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Archive for the ‘Helping Others’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/10/10)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The air was damp and the sky was overcast, but still it was a lovely morning for a walk. The half-dressed autumn trees swayed in the breeze and encouraged their leaves to fall gracefully to the ground. As each season arrives and brings its unique character, I pause to breathe deep and say to myself, “This is the best time of the year.” And it always is.

#1 – Bingo, Anyone?
Breathe a little fun into your holiday gathering. On Christmas Eve each place setting on the tables in my house will have a little something extra – a bingo card. I’m making bingo cards and the markers will be holiday m&m candies. Just a little bit of fun before dinner starts. You can either make your own bingo cards using stickers or rubber stamps or go to DLTK to customize your cards and print them up!

#2 – Reuse It!
Breathe easier because here’s another idea for reusing plastic water bottles and saving the world from more trash. How about making cute bracelets out of bottles! Check out Dana’s Fashion Blog for complete instructions and pictorial.

#3 – Looking For a Good Book to Read?
I came across an article on LISTVERSE titled Top Ten Best Novels of the Last 20 Years. At first I was just curious, but as I read the article I became intrigued. A lot of these novels are out of my normal reading comfort zone, but Franz Kafka once said, “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for? We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” That’s intense and it leaves me breathless, but I’m still off to the bookstore to check out those titles!

#4 – Hit the Road
Feel like taking a road trip? MapCrunch is an interesting site where you can “teleport to a random place in the world!” Select a country and click “Go” and an image of a random street in that country appears on screen. Some scenes are breathtaking and some are not. Move your cursor to the lower right-hand corner of the image and you’ll see the address of the scene. A pointer on a map indicates where you are located in that country.

#5 – All Good Things Are Yours
Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. 
~Swedish Proverb

Take a deep breath . . . there are only two more weeks before Christmas!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! 12/03/10

Posted in About me, Creativity, Handcrafted Cards, Health, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

It’s only December 3rd and I’m already feeling behind on my holiday decorating and shopping. Plus, at the rate I am going, the winner of my last Mystery Photo Contest may never get her prize. I’ve been working on a set of note cards for the winner and even though I’ve already made twelve cards, something inside me keeps saying the set is not yet complete. I keep adding little flourishes to “finished” cards or I come across another photo that I think would make a pretty card or I decide to experiment with different materials. One of the cards in the set was created from an old map and an outdated calendar. No wonder I’m so far behind on everything – I keep finding ways to reuse things!

#1 – Reuse It!
I like to think that I am pretty creative when it comes to reusing things. Remember the busted plastic hamper that I wrote about wanting to use as a tomato cage? Well, here’s an idea for reusing those foam packing sleeves that are put on fruit for protection. To protect my fragile Christmas ornaments from damage or breakage, I slip one of the solid or lattice-type foam fruit sleeves on them. These especially work well on round glass ornaments.

#2 – Got a Bit of Yarn?
If you think it is cold outside, think about how cold it is for an impoverished child who has AIDS. I came across a site called Knit a Square. The founders of Knit a Square collect donated knitted or crocheted squares from around the world and make blankets, vests, hats and pullovers for abandoned children, AIDS orphans, and for child-headed families in South Africa. The project began as a family project, but has become a registered charity whose goal this year is to collect “105,000 squares (3000 blankets) and and additional 5,000 knitted and crocheted garments.”

Got a bit of yarn? Knit or crochet a square to help keep a child warm.

#3 – Exercise to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
According to an article in Brainangle, one must exercise both his brain and body to help prevent Alzheimer’s:

Mental exercise is one way to help prevent Alzheimer’s. Another means of prevention is to remain physically fit throughout life. All of the organs in the body benefit from being physically fit, including the brain. One Harvard study of more than 18,000 participants found that people who got the most exercise showed less mental decline than those with sedentary lifestyles.

Physical exercise increases blood flow to the brain and keeps it working efficiently by stimulating the production of neurotrophins. This is especially true for the hippocampus which is the first area of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease. This increased blood flow and neuronal efficiency can reduce the natural shrinkage that occurs in the brain as it ages. An average person will lose between 15% and 25% of brain cells by the age of 90. Those people who get the most exercise will be at the bottom of that scale, while those people who never exercise will be at the top of that scale.

#4 – I-5 Know How
Last week when my daughter was driving back to college with a friend, fog was anticipated on the interstate. Although I’ve previously posted Tips for Driving in the Fog on this blog, I found additional information that I shared with her and her friend. Gary Richards, a San Jose Mercury News columnist, offered these safety tips for driving in the fog and the rain in his column “Roadshow”:

No. 1: Sl-o-o-o-o-o-w down.

No. 2: In thick fog, drive with lights on low beam, reduce speed and crack open your window and listen for traffic you cannot see. Never drive with just your parking or fog lights on.

No. 3: If you are on Interstate 5, look for reflective dots on the right shoulder when approaching an exit. Three side-by-side dots will appear three-tenths of a mile from an exit. At two-tenths of a mile, two dots will appear and at one-tenth of a mile one dot will appear.

No. 4: Watch electronic warning signs. When visibility is less than 100 feet, Caltrans will flash “Dense Fog Ahead” messages.

No. 5: When visibility is less than 500 feet, Highway Patrol cars will turn on their flashing lights and lead traffic at a safe pace through major roads between Kern and San Joaquin counties.

No. 6: If an accident occurs or your vehicle stalls, pull as far off the road as possible, turn on flashing emergency lights, set out flares, and move to a safe area, preferably behind a guardrail. If there is no safe place next to the road, stay in your car and remain buckled up.

No. 7: S-l-o-o-w down. Driving too fast is the No. 1 cause of accidents on wet days.

No. 8: Know how to defrost your car. Before turning on the defroster and blower, move the heat control to “hot” and allow the engine to warm up first. If the windshield starts to fog on the inside, open a side window slightly and turn the defroster to a higher speed. If you have an air conditioner, use it to reduce humidity and moisture collecting on the window.

No. 9: If your car has anti-lock brakes and goes into a skid, you may feel a vibration when pressing the brake pedal. Don’t panic. Hold the brake pedal down firmly. Sensors in anti-lock brakes are adjusting to the wet road, which is why the pedal vibrates. Nothing is wrong, as long as you hold the brake down. Don’t pump or lift your foot off the pedal.

No. 10: Drive in the tire prints of the car ahead of you. When a car hydroplanes, it’s riding on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road. The water in tire prints has already been displaced, so you get better traction.

No. 11: If your car hydroplanes, hold the steering wheel steady and lightly apply brakes. When you feel the tires touch the pavement, slow until regaining control.

#5 – Light and Darkness
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino

Enjoy your first weekend in December!

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The Organized Grocery List

Posted in Helping Others, Holidays, Organization, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

Standing in the aisle of a grocery store with my trusty clipboard in one hand and my market basket in the other, I searched a shelf for an ingredient for my Thanksgiving dinner. A woman pushed her squeaky shopping cart past me and said, “You look very organized.” For a moment I studied her face to determine whether she was being sincere or sarcastic and then I looked down at my clipboard and explained, “It’s a matter of survival.”

To survive and to alleviate stress during the holidays, I try to be as organized as possible. This past Thanksgiving holiday was a good example. With people coming and going on different days for almost a week, my home resembled an inn. What the woman in the grocery store was commenting on was the stack of papers on my clipboard. Everything I needed food-wise for that week was on my clipboard and at my fingertips: my master plan of menus for every day of the week, copies of the recipes I’d be using, and my super Organized Grocery List. After I explained to her how my Organized Grocery List worked, she said, “You should publish it!”

I organize myself by making lists and creating forms. This process requires me to think things through, to prioritize, and to jot down details. Here’s my Organized Grocery List that the woman in the store wanted published and it’s yours for free! It’s in a PDF form which allows you to repeatedly fill it out and print it up. The List is organized by grocery store departments such as meat, produce, dairy, etc., as well as by type of store. Some items are more cost effective to purchase at a warehouse store, other items are more easily purchased at a regular grocery store, and finally some items can only be purchased at specialty stores or farmer’s markets. Each item is color coded when it is put on the list to make for quick shopping at each of the stores.

Here’s to organized grocery shopping and less stress!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/19/10)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Community, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Jewelry, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

Full of gratitude. It’s a reoccurring theme on this blog, as well as a meaningful phrase for one of my dear friends. Because I am grateful to have her in my life and because she’s helped me to rekindle my “spark,” I made her this necklace. With less than one week before Thanksgiving, let’s all make the time to stop what we are doing – planning menus, working, cleaning house, chauffeuring kids, etc. – to reflect on the many things we are grateful for and to show gratitude to everyone in our lives.

#1 – Say Thanks!
Although Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States and Canada as a harvest festival, the island of Grenada and the city of Leiden in the Netherlands also celebrate a Thanksgiving Day. But why only say thanks once a year? Here are a few different ways to say thanks or thank you in other languages. You never know when this knowledge might come in handy – maybe even the next time you go out to eat!! Click here to see the entire list.

Chinese (Mandarin) – Xie_Xie (shieh shieh)
Chinese (Cantonese) Do jeh (tou yeh) (formal: thanks)
Czech – Dekuji (deh’-ku-yih)
French – merci (mehr-see’)
German – Danke (dahn’-kuh)
Greek – Efharisto (ef-har-ris-tou’)
Hawaiian – Mahalo
Italian – Grazie (grahts’-yeh)
Japanese – Arigato (ah-ree-gah’-toh)
Korean – Kamsa hamaida (kam’-sah hum-nee-dah’ )
Malaysian – Terima Kasih (“Tay ree ma Kaa seh”)
Polish – Dziekuje (dsyehn-koo-yeh)
Russian – Spasiba (spah-see’-boh)
Spanish – Gracias (grah’-syas)
Swedish – Tack (tahkk)
Tahitian – Maururu

#2 – Paper Art
When I create my cards, I enjoy cutting and manipulating pieces of paper, but here is a series of photos that takes paper art to a whole other level!

#3 – Spells
It’s November and everyone is as excited as can be! Not for Thanksgiving necessarily, but for the release of the new Harry Potter film. You’ll be grateful that you know the difference between the Alohomora spell and the Finite Incantatem spell. Brush up on your knowledge with Wikipedia’s Harry Potter Spells before you see the movie!

#4 -What Money Cannot Buy
The Norwegian writer Arne Garborg once wrote this:
It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel.

Being grateful means being appreciative – for the what, why, where, and who’s we have in life. We’ve all heard that money cannot buy happiness, but that trend of thought does not stop there. To be inspired by others check out this Marc and Angel Hack Life blog post or check out this site which allows people to post their thoughts on what money can’t buy.

#5 – Gratitude
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

Be grateful you have a weekend to enjoy!


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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/12/10)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2010| 2 Comments »

Ever wonder why Monet produced close to 250 paintings of water lilies in his garden at Giverny during the last thirty years of his life? Standing in front of a large fountain on the grounds of Mission San Juan Capistrano last weekend, I appreciated his fascination with these exotic plants as I snapped photo after photo of them. Large, colorful, variegated leaves floated peacefully on the surface of the dark, murky water, while bright spikes of blossoms opened up to the sky. There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.” After seeing the beauty of these water lilies, I understand both the proverb and Monet much better.

#1 – Monet Trivia Quiz
Want to test your knowledge about Monet? Below is a short trivia quiz I adapted from an About.com article.

1. What were Monet’s first names?
A. Claude Oliver.
B. Oscar-Claude.
C. Oliver Claus.
D. Claus Oscar.

2. What school of art did Monet and his associates establish?
A. Fauvism.
B. Expressionism.
C. Impressionism.
D. Symbolism.

3. Were the artists who participated in this show known as Impressionists before the exhibition?
A. No, they came up with the name afterwards, when their paintings had made a good impression on the public.
B. Yes, they came up with the name specifically for the exhibition.
C. Yes, Monet had been labeled an Impressionist several years before.
D. No, a reviewer sarcastically entitled his article on the show the ‘Exhibition of the Impressionists’ and the name was adopted.

4. From 1890 Monet started series paintings, repeating the same scene. Why?
A. He was experimenting with different materials.
B. When he grew dissatisfied with a painting he would throw it away.
C. He was making multiple copies to sell.
D. He was preoccupied with capturing the way light looked at a particular moment.

5. What part of Monet’s garden at Giverny was his greatest source of inspiration?
A. The rose garden.
B. The herb garden.
C. The lily pond.
D. The irises.

6. Which of Monet’s senses failed?
A. His hearing.
B. His sight.
C. His touch.
D. His taste.

7. What is the name of the Museum in Paris which houses Monet’s waterlily murals?
A. The Louvre.
B. The Museum d’Orsay.
C. The Marmottan Museum.
D. The Orangerie.

Answers: 1. B; 2. C; 3. D; 4. D; 5. C; 6. B; 7. D

#2 – Unplug to Save Electricity
There are many electronic devices in our households that use electricity even when they are not actively being used. According to an article that was put out by my local electricity provider, “Household electronics, including those in your bathroom, office and kitchen, can add up to about 15 percent of your home’s electricity use.” The article lists as culprits,”rechargeable battery-powered cordless phones, electric toothbrushes, computers, printers, cell phone and digital camera charges, music players, rechargeable power tools and video game and entertainment equipment. These chargers and adapters draw power whenever they are in an outlet.” Where practical, learn to unplug these devices when not in use and/or use power strips as the central turn off point for various appliances and device chargers.

#3 – Amazing Sculptures Under the Sea
Explore artist’s Jason de Caires Taylor gallery of photos of his incredible, life-sized, underwater, concrete sculptures. His website explains, “Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures create a unique, absorbing and expansive visual seascape. Highlighting natural ecological processes Taylor’s interventions explore the intricate relationships that exist between art and environment. His works become artificial reefs, attracting marine life, while offering the viewer privileged temporal encounters, as the shifting sand of the ocean floor, and the works change from moment to moment.”

#4 – Books Should Be Free
Books Should Be Free offers free audio books from the public domain. You can “download a free audio book in mp3, iPod, or iTunes format” in 25 different languages, including Ancient Greek! You can preview a book before you download it to verify whether or not you like the reader’s style. Many of the books have been recorded by volunteers through LibriVox, another organization offering free audio books. “LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and publish the audio files on the Internet. Our goal is to record all the books in the public domain.” If you have a great voice and love to read, consider volunteering to read and record one of your favorite books.

#5 – A Rich Proverb
If you want to feel rich, just count all the gifts you have that money cannot buy.

Enjoy your beautiful autumn weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (10/15/10)

Posted in About me, Helping Others, inspiration, Photography, Recipes, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The days are noticeably shorter now. How can these lovely fall days have the same number of hours in them as those hot summer days that seemed to stretch on forever. If each day has twenty-four hours, why do I feel like I’ve lost time lately? With the waning daylight, so goes my ability to accomplish everything that needs to be done. Interesting, isn’t it?

#1 – Share Our Strength
The statistics tell the story: nearly one in every four children in America face hunger. Share Our Strength is an organization whose goal is “to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.” Helping can be as easy as hosting a bake sale. Check out how you can participate in the Great American Bake Sale.

#2 – Sharing Smoothie Recipes
Do you like to drink smoothies, but are bored making the same ones over and over again? Need a little creative boost? Here’s a collection of healthy smoothie recipes from Men’s Health Magazine.

#3 – Borrow, Share, Trade or Barter
Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense to buy something you’re only going to use once, so maybe it would make more sense to borrow it from someone else. Or perhaps you have an extra saw in your garage and would like to trade it for someone’s extra hammer. With the struggling economy, websites that promote borrowing, sharing, trading, bartering, or just plain giving away are popping up on the internet. Check out these sites:
NeighborGoods
Freecycle
Share Some Sugar
Snap Goods
Trashbank
U-Exchange
Care to Trade
Trade a Favor
Joe Barter

#4 – Sharing Fabulous Photos of Faraway Places
Photographer Steve McCurry is probably best known for the photo he took of an Afghan refugee girl whose story was told through her piercing green eyes and whose portrait graced the cover of National Geographic magazine twenty-five years ago. Referring to his body of work, Mr. McCurry says, “Most of my images are grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape that you could call the human condition.” Kodak gave Mr. McCurry the last produced roll of Kodachrome film. The photos he captured on this roll will be the subject of an upcoming National Geographic documentary. View some of Mr. Curry’s photographs on his website – they’ll make you want to grab your camera and travel.

#5 – Stop to Enjoy Happiness
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.”
William Feather

Share some happiness this weekend!

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Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Posted in Helping Others, Kids, Parenting, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on October 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

Heat up those ovens and start your baking! Now is the time to consider sending out care packages to all the first-time-away-from-home college students you know! Just think about the smiles on their faces when they receive your packages in the mail! Here’s a recipe from the famous Dorie Greenspan for Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies that are easy to make and travel well. The combination of espresso, chocolate, and butter will go great with all the Starbuck’s coffee students use to fortify themselves. For more ideas of what to include in care packages, check out my post College Care Packages.

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or ¾ cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth.

3. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

4. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9-x-10½ -inch rectangle that’s ¼ inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

5. GETTING READY TO BAKE: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

6. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife cut the dough into 1½-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

7. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale – they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

8. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Makes 32 cookies.

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (10/1/10)

Posted in Health, Helping Others, inspiration, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Does the image above have a cartoon-painting-like quality to you? It did to me when I snapped a photo of glass flowers in a nursery. With the bright sun hitting them at just the right angle, they looked like a piece of art through my viewfinder. That is the joy of photography – seeing masterpieces in everyday life and capturing them!

#1 – Inspiration from J.K. Rowling
I came across the text of J.K.Rowling’s commencement speech that she gave to Harvard’s graduating class of 2008. Although, it may seem untimely for me to post this now – since most of us have just sent our kids off to school – her thoughts about failure and imagination are worth reading anytime of the year.

#2 – Hotel Sundries
To take or leave, that is the question. I read some controversy over whether it’s okay to take the unopened “complimentary” sundries from hotel rooms when you leave. Of course, I’m speaking about the travel-sized bottles of shampoo, lotions, soaps, etc. and not the rolls of toilet paper and towels! By taking them are we driving up the costs of hotel stays for everyone? Do maids have to spend time inspecting these products after each guest leaves to check for tampering? Don’t laugh – imagine if someone put Nair into your shampoo bottle! If so, by leaving them, are we adding to hotel waste if these consumable goods are disposed of after each guest?  I don’t know what the politically correct and environmentally correct answers are, but here are a few thoughts:

Reuse: If you use hotel sundries and have half-used bottles of lotion and shampoo and partially used bars of soap leftover, take them home so they are not wasted. In addition, used hotel shower caps make great shoe covers for travel! No more worries about your shoes soiling your garments when they are packed together! Flannel mitts used for polishing shoes can be washed once home and make good jewelry storage pouches.

Donate: If you collect these travel-sized sundries, donate them to various charities. Do a Google search to find out which charities or shelters are in need of these types of donations. I read that some local fire departments collect these items to make kits to pass out to those in need.

Refuse to Use: Don’t use any hotel sundries and pack your own sundries in small refillable containers.

#3 – One Meal’s Damage
The most recent edition of Nutrition Action Health Letter points out an ABC news segment that shows the damage one unhealthy meal can cause to our bodies. After having blood work and other diagnostic tests done on their blood vessels, a reporter and her producer sat down and ate a meal consisting of deep-fried macaroni and cheese from the Cheesecake Factory, a bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a quesadilla from Applebee’s, and a giant cookie covered with ice cream from Uno Chicago Grill. This meal provided each of them with a whopping 6,190 calories and 187 grams of saturated fat! To see the results of their posttest and find out what immediate damage was caused, watch the 2-1/2 minute video by clicking here.

#4 – Makes Me Think
This site collects thought-provoking entries about life. Some will make you smile and some will make you sad, but either way they will make you think.

#5 – Happiness
“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” Unknown

Have a happy weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (9/10/10)

Posted in Creativity, Helping Others, inspiration, Organization, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, while taking photos of birds in my backyard, a blue belly lizard struck a regal pose on a nearby rock as if to say, “Hey, don’t forget about me! Aren’t I a grand specimen?” Waiting until the light was just right and presenting me with his best side, he allowed me a couple of quick shots before he skittered away into the bushes. The beautiful colors of nature are often seen in small and unexpected things.

#1 – The Colors of Kool Aid
Apparently Choo Choo Cherry Kool Aid is good for more than just drinking. Check out these sites that use Kool Aid to dye things other than your tongue.

Basic How-To
Tie Dye
Yarn
Playsilks
Scarves
Hair!

#2 – Consumer Search
I came across this site called Consumer Search: Love What You Buy. It is run by About.com which is part of the New York Times Company. Supposedly Consumer Search collects reviews of items, analyzes the items, and then makes its recommendations. Since one of my children recently purchased appliances for his home, I compared his research against Consumer Search’s and was pleased with the results.

#3 – Packing Tips
Having just spent the last couple of days helping another one of my children move again, I thought it would be a good time to share these helpful packing tips from United Van Lines.

#4 – Get the Point!
Dalton Ghetti is an artist, but the medium he uses is an unusual one. A pencil. Except he does not draw with it like other artists – he carves the pencil tips! Read this article about him in the New York Times and view some of his amazing pieces of art.

#5 – Enjoy the Little Things
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
~Robert Brault

Try to enjoy every little thing that comes your way this weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (9/3/10)

Posted in Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

School buses roaring down the street combined with the high-pitched symphony of chirping birds act as my alarm clock these days. Kids are back in school now and daily routines for some get needed adjustments. Hard to believe that summer is almost over. Finally turned the page on my calendar today – so September’s officially here! In the back of my head, though, I know that Halloween is just around the corner, Thanksgiving is just a ways down the stretch, and Christmas is only 16 weeks away!

#1 – Self Portrait
This cartoon made me both laugh and think, thereby qualifying itself for inclusion in today’s post. How accurate would your self portrait be?

#2 – Recycling Books for a Better World
Better World Books is a business that collects books from colleges, universities, and libraries and sells them for profit to help fund literacy programs throughout the world. The website states, “BetterWorldBooks is a for-profit social enterprise that collects used books and sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives worldwide. We offer great bargains on used books – over 6 million used and new titles, with free shipping anywhere in the U.S. and just $3.97 worldwide. What’s more, you love cheap used books and so does the environment – when you buy used, you save books from landfill and conserve resources.”

#3 – Is It Skin Cancer?
I’ve known a few people who developed Melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, and who sadly lost their battle with it. Having my share of beauty marks and freckles, I’ve always been concerned with their appearance. Here’s an iVillage article that contains the ABCDE photo guide that helps to differentiate harmless moles from the more dangerous ones. Take a look at the photos and the study the ABCDE’s of moles – this information could save your life or the life of someone you know.

#4 – Don’t Fork It Over!
Never use a fork to turn over a piece of meat on the barbecue. A fork will pierce the meat and let natural juices escape, causing a loss in flavor and moisture. Use a pair of tongs instead!

#5 – Be In Charge of Your Attitude
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Charles R. Swindoll (American Writer and Clergyman)

Have a safe holiday weekend!

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