Interesting and useful ideas.

Did you know......?

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

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

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

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

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

Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. (We found this works for deer as well to keep them out of our roses. Put some cayenne pepper in an old nylon stocking and tie the stocking to the rose bush. Saved the rose buds and we had beautiful roses this summer.)

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

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

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

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car . When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

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

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

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

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

Hope you find some useful ideas to try! Brightest blessings!

Information about your clothes dryer.

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS


A friend of mine had the heating unit go up on her dryer so she called a repair man. The gentleman that fixed it told her that he wanted to show her something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. (The lint filter is made of a mesh material .. I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like). Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told her that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box .. well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down. He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. That perserves the life of the dryer at least twice as long. How about that!? Learn something new everyday. I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ... the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Amulets & Talimans.

Many times, I am questioned about this subject. (One that is very dear to my heart). So let me go ahead and answer a few of the questions.


All throughout history, on every continent and in almost every culture, it has been held in high regards that amulets have offered protection against negative forces. In addition to providing a physical enhancement, magical jewelry helps us to heighten our focus, encourage healing, and amplify and focus spells and personal energy. The dictionary defines an amulet as "an object that protects a person from trouble."

Amulets were originally objects worn or adorned about the neck or other parts of the body to prevent or cure diseases and they were believed to be either naturally imbued with powers or they were given powers by spiritual leaders. Closely related to the amulet is the talisman which is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.

Egyptians believed that amulets had powers not only during life, but also in the afterlife. The Egyptians used frog symbols for fertility; ankhs to symbolize everlasting life, and the scarab was used for resurrection and protection against evil magic. One of the best known amulets of ancient Egypt is the Eye of Horus. Horus was an Egyptian deity who wore the head of a falcon, and was god of the Sky, god of War and god of Protection. The amulet consisted of an image of an eye and eyebrow, along with a stylized beard, the symbol of divine kingship.

In Asia, figures of elephants such as the God Ganesh are said to attract good luck and money. For the ancient Norse people, the runes, and symbols such as Thor's Hammer provided protection. The Celtic people, believed the clover, if it had four leaves, would bring good luck. The ancient Celts also used complicated Celtic Knots, the Triquetra, the Tree of Life, and many other symbols which have migrated their way into both modern Christian and Pagan religions.

In ancient African culture, the carrying of an animal's foot, or other parts of a swift creature, was supposed to help a person escape or flee with the speed of the animal. This lucky rabbits foot charm was handed down and assimilated into modern western culture by the enslaved Africans who were brought to the New World. African culture also provided many of the animal totems still used today.

Amulets also permeated almost every aspect of the Native American culture. Any small object could function as an amulet, but they all symbolized the power of a certain spirit. Amulets were given especially to children because they were considered to be the most vulnerable to the bad/negative forces of the universe. An amulet might relate to a specific god - placing the wearer under the protection of that god - or to an animal, in which case a special quality of the animal would become helpful to the wearer. Native American's would use every part of an animal-fur, teeth, claws. They also ate every part believing the heart and certain organs were extremely powerful.

Modern day pagans and Wiccans also wear amulets as protection against evil. Magical jewelry takes its power from several directions...first, the symbolism and materials used in the piece, and the spell or prayer infused into it. While "pre-spelled" jewelry can be highly effective, I hightly recommend that you personally charge your amulets or talismans yourself as an addition to the charging they may have received by the creators. It adds quite the extra punch when you add your own personal energy to your talisman. And besides you never know how many have handled it and put their own vibrations into it. Example, who packages the piece, the mail sorter, the mail carrier....someone may be having a not so good day so the piece can put up those vibrations. Also, keep in mind the metals that the piece is detailed into. Silver, gold, pewter, brass, steel.....these all have vibrations of their own and magical purposes and powers.

Some people have symbols that are considered sacred to them and they have them tattoo'd on their body. One of my favorite sayings is: The body is our temple, it's up to us to wallpaper it.

Brightest blessings to all and I hope this helps to answer some of your questions.

Johnny-an amazing video about someone with 'heart.'

This is a very short three minute video about a wonderful, smart individual named Johnny. This story touched me immensely - so much, that I HAD to share it. Our beautiful Mother Earth needs more Johnny's. I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.stservicemovie.com/miami?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=01-24-2010&utm_campaign=STSR

A touching video about an amazing idea and individual.

I loved this short three minute video. It really touched me with such a profound message, that I just can't help but to share it with you. As you look around at people driving in their cars, shopping in stores, just people in general even walking down the street, you never know just how many 'Johnny's' there are. I hope you enjoy this!

Click here to watch the Simple Truths of Service.