Phewf!

Microsoft just blew my mind...did you know that you can save your Word and PowerPoint documents as a PDF right from the 'Save As' menu?? And it's good quality at that? When did that happen?! I don't think anyone can understand how much easier this makes my life. I wish I could do a happy dance but I'm running out of time for this post BECAUSE my last student of 2009 is coming for her lesson at 6:00....and then I'm on holidays. YESSS!

So check it out!!! A NEW AND POTENTIALLY long-lasting (as in I don't think I'll change anything about it anytime soon) website can be found at our new identity: http://www.dolceamanteduo.com/ You simply must check it out, I think it's the best of our websites yet and I plan to stick with it for a loooong time. I have to say that DreamHost is THE BEST place to host your domain name, they have been so incredibly helpful and friendly while getting me set up. You just ask, and they do it for you. Amazing.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

♥ Hils.

Use The Loofah

Hahahaha....okok. I really don't want to only post YouTube videos, but I laughed out loud alone in my house, so it must be good.

Visual Stimulation Inspiration

For some reason, I find that I'm particularly moved by much of the junk-mail media things I've set my eyes on today. I don't know what it is, but it's certainly fun.

This is the first one I saw today, a friend mass-emailed it around and, being a sucker for auto-tune videos, I had to have a look. But I was pleasantly surprise and completely inspired by it!! I LOVE SPACE, I just...love space. I think it's frigging amazing and I am in awe of words like "billions", "atoms", "cosmos" and phrases like, "we are made of star stuff", "the sea of space". Oh my God. Amazing. And also, I have a crush on Bill Nye and have since I was a kid.

Number two of the day, saw it while watching an episode of Oprah, and brought tears to my eyes. I'm crying now just watching it again. It is so true how the world turns a blind eye, I can't deny that I have. I don't understand why more hasn't been done to expose this to the rest of the population, why isn't this in our news? I feel like more of a woman, more powerful and able to help, just by watching this short video. What the hell have I done to make my community a better place to live?

Ok and one more, from the trusty news feed of my facebook page. Someone posted it, so I watched it. These girls are hot!! That is all.

caught in a time warp

Holy crap! Firstly, October 8th feels like months ago. Secondly, I cannot believe that it's almost November, and that totally contradicts with my first statement. What the hell happened to the first two months back to work? This is insane. I've been so busy and caught up in a million little projects that each day and week runs into eachother and I can't tell where I am, what's coming up next or what I've done so far (and you're over here, and he's over there and I can't tell which way is up!)

And on top of all of that, I'm probably driving myself into the relms of insanity...seriously, today is Friday, and I have my Friday students come once a week (on Friday...) but honest to God I feel like I've been seeing these Friday kids for the third day in a row now. I remember exactly our lessons from last week and the week before, I remember what we talked about. I remember it even better than I remember what I did this morning when I got out of bed. Am I going crazy? Could this be perhaps the symptoms of a universe about to implode? Probably not...but it would make sense. Just wish we had some sort of warning system in place for that, because then I would just stop working and enjoy life on this planet for the few short days before implosion occurs.

I think things will calm down shortly...my to do lists were never ending, and I couldn't seem to scratch anything off. But lately they've been dwindling, though filling up just as quickly with new tasks, but at least there's been a change. Next week's list doesn't look bad at all actually...now if I could just make it through this weekend and Monday, I'll be fine!

PLUS SIDE: It's payday this weekend, and that's awesome. Also - the last movie we went to had projection issues (that we barely noticed) and we got free passes to make up for it, so we're going tonight! An absolutely necessary and well deserved break on both of our parts.

clean greener

I didn't want to keep this sheet lying around the house, so putting it on the blog to remember forever and ever is the next best thing! Got it from my mom, not sure where she clipped it from, but I find it fascinating that you can clean your entire home to a sparkling shine with just lemons, vinegar and baking soda. It's hard to imagine not using toxic chemicals to 'clean' your home - but you'd be surprised at what you used to think 'clean' was when you make some changes with your most common household cleaning products! Try one today!

Cleaning with Lemons

Drains: Grind some lemon rinds in the garbage disposal to freshen up the drain. Pouring some lemon juice and hot water down a drain will give similar results.

Stains: Lemon juice is a natural bleach, use it to whiten whites or bleach stains. Always test on an inconspicuous area before use.

Cleaning with Vinegar

Multi-purpose Cleaner: Mixed 1:1 with water, vinegar is an effective multi-purpose cleaner. Mix the solution in a spray bottle for ease of use and storage. Add some lemon juice to the mixture to neutralize the vinegar smell.

Tip: When I cleaned houses with my sister for a summer, we used vinegar for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It was cheap, absolutely non-toxic, really easy to use, although it would smell like pickled eggs for a few minutes but that quickly dissipates after use. We even used a vinegar/water mixture to wipe down mirrors, windows, stainless steel etc. and got the same streak-less shine or better than a chemical mixture like Windex.

Deodorizer: Vinegar is a natural deodorizer. Use it to wipe out lunch boxes, garbage cans or containers. The acid in the vinegar should wipe out any odours.

Stains: Vinegar is also a stain remover. It is an acid so test on an inconspicuous area of the fabric first.

Cleaning with Baking Soda

Deodorize: Baking Soda has fantastic absorbent properties and will neutralize most odours. Place in a box in the fridge, freezer or anywhere else you need deodorizing. You can also sprinkle it on carpets, in shoes or in laundry hampers. It will absorb any smells and is easy to vacuum up.

Pots and Pans: Baking soda is a good abrasive cleaner. Use it as a stain remover in enameled pans, sprinkle on roasting pans to clean out anything burnt on, sprinkle on copper pots and use 1/2 a lemon to scrub restoring shine.

Paste: Use a baking soda paste to clean out the inside of your dishwasher, your bath tub or anywhere you would use an abrasive cleaner.

oh happy day!

GREAT NEWS! I've been working for the past year or two on a fold up utility desk (the big bulky plastic tops you might see in someone's garage or basement) and it was working fine for stationery and scrapbooking. But we were starting to get tired of the hunk-a-desk sitting against the wall with a bunch of stuff stored on-top AND below...so today I bought a NEW DESK! Woo hoo! And it's a real one too - I shall post pictures of it when it's done.

Anyway, wow. I got carried away. So really, that's excellent news. But what I meant to write about was the fact that, while I was unpacking and repacking the stuff underneath said old desk, I found an entire box of scrapbooking supplies (i.e. stickers, brads, glue, dots, pens, embellishments, and everything else you can think of) that I had forgotten I had!! (sometimes I get worried that I'm a hoarder...)

I'm thrilled to have this new-found supplies and have ideas already how to use them...tee hee.

New desk, here I come!

september snow

*aaaaahhh* Snow - perfect and unique little crystals, as delicate as your foggy breath on a cold morning. Decorating trees and rooftops more gracefully than any other thing or living being could. Prompting the unpacking of snuggly things like scarves and mittens, and warm fuzzy boots. Bringing pink to our cheeks and wet to our noses. Making hot chocolate seem like it was heaven sent, and tea the most beloved beverage on the planet. You make candles seem brighter, and fires seem warmer. You make staying in feel like a treat, and still let us watch you from our frosty windows. You are cold, but you bring warmth to our hearts.

I loooooove you snow. I hope you don't take it personally that when February rolls around I wish you had never came. But right now, I'm so happy you're here!