Beautiful La Quinta Cove Hiking

Earlier this week my boyfriend and I decided it'd be nice to get out of the house for a while and go for a hike. Since we both recently took off work we thought we deserved some time out in nature. 

Since we moved to the Palm Springs area earlier this year we have not done much in the fitness department. I guess between moving and working we were both pretty worn out so we were looking forward to an interesting hike. 

We spotted this interesting patch of bright green tree tops among the browns, yellows, oranges and reds of the desert and instantly headed towards it. To our surprise, about a mile and half out on the trail was a very inviting oasis.

Delicious and Crispy, Thin Panko-Crusted Pork Chops

While growing-up my mother would always make us a certain dish for special occasions, like if we did something that made her proud. Well that dish was her delicious home-cooked pork chops slathered in warm, gooey gravy and served with creamy, garlic mashed potatoes with peas or corn on the side. I remember these amazing pork chops vividly! Every delightful detail! Even though my mom hasn’t made them in such a long time I still get the feeling of comforting warmth that these flavorful pieces of pork have engraved in my memory! Recently, after reminiscing about my childhood food experiences, I decided it might be fun to recreate my mom's special dish or to come up with my own version of it...so this is what I ended up doing:

Crispy, Thin Panko-Crusted Pork Chops 

• 1 lb of thin cut, boneless, pork chops
• 1 Large egg
• A splash of milk (approximately 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup- 1 cup of Panko Breadcrumbs (depending on how many pork chops you have)
• 1/2 cup- 1 cup of Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs  (again, depending on how many pork chops you have)
• Seasoning: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Parsely, Italian Seasoning, Salt and Pepper.
• Flour
• Olive Oil

If your pork chops are thin, flour and breadcrumb all of them before starting to fry them since thin chops only take a second to fry and you may not have enough time to flour and bread the others before you need to be back at the frying pan to take em off!
Also, unless you’re using plastic bags or tongs to coat your chop with breadcrumbs "shake –n- bake" method then be prepared to get messy because this mixture tends to be sticky!

Instructions -

1. Start by rinsing your pork chops with cold water just to clean them up a little bit.  


 2. Dry your pork chops off lightly with a paper towel and lay them flat.


3. While the chops are resting on the paper towel, sprinkle them lightly with Salt and Pepper.


4. Mix together your egg and splash of milk in small bowl big enough to fit 1 or 2 of your chops.


5. Season the egg & milk mixture with garlic salt, parsley or whatever seasoning you desire!


 6. Dump your panko and breadcrumbs onto a plate or into a ziplock bag and mix together (if using the ziplock bag method then shake until coated).



7. On a different plate, dump enough flour to cover a few of the pork chops (approximately 1/2 cup or more)


8. On the stove, heat up your olive oil over medium to high heat


 9. While the olive oil is heating up place your first chop in the flour until it is coated


10. After coating with flour take your chop and dip it in the egg and milk mixture

11. Once coated with egg and milk lay the chop in the panko and breadcrumb mixture until covered


12. Repeat this until all the chops are coated with all 3 of the mixtures.


13. By this time the olive oil should be sufficiently heated and ready for you to place your chops in it.


14. One by one, gently lay each chop in the hot oil and fry it until golden brown  (approximately 4-5 minutes on each side depending on thickness of chop).


15. Once both sides are done, remove from frying pan and repeat with other chops until all are golden brown.


16. Serve over garlic and apple mashed potatoes and with a side of corn on the cob and you have a perfect home-cooked comfort meal in less then 30 minutes!


This recipe has always been a part of my life and was a big hit during my childhood, but I'm curious to know what recipe has been a part of yours since childhood. I'd love to hear all about the meals you loved while growing up or even the ingredients and recipes on how to make them in the comments below! 

Real, Legitimate Ways to Make Money Taking Surveys Online

Money, it's not as hard to earn as you thought it was!

This past couple of weeks I have been trying out different ways to make a quick buck online and because of the increasingly large amount of work-from-home-scams and websites online today I decided it might be helpful if I wrote a post on actual, legitimate websites that pay you to take surveys or to work from home. Here are some of the sites I found:

1. Survey Savvy - Surveys are a fun and interesting way to learn about new products but did you know that you can also make money from home by taking surveys in your free-time? Well, now you do! Survey Savvy is an awesome and legitimate site to start out with. I personally like this website because they not only offer money for filling out surveys but you can also refer your friends and get paid for them too! Another reason why this site is great is because you only need to earn $1 before you can cash it in. Some sites will require you to earn upwards of $5 dollars so this site is definitely worth checking out! Just click the link below and you may get a chance to earn $20*:

https://www.surveysavvy.com/?m=5858631

2. Everyone knows about the website Amazon.com. You might even purchase items from them from time to time. Well, did you know that Amazon also pays people to work from home to perform small tasks for money? It's true! The site is called Mechanical Turk or mTurk and it is a totally legitimate and great way to make some extra dough for anything you may need! Simply sign up HERE and start completing HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) today to receive money or even amazon gift cards. There are all different kinds of HITs you can perform so you won't get bored answering lame survey questions. The only downside to Mechanical Turk is that each worker is rated based on the percentage of HITs they perform or abandon so if you fall asleep or have technical difficulties in the middle of your task that causes the task to not get completed then your reputation or value on the site would go down and you may not be eligible for another task like until it is back up, so be careful which task you choose!

3. Another one of the top Survey sites online is Vinedale Research, Vinedale research is definitely one of the more reputable survey sites on the internet today. Especially since they pay up to $75 dollars for their members to take just one survey. I haven't found any other site offering that much for a survey yet! I've heard that vinedale doesn't accept applications for members year-round but they were nice enough to send us a link to allow our readers to sign-up anytime they want! So if you are interested in earning up to $75 per survey....THAT'S RIGHT! $75.00! Then CLICK HERE to
sign-up and make some money for your opinion today!

Above: Information from Vinedale.com

4. The fourth legitimate website for making money online is different than the previous sites mentioned. Mindswarms.com is a different kind of survey site. Not only are they asking for your opinion on different products or situations but unlike any of the sites above mindswarms asks that you video record your response with your webcam and upload to their site. When I tried this site out i thought it was such a cool idea! The sign-up and instructions are extremely easy to understand and the design of the site is great for everyone. The only downside to mindswarms is that there was a lack of available surveys or questions to answer (it could have just been my demographic but who knows?) so I quickly lost interest in the site since there was nothing for me to do. It is still worth checking out and who knows....maybe you will be eligible for more surveys than I was. Did I mention you get paid for referring your friends too?

Above: A Screenshot of TrymyUI.com homepage.

5. TrymyUI.com is another great, legitimate survey site. This site is also different from the others because not only does it ask you to fill out survey questions but it also asks that you record your computer screen while you visit and specific website they give you. It is actually pretty fun and it allows you to do more than just answer a, b, c, or d off some test. You don't have to download any special software or anything. All you need to do to become a member is visit their site HERE, sign-up and take a qualification test (which is basically the same thing as actually just completing the task itself).

There are so many different survey sites and sites claiming to pay you for your time that there is no way we could possibly list them all in one post, but there is one thing you must remember, Your time is valuable so don't waste it on some website that is only trying to get your credit card number from you! Make sure you know which sites are legitimate and which ones to avoid and make some money while you can! I hope this post was helpful and informative for everyone! If i forgot any great, legitimate survey or work from home sites that you would like me to try out or that you have tried before, please let us know in the comments below and we will be happy to check them out. Thanks again and have a wonderful day!

16 Free, Online Resources for Web Designers or Developers

Web design or development can be frustrating or repetitive at times. The need to come up with creative content for your site alone is exhausting! Luckily these wonderful free, online resources  have been a great help to me while creating websites for myself or clients and I am happy to share them with you! Here is my list of FREE, online resources that I find useful when creating websites:

1. Color scheme designer- As you may have guessed from the name, this site is dedicated to coming up with a color scheme for your website (or whatever your project may be!). The site and the color wheel are free to use but for those of you that have no idea which colors go together well and find yourself using it often, you may want to consider donating a little "somethin', somethin'" to the creator to show your appreciation. (http://colorschemedesigner.com/)

2. Kompozer-  A Free WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editing program that is very useful for creating simple sites or HTML based newsletters to Email to your site subscribers. (http://kompozer.net/download.php)

3.HTML5up - If it is an HTML template that you desire, HTML5up will help you acquire! Currently they have 14 templates to choose from but with beautiful, responsive designs that are super customizable and 100% free to use under creative commons, they are definitely worth checking out! (http://html5up.net/)

4.Greg Tutor's Kompozer and GIMP Tutorials -This site has a great introduction and tutorial on how to create a basic website using Kompozer, as well as covering internal and external style sheets. It is very easy to understand and great for beginners! (http://www.gregtutor.plus.com)

5. The Site Wizard - Website Design, Promotion, Revenue and Scripting Tips - Lots of free tips, tutorials and articles on every aspect of your website. It's a one-stop comprehensive guide to managing your site. (http://www.thesitewizard.com/)

6. Browser Shots - Great site to check how your web page will look on many different browsers, operating systems and browser versions. Just type in the url and within minutes you will see numerous screenshots of your page. Very helpful! (http://browsershots.org/)

7. Find Icons - The name of this site pretty much sums it up...it's a site where you can find great free icons to use on your page. (http://findicons.com/)

8. Favicon.ico - A free, web-based favicon creator. It also allows you to import an image to turn it into your favicon and download it once you are done. (http://favicon.ico) 

9. Paste HTML - Offers Free anonymous HTML Hosting. All you need to do is sign in to your facebook then cope and paste your code into the appropriate area and click preview and publish and it will be hosted online for free without having to register a Domain! This site also has a bookmarklet that will take a snapshot of any website and store it online for you. (http://pastehtml.com/)

 

10. Pixabay- In need of free images to use on your site or blog? Try searching for photos at Pixabay, where they have over 100,000 free vector images, photos, and clip art that are in the public domain and free for you to use! (http://pixabay.com/en/)

11. GO Articles - If it is content that you are in need of then look no further than Go Articles for some decent material for your website or blog. It is Free to republish any of the articles on the site just as you publish the Author information along with it and as long as you don't alter the material in the article. Make sure you read the publisher guidelines for specific information on how many articles you are allowed to post on your site within a certain time frame (it's usually about 25 articles in 1 year). (http://goarticles.com/)

12. Viewport Resizer -  Test the responsiveness of any web page to see how it looks with different screen resolution by using this FREE handy bookmarklet! (http://lab.maltewassermann.com/viewport-resizer/)

13. Tiny PNG - Drag and drop any of your PNG images into the area in this site and it will resize your image into a smaller, more compressed version without losing much of the picture quality! (http://tinypng.org/)

14. The Web Standards checklist - This is a very handy tool for any web designer or developer! (http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/checklist/)

15. The Client Questionnaire for Web Developers- (by Dino) is a very helpful questionnaire for the website developer because it forces the them to examine things like their audience and helps with the preparation before the actual web design process begins. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/426427/Client-Questionnaire-for-Web-Developers)

16.  Uptime Robot - Will check your website every 5 minutes and notify you when it is down...and did I mention that it is FREE?! (http://uptimerobot.com/)

That just about wraps up today's list of helpful, free resources for web designers or developers. Are there any resources or websites that I forgot to mention? Please let me know, I'm always happy to learn about new resources for web development!

Which resources do you find most helpful when designing a website? What kind of web design resources would you like to see more of available for free, online? Let me know in the comments below.

*Thank you to all of the sites mentioned in this post!

7 Blogging Tips and Tricks

7 Blogging Tips and Tricks

1. Take notes- Lots of them! They will probably come in handy later.

2. Carry a notebook with you everywhere you go- this not only makes it easy to jot down a great blog topic if you think of one but it also helps get your creative juices flowing.

3. Don't make promises to yourself that you can't keep- If you work 3 jobs and take care of a family of four then the chances of you blogging everyday are slim to none. Make a small, attainable goal for how often you plan on blogging. This will keep you from getting discouraged when you realize that it's been a week since your last post.

4. Listen to your audience- If you want your blog to be successful you need to make sure that you are blogging about what your readers want to read. Listen for trends in what your friends or family are interested in, then blog about it!

5. Switch it up- Sometimes doing the same old thing can get boring so I suggest switching things up from time to time. For example, if you are used to blogging from your desktop at home maybe you should try it from your laptop at a coffee shop or instead of blogging in the mornings, you could try to blog at night. Little changes can sometimes make old actions feel completely new, so give it a try!

6. Step away from the computer screen- When you feel like you are stuck and can't seem to put any words onto your virtual paper, it maybe time for you to step away from the computer for 20-30 minutes and get outside. there's nothing like fresh, clean air to clear your mind and start the creative process in your brain.

7. Break a sweat- Blogging usually goes hand in hand with sitting, so it's not a bad idea to try to keep active. One great tip to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while blogging is to start a blog about fitness and health. Since you'll be blogging about your new diet or exercise schedule your readers can be a great source of inspiration or motivation to help you achieve your health and fitness goals!

To Feng Shui or not to Feng Shui?

Today I'm moving all of my earthly possessions from storage into a new house and like every other time I've moved I want to try to start new with this home. For example, get rid of any clutter I have before it makes its way into the house or to actually decorate this house instead of just throwing my old furniture into it. I also want to Feng Shui each room but after doing tons of research on how to properly Feng Shui each room, I can honestly say...I'm confused!

Almost every source on how to feng shui your home has contradicting advice or tips! Even something as simple as the color is different depending on where you get the information from. Don't get me wrong, there are some tips that seem to be universal but for the most part they all vary in one way or another. Feng shui is amazingly difficult and somewhat complex. With all of the rules involved and it seems like certain elements will clash with others. One instance of this would be in the living room where the World of feng shui suggests to activate the elements in the living room by decorating or placing certain objects in specific areas of the room (ie: southwest corner or in the east) but after reading over each direction and the objects that go in it, i think if i actually decorated like that I'm not sure I'd have enough room in the house for my personal belongings! Not to mention, i don't think red curtains in the south are going to match blue curtains in the southeast or the grey curtains in the northwest area. It's obvious that if you are trying to feng shui your home then the thought of a color scheme for each room has gone out the window.
Feng shui seems to not only take a lot of time and energy but it also requires quite a bit of research or knowledge. Take the dining room, for example, on the www.wofs.com site it says to arrange family members at the table according to their "respective kua numbers" but nowhere on this page was there any information about where these numbers could be found or what they even mean!
After all this time spent researching how to decorate the home, I've become increasingly tired and decided it's easiest to throw my old furniture in the house and call it a day. I don't think the way you arrange furniture in your home will change the vibe that you put out in the world and if you rely on couch placement to make your energy positive or bring good luck then what happens to your energy when you leave the house? Feng shui is wonderful for many reasons but after all the research I've done I've come to the conclusion that it's main purpose is to distract us from the stress of everyday life. Can't argue with that! There's one thing I'm sure of, the next time I move I'm hiring someone else to Feng shui for me!

Have you ever Feng shui-ed your home, office, apartment, etc? Where did you learn how to do it? Could you feel a change in the energy after you did? Share your Feng shui experience below and make me feel like a quitter for giving up on doing it!

Top 5 Excuses Why Some People Do Not Blog

Let's face it, the big bad world of Blogging is kinda scary when you know nothing about it. Sometimes it seems like the world is split between two types of people, Bloggers and Non-Bloggers. So it's no wonder why so many people are often afraid to start blogging and come up with some fantastic excuses not to. Here are some of the excuses people give to keep from starting a Blog:

Afraid of criticism- Believe it or not, we cannot all be as self assured and self confident as you and although it seems like most people don't really care what others think about them it is only natural for us to want to be accepted by others. The fear of criticism from others is a main reason why many people continue to write in their journals at home and not on their macbook online. One way to get over the fear of being criticized by others is to Blog under an alias or to hide your identity. Another way would be to block those that overly critical or to not mention your blog to them at all. You never know, a huge blog fan base in foreign countries might be just what you need to raise your low self confidence levels sky high.

Poor writing skills- Honestly, I can say that this was definitely one of my fears when I started blogging but I thought, "How am I supposed to get any better at writing if I don't write?" Once you stop caring what others might think about your writing skills or the topics you choose and start caring about you, it won't matter how many misspelled words your last post had, just as long as you felt good while writing it. Blogging should be a very personal thing that helps relieve you from the stress of your day.

Don't know what to Blog about- Choosing a Blog topic can sometimes be as easy as ranting and raving about a business you just visited or talking about a trip you recently took. Other times it can be as hard as writing a 2000 page novel about a subject you know nothing about. When you catch a case of "bloggers-block" the best thing to do is to step away from your computer and go live life. Usually i feel if I can't come up with a topic to blog about then I am not living life enough to have anything interesting to write about. Go outside and make some experiences happen then when you are done, you should have plenty to blog about! (Tip- Take your camera so you can include a slide show of your experience on your blog)

Horrible typing skills- This excuse goes hand in hand with Poor writing skills. How are you ever going to improve your typing skills if you barely type? Blogging not only gives you something to type about but the information you type is usually coming straight from your brain to your fingers so it is rare for you to have to look away from the screen. I know I enjoy typing something that I make up as I go along much more than something that is already written out.

Not enough time- The way I see it, blogging is like writing in a journal. It is a wonderful way to look back on the experiences you had in life and to reflect on them. If you have to use the excuse that you do not have enough time to reflect on your day or you life then you may need to get your priorities straight. Blogging can bring great insight to the things you do in life and how you react in certain situations. It can teach us how to communicate effectively with others and helps to expand our horizons and teach us new things. If you can't take 5 minutes out of your busy schedule of back to back corporate meetings and TPS reports to sit and focus on yourself then I suggest you purchase some good health insurance because living a life neglecting your needs, mental or physical, will only lead to poor health or depression. Try meditating for 5 minutes each day to see if your stress levels go down at all. Life isn't about working 9-5 for someone else, you need to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. 

No matter what excuse you give to keep yourself from starting a blog, remember this- the benefits of blogging outweigh the possible risks (if there are any) and blogging has become one of the number one ways for people to earn an income from home so turn off the TV set and sit down in front of your monitor....it's blogging time!