Handheld hair dryers were introduced for the domestic market in 1920, and since then countless hairdos have relied on that combination of heat and air to achieve their coiffed perfection.
But the humble blow dryer has plenty of other services to offer around the house -- here are a handful of them:

1. If you need to quickly set the icing on a cake, the air and heat of a hair dryer can quicken up the process.
2. If your cake won’t unstick from the cake pan, use your hair dryer on the bottom of the pan then invert it, it should drop right out.
3. Running an ice cream scoop under hot water helps, but you can also try using a hair dryer on the carton to soften ice cream for easy scooping.
4. Some people use pots of boiling water to quicken freezer defrosting, but a hot hair dryer works even more quickly. (Be careful of puddles of water and the dryer, though.)
5. Automatic ice-makers can get jammed with frozen ice; relieve that with a long blast of hot air to melt unwanted icebergs.
6. Remove contact paper from shelves by heating it with the hair dryer and gently working the edges up. Also works for bumper stickers and other rogue sticky things.
7. Use a hair dryer to dust hard-to-dust items; the air will blow the dust somewhere else, but hopefully somewhere else that is easier to dust.
8. Personally, I like my kids’ crayon marks on my walls, but for the rest of you: Heat the crayon marks until softened, then scrub with hot water and detergent.
9. Old photo albums with magnetic pages can get stuck -- unstick them with a blast from the hair dryer.
10. Spot-iron wrinkles by lightly dampening the area and then heating the wrinkles with your dryer.
11. Wet boots, shoes, and sneakers can take on a terrible odor if left to dry slowly -- alleviate that by drying them with your hair dryer.
12. Winter can bring frozen windows and locks -- thaw them with a hair dryer.
13. Window screens collecting dust and pollen? Blow it back to whence it came.
14. Removing bandages can hurt more than the wound, so soften the adhesive with a hair dryer first to ease the rip.
15. If you have trouble keeping a hot compress hot, keep your hair dryer by you and reheat as necessary.

Bonus: For wrinkled ribbons and fabric belts, employ a curling iron to straighten them out.
This is just a start, do you use your hair dryer in any surprising ways? Leave a comment...

(written By Melissa Breyer
More from Care2 Green Living blog

Please take a moment to be in remembrance of the lives taken on this Day September 11th, 2011.  God Be With Us All

Simple Wisdom

HELLO Fellow Bloggers, Family, Friends, Clients...

I'm so sorry it's been quite a while since I've blogged but I've been a busy lady...(still am!) BUT, I had to share with you an email I recently received from a dear Friend.  It's simple but full of wisdom...Perfect for me since now and then a "refresher" note is needed.  Hope you all are doing just great and having a GREAT summer...so until next time "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand."



 1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble; it is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.

2] Do you know why a car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on. 

3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write. 

4] All things in life are temporary.  If going well enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong don’t worry, they can't last long either. 

5] Old friends are like Gold! New friends are Diamonds! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a base of Gold! 

6]  Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end! 

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities. 

8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision." 

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today’s PEACE.

Bless someone today!(share this!)

Blessings Always,

Carolyn

The Backyard Beauty and Book Boutique

                              Hello Friends/Family/Clients

           I'm excited to be introducing a new hair service/product
   that I will soon offer at The Backyard Beauty and Book Boutique
                                        HAIR TINSEL                                    
                                                                

Sparkling Gold in blonde hair

                   Sparkling Gold in brown hair

This is a great service for someone looking to jazz up their natural haircolor or even add bling to a color service. You can shampoo, condition, blow-dry...Even flat-iron up to 410 degrees F...and lasts 2 - 6 weeks(depending on hair texture/and how often you shampoo/blowdry/flat-iron your hair)
                     ~Another great thing about Hair Tinsel~
                      No chemicals, no damage to your hair


 

Sparkle Champagne in light blonde hair

So, if you're interested, Keep watch for an introduction blog soon...

Have a Great Day!
Carolyn

Rock Of Ages Theater Show Review

                                                


It was a great evening 
Great Storyline...Great Songs...Great Cast...
Perfect Musical for me... 

Connie and Carolyn @ Rock Of Ages

Rock of Ages Theater Show was an experience I won't soon forget.  From winning VIP All Access tickets, to sitting in on the soundcheck prior to the show...Pre-show food/drinks...Perfect seats(2nd row)...Meet and Greet After Show

...I was in Heaven

Rock Of Ages is basically a love letter to Hairband music and the Sunset Strip of the ’80s.
Narrator Lonny sets up the story: In 1987, an aspiring rocker named Drew Bowie works as a busboy in the Hollywood bar/club called The Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis Dupree ("Just Like Paradise/Nothing But A Good Time"). He falls instantly for a girl, Sherrie, who just arrived from Kansas hoping to make it big in acting ("Sister Christian"). After being hired as a waitress in the club, Sherrie urges Drew to go after his dreams ("I Wanna Rock").
(read a Full summary of the story-line here)

I do love theater...
I thought Wicked was fab

I think Rock Of Ages RULED! 

Relating to the character, Sherrie, I allowed myself to sink right into the storyline...FUN!

Constantine was intense!  His performance as Drew was on the mark and seemed to really draw in the crowd.  Meeting him after the show made a great ending to the night

I'm also so excited to learn that Rock Of Ages will be a Movie with a release in 2012.  So, if you can't get a chance to see the musical, now you'll get to see the movie!

                                                         Watch Me

( know that some of the costumes, dancing and language may not be appropriate for kids under the age of 14)

"Rock Of Ages VIP Winner"

Feed Back From Opening Night

Well, I did it...I won the VIP Tickets to see Rock Of Ages Theater Show in Indy this month.  I'm STOKED...I'm TOTALLY PUMPED...How RAD is this??

Rock Of Ages is set in 1987 in L.A.'s most legendary rock club on the Sunset Strip, where a small-town girl meets a big-city dreamer and they fall in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80's. The musical is a hilarious feel-good love story told through the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more.


This was a Perfect Gift for me.  As a teen I dreamed of leaving Small Town USA to head out west to the Sunset Strip in California(looking for my RockStar)lololol  But, I stayed behind and pretended what my life would have been like(and had a blast dreaming of such a life)while listening to songs that talk of that venture like Fallen Angel and  Shooting Star by Poison.  Some of my other favorite bands were(still today) Ratt, Night Ranger(I wore their song Sister Christian in the ground), Def Leppard, Sammy Hagar, Motley Crue...just to name a few...I could go on and on. Although I'm 25 years older of when those dreams came about, I still entice myself and have fun reliving my teenage days through 1980's Music Concerts of bands mentioned above during the warm months...I'm sure this theater show will be just as fun.  I can NOT wait!


Thank You NUVO for the opportunity to win.  It was very Fun and I'm grateful. You can check out the post on their facebook page of how I found out!!  FUN

I can't wait to Meet the Cast...especially Constantine Maroulis from American Idol

Stay tuned for my review of Rock Of Ages US Tour(Indy)

And Have a Radical Day!

Carolyn

                                               Don't Stop Believing!

Those Crazy Nights, I do Remember in My Youth..I Do Recall Those Were The Best Times, Most Of All

Love On The Big Screen

Hello
Hope your day is going just great so far
Today I am sharing with you my personal thoughts to a book I've just finished
called

Love On The Big Screen
The Torg Web-site

Meet Zuke, a college freshman whose understanding of love has been shaped by late-eighties romantic comedies, and who attends a school so strict it's against the rules to go to the movies. Zuke and his buddies, separated from the women on campus and forced to entertain themselves, form a club called the Brothers in Pursuit, which holds weekly meetings during which all the members dress in matching and embroidered boxer shorts, stand at attention to Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," and report back to one another on their objectives: God, knowledge, compassion, and women. Love on the Big Screen is a novel of friendship, the dangers of romanticized love, the complexities of faith and real life, and what happens to one young man as he finds out that life is nothing like the movies he loves.
(synthesis taken from back cover)

First of all...I Loved the male club title given to the character Zuke and his fellow friends involved...
"Brothers in Pursuit" (Zuke, Cowboy, The Dini, Moon, and Flabby)...Young Men whom are in pursuit of God,
knowledge, compassion and women. Through out reading the book I tried to picture the young men I went to school with and pair them up with the characters I've mentioned above. A few came to mind and one I thought could be Zuke.(so, I chuckled through out reading and thought how fun it would be to send a copy to all and get reactions...if that doesn't happen, I will definately share with my male classmate buddies)

My experience:

I really enjoyed reminiscing my beloved decade of choice through this book and enjoyed reading of places mentioned that I know about and have visited by living close.(I've had a similar experience of a memoir novel I read not long ago set in Richmond IN)
So, placement of where the story takes place was Fun for me...

Reading about Zuke, who has unrealistic expectations about Love created through the 80's movies he loves, gave me an inside look into what it's like for a male to experience mid-west conservative Christian college life in the late 1980's...something I never thought about at all since College Life was never an option/or should I say, an option I wanted to pursue at that time in my life. Aww Zuke, the poor guy...I did feel bad for him in a sense.(I've been there...just in a different way. What woman doesn't experience The Cinderella Syndrome...if she's honest with herself anyway) Isn't that what Hollywood film/TV/even fiction novels can do to every normal mid-westerner??(of course, speaking personally...and I'm sure to us all~no matter where we live) Unrealistic expectations of Life on subjects that we really need to learn to be realistic about. For me, back in the late 80's it was dreaming of "getting the heck outta dodge" and jumping onto a bus headed out to California to experience the sunset strip and run with all the hair bands I still love today. You know, I still entertain myself with such dreams but I'm definately living in the real world when it comes to Love and Life.(although don't ask my family...they'd probably say I do live in a fantasy world most days)

So, basically we learn about Zuke and his Love life in a strict college setting, his male relationships and experiences with being on a college basketball team. We also learn of his choices and the consequences of them...and we see growth(at the end...or should I say, in this chapter of his life)...but, isn't that life? Yes. And that's what I think Bill Torgerson portrayed here in this book...actual feelings/actual confusion/actual ways one plays out their life to lead themselves to the next chapter...without even realizing it.

I am anxious for the next chapter...hopefully about Zuke in the real World with wife/kids/job.

I've had the privilege to meet Bill through the internet(hopefully in person someday soon) and reap of his generous spirit for The Backyard Beauty and Book Boutique...

Books Bill Sent for my Boutique

I appreciate his prose and love of literature.

If you're interested in reading Love On The Big Screen come by my Backyard Beauty and Book Boutique today to grab a copy.

Blessings to all
Carolyn

Superb Saturday

Do you ever just have one of those days where:

 you wake up on the "right" side of the bed, having slept in(which "never" happens for me)

4 steps to wake up great

the sun is shining bright

your morning coffee taste excellent(which usually does anyway but sunshine makes it more enjoyable)

your plans for the day are not hurried or rushed...just carried out in a nonchalant manner(and they still get done)

this photo really isn't what my plans were today(but boy it sure is fun to pretend)

Well, I had one of those days today...

After waking up(as mentioned above) I went to tan.  After relaxing for 12 mins in fake sun, I visited just a bit with my oldest son, Daniel(and cut his hair)...then my daughter and I played Beauty Shop and hi-lighted our hair...


Aren't we cute?
and I got her to read one of my old preteen books
13 Is Too Young To Die

 I then had to play "dress up

For a contest I'm trying to Win

                                         Rock Of Ages Theater Tickets

Well, here is what I came up with...

I hope it's not too cheesy...or over the top...I'm a rocker by nature so I thought I'd throw in my son's guitar for prop appeal...I really will not be upset one bit if I am not picked for free tickets to the show because I had a blast strumming around on the guitar to 80's music~~pretending to be a Rock Star!

As the day went on, I thought I had better make a trip to the store(I guess "that" part of my day really isn't much to blog about~hate going)...I still made it an enjoyable trip down and back by blarring 105.7 radio station (since it's an all 80's weekend)...all I kept hearing from the passenger seat was "Mom, stop doing that! I'm SO embarrassed!"(as she laughs)
HEY...A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do to live her youth again!


Since my daughter wanted a desert for tonight I let her pick one out and I watched(helped just a bit)her make this yummy desert below...

...I decided to preheat the oven and when ready pop in some pigs in a blanket for finger snackin while some are watching the NCAA tournament games...notice I said some...doesn't interest me at all...

think I'll just read a book instead...

by Mr. Torgerson

 SO....


All in all, it was a good day and now I'm pooped...GoodNight

and...

May You All Be Blessed and Have a Wonderful "What's Left" of the weekend...

Carolyn