cell with water damage tip

i don't have any personal experience with this myself but i hear that if you accidentally drop your cellphone in water, you can turn off your phone and toss it into a bag full of raw rice for 2 days.  the rice will draw the water out.

george foreman grill tip

wrap the food in foil and you don't have to clean the grill!  got this tip by watching costco sample staff.

eating out tip

holy cow, i can't believe i just learned this today! if you eat at a restaurant and decide to also buy something to take home, put the take out food on a separate bill. here's why: if you put it all on one tab then you'll also end up paying a tip on the take out portion. however, if you have the take out on a separate bill, well you're not going to pay a tip on it.

sl farmer's market tip

my mom says the san leandro farmer's market is back on!

whipping cream tip

cream whips better if there's a little more of it.  the instructions on the carton say to use no more than what would be needed to go higher than 1/3 of the beaters.  at first i was pouring in about 1/2 inch of cream and it took a while to whip up.  but when i put in like 1-1/2 inches, it whipped up in no time--well, like 3 minutes.

3x4 pic tip

so we have this little picture carousel that holds 6 3x4 pictures. as you know, pics these days generally come in 4x6. i used paint on the computer to make a 2 picture collage. you just decrease 2 pictures by 50% horizontally and vertically, then past them together next to each other in paint. then i uploaded that new picture into costco to print. worked out perfectly! it only took over a year to figure out how to get small pictures in there. love solving problems.

brita tip

you know those freaking brita filter pitchers?  fill the top and the water slowly trickles down and fills the bottom of the pitcher.  well i've spilled the water TWICE and created a giant puddle on the floor.  here's the tip:  before pouring water, lift the lid to make sure there's no water sitting in the top.

hayward area thrift shop tips

-thrift town san leandro:  this one is awesome.  tons of clothes for really cheap.  they've got a lot of dressing rooms to try on clothes. -thrift town fremont:  also big store with a lot of clothes and a maternity section.  i've found that most thrift stores don't have a separate maternity section. -society of saint vincent de paul fremont:  baby kids are in a giant pile which makes it impossible to find good stuff.  books are way cheap.  i got a book for 35 cents!  tons of furniture!  tables/chairs/dressers galore--more than most thrift shops -salvation army hayward:  weak sauce.  i don't know if they're just getting started but they don't have very much stuff at all.  the salvation army in oaktown is much better. -eco thrift:  huge store with tons of clothes, toys, books.  i saw 4 strollers there. -centro de servicio group:  smallish but with cheap clothes.  i got a wonder woman sweatshirt for only $2!  they've got a small room full of kid stuff but the baby clothes are in these little bins which makes it harder to find stuff.  -discovery shop:  more of a little boutique than a giant type thrift shop.  prices are a bit higher because proceeds go to helping with cancer. -hope station:  medium size thrift shop with a good selection of baby clothes.  i bought 3 long sleeve shirts for something like $1-2 each. -bargain city:  near newpark mall.  very nice store--clean and organized.  good selection of clothes for good prices. -tri-city volunteers thrift store:  there are a lot of cultural clothes.  it's a smaller shop with a small selection of baby/kid items.  there are a lot fewer clothes here compared to other shops.

reheat lasagna tip

if you're reheating a giant piece of lasagna, before throwing it in the microwave, cut it up some so the inside isn't cold.  otherwise the outside will be hot and the inside will still be refrigerated.

fortune cookie tip

fortune cookie + peanut butter = yummy

burger tip

know what's good on a burger?  cream cheese and peppers!  who knew?

marathon runner tip

just learned yesterday that hardcore marathon runners will just pee themselves while they run so they don't have to stop to use a toilet.  beware!

hammock tip

even better than a one person hammock?  a 3 person hammock!  you're more slingy in a 3 person one.  one downside is you need a super ginormous hammock stand.  the one person stand is already pretty freaking big.

other people's tips

http://cockeyed.com/lessons/figured/figured_menu01.shtml

 

http://ask.metafilter.com/158740/You-were-doing-it-wrong

corn cutter

anyone have a corn cutter?  we have this one:  http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=11078893 any tips on how to use it?  do you use it when the corn is raw or when it's already cooked?  do you really need a nail to use it?

language

if you want to learn a language, don't just go "teach me [insert language here]!!"  have certain words or phrases in mind that you want to learn. 

weekend tip

Pirate Festival is this weekend--June 19 and 20 from 10-6 PM in Vallejo.  It's a free event and the people who go are fully decked out in pirate gear.  I went last year and it's a blast!  You can find parking if you get there early.  There was a recreation of a pirate ship and even a nurse who talked about medicine.  Look out for the puzzle ring booth!  I haven't seen them at any other fair.  Great place to take a ton of pictures :o)

ice cream maker tip

say you have two batches of ice cream to make in an ice cream maker.  the first batch you do ice, salt, ice salt, ice, salt, etc.  then for the second batch you can reuse the same ice, but you have to layer more salt between ice layers. 

yesterday for the 2nd batch of ice cream, i didn't add more salt and after 40 minutes, the ice cream hadn't frozen at all!  i think all the salt got dumped out when i drained it.

good habit tip

my friend's husband was taught to try everything when eating a meal.  now, even if he HATES a particular food, he will eat at least a little bit to be polite.  i don't know anyone else who does this, but isn't it magnificent?  it's so open-minded and somewhat inspiring.

 

still, there's no way i'm going to eat durian again :o)

smell tip

know what smells hella good?  the inside of a bag of m&m's.