words to live by

mom

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak." "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you." At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." "You will simply call her, "Mom."

gotta watch this mama bird

This is an amazing video clip an American robin lays her four eggs in a hanging basket and the home owners set up a camera to film the results.

To see it all, click here. Should hear it with speakers on...and click to start video.

 

It makes me sad to see the mama at the very end....

Uses for Bounce

Bounce This Along
The U.S. Postal service sent out a message to all letter carriers to put a sheet of Bounce in their uniform pockets to keep yellow-jackets away.
Use them all the time when playing baseball and soccer. I use it when I am working outside. It really works. The insects just veer around you.
All this time you've just been putting Bounce in the dryer!1. It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels mice.

2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.

3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened too often. 4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.

5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.

6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from 
resettling..

7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.

8. To freshen the air in your home - Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.

9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.

10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.

11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing. 12. To freshen the air in your car - Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.

13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan..

14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket. 15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds..Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.

17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.

19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight. 20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.

21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.

22. Wet a Bounce sheet, hose down your car, and wipe love bugs off easily with the wet Bounce.
23.Put a sheet of Bounce in your suitcase when traveling, it will help keep mites or any other critters out of it. While you are at it, travel with several Bounce sheets and run them up and down your bed linen before getting into bed, it will cause all the critters already in your bed to run. Keep a sheet in your suitcase even after you have unpacked to protect your suitcases from bugs nesting in it.

Top 10 Products You Don't Need to Buy

By Whitson Gordon

Top 10 Products You Don't Need to Buy (Because You Already Have Them In Your Home)

We spend loads on all sorts of cleaning, health, and other household products at the store every week, but quite often you can get the same jobs done with less obvious products already in your house. Here are ten of our favorite household stand-ins.

In a lot of cases, it might not necessarily be cheaper to use something you already have in the house, but if you're in a bind, any of these will work well—no trip to the store required. Plus, a lot of them get the job done without harsh chemicals or other annoyances, which is a big plus.

10. Surface Cleaners

Whether you're cleaning the bathroom, the windows, or the kitchen, you probably have everything you need in your pantry. You can clean your toilet with pretty much any acidic beverage, like a can of Coke or a packet of Kool-Aid, and while you're in the bathroom you can take a grapefruit and some salt to your grimy bathtub. When it comes to the countertops in the kitchen, a bit of wine or some laundry detergent will get things squeaky clean, while some rubbing alcohol and ammonia will make the windows sparkle.

9. Itch Relief

There's no need to go grab a Benadryl stick when you get bitten by mosquitoes; you probably have a ton of different itch remedies right under your nose. Vick's VapoRub does wonders, but you could even get by with some Scotch tape, nail polish, or Alka Seltzer. If you have some meat tenderizer around, that can actually get the job done too.

8. Metal Polish

If the chrome on your car or the steel in your sink is looking a little dull or scratched, you can use one of any number of things to polish it up. Baby oil and Cola both work well on Chrome, while flour's a good choice for stainless steel. Flour plus salt and vinegar makes a good brass polish, and you can shine up that silver with baking soda or a banana peel. Incidentally, banana peels also work great for polishing shoes.

7. Bug Traps

If your house is infested with bugs, why buy traps to kill them? They're obviously visiting because you have food they want: use it to your advantage. Trap fruit flies with apple cider vinegar, or sprinkle some baby powder, chalk, or borax around those ants' favorite hangout to deter them. Alternatively, putting vegetables on your counter makes them realize you're no longer a source of the good stuff, and they'll go away.

6. Drain Uncloggers

Skip the harmful Drano, and just grab some baking soda for stubborn drain clogs. If your toilets a little backed up, some laundry detergent can do wonders. If the above products need a little help, you can get in there yourself with a cable tie or duct tape to get the pipes flowing freely again.

5. LCD Cleaner

We all know you aren't supposed to use things like Windex on an LCD screen, but that doesn't mean you need to buy a fancy screen cleaner. All you really need is a cloth and a bit of water, although a coffee filter will do the trick too if dust is the only problem. When it comes to full-on scratches, though, the best you can do is take a pencil eraser to it and hope for the best.

4. Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets are popular, but a bottle of fabric softener will get you much further. Combined with an old towel, you can easily replace those dryer sheets with one big, reusable one, or turn it into an after-the-dryer wrinkle releaser. Alternatively, you can get the anti-static goodness from some aluminum foil, or fluff those clothes in the dryer with a tennis ball. None of this is to say dryer sheets are completely bad—after all, they do have a lot of clever household uses themselves.

3. Sticker Removers

Products like Goo Gone are pretty useful, but you can easily get by with a number of things in your kitchen. From hair dryers to vodka, vinegar, and even lighter fluid, you've got more than one way to wash away sticky residue from a surface.

2. Deodorizers

We all have to deal with funky smells every once in a while, but you can remove odors with just about anything, from the usual baking soda and charcoal to vinegar or even newspaper. And if you've got to de-stink an entire room, why make it smell like Febreeze-y chemicals when you could just throw some vanilla in the oven and make it smell like fresh baked cookies?

1. Stain Removers

Stains always seem like the end of the world, but with the right household fix, you can clean just about any stain. Vinegar works well for many stains, while shaving cream does a good job on greasier stains (as does rubbing them with chalk). Dish detergent will get rid of that occasional gasoline stain, and asprin will remove those stubborn sweat stains on your clothes. Grab some corn starch for furniture-related stains, and whatever you do for any of these, make sure you act quickly. If you've got a stain we didn't list, you can bet the database over at Stain Solutions has a recommendation, so head there for more info.

what happened

Here is a cool site to see... something fun and different

phone stalkers

check this out. It is really cool, but also a little scary. I can see how it could be beneficial like when you have kids that you are worried about etc, but in cases of stalkers it could really be a nightmare!!

Look at Mars TONIGHT...

If you look up at the sky tonight, you may notice a bright spot next to the moon. Take a good look now, because this planet won't be as clear again until 2012.

us census warning info

I got an email about giving info to census Workers and I thought it was a good idea to share. Most of it is really common sense, but always a good reminder:

2010 Census to Begin

WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau BBB Cautions about Census Scams - BBB News Center (this web site is written to Florida residents, but Google shows many other sites with similar info) that applies to all of us)

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers by Susan Johnson

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau
(BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.

DO NOT give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. . Census.

REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS..

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.

The Census Bureau WILL NOT ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.

AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION. . NO ACORN worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the
Census Bureau WILL NOT contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

penny for your thoughts

7 New Uses for a Penny

Clever ways to repurpose an everyday item.

1. Curtain Straightener

Make an opening in the bottom hem, slide in a penny or two, and sew the hem back up to keep curtains hanging level and stick-straight.

2. Tread Checker

Insert a penny into a groove of a tire with Lincoln’s head pointing into the tire. If the groove covers part of his head, you’re safe to drive; if the head is in full view, it’s time for new wheels. (The distance between the rim of a penny and Lincoln’s head is 1/16 of an inch―the minimum suggested tread depth.)

3. Table Anchor

If you dine out and the table is unsteady, put a coin under the leg to restore balance.

4. Game Token

Misplaced the thimble? No problem. Sub in a cent.

5. Makeshift Screwdriver

Use a penny to screw open a toy’s battery pack.

6. Icebreaker

Hand out pennies at your next gathering and ask each guest to share a story that happened during the year his or her penny was minted. If the coin predates a friend, let the person improvise.

7. Birdbath Cleaner

To ward off algae, toss in a few pre-1982 coins; the high copper content retards growth.