Hello everyone:
Let’s say that you have decided to become the next celebrity chef- or not, but you have made the decision to start cooking your own meals instead of eating out all the time. Bravo! Here are a couple of tips for making your clean up go more easily.
As you begin cooking, get into the various cabinets and refrigerator and take out everything you need to prepare the meal. As you use an ingredient, don’t put it down, put it away. By putting things back where they belong, you will make sure that you have included everything that needs to be in the recipe and your kitchen will be cleaner before the dish is even finished cooking!
Wipe down the counter tops as you go and wash out any dishes you used to prepare the dish. By the time your dish is cooked, you will have a sparkling kitchen as well as a delicious meal waiting for you!
Best,
Sheri
Hi everyone:
I heard a story many years ago about a young woman just starting out in the business world, after spending several years at home with her children. She had an interview the next morning, so she spent some time preparing her outfit for the next day. She knew she wouldn’t have time to prepare breakfast, so she made some coffee (planning to microwave it) and bought some filled donuts.
When she got up the next morning, she put on her outfit, only to have one of the kids spit up on it. She grabbed a backup outfit, but now she was running late. She nuked her coffee, grabbed a donut, and headed out the door. When she got in the car, she set the coffee on the dashboard, took a bite of the donut, and backed up. Crash! One of the kids had left his tricycle in the driveway. The mug of coffee flew off the dash and landed in her lap. She had squeezed the donut when the hot coffee hit her lap.
In another tale, a friend of mine went to a local donut shop and had breakfast. He decided to get some donuts for the office and bought a box. He started eating one of the donuts as he left the parking lot, only to realize that the filing was rancid. He threw the donut out of the window as he drove through the lot, only to notice that someone was driving by with his window down. The partially-eaten donut landed on the passerby’s face.
What is the moral of the two stories? East breakfast at home and stay away from donuts……..
Best,
Sheri
Hello everyone:
Today’s blog is on caulking. You might ask: what is caulking for? It serves a couple of purposed, one of which is to seal up your house to that unwanted critters can’t get in. Bugs and the like can get into your house via the smallest of openings. By making certain your house is well-sealed, you can prevent them from entering and multiplying.
Caulk also covers up a multitude of poorly-done joints, hiding the fact that two pieces of wood on the baseboard do not align exactly the way they should.
Caulk makes a nicer-looking finish, as well. It is vital that you not try to cut corners on the quality of caulk that you purchase. Get the DAP, 50-year warrantied product or you will have to re-do the job you spent hours doing with an inferior product. Poor quality means that the caulk will crack and peel a few years from now.
Follow the instructions on the tube carefully. This is a wet job and it needs to be done with care.
Best,
Sheri
Hello everyone:
When driving in Florida this past weekend, I got a flat tire. Sadly, I do not have AAA (it’s a mere $66 per year for the basic membership). When calling the rental car company, they told me that it would cost $78 to get them to come take care of it. Happily, my brother came by and changed the tire for me, but here are some tips he gave me on how to do it:
Read the car’s Owner’s Manual and follow the directions on exactly where to place the jack (you could rip off your car’s bumper if you put it in the wrong place!).
Let the car’s weight help you loosen the bolts that hold the tire on. Loosen (but not completely) the bolts holding the tire on and then jack the car up. Finish loosening the bolts and remove the tire.
When you put the spare tire on, make sure you put it on correctly (not wrong-side out!). The Owner’s Manual should have a picture that shows how it should be placed. Tighten the bolts, using your body weight to make them tighter. When you have used all of your strength to tighten them, jack the tire back down to the ground and tighten them again. You are once again using your car’s weight to tighten the bolts.
Since you will then be driving on your spare tire, get the original tire repaired or replaced as soon as possible, since you no longer have a spare tire. Get AAA sooner rather than later, so that they can change the tire next time!
Best,
Sheri
Sometimes is becomes necessary to change locations. Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper and paper towels available in both your old and new homes. You don’t want to run out of either of these necessities on either end of your moving day (no pun intended).
When I bought a condo in Florida, one of the nicest things that the seller did was to provide me with full rolls of quality toilet paper in each bathroom, tissues on the back of each toilet, and a full roll of paper towels in the kitchen. All of these products were “the good stuff,” as opposed to Dollar Store quality. This left a very good impression.
He also left the condo spotless. All I needed to do was move in. This happened two years ago and I am still remarking about it, so you know what kind of impression he left, along with no dirt or grime!
Hello everyone:
Welcome to my blog on the challenges of being Suddenly Single or unexpectedly unmarried.
Today’s tip is one on preparing to move. When you lose a spouse suddenly, it can seem like a good idea to sell the house and move away from the area, but you need to take a deep breath and give this some thought. Can you afford to keep your present home for the next six months? If so, then hold on and thoughtfully consider whether or not you should relocate.
You have friends in your current location and, if you move to “be close to the kids,” what would you do if they got a fabulous job offer and it required that they move? You would be in a new area where your supportive friends don’t live and your children just left. This would add to your loneliness and sense of isolation.
Instead, if you feel you absolutely must move, wait a while and then move somewhere you want to live. Make sure that it is close to an airport so that you can visit your children a few times a year, and then go for it.
Best,
Sheri