MAKE A NOTE!! -- April 19th, 2006
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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 MAY 3RD, 2006
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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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Gift Certificates for (Your Choice)
We've all gotten those gift cards and gift certificates from well meaning family and friends for stores that we never use. Often they end up being eaten up by maintenance fees, or just never used. Maybe we've even been guilty of giving them out ourselves. Well, with Mother's/Father's Day fast approaching, here's a neat website that you might want to check out. At... http://www.giftcert.com You can purchase gift certificate "coupons" for email, mail, or personal delivery. Then the recipient(s) can choose from a large list, which store they would like to receive the gift certificate/card for. It works like this, I go online and buy a $30 gift certificate for a friend and send them an e-card to announce the certificate. They receive it, can take the certificate info and go to a website and pick out which business they would like to use the gift certificate for, then the company will send them a gift certificate for their choice. You can also do this for people without computers. When you go to the website above, the first listing is for the Premiere Choice program and they will sell you the certificates (for 10% of their value), then they can be mailed or given to the recipients along with instructions for picking their business. If you would like to do it all online (and the recipient as well), then you can scroll down to the Gift Wish Certificates link and click on that. They charge a flat fee of $2.95 per certificate. This is a great idea for anytime, but also for last minute gifts, like a birthday you didn't know about, the birth of a baby, job promotion, etc.
POST IT...with your greeting cards and in your favorites list.
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Summer Activities BREAK
I'm hoping that most of our readers, who are parents, haven't forgotten what it was like to just spend a summer doing nothing. Hanging out with friends, going swimming or biking if you felt like it, walking down to the store for ice cream, board games, reading, taking it easy. These days it is often hard to tell a difference between the school year and summer; some people have their kids in so many activities, clubs, and programs that the kids literally have no free time at all. Don't let your kids grow up without experiencing that freedom to take it easy for a summer. I'm not saying it has to be every summer, but consider taking a break this summer from EVERYTHING. No classes, no organized activities, just enjoying the summer. I think you will find that, not only will your children enjoy the break, but the parents will as well (they won't be running around trying to take the kids TO all the activities, not to mention paying all the fees for the activities).
POST IT...on your calendar.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Once you see how nice a lightening of the load can be, and how much it can improve the spirits of the family, it might be a good time to reconsider your school year schedule. Maybe some cuts need to be made.
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Jewelry Tangles
Have you ever had a beautiful fine jewelry chain that seemed to be hopelessly tangled? The more you tried to fix it, the worse it seemed to get. Well, we can't guarantee that these tips will restore it to normal, but I think they would be a good start. First, roll the knot very, very gently in between your fingers to loosen the knot. Lay it down on a flat hard surface that won't scratch. Take 2 pins or needles and use them to carefully pull the openings bigger & bigger so that you can see how to untangle the knot. The needles/pins can get into the spaces where your fingers can't fit. If one area doesn't want to budge, try to focus on other areas. Eventually, we hope that you'll be able to untangle the mess and start using that favorite chain once again.
POST IT...in your jewelry box.
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Wilderness Food Survival Tips
There are many variations for this type of list, but here is our favorite from tracker/author Hannah Nyala. If you are ever in a survival situation, do not have food, and aren't sure what food is safe, consider these tips to test food. Look for bushes that animals are eating off of (this doesn't mean the food is safe, but it is a good place to start trying the tips below). Take a piece of the plant (not where the animals have actually been eating, but an untouched part of the plant), rub the juice or sap onto your skin (wrists/ankles are good test spots), and wait 15 minutes while you watch for a bad reaction (swelling, redness, irritation, or a rash). If no reaction, apply some juice/sap to your lips and watch for a reaction(the same as for skin, but also shortness of breath, or headache) for 3 min. If no reaction, apply to tongue, but do not swallow, and watch for a reaction for 15 min. If no reaction, chew part of plant for 15 min, but do NOT swallow (spit, if fluids get to be too much in your mouth). If no reaction, then swallow the part you have been chewing and then watch for a reaction for 8 hours (same reactions as above, but also vomiting, diarrhea, possibly fever). If no reaction after 8 hours, then it should be safe to consume. It is usually a good idea to avoid anything with a sap that is milky or turns black with air. It is also good to avoid the PCP GODs...any plant that looks like Parsley, Carrots, Parsnips, Garlic, Onion, or Dill. If you would like to learn more about what to do if you are lost & in a survival situation (and how to avoid them), Hannah Nyala's books, while a autobiography (Point Last Seen...you may have seen the movie starring Linda Hamilton) and fiction (Leave No Trace, Cry Last Heard), are very entertaining sources of good info. Her autobiography is inspiring. Check out her website at... http://pointlastseen.com/tracking.htm
POST IT...with your hiking gear, and on your reading list.
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Recipe: Easy Herbal Ice Tea
Do you like herbal tea, but when it's iced, it just isn't strong enough for you? Try this recipe to get a touch of herbal flavoring in your tea.
 | Take 3 family sized (larger than single serving) tea bags (be sure to remove any metal staples) of regular tea (decaff is even better), and 2 single size herbal tea bags and place in a pitcher or container small enough to fit in your microwave. |
| Add 2 C of cold water. |
| Add sugar if desired (I just like a slight sugar taste and use about a half cup of sugar). |
| Stir up a little, microwave for 4 min., let sit for 8 min, then add another 6 C of cold water while stirring, to make 1/2 gallon. |
| Chill. |
This makes a nice ice tea with a slight herbal flavoring, pick your favorite. We like Chamomile. A lot of people enjoy it & ask for the recipe. Summer is coming, so...
POST IT...in your recipe box & shopping list.
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Back Issue Treasure: June 15th, 2000 Issue (Cheaper Antibacterial Liquid "Soap," Summer Tips-Protect Yourself AND Your Children from the Sun AND Protect Yourself and Your Children from Dehydration, Do It Yourself VIN Etching to Save $$$ On Car Insurance, Breakthrough for Stroke Patients, & More)
With summer coming, we thought you might like this back issue with some good summer tips. Keep those hands washed, but do it for less money with cheaper antibacterial liquid "soap." Learn ways to protect your family from the sun and dehydration. The next time you're out washing your car, why not do some VIN etching to save some money on your car insurance. An article that might be of interest to stroke patients too.
Louanne Wise (1-yr-old white female, sandy hair, hazel eyes, 2'6", 17 lbs, scar on chest) went missing from Spring Hill, FL on Mar 20, 2006 and is believed to be with her non-custodial mother, Anne Elizabeth Sanborn(40-yr-old, white female, blonde hair, brown eyes, 5'6", 130 lbs, tattoo of "HP" and "Val" on her back, unknown tattoo on left ankle, may use the last name of Horn or Wise). A felony warrant is on file for the mother. For a poster and photos, go to... http://www.ncmec.org/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1041384&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US Or go to www.ncmec.org and enter in her name.
POST IT...in your car or business, esp. if you are in the Spring Hill, FL area.
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Final Words
JOKE (Thanks to Noelle P.)
How do you get a puppy to be quiet? You give him a Hush Puppy (food or shoe ;-).
QUOTE
"The minute I stopped trying to find the right girl, and started trying to become the right guy...the girl came."
--Jonathan Antin (1967- ), celebrity hairstylist, businessman.
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AT&T's Community Port
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