Duelin’ Deals Blog by Marlaine

I am reading about ways to build traffic and one way is to sign up for BlogPulse and Technorati search engines. Technorati wants me to post a link to them so here is it……….. Technorati Profile Activate the claim using Post Claim Technorati! For some odd reason they said my Marlaine’s Musings URL is not a usable URL? Shaking head – I don’t really understand that but………… shrugs!

Brad and I are trying to make money with our web work. As we learn more about what works and what doesn’t work, I’ll post here about those things. Our Rune Registry and Marlaine’s Musings get great traffic and they are growing month by month. This blog has also been gaining in popularity and we would like to capitalize on that. We will be adding a blog on Rune Registry soon so any legitimate comments or queries pertaining to Runescape or great games will be posted and responded to on that blog.

If any one has tips about how to make legitimate money on the web without using spam technology or any other irritating invasive methods, please let me know! I have been checking out doing online surveys, writing articles – of course – MarlaineMarie@eHow, and using different kind of ads. Check out my brother’s articles – Cyclecyco@eHow for a biker’s perspective on the world. One tip about adding links to your blog post or web site pages is to use the type of wording I used on those links. Click here does not help the search engines direct traffic but specifying my account at eHow does or whatever the link is you may be adding. I am now starting to make money but you have to be patient!

I enjoy working on articles on eHow because I can do whatever non-fiction subject I feel like that day. I’ve got lots of articles started and choose whatever interests me when I decide to finish one or start one. My Mom used to say I was moody and I guess I am – hopefully in good ways! But like anyone else, there are days those moods can shut me down like the bars of a maximum security jail cell. That’s when I take Gypsy out and have some fun!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh spring is here.
The birds are singing….
The grass is growing….
The air is fresher….
And Gypsy is dropping fur like a buffalo!
Sigh………… time to brush her out.

But here’s a tip. I try to brush her outside. Not only does it save me house work in the long run, the creatures outside use at least some of it, too! Rabbits and birds use it for nests. The rest of it ends up breaking down into the ground, fertilizing the grass.

When I used to live out in the country and we raised German Shepherds for show, the comb out jobs were a regular event and with quite a few dogs. We usually had two dogs in the house at a time, so those dogs were always the flag dogs that let us know when all the rest of the dogs would be shedding. Most of the top show dogs usually dropped the extra fur from the regular grooming they got. Giving a dog a bath triggers the shed response and regular baths keep them from building up so much at once. Unfortunately, Gypsy is a coated German Shepherd – meaning she has longer and thicker fur that the normal fur type of Shepherd. Even though my arms get exhausted from brushing her, I have gotten to like that fluffy fur and I wouldn’t give up my fur ball dog for anything!

We had 10 acres out there so it was no big deal to leave a mound of fur on the lawn. It is amazing how fast that mound of fur disappears though, even when there is no wind! More proof that nature is taking advantage of what it finds. After all – one person’s trash is another person’s …. what? (Talk about the times changing, I just though Identity Theft instead of Treasure!) I will admit to slinking out of sight now when I see our neighbors (who even sweep their glass clippings off their driveway to make things look perfect) outside, and I know it looks like a dead thing is laying out there – snicker!

But……
Why bag the hair up in a plastic bag so it can not decompose, can not be used by anything else and will be preserved for 50 years in a land fill? It will quickly blow away and be spread naturally. Yes, even if the mound of hair actually looks big enough to be a deer laying there. If you spread it around a little yourself, it will disappear even faster. If you cut the grass and run the lawn mover over it, it will get into the ground even faster and help improve the grass.

I have to add a warning here though, do not leave long hair out there for nests. I used to think that brushing my hair outside and then pulling the hair from the brush for the yard creatures was great for nest building. Noooooooooo! One of my indoor baby finches almost choke to death on one of my hair…… The mama bird used some of the comb out I put in the bottom of their cage. The poor baby was trying to fly but had that long hair around it’s neck. Good thing I watch my creatures all the time! The mama raised the alarm and I went to see what was wrong immediately and untangled the baby.

Even though I have a vacuum cleaner, I often sweep the house – and sweep the dirt and hair right out the side door. That’s another thing that can be better used outside rather than in a plastic garbage bag in a land fill for eternity! Yes, I pick out the pieces of whatevers that are not organic and put them in a garbage bag – but geezzzzzzz………. I also have cats that are shedding and the birds drop feathers… why not sweep that all outside? AND, of course, they say most of the dirt in our houses are sloughed off skin cells. What could be more organic?

So sweep it out into the open and let it blow away!
I wish you a breezy day!

Well here we go……….. care for your hair! I do have long, naturally blond hair. My mother kept telling me that by the time I was twenty, I would have to dye my hair because it would be so plain, like hers had been. She was a bit off on that prediction – I must say! Some kids called me albino in school but it wasn’t really that light! Never the less, I had a lovely shade of auburn all picked out and I really couldn’t wait ’til I needed it! I just love dark red hair!

I’ve devised a lot of tricks for my hair to make it as absolutely easy as possible to care for because I just am not the kind to fiddle with hair! I usually do something with it in the morning when I get up and that is about it. If it’s hot, I put it in a bun or a clip and if it’s cold, I use it like an extra scarf or tuck it around my neck in a hooded sweatshirt. When I don’t have the enthusiasm to brush it, I still use that hooded sweatshirt to get Gypsy out – and hide the mess! The rest of the time, I just let it hang.

I’ve done an article for eHow about this………..

How to Have Long, Healthy Hair!

I can’t help but think of Thing in the Adams family when I see my hair sometimes. I used to brush it all the time. It was always wavy but on the dry side. I stopped using a hair dryer for a few reasons.

First… I was with relatives for a month and forgot it. When I saw how much better my hair was, I decided not to use it unless it was an emergency.
Second…. I was in a car accident that chopped a lot of my hair off and left me with about 20 stitches in my head. My mom cut my hair short and I couldn’t even wash my hair for a while with those stitches in there.
Third…. I just don’t like fiddling with my hair.
Fourth… my best friend and I spent a lot of time going swimming one summer. I noticed that my hair went into ringlets when I didn’t brush it after it was wet!
Fifth…. It’s just so much easier!

But the main reason is that I don’t like fiddling with my hair.

Here are a few tips that I didn’t mention in the article:

While washing your hair, never use your fingernails on your scalp. The scratches cause wounds on your scalp, which leads to itching which leads to damaged follicles. Massage your scalp with your fingertips instead to promote growth.

Use a towel to blot out excess moisture from your hair rather than rubbing with the towel. The friction from rubbing can make your hair brittle. Or squeeze out the moisture with your hands without wringing it or pulling it.

When you wash long hair, don’t suds it up by piling it on top of your head and swirling it around. That only causes more tangles. Apply shampoo to your hands and then to your scalp. Lather by massaging small areas. You don’t need to suds up the entire length of hair – it’s mostly the scalp that needs the dirt and oils removed. The rest will rinse away with the soap.

Those anti frizz potions never worked in my hair and in fact, always made the problems worse. I have a specific spray bottle that I kept after using a coupon to get the hair care product for nearly free. It was good stuff – but not worth buying again for my hair. I pour in about three or four tablespoons of whatever conditioner I am using and fill it up the rest of the way with water.

Then I shake it up. I spritz my hair with it when it seems really dry or straight and use my hand to smooth it into my hair.

During the summer, I add about a tablespoon of baby oil to the bottle with conditioner and water. This formula is based on a show sheen product a horse breeder told me about. It makes your hair really shine without getting really greasy. It also makes my hair curl even more. The oil protects my hair from the drying sun a little bit, too.

Use hand lotion to tame those static days! Just use lotion as usual, except add a bit more. Run your hands over your hair to smooth it where you want it to go. It will add shine and keep your hair where it belongs. You can use your regular conditioner the same way.

Don’t wear those baseball caps! It wears your hair down like a dog collar that’s too tight. Have you ever seen a dog’s neck that’s been wearing one? The hair is rubbed very thin. A cap or bandanna does the same thing! Your hair needs air, too, to let the sweat evaporate.

To help encourage hair growth, here’s something that feels great especially when someone else does it for you. Combine an egg and about a quarter cup olive oil, whipping together with a fork. Warm the oil in the microwave first if you like but not too warm. Massage this into the scalp with your fingertips – never use the nails. Do this treatment once a week. The scalp massage facilitates healthy hair growth by stimulating the blood supply to your scalp. The egg adds protein and the olive oil adds moisture. An inch of an aloe leaf can be scraped off the skin, mashed, and added to the mixture. Wash hair about an hour later.

Here’s for fun…. dye your hair with Koolaide. Add a non-sugar packet to a cup and a half of water. Leave it in for 15 minutes. Rinse and then let it dry. Great for Halloween!

Ok – I have resisted this subject because I was raised in a dog kennel. Yes……… sigh. One of the actual dog runs had my name printed over the door. My mom had an AKC German Shepherd kennel and I was raised with them — litter – allie …… I knew what woof meant before I knew “Mama”. I am very attuned to dogs, even though I love all creatures. So house training a pup is pretty easy to me and I decided to try to put it into words for eHow. I wrote the following article…

How to House Train Your Puppy Quick and Easy!

The very best way to house train your pup is to set aside the first few days to be with your pup. If you have a three day weekend or just take a couple of days vacation before or after a weekend, plan to pick up your pup ASAP on the way home when your time off starts!

Things You’ll Need:

* Patience
* A sharp eye
* Paper towels and disinfectant to clean up at first – if necessary!

Step 1:
Before taking your pup into the house for the very first time, take him or her for a walk in the area that they can use to do what they must! Play with them a bit until they go. Praise and pet them, saying, “Good *name*” or “Good boy/girl” after they are done. Think happy, too. They can read your body language and facial gestures well!

Step 2:
Understand that your pup will need to go at least every two hours. Even if they don’t have to, they need the chance to go! Whether they seem to need to or not, take them OUTSIDE – or wherever you want them to go. No matter when they nap, take them out immediately when they wake up! This is a major step in understanding when a pup needs to go. Cuddle them and carry them outside. Talk to them encouragingly until they relieve themselves. Praise them every time they finish going.

Step 3:
One of the keys to house training success is to watch your pup to know when they start looking around for a place to go. Don’t let their playing with a friend interfere with your “radar”. Know your pup and watch what they do before they go because it is THE signal that they need to go. Usually they will sniff and circle a little.

Step 4:
Take them outside before they eat! Give them about half an hour after they eat and take them out again. Watch when they drink water and know that water will have to come out relatively soon. You will soon know how long it takes for your specific pet in a day or two. If you just throw them into a kennel for a few hours or lay newspapers, they will take much longer to understand the difference between inside and outside relief areas.

Step 5:
Set an alarm to take the pup out at least once over night or keep the pup on the bed with you so you can feel him or her moving. (This might only be necessary the first couple of nights!) I have house trained all my dogs without using newspapers on the floor or on their butt. When I have a pup in the house, I am a very light sleeper.

Step 6:
The day I got Boo Boo, I sustained a severe leg injury and had to sleep on the couch. Even while on crutches, he was house trained within two weeks! He slept on my chest the first few days on my beautiful velvet couch – without incident! The house training usually takes about 2 weeks if you are “in tune” with your pup.

Step 7:
Just an added tip, if you have other pets, rub something of theirs on your pup and rub something with your pup’s scent on your other pets, in their areas, and on their things to let both sides “get to know each other” from a distance – at least in the beginning.

Step 8:
Don’t let your pup gnaw on your other pets until it is understood between all that it’s just play.

Tips & Warnings

* You don’t have to swat you pup when they have an accident. Put their nose close to the offense (if there is one) and say sharply, NO! Then take them outside – immediately. Either have someone else clean up the mess or put paper towels over the mess, quickly, stepping on the towels to soak up more but get the pup out ASAP. Do not let much time go between the no and the go outside.
* Even if you have to leave the mess longer than you like, if you get the pup out faster, there will be less incidents to clean up in the long run.
* Be consistent with your training – any training! Don’t let them chew one of your shoes one day and not let them chew another shoe a different day!
* If the pup is taking a long time to house train, remember it is up to you to notice or realize that the pup has cycles like you do. Most pups want to please you but if you don’t let them know what you want, they probably won’t be able to guess, even if they are more intuitive than we are.
* Puppies can not hold it very long – just like babies!

Some of the pics in the article are of dogs and times long gone and it saddened me, yet warmed my heart, to think of them and the wonderful times I had with them. My Mom bred German Shepherds for show and our highest count of dogs living with us at one time was 48. I was never impressed with the shows but understand that it is because of those devoted breeders that we have such beautiful creatures, no matter what breed is our favored type of dog. I and my brother both have German Shepherds ingrained into our psyche so strongly that neither of us want to own anything but German Shepherds. That’s what happens to the kennel kids of breeders – I guess. My day started out getting out to the kennels to give them a good clean and as soon as I got home from school, it was the same chore. In spite of allllllllllllllllllll that hard, heavy work, I loved the dogs with all my heart. Each and every one still has a special place in my memories, and each is able to pull a sad longing for their company.

I’ve also personally experienced how holding a cat can sooth a jittery mind and ease pain. I went through a tooth infection and the cat in the pic with Gypsy, Spank, somehow worked up a ritual or habit of getting me to let him sleep under my jaw at night. I call him my pillow pal. Even though that tooth ache hurt like the dickens, Spank’s quiet but constant purr under my jaw was like a gentle rub and I’d ease into sleep. I don’t know how many times that dear cat has sensed my sadness over a loved one or pains from my injuries – but he’s let me soak him with tears probably 100 times or more. (Not only that, I’ve spilled water on him from trying to get a drink of water over night and he patiently lets me wipe it up using one of the paper towels I keep nearby.) They say cat purring can heal bones – and I believe it. I broke my wedding ring finger and he pretty much slept on it every night since I hold him with that hand while he sleeps under my chin……….. smiling……….. the knuckle is only a bit bigger than it used to be now, three years later, but at first it was hugggggggge! Wish he could have slept on my big toe after I dropped a very old and very heavy fan on it – squashed my toe and cracked bones in my foot. That was 8 years ago and the toe is still weird!

Birds are also a wonder to own – if you get over the cleaning you have to do. When they give you their trust and love, you have truly earned something amazing!

All creatures can be great friends.
Returning love and loving is never a waste!

Below is my most missed old Moose, Lew.
Lowaka Of Rathman.
My protector.

My brother called a few days ago asking for my oatmeal recipe. I remember him scrunching up his nose at oatmeal when we were kids. I said as much to him. Evidently, I had made some oatmeal for myself and made extra for him, and he’d loved it! I devised this method because I like it this way – and it is probably not healthy – shrugging. We’ve had family members who lived to 90 who smoked. One overweight relative made it to 100! I am not a could-care-less type but I am not a health nut either.

I wrote this for MarlaineMarie’s Articles on eHow….

How to Make Incredible Oatmeal!

Oatmeal – Blahhhh – you say? Try this and try not to want it again and again!

Things You’ll Need:

* Regular Oatmeal – not instant
* Milk of your choice – whole makes it creamiest!
* Sugar – 2 tablespoons per serving
* Butter – 1 tablespoon per serving
* Vanilla – 1/2 teaspoon per serving
* Salt – optional

Step 1:
Use the directions on the oatmeal box to decide on the amount of regular oatmeal you are going to make. If you make extra, it can be reheated in the microwave, tasting even more mellow the next day. Each brand may have slightly different proportions. Sugar can be replaced with Splenda (it really does taste good for a substitute!) or other artificial sweeteners for those with diabetes. Salt IS optional – in fact, I don’t use it in oatmeal.

Step 2:
Use milk instead of water, adding about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra. Put the milk and oatmeal together in a pot and mix together. Let it sit a while – 10 minutes or so.

Step 3:
Add the sugar and salt, stirring gently. Add the butter. Turn on the heat underneath.

Step 4:
Bring the mixture to a gentle bubble, stirring constantly. Let it bubble for about two minutes. Add vanilla and stir in. Put a cover on the pot. Turn off heat. Move the pot off the burner. Leave covered and alone for about 10 minutes.

Step 5:
This oatmeal is made to be enjoyed without putting more milk, butter, or sugar into it. Add a bit of butter if you really have to but this is soooooooooooooo good as it is right out of the pot, and so creamy!
Tips & Warnings

* If you are a sugar craver, try pouring some maple syrup or any of the flavored syrups out there over the finished oatmeal.
* If you like it sweeter, just add more sugar before cooking.
* This oatmeal is all about enjoying it so if you want more milk and sugar or butter on the finished oatmeal, add it. Do try it plain first. You might be amazed!
* Add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter per serving with the mixture in the pot before boiling for another really different taste!
* If you are a chocolate maniac, try adding about a quarter cup of chocolate chips before the cooking process. You can skip butter completely when you use chocolate. (or add peanut butter – yummmmmmm – smiling!)
* Combine everything, except for the vanilla, and let sit in the fridge overnight to be ready to make for breakfast!
* If you add vanilla after any cooking process in any recipe, it retains more flavor and aroma!
* As always, when making my recipes, do not invite the food police to breakfast when you make this! This recipe is to make you love oatmeal – not necessarily to be healthy!
* If you think margarine is better than butter – Tisk! Use good, wholesome butter, or peanut butter, or skip it completely! It will taste a whole lot better!

There are also other great uses for oatmeal.
Try this facial:
* 1/4 cup of dry oatmeal
* 1/8 real mayonnaise
* The juice and pulp of a real aloe plant leaf, mashed.
Mix all together, heat to just warm in the microwave, and let stand about 10 minutes.
Prewash your face with the hottest water you can stand to open all the pours.
Use the oatmeal paste all over your face and leave on for 10 minutes.

This is really great just before a shower. If you use a washcloth and wipe it off your face, use it on your body as a quick scrub. Oatmeal is great as a body scrub, too. Then use your normal bath soap as usual and rinse.

NEVER use regular soap on your face! Using the plain wet wash cloth as a scrub and the shower to rinse your face is far better for your facial skin than using a regular bar of bath soap!