Varicose Vein Surgery

 When I was nineteen I started developing varicose veins. It's genetic. I started wearing support stocking religiously, but let's face it, I picked the wrong profession if I wanted to protect my legs and veins. And having three babies didn't help either. When I had Thing 1, I was told that I needed to wait until I was done having children before I did anything about fixing them. Technology has advanced since then. (Which is good because after my pregnancies and standing on my feet for so many years not only do my legs look terrible they hurt a lot too. Lots of burning, aching and cramping.) The first time I saw my OB he told me that I needed surgery on my legs and there wasn't really another answer. As soon as I could get in (after my pregnancy) I went to see a vascular surgeon. He said I that I have venous reflux disease and it's actually better to take care of it sooner versus later. What has been happening is that the valves in some of my veins aren't working effectively, which causes the blood to back up and some of the smaller veins to swell to the point that they are completely ineffective and not to mention ghastly looking. The longer I let it go the more damage will occur to the small veins.
 The solution is the VNUS close system. The surgeon inserts a catheter into the ineffective veins and irradiates them and as he pulls the catheter out they seal shut. That's procedure #1. On the second day he fixes the smaller swollen veins that possibly can be fixed and cuts out the others. They don't use general anesthesia, so there is less risk (and cost) to the patient. Just a Valium, a Keflex, a Percocet and some Lidocaine. (Although I still fell asleep half way through each surgery.) Each procedure takes less than an hour and has a pretty short recovery time overall. (It used to be that surgical intervention involved 'vein stripping', where the vein is literally removed through incisions in the groin and knee areas. It required general anesthesia and involved a long and painful recovery. Currently there are other options besides the VNUS procedure, but this is the one my surgeon prefers because it has the best outcomes.)
 So that's what I was doing Tuesday on my husband's lunch break. When I laid down on the table the tech said "Now there is proof positive that nurses don't just sit on their butts."  (That's right!) I felt very loopy for the rest of each day, but I was functioning fairly well by Thursday. Ok, ok my house was sliding even further down hill and I couldn't stand for very long, but my kids were happy and taken care of and that's what matters, right? I have to say that now my leg feels sooo much better. No more cramping, aching or burning. The staples and stitches are annoying, but they'll be gone soon. I've known people who have had it done and the scarring is pretty minimal too. So we're going to do this party again tomorrow! That's not the way I planned it, but while I was on the table the nurse mentioned to the surgeon that he had a cancellation that they needed to fill and I said that I would take. Probably crazy after the week I just had, honestly worst week in recent memory, and it had little to do with my surgery but my surgeon is good, busy and really hard to get into. Not to mention if I do it now, versus next February when he has openings it would save me several thousand more dollars. Yup, tomorrow is good for me.

 So here are some tips and lessons I learned from the experience:

1. If your varicose veins are causing you pain, you don't have to wait until you're done having kids to get relief. And you don't need an extended recovery time either.
2. Choose the surgeon that is hardest to get in to see and pray that someone cancels. He's the guy who knows what he's doing. I've heard scary stories of people who went to surgeons with less experience because they were easier to get into.
3. If your baby has reflux and you're having surgery, live it up and eat what you want. You have to pump and dump anyway, why not enjoy what you are eating for a couple days? (Although don't go to overboard, small amounts of those irritating foods will stay in your system for more than a few days.)
4. My surgeries on my leg didn't hurt nearly as much smashing my toe this weekend did. That's the real reason I walk with a limp.

Getting Ready to be Outnumbered

With any luck by the time you are reading this I will no longer be pregnant. Hooray! Pregnancy itself is a generally an unpleasant experience, but being 9 months pregnant in August in St George, UT makes it worse.
 With Thing 1 I was sent into labor by being hit by an industrial flat-bed truck. With Thing 2 from the time I started having contractions to the time I was complete was twenty-five minutes, going into labor that fast put my body into shock. So let's hope that Miss Cindy Lou-Who arrives without a traumatic experience. My husband is pretty stressed about it. I figure being stressed isn't going to change the outcome, so why bother? I'm too excited to not be pregnant to worry much about what could possibly go wrong between here and there.
  In preparation for her debut I have been getting ready for quite awhile. Here's what I have been up to:

• Since about March, every time I saw a "stock-up worthy" deal on diapers I bought a few packages.
• I snagged numerous cute outfits from the clearance section. (Once I got several Disney themed onesies for 50 cents each at Walmart.)
• I thoroughly cleaned my house so I have less to worry about later.
• I made a few freezer meals to make life easier.
• I finished all of my back to school shopping in July.
• I packed my bag and arranged childcare.
• I ordered a new car seat and bassinet, which are ready and waiting.

And as Thing 1 observed, "Now all we need is a baby."

Some Tips About Upromise and Sallie Mae

So a few years ago I opened a Upromise account to get a head start on saving for my kids college. It's somewhat like Ebates. You get a percentage of what you spend online put into an account that you can use to pay off student loans, or pay tuition and other college expenses. There are a few other ways of earning money too. Sometimes there are surveys you can take, you can earn money back on dining, groceries, etc. Originally this money was to be for the kids' college fund, but then my husband went back to school and had to take out some loans, so I wanted to the money I've earned to pay off his loans first. His loan was already linked to the account, but there was not an option online for me to transfer money as payment towards his loan. I called the number listed on the website: 1-888-434-9111 (Whatever you do, do not call that number.)

The person I talked to at Upromise said they had to transfer me to Sallie Mae. Fine.

The second person I talked to said I was not authorized to information related to his account. Fine, talk to him. Why would I be trying to pay off his student loan if I am not his wife? He promptly gave them permission, because that means I'll take care of it and he doesn't need to worry about it. After I got back on the phone they transferred me to someone else because they were not authorized to transfer payments.

The third person I talked to was kind of confused and transferred me to someone else. He said that I needed to link the two accounts together before I could do anything and I should try making a payment online. If that had been a possibility I would not have bothered calling.

The fourth person I talked to was also confused and tried to tell me that I couldn't access the loan information, before changing their mind about it. There is no information that she could give me that I couldn't access myself from the Sallie Mae website. She transferred me to someone else.

The fifth person I talked to tried to give me all of the same bologna that the other incompetent people gave me, before deciding that I needed to call Upromise. "I did call Upromise, and they transferred me to three other people before you." "Oh, well just a minute." She gave me a different number to call. 39 minutes of my life wasted. And guess where the number she gave me sent me?

A Ford dealership. No, I'm pretty sure that they can help me about as much as the fools at Sallie Mae. Later my husband asked me a question about the account. I told him that the people at Sallie Mae were idiots. "Well, at least they are using the money we are paying in interest to provide jobs for the handicapped."

I went back to the Upromise website and found a different number. 1-800-877-6647. After talking to the guy for a few minutes, he set it up so at the beginning of the next quarter all my money will be transferred over to the student loan, and every quarter when there is a balance of at least $10, that money will be applied to the student loan also. Hallelujah! $689 down, some odd thousand left to go. Why couldn't I have talked to that guy in the first place?

Lessons learned:

• Call Sallie Mae at your own peril and only if you are interested in being transferred around in circles and hoping to waste a lot of time.
• Some customer support numbers listed on websites are better than others. The one that actually spells the name of the company is usually a safe bet.

Negotiating Savings

Monday was not the best of days for me. I had (still have) a kidney infection and was having contractions so hard and frequently I could barely walk. My husband was out of town on business and Thing 1 and Thing 2 were not on their best behavior. And my house was in a fairly pathetic state. Despite this I had a few  money-saving victories that I think illustrate the principle of "not just taking what you are given"and being assertive.

Victory #1- So I called my doctor to let him know that the antibiotic that I was on was not effective, at all. A few hours later his office called saying that they had called in a new prescription. When I went to pick it up my co-pay was $35 and change, for a generic mind you. I said "Wow, that is significantly more than the last prescription that I had. (It was only $4.) Does it make a difference if I use a different insurance company?"  "Well, let's see what we can do."
 Now I have been told before that for prescriptions, even if you have double coverage, they will only use one insurance company, and insurance company co-pays are pretty much all the same. But I thought I would check anyway. A few minutes later the pharmacy tech said "Ok, that will be $5." Wahoo! It doesn't hurt to ask. One question saved me more than $30.

Victory #2- My husband likes to build things and fix things. It comes in handy. Awhile ago he decided to invest in a few hundred dollars worth of tools. The store he bought them from had a promotion that if you put them on the store credit card (which he already had) and made minimum payments, you paid no interest for a year. So I set up automatic payments and forgot about it. (Oops!) A couple weeks after the complete balance was due I remembered my mistake. I promptly paid off the remainder of the principle, but discovered that my mistake had cost me more than $84. Ouch. So Monday while I was laying on the couch, and feeling unable to do other productive things I gave them a call. I apologized for forgetting to pay the balance in full on time and asked if there was anyway that I could get the interest reduced. I was put on hold for about ten minutes. When the man I spoke to returned he said that this one time they could waive all of the interest charges. Better than I had hoped for. And I didn't have to work that hard for it. I was ready to threaten to cancel the account, but that wasn't even necessary. One phone call saved me $84.

Victory #3- Last week my husband was in an accident. On the way home an elderly gentleman ran a stop sign and my husband was unable to stop soon enough to avoid hitting him and t-boned his car. Fortunately no one was hurt, for which I am very grateful. Our car was however totaled. Besides being very inconvenient, this is expensive no matter how you slice it. Our car is not worth what it would cost to replace and we recently we just put down a significant amount of money on new tires and other maintenance related things. Mrggg. If I had a crystal ball I wouldn't have put that money down. The adjuster from the other insurance company called and left a message while I was on the other phone. Before calling them back I called my insurance company wondering if they could give me a ballpark figure for what my car was worth. The quote he gave me was about $1600 more than my limited internet research had yielded. Now I don't know how much they are going to offer, but it's nice to have some information to leverage with. I figured my insurance company would be fairly straightforward with me. It doesn't cost them anything one way or the other. I called the other insurance company back and left a message, but they haven't called me back. Whatever, I keep the rental car until they settle things, and I know that the rental car is worth a lot more than my crunched car is. Potential savings from five minutes of my time: $1600.  Ha, ha, ha! Couch time can be productive. I saved more money than if I had spent the day working. :)

Here are some tips for negotiating savings.

1. Ask nicely.
2. Remember that businesses want to keep your loyalty and will often work with you to do so.
3. Ask questions/ do research to make sure that you are well-informed.
4. Credit card companies are more likely to waive interest and fees if you have a history of making your payments on time.
5. Your first answer isn't always the final answer.
6. You have little to lose in seeing if you can get a better deal.

For Those Who Love Book Clubs, but Just Don't Have That Much Free Time

 I'm back. And you're still here. Oh good. That was a somewhat longer break than planned, two deaths in a month turned into three deaths in six weeks. I have also made significant progress on potty-training Thing 2. Actually being a mom trumps blogging about motherhood.

  I enjoy reading many types of books. History, children's books, science-fiction, classics, parenting, cooking, biographies, food storage, young adult and mysteries. I also enjoy discussing books with other people and getting their opinions on books. Unfortunately, since I have been working full-time I just don't have time for book clubs. Finishing a book on a schedule usually doesn't happen. Fortunately there is Goodreads. With Goodreads, I can share, rate, organize and keep track of what books I am reading. (I love lists and I love organizing, which are probably a big part of why I love this site.)  I can also see what my friends are reading and what they thought of books that we both have read. I can write reviews for books that I have read and post them, as well as read reviews for almost any book under the sun. After reading a book I can send a recommendation to any of my friend who I think would also enjoy it. Before I discovered Goodreads, I had dozens of scraps of paper about with books written on them that I wanted to read, now I just put them on my to-read list. (Or sometimes my friends will just send me an on-line recommendation.) It cuts down on the clutter. In addition to these, Goodreads makes it easy to form your own online book club. If you love to read and you haven't checked this site out yet, you should. You can see what books I am reading by clicking on the Goodreads app in the left sidebar.

Another fun site for you bibliophiles out there is Book Drum. It's almost like a collection of elaborate creative book reports. People take books they love and create profiles to accompany them. A profile is full of comments, pictures, videos and music that are relevant to the book. The only drawback of this site that I can easily get lost in and get distracted from those other productive things that I should be doing.

I'm sure at some point I'm going to learn something from this.

 This morning I was supposed to work, but there weren't enough sick children, so I was put on-call. Hooray! I love being put on-call, it's my favorite. Especially on the weekends, because then my whole family is home. Yes, being on-call I make less than $3 an hour, but I get to be with my family, so it's worth it.

 Today I had marvelous plans. I did some small grocery shopping and rented a carpet cleaner. (Earlier this week when I tried to rent one there weren't any available, even though I called to verify beforehand. :S) Then I took my turkey carcass from the fridge, and threw it into the crock pot to make stock. Thing 2, who generally doesn't take much interest in my housekeeping activities found this to be very interesting. As I was chopping vegetables to put in it, he pulled up a chair and kept trying to convince me that we needed to put some purple grapes in the mix. :)

  Then I cleaned my house like some kind of crazy person. There is probably something wrong with me that I find it magical when my house is clean. I love it. But really it is fairly magical that I happened to have both the time and the energy to thoroughly clean my house. And looking at my carpets really makes me feel like singing. They really, really needed to be cleaned. Renting the carpet cleaner and buying solution came to $41, whereas paying someone to clean my carpets would cost at least $150. Hooray! Thing 2 also found carpet cleaning to be very interesting, for most of the cleaning he crawled along on the floor next to me watching the brushes. Silly boy.
  So my house is smelling like yumminess and my carpets were clean. When I was done I had more magical plans of pulling out all the Christmas decorations and bake cookies, maybe even do a little bit of shopping. The only thing left was my closet. Now for the past few weeks something has been amiss with my closet. There has been a musty odor, and it appeared about a week after I cleaned out and organized it. I had not the foggiest idea what it was. So my husband and I pulled everything out of our closet. Near the door we found a very moldy crayon. Thing 2 has a terrible habit of pouring water on the carpet. Why he enjoys this so much, I don't know, but we thought this was the cause of the problem. Then we kept pulling stuff out. Against the back wall sits our suitcase, and underneath it was more mold. (Shows how often we travel.) This had spread to 3 of my shoes (from 3 separate pairs) and my non-washable purse that I bought for $1 in Argentina. (I'm pretty sad about the bag, it was awesome.) When we pulled that away we discovered that there was about an inch of water damage along most of the baseboard. (Also of note my closet is inside my bathroom.) An inside wall mind you, which can only mean one thing. Plumbing issues. Murg. That totally puts a damper on the Christmas spirit and definitely no shopping.
  I cleaned everything with hydrogen peroxide and called a plumber. If he comes out today (Saturday), it will cost $130 per hour. If I wait until Monday it will only be $60 per hour. I can wait until Monday. Yes, this is a big pain in the neck that I need to address soon, but it totally can wait til Monday. I'm also thinking that putting my husband through school would have been a lot easier if I had been a plumber instead of a nurse. I'm sure that I will learn something useful from this experience and probably be able to get a blog post out of it with some helpful information to save someone else some hassle. And as I write this Thing 2 is shredding Styrofoam on my freshly cleaned carpet. That's my cue.

What to do should you spill water on your laptop

So last weekend I was writing my book review post and the book wouldn't stay open. There was a glass of water handy on the table so I sat in on the page of my book that I wanted to see. (Yes, I know not my most brilliant move.) It wasn't long before said glass of water was knocked onto my laptop (and no I can't even blame the kids.) And my husband the computer genius wasn't even there at the moment to fix it. Once upon a time he taught me to build a PC from parts, and from this experience I learned that anything with any significant power is going to have at least one fan, sometimes multiple fans. So I wiped it off and let it continue running and twitching hoping that the fan would be able to dry it off. (This is not what I'm recommending that you do, it's just what I did first. I'm not claiming that I'm the computer genius.) My poor little netbook kept shutting itself off. Even after I pulled out my blow-dryer. Eventually my knight in shining armor did come home and without any promises showed me what to do.

1. Remove the battery. Don't even bother to shut it down, just remove the battery.
2. Wipe off any excess water. (Already done)
3. Using a cool setting blow dry the battery and the computer from all angles.
4. Leave it alone for awhile.

If the computer is running the water can cause it to make connections between circuits that should not be connected. And of course how successful this method is depends on how much water was spilled on your laptop in the first place. Even though it was several hours before he pulled the battery out and I blow-dried the inside of the computer, when I put it together the next day it worked just fine and I haven't had any problems since. That's a relief. This may not work in every case, but it is certainly worth a shot and can't make the situation any worse.

Book Review: Housekeeping Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me

 I wish I had discovered Housekeeping Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me by Joni Hilton when I was a newlywed. A clean house can save you time, money, improve your health and make you feel better about yourself. This book is a good guide to cleaning your house and is full of tips and pointers. (Although many of the decorating ideas are questionable or at least dated. But then I can't say that I'm a decorating expert either.) I also liked her statement "The easiest way to keep a house clean is to keep a clean house." So true! Here are some things that I learned from reading this book.

• To whiten grout make a paste of baking soda, water and a few drops of bleach.
• When moving nightstands, tables and other furniture, put orphan socks on the furniture legs to protects them and the floor from scratches.
• A good way to hang pictures and avoid hitting your thumb with a hammer is to hold the nail in place with an old fork.
• Most pillows can be washed on a gentle cycle.  Wash two at once, and put a clean tennis shoe with them in the dryer to help them stay fluffy.
• To keep colored clothes from fading, before wearing for the first time, soak in salt water overnight, wash as usual.
• When sewing a button onto white items use dental floss, it lasts much longer than regular thread.
• Dabbing clear nail polish over the threads on the top of the button will make it last even longer.
• Use ketchup to clean copper, or anything else with tomato acid in it.
• The easiest way to clean mini-blinds is to put on clean cotton work gloves, get them sudsy and then wipe the blinds with your hands.
• Used fabric softener sheets are great for shining chrome surfaces.
• To cut down on squeaking in hardwood floors, rub talcum powder into the cracks.
• Freezing candles before lighting makes the wicks last longer and the candle drip less.
• Stickers can be removed with vinegar.
• Shaving cream makes a great upholstery cleaner.

Swagbucks

 This is for my friend who asked me to write this and everyone else out there who is wondering 'What in the world is a Swagbuck?'
So there are a lot of survey and freebie sites out there and for those most part I feel like my time is better spent elsewhere. But Swagbucks on the otherhand...I like Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a search engine that give you points, or "swagbucks" for using it. It only takes a few seconds, and really is there a day that goes by that you aren't searching on the internet for something? Why not get rewards for it? They certainly add up over time. Swagbucks uses search results from Google and Ask.com to help you find what you're looking for. An awarded search can give you anywhere from 5 to 100 swagbucks. Sometimes you can earn even more than that. Then you can cash your swagbucks in for prizes. My favorite prize is the Amazon giftcard, because you can get anything at Amazon. I could easily do all of my Christmas shopping at Amazon every year and be happy. (In fact for the most part I do.) You can get a $5 giftcard for 450 swagbucks, but there is a large selection of other prizes too. Here are all of the ways that you get swagbucks. And if you're new to swagbucks and use the code BackToSchool, you'll get an extra 40 swagbucks.

1. Search- I have found that about one in five searches results in a reward. (That's not an official stat, that's just my experience.) You are also more likely to get a reward if you are looking for a specific website like "secretsofmomblog" vs. money saving. Fridays are MegaSwagbucks Day and you can win more often and the prizes are bigger. Supposedly you can win hundreds of swagbucks for a search, but the most I've ever gotten for one search is 47. Still, I'll take it.
2. Toolbar The toolbar makes searching more convenient. Instead of directing to the SB site first, and then searching I just use the SB toolbar. And sometimes it will notify you of swagcodes that are available. Also you get 1 Swagbuck a day just for using it.
3. Daily Polls- Every day there is a quick poll that awards you one Swagbuck.
4. Trusted Surveys- Everyday you can click on this link and be awarded a Swagbuck. If there are surveys you are interested in taking, that's another way to win swagbucks. I've found that more often than not I don't qualify for the surveys, and usually the award is something like 175 Swagbucks for a twenty minute survey. I feel like twenty minutes of my time is worth more than essentially $1.75. But I have taken a few that had a better payoff, like 200 Swagbucks for a five minute survey. I'm down with that.
5. Special Offers-Once a day you can get a Swagbuck for viewing their no obligation offers.
6. Swagcodes-Every so often there are codes floating around the internet. I don't spend a lot of time searching for them. You can find them on the SB toolbar, Facebook, the SB blog and various other places. Enter them into the appropriate box on the SB homepage and press the Gimme! button.
7. Shopping Online- Supposedly you can earn swagbucks for shopping through their site, but the one time I tried I never earned my swagbucks. You earn 2 SB for every dollar spent, which is more or less 2% back. Upromise and Ebates generally have better rebate rates. However, sometimes there are great swag bonuses.
8. Trade In- You can recycle old cell phones in return for swagbucks.
9. Offers- If you scroll down towards the bottom there are bigger reward offers for trying out services, like DirectTV and Book of the Month clubs.
10. Refer friends- When your friends start earning, you do too.

A Few Random Traveling Tips

Still on vacation. Here are a few things that I've learned in my travels.

• If you want to save money, leave your wallet at home. Occasionally I see souvenirs that I might buy, but I never want them so bad to track down my husband and get him to pay for them. (I didn't plan this one, but sure is effective. Still don't recommend it because it's such a pain.)
• Never purchase the kids meals from Taco Bell. A kids meal consists of a cheese roll-up, cinnamon twists and a Caprisun- $4.49 (and it doesn't come with a toy). Separately, a cheese roll-up is $0.89, the cinnamon twists are $0.89 and I have a bunch of Caprisuns in my cooler that I got for $0.10 each.
• Have change ready for tollways. This is a new thing for us Utahs. We had a small amount of cash ready for them, but we weren't expecting the one last night that wanted 30 cents.
• Have small prizes for the kids. We have been driving across the country and we don't own a portable DVD player. (Shocking, I know.) Every morning my kids get a small prize to play with. If they behave well they will get a second one in the afternoon. I've been a little surprised at how well this one has been working. Some of the things I've packed in the "prize bag": coloring books, picture books, small cars, blow-up pool toys, hair ribbons, and sticker books. On the first day they each got a bigger prize to play with on the trip (a Barbie and a firetruck sound puzzle).
• Being trapped in the car is a great time to just enjoy your kids. We discovered that my son can give a hilarious 15-minute rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle". Yesterday we played a game with my daughter where each person took turns making up part of a story. (What's that game called anyway?) It was fun to hear the things that she came up with.
• Be flexible. We've made changes to our plans as we go, and it's all good.

Book Review: Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day: Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro

 I read Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day: Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane a few years ago when I was contemplating potty training my daughter and thought I would revisit as I'm hopeful that my son will soon be ready. (According to her quiz he is, but my children tend to be stubborn.) This book has some great pointers and ideas, but it's a little deceptive. You can't actually completely potty train your child in one day. Like any new skill it takes practice. The "one day" is an elaborate party that involves getting really excited about your toddler using the toilet. Not that I'm against getting excited about these developments, I just think that the one day party involves more work than stretching it out.  If you are aching to throw a potty party she does provide lots of ideas. I would say this book is worth reading, but not necessarily worth buying. (Unless you're shopping at B&N.com or Amazon and you need to spend a few more dollars so you get your free shipping, then by all means.)
 Here are some important points found in this book

• Don't try to train your child until they are ready. (Waking up dry, asking to be changed, bowel control at night, showing interest in the toilet are a few signs.)
• Don't potty train before or after any big changes in your child's life. (New siblings, move, change in daycare teachers, etc.)
• Flushable wipes, footstools and foaming hand-soap are your friends and worth the extra money. Trust me.
• NEVER punish a child for having accidents. It will only make the problem worse. (Sometimes I've seen patients who had something physically wrong with them and couldn't control the frequent accidents whose parents tried to punish them into bladder control. So sad.)
• Teach first, then train. Let them watch you use the toilet. Read a few books about using the potty. Model using a doll.
• Play games while on the potty to help make it fun. (Blow bubbles, play I spy, etc.)
• Make sure your child is very well hydrated to increase their chances of success.
• Keep a record of your child's bowel and bladder habits for awhile before training to get an idea of what their normal patterns are.
• Don't make a big deal about accidents, they're just learning. Do make a tremendous deal about successes.
• Enlist the help of others. (Whenever my daughter had a success we called Grandma to tell her. Grandma was very willing to tell her how fantastic that was.)
• Find rewards that are meaningful to them. For my daughter it was new Disney movies and a trip to the zoo. I have a friend who every time he successfully used the potty he got to call "Spiderman". (She would call her husband at work who would disguise his voice.) That was more effective than treats or toys. Years later he still believes that he actually talked to Spiderman.

Tricks with Hydrogen Peroxide

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day.

My mother-in-law recently sent me a list of uses for 3% hydrogen peroxide, plus I added a few more that I thought were helpful. It's amazing what can be done with a bottle that costs less than a dollar. Everything I listed I have either tried, know someone who has tried or I have found enough research to support it, unless otherwise indicated. The ones we haven't tried aren't going to do any harm. It seems that hydrogen peroxide is safe and helpful, but if swallowed undiluted it can make you very sick.

1. To get rid of canker sores and whiten teeth- Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 1 minute daily, then spit it out... (Small print says mouthwash and gargle right on the bottle.) However, you should not use this as a mouthwash long term, if used extensively it can soften teeth and damage gums.
2. If a dog has swallowed a harmful substance (e.g., rat poison), small amounts of hydrogen peroxide can be given to induce vomiting.  (About 2 tablespoons) Haven't had a reason to try this, but I have read this in several places.
3. If a dog has been sprayed by a skunk, mix a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a 1/4 cup of baking soda and a teaspoon of dish soap. Thoroughly scrub skunk victim with solution, several times. Do not add water because that activates the skunk smell.
4. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of H202 to keep them free of germs. 
5. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dish rag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters. 
6. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria. 
7. Spray a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on feet (especially the toes) every night and let dry to get rid of athletes foot and other foot fungus.   
8. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. Reportedly it can effectively treat gangrene. Although recent research has shown that wounds treated with hydrogen peroxide are more likely to scar.
9. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will. 
10. If you like a natural looking highlights in your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change.    
11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections. (This one I haven't tried, but I don't think it will hurt.)
12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. It is effective in getting out grass stains and grape juice. Oxiclean is essentially hydrogen peroxide.
13. Use peroxide to clean mirrors without smearing or streaking. 
14. It is used to whiten bones that are put on display (who besides paleontologists are putting bones on display? That's kind of creepy.) 
15. Some horticulturalists advocate the use of weak hydrogen peroxide solution ("Spanish water") in watering solutions. Its chemical action releases oxygen that enhances a plant's root development and helps to treat root rot and a variety of other pests. 
16. Use as a vegetable wash or soak to kill bacteria and neutralize chemicals.
17. Clean with hydrogen peroxide when your house becomes a biohazard after its invaded by toxic mold, such as those with water damage. Careful as it can lighten the colors of most things it comes in contact with.
18. And of course hydrogen peroxide is great for cleaning up blood. If applied immediately and rinsed, it can take it out of clothing and carpets without staining. However, it does make said item wear out faster and can lighten the color. But better that than blood-stains.  

Book Review: Book of Secrets

I bought Book of Secrets by Thomas Eaton  for my husband as a stocking stuffer last year. It's a fun little book. It's small enough that I can fit it in the pocket of my scrubs and when I'm on hold trying to get a hold of the pharmacy or a physician I can pull it out and read a page or two. It's somewhat of a random conglomeration of secrets, much like my blog. It's full of quotes and mini articles on all kinds of subjects. There are articles about cooking, bargain-hunting, weight loss and travel. There are also many articles about the secrets of famous people in history, politics and abandoned subway stations in New York City. (Really the author spends more time on this topic than any other.) It was definitely worth the read and possibly something that I'll reference in the future.The egg post that I wrote earlier this week was based on info that I learned from this book. Here's a list of a few of the random secrets that I learned in my reading.

• Overheating non-stick frying pans can cause them to release potential carcinogens, tiny particles and toxic gases that can get into the lungs.
• Pre-packaged salad is most often washed in a strong chlorine solution, so even though the package says that it's been washed, it's best to wash it again anyway.
• To re-bake a cold potato without it drying out, dip it in water before baking it in a very hot oven for 15 minutes.
• Only shop for clothes on Thursday, that's when most store get their new stock.
• You can greatly reduce the cooking time of wild rice by soaking it overnight.
• Taking your daily vitamins with tea or coffee prevents them from being absorbed.
• Research has shown that shiitake mushrooms lower LDL cholesterol and can halt advanced cancers.
• A high-protein meal can immediately boost your memory.
• If you're looking for a husband move to the country. Research shows that there are more single women in the city and more single men in rural areas.
• Applying a thin line of concealer around the outside edge of lips can give them more definition.