Home remedies

Eliminate ear mites. All it takes is a few drops of Wesson Corn Oil in your cat's ear... massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Kills fleas instantly...Dawn Dishwashing Liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Good-bye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor: Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers.

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use.

Honey remedy for skin blemishes... cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus:Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Balm for broken blisters...to disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.

Easy eyeglass protection... to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer...if menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure... cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Vinegar to heal bruises... soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief... it's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Mini raisin muffins

4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together in alarge mixing bowl. Using a small scoop, fill each cup in a mini muffin pan. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pizza swirls

This is really easy to get kid's help with making it!

Frozen bread dough, thawed (We used Rhodes brand)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 package pepperoni, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Roll out the bread dough into a thin rectangle. Place a little of the pizza sauce on, then toppings. Roll up dough exactly like you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. Slice and place on greased baking pan/stone. Repeat until all ingredients are gone.
Bake on 375 degrees for 15ish minutes, or until they're starting to brown.

Peanut butter rice crispie treats

Fair warning: The marshmallow, peanut butter mixture is really hard to stir. Share the responsibility with someone else, so you won't have sore arms

1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 bags of marshmallows
8-10 cups rice crispies
melted butter or cooking spray

Melt marshmallows and peanut butter together in a large pot. When the mixture is completely melted, stir in rice crispies. Spread mixture, while still warm, onto a large bar stone/pan. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Creamy chocolate dessert

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 block cream cheese
1 8oz tub whipped cream
3 cups milk
2 small packages chocolate instant pudding mix
Unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool completely.
3. To prepare filling, place 1 cup sugar and cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Fold in half of whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crust. Cover loosely; refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Combine milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until pudding is set. Spread the pudding mixture over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining half of thawed whipped topping over pudding layer. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Cut into 15 pieces.

Blueberry pecan cake

cooking spray
2 sticks butter, soft
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp grated orange rind
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups blueberries
2/3 cup pecans, chopped
powdered sugar

Mix together all ingredients for cake down to the blueberries, until smooth. Slowly fold in blueberries and pecans until well mixed. Bake on 350 degrees for 35ish minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar when removed from oven.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cups brown sugar

TOPPING:
1/2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9 inch deep dish baking pan/stone with cooking spray.
Mix together all ingredients for cake until batter is smooth. Pour into stone.
In another bowl, mix together ingredients for topping, until well crumbled. Sprinkle over cake.
Bake35-40 minutes or until toothpick stuck in middle comes out clean.

Breaking bad money habits

From Woman's Day:

Money a little tight? You may assume it’s due to rising costs, tightening credit and the fact that you haven’t had a raise in, like, forever. Well, let’s be honest. If your basic needs are being met, your financial problems could be the result of bad money habits. But in the same way you picked up these habits, you can replace them with good ones that will help you spend less and save.

Living without a budget
Spending money without a plan has to be the mother of all bad money habits. It’s like driving blindfolded—you don’t know where you are and can’t see where you’re going, so you don’t know when to stop. But if you want to be in control of your money and make intelligent decisions, a budget is absolutely essential.
Break the habit! Sit yourself down and make a list of your fixed monthly expenses, like the rent and car payment. Next, estimate your variable expenses, such as utilities, food and gas. Set a little aside for occasional expenditures (clothes, appliance repairs, car maintenance, entertainment). Tally these and subtract from your monthly income. If you find out that your expenses are more than your income, don’t worry. Just keep making adjustments until you strike the right balance, then stick to it.

Paying with plastic
Depending on plastic—I’m talking about both debit and credit cards—to cover your day-to-day spending may be convenient, but you’re probably not noticing how much you’re spending.
It’s a fact that we spend more when we pay with plastic, says Robert Frank, a Cornell University economist and visiting professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. “Forking over cash is a more vivid sensation than the abstract act of promising to pay for than the abstract act of promising to pay for something later,” he says. “Paying with plastic allows a person to act more impulsively—he can get things right now without having to deal with the actual payment until sometime in the future.”
Break the habit! Paying with cash puts strict limits on what you can buy. Figure out how much you’ll need for the day and put that in your wallet. That’s it! Leave your plastic at home, or put it in a less convenient place in your wallet. As you go through your day, you’ll become shockingly aware of how often you reach for the plastic. The good part? You’ll discover you spend less when you depend on cash.

Rolling a credit card balance
Credit card issuers know that once they can get you to cross the threshold where you owe more than you can pay in a single month, they’ve got you where they want you—paying them interest month after month. But when you carry a balance and pay just the minimum, you’re rolling the equivalent of a snowball that can quickly grow out of control.
At a 14.39% average credit card interest rate, very little of your minimum monthly payment goes to pay down the balance. If you owe $5,000 at 14% interest with minimum payments of 2.5% of the outstanding balance, it will take you 243 months (20 years!) to be rid of your debt. In that time you’ll pay $4,167 in interest—and that’s assuming you don’t add any new purchases. What started as a one-time event to get you through a difficult month can easily turn into a balance that rolls over indefinitely.
Break the habit! If you can’t pay the entire balance in a single month, get rid of that credit card. Cut it up so you can’t use it (but don’t close the account, or you could be hit with a big interest rate increase). Now start paying down the balance as rapidly as possible. Create a payment chart and look at it each day for proof of your progress. Once you get that balance down to zero, promise yourself you’ll never get into that mess again.

Being unaware of interest rates
Interest you earn on a savings account. Interest you pay on a home equity loan, credit card account or student loan. Either way, ignoring it can be an expensive proposition.
The difference between 3% ($8,734) and 1% interest ($2,628) on $25,000 in a savings account over a 10-year period is more than $6,000! That’s what you’d throw down the drain if you weren’t paying attention. Paying a credit card bill late can send your interest rate soaring to 27% or more. How long will it take you to notice that your required payment has doubled but your principal balance remains stalled?
Break the habit! Make a simple chart that shows the interest rates you’re earning on your CDs and money market accounts (and those you’re paying, too). If mortgage rates have dropped, it may be time to refinance your home. Just make sure you run all the numbers, taking into account all of the associated fees. If your bank has dropped its interest rate for savings, shop around. You may get a much better rate by transferring your savings to an online bank like hsbcdirect.com.

Saving only at the end of the month
If you think it makes sense to pay your bills first and then see how much you have left to put in savings, think again. This usually leads to a very bad habit known as “no savings,” because whatever you have left, you’ll always find some way to spend it.
Break the habit! I’ve said it before, but here it is again: Treat yourself as your most important creditor. Pay yourself first! You may want to make up payment coupons like the ones you have for your car payment. Or set up an automatic bill payment to “Myself.” Even if it’s only $25 or even $10 to start with, do it.

Too many visits to the ATM
Since you only go to your bank’s ATM (no fees involved), and you’re pulling money out of your checking account (no debt), visiting the ATM is totally harmless, right?
Wrong. Just because you’re not paying a fee to withdraw money from an ATM doesn’t mean you’re spending responsibly. Frequent ATM visits can allow money to leak from your life undetected—you take out cash, but fail to keep track of where it’s going. That can easily become one $200 drain after another.
Break the habit! Discipline yourself: Go to the ATM only once a week. Once you withdraw cash, tuck it into marked envelopes: Groceries, Gas, Lunches, etc. Spend from the appropriate envelope. When it’s empty, no more spending until the next fill-up.

Ignoring your credit reports
Each year that goes by in which you haven’t reviewed your credit reports (one from each of the big three credit bureaus), you may become more entrenched in a financial quagmire.
It’s been estimated that 4 out of 5 credit reports have errors. And according to Consumer Reports, consumers find some 13 million inaccuracies each year. Inaccurate information could mean you’re paying higher insurance premiums or inappropriately high interest on a credit card account—and you’re stuck with a low credit score.
Break the habit! Get out your calendar. Make a note on the first day of March, July and November, reminding yourself to request one of your free credit reports to review. Federal law says you’re entitled to one free credit report each year from each of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Spread them out over the year so you can monitor your report once every four months. Get your reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com (all other sites require you to pay). If you find any errors, report them immediately, using the dispute feature outlined on the report.

Not paying on time
I was born with a strong procrastination gene, so I can attest to the problems associated with this terrible habit. The cost of late payments these days ($29 or more per occurrence with most credit card companies, for example) is bad enough. But that’s not all: Many creditors will see one or two late payments as cause for increasing the interest rate. The increased interest together with the late fee can easily send a credit card balance over the limit, which of course kicks in another punitive charge: the over-limit fee. And even one late payment can put a seven-year black eye on your credit report.
Break the habit! Don’t wait until a few days before a bill is due to pay it. If there’s any chance you will procrastinate, make the payment on the day the bill arrives.

Bouncing the account
There was a time when bouncing a check was, at the most, embarrassing, and the $5 fee wasn’t hard to take. But those days are long gone. Bounce fees have skyrocketed to $25 or more—plus a daily fee from some banks for each day your account remains in the red. Habitually bouncing your bank account via debit card, ATM withdrawals or writing a paper check can be devastating. If the bank considers you a deadbeat customer, they’ll close your account and report it to a central clearing house. Now you will find it tough to open a bank account anywhere.
Break the habit! If you’re a bouncer, get thee to the bank! Arrange for overdraft protection that will catch you in case you overdraw again. There will be a small transaction fee, but nothing close to the horrendous “courtesy bounce fees” many banks are charging. Next, commit yourself to recording every single debit card, ATM and paper check transaction in your checkbook register, making certain you calculate a new balance every time. Never allow yourself to come closer than $100 to the end of your money in the account. Reconcile your account each month when the statement arrives.

Caribbean chicken

46oz can pineapple juice
2 bottles bbq sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
chicken pieces

Rinse and place chicken in crockpot.
Stir together ingredients for sauce and pour over chicken.
Cook on high for 6ish hours.