5 handy home hints that are so easy even I got them right

"I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on."
- Roseanne Barr

Real simple : 869 new uses for old things / edited by Rachel Hardage and Sharon Tanenbaum ; photographs by James Wojcik ; illustrations by Kate Francis ; prop styling by Linden Elstran.
I'm not the best homemaker. Some days I feel like I should be concerned about it, and then I think that surely life is too short to be overly fussed about how to get softdrink stains out of the settee. (That would be Mr2's fault, not mine, I'd like to point out). The other day I came across a book about the 500 wonders of baking soda. Baking. Soda. I was a bit dubious, so I requested every book we have on baking soda (don't judge me with your Judgey McJudgerson faces) and am putting some of the tips to the test. (That'll be another post for another day). AND THEN I came across THIS BOOK which, you know, I just HAD TO HAVE. (I know, I talk/think in caps far too much). I showed it to friends last night and they related the most hilarious stories. I'm keeping them anonymous BECAUSE REASONS. I think you'll get a kick out of them, though, so here are their stories, followed by 5 home hints from this book that worked for me.

Friend1: I used egg in my hair once and it really worked. It was great
Me: Egg? Or egg white?
Friend1: Egg. The whole egg *slight pause* Whatever you do, though, don't use hot water to rinse it out because...
Me: No. No way. OMG no way. Scrambled eggs?! *trying not to laugh*
Friend1: Look...
Me: SCRAMBLED EGGS? You had scrambled eggs in your hair? *doubled over screaming with laughter* (Because I'm sympathetic like that, obviously)
Friend1: Well, yes, but, yes. YES *snooty look*
Me: *beyond words*

Friend2: I read somewhere once that if you need to get into tight shoes you take a bar of soap and run it around your heels and feet...
Me: *interrupts* Dry or wet?
Friend2: Dry. Anyway, you run it around your feet and then you can slide into your tight shoes easier
*all of us kinda pause and think about that*
Friend2: I've never done it, though, because I think my feet sweat so much I'd be worried that I'd leave a trail of bubbles wherever I go
Me: WTH? *doubled over - AGAIN - hooting with laughter*

Seriously, I'm not sure why people tell me anything because it either ends up in a blog post (albeit anonymously), or with me laughing at them. Mostly, both. SO! There's your dose of humour for the day. I'm not Suzie Homemaker. I'm never going to be. I can't say that I'm going to mourn that fact, either. Simple tips, though, like these, are things that I can manage quite happily. Maybe I'll make something like this a regular monthly post. What do you think?

5 items you can make with cat hair. Really, I'm serious

List by Tosca

"Got fur balls? Are your favorite sweaters covered with cat hair? Do you love to make quirky and one-of-a-kind crafting projects? If so, then it's time to throw away your lint roller and curl up with your kitty! Crafting with cat hair shows readers how to transform stray clumps of fur into soft and adorable handicrafts."
- Crafting with cat hair by Kaori Tsutaya

I know that you're thinking one of two things; either "This *cannot* be real. Somebody, somewhere is having a laugh at our expense" OR "Dude! This is so me! I've been waiting for something like this all my life and finally HERE IT IS!" Am I right, or am I right? I know because the first statement? That is me. That was my first thought when I came across Crafting with cat hair: Cute handicrafts to make with your cat by Kaori Tsutaya. Ok, I'll be honest with you, I haven't moved over to the second statement at all and I'm not sure I ever will. It's just a little too...bizarre seeming for me to want to brush my cat, collect his/her hair and take the time to knit me some gloves. If I couldn't knit with ordinary wool (and you might remember from an earlier post how badly I sucked at that activity), then I doubt I'm going to be any less sucky with a different type of material. Sometimes, it's just geography (and yes, I used a Pretty Woman reference there, although, you know, without money. And Richard Gere. And, well, prostitutes. But you get what I mean!). I was prepared to hate this book because my instinctive response is that doing any kind of craft project with any kind of hair (animal, human, other, although what 'other' could be I don't want to know) is total yucky bunny. Now that I've read the book, I've changed my mind SLIGHTLY. There's a lot of solid information here about the right way to groom cats, how to ensure that you're not harming them, lists of supplies, how to care for your cat and a few other things as well. So, yes, I respect it as an artform. There is still no way in Hades, though, that I'm ever doing this myself. No way. Your neighbourhood cats are safe from me. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love for one of you somewhere anywhere out there in the bloggerverse to use this, make somethinganything and send me a picture. You know what they say...pics or it didn't happen :)

Top 5 books about iPhone photography

List by Tosca

"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are."
- Ernst Haas

I heart my iPhone. Indecently so. In fact, I heart it so much that it goes everywhere I do and it sees whatever I see. I am never more than a jacket pocket away from taking a picture, clearing an RSS feed, catching up with family on Facebook, sharing a link on Twitter or staying on top of both work and personal emails. Thanks to the quality of the camera, and a small variety of apps, I've re-discovered how much I enjoy taking photos (one of which is attached to this post). Judging by my instagram stream maybe a little *too* much. (Feel free to go through my images on my instagram stream, any image I take is purposely meant for sharing and inviting comment). Some of my photos are quite beautiful, and some are amazingly dumb. A sibling asked me the other day, "Why do you take so many photos? Why do you feel such a burning need to share them all? Do you think people really care?" (There is no critic more harsh than your own family members). I take so many photos because so many things catch my interest. I have no clear answer. I just know that sometimes things/situations/people catch some part of your mind and, for reasons not always known to you, need to be captured forever. Need to be documented. And so I take a photo...for me, for the moment, to show beauty wherever you find it (yes, even in the most strangely mundane things/places), for the art of it, for personal satisfaction, to create memories, for entertainment, for reflection, in the hope that what I see in my head translates just as well as a physical image, to challenge (myself and others) and always, always because sometimes a photo I've taken can frame feelings and thoughts I sometimes cannot find the words for. Whoa. This turned into a rather deep post and that wasn't my intent. But I'll roll with it, anyway. I've used all of the books below in my hope to be able to achieve all of the above. Not fanatically so, though, just in ways that work for me. So, if you have a passing interest in photography that is coupled with an indecent stalker-ish type of love for your iPhone camera, this post is just what you need :)

What camera apps do you use?