Rainy day outside?? Keep the kids busy for hours with this!!

I don't know why I haven't been doing this for years with my kids! My littlest one was sick with fever for about a week and it was a nasty rainy week as well. So..... to cheer her up and bring a sunny day INSIDE, even if it wasn't so sunny outside, I decided to break out the sidewalk chalk.  Yep, sidewalk chalk! We drew a beautiful sun and flowers and birds right on the wall. She loved it! And so did I. Since then, I have been allowing everyone to have a blast drawing all over the walls, and they love it of course because it's not something most kids get to do, rather they would normally be in trouble for it. Not with sidewalk chalk though. You can allow them to decorate, play games, get their boredom out, and it all can be wiped away with a simple wet cloth!  No chalkboard paint needed....unless you prefer that. It's fun for everyone, little ones, parents, and yes..... even the forever bored teenager will enjoy this.

I hope all of you try it and enjoy every second of it. Forget the old uptight 'don't draw on the wall' attitude and just have fun!! They and you will remember it forever.
It's amazing how creative they can be :)
Here's to throwing out the rules for once :)   Have Fun!!

Grits with Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

This is one of my absolute favorite ways to start the day.

It is also one of my favorite things from my childhood.

Grits with Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

For the grits:

3 cups water

sea salt

cracked pepper

butter

1 cup quick grits

optional: cheese (as much or little as you like)

Boil water, salt, and butter.

Reduce heat to simmer and whisk in grits.

continue to whisk until smooth and thick.

Remove from heat.

For the tomatoes and okra:

(Now this is more for the advanced chef but it's worth the effort.)

Take the can of Stewed tomatoes with Okra

Open it

Pour in small pot

heat ;)

                           Dish up the grits and pour stewed tomatoes and okra over grits.  Enjoy!!

Just a reminder

Don't forget to go to the right side of this page and scroll down to the "blog archives" for lots of great past posts. Enjoy! :)

"Weird" Home Remedies that Actually Work

The fact that the title of this piece has the word "weird" in it is amusing to me. Simply because people can't grasp that these "weird" remedies actually work and have worked for decades, maybe even centuries, unless some scientific lab monkey says they work.

I am sharing this article simply because they are great remedies and everyone should know them. Here's to great health....without side effects! :)  Enjoy.  ~~~>

***Strange but true: you’ve probably got an amazing assortment of stuff in the kitchen, the tool box or the medicine chest that can do double duty as remedies for all kinds of common ailments. What’s more, there’s actual scientific research to back up some of these do-it-yourself treatments. Here’s a rundown on the most intriguing nine:

Didgeridoo for Sleep Apnea

Okay, so this probably isn’t something you’ve got lying around the house. You may not have heard of it either, but if you’ve got sleep apnea, this strange-sounding Australian wind instrument may be just what you need.
According to a study from Switzerland, four months of learning to play the didgeridoo worked well for patients with moderate sleep apnea, made for a better night’s sleep, and reduced daytime sleepiness. Even more, their bed partners slept better, too. Playing the instrument addressed sleep apnea by strengthening the upper airway, which prevents it from narrowing as you inhale.
10 Natural Ways to Sleep Better

Biting on a Pencil for Headache Relief

This won’t work for migraines, but if you get common tension headaches, the pencil trick may help prevent them. We tend to automatically clench our jaws and teeth when we’re anxious or stressed, and this is a subconscious reaction that can lead to a tension headache.
When you feel your jaw clench, put a pencil between your teeth (don’t bite down) and hold it there. This simple strategy will cause your jaw to relax, easing tension, forestalling the headache, and easing the pain.
How to Avoid a Migraine Before It Happens

Listerine for Blisters

You know it as a breath freshener and an antiseptic, but Listerine can also dry out blisters. Dab some on a cotton ball and apply it to your blister three times a day until it dries and the pain vanishes. Integrative medicine pioneer Andrew Weil, M.D., recommends applying petroleum jelly on a blister for temporary pain relief.

Lemon Balm Tea for Cold Sores

Lemon balm is a member of the mint family and packs an anti-viral punch that can heal cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus. A big study in Germany found that once treated with lemon balm, not a single cold sore recurrence occurred.

Duct Tape for Warts

This is not an old wives tale. Using duct tape to remove warts has been shown to work better than freezing them off. In one study, duct tape eliminated 85 percent of patients' warts in two months (freezing eradicated only 60 percent).
Here’s how it works: make sure the wart and surrounding skin are clean, then cut a piece of duct tape a bit larger than the wart and press into place. Remove the tape every three days, rub the wart with an emery board or pumice stone, and repeat until the wart is gone.

Ginger for Motion Sickness

Crystalized ginger, ginger tea, ginger syrup, or capsules of ginger powder can combat motion sickness and nausea in general (ginger ale or even ginger snaps may help, too). One study found that ginger worked better for motion sickness than anti-nausea medication, and Danish researchers report that ginger helped quell seasickness in susceptible naval cadets better than a placebo.

Papaya for Smoother Skin

The active ingredient is papain, an enzyme that dissolves dead surface cells that give skin a dull, rough look. Try this fruity facial to soften and smooth your skin: wash and peel a ripe papaya and swirl about two tablespoons in a food processor. Add a tablespoon of dried oatmeal and apply to your freshly washed face for 10 minutes. Remove with warm water or a wet washcloth.

Banana Bonanza

You can do a lot more with a banana than slice it on your cereal. Among the fruit's other uses: slap a banana peel (the inside part) on an itch caused by a bug bite or poison ivy; this will dial down the inflammation and relieve the itch. You can also use mashed banana as a facial--it’s great for moisturizing dry skin. Banana peel also has anti-acne properties: just rub the inside part of the peel over your clean face to get the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects.

Mustard for Minor Burns

Slather mustard on seared skin. After an initial sting, the mustard will relieve the pain and prevent scarring and blistering. No science here, but lots of enthusiastic testimonials.


The above information came from the following site : 
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/weird-home-remedies-actually-work

Lemons! One of Natures amazing creations and some of it's awsome uses.

10 uses for lemons

From whitening laundry to keeping insects away, here are 10 uses for lemons around the house.

By Stephanie RogersWed, May 16 2012 at 1:45 PM EST

Photo: Susan McKenzie/Shutterstock

Lemons are so much more than a colorful garnish. These little yellow citrus fruits have hundreds of practical applications around the house, from polishing stainless steel appliances to brightening laundry. The citric acid in lemons gives them powerful natural cleaning abilities, and they're useful for natural health and beauty, too. These 10 uses for lemons will cut back on your house cleaning expenses, eliminate unnecessary chemical cleaners and give your home a fresh, invigorating scent.

Deodorize your home

From the refrigerator to the cat litter box, lemons can eliminate bad smells of all kinds throughout the house. Soak a sponge in lemon juice and place it inside the fridge to absorb odors. Simmer lemon peel in a pot of water for a fresh whole-house scent. Toss leftover lemon down your garbage disposal to banish bad smells from accumulated food gunk. Just a few slices of cut lemon placed near a litter box will help neutralize unpleasant odors.

Remove tarnish

Remove the tarnish that keeps brass, copper and stainless steel from sparkling by making a paste of lemon juice and salt and applying it to the affected surface. Let it sit for five minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Polish metal surfaces

There's no need to purchase a special polish for stainless steel, aluminum and chrome. Just cut a lemon in half and rub it directly on the surface to remove fingerprints and grime. For extra cleaning power, mix lemon juice with either salt, baking soda or cream of tartar. The latter two options are gentle enough to polish metal surfaces without leaving any scratches behind.

Eliminate stains

Sweat, grass, wine, tomato and other stains can be lifted right out with a little lemon juice. Blot up as much of the offending substance as possible, and then saturate the stain with juice. Sprinkle with salt and then rub the salt in. Then, toss the garment into the wash.

Brighten laundry without bleach

You don't need bleach to brighten whites that have dulled or yellowed. Add a quarter-cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle when washing white laundry, and then hang the items to dry on a clothesline in the sun. The combination of the lemons and sunlight will have your whites looking good as new.

Keep fruits and vegetables from turning brown

Apples, potatoes, avocados and other fruits and vegetable that tend to turn brown when sliced can be preserved with just a little bit of lemon juice. Add a teaspoon or so to the water when boiling potatoes, and sprinkle just a little bit on fruit salad or guacamole.

Relieve a sore throat

No matter how it's flavored, cough syrup never tastes good. The next time your throat is so sore you can barely breathe, try this trick instead: mix a tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey into a cup of water and either simmer on the stovetop or microwave until warm, but not too hot to drink. The lemon clears congestion, while the honey soothes inflamed tissue.

Clean greasy dishes

Lemon juice is extremely effective on grease. Squeeze it onto tough messes, including crusted, baked-on foods, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, make a paste with some baking soda and a little more lemon juice and scrub away the gunk.

Repel insects without pesticides

Ants, fleas, moths, cockroaches and other insects are driven away by the strong scent and flavor of lemons. Hang a breathable cloth sachet of dried lemon peels in your closet instead of mothballs, and squeeze fresh lemon juice onto windowsills and doors where pests are likely to gain entrance to your home. You can also spray lemon juice into hard-to-reach areas, like the cracks between appliances and walls.

Whiten yellow fingernails

Give your nails a healthier, more youthful look with a lemon juice soak. Remove any nail polish, wash your hands and then soak your fingernails in full-strength lemon juice for a minute or two. Moisturize them afterward to prevent excessive dryness.

This information was shared from the following site (always give credit where credit is due)

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/10-uses-for-lemons

5 things in your kitchen that can make you sick.

By Nicci Micco, M.S., Content Director, Custom Publishing & Licensing for EatingWell

Every year, 76 million Americans get sick from food, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nothing you can do will ever guarantee 100 percent protection against foodborne illness, but taking certain precautions can help reduce your risk. Some of these protective steps are common sense, like washing your hands before you eat. Others aren't so obvious. Read on to discover five surprising sources of foodborne "bugs" in your kitchen, we've written about in EatingWell Magazine, and how to protect yourself.
Related: 10 Rules for a Healthy Kitchen

Kitchen threat #1: Your kitchen sponge. When participants in a study from NSF International (an independent public health organization) swabbed various items in their houses, the kitchen sponge was by far the germiest. In fact, it harbored 150 times more bacteria, mold and yeast than a toothbrush holder. "You pick up bacteria when cleaning, but because you rarely disinfect that sponge between uses, germs multiply," says Rob Donofrio, M.S., Ph.D., NSF's director of microbiology. While the majority of germs they found won't make you sick some, such as Salmonella and E. coli, can cause serious illness. The best way to de-germ your sponge: microwave a wet sponge for two minutes daily and replace it every two weeks.
Must-Read: 7 More Unexpected Uses for Your Microwave

Kitchen threat #2: Your fridge. Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria, so it's important to make sure that your refrigerator doesn't rise above 40°F. Reduce your risk of foodborne illness by keeping tabs on your fridge temp with a thermometer. You can buy a "refrigerator/freezer thermometer" at appliance stores, home centers (e.g., Home Depot) and online kitchen stores.

Kitchen threat #3: Cutting boards. Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and produce/cooked foods.
Related: 9 Products for a Healthier Kitchen

Kitchen threat #4: Uncooked eggs. If you enjoy eating eggs with runny yolks or snitching a bit of raw batter when you're making cookies, you're not alone. But the USDA recommends avoiding raw or undercooked eggs (especially for young children and the elderly) because of the possibility of foodborne illness, like Salmonella. If you can't keep your hands (or your kids' hands) out of the cookie batter or you're working with a recipe that calls for raw or undercooked eggs, consider pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs. They're no different than regular eggs except they've been heat-treated to kill any harmful bacteria-making them safe to consume raw or partially cooked. Look for them in large supermarkets near other in-the-carton eggs.
Don't Miss: 5 Common Foodborne Bacteria You Want to Avoid

Kitchen threat #5: Recalled items. You should discard any food that's been recalled because it's associated with the outbreak of a foodborne illness. But according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University, only about 60 percent of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. Whenever there's a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe. For more information on food recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.