Top 5 Reasons to Love Super Bowl Sunday

This Sunday, February 5 is the long-awaited Super Bowl! There are so many reasons to get excited, but here five of the best reasons to love Super Bowl Sunday!

Football Fans
If you're a Giants fan, you're pumped up to see the Giants play in the biggest game of the year. If you're a Patriots fan, you can hardly wait to see the Patriots play in the biggest game of the year. For everyone else, football is awesome!

Quarterback Snacks
The Super Bowl is a great excuse to indulge. It's practically a rule to have a few beers while chowing down on delicious wings, guacamole and chips, and those cute little mini hot dogs wrapped in a crusty blanket. You may have to hit the gym hard on Monday, but it's worth it—it is the Superbowl, after all!

Super Bowl Ads
The commercials: remember the eTrade baby and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale? This year, there'll be a whole crop of new and hilarious ads that will have people talking.

Cure For The Mondays
You won't get the dreaded "Tomorrow is Monday and I have to work" Sunday night blues—instead you'll be celebrating all night with the three F's: food, friends, and football!

Lead Out TV
For the not-so-football-inclined, waiting patiently through the Superbowl means you get to watch the second season premiere of The Voice!

 

Five Tips for Winter Driving

Driving in the winter can be lovely, with scenic views of snowy vistas, but it can also be dangerous if you don’t take the proper precautions. Here are some tips to make sure you don’t run into problems on the road this season:

Avoid Tailgating
Tailgating is something you want to avoid under any circumstances but especially during icy or snowy road conditions. When a road is even just lightly covered in ice or snow, the traction becomes significantly reduced, and this means that your car will take longer to stop.

Don't Use Cruise Control
If your car hydroplanes or skids on an icy road while you’re using cruise control, the wheels can start to rapidly spin – and this will increase the chances of you losing command of your vehicle.

Be Prepared
You’ll want to be sure that your car is stocked with the necessities of safe winter driving – antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, flashlight, first aid kid, blanket, and so on. Also make sure that the car itself has been checked so that the battery works, the headlights are clean and functional, and the tires are in good condition.

Handle Skids With Skill
Knowing how to recover from skids is a key feature of effective winter driving. When you brake on a slippery road, make sure you don’t lock up your wheels by braking too hard. Instead, if you begin skidding, turn the vehicle gently in the direction you want the vehicle to go and avoid heavy pressure on the brakes. Click here for helpful details about skid recovery.

Stay in Your Vehicle
If you get stuck in the snow or your vehicle becomes unable to move for any reason, stay warm in your vehicle and wait for help. Make sure that your exhaust pipe is clear of any obstructions (snow and ice included) so that carbon monoxide doesn’t build up in the car.

Philadelphia 76ers: Poised For Greatness

With three playoff berths in the last four seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers have had solid showings recently, and they're ready to carry that success further into the postseason. Last year's arrival of Doug Collins as head coach gave the team a much needed boost. His leadership helped add another fourteen wins to the previous season. Collins has a team of new and veteran talents to nurture. Jrue Holiday enters his third season as one of the most exciting players on the roster. Louis Williams, Thad Young, and Andre Igoudala also promise to keep up the team's high-octane attack. Philadelphia also still has one of the top power forwards in Elton Brand. This is a team ready to capitalize on the consistent promise shown in previous years. They want more than just a first round playoff exit. This season might be their breakout year.

Find Sixers schedules, tickets, merchandise, and more at http://www.nba.com/sixers.

Sweet Treats: Five Great Ice Cream Toppings

Sure, ice cream is great on its own, but sometimes you need to add a little something more. If you’re getting sick of sprinkles, here are some suggestions for lesser-known ice cream toppings that will jazz up your dessert service:

• Fruit is a great addition to any bowl of ice cream, both to add fiber and vitamins and also to make for more interesting flavors. One of my favorite additions are super-ripe fresh blueberries – they taste great with a little chill to them and go with just about any flavor of ice cream.
• To add a little crunch to a bowl of ice cream, sprinkle with homemade or store-bought granola. Again, this is something that makes the bowl a little healthier in the long run – not that you should care, if you’re eating ice cream.
• For a super decadent treat, drizzle a bowl of ice cream with caramel sauce and large-grained sea salt. The combination of sweet and savory flavors is absolutely unforgettable.
• To add a Mexican flavor to your chocolate ice cream, make a hot fudge sauce and stir in a liberal dose of ground cinnamon. This vastly improves the flavor, making it richer and more complex.
• Homemade whipped cream is much tastier and better for you than the pre-packaged supermarket variety, and it’s not really difficult to make. When you’re whipping the heavy cream, stir in a little cocoa powder for an extra treat.

Save On: Making And Keeping A Personal Budget

In this economy, more people have realized the benefits of becoming more careful with their finances. It’s vitally important to understand your income and spending, both so you can plan for the future and so you can set up saving and investments for retirement. If you have been putting off assembling a personal budget, here are some tips for making one and sticking to it.

-          Be honest about your income. The first step to any budget is to collect all of the money that is coming into your house. If you receive a regular paycheck where taxes are deducted, make sure to use the net, or take-home pay. This is money that you have control over.

-          Understand your expenditures. This is one of the biggest problems many people have when it comes time to create a budget. Every single penny you spend needs to be accounted for – housing, utilities, gas, food, and more. The best way to get a clear picture of this is by using bank statements from the last 6 months and creating a monthly average.

-          Find your wiggle room. Once you have compared those two numbers, you will have the disposable income that your household has access to. The idea now is to increase that number by cutting costs and investing or saving as much of it as possible.

-          Don’t sweat the unexpected. Medical crises, family emergencies, or other events can cause even the most tightly-structured budgets to fall apart. If that happens, take a day to rework your plans and make a schedule to get back on track for saving when you’ve dealt with the unexpected expenditures.

Thanksgiving Decorating Tips

Every Thanksgiving meal tastes better when served in a beautifully decorated setting. What warmer way to welcome your guests than to deck your house in the finest fall flourishes? Here are some ideas to make this Thanksgiving your most stylish one yet:

Homemade Wreaths. Why not celebrate the year's bounty with a homemade wreath? For a simple do-it-yourself wreath using natural materials, follow these steps: Start with a shaped vine or basic straw wreath. Using a glue gun, add cinnamon sticks, leaves, pine cones, acorns, seed pods and any other outdoor wonders you might find. For instructions on how to make a more elaborate wreath, click here: http://www.thanksgivingnovember.com/thanksgiving-wreath.html

Gourd Vases. Decorate the house with seasonal gourd vases, which add a strikingly autumnal flavor to any room. Follow these steps: cut off the top of a butternut squash and scoop out the flesh. Add water and arrange your flowers of choice in the vase.  Dahlias and zinnias a great fall flower option, but any bloom will do. Gourd vases work well on any surface in the house or placed at intervals down the center of your Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving Table Runner. Create a table runner that brings brilliant fall colors into your home: cut a swath of camel-colored felt, wool, or flannel to suit the length and width specifics of your table. Then decorate the top of the runner with ribbons according to your color preferences, securing them in place with double-stick tape or fabric glue. Scatter leaves, mini-pumpkins, pears, and acorns down the runner. The effect is truly festive!

You’ll love enlivening your home with seasonal flair this Thanksgiving. So get out your glue, your scissors, and your imagination – and enjoy!

Get Spooky: How to Make Halloween Decorations

Sure, you can just go to the store and spend a mint on pre-made Halloween decorations, but the real haunted houses do it themselves. Here are some quick and easy ways to get your home ready for the big night without breaking the bank:

-        To make realistic looking spiderwebs, take simple kitchen cheesecloth and shred, pin, and tear it. The end result will look creepy and foreboding, but it’s not sticky and annoying to touch like a real spiderweb.

-        A cool way to make ghosts that glow in the dark is to buy glowsticks – green works well, as does white – snap them to activate, and then insert them into balloons before you blow them up. Use a black marker to draw a scary face on them!

-        The number one most important Halloween decoration is, of course, a pumpkin. Many interesting patterns are available on the Internet for unique looks.

-        One easy way to make a home look scary is by covering the furniture with white sheets and dropcloths. This evokes a haunted house simply and effectively, and it’s easy to clean up afterwards.

-        Don’t underestimate the importance of audio in creating a scary atmosphere. Playing a recording of sound effects – creaking boards, howling winds, et cetera – can make things even more terrifying for your guests.

Fall Happenings in Delaware!

Looking for some fun things to do this fall? Then you might want to consider these Delaware events. From fun and artistic celebrations to great outdoor excursions, there’s plenty for you to enjoy. Here’s a sample:

The Delaware Wind & Ale Trail – The trail is a unique collection of thirteen locations that educate about the creation and production of their wines and brews. It offers several great tour and tasting experiences.

Bridgeville Apple Scrapple Festival – On October 15th and 16th Bridgeville celebrates a great combo of scrapple and apples. This 20 year tradition features street dances, carnivals, car shows, live entertainment, and more.

Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddler’s Festival –On October 28th through 30th Rehoboth Beach will be filled with the sights and sounds of its annual Sea Witch Halloween extravaganza. From the exciting Sea Witch Parade and costume contest to a 5k Run, the Sea Witch Skim Fest, Pirate’s Coast Haunted House, and more, it’s the ultimate beach-side Halloween destination.

Halloween Haunts – For classic Halloween thrills visit Frightland, Nightmare’s Haunted House, and All Hollow’s Revenge. There’s also plenty of documented locations that may be haunted!

World Championship Punkin Chunkin – Since 1986 people gathered at Nassau to find out how far someone was able to launch a Pumpkin into the sky with a machine. Now the event has over 20,000 attendees and is featured on the Science Channel. And on November 4th through 6th, contestants will meet to crown a new champion!

Leaves Of Love: Great Autumn Date Ideas

Just because summer is coming to an end doesn’t mean that romance has to fall like leaves from the trees. Autumn offers a wide variety of activities for you to share with your partner! Check out this list of awesome ideas for dates as the weather starts to cool down.

1.     Fall means football. Even if your date isn’t a big sports fan, going to a game can be a lot of fun. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and you’re guaranteed to meet some colorful characters.

2.     Visit the farmers' market. Most cities feature farmers' markets every week. They’re great places to meet local farmers and to shop for fantastic produce. Cooking together is a great way to bond with your love. The food you make from great ingredients bought together will be that much better.

3.     Go apple picking. The wonder of nature really shines in autumn orchards. There’s something romantically bucolic about strolling through an orchard with a basket, selecting fruit to bring home. And you can use what you pick to bake a pie together!

4.     Go for a hot air balloon ride. As the temperature drops, ballooning season starts! It’s a little expensive, but getting above it all in a balloon makes for a wonderful romantic experience.

5.     Go on a hike. The weather's still nice enough to get into the great outdoors. Watching the foliage change is a rare and beautiful experience. A brisk walk followed by a nice picnic lunch can be a great way to spend an autumn day!

Crowd Pleasing Paella!

If you’re looking for a tantalizing meal to serve your guests, then look no further. This flavorful Paella dish only takes 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook, yielding a lot of taste for just a little effort! The recipe serves eight.

(Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com).

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups uncooked short-grain white rice
1 pinch saffron threads
1 bay leaf
1/2 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 quart chicken stock
2 lemons, zested
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.

4. Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

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