01.27.2009

Hello! Last week we had two days get up into the 50s and now I have a bad case of spring fever. Today John and I were talking about outside projects as if we were going to be able to get started right away. Later we heard that we're under a winter storm watch till Wednesday and are expected to get a good deal of snow and possibly even accumulating ice. I have a feeling spring fever will quickly turn to cabin fever. I'd like to take this time to remind you again that we sometimes have power outages here due to adverse weather, so if a Tuesday comes and you don't receive the newsletter and it's not posted on the web site either, then you'll know it was not sent out and I'll get it to you when I can. Take care! ~Toni
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=Phyllis=

Healthy Living

This week I'd like to share some strategies to get you moving so you can burn calories!

1. If you walk for exercise, you probably take along an Ipod or CD player to listen to music. Another option? Try a book on CD! You can get them at your local library. If you pick a good audio book, you just might walk a little longer so you can hear more of the story!
2. If you work in an office, try using the ladies room on a different floor, and use the stairs to get there.
3. Is it too cold or wet to go for a walk? You can workout at home with a workout DVD. These are available at your local library too.
4. Don't use the drive through windows at banks or restaurants. Park your car and walk inside. Every little bit of walking you do adds up.
These are just a few ways to burn some extra calories. If you have some calorie burners to share, please send them to me and I'll print them in a future issue of the newsletter.
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A great site to check out:
(Its a life expectancy calculator)

http://www.livingto100.com/
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Do something good:

http://booksforsoldiers.com/
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There is a miracle called Friendship
that dwells within the heart
and you don't know how it happens
or when it even starts.

But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
and you realize that friendship
is God's most precious gift.
-Anonymous
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Cool Pick

http://www.blippr.com/

Blippr is a site where you can discuss and rate movies, books, games and music. You can also read the reviews of other users, and since each review is limited to 160 words or characters, its short and sweet! So the next time you want to rent a new DVD or buy a new book, log on to Blippr to see what others think of it first.
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Easy smoothie recipe for two:

You will need;
one banana and 5 strawberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/2 cup ice

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend, blend, blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and share with hubby or a friend!
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Here's a recipe for homemade Play Dough:

1 cup very warm (but not hot) water
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
food coloring
2 to 4 cups of flour

Put warm water in a large bowl.
Add salt; stir about one minute. Don't worry about totally dissolving the salt.
Add food color. (Optional; you can also add peppermint or orange extract, etc., to make it smell good too)
Add cream of tartar and oil. Stir.
Gradually start adding flour, mixing as you go.
Knead dough until smooth. Don't worry about exact measurements when adding the flour...you will know its finished when the dough holds together smoothly and isn't sticky.
Store in a sealed Ziploc bag. It will keep for a few months.
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Here is a useful site:

http://www.mizpee.com/web/index.html

Use your cell phone to find the closest bathroom near you when you're out and about. It even gives cleanliness ratings!
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Have a great week everyone! I will not be doing the newsletter next week because I'm vacationing in Florida. Hope its sunny where you are!

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=Toni=

Tips from Cheryl:

Clothes with Static Cling
If your slip or skirt has a bit of static cling, you can get rid of it simply by rubbing a bit of hand lotion on your hands and then wipe them lightly over the slip or on your legs.

Make a Homemade Ice Pack
Make a mixture of 1 part rubbing alcohol with 2 parts water. Pour into a zipper plastic bag (double bag and label clearly) and freeze. Apply to all the minor emergencies and boo-boos that happen! It can be refrozen after each use.
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Riddle from last week:

What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it? An anchor
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Do you know the #1 song the day you were born? Go to http://www.joshhosler.biz and look up the number one song for your birth date.
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I ordered this pen palling directory last year and it was great. Dawn puts a lot of work into it for sure. It was very neat and attractively put together and it was very fun and informative. ~Toni

PPC’s 2009 Pen Palling Directory - A book about the great hobby of pen palling. Have questions on slams, crams, decos, exchanges? This book has the answers. We also include articles from fellow pen pals about their friendships, tips on letter writing, how to be a good pen pal & more. Tons of listings for pen pals, birthday twins, e-mail your pal & looking for love. $5.00 each (published once a year).

Checks/money orders payable to:

Dawn Thomas
PO Box 945
Farmington , MI 48332

ppcdawn@yahoo.com
http://www.myspace.com/penpalconnection
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Here is a site that gives information about over-the-counter drugs.
http://www.otcsafety.org/
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Kansas

~Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States.
~At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.
~Kansas inventors include Almon Stowger of El Dorado who invented the dial telephone in 1889; William Purvis and Charles Wilson of Goodland who invented the helicopter in 1909; and Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville who invented the first frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.
~The Arkansas River may be the only river whose pronunciation changes as it crosses state lines. In Kansas, it is called the Arkansas (ahr-KAN-zuhs). On both sides of Kansas (Colorado and Oklahoma), it is called the Arkansaw.
~Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the world. Salt is still actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.
~There are 27 Walnut Creeks in the state.
~Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground Railroad.
~The Hugoton Gas Field is the largest natural gas field in the United States. It underlies all or parts of 10 southwestern Kansas counties as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. The gas field underlies almost 8,500 square miles, an area nearly 5 times as large as the state of Rhode Island.
~The Geodetic Center of North America is about 40 miles south of Lebanon at Meade's Ranch. It is the beginning point of reference for land surveying in North America. When a surveyor checks a property line, he or she is checking the position of property in relation to Meade's Ranch in northwest Kansas.
~The graham cracker was named after the Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851). He was a Presbyterian minister who strongly believed in eating whole wheat flour products.
~The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other place in the world where there are so many concretions of such giant size. http://www.naturalkansas.org/images/rock_city.jpg
~George Washington Carver, the famous botanical scientist who discovered more than 300 products made from the peanut, graduated from high school in Minneapolis in 1885.
~The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson was built in 1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar of the original building's foundation.
~A hailstone weighing more than one and a half pounds once fell on Coffeyville.
~The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita. (Way to go, Wichita!!)
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I recently ran across these two sites that offer free magazines. I have not had a chance to check the sites out really, but thought they looked interesting, so I wanted to share them with you. http://www.all-freemagazines.com/ http://www.allmags4free.com/
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This may be something you've already thought of, but I wanted to mention it in case you've not. I keep a phone book in the trunk of my car. I can't tell you how many times we've used it since I thought to put it in there. Personally our phone company sends us two books per year. If you only get one, most likely a second copy could be requested from the phone company. Or your local post office might have extras.
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Avoid a tax refund. You may feel giddy knowing you'll get a check from the IRS this spring, but you shouldn't. Getting money back means you're essentially lending money, interest free, to the government for the year. Better to have that cash in your account than lend it to Uncle Sam. So if you've been getting big refunds or have had a big life change (a marriage, a baby, a divorce, a radical increase or decrease in income), adjust the withholding allowances on your W-4 form. You can do that for your 2009 taxes now at irs.gov. Use the withholding calculator to determine the correct figure for you. Then print a new W-4, fill it out, and give it to your payroll department.

Avoid "rapid refund" programs. Sure, they sound great. After all, what can be better than getting your money fast? A tax-prep chain might try to get you to agree to one of these "instant" or "anticipation" options. Don't take the bait. This is not your refund. It's a loan—and a very high-interest loan at that. The average for 2008 was 123 percent. If you file electronically, even if it's through a tax chain, the IRS will deposit your refund directly into your bank account within a week or two.
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In June of 1974, the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a Marsh's supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The first product to have a bar code included was a packet of Wrigley's Gum.
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Riddle: Take a five-letter sign on certain doors, remove its first letter, and you'll have a word meaning sign. Remove the new word's first letter and it's a sign on nearby doors. Can you guess all three words? Answer next week.
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I have a friend in California that told me about a soda pop cake. All you do is take a cake mix and add a 12-ounce can of soda pop, mix (it will foam up) and bake. After she told me this I googled it and came up with lots of recipes that included the cake mix, pop but other things too. So I emailed her and she said her son was allergic to eggs and that all she used was the cake mix and pop. So I gave it a try and John and I love it! So far we've used a white cake mix with Fanta Orange. Some other combos we plan to try: strawberry cake mix and Strawberry Fanta, lemon cake mix and 7-Up, chocolate cake mix and cream soda... Debbie said their favorite is chocolate cake mix with diet Dr. Pepper. You can use diet or regular pop. A few things to remember with this recipe is because of the lack of fat, it will stick badly, so line your cake pan with either Pam then parchment or wax paper and then Pam on top or line it with Reynold's Release. Also it will not take as long to bake as the box says. Set your timer for about half the time and then check it; most likely it will be done. If you try this and come up with a great flavor combo, let me know so I can try it too.
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"The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February,at least we notice that the days are getting longer. Minute by minute they lengthen out. It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change. It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day, until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour." ~Vita Sackville-West