Gluten-free/Sugar-free BROWNIES!!!

My mom gave me a recipe and I tweaked it. HAHA

While her recipe is absolutely divine for people who have had zero sugar in MONTHS, it's a bit dry for my taste. I like gooey brownies. So, I added 1/4 cup of almond milk to it. Here is the original, with my notes added in ():

Mom's Gluten/Sugar-free Brownies

2 sticks of organic butter (hormone free, I get Central Market brand)
3/4C Stevia powder (Truvia is the best I've tried so far, no after taste, but it is expensive so I do 2/4 Truvia, 1/4 Stevia in the Raw, as it is cheaper.)
4 eggs
3/4C cocoa powder (we use Hershey's special dark because we like the dark chocolate!! YUM!)
2 1/4 Namaste Perfect Flour Blend (HEB doesn't carry this, I found it at my local natural foods store, but it can be purchased online at Vitacost.com, it's pricey, too, but hey, when you want your sweet tooth satisfied, and you're on a strict diet, it's worth the cost!!)
dash of salt
1Tbs Vanilla (I use organics made with bourbon)
1C chopped nuts (pecans and/or walnuts for this girl!)
Unsweetened Coconut flakes (I usually use about 1/4-1/2C)

Soften butter then combine all but the last two ingredients (including the almond milk if you want a more moist brownie) in mixing bowl and blend, then add nuts and coconut flakes. Put batter in 8x8 glass baking dish, bake at 350 for exactly 20 minutes. DO NOT GREASE YOUR DISH! There is enough butter in the batter that you do not need any additional grease. In fact, when you pull them out of the oven you will see butter on the brownies, this will soak back into the brownies lending moisture so do not drain it off.

Yes, I know, this is probably very fattening, in fact these suckers are probably the reason for my weight-loss plateau. I HAVE A HUGE SWEET TOOTH!

Since it's just me eating these, to keep them from going bad before I can eat them all, I store them in the refrigerator. If you have a few kiddos running around, this may not be an issue for you, my mom keeps them out on the counter throughout the week, but it's both of us eating them while I'm there so they tend to go a little faster.

I also think that the Stevia in the raw may be the culprit that makes them go bad faster. Mom only uses Truvia, but as it is more expensive, I feel it is more economical to use the both of them.

Another delicious use of my Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder, Quinoa flakes for breakfast.

I make the suggested serving size of 1/3C Quinoa Flakes with a wee bit less than a cup of water, microwaved for two mins. Then I add about 3-4 TBS of cocoa, 1-2 TBS of Stevia/Truvia, a tiny bit of vanilla, and enough almond milk to make it soupy and stir it all up. If I'm feeling something special, I add unsweetened coconut flakes and a heaping spoonful of almond butter. (I think it's a great alternative to an almond joy.)

Happy Gluten/Sugar-free, candida friendly eating!

A new lease on life?

I was complimented tonight, at least I think it was a compliment. I was told that I look more relaxed, more chill. I said, "I'm a different person aren't I?" She said she didn't want to quite put it that way, but that yes, I am. It is such an amazing feeling being done with school, having accomplished something, that for me and mine, is a big deal. I am a college graduate, with a BACHELORS degree! I may not have a grand career to show it yet and I may never have a "grand career" at all, but I have accomplished something that neither of my parents or any of my siblings or cousins have and it feels so wonderful to be done with it! I admit, I was a stressed out, frustrated, and scared woman, especially there at the end and REALLY during the holiday (as you may be able to tell from my Valentine's post). Working and doing school is not easy, especially in a flower shop during the Valentine holiday. I don't know how single mothers do it, so kudos to those ladies! You're my heroes! So, what is next? Admittedly, I am enjoying this relaxation state, but I am also updating my resume and searching for job opportunities that will further my skill set and improve my financial independence. I call it a "big girl job". I am ready to get out on my own, yeah, I know I am technically out on my own, but I want to try for my own apartment, no roommate. I am a woman now, not a 20 something college student. I want a little space of my own that I can't complain about someone else messing up or not doing their part to keep it clean. At least for a little while, you know, before I get married. Again. This time for good, I hope. And I may have a prospect or two. (Thank you LDS internet dating site, haha.) So, look out world, Selina is ready to take you on and conquer your next challenge. At least I think I am. No, I am. Really! (It is time for some real world confidence, that's what gets the job done!)

Spring Break

Well, it's officially Spring Break and I was expecting sunshine and flowers. Instead I get RAIN. Lots and LOTS of rain. The small break I get to come visit friends and family and I'm stuck inside doing homework (which I am just about done with which means I am just about done with school. YEE HAW!) and listening to the rain pour down. I guess, I'll just finish up my homework and settle in with a book. That will be nice and relaxing, now won't it.

Anyway, I hope you all have a sunnier and drier Spring Break week than I do and have a SAFE and Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Creating a Blog-For Class

I actually already have a blog. I am not a frequent blogger, as I have school, work, church activities, and something resembling a social life, but I am sure that with assignments for class, I will become a more frequent blogger.

 I remember when I was creating it though, I did not know what to write about, but decided that it is my blog and I can write about what I want. And so that is what my blog description entails.  “Just a place to see how a true single LDS young woman feels about life, frugality, and anything else I deem to be interesting.” I approach religious topics, political topics, recipes, and who knows what else will come along.

When it came to aesthetics, blogger was very helpful. It has all kinds of layouts and wallpapers from which to choose. I like to change it up a little sometimes, so having choices is always nice and I believe there is an option where you can upload your own images for you background.

 The great thing about creating a blog is that it is easy! Google’s blogger makes it a very simple, systematic process, and guides you through it. So, my advice to anyone wanting to set up a blog, at least a first time blog is to use Google’s blogger. I have friends though, who have been blogging for a while and have moved their blogs to Wordpress, as it is a more professional blog site.  

my blog url: http://rantingsandravingsofasingleldswoman.blogspot.com/

Careers in Communications-For Class

The first career I came across in the field of communications that I was surprised about was real estate agent. I never thought of a real estate agent as being a communications degree career.  Real estate agents can sell, rent, or buy properties for their clients, they study property listings, show properties to clients, interview prospective clients to see what they want and need, inform their clients of the contract and sale conditions, and draw up real estate contracts. (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes419022.htm)

According to bls.gov, the salary ranges from an annual wage of $20,460 in the 10^th percentile to $95,220 in the 90^th percentile. “Employment of real estate brokers and agents is expected to grow faster than average. Beginning agents and brokers, however, will face competition from their well-established, more experienced counterparts.” There are no long-term education requirements, only licensure is required by state.

          According to bls.gov, another career in the field of communications is that of editor. Editors proofread and edit other people’s writing. Industries include newspapers, magazines, publishing companies, and more. “Because writing skills are essential in this occupation, many employers like to hire people with degrees in communications, journalism, or English…” (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos320.htm#training)  The salary ranges from an annual wage of $28,880 in the lower 10^th percentile to $96,800 in the 90^th percentile.

Writers and authors are next on my list of communications careers with an annual wage of $28,610 in the lower 10^th percentile to $109,440 in the top 90^th percentile. As far as education, degrees in English, journalism, or communications are needed, but writers and authors “must be able to express ideas clearly and logically and should enjoy writing. Creativity, curiosity, a broad range of knowledge, self-motivation, and perseverance are also valuable. Authors, writers, and editors must demonstrate good judgment and a strong sense of ethics in deciding what material to publish. In addition, the ability to concentrate and to work under pressure is essential.”

Another career field for a communications degree is in public relations. PR specialists annual salary range from $30,560 in the lower 10^th percentile to $95,200 in the 90^th percentile. While a communications degree can be used to obtain a job in PR, other degrees include public relations, journalism, or marketing. Industry specific knowledge is also helpful in obtaining a job at a firm.

The final career path in communications I chose is broadcasters. Broadcasters can have a degree in communications, broadcasting, or journalism. Broadcaster annual salary ranges from $16,590 in the lower 10^th percentile to $72,500 in the 90^th percentile for television and radio broadcasters and from $16,940 in the lower 10^th percentile to $70,120 in the 90^th percentile for public address system announcers and other announcers. (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos087.htm)

Effective Blogging-For Class

Blogging can be a daunting task for some, a pleasure for others. A blog’s design can do many things. It can catch your audience’s attention, it can set you apart from potential competition, it can make your blog easy or hard to read and much more.

According to the UK’s Kronik Media, there are 15 element to effective blog design. The first of which is good readability. Making your blog easy to read is the first step to effective design. “Large font size, contrasting colour against the background, sufficient line and paragraph spacing are some ways to ensure content is easy to read.” (http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/15-elements-of-great-blog-design/2133/)

The second element of great blog design is emphasizing content. The whole point of a blog is the content. One must make sure that the content is easily accessed and that it isn’t out-shined by other elements of the blog. Pictures are always nice to have, just make sure they aren’t over bearing and taking focus away from the actual blog. You do not want your background image to be so interesting that people are busy studying the background instead of reading your blog.

Comments can be another important part of your blog. Readers want to leave their feedback and want to know that they are being “heard”.  “Well designed comment section encourages readers to contribute by sharing their views.” As well as commenting, people like to be able to share what the read with others via social media. So, making you blog share-able is important also. Share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and others are easily integrated on you blog page when you are creating your blog. Don’t leave home; rather, don’t create your blog, without it.

If your blog is a professional blog and there are many links to different pages or posts, headers and footers can be necessary. “A well designed logo will re-enforce your brand. On the other hand, an effective slogan or tagline that describes your blog informs readers what you blog is about…Footer can be used to supplement navigation and to display a range of useful information and widgets” The sidebar is also important as much of your blog elements are  found on the sidebar. It is a map to your blog posts. 

For professionals and those wanting to profit from their blogs, making sure that your HTML codes are clean and correct is important. Links offering a person to take a tour of a website, see customer's reviews, or see product pricing are important. If you want to monetize your blog, banner ads are a common and effective way to make money off your blog. Bloggers can advertise their own products or get paid by companies to have their ads posted to the blog. 

Subscribing is also an important option for bloggers. If you want followers, in other words, if you want regular readers, having a "Subscribe" button is important. This allows your readers to receive updates on new posts and happenings on your blog.  

For Doraliza’s blog, along with the school entries, I would like to see more entries that are personal. The first entry let potential readers step into her life and feel her frustration. While Doraliza is obviously stressed about the process of her home buying experience, the reader can tell that this is really something that she wants as they look at the photos and their captions.

Something I would like to see for Doraliza’s blog is a little more color. I feel like there is more to her, just from her first post, than just brown. I don’t think the brown suits her. Maybe if it was solely a spot to post her class writings as it is a professional looking background, the brown and world map would be alright.

Lori’s blog was one of the first I read for our class. She immediately caught my attention with her first entry, I can totally relate to the body not wanting to get out of bed. I loved her humorous remark about keeping the covers company for another thirty minutes. She won me over with her shoe entry, “a shame”. (What can I say?  I’m a woman!) Lori has a certain charm about her that captured me and had me waiting for more. One thing I would like to see in Lori’s blog, though, is editing. Two things that bug me to no end are: starting a sentence without a capital letter or capitalizing the word “I”.  I also think that she could find a better-suited background to her blog and that charming wit!

As for Stephanie’s blog, the title itself is what caught my attention from the get-go. “Life in the blender” immediately made me reminiscent of the summers I spent getting snocones, one of the flavors at my favorite stand was “frog in a blender”, so my curiosity was instantly piqued. When I read Stephanie’s first post, my curiosity and love for a good story, were satisfied. I would like to see a little more detail because that story was too short and too captivating! I was drawn into her life and felt as if I was only getting a snippet and was disappointed that I was not getting more! That’s what you get for being so interesting, Stephanie! I want more please!! The background fit this feeling perfectly as it is like looking through a fogged window.

I received some very good feedback for my own blog from my fellow students. I have already begun to make changes to my blog based on the ideas of my classmates. I had not thought much before on having photos as part of my blog, but I have realized that it adds character and can lend a visual to my sarcasm or humor.  I have also considered, and will continue to think on, adding banner ads to profit from my blog. I feel, though, that I do not have a steady topic of conversation, nor do I have a steady stream of followers, so I may not have a lot of exposure for brands to make money off my blog. 

If I were to make my blog a professional one, I would definitely consider the “15 Elements” from the Kronik Media article. I certainly agree that aesthetics are very important for any blog, though. Let’s face it folks, people are all about looks when it comes to catching interest. Looks grab a person’s attention and then content holds it.

Blogs Reviewed

http://muchcomm.blogspot.com/2012/02/much-ado-about-conflict.html - Doraliza Longoria

http://mimirucas.blogspot.com/ - Lori Muro

http://lifeintheblenderstepsforsteps.blogspot.com/ - Stephanie Hartman

Media Technologies-Post for Class

The longest running media technology is print media, mainly newspapers. No matter what advances in technology have been made newspapers, magazines, brochures, books, and flyers have been around for thousands of years and are still used today. The intended audience for newspapers is anyone who wishes to stay informed about local, national, or global issues, depending on the paper. They also report on entertainment, weather, employment, real estate, and the arts.

Print media is the only way that any culture has been able to keep accurate accounts of history.  There are people who dedicate studies solely to book history! “For many scholars, it was the work of David D. Hall that catalyzed the study of histoire du livre in America.” (Cohen, M., 2008)  Books have been the key to knowledge for centuries. Monks devoted lifetimes to transcribing the Bible.

In his review on Konstantin Dierks book, In My Power: Letter Writing and Communications in Early America, Adrian Weimer states, “In this important book at the intersection of ideologies of modernity, material culture, and middle class practice, Konstantin Dierks argues that when men, women, and eventually children achieved prowess with the writing of a letter, they gained access to social networks which could help them achieve a more secure, comfortable life.” (Weimer, A. 2010) So, the written word has aided in social advancement, winning wars (via secret spy dispatches), and the growth of religion.

The second longest running form of media technology is television. Television is a medium for entertainment, news, education, and sales.  Local stations broadcast local, regional, national, and global news, sports, and weather. Those stations also provide entertainment with shows of all kinds, which have commercial breaks allowing brands to advertise their products.

Schools use television to show educational movies, news shows such as “Chanel One”, and school news programs. Studies have shown that television has been a positive influence with “achievement for disadvantaged children or those with limited proficiency in English. George Comstock and Haejung Paik interpret these findings as meaning that television viewing and academic achievement are negatively associated when TV displaces cognitively enriching experiences, but positively associated when it provides such experiences.” (Schmidt, M. E. & Vandewater, E. A., 2008) Television has been a useful media in the form of language development. 

Television is a source of advertising. Everything from cars to vitamins is advertised on television. Agencies have departments who’s whole focus is on this  mode of advertisement. “

The next form of media technology that is used worldwide is the internet. The internet provides its own forms of media technology catering to those who want to stay connected through social and professional networks, the news media, gamers, people who want to find and listen to music, and provides an avenue to watch television shows and movies. The internet also provides communication avenues such as blogs and email. Blogs are a sort of online journaling system that allows a person to share their lives with others.  Email provides an avenue of written (or at least typed) communication and an avenue to send private messages for personal and business communications. Social networks such as Facebook, provide a way to connect with family, friends, fellow students, and co-workers. Professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn provide an avenue for professionals to network with and learn about each other’s businesses.

References

Cohen, M.(2008). The History of the Book in New England: The State of the Discipline. Book History 11(1), 301-323. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from Project MUSE database.

Weimer, A. C.(2010). In My Power: Letter Writing and Communications in Early America (review). Textual Cultures: Texts, Contexts, Interpretation 5(2), 94-96. Indiana University Press. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from Project MUSE database.

Schmidt, M. E. & Vandewater, E. A.(2008). Media and Attention, Cognition, and School Achievement. The Future of Children 18(1), 63-85. Princeton University. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from Project MUSE database.