HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

Grab Bag How-To:

Fun new app for your iPhone takes you through snapping a few pics with your phone and writing a few blurbs, then turning the whole shebang into a how-to for your family, friends and the WORLD!

So much easier than trying to explain over the phone how to fold your dinner napkin into a bra, a hat or a phallic symbol 😯

Great way to share a recipe or method:

Maybe the best part is the myriad of how-to tutorials you can browse on the website, like this simple-but-useful one on how to tame the headphone tangles (click on the picture for all steps):

Enjoy… then create and share your own and show the world what you can do!

Grab Bag Eat to Sleep:

A favorite quote hangs in my kitchen, a gift from a wonderful family of friends who claim to have sleep-realted eating disorders when they come to visit, goes like this:

Eat until tired~

Sleep until hungry

Kind of a lovely sentiment, isn’t it? Brings to mind a lot of action-packed down-time.

But eating to get tired may be just what we need, especially if we have trouble unwinding at the end of the day. Here are some tips from the docs at RealAge.com on what to eat to help you get sleepy:

A couple of hours before bedtime, curl up with one of the following sleepy-time snacks that get your brain to release sleep-friendly chemicals. (Take this assessment to find out what’s causing your sleep trouble.)

• Almonds: A handful contains muscle-relaxing magnesium and sleep-inducing tryptophan, which increases the brain’s level of feel-good serotonin.

• Bananas: Beneath the peel is a trifecta of soothers: serotonin, magnesium, and melatonin, your body’s natural sleep regulator. (Here’s another health benefit of sleep.)

• Skim milk: Mom was right — a warm glassful will help you sleep better. The milk’s tryptophan has a sedating effect. Plus, it’s calcium that helps your brain use that tryptophan. (Note from LK: I would go with 2% over non-fat, especially if you are putting it exclusively with other carbohydrates…. you need the fat  in the milk for balance.)

• Oatmeal: Oats are rich in sleep-regulating melatonin. If you drizzle just a little honey on top, it tells your brain to turn off orexin, a neuropeptide linked to alertness. (Note from LK: go with steel cut oats… and please do NOT use instant oatmeal… read the packages… compare the differences.)

• Whole-wheat bread: A slice of toast dotted with banana slices releases insulin, which helps tryptophan get to your brain. There it changes into serotonin and whispers, “Sweet dreams.”

 Sounds kinda like we might want breakfast for dessert after (a small, reasonable) dinner… well I am all over that.

Grab Bag Cinderella Moment:

I think we all have some shoes that fit just a skoosh too tight, but we hold on to them, hoping they will feel better next time. And they don’t. And then we avoid wearing them, and they get sad, languishing in the depths of our closets.

Here are a couple of methods to try to get get your shoe mo-jo back from Sole Food Shoe Blog:

Freezing Method: best for when full toe or heel needs stretching

What you’ll need:

• Ziploc bag
• Water
• Freezer

Instructions:

1. Fill the plastic bag about a third to half way full.
2. Let out as much air as possible from the bag.
3. Insert plastic bag of water into problem area of shoe.
4. Freeze the shoe overnight.
5. Let ice thaw for about 20 minutes before removing from shoe.
6. Try on and repeat if necessary.
7. Enjoy your beautiful, comfy shoes!

Heating Method: best for a quick stretch on leather

What you’ll need:

• Thick socks
• Hair dryer
• Leather conditioner

Instructions:

1. Put on the shoes while wearing thick socks (this will be a tight fit).
2. Heat the problem area of the shoe with your hairdryer.
3. Flex your feet for 30 seconds while heating.
4. Remove heat from shoes, but continue wearing until they’ve cooled.
5. Try on and repeat if necessary.
6. Apply leather conditioner to shoes to replenish the depleted moisture from the heat.

So there you have it.  Be your very own Cinderella, where every shoe fits.

 Grab Bag Doggy Darlings:

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Remember those wood paddles with a rubber ball attached with an elastic string, and you tried to see how many times you could bounce the ball off the paddle?

You’ve missed it, haven’t you?

Well have I got a game for you. It’s like that….. only WAY harder 😯

It’s a ball, attached to a string. Sounds a lot the same, right? Huh.

When your cursor enters the game area, you start dragging the elastic string and attached ball around. OK..

Now comes the tough part. The object of the game is to click on the ball to change the ball’s color. I have included some screen shots to show that it really does change color.

So click on any pic below and have at it… and don’t shoot me… I’m just the messenger 🙂

Thanks (I guess) to my mom for sending this in.

Grab Bag Funny Stuff:

It’s all in fun… no offense to anyone of any following… I just enjoy the lighter side of human existence 🙂

A Rabbi and a Priest

were sitting next to one another on a plane….

The Priest asks the Rabbi if pork is still a forbidden food.

“Yes”, replied the Rabbi.

The Priest asks the Rabbi if he had ever fallen and tasted pork?

“Yes”, replied the Rabbi. “How about you, is celibacy still a part of the Catholic article of faith?”

“Yes” replied the Priest.

The Rabbi asks the Priest if he had ever tasted of the flesh?

“Yes”, declares Priest. “I have fallen once and partaken of the flesh.”

The Rabbi remarks, “Well, it sure beats the hell out of a ham sandwich, doesn’t it?”

Thanks to my sis for this laugh 🙂