Super Bowl Half-Time Treat

Beyonce'

As I am sure everyone knows that Beyonce' will be Super Bowl XLVII's half-time show, but I bet a lot of people are wondering whether the sixteen-time Grammy winner will lip sync...again.

For the record, I did not have a problem with Beyonce' lip syncing the Star-Spangled Banner. I think professional singers know when they have to dial things back for the sake of preserving their vocals. I do not think people understand the demand that is involved with singing as a living. Think about this: if you received hundreds and hundreds of request to perform a physical task that you make your living off of and you want to continue your career, will you knowingly deteriorate your gift to accommodate the requests? No. But people, I completely understand that it was not just some high school football game Beyonce' was singing for, but still I believe she did what was best for her career. What more could you ask for?

As for Super Bowl XLVII, she will definitely be in full effect. I did not say that to say the Super Bowl is better than the President's Inauguration because there is no comparison, but Beyonce' should not be criticized for this. I am sure that the President could request a charity show from her and she would be on board. So, people, don't worry Beyonce' will be in full effect on February 3rd.

Make Someone's Day

The Silver Lining

Today is Wednesday and I want you to know that you are the most amazing person. That made you smile right? Well spread the love. Take the time to make somebody's day today. Take a second and forget about which coffee your going to get or what's coming on TV tonight and give someone a compliment.

Sharing a compliment or a positive observation, can change the outcome on  anyone's day. Compliments are what make society function without strife. Think about it, if ten people give out one compliment each and those ten people receiving one in turn give out one, that's a thirty-person chain of compliments. How much more people could we impact if the chain kept going? 

So, for today, I want you guys to take the opportunity to slow down during your busy day and give someone a compliment. Whether it ix your spouse, child, friend, co-worker, or whomever; just make their day.

Like Really?!

Why Would You Do That?

In coming up with things to write about during the weeks, you have the pleasure of running up on some great stories. Although, sometimes, the stories are so outlandish that they have to be pushed through the press. This post in particular is about why the New Orleans Hornets owner Tom Benson wrecked the reputation of the New Orleans Hornets with a name change.

ESPN dropped this story five days ago and it's picked up some steam. The Hornets announced that they will be changing the name of their franchise from the New Orleans Hornets to the New Orleans Pelicans....Yeah, that's not a typo, Pelicans. Like what (insert phrase)?!!

Now you don't have to be a basketball fan to say that there is something wrong with a GROWN man saying, "I'm a Pelican, I'm here to win Championships." It is ridiculous. I know this franchise has been through ups and downs with Hurricane Katrina, depressing seasons, and sub-par management, but whoa, Pelicans. I know I'm just one person, but I am not feeling it.
 
Out of all New Orleans sports franchises [Saints (NFL), VooDoo (AFL), and now Pelicans (NBA)] the Pelicans have to be the worse idea for a name. New Orleans lost a great name with the Jazz when they uprooted and headed west in 1979. The only constellation prize I can have is that the NBA Commissioner has the final approval, but it doesn't look promising that it will be decline.

"The NBA still has to approve it, but commissioner David Stern has said he wouldn't object to any name Benson chose. The league is expected to expedite the change at the start of next season." -ESPN

 Lost story short, the change was inspired by the BP Oil spill in the Gulf. The Louisiana state bird, brown pelicans, fell victim to the spill but was restored from the endangered list in 2009. Tom Benson thought that the name Hornets didn't mean anything to the town and by changing it to "Pelicans," it will inspire the town and the team. Benson is trying to duplicate the influence and effect the New Orleans Saints have on the city, but I think that idea is farfetched.

So NBA fans prepare yourself for a new squad in New Orleans, the New Orleans Pelicans. Personally, I would go for the New Orleans Ducks, but I don't make the rules.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8878315/new-orleans-hornets-announce-name-change-pelicans

Tasty Treat Monday

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. My weekend was straight: I got to relax, eat, and catch up with some friends. But I want to bring something sweet to your Mondays. As of today, every Monday will be Tasty Treat Monday. Each Monday morning I will post a great, sweet recipe that makes Mondays bearable again.

First up is the Marble Swirl Pound Cake. This kind of pound cake is the best because it has another taste other than plain pound cake. The appearance of the Marble Swirl Pound Cake is the best part because it looks too good to eat.

Try it out. It'll surely make anyone happy.

 

You will need:

• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1 cup of butter, softened
• 3-1/2 cups of cake flour
• 1 cup of milk
•  1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder

  Directions:

1. In a large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, beat sugar and butter or margarine until blended. Increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, milk, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and eggs; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Increase speed to high, and beat batter 4 minutes longer.
2. Remove about 2 1/2 cups batter to a medium bowl. With a wire whisk or fork, beat cocoa into batter in medium bowl until well blended.
3. Grease a 10 inch tube pan. Alternately spoon vanilla and chocolate layers into prepared pan. With a large spoon, cut and twist through batters to obtain marbled effect.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan, and on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely.

Enjoy this. Let me know what you think. Remember, every Monday tune in and leave with something sweet ;).

 

Sunday Morning Bit

Good morning everyone. I hope that everything is going well today, but just in case I want to share some insight from RBC Ministries' Our Daily Bread. Just a friendly reminder, every Sunday I will be posting a passage from this powerful booklet. Please take the time to read it because I guarantee that its message will be of great use to you, if not now then down the road.

Our Daily Bread

By: David C. McCasland

RBC Ministries 

January 27, 2013

Read: Mark 10:35-45

The Mark of Leadership

While visiting the campus of Purdue University on a frigid winter day, I came upon two young men chipping away thick ice on the sidewalk next to a fraternity house. Thinking they must be underclassmen who had been assigned the tough job by older fraternity brothers, I said, “They didn’t tell you about this when you joined, did they?” One looked up with a smile and said, “Well, we’re both upperclassmen. I’m the fraternity vice-president and my friend here is the president.” I thanked them for their hard work and went on my way having been reminded that serving others is the mark of a true leader.
When two of Jesus’ disciples asked Him for positions of honor in His coming kingdom, the Lord gathered His twelve closest followers and told them, “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). If there was any doubt about what Jesus meant, He reminded them that He had not come to be served but to serve others and to give His life to ransom them from the power of sin (v.45).
The mark of true, godly leadership is not power and privilege, but humble service. God gives us strength to follow Jesus’ example and to lead His way.

The paths of leadership are trod
By those who humbly walk with God,
Their gracious spirit holds a sway
That makes you want to go their way. —D. DeHaan

A qualified leader is one who has learned to serve.

 

Perserving Your Memories

Does Not Compute

Have you ever booted your computer and found out that all your files have somehow been erased. It is the worse feeling in the world. Some of the thoughts that run through your mind are: Man, how did this happen, why me, or even I had all my work on this thing. Sometimes there is a reason for the loss of data and sometimes computers just stop working.

I remember last year while I was in college, my laptop came on and read: 

Your System Did Not Shutdown Properly, Would You Like To:

• Run Windows
• Run Windows in Safe Mode
• Run Windows in Safe Mode with Networking

Since this screen comes up so many times with no problems, I just continued with running windows like I always do and then BAM!! The next screen I would see is: Your Hard drive has failed and no back-up protocols were found, Please replace hard drive. When I saw that I almost cried literally. My computer was my life and I had school files, sensitive information, books, articles, and most importantly photos and videos. My entire childhood and high school career was embedded in that computer and it was all gone.

Long story short, I figured out a way to restore my files to a previous point in "time" and recovered my files. The system restore was my life saver because I was in the middle of the Spring semester and school doesn't stop because of computer issues. After I calmed down, I realized that my Anti-virus software had been compromised and infested my system so I swiftly changed to a more reliable anti-virus software like Norton.

The moral of this story is to always, always, always have a back up some where. Whether it is on an external hard drive, massive flash drive, or a file hosting website. The widely used service is Dropbox. Dropbox is a web service geared to holding your files for a rainy day or as an extra storage spot. The maximum storage available on the free version is 2GB. However, the service I use is Google Drive. Google drive is available to all Gmail account users and allows you to store up to 5GB. I like Google Drive better because I can upload more photos, music, and video and still have room for .pdf and doc. files. Both are easy and accessible worldwide, the only difference is their capacity. So pick your poison and keep your valuable data safe.

Note: invest in a trusted and reliable Anti-Virus software to make sure that nothing and no one compromises your system.

                                                  
 

Enjoying Fleece Tie Blankets

A Masterpiece of Fleece

In the winter time the best way to snuggle up and enjoy a movie or any sports game is to have an awesome fleece tie blanket to use. Fleece tie blankets are those beautiful blankets, that can feature anything from roses to sports one them. They are made up of two fleece fabric materials tied together; hence fleece "tie" blankets.

The wonderful thing about these blankets is that they keep you warm and express your individuality at the same time. Fleece tie blankets came about in 1980 when the fleece fabric first hit manufacturing. This high thread count material began to be incorporated in winter-wear in 1981 by Malden Mills, a Textile company in Lawrence, MA and commercialized the fabric as "Polartec polar fleece." This great upgrade in winter-wear was mainly to suit mountaineers, but as the fleece circulated through out the country, everyone started to use it.

 

But aside from its origin they are great to make. I picked this hobby up three years ago. It was almost Christmas time and I wanted to do something special for my niece's first Christmas so I went searching. And I came across an article talking about fleece tie blankets, so I tried it. I thought they would make a good "change of pace" gift during Christmas time, but I was wrong. This gift was the greatest, this new found gift idea turned into a full blown hobby and small business. That Christmas I made three blankets: one for my niece and two aunts. Each of them were unique and tailor-made for them. My niece got the licensed Princess and the Frog print with Pink; one of my aunts got a Blue and White checker print and white; and my other aunt got a Red and Yellow Diced Checker Print with Yellow. Like I said each one was unique to its new owner. 

Christmas is a great time to give blankets but I wanted to test run a theory for a new venue. I wanted to see if including birthdays would get the same reaction I get during Christmas and I was right. For my best friend's 17th birthday I made her a Licensed Denver Broncos print and Denver Orange blanket. She loved it and still uses it to this day. Another very very close friend of mine got a Monkey print and Lime Green print blanket from me and absolutely adores it. However, the best story about one of the blankets is the one I made my mother. When I first started making these blankets she thought she was on the short list of people that were going to get one. Sadly, she had to wait two years after I started to finally get hers and she screamed when she opened her Christmas present in 2012. It was a glorious tulip garden with purple on the bottom. I also kept the tradition alive with my nephew and his first Christmas; he received a Licensed Iron Man with Red blanket.

As you can probably tell, my responses were "I love it", but I went back and asked them what they thought about their blankets and this is some of the feedback I got.

I love it. I love my blanket. It keeps me warm and Brandon did a great job with the color scheme because its my Sorority colors [Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc]. Its my fuzzy wuzzy.         - S.H.

He knows me so well. It is so pretty and he did a great job with it.                                                  - A.W.

It's so gorgeous, I can't wait to put it in my house because it matches my furniture.                    - E.

 I love it haha. I love that you could find the Denver fabric and it's the right size for me. I loved the creativity and uniqueness of it :)                                                                                              - J.W.

As their mother, I love them. To see their faces light up is great. These blankets are great because it's something they can call their own.                                                                                      - C.S. S.S. J.S.

I love it. Its my favorite color and its what I've been waiting two years for.                                 - Mom

So you can see that I do a great job, but keep a close eye on the Bayside Scoop because a page will be coming soon about fleece tie blankets. This page will walk you through the process and offer my expertise and services if requested. After this, I would wanna pick up this up.