Go Green: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home”, can’t digest it, so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
First DON”T boil your egg! You will have rubbery whites with dry yolks that have a gray/blue edge around the yolk. That is your clue you have overcooked the egg. See the post on how to make a Perfect Hard-cooked Eggs or the blog post on how long you can keep eggs.
After your eggs are done, drain the hot water from the pot used to cook the eggs and shake the pot back and forth to crack the shells. Then plunge them in enough cold water to cover the eggs until they cool down. The water seeps under the broken shells, allowing them to be peeled without a struggle. Start peeling from the large end of the egg, which has an air pocket. This lets you get under the membrane without digging into the white.
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog & provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent Undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the Collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential Nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won’t leave streaks and won’t harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
The incredible edible egg! The simple and classic boiled egg, is one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of protein.
According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard” and “soft-boiled” eggs are really misnomers, because boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Instead, these eggs should be “hard” or “soft-cooked” in hot (still) water, better known as coddling.
To create your perfect Hard-Cooked (Boiled) Eggs:
How many times have you had a rubbery egg? Boiling an egg should be simple and it is! After reading different opinions I have discovered, through trial and error the following easy method that yields great results. Boiling an egg toughens the whites whereas coddling does not and it also gives the yolk a lighter texture.
10.Let the eggs cool for at least 5 minutes in cold water, then drain.
11.To peel the egg start from the large end of the egg, which has an air pocket. This lets you get under the membrane without digging into the white.
NOTE: Remember to watch the cooking time carefully. Overcooking causes that ugly greenish gray layer to form around the yolk.
Check out my other blog post if you are not sure how long to keep eggs.
As Joseph was growing up he has wondered … sometimes… just how I knew certain things. I never revealed my secrets! As a Mom you just ‘know’ certain things and have enough life experience to figure out the rest. Yes, he did figure some things out as time went by and he got older … but until he has a child of his own … my secrets are mine!
I could NOT resist sharing this here because you mom’s out there will totally get it and remember the many times that you got the point across without a confrontation. Game Over!
Enjoy!
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HAVING MOM OVER FOR DINNER
Ben invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Ben’s mother couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Ben’s roommate, Jennifer, was. Ben’s Mom had long been suspicious of the platonic relationship between Ben and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Ben and Jennifer than met the eye.
Reading his mom’s thoughts, Ben volunteered, ‘I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just roommates.’
About a week later, Jennifer came to Ben saying, ‘Ever since your mother came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?’
Ben said, ‘Well, I doubt it, but I’ll send her an e-mail just to be sure. So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Mom,
I’m not saying that you ‘did’ take the gravy ladle from the house, I’m not saying that you ‘did not’ take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing over since you were here for dinner.
Love, Ben
Several days later, Ben received an email back from his mother that read:
Dear Son,
I’m not saying that you ‘do’ sleep with Jennifer, and I’m not saying that you ‘do not’ sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.
Love, Mom
LESSON OF THE DAY -
“NEVER LIE TO YOUR MOTHER”
A little humor, a little truth and some that don’t apply in my case … but I am sure you will get a chuckle or two as you too remember! Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother and her darling daughters
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
7. My mother taught me IRONY.
“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
“Stop acting like your father!”
15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
“You are going to get it when you get home!”
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
19. My mother taught me ESP.
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”
20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
“You’re just like your father.”
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
“Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.”
Now you don’t think that Vic will be going without a wardrobe makeover do you? Everytime a box arrived I told him that his stylist had some things for him to preview. So here we go for the three Derby Events that we will be attending…
THE OAKS - Since pink is the color theme, Vic loves it. Pink he says is his power color. He will wear his Black Sports coat with a pink shirt and gray slacks. His tie will be black with small pink daisies. I found the pink shirt and tie at Nordstrom’s. Since the gentleman’s attire should compliment the ladies … I think this works!
THE GALA – Vic decided that he would finally buy a tuxedo since packing a rental seemed silly. He informed me that he needed 140 wool. Seems that the higher the count the lighter the fabric. So I decided to order one online. I found a site that had lots of tuxedo styles and had 140 wool or better. I ordered one that was traditional styling in 150 wool and the other was a mandarin collar. I knew that Vic would LOVE the mandarin collar, because one of he favorite shirts is collarless. I had to take it away from him, but that is another story. When the box arrived it was time to check it all out.
Here is the backstory. Vic does NOT wear anything that has polyester in it. He says it is too hot. Cut to him checking out the mandarin color tux. He really liked it. I wasn’t sure what the fabric was because it didn’t say what it was online. As I was telling him that we checked out the fabric … 100% polyester! I knew that was going back … but to my AMAZEMENT Vic thinks that it will be ok! HELLO??? Where did my husband go and who is talking to me! I knew he would love it … but that was a shocker. Plus all the tuxedos were 50% off, so that made them very reasonable. We did keep it and sent the others back.
You can wear this style with either a wing tip shirt or a traditional shirt. I really wanted the wing tip but could not find an ascot tie that I liked fast enough. A matching tie and vest were supposed to arrive on Tuesday but did not, so he will wear the traditional shirt with a traditional tuxedo tie. The twist will be …shoes. We are going for his boots instead. I love that look. Go figure! LOL
THE DERBY – Vic needed a couple of new shirts so he sent me to his favorite online retailer, Paul Frederick. In my web search I had not come across them yet. So I parused their site and found sale after sale. I just had to buy some other things, just to check it out. Knowing that finding Big and Tall sizes are NOT easy and the selection in the stores are slim picking. I found a light gray suit on their site that I just had to order for $138 !!! When we got it, we were both amazed. That turned out to be the deal of all deals. Vic wasn’t in the market for a new suit but at that price and the fact that DARK is not the desired color … remember Seersucker? Well this is as close as Vic will get to that!
I found a pale gray shirt and a tie that will look great with his Italian Borsalino fedora should he decide to wear a hat. Then I started to worry about his shoes. Now Vic will be the first to tell you that he owns more shoes now, that he has had in his entire life pre-Lisa! And I say YAY! is that a problem? Other than black there were no choices in his closet for a light gray suit. So when I was in Austin, I was at Nordstrom’s Rack (their outlet store) and low and behold I found a Calvin Klein white loafer. Joseph saw me pick it up and said “I have those shoes. They are the most comfortable shoes I own”. I stuck my foot in them and he was right. The felt like pillows. SOLD! Now to ease Vic into the notion!
Last night I pulled them out and he stared at them for a solid 30 seconds. Looked up and said “and for $99 down and $99 a month, you too can drive away in this car!” We were laughing so hard. He did try them on and sure enough very comfortable. Reminding him that he needs to change shoes for each event…wearing the same shoe all day long equals sore feet. (He’s done that in the past.) So we went over the attire list and the shoes have found a new home!
Vic’s Derby Attire, DONE! check!
You know what this has reminded me of? Putting together a wardrobe for the Miss Texas Pageant! Now that is a blast from the past!
We are off to Louisville. So stay tuned for pictures of us cavorting about Churchill Downs.
There three main events that have specific requirements … unless of course you are in the middle of the racetrack in cutoffs watching the races! This year we will definitely not be wearing cutoffs and mud wrestling!
Doublemint Twins
Our first event of the weekend is The Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday April 30th (my birthday). That evening we will be attending the Barnstable Brown Gala. Which is hosted by the Doublemint Twins. Do you remember their commercials?
With the most eye-catching guest list of Derby week, the Barnstable Brown party has long been a coveted ticket on the Louisville social calendar. Proceeds go to support the Barnstable-Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky.
Barnstable Twins
The Barnstable-Brown Foundation raises funds for diabetes research through its internationally known Kentucky Derby party, the Barnstable Brown Gala. The foundation is led by Patricia Barnstable Brown; her son, Christopher Barnstable Brown; her sister, Priscilla Lee Barnstable; and her mother, Wilma Haverly Barnstable. The late David E. Brown, husband of Patricia Barnstable Brown, was the inspiration behind the gala. He died July 2003, after a long battle with diabetes.
Our third event will be of course The Derby also known as the fastest 2 minutes in sports! These three events required specific outfits as you have gathered from my previous posts. So the search began. First with the hats and now to complete the ensemble.
THE OAKS - I did find a simple black dress to wear with my pink hat. The 
hardest part was trying to find pink shoes that matched/blended with the pink hat. Believe me I exhausted the web and beyond and finally determined that was not possible since it seems that all the shoes that I found had more of a blue base … like fushia. That just did not work. So black Classiques Entier suede heels it was to be.
So instead I decided to try and find a pink purse. On my trip to Austin, I was introduced to a store called Charming Charlie. OH MY WORD … what an experience. Every kind of accessory and color coordinated in the store. So if you needed pink… you went to the pink section. Seriously! I found a pink and black faux snakeskin clutch. I gambled on the color and brought it back to Florida. By this time I had a good idea what color of pink I was looking for. It worked! Now at least I have more pink that just the Louise Green hat. Maybe the dress police won’t fine me for wearing a black dress!
THE GALA – Well I thought I would pull a dress out of my closet for this black tie affair. That doesn’t work when you have gained weight and are a size larger that what the dress is. Looking like a sausage will not do! Since I wasn’t sure where to shop and FAST in Florida, I headed back to Austin where I knew where to go for power shopping in two days. I found a gorgeous dress with my
girlfriend Stacy at St. Thomas (sorry no picture) and then of course they added a necklace that totally MADE the dress. Simple yet contemporary. The dress is long, black silk, strapless, fitted with a flowing skirt. The necklace is black beveled stones with turquoise and can be worn 
with jeans too. (See the justification – lol and the turquoise is the green color that all the other turquoise that Vic has purchased for me … so I have added to my collection!) I will be wearing gorgeous heels from Elizabeth and James that have the same type black stone on them. Believe it or not I had those first, along with a black silk evening bag that looks like a flower from White House Black Market.
THE DERBY – To go with my Black and white hat will be my wedding diamond and pearl earrings. My dress is black and white and simple and classic and will be 
worn with the Elizabeth and James heels that I am wearing to the Gala. I am putting a splash of color with the purse. A Mary Frances bag that is black with red cloth roses. After all it is the race for the roses!
I really did let my fingers do the walking. Most were ordered on the web which felt like Christmas everytime Sam the UPS driver came.
My Derby attire DONE! – check!
Next up … Vic’s Derby attire!
(to read all the Derby posts click on The Kentucky Derby category)
I am off to California! Why? After my fingers did the walking I found a milliner that had her showroom and factory in one place. I knew I could try on MANY hat styles and determine which one I really liked. Ultimately it would be easier to purchase one on the web that way. I felt certain that a web purchase was how the hat experience would end up.
First, I created a document where I could drop the pictures of the hats I liked from all over the web. Bookmarked the websites and then I had one document that had side by side views of the hats I liked. Since I was going to California to visit my sister Melea, I gave her a call and warned her that we were on a mission and going hat shopping for the Derby. She was thrilled and the adventure began.
Louise Green
One of the milliners that I was going to visit was Louise Green in Los Angeles. I loved her hats so much I had two pages of hats to check out. Since my trip was short and sweet we had to maximize every moment. I arrived on Sunday night with Vic. (He had some business in LA.) Monday morning Melea and I took James to school and headed to shop for hats. We only had Monday because Tuesday morning we went to the airport and headed to Phoenix to watch our niece Natalie Rachelle get pinned for her Nurses degree. Then literally 24 hours later Melea went back to LA and I headed to Reno to catch up with Vic and go snow skiing with our friends from Florida!
Milliner Garden
We found the showroom/factory without a hitch. Just imagine opening the door and you enter a room FILLED with hats! Racks and Racks of hats! A milliner garden! Every shape, size and color … for women and for men! And there in the middle was Louise Green herself. I recognized her from her pictures on her website. So I introduced myself. I learned later that she has 20 couples from LA area going to the Derby too with hats for all. Melea and I had a ball trying on hat after hat after hat. It is very interesting how some hats were ‘you’ and others definitely were not!
I had already purchased a Derby dress. Black and White … of course. Even though technically I was on the fence as to appropriate color. Not very “spring-like”. I justified it since it did have a floral print on the top of the dress. So I knew I was going to get a black and white hat. But there was this one hat that totally captivated me. A pink and black one!
The Oaks hat
Well maybe I was going to get TWO hats! After all I was going the The Oaks race and there everyone was to wear pink since the fillies were racing and it benefits Breast Cancer. Here is the dilemma. The pink and black hat (AMY) would have to have a black dress…a faux pax for sure. But the hat won and I bought it. I also bought Vic a hat. Wasn’t sure of the Derby hat… just in case I changed dresses.
So we continued to shop. Went all over Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Looking for Pink shoes and also Teal shoes. Thinking that I might wear Teal shoes with the Black and white dress and then have a teal, black and white Hat! Thinking that would make the faux pax okay! <grin> After canvasing Rodeo Drive the decision was clear, stick with black shoes!
The Derby hat
When I told Vic about his hat … no way Jose’! He didn’t want another hat … the only hat he wanted to wear was the one that the kids bought him in Italy. His Borsalino fedora. That night I looked back at all the hats online that I liked and kept deleting the obvious ones and I kept coming back to the black and white hat at Louise Green’s. So the next morning on the way to the airport I called Louise Green Milliners and said no Vic’s hat and to add the Black and White hat (GRACE) and had her add black trim around the brim.
Why don’t we wear more hats? I just LOVE my hats!
Hat Shopping DONE! check!
Now for all the attire!
On the counter? In the refrigerator? What is the best way to store Basil? If you keep in on the counter it will wilt … sometimes even if you have the cut ends in in a glass of water. However the refrigerator can turn basil black if you just toss it in. That is due to build up of moisture. The best way to store basil is in an unsealed zip-lock bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. You will have fresh basil for 3-4 days. If you need the basil to last longer you should get some Green Bags. They will keep herbs and vegetables fresh for weeks. I have found them at some local supermarkets, including Wal-Mart and Target.
But with any herb that I purchase, I plan my menus around utilizing the herb in my meals during that week. Otherwise I only cut from my garden what I am going to use. If your basil starts flowering, pinch it off and save the flower. Let it dry out and then sprinkle it on your salad for a wonderful addition.
