Favor to Ask ..... Please

If you could take 5 minutes of your time and vote for Jenn as the 2010 Face of e.l.f. both she and I would be so grateful. Modeling is something that she thinks she would really like to do. She has done some background work on a yet to be released movie with Meryl Streep and had fun doing it. (The movie is suppose to be released Christmas Day, so of course we have to watch closely to see if we can catch her.) You can vote once a day until New Year's Eve. Please take those few short seconds/minutes to cast your vote for Jenn.

When we saw this, we thought it would be great to take a chance and do this too. Who knows? Every college kid needs something to keep them out of trouble right?

Thanks for clicking :)


Face of ELF_2010 Jennifer_

Bibliofreak and the Great Kindle GiveAway

Have you heard about The Great Kindle Give Away? Bibliofreak, a book blog, is giving away at least one Kindle, probably more. I've entered, and I'm hoping you will, too.

Entering is easy. Just follow these steps:

1.) Click Here: http://bibliofreakblog.com/great-kindle-giveaway/?ref=2b07c0f5e7
2.) Enter your information into form that says "Newsletter Signup" and push Subscribe Now
3.) Check your inbox for an email with the subject "Bibliofreakblog List: Please Confirm Subscription". Open and click where instructed.
4.)You will receive a welcome email, showing you where you can check your points and get your unique link and banners to use for the contest.

Free Samples / Freebies / Free

Free Samples / Freebies / Free

Outback Steakhouse

As a special thanks to our Veterans,

this Veteran's Day all Veterans and Active Duty Military will receive a free Bloomin' Onion and Beverage

And as a special note from me ........

Freedom isn't free,
So I would like to THANK YOU for everything you have done and continue to do for our country.

Do you need help with Math?

I know that when my kids were in school, I sure did. Now it wasn't that I didn't know HOW to do math, although I was not completely comfortable with some of the concepts, I did know if their answers were correct or not. But for the most part, I didn't do things the way they were taught, so it was always a struggle if they forgot how it was down in class.

Here is a great website for moms and kids alike to get online math help, some of which is free or at affordable rates. Check out your very own online math help for subjects like math help in geometry or online math help in algebra or find an online math tutor in calculus or online math tutoring for statistics and probability or number theory just to pick a few. Your help could be from their free online math help or their free online math tutoring, its your choice. I think Jenn will need to check these out to see if it helps her with calculus and she is in college!

One of the great aspects of this program is that its not for a limited number of people. They have math help for everyone from Kindergarten through High School Seniors. AND its open 24 hours a day! How many middle school and high school kids leave those things they don't really "get" until the last and then at 10 o'clock say "I can't finish my math homework because I don't know how"? Now they can just click and get one on one help at math help.

Math help and online math tutoring comes in grade specific formats. You can get free online math help for grade3 or math help for grade7 or free online math tutoring for grade12 and all the other grades in-between. So if your school or your child is more or less advanced, you can move easily to another grade and still get all the help you need. They even have SAT and ACT help.

One of the other things I really like about this site is that you can actually TALK with your math tutor, while on your computer using voice over IP technology, so kids will think this is just so cool having their own personal tutor. But if they want to keep it "quiet", nobody needs to know they have a tutor because they don't have to leave the house. Mom no longer has to worry about whether she knows how to do some math problem because the online math tutoring allows that worry to be gone.

You also get your own whiteboard where you can SEE what the tutor is doing and what they really mean, step by step, and the tutor can see what you are doing, so there is an interaction with the tutor. See how it works to see how the whiteboard works with your tutor. It's not just reading a page (whether its in the same format as your own text book or not), it gives a personal touch that adds so much more to the online math tutoring session. Some kids learn the concepts better this way because they are much more visual learners. This could be part of the edge your child needs to excel, check out math help to see if this program is right for you and your child.

Many parents are looking for a tutor to give their kids an edge, and believe me that can be expensive - this seems like a great alternative to those "go to centers" since no one sees you go to your tutor. The free online math help and free online math tutoring will give your child the edge they may need to make their results shine. And doesn't every parent want their child to shine?

The Amazing Cucumber

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.


1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.


2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!



Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems..

A lesson that SHOULD be taught in EVERY school

I saw this post this morning on Facebook by my friend Christina Gray. I thought that this went well with some of my other postings and wanted to make it visible to more and more people - it is a lesson that should not be missed by anyone, whether you are still in school or not. Thanks Christina!

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.
When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. 'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.' They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,' she said. 'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.' And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom.

Now I am going to tell you.' At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story.

Please consider passing this along so others won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans. Lesson that should be taught in all schools . . . and colleges.

Prevention - the key to surviving this flu season

Many of us do not get the yearly flu shot - for a variety of reasons. This year there is a big push to get both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 shot or nasal spray. Personally I have a real concern with the H1N1 shot/spray, many of which are shared by some health care professionals who won't be giving/getting the shot/spray for their families.

I received the following in an email this morning, and decided it was something to share with everyone - whether they had decided to get the shot or not. If it helps - hey why not. I'm going to give this a shot - especially since I have never gotten the regular flu shot and don't expect to start now, even with the H1N1

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).
The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu)

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and . *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.


I suggest you pass this on. You never know 20 who might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.