Website Wednesday!

The new spot to hang out in Kansas City is the Power & Light District (P&L)

On my adventures to plan some new fun and activities for me and my husband, I came across their website... and how handy!! If your visiting Kansas City or a long time local, this is a must stop for entertainment. Located in the heart of Downtown KC, P&L has a ton of retail, restaurants & bars, and entertainment venues.

This website if packed full of handy information and tips for P&L.

Take an afternoon, or evening and head down to P&L, please check out the dress code before you go! This has been a big issue in the city, so please check it out, I don't want you to get down there just to be turned away!

Have I moved to Seattle?

My goodness this weather feels like Seattle! Or so I'm told, I've never been there, but they say it rains a lot!

Kansas City is becoming the new Seattle. It rained off and on the last couple of weeks, and most of the weekend. It produced a tornado and killer lightening. No joke, a gentleman was struck riding his motorcycle home on Saturday afternoon. He had finished up a ride for "Bikers Against Child Abuse" and was trying to hurry home before the weather got really bad, unfortunately he didn't make it. Very sad story. The tornado stopped the races at the track and did several miles of damage. Luckily no one was injured in the tornado.

But this rain.. when will it stop! I know, I know, April showers bring May flowers... but the flowers are going to float away if it doesn't stop soon! Mr. Weather man as predicted 3-4 more days this week of rain. Ugh!!

"Rain rain go away, come again another day"

Friday's Fabulous Find!

Happy Friday!

I have to give a BIG thank you to Marie for this coupon. My computer has been down all day and I haven't had much time to do anything. I have to make this quick before the computer guy comes back to fix the lovely virus I downloaded...

Yankee Candles anyone? Here's a coupon for $10 off your purchase of $25. Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Don't Go Tony!

What a sad day in Chiefs land... see report below.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs have traded Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons, according to a spokesman for the team.

A news release said Gonzalez was traded in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2010 NFL draft.
“On behalf of my family and the Chiefs, I want to thank Tony for his time in Kansas City,” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt said in the news release. “Over the last 12 seasons, Tony has been one of the finest players in Chiefs history, and he will always be remembered as a member of the Chiefs. His play on the field speaks for itself -- he holds almost every major NFL record for tight ends, and he is arguably the best to ever play his position. We wish him the best in Atlanta.”

“From an organizational as well as personal standpoint there are mixed emotions,” said Scott Pioli, general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, in announcing the trade. “I have the highest personal and professional respect for Tony and consider him to be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.”
Gonzalez holds the NFL career record for tight ends with 916 receptions, 10,940 receiving yards, 76 receiving TDs and 26 100-yard receiving games, totals that are the highest of any player in Kansas City history in all of those respective categories.
Gonzalez played in 188 regular-season games for Kansas City.

Career Builder

As you all know, I'm a recruiter for a staffing agency and I look at resumes on a daily basis. One of my sources for resumes is Careerbuilder.com. They are always working hard to keep their site updated with all the latest hype. Anymore, social networks are the big hype, myspace, facebook, blogs, twitter, linkedin... there are tons, 90% are for personal use.

Careerbuilder has crossed a professional line. If you are looking for a job and post your resume on www.careerbuilder.com, they have now made accessible for recruiters and employers to see you social network pages and sites. They sent out an e-mail bragging about their new "applicant explorer". I checked it out and immediately asked my boss to fill out negative comments. I clicked on a resume, this person has been a chemist for 2 years, unfortunate layoff, they put their resume on Careerbuilder to find a job, just like millions of people have. So now when I go to view her resume, I get the resume, and then to the side had links to their facebook page, myspace page, linked in, blog and yahoo profile!!! My mouth dropped, I clicked on another resume, there i find links to all of their personal sites, as well as anything that was ever written about them in articles on the web (newspapers, sports, fundraisers) it's all on there. And if you have a common name like John Doe, imagine how many of those articles aren't about you! It is one thing to join a companies Social network on your own freewill, but Careerbuilder is posting these links without candidates consent!

I've copied below the information they are posting on resumes:
Get an exclusive peek...
You have been selected to participate in a beta group to test CareerBuilder.com's latest time-saving tool, Applicant Explorer.
You now have the ability to get a comprehensive snapshot of a candidates' footprint on the Web from within CareerBuilder.com's Resume Database. This complimentary feature will give you access to relevant information generated from:

• Social networking sites
• Professional and personal Blogs
• Personal and corporate Websites
• Press releases
• Discussion and forum postings
• Articles and news stories published online

And from an employers prospective, if we look at this information provided and the candidate does not get the job, what is stopping them from saying they were discriminated against? My company does not look up this information on our candidates, but you have now made it readily available and viewable. In some situations, I don't have to even click on the links provided to read the first few lines of a blog or website article. By providing these links, an employer can quickly see a candidates age, race, sexual orientation, if they are disabled or overweight, which is not questions on our application.

I would recommend making all of your information on your networking sites private, if you have a picture up-make sure it's a respectful picture-or take it down. This is just an easy way for employers to sneak into your personal life and it makes it even easier to be discriminated against. So since I'm large, can you honestly tell me how many people are going to look at my social networks and not call me for an interview because of that? I think quite a few.

I love animals and I'm a big supporter of pet adoptions. I adopted Spike 9 years ago and Max 3 years ago and they've brought so much joy and love into my home. I'm not sure what I would do with out them.

This weekend is Wayside Waifs Spring Pet Adopt-A-Thon. Wayside has 300 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens in need of homes. Are you considering a new furry friend for your household? Come out and adopt one of theirs for half the price! Click here to view animals up for adoption!

Website Wednesday!

This weeks page recommendation for Website Wednesday comes Marie!

http://www.romancestuck.com/

I haven't had much time to fully explore this website but it seems pretty cool. Romance Stuck "Helping you add more love and romance to your life". That they do. They offer Marriage proposal ideas, advice on how to buy an engagement ring, tips on flirting and movie recommendations. They also have fun little quizzes, trivia and games to play. They offer ideas on scrapbook pages, gifts and travel. I did notice a link in the Romance Shop forn Chocolate Covered Strawberries that I'm going to have to check out! Romance Stuck has a Q&A section as well. If you need any help in the romance department or are just looking for some new fresh ideas, check them out!

Thanks Marie, this was a great site to share!

Biggest Loser

Just a quick note to say how sad I am that Kristin is voted off the biggest loser. She was my favorite!! She was such an inspiration, and like me in so many ways.

I know she was shocked by Mike's decision, however it is a game, and he wants to win. But if it came down to who should be on the ranch, that should be Kristin, she's still has so much weight to lose and Helen doesnt.

3 weeks until the final show! I can't wait! Whose gonna win, Mike? Tara? Ron?....

Plus Size Reality Show!!!

OH MY GOD, IT'S ABOUT TIME! I AM SO EXCITED!

Where was this when I was single? I have always told my friends they needed a show like this! I'm for sure going to tell a couple of my friends about this! The only bad news, they are already done with auditions! Why are we just hearing about this then? Why must they keep the big woman down! Also, I don't see Kansas City on the list, we are one of the top overweight cities in the nation! Well enough of me rambling, here's the scoop.

Fox is casting new Reality Show for Plus Size Women!

Meet Casting Agents At Lane Bryant - I have copied a list below (even tho it's too late for auditions) It's Not to late to send in your Video and Application!!
Confident, Voluptuous and looking for love? Tired of the single life and want to settle down? Then this show is for you!! Love comes in all shapes and sizes and finally Fox is doing something about it! It is from the producer of “The Bachelor”. They are Casting: Curvy, Beautiful, Sexy Women ages 23 to 35 who are ready for the romantic adventure of a lifetime. To apply, simply fill out the online form and mail in a home video. For more information visit their website. http://www.bigheartcasting.com/ GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO APPLIED!!

• ATLANTA, GA Saturday, April 4th 2:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant – Perimeter Mall (lower level)4400 Ashford Dunwoody Road Suite 1360Atlanta, GA 30346
• CHICAGO, IL Saturday, April 4th 2:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant – Westfield Fox Valley Shopping Center195 Fox Valley Center Aurora, IL 60504
• RALEIGH DURHAM, NC Wednesday, April 8th 4:00pm – 8:00pm Lane Bryant – Renaissance Village8200 Renaissance Parkway, #1024Durham, NC 27713
• EDISON, NJ Friday, April 10th 2:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant - Menlo Park Mall100 Menlo Park Edison, NJ 08837
• HOUSTON, TX Saturday, April 11th 2:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant1201 Lake Woodlands Dr # 1082,The Woodlands TX 77380
• PHILADELPHIA, PA Thursday, April 16th 4:00pm – 8:00pm Lane Bryant160 N Gulph Road, # 1087,King Of Prussia, PA 19406
• DALLAS, TX Saturday, April 18th 2:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant – Park Lane Mall8070 Park Lane Dallas, TX 75231
• NEW YORK, NY Saturday, April 18th 12:00pm – 6:00pm Lane Bryant380 Fulton St.Brooklyn, NY 11201

Banana Bread

It seems like every year I make a pledge, a promise, a resolution, a whatever you want to call it, to lose weight. I get all excited and pumped, and quit in a month. I seriously need to diet, but I've found that I have a serious weakness for food. It's my best friend in times of comfort, stress, celebrations, it's there for everything in my life! I have motivation, it's just buried under my layers of frolls. (frolls is another word i had to make up because my husband hates when i say fat rolls) My metabolism is low, heck a slug could be me in a race.
So i thought to myself... i said "Tonya, you could at least start eating healthy and making things you love healthier...right?" and of course I agreed with myself, which leads us to this recipe I stumbled across on the Internet today.

Healthy Banana Bread

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:2 hr 20 min
makes:2 loaves (12 slices each)

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
2/3 cup Yoplait® Fat Free plain yogurt (from 2-lb container)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Whole Grain Total® cereal, slightly crushed

1.
Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven; heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of two 8x4-inch loaf pans or one 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening.
2.
In large bowl, mix sugar and margarine. Stir in eggs whites until well blended. Add bananas, yogurt and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except cereal just until moistened. Stir in cereal. Pour into pans.
3.
Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Nutritional Information
1 Slice: Calories 120 (Calories from Fat 10); Total Fat 1g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 190mg; Total Carbohydrate 24g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 13g); Protein 2g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 6%; Calcium 10%; Iron 10% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 oz-equivalents Grains *% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

*photo and recipe from eatbetteramerica.