I'm thinking I need to start writing a monthly list of goals on this blog. I had a
journal where I had kept track of all my financial things and books I wanted to read and new habits I wanted to start, but it's kind of gone by the wayside as I've gotten busier and busier with blogging.
This has basically become my new form of writing a journal. And that's totally cool with me! Except all my bad habits have crept back, I have no long or short term goals and my finances are out of control (says the girl who just blew almost $200 on Modcloth the other day, oops!) I don't want to aim for much - just a quickie list of goals once a month, posted publicly so I'm held accountable. Sounds good? Okay, let's go!
1) Whiten my teeth with
at-home whitening solution. This sounds terrible, but they are so stained from drinking diet Coke, I've been using some PicMonkey magic in my pics so they don't look as bad. If all works out okay, I will have some real before and after shots for you.
2) Take the stairs at my apartment whenever I'm not carrying a load of bags (I often have groceries or overnight bags.) I figure if I do this, I may not need any other exercise - I live on the 16th floor of my building!
3) Clean my house. Maybe I'll update later with some pics. Because it's so scary, it's worth documenting.
4) Buy one thing from
Etsy, one really unique thing instead of always running to Modcloth as my go-to.
5) Visit actual vintage and thrift shops for Treasure Tuesday to take pics!
6) Carry camera in purse to photograph life's little adventures. I do have the camera in my purse all the time, but it never comes out, haha.
7) Start cooking things using my oven and my stove. I'm terrified of fire/heat and this will be a big one if I accomplish this goal!
8) Eat less pizza. I literally ate it 4 times this week. I ate it right before composing this entry.
9) Keep applying in banner swaps, but invest in one big time ad-space that will hopefully drive traffic to the site!
10) Renew library card so I can have books for Factoid Friday FOR FREE!!!!
I very much need to do that last one. My book supply for Factoid Friday is running a little dry. I have an
eBay auction I won that's coming soon that's loaded with books and I'm getting a bunch for Christmas, but I won't be getting both these batches for a little while. So for now, I will be reviewing a book that's mostly devoid of facts but that still makes for some decent reading!
The book I'm featuring this week is called "The Modern Girl's Guide to Sticky Situations" by Jane Buckingham. It solves many etiquette questions on how to handle who picks up the tab, how to deal with divorced parents come your wedding day, how to give a tasteful recommendation to a sub-par co-worker, plus other love, fashion, parental, hostess, financial, cooking, work and real world advice.
Things I Learned From This Book
With all the beauty products out there, what is a girl to splurge on and what to scrimp on? According to the book, scrimp on mascara (since it is thrown out so frequently), sunscreen, false eyelashes, nail polish and lip gloss. Hit the department stores for foundation (they will help you find the right shade),powder/eyeshadow/blush, fragrance and eye cream.
Although flowers seem like a good gift to
bring a hostess, skip them. She'll have to stop prepping snacks and run
to look for a vase and cut and prepare them.
If
you do get flowers (for yourself of course!) and they keep dying, here
is a little trick to keep them alive - add either a little salt,
vinegar, sugar, baking soda, aspirin or Sprite to water (but not all of
the above at once!) If they start to wilt, spritz a little hairspray on
them to perk them up.
Spiders can be deterred by little slivers of eucalyptus-scented soap or by rubbing alcohol on household surfaces.
If you have a clogged drain but don't want to pour toxic ickiness down it, try this home remedy - pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain, then chase it with 1 cup of vinegar. Then plug the drain so that the force of the gas goes down rather than coming back up. Let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then pour a gallon of boiling water down. Ta da! Now I have something else to use that baking soda for, besides my brand new, sparkling smile!
Not having a credit card myself, I don't know how credit works. But according to this book, it says to build credit, it's good to actually have low balances on a few cards rather than a large balance on one (but not too many credit cards - don't open an account at every store!) It also says to use your oldest credit card every few months to maintain that you have a long-standing credit history.
If you over-salt your food, adding more liquid or solid food should help. If it's really bad, try this old chef's trick: adding a pinch of sugar or a teaspoon of vinegar.
Bad haircut solutions - first of all, prevention! If you are sitting in the chair, you should have ultimate control. Speak up! This happened to me and it was sad. The girl seemed straight out of high school and I explained to her since my hair was naturally curly, she shouldn't go too short or it would look really, really wonky. She lobbed a bunch off and then kept going around my head making it shorter and shorter, but kept assuring me she was leaving me with some length. It was bad. See below for yourself. The book suggests dry shampoo, bobby pins, flat ironing, pre-natal vitamins (so it grows faster) and pulling your hair back (if your hair is long enough for that to be an option for you.) I swear by all of these! I've gone back to my regular hairdresser, my Aunt Susie and luckily, all has been fine since.
If you have nowhere to store ice for a party, store it (along with your drinks or whatever needs cooling) in your washing machine.
If a leaky faucet is torturing you with it's drip, drip, drip noise, a temporary solution is to hang a string so the water runs down the string rather than dripping. It's definitely a temporary solution though - leaky faucets waste 20 gallons of water daily!
If you send an e-mail you immediately wish you hadn't, some programs
like Outlook and Gmail have an unsend/recall feature (did anyone else
not know about this???) There is also an e-mail program called
didtheyreadit.com where you can sign up and see if your e-mail has
indeed been read and the damage has been done. I checked the website out
and you can get 10 messages free a month (or 500 messages a month for
$24.99/3 months.) I would hope nobody would be sending more
than 10 regretful e-mails per month anyways!
Anyhoo, lots of cool tips. This book kind of reminded me of the website
Lifehacker so if you like that website, you will probably like this book too.
It Happened Today in History
In 1939, the first animal (a rabbit) born via artificial insemination is exhibited to the world.
In 1848, the first medical school for women opens. It later merges with the Boston University School of Medicine.
The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 kills between 60-90 thousand people. I actually have this
book (don't mind it pictured next to the pretty shoes, it was a "haul" photo!) so I'm sure sometime in the future Factoid Friday will be all about disasters like this.
In 1896, National Geographic publishes it's first
topless, indigenous woman.
In 1800, John Adams is the first president to live in the White House (then called the Executive Mansion.)
Today is also
World Vegan Day! In honour of that, I'm posting what appears to be a delicious looking recipe. I neither cook or eat healthy so I can't be entirely sure.
Ingredients
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Clean mushrooms and pull out stems, but save for later. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and lightly oil a cookie sheet.
2. Place mushrooms on prepared sheet. Use a food processor to chop onion, mushroom stems, and garlic.
3. Take that mixture and brown in an oiled frying pan. When done, remove from heat and cool.
4. Stir in vegan breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Fill mushrooms (not overfilled past the top) with stuffing, spray lightly with vegetable oil.
5. Put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned lightly on top.
I borrowed this recipe from
VegWeb and they have lots of other delicious happening over there!
Things I Came Across on StumbleUpon
Also be sure to check out this pic which shows what every country in the world is the leader in. It's pretty interesting!
That's all for me! I covered a lot today! Phew! Have you set any goals for this month? How was your Hallowe'en? What new things have you been learning? And please tell me I'm not the only one who has ever had that horrible of a haircut!!! Talk soon!
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
