May 20, 2010
TIPS FOR A HEALTHY TIME OF “FUN IN THE SUN!”
- Summer is a time for swimming, which we love to do, but pools are notorious for harboring bacteria. Make sure to shower off when you get home – to get that chlorine off of you – and use homemade drops in your ears to ward off ear infections. Combine equal parts isopropyl alcohol (70-100%) and distilled white vinegar to create your own “swimmer’s ear” drops. Tilt head and apply 3-4 drops and gently pull on earlobe to help the mixture enter the canal. You only need to leave this is in for a few seconds. The alcohol helps dry up the moisture in your ears and kills germs, and the vinegar kills the bacteria!
- Make sure to wear sunscreen – but shower off once you come indoors. Although sunscreen is good for blocking the sun, it contains ingredients that are not so good for us otherwise – so wash it off when you do not need it’s protection.
- Stay hydrated! It is amazing what dehydration does to a body – but you do not want to find that out personally! Drink PLENTY of water when doing outdoor activities. Remember, the human body is about 60% water!
- How about those mosquito bites – and ant bites? Here’s a great first aid tip. AS SOON AS you get a bite, open a vitamin E capsule (vitamin E is an oil based vitamin), squeeze the contents onto your finger, then rub thoroughly into the bite. Do this immediately for best results, the effectiveness diminishes the longer you wait to do it. So, carry a few capsules in your bag with you in a small container. I use a small container with a plastic lid and then I stick a push pin in the lid so that I always have something to open the capsule with. You will be amazed at the results
October 3, 2009
Fall is in the air! Don’t you love it! The nip in the air is so invigorating and energizing – don’t waste the feeling! This is a great time to do a little “fall” cleaning. Now – don’t get overwhelmed – this isn’t the “clear out the cobwebs, wash the baseboards” kind of cleaning that I’m talking about. This is the “let’s get rid of some of the things that we don’t need” cleaning. We all know Christmas is around the corner, and as much as we all want to keep Christ as the center of Christmas, we also know the season itself ushers in its own amount of clutter. So, why add clutter to clutter. Try to help yourself to keep the season peaceful and tranquil – as much as you can – by eliminating some of the stresses associated with the holidays. I have a challenge for you. In one of the Homemaking classes I held in my home, we embarked on a scavenger hunt of sorts together, only this was a “Clutter” hunt! Are you game? If so, here is your assignment – should you choose to accept it! During the month of October, challenge yourself to attempt at least 10 days of clutter busting. Get the family involved – your children will love it. Make a fun time out of it – no reason to look at it as drudgery – look at it as a game – and feel not only a sense of fun, but a sense of accomplishment as well. So, if you would like to participate, email us under the “Contact Us” page and we will send you the document that lists 30-40 different daily ideas that you can cut out and put in a jar. Just use the ones that pertain to your family. Each day draw out one slip of paper and do what it says! It’s that simple. Try to do at least 10 days in October – but feel free to do more. By the end of the month, you will be astonished at what has been eliminated from your house. You will feel so much “lighter” and ready for the months ahead. Here are just a few ideas to entice you to request the whole list -
- get rid of all useless toys from fast food restaurants
- discard all containers that do not have a matching lid
- recycle old phone books
- throw away all dead plants
- take old paints that you no longer need to the recycle center
- throw away all dried up markers
- recycle, or take to the library, all magazines more than 6 months old
- recycle old catalogs
READY – SET – GO!!! Let us know how you progress! This ties in great with our Enviro-Tip in our monthly newsletter! If you don’t receive our newsletter, just email us on the Contact Us page and we will add you to our mailing list. Happy de-cluttering! Till next time -
September 9, 2009
We meet again! Hope you had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I’m feeling a little “Fall-ish” already. We had that couple of days of cool weather (in the 80’s) and my Fall demeanor kicked right in! Fall gives me energy and vitality that I somewhat lose in the heat of summer – how about you? Well, with that comes a desire to “clear out”! So today let’s talk about one of the things that we all struggle with – Clutter Control! At least I think we ALL struggle with it – or is it just me? Well, anyway, here we go. Clutter is the result of delayed decision making. So, we need to learn to be better about making decisions – the first time we handle something – not after we have moved it from stack to stack to stack! So, let’s start with the mail. This is one of the most invasive ways that clutter infiltrates our homes. So, start here. Determine to get rid of junk mail before it ever enters your home. Yes you can do this. Here are some numbers and websites to help you with the task -
- Business and other organizations subscribe to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to gain access to the largest mailing list in the country. Go to their website www.Directmail.com or call 1-888-690-2252 to opt out of their system.
- The major consumer credit bureaus generate mailing lists for potential lenders that send pre-approved credit card, bank and insurance offers. To reduce solicitations, have your name and address removed by calling 1-888-567-8688. This will ask for your SS# and birthday – don’t answer and it will process without it.
- To be removed from the “Red Plum” mailing circular, call 1-888-241-6760 and ask to be removed from the ADVO mailing list or go to their website at www.advo.com/consumersupport.html
- Say no to unsolicited advertising by contacting Valpak Coupons at www.valpak.com , point to “contact us” with your cursor and then choose “mailing list” – you will then be offered the opportunity to opt out of the mailing. Or call the Houston office at 713-849-4477 and ask to op-out
In case you need a little “encouragement” to act on this, here are a few statistics that might help you get motivated -
- The average adult receives 560 pieces of junk mail each year. 44% goes to the landfill unopened.
- On average, we receive 10.8 pieces of junk mail a week, compared to only 1.5 personal letters.
- More than 62 billion pieces (4 million tons) of junk mail are produced each year.
- The majority of household waste consists of junk mail.
- You waste about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.
And these statistics just address how junk mail affects you personally – now let’s look at how it affects our environment.
- 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste. Predictions are it will increase to 48% by 2010.
- The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities in developed countries, and it’s the third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter (after the chemical and steel industries).
- Junk mail inks have high concentrations of heavy metals, making the paper difficult to recycle.
- More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail. 42% of timber harvested nationwide becomes pulpwood for paper.
- The energy used to produce and dispose of junk mail exceeds 2.8 million cars.
- About 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and recycle junk each year.
Now, let’s look at how junk mail affects your pocketbook!
- $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of junk mail each year.
- Transporting junk mail costs $550 million a year.
Well – I think that is enough said – kudos to you for making a start in reducing the unsolicited clutter of junk mail in your homes! See you in a couple of weeks!
August 19, 2009 – We’re going to deviate from the well-equipped kitchen today. Let’s talk about a well-stocked kitchen today. How many times do you get to the “melt-down” hour (usually around 4 – 5 p.m right!) and can’t think of a thing to make for dinner? I know I have been there many times. That’s when it is crucial to have a well-stocked kitchen. What ingredients should you have on hand? Well, that is somewhat subjective depending on what your family likes to eat – but I will give you some suggested basics. Let’s start with the pantry. Chicken Broth – canned or in the cartons. I like to get the all natural – no msg – and less sodium. You can also get Chicken Stock – this is more “potent” if you will than Chicken Broth – very good for soups. Also, keep on hand diced tomatoes. I like to keep plain ones as well as flavored ones – Mexican, Italian, etc. Then spaghetti sauce is a crucial staple in our house. I do not make a “from scratch” spaghetti sauce. I start with a jar of Prego and go from there – adding the ingredients I want to in order to jazz it up a bit. I not only use this for my spaghetti and lasagna, but also as my topping for pizza. Keep rice, spaghetti noodles, egg noodles and macaroni on hand. Now – to the freezer. If you will be diligent about keeping browned ground meat and boiled, de-boned chicken in your freezer, in quart size freezer bags, you can have a meal in no time! You can make spaghetti with a meat sauce, pizza topped with ground meat, chili, tacos, and vegetable soup to name a few things with the ground meat. As far as the boiled chicken – use that for chicken and dumplings, chicken soup, chicken salad, chicken pot pie, or chicken enchiladas. Now for the fridge, keep cheese (sharp cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan), milk, and eggs at the ready. You can either keep canned vegetables or frozen vegetables on hand – your choice, but you will need vegetables! So, that is a VERY scaled down list, but it should get you started. Happy cooking! See you next time!
Well, we meet again! Today let’s talk more about a well-equipped kitchen. After your measuring cups and spoons, of course you need a good set of bowls. There are many bowls today that have a handle and a spout. These are very handy. Many of these have a rubber ring around the bottom of the bowl to hold the bowl in place on the counter while you are stirring. I would highly recommend having one or two of these bowls in your kitchen.
But, you will most likely need a stainless steel mixing bowl as well. Certain recipes call for egg whites. It is imperative when whipping egg whites that the bowl you whip them in is completely free of any oil residue. Many plastic bowls retain a trace even when washed thoroughly. This can prevent your egg whites from whipping to a stiff peak. That is where a stainless steel bowl prevails – the stainless surface does not retain any oil residue or odors. Try to get one that is not too broad either – not a wide open bowl such as for tossing salad, but a more narrow opening that lends itself to mixing doughs and batters more thoroughly. If the bowl opening is too wide, it is difficult to get the ingredients at the edges of the bowl incorporated properly into the mixture.
Then, another bowl that is handy to have is the one that Rachel Ray of the Food Network is famous for – the garbage bowl! This is a designated bowl that you keep on the kitchen counter to put your scraps into when preparing recipes. That way you are not making multiple trips to the trash can yet you are keeping your countertop free of clutter. Put everything from butter wrappers, to potato peels, to egg shells, to onion skins in this bowl – then toss it all in the trash when you are through! If you have things with a strong odor in your garbage bowl, you may want to put it all into a plastic grocery store bag first, tie it tightly, and then put it into your trash can. Well, hope this takes you to your next step in “equipping” your kitchen! Happy cooking till next time!
I love to bake – have ever since I can remember. The first cookbook I had was one put out by Imperial Sugar specially written for children. I loved that cookbook! I still have it somewhere. It was very simple as I recall. Each page told you not only the ingredients and how to make the item, but also the supplies that you would need to prepare the recipe. This is something that many of us do not think about. You’ve always heard it said that having the right tools can make or break the job. The same is true with baking. You need the right “tools”. Start with a good bowl, preferably one that has a handle. Add to that a good set of measuring cups and measuring spoons. I like my set of measuring cups to have the following measurements: 1/8 cup, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup, 3/4 cup and 1 cup. This is a little difficult to find however. I know that Tupperware makes a good set – it has the 2/3 cup and the 3/4 cup – but not the 1/8 cup. You can always use a coffee measure spoon for this – that is usually 2 Tablespoons, which is 1/8 cup. Then, your measuring spoons should be long handled enough to reach down into the items that you will need to measure – such as baking powder and baking soda. They also should be flat so that you can easily level off your spoon of all excess. So, this is a good place for you to start. A well equipped kitchen really will make life easier for you. But, I understand it can’t all happen at once, mainly because of finances, so let’s just take it one step at a time and build wisely!
Once, when I was about 9 or 10 years old, I wanted to surprise my mother and bake a cake. I decided to bake an angel food cake (quite an undertaking for a 9 year old – but who knew!).
I was not experienced enough to do as every baker should do and check that I had all the ingredients before I ever started. Well, needless to say, I was missing an ingredient! But, thank goodness, (I thought) it was an ingredient that wouldn’t matter much – after all, it only called for 1 1/2 tsp. of it. So, how much could it really matter!
Well, when you are talking about cream of tartar – and you’re talking about an angel food cake – believe me, it matters! My Angel food cake ended up about 2″ tall and was dense like a sponge cake! So, that leads me to my discussion about leavening agents, of which cream of tartar is one. Leavening agents make things rise. Most bakers will encounter three leavening agents most often – these being baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tartar. When you see these listed in the recipe – they are important! Make sure that you put them in – and make sure you put in the correct amount – and make sure they are fresh!