Halloween Party Menu

Halloween is generally a sugar fest - kids go trick or treating and pick up sacks full of candy.

This Halloween Menu will get some proper food down them before they go out - with a bit of luck they'll be too full to eat the candy until much later.

For starters, get a round loaf and use it to push vegetable kebabs into.

Get some cocktail sticks or kebab skewers and push chopped up raw and salad vegetables onto them.

Some ideas here are chunks of carrot, whole radish, cubes of cucumber, slices of pepper, tomato quarters, sticks of celery and anything else you fancy.

Use some green food coloring to mix into mayonnaise and use this to dip the vegetables in - call it slime.

How about worms or maggots for your main course?

No - don't fancy them? OK if I said spaghetti or a rice dish does that sound more appetizing? You can call them worms or maggots - the kids will laugh.

Try a canned tuna and tomato spaghetti or a prawn provencale over rice - there's recipes on my site for those, link at the end of this article - or use your own favorite spaghetti or rice meal.

The idea with this menu is not to make yourself a slave to the kitchen, just to get some good food down your kids before they go out and get them in the mood for Halloween.

Now your pudding - well, it would be a shame to waste the insides of the pumpkin that has now become their lantern - so microwave the insides for 7 minutes per lb (or thereabouts) and use the pulp to make a pie.

There're loads of variations for pumpkin pie, but you basically mix the pumpkin with cream and spices and bake in a pastry case - serve slightly warm with a good dollop or cream.

Don't waste the seeds either - separate them from the pulp before cooking, rinse and then let them dry for 4 hours or so. Sprinkle them with olive oil and salt and then bake in moderate oven for 30 minutes - give them a stir every 10 minutes and you've got some lovely nibbles there.

Decorate the room and table with orange and black, cobwebs, skeletons and have a few games laid on.

Bobbing for apples is good fun - but bobbing for grapes would be more fun - easier to get hold of I think and your guests will get a bit wetter.

Do a hide and seek with the lights out - spooky stories - don't scare each other too much - and then let them loose on the area with their trick or treating.

Happy Halloween.

Liz Alderson is the webmaster of find-a-seafood-recipe.com which is a free fish and seafood recipe site giving advice on buying, preparing and cooking fish and seafood. She also has a herb website - the-herb-guide.com which has advice on growing, cooking and using herbs. You are free to use this article on your site, but this Resource Box and the article itself must remain unaltered.

Cheap Weight Loss Ideas - Losing Weight Without Breaking the Bank

When you are starting on a weight loss plan, you may be concerned that it won't fit into your budget. There are ways to eat healthfully that won't break the bank. Read on for 10 cheap weight loss ideas to help keep the bulge in your wallet, not your waistline!

Idea #1 - Prepare
Before you even think about going to the store, make sure you have a list of all the foods you will need for the week. Planning your meals ahead of time will also help in your weight loss efforts! Being prepared will cut down on extra trips to the store and impulsive fast food stops during the week.

Idea #2 - Eat Before You Shop
When you go to the grocery store while hungry, you are more likely to buy extra food that you don't need or that is not on your diet plan. Plan to have a snack or meal before heading out the door.

Idea #3 - Buy Generic
Another cheap weight loss idea is to buy generic brand foods. You can save a bundle by looking for store-brand or off-brand items. They generally have the same nutritional content, so why pay more for a brand name?

Idea #4 - Cut Coupons
Become a coupon queen or king! Check your local newspaper weekly for their coupon inserts and start clipping for the items you already buy or would consider buying. You can organize coupons by brand or by type of food. After you make your grocery list for the week (see Idea #1), go through your coupon organizer and pull out the ones you will need so you are not searching for them while you are at the grocery store.

Idea #5 - Buy in Bulk
You can often save some money by buying in bulk on pantry staples like cereals, baked chips, baking goods, and many others. Look into a membership at a wholesaler like Costco or Sam's Club to cut grocery bills over time.

Idea #6 - Grow Produce
Creating a backyard garden is one of the best cheap weight loss ideas. We all know that adding fruits and vegetables to our diets is healthy, but fresh produce can be expensive. Consider starting your own garden with the produce you enjoy and use the most.

Idea #7 - Go Frozen
When fruits and vegetables are not in season, they can be even pricier to buy fresh in the produce section. Instead, head to the freezer section and stock up on frozen veggies and fruits, which are just as nutritionally sound. You could also buy canned produce - just make sure you rinse the contents as they can be packed with extra sugar or salt.

Idea #8 - Check Portions
If you buy more than what you need and it expires before you get a chance to use it, you've just flushed money away. This is especially true with dairy products that have a shorter shelf life. Take stock of what you will use before you buy and check the expiration date to be sure you use it before it spoils.

Idea #9 - Make Snack Packs
When you are looking for cheap weight loss ideas, look no further than your own Tupperware cabinet! Instead of buying individually wrapped snack packs, make your own. Those premade packs are convenient, but cost much more. Buy your own nuts and dried fruit to make trail mix, or buy a large package of baked chips and repackage them into snack size containers.

Idea #10 - Research Diets
There are diet plans out there that cost more money than others. If money is tight in your household, but you still want to lose weight, do some research as to what other programs might be more cost effective for your budget. You may be able to save money in the long run by purchasing a program that teaches you weight loss techniques that you can implement for as long as you need them.

Losing weight can be made much easier when you are not worried about how much you're spending on your grocery bills. By following these cheap weight loss ideas, you will be able to not only shed pounds, but bulk up your wallet at the same time.

If you have tried researching the best diet programs on the market, but ended up more confused than you were to begin with, you need to visit my Weight Loss Program Review Page. Researching and comparing products is our passion and we'd like to share our results with you. We reviewed the top 4 diet programs available and explain the benefits of each. You'll feel confident in your decision because we have done all the work for you - making picking the right product for you a "No-Brainer!" Click Here today and be on your way to a leaner, more healthy you!

3 Secrets For Saving Money on a Real Psychic Reading (Stop Overpaying For Fake Psychics)

Who else wants to save money on a psychic reading? Are you sick and tired of "free" psychic offers...and the fake, canned and scripted readings that come with them? I don't blame you. When I first got started researching psychics close to 20 years ago...until I learned what I was doing, I either overpaid completely...or got suckered by "free" readings that rarely were free...and NEVER were good. Sound familiar? If you are like many of our readers...it unfortunately does.

Here are 3 secrets for not only SAVING money on your next reading...but making sure the psychic you are speaking to is real as well:

1 - AVOID the "absolutely free" psychic offers at all costs. They are rarely worth the time you spend to call them....and they are often a complete scam to boot. (they simply get you into a "bait and switch" style scam that up sells you on expensive services after your "free" time is done.

2 - Set a BUDGET before you begin...and stick with it! In other words, set 10, 20 or 30 dollars aside, do a little bit of due diligence, and then pick a legitimate psychic service to invest in. Don't "deposit" more money in the middle of a call...and don't let yourself be pressured to continue beyond the time and money you promised yourself you'd pay. (in other words...DISCIPLINE is one of the best ways to ensure you stick with your budget, and get a hyper focused reading as well)

3 - Know what you WANT from the reading...before it begins. In other words, have your questions, conundrums or crisis's in mind (or on paper) before the reading starts. Be relaxed...but be in control of what YOU'D like to know, and get out of the experience before it begins. The biggest mistake people make when speaking to a psychic is NOT knowing what they'd like to ask...and NOT being "mentally" organized about the outcome they'd like to hear. This leads to way too much "getting to know you" when the reading begins, and can drag out and WASTE your time (and money) before getting to the crux of your crisis...or simply where you'd like insight, information or enlightenment. (and most psychics PREFER a client or caller who knows what they want...and asks them to hone in on it up front)

Lastly...

Always go with services that offer new caller rates, or special incentives for first time callers. It's the BEST way to save 70, 80 or even 90% off regularly advertised rates...and you can often get a life changing reading in 30 minutes or less....for the cost of a movie and fast food dinner... if you know where to look.

The bottom line?

A GENUINE Psychic Reading is truly the MOST fun, liberating and life changing experience you can imagine.

Just about ANYONE can have one...and if you follow the tips above, so too can you! (and believe me when I tell you, life will NEVER look the same once you have)

Ready to See What YOUR Future Has in Store? Check out our MOST recommended Psychic Services right here!

Cooking Grilled Shrimp and Peanut Skewers That Can Help You In Dieting

Cooking grilled seafood and adding some other ingredients may sound difficult but once you have read this recipe, it won't be hard cooking the food at all. Grilling is one of the best choices if you want to eat something tasty and doesn't ruin your diet. Grilling is different than frying; there are reasons that the two are different. Grilling is mostly used for people who are conscious of their weight and for those people who have heart problems. Frying is easy to prepare compared to grilling but grilling is very much healthier compared to frying. In this recipe you will know how to cook grilled shrimp and peanut skewers. This food can be very attractive to children and is quite a nice party preparation. You won't have any problems because this food won't ruin your diet.

Let us know why this recipe helps you in your diet. It is a quick snack for consuming your free time and getting pretty bored. This recipe has low fat, calories and sodium. Shrimp is a good source of calcium, Iodine and protein. As we all know any food has calories and so do shrimp but the reason why shrimp is different because it has good calories and lowers the bad calories in the body. Shrimp also help reducing triglyceride levels because triglyceride can block arteries. We will use peanut butter and not real peanuts. Peanut butter reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and it has Vitamin E and niacin.

Ingredients:

• 10 medium uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon canned light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter, unsalted
• 1 teaspoon honey,
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• Pinch of Cayenne pepper

Cooking the Food:

1. Have a blender ready and put the following ingredients: coconut milk, peanut butter, honey, lime juice, reduced sodium soy sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic and water. Blend till the ingredients become a puree.

2. Place the shrimp in a shallow dish. Pour the finished puree on the shrimp, make sure that the shrimp is fully coated and let it stand for 15 minutes.

3. When you are waiting for the shrimp you can prepare the grill with coal and burn until the coal red hot.

4. After the shrimp has fully absorbed the mixture and other nutrients from the puree, you can now thread the shrimps on barbeque sticks or skewers. Discard the left over puree; you won't need it in the next step.

5. Put the shrimp on the grill and cook it for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side or when the shrimp becomes opaque or solid and not too soft.

6. You can now serve the shrimp and add some sauces and dips of your choice.

It is simple isn't it? You can try it yourself and try to find different dips that you like when you are done cooking your grilled food. The grilled food will be perfect for parties or a beach vacation. You won't have any more problems of ruining your diet because you have found the answer to what you are going to eat that even helps you in dieting.

Elizabeth Beauchamp is a writer who is a health and fitness enthusiast. In fact, he likes to write about food, diet and topics about how to grill vegetables and grilling steaks, and other interesting stuff.

Gee That's A Great Sales Script!

According to that oft-quoted compendium of bizarre statistics, The Book of Lists, people rank their fear of public speaking higher than their fear of death.

The Book of Lists missed an opportunity because it didn't have people rank their fear of writing. Granted, it's less obvious and not nearly as traumatic as having to deliver a speech, but still, a lot of folks suffer from it.

You can see it in the stiffness of their emails and the stodgy formality of their memos and business letters. It also creeps into their selling scripts.

If you ask most salespeople whether they want to use a call script, they'll say no, and one of the reasons they'll cite is that it sounds canned. In a different article, I've discussed how to bring a script to life through nuances of vocal delivery.

But let me point out that poor delivery is only one reason that scripts sound canned. A more significant reason is that they're very, very poorly written.

They're not conversational because they are writings, primarily, and not "talkings." Most people who compose sales scripts don't capture the sound of real talk.

For example, I've drafted numerous sales and customer service scripts and I'll seed them with words and phrases that say, "I'm speaking to you, off the cuff---this is the real me you're communicating with!"

Let's say you need a script to help complaining customers with a buggy software program. You can listen to their complaint and respond, "I'm sorry that happened."

It's not bad, but it can be "conversationalized."

Instead, try, "Gee, I'm sorry that happened."

"Gee" communicates many things. First, it implies that this is a surprise, that your software program isn't known for screwing-up. Your credibility is preserved.

Second, "Gee" says I'm being spontaneous, a real person.

In the law, we'd call this an "excited utterance," and judges give it special significance because it is blurted out without thought. It's a window into the person's genuine feelings and thoughts.

"Gee" actually says, "I'm not scripted!"

Therefore, scripting it is that much more powerful.

I'm just offering this as one example of how you can make your sales scripts sound genuine, while avoiding the perception that they're canned.

There are many other ways, and if you give it thought, you can generate your own. The real secret is identifying how real talk sounds, and then putting that, imperfections and all, down on the page.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Handling the Auto Sales Phone-Up

Your ability to handle phone-ups professionally will be the determining factor for gaining additional sales per month. Individuals calling for information on the phone should be handled just like a prospect walking through the door. How you deal with their questions and concerns will be the determining factor for getting an appointment. Here are some strategies that will help make taking a phone-up more profitable:

Treat every phone-up like a walk-in customer -
In the past when there were fewer carlines and business was booming, prospects were flocking to the dealerships by the busloads. Salespeople didn't have to take phone-ups as seriously as they need to now. Today, when people call the dealership, it's because they are usually very busy, and need to gather information before they spend their valuable time shopping around. Treat these individuals with the same respect as you would prospects walking through the door.

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency -
People on the other end of the phone can't see what you look like. All they know of you is how you sound. So, when you answer the phone, sound like you're glad they called. Now comes the important part. You need to give them a sense of urgency to come into the dealership. You can accomplish this by saying the following:

Salesperson: Thanks for calling. This is Mike, how can I help you?

Prospect: I'm calling to see if you have any "X-Cars" in stock?

Salesperson: Oh, are you calling on the "X-Car" sale/promotion?

Prospect: No, but what is the "X-Car" sale about?

Salesperson: For the next several days, we're offering some of the finest deals on virtually every "X-Car" in stock. Would this be something you'd be interested in?

Have a fluid, steady paced presentation -
I believe that if you want to be more successful, you need to start scripting your presentations. Most salespeople don't like canned presentations because they sound like they're reading them off the page. The only reason they sound canned is because salespeople don't practice them. The more you practice, the more fluid they become. If you want to make more money in sales, you can't just say whatever comes out of your mouth and expect it to work. You need to have a planned presentation for each situation that produces results

Remain in control by asking questions -
Your prospect has an agenda when he/she calls on the phone, and will likely want to stay on that agenda for fear of being taken advantage of by the salesperson. You can gain the control back by asking the prospect questions. This keeps the prospect involved and at the same time gets you the information you need to do your job professionally.

Strive to set an appointment with everyone -
Do not answer the phone just to provide information, or to act as the liaison between the prospect and the dealership. If you're going to take the time to answer the phone, go that extra step and try to set an appointment. If you can convince your prospect to come in and see you, you have moved one step closer to making the sale. Now, I have salespeople tell me, "Mike, I don't have trouble setting an appointment, I have trouble getting them to keep the appointment." Once you've set the appointment with your prospect, solidify the appointment with these three questions:

1. Now, is there any reason why you wouldn't be able to keep this appointment?

2. Will you be writing this appointment down in your appointment book, or would you like me to call you ahead of time to remind you?

3. If for some reason you can't keep this appointment, would you at least give me the courtesy of a call so I can put someone else in your time slot?

Log every phone-up -
When you take a phone-up, you should log information on every prospect you talk to. At the very least, you should obtain a name and phone number for follow-up purposes. Then every morning, review all phone-ups to see what deals you may be able to put together.

Follow-up by phone within 24 hours -
No matter what the situation is, you should follow-up with every prospect within 24 hours. Keep in mind that if the prospect called you, he/she may be calling other salespeople at other dealerships. If you have a name and phone number, this prospect is yours. You're the one who wants the sale. So, don't let this person get followed-up by another salesperson first.

Send a follow-up letter -
If you were assertive enough to also get an address, send the prospect a 24 hour follow-up letter. This may just be what separates you from every salesperson he/she calls.

Mike Whitty, president
Salesperson, Inc.
Celebrating 20 Years in Vehicle Sales Training
http://www.salestrainingstore.net

Business Database: The Link to a Successful Campaign

A successful telemarketing campaign is dependent on several factors. These factors can affect the over-all performance of the telemarketers, the market they are targeting, their sales pitch, and even the products and services being offered. This is especially true, especially in B2B leads. A contact list can help reduce the impact of these factors, since it has all the tools you need to get the job done.

Now, what are these factors that should be considered? To start with, we can talk about the telemarketers themselves. Stress is a very real threat in their environment. In a workplace where success can be a very thin margin, it takes a lot of effort on the part of the people manning the phones to succeed. Doing that would require that some form of aid is available for them to make split-second decisions or look up on some information they need fast. A contact list does just about that.

The target market is also a major factor in a successful telemarketing campaign. We've certainly heard a lot of stories of telemarketing services failing to deliver what they promised. Frankly, it can't be helped. Times have changed. People are not as enthusiastic in cold calling them as they were in the past. Actually, convincing them that you're a legitimate advertiser is an achievement by itself already. Now, it's the remaining half that is the toughest part to do. You have to convince them that they need what you're offering. It's not funny since the success rate of doing that is pretty low. That's the truth.

The sales pitch also contributes in large part to the performance of the campaign. A good selling pitch increases interest. A bad one merely irritates the listener. That's why a lot of effort is spent in formulating a script that would send the message across, yet sound as normal as having an ordinary conversation with a friend. It takes a lot of skill from telemarketers to make it natural, with no hint of it being 'canned' or scripted. A good agent can get the message across, with the listener wanting to know more from you. It's a good sign that your talk is a success. And contact list is an invaluable tool for that.

One more thing that needs to be considered whenever we're dealing with telemarketing is with the products and service being offered. In the first place, if they are not going to make anyone happy in buying them, then what's the point in selling them? Although we've seen a lot of bogus products circulating around for a long time, it doesn't mean that we should stop using telemarketing to market our offers.

The thing here is that you should look at the products or service carefully before you take it upon yourself to sell them. Not knowing the exact nature of what you are offering can greatly affect the performance of a campaign. Negative word-of-mouth can seriously damage the reputation of your offer even before the campaign ends. So it would be a good idea to choose what you have to sell. You also have a reputation to keep, right?

Now, to get all these tasks done, you'd need to use a reliable business database provider. They're the firms most telemarketers turn to for contact list needs, as well as additional information on the market they're planning to sell their products to. These save not just your time, but also a lot of effort in compiling the necessary data. And whatever time and effort you save, you can then use it to concentrate on the core functions of your business.

Alice Clark is a sales and marketing consultant specializing in business contact database management. Alice invites you to visit http://www.contactdb.com/ to learn more about business contact lists and databases.

Understanding the Difference Between Herbs and Probiotics

Herbs and probiotics sound very similar, just like two sides of a coin, but in reality they are two different entities, completely different from each other. The one common underlying factor uniting these two entities, is that they are forms of dietary supplements, there ends the similarity. Many people believe in the health benefits these categories offer. But then, it would be a wiser thing to know exactly how they differ from each other!

Herbs

Herbs are shrubs which are primarily used in small quantities and offer a lot of health benefits. Each herb has a variety of uses. We can group herbs into two categories as follows:

• Culinary herbs, as the name implies, these herbs are used to bring out flavor and taste in food and are used extensively as additives. They are nature's flavoring agents, enhancing the quality of food, two most commonly used herbs are rosemary and sage, flavoring agents that bring out the substance in food. Since they are used in small quantities, they cannot be compared with vegetables. Vegetarians tend to use herbs and spices whilst cooking food, just to augment the quality of food, making it more appetizing and tastier. Spices are different from herbs, in it they are extracted from the non-leafy parts of a plant such as the root or the bark.


• Medicinal herbs, also known as botanicals, are believed to offer health benefits, and are used for their therapeutic nature. There is a common belief amongst the masses that vitamin and mineral supplements enhance body immunity and help in protecting the body from diseases such as cancer and heart problems. In a similar vein, herbs are thought to be natural supplements offering therapeutic benefits. There are herbs which can provide medicinal and culinary benefits. For example, Ginger is a culinary herb which adds to the flavor of dishes such as soups. At the same time, Ginger is capable of relieving nausea and vomiting, has no side effects and can be used in small quantities even during pregnancy. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, it is a very safe and an effective food supplement. What we are interested is not in the culinary aspects of a herb rather, we are interested in focusing on the therapeutic and medicinal benefits of their usage. Herbal supplements can be made from one single herb or can be an amalgamation of different herbs.

Some examples of commonly used, popular herbs are given below:

• Black cohosh


• Echinacea


• Feverfew


• Gingko


• Kava

A complete catalog of commonly used, popular herbs along with information such as their common names, properties, benefits and side effects have been listed online for easy reference by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Probiotics

There are plants, and then there are bacteria. Now, common perception is that all forms of bacteria are dangerous and are detrimental to health. But there are some forms of bacteria, which help in conditioning the body, improving health. These are the good guys, the friendly bacteria, much like Casper and are termed as probiotics.

The idea here is to introduce these microbes as supplements, either in the form of a powder or as a capsule, in our daily dietary intake, allowing them to condition the body, replenishing the stock of good bacteria that abound in our digestive system.

When you body is under siege, from unhealthy bacteria, you counter their effects by taking antibiotics. In this situation, the good ones naturally present in the intestines are undermined, and perish as a result of the medication.

You could use probiotics to restore the supply of naturally occurring microbes, heightening the functions of the intestines.Yeast and other such microbes also are categorized as probiotics. Lactobacillus bulgaricus or Streptococcus thermophilus, which might be used along with yogurt are active cultures of bacteria, which are human-friendly, and are used as supplements. For the treatment of diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections, treatment of eczema in children etc, Scientist find a ray of hope in probiotis. The benefits could possibly accrue through the placebo effect. While whole foods provide the necessary probiotics, they are also available if food stores. Yogurt, soymilk and other soy products such as miso and tempeh, kefir (a drinkable form of yogurt), and fermented milk (such as buttermilk) as well as fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi are probiotic storehouses. Yogurts that contain active cultures has to be purchased to get the real dose of friendly bacteria, hence make sure that the package contains the words "active cultures" or at least "probiotic" in their labels. You may also find the list of bacterial cultures in products like buttermilk.

Shaz has written hundreds of articles online for almost 3 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Health & Nutrition, you can also check out his latest website on Garden Storage Bench which reviews and lists the Patio Storage Bench for a Tidy Garden Place & summer fun

Finding the Best Hypoallergenic Dog Food Brands

The best treatment for canine food allergies is hypoallergenic dog food. However, despite their namesake, not all hypoallergenic dog food brands will respond the same way to your pet's system. Some may still cause an allergic reaction while others simply won't be advertising. Then, there's the issue of price, since some companies have no problems making things more expensive because of their 'hypoallergenic' label.

For this reason, you may want to get a few opinions before you start buying hypoallergenic dog food. You can start by asking your vet which brands are the best to use. In some cases, you might be able to buy the dog food right there from their office. But if not, don't worry. As canine food allergies become more known to the public, hypoallergenic dog food products are beginning to flourish in stores, becoming almost as present as traditional brands.

You can also get opinions from dog food ratings and product reviews. Many of these are available online, though sometimes you can also find them in printed publications, such as newsletters or pet magazines. Either way, depending on who is giving the rating or review, you get a chance to evaluate hypoallergenic dog food through the eyes of the customer. Yes, a vet's opinion is very important, but they may not think about price as much as a customer would. With them it's all about nutrition. But if you can't afford a particular brand, you need to have other options available.

Finally, as weird as this may sound, you also have yourself and your dog as reviewers. How so? Well, remember, canine food allergies tend to be different for each animal. So, if you're willing to try different types of hypoallergenic dog food brands, you get a good idea of which foods work the best for your animal. Of course, you will still need to take into account the opinions of others, especially if they contain specialized knowledge. But don't let third-party opinions sway you so much that you forget about what is best for your situation.

Your dog could not only be suffering from allergies to their food, but also from the toxins and other chemicals in some commercial brands. Did you know that some chemicals that were banned in human food are still allowed in dog food? The problem is that they are just as toxic to your dog as they would be to you. You need to read our free report about one man who found out too late what the wrong dog food can do. Protect your pet. [http://dogfood-facts-exposed.com/hypoallergenic-dog-food.htm]

The Different Types of Coffee Explained

For coffee aficionados, the many different types of coffee available represent a delightful blend of choices. Heading to a local coffee house will reveal far more than simply regular and decaf. Aside from the vast assortment of coffee beans to be found, there are many unique ways to prepare and serve coffee. Listed here are some of the most common.

Espresso. This is made by forcing hot water through tightly packed, finely ground coffee. The water must be pushed through with a significant degree of pressure in order to pass through the grounds. If you watch a barista make this, you will probably notice he/she wedging the grounds in very firmly into the filter basket, often pounding the basket, order to ensure good density and proper taste. Espresso is generally served in small cups of about two ounces, as it has a more powerful taste and higher caffeine content than regular coffee.

Cappuccino. A drink made by combining espresso, warm milk, and frothy milk. The espresso is combined with warm milk and topped with milk foam. If you are at a coffee house and hear a sound similar to canned whip cream being expelled, somebody is making cappuccino. The spurting sound is the milk being heated to its foamy consistency. Cappuccino is served in larger cups ranging from about six to twelve ounces. Depending on where you get your cappuccino from, the barista may even make an artful design in the foam atop the coffee. Iced or frozen cappuccinos have also become a popular drink.

Latte. Very similar to cappuccino, a latte consists of espresso and warm milk. Depending on where you go, there may be foamed milk atop the latte, but generally only a very thin layer. The taste of a latte is often nearly identical to that of cappuccino; it is in the smoother texture that the difference lies.

Turkish coffee. Not a type of coffee bean but rather a style of preparation, Turkish coffee is produced by boiling extremely finely powdered coffee in a pot. Unlike typical coffee brewing, no filter is used. This produces a much stronger than normal taste, even stronger than espresso. Even though the coffee is very finely ground, there will still be dregs found in the bottom of the cup. It is often sugared to offset the noticeably bitter taste.

Blended coffees. Not coffees simply made by combining different beans, but coffees blended with teas, spices,chocolate, or even fruit extracts. These exotic brews open up coffee to a wide variety of flavors not ordinarily associated with the drink. Experienced baristas can create concoctions with such names such as pina colada coffee, peppermint spice mocha, or creme brulee roast.

Regular coffee will always be a staple drink and rightly so. However, the numerous types of coffee available to the coffee drinker ensures that there is a brew for every taste.

For more useful & interesting information on this & related subjects go to: http://www.coffeenewschannel.com

S. Brooks is a specialized researcher focusing on providing valuable information & solutions for every day issues

Cats and Giving Them a Tablet This Easy Way

At some point you're going to need to try to get your cat to swallow at tablet and if you've tried this before you'll know that it's not as simple as it sounds. Below is a good way of giving your cat a tablet, just follow the instructions and remember to stay calm.

Step One - Be Prepared to give your cat the tablet

Here's the plan: You are going to wrap the cat up in a towel or blanket so that it can't struggle or get away, give it the tablet, and make sure the tablet is swallowed. First, you need to gather your materials: tablet towel or small blanket It may also help to have a little butter or margarine, a bit of canned food, and an eyedropper that you have filled with low-sodium chicken broth. Some medications cannot be given with food, while others are supposed to be given with food. Pay attention to the details of your prescription so you know whether or not you can offer treats or mix the tablet with food. If the tablet can be given with food, you may wish to coat the tablet with a bit of butter or margarine. This helps it to go down more easily. Giving the cat a bit of broth or liquid from canned food right after administering the tablet can help get the cat to swallow. Treats can also be used for afterwards, to reward your cat. Once you have gathered your materials, you need to catch your cat. I recommend performing the pilling procedure in a small enclosed room such as a bathroom because a highly resistant cat may try to make a break for it or spit out the tablet, requiring you to start over again.

Step 2 - Do the Deed - Get your cat to swallow the tablet

You need to be decisive and confident about this part. Be gentle with your cat, but don't take no for an answer.

1. I usually start out sitting cross-legged on the floor, with the medication in easy reach, but do this however you and the cat are comfortable.


2. Wrap the cat in the towel, sort of like bundling a baby, so only its head protrudes. Don't allow feet (claws) to get out either the top or bottom of the towel.


3. Hold the cat in your non-dominant arm.


4. Use your dominant hand to pick up the tablet and gently prise open the cat's mouth from the corners of its lips.


5. The goal here is to get the tablet to the v-shaped area at the back of the cat's throat. Don't flick the tablet, as that involves a risk of choking your cat. Insert your fingers and the tablet into the cat's mouth from the front. Don't go at it from the sides unless you want bitten.


6. Let the cat close its mouth. Use your hand to keep its mouth closed, while continuing to hold it close.


7. Stroke the cat's throat and lightly blow on its nose to encourage swallowing.


8. At this point, you can try offering a dropper of broth, tuna liquid, or water. This is a good way to see if the tablet has truly been swallowed.


9. If you are pretty sure the tablet has been taken, offer a treat.

I have had a cat that would hide the tablet, unswallowed, to spit out as soon as he was set free. Be certain the pill has been taken before releasing your cat. If the tablet is unswallowed, start again. If the pill becomes too degraded, discard it and try another.

I hope this article has given you some helpful hints, you can find more information about cat care and information on the best cat products over at Cat Party.

Preparing For An Interview

When preparing for an interview, you need to know your skills, experiences and achievements, and how to answer interview questions.

Your Skills
Become an expert about yourself. Before you wrote your resume, you probably prepared a list of skills, experiences and achievements. If not, then it's a good idea to take some time and prepare one.

This information will help you answer questions that are most commonly asked during the interview. There are all types of interview questions, but no book or web site can give you the answers. Only you can come up with answers to these questions, because you're the only one who knows what your skills, experiences and achievements are.

The interviewer is asking these questions in order to find out how much of an asset you will be to the company if hired. Come up with real life examples that highlight how your skills and achievements helped you in your previous or current job. Think of situations where you:

Solved a problem for your supervisor or manager

Developed an action plan in order to meet a deadline

Led team projects successfully

Received some sort of recognition or award at your previous job

etc...

Answering Interview Questions

When you come up with these examples, make sure your examples focus on what you can do for their company once hired. That's what the job interview is all about...what YOU can do for THEIR company.

If you give example after example of how your skills and experiences will help their company, the more appealing you will become as a potential employee.

There is a danger of over-preparing for an interview. There are hundreds of books and websites that will give you the "most commonly asked interview questions and answers". You try to memorize the answers to these questions and when it's time for the interview, you sound like you're giving some canned response. You don't sound like yourself.

The best advice I can give you when it comes to answering interview questions (especially difficult ones), is know your skills, experiences and achievements and be yourself. This way, you don't go into the interview sounding like someone who memorized a canned answer out of some book. Just relax and be natural.

Trust yourself enough to answer questions in a natural and honest way. Keep your answers in the positive. When you're relaxed and answer questions in an honest way, you'll be able to think on your feet and provide answers that the interviewer wants to hear.

Ask yourself, "What skills, experiences and achievements do I have that will make me an asset to this company?" If you can answer that question while going through the interview process, you will be one step closer to landing the job you want.

Michelle Roebuck provides job interview tips and resume writing advice at her website http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com

Sign up for her Free newsletter at [http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com/newsletter.html]

Five Ways to Leave an Effective Personal Voicemail Greeting

"Hi, you've reach Frank at 555-551-5151. Unfortunately, I'm either on the other line, away from desk, or out of the office. Please leave a voicemail after the beep."

We've heard it 1000 times. That generic greeting at the end of a long string of unanswered rings that tells us to do exactly what we already know. We don't think much about it, but how we record this message can significantly impact what happens next. We're going to identify what's wrong with Frank's voicemail greeting and tell you how to leave a more effective one for your business.

Here's what's wrong with Franks message:

1) "Hi, you've reach Frank at 555-551-5151.
If we dialed the number, we already know what it is. There's no reason to restate the number. If the person dialed the number by accident, they will know as soon as they hear the voice and your name

2) Unfortunately, I'm either on the other line, away from desk, or out of the office.
Frank has pretty much run the gamut of why he could be away from his desk. This statement could be accurate, but it doesn't do much for the sake of the caller.

3) Please leave a voicemail after the beep
If in 2009, the person doesn't know what to do after the beep, they're probably not worth the time.

Here are five ways to leave an effective personal voicemail greeting for your voice mailbox using Frank's example.

1. Be willing to change your voicemail greeting regularly.
Your schedule and availability are likely to change frequently, so get into the habit of recording your voicemail message to reflect where you are and how you'd prefer those getting in touch with you to respond. An old, out-of-date greeting can leave a negative impression, especially when it's clearly inaccurate. For example, it's December 18th and your voicemail says you'll be out of town for Thanksgiving. An up-to-date and accurate voicemail greeting leaves the positive impression that you're on top of your schedule and give appropriate attention to your voicemails. For example, "I'm in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week leading up to Christmas." Likewise, Frank could also say. "This is Frank Smith. I'm in the office today. Please..."

2. Leave helpful information
Don't waste time telling callers you're out of the office, away from your desk, or on the other line all in one greeting. This can be assumed considering you didn't pick up the phone. Instead, provide specific and helpful information such as when you'll be back in your office or alternative ways you can be reached, be it by email or through an administrative assistant. For example, "if this is urgent, please dial ## to speak to ______. I can also be reached at frank @ email.com, as I check my emails regularly." If you offer callers an out to reach an assistant, test it on occasion and be sure it works for you.

3. Be specific about what they should include in their message (instructions)
Consider that your callers may be calling from a cell phone. Perhaps they are calling from a noisy environment, and they also may be in a hurry. In addition to keeping your greeting short and concise, be sure to speak very clearly and slowly enough to ensure that the caller has 100% confirmation they have reached your mailbox. Upon recording your greeting, be sure to end your greeting by pressing the appropriate command button within your voice mail system fairly quickly after you have stated your last word. This creates that 'beep' tone that callers hear that triggers them to leave their message. If you happen to wait for 4-5 seconds after you have concluded your greeting to press your associated 'end greeting' command, then your callers will also have to wait those same 4-5 seconds in eager anticipation for the coveted beep tone.

4. Use discretion when including humor.
Leaving a memorable voicemail message or voicemail greeting can help you get the call back you're seeking, but only when done correctly. Humor or offbeat material can help you in this cause, but it can easily lead to awkward reactions and misunderstandings. It's a good bet to keep your messages "business casual" at the very least.

5. Always listen back to your outgoing message
It may have sounded good when you recorded it, but hearing it back through the phone can sound very different. Listen to it and critique it as though you're listening to someone else's message. Pay attention to your tone. Do you sound enthusiastic, reserved, or even bored? Is it clear to the caller how you'd like them to proceed? Is it up to date? In any creative effort, the second and third takes can be leagues better than the first, so even when you think you've got it, give it another go and see how you can make it better. This attention to detail can lead to very positive impressions, especially for first time callers. Also, it is a good idea to occasionally call yourself as if you are one of your callers. Dial the full phone number and listen to the entire experience. You may be surprised at the result. Many voice mail services or systems add on those canned and optional phrases after your greeting. They offer callers the ability to 'send a page', 'enter a callback number' or perhaps even more fairly worthless and outdated offerings. They are almost always optional in terms of your ability to offer them. Pull out your manual and experiment with excluding these lengthy canned options. They simply create frustration and eye rolling from your callers. They really just want the coveted beep tone as fast as they can get it.

So what we end up with can be as simple as the following sample greeting.

"Hi, this is Frank. For Tuesday, I'll be out of the office all day, but I am checking this mailbox frequently. Please leave a message."

That's it.

Simple, and if Frank pressed '#' or whatever his greeting 'ender' is fairly quickly, we're talking about a very painless greeting that conveyed important information to the caller in less than 7 seconds. Perhaps stylistically or logistically, Frank needs to say a bit more. Try this one:

"Hi, this is Frank. Today is Tuesday and I am traveling all day. Please leave a message and I'll return your call by the end of the day, or if your call is urgent, press zero to be transferred. Thanks for calling!"

It's still short, conveys an option and suggest to the caller they will hear back from you (but you MUST adhere to calling back).

Many services and phone systems allow additional features that include the ability for callers to press a key to ring your cell phone or other device. You can even have the caller state their name so that you can 'screen' the call before taking it. Be careful with some of these features as they can generate negative impressions if not managed properly. However, if managed properly, you can also generate the impression and reality that you are highly accessible which can be a very positive impression.

Dan Bryant is the Vice President of Business Development for On Hold Marketing - On Hold Advertising and Messages. He's been helping businesses and practices improve their bottom lines for over twenty-six years with the last fifteen spent in audio marketing.

How to Layout Recessed Lighting

One of the most important principles to understand when designing a recessed lighting layout is beam angle. In recessed cans, the light is produced in the shape of a cone. You picture the light starting as a point at the light fixture and forming a circle on the floor. The beam angle is the angle of this light out of the bulb. For example a 60-degree beam angle will produce a circle of light about 9 feet across on the floor if the fixture is 8 feet off the floor. See a
Diagram.

That is just one part of the formula. That circle of light we now have on the floor is not all the same intensity. About five and a half feet of that circle is good intense light while the remainder is spill over and diminishes as it gets further from the center. This is very important to understand. With this information, you can overlap the spill over light so that you end up with a nice even light pattern over the entire area you are trying to illuminate. Something to remember when you are planning this out is something called the work plane. This is an area about 30" above the floor. It is an area where most tasks take place.

The work plane is important because as the distance between the light fixture and the surface to be lit decreases, so does that circle we spoke about. In a living room or den, designing the lighting plan so that we have even light on the floor is fine. In a kitchen though, this work plane becomes far more critical. This is why in a kitchen, keeping recessed lights about 4 feet apart, creates a pattern that is even on the work plane with the intense portion of the circle.

There are some other things besides the bulb and the can that shape the light pattern. The finish trim on recessed lights can vary the pattern of light. A wall washer creates a half cone that can be directed at a wall or fireplace. A pin spot trim can direct the light in a very narrow beam to light a small object.

This should give you a basic idea of what is involved when you undertake a recessed lighting layout. If you would like to learn more or have questions, please visit us at the links below.

(c) Copyright 2005 Paul Forte. All rights reserved.

Paul Forte has been in the lighting and electrical field for over 25 years. He has helped countless homeowners across the country with their lighting needs through his website. he will be appearing on an upcoming episode of "It Takes a Thief" on the discovery channel installing some security lighting. How to Layout Recessed Lighting Visit Our Home Page for more information

Play Food - The Pretend Meal Companion

Whether you have a play kitchen or not, play food is a part of child's play. Food play is imaginative play. Having pretend meals with your child is a way to have quality time with your child.

But you are not the only one with whom your child has pretend meals. They have pretend meals with their friends, and sometimes they gather all of their stuffed animal friends and/or dolls together. The meal typically takes place around a table, or around a blanket spread on the floor for a picnic.

Completely imaginary food works well for meal play. But a little added realism helps the play along. Play food can be physically place on dishes and arranged into meals. Also, the food can go into serving bowls, and passed around the table when it is time to eat.

Play food is typically made from either plastic or wood. Some of the plastic food is realistically sized and could almost pass for the real thing. Wooden food is more imaginative.

Many of the wooden designs are made for slicing. The food is assembled from multiple pieces. The pieces are then attached together with hook and loop fasteners. The multiple pieces combine into a complete food allowing you to "cut" it with a play knife.

Sliced wooden food has an added benefit. The parts can be served separately. That way everyone can get a piece of fruit, or a piece of bread, just like at a real meal.

Another form of pretend food is packaging. These are typically referred to as "grocery products", "pantry food", or "refrigerator food". This is food is stock for play refrigerators. You will often see your child "open" canned or boxed food and dump it into a pot for cooking or a bowl for mixing.

Food play helps interactive play. You can spend quality time with your child by having pretend meals and play cooking.

Click one of the links below

Find play food at this play kitchen store: http://www.PlayKitchenPlace.com

Pot Luck For Doggy

Go into any pet section of your local supermarket or into any pet store, and a minimum of 50 different dog foods will greet you. Shelves are crammed with cans and packs, 50 lb. bags and 10 lb. boxes, dry and wet, crumbles and bones -- all tempting the taste buds of Jake and Rocky, Daisy and Ginger.

Then we have the natural food preference, both cooked and raw. Many dog owners make the favorite human cure-all chicken soup (with chicken of course) even if their dogs don't need a "cure." Dogs seem to love it, eat their veggies, get their protein AND hydrate all in the process of eating their dinner. I've never tried the "raw" approach myself, but even some veterinarians swear by it.

We even have a holistic approach with dog food made with "all natural" ingredients, fresh from the farm. These sound pretty good to me, but I don't actually know how much better (or not better) they are than the old fashioned canned variety of years gone by. It seems - just as with humans - we all lived perfectly well years ago with our older ways, "ignorant" of any dangers lurking out there. BUT how "perfectly well" did we actually live?

What's a dog parent to do?

Not all dog food is equal to all dogs. Just as some humans have allergies to certain foods, animals may also have intestinal or skin problems with certain ingredients, for example, milk products, even chicken or beef. Also, keep in mind that some very good foods can even be too "rich" in protein or fats for a delicate stomach or dog of a certain age. You can always buy a small can or bag if you are trying out a new product and carefully track your dog's behavior and elimination afterward. Many smaller pet stores will give you free samples or packets of a particular products to try it out. PLEASE NOTE, always check with and follow your veterinarian's advice FIRST and before trying anything in this article.

Perhaps just as their human friends, dogs are better off now with our having more information and knowledge of what ingredients they should be eating and what to avoid. It would appear that dog food manufacturers certainly have information and, for the most part, attempt to handle operations with care and safety.

This still leaves the real burden of awareness and vigilance on the shoulders of the dog owners to read labels, articles, news reports, and to check with their veterinarians. The international business and trading world we live in today may do well for global relations and the economy, but it does leave us open to more cracks through which to fall.

I have gone through all this soul-searching about the right food with my own little four-year-old rescue dog Maggie, a buff-colored cocker spaniel. She is shy and sweet and is now fighting off the life-threatening effects of a very compromised immune system, which hastened pneumonia and a systemic fungal infection from her first three years of life in a puppy mill. But she is the light of my life, and I hope and pray she will continue to improve. I can see firsthand the importance of good nutrition and care to help that little immune system fight for its life and then stay healthy.

The bottom line is that we love our animals, and they return that love one hundred-fold plus. They are in our care, and we do our very best for them. No matter that they cannot speak to tell us so - somehow they get the message through to us.

Let's just take that extra moment to research all we can. Once we have enough information to make a decision, do it with love and consideration for your pet's well being.

P.S. The very same information holds true for your cat and kitten pets as well - their little tummies are in your hands!

Linda Reynertson

Linda is a freelance writer and publicist, owner of LMR Copywriting, who has written for and worked with animal experts and kennel business owners and marketers, international authors, and start-up online businesses.

Tips on Preventing Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome is among the most common gastrointestinal disorders among cats. It is the condition which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract.

When a cat suffers from feline irritable bowel syndrome, this only suggests that it is subject under abnormal contractions of the intestines. This then interferes with the normal passage of food and waste material, which therefore creates more toxins and mucus in the tool.

This accumulation of digested material will set stage for obstruction of stool and gas in the digestive tract. The whole process will result to bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

Like with human irritable bowel syndrome, the cause of the feline IBS is not known. Contributing factors, however, provide us ideas of what must be fixed to facilitate treatment. Stress, poor eating habits, allergies, improper use of antibiotics, viral and bacterial infections, and viruses can all help in the exacerbation of the symptoms.

Symptoms of feline irritable bowel movement include abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, bloating, anorexia and flatulence.

Due to the fact the feline irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by various factors, it is important that the cat is thoroughly checked by a veterinarian. While it may not pose fatal possibilities, it is still important that the cat is relived from the symptoms.

Feed your cat with the right food

It is vital that you feed your cat the right food. You need not rely on what other people think is right or what works for others. Cats have different needs and so they require various forms of supplementation.

Raw diets may work for some cats and others like home cooking. Whichever your cats prefer must be given. Those suffering with feline irritable bowel syndrome do well with both for the choices. However, most do well on canned foods. Any case varies from another and sticking to what works well for you cat's condition is the best option. Remember that there is no specific diet for any cat.

Among the many substances that can trigger the symptoms are high concentration of fats in cat food, spicy foods, processed foods, dairy products and sugar. Also, stay away from synthetic preservatives such as propyl gallate, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA), and ethoxyquin.

Use bottled water

Some cats are extra sensitive to certain metals found in drinking water. To help resolve this, it is best to use bottled water as their fluid substitute.

Keep you cat away from parasites

Cats are often infested with parasites that would often trigger the attacks of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Symptoms of infestation include lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, bad breath, loss of appetite, skin problems, yeast infection, foul stool odor, and bad breath.

Avoid causing stress

There are various factors that can cause stress among cats. One of which is the presence of toxins within its vicinity. Eliminate all possible sources of stress and you are sure to have one less problem to worry.

Also, if possible avoid using cheap ceramic bowls and plastic bowls as food servers. Carpet powders, air fresheners, fumes from bleach, and bathroom cleaners may also result to attacks of symptoms in your cats. This is specially true for those breeds that are specially susceptible to changes in air component.

Simple measures would contribute to the over-all elimination of symptoms in your cat. The tips given above may sound trivial yet effective in creating a safer environment for your pets.

Roger Mitchell writes quality articles on irritable bowel syndrome like common diets for irritable bowel syndrome. You can also find other relevant articles at http://www.SimplyHealthy.org/sitemap/index.html.

This content may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

Home Brew Kits - Making Your Own Beer At Home

Partying can never be as it should be without that beer can or beer mug in hand. And for people thinking of throwing a celebration, the budget for beer and spirits usually takes a considerable share of his expenses. That is because getting people to throw off inhibitions and become spontaneous is quickly done by a mug of spirits. No wonder that people who entertain friends often have beer in fridge and wine in the cabinet all the time.

Buying home brew kits is a sound investment

The great majority of people, drinkers and non-drinkers alike, know that beer is made by fermenting substances like malt. However, the general impression is that the process is expensive and extremely complicated. People think that it is all about huge manufacturing complexes that make beer cans or bottles by the thousands, by the hour. What people need to know is that for making just enough (one or two gallons) for a home party, home brew kits are sufficient.

Home brew kits will allow you to cut down your expenses for buying ready-made beer. You can buy them for a price that is much lower than the cost of buying a quantity of bottled or canned beer equivalent to what these kits can produce. Besides your cash savings, think about how convenient it will be to have low-cost home-made beer ready all the time for your unexpected guests. And if your purchase enough home brew kits, you can even provide the drinks for a big party.

First of all, you will need a large jar for fermenting the beer mixture

You can get a fermenting bottle from a store or look for it in your house. It should be big enough to contain half a gallon of liquid. Most people use glass or plastic demijohns or carboys, as these jars are called. The jar's mouth has to big enough to pour liquid in without exposing it the air too long.

You will need bungs or grommets in your home brew kits

Your fermenting bottle should be fitted with a cork plug to seal it. The plus needs to be perforated in its middle and the hole has to be big enough to hold an airlock tightly. On the other hand, you may buy ready made bungs or grommets from stores.

Your home brew kits should have airlocks or safety corks

You will need to insert airlocks into the hollow bung or grommet. Airlocks keep the air outside from coming in contact with the beer mixture. That is because the air may contain unwanted microorganisms and natural yeast which are not conducive to the production of quality beer. At the same time that they protect the mixture from the pollutants in the environment, they also allow for the passage of gas from inside the jar to the outside.

Home brew kits should provide ready-made beer mixes

Home brew kits are not complete without the beer mixes. These are usually packed in small cans and you have to add water to them. After mixing the solution well, it is ready for placing in the fermenting jar. There are mixes for different kinds of beer.

Using home brew kits is very easy

Producing the correct beer mixture is easy if the instructions which are printed on the package itself or on a manual are followed. After mixing, make sure the consistency is even throughout the mixture before pouring it into the fermenting jug. Seal the jug and you can make gallons of the drink in two weeks.

More information on Wine Making Kits, Wine Making and Home Brewing can be found at http://beerwinemakingkits.com/.

Cold Calling Scripts Are a Waste of Time

Let's say that you were a business owner or executive manager at a company and you get a phone call that went like this:

Good morning Mr. Decision Maker, this is Cold Caller from XYZ Corporation. The reason I'm calling you this morning specifically is so that I can stop by and tell you about our new product that will cut expenses for your company. I'm sure that you, like your competition, are interested in cutting expenses.

(Cold Caller now waits for a positive response from you)

That's great Mr. Decision Maker, let's get together. How's tomorrow morning?

This is a variation of a sample cold calling script from Stephan Schiffman's book "Cold Calling Techniques That Really Work" in which the corporate sales trainer discusses methods of cold calling to prospect for sales leads. You could find many more examples of free calling scripts by searching the internet. So how would you respond to such a phone call? "Well, golly gee, I certainly want to cut expenses. Come as soon as possible. I can't wait." A canned sales pitch certainly deserves a sarcastic reply.

I don't advocate cold calling as a prospecting method, but if you do do it and if you do use cold calling scripts, think about how you sound. Would you buy from someone that speaks to you like this? Of course not. You buy from salespeople that are empathetic and salespeople that you think are trustworthy. These traits cannot come from a canned sales pitch.

Don't even think that you can pull it off. You are not a Hollywood actor. If you were you would be reading scripts in front of a camera. You are a salesperson and you earn a living by closing sales and earning commissions. You won't get many opportunities to close sales without any sales leads. And, you won't get many sales leads by using a calling script that makes you sound like an emotionless computer.

Cold calling scripts are a waste of time

Be sure to check out the lottery winners blog, which features stories about big jackpot winners from around the world.

Brilliantly Baked Pork Chops

Unfortunately pork has gotten a bad reputation over the years. Phrases that come to mind are: Pig-pen, Pig-sty, Stink like a pig, Sweating like a pig, Eats like a pig, and Pig headed. Sound familiar?? Sayings like that persuade us to sub-consciously reject pork, besides the fact that we are taught from an early age that pigs are filthy animals. Well, if you "Don't Dine on Swine," maybe I can sway your decision.

Pork is now deemed "the other white meat," now that the pork industry began breeding leaner pigs with a much lower fat content. Along with newer cooking techniques, pork is starting to shine in the light where it once hid in the shadows.

Even though I am plugging away for pork, I won't lie to you and say it's the second coming; certainly there are better proteins like whey, egg whites, chicken, fish, and a few select others. If you've been following along with what I'm saying, then you can walk away knowing that you shouldn't feel guilty about eating pork or completely eliminate it from your diet. Hopefully I convincingly pleaded my case.

Now, as for the recipe, I chose to bake these pork chops because they are best tasting when hot/dry cooking methods are used. Normally I describe the recipe and explain it's origins. Not this time; I figured I laid it on pretty thick in the first few paragraphs. So, I'll briefly say that this is a family recipe that is quick and tasty.

Difficulty (Scale from 1-10): 4

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (or more) of olive oil

four (1 1/2 inch thick) pork rib chops

1/4 teaspoon of chili powder

1/3 cup flavored bread crumbs

1/4 cup of fresh parsley - chopped

1 cup of diced tomatoes

salt - to taste

black pepper - to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

In a casserole dish add oil and arrange pork chops. Flip pork chops over to generously coat both sides of the pork chops.

Sprinkle chili powder, a generous amount of bread crumbs, and parsley evenly over the pork chops. Next, top the chops with diced tomato, add salt & pepper to taste.

Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove (uncover) aluminum foil from casserole dish. Continue to bake for 2-5 minutes or until pork chops are fully cooked.

A thermometer may be inserted into the center of the chops (from the side), if it registers 144 degrees F the chops are cooked perfectly.

Remove from oven and serve.

Enjoy your pork chops!

Peter Alfieri is the host of the cooking show: Buon Appetito Providence, http://www.BuonAppetitoProvidence.com Pete cooks many different foods from several geographical areas; his specialty is Italian food which is also featured on the TV show. Be sure to check out other recipes on the show's website.

Interview Question - What's Your Strongest Weakness? How to Answer

You're sitting in the interview just waiting for them to drop the question. Your palms are getting sweaty. And, there it is. "So, Jackie, what's your biggest weakness?" You pause for what feels like 30 minutes and convince yourself to be as honest as possible: "Well, I'm pretty hard-headed. Sometimes, I have a difficult time taking suggestions."

Big no-no. Where did you go wrong? Well, it is important to be as honest as possible in this situation. That was the right move. Remember, employers have developed a knack for detecting liars. But the trick is this: find a weakness you've offset in some way. And spend the majority of your answer explaining how you have combated it. Here's a replay...

"Well, in college, I sometimes struggled with time management since I always had a large course load. However, over the last year, I have been using a daily planner religiously. Now, I excel in meeting deadlines and juggling several tasks. For example, one time during finals week, I had three exams and a huge research paper due all on the same day. I created milestones for myself and goals that I wanted to achieve each day leading up to the deadline. I ended up getting As and Bs on all of the tests and an A on the paper."

Doesn't this sound more convincing?

My Canned Response

I was in a group interview once and was asked to list three weaknesses. I had a mini panic attack but ended up jotting down the following: overly anal (can lead to stress), overly nice (can be taken advantage of), overly clean (I can be a little anal).

Reverse psychology can be a powerful tool in a job interview, but the most powerful way to use it is to be prepared for standard "trick" questions like this one.

Michelle Barbeau, Careers Editor at iGrad

http://igrad.com
http://igrad.com/articles/?surviving-the-first-90-days-of-a-new-job

Call to Action - How Copywriting Should Work For You

You're trying to get your business off the ground and think things are going pretty good, but you'd like for them to be great. You've looked over your web pages, brochures, whatever you have with text to advertise you or your company. None of it seems to jump off the page at you. You've probably spent lots of money to have it look the way you want it to, but does it say what you want it to? The written message, the text on the brochures or web pages, even what the radio spot says about you or your company just all sounds too canned. So, what is the problem? You need professional copywriting skills.

Copywriting is the art of using words to really send a message to promote you, your business or even just an idea. Copywriters are mainly used for promotional situations, they usually have a very strong grasp of English and heavy journalism skills. A fantastic copywriter also must sometimes work under time constraints and still be able to throw creativity in.

Not to be confused with a regular writer or reporter like in newspaper or magazine copy. Their business of writing is to make what they say about or your business stand out from the crowd. In the end the goal of a great copywriter is to make a sale, but a very skillful sale. A good copywriter can weave and construct your words in a way that makes people read it over and over and actually cause them to take action.

Copywriting professionals will work closely with you to create the desired mood you want to express about you or your product. Copywriters also perform a lot of routine work such as press releases or can even write and article about you in a local newspaper if that's all you really require.

If you think it's what your advertising says about you that needs a boost to take it above the boring or mundane have a professional copywriter work with it.

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Job Interviews - How To Ace A Sequential Panel Interview

The sequential panel interview is when they sit you in a conference room and send in anywhere from 3 to 6 or 8 people in to interview you one at a time. There are 2 keys to this type of interview. The first is stamina - get plenty of rest the night before and don't plan on doing anything that night. And take every coffee and bathroom break they offer. Also, you will, of necessity, be asked some of the same questions time after time.

Work at varying your wording so your answers don't sound canned. And the second key - if you use a success story with one person and the same story, from a different angle, is appropriate in talking to another person, tell the second person that you have already discussed this situation from a different angle and with whom so that, when they compare notes they won't be confused. And they will be comparing notes afterwards and make sure you are consistent. You don't want one of them to say "well, that's not what she told me". So nip that possibility in the bud.

Finally, be sure to thank each person individually with a personalized email the day of the interview and a follow-up hand written note within 24 hours . If you can refer to the conversation you had together, that really gives you a plus. Hint: make notes in your car before you leave so you keep who said what straight.

A final thing to remember about most types of interviews is that the interviewer may be a brilliant and talented in what they do - but interviewing isn't what they do. As a hiring manager, the amount of time they spend interviewing people to fill open positions is tiny and that means that, when it comes to interviewing, they are amateurs. Unless, of course, they are in Human Resources, and you shouldn't be talking to them anyway unless there is no way around it. Unless the position is in HR, the HR representative can only say "no". It is the hiring manager who can say "yes".

So, go Wow! them in your next sequential panel interview!

With your permission, I'd like to offer you a free report: Job Interview Questions and Answers. You can download it by going to [http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/interview_QA.html]

If you would like to hear more about job interviews and the other tools you need to conduct a successful job search visit [http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/Career_Home_Page.html]

From Jane Trevaskis and Success-Catalyst.com.

30-Minute Menus For Your Easter Dinner

Easter will soon be here! Are you planning a special dinner for family or friends? I love to host special gatherings but don't have much time to prep (sound familiar?). I have some 30-minute dinner menu suggestions for you! You really can prepare special dinners in 30 minutes - Flat! Let's get ready...

If you are serving an appetizer course with your dinner, I like the Curry Shrimp Cocktail Party Menu for it's many flavors to complement the main course: shrimp cocktail, a round of camembert; endive, snow peas, asparagus, and bell peppers for a green veggie tray; tamarind coconut curry sauce, pineapple chipolte salsa, water crackers; gourmet olives.

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to put dinner on the table quickly. (The foods I use to speed the prep are noted within the parenthesis.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

Poultry Dinners:

Crab Stuffed Chicken (boneless, skinless chicken)
Pasta with Fresh Vegetables (boxed pasta)
Crab Apple Salad with Pink Mayo (jarred crab apples)
Banana Napoleons (puff pastry, instant banana pudding mix)

Breast of Chicken en Croute (refrigerated crescent rolls)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Pearl Onions (frozen pearl onions)
Egg and Tomato Salad with Pink Mayo
Pears Especialle (purchased macaroon cookies)

Beef, Lamb, Pork Dinners:

Herbed Leg of Lamb (crock pot)
New Vegetable Medley (frozen peas, baby carrots, new potatoes)
Mixed Citrus Salad (bagged salad greens, jarred mixed citrus)
Chocolate Mousse (canned whipped cream, chocolate chips)

Spiral Ham (purchased fully-cooked spiral-sliced ham)
Quattro Fromage (shredded cheeses, boxed pasta)
Peas and Mushrooms (frozen veggie blend)
Mixed Berry Stack (puff pastry)

Seafood Dinners:

Lobster Newburg in Pastry Shells (puff pastry shells, frozen lobster tails)
English Peas with Red Bell Pepper (frozen peas)
Fruit Salad (bagged salad greens, canned pears, bottled vinaigrette)
Coconut Macaroon Kisses and Strawberries (chocolate morsels, shredded coconut)

Poached Fish in White Wine Sauce (frozen fish)
Duchess Potatoes (instant mashed potatoes)
Baby Peas with Dill (frozen peas)
Baked Tomato Halves
Coconut Cream Pie with Berries (prepared graham cracker tart shells, instant pudding mix, shredded coconut)

Vegetarian Dinners:

Linguine Primavera (grated Parmesan cheese)
Watermelon / Raspberry / Strawberry Salad (bottled raspberry vinaigrette)
Fresh Fruit Tart (jarred fruit, purchased pie shell, frozen whipped topping)

Fresh Tomato and Double Cheese Tart (puff pastry)
French Green Beans (canned Frenched green beans)
Pineapple Salad (canned pineapple and mandarin orange sections, bagged baby spinach)
Embellished Chocolate Cookies (prepared cookie dough)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your holiday meal planning and preparation,

Elizabeth Randall and Family

These and other menu and party ideas can be found at http://www.MomsMealConnection.com The 30-Minute Menus give you instructions for preparing your complete meal in 30 minutes - flat! Party in a Bag offers ideas for 30-minute appetizer courses or cocktail parties.

MomsMealConnection is designed to help busy moms everywhere prepare meals - family meals, holiday celebrations, and special dinners plus entertaining. I am the mother of five grown children who are now starting families of their own so to say that I have 'been there, done that' is an understatement! My trick is to plan weekly menus and grocery shop only once per week. I am a firm believer that once-a-week meal planning and grocery shopping saves a lot of time and money! We can all use more of those commodities.

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation, Elizabeth Randall

Telephone Skills For Salespeople

Making a sales presentation in person is quite important. But how do you "appear" when you are using the phone? Clients or potential clients may call you or you may call them to obtain an appointment, discuss your solution, or even embark upon a full-scale sales presentation. With this perspective on the use of the phone, it is vitally important to come across as professional, enthusiastic, and persuasive. Let's discuss some tips for your phone presence.

First, take a breath before picking up a call or making one. When we're working, we tend to take shorter, shallower breaths, especially if the day has been stressful. And a person on the other end of the line is likely to hear this in our voice and our breathing patterns. If you take a deep breath before speaking over the phone, you can speak while you exhale. Speaking upon an exhale tends to carry more energy and less "deflation" in the voice. Your client will pick up on this. Remember that the first 30 seconds of a phone call are probably the most important, so a "deflated" voice will not be very enthusiastic or persuasive.

Next, keep a smile on your face. This may sound "hokey", but it is a tried and true method of using the phone. If you're not happy about the call, this will come across in your voice. Try recording your voice on an MP3, tape recorder, or cell phone. First, try saying something about your product without smiling. Then try the same words or phrases with a smile. You can tell the difference and so can your clients. Of course, if you have to muster all of your energy to get a smile, you may need to consider how happy you are with your work and your environment.

The third area of selling over the phone is the self-identification. Whether you are taking inbound sales calls or reaching out to clients or prospects, your greeting is vitally important. In many cases, your self-introduction may be scripted. If that is the case, try not to make it sound "canned". Remind yourself that each call is different, although you may have said the same words repeatedly during the day. If you sound sick of saying it, your client or prospect will be able to tell. Keep the smile on your face and the inflection in your voice. Another good way to keep a greeting from sounding canned is to keep it slow. We have the tendency to speed up our speech when we're nervous or when we're saying something we've said before. Take it slow - it may even sound too slow at first, but remember that your prospect or client may be hearing it for the first time. When you record your voice, as we discussed earlier, try recording your scripted greeting or introduction. Make changes based on what you hear.

Next, remember to use sincerity and empathy at all times. Have you ever called someone for help and could not tell if you were still talking to the computer? Your voice over the phone should never give the prospect or client this feeling. The person should know that they have reached a live person. Try not to be "fake" and then position yourself as an empathetic problem solver. When you're making an in-person presentation, think about how the inflections of your voice go along with your body language. If you're using a headphone or earpiece to make phone calls, use the same body language. You'll find that the emotions in your voice, like empathy and sincerity, will come out even though you don't have an audience directly in front of you.

Finally, be attentive. The person on the other end of the line can tell if you're having coffee or playing Solitaire. Remember to focus solely on the caller in your ear. If you have trouble keeping your hands occupied, take notes on the call. This way, you're recording important information about what the client says and you're keeping yourself as attentive to the caller as possible.

A sale can occur anywhere, so remember that talking to a prospect or client on the phone is just as important as speaking to him or her in person.

Copyright 2009 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson - Learning & Development Expert - assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant's 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his blog at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

What Makes a Great Speaker?

When people hear that I owned a national, professional speakers bureau for 13 years, they often ask me, who are the best speakers and why? What follows are some of the characteristics of a very successful speaker who is often a highly paid speaker.

'Tell' em what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell' em what you told them."

1. They arrive early and check out the sound system and introduce themselves to audience members during the networking time.

2. They speak on a subject that their audience needs to hear. And they use words and body language that shows their passion and authenticity.

3. They connect with their audience in the first few minutes with a riveting story, a funny incident, a startling statement or perhaps a poem. They know how to make their opening remarks relate to the material that follows.

4. They have no fear. They don't only say what the audience wants to hear, but what they NEED to hear. In other words, their remarks may raise some eyebrows. They give their audiences some fresh ideas.

5. They never make more than 3-4 points in their speech. They don't feel the need to tell an audience everything they know. No one can retain it all. For each major point they tell an illustrative story. A good story evokes emotion and offers a lesson. The audience members are then only a step away from their own story.

6. They make great eye contact and make each person feel attended to. This makes them appear to be more heartfelt and really present for their audience.

7. Before closing, they summarize and reiterate their major points. They end with an inspiring story and a call to action. They hold the audience accountable - to take some action in the next few days, weeks.

8. They don't talk too long. They know how much time they have been assigned and they don't exceed it.

9. They rehearse their speech a few times but never sound canned. They NEVER read their speech verbatim.

10. All successful speakers market themselves. They all promote themselves. And they all network. They are a model of excellence. And you can be too!

Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to "grow" a profitable speaking business. I also work with business professionals and organizations who want to master their presentations.

Join my free bi-weekly Monday Morning Mindfulness [http://ezineschrift.com/monday.html]

Attracting Investors - 13 Problems Many Entrepreneurs Encounter

You've done everything that your coaches have told you. You've written a convincing business plan. Your financial projections outline a reasonable investment opportunity for someone. You have piles upon piles of legal documentation making you compliant with securities laws. You have letters of intent, letters of endorsement and some high-powered personal references. Your PowerPoint presentation is professional. You have your presentation down pat. You're getting in front of people with money, but no one is writing checks.

If this sounds like your frustrating situation, you're definitely not alone! Raising capital is not an easy task. In the majority of cases, the first investors are by far the hardest to win. You may have all of the tangible requirements in place, and they may be in a first class presentation. But when you're approaching friends, family and others to be angel investors, it often takes more than just numbers and a slick sales pitch to win them over.

Here are some less obvious observations that may be causing you to have a challenge:

1. You're not passionate about your business. People can tell when you're just going through the motions. It doesn't matter if the numbers show a huge financial windfall for potential investors. Many people want to see the fire in your eyes before they open their checkbooks.

2. You're passionate about your business, but it is not being conveyed strongly enough. This could happen for several reasons. Maybe you've rehearsed your pitch so much that it sounds canned. Maybe you are so anxious to get the money that you come across as desperate. It may be as simple as trying so hard to be professional that you hide your excitement about what you're doing. Let loose, have fun, and let your excitement become contagious!

3. Your team is not as strong as it needs to be. Do you or someone else on your team have extensive experience in your industry? Do you have a Chief Financial Officer that knows how to protect your investor's money? Are your legal documents drawn up by experts in their respective fields of law? Be sure that you have covered all of your bases and left nothing to chance.

4. Are you presenting your opportunity to the right people? For example, people in your industry are not always the best people to approach. This may be because they know the real risk involved in what you're planning, or perhaps because they are constantly presented with safer, more secure investments. If there is a "mission" driving your company, such as saving the environment, it might be best to look for people who buy into that mission, regardless of whatever industry they are in. On the other hand, depending on your industry, people in it might be your most willing investors. This is especially true if they have contacts or resources that can help you be successful, or if your success will somehow improve their bottom line.

5. Friends and family are often hard to sell. This might be because they know all of the 'dirt' on you from years past. They might be familiar with other risks you've taken that failed for one reason or another. They may have trouble seeing you as the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company. Don't take it personally. It is just human nature. Seek out people who will respect you for what you are doing now!

6. You're not convincing. This may be your lack of confidence in your ability to take the company to great heights, or just your nervousness in making the presentation. You not only have to convince prospective investors that the company and the plan are solid, but that you are also the right person to lead it. If you are not the right person to fill the CEO position, find someone else who is. Just remember that no one is going to have the same kind of ownership mentality that you do.

7. You're not focused. Maybe you have too many things going on in your life, or you are trying to be everything to everybody. Perhaps you are ultra-creative and have trouble getting down to business without going off in tangents. Maybe it is obvious that you have 'B.A.D.D.', or 'Business Attention Deficit Disorder', and can't stay on one task long enough to see it to fruition. No matter the reason, remember that investors want you working full time to grow their investments. That means being single-minded in your purpose and in your actions. They expect you to put yourself on a reasonable salary from their capital, and don't want you spending the time they have paid for to work on non-related interests.

8. Something you are doing or have done is out of sequence. Building or growing a business requires adhering to a proven formula. Experienced businesspeople and investors know this. They know the formula as well. Changing some things in that formula is like frosting a cake before you bake it. The result can be a mess that is either difficult or impossible to clean up. Be sure that you are doing everything in the right order so that you maximize your chances for success.

9. You haven't taken enough of the risk out of the venture, or at least shown how you plan to do that. The primary job of an investor is to assess risk. If an investor sees that you've put safeguards in place to protect their investment, such as protecting your intellectual property or building a strong executive team, they will be more inclined to invest. At the very least, show how you plan on using their money to minimize risks and protect their investments as much as possible.

10. Your timing is off. You may be trying to enter an industry that is about to undergo radical changes that will leave you in the dust. You may be approaching real estate investors just as that market is hitting rock bottom. You may come across as a fo0llower rather than an innovator because your plan is not revolutionary enough for the investor prospects you're reaching. Do everything in your power to be sure that you are approaching the right people at the right time.

11. You're relying too much on your own knowledge, skills and talents, and not enough on those of your team. Your inexperience shows. Be sure to emphasize how teachable you are. Tout your desire and ability to surround yourself with people who are wiser, smarter or more experienced than you are.

12. Your original ideas are either not protected, or not protectable. Many investors won't put large amounts of money into an invention that is not already patented, though you can often get seed capital to pay for the patent application. There may be doubt as to whether or not that your idea is unique enough to be protected. Be sure to consult with an intellectual property attorney and get their opinion about protecting your idea in writing.

13. You have not done enough market research. There may be questions about whether enough people will want your product or service, whether your price point will be too high to be accepted by consumers, whether your competition has the market locked up etc. Be sure that you have done a thorough market study, you have documented results, and you have developed a strong and feasible marketing plan.

The bottom line is that there are many intangibles that play vital roles in attracting capital. Be sure to do some practice presentations in front of people who can give you a true assessment of it. Remember that people have to buy into YOU before they will buy into your company. Master the delicate balance between confident businessperson, passionate owner, capable leader and masterful presenter, and you will greatly increase your odds of attracting capital.

Vinny Ribas is a Nashville-based entrepreneurial consultant, the TN State Director for CEO Space and the authorof "CEO Secrets - What They Know About Business That Every Entrepreneur Should." For more helful information about successful Entrepreneurialism, visit his blog at http://www.ceosecrets.net