INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you are hiring a DJ, getting refreshments catered, getting professional help with the decorations, or hiring a professional photographer, start gathering quotes at least one month in advance. Ask about any surcharges or equipment fees, as well as hourly rates. Inquire about what your vendors will supply, and what you are expected to have. For example, check with your DJ to see if they provide the sound system, or if you will need to rent one from elsewhere. Contact at least three options for every vendor to ensure that you get competitive pricing. Your budget will dictate much of what you can and cannot do. Talk to your student government treasurer to better understand how much money your committee has to spend on the dance. Ask your faculty adviser to verify the budget. See if the school will contribute anything outside of the student government money. Plan your budget to encompass everything you will need. Use the quotes you got from your vendors as well as budget plans and receipts from previous years to figure out what the dance will cost. Do not let your budget exceed the amount you have available. Revisit your budget often to ensure you are on track. If your budget is not enough to cover the cost of the dance, create a fundraising plan with your committee. Explore multiple options both on and off campus. Host bake sales on campus during lunch periods as well as before and after school. Work with other student groups to raise money by hosting events such as a car wash. Events that let you reach out into your community give you more opportunities to bring in cash. Ask local restaurants if they offer fundraising nights. Some restaurants may offer programs that donate a certain percent of profits for the night to a student organization. Partner with a local eatery and spread the word via flyers, emails, and social media.

SUMMARY: Get quotes. Make your budget. Fundraise.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Toxic friendships are detrimental to your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Is your jealous friend really just a toxic individual? If so, your attempts to rationally discuss their jealous behavior may prove fruitless. Common characteristics of toxic individuals include: Need to control others Disregard for personal boundaries Selfishness Need to always be right Dishonesty Inability to accept responsibility for their actions Tendency to play the victim If your friend is a toxic individual, it may be in your best interest to take steps to either confront their negative behavior in an effort to improve or end the relationship. When you confront their harmful behavior: Acknowledge that you are coming from a place of love and honesty. "In the best interest of our friendship and my wellbeing, I must tell you the truth. Tell them explicitly how you feel. "I feel _______ when you _______." Ask them to stop their behavior. "Are you willing to stop _______ so that we can have a healthier relationship?" Boundaries can provide structure and stability to a toxic relationship. Once you set these boundaries, they are non-negotiabledo not let your friend bully you into changing the boundaries. You can start to set boundaries for your toxic relationship by answering these questions: When can your friend contact you? How can they contact you? In what circumstances will you contact your friend? How will you contact them if you must get ahold of them? Will you ignore or acknowledge them when you see them in public? Will you block them on social media? May they remain in contact with your family members? If this individual can not honor the terms of your agreement, it is time to sever ties. Let them know that you can no longer maintain a relationship with them. When you confront this individual, have a clear and concise explanation ready. They may pressure you for further details or attempt to manipulate your words. If this occurs, remind yourself that you don't need to justify your decision. Ending this relationship will be a process. Toxic individuals struggle to respect boundaries. As a result, cutting these individuals out of your life becomes a long, trying process. Remain firm in your resolution as you persistently work towards distancing yourself from them.

SUMMARY: Determine if this friendship is worth saving. Confront the toxic friend. Set clear boundaries. End the relationship and move on.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Avoid letting your cats just fight out their issues. Cats can't really resolve any problems through fighting and fighting will often make the conflict worse. Interrupt or stop any fighting by clapping your hands loudly or spraying a warning shot from a water bottle or gun. Avoid yelling at them to stop fighting or displaying open aggression by throwing an object at them. This will create more stress and possibly more fighting down the road. Instead, calmly interrupt the fight. You can try to distract the cats with toys to prevent the fight from starting up again. You should also avoid trying to soothe the cats after they have had a fight. Instead, leave them both alone once they separate and stop fighting. Due to their solitary nature, cats are often best left alone to recover from a conflict. Some cat owners have found a calming pheromone spray like Feliway can help to reduce overall stress levels in the living space. You can also get Feliway in the form of a plug-in diffuser that releases the calming pheromone throughout the home. The spray may not work on all cats to calm them down and it may not stop every conflict from occurring. But it can help to maintain a calm, stress free environment in the living space for both cats. Often, two fighting cats will be looking to their owner to help them process the stress and anxiety of having to live with each other. Observe their behavior towards you and if you notice any signs of stress, such as tense body posture, twitching tails or dilated pupils, respond by giving the cats some attention. Do this by playing with both cats at the same time, using two separate sets of toys. You can also groom your cats to give them some love and attention. Rub their bellies and their heads, but avoid picking them up and carried them or cuddling them. Most cats get stressed out when held and prefer to be groomed on the ground. Some cat owners have found rubbing tuna juice on their cats' bodies and heads can help to distract the cats from fighting. Your cats may be come so occupied with grooming and licking the tuna juice that they may not pay much attention to each other. In fact, they may start grooming each other to get at the tuna juice and could interact in a more friendly way. Sometimes cats can fight due to stress or anxiety from a medical condition or issue. Bring your cats to the vet for check ups to determine if there could be other reasons for their fighting. You can also contact a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB or ACAAB) or a board-certified veterinary behaviorist for advice and guidance on how to encourage your cats to get along at home. You can find a list of CAABs here. Keep in mind some cats just aren't meant to live together in peace. Chronic stress and tension in their living space is not healthy for your cats and could lead to some unhappy cat years. If you have exhausted all of your options, you may want to consider separating the cats permanently by finding a new home for one cat or restricting one cat to a completely separate area of the house.

SUMMARY: Stop the fighting by clapping your hands or spraying a water bottle. Use a calming pheromone spray. Groom and interact with each cat equally. Talk to your vet if your cats continue to fight.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Making signs means getting wood. Use an axe or sword to chop down a nearby tree. In order to make one sign, you will need: 6 wooden planks 1 stick If you already have your raw materials, skip straight to the next step. If you don't know how to make wood into wooden planks, and finally, into sticks, read on. Craft wooden planks out of wood. One block of wood, crafted, will turn into 4 wooden planks. In order to make one sign, you'll therefore need at least 2 blocks of wood to craft. Craft sticks out of two wooden planks. Place two wooden planks in a vertical line on your crafting table to yield 4 sticks.

SUMMARY:
Gather materials. If you haven't already, craft your wooden planks and stick.