Enjoy Easter Without Ruining Your Diet

Yes, those were the good old days when weight loss pills, crunch exercises and diet plans were unheard of. Nowadays, however, all these things and more are on your mind simply because you want to stay slim and stay healthy.

Well, why avoid chocolates on Easter when you can enjoy them and yet stay in shape? Just remember the following tips on eating chocolates on Easter and you should be alright. And it will be good for your health, too, thanks to the antioxidants present in pure chocolate.

Ask for Small Portions

This is akin to using a smaller plate to trick your mind into thinking that you have eaten big portions and, hence, you avoid overeating. This time, you should ask for your chocolate Easter egg to be in a smaller size, preferably the children's size. You will be tricking your mind into thinking that you have eaten one full-sized egg.

Skip the Egg

If you cannot get your hands on children-sized chocolate eggs, then just skip them altogether. Look through the other chocolate selections and take your pick of the least fattening. Give the chocolates away just so you can avoid the temptation to gorge later on.

Look for Fat-Free Fillings

If you still want your chocolate egg without feeling guilty about it, calorie-wise, then go for the ones with the fat-free fillings. For example, ask for chocolates with the jelly babies filling than more chocolate or more peanut butter. Since jelly babies are virtually fat-free, you can also avoid much of the dreaded extra calories.

Go Plain

Easter egg chocolates come in 2 varieties - the pure chocolate and the milk chocolate. Eat the pure chocolate because it contains more flavonoids, which are antioxidants that are good for your health. Plus, you will enjoy the more intense flavor of pure chocolate and then be encouraged to eat less of it.

Read the Labels

As many weight loss watchers know, it is calories that ultimately count in losing weight. Chocolates have very high calories - 50 grams has 265 calories depending on the ingredients - so reading the nutrition labels is a good idea. This is only true, of course, for chocolate eggs and confections that come from known chocolate manufacturers. If you have been given homemade chocolate goodies, then you can always make a guess using the 50 grams-265 calories as a general rule.

Break It Off

This is similar to asking for child-size portions, which is not possible in all instances. In this case, you can always just break off the chocolate bar or cut the chocolate egg in half. Then, you should place the rest inside the refrigerator for two purposes; it will be out of your reach and it will melt more slowly in your mouth the next time you eat it.

Easter is a time to enjoy chocolates! After all, when taken in moderate quantities, chocolate can be part of a healthy weight loss diet.

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You Can Make a Ukrainian Easter Egg!

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In order to make Ukrainian Easter eggs, do the following:

1. Select your egg. You do not want to cook it, and you want to make sure it is clean and blemish free. Blemishes will make it far more difficult to work with. In addition, you want to make sure that it sits out of the fridge long enough to reach room temperature.

2. Clean the egg, you want to use a water and vinegar solution to make sure your egg is nice and clean before you start working with it. Your design will turn out much better this way. You can also add a teaspoon of vinegar to the dye to make it brighter and show up better.

3. Find a design you like, and using a pencil, you want to draw on the egg lightly and put your design on. You can find designs online, in books, etc., or you can make it yourself. Penciling it in will help you as you get further into the dying process. You can use helpers to make lines straight, and the design perfect.

4. Prepare your kistka, or stylus by holding it over a flame or heating element, and then scoop up beeswax into it and melt it over the candle. This is what you are going to use to create your design. It will act as a wax pencil.

5. Dye your egg progressively from the lightest color to the darkest. Draw with your kistka and wax where you do not want dyed, and then, dip in the dye. The places where the wax is will not dye. Just remember to go lightest to darkest, or it won't work. It is helpful to prepare your dye in advance and set it out that way.

6. Add more wax, and progress to the next darkest color. Keep this up until you have dyed the egg every color you want, and have your design completely waxed over. Leave the egg in each color of dye for about 15 minutes. When you remove it from the dye, do so carefully so as not to smudge the wax. Pat off the dye to dry the egg after each time. By the time you are done, your egg should be fairly well covered in wax, and almost black in color.

7. Heat the wax that is all over your egg by using a hairdryer, or candle. Once it is hot enough, you can wipe it off with a tissue. This will reveal your beautiful design, and can be very surprising!

8. Let the egg dry, it is a lot better if this is done on a stand so that there is no smudging.

9. Go ahead and empty the egg by blowing it out, or using a syringe to suck it out. Just be careful that you do not ruin your egg after doing all of that hard work.

10. Enjoy your beautiful egg and design!

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Team Building Through Simple Games

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The success of any organization lies in the team effort that all the co- workers put in together. A particular goal can never be reached if the people working do not act and think as a unified whole. There can be hundreds of efficient men and women around, but if they are lacking in team spirit, then no goal can ever be achieved. Team effort, hence is the keyword to a successful venture. And that needs to be inculcated. It is done in schools, when the children and young and they have to be taught the importance of team work.

Mine Field: This one of the simplest and the most popular of team building games and can be played by children and adult alike, with the difficulty level rising up according to the age groups. Random objects are strewn around the floor and in other areas of the room. A particular team can have as less as two members, with one member trying to make his or her way across the room blindfolded, with the other member guiding from the sidelines with instructions. If the area is large enough then, two or three teams can compete simultaneously, or one team at a time with a referee keeping the time.

Quizzes, Riddles and Jigsaw Puzzles: They are oldest forms of team games. A huge jigsaw puzzle can be allotted to each team, and the team which completes the fastest gets the prize. Or quizzes on current topics and general knowledge can also be organized, which also provides an excellent opportunity for sharpening your intelligence. An interesting twist can be added in the form of riddles. Riddles are hard to solve and it would require a considerable amount of team effort, with each coming up with their own interpretations and coming up with clues.

Task Completion: For this kind of game, a certain amount of space us required. Objects can be hidden at random locations, like in the manner of an Easter egg hunt, only that each team will be provided with a list, and they only have to pick those items mentioned in the list. So the items can be located in tricky places, and the difficulty level can vary according to the age group or the number of members in a team.

Sometimes even corporate houses, when they are organizing parties and events, put games which require team effort, which provides entertainment, and at the same time, though unconsciously, tells the employees to work in a team.

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When is Easter?

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When is Easter and why does the date always change?

Do you need to know the date of Easter? For the next decade, Easter Sunday will be on the following days: -

04 April 2010
24 April 2011
08 April 2012
31 Mar 2013
20 April 2014
05 April 2015
27 Mar 2016
16 April 2017
01 April 2018
21 April 2019
12 April 2020

Unlike other holidays, Easter falls on a different date each year. It is determined by a traditiion to be the "first Sunday following the Full Moon after the Spring Equinox".

But why is this? The answer is that the date of Easter, as adopted by nearly all of the Western Churches, both Catholic and Protestant has its roots way back in the mists of time - and was borrowed from a pagan festival that had been celebrated for many centuries before the birth of Christ.

The date of Easter is actually determined by observations of the natural cycles of sun and moon. The ancient astronomers, recognizing the regular movements of these heavenly bodies and their effect on the seasons, incorporated these influences into a formula for fixing the date of the pagan Spring Fertility Festival. This important celebration was a feast day that was found more or less universally throughout the ancient world. The date of this event was of the utmost importance to agricultural societies, for it determined the onset of the spring planting season.

There are actually two equinox days in the solar year. Both the spring and autumn equinoxes have equal lengths of days and nights ( Equinox means equal night in Latin). The two equinoxes fall exactly half way between the shortest day of the year at mid-winter (the winter solstice) and the longest day at mid-summer (the summer solstice).

The spring equinox falls on March 20/21 every year, according to the standard (Gregorian) calendar, which itself is based on the yearly solar cycle. The Romans, together with other ancient races, defined the beginning of their year to be the date of the spring (vernal) equinox. However they used a lunar calendar of 28 days, based on the phases of the moon, for their dating. The first day would have been set to coincide with the first full moon, which was, therefore, a fixed date in their calendar. As the average length of a month in the present (sun based) calendar is longer than the lunar calendar month of 28 days, the two calendars are never in synch. Hence the varying date of Easter in our present calendar, which can move up to a maximum of 28 days after the date of the spring equinox on the 20/21st March.

So we see that elements of both the Sun and the Moon (Sol and Luna in Latin) are woven tightly together into the ancient tradition. This was emphasised by mythology where the Sun and Moon were often represented in the pantheon of Gods. The Equinox, itself, was determined by the supposed passage of the Sun God and the role of the balancing influence of the Moon was acknowledged by honoring her in her fullest aspect. The moon's cycle of 28 days was thought to govern the female menstrual cycle and thus had a strong link to fertility. Sunday was the obvious choice for the day of the festival because Sunday was always the day of the Sun in ancient times. Spring, being the time of rebirth and regeneration after the dead period of winter, was a happy and hopeful time, so a fertility celebration to honor their Gods in the hope of good harvests and bountiful livestock fertility in the coming months was most apt to peoples living in harmony with the earth in their primitive farming communities.

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Printable Easter Bingo Cards

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Easter is the Christian religious festival which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It should be noted that in the Christian context, the word "Easter" refers to the season of the Church year beginning on Easter day and lasting either 40 days until Ascension day (the traditional Easter season) or 50 days (modern Easter season).

The date of Easter day itself is calculated used a complex method involving cycles of the moon, and thus falls on different dates each year. This is because Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover festival, and the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles. The actual date of Easter falls in March or April in Western Christian traditions, and in April or May according to Eastern Christian traditions.

Although still a religious holiday, today Easter is celebrated not only by Christians, but also as a secular holiday. Secular marking of the events may include the sending of greeting cards, the giving and consumption of sweets and candies (including chocolate eggs), and children painting eggs in bright colors. Furthermore, many countries have their own unique tradition associated with the holiday. For example, in the United States of America, eggs are delivered by the Easter bunny (a rabbit) who hides children when they are asleep, whereas in the United Kingdom, eggs are often exchanged as gifts between family members, and spicy buns marked with a cross ("hot cross buns") are eaten.

Easter is usually marked in schools, as well as by families and Christian groups. Apart from religious traditional activities, you can use the occasion as an opportunity to play educational games. These games can provide an opportunity for youngsters to discover the traditions of Easter, as well as providing a lot of fun for people of all age groups.

The ideal games are those which not only educational and fun, but easy to learn and play. One game that fits this model and is affordable too, is bingo. Nearly everyone already knows how to play the game, those few who don't can quickly learn, and it doesn't cost an arm and leg - as you can simply print, the bingo cards from your computer. Of course, if you're going to play bingo at Easter, you want the game to be themed for the occasion - by this I mean you want bingo cards printed with words or phrases relating to Easter rather than numbers - this is no problem however as the computer can print any type of custom bingo cards with equal ease.

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Host The Perfect Easter Brunch

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This sacred and joyous holiday for Christians throughout the world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. For many Christians, especially those of Eastern and Orthodox faith, Easter is the most important holiday of the year, even over Christmas.

So before I give you the best tips and recipes for your perfect Easter brunch I wanted to share the history of the Easter bunny and where the idea of decorating Easter eggs came from.

It has been said that the colored eggs we decorate and hide in our Easter egg hunts came from Germany. Since the rabbits (a.k.a Easter bunny) and eggs were symbols of immortality, fertility and new life, the Germans used to leave the colored eggs in children's baskets. This custom was brought to America in the late 19th century by German immigrants.

Here are some great Easter decorating tips to get you started:

1. When you looking for Easter decorations keep in mind light pastel colors. These peaceful colors will set the mood for your party.

2. Decorate your home with pastel balloons, streamers and plastic eggs.

3. Don't forget to put out some Easter candy either in baskets or pastel color bowls for your company to snack on.

4. Make sure you tableware match in pastels.

5. Try to find some daffodils or tulips and use these as table decorations. Either tie a pastel-colored ribbon around each flower and place them on each guests plate or pot them and place down the center of each table.

6. For place cards, hard boil a bunch of eggs and decorate each one differently. Once the eggs are dry, use a permanent maker and carefully write each of your guests on a separate egg. That way you can place each egg inside a small basket and set on each plate to let your guests know where they are sitting.

Your Perfect Easter Brunch:

Traditional Easter meals can either have ham or lamb as a main dish. These days, many families favor the salty sweetness of ham. Most ham dishes served on this holiday are honey glazed with sides of candied yams, glazed veggies and potatoes.

Below I have found some great recipes that are easy to follow and absolutely perfect for your Easter brunch. And don't worry, if you are one of those families who prefer lamb over ham I have found some delicious recipes for you as well.

Let's start off with the main course:
Easter Ham

Ingredients

1-7 to 8 lb. fully cooked smoked ham shank
1 C. maple syrup
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. prepared mustard
whole cloves

Directions

Combine syrup, vinegar and mustard. Place ham, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Pour about 1/2 C. mixture over ham and bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with additional sauce. Remove ham from oven and score fat into diamond shapes. Insert a clove into each diamond. Bake ham an additional 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of meat registers 140 degrees. Let ham rest 15 minutes before carving.

Check out Recipe4Living.com for more ideas on Ham recipes for your Easter brunch. Just click on Holiday's on the left column and click on Easter.

Now for a Lamb Recipe:
Honey Glazed Lamb

Ingredients

1 C. Honey

1/2 C. Dry white wine

4 Tbs. Minced fresh mint

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 lbs. Boneless leg of lamb, (2 whole legs)

Directions

Combine honey, wine and mint; mix well. Season cut side of boned lamb with salt and pepper, then spread with honey mixture; roll and tie lamb. Brush outer surface with honey mixture. Roast on rack in shallow baking pan at 325 degrees F 1 to 1-1/2 hours or to 160 degrees F on meat thermometer for medium doneness. Baste every 15 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Check out http://www.Recipe4Living.com for more ideas on Lamb recipes for your Easter brunch. Just click on Holiday's on the left column and click on Easter.

Side dishes are a must and just as important as the main course.

Side Potatoes Dishes
Oven Roast Greek Potatoes

Ingredients

4-5 Medium Potatoes; Cubed

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Butter; Melted

1-2 Tbs. All Purpose Greek Seasoning

Dash Garlic Seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss potatoes with remaining ingredients. Bake in 9x13" casserole dish for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden.
Yield: 4 servings

Sides Asparagus Dishes
Oven Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. red potatoes cut into chunks

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 tsp. dried rosemary

4 tsp. dried thyme

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 bunch fresh asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large baking dish, toss the red potatoes with 1/2 the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and 1/2 the kosher salt. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Mix in the asparagus, remaining olive oil, and remaining salt. Cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Remove foil, and continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes, until potatoes are lightly browned. Season with pepper to serve.

Yield: 6 Servings.

Side Glazed Carrot Dishes
Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

6 C. carrots cut into 1" diagonal slices

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 C. orange juice

1/4 C. butter

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

Cook carrots on stovetop in a small amount of salted water until tender, drain water. Combine orange juice, nutmeg, brown sugar, cornstarch, and mix until smooth. Pour over carrots and cook for several minutes until mixture thickens. Add butter and toss. Serve hot.

Bread/Rolls
Greek Easter Bread

Ingredients

1 pkg. Dry yeast

1/2 C. Warm water

1/2 C. Boiling water

1 tsp. Cinnamon

3/4 C. Sugar

3 Eggs

1/4 C. Butter; melted

1/2 C. Warm milk

1 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

5 C. Flour (all-purpose)

1 Egg yolk; beaten

Sesame seeds

5 Eggs; hard-cooked; unshelled -and dyed red

Directions

Soften yeast in warm water and set aside. Combine boiling water and cinnamon; set aside. Combine sugar and eggs; beat well. Add melted butter to egg mixture and beat again. Skim off 1/4 C. clear cinnamon water and add along with yeast and milk to egg mixture, blending well. Combine dry ingredients and add to batter; knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough to fit into 2 greased 8 in. round pans; crisscross 2 strips of dough over each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Brush loaves with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until brown. Push dyed eggs into bread immediately when loaves are removed from oven.

Now for the best part of the whole meal....Dessert. Have fun and create an eye popping dessert that your whole family will enjoy. Here are some different options to choose from.

Easter Angel Cake
Ingredients

1 pkg. white angel food cake mix

8 oz. frozen whipped cream topping, thawed

1 C. flaked coconut

6 drops green food color

Jelly beans

Directions

Bake and cool cake as directed on package, remove from pan. Frost with whipped topping. Combine coconut and food color until evenly tinted. Sprinkle over top of cake. Arrange jelly beans on coconut. After serving, refrigerate any remaining cake.

For more Easter side dish recipes and desserts visit http://www.Recipe4Living.com.

Have a wonderful Easter Holiday and keep your eyes open for the Easter bunny. You never know what he might leave you this year.

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Decorated Easter Cookies

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For those of you looking forward to Easter time, the one thing that makes Easter incredibly special are decorated Easter cookies. Just like Christmas cookies have become a staple of Christmas time, so have Easter cookies become a part of Easter tradition. There are many great ways to adorn the Easter season and decorated Easter cookies are just one of them. Here are some tips on putting smiles on the faces of your children or friends this Easter season.

Decorated Easter Cookies Come in Many Shapes and Sizes

Decorated Easter cookies can come in many shapes and sizes and if you can conceptualize it you can truly prepare it. For most people Easter is associated with bunnies, rabbits, chicks, lambs and Easter eggs. For the most part you can usually find most of these shapes and more in the form of cookie cutters.

Cookie cutters are usually easy to purchase at all discount shops, supermarkets, and craft shops. Or you can generally make them yourself- you just need some pliable metal and an idea. If you don't have a cookie cutter, no big deal. In fact a lot of people that are artistically gifted choose to cut their own shapes out of cookie dough by hand, without using any cookie cutter.

Decorated Easter Cookies Start Out with Delectable Cookie Dough

The most essential thing about the embellished Easter cookies that you create is that must taste just as great as they look. No one likes a nasty tasting cookie. For many chefs, a great cookie begins with delicious cookie dough. Yes, you can purchase the dough already pre-made and ready to cut, but for the purists out there, start with a family recipe that is either chocolate chip or of the sugar cookie variety.

Decorate Your Cookie Using the Tools of the Trade

It's easy to adorn your Easter cookies, just make sure you have all the accessories of the trade. They usually include, food coloring, colored icing, sprinkles, delicious candies such as licorice, M& M's, nuts, marshmallows, etc. Once you have gotten the cookie shape, let yourself or your kids use their creative magic to make cutely decorated Easter cookies. You can find food coloring and many cool decorating accessories at your local grocery store. You can even purchase pre-made Easter embellishments to add to your cookies, cakes or Easter eggs.

Presentation is Key

Once your newly designed Easter cookies are finished, make sure to show them off to the rest of the family and even give them away to your coworkers and friends. Savor the Easter spirit by showcasing your delicious and beautiful decorated Easter cookies.

One creative idea is to take some photographs of your adorned Easter cookies and include them in your annual Easter scrapbook, so you can always look back at the delicious and beautifully adorned Easter cookies that you have made.

You can also print the cookie recipe on an attractive recipe card and include a photo of your Easter cookies to give to family and friends. Most everyone appreciates handmade gifts, especially when it's a beloved family recipe.

If you are looking to magnify your gratification of Easter this year, take part in creating wonderfully decorated Easter cookies.

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Easter Gifts - Gift Items That Will Make the Celebration of Birth More Rewarding

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I always conjure the picture of an egg when I hear the word Easter. When I was younger, I even though that the celebration of Easter was somehow relevant to an egg. Something about the chickens, maybe? Back then, I was not really sure what Easter was all about. As I grew older, however, I realized how very significant the Easter Sunday is in the lives of Christians. It is the day that symbolizes the rebirth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the very reason why we have a lot to celebrate for during that day.

I remember seeing Easter celebrations revolving around games and every kind of festivity one can think of. I have also come to realize that the eggs that I so commonly saw during these celebrations were to symbolize birth or life. And indeed, birth and the ensuing life of our savior and of ours is truly something to be amazed at and be happy about. Easter eggs were also popular for being decorated and then given as gifts. I guess this has something to do about bringing artistry to life and giving someone a symbolic attribute to life.

Easter is a lot of things, and just like many celebrations, it also involves gifts. Easter gifts are as varied and as parallel as with any other gift-giving celebrations, but in some ways, they are also unique. For instance, who would give someone a decorated egg in Christmas or in ones birthday? The uniqueness that comes with some of the popular Easter gifts comes with their relevance to the celebration. One thing I have also noticed about the gifts given away during these celebrations is that they are not always and necessarily things bought from the store. There are a lot of gift items given during Easter that are homemade or personalized.

With Easter comes the festivity expected of a celebration life and birth. And although Easter gifts need not be expensive or even bought, they require thought in order to make them even more special and more symbolic of life and sharing. Below are some gift ideas that you can give for Easter.

Religiously-themed.
Easter is mostly a Christian celebration. Thus, religiously-themed gift items around Christianity are often popular. These can include the bible, or even simple bookmarks with religious passages will do.

Novelty items.
The decorated egg is one of the most popular gifts given during Easter, and it is a novelty item. It can be a way of expressing your artistry to the one you are giving it to, or it may be a way symbolically sharing life, as what the egg typically represents in Easter celebrations. There are a lot of different designs that you can beautify your egg with. You need not be an official or professional artist; all you need is the thought.

Home-made.
What makes the Easter gift giving truly special is how the gifts come with a lot of thought, especially when they are home made. The person receiving the gift will really be able to say that the effort alone makes it wonderful. You can probably bake cookies or brownies for your home-made gift.

Easter represents the celebration of life, let your Easter gifts show that.

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Czech Themed Gifts - Our Top Three Recommendations

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Do you know someone of Czech heritage who would appreciate a Czech themed gift? Or would you like something for your home that depicts a connection with Czech heritage? Here are our top three recommendations that are sure to please...

The Czech Republic is rich in tradition, with many of these traditions thriving in Czech communities in America and other countries. While certain unique products symbolizing Czech culture are only available within the country, many others are available from online specialty retailers and make perfect gifts.

Here are our top three suggestions for a Czech themed gift for you or someone you love:

Bohemian Crystal

Bohemian crystal is synonymous with the Czech Republic. Since the 15th century, skilled Bohemian craftsmen have been producing a wide variety of unique crystal items that are treasured worldwide.

It is often said that glass from Bohemia is among the best in the world, not only for craftsmanship and decorative effects, but durability as well. Our family has a beautiful set of Bohemian crystal glass handed down through four generations and we believe the set was produced in the 1880's.

Crystal jewelry, vases, and glassware sets are the most common. There are also chandeliers and numerous home decor items. The crystal itself is beautifully beveled and comes not only in clear color but many other palates as well.

Czech Easter Eggs

Of all the traditional holidays, Easter and Christmas are by far the most revered and celebrated in the Czech culture. At Easter, Czech Easter eggs are prominent and are known as distinctly hand painted treasured gifts.

As the tradition goes, young Czech girls hand paint the eggs and present them to Czech boys on the Monday after Easter. And while these are real eggs we're talking about, you can buy decorative eggs made of glass, porcelain, and other substances.

Usually painted with spring time colors of the Easter season, Czech Easter eggs are also painted in the form of caricatures or scenes from villages or rural scenery. They are unique, highly desirable gifts which really appeal to those of Czech heritage.

Czech Apparel

Another great gift is a Czech t-shirt or other type of apparel. One of our favorites is a t-shirt adorned with the flag of the Czech Republic or its coat of arms.

Another popular apparel item is sports jerseys. Czechs are passionate about both hockey and soccer, so a national team jersey is an ideal gift or simply to show off one's nationalistic pride.

Summary

If you're Czech or know someone who is, there are a number of unique, special gifts that will be sure to please. The country is rich in tradition and history, and what better way to celebrate the culture than with a gift or item for your home.

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Easter Crafts - Having Fun During Easter

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Spring is coming, time to think about eggs, bunnies, flowers, and chicken salad. It's all about Easter, of course. One of the favorite traditions in my family is the Easter crafts. After all, what kids do not like painting, decorating, hiding, and then eating Easter eggs? My youngest daughter - the one who dislikes eating eggs - still likes Easter eggs. Of course, it does not hurt matters that we hide a few chocolate eggs with all of the decorated ones.

Easter crafts - the different ways

The most favorite Easter craft is, of course, decorating Easter eggs. There must be a number of different ways to do this, and year after year we try to do something a little different. For the little kids, the easiest way to do is using food coloring and water in decorating the eggs. Even though this does not result in the most sophisticated Easter crafts, it does make the eggs look nice and even a bit pretty. Even better, it is something that your kids can do without making a huge mess. Who does not approve of that?

One of my best-loved Easter crafts is making Easter baskets. At home, every year we create baskets for the old folks in the retirement home down the road. They are always so excited to get our gifts. We use colorful ribbons, Easter lilies, decorated Easter eggs, and chocolates of all kind. We add some little cards, and wrap the whole thing in colored cellophane. It can bring a lot of joy to some otherwise lonely souls, and that is a wonderful thing to be able to do.

Easter Crafts - don't be traditional

When it comes to Easter crafts, you do not have to just simply go with the traditional ones. Creating Easter cards is as fun as decorating eggs. In our family, we collect a great deal of stencils, rubber stamps, and other things like that. When Easter comes around, we gather all of them together and dump them in the middle of the table. Then we just go at our stationary, decorating it in whatever way we want. The outcomes of our Easter crafts are not always that perfect, but we enjoyed making them. At the end of the day, we exchange cards and have a nice dinner. Can you think of a much better way to spend a family afternoon than that? Doing things together somehow really brings people together in a way that nothing else does.

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Glazes For Ham Loaf

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Food is a tradition associated with holidays. For Thanksgiving you roast a turkey. For Easter you bake a ham. Glazed ham has become linked with Easter Dinner. But you do not have to save ham for Easter or any other holiday. The glaze on ham can glisten in the lights of your dining room making is a beautiful presentation for a holiday dinner.

You can enjoy a good glazed ham anytime throughout the year. Glazed hams have the advantage of being able to feed many people. Even when you have a large crowd you will usually have some glazed ham left over to make sandwiches out of for the next couple of days.

There are many different types and ways to glaze a ham. There are also a few different types of ham that you can choose from. Boneless hams are easier to work with. They are generally ready to eat even cold. If you want warm ham all you need do is bake for twelve minutes per pound. There are hams with the bone in and they are great but you have to carve around the bone, which is not as neat as the boneless variety.

The glaze for ham is a liquid that is thick and you spread it over the ham while it cooks. Sometimes you use the glaze throughout the cooking process and other times you just add it in the final stages of cooking. A good glaze will enhance the flavor of the ham as well as keeping it tender and moist.

Ham glazes can be made from many combinations of spices, foods and flavors. It is really a matter of personal choice and no choice is either wrong or right. The most important consideration of a glaze is that it is thick in order for it to not run off during cooking. Some popular ham glazes include orange glaze, apricot glaze, brown sugar honey glaze, pineapple glaze, cranberry glaze but you can use any combination to create a unique glaze you love.

When you purchase a ham many times it comes with a glaze packet. Most people do not find this glaze to be all that great and choose an alternative. Some people even prefer to make a glaze that is not sweet. But sweet glazes are more popular over savory glazes. Still a sweet glaze can have a bit of a bite if you add mustard.

Another option is to not glaze the ham at all. A ham is perfectly eatable without a glaze. Just be sure when you cook the ham to retain the moisture by baking in a roasting bag or in foil. But the flavor of ham is truly enhanced with a good ham glaze.

Another alternative is to use a rub and glazify it with a blowtorch.

Ham is one of the more popular main dishes for the Holidays. Glaze yours with orange, apricot, brown sugar and honey, pineapple or cranberry glazes. A good combination of flavors for this method includes orange juice, cornstarch and mustard powder. If you do not have a blow torch you can substitutes Dijon mustard for the mustard powder and omit the cornstarch to make a thick paste. One of these mixtures along with cloves makes for a spicy-sweet glaze that really compliments the ham flavor.

You can find many ham glaze recipes but you may want to experiment with a combination to create a unique tradition for your baked ham. The most important thing to remember about cooking ham is to not let it dry out. If you notice the ham is browning you can place a tent of foil loosely over the ham till it finishes cooking.

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Easter Traditions & Activities - 10 Fun & Meaningful Ideas For Families

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What is Easter, and what are we celebrating on this holiday? As the first syllable of the very word 'holiday' suggests - it is a Holy day. Is there anything necessarily wrong with painting eggs, Easter egg hunts, bunnies, or chocolate? Absolutely not! In fact, such activities often accomplish the very goal of Who it is we celebrate and recognize on this Holy day - the goal of being with and strengthening family relationships. However, much like the majority of holidays, it is certainly easy to get caught up in the commercialization and symbolism of the celebration and forget why, what, and Who the symbols were originally intended to represent. Should Easter be fun? Of course! Should we color eggs, hide candy, and eat a lot of chocolate? Absolutely! But should we not also ensure that it is a Holy day where we think of, learn about, and seek to follow the very Symbol of this Holy day - the Savior Himself. He is the purpose of the holiday, hence the reason it must also be a Holy day.

Below are listed 10 fun and meaningful activity ideas for families and individuals everywhere that will help make Easter fun, memorable, and Holy.

1) Make it Holy-day: Spend at least a few minutes reflecting upon, learning more about, and expressing gratitude for the very reason and Person we celebrate on this Holy-day.

2) Give Easter to a Family in Need: Find a family who may be struggling or who has very little, and make it a memorable and special day for them. Make an Easter Basket for them - buy or make them a gift, a meal, get some chocolate and candies for the kids, etc.

3) Easter Egg Hunt: What would Easter be without one, right?

4) Dying Eggs: Hard broil some eggs, get some food coloring, and color Easter eggs together as a family. (Draw on the eggs with a white crayon before dying them to create designs).

5) Symbolism of Easter: Spend a few minutes each year learning about the symbolic nature of the colors, dying eggs, traditions, rolling eggs, Easter bunny, etc. What do these things really symbolize and represent.

6) Visit Graves: Go to the graves of family or friends and talk about death, as well as the Resurrection.

7) Decorations: Like any holiday, decorate the house (inside and out) with Easter decorations.

8) Worship Service and Scriptural Readings: Attend a religious service, participate in the Passover traditions and activities, read scriptural passages from the Bible, etc.

9) Meaningful Easter Egg Hunt: In addition to hiding candies in the Eggs, hide scriptural passages inside some eggs. Then, as the kids eat candies, read some of the scriptural passages and remember the significance of the day and holiday.

10) Family Day: Just spend time as a family together. Share a meal, play games together, and enjoy just being as a family.

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Choosing the Right Online Casino

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There are many people who prefer online casinos to land based casinos as they are convenient and easy to play. However, with so many online casinos available choosing the right casino is difficult. Choosing a safe and reputed casino is important as a wrong choice can result in financial loss. Some casinos may look professional and may offer excellent bonuses, but may not return the money that you have invested with them.

Here are a few important factors that you must consider when choosing an online casino:

a) There are many websites that are unlicensed and illegal. It is important that you check whether the casino is licensed before you deposit your money with them. Casinos that operate without a license scam operators and must be avoided at all cost.

b) Check the country that has issued them license. Some websites display fake licenses from countries that have prohibited gambling. So verify their license and by checking if the country that has issued them license has not banned gambling.

c) The site that you deal with must offer you excellent support. Most reputed sites offer 24/7 support either via live fax or phone. This helps you in clearing all the doubts that you may have about the game. You can also clarify problems that you may have with the money that you have deposited with them.

d) The online casino that you deal with must be recognised by various gambling authorities. It is also a good idea to check if their payout percentage is inspected by a reputed firm.

e) Make sure you check if the website that you are dealing with has been blacklisted. You can check the reviews of people that have dealt with the website. This will give you an idea of the past performance of the website.

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Free Ideas For Activities With Your Kids

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It seems like kids constantly need to be entertained. We live in culture that moves quickly, offers tons of diversion, and requires us to keep us on the go. So when you are sitting at home with the kids, it can sometimes be difficult to decide what to do with them to keep them entertained.

The old stand-by is the television. Unfortunately, while it can make a great "babysitter" for a short time, in a pinch, we usually do not want our kids to grow up zoned out in front of the TV.

The best thing we can do with our kids, is PLAY with them ourselves.

Obviously the age of your child(ren) drives what you can do. But it is easy to get stuck in a rut. Playing with them takes work, usually, and it is much easier to plop them down in front of the "idiot box" (as my late grandfather used to call it). However, if you have a list of ideas that you keep handy, it will help you remember that there are other options.

For example, my kids love to play hide-and-seek. It costs nothing, takes no effort to setup, and can be played for as long or as short as we want. Frequently we will just start counting really loudly, and they know to go hide. Tag also works well if you have enough, although it tends to be a little rowdy for indoor play.

Here are a few ideas, for both indoor and outdoor play that is free and easy!

Indoor:

- play a board game (age appropriate) or card game
- hide-and seek
- color with them. You can find tons of free coloring pages online that you can print out
- play charades, adjusting the rules to fit their ages.
- "Easter egg hunt", with anything besides Easter eggs. Take a deck of cards and hide them around the house, or a handful of their favorite toys or dolls. Use the "getting warmer, getting colder" method of helping them
- Tell a story, making it up as you go. Start an adventurous story, and then ask them for a word to fill in, and customize the story from there. Like, "Once upon a time, there lived a princess, who had a very special..." (ask one child what the princess might have had) They might say something like "DRESS!" "Ok....she had a special dress, and whenever she wore it, she was able to..." (ask the next child) "Shoot lasers from her eyes!" (that would be my son). You get the idea. Continue the story, and keep asking for input from the kids.
- Build a fort from sofa cushions and blankets and have rubber-band wars

Outdoor:

- tag
- hide-and-seek
- Frisbee
- Outdoor "Easter egg hunt" (again, using whatever you want)
- Chalk-draw on the sidewalk or driveway
- Throw a ball

There are so many things that we, as parents, can do that are fun for us and the kids, but, more importantly, are interactive with the kids. (Any parenting guru will tell you that interacting with the children via a game is so much better than having them watch TV.) Sometimes we just need to have someone else give us ideas to help.

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Easter Gifts - Goodbye Bunny, Hello Bilby

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The Easter Bunny carrying his gift basket of colored eggs, chocolate and jelly beans is a familiar symbol of the Easter holiday for many. But there is a movement down under to replace the Easter bunny with the native Australian bilby.

The rabbit was not originally native to Australia. It was introduced in 1788, but did not spread rapidly until two dozen rabbits were released in 1859 for sport hunting. The combination of no natural predators in Australia and their infamous ability to breed quickly resulted in the original 24 turning into a population of millions within 10 years. The rabbits ate much of the vegetation, causing food shortages for the indigenous species. The vegetation removal also caused significant problems with soil erosion. Despite many attempts to curtail the rabbit population, the problem continues today. Currently, the rabbit causes an estimated $AU600 million in damages per year. This widespread damage to the Australian environment has resulted in the rabbit being viewed unfavorably by the majority of the population. In most parts of Australia, it is even illegal to own a rabbit as a pet.

Because of the rabbit's history in Australia, some Aussies decided they wanted a new symbol for their Easter celebrations. They chose the bilby, a native Australian animal and a member of the bandicoot family. Thus, the concept of the "Easter Bilby" was born. The bilby is similar in size to a rabbit, with long ears, long, snoot-like nose, soft grey fur, and a distinctive black and white tail. The idea for the Easter Bilby has been around since the 1970s. However, the idea has picked up momentum in recent years, as the bilby has become an endangered species (currently, only an estimated 600 bilbys exist in the wild). Just like the Easter Bunny, the bilby carries his basket full of chocolate eggs and delivers goodies to children everywhere in Australia each year. There are Easter Bilby songs, children's stories, cards, stuffed animals, chocolate-shaped bilby treats, organizations, and websites, all dedicated to this new tradition. So if you happen to find yourself down under during the Easter holiday, don't mention the bunny!

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Healthy Low Calorie Gift Ideas For Easter 2009

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Easter starts with Good Friday, which is on April 10th, this year and a serving of Hot Crossed Buns covered in rich creamy butter. This is followed by chocolate Easter Eggs on Easter Sunday. These are wonderful traditions but for various reasons you may want to consider healthier lower calorie alternative gifts this year. 

May be you are just watching your weight, may be you are trying to reduce your cholesterol intake, maybe you don't like chocolate or hot crossed buns, whatever the reason Easter doesn't need to be packed with calories and cholesterol.

When you consider how expensive good Easter Eggs can be you can find some very nice gifts, which will last much longer for the same price.

Easter, somewhat like Christmas, is a good time for families to get together and enjoy a relaxing day. If you cannot all be together at Easter, Easter cards are a good way of letting someone know you are thinking of them. However, a good hand crafted Easter card can also be quite expensive and only lasts a few days at best. 

The traditional standby alternative to Easter Eggs is a good bouquet of flowers but these days' flowers can be expensive, short lived and many people don't like the smell of the pollen in their homes. Many people also question the impact cut flowers have on the environment as they are often raised in heated greenhouses in colder parts of the World or companies fly them in from tropical parts of the world in refrigerated containers to keep them fresh. If you know someone really likes flowers then it's not a bad gift but for the same price there are better alternatives gifts.

Keepsake tokens make lovely gifts and they will last for years to come. They come in many shapes and sizes from silver hearts engraved with names, and messages to miniature glass keepsakes in pretty colours and designs such as those from Spaceform of London. 

If you are buying a gift for the lady in your life, a sumptuous velvet jewellery roll is an inexpensive gift that she will treasure for many years. To make Easter really memorable, a stunning piece of jewellery is a sure way to make her day. 

For the man in your life a polished pair of cufflinks will mean he looks stylish throughout the year and brighten up his look as we move into spring. 

If you need to send a gift to someone else this Easter why not look online for gift companies that can make the gift extra special for you. Good companies offer same day dispatch, next day delivery, luxury gift boxes and complementary gift cards to which you can add your own message. Shopping for Easter gifts online can save you time, save you money and save the impact a trip to the shops would have on the environment. Shopping online also opens up a much wider range of alternative gift ideas for Easter.

If you don't want to completely leave the calories behind this Easter, a designer mug or cup and saucer filled with a small selection of homemade fudge is a creative and non-chocolate treat, which will show you have really made an effort.

Last but definitely, no means least, don't forget the people with Birthdays at Easter this year. If it is someone's birthday on Good Friday (13th April 2009), do not buy them chocolate, be a little more creative rather than taking the easy option. Make the effort and select a beautiful gift as you would if their birthday any other time of year. Designer Jewellery Rolls from Dulwich Designs make excellent gifts for women of all ages and are great with the holiday season fast approaching. For men luxurious Shaving sets from Edwin Jagger of Sheffield are a great addition to his shaving routine and will look wonderful in your bathroom.

However you decide to celebrate Easter this year and whatever gifts you decide to give your friends, have a wonderful relaxing break. 

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How to Make a Delicious Banana Split Cake Without Eggs

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Many people don't like the idea of eating raw eggs even when they are concealed in a recipe. If you are one of those people, as I am, here is a great recipe for a delightful Spring (or anytime) Dessert. This Banana Split Cake is made without using eggs. It is a beautiful dessert anytime of the year. However, it is an especially great dessert for Springtime and for your Easter table or buffet. For an Easter dessert, you could color some coconut green by using a dab of green food coloring. Sprinkle over the top of the cake or gather in the center and top with some jelly beans or miniature malted milk ball eggs to really impress the children in your family.

NO EGG BANANA SPLIT CAKE

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter (not melted)
3 bananas
1 pint strawberries
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained & reserved
1 carton (9-oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
marashino cherries for garnish

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter until well mixed. Spread the mixture onto the bottom of a 9 x 2 x 13-inch pan or casserole dish. Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the crust. Combine the powdered sugar and the (not melted) butter together and beat until fluffy. Pour this sugar mixture over the chocolate syrup. Slice the bananas into the reserved pineapple juice, drain and add along with the strawberries over the sugar mixture. Top evenly with the pineapple. Spread the whipped topping over all. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the whipped topping and add cherries, as desired, for garnish.

Enjoy!

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Easter Brunch - The Celebration That is "Egg Cellent"

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Easter is the welcome banner of Spring. Whether you decide to have a delightful breakfast served after church services or a formal sit-down dinner with your best silverware, china, and linens, there is another option to consider. Brunch showcases an informality of morning taste treats with the sumptuous offerings of dinner. On such a special occasion such as Easter, foods are presented in silver casserole trays and the table is sparkling with daffodils and tulips, as well as baskets overflowing with creative colored eggs and bunny cookies.

As you go through your recipe files, look for some do ahead dishes that will allow you more variety at a slower pace on Easter Day. Serving a variety of hot and cold foods is sure to please the food choices of everyone who shares your Easter Brunch.

Condiments such as butter, jams and cream cheese should be chilled in their serving dishes so that the frosty goodness melts on toast, muffins and Easter breads. Peach muffins topped with brown sugar and pecans tantalize your guests from baskets set around such entrees as scrambled eggs or ham and swiss strudel. Succulent roast beef carved into thin slices will literally melt in sheer goodness or let your guests taste the traditional leg of lamb seasoned to perfection with just a hint of garlic and lemon.

Asparagus, while simple to prepare, makes brunch a true Springtime event. Glazed bacon strips are a reminder of childhood "candy" treats and tart shells brimming with the first strawberries of the season fan across a cool, creamy custard filling. Add a mint leave and you have eye appeal and taste satisfaction.

The aroma of baked ham slightly sweet with warm juices running down each slice stands next to a colorful bowl of buttered carrots with a green accent of chives, highlighting all the pastels that Easter represents. French toast sticks bring the young and young at heart together and chocolate chip coffee cake just begs for a smooth, hot and delicious cup of coffee.

Serving breakfast fare and dinner specials allows everyone to pick and choose, find new favorites and renew past memories of fantastic food, great companion-ship, and the wondrous opulent colors of Easter. Don't forget the camera for those scrapbook additions of family and celebration photos.

Enjoy Easter in all its delights with family and friends and know that all your ventures into culinary land will finish up "eggs cellent". Something to think about ©Arleen M. Kaptur February, 2009

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WordPress Tutorial - Master the Art of Blogging!

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Dear Blogger,

You have taken it upon yourself to join the millions of other bloggers and make your contribution to the blogging community, and you have driven a stake into the tiny piece of virtual soil that will represent you in the vast world of the internet.

The internet is still in the exploration stage similar to the early settlers of the United States when one could drive a stake into the ground and call it his/her own because they arrived there first. Even more similar is the land could only remain theirs as long as they were to somehow improve that land, as can be compared to letting your website or blog become abandoned, unused and forgotten.

Many people start a blog with intentions of keeping the contribution updated with fresh new ideas only to find themselves frustrated with the technical challenges that come with designing, promoting or maintaining a blog.

Not everyone who wants a great blog is a technical wizard, and that can become enough of a deterrent for some to just give up, and leave the blogging to those with the expertise, or the money to hire the expertise.

Lets face it, the technical side of choosing the right domain name, getting the blog hosted on a server, properly configuring the blog so that the search engines can find the blog, designing a blog that represents your creative side, and even deciding how to keep a steady flow of fresh content coming to the blog, these are all vital to your blogs long term survival, yet finding answers to all of these questions can be akin to an Easter egg hunt!

One thing for sure is it makes your "Google Search" skills fantastic! It's almost like someone purposefully wants you to have to find everything out in tiny little pieces, first this little bit and then that one, like a cruel joke is being played on you!

The bottom line is that what most everyone really needs are WordPress Tutorial Videos that can show them how each step is accomplished from the very beginning to the semi-advanced stuff. Videos that can be referred to over and over again each time a new blog is set up or if changes are made to an existing blog. If the blogger could spend more time "blogging" and less time searching for answers to some crazy technical glitch their success rate would be far far greater.

Learning how to become an accomplished blogger is actually easy!

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Safely Introducing Solid Baby Foods

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You should start introducing solid baby foods to your infant at approximately 4 - 6 months of age. As with all stages of your baby's development, the introduction of solid food into their diet is something that has to be done with care and attention. Giving your infant the wrong kinds of foods can result in at the very least, severe digestive discomfort - at the very worst severe sickness and/or future food allergies.

4 Months
Start of at 4 months with baby cereals diluted with formula, gradually increasing the amount of cereal and decreasing the amount of formula (breast milk can be substituted for formula). The amount of cereal should be increased very slowly over the course of weeks, not days, as your infant becomes accustomed to solid baby foods. If your baby experiences digestive troubles, switch off the cereal for a day or two, then try to slowly introduce it again later.

6 Months
Fruits and vegetables are chocked full of vitamins and antioxidants our immune system needs to maintain proper health. However, as infants these foods need to be introduced slowly and with care. The fiber and natural sugar content in fruits and veggies need a strong digestive system to process them, while an infant's digestive tract needs time to gain strength.

8 Months
At the 7 - 8 month mark, you can start to introduced protein-rich, solid baby foods into your infant's diet. Yogurt, strained beans and meats, cottage cheese, and eggs (start with whites only). As your baby's teeth develop you can slowly introduce anything healthy that the rest of your family eats.

Slow & Steady Wins The Race
From the first day you introduce solid foods, it's important to introduce everything one at a time. If your baby has allergies or is sensitive to certain foods, you'll want to be able to eliminate them right away. For the first few years it's also crucial you avoid any nut products; due to possible deadly allergies and soy products should be closely monitored for the same reason.

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Exploring The Different Types Of Corporate Parties

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All work and no play can make employees a rather dull group, don't you think? Depending on the type of company you are part of, there might be room to hold a couple of corporate parties, get-togethers or picnics throughout the year. If you should be in charge of organizing and planning this delicate task, there are plenty of ways to approach this responsibility. When it comes to the many types of corporate party themes you might come across, which ones sound like a good fit for your office? Below you will find a few popular corporate party occasions and ideas to consider:

Christmas: Many corporate offices hold a Christmas party with spiced eggnog, mistletoe, and the lighting of a modest tree. Some associations even participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange, which makes sure no one leaves the party empty handed. When planning this sort of corporate party, decorations really come in handy with food coming in a close second. If you don't feel comfortable planning a holiday party with religious affiliations, New Years Eve celebrations offer employees a fun opportunity to watch the ball drop amongst co-workers.

Celebrating an Accomplishment: Perhaps the company has landed a much sought after client and it's time to reward the hard work of everyone involved. Maybe the office has exceeded company expectations, increased productivity to exceptional levels, or won an award; all of these accomplishments are reasons to hold a corporate party. A little unwinding after a rewarding achievement is just the thing to strengthen the bond between employer and employees.

Picnics: Since family is a big part of the lives of employees, it is a good idea to provide outlets showing that outside-of-the-job commitments are recognized and respected. Holding a picnic where families get a chance to mingle with one another is a great way to further build the connection between company members. To make it a holiday themed party for the outdoors, choose yearly occasions such as Easter or 4th of July to plan your event. Some ideas to consider for these approaches may include Easter Egg Hunts for the kiddies or a small display of Independence Day fireworks.

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How to Make Big Bucks From Dividends

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It appears that someone is hiding something, and no, its not the Easter eggs all the little kids are searching for. US businesses are hiding enormous amounts of cash and if investors are diligent they can find these "cash cows" and milk them for all they are worth!

Interestingly, the companies in the S&P have a yield of 1.8%. They are sitting on more than $640 billion in cash that they need to do something with.

In the 1950s dividend yields on stocks regularly exceeded 8% or 10%, and this represented a bulk of the return investors recognized in their investments. In the early 1980s, stocks held a yield of over 6%.

Then something strange happened . . . . dividend yields collapsed and hovered around less than 1%. Some people thought it was due to the changing tax laws, and others believed it was a changing focus on investment strategies - a growing focus on capital gains as opposed to yields.

In 2000 dividend yields bottomed out at less than 1%. The government changed the tax laws yet again, making lower tax rates apply to dividends, and driving more companies to issue and increase dividends. 

Over the last few years dividends have climbed to their current state, however, the basic dividend yield doesn't tell the full story. Companies with tons of cash in hiding are using it to repurchase their stock.

Stock repurchases are a relatively new occurrence, which have found widespread acceptance in the in the last 30 years. Interestingly, the cash that would normally be used for dividends is now being earmarked for buybacks.

Savvy investors recognize this and they will incorporate the share repurchase into the dividend yield to determine the true return to an investor. With tons and tons of cash in "hiding", buying these stocks now is a great time to capitalize on two growing trends - the increase in dividends, and the continued push to repurchase shares! Focus on the S&P 500 and find those cash cows!

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