Wednesday, December 10, 2008

09.16.2008

Hello everyone. I hope it's been a good week for you since I last dropped in. Thanks to all that sent in stuff to include. We have several new subscribers too which makes me very happy. I have quite a bit to share this time, so let's get to it. ~Toni
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I noticed on my calendar for this week Citizenship Day and I must admit I really didn't know much about the holiday. So I decided to investigate and found that it is also called Constitution Day, so to celebrate, here are some U.S. Constitution facts that I thought were fun and interesting:

Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17, the anniversary of the day the framers signed the document.

The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.

Of the spelling errors in the Constitution, “Pensylvania” above the signers’ names is probably the most glaring.

The Constitution was “penned” by Jacob Shallus, A Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for $30 ($661 today).

Since 1952, the Constitution has been on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Currently, all four pages are displayed behind protective glass framed with titanium. To preserve the parchment’s quality, the cases contain argon gas and are kept at 67 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 40 percent.

Because of his poor health, Benjamin Franklin needed help to sign the Constitution. As he did so, tears streamed down his face.

The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).

When the Constitution was signed, the United States’ population was 4 million. It is now more than 300 million. Philadelphia was the nation’s largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give “thanks” for the new Constitution.

The first time the formal term “The United States of America” was used was in the Declaration of Independence.

It took one hundred days to actually “frame” the Constitution.

George Washington and James Madison were the only presidents who signed the Constitution.
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~Cool Picks From Phyllis~

Hello again everyone! Last time I shared a serious subject for my Cool Pick, so this time I'm going to share a FUN site. Do you like getting things for free? I know I sure do! There is a really great site that I go to a couple of times a week called Free Grabber. It has links for all kinds of free samples. I've gotten disposable razors, tampons, posters and even lasagna from NutriSystem! I've also gotten sample sizes of liquid soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and more! Its always a little thrill for me when I get my mail and find a new sample waiting for me. So check it out! Its totally free. The only "down side" I can think of is that most of the free sample offers require your email address so they can send you coupons and info about new products. If you're like me and don't want them clogging up your inbox with spam, just create a separate email address to send them to (I use Yahoo for this).
Enjoy your free samples!
http://www.freegrabber.com/
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If you have been seeing small flies or gnats in your kitchen, they're probably fruit flies. Fruit flies can be a problem year round, but are especially common during late summer/fall because they are attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes, melons, squash, grapes and other perishable items brought in from the garden are often the cause of an infestation developing indoors. Fruit flies are also attracted to rotting bananas, potatoes, onions and other unrefrigerated produce purchased at the grocery store.

But never fear, getting rid of fruit flies is so easy! First clean out any fruit and veggies that are too ripe and wipe down the surfaces they were on. Then you'll need a jar and a funnel. You can use a funnel made from paper or a plastic one. Just make sure that the funnel fits the top of the jar completely so the fruit flies can't escape. And make sure the funnel hole is too small for them to escape that way. I am using apple cider vinegar and within three days the fruit flies are gone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought you might enjoy this riddle that my friend Cheryl sent to me. I'll include the answer next week:

What is greater than God,
More evil than the devil,
The poor have it,
The rich need it,
And if you eat it, you'll die?
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This tip comes from my cousin Ann:

1 Teaspoon of Tang (yes the orange drink) in an empty dishwasher on hot water will remove stains on the inside. Run it through the long cycle...
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I'm sure we all have getting better gas mileage on our minds. My hubby John has put new air filters in our car and truck both. The other day I was thinking that would be something good to share and mentioned to him I'd like him to write something up about the air filters that I could include here. Then I thought that he might have other ideas to share from time to time and have offered him his own space here. He works a lot so I don't know if he'll be a weekly contributor, but he'll be here as time and ideas allow. Now for the first installment of...

~Handyman John~

Hi Toni. You asked me for a little information about K&N air filters for your newsletter so I'll tell you what I know from my personal experience. First impression, they seem pricey. $50.00+ on average. However they are designed to last the lifetime of your car. They do need cleaned & re-oiled every 50,000 miles under normal driving conditions. The standard paper disposable filters need replaced around every 10,000 miles or less and cost around $10.00 & up. So on that note, you're probably going to at least break even on the inital cost if you are planning on keeping the car for a while. I also noticed some mileage gain after installing a K&N in our autos. A gain of 3 MPG in the truck and 5 MPG in the car, with some noticeable performance gain on each. It's not going to take long for the K&N's to pay for themselves on fuel savings. Installation was simple and would be a snap for the do-it-yourselfer. K&N's can be picked up just about any auto parts store or ordered from their web site http://www.knfilters.com/ I would recommend investing for a K&N air filter to anyone looking for a little MPG & horsepower gain.
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FREEBIE
I don't know how long this offer will be up, but as of right now go to this site and get a free cookie
http://www.kashi.com/stealacookie/getmycookie
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These tips come from Regina:

1. When you have loaf bread that is less than fresh, don't throw it away just because it is stale. Make bread crumbs for meatloaf, or like this morning I made french toast and we had a yummy breakfast and I did not have to waste those stale pieces of bread.

2. When making deviled eggs: Put the egg yolks in a Ziploc bag. Mash thourghly and then add your mayo, salt and pepper and mix well again. Cut the corner off the baggie and sqeeze mixture out into the egg half. (Note from Toni: I do my eggs this way and it makes such a pretty presentation)
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If you are like me, you have several email addresses and each most likely has different passwords. And then there are passwords for online banking and e-stores you stop from and organizations that require a user name and password and on and on. How to keep it all straight?

My solution is a nice file box. I have chosen a 4X6 box and have the alphabet dividers and a pack of ruled index cards. I'll explain what I put on each card for an example to get you started but I'm sure you'll find a way that works the best for you. I have a separate card for each thing and on it I have the web site URL, the 800# if it's a company, my customer number, my user name, password, secret question, challenge question, etc. And since I have 2 yahoo addresses for example I have one card that at the top says "Toni Yahoo" and the other says "TwoFriendsNewsletter". Everything can be kept alphabetized and neat and right at your fingertips this way. And it's always easy to add in a new card when needed and toss a card of a company you no longer use.
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Here is a made-up example of a yahoo card I'd have:
Two Friends Newsletter Yahoo
twofriendsnewsletter@yahoo.com
password: itsAbig$ecreT
alternate email: alternateemail@yahoo.com
Security question: Where did you meet your spouse? At a church camp meeting.
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Here's a made-up example of a card for your online banking:
Big Money Bank
www.bigmoneybank.com
1-800-123-4567
email I use: tonisotheraddress@yahoo.com
user id: lighthouselover7
security question: Who was my prom date? Billy Bob
Challenge questions:
1. Name of high school? Get Smart High School
2. Name of first pet? Killer
3. Birth city? Smalltown WV
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So whatever you need for each site you visit, all on one card, conveniently alphabetized and filed away.
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Come said the wind to the leaves one day,
Come o're the meadows and we will play.
Put on your dresses scarlet and gold,
For summer is gone and the days grow cold.
- A Children's Song of the 1880's

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