My computer talks....

I love my MacBook!  A while ago while reading an article about Apple computers, I learned that my MacBook comes with software that allows it to talk!  It can read text to me!

So this morning while rushing to put on my socks and shoes... I highlighted some text on a website about raising chickens, hit command-z (the default on your mac) and learned about how a school teacher helped her students learn about chickens!

Very cool!  And now... off to work!

How to eat a Mango...

OK, so I joined a produce co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  Picked up my very first "basket" of fresh and delicious smelling fruit and veggies this past Saturday.

Included in my bounty... were Mangos!  Something that I never buy... didn't even know how to eat except someone mentioned that you don't eat the skin.

So I found this link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_a_mango/

We have a co-op!

Bountiful Baskets has arrived in our little town! We have our own little co-op of fresh fruit and veggies!

You should have seen the wonderful cooperation among the 15 to 20 ladies who all went to work... unloading the truck... parsing out the goodies. That statement, "many hands make light work" is so true! Two pallets of fresh fruit and veggies went home to 80 families!

In our baskets went...

tomatoes

brussell spouts

romaine lettuce

baby carrots

squash

corn on the cob

melon

lime

apples

peaches

bananas

I'm sure that I've forgotten something...

All for a contribution of $15! And everything is sooo nice and fresh... and tasty!

As soon as I figure out how to get the pictures out of my phone... I'll post them!

I made chicken salad sandwiches for lunch with sliced tomato and topped with romaine lettuce... and carrots on the side! So delish!!!!

a Girl's lunch out....

Took Mom out for lunch today. We enjoyed some fried fish at our little cafe downtown.

It was nice go out with Mom and to treat her!

OK, I really like it...

I took the big leap to a smart phone a few months ago.

It was a little awkward at first... learning how to "do it." You know... all the apps... and getting my macbook ical to sync with Google calendar.

But I think that I'm finally "there" now. I mean, I really like having a smart phone and now... it's part of my life!

I got the Motorola Devour... a Droid-based phone.

Tonight I downloaded the Flixster app! We love going to the movies... that's what we do most weekends. This app is awesome!!!!

It lets you see what's playing at cinemas all around you! And shows you places to eat nearby! Very cool! We're going to get a lot of use out of this app!

Earth Day

It's Saturday...

This morning I had the opportunity to teach kids & parents about using green cleaners!

Picture this....

5800 Windex bottles lined up back to back! That's a LOT of bottles!!! And a LOT of $$

Now... Picture this GREEN solution...

1 bottle of Shaklee's Basic-H2. YUP... just one bottle of Basic-H2 gives you the cleaner power of over 5800 bottles of Windex type cleaner! Cost... under $15!

Our youth are totally into being GREEN. The world is going to change BIG TIME as they become adults!

Taxes...

Ok... everytime about this time of year... when I'm in the depths of tax preparations... I tell myself... "Next Year is going to be BETTER!"

Then, I go about my year... and forget my counsel to myself!

Well, I can honestly say that 2010 tax preparations WILL BE better! Why?

Because I'm going to have a dedicated office with files! Yes!!! Files in which to organize my stuff!

spring is on it's way

Just back from a walk with Missy (the dog that adopted us).

Saw what I think was a quail and some deer tracks.

The sun is shining brightly today~love it!

spring is on it's way

Just back from a walk with Missy (the dog that adopted us).

Saw what I think was a quail and some deer tracks.

The sun is shining brightly today~love it!

I was cleaning my bathtub when...

My journey to GREEN!

14 years ago this very month I made the big switch to green cleaners!

Bleach was my favorite cleaner! You would walk into my home and know that I had been cleaning that day! My house would reek of bleach!!!

One day I decided to clean my clawfoot bathtub. It had that ring about halfway up... and it just needed to be cleaned! So I grabbed this spraying foam stuff one night after supper... started spraying the bathtub... and... I couldn't BREATH!!!

I knew that it was time for a change in my cleaning products!!!

When my friend Alycia who had young kids like me asked me, "What do you use to clean Matthew's potty chair?" My answer... bleach!

Alycia then told me about the earth-friendly, non-toxic cleaners that she used from Shaklee! We call them green cleaners now... but back 14 years ago... green was just a color!

Well, I got rid of my bleach and foaming bathroom cleaner... and made the change to Shaklee's non-toxic... yes.. GREEN cleaning products!

I did it for me... for my family... especially for my 2 1/2 year old son!

Well, it's been 14 years now! I still love the Shaklee cleaners! They clean my windows, my floors, my fruits & veggies, my microwave, stove, all my appliances, my dishes, my bathroom, the truck... even Missy, the dog that adopted us and more!

I'm on a mission now! I want to help 100+ families do what I did! Switch to Shaklee's GET CLEAN kit!

So, if you've ever walked down the cleaner aisle at the grocery store and your eyes started tearing... or you started sneezing...

Or, if you've ever gotten headaches after cleaning... or had your breath taken away... or gotten dry cracked hands...

Take 3 minutes now!

-->Or you just want to get your house clean, really clean the GREEN way... please take 3 minutes to watch this video!

Be one of the 100+ families!

-->Then... take the next step! Order the Get Clean kit for your family! Be one of the 100+ families that switch!!!

Enter to Win!

Every month, there's a drawing! They give away $200 in Shaklee products! To enter, click here.

For examples of how I use the GET CLEAN kit, click here.

Got a question? Contact ME here!

Thank you MobileME!

I tried and tried on my own to fix my computer... but finally had to take it in.

Here's what happened... my internal hard drive died... and to make matters worse... my external backup hard drive crashed & burned AT THE SAME TIME!

On the good side...

1. My Macbook (purchased 10/06) is still covered under warranty with Apple Care until September. So I got a brand new internal hard drive... and my case was beginning to crack and that was also replaced... cost to me ZERO!

2. I have MobileME! All my business contacts, calendars, previous emails, even my recipes were backed up to my idisk somewhere on Apple's computers!

Lesson learned...

I will do a much better job utilizing my idisk to back stuff up!

I found a good blog entry about getting the most from your idisk here.

Missy goes to the vet...

Well, we've had Missy a little over 3 weeks now... guess she's a keeper! (Previous blog entry on the Missy saga... here!)

This morning she goes to the vet. Hope to find out exactly what kind of dog she is... and how old.

This week we've been working on playing ball. She's getting better at returning the ball to me now.

Yesterday as a break from working in the kitchen, I did some raking and burning weeds. It was fun to have Missy outside with me... well... that is... until my cat Katie tried to chase her away!

So NOT fair!

I am NOT happy right now... just heard back from the computer place about my beloved Macbook. Internal hard drive... fried... back up drive where all my data has been happily backing up... fried...

Good news... got a new internal hard drive installed... FREE... was covered by my Apple Care Plan. So it's like a new computer now.

Bad news... no data... photos?

Anyone have any experience with hard drive recovery companies?

Will be contemplating my fate... and lessons learned as I tape, mud, sand... CRY!

Worth considering...

I just discovered Prezi... and learned more about Twitter!

Today I attended a business luncheon with the topic of Social Media.

Wow...

I learned about Facebook Fan pages... I think that I need one of these for my business!

And then there's Twitter... tweet tweet about whatever... connect with like-minded people!

Then I learned about Prezi! Have you heard of it? It's a way cool presentation tool!

You've got to watch this Prezi about Twitter! I especially liked the 60 second video clips revealing... Why Twitter?!

PS... You can follow my tweets @tipsfromtoni..

Going to a Lecture Luncheon today!

I'm looking forward to attending the luncheon at NW College entitled: Social Media - What's the Latest?

I've gotten into Facebook & Twitter somewhat recently. What a ball I've had reconnecting with friends way back into my childhood. It's so fun to see what old friends are up to!!!! And to connect with folks who have similar interests thru Twitter!

Do you have a favorite Social Media?

I'll tell you... the world has become a much smaller place!

Get my tweets if you'd like @TipsfromToni. I tweet often about using Shaklee products... because... I love them! Just recently tweeted about cleaning your veggies... and letting the sunshine in.

Well, time to go walk Missy... the dog that adopted us!

Fascinated with how the mind works....

A big welcome to Bryan! Thanks for following my blog!

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For a long time now I've been fascinated with how the mind works... and how our thoughts influence our lives in the choices we make.

Here's a quote from Dr. Robert Anthony, "I say that quite confidently: I personally do not teach positive thinking. To me, by the time you think positive it is too late. It is important to understand that is not our thinking that creates our circumstances, but the emotion that is attached to our thoughts."

So... what are you thinking... with emotion? And is that what you want to attract into your life? Our thoughts determine and shape our lives! Our thoughts open up for us opportunity that jives exactly with what we're thinking!

A book that I've found most helpful in getting my thoughts in alignment with what I want in my life is The One Command by Asarah Lovejoy.

It's so important to get our thinking right! For sure... what ever you "think" is the truth for you!!!!

But... is it what you want?

OK, I admit it... I love having a dog.

Missy has won over our hearts!

It's been over a week now. She takes me for walks and I have to admit... I love getting out and walking again!

She walks with me to take the garbage out at night...

No need for a door bell anymore! I'm alerted to all potential visitors!

She respects my 2 kittens and 2 adult cats... Again I ask... "Missy did you know when you chose us that we had 4 cats?"

Other posts about Missy...

-So this dog appears on my doorstep

-Day 3

-Day 4

For My Boston Friends! This is right on!

Got this in an email from my Mom. Boy is it right on!

I'm getting a bit homesick.... I think!

For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin", ( Boston ) this is a good guideline. I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future. Information on Boston and the surrounding area: There's no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square, no water on Water Street. Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah" (order): Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, etc. So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc. If the streets are named after trees (e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill. If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley. Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave; Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave; Dorchester Avenue is Dot Ave. South Boston is Southie. East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End. The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P. How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly: **Say it wrong, be shunned** Worcester : Wuhsta (or Wistah) Gloucester : Glaw-stah Leicester Lestah Woburn : Woo-ban Dedham : Dead-um Revere : Re-vee-ah Quincy : Quinzee Tewksbury : Tooks-berry Leominster : Lemin-stah Peabody : Pee-ba-dee Waltham : Walth-um Chatham : Chad dum Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset! Definitions: Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't. If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic. Soda is CLUB SODA. "Pop" is DAD. When we want Quinine water, we will ask for TONIC WATER. The smallest beer is a pint. Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid more than $7/pound, you got scrod. It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah (bubbler). It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel. It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub. It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage. It's not a purse; it's a pockabook. They're not franks; they're haht dahgs (hot dogs); Franks are money in Switzahland or Franz. Police don't drive "patrol units" or "black and whites" they drive a "croo za". If you take the bus, your on the "looza crooza". It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic. It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary. "Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket. The Sox = The Red Sox The C's = The Celtics The B's = The Bruins The Pat's =The Patriots Things not to do: Don't pahk your cah in Hahvud Yahd .. they'll tow it to Meffah ( Medford ) or Summahville (Somerville) . Don't sleep on the Common ( Boston Common). Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day. Things you should know: There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses, two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each). The colored lights on top the old Hancock tell the weatha': "Solid blue, clear view...." "Flashing blue, clouds due...." "Solid red, rain ahead....." "Flashing red, snow instead...." - except in summer; flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out! Most people live here all their life and still don't know what the hell is going on with this one: Route 128 South is I-95 south. It's also I-93 north. The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it doesn't run all night (fah chrysakes, this ain't Noo Yawk).. Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a kettle full of beer. Bostonians.. . think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic. Bostonians.. ...think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's - except in the word: "idea" idear). Bostonians.. .think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave. Bostonians.. .refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting." Bostonians.. .always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it. Bostonians... .believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness. Bostonians.. .think that 63-degree ocean water is warm. Bostonians.. .think Rhode Island accents are annoying. Send this to your friends who don't live in Boston (and the ones who do!!)

Big day today for the Middle School kids

Just got Aaron (6th grade, age 12) out the door. He had to meet the school bus before 7am this morning.

It's a big day for Middle schoolers all around today. It's Showalter day at Northwest Community College. More details... here.

All middle schoolers learn to play an instrument and sing in choir. TODAY, they get to perform individually or in small groups in front of a judge!

This performance represents a significant portion of their music grade!

Let the instrument playing and singing... begin!!!

And so off Aaron went all dressed in his black dress shoes, black socks (yeah!), black dress pants, white shirt with red tie! Very handsome!

Aaron will perform a Trombone piece with 2 other trombone players in his school.

Break a leg kids!!!!

Did she know?

Did she know when she picked our house that she chose a family not only with two boys... but with 4 cats?