Talin’s Mouth-watering 2 Layer Penne Lasagna

I know you are probably thinking Penne Lasagna? I’ve made that possible. Who says that you always need to put Lasagna dough sheets to make Lasagna? Not to me. As long as you have Pasta Noodles of any kind that is large to mid size. I am not saying the Acini De Peppe, Orzo, and small noodles you use for soup and all that. I am saying Penne, Spaghetti, even Rotini. I have tried, tested and tasted. It is delicious! Well, let’s get started.

Depending on the number of people that you are serving in your family or your friends. It is in your preference.
This is for a family or friends of 4 or 5.

You will need:

– 900g of Penne Rigate Package (depends on your pan size as well and number of people)
– **Onions or Garlic are Optional. (It is your choice)**
– Oregano
– Basil
– Tomato Paste
– Tomato’s
– Mozzarella Cheese
– Parmesan Cheese
– Cottage Cheese
– Extra Lean Ground Beef
– Sea Salt – (Never use table salt) **To your added preference**
– Grinded Black cracked Pepper
– All Spice

To begin:

1) Mash the extra Lean Ground beef into small pieces, cook it well done in a pan. That is where you will add just the Tomato Paste and Sea Salt. add about 4tblsp full of tomato paste and 1 and a half tsp of sea salt. (Add water, but not too much) You do not want your Lasagna to be Soggy. Add just enough to mix the tomato paste with them together.

2) In a separate small mixing bowl add 1 tbsp Oregano, as well as Basil, and all spice – Mix them together

3) Wash and Slice 4 fresh tomato’s – use Tomato on a Vine or Roma Tomatoes. put them aside.

4) In a mixing bowl add the grated Mozzarella Cheese and Cottage cheese. Mix it together.

To make the Penne:

1) Make sure you put a little more than half a large pot of water

2) Boil the water and put Sea Salt and as soon as it boils, add the Penne. (Never put any kind of noodles in a non-boiled water, it will stick to the bottom of the pot and stick to the other noodles)

3) Immediately stir the Penne so that all the noodles will become tender evenly and keep mixing ever 2-3 minutes. Let it boil on medium heat for about 10 minutes. If it needs more time, then go to about 11-12 minutes. MAX. (Do not overcook and make it mushy. Take it out while it’s al dente)

4) Drain and set aside to make 2 equal parts of the Penne Rigate, but first Mix the ground beef/tomato paste mix with the penne before Parting them. Add the Oregano, Basil and All spice mix with them as well.
In a Medium to Large Pyrex Pan:

1) Add cooking oil spray to the whole pan.

2) Add the first layer of the Penne and even it out.

3) Add the cheese mix – then Put Parmesan Cheese

4) Add the layer of the Tomato’s

– **for the Last layer – Repeat Steps 2-4 but add #4 first, then #3– Add the Parmesan Cheese last.

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Oven Settings:

– Bring the Oven to Convection – to 375 degrees before you put the Lasagna in.

– Let it cook for 30 Minutes

and there you have it.
Penne Lasagna. Bon Appetit! Enjoy!

Don’t Believe Everything You Read Online

In the last couple of days, we may or may not have seen the status posts about Facebook, its privacy notice and all that. Here is that status message.

“Now it’s official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: £5.99 ($9.10) to keep the subscription of your status to be set to “private.” If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I said paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become public. Even the messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. After all, it does not cost anything for a simple copy and paste.”

Or this one

“As of September 28th , 2015 at 10:50p.m. Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates.”

If Facebook were to start charging for its services or if an update were to arise, they would post an official message right on top of the News Feed and they would send you an official e-mail from Facebook stating the changes made to the account settings/privacy. This is definitely a hoax and you can tell the way it has been written. Not very professionally might I add, and Facebook will not post like that.

It is somebody that has way too much time on their hands, and wanting to start trouble. People really need to do more productive, inspiring and thoughtful things on the internet, instead of playing around and doing ridiculous things. People need to think about what they post and do online. It is very important to stop doing these things. It is absolutely ridiculous. I just want to tell you that, do not believe everything you see and read on the internet. Don’t fall for the trends. If you have posted these messages on your statuses, please remove them immediately, and share amongst your family, friends, co-workers, classmates as well and if they have posted it as well. Please tell them to remove.

This also goes for any suspicious e-mails that go to your inbox or Junk mail. If you are unsure of an e-mail, please contact me, do a screen shot of it or delete it right away. Also, do not get tricked in sending an e-mail where it asks you for your name, birth date, account information, and all that. It is fraudulent and can lead to identity theft, viruses and much more and can result in an unfortunate hassle, which can lead to a headache of draining your bank account, and your name and existence.

The internet is a fun and wonderful place full of information and research on your favourite actor, actress, movies, facts, recipes, watching videos, social media and e-mail which you can connect, communicate with your loved ones, co-workers, and make new friends. Ultimately, it is how you utilize the internet that makes it all the fun and awesome.

Just because everybody is concentrating and involved in a trend online, it doesn’t mean that you have to do the same. Don’t fall for it. It is common sense. Be careful. Prevention is key to a safe, fun, and educational environment.

So, think about it.

Have you been tricked online before?

What advice do you have for issues like this?

Would like to hear from you.

Not a Big Fan of Microwaves and the Recipes with it.

In my life, one of the many joys I have is cooking with pots, pans, wok’s, Pyrex and all those cookware products, and making things from scratch on a stove top or putting it right into the oven or toaster oven. I prepare food in healthy and great ways to ensure that my loved ones get the proper nutrition and everything. One thing that I am not a big fan of is Microwave recipes and things to heat up in there. I seldom heat up a hot beverage or something along the lines of that during the winter months, but other than that, I resort to other cooking methods as stated above.

I used to buy microwave popcorn a lot many years ago, but then I heard the harmful chemicals and ingredients used in the bag and the popcorn itself got my stomach churning and thinking, Oh my goodness I used to eat that and all those chemicals went into my body? After that, I refrained from purchasing them, and I invested into a popcorn making machine and now I make popping corn from scratch.

I know some people have no choice in using it because they either have to heat up food that you take to at your work’s cafeteria/lunch room, or when there is a child or children in you’re household to heat up their food instantly and feeding them, or when you have guests over or whatever the case maybe. It is okay, no problem.

The ample amounts of stories and articles I have read about microwaves make me think twice even three times when it comes time to use it. I have heard the radiation that gets onto the food or the unhealthy rays that come from it and then to consume it. I can really do without that appliance. Nothing beats a real home-cooked meal without having to use recipes of microwave use.

Do you use microwaves?
Or would you rather use natural pot/pan cooking and heating methods?
What do you feel about them?

Understanding Social Media – Twitter

Since April, 2007, Twitter launched its social media website to the world. Twitter’s headquarters is located in San Francisco, California, where then eventually many offices were open in the United States, as well as the world. Millions of people have now created accounts since its launch. Twitter is a social media website where people share instantly without barriers of create ideas, advertising ones own business, as well as promoting events, causes, raising awareness on issues of the world, trending the news, popular words, phrases, currents events and more with 140 Characters or less.

In August of 2007, Chris Messina had incorporated the Hashtag “#” sign which is the number sign, which makes it easier and what will attract the world with certain keywords used to promote, advertise and make something popular with the hopes that it will begin to trend. For example, when you create hashtags such as #People #SocialMedia #Life #Love #Travel – and then if another person decides to write the same Hashtags, it will come up on the same page, and it will be like a chat room where people can communicate with each other, as well as if something is found to be interesting, they will add someones tweet to their favourites and re-tweet it on their page.

You will then receive notifications, that what you post on where it is and who has posted it on their pages. When people find something or someone interesting, they may or may not start following them and adding them on their list.
I know you are probably thinking, what can I write and share in 140 Characters or less? Well, there is a lot you can do in that limit. There is always something somebody is searching for and Twitter has made it easier to share it with the world. You can post photos, links, personal websites, and so much more which of course with obeying Twitters terms of service. Twitter also has a short link generator, which you can find the twitter short link generator and save space in the status message you are about to share. You can find it on a search engine site of your choice.

Introducing you the Executive Team:

Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer
Adam Bain, President of Global Revenue
Alex Roetter, Vice President of Engineering
Anthony Noto, Chief Financial Officer
Kevin Weil, Vice President of Product
Luca Baratta, Vice President of Finance
Vijaya Gadde, General Counsel
Adam Messinger, Chief Technology Officer
Gabriel Stricker, Chief Communications Officer
Brian “Skip” Schipper, Vice President of Human Resources

Board of Directors:

Jack Dorsey (Chairman)
Co-Founder, Twitter, and CEO, Square

Dick Costolo
CEO, Twitter

Peter Chernin
Founder and Chairman,
Chernin Entertainment and The Chernin Group

Peter Currie
President, Currie Capital

Peter Fenton
General Partner, Benchmark Capital

David Rosenblatt
CEO, 1stdibs.com, Inc.

Marjorie Scardino
Chairman, MacArthur Foundation

Evan Williams
CEO, Medium; CEO, Obvious Corp.

There are quite a few people that have told me, what is twitter? How can I understand it? why did it become so popular? Well, it is a social media website that has blossomed like wild flowers in the world. Like I said in my previous articles, people will search for anything, and when it comes on the news about a new website, and they begin to advertise so much on Media outlets, it will be a huge hit and sensation in the world. Twitter still is after 8 years.

I am so happy with Twitter. I feel that it has gotten so much easier to raise awareness about certain topics and issues of the world, and to address important subjects to our society. Thank you Twitter for giving us all an opportunity to get out there, to achieve, and to do what our hearts desire to the world. If you do not have an account with twitter, make one, it will make it so much easier to share blogs, ideas and so much more that you want to contribute to the world.

I wish Twitter and its staff all the best and many more years of trending, re-tweeting, tweeting, sharing and more. Thanks twitter.

The Social Media Information Overload

In the life and times of the society we are in, We keep hearing about Social Media and the many websites and how technology has changed so much with communication and how the internet is the biggest information/communication hub of the world now and I know in the last few posts, I have written about it, however this is such a thing as Social Media Information Overload, however that should never deter you from putting yourself, your ideas, suggestions, experiences, stories and more out there. There are many people in this world who want to look for different types of information in different context and there is always some type of information out there for everyone.

I know Social media is a huge topic and starting out and beginning your journey is something that can be frustrating and so intimidating, that you just want to give up quickly and not give it a chance. When I began blogging, writing and putting myself out there in the public eye, I never thought that I would get this far. I read many blogs, and tutorials on social media and how to get myself out there and I began following those instructions, then gradually I began getting so much feedback and so much more out of it. At first, I thought this is such a waste of time, and I won’t get anywhere, but then I gave it a chance, and everything fell into place. You just need to give it the green light.

I know some people are probably thinking, how of hundreds and thousands of blogs, twitter posts and all the writings, articles of the world, how someone can get to my site, and see my posts and things that I put out there to see? Well, it is very easy with over 3 Billion people who use the internet, it is very easy for so many people out of those billions of people who want to search for something that interests them and they will go through many sites to find it and they will get onto your site. It is pretty neat to be shown on Search Engine sites, and with searching for a topic or something is easy. People will sift through many search engine pages and when they see a blog or something that interests them, they will click on your site and see the content they want, then they might share it amongst their family and friends, and then will share it on their social media sites.

Some tips to take note of and a word of advice when beginning your social media journey:

– Be Patient
– Engage, Discover, Deliver
– Read Social Media Tutorials
– Get on Social Media Marketing websites and receive e-mails on articles
– Keep writing, Posting material
– Give yourself and your social media journey a chance
– Get on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
– When you are on twitter hashtags like this #hashtags #blogs #socialmedia is important to spread out with whatever topics you want to share in 140 Characters or less.
– Never take take take – Give as well.

When you are in social media, do not make it a competition of “Oh I am better than everyone else” approach “My material is the best” attitude. People automatically feel the way things are written online, and if people feel that someone is complimenting themselves so much and becoming a center of attention, it becomes less interesting to engage into that persons website. Never make someone feel that their material and what they write is something that is not good or don’t make people feel that what they have to say isn’t important. We are all important, and what we all have to say is something that is good to read. Never slander and insult somebody because of it. We all have something incredible and wonderful to contribute to in the world.

All in all, Social Media is a great thing to be in. It is a communication of information that can be beneficial for everyone. So take the chance and see where it takes you. Have fun and best wishes!

My Vision of Empowerment of Social Media

Since social media has been a big trend on the internet and the world, We all have different outlooks and perspectives toward the vision of empowerment and communications that social media has that a lot of people are in, however my vision for social media and what I want to get out of it is to inspire, share my views/opinions and to educate others in the life experiences I have had and will continue to have. My vision is to raise awareness on certain issues that have me deeply interested in and to make a difference one person and many people at a time.

Some people create blogs, and become active on social media to see where things will take each and everyone of us and the purpose we have to get to that point. Still, I think the traditional word of mouth is something much more powerful, however with this new age in technology, with communication that has gotten a lot easier than years ago, information gets sent instantly on the other side of the world with just a click of a button. It is incredible where inventions, technology has led us to a new realm of today, tomorrow and the future.

Social media has different levels of how we look at it, some always want it to be fun with posting funny jokes, memes, and doing funny things all the time, some post inspirational quotes, some post photos of themselves and/or with friends/family, postings about so many things.

Advertising has become a lot easier with posting events, flyers, sharing it on twitter, on Facebook news feeds, walls, inviting people to pages, fan pages, groups, also making it easy to RSVP to events, people post up greeting cards, Photoshopping, and all kinds of interesting and neat things. Social media is a huge thing in the world right now and it is getting more popular as time goes by.

A few people have messaged me in the last few years and have asked me “What are you getting out of social media”? My answer is simple, to empower, to communicate, to keep in touch, to meet new people, inspire, and with the hopes of changing the world and the perspective on life with my words and to spread love, happiness, joy and smiles across the globe. Once someone posts something, it is out there for the world to see.

We all understand social media in different context and ways and what we define our vision of it is. Some use social media to communicate with family and friends, some use it for business/commercial use and as well as many other things. No matter how we look at social media, we must always be very careful of the information we transmit and not post anything and everything that goes on in our lives for the world to see.

The biggest vision of mine is to communicate to the world through my eyes, my words, and my thoughts to the world as much as possible.

Why Do We Write? What is the Sole Purpose?

In life as human beings in the world, we are all good at something or multiple things and we are blessed with being gifted and talented in whatever that is instilled in you. We all have a purpose in life and it is never late to find out what it is. One of them being is that a lot of people choose to write. Now in social media, and blog sites where it is easy to transmit information and being able to write more easier and quicker so that many people can see instantly rather than waiting for a book to be published. The world can see what you have posted. I began writing in 2002 and even maybe even before 2002. I cannot really remember, but I have been writing for a long time. I began by writing for my church and the events it had, I became a communications director and secretary for committees where I wrote meeting minutes and e-mailed them out to fellow committee members, then eventually when it came time for social media to come around, I began writing for the community of the world.

My Sole purpose of writing is to get my points across. I want to inspire, uplift and make a persons day. I mostly 99.9% of the time like to write about positivity, happy thoughts, optimism and instilling people in giving them confidence, and so much more. I want to make a person smile, to feel good about themselves, to know that there are people who care about every individual around the world, because I care about the human race, and everybody who is on-board in this planet we live in. We are only on this earth for a limited time. We must learn to help each other, give each other a hand, inspire one another, to care, love and appreciate one another without violence, and all the other negative things in the world that are going on right now.

There are so many reasons why people write and the sole purpose of writing is to share experiences in all walks of life, to share ideas from writing news stories, articles, writing poetry, lyrics, short stories, fiction, true stories, sentimental stories, scripture, about movies, music, novels, traveling, children’s books, food recipes, organizational ideas, giving advice, tips, and suggestions about things and places in the world. There are many perspectives that lead to writing. Writing skills are important when you get your points across, but it does not have to be perfect. I know writing is a task that we bloggers know and sometimes we get writers block where it is absolutely difficult to think of fresh new ideas and a topic to write about which is totally in the norm. Even I get days where my mind cannot come up with new ideas, so I resort to reading online, brainstorming subjects to write about and make it into my own words.

Lets put it this way, writing can be anything you want it to be, but to make it in ways where it does not offend anybody, or directly or indirectly to point fingers to someone to prove a point. It is always best to take up personal issues and problems you have with an individual right to their face to confront and come clean about a situation, rather than posting it on social media where thousands and millions of people can see and involving everybody else. It is you, your business and the other persons. It sends out the wrong message. It is best to leave very personal issues off the internet. Not everything should be published and posted. Not when it comes to issues with others. It can really ruin friendships and relationships. Trust me, I have learned that lesson and in a hard way, which is why I do not do it anymore. I am speaking from personal experience. It is not fair for the other person and not fair for yourself as well. It can cause a lot of trouble.

Now to ask you, what is the sole purpose of writing? Why did you start to write and contribute to the world? I know some people will not have all the answers and it is hard to answer this question, but would love to hear and read about how you discovered about writing and what is does to you. Best wishes to you in your writing journey. If you can write or contribute to the world with your words, you can make a difference in the world. It all starts with the outlook that you do have. All the best. 🙂

The Purpose of Blogging – Why do we do it?

In the past few blog posts with the subject of communication and along the lines of what is relative to that, the way we feel, how we get our words and points across to the world and how we do it to reach out to others, and to share with the world our points of view, opinions, suggestions, to raise awareness on issues, to advertise, promote, social issues, recipes, tips, organizational ideas, simplifying life and so much more. We all have our own perspective and our own purpose when blogging and writing about our life. The question is why do we do it? Why do we spend time with writing? Why do we post our blog entries?

To answer those questions is quite simple. We all have a voice and existence in this world and there is just so many stories, journeys, experiences, moments, memories, being helpful, useful and beneficial information about life, travel, food, the holidays, situations, issues to address to the world and things that happen to us to share, to give our insight, and so much more. We spend time writing is because it gives us a boost, and the most important thing is how we feel, and how we want to communicate to the world. Blogging is a therapeutic yet rewarding feeling. It is like writing in our diary, but a virtual diary that we want to post public. We post blog entries to contribute something, an idea and something to share with the world.

Now with this being a virtual diary, there comes responsibility and thinking before we press the post button. There are private issues and things that should not be published of real private matters in ones home, in ones personal life. back in the day and maybe until now people have a personal and private diary, and I am sure you do not want certain people to open it up and unlock your diary of real personal things that you do not want people to see, its almost like the same thing with public blogging. You do not want to post private matters for the world to see, so always be mindful and think before you post something so personal.

Never keep your blogging private. It defeats the whole purpose of writing and expressing to the world. If you want to keep some of your writings private, make a diary, and keep it for yourself in hiding, but hiding a blog is pointless. Somehow no matter how private a blog is, somehow it can always be seen in a way.

Never stop blogging, never stop writing and most importantly never lose your purpose and perspective on why you started blogging in the first place. Never give up what you enjoy doing, never ever let anybody tell you to stop doing what you are good at. Well, nobody is perfect, however that should not define anything. You are in control of your own destiny, your own goals you want to attain from blogging and writing to the world. Remember you do not have to be a perfect blogger, its how you feel and what you want to accomplish. The beauty of blogging is something that is indescribable and the future of journal writing which is now.

So, what is your purpose? Why do you do it?

Communication Style – What is your Type?

As we go through life from the moment we are born, communication is and will always be a vital asset in our day-to-day lives. We need communication when we speak to our family members, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, partners, groups, friends, colleagues, our bosses, fellow students, teachers, traveling, in social media, sending e-mails and so many different types of communication.

I attended a seminar “Inspire For Tomorrow” at my Armenian Community center and it was about communication, and I learned so much in a couple of hours. It put things into a new perspective, it gave me new light, new ways to deliver our speech, our stories, and so much more. There are several ways you can communicate, but here are 4 styles of communication, that I have observed in my life and my thoughts on it all:

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– The Driver — Someone who is direct, to the point, detail oriented, who speaks their mind, who produces results, attaining goals, gets into competitive situations, taking charge and being in control, wasting no time to beat around the bush.

– The Relater — Someone who cares about a situation, who can connect with others by thinking of the other person first, who’s relationships and friendships mean the world to a person, someone who is relaxed, and feel cared for, becoming silent, introspective and withdrawn, being helpful, coinciding with others, comforting others.

– Analyst — One who always seeks data, second guesses people, making decisions after analyzing a situation, testing people, giving people to focus on interpersonal and communication skills, those who despise making mistakes, double-checking everything, not being able to trust situations and people until doing further research on a person.

– Expresser — Someone who recognizes emotions, who expresses feelings, and what that person wants to say, the over sharing person who keeps on talking, and beats around the bush, making a small story into a big one, gets excited, giving feedback, boring people because of overusing communication, explaining ideas to the core then saying things out of turn which then makes it into an argument and problems can arise of sharing too much information.

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All those 4 styles have good and the bad, but we must find a way to be consistent when we communicate with others, using the right tone, words, following up with someone privately about something that you feel is gone wrong, not announcing it in a public, group setting, taking up issues with the person directly, instead of involving others in the mix. People will appreciate it when someone brings the other person to the side and discuss with them a problem, situation or something going on, then finding a solution to the problem, solving whatever issue, and finding the right words, tone to express those feelings.

We must always think about how we are going to present ourselves, no matter where you are, whether it is about self-regard, being assertive, emotional self-awareness, self-actualization, independence. It could be a beautiful thing, but it is in the way we utilize it all.

Communication is a never-ending learning process, and nobody is perfect and makes mistakes, however to always learn from them and progressing to do better, to improve in relationships, friendships, is something that is imperative. If you believe you have made a mistake, do not worry, focus on the future and make it better, improve the way you speak to others, always ask for advice, always have a mentor, someone whom you can talk to a person whom you can trust if you are unsure of how to deal with a situation if you are unsure yourself. It is always good to ask, then to stay silent.

Always be confident, express your ideas to others, be in communication, always tell a person how you feel about something without offending them. There is always a way to go around it. How do you normally handle situations that are presented to you? What have you learned from it all?

Why is communicating and expressing yourself so important? Everyone has a voice, everyone has something to contribute to the world, that is why everyday in technology, and things of the world are being invented, new innovations, new concepts, context, perspectives, theories, discoveries are being made across the world, because many people communicate, and want to get out what they feel is right for the benefit of the world and its people. Each one of us can make a difference in this world, and communication is one of them and we begin just doing that. Without that everyone would not have a voice and this world cannot continue to move forward. That is exactly why Communication is key and so important in our daily life.

So no matter how we express ourselves, the most important thing is the way we do it and a way where it will not hurt others, and where we can find common ground with everything in our lives.

How do you communicate? What is important to you to get across to others? Best wishes to you in your journey. We can all do something positive, say great things and to avoid messy situations, by just changing our tone and the way we communicate.

Never Apologize for The Way You Feel

A lot of the times in life we go through many feelings, emotions, and sometimes we tend to apologize for what we are feeling and telling people our emotions. You have every right to feel what you are feeling, You never have to explain yourself to anybody. Never be ashamed of your feelings. I know they say that you have to express your feelings everytime and tell people exactly how you feel, however sometimes you cannot control feelings, you cannot explain the way you feel due to a certain situation. I know no matter what you have to tell someone how you feel, and not keep anything inside of you, but some circumstances say otherwise. It depends on the person and whom you can confide into easily.

If you keep on living your life on other peoples terms and the way they want you to feel, the way they want you to live your life always telling you what to do, forcing, commanding you to do something is not somebody you want to associate with. Find the path and the people who can relate to you, do what you feel is right for you. Sometimes you need to get out from the norm, and do what is best for you. If you keep on living your life to please others, to always try and impress others, to always keep proving yourself and working hard for other peoples approval, you are not going to get anywhere in life and all you are going to do is just live for other people.

Sometimes you need to put your foot down and say, okay enough is enough. People talk so much about you and your life, gossip, spread rumors, put words in your mouth and what you should do with your life, however sometimes people need to look at themselves in the mirror first before they point fingers, criticize and belittle you. Some people have nothing better to do, than talk smack about other people, when they need to sort out their life and what they need to do. Remember nobody full knows you and about your personal life and what you are going through, and you never have to explain yourself to nobody.

Ignore people who talk so much bogus about you, and ignore people and block them out of your life. Life is too short. Be happy, be you, live your life on your own terms and your own comfort, and do not worry about anything else. People are always going to judge and point fingers. Don’t let it affect you and your life, well-being and who you are. True, compassionate and understanding people will be there for you every step of the way without explaining yourself. Remember others opinions of you, do no matter. Its how you make an opinion of yourself that matters. As long as you feel good about yourself and bring yourself up with good thoughts, confidence, the way you are is what matters the most.

People will always do and say mean things, but never let that take control of yourself.

I have realized a lot of things in the last little while, that you cannot expect people to understand you, your feelings and be on the same page as you, not everybody will be your friend and agree with you. I recommend that people should never stop being themselves, be who you are, feel what you want to feel. In the end we are all human beings in this world, we do make mistakes, we do wrong in social issues, we tend to sometimes associate with people whom we always have to try to fit in, do things to stay in the loop, however you never need to try to fit in, try so hard, and try to stand out, because there will be people who will appreciate you for you and there will be people who will love and cherish you and the memories shared and will share in the present and the future.

Wishing you the best with everything and remember never apologize for the way you feel. Always be thankful and just go on with life. There is only so much you can do and life will never give you more than you can handle.

The Benefits of Writing and Blogging in Social Media

All of us in this life have something special and incredible to contribute to this world, and whatever it is, each and everyone of us are gifted with something great. In this day in age with social media, blogging, writing and contributing to the digital world with our thoughts, words, feelings, emotions, issues, and other things is something so fabulous and the rewarding feeling of stepping out to social media and the benefits from it all is something that some people do not realize what an impact an individual puts on other people reading and engaging into peoples blog sites.

There are people always searching for something, and it is quite easy to get to a website/blog that has the topics that person is looking for when blogs are put as public and visible to search engines which I recommend people do, because what is the point of writing a blog to keep it private? I truly believe that when you sign up to write a blog, it is imperative to post it as public. There can be people reading the blog and then offer insight, comments, recipes, interests, music, about family, friendships, world issues, topics, hobbies, health, love, organization ideas, notes, tips, travel and so much more. You just need to moderate comments coming to your blog and everything will be alright.

The benefits of writing and blogging is something that is very important to me and my life. I have been writing for 12 years now, and so many articles written for my local community, for websites, for other social media sites among my WordPress blog of course. I saw so many benefits from it from not only engaging into other peoples blogs, and following people, but it makes the world a much smaller place and easy to interact and reach out to other people.

You do not need to be the perfect writer, or have the most perfect blog, you do not need to be 100% in your Blog writings, it is however you feel the need to write your blog and how you know it, how you want to express yourself to other people. Just make sure that your blog and what you write is something that you should always be careful and think about before pressing the submit, send, post button. Also with Social Media comes the social responsibility of the content we post, and what to post. Always use your discretion and if you are unsure about posting something, do not post it.

Enjoy your blogging journey, take in the benefits. You never know who stops by your blog, it can be someone famous, professors, preachers, and whoever is looking for information, inspiration, positivity, or whatever their heart desires. It is an amazing journey to go through. Even if you cannot blog everyday, no matter how many times you write, its amazing. There is no time limit or rules. Besides you make your own rules when it comes to your blog, but like I said use disrection and make wise decisions on what to post, and you will see the benefits soaring and you will see a whole new world to social media and blogging.

We are all in this together, we all have something to contribute and to share around the world. We all have different perspectives, opinions, suggestions, advice, feelings, emotions and so much more to give. Once we join social media, blogging, and the virtual/digital world, we can always do something fabulous with it, make a difference in this world and making everyone welcome to it. It is the way we handle it and the way we control it.

Blogging is a beautiful and incredible thing. Thank you to my fans, supporters, family, friends and so many others. Without my readers, blogging would not be possible. So again I say thank you.

Just have fun with it, do what you do, and enjoy the benefits of your social media journey through blogging and much more. many best wishes to you all.

How to Exercise and Diet With No Pain, No Crazy Diet Plans

All if not Most of us know the pain and stress that comes with exercising, eating well, following a diet plan, getting quick results in no time, thinking about the pain that comes with exercise and much more. Well, do not worry, I have the solutions and tips to steady, healthy, painless results that will benefit you in the future, but first you will need to dispose all those diet pills, protein bars, energy drinks, and all those crazy smoothies that are loaded with oodles of chemicals, harmful toxins that do more harm than Good which is a recipe for diseases later. Do yourself a favour a get nutrition out of real food, and skip those energy diet stores. Safety is number one and getting healthy and fit will not happen overnight. Work at it. Even if it may take a year, just get yourself up and be patient.

Exercising:

We all know that exercising has a lot to do with weight loss with the balance of food, but visit your doctor first, ask what type of exercise is good for you, whether its elliptical, treadmill, weight lifting, exercise bike, sit ups, push ups and whatever. I am going into my 3rd week being on the treadmill. The first week I began walking at 2.5 speed at 10 minutes, then I increased my exercise the week after to 15 minutes a day, then as I began my 3rd week, I am doing 20 minutes on the treadmill each day at 2.5 speed until I get to an hour much later.

It is important to pace yourself and begin to exercise and just get your body moving, then when your body gets used to it, slowly increase your time on a treadmill and exercising with whatever you have. Never begin at the top. Work your way up to prevent yourself from hurting and then you won’t want to do it anymore. Trust me, I have been there and done that. I refused to ever go back on the treadmill because of it, and now with learning how to do it, I began a pain free exercise that I will see results in the long run and your body will thank you later. You don’t want to hurt your Body, you want to get healthy and do it safely.

Skipping Meals — Do not Do it!

Skipping meals will not only do harm to your body, you will lose nutrients that your body needs to fuel up, Never skip meals. Eat smaller portions through the day and never go hungry as you will end up eating more and then that will add up the calories. Eat fewer calories, but portion them out and follow healthy recipes, but never ever starve yourself. You maybe losing weight, but what are your insides telling you? Getting healthy doesn’t mean that you have to skip meals, it means to eat everything, but limit yourself.

Water – Drink plenty of it.

Never drink Ice Cold or Cold water. Always drink warm to hot water as it will absorb into your body more and you will be hydrated. Put lemon or a little cinnamon to add flavour to your water and drink. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily. You will end up using the washroom more, but that is a good sign. It means your body is getting rid of fat, and toxins. Your organs will function better, and your bowel movements will improve from being so constipated, well if you get constipated.

Food Intake — Eat everything: Never cut out anything:

Eat equal amounts of carbs, breads, grains, fruits, veggies, meats, pastas, cheeses and other foods. Never ever cut anything out from your diet as everything has its nutrients, with iron, folic acid, niacin, vitamins and minerals needed for the body to function. Always be aware of what your purchase at the grocery store, and read the nutrition labels… Sodium and Sugar are in a lot of our foods, and it is not very good for you, but if you limit the quantity ingested, you will see results. Follow the labels, and go from there. The more you cut out sweets and carbs from your diet, you will want more, so limit yourself and never ever let these crazy diet plans get to you.

What really angers me is when people waste a whole egg, do not throw away the Egg yolk, eat the whole egg, you are entitled to eat it one everyday, and sometimes a couple of times per week, but do not cut it all out. It really makes my blood boil when people waste food like that. DO NOT. Eat EVERYTHING!

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Trust in me, I have been there when it comes to pain and trying to seek fast results. It put my body into pain for weeks and sometimes I could not even move. I was sore, I was crying in agony and in pain. I gave up very quickly because I did not want to feel that burn pain in my lower leg calve muscles. That killed me. I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I began so many times with my exercise and stopped within the few weeks or 3 months. I just didn’t have the energy to do it anymore because of the pain I endured. It was so bad, That I cried.

Don’t let over excessive people give you advice on how to workout and eat right, don’t let these extreme diet plans, exercises get in the way. Do it as you feel, and listen to your body. Don’t allow over extremists to control your mind and your motivation. Get motivated by doing it at your own pace and never fall for gimmicks, and those diet stores with terrible chemicals that will hurt you in the long run. So save lots of money, get moving on your own time and never ever allow others to control you. Lose weight, have fun doing it and do not stress over how long it takes. Longer is better. trust me.

You will thank me later.In a year or less from now, you will find me and say, Talin you were right about all this. I am glad you opened up my eyes. Exercising and Eating everything should not be struggle, it should be fun and exciting.

All the best and enjoy!

The Start of My Health & Fitness Routine – Any Advice for me?

I am really excited to announce a new phase in my life beginning with the journey to getting more healthy and fit and to lose weight starting with:  – 15-20 minutes on the treadmill for the first 2 weeks everyday – After 2 weeks 25 minutes for another 2 weeks everyday
then the 2nd month 30 minutes, then up to 45 minutes the 3rd month, then 1 hour after the 4th month, then I will exercise 5 days per week after the 3rd month. Just the beginning, I will need to exercise everyday and keep at it. I was thinking about it during the weekend, I said what am I doing to myself? What am I doing to my body? I need to get moving.

Then I will do some Yoga as my Body gets skinnier. Eventually I will join a Gym, but I already have a treadmill at home.

I want to improve my nutrition and food intake, and eat healthier to keep the weight off. I will have a light breakfast in the morning with oatmeal, boiled egg, a glass of water or 2, then small portions throughout the day with portioned rice and pastas with a limited amount, drinking about 1-2 liter’s  of water a day, no sugar in coffee or tea, no chocolate, but dark chocolate, no refined sugars, candies, sweets, lots of veggies and fruit, more leafy greens, and foods with colour, more raw veggies… Hopefully by the summer time I will lose about 40-50 pounds.

How can I stop the cravings for eating a lot of Carbs and how do I prevent myself from eating sugary things? Its going to be a huge challenge, but I am up to changing my lifestyle, and the way I eat.

What websites should I visit that really help with Fitness and Eating well? There is a lot out there, but which ones are actually accurate and from the best sources?

What advice do you have for me? What do you think I should do in terms of portion control? what kind of things I should avoid, and all that other stuff? How can I maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle without overdoing it. I never want to over do it.  I would appreciate it so much. Thank you!

Talin’s — Favourite Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls

Many Years ago, I was at my Armenian Community Center and there was a Bazaar like a flea market type of event, and a couple of days before I went and assisted the Armenian Women’s Guild Group to make Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls to sell, So I learned how to make it from the Armenian Ladies and perfected it. So, I decided to write down the recipe to make it at home. I was so glad I did. It is incredibly tasty, and I enjoy making this. Although I have not made it in over a year, but I was thinking about it today, so I want to make it again this week, and Sweet Tahini Swirls are good anytime, any day. You can serve this with Coffee, Tea, Armenian Coffee, or at anytime. You can have it for Breakfast, or for a snack, whenever your heart desires. Well, Here is the recipe for this delicious dessert.

This is counted as 4 Bread Swirls of 16 Cm’s, but you can play around with the amounts according to how many you are making.

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

Made some modifications, but full credit goes to the site above

Dough:

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 120 ml lukewarm water
• 200 gr all purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Filling:

• 4 small tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4x tsp olive oil
• 4x tsp cinnamon

Use Flour on countertop or big cutting board to work with the dough and filling.

Make the dough

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, and add the sugar and oil. Add the flour, a handful at a time. Quickly knead into a floppy, flexible dough that does not stick to the hands anymore. Leave covered in a bowl for about 2 or 3 hours, to rise. As all the air will be rolled out of it later, the stretchiness of the dough is more important than the amount of air in it.

Follow the Following Steps.

When the dough has had some time to rise, divide it into four balls. Roll out one ball at a time, into a rough rectangle of “pizza thickness” – about 2 or 3 mm (1). Scatter the teaspoon of olive oil over it. I combined the tahin with the sugar, added a teaspoon of finely ground lemon rind (packet) to that, and scattered the somewhat dryer tahin mixture, like crumbs, over the dough surface (2). Dust the tahin-sugar layer with cinnamon. Gently press it flat with the back of a spoon. You’re now ready to roll.

Pre-heat the oven to 190° C. If you use a baking stone, put it in the middle rack.

Dust the worktop with a bit of castor sugar and flour to help with the rolling. Cut squares of baking parchment of about 17 x 17 cm. Roll up the dough rectangle, starting at the longest edge. Roll and pull and gently twist a bit, and the resulting sausage will be much longer, about 40 to 50 cm (4). Taking one end as the center, now turn the sausage in on itself, forming a rolled bun (5). Gently press it flat with your hand, then transfer onto a piece of parchment, and use the rolling pin again to gently roll the bun into a 15cm wide flat circle, about a cm in thickness (6). Prepare as much swirls as your oven can hold in one go, leave the rest covered up.

Using a pizza peel or an extra-wide spatula to support the flat tahini swirls sitting on their separate parchment, quickly transfer them into the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or till parts of the surface have turned a deep golden brown. Get them out and leave them to cool and get nice and crispy on a wire rack.

Have some apple tea to go with that. Their taste is not overly sweet; and I love the combination of crunchiness with that slightly caramelized sesame filling. Roll over Swedish cinnamon buns, these tahini swirls are awesome!

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita

Recently, I discovered an incredible, wonderful and not to mention great looking chef on television on CBC. I was flipping through the channels one time and I really enjoy cooking shows, so I stopped on CBC’s channel while I saw this cooking show, and I saw that it was In The Kitchen with Stefano Faita, so I started to watch his cooking show, and I automatically knew it was a show I would like then I began to love it. I cannot wait to watch his show daily and especially, by the way Chef Stefano explains the way to cook food, incredibly easy methods, very tasty, full of flavour foods of which I like. I love to cook myself and I can tell that he is not afraid of adding a lot of flavour and he is always enthusiastic and excited when it comes to food.

This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Chef Stefano Faita during his chat that he had set up for his fans to ask him questions, and he gave me tips and tricks on what to do with stir fry when it becomes too liquidy, to always make sure my wok is hot and to make sure the liquid from the meat and vegetables dry out before putting in the soya sauce or whatever seasoning , and I had also asked him how to make pasta from scratch and he explained it to me thoroughly and I got to see his recipes and he answered me so quickly because it was an hour chat with him. He seems to be such a great person all around and I am so glad I got that moment to talk with him. I’d love to meet Chef Stefano Faita someday and enjoy his food that he makes with his magic chef hands. I am really impressed, and there are foods and ingredients that I never knew of until I learned them from Stefano. I enjoy chopping, dicing and the way he handles food. He is a natural.

I have learned so much about cooking from him that, I cannot wait to try his recipes at home to feed my family, friends and when people come over whether it’s for the holidays, occasions or for no reason, just to hang out with great company and great food in the mix, that will keep people coming back for more as Stefano says while he is cooking on Television.

You can catch In The Kitchen with Stefano Faita on CBC at 3:30pm Monday-Friday’s  in Canada or you can go to www.cbc.ca/inthekitchen to obtain more information, Stefano’s recipes, and where you can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and more. You can also go to a taping of his show and be part of his audience. I wish Stefano Faita the best and May you continue working with those Magic Chef hands that you are so gifted with.