Replies

Hints I think are from TwoStep, ducking.....hehheheh Home Helpful Household Hints

Vacuum your hardwood, tile or linoleum floors and scrub them less often. The new "Swifters" clean floors quickly and effortlessly too.
Love to have a fire in your fireplace but hate to clean out the ashes? Spread a wide sheet of aluminum foil underneath the grates in the fireplace. The foil will catch all the ashes. When the fire has burned out and cooled, fold the foil up around the ashes and remove them to your garden for recycling.
Clean a vase: to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets
Unclog steam iron. Pour equal amounts of vinegar and water into the iron's water chamber. Turn to steam and leave the iron on for 5 minutes in an upright position. Then unplug and allow to cool. Any loose particles should come out when you empty the water.
Ants, ants, ants everywhere...Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march.
Remove decals. Brush with a couple coats of vinegar. Allow to soak in. Wash off.
Freshen cut flowers. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water.
Polish jewelry: drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Clean eyeglasses. Wipe each lens with a drop of vinegar.
Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is always painted, always? Everyday painters paint that bridge and when they finally finish they turn around and start all over again. It is a never ending process. The same can be said for housework. Think about it as a work in process, much like the bridge. Do a little bit each day and stop punishing yourself because it is not totally and thoroughly cleaned all at once. Remember, in the overall scheme of life, a clean house really isn't all that important.
The next time you run out of hair gel or mousse, use a small amount of shaving cream (NOT shaving gel) as an emergency alternative.
To revive a dried out stamp pad until you can buy a new one, put enough food coloring on the pad until it is fully saturated.
To remove old self stick shelf paper quickly and easily, simply run a warm iron over the paper and it will peel right off.
To make an accurate grocery list, keep it on the refrigerator door and jot down what you need as you run out.
Tired of lugging multiple laundry hampers down the stairs on laundry day? Not only is this fatiguing, it's an accident waiting to happen. Try this instead:
Use some type of liner in your hamper such as a large plastic or cloth bag, or a mesh laundry bag with a drawstring at the top. When it's time to haul dirty laundry, close the bag and toss it down the steps. Empty it in your laundry room then return the liners to their (stationary) hampers.
Once your kids witness you as do this, they might even offer to take over the job!
When running errands, make a list of all the stops you need to make, then start with the one farthest away. This way, if you don't complete your list, you can always squeeze in the "close to home" stops on another day
Use clothespins to re-close plastic food packages such as cereal bags, snack bags, cracker packages, etc. Children can manage clothespins more easily than zip-top bags, twist ties, or rubber bands. If you have wire shelving in your pantry, clip clothespins to the shelves so they're always handy. You can buy wooden clothes pins at hardware and discount stores; 50 sell for about $2..
Keep sponges fresh and germ resistent.. Put them in the microwave for one minute or run them through the dishwasher on the top rack.
If you have a hard time visualizing what those small paint chips at the store will look like on your wall, here's an idea!
Buy a small amount of the paint (such as a pint or quart) and paint a posterboard!
The painted board is large enough to tape up on a wall to give you a good idea of how it will look. You can move the board from wall to wall to see how various lighting conditions will affect the color of paint you have chosen. This is a much better alternative than painting the entire room only to find you can't live with the color. Excerpted from Emazing.com (http://www.emazing.com)
U.S. residents: Do you want to reduce the amount of junk mail and phone calls you receive? Then just ask the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)! The DMA offers a Mail Preference Service and a Telephone Preference Service for consumers who want their name removed from national advertising lists. Send your request in writing via U.S. mail --the DMA must have your signature to perform this service. Address your request to:

Maybe these are the ones.....Bwhahahahhahahh Here are some helpful hints for low-fat Grilling!

Starting The Fire

Before you start the fire, if your grill has bottom vents, open them.
For a more even-burning fire, use high-quality charcoal.
To determine the number of briquets needed, spread briquets one layer deep on the fire grate, extending them one to two inches beyond the area the food will cover on the cooking rack.
Then arrange those briquets in a pyramid shape.
Add lighter fluid and carefully light.
In about 30 minutes the coals should be ash-covered.
Carefully spread them in a single layer with a long-handled tongs and set the cooking grid in place.

Temperature

Beef should be grilled at medium temperature. To check the temperature of coals, hold the palm of your hand 4 inches above the coals. If heat forces you to pull your hand away...

after 2 seconds the coals are high.
after 4 seconds the coals are medium.
after 5 seconds the coals are low.

Actual cooking time will vary depending on the position of the meat on the grill and the degree of doneness desired.

Beef Doneness Guide

The best way to determine doneness is to use a meat thermometer. Always cook ground beef to medium doneness (160 degrees F). If you don't have a meat thermometer, cook ground beef until the center is no longer pink and the juices run clear. Test burgers by cutting them in half.

It's perfectly safe to enjoy steaks while they're still pink in the middle. Use the following guidelines to determine your preference:

Rare - bright red in the center and lighter pink towards the outside, 140 degrees
Medium - light pink in the center and brown towards the outside, 160 degrees
Well done - brown consistently throughout, 170 degrees

Best Beef For Grilling

Grilling is a low-fat cooking method, because as the meat cooks, the excess fat drips off the meat and into the fire. Of course steaks and burgers are the standard grilling favorites, but don't forget about beef kabobs and ribs! Grilling even gives beef roasts a great smoky flavor.

Blonde Cook Book

MONDAY: It's fun to cook for Bob. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls. TUESDAY: Bob wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Bob brought a friend home for supper. WEDNESDAY: A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed kinda of silly but I took a bath. I can't say it improved the rice any. THURSDAY: Today Bob asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Which is what led up to Bob asking me why I was rolling around in the garden. FRIDAY: I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put all ingredients in bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I left. SATURDAY: Bob did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday (oh boy). For some reason Bob keeps counting to ten. SUNDAY: Bob's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast. All I could find was hamburger. Suddenly I had a flash of genius. I put the hamburger in the oven and set the controls for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my disappointment. GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY. This has been a very exciting week. I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Bob. If we could just get a bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with Chocolate Moose.