07.07.2009

Hi everyone. It cannot possibly be July already. It's been non-stop here since the last issue. I haven't time to give much attention to the newsletter, but thankfully Phyllis has done a great job as usual, so her positives will make up for my negatives. :) Take care all...Toni
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~Tips from Cheryl~

Cheap Way to Make Room Smell Nice
Don't throw out perfume card samples from magazines or samples from stores. Instead put the card samples (or pour a tad of perfume onto a cotton ball, paper towel or tissue) and place into the bottom of a wastebasket.

Recycle Leftover Wrapping Paper
If pretty wrapping paper is in good shape, you can reuse it to wrap other gifts or use it to line dresser drawers and shelves. Every time you open a closet or cupboard, you will be reminded of a party or happy event.

Bed Freshener
If you have a guest room, before guests arrive or just to keep the bed fresh when unused, tuck several fabric softener sheets under the bottom sheet to keep it smelling nice.

To Prevent Greasy Stains on Plastic Containers
Line plastic containers with plastic wrap before you put in food. This will stop greasy or tomato-based products from staining the plastic. Wash in hot soapy water and use baking soda or salt to scrub off tough stains.

Cleaning Feather Dusters
Put a feather duster into a strong plastic bag and pour in a cup or two of cornstarch to clean it. Close bag tightly and shake hard (outside) for about half a minute. Take out duster and shake until all cornstarch is gone.
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...and finishing up the U.S. state preambles that Regina sent us...

--South Dakota 1889, We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties .
--Tennessee 1796, Art. XI...III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...
--Texas 1845, We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.
--Utah 1896, Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.
--Vermont 1777, Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man .
--Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other
--Washington 1889, We the People of the State of Washington, g rateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution
--West Virginia 1872, Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God .
--Wisconsin 1848, We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...
--Wyoming 1890, We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this Constitution....
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Easily fill a pastry or ziptop bag with frosting by standing the bag upright in a tall glass, then folding about 1/3 of the bag over the edge of the glass. Totally mess-free frosting filling!
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Stop, You’re Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 2,800 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 32,000 titles), both series (3,200+) and non-series.
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/
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...some fun and interesting facts that Marie wanted to share...

--Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only; Ladies Forbidden" and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English lauguage.

--The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

--Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.

--Coco-Cola was originally green.

--The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400

--The first novel ever written on a typewriter was Tom Sawyer.

--The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

--111,111,111 X 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

--If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

--Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomsom. Most of the rest signed on August 2; but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
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Toy Story

There's no way Pipi Quinlan has a sandbox big enough to play with the toy she bought on the internet without her parents' permission. In May, the 3-year-old New Zealand girl woke early and oplayed on her parent's computer while they slept. Once on the internet, Pipi somehow navigated to the auction website, TradeMe.com. From there Pipi found auctions for industrial earthmoving excavators that look like those she played with in her Legos set. Finding one she liked, she managed to place a bid and purchased the full-size Kobelco digger for $15,000. Her parents managed to cancel the transaction.
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Kim sent this joke to me and I wanted to share:

What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?

For Bird Flu you need tweetment and for Swine Flue you need oinkment.
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A source of clutter to watch out for is freebies. Stop automatically taking free pens, sponges, tote bags, etc. Just because it's free doesn't mean you need it. A good rule of thumb: If you wouldn't pay for it, leave it behind.
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When you use an online search engine for drug information, Wikipedia is often the first link to pop up. But relying on this encyclopedia, which allows anyone to edit entries can be risky. Here's a much better choice.
http://medlineplus.gov/
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Use BareSite.com to view websites and rss feeds faster and cheaper with your mobile device.
http://www.baresite.com/index.php?cc=yes
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~Marie's Laughter~

Four best friends met at the hospital since their wives were giving births to their babies. The nurse comes up to the first man and says, "Congratulations, you got twins." The man said "How strange, I'm the manager of Minnesota Twins." After awhile the nurse comes up to the second man and says, "Congratulations, you got triplets." Man was like "Hmmm, strange I worked as a director for the "3 musketeers." Finally, the nurse comes up to the third man and says "Congratulations, you got twins x2." Man is happy and says, "Ironic, I work for the hotel "4 Seasons." All three of them are happy until they see their last buddy jumping all over the place, questioning God and banging his head on the wall. They asked him what's wrong and he answered, "What's wrong? I work for 7up"!

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Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. We didn't go see fireworks but we could hear them and even get a glimpse of them from our front porch.
Well, I have a lot to share with you in this issue, so let's get to it! ~Phyllis
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Here is the other half of my list of noteable things that have happened in July:

July 16
The first parking meters were installed in Oklahoma City, OK, in 1935.
The first atomic bomb was detonated in New Mexico in 1945.

July 17
Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821.
Disneyland opened in Anaheim CA in 1955.

July 18
Elias Howe invented the sewing machine in 1847.

July 19
Opollo 11 orbited the moon in 1969.

July 20
Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon in 1969.

July 21
Earnest Hemingway was born in Illinois in 1899.

July 22
America the Beautiful was written in 1893.

July 23
The ice cream cone was invented in 1904.

July 24
Tennessee was re-admitted to the union in 1866.

July 25
The CIA was created in 1947.

July 26
Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General in 1775.

July 27
Bugs Bunny was introduced in 1940.

July 28
Jacqueline Kennedy was born in 1929.

July 29
Vincent Van Gogh died in 1890.

July 30
The first color motion pictures were shown in 1928.

July 31
President Andrew Johnson died in 1875.
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Make your own paper out of junk mail...here's a site to show you how!

http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-make-paper-from-junk-mail-temp.html
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EASY ECLAIR CAKE
A 'no bake' treat!

Makes 14 servings, about 400 calories a serving - definitely not "diet friendly"!

2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5 oz boxes)
1 eight ounce container Cool Whip, thawed
3 cups milk
1 package (16 oz) graham crackers
1 container (16 oz) chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend pudding mix, Cool Whip and milk.

Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding/CoolWhip/milk mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of graham crackers. Then spread the remaining half of the pudding mixture over the crackers.

Top with a final layer of graham crackers.

Carefully spread the chocolate frosting over the graham crackers, right up to the edge of the pan.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
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To find local festivals, fairs and special events, check out

http://www.festivals.com/
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Energy saving tip:
Put a lid on the pot everytime you boil water. If every American household did this just once, we'd save up to $2,212,175!
(Source; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/energy/lid.html )
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If you're going on vacation, check out this site to find out what restaurants are most popular with the locals:
http://www.wherethelocalseat.com/
This site will give you a map to each restaurant, price range, menu and feedback from people who have eaten there.
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Memory Lane

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of all things retro! And one of the things that interests me is the history of Route 66, also known as "The Mother Road."

In 1923 a businessman named Cyrus Avery began talks to create a standardized highway system of paved roads. In 1926, construction began on Route 66, going from Chicago to Los Angeles, California. The road was completed in 1938.

Route 66's path mostly followed the original trails forged by pioneers in the early 1800's.
Route 66 was very popular and spawned a rise in roadside diners, motels, roadside attractions, and gas stations. Many small towns along the Route blossomed due to the increase of traffic and money being spent by travelers along the road.

In 1956, Congress enacted legislation and funding for the U.S. Interstate road system. From then on, as new interstates were being built, traffic was slowly diverted from Route 66 and onto new highways. Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985.

There are many "Route 66 enthusiasts" out there, who still enjoy travelling along it.. And there is still lots to see along the Route, although many of the roadside diners and motels have closed due to lack of business.

Here is a website with 10 great stops along the Mother Road.

http://listverse.com/2009/02/07/another-10-stops-on-route-66/

And for more sights along the road, go to
http://listverse.com/2008/11/27/10-notable-stops-on-the-historic-route-66/
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Cool Pick...for kids!
If your kids like to read, then this site is for them;
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/
Dogeared is a site where kids can read book reviews and recommedations from other kids, and share their own opinions too. Its like an online book club just for kids!
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A cool site for fans of The Simpsons:
http://adn.blam..be/springfield/
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Planning to buy a new TV, refrigerator or other product? If so, take a moment to get some product reviews at
http://wize.com/
They claim to "read millions of product reviews across the web to bring the right products to you."
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Friendship openly persuades our minds
To do the right thing
And secretly convinces our hearts
To become the right person.
-Sri Chinmoy
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If you're a fan of The Biggest Loser and want to be a big "Loser" yourself, check out trainer Bob's site! It features an online journal, weight tracker, calorie calculator and more.
http://www.mytrainerbob.com/
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Healthy Living

Did you know that both the National Institute of Health and the American Heart Association recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of activity a day? But we can't always find the time (or energy) to workout. Here's some good news though! According to a study at the University of Pennsylvania, overweight women who did three 10 minute workouts a day actually added up more exercise minutes than women who aimed for one 30 minute exercise session a day.
So if you've got 10 minutes, here are some suggested exercises...but always remember to check with your doctor first before embarking on any type of exercise program!

*Take a brisk 10 minute walk. If you can do this 3 times a day, you'll get the recommended 30 minutes of activity.
*Exercise during commercial breaks while watching TV. Most hour long programs have about 6 commercial breaks during them, with the breaks lasting approximately 3 minutes each. This means you can get 18 minutes worth of exercise during an hour long television show!
*Keep a pair of dumbbells at the ready. That way, while you're waiting for dinner to boil on the stove, you can pick up the weights and do a few strength training moves.

If you know of some other great mini-workouts, send them to me at twofriendsnewsletter@gmail.com and I'll post them in a future issue of the newsletter.
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Mini health tip; try to eat 2 servings of fruit or vegetables at each meal. One piece of fruit or half a cup of vegetables equals one serving.
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Let's go green!
Of course, the "ultra" brands of toilet paper are nice and soft, but they're not very eco-friendly. They're made of virgin fiber that has been bleached with chlorine. Instead, look for brands made with 100% recycled fiber, with at least 80% post consumer content. Go to this site to check out the best 'earth friendly' brands.

http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp
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Are bugs, well, bugging you? Here's how to make your own insect repellent!

Add 20 drops each of the following essential oils; peppermint, eucalyptus and citronella, to 1/3 cup distilled water to make a spray. Pour it into a spray bottle and be sure to shake well before each use. Not only will you smell good and have moisturized skin, but you have created a natural bug repellent! Its not as affective as store bought brands containing DEET, but its less toxic. Be sure to re-apply frequently for the best benefit.
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Thanks to Nancy K for sending this in:

Mary had a little Lamb,
His fleece was white as snow,
and everywhere that Mary went,
The Lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school each day
T'wasn't even in the rule,
It made the children laugh and play
To have the Lamb at school.

And then the rules all changed one day
illegal it became,
To bring the Lamb of God to school
Or even speak His name!

Every day got worse and worse
and days turned into years,
Instead of hearing children laugh
We heard gunshots and tears.

What must we do to stop the crime
That's in our schools today?
Let the Lamb come back to school
And teach our kids to pray!