Gifts of Life

Today I want you to meet two little precious ones, who will remain anonymous. They are the grandchildren of my dear friends, and their story is quite a unique one. After many years of disappointment in trying to have children, my friends' daughter and son-in-law legally adopted frozen embryos that were remaining from someone else's fertility treatment. I think it is the most amazing thing that these little bundles of life were once frozen embryos, and that there is a system that honors life in such a special way. After these two were born, the other remaining embryos were adopted by someone else, and precious life was passed on.

These two, a boy and a girl, are about to turn 2 years old, and they are little balls of energy and joy and curiosity and sugar and spice and puppy dog tails....what a blessing! These pictures are completely unposed. Their mom found them sitting in their respective book baskets, reading away!

Another Use for Your Cellphone Camera

Can you stand another travel hint? I ran across this one in Hints from Heloise, and I'm going to try to remember this from now on. One of her readers sent in this idea:

Use your cellphone camera to take pictures of a rental car, the license plate, and the brand/model logo. Then, if, heaven forbid, your rental car is ever stolen, you will have a record of what it was. In the more likely event that you just can't find in the parking lot, it will also help to refresh. There is always the possibility of it getting *gasp* towed. Another good reason to be able to identify your rental car.

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. We did - with lots of food, family and thankfulness.

Maddie and Melissa's Christmas Gift Idea

On a recent visit to see Melissa (she is pregnant with twins and has been confined to bed), her daughter Maddie crawled up in the bed and pulled a Starbucks gift card out of her pocket. It turns out she had been to a party where they played "Chinese Gift Exchange" with gift cards, and she fought for the Starbucks card. That really appealed to me, probably because I get all overwhelmed at the holidays. Just think, easy shopping, no wrapping...then you get to go shopping for yourself....I could enjoy this.

So maybe this idea would work for a situation you are planning. You could set an amount -- even $5 gift cards would be fun to exchange. Of course, these days you have to be careful not to buy one from a place that might be going out of business next week!

We're speaking prayers and blessings over Melissa -- that these babies will be born big and healthy -- and that Melissa won't have to spend the next 6 months in bed. And if those babies are as cute as Maddie -- watch out, world!

What are your ideas for easy, but fun, gifts?

What is Your Makeup Brush Made Of?

I think I'm in shock. I was watching a video online about how to clean makeup brushes. (See my prior article about this by clicking here.) So, I'm watching this video, and the guy doing it says something about makeup brushes being made out of either goat or squirrel hair.......screech! Hold on a minute. I might be putting on my makeup every morning with the hair off of a squirrel??? (I like to think of them as rats with big fluffy tails. Ours are a little too aggressive.)

The guy mentioned that they harvest the hair without killing the animals. So, now my mind goes off with other pictures....herding up squirrels like sheep and shearing them bald. I doubt they'd be easy to catch the next time. Or, do they keep them in little cages until their hair grows back and then shave them again? Then, how do they glue the hair into the brush?? It's mind-boggling.

The hair in my makeup brush does sort of look like the squirrels that wander around our property all the time. I've seen this hair before on my patio lounge chair...where a squirrel was sunbathing apparently. Yew....I googled and there's no way to tell what my Bare Escentual brushes are made of. It's natural hair, but the natural hair of what...who knows? Do I want to know?

Some brushes are made from sable hair. Okay, so what's a sable, I wonder? I've always heard that name but never gave it any thought.

So, here I go to wikipedia.com. And here's a nice little picture of a sable for you. He's a small carnivorous mammal which to me resembles a weasel. Yew again.

So, what would I rather be brushing my face with -- hair from a goat, a squirrel, or a weasel cousin? I'm going to try not to think about it. But I will be cleaning my brush more often. Remember, the most important thing is to keep the brush tipped down while cleaning and air-drying so water doesn't get into the handle and melt the glue or rot the wooden handle. I love the way my brushes work, so I'm not going to getting rid of them.

But I need to go wash my face..... ;)

What You Must Know about Shipping Packages

As Christmas nears, there are some things I've learned (the hard way) that I'd like to share with you. Today's lesson concerns mailing packages. I recently needed to ship a repaired laptop overseas to an APO (military) address. You can only use regular mail to ship things to an APO address. Since I didn't feel secure about packaging it properly, I took it to a local pack and ship store.

Now, I know these kinds of places add on fees to pay their overhead, but what happened to me was ridiculous. First of all, they charged me $35 to package it. They wrapped it in many layers of bubble wrap and put it in a larger box. My sister later pointed out that I could have bought a lot of bubble wrap for just a few dollars at Walmart, but I was in a hurry and didn't think of that. (I'm always in a hurry.)

Then, the charge for shipping the package by regular mail was $68. I stood there and told the owner, "that doesn't sound right". But I left it with him anyway. As soon as I got home, I went to usps.com, the postal service website, and entered the dimensions and weight of the box, plus the to and from zip codes. Sure enough, I could have mailed the same package at the post office for $34. They were charging double! I called the pack and ship store and told them I would be right down to retrieve my package and get a refund. The owner was very defensive and pretended he didn't know he was charging me double ("I was just going by what my computer says"), but he knew.

Just for future reference, I called the local UPS Store to find out what they would have charged me, also giving them the dimensions and weight. It turns out they would have packaged it for $12 and mailed it for around $42. A little profit, but not an exorbitant amount.

We can all learn from my mistakes. More Christmas ideas coming this week!

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Pictures from Germany

Today I'll share a couple of favorite pictures from Germany taken by our oldest son Michael.

Isn't it cool how they decorate wedding vehicles with flowers rather than shoe polish? Love it.

Another Shopping Alert!

I'm a great fan of Dave Ramsey's financial advice, and we follow it! You can read more about it by clicking on my prior posts here and here.

I want to alert you that from now until December 1, you can buy any of Dave's books, CDs or DVDs for only $10. That is quite a bargain! And they would make great Christmas gifts. Just go to www.daveramsey.com and shop away.

Important Correction

Thanks so much to Ruth for catching some errors in my posting on "Use Up Those Gift Cards" a couple of days ago. It turns out the e-mail I received was a mixture of truth and rumor. (I should know better!) For full information about this, please check out this clarification at snopes.com: Store Closings.

Anytime you (and I) pass on information found in an e-mail, it's good to check it out.

Just for Giggles

Use up Those Gift Cards!

I received an e-mail from my friend Dabney with the following list of companies that will be closing all or part of their stores. If you have a gift card from one of these stores, it's time to put it to use! And I would seriously consider NOT giving gift cards this year, unless you know it's from a company that won't go under....is there such a thing?

If this is all true, and I have verification on some of it, things are even worse economically than I had thought.




The times...they are a-changin'.

Cliphanger Sale - Gift Idea

If you've been reading here for very long, you've heard me talk about how I love the Cliphanger. Click here and here to see my prior articles. It's a clip you attach to your cellphone, gps, cordless phone, ipod, or whatever. Then you can wear it on your belt loop or hang it on your purse. I LOVE mine. I have one for the iPhone and one for my cordless phone at home.

I just received notice that cliphanger.com is having a sale through November 29, 2008. To get 20% off all items, put in this promo code: THANKS.

This would make a great Christmas gift for someone you know.

My Favorite Blues Artist

If you could hear this song without seeing the artist, you would never believe what she looks like. Her name is Duffy, she's only 24 years old, Welsh, and this girl can sing the blues! Here is one of my favorite songs, Syrup and Honey. Other favorites are Mercy and Warwick Avenue, which you can find on youtube. com. I normally just download the songs I like, but I think I'm going to have to buy this whole album! Lots of soul...this video has gotten almost a million and a half views on youtube. Dear Hubby likes her music as much as I do.

Then and Now - Snow White and the 7 Dwarves

This cracks me up. My daughter-in-law Beccy was raised in Germany with her six male cousins and brother (Florian) -- she was the only female in that age range in her family. They are all athletic, handsome, intelligent and charming. Beccy has always called them "my boys". I told her that all this male camaraderie perfectly prepared her to be married to my son Barrett. When her aunt took this picture at the wedding, they were calling it "Snow White and the 7 Dwarves". Beccy is the first of the bunch to get married.

Then, L to R: Matthias, Michael, Sebastian, Andreas, Christian, Florian, Rebecca


Now, L to R: Matthias, Andreas, Florian, Christian, Thorsten, Michael, and Sebastian, and naturally Rebecca in the middle!

Cheap Camera Case

It never occurred to me until recently, but you don't have to have a fancy camera case to carry around your digital camera. Just pop it into a soft eyeglass case and throw it in your purse. You probably have a few of these laying around, if you're like me. You might want to throw a couple of extra batteries in the bottom of the case. Now the camera is protected from whatever is lurking in the black hole I call my purse.

My Favorite Dishwasher Soap

For dishwasher soap, I've been trying this Method Smarty Dish Non-Toxic Dishwasher Detergent pellets. They cost a little more than regular soap, so I wasn't sure it would be worth it. But, the verdict is, I like these! They have no strong smell, they're easy to use, and my dishes have been getting nice and clean and sparkly. I really like the convenience of popping the little pellet in the soap dish.

And, lest you think I recommend everything I try, I can tell you what I don't like from Target: Method Planet-Friendly All-Surface Wipes. I like the idea of it, but they leave streaks on everything. I'll stick with my Windex wipes, thank you!

My Favorite Magazines

For me, reading magazines is a guilty pleasure. My time is the most valuable thing I have, so I choose my reading carefully. [I must confess I always sneak a peek at People Magazine in doctors' offices -- but I won't allow myself to buy them. :)]

So, when I do take the time to read a magazine, these two are my favorites:
Real Simple and First for Women. They contain the same kind of advice I like to give my readers -- and I always learn something new. I tear and clip and fold First for Women, but I have a hard time doing that with Real Simple because it's so pretty. Anyway, if you like my blog, you will probably like these magazines too. Let me know what you think!

Airline Tips - Flying Cheap(er)

Right now we are seeing the airline prices drop, and that's a good thing! As I talked about in another travel article (click here to read), the airlines normally change their prices on Tuesday nights. It's good to check the prices on Wednesday morning if you're planning a trip. OR, if you already have a ticket, check to see if the prices have gone down. Some airlines will issue a voucher for the difference if you call them. American Airlines will issue a voucher, but subtract a $100 fee, so it's not worth it unless the price REALLY drops a lot.

Here's another way to keep watch if you already have a ticket: www.yapta.com.
You can enter in your flight details and they will notify you by e-mail whenever the ticket price drops. Good way to keep an eye on things! If the price drops, move quickly, because the price can change again at any given moment.

My Hero

When I was 7 years old, I used to watch The Jack LaLanne Show faithfully every day during the summer. I think it brainwashed me at an early age to think about health and wellness. Jack was way ahead of his time! He opened the very first fitness center in the U.S. , and is still going strong at 94 years old. If you have any doubts about his impact on the modern fitness industry, just check out his bio page at http://www.jacklalanne.com/bio.htm. Most of what he has been preaching all these years has now been scientifically proven, though he was always going against the grain.

Here are just some of the many classic quotes from Jack:

Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen, put them together and you've got a kingdom.
Don't exceed the feed limit.
The food you eat today is walking and talking tomorrow.
Better to wear out than rust out.
People don't die of old age, they die of inactivity.
I can't die, it would ruin my image.
If man makes it, don't eat it.
Eat right and you can't go wrong.

Be inspired!

Easy Homemade Hairspray Shield

If you have chronic skin problems on your face, shoulders, or arms, the culprit COULD be your hairspray. As you spray your hair, you are undoubtedly leaving specks of hairspray everywhere. You could try a different hairspray. Or try making your own disposable face shield out of a paper plate.

Cut a half-moon out of the side of a paper plate. Then hold the cut-out side to your forehead as you spray. This won't help your arms or shoulders, but at least you can wipe them off with a wet cloth -- not recommended on an already-made-up face :). Your homemade paper plate can be used over and over again.

I found products specifically made for this online, but they weren't cheap. I wasn't willing to pay the price to try them out, and also wondered where I would store such a gadget. If anyone has one -- let me know if they're worth the price!

Something to think about if you have unexplainable skin bumps -- the hairspray may be clogging the pores. Worth a try!

Then and Now - Dear Hubby

Since yesterday was Dear Hubby's birthday, today I want to give you a peek into his past. Some people called him "Cottontop" because his hair was so blonde. He was a handful back then, and he still is. Just ask anyone in his family...or anyone who knows him. But ain't he cute?

Save the Basil

I had a great crop of basil this summer in my flower bed, grown from seeds. There was no way I would ever use it all.

But I found a great idea in First magazine. As they suggested, I rough chopped some of the basil, put it in ice cube trays, and then filled each slot with water. After frozen, I put the basil ice cubes in a freezer bag. Now I can thaw a cube anytime I want, for soups, scrambled eggs, spaghetti sauce, whatever.

It's full of good phytochemicals for your bod. And, as a bonus, it repels insects. I'm talking about while it's growing, not while it's frozen or in your bod, though we don't know for sure... :)

P.S. Happy Birthday to Dear Hubby and our pal Bill!

Crockpot Pumpkin Pie Pudding

One of my favorite fall traditions is to make Crockpot Pumpkin Pie Pudding. I adapted the recipe from one by Margaret Kaeter in The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook (300 delicious, healthy meals that you can toss in your crockery and prepare in a snap!) I adapted it to my low-sugar, wheat-free lifestyle, and and my friends like it anyway. It's like a pumpkin souffle. Yummy!

Crockpot Pumpkin Pie Pudding

Pot size: 3 – 6 quarts

Serves 8 (double for large crockpot)

• 2 eggs
• 1 15-oz. can solid-packed pumpkin
  
• 1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
  
• ¾ cup sugar or sugar subst. (I use xylitol)
• ½ cup buttermilk biscuit mix (I use wheat-free)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
  
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
  
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the eggs with a fork until slightly frothy. Mix together all the ingredients. Pour into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 7 hours.

Optional: Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I like it best with maple-flavored whipped cream -- click here for the recipe.

(NOTE: It is extremely hot when cooked – would be best to let it cool at least an hour before serving.) The leftovers freeze well. I like to freeze it in individual portions. Thaw and then heat in the microwave.

My Favorite Podcast

Of course, my favorite podcast would involve natural health! It's the Healthy by Nature Show, hosted by Martie Whittekin. I've been listening for years by radio, but it's just been added to the podcast lineup and I am thrilled!

To find it, do a search on iTunes for "Healthy By Nature Show". It's free! Even if you don't have an mp3 player, you can download it to your computer and listen there. A big thanks to Jim for getting this processed as a podcast now. Their website is www.radiomartie.com.

I have learned so much from this show. Each week Martie interviews a natural health doctor or other professional. They keep it interesting and informative.

Martie herself has a new book out called, "Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec and Other Acid Blockers; What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn and Gastric Ailments." I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard her talk about it, and it's something a LOT of people need. Too many people are living on acid blockers, when they actually really need MORE stomach acid. They have no idea how much harm these drugs are doing. The book is only $7.95 and I've added to my Amazon.com wishlist for my next order.

The 10 Cannots

By William J. H. Boetcker (1873 - 1962)

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

*As quoted on The Dave Ramsey Show and his website. *

Keep Those Receipts!

For a while, I had been purposely not getting receipts for my gas at gas stations. After all, I check my bank debits daily, and those receipts were just getting shredded. But now I have changed my mind, and how! Just recently, a lady in our area bought gas at a local station. By the time she got home, her car had stopped running. It turns out that a tanker truck driver had filled the tank at the gas station with diesel fuel instead of regular fuel, and her car was definitely not equipped to handle diesel. Because this lady was a meticulous record keeper, she had her receipt showing that she had paid for regular gas, not diesel, and now someone has to pay for her expensive car repairs.

By the way, there's a big secondary lesson to learn here about the fuel that we put into our own own personal "tanks". Our bodies were not designed to function on the so-called "food" most people are living on today. Think about it....crawling off my little soapbox now....

Netipot Update

I am so pleased to see that Bed, Bath and Beyond has started carrying the Netipot. In case you missed the article on this, click here and see why you need one: The Neti-Pot (Nasal Bidet)

It is listed at $19.99, and you can use one of those 20% coupons they throw at us all the time, bringing it to $16 plus tax. Remember, they accept the coupons even when they've expired.

I've noticed that the natural health doctors run about 10 to 20 years ahead of the mainstream, so it's nice to see the netipot finally in a place where most people have access to it. Not everyone will go to the trouble to go to a health food store for such things, or even know they exist.

My netipot was absolutely invaluable when I had a head cold on our trip to Germany. If I hadn't been able to use it, I'm sure it would have turned into a sinus infection deluxe -- just in time for the plane trip back home -- yikes!! I've added it to my travel checklist. I will try to never leave home without it (while traveling).

Just for Fun - Dot the Clown

Last night I made my annual appearance as "Dot the Clown" at our church's Fall Festival. Boy, did I have fun! I enjoy walking around and interacting with kids and adults alike, trying out whatever new gags I've come up with. This year's favorite was a stuffed bunny clothespinned to a piece of rope -- which I had to explain was a "hare dryer". Dear Hubby accompanied me with his alter-ego "Farley Davidson".

How (And Why) to Eat a Pomegranate

Up until a couple of years ago, I knew virtually nothing about pomegranates, except that they were good for you. Then my friend Judy brought me a couple of them that she had grown herself. It was a great revelation to me that I could grow pomegranates in our part of the country. Now I have two trees in our yard. They've yet to produce an edible pomegranate, but I am excessively hopeful (see photo of one of my trees). The trees are still very young.

The other thing I didn't know is how to properly eat them. I always thought you were supposed to take each seed (called arils) and painstakingly gnaw the small layer of fruit off of each one. What a waste of time! Thankfully, I researched online and found that you're actually supposed to chew each aril. Still, the process of getting the arils out of the rind wore me out and left me splattered with unwashable red pomegranate dye. *Sigh*

Well, now I've had another breakthrough. It is pomegranate season somewhere, apparently, because they are showing up in our grocery stores. They're baseball sized and beautiful, unlike my golf-ball sized fruit still on the trees. And this time there was a stack of brochures next to them that shows the proper way to remove the arils. *Hallelujah* I can do this. See the scan I've made of the brochure for details (click on it to make it bigger), or you can e-mail me for a large, more legible copy. The brochure says that, besides eating them straight up, you can sprinkle them on green salads, yogurt, dry cereal, oatmeal, or your main dish. And they are full of good nutrients. Remember, the more colorful a fruit or vegetable is, the better it is for you.