How to Make Halloween Treats

Trick or Treat! While few would choose tricks, the vast majority of children and adults showing up to your door this Halloween will be looking for treats. If you are having a Halloween party, making special treats for your guest would be well received. If you plan on handing treats out at the door, plan on passing out individually wrapped candy to most children saving special treats for family friends or relatives. This is no reflection on your generosity, but a sign on the times. Many parents are instructed to throw out any treats that are not sealed by the manufacturer.

Cookies

A simple treat to begin with is the Halloween cookie. Two varieties are equally popular. One is the sugar cookie. Buy a roll of slice and back cookie dough and a container of special Halloween sprinkles – black and orange are standard fare. Break off sections of the dough and roll each piece into a small ball. Pour the sprinkles on a plate and roll the balls of dough through the sprinkles to coat them thoroughly before baking. If you are especially adept, you can knead the white cookie dough with food coloring to make your cookies orange and roll them in black or green sprinkles.

Another cookie favorite is the peanut butter cookie. Peanut butter is perfect for fall, and chocolate is great anytime, so why not combine the two flavor? Make peanut butter cookie dough or buy a ready-made dough from the store. Roll pieces of the dough into balls and bake. Immediately when you pull the cookies from the over, press a chocolate kiss candy into the center of each circle making delightful peanut butter and chocolate cookies.
Candy

Candy is another special Halloween treat. The most popular types of homemade candy at Halloween are taffy and caramel apples. Caramel apples are by far the easiest candy treat to make. In a double boiler o the stove, or carefully in a microwavable bowl, melt a bag of caramel candies. While the candies are melting, wash off a dozen apples and spear each with a popsicle or craft stick. You would do well to use small apples for this project as they weigh less.

When the caramels are melted, gently stir the mix to ensure it is even and spread a sheet of parchment paper on the counter. One at a time, dunk the apples in the caramel and roll it about to fully cover the outside of the fruit. If you have some available, you might then roll the apple and warm caramel through nuts you’ve crushed on a plate, but this is optional. Place the apple on the parchment paper with the craft stick in the air. Repeat the procedure for all of your apples and then allow the caramel to cool completely. Enjoy!

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How To Sell a Website

After you have made an established website, you have many options in which will allow you to turn a profit. If you’re looking for a long term cash flow you can get some money your site using Google Ad Sense or other pay per click companies, cpm advertising companies or by selling links for a monthly fee.

One method of getting quick cash is by selling the website. There are many ways in which you can make your site appeal to other webmasters and help you get a successful fast sale. Often, a quick in and out deal is the way to go.

The first thing you should decide when considering the sale of your website is the amount of money you would be happy with if someone was to offer you a ‘buy it now’ price. You need to consider the time and effort that has gone into the sites production and advertising as well as the sites overall profit on a monthly basis. Obviously the more money your site makes, the more it will be worth to someone. Another major factor that makes the site appealing to others is the amount of effort needed to maintain the website. By using a CMS (content management system) it will make it easier to update as you simply log into a user interface and add the content with out any FTP details being needed. You can also set multiple accounts up so you can have people updating your site without any risk of deletion.

There are many different websites in which you will be able sell your site, it’s always best to add it to as many different ones as possible giving the maximum exposure and more chance of selling. It’s very popular that you auction off your site, you basically set a starting bid and people will look through the description and statistics given and bid accordingly based on how much they are willing to pay for it. You can also set a BIN price (buy it now) so if the bidding wars get a bit too feisty then someone can grab it instantly if they believe it has great potential.

Site point is a great site as it attracts some of best successful sites up for sale and only interested people will bid on your site and not waste your time. You can also advertise your site on certain webmaster forums which sometimes does provide a successful sale but can also give you more trouble then its worth. Unlike on the official sites that sell thousands of sites on a daily basis, the forums will attract many people that are just interested in how you got it successful and intend on copying the content, niche and style which is why you should be careful about the sort and amount of information you give out to people.

When listing your website you should provide a full description about your site giving the age, the approximate amount of back links, any successful search results in the leading search engines, amount of indexed pages, the monthly income and any other information that will strengthen the image of your site. After you have listed your site you will get inundated with emails asking for details and a BIN price if not set. People will always bargain you down as they will never offer the opening asking price so you need to be strong and don’t let your hard work go to waste.

After the sale of your site you still have to be careful, even if you have received the money. There are people who make a living out of scamming people, always use a safe method of payment, although pay pal is widely used people can claim a charge back for up to 60 days after the sale which will be hard to prove if you’re selling electronic good such as a website as you have no psychical delivery. Do it in stages to ensure you will receive the whole amount, first you can send the domain over to their registrar and then once you receive the remaining amount, send them a zip file with all off data for the website and don’t forget to push any databases your website uses.

A recommended method of payment is escrow as they hold the parties payment until both sides are happy that they have received their share of the deal in which the payment will be cleared to the seller with no hassle and no risk to either party.

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How to Throw a Garden Party

What better way to enjoy a beautiful day or the changing of the seasons than by throwing a garden party! Not only will your guests enjoy getting to spend time outside, they will also appreciate the novelty of a garden party and you will be able to showcase your patio or backyard that you have taken great pains to make perfect.

Furnish the Party

A party in your backyard will only succeed if furnished properly. Be sure you provide your guests with places to sit and a table or two to serve food and place plates and drinks. You can use patio furniture with matching chairs, or just pull out a folding table and cover it with a decorative tablecloth and invite guests to bring their own lawn chairs. Whether formal or casual, your party will center around the furniture.

Choose Your Decorations

To differentiate between a casual backyard gathering and a marvelous garden party, decorate! You can select a theme, such as a Victorian gala with frilly lace and tea and scones to a Chinese celebration with paper lanterns hanging from your trees. Cover your table with a festive tablecloth, use garden flags to add some color, fill terra cotta pots with brilliantly colored flowers, or set candles afloat in a pool. When your guests arrive, the stage will be set for a fantastic time!

Send the Invitations

Without guests, your party wouldn’t be a party at all. You can incorporate your theme into your invitations, but be sure it is clear to your guests that the party will be outside so they can dress accordingly. If there is a dress code or a theme you want your guests to participate in, be sure to let them know that information as well. To ensure you have a good idea of how many guests to prepare for, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to include an RSVP request.

Prepare the Food

For a garden party, your cuisine can match the theme, or you can assemble your favorite finger foods. Be sure you have plenty of cold drinks, especially if your party is on a warm day. Since your guests will be enjoying the outdoors, incorporate fresh food into your banquet, offering an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Have a Back-Up Plan

As with any out-of-doors event, you can’t control everything, and bad weather could send you scurrying. Be sure you have a back-up plan in case it rains on your parade. Be ready to move inside, to a covered porch or gazebo, or provide awnings or tents to keep your guests dry and comfortable. If the weather doesn’t cooperate with your plan, don’t despair! Your party will be a success if you keep a positive attitude and are flexible.

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How to Serve Gelato

The sweet frozen dessert hailing from Italy is similar to Ice Cream, but with a bolder flavor and fewer calories. Gelato is a wonderful dessert to serve at garden parties, showers, or birthday parties as it is festive, unusual and delicious. Here’s how to serve gelato.

Buy Gelato and Accessories

Wholesale gelato and accessories can be purchased over the internet. Many gelato retailers sell sorbets as well if you’re interested in a lighter frozen treat for your party. Purchase the amount of gelato you need along with the proper serving utensils. If you’d rather, you can also rent or buy a home gelato machine to make your own dessert the day of the party.

Keep the Gelato Frozen

Gelato is lighter than traditional ice cream, so it might melt more rapidly if not kept completely frozen. Store the gelato in a freezer around 30 degrees, just below freezing level to be sure it stays soft and fluffy rather than hard.

Arrange Festive Bowls

You can serve gelato in thin cones commonly found throughout Italy, or if you’d appreciate a more formal presentation, you can arrange any sort of bowl you’d like. Use champagne glasses, ice cream bowls, or even salad plates to serve the gelato to your guests.

Serve the Gelato

Gelato is beautifully textured in its container, especially if you freeze your own in an attractive serving pan. You might consider displaying and serving the ice cream in front of your guests rather than in the kitchen as the very confection itself can add to the festivities and decorations.

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How To Punish Bad Behavior

In today’s society, we as parents are limited on the methods or extent that we are allowed to punish our children. However, we are still responsible for our children’s behaviors. This can leave parents feeling extremely frustrated and often helpless. While not taking sides on issues that are better left to politicians, I am a strong believer that kids can learn from, and be punished for, negative behavior without the need to for physical punishment.

As a mother of 4 children I have faced almost every possible situation that would require me to punish one of my children. There have been times that they have tested my patience and self control.

I believe however, that they are as well behaved as they are in part because I have chosen to not use physical means of punishment. In fact, it is important to note that different behaviors warrant different punishments. For example: When my oldest daughter takes advantage of her cell phone privileges and calls her friends or accepts phone calls from her friends when she is suppose to be in bed, she loses her phone privileges. While if my youngest son were to run out in front of the street he would receive a verbal scolding and be put in time out.

The severity of punishment also depends on how many times an offense was committed.

The First Offense:

Let’s take the example of my daughter using her cell phone when she is not supposed to. On the first offense she will lose her phone for 1 day. Children are very intelligent and often explaining to them why they are not allowed to do something will prevent repeated offenses.

The Second Offense:

Kids are kids however, and if you are a parent you know that there are times when you simply cannot get through to your child on an adult level. In this example, increasing the duration of the original punishment will usually suffice. Removing cell phone privileges for 2 days or more can often “stress” the seriousness of your point of view. Be aware however, once you enter into this phase of the punishment, you are beginning a battle of wills. Children often “test” their parents and will not follow your rules simply as a way of contesting your authority. Most often they do not even realize why they are not obeying. This is yet another reason to avoid physical punishment if possible.

Regardless of the age of the child, removing an item or activity that they like for an extended period of time is punishment enough. My youngest child has special needs and for some children you will need to be especially patient.

NOTE: It is important to mention that during the second phase of punishment, consistency on your part is paramount. You MUST follow through with any warnings or threats that you have issued. This can be difficult, especially when it would be easier for you to “give in” to you child. For example: If your child has a birthday party coming up and you know that even if you tell your child that they may not attend because of something they have done, but you intend to let them go the whole time, you are not doing anyone, especially yourself, any good. If you tell your child that they cannot go to the birthday party, you need to have already decided that they are not going to go and expect them to beg, plead and cry when the day comes and stick to your guns.

The Third Offense:

The third offense is the most important and severe offense, requiring unique and inventive ways to punish your child. At this point, your previous methods of punishment have not worked and you need to think outside the box to find an effective way to impart the importance of being obeyed. All “testing” of the parent is done and this is the point where you put your foot down and take severe, but gentle, action.

Let’s refer back to the example of my daughter using her cell phone at the wrong time. At this point, I have expressed my expectations and demonstrated that not obeying my rules results in negative consequences for her. Having removed the cell phone for a few days at a time I have demonstrated that continuing the wrong behavior results in her losing the cell phone. For the third and FINAL offense I remove the cell phone permanently.  All privileges are revoked and the cell phone is cancelled or sold.

It is important to note that the third offense is the last offense. Your punishment should reinforce that concept, removing the ability for your child to repeat the offense.

In time, your child will learn that once they reach the second offense, they had better not “test” you any further. You will start to see that, while they will continue to challenge your authority through the first offense, your child will rarely repeat the behavior a second or third time.

Consistency:

Again, it is important to mention how important consistency and patience are. Just as you are training your child to follow the rules you set, you must also train yourself to follow through and remain calm. You should NEVER lose patience with a child. Stick to your rules and punishments and over time, your child will begin to comply with your rules without thinking about it.

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How To Buy Baby Clothes

Are you expecting a new addition to your family? You can find some of the best baby clothes here. Do you have a friend’s baby shower to go to and are not quite sure what to get as a gift? If you are not an experienced parent, you can ask anyone who has had a baby or currently has babies about how much they go through baby clothes. In fact some babies can go through 4 or 5 outfits in one day! It’s almost like it’s a fashion show due to the number of clothes that babies can go through!

If you plan on buying baby clothes for a baby, keep the following in mind; You need to establish the purpose for the clothes that you are buying.  Are you buying the clothes because your baby really needs them? Or, are you buying the clothes for other activities?  What is the weather like and what will it be like 3 or 4 months from now. Are the clothes for a special occasion or for daily use?

Once you know what type of baby outfit you are going to buy, it’s always good to shop for one size bigger than what the baby is currently wears.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that babies grow very quickly. Buying one size ahead will save you a lot of money in the long run and the baby can still wear clothes that are a little baggy!

If you are buying an outfit for a party, make sure that you buy darker colored clothing for the baby. Darker colors hide stains better and won’t need cleaned as often.

You can find high quality used baby clothes, often getting as many as 4 or 5 outfits for the price of a new one. Since babies grow so fast, often their outgrown clothes show little to no wear. Stores like Babies-R-Us and Kid to Kid have a large selection. You can always look in your local papers and online discount suppliers for any type of discounts that are available for baby clothing as well.

Regardless of the occasion for your purchase, when buying baby clothing, make sure that you talk to the workers at the stores you shop at. They have had a lot of experience in selling these clothes, and they will be sure to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

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How To Write A Haiku

The haiku, because of its simplicity, is one of the few form poetry styles with which most poets experiment.  However, simplicity can be deceptive and it is the very implication that a haiku is "easy" to write that invites so many poets to write technically poor haiku.

Haiku has a long history and although most people are not familiar with the tradition behind haiku poetry nor make the correlation between spiritual practice and haiku, even less people are unable to define it.  A haiku is a seventeen syllable poem made up of three lines.  The first and third lines are five syllables each making a 5-7-5 syllable three line poem.  If a haiku were only this, a three line poem composed of seventeen syllables, then any seventeen syllable sentence would suffice and qualify as a poem.  In my article, How Not to Write a Poem, I give an example of a haiku composed of a simple sentence.

I hate you mostly
when I talk to your wife on
the phone as she cries.

This meets the definition most people use to define a haiku but falls so far short of a true haiku that to label this a haiku is an insult.  It fails to meet the other criteria which are often overlooked.

A haiku is not only a three line poem but it also includes an allusion to nature.  This can be seen in the haiku of the masters, such as Bassho and Issa, as well as others.  From a particular species of plant or animal (a cherry blossom, a hawk, a cicada, a chrysanthemum) to a clear season (harvest moon, snow, summer’s sun), there is supposed to be some allusion to the natural. 

However, sometimes this is a subtle allusion.  Your seasons will differ from those of other nations and traditions. In my home, growing up, we had a fake Christmas tree that stayed up year round so referencing a decorated tree had no seasonal meaning.  But had I referred to a particular block party in the streets of Manhattan, anyone who grew up in my home would recognize the time of my haiku.  Be aware of your own seasons, think beyond those obvious four seasons that dominate the thinking of society.  Adopt and adapt your seasons to infuse your poetry with a subtlety that may elude most readers while infusing your writing with something intrinsic, personal, and potentially profound.

Haiku is intimate, a highly personal form of poetry, that is easily recognized for its immediacy in the predominance of the present moment.  Some haiku may be written in the past tense, very few are written in the future tense, but most haiku is undeniably set in the present.  Because of this, haiku have an emotional integrity that is often overlooked by the poet who is assuming that the haiku is an easy poem. 

I learned this lesson when not writing a haiku a long time ago.  I had been experimenting with sumi-e brushwork and was trying to copy the drawing of a hawk standing on a rock looking over its shoulder.  Each drawing I made seemed devoid of something I could not define.  The brush strokes were carefully performed, allowing for control within the freedom of the ink’s flow.  My frustration grew as I tried again and again to recreate the image I had before me. 

Then I stepped away, looked at the original from which I was trying to draw inspiration and wondered to myself what the hawk was thinking and feeling.  In my mind it seemed to be saying it wanted to be left alone, not documented in ink.  I returned to the paper, meditating on this feeling of isolation, of wanting to be alone and undisturbed.  Nothing else changed.  My strokes were the same, the ink I used not watered down in any way, but this time the image that I created had an energy that the previous attempts had lacked.

This should be true of your haiku; you must first feel the moment before you can write about it.  You may write about something only moments passed or decades old.  By drawing on the past moment, placing it into the present tense, you draw yourself and your reader into the haiku’s moment, bridging a distance between yourself and the moment and your reader so that the three become one.  Honor the emotional moment and trust your reader by being subtle in how you expose yourself in the delicate lines.  The very brevity of a haiku, the seventeen syllables, will force you, as a poet, to synthesize a moment into a concentrated form, condensing the emotion so that it has the same weight as it did when experienced.

For instance, I wrote a poem, Poetic Bugaboo, about a moment I experienced while frustrated with myself as a poet.  The same theme could have found its way into a haiku because the insect meets the criteria for having something of nature in the poem.

Squashed gnat between the
lines of a poem written
with no real passion.

It is possible, maybe even likely, that most readers would not understand the frustration I was feeling with myself as a poet but a haiku trusts the reader to sit with the poem, meditate upon its meaning, discover the emotion of the words, and in this way writing a haiku and reading one can become a form of spiritual practice. 

Most writers have learned the five W’s and an H rule:  Who?  What?  Where?  When?  Why? and How?  In writing a haiku there is a similar, often overlooked rule.  Each line of the strictly traditional haiku will ideally fall into the following pattern: 

Line 1:  Where?
Line 2:  What?
Line 3:  When?

Before you balk at the strictness of this, arguing that poetry is about breaking with tradition, I offer this challenge.  Try to conform to the strictest definition of the haiku, rise to the occasion and allow yourself to write a haiku that conforms to these rules, dare yourself to find freedom within the strict rules.  Write seventeen syllables, broken into three lines, include a natural element, and then answer the three questions (Where? What? When?) In precisely those three lines of five-seven-five syllables.  Find the freedom in the form and conformity.  Trust yourself to be in the moment, write from the moment, and dare yourself to write a true haiku.  And if you fall short of the purest form when writing your haiku, welcome to the club.  Trust me; you are in very good company.

alone in my bed
no wishes left or dreams, dark
clouds hiding the stars

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How to Sell Your House without a Realtor

Realtor fees are expensive. The fees realtors charge on a traditional home sale range from five to eight percent of the sale price – that is a substantial bite into your potential profits. Many would be home sellers are starting to shun realtors in favor of selling their homes on their own. For Sale by Owner or FSBO real estate is a growing field, and selling your home without a realtor may be much easier than you think.

Get Ready

Your first step to selling your home without a realtor is to get ready for parades of prospective buyers. Put away your knick-knacks, clean up your home and apply a fresh coat of paint and consider putting down new carpet. At the very least, have your existing carpet steam cleaned. Do what you can to increase curb appeal and be sure you have all liens cleared on your loan. You don’t want any hold ups or surprises should you get an interested party.

Get Listed

The majority of homes are sold through a multiple listing service (MLS) which is a private data base used by realtors trying to show properties to prospective buyers. Usually this listing is the primary function of your realtor, but you can have your home attractively listed on your own. There are many websites and companies that will list your home for a fee or even for free with certain conditions.

Be sure to include all attributes of the home without vague adjectives such as “beautiful” and “gorgeous.” Take plenty of flattering pictures and include those with your listing as well.

Get Noticed

Being listed in the MLS is an excellent start for being noticed, but you must do your own publicity as well. List your home for sale on internet sales sites and the local paper. Put out a sign in the front yard and have an open house or two. Be sure to advertise the open house with plenty of signs and other attention grabbing techniques. The more people who come through your home, the more likely you are to sell it.

Get Help

When you get an offer on your home, unless you are a mortgage broker yourself, you may consider working with a real estate lawyer or mortgage broker to be sure you’ve dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” come closing. It is possible to handle all paperwork yourself, but do your research very carefully as you can run into serious trouble if you don’t file all paperwork correctly.

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How to Pay Monthly Bills Online

The introduction of automatic bill pay has simplified countless lives. Now routine payments such as mortgages and credit cards can be set up and left to run on their own without taking the time or effort to write a check every month. And the best part of all, most banks now offer free online bill pay, so you’re effectively saving the value of all those stamps by paying monthly bills online.

Set up an Online Bank Account

To pay bills online, you must have a bank account that is linked to an online account. The easiest way to pay monthly bills online is to work with your own bank to set up payments rather than use a third party bill pay source. If you already have a bank account with an established bank, ask about accessing your account online and the availability of bill pay services. Once you have online access, provided your bank offers bill pay, you should be set to begin paying monthly bills online.

Organize Your Bills

If you normally pay bills as they come through the door, you need to add a new step to your regime for a month. Rather than pay that bill using a check, set up an account for the payee online in your new bill pay account. Entering the payee will take a few minutes, but you won’t have to do it again after they are set up in the system.

Set Up Payments

Once the payee is added, set up the payment. If this particular payee is an installment loan or balanced billing, there is no reason to not set up a repeating payment. A repeating payment means the same amount is going to the same payee at the same time every week, month, or even year. Mortgages, minimum credit card payments, car loans, cable bills, cell phone bills, phone bills, student loan payments and more can all be set up as repeating payments.

Once the repeating payment is set up correctly to leave the account on the correct day every month, you don’t have to worry about that payment again. It will automatically be paid every month whether you take the time to login to your online bank account or not.

Other payments, such as the water bill or gas are harder to set up as repeating payments. If your service provider offers uniform billing, you can take advantage of that to set up repeating payments, or just set up a new payment every month when those few bills come.

Check Your Account

It is important, of course, to be sure you have money in your account for when the bills automatically are paid. You can pad your account with a bit of savings to avoid going negative if a bill leaves before your paycheck arrives, or you can time all the bills to leave at a certain time following the arrival and deposit of your paycheck.

Then, you can sit back and relax knowing your money is being direct deposited into your account then sent out to pay your bills all without having to pick up a pen or dig out another stamp – ever.
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