Life Without Regret

My life finally feels as though it is on track  not so much that I am dating, but I am finally getting out of the house and living life to the fullest. No wondering what I am going to do with myself on my days off, since I already have something planned. To enjoy someone's company, and they yours matters more than we think could possibly think when we are sitting home alone. I am still a hopeless romantic, that believes in the power of love and the happily ever after (some call bull shit.) I know this will not happen to me all at once, but when two people finally decide they cannot live without each other. I believe there is someone out there that I could make happy, and they would to feel as though they could not breathe without me in there life. They to would want nothing more than to make me happy. Life doesn't always work out as we wished it would, but I feel if we are patient and wait God will send us our soul mate in his time.

Life is good for me now, I am happy and content with the knowledge that all the bad things in my life are in the past now.(Where I needed to put them years ago). There can be nothing left for me but blue skies and sunshine now. I love feeling this way, something I have not felt in years. I am eager to wake up and start my day after finally sleeping eight hours.(Something unheard of for me since I only slept three to four hours a night). I am focused and precise in my work and my colleagues are noting a difference in my work, appearance and demeanor. I was always spreading smiles and sunshine at work, but for several months I had truly lost my bright and perky demeanor.These are the things people love about me, and that I can keep  them laughing,but my light went out for a little while. But, it's back now.  

Life is too short to hide under a rock waiting for the right moment to emerge. Life is meant to be lived. Life is meant to me lived to the fullest. If we happened to hide under a rock we will eventually stay there never to emerge and claim the precious life given to us.Believe me it is hard to trust again, but I must to live a happy productive life regardless of the past. Hindsight is 20/20 so easy to see the mistakes that we ourselves made along the way. We can blame others since they hurt us and our pride, yet we were the fool for believing in a dream, but truly for believing in them. You have to trust people you can see, you know, and never dream of what might be. I learned the hard way, but really we must learn to forgive those who despitefully use us. This is baggage we cannot hold on to. This is baggage that we must let God deal with for we are weak in the flesh. On a more positive note: I forgive you!

I now seek out happiness in all things under the sun. I know that where my past is now= In the past where it belongs. There are people that I shall never forget in my life, most of them made me the person I am today. I learned very valuable lessons that shall follow me all the days of my life. I learned that when life throws you off you have to get back on the horse and ride. I learned that each step in our lives are stepping stones and it how we react to losses, or lost love that will finally ground us and place our foot firmly on the rock. I climbed out of that valley victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

I have no regrets. I regret nothing about the persons I loved and lost. If it was suppose to be so then God would had intervened and made it so. I carried around regrets for years, but I know there was nothing else I could do. To those I loved I did the best I possibly could for you, and I loved you with every fiber of my being. It is time for me to live again. I cannot change the way things worked out, if I could I would had. I can only let go until I see you again.

"GOD BLESS " 

My Gingerbread House

This year I had a little time and Christmas just isn't Christmas without a "Gingerbread" house.

Making a Gingerbread house is a family tradition, even my daddy can do it. haha

We would start the week of Christmas and start baking process and then start building our master piece.

This year I wanted to make several houses to take to the hospital for the kids, but as you can see my Gingerbread house looks like a log cabin instead ..so sad. 

I started not to show it but I found the pictures and photo shop them so they would fit into the blog. 

I know my house could use the show "Home Improvements" on the job, but believe me it could have been worse. 

Making a gingerbread house is no simple task (unless of course you get one of those pre-fab houses, in which case these notes will be of little help). This house took several days, one day to make the dough and the pattern pieces, another to roll out the dough and bake the pieces, one to assemble the pieces, and another to decorate. The joy is really in the making, of the coming together to work on all the steps that are required to build a gingerbread house from scratch.

The following are instructions I used with many gingerbread houses.If you plan on making a gingerbread house yourself, I hope you find them useful.


INGREDIENTS
6 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 Tbsp water


METHOD
Make the Gingerbread Dough
1 Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.

2 Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended. Beat in the eggs, molasses and water until well combined.

3 Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead (or use your mixer's dough hook) until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

4 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.


Create and Cut Out Pattern Pieces
Create a gingerbread house pattern by cutting out pieces of stiff paper (like that of a manila folder) or cardboard. I like cardboard because it's almost as thick as the gingerbread house pieces will be, and you can create a house model easily using the pieces.(1 inch on the pattern = 1 inch in real life), but if not, the dimensions are also given on the pattern so you can use a ruler and create your own.

Make the Gingerbread House Pieces

1 Preheat oven to 350°F, with the oven rack in the middle. Have several flat cookie sheets ready, preferably ones that you know will not warp in the oven heat.

2 Divide the dough in two. Spread parchment paper or wax paper on a large flat surface for rolling. Dust the paper lightly with flour. Working with one portion of the dough at a time, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness of 1/4-inch. Add a little flour to the surface of the dough, and check for sticking as you roll it out. If it sticks to either your rolling pin or the rolling surface, dust with more flour. If the rolled out dough is very soft, you may want to freeze it for an hour before cutting out the patterns.

3 Rub a little flour over the surface of the dough. Place the pattern pieces on the dough, as many pattern pieces as will fit on the dough. Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern pieces from the dough, wiping the knife surface clean frequently. Depending on how soft the dough is, you may need to use scissors to cut the wax paper or parchment paper. You can cut out the patterns through the dough and parchment paper, placing the dough pieces with the paper directly on the cookie sheets. If you are not using parchment paper or wax paper, you may need to use a large metal spatula to transfer the dough pieces to a greased cookie sheet. Space the pieces on the cookie sheet an inch apart from each other. If dough pieces stretch during the transfer process, push them back into shape.

You can cut out a door and window(s) at this point, or you can wait until after baking, soon after the pieces have come out of the oven while the cookies are still warm.

4 Bake in a 350°F oven until the edges are just beginning to darken, 11-15 minutes for the large pieces, 6-8 minutes for the small pieces. Rotate the cookie sheets half way through the baking for more even browning. Remove the sheets to racks to cool, about 15 minutes.

While the pieces are still slightly warm, lay the pattern pieces over them and use a large straight chef's knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have through cooking spread beyond the pattern.

Remove pieces to cool directly on racks to cool completely.

Make Royal Icing
Royal icing is not only used for decorating, but it is the mortar that holds the gingerbread pieces together to form the house. The following proportions should make enough icing for both the mortaring step and for decorating for one gingerbread house.

2 large egg whites
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 Whisk together until smooth the egg whites and 1 1/3 cups of the powdered sugar.

2 If you are planning to eat your gingerbread house, and are concerned about the safety of raw eggs, you can microwave the egg white powdered sugar mixture for several seconds (30-40) until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160 degrees, but not higher than 175°F. You can also use pasteurized dried or liquid egg whites.

3 Add the remaining 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to the sugar egg mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the icing holds stiff peaks. If it doesn't form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar.

4 Place a dampened clean towel over the bowl of royal icing. Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it.

5 When you are ready to mortar or decorate, fill a pastry bag with the icing. If you don't have a pastry bag, you can make your own with a re-sealable plastic freezer bag, just cut off the tip (a small cut) of one of the corners of the bag. Plastic or metal piping tips are available in supermarkets which you can also use with a freezer bag, for more controlled piping.


Construct the Basic House, Mortaring the Pieces Together with Royal Icing
This is where it really helps to have more than two hands working on a house, and why making a gingerbread house is so much more fun with company than alone. If you are working on this alone, it may help to grab some canned goods from the pantry and use the cans to help prop up the pieces while the icing mortar is drying.

1 Pick a solid base for your gingerbread house - either a flat cookie sheet, or a thick, sturdy piece of cardboard. If you want, line the base with aluminum foil or wax paper.


2 Pipe a thick line of icing along a short end of one of the side pieces. Press the iced side piece against the edge of either the front or back pieces. Hold in place for a few minutes until the icing is partially set. Repeat with the other side piece. Prop up with cans if necessary. Repeat with the other short edges of the side pieces and the remaining front/back piece. Pipe icing along the seams, inside and outside of the house, to fill in any gaps and to add extra stability. Pipe icing along the edges of the house where it meets the base. Let set for at least an hour before attempting to add the roof pieces.

If any of the gingerbread house pattern pieces breaks, as can happen easily when working with what are essentially cookies, most likely you can repair them. On my house I forgot to cut out the door and window until the front piece had almost completely cooled. When I went to make the cuts, the piece broke. Fortunately, it was easy to mortar back together with royal icing. We even created a "splint" out of cardboard and used royal icing to hold the splint to the piece. Let harden completely before using the piece for the house construction. When it comes time to decorate, you can pipe icing right over the broken seam and no one will be the wiser.

3 Once the royal icing has dried enough so that the base structure is solid, you can go to work on the roof. Pipe icing all along the top edges of the structure, front and back and two sides. The roof pieces are a rectangular shaped. Place the roof pieces so that the long ends of the rectangle are running along the top of the house. It helps if you have two people working together to place the roof pieces on the house at the same time so that they meet easily at the top center, and extend out a little bit, forming an overhang at each end. Gently hold the roof pieces in place for a few minutes until they are set enough so they don't slide off when you remove your hands. Pipe the top seam of the house with extra icing. Let the house stand for at least an hour, and preferably 8 hours before decorating.

Note: If you have pets in your house, keep them away from the gingerbread house during all phases of construction and decorating. Non-gingerbread-house-building-participating adults and children should be informed to keep their hands off the house as well.

4 The chimney. The dimensions of the chimney can be a bit tricky because of the angle of the roof. Although you may have cut your chimney out of a pattern, these small pieces likely have spread a bit through cooking, and you may have to use a chef's knife to cut the pieces and adjust the angles of the pieces so they align better with the roof. It's easiest to assemble the chimney first upside down, separate from the house. Pipe the pieces together with royal icing and let set until stable. Then, turn the chimney right-side-up and attach it to the roof using piped royal icing. You can do this either right after the house has initially set (1 hour after assembly) or later, during the decorating process.

Decorate the Gingerbread House

This step requires a trip to the candy section of your local grocery store. You can decorate your house with whatever types of candy pleases you. Be careful taking kids along to the store however, as you will invariably buy more candy than you actually need (though they do have the best ideas of what candies would be good for various decorative effects). Red hots are really practical, as are small gumdrops, and candy canes. Audrey used a whole bag of chocolate truffles for the stone wall around her house, and some type of waffle-patterned cookies for roof tiles.

Pipe royal icing to make decorative designs around the walls of the house and roof. Use royal icing to "glue" pieces of candy to the house.

Making Changes

Hey It's me again!  I have many, many things to blog about, but I must be semi private about my life and not disclose all details of it. I say this because I am a open book and have regretted my actions more than once. I really want to sit here and spill it all on my trusted keyboard and then add it among all the other blogs about my life. I started blogging this way so my therapist and I could look over my achievements in dealing with grief I had at the time. Looking back I said it helped and I wrote many poems and songs back then and shared them with my peeps. It did make me feel good to get feedback from others since I then felt I was on a hopeless journey alone. Now, I look at it at just easy access to me, my feelings and a way for people to read about my turmoil at the time and prey upon my weakness. I cannot really say now that blogging helped me in the long run. I now believe that it takes time to grieve and that not everyone's grief ease's at the same rate, since grief never goes away.

I will admit that I became addicted to blogging, but I shared way to much of my personal life with strangers. I have met some really good people that I still share a healthy friendship with still today from my years of blogging, but those are people I can still believe in and trust. I have someone new in my life that is afraid for me to share too much info in my blogging or share all my photos on facebook. Now I am making some changes in my life, and my networking. I know that some of you that read my blog will see I have made some changes already in my writing and have new topics that do not include poor me, or the throwing of pity parties. I have took down many photo's from facebook and not announcing I am going to bed now, going to the gym or what ever activity I may be ready to do at that time. Having the gym you workout in or where you are eating at the time on you're map only gives strangers a very good idea where you are and approach you. The guy I am seeing is not a paranoid schizophrenic, but only concerned with my safety and well being. He also only wants me to share my sexy photos with him. haha 

   

    

My Trifle Recipe

Birthdays, Christmas and New Year, we always have trifle My Mother made it and so did her sister, the same way. Funny how my fiancee once said, 'That's not a real trifle. It hasn't got cream on top of it!' But he had a bowl of it and then another. I did offer to make a 'proper' trifle after that, but funnily enough, I was told to make it just like my mother did.


To make the trifle, you will need-

Harvey's Bristol Cream
2 Jam Swiss Rolls (no cream)
Tin of sliced peaches
Custard powder
Tin of evaporated milk
Sugar
Raspberry jelly
Water

Drain the juice from the peaches.
Fill a large whisky glass almost two thirds full of sherry, then add a small amount of juice from tinned fruit. (have a small glass of sherry for yourself, just to check it tastes good!)
Chop up the Swiss rolls and pour over the sherry mixture. Mash to mix well in.
Make custard, using the evaporated milk, instead of ordinary milk (don't add any water). Make it slightly thicker than normal and pour over sponge/sherry mixture. Arrange the peaches  on top of the custard. Leave to cool completely.
Make the jelly, but instead of making it up to 20 fl. oz. (1 pint), make it to 17 fl. oz, with the water and the rest of the fruit juice.
Carefully pour jelly over the custard and peaches. Leave to set.
Serve with cream or ice cream.
Stay in or you will be Breathalyzed!
Enjoy!

Summer Storm

It rained. Rained and rained until the streets flowed like rivers and the trees bowed like paupers to the king. The trails lost their footing and rocks slid down the path to find a new resting place until the next big gush. I didn't think much about it; so isolated under my big red roof in this muggy adobe house. The white stucco walls keep the solidified wetness out and I am just left with the pitter patter and the sensation of moisture upon my ears and on my skin. But I really notice what has happened when I hit the hills. Nothing is the same on the same old path...no leaf left unmoved and not bird left unsung. It's still so dark from the passing storm that the crickets chirp in confusion and the frogs croak at noon. Just like my taste buds, my nose is drawn to life by the pure dampness of my surroundings. Eucalyptus, fir, lavendar, blossoms, dirt, earth, balsam and vetivere all rush inside me. A prick on my side lets me know I am alive and the bee stuck in my skin reminds me of the passing summer. It's gone. Summer, sunshine, and that chunk of life I tossed to the wind. The skin on my ribs begins to swell in response to the venom and I feel warm. Rain, warmth, and the opposing cold. I feel asleep in this weird other world. Everything looks the same but nothing is...only I am the same. Constant, walking, always trying to change but never really feeling the rain. It's time to flow, move. Even if the pace is a trickle...just like the droplets on my window. They may go ever so slow but at least the get somewhere. Rain on me.

Moving again. Not sure when or where. Just know it is going to happen soon. Will I ever stop? Probably not!

Written 2009 -A Wilson

Thoughts Of The Day

For some reason this blog has recently become a place for whiners, i.e. me, to come and do their deal. I don't like writing whinny things and I don't like reading them so that will stop promptly.

Life is so freakin nuanced. Sometimes I can point out the 101 things that I love about my current life and in the same breath feel completely swallowed by the weight of my world. Most recently my time has been spent wrestling with the following-

+ I would love to leave the country without a return ticket, but I can't imagine living a day without my family.. I like who I am more with my dogs. But I really want to see Nepal.

+ I love dancing (duh) but don't know how much. It's hard to sort out your loves into "love-less" and "love-more" and "love-first". Do I love it enough to sacrifice relationships for? Do I love it enough to justify working a job I hate so that I can enjoy that love? Do I love it more than I love my other loves? It seems trivial until you find yourself having to make lists of what you value in life, and you can't even do that.

+ Vegan pumpkin pie is to die for. Bananas in the filling, coconut milk in the whip=amazing. Although 4 pieces may have been too many. Thanks nice lady cookie friend!

+ In the past 8 years I have experienced being a minority. In my silly little life this has happened very few times but now it's normal, and weird. I don't know how to feel about this; happy, mad, uneasy, free, bad, etc. Examples in the last 3 days: only white girl in the shoe store, only English speaker in the bank, only straight girl at the Halloween party, only degree holder at the show, .I want my children to be minorities sooner than in their 20's that way they know it's okay to be alone in something and to respect others who hold that spot often. Does this sound weird?

+ I love sleeping and scrubbing. I would go to bed at 8 every night if I could and use the most rough, exfoliating, invigorating soap out there all over my body every shower if I thought I could do that without loosing both my social life and my skin.

I think it's marvelous how fog sets so low, so close to the ground, so that those who want to venture above it, can, and in return get to experience the god-like view. Cloud tops like cushions. Night

Balancing Life

I feel I've lost a bit of my touch with reality, or at least that feeling of reality. Like when you know that you are somewhere and when you wake up tomorrow you will still be there and that people expect you to show up to work and such. It's probably all the moving forward I've been doing in the last 8 years that's keeping me from ever sensing permanence or anything like it. Really I don't mind; I like the sense of floating above the world, moving through it like a piece of hair that floats from one edge of my glass of water to the other.

I do admit however that things in the last few weeks have felt something almost sustainable. My home is cozy and warm, and  my bills are minimal, and life costs here are low. I've got a handful of loyal and loving people in my life, and I love this city. I wonder how long I will appreciate these things. Really I think it's rarely the things in my life that bug me but usually me who bugs them ya know?. Usually, I just change enough to grow tired of it. Yet three things in my life I have never grown tired of; my career, love and dance. That's why I hope and almost believe in success here. Also, the lovely Vagabond band leader whom I listened to perform on the quaint Mississippi street reminded me that Baltimore today is like Paris in the 20's, booming with arts and life. That means we all get creative, band together, and make something work. This whole idea of being here and now in a time that could possibly be historic makes me want to invest and invest in a very real, serious way in this community.

 I very much fear being surrounded by kids, having to be their leader, and in a way want to meet that challenge ( this is very uncharacteristic of me, a hard-headed let-me-at-it type of lady). I grew this way a few months back But in the last week , I have had numerous rewarding laughs, hugs, kisses, and tickles with some munchkins that makes me think I've created this wall of fear and maybe it's time I take it down.

Food For Thought

It's like somewhere in my afternoon sandwich, logged between the slices of wheat bread and casual conversation, I swallowed an egg the size of a rice grain. It finds a resting place in the pit of my stomach and begins to grow. It's noticeable the instant I ingest it; a parasite that I'm watering. Stupid enough I know that I'm it's only true blue source of inspiration, the reason it has to go on, it's one and only. I should have the power to kill it; no I DO have the power I just need to find my worries kryptonite. It's not good enough to ignore it, to find another thought to think or keep my hands busy with work and games. Growing hunger tells me that the source is the cure, the mind is the poison and I need to think these thoughts away. This is my new imperative. I am committing myself to the recognition and destruction of worry, distress, and pain. Not everything is in my control and that's ok. And for those things that are? I need the patience to wait until I can address them. This is a world that works fully and completely separate of my daily doings and to expect it to mold around my stress is ludicrous. When it can be approached it will, and till then I wait. Not hungry, not fostering a little life deep in my stomach. Simply living with the freedom and knowledge that it will be okay. It all will be okay.

Home is where the heart is

The gravel lets me know I've arrived. Somehow I make my way from here to there with not so much as a single thought about direction until the time comes to press the clutch and rail up hard on the old, gurgling E-brake. Home....or at least something like it, pulls up into side view. I'd be lying if I said I knew my exact thoughts at the sight of the place because usually my head is juggling 5-7 thoughts simultaneously. I don't say this to brag but rather to lament since as a fully-fledged member of the female sex I tend to multi-task with less than perfect efficiency. In fact, the constant task balancing tends to detract from my overall effectiveness at daily living as simple tasks like recovering keys and remembering to remove my laundry from the drier become epic when I recall that I was not thinking about the laptop I set my keys on when it came time to abandon them but rather at what time my dog's last had a bowel movement. Even that very run-on sentence pales in comparison to the trains currently running through my head. As such thoughts digest I reach the door and am met with barks, paws, tails and my own scrambling to contain the wiggling beasts. My bed peaks at me from the corner of my eye and walking toward the bright rays coming through the window I think "this is my adult room". Honestly, I think like that. I look at the color of the walls, the pattern on the bed sheet, the computer on the small side table and think that never in my childhood mind did I picture this room when I thought about my life when I grew up. I try to remember what or where I thought I would be and the memories are still bright and in tact, as if I had spent enough time creating them that my effort laminated them in time for future reference to such a masterpiece of forethought. I pictured myself in a big, open room with lots of light colors. I would have a small part time job and thus devote a lot of time to decorating my home, which of course, I owned. I could hear a family in the background, a husband for sure and a dog too. I had no roommates, no benefactors, and I was very proud of myself for this. The kitchen smelled of fresh cooked foods and outside was a small farm. All this by 20.

Now, my mind knows I was just dreaming of my home down South. As, I lay on my bed, comprised of, sheets my mom bought, and a comforter that I loved and had to have because they matched the sheets mom bought. wondering how I got here. Don't get me wrong; I love where I am and would not change a thing. I love the freedom I have as a young, unmarried doctor, living simply and honestly off each paycheck. I love the distance I keep from the place I live and the friends I leave at the end of each workday to come find my retreat in this small rich suburb.. I love the snobby feel of the coffee shop and how I laugh every time I pull up in my used Toyota next to the BMW's for my morning .50 brew. But the discourse between what is and what I thought would be creates a sort of permanent tenitus in my mind, reminding me of the nature of dreams. How do I see my future right now? What pictures have I sold myself about tomorrow? How much more distant can they possibly be from what I used to think today would be? If nothing else, the suspense is killing me. Let it be tomorrow already.

Guide To Using Coupons

Love them or hate them. Take them or leave them. The truth still stands—using coupons can save you a lot of money…if you know how to use them correctly.
Let's face it: No one wants to spend hours clipping coupons just to save a couple of bucks. But if it's done right, couponing shouldn't take more than an hour a week of your time–and it could save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year. At least that's what couponing looks like for Andrea Deckard, author of SavingsLifestyle.com. She saved $6,500 in her first year of couponing—and she's willing to share her secrets.

What's the Best Way to Start?

Deckard points out that printable coupon sites, like Coupon Network, are particularly convenient for grocery coupons, along with newspapers. "I encourage people to subscribe to the newspaper," she says, "because if you purchase one in-store, you may not receive the same coupons, and a weekly subscription tends to be cheaper than subscribing to just the Sunday edition." For online shopping, she likes Savings.com, which constantly updates coupon offers for hundreds of retailers.

Andrea also advises looking at your spending over the past three months. Set a small goal to reduce your expenses by 10 to 20% in three months, and aim to spend no more than one hour searching for coupons each week. "In the beginning, it could take a little longer to scope out where the good deals are for your favorite stores," she says, "but setting a goal for one hour, once you figure that out, is realistic."

After three months, challenge yourself to spend 10% less, and continue to set small challenges for yourself in this way until you reach your desired savings. According to Deckard, focused efforts could realistically save 50 to 75% on your grocery bill. "Whatever you do, don't compare yourself to others," she adds. "Your family's situation is unique, and your goals will likely be different. Make only small changes that you can stick with for the long haul."

5 Fool-Proof Tips for Successful Couponing


Before acting on the below five steps, start with Andrea's rule for beginners: If a store doesn't have a minimum of five sale items that you need, don't bother going. You'll waste both time and gas money if you're driving around to different stores for just one or two items.


Get Organized
Whether you clip and sort coupons in a binder or file them all by store into separate folders, experiment with different methods that will help you save time both when searching at home ("Hey, I already have a coupon for mustard!") and when you're in the store.


Focus on One Store to Start

If you purchase most of your cleaning supplies at Target, for example, begin your coupon search there. You'll be less overwhelmed this way, and you'll gain confidence as you start to see how much you're saving on the things that your family needs. When you feel you've conquered one store, you can branch out to other places that you frequent.


Clip Based on Need

Figure out what exactly you'll be shopping for and base your coupon search on those items only. So if you're heading to Shop Rite for three dinners that you plan to make, focus your coupon search for items on your "to buy" list, and ignore everything else.

Stockpile to Save Even More
Once you've gotten the hang of general couponing for a purpose, you can start stockpiling purchases for your favorite non-perishable items, like rice, pasta and coffee. To do this, keep a running list of the items that are in constant rotation in your house, and update the inventory each week so you'll always know what's running low. This way, when you come across that 15% coupon savings on pasta sauce, you'll know if you need to use it or not. Not only will you be stocked up on things that you'll actually use, but you'll also have gotten it all for a great price.

Learn the Drugstore Rules
Shopping at stores like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid can take more time to master, since they each have their own reward system. So read all the fine print on their coupons, and when you do find a store that you believe offers the best rewards, do the majority of your shopping there to get the most savings. (And check out this comparison of online drugstores for even more saving advice.)

There are 23 Questions You Will Be Asked In A Job Interview

Let's face it; no one likes the interview process. Well, certainly not the people being interviewed anyway. You have to be on your best behavior, you only get one chance to get it right, and it's like taking your driving test all over again. Over the years I've been to countless interviews. To get my first job out of college I attended some 15-20 interviews a week. Whether it was in Britain or over here in the States, the questions never really seemed to change from job to job. Not only that, but the answers to them are usually the same, with your own personal interpretation of course. Here I present 23 questions you're likely to be asked, and how I have learned to answer them. Why 23? Because I had more than 20 and less than 25. Remember, being interviewed is a skill, and if you do the preparation you should ace it every time. 

1. So, tell me a little about yourself.

I'd be very surprised if you haven't been asked this one at every interview. It's probably the most asked question because it sets the stage for the interview and it gets you talking. Be careful not to give the interviewer your life story here. You don't need to explain everything from birth to present day. Relevant facts about education, your career and your current life situation are fine.

2. Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?

This should be a straightforward question to answer, but it can trip you up. Presumably you are looking for a new job (or any job) because you want to advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as a person and an employee. It's not a good idea to mention money here, it can make you sound mercenary. And if you are in the unfortunate situation of having been downsized, stay positive and be as brief as possible about it. If you were fired, you'll need a good explanation. But once again, stay positive.

3. Tell me what you know about this company.

Do your homework before you go to any interview. Whether it's being the VP of marketing or the mail room clerk, you should know about the company or business you're going to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about? Do the background work, it will make you stand out as someone who comes prepared, and is genuinely interested in the company and the job.

4. Why do you want to work at X Company?

This should be directly related to the last question. Any research you've done on the company should have led you to the conclusion that you'd want to work there. After all, you're at the interview, right? Put some thought into this answer before you have your interview, mention your career goals and highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

5. What relevant experience do you have?

Hopefully if you're applying for this position you have bags of related experience, and if that's the case you should mention it all. But if you're switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it's matching up. That's when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.

6. If your previous co-workers were here, what would they say about you?

Okay, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people from your past are going to say you're a boring A-hole, you don't need to bring that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specific quotes in mind. "They'd say I was a hard worker" or even better "John Doe has always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-solver he'd ever met."

7. Have you done anything to further your experience?

This could include anything from night classes to hobbies and sports. If it's related, it's worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do with further education is great, but maybe you're spending time on a home improvement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, time management and motivation.

8. Where else have you applied?

This is a good way to hint that you're in demand, without sounding like you're whoring yourself all over town. So, be honest and mention a few other companies but don't go into detail. The fact that you're seriously looking and keeping your options open is what the interviewer is driving at.

9. How are you when you're working under pressure?

Once again, there are a few ways to answer this but they should all be positive. You may work well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you may actually PREFER working under pressure. If you say you crumble like aged blue cheese, this is not going to help you get your foot in the door.

10. What motivates you to do a good job?

The answer to this one is not money, even if it is. You should be motivated by life's noble pursuits. You want recognition for a job well done. You want to become better at your job. You want to help others or be a leader in your field.

11. What's your greatest strength?

This is your chance to shine. You're being asked to explain why you are a great employee, so don't hold back and stay do stay positive. You could be someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing problem solver or someone with extraordinary attention to detail. If your greatest strength, however, is to drink anyone under the table or get a top score on Mario Kart, keep it to yourself. The interviewer is looking for work-related strengths.

12. What's your biggest weakness?

If you're completely honest, you may be kicking yourself in the butt. If you say you don't have one, you're obviously lying. This is a horrible question and one that politicians have become masters at answering. They say things like "I'm perhaps too committed to my work and don't spend enough time with my family." Oh, there's a fireable offense. I've even heard "I think I'm too good at my job, it can often make people jealous." Please, let's keep our feet on the ground. If you're asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you're working hard to improve. Example: "I've been told I occasionally focus on details and miss the bigger picture, so I've been spending time laying out the complete project every day to see my overall progress."

13. Let's talk about salary. What are you looking for?

Run for cover! This is one tricky game to play in an interview. Even if you know the salary range for the job, if you answer first you're already showing all your cards. You want as much as possible, the employer wants you for as little as you're willing to take. Before you apply, take a look at salary.com for a good idea of what someone with your specific experience should be paid. You may want to say, "well, that's something I've thought long and hard about and I think someone with my experience should get between X & Y." Or, you could be sly and say, "right now, I'm more interested in talking more about what the position can offer my career." That could at least buy you a little time to scope out the situation. But if you do have a specific figure in mind and you are confident that you can get it, I'd say go for it. I have on many occasions, and every time I got very close to that figure (both below and sometimes above).

14. Are you good at working in a team?

Unless you have the I.Q. of a houseplant, you'll always answer YES to this one. It's the only answer. How can anyone function inside an organization if they are a loner? You may want to mention what part you like to play in a team though; it's a great chance to explain that you're a natural leader.

15. Tell me a suggestion you have made that was implemented.

It's important here to focus on the word "implemented." There's nothing wrong with having a thousand great ideas, but if the only place they live is on your notepad what's the point? Better still, you need a good ending. If your previous company took your advice and ended up going bankrupt, that's not such a great example either. Be prepared with a story about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and considered successful.

16. Has anything ever irritated you about people you've worked with?

Of course, you have a list as long as your arm. But you can't say that, it shows you as being negative and difficult to work with. The best way to answer this one is to think for a while and then say something like "I've always got on just fine with my co-workers actually."

17. Is there anyone you just could not work with?

No. Well, unless you're talking about murderers, racists, rapists, thieves or other dastardly characters, you can work with anyone. Otherwise you could be flagged as someone who's picky and difficult if you say, "I can't work with anyone who's a Bronco's fan. Sorry."

18. Tell me about any issues you've had with a previous boss.

Arrgh! If you fall for this one you shouldn't be hired anyway. The interviewer is testing you to see if you'll speak badly about your previous supervisor. Simply answer this question with extreme tact, diplomacy and if necessary, a big fat loss of memory. In short, you've never had any issues.

19. Would you rather work for money or job satisfaction?

It's not a very fair question is it? We'd all love to get paid a Trump-like salary doing a job we love but that's rare indeed. It's fine to say money is important, but remember that NOTHING is more important to you than the job. Otherwise, you're just someone looking for a bigger paycheck.

20. Would you rather be liked or feared?

I have been asked this a lot, in various incarnations. The first time I just drew a blank and said, "I don't know." That went over badly, but it was right at the start of my career when I had little to no experience. Since then I've realized that my genuine answer is "Neither, I'd rather be respected." You don't want to be feared because fear is no way to motivate a team. You may got the job done but at what cost? Similarly, if you're everyone's best friend you'll find it difficult to make tough decisions or hit deadlines. But when you're respected, you don't have to be a complete bastard or a lame duck to get the job done.

21. Are you willing to put the interests of X Company ahead of your own?

Again, another nasty question. If you say yes, you're a corporate whore who doesn't care about family. If you say no, you're disloyal to the company. I'm afraid that you'll probably have to say yes to this one though, because you're trying to be the perfect employee at this point, and perfect employees don't cut out early for Jimmy's baseball game.

22. So, explain why I should hire you.

As I'm sure you know, "because I'm great" or "I really need a job" are not good answers here. This is a time to give the employer a laundry list of your greatest talents that just so happen to match the job description. It's also good to avoid taking potshots at other potential candidates here. Focus on yourself and your talents, not other people's flaws.

23. Finally, do you have any questions to ask me?

I'll finish the way I started, with one of the most common questions asked in interviews. This directly relates to the research you've done on the company and also gives you a chance to show how eager and prepared you are. You'll probably want to ask about benefits if they haven't been covered already. A good generic one is "how soon could I start, if I were offered the job of course." You may also ask what you'd be working on. Specifically, in the role you're applying for and how that affects the rest of the company. Always have questions ready, greeting this one with a blank stare is a rotten way to finish your interview. Good luck and happy job hunting.

6 Top Reasons That You Are Unhappy ( What To Do)

No one ever said that life was easy, and none of us ever assumed that we'd get all that we desire without hitting at least a few obstacles along the way. But come on! Does everything have to always be so hard? If this sounds like you, take heart; you're not alone. And believe it or not, the answer to that question is no, it doesn't. Things don't have to always be so difficult. So why are you hitting all those brick walls? And more importantly, what can you do to stop hitting them?

You're Not Organized 

Now don't take offense—I was once very organized so much so that I was thought to be ocd, but so many hours at work and life stressors hit me below the belt. I am now one of the most unorganized people you'll ever meet.. And I can tell you with great certainty that it most definitely affects my ability to be as productive as I'd like to be. After all, it's not easy to conquer the world, tame the universe, and be all that you can be when you're surrounded by clutter and chaos.

Being unorganized creates unwanted stress. It makes it difficult to concentrate, and it almost guarantees that your schedule won't run smoothly. When I'm not organized, I'm forgetting things. I'm misplacing things. And I'm almost always moving in high gear because I'm running late. It's exhausting. All of these things suppress the creative flow and thus, your ability to problem-solve, daydream, and get things done. As a result, even the smallest of tasks can become monumental challenges, and by the time you've finally muddled your way through, you're no longer operating in that peak state where the really good stuff happens.

How do you fix it? If like me, your organization skills are lacking, it might be time to find a way to remedy that situation and instill a little order into your life. You may not ever become the poster child for neat and tidy, but even the smallest steps can make a difference and you'll be amazed how much you can accomplish when it doesn't take you three hours just to find a matching pair of socks.

You're Overwhelmed 

In addition to struggling with organization, I also have a knack for taking on more than I can handle or, as my mother used to say, "spreading myself too thin." It's not that I want to operate at such a high stress level—it's just that I get excited about new projects and can't wait to get started.

As a result, I frequently have several projects running simultaneously at any given time and before I know it, I have too much going to really concentrate on any one thing. And if you can't give something your full attention, it won't reflect the benefits of all your brilliance. Stay in this state for too long, and you'll find that your motivation leaves you completely. You're no longer just feeling the anxiety that comes from being so "stretched" - you'll actually lack the inspiration to tackle even the smallest of tasks and when you do force yourself to take action, it will never be your best work.

How do you fix it? The solution, of course, is to stop and take inventory of where you are. Get your priorities in order and force yourself to work from that list, so that you stay focused and on track. If that feeling of being overwhelmed is due more to the size of your projects rather than the number, then concentrate on breaking those big jobs down into several doable chunks. You should also seriously consider learning how to say "no" or at the very least, "later," so that you can manage your time more effectively and avoid that "where do I start?" feeling from creeping in and slowing you down.

You're Not Following "Your Bliss"  

Plain and simple—if you don't like what you're doing, you're not going to thrive while you're doing it.

Now, we all have times when we "have to do what we have to do." And that's perfectly OK. I've taken jobs that offered little in the way of personal fulfillment but went a long way in helping us make ends meet and when you're faced with that kind of situation, well, you do what you have to do. But all too often, we resign ourselves to that goal of "just getting by." The temporary fix becomes a permanent safety net and we forego our dreams in exchange for predictability and security.

How do you fix it? If you're spending your time selling insurance or typing memos or installing bath fixtures and your passion lies somewhere else, you'll never feel the satisfaction and fulfillment that you're seeking, which means you need to take steps to figure out what your passion is, and then find a way to follow it.

You're Not Taking Enough Risk   

Speaking of safety nets, you'll never know what you're capable of if you always insist on playing it safe. That doesn't mean that you can't take precautions and that doesn't mean you shouldn't do your research or ask questions or weigh your options. It just means that sometimes, you have to take a chance.

How do you fix it? You have to be willing to venture out into the unknown if for no other reason than just to see what's there. Sometimes you have to be willing to assume a little risk because you know the reward is worth it. And if the reward is moving you closer to the life you were really meant to have, well, what could be more worthy than that?

You're Too Serious  

Doctors' visits are serious. So are taxes and wars and meetings with your boss. Life in general? Not so much. Yes, life can have some pretty somber moments, but it's not meant to be lived in such a solemn state all the time.

How do you fix it? Learn to relax. Learn to loosen up. Have some fun and forget about all those serious aspects that are weighing you down, at least for a while. Don't worry about looking silly, and don't worry about what the neighbors will think. In fact, if they're thinking anything at all, it's that they wish they had the time or the energy or the nerve to get out there and have some fun like you.

You're  Stuck In A Rut  

Albert Einstein once said that insanity was "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Yet, that's often exactly what we do. We might dream of new adventures and doing great things, but we cling tightly to the bubble of predictability that we've built around us. Our lives become routine—we eat the same meals, wear the same clothes, and continue to perform the same activities, day after day after day. Is it any wonder that we have a hard time creating change?

How do you fix it? Instead, try shaking things up. It doesn't have to be big—in fact, even the smallest of changes can set some exciting things into motion. Try going into work early if you're someone who's usually "just on time," or turn off the TV and spend that time learning a new skill or trying your hand at a new hobby. If you normally start a job search by mass mailing resumes, try calling first instead. If you scour the want ads for job postings, try just picking out companies you'd like to work for and applying direct. If you normally have cereal for breakfast, try oatmeal or toast. If you consistently go to bed at 9 o'clock, try staying up till 10:00 or turning in at 8:00.

No, none of these changes on their own are likely to suddenly bring destiny knocking at your door, but the exercise of changing your routine opens you up to other, potentially more potent changes. The point is, if you're not where you'd like to be, then try walking a different path to get there.