Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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7 Sites To Help You Make Perfect Playlists

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playlists onlineRemember when you had to call your local disc jockey and sing him a song to find out the artist of a song you liked? Or when you scoured racks of cassette tapes or compact discs looking for new artists? Back in those days, creating a playlist took hours of effort. Today, creating a playlist is simple. Many websites help you search for new artists or genres. You can find music and make compilations from your own home.

Pandora

Pandora Internet Radio has revolutionized the way people listen to music. Pandora’s Genome Project is the most comprehensive music analyzer to date. Their database has thousands of songs from every musical era. Enter the name of an artist you enjoy. Pandora will play songs by that artist and artists with similar styles.

Pandora won’t help you actually make a playlist, but it will help you discover new music you love based on the music you already enjoy. Free memberships are available as well as affordable paid subscriptions that let you listed without advertisements.

GrooveShark

GrooveShark is an online music streaming service. Users can upload or stream music others have uploaded. They can then add songs to playlists. GrooveShark is super easy to use. You can search for songs, genres, playlists and artists.

The site even helps you discover new music after your first search. Once you start a playlist, GrooveShark will suggest other artists for you to try. You can share your playlists on Twitter and Facebook.

8Tracks

Want to go back to the days of trading mixed cassette tapes? 8tracks is the place to go. This site allows users to swap mixes with friends. Once you have created your mix of eight songs, you can broadcast it on Twitter.

Slacker

Slacker offers users the easiest way to create a playlist online. Begin by listening to slacker radio. Then, like or ban songs as they play. This action creates a playlist. You can also create your own custom radio stations with this site.

Jamendo

Jamendo lets users to listen and download music for free. Users download music directly from their site. If users like an artist, they can make a donation. Users can easily make playlists and share albums.

Mixtape.me

Using simple drag and drop, Mixtape.me excels at creating custom playlists as well as discovering existing ones. Every playlist receives its own URL, making it easy to share with anyone, even those who aren’t members of the site. You can even embed links to your playlists on webpages, much like with YouTube videos, giving you even more share options.

Spotify

One of the most popular music streaming and playlist sites on the web, Spotify certainly deserves a mention. It works much like GrooveShark, letting you find music, share it or put it in a playlist. You can choose both free and premium accounts.

When you decide to create a playlist, there are many sites to choose from. Take some time to explore the sites listed above to see which one is a good fit for your needs.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/680354

Jessica Bosari blogs for TLS Productions, a company offering audio equipment for hire, DJ services, entertainment event planning and more. 





Your Home Looks Great! But Don’t Forget About The Garage…

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Resale is one of the most important things, however many people neglect to think about it when they are making a home purchase. The proper car taken with your entire home can ensure that you get the most out of your investment, and that your property value goes way up.

 

But one place where most people lose out on some serious cash is with the garage. Many people think about their garage in one simple way; they park their car in it. That is all a garage is for. But that is not true; a garage can be used in many ways.

And if you want to ensure that you do not lose out on any extra resale value when selling your home to a perspective buyer in the future, you are going to want to put in a little extra work.

Keeping Your Garage Clean

One of the biggest mistakes people do is they let their garage go to disrepair. People simply stop paying any attention to that state that their garage is in after a while, especially if they have no automotive hobbies which would lead them to spend any time in their garage.

Oil stains, cobwebs and even mold can all become huge issues with home owners and their garages. The main way to ensure that your garage does not face any of these issues is by keeping it clean.

First off, make it a habit. When you clean your house, take the bit of extra time to then go out and clean your garage after you have finished. This alone can make a huge difference. An occasional cleaning will stop oil leaks or spills from creating lasting marks on the floor of your garage.

And if you wipe out the cob webs and all the spiders, you will have fewer spider issues over time, as they will stop coming in to your garage and instead choose other places for their webs.

Make Garage Cleaning a Chore

None of us like to do chores, but it goes with out saying that we always make sure to get all of our chores done. If you turn garage cleaning in to just another chore, then it will get done when the time comes, just like any other chore.

The main thing is to treat your garage just like you would treat any other place in your home; it is part of your over all house. Thus it should receive just as much attention as your home itself—not less just because you do not sleep in it.

How to Save Money While Cleaning Your Garage

You do not have to buy a whole bunch of new cleaning products simply in order to clean your garage. You can use almost all of your regular house hold cleaning products to clean your garage. So do not buy those ads about “special” garage cleaners; most of them are garbage.

What you want is the basics; a good, friendly cleaning spray that won’t stain; some paper towels; a duster; a big garbage bag for any junk; and a broom, among other basic cleaning implements. Be sure not to leave a single area of your garage unattended; you should do as thorough a job cleaning your garage as you would your own room.

The better you clean, and the more you keep your garage clean, the more you are preserving your investment, and the more steady your property value will be when it comes time for you to sell your home.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://morguefile.com/archive/display/31000

Joe Lloyd writes for steel-line.com.au who offer a huge range of garage doors, window shutters, garage door operators, and much more besides.  Visit them today for further details.

Lacy Valentine Cupcakes

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These cupcakes are much easier to make than the design would suggest. Using an edible icing sheet with a lace print design enables you to incorporate fancy prints into your desserts with little effort and time.

 

Tools & Ingredients

  • Cupcakes
  • Buttercream Icing
  • Piping Bag (plastic disposable)
  • Fondant
  • Icing Sheet with Lace Print Design
  • Small flower gum paste cutter
  • Sugar Pearls
  • Rolling Pin
  • Heart cookie cutter
  • Piping Gel
  • Plastic mat or cutting board
  • Shortening
  • Ball tool

Steps

  1. Roll out fondant to 1/16” thickness on a greased mat/cutting board.
  2. Apply a thin coat of piping gel over the area where you are applying the print.
  3. Peel the plastic backing off the icing sheet and apply to the area where you applied the gel. Rub back and forth on top of the icing sheet to make it adhere.
  4. Place the heart cookie cutter over the area of the print you want included in your cut-out. Be sure to press firmly all around the sides of the cookie cutter to cut all the way through the icing sheet and fondant. Wiggle the cookie cutter slightly back and forth to release the cut area from the rest of the fondant.
  5. Set the cut heart aside to dry.
  6. Roll out a small amount of pink fondant to 1/16” thick. Use the gum paste flower cutter to cut out 3 flowers for each heart.  Using the ball tool, press into the center of the flower to create a spot for the sugar pearl.
  7. Apply a tiny bit of piping gel to the center of each flower and stick a sugar pearl in the middle. Use a little more gel to adhere the flowers along the side of the heart cut-out.
  8. Cut a hole on the pointy end of the disposable cake decorating bag. Fill bag 2/3 full with pink icing. Pipe buttercream icing on the cupcake, beginning with the outside and moving in a circular motion around the cupcake.  (It will resemble the look of a soft-serve ice cream cone).
  9. Stick the heart cut-out into the fresh icing. (If you let the icing harden up, the heart won’t stick).

It’s best to make all the heart cut-outs in advance and then you will be able to quickly put the cupcakes together as you ice them.  The sugar pearls are sold in Michael’s Craft Stores, online cake decorating stores and sometimes you’ll find them in gourmet stores. If you can’t find them, you can substitute pearl tapioca or simply pipe a white dot in the center of the flower.

You can use any kind of cake decorating bag, but I use the disposable ones so that I can just cut a hole and throw the bag out when I’m done. If you have plastic or linen cake decorating bags, then just use a large round tip to pipe the icing.

Icing sheets taste good and are so easy to incorporate into cupcake designs and other desserts. If you had to pipe the lace pattern, you’d be spending hours doing what takes mere minutes to do with these valentine cupcakes.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Image author owned

Theresa Happe is a cake decorator and fan of www.IcingImages.com where you can find icing sheets and a wide selection of great prints to use with them, including this lacy pattern.

Tips For Planning A Party On A Budget

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Parties are perfect for celebrating all of the greatest milestones in life, from birthdays and anniversaries to weddings and graduations. But the problem with parties is that they can become quite expensive, especially for those on small budgets. If you want to throw a party and invite a lot of friends and family members with whom you can celebrate a special occasion, you will need to invest in a venue, food or catering, music and entertainment, decorations, and more. All of these things can quickly add up, putting you way over budget and making your party seem impossible to pull off.

If you find yourself in a situation where you do not have a lot of money to throw a party that you really want to throw, just know that it is not impossible after all. You can still host an amazing party that all of your guests will enjoy, even if you have a very tight budget to work with.

Here are some tips for planning a great party while on a budget.

Choose the Most Affordable Venue, or Use Your Home

If you live in a large enough house that will fit all of your guests comfortably, consider throwing the party at your home. If not, perhaps one of your friends or family members would be willing to host the event at their house. If a house simply will not be an option, you need to then start looking at potential venues.

Venues come in all shapes and sizes, and all budgets as well. Do your research into local venues, from open halls that you can have decorated to suit your needs and catered to provide your guests with food, to those venues that provide all these services for a flat rate per person, you will probably be able to find something that works for your party.

Print Out Your Own Invitations or Use Online Invitations

When it comes to invitations, many people today are using electronic invitations in place of traditional paper invitations. This saves you money on purchasing the invitations and the postage necessary to mail them out to all of your guests. If you absolutely want to use paper invitations, consider going to your local arts and crafts store and purchasing invitation paper in the design you like, and then print the invitations at home. This will still cost you a bit of money, but it should be less than purchasing fancy pre-made invitations.

Make Your Own Food

If you have chosen a venue that does not provide food for your guests, such as a house or a hall, you need to figure out a plan for your food. If you cannot afford an inexpensive catering service, you can consider making the food yourself. This is perfect for a small party, such a bridal or baby shower, where snacks and finger foods can be just enough to keep your guests satisfied. Prepare the food ahead of time so that you can just bring it to the party’s location on the day of the event.

Attached Images:

Lisa is a writer who enjoys educating others on all things related to finance. While performing some research, she found the site uSwitch.com, which provides information on, and comparisons of, a Capital One credit card and many other credit cards offered by other banks, thus allowing consumers to make informed decisions before applying.

Little Goals Are The Best Way To Achieve Exactly What You Want In 2013

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At the start of each year, many people set huge goals for the next 365 days. A lot of those goals relate to self-improvement. While everyone makes their big goals with the best intentions, the reality is that most discard them within a matter of weeks. This pattern isn’t limited to the beginning of the year. If someone has a big project they need to tackle, they generally start out with very ambitious goals. But almost inevitably, they still end up scrambling the night before the project’s deadline to get everything finished.

These common scenarios make it clear that setting huge goals that are somewhat vague isn’t the way to accomplish what you want. Unfortunately, this type of advice still gets repeated even though it’s obviously not effective. If you’re tired of getting stuck in this type of goal trap, the good news is there is a way to break the cycle.

Little Goals > Big Goals

One of the reasons that so many people continue to only set big goals for themselves is they don’t want to put effort into something that doesn’t seem to provide much of a reward. What they don’t realize is putting aside big goals and focusing on little ones doesn’t mean they can’t accomplish something significant. What it means is that it’s easier to accomplish a string of little goals that amount to something notable than to try and tackle a huge obstacle all at once. Additional advantages of little goals include:

Momentum: Just getting started can be one of the hardest parts of accomplishing something. When someone faces a really large goal, it can feel too overwhelming and cause a type of paralysis that prevents them from taking action. So while you may initially feel like little goals set the bar too low, it’s important to realize that’s not a flaw or accident. Instead, it ensures you’re actually able to get started, which in turn will naturally allow you to build momentum.

Feedback: Studies related to everything from weight loss to job performance have shown that consistent feedback plays a significant role in successfully accomplishing a task. Keep in mind that this feedback doesn’t have to come from others. Instead, it can take the form of self-evaluation. With really large goals, it can be hard to set milestones to figure out where you’re at in the process. But with little goals, their very nature means that you’ll easily be able to assess how you’re doing on a regular basis.

Easy to Adjust: Another problem with big goals is they’re not very flexible. And since making such a big change requires a significant leap, people almost always fall off track. While that completely derails their attempt, with small goals, you can just acknowledge that your original plan wasn’t exactly right and adjust accordingly.

John Weezypoppy is a freelance writer who blogs about cheap scrubs as well as other medical supplies and uniforms.

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