How to get Sparkly Fixtures

Here is a very easy way to make your Kitchen and Bathroom fixtures sparkle with no effort at all.  

Take a little toothpaste and rub it on the fixture with a damp cloth and then just rinse .

It will sparkle like new :)

give it a try and let me know what you think.

Cookie exchange 2009

kids judging table

kids decorating

kids judging table

Last night we had our COOKIE Exchange. We enjoyed some delicious pizza , My marinated hot peppers , My sister in Laws( Carmela) Fried dryed hot & sweet peppers . , but most of all we enjoyed great family & friends time together.

The kids then had some fun decorating gingerbread cookie pops , which we then judged and gave prizes for most colorful, most icing used , least icing used , . it was fun .

My 9 yr. old gave us a magic show ...Watch out magicians of the world ! cause he is getting good at his tricks ! :)

The ladies than got judged on who had the most decorative cookie, The cookie santa couldn`t resist ( Santa loves kisses ) , the cookie with the most ingredients, the least ingredients, the nuttiest, the sweetest , the plainest .. The zestiest ..Lots of judging and a load of fun . I can`t wait to do this again .

Everyone left with a prize :) I can`t wait to do this again next year .

Winter Wonderland :)

view from our Kitchen window :)

This is our first winter in our New Home ...We started to see some flurries yesterday but nothing much . My youngest Adam already wanted to just go outside to make a snowman !  Living in Florida all his life made watching the snow come down  outside such a big treat for him .
I talked him out of going outside knowing there was more snow (blizzard ) on its way  :)  , The rest of the day was fun babysitting for my sisters kids while she did some of her Christmas Shopping .

This morning we woke up to almost 2 feet of snow ! and WOW the look on Adams face grew wider .He was so excited as soon as he woke up and looked outside that he ate breakfast in a minute and can not seem to put on his snowsuit fast enough LOL but his older brother is still asleep so he is now removing his snow suit and waiting and waiting hoping his brother comes down for breakfast soon to venture out into the snow for some real fun with snowball fights and building snow forts to hide from the snowballs . He has a lot of imagination and really makes the little things in our life more meaningful and well appreciated as they should be .

We will be spending the day sipping on Hot chocolate, roasting marshmellow's by the fire  and playing in the snow .

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow .

Going green around the Holidays

If you thought going green around the Holidays was going to be hard just look around you and think for a minute and save a tree !

wrapping presents can be fun , easy and GREEN !  Have you ever thought of using newspaper comics to wrap a present in ? be creative and make a matching bow .

If you have fabric around , use it to wrap presents .

Kids art work from school would be great to wrap grandparents presents , they would be thrilled !

Old maps would also be great for wrapping.

clothing is also a fun way to wrap ... If you have something tubular , a pair of socks would be especially fun to wrap and receive.



Old Christmas/birthday/anniversary cards can be cut up with pinking shears to make new tags for this years presents.

Any other ideas ???

Deck The Halls

Our Tree 2009


Our tree with the snow village

Tips To make your home very festive looking with very little work .

Add a special holiday touch in every room of your house .

If your putting up a Xmas tree in one room ... place your Nativity scene in a different room , Your snow village in yet another room .  Add little color by changing your doilies to festive colors  like red, blue, or green .add small holiday guest towels in the bathroom . add holiday salt & pepper shakers in your kitchen , keep it simple and elegant . As you go to each room , you will get into the holiday spirit and you`ll get to enjoy all your hard work each and every day no matter what room you spend your time in the most.

Making a list , Checking it twice !

My son`s Gingerbread House

Now that Thanksgiving is over . Time to make your list and check it twice and start looking for those bargains !

I am so out of it this year ... first my move back to NY in a Rental house  , Then the move into our NEW HOME ,  and now Thanksgiving at our house ...I have a huge family !, It just wears me out to even think of the shopping I now have to start . I am usually all done by this week yet this year I haven`t even gotten started yet. My cold is not making matters any better .

Black Fridays are for the birds , I just can`t see getting so stressed shopping in those crowds and standing on line forever just to save $30.00 !  I do try to get whatever I can from online and their specials are almost as good as the Black Fridays prices with Free Shipping included. 

My advise is ... find a bargain online and grab it !

Time for Decking the halls and really getting into the Spirit of the Holidays .

Money saving tip(laundry)

As I was doing my laundry today , I wondered how many of us ladies think of how much electric we waste when doing the laundry . I was in the habit of doing 1 load of  laundry every day to make it easier on me . 

My new way of doing the laundry is making sure I have 2 full loads to be ready for the wash at once .  Not only will you save.. water, electric, and soap  by doing less loads per week if your loads are full!, but you will also be saving on your electric bill by running your dryer one load after the other so that the dryer does not have time to cool off before your next load goes in . Also clean your lint AFTER EACH LOAD !! Your clothes will dry alot faster . Clothes should be shook piece by piece as you put them in the dryer .  If your clothes took 40 minutes to dry before  , following these steps will dry them in 20 to 30 minutes ! 

Quick Dusting Tip

Okay we all have socks with holes or some odd sock you can never find the pair to because it miraculously disappeared  , especially if you have kids . What do you do with them ? Throw them out ?  Well after washing them I wear them on my hands and go dusting !  They are so much better than paper towels . It makes dusting a breeze . dampen it with a little water and some cleaning solution and run your hands over the radiators  ! Then just toss the socks away .  Old T`shirts are great for dusting as well  , and those old towels ... I cut them up and use them to wash my floors ! , They are better than any mop head I have ever used . I cut smaller pieces to use for cleaning my bathrooms  , smaller rags are easier to clean with in smaller places and then just throw them away.


Have any cleaning tips ? leave me a comment !

GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS

It seams that this is the time of year when we all start to stress over the Holidays .   I find that if I make mental notes in my head early in advance I can get through the Holidays enjoying myself more and stressing a whole lot less.

For starters , it is still weeks before Thanksgiving so of course we have plenty of time to prep! before the day arrives .. I start by prepping things for my table , I want to make a turkey centerpiece this year so this is the time to get started on that . I make a mental note of how many tables & chairs I`ll be needing so that if I need someone to bring me chairs , I`ll know it in advance. I make sure that all my table cloths are clean and ready to use .
This is when I start to write up my menu and I make a list of Items that I will need for my recipes and any paper good that I will need , then the week before the Holiday I will check my list against my pantree and mark off anything I have already bought and have on hand .
One week before Thanksgiving I`ll be baking my pies , and setting my tables .

Okay so the plan is all set now lets see if it goes smooth ! From my past experience it always goes smooth ! I won`t have it any other way !  :)

Lets not forget what Thanksgiving is all about . Give thanks to everyone and let us all enjoy our time together with friends and family .

PEACE TO ALL, and Thank you for reading ,

Nee

Stress Releaser

We all need to release some stress in our life , Every other day just  try to do one of the following  ......

JUST LET IT LOOSE   !

Turn the radio up , clear your head and just  Dance, Dance, Dance. It is great for releasing your stress and makes you feel great too !

Take a 5 minute stroll around the block and come back like a different person . You can feel the stress leave your body with each step you take .

Skip the shower and light some candles and use the tub instead ! Just relax and take a few minutes longer than your usual .

Do some Yoga ! I personally don`t go for it because just getting there is stressful for me . I just feel the need to have to move to release my stress. My brain bad ! LOL

Reading a book releases stress and takes you to places you always dreamed of  but could never afford  or never have the time to go to .

Me ? I find that the greatest way to release stress for me is crafting .. whether I am making wreaths, painting ,  knitting, or  crocheting , It just takes me to a new world and my imagination just takes over .

How do you release your stress ?

Name Brands

My 9 yr. old son came home from school all upset yesterday . He asked me whats with the Gap sign on his shirt , what does it mean ?? I told him it was a name brand etc. and he says ..Well don`t ever buy me anything that has Gap on it because everyone at school made fun of me today !! Shirts need designs on them not Gap or any other writing on them Mom  !  Can you believe that ?  What world are we living in ??  I understand that kids can be cruel at this age but this is just insane .

This is a case where you are doomed if you do and doomed if you don`t.  What are your thoughts ?

GARLIC

 OOOOOH how I love garlic , Not only in my food but also great for earaches , just slice it in half and stick it in the ear at the first sign of an ear ache . I don`t know how many trips to the doctor it has saved me .  Thank you to my Sister N Law Mindy who was the one who introduced me to the magic of the garlic cure . I have also read that it is good for high blood pressure and good for toothaches as well .

The miracle of a cucumber

Have you ever suffered from a severe headache ?? before you go for the pills  ---- Grab a cucumber out of the fridge ( must be very cold )  slice it and lay down , place 1 slice on each eye and take another slice and rub it on your forehead till the cucumber starts to warm , then flip the cucumber on the eyes to the cold side and take another cold slice and keep rubbing the forehead ....I have done this when I had such a bad headache that I felt like I was going to puke .. My headache went away within 5 minutes and if you get the feeling its on its way back just do it 1 more time !!  You will feel better in no time . Try it and let me know how it works for you .

POMEGRANATE ??

 Lately all you hear is how great pomegranate is . Anything with POM seams to be a hit.

supposedly your suppose to eat the seeds , you can chew and swallow them whole.It is best to open them under water so you don`t end up making a mess . 

the big hype ....Pomegranates contain polyphenols, they are loaded with antioxidants which reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. As always remember that fresh is always best .  If you think that eating pomegranate ice cream will benefit you ? think again ! If you want to benefit your health  better stick to FRESH only and nothing that's been processed .

A fun way to eat them is putting one in a plastic bag and roll it on your counter as you press on it and then stick a straw in it ... your teeth will not get stained and you reap all the benefits .

How do you declutter ?

answer :

Every week , the day before garbage day I take a huge garbage Bag and check every room for anything to throw out I start w/the garbage that I have in each bedroom and I then look in the closets for anything I can discard .. old t`shirt ? socks with holes ? old magazines ? ..My goal is to always discard 1 large garbage bag per week and if I cannot fill the bag that means no new items can be brought into the house for  that week . To meet my goal, once in a while I`ll  include the garage .

Further decluttering:
Every 4 months I`ll go through everyone`s closets to see how many items are not being used and that I can give away to good will

keeping up with the decluttering on a regular basis becomes so rewarding to me .

I have started doing this a few years ago and have always been able to fill my bag without a problem . How do you declutter ? Do you have a tip ? please share your thoughts .

Life Is A Dance

LIFE IS A DANCE ...( By Eileen Bennet)


One of the most important lessons I've learned is that life is a dance.

Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow. When you lead, you do it gently, firmly and clearly, and when you follow, you do so with trust.

The amazing thing is that each one of us is involved in many dances at any one time - and we are the leader in some and the follower in others!

Some dances are slow and majestic and others are crazy and frenetic and still others are somewhere in between.

Some last a lifetime - others are over almost as soon as they begin.

Most of the time we manage not to fall flat on our faces, which is even more amazing and requires some pretty fancy footwork.

And sometimes we do trip up or our toes get squashed and we get hurt - but the important thing is to keep on dancing - no matter what.

Just keep dancing!

Even if you can't hear the music or you just don't don't feel like it or you have acquired two left feet, keep on dancing!

Reminds me of the words of a Garth Brooks song: 'our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance.'

POSITIVE THINKING

When looking at a glass with some water in it , I always look at is as half full never half empy . My goal is to always try to see things in a positive way . Life is so much better that way , and if I`m happy so is everyone around me , especially my kids .  If your ever looking for a great resource for parenting positive kids , you should start with  http://fishfulthinking.repnation.com/Log.ashx?a=2&i=361&r=b9081c31-8947-4969-b0ab-ea35f409a62f

Forgot to dry your clothes and you need it quick ??

I found that the fastest way to dry something that you need quick and don`t have time for the dryer to run its full cycle is to  just put the item that you need in the dryer with a few large dry towels .. Your clothes will dry in less than 15 minutes . The towels will absorb most of the water quickly and you will be good to go in no time.

Do you have any tips to share?

Imagination - Fireburning

My husband wrote this in our sons chronicle and I just had to share .

Imagination - Fireburning

I have sung lullabies to Ady since he was a baby... favorites being 'jeevan se bhari', 'tomebo mataso pita tomebo', 'whenever i see your smiling face', 'om namah shivaya'... all of a sudden since he turning 8, he does not want to hear Mom or Dad sing. He is into music now, wants the radio on all the time , faves being 'Let it rock', 'goofy goober rock', 'In the end'... A current favourite is 'Fireburning' and when the song comes on in the car, Mom and Dad break into the chorus.. he cannot stand it :) holds his ears.

Nowadays, when i put him to bed.. we play question time.. i ask a set of math, science, history, geography questions. The last question is a 'imagination - what would you do if...' question. So one night, the question is "Imagine you are in a ship that is sinking, you can get out in a life boat to a small island, no one else is there... What are the 5 things you'll take with you? "

Ady - "Food(chips), Axe to cut down trees, Flashlight... a book to read as i will get bored.. and game boy... hmmm maybe no book but another set of games....What about you daddy?"

Indi - "Knife, a mirror for signalling, a book, a solar powered radio, and a picture of you, Ady... When i get bored, i will look at your picture, turn the radio on and sing along to "Fireburning"

"Awwww nooooooooo!!!" :)

Dunkin Donuts coffee

This is what wakes me early in the day and keeps me going all day :)

Hair Loss

This is the back of my head after  a few months of using pure henna  My original hair color is jet black with a few grays



They had a lot of gray on the front side ,  as you can see it looks orange , this is after only 1 application , after a few more applications it will  darken and  make the color richer . Each time Henna is applied it ads a layer therefore the color keeps getting darker .

HAIR LOSS
I am in my 40`s and I had decided it was time to color my hair . I also had noticed that my hair was falling   more than the usual yearly shedding .

After coloring my hair , even more hair was falling out ...If I ran my fingers through my hair my hand would be full of hair each time .  I started to panic when I looked in the mirror one day and I could start to see my scalp ! I had always had a thick head of hair .

I started to do a lot of research on the Internet to try to find a product that would help me with the thinning hair issue. , That's how I came upon an article for pure henna ... no color added , just pure henna powder ... I buy it in a small box , pour it in and squeeze bottle add a small container of lemon juice you can buy in the supermarket or squeeze a fresh lemon ..add warm water till it gets to a thick pancake batter consistency . put it on the hair just like you would with hair color and wrap it in plastic . leave in your hair for at least 2 hours .  then just wash out . The Henna will look green on the hair .. don`t panic ! that's normal.

I have not had any more hair fall out ... I try to do the henna once a month , but unlike hair color pure henna can be used as often as you like .  They also have henna shampoo but for someone loosing as much hair as I was , Pure henna is far better for thinning hair.

Pure henna will give a red color to your hair ... the 1st time you use it it will look orange then with each new application the color will get richer and more of a red tone ... It works in layers . I have black hair with very little gray ... so the gray hairs get a golden tone while my black hair will get a red tone especially when the sun hits it . instant highlights :) .... If you have a lot of gray I am not sure what you will end up with .... Its worth trying and experimenting .

Henna smells like cut grass to me .I am not so crazy about the smell but I use shampoo that has a heavy scent to mask the grassy smell .

If you are having hair loss issues , I highly recommend trying pure henna ... if you use the henna with color that is the same as any other hair color so your hair may still fall out ... ONLY PURE HENNA will work best for hair loss.

Very messy so wear old clothes and wash any spots you drop before it stains the area permanently .  Wear gloves , If you get any on the skin ,wipe it off with soap , If you leave it on for to long it will stain you for a week or 2 then the stain will fade away . That's what I call `` instant tattoo``.

If you need more info leave me a comment and I`ll get back to you .

Stay at Home Mom

Being a stay at home mom , 
I think we are so unappreciated. As soon as I tell someone I am a stay at home mom their reaction is  ``oooh so you don`t do anything ``... `` go out and do something !`` .. `` your lazy`` When I hear all the negative responses I just don`t even feel like wasted my time trying to explain why I do what I do . I am raising my children and teaching them . what better job is there ?  I am proud of doing what I`m doing with my life. I want to live my life taking care of my family. There is no greater reward in life than that.

Having a routine  and keeping things organized is very important to me because it helps me with  my sanity. Knowing that I accomplished something is very rewarding, by the end of the week I am looking forward to the next while other people can`t wait till their week is over .

Getting in touch with my creative side has been a blessing to me ... weather it is my crocheting, painting, blogging  or just fixing things around the house . Just getting my mind off  of family and having some ``me time `` I am always looking out for what projects to do next .

A Donkey Story

A Donkey Story... This had me laughing so hard I just had to share. I love it ! :)

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.

The jackass cried and cried for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He started shoveling dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.He finally told himself to just give up and take his fate that he was going to die.A few shovels of dirt hit his back and he said to himself . `` NO !!! I will not give up ! and started to shake and step up , He then realized something amazing , with each shake and step up he inched closer to the top .

As the farmer continued to shovel dirt on top of him, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, his ears reached the top of the well.

The farmer was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, lots of dirt!

The trick to getting along well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, NEVER GIVING UP !!
Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the 5 simple rules to being happy:
1: Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2: Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
3: Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4: Give more.
5: Expect less

The donkey later came back and bit the heck out of the farmer.

The moral of the story is :
When you do something wrong and try to cover your butt , it always comes right back to bite you !!

BZZAGENT (my experience)

I signed up to be a BZZAGENT years ago . I love that I can try new products and be myself when using WOM (word of mouth) .  I do not have to be a fake and hide anything . If I love the product then that's what I am going to relay in my WOM , and if there is something that I do not like so much I will wom that and not worry that if my WOM is not a positive one  it will  make me a bad BZZAGENT . Honesty is what its all about .


If you enjoy talking about things you try to your friends and family go check out Bzzagent and tell them mamma_nee sent you .   bzzagent.com

1st day of school

Yesterday was the first day of school for my kids , and what a hectic day it was !  

I wonder why the schools give us a huge list of supplies to purchase way before school starts and when the kids come home from their first day ,  we find a list of supplies sent home which does not match the first list we were given ??? the list just keeps getting longer and longer as they get older .

I often wonder if schools are getting some kind of kickback from these stores because I have a ton of supplies they have made me buy and my kids have  never had to  use them  . Its never bothered me as much but now that the economy is what it is I hate to see such waste . This year one of the items is pencils ... all 80 of them !! am I supplying for the entire class ??? No way is my son alone going to use 80 pencils in 1 year . And what happens to all the supplies they bring in and they don`t use ??? they throw it out , bring it home etc.. etc..  Maybe they should just sell them off with the PTA  then maybe schools would have the money they are always saying they don`t have enough of.

winterizing pool

Wow ! already time to winterize the pool . this is all new to me this year,
because in Florida we did not winterize . There were years we would be
in the pool till the end of December . I can`t even put my toes in this
water up North  come the end of September.

Having our4 seasons back again is just super.

Wings To Fly

My sons car

As a mother ... A very over protected mother that is ! I gave my oldest his wings to fly . He bought his car and now he does not need me any more . I am feeling a little useless but at the same time a bit more relieved . All I can say to him now is to drive careful ! I never new it was so hard to let them grow to be their own person.

He is 18 and yet I still see him as a little boy and always will .

I love you son :)
please do drive careful ,
Love MOM

Annoying call to my cell

I have been getting a call from an 800 number for over 1 1/2 years now ... They keep asking for someone other than me and this is my cell number ..They keep telling me that they have called Sprint and have verified that this is her number, welll duh !!  Anyway they are now not only calling me once a day but up to 8 times a day .. I try to ignore it but at times just grab my phone and tell them to f_ _ _  themselves and how many times do I have to tell them there is no one by that name here on my cell other than me !???  still they keep calling and calling ... are they out to kill me of high blood pressure ??? We should be able to sue these people for what they are doing to us mentally . This 800 number that calls me is out there on the web and many people are beeing called from them and if you call them back on the number for some reason you can`t get through .  If you are being harrased  like this ...The best thing is to ignore them ..ignore them .. ignore them ... after 7 years of harrassing you they will finally stop . Thats right  you have to wait 7 years till they stop ....hopefully  President Obama can fix this for us ??   HELLLP! I could understand them having the right to harrass me if I had a debt with them but this is totally ridiculous . How does one go about proving to them that they got the wrong number ?? And why would anyone even want to waste their time when its not even them that they are asking for  ?  IGNORE , IGNORE , IGNORE ,

How to remove stains ???

Okay a few weeks ago I had a graduation party for my son and I found that the red cake decoration ended up on my family room carpet ... what to do ? what to do ???  ... I tried a damp cloth w/soap and rubbed it and rubbed it and rubbed it some more and before I new it the 2 inch spot trippled in size !!!! 

a few days later I decided to use my favorite spot remover .... PEROXIDE !! thats right good old cheap PEROXIDE ! :) I just saturated it and then rubbed it with the bottom of my shoe and it was like magic ! No signs that there ever was a stain there . I think this works for like 99 % of stains... on clothing  the key is you pour it on and just let it dry ... you can`t pour it on and then just throw it in the wash ... let it just sit till its all dry again then go ahead and wash as usual.... sometimes it needs a little rub or 2 treatments before it is totally gone but it sure beats buying new clothes just because of a little  sauce stain .

Is Florida home still for sale ??

For those of you asking if the Kissimmee, Florida house is still for sale ... the answer is YESSSSSSS !! why do I think it hasn`t sold yet ?? well I think its because Florida has the laziest realtors .... They like to place the listing on mls and let the house sell itself but now that things are so bad they just don`t get it .... They need to go back to their old ways and start working for their money . They should start with Open Houses ... They just don`t want to hear of it , saying that the homes in Florida don`t sell with Open Houses , Of course they have no proof of that , but It is not just the people that come in the Open House that are the buyers but their word of mouth is what will sell homes !  Jusst my rant on Florida real Estate !

Chicken Cutlet (short cuts)

A friend of mine asked me how she could make chicken cutlets with less mess but still have them taste as good .


1 lb chicken cutlets ( my kids like them thin
1 egg
1 cup flour
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of corn starch
milk ... to get a pancake batter consistancy

breadcrumb(flavoured )  1 lbcanister


I mix 1 egg, 1 cup all purpose flour , salt & pepper to taste , pinch of corn starch  and add milk to the consistancy of pancake batter.

Dip the chicken cutlets in the batter then coat them with the flavoured bread crumbs and fry on medium heat till golden crispy .

You will have nice crispy cutlets that are full of juices in the inside .

My finicky kids can never get enough of this .

Now to make it even more enticing for my husband and I .... I chop up a tomatoe,1/2 red onion, cucumber,( 1 chili pepper if you like the heat like we do ) olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh chopped basile  and mix them all up  then chop some lettuce on each individual dish , arrange the chicken on top and then add the  balsamic mixture .

It looks heavenly and tastes sooo good.