What is Your Duct Tape Creation Idea?

Last year, my driver side mirror got break off by someone (probably some neighborhood kids) when I was parking on the street. As I was planning to change my car, so I did not want to put in more money to fix it. Instead, I taped it with duct tape. It actually held up quite well for months, until summer came. The heat of the sun broke the surface of the tape down, and torn it apart slowly, I just re-tape it once every few months, until I sold the car a year or more later.

Today, I saw colorful duct tapes were promoted at Lowes. It reminded me the versatility of the duct tape, and the colors certainly support more creative possibilities. 

Speaking of creativity and versatility, if you do a Google search on "duct tape"; there are tutorials about how to make duct tape wallets on instructables.com, duct tape dress competition, duct tape rose ring for sale... and much more. A cook book about Greek yogurt even use " Culinary Duct Tape" to refer the versatility of the food and to draw attentions. 

I watched this MythBusters- Duct Tape Islandepisode on Discovery Channel. The hosts used Duct Tapes to create things they need to try to survive (and escape) on the island. They made sandals, hat, bowls, SOS sign, water bottle, mats, surfboard, table, chair, chess, trap… and even a canoe, all out of duct tapes. It is very interesting, for those who do not know what is duct tape, or those who love duct tape, you should watch this episode. It is fun!

  

Benefits of Coconut Oil

Dr. Bruce Eife has many books about the benefits and researches of coconut oil. 

 These are some of the benefits of coconut oil listed in his book :

 Coconut Oil Miracle /By Bruce Fife, N.D

·   Supports immune system function

·   Helps prevent osteoporosis

·   Helps control diabetes

·   Promotes weight loss

·   Supports healthy metabolic function

·   Provides an immediate source of energy

·   Supplies fewer calories than other fats

·   Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health

·   Improves digestion and nutrient absorption

·   Is highly resistant to spoilage (long shelf life)

·   Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking)

·   Helps keep skin soft and smooth

·   Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin

·   Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes

·   Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and related illnesses

·   Reduces risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions

·   Helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal (including yeast) infections

Oil Pulling Using Organic Virgin Coconut Oil-- Detox, Get Slimmer & Healthier

I remember when I was a teenager, once my dad brought home a bottle of coconut oil; for its benefits in skincare, hair care and even for cooking; from a trip to Thailand. I opened the bottle and saw the yellowish solid form of this fatty coconut oil. I tried it on my skin, and felt quite uncomfortable due to the greasy oil blocked my pore, and I could not understand how anyone could possibly kept this oil on their skin? Plus this solid form of oil reminded me of the lard, which connected to thicken our blood, clot the vines and cause cholesterol and heart disease. 

But I always love the flavor and taste of coconuts- coconut candy, coconut tart, coconut ice cream....., even the rich coconut flavored Thai curry was one of my favorite. Well, I did not eat them too often though, because of the negative impression about the coconut oil.

Recently when I was watching a Chinese TV show, a 70 year old doctor (who was also a cancer survivor) recommended coconut oil as the best cooking oil on the show, which surprised me. The show host also responded right away saying: Thai cooking uses coconut oil, no wonder most of the Thai people are slim! This impressed me. 

After some search online, I found some amazing information about the benefit of coconut oil. So I decided to give it a try. 

Victoria's Secret’s Supermodel 

Miranda Kerr says 

she has been taking coconut oil 

since she was 14 

and can't live without it. 

One of the interesting information is about "Oil Pulling" which you swish (not gargling) coconut oil in your mouth thoroughly  (by pushing/ pulling and drawing it between your teeth) for 20 minutes and then spit it out and rinse your mouth with water. Do not swallow the oil, because it is loaded with bacteria, toxins and mucous from your mouth/nose. This is done two to three times a day before meals. And it is said to kill bacteria, detox and clear your mouth, nose, and even lungs. Many people reported their teeth became brighter, and gums got healthier, allergy was controlled, headache was gone......... just unbelievable. 

The misconceptions about coconut oil was mostly due to its high levels of saturated fat, but the saturated fat in coconut oil is largely made up of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) which transformed into energy very quickly so it will not become your body fat, neither would it heighten your cholesterol. And the stableness of saturate fat also benefits as antioxidant in your body.

Coconut oil is used as nature antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiviral, because of the high percentage content of lauric acid, which will be converted into antiviral and antibacterial properties upon absorbent. 

Trader Joe's Organic 

Virgin Coconut Oil

is a good deal-

16 oz. for $5.99

As our body needs good fat to generate hormones, it is recommended to intake 2-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day. Each 15g/tablespoon of coconut oil contains around 135 calorie, so don't drink up the whole bottle all at once even there are over 100 benefits of using coconut oil. 

The bad rap of coconut oil was also from the refined or hydrogenated coconut oil. Trans fats in hydrogenated oils increase the possibility of heart disease and other health problems. So make sure you get the snow-white type of cold pressed organic virgin (or extra virgin) coconut oil; not the yellowish cheap type. 

Oil Pulling for a Brighter Smile and Better Health/ by Bruce Fife.

Benefit of coconut oil.

100 種使用有機初榨椰子油的好處及方法

16 year old builds tiny home to guarantee mortgage-free future

People here are so handy! 
Many of us who grew up from out of USA do not even know how to use a drill .....
I would be so proud of myself if I build a house myself. 


I like small houses, it is cozy and environmentally friendly. 
When I had a small space, I did not buy a lot of stuff, and I was fine. I could find most of my stuff easily. 
Since I started to have much bigger space, I started to buy a lot of stuff (not worried about no space to put them), but I ended up collected a lot of unnecessary stuff. I sometimes could not even find the stuff I need since there are too many places to look for. Sigh~~

I hope the small house movement will be more popular and become a trend. 

Tip for home - secret you dont know about foil/plastic wrap box.

Are you very detail oriented type of person who always read instructions? 

Even you are, I bet you don't know about this tip for preventing foil/plastic wrap from rolling out of the box when pulling the wrap out. 

The secret to fix this problem is super easily---just look at the ends of the box, it says "  Press here to lock end" . You will see a tab on each end. Once you press the tabs into the box, they will lock the roll in place, and no more frustrating about this. 

(Photo courtesy of http://www.chicaandjo.com) 

If there is no tab on the box of your foil/plastic wrap, you can just create them using the tip of a knife, but don't cut the hole too big, otherwise the role might be stuck by the tabs and hard to roll to dispense the wrap (you can still trim the tabs if that happens).

You should use extra caution to avoid yourself being cut by the knife or the wrap cutter on the box.

Be aware though, if you need to take the whole roll out of the box after you had locked the roll in place with the tabs, you will need to carefully stick your finger inside the box to undo one of the lock first; or you might tear the whole box apart. 

For how to cut the warp nicely with the attached cutter on box, that is another story.  

I have collected many useful tips on my Pinterest --DIY Solution. Come check them out and share your experiences with me. 

My Pinterest Collections.    
http://pinterest.com/alsonweb/diy-solutions/

Organic Remedy---DIY Weed Killer from Cooking Ingredients

 Looking for some child friendly, pet friendly and environment friendly weed killer? Here are some effective weed killers you can DIY using everyday cooking ingredients and things you have right in your kitchen.

Warning: These methods are none-selective plant killers, so be careful not to apply them on the plants you want to keep.

Vinegar - works very well on a hot day, just spray the pure white vinegar on the leaves of the plant generously, and pour some into the soil/root area, the plant will die in a few days. You can cut off some top growth first to reduce the leaves that needed to be sprayed.

Photo courtesy of http://northernshade.ca & trudi_d @ gardenweb.com

Hot boiling water - cutting off the top growth of the plant to about 6 inches above the ground, then slowly pour boiling hot water onto the crown of  the plant from close to the ground level and away from myself to avoid splash. Works well on weeds that growing in cracks of driveway. Most weeds will die in the matter of couple hours to couple days. Repeat 2-3 times if a stubborn weed grows back, it should get smaller and weaker each time, it will die eventually. Put the boiling hot water to good use after you blanch vegetables, boil pasta or potato. Grab some recycled newspaper to use as a barrier for sitting the hot pot on or protect yourself from splashing hot water. 

Please take extra caution not to burn yourself or others when performing this method.

Seaweed & Billionaire

I ran into some interesting YouTube clips about seaweed this weekend. 

One is worth a warm sunny day trip, to check out the “Shell Beach” in Sonoma Coast State Park in California, for some scenic hiking, seaweed harvest (free- if you harvest less than 10 lbs/person/day); as well as its geological  values --- world-famous perfect exposures and incredible variety of rocks and structures.

Another is a movie “The Billionaire” ( Wai Roon Pan Lan). It is based on a real story about a young Thai business owner--Aitthipat Kulapongvanich (AKA Tob or Top, same age with Mark Zuckerberg) of the bestselling packaged seaweed snack sold in 7-elevens in Thailand (and other 20+ countries).

Among the many facts that promoted the success of Tob, I personally think the attributes of Tob and the relationship/partnership between Tob and his uncle are the most touching and inspiring ones. Tob had great entrepreneurial instinct. Most of us don’t dare to dive right in and risk big for our dreams or any opportunity, but Tob did! Not only once, but persistently! He did not drench himself in grief of lost, he moved forward and jumped into a new venture right after one failed. When Tob was too eager for quick success, expansion and profits, his uncle reminded him to slow down. But whatever decision Tob made, his uncle supported him. When Tob was anxious and realized (after many failures) he often did not think things thoroughly, his uncle encouraged him : “ you would not made it this far, if you did”.

 

At age 16, Tob gained 400,000 Baht (Thai currency) monthly from playing online games.

At age 17, Tob started his chestnuts business.

At age 19, Tob’s ‘Tao Kae Noi’ seaweed was sold in 3,000 branches at 7-Eleven in Thailand.

What are you doing at his age? “Youth” is certainly an important fact that contributes Tob’s failures as well as his success.

P.S. "Tao Kae" in Thai mean "Entrepreneur", Tao Kae Noi means Junior Boss/ young boss

The Billionaire (official International Trailer)

The Billionaire (Taokaenoi) Movie on Youtube

How to Harvest Wild Grown Edible Sea Vegetables

Shell Beach, California - A Showplace of Franciscan Rocks/By Andrew 

Hiking Shell Beach,Sonoma County

SHELL BEACH: A CLOSE LOOK AT A SUBDUCTIONZONE /by Terry Wright, PhD.

 

Incredible Multifunctional Furniture design!

I always like multifunctional furniture. Not just for a small space, but really for best utilize of any space. 

In my old bedroom in Taiwan, I changed the design, 20 years ago, and replaced all of the regular furniture (except a large closet) with a whole wall of system furniture which including a couple of cabinet doors that can be converted into tables, a coat hanging section, a Murphy bed and adjustable shelves. I also had electric outlets installed to the table level as well as lower level of the cabinet.

Even though it was not as fancy as the ones we see on these pictures and video clips, but it was still very cool when I could put away the bed and the tables within minutes. 

(Picture below: a table

turned into a fitness equipment)

The idea of having a convertible/multifunctional room actually gave me extra comfort and sense of security- knowing/feeling I was better prepared for situations/occasions.

I think multifunctional furniture should be made more available and affordable to the public. It should be used in most guess room, home office, children's playroom, family room, family daycare home.....etc. As more people are exposed and experienced with this idea, they will also better able to accept and support the small house movement. 

You must check out the following YouTube clips to see these super cool multifunctional furniture. 

Resource Furniture's Incredible Space Savers

  Space saving furniture thattransforms 1 room into 2 or 3