The 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest (and a giveaway!)

Did you hear about the Pillsbury Bake-Off yet? Or do you remember past ones? Sue Compton won last time with her mini ice cream cookie cups and Carolyn Gurtz was in '08 with her double-delight peanut butter cookies. She got a million dollar grand prize....for peanut butter cookies. Gah! Those better be some amazing cookies, ya know? Hehe.
Anyway, to kick off this year's competition, Pillsbury sending out prize packs like above. I got one myself and the next is for you. Who wouldn't want some Pillsbury doughboy products for free? Hoo-hoo!
If you plan on entering a recipe into the bakeoff, you have until April 18th to perfect it, so you better get to cooking. But while you wait for the oven to preheat, here are some ways to win your own apron, pen, and book (and boy are there some drool-worthy recipes in there, yum).

Giveaway Rules

Required entry: Comment below. Tell me what you think the winning recipe this year will be....more cookies? muffins? a stunning entree this time? 

Ways to get more entries:

(For each entry, please leave a separate comment below letting me know what you did. If you're already a subscriber, just leave a comment saying so. If you follow me on Twitter or tweet about the contest, tell me your username in a new comment.)

-- Subscribe to Quirky Jessi (lots of ways....using RSS, through Blogger, or even by email)

-- Subscribe to Quirky Cookery

-- Comment on Quirky Cookery (can be done twice by posting on 2 posts)

-- Follow me on Twitter (Quirky Jessi) and tweet about the contest (can be done twice a day for multiple entries)

-- Talk about this giveaway somewhere else -- up to 2 separate entries (put a post on your site? post on a forum? use Facebook? another site you love? just be sure to leave the link in the comments)

Remember to put each entry in a separate comment so they'll all be counted. :)

~Giveaway ends at midnight EST March 13th, 2011. All information and prize packages have been provided by Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark. Good luck!

How to Dodge the "Creep" Category

I've dealt with my fair share of creeps but one of my favorites was a guy who hit on me in my college library. I could barely understand him and I was pushing hard to finish up a paper, so didn't really notice that he was trying to flirt with me.

 

Long story short, he finally asked me a direct question and after having him repeat it a couple times, thinking he actually needed help, I finally made out "Do you know where the squirrels are?" Given that he was rather scroungy and the weirdness that had already happened, I thought maybe he was homeless and a bit crazy.

 

"Um, the squirrels?" I asked back, hoping that I just misunderstood, but nope. He followed up with "Well a fox like you should know where all the squirrels are." *groans* Lol!

 

Anyway, here's another guest post from Julee about how to avoid being a creep.

When it comes to dating, it’s helpful for a man to have a good reputation. Being considered funny, charming or good looking is a great way to keep your calendar full four weekends a month, while having a reputation as being mean or sleazy will ensure that you spend many Saturday nights alone. Still, if there is one label you want to avoid above all others, it's the "creep" label. Nothing is more long-lasting or damaging than getting hit with the creep label because it’s the complete opposite of a perfect date. Here are some tips for dodging this slimy rep.

 Don't Observe Too Much

It is fun and clever to make comments about your surroundings and the people in it, but pointing out that your waiter could be like Dexter on Showtime is a creepy observation. You don't want your date thinking you've got serial killers on the brain.

With that in mind, stay away from commenting on other women. Regardless of whether or not you are being complimentary or insulting, nothing says "I'm really hoping to turn you off" better than commenting on the perfection or the imperfectness of another woman's body. Most women don't think they are perfect and unless you're perfect yourself, you shouldn't talk.

Ex-Girlfriends

Nothing says creepy quite like a petty and bitter comment about an ex-girlfriend. She might have stolen your IPad, or kissed your brother, but the time to care about that is over and done. Now it's time to focus on the woman you're with. So avoid mentioning ex-girlfriends at all. If they do come up, instead of spewing hate such as "It was hell and that's where I hope she ends up someday," try to say something simple like, "It just didn't work out, but I wish her the best." It might not be the truth, but this is far less creepy.

Don't Stare

This rule is as simple as it gets. Women enjoy being looked at and appreciate the attention, but staring is weird and it makes them wonder what you're thinking. And while this should go without saying, make sure to keep your eyes on her eyes. It's okay to notice the rest of her, but remember you are talking to her, not her shirt.

The key to dodging the creep category is to be respectful and make a woman feel comfortable. A step down from “creepy” is “desperate” and you want to avoid both. Commenting on other women, bad mouthing your ex-girlfriends, and having your eyes glued on her or anyone else's body are going to put you in the creepy category. And once that happens, you can say goodbye to your dating life.
 

Should you stalk your loved one? (Guest)

Miss A here with a guest post about stalking your loved ones. Are you a Facebook stalker?

Thanks to the World Wide Web and mobile phones stalking has become such an easy and accessible task. It has almost become the norm to invade your loved one's privacy.

Here are the most common forms of stalking:

Checking their phone: Reading through ALL texts, including drafts. Checking call registers, listening to Voicemails. A serious STALKER will want to keep on top of EVERYTHING, I have a friend who's love rat boyfriend used to cheat on her most weekends, he would save these girls numbers on his phone under various pseudonyms. But she was no fool! (See example below)

• HSBC: Was great to meet you on Friday, I have something of yours lol xoxo
• Roy Rugby: Apparently you and your "girlfriend" aren't on a break you d**k! Don't contact me ever again 

Facebook and Email: A true stalker will have the login details necessary to increase maximum stalking potential. First stop: Inbox. Second stop: Sent Items. But even without these you can get a lot of stalking done. Check every new friend request. Who is this new girl? Do they have friends in common? For extra stalking pleasure, you can check their Facebook history, where has been looking? Checking out scantily clad teens is stalker jackpot! I feel tears and tantrums coming!

Other Stalking Methods:

• Checking general Internet history- Has he been on inappropriate sites again?
• Go through his things- Pockets, draws, shelves...

What did one do before the invention of all this wonderful stalking technology?

No stones were left unturned- Through using careful listening and thorough investigation techniques.

• He said he is going out with friends but you can't come. So, what do you do? A drive by or sending in your girls are full proof checking up techniques.
• You call the land line and ask to speak to your loved one and are shocked when his mum says: "Sorry love, who is this?" WHO IS THIS?? Is she mad, why it's you of course! Time to do some serious investigating... Where is that itemized phone bill?

Am I a stalker? Go through the following steps and work out whether you are a stalker of love:

Despite my knowledge of stalking I would never call myself a stalker of love. However, through reflection I have seen that I have been through the process of a "stalking learning curve" where I have learnt to reel in my stalking urges.

Exhibit 1: Passed Relationship ending 3 years ago. My gut reaction was to say that I never stalked him. On second glance however, things look different:

• Q: Did I have his Facebook and email login details?
• A: Yes.

• Q: Did I read his Inbox and sent items?
• A: Yes.

• Q: Did I check his Mobile phone?
• A: Yes.

• Q: Did I check his Internet history?
• A: Yes

So, why did I think I never stalked him? Because all of my stalking amounted to no results. He was one of the good guys. Note to self, stalking is not result based.

Exhibit 2: Passed relationship ending 8 months ago. Immediate reaction is that I was involved in slight stalking.

• Q: Did I have his Facebook and email login details?
• A: No.

• Q: Did I read his Inbox and sent items?
• A: Yes.

• Q: Did I check his Mobile phone?
• A: No.

• Q: Did I check his Internet history?
• A: No

Growing up and deciding that invading your loved ones privacy is wrong had made me an advocate for non-stalking. However, my gut instinct informed me that this man was a rat, I checked his Facebook inbox one time only and had all the evidence of foul play that I needed. Should I have been stalking this man? The answer is that I should never have been dating this man.
 
After discussing stalking techniques from the past and present and learning from mistakes with slight hiccups, I have arrived at the important question. Should you stalk your loved one? My answer on the whole is NO. You stalk because you are insecure and want to trust but how can he trust you if you stalk him? When stalking goes wrong you can end up feeling like a fool as well as getting a name for yourself that starts with Crazy... A good friend of mine ruined a loving relationship through her love staking ways. She was doing her usual stalking method of looking through her boyfriends emails, when she found that her boyfriend had been enquiring about Bridal Sets convinced that he was going to propose she set herself for a huge fall when it turned out that he had been helping a friend of his out, this ended in humiliation, tears and a broken relationship.

When Love stalking is acceptable: There are different levels of stalking, the above techniques that I have been through are only acceptable in extreme situations, such as if your relationship has come to an end and you need confirmation that this man is wrong for you. If you are with a lovely man, do not stalk him, it just isn't fair or kind! Other acceptable stalking methods include; initial check ups, for example you have met a new man so where is the harm in getting a better feel for him through checking his Facebook? Check his photos, wall, info and friends. That should be enough to get a good picture. Other than that try and refrain.

Warning: Love stalking is not good for the soul, it can cause pain.

Miss A is a Fashion Consultant for Kranich's Jewelers; browse through for great gift ideas, including Mothers Rings and much more!

Gitcha Goomsba Up - Leavensworth is the place to be

Best marketing makeover ever and it's definitely going viral. Who wouldn't want to visit Leavensworth after this? The tune, lyrics, and video are all catchy and yet still manage to try to be informative about the town.
Have you ever seen a tourism ad quite like this?  I can't help but want to listen to it over and over again and the absurdity makes me giggle. Way to go Goomsba!
Thanks khorre! Oh, and here's a behind-the-scenes video, too.

~Edit~ Apparently the video didn't show up. Wtf? Fixed now.