensure that they get to see their favourites in the flesh – or, rather, in the stone, marble, or paint! Create a fun list of sculptures and paintings that they relate to, which will give them something to look out for when you tour the Vatican.

In the end, though, it’s important to remember that children are just that – young people with curious minds but short attention spans. If you encourage them to be mindful travellers and continue to nurture them with these kinds of cultural experiences, with luck they’ll develop a lifelong appreciation for history and art.

NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature the original work of Lauralee Franco in Contemporary Perspectives. The exhibition opens April 1, 2017 and runs through April 21, 2017 with an opening reception on Thursday, April 6 from 6-8 pm.

mediaimage
Creating gesture, motion, energy and space on canvas is the objective of Lauralee Franco’s oil paintings. “I use paint to begin a conversation,” Franco says, and that conversation is conducted through a juxtaposition of textures, colors and forms. From outdoor scenes composed of soft lines and blocks of tone to abstract works that bring internal moods and emotions to vivid external life, the artist is constantly balancing contrasts, giving her work a liveliness that draws the viewer in. Franco also notes that dance has been a strong influence on the rhythm of her paintings, and the physical freedom found in dance is reflected in their dynamic brushstrokes and vibrant color combinations.

But the energy of the artist’s work goes hand in hand with harmony. Her balanced compositions give a unity and order to each image, placing their contrasts in a framework that renders them all the more powerful. “I hope to illuminate our true desires,” she says, and her paintings shed new light on the secrets that lie within us. Franco lives and works in Sea Cliff, Long Island.

Exhibition Dates: April 1, 2017 – April 21, 2017

Reception: Thursday, April 6, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11:00am – 6:00pm

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, Chelsea, New York

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Lauralee_Franco.aspx

Featured Artists:

Contemporary Perspectives

Lauralee Franco | Fariba Baghi | Craig Frankowski | Stephanie E. Graham | Gail Comes | Bobbie See

About the Exhibition

Contemporary Perspectives: The New Art History

Agora Gallery is pleased to present Contemporary Perspectives, a new collective exhibition highlighting all the ways which show that the past and present are in constant dialogue. Contemporary Perspectives assembles a small group of artists who approach classic subject matter with fresh eyes. Their work contains echoes of art history while managing to be entirely forward-thinking.

Half of the six featured artists work in oil. One depicts romantic landscapes as a series of highly stylized, streamlined patterns. The second paints florals, with an updated hyperrealism and irregular canvases. The third paints portraits that are composed as traditional reverential busts. However the colors are saturated, the body language is animated, and her subjects are women of color, a historically overlooked group. There are two acrylic painters: one creates dramatic visions of completely imaginary forests, and another places realistic figures in foggy, abstracted landscapes. The last artist works in ink and mixed-media to create meticulous botanicals that recall both scientific catalogues and the watercolor works of nineteenth-century leisure painters.

first of all, your pores and skin is an organ, and like other organs on your body, it wishes several matters to be absolutely healthful. Your frame couldn’t live on if you gave it food however never water, or workout but by no means sleep. one of a kind pores and skin has different needs. with a purpose to in reality deliver your pores and skin the safety, advantages, and repair it needs to combat the symptoms of getting older, it is necessary to treat each of its man or woman wishes. a very good anti-growing older pores and skin care system need to paintings synergistic-ally and ought to incorporate:A soap-free cleaner: cleaning soap strips pores and skin of the herbal oils vital to shield it and maintain it looking wholesome. a good purifier need to clean pores lightly and go away skin feeling smooth and supple.A Toner: A toner corrects the PH degree of skin. If the PH degree isn’t always in balance, neither will pores and skin be in balance. It will become both too dry or too oily, or be a combination of each. simply rinsing your face with water will throw off the pores and skin’s PH stability.A mild-weight Eye Cream: The pores and skin across the eyes is made of very sensitive glands. that is why the first symptoms of growing old arise there. the usage of a regular cream round the attention vicinity will motive the skin to stretch and stoop over time.A solar protecting Day Cream: a good day cream must have an SPF of as a minimum 15 and have to be mild-weight and moisturizing.A night time Cream: night time creams incorporate special elements that help skin in it is natural regeneration process, which occurs at night time. skin also can emerge as severely dehydrated at night as it works tough to heal and repair harm finished throughout the day.subsequent, we all agree that an anti-ageing skin care by-product have to produce effects, or do what it says it’ll. have you ever bought a derivative that claims some sort of benefit, handiest to find after weeks of use it hasn’t completed a factor? Or it is even made your pores and skin worse. right here’s the reason why: Mineral oil. Mineral oil, or petroleum, makes up the bottom of over 96% of all skin care, cosmetics, hair care and splendor products available on the market these days. it’s far an occlusive, colorless and odorless substance that could be a ed81d2c1d705861968d8963ac974ba36 of crude oil. It has no delivered advantage, and has even been observed to be adverse. First, mineral oil is occlusive, meaning it creates a barrier. As a barrier, it both prevents beneficial substances in skin care products from penetrating and stimulating the cells, and pollution the skin is liable for excreting form being capable of escape. Mineral oil is the main reason of pimples breakouts, and prolonged skin conditions. it’s also the number two reason of untimely growing old, as it prevents lifeless skin cells from sloughing off and allowing new skin cells to take their vicinity. Repeated use of mineral oil could also have a bad effect in your health because it has been strongly linked to cancer and has even been banned in ecu countries.every other factor a very good anti-ageing skin care derivative have to not have is animal ed81d2c1d705861968d8963ac974ba36. what’s animal ed81d2c1d705861968d8963ac974ba36 you might ask? Euthanized pets from vets and animal shelters, avenue kill, the entrails from slaughter homes, and farm animal carcasses are amassed and despatched to rendering plant life in which they’re boiled till the fat rises to shape a foamy froth on top. That froth is then taken and bought to cosmetic agencies and used as a filler or thickener in maximum skin care, beauty, and hair care merchandise. no longer handiest is this disgusting and doubtlessly harmful due to the hormones found in farm animals, it also influences the exceptional of the derivative. when a derivative is loaded with fillers it will become less concentrated, meaning you need to use more. The simplest manner to recognise if a derivative includes animal ed81d2c1d705861968d8963ac974ba36 or now not is to examine the label. If it says, “No Animal ed81d2c1d705861968d8963ac974ba36” you are appropriate to move. If now not, i might be looking for any other spinoff.The final issue we search for in an excellent anti-growing old by-product is that it’s far secure. Did you realize that something you placed on your pores and skin is absorbed in 26 seconds? studies has shown that more pollution enter the frame thru the pores and skin than the mouth, so we figure, it’s possibly a very good concept that the derivative we’re going to be slathering on ourselves two times an afternoon have to not comprise any harmful components. other than chemical dyes and fragrances, some other ingredients recognised to be harmful encompass, mineral oil or petrolatum, Formaldehyde donating preservatives, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate or sls, and talc observed in many powders.So if you’re looking for a very good anti-growing old skin care by-product that is targeted, focused, produces outcomes, and is safe, you may need to appearance a touch further than your local drug shop. Even many products discovered at the health food save can contain harmful ingredients as they may be no longer required to fulfill FDA requirements. Swiss pores and skin care is typically your excellent guess as they should adhere to very high standards that surpass even the FDA preferred. also, search for merchandise that incorporate wonderful elements like nutrients A, C, and E, and are formulated in particular from plants and botanicals, as they will a ways surpass the safety and fine of these which can be chemically primarily based; which, unfortunately, make up over 90% of all splendor care products.Get educated about the numerous beauty products available and a way to locate the high-quality ones, and your pores and skin will thank you for it with the aid of looking radiant and youthful into your vintage age.

there’s a huge industry for weight-reduction plan products these days. This $23-billion area is getting ready to making more. The release of medicine similar to Xenical, Alli, and different weight reduction formulation drugs have helped growth the profile of the world. the best information is that those types of traits have lifted focus close to morbid obesity and the numerous fitness worries related with this situation.it truly is in which organic weight loss supplements seem into play. no longer absolutely everyone is probably capable to shop for Xenical for his or her obesity. in reality, specific chemical substances can struggle with one of a kind bodily illnesses or a few different medicines. every time you operate pills, you ought to be very cautious with buying upon food plan products, which ought to no longer war along with your complete frame’s strategies. as a result of this, individuals have began to take into account what the herbal world is offering to assist them lessen the additional unwanted weight. these forms of goods are taken from naturally materializing chemicals on your body or in herbs and many different plant life.Hoodia is an instance of an herb that remains touted to assist within the battle in opposition to unhealthy weight. folks that purchase Hoodia can count on a protracted historical beyond. African local human beings had been taking within the herb for decades, and it changed into simply inside the Sixties that scientists started to observe natural weight reduction supplements and diet merchandise rooted within the hoodia gordonii herb. they have got even lonely the effective factor, which goes like a diet reducer. this can make you lessen the preference to use for a lengthier period of time than normal. sad to say, because of the reputation of this supplement, lots of merchandise have leaped on the band wagon, claiming to hold hoodia when really in basic terms a tiny chew of the lively substance is in them. The purchaser ought to use properly care in shopping for this from the marketplace.any other of the very popular natural weight loss dietary supplements that can be bought is L-glutamine. This substance has enough of extremely good blessings, which consist of quicker wound restoration, immune boosts gadget, and protection for the liver in the occasion that you’re going through chemotherapy. It develops clearly on your body, however you could discover glutamine dietary supplements presented available on the market.The truth is, many workout and food plan products include this substance. precisely like all medicinal drug, consuming an excessive amount of will cause painstaking poor outcomes, specifically a queasy tummy. clients must additionally take care now not to count on that Glutamine is a magic fats reduction medicinal drug, due to the fact it’s far definitely no longer. though, coupled with accurate exercise, it might help manipulate precise food yearning. Resveratrol is simply another one of the natural weight reduction supplements product of flowers. This chemical become isolated because the principal issue inside the French paradox. oldsters in France generally consume a high-fat weight loss program and take in pink wine. Even at the same time as an alcohol-and-fat healthy dietweight-reduction plan is normally a deadly aggregate, that isn’t always the reality with the French. It become determined that the resveratrol in pink wine helped them live on a piece longer no matter this. The compound works through reducing calories, lowering extra fat, and enhancing patterns of metabolic rate. this is amongst those eating regimen merchandise which do no longer truely will let you drop weight, but also help you live nutritious and in form.in reality, the selection on which sort of dietary complement to get is your decision. every man or women has his personal requirements that is probably supplied either through chemical or natural weight reduction supplements. however, the choice to narrow down is among the maximum important you may ever need to make for you. Your fitness, in fact, is on the line.