Grab Bag Cyber Suits:

Facebook, Google, and Apple, Oh My! With the rise of the Cyber Age comes, inevitably, the rise of the Cyber Lawsuits. This diagram from a great site called visual.ly shows who is suing who (inside the white center of the circle) and who is buying and selling patents to who (gray ring outside the circle). All these battles are over what your eyeballs see as you sit at your computer. Click on the image to zoom larger. 

Grab Bag Snack Attack:

Snacking is important. Snacking is good. Snacking helps to regulate what you do at meal times.

But random, unplanned snacking is a frequent opportunity to screw up your day.

Smart snacking, on the other hand, is a frequent opportunity to optimize your day.

Here are some smart snack suggestions from DrWeil.com:

1. Seasonal fruit with good-quality yogurt and freshly ground flaxseed
2. Popped corn. It provides a good amount of fiber and is low in calories. Avoid the added chemicals in microwave popcorn and air pop your own (or pop in a small amount of canola oil) and season with tamari, nutritional yeast and garlic powder – delicious!
3. Whole-grain crackers with a small piece of cheese or some smoked salmon
4. A small handful of lightly roasted nuts
5. Toasted whole wheat pita and hummus
6. A hardboiled egg (look for omega-3-enriched eggs for added nutritional value) sprinkled with smoked paprika (replace the yolk with hummus for a new twist)
7. Fresh vegetables with high-quality yogurt – add fresh herbs and seasonings for more flavor
8. A peanut butter (use natural, non-hydrogenated varieties) sandwich on whole grain bread

Grab Bag Winning Whites:

Laundry maven I am not. But I do love to share tips, and there are loads of laundry tips (pun intended). 

A couple of friends swear by Biz for their whites.

And this tip gets great feedback on the blog called OneGoodThingbyJillee.com (read the comments and additional tips here):

HOT HOT HOT water
1 cap of laundry detergent
1 cup powdered dish washer detergent
1 cup bleach
1/2 cup borax

Fill the washing machine with HOT water….maybe even dump in a large-sized pot of water you bring to a boil on the stove. Shoot for HOT HOT HOT water.

Another thing to remember is to add the above ingredients to as small a load size as possible. You are looking for CONCENTRATED cleaning power, and the more water you have in the tub, the less concentrated it will be. Shoot for BARELY enough water to cover the article.

Let soak for as long as possible.

Grab Bag Dresser Do-Over:

Click the pic for twelve uses for a spare dresser:

Grab Bag WTF?:

WTF as in….. Who’s This For? Click on the photo to buy, I kid you not, skulls cast in solid chocolate (dark chocolate pictured, milk and white chocolate also available). This little chunk o’ cocoa will set you back $375, but you’ll surely be gnawing on the 5 lb. noggin for quite some time 🙂

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Guide your arrow between the cubes that come zooming at you. This one sharpens your hand/eye coordination. I would rest one finger on each of the left and right keys, as you will need to react quickly. Definitely takes practice.

Grab Bag Funny Stuff:

When alcohol speaks….