Archive for: House and Home – Page 2

3 Ways To Remove Sharpie or Permanent Markers From Dry Erase Board

We’ve all been there. Either you grabbed the wrong marker or the kids use any marker they can get their hands on and next thing you know it, you got permanent marker on your Dry Erase board. Some of you know that we made two walls in our hallway into huge dry erase boards. Well that has been a challenge to keep clean. Three things that work well when we experience an Oops!

Image by arkos arkoulis

Image by arkos arkoulis

  • Gojo Wipes – works but leaves a kinda oily residue that makes it  hard to write on the board again.
  • Nail Polish Remover – works all the time but can get messy so you will need a big bottle and probably clean twice over once to get the marks off and the other to get the stains.
  • Writing over the mark with another permanent marker and wiping it off immediately. This ‘dissolves’ the lower layer. You gotta be quick and only works if the mark is small or few.

As you can tell, my favorite tool here is the nail polish remover :)

Protect Yourself

Identity theft and other similar crimes are on the rise in our society.  Unfortunately, we must do everything that we can to protect ourselves from these crimes.  One of the ways that you can help to protect yourself and your family is by shredding any documents or papers that contain personal information that must be kept secure.  A shredderis a great investment that can help you to properly dispose of these such papers and ensure that your identity is protected and safe.

Be sure to shred all your papers and documents thouroughly before disposing of them or sending them to be recycled.  There are also many other great uses that you can use the recycled paper for, you can get creative and find other various ways that you may find to use the materials which is just an added bonus.

Photo credit: SideLong

French Press?

Once I became a coffee drinker I began to learn all sorts of things about coffee.  I heard random terms I’d never heard of before, one of which was “French Press“.  Apparently it is another option for making coffee besides a percolator or a coffee maker.  This gadget looks a little difficult for the average Joe, but I’d be willing to give it a go.

I hear that the coffee out of one of this is superior to that from a coffee maker too.  It’d be worth a try just to see wouldn’t it?  I’m thinking of trying my hand at a French press as soon as I can get my hands on one.  When you become a coffee drinker, why not go all out and become a junkie?  It couldn’t hurt anything right?

Photo credit : staralee

Grind Your Own?

Just recently I became a coffee drinker.  I know at almost 30 year of age I should have started long before now, but better late than never right?  The addiction began after I had coffee at a local coffee shop that grinds its own coffee beans, and also gives you the options of some great flavorings.  My very first cup of coffee that I enjoyed was from there and included caramel flavoring.  Yum!

So, when I wanted to recreate this yummy coffee at home I was a bit apprehensive that I wouldn’t be able to do so.  That is until I discovered that you can grind your own coffee beans at home, with a handy little coffee grinder , and that the grocery store had a huge variety of coffee and flavorings just like in my local coffee shop.  Who knew?

So, now I’m a coffee grinding, flavor using, coffee lover, and it only took me until I was almost 30 to do so.

Photo Credit: lepiaf.geo

What’s the weather like?

The last few weeks the weather in my neck of the woods has been anything but “normal”,  from highs in the 70′s one day to lows in the 40′s another it is hard to know what the weather is going to be like and what tomorrow holds.  It is definitely hard to dress yourself and your children. 

I have sent my son out recently in short sleeves just to have him come back shivering.  I wish there was a better way to know but at least there are some gadgets out there that can help you get a bit closer to the right temp without having to guess.

There are weather instruments that you can get for the home that will tell you the outside temperature as well as the inside and help you know what you’d be most comfortable in that day.  Now I realize other factors come into play but at least you’ll be a little more prepared for the changing temps.

Ahh, A Massage

There are those days, we all have them, days where we just think “Calgon, take me away!”, but unfortunately we cannot get away.  You may not even be able to afford a day away, much less a day at the spa, or getting a massage. So what’s a gal to do?

What can you do to relieve some stress and get rid of some tight muscles and tenseness?  A Massaging Cushion for your office chair may be just the trick to help you melt away some stress and feel better for at least a little while.  It is definitely worth a try don’t you think?  We all deserve a little indulgence every now and again right?

Photo credit: Eggybird

Personal Trainer: Cooking

I love to cook.  Trying new recipes, recreating meals I”ve eaten in restaurants, all of these things are fun and intriguing to me.  I have taken classes in a Viking Cooking School and would love to take more.  What would even be cooler is to have a personal trainer in the area of cooking.  Wouldn’t that be cool?

There is a fun game available through Nintendo DS Lite that is just that, Personal Trainer: Cooking, guiding you step by step through cooking.  It has more than 245 recipes to choose from and serves as your “personal trainer” for cooking these recipes.  You can search by calorie count, ingredients, cooking time, and more!  You can even use the voice commands to navigate rather than having to wash your hands and handle the Nintendo DS.  You can even save the recipes you have made to find them easier in the future.  The game along with your Nintendo DS will also help you to make a grocery list by checking the ingredients that you need.

Who said that adults can’t play games too? Especially ones like these.

Photo credit: Vikki-Lea