Veronica Bettencourt

Archive for the ‘Main’ Category

There are many benefits to growing an indoor herb garden. It can be a rewarding first experience for beginning gardeners, or an excellent solution for any gardener with limited planting space. It is also a fun and efficient way for home cooks to keep fresh herbs at their fingertips.

There are lots of points to have in mind should you wish to try your hand at developing an indoor garden. One key consideration is picking the correct location. You’ll wish to find a spot that receives at least eight hours of direct sunlight every day. If the stems and leaves get overly lengthy, or if the leaves start to fade or fall off, a lack of sunlight is the likely culprit. It’s feasible to supplement natural light, if essential, with grow lights or florescent work lights hung 4 to six inches above the plants.

When you have decided on a location for your garden, figure out which particular herbs you would like to grow. You can study nursery catalogs, or ask your local nursery staff, or you can just select the herbs you like the most. Your best bets are oregano, chives, mint, rosemary, basil, parsley, and thyme. These all frequently appear in popular recipes and they are all attractive and fragrant. They are also fairly hearty, and are relatively easy to successfully transplant outside later.

Some gardeners and cooks have such a fondness for Italian cooking that they grow an indoor or outdoor Italian herb garden. You could specialize in a national cuisine as well, if that suits your interests and tastes.

Your garden center staff can help you pick the right type of containers. You will need 6 to 8 inches across, and at least 6 to 8 inches deep. You could also choose to use a larger container and group the plants into 6 to 8 inches apart. Drainage is an extremely important consideration. Place screen mesh across the drainage holes on the container, and place containers inside a tray gravel-filled tray. The nursery staff can also help you select a potting mix that drains well and is approved for use with edible plants.

Layer potting mix into the bottom of the containers. Carefully set the plants into the potting mix at the depth they were growing in the nursery pots, and water them. It is essential that you do not over water your herbs. A thorough watering no more them twice a week should be plenty. If you like, you can supplement the potting mix once or twice a month with a fertilizer approved for use with edibles.

Clip the outer leaves as you require them, leaving lots of healthy growth on the stems. That way, the herbs will continue to create usable leaves and sprigs for quite some time.

You might encounter a couple of pitfalls with your indoor garden. Indoor air lacks the humidity of outdoor air and you might have to supply the herbs with added moisture by misting the leaves or adding water to the gravel-line drainage tray. You also might encounter an issue with insects. If so, fill a spray bottle with tepid, soapy water and spray the leaves and stems. The soapy solution will kill off the intruders without having harming the plants.

Otherwise, all you have to do is appreciate the flavors and fragrances of your fresh herbal that can serve as herbal home remedies, and bask within the pride of successfully developing an indoor herb garden. No matter what your  level as a gardener or a house cook, you’ll no doubt be pleased with the outcome.

Ins stains are indeed very tough to clean. You do need some kind of special cleaners to clean your carpet from those stains. Here we will help you how to remove those inks from your carpet when no other solution are quickly available. The following site carpet cleaning service will tell you about a great carpet cleaning service.

The main aspect to consider when cleaning such stains is the delay between when you’re starting to clean them and when the spilling happened. Wet ink, for instance, is easier to clean than the dry one. Hurry and don’t let the ink dry. Using hot water might seem a good solution. In fact, it’s not. If you put hot water, the ink will go deeper into your carpet. You will have then a very hard time to remove it afterward. Simply blot the stain with some cloth with cold water. Don’t rub the ink. If you do, you will have a hard time after that to remove the spot. Go here carpet cleaners to learn more about carpet cleaning and this website local carpet cleaning has great infos about local carpet cleaners.

Over the ink spot and under it, put absorbent tissues (or clothes). Once done, put an heavy object over. This is supposed to be allowed to take action for a few minutes until there is no more ink to absorb. Put lots of hair spray on the spot to be cleaner and repeat the absorbing process with the clothes (or tissues). If you see some stains after, dry it. Use a toothbrush and a solution of part water, part white vinegar, to fully remove the remaining dried ink.

Another good solution is to use alcohol to clean ink stains from carpets. It is very easy. It works well and most people do have alcohol at home. When the spot has dried, use alcohol. Using a cotton cloth, dip it into alcohol. Then blot the ink stain. Here again, don’t rub it, it will only but make it bigger. Do not pour the liquid directly on the spot. Dry the stained area and repeat the same procedure until the stain disappears. Buy a commercial product only if all the previous methods didn’t work for you. Then you should remove effectively the ink.

If you are like many other Americans, you may opt for a New Year’s resolution. It’s never to late to start one..whether it is January, February, March, or any month of the year for that matter. But, what should your new year’s resolution be?  How can you choose the perfect New Year’s resolution?

Here are some tips for choosing a New Year’s resolution:

Look at the main aspects of your life. These aspects are health, family, and finances.  Closely examine each and you may automatically get your New Year’s resolution. Have you been letting your health slip?  If so, make a quest to eat healthy and visit the doctor more.  Have you been focusing too much on work?  If so, make your New Year’s resolution spending more time with family.  Are you in debt?  Make this your year to get out from under it.

Consider your stress sources. We all have stress.  Unfortunately, many individuals mistakenly believe that stress in unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be.  Look at what causes you stress.  It is an unclean house, long hours at work, or limited financial resources?  In most cases, New Year’s resolutions are designed to change and improve one’s life.  Now is your chance to do so.  Examine your sources of stress and see what ones you can change.  For example, you can lose weight, improve your productivity at work so you don’t have to work late, and spend more time with your family.

Pick one New Year’s resolution at a time. As previously stated, you should look at the main aspects of your life and stress sources to decide on a New Years resolution.  Since stress is common and a lot causes it, you may automatically come up with three different New Years resolutions.  This is nice, but pick one and stick with it.  It is easy to get out of debt or lose weight, but you may find it too difficult to do both at the same time.  To increase your chances of making your New Year’s resolution true, don’t put too much on your plate.

Write down your options. As mentioned above, it is common for many Americans to have many aspects of their lives they want to change.  Most want to have better relationships with their families, lose weight, quit a bad habit,get out of debt, or earn more money.  Since you are encouraged to start with one goal at a time, write down all of your options.  Closely examine them and see what is most important to you.  That should be your New Year’s resolution.  Also, don’t throw your list of goals away.  Keep it.  If you meet your Near Year’s resolution early in the year, work on the rest of your list.

Choose a realistic New Year’s resolution. One mistake that people make is aiming too high.  Yes, it is good to do so, but that often results in disappointment.  That disappointment causes many to stop trying all together.  Do you want to lose weight?  Good.  Instead of saying you must lose 30 pounds by March, give yourself the entire year.  This way you are not in a rush.  When you give yourself time to achieve your New Years resolution, you are more likely to see it become a reality.  If you set realistic goals, they will be easier to meet.  In fact, if you do so early, start working on other aspects of your life to improve.  You do not have to wait until New Year’s to make a change.

Many use New Years resolutions to make a big life change.  You do not have to do so too.  Are you in good shape, have a good relationship with your family, and are not in debt?  If so, you may not have a huge goal to set.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t make a New Year’s resolution.  Instead, think of something small, but meaningful. For example, redecorating your home, buying Christmas gifts ahead of schedule, or helping others in need are unique, but good resolutions.

Mine was to get organized and simplify. I created ‘My Home Management System‘ to help me do just that. Click the following link for details on that: http://www.simpleandstressfree.com/my-home-management-system.html

Good luck in meeting your goal!

Veronica Bettencourt

I was reading an email someone sent me that I thought would be worth sharing since it is both odd and interesting. The following is the exact email message that was sent about how to prevent yourself from getting the flu virus:

ONIONS FOR COLLECTING THE FLU VIRUS

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the
many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and
their family had contracted it and many died…

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy.
When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that
she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then).
The doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions
and placed it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find
the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the virus, therefore, keeping the family
healthy.

Now, I heard this story from a hairdresser in Arizona . She said that several years ago
many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her
customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop.
To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in
the onion business.)

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home.
If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or
even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and
we never got the flu. If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick,
all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case..
Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!

Just last week, I was going through my daily agenda and realizing that the year is almost up..I wondered if I should by a new one. I noticed how I always stuff paper in there either at the back or front of the agenda like coupons or take-out restaurant ads. My agenda was quite messy but I wanted to keep some things on hand that didn’t quite fit into the agenda itself.

So I decided to create my own system.

I went online and found some great templates for calendars,shopping lists,and the like. However, I wanted to customize mine just the way it would work for me. So I created my own templates using Microsoft Word.They aren’t anything fancy but they are practical and customized to my own needs and liking.

It took me about a whole day to do them but now that I have them in an organized  notebook (actually a binder), I can’t tell you the sense of mental freedom I have gained. I also know that I can’t get lazy or put something off for another day. If my weekly routine says I have to do laundry on Thursday, then I have to do it. It keeps me accountable.

Now I know for some people having a structured life doesn’t sound like a good idea. However, this is not really the case because I leave my Sundays completely free to do as I please and even my Saturday afternoons. This could not be possible if I didn’t keep my other days productive with a timely schedule of tasks that need completing.

I know that I have provided you with some helpful info on time management in the past, however, this one is a biggy in my books..pardon the pun. Below is a list of sections (in order) that I included in my home management notebook:

• Routines (Weekly/Monthly/Occasional) (I don’t include daily but some people do)

• Cleaning Routines (Weekly/Occasional)

• Master To Do List
  

• Master Things To Buy List (these include Shopping Mall items-not groceries or necessities)

• Grocery Master Checklist (a plastic cover & a dry erase marker to check off things as I need them)

• Weekly Planner (I first write in my routines on certain days of the week as mandatory)

• Monthly Calendar Contact List (phone numbers & emails and includes a section for personal contacts and another for business contacts)

• Birthday List
  

• Gift Ideas
  

• Books/Movies I Would Like to Watch
  

• Other Notes
  

• Coupons/Flyers (I put this in a plastic sleeve that is open at the top and closed on the bottom but still fits within my binder)

You can search online for some templates or just create your own. If you are not very computer savvy, you can simply use lined or blank paper for some of the sections you want to create. I simply used lined paper for some of the sections such as the master to do list and the master to buy list, and just inserted it into the binder.

I also created an inbox for any incoming mail that arrives and I have scheduled as a routine to only go through and empty the box and pay bills on Fridays. Knowing that, I actually save myself some time and distraction and only check the mail on Fridays. It works for me.

Incorporate some of these ideas to help alleviate some stress and give you some clarity, focus and value the time you have. Free up more time to spend it with those you love.

Feel free to leave a comment.

Happy Housekeeping:)

This part of the home often gets ignored but it is essential so I put together an easy way to clean out the garage.

First, you want to get into some work clothes, a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and even a face mask (I’ll explain why you need a face mask later). Give yourself between 2-3 hours to tackle this task. You will feel great once it’s all done!

Chances are you have things in no particular organized fashion or place. So one goal   is to put everything in a particular place so you can quickly find something whenever you need it. The garage often becomes a home for a certain mouse (or mice, more than likely), who had been eating and pooping on everything it could find: car doors,tools, storage bins etc. Now, you may not know this, but rodents can carry the hantavirus, which is a deadly pulmonary disease, and infected rodents can spread it through urine, droppings, or saliva.  Well, if you have to deal with your share of mouse poop all over the garage then a face mask is essential to reduce the chance of exposure to the disease.

Here is a guideline of steps to follow to clean out the garage:

1. Commit to one side at a time. Take the cars out of both side of the garage, and start moving everything from one side to the other, including stuff you may be getting rid of eventually.

2. Once everything is moved to one side or the other, start cleaning. I used a broom for the walls, the corners of the ceiling, the floor, and the top of the workbench if you have one. I broom everything right out onto the driveway, leaving me with an empty and clean single side of the garage.

3. Thoughtfully move items into the clean side. Now is the time to start organizing, as you take all the items that will go on the “clean” side of the garage and put them in their final place. This includes items you originally moved from that side, and anything extra that was in the wrong place to begin with.

4. Now that one side is done, take a look at what is left on the dirty side of the garage. You should have stuff you are getting rid of, along with the remainder of the “keepers” that eventually will be organized on this side. I took all the throwaways and moved them to the driveway, and then moved all the keepers to the clean side of the garage. I then cleaned out the dirty side and proceeded to organize it.

5. If you have a workbench, organize it. After cleaning the garage, you may still be left with a workbench full of tools and equipment that need to be put away. So do your best to group like with like, while putting nails/screws/smaller items into empty jars you may have saved.

6. Take a look at what you did. No more trash, no more dirt, no more animal droppings, and no more clutter. Your tools are in the right places and your “stuff” is organized in easy to find places – and you can now park your car in the garage without worrying about a hammer falling on the hood!

7. Even better is to get stuff off the floor altogether. Spending just an extra hour you can create hooks on the walls where you can hang those shovels and other large tools and shelves for storage bins.It will make a huge difference to the look of your garage.

Get out there next weekend and clean out the garage. It can give you an amazing sense of accomplishment in just a few short hours!

Feel free reply and also share your tips here.

Quite often we ignore cleaning our computers in our cleaning routine even though some of us use our computer daily! Once in a while, cleaning up your computer is essential to ensure it is working efficiently. Does your computer overheat? If so, there is probably a lot of dust that has accumulated inside.

I decided to do some research for you and find an easy to follow video that would instruct how to clean the inside of a computer. I found many videos, however, I sifted through to find two of the best in my option: One for cleaning laptops and one for cleaning desktops.

I have an old laptop that overheats so I need to do this. However, I know you may have a desktop instead so I included two videos to demonstrate how to clean both types of computers.

Take some time to view the videos and work this into your schedule somehow.

Enjoy

The number one carrier of bed bugs in hotels is the mattress. This should not be a surprise, as bed bugs are known to lurk in the bed, hence the name “bed bug.” The growing number of complaints from travelers about bed bugs in hotels where they stayed have been steadily increasing.

Why the infestation? No one exactly knows but there is a rumor about bed bugs in hotels becoming immune to the regular insecticide used on them. A sort of mutated generation of bed bugs in hotels, if you like. Although this could make a great horror B movie, the truth may shock you.

Infestations of bed bugs in hotels were common in the United States before World War II. But the improvements in hygiene, and the widespread use of DDT dusting during the 1940s and ’50s, the bed bugs in hotels vanished. The species flourished in other parts of the world like Africa, South and Central Europe and Asia.

The bed bugs in hotels have now returned. This is blamed on the increase in tourists and immigrants staying in their establishments and unknowingly leaveing behind a souvenir. Just one female bed bug can produce five eggs a day and could leave three generations of bed bugs in hotels.

Some scientists believe that the reappearance of bed bugs in hotels is due to the cutback on the quality of pesticides. DDT was banned in the 1960’s and it was the only insecticide used which effectively killed the bed bugs in hotels.

One cause for concern regarding the bed bugs in hotels is that they just don’t flourish in cheap, musty motels. Even the expensive ones are being infested. Because of this, these establishments are losing money fast with court appearance for cases filed by unsatisfied patrons.

The bed bugs in hotels are the same bed bugs at home. They are small, nasty, brownish, round and flat insects that closely resemble a tick. These insects choose no one. It is happy just to find a warm place to live and breed in, somewhere near their food source – people.

Bed bugs are patient insects. They can live up to a year without blood meal. And their size makes it hard for people to see them. Their victims don’t feel even their bites. Bed bugs feed by piercing the skin with its elongated beak and they inject a small amount of anesthesia- like substance that makes them undetectable. The only sign you’ve been visited by a bed bug is if you have an itchy, swelling welt the next day.

The bed bugs in hotels are becoming a nuisance for the management. It tarnishes their reputation and leaves a bad impression on the customer. But what’s more appalling is the way they handle bed bugs in hotels.

Instead of having to provide remedies for the patrons, the staff often just dismisses the incident. This has incurred the wrath of some patrons and the bed bugs in hotels now enter the courtroom. There was one case where bed bugs in hotels were too much that they decided to sue the hotel for damages. They content that because the management did not disclose their problem with bed bugs in hotels, they risked the health and well being of the patrons. The court found the hotel guilty. (Sorry, I won`t say what hotel since I don`t want to bad-mouth anyone here. My objective is provide you with some sound information on the topic)

That’s the problem with bed bugs in hotels nowadays. Although they bed bugs do not only appear in hotels, the fact that the establishments do not resolve their infestation is what irks patrons.

It is their duty to provide with good service and a clean environment, free from bed bugs in hotels. Or should they really have a bad infestation, there are available pest control experts that can remedy the bed bugs in hotels situation.

As a traveler, you should take the precaution whenever going to hotels. Always bring along an anti-itch cream just in case. Before you check-in, you can ask around about how clean the hotel is.  The Internet is a great source of information, with hotel reviews and ratings. Look for comments regarding the patron’s personal experience. It can help you decide on what hotel to go to on your next trip. I`m not saying this will happen to you; I`m saying you just never know…

Hi everyone and welcome to my new blog!  Feel free to browse the site anytime and  look out for some helpful information coming soon