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Homemade Toys

2008-07-26T08:11:00.001-07:00

How often have you seen this happen around the holidays? The parents have spent a small fortune on the latest, greatest toy. After a few grins and giggles, the parents take the toy out of its huge box and proceed to put it together. In the meantime, the child finds the box to be quite fascinating. By the time the toy is fully put together, the child is so engrossed in the box that he or she has no desire to play with the expensive toy.

This scenario is replayed in house after house across the country. The lesson is, children are easily entertained and homemade toys can be created from every day materials that can easily keep their attention. Here are some ideas for easy to create homemade toys.

One idea for a homemade toy is a cardboard box car. Take a large cardboard box and cut a hole in the top and cut out the bottom. Decorate it like a car, using paper plates for the wheels and steering wheel. Your child will enjoy "driving" this car around the house!

Create a hand made bubble blower out of a toilet paper roll. Wrap the roll with aluminum foil. Make the bubbles by mixing liquid dish soap with water. Dip one end of the roll in the mixture and blow gently through the other end. You should be able to easily create very large bubbles!

Create a scoop ball game out of a one-quart plastic milk jug. Cut the jug in half and save the handle side. Toss a ball back and forth and use the jug to catch the ball.

Model planes can be made out of the Styrofoam trays that meat is packaged on. Cut out a body, wings and tail shape. Use a knife to cut a slit in the body for the wings and tail. Because the Styrofoam is so light, these planes can soar for a decent distance.

A personalized homemade toy is the homemade puzzle. Have your child create a drawing or other piece of art. Glue the artwork to a piece of cardboard. After it is dry, turn the cardboard over and trace out puzzle piece shapes. Carefully cut out these shapes. Your child will have fun putting together his own artwork. Store the puzzle in a Ziploc bag.

A homemade beanbag toss game is another fun and active toy to create. Take a sturdy piece of cardboard and cut holes in it to make the targets. Be sure the holes are large enough that the beanbag will fit. Then make some beanbags. Take scraps of material and fill them with beans or pasta. Hand sew them shut. Have your child decorate the target and assign points to the holes. Then have fun tossing the beanbags at the target!

Whatever toy you decide to make, be sure to include your child in the process of making the toy. Not only will you create a fun toy, but you will also create life-long memories with your child. Using what would be trash to make a fun toy also helps to protect our environment.

Steps to Handling the Packing and Storage of Your Possessions After a Divorce

2008-07-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

You are basically confused with your decision and are wondering about the consequences and the custody arrangements and all that. There seems to be no time to think about the move. Hence, you end up with half-packed possessions, with nearly none of the things that you actually need ready or on hand for your transition.

The first and foremost thing that you must remember is that you should calmly think for a minute or two before you start packing. Get your thoughts organized and prioritize all your packing needs. Make a list of all the things that you may forget in the process. Practice some deep breathing exercises and do some meditation for a minute or two. Now you are ready to take the world.

• The first thing is to throw away all the things that you do not want to take to your new place. In most probability, if you are moving to a smaller place and do not have the space for all your old things. So discard the outdated school books, textbooks, cracked mirrors, broken chairs and tables and the rest of the things.

• Begin a new and organized life. Distribute any unwanted belongings to your friends and relatives or a local thrift shop.

• Make sure that you have plenty of boxes to pack your stuff. Leave out the essentials for the end and pack all the things like lamp shades, photo frames, books, china first.

• You should have Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, baking soda and naphthalene balls handy.

• Wrap all of your breakables in the bubble wrap.

• Do not put all the heavy items in one box. That will make it too heavy. Distribute the load equally amongst all your boxes.

• Remember to pack room-by-room so that you don't have a trouble unpacking the things.
• Label all the boxes appropriately with the name of the room. Start packing a while earlier so that you don't get frazzled on the very last day.

• Ask the help of some of your friends while packing and unpacking.

• Keep your important documents and papers safely and all in one place. Keep them with you at all times so that you do not lose them.

• Tape all the boxes firmly and securely. Pack the basics that you will need in a separate handbag so that you do not have to start unpacking for them immediately. Stock up your fridge with healthy convenience food like prepackaged veggies, frozen foods, canned soups and the likes.

Make a list of all the small things that you are bound to forget like the toothbrushes, toothpastes, corkscrews, bottle openers, spoon rests, markers, labels, coasters, tissue papers (lots if those), napkins, duct tape and Ziploc bags.

You may not have the time and the energy to cook food at home. Go out for dinner and a movie with your kids so that you can de-stress and enjoy a bit.

Pack sheets, pillows, light bulbs, accessories and a change of clothes in one or two boxes. This makes it easier for you to use them immediately.

Do not get upset about the move and the change of atmosphere. Do not let the stress get to you. Make sure that you have the packing, the moving and the unpacking properly planned so that you will not end up completely disorganized.

Mrs. Rainey Rochelle is a leader in the self storage management and acquisition business. With over 20 years of expertise, she thrives on taking small businesses in storage and making them boom with success. She currently owns and operates a public storage facility in Garland, Texas that is friendly, fair and affordable.

Food - Tips On Properly Storing Food

2008-07-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

Keeping your foods properly stored in the cabinet or refrigerator is something that should be taken seriously. Not only will storing your food correctly make it last longer, but it can also keep you healthier. Improperly storing foods can lead to harmful bacteria and spoilage. Let's take a look at a few helpful tips to keep your foods fresh and lasting longer.

Vegetables

Keep your vegetables stored in the food crisper in your refrigerator. You can put all your vegetables in there except for tomatoes, onions, potatoes and garlic. Keep your potatoes, onions and garlic in dark place, or even in a paper bag, but not the refrigerator.

You should keep your vegetables in plastic bags to hold their moisture and nutrients. You will also put tomatoes in a plastic bag after cutting them.

Fruits

Most people think they should leave apples sitting out on the table in a fruit bowl, but the truth is, they should be stored in the refrigerator. All types of berries should also be stored in the refrigerator. One fruit that should never be put in the refrigerator though is a banana. It will immediately turn black. Not a pretty sight.

Melons, including watermelons, should be stored at regular room temperature until they become ripened. Once ripe they should then be stored in the refrigerator. The same can be said for grapes.

Other citrus type fruits can be left outside at room temperature or kept in the refrigerator. It doesn't really matter with these fruits.

Frozen Foods

When freezing leftover foods, be sure to put them in an airtight container, or Ziploc bag to maintain freshness. If you don't, you will have ice crystals form and your foods will be freezer burnt.

Meats, chicken and pork can also be put in the freezer to keep. Be sure you do not re-freeze these foods after thawing them out. You must use them after thawing, or throw them out.

Milk And Dairy Items

Naturally you will always store milk in the refrigerator, but be sure to keep an eye on the expiration date. Throw it out after the expiration date. Another good tip is to buy milk from the store with an expiration date well into the future. Look for gallon containers in the rear of the dairy shelves in the grocery store. They will have the latest expiration dates.

It is also a good idea to check expiration dates on all your dairy items at least once a week. This includes eggs also.

Meats

Always keep fish, meats, chicken and pork in the refrigerator until you prepare them for eating. You want to make sure you keep these items wrapped and away from other foods in your refrigerator to prevent bacteria and keep them from contaminating other foods.

One important tip to keep in mind is that fish should be eaten within two days of purchase.

Other Items

Keep your canned foods in a pantry that is cool and dark. This includes cereals, oils, breads and pasta.

Food storage certainly is not difficult, but it does require a little bit of attention on your part. By properly storing your foods you will keep your foods lasting longer and your family will stay healthier.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Food

Temptin' Texas Chicken Tortilla Soup

2008-07-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite soups...I crave it! It seems like quite a few ingredients and it takes 2 hrs or so, but it is WELL worth the wait...Trust me! This is an family favorite and satisfies everyone! - :D

Type: Soup

Serve With: Shredded cheese and sour cream

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 2 hr

Yield: 1 large stock pot full

Ingredients:

3 Chicken quarters - You may use a small, whole chicken, or any other parts in an equivalent

Water - Enough to fill a large stock pot 3/4 full

6 large Carrots - Sliced crossways

4 stalks Celery - Sliced crossways

3 Onions - Roughly chopped

5 whole cloves Garlic

2 Bay leaves

4 Lime leaves

~ 8 Peppercorns - Whole

~ 8 Coriander seeds - * Optional

~ 2 tbsp Sea salt

2 whole Tomatoes - Chopped

1 Serrano pepper - Finely diced

3/4 Beer - 3/4 of a whole beer

1/2 tsp Hot sauce - Use as much as you like.

10 oz Tomato sauce - Not pasta sauce

1/4 tsp Chili powder

2 tsp Ground cumin

2 tbsp Cornstarch

Shredded cheese - Tex-Mex or cheddar

Tortilla chips - To float on top of soup

Sour cream - As garnish

Instructions:

1. Fill stock pot 3/4 full of cold water with sea salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, and 2 lime leaves.

2. Rinse chicken pieces and put in water on medium heat. You may use frozen chicken for this if desired.

3. Wash and chop carrots, celery, onion very roughly. Keep garlic cloves whole, just peel skins off. Add to pot.

4. Allow to boil and turn down heat to simmer. Lightly boil/simmer for about 1.5 hrs or until chicken is tender and falling off the bone.

* Take a piece of chicken out of the pot, and make sure the chicken juice runs clear when cut near the bone.

* Tip: Some brown foam may rise to the top of the pot, so take a large spoon and skim off the brown foam off the top and discard. These are the "impurities". You may have to do this a few times before the soup boils clean.

5. Once chicken is "falling off the bone", fish out all the chicken out of the pot and allow to cool. Once cool, shred chicken by picking off the bones and pulling apart every piece. Set aside to add to each individual bowl.

6. While waiting for chicken to cool, find garlic in pot and crush, with the side of a wooden spoon, into the soup.

7. Dice 2 whole, ripe tomatoes into small pieces. Dice 1 serrano pepper (I cannot get fresh serranos where I live in Canada, so I use canned serrano peppers.) Add to the soup while continuing to let simmer.

* Tip: Put remainder of can of serrano peppers into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for subsequent uses.

8. Add beer, ground cumin, chili powder, other 2 lime leaves, and hot sauce to soup and continue to simmer.

9. Once chicken is shredded for serving, take cornstarch in a small bowl and add same amount of cold water. Take a whisk to mix completely, then add to soup.

* Tip: The cornstarch will thicken up the soup and will only reach it's thickening power when the soup boils. If you boil it too much, the cornstarch will then lose it's thickening power. So, as soon as the soup boils for about 1 min after adding cornstarch mixture (a slurry), turn it down/off.

10. To prepare individual bowls for serving, add a good amount of shredded chicken, then add desired amount of soup. Garnish top of soup with tortilla/corn chips (the more the better), shredded cheese and sour cream.

11. Serve and Enjoy! I know you will!

I hope you enjoy this soup recipe like we do!

Eat Deliciously!

Kimberly Edwards is the founder of Cooking With Kimberly - Decadent Cooking from Home - Find a Delicious Cooking Recipe, Great Products and Helpful Tips & Information that will help you Explore the Joy of Cooking!

How Can I Fix My Wet Cell Phone?

2008-07-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

There are many ways a cell phone can get wet. Unfortunately, we all know that when a cell phone gets wet it can have a lot of damage done to it. If you are thinking, how can I fix my cell phone, it got wet, get it taken care of quickly. During the summer months is usually when there are a lot of people who are asking the question. This is because during the summer people are around water more.

If you wait too long to get your wet cell phone fixed the damage may be irrepairable. Water damage to cell phones can be very serious.

Contact with water of any kind can be detrimental to your cell phone. It can erode or short circuit your phone's delicate electronic components and the insides of it.

You don't ever want to put a cell phone in the microwave to try and dry it out. Also do not use a hair dryer to dry it. It is a bad idea to add heat to the water damaged cell phone because it can easily cause further damage and corrosion.

The best thing you can do is to get your phone to a water damage specialist who will be able to take the phone apart. This will help them clean the delicate components and they can assess the damage quickly and accurately for you.

Here is what you need to do if your phone gets wet and you need repairs done to save it.

One: You don't want to turn your cell phone on. This can cause your phone permanent damage because it will shorten out.

Two: It is important that you get the battery out of the phone immediately.

Three: Don't use a blow dryer or anything else to try and dry it off because even if the outside looks dry, the inside circuit board could still be wet.

Four: Put your phone inside of a Ziploc baggie. Then get it to a cell phone repair specialist right away.

It is very important that you get your cell phone to a specialist so that you have a chance of saving your phone. You can try and fix it yourself but this is not a good idea if you are not a repair specialist.

So if you ever have to ask the question, how can I fix my cell phone it got wet, then you now know what you are supposed to do to get it fixed.

Jeff Schuman invites you to visit his article writer website for 100% copyright articles and multiple article discounts on website and blog articles. Competitive pricing, testimonials, samples!

Throw a Kitchen Shower

2008-07-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

Today - more and more people are getting extremely creative when throwing a wedding shower. Shower themes are becoming increasingly popular, and one such theme is the "Kitchen Wedding Shower".

The kitchen shower is thought to be the most popular of the wedding shower themes since it's so versatile. If a newlywed couple is moving into their first home together, they more than likely need everything from pots and pans to cooking utensils. If they've already been living together, they could probably use a recipe box filled with everyone's favorite recipe. There are also lots of shower games that can be played based on kitchen utensils.

Here are some fun ideas you can try when planning a kitchen themed wedding shower:

Decoration Ideas

Use new tea towels or dish clothes as place mats and napkins that can then be given to the bride as a gift. Hang up some aprons around the room with some balloons tied to them. The bride can also keep the aprons as a shower gift.

Centerpiece ideas:

Fresh herb arrangement
Fresh fruit arrangement with a candle in the center
Basket full of utensils tied with some bows or ribbons
Large canister filled with flowers

Gift Ideas Recipe Box - Ask the shower guests ahead of time to prepare their favorite recipe and include an item needed to prepare it. For example, if you have a recipe for the best oatmeal cookies ever, include some cookie sheets as a gift. It's best to send the guests recipes cards ahead of time so they're all the same, then a recipe box can be given to the bride-to-be as a gift.

You may also want all the guests to sign the recipe box which will become a keepsake.

Additional gift ideas:

Kitchen knife set
Mixing bowls
Cleaning supplies
Crockpot
Baking dishes
Recipe books
Espresso maker
Fondue pot
Canisters

For bigger items such as freezers, dishwashers, breadmakers, etc., several or all of the guests can chip in to purchase it. This is a great idea for couples who already live together but are missing one major appliance.

Shower favor ideas:

Potholders
Tea towels or dishcloths
Spice jar wrapped with a ribbon

Game Ideas

The Memory Game - A tray of kitchen utensils can be passed around the guests while seated in a circle, then taken away. The guests then have to write down what was on the tray. The person with the most correct answers wins a prize.

Guest That Substance - Pass around some unlabeled spice jars and see how many the guests can sniff correctly. This can also be done with "white stuff". Instead of spices, pass around some ziploc bags filled with flour, baking soda, sugar, etc. to see if the guests can identify them by looking at them.

Do You Know Your Groom - This is a game for the bride-to-be. Create some questions based on the groom's food preferences such as "what is his favorite dessert?" You can ask the groom's mother or close relative to get the answers.

Things To Think About - The bride and groom-to-be probably have a preference as to what style they want their kitchen to be. If they are registered in a gift registry, choose kitchen-related gifts from their list. You can also get a good idea of what style they prefer from what they've chosen. Maybe they like stainless steel appliances, or maybe they're going for a country kitchen theme. The wedding couple may not be skilled chefs, and if so, choose items that will be useful for them. Gifts that save them time and help them multi-task in the kitchen will be appreciated, such as a slow-cooker or a cookbook filled with simple and quick recipes.

You can also take the kitchen wedding shower theme one step further and create a barbecue theme or baking themed shower. In these instances, it's best if the bride is registered at her favorite store so that she doesn't receive duplicate gifts from her shower and wedding guests.

ForBrideAndBaby is a guide to help women through marriage, maternity and motherhood and is packed with informative articles and products. View a selection of great Kitchen Gift Ideas for Weddings and Bridal Showers at: http://www.forbrideandbaby.com

Laurie Cohen is the mother of three daughters, has planned three weddings and is the former owner of Kreative Parties Event Planning in Northbrook, IL. Today, when she isn't playing with her six grandchildren, she is busy working on her website.

Garbage Society

2008-07-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Last night, while in the midst of preparing dinner with Charlotte and Prad, I was reminded once more of the amount of garbage and recycling we can generate in one sweep. It is tremendous. For dinner alone, the list was quite long: one plastic container for mache salad, one plastic container for raspberries, two glass beer bottles, two large Ziploc bags for fish from farmers’ market, one plastic bag for lettuce, one paper bag for mushrooms from farmers’ market. The plastic bag, and the Ziploc bags, I threw in, although I was not even sure they could be recycled. Plastics are a complicated matter, and I was a bit distracted when I read the recycling guide from the city, a while ago. We are a garbage society, and I am a part of it.

I am old enough to remember the days, when the garbage collection was only once a month. There was no recycling then. The milk and yogurt came in glass containers, that we brought back to the merchant. We got five centimes for each bottle. A lot of the fruit and vegetables came from our garden. My grandmother had a 'cassette', a wooden box with a wooden handle, in which she carried the products of her daily pickings. For meat, she would just kill one of the rabbits or chickens that she raised. Milk came from our cows. Cows were a big deal on our farm. Many times, I heard my grandmother complain about having to get up so early to milk the cows. One of my most favorite memories is of my grandfather lifting me up into his horse carriage, and of us going to the Sunday market at Neuville, the closest town to our village. There we got sardines, and fresh fish from the covered fish market, 'rillettes' and 'boudin noir' from the charcuterie, and goat cheese from the goat cheese man. We saved the boulangerie for last. The line was long, and I did not mind. I knew I would be rewarded for my patience, as my grandfather always made sure to get 'un carquelin pour la petite', puff pastry with caramelized sugar on top. No plastic bags then, only thin paper bags. To carry all our purchases, we each had a 'filet a provisions', an almost weightless net-like bag that had the advantage of taking no space when empty, but that could hold a lot. Once back at the farm, my grandmother would store all the perishables in the 'garde-manger', a cool place in the cellar especially designed for that purpose. We did not know what the word environment meant, and we did not need to.

I long for those times, of living in harmony with nature. And I also know to beware of easy sentimentality. Life on the farm was extremely hard for my grandparents. My mother did all she could to escape, and ended up marrying a man from the city. I laugh when I see the recent plethora of books, glorifying the virtue of going back to the earth, and the old ways. I am a bit of a cynic in that respect. For a healthy dose of reality, I recommend reading Little Blog in the Big Woods.

Marguerite Manteau-Rao is a blogger, social psychologist, and green girl wannabe. Since April 2007, she has chronicled her daily tribulations as a green girl wannabe in her blog: La Marguerite "My Inconvenient Truth: the Daily Sins of a Green Girl Wannabe"

Oil Change - How to Change Oil In Your Own Driveway

2008-07-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

Changing your vehicle’s oil regularly is the single most important thing you can do for your car. Regular oil changes will extend the life of your vehicle and enhance its performance. Because contaminants are regularly deposited into your car’s oil resulting in sludge that decreases your engine’s performance (and that will over time cause engine failure) frequent oil changes are a mandatory maintenance procedure.

Most people know that they should get an oil change approximately every three months or 3,000 miles, but less know that an oil change is something that can be done in their own driveway. Doing so can save about a hundred dollars per year, and is a great way to be active with and knowledgeable about your own transportation.

Oil Change Equipment

Before getting started with your oil change, make sure you have the following materials on hand. Many of these items are sold inexpensively and are great to have handy in any garage.

3/8-drive socket set

Combination metric wrench set, including both closed and open ended wrenches.

Oil filter wrench

Oil receptacle such as a pail or old kitchen pot

Two plastic milk containers with screw on caps.

Oil funnel

Plastic Ziploc bag – 1 quart.

Several newspapers / old rags

Two pair latex gloves (optional)

A few bricks, concrete blocks or boulders.

New oil filter (see owner's manual for specifications)

New oil to refill the engine. (The back page of your vehicle’s manual should indicate grade and number of quarts.) Quick Change Oil recommends the use of synthetic oil for oil changes, such as Castrol GTX.

Before you begin, be sure to have a planned method for disposing of your dirty oil. It is illegal to dispose of used motor oil improperly. Most oil change locations will accept dirty oil for disposal free of charge.

Oil Change Step 01: Warming Up

Identify a flat space to work in your drive way or garage for you to perform the oil change once you’ve driven your vehicle for a short distance. Driving around just enough to heat up the engine will liquefy the oil for an easier emptying.

Oil Change Step 02: Stationing

Turn off your engine, put the car in Neutral and set the emergency brake firmly in place. Place several bricks in front of each of the four tires to prevent them from moving.

Oil Change Step 03: Locating the drain plug

If there is not enough room to slide under your vehicle comfortably, you’ll need to jack it up using a hydraulic pump and settle it on jack stands. (Never mount your car on a jack only – you must use jack stands.) While beneath your vehicle, identify the drain plug by searching for the lowest piece to the ground. This piece will most commonly be the nut of the oil drain plug. To avoid confusion with the transmission fluid drain plug, feel the metal around it – the oil plug will usually be much hotter than the transmission plug. In some cases the drain plug is actually labeled. Call a friend or a local oil change company for direction if you’re still unsure.

Oil Change Step 04: Draining the oil

Set out several newspapers underneath your car, focusing more on the area directly beneath the oil drain. Once you’ve located the drain plug, choose the correct socket from your set by experimenting with each until you’ve found one that nicely fits over the nut. Then, using a lot of force, turn the socket counter clockwise to crack the nut. If a socket doesn’t work, try a closed end wrench. Once the nut is cracked, loosen it carefully, using caution. Loosening the nut too much or too quickly will cause the oil to spill out. Place your oil receptacle underneath the plug making sure it is straight making sure the plug points sideways rather than straight down. A sideways pointing plug will cause the oil to empty all over instead of into your receptacle. Once correctly positioned, loosen the plug entirely. Most of the oil should drain in about two minutes.

Oil Change Step 05: Loosening the oil filter

Look up into the engine and locate the oil filter, which should look like an inverted cone. Retrieve your oil filter wrench, remove the socket from the socket wrench and set it next to the drain plug. Slip the oil filter wrench onto your socket wrench (it’s best to use a socket wrench with a short extension) and set it up to grab the filter in a counterclockwise motion. Tug on the filter slightly to loosen it. Again, caution is important because loosening the filter too quickly will spill out hot oil. Loosen a bit more using the wrench, and use your hands to remove it entirely. Make sure your face is clear of the area and pour the contents of the filter into the receptacle.

Oil Change Step 06: Removing the oil cap

Slide out from under your vehicle and open the hood. Locate the oil cap and remove it so that the oil can drain more quickly. If you have the time, wait an hour or so for all of the old oil to drain completely. This isn’t necessary, but is a good practice if you’re willing to wait.

Oil Change Step 07: Threading the new oil filter

Underneath your vehicle again, dip one gloved finger into the oil receptacle and coat the rubber edges of the new oil filter. This will help it adhere to the engine. With a clean rag, wipe off the round metal circle on the engine where the oil filter fits and put the new filter in place. By hand, tightening it should take about 1/2 or 3/4 of a turn. If it doesn’t tighten simply fit the wrench back onto the filter and tighten it the same manner it was loosened, but this time tightening in a clockwise motion.

Oil Change Step 08: Re-attaching the drain plug

At Quick Change Oil, we recommend using a new sealing washer on the drain plug when performing your own oil change. If you must use the old one, be sure to clean it prior to use. Put the washer in place and thread the drain plug back into its hole. Tighten it up with the socket set, but not so tight that removal will be difficult for the next oil change.

Oil Change Step 09: Replacing the oil

Before pouring the new oil into the spout underneath the hood, pour the content of the old oil into your milk bottle using the funnel. Wipe the funnel clean and seal the milk carton with its lid. Place the old oil filter into your Ziploc bag and set both aside for later disposal at your nearest recycling center such as your nearest Quick Change Oil location. Now place your clean funnel over the oil spout underneath your hood and deposit as many quarts of oil as directed by your vehicle’s manufacturer. Once the oil is emptied, replace the oil cap and close the hood.

Oil Change Step 10: Checking for leaks

Start your engine and let idle for 5 minutes. Make sure to look underneath your vehicle for oil leaks. If your vehicle is leaking, it’s probably best to have it corrected by an oil change station.

Remember that safety is paramount. If you have a friend who will accompany you, it’s best to perform your first oil change in the company of another person. Changing your own oil is a rewarding experience, but if you prefer to have it taken for you, make sure it’s done right. Choose an oil change company that uses high quality Castrol synthetic motor oil, the best oil, engineered for extreme heat extreme cold, frequent stop and go driving, towing heavy loads, and high speed.

Tim LaGanke, Jr. is president of QuickChange Oil, a 10 minute oil change center, with locations across Cleveland, Ohio. QuickChange is currently seeking applicants interested in the oil change franchising business. Please contact LaGanke at gank@quickchangeoil.com for more information.

Traveling With Babies

2008-07-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

If you start baby travel slowly and plan wisely, both you and baby will enjoy first-class comfort. Begin with baby steps and you'll find that soon you and your little one will be able to walk, ride, or fly in the fast lane.

Day Trips

Introduce baby to travel starting with a few day-trips to a local relative or friend. Basic equipment will be a packed diaper bag, a stroller or pram (if you'll spend some time outdoors), and a car seat. Most modern car seats easily detach and convert into a baby carrier.

Be sure to pack your diaper bag with a diaper for each two hours you intend to be away from home. Pack 2 nipples for each bottle you pack, two to three receiving blankets, and an extra change of clothing for baby and an extra shirt for you. Cut down on diaper bag weight and keep things easy to find by using Ziploc bags to pack extras like nipples, wipes, and pacifiers. Pack one large, empty Ziploc for soiled items.

Overnights

For baby's first overnight trip, you'll need to extend your day-trip plan with a couple of extra receiving blankets and extra sets of clothing for baby. Even if your overnight trip is to Grandma's house, remember that nighttime sounds and perceptions may be different from those during daytime hours. A good pram with wheel locks can double as a bassinet, helping baby feel right at home and enabling everyone to sleep more comfortably through the night.

If overnight travel is a frequent part of your regular routine, consider investing in a Graco Pack 'n Play Classic Care Center. This excellent piece of baby travel equipment is a bassinet, changing table, and playpen in one portable unit that folds into a handy tote bag. There are 22 models of the Classic Care Center. With prices starting at under $50.00, you're sure to find one that's right for your little one and your budget.

Extended Hotel Stays

Many hotels stock products and equipment especially for travelers with babies, but they may not stock the brands you and baby prefer. When you make your reservation, ask for specific information on product brands and the equipment you'll need to make baby's stay comfortable. If you opt to use a hotel crib or bassinet, be sure to pack a couple of baby's own blankets, a familiar mobile, and/or other "security items".

Although your inclination may be to pack up your complete nursery, in some cases, an extended stay may allow you to pack even less than you would for an overnight trip. For instance, it would be impractical to pack a week's worth of bottles and nipples. Pack only enough for a day and leave time in your itinerary for clean-ups. When packing baby clothes, include two or three one-piece outfits that can be quickly hand washed when soiled.

You'll also want to be sure to bring along a stroller. Most contemporary strollers are lightweight and easily collapse for transport or storage. Some models are equipped with multi-position reclining seats so baby can sight-see or nap as he or she chooses. In addition, many have features like tray attachments, sun canopies, attached toy bars, and "parent" trays for your little extras.

If part of your vacation will put you in a crowd, consider a baby backpack or sling. The Baby Bjorn Carrier holds baby safely to your chest, increasing baby's sense of security as he maintains eye contact with your familiar face.

From day trips to cruise ships, how you travel with babies depends chiefly on your destination and length of stay. However developing a basic plan and adding to it as the situation warrants will quickly make seasoned travel companions out of you and your little one.

Planning for Disaster: Remember Your Pet

2008-07-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

As thousands of families struggled with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of them were also missing pets. Many people have plans to deal with emergencies for themselves, but fail to make arrangements for the animal members of their family. Whether it’s a small emergency such as a house fire, or a large emergency like a tornado, hurricane, flood or manmade disaster, advanced planning always gives the best chance of keeping all of your family members safe.
Preparation
Start by talking with your family about what you will do in various situations. Responses to localized emergencies like fires, small storms and power outages will likely differ from emergency plans for large scale emergencies such as hurricanes, tornadoes and manmade attacks. Plan evacuation routes to designated meeting points.
These will vary based on the situation. If dealing with flooding, you’ll want to take refuge in the highest room location in your home. For a tornado, you’ll want to take family and pets to the lowest level of your home. If dealing with a chemical or airborne emergency, the Red Cross advises families to go to an interior room without windows that is above ground level (in the case of a chemical threat, an above-ground location is preferable because some chemicals are heavier than air, and may seep into basements even if the windows are closed).
All pets should have collars and tags with easily visible identification. ID tags should have your pet’s name, your phone number and important medical information. If possible, list a mobile phone number. If you’re not at home when danger strikes, calls may not reach you at a home phone.
For local emergencies, it is important to display an animal rescue sign or sticker so that responders know that there are pets in your home. Your rescue sign should contain the types and names of pets in your house, as well as veterinarian name and contact information. Use your best judgment about placing additional contact information on the sign. While you want to give emergency officials enough information to safely rescue you pets, you must be cautious not to expose information which might be abused by solicitors or passers by.
Finally, make copies of contact, evacuation route and emergency plan information for all members of your family. Store them in Ziploc style waterproof bags so that they will stay dry in case of flooding or water damage.
Where to Go
After you take care of basic preparation, you should agree on two meeting places: one near your home for emergencies such as fires, and another outside of your immediate neighborhood if you must evacuate your home. Similarly, it’s wise to designate two emergency contacts. The first should be in your neighborhood, the second should be out of town. During large scale disasters it can often be easier to reach people who are not in your immediate area. Make sure all of your family members memorize both phone numbers.
If it is necessary to leave your home, you may not be able to bring your pet to rescue facilities with your family. To prevent permanent separation, identify a boarding kennel or shelter in your immediate area that provides emergency care or foster care for pets. Outside of your area, have the name and number of hotels, friends or relatives that will accept your pets. By having these numbers and arrangements in place, you will be able to reunite with your pets even if you are not able to return to your home.
Making an Emergency Pack
It’s easy to prepare an emergency pack for you and your pet. Each pack should contain 3 days worth of supplies. Supplies should be stored in a backpack as close to an exit as possible.
For each member of your family, your pack should include:

Batteries

Battery powered flashlight

Battery powered radio

Blanket

3-5 days worth of water

Energy bars, canned nutrition shakes or other food which does not require cooking or refrigeration

Baby wipes

Breathing mask

Plastic sheeting

Duct tape

First Aid Kit and guide book

Light stick

Spray paint

Whistle or air horn

3-5 day supply of Tylenol or Aspirin, as well as any prescription medication

Recent photos if family members become separated
Your pet’s supply kit should include:

Easy open canned or dry food. If packing dry food, you may wish to store it in large Ziploc style plastic bags. For birds, a small, tupperware container is recommended

Bottled water supply for your pet

Disposable litter trays

Pet feeding dishes

Extra leash

Photocopies of medical records

3-5 day supply of any medicine your pet requires

Litter or paper toweling

A traveling bag or sturdy carrier, ideally one for each pet

Recent photos of your pets if you become separated
Remember to change food, water and medicine every three to six months to maintain freshness and effectiveness.
Disasters, whether small, large, natural or manmade can be terrifying. By having a solid plan in place, emergency contacts and disaster packs ready to go, you can give your entire family the best chance of surviving together.

Jenn Lanka is a writer for COMPANIONnet - a site for pets and the people who love them.

For pet news, pet care tips, dog treat recipes, fashionable pet accessories and more, visit COMPANIONnet

After Making Herb Vinegar From Your Herbal Gardens Freeze And Dry Your Herbs

2008-07-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

A way to use your amble herb crop from your herbal gardens is to make flavored vinegars. To make herb vinegar, wash and dry your fresh herbs thoroughly then pour warm vinegar, not hot, over them in glass jars. You can use any type of vinegar but distilled. Be sure that the fresh herbs are completely covered by the vinegar. Seal the jar and allow them to sit for a month or two to mingle the flavors. Do not allow the herb vinegar access to direct sunlight.

After the herb vinegar has steeped remove the fresh herbs that you used and add new ones for a fresher look. If you want to add garlic or chili peppers to the herb vinegar, thread them on wooden skewers so that they will stay submerged.

There are no herb vinegar recipes that have strict rules. Use your imagination when pairing fresh herbs to be used in your herbal vinegar. Here are a few that go well together.

Cinnamon Basil and Whole Cloves

Lemon basil by itself

Cinnamon sticks with Whole Cloves Nutmeg and Allspice

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme –no kidding

Dill flowers with Peppercorns

Basil Garlic and Peppercorn

Hot Peppers alone or with Pearl Onions

When you start to use your herb vinegar, as the level of the liquid goes down take out any of the herbs that are exposed to the air in the jar. If you leave them in the jar they may form a mold. Never use metal tops on the jars, they will rust from the vinegar.

Your herbal gardens have been a success but now you have so many herbs you don't know what to do. You've already made several herb vinegars. Still your herbal gardens have produced so much basil you can't think of any other ways to use it. You've garnished every plate this summer with parsley from your herbal gardens and you still have a bumper crop. It is one dilemma that many herb gardeners have had over the years. There is a fix for abundant herbal gardens.

From your herbal gardens you can freeze herbs or dry herbs easily and by utilizing these methods you will have herbs long into the winter months. A favorite method is to wash and dry the herbs. Put them in the bottom of plastic ice trays, fill with stock and freeze. Anytime you make soups or stews just pop in as many as you wish. Once frozen put them in Ziploc bags and label with the name of the herb. If you were diligent about pinching your herbs back during the growing season you should have a lot of herbs from the herbal gardens. Pinching applies to oregano, chives, basil and thyme. Woody herbs like rosemary should be cut vigorously to keep them from getting too woody.

To freeze herbs without the stock, wash and gently dry the herbs. Put them in a Ziploc bag that can withstand the freezer. As needed you can take out your herbs and chop them for your recipes. The herbs will no longer be of use for garnishing but they will retain their flavor, they just won't be as intense as fresh herbs from the herbal gardens.

To dry herbs is pretty simple. Pick the herbs from the herbal gardens after the dew has dissipated. Harvest from your herbal gardens just before the herbs bloom. That is when the herbs are at their peak flavor. Gather them into a bundle and tie a string around them. Hang them upside down in a room with good circulation and no light. This will take a bit of time. Drying time varies with humidity and temperature of your climate and the item that you are drying. Most of the time about 14 days will do it. To check pull off a leaf, if it crumbles easily it is ready. Once they are dried put them in a tight sealed container away from light.

You could use the microwave to dry herbs. Once again, harvest your herbs from your herbal gardens after the dew is gone. Wash and gently dry the herbs. Put them between two pieces of paper toweling. Two paper towels on the bottom and two on the top. Cook them on high for one minute and then check them. If they are still moist, cook again at twenty second intervals. You must watch this very carefully. Hot spots could occur and the towels catch on fire. Once they are crisp seal in an air tight container in a dark spot. Now you will have dried herbs from your herbal gardens all winter long..

Another alternative is to dry herbs in your oven. Turn the oven on to its lowest setting. Spread the herbs out on cookie sheets, put them in, prop open the door and check in about an hour, if they are not done continue drying, check ever thirty minutes. If possible leave the herb leaves intact. If you crush them before storing they will lose flavor.

When you go to use your dried herbs the rule of thumb for usage is that for every tablespoon of fresh herbs you would use, only use ½ teaspoon of dried.

This was to help you use up the abundance of herbs that you grew in your herb garden this summer. Enjoy!

Good Luck and have fun!

Organizing Your Craft and Sewing Supplies

2008-07-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

If you're a weekend crafter like me, you probably have a lot of crafting odds and ends laying around that get all jumbled together depending on what project you're working on at the moment.

Over the years, I have found several ways to organize my craft and sewing supplies in a way that I can actually find them again when I need them. As I went through the process of organizing them, I was able to identify items I no longer needed and separate the remaining items into logical groups. As a result, I now have all my supplies limited to one corner of a room and well organized. Now I can find things when I need them.

When I first started sorting through all my supplies everything was thrown together in a lot of cardboard boxes up in a hard-to-reach closet. The first thing I did was dump each box into a big pile and start sorting. My piles were: lace, trim, buttons, quilting supplies, cross stitch supplies, ribbon roses, fabric scraps, craft books, and misc.

I first discarded the odds and ends I knew I'd never use again. I then bought two very large Rubbermaid containers (great for stacking) to store my supplies in. You may need more depending on how many supplies you have accumulated. I also bought some gallon-sized Ziploc bags.

I sorted through all the lace and trim and put lace in one Ziploc bag and trim in another. The ribbon roses went in another. I put all the buttons in a plastic container with different compartments--sorted by color. All these items, plus other misc. like styrofoam balls, contact paper, plastic canvas, went into one Rubbermaid container.

All my quilting and cross stitch supplies (mostly fabric scraps and cross stitch fabric) went into the second container.

All my unfinished projects went into a cardboard box, and all my yarn for plastic canvas projects went into another.

The containers and boxes stack on top of each other and fit nicely underneath a small square "craft table" I have set up in the corner of my home office. It's all out of the way and everything is easily identified.

On top of the table I keep little projects I'm working on, like cross stitch, or photo albums for working on scrapbooks. My embroidery thread is organized by DMC number in plastic containers made for storing embroidery thread. These containers are also stacked on the table.

My sewing machine thread is organized on a small wooden board with small spindles you can buy that is designed to hold spools of thread. My sewing machine sits on the floor next to the craft table while not in use.

Next to my craft table is a stand-alone cupboard that is sold as a pantry cupboard that you can probably find at Walmart for about $100. In the cupboard I store a lot of multipurpose items like my glue guns, all kinds of glue, paper, scissors, and all of my scrapbooking supplies. This cupboard works great for items other family members also use a lot, like tape and scissors. My paper cutter and long stapler are stored on top of the cabinet.

I also have several bookcases in my office, and I use a couple of shelves on one of them for organizing my craft and sewing books. The books are organized by craft type.

All of my small sewing supplies I keep in a couple of small sewing baskets that I can move with me from room to room. In these I keep sewing needles, embroidery scissors, measuring tape, pins, seam ripper, etc.

Hopefully these ideas will help you get in the mood to start organizing your own craft and sewing supplies. It's so much more enjoyable to work on projects when you know what you have and where everything is.

12 Steps to a Successful Slideshow Production

2008-07-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

Planning is the key word for creating a successful slideshow. This is not difficult, but does require time and effort on your part before hiring a professional slide show creating company to create your unique video slideshow. Here are some steps you can follow to insure a beautiful slideshow production.

1. Determine how long you want your slideshow to be. The length of your slideshow will determine how many photos you can use. If you are using the simple fade-in fade-out style, you can usually use about 80 pictures for a 10 minute show. And that is about all most audiences can handle. However, if you choose a slideshow creating company that has more creative elements included in the slideshow production, then you may only be able to use 50-60 photos for a 10 minute slideshow. However, the upside of this is that a more creative slideshow can last longer and seem shorter.

A 20 minute creative slideshow can feel like only 10 minutes, where a 10 minute fade-in, fade-out slideshow can feel like 30 minutes to a lot of people. As we all know, we don’t always enjoy viewing one another’s photos for long periods of time. So, the more creative the show, the longer it can play and your audience will not even realize how much time has passed.

For instance: Sands of Time Multimedia Creations did a video slideshow for a church that went on a mission trip. They were given hundreds of photos to work with and the end results were a one hour video slideshow presentation. As the youth gathered around to see this, they were not at all excited at the prospect of watching photo after photo for one straight hour. However, as soon as the video started they noticed immediately that this was not your photo-after-photo slideshow. Their attention was captured from the beginning to the ending as they laughed, cried, and cheered. At the end they were surprised it was over and stated that they had no idea an hour had passed! They all purchased their own copy of the video. Creativity - the key to a truly great slideshow presentation!

2. Pleasing Your Audience – If possible include some photos of the people who will be viewing the presentation. Everyone loves to see themselves light up on the big screen! It will make them feel a part of your special event and keep their interest peaked to see who will be showing up next.

3. Decide Your Theme - Choosing your theme will help you choose your photos.

A. Do you want your slideshow to span the life of an individual? B. Is more than one person’s life going to be featured in this slideshow? If so, do you want their lives shown separately or simultaneously? C. Is the slideshow going to focus on a specific aspect of the person’s life such as
a sports video, a particular hobby, or a particular quality aspect of a person’s life such as in a Mother’s Day Slideshow or Father’s Day Slideshow? D. Is the time frame very specific as in a vacation slideshow? Or Christmas slideshow highlighting the current years events?

4. Choose and Organize Your Photos– These are very crucial steps and also very challenging. After all, almost every photo of Jane or Bobby is truly unique and beautiful and shows different character qualities. Sometimes it’s good to have a friend help you because they can be more objective. As cute as Jane or Bobby is, most people get the point after about 3 - 5 pictures in a certain time frame. Organize your photos chronologically or by theme, or depending on your slideshow, both. Ask a slideshow consultant for advice

An example for choosing your photos – Becky is doing a slideshow of her daughter’s graduation. She wants the photos to be from the day she was born to the day of her graduation. She goes through her photos, picks out her favorites and organizes them according to the year. Then she goes back and selects her very favorites from her favorites. Sometimes a third time is necessary, by then you will need to determine which ones MUST be in the slideshow and which ones can be omitted.

5. Choose Quality Photos – This will help you in the choosing process. Ask yourself these questions:

A. Is the photograph clear, not blurred or hazy? The blurring and haziness will be enhanced the more enlarged the photo is. B. How is the lighting? Too dark or washed out? C. Is the photo too grainy? Grainy photos do not scan well. D. Has the photo been cut in an odd shape? – Although these work great for scrapbooking, they work poorly for slideshows.

Though some photographs can be somewhat fixed and corrected the better quality you start with, the better the finished product.

6. Choose Your Captions – Captions can add to the appeal of the picture for the audience to help them understand what is happening in that particular photo. They can also add to the humor or sentimental value of the video. Not every picture should have a caption; for the most part the photos should be able to speak for themselves. Your audience may not enjoy the slideshow as much with too many captions. However, in certain circumstances, such as creating a slideshow for a loved one who is away serving in the military captions can be quite effective.

7. Choose Your Music Carefully – Hollywood producers will tell you that the right or wrong music can make or break a movie production. Choose the music according to the feeling you want to give your audience. Happy, sentimental, funny, nostalgic…. it’s all in the music. Choose music that means something to you or the person you are creating the slideshow for. Check the length of the music to the number of photos you want to use and the type of slideshow you are choosing.

8. Add Video Clips – Adding short video clips to your slideshow can help break up the slideshow and 10 – 30 second video clips can enhance any slideshow.

9. Use Voiceovers – This can add a sentimental touch to any slideshow. This can be done using a video camera, or with some digital cameras that take video. Just be sure to tell your slideshow company that you just want to use the voice, not the video.

10. View Samples, Choose Your Slideshow Company, and Place Your Order–There are many slideshow companies to choose from, so how do you know which one is right for you? Always view the online samples. If you are looking for the simple fade-in, fade-out slideshow, any slideshow company can do that. If you want the Ken Burn’s effect with the pan and zoom this is very nice and some slideshow companies can do that. However, to narrow your search even more look for unique and creative slideshows. Very, very few slideshows can do this. Combining the Ken Burns effects with creative elements, scenery, and backgrounds make the best slideshows. Creativity and uniqueness…key elements to any truly stunning slideshow.

11. Back up your photos. Are you sending film photos? Make sure you have copies of your photos or the negatives. Sending scanned photos on disc? Make sure you have a copy. Sending videos – make a copy. Slideshow companies are not responsible for what happens to your photos while in the mail. And unless you have a back-up, photos are irreplaceable.

12. Pack your photos with care. Use proper packaging material. Always place 5x7's or 8x10's between pieces of cardboard. Make sure the photos and other material is packed tightly to avoid moving around inside the box. When packaging your photos place them in Ziploc baggies. This will protect them from any possible water damage and also works great for separating your photos chronologically. You should also place your discs or videos in Ziploc baggies. And always insure your package. Although lost or damaged mail is a rare occurrence, it’s always best to be prepared. And always opt for priority mailing services. The less time in the mail – the better.

This is where your slideshow company now takes over. They should be in constant communication with you and you should have a good idea when to expect your slideshow to be finished. Your slideshow creators should work closely with you to help you receive the ultimate slideshow. With Sands of Time Multimedia Creations your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Sandra Clukey, Lead Slideshow Creator for Sands of Time Multimedia Creations

Planning the Perfect Slideshow Production

2008-07-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

Planning is the perfect slideshow takes time and effort. But with the help of a professional slideshow creation company the value of your time and effort will be priceless. Whether you're creating a wedding slideshow, reception slideshow, anniversary slideshow, graduation slideshow, birthday slideshow, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day Slideshow, Valentine’s Day Slideshow, Christmas slideshow, memorial slideshow, or a slide show for any occasion here is a planning checklist you can follow to ensure a priceless slideshow production keepsake.

1. Choose the length of your slideshow production.

__10 minute slideshow

__15 minute slideshow

__20 minute slideshow

__25 minute slideshow

__30 minute slideshow

__40 minute slideshow

____minute slideshow (you fill in the blank)

__It doesn’t matter how long

2. Choose your timeframe.

__ Lifespan of main character/s in slideshow.

__Specific timeframe for each year. For example: Piano recitals for the last ten years.

__Is there more than one person’s life who is going to be featured in this slideshow?

__Do you want their lives shown
__separately
__simultaneously

__Is the timeframe very specific such as this years summer vacation?

___________________________________ fill in the blank for what the timeframe is.

__________ - __________ Fill in the blanks with the specific years or timeframes you want covered in your slideshow.

3. Questions to ask before choosing the photographs for your slideshow.

__Is the photograph clear and not blurry? Blurry photographs are hard to correct and the larger the image, the more blurry the photo appears.

__Is the photograph too bright or too dark? Although some corrections can be made here, if the photograph is too bright or too dark, you may loose quality in the photograph.

__Is someone or something blocking the main focus of the photograph? Unwanted objects or big heads in the way of the main focus of the photograph detract from the photo and does not give you the best quality slideshow.

__Is the photograph in focus? What you see is what you get – magnified.

__ Is the photo too grainy? Grainy photos do not scan well.

__Has the photograph been cut up to use in a photograph memory book? Cut up photos look great when done properly for memory albums, but they work poorly for slideshows.

4. __ Organize your photos by year or by timeframe. For example if your slideshow is going to span the lifetime of a person, organize your photos by year. Make separate piles for each year.

5. The pictures are now organized, but I have too many. Which of the best pictures do I choose? If the slideshow is personal and mainly for one person you can have as many pictures as you want and not worry about boring anyone since everyone loves to see photographs of themselves, but if the slideshow is going to be seen by an audience ask yourself these questions:

__ Do I have more than 2 photos of a specific category? Example: 2 photos of little Emily in her favorite Easter dress in 1987 is more than enough.

__Are the pictures similar enough that one can be put aside? You do not want to bore your audience, the more variety in the photographs, the more entertaining the slideshow will be.

__ Do you have 12 photos taken in 1987 and 4 taken in 1988? Try to keep the years as close to even as possible.

__Are there a variety of photographs of others? If you really want to entertain your audience, try to include pictures of them in the slideshow. Everyone loves to see themselves light up on the big screen! It will make them feel a part of your special event and keep their interest peaked to see who will be showing up next. In addition, include credits in the slide show when applicable. Give credit to mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends, bridal party, and anyone else to whom credit is due.

If you still have trouble cutting down the amount of photographs, ask for help. A mom choosing pictures of her child tends to think every picture is worth showing – I know because I’m a mom – but if you ask dad for help, or a close friend you’ll be amazed at how much they can cut down the amount of photos to go in your slideshow!

6. __After choosing the photos look at them carefully and decide whether or not you want captions with the photograph. Captions can add to the appeal of the picture for the audience to help them understand what is happening in that particular photo. They can also add to the humor or sentimental value of the video. Not every picture should have a caption; for the most part the photos should be able to speak for themselves. Your audience may not enjoy the slideshow as much with too many captions. However, in certain circumstances, such as creating a slideshow for a loved one who is away serving in the military captions can be quite effective.

7.__ Now it’s time to choose your music. Hollywood producers will tell you that the right or wrong music can make or break a movie production. Choose the music according to the feeling you want to give your audience. Happy, sentimental, funny, nostalgic…. it’s all in the music. Choose music that means something to you or the person you are creating the slideshow for. Check the length of the music to the number of photos you want to use and the type of slideshow you are choosing. Write down your choices of songs, the artist and album below.

1.__________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________

8. __Choose Video Clips – Adding a couple of short video clips to your slideshow can help break up and enhance your slideshow. Keep your video clips short if possible. 30 seconds – 2 minutes. Once you find the video clips you want to use, copy exactly what you want included onto a separate video tape. Do not send the originals in the mail.

9. __Consider using Voiceovers – This can add a sentimental touch to any slideshow. This can be done using a video camera, or with some digital cameras that take video. Just be sure to tell your slideshow company that you just want to use the voice, not the video.

10. __ View Samples, Choose Your Slideshow Company, and Place Your Order–There are many slideshow companies to choose from, so how do you know which one is right for you? Always view the online samples. To narrow your search look for unique and creative slideshows. Your memories are special and unique and should be treated as such. Stay away from the cookie-cutter picture after picture slideshows. Creativity and uniqueness are key elements to any truly stunning slideshow.

11. __Back up your photos. Make sure you have copies of your photos or the negatives. Slideshow companies are not responsible for what happens to your photos while in the mail. And unless you have a back-up, photos are irreplaceable.

12. __Pack your photos with care. Use proper packaging material. Always place 5x7's or 8x10's between pieces of cardboard. Make sure the photos and other material is packed tightly to avoid moving around inside the box. When packaging your photos place them in Ziploc baggies. This will protect them from any possible water damage and also works great for separating your photos chronologically. You should also place your discs or videos in Ziploc baggies. And always insure your package. Although lost or damaged mail is a rare occurrence, it’s always best to be prepared. And always opt for priority mailing services. The less time in the mail – the better.

Your time and effort is now finished. Your slideshow company will take care of you from here. They should be in constant communication with you and you should have a good idea when to expect your slideshow to be finished. Sands of Time Multimedia Creations creates unique and creative slideshows for every occasion. Creative anniversary slideshows, graduation slideshows, birthday slideshows, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day Slideshows, Valentine’s Day Slideshows, Christmas slideshows, memorial slideshows, the list goes on and with Sands of Time Multimedia Creations your satisfaction is guaranteed.

How to Isolate Your Bed from Bed Bugs

2008-07-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

Isolating your bed basically means cleaning the bed bugs off your mattress and linens, and then building traps that prevent remaining bed bugs in the room from crawling up the legs of your bed and re-infesting it. Isolating your bed won't get rid of your bed bug problem, but you will be able to sleep again at night.

Before We Get Started...
Your bed bug exterminator should get involved in this process. Exterminators have chemicals that kill any bed bugs hiding on your mattress, box spring, headboard and frame. So, depending on what your pest control tech tells you, some of these steps may not be necessary for you to do on your own. Again, clear the following plan with the expert before you begin.

What You'll Need

Zippered dust-mite encasements for your mattress, box spring and pillows. These are basically large
bags that are designed to keep dust mites inside the encasement - but they also keep bed bugs inside. Find them at allergy supply stores.
Wide duct tape.
Contractor grade trash bags (not lawn and leaf bags, but the thick contractor grade trash bags, at least two or three mils thick).
Wide double-sided tape.
Bed lifts to raise your bed off the ground (these are little stands that you set the legs of your bed frame into to raise it off the ground). Find them at your local bedding/linen store. Note that if your frame is already fairly high off the ground (like a foot or more), you don't need the risers.
Four metal bowls large enough to place the bed lifts in (heavy duty plastic bowls are fine, too. Either way, they have to be unbreakable). Pet stores have nice metal bowls that are ideal for this.
XXL Ziploc bags
Food-grade freshwater diatomaceous earth. Also known as DE, diatomaceous earth is an abrasive mineral powder that kills bed bugs and other crawling insects by scratching open their skins, which dehydrates them (they die after a day or two). This stuff is razor wire for bed bugs - they will be able to crawl through it, but the damage they suffer is deadly. You can get DE everywhere: online, your local garden center (gardeners use it to kill pests, sometimes marketed as ant killer), or pet supply stores (food grade stuff is sprinkled on pets to kill fleas). Make sure you don't get swimming pool grade diatomaceous earth - that is the wrong stuff. Also, get a dust mask while you are at Home Depot - you'll wear it as you are dusting around your bed.
A note about DE: While considered generally safe, you need to carefully read the label and follow all safety instructions. Wear a dust mask or respirator when applying.
Murphy's Oil Soap. Murphy's is a wood cleaner made by Colgate-Palmolive that also has pesticide properties. You can find it everywhere. Buy the spray bottle.
A new set of white sheets, pillowcases and covers. You are going to replace your existing bedding with new white linens, to better spot any fresh bed bug fecal spots or blood.
New pillows: Your current ones might be infested, so let's start over with new ones.
Optional: Something that kills bed bugs on contact. Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle will do it. You can dilute the alcohol with a bit of water to make it last longer - 9 parts alcohol, 1 part water.

What to Do

Step 1: Clean your Linens and Bedding

First you need to pull all the bedding off your bed - sheets, mattress cover, comforter, pillows and pillow cases. Everything. These are infested with bed bugs, so you need to immediately stuff them into the trash bags and tie the bags off.

Now wash every item in hot water. Don't let those infested linens touch other linens or clothing items. Then dry them on high (at least 140 degrees) for 4 hours, or two complete drying cycles. When done, put each item into an XXL Ziploc and seal it.

Put your pillows in a contractor bag, seal it, and throw it in the trash. Cleaning a pillow thoroughly is tough, so you're better off starting with a new one.

Step 2: Vacuum Your Mattress and Box Spring

You are now going to clean the mattress and box spring of any bed bugs, eggs, or larvae.

Get out you vacuum cleaner and clean EVERY INCH of your mattress. Scraping the end of the vacuum attachment vigorously over the harborage area is better than using a brush, because the bugs cling tightly to the surface, and the eggs are cemented to it. Clean every inch of the surface, the tufts along the edges, and the sides of the mattress. Lean it against the wall and vacuum the other side.

Clean the box spring just as carefully. Tear that flimsy dust cover fabric off the bottom, seal it in a plastic bag and throw it away. Vacuum the insides, making sure to get every bit of fabric, as well as the wooden frames and support.

When you are done vacuuming, remove the bag from the vacuum, seal it in a plastic garbage bag, and throw it out. The vacuum bag will have bed bugs in it, and you don't want them to crawl out.

Step 3: Clean the Bed Frame

If you have a metal frame, you are in luck, because these are fairly easy to clean. Grab the vacuum and clean all the nooks and crannies. Pay special attention to inside corners, joints, the areas where the wheels attach to the frame - any dark little corners where bed bugs might hide.

Spray it down with rubbing alcohol to kill anything you missed. Use caulk or duct tape to fill in any holes or gaps between the metal pieces (bed bugs hide in the holes and joints).

If there are any hollow areas in your bed frame (sometimes, the legs are hollow), those are perfect places for the bed bugs to hide. Spray the interior with alcohol and vacuum them out.

If you have a headboard, you should get rid of it. The headboard is one of the most likely places the bugs will hide and lay eggs, and if you have one, I can pretty much guarantee you that it has bed bugs hiding on it. Put it in a plastic bag, carry it to the dumpster, spray paint the words BED BUGS on the package, and throw it in. (It is important to wrap the headboard in plastic before it leaves your bedroom. You don't want any bugs jumping off in the hallway on the way to the door.)

If you have a wooden bedframe, you need to disassemble it, and wash it down with Murphy's Oil Soap. Once you have the frame disassembled, vacuum it like you did with your mattress and box spring. You may need to use a stiff brush to dislodge any eggs or bed bugs in the nooks and crannies. Now spray the Murphy's onto the frame, making sure to spray it into every cracks and crevice.

Step 4: Clean and Prepare the Floor Around Your Bed

When you reassemble the bed, you have to position it away from the walls and furniture, so bed bugs don't have anything to use as a bridge to reinfest your bed. Usually, the best place is to position the bed toward the center of the room and the night stand or tables away from it.

Carefully vacuum the floor in the area under the bed. If you have any carpets or rugs, I think you should roll them up, put them in the trash bag, seal the bag tightly and put it in the garage or storage for the next 18 months. But consult with your bed bug exterminator. Rugs can be treated by with chemicals, so it's your call as to what to do.

Sprinkle the floor you just cleaned with a light dusting of DE. Don't make piles, just use a baby powder bottle or some other plastic bottle that can puff out a very light layer of the stuff.

Warning: DE is almost lighter than air, and it takes some practice to get used to. As with any pest control product, READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS. Wear a dust mask or respirator when applying.

Step 5: Reassemble the Bed Frame

Now reassemble your bed frame and move it to the middle of the room, over your dust field. Put the legs of the bed frame on the lifters, and put the lifters in the bowls. In other words, the bowl is on the floor, the lifter is in the bowl, and the bed frame is on the lifter.

Wrap plastic wrap around the legs of your bed (regular Saran Wrap is fine for this), then wrap double sided tape over the plastic wrap to catch any bed bugs crawling up.

For additional protection, spread Vaseline on the legs above and below the double sided tape. This is an old trick from the turn of the century, and another obstacle to gum up any bed bugs trying to crawl into your bed.

Put the encasement over the box spring. Put the box spring on the frame. Make sure you don't tear the encasement! Cover the zippered seam of the case with duct tape. Use a lot of tape, and extend it four to six inches from the end of the zipper. You are taping up the zipper because baby bed bugs are tiny, and can slip through the teeth of the zipper.

Gently put the mattress on the box spring. Gently pull the casing over it, and tape the zippers shut.

Now it is time to fill the bowls with soapy water. Bed bugs cannot traverse soapy water, so this becomes like a little moat, protecting the legs of your bed.

Put your new white sheets on the bed, over the encasements. With new sheets, you'll be able to see any blood spots, fecal stains, or crushed bed bugs that might have penetrated your defenses.

Step 6: Securing the Perimeter

Put down a three or four inch wide circle of double-sided carpet tape on the floor around your entire bed (be sure that you vacuumed within this area. If you didn't, do it now). This way, any bed bugs crawling from outside of your fortress will get caught in the tape.

And finally, be sure you have a dusting of DE extending 12 inches around the soapy water-filled bowls. You want to be sure that any bugs that try to get up those bowls have to go through the DE first. Again, this should only be a dusting of DE. You should not see much whiteness at all - thinner is better. Any more than that, and it won't work.

And you're done! Feels good to be taking the offensive, doesn't it? If everything works as planned, you've cleared the bed bugs off your bed, any that you missed are encased inside the mite cover, and the bed bugs elsewhere in the room will be unable to get into your bed. Finally, a chance to sleep!

Jens Alexander is the owner of The Bed Bug Battle Plan , an extensive resource for bed bug victims. At BedBugBattlePlan, you can find links and information, photos of bed bugs , and most importantly, learn how to get rid of bed bugs .

7 Tips For Getting Organized

2008-07-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

Most of us can use some tips for getting organized, especially when it comes to organizing kids´ rooms, because kids' rooms are infamous for being disaster areas. While this is a normal symptom of childhood, it mostly comes from not having everything set up in an easy to access manner. Children are just not good at keeping organized rooms and putting things up, so you want to make it fun and interesting, and most importantly, easy. This article will give several house organizing tips, and in particular, ideas on how to go about integrating a little organization into your childrens´ rooms.

1) Kids´ rooms can be a real nightmare to get organized, just because of the sheer number of books, toys, and various other things that they have accumulated over time. So, the first step is to search through everything and remove at least half of it. Throw out anything that is broken and/or useless, give away anything and everything that no one plays with any longer and hasn't in years, and move on to the task of organizing the rest.

2) A really good way to keep kids' rooms organized and free of clutter is to use clear plastic containers with colored lids. Toys like blocks and fast food chain toy characters can be stashed away in these clear containers, along with games and other materials. Although you can label the boxes, the most effective way to go is to color code them. You can place all shared toys in boxes with red lids, all of your son's toys in blue-topped containers, and your daughter's toys in pink-topped boxes. This is a very effective method to use in organizing and keeping everything sorted out, especially in kids´ rooms that are shared.

3) Ziploc bags are great for keeping small bits and little trinkets that just can not be thrown away. Beads and marbles are good prospects for the Ziploc treatment.

4) For really small items like seed beads, pins and other miscellaneous miniature items, you can keep them in individual baby food jars. Childrens´ rooms tend to amass these sorts of things, so you may as well find a place for them. Building sets can benefit greatly from just a few baby food jars to keep nails and screws.

5) One of the best tips for getting organized involves placing a plastic shoe organizer on the back of the door. It is a perfect way to give kids´ rooms a little surplus storage space without spending any money on furniture. The clear pockets are just the right size to hold stuffed animals, dolls and their clothing, and any number of assorted medium-sized toys.

6) Under bed space is commonly used in the kids' rooms, but only to hide away messes! Turn that blank space into something useful by buying rolling containers that are designed to go under a bed. Not only will you have less dust bunnies to get rid of, but you will have the perfect place to store puzzles and floor mats, or out-of-season clothing and bedding for kids´ rooms.

7) Colorful hooks on the wall are another nifty addition to kids´ rooms. Instead of being pressured to put away jackets, purses and bags, they can easily hang them from a hook and you'll be thrilled that the room looks much more organized and neater. If you get a hook unit that also comes with a shelf or basket attached to it, you will have extra storage space for more small-scale items as well.

Kids´ rooms are never going to be spic-and-span for long, but at least you can put a dent in the chaos! All of the suggested ideas and tips for getting organized above are just right for any kids´ room and work just as well for boys and girls.

Is your house screaming for organization? If so, visit Tips For Getting Organized for 21 days of FREE home organizing and cleaning tips.

Easy Murder Mystery Game Prop and Decoration Ideas

2008-07-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

wrote a pirate mystery game for a women in the US recently, who did her backyard up as a giant pirate ship and hid treasure throughout the yard for the guests to find. Conversely, I spoke to a woman at a recent game I facilitated (The Pool Hall Pummeling) who said she had so much fun, as the last murder mystery game she attended all they did was sit around a table and read clues.

Sure, both methods work, but really, which party would you rather attend? There’s no need to go all out like the woman with the pirate mystery game (unless you want to, of course), however there is something to be said for adding in little extras to make your party special. Here are some ideas I like to include when I facilitate or host my own murder mystery game party.

- Create pamphlets with the pictures of each suspect.
I love this idea because there is so much potential to stir up some fun. In a recent game I facilitated for a family member’s 60th birthday party, I created pamphlets in Paint, including pictures of each of the suspects. Only, instead of including nice pictures of my family members, I sifted through years of photo albums and selected the most menacing pictures of each person I could find. I distributed the pamphlets as everyone arrived, and the room was instantly filled with laughter over the photos. Cries of “where did you get this picture?” were accompanied with shrieks of joy, and even those not playing a suspect had a good time making fun of everyone’s most murderous looking profile pics.

- Set up a mock murder scene
When playing a murder mystery game, nothing matters more than having a good imagination. Help your guests along by setting up a mock crime scene. I wrote a custom mystery for a baby shower of over 50 guests in which the nanny was stabbed. The hostess set up her spare bedroom as a crime scene and, as everyone entered, they were showed through the crime scene. That detail was listed as her guest’s favorite moment of the party! How does one do this? Well, first you need to read ahead a bit in your Game Kit (not too far or you’ll spoil the mystery) until you find the crime scene description. For this reason, Shot In The Dark Mystery Games always feature the crime scene description within the first few pages, usually as a Chapter One introduction. Once you have the details, set up a corner of the room or a whole room as the murder scene. You can use a dummy for the body, or simply lay out a chalk outline. This gives your visitors a visual, and something to talk about as they mingle before the murder mystery game begins.

- Give your visitors notebooks
The cheapest and easiest way of doing this is to visit a dollar store. Dollar stores have lots of stationary in all sizes, and the small notebooks (3”x5” will do) are inexpensive. You could even go so far as to have the notebooks specially printed if you chose! The notebooks serve as a great way for suspects and extra guests to keep track of clues as the murder mystery game unfolds and is a great keepsake for after the party. Don’t forget to provide pens!

- Put the murder weapon in a Ziploc “Evidence” bag
At The Pool Hall Pummeling event I recently facilitated, I went to a billiard supply store and asked them for a single cue ball. They were happy to oblige and gave me many used cue balls to choose from. I picked the oldest, most worn cue ball, and they became curious why I picked that one. I told them it was to be used as a murder weapon. Through strange looks, they told me just to take it, that I didn’t have to pay for it. I went home, squirted some red paint on my Halloween pumpkin and pummeled away! It made a great prop for the party, and as the Detective read the opening clues, he passed around the “bloody” cue ball in a Ziploc bag for everyone to view part of the evidence.

- Print off “I Accuse” sheets
The end of your murder mystery game contains a section where everyone gets to accuse a suspect and explain why they think that person was the murderer. Printing of “I accuse” forms allows everyone to write down their vote (a la Survivor) and then, when it comes their turn to accuse, flip their sheet over and show everyone who they think is the killer.

- Encourage your guests to dress their character
Characters come with descriptions, and using that description it’s not hard to imagine what each character might wear. For extra characters, they can follow the theme. For example, while playing Murder on the Mound, have the suspects dress their character. The extra guests can come dressed as ball players, or even fans sporting foam fingers!

- Create Nametags
It’s a common school of thought these days that name tags at a party are a pretty lame idea (think Ross from Friends as he threw the party in his new apartment). The only time it IS acceptable to have nametags is when hosting a murder mystery game party. At first, while guests are getting to know the suspects, the nametags will come in handy. Of course, you are not labeling these nametags with their real names, but the names of the character they play. Nametags can be as simple as the sticky “Hello My Name Is” ones available in stationary stores the world over, or as complex as tags you have made yourself on your computer, to professionally made name tags.

- Create forensic props
This prop idea works especially well for the Death Scene Investigation games, where forensics are the main focus of the game. But forensic props can be added to any murder mystery game you choose. The best place to find forensic game props are, believe it or not, toy stores. Forensic Labs, Handwriting Analysis Kits and DNA Laboratories are common in toy stores or any store that has a game section. I recently picked up a Fingerprint Examination Kit, which came with evidence bags, an alternate light source, fingerprinting brush and dust, crime scene tape and more. Whenever I facilitate a game, everyone oohs and aahs over my evidence bags and ALS. I don’t tell them where I got it, but I’ll tell you if you promise to keep it between us.

If you have a clever idea you’re adding to your own Shot In The Dark Mysteries Game, please share it with us! And don’t forget to send us pictures of your event for our upcoming picture gallery!

Organize Your Purse in 5 Minutes

2008-07-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Does carrying around your heavy purse drive you crazy? Does it take forever to hunt for your ringing cell phone amidst the chaos inside? Are you carrying around receipts and coupons from years ago? It is time to do something about it!

Empty the contents of your purse onto a table or floor:

Sort in 4 piles: garbage, reallocation, keep in purse, to be filed
Start with obvious trash items like candy wrappers, tissues, old business cards and papers.. Take it straight to the trash when you are done cleaning out the purse. Once the purse is free of garbage move onto to what you know you will keep in your purse.
Items to Keep: These should include keys, wallet, sunglasses in case, cell phone, PDA device, working pen, gum(or mints) , floss if you like and a toothbrush. You might also require a small tissue packet and a lip balm/gloss or lipstick and one hairclip or tie. If you plan to keep makeup place it in a small Ziploc bag. You may also want either a brush or comb. In a smaller side pocket you might keep a small pack of medication or feminine hygiene products.
Items to reallocate would be things like kids toys, lint rollers, extra pens, pads of paper, cassette tapes, extra hairclips, combs, brushes, hairspray
File any receipts, documents, appointment cards etc. right away as to avoid losing them altogether.

**Store groups of items in small snack size Ziploc bags. This makes hunting for lipgloss easy when you aren't going through everything, but one bag. Open up the wallet and do the same as you did with the purse.

Remove any old coupons, receipts, papers, and throw them away.
Find any appointment cards business cards that need to be filed and do so now. Find a home for foreign coins and bills.
Keep all relevant cards, stamps, credit cards and your own country's currency in a small amount. Make photocopies of all important credit cards and documentation in case you lose something.

Keep your purse and wallet organized by weekly going through it and removing receipts, trash, papers and cards that don't belong. Remove all the pens you collect and see if you can't make your purse lighter by dumping out the change and trading for bills at the bank or local coin changer. Store all baby and kids items in a separate diaper bag or knapsack as to not turn your handbag into a dumping ground.

Karla Davis is the President of Florida Home Staging & Redesign. She is a Home Stager, Professional Organizer, Interior Re-designer, as well as Public Speaker. She specializes in Staging and Organizing homes, office spaces and has over 10 years of experience and success within inside/outside Sales and Marketing. Karla is also the wife of Author, Paul Davis and is currently writing two books of her own. Karla's life mission is to positively transform the homes and lives of everyone she meets.

Advantages of Using Dehydrated Vegetables

2008-07-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

I try to keep my pantry stocked with canned food, my refrigerator stocked with fresh food and my freezer stocked with frozen food. I also keep a supply of dehydrated foods on hand. I like dried onions because they are easy to add to soups and stews and they will take the place of fresh onions if I do not have any. Sometimes I do not want to use a whole green or red pepper so I can just use a teaspoon of the dried ones instead.

I package my own soup for one in ziploc bags. They do not take up a lot of space and it only takes about 10-20-minutes to prepare a quick lunch, depending on what kind of soup I want. All the chopping, cutting and measuring is already done for me and I do not have to worry about a half of a pepper or onion spoiling in the refrigerator. Besides that I did not pay an arm and a leg for a couple cups of soup. I win all the way by saving money, time and effort.

For chicken soup I put enough dried vegetables in a ziploc bag to make a quart of soup. I put onions, diced carrots, celery and egg noodles. To make soup I heat up a quart of home made chicken stock and simmer the vegetables for about 10-minutes or until the noodles are done. If I have some leftover chicken I add it to the soup.

For beef flavored vegetable soup I put carrots, onions, celery, cabbage, diced potatoes, diced dried tomatoes and peas. I heat up a quart of beef stock and simmer for 10-minutes. You can use any combination of dried vegetables you want and add leftover meat to it or rice or noodles. Easy to do and no preservatives!

Everything I write about is from personal observation and life experiences. I love to cook and prepare foods in different ways. I like sharing my experiences about food and cooking. My website http://www.pothaven.com was created because of my interest in quality cookware and cooking.

How to Make Ice Cream

2008-07-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Many people don't realize that ice cream has been around for a long, long time! Way before the invention of electricity, ice cream can be traced back to 4000 BC. In the 1st century AD the Roman Emperor Nero (yes, like the software) had ice brought down from the mountains and combined it with fruit toppings.

As you can see ice cream has a rich and flavorsome history and has been around for a while, but how do you make ice cream?

This is the basic premise of how to make ice cream. This recipe is the basis for a huge number of ice cream recipes online. The best thing about it is that all the ingredients and things you need are very easy to obtain. A great way to waste a half hour!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup milk, cream, or half and half
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
6 tablespoons rock salt (available at any supermarket)*
Enough ice to fill the gallon-sized bag halfway
1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag
1 pint-sized Ziploc bag

Directions:

1. Big bag. Take your big bag (1 gallon) and fill it half way with ice and add in the salt. Shake it up a bit so the salt mixes through.

2. Little bag. Find a bowl and pour in the milk or cream or milk-cream mix, and your vanilla extract, mix together then carefully pour this into your small bag (1 pint).

3. Bag 'em n tag 'em. Make sure the small bag is sealed then place it inside the big bag, surrounding it in ice.

4. Shake like mad! Now the fun part, shake the big bag vigorously for five minutes. This is where having kids comes in handy!

Congratulations you've just learned how to make ice cream!

Tips:

Using cans/tins instead of bags makes it easier to shake, finding a big enough tin can be difficult though.
Milk will wield a thinner, lower calorie ice cream whereas thicker creams will produce a rich smoother ice cream.
You can replace vanilla extract with virtually any flavor you like. Honey, chocolate chips, nuts, mint, even peanut butter! Go crazy and invent your own ice cream flavors!

*If you positively cannot find rock salt then table salt will also work. The bigger the salt crystals the better.

Article by Sean Brown of How to make ice cream , a blog all about ice cream and how to make it!

Buying in Bulk

2008-07-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Shoppers have enjoyed the convenience of buying in bulk for a number of years. My own bulk buying experiences have been hit and miss at best, but I recently discovered just how convenient buying in bulk can be.

There are a number of advantages to buying in bulk:

- some items are available only in bulk - you can choose the quantity - bulk prices are usually less than packaged prices - less packaging - less additives and preservatives when you make your own meals and mixes - more variety - often healthy alternatives not always otherwise available

When you buy in bulk it's a good idea to get your cupboards in order. There are a number of ways you can store bulk items:

- recycled plastic containers and glass jars - Rubbermaid or Ziploc containers (4 4-cup Ziploc containers cost less than $2) - resealable bags - for some items (e.g. oatmeal) you can re-use the original container

A key to bulk storage is labeling. Make sure all containers are air-tight and clearly labeled and dated. Bulk items have a long shelf life because they have been prepared with long-term storage in mind.

I've always wondered if bulk items are as fresh as packaged. In my experience bulk items have been very fresh--even raisins! You'd be amazed at all the things you can buy in bulk. Here's a partial list to get you thinking of the possibilities:

Baking: - flours - cornmeal - spices - chocolate, carob, peanut butter, butterscotch chips - raisins - sugars

Grains: - granolas - oats (regular, quick-cooking) - rice (all kinds) - cereals (all kinds)

Dried Fruits: - pineapple - apricots - raisins - papaya - bananas - apples - cranberries - prunes - dates

Beans: - split peas - navy beans - pinto beans - kidney beans - soy beans - soup blends

Pasta: - spaghetti - lasagna - elbow macaroni - egg noodles (all shapes and sizes)

Nuts: - peanuts - sunflower seeds - almonds (whole, slivered) - walnuts

Vegetables: - sun-dried tomatoes - peppers

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative

Storage Of Rice And Making Homemade Rice A Roni

2008-07-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Many people that are interested in food storage realize the importance of storing grain and rice for use in hard times or states of emergency however few people completely realize how easy and simple it is to store a sufficient quantity of rice. One person I spoke with recently was concerned about placing such a large quantities of the product in the popular five gallon plastic pails. To be honest with you I have never lost a single grain of rice the way that I store it.

Most survivalist major concern is the possibility of their rice developing a rancid taste after a few months of storage. The fact is that long grain white rice should never begin to go rancid. I once had some stored in Ziploc bags and then packed all the bags I could into a five gallon bucket and I never experienced any sort of problem. In addition, I have known of people who stored theirs in the original 50 pound bags that they come packaged in. Once again these people did not develop a problem. I believe the major factor affecting the storage and shelf life of your rice is actually the environment for which it is being stored.

Of all the survival foods that I store up on I have discovered rice to be the simplest item to safely and successfully store for long term use. My particular method is slightly different then many others but it is still very effective and can be accomplished inexpensively. I reuse the two liter plastic soda bottles. These are food grade approved container and readily available. After using up the contents of the bottles I then clean them very well with hot soapy water and rinse each of them out thoroughly. You don't want the odor of soap to remain in the plastic bottles. Let them dry completely before you use them. Fill each of the bottles completely full of rice and in each two litter bottle place one small bay leaf.

Another popular method for storing your rice is to get some empty five gallon buckets, O2 absorbers, desiccant packs and a few Ziploc bag. Rice should normally be stored the same way as wheat would be stored. Of course the shelf life is dependent upon the light, air, heat and humidity present in the storage area. I would like to point out at this time that brown rice will go bad fairly fast.

I would like to conclude this article with a recipe for homemade Rice A Roni. This homemade version of Rice A Roni in made in your microwave oven.

3/4 of a cup of uncooked white rice

1/2 cup of orzo pasta

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 1/4 cups of chicken bouillon

1/4 teaspoon of parsley

1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon of onion powder

Place the rice, the orzo and olive oil in a 2 quart glass microwavable bowl. Set your microwave on high for 4 minutes making certain to stir the contents after every minute. Increase this frequency as you get to the end of the microwave cycle. The pasta should be a golden brown when it is finished. Stir in the bouillon and the additional spices. Continue to microwave for another 12 minutes on the high range. When it has completed its cycle let the complete meal sit for 3 minutes in the microwave. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve warm.

This mixture can be made ahead of time leaving out the olive oil and using it for emergency food supplies.

Campfire Cooking and Recipes

2008-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Our family loves camping, and I mean in the traditional way with tents, sleeping bags, and sans electricity. No sissy RV trailers for us! This is a real shocker for anyone who knows me because I’ve always joked that my idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn with no TV. Last year my husband and son invited me to go with them on their annual Halloween Cub Scout campout (they needed a cook) and I decided to take them up on it. Everyone – and I mean everyone – couldn’t wait to see how I did roughing it in the great outdoors. Well, I had a blast and the guys said they had a lot of fun with me there; thus, a new wilderness mom has been born.

Naturally I embraced my new passion with enthusiasm and have been collecting a number of camping recipes and tips. Since this is time of year when families are making vacation plans and some of our subscribers will be going camping, I wanted to share some of my newly gleaned information with you.

Note: For those of you who are not camping this year but are still driving to their destinations, please read my ezine article entitled, “Road Trip Tips for Kids.”

Pita Bread Pizza

1 package (6) Pita rounds

1 14 oz. jar prepared pizza sauce

1 8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese

Any other toppings you like

Place pita bread on hot grill and toast to desired doneness. Turn over, add pizza sauce, cheese and any other toppings you desire. Grill till cheese melts.

Source: Camping Recipes.com

Campfire Stew

1 pound hamburger

1 medium onion [optional]

2 cans mixed vegetables [don't drain]

1 bottle ketchup

In Dutch oven, brown hamburger with onions and then drain the fat. Return to fire/burner and add the remaining ingredients. Also, rinse your ketchup bottle with about 1/2 cup water and add. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes; but it is best to simmer for about an hour. If stew starts to become dry, just add a little water or more ketchup diluted with a little water for you ketchup lovers! Serve hot with warm bread or crackers. For added flavor, pour into your serving a little ketchup, steak sauce, Worcestershire, etc.

Source: Camping.About.Com

Cast Iron German Potato Salad

4 slices bacon

1 medium red onion, diced

1 pound red potatoes, precooked and cut in half

3 tbsp. white vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fry the slices of bacon in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove bacon with a slotted spoon and add onion to bacon drippings, cooking and stirring until onion is clear. Add potatoes and sear for 1 minute, cut side down, until brown and crisp. Remove from heat and pour the contents into a large mixing bowl, setting the skillet aside. Crumble the bacon and add to potatoes, along with the vinegar, salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly. Chill and serve.

For more cast iron skillet recipes, please see my ezine article “How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (plus recipes).”

Foil Pocket Dinner

A friend of mine told me about this type of campfire/grill foil cooking which I thought was really cool. In addition the following simple recipe, I found hundreds more at ChuckwagonDiner.com:

Hamburger or Chicken

Potatoes, sliced

Carrots, sliced

Worcestershire Sauce

Foil Bag

Hamburger shaped into a patty or piece of chicken, sliced potatoes, and carrots. Place in a foil bag and add Worcestershire sauce. Cook on coals or grill until tender. Serve with green salad and/or fresh fruit.

Ziplock Omelets

One serving:

2 eggs

1 ziploc bag

Extra ingredients: cheese, mushrooms, ham, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, etc.

First have each individual write their name on a quart-size ziploc freezer bag. Crack 2 eggs into the bag (not more than 2) and shake to combine them. Add whatever extra ingredients that person wants in their omelet and mix contents together well. Be sure to squeeze extra air out of the Ziploc bag. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can
cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed! Also makes a great conversation piece :)

Chef Proves School Lunch Can Be Healthy, Cheap

2008-07-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Chef Dominique Valadier starts each day at 5:30 a.m., just as the fish market opens in the southern French provincial town of Salon de Provence.

On one particular day, he picks up 20 pounds of fresh, live mussels at the market before heading off to Lycee de l'Emperi, the public high school where he is the cook.

At the school, he prepares meals for about 800 students, using all fresh, local ingredients. The introduction of healthy school lunch programs, like this one, is one major reason France has been able to curb childhood obesity rates after two decades on the rise, according to two recent studies.

From Within 30 Miles

The menu on this day at Valadier's high school: mussels in cream sauce over rice with leeks and stuffed turkey thighs, accompanied by a squash au gratin casserole.

Nothing here is frozen or pre-prepared, Valadier says.

"Voila. This sticker here shows where these mussels came from and when they were harvested," he says. "This guarantees their freshness."

Eyes twinkling and knives flashing, Valadier opens up the plump turkey thighs, cutting out the bones.

The flattened turkey filets are wrapped around a stuffing of ground up parsley, garlic, cheese and smoked pork shoulder. The loaves are then tied with twine and baked for three hours at low temperatures to keep in the juices and flavor. When sliced, they will serve hundreds of students, 10 times the number that could have been fed on the plain turkey thighs. Preparation and proximity are the keys to high quality meals at lower prices, says Valadier.

"We try to get our base products — meat, fish, vegetables — within a 30-mile radius, because there are fewer intermediaries and we can negotiate prices and quality with the producer. These turkeys were raised and slaughtered just near here," Valadier says. "If I have a problem, I'll ask the producer to come see me, and I can guarantee you things will be a lot better the next time!"

Healthy and Cheap

All around the school kitchen, food is cooking in various pots and pans. Gallons of bechamel, a seasoned white sauce, bubble for the squash casserole. A vat of chickpeas boils for homemade hummus. It is hard to believe this is a public school cafeteria and not a three-star restaurant.

Perhaps what is most impressive about Valadier's meals is that they cost the students only $3 a day, less than the typical fast food fare served at many French high schools.

Another way Valadier saves money is by getting maximum use out of every ingredient. He never throws anything away. In one corner of the kitchen, he is boiling down the fish heads, flesh and bones from yesterday's salmon to make a tasty bouillon for today's mussels.

As lunch hour begins and the students file in, Valadier serves them while answering questions about the meal. He reaches across the counter with a forkful of the squash au gratin to give 17-year-old Valentine Biemence a taste. Biemence says she and her friends have all but quit eating lunch at McDonald's and have discovered a lot of new dishes.

"It's all the time different food and very, very good," Biemence says. "People are really happy, because it's really hard now to eat well and cheap."

Investing in the Future

Valadier once worked in the glamorous world of Riviera restaurants. He says he left that life for something more meaningful. Investing in students' well-being is also an act of citizenship, he explains. If young people learn to eat well early on, they will cost the country's health care system a lot less in the future.

He has clearly found his calling here, while winning over the students — and teachers. Danielle Viou teaches drama and English at the high school.

"We are very, very lucky because it's a real project. It's not just doing the cooking, it's a whole concept of educating and taking time and enjoying it," Viou says. "And it's artistic at the same time."

Muslims criticise Walkers after it is revealed that some crisp varieties contain alcohol

2008-07-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

Doritos Heat variety are one of those that contain small amounts of trace alcohol

Furious Muslims have heavily criticised Walkers crisps after it emerged that certain varieties of the manufacturer's products contain trace elements of alcohol.

Some crisp types use minute amounts of alcohol as a chemical agent to extract certain flavours.

The report in Asian newspaper Eastern Eye, highlights concerns raised by shopkeeper Besharat Rehman, who owns a halal supermarket in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Mr Rehman told the paper: "A customer informed us that Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli and Doritos Chilli Heat Wave are not on Walkers' alcohol-free list. Our suppliers were unaware of this.

"Even if it is a trace amount of alcohol, Walkers should make it clear on the packaging so that the customer can make an informed choice.

"I feel frustrated and angry. I have let my customers down simply because such a big company like Walkers is not sensitive to Muslim needs.

"Many of them were my daughter's favourite crisps. As soon as I found out about the alcohol in them, I called home to ask my wife to throw out all the packets.?

Shuja Shafi, who chairs the food standards committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that he intended to investigate. "Certainly we would find it very offensive to have eaten food with alcohol."

Masood Khawaja, of the Halal Food Authority, said that this was not the first time the issue had been raised with Walkers.

"They should have looked into the matter and solved it instead of hiding behind labelling regulations. It does not matter what percentage of alcohol is involved.

"Besides Muslims, there are a lot of teetotal people who would not like to consume alcohol in any form. As far as possible we try and lobby for halal symbols on popular products like Kellogg's cereals.

"But we have always told Muslims to check the contents list even if a product is marked suitable for vegetarians. But to not mention it on the packaging is unfair.?

However, a spokesperson for Walkers said that trace amounts of alcohol in crisps or bread are believed to be permissible for Muslims.

"We do not add alcohol to our products. However, ethyl alcohol may be present in trace amounts in a very small number of our flavours.

"It is used as a carrying agent for flavourings, and is found in many common food and drink products.

"Foods like bread can also contain the same or higher trace amounts due to fermentation. "We are aware of the concerns from some Muslim consumers about the appropriateness of specific ingredients. We take the concerns of our consumers extremely seriously.

"In previous assessments by Muslim scholars, foods and drinks that contain trace amounts of ethyl alcohol have been confirmed as permissible for Muslim consumption because of both the fact that the ingredient does not bear its original qualities and does not change the taste, colour or smell of the product, and its very low level."

Slime Recipe Favorites

2008-07-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

EASY SLIME RECIPE #1

2 Cups Water

1/2 Cup Cornstarch

Food Coloring

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch, then food coloring while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. This makes a messy slime that goes from liquid to solid, and is great fun to play with.

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EASY SLIME RECIPE #2

1/4 cup White Glue

1 1/4 cup Water, divided

1 tbsp. Borax - found in the laundry detergent aisle of your grocery store
Food Coloring

Borax is available in the laundry section of your local grocery store. Add 1 tbsp. Borax to one cup of warm water. Stir until completely dissolved.

Make a 50% water 50% white glue solution. Take 1/4 cup of each and mix thoroughly.

In a ziploc bag, add equal parts of the borax solution to equal parts of the glue solution. (Half cup of each will make a cup of slime.)

Add a couple drops of food coloring. Seal bag and knead the mixture.

If slime is too sticky, add a little more borax. If slime is too slippery, add a little more white glue solution.

Variations:

Less rubbery & more transparent slime: Try a 4% solution of polyvinyl alcohol instead of the glue mixture

Different Consistencies: Add shaving cream or baby powder to the mixture.

Glow in the Dark Slime: Add several drops of glow-in-the-dark paint during mixing.

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HOW TO MAKE SILLY PUTTY

1 tbsp. White Glue

½ tsp. Epsom Salts

½ tsp. Water

In small cup, put ½ tsp. Epsom salt and ½ tsp water. Stir till salt is all or mostly dissolved. Add one tbsp. Glue to another small cup. Add Epsom salt water to the glue and stir. When putty has formed, experiment with it on waxed paper. Store in Ziploc bag.

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GENERAL SLIME HANDLING INFORMATION:

Store in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator for maximum life.

A few drops of Lysol can be added to the Slime to minimize formation of mold and extend the lifetime of the Slime.

Wash hands before using slime to minimize mold growth as well.

Keep off carpets and furniture as it can stain.

Borax is toxic in large doses, so keep out of reach of children under 3.

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

Packing for Your Family Trip - Part 2

2008-07-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

All the Small Stuff

Don't forget to pack those small things that come in handy on your travels. They won't weigh down your luggage, but definitely will come in handy - when you need to pack up muddy clothes, take out a splinter or open up a soda bottle, read in the dark, plug in your hair dyer or tidy up a child who tossed his cookies in the back seat of a taxi.

Small plastic bottles - Don't bring full-size shampoo or hand lotion bottles. Transfer your shampoo, hair conditioner, hand lotion, liquid face or hand soap into small bottles. Use clear small bottles so you can see how much is in each one (don't start on a trip with a nearly empty shampoo bottle). Label the bottles so you're not confused what's what - conditioner and shampoo can look remarkably alike. Give a small shampoo bottle to each child to carry in his luggage. If one bottle gets left behind, you'll have another.

Ziploc bags - Ziploc freezer bags are indispensable. Buy them in pint, quart and gallon sizes, and use them to organize things in your luggage. Ziploc bags are clear - you can always quickly see what's inside. The quart size is ideal for toothbrush and toothpaste or shampoo, hand lotion, things that could ooze all over when the top isn't screwed on tight. Pack swim suits or flip flops in the gallon size - you might have to pack them wet. Put Lego in small bags - helps keep from losing pieces. Zip up journals or sketch books in bags - if your luggage gets damp in transit, things inside will stay dry. Bring extra Ziploc bags for souvenirs - write your kid's names on each bag. Tip: Quart size Ziploc bags are perfect for the current carry-on regulation for toiletries, which must be displayed in a transparent bag.

Wash cloths and soap - Always packs your own small wash clothes and travel size soap. These items come in handy for all sorts of things, and are essential when you check into hotels that don't stock either soap or wash cloths (for example, in London hotels, wash cloths are not a standard item in hotel rooms).

Adaptor plugs - When you travel to other countries, the electrical plugs and voltages are different. In the North America, the voltage is 110/120v. For Europe, Asia or South America, the voltage is typically 220/230v. Many devices, such as electric razors, hair dyers, personal computers, cell phones, either you can just them in plug in, or they have dual voltage settings, but check for sure before you go. If your device is only single voltage, bring a conversion plug.
Even with dual voltage appliances, you will need adaptor plugs. Sockets and plugs are different around the world.

Travel hair dryer - Some hotels provide hair dryers, but for the most flexibility, bring your own (unless you're one of those lucky ones whose hair looks perfect without blow drying). Your best bet is a lightweight dual voltage dryer, which lets you select either 110v or 220v. And don't forget to set the voltage correctly. Even if you have a dual voltage hair dryer, if it's still set for 110v, and you use it in a 220v socket, your hair dyer will go up in smoke. Don't forget to bring your adaptor plugs too - there's nothing more frustrating than wet hair in the morning because you can't plug in your hair dryer.

Water resistant watch - A waterproof or water resistant watch is very useful while traveling. Wear a watch that can take wear and tear, and has an easy to read dial (for those occasions when you need to wake up early to catch a train or plane). I wear a Swiss Army watch all the time - the watch goes anywhere. Tip: These Swiss Army watches last longer than a leather watchband. You can also order up replacement watchbands from the Web site - the new band will be just like the original.

Binoculars have a variety of uses. They're are not just for sighting lions or leopards in a game park, looking at waterfalls in Yosemite, watching birds on the wing, or spotting gray whales in the Pacific. Take them for standing in line at the Sistine Chapel in Rome - you can look at the ceiling while waiting, or spy on other people in line (vastly amusing). Binoculars are also especially good for Gothic cathedrals and churches in general - focus in on the carvings way high up. Bring along inexpensive, light and portable binoculars, so kids can have their own pair (and it's not a big deal if something happens to them).

Flashlights and headlamps - Take along at least one flashlight, but a flashlight for each family member isn't a bad idea. Flashlights come in handy when you're exploring ancient ruins or to keep next to your bed in your hotel room. We always take along "Mini MagLite" flashlights.

For camping, headlamps are a must. These powerful little LED lights light the way, your hands are free, no more struggling in the dark with a flashlight in your teeth. And best of all, you can read in the dark for a long, long time! My favorite, the one I use, is the Petzl Tikka LED headlamp - very elegant, not at all clunky, and it can adjust down to smaller head sizes.

Pocketknife - I always carry a Swiss Army pocketknife while traveling, and it's essential for a camping trip. The "Classic" model has scissors (very handy), tweezers to remove splinters, a nail file (a rough nail drives me nuts), and small blade. The "Picknicker" knife is perfect for picnics - use the opener to open soda bottles or the blade for slicing cheese, peeling carrots or cucumbers. Tip: Be sure to put pocketknives in checked luggage - in your carry-on bags, it will be confiscated at the security check-in.

Combination locks and cable lock - You don't want to worry about your luggage, so get suitcase locks with a combination (keys can get lost). A cable lock is also handy. When you cable together five or six pieces of luggage, no one is likely to run off with your stuff. On one occasion, we couldn't check into our hotel, the kids were hungry, so we cabled all our bags together and left them in the lobby, while we went off to get a bite to eat.

Laundry bags - It's amazing how quickly the dirty laundry mounts up. When you paw through your clothes, you'll want to tell at a glance what's clean and what's grubby. Smelly underwear and socks should be tucked away in a laundry bag, (unless you want your clean clothes to smell like dirty socks). Laundry bags can be sturdy plastic shopping bags (I often use Gap bags) or buy a nice lightweight cloth bag. Have a laundry bag for each person in the family, then it's easy to grab up everyone's dirty clothes to wash. Tip: Also tuck in some plastic supermarket shopping bags - they come in handy when you have muddy shoes or clothes.

Packable duffle bag - Don't carry more bags than you can manage easily, and don't cram your bags full at the outset. But what to do about all those cool souvenirs you pick up along the way? We always take along a "packable duffle" bag, a mid-size nylon bag that folds up. Somewhere along the trip we expand into this bag to hold all our treasures. Last summer in northern Europe, our expandable duffle was crammed full of goodies for the whole family, fur hats, colorful Russian shawls, chess sets, wooden dolls, painted eggs.

Cotton towels - Take smallish light-weight cotton towels (not bulky hard-to-dry terry cloth towels). Use them for beach towels, picnic cloths, or something to put over a sleeping child. If you have an infant, and need a place to change a diaper, use your towel. A cotton towel is also useful to mop up after a child who has motion sickness on a windy road. Very useful!

Travel umbrella - Unless you're going to the Sahara Desert, bring travel umbrellas (lightweight, fold up small) for everyone in the family. You don't want to get soaked when you least expect it, nor do you want to rush around in the rain looking for umbrellas. I should have taken my own advice when we were caught in a summer downpour our first day in St. Petersburg one summer. I spent some time locating a department store to buy a second umbrella so we could comfortably stroll the Nevsky Prospect.

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