Leaping Into The Sack To Soon

Got your attention didn't I?  Well, playing leap frog is a practice far too many women are falling victim to nowadays.  The question to ask yourself foremost should be, "Are you looking for unemotional sex, or a lasting relationship?"  Come on.  Stop smirking.

Dating and relationships just aren't what they use to be.  We live in a sexually liberated society that has changed the dynamics dramatically.  Many single ladies I have talked to try and stick to a 5-10 date rule before they take it to the "Intimate" level.  But when they have the added outside pressures of a biological clock ticking away at warp speed, parents harping for grand babies and simply craving for a committed relationship, the pressure to put out sometimes far outweighs sensibility.

So, what's a girl to do?  Thinking before you leap is a good idea and here are a few important factors to consider first that might just temper the urge for all the right reasons.

• Sex releases a different set of brain chemicals in women than in men.  We get a massive surge of the hormone oxytocin that induces bonding and creating relationships.  It's a need beyond our control.  Men, however, don't get that rush because of testosterone, making it a heck of a lot easier for them to "love em and leave em."  So before you give it away, you may want to make sure they're just not looking for a roll between the sheets, if you're wanting a lasting relationship.  Just sayin'.
• Men who are bad kissers ... well, the odds here girlfriends are 10-1 they're rarely good in bed.  Back away.  Back far, far away.
• Don't let alcohol cloud your judgment.  Poor decisions always derive from consuming too much of the sauce, whatever it is.  The risks are just too great on so many levels.
• It's a rebound error.  We try to forget the hurt and pain from a love lost, needing to feel sexy and attractive and wanted again.  Jumping into bed with the next guy who shows interest, says the right things, makes the right moves or simply looks just too darn scrumptious to deny is NOT the bandage to heel your broken heart.  Go on a "man fast" for a while.  Do girly things, take up a hobby or cause.  Do for you.
• You're really not attracted to him but the offer is tempting you senseless.  Okay ... this is where you need to step back and take a long, hard look at you know who.  Really.  You may be lonely, horny, bored, needing confirmation you're still desirable OR all of the above but, in the end, you'll only feel more empty, unfulfilled and guilty in the end.

Wanting sex is human.  Giving it away and losing count is simply unhealthy both emotionally and physically.

Chocolate Lover's Dream

French Silk Pie

Close your eyes and imagine caressing the fluffy, soft texture of sweet chocolate as it glides over your tongue in a creation that represents a frothy meringue.  Mmmmmm. 

This delectable and mouth-watering delight is very easy to make and a dessert you'll want to serve any time of the year.

 Ingredients:

 

Crust

• 30 chocolate wafers, (see Tip)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Filling

• 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 8 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons dried egg whites, (see Ingredient Note), reconstituted according to package directions
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.

To prepare crust: Combine chocolate wafers and dates in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add water and oil and process until moistened. Press into the bottom and sides of the prepared pan.

Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling & garnish: Combine coffee and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top and set aside to soften.

Whisk egg, milk, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cocoa in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the reserved gelatin mixture; stir until dissolved. Add chocolate and vanilla, stirring until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Beat reconstituted egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 5 tablespoons brown sugar, beating until the meringue is smooth and glossy.

Whisk one-fourth of the meringue into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the remaining meringue and fold in with a whisk. Spoon the filling into the crust and chill, uncovered, until set, about 3 hours.

 

Important Tips:
 
Many commercial cookies and wafers contain partially hydrogenated oil, a source of trans-fatty acids. Look for brands made without these oils, such as Newman’s Own Organics and Mi-Del, which fortunately are every bit as tasty. Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets.

Ingredient Note: Dried egg whites are pasteurized—a wise choice when making meringue toppings that may not reach 160°F (the temperature at which eggs are considered "safe"). You’ll find them in the baking or natural-foods section of most supermarkets. Reconstitute according to package directions.

Strawberry-Pineapple Sundae

Nothing says yummmmm more than a mouth watering sundae.  What makes it even more delightful is when you can serve one up that is not only delicious but, body and heart healthy as well.  It's a dessert you can carry well into the winter months when you have that craving for something sweet and light.

Thanks to our friends at EatingWell.com, we'd like to share it with you.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, juice drained
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam, preferably “all-fruit”
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cups nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt
• Mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

Pull green tops off strawberries. Slice the strawberries and put half in a small saucepan. Add pineapple chunks, jam and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries are soft, about 5 minutes. Carefully stir in the remaining strawberries (the sauce will be very hot). Set aside to cool.

To serve, spoon most of the sauce into 4 ice cream dishes and top with scoops of frozen yogurt. Spoon the remaining sauce on top. Garnish with mint sprigs if desired.

Tips For A Successful Blog

With the millions of blogs taking up space in that endless sphere we call the web posting on every topic from A ~ Z you are probably wondering how you can make your blog shine the brightest, while receiving  the highest traffic ever.  We all want to develop loyal followers and a humongous readership.  The key isn’t just attracting them in the first place, but creating an excitement and interest that will make them want to come back for more.


Your Voice Matters

Be expressive.  It’s not necessarily what you say, but how you say it that will strike a chord in your readers’ heart, mind or soul.  When visitors read an online article or land on your site, they are looking for an experience.  Giving them more than what they expected will make them come back wanting more.  We all know people can be reactionary at times in their way of thinking.  Providing content that is entertaining, informational, clear and insightful will do wonders for your bottom line.  A Hallmark card prompts an immediate sale and for the recipient, an emotional experience.  When you invoke human emotion in one form or another into your content, the public responds.

Promotion Is Key

Any one can choose an awesome blog design and post great material.  If no one reads it, it’s kind of pointless to waste the time and effort.  Feed your posts to your Facebook, Twitter, Myspace profiles and also your hotmail, aol and yahoo email accounts.  Register your blog on search engines like Technorati, BlogCatalog, Alltop,  Klout , StumbleUpon and Ice Rocket.   Submit your articles to online magazines and ezines that allow you to reference your blog.  A little effort in self-promotion will go a long way.

Write What You Know

We all have a passion about something.  Begin with what you know whether it’s cooking, hiking, crafts, sports, biking, a hobby, following celebrities, fashion … the options are endless.  Once you create an entertaining and knowledgeable voice, they will follow.

Pictures Are A Must

Yes a picture does say a thousand words.  And, nothing is more mundane than an article/post that is filled with words.  Appeal is important.  Make sure you don’t use copyrighted images.  There are free photo sites available like Stock.xchng  and Jupiter Images that offer royalty-free stock photos.

Widgets

They’re cool … plain and simple and can add interesting interaction to your website or blog by providing content that complements the material you've created.   BUT, be careful not to have an over-abundance of them on your site.  Delete unnecessary badges for contests and blog hops.  A blog overloaded is a blog that gives the appearance of disarray and less importance.  If you write about politics, you can add a widget that follows the political arena.  We’re all familiar with the popular ones that hook us up to Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.   There are multiple sites that offer  free apps like Widgets For Free

Before You Refinance, Ask Yourself This

Interest rates have been standing at an all time low for quite some time now, while values on homes are steadily increasing across certain regions.  Are you feeling the itch to refinance and take advantage of this golden opportunity before things swing in the opposite direction again?

Before you enter back into the lion’s den, you might want consider these things first.  Take it from me, as a former mortgage V.P. they are truly worth the time.

      1.      Do I have the time to spare?

This question is basic, but you shouldn't overlook it. If you're already very busy with work or other major obligations, it may be in your best interests to wait until you have more time to deal with the details of the loan. If you are too busy or stressed out, you might make a mistake, missing something important in the fine print or falling prey to a bad loan. Refinancing should be done with the same extreme care you put into getting your original mortgage — it's just as big a decision.

2. Will I break even or come out ahead?

Most people assume that refinancing will put them ahead; otherwise, they wouldn't do it. But how realistic is this assumption? Any number of situations could arise, from work relocation to a family emergency that could influence your financial situation and make your decision to refinance unprofitable. Unfortunately, it's not possible to predict with complete accuracy whether you will own the home long enough to come out ahead on a refinance, but you can make an educated guess. Since it is possible to lose money on a refinance, it's important to consider whether you can afford that risk.

3. Am I disciplined enough to resist rolling other debt into my mortgage?

It might sound like a good idea to pay off some of your other debts by refinancing them into your mortgage. Why owe money to multiple people and make multiple debt payments every month, when you could have just one debt and one major monthly payment, all at a low interest rate? Well, let's use an auto loan as an example. Auto loans often have higher rates than mortgage loans — depending on what market conditions were like when each loan was taken out, of course — but they also have fairly short terms. If you take that short-term loan and turn it into a 30-year loan, even at a lower interest rate, you're likely to end up paying more. You didn't think the bank was offering to consolidate your debt out of the kindness of its heart, did you? Banks are businesses. They're in it for the profit, and if they can stretch out a loan for you, they're often happy to do it because it allows them to collect more interest.

4. Am I likely to qualify for the rate I want?

The current interest rates for a refinance quoted on major financial websites and the evening news can only give you a general idea of what interest rate you might be able to get. The details of your specific situation, such as your credit score and the type of loan you want to refinance into, will affect the rates available to you. If you don't qualify for the lowest advertised rates, is it still worthwhile to refinance? Talk to a few lenders to see what kind of rate you can expect, but keep in mind that the unscrupulous ones will quote any rate to get your business. If you trust the person who handled your first mortgage, that's a good place to start your research.

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5. Can I meet today's tighter lending standards?

If you took out your last mortgage before the housing bubble, when no doc and no income verification loans commonplace, you may be stunned by the borrower requirements and documentation requirements to refinance in today's market. Many lenders will want you to have a high credit score and ask you to provide full documentation of your financial situation, such as recent pay stubs, bank account statements, tax returns and more.

6. Can I prevent going from a good loan to a bad loan?

If you're not savvy when it comes to money, contracts and salespeople — in this case, loan officers — or you just don't trust yourself to not make a mistake, refinancing might not be in your best interest. If you know you have a good loan, you may not want to roll the dice and see what you end up with when you refinance. And if you already have a bad loan, refinancing will be useless if you just end up in another bad loan. Also, there's always the risk of bait and switch — just like when you first bought your home, a lender may quote you one interest rate and set of fees on the day you decide to work with them and give you something entirely different when it's time to sign the paperwork.

This fabulous article was found at http://realestate.msn.com/6-questions-to-ask-before-you-refinance?gt1=35010