Tips & TricksH E L P I N G T O E N R I C H Y O U R F A M I LY A N D H O M E

Get Your Vote On!

The upcoming general election involves a lot more than just choosing a president, and we can often overlook important state initiatives. We don’t endorse anyone or anything specific, but we do encourage you review all the information in your Voter’s Pamphlet and to vote. Election day is Tuesday, November 6th. So your ballot arrives on time, make sure to mail it by Friday, November 2nd.

In addition to voting, we’ll be getting prepared for the kick-off of the holiday season. We’re excited for turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and plenty of whipped cream to top it all.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to “Fall Back” too. Move your clocks back 1 hour the night before Sunday, November 4th. Enjoy the extra hour of sleep! We will. :)

New Uses for 5 Things in the Kitchenfrom Real Simple

Muffin Tin as Large Ice Cube TrayThe cold, hard truth: Small ice cubes melt fast, leaving a pitcher of lemonade watery. To make long-lasting jumbo cubes, use a muffin tin. Pop them out by running the back of the tin under hot water for 30 seconds.

Contact Lens Case as Travel Spice HolderPack small amounts of salt, pepper, and spices for a camping trip or while preparing a dish at a friends home for the Holidays.

Aluminum Foil as a Piecrust ProtectorTo prevent a piecrust from burning while the filling cooks, make a foil collar to deflect heat. Take a piece of foil about 25 inches long, fold it into thirds lengthwise, and fasten the ends with a paper clip. Halfway into the baking, slip the collar over the crust (as shown). Leave it on until the pie is done.

Chip Clip as BookmarkAttaching a chip clip to each side of your cookbook will not only keep your place while whipping up dinner, it will also help keep the book open.

Rubber Band as Canister MeasureStretch a rubber band around an opaque container. Each time you scoop out the flour or coffee, move the band down to mark the supply level. No need to lift the lid while making your grocery list—you can see how much is left in a snap.

Furlo  Family  Homes November 2012

Tidy Up Your Financials Before You Fleefrom Matthew Amster-Burton, MintLife Blog

Right now, I’m in Tokyo, possibly relaxing at an izakaya with a glass of sake and a plate of sashimi. This is the culmination of a saving adventure that began two years ago; the successful result involves stuffing a family of three into a 290 square foot apartment.

Any time I leave town, especially on an international trip, I make a checklist. A checklist is a list of dumb, obvious things that you know you’re supposed to do, but in the hustle and bustle of real life, you forget one or more of them. Even doctors use checklists with items like “wash your hands” and “double-check that you’re not leaving surgical tools inside the patient” to make sure they don’t forget anything. If they can do it, so can we.

Here’s the checklist I used before skipping the country this time around. As promised, nothing here is rocket science, but I encourage you to steal my checklist and make it your own.

Pay the rentTwice, I’ve been out of town on the first and forgotten to write the rent check early. This time, I put it on my calendar with an email reminder, but it’s going on the checklist too. If you have any other bills that need to be paid manually, put them on the list too.

Sort out your walletChances are, I’m not going to need my “Frequent Slicer” card from my favorite Seattle pizza chain in Tokyo. Same goes for a couple of debit cards that don’t need to accompany me overseas. If I’m not carrying it, I can’t lose it. I’m also making sure to bring the cards that charge the lowest international fees.

Call the card issuersIf I don’t call my banks’ fraud prevention departments and tell them I’ll be out of the country, my credit and debit cards won’t work when I get there.

Exchange some cashUnfortunately, sometimes I call the banks and tell them I’ll be out of the country, and my cards still don’t work, if only for a day or two. So I’m bringing a couple days’ worth of yen with me. Even though there isn’t a

way to buy foreign currency in the US without paying an exorbitant fee, the peace of mind is worth it.

Check the freshness dateIf you’re like me, you’ve forgotten that the expiration date on your credit card is anything other than a four-digit identifier. If your card expires while you’re on a trip and the bank sends a new card to your home address, you’re hosed. Check those dates and call the bank ahead of time to figure out a solution.

Write down bank and credit card contact numbersIf I do need to call my card issuer—either because my card isn’t working or because I dropped it on the subway—I’ll need the phone number printed on the back of the card. So make a list of those numbers—not just the 800 numbers, but also the long-distance numbers, because you’re allowed to call those collect from outside the country. Make a physical copy of the front and back. Leave one at home and carry one with you.

Turn it offThis one is less about financial services and more about old-fashioned conservation: I’m turning off the power at home to everything except the fridge.

Buy dataI’m planning to use Skype over wi-fi if I want to make a phone call to the US, but I definitely plan to use 3G data on my smartphone, because most streets in Tokyo are literally nameless, but Google Maps knows them all. To avoid larcenous data charges, I’m buying a block of international data usage before we go and turning off automatic email checking and other background services on my phone.

Avoid a financial car crashIf you rent a car, make sure you understand what’s insured and what isn’t: your credit card and your own auto policy might cover a car rental on international turf or they might not. Assume nothing.

Keep that wound coveredYou probably understand reasonably well how your medical insurance works at home, but when you travel abroad, the rules may change. Find out before you come down with disco fever or whatever the local ailment is.

Furlo  Family  Homes November 2012

6 Reasons to Get a Flu Shotfrom RealAge

Getting the flu shot is a great way for nearly everyone to prevent the flu. So, what's stopping you? Here are 6 common excuses, and why you should reconsider:1. It's too late. It's true, getting a flu shot early in the

season offers the best protection, but the shot is effective anytime, even if you wait until December.

2. I'm healthy. The flu vaccine is especially important for high-risk people, but the rest of us need it, too. Having the shot will prevent you from wasting precious vacation days or going to work sick and sharing the virus with your coworkers.

3. I had a flu shot last year. Smart move! Get another one this year. It’s reformulated annually to protect against strains predicted to be most widespread.

4. The flu shot always makes me sick. The flu vaccine is formulated from dead or inactive viruses, so it can't make you sick. If you do get sick, chances are you were exposed to the virus before getting the shot or you picked up a virus not included in the vaccine.

5. I live in a warm climate. The flu virus becomes active once temperatures drop below 60 degrees, but a warm climate doesn't offer much protection. The flu was as widespread last year in the balmy Southwest as it was in the frigid Northeast.

6. I hate needles. Ask for a nasal spray flu vaccine instead. It's approved for healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49.

How To Stay ProductiveAfter Work

from Alan Henry, LifeHacker

After a long, hard day at work, the last thing many of us want to do is go home, buckle down, and go to work on something else. It can be tempting to just fall down on the couch, order a pizza, and then stumble off to bed, but doing that means you never use your free time to learn a new language, read a good book, or work on personal projects. How do you resist the temptation to do nothing when you're not working?

Get Started As Soon As You Get Home. Walk through the door, say hello to everyone, and head right for your workspace to do a little work. Whether it's a few minutes or an hour, getting started as soon as you get home while still in work mode helps.

Get Out Of the House. If the siren song of your couch or bed is just too much for you to bear, the key may be to get out of the house and go somewhere you can work or learn something new.

Give Yourself 10 Minutes. Just 10 Minutes to work on your pet projects, sometimes more, never less.At the end of that 10 minutes, if you feel like working some more, do it. If you feel like closing up shop and going back to the couch, do that.

Pick Projects You Love and you're naturally drawn to.

Make Sure You Get Some Exercise. Want more energy, or more hours in your day? Exercise. It may seem counterintuitive, but exercise is key. Even a walk around the block will make you feel energized, and the benefits grow with more regular and frequent activity.

Schedule It and Keep It in the Front of Your Mind. Start thinking about your project before you even leave the office, so you're pumped and ready to tackle it when you get home.

Forgive Yourself When you Stumble. Finally, realize that you won't be productive every night. Some nights you'll stay on the couch, and others you'll just forget to do what you meant to do. That's okay—forgive yourself and pick up again the next day.

Disclaimer: The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only. Always seek a competent professional for answers to your specific questions.

Furlo  Family  Homes November 2012

Furlo  Family  Homes5122  Columbus  St.SEAlbany  OR,  97322

Clark Kent344 Clinton St., Apt. #3BMetropolis,

Cranberry Pineapple Saucefrom Jessi

Ingredients• 2 1lb bags of cranberries, rinsed• 1 medium sized orange, washed well and

quartered(keep the peel on)• 1 can pineapple chunks (drained, set juice aside)• 1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup honey•

Directions• Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor.• Blend well while adding small amounts of the saved

pineapple juice until desired consistency is reached.• Serve chilled with Thanksgiving dinner or as a

dessert topped with whipped cream!

Furlo  Family  Homes November 2012