Personalized TV Guide

This is a screen shot for a new program that allows you to set up a TV guide only for the stations you want to watch. This is great if you have cable or satellite with 100's of channels but only a few that you watch. The program, called Free Guide, is a download that look pretty easy to configure for your viewing. Get your Free Guide software by clicking here.

Cool Toothpick Christmas Tree Craft

If you Christmas decorating budget is a little thin this year, here is a great from DIYLife.com for a Toothpick Christmas Tree.

1. Go to your local craft store and buy 15 medium-size styrofoam balls and a round styrofoam ring.

2. Spread out newspapers on your work surface.

3. Take a styrofoam ball and stick toothpicks all around it so the end result looks sort of like a big snowflake. Do the same thing to all the styrofoam balls.

4. Set out your styrofoam ring. This will serve as the base of the tree. Place the balls around the ring.

5. When you've covered the ring, create a second layer. This layer will be a little smaller than the bottom layer.

6. When you've completed the second layer, create a third. This layer will be a little smaller than the second layer.

7. At this point the tree shape should be clear. Keep adding layers until the tree is complete.

8. When you've finished forming the tree, take out your can of snow and spray, spray, spray! You want a nice, thick cover, but you'll have to build it up slowly. Be sure to let each coat dry thoroughly before adding the next.

9. Once you have a nice snow-covered tree, add the ornaments... carefully. You now have a toothpick Christmas tree!

5 free songs from Caleb Rowden

Caleb Rowden has an early gift for you, 5 free songs. Just follow this link to Caleb Rowden's page on BandCamp.com. When you get to the site, you can download the five songs available there for free. Consider it an early Christmas Gift from Caleb Rowden.

Enter ingredients, get a recipe

Today is the first day after Thanksgiving. So what do you do with the extra turkey? SuperCook.com is a great website to help you out, not only after Thanksgiving but all the time. Just enter what ingredients you have and SuperCook.com will give you recipes that fit what you have. It is a great way to economize and use up what you have in the kitchen. Click here to get started using SuperCook.com.

KJ 52 End of My Rope Video

Big Ticket Black Friday Sale

Tickets for the 2010 Big Ticket Festival go on sale at 12 AM this Friday. There are some great discounts available for the early bird ticket buyer. Check out their website for details on specials ticket prices at TheBigTicketFestival.com.

Also check out this special BTF Christmas Video:

Thanksgiving Emergency Kit

These are some suggestions from BobVila.com on must haves for hosting Thanksgiving:

1) Hydrogen Peroxide. For stains on rugs or dresses. (It's Thanksgiving. Spills happen. Accept it and just be prepared to deal.) .

2) CLR toilet and skin declogger. Let's face it, a mid-dinner toilet clog is worse than burning the turkey.

3) TurkeyTimer iPhone App: Any excuse to whip out the iPhone, right? This App will help you determine how long it takes to cook your turkey and track your turkey's brownness. It will even prompt you to baste.

4) A good game. Novice hosts will need a good 2-hour distraction when they realize the bird isn't even CLOSE to being done.

5) An extra place setting. When a neighbor or long-lost cousin stops by unexpectedly, right before you're sitting down to eat. Forget formal dining -- just have some sturdy paper plates on hand.

6) Exit Strategy: Some coordinated movements by the host family that say "Okay, Thanksgiving is over. It's time for everyone to leave!" As a last resort we suggest someone sneak away and pull the main breaker, interrupting power to the whole house. Nothing ends Thanksgiving faster than no heat or electricty.

7) A dog. While they might hop on guests, they make clean up less of a chore. Don't have a Rufus to call your own? We're sure one of your neighbors underestimates the value of a hungry hound.

$3 of FREE music from Amazon.com

From now through Monday, Amazon.com is offering you $3 of free music to download. This FREE music offer is good for any music offered through Amazon.com. Here is a link to the $3 Free Music offer page at Amazon.com. Amazon.com also offers over 1300 free downloads including 13 Christian downloads from artist like Barlow Girl, Rachel Lampa and Big Daddy Weave. Here is the FREE Download page for Christian Artist at Amazon.com.

15 uses for tea and tea bags

I am a tea-a-holic. I love iced tea, especially to get me going in the morning. Here are 15 other uses for tea and tea bags that I found at Gomestic.com:

1.Apply a wet tea bag on the razor burn to reduce the pain
2.Place the lukewarm tea bags on your closed eyes to refresh your tired eyes
3.Soak a tea bag in cool water and place it on to the site to stop the bleeding and pain of a lost tooth
4.Place your feet in strong tea concoction to get rid of the unpleasant odor
5.Soak a tea bag in cool water and place it over the site of injection to relieve the pain
6.Apply a few wet tea bags on the affected skin after sunburn to reduce the pain
7.Plunge a cotton ball in tea and wipe on the affected part due to ivy rash to relieve from the pain
8.Gargling with the herbal tea made with peppermint reduces toothache
9.Wash your hair with a cup of herbal tea after shampooing to make the hair silky and shiny
10.Clean the wood furniture with a soft cloth dipped in a freshly prepared tea to add shine to them
11.Sprinkling some used tea bags near the rosebushes enhances their growth by nourishing them
12.Spark the mirror by cleaning it with a soft cloth dipped in tea
13.Place a few used tea bags on top of the drainage layer at the bottom of the planter before potting to keep the plants healthier
14.Let the used tea bags open and dry and then use them as stuffing for sachets to give perfume
to them
15.Pour some cups of tea into the compost to accelerate the decomposition and create acid rich compost

Crib Recall

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling 1.2 million cribs manufactured by Stork Craft. Some of the cribs also carry the Fisher Price logo. The CPSC is aware of 4 deaths of young children who suffocated in cribs which have sides that move up and down. The Stork Craft cribs have a problem with their hardware, which can break or can be assembled wrong. Here is a link to Consumer Reports with information about the recall.

National Day of Listening November November 27th

What a great idea. Probably less than 100 years ago, people knew the story of their family and friends. They knew who their aunts and uncles were and could tell the stories of wars and love and loss. But the idea of oral history has been disappearing with our ever increasing media dependent society. Friday, November 27th, has been declared the National Day Of Listening. Follow this link to NationalDayOfListening.org to learn about interviewing family member or neighbors or friends so their stories won't be forgotten.

Free music and devotional from Craig Smith

Craig Smith is an artist who has been in Christian music since 1978. He is now a pastor in Arkansas and is still making music. In fact his new CD The Ancient Path is offered for free on his website along with a devotional that goes along with it. You can find out what Craig Smith has been up to and enjoy this free music and devotional from :TheAncientPath.net. They do ask you to consider a donation to help their mission work but if you can not donate at this time, they are both free.

Local internship programs

Is your business in need of an intern next year that will not cost you any money? Are you a high school or college student looking for a paid internship? Community Ties can help. This is a program organized by the Michigan State University Extension to help connect students in rural areas of Michigan with internships. It is currently available in Grand Traverse, Marquette, Oscoda and Otsego Counties. Business have until December 1st to register and students have until December 18th. If your business is selected for an intern, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay the intern through a grant. Find out more about the program at CommunityTies.US.

20 Pointless Kitchen Appliances

Found a great article from RestyleOurKitchen.co.uk about the 20 most pointless kitchen appliances. Some of their examples are (shown above) the electric Pizza cutter, personal pop corn machine, avacado flesh remover, taco holders and onion goggles. You can read the complete list at the link above. As I guy i kind of like the Electric Pizza Cutter although I don't think I have ever encountered a pizza so tough I needed a circular saw to cut into it.

Free Audio Book from ChristianAudio.com

If you are like me and have difficultly in finding time to read in your busy day, this might be a great offer for you. ChristianAudio.com offers a free audio book each month. This month they are offering John Piper's "Desiring God" for Free. You just need to have the promo code "Nov2009." Click here to get your free audiobook and to sign up for their monthly email to recieve more free offers like this.

Great tips for cleaning pans

Who has pans that look like this in their kitchen? There are no promises of out of the box shine on your pots and pans but here are some great tips to clean those difficult stains from your pots and pan from the website DIYLife.com:

Aluminum pans: Boil a few apples and/or apple peels in water to get that aluminum shiny and new.
Cast Iron pans: Wipe out with a damp cloth rather than completely wash them, dry completely to prevent rust.
Copper pans: Dip the bottom of the pot in leftover pickle juice. Let sit for abot 10-15 minutes and rinse well.
Burnt pots & pans: Make a paste from equal parts water & baking soda, rub into burnt area and let it sit for an hour!
Enamel ware: To remove discoloration, mix equal parts salt and vinegar, clean area & let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse well.

Free music from I-Tunes

If you like discovering new Christian Music, I-tunes is helping with that today. They have a FREE song from new Christian Artist Danyew called "Wake Up". If you have the I-tunes Player on your computer (which is free to download) you can download the song for free by clicking here.

Safest cars of 2010

The Institute for Highway Safety has released their list of the safest cars for 2010.
Here is a list of the cars that made the cut and you can get more details by visiting their website by clicking here:

LARGE CARS
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

SMALL CARS
Honda Civic4-door models (except Si)with optional ESC
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza(except WRX)
Volkswagen Golf4-door models
MIDSIZE CARS
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibubuilt after October 2009
Chrysler Sebring4-door models with optional ESC
Dodge Avengerwith optional ESC
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

MIDSIZE SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

SMALL SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriotwith optional side torso airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan

Rock Paper Scissors World Championships

Who knew that there was a world championship for Rock, Paper, Scissors? This year a Michigan resident Tim Conrad of Taylor was crowned the World Champion. Apparently there are international competitions for Rock, Paper, Scissors. Here is the website for the World Rock, Paper, Scissors organization. Who knows, maybe this is a future Olympic sport?

Congressman Stupak Telephone Townhall tomorrow

Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak will be holding a telephone townhall meeting Wednesday at 6pm. This telephone townhall meeting will give you a chance to ask questions of your representiative on issues such as health care and the economy. If you wish to participate you have to register either online by clicking here or by calling his office at 1-800-950-7371. You need to sign up by 6pm today to participate.

50 Free Photo cards from Freebies4mom

With most Christmas budgets getting tight this year, we could all use a freebie. A great blog called Freebies 4 Mom has an offer for 50 free photo cards. These 4 x 8 greeting cards are truly free. Just follow this link and use the codes provided at Freebies 4 Mom to get custom Photo cards.

Could you pass the written drivers test?

Has it has been a while since you took the written section of the drivers test. Could you still pass it? Here is a great site that gives you a chance to see. Take this online Drivers test by clicking here. I didn't do well, only 60%. Maybe you can do better. Although the questions I missed I actually guessed more conservatively than the law requires.

new music from across the pond

E-Tizz is a new Christian Hip-hop artist from England. You can get his music for free by sharing it with friends or pay what you want for it. He is a great new talent in Christian music.

Fonolo helps you call through companies phone trees

Do you get tired of trying to call companies only to be stuck on hold or trying to navigate a complicated phone tree to get the right department to help you. Fonolo is here to help. Fonolo will dial the number, stay on hold, enter important info for you and then ring your phone when they get to a real person. Find out more about this great new FREE service at Fonolo.com.

Filler Items on Amazon.com

I enjoy shopping locally but sometimes there are things you just have to go online to buy. And I like shopping Amazon.com, especially when they are offering free shipping. But sometimes the item I am purchasing falls a little short of the minimum purchase for free shipping. That is what Amazon Filler item Finder is for. You enter the dollar amount you are looking for and it searches Amazon.com to find items that will bump you up for free shipping. Check out the site at Filleritem.com

Sell your old electronics for cash

Do you ever wonder what to do with your old electronics? How about getting cash for them. When I first read about this it sounded like the "Cash for Gold" offers on TV. But this is a chance to make some money off of stuff that is just laying around being unused. They buy cellphones, mp3 players, video game systems and more. Plus they send you the box to ship the items back.
Find out more about Gazelle by clicking here.

Operation Outreach has begun

This is one of the billboards for Operation Outreach. It is located at US 131 and M-32 south of Petoskey. If you see the billboards in your area, snap a photo and email to patrick@ncradio.org along with the location of the billboard. We would love to post your picture here too.

Free Christmas song from Ayiesha Woods

You know I like free music and here is a Free Christmas song, Jingle Bells, for you from Ayiesha Woods. Click this link and enjoy the free music courtesy of The Gospel Music Channel.

Tammy's Tangy Chops Recipe

I don't know who Tammy is but the other day I was looking for a new and easy recipe for making pork chops since we found them on sale at the store. Tammy's Tangy Chops fit the bill. Here is the recipe from AllRecipes.com.
Prep Time:20 Min
Cook Time:10 Min
Ready In:30 Min
Servings (Help) US Metric Calculate
Original Recipe Yield 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 thick cut boneless pork chops, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 quart oil for deep frying
Directions
In a shallow dish, stir together the garlic, cinnamon and soy sauce. Place the pork chops in the mixture, and marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
Fry pork chops in the hot oil until the juices run clear and they are crispy on the outside. This will only take about 2 minutes.
Footnotes
Alternate cooking method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place chops into a shallow baking dish after marinating. Bake for 20 minutes, or to your desired degree of doneness.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 315 Total Fat: 25.9g Cholesterol: 40mg
Nutritional Information
Tammy's Tangy Chops
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 315
Total Fat: 25.9g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Sodium: 1861mg
Total Carbs: 3.4g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4g
Protein: 17.2g

Veteran's Day Audio Tribute

A friend and fellow broadcaster Glen Hascall has put together this audio tribute to veterans. If you missed it on the air, click here for to download and listen to this tribute. God bless those who have served our nation and may we never forget their scarifice.

Free song from Sara Groves

Our friends over at New Release Tuesday have another FREE song for you. This week it is a new song from Sara Groves called Different Kind Of Happy from her CD "Fireflies and Songs". Once you register you can download the song from NewReleaseTuesday.com.

Health food that is dangerous to eat

The Center for Science in The Public Interest has issued a report commissioned by the FDA about the 10 riskiest foods to eat. These are some of the "healthiest foods" around but are risky because of dangers such as Salmonella and E.coli. Here is the top 10 list:
1. Leafy Greens
2. Eggs
3. Tuna
4. Oysters
5. Potatoes
6. Cheese
7. Ice Cream (Ok, not all that healthy)
8. Tomatoes
9. Sprouts
10. Berries

You can read the complete report by clicking here. The goal of this report isn't to scare people but to encourage congress to pass better health safety laws.

Make Money Driving your car

Looking for a way to make money while you drive? Free Car Media.com is a company that offers to pay individuals to wrap their cars in advertising. Selected participants get paid from $300 to $900 a month to drive with advertising on their vehicle. Participants can be selective of what gets placed on their car and advertising campaigns can run from 2 months to 2 years. I don't know if they are working in Michigan and Ontario but it would be an easy way to make some extra money just by driving your car. Click the link above to apply.

Stroller Recall from MacLaren

MacLaren USA is recalling several models of their strollers for a danger to children, not while riding but while folding the stroller. According to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, children can get their fingers into the hinges of the stroller and have them amputated. Here is a release from the CPSC about which strollers from MacLaren USA are included in the recall and how to get free covers for the hinges.

Free Magazines online

Maggwire.com is a new website designed to get you connected with free magazines online. Apparently there have been some illegal sites online that have scanned magazines into the internet. But Maggwire.com give you legitimate links to magazine like Popular Science, Womans Day, Golf Digest, Consumer Reports, Cooking Light and more. Read some great magazines online at Maggwire.com. (While there are some great magazines on this site, this is not an endorsement of every magazine that Maggwire offers.)

A week with no spending

Could you live a week without spending money? I found a blog about a couple who did just that. Here were their rules: they could spend no money for week unless they sold or returned something. They were actually so successful that they ended up with $3 more than they started the week with. Read about it here at PTMoney.com. We could all learn some valuable lessons about where our money gets spent.

Free music from Todd Agnew and more

FreeCCM.com, a part of INO Records, is offering 3 free songs for you this month:

Todd Agnew - Written On The Wall
Fee - Arms That Hold The Universe
The Afters - One Moment Away

You do have to sign up for the site to get the free downloads. The site has been revamped recently and I had to create a new account even though I had one before.

Get your free downloads at FreeCCM.com.

virtual shopping list

Do you have trouble remembering what you need at the grocery store? Every write out a list and then can't figure out what you were supposed to get? GroceryWiz.com can help you out. You can go through their extensive list of grocery items, checking the ones you need and then printing an organized grocery list. They also have links to major grocery chains weekly ads and coupons. And it is all free. Check out the link here for GroceryWiz.com.

Let's talk onions

My son Josh and I were trying to cut a very strong onion this weekend and we were both tearing up. I wish I would have found this tip to try for the website DIYLife.com. They recommend holding your tongue to the roof of your mouth and only breath through your mouth. I am not sure how well it works but it certainly could be entertaining to watch. You can read more about this method of onion cutting and even about charging your I-Pod with an onion at this link for DIYLife.com.