Friday, January 18, 2008
Let's Scrub!
The netting used to package oranges and other fruits makes a perfect soft scouring pad. Just cut the top and bottom of the bag off and fold the netting. Then, put a rubber band around the middle of the folded netting for a nice, soft pad. This is so amazing and works really well, saving you $$$ on buying scrub pads
Winterize Your Ride
Winter Car Care
A mechanical failure in the winter can deadly, so preventive maintenance is a must. Check out the following tips to be beter off on the road during winter:
1. Have engine performance problems corrected at a good repair shop. Replace dirty or worn filters- air,fuel,PCV, etc.
2. Put a bottle of fuel deicer in your tank once a month to help freezing in the fuel line. Replace worn wiper blades
3. The cooling system should be flushed and refilled as recommended. Have belts,clamps and hoses checked by a pro.
4. Have older batteries checked for a charge- have this done with professional equipment
5. Replace worn tires, which will be of little use in winter weather. Don't forget the spare, and be sure the jack is in good condition
A mechanical failure in the winter can deadly, so preventive maintenance is a must. Check out the following tips to be beter off on the road during winter:
1. Have engine performance problems corrected at a good repair shop. Replace dirty or worn filters- air,fuel,PCV, etc.
2. Put a bottle of fuel deicer in your tank once a month to help freezing in the fuel line. Replace worn wiper blades
3. The cooling system should be flushed and refilled as recommended. Have belts,clamps and hoses checked by a pro.
4. Have older batteries checked for a charge- have this done with professional equipment
5. Replace worn tires, which will be of little use in winter weather. Don't forget the spare, and be sure the jack is in good condition
Thursday, January 17, 2008
After School Teacher
3 Ways To Get Kids Excited About School
1. Play games- Chess has been known enhance math skills,for verbal skills try Scrabble
2. Link learning to fun- If your daughter likes to shop,figure out sale prices together at the mall
3. Point out some heroes- Tell them about people like Sir Richard Branson,founder of the Virgin Brand, who couldn't read until age eight-but didn't give up
1. Play games- Chess has been known enhance math skills,for verbal skills try Scrabble
2. Link learning to fun- If your daughter likes to shop,figure out sale prices together at the mall
3. Point out some heroes- Tell them about people like Sir Richard Branson,founder of the Virgin Brand, who couldn't read until age eight-but didn't give up
Sock Approval
Heating Pad Made Simple
Get rid of nagging aches and pains with this simple homemade heating pad. Just take a clean sock, fill it with 4 or 5 cups of uncooked rice and tie off the end. Whenever you need pain relief, just pop the sock in the microwave. Watch it carefully - it shouldn't take more than 20-30 seconds to heat. The warm sock conforms to your body, making it a great remedy for aching shoulders and neck.
Get rid of nagging aches and pains with this simple homemade heating pad. Just take a clean sock, fill it with 4 or 5 cups of uncooked rice and tie off the end. Whenever you need pain relief, just pop the sock in the microwave. Watch it carefully - it shouldn't take more than 20-30 seconds to heat. The warm sock conforms to your body, making it a great remedy for aching shoulders and neck.
Grow Berries Grow!
Remove Mulch From Strawberries
It's a good idea to pull back the mulch and check your strawberries from time to time. Once you see new growth, remove the mulch and top dress with an inch or two of compost to get the plants off to a good start.
It's a good idea to pull back the mulch and check your strawberries from time to time. Once you see new growth, remove the mulch and top dress with an inch or two of compost to get the plants off to a good start.
I Can Save On Gas?
Road To Fuel Economy
Small changes in the way you drive can have a big effect on the fuel economy of just about ANY car.
Here are a few tips for making trips to the pump more efficient:
1. Pressure Check: Government studies show that keeping your tires inflated to the recommended pressure can improve fuel economy by up to 3%. Bump those savings up to 5% by using the proper grade of otor oil
2. Shape Up With a Tune- Up: Fixing a car that's noticebly out of tune can improve gas milege by 4 %. Joining a auto club can save you money too.
3. Filter Maintenance: A healthy air filter can improve your car's gas milege by as much as 10%
4. Slow Down: Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is likepaying an addt'l 20 cents per gallon of gas
5. Dont't Be Agressive: Accelerating and braking abruptly can lower your gas milege by as much as 33% on the highway,and 5% in the city
6. Cruise, Don't Lose: Constant braking and accelerating causes less fuel effciency and a faster trip to the pump Use cruise control whenever possible
7. Combine Trips: Making multiple short trips from a cold start can use twice as much fuelas one long multipurpose trip
8. Consider a Hybrid: If you are in the market for a new car, hybrid-electric vehicles combine the best features of the internal combustion engine with the electric motor. Another money saving factor: the Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a federal tax credit for certain hybrids
9. Shop Around: If hybrids arent't for you, there are still plenty of conventional automobiles that can save you big bucks at the pump The difference between a car that gets 20 mpg and one that gets 30 mpg amounts to about $744 per year
Small changes in the way you drive can have a big effect on the fuel economy of just about ANY car.
Here are a few tips for making trips to the pump more efficient:
1. Pressure Check: Government studies show that keeping your tires inflated to the recommended pressure can improve fuel economy by up to 3%. Bump those savings up to 5% by using the proper grade of otor oil
2. Shape Up With a Tune- Up: Fixing a car that's noticebly out of tune can improve gas milege by 4 %. Joining a auto club can save you money too.
3. Filter Maintenance: A healthy air filter can improve your car's gas milege by as much as 10%
4. Slow Down: Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is likepaying an addt'l 20 cents per gallon of gas
5. Dont't Be Agressive: Accelerating and braking abruptly can lower your gas milege by as much as 33% on the highway,and 5% in the city
6. Cruise, Don't Lose: Constant braking and accelerating causes less fuel effciency and a faster trip to the pump Use cruise control whenever possible
7. Combine Trips: Making multiple short trips from a cold start can use twice as much fuelas one long multipurpose trip
8. Consider a Hybrid: If you are in the market for a new car, hybrid-electric vehicles combine the best features of the internal combustion engine with the electric motor. Another money saving factor: the Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a federal tax credit for certain hybrids
9. Shop Around: If hybrids arent't for you, there are still plenty of conventional automobiles that can save you big bucks at the pump The difference between a car that gets 20 mpg and one that gets 30 mpg amounts to about $744 per year
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Pull Over Rude Drivers!
Don't be a rude driver!
Here are some more common sense tips: Use your turn signals; obey the speed limit;
don't block the passing lane; avoid blocking the right hand turn lane; and don't take up more than one parking space.
You should also avoid parking in a handicapped spot if you are not handicapped. Don't allow you car door to hit the car parked next to you. If you drive slowly, pull over and allow faster traffic to pass. Don't act like a police officer and purposely make another vehicle slow down. Avoid unnecessary use of your high beams.
Don't let your car phone distract you from driving. Don't stop in the road to talk with a pedestrian or other driver. Don't play your car stereo loud when driving through a neighborhood.
If you do find yourself doing some rude driving habits and feel bad about them afterwards, you may want to keep a "Sorry" sign in your car as a way to apologize for your act. Although it may sound corny, it is an effective way to defuse a tense situation. You may even get the other driver to smile once he sees your "Sorry" sign.
At night, turn on your car's interior light so the other driver can see your sign. But perhaps most important of all, be courteous to other drivers.
Try this: imagine that you are not surrounded by an automobile and display manners you would use when standing next to another person. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Here are some more common sense tips: Use your turn signals; obey the speed limit;
don't block the passing lane; avoid blocking the right hand turn lane; and don't take up more than one parking space.
You should also avoid parking in a handicapped spot if you are not handicapped. Don't allow you car door to hit the car parked next to you. If you drive slowly, pull over and allow faster traffic to pass. Don't act like a police officer and purposely make another vehicle slow down. Avoid unnecessary use of your high beams.
Don't let your car phone distract you from driving. Don't stop in the road to talk with a pedestrian or other driver. Don't play your car stereo loud when driving through a neighborhood.
If you do find yourself doing some rude driving habits and feel bad about them afterwards, you may want to keep a "Sorry" sign in your car as a way to apologize for your act. Although it may sound corny, it is an effective way to defuse a tense situation. You may even get the other driver to smile once he sees your "Sorry" sign.
At night, turn on your car's interior light so the other driver can see your sign. But perhaps most important of all, be courteous to other drivers.
Try this: imagine that you are not surrounded by an automobile and display manners you would use when standing next to another person. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Women Unite- Against Breast Cancer!
The American Cancer Society says one in seven women will develop breast cancer. There’s no proven way to prevent it, but there may be a link between the disease and diet.
Here are 5 foods that help fight breast cancer:
1. Soy
2. Green Tea
3. Vegetables (esp. green ones)
4. Almonds
5. Vitamin D
A change in menu can help prevent breast cancer. Here are some foods to avoid or cut down on:
1. Salt
2. Dairy (esp. milk)
3. Fast Food
4. Red Meat
5. Alcohol
Here are 5 foods that help fight breast cancer:
1. Soy
2. Green Tea
3. Vegetables (esp. green ones)
4. Almonds
5. Vitamin D
A change in menu can help prevent breast cancer. Here are some foods to avoid or cut down on:
1. Salt
2. Dairy (esp. milk)
3. Fast Food
4. Red Meat
5. Alcohol
Try This For Valentines!
I remembered when I was a child we learned a little craft. I took a regular lunch bag and found little foam letters. I glued each letter of his name on the bag in the center. I also put our saying on the bag in red crayon. I drew little hearts all over it. It almost looked like a child did it! Then, I filled it with homemade cookies and brownies. He absolutely adored it. This is fun and inexpensive and will come from the heart- works everytime, especially for those of us who live far away from our sweethearts.
Old Vs. New Gum
If you chew an old piece of gum, you know how your jaw almost hurts.
But did you also know it can impact your heart and blood pressure?
The department of orthodontics at the University of Naples in Italy published a study, in the Archives of Oral Biology, that proved old gum should probably be tossed away.
The study found that when 10 healthy volunteers chewed on pieces of very hard gum at the rate of 80 chews a
But did you also know it can impact your heart and blood pressure?
The department of orthodontics at the University of Naples in Italy published a study, in the Archives of Oral Biology, that proved old gum should probably be tossed away.
The study found that when 10 healthy volunteers chewed on pieces of very hard gum at the rate of 80 chews a
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
C'mon-Fight That Cold!
You already know how to catch a cold. Now learn how to knock one out. Flip through the Old Farmer's Almanac and you'll see how utterly pathetic we've been in our battle against the common cold. Take this strategy employed by American colonists: "(They) pared orange peels, rolled them up inside out, and stuffed them into the nostrils."Using rinds against the rhinovirus sounds brilliant compared with the device patented by Norman Lake in 1977 -- a modified clothespin. As the Almanac tells it, "the FDA told Lake he could not advertise his device as a cold cure but only as a way of 'keeping foreign material out of the nose.'"Not exactly our best moments. But the next cold season is going to be different. Our tactics? Speed and science. We've assembled the latest research on how to arm your immune system so it'll strike at the first tickle in the throat. Or immediately after a suspicious double sneeze. Or right after that vague, blah feeling begins creeping in. In the past we've always allowed the cold virus to establish a beachhead in our bodies before fighting back. This time, the second it lands, we hit and we hit hard.
STRATEGY #1: EAT THE ANTIVIRAL BREAKFAST Woke up sick and tired? Research shows that the right morning meal can help quash the cold virus. In a recent study from the Netherlands, researchers analyzed the impact that consuming a 1,200-calorie breakfast has on a man's immune system, versus eating nothing at all. They found that eating big and eating early increased blood levels of gamma interferon, a natural antiviral agent, by 450 percent. (Going hungry actually caused a 17 percent decrease.) More research is needed to determine if fewer calories will have a similar effect, but in the meantime, shoot for 1,200 every morning until your cold symptoms disappear. Not, however, 1,200 calories of pancake syrup. Instead, hit your quota by eating a bowl of Kellogg's Raisin Bran (with 2 percent milk), a glass of orange juice, and a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and grape jelly, followed by a Stonyfield Farm--brand smoothie.
STRATEGY #2: STRESS OUT YOUR SYSTEM If you get attacked at the office, strike back with stress. Expose yourself to short-term stress, the kind you have some control over, and you'll supercharge your immune system. Stress response is a normal protective coping mechanism, The body prepares itself for potential harm and activates its immune resources.To use stress as medicine, taking on a small extra project at work or helping a coworker with a task. It shouldn't take longer than a day or half a day. If the stress response is continuous, then the immune system will be suppressed. Already swamped? Play a video game when you get home; Bosch found that Xbox stress can also boost SIgA levels.
STRATEGY #3: BREW THE COLD-VIRUS KILLER Swap your 3 p.m. coffee for a caffeine-toting cold buster: green tea. When Canadian researchers added green tea to lab samples of the adenovirus (one of the bugs responsible for colds), they found that it stopped the virus from replicating. All the credit goes to EGCG, a chemical compound found in certain kinds of tea, but in the highest concentrations in green tea. Start pumping green tea into your bloodstream at the first sign of a cold and you should be able to stop the advance of the adenovirus. The best brand to brew? Tetley; it was one of the most effective in Weber's study. Note: To brew the maximum amount of EGCG, boil a mug of water in the microwave, toss in a tea bag, and let it steep for 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey.
STRATEGY #4: RECHARGE YOUR IMMUNE RESPONSEWe love Carson, but call it a night. if the amount of sleep you're logging decreases by 40 percent or more (for instance, you sleep 4 hours instead of the usual 7), the effectiveness of your immune system will decline by 50 percent. And for the immune system to operate at full strength, you'll need to sleep a straight 8, the amount shown to produce the highest levels of "natural killer cells," which attack viruses. But don't knock yourself out with alcohol, including alcohol-spiked cold medicines like NyQuil. A single dose of alcohol impairs your sleep, Instead, wear light clothing--shorts and a T-shirt--during your waking hours at home; Japanese researchers found that this adjusts a person's core body temperature enough to improve sleep quality and boost the immune response.
STRATEGY #5: WORK OUT THE WHITE BLOOD CELLS It's harder to hit a moving target, and that goes for a cold virus that's throwing punches, too. In a recent University of Massachusetts study of 547 people, researchers found that the most physically active people had 25 percent fewer upper-respiratory infections over the course of a year than did the couch potatoes. Researchers believe that exercise may strengthen immune function, in part by increasing the body's production of white blood cells. If you exercise, you should see two benefits: One, you'll have a reduced risk of catching a cold, and two, if you're unlucky enough to get a cold, you should have it for a shorter period of time, That said, it is possible to sweat yourself sick. (Marathon runners are at a greater risk of upper-respiratory infections after a race.) So do this: Aim for 60 to 90 minutes of moderate activity daily, with walking counting just as much as weight training.
THE PREVENT DEFENSE: There are two ways we commonly catch a cold: by unconsciously putting our mitts in our noses or mouths or by sucking in the germs from someone else's sneeze or cough. Compulsive hand washing takes care of the first avenue of infection, but what about the airborne attack? Do the obvious--hold your breath for as long as you can after someone sneezes or coughs near you, . Think of germ-laden air as colored smoke, If you hold your nose, the colored smoke won't go in.
STRATEGY #1: EAT THE ANTIVIRAL BREAKFAST Woke up sick and tired? Research shows that the right morning meal can help quash the cold virus. In a recent study from the Netherlands, researchers analyzed the impact that consuming a 1,200-calorie breakfast has on a man's immune system, versus eating nothing at all. They found that eating big and eating early increased blood levels of gamma interferon, a natural antiviral agent, by 450 percent. (Going hungry actually caused a 17 percent decrease.) More research is needed to determine if fewer calories will have a similar effect, but in the meantime, shoot for 1,200 every morning until your cold symptoms disappear. Not, however, 1,200 calories of pancake syrup. Instead, hit your quota by eating a bowl of Kellogg's Raisin Bran (with 2 percent milk), a glass of orange juice, and a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and grape jelly, followed by a Stonyfield Farm--brand smoothie.
STRATEGY #2: STRESS OUT YOUR SYSTEM If you get attacked at the office, strike back with stress. Expose yourself to short-term stress, the kind you have some control over, and you'll supercharge your immune system. Stress response is a normal protective coping mechanism, The body prepares itself for potential harm and activates its immune resources.To use stress as medicine, taking on a small extra project at work or helping a coworker with a task. It shouldn't take longer than a day or half a day. If the stress response is continuous, then the immune system will be suppressed. Already swamped? Play a video game when you get home; Bosch found that Xbox stress can also boost SIgA levels.
STRATEGY #3: BREW THE COLD-VIRUS KILLER Swap your 3 p.m. coffee for a caffeine-toting cold buster: green tea. When Canadian researchers added green tea to lab samples of the adenovirus (one of the bugs responsible for colds), they found that it stopped the virus from replicating. All the credit goes to EGCG, a chemical compound found in certain kinds of tea, but in the highest concentrations in green tea. Start pumping green tea into your bloodstream at the first sign of a cold and you should be able to stop the advance of the adenovirus. The best brand to brew? Tetley; it was one of the most effective in Weber's study. Note: To brew the maximum amount of EGCG, boil a mug of water in the microwave, toss in a tea bag, and let it steep for 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey.
STRATEGY #4: RECHARGE YOUR IMMUNE RESPONSEWe love Carson, but call it a night. if the amount of sleep you're logging decreases by 40 percent or more (for instance, you sleep 4 hours instead of the usual 7), the effectiveness of your immune system will decline by 50 percent. And for the immune system to operate at full strength, you'll need to sleep a straight 8, the amount shown to produce the highest levels of "natural killer cells," which attack viruses. But don't knock yourself out with alcohol, including alcohol-spiked cold medicines like NyQuil. A single dose of alcohol impairs your sleep, Instead, wear light clothing--shorts and a T-shirt--during your waking hours at home; Japanese researchers found that this adjusts a person's core body temperature enough to improve sleep quality and boost the immune response.
STRATEGY #5: WORK OUT THE WHITE BLOOD CELLS It's harder to hit a moving target, and that goes for a cold virus that's throwing punches, too. In a recent University of Massachusetts study of 547 people, researchers found that the most physically active people had 25 percent fewer upper-respiratory infections over the course of a year than did the couch potatoes. Researchers believe that exercise may strengthen immune function, in part by increasing the body's production of white blood cells. If you exercise, you should see two benefits: One, you'll have a reduced risk of catching a cold, and two, if you're unlucky enough to get a cold, you should have it for a shorter period of time, That said, it is possible to sweat yourself sick. (Marathon runners are at a greater risk of upper-respiratory infections after a race.) So do this: Aim for 60 to 90 minutes of moderate activity daily, with walking counting just as much as weight training.
THE PREVENT DEFENSE: There are two ways we commonly catch a cold: by unconsciously putting our mitts in our noses or mouths or by sucking in the germs from someone else's sneeze or cough. Compulsive hand washing takes care of the first avenue of infection, but what about the airborne attack? Do the obvious--hold your breath for as long as you can after someone sneezes or coughs near you, . Think of germ-laden air as colored smoke, If you hold your nose, the colored smoke won't go in.
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