Easy Tips for Valentines Decorations and Valentines Gifts

You can make Valentine’s Day extra special for your loved ones by decorating your home with beautiful centerpieces, including fresh flowers in your décor and gifting thoughtful Valentine’s gifts. Valentines day is a perfect occasion to spend time with friends and family. Valentines decorations can uplift the ambience of your home. Here are a few tips to bring Valentine’s Day cheer to your home.

Fresh Flowers and Planters
Fresh flowers and greenery always make a home look refreshing and lively. Flowering houseplants are excellent ideas for Valentine‘s decorations. Place flowering plants like lilies and jasmines in beautiful urns and planters around your home. These houseplants are easy to maintain and when they bloom, they fill up the home with their wonderful fragrance. Small planters made from ceramic or porcelain can be used to decorate tabletops, mantel places, and windowsills. Bigger planters made from hardy material like terracotta or plastic are suited for outdoor spaces like the porch or patio. Basket planters and hanging planters also make ideal Valentine’s decorations.

Homemade Crafts
Homemade Valentine’s ornaments make charming Valentine ‘s decorations. Do-it-yourself craft projects are a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Handcrafted decorations like garlands, banners and framed quotations make pretty home décor. You can decorate plain glass votive candle holders with ribbons and glass beads. Create a welcoming ambience by decorating your front door with a fresh flower wreath or pretty wreath made from heart-shaped cutouts.

Valentines day celebrations would be incomplete without heartfelt Valentine’s gifts. Here are some ideas to gift your friends and family.

Jewelry Boxes and Cases
Jewelry is a classic gift idea and a jewelry case is the perfect accompaniment. You can gift beautiful jewelry cases and boxes filled with pretty trinkets or even tasty Valentine candy and chocolates. Monogrammed jewelry cases are especially thoughtful. Friends and loved ones will cherish jewelry boxes personalized with their names, initials or special messages. Ornate antique jewelry boxes made from wood or silver are wonderful Valentine’s gifts.

Picture Frames
Photo frames with your favorite snaps are great Valentine’s gifts. Sterling silver frames or antique wooden frames are beautiful and complement any home décor. You can gift a set of photo frames in varying sizes and shapes with cherished pictures to family members.

With these ideas, you can easily find perfect valentines gifts for family and friends.

Each Players Role in Offensive Basketball

Basketball is a rough sport but people who regularly play the sport make it really fun to watch, not to mention very easy. If one looks a little bit closer, it has also technicalities and techniques. The object the game is to keep the ball in possession and score at the team’s basket. If the team has the basketball they should protect it from the opponent so that they won’t be able to steal it from them. This is called offense; the team who possesses the ball tries to keep the ball in their hands before they shoot and score.

Different players of the team have differences in the roles that they play during offense.

The Point Guard acts as the coach on the floor or court during the game. Extensive knowledge of the game and good ball handling skills are very important to be able to drive the ball to the basket with the help of the other members of the team. Good passing and dribbling skills together with great speed and fancy footwork is a technique that can be done by the point guard to keep the ball in possession and be successful in offensive play. Reading the defense of the opponent plus doing good defense can also be applied so the point guard can penetrate and dish off and drive the ball to the basket. Point Guards take little credit for the good offensive play however; they are valued by the other members of the team and the coach for they are the only ones who can understand the importance of the point guard.

The Off-Guard or the shooting guard acts as the best shooter among the guards of team. In addition to the qualities of the point guard, skills in moving without the ball and consistent hitting the 15 to 20 foot shot should be possessed. This player’s aim is to score and assists his teammates to score. This player should read the offense play the point guard has established because this player will replace the point guard if the point guard is overplayed or has to leave the game. This player then also acts as the understudy of offense.

The Center plays the mean tallest player on the floor or court and is as important as the point guard. This player should be quick and aggressive because this player rebounds to get the ball in the team’s possession and blocks the ball from shooting at the basket. Shooting skills required for this player are shooting at short and mid range, lay-ups, short hooks and jump shots and therefore strong hands, strong upper body and good jumping ability comes in handy. This player leads the team’s defense by reading the opponent’s defense and using it against the opponent. Upon taking the ball in the team’s possession, this player needs to look at the floor, see who is open and pass it so the ball can be taken to the team’s basket and score.

The Small Forward acts as the gifted player of the team. This player should know how to take hold of the ball and of the game. This player runs the length of the floor if needed especially during fast breaks so this player should be quick and fast. Rebounding skills is also necessary for him to take hold of the ball and in doing so, this player does defense anywhere on the floor. This player shoots at will and should be capable of shooting from anywhere on the court or floor.

The Power Forward does the dirty work but is like the point guard, small forward and the center. This player should also have the qualities of the center because this player controls the game in the key along with the center, doing offensive and defensive rebounding. This player may run the length of the floor if necessary especially during fast breaks so running skills is a plus factor. Adequate scoring and passing skills would be of great help to this player. This player does dribbling tactics and drives the ball to shoot in the basket. This player ensures that the team play is enforced properly.

The sixth man plays the all in one because this player replaces any member of the team on the court or floor if necessary. This player comes right out of the bench to ensure the right flow of the team play if the need comes to replace another player. This player observes the play and flow of the game so that this player can continue the game’s tempo and flow and deliver quality minutes to the team while he is on the court. This player may not be part of the starting five but this player keeps the team effective.
Source by Justin Sloan

FREE Christmas Card Verses That YOU Can Use!

If you are a homemade greeting card enthusiast, then you know how much fun it can be, and a handmade card probably means more to most people than a store-bought card! Plus, making greeting cards can be therapeutic and it’s lots of fun! It is a nice way to pass the time, and handmade cards always brighten people’s days! Even folks who throw cards away after a while, will usually keep the handmade ones!

Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine

As Russian forces attack Ukraine, civilians suffer. When those affected flee their homes and seek shelter, many will rely upon humanitarian aid from charities on the ground. You can help by purchasing products from the Team Ukrainian site.

https://teamukrainian.com/

As a writer of greeting card verses, amongst other things, I felt that there are many people out there who are making homemade Christmas Cards, and they don’t know quite what to write inside! On the outside, you can obviously write:

Christmas Baskets

Holiday Baskets

Season’s Greetings!

Happy Holidays

Wishing You a Merry Christmas!

Holiday Greetings to You

You might use all capital letters or both capital and lower case, and you might choose to use exclamation points or not! It’s really up to you!

My name is Father Time, a self-help writer and speaker, and I also write many things for others as a ghost writer! At www.FatherTimePublishing.com we have many awesome gift items, and also some great gift baskets!

At this time of year, it is especially good to do random acts of kindness, although we should all be doing these all year long! Here Are Some FREE Christmas Card Verses YOU Can Use inside your own homemade cards!

There are several FREE Christmas Card Verses and you can use them however you wish to use them! It’s Good Karma! Aren’t you happy that you landed on this ArticlesBase.com piece? You may even be reading it elsewhere after it got re-posted!

Here is a great FREE Christmas Card verse of a general nature:

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Merry Christmas to You, My Friend!…… It’s a wonderful time of the year!…… A time for Happiness, Joy, and Friends!…… A time for lots of Cheer!…… Wanted to wish you the very best!……. Now and the whole year through…… Also wanted to say that I am…… Glad to have a friend like you!

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There are many more FREE Christmas card verses that you can use on my website, and I hope that you will help yourself! Remember that making and sending handmade Christmas cards is a great way to spread sunshine to others!

Many Blessings!

Great Side Dish For Lobster Recipe

If you love lobster, then you know it is the star of the show on your plate. So, what do you serve with this main star? What side dishes for lobster are the best?

To keep the lobster as the main event, you need to have very simple side dishes. Very colorful vegetables in the yellow, reds and greens work very well with Lobster dishes.

Here is one example:

Cucumber and tomato salad. This makes a great side dish for lobster. It is simple to make and very colorful.

Here is what you will need:

cucumbers (as many as you think you will need for your guests, you will have to gauge this yourself)

nice red ripe tomatoes

Greek style bottled dressing

Peel your cucumber and then slice in 1/2 lengthwise, and then again, and then slice the wedges about 1/2 inch think.

Wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces a similar size to the cucumber chunks.

Put these in a bowl, and then pour some dressing (I found the Kraft Greek style dressing with feta worked the best for me)

Then let it sit for about 15 minutes before you serve it, to absorb the Greek dressing. Then sprinkle with the crumbled feta cheese.

Put on the table with a large spoon, and let your guests help themselves to this delicious side dish for the lobster.

Add a basket of crusty rolls, and lots of whipped butter, and you will have a fine lobster lunch or dinner.

You don’t need to spend too long on the side dishes for lobster, they should be simple, colorful and delicious. Your guests will be more interested in the lobster than anything else really anyways. Potato dishes may be a bit heavy a side dish for lobster, so stick to lighter fare, such as fresh vegetables and fresh bread or rolls.

Don’t forget the napkins or maybe bibs!

Source by Diane Palmer

Watermelon Carving

Fruit carving is amongst the oldest traditions followed from the Oriental nations, China, Japan, Thailand and some Asian nations specifically. This inventive custom frequently centers on some festivities wherever the beautiful sculptures draw the attention in the people. In reality carving of fruits is definitely an exquisite work of artwork. In China, watermelon carving is considered the most well-liked. Fruit carving can be completed on like fruits as carrots, papaya, pumpkins together with other more compact fruits for carving personal items. But watermelon carvings show up to be really captivating on account of its varied hues and size. The contrasting hues of melons lend a striking influence to the finished solution, creating all of them the more desirable.

Just before the execution of the carving ability, it is important to generate the many correct arrangements. A great carving knife with a simple sharp pointed blade is a must- have in cases like this. Carving on a watermelon is finished inside a relief format; it may be only a very simple lower out or have an complex engraving. This Chinese creative sculpture is of historical origin that has been passed down in the generations. In present day times, this wonderful custom has discovered excellent recognition and recognition through the entire earth. The various tones and colours of watermelons (pink, white, green) function wonders to offer a contrasting effect into the sculptures.

Watermelon sculptures can flip out for being the cynosure for virtually any situation or global function. This artwork is often exhibited at any cultural platform to showcase some amazing abilities. The carvings done within the watermelons are endless, ranging from teapots to flower vases, to minor animals or simply trophies. These incredible models are carved out applying carving tools and melon ballers. The carving resource is employed to cut out intricate styles while the melon baller scoops out greater sections. The melon baller is particularly beneficial in carving out huge exceptional shapes such as a fish, basket or fruit holder. The watermelon rind is extremely straightforward to lower into and amateurs can start with cutting the rind to generate big models.

Watermelon carving could be a great fun with all the kids as well. The fact is, becoming a very good source of vitamins in addition to a tasty fruit, children might have a good time learning this artwork and absorbing the advantages of this fruit. This exceptional artwork sculpture should be encouraged amid the children not just to propagate and continue to keep alive the historical tradition but also to give technique to the creation of masterpieces with the potential.

Source by wmallare

How to Create Organizational Wellbeing At Your Workplace

Being happy at work is important

A Culture of Workplace Wellbeing Is Important

Employee wellbeing, engagement and a culture of wellbeing links to important company strengths such as productivity, health and employee retention, a study by Gallup revealed. Experience shows these factors complement affect one another in ways that CEOs, team leaders and managers can influence.

Yet, creating employee wellbeing and engagement in the workplace remains an elusive goal for many employers. A report by BlessingWhite research, “Employee Engagement Report 2011,” indicated that only 31 percent employees in the study were engaged, while 17 percent were actively disengaged (employees who aren’t happy at work and care little for their jobs and employer). The recent global GFC may have negatively influenced the result of the study. However, this study found that more employees considered looking for new jobs than surveys from 2007 through 2009.

Three Types of Employees

  • Engaged – These are employees that work with passion, drive and feel a connection to their company. They promote innovation and drive the organization forward.
  • Not-Engaged – Employees who are ‘checked out’. They sleepwalk through the workday. They might put time in, but not passion into their tasks.
  • Actively Disengaged – These are a minority but they are employees who just aren’t happy with work. They actively act out this unhappiness. They undermine what their accomplished engaged coworker do.

Jim Harter, Ph.D is Gallup’s chief scientist of workplace management and wellbeing. He believes individual wellbeing has an effect on future employee engagement and changes to employee engagement. “If people had higher wellbeing in year one, they would tend to have higher engagement in year two and a more positive change in engagement in year two,” Harter says. “People that have high individual wellbeing are more likely to see their workplace as positive, productive, and engaging. Conversely, if they are struggling or suffering, it rubs off on the workplace and the team.”

Engaged Employees Are Happy Employees

Employee wellbeing has important implications for productivity and work relationships. Satisfied, passionate and happy employees are more likely to trust their leaders, comply with tasks given, and company rules, provide suggestions to improve the organisation, help co-workers, and work as a team to achieve goals. Such behaviour contributes to a high-performing organisation that is productive and innovative. Therefore, it is not surprising that research has shown that employee wellbeing is associated positively with customer satisfaction.

In a 2012 Gallup survey of 70,000 people around the world, one of the largest contributors to daily experiences of negative emotions was not feeling respected. As a manager, how can you promote wellbeing and employee engagement at your company? It is important to be aware of your employee’s engagement and wellbeing because there is a strong connection between the two. “Small decreases in wellbeing may not seem like much,” says Harter. “But poor wellbeing is strongly related to absenteeism and ‘presenteeism,’ or when people show up to work but aren’t active, effective, and productive.”

If one employee rates her wellbeing as 75 on the wellbeing scale and another worker rates his as 70, the worker with lower wellbeing will have 18.6% higher risk of sleep disorders, 15% higher risk of anxiety or depression 6.3% higher risk of obesity and 0.6 unhealthy days in the past 30 days.

Be aware of your employee’s engagement and wellbeing

As the research showed above, there’s a strong connection between wellbeing and engagement, and that applies to managers as well. Employees may not be aware of all the wellbeing opportunities a company offers. But a manager can encourage employees to get involved in wellbeing activities such as yoga, improved training, motivational rewards and personal development opportunities. This reflects a powerful cascade effect from managers to employees, Harter says, “When managers care about their wellbeing, their team members take a greater interest in their own wellbeing.” This helps to minimise staff turnover and improving employee motivation.

Give employees a platform

A lot of studies are showing that change happens because of our social environment,” Harter says. “Norms are shared in a way that’s contagious, and companies and managers can help set those norms. But the team will carry them forward.”Employees who are engaged and thriving also have greater agility and resilience. “When people are engaged and have thriving wellbeing, their life situations don’t weigh them down and keep them from performing,” Harter says. “They see changes as opportunities, not problems.” Managers who encourage wellbeing and engagement will help their companies reap the benefits in times to come.

Stay Informed

The old saying, ‘leave your personal life at home, not at work’, is not entirely realistic. A Gallup analysis shows that your wellbeing has an impact on the people you work with and on the people who work for you. Work/life balances are important in order for your employees to balance their work and personal lives, which makes them happier and more productive. By creating a positive culture of organizational wellbeing for your company, you are encouraging your employees to take pride in their job, and respect their peers.

Streamline Workflow

It is important in today’s workplaces that a company runs smoothly. Do you want to streamline workflow and improve business operations? To run your company successfully your staff should be priority. By promoting wellbeing at your workplace you increases employee work satisfaction, which in turn reduces stress and save times because there is less pressure and high workloads are often a cause of stress.

Provide a Positive Environment

As a manager or leader it is important to provide an environment for your employees to learn. Paul Monsted, managing Director says it’s wise to get them out of the office. “Take your employees to seminars, workshops, somewhere that is an enriching environment. No hard core training.”

Mr Monsted also mentions introducing fringe benefits to your staff such as trips away, gift baskets to aid a positive environment. “They will see the value,” he says.

To view the original article, click here and learn more about creating a happy workplace culture.

Source by Kellie Riek

Stainless Steel Teapots – Keep Your Tea Hot

Make your tea a real treat with gorgeous teapots. A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves and serving them in cups. Teapots come in various shapes, sizes colors and outlooks. They may be of the designer types, the ceramic ones and most commonly the Stainless Steel Teapots. Stainless steel teapots are hardwearing, durable and usually long lasting by nature. They are impeccably maintained with matt steel and a brilliant steel finish. The brilliant steel however appears more shining than the matt steel products. The stainless steel teapots tend to have a better durability and they also resist rust.
Another important positive aspect of stainless steel teapots are that, they are often easy to clean and also look hygienic. Many stainless steel teapots also bear the composition of glass and plastic along with stainless steel. They serve a very few but very essential purposes of handling and mixing loose tea. The removable stainless steel infuser basket and a brushed stainless steel surface doesn’t show fin. You can serve well with a drip-free spout and a handle designed to stay cool when pouring tea. They are sturdy and totally dishwasher safe. Their highly polished surfaces also add to the functional actualities to resemble chrome for a decorative finish. This is because unlike ordinary steel stainless steel teapots have the capability to resist rust completely.

Commonly used stainless steel teapots known as Bodum Kenya stainless steel teapots bear a complete cross between the modern and the traditional types in glamour. They have glass, stainless steel and plastic fibres that offer the best materials to make a perfect cup of tea. These stainless steel framed borosilicate glass teapots serve the full fancies and etiquettes of the host in front of the guests.

Source by Tom Watson

UFOs: If 19 Out Of 20, Therefore 20 Out Of 20

The fact is, as most UFO sceptics readily acknowledge, between 5 and 10 percent of all reported UFO incidents remain unidentified after investigation by those qualified to do so. This fact apparently excites the scientific, astrobiology, and SETI communities not one jot. Now I would maintain that a 5 to 10% level of hardcore UFO unknowns, over six decades on, worldwide, is a major scientific anomaly. It amounts to at least several thousand unexplained UFO incidents. I was under the impression that it was the role and duty of scientists to research the unknown, but apparently not when it comes to this subject.

On the 26th and 27th of December 1969, the American Association for the Advancement of Science held a symposium on UFOs. The papers were edited by Carl Sagan and Thorton Page and published by Cornell University Press. One of the contributors was the late James E. McDonald*, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Arizona. McDonald’s basic theme was to send a rocket up the proverbial butts of the overall scientific community for their near neglect of what he (and many laypeople) consider to be one of the top scientific anomalies of the 20th Century (and now of the 21st as well) – Unidentified Flying Objects.

Unfortunately, Dr. McDonald must surely be turning over in his grave because nothing has really changed since he presented that paper. Scientists and UFOs tend to party together in much the same way as oil and water mix.

Now any scientist with an open mind, albeit even a skeptical mind, has to acknowledge that between five and ten percent of all UFO reports remain bona fide UFO reports after investigation and analysis by those qualified to do so. Let’s make life simple and say the bona fide UFO unknown rate is 5% (or 19 out of 20). Let’s call these the hardcore UFOs – the residue that has been sifted out from the larger picture. Now is the hardcore UFO glass 95% empty and evaporating (if 19 out of 20 of UFOs are explainable, then 20 out of 20 are) or is the hardcore UFO glass 5% full (if 19 out of 20 are explainable, then it’s just 19 out of 20 that’s been explained, full stop)?

One of the main scientific arguments against UFOs being of any scientific interest is that if the substantial majority of UFO reports can be adequately explained (95%) then surely all could be if there was only sufficient information. Well, the USAF (as a typical government agency that was responsible for solving UFO sightings) had a category for ‘insufficient information’, as well as ‘possible’ this or ‘probable’ that. They also had a separate and apart category for ‘unknowns’. That is to say, they had sufficient information regarding a UFO sighting but hadn’t a clue as to what the object(s) were. That’s why they were tagged as ‘unknowns’. And that amounted to roughly five percent of all UFO sightings.

Okay, 19 out of 20 UFO reports prove to have prosaic explanations. Therefore the twentieth one has one as well. Sorry, the logic just isn’t there. The first and most obvious argument is that the 20th UFO sighting has been singled out as being different because it is different. It’s like having one green apple in a basket of 19 red apples. If all you see on the surface are red apples, that don’t mean there’s not a green apple buried below, yet that’s what those who should know better conclude. Yet in reality you can’t conclude anything about the color of the apples out of sight in the apple basket until such time as you investigate and examine the color of all the apples present.

Other examples where 19 out of 20 don’t equate of necessity to 20 out of 20: If you recover from the flu nineteen times in a row, that doesn’t mean you’ll recover the twentieth time. If the N.Y. Yankees will nineteen baseball games in a row, that doesn’t mean they’ll win number twenty. If you toss a coin and it lands heads nineteen times in a row, that’s no reason to believe the twentieth toss will be heads. Taking an example from real science, if 193 species of primates have fur, surely the 194th will have fur too. Alas, we’re the 194th – “The Naked Ape”.

Here’s a bit of an experiment that helps demonstrate that the 20th case can be the odd one out. Say you want to find out if relatively nonporous solid objects sink in fresh water. So you have a large bucket of fresh water, and into that bucket you toss an ordinary coin; a lump of glass; a lump of coal; a rock; a plastic comb; a brick; a lump of gold; a diamond; a china plate; a ball bearing; some copper wire; a piece of bone; a bit of cloth; a bowling ball; a CD; some lead shot; an aluminum ingot; a large salt crystal and a clam shell. That’s 19 items – they all sink, therefore you conclude that the next solid item you toss in will also sink – an ice cube. Oops; it’s back to the drawing board.

Of course the reluctance of scientists to come to terms with the bona fide UFO hardcore is really an issue central to the sociology of science. In particular, the negative findings of the University of Colorado (Condon Committee) report (1968) have been cited as a decisive factor in the generally low level of interest in UFO activity among academics since that time. That’s despite the fact that that report couldn’t adequately explain 30% of the UFO cases it investigated. Despite that historical anomaly, UFOs for better or worse acquaint to aliens and the ETH (extraterrestrial hypothesis). There’s something about aliens that translates into little green (or gray) men, fodder for the tabloids that has an overall aura as a ‘silly season’ filler when there’s no real news around. That’s not the sort of fodder scientists like to feed on.

But these UFO unknowns don’t have to be of necessity something that equates to alien intelligence therefore the UFO ETH.

Okay, maybe the hardcore UFOs are time travellers from our future – that’s one alternative. But then hardcore UFO unknowns aren’t clustered around significant historical events that would be must sees – the bread-and-butter of that time travel industry – to tourists and historians from our future.

An early UFO ETH theory was that UFOs were actual living but non-intelligent organisms that lived in outer space but now and again would dip into our atmosphere. No biologist could actually explain how such creatures could survive, far less thrive, in the harsh conditions of outer space. So, fluffy critters from outer space without benefit of a spaceship aren’t a likely option.

Some suggest that the hardcore represent some sort of totally new natural phenomena, except there’s no even theoretical underpinning for new natural phenomena, and after six decades, well that’s a total failure to come to terms with an easy way out of the hardcore mess. However, natural phenomena wouldn’t exhibit intelligent behaviour in any event, which the hardcore UFOs do. That’s why they often tend to be the hardcore. Yet, still there’s this observation about one UFO case studied by the University of Colorado under government contract to the USAF, headed by Dr. Edward Condon. The Condon Report, as it became known had this to say: “…this unusual sighting should therefore be assigned to the category of some almost certainly natural phenomenon, which is so rare that it apparently has never been reported before or since.” You’d think that would whet the appetite of any scientist eager to make a major discovery that leads to the road to Stockholm (and a Nobel Prize). Apparently that’s just not the case. Hardcore UFO sightings, even as an apparent natural phenomenon are taboo.

Regardless, ET, space critters, time travellers, unknown natural phenomena, whatever, scientists cannot claim the hardcore UFO issue settled while those unknowns remain. They are derelict in their duty by ignoring them, hoping they’ll just ‘go away’. It’s not good enough for scientists to say ‘if 19 out of 20, therefore 20 out of 20, and go on their merry way washing their hands of the otherwise reality that that logic is faulty. They need to prove that assertion, not ignore it. Translated, they’ve got to put up or shut up. 

Some might claim that it’s the alleged nature of the unknowns as claimed by the believers that puts the onus on them to prove their case. That would be so if they claimed the hardcore UFO unknowns were proof that UFOs were piloted by ET. However, while a few sprout that line (and if they do they should put up or shut up), a majority of pro-UFO people, believers if you will, just point to the unknowns as evidence (not proof – evidence and proof are two different things) that supports the UFO ETH. Unfortunately, if the UFO ETH is really true, proof of that tends to be out of the hands of the believers since if ET doesn’t want to be caught out, he/she/it won’t be – that’s the advantage of having advanced intelligence. You outsmart lesser intelligence. So the lesser intelligence needs the cooperation (or an unintended slipup – Roswell?) of the greater alien intelligence, and we’re not getting it. Of course if there is really no ET associated with the hardcore UFO residue, then that explains that. 

But nearly all UFO believers just really believe that there’s a case to be answered for that lone 20th hardcore UFO event, regardless of what the explanation turns out to be. And the best people to find out that explanation(s) are scientists, yet scientists ignore the challenge as they did in Dr. McDonald’s day; as they continue to do well into the 21st Century.  

*McDonald, James E.; Science in default: twenty-two years of inadequate UFO investigations; (in) Page, Thornton & Sagan, Carl (Editors); UFO’s: A Scientific Debate; Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York; 1972; pages 52-122.

Source by John Prytz

What Does It Mean To Be Gluten Free

We have some friends who are gluten free.  At first I thought this was kind of weird.  It just sounds strange.  Gluten Free. It wasn’t the first time I had heard of it but to know an entire family that is gluten free is a rarity.  So they invited us over to dinner. I was a little nervous because I wondered if they would be eating rice flour and some strange unheard of foods. I warned the kids to have good manners no matter what they served.  I was so excited to be their guest but wondered what this term would look like in real life?

What I found was they made fresh, healthy, and delicious food. It even had a Mexican theme to it and that is my most favorite type of food.  There was amazing salsa, chips galore that were organic and gluten free and we had steak and fresh veggies.  The kids loved it and didn’t even know it was gluten free.  It really got me thinking.  As I learned more about why they made this choice it really was a necessity.  My friend had food allergies and had been ill and the change in food had made a dramatic difference in how she felt inside and out.  It had also helped her twin daughters.

I learned so much that night about food and how it can affect you.  For dessert they served us cookies.  I didn’t think you could eat cookies being gluten free.  I went on to ask them to clarify just what was gluten.  I learned it is when there is no wheat, rye, barley, or oat gluten present. And yet they still made these amazing cookies.

It was a learning experience.  Later that year I learned my daughter’s friend also was gluten free.  She had lost her grandpa and we wanted to do something special for them. So we made a gluten free gift basket.  What did we put in the gluten free gift basket?  We put those amazing cookies wrapped with love and pretty bows. It was so much fun knowing we were helping someone else and being sensitive to their needs.  I was learning so much.

Later, they told us how much the gluten free gift basket meant.  Not many people know what gluten free is.  I am only beginning to understand.  I do know this; food allergies affect almost 18% of kids.  That is huge.  And so I look forward to learning more……………..in the mean time here is that recipie for those amazing cookies they made that night.  Gluten free or not you will absolutely love them. You can see the recipie here or go to About.com as well.

A classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe with a refreshing mint flavor. If you love classic Nestle Toll House cookies (and who doesn’t?!) and you like the flavor of chocolate mint, you’ll love these cookies.

Make this a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe by omitting the peppermint extract and adding one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/8 cup light buckwheat flour (see note)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon natural peppermint extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup (6 ounces) gluten-free chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly oil

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy. Add butter and beat on high until combined. Add extract and beat briefly. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (optional).

For 1 dozen large cookies use a 2 tablespoon (1/8 cup) ice cream scoop or drop heaping tablespoons of dough on prepared baking sheets. 

For 2 dozen small cookies use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon.

Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are crisp on edges and slightly soft in the middle. Cool on baking sheet.

Try it. You will love them and they may make you feel healthier and better too. I know we did.

Source by Gretchen Bell

Strategies For Egg Gathering In Wow’s Noblegarden

If you like Easter time, you’ll love the WOW Noblegarden at that time.  The Noblegarden festival is usually held on Easter Sunday and the city Barker and Guest Giver direct players to the celebration.

The egg hunt actually goes on for a week, with eggs hidden in the starting zones of the Alliance, Horde, and Neutral areas.

Eggs painted to look like wildflowers and containing treasures, coins and candy are hidden by the Nobels and Lords from each race.  Then everyone in the city looks for them. Every egg contains a piece of Noblegarden chocolate. Hint: Eat your first 100 eggs to obtain the Chocoholic achievement.

Eggs can also contain buffs which turn players into a rabbit for an hour.

You actually need to find 355 eggs so you can purchase event items from various venders using your Noblegarden chocolate! If you want to go for some of the more expensive items, save up your eggs until you figure out how much all of your eggs are worth.  Mage’s will need an additional 100 if they want the [Tome of Polymorph: Rabbit].

Some of the items that can be purchased include:

Spring Flowers

Robes

Tuxedo shirts

Tuxedo pants

Elegant dresses

Prices range from 5 – 100 pieces of chocolate.

The quests that are available for Noblegarden are: Spring Collectors and Gatherers, The Great Egg Hunt, and A Tisket, a Tasket, A Noblegarden Basket!

Here are a two different ways to collect eggs fast.  1) Give yourself the ability to run faster by attaching your basket to a key or button. This keeps the buff out of the way, 2) Locate yourself in a spot with a lot of spawn points so you DON’T have to run around so much.

And remember, if possible, eat your first 100 eggs to obtain the Chocoholic achievement award.

Source by Alex R. Cooper