Cake mix cookies
I have tried several cookie recipes that involved adding a cake mix before. Some of these have turned out good, while others I didn’t care for a lot. This is one of the better ones I have tried and it is easy to make because it involves adding a cake mix. Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 1 chocolate cake mix
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 c. chocolate chips
As you can see, only four ingredients are needed for these wonderful cookies. They are easy to make, and you probably already have these four ingredients in your home.
To begin, preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Take out a bowl and pour the dry cake mix into it. Add the softened butter and the eggs and mix well. After this is mixed good, add the chocolate chips. This makes the dough for the cookies and you can then drop the dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake each pan for around eight to 10 minutes and transfer the cookies to wire racks after letting them cool for around five minutes.
If you don’t have a lot of time to bake cookies, this is the perfect recipe. It is a great chocolate recipe for chocolate lovers and it will not take a long time to make these. After trying this recipe, you may agree that this is a great cookie recipe that involves using a cake mix. If you like this one, there are many others that also use cake mixes.
Baking soda vs. baking powder
One mistake people often make while baking is adding the wrong ingredient when it comes to baking soda and baking powder. These two ingredients look identical and they are very similar. They are both leavening agents and they are both used in baking. If you are new to baking, you should learn the difference between these two very similar ingredients.
Baking soda is a base and it is also known as sodium bicarbonate and does not contain an acid. Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it also contains an acid often known as cream of tartar. In order for baking soda to do its job, you must add an acid to it. This acid causes both of these ingredients to make the dough expand.
When baking with either of these ingredients, it is important to bake them right away. They begin working as soon as they are added to other ingredients. If you are using baking soda, there are several different ingredients that you can use as the acid that is needed to make it work. Some of these include buttermilk, yogurt, chocolate or brown sugar. Cream of tartar is also used frequently for this purpose.
Baking powder will begin working as soon as it comes into contact with a liquid. The liquids used in recipes often include milk or water. Baking powder is used in cakes and breads, while cookies generally have baking soda as an ingredient. If you need to substitute banking powder for baking soda, this is how you do it. If you need 1 tsp. of baking powder, you can mix 5/8 tsp. cream of tartar with ¼ tsp. baking soda. You cannot substitute the other way around.
Senate Race Update: Everywhere
Massachusetts -- The "center of gravity" seems to have shifted in favor of Elizabeth Warren (D) in her challenge to Sen. Scott Brown (R). Brown has not led in a poll since early October, and his revival of the issue of Warren’s use of alleged Native American background to her professional advantage appears to have fizzled. But … Brown was a strong closer in his first race, and whatever lead Warren holds is narrow.
Ohio – The other Sen. Brown -- Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) – appeared to have a strong lead on challenger Josh Mandel (R), but a new SurveyUSA poll has Mandel back within a point. But while Mandel has shown the ability to keep Brown’s ratings low, he hasn’t really shown signs of surging himself (low-mid-40s in most polls). Ohio will be the main focus of both parties the final two weeks, and there’s no way of knowing how much the presidential activity could impact this race.
Connecticut – Three new polls show Rep. Chris Murphy (D) holding a narrow lead over businesswoman Linda McMahon (R). A Democratic vote will be the “default” position in Connecticut (President Obama is expected to win big there), so McMahon will have to overcome that presumption. So far, despite a less-than-overwhelming effort from Murphy, it looks like she’s unlikely to make it. But, if nothing else, she’s served her party by forcing the Democrats to play in a state they weren’t expecting to worry about.
North Dakota – The same can be said, perhaps, about former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp (D). Polls show Rep. Rick Berg (R) pulling ahead, but Heitkamp has kept the entire campaign competitive.
Virginia – What can you say about these guys (former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) and former Gov. and Sen. George Allen (R))? They’ve been running against each other for well over a year and they’re still in a dead heat. Kaine appeared to have a narrow lead in September, but that has faded along with Obama’s apparent advantage there. Romney is now favored to win the Old Dominion, but expect Kaine to run ahead of Obama. How much ahead is the key question.
Wisconsin – A mixed bag of recent polls has the RealClearPolitics.com average at a dead heat in the Badger State. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) led narrowly in two polls and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) led narrowly in two others. The “ground game” will matter, and the GOP troops led by Gov. Scott Walker (just having survived a recall fight for his political life) may have the edge there.
Nevada – Now here’s a race the Republicans can be happy about. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) continues to be slowed by ethical issues, and appointed Sen. Dean Heller (R) seems to have taken a solid lead in recent polls.
Indiana – There haven’t been a lot of polls in Indiana, but State Treasurer Richard Mourdock might be finally pulling together the Republican vote that he struggled to consolidate after a divisive primary win. Romney made an ad in favor of Mourdock, and the partisan edge seems likely to bring him home.
Missouri – Despite the favorable GOP news in Nevada and Indiana, those states are “holds” and not “pickups.” To gain control of the Senate, the Republicans will need “pickups.” They thought they’d get one in Missouri, where Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) is not widely popular, is dogged with ethical issues, and is hampered by her vote for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). But Rep. Todd Akin (R), obviously, has failed to take advantage of the situation after a large collection of self-inflicted wounds. Polls show McCaskill holding the lead, despite some late efforts from GOP leaders to boost Akin.
Don't use softened water on your vulnerable plants
Here is a lesson I learned this year the hard way: some plants (maybe most plants) are more sensitive to softened water than others. In fact, watering your plants with softened water can result in an early and untimely death.
Make a plan for your holiday budget
The holidays are right around the corner and many of us end up overspending because we do not plan properly for this time of year. If you want to stick with a budget this year, here are some tips.Make a budget
You must make a budget in order to prevent yourself from overspending. Make a budget by creating a list of all of the people you must buy gifts for. Place a dollar amount limit by each person’s name and total your list. When you shop, try to stick with this budget as closely as possible.
Look for sales
There is no reason to pay full price for anything at this time of year. Look for sales and wait for items you need to come on sale. A lot of people will take advantage of the Black Friday sales that happen each year on the day after Thanksgiving. If you go out shopping that morning, you will be able to find a lot of deals, but beware. This is an opportunity that is usually filled with excitement and adrenaline and you may easily overspend that day while you are shopping. You will be filled with excitement and may start grabbing things you didn’t intend to buy.
Shop online
A lot of stores are now offering online deals around Black Friday. This is a great way to avoid overspending. By shopping online, you can save time and money too. You can look at various websites and buy only the things you really need to buy.
'Guess The Wrong Answer'
You can never have enough icebreaker games. Icebreakers are great for all types of parties and gatherings, and it doesn’t matter if there are a few people or a lot of people. They are great games to get people to open up and to feel more comfortable.
One icebreaker game you could play is called “Guess the Wrong Answer.” This is a game you can play in many ways, and you can customize it in a way that is best for your situation. The main point of the game is to answer the questions wrong. Every question that is asked will be a very simple question that anyone would know.
If a person says the correct answer, you can make that person sit out of the game. You can continuously ask questions until everyone is out, or you can let the people stay in the game. Like I said, you can customize this game in many ways and that’s one of the reasons that it is a fun game to play.
Some of the questions you can ask include the following:
- What day of the week is it?
- What is today’s date?
- What is the day before Sunday?
- What day comes after Tuesday?
- Who is the President of the U.S?
- What planet do we live on?
- What state are we in?
- What is 2 plus 2?
- How many eyes do you have?
- How old are you?
- Do you have children?
- What are their names?
And the list can go on and on. You can prepare a list before the game or you can just let the guests come up with questions while you play.
The importance of spending time together.
Making time to spend with your spouse is not very easy for many of us. We all have different schedules and it becomes hard, yet it is a necessity. A relationship cannot survive with investing time into it.
Relationships are hard and some people prefer not seeing their spouse often. They say it helps their relationship become better. While they might not have time to fight with each other because they never see each other, I can’t see how this is helping their relationship. A relationship should be viewed as an investment. You must put something in it to get something out.
Because of busy schedules, many couples think they do not have time for this. If you feel like this, you need to make time. Schedule time together and put it on your calendar. Find a time that works for both of you and do it. This is something that is important for all relationships.
During this time, stay away from distractions. In fact, it is best to get out of the house when you schedule time like this together. If you are home, there are too many things that could potentially distract you. If you are gone, you can avoid most of these.
Going on a date is a great way to spend time together. Take turns planning the dates and you will soon be surprised what a difference this can make to your relationship. To stay connected, you must spend time with each other and you should make a habit of doing this every week.
Making decisions for the holidays
As Christmas is quickly approaching, now is the time to start thinking about your Christmas decorations. Getting your home ready for the holidays takes time and consideration.
One of the things that you should think about is whether you will get a real Christmas tree or an artificial one. I have had both in the past, and I must say that I prefer artificial. While a real tree may look a little nicer and offer a nice aroma, it can be a huge mess.
The last time I used a real tree, I found tree bristles in my home for the next year. I just couldn’t get rid of them, and that is why I stick with artificial trees now. Besides, an artificial tree will last for many years and this is a great way to save money.
You will also need to prepare a place for your tree. If you have a large home, this might be easy. My home is not very large and it requires moving the furniture in order to make room for it. We have recently renovated our basement and we are now considering putting it down there because there is space and because it looks great down there.
My husband was concerned that we don’t spend enough time down there though, and he thought that we would not be able to enjoy it enough. That decision is still up in the air for us. Now is also a good time to begin thinking about decorations and determining what you need to purchase for the holidays.
Give a gift this holiday season
As the holidays are quickly approaching, now is a good time to start thinking of ways to give this season. The Bible teaches us that it is better to give than to receive, and the holidays are a perfect time to do this.Do you remember when you were a child and someone would ask you whether you would rather give a gift or receive a gift? Most children will state, rather quickly, that they would prefer to receive a gift. This is how children think, but many adults also feel this way. While it is nice getting a gift, there is much more joy felt in giving a gift to someone else.
If you know someone that is in need this holiday, consider helping them by meeting a need they may have. There are times when we do not personally know people like that are in situations like this, but there are organizations available for this very purpose.
There are organizations that collect toys and clothing to give to children that otherwise would not receive gifts at Christmas time. There are food drives occurring during this season too. This is a wonderful way to help people that cannot afford to buy food. You can give gifts like this and you will not know who they help, but you can be guaranteed that there will be happy families from the work these organizations do.
Now is the time to start thinking of some ways that your family can get involved in helping others during this holiday season.
President Romney & Vice President Biden?
We've discussed the possibility of an independent from Maine holding the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, and the possibility of the 2nd Congressional District of Maine holding the balance of power of the Electoral College.
But how about the Democrats forcing Vice President Joe Biden upon the administration of President Mitt Romney?
It could happen, and the odds may not be as long as you think.
It all comes down to the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The first thing to understand about the Electoral College is that it only elects the president when one candidate gets the majority of electoral votes.
Usually it is not an issue because there are only two major candidates and one of them wins a majority. Moreover, even when there have been more than two major candidates, the third-party contender (1) has not won enough electoral votes to keep the winner from getting a majority, and (2) typically prevents the second-place finisher from winning enough electoral votes to keep the winner from getting a majority.
As it happens, there was only one time since the 12th Amendment when there was no majority in the Electoral College: in 1824.
- During a brief period in which the two-party system broke down, there were four major candidates, all of whom were nominally part of the Democratic-Republican Party (yes, that's what it was called). As it worked out, Andrew Jackson, who held the plurality of both popular votes and electoral votes, was stiffed by the House of Representatives in favor of John Quincy Adams. (Thus, provoking Jackson to regroup and try again [successfully] in 1828 as the head of a party "rebranded" -- we would say today -- as the "Democratic" Party.)
OK ... back to 2012.
With only two major candidates, the only way that no one wins a majority is if the electoral vote ends in a perfect tie: 269 to 269.
But that is possible, particularly if Ohio remains "sticky" in favor of President Obama despite a national trend in favor of Romney. [And, for that to happen, the 2nd District of Maine would need to also stick with the President.]
Should Obama retain Ohio, but Romney get enough of a lift to win in closely contested Iowa and Nevada (the latter having a significant Mormon population as well), then we hit the unlikely tie.
Here's a link to what the "tie" map looks like.
Next step: the House of Representatives chooses the president, voting by state. They can only choose from the among the top three candidates in the Electoral College (so they can't pick Gen. Patraeus or anything like that ... only Obama or Romney).
Since it appears virtually certain that the GOP will control a majority of state delegations, the assumption is that the House would pick Romney.
But ... here's the wrinkle: the Senate chooses the vice president from among the two top candidates for vice president in the electoral college. So the Senate would choose either Joe Biden or Paul Ryan to serve with a President Romney.
If there are 50 Democrats in the Senate, can they choose Biden? Absolutely. Would they foist a Democrat on Romney? Absolutely.
Why? Well, most obviously there would be the chance of succession, but, more practically, there is the Vice President's vote to break ties in the Senate. And in a close-fought partisan environment, that tie-breaking vote could be crucial. It's hard to imagine the Democrats voluntarily giving it up.
And if there are 49 Democrats, 50 Republicans, and one independent from Maine who would have the deciding vote? Well, there we are back with Maine holding the balance of power again.