My husband made this cute little No Soliciting sign that targets everyone knocking on my door who shouldn’t be.  Someone actually stole it off of my front door so today I was printing another one and thought I’d share it with all of you.  Simply print it out, laminate with Avery self-adhesive laminating sheets and pin to your front door.

Right Click Here and Choose “Save As” to Download

Popularity: 2% [?]

Although I don’t know anything about football except that a yellow flag means a penalty and a touchdown means points we are having a Super Bowl party made up of carnivores and vegans alike so my Super Bowl menu has to be pretty versatile.  Here’s what I’m serving up.

For the meat eaters in the bunch:

Seasoned Hamburgers

Smoked Crab Legs

Hot Wings (of course)

Hot Links (there’s no recipe for these)

Twice Baked Potatoes

Pasta Salad

Frito Lay Like Bean Dip

Apple Dip and Sliced Green Apples

Spicy Baked Apple Crumb

For the Vegans and Vegetarians:

Vegan Tofu Mushroom Burgers

Vegan Twice Baked Potatoes

Brown Rice Pasta Salad

Vegan Bean Dip

Vegan Apple Dip

Spicy Baked Apples

Click on the title of the dish for the recipe.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 62% [?]

How to get rid of cat dander is an age old mystery.  The short answer is there is no way to get rid of cat dander; but you can control it. Cat dander allergies are not the result of  cat hair or by dead skin flakes, not entirely at least.  Cat dander is what happens when the cat grooms itself and its saliva soaks the dead skin cells leaving a sticky residue on the hair.  Dander is so potent it can pollute everything within 50 miles of open space.  Use the following methods to help control cat dander in your house thus alleviating cat dander allergies.

Oatmeal baths. Since dead skin cells one part of the equation, it is best to treat this condition first. Give the cat an Oatmeal bath once a week to exfoliate dead skin and keep the coat’s natural oils from trapping dead skin. Oatmeal also soothes itchiness and burning, so your cat won’t lick and scratch as often which is an important factor in controlling dander.

Dander Wipes. Use dander wipes every day to control the cat dander.  Allerpet – a popular brand – can be found in any pet store for as little as $5. Wipes remove dander from the cat’s fur. A cheaper alternative is to use a paper towel dampened with cat shampoo and water.  Rubber gloves and hand washing afterwards is recommended by dermatologists.

Feed Wet Food. Dry food provides no hydration. Cats that don’t get enough liquid develop skin problems. Water is an important ingredient in wet food and provides the proper moisture a cat’s skin needs. Be sure to provide plenty of water throughout the day, moreso during the spring and summer when heat encourages dander.

Shave the cat. A good old-fashioned grooming session — complete with shaving — isn’t such a bad idea.  It isn’t as shocking and cruel to shave a cat as it sounds.  Dermatologist’s say that it is in fact common, particularly with long-haired cats, for the sole purpose of preventing and controlling dander. However, it is not a good idea to attempt to shave a cat without a professional groomer because they can seriously injure you or you can injure them.  Shaving a cat does make its skin vulnerable to sunburn though and will need sunblock.

Launder the Bedding. It is not uncommon for pet owners to worry that their cat won’t recognize their own bedding if it gets washed.  Dermatologist disagree and highly recommend laundering a cat’s bedding in extremely hot soapy water every other day.

Steam cleaning. Furniture and carpet require the same hot, hot water and soap that a cat’s bedding does to remove floating cat dander. Vacuuming daily does help to remove some dander but it does not get rid of it completely.Steam cleaning is recommended every couple of months.

Visit the vet. The comes a time when cat dander is beyond a pet owner’s abilities.  When the dander reaches a level where it can not be cleaned then it is time for a trip to the veterinarian to rule out any other illnesses that may be contributing to the dander.  Sometimes a vet will suggest medication.

Cat dander allergies does not have to be the end of cat ownership.  These simiple tips will have you loving a kitty cat in no time!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Welcome to yet another edition of the Suburban Wife Life blog carnival roundup. I so love these. They are loads of fun and a great way to find other bloggers. Check out these posts!

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Musical Accord (Spoof Contract) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Autumn Beck presents 3 ways to ward off cloth diaper frustration posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “Simplicity. Not only in regards to cloth diapers but in all of life. I limit out-of-the-house activities to a bare minimum.”

Steve Cowley presents Healthy Chocolate Turns My Son Into 10 Year Old Maths Genius! posted at Chocolate Kids, saying, “This posting explores the ability of healthy chocolate to help children with their school work.”

Autumn Beck presents Little Bear Bums Review and Giveaway! posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “Almost a month ago I received a very well dressed set of cloth diapers in the mail. What do I mean by well-dressed? The cloth diapers came wrapped in tissue paper and tied up with string and a nice note alongside. It means so much when a wahm goes the extra step.”

Autumn Beck presents Where Do You Buy Interlock and Knit Wool? posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “For most of you cold weather has arrived! I’m shocked at the number of Facebook status updates I see that exclaim “SNOW!”. How crazy is that when I’m enjoying the nice 80 degree weather??”

Matthew Paulson presents Consumer Confusion Spikes Over Gift Cards posted at American Consumer News.

Autumn Beck presents New to Cloth Diapers? Part 1 posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “I remember how overwhelming it was when I first began cloth diapering. There were so many choices (and SO many more now!) and I had no idea where to start.”

Kerry Fletcher presents How to Decorate Your Christmas Tree Like a Professional Designer posted at Interior Design Info.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Fraidy-Cat Republicans posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.

Autumn Beck presents New to Cloth Diapers Part 2 posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “In Part 1, I explained to you the different cloth diaper systems. In Part 2, I will show you the different cloth diaper covers available.

We’ve all heard of “plastic pants”. Plastic pants are made of”

Wren Caulfield presents The fence that makes good neighbors needs a gate to make good friends posted at True Adventures in Money Hacking.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
suburban wife life blog carnival roundup
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I haven’t abandoned this poor blog. I have many posts to make and I promise I will. Right now I’m working on one of my other websites and as soon as I’m done I’ll get my bootie over here and make those posts.

One of my first posts will be the latest edition of my Blog Carnival. So many of you have submitted posts and I really appreciate it.

If anyone has recipes they’d like to submit give me a shout and I’ll post them for you.

I’m also on the lookout for good quality links so if you have blog you think I might like let me know. If I like it alot I’ll put it in my blog roll.

That’s it for now. Look for new posts in a few days. If you haven’t already subscribed, hop to it so you’ll know when those posts come in.

Oh and yeah I will get that merry christmas header changed.

Popularity: 2% [?]

My daughter’s rave birthday party was a huge success thanks to several reliable and reasonably priced online merchants.  I found some of the cheapest places to buy my birthday party supplies that I just have to share.  Trust me if it flashed, blinked and was a glow in the dark product, chances are I  had it at this party.  Check out these merchants when you start buying your rave party supplies.

Glow Stick Man – The first place I started looking for rave stuff was on eBay and while I didn’t find as much as I thought I would I did discover the Glow Stick Man.  He has got to be one of the best sellers on eBay.  Not only are his prices good but his customer service is phenomenal!  He even threw in a little extra something when he didn’t have to.  I purchased 2 dozen koosh flashing rings from him and I ended up receiving 36 rings for $18.50.

Glow Sticks – In the past I’ve ordered my glow stucks from Glow Stick Kids because I order 1000 every summer for our annual family camping trip.  I decided to go with another seller for my daughter’s rave because Glow Stick Kids raised their prices.  This time around I purchased 700 glow sticks for $40.41 from Glow Stick USA.

*A note about Glow Stick USA – It was the free shipping that caught my eye.  I was a little leery of buying from this seller at first because the contact information on their website it somewhat inconsistent and there was no other option for shipping besides ground shipping.

I placed my order a bit later than I should have and wanted to pay extra for faster shipping but I was never able to reach anyone from Glow Stick USA through either of the contact numbers listed on their site.  To be honest it worried me especially when my order didn’t ship until 4 days after my payment processed and there was no tracking information.

To  give credit where credit is due, I did receive the 700 glow sticks – just 2 days after the party.  Bummer.  Had they been shipped the next day or had I been able to reach them by phone they would have been here on time.

Glow Source is another really good place to shop for rave birthday party supplies.  I purchased 50 glow cup collars, 100 shortie glow sticks and 3 packages of glow cutlery for $57.  It was a little steep but the glow cup collars are reusable and well worth the price.

S&S Worldwide – I was pretty surprised by the amount of glow stuff that S&S carries.  Their prices aren’t half bad and they offer free shipping.  I ended up buying 36 glow in the dark mardi gras beads from them.

Wisbitcat – This is an ebay seller that has pretty good prices on flashing balloons.    This seller has them for $12.75 while Windy City sells the same item for $14.00.  Not including shipping.

Gloworks – This place is awesome.  They have incredible deals.  For $56 and some change I purchased 36 multicolored flashing mouth pieces (which sold for $4.99 a piece at the Spirit Store), 36 flashing sunglasses and 100 purple glow bracelets and 50 lanyards.  I could have easily bought more products at this site because the deals are that good.

Musician’s Friend – When it comes to a rave party you gotta have a light show or 5.  I purchased the Chauvet Double Derby from Musician’s Friend, with free shipping for $56.00.  They have since discontinued this item but you can still find it fairely cheap on ebay or at Cheap DJ Gear.

Spirit Store – for backlights and discount light shows this is the best place to get them, the day after Halloween that is.  Don’t even bother shopping there any other time because everything they sell can be found cheaper online.

Last but not least, Baskin and Robbins.  They have really cool icing that glows under a blacklight.  If you don’t have a blacklight they have some neat neon icing that comes pretty close to glowing.  The cake maker did a free hand design for my daughter’s cake and it didn’t cost me anything extra.

Popularity: 18% [?]

My husband gets those stupid chainletters that float around the internet.  I try to avoid them but he has insisted on sending them to me and me reading them.  Most of the time I delete them but this one caught my eye so I thought I’d share.

Here’s the email:

An Obituary printed in the London Times – not a joke and

makes you think!!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common

Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for

sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago

lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as

having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to

come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life

isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies

(don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable

strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when

well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in

place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment

for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using

mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for

doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in

disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get

parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a

student; but could not inform parents when a student became

pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became

businesses; and criminals received better treatment than

their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend

yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar

could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a

woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was

hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth

and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter,

Responsibility, and by his son, Reason…

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights

I Want It Now

Someone Else Is To Blame

I’m A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the

majority and do nothing..

Popularity: 6% [?]

I may not be all that great at making my own videos but I do pretty good when it comes to carving my Halloween pumpkin. Learn how easy it is to use a stencil to carve your own jack-o-lantern.

object classid=”clsid:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95″ width=”400″ height=”300″ codebase=”http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/MediaPlayer/”>

Music courtesy of Andrew Ace at http://www.archive.org/details/AndrewAceHardTrance

Popularity: 4% [?]

I am throwing a rave!  Who knew?  The rave I’m throwing isn’t for adults, it’s for my teen daughter’s birthday party.  After spending alot of time searching the net for good birthday party invitations suitable for a rave I realized the only way to get really good ones was to design them myself.  I love them so much I’m offering them up for free.

The invitations are laid out so that 8 invites will print on one page.  They are designed in adobe photoshop so I have kept them as PSD files.  When you download the PSD files simply change the name layers to your own child’s name.  You can add your own layers and type in the date, time, place and RSVP # or use a black sharpie to write in the info.

These invitations were designed to be double sided which is why there are 2 seperate files to download.    If you only want one side then download the ticket front file.

After I printed the invites I laminated them with clear adhesive laminating sheets found at Staples, punched a hole in the top and tied ribbon through the hole so the kids can wear them around their neck.  The concept was for them to be “backstage passes.”

I hope you enjoy these.

Download Ticket Front

Download Ticket Back

This is what the invitations look like:

…..

Popularity: 11% [?]

They seem like small words, only 1 syllable each, but these 4 small innocuous words bring terror, panic, paranoia, dread and desperation in one fail swoop.  I heard these words this week.  My husband came home from work and explained to me that the company he worked for was closing the doors and he had only one more day of work left.

It wasn’t any kind of surprise.  We both knew it was only a matter of time.  We were riding the paycheck while it was there because it was too good of a paycheck to lose by going to work for another company that wouldn’t pay that much.  It sure did suck though.

We’ve been in this situation before.  9 years ago my husband was working for this company when they went bankrupt the first time.  You would think someone running the company would have their stuff together but the original owners didn’t and now apparently the new owner’s don’t either.

I have to say we aren’t wealthy by any means but for the last 7 ½ years we’ve been living pretty good.  During the first bankruptcy my husband took 2 other back breaking jobs and we struggled.  There was no satellite or cable television and we only had one cell phone.  McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. took a backseat to cheap hamburger helper and grilled cheese and dollar store tomato soup.

On some level I shouldn’t complain; it could be a whole heap worse.  On the bright side I’m going back to my poor roots so I’ll be on the lookout for thrifty finds that I’ll be sharing with you fine folks.

Popularity: 6% [?]