27 Tips for Teachers

Click on to enlarge.

Stop the Junk Mail!

From the 

 

FACTS ON JUNK MAIL!

• The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail.
• Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.
• That's 4.5 million tons of junk mail produced each year!
• 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread.
• Approximately 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste.
• By the year 2010, it is predicted to make up about 48%.
• 100 million trees are ground up each year to produce junk mail.
• Lists of names and addresses used in bulk mailings are in mass data-collection networks, compiled from phone books, warranty cards, and charity donations (to name a few).
• Your name is typically worth 3 to 20 cents each time it is sold.

 

Go to the link to see what you can do to stop the waste: 



http://nativeforest.org/stop_junk_mail/nfn_junk_mail_guide.htm?czone=green-living2Fgreenhome2Fresources&center=136755&gallery=136195&slide=97749

Earth911 for Earth Day 2013

 

"Every day, we create millions of pounds of waste. Why? There’s no need to let so many resources get tossed out or squandered.
 
So, we’re doing something about it.
 
Earth911.com is your best resource to live a lower-waste lifestyle. We’re not looking to turn your life upside down, but rather, to make some interesting, simple and effective changes that have a real impact. We have a ton of fun doing our jobs, and the only thing we’re serious about is helping our readers reduce their waste footprint every day.
 
The information we provide through our website and other platforms maintains a strict accuracy policy, and we take the distribution of fact-based, informational and actionable content in earnest.
 
Featured on popular venues like the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and The New York Times, and syndicated by cool people like Mother Nature Network and the Huffington Post, we want everyone to know that wasting less is easy, and sometimes (dare we say) fun."

Could You Use Some Fast Cash for Your (Text) Books?

Check out http://mybookcart.com/ to see if you can get money for your books.

Handmade Necklaces to Benefit the Good Shepherd Academy

These necklaces, made by Cameroonian women, measure 35"-36". Some end in beautiful polished seed pod like the one on the top, others with beautiful pieces of wood with a carving in it. They sell for $25 to raise money for Good Shepherd Academy in Bafut, Cameroon.
I have a limited amount of these necklaces.
Email me if you wish to order one at: debbie@geraniumfarm.org   
Tell me which one you prefer (plain pod or wood design) and I will hold it for you. First come, first serve basis. Checks are payable to: Good Shepherd Academy Foundation. $2 separate for S & H.

Panoramas and 3D Tours of the Most Beautiful Places Around the World

"AirPano is a non-commercial project focused on high resolution 3D aerial panoramas. The AirPano team is a group of Russian photographers and panorama enthusiasts. During the next 2-3 years, we plan to shoot a variety of aerial panoramas and create virtual 3D tours of the most interesting places of our planet."

Check it out here: http://www.airpano.com/List-Aerial-Panoramas.php

The Memory Toolbox

The Memory Toolbox:

75 Tips and Resources to Go from Amnesic to Elephantic

 

Take a look at this very informative article by Daniel Strauss

 

http://oedb.org/library/features/the-memory-toolbox

3-2-1 Mug Cake

Here's another version of the mug cake I just came across.

 

Mix together any flavor regular cake mix with a box of Angel Food Cake Mix.

I put them both in a large bowl and mixed them together with a whisk.

 

In a microwave proof mug.

 

3 Tablespoons of the cake mixture

2 Tablespoons of water             Mix well

1 minute in the microwave

 

This didn't have enough chocolate flavor for me so I added 1 Tablespoon of Dark Chocolate Chips. These are a bit larger than regular chips so they went to the bottom so when I turned it out of the mug it was like chocolate frosting on top! Finely chopped-up chips gave it a more "chocolately" taste.

Now if you want to play around more with this and do a "trial" - you could just take 1 1/2 Tablespoons from a cake mix and 1 1/2 Tablespoons from an Angel Food Cake mixed with the 2 Tablespoons of water. I wouldn't think that this small amount removed would make a difference should you want to go on and make the whole cake mix.



Next "trial" for me - Orange/Angel Food Cake mixes with chocolate chips!

Update:
I tried the Orange/Angel Food with mini chocolate chips - Yummy!
If you are finding your cake is too spongy/rubbery add more water. I've found you can use heaping tablespoons of the mix, just be sure to add more water.

Note: Just remember this is NOT for someone with an egg allergy because of the Angel Food Cake Mix.

Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews

"A great way to uncover clues to your family history or to get great quotes for journaling in a heritage scrapbook is a family interview. By asking the right, open-ended questions, you're sure to collect a wealth of family tales. Use this list of family history interview questions to help you get started, but be sure to personalize the interview with your own questions as well."
First go to:
How To Interview a Relative at:  http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/ht/interview.htm  

Then go to: Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews
Go to the link: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm

The time to do it is now. I wish I had done this when I had the chance.

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Cups - Take Two

 





I made these again last night but changed them up a bit for the better. Only 4 were left!
Original recipe: http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2013/03/cheesy-broccoli-quinoa-cups.html
This time I used:
Italian bread crumbs
handful of frozen peas with the chopped broccoli
3 eggs
shredded white cheddar cheese (8 oz. bag - about half or so in mixture and rest for topping)
sauteed chopped onion
diced leftover ham
Crazy mixed-up salt to season

Self-Watering Seed Starter Pots

Go to the link to see how it's done.

http://skruben.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-self-watering-seed-starter-pots.html

Glass Stones Window

 

Glass (one-sided flat) stones found at your local dollar or craft store

glued to the inside of the window.

I think I'll do this on the small window in my very unglamorous laundry room

 that presently has an old mini blind on it.

 

Container Gardening

 Here is a good use for those milk/juice containers.

 Another way to start your seeds.

Baby in a Laundry Basket in the Bathtub

Here's a bit easier way to give a baby a bath in the bathtub.

(Wish I had thought of this way back in the day!)

Hodgepodge Turns 8!

"The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower,

share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's,

 smile at someone and receive a smile in return,

 are to me continual spiritual exercises."

 -  Leo F Buscaglia