Q: A prescription is required to purchase contact lenses in the United States, even if those contacts are cosmetic rather than corrective. During your appointment, tell your eye doctor about your needs and expectations. If your eye doctor approves your request for contact lenses, you will get to choose your lenses. Color contacts come in tinted and opaque varieties that can either enhance or completely change your eye color while you are wearing them. Enhancement tint contact lenses intensify your natural color with a translucent tint. Since they are translucent, they will not completely change your natural eye color. Color tint contact lenses come in a variety of shades and colors including specialty colors like amethyst, violet, and green. They are opaque so they will completely block your natural color with the lens color. Follow your eye doctor's instructions carefully when putting in and taking out your contact lenses. Always wash your hands before putting in or taking out your contact lenses. Never sleep in your contact lenses. Don't wear your contact lenses while bathing or swimming. Depending on the type of contact lenses your doctor has prescribed, you may need to disinfect them daily. Improper care of contact lenses can cause eye infections, so it is important to clean your contact lenses as directed by your eye doctor. If you experience any problems or simply have questions about your contact lenses, talk to your eye doctor.
A: Schedule an appointment with your eye doctor. Choose a contact lens type and color. Use your contact lenses as directed. Take good care of your contact lenses. Tell your eye doctor if there is a problem with your contact lenses.

Q: Columbia has 17 graduate schools, providing masters, doctorates, and other advanced degrees in a wide variety of fields. Each school has different processes and requirements for application, so you will need to review them carefully. You will want to work with faculty who are accomplished in your chosen field, and will likely stay on for the duration of your time in the program. If possible, visit the campus and schedule an in-person meeting with your potential instructors. Some schools will provide information sessions, or help arrange these meetings. Columbia's graduate programs are some of the best in the country, and will need to see strong collegiate performance for admittance. Pay close attention to see if your chosen program has required courses, and make sure to focus your academic energies on earning high marks in those classes. Each program will likely provide a range of GPAs accepted each year. If this information is not easily accessible through the school's website, contact the program directly to see what information they can provide. Each graduate program has its own test requirements, and acceptable ranges for admission. Contact the program directly if that information is not readily available. Make sure to take all required exams, and arrange for proper submission of scores. Make sure you can clearly articulate why you wish to study at Columbia, and how the program will help you achieve your professional goals. Ask others, particularly trusted professors, to review your essay before submission to comment on its clarity and effectiveness. If you are finishing an undergraduate degree, your current school may offer additional help through a career services office. You will want letters from college instructors who are closely familiar with your work ethic, communication skills, character, and capabilities. Instructors who have ties to Columbia, either having attended the school or knowing Columbia faculty personally, can also provide good information, if not good letters. If they are willing, take the opportunity to talk with your letter writers about why you wish to attend Columbia, which can help provide a more personalized letter that really emphasizes your strengths as an applicant. Make sure you have all required materials ready when you submit the application, and provide as many supplementary materials as the program suggests.
A: Decide which school you should apply to. Contact potential advisors. Get good grades. Score highly on the appropriate standardized tests. Write a strong personal statement. Get strong recommendations. Fill out the application as completely as possible.

Q: You may need to use a letter opener or similar tool to help you prise open the stuck down edges of the envelope. Lay it open and flat on a sheet of cardstock. Choose an envelope of the size you want the gift envelope to be. It's a good idea to have a few envelopes to open up, in case you rip any when trying to create the template. Do so using a pencil, as you only need to follow the lines and don't want the design marring the end result. Note that for the sake of clear demonstration, this article's example has used a black marker. Once you've drawn the outline onto the cardstock, keep the template for use later in these steps. It's also useful to keep it if you intend on making more gift envelopes for other people. After removal, draw the inner fold lines for the envelope. These are the lines that form the inside of the envelope, its inner rectangle shape. See the image accompanying this step for clarity. Drawing the inner lines can be skipped if you have a steady eye for keeping a line as you score (indent mark) the rectangle in the following step. It is recommended though that you add the lines if you're a beginner or find it hard to keep straight lines when drawing or cutting. Scoring here means to make a small "almost" cut that is actually an indentation. This is made to aid with making the folds on the stiff card. Do the scoring using scissors; gently run the tip of one of the scissor blades down each fold line. It is important to do this lightly as you're only making an indentation, not cutting the card. Once you've scored the rectangle, gently bend to create the folds of the envelope. This isn't needed for the gift wrapping outer part of the envelope because gift wrapping is far more flexible than the cardstock. Go slowly and carefully to ensure the cut is even and neat. Discard the edge pieces (or keep as scrap paper for reuse in craft projects).
A: Gently pull apart a standard envelope. Draw the outline of the standard envelope onto the cardstock. Remove the template envelope. Score the fold lines that you drew in the prior step. Cut out the external edges of the envelope following the template lines drawing on the cardstock.

Q: Do this as a protective measure before you begin scooping ashes out of the stove, as they are liable to drop onto the ground. A newspaper will make cleanup much easier. As you're spreading the newspaper, open the air dampener so that any ash stuck to it will fall into the firebox. The air dampener will be a small knob on the front of the cast iron stove, that you should pull outward to open. If the stove is still warm, use a piece of hooked metal to pull the air dampener open. Open the glass door on the front of the cast iron stove and, using your metal ash shovel, scoop up all of the leftover ash inside of the stove. Place the shovelfuls of ash into a metal ash bucket. Be meticulous when cleaning the ashes out of the stove; you'll be able to start your next fire much more easily if there are no leftover ashes in the firebox. Before you begin scooping up the ashes, make sure that the fire is completely out, and there are no live coals. If there are still any red-hot coals, wait for them to cool and go out before shoveling them up. After you've finished shoveling the ashes out of the firebox, place the lid back on the ash can. Set the can on a non-flammable surface, like brick or tile. It's important to let the ash can sit for at least 48 hours before you dispose of the ashes, in case there are still any live coals in the ash. It's important to keep the can covered, as a slight breeze could lift ash and soot from the can and send it flying through your house. Once you've tossed the ashes, you can also pick up the newspapers that you initially spread on the carpet. Be careful not to spill any ash on the floor. Throw the newspapers away. When the ash bucket is full (after you've shoveled out the fire box several times), you'll need to dispose of the ashes and empty the bucket. If you live in a rural area, you can simply walk a few hundred feet from your house and spread the ashes out on the ground. Alternately, if you have a compost pile or a garden, toss the ashes on top of the soil. If it's windy outside, wait for the wind to die down before you spread the ashes. Dormant embers may re-ignite in a strong wind.
A:
Place an old newspaper on the ground in front of the stove. Scoop the ashes out of the fire box. Cover the ash can. Dispose of the ashes.