Directory of Fargo Moorhead Blog » Fargo-Moorhead Home & Family

24 Days of Cookies from Betty Crocker

Becky — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:07:13 +0000

by j_anet under CC BY-ND with wpseopix.com

I just ran into this Web site and can’t imagine anything more perfect for the holiday season! Betty Crocker is offering to send you a different cookie recipe starting December 1, 2011 through Christmas Eve, December 24. They call it their 24 Days of Cookies.

I am not saying I will have the time this holiday season to bake a batch of cookies each day, but I do intend on spending several days baking with my two granddaughters and a little on my own to boot. What a wonderful way to try some new recipes and spend time with the family over the holidays!

Again, here’s how to get yourself signed up to receive those daily recipes for 24 Days of Cookies. You need only share your e-mail address and your birthdate. Pretty painless! Hurry and sign up by this Thursday the 1st so you don’t miss one day!

Betty Crocker also includes a Holiday Cookies Headquarters where you can get all sorts of holiday recipes, tips, and tricks to use when doing all your holiday baking! Merry Christmas and enjoy!

Keep Those Tires Properly Inflated

Becky — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:49 +0000

by cbb4104 under CC BY with wpseopix.com

I’m the first to admit it! I will drive around far too long looking for the station with the cheapest gas prices. Saving 4 or 5 cents a gallon adds up month over month. I recently read, however, about an easier way to improve my miles per gallon and save even more money on my gas bill. How would you feel about improving your MPGs by around 3% (using as much as 7 cents less per gallon of gas)? The trick is to have your tires inflated to the recommended pressure for your vehicle!

Here’s a short list of other positives for inflating those tires to that recommended pressure.

1) Your car handles better. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says under-inflated tires contribute to 660 deaths a year.

2) The correct pressure extends the life of your tires by up to 15%.

3) About 3.3% less CO2 is emitted when your tires are not under-inflated.

Also, when you live in an area of the country that actually has “winter driving”, like Fargo Moorhead, it is important to understand that for every drop in temperature of 10 degrees F, the pressure in your tires is reduced by a couple pounds per square inch (PSI).

Pick up one of those cool digital tire gauges at a local auto parts store and you will always be able to determine if your tires are over or under-inflated. I may have to actually reconsider how smart it is to drive around, using up gas, searching for those lower gas prices.

Moorhead’s Lake Agassiz Library Offers Free Kindle eBooks

Lisa — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:00:56 +0000

The Lake Agassiz Regional Library, located in Moorhead, Minnesota, now has the option available to download eBooks to a Kindle device, or any mobile device running the free Kindle application. Best part? You can download the eBooks for free!

If you aren’t familiar with the Kindle, it is an electronic reader that allows you to go to a website and purchase eBooks, magazines and newspapers at a starting cost of about 99 cents. The item is then downloaded directly to your device, for your reading pleasure. What a lot of people don’t know is that the Kindle application is FREE and can be loaded on many other devices, not just the Kindle. You can download the application on an Android phone, a Blackberry, an iPhone, an iPad and more! And now, along with the free application, you can download free eBooks from the libraries website!

Be sure to take a look at all of the books that are available and check back often, as books are always being added. If the ebook is “checked out”, you can add your name to a waiting list and be alerted when it becomes available.

Any way you look at it, this is a great option. Not every book that is on the Kindle website is available and some books are checked out and not available, but hey. It’s free! There isn’t any better way to to read an author’s work, to find out if you like their writing style, than this!

Thought for the Day, Fargo Moorhead

Lisa — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:09:36 +0000

I’ve got a great “thought for the day” article today. This is a piece that I just read in Michelle Turnberg’s column in the Forum and while I’ve seen it before, it really makes me think about the way I live my life, each time I read it. I hope that it will do the same for you!

Lord, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night, is a single mom or dad who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with their children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly, is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (‘who really ought to get a job’), is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember the old couple walking annoyingly slowly through the store aisles, and blocking our shopping progress, are savoring this moment, knowing that based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Remember the old adage “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” (Anonymous) We may never know what it is, or to what extent it is, but rest assured, none of us has the perfect life and each of us is struggling with something or someone at any given time.

Paint Fargo-Moorhead

Mick — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:02:24 +0000

Want an affordable way to update your home? Paint it! It’s one of the cheapest ways to improve your home’s appearance. It also will maintain the value and enjoyment of your home. Here are a few neat tricks to use to prepare for your painting experience.

According to Brian Santos, a contributing writer to the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, these are a few tricks you can use to prepare your painting area before painting, using household items.

Non-stick cooking spray: spread on your arms and rub in, and water based paint will not stick.

Lip balm: Run lip balm on the inside of each window pane being painted. When finished painting, run a butter knife around the glass to peel off lip balm and excess paint. Use pre-moistened sanitary wipes followed by paper towel and glass cleaner to remove lip balm.

Rubber cement: Apply 2 coats on window and door hardware before painting. When paint is dry, rub off rubber cement. Clean surface with rubbing alcohol or sanitary wipes.

Stick deodorant: Use stick deodorant to fill holes in drywall. Works better than toothpaste, it’s quick drying, self-priming and leveling.

Rubbing alcohol: Don’t wash walls with soap and water as it leaves a residue that resists paint. Rubbing alcohol de-glosses, degreases, and evaporates, leaving a clean surface for paint to bond to.

Fabric softener: Add a half cup of fabric softener to a gallon of water to create a cleaner for paint brushes. Dip brush into solution for 10 seconds and paint will come right off.

Plastic cup, bowl or bucket: Don’t paint directly from the can. Prolonged exposure to the air can change the quality of the paint, thicken it, and dry it out. You can hold the cup, bowl or bucket easier than a paint can and will lessen the likelihood of spilling the entire paint can while painting.

The Clutch For Packages

Becky — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:40:46 +0000

When was the last time your shopping bags or purse fell from the front seat to the floor spilling all of their contents? Yesterday? I thought so!

Last Sunday, I was craving Chinese on my way home from the mall. I pulled over and got an order of my favorite chicken fried rice. As usual, I attempted to have my hand on it the entire way home so it didn’t end up on the floor. No such luck. I removed my hand for one second to change the radio station, but at the same time was forced to brake suddenly at the next corner, and the meal I had been craving ended up as chicken fried rice and dirt to go!

I found the coolest product that will eliminate this problem. It’s called The Clutch For Packages and get this, you can buy 4 of them for $9.95. It’s simply a strap that attaches one end to the car seat and the other end to your package. Easy and it really works!

Click here to visit The Clutch for Packages.

Tips That Can Help Your Kids Sleeping Habits

Jessica — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:00:03 +0000

When I attended this year’s Parent’s Fair on April 9th, I had the opportunity to learn about so many people that have children with sleeping problems. Now the funny thing about hearing this, is that I thought kids not sleeping through the night was completely normal at their young age. I am a mother of three, with kids ages 5, 3 & 2, and when each kid seemed to alternate each week which one would be up at night, it did not seem like there was a problem, just inconvenient. After attending the Parent’s Fair, I took a lot of information away and thought this may be great information to share that would help someone else as this information has changed my life in one week. Crazy I know. Here were a few scenarios that I read about provided by Sanford Children’s Hospital . . . . . Do any of these sound like your family?

****

It’s 2 a.m. and you’ve enjoyed three whole hours of uninterrupted sleep. Then you hear her fuss. You love her more than anything, but when will your six-month-old sleep through the night? Can you do anything to encourage it?
****
Your three-year-old is tucked in for the night––or not. Minutes later he toddles into your living room. “Mom, I’m thirsty.” And that’s just the start. What can you do to help him fall asleep?
****
Your 12-year-old loves staying connected, and texting makes it easier than ever. At night she even keeps her cell phone next to her bed. But you wonder: In those wee hours of the morning, is she really sleeping?
****

Understanding the needs of your kids and the need for routine is the first key to providing an environment that will aid healthier sleeping habits. Dr. Stephanie Hanson from Sanford Children’s Clinic in Fargo said, “When one person in the household isn’t sleeping, it affects the sleep habits and well-being of the entire family.” Dr. Hanson provides sleep hygiene tips for kids of all ages. When they rest better, so will you. Here was tips she shared that can help:

Infants

Good sleep hygiene begins with place. “Infants need a set sleeping space, whether that’s a crib in their own room or a bassinet in their parents’ room,” says Dr. Hanson. “And make sure it’s soothing and relaxing.” This includes:
      • Few––if any––toys in the sleep area; the less stimulation the better.
     • A room you can darken.
      • White noise such as a fan.
For younger infants, swaddling encourages relaxation and sleep. For older infants who are transitioning out of nighttime feedings, routine becomes important.   “After the bath, the book and the last feeding, you want to allow kids to be put in their own bed. They should be drowsy, but a little bit awake,” says Dr. Hanson. “This teaches them to put themselves to sleep rather than relying on their parents for rocking and feeding.”   And if they wake up during the night? There’s a good chance they’ll fall back to sleep on their own, repeating what they learned when they went to bed. Even for infants, practice makes perfect!

Toddlers

Bath time, jammies, a snack, teeth brushing, a story and lights out––consistency of routine plays a key role in helping toddlers learn to fall asleep. “Toddlers are creatures of habit, so I urge parents to try to do everything in the same order at the same time every single night,” says Dr. Hanson. “When kids know what to expect, the transition from the busy-ness of the day to relaxation at night becomes easier.”

School-age Kids & Teens

Today’s technology can wreak havoc with healthy sleep habits. Dr. Hanson recommends “unplugging” for 30 to 60 minutes each night before trying to fall asleep––no cell phones, no computers, no television. “Chill-out time gives the mind and body the chance to disengage and relax. Before sleep, we all need to unwind and shift gears,” she says. “I also encourage families to keep the electronics, especially televisions, out of bedrooms.”

I hope you can gain what I did out of this information and that is a good night sleep. I can not tell you what a difference it makes to not yawn all day at work. My youngest who just turned 2, now sleeps in his own big boy bed, that is a full size bed. He is sleeping through the night and is building his own confidence. He comes out of his bedroom in the morning, all on his own, and with a big smile on his face, of course. My 3 year old, turning 4 next month, who we used to consider a night owl, only needed a little direction and consistency. What a difference these little things can make.

If you have any secrets to help our little ones sleep, that you think can help someone else, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Non-Streaking Window Cleaner

Jennifer — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:58:46 +0000

Non-Streaking Window Cleaner

1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
2 T. ammonia (non-sudsing)
2 T. vinegar
2 cups water (spray bottle)

For gallon size:

4 cups alcohol
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup ammonia
8 cups water

Let me know if it works as good for you as it does for me!

Fargo-Moorhead: How well do you know your U.S. Laws?

Jennifer — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:11:40 +0000

Here’s just a fun quiz that was sent to me today that I thought I would share. It’s a 30-question quiz to see how well you know U.S. laws. It doesn’t sound like the majority of people are passing this quiz, so it could be a very good learning experience.

30-Question Quiz on U.S. Laws

Microsoft Quick Reference Cards – Word, Excel…..

Jennifer — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 03:13:51 +0000

I found a spot where you could go and download for free some PDFs for Microsoft programs and wanted to share the information. It is called Custom Guide and you can get any of the programs that Microsoft offers. They even have the different versions so whether you need Word 2003, 2007, or 2010 – they have them all.

They are reference guides that give tips, tricks, and shortcuts for these programs. It looks like there is a lot more to offer on the site but these are for free. I did download many of them myself. I was looking for how to do something that changed from Word 2003 to Word 2007 (I see there is a Word 2010) and came across this. I hope it will be as helpful to you as it was for me.