Just recently I decided to really get serious about my blog again. I picked up some great ideas from Brent Ozar when he did an entire series on blogging. Awesome now I have some new tools and it’s time to start working out a new design. Before I could get started I was asked to write a blog post for the Lafayette Twestival. I was honored and scared to death. Me, a guest blogger? Much to my surprise I found it easy to write, so much so I had to leave things out and even not mention people that I adore. So here it is, but keep coming back because soon you might not even recognize this place!
Archive for September, 2009
Special Guest
Friday, September 11th, 2009Tammy’s Tips part 1 of 2
Friday, September 11th, 2009I decided it was time I shared some of the greatest things I have ever learned. 
Filmy build up on glassware and plates
Let me start with the dishwasher. Did you stop using your dishwasher because it made all your glasses turn white and crusty? Well let me tell you the solution to this. CLR. Nope it’s that simple. I fill the prewash cup plus some full of CLR, pop the soap packet into the wash cup and check to be sure I have rinse aid. I do this every other wash if not every wash unless there are not many glasses and plates. If you have a big buil up on your dishes I recommend you fill the sink and get them good and clean to start. According to their package it’s safe.
Built up, dried up and otherwise nasty coffee stains on your coffee pot?
Wanna get your coffee pot clean without scrubbing? Well grab a couple handfulls of ice, pour in some lemon juice and add salt, swirl around to clean. Amazing how sparkling clean your coffee pot will be!
The best dish scraper, burned on food getter-offer EVAR!
All right this one is more of a confession that turned out to be a great idea. When I bought the house I spent many many months working on it room by room. This meant I had a lot of tools laying around. I was doing dishes and there was someting stuck in the dish, which totally annoyed me. I look in the other sink and there is a pile of tools that I had washed and left to dry. AH HA! I grab the plastic putty knife and use it to scrape stuff out of the dish. OMG! that was the best idea EVAR! From that day on the little yellow puty knife stayed with the other sink supplies.
Cheap cabinet upgrades you can do yourself.
Speaking of the little spatula did you know that you can retro fit your kitchen cabinets with high end modern options? Know those little “blocks” on the front of your cabinet just below the sink, yeah they can become very vital storage space. Run to the nearest hardware store and pick up a hardware kit. Come home grab your tools and prepare to be amazed. First you get to knock those little blocks out with a hammer,they are just glued in there.
Pick up the hardware kit from the local home improvement place and install the storage bins on the back side of your blocks. Next install the hardware that allows them to tip out. DO IT you will be so glad you did. Nothing like hiding all the stuff you don’t want to see yet have handy with out bending over to get it from under the sink.
Quick, eash and cheap French Manicure for your toes
Love french manicures but don’t have time to go get them done and painting that at home is nearly impossible? While this tip is useful it is not a long term kind of thing if you are busy like me. Nail polish hardly last a full 24 hours if I don’t have fake nails. Go to the nearest big box store with a craft department and buy yourself a white paint marker.
If you have med – long nail I recommend a medium tip, shorter nails get the fine tip. Prep your nails as you normally would including a base coat then get the paint pen flowing and paint a nice little white edge around the end of your nail. Wait for it to dry and apply a good top coat. Sometimes I use a pinkish top coat and then a clear super top coat to keep the polish from wearing off. It’s easy to touch up and looks great. I do this on my toes practically all summer as it is easy to quickly touch up and maintain. Your toes are far enough away that imperfections are not that noticeable.
Lemon Ginger Sorbetto
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Last summer I made Lemon Ginger Sorbetto probably for the same reason I am making it now. I needed a lemon and had to buy an entire bag. 
Last year I worked so hard scraping the freezing concoction every 30 minutes while this year I cheated and used the ice cream maker. Gotta love technology. This is a very refreshing and pallet cleansing dish. Even my mom liked it!
Really what you need:
1 Cup Sugar
6 Tbl Honey
3 Cups Water
1 Cup Lemon Juice (about 8, but you can measure and I filled in with the bottled stuff)
2″ peice of ginger
What you need to do:
Boil/heat water so it will dissolve the sugar. Add the honey. LET IT COOL! Meanwhile grate the 2″ piece of ginger into a nice little square of cheese cloth. TWIST, TWIST and TWIST to squeeze out 1 TBL of ginger juice. Once the hot liquid is cool (and by cool I recommend putting it in the fridge till it’s COLD) stir it all together and dump into your ice cream maker (follow its instructions) OR put into a shallow dish and scrape with a fork every 30 minutes.
So what’s really fun to do? Hollow out several of the lemon halves, make nice thin strips of lemon peel with a few and save your self a slice or two. Freeze the 1/2 lemons to make cups and serve your sorbetto in that with a lemon twist and mint leaf on the side.
