Keep nail bitten hands busy doing good

I have found an easy way to stop biting my nails and do a good turn for others at the same time! I have bitten my nails all my life, and especially do so when I sit down to do something like watching TV, when my hands are idle. A couple of years ago however, I began crocheting for charity and gift giving during these times. While being more conscious about what my hands are doing, I am also creating things to bring happiness to others. My nails grow and are stronger than they were, my hands are away from my mouth and I don't have the same urge to bite my nails!

Keep nail biting (and vampires!) away with garlic

My mother put an end to my nail biting using this inexpensive trick. She simply rubbed a freshly cut piece of garlic onto my nail tips. Whenever I would be tempted to nibble my nails I would get a raw garlic taste in my mouth. Gross! It didn't take me long to be cured!

A savings success story

Three weeks ago we ended up without a cent to spend on groceries and the money situation for the following week was only slightly better. We had to eat, of course, so I raided the pantry and freezer and managed to get by on what we had. We were also running out of laundry powder and toilet paper so I rationed out these things to make sure we made it through until we could afford to stock up. It meant using less laundry powder per wash and a few less squares of toilet paper each visit, but we got through the week without having to buy anything, saving around $300.

The following week we had only $30 for food shopping. I still had things I could use up in the pantry and fridge/freezer, and the rationing of the laundry powder and toilet paper meant we wouldn't need to buy more until the next week. So I spent our $30 surplus for that week on milk, fruit and vegetables.

Last week we were back to normal but my two weeks of poverty made me realise just how much money I can save each week by using less of everything and trying to use up what I already have in the fridge and pantry. Over two weeks I had managed to NOT spend about $570 and I had also cleared out a stack of canned beans, canned tuna and sardines, frozen vegetables, frozen meat and frozen loaves of bread that were taking up space in my pantry and freezer.

Home made bath bombs

These bath bombs are great to give as gifts or to pamper yourself with! This recipe should give you at least four to five good sized 'bombs' and cost as little as $1.00 to make. All you need are the following:

1 1/2 cups bicarb soda

1/2 cup citric acid

Scent or fragrance of your choice (you can use essential oils if you have them)

Food colouring of your choice

Sweet almond oil or any cooking type oil

Flower petals if desired

NOTE: Make sure everything is dry. Even the smallest hint of moisture will make the ingredients fizz.

Sift the bicarb and citric acid into a large bowl, add petals if desired then divide mix into four separate batches.

In another bowl, mix one tablespoon of oil, enough fragrance to suit you and enough food colouring to get the desired colour. Mix well. This mix is enough for one of your small batches of dry mix.

Add the colour and fragrance mix to a batch of dry mix and mix in with fingers very quickly, making sure that it does not fizz. Mix well to make sure the colour and fragrance are distributed evenly.

Press firmly into lightly oiled moulds. You can use just about anything as a mould. Try using the plastic lid from a can of hairspray or jelly moulds if you have some. You can buy bath bomb moulds from some craft shops. Make sure that you press the mix firmly into the mould, otherwise it will crumble.

Leave in a dry spot for about 24 hours, then gently press them out and enjoy!