DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT FLOWERS AFTER VALENTINE’S DAY _ Well, the time is near. It’s 25 days until Valentine’s Day, so it’s time I remind you now that on February 15, the internet doesn’t want to hear your complaints about cruddy flowers ordered over a toll-free line or on the web. Don’t share photos of those flowers on Facebook and TikTok. If you order from some national company and they show up looking shoddy, you got what you paid for. For the biggest, freshest arrangement for the person you love, call up a local florist, give them a number you’re willing to spend, and tell them what your Valentine likes. And if you don’t know, ask the local florist if they can recommend something unique and different that’s always a hit. For your out-of-town Valentine do a little homework to find the best local florist in their neighborhood.
‘CHEAT CODE’ THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW _ Gathered from Facebook comments.
• Boundaries aren’t rude — they’re instruction manuals for how to treat you.
• Rest is part of the work, not a reward for it.
• The best way to connect with people is to show interest in their interests. People love talking about their hobbies and passions.
• You can’t control timing, but you can control readiness.
• People won’t remember what you said — they’ll remember how you made them feel.
• Sleeping properly fixes more problems than motivation ever did
• It’s not how you screw up, it’s how you recover.
• Consistency beats motivation
THE WOMAN WHO’S SAVED BILLIONS OF PIZZAS _ When’s the last time you opened a pizza box and found parts of your cheesy pie stuck to the inside of the lid? If it’s been a long time, you have the inventor of the Pizza Saver to thank. The Pizza Saver turns 40 this year (February). It was first patented in 1985 by Carmela Vitale of Dix Hills, New York, who saw a plastic divider as a way of preventing the tops of pizza boxes from bowing inwardly and pressing against the top of the pizza, which can happen when steam from a hot pie weakens the cardboard. As a result, the top can fuse to the cheese, ripping off the entire upper portion of the pizza when the box is opened. Vitale opted for a three-legged pizza saver to keep the box top raised and to minimize damage to the pie itself. Vitale never produced the pizza savers in great quantities herself; that was left to major plastics manufacturers who could roll them out for as little as one cent apiece. After her patent expired in 1993, anyone was free to produce them. But the next time you order a double pepperoni, try to remember the woman who made a cheesy box top a thing of the past.
