PDF documents...

The ability to read and to save documents as a PDF (Portable Document File) is becoming more and more common each day. Sending documents as a PDF ensures that the layout and font styles come across - even when the recipients don't have the program you used and PDF's are viewable in multiple platforms. Sending as a PDF also ensures that important documents cannot be accidentally altered

Fortunately, Windows 7 came with the ability to easily save documents as a PDF. Simply the Office button, then the "Save As" command, then select "PDF" and save in the drive and folder of your choice. Easy as 1, 2, 3!

However, if you are using an earlier version of Windows you don't have this option. But don't be dismayed...there are options you can choose from.

You may, of course, purchase an Adobe Acrobat program, which allows you to do super cool functions, such as convert PDF's to other formats, edit PDF documents, and merge and combine files. But if you're simply looking to be able to read PDF documents and/or may occasionally find the need to save a document as a PDF, then purchasing Adobe Acrobat is probably not for you.

Instead, you can try one of these free options:

(As always, use caution when visiting websites and downloading software.)

The Free PDF Converter

Expert PDF Reader

PDF Suite

Nitro Reader 3

Cookies For Any Occasion (Part I)...

(from The Pampered Chef)

With just 3 ingredients (4 for some of the flavor variations) this cookie recipe is perfect for any occasion! So simple and delicious...

BASIC BUTTER RECIPE

• 1 pound (4 sticks) butter or margarine, divided (do not use vegetable oil spreads)
• 2 3/4 cups (11 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1 package (18.25 white cake mix

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Microwave 2 sticks of butter on High for 1 minute or until melted. Slice remaining butter into 1/2 inch pieces; add to melted butter tossing to coat. Allow butter to stand 3-5 minutes or until softened.

2. Meanwhile, accurately measure flour into large mixing bowl by lightly spooning flour into measuring cup. Level off surface by scraping off additional flour using spatula or butter knife. (For most consistent results, use a kitchen scale to weigh flour.) Add cake mix to flour; blend well using a whisk to break up and large lumps.

3. Using whisk, whisk butter until smooth and free of lumps. If necessary, return butter to microwave for 10-20 seconds or until creamy and pourable. DO NOT MELT COMPLETELY. Pour butter, all at once, into dry ingredients; thoroughly scrape butter from the bowl using a spatula. Mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth. (If dough is too stiff to stir, knead until smooth by hand on a cutting board.)

4. Shape dough, bake and decorate as desired (See directions below).

FLAVOR VARIATIONS

Chocolate: Substitute one package (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix for the white cake mix. Add flour and butter as recipe directs.

Spice: Substitute one package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix for the white cake mix. Add 1 tablespoon Cinnamon. Add flour and butter as recipe directs.

Peanut Butter: Substitute one package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix for the white cake mix. Add flour as directed. Whisk 2/3 cup peanut butter into softened butter until smooth; add to dry ingredients as recipe directs.

FORMING COOKIES

Pressed Cookies: Use a Cookie Press and the disk of your choice. Press dough onto flat cookie sheet or baking stone, 1 inch apart. Bake 15-17 minutes or until very light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes; remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely. (See Cookie Creations.)

Cut-out Cookies: Turn dough on to well-floured cutting board. With floured hands, gently knead the dough, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour as needed to form a firm dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Shape each portion into an 8 inch disk. Generously flour surface of cutting board or countertop. Roll one disk out evenly using a rolling pin. Cut cookie shapes with Cookie Cutters; place onto parchment paper, 1 inch apart. Slide parchment paper onto flat cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake 15-17 minutes or until very light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes; remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely. (See Cookie Creations.)

Drop Cookies: Add any desired mix-ins to dough (See Cookie Creations for list of mix-ins.)

Drop level scoops of cookie dough onto cookie sheet or baking stone, 2 inches apart. Bake 15-17 minutes or until very light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes; remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely. (See Cookie Creations.)

BAKING TIPS

• Make sure to preheat the oven 10-15 minutes before baking.
• If you have only one cookie sheet or baking stone, portion the cookie dough onto parchment paper cut to the size of your sheet or stone. As you remove one batch of cookies from the oven, unbaked cookies can be quickly placed onto the sheet or stone and placed in the oven. This will save time as well as cleanup.
• For best results, cool cookies 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. This will allow the sugars to become firm and prevent broken or wrinkled cookies.
• More than one batch of cookies can be baked at the same time. For best results, position cookie sheets or baking stones on separate oven racks but not directly above one another. Rotate sheets or stones halfway through the baking time to ensure evenly baked cookies.

COOKIE CREATIONS

Marbled Cookies: Wearing disposable gloves, knead food coloring into dough just to the point when the color is streaking through the dough. Form dough as desired.

Tinted Cookies: Wearing disposable gloves, knead food coloring into dough, one drop at a time, until desired color is achieved.

Citrus Scented Cookies: Using short strokes, zest one lemon or orange; knead zest into dough.

Mix-ins for Drop Cookies: Mix in 1/2 to 1 cup of any combination of the following ingredients to the dough - miniature semi-sweet chocolate morsels; whole, grated or chopped nuts; raisins; flaked coconut; dried cranberries; miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces; chopped candies; chocolate chunks; white chocolate chips; or toffee bits.

Cookies for Any Occasion (Part II) (Forming and Decorating Tips)...coming soon.

Facebook...status updates...

If you didn't already know, Facebook "manages" what posts/feeds you receive! And it's not just pages...it's your friends updates too! Apparently, if you do not regularly comment on or somehow physically interact with pages you like or friends you have, then you only sometimes get their updates! If you are a person (like me) who enjoys reading updates and statuses, but perhaps doesn't always feel the need to comment or “like”, then you are likely missing out on many updates your friends are posting. In fact, when you finally do look into the issue (which of course isn't until you find out that you didn't get an important status update…ummm, like the birth of a family member.) Facebook tells you (plain as day…but really not so plain since you had to actually go looking for the info.) that when you “friend” someone, you are automatically set to receive “most updates”, and that you can then go in and adjust the settings for that person to receive more or less. It is, by all sense of the word, complete MADNESS!

It is quite a pain in the rear, but you can (and probably should) fix this. Unfortunately, there is no “one button fix”…you will have to go to each friend/page individually to correct the problem.

And here’s how…

For Pages that you've liked (such as TV shows, personal blogs, websites, etc…) hover over the “liked” button, then click on “Show in News Feed”.

For Friends, you can correct this in one of two ways. (For those of you with hundreds of thousands of friends, this may take a while!) Go to your personal page and click on your “Friends” tab. Hover over each “Friends” name, then hover over the “Friends” button. At this point you can 1) Set each person that you truly wish to receive all notifications from as a “Close Friend” or 2) Click on click on “Settings”, then “All Updates”. If you'd like email notification of updates, also click on "Get Notifications".

Please…share this with all your friends!

Eggs...

According to new research, one cooked egg (boiled or scrambled) has up to 41 IU of Vitamin D! (Adults should be getting 400 to 600 IU of Vitamin D per day.)

Added bonuses:

(courtesy of www.livestrong.com)

Nutrition in a Boiled Egg

Eggs, according to the Incredible Edible Egg's website, contain 13 essential nutrients and only contain 70 calories on average. Each egg contains 6.29 g of protein, 0.39 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of fat, 212 mg of cholesterol, 1.55 g of saturated fat, 125.5 mg of choline, 244 IU vitamin A, 18 IU vitamin D, 0.48 mg vitamin E, 0.071 mg vitamin B6 and 24 mcg folate. Eggs also contain magnesium, sodium, calcium, riboflavin, thiamine, phosphorous, iron and zinc. In addition, eggs contain two compounds called lutein and zeaxanthin.

Eye Health

The two antioxidants in eggs--lutein and zeaxanthin--contribute to eye health. These antioxidants help prevent age-related blindness and reduce the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which causes blurred and distorted vision. Although 166 mcg are of these antioxidants are in an egg, these antioxidants are easier to absorb from eggs than any other food source.

Weight Loss

Each egg contains 13 percent of the daily recommended value of protein. Protein is used to build and repair the tissues and muscles within the body and it is also partially responsible for immune function. The protein in eggs is considered high quality protein. This type of protein will help people maintain a healthy weight if eaten as part of a regular breakfast and a reduced calorie diet.

Cell Functioning

Each egg contains 23 percent of the daily recommended value of choline, which is necessary for the functioning of all cells in the body. This includes cells that transport nutrients throughout the body and to cells associated with memory. This mineral also helps promote memory and brain functioning in children and helps prevent birth defects.

Some may argue that eggs are high in cholesterol, which they are, and by all means should your doctor have you on a restricted diet than you should absolutely do what he/she says, but other than strict medical restrictions, eating eggs in moderation are absolutely good for your health. And if you're concerned with the amount of cholesterol you are consuming, you may, of course, leave the yolk out, although eating the entire egg (yolk and whites) ensures that you receive all the nutritional value they have to offer!

AND...boiled eggs can last up to a whole week in the fridge! So totally keep a few of these healthy little beauties hanging around for a quick breakfast...easy snack time...or cut up in a salad (Spinach is my favorite)!

Letters to Disney Characters...No Longer Available

I was hoping to share a cool, fun "offer" that I found posted on different persons blogs out there (mainly Couponing to Disney). Apparently, many moons ago, Disney used to accept character fan mail and would then turn around and send you a signed postcard from that character. Such an awesome idea...wish I had known about it sooner! Before I would actually share this awesome info. with you, I decided to do a little research. Other than the few random blogs/comments I came across, I couldn't find any "official" information on any legitimate Disney websites. So I decided to actually contact them directly and get the scoop from them. Turns out, this "service" is no longer offered! How freaking sad am I? 

Here's the actual email response I received:

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World Resort.

We were very pleased to receive your message. As you may know, our Disney characters are kept very busy greeting the many guests who come to Walt Disney World each day. Since time doesn't allow the characters to personally write back to their  fans, we no longer have character fan mail. However, we are very glad to have special friends like you!

If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Booh Gitonga

WDW Online Communications

So, now I'm like seriously bummed...although how amazingly "Disney-like" is that email? Such a super-tastic fantabulous way to say, "Bug off...Don't waste your time...or ours..." and how spectacular is this person's name? Seriously...love it!!

But, back to my sadness...having just had a little one, I had already envisioned plastering the walls with all kinds of autographed postcards from all the Disney characters only to find my hopes and dreams obliterated by this simple, albeit cheery, email! 

So...Just thought I'd share my findings and let you all know that, as of right now, this fun service is no longer available...lots of people forwarding this information around out there (good ole Pinterest)...just want to save people some serious disappointment when they don't receive a postcard back!

Now, of course, I am totally known for my stubborn ways, so despite the email response I received, I may just go ahead and "learn the hard way" and give it a shot anyways just to see what happens! (yeah, I'm a rebel like that!)

Here's two of the addresses I found and the email address I used to contact them:

Disneyland Resort Guest Communications

Attn: Character Fan Mail

P.O. Box 3232

Anaheim, CA 92803-3232

USA

Walt Disney World Resort

Attn: Character Fan Mail

P.O Box 10040

Lake Buena Vista, FL. 32830-0040

guest.mail@wdw.disneyonline.com

Just to be fair, I did find the following website where apparently you can purchase and create your own postcards, but what the heck kind of fun is that?

http://www.disneylandpostcards.com/disney-character-autographs.html

Refrigerator or Pantry...

I came across an article today about what NOT to keep in the fridge and thought I'd check it out. I did a little research/fact checking and here's what I found..

These items should be kept in the pantry...they keep longer and free up much needed space in the fridge:

Bread - the refrigerator sucks out all the moisture and leaves it all dry and stale. It is suggested that you keep what you will eat within 4 days at room temperature and freeze the rest.

Coffee - I've always been told that the freezer is the best place to keep your coffee fresh. Turns out, the fridge (and freezer) create condensation, which can affect the flavor of your coffee (grounds or beans). Best to keep it in an airtight container in the pantry or cabinet.

 Batteries - Really? Umm, who  is seriously keeping batteries in the fridge? Whatever...don't answer that. Batteries are best stored in a drawer at room temp. Extreme temps. (hot or cold) can diminish performance.

Garlic - Does  well (up to 2 months) in the pantry. Store it loose, so air can move around it.

Hot Sauce - Most brands can live in the pantry for up to 3 years (3 years, people!)

Onions - Do well in the pantry in their mesh bag (or any bag that allows air circulation). Keep them away from the potatoes, which emit moisture and gases that can cause onions to rot.

Potatoes - not so sure about the "moisture and gases" these guys are emitting, but they store well in the pantry in paper bags and should last for up to 3 weeks.

Tomatoes - these big red blobs of yummy goodness get mealy in the fridge. They're best stored on the counter, out of plastic bags. To help speed ripening, store in a paper bag. Once ripe, they'll last for about 3 days.

Winter Squash - These little beauties, such as acorn, butternut, delicate and spaghetti will last a month or more in the pantry.

Nail polish - Are you kidding me? Who does that? What in the world would cause a person to want to store their polish in the fridge?  Nail polish will thicken in the fridge. Best to store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.

So that got me thinking...wonder if there's stuff in my pantry that should actually be in the fridge? Here's what I found (some might surprise you):

Avocados - ripen on the counter or in a brown bag. Once ripe, store in the fridge to prolong shelf.

Fresh cut flowers - These tend to last a little longer if you store them in the fridge overnight.

Whole wheat flour - unless your baking up a storm with a bunch of whole wheat flour, transfer to a freezer bag and store in the fridge...it will last 6 times longer. (White flour is fine in the pantry)

Garden seeds - place these little guys in a moisture proof container and store in the fridge. Cool temperature extends the seeds' vitality.

Natural peanut butter - cool temperature preserves the oil. Stir once before putting in the fridge and it shouldn't separate later.

Eggs - Believe it or not, there are apparently people out there that debate whether eggs belong in the fridge or the pantry. I thought this was a no-brainer, but "research" shows that eggs kept at incorrect temperatures can carry salmonella (shocker, right?) So unless you are raising your own grain-fed, free-range chickens, that you can ensure have no signs of salmonella, these puppies should be stored in the fridge!

Homemade cookies - OMG...these are never around long enough to worry about, but apparently they stay fresh longer in the fridge.

Cologne and Eau de Toilette - Sorry guys, I don't want to have to go to the fridge whenever  I want to spray some "scent" on me, but study shows that the cool temperature helps retain fragrance for about two years. (Note: Perfume should be stored at room temperature.)

Lipstick - Once again, I don't want to have to run to the fridge for a quick lip update, but I suppose if you're an extreme coupon-er and you just bought 50 tubes for 25 cents, then you should store the extras in the fridge...it improves longevity.

 Candles - I never knew this and would probably giggle out loud if I saw candles in a friends fridge, but seems cold wax burns more slowly and drips less. Might have to try this one!

Bananas - There seems to be lots of conflicting ideas when it comes to bananas in the fridge, but it seems that like avocados, bananas should ripen on the counter or in a brown paper bag. Once they reach the level of ripe you like, place them in the fridge. The peels will turn black (and look pretty yucky), but the fruit inside will stay good for up to 2 weeks! And these bad boys will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months if peeled and wrapped well in plastic.

So there you have it. I'm sure there are tons more that could fit in these categories, but I'll leave you to process these few for now.

Magic Marshmallow Crescents...

Holy Cow, y'all! Only 4 ingredients and 12 minutes...what, what?? These little bites of heavenly goodness are amazing and the marshmallow "magically" disappears when it cooks! Pretty sure you're gonna want to double up on this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
• 8 Large marshmallows
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Cinnamon/Sugar mixture

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place crescent rolls on cookie sheet or muffin tins.

2. Dip each marshmallow in melted butter and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture.

3. Wrap each marshmallow in a crescent roll, making sure to pinch all sides tight (make sure it's nice and sealed so the yummy goodness doesn't ooze out).

    

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cool at least 1 minute before devouring!

    Variations:

• roll filled crescent roll in butter and/or cinnamon/sugar mixture before baking.
• substitute marshmallow peeps for a colorful Easter twist.
• sprinkle with pecans before baking

Parmesan Pepper Pull-Apart Bread...

(From Pampered Chef)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 4 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 packages (11.3 ounces each) refrigerated dinner rolls.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray Bundt cake pan.

2. Melt butter. In separate bowl, combine cheese, pepper, and garlic.

3. Separate each dinner roll and cut into fourths. Dip rolls in melted butter, then roll in cheese mixture. Arrange rolls evenly in pan.

4. Bake 27-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack and serving.

Note: For a slight variation, substitute Italian Seasoning for black pepper.

Rocky Road Brownie Bars

(From Pampered Chef)

Ingredients

• 1 package (19-21 ounces) brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate morsels, divided
• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
• 1/2 cup cashews, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Bake in 9 x 13 pan for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven.

2. Sprinkle 1 cup of the chocolate morsels over the hot brownie. Allow to stand 5 minutes until chocolate is melted, spread evenly.

3. Microwave marshmallow creme for 20-30 seconds until softened; drizzle over brownies.

4. Sprinkle chopped cashews over marshmallow creme.

5. Microwave remaining chocolate morsels for 1 minute, stirring after each 20 second interval. Drizzle evenly over brownies.

Note: For easier slicing, allow brownies to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Tortellini Casserole

Okay, so this one might actually take 15-20 minutes...but seems easy enough!

(From Parents Magazine)

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 ounces) cheese or beef filled tortellini
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a shallow 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce in small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute, until a smooth paste forms. Slowly add milk, whisking with a wire whisk until smooth. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and salt. Remove from heat.

3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss with white sauce and transfer to prepared casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

"Magic Crust" Custard Pie

This literally takes like 5 minutes to whip together and dump in a pie shell! If you can be patient another 45 minutes, you're there. Of course, probably best once it's had time to chill, but go ahead...dig in while it's hot! Yum!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup margarine
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
nutmeg (optional) NOTE: Cinnamon works well too!

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Pour into a buttered 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. The flour will settle to make it's own crust. Delish!

Overcoming Procrastination...

The most common cause of disorder is procrastination. When you steer away from one project you begin to steer away from others, which creates a domino effect.

Major Reasons for Procrastination

• Takes too long to complete
• Is too boring
• Seems ridiculous and takes time from something else more important.

Additional Causes of Procrastination

• Fear of failure
• Fear of success
• Fear of losing control
• Lack of clear, specific goals
• Underestimating the difficulty of the task
• Underestimating the time required to complete the task
• Unclear guidelines for the expected outcome
• Lack of planning...the major creator!

Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

1. Get the things that you hate to do completed first.
2. Stop seeking alternatives through e-mail and voice mail.
3. Stop pondering; more time is spent on not conducting the task then physically doing it.
4. Prioritize.

Additional guidelines for sanity and organization

• Create time frames for all projects and tasks.
• Hold yourself accountable.
• Seek success not perfection.
• Place your To Do List in a location where you will see it.
• Keep a notepad wherever you go.

Three Ways to Organize Your Work Space

1. Keep your desk clear.
2. Keep hanging file folders to a minimum.
3. Get rid of waste (**Use the "7" rule...if you haven't looked at an item in 7 days - file it or throw it away!)

Important Extras

• Strive to handle papers only once.
• Use a planner
• Use your computer, but remember names.
• File things so you can find them - keep filing up to date.

Information courtesy of Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center, Inc.

Smothered Chicken

Such a quick and easy meal just oozing with goodness!
Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, boneless (breaded is good too)
3 or 4 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz mushrooms, fresh (washed and sliced) (optional)
1/2 a white onion, sliced (optional)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can french onion soup

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts into strips or bite size chunks, and saute in olive oil with onions. Add all ingredients to sauteed chicken and simmer for approx. 1 hour.

You can also do this in a crock pot and simmer all day until dinner!

Using The Fill Handle...

Quite possibly one of the most unknown and/or under-utilized feature in Excel is the fill handle (it's the small black square in the bottom right of the active cell (the square you're in)).

This little slice of heaven can save you so much time and energy. How many of you are still entering number sequences by hand? Something like this...
1
Enter or Arrow Down
2
Enter or Arrow Down
3
and so on...

Excel is secretly standing back thinking what an idiot we are for doing that. If only we'd use the fill handle, we'd be done already!

Next time try typing a "1" and then grabbing the fill handle by hovering over the little black square in the lower right corner until your mouse pointer turns in to a plus sign. Click the left mouse button and hold it as you drag down to where you want to be.

Your Auto Fill Options menu will pop up with several options to choose from (Note: these options change depending on the information you are working with. The Fill Months, Fill Days, etc. options are only available if the cell contains a date). If you want all cells to have the same number you can leave as is, or choose "Copy Cells" and all cells will stay the same as the first cell.

If you want to create a series (1, 2, 3...), you can choose "Fill Series" and the series continues through to the last highlighted cell. (Note: you can also achieve this by originally entering 1 and 2, then highlighting both cells and dragging down...this automatically puts the numbers in sequence).

Oh, but wait...it can do SO much more!

Excel will auto populate days, months, dates, etc... You can type in "Monday" and drag that fill handle down and it will automatically fill in all the days of the week! You can type in "January" and drag that puppy down and it will automatically fill in all the months of the year! And you can type in "12/1/12" and pull that bad boy down as far as you want and it will keep adding each date until you stop!

This also works horizontally!

If you go too far, no worries, just drag your fill handle up or left (depending on the direction of your text) and it will clear the contents of those cells!

Or maybe, you need to add some columns or rows in the middle of your information. Just select the cell where you want to insert extra rows or columns and drag right or down while holding the "Shift" key.

Your Auto Fill Options menu also has options to Fill Formatting Only which will copy the formatting of your previous cells without copying the information and Fill Without Formatting which will fill the cells with the next numerical number without the formatting previously used (i.e. dates will be converted back into a numeric value instead of looking like 12/1/12).

Totally Amazing, right? Such a great time saver for all future projects!

Using Font Effects...

Changing your font makes a HUGE difference your document's appearance. Many companies actually have "rules" as to which font and font size is acceptable for company documents (crazy, I know...but can't say I blame them. Could you imagine important contracts and financial reports going out in Curlz MT or AR Hermann (look 'em up)).

Most font effects can be found already installed on the toolbar. You can set font type, font size, font color, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, subscript and superscript. You can set text effects like outline, shadow, reflection and glow. You can highlight text and change the case, including sentence case (capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns), uppercase, lowercase, capitalize each word, and toggle case.

As if all that weren't enough to completely knock your socks off, there's more!

First of all, to get to your font menu, you can do one of two things. First, highlight the text you want to change. Then you can click the itsy-bitsy-teeny-tiny little arrow in the toolbar beside the word "FONT" (under the font color button). Or, you can just right click your mouse to pull up your "context" menu. Go down to "Font" and left click to select it.

Either method will lead you to your font menu where you can select many of the options that are already on your toolbar, as well as a few other options that aren't, such as underline style and color and double strikethrough.

(If your using WORD 2003 (or heaven forbid earlier versions), you can still find your font menu by using your right click/context menu or go to Format on the Menu bar, then down to Font.)

But wait y'all...there's even more!!!

In the Font menu, you'll see two tabs: Font and Advanced. (In WORD 2003 or earlier, you'll actually see three tabs: Font, Character Spacing, and Text Effects) Now, honestly, most users will not go beyond the Font tab. In fact the little bit of information I've given you may have already caused a few heads to explode.  All anyone really cares about is size, color, type, etc... Right?

But for those persons who actually want to know more...or maybe just want to see what else I can throw out there...we'll briefly talk about the Advanced tab.

This little gem allows you to set your Character Spacing, Kerning, and OpenType Features. Say What????

(All this fancy-schmansy mumbo jumbo is for the "serious" user...or for those who really want to show off! And, Hey, why not? When you know how to do this artsy crap, you absolutely should show off! At the very least, you'll feel extra smart...for a little bit anyways.)

Character spacing adjusts the amount of space between all letters by allowing you to change the scale, spacing, and position.

• Scaling allows you to increase the width of your font by percentage without changing the height.
• Spacing can be condensed or expanded making characters closer together or further apart.
• Position can be raised or lowered above or below the baseline (the line your text normally starts at).
• Kerning is used to adjust the space between particular pairs of letters and gives a more uniform look to your document by avoiding the gaps that occur with letters such as "L", "T", "W", "Y", and "V". Once you set your font size, anything that point size or above will be adjusted.

And finally, for anyone who's still with me, WORD 2010 also offers OpenType Features (not available or compatible with earlier versions).

Ligatures
Ligatures are two or more glyphs (an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written) that are formed into a single glyph in order to create more readable or attractive text. (Don't blink your eyes at me...I didn't make this crap up)!

There are four types of ligatures (info from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms745109.aspx)

• Standard ligatures -  Designed to enhance readability. Standard ligatures include "fi", "fl", and "ff".
• Contextual ligatures - Designed to enhance readability by providing better joining behavior between the characters that make up the ligature.
• Discretionary ligatures - Designed to be ornamental, and not specifically designed for readability.
• Historical ligatures - Designed to be historical, and not specifically designed for readability.

Number Spacing

• Proportional - Treats each numeral as having a different width (number "1" is narrower than number "5")
• Tabular - Treats each numeral as equal-width. Numerals align vertically increasing readability.

Number Forms

Old style font is offered and is useful in displaying numerals in styles that are no longer standard. Below is an example of the difference between Lining and Old Style Number Forms:

Stylistic Sets
You can choose various stylistic sets for your font. WORD comes pre-programmed with 20 stylistic sets, although most fonts only include 1 or 2. "Gabriola" includes 6...see below to see the differences.

Random Contextual Alternates (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms745109.aspx)

Random contextual alternates provide multiple substitute glyphs for a single character. When implemented with script-type fonts, this feature can simulate handwriting by using a set of randomly chosen glyphs with slight differences in appearance.

Huh?

Basically, this allows you to "switch it up" a bit and make the same letter look slightly different simulating what happens when you actually write stuff out.

The following text uses random contextual alternates for the Lindsey font. See how the letter "a" varies slightly in appearance.

So, how do you feel now? Did you learn something new? Can you apply some of these new font effects to your next document? At the very least, I hope you have the urge to go play around and try some of these font effects out in your next document.

And with that, I leave you with this little nugget. Go check out http://1001freefonts.com/ for some super cool fonts to download for free! So fun!