Sometimes there is just too much on the plate to digest. If you are sick of looking at a computer screen and just want to lay out all your tasks or all the pieces of a presentation or whatever in front of you - create a sticky wall. There are endless flavours of software available to help organize your life and your tasks. It’s nice to try something different for a change, especially if you’re stuck or overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff you have to tackle.

Sticky wall tip: Use different colored stickies for different categories of things you need to organize.

Sure it’s a little 19th Century… but sometimes that’s exactly what you need to get the creative juices flowing sometimes when you have a mountain of things to organize. There are a lot of benefits to creating a wall of stickies:

• It clears off your desk
• You can fit a lot of stickies (pieces of the puzzle) on a wall!
• They are easy to rearrange and organize by priority, date, event, or however
• You can stand back and see the big picture

Sticky wall tip: A wall full of sticky notes shows everyone how much you have to juggle. If someone drops by with nothing to do - assign them a task and make sure they leave with a sticky!

Sticky wall tip: Put “fun stuff” stickies up too so you don’t forget to smell the roses once in awhile.

Impress your friends and dinner guests with this homemade delicious favourite!

1.5 cups Rye Whiskey
11oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (Eagle Brand the best)
1 cup of ½ and ½ Light Cream
2 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Instant Coffee
1 Tsp. Dry Chocolate Mix (Quick)
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Measure all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Pour into bottle or jar and store in refrigerator. Make sure you use it within 2 weeks, but I’m sure it won’t last two days! Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!

Submitted by j. lewy

The Lake House is an old fashioned love story with a “Web 2.0″ twist, and by that I mean it’s very clever. Moviemakers are finding their creativity again in recent years, and with the competition they face from video game sales and the web, they’ve had to.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock star as two wandering professionals who live in the same house at different times. They share the same dog, Jack, a permanent fixture of the lake house. By some magical twist of fate, they begin to correspond with one another as Kate leaves a note asking that her mail be forwarded to her new address after moving out. The twist is that Alex moves in after her,  but through some romantic rip in time, it’s actually 2 years earlier.

Confused yet? Don’t be, because the point of the story is that love crosses all boundaries, even time. Keanu and Sandra pull their characters through the tangle of it all to create some amusing and heartfelt connections. Every time a twist in the story is uncovered, another is created, and this all leads to set the final stage.

This is one of those movies where some will seek to make sense of space and time and love, while others just go along for the ride. One thing for sure, The Lake House will be a regular staple at chick-flick nights everywhere, and for years to come.

Just released on DVD. Find out more at Amazon: The Lake House

I was asked to go to a baseball game with a man I had just started dating the week before. He seemed like such a gent … Driving at top speeds all the way, we arrived at the stadium, he got out of the car and started racing toward the entrance. I had to holler out, still getting out of the car … “Wait for me!!” I finally caught up with him and we headed down to our bleacher seats. Shortly thereafter, he said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” He came back alright, with a beer and a hot dog … for himself.

NEXT!!

Submitted by j. lewy

A great gift idea for Birthdays and all kinds of occassions. A “prize box” gift contains all sorts of things and everyone can contribute something to it. It is a great little extra to add to the celebration, especially when celebrating with family or close friends.

Choose a theme for the gift box. The theme could involve the occassion (like an anniversary) or it could be related to a passion or hobby that the person recieving the gift has. If everyone in the group shares something in common, that is another way to look at how to theme the prize box.

If you are organizing a prize box gift, here are some helpful tips: Contact everyone and suggest a theme for the box. Explain to everyone that all the gifts are going to go into a box together (no floor lamps or hockey sticks please!). It’s always good to specify a price range that is appropriate for each item (for example; $10-20). It is better not to wrap the box - use a large colorful box with a lid that slides over the top. You can cover over the gifts inside with tissue paper and secure the box with ribbon.

Putting together a great prize box gift for someone is a great way to flex your organizing muscles and creativity. Don’t be afraid to take these suggestions and run with them to create some really unique ideas!

For parties or afternoon snacks, fresh cut vegetables are healthy and easy to prepare. A simple and tasty way to dress them up is with a dip. There are countless recipes for different kinds of veggy dip - ranging from spicey to fruity to everything in between. If you want to try something different besides the latest “spinach-garlic-cucumber-bacon surprise”, this quick little recipe will knock your socks off without taking up too much time…

1. In a bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups of sour cream and 1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip
2. Pour in about 3/4 of a package of Knorrs dry vegetable soup mix. Mix it in thoroughly
3. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours. Overnight is even better

It is important to allow the mix sit in the refrigerator for awhile so the dry soup mix can capture the moisture from the sour cream and Miracle Whip. This allows the flavour to come out fully. Serve with fresh cut vegetables and slices of French bread.

Dinner and a movie: I was picked up at my front door and we headed up the hill to his vehicle. I was wearing high heels and he was parked on a very steep slope, so I assumed he might offer to lend a hand. Not. I struggled not to fall flat on my ass, pretty much falling against the car, as he sat back, lit a smoke and started the engine. We drove around looking for a place to eat in time to make the movie and of course, he didn’t make reservations.

We ended up at Wendy’s and he asked me if I preferred to go to the drive thru or if I wanted to go in and eat. I elected to go in and so we did; him first of course, almost slamming the door in my face behind him. We ordered, separately bills of course, he grabbed his tray and headed to the table without me. When my order finally came up, I headed on over to join him. While eating my yogurt cup, he noticed I had spilled some on my sleeve…I said, “Do we have any napkins?”  He said, “No, but there are some over there.”

NEXT!!

Submitted by j. lewy

Ugly Betty, a new comedy on ABC, is buzzing to be one the new big hits this fall. Executive producer Salma Hayek has had to defend the show against some criticism, but the initial trailers and promo work for the show are doing most of that work for her. Ugly Betty’s main character, Betty Suarez, is played by America Ferrera and features a talented cast including Eric Mabius and Vanessa Williams.

The storyline follows the not-so-fashionable Betty Suarez as she is thrown into the fashion world as Daniel Meade’s (Eric Mabius) new assistant at a trendy fashion magazine called Mode. This comes about as Daniel’s father, Bradford Meade (played by Alan Dale), hands control of the magazine over to his son and hires Betty. Bradford Meade hires Betty purposely for her unattractiveness, expecting that she’ll have the power to guide Daniel more towards work rather than play.

ABC is no stranger to taking big chances with innovative storylines for their shows - Lost is probably the biggest example of how successful their creativity has been. And Ugly Betty looks just as promising. Expect a lot of social stereotypes to be juggled, expect a few tearful ‘ohhh’s, and a lot of laughs. It’s hard to tell how a new comedy is going to be recieved, especially one that’s as brave and bold as Ugly Betty, but it looks capable of delivering the goods.

You can bet that if “Betty” can win over her primetime audience, the pools will start on how long it takes for her to win over Daniel.

This book, Inspiration, is for everyone no matter what you do. There are many goal-setting and action-planning books available, but if you can’t get inspired and forge the will to chase those goals, they’re going to be impossible to reach. For artists, writers, musicians and creative people of all types, finding inspiration is often the greatest key to unlocking the dreaded “mental block”. For anyone, in any endeavor, inspiration can magnify your efforts in reaching your goals and taking action like nothing else can.

Ultimately you will find your own inspiration. Dr. Dyer just provides a guide to help get you there. He talks about how to find your spirit again, the fundamentals of inspiration, and how to share inspiration with others. As a renowned writer, lecturer, and motivational counsellor, he has a talent for finding the questions at the very heart of an issue - and then guides his readers towards the answers.

Some quotes from Dr. Dyer:

• Conflict cannot survive without your participation.
• Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.
• Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.
• I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside.
• Successful people make money. It’s not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.
• When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that’s what’s inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.
• When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.

Find out more at Amazon: Inspiration by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

You know those days where it seems like there is nothing to do. Days like that require big ideas. Bold ideas. Anti-boredom ideas. “Big Box Photo Blogging” might be one of those ideas.

Although the internet can provide enough 24/7 entertainment to last several lifetimes, the real world is still there. And the real world is ready to be blogged! All you need to blog in the real world is a medium of some sort (other than the internet) that can carry a dialogue where different people can share ideas. The medium could be anything; a chalkboard set up on the sidewalk, a restaurant table with a built in etch-a-sketch … anything. Big box photo blogging is just one medium or “flavour” of real-wold blogging.

Here’s what you need:

1. A store where the cameras are out in the open (big box stores are great for this)
2. A friend (the wackier your friend, the more fun this is going to be)
3. A boring day

It can be very entertaining to explore the pictures that people have taken while test-driving the cameras in a store. And just think how entertaining they would be if you actually planned out this little photo shoot ahead of time. Maybe you have A-list blogging skills and don’t even know it. Find out. Try big box photo blogging the next time you’re looking to killl some time.