Dishwasher Pacs? We've Been Duped!

Ooooo, pretty!

I was loading one of these pacs into my dishwasher a couple of months ago and got a revelation. Instantly, I flashed back to the installation of my new dishwasher. The nice man told me to use these special pacs and kindly gave me some free samples, "The new dishwashers run much better with these than the liquid, Ma'am."

Indeed, my liquid did not perform as well as the lovely and mysterious little pacs in the new machine, so I bought some. Ahhh, the marvels of modern technology. First, HD television and the iPhone and now these nifty pacs, I mused.

Homemade recipe,courtesy lightlycrunchy blog

Anyway, back to the aforementioned revelation: I was loading the beautiful little packet into my dishwasher, and ... it broke open. Do you know what spilled out? Dishwasher powder!!! Dishwasher powder???? Those little weasels!! So, there is no secret formula inside these little gizmos? No super-powered cleaning formulas? The pack casing performs no miracle?  The pretty green and blue swirls? Well, I haven't figured that out yet. Probably colored goo. (I do know the generic swirl-less packs work great.)

Ahhh, the marvels of modern marketing schemes. Will the wonders of the new millennium never cease?

Cheapo generic powder

Takeaway:
When you run out of these expensive little pacs,
go buy some cheap dishwasher powder.
Dollar Tree, here I come!

Gardening Tip to Protect Hands & Nails

Re-potted orchid & clean nails with
indoor greenhouse in the background

I love plants, always have. I have a little indoor greenhouse that I absolutely love, a couple of orchids,  succulents, ferns and herbs in my windowsill. In fact, it is fall here in the south-central US and time to plant pansies and prepare our outside gardens for winter. (Born and raised in Denver, but living in the South since 1996, I love it here. What a delight to have pansies blooming in my yard in December!)

Anyway, I was re-potting an overgrown orchid (above) and some spearmint I bought from the grocery store this afternoon and remembered a tip I got from a book on houseplants years ago. Before you begin working with the soil, slather your hands with lotion. Especially, gook lotion under your fingernails.

Then you can wash your hands easily without any residue left under your nails. Also hands don't dry out and nails are not likely to break or split.

Old Fashioned Quick Fix for Makeup

If you are running late in the morning, or are away from home without makeup, or you're just a no-frills kind of girl, you might like this old fashioned tip. Put on lipstick, blot it with a tissue and apply to cheeks. It gives a subtle color that perks up your face and blends with your lip color.

Freeze Your Bread

Refrigerated bread gets stale overnight. Freezing a loaf of bread keeps it fresh and preserves taste and texture. Don't worry about thawing: by the time I make a sandwich, my bread has thawed -- and I pop it from freezer to toaster with no problem.

Tip: Before freezing, gently grab both ends of the loaf and wiggle it like an inchworm walking. This will keep the slices from freezing together so they are easy to remove from the bag one at a time.

Perfect cuticles

My secret? Lip balm! Any product will work but my favorite is Carmex. The signature lip balm of the Marines (and they ought to know) was developed by a pharmacist in the 1930s. This family recipe has endured because it works. It is nourishing and healing to skin. Also, the "magic ingredient," salycilic acid, exfoliates.

Keep lip balm at your bedside and put some on before you go to sleep. During the day, when you use it on your lips, include your cuticles and there won't be a hangnail anywhere. :) Works great for elbows and callouses, too!