No one will ever be perfect. There is always a way in which you can better yourself. Instead of striving to be the best, you should set your sights on being better than you were yesterday. With an achievable goal like this, you will actually be able to see your improvement. 

Quick & Easy Meals

Tuscan Pasta With Tomato-Basil Cream

Wine Paring: Try it with a Lively Pinot Noir

This elegant pasta dinner will have your family thinking you worked in the kitchen all day long. The secret, though, is refrigerated ravioli and jarred Alfredo sauce that’s heated with white wine, chopped fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil. Top with grated Parmesan cheese for a tasty finishing touch.
• Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings 

Ingredients

• 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
• 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnish: fresh basil strips

Preparation

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
*1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
**1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.                                                                                                                         

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce.

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

43rd Rayne Frog

Festival 

May 6-9, 2015

 

Schedule of Events

Frog Festival Pavilion & Grounds

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6

5pm – Mitchell Bros. & Sons Amusement Carnival Family Night – Free Admission¬ Wristband Special

THURSDAY, MAY 7

4:30pm – Gates Open

5:00pm – Opening Ceremony/Main Stage All Vendor Booths Open – Camivai-Wristband

Speciai/Fairgrounds                                                      

 

6:00- 7:30 p

m- Beer 30/Main Stage

8:00-10:00pm- Dustin Sonnier & The Wanted/Main Stage

 

FRIDAY, MAY 8

4:30pm – Gates Open

5:00pm -All Vendor Booths Open – Carnival opens

6:30pm – High Performance/Main Stage , Jitterbug and Waltz “Dance Contests”

8:30pm -Jamie Bergeron & Kickin’ Cajuns/Main Stage

 

10:30pm•Chee Weez/Main Stage

SATURDAY, MAY 9

8:30am- Gates Open – All Vendor Booths Open – Mitchell Bros. & Son Amusements- Carnival Opens

8:00am – Frog Festival Poker Run Registration – Green Room/Civic Center

9:00am – Diaper Derby/Stage II – Sponsored by Rayne Jaycees

10:00am-6pm – Arts & Crafts Show – Rayne Civic Center Sponsored by Rayne Beautification Board

9:45am – Mr. & Miss Tadpole Introductions/Stage II Sponsored by Rayne Jaycees 9:55am – Project Dance/Stage II – under the direction of Nikki Link

10:00am – Introduction of Frog Festival and Rayne Royalty And Visiting Queens

10:15am – Frog Derby Queen’s Contest Stage II Sponsored by Rayne Lions Club

10:30am – International Rice Festival Dance Troupe

11:00am – Parade Block Party Begins – Rayne City Hall Sponsored by Dup’s DJ Service & Assisted by Rotary Club of Rayne

11:00am – Mitchell Bros. & Sons Amusements -Wristband Specials 11am – 4pm

 

11:OOam – Frog Racing & Jumping Contest Stage II Sponsored by Rayne Jaycees & Rayne Acadian Tribune -Register and rent a frog at Rayne Jaycees Booth

10:00am – Frog Festival 4 Ball Golf Tournament Sponsored by Cajun Pines Golf Club, Branch, LA

1:30pm – Grand Parade Downtown – featuring

Honorary Grand Marshals – “Swamp People” —Team Liz, Frog Festival Rayne Grand Marshal, bands, floats, dancers, etc.

2:30pm – Kevin Naquin & Ossun Playboys/Main Stage

4:30pm – Geno Delafose/Main Stage

6:30pm- Don Rich/Main Stage

 

8:30pm – Roddie Romero & The Hub City Allstars/Main Stage

 

ADMISSION CHARGES
THURSDAY – SATURDAY
$5.00 ADULTS
KIDS AGES 12 YEARS AND UNDER FREE.
NO ICE CHESTS OR PETS ALLOWED

 

You are sure to find Frog Legs Galore!

 

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

 

Mother’s Day is a Holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day most commonly falls on the second Sunday in May and traditionally involves presenting mothers with flowers, cards and other gifts.
Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service. Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s. While versions of Mother’s Day are celebrated throughout the world, traditions vary depending on the country. In the United States, Mother’s Day continues to be celebrated by presenting mothers and other women with gifts and flowers, and it has become one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending. Families might also celebrate by giving mothers a day off from activities like cooking or other household chores.
Did You Know?
More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

Information to Improve Homeownership

 

Rarely, does one size fit everyone and the same goes for advice. The following suggestion is not right for everyone. However, for people with job security and who don’t own a home; for people with good credit and enough savings for a down payment, there may never be a better time to buy a home.

Homes have had a significant price correction but in many markets, they have started to rise again. The lower prices combined with historically low interest rates make this an opportune time to buy a home if you can afford it.

One of the reasons homes are an attractive investment is the fact that you can use a small down payment and finance the balance for 30 years. The principle, called leverage, allows you to earn a return on the value of the home rather than the actual cash investment. Small appreciation can create a large rate of return on the initial investment of the down payment and closing costs.

The following example is a projection at the end of five years for a $175,000 home with 3% closing costs and a 5% interest rate for a 30 year term. The rate you see in each column is an annual rate of return based on the equity of the home at the end of the five year period due to both appreciation and amortization of the loan.

The nature of positive leverage will cause the returns to be higher with a smaller down payment. As you see in the table, the return is higher on the 3.5% down payment than with the 10% or 20% down payment.

If you’re curious to see if this advice might fit your situation, you really need to sit down with a knowledgeable real estate professional who can help you assess your position. It’s worth the time because there may never be a better opportunity than now.