Dunkin’

Finally, Las Vegas got a Dunkin Donut shop. The last time I ate some was when my sister visited like last year from Kansas. Imagine that our Dunkin Donut is much closer.

My all time favorite Choco Honey Dipped or Chocolate Glazed Munchkins

Spring Cleaning 2011

Cleaning out the closets, reorganizing the pantry, throwing out old clothes, and dusting behind appliances are tasks that are probably already on your spring cleaning checklist. A deep cleaning of your home or apartment is a great way to kick off a new season and get rid of clutter. Your home will not only look beautiful, but it will be easier to find what you need on any given day and you can make the most of your living space!

It’s easy to overlook many areas of the home during your cleaning rounds, so make sure you have a thorough list or plan before you begin. Here are ten things you don’t want to forget during your spring cleaning routine:

#1: Cleaning underneath the kitchen countertops. Germs, dirt and mold can collect right under the ridge of your countertops. Clean under the counter space with a washcloth and disinfectant.

#2: Disinfecting and cleaning around the toilet bowl. Even though you might clean the inside and top of the toilet bowl once or twice per week, the area right under the flush tank often gets overlooked.

#3: Dusting the blinds. If you have Venetian or wood blinds hanging in your living space, take the time to dust each slat and also fix any broken strings.

#4: Reorganizing the medicine cabinet. Throw out expired products and remove everything from the shelves for a thorough clean. Only keep what you and your family use on a regular basis.

#5: Vacuuming or sweeping underneath the bed. Dust bunnies tend to migrate underneath the bed frames each season, so make sure you move the bed to another side of a room to catch them. Avoid storing anything but sealed containers and boxes under your bed to keep things organized.

#6: Dusting art, photographs, and wall Carefully remove photographs, artwork and wall hangings from the wall to give them a light dusting before putting them back in place.

#7: Reorganizing and cleaning under the kitchen sink. If you tend to store a lot of cleaning supplies and other household items in the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink, clear everything out and wash inside to get rid of mold and debris.

#8: Dusting the tops of ceiling fans. Dust down all the fan blades and use a gentle cleanser to keep those blades shiny and looking new.

#9: Cleaning the bathroom fans. If you have a fan in the bathroom with a visible vent, dust and clean it thoroughly to ensure air is flowing in and out properly. Dust and grime can collect on the vent plate and inside the vent over time.

#10: Cleaning the washer and dryer. Run your washer through a cycle of only vinegar and baking soda with a little water to clean for a deep clean. Clean out the dryer’s vents and wipe down both units with a damp cloth dipped in white vinegar and lemon juice or baking soda. Be sure to vacuum and sweep around each unit thoroughly.

As some of you already know me… I love to clean and organized things. I love a clean, organize, good smelling house.

Got this list from click here.

Here comes the waiter/tress

What You’re Really Swallowing
In most restaurants, after 8 p.m. or so, all the coffee is decaf because no one wants to clean two different coffeepots. I’ll bring out a tray with 12 coffees on it and give some to the customers who ordered regular, others to the ones who ordered decaf. But they’re all decaf. 
—Charity Ohlund

What You Don’t Want to Know
We put sugar in our kids’ meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids’ pizzas.
—Waitress at a well-known pizza chain

What We Lie About
If you’re a vegetarian and you ask if we use vegetable stock, I’m going to say yes, even if we don’t. You’ll never know the difference.

What You Don’t Want to Know
At a lot of restaurants, the special is whatever they need to sell before it goes bad. Especially watch out for the soup of the day. If it contains fish or if it’s some kind of “gumbo,” it’s probably the stuff they’re trying to get rid of. 
—Kathy Kniss, who waited tables for ten years in Los Angeles

What You Don’t Want to Know
Now that I’ve worked in a restaurant, I never ask for lemon in a drink. Everybody touches them. Nobody washes them. We just peel the stickers off, cut them up, and throw them in your iced tea.
—Charity Ohlund, Kansas City waitress

What You Don’t Want to Know
If you ask me how many calories are in a particular dish, I’m not allowed to tell you even if I know. I’m supposed to say, “All that information is available online.”
—Waitress at a well-known pizza chain

What You Don’t Want to Know
I’ve never seen anybody do anything to your food, but I have seen servers mess with your credit card. If a server doesn’t like you, he might try to embarrass you in front of your business associate or date by bringing your credit card back and saying, “Do you have another card? This one didn’t go through.”
—Charity Ohlund

What You’re Really Swallowing
Skim milk is almost never skim milk. Very few restaurants outside Starbucks carry whole milk, 2 percent milk, skim milk, and half-and-half; it’s just not practical.
—Chris

What You’re Really Swallowing
Some places buy salad dressings in one-gallon jars, then add a few ingredients, like a blue cheese crumble or fresh herbs, and call it homemade on the menu. 
—Former waiter Jake Blanton, who spent ten years in restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina, and California

What Drives Us Crazy
The single greatest way to get your waiter to hate you? Ask for hot tea. For some reason, an industry that’s managed to streamline everything else hasn’t been able to streamline that. You’ve got to get a pot, boil the water, get the lemons, get the honey, bring a cup and spoon. It’s a lot of work for little reward.
—Christopher Fehlinger, maître d’ at a popular New York City restauran

What We Want You to Know

In many restaurants, the tips are pooled, so if you have a bad experience with the server, you’re stiffing the bartender who made your drinks, the water boy who poured your water, sometimes the hostess, the food runners, and maybe the other waiters.
—Christopher Fehlinger

What We Want You to Know
Even at the best breakfast buffet in the world, 99 times out of 100, the big pan of scrambled eggs is made from a powder. 
—Jake Blanton

What We Want You to Know
People think that just because your food took a long time, it’s the server’s fault. Nine times out of ten, it’s the kitchen. Or it’s the fact that you ordered a well-done burger.
—Judi Santana

What We Want You to Know
When you’re with the woman who’s not your wife, you’re a lot nicer to us, probably because you know that we know it’s not your wife. 
—Caroline Radaj, waitress at a members-only club outside Milwaukee

How to Be a Good Customer
It’s much easier to be recognized as a regular on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. Once you’re recognized as a regular, good things start to happen. You’ll find your wineglass gets filled without being put on your bill, or the chef might bring you a sample.
—Christopher Fehlinger

How to Be a Good Customer
Avoid Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day like the black plague. It’s crazy busy, so they’re not going to be able to pay as much attention to quality. Plus, they bring out a special menu where everything is overpriced.
—Steve Dublanica

How to Be a Good Customer
If the restaurant is busy and your child is shy, please order for him. Kids can sit there forever trying to decide, or they whisper and you can’t hear them. Meanwhile, the people at the next table are yelling at you to come over.
—Derek Dudley, a waiter at a casual pizza restaurant in Phoenix

What You Need to Know About Tipping
The best tippers tend to be middle-class or people who have worked for everything they have, not the really wealthy or the kid who inherited the trust fund. Which is not to say that we mind if you use coupons. But when you do, tip on the amount the bill would have been without them.
—Judi Santana

What You Need to Know About Tipping
First dates, especially blind Internet dates, are great for tips. You know he’ll probably order a bottle of wine and leave a 20 to 25 percent tip because he’s showing off. 
—Jeremy Burton, waiter at a grill in southwest Michigan

What Else We’d Like You to Know
Don’t order fish on Sunday or Monday. The fish deliveries are usually twice a week, so Tuesday through Friday are great days. Or ask the restaurant when they get theirs.
—Steve Dublanica

♥ ♦ ♣

Now made me think twice on what to order if we go out. Other than that we are one good customers tha get notice and waitress/waiter are thankful that we are dining in…. 😀

The lemon I must forget about them and never asked or if I do at keast wipe them first.

Source: Reader’s Digest

Unexpected organizers

Organization Everywhere
There are so many items that can get overlooked as valuable organizers. Just remember, if it used to hold something, chances are it can be put to use again.

Pocket Shoe Organizers: Not just for shoes, these handy, over-the-door organizers are perfect for more than just the bedroom closet.

• What can it hold? Try stashing plastic shopping bags, garbage bags, oven mitts or potholders—each in its own pocket! It also makes a convenient holder for toilet paper rolls, hand towels and washcloths.
• Where can it go? The pantry door is a perfect spot to keep all kinds of useful items at your fingertips. You can also put it to use organizing items in a bathroom linen closet or over the bathroom door.

Cardboard six-pack holder: Once your six-pack holder is done keeping your soda safe, it can make another useful stop on the way to recycling. Start by covering it with decorative paper, shelf liner or wallpaper to add reinforcement and give it a new and improved look.

• What can it hold? Use it to tote condiments, plastic utensils and napkins to a spring picnic, backyard dinner with the family or barbecue party. Or use it to keep light bulbs from rolling around, for carrying coffee cups, water bottles or any time you need an instant caddy.
• Where can it go? If you’re having a get-together with multiple tables, put a cardboard caddy on each table so everyone has what they need to enjoy the meal. Keep a few caddies folded up in your pantry for use whenever you need one.

Paint or Coffee Can Cubbies:Unused silver paint cans are easy to find at home improvement stores for a small cost or you can easily clean out used coffee cans with Dawn^®dish liquid. Recover or paint your cans for a brand new look and add decorative labels or chalkboard paint so you always know what’s inside.

• What can it hold? Turn your cans on their sides and use them as holders for mail, catalogs and paperwork. They also make great organizers for craft supplies.
• Where can it go? Some desks have built in shelving that offer the perfect place for your cubbies or just install simple shelving over your workspace.

Bins & Baskets: Whether cute and colorful or big and roomy, waste bins and baskets make great organizers.

• What can it hold? Use a small and stylish plastic wastebasket to hold wet umbrellas and use a large plastic can for organizing sports equipment. They also make great recycling sorters or can be used to hold poster tubes and wrapping paper.
• Where can it go? Place a small bin by the door for collecting umbrellas, and a large one in the garage, basement or on the patio for sports equipment. Use several medium-sized bins as recycling sorters in a mudroom or in a roomy kitchen pantry. Keep a tall basket in your craft area or closet to hold wrapping paper or poster tubes. If it’s going to be out in the open, dress it up by covering it in leftover wallpaper or use spray paint made for plastics to change the color.

Organize More
Here are few more quick tips for reusing useful containers to organize:

• Trays: They’re not just for serving! Collect and contain items all over your home with trays of all shapes and sizes. Organize loose items on a coffee table such as remotes, magazines or catalogs and keep small items like keys and change together in an entryway or on a bedside table. You can even use a large four-sided tray for collecting wet shoes or rain boots by the door or in a mudroom.
• Jars, Mugs and Glasses: Use these small containers as quick fixes for holding small items on your desk like pens, pencils, thumbtacks, rubber bands and paperclips. Or put them to use in the bathroom to hold cotton swabs, cotton balls, tweezers, make up brushes or toothbrushes.
• Shoeboxes: They’re the perfect size for storing all kinds of items, from accessories and stationery, to photos and craft supplies. Stop and think before you pitch them and make them look as good as they work by covering the box and lid with wrapping paper or wallpaper to match your décor. Add labels to identify what’s inside.
• Suitcases: If you don’t travel on a regular basis, don’t let all that empty space inside your suitcases go to waste! They’re perfect for storing out-of-season clothes, shoes and accessories and can often fit easily at the bottom of a closet or under the bed. If you have some nice, old leather cases you can use them as storage out in the open at the end of the bed or as a side table. They could even become a stylish way to store a collection of books or magazines.
• Office Extras: Make organizing your recyclables easier by repurposing stackable trays often found in home offices. Visit the Home Made Simple TV Organized Life section of
  Bonus Clips to watch a helpful video featuring Home Maven Wanda.

Before you run out to the store to pick up boxes, bins or containers, look around your own home for ideas—you just may find the organization solution you need.

S.E.N.S.E.

HGTV’s Frank Fontana shares his five design tips for reenergizing yourself and your home to help foster financial success.

With the beginning of a new year comes the hopes and dreams of a fresh start for many people. However, it’s no secret the world is offering unbelievable challenges for many Americans.

Many of us are feeling like we are losing our senses of control, our jobs and balance in our homes—and with good reason. Yet the reality is that we can’t control the stock market or the myriad of other financial challenges we face every day. What we can control is how we live and function in our own homes. We can control our personal environments.

So, take a good look around your home. Believe it or not, your house, apartment and home office could be making you poor! At the very least, they can be contributing to a poor attitude and outlook on life, which can be carried out your door, often to the office, school, church and into the world.

That’s why I am happy to say that this is one area of your life in which you can have total control, no matter what your budget or current living situation. Here’s how.

5 Enriching Steps That Make S.E.N.S.E.

• Save. Time to save on space and cash. When you’re looking for new pieces of furniture, find multifunctional furniture and other household items that can offer you the opportunity combine storage, seating and surface space. This allows you to buy one piece instead of three! Not only will you save money, but you’ll also free yourself to move and flow comfortably in your own space.

• Economize. Economize your space. How can you expect your life to be in order when your house is a mess? Get rid of the junk and centralize your “business life” in one place—like organizing your bills and keeping all your important household files in one neat, closed place. By knowing exactly where your bills are stored and when they are due, you’ll achieve financial peace of mind.

• Nest. Create a space in your home that is yours and yours alone. This space should be used to meditate, read or journal. The only rule I suggest is keeping it “low tech,” so no electronics, phones or gadgets. Also keep the noise to a minimum. Light a candle, indulge in some aromatherapy and get back in touch with yourself. Without your sense of personal balance and well-being, you can’t truly function with clarity and power in the real world. Creating a place that’s all about you will make you feel energized and creative once again!

• Success. Create a success wall for yourself and family. With the weight of the world on your shoulders, you need to remind yourself of the positive impact you have on your family, the community, your company and, most importantly, yourself. You can put up anything from your old college diplomas and sports trophies to pictures of your grandchildren’s watercolor paintings. Regardless, it’s far too easy to focus on failures, but it’s much more rewarding to put the attention on your successes—as the old saying goes, “Success breeds success!”

• Energy. Colors and style go a long way in creating energy to fuel your life. Look at most offices—pretty drab, right? Don’t let this happen in your home. Plants bring life. Photos bring life. Energize your space with color! Forget the white, corporate walls. This is a place for you to come to after a busy day and become renewed! Energy also means literally lighting your way to a better mood. Find mood lighting and avoid bright, sterile ceiling lights that are unflattering. Instead, opt for soft, ambient lights on a dimmer to keep you feeling cozy, happy and in control of your personal energy (and your energy bill).

Remember: If you make S.E.N.S.E., you make money! I wish you all a stylish and prosperous year.

Info @ Oprah