Tip of the Day: Don't Boil Over on Your Stove!

I learned the BEST tip a couple of weeks ago and I keep forgetting to share. Do you ever boil-over on your stove? Pasta water? Oatmeal? Rice?  

No more!  Place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot and it will stop the liquid at the rim. In my attempt to multi-task, I tend to boil my pots overboard a LOT. Nothing annoys me more than oatmeal boiled over and baked onto my stovetop. Never again.

Q&A Wednesday - Canyon Questions

The only way I have to answer questions that I'm asked in the comments is to do these little Q&A Wednesday segments.  So SORRY for those of you who don't care about these answers!  I do my best to answer most of the questions I'm asked, so if you have a question, ask away!

In response to my recent Grand Canyon post, Chandy asked, "Wow, that was very spontaneous of you! Was that the first time you had been? Our Canyon trip is less than 2 months away and I'm getting very excited!"

Yup, first time.  Isn't that pathetic?  People come from all over the world to see this amazing sight and I've lived 4 hours away for 13 years and have never made the trek up there.  That's why it was on my 101 goals list...as an Arizona resident, it had to be done!

Sheila asked, "We just moved to Arizona (Prescott) and want to go to the Grand Canyon as soon as it's a little cooler. Would you recommend the place you stayed?"

Because we didn't leave until after Ryan's basketball game Saturday, we stayed in Flagstaff that night and drove the rest of the way to the Grand Canyon on Sunday morning.  I'm a bit of a hotel snob, so no. I wouldn't recommend the place we stayed.  In fact, it was a source of discussion all weekend.  I tried not to complain about the frayed bath towels, near-flooding toilet or tiny holes in the sheets, but Mike sees a hotel as a place to sleep.  Period.  So a 2.5 hotel is fine in his book!  It was an $87 hotel with free breakfast for the four of us, so he was thrilled.  I, on the other hand, had a nightmare about someone busting through the door and kidnapping Kaylin.  No joke.  I think Mike might have realized during this trip that I wasn't being snooty about it, but that I actually felt unsafe.

Bottom line: no.  I wouldn't recommend our hotel.  I'm not sure what your standards are, but a 2.5 star rating is officially too low for me!

Q&A Wednesday - Basic Photography Tips 101

Leanne said, "I would love it if you'd share some of the tips and things you learned in your class. Those pictures looked great!"

The photographer instructing the class spent at least 45 minutes teaching us about light, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, metering and composure.  Each.  In the audience, we got comfortable with the settings on our individual cameras, learning how to manipulate each element for different needs and effects.  I'll try to condense the information as basically as I can for you!

The biggest "general" tips I can pass on from my four-hour photography class are:

• study your manual (and keep it in your camera bag for easy reference)
• keep your elbows locked in tightly when hand holding your camera
• get comfortable using a tripod
• practice taking lots and lots of pictures, using different settings

ISO
If you remember back to the old 35mm film cameras, you might remember that you purchased film with an ISO of either 100 (for sunny, outdoor shots), 200 (for most general pictures) or 400 (for low-lighting situations). Many cameras now have ISO options of 800, 1600, 3200 and even 6400.  My dSLR goes up to 3200 and can take decent, focused pictures, without a flash, even indoors with dim lighting.

Personally, I keep my flash off as much as possible.  I prefer natural lighting in my photos; it creates a nicer mood.

WITHOUT flash: ISO 3200, Aperture 5.6, Shutter speed 1/80

WITH flash: ISO 3200, Aperture 14, Shutter speed 1/200

Apparently, you want to use as low ISO as possible for a higher quality picture.  (If I were to try to enlarge the pictures above, it would be very grainy because the ISO is so high.)  But if your ISO is too low in a darker setting, you might not let enough light into your camera and the pictures will be under exposed. (too dark)

The first thing I now know to do when I turn on my camera is to adjust the ISO.  If I'm unsure or need to take a picture quickly, I turn the ISO to "auto," press the shutter half-way and see which ISO the camera decided to use (it pops up on the display screen) to get the best lighting.

Aperture
This is what controls the cool blurry-background effect that everyone loves: the "depth of field."  This has been, by far, the toughest element for me to comprehend, but I think I finally get it.

In this shot, I wanted the heart-shaped leaf in focus, but Kaylin slightly out of focus.

The instructor compared the aperture to the pupil of the eye, which was a great visual for me. He put his finger on his nose and crossed his eyes to look at it.  He pointed out that his finger was in focus, but everything else was blurry.  The farther away he pulled his finger from his face, the more focused everything around him became.  The camera works the same way.

The f-stop refers to the size of the aperture.  Because the f-stop is a actually a fraction (f/4 is 1/4), the smaller apertures are larger f-stop numbers (f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32) and larger apertures are smaller f-stop numbers (f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6).   Does that make sense?  Because 1/2 is larger than 1/16, right? The larger apertures (f/4 and f/5.6 with my lens) creates the focused subject with the blurred background.

(after sunset, low lighting) ISO 1600, Aperture 4.5, Shutter speed 1/400

You can also create the look of a blurred foreground AND background with only one thing in focus, like the picture of Jason below.  Ryan's not that far behind him, but he's even a little out of focus.

ISO 1600, Aperture 4.0, Shutter speed 1/50

Shutter Speed

The "shutter" is the button you hit to take a picture.  A slow shutter speed will allow motion to be blurred while a fast shutter speed freezes motion. (see the pictures below)

I learned a few major things about shutter speed:

1. When you adjust your shutter speed, you need to adjust your aperture.  
2. ISO needs to be raised one stop per fraction of a second the shutter speed is raised.
3. 1/60th of a second is the slowest shutter speed you should attempt to take while holding the camera.  Anything slower should be taken using a tripod, so the camera stays perfectly still.

For this picture, the instructor told us which settings to use and had us "pan" (or follow him) as he ran past us.  The slow shutter speed (1/30th of a second) created the horizontally blurred background with him in focus (because I was physically following him with my camera as he ran), creating movement.

In Tv mode (shutter mode): ISO 100, Aperture 25, Shutter speed 1/30 (this is very slow)

But in the following picture, we set our shutter speed to 1/1000th of a second to freeze the movement (look at the assistant's hair) and everyone behind her was also in perfect focus.

In Tv mode (shutter mode): ISO 800, Aperture 4.5, Shutter speed 1/1000 (this is a fast shutter speed)

Combining The Two

The relationship between the aperture and shutter speed is like a teeter-totter: when you change one, you have to change the other in a 1:1 ratio. When one changes in one direction, the other must change the exact same in the opposite direction.

Some general guidelines:

• When shooting ACTION, choose a FAST shutter speed.
• When shooting at dusk or dawn or at NIGHT, choose a SLOW shutter speed and a LARGE APERTURE.
• When using a SMALL APERTURE, use a SLOW shutter speed.
• When using a LARGE APERTURE, use a FAST shutter speed.
• If you want to FREEZE MOTION, use a FAST shutter speed and SMALL APERTURE.
• To CREATE MOVEMENT when panning (the picture of the instructor running, above), use a SLOW shutter speed

The 7 Elements of Composition

Form - Developing a 3D effect within the image.

Line - visual paths leading the viewer's eye to move through the image.

Color - using a sharp contrast in colors to make an object POP in the image.

Shape - Using objects with edges within the image to create interest. (the way it was explained, even the triangle of grass in the lower right corner would be considered using "shape")

Texture - Giving a touchable illusion...or in some cases, NOT.

Space - The positive or negative area this is used between each object in the image.

Value - The shading/contrast used to emphasize a 3-D effect.

Other Rules of Composition

The Rule of Thirds - I didn't understand this rule until a couple of years ago, but now that I've figured it out, I use it...a lot.

If you picture a tic-tac-toe board on your picture, placing your object off-center and directly on one of those "lines" (either horizontal or vertical), can give your image more balance, making the photo more interesting.

Most people would crop this picture, but I like the visual assumption that the rest of Kaylin's body is buried in the sand.

Kaylin's face is "on" the right vertical line and her arm is "on" the left vertical line.

Ryan is "on" the left grid line, while the sidewalk is just under the bottom horizontal grid line.

The Golden Section - The four intersection points of the same tic-tac-toe lines create more interest in a photo.

Jason's face is in the lower right "intersection" of the imaginary tic-tac-toe lines of the picture.

The bottom pancake is at the "intersection" of the imaginary grid lines, while the top of the griddle pan naturally follows the top horizontal grid line.

Framing - Anything that provides "boundaries" to the subject, adding impact to the image.  For example: branches, window frames, door frames, etc.

Jason's crib bumper provides some natural "framing" to this picture...I think...

Angle - Changing the angle of a picture can add interest and create a different "mood."

Also, notice that Mike's face is in "the golden section."

I hope some of this was helpful.  I'm going to have Mike read it to catch him up to speed on what I've learned so that I can also be in the "good" pictures taken by our camera.  :) 

Even if you don't have a dSLR, you can still learn how to adjust the settings on your point and shoot camera; the biggest difference will be the lack of control over your aperture.  For sure play around with the composition rules and elements (toward the end of the post) to add new interest to your pictures.  Best of luck!!!

Q&A Wednesday - Disneyland Tips

Jackie from New Zealand asked, "We are heading to Disneyland later in the year, will need to get around by taxi or bus. What do you think are good places to take 8 year old boy, 11 year old girl, Mum, Dad and Nan? We have Disneyland pass, Universal Studios tour, Medieval dinner and thats all so far. Thanks."

I'm no expert, Jackie, but I did just go to Disneyland last year. It was my first visit as an adult and I hope to return with our family when each child turns five.


I know you didn't ask for frugal tips, but since you're traveling half way across the world for this trip, I'd venture to guess that you'd like to save where you can.

The first thing I would suggest, before you enter Disneyland, is to stock up on some Disney souveniers outside the park. I'm not sure what you have available in New Zealand, but if you even wait until you get to the states, then hit a store like Target or Walmart to find Disney-themed shirts, bags, etc. If you buy them on site, you'll pay a fortune and if you buy a few things ahead of time, you'll be less tempted to go crazy when you arrive at Disneyland. Because seriously...their stuff is really, really, really tempting.

I'd also suggest going to the grocery store and buying bottles of water and snacks (granola bars, dried fruit, stuff that you can carry in your purse) while at the parks. The food inside is pricey and Disney doesn't mind if you bring your own.

As far as places to go, I'm a big fan of the character dining. I'm not sure if your kids are too old to think that's fun, but I did a character breakfast in college and still loved it. The characters come around to your table and give you one-on-one picture taking opportunities. We did Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel on a day that we weren't planning on going to Disneyland, but I later learned that for the places that are inside of the parks (Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure and Breakfast with Minnie and Friends in Disneyland) you can enter the park early and avoid the crowds to get in. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time (like now) because time slots fill up quickly.


Someplace that we also really enjoyed was Downtown Disney. It's across from Disneyland and is a great place to spend some time either during the day or at night. It's mostly a shopping area; no admission required. They have live entertainment outside and tons of Disney stores to walk through. The Rainforest Cafe is a fun, family place to eat and is at the entrance of Downtown Disney - your kids will love the atmosphere and the food is really good.

My last tip is the Fast Pass system for rides at Disneyland. Once in the park, ask about an employee about it. You can grab a ticket at certain rides and avoid waiting in lines later in the day. You can do twice as much in the same amount of time by avoiding the long lines.

Be sure to also check out my interview with the Good Deal Gal about how to do Disneyland on a budget. There are other tips on that post from both of us about ways to enjoy your Disney experience.

Anyone else have any tips for Jackie? Please leave a comment if you do!

19 pound newborn

Okay, I seriously feel like I'll be making these kinds of headlines on October 20-something. Watch out America! I won't be able to beat the current record of a 24 pound baby, but this boy's going to be big, I can feel it.
.
Woman gives birth to 19 pound baby...read for yourself! Can you say, "Gestational Diabetes" - ??? If you click on the 3 slides of the baby, in the last picture, the poor boy looks like he's going to eat the kid next to him as he wails away.

Because I know you miss me...

Yes, I'm still on vacation and hundreds of miles away from my computer, but because I know you miss me so much that it hurts, I am writing this before I leave to entertain you while I'm away. (I hope I embedded these properly!)
.
Things You Don't Say to your Wife:

.
And for my Christian readers...Corporate Worship Songs:

Useless facts for your Labor Day BBQ

• No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times.
• You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching t.v.
• Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50) years of age or older.
• The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one (1) olive from each salad served in first-class.
  
• The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. So did the first 'Marlboro Man'.
• Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
• Pearls melt in vinegar.
• The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola and Budweiser, in that order.
  
• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not DOWNstairs.
  
• A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why.
  
• Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
  
• Turtles can breathe through their bums.

Alt Codes for Letters and Symbols

I got an email with the following useful shortcuts...enjoy!

Have you ever read an email or an article and seen a cool little symbol like "☺", "♀", or "☼". Many names have a tilde over a letter like "ñ" in the name Peña. For the longest time I've wondered how to type a fraction like this "1¼" instead of this "1 1/4". These may be minor details but wouldn't it be nice to know how to properly spell the name of your customers with Hispanic names like Peña, Muños, or José? For example to type the letter "ñ" hold the "Alt" key down and enter "164" on the numeric keypad (on the right side of your keyboard) with the Num Lock on.

All of these can be done by just knowing the Alt code for the letter or symbol that you want to type. There are hundreds of letters and symbols that are just waiting to be utilized in your everyday typing.

Your wait is over! The folks at UsefulShortcuts.com have made a helpful reference sheet with hundreds of useful codes.

Click here to see the Alt Codes Reference Sheet!

Baby Got Book

T Mobile Commercial

At the train station in Liverpool, T Mobile did this commercial unbeknownst to the daily commuters. They practiced for 8 weeks, late at night in the station.

On January 15th, 2009, with hidden cameras and 400 dancers at 11:00 a.m. their plan was put into action.

Who wants to Swag?

Has anyone else heard the buzz about SwagBucks? It's a search engine, similar to Google, that gives you points (or "Swag Bucks") every time you do an internet search. You turn the Swag Bucks in for gift cards to Amazon, Starbuck's, places like that. For doing what you would normally do...web searches...just on a different site.

Well, apparently today is Swagbuck's birthday and they're giving away higher points and bigger and better prizes. Good publicity stunt, because I finally signed up! Why not - I love free stuff.

I haven't read the fine print, but apparently you also get points for referring friends, so if you DO sign up, I'll get some Swag Bucks for it...not sure how many or what it all means.

Click here to start swagging with me!

100 Years Ago...

THE YEAR: 1908

************ ********* ********* ******
The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000/year, a dentist $2,500/year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000/year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000/year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.'

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE USA.

These amazing statistics are from the year 1908; one hundred years ago.
Where will we be in 2108?!?!?

A little laugh for your Monday morning

You don't need to watch all 9 minutes of this video to get a giggle. But do check it out...this guy's laugh is contagious!

Embarrassing Moments

I've read about some pretty hilarious embarrassing moments lately and wanted to share some with you. A few laughs for your Monday morning.

April's Reign - always good for a laugh

The Good Deal Gal - a daughter's innocence turned naughty

I love embarrassing moments. I go through phases of being embarrassed easily and other phases where I'm the culprit, yelling at others to "STOP touching me THERE!" in the parking lot or writing "for sexual favors" in the subject line of checks to friends. But I've definitely had some embarrassing moments of my own.

One of my favorite embarrassing moment stories is the mom who was on her way to the OB/GYN. She grabbed a washcloth off the bathroom sink to quickly freshen up "down there." During her annual exam, her doctor said, "Wow, it's really snazzy down here" or something equally odd. She didn't know what he was talking about, until she got home and realized she'd grabbed a washcloth that her daughter had used to wash off her body glitter. And it was all over her hoo-ha.

Then there's the one where the lady bought a package of mini cookies at the airport. While waiting for her flight, she noticed the man next to her taking one of her cookies out of the bag sitting next to her. She stared at him blankly and took a cookie for herself. He smiled sweetly and took another cookie. Appalled, she grabbed a handful of cookies, shoving them into her mouth. He smiled again and took another cookie. She was furious, snatched the bag of cookies and stood in line to board her plane. Once in her seat, she was getting settled and reached into her purse to find a whole, unopened bag of mini cookies. The bag she snatched belonged to the gentleman sitting next to her.

This last story has to be the best. (...because I'm in love with Brad Pitt. Even after the Jennifer Anistan thing. I know, I know, save your comments. We all have our vices.)

There was a gal who went to Hollywood and wanted to go someplace where she could see a celebrity. Someone told her about a drug store where celebrities are often spotted, so she went in and walked around. Nothing. They had an ice cream counter, so she stood in line to get ice cream. After standing in line for a minute, she turned around and saw Brad Pitt standing behind her. She nodded respectfully (freaking out inside, as I would be) and turned back around, trying to be cool. She ordered her ice cream cone, nodded to Brad again, and exited the store. When she got outside, she couldn't find her ice cream. She was humiliated, but went back in to ask the guy behind the counter if she'd left it there. She had not. She was really confused, looking all over the place, when Brad Pitt walked up to her. She looked up at him as he said, "Are you looking for your ice cream cone?" She said, "Yes..." Then he said, "You put it in your purse."

What's your most embarrassing moment? Leave it in a comment or post it to your blog and add it to Mr. Linky below.

Palin on SNL

Some people are such good sports. Did anyone else catch this skit?

Random Thoughts and Updates

Sorry for my unannounced hiatus. I think I blogged too much this weekend and needed a break. And I've been working for my mom a bunch this week. In the meantime, I've stored up lots of random thoughts that are floating around my head. I think it's been a while since I've done a good brain dump...so here goes.

* Let's see how far I can get without having to re-boot. My computer has been terrible lately! I have no idea what's going on, but the issue is either with Explorer or my PC memory. I get kicked out of the Internet at least twice a day. Incredibly frustrating. Any suggestions???

* Can I quickly say how much more difficult it is to be a kinder, gentler wife and mother when I'm PMSing??? I keep hoping my period would just start already so the zits will fade (I have one in my arm pit - what's that about???), I'll be less hormonal and my crazy attitude will disappear. I seriously had thoughts this morning such as, "Why do my kids talk so much? Why can't people just stop talking? What's with the stupid questions about the cartoon? If I hear, 'Mommy? Hey Mommy?' one more time, I swear..." then 20 minutes later I was tossing Kaylin around and loving life. Psych. O.

* Last night, Kaylin and Ryan were putting together little wooden board puzzles in his room and he took off down the stairs for a bit. Mike realized that Kaylin hadn't followed him (as she has a tendency to do) and peeked into the room to see her quietly sitting with the puzzles around her, a little confused and not sure what to do next, but trying to complete the puzzles on her own. She was in there for quite a while before coming out and asking Daddy to play with her. I love that she's already getting to be an independent player!

* I haven't documented the thing that I love hearing almost more than "I love you" from Kaylin: "I so sited!" She says that with raised eyebrows and a huge smile and sometimes wiggles her shoulders. Today I took her to a pottery painting place to paint a piggy bank and she told me how "sited" she was several times. Of course, she was also "sited" to go to Target afterward...she's a low-maintenance kid. She loved the 5-pack of bracelets that I bought her from the $1 bins at Target even more than the piggy bank.

* Speaking of, I'M so "sited" that The Office is back on t.v. tonight! I am completely addicted to that dumb show. Love it. Laugh out loud, jaw-dropping funny. Anyone with me?

* An update to my recent photo printing post: Money Saving Mom just posted about a deal with Shutterfly that if you sign up with them, you get 50 free 4x6 prints, plus free shipping, plus a free photo collage. And she mentioned another new site that's offering 50 free 4x6 prints when you sign up. It's called PhotoMama. You have to pay shipping, but their regular priced prints are 8 cents, so it's worth checking out.

* One other update: for now, I think I figured out my cleaning dilemma. My new-ish neighbor friend suggested that we utilize each other to trade babysitting favors on a weekly basis. BTW, she's the same neighbor who cooks for me every other Thursday and on opposite Thursdays, I double the recipe I'm cooking and bring it to her family at 5:30, hot and ready to eat. It's a sweet deal! Anyway, every other Monday, she will start bringing her kids to my house for 2 hours in the morning and opposite weeks I bring my kids over to her house. This week was my week. I have to say that I work well against the clock, so as soon as I came home, I started cleaning like a madwoman. You'd have thought the Queen was coming for tea. I was a scrubbing, wiping, cleaning machine...I think I'll reserve this time once a month for a deep clean of the house and the opposite weeks do something relaxing that I can't (or won't) do with the kids around. Like scrapbook. I'm getting used to this swapping concept!

* Where did September go? I think our short vacation made this month seem short. The weather is getting a bit cooler in the mornings and Mike's parents gifted us with a security door that's getting installed Monday. (For everyone outside of AZ...it's the same as a screen door. But metal. Yeah, I don't get it either, I just enjoy the cross-breeze in my house in the fall!) I'm busting out the fall decorations this afternoon. I think the kids will get a kick out of helping with that.

On that note, I hear the pitter patter of little feet, so I should log off now. I only had to re-boot once. Woo hoo! A semi-successful Internet experience! (how pathetic...)

Random tips for your Labor Day BBQ

Food storage:
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Wrap celery in aluminum foil in the fridge and it will last for weeks.

To keep potatoes from budding, keep an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

Cooking/Baking:
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza - Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No more soggy microwaved pizza.

Easy Deviled Eggs - Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done - easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting - When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread - To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Other interesting tips:
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Newspaper weeds away - Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for- get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass - Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Reopening envelope - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Foggy Windshield - Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth! (you can also hit the A/C button on your vent - even with the heater on in the winter - and it will reduce the moisture in the car so the fog evaporates)

Flexible vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Pest control:
No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away - To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2 with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Useless information to discuss at your 4th of July BBQ

1. Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of cotton.
2. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp (marijuana) paper.
3. The dot over the letter 'I' is called a 'tittle'.
4. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
5. Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.
6. 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
7. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
8. The 'spot' on 7UP comes from its inventor, who had red eyes. He was albino.
9. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents, daily.
10. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
11. Chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system; a few ounces will kill a small sized dog
12. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.
13. Most lipstick contains fish scales. (lovely)
14. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.
15. Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medicine.
16. Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower' because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, 'lower case' letters.
17. Leonardo Da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time, hence, multi-tasking was invented.
18. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.
19. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
20. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan; there was never a recorded Wendy before!
21. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple and silver.
22. Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.
23. A tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
24. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original 'Halloween' was a Captain Kirk's mask painted white.
25. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar (good to know.)
26. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand (and you thought this list was completely useless.)
27. The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb. (when I found this out in college, I purposely started saying, "as a general rule" instead of "rule of thumb" because...ew!)
28. The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.
29. Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It's the same with apples.
30. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!

Who likes FREE STUFF???

I just visited the Money Saving Mom site and she has a whole post with A TON of coupons for free stuff at Walmart, based on this week's ads. Check it out soon before the prices go up and the stuff isn't "free" anymore!

Have your printer on and stocked with paper, because a few of these coupons just automatically print when you enter the site. Enjoy!

Who knew vodka was so versatile?

This is laugh out loud funny. Or maybe I'm just tired and should go to bed...

Read the comments, too. Apparently #1 and #7 have also been disproven by Mythbusters. (a show Mike shamelessly watches because they blow stuff up)