Peanut Butter - Raisin Cookies - Easy & Fast

My favorite kind of recipe is easy and fast!  This one takes the cake, I mean the cookies!
Actually, I am not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies, but these are fabulous and I just can not stop eating them!

1 Pkg. Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter or Margarine, Softened
2 Eggs
1 Cup Raisins

Heat oven to 350.
Grease baking sheets.
Mix all ingredients, except raisins, in large bowl until well blended.
Stir in the raisins.
Drop rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 9 - 12 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool two minutes on sheets and completely on racks.
Cookies stay moist when in tightly sealed container.
Enjoy!!

HINT:  Cookies are also great for freezing and taking out for surprise guests.  Make extras and freeze with a layer of freezer paper between the cookies, then you can just pull one layer out as needed.

Job Scam

Sometimes you can recognize a scam when you see it.  Like a job offering you $100,000, work from home, make your own hours!  I assure you, you probably have to buy something and then you have to build your own client base.

Other times, however, they are not quite so easy to recognize.  A recent job offer on Craigslist showed a job for someone to pack boxes and run company errands for a little over $10 per hour.  Seems reasonable and legitimate.  It wasn't, here's why...

Upon responding to this listing, the applicant is sent an email such as this:

"Thank your for your interest in this position. We currently have both full time and part time positions, with 4 more slots available. The more common tasks would be lifting , loading, packing boxes, unloading pallets, and similiar tasks.

On your extra time, or on slower days, you would be running company errands and purchasing supplies with the company credit card. Therefore, we require you, per company policy, to get a recent credit score. which we will keep on file along with a copy of your drivers license, so please have a copy of that as well. Get it here below: 
**Website information deleted, for your safety**

If for some reason you have terrible credit, we will discuss that in the interview. When you have all the neccesary documents, please email me with ONLY your phone number and a best time to reach you, then we will schedule an interview. Do not email any documents as it may have your personal information and we will only accept it in person.

If for some reason you are no longer interested in this position, please let me know so I can continue on with the hiring process. Have a good day."


Does it seem legitimate to you?

Sometimes job listings contain obvious language issues, indicating a foreign element, seems to be a recurring theme to be wary of (many instances of asking for your banking information for direct deposit, only to have your account drained or used for illegal activity.)

Here there are only a few minor spelling mistakes, some that may not be obvious even to good spellers, so nothing that would be an immediate concern.

The thing that struck me is that there is no indication of what company this is for.  It is a local ad, indicating a location in the city.  Yet, no mention of the company in the response email, kind of suspicious.  But yet, you feel because you are going to be meeting in person, everything is fine right?

So, a person would prepare and click the link.  The link brings you to a very professional looking website which helps you access all three of your credit scores for free! We've all heard of this, no reason not to do it, right?  You are required to bring your credit score information in when you meet them, because you will be using their credit card for errands.  Makes sense.

Guess what!?  The information that you enter.... Name, address, social security number.... it isn't going to a legitimate source!  It is going to be used against you - to steal your identity!  There is no job!

It is sad to think that in this economy, scams are being built around job openings, but they are!  Beware!

Photography Hint for the Holidays!

Just in time for the holidays, I have a simple photography tip for you!  ZOOM IN!
You can really capture the feeling of your subjects when you don't include all the exterior things going on.  Sometimes those items are essential to the subject matter, but usually you want to focus on your subjects.
In this photo you really focus on the happiness of my beautiful sister, Traci and her new husband, Greg!

 In this photo, the subjects are still beautiful and it might be important to get a shot with the bike, but it just doesn't portray the same feelings that the zoomed in photo does. So, remember to focus on the people you love this holiday season! Merry Christmas!

Be In THE MOMENT of NOW

Thank you to the talented scrapbooker, Ali Edwards, for this cute and appropriate photo!

Be Healthy AND Save Money!

How often do you grab something from the snack machine or convenience store because you didn't plan ahead and , dang it, your hungry?!  A little planning is all it takes!  Keep a little storage of snacks available.  It will keep you from buying something unhealthy and it will keep you from spending the excess amounts on convenience.

I keep granola bars and a bottle of water in my handbag most of the time.  I have a little stash in my desk drawer at work.  If you don't have a desk drawer, maybe you have a cubby or a tool box drawer, or keep it in your car or tote bag...   be creative with your solution!  At work, I keep nuts, granola, pretzels, crackers, packets of tea and lemonade, and even oatmeal packets!  If you have a fridge available, you can keep cheese, yogert, and veggies.  The oatmeal has really been handy when I forget my lunch. 

Bringing your lunch every day saves money and helps you eat healthy too!  Don't forget the fresh fruit and veggies!  Just plan ahead when you go grocery shopping.  Another tip: mark it on your calendar - prepare your week of lunches and snacks on the weekend when you have more time.

All of this works for eating healthy on-the-run too.  Just a little planning can really add up to being more healthy, losing weight, and saving lots of money....

If you save even just 4.00 per day by bringing your lunch and/or not buying snacks....  and you take 2 weeks of vacation...  then  5 weekdays x 50 weeks x 4.00 = a savings of OVER $1000. PER YEAR!

Some bad things to say at work and in general:

There are some words and phrases people frequently utter, without realizing they’re making themselves sound noncommittal, undependable or untrustworthy. It's a really good idea to limit use of these words and find alternatives. Forbes wrote a more in depth article about the relevance of this pertaining to work, however I believe their points are well taken for all situations.

1. “Try” – Even if you don’t mean it, when you say you’ll try to do something, others will think you’re just paying lip service and have no intention of getting it done.
2. “I’ll get back to you” – People often use this phrase to buy some time, and never actually get back to the person they say it to. To avoid giving that impression, specify the day and time when you’ll touch base.
3. “We’ll see” – This is most often used as a way to avoid confrontation or having to say “no.” Instead, just be honest.
4. “I guess … ” – It’s a common phrase people often tack on to the beginning of their thoughts. But it can also give off the impression you aren’t really sure of what you’re talking about.
5. “If” – People use this as a way to shift blame — for example, by saying something like, “If Bob finishes his part, then I can do my part.” It’s better to avoid the “if” and assume a successful outcome.

I believe all of these statements are vague and don't do the communicator justice.  

Healthy Nachos & Healthy Substitutions!

It’s all about the choices! Simple substitutions for ingredients that you normally use can make a huge impact on your calorie intact. If you are trying to eat healthier, try some of these simple substitutions taken from Nachos that my honey and I made.


Tip #1: Use baked instead of regular tortilla chips, 8.5% less calories and 68% less fat! A minor change would be white corn instead of yellow corn, but this change alone is 14% less fat.

Tip #2: Add lots of veggies! We added corn and zucchini; it was delicious and more nutritious for us.

Tip #3: Lima beans have no fat! They are by far the best choice for beans. Even if you don’t go with the lima beans, you can still save calories and fat grams. Choose Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, or Red Kidney Beans over Navy Beans and Chili Beans. This simple choice will save you 30% in calories and ½ the fat! And, the Lima bean would save you 36% in calories and all the fat grams would be gone!

Tip #4: The Cheese. Yes, the cheese is a huge culprit no matter how you look at it. However, you can still make better choices, Use American, Mexican Blend – Reduced Fat, Cheez Wiz, Velveeta, or Mozzarella instead of Swiss, Monterey, Colby, or Cheddar. Now cheese is my biggest weakness, so I won’t, probably, follow my own advice. If I did, I could save 28% of the calories and 67% of the fat grams.

Tip #5: Ground Turkey vs. Ground Beef. This one’s simple. It hardly changes the taste and saves 15% of the calories and 20% of the fat grams.

Tip #6: Salsa is Fabulous! Load it on! No fat grams! One ounce has only 7 calories. Make up for smaller portions of meat and cheese with more salsa and more veggies!

Tip #7: Taco sauce is similar to salsa; very low in calories and no fat grams! The green is ½ the calories of the red however. One ounce of green is 7 calories and one ounce of red is 14 calories.

Tip #8: Most spices have very few calories and fat grams. You can use quite a bit to make your foods taste better. There are a few to watch out for though; check the powders. Chili powder and onion powder have more than you would think.

Tip #9: Use sites, such as nutritiondata.com, to compare ingredients and determine what is best for you and your health!

Imagine, you can have 1/3-1/2 the calories and fat by making simple choices! Take these notes with you the next time you go shopping, or check the labels!

Now, if you save ½ the calories, that doesn’t mean you can eat twice as much!

Portion Control is the key!

Free Music

 

There are still places on the internet that you can get free music and it's legal.  Amazon has a fabulous selection of free and reasonably priced music.  I thought I would pass this on for those that want to add some new music to your mp3 collection! Free Music Downloads on Amazon

Opening in another window

I've been doing research on getting my links to open in a new window/tab.  I will soon be able to make my links do that.  In the time being, if you would like to remain on my blog and open a link ...
follow these directions...

1. Hover your mouse over the link and right click.
2. Scroll down to (hover over) either open in new tab (usually the 2nd option) or open in new window (usually the 3rd option).
3. Left Click

You will now be able to close out of that link when you are done with it and remain here, on my blog!

Hope this helps!

Fabulous Website Find & What to do with all those USER MANUALS...

I needed a user manual.  We have a complicated phone system at the office and no one knows how to use it.  We pay with our first born children (and dogs and cats) every time we need to call for assistance.  I decided to see what I could find to download online.  I didn't know how much it would cost, but it would be worth it, I was sure!  Lo and behold, I found a site to download user manuals for free!! 

Now, talk about eliminating clutter and keeping organized at home!  You know longer have to keep the physical paper user manuals if you can download a copy or go to the website if you need to reference something.  I used to keep a file of user manuals and warranties but often forgot about it or didn't like the bulkiness of it.  Right now, I am keeping my manuals with the item or within close proximity, which works nicely.  I have the tv and vcr/dvd manuals under the dvd player.  I have coffee pot, blender, etc manuals with the cookbooks.  Mentally, for some reason, files represent "things to do" for me.  One good rule of organization is to keep things where you use them.

There are probably more websites like this one out there, but here is the one I found:  http://safemanuals.com/   Go forth and enjoy paperless manuals!!

New Years Resolution: A BACK UP SYSTEM FOR YOUR DATA!!

Back it up before you lose it! I can not stress how important this is!  If you've used a computer long enough, you've lost data!  If you have not already, some day you will.  I guarantee it.  Your hard drive will crash, you will get a virus, or you will corrupt data.  It may not be your fault, but it will happen.  Do this to save yourself a lot of headaches.  Sign up for an automatic online backup system.  It's one of the smartest things you can do for yourself.  It will save everything you have in your my documents folder; all of your photos, music, letters, everything!  It will also backup your desktop files and your outlook files.  Typically, it will not backup your programs or external drives.  For the peace of mind and security it is a small price to pay.  I believe they also have a free program.  I would suggest Mozy Unlimited Backup - $4.95/Month.