Emery Law Office - February 2021

Emery Law Office - February 2021

FEBRUARY 2021

HANNAH ANN IS FINALLY HERE!

MY MAD DASH ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MEET MY FIRST GRANDBABY

During the first week of December 2020, I was sitting in a legal mastermind in North Carolina when I got the phone call that my daughter Katie was delivering her baby. I told her I couldn’t wait to see her next week. But as soon as I hung up the phone, the rest of the lawyers in the mastermind said, “Are you crazy? Fly straight there!” That’s when the situation really hit me. Work could wait! I jumped on a plane and flew directly from North Carolina to NewYork City without even stopping at home to pack my winter clothes. Because we’re in the middle of a pandemic, this was more complicated than it sounds. I’d just tested negative for COVID-19 for the mastermind, but I still had to quarantine for four days in NewYork, then get tested again and jump through a bunch of other hoops

before I could see my grandbaby. It was a weird experience, and it made me grateful there wasn’t a pandemic going on when I was a new mom! I waited by the phone the whole time Katie was in labor, but I’d been up since 4 a.m. and finally nodded off. When I woke up, it was to a phone call from Katie and text messages from 17 different people sharing baby pictures and congratulating me on being a grandma. Hannah Ann was born at 9:12 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. She’s the third-generation “Ann” in our family. She weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces, was a petite 19 1/2 inches long, and was also a very, very pretty baby! I finally got to hold her the day after she was born. She had a ton of black hair, a cute little mouth

with full lips, and the tiniest tongue I’d ever seen. When I saw her, I suddenly understood the difference between being a parent and being a grandparent. My mom used to complain to me that the summer I was born, my grandfather came over every single day. He said he just wanted to check on the tomatoes, but he would always come in and talk as loud as he could and walk heavy-footed across the floor. What he really wanted was to wake me up so he could play with me. As a new mom, I thought that story was horrible — why would anyone want to wake up a sleeping baby?! But now I get it. I did the very same thing the second I arrived in the hospital with Hannah’s new Fisher-Price bunny (a replica of Katie’s old favorite) under my arm. I unwrapped her right away and couldn’t wait for her to open her eyes. Two months in, I can still hardly believe I’m a grandma. (Or should I say Gigi or Abuela? I’ll let Hannah pick!.) Maybe one day, it will fully sink in, but for now, I’m going to keep staring at her cute pictures and planning my next trip to New York.

-Melissa Emery

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WARM UP TO THESE SMALL PROJECTS

For Better Home Insulation

Are you feeling a draft, even when you’re nestled on the couch? Even though good home insulation is important every part of the year, chances are you notice its absence much more in the winter months. But before you call in a construction crew to tear down your walls and fix your insulation, try these simple, budget-friendly ways to keep heat inside your home. Weatherproof your doors. If you can feel chilly air coming through the crack between the bottom of your door and your hardwood floors, putting foam or rubber weatherstripping under your doors can stop the cold air from getting into your home and circulating through every room. Even if the crack between your floor and your door is extra large, you can double up on weatherstripping. Plus, it can be easily removed when necessary! Install thick curtains over your windows. If you have drafty windows, invest in some thick curtains. Light curtains are great when the weather is warmer, but a good set of heavy curtains will keep the heat

from escaping. For added insulation, you can also find curtains with thermal backs. However, if saving money is more important than aesthetics for you, you can also insulate your windows by blow-drying some plastic wrap onto the windows to fill any holes. Keep up with your HVAC maintenance. Maintaining your HVAC system means changing out filters once a month, cleaning ducts regularly, and watching for leaks in the air duct system. (Some key indicators of leaks are higher energy bills during the summer or dust accumulating more in one room than in others.) You can also maintain your HVAC system by simply moving furniture out of the way of vents so it can disperse heat more equally throughout your home. The cold may be sticking around for a while longer. But with some proper insulation, you won’t have to be reminded of that when you’re indoors, all while saving a pretty penny.

3 WAYS TO MAKE CAR TRAVEL MORE SECURE KEEP THE KIDS YOU LOVE SAFE THIS VALENTINE’S DAY

Here’s a scary statistic: More than 90% of child safety seats in American cars are installed incorrectly. That number comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and it’s a nightmare for parents and grandparents alike. Now that Melissa is a grandma (read more on Pg. 1), she’s determined to make sure she does it right. If you’re in that same situation, consider this your reminder to buy your child’s car/booster seat carefully or double-check the one you have! Here are three tips for determining whether the seat is up to snuff and compliant with Kentucky law.

turns 8 OR is between 40 and 57 inches tall, they’ll need a booster seat to comply with Kentucky law. When they’re tall enough or old enough to leave the booster behind, they should always be buckled in with an adult seat belt. In every case, kids should only sit in the back seat. • Buckle them in correctly, every time. Young kids should have seats with child safety harnesses to hold them in place in case of a crash. The best way to make sure these tricky restraints are buckled correctly is to follow the directions from the manufacturer. If you don’t have the paper directions, look up the brand’s website — they should have tips there! Once your kids age into using a booster seat, they can use an adult seat belt along with it. The lap belt should cross low on their hips or high on their thighs, and the shoulder belt should be tight across their collarbone for the best protection. • Ask an expert to inspect your work. Police stations, fire departments, hospitals, and car dealerships across the country offer child safety seat inspections. Trained technicians conduct these and can do wonders for your peace of mind. To find an inspection site near you (and get even more safety tips), visit SeatCheck.org. Correctly installed car seats save thousands of lives every year. This Valentine’s Day, don’t put the kids you love in danger. Keep them safe with the right seat, correctly installed!

• Double check your child’s height. Babies and small children need to be strapped into rear-facing car seats for their safety. Once your child

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BARKS FROM BELLA A Love Letter to My Rope Toys

‘MY FURRY VALENTINE’ PUP SNACKS Who needs a Valentine’s Day date when you have a furry friend at home? This Feb. 14, show your pooch your love with these frosty strawberry dog treats. Use a heart-shaped silicone mold to make this snack extra festive.

INGREDIENTS

• •

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup frozen strawberries, puréed

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill each heart in the mold 3/4 full with yogurt. 2. Freeze the yogurt hearts for 1 hour. 3. When the yogurt is set, add the puréed strawberry on top of each heart to fill the rest of the mold. 4. Freeze for another hour, then share the tasty treats with your dog! Note: If you don’t have a heart-shaped mold, you can freehand your treats on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze 1 tbsp dollops of yogurt for an hour, then top with 1/2 tbsp of strawberry purée and freeze another hour.

Inspired by SugarTheGoldenRetriever.com

WE WANT YOU TO THINK OF US AS YOUR LAW FIRM. If you have a legal matter that needs attention, let us know. If we can’t handle the matter, we will refer you to a firm that can. Please feel free to refer us to your friends and family for their legal needs. We welcome the opportunity to help.

call or text ( 502 ) 77 1 - 1LAW ( 1529)

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4610 OUTER LOOP LOUISVILLE, KY 40219

INSIDE

MEET MELISSA’S FIRST GRANDBABY! 1

A FEW IDEAS TO BETTER INSULATE YOUR HOME

IS YOUR CHILD’S CAR SEAT UP TO SNUFF? 2

MEET BELLA’S VALENTINE

‘MY FURRY VALENTINE’ PUP SNACKS 3

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COVID-19 SCAMS! 4

MONEY SCAMS ARE SKYROCKETING

HERE ARE 3 WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF RIGHT NOW

F or the past year, scammers have been working full time to fleece people. As a result of COVID-19, federal financial relief efforts, and state-level relief efforts, scammers have found a new way to get into their victims’ pockets. Now, they’re using COVID-19 again, this time with the “vaccine scam.” Through this scam, they’ll sign you up for the COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a fee. They are also using variations of the grandparent scam, in which scammers pretend to be a family member in trouble (this time, they have COVID-19 or have lost their job) and they need money. Scammers make phone calls, send text messages, and craft phishing emails, hoping you’ll take the bait.

1. Shut them down. If you get a call from a scammer, hang up immediately (better yet, don’t answer unknown callers at all). At the same time, delete scam texts or emails the second you see them. If you get a call, text, or email from someone claiming to be with the government or a government agency, it’s a scammer. No one from any federal agency will ever call you out of the blue. Anyone claiming to have a cure or pretending to be in desperate need of money is also trying to scam you. Never say a word back to them. Cut them off and go about your day. 2. Sign up for Informed Delivery by USPS. This free service is a great way to monitor your incoming mail. Every morning, USPS sends you an email with scanned images of the day’s mail (this doesn’t usually include larger parcels). When you pick up your mail later in the day, you can verify if anything is

missing. Scammers may prefer phone calls, but mail thieves are still very much on the prowl.

3. Sign up for an identity protection and fraud

detection service. You never know who might end up with your personal information, but you can take steps to keep it safe. There are several services, like LifeLock, Identity Guard, and Intelius Identity Project, that offer comprehensive identify protection. They monitor credit cards, addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, and more with the purpose of scoping out unusual or fraudulent behavior. Many services can be customized to fit your specific needs.

How can you protect yourself from these financial scams and more? Try these three different ways!

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