Volume 5 April 2005

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Welcome to TAKE-A-MOMENT!

The Take-A-Moment newsletters strive to provide quick-to-read content to improve and enhance the quality of life at home and in the work place...for when you can "take-a-moment" from your hectic schedule. Take-a-Moment is provided by the Louisville Area Cooperative Extension Agents. When you have "more-than-a-moment" visit our web site for expanded articles, article archives, sign-up and contact information, and links to other web sites of interest.

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Did You Know...?

C O N T E N T S

Stain Removal -- Using Alternative Cleaning Products
Financial Fitness -- Credit Facts and Myths
Family Life -- Friendship: How's Your Laugh Life?
Nutrition & What's Cooking -- Mercury in Fish
Home Tips -- Spring Cleaning with a Plan
Ways to Wellness -- Say "No!" to Stress
Horticulture -- Tips For Successfully Starting Vegetable, Flower Seeds Indoors

STAIN REMOVAL
USING ALTERNATIVE CLEANING PRODUCTS
stainremoval@take-a-moment.com

You can make alternative cleaning products from common household items including vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, charcoal, salt and ammonia to clean your home.

Use a paste of baking soda, salt and water to scrub away baked-on grease and oven spills. You also can sprinkle these with dry baking soda, let it remain for five minutes and scrub with a damp cloth.

Be careful not to let the baking soda touch wires or heating elements.

It will help if you wipe up grease and spills soon after using the oven. Use a non-metallic, bristle brush to clean charred spills.

FINANCIAL FITNESS
CREDIT FACTS AND MYTHS
finances@take-a-moment.com

MYTH:  After a debt is paid off, it will disappear from my credit report.
FACT:  A credit report shows your credit history. All debts (even paid off debts) are included. Negative information will remain on your report for 7 years (bankruptcy can stay for up to 10 years).

MYTH: When I get divorced, my “X” will owe half the debt [or more if the divorce decree states so].
FACT:  Not if you have joint accounts – in that case, the card agreement will override the divorce decree. If your ex decides not to pay (even though the divorce decree said they owe 100% of the debt), the creditor will come after you! If they file bankruptcy, you will be liable for the debt.

MYTH: I need to keep a balance on a credit card each month in order to build credit.
FACT: You need to use your credit card and pay it on time each month in order to build credit. If you use your card every month for gas purchases and pay the balance in full each month, you’re building credit.

MYTH: Shopping for the best rate on a mortgage will damage my credit because a high number of inquiries are bad.
FACT: While it is true that a high number of credit inquiries can lower one’s credit score, typically inquires for mortgage and auto loans will be lumped together and treated as one inquiry. Obviously it makes sense to shop to find the best rate.

MYTH: I don’t want to look at my credit report because that will lower my credit score.
FACT: The only inquiries that affect your credit score are ones done by companies that can grant credit – obviously not the case with a personal inquiry. You should review your credit regularly (at least once/year).

MYTH: Poor credit will not impact my employability.
FACT: It is estimated that as many as 70% of employers will check the credit report of potential candidates prior to hire. Poor credit is viewed by many as “baggage.” Good credit is actually one way to “separate you from other applicants.”

MYTH: Credit is too difficult to understand.
FACT: Credit is something that you can and need to understand. Schedule an appointment if you need help understanding your credit.

FAMILY LIFE
HOW'S YOUR LAUGH LIFE?
familylife@take-a-moment.com

One of the most important aspects of a positive attitude is a good sense of humor. If you'd like to add more laughter and lightheartedness to your life, here are a few suggestions:

Enjoy spontaneous romps with your family. Suddenly imitating a monster, hitting your mark with a water gun, rolling in a pile of leaves, or delighting in a friendly chase or snowball fight--these enrich today with laughter and tomorrow with fond memories.

Collect cartoons and jokes you enjoy. Share them in person and by mail with friends and family members.

Get together with a couple of friends and take pictures of one another being silly. Share the pictures and laughs with others.

Start a "funny bones" bulletin board at home and at work. Fill them with humorous sayings, favorite cartoons and funny pictures.

Source: Sam Quick

NUTRITION & WHAT'S COOKING
MERCURY IN FISH
whatscooking@take-a-moment.com

Fish and shellfish can be an important part of a healthy diet. However, chemicals in our environment like mercury may contaminate fish and make it hazardous, especially for pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children. Follow these guidelines to avoid this environmental health risk:

When eating fish in restaurants or purchasing fish in stores:
    -avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish. These big fish feed on smaller fish and can accumulate mercury.
    -at risk adults should eat no more than 12 ounces of fish and shellfish each week. Young children should have no more than 6 ounces.

For fish caught locally, check with your health department for any local fish advisories. Kentucky has a state-wide fish consumption advisory for women of child-bearing age and children under age 6 because of concerns about mercury. The groups included in the advisory should only have one meal per week of fish caught locally.

HOME TIPS
SPRING CLEANING WITH A PLAN
hometips@take-a-moment.com

Spring cleaning may seem like an overwhelming task, but a few common sense guidelines will make it more manageable. First, list what needs to be accomplished. Then organize the job into reasonable segments.

Have the right tools, including a vacuum cleaner, clean rags and cleaning supplies available. You will need bleach or another disinfectant cleaning solution; a non-abrasive all purpose cleaner; tub/tile/sink cleaner; glass cleaner and upholstery cleaner. Read the labels carefully to match the right cleaning product with the right surface.

Clear out the clutter and there will be fewer items to move and clean. Clean the dirtiest rooms first. Work top to bottom, beginning with ceilings and walls. Windows and furniture come next, then floors. This way, dirt won't filter down to previously cleaned areas. To prevent streak marks when cleaning large vertical areas, such as walls, start at the bottom and work upward, overlapping and cleaning in a circular motion.

Use the proper cleaning product to make jobs easier. For floors, use a no-rinse product or use a general, all-purpose cleaner and rinse the floor well after each cleaning.

Spray glass cleaners on a cloth -- not directly on a mirror or picture glass. This will keep the cleaner away from the frame and prevent it from seeping onto a picture. Avoid using rags which have fabric softener in them - they may leave a lint residue.

Dust wood furniture using a clean cloth with furniture polish on it. Dusting with a dry cloth can scratch and dull the finish.

When using upholstery cleaner, pretest it on an inconspicuous area first. The same advice holds true for painted surfaces, including walls, furniture and woodwork. Although these are usually washable, test the cleaning solution first, especially if the surface is newly painted.

WAYS TO WELLNESS
Say "NO!" TO STRESS
wellness@take-a-moment.com

Have you ever started the work week with a racing heart, tight neck, headache, upset stomach, or other ailments as you feel rushed or under pressure to meet deadlines? Do you feel like you have to be "Super Human" for all those who depend on you?

Stop in your tracks and Take-a-Moment to care for yourself!!! What you are feeling could be signs of stress. Your body tells you when stress is building.

Beat stress before it controls you. Start by staying healthy. For example:

• Eat a variety of healthy foods every day to get the energy you need.
• Exercise regularly. Try to get 30 minutes or more of moderate activity, such as walking, on most days of the week. (Consult your health-care provider before starting an exercise program.)
• Get enough sleep so that you wake up feeling rested.
• Drink 6 to 8 cups of water each day.

If stress has a hold on you today, one of these tips may help:

• Learn ways to relax, such as meditation or deep breathing. Slow, deep breaths held for a few seconds will revitalize you.
• Take a break
• Set practical goals and keep a positive attitude
• Avoid making too many big changes in your life at the same time
• Discuss problems with a close friend
• Go for a short walk
• Listen to soft music
• Think yourself past the stressful event
• Set aside a place and time every day that is yours and yours alone.

HORTICULTURE
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFULLY STARTING VEGETABLE, FLOWER SEEDS INDOORS
horticulture@take-a-moment.com

Starting seed indoors enables gardeners to select the exact varieties they want for vegetable or flower beds, whether an heirloom tomato or new zinnia variety. There are other benefits from having a variety of home-grown vegetables and flowers. One of the most satisfying is to say, “I grew these myself, from seed.”

Vegetable seed that are easy to start indoors include tomatoes, peppers, squash, cabbage, eggplant and cucumber. Marigold and zinnia flower seed also are simple to start inside.

Garden centers and mail-order catalogues offer many varieties from the newest and improved ones to favorite standbys. Too avoid buying too many seed, calculate how many plants of each variety are needed for the garden.

For greater success starting seed indoors, don’t plant them too early and give them adequate, but not excessive, water and sufficient light.

Seed planted too early result in overgrown plants that are yellow, crooked and spindly before it is even time to transplant them outdoors. Thus, it is critical to properly time the planting of new seed so young seedlings will be large enough to transplant in the garden when the danger of a late frost is over.

To determine when to start the seed, check the outdoor sowing time on the seed packet or last late frost date for your location. In western Kentucky, the last date for a late frost generally is the last week in April through the first week in May; central Kentucky, mid-May, and eastern Kentucky, last week in May. Plant seed three to four weeks prior to the recommended seed packet date, or time for the last late frost. An exception is squash and cucumbers, which require only seven to 10 days for seedlings to grow large enough to transplant in the garden.

When it’s time to plant seed, gently press potting soil into each small container; add two seed per container at the depth recommended on the package, and put the containers in leak-proof trays. Unless you are using a peat product, be sure containers have at least one drainage hole.

Then, slowly water each small container to saturate the potting mix, using slightly warm tap water. Never allow containers to sit in standing water. Throw away excess water that seeps into the trays. A kitchen baster is a good tool to remove surplus water.

Put the leak-proof trays in a warm location such as the top of a refrigerator or freezer to help seed germinate, usually in seven to 10 days. A sprout emerging from the potting mix indicates germination.

Plants need a bright area to grow indoors, but unfiltered sunlight will dry out the containers too quickly.

After seed germinate, move the trays to a south window or sunroom with filtered light. An alternative is to put incandescent or fluorescent bulbs six to eight inches from the containers to provide light necessary for germination. Leave the lights on all the time, and occasionally rotate plants that begin to grow towards the light source. Fluorescent lights are preferable because they do not get as hot as incandescent lights.

A hot bed or cold frame may be a good investment for gardeners planning to produce lots of seedlings to transplant each year.

It is critical for newly-germinated seedlings to have water available for the next two to three weeks, so frequently check the moisture content with your finger to keep from damaging tender roots. Carefully and consistently water when the soil feels dry a little below the surface for the first two weeks. You can slowly apply a water-soluble fertilizer the third week. Be sure to follow instructions for the amount of fertilizer to use.

To avoid common problems starting seed indoors, use a high-quality starter mix, don’t plant seed too early; select a warm area to germinate seed; provide a high-light environment for seedlings to grow; and keep developing seedlings moderately moist.

Sources: Richard Durham and Tom Priddy, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture