If you’re anywhere near me, you haven’t quite finished digging out and are expecting another few feet of snow. So, what better way to prepare than with a round up of great hot chocolate recipes to warm up the family when everyone finally gets tired of building huge snow forts or a whole city’s worth of snow people? Some people just like to get a packet of Swiss Miss, open it and stir away. My mom is a big fan of the variety with marshmallows included. I personally am a big fan of Nutella’s recipe for hot chocolate, which gives …read more

Moderation is still key, but it seems that beer may have an ingredient that could be good for your bones, possibly helping to protect against osteoporosis.
Dietary silicon is an important ingredient for increasing bone mineral density, and researchers from the University of California, Davis recently studied the silicon content in 100 commercial beers, categorizing the silicon content by beer style and source.

The average silicon content of the beers was 6.4 to 56.5 mg/L. That’s a pretty big range, and some of the additional findings below will help explain the differences.
The average silicon in parts per million (ppm) for ales was …read more

I don’t care if it is a 50 year old man or a two year old girl, when someone gets a stomach virus, they just feel icky. When the weather is bad, or they start to feel sick at night, there’s nothing worse than finding out that you are out of everything that can make your two year old (or spouse that is now acting like a two year old!) feel better. After about the tenth time I went for a bottle of ginger ale, only to find the cupboard was bare, I instituted a sick day kit, which is …read more

Do you consider how many serving sizes you’re consuming when you reach for foods like chips, cookies or cereal?
Too often, a manufacturer’s idea of a serving size varies way too much when compared with what a consumer actually eats.
If you think a serving of ice cream means you get to fill up your bowl, you’re probably scoops away from the truth. You should multiply that seemingly innocent fat and calorie count on the nutrition label.
In an effort to help curb obesity, the FDA wants nutrition labels on the fronts of packages (graphic designers everywhere are making faces), and they possibly …read more

Twenty four inches of snow on the ground, 24 inches of snow. The sun came out and they started to melt. Twenty three inches of snow… Umm, hi. I didn’t see you there. I wasn’t expecting company what with all this white stuff. Well, since you’re here, maybe you’ll be able to use my list of things to do when you are snowed in:

Scrapbook last year’s snow photos (or any photos with a common theme) online with one of the many photo book  offers the different photo sites are advertising. A few weeks ago, I scrapbooked the 16 inches …read more

Today we’re going to make a decoupage bath set. A jar to hold your favorite bath salts and a shaker box to hold some talcum powder for you to use after your bath. If you don’t use after bath powder, then use the shaker box for small trinket like earrings or hair pins. These are simple to make and look so pretty on your bathroom vanity.

Here is what you will need to get started:

A small glass jar with a cork lid
A small shaker box
Rubbing alcohol
Cream colored acrylic paint or glass paints
A paint brush or foam brush
Paper napkins with a suitable …read more

As we continue to spend our weekend in the northeast part of the US staring out the window at the falling snow, newscasters are growing tired enough of standing in the snow and talking about how bad the storm is to move on to useful news. I was especially excited to have them start talking about yard maintenance. There are a lot of commonsense tips we should know, but might forget about as we try to dig out. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind:

Make sure any vents are completely clear. Furnace vents, dryer …read more

Have you ever been absolutely sure that you know what size the piece of furniture you need should be? Maybe you even measured your space once, but forgot to write it down. You were sure you remembered the right measurements, though, so you whipped out your cash, bought it and headed home. That’s when your problem started.

In my case, I was sure I was replacing some 29 inch stools. I got two very nice stools from Target for a total of $29, brought the box home, opened it…Wow. I wasn’t thinking they’d be quite so tall. Took them …read more

As you sit inside, trying to stay warm in your oddly cold house by drinking a cup of cocoa, you start to feel a little drowsy. In fact, you’re not sure you can stay…In the nick of time, you stagger to the door and get a deep breath of fresh air. Looks like you have a carbon monoxide problem. And, since you’re cold, too, the furnace might be the culprit. As you return home the next day to pay the repair man for his services, you take a moment to be thankful that you realized the problem in time. Then …read more

Biddees.com, a new website offering a fun way to save on new prepaid gift cards, is giving one lucky Blisstree winner a free $50 Target gift card.
Biddees offers gift cards from top retailers, and the fun part is that the price of a card declines each time it’s viewed!

Right now, when you register for free at Biddees, you’ll receive three LBTs (Little Biddee Things™) at no charge. Use an LBT to view the current price of a card. Each time the card price is viewed by someone, it decreases by .50 cents. Once you see the price of the card, …read more