Monthly Archives: March 2014

Chocolate Lover’s Pie

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Chocolate Lover's Pie

Vanilla and espresso are the special ingredients in this easy to make recipe that’s sure to tantalize chocolate lovers. #forchocolatelovers, #chocolatefriendsofTenaciousM enjoy!

Ingredients

Recipe makes 1 – 9 inch pie
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening
3 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup Crisco Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Spoon flour into measuring cup and level. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in Crisco using pastry blender (or 2 knives) until all flour is blended in to form pea-size chunks. Sprinkle with water, one tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with fork until dough will form ball. Divide dough in half, if making double crust. Press between hands to form a 5 to 6-inch pancake.

2. Flour dough lightly. Roll into circle between sheets of waxed paper on dampened countertop. Peel off top sheet. For single crust, trim one inch larger than inverted 9-inch pie plate. Flip into pie plate. Remove other sheet and press pastry to fit. Fold edge under. Flute.

3. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, blend CRISCO® and sugar at medium speed until light
and fluffy. Blend in eggs, one at a time.

4. With a wooden spoon, stir in melted chocolate, espresso powder and vanilla until smooth. Add flour and nuts and stir until combined.

5. Assemble the pie: Transfer filling mixture to pie crust. Bake 25 minutes. Cool pie completely on a cooling rack, then refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Jenny Packham Fall 2014 RTW Collection

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Jenny Packham delivers a beautifully crafted Fall 2014 collection. This set is full of flowing pieces, and elaborately embellished frocks as per usual. It was too hard to edit this collection, so we had to keep every look. Enjoy them all!

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Credit: Style Pantry

The Lobbyist

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I write to regain my bearings and reboot. It’s just not that serious these people and life issues, right?. I was a smoker when I wrote this poem. I guess The Lobbyist will be happy to know I gave up that bad habit! Poetry keeps me sane…

The Lobbyist

This woman at an elevator
Was lobbying against my smoke
The ash cans didn’t count for starting up
But putting out the choking fumes
I forced upon her

Not goodwill, money or sex
Could be extorted from that soul
No secret smiles of afterglow
Or posture of secured future
Friendship brings no floor
To hear the lobbyist

Her ride up was too slow
Then, she stopped short of the number
Pushed to hard and caused a shaft
To break her lift
That swayed her against me
Against us all

Elie Saab Fall 2014 RTW Collection

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Elie Saab’s Fall collection was an absolute thing of jewel toned beauty. Burgundy, teal, dark moody florals, black lace, sequins, and the most sophisticated shade of mauve blended seamlessly together in a parade of deeply cut pleated maxis, smartly tailored trousers, and extravagant furs.

Dégradé colors shifts popped against the otherwise completely color-blocked collection. Enjoy!!

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Credit: Style Pantry

German Chocolate Hurricane Cake

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An easy and delicious cake, also known as Earthquake Cake. Coconut and pecans are baked under a German chocolate cake mix, with a cream cheese mixture on top that sinks into the batter as it bakes. #chocolateonsteroids, #chocolatefriendsofTenaciousM enjoy!

Hurricane Cake

PREP: 5 mins
COOK: 50 mins
READY IN: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

Recipe makes 1 – 9×13 inch pan
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt and spread 1/2 cup margarine in the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle coconut and pecans evenly over the bottom of pan; set aside.
2. Prepare cake mix as directed on package. Pour batter over coconut and pecans in pan. In a saucepan over low heat, melt cream cheese and 1/2 cup margarine. Stir in confectioners’ sugar until mixture is smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture randomly over top of cake batter.
3.Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool and serve from the pan.

Over The Hump Old School Soundcheck-Earth Wind & Fire

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Happy Thursday! Earth Wind & Fire is one of the all-time best bands. Enjoy!

Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band that has spanned the musical genres of R&B, soul, jazz, pop, rock, funk, disco, latin, african and gospel. They are one of the most successful and critically acclaimed bands of the twentieth century. Rolling Stone has described them as “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing” and has also declared that the band “changed the sound of black pop”.

Also known as EWF, the band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969. Other members have included Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, and Al McKay. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations; they won six as a group and two of its members, Maurice White and Bailey, won separate individual awards. Earth, Wind & Fire have 12 American Music Awards nominations and four awards. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and sold over 90 million albums worldwide.

Five members of Earth, Wind & Fire were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame: Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn and Al McKay. The music industry and fans have bestowed Lifetime Achievement honors from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award – 2002), NAACP (Hall of Fame – 1994) and the BET Awards (Lifetime Achievement Award – 2002).

Earth, Wind & Fire is known for the dynamic sound of their horn section, their energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the interplay between the contrasting vocals of Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s tenor. The kalimba (African thumb piano) is played on all of the band’s albums. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the band had many hits, including “Shining Star”, “That’s the Way of the World”, “Devotion”, “Reasons”, “Sing a Song”, “Can’t Hide Love”, “Getaway”, “Fantasy”, “Love’s Holiday”, “September”, “Boogie Wonderland”, “After the Love Has Gone”, and “Let’s Groove”. Two Earth, Wind & Fire classic songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: “That’s the Way of the World” (2004) and “Shining Star” (2007).

The band is also known as having been the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden and to receive the MSG Gold Ticket Award.President Barack Obama invited Earth, Wind & Fire to perform at the White House for the first social event of the new administration. Credit: Wikipedia

Proof of God: 11 Things That Prove God Really Exists

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Often, and thankfully, I am researching inspirational writings that propel me and encourage me in my everyday life. Sometimes, this inspiration comes in a great one-on-one conversation with a friend; sometimes I happen by the History Channel or PBS and find something there so fascinating that I’m drawn to the message in its entirety; sometimes the inspiration comes from a message at church or even a training class at work. Regardless, I am seeking greater understanding of how I fit in the world.

A fellow blogger was recently that inspiration. It is no accident that this writer fell on my radar with the exact message that I needed. On this day, it is on purpose that I share it with you.

Posted on November 25, 2013 by urantiawatch

Not long ago I ran across an scientific news article posted describing several different theories on how the universe came to be. The most common theory we have right now is of course, The Big Bang Theory, which that states all energy and mass emerged from one explosion some 14 billion years ago and ever since, our universe has been expanding outward, kind of like a huge explosion still in progress.

People of faith have a major issue with this theory, and any other theory that does not allow for Intelligent Design, or God as having a hand in the creation of the universe.
The mainstream scientific attitude is that energy is inherent and there is no proof of “a divine plan,” at least one that can be proven scientifically, and this is why so many scientists negate the notion of God or a higher power having anything to do with the appearance of our universe or anything in it.

hands-on-earth
Our first priority, then, is to define exactly what GOD is.

I would submit this concept: God is the first thing that has always existed and he is the source and origin of all things pertaining to mind, matter and spirit. Let us agree then, that God is at least these things. Assuming we have some consensus on the nature of God as I have just described, now let me present to you the following eleven absolutes, or constants that clearly show substantive evidence that just such a creator does exist.

1. Gravity. Gravity is a seemingly inherent force that bonds all things together; an invisible force that pulls objects closer, holds them in place and through this force materials remain intact, orderly and stable. If physical life was truly random, the display of order and equilibrium as it is shown in the laws of gravity would not be present. Whatever “creates” gravity is a force we simply cannot comprehend.

For human beings to attribute this great and unifying force to random causation, to assume gravity is simply inherent in the universe does not satisfactorily explain its origins, what is the source of gravity. Gravity therefore, displays order on the physical level and order is the opposite of randomness.

2. Pattern. There are patterns everywhere, on leaves, on landscapes, in mathematics and music; we see patterns and we recognize connected events and sequences. Pattern is the opposite of non-pattern, therefore pattern must be intentional. If the universe is random, pattern would not exist. Our ability to recognize pattern would also not exist. Pattern proves that whatever God is, pattern comes from God who must be the original pattern.

3. Order. It is a biological fact that when a cell is disrupted, enzymes are produced and healing agents immobilize to heal the injured cell. When a beehive is knocked down or destroyed, the hive instinctively works collectively to rebuild a new home or nest; when an ant colony is destroyed, its inhabitants work collectively to rebuild a new home. When a hurricane destroys a village or a community, there is collective unity, even on an instinctual level, to rebuild and bring order to chaos.

All life seems to operate towards an orderly fashion. Order, like pattern, implies design on some basic universal level, and design implies volitional of will: intent, a decision is made that initiates a pattern as well as an order to things physical. Because minds at all levels respond to and seek order, God must be the source of the desire to achieve order (or perfection, as in ”Be you perfect, even as I am Perfect”).

4. Evolution. I believe evolution abundantly proves life is intelligently designed and is progressive – it’s get better as time goes on, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t survive as a species. For so long Creationists and Evolutionist have been arguing over the merits of evolution as being accidental or purposeful. Was man (or life) made by God or was it purely a biological process that accidentally occurred?

I would state that evolution was the method God used to bring man into existence; it was the plan from the start. All of life on this world seems to have evolved from simple to the complex, as if it was the original plan for complex creatures like us to be born to, so that we could take our world to even more complex (or spiritual) levels of existence. Even in our own individual lives do we evolve from an infant to child to an adult and so on; our minds learn, our thoughts improve and real truth is discovered along the way, meanings are explored, values are realized.

Evolution clearly shows progression, and progression is proof of intentional design, therefore I believe evolution actually proves there is a God of Action.

5. Mind. Mind acts independent of physical reality. Mind can choose to go left or right, mind can choose to build or destroy. If all energy in the universe has a source, then Mind must also have a source. Mind is also non-material. Science may explain that the process of thinking as physical, but the volition to act, the desire to choose is not explained by mere electrochemical impulses. When we choose we are enacting a spontaneous idea that did not exist before. Mind uses a process whereas knowledge is assimilated and becomes the framework of reality; it also operates on a “circuit” where other minds can join in and connect with one-another through the mutual understanding of concepts. Language is the format, but mutual recognition of symbols is a non-material, volitional activity, it is chosen and not just a reflex-reaction to stimuli. If mind is universal, then it too must have had an original source. I believe God is the source and pattern of all minds, which is why we can commune with God through mind.

6. Personality. If we agree that all things in the universe come from one original source, then personality must also have a first and original source. But what is personality? Personality is a self-conscious being who knows and is also known. Human beings are really the most advanced of all personalities in the animal kingdom. Lower mammals likes dogs and cats know and can be known, but communication ability is extremely limited. The further down you go in the scale of life, the less able you are to communicate with other minded creatures.

No two persons are alike, and it is our personality that distinguishes us from one another, yet we are able to communicate with each other (through mind). If personality is indeed an attribute in reality, then there must be an origin to personality, a first personality. God therefore is not only the controller of physical gravity, but must also be the originator of personality, or at least a pattern or personality. Like gravity, I believe God draws us (as personalities) to Him through a sort of personality circuit. Personality in humans proves there must be a source of personality.

7. Morality. When we see one animal kill another, we do not necessarily attach a moral judgment to the act, we simply assume it is the law of the animal kingdom. But we seem to recognize on some root level the necessity for good moral conduct between human beings and even between higher animals. We seem to instinctively understand moral duty, right and wrong. Some would argue that morality is a cultural heritage, but assuming it is, morality still has an origin.

The notion of morality, the acknowledgment between right and wrong, is a non-material reality and must have had its origin in a being who bestows the ability to know morality to beings who likewise recognize this truth. Morality proves the source must possess moral discernment, otherwise we would not be conscious of it.

8. Religion. You can say that man invented religion, and you can probably think of a million reasons why. It is possible that God is a figment of our imagination, but it is equally possible that there is an intelligent force that gives us the intuition to seek him out. Most animals have a sort of internal compass that allows them to find “north” and navigate (or migrate); whales and dolphins use it to navigate the seas, birds use it when they migrate during the seasons. This internal “sense of knowing” allows animals to find their way around without getting lost. Their survival depends on it.

In this same way, I believe the religious impulse to believe in something must be a confirmation that something within us that causes our minds to contemplate non-material, spiritual realities, and this is why religion came into existence. Something compelled us to believe in something. Religion becomes an outwardly expression of our desire to find spiritual truth in an otherwise physical reality.

To say God is merely a figment of our imagination doesn’t explain why an overwhelming majority of all people believe in some form of spiritual force. Is it possible there are no real spiritual truths to be discovered? Is it possible that the few people who simply do not believe in spiritual truth are right and the rest of humanity is wrong?

Based on probabilities, I do not believe it is likely religion has been fostered and has survived throughout man’s history if the basis for it was false or simply an illusion. Religion is proof that man has an internal, instinctive impulse that comes must from a divine personality who has the ability to draw “all men to himself.”

The religious and spiritual impulse is real. If it doesn’t prove there is a God, it certainly proves that Man possesses spiritual insight.

9. Jesus. Whether you regard him as a prophet, a divine being or simply a guy who had some unusual ideas, his teachings in three years have created two-thousand years of change. Think of the effect Elvis, the Beatles, and Mozart had on the musical world. Would these same people still be relevant two thousand years from now? It is hard to know, but we can attest to the continued popularity of Jesus and his teachings, they continue to have a tremendous effect on generation after generation. Today, 1.2 billion people believe in and follow Jesus and/or his teachings. Jesus said God was real and he lives in us and we are his spiritual children. Jesus declared God was a personality and could be known, even that we could and should have a relationship with him, and thousands upon thousands of other religious teachers have said the same thing. Could they all have just made it up and are delusional? Let me put it another way. If Jesus lied, why do so many people continue to follow his teachings?

10. Prayer. Prayer is a conscious activity and a bona fide experience.
To say someone is praying to nothing is to assume one can determine the validity of the experience of another human being without actually sharing that experience with them.

While it is true a person cannot prove who he or she is praying to for sure, a person can most assuredly declare as a truth that he or she is using his mental faculties to conduct a prayer, the direction of consciousness toward another personality or entity that one believes does exist. If we assume that God is a person as we are persons, then prayer is the mechanism in which both personalities can share a mutual idea, love and devotion on a sublime and actual level of reality, and the same is true when we worship. To pray is to send love to God. Prayer proves God exists, and it proves that mind is more than a material organism, it is capable of spiritual insight and has a desire to commune on a non-material level with Deity.

11. Love. Love is not material; we acknowledge it is exists between two personalities. But can love be quantified? Can the beauty of a rose be a mathematical calculation, or is beauty a subjective and conscious reality that also exists outside alongside physical reality? The entirety of the living experience is really nothing more than the self interacting with other selves as well as the environment around us. And love is the spiritual thread that provides meaning in our otherwise material existence.

We cannot quantify love, but we can feel it; we can know it and it is an experience between two or more people. Love is not physical but it is subjectively real; Love is a real experience in the conscious mind.

Love, as a form of energy flows outward and must come from an original source. If it is bestowed, there must be a bestower. Since we assume God is both mind and personality, then he must also possess the capacity for love, and is in fact the originator of love as it is realized in our personal experience.

Conclusions and Summary

I have now provided eleven examples showing what I would submit there are “proofs” of Gods’ existence and of there being a Creator – a master designer, if you will, of life. And further, that the term God is defined as “the original source of and bestower of all force and energy systems, whether they be physical, mental or spiritual.

When one looks at the intricacies of life, its beauty, its wonder, and how delicate and fragile things are, while at the same time, when we observe how enormous the boundaries are to life, its expansive dimensions, it is just very difficult to believe all of everything we see came about because of a cosmic accident or an indifferent set of circumstances with no set destiny or purpose.

Oddly, even taking this extreme mechanistic position to its philosophical conclusions, if there is in fact no underlying purpose and everything just is and there is no God or Deity behind it all, even if a man believes this with all of his heart, that man is still left with a nagging suspicion he might be wrong.

Many people take God on faith alone, but there are just as many who can appreciate having some tell-tale signs that God may just exist after all, and I would like to believe some of my “proofs” make the existence of God a conceivable idea, if not at least a plausible one.

Atelier Versace Spring 2014 Collection

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Plunging necklines with super sexy slits, Donatella Versace designed beautifully crafted rhinestone embroidered hoodies in a variety of colors.

Using Grace Jones as an inspiration for the design, Versace mentioned during an interview ”She left a sign as a strong, powerful woman, a power goddess, I wanted to embody that.” #fashionfriendsofTenaciousM Enjoy!

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Credit: Style Pantry

Owning Fear

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One of my favorite bloggers in the blogosphere is Cristian Mihai. He is excellent writer because he is honest and just puts it all out there. I wanted to repost the following article in hopes that it will reach and inspire others as it did me.

I have come to believe that failure and success are a numbers game. You can’t accomplish success without meeting a certain quota of failures. Once you embrace this concept, failure is way less scary. It simply becomes another hurdle on your way toward your dreams.

Fear of Failure

Repost: Success. Fear. And stuff.
by Cristian Mihai

Most people like to believe talent, hard work, and luck are among the determining factors of success. For a long time I thought you only need two of them.

But, actually, if you want to be successful, and it doesn’t matter if all you want is to become a great dancer or actor or writer, or whether you want to pick up pretty girls in bars, you just have to be willing to make a fool out of yourself.

Let me tell you why. Making a fool out of yourself is even worse than failing, because our freedom is ultimately limited by what others think about us. For some, seeing their own failure reflected in the eyes of those around them is worse than the death penalty.

Because we’re social creatures disgrace feels like the most terrible of punishments. No man is an island. For whatever reason, we want to belong, we want to find others just like us, and thus we are afraid of being rejected. Furthermore, we are afraid of what consequences our actions might bring.

Some try to play it safe. Their heads bowed, they try to survive for as long as possible. For them, life’s just the battle of staying alive until they die, and every day they wake up and look themselves in the mirror, that’s a day they’ve already given up on.

In order to succeed you have to be willing to fail, and I could leave it at that, go back to writing my stories, and you’d feel like you know something. Instead, I’m going to tell you what “being willing to fail” actually means: it’s one of the scariest things you’ll ever do in this life.

You know that really famous quote from Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea?

“A man can be destroyed but not defeated”.

I’ve always thought it to be exactly the opposite. A man can (and will) be defeated. Countless times, actually. Painfully, mercilessly so at times. But he can never be destroyed.

Life’s all about failing, over and over again, and rising up every time we fail. And it’s all right to be afraid. Fear is a natural response, but not understanding fear is not.

Dreams don’t come true, you have to make them come true, you have to start things, you have to finish them, you have to search and try and work really hard at it. No matter how afraid you are, no matter how easy it seems to just give up, you have to keep going.

And I’m not talking just about writing or art. No, this is about life, about love, about being the person you want to be.

We live in a strange world. You’ve got billions of people, and they’re all different, and they all want what they want, and they’re all fighting to get it. All these dreams, all living at once on the same planet.

At times it might seem like a good idea to wait. Just put your dreams on hold.

I’ve met so many people who know what’s that one thing they want most, and they do something else regardless. Apparently, they want to wait for the right time… some of them want to earn enough money by doing something else, then spend the rest of their lives doing that which they’re passionate about.

But it rarely works that way.

There is only one battle worth fighting: spend every second of your life searching for the spark that makes you feel alive. There’s no other fight quite like it. You fail, and it doesn’t matter. The entire world thinks you’re pathologically unstable, and it doesn’t matter. You receive 200 rejection letters from agents, you keep on writing. Reach for the stars and don’t whine when you fall on your ass.

Success comes to those who fight wars they believe in. With a million strangers at their side or all on their own, there’s nothing quite like going through life with your head held high.

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Balmain Fall 2014 RTW Collection

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I am crazy for this designer and this is my second time to post about Balmain!! The collection that is Balmain Fall 2014, revived the long admired military trend, with a new take only Olivier Rousting could master. Olive greens, canary yellows, and even a dash of leopard were all present. Balmain’s signature silhouettes came out to play, (structured shoulders and pegged pants) but didn’t feel redundant.

Especially exciting were the ornately macramed dresses using lengths of twined roping as a textile. #fashionfriendsof TenaciousM Enjoy!

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Credit: Style Pantry