Abetrujillo

Don and Nancy wore matching outfits for 37 years. Each outfit has been hand tailored by Nancy, who began the tradition two years into their marriage. Looking back on the first time they wore matching outfits, Nancy says, “I made Don the same shirt I was wearing. We’ve dressed alike ever since. We love it.” When the New York Times asked Nancy why her and Don dress like they do, she replied, “First and foremost, it’s fun! We like it! But it’s also the clearest sign we can give that we’re together. For Donald and me, that’s our deal.” The secret to a happy marriage? Don says, “We are always together, and that’s the only way we like to be.”

h/t: source

The post Couple Wore Matching Outfits For 37 Years appeared first on AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com.

Legos are a forever toy. Without moving parts, they last a really long time, can be assembled and reassembled in infinite arrangements, and have a long-term appeal even for old kids like me. But they are relatively expensive if you want to make something big. Seeking out the best discount boxes from Lego, or from resellers, they cost about 10 cents per piece. Smaller sets are even more expensive. I wanted to build a wall of Legos, but there was no easy way to buy standard bricks in bulk from Lego. So I went to the Chinese and found a whole army of knock-off Legos from China available on Amazon. They cost about 2.5 cents per piece.

The best option for the standard blocks are packs of 1,000 bricks for about $25. I recently needed 15,000 pieces for a 25 foot tower of Lego I am building, so I bought bulk packs from five different knock-off vendors. All five sources sell bricks that are pretty indistinguishable and interchangeable with authentic Lego — and with each other.  They are about 99.8 percent exact. When building my tower, once or twice I notice a very slight gap between one level that would not be there in genuine Lego. Also there can be very slight variation in color, especially between vendors; the yellow of one is not 100% the yellow of the other. There is a slighter variation of color within one source but it is not noticeable unless you build in a solid color. For 99% of most uses, these subtle variations will not be a problem, and the fit will not be a problem. Reviewers on Amazon who actually counted the number of pieces included verify that you do get at least 1,000 pieces. Out of 10,000 pieces so far I’ve only encountered 6 pieces that were malformed.  Some Amazon customers have complained that the larger bricks are less durable than the real thing when disassembling, but I am not joining and unjoining parts, so I can’t tell. For my purposes these work great.

So which knock-off to use? Because these bulk bags are sold as “random” selections it is hard to say. Toysopoly included more browns and orange bricks than the other brands, but I detected some color variance from other brands. Big Bag of Bricks had a lot of purple. They also had a pack with lots of Lego pastels  — light blue and pink. I used Play Platoon and Wonderbricks and Brickyard and didn’t notice anything special but a random assortment, with different amounts of gray, or roof tiles. None of these include any special items beyond basic bricks. Any of them will be perfectly acceptable substitutes for real Lego if you need large quantities. At the time of my purchases, Big Bag of Bricks had the cheapest prices, at $25 per 1000 pieces.

Prices go up and down. I use CamelCamelCamel and The Tracktor to track the lowest prices for these packs and buy whichever one goes lowest, which has been Big Bag of Bricks in recent months.

-- KK

Big Bag of Bricks, 1000 pieces ($25)

The first time I made these pepperoni chips for a dinner party with friends, I put them down alongside the cheese and olives, turned back into the kitchen to get my wine glass, and by the time I returned, the chips were gone. I really am not kidding. These crispy, crunchy, salty, spicy little guys are sure to be a hit among anyone you serve them to. Not only do they require just one ingredient, but they also happen to be gluten-free. Make a big batch to enjoy over happy hour, to pack up for a snack for the kids, or to munch on during the afternoon slump — they work no matter the occasion.

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STEM skills are in high demand right now, making toys that teach science and engineering popular with parents hoping to give their kids a leg up in the job market. Products like Hasbro's new robot that teaches coding have joined kits like Lego Mindst...

After months of rumors and speculation, Netflix is officially taking the wraps off of its new interactive shows for kids. The company is calling its new type of programming "branching narratives," since viewers can control certain aspects of the stor...

In a bid to lure customers from Verizon Wireless, Sprint is now offering a free year of its Unlimited service for anyone who makes the switch. But with all such “free” offers, there are costs involved.

The biggest catch for this promotion, which ends June 30, may be the fact that Verizon customers would need to bring their current phone with them. That means that if you’re currently paying a monthly fee to Verizon for your device, you’ll need to pay off the remainder of that phone to make the switch to Sprint.

So imagine you just got an iPhone 7 three months ago through Verizon. Switching now to Sprint would mean paying more than $567 (21 months x $27.08/month).

Conversely, if you’ve got an older device that you’ve paid off already, you won’t be able to ask for an upgrade through Sprint until Oct. 2017.

If your payoff amount for your current device is low and/or you’re fine with waiting until the fall to get a new phone, then this may not be an issue, especially since a year of $0 in talk/text/data charges from Sprint would save you more than $900 over the comparable Verizon plan (currently $80/month plus phone charges for a single device).

New Sprint customers won’t have to pay the usual $30 activation fee or pay for unlimited data, talk, text, and 10GB of hotspot data per line, but there are a few charges involved nonetheless:

• Customers will have to pay $2.99 for a SIM card, plus $10 in shipping and handling, and tax.

• A standard $1.99 admin fee, $0.40 regulatory fee, and other taxes and fees apply.

• Though the usual $30 activation fee will be waived, it will appear on your first bill, and you’ll be credited within two months.

After July 31, 2018, customers will pay $60/month for one line, $40/month for two lines, or $30/month for three to five lines. If you cancel AutoPay, add $5/month/line.

Written in the 1960s as a guide for science teachers, this 50-year-old text has been re-issued in its original form, yet updated with current annotations for the outdated parts. It is primarily useful for teachers who want to set up a “research lab” as a way to teach science. Students build the simple equipment and the book offers hundreds of experiments to perform with the equipment. Since there are no right answers this is a powerful learning method. This kind of bootstrapping science education is perfect for science museums, teaching labs, camps, and incredibly self-motivated kids.

-- KK

The Annotated Build-it Yourself Science Laboratory

by Raymond E. Barrett and Windell H. Oskay

2015, 334 pages

International Amazon link

Available from Amazon

Sample Excerpts:

Vacuum Pump

Purpose: The vacuum pump is used to withdraw air from vacuum jars and other containers in order to conduct various experiments concerning air pressure, altitude effects, and various biological research projects.

 

 

*

Test tube electric motor

Purpose: This type of motor was one of the earliest to be built. From this working model the junior scientist can discover the principles of an electric motor.

 

 

*

Seismograph

Purpose: seismograph is used to record shock waves from disturbances such as earthquakes. A modern use of seismographs is to detect nuclear and thermonuclear bomb tests. The seismograph operates on the principle of a stationary pendulum. A suspended pendulum remains motionless while the Earth moves beneath it. Since the recording drum is attached to the Earth, the drum moves back and forth and the record of the movement is inscribed by a pointer attached to the motionless pendulum.

 

 

*

Leeuwenhoek-type Microscope

Purpose: To make a microscope very similar to the first microscope ever invented: a water drop microscope used by Leeuwenhoek about 300 years ago. Leeuwenhoek used a drop of water for a lens. Your microscope will use a glass lens which will be superior. It will magnify up to 160 power.  

 

There's this common misconception among soon-to-be-parents that life will be — more or less — the same after kids. As the mother of a toddler and a baby, I can say that this is most certainly not the case. Life with kids changes all sorts of things, including how I want to vacation.

I used to think that all-inclusive vacations were for spring-breakers in it for the all-you-can-drink aspect, budget-strapped retirees who live for buffets (even bad ones), or folks too lazy to plan their own adventures. But once I became a mom, I saw all-inclusive vacations for the sanity-savers they really are.

Having kids broadened my understanding of the all-inclusive, and now I'm hooked. Here are three reasons why.

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Firm, underripe avocados used to be something I avoided at all costs. I was in it for the instant gratification of a soft, creamy avocado that could be instantly split open and spread on toast. That all changed the day I discovered avocado pickles. While I once scoffed at a bin filled to the brim with hard avocados, these are the very ones I now happily load in my basket to bring home because there's something just as delectable to do with them.

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One spring at friend’s house on Cape Cod, I found a lot of fresh ginger in the fridge. My friend’s husband had just stopped by the local fish market, so I combined the fish and ginger with a can of tomatoes to make a quick and easy spring stew. We absolutely loved the results.

The fresh ginger won’t knock you over the head with its intensity in this stew. It adds warmth and its distinctive gingery flavor to the pot, but it’s a fairly subtle flavor.

The fish is still the main star – which it should be, considering how expensive seafood is!

Continue reading "Fish Stew with Ginger and Tomatoes" »

From Apartment Therapy → The Dos & Don'ts of Growing Mint

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If cruciferous veggies hold a special place in your heart, and you have a real thing for those versatile, tender "grains" of riced cauliflower, there's another ingredient you need on your radar: riced broccoli!

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For some, Brussels sprouts can be a hard sell. Although the cruciferous veggie has gone mainstream over the years (we probably have bacon to thank for that), it's always helpful to jazz them up a bit if you're trying to incite enthusiasm.

Enter: these roasted Brussels sprouts with everything bagel spice.

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Long gone are the days of the boring lunch salad. Sad iceberg lettuce with watery tomatoes and shredded carrots are an insult to the medium. You deserve more than that, and so does salad's reputation. When you do a salad right, it should be hearty, varied in texture, and combine delicious (and maybe unexpected) flavors. You should be excited about eating it for lunch or dinner (and maybe even breakfast!).

If you're looking for salad inspiration, I have just the thing for you. I've found the top salad recipe on Pinterest, and it sounds absolutely delicious. Have you tried it?

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Brunch, especially when you're serving it to guests for holidays like Easter or Mother's Day, doesn't have to be a stressful affair where you're stuck at the stovetop like a diner cook. Harness the power of the cute and practical muffin tin and make these egg cups instead.

Crispy prosicutto forms each shell, with a nest of Parmesan hash browns inside, all crowned with a perfectly cooked whole egg that can be as runny or set as you like it. It's how to serve eggs, potatoes, and bacon all in one fell swoop!

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[Here’s a Cool Tools reader favorite from 2003. When Kevin reviewed it, it was $12. Fourteen years later, Amazon sells it for $7.67, as an add-on item. – MF]

Rotary cutters aren’t new tools. It’s just taken me a while to appreciate how great they are. The Fiskars 45mm Rotary Cutter replaces exactos for most heavy-duty cutting jobs in our household. It’s faster, surer, easier and therefore safer to use than razor blades. It will slice through paper, vinyl, cardboard, fabric, and foam board with ease and accuracy. I can only manage perfectly straight long cuts with a rotary cutter and straight edge. Cutting curves is buttery. Seamstresses can add pinking blades. The replaceable blade retracts when not in use; it can be side-switched for left-handers. When I think “cut” I reach for this tool.

-- KK

Fiskars 45mm Contour Rotary Cutter ($8)

International Amazon link

Available from Amazon

My two daughters had long hair when they were young. Combing out the tangles after they’d taken a bath was a painful experience for everyone. My three-year-old ran when she saw me coming towards her with a brush and a bottle of spray detangler.

The pain ended when we started using this rechargable electric detangling brush. The motor makes the eight plastic protuberances oscillate at a high frequency. The brush goes through tangled hair like a hot knife through butter. Well, maybe not that quickly, but it is so much better than a comb or brush that there’s no comparison.

-- Mark Frauenfelder

Electric Detangling Brush ($20)

International Amazon link

Available from Amazon

It wasn’t that long ago that red-meat-loving Americans were paying more for beef because of shortages. Now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction, meaning there should be more — and more affordable — burgers and steaks at the supermarket this summer.

Bloomberg reports that an increase in beef output in the U.S. will soon result in lower prices at the grocery store.

In fact, the price of ground beef has been on a steady decline in the last year, dropping about 9%, while steaks have dropped in price by 6.6% from the same time last year, according to a report from analysts at CoBank, noting that the decreases put beef more in line with often cheaper meats, such as pork and chicken.

Additionally, aggressive promotions from retailers has put beef front-and-center for shoppers as we enter the spring and summer grilling season.

Lower prices and warmer weather are expected to drive consumers to eat an estimated 8% more beef and chicken this summer per capita. That’s the largest increase in beef consumption since 1970, according to Bloomberg.

Analysts say these deals aren’t likely to end anytime soon.

“If you lower prices enough, you can get products sold not just in the near term, but for the next three to five months,” Altin Kalo, an analyst at Steiner Consulting Group, an economic and commodity-trading adviser, tells Bloomberg.

The decrease in price — and subsequent increase in demand — for beef is a stark contrast to recent years. Kalo tells Bloomberg that two or three years ago it was difficult for grocers to run promotions for the products.

Now, orders for beef delivery for the coming weeks has increase 34% over the level ordered last year, Bloomberg notes, adding that some of the resurgence in beef demand can be attributed to talks that China will once again import U.S. beef, something that hasn’t happened since 2003.

Of course, consumers will likely have no idea which country their meat came from. As we noted in a recent story about the ongoing Brazilian beef debacle the U.S. did away with mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) in 2015, meaning retailers are no longer required to tell customers where their beef was sourced.

Vinegar is a safe and effective cleaner for pretty much any surface in your house (except marble). Its only downside is being really stinky. After scrubbing down toilets and sinks, I want my house to smell clean and fresh — not like a giant pickle.

Infusing vinegar is the perfect way to combine vinegar's natural cleansing and disinfecting benefits with a much more pleasant aromatherapy experience.

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Need to let out a little tension after a long day at the office? Smash your cucumbers. Bring out the cast iron skillet or even just a heavy pot and give them a healthy smack or two. No, really — it helps. It also helps break down the vegetables just enough that they're extra ready to soak up a dressing, which in this case is a Greek-leaning one made of creamy yogurt, tangy lemon juice, and plenty of chopped fresh dill and parsley.

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If your mattress doesn’t leave you feeling as well-rested as you’d like, it’s a whole lot cheaper to upgrade it with a mattress pad than to buy a new one, especially today.

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Here’s a reader favorite from 2104. – MF

I was introduced to Hugo’s Amazing tape several years ago by a colleague. He uses the tape to keep board game boxes closed for storage, and it has quite a following in the board game and collectible card game community. The tape is flexible, reusable, and has the fantastic quality of only sticking to itself. These qualities make it ideal for securing something that you need to wrap and unwrap repeatedly. Hugo’s Amazing Tape is available in rolls of various lengths & widths, allowing the user to cut a length to fit their needs.

I have found many household uses for Hugo’s Amazing Tape. I have used the tape as a sort of clamp, to secure oddly shaped objects together while glue dries. I have used it to secure small parts within an assembly to prevent them from falling out of place during storage. It is also perfect for securing rolls of gift wrapping paper, and for securing spools of thread, twine, or rope. I’ve also used it on all of my board game and puzzle boxes. Hugo’s Amazing Tape won’t leave sticky residue, and it doesn’t bind, crush, or decay like a rubber band. It is an indispensable addition to my household tool box.

-- Ryan Gwaltney

Hugo’s 1-Inch by 50-feet Amazing Tape ($13)

International Amazon link

Available from Amazon

These gluten-free ingredients deserve a spot in everybody's pantry. READ MORE...