We have the opportunity on the daily to make a positive impact on the world around us.
Whether one goes through their day searching for good deeds to be done,
or simply takes advantage of random opportunities to spread love,
every action (or inaction) has a resounding impact.
The question is: Is your impact today going to be positive, negative, or indifferent?
I have been told that one person can't make a difference.
I affectionately call these people "dummies"...
Those who actively try to hold the rest of us down,
those who would rather watch you drown than help you soar, those who can't grasp the power of positivity to create change.
Whether it's a great recipe found, or an uplifting story to share, you can be sure to find it here.
Let's start a Positivity Revolution, and drown out the dumb!




Friday, November 6, 2015

Totally Cheating Chicken

For whatever reason, I've been holding onto this recipe gem for a while, so haven't made it in about a month, before my whole change in diet. Still, Enjoy!
I don't have a crockpot. (cue gasp!)

Let me explain: I'm cooking for one. Yes, I could take the time to pack my freezer full of the leftovers, but if history has taught me anything, those meals will rot with freezer burn before they make it to my tummy. Secondly, I work a ton, and my life is unpredictable. This means that when I set that handy timer for eight or even ten hours, there is no guarantee that I'll be home in time to take it off the heat. I have ruined many a beautiful meal by letting the crockpot go a few hours over. Thirdly, I don't have the room. My tiny apartment can only hold so many items, and choosing to lose the crockpot was one of those necessary sacrifices for the love of living more simply.

What's my point? You can totally cheat and make pulled chicken without the slow cooker! I adore pulled meats, and back in the day, I used to love smoking bone-in chicken breasts on the weekends. Alas, this is one of the things I no longer have...But I've found a loophole, and I couldn't wait to share!

I found this recipe from Just a Taste for slow-cooker balsamic pulled pork, and substituted chicken breast (I had oh-so many in my freezer). The beautiful thing about ditching the slow cooker for this recipe is that chicken takes waaaay less time to cook, so I started about two hours before I wanted to eat. I made the marinade, poured it over about 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts in a nice deep skillet, and covered at medium heat. Two differences from the recipe provided: I omitted the blackberry jam (I'm sure it would have been amaze-balls, but I got impatient looking for it at the grocery store), and I used about 2 cups of chicken broth, with the last 1/2 cup mixed with cornstarch to thicken up the sauce at the end. I also made this tangy slaw from the same website while the chicken boiled.

After about an hour, the chicken was pull-ready, so I removed it from the pan and added my last 1/2 cup of chicken-broth/cornstarch mixture. Letting this simmer while I pulled the chicken allowed it to become nice and thick, so when I added the chicken back to the pan, it stuck beautifully.

The first night, Kristine and I made sandwiches with the chicken and slaw atop. The next night at my sister's house, we decided to make little BBQ crostini's, which were more delicious than I thought possible.


Definitely a keeper recipe, especially now that we have a fabu new app recipe! Happy eating,

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

IT Dummy

I am not a "computer person" per se, but Google has become my best friend in recent years. I Google everything, from sore throats to how to properly format a newspaper ad (yes, they still have newspapers here in Colorado). Today was the day I needed Google to show me how to make my email signature gorgeous with all my social media buttons. I maybe spent a bunch of time on this last night...and last week...until I was nearly ready to secede and swallow the fact that I would simply have a plain-Jane email signature.

Just as my heart was sinking, my eyes opened and I realized I had been totally misreading the directions! You know when someone else can clearly see what you cannot? It was one of those aha! moments when I wanted to slap my forehead and laugh (or cry) out loud. As I was reading the many forums online about this same topic, I noticed there were a select few in my same tribe who just couldn't figure this out. And the folks on the other side trying to help just kept repeating themselves. Not helpful; very frustrating. So I wanted to share my step-by-steps so we can all have the beautiful email signatures we want. I heavily referenced this forum for assistance along the way.

I work for a smaller company, so we don't have a specific "IT" department, let alone one expert to call upon for my many needs and questions. Many businesses across the U.S. likely function this way, especially those who have started your own biz and have no other staff. So without further adieu, let's get you a pretty signature! (PS- I use Microsoft Office 365, so these steps may vary for other applications. I'll also review how to properly add this to your iPhone sig.)

First, take your company logo and social media logos and upload them onto a free hosting app like tinypic.
Next, go to Outlook--File--Options--Mail--Create or Modify Signatures for Messages.
Click in your signature the place you'd like your image, then click the image button on your toolbar.

Go back to tinypic (or other hosting site) and choose your image. Highlight and copy the "Direct Link for Layouts" web address.
Back to Outlook: Paste your image's address into "File", and click the drop-down arrow, choosing "Link to File".

Boom! Your image should now show on your signature. Repeat this for as many logos/icons as you'd like!

When your clients open up your emails, you'd probably like for them to be able to click the image and go to your website. To accomplish this, head back into your Outlook signature editor, click the logo you'd like to link, then hit the Globe/Link icon:


Type the web address for the link, and press OK. Done!

Now for customizing your iPhone sig...
Send yourself a test email from your desktop Outlook account. When you receive it on your iPhone, select the entire signature text and copy. Then go to Settings--Mail--Signatures--Select the email account you'd like to populate with this signature. Shake your phone to undo attributes, this should take care of the auto font changes Apple makes.
Compose a new email message on your phone. Don't send this message! Hit cancel and save to drafts.
Go to your Drafts folder, copy entire signature piece, and go back to your iPhone settings to paste into the Signature area for your account. Shake your phone to undo attributes, and you should be all set!

I hope this is helpful to those who may not have access to an IT guru. Be sure to test your new, fabulous signature before sending it out to all your clients!