Auto-Insights - Keeping you on the road to better living

607 E. Los Angeles Ave Simi Valley, CA 93065 805-581-2340 July 2012

July 2012 Holidays and Events

Cell Phone Courtesy Month National Blueberries Month National Grilling Month National Horseradish Month National Hot Dog Month National Ice Cream Month National Make a Difference to Children Month 1-7 Be Nice to New Jersey Week 8-14 Sports Clich Week 1 Second Half of the New Year Day 2 I Forgot Day 2 Made in the USA Day 3 Compliment Your Mirror Day 4 Independence Day (Fourth of July) 7 Father-Daughter Take a Walk Together Day 7 Tell the Truth Day 13 Embrace your Geekness Day 13 Gruntled Workers Day 15 National Ice Cream Day 16 Global Hug Your Kids Day 22 Parents Day 23 Gorgeous Grandma Day 23 Hot Enough For Ya Day 24 National Tell an Old Joke Day 26 National Chili Dog Day 28 National Day of the Cowboy

Vacation Close to Home

Most budgets usually cannot handle frequent large vacations. But have you ever considered vacationing close to home or becoming a sightseer in your own neighborhood? You dont have to travel far to have fun. Often you can find fun and inexpensive ways to spend your vacation close to home. Check around for local pools, mini-golf courses, and playgrounds that youve never visited. Many cities have historical societies that can be a source for interesting places to visit and explore. And especially check with your local department of parks and recreation. You could visit some tourist attractions in your own backyard. Call your local Chamber of Commerce or Visitors Information Board and ask for information on local tourist sites. If there are any on the list you havent been to, take time this summer to check them out. Visit a museum, go to the zoo, or catch a play put on by a local production company. Do you have guests arriving this summer to visit? You could use these same methods to take your visitors to interesting and fun places near your home. Vacations close to home can not only save you money, they can also give you a new appreciation for the community you live in. Often people come back from a long trip tired and exhausted from all the traveling. When you vacation close to home, youll end up refreshed and Strathearn Historical Park and Museum - Simi Valley relaxed.

Celebrate National Hot Dog Month with a $10 Savings

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Healthy Turkey and Spinach Meatloaf

Simple Summer Smoothies

The weather is heating up, and nothing beats a cool drink on a hot summer day. Mixing up a smoothie is a perfect way to cool down. Basically, a smoothie is simply a blended mixture of milk, fruit juices, yogurt, sherbet or sorbet, with fruit and ice added. These recipes can get you started. Once youve tried a few, start experimenting with different combinations of fruit and juice. If you are adding fruit, use frozen fruit or freeze fresh fruit in the freezer for about half an hour first. Substitute soymilk for the milk or yogurt for a healthy drink. Basic Banana Smoothie In a blender, combine, 1/2 cup milk, 1 banana, 1/4 cup plain or flavored yogurt, and enough honey to sweeten to taste. Blend until smooth and serve in a chilled glass. Chocolate Banana Smoothie To Basic Banana Smoothie, add two tablespoons chocolate syrup. Strawberry Banana Smoothie To Basic Banana Smoothie, add 1/2 cup frozen strawberries. Also works great with blueberries or raspberries.

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey 1 cup spaghetti sauce, divided 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 2 eggs slightly beaten 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed (optional) 1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained 3/4 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the ground turkey, 1/4 cup of spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, onion, eggs, Parmesan cheese and fennel in a medium bowl. Press half of the turkey into a greased 9 inch loaf pan or small baking pan. Press a 1 inch indentation down the center of the mixture, leaving 1 inch thickness on all sides creating an area for the spinach/cheese mixture. Toss the spinach and mozzarella cheese together and spoon into the indentation, mounding in the center. Press the remaining turkey mixture evenly over the top, sealing the edges. Bake 45-50 minutes. Spoon the remaining spaghetti sauce over the meat loaf. Bake another 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Food Tips
When working with peppers, your best bet is to use rubber gloves to prevent the chemicals in the pepper from burning your skin. But you still need to be careful to not touch your face or eyes with your gloved hands. If you dont like working with gloves, wash your hands well after touching hot peppers. You can also soak your hands for a few minutes in some milk to help remove more of the hot compounds. Throwing away food is bad for the environment and bad for your budget. Make the most of your leftovers by making good use of your freezer. If you have food left over after a meal, freeze individual portions right away. These can be reheated easily for a quick lunch or dinner. If you use microwaveable containers, you can take these small meals with you when you head to work, saving you time and money.

Nuts about Nuts

Nuts are high in protein and fiber and contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, folic acid, and omega-3 fatty acids. All of these are good for your heart. A recent study by scientists at Loma Linda University in California found that eating an average of 2.4 ounces of nuts per day reduced cholesterol levels by five percent in both people with normal and high cholesterol levels. People with high triglyceride levels saw a 21 point reduction with daily nut consumption. The researchers concluded that the lowering of these levels can lead to a drastically decreased heart attack risk. While it is easy to overindulge when eating these types of snacks, if you keep your consumption under three ounces daily, you can see long-term, heart-healthy benefits.

Schneiders Automotive 805-581-2340 www.SchneidersAuto.net

July is National Ice Cream Month.

Test your frozen confection knowledge with this cool trivia quiz! 1. A popular ice cream topping is sprinkles, also known as nonpareils. Nonpareils is French for what? 2. What flavor of ice cream is most popular? 3. Which American ice cream company has the slogan, Ice Cream of the Future? 4. Which U.S. state has the most Dairy Queen stores? 5. Which U.S. state makes the most ice cream each year? 6. What is the bestselling frozen novelty in the United States? 7. In which country was ice cream made available to the general public for the first time? 8. Sorbet is unique in that it does not have what ingredient? 9. What do you call the paper wrapper around the bottom of an ice cream cone? 10. A Baked Alaska is an ice cream dessert baked in the oven. What keeps the ice cream from melting? Answers 1. Without equal. 2. Vanilla. 3. Dippin Dots. 4. Texas. 5. California. 6. The Klondike Bar. 7. France. 8. Dairy products. 9. The jacket. 10. A meringue covering.

Money Tip

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You are entitled to one free credit report each year from the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). You do not have to pay to receive this, so be wary of any service that charges you. Many of these services are really selling you other products, including credit monitoring, credit repair, or debt consolidation. They give you a free credit report, but also sign you up for their service. You often do not see the charge for this for a month or two and are then billed monthly. To avoid this, use AnnualCreditReport.com to get your free report each year.

Megabrands
100 most-advertised brands by U.S. measured in ad spending in 2011. Dollars in millions. Source: Ad Age DataCenter AT&T Verizon Chevrolet McDonald's Ford Toyota Geico Macy's Sprint Target Walmart $1838 1647 1038 963 870 829 769 756 719 683 621

Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut Does it Again!

Joey Jaws Chestnut currently holds the world record for speed-eating hot dogs with his win of the 2012 Nathans Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. His total was 68 dogs in 10 minutes. He also won the 2011 contest eating 62 hot dogs.

The Lighter Side of An Election Year

I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952 If voting for me is Wrong, then you dont want to be Right! ~ from a high school election

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Thank You For The Kind Words

You are a breed apart! I've never been treated with such generosity! Not charging me for a diagnostic study which resulted in no signs of a problem in the hick-up of the engine. Bravo for your kindness. I applaud the gesture and feel good about having such good people to rely on for our family's car repair needs. Claudine Singer Hello Schneiders Auto As you know, the vehicle that you check is where my family travels daily and my choice is hard when it comes to replacing a vehicle that has giving us 160K of safe travel, besides fixing it, is a tough choice, but when you have and expert opinion, the choices that you can make are well founded, it still not easy but very wise. I like to feel like a friend is talking with me to advice me and guide me on what are the possible choices that I have and when you get service that Dont make you nervous it makes your choices clearer. Thank you Mitch and Staff for making me feel welcome and I strongly recommend the quality of service and technicians that Schneiders Auto offer to Simi Valley and beyond. Thanks again Mitch and please extend our gratitude to your staff from my family and me for keeping us safe one mile at a time. Mario Morales

Welcome to Schneiders Family of Families

Michael & Carol Bennett Boone Biddle Teri Buthman Wayne Cox Brooke Crothers James Fillon Phyllis Finner Steve Fizdale Gregory Gill Christophe Gomez Heather Grimm Roxane Hardy Jerry Hendrix Michael Iarossi Emily Kelly Amanda Lane Gary Lewin Mike Menne Mario Morales Getty Olm Joe Polimeni Paul Rock Christanna Rowader Andrea Schanda Nancy Shipman Cludia Sles Jan & Jeff Solomon Araon Stansfield Martin Velasco Mike Wainess Jenny Yi Thank you everyone for your referrals. The greatest compliment is having you trust us to care for your family and friends

John Flinders, TD Sport Court

Perhaps, one of the most difficult challenges any company that provides outside services may encounter is the service, maintenance and repair or their fleet of passenger cars and trucks. The one thing you can be sure of is that when these vehicles are standing still the company is NOT serving their clients and when they are not serving their clients they are NOT making any money! That pressure generally finds its way into our office and then out on to the shop floor. The Client Highlight for July 2012 is John Flinders and TD Sport Court. Not because they have lots of vehicles and spend lots of money with us (Which they do! Thank You!). But, because of the positive and considerate way John helps manage our relationship, which is not always that easy to do when you have a truck down and the parts you need to get that truck back on the road aren't readily available... So, to John, his 'Crew,' his administrative and management support, and especially to his Senior Management: Thank you for letting us help keep you mobile and on the road!

The Client Spotlight

Schneiders Automotive 805-581-2340 www.SchneidersAuto.net

What's New With Mitch?

Seasons Greetings

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Ive never thought about our business or even a business like ours as being a Seasonal service business. But, I guess in many ways it is. We are certainly busier during the summer than we are at any other time of the year. And, if the holidays: Winter holidays like Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa; Spring holidays like Easter and Passover; or, Memorial Day, the traditional start of the Summer season and Labor Day, the end of Summer and beginning of Fall, are any indication, I really should have figured all this out a long, long time ago! We are generally slammed just before a holiday weekend is about to kick off and the unbridled joy most of you experience at the thought of a three-day weekend get-a-way may result in real concern, a little creative time management in the office and out in the shop, and at least a grimace or two while were diligently working to ensure everyone is on their way. You see when most people are thinking about where they are going to go after theyve loaded up the family car or truck, were trying to figure out a host of new and different ways to ensure everyone gets there wherever there may be! Please dont misunderstand! Although, it might seem like Im complaining, Im not. Ensuring that everyone gets to wherever it is theyve decided to go is what we do! What weve chosen to do! And, if the truth were to be told, its what we actually love to do. We just dont always love doing it in four days and not the usual five! And, weeks with a holiday in the middle of the week? Well, theyre really special (Brutal?)! Think about it for a moment A week with a break in the middle is like having a week with two Mondays and two Fridays. And, two Mondays and two Fridays are one Monday and Friday too many for one week as far as Im concerned! Again, please dont misunderstand. Im not sure I would have it any other way. Its exciting to listen to everyones plans: to find out where all of you are headed and what youre all doing. Its just as exciting to hear about the Stay-Cations many of you have planned and youll never know just how gratifying it is to help make those plans a reality. What kills us is the anxiety: the anxiety that accompanies trying to figure out how to do it all without disappointing anyone. The difficulty that flows out of trying to fit the same number of vehicles it would normally take five days to complete into four! That will never stop us from trying trying hard enough to come in early and stay late; hard enough to work harder and longer, smarter and faster; hard enough to invest in the latest Win A $20 Yolandas Mexican Restaurant and best equipment and training. Gift Certificate When it comes to your car or truck, (590 East Los Angeles Ave.) our job is to make the kind of freedom and mobility, security and Be one of the first 20 callers with the correct answer to the Readers confidence that most people never Quiz and youll be entered into our monthly free prize drawing. even think about a reality for each Someone has to win. Why not you? and every one of you. Heres this months difficult question: So, Seasons Greetings to each and Ben Franklin said, Well done is better than _____ _______. every one of you as we celebrate our a.) well planned thirty-third July 4th together, and b.) medium rare best wishes for a safe and Happy July c.) well said 4th spent with those you love and Call us at 805-581-2340 with your answer. Last months answer was those who love you celebrating our Squeezebox, Pleated Piano, Stomach Steinway, Waistline Wurlitzer, Nations 236th Birthday! and Belly Baldwin all refer to the accordion Share your issue with a friend or call us at 805-581-2340 for extra copies

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The Mystery of Hiccups

The Hidden Dangers of CFL Bulbs

Compact fluorescent bulbs are a great way to save money and are a green solution to lighting your home. CLF bulbs are designed to last for several years. But eventually, they need to be replaced, either because they have burned out or due to breakage. It is important to know how to properly handle these light bulbs, as they contain mercury which can be harmful if it makes contact with skin or is ingested or inhaled. If you have a bulb that has broken, first open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes. Remove pets from the room as well. Next, put on some rubber gloves. Carefully scoop up the fragments with stiff paper or thin cardboard. Place the broken pieces in a sealable plastic bag. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipes. Place these in the plastic bag as well. If the breakage occurred on a hard surface, do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb. If the bulb has broken on a carpeted surface, remove all materials you can with the above method. To pick up small pieces and powder, use a sticky tape such as duct tape. If this does not remove all remaining bits, you can use the vacuum cleaner with some precautions. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and rinse the canister) and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealable plastic bag. Once you have picked up all the debris, seal up the plastic bag and then place this bag in a second plastic bag. Place the bags in an outdoor trash container or in a protected place outdoors until the next trash pickup. You will need to check the disposal regulation where you live to make sure you can dispose of this type of waste with your normal trash. Some places require you to take it to a community hazardous waste disposal center.

Imagine having the hiccups for almost your whole lifetime! Charles Osborne of Anthon, Iowa, did, hiccupping for over 68 years. He started hiccupping in 1922. Two wives and eight children later, in 1990, his hiccups finally went away. Thankfully, this type of condition is incredibly rare. Believe it or not, hiccups are somewhat of a mystery to the medical profession. Although many causes of hiccups are understood, such as eating spicy foods or drinking too much, many cases are unexplained. Hiccups can also be a symptom of a stroke or a tumor. But many times, the cause is just nothing. Hiccups have been studied for thousands of years, since the time of Hippocrates. In fact there is even a technical term for hiccups, singultus. But as of yet, there is no known cure. There are, however, many home remedies. Some involve stimulating the back of the throat, like sipping ice water, swallowing sugar, or sucking on a lemon. Others interrupt normal breathing, like holding your breath, breathing into a paper bag, or reacting to sudden fright. Eventually, most hiccups will subside. However, if you do have a case of the hiccups that dont go away, consider seeing your doctor.

According to a recent study, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found that getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night offers the lowest risk of diabetes. For every lost hour of sleep, your body decreases insulin sensitivity, and your risk doubles if you get five or fewer hours a night. If you are finding it difficult to get enough sleep, help mitigate the effect of this by avoiding sweet and fatty snacks. A tired body has increased cravings of these types of foods, so this is particularly challenging when you are struggling with lack of sleep. You may find that exercise can help. Not only will a regular exercise routine help you get better sleep, it will also help your metabolism process sugar normally.

Sleeping for Your Health

I thought I was indecisive; now I'm not so sure.

Schneiders Automotive 805-581-2340 www.SchneidersAuto.net

The Wit of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is often referred to as the first American humorist. He published Poor Richards Almanac from 1732 to 1758. In addition to the usual weather forecasts, household hints, and calendar, Franklin also included his own unique humor. Here are some of his most witty sayings, many of which have stood the test of time. A penny saved is a penny earned. Well done is better than well said. Remember that time is money. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages. Haste makes waste. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. God helps them that help themselves. Fish and visitors smell in three days. Little strokes fell great oaks. Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Go fly a kite.

How to Treat Sunburn

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Ever have one of those days? Youve spent a couple of hours enjoying the great outdoors, you return home, and then it hits you--youve got one bad sunburn. Next time this happens, dont just suffer through it. There are some things you can do to make the healing time better. Try using aloe vera gel or a spray anesthetic on the burned area. Avoid products with benzocaine. Use ibuprofen or acetaminophen for the pain, but stay away from aspirin. A cool bath, cool compresses, and drinking extra liquids can speed healing and help you feel better. Call a doctor if your burn is particularly bad or you feel generally ill. Babies under the age of one should have immediate medical attention for any type of sunburn. It is important to try to not get another sunburn while your skin is still healing. This will only further delay healing and will cause more pain. Remember, though, that prevention is the always the best medicine. Use sunscreen when going outdoors, take a hat, and stay out of the sun during the hottest times of the day. Hopefully, youll never have to treat a sunburn again.

And Some Wisdom Ben Didn't Know...

Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. Share your issue with a friend or call us at 805-581-2340 for extra copies

Auto Insights

is a free monthly newsletter from Mitch & the Team at:

607 E. Los Angeles Ave Simi Valley, CA 93065 805-581-2340 or: mitchs@SchneidersAuto.net

the needed work, done right, finished on time, and at a fair price

Eat 68 Hot Dogs & What Do You Get? Hot Tips for Summer Sunburn Got Hiccups? Try This... The Hidden Dangers of CFL Bulbs

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