What Gets Me Going

Hey All, What do you call an alligator that wears a vest?   An INVESTIGATOR! 

Onto real world blogging......

A lovely MAN left a MAN grate for the grill out on the concrete for a couple days, and of course it rained and left a nice rust stain on the concrete. A co-worker gave me a book called Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean, so I looked that bad boy up in there to see how to remove that stain.

How could you not listen to this hottie?

She suggested to lightly sprinkle the area with water and put a package of KOOLAID LEMONADE on top of the sprinkled water. Then cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for about 15 minutes.  When you do this you literally will start hearing the acid bubbling on the cement. It's kinda neat. Isn't it great that this is something that also goes into our bodies?  This also reminds me, put on a pair of gloves if you have them lying around the house.  I checked the progress after 15 minutes, because it was a pretty good stain, and left it for another 15 minutes. After that time has set, pour more water on top of the stain and scrub with a brush.  Make sure to remove any excess KOOLAID by rinsing really well. 

Here is the before picture:

And here is the after picture:

It did work pretty well, obviously an improvement.  This picture doesn't really show it, but there are still some little stains but it took out a good chunk of them.  For this particular stain I probably would have used two packets of KOOLAID, and now that area of the concrete is impeccably clean, and the rest of the patio looks pretty discusting. That clean queen really knew how to talk dirty to me.  This is not the only thing that I have looked up in that book for, it really is amazing! For Real. Here is the link on Amazon.

There is also ANOTHER book that was always around when I was growing up that my mom loved.  It is the same idea as Talking Dirty, but it is called Haley's Cleaning Hints (on amazon HERE) and looks like this:

He is also incredibly hot, so it is really quite a hard decision as to which hottie to take cleaning advice from.  Good luck! Hope you enjoyed, and as always thanks for hanging out.

The Reader's Digest Lesson on Life

I was also given a Rider's Digest for blog material, also thank you, and this one is about simple ways to easily tackle those big or small life decisions.

#1. How to say "No!"

It is hard to tell someone no and much easier to agree to help out, but sometimes that isn't always what you really wanted to do.  Here are some ways that are short and sweet to tell them no thanks.

     > "No, but thank you for asking."  This is a great one because you thank the person for thinking of you, but you just can't do it right now. 

     > "I'd love to, but I simply can't make that big of a commitment. Is there some other way I could help out?"  This one is saying that you aren't available for the task being asked of you, but you are not completely blowing them off.  I thought this one could be tricky because what if they ask something else of you and you can't do that either.  Tread lightly..... 

     > "I'm not able to take that on right now."

     > "No, but I bet so-and-so can help you with that."  This one is just basically saying no and then adding a generous side of helpfulness.  Hopefully the other person would love too, and you are not just trying to get back at them. HA

     > "I'm really not okay with that."  This one is if you are really trying to set the record straight and be froward. It is probably used more for reasoning in not supporting organizations or candidates. 

#2. How to Write a Thank You Note

The thank you note is always a great way to show someone that you are thinking of them, and how appreciative you are for their gift, no matter how large or small it is.  The note doesn't have to be long, three sentences is plenty but mention the gift, how much you enjoy it, and your appreciativeness for the sender's thoughtfulness.  I always like to add something a little personal intertwined into it so that it isn't some generic thank you note that anybody could write, but it came from the heart.  For me personally, I add an inside joke if applicable, it's fun and astute.  

Write the note as soon as you get the present, this way they know that you got the gift and are enjoying it.  Now you know my secrets.....

#3.  How to Avoid Jet Lag....a more natural way to go

A. Eat- starches like pasta and rice (carbs) to help your body adjust more quickly to sudden jolts to circadian rhythms.

B. Drink- the air in the cabin tends to be bone dry which then causes dehydration. This is actually a really big contributor to jet lag. Pass up the caffeine and alcohol, and drink lots of water before, during, and after your flight. 

C. Sleep- If you're flying at night, use earplugs and an eye mask, turn down the lights, cover up, and adjust the your air conditioning valve to cool setting. This tells your body that it is time to go to bed. 

D. Switch your watch to local time before getting off the plane.

E. Resist the urge to nap- when you get to your location try to stay awake with every ounce of you.  If you land in the morning, take a shower, eat some eggs, and head on your vacation way. It says to try to jog or swim later in the day which will help you fall asleep naturally, but probably in most circumstances this would be hard to do. 

F. Stay up as late as you can. It would be great to try to stay up until the time you normally go to bed, or very close to it. Then sleep in as late as you can the next morning. By that night you should have been able to adjust and used to the new time zone. 

Here are two links that are useful for children adjusting to jet lag:

http://www.travelwithyourkids.com/once-there/what-you-can-do-about-jet-lag

http://www.modernmom.com/article/how-to-cope-with-your-kid-s-jet-lag

>>Just the other day I was looking for a recipe in my Vegetarian Times and I saw a natural RX for jet lag. It is called Melatonin. A dose of this slumber-inducing hormone can help ward off the sleep disruption and fatigue caused by jet lag. Each night, melatonin is released by the brain's pineal gland and this chemical monitors the body's internal clock which can get all kinds of messed up when traveling across multiple time zones. It is suggested taking up to 1 milligram of melatonin before going to bed about two days before your flight, once you reach your destination, and also continue three days after you reach your destination. This is just a more natural drug that won't leave you feeling drowsy and crabby if that is what you are going for and if you think the above suggestions are probably BS.  I have not tried this myself but I figured I would throw it out there in case anyone is curious, like Benjamin Button.

Flanagan out. 

The Body Explained...

I read an article in Parade that was titled, Your Body Explained then asked to take it to write about, thank you, and so here I am with some quirky little facts.

1. Why do I wake up in the morning with gunk in my eyes? 
That crusty stuff is actually dried tears because your tear glands are constantly watering your eyes to flush them out of irritants. While you are awake the act of blinking naturally flushing them out, but while you are sleeping it is a completely different story, which causes the goobers to cluster up while sleeping.

2. Why does it seem as if mosquitos find me more delectable then other people?

This isn't something that you are projecting, it can be actually true. Those nasty blood suckers are drawn to a variety of signals such as heat, carbon dioxide, movement, and the smell of skin secretions like lactic acids. No one really knows what perfect combination of these aspects attracts them more then not. One study even found that mosquitos prefer people who recently downed a beer. So that is my problem!

If you do happen to be the meal of choice, wear repellent and pass on the brew. If you hate that nasty bug smell, try rubbing dryer sheets all over you. They have been shown to work okay, but it's not as good as those deet ridden repellents.

3. Why do men get more hair in some places and less in others, especially when they get older?

The "George Costanza" effect tends to be a common sign of aging, and it is caused by dihydrotesterone, known to us common folks as a sex hormone to which some men are genetically predisposed to become more sensitive too (according to Spencer Kobren, founder of the American Hair Loss Association). When that sensitivity occurs the hair follicles on the head shrink and follicles elsewhere like on the back or nose or ears become stimulated and just start growing that hair.  I thought this was fascinating! Who knew?

4. Why do I huff and puff climbing stairs when I can easily run a mile outside or on a treadmill?
It is a lot easier to pull a heavy object along a flat surface then it is to pick it up, right? When you are running you are barely lifting your own body weight, but when walking up a typical staircase at a 45 degree angle you are required to move 70% of your body weight against gravity. Unless you are running up stairs, then you are basically doing both and getting a great workout. It makes total sense, and also makes me feel better when I get winded walking up stairs.

5. Why do I cry when I chop unions?
Tears when chopping unions are caused by the release of a chemical called lacrimator. In latin it literally means 'to cry'. When you slice into an onion, the chemical is expelled into the air and once it reaches your eyes and nose it breaks down into irritating compounds that attack those nerve endings.  Your eyes produce tears to rinse away the toxins. If you want to reduce this effect because it just hurts to cut onions, try pre-chilling the onions in ice water for 30-60 minutes. This slows down the enzymatic reaction that releases the lacrimator, which means fewer molecules in the air so fewer tears. If I was writing a college paper I would site who wrote this science-y stuff, and so his name was Harold McGee author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, not Sarah F.

6. What is earwax and why do we produce it?

A normal Q tip. 

Earwax is made up of moisturizing oils, infection fighting enzymes, and dead skin. When you try to remove it and shove a Q tip in there you are actually just packing it down further and further into your ear which hardens and get stuck.  As my grandmother was getting older we all thought she was going deaf because she couldn't hear a word we were saying, but it actually turned out she had been using Q tips for the last 50 years and had shoved ear wax so far down there she couldn't hear anymore. Don't worry, it got removed and she could hear as good as new and yelled at us for always talking to loudly at her.

This man is supposedly also
called Q Tip, just a famous one. 

A helpful tip to avoid deafness is instead of using the tips with a side of Q, clean your ears while showering by gently tugging on the lobes which straightens the ear canal and allows water to wash away excess wax. It's hard to ween off the tips, I have tried and sometimes I just need to hold it in my hand just because, but in the long run it is better for your ears.

Hope you enjoyed this quirky nonsense.

March Madness Is Upon Us

Happy March, it is almost Spring, AND we had one of the warmest winters that Illinois has recorded.  Here is the Chicago Tribune mini article/video about it.

Been doing some experimenting at the Sarah F's lab and have a few things for you all.  First being the magnetic strip I put up in the bathroom for all my bobby pins and things. This one I was really really excited about it!

 

I had kinda a hard time finding it because I was going to Home Depot, and Staples trying to find something that was a magnetic strip, not just a metal strip that can have magnets on it. I finally did find something at Hobby Lobby for $6.99 and it it a strip that has adhesive on the back to stick directly on the wall.  I have found with previous experience that the adhesive is not that strong and it usually has to be reinforced with some other type of glue. I used glue dots, and a little bit of hot glue to stick it directly onto the wall.  I was really hoping for something that did magnetize strongly so that I could also stick my tweezers on it, but it is too weak.  This might be the solution for the heavier things if needed.  Still excited for the bobby pins, and for them to be all in one place. WHOA!

A little while back I also bought a magnetic key/mail holder from the Container Store and mounted it right by the door.  This is what it looks like! I suppose this post should have been called, "I'm obsessed with magnetic things."  It really is great because there is a place to put the keys right when you walk in the door, and it is incredibly inexpensive.

Onto non-magnetized things, I have been swimming occasionally and have the problem of getting water in my ear and just wanting to hang out and NOT leave.  Sometimes the hoping on one foot while tilting your head so the water drains out works, but I also found another little trick if that also doesn't work.  Jump on the bed, preferably on the knees, about 3 or 4 times and then fall over to the side of ear where the water is bothering you.  The trick is to literally fall. I was throwing my head into the bed and it wasn't working so hot, but if you just fall, it seemed to come right out.  Don't hurt yourself!

Until next time. Flanagan out.