December 10, 2011

My Frugal Holiday: Our First Family Christmas StoryOnce upon a Christmas time in a little college town there lived college couple with a baby son. In between classes and jobs and studying late, they had bought gifts for parents, sisters, brothers and baby too, of course.

 

Use Dryer Sheets To Clean Glue GunWe can't live without glue guns, but they can certainly can cause problems. When you are finished with your gun, let it cool to the touch. Then take a dryer sheet and wipe the tip and also the gun itself.

 

Folded Paper Christmas Chocolate BoxMake these cute boxes and fill them with chocolates to decorate your Christmas table, or use them to spread some Christmas cheer!

 

Beef Brisket and Applesauce QuesadillaA perfect way to use up Hanukkah leftovers and thank you for reminding me, Aric, that there are Hanukkah celebrations at this time of year, too!

 

Reminder On Garage DoorA great way to remind yourself of things like take the garbage out, return movies, an MD appointment, get gas, etc. is to place a note via a magnet with a clip on it for your note to be placed onto the metal door inside your garage on the door that goes into your home.

 

Parker And Gunther (Dogs)Santa was not prepared for two overly, excited and happy 2 year old dogs that weighed around 110 pounds each. If youtube had been around when this picture had been taken it would of been a hit.

 

Cutting Down Larger Coffee FiltersFor health reasons we like to use natural brown filters in our 4 cup coffee maker. But often only bleached white filters are available at the store. So we buy the larger brown 8-12 cup size and cut them down.

 

Plan Meals to Use Most Perishable Items FirstYou know you can save money on fruit and vegetable by shopping once a week, but throwing out spoiled food is a waste of food and money.

 

Using Runny Marzipan?While making marzipan this morning I made the mistake of putting way too much egg white in it. I frantically added extra icing sugar, I didn't have any more almonds, but it still hasn't gone solid.

 

Cleaning Mock Suede?How should I clean mock suede seating? It is 100% polyester.

 

Cooking Dried Beans?I make a lot of soups that call for beans, all different kinds. It gets quite expensive to use the canned beans. I have tried dried beans and have never been able to get them to the consistency of the canned type.

 

Using Gift Cards with Small Amounts Left?I have several gift cards (Visa) that have small balances remaining on them ($3, $2, etc). They still appear to be active, so I was wondering where I can use them? We tried at our local Wal Mart and the cashier couldn't get them to work at all.

 

Packaged Mailed from US to Italy is Lost?I was supposed to take eurail passes to my daughter when I went to Italy. The mail was one day late. My husband sent it US postal service. We are now 2 weeks and 4 days into this.

 

Cleaning Magnalite Cookware?Extremely old set of Magnalite cookware, they are aluminum and magnesium alloy. They were washed with "Bullet", some type of product advertised on TV. Now a black powder continues to rub off on everything that touches it.

 

Keeping Glitter from Coming Off Baskets?I just bought a few wire Christmas baskets from Micheal's. They have glitter on them and it's getting all over everything. I thought about spraying them with a coat of hairspray to keep the glitter on the basket. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

Recipe for Outback Blue Cheese Steak Topping?Does anyone have the recipe for the blue cheese topping that Outback Steakhouse puts on top of the beef fillet?

 

Discontinued Springmaid Wallpaper?I'm looking for a Springmaid border wallpaper pattern. It is a floral pattern of pink flowers on a light green background.

 

Icing for Cookies That Will Be Sent in the Mail?I am looking for a icing recipe for cookies that can be sent in the mail.

 

Ice Won't Drop from Dispenser?I can see that there is ice made in the freezer but it will not drop. Is there a sensor that signals that the bucket is low? I have removed everything from the top shelf, so there is no interference from food.

 

Heating an Addition on a House?My husband and I have recently built on a 14' x 24' addition. We are not finished with it yet and we have not broken through to our existing house. The addition is built on sonotubes and is on top of our entrance to our cellar and crawlspace.

 

Keeping Fleas Off a Dog?I was wondering what is a great idea to control fleas on a small dog (9lb)? I have never had an issue until this year; he gets 1 to 3 on him a week. I bathe him weekly in flea soap. Not only is Frontline Plus very pricey, but I am scared of putting chemicals on him.