In the case of shampoos, if you color your hair, you should spend the extra money on shampoos that protect your color. Unfortunately I have found most inexpensive shampoos and conditioners contain alcohol, and even some of the more pricey (like Pantene)have alcohol. Look at the ingredients. If it has alcohol, it will strip your color and ultimately dry out your hair. Many inexpensive conditioners make your hair feel conditioned because they contain wax which does nothing but coat the hair. The combination of wax and alcohol will ultimately require you to use more product and wonder why your hair is so dry without it. There was a special on one of the news shows (I think 60 minutes) that exposed the fact that many of the products we buy today like conditioner and lotion actually contain ingredients, like alcohol, that do the opposite of what you think they should. What good is a moisturizer or conditioner that drys you out?

Re: cornmeal and ants. Have been having a problem with ants on my sunporch. They seem to be living underneath and coming up through cracks in the tile floor. There's no way for me to get to where they live to spray (and I don't like sprays anyway). So I mixed up some cornmeal and borax in a little deli container lid and left it near where they've been arriving. It's been about a week, and the problem has considerably slowed. BUT they seem to be 'burying their dead' in the cornmeal mixture. I've actually seen a live ant dragging and leaving a dead one there! and there were several little carcasses last I looked. But hey--if it works, without dangerous chemicals, or smells that will give me respiratory problems, I'm thrilled.

I like coconut oil to moisturize lips, skin, hair, stir fry veggies, make curries, and husband uses it to pop popcorn. From what I've read, the problematic fats are the ones which are partially hydrogenated (trans fats) and, according to medical research, cause all kinds of health issues. They were widely used in prepared foods, but the FDA banned them a few years ago and many companies have replaced them with other oils.

"Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works." I have several Pampered Chef pizza stones (well, they call them "baking stones"). Put the leftover pizza on one of the stones and put it in the oven. Heats it thoroughly (better than in a frying pan/skillet), and the stone keeps the crust from getting soggy. "INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS [snip] ...dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... [snip] well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!" We don't use dryer sheets. We use liquid fabric softener that goes into the rinse water in the washing machine. Keeping your electric bill lower would be an issue with an electric dryer, but ours runs on natural gas. What are "leftover Snickers bars"? ;-)