Happy Memorial Day!

What did you do on your day off?  We hope everyone had a great day with friends and family!

Memorial Day Recipe

Are you having a Memorial Day party?  Check out this great recipe for your first summer picnic.  They are super easy to make and will be a hit at your party.  You can find out more information at Taste of Home.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound ground beef
  
• 3 slices process American cheese
• 4 slices white bread (heels of loaf recommended)
• 2 tablespoons prepared Thousand Island salad dressing
• 2 pearl onions, thinly sliced
• 4 baby dill pickles, thinly sliced
• 3 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions

• Shape beef into twelve 1-in. patties. Place on a microwave-safe plate lined with paper towels. Cover with another paper towel; microwave on high for 1 minute until meat is no longer pink. Cut each slice of cheese into fourths; set aside.
• Using a 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out six circles from each slice of bread. Spread half of the bread circles with dressing. Layer with burgers, cheese, onions, pickles and tomatoes. Top with remaining bread circles; secure with toothpicks. Yield: 1 dozen.

Editor's Note: This recipe was tested in a 1,100-watt microwave.

Homemade Bug Killer

Ants are everywhere and something we all have to deal with on a daily basis.  However, you do not need chemicals or fancy spray to kill an ant or two that appear in your apartment or outside.  There is a homemade ant killer that will get rid of the pest without hurting or damaging anything else.   You can learn more at apartment therapy.

What You Need

Materials

• Baking Soda
• Powdered Sugar
• Jar Lids (or something similar to hold the bait, although a container is not necessary)

Tools

• Measuring Spoon

Instructions

1. Combine 1 part baking soda with 1 part powdered sugar. 

Note: I used a 3/4 tablespoon of each, and mixed it together directly in the jar lid. From what I have read, ants cannot differentiate between baking soda and powdered sugar because they are similar in size. The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda is what kills them: It reacts with the acid in their digestive system and they explode.

2. Place the mixture in strategic locations and wait for the baking soda to do its thing. You can use a jar lid or something similar to keep the bait contained, or you can place it directly on the surface where the ants are prevalent.

 

Note: I made 3 lids with the bait, and placed them in the corners of my kitchen counter. After several days, the number of ants in my kitchen reduced dramatically. I also found that it is essential to keep the problem areas clean and void of any food; I used vinegar to clean my kitchen surfaces and to scrub the ant trails. If you can find their point of entry, it is strongly recommended that you fill it with Borax or diatomaceous earth and seal it off with clear caulk.

Relieve Stress During Finals

Do you carry a lot of stress?  Most of us do in today's age.  Stress relief can be beneficial to your health and well-being.  Here are some great tips that are easy to help reduce stress.  You can do these tips everyday in a short amount of time.  You can find more great health tips here.

Stress Relief Now!

If you often feel stressed out (your health and your job are primary culprits!), you’re not the only one. A recent American Psychological Association showed that Millennials (those aged 18 to 33) experience the most stress overall.

What can you do to ease your mind and body? Deep breathing, meditation, and exercise are always helpful, but sometimes you just don't have the time or energy. That's why we've found these fun tricks, all backed by the latest research, to get you feeling calm and centered and stress-free.

1. Laugh

A big belly laugh can have all kinds of positive effects on your body. According to the Mayo Clinic, “A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure." In other words, it releases tension and ups blood flow to the heart and other vital organs. What else can it do? Lower blood pressure, and may even positively influence blood sugar levels. Need a place to get started?

2. Eat an Orange

Common wisdom has always said that vitamin C boosts the immune system and wards off cold viruses, but it turns out Vitamin C can reduce stress, too. Researchers have found that a boost of vitamin C taken when you're feeling stressed can lower blood pressure and calm the body. So the next time you feel anxiety come on, reach for that orange, or grab some C-rich blueberries or strawberries.

3. Go Outside

Turns out what you choose to surround yourself with makes a huge difference in your stress level. A recent study from the University of Edinburgh found that people who surround themselves with more green space—tree-lined streets, a walk in the park—are significantly less stressed than their urban counterparts. And it doesn’t mean you have to spend hours outdoors. A 2010 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that just five minutes outside in the fresh air doing a mild activity like walking can boost your mood. 

 

Need more reasons to get outside? Researchers at the University of Michigan found that your memory and attention span can improve by 20 percent after an hour in nature. So take a walk outside, sit in the park, and enjoy.

4. Rub On Rose Oil

A recent study from Srinakharinwirot University in Thailand found that people who absorbed rose oil through their skin (as an experiment control, they wore masks so they couldn't smell the scent), had lower breathing rates and blood pressure, and they felt more relaxed than those in a control group. Click here to learn how to make your own rose oil.

Rose oil not your favorite scent? Try another natural de-stressor, ylang-ylang oil.

5. Walk Into Another Room

It might sound a little nutty, but according to a study at the University of Notre Dame, just shifting your environment a little can change what you’re thinking about and help you forget stress. According to the study, when you walk into a new room, your brain views it as a new event, and essentially resets itself, forgetting what was happening before. This works great for getting rid of those tension-filled thoughts. It also explains why you can never remember where you left your keys!! 

How to Make Your Plants Stay Green?

Do you have a green thumb?  You can still grow some beautiful indoor plants without that special green finger!  Here are some great tips on how to grow beautiful indoor plants in your apartment.  You can learn more great plant tips at apartment therapy.


Most people think that having a green thumb is just something you're born with. Little do they know all it takes to keep your household foliage alive is a little 411. Are you chronically killing your leafy friends? Here are a few reasons why another one might be biting the dust. 

1. Watering: Most folks tend to water their plants when they remember. The watering schedule you should stick to depends on your lighting and your humidity level. Just watering once a week and crossing your fingers just won't cut it. So what do you do? Google. Just make sure that when you do, you include your location and look at actual greenhouse or growers' websites. A general rule of thumb is that many plants like to go slightly dry to the touch before being watered again.
2. Humidity: For the most part, the water that is applied to the surface of your soil is only helping strengthen the roots and stems. The leaves, however, could really use a spritz or two of water every day or two. 
3. Drainage, Drainage Drainage: "But my pot has holes in the bottom! Isn't that good enough?" Not even a little bit! In addition to your container having holes, you need actual rocks or drainage material at the bottom. It gives water a place to go so it doesn't rot your roots. Remember, most plants prefer wet feet and dry ankles!
4. Know Your Windows: When you walk into a plant store, the little tags will usually tell you full sun, partial sun or shade. Full sun is only considered to be unblocked or unfiltered southern light, with western sunlight as a runner-up. If you have northern or eastern light, stick with things that like shade or partial sun. Remember, the light needs to be bright enough to read a book by with the lights off for a plant to survive. 
5. Shock: Although it's easy to rearrange your furniture on a whim, plants, for the most part would like a permanent home. You obviously have to move them when you switch living quarters, but to keep them happy, let them love the light they're in and stay put.

Apartment Move Out Ready Tips

The semester is coming to a close.  Are you moving out of your apartment until next year?  Check out these ten tips on how to get your apartment move out ready!  You can learn about other great apartment tips at her campus.


1. Start in your room and move out from there leaving the kitchen for last. In your room and living room, make sure to dust the fan blades, air vents and blinds. These areas are huge dust magnets.

2. Make sure to run your duster through the corners of the room to catch any spider webs that may have formed. I like to use Swiffer 360 dusters because they reach far and lock in the mess.

3. Once you’ve finished the tops of the blades, move onto the walls. Yes, you need to clean your walls. Take some Clorox disinfectant wipes or a bowl of warm, soapy water and a rag. Just give the walls a once over paying special attention to the black smudges.



4. Once you’ve cleaned the walls, take a broom and sweep out the corners of your rooms. Even if your room has carpet, dust and grime can collect where the wall meets the floor. Sweeping this out manually will ensure that you get as much out as possible. If you are using a vacuum, make sure to empty out the cylinder before and that the filter is clean. Having a dirty vacuum can really compromise the cleaning power of your machine.

5. If you have laminate floors, sweeping is effective and quick. Now, I don’t want to say that you don’t know how to mop, but let’s give a recap: To mop properly, you’re going to need two buckets: one for clean water and one for dirty water. The water should be hot and your mop should be dry to begin with. One bucket will start off full of hot, soapy water and the other will be empty. While mopping, ring out your mop into the empty bucket. This keeps your soapy water clean and prevents you from “cleaning” with dirty water -- a quick fix that I promise will make all the difference.



6. The most difficult part about moving out is cleaning your kitchen. Start with the top of the cabinets and the fridge. When you cook, the grease particles in the air rest on any surface available and trap dust. Be warned, this creates a sticky, nasty mess.

7. Once you’ve tackled that mammoth job, remembering to pay attention to your over-the-stove ventilation unit, move on to the cabinets. Wipe them down on the outside and dust them on the inside. This is a quick job, but something most overlook.

8. Finally, clean out your appliances. Take out the shelves in your fridge and wipe them down. Wipe out the inside of your fridge with soapy water or Clorox wipes as well. To clean the microwave, heat up a cup of white vinegar. This will get most of the gunk off the vents, walls and top of the microwave. Remember to take out and wipe the microwave plate and rotating belt.

9. Most ovens have a self-clean function; so don’t worry about it too much. If yours doesn’t, take out the grates and clean them by hand. Wipe down the walls and the bottom of the oven, it’s okay to sweep it onto the floor, you haven’t cleaned that part yet.

De-Stress While Studying or Working

Working and studying can stress anyone out.  These are four great items to help you de-stress while you are working on that last term paper or project at work.  You can learn more great health tips on apartment therapy. 

Everyone has to deal with stress at one time or another, so having a few tools inside the desk to pull out for a stress-break can be helpful (as well as giving your eyes a break from the computer screen). These are quick, easy, and not to mention fun ways to relax yourself throughout the day.




Knock Out Desktop Punching Bag
$29.99
We're not going to judge if you're imagining a horrible boss as you punch away. It's amazing how getting a little adrenaline going and hitting something (versus someone) can feel so liberating and help reduce your stress levels. Just be careful not to get too into it and start cursing out loud for all your coworkers to hear.




 

Resistance Bands
$15.79
These little resistance bands are so small you can keep them in your pocket and carry them throughout the work day. We would recommend taking your hands out of your pockets while you're working out your hands, fingers, and forearms. Comes in packs of 5 color coded resistance levels.




 

Thera-Flex Therapy Putty
$6.46
Squeeze away your stress, no matter the shape and pattern. Or make a putty figurine of your boss to squish at your command. Odorless and non-sticky, make sure to keep it fresh and clean by storing it in its air tight container. Comes in multiple sizes.







 

Chinese Medicine Balls
$13.68
Harness the power of the far east with a traditional Chinese stress reliever, hand exerciser, and agility builder. Fit the two balls in your hand and rotate them around in circles. The trick is to do so without the balls ever coming into contact with each other. Practice and work your way up in ball size and rotation speed until you're the (zen) master of your workspace.