I WON A Hamilton Beach® and Eclectrics®

WOOHOO! I couldn't believe it but I was one of the lucky ones to win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer! I received a yellow one today and just had to write about it. First of all, it is a beautiful color. It's called Pineapple to be exact and really brightens up a dull kitchen. The features that come with my Eclectrics® Mixer are awesome.

It features:

400 watts of power

2-way mixing rotating action

Stainless Steel 4.5 quart bowl

Pouring shield

Quick Release tilt up head

3 mixing accessories

Not to mention it comes in many wonderful colors! I'm so excited to have have won this. Now I can make Christmas cooking easy as pie. HA! I'll be able to add ingredients and let it mix while tend to other things in the kitchen. It will also keep my arms from developing Carpal Tunnel..lol. Seriously, your arms can get tired of stirring dough and such.
Just in case you missed it in the video below, I included a recipe that I will be making with my new mixer. If you missed it, just leave me a comment and I will more than happy to send you the recipe! Hopefully you will be making this recipe with the help of a brand new Hamilton Beach® Mixer!!

Move to Wordpress

If you haven't already done it, you need to. Blogger is great for newbies, but I HIGHLY recommend you all to get away from blogger. Your freedoms are being taken away (like with the new commenting system) and it lacks in quality and respect.

Once you've been to wordpress, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. The plugins are amazing, the stats are awesome, and it runs FASTER than blogger! Make the change today!

100 Free Blogger Cards

Business cards for the Internet are the hottest thing around! What better way to leave your signature behind, right?! Basically, you are given a personalized tag cloud to show off. I love this idea and will will be getting myself some to use for my other blog. Right now you can get Free blogger cards so take advantage of the offer before it changes. This will give you a chance to see how it works and if you like them. I talk quite a bit about marketing and promotion and this fits in perfectly!

Small Things Make a Difference

Today I want to talk about a couple of things that can make a big difference.

1. Make sure your "Email this Post" is turned on. A good friend of mine pointed this out. This is a good way to get it distributed to people who may not have knowledge of your site.

2. Have your links open in a new window! I think this is a very important one. If someone clicks on a link you have provided you want them to be directed to that site but you also want them to stay at your site. If you don't have them to open in a new window, then you risk their attention being redirected to other possible links at other sites. It requires basic html knowledge so I will give you an example:
Say you are going to check out some credit resources.. notice that in the second link I added target="_blank". This is what makes it open in a new window.

Fun Christmas Finds

I have a family member who collects salt and pepper shakers so when I saw some Hug Salt & Pepper Shakers at vat19.com, I knew they would be a perfect gift. This is such a cool site. I cannot say that enough. They have some of the neatest products. In fact, I made a short video on some sample products I received from them. I received a gourmet smencil (great for the kids), Instasnow (more great fun to do with the kids), and a Ambient Fire Video Fireplace DVD. This was so realistic looking and the music was a joy to listen to. I can't recommend this site enough! The prices are great and the products are so much fun. I LOVE IT! Enjoy the video.

Stock Tip: Sell Your Google Stock

I highly recommend you sell your Stock now. It has been dropping anyways and this is just a small something we can do to get back at the selfish gods. They have given all of the posties a big fat 0 for PR!!! All they care about is themselves. It really is sad to see them be so selfish and hurt people who are paying the bills with paid to blog companies. Hit them in the checkbook people.

Website Solutions

When you have your own website, something you will be implementing is Internet Marketing and Promotions . Unless your blog is personal, all websites need this. Yourownsite.com offers Internet marketing, web development, and more. The site is jam packed with information including IDX solutions for realtors. It's definitly a place to go for all your programming needs. Check it out and get a quote while your there.

PR Drops again!

I am so sick of this whole Google PR crap. My other blogging that has been a 4 for the past few weeks has now dropped to a 3! ARRRGGHHH! What the hec is going on? I don't understand why they can't make some kind of official statement explaining this. Do they think there are Gods or something. Come on YAHOO!! Do something big and over take the search engine war!

A New Future

Back at home in Sweetwater, the wind farms have evolved. While they are not the pretties to look at, they do an important job. They provide energy and can actually cut down emmissions by a billion tons a year! If you don't know what all that means, then you need to learn about it and support BP Solar Decathlon in their efforts to convey to the people how using alternative energy can change how we live in this world.

There are so many complaints on the electric bills, etc but the people complaining are doing anything about it. Do you turn off electronics when they are not in use? Do you recycle? NO?? Then don't complain if you are not going to do your part.

I think a big problem is that people are just uneducated. They need to be taught the benifits of alternative energies and what it can, not only, do for you but for everyone in the environment. It's about preserving everyday living.

If you want to learn more, check these sites out.
alittlebettergasstation.com
thegreencurve.com
ebiweb.org
bpalternativeenergy.com

They are very imformative and easy to understand. They break it down for you and even quiz you to see where you are on the green curve. I did very well but can you say the same?

Just a note: BP is investing $500 million into the Energy Biosciences Institute to find better solutions in reducing energy consumption. $500 million!!! That should tell you right there how important it is. That's a huge investment. Even if you don't change your ways completely, there are small things you can do to help. Read up and visit the BP Solar Decathlon Blog (bpsolardecathlon.com)

New Template?

Support the Alzheimer's Foundation

I have blogged about this at my other blog and I am so glad I have the chance to do it here on this blog. I have had a few sad experiences with Alzheimer's patients and can only hope and pray for a cure one day. A good friend of mine deals with this situation on a daily basis because her mother has Alzheimer's. I have seen her mother scared to death of her own husband because of the simple fact that she didn't even recognize him. Can you imagine how, not only the mother, but her dad must feel?

I don't think people realize how hard it can be dealing with an Alzheimer's patient. There is a lot of hard worked involved. Unfortunately, there is a lack of quality care for this disease. That's one of the reasons I am blogging about this today! There is something you can do to help, so listen up. We are all looking for that perfect holiday gift this season so help out by buying your gift at the estore for Alzheimer's. You will be killing 2 birds with one stone by doing this. You get that special someone a gift for Christmas AND by making that purchase through them, you are also donating to a wonderful cause. Every cent will go to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Sometimes we are selfish and need a little push every now and then to do good things for other people. Well, here's your push. PUSH!

Pass this along to everyone you know and let us all do something charitable this holiday season. Who knows, that neighbor, mail person, or family friend may have someone in their family with this disease and would love to contribute to the foundation as well. It's all about the full circle. I strongly believe that, in order to receive, you must give first. The money raised will help continue and better the care that these individuals need. Please do your part by spreading the word and making a purchase today!

Free Icons for Web Applications

I love freebies!! Ades has just released a set of icons that can be used in your blogs, websites, or for web applications interface usage. Hec, I don’t even know what that last one is but I don’t care. They are super nice icons and they are free! You can download them over at User Interface Icons .com. He is giving you 140 VERY high quality icons people. While you’re in his neighborhood, you might want to check out some other things he has to offer. I LOVE my color picker! I plan on doing my review before too long. Now get out of here and get your icons!

By the way, this is not a sponsored post. I just happen to enjoy Adesblog.com and thought it would be nice to give him a plug:)

Hamilton Beach® Ecletrics® Stand Mixer

It's holiday season and you know what that means?? It's time for cooking and baking! With Thanksgiving approaching fast and Christmas right around the corner, now is the best time to get a Eclectrics® Mixer. Who wants to sit there and kill your hand trying to stir and stir? Not me. I don't have time to sit there and do these things. I need a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer so I can just put my ingredients in there and walk away to do more cooking. These mixers are awesome. Not only do they come in cool colors, but they are as convienent as can be. You will literally cut your time in the kitchen using one of these. Just add your ingredients and let the Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer do it's job while you tend to your other cooking projects.

If you haven't seen one of these puppies, then you are missing out big time! Check out these features!

More Power*
400 watts of power to mix even the toughest jobs like 9
dozen cookiesor 4 -1lb. loaves of bread
Professional 2-way rotating head for thorough hands-free mixing
High-performance electronics ensure constant power Great Features
12 settings offer more* mixing flexibility and precise control
4.5 qt stainless steel locking bowl with handle Flat beater,
dough book and wire whisk for versatile mixing
2 piece pouring and splatter shield
Quieter operation* Longer Warranty*
3 year limited warranty

With a warranty like that and all those cool features, how could you not go out and buy one right now! If you are particular about colors, you don't need to worry because they offer these in an array of colors that are just beautiful! I love them all so I don't know if I could decide. So I wouldn't have to decide on a specific color (since it's so hard to choose) I would be better off getting one for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas.............

Props to Amanda

Woohooo! My blog has had it's makeover. Go check it out over at A Cowboy's Wife. It looks awesome and I have Amanda to thank for it! She is super kind and does a hec of a job. IF you need something done to your blogspot blog or just want some wordpress like tools, then head over and check it out! She rocks! Thank you so much Amanda, I reall do appreciate it!

Monetizing Your Business

Previously owning an online business, I know how important it is to maintain it. Salesconx online marketplace is there to help you maintain and monetize you business. They help you with your current contacts, as well as, help you establish new clients! Membership is free and from there you will have the opportunity to establish a buyer and seller price just as if you were in a marketplace. Very convienent and something to consider to help your business grow.

Fight Back Against Stolen Content

Publishing your website can be one of the most exciting times for a business owner. After all of your hard work and persistence, the whole world now has access to your products or services. You have either paid hundreds of dollars to have someone write your site content for you, or you have put your heart and soul (not to mention hour upon hour of hard work) into creating content of which you can be proud. In either case, you've invested time and/or money into your website copy. Now that it is out there for the whole world to see, it may be a target for all kinds of unscrupulous individuals.

Copyright infringement is a very common occurrence on the World Wide Web. How do you protect yourself? And, what can you do if someone steals your content?
It's important for you to know that anything you have written is copyrighted. You can register a copyright, but you don't need to in order for it to be illegal for someone to copy or reproduce your work without your permission. Any written text, painting, drawing, musical composition, photograph or computer program, be they published or not is protected by copyright law. Unfortunately, just because your work is copyrighted doesn't mean it is safe. Some individuals don't know that copyright laws apply to the internet, and others simply don't care.

With millions of websites out there, it's difficult to know if your website has been targeted by thieves. A great tool to use in the protection of your website content is www.copyscape.com. Simply enter your website URL and it will scan the web for you. This is a free service, but if you have been a frequent victim of copyright infringement, you might want to consider their paid service, which automatically scans the web regularly for any duplicates of your content.

What do you do if you are one of the unfortunate victims of copyright infringement? How can you deal with the offender and avoid the high cost of litigation? The following are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that the infringer removes your material from their website.

1. Contact the offender. You can usually visit the "contact" page of the offender's website to obtain their contact information. If for some reason you can't find their coordinates that way, you can perform a search for "who is" to find many sites that can provide information about the website owner by simply entering their URL. The website owner's contact information should be posted here, but if not, their website host will be and you should contact them. Keep your first contact civil. Calling or emailing the responsible individual with a stern, yet professional demeanor will be much more effective than yelling or name calling. Remember that the owner of the site isn't necessarily the writer, and if they are, then being nasty may not have the desired effect and in fact may create more problems for you in the long run.

2. Send a cease and desist order. If your initial contact didn't get the desired results, your next step should be to send a cease and desist order. You do not need to hire a lawyer to create one for you. A simple search for "cease and desist order templates" should give you an order that can be altered to meet your needs. Send one copy by email and one copy by registered mail and make it look as official as possible. Include a date by which the material should be removed. You want the offender to know that you mean business

3. If action is still not taken, send a cease and desist order to the offending party's web host. Again, the host information is available by performing a search for "who is". The majority of hosts will take action by temporarily removing the offender's site until the copied material is removed.

4. The situation should be resolved at step 3, but one more step that can be taken is to notify search engines of the infringement. Performing a search for the "DMCA" or "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" policies for each search engine will provide the information you need to contact each of them in order to request that the offender's website be removed.

Finally, it's always advisable to protect yourself by keeping records of the dates your content was placed on your site. This ensures that the other party can be proven wrong it they claim to have posted their content first.

Placing your website and it's content on the internet for the world to see is a proud moment. It's nearly impossible for you to be able to prevent the theft of its content, but the next best thing is knowing what to do if it does happen

Let Them Know You Care

The one thing we do every single year, is send out Christmas Cards. I figure it's the least we can do to let people know we care and miss them. We try to send cards for all occasions but Christmas in particular. With everyone so spread out over the state of Texas and New Mexico, it is very hard to get together for the holidays. I know I love it when I get a card in the mail so I imagine that most other people would enjoy just as much! It tells them that we are thinking about them. It's a lot cheaper than buying a gift, that's for sure. It would be great to include a picture of the family with the card but we don't take family pictures very often. Who will you be sending a Christmas card to this year? Family, friends, teachers, neighbors, and coworkers are some good examples of who I will be sending cards out to.

How Much Will You Be Spending at Christmas?

With the holidays around the corner, I'm curious to see what people plan to spend this year. with the high gas prices, I figured people would spend less on gifts but I'm not sure. How big is your family that you buy for and how much do you plan on spending? Will you be going to the store or buying online? I plan to do most of my purchasing online! No way am I going to fight traffic!

The Best Web Host!

A while back I wrote my top 10 recommended web hosts on my other blog. Hostmonster was my number one pick for those of you who didn't read it. They have top of the line service, an awesome package, and are extremely reliable. If you don't believe me, you can read a hostmonster review to see what others have to say. You won't find a better company in my opinion but I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Blah Day

I'm feeling blah today. I'm starting to struggle with what to write about on this blog. I think I just a need a little break because I have been spending so much time on my other blogs. Do you ever get the blogging blues? If so, what do you do? With the holidays around the corner, it's important for me to keep these blogs going and to keep doing my sponsored posts so I'll have money for Christmas! I think I'm going for a walk.