1 Potato...2 Potato...3 Potato..4

So I love baked potatoes but hate how long it takes for them to cook in the oven.  I learned a trick (credit goes to mama bear)  to help speed up the baking process, yet still getting the crunchy outside skin! So I thought I would share:  

1. Make sure to wash the potato and poke numerous holes in it

2. Put it in the microwave on baked potato button (if you don't have a baked potato button make sure to lower the power level...to maybe 50% or 60%...you want the potato to be just starting to get soft

3. While the potato is in the microwave, preheat oven to 400 degrees

4. Once the potato is done in the microwave (just starting to get soft) put the potato in the pre-heated oven for about 15min....check the potato and pull out once at your desired crispiness.

5. Enjoy! 

-Bree :) 

*Each oven and microwave is different so make sure that the first time you try this to keep checking your potato to make sure it's cooking right or not over done*   

The Best Ice Packs

Hello everyone! 

Yesterday and today were horrible days for my knees.  My knee problem acted up and I was in excruciating pain.  My mom purchased these pea cold therapy ice packs for me from CVS.  I LOVE these icepacks and highly recommand them.  I have tried numerous ice packs through all my injuries and my knee problem but this ice pack, in my opinion, is the best.  The reason is when the ice pack is fully cold, the pea technology is still bendable.  So when I put the ice pack (right out of the freezer) around my knee, it is able to wrap around the whole knee.  It gets better though, sometimes with other icepacks once you get it thawed out a little and able to wrap, the gel is stuck in two gobs and your whole knee doesn't get iced...just certain parts.  Well with this ice pack, so far, even when it's wrapped around my knee the iced peas cover most of my knee!  I would highly recommend getting ice packs with this pea technology.  

-Hope this helps

Bree :) 

Picture from :http://www.google.com/imgres?q=pea+ice+packs&um=1&hl=en&biw=1565&bih=505&tbm=isch&tbnid=m1aMG8xsX-iFyM:&imgrefurl=http://kristinazufall.wordpress.com/category/ice-pack/&docid=lmmZeGWzpQDOoM&imgurl=http://kristinazufall.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/100_3825.jpg&w=1600&h=1200&ei=hZYLUKPrCcXMqgGTtPykCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=275&sig=115201010851138486793&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=191&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:81&tx=114&ty=65

Allergy Tips #1 :)

Hey guys!

So i'm super excited to write my first blog, so excuse me if I make any mistakes! :) As some of you might know from reading my "about me" I have severe allergies!  I am allergic to 80% of all elements and numerous foods.  With this comes a lot of complications as to what products I can use and handle, which has been a long process of trial and error.  So I am hoping that this blog will help a lot of people out! :) A lot of people have allergies, but are not really aware of what to do to help eliminate them...so here are some of my tips: 

1. I found out that my shampoo and conditioner I was using was giving me breathing attacks in the shower because of the sulfate in it.  I tried numerous different sulfate free shampoo and conditioner and found the best one is Enjoy: Sulfate- Free Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner. (The bottle is a cream color and the star is a light peach/light orange color).  Ever since I switched to this my breathing attacks stopped! YAY! :) 

2. My allergies would flare up when I would use downy laundry sheets and soap.  I switched to All Free and Clear Soap and do not use any sheets in the dryer.  I'm going to be honest (even though it's embarrassing) but sometimes I find that my athletic clothes still might have a slight sweat smell since I can't use downy sheets...what you can do is BEFORE washing mix baking soda and some soap into a paste and apply it to the specific area (like the underarm area) of the clothing item and scrub a little.  Let it set, than just toss the article of clothing into the wash and precede washing! This works wonders and will take bad odor out of your clothes.  

3.  My mom and I researched a TON of air purifiers and we ended up purchasing the Honeywell

True HEPA Air Purifier from Home Depot.  I absolutely LOVE this air purifier, it helps minimize my allergies significantly.  I even take it out to college!  When buying an air purifier you want to make sure that it has the True HEPA filter. This one even has a pre-filter and a main filter.  Also, I find this air purifier to make minimal noise.  It has 3 settings low, medium, and high, so you can adjust it.    

-Well keep checking back for more allergy hints, More will be coming! :) 

*Please note that these tips might work for me but others might not have a great success since allergies are different for each person...but I do hope these work for you :) *