Unravelings

Caring for your Dremel

Get the Most out of your Dremel - More DIY How To Projects

What to take to bed

This was sent to me by a friend. It seems like a good idea.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar rapist won't stick around... After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or avert a crime.

Money and time

Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life and...the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use.

---Samuel Johnson

The Savvy Seller has my things I learned the hard way up!

Marlene at The Savvy Seller posted my tips about things I learned the hard way as well as a link to the podcast I did on Wednesday. Find all the good stuff here.

Productivity 501 features my post

One of my favorite blogs, Productivity 501, has featured one of my posts in their "Make Yourself Smarter" post. Here's what I had to say:

I make sure I read every day, and not just blogs, but books, magazines, newsletters and newspapers. I also have the TV on in the background while I work and “watch” TIVOed shows from Discovery, TLC, History Channel, and the like.

I always like to find something that makes me say “I didn’t know that.” There is so much to learn in this world and so little time that I really make a concerted effort to keep learning and growing every day. If you don’t learn something new every day, no matter what it is, you’ll stagnate.

And a comment from the moderator:

Personally, I find it very difficult to watch something while doing something else, but Charlene makes a good point about how much information is available if we just take the time to consume it. I have started trying to move most of my reading offline. While I still take time to read blogs and some items on the web, I found that it was crowding out time that I would normally spend reading books.

My Deco Style Finder Quiz

Want to take a fun quiz (based on pictures) to find out your decorating style? Take the My Deco Style Finder quiz. It only takes a few minutes.

I'm Laid Back Luxury; what style are you?

Names and branding your business

This is from the great web site Life Clever.

Portfolio 101: Just Use Your Own Name, Dammit

I’m seeing a lot of design portfolios with titles like “Beyond Imagination” or “Passions” or “Reflections” or “Curiosity.” With all these vaguely conceptual names, it’s like taking a nauseating stroll through the Macy’s perfume department.

Instead of titling your portfolio like the latest celebrity scent, why not just use your own name? Here’s my rationale: When applying for a job, you want your potential boss to remember one thing—your name. They are hiring you, not “Beyond Imagination” or “Passions” or “Reflections” or “Curiosity.” In short, your name is your brand. Presenting any brand other than your own creates confusion and dilutes your name. So don’t be tempted to overbrand everything.

Keep your portfolio simple, and don’t bury your own beautiful name. Love it. Own it. Flaunt it.

How to say no

Stressed? Too busy? Taken on too many commitments? Here's how to say no, gracefully, so you can lighten your schedule and have more time for you.

• Could you please take me off your list?
• I appreciate your confidence in me but I just can't take on another project.
• I can't right now.
• You caught me at a bad time.
• I can't this year.
• I'd love to, but I don't have the time.
• I don't want to say yes and then let you down.
• I don't feel comfortable saying yes.
• I have other commitments but thanks for asking.

The Savvy Seller - Online Auction Education: Stress Relief

This is from The Savvy Seller, a blog for eBay sellers:

Stress Relief

For more immediate relief of stress or anxiety, you can try a number of Relaxation Techniques that are proven to reduce stress. Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation exercises, guided imagery and self-massage techniques will be explained here.

Deep Breathing

Stress can cause your breathing to become shallow. Shallow breathing causes less oxygen to get into your bloodstream which makes you feel tense, short of breath and anxious. Most people take shallow breaths from their upper chests but deep breathing involves the lungs, the abdomen and the diaphragm. Deep breathing encourages oxygen intake and helps you relax. Chest breathing makes your brain create shorter, restless brain waves while abdominal breathing makes your brain create longer, slower brain waves. Longer & slower brain waves are what your brain makes when you are calm and relaxed and that’s why abdominal breathing helps you relax.

Deep breathing techniques can be done almost anywhere – all you need is a few minutes and a quiet place. Sit comfortably with your back straight and place one hand on your lower stomach and the other on your stomach. Inhale deeply through your nose letting your abdomen expand. When you inhale, the hand on your stomach should rise and the hand on your chest should hardly move at all. Hold your breath for a few seconds then exhale slowly through your mouth. As you exhale, feel your abdomen flattening. Continue taking deep breaths and relax your body further with each breath.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing your muscles for a few seconds and then relaxing them. By tensing your muscles first, they will relax more than if you just relaxed them without the tension.

To start PMR, you begin with your feet and work your way up to your face. Start by getting comfortable and taking several deep breaths. Begin by tensing the muscles in your right foot, squeezing as tightly as possible and hold for a count of 10. Now, relax your right foot. Feel the tension leave as your foot becomes limp. Stay with this feeling while breathing deep & slowly. Next, focus on your left foot, following the same sequence of muscle tension and release. Do this progressively through your body focusing on one muscle group at a time.

The ‘standard’ PMR tense/relaxation sequence is: right foot, left foot, right calf, left calf, right thigh, left thigh, hips & buttocks, stomach, chest, back, right arm & hand, left arm & hand, neck & shoulders, face.

Guided Imagery

The concept of guided imagery uses your imagination to bring you to a time and place where you were once very relaxed. The more vividly you can recreate that situation in your mind, the more relaxing the experience will be. Since imagery is how the mind communicates with the body, research has shown that stimulating the brain using imagery positively affects the endocrine and nervous systems which lead to changes in immune system functions. There is a mind-body connection. You can easily see how this works if you think of how certain smells bring you back to a place from your childhood.

How to use guided imagery:

Get into a comfortable position and take several deep breaths. Focus on breathing in calm and breathing out stress. Imagine a place or event that you remember as safe, peaceful and calming. Bring all your senses into play as you recreate that time & place in your mind. Smell the burning leaves, feel the warmth, hear the sounds of water, taste the sweetness of the food. Enjoy the surroundings and stay as long as you like. When you’re ready to come back to your real life, slowly count back from 20 to 1, telling yourself that when you get to 1 you’ll feel peaceful and calm yet alert.

The Relaxation Response

The Relaxation Response was developed by Dr. Herbert Benson at Harvard Medical School. It’s a physical state of deep rest that produces changes in the physical and emotional responses to stress such as a decrease in heart rate, blood pressure, rate of breathing and muscle tension.

Here are the steps (taken from Dr. Benson’s book):

Sit quietly in a comfortable position.

Close your eyes.

Deeply relax all your muscles beginning at your feel and progressing up to your face. Keep them relaxed.

Breathe through your nose.

Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word ‘One’ silently to yourself. For example, breathe IN… Out, ‘One’, IN…Out, ‘One’ etc. Breathe easily and naturally.

Continue for 10-20 minutes. You may open your eyes to check the time but don’t use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed & later with your eyes open. Do not stand up for a few minutes.

Don’t worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude & permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling on them & return to repeating ‘One’. With practice the response should come with little effort. Practice once or twice daily but not within 2 hours after a meal since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the Relaxation Response.

Self-Massage Techniques

For shoulder tension: reach one arm across the front of your body to your opposite shoulder. Using a circular motion, press firmly on the muscle above your shoulder blade. Repeat on the other side.

For eye stress: close your eyes and place your index fingers directly under your eyebrows near the bridge of your nose. Press in gently and then with increasing pressure for 5 seconds, then release. Repeat.

Since this is the holiday season, consider purchasing a gift that will help you or the special someone in your life de-stress. Some possibilities include scented lotions, aromatherapy oils or candles, stress relieving music CD’s, spa products for your bath and soft & smooth , high thread count, quality sheets for a great night’s sleep!

Simple Reuse for CD Spindle

This is from one of my favorite blogs, Junk Creation.

Simple Reuse for CD Spindle: Flickr user pwka had a good idea for reusing a CD spindle. Isn’t it cute? A bagel sandwich was the first thing I ever ‘cooked’ for husband Michael when we were dating. I’m more of a ciabatta chaser now though. I can’t remember the last bagel sandwich I made.

When I saw this bagel holder, the first thing that popped into my paranoid head was, ‘Is that a food-safe plastic?’

I looked on the bottom of my very own CD spindle (as should you), and it has the recycle number 6 (polystyrene) on it. That’s the same number that’s used in disposable plates, meat trays and aspirin bottles, to name a few. It sounds like it’s not poison, but I’d still hand wash this baby and not stick it in the nuker.

Polystyrene isn’t widely accepted at recycling centers, so reuse can be a good choice for your CD spindle. But remember, don’t heat your bagel holder as it may leach. Eek. Leaching is all the talk in the anti-plastics world lately. I find it difficult to keep up with exactly what leaches these days, don’t you?