2/23/2008

Eight Time-Saving Cooking Tips

by Rachel Paxton
1. Plan meals at least a week in advance to incorporate the use of leftovers. For example, have baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy for dinner Sunday, and then use the leftover gravy as the base of beef stroganoff Monday.

2. If you know you're not going to have time to cook one evening, prepare two dinners the night before and just reheat one the next night.

3. When preparing a meal using grated cheese, chopped onions, etc., prepare more than the recipe calls for and refrigerate the rest for another meal.

4. Clean your kitchen workspace as you go. When you're done there will be little left to clean.

5. On grocery shopping day, have your children help individually wrap their cookies, snacks, etc., for their lunches. Makes lunch preparation for the rest of the week a breeze and snacks don't disappear before lunches are made.

6. Don't hide your cookbooks away. Organize them where you can get to them easily, and you will use them a lot more.

7. Keep a notepad on the front of the refrigerator for your shopping list. When you run out of something write it on the list right away. Encourage family members to do the same.

8. Prepare favorite beverages like lemonade, tea, or Kool Aid in gallon-sized pitchers, and you won't have to make them as often.

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com

2/19/2008

Building Your Dream Game Room

By: Steven Cancel
When deciding to remodel or add an addition to your home, many people would like to include a game room. Whether it is in the basement or first floor of your home, a game room adds a place to unwind and have a good time. It can be used for guys or girls nights, family time, holiday gatherings or just any night of the week.

Once you have decided to create a game room in your home, you must decide what types of games you would like to include in it. There are a variety of gaming tables you can buy including poker, blackjack and roulette. You can find any of these items and their accessories online or in a store in your own area. If you order these items online, some sites will even let you customize the tables or accessories with your name or phrases.

Another item you can add to your game room is a pool table. Pool tables come in three sizes, starting at 7 feet and going to 9 feet. You should pick a table that best fits the size and needs of your game room. Once you decided on your pool table, you can then purchase your table accessories such as billiard balls, ball rack and pool cues. A pool table is fun for people of all ages.

Another gaming room item that is fun for people of all ages is a dart board. You can either get your standard cork dart board or an electronic one. You can get standard dart boards complete with wood cabinet and chalk board score board. This keeps up the appearance of your game room when the game is not in play. You can purchase dart boards online or at your local store. For the casino lover, you can add some slot machines. There are a variety of slot machines available for purchase online or at your local store. You can choose from a variety of themes and types of slot machine you would like to purchase.

Once you have chosen all the games you would like to include in your game room, you should decide if you would like to include a bar. If you choose to include a bar, you can either have a custom one built and installed or you can purchase one from your local home store. You can include game themed glasses, dishes and bottles to make your bar game room friendly. Now that you have all your games and maybe a bar, you can now decorate the room. You can choose from gamed themed pictures and signs. If you have a bar you can decorate with signs of your favorite beer or liquor. You can buy your signs and pictures online or in the store. If you buy your signs online, most sites will let you customize them with your name, picture or phrase that you like.

Now that you have everything that needs to go in your game room, all you need to do is set up, decorate and enjoy!


Article Source http://www.freearticalepro.com/Article/Building Your Dream Game Room/33558

2/09/2008

4 Steps to A Balanced Life for Your Kids Using a Sandwich

Author: Len Stauffenger

Did you know that Life Itself involves using a mental sandwich to maintain balance and that you can use this to promote balance in your kids lives? The four parts of this mental sandwich are: part work, part play, part serious thinking, and part restful enjoyment. You can teach it to them with great benefit!

Although having a balanced life is splendid for kids, it also extends to all they do in their lives. Back in the 1980s, I worked for a man who started a business in his basement. Over the course of his working life, he built that business up to the point where he eventually sold the business for over $220 million dollars. After all his business success, he ended up selling it because none of his five children had been taught to run it after he retired. As a matter of fact, not one of his kids had been taught to work as he did. The suffered the misfortune of having too much bounty simply handed out to them.

Having money is great. Can you have too much? It's a trick question. Having too much isn't the issue. Although the family was blessed with an abundance of money, that ended up being a problem, with the underlying issue being an inability to balance life's challenges. The family was all about money and not much of anything else. What if, with all that money, he would have made them get jobs, earn things, work hard? A more balanced life for each of them would have resulted.

Another example of an unbalanced life follows: I used to work with a successful lawyer who, when he hit 50, became depressed. He had three children who were all off to college, and he told me he really didn't know them because the entire time they were growing up, he had been in meetings. He would work Monday through Friday until 9:00 at night. He would often work on Saturdays and Sundays. Being a success in your career is not a sin, but my friend lacked the skill of creating balance between his life and his work. His career was all that mattered. He would never agree with that, and his actions spoke louder than his words.

Whatever your children like to do, whether it's swimming, soccer or science projects, encourage them to work really hard at it, but then, teach them to walk away from it. If you teach your kids to take a break after they push really hard, they'll gain a long-distance perspective on it.

When you teach your kids the four parts of the mental sandwich of life, they can then use those laws to govern balance in their work for school, in the careers they'll end up in, and in their relationships - ultimately all the things that make their lives healthy, filled with joy, success and satisfaction. The key to a balanced life is using all four parts of the mental sandwich.


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Len Stauffenger's parents taught him life's simple wisdom. As a divorced dad, he wanted to share that simple wisdom with his girls. "Getting Over It: Wisdom for Divorced Parents", his book, is the solution. Len is a Reiki Master, an author, a Success Coach and an Attorney. http://www.wisdomfordivorcedparents.com

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_470793_27.html

Valentine's Day Is

By: John Foley
Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. Today, Valentine's Day is one of the most celebrated holidays in all the world. Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Valentine's Day is a special holiday and the main focus of that day is and should be to express romantic love to that one special person. The most usual way of expressing love on Valentine's Day is through exchanging cards, flowers and chocolates.

The romantic festival of Valentine's Day is said to have originated in pagan times in Rome when people celebrated annual fertility festival called Feast of Lupercalia in mid-February. In present times, Valentine's Day is the second biggest Valentine's Day card-giving holiday after Christmas. Valentine's Day is celebrated in a big way in several countries across the globe.

Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts. Both men and women desire a romantic, private setting for their special Valentine's Day. Valentines can be sentimental, romantic and heartfelt or they can be funny and friendly. Valentine's day is a time to share your love to anyone not only your sweet heart but to anyone or everyone. Valentine's Day should be about spending time with loved ones and being grateful for what you have.

The most interesting and romantic gifts are often the ones that involve the most thought and planning. Among the most preferred romantic gift ideas are personalized Valentines gifts. In front of a fire or in bed, a romantic location is always preferred to present a sweet treat to your Valentine. Candy is a romantic classic, and can be very personal, reflecting the individual tastes of the person you love. Red roses still is the tops for those consumers looking to make a grand, romantic gesture, long-stemmed red roses are definitely the way to go.

Today's most popular Valentine gifts include chocolates, flowers, candies, jewelry and of course, greeting cards. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. Many men purchase expensive bouquets of roses and other flowers for their sweethearts on these days.

When asked to select the sexiest Valentine's Day candy, men were more likely than women. Men were also more likely to select dark chocolate, whereas women felt milk chocolate was the sexiest candy to give a spouse or significant other. Both men and women felt that waking up with a sexy sweet is the best way to start Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is not about lovers, it's about love. Remember that Valentine's Day isn't just about giving and receiving gifts. Love the person you are with, appreciate them for their differences and take the time to really let them know how much they add to your life, how much they mean to you. The greatest gift you can offer loved ones is your true presence. In all things, love is the greatest and most powerful emotion that we have. Whether you make a big deal out of Valentine's Day or not, it is important that the two of you share your expectations of Valentine's Day with each other. Whether it is a dinner for two people just starting to get to know one another, flowers for mom, a special family dinner with candles and good food, or sending a good friend a card, it is an opportunity to pause and celebrate affection whatever form it takes.

Article Written By J. Foley

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com


Just The Simple Expression "I Love You" Will Go A Long Way On Valentine's Day. And For Some Great Ideas, Here Is A Free Report Entitled "101 Amazing Ways To Say "I Love You

2/05/2008

Health Care For All Americans NOW

By: Kate Loving Shenk
Much press is given aging Baby Boomers who send their children to college and in many cases, take care of their aging parents at the same time.

In my own case, my mother died after a stroke after a two month decline in 1987. I just graduated from my Nurse Practitioner program and came home on Father's Day.

This was the same day my mother had her stroke.

My father's gradual decline spanned over thirteen years. He had Alzheimer's Disease and was in and out of consciousness for most of that time. I dealt with Nursing Home administrators, and had to move him from one nursing home to another when he "ran out of money."

These kinds of experiences where you feel powerless to help the one person whom you love deeply from earliest memory, can teach lessons of surrender and a giving up of all past memory for a simple acceptance of that which is seen and unseen in this very moment.

My dad died seven years ago. I am reconciled with everything that ever happened between us, and all members of my family.

Enter Marybeth Kuznik, Executive Director of Vote Pa. She is dedicated to bringing voting (machine) reform to the state of Pennsylvania. She was one of the people who went to Ohio for the final vote count in Ohio in the 2004 election.

She verified what I have known since that time: G.W. Bush stole that election.

Marybeth and I met at the State Democratic Committee Meeting where our group, Progressives For Pennsylvania, held our health care reform conference in order to educate the State Democratic Party about HB 1660 and SB 300: The best state single payer plan in the country, at this time.

The conference was a success! People are excited by the Bill. As Michael Moore said in a recent conference call I was privileged to attend, the people are ready for it. Getting it through the legislative process is the challenge.

We were collecting health care delivery nightmare stories, and Marybeth gave us the most wrenching story I have ever heard, one that will soon be on You Tube and on our website, Progressives 4 Pennsylvania, as well as our P4P blog.

Merle Kuznik, Marybeth's 89 year old mother, broke her right hip after suffering a major stroke on her left side. The nursing home she was in, Wood Haven Care Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, insisted that Merle Kuznik apply for Medicaid to pay for expenses not paid by Medicare.

When the paperwork was not completed in a timely fashion, local Constables showed up to her nursing home room, with guns visible but in their holsters, and told her she would have to go to jail for 3 days, if she did not pay.

Marybeth, the savvy person that she is, went to KDKA TV and told the story.

Our bill, HB 1660 and SB 300 pays for long term care.

If our bill was in place NOW, Marybeth and Merle wouldn't be going through this degrading experience.

The question is, how many other of our elderly are experiencing similar experiences that are the worst kind of abuses in what we know is NOT a civil society until we get a single payer system instituted in our country?

How many suffer silently because, like Merle Kuznic, they cannot speak, or move because they are paralyzed? or worse, because they are mentally incapacitated?

This story underscores the reason why I fight tirelessly for a single payer health care delivery system.


Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover Your Calling and Destiny." Click here to find out how to order the e-book: http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com Check Out Kate's Blog: http://www.nursehealers.typepad.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

2/02/2008

Home Theater Seating

Author: Andrew Robinson
Buy the finest Home Theater Furniture form Boston Tables. It has a large variety of designs and colors in Home Theater Seating so that you can find the perfect set for your Home Theater Rooms

Now that you have your very own home theater system, how about completing and complementing it with the right furniture

That’s right! Get your very own home theater seating arrangement and get the complete movie experience right there in your home. Get the complete movie experience with the right furniture and enjoy the pleasures of a great movie on the cozy couch at your home.

Boston Tables present to you the finest home theater furniture in the best of designs. Claim your rights to fun and get more out of movies with the ultimate word in luxury. Soft, cozy and lustrous home theater seats that are just the right ones for your home are available in the leading online web store Boston Tables.

We have the largest variety of designs and colors in home theater seating so that you can find the perfect set for your home and for your movie room. Brighten up your home with your very own home theater furniture from Boston Tables.

When it comes to home furniture for luxury living, Boston Tables is the preferred store. This is due to the reason that we offer stylish and luxurious furniture that are available at half the price from what you get at other places.


These seats have strength and durability that will last you a lifetime. Just browse through our online website and select for yourself the perfect one that not only compliments your new home Theater but also gels well with your interior decorations.

You can also see the prices along with each piece so that it is easy for you to make your decision.

For instance,

You can choose from our Custom Design Theater Seats. Basically there are 3 varieties in it
Brando – available at the price of $699.99
Eastwood – available at the price of $749.99
And Rodeo – available at the price of $999.99


You can also opt for Leather Home Seating and Theater Sectional Seats

Like the 2 Seat Black Leather Home Theater Seating, 2 Seat Taupe Leather Home Theater Seating or the 2 Seat Black Leather Home Theater Seating- Straight with the original price of $1,099.99 is available at $999.99 only at Boston Tables.

We give you immediate shipping on select theater sets.

About the Author:
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Andrew is a well known author who writes for www.bostontables.com


Article Source: www.article99.com/view-authors/track.php?bio=2964&author=Andrew-Robinson
Date Submitted: [ 2007-11-01 ]