MAKE A NOTE!! -- March 16th, 2005
CIRCULATION - 46,878 (From Around the World! :-)
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A Free Twice Monthly (1st and 3d Wednesday of each month) Ezine with (Hopefully) Useful Info on a Wide Variety of Topics
NEXT ISSUE TO BE PUBLISHED ON/ABOUT APRIL 6TH, 2005
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NOTE: Each entry has a suggested "POST IT..." location at the end. We recommend that you print out the ezine, cut out each entry, & post it in these locations to make it easier for you to find when you need it. And if you like what you read, be sure to pass it on to someone else who can use it.
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My Favorite: Books
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Successful Bake Sales
Here are some tips to help your bake sale be the best ever. First, ask people to bring in foods that are wrapped into individual servings (they sell better than whole pies, cakes, or desserts), avoid foods that need refrigeration or heat. Usually finger food (like cookies, brownies, candies) sell better than items requiring utensils. Even if you don't have time to make anything fancy, brownies/cookies made from mixes can be dressed up by pressing chocolate kisses or M & M's into the top, or dusting with powdered sugar or colored sprinkles. Make sure that everything has a little label of what it is; it saves a lot of question time. A 3x5 card folded in half makes a nice display card (bring tape if windy). Be sure to add a note of "with nuts" or "no nuts," for those who have that common allergy. Make your table look attractive, to bring customers in. Scientists have found that deep yellows and oranges (not the primary shades of the same) tend to generate conversation, and stimulate the appetite. These are Thanksgiving yellows and oranges. So try to find a tablecloth, napkins, signs, maybe even balloons in these shades, esp. if there will be competing bake sales in the area. To make it look even more attractive, place 1 tablecloth on the table, and stack books at different levels on the table (tallest in back, nearest sellers) to make platforms for items, cover with a second tablecloth in the same color and swirl excess material around bases of platforms or plates. Go with donations, rather than pricing each item. Most people will make a larger donation, than what you would charge for an item. It will also limit the need to make change. Consider your audience and adapt what you sell. For example, a military wives' group would run a bake sale table for soldiers who were waiting for their turns to make a weekend training jump. It was early in the morning, and for years, donuts & cookies reigned. But someone decided to bring some breakfast sandwiches...bagels w/cheese & luncheon meat kept in a cooler, and some hot chocolate. There was a rush at the table and everything sold out very quickly. After that, they had more of the breakfast sandwiches, than sweet things. By the way, the money raised helped to pay for a Christmas party for the soldiers.
POST IT...with your charity or volunteer group info.
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When NOT to Fill it Up
Try to avoid filling up at any gas station that has a gasoline supply truck making a delivery, or a station where a delivery has just been made. A mechanic shared this tip with me once. He said that with the tank openings being on the ground, it is almost unavoidable that little bits of trash, debris, or dirt fall in at times. Not to mention debris that might get into the truck or other holding tanks over time. When a truck fills a tank, all that debris gets stirred up and agitated, the same way a glass with sand in the bottom would be if you added water. If you fill up your car before the debris has had a chance to settle to the bottom again, then it might not be so great for your engine. While many stages have filters, it never hurts to be careful. So if you see a supply truck, hit the next station, or wait a few hours for things to settle down. If you have oil heat, you might also want to wait about an hour after your oil delivery before turning on your heat.
POST IT...on your dash, or near your thermostat.
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Pot Hole Damage Reimbursement
Here's one that I had never heard about. Did you know that in most cases, if your car is damaged by a pothole, you can usually get reimbursement from the agency that is supposed to be maintaining the road? If a construction company is working on the road and doesn't mark a hazard well enough, contact the company with an estimate (from your mechanic) for repairs and ask to be reimbursed. If the road is maintained by your local Department of Transportation, contact their main number and ask for the proper department. If the road is privately maintained, contact their main office. Where you file the claim, all depends on who is responsible for the road. Another plus is that the pothole will be brought to their attention, and hopefully fixed quickly. In some cases, they may require you to fix your damage before reimbursement. Keep this in mind, esp. if you are heading out for spring break, since this is prime pothole season.
POST IT...in the yellow pages with your mechanic's number.
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Parade Float Museum & Caverns
Speaking of spring break, here's one that you may not have heard of, but if you are anywhere nearby, you won't be sorry if you add it to your list of sights to see. Shenandoah Caverns AND American Celebration on Parade AND Main Street of Yesteryear AND goats to feed are ALL included on the same ticket, and well worth the entry price. First, Shenandoah Caverns alone are amazing, featured in National Geographic, you can take the 1 hour tour through beautiful formations with colorful lighting that is among the best I have seen in caverns. The tour guides aren't just informative, they are VERY entertaining, which makes it fun for one and all. Before or after your tour, you can walk through Main Street of Yesteryear with window animated displays of moving toys and characters, mostly in a Christmas theme. You'll feel like you have stepped back in time. Once you have seen the caverns and Main Street, you can browse through their gift shop, get a snack, or head outside to let the kids climb on the dinosaur or hand feed little goats in a pen out back. Then head just down the road a piece for the final show, American Celebration on Parade. This is a huge hangar-like building that is filled with parade floats from almost any major parade in the nation, including Presidential Inaugurals, the Rose Parade, Thanksgiving, and Mardi Gras. Be sure to go through with the tour guide first for all the trivia that makes it interesting, and then feel free to browse on your own. Kids can even turn the animated/robotic floats off & on with a switch of a button. You can climb on many of the floats as well. You'll see 3 floats (Flag, Wyoming, and Constitution) that were in the inaugural parade this past January, among many others. This is a "museum" that will bring smiles to the faces of kids, young and old. Located just off I-81 at Exit 269, on VA-730, just follow the signs for an experience you'll never forget. Don't pass this one up. For more info, go to their web site... www.shenandoahcaverns.com. Be sure to click on "Internet Coupon" on their "Schedule & Rates" Page. If you don't have web site access, give them a call at... 1-888-4-CAVERN (1-888-422-8376)
POST IT...with your travel maps of this area, or on your calendar. This one is worth a special trip to the "town" of Shenandoah Caverns, VA.
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Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cakes (& Other Flavors)
Here's an easy way to dress up just about any cake (well, I'm not sure about Angel Food, but it might work ;-). Just add chocolate chips (or other flavor) to your favorite cake mix (we always find our best results with Duncan Hines mixes). Just before you pour the batter into the pan, stir in 1C of chips with a spoon. Pour into the pan. Do NOT tap the pan to get rid of air bubbles (for all of you tappers out there), instead "cut" through the batter with a sharp knife to break up bubbles. If you tap, all the chips will fall to the bottom, if you "cut," they will stay evenly distributed. Be creative! My favorite combo is a Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix w/chocolate chips, but it would look nice with white chocolate chips, raspberry chocolate, or even peanut butter chips. A white cake mix would look nice with just about any kind of chip, as well as a yellow. If you really want to WOW them, use our Lite recipe (see Back Issue below); people always express surprise that the flavor filled cake is low fat as well.
POST IT...on your shopping list and recipe box under "Cakes."
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Back Issue Treasure: July 15th, 1997 Issue
Here's an issue from our very first YEAR, a blast from the past. This is where you will find the Lite Cake recipe (no, not the applesauce one) mentioned above. You will read a review of "The Gift of Fear," a book that I believe every woman (and man for that matter) should read, because it teaches you more about protecting yourself than any self-defense course will. You can also learn, in this back issue, the best self defense spray to buy, and why you should have a set of "dummy" keys in your purse or pocket. All this and much more in this great back issue. To retrieve this back issue and many others (do a search for "Easter" for some great Easter back issues), follow the directions below...
To retrieve these back issues click HERE.
POST IT...by your computer.
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Missing Children: Sarah & Thomas Sherman
Thomas (1-yr-old, white male, blond hair, blue eyes, 2'0", 28 lbs) and sister
Sarah (3yr-old, white female, brown hair, blue eyes, 3', 40 lbs) were last seen
on 2/20/2005. They are missing from Heath, Ohio in Licking County. They are
believed to be with their biological mother April Sherman(27 yr-old, white
female, sandy hair, blue eyes, 5'7", 120 lbs). They are traveling in a dented
red 1992 2-door Dodge Shadow with a missing front grill. They may be heading to
Florida, West Virginia or Cleveland, Ohio. For photos go to...
http://www.ncmec.org/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=Sherman&orgPrefix=USOH&searchLang=en_US
Or go to
www.ncmec.org, click on "More Search Options" and then enter "Sherman" under "Last Name," then click on "View Poster."
POST IT...in your car or business, esp. if you are in the area between Ohio and FL/WV.
Final Words
JOKE (Thanks to Thomas D.)
An irate woman burst into the baker's shop and said, " I sent my son in for two pounds of cookies this morning, but when I weighed them there was only one pound. I suggest that you check your scales." The baker looked at her calmly for a moment or two and then replied, " Ma'am, I suggest you weigh your son."
QUOTE
"A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.” --Anne Dillard (from "The Writing Life"
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AT&T's Community Port
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