shellsand's blog

Valentine's Day is next Tuesday. Already! Here's a series of posts that can help you plan a night of romance:

Valentine's Day Gifts That Show Your Love but Don't Break the Bank
Five great gift ideas that anyone will love. Hint: do your online shopping NOW for 2-3 day shipping.

Hotwire Review: Stay at the Hilton CHEAP!
My review of a site to help you find a classy hotel for a little money.

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Writingup.com has a website similar to Blogger Party where you earn profits from Adsense. It makes sense that you can increase your profits by double or more. (Currently, WritingUp has a larger traffic volume, so you can probably make more)

You will break no copyright rules by posting your blog on both sites. I have already checked. You own all the rights to what you write on both sites.

The only benefit is that you will recieve double the audience, and the potential for double or more of the business.

When you do sign up, please let them know that I referred you by cutting and pasting one of the two codes. I will receive a benefit that doesn't take anything from your earnings. Thanks.

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On a regular basis, I have been insulted inside and outside of the media for who I am--Christian, Republican, Californian, Bush Supporter, Pro-Arnold, White, and American. I wish some people didn't hold the extreme prejudices they did. I wish they weren't so blatantly ignorant and rude as they sometimes are.

But never once have I thought about serving up a round of Moltov Cocktails as a response. Perhaps because I know that violence does't erase prejudices; violence reinforces prejudices.

Nor have I demanded that those who have insulted me and what I believe in be silenced. I know that when people are silenced, they are never truly free.

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Be adventurous when you choose a new color scheme for your interior. The paints and fabrics that you choose will set the atmosphere of your home.

Red is versatile color that can be either daring or classic, depending on the shade and how it is used. Reds are known for heightening senses such as smell and taste, thus it is often seen in dining rooms.

Yellow is a cheerful color. It gives the effect of making a room seem more spacious.

Blue has a calming effect. Blue is best used in rooms that are meant for relaxation, such as a bedroom, or lingering, such as a room used for entertaining.

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Winter can be a drain on your finances as extra money goes into heating, cooking, and lighting. Here are a few ways to use energy more efficiently while saving money on your electric and gas bills.

Set your thermostat between 68-70 degrees during the day and turn it off at night. Each degree above 68 costs about 5% more.

Turn the thermostat down or off when you leave the house.

Replace your light bulbswith energy efficient lights.

Buy energy efficient appliances. Some states offer rebates for replacing older appliances with newer, energy efficient ones.

Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Don't leave the TV on if no one is watching.

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Fabulous Gourmet Salad--Dump and Toss Style

Need a quick side to impress your friends? Try this quick salad--make it in five minutes or less!

1 bag mixed greens
1 handful slivered almonds, or chopped walnuts, or chopped pecans, or sunflower seeds
1 chopped apple, or tomato, or pear, or peach, or 1 c. sliced strawberries
1 handful raisins or dried cranberries
1/2 tub feta, blue, or gorgonzoa cheese crumbles
Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette--add to taste

Toss all ingredients in a bowl. Serve.

Code to Zero
by Ken Follet opens with the protagonist discovering himself asleep in a men's restroom wearing the clothes of a bum with no idea how he had gotten there and no memory of who he is. As he attmepts to discover his identity, he finds out that he is a key figure in a plot that is key to the outcome of the cold war, but he doesn't know what side he is on or which of his friends have betrayed him.

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Be sure to ride the cable cars at least once in your life.

Sure, BART is convenient and fast, the bus has shorter lines, and taxis take you right to the door, but don't pass up the experience of riding the cable cars in San Francisco once in your lifetime. They are an adventure everyone needs to experience once in a lifetime. Here's some tips to have the best possible experience.

1. Get on at the beginning of the line at Market Street or the end at Ghiradelli Square. Anywhere in between you won't be guaranteed a spot.

2. Don't even think about sitting. Stand up and hold the pole. Wave to the people on the street. Revel in every moment that you are a tourist!

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Code to Zero
by Ken Follet opens with the protagonist discovering himself asleep in a men's restroom wearing the clothes of a bum with no idea how he had gotten there and no memory of who he is. As he attmepts to discover his identity, he finds out that he is a key figure in a plot that is key to the outcome of the cold war, but he doesn't know what side he is on or which of his friends have betrayed him.

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I have a horrible case of the hiccups right now. My cousin always says to eat a spoonful of peanut butter. I don't really want to try it. A spoonful of peanut butter all sticky in my mouth sounds pretty yucky. Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Pita Pizzas
Version 1: Brush pita breads with olive oil on one side. Sprinkle with garlic salt, basil or oregano, pepper, and grated pamasean cheese. Broil for 2 minutes. Cut into wedges with a pizza slicer and serve.
Version 2: Spread pitas with your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce, sprinkle cheese and favorite topings on. Broil until bubbly.

Flavored Popcorn
Mix warm popped popcorn with 2T butter or margarine and sprinkle with Parmasean cheese or taco seasoning mix.

Bacon Wraps
Wrap a whole water chestnut with a slice of bacon. Use a toothpick to attach bacon to water chestnut.

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Get paid to take surveys...up to $100 per hour. If you havent come across this scam, there's probably an ad above. Beware though, before you subscribe to an online survery site, read this:

They sound too good to be true. Make up to $100 per hour filling out online surveys for legitimate companies. Just send you email address and the leads are sent to your email and you make as much money as you want. If the survey sounds like a scam, don't fill it out. What could be easier?

What they don't tell you is that after you spend 20 minutes of your life answering inane questions, you find out that in order to get the cash or gift card promised, you have to sign up for Columbia House or a similar program and complete their terms of agreement before you receive your money.

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And I'm not even a football fan...

1. Buffalo wings and beer...Yum!

2. I can wear jeans and tennis shoes to a Super Bowl party.

3. The commercials that are actually entertaining.

4. Trash talking the PETA commercial.

5. The party is usually smaller. I can talk to everone.

6. I can sit on a couch and not have to stand in heels the whole time.

7. Chances are, no one at the party has a favorite team playing. No one cares who wins. No one goes home depressed if their team loses.

8. Watching great athletes in action is always a wonder.

9. All appetizers. All day. (did I mention buffalo wings and beer)

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For the past few months, I've been spending some time every day browsing the job postings on freelance writing.com. Of all the freelance writing job sites I have visited on the internet (free sites--I don't pay for job searching sites...it doesn't make sense), this one is my favorite for the following reasons:
1.) It is kept up to date daily
2.) A wide variety of companies search for writers using this site
3.) There are about 10 new job postings each day
4.) There are three levels of jobs (high, low, non/royalty paying) so there is no need to search through a long list of jobs that are out of your league one direction or another

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6. Use short paragraphs. When confronted with a wall of 500 words with no breaks, most people don't even start reading. It's too hard to keep track of where you are. No paragraph breaks is also a sign of an inexperienced writer.
7. Read and reply to what people wrote about your blog. Even if you just say thanks for the comment. It's polite.
8. Get people's attention with the title. If it's not catchy, no one will read you.
9. Cite your sources. Plagiarism is still a crime.
10. Take pride in what you write. The number of readers who visit your blog do not determine the worth of your blog.

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