Earth Day deals 2011

By Lori Bongiorno

Posted Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:49am PDT

To celebrate Earth Day, many businesses are offering consumers free stuff, good deals, and chances to win valuable prizes. Here is just a sampling of what's available. Check the websites and Facebook pages of your favorite companies to find additional promotions.

• At participating Starbucks, you can bring in a reusable mug on April 22 to get free brewed coffee or tea.
• Origins is offering a trade-in program on Earth Day. Receive a free full-size face cleanser when you bring one of your empty skin-care bottles (from any brand) to an Origins retail store or department-store counter for recycling. Choose from A Perfect World Antioxidant Cleanser With White Tea or Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash.
• Evos is giving away free organic milkshakes on Earth Day. The healthy fast-food chain has locations in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
• At the Disney Store, you can trade in five disposable plastic bags for recycling and receive a free reusable shopping bag on April 22.
• Lowe's is giving away one million trees on April 23.
• Kmart is offering discounts on everything from air conditioners to TVs on April 22.
• Drugstore.com is giving up to 60% off on green and natural products through April 22.
• All 394 U.S. national parks have free admission now through Sunday, April 24.
• Travelocity has green hotels on sale for up to 40% off. You can also enter to win two round-trip Virgin America tickets and a couple of nights at an eco-friendly hotel.
• The Yoga Journal offers a free digital download of the May issue.
• The Sierra Club's Earth Day contest gives a chance to win a trip for two to Vieques Island in the Caribbean -- you just add a green pledge to the map.
• On Target's website, you can enter the Refresh Your Nest sweepstakes through the end of the month. The grand prize is a home makeover that's valued at up to $50,000. You can also win a trip to Napa Valley, a Nikon camera, products from Burt's Bees or Tom's of Maine, and more.
• Search for more Earth Day discounts, freebies, and deals. Have you heard of other great offers this week? If so, please share them in the comments below.
  Abby Speight also contribued to this article. 

Staph seen in nearly half of U.S. meat

CNN.com April 15th, 2011

10:00 AM ET

Staph seen in nearly half of U.S. meat

Almost half of the meat and poultry sold at U.S. supermarkets and grocery stores contains a type of bacteria that is potentially harmful to humans, a new study estimates.

Researchers tested 136 packages of chicken, turkey, pork, and ground beef purchased at 26 grocery stores in five cities around the country, and found that 47 percent contained Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a common cause of infection in people.

What's more, roughly half of the contaminated samples contained strains of the bacteria that were resistant to at least three antibiotics, such as penicillin and tetracycline. Some strains were resistant to a half dozen or more.

Dog, Cat & Mouse - From one animal loving friend to another...

Background Story: This is a video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets. They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a  family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture the rat came along, and as no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and, often, on the cat! The dog, will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches. The Mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a holiday card A good example for all of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=D85yrIgA4Nk&feature=player_embedded

FW: Why Do I Like Retirement !!! :)

       

   
  Question:   How many days in a week?   

      Answer:   6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday  

         

      Question:   When is a retiree's bedtime?   

      Answer:   Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch.  

         

         

      Question:   How many retirees to change a light bulb?   

      Answer:   Only one, but it might take all day.  

         

      Question:   What's the biggest gripe of retirees?   

      Answer:   There is not enough time to get everything done.  

         

         

      Question:   Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?   

      Answer:   The term comes with a 10% discount.  

         

      Question:   Among retirees what is considered formal attire?   

      Answer:   Tied shoes.  

       

         

      Question:   Why do retirees count pennies?   

      Answer:   They are the only ones who have the time.     

       

       

         

      Question:   What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?    

      Answer:   NUTS!    

         

         

      Question:   Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?  

      Answer:   They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there. 

         

      Question:   What do retirees call a long lunch?   

      Answer:     Normal  .  

         

         

      Question:    What is the best way to describe retirement?   

      Answer:   The never ending Coffee Break.  

         

         

      Question:   What's the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree?   

      Answer:   If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.  

         

      Question:   Why does a retiree often say he doesn't miss work, but misses the people he used to work with?   

      Answer:   He is too polite to tell the whole truth.   

         

      And, my very favorite....  

      QUESTION:   What do you do all week?   

      Answer:   Monday through Friday, NOTHING..... Saturday & Sunday, I rest.  

      SERENITY

      Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, 

      'How old was your husband?' '98,' she replied... 

      'Two years older than me'  

      'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented..  

      She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it?

       

       

      Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: 

      'And what do you think is the best thing 

      about being 104?' the reporter asked..  

      She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.'

       

       

      The nice thing about being senile is 

      you can hide your own Easter eggs

      and have fun finding them.

       

       

      I've sure gotten old! 

      I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, 

      new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes. 

      I'm half blind, 

      can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, 

      take 40 different medications that 

      make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. 

      Have bouts with dementia. 

      Have poor circulation; 

      hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. 

      Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. 

      Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, 

      I still have my driver's license.

       

       

      I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, 

      so I got my doctor's permission to 

      join a fitness club and start exercising. 

      I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. 

      I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, 

      by the time I got my leotards on, 

      the class was over.

       

       

      An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and 

      told her preacher she had two final requests. 

      First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, 

      she wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart .  

      ' Wal-Mart ?' the preacher exclaimed. 

      'Why Wal-Mart?'  

      'Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week'

       

       

      My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. 

      Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

       

       

      Know how to prevent sagging? 

      Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

       

       

      It's scary when you start making the same noises 

      as your coffee maker.

      These days about half the stuff 

      in my shopping cart says, 

      'For fast relief.'

       

       

      THE SENILITY PRAYER :  

      Grant me the senility to forget the people 

      I never liked anyway, 

      the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and 

      the eyesight to tell the difference.

       

       

     

      Now, I think you're supposed to share this with 5 or 6, maybe 10 others. Oh heck, give it to a bunch of your friends if you can remember who they are! 

       

      Always Remember This:    

      You don't stop laughing because you grow old,  

      You grow old because you stop laughing

Chocolate covered strawberries, pineapple

The strawberries turned out to be fine, but I had trouble with the pineapple.  The juice of the pineapple slices thickened the chocolate sauce that made it very hard to dip and therefore, the pineapple didn't look so attractive :).  Maybe this is why not too many people make chocolate covered pineapple.  The next time I will pour the sauce over the pineapple slices, instead of dipping them.  Despite the problem, the chocolate pineapple slices still taste better.

• 4 strawberries, washed with salt water, dry with paper towel.
• 1 bar (4oz) of Hershey chocolate baking bar
• 6 slices of pineapple

1. Break chocolate into pieces, put chocolate in the metal bowl, put the bowl a pot with a little bit of water (or a double boiler), boil the water in pot, the chocolate will melt into liquid.
2. Turn the heat to low, dip in 1 strawberry at a time, place it on a plate lined with wax paper or plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate for 3 hours so the chocolate will be hardened.

Have fun making these delicious treats :)
Namo A Mi Two Fwo.

A Routine Day of HH The Dalai Lama

When asked by people how His Holiness the Dalai Lama sees himself, he replies that he is a simple Buddhist monk. Even in his daily life, His Holiness remarks that he spends 80% of his time on spiritual activities and the other 20% on Tibet.

His Holiness is often out of Dharamsala on travels both within India and abroad. During these travels, His Holiness's daily routine varies depending on his engagement schedule. However, His Holiness is an early riser and tries as far as possible to retire early in the evening. 

When His Holiness is at home in Dharamsala, he wakes up at 3.30 a.m. After his morning shower, His Holiness begins the day with prayers, meditations and prostrations until 5.00 a.m. From 5.00 a.m. His Holiness takes a short morning walk around the residential premises. If it is raining outside, His Holiness has a treadmill to use for his walk. Breakfast is served at 5.30 a.m. For breakfast, His Holiness typically has hot porridge, tsampa (barley powder), bread with preserves, and tea. Regularly during breakfast, His Holiness tunes his radio to the BBC World News in English. From 6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. His Holiness continues his morning meditation and prayers. From around 9.00 a.m. until 11.30 a.m. he studies various Buddhist texts written by the great Buddhist masters. Lunch is served from 11.30 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. His Holiness's kitchen in Dharamsala is vegetarian. However, during visits outside of Dharamsala, His Holiness is not necessarily vegetarian. As an ordained Buddhist monk, His Holiness does not have dinner. Should there be a need to discuss some work with his staff or hold some audiences and interviews, His Holiness will visit his office from 12.30 p.m. until around 4.30 p.m. Typically, during an afternoon at the office one interview is scheduled along with several audiences, both Tibetan and non-Tibetan. Upon his return to his residence, His Holiness has evening tea at 6 p.m. He then has time for his evening prayers and meditation from 6.30 p.m. until 8.30 p.m. Finally, after a long 17-hour day His Holiness retires for bed at 8.30 p.m.

http://www.dalailama.com/biography/questions-and-answers/routine-day

Pineapple chocolate bar

Chocolate and pineapple are a wonderful combination.  I love chocolate covered pineapple more so than chocolate covered strawberry.  I will do chocolate covered pineapple later (maybe next Valentine's day :).  For now, I wanted to share with you a quick and simple way to make pineapple chocolate bar.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 pineapple, skinned, cored, and diced

Methods:
1. Put the metal chocolate bowl in a pot with a little bit of water (or a double boiler) to melt the chips.
2. Mix in the diced pineapple.
3. Line a rectangular mold with plastic wrap, pour the mixture into the mold, spread evenly.
4. Freeze overnight.
5. Cut into any shapes you like.
6. Serve cold and enjoy!

 

Namo A Mi Two Fwo.