The 4th of July will be here in a matter of days and many families across the country celebrate Independence Day by having family cookouts. Cookouts are not only a time-honored tradition among American families, they are also a time to get the entire family together and spend some quality time with good food, good friends, and good times. Because cookouts are also a time for yard games, such as horseshoes, or if it’s a particular hot day, running in sprinklers or taking a dip in the pool. Because people tend to eat several times throughout the day, picking here and there whenever they want to munch on something, you cannot, ever, go wrong with having several salads on your picnic table for the 4th.
1 container (6 oz) Yoplait Original 99% Fat Free key lime pie yogurt
4 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 jicama, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 bag (10 oz) chopped or hearts of romaine lettuce (6 cups)
2 1/2 cups cubes (3/4 inch) seedless watermelon
1 cup fresh blueberries
1. In a small bowl, mix yogurt, honey, and salt; set aside. Cut jicama slices into star shapes using a small (1-inch) star-shaped canape cutter.
2. In large bowl, toss remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad mixture; toss until well coated. Sprinkle jicama stars over top. Serve immediately.
Health Fitness How To is a brand new article directory exclusively for health, fitness, and nutrition articles. To spread the word about their new site, they are running a great contest that could put an extra $200 in your pocket.
All you have to do is write an article related to health, fitness, or nutrition and submit it to Health Fitness How To. All article submissions will be judged on content quality, the average number of daily visitors your article attracts, an if you have linked back to Health Fitness How To on your own website or blog. Make sure to review the article submission terms before submitting your article to the contest, otherwise it may be rejected and that wouldn’t be good, especially since you’ve taken all that time to write a high-quality, expert article and all.
So, what kind of articles are Health Fitness How To looking for? According to them, they like “How To” articles the most (please note the name of their website!), since they tend to attract more readers. Your article can be in whatever format you like, but if you’re having trouble coming up with a topic, a “Tips” or “How To” article is a good place to start. As with any article you write, try to make your article as specific and focused as possible. Peopel don’t usually seatch for general health tips; people are focused and zero in on the information they want to know about. If you’re out of ideas for health, fitness, or nutrition articles, that’s okay! Just check out the Health Fitness How To article directory and review their extensive list of categories. I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something that will wow the webmasters!
Because your chances of winning the contest are judged on how many visitors you bring to your particular article daily, here are some great article promotion tips. To promote your article, you should definitely submit your article to social networking and media sites that a great deal of people utilize on a daily basis: StumbleUpon, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Propeller, Mixx, etc.
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This contest ends on Friday, July 10, 2009 and a winner will be announced on Monday, July 20th, 2009; they will also be contacted directly to arrange payment.
Nature Valley has already become a staple in the homes of families seeking quality, healthy snacks; but with the newest addition to their roster of products, I know for sure that many more families will start to see the nutritional and yummy benefits of the brand.
Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters have been in high demand in my house ever since I was sent a package of the new product in each flavor from My Blog Spark. The day I received the product, my step kids came over to visit and by the end of that night, all four packages were gone and ever since then, I have been asked by my partner several times when we were going to the store to get more of them. As soon as the brightly-colored packages were discovered on the kitchen counter, one child took the Nut Lovers, the other took the Roasted Cashew, my partner devoured the Honey Roasted Peanut, and I absolutely loved the Roasted Almond. It worked out perfectly, really, because after everyone tried each of the flavors, everyone settled on their own package and there was no fighting over the fact that someone was eating out of someone else’s package because we all, very oddly, had a different favorite flavor; except for my partner, who loved all of them and ended up eating the entire bag of Honey Roasted Peanut, as well as my Roasted Almond, so to say the least, they did not last in my house for more than a few hours.
I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters because while it goes without saying, I absolutely love finding foods that everyone will enjoy snacking on; but the reason why I love having these for a snack food is because I can feel good about eating it. There’s no guilt, there’s no worry, and there’s no regret. I am all too familiar with snacking on very unhealthy snack foods and ending up feeling lethargic and bloated. I’m a person who cannot eat a lot at one time, so I do tend to snack quite a lot throughout the day and these are an ideal food to have around the house for just that reason.
But Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are not merely snack foods; they can also be eaten with yogurt in the morning (tip: Nature Valley also makes yogurt!), on their own while you’re heading out the door to go to drop the kids off at school and/or go to work, and they can also be packed in school lunches. Whenever you eat them, you’re going to feel great about having a nutritious snack that makes you feel energized and good about the foods you’re eating.
Nature Valley currently has a coupon you can download for $1 off their Granola Nut Clusters, so you can also feel great about the price you’re paying!
For the past week or so, every day, I have woken up and have immediately made my way from my bedroom, downstairs to my kitchen to make coffee. Now, this is not very much unlike every other day of my adult (as well as my teenage) life, but the one big difference is that for the past week, as soon as I opened my eyes, instead of thinking “Oh my goodness, need coffee right now!” I have thought “Oh my goodness, need banana nut cream coffee right now!” I have tried a lot of coffee from a myriad of different brands and companies; I have tried medium and dark roasted coffee, the cheap stuff on sale as well as the premium coffees you spend an arm and a leg on, but this coffee is different. It is incredible quality with a taste that will blow your taste buds away; even better, it is inexpensive, especially considering the quality and the taste of the coffee you’re getting.
From the first moment I opened up the 1lb bag of banana nut cream coffee from San Marco Coffee, I was pretty amazed at the quality of their product. Even before I opened the bag, I could smell the sweet scent of bananas and the coffee grounds felt a lot softer than the grounds of coffee I usually drink. As soon as the coffee begins brewing, I immediately smelled bananas and through its process, the scent got stronger and I could smell it in my living room. It is a scent I look forward to every morning when I wake up–as well as in the afternoon; what can I say, I drink a lot of coffee. In fact, if there was a way to make a scratch-and-sniff embeddable sticker or something for this article, the scent of San Marco Coffee’s banana nut cream coffee would be the first scent I would share with you all.
The taste of this banana nut cream coffee, however, is even better than the smell; if you can believe it. My partner, who usually cannot stand to drink more than a very small cup of coffee because he hates the taste of coffee and would very much prefer it to taste like donuts instead, loved San Marco’s Coffee and even asked me when we were going to order more; especially when I mentioned that they have Snicker flavored coffee.
San Marco Coffee also has decaffeinated coffee for those of you who can’t handle caffeine and they also have international coffees, espresso, as well as international teas! I cannot recommend San Marco Coffee enough; I will definitely be getting my flavored coffees through them because they have the most extensive supply I have ever come across! And if you’re interested in coffee or tea, also be sure to follow San Marco Coffee on Twitter and hear about new additions to their stock and new flavored coffees to try out!
I absolutely love tiramisu. In fact, I cannot put my love for tiramisu into words. I had it for the first time at The Olive Garden a few months back when my partner told me that I would love it, being the coffee enthusiast that I am, and was surprised that I had never had it. But after trying it for the first time, I ate the entire piece of cake and of course, I wanted more! I could not get enough of it and have been simply obsessed ever since.
I found this recipe in the latest Betty Crocker Cookies, Bars & Cakes issue that I posted about earlier today. Finally, an easy tiramisu you can make at home and eat as much of as you want!
For CAKE You Will Need::
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brandy (in substitution of brandy, use brandy extract plus 1/4 cup water)
3 egg whites
For ESPRESSO SYRUP You Will Need:
4 tbs instant espresso coffee granules
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tbs corn syrup
For TOPPING You Will Need:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups whipping cream
1 tbs unsweetened baking cocoa (optional)
1. Heat oven to 320F (325F for dark or nonstick pan.) Grease bottom only of 13×9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1 cup water, the oil, brandy, and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
2. Bake 26 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes.
3. In small bowl, stir espresso granules and 1/2 cup boiling water until mixed. Stir in corn syrup. With long-tined fork, pierce tip of cake every 1/2 inch. Brush top of cake with espresso syrup. Cool completely for about 1 hour.
4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with electric mixer on low speed until mixed. Beat on high speed until smooth. Gradually beat in whipping cream, beating on high speed about 2 minutes or until stuff peaks form. Spread cream mixture over top of cake; sprinkle with cocoa. Store in refrigerator.
Typically, once I get out of the shower I apply body lotion or body butter for the day, grab a towel, and then try to maneuver my towel to allow me to use my arms and hands effortlessly to apply makeup and do something with my hair. However, this hardly ever works because most of the time, the towel comes undone from around my body leaving me completely uncovered and frustrated, especially since I’m relying on that towel to absorb the water from my shower so after I’m done with my hair and makeup I can walk into my bedroom and get my clothes on and go about my day. So when I came across the Wearable Towel I was pretty excited, thinking about having a towel that would stay around my body after the shower, leaving me able to have full range of motion of my arms to get myself ready for the day.
The Wearable Towel allows me to go about my morning (or afternoon since I work from home and have the freedom to not have to get ready to start my day until the afternoon) completely hassle-free. I don’t have to fight with a towel or walk around the house holding it up so it doesn’t fly open or fall off. I will often get out of the shower, put a towel around myself, and come downstairs to get a mug of coffee to enjoy while getting myself ready for the day, so the last thing I want is my towel malfunctioning while I’m walking in front of the window. I also cannot tell you the amount of times I have had the UPS delivery person at my door while trying to get clothes on. With the Wearable Towel, you can just wrap it around yourself and hurry to the door to get your package before the delivery person writes one of those notes I always hate getting telling you they will try again tomorrow.
But the Wearable Towel isn’t just for after morning showers; it can also be brought with you and your family on vacation this summer to the beach or to the neighborhood public pool. It is made of 100% cotton and is very absorbent so you can wrap one around your child to get dry after being in a pool or the ocean and they are still free to run around and keep having a great time! And don’t worry about losing the fasteners to get the Wearable Towel to fasten around your body because there aren’t any. The Wearable Towel has arm openings allowing you to simply slip your arms into the openings and you’re completely covered and free to go about your day.
The Wearable Towel is not sold in stores, but it is sold online. Just go to the Wearable Towel’s website to order or call 1-866-618-6444.
So within the past few months, I have become a complete and utter Betty Crocker fanatic. You may have noticed this if you’ve been checking out our Recipes section, as I have shared the Betty Crocker email newsletter love with all of you a few times! Betty Crocker has some of the most innovative, out of the box, and just plain fun (not to mention easy!) recipes ever! Which is why I was so ecstatic when I received an email a few days ago with a link to the new Betty Crocker Cookies, Bars and Cakes Nxtbook!
What’s a Nxtbook? Super awesome technological magic that allows magazines to be seen as they were intended to be seen in print, just on your computer screen! Cool, right?
Betty Crocker’s entire Cookies, Bars and Cakes issue is out in Nxtbook. It is full of the most requested recipes (over 70 in all,) and within just a few minutes of browsing this issue of Betty Crocker, your mouth will be watering for these desserts! I already have over 10 picked out that I need to pick up the ingredients for so I can (attempt to) bake.
The new energy drink from Blu Frog isn’t just “Wildly Healthy Energy,” they are also behind some of the best contests and campaigns I have ever seen a company dole out to the people who support them. I have spent the early morning hours reading about their energy drink, about them as a company, as well as exciting promotions and contests they are running, but they have simply went above and beyond the call of duty with It’s a Blu World.
BluFrog is giving everyone a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes and three different ways to enter the contest. So what’s up for grabs?
BluGamer: The ultimate gaming package which includes an Xbox 360 Elite gaming system with a Rock Band 2 bundle.
Happy Blu-Year: A New Years Eve trip to New York with a friend or loved one.
Blullapalooza: A trip to Lolapalloza, the world’s most famous music festival in Grant Park, Chicago.
BluStreak: A Richard Petty racing experience that gives you the chance to experience stock car racing first hand, side-by-side action, drafting, passing, and everything that goes into stock car racing with a friend or loved one.
XtremeBLU: A trip to the 14th Winter X Games from ESPN in Aspen.
Did you get all happy and excited when you heard the prizes? Do you want to win? Well, here’s how:
Leave a blog comment over at It’s a Blu World and name what experience you absolutely, positively need to win and why!
Write a blog post on your own blog about the It’s a Blu World contest and which experience you would choose if you won.
Spread the word about this contest on Twitter! Tell your friends why you entered to win and which experience you would choose if you did win. Be sure to include #bluworld and http://bit.ly/UiiJy in your Tweet!
The “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PT on Friday after having suffered cardiac arrest, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. He was 50 years old.
An autopsy is scheduled Friday, he said. Results are expected Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles coroner’s office, who also said Jackson was unresponsive when he arrived at the hospital.
Law enforcement officials stressed that there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, but they would conduct interviews with family members and friends, opening an investigation into Jackson’s death. At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards; even staff members were not permitted to enter the area where Jackson was. People gathered in the waiting area of the medical center, some of the crying, and vigils have been conducted throughout the day in honor of Michael Jackson. Outside of Jackson’s home, police arrived on motorcycles and the road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic; but that did not stop several people from gathering outside of the home.
Michael’s former wife, Lisa Marie Presley, said that she was “shocked and saddened” [by the news of Jackson's death] “My heart goes out to his children and his family.”
Michael Jackson has had a greatly successful career that many people around the entire world have benefited from and idolized Jackson for. Known as the “King of Pop,” Jackson has many No. 1 hits and “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time. But while he has undoubtedly had more success in his life than imaginable, he also had legal troubles later in his life.
Prosecutors charged Michael Jackson with four counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14; one count of attempted lewd conduct; four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation; and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment or extortion. He was acquitted of these charges after a well-publicized trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.
Michael Jackson will surely be missed all around the world.
Lube can certainly make any sexual activity a whole lot more fun, whether it’s for intercourse, masturbation, or sex toy play… until the lube dries up, becomes sticky, and leaves you feeling very uncomfortable and completely turned off, asking yourself when it will be over so you can hop in the shower! Sadly, every lube I have ever tried has been like this. I have went through bottles of lube in record timing because of the amount of times I have to reapply it, leaving me with only being able to use lube moderately because if I didn’t, I’d be spending an excessive amount of money on tubes of lube that leave me feeling pretty disgusting afterward anyway.
While I have had pretty uncomfortable experiences with lube, that was all before I tried Sliquid Organics Silk lube. Admittedly, this is the first Sliquid product I have used, but I am super impresses; I absolutely love it.
Sliquid Organics Silk is water-based and also contains 12% hypoallergenic silicone which makes this lubricant creamy in texture, rather than what I call “gloopy,” as you have most likely noticed with almost all other brands of lubricant on the market. I have definitely put this lube to this test, using it for both vaginal and anal intercourse, as well as for masturbation and the first thing I noticed with it is that I never had to reapply; I applied it once and that was it, it stayed wet and comfortable for the entire duration. This made me ecstatic because like I said before, when using lube of any other brand I was reapplying several times.
In addition to its great lasting power, Sliquid Organics Silk is a great choice for delicate, sensitive issues. As a woman who frequently gets urinary tract infections for pretty much any reason, the morning after using this lube the first thing I thought was “Here’s hoping my vagina isn’t mad at me!” and luckily, it wasn’t. It also includes organic extracts like aloe vera, which is very soothing to the skin, vitamin E, and also invigorating green tea and hibiscus. And while it’s completely organic and body-friendly, it is also very Earth-friendly because once you get through the bottle, it is 100% recyclable!
The 4th of July will be here in a matter of days and many families across the country celebrate Independence Day by having family cookouts. Cookouts are not only a time-honored tradition among American families, they are also a time to get the entire family together and spend some quality time with good food, good friends, and good times. Because cookouts are also a time for yard games, such as horseshoes, or if it’s a particular hot day, running in sprinklers or taking a dip in the pool. Because people tend to eat several times throughout the day, picking here and there whenever they want to munch on something, you cannot, ever, go wrong with having several salads on your picnic table for the 4th.
Nature Valley has already become a staple in the homes of families seeking quality, healthy snacks; but with the newest addition to their roster of products, I know for sure that many more families will start to see the nutritional and yummy benefits of the brand.
For the past week or so, every day, I have woken up and have immediately made my way from my bedroom, downstairs to my kitchen to make coffee. Now, this is not very much unlike every other day of my adult (as well as my teenage) life, but the one big difference is that for the past week, as soon as I opened my eyes, instead of thinking “Oh my goodness, need coffee right now!” I have thought “Oh my goodness, need banana nut cream coffee right now!” I have tried a lot of coffee from a myriad of different brands and companies; I have tried medium and dark roasted coffee, the cheap stuff on sale as well as the premium coffees you spend an arm and a leg on, but this coffee is different. It is incredible quality with a taste that will blow your taste buds away; even better, it is inexpensive, especially considering the quality and the taste of the coffee you’re getting.
From the first moment I opened up the 1lb bag of 
I absolutely love tiramisu. In fact, I cannot put my love for tiramisu into words. I had it for the first time at The Olive Garden a few months back when my partner told me that I would love it, being the coffee enthusiast that I am, and was surprised that I had never had it. But after trying it for the first time, I ate the entire piece of cake and of course, I wanted more! I could not get enough of it and have been simply obsessed ever since.
The “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PT on Friday after having suffered cardiac arrest, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. He was 50 years old.
