Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Protect your travertine countertops. Clean up spills immediately. Clean regularly with gentle products.

Answer: Acidic liquids, hot pans, and wet glasses can damage your travertine countertops. The best way to combat damage is to prevent it. Use hot pads, placemats, and coasters on your kitchen countertops. In your bathroom, place all of your beauty and health products on a vanity tray instead of directly on the counter. Travertine is a porous stone that absorbs liquids. When accidents happen, blot up the spill right away. Wiping up the spill will only cause the item to spread, increasing the area susceptible to a permanent stain. Once a year, seal your countertops. This layer of protection will prevent stains from setting. Sanitize and wipe down your travertine countertops on a regular basis with hot water, gentle cleaners, and a microfiber rag. Spray the surface with a gentle cleaner that is safe on natural stone. Wipe up the cleaner with a fresh microfiber rag. Polish the surface with a new microfiber cloth.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Talk to your teacher. Bend the shank. Soften the toe box. Scratch up the soles if you want more traction. Bang the pleats to make your shoe quieter. Remove satin or darn the shoe tip for a better grip. Take out the heel nail for more flexibility. Do pointe exercises. Apply glue or shellac to strengthen your shoes.

Answer: You teacher might have recommendations or guidelines for breaking in your shoes, so check with them before you begin the process. Your teacher knows your feet, and has probably worked with tons of different foot types. Remember, breaking in pointe shoes is a highly personal process, and every dancer will do it differently. Ask your teacher if they have a specific process for breaking in pointe shoes. Especially for beginners, teachers often rely more on dancing to break in shoes, rather than manual manipulation. Before you follow any of the steps below, get your teacher's approval. Some teachers prefer that students avoid the rougher forms of breaking in shoes, like cutting the shank or removing the toe satin. The shank is the arch-supporting insole of the pointe shoe. New shoes have very stiff shanks, so you'll need to bend the shank so that the shoes mold properly to your feet. Find the part of the shank that contacts the breakpoint of your foot, which is the area where your heel meets your arch. Bend the shank back and forth along the breakpoint, continuing until you have achieved the desired flexibility. Some dancers opt to cut the shank at the breakpoint with scissors. For extra flexibility, you can cut away a quarter of the shank at the heel of the shoe. The toe box refers to the hard part of the pointe shoe that holds your toes. It can be pretty stiff at first, so you should step on or knead the box to soften it up. If the fabric is too tight around your big toe bone, try blotting the area with water and rubbing alcohol. You can use metal, bristled tools called scrapers and roughers to scratch the soles of your pointe shoes. This makes for a better grip on the floor. Make deeper scratches with scissors for even more traction. The pleats are the folds of fabric on the bottom of the shoe, near the toe. These can make noise when dancing, so many dancers like to bang them on a hard surface to make them softer. Beware--banging the pleats makes the shoes wear out sooner. Pointe shoe satin can be slippery. If you want a better grip, consider scraping the satin from the tip of the toe with scissors, or darning the toe platform. To darn your shoe, sew a series of stitches around the platform of the pointe shoe with a needle and thread. The platform is the area that contacts the floor when you are en pointe. If you are younger, ask a parent or other trusted adult for help. Keep in mind that removing the toe satin causes the shoe to break down quicker. Pointe shoes have a nail at the heel that provides structure. If this nail bothers you, or you want a little more flexibility, remove the nail. You can use your fingers to pull out the nail, although you may need to use pliers for more difficult-to-remove nails. Once you have manipulated your pointe shoes to your liking, do some ballet exercises to finish the process of breaking them in. Try walking on demi-pointe, doing a few grand plies, and rolling from demi-pointe to pointe. Your teacher will probably provide some exercises to help break in your pointe shoes. Be patient! It might take a little while to fully break them in. If you find that you want a little more structure, consider applying a thin layer of fast-drying glue or spray-on shellac to the inside of the toe box or around the shank to strengthen it. This should be one of the final steps after your shoes are broken in. Every dancer is different, so you'll have to figure out the best application process for your preferences. Ask your teacher or more experienced dancers for tips. Make sure there are no wrinkles in the fabric when applying the glue, as these will harden and could give you nasty blisters. Use a professional-grade glue like JetGlue or Hot Stuff.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Cook your chicken if you haven't already. While the chicken is cooking, sweat the onions in a well-oiled skillet over medium heat. Add the corn to the onions. Lay one tortilla flat into the bottom of the saucepan. Add onions, corn, beans, chicken, and avocado. Layer the top of the ingredients with the Mexican cheese mix Cover with the second tortilla. Cook the tortilla over medium-low heat, flipping once, until color develops on both tortillas. Cut quesadilla into wedges and serve.

Answer: Many people who make chicken quesadillas used leftover chicken in their quesadillas. If you don't have pre-cooked chicken at your disposal, here are some ways that you can cook your chicken: Pan-sear chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper and begin searing it over medium heat in a well-oiled pan. To develop a nice, brown exterior, turn the heat up to medium-high just before the chicken is finished cooking. Oven-roast chicken. This is a great way of cooking a whole chicken. Butterfly a chicken in the oven. Another great way of cooking a whole chicken, butterflying is a quick technique that sounds more difficult than it is. Definitely worth trying! Cook until onions are aromatic and translucent, about 4 minutes. Cook until a little bit of color develops on both the corn and the onions. Remove from skillet and set aside. Make sure all the ingredients are evenly spread across the bottom of the tortilla. To expedite the process, cover the skillet with a lid while cooking. Enjoy!

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Hire a teacher for personalized, hands-on lessons. Learn to read music. Learn the basics of music theory. Buy a chord and scale book.

Answer:
Usually, the fastest way to learn how to play the piano is with a teacher. They not only know the scales, songs, and chords that you need to practice, but they can give you specific advice on how to improve your playing. Make sure you like the teacher to a fixed term. When looking for a teacher, be sure to discuss the following: Your goals in playing the piano (songs, bands, career, etc.) What genres of music you want to practice The teacher's qualifications and experience The teacher's cost and availability Most piano music is written on charts in musical notation, and it is rare to find a piano player who cannot read music. Purchase a book, watch videos online, get a music learning app or ask your teacher to help you learn so that you can play any music you can get your hands on. Practice reading music each day so that it becomes second nature. You can try to play pieces by sight, bring charts with you on the bus, play songs frequently or play musical games online. Music is built on a set of rules and relationships between notes, and knowing music theory allows you to see the patterns in your favorite songs and learn them more quickly. You can always take a course, but there are also a variety of books and online tutorials meant to teach people music theory, from the basics to complex arrangements. Available at every music store, these books are relatively cheap glossaries of every piano chord you could play. They are usually grouped together by note, but frequently they come with sections detailing which chords sound good together and the right scale to play for each note.