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Posts Tagged ‘recycle’

Acorns and Potato Flowers Acorns dangle from oak trees to kiss summer flowers goodbye. With the weather still summery warm, it’s hard to believe that in nine days, fall officially begins. My backyard reflects the coming change. Summer vegetable plants look forlorn and have slowed down their production. Bird feeders require almost daily refills. Squirrels scamper back and forth on the branches of my Japanese maple tree, looking for food and breaking branches as they go. The seasons of my life seem to pass by faster and faster. I’m reluctant to let another season in my life go by, but fall approaches and it deserves to be fully appreciated.

#1 – Foiling Squirrels
Snack Bag Squirrel Deterrent If you look closely at this picture you’ll notice two shiny decorations. As mentioned above, the squirrels have been wreaking havoc in my Japanese maple tree. One night while watching television and eating Skinny Pop with my husband, I came up with an idea. Many snacks, like potato chips and popcorn, come in Mylar bags. Instead of throwing the empty bags away, I rinsed them out and cut them open along the sides. Using clothes pins, I fastened the bags in strategic places to my tree. Every couple of days, I try to outwit the squirrels and move the bags around. So far, so good – no new piles of broken branches on the ground. The only downside to this is trying to explain the “decorations” to visitors.

#2 – Ten on One Page
Infographics Infographics make complex or large amounts of information more understandable. Lifehacker’s Top 10 Infographics and Cheat Sheets That Make Life Easier provides information ranging from how to remove stains to what to do when you get pulled over!

#3 – Print Ads
Clever Ads Maybe I like these 24 Clever Print Ads because I know people in the advertising business or maybe it’s because I’m intrigued with the idea of communicating messages via images. Using the power of a single image, see if these ads grab your attention.

#4 – Do You Eat Store-Bought Cereal Every Morning?
enhanced-buzz-16162-1375889707-9 Well, if you do, you may want to think twice before you discard empty cereal boxes. As seen in this BuzzFeed article 31 Things You Can Make Out of Cereal Boxes, a little bit of cardboard goes a long way!

#5 – Take Charge
“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
Jim Rohn

Enjoy these last days of summer!

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Gardenia The scent of gardenias wafts through an open window and lingers in the room. I inhale slowly and let the intoxicating fragrance permeate my soul. I feel drugged and I can no longer focus on the task at hand. As a Marcel Proust-moment transports me from the present back to my past, I begin to hear the clanging of trolley cars and the hissing of bus doors opening and closing. In my mind, I see my mother bending over a very young version of me and asking, “Would you like to pick out a flower?” People push past us on the crowded street as I examine the buckets of flowers at a corner flower stand. My small hands reach for a large creamy-white swirl of petals. The sweet fragrance is nothing like I’d ever smelled before and I repeatedly sniff the blossom. “That’s a gardenia,” my mother says. I nod and guard my treasure as we board a bus for the ride home. My reverie ends with the ringing of my cell phone and I return to the present. Gardenias will forever remind me of my mother and of that time in my life, but even more than that, they are reminders to me of how little seeds can be planted deep.

#1 – Remember Fathers
With Father’s Day coming up, here’s a video tribute that triggers memories of all that fathers do:

#2 – Eat Your Words
Harry Potter Cake Books and birthday cakes can each be a source of fond memories. What if the two entities joined forces and became “book-cakes” or “cake-books”? If you love books and you love eating cakes, you’ll enjoy scrolling through the photos of 24 Incredible Cakes Inspired By Books.

#3 – Best-Value Destinations
One of my favorite travel memories happened while I was in Italy with my husband, my kids, and three of their friends. We had just finished touring the Galleria Borghese and were slowly walking back to our hotel. Somehow our conversation turned to skipping and how some people in the family couldn’t skip. Before I knew it my adult children and their friends were having a skipping relay race on the dirt paths outside the villa. I still laugh when I watch the video of the race! Create your own travel memories, but before you decide where to go, check out Lonely Planet’s Best-Value Destinations in Europe for 2013.

#4 – Make Gift Bows From Magazine Pages
Make gift bows using magazine pages to decorate Father’s Day and graduation gifts. How cute, colorful, and clever! Click here for the complete instructions. Make Bows From Magazines

#5 – Words of Wisdom
I hope that my achievements in life shall be these:
that I will have fought for what was right and fair,
that I will have risked for that which mattered,
that I will have given help to those who were in need,
and that I will have left the earth a better place
for what I’ve done and who I’ve been.
C. Hoppe

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all fathers and CONGRATULATIONS to all graduates!

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Grocery lists, to do lists, inventory lists, wish lists, guest lists, etc. – they seem to fill our lives, but what would we do without them? Would we stay focused on what we have to accomplish, if we didn’t have any lists? Would we feel satisfied at the end of the day, if we didn’t have anything checked off? Would we realize the magnitude of our lives – our organization, abilities, collections, thoughts, and everything else we put down on our lists? Love them or hate them, everyone makes lists.

#1 – 100 Calories
If eating a tad bit healthier and watching your weight are part of your New Year’s resolutions, then browse through this list of 88 Unexpected Snacks Under 100 Calories. Not all items are on the super healthy list, but there are some great ideas and recipes worth trying.

#2 – Does Your Clutter Control You or Do You Control Your Clutter?
Hmmm . . . that’s an interesting question for me and my fellow pack rats. I’d like to claim that I’m in control of my clutter, but as I look around my desk, I think the clutter won. Demanding Joy, a lovely blog to visit, has a list of 60 Ways to Get Organized & Take Control of Your Life. Much of it is common sense and needed reminders. Other aspects deal with prioritizing and breaking down daunting jobs to doable tasks. So if you’re motivated to start out the New Year more organized, check out this list!

#3 – New Life for Old Yoga Mats
If you are a devout student of yoga, you may wear out your yoga mat over the years of study. The question is: What do you do with your old mat? It seems counter to the yoga culture to toss it away, so that it can become part of a giant landfill and take centuries to decompose. Need a few ideas? Check out these 20 Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Yoga Mats.

#4 – Elliptical Machine Mistakes
Are you an elliptical machine junkie? Well, if you are, you might want to read about the Top 10 Mistakes You Make on the Elliptical Trainer. How many are you guilty of?

#5 – Wanted
“When I see the Ten Most Wanted Lists . . . I always have this thought: If we’d made them feel wanted earlier, they wouldn’t be wanted now.”
Eddie Cantor

Enjoy this last weekend in January!

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