Chocolate Fondue - Two Delicious Recipes

Are you an old pro when it comes to making delicious desserts? Do your guests rave about your cakes and pies? The next time you have company over for dessert, why not try something different. Chocolate fondue has been in and out of fashion since the seventies and most people have tried it at least once. But if you want to try something new and exciting There are many different dessert fondues out there to satisfy just about anyone with a sweet tooth.

Recently dark chocolate has been in the news being declared as a new heart healthy food. Dark chocolate retains more flavonoids that other varieties of chocolate such as milk chocolate, white chocolate, cocoa or chocolate syrup. New research has also determined that eating a diet high in flavonoids helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Obviously this doesn’t mean that you should run to the store to buy some candy bars. But it does mean that when eaten in moderation, dark chocolate can be a healthy choice as a dessert.

And whether is good for you or not, who can resist a fondue pot of hot melted chocolate just waiting for your to dip something into it. What better way to enjoy strawberries, bananas and other ripe fruits. But don’t stop there. Be sure to try dunking some salty treats into the chocolate such as pretzels and potato chips. Mixing sweet and salty foods creates a unique flavor that you are sure to enjoy.

So not only is chocolate delicious, but it is now considered a heart healthy food as well. Those are some excellent reasons to add a few chocolate fondue recipes to your recipe book. Why not try one of these chocolate fondue recipes tonight?

Dark Chocolate Fondue
12 ounces Premium Dark Chocolate (chopped)
3/4 cup Whipping Cream
2 teaspoons Kahlua or other coffee liqueur (optional)

Over low flame, heat whipping cream until warm (DO NOT BOIL)
Slowly add the chopped dark chocolate while stirring
Stir until the mixture becomes smooth
Stir in liqueur
To Dip:
Strawberries, Bananas, Sliced Apple, Cubes of Pound Cake, Cubes of Angel Food Cake, Pretzel Sticks, Chunks of Pineapple, Marshmallows, Potato Chips

Mint Chocolate Fondue
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons Peppermint Liqueur
8 ounces Semisweet Chocolate

Warm the heavy cream over medium low heat
Add liqueur
Grate the chocolate or break into small pieces and slowly add to mixture while stirring
Stir until the chocolate is melted

To Dip:
Candied Fruit, Pears, Peach Slices, Cubes of Pound Cake, Cubes of Angel Food Cake

If You Respect Them, They Will Buy — Closing the Sale

We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of being convinced by a pushy salesperson to buy something we weren’t sure we wanted. You may have really wanted the product, but after being pushed into buying it, you don’t want it anymore. You either return it or you never patronize the store again.

Since you resent the experience, don’t recreate it for others when you are trying to sell. If you didn’t appreciate being pressured and disrespected, no one else will either. When trying to close a sale, you must always respect the opinions and thoughts of the buyer. If all you care about is your payoff, then you will drive customers away. They will be afraid to buy from you, thinking that you will always try and convince them to buy things they don’t want.

Here are some helpful tips to help you close a sale with class:

1. Be kind and considerate: Don’t try to fool the customer. You will get a lot further if you’re really trying to help them, instead of just helping yourself.

2. Give them a direct request: You can let them know what you want them to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for the order or sale. The customer will know you are being honest if you tell them what you really want them to do.

3. Give them two choices: Explain that, on the one hand, if they buy the product, they will be receiving these benefits. Then explain that if they don’t buy, they will be losing out in certain ways. People like to have the pros and cons laid out for them. It helps them make a decision the smart way.

4. Give them plenty of room to think: Don’t pressure them. As I mentioned above, people resent purchases they were pressured into. Real persuasion doesn’t involve pushiness. The choice belongs to your customers, so let them make it.

We learn at a very early age how to persuade people to do what we want them to. Some of us learn it better than others, but EVERYONE can LEARN to use simple persuasion techniques to make their life better. Often, earning more, finding the perfect mate, being pushed around less, and being happier in life don’t have anything to do with you as a person. It has more to do with knowing a few simple rules of persuasion.

About The Author

Author Jian Wang is a master in the art of persuasion. His ebook, “Hypnotic Persuasion: How to Get Anything You Want,” is a truly inspirational read, filled with the wisdom to help you gain control of your own mind and convince others without resistance. These techniques can be used to improve business, sales, relationships, and your overall well-being.

For more information, visit http://www.mrchange.com Reach Jian at calljian@163.net.

Vinyl Replacement Window Terminology

With so many homeowners in the market for more energy efficient windows and doors for their home, I thought I would use this week’s article to cover the more common terms used to describe a window’s ability to insulate your home from the elements. There is an organization called The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Their purpose is to test each window manufacturer’s product to independently verify the ratings for each test administered. So, let’s discuss each test and what it means.

First, there is the U-Factor. This number represents the rate that heat escapes through the window. Therefore, the lower the U-Factor, the better the window. Most vinyl replacement windows with standard, dual pane glass, have a U-Factor around .5. When you add LowE glass in place of the standard clear glass, the U-Factor comes down below .4. By replacing the air between the panes of glass with Argon or Krypton gas, the U-Factor can be reduced to around .3. The Government’s energy star program requires a window to have a U-Factor below a certain number in order to be energy star rated. You need to find out what that rating is in your particular area of the country. You can start by going to the energy star website. In areas of the country where rebates are given for installing energy star rated products in your home, you will only receive the rebate by proving that your windows have a U-Factor less than the maximum allowed. That proof comes from the manufacturer’s NFRC label affixed to each window.

Another test is called Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC). The SHGC measures a window’s rate of heat penetration from outside. The lower the number, the better resistance there is to heat getting into the house from outside. There are also air and water infiltration tests. The air test actually tests how much air is able to pass through the window from outside to inside. Therefore, you want a low number. Typically, a .30 is the maximum allowable rate of air infiltration. Water infiltration tests the amount of water and pressure the window is able to resist. Therefore, the higher rating is better for this test. Frankly, i wish they would just rate all tests on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being best. Then, you wouldn’t get confused trying to remember which tests should have high numbers and which ones should have low numbers. You can get more information on window testing by going to the NFRC Website .

John Rocco has been installing
replacement windows since 1978.
To learn more, visit How To Install Windows

Why Use Lead Management Software?

Having a popular website, or popular company of any type, is entirely dependant on sales. Effective sales at that. Maintaining a healthy profit is key to the long-term survival of your web site or business and this means knowing the difference between your effective sales leads and your ineffective sales leads.

Small Business Owner

Lead management software is perfect for the small business owner or webmaster of a website. You may have numerous different affiliate links and many different salespeople. Sometimes it can be very difficult to manage your prospective clients. By using lead management software you can keep track of your sales force or each of your affiliates.

Salesperson

Perhaps you are a salesperson or sales executive responsible for selling goods or products for one or many companies. Lead management software can provide a similar service for you too. By essentially managing the tracking of your sales, lead management software will free up much more of your time providing you with the opportunity to do what you do best. Sell.

Lead management software is useful for absolutely anyone who needs to track, manage and maintain his or her sales leads. Internet marketers will find lead management software particularly useful. Often we find ourselves spending more time working out the efficiency of each avenue of sales than we do actually advertising and selling. Lead management software will give you all the statistics you could need.

What’s It For?

You will be able to track how much you are paying for your advertisements and how much return they give for your investment. That way you can remove or improve the campaigns that don’t give a decent return. Using good lead management software, you can know which of your campaigns are worth investing more money into or which campaigns you should be repeating, and which you should be dumping.

With lead management software you can keep, manage and update all of your vital contacts’ information in one place. You can keep track of whom you’ve assigned each of your sales leads to, you can also record where that sales lead came from and how you got it.

The Bottom Line

Organizing your leads and all the information surrounding them will not only lead to a more effective sales campaign it will also increase the time you have creating leads and selling to your new prospective clients. If you sell a useful product, whether it be consumable or not, one of the greatest ways of making money or winning contracts is through follow up business. If you own a website, this usually involves sending an email to a previous customer. Lead management software can effectively manage this process for you, sending emails at predetermined times, managing responses and updating all the required details.

Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm - www.marketingtitan.com - a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company offering automated web site systems through www.businesscreatorpro.com.

Training Beautiful Flowering Shrubs into Unique Flowering Trees

You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm

There is nothing more beautiful than a flowering shrub in full bloom, except maybe a flowering shrub in full bloom that has been trained to grow as a single stem tree. Imagine having a fragrant Viburnum Tree next to your patio or outside your bedroom window, waking up to such a wonderful aroma.

Go to this website to see how I grow Weeping Pussy Willow from cuttings, then train them into single stem trees:
http://www.freeplants.com/weeping-pussy-willow.htm

Don’t confuse what I am about to explain here with the common technique of grafting flowering shrubs on to the tall stem of some sort of rootstock. Grafting is very effective, but not so easy to do. This is much easier. Not only that, when you train the shrub to grow into a single stem tree, you can end up with some very interesting plants.

Training a flowering shrub to grow into a single stem tree is actually pretty simple. The younger the shrub you start with, the easier it is to train. I have a friend who grows thousands of Tree Hydrangeas a year, and this is how he trains them. The variety that he grows for this purpose is P.G. Hydrangea. (hydrangea paniculata grandiflora) This is the one with the huge white snowball blooms.

He starts with rooted cuttings and lines them out in the field about 30″ apart. The first year he allows them to grow untouched as multi-stem shrubs. Being a fast growing shrub, they typically produce 3 to 4 branches that grow to a height of about 3 to 4′ that first season. The following spring he goes into the field, examines each plant and selects the one stem that is the straightest, and is likely to grow straight up from the roots if tied to a stake.

He then clips all of the other branches as close to the main stem as possible. Then he pounds a stake in the ground as close to the main stem as possible, and clips the tip off the single stem that is left. This forces the plant to set lateral buds just below where he clipped the top off, rather than continue growing straight up. These lateral buds will grow into branches that will form the head of the tree. He then ties the stem to the stake.

As it begins to grow, any buds that appear below that top group of buds are picked off to keep the single stem tree form. That’s all there is to it. You can use almost anything as a stake, and just tie the stem to the stake with a piece of cloth. I also anchor plants to stakes with a single wrap of duct tape. I find that if I only wrap the tape once, the sun will dry the glue and the tape will fall off by itself in about 12 months. 1/2″ electrical tubing (conduit) also makes a good stake, and is just a couple of bucks for a 10 foot piece.

You can do the same thing with an older established shrub if you can find one branch that can be tied to a vertical stake. The stem is likely to be crooked and not too smooth because of the wounds from where the branches were removed, but that doesn’t mean that you can not create an interesting plant. Some of the shrubs that make beautiful and unique ornamental trees are many varieties of Viburnums, Burning Bush, Winged Burning Bush, Red and Yellow Twig Dogwoods, Weigelia, Mockorange, Rose of Sharon, and Flowering Almond.

I’m sure there are many more. My favorite shrub to train into a single stem tree is Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick. In shrub form this plant is extremely interesting with its twisted and contorted branches. The new growth is reminiscent of a pig’s tail. Using the same technique as described above I select a single stem, tie it to a stake, and train it to grow as a single stem tree. The effect is totally unique.

Call your local garden stores and ask them if they have a Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick plant. Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll have fun as well as create some very interesting plants for your landscape.

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by gardening-articles.com

Deal With Your Partner’s Mood Swings

A side effect of some medications given to people suffering from depression is mood swings. While this may seem ironic and cruel, it is fact. How do you deal with this, when you are the watching your significant other go from happy to upset to depressed back to happy. How do you reassure them when they are up and down, especially when the medication is supposed to be curing this very problem?

There are a few things that you can do to help. The first is to offer consistency. Regardless of their mood, offer the same support that you have been offering. Make sure that your partner knows that you understand what they are going through and that you are supporting them no matter what. It is also important that you understand that the best way to deal with mood swings is not to ignore them, but to acknowledge them. Sometimes your significant other will require more help and other times they will be more self-reliant. Going with the flow is crucial in this scenario.

If you find that there are more downward swings, or that you find the upward swings to be shorter or less effective, then it might be something to point out. If the side effects of the drug are causing worse symptoms than the original disease, the medication is clearly problematic. Sometimes it is hard for the person taking the medication to notice the situation. You need to make sure that you bring the scenario to their attention so they can make sure that the therapist and psychiatrist are aware of the problems.

Learn to alleviate your depression at http://www.curemydepression.com

10 Things to Consider When Remodeling Your Kitchen

Studies have shown that remodeling a kitchen is one of the most cost effective and valuable home improvements you can make. Unlike many other home improvements, remodeling a kitchen can pay for itself in enhanced home value as well as greater comfort for yourself and your family.

When remodeling a kitchen, however, it is important to go about it the right way, so we present here 10 things to consider when remodeling your kitchen.

1. Know what you want before you start. Look for inspiration in a number of places, including books, brochures and home improvement stores. Visit some home shows to see how the professionals go about remodeling a kitchen.

2. Write down your plan, and use it to guide you. It is important to sketch out what you want your new kitchen to look like, including the countertops, the stove, the dining island, etc. Having a sketch to work with will be quite valuable as you proceed.

3. Pay attention to budget. It is important to establish a budget ahead of time, and to keep that budget in mind as you go forward. When you establish your budget, be realistic. Most home improvement projects unfortunately end up over budget. Coming up with a realistic budget up front will help you avoid overspending as the project moves forward.

4. Don’t forget the value of a good paint job. It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do for even the oldest and most tired looking room. A fresh coat of paint is inexpensive, so why not start your kitchen remodeling by slapping on a fresh coat?

5. Pay attention to the details. Attention to detail is vital when remodeling any room, but it is particularly important when remodeling a kitchen. Be sure to pay attention to the little things, like doorknobs, cabinet hardware and handles.

6. Keep track of your progress. Using a simple bulletin board or chalkboard is a great and cost effective way to keep track of your project.

7. Pay attention to the lighting. The right lighting can make all the difference in the world. Pay attention to the importance of lighting when planning your kitchen remodeling project.

8. Keep yourself organized. Lack of organization is one of those things that can doom even the best intentioned remodeling project. It is important to set a realistic timetable for completion of the project. Mark the key dates in red on your calendar to make sure the deadlines are met.

9. Pay attention to the whole picture. While a kitchen remodeling project consists of many different elements, including choosing new appliances, new cabinets, etc., it is important not to lose sight of the big picture.

10. Consider new textures and colors for your countertops. The countertops are perhaps the most visible part of a kitchen remodeling project. Consider sprucing up your countertops with new colors and textures, like black marble or sparking white tile.

For more information on home improvement and kitchen remodeling, take a look at our comprehensive home improvement guide at http://www.get-home-improvement.com.

Brooke Sikula is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA and maintains her own website at http://www.brookesikula.com. She is also a regular contributor to http://www.homesfix.com.

Wealth Building -Part-1-A Safe Easy Way

Your safe easy way to wealth building is to consider the financial life of family and friends and to make informed choices about who you can learn from amongst them. And more importantly - What You Can Learn.

The rule you should follow is if they havn’t been on the wealth building journey you want to begin then they have little to teach you. The reason behind this is that no one can ever successfully take you on a journey which they have not themselves been on.

There will be family members - perhaps an uncle who has built up a sizeable net worth - who have learned wealth building tips and tricks they would be willing to impart to you.

Now you’re ready for the key steps in the “Safe Easy Way” .

Step 1 is to Identify your Best Wealth Building Mentor

Step 2 is to Develop a Relationship with Them

Step 3 is to Ask them for Referrals to Key Players in their wealth building experience

Step 4 is to Prove to Your new found Mentor that You Followed Their Advice and Profited

Step 5 is to Show Your Mentor You’re Prepared to Help Others Succeed

It’s important to realize this is not a quick safe easy way to wealth building. There is no promise of overnight success. In fact if you rush your mentor when moving from Step 2 to Step 3 then they’ll most likely drop you like a hot potato.

Suddenly they will not return your calls or answer you emails. So be patient. Let them lead you through the development of your mentoring relationship.

Show them respect. Respect their time. Respect their talent. Respect their corrections. Respect their views of your business plans.

Follow these steps and you will be successfully working the Wealth Building -A Safe Easy Way method.

Copyright 2006 Kenneth Little

Kenneth Little is a writer, teacher, public speaker and the publisher of a re-released classic - in a revealing ebook- that will show you how to get the best of health and wealth out of all your future years. Find more on this at:
http://www.Young-at-Sixty.com

True success will be yours no matter what your age. Amazing “How I Became Young at Sixty” brings renewed strength to your body, hope to your mind and increased prosperity to your lifestyle.
You Can Get your Free ebook “How I Became Young at Sixty” by going to:
http://www.Young-at-Sixty.com/get-your-f-r-e-e-ebook.htm

Speaking Expert Says: Great Speakers Can Make Fine Writers

Having served on the faculties of multiple universities, I can tell you that fence-building, creating perceived barriers, erecting scary totems to keep out intruders, is a time tested technique in the halls of academia.

Among the things Ph.D. advisors drill you on are the questions: “How does our field differ from others?” and “What makes us distinctive?”

So, there are usually tall fences built between departments of Journalism and Writing on the one hand, and on Spoken Communication, on the other.

Mostly, it’s taken for granted that spoken and written discourse differ, but I’m here to tell you, at root, they’re very similar. Moreover, if you’re a great speaker, there’s no reason you can’t be at least a capable writer, though the obverse doesn’t always apply.

Fine writers may stumble and bumble their way through presentations from the platform, or on TV or radio.

A fine example, in my estimation is film critic Roger Ebert. If you follow his reviews in the Chicago Sun-Times, as I do, you may be as impressed with the clarity, and occasional brilliance of his writing.

Watch him on TV, and for lack of a better term, he seems like a dork.

Forgiving his portliness, his voice is nagging, high-pitched, and straining. He seems to have one volume setting that might be characterized as “emphatic.”

And many other fine thinkers and writers are rowing in the same boat. Their prose is more than adequate, but their delivery sucks.

Here’s the good news if you’re a popular speaker. Simply speak your speeches into a software program and edit them later, and you’ll make the happy transition from the spoken to written word.

On the other hand, if you’re already an accomplished writer, I’m not so sure speech coaching will do you that much good, especially if you chose to write, at least partly, because of shyness or in acknowledgement of your performance weaknesses.

A guide to DVD Recorders

What is a Digital Versatile Disc Recorder; it is commonly a disc recorder that permits you to tape your favourite free view documentaries or videos onto recordable Digital Discs. They can be bought as either installable storage devices for laptop computer or as one off components for use in studios or residential theatre systems. When DVD System’s were originally bought you could easily pay anything up to two thousand pounds for a box standard system, this is at this time no longer the case. Enjoy crazy low prices on DVD Recorders at Digital Direct!

Digital Versatile Disc Recorders currently are incredibly accepted and have utterly taken over the video recorder, that is now nearly history. Like everything that contain a technology base behind it there are many different DVD recorders to choose from. The most admired ones to go for are DVD systems with built in Hard Drives. This is a recording machine but it does not let users to pause and rewind like you would be capable to do on live television. The principle of the Hard Drive in the Digital Versatile Disc recorder is so that you are able to record lots of digital channels to the Hard Drive of which they can at a later date be backed-up to a Digital Versatile Disc. On top of this you can save straight onto Digital Versatile Discs.

Various DVD systems with backup drives normally incorporate an Electronic Programme Guide for scheduling recordings. There are presently lots of DVD Recorders with Hard backup drives available from reputable brands such as Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba & others.

The excellent thing now is that DVD hard drive systems have for no reason been so reasonably priced, so it is possible for you to purchase a top of the range systems for a very great asking price. The consumer market is motivated by the latest machinery, new improvements & product features, of which these are altering almost every day of the week.