Judging from your e-mails, Weight Watchers strikes a chord with many of you who have had success with their "wise choices." (The people at Weight Watchers don't want you to call it a diet. No, no, a thousand times no. You learn to make wise choices.)

     I work at home, only a few feet from the refrigerator, and the need for wise choices can become critical. Here's a trick I play on myself: Cut an apple into small pieces. It will immediately form an impressive mound of food, especially if you put it on a small plate. Put a lot of Splenda NO-CALORIE sugar all over the apple pieces, and a lot of cinnamon over that, achieving a sugar-sweet brown and white mountain.

     The charm is that, even though you know you are only eating one apple, as you slowly work your way through the sugar-sweet mountain your appetite thinks it's taking in so much more. A medium sized apple costs one Weight Watcher's point. A large apple - which forms a sweet mountain only a little lower than Mt. Everest - costs two Weight Watcher's points.

     And if you want to check out Weight Watchers for yourself, find it at:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx

     If you have a healthy, low calorie trick that works for you, I'd love to hear about it. Just send me an e-mail at Newsletter@tourthesites.com.

     Janette Blackwell

----Table of Contents----

1. Your Dog, The Missionary
2. Money For College
3. Just Plain Money
4. Your Best Interest Rates
5. Pillsbury Bakeoff
6. Great Site For Woodworkers
7. Daddy Loved The Bluebirds
8. Your Nostalgic Memories
9. Fun For Kids
10. Cyndi's Plant Bonanza
11. Windows Vista
12. See The World With Habitat For Humanity
13. Prepare To Be A Bride-To-Be
14. Olive Oil It Is
15. Recipe: Avocado-Corn Relish For Steaks And Hamburgers

1. YOUR DOG, THE MISSIONARY

     I've had a number of cats, and not one had a missionary calling. But dogs? Absolutely. If you've watched a seeing-eye dog at work, you have seen a happy dog. Or just click below on SHARING PAWS to see and read about some happy dogs with a mission:

http://www.thepresstribune.com/articles/2006/04/12/news/top_stories/01dogs.txt

http://sharingpaws.com/

     Do you think you and your dog might enjoy sharing his paws and his charms? If so, you might want to poke around the Delta Society website, address below, and see if you and your dog are suited to visiting hospitals and nursing homes, bringing good health and good cheer all the way. You might even take a cat with an unusually warmhearted and generous nature. Anything's possible, I guess. But your dog's a natural.

http://deltasociety.org/home.htm

2. MONEY FOR COLLEGE

     Below are sites that tell you how your purchases can add up to savings for the kids' college expenses. As a UPROMISE member, they say, "you'll automatically receive college savings when you make eligible purchases of participating products and services from leading companies like Ex xonMobil, Citi®, Eddie Bauer, McDonald's, Tide® and more! You can automatically save when you use your registered credit, debit, grocery and drugstore cards; shop online; and use our special programs. It's safe and secure - there's no catch."

     And, not only that, but grandparents, aunts, and uncles can also join.

http://www.upromise.com/

     BABYMINT does the same thing, plus. Join BabyMint, they say, and "you may choose to have your rebates sent to you via check, directed into another BabyMint member's account, have them deposited directly into your college savings account, or make a payment to your student loans." Its best-known participating company is Target, but it seems to specialize in cruise lines, so that Grandpa and Grandma's vacation cruise can contribute great things to the grandkids' education. I'm told frequent flyer miles can also go to this cause.

     And then there's BabyMint's financial programs for parents and students, such as consolidation of student loans. They say, "BabyMint's parent company at Collegiate Funding Services (CFS) has options to consolidate and reduce your debt payments." These people are dumb like a fox.

http://babymint.com/

3. JUST PLAIN MONEY

     BOND REWARDS also pays you a percentage of your purchases, and it seems to pay more than the ones in the item above. It doesn't bill itself as savings for college; its rewards are U.S. savings bonds that can be used for anything. (Well, so can the college savings, for that matter.) It claims to offer far more than other programs. BondRewards says, "On 01/08/2007 we compared a basket of 20 products. The average rewards were BondRewards 9.4%, MyPoints 2.7%, UPromise 3.5%, Babymint 3.8%, Ebates 3.7%. On average we pay you 3 times more!" Check them out at the address below, but KEEP READING:

http://www.bondrewards.com/

     I am learning that, in life and on the Internet, anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. So I poked around until I found a great site that goes into these savings incentives programs. It explains that, because BondRewards gives you a $50 U.S. savings bond that is only worth $25 right now, you have to halve what they say they offer. But, they say, "Even halved, their rates are very competitive." Also, Bond Rewards is an established program, not a fly-by-night. If you love financial investigations, you can use the page below to check out all sorts of online rewards programs.

http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/002431.html

4. YOUR BEST INTEREST RATES

     Find the best rates for refinancing your mortgage and consolidating your debts, not to mention the best interest rates on checking and savings accounts. All this, plus "a tax tip a day keeps the IRS away," at:

http://bankrate.com/

5. PILLSBURY BAKEOFF

     Now that you've dutifully investigated the above, I thought y'all might like to have a little fling at trying to win a million dollars. If you submit a possibly winning recipe before April 22, 2007, you will be a contestant in the 2008 - not 2007 - PILLSBURY BAKEOFF. Find the details here:

http://food.yahoo.com/pillsbury-bakeoff/

     Perhaps you'd rather hitch a ride on someone else's trip to the big money. Here are some top recipes from the 2006 Bakeoff, including the winner, Baked Chicken and Spinach Stuffing:

http://chicago.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/091505_pllsbry.htm

     And, now, for top recipes from the Good Old Days before winners contained things like spinach, for pete's sake. In spite of or because of (you be the judge) the healthful Weight Watchers dinner I have just eaten, I have searched out Linda Larsen's all-time favorite Bakeoff recipes, none of which is the least bit low in sugar or calories:

http://busycooks.about.com/cs/favoritebooks/a/favBakeOff1.htm

     Find below five more Bakeoff classics. When I originally wrote up this item, I gave the recipes their yummy sounding names. Later I realized that wasn't a nice thing to do to people watching their weight. You'll find both names and recipes by clicking below:

http://www.recipeland.com/recipes/pillsbury+bake+off/

6. GREAT SITE FOR WOODWORKERS

     The following website is a gem if you enjoy woodworking. They've got a number of forums, including the Daily Puzzler, "To test and expand your knowledge of woodworking and have some fun at the same time," a swap board where you can swap equipment and lumber, a forum where you can learn techniques from other woodworkers, and much more.

http://www.woodworking.org/

7. DADDY LOVED THE BLUEBIRDS

     We had a bluebird house in our back yard when I was growing up, and one day each year Daddy ran into our house, calling out, "Spring has come! The bluebirds are here!" It wasn't spring until the bluebirds came. He was greatly grieved when starlings took over the bluebird house, and the bluebirds were forced to retreat up into the Montana mountains.

     One summer afternoon a decade ago, my brother took Daddy up into the hills. He knew it was probably the last trip Daddy would be well enough to take, though I don't know if Daddy knew that. Daddy phoned me in tremendous excitement when he got back. And the last words I ever heard him say were "I saw a bluebird! I saw a bluebird!"

     Bluebirds are a threatened species, but if you live in a rural or semirural area, you may be able to help them. The North American Bluebird Society would like to show you how to set up bluebird nesting boxes this spring. They can also tell you how to keep starlings and house sparrows from taking over from the bluebirds.

http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/

8. YOUR NOSTALGIC MEMORIES

     My husband Bill has written a humorous story about the birth of his daughter Lisa, and I've posted it in the 1960s section of my Nostalgia page. Lisa turned into the "child development consultant" whose opinions I quote. She has a degree in child psychology, and, as head of a child care center, constantly comes up with activities for the children that are unusual, enlightening, and fun. Plus she has the most necessary child development experience, that of raising two sons. I hardly need add that we're proud of her.

     Perhaps you, like Bill, have some memories you'd like to write up and have posted on my Nostalgia page. If so, send them to me at Newsletter@tourthesites.com. You don't need to create a fancy attachment. Just paste your story onto an e-mail.

     Last year we did a special Mother's Day issue, in which people paid tribute to their mothers. The tributes were then posted on my Nostalgia page. We'll be doing it again this year, and this time it will be expanded to a special Father's Day issue as well. I'll be mentioning these again when we're nearer to those special days, but I wanted to give you a chance to start thinking along those lines.

     To see Bill's story and other things now on the site, click on:

http://foodandfiction.com/Nostalgia/index.html

9. FUN FOR KIDS

     This site is good for older children or for little ones who have grownup help. CHILD FUN offers multiple fascinating activities geared to the time of year. It belongs to the "She Knows" group of websites, which deal with many aspects of life and parenting from a woman's standpoint - you'll see links to them at the top of the page. CHILD FUN was of course recommended by my child development consultant, Lisa Danahy.

http://www.childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=115

10. CYNDI'S PLANT BONANZA

     Still another marvellous site. Cyndi has collected information on more than 2,000 garden catalogs. As you've probably noticed, I'm a strong believer in buying plants through catalogs. First, the variety is 1,000 percent greater than you can get locally, and, second, the prices tend to be lower. You can also sit down with pen, paper, and catalogs and PLAN your whole garden. If you're like me, when you go to a nursery you pick up a little plant of this and that, and then this and that don't FIT anywhere when you get them home. So you shoehorn them in as best you can, and they either take over the whole flower bed or else squat there for the next five years looking annoyed at life. And visitors to your garden don't even notice the gorgeous effects you've achieved with such labor. Instead they point to It, saying in cod-liver-oilish tones, "WHAT is that?" And you say, "I don't remember. I bought it on sale."

     Cyndi has a whole section given to "specialty gardens," including water gardens, rock gardens, greenhouse gardens, and - yes, they exist and your little boy will love them - carnivorous gardens. And then, if you want to specialize in, say, bonsai or azaleas, you can find excellent sources. Find it all here:

http://gardenlist.com/

11. WINDOWS VISTA

     Microsoft has just spent umpty-ump millions to make sure we have all heard of their new Vista operating system for Windows. It's being reviewed all over and deserves to be, as it is a far safer product than earlier versions. Rumor has it that they hired a team of top Polish hackers to try to hack holes in Vista's defenses while it was a-building. Don't know if that's true, but I do enjoy the mental image of the Polish hackers hacking away.

     I thought I'd go for the best reviews, which to me are the ones from PC Magazine and PC World. First comes an article on "Putting Windows Vista PCs to the Test," at

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2087925,00.asp

     Next, from PC World, "Windows Vista: 15 Reasons to Switch," which includes a link to an article on why you SHOULDN'T switch just yet. Find both articles at

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128656-page,1/article.html

     If you poke around further in the above sites, you'll find that they are treasure troves of information for the electronically inclined.

12. SEE THE WORLD WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

     Habitat for Humanity is still hard at work putting roofs over people's heads in Louisiana and Mississippi - but then it's hard at work around the world. If you live outside the U.S., I'd suggest you click below to see what programs you might help with:

http://www.habitat.org/hw/archive/archive.aspx

     And here's the address for the youth program, which invites young people to spend school breaks helping others get a home of their own:

http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/int/

     Then there's "Adventure Travel, Habitat Style." They ask, "Want to change the world - and be changed in the process? Take a short-term, house-building trip to one of Habitat's many destinations around the world and work alongside homeowners and local volunteers of all backgrounds, races and religions."

http://www.habitat.org/hw/dec_2006/feature7.html

13. PREPARE TO BE A BRIDE-TO-BE

     I'm told this is the time of year to begin planning for a June wedding. The Internet has many places where brides can find help, of course, and here are some especially good ones:

     THE KNOT offers a wide range of U.S. national and local information. Its best feature, I think, is a place where you can talk with other brides-to-be, exchanging tips and ideas. Click on "Talk" at the top of the page.

http://theknot.com/

     The WEDDING CHANNEL also offers a wide variety of helps, including an exchange of ideas with other couples. Click on "Community."

http://weddingchannel.com/

     And then there's MARTHA STEWART, who prides herself on offering advice that's just a bit better than anyone else's. Put "wedding" into the search box at the top right of her home page and find, among other things, where to get freeze-dried rose petals. You can also read about "Darcy Miller's wedding." Darcy is a wedding planner, and a page describes what she did for her own wedding. It sounds very different from the weddings she orchestrated.

http://marthastewart.com/

14. OLIVE OIL IT IS

     Eating right just got more complicated, but I'm not going to blame me for not reading about it when the news came out in 2005. I will put the blame on the broad shoulders of my husband, who has an unfortunate habit of throwing away the health section of the newspaper before I've read it. If he didn't do it, then either Not Me or the cat did it, though in this case the cat seems unlikely.

     When we went back to Weight Watchers, we found that they now want us to eat MORE FAT. Not fat-fat, though. We still take the fat off the meat and the cream away from the milk products. They want us to eat small amounts (like two teaspoons a day) of healthy, monosaturated fat, such as that in olive oil, avocados, nuts, or fatty fish such as salmon. So I bought lettuce and an avocado at the supermarket, to make a salad with olive-oil dressing. The avocado tastes wonderful if you marinate it first with bits of green onion and a little balsamic vinegar. As you know, balsamic vinegar tastes great but leaves the food brown. We ate lettuce salad with brown avocado and LOVED it, but you might take a different view.

     Here's the healthy eating article that my husband or possibly the cat kept me from seeing:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111500805.html

     And now for an article from Web MD that explains how a "Mediterranean diet," which includes olive oil, helped people lose weight AND keep it off:

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/42/1671_52229

15. RECIPE: AVOCADO-CORN RELISH FOR STEAKS AND HAMBURGERS

     Tonight Bill brushed the snow off the picnic table on the patio, set up his grill, and grilled two buffalo steaks for us. He had been thinking about them all day, and of course a little snow was no obstacle at all. I hadn't had buffalo steak before, but I thought it was delicious as well as extremely low in the bad fat-fat we're supposed to avoid. This avocado-corn relish is meant to go with grilled steaks or hamburgers, though I didn't find out about it until after we had eaten the buffalo steaks with one of Bill's favorite steak accompaniments: canned spinach. Give him his meat, and he's easy to please.

AVOCADO-CORN RELISH
Recipe from: http://www.avocado.org/recipes/index.php

Ingredients:

3/4 cup olive oil
4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 California avocados, peeled and seeded
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded
4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
4 scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup red wine

Method:

     Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté corn with salt and pepper, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

     Cut avocados, bell pepper and roasted poblanos into 1/4-inch dices. Add to corn along with scallions, red wine vinegar and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix well and let sit 20 to 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

Yields 6 Servings

MISSED SOME ISSUES?

     Have I got a solution for you! Now that we are using a frame for each issue, you can just look over to your left and find all the back issues nicely set out. Simply click on the ones you missed. That means too that if your e-mail service provider gets sticky and decides that Tour the Sites is spam (it is NOT spam), you can foil it and find the newsletter at this address.

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WARNING!

     If your e-mail box sometimes gets full, you are in danger of falling off the subscription list of Tour the Sites. Not because I want to lose you, but because, if your box is full when I send out a newsletter, you are automatically kicked off the list. I don't like that policy, but I don't have any say. If you change your e-mail address or get a new kind of spam filter, you may also fall off. So do keep an eye on your newsletters, which should arrive around the first and fifteenth of each month. If you haven't gotten one for a month, let me know and I'll be happy to put you back on the mailing list. Because I'd really hate to lose you.

Janette
Newsletter@tourthesites.com

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© Copyright 2006 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.