What worked for me

Jing! Easily share screen shots and step-by-step videos!

2009-06-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wished you could just SHOW someone how to do something by having them peek over your shoulder when you're on your computer -- and talk them through the process?

Want to show your friend the dress you just bought online -- not just send them the link?

Now you can!

There's SO much you can do with this product, quickly and SIMPLY!

To try it (it's free!) go to http://jingproject.com/ .

L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara

2009-06-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

I can wear mascara again, thanks to a recommendation from my sister, Chris!

I gave up mascara years ago, when I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Nothing I tried -- no matter how much it advertised that it was non-smear, non-flaking, or non-smudging -- actually stayed on my (quickly disappearing) eyelashes and off the skin underneath. And the oily removers needed to take off the waterproof mascaras -- sheesh!

"I can fix that for you," Chris said when I visited her recently. She recommended L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara.

I was skeptical. I can't tell you how many tubes of promising mascara I've purchased, tried, and kept (unused) in the cabinet for years just because they cost a small fortune.

THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT!

I tried it for a neighbor's wedding. Two glasses of wine, delightful dinner conversation, innumerable hugs, and several wild dances later -- the mascara was still where it belonged!

I tried it for work last Friday, just on a whim -- not because it was a special occasion. Again, it ended the day where it started!

The final test: this stuff STILL stayed where I had put it Friday morning, until I showered after a day in the garden!

How do you remove it? Special makeup remover? NO! Warm water. Really!

I'm sold!

Thank you, Chris!

Doodle for information gathering -- free, easy, and online

2009-06-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

Trying to decide which movie to go to with a group? Or which restaurant? Or which day to get together?

Gathering preferences and availability information from a number of individuals can eat up hours of the organizer's time ... OR ... she could use a free web-based tool to make it all a breeze!

I've made my life much when I use a service called Doodle.

You'll find it at http://doodle.com/

Try it!

Let me know if you find it useful!

A little research goes a long way…

2009-06-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Recently, my check engine light came on in my 1998 Toyota Camry. After taking it to the shop, I was notified that there was a problem with my evaporative emissions system (code: PO441) and that the repairs were going to cost me close to $500 (mostly because the parts themselves were so expensive).

As always, I like to do a little research on my own before making any decisions about any car repairs. So, I searched the internet for any useful information on evaporative emissions systems. During my research, I stumbled upon a webpage on which someone had posted information about an Environmental Protection Agency settlement against Toyota Motor Corporation (settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/toyota.html). The settlement “involves model year 1996 through 1998 vehicles, including some Cambry, Avalon, Corolla, Tercel, Paseo, Lexus, Sienna minivans, 4Runner, RAV4, Tacoma and T100 models.” As a result of this Toyota Clean Air Act Settlement, there are certain vehicles that qualifying for an extended evaporative emission control system warranty (list of vehicles provided as a link on the page linked above). Things that are covered under this warranty: “evaporative storage canister, evaporative system pressure sensor, fuel cap, fuel tank, fuel tank filler neck, purge valve, tank vapor vent line, three-way valve, and any other part or component, excluding any maintenance parts, between the fuel tank and the intake manifold (but not including the intake manifold) designed to contain or conduct fuel vapor from the fuel system.” Read all information provided at the above link for more details.

HOW TO FOLLOW THROUGH

If, after looking at the list of vehicles, your model year, model name, engine family name and evaporative family name are on the list you are off to a good start. For model years 1996 and 1997 there is no need to identify when your vehicle was built, so as long as your car has less than 150,000 miles you should be covered under the extended warranty – next step would be to contact a certified Toyota dealer. If however, your vehicle is a 1998, there are build date restrictions that you further need to cross check. Only if your build date was on or prior to the build dates listed next to your vehicle then you qualify. The list of vehicles qualifying for the extended warranty provides a helpful guide to finding all of these things on your car on the second page. You may have to contact Toyota costumer service (number listed in above link) if you cannot find your build date. All they need is your VIN and they can look it up for you.

Identifying your car on that list is the easy part of this journey it seems. The next part is contacting a certified Toyota dealer and making sure that you don’t get told that you aren’t actually covered when you are. After contacting Toyota customer service, I proceeded to ask if they could tell me whether I would be covered under this extended warranty…BAD IDEA, don’t do that!! They were very helpful, but they concluded that my car is not covered, when in fact it is. Only after contacting the VERY HELPFUL and kind, David Alexander at the U.S. EPA (202-564-2109 or alexander.david@epa.gov) was I given correct information.

I will now lay out what his advice was for me in hopes that it will help others who might be in a similar situation. First, you must contact a Toyota dealer. Ultimately, they will be the one to tell you whether or not you are covered. (Might be better to do it in person – bring your VIN). They will hopefully take out their warranty or technical procedures manual to check this (they might have it all online rather than as a hard copy...but either way they should have something along these lines). Tell them to turn to Bulletin #PRO 03-13 (or PRO 03-24), issued on November 06, 2003. Once they have, there will be pages of tables. They will need to find the table that correlates to your vehicles model and engine type (easily identified based on your VIN). Once your table is identified, reading it has tripped many up and this is the root of most problems.

Sometimes people read the tables from left to right, following only one row all the way across, but that is not how the table was designed to be read. If done this way, it is possible that your VIN will look as though it is not covered under the extended warranty. Take the TMMK Camry (1 MZ-FE) table for example at the top of page 3 of 6. Let’s say your VIN is 4T 1BF22K_WU923541 (just made that up). If you were to read the table by rows, you would find your BF22K row and follow it across and notice that only those VINs falling between U024472 – U069710 qualify…WRONG! All the U numbers in that box qualify no matter the BF number…this is the important part!

You may need to prove your point and this is how I was instructed to do so: use the other tables to your benefit! For example if the tables were meant to be read row by row all the way across only, then why do some tables (like the TMC Camry (1 MZ-FE) also on page 3 of 6) not have information in the bottom row correlating to the BF28K numbers! It’s because they were actually meant to be read as boxes rather than strictly by rows! So, hold your ground because if you met all the criteria on the EPA list you are most likely covered! If you are confused about your particular case or are having a hard time with a Toyota dealer, I would again urge you to contact David Alexander and say you have a few questions about the Toyota Motor Corporation Settlement of 2003.

Additionally, please keep in mind that your situation will probably differ from the one described above (as that was a fictional example) but my hope is that this will be of some use as a guide for people in similar situations. Most likely, the Toyota dealer will have no idea what you are talking about, as this is apparently not a well known thing. It helped me to actually bring the bulletin (emailed to me by David Alexander) to the dealer so that they could read it and understand what they are looking for and what you are talking about. GOOD LUCK!

Unexpected perfection

2009-05-25T20:18:00.001-07:00

We weren't ready for our guests' arrival on Memorial Day. I had signs asking them to come through the back gate. (Paper signs were stuck to the brick wall of the house and the gate with white duct tape, top and bottom -- another "worked for me!" thing I want to remember.) But the food wasn't ready: Amy and John returned from the grocery store just after the guests, in fact. I could have cut the watermelon while they were gone, but I made signs. (On the storm door, I put post-its asking people to close the doors tightly after them, and be careful when opening the door, to help us keep the cats in -- another stroke of genius that really worked.)

But the thing that made the day perfect was not being prepared ... because the creative mom of the 3 kids (aged 5, 5, and 7) invented a kickball game in our backyard using a volleyball and three hula-hoops as the bases ... and the dad who usually doesn't have time to play actually participated. And, when we were done with preparations, so did all 3 adult hosts -- so we ended up (after one of the children had to leave) with a kickball game with Grandma, Grandpa, mom and dad, and 2 kids -- no score, just fun.

And THEN, the other thing that made the day perfect was NOT caving to the 7-year-old's whining about wanting to play Wii bowling, because it was a beautiful day for outdoor activities, NOT an "indoor" day. So I took the sidewalk chalk I'd purchased for JUST this kind of occasion, and I consulted the 5-year-old about what hopscotch looks like to her ... and then had her hop on one foot for me as far as she could, so I could make the boxes the right size. And THEN, we played. For hours. The other grown-ups were amazed at how engaged the two kids were in the game!

It was an amazing day.

Grilled Salmon done right!

2009-05-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Started with relatively thin, frozen salmon fillets. Put them in a grilling basket that had been sprayed with Pam first. Left them on the grill through 2 sets of burgers being cooked until well-done. They were perfect: firm, not stuck to the basket, not burned, not falling apart.

Next time, I'm thinking I might try some lemony seasoning or something. But today, I'm just delighted with the outcome.

Diplomatic "no"

2009-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

I need to save this one for future reference, authored by my colleague, because it is VERY well-said!! (And I'm certain I can lift some of it for a similar situation in the future!)

(Name), our programs are offered to (intitution name) employees, which is why we ask for a (institution name) email to register. We maintain a limited enrollment in these workshops because they do involve hands-on activities (I note that this represents a physical limitation of our lab space as well).

As you mentioned, the (specific) workshop scheduled for next week is already full, so I guess that's an indication that there are indeed scarce resources involved. Frankly, I prefer not to have a member of the (institution name) faculty or staff displaced by an occasional hire. If she winds up actually getting a (institutional) email and everything that goes with it, I would say that's a signal of the institution's commitment that would warrant her participation, and at that point we would certainly welcome her attendance.

best,

Find and Add a Friend on Calorie-Count.com

2009-05-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

If you click on Home up top, you will see the photos of recent members.
Under the photos click on See More Members.
Now you can enter the screen name of the person you are looking for.
When their name shows up you can click on it and you will be taken to their journal where you then click on Add Buddy.

Many thanks to fellow member ismile67 for these clear instructions -- I could find them nowhere else in the help files for the site!