King James Version

The Book of Genesis

1. ) It is no surprise that credit cards represent a trap for many people. Incentives such as " earning" frequent flyer miles or free internet access are only "free" if you can pay off the balance every month. Otherwise, you end up on the losing end of the stick, paying interest rates in the double digits. It makes more sense to save for that ticket to visit the Carribean or your relatives than to rack up frequent flyer miles on a card you can never pay off. Tip: Only use credit cards if you know you can pay off the balance at the end of the month.
   
   
2. ) Electricity doesn't come cheap. Heat-producing appliances such as dryers and refrigerators burn up enormous amounts of energy. Tip: Consider purchasing an energy saving appliance. Turn down the refrigerator in the cooler months. Hang your wash outside instead of using the dryer. It will save you money, and the clothes smell fresh!
   
   
3. ) It is tempting to spend a lot of money on the weekends "because you deserve it." That may be true, but you may not be able to afford it, too. Tip: Instead of that expensive weekend at an amusement park or that ski trip that costs a bundle, take a bike ride with your kids or check out a new park to go sledding. You'll get some exercise and needed fresh air while creating memories with the kids.
   
   
4. ) Children usually like to draw. If your little Picasso is eating up all of your expensive computer printer paper, think about this. Tip: Consider using paper bags or recycled office paper for some of their artwork. They work fine for collages, and they are free. An added plus? You I'll reduce that pile of bags in the pantry that keeps growing, and you'll save several trees.
   
   
5. ) Spending time away from the kids is essential, but babysitters can be expensive. Tip: Consider swapping babysitting with a neighbor, at least some of the time. It will reduce the cost of going out with your partner, and you I'll benefit from a night on the town for less.
   
   
6. ) Good picture frames can be very pricey. Tip: Purchase one stable picture frame for the kids annual school photos. Keep the old photos behind the frame to compare prior years pictures. An added benefit? You have all of the school pictures in one place!
   
   
7. ) Entertainment need not be expensive. Tip: Rent a video instead of attending a movie in a theater. Invite your friends and have a potluck supper. Now you have multiplied the fun without the extra cost of parking, movie tickets, and refreshments!
   
   

• Garlic
  
  Many cultures around the world have used garlic as a natural antibiotic and antifungal remedy. When garlic is combined with mineral oil and soap, it becomes a very effective pest control product. However, when it is sprayed, it is not a selective insecticide. It can be used to control cabbageworm, leafhoppers, squash bugs, whitefly, but will also affect beneficial insects so be careful where and when you apply this product.
  
  Recipe: Allow 3 ounces of finely chopped garlic to soak in 2 teaspoons of mineral oil for 24 hours. Add 1 pint of water and ¼ ounce of liquid dish soap. Stir well and strain into a glass jar for storage. This is your concentrate.
  
  To use: Combine 1-2 tablespoons of concentrate in 1 pint of water to make the spray. Do be careful not to make the solution too strong. While garlic is safe for humans, when combined with oil & soap, the mixture can cause leaf injury on sensitive plants. Always test the lower leaves of plants first to make sure they aren't affected.
  
  
• Milk
  
  Fungal diseases can be a serious problem for gardeners, especially in the heat of the summer. Powdery mildew and black spot seem to be the most common diseases that cause gardeners to reach for the spray bottle. Now, instead of reaching for a chemical fungicide, gardeners can open the fridge for an excellent fungal control - milk!
  
  In 1999, a Brazilian scientist found that milk helped control powdery mildew on cucumbers just as effectively as a synthetic fungicide. Since the study was published, the news has traveled around the world and encouraged gardeners and farmers alike to try milk as a fungal control for a variety of diseases. So far, there has been success reported on the use of milk to control powdery mildew on a variety of different plants. In addition, it has also been found to be an affective control of black spot on roses.
  
  Any type of milk can be used from full milk to skim to powder. However, the low fat milks have less of a chance of giving off any odour. The recipe calls for milk to be mixed with water at a ratio of 1 part milk to 9 parts water and applied every 5-7 days for 3 applications.
  
  
• Beer
  
  Slugs are attracted to chemicals given off by the fermentation process. The most popular bait has been beer. However, not all beers are created equal. In 1987, a study at Colorado State University Entomology Professor Whitney found that Kingsbury Malt Beverage, Michelob, and Budweiser attracted slugs far better than other brands.
  
  Whatever the type of beer you use, you can create your own slug trap. Use cottage cheese, margarine, or similar size plastic containers. Put between 1/2 and 2 inches of beer in each container and place the containers around your garden, especially around plants prone to slug damage. Never, sink the containers with their rims flush with the soil level or you run the risk of drowning ground beetles, important slug controllers. The rims should be 1" above the soil's surface. You will probably need to empty the container of drowned slugs every other night. The range of slug traps is only a few feet so you need to supply a few traps throughout your garden.
  
  
• Floating row cover
  
  The easiest method of pest control is to prevent damage in the first place. Using a physical barrier like a floating row cover will prevent insect pests from reaching your plants and chewing them or laying their eggs on them. I find floating row covers a must when growing carrots to prevent carrot rust fly damage and when draped over my broccoli, I prevent imported cabbageworm from defoliating my plants.
  
  Floating row cover is a fabric made of spun polypropelene fibres. The fabric itself is very lightweight and will sit on top of your plants without causing any damage. The fabric allows both light and water to penetrate it but prevents even the smallest insects like flea beetles from getting to your plants.
  
  The fabric is sold at most garden centers under many names like Reemay, Agrofabric and Agribon and comes in a variety of different weights. The lighter weight fabrics are best for use during the summer. The heavier fabrics do hold in some heat and are best used in the early spring or late fall. The added bonus is that they can also help extend the gardening season by a few weeks!
  
  
• Newspaper/Cardboard
  
  Weeds are some of the hardest pests to control organically without resorting to physically pulling each one out. If your weeds are coming up in small clusters, it is easy to deal with them by pouring boiling water over them. However, if you've got a large area, the best way to control them is to smother them, also known as sheet mulching.
  
  I prefer to use either newspaper or cardboard to smother my weeds instead of plastic. Both newspaper and cardboard degrade naturally and will, over time, add carbon into my soil, helping provide organic material. In addition, most newspapers are now printed with soy-based inks, which will also degrade in the garden.
  
  If you decide to use newspaper, make sure you place it at least 4-6 sheets thick over your weeds. One layer of cardboard is usually sufficient to get the same effect. It takes at least a month to kill most weeds so I find the best way to use this method is to place the newspaper or cardboard over the weeds in the fall. Come springtime, the weeds are dead, the mulch has degraded, and I've got wonderful soil to work with.
  
  For anyone who is concerned about the aesthetics of newspaper or cardboard, you can also cover the mulch with grass clippings, compost or bark mulch for a nicer look. Make sure whatever you use is free of weed seeds.

Best Deal Magazines - Free Magazine Subscriptions only $3.95 Per Subscription Processing Charge This is pretty awesome. There's more than 50 to choose from and you can choose one or all the titles (Your mailman will hate you with a passionate restraining-order kind of hate if you order all of them). All you pay is a $3.95 per 1 year subscription processing fee. The total potential savings is about $1,000. This is good for new subscriptions AND for renewing your subscriptions or giving gifts. Also, unlike many places, they DON'T automatically re-subscribe you at a higher rate after your subscription term is finished. To clear up any potential confusion, make sure you choose from the "FREE MAGAZINES" category.  This is the list of the free gift magazines you can choose from and only pay a $3.95 processing fee each.  They have more than 500 other magazines for which you pay only from 70% to 10% of the subscription price. Check it out at BEST DEAL MAGAZINES

Q&A About Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff by Christine Louise Hohlbaum

Ever since I was eleven years old, I have wanted to write a book.

It is about a career woman turned housewife and her journey through parenthood. She goes from being an Ivy league educated go-getter to a children dedicated homemaker. It is a broad step to take, and many women feel lost at first. I wrote this book for them.

I had a very funny experience at the doctor’s office one day right after my second child was born. I felt so compelled to share my story that I sent an e-mail to all my family members and friends. They laughed so hard that they wanted to read more. That’s how it got started.

My then two-year-old daughter attended preschool three mornings a week. When I dropped her off, my son would fall asleep in the car. Many of my stories were written in the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot.

No, but I think that my readers can really relate to the things that I have experienced. I want people to know that they are not alone!

It is most easily available on-line at sites such as amazon and affiliates, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com, and at the publisher's site itself, iUniverse.com.

There are many benefits to using iUniverse, a print-on-demand publishing house. While you have to pay a little bit upfront, they are extremely fast, responsive, reliable, and offer you additional services in the event that your book shows marketability. When I started this project, my goal was to sell ten copies. I think I might have achieved that goal already!

My background is in political science, German and English/American Literature. I was strongly influenced by Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison and the Naturalist movement in American Literature (Jack London, Stephen Crane). I love to write short stories that take a snapshot from everyday life and apply it to bigger themes. I also write e-zine articles that have appeared in places such as http://www.iparentingstories.com http://www.betweenmoms.info , http://www.momstreet.com/http://www.momtomomchat.com, http://www.rhzine.com, etc.

I am currently working on a novel about a French-Canadian family in Northern Maine. It’s just an idea I had.

Thank you!

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff, is an American living near Munich, Germany with her husband and two children. Visit her web site at:

http://mypages.iparenting.com/webs/diaryofamother/diaryofamother.html

mail to: chohlbaum@smith.alumnae.net

Vegetarian Times
March, 1996

When I first started using medicinal herbs in 1970, I wondered why gotu kola (Centella asiatica) was one of the few Oriental herbs widely available in the United States. (Gotu kola is not to be confused with the cola nut [Cola acuminata], which is found in some brain-herb preparations but unfortunately contains caffeine.) I traced its introduction to the Western world back to 1933, when a story in India's Ceylon Daily News was picked up by The New York Times. The attention-grabbing article called gotu kola "the Secret of Perpetual Youth" and said that the herb energized and preserved the brain cells of anyone who took it.

I and many other herbalists have found gotu kola to be extremely effective, despite the fact that relatively few scientific studies have been conducted to confirm its benefits. One clinical study did find that the scores on standardized intelligence tests and even the behavioral patterns of mentally challenged children improved (Medicinal Plants of India, vol. 1: 217-219). One of the best things about gotu kola is that although it is known as a brain stimulant, pharmacological research shows that it contains at least two sedative compounds; in fact, east Indians use it to quiet the mind for yoga and meditation. Thus, gotu kola gives you the best of both worlds: You feel calm and relaxed, yet mentally alert.

SNIFF YOUR WAY TO BRAIN POWER

MODERN JAPANESE RESEARCH shows that a number of aromas are indeed brain stimulants, and as a result, several large corporations in Tokyo now employ aromatherapy, or the therapeutic use of scent from essential plant oils. Throughout the day, various fragrances are released by a computer-controlled air system. A typical scent for the morning is lemon, to wake up workers. After lunch, the invigorating scent of cypress is used to promote constructive work. Peppermint improves work efficiency and dispels drowsiness in offices and conference rooms; it's often accompanied by lavender, which helps create a positive mood. Workers can also visit Tokyo's Health Club Harry's for a 30-minute stress-releasing morning workout in a room scented with rosemary and lemon to improve their concentration for the rest of the day.

Research in this country has found similar effects. For example, research done at the University of Cincinnati by psychology professor William N. Dember, Ph.D., found that workers in rooms scented with peppermint had more correct answers when identifying complicated patterns on a computer, and their performance didn't decline as rapidly as workers in unscented rooms (Journal of Cosmetic Chemistry, 1991, vol. 42: 199-210). In a similar study, researchers found that the fragrances of lemon, pepper and cinnamon all cut computer errors by more than half.