Hungover?

Here's a couple "natural" hangover cures!

• For the nausea, try a technique stemming from acupuncture. Take 2-3 fingers to the underside of your wrist just below the top crease. Just below where the fingers end, use pressure on both arms, and the nausea should disappear within 10-30 seconds. You can also buy products to do this for you, called nausea bands. This is the one that I use: http://www.sea-band.com/UK/uk_seaband.htm
• Also, for the nausea, try ginger root! You can try it in a variety of forms, including tea, gum, or even frozen ginger ice chips!
• For the headache, try magnesium (200-400 mg). It eases that painful throb. Also helpful to start taking it the night before as tends to work better if you use it to prevent hangovers.
• Also, to prevent a hangover, (before you go to bed) try taking a B-50 Complex. Alcohol depletes the B vitamins that your body needs to break down alcohol. So by taking the vitamins, it will help with the metabolism process. 

The Mighty Dryer Sheet!

Dryer sheets are definitely not just for the dryer... Here are some other cool uses for that powerful little sheet:

• They repel mosquitos! Stick a dryer sheet on your patio, in your pocket or even in your golf bag!
• Eliminate static electricity from your tv and computer screens, and even your clothing!
• They dissolve soap scum! Scrub the dryer sheet on your showers & bath tubs!
• Collect pet hairs. Rub a dryer sheet on your couch or rug and watch the hairs disappear!
• They loosen the grime from your pots & pans, let the sheet soak overnight and watch the gunk wipe away the next morning!
• Deodorize your trashcans, or shoes or gym bags (Matt...) Stick a dryer sheet in those stinkers!
• Stick a sheet in your suitcase to get rid of the musty smell when you travel!
• They also work like a tack cloth, they'll pick up sawdust, and even the dust from your blinds, lampshades, plants, etc...!

So much unrealized potential in those lil guys!

Design Online First!

If you're thinking of painting or redesigning areas of your house, did you know that there are a lot of stores or programs out there that will help you to visualize it online first? For free?

Here are some great ones if you're thinking of painting a room:

Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/visualizer/

Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer: www.benjaminmoore.com/personalcolorviewer

Good Housekeeping Paint Preview: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/paint-preview/

Here are some good programs for arranging a room:

Better Homes & Gardens Arrange A Room: http://www.bhg.com/decorating/arrange-a-room/

Room Arranger: http://www.roomarranger.com/

Here's both: 

SeeMyDesigns.com: http://www.seemydesign.com/app/RoomChoicesPage;jsessionid=47647ED0FD4B370B70950FABE808D583

DesignMyRoom: www.designmyroom.com

iVillage Virtual Room: http://home.ivillage.com/decorating/0,,9pt69sx5,00.html

Reusable Bags

This image should say it all... It is astonishing how many plastic bags we have already used this year! Check out the counter at the top of this site:  http://www.reusablebags.com/

At the time of this post, we have already used about 152,992,153,419 bags this year!! The number grows at about 1 millions bags per minute!!

A couple of facts from reusablebags.com:

Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

One thing you can do? Get reusable bags for shopping! You can buy them now at most of the major retailers. I think they run for a dollar or two? Maybe buy a couple each visit and collect them as you go.  Also, here is a coupon for a reusable lunch bag from Whole Foods:

http://media.oprah.com/sterm/whole-foods-coupon.pdf (you can thank Oprah for that!)

We all need to do our part!!!

A Little "Hump Day" Inspiration

I can't tell you how important it is to not get "sucked in" to all of the negativity that's out there today... if you do, it will paralyze you. 

Here are some inspirational quotes about looking at the "brighter side" of things, to help get you through to the weekend:

• It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
  Chinese Proverb
  
• That which does not kill you makes you stronger.
  Neitzsche
  
• When one door closes another opens. But often we look so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.
  Helen Keller
  

• Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it

  John Maxwell

Want to Lose Weight? Try Moving to Alaska!

This might sound somewhat backwards, but a recent study just came out about a fat that you actually want in your body, called Brown Fat. 

Brown fat is present in infants (in their shoulder area), to help keep them warm, and was thought to disappear as you get older, until recently. Researchers have found that if you expose adults to a colder temperature, the brown fat kicks in and converts energy into heat. When in effect, it supposedly has a metabolism there that is 15 times faster than regular "white fat tissue." 

They've also noticed that leaner people have more brown fat than heavier individuals. I don't want to go into much more detail as I'm bound to either confuse you, or mess up the facts, so check out this article from the Discovery Channel: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/09/brown-fat-obesity.html

Pretty interesting stuff! 

Cool Keyboard Shortcuts

There are all kinds of shortcuts that I bet you didn't even realize you had access to on your keyboard! Here are a few common ones: (These are for Windows, not sure if they work for Mac's or any other set up?)

• Alt + Tab (Toggle): This allows you to alternate between programs that you currently have up and running on your computer. Keep pressing Tab to choose.
  
• Ctrl + N: Opens a new browser window
• Ctrl + W: Close Window
• Ctrl + C: Copy
• Ctrl + X: Cut
• Ctrl + V: Paste
• Ctrl + Z: Undo
• Ctrl + Y: Redo
• Ctrl + B: Bold
• Ctrl + I: Italic
• Ctrl + U: Underline

And here are some you may not have heard of:

• F6 or Alt + D: Selects the address field in your browser, ready for entry
  
• F2: Rename Files
• F3: Search in your current browser & desktop
• F5: Refresh
• Alt + Enter: Brings up items properties
• Shift + Delete: Deletes item totally, not just to Recycle Bin
• Ctrl + Esc: Gives Start Menu (if you don't have a Windows Key like me)
• Ctrl + F4: Close window within application
• Ctrl + D: Add to Favorites
• Ctrl + F: Find in page

What are some of your favorites???

Also, did you know that you can actually download a program (called AutoHotkey) that allows you to name your own shortcuts? Yep, you can name up to 200 shortcuts! Here's the link: 

http://www.autohotkey.com/

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day and in honor of it, I'm going to post an "Environmental Tip of the Day" on my page. You'll see it on the right if you scroll down a bit... 

It's always great to find new ways to help out our home!

Online Coupon Link

I just saw this on MSN and I thought I'd share, it's a link to a LOT of stores that have online coupons:

http://shopping.msn.com/couponstores/shp/?ptnrid=164,ptnrdata=304404&GT1=37003

Calories

Here are a few great online resources to find out more about how many calories you're really consuming and burning each day:

• Calculator for Daily Caloric Needs:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

• Calories Burned Calculator: 

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

• Nutrition Info, Recipes, Calorie Counter:
  

http://www.calorieking.com/

• Fast Food Calories: 
  

http://www.chowbaby.com/fastfood/fast_food_calories.asp

• Calorie Counter: 
  

http://caloriecount.about.com/

Twilight

So those of you that know me, know that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this series... 

Summer is coming up and if you're looking for a great book/series to dig into, (and you haven't read it yet...) I'd HIGHLY recommend Twilight. It is the most beautiful and addicting love story that I've read in a long long time... if not ever. 

The movie isn't bad either, (you can actually download Twilight at watch-movies.net,) but I'd definitely watch it after you've read at least the first book as it's not nearly as good as the first book. The new Twilight movie (New Moon) will be coming out this November!

Also, once you've started reading, check out the authors' website: www.stepheniemeyer.com, it is very interactive, giving details and explanations on each of the 4 books, and you can even read her unfinished book, "Edwards version" of Twilight (called Midnight Sun). (I'd read it after reading the series for sure)

Hope you enjoy! Please share comments, or let me know if you agree or disagree with me as I love to talk about this book!

Healthy Food Gone Bad?

If you're like me, you have great intentions on eating your fruits and veggies, but you just don't get around to it as fast as you should, and end up losing $ by throwing them out! 

So, here are a couple of nifty tricks to keep fresh veggies and fruits for a longer period of time: 

• Make sure your fridge is at a steady temp of 34 degrees
• Keep ripe apples away from fruit as its lets off a "ripening stimulant" called ethylene
• Stick a dry sponge in the fruit/veggie drawer to soak up excess moisture
• Peel & cut fruit, if you can, and roll in lemon juice OR 1qt. water with 1tbsp salt OR 2 crushed vitamin C pills... whatever is most convenient for you
• All else fails, you can try out those green produce bags (https://www.greenbags.com/) They're pretty affordable and appear to be pretty effective! 

Borders Members

Did you know that if you're a member of the Borders Book Club, (Highly recommend, its free) along with receiving great discounts at Borders, you can also get all kinds of other additional little perks as well? Check out their Borders perks site

Dude, Where's My Cell Phone?

If you're like me, and you lose EVERYTHING, including your cell phone... 

Here is a great website that calls your cell phone for you! www.wheresmycellphone.com

You just go to the page, enter your phone # and listen for the ring!

How great is that!?

Good Monday Quote

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Isn't that great?! Happy Monday!

The 100 Most Useful Money Saving Websites...

My future cousin-in-law Karla, just sent this link to me and I thought it had a lot of good stuff in it,  so I thought I'd pass along!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/FindDealsOnline/the-100-most-useful-web-sites.aspx

Thanks Karla!

Skin Stuff

If you are one of the lucky FEW people out there with "flawless skin," then you don't need to bother yourself with the rest of this post....

If you don't, if you are like me and STILL get the occasional breakout, here is some good advice that I've learned after years and years of dealing with this crap:

Acne stems from dead skin cells blocking dirt and oil in your pores. So, if you can find a way to "slough" those dead skin cells off of your face, nothing will be blocking the dirt and oil in, right? That's how Proactiv works. But you don't have to spend all that money to produce the same effect. 

Here's what you do; wash your face with some type of a scrub at least once a day. If you have sensitive skin, go for the mild stuff. My skin is not at all sensitive, so I use the apricot scrub in the shower and I use a facial scrubbing pad to wash my face at the sink. I then use a toner to wipe any excess dirt/oil away (mine is actually a "skin regenerator" too), then use a moisturizer that either A. Is medicated for acne, or B. Encourages skin exfoliation like an Alpha or Beta Hydroxy. 

ALSO, if you are trying to treat a break-out, and you're finding that your "spot treatment" isn't working, check to see what the main ingredient is. Odds are, it's Salicylic Acid... which is in most of the acne products out there. The best thing I've found? Benzoyl Peroxide products work WAY better. I use it to spot treat, but you can find it in face washes and lotions as well. I actually have a prescription (Duac), but a couple products I'd recommend? Panoxyl, Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask. I use this as a mask at "certain times of the month" when breakouts are more apt to happen... and it totally helps! Also, for spot treatment (over the counter) Try Persa-Gel or Neutrogena On-the-Spot. One more thing with the spot treatment? Don't use it lightly... coat it on the affected area. Really works! 

Hope this is of use to someone!!!

Be a Smart Shopper!

In the rare occasion that you're actually heading to the stores with something specific in mind, make sure that you do a little price comparison before you get there. There are a ton of great sites out there that allow you to type in the product or product category, and find out where you can get the best "bang for your buck." Here are a few: 

• www.shopping.com
• www.shopzilla.com
• www.pricegrabber.com
• www.google.com/products
  

Also, most larger stores have some type of a price matching guarantee, meaning that if you find a lower price anywhere else, they'll match that price for you. Smaller stores may not have the guarantee, but will most likely be willing to work with you to make the sale. So, print off the ad for the lowest price and take it with you to the store you'd like to buy the product from (if it isn't the same) and odds are, you will be able to get the price you want. 

In Honor of Dugan...

Dugan was my family dog, our "little man of the house" until Randall came along :) 

He was a golden retriever (best breed ever!) that we unfortunately lost last July...

One of the hardest days of my life! 

Anyways, I know now that he is my angel, so in honor of him, here are a few of my favorite "dog quotes" that any dog lover can appreciate:

• Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
  -- Roger Caras
  
• My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. 
  -- Author Unknown
  
• To err is human, to forgive, canine.
  -- Author Unknown
  
• I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
  -- Rita Rudner
  
• Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. 
  -- Agnes Sligh Turnbull
  
• Keep in mind ... to a dog you are family, to a cat you are staff.
  --Author Unknown

MyPoints

Another site I subscribe to is called MyPoints. It’s kind of like a click-thru site that keeps an ongoing tally of points that you can accrue by ordering something online or printing coupons (with the coupon printer from Couponmom) or even researching other websites. 

I ordered some things from Macy’s and Overstock for X-Mas presents, and just clicked to those sites from the MyPoints page and I got enough points for them to send me a $25 gift card to Macys! Ex/ An Overstock order (by way of MyPoints) will give you 10 points per dollar you spend. If you spend $100 at Overstock, you’ll get 1000 pts added to your MyPoints tally. I think my Macy’s gift card (you can pick from a large list of stores, restaurants, etc… to receive your bonus/giftcard) was about 3000 points? 

It's actually pretty similar to credit card points or something… 

I actually really enjoy this site. It's really fun to try and earn enough points to hit a certain goal, and its like an "added discount" if you know you're ordering something by way of that site, because you know that you will profit on the backend as well!

Scissors Not Making the Cut?

A great and easy way to sharpen your scissors is to get some aluminum foil, and fold it over a couple times. Then simply make a few cuts into the foil with your dull scissors and they're sharp again! 

Spray Paint

One thing I quickly learned, when browsing craft stores and home improvement stores, is that you can drastically alter pretty much ANYTHING with a can of spray paint (OR using other painting techniques, which I will cover in another post)  

You can use crackle spray paint, chalkboard spray paint, you can paint any appliance with appliance paint, you can also turn anything into a metallic looking surface, stained surface, stone looking surface, etc... Possibilites are endless! Here's a couple websites for some popular spray paint brands: Plasti-kote, RustOleum