(click for bigger) I finally found something that stops my hair from being so full of static. It’s that way in the winter and the summer… the spring and the fall. Let’s just say it’s staticy all year long. Well, it was until I finally found something that ends that problem. It’s called got 2b smooth operator smoothing lustre lotion. I bought mine at CVS but you can probably find it just about anywhere. My bottle cost $7.99 and it’s worth it!

(click for bigger) This lotion comes in a pump bottle with these cute little plastic charms attached to the bottle. Smooth operator smooths and controls fly away hair and it’s weightless and gives my hair luster and softness. It protects against damage from heat styling like blow drying or curling irons and it has a UV protectant.

After you wash and towel dry your hair pump some smooth operator into your hand and distribute evenly then style as you see fit.

I do love this stuff. It’s the only thing that keeps the static away from shampoo to shampoo. I’ve tried other things that would only last an hour or two and that just wasn’t doing the job. This stuff really works!

The best way I found to exercise is my IPod Shuffle. I just crank it up and hop on my elliptical. I can do at least 25 minutes easily while listening to my music. After I get done I get busy cleaning and dancing around to the music. My IPod is like taking energy pills and there aren’t any bad side effects. The good side effects are energy, weight loss and a clean house!

I can crank up the music and not bother the neighbors or hubby. I used to blast music when I’d clean the house before anything like an IPod was around but I could only do that if hubby wasn’t home or he was out in the garage working on a car or his boat. Yesterday I danced around while vacuuming and that was after a 25 minute workout on the elliptical. It lifts my mood and makes me want to clean, clean, clean!

What do you get for the person who has everything? If they love movies and have their own home theater how about one of those popcorn machines? Even if they don’t have their own home theater it’s great for movie night and you can have movie theater popcorn right at home.

I’d love to have one of them. I really love popcorn! You can even get the popcorn boxes and cups like they have in the movie theaters. My grandkids would love that. They love popcorn too.

Darn.. this post made me want popcorn. Now I’m going to have to go out and get some!

It’s yard sale/garage sale season so here are some tips for a successful sale. Go through your house and gather up all you want to sell. If you have kids clothes, baby clothes, curtains, comforters, bed spreads, etc make sure you wash them and fold them nicely. People don’t like to buy clothing that’s stained or ripped. If you’re selling knick knacks make sure they are clean and dusted. The same goes for any furniture you put out for sale.

Put like things together and make sure to put a price on things. I’d make the prices a little higher than what you want so it leaves some bargaining room.

Be sure to put signs up around the neighborhood and on main roads. Advertise your sale well and try to start it as early as possible. I usually have mine run on Saturday and Sunday.

When my kids were young I had them sell lemonade or koolaid for a few cents a cup. It gave them something to do and made them feel like they were helping.

Have bags or boxes for your customers to put their purchases in.

Have a good sale and make lots of money!

Low Calorie so you won’t need to get a life insurance quote before you eat it! *wink*

Makes 4 servings and is about 25 calories per serving (without topping).

1 cup of boiling water
1 envelope low-calorie orange flavored gelatin (2 envelopes come in a 3/4 ounce package)
1/2 cup orange or tangerine juice
1/2 cup of low calorie ginger ale
Pinch of ginger

Mix boiling water and gelatin until dissolved then stir in remaining ingredients.

Chill until mixture mounds when dropped from a spoon then beat with rotary beater until foamy.

Spoon into serving dishes and chill until firm.

Serve cold. You can top with any low calorie topping, if you wish.

Substituting other fruit juices will make the calories vary according to which juice you use.

Dark and chewy brownies.

3/4 cup of butter or margarine
4 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of unsifted flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsps of vanilla
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a large, heavy saucepan over the lowest heat.

Remove from heat and mix in the remaining ingredients in the order listed, beating well after each addition.

Pour the batter into a greased 9×9x2 inch pan and bake for 40 minutes until brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool the pan of brownies upright on a wire rack until they are room temperature then cut in 16 squares.

They are about 350 calories per brownie.

*These are nothing like Alice’s Restaurant brownies.. you won’t need to go to drug rehab after eating them!

Here are a couple reasons why you should always use the plastic/rubber exam gloves that come in the boxes of hair dye.

A girl I worked with dyed her hair without using those gloves. She used black dye. Yep.. you guessed it.. she ended up with her hands stained with that dye and it took months for it to finally fade away.

Another dummy (me) never used the gloves when I dyed my hair (when I was much younger). The blond dye I used had peroxide in it and my fingertips always turned white from the peroxide. I use the gloves now without fail. It’s bad enough I forget to use gloves when I clean my kitchen. Lesson learned!

Always use gloves when dying your hair or using harsh cleaning products.

Did you know that magnifying glasses are also called hand lenses? I didn’t know until just today. I use one a lot to read my great uncle’s diary because it was written back in 1874 and some of the writing is a little faded. The one I have also has a light on it to illuminate what you’re looking at. These are very handy things to have and I don’t think I could live without one now that I’m getting older and my eyesight is getting worse.