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Michelle LaRose talks with Steve Richards and Mike DeWolf for Caustic Truths! Magazine
Photographs by Michelle LaRose
Taproot showed up as a blip on the radar screen after Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst left a message on their answering machine exclaiming, "…Now you got enemies and you're fucking yourself already… Don't fucking show up at my show, 'cause, if you do, you're gonna' get fucked…" Fred was pissed and rightfully so. He wanted to be the one accredited with discovering Taproot. When Taproot made it without Durst's help, Fred exploded, making answering machine history.
Steve Richards, Mike DeWolf, Jarrod Montague and Phil Lipscomb are collectively known as Taproot. They hail from Ann Arbor Michigan and have recently released their third major label record Blue-Sky Research. We sat down with vocalist Steve Richards and lead axe-man Mike DeWolf and had a chat about the new album.
CT: Can you give us a brief history of Taproot?
Mike: We basically got together in 1997. Steve and I were playing together and Jarrod and Phil were staying with his cousin while attending at the University of Michigan. We met them that way, formed a band and just put in a lot of hard work and got lucky and got signed and went from there.
CT: For anyone who has never heard you before, how would you describe your sound?
Steve: I'm known for saying that we are heavy enough that we played two Ozzfest's but we're the only band that wore all white. We're pretty heavy at times but we're not just focused on being heavy. We're a pretty good rock band.
CT: Your latest album is Blue-Sky Research. Billy Corgan (former Smashing Pumpkins lead) helped you out with this project. What was his role in helping with the album?
Mike: We needed another person to come in and help inspire us. We've been writing for quite some time so we needed a new source of inspiration. We went to Chicago and spent a week up there with him. He was filled with great ideas. We'd play him our song and he'd go, "Try this! Try that! That didn't work. Try this! Try that! See how that's totally shifting the song?" So it was really cool. He actually came in one morning and said that he had woke up and wrote a little guitar line and said "Take this, this song." So he actually helped write a song for us. Yeah it was great.
CT: You've been quoted as saying that he "helped you break old habits." How so?
Steve: Everyone just kind of falls into a formula when it comes to songwriting. Obviously people are worried about, especially now days with rock music not selling, you got to have hook, hook, hook, hook, chorus, chorus, chorus. We just kind of fell into a formula where we'd do a real melodic down type of verse but then we'd have the chorus hit really heavy with big harmonies then a bridge in the middle of the song to just get away from something. Just something else. He is the kind of a guy that's like, It's better to build a song. The second verse doesn't have to be the same as the first verse. It can be a little bit different to keep the listener's ear and you can always go from there and add something different to the second chorus. It doesn't just have to be a set formula and that really opened our eyes. When you're writing songs with the same guys in the same room it just gets a little redundant and you don't know what you're doing, you're just writing songs. He said, "Here's your formula. Look at all your songs. You're doing the same thing with every song." We're like, "OK, we'll change that up."
CT: Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, Metallica) produced this album as well as your last album 'Welcome'. You attribute Toby as having helped shape Taproot. How so?
Mike: We basically took him in as the fifth band member. It's good to have someone you trust musically and as a producer and to be able to tell you, "That sucks" or "That's great. Go with that." He's been great and we're very lucky to have found him.
CT: You had an abundance of material for this new album. What's going to happen to the songs that didn't make the cut?
Steve: They'll probably sit on our home computers until we're absolutely broke then we'll try to sell them or something.
[Everyone laughs]
CT: What does the title Blue-Sky Research mean?
Mike: I found it in a book. I don't even know what it was in.
Steve: Idioms.
Mike: A book of idioms.
CT: Thesaurus? [Taproot derived their name from a thesaurus] Not this time right?
Mike: Idioms.
Steve: Same publisher.
Mike: Yeah, same publisher. It basically means… large companies would have these groups to sit in a room and just think about things. It wasn't necessarily driven to think about a product or anything it was just to think of ideas. That is kind of what I felt like we were doing at the time, just sitting in a room with no windows, all day every day and trying to come up with stuff. It was fitting.
CT: Do you think the internet played a role in your success?
Steve: And our downfall! We drew so much attention to ourselves back when the internet was like… it was already big but we were like the whores that knew how to get into the different web sites and shamelessly promote ourselves. We made it a job. We'd spend pretty much twenty hours a day all of us doing different things. Going to web sites. We'd go into chat rooms and be like, "I love Korn, Deftones, Taproot in the middle and then another one at the end." So it's just thrown in like, "Who's Taproot?", "Oh you didn't know?" That kind of stuff. We sold close to ten thousand independent demos that we were doing from home and that drew interest from elsewhere. So we brought the people to us thanks to the internet.
CT: You actually took over a fan's web site and made it the official Taproot site?
Mike: Wow. Yeah. I didn't even think of that. I just talked to him two nights ago. He was a fan slash friend of ours. He was like, "Hey! Check this out. I made a site for you." I never even knew about the internet really. I went over and I was like, "So wait a minute. How does this work?" I figured it all out and it was like, "Oh my God! This is our chance. We can do anything." Instead of posting a flyer on a tree or on a phone pole, you can post a flyer on the internet and reach across the whole world. So it was a great moment.
CT: I found Die Offizielle Homepage Von Taproot (taproot.de) on the internet. Are you big in Germany? Have you toured there?
Steve: [Looking curiously puzzled] I don't know. It's been a while since we've been over there. We've been there and we've had good shows over there.
CT: Are the German audiences different from American audiences?
Steve: They don't speak English as well as we do. In Europe in general it's a little bit cooler feeling when you get to talk to the kids. There a little bit more grateful that someone's over there because they don't get to see bands they like all the time. They say cooler compliments. They're not like, "You guys rock dude." It's, "You guys are brilliant" or whatever they'd say in their native tongue.
CT: Thank you for speaking with Caustic Truths today.
Steve: Thank you.
Mike: Thanks.


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Pedal Boards and sonic manipulators galore. I will add to this as time goes by
Touring Board as of 12/11/14
My 2014 touring Pedalboard. I'm swapping things in and out all the time but as of [12-11-14] this is what i'm using.
Pedaltrain pro, GigRig Generator and power distro, The Gigrig G2,
In Order:
Gigrig Humdinger [Isolated out to mini TC polytune - buffered out to G2 input]
1)JHS mini foot fuzz - 2)Barber Tone Press - 3)Fulltone Fulldrive - 4)JHS secret Stu g OD - 5)Creme Brulee [Klon Clone] - AMT volume Pedal - 6)Earthquaker Devices Organizer - 7)Boss RC3 Loopstation - 8)JHS Panther Cub delay - 9)Eventide H9 [for reverbs and mod effects] - 10)Eventide H9 [for delays and echo effects]
Output 1 - Vox or Jackson, Output 2 - Marshall, Park, or Morgan
Current Live G2 Board
My live 2014 Pedalboard. I'm swapping things in and out all the time but this weekend [11-14-14] this is what i'm using.
1)JHS mini foot fuzz - 2)Barber Tone Press - 3)Fulltone Fulldrive - 4)JHS secret Stu g OD - 5)Creme Brulee [Klon Clone] - AMT volume Pedal - 6)Earthquaker Devices Organizer - 7)Spare [for looper] - 8)JHS Panther Cub delay - 9)Eventide H9 [for reverbs and mod effects] - 10)Eventide Timefactor Delay
Studio Board formerly Delirious Live Board
This Board has the Gigrig Pro 14 as it's brain. it has a double layer. input through Humdinger again then Volume Pedal and into Pro14. On the top you can see Timmy OD, Memory Man delay, Eventide Mod factor, Line6 M9 [this used to be the Timefactor and will be again soon as I can afford another H9 for my live board. next to the Volume pedal is a Budda BudWah
Studio board rear
a view into the bottom layer
From L-R
Humdinger, Expandora, Boss PS-5, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Zvex Box of ROCK
I can plug different effects in as i want to by connecting into the Loopy 2 which is controlled by the Pro14. you can see the Gigrig generator and a distributor along with Boss tuner, DMB Spankenstein compressor, DMB Lunar Echo [a superb delay] and a loose Expandora
House show board
A killer and easy to carry board for small gigs, house shows, appearances etc
Tuner - JHS morning Glory - Expandora [set to fuzz] - TC Flashback Delay
loose in the studio
A bunch of pedals that I keep in the studio and use as necessary. Everyone of these is used and periodically finds it's way into my live situation. I use everything I keep.
Digitech Jamman
The original and the looper I use the most
Line6 DL4
This box changed my life and helped create Mezzamorphis and Glo
Electro Harmonix Micro Synth
TC Sustainer Para EQ
Bought in 1986 and still an amazing compressor with the added bonus of cool eq
Boss CE-3 and DM-2
A fine pair from the '80s
Digitech Talker
The intro to Bliss and pretty much every time you thought you heard a vocoder on a D? record
Zvex Wooly Mammoth
Deserves it's own photo because it was designed by my friend Chuck Zwicky. Chuck taught me so much about fuzz tones when we recorded Glo and Audiolessonover
Wammy XP 100
Entered my world on King of Fools [the chorus sound on Sanctify]. The intro to Heaven and Mezzanine floor. Continues to feature on various sessions including a Tim Hughes solo.
My Jesus tape approves
Recording Stuff pt 1
API 3124mb Mic Pres, API The Channel Strip, Vintech X731 Mic Pre w/EQ
Recording Stuff pt 2
Apogee Rosetta 800 Interface, 2 x Empirical Labs Distressors, API 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor
My Studio vocal mic
Stu Garrard is a guitarist, playing currently with Michael W. Smith and One Sonic Society. Formerly with the UK band Delirous? His most recent project is called "Of Burdens, Birds & Stars."

subset: commoncrawl


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- It would not be a review without letting you know all the standard product info. And So I begin with that.
- I find that with these digital products it can sometimes be confusing where to buy so I have written a paragraph specifically for that.
- Statistical info on the program to assist you in your decision
- The feedback section! This is an important part of the review process in which I gather thoughts from those that have used the program
- A bonus offer is one thing that shouldn't be forgotten about. Discover what it is and just how you can get one.
Product Facts
|Product Name:
|4 x Pip Snager
|Standard Price:
|Jason Sweezey
|Leslie Trawler
|Review Updated:
|03rd Oct 2010
|Bonus Offered:
Where to Buy
4 x Pip Snager is offered for sale via their site, which it's easy to have a look at through this link: 4xpipsnager.com. The product is not distributed through any different outlets, even if you could possibly come across additional websites that link straight to the transaction processor website. Nonetheless, it is best to click to the original site to see the most up-to-date amount. If you wish to purchase without making use of an affiliate hyperlink that can be done via this link: http://www.4xpipsnager.com/.
Publisher's Description
Finally… A new Forex System that will change how you trade Forex – Forever! Do you want to learn how to make 300 to 500 pips a week with 87% accuracy? Then keep reading…
User Comment and Discussion
It's about time to take part! Make sure you inform us precisely what you think about the product – did you buy it? Do you plan to buy it? Just about all (non abusive) opinions are published.
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Product Stats and Appraisal
Well, I've prepared an explanation of that here: stats spelled out. Using these statistics, I have created two scores to help you decide whether or not this is really a product you would like to buy. I have called them the buyer satisfaction (self explanatory) and the buyer frenzy (how well the product is selling).


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Cohutta Springs Youth Camp
Camp is a real kid paradise - fantastic, fun-filled, yet meaningful and spiritual. Boys and girls, ages 7-18, can come to camp. Cohutta Springs' rules for acceptance and participation are the same for everyone, without regard to race, color, creed or national origin. Many campers have enjoyed Cohutta springs since it was chartered in 1980. Cohutta Springs Youth Camp is located on 600 acres of North Georgia mountains in Crandall, Georgia. A crystal clear mountain stream feeds the tranquil water of the 50-acre lake.


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Oh THAT Place at BUSINESS RIOT FESTIVAL
20 – 22 October 2016
Creative Industries Talk & Live Interviews
w. Lisa Langmantel (Creative Mornings Vienna) / Sophie Pollak (WE BANDITS)
Saturday 22 October
13 .30 – 13:40 Opening / Moderation: Martina Schöggl (The Sorority)
13.40 – 14:00 Keynote: Monika Kanokova – The Value of Creative Work
14.00 – 14:40 Live Interviews Oh That Place / Lisa Langmantel (CMVIE) / Sophie Pollak (WE BANDITS)
Creative Careers & Obstacles: From ideas to reality – what it takes and what makes a project really worth it?
We investigate what drives our guest speakers to continually work on self-organised projects and businesses. We address the opportunities & obstacles they face as women in both the Viennese and global creative communities.
We delve into the art of creating projects that are worthwhile and what makes them really last.
14.40 – 15:30 Open Forum, 4 Round Tables
Table 1: Monika Kanokova: The value of creative work
Table 2: Oh That Place: Do it now! Building a network as a creative freelancer could be the most important thing you do today!
Table 3: Female Careers – Lisa Langmantel
Table 4: Female Careers – Sophie Pollak


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If the Mets let the Cardinals back into this series with one bad pitch last Friday night in New York, they gave up control of it with one bad decision last night.
With one out in the eighth inning of a 4-2 game, David Wright finally had a big hit, doubling into the left-field corner to give the Mets runner on second and third. With Shawn Green due to bat, Tony La Russa replaced Josh Kinney with southpaw Randy Flores to get the platoon advantage. The counter to that seemed obvious; get a right-handed hitter, any right-handed hitter, to the plate. Green hasn't been a true two-way player in a very long time. Since 2003, he's hit .247/.325/.419 against lefties. Flores held lefties to a .258/.337/.355 line this year, while allowing righties to rake: .329/.416/.566. He's a specialist, someone who can't be trusted against right-handed batters.
Even if La Russa walked the pinch-hitter to load the bases, which wasn't a lock because it would mean walking the go-ahead run, you then would have Jose Valentin batting from the right side against Flores, a fairly extreme case of weakness against weakness. The key batter was Green, or his replacement. Willie Randolph allowed Green to bat. One weak pop to center field later, the right fielder was back in the dugout, and the Mets were one step closer to being upset.
The events that led to that at-bat were set in motion a long time ago, first when the Mets sent Lastings Milledge to the minors on August 24, then when some teammates complained about the rookie's attitude in September. It's obviously much more important to sustain the wildly dysfunctional social structure of a major-league baseball team than to create an environment where the only capable right-handed-hitting outfielder in your organization can play.
Whether for baseball or interpersonal reasons, Milledge wasn't on the Division Series roster. When the Mets dropped down to 11 pitchers for the NLCS, they added Anderson Hernandez and his 406 OPS rather than Milledge, even though Cliff Floyd's Achilles' problem meant that his status was in question, and the Cardinals had two left-handed speciailists with massive platoon splits. Hernandez's only chance to get into a game would be to pinch-run for a pitcher or for Floyd in a pinch-hitting appearance. Milledge would likely have played in every single game as a pinch-hitter or as Shawn Green's legs.
Randolph has inherited a lot of Joe Torre's approaches as a manager, up to and including the inability to assemble a roster for the postseason. The problems with the pitching staff you can forgive, because he doesn't have half his projected playoff rotation. The terrible bench, however, is his own doing; Michael Tucker and Julio Franco are solid pinch-hitters, and Ramon Castro could be if he ever played. (Since Jorge Posada became the clear #1 catcher in 2000, Yankee backup catchers have played in four postseason games: two blowouts, one extra-inning game, and one Randy Johnson start that John Flaherty caught. So Randolph, like Torre, won't use his backup catcher unless Paul Lo Duca starts shedding body parts.) Hernandez isn't going to play. Chris Woodward isn't going to play. Cliff Floyd can't play. Castro won't play. Randolph has left himself with a two-man bench.
In the eighth inning last night, the Mets needed a good right-handed bat. Franco, Castro…hey, you pick the dictator…any of them would have been a better choice than Green. It would have meant putting Woodward in the outfield for the duration of the game, but so what? Lastings Milledge would have been the best option, but he wasn't around. If the Mets don't win two games in New York, they're going to have to look back at that decision and wonder what the manager was thinking when he put together his roster.
Randolph letting Green bat was just the most costly of a number of head-scratching decisions made during the game. I thought La Russa made a significant mistake in letting Jeff Weaver bat in the fourth inning, with the game tied at two, the bases loaded and two men out. Weaver had scuffled through the Mets' lineup twice, allowing the lefties to go 5-for-13 with a walk, and the top of the lineup was coming up in the fifth. Tom Glavine was clearly struggling with his command, elevating balls that the Cards were hitting into right field. A hit there would give the Cards the lead and possibly knock Glavine from the game, while turning the game over to a bullpen that had pitched very well up until Sunday's middle innings.
Weaver batted and grounded to second, and as it turned out, got threw two more innings unscathed, while the Cards scored in the fifth and sixth to make him the winning pitcher. You can credit La Russa with the right decision in retrospect, but at the time it seemed like he let an opportunity to gain the upper hand slip by. I don't know if expecting Jeff Weaver, who danced along the knife's edge all game long, to get through the Mets' lineup one more time was sensible, but it worked out.
La Russa would make one more decision that set my inbox afire. After Flores retired Green in the fateful eighth inning, La Russa called upon Adam Wainwright to pitch to Jose Valentin. I got a lot of questions about this; Valentin has been so bad from the right side that he actually gave up switch-hitting for a while. He hit .219/.300/.344 against lefties this year, .288/.341/.538 against righties, and I'm pretty sure this was the first time in a decade any manager had replaced a lefty with a righty just for him.
Looking at it, though, I figure La Russa knew that he wasn't going to get a platoon advantage worth having, so he wanted the better pitcher in the game. Flores is so bad against righties that he's a risk even against Valentin, and Wainwright is probably the best reliever the Cardinals have. Of the decisions that caused raised eyebrows, this was the most defensible one, and like the others, it worked out for the Cardinals: Valentin was called out on strikes.
About that…
The umpiring in the 2006 postseason hasn't been as egregious as the umpiring in 2005. We haven't had a Doug Eddings moment, a critical controversy that defines the month. What we have had, however, is the ball/strike work so bad that it has materially affected every single game. Pitches are being called essentially at random, and the looks of confusion on the faces of everybody involved tell the story.
The pitch that retired Valentin was another in a long, long line of pitches that were miscalled in critical spots. It was, essentially, the Eric Gregg moment of this series, the pitch that will stand out as an umpire's error in a high-leverage moment. The big curve by Wainwright was outside, and while a nasty pitch, was correctly taken by Valentin, who is a reasonably disciplined hitter.
What I found highly amusing was the sequence that followed on Fox. The FoxTrax graphic, which has consistently shown the umpiring to be a disaster, popped up briefly. Before it could be activated, the game went into a commercial break. They didn't return to it until a batter had been retired, at which time they highlighted the replay with some sponsor's logo, and "showed" that the pitch was just on the outside corner.
Now, take this with a very large grain of salt, but I'm just distrustful enough of the powers involved here-Fox and MLB-to speculate as to the timing of the graphic and the information it provided. To have that tool, which had consistently shown the home-plate umpires missing pitches time and time again, show up to confirm perhaps the biggest called strike of the series, and to do so after ten minutes, after it had nearly been used in the immediate aftermath of the pitch…it just seems terribly convenient. The pitch didn't look like a strike, Valentin didn't think it was a strike, no one I talked to thinks it was a strike.
Regardless of whether that pitch was called correctly or not, the inability of these umpires to call a consistent, correct strike zone has been one of the biggest stories of the postseason. It's not just big strikeout calls that change games. Take Yadier Molina's at-bat in the fourth inning. Home-plate umpire Jeff Kellogg called a 3-1 pitch well off the plate a strike; Glavine threw essentially the same pitch on 3-2, and Molina had to swing, because even though it was not a strike, he couldn't be certain the guy making the call was going to see it that way.
Keith Law, over at ESPN.com, has dubbed it the "Heisenberg Strike Zone," which is a label I can't top. Until and unless we concede that humans can't do the job with the precision needed, however, we're going to continue to see baseball games worth millions of dollars decided by functionaries making a few thousand.
Will that be the case tonight? The Mets find themselves up against the wall, throwing a rookie against the guy who might win the NL Cy Young Award. As bad as that looks, if they win the game, they don't even have a Game Seven starter, and they'll be up against a pitcher who threw eight shutout innings against them.
First things first. The Mets are as tough a matchup for Chris Carpenter as you'll find, a team with patient left-handed batters who will work deep counts. In Game Two, Carpenter wasn't able to get the Mets to chase the breaking ball low and inside, the pitch that had helped him beat the Padres twice. The approach for the Mets tonight will again be the same: lay off that pitch, make Carpenter work in the strike zone, draw some walks if he doesn't. They've beaten him once, and I'm not sure they can't beat him again.
John Maine is a good pitcher in his own right, and Willie Randolph should have a reasonably long leash on him. The Mets need to win two games, so Randolph should be careful about using Darren Oliver too quickly, or starting the short-reliever parade. It's unfortunate that a spate of injuries has pushed the Mets to this point, but that can't serve as an excuse; the Mets can still win this series, and I suspect that they'll again get to Carpenter and at least force a Game Seven.
Thank you for reading
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The kids went back to school this week--woohoo! It was a "short" week, meaning four days of school instead of five (and two instead of three for my preschooler) but the parental readjustment to making lunches and getting myself dressed before 8 more than made up for whatever shortness the school people intended. I have to say though--at the end of this holiday break, I wasn't as at the end of my rope as I have been in the past. The girls (age 6 and 3.5) played together more and better than ever before. Sure, they were often dancing on the fine line between total contentment and total angry hysteria, but they stayed on the right side of that line more than the wrong side. So for that, I was hugely thankful. Anyway, end of babbling. The Friday 5...
1. Nothing is really happening yet with The Hideaway (book #1), but in February, I think we (me + my "team" at HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson) will start to talk about preliminary marketing things. My agent suggested I come up with a list of authors we could contact for blurbs and/or endorsements for my book. This is a wee bit uncomfortable (basically asking for praise) but I think it'll be part of the job, so I better get used to it. And all authors do it, and probably all authors get asked to do it, so it won't be anything new. I've put together a list of people I'd like to contact--some are total pie-in-the-sky authors who could possibly just sniff at me, and some are a little more accessible, and hopefully more likely to be willing to help. Or who knows, maybe those big-time authors will take it as a chance to help out a little writer like me.
Every since I heard a writer tell the story of how she asked Fannie Flagg to write a blurb for her book and Fannie basically told her to write the blurb herself and she'd sign off on it, I've been sort of wishy-washy about blurbs. They don't necessarily make me buy a book, but I know they are important to some readers, as in, "If Danielle Steele/John Grisham/E.L. James says this is a good book, then by golly, I'm gonna read it." For those readers, it'll be nice to have some authors who write similar types of southern fiction to say nice things about my book. And if, I don't know, let's say Rick Bragg happens to read my book and has anything even remotely positive to say about it, that'd be okay by me.
2. I just today signed up for Hoover library's Southern Voices book festival. If you've never been and you like books and you live anywhere bear Birmingham, you should come to it. They have a handful of authors who speak every year and I promise you, it's interesting whether or not you're a writer. These are great writers, but also great speakers. I'm most excited to hear Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, the husband/wife team who wrote The Tilted World, about the 1927 flood in Mississippi. Beth Ann is a poet and Tom is a novelist. (Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is one of my favorites.) I'm also looking forward to hearing Laura Lane McNeal, author of Dollbaby. I haven't read this yet, but it takes place in New Orleans, so that automatically makes me a fan. (I love New Orleans and part of The Hideaway takes place there.) But the cool thing is, after Katrina came through and wrecked things, Laura took a different direction with her life and decided to pursue her passion of writing. Dollybaby is her debut and it's gotten a LOT of attention. I'm hoping to glean lots of wisdom and inspiration from her.
As a side note, I planned to attend the Friday night talk with Erik Larson. He writes nonfiction that reads like fiction--like supercharged, edge-of-your-seat fiction. Pick up Dead Wake or Devil in the White City (or probably any of his others) and you won't be able to put it down. I got online at 9:02 to order tix (they went on sale at 9.) I went through the whole payment system on my phone, entered my info, got all the way to the end, then got a message that said payment didn't go through due to a problem with the system and to please try again in a few moments. Well, a few moments later I was working my rear off in YCross, so I waited an hour until class was over. And Friday night was sold out. (Sad face.)
3. For those of you following what's going on with my mom, she's just finishing up her fourth out of six week-long chemo treatments. She'll go home tomorrow for what we hope and pray is two weeks of rest, good food, relaxation, and visits with friends and family before she goes back in for her fifth week of inpatient chemo. Cancer is bad. Chemo is bad (I mean, it's good, but seriously, it's so bad). But I read something today that offered some calm:It's really hard to not worry, not FRET, not be anxious. But that's what Jesus tells us to do. DO NOT worry. DO NOT be anxious. It's hard, but we try.
4. My friend Anne Riley has written a children's book based on the story of a family friend of hers. It's beautifully written and illustrated, and it will be released in the next couple of weeks. As Anne says in her press release, "Inspired by a real-life family, Voyage to the Star Kingdom is a vivid reminder that our stories don't end in death, and that the King is indeed making all things new."
Here's the gorgeous cover:
This is her blog post that tells all about the book and the family that inspired it. Rather than me paraphrasing everything, just read it from her. Heads up, you may need some tissues.
(And PS, Anne is also a YA writer and her second book PULL is coming out in FEBRUARY! I've already preordered it on Amazon!)
5. Eric and Tami Taylor have the best marriage that's ever been on TV, I'm convinced. A real, honest, loving, patient, selfless, imperfect but hardworking marriage. That's not common. Long live Mr and Mrs. Coach Taylor. (And the Dillon Panthers.)
See y'all next week.


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Full program available
EAI International Workshop on Smart City Experimental and Digital Business Development Platforms
SMARTDBD 2017 is organised under Smartcity360 Experience and Perspectives
Experience and Perspectives Smart City Summit
EXHIBIT at Smart City360° Summit to gain important exposure for your project, prototype or product!
PARTICIPATE at Smart City360° Summit to connect with others in your field!
SEE ALL Smart City360° Summit to see other Experience and Perspectives
NEWS: Vogue revealing some of the best gems of Helsinki.
The first International Smart City experimental platform and federation conference aims to serve as a premier international forum for discussions, bringing together academic, industrial and governmental researchers along with practitioners, standards developers and students interested in Smart Cities experimental platforms, Living Labs and interoperability.
The conference is putting together research groups developing or owning experimental faculties, ICT experts, Internet and IoT researchers, Living Labs and Innovation organisations, security experts and business practitioners.
The conference provides an opportunity to present and to discuss different experimental faculties, the possibilities of their integration, interoperability, connectivity, federation aspects and to start a discussion on possible partnerships and implementation.
The conference stimulates discussion on Smart Cities Living Labs and experimental platforms that could allow to gain experiments to gain realistic data on techno-social systems of system behaviour, resilience and vulnerability.
The conference will help to identify the gaps in existing knowledge, the areas of future multidisciplinary collaboration will help to create new projects and to develop a roadmap for future research and development.
The follow-up exhibition will provide an opportunity to present experimental facilities, test beds, software tools and to participate in matchmaking meetings to discuss new partnership and collaboration opportunities between academia, industry and cities authorities. The follow-up co-creation seminars will provide opportunities to discuss and to apply research results to concrete regional programmes with the participation of cities, regions and industry.
There is a large number of existing experimental facilities, projects and tools that are providing different capabilities and capacities for Smart Cities research and experimentation, business development, validation, testing and demonstration with high level of fragmentation among them. There is a growing demand to establish digital business development platforms and growth environments as Cities Lab to support innovation, new services and business models for Smart Cities and Regions. The federation of available experimental faculties for Smart Cities services and systems has a tremendous potential and faces a big challenges. The system integration and concept of joint federated experimental platform for Smart Cities Resilience, Sustainability and Security has not been established yet. There is a missing framework of Living Labs and experimental platforms that could allow to gain experiments to gain realistic data on Smart Cities techno-social systems. The repository of available facilitates has not been developed. The existing experimental facilities interoperability at different levels remains an open question.. The federation and sustainable deployment require serious evaluation of the associated organizational, economic and security aspects. These complex issues require multidisciplinary research collaboration and input from academic and industrial research
Highlights and Publications:
The event is endorsed by the European Alliance for Innovation, a leading community-based organisation devoted to the advancement of innovation in the field of ICT.
Accepted authors will be invited to submit an extended version of their work through one of the following EAI endorsed publications
Topics of interest
Authors are invited to submit complete unpublished papers, which are not under review in any other confrere or journal in the following but not limited to, topic areas:
Experimental, testing platforms, test beds and Living Labs for Smart Cites. Experiences, trends, interconnection. (Session A)
- Experimental platforms for Smart Cities technologies and systems
- System architecture of experimental platforms including openness, federation, scalability
- Testing platforms
- IoT, 5G, Future internet experimental platforms and projects
- Virtual Living Labs
- City as Lab
- Cross border Living Labs platforms
- Smart Cities domains experimental facilities (environment, health, security, infrastructure)
- Digital business development platforms and growth environments
- Interfaces with smart city existing urban systems or components through standard APIs
- Economic, organizational, security and legal aspects of experimental, testing and demonstration faculties
Connectivity, federation and virtualization technologies (Session B)
- Federation of test beds and experimental platforms
- Virtualization
- Connectivity and federation of remote faculties
- Integration with large scale networks
- Virtual Living Labs
Service platforms (Session C)
- Shared application development platforms
- Public e-services experimental platform
- Citizens participation and tools
Living Labs and experimental platforms as source of experimental realistic data on Smart Cities techno-social-economic systems (Session D)
- Crowdsourcing experimental platforms
- Internet and mobile network platforms for experimental data collection
- Models , ocietal, behavioral, economic, system research results and models validation with the experimental data to support innovation, new services and business models


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My Tips For Selling On Etsy
I was inspired to write this post because I come across this very topic all the time in the various crochet groups that I love being a part of. I, myself, have struggled with this very subject and was left feeling very defeated. That's when I decided to research and really figure out what it would take to sell my handicrafts in this extremely competitive marketplace.
In my research, I scoured through many articles saying the same vague info… you need to have the right product, a certain je ne sais quoi, etc…, but nothing ever specific. Or worse, courses you have to pay for to get advice.
First, you need to look at what you're offering and be critical. Is your product a dime a dozen? If you make amigurumi, then take a walk down the toy aisle at any given store. If you find something similar, then it's time to reconsider what you're making. Same goes for crocheters who make accessories like hats, scarves, backpacks or handbags, and garments. Spend a day cruising popular clothing stores and make a note of what there is an oversupply of so you know what to avoid.
The key is to get ahead of upcoming trends. A great way to find out what to make is to look at baby, wedding, toy, home decor, and fashion magazines. These give great insight as to what styles and colors are on-trend for the season before they flood the market. (Money Saving Tip: Check to see if your local library has current magazine issues, this way you can read them for free.)
Material. Yes, yarn is expensive, and acrylic yarn is an awesome product that comes in a zillion variations at affordable prices, but anyone can buy a commercially made product of comparable materials for far less than what you would need to charge to cover materials and labor. If you are making an item for a baby, you may want to consider organic materials. If you are making an item for sale as a wedding gift or home decor item, you may want to consider using a more luxurious material. This reason alone is enough to charge enough money to cover material and labor.
Time of year is also a factor in any business' sales. Toy sales are higher around November and December. Clothing sales are higher in spring and fall. Baby and Wedding sales are more of a spring, summer, or fall time of year.
Consider where you advertise. I sell amigurumi patterns and advertise them in my beloved crochet groups on Facebook. The wonderful people in these groups can already crochet themselves (or are looking to learn) so a pattern on how to crochet a particular item would be something these folks would be interested in. Typically, these are not the people that would want to buy a finished crocheted item. Take a look at what you are selling and think of the type of person who would be interested in that particular item, then advertise it in that type of group. Be sure to read the group's rules for posting. (Group Tip: I recommend avoiding business groups as these groups tend to be filled with sellers, not buyers.)
Once you have an idea of what you want to create and with what materials, go out and find a fabulous pattern! There are a plethora of patterns out there on the internet. Check websites like Craftsy, Ravelry, Etsy, Pinterest, and Google. Many patterns are free but don't shy away from paid patterns either. I often find some of the most beautiful patterns are paid ones. (Also, you'll be supporting a fellow maker by purchasing a pattern.) Just remember, if you sell a few items from that one paid pattern, then it most definitely has paid for itself. Be sure to refer the pattern designer on your listing as typically noted on patterns.
In a nutshell… When trying to figure out how to get buyers to trade you their money for your product–materials, color, and style are important attributes to consider. Examples: I created this black, white, and red, visually stimulating crochet book for babies out of 100% organic cotton (materials set you apart). I created this boho chic baby layette set (style sets you apart) with the option to be customized (wording signals and added cost) in 100% organic cotton (now you've got material and style that sets you apart). I created this throw blanket and/or decorative pillow set out of 100% cashmere. Check out this faux leather and/or cool color festival top. Etc…
Before I go there are a couple of topics I feel that I need to mention… First, use good pictures. This subject was mentioned over and over in "how to improve my online sales" articles along with elaborate ways to photograph like a pro. Let me just say this: on all of the online listings that I saw, I have NOT seen one photo that would've steered me away from the product. If, by chance, someone who is reading this has their listings photographed on top of a pile of dirty laundry, dishes, or other clutter/randomness, then please retake the pictures with a plain background. You can easily use white printer paper, construction paper, or scrapbook paper (my personal favorite). Second, there are crocheted creations that are more of a work of art than a toy. If you are selling a work of art, then be sure to advertise where you would expect to find art lovers, doll collectors, or other fans of your subject matter. Also, I've seen teddy bears that are so beautifully done that they might be considered both a work of art and a toy; at this point, you might want to advertise it as home decor or heirloom gifts.
Be sure to subscribe to my blog at www.onelittlehook.com to stay up to date on new content, patterns and giveaways, and random editorials like this. Happy Hooking!
Please visit my OneLittleHook Facebook community group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/139653136590869/ to post pictures of your projects; get crochet tips, tricks, or help; and to connect with other lovers of all things crochet!


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WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the final calculus, the meager legislative results of being a member of Congress were just not worth the sacrifice required to do the job for Jim Gerlach.
Ultimately, that was what led the 58-year-old Republican to announce last week that he will not seek re-election to 6th District seat he has held since 2003, Gerlach said during an interview with The Mercury.
'We're really not seeing much change in the legislative process down here in Washington and we're not getting a lot achieved with all the tussle and gridlock, we're really in kind of a holding pattern,' Gerlach said.
'Realistically, I don't see much movement on either side any time soon and I began to wonder whether it was worth not seeing my family, all the traveling and the permanent campaigning, when we're not really getting a lot done,' Gerlach said.
Gerlach, of Chester Springs, said he had been mulling the decision for some time, but resolved to wait until the break over the holidays to talk to his family and give the question his full attention.
'I've been thinking about it on-and-off for a few months, but I wanted to wait until I got home for the holidays to concentrate on it without all the hustle and bustle here in Washington,' Gerlach said.
The decision made, Gerlach said he has no particular plans for the future, other than a desire to remain involved in public policy in some way, although, he said, not as a Washington lobbyist.
As a member of the majority on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee - a seat which Gerlach suspects many of his fellow House members are already maneuvering to obtain - Gerlach said he learned quickly how much public policy gets decided on the committee that determines how to pay for those public policy initiatives.
Being appointed to that committee 'was a real education,' said Gerlach, 'and I was a little worried at first because I don't have a tax background.'
But he's a quick study and Gerlach said perhaps his biggest regret about not being around after his terms ends in December is the likelihood he won't be around to participate in a major re-write of the tax code Republicans had hoped to have underway already.
'But that got bogged down in the fall with the (government) shutdown,' Gerlach said.
Gerlach acknowledged polling that shows the shutdown hurt Republicans' reputation nationally.
But he also agreed that a Jan. 3 Molly Ball column in The Atlantic made an interesting point - that House Speaker John Boehner needed to allow the shutdown to play out in order to chasten and rein-in recalcitrant 'Tea Party' Republicans who were making legislative compromise difficult by clinging to uncompromising policy positions.
Boehner 'didn't want a deal that ended the shutdown without resolving the more serious matter of the debt ceiling, and he wanted his unruly caucus to learn a lesson. So he waited,' Ball wrote.
'Post-shutdown, things changed. The negotiators - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray - actually got together. They worked out a compromise. They hit the deadline. And then both houses of Congress passed it,' she wrote.
'I have no personal problem with our leadership,' Gerlach said. 'I like Speaker Boehner. I think he has the right agenda, but I recognize they have a diverse caucus that they have to steer.'
But whether or not the new ability to reach common ground will last is anybody's guess.
'The jury's still out. I don't think we'll know if its going to last until we get to the debt ceiling, where I think some people may really dig in their heels,' said Gerlach.
Gerlach said he hoped the lessons of the shutdown will be learned by both sides.
Both the legislative and executive branches should focus on the possible, he said.
He pointed to President Clinton's 'move to the middle' when Republicans took over both houses of Congress in the 1990s. 'He saw where things were headed and he focused on the things where there was common ground and got some things done.'
Now, 'President Obama is still taking a more partisan position, perhaps to see if the Democrats can take back the House and then he will have an easier time, but if that doesn't happen, will he do what President Clinton did? I hope he does,' said Gerlach.
The Republicans also need to step up, he said.
'We have to have a positive agenda, propose solutions for jobs, the economy, education rather than just vote against other people's initiatives. We can't just be the party of 'no,'' said Gerlach, conceding that impression has grown among Americans in part because of the more than 40 House votes taken to de-fund the Affordable Care Act, known to most as 'Obamacare.'
Make no mistake, Gerlach thinks that legislation 'is a monstrosity,' but he said Republicans would be better served politically, and better serve the country, by offering realistic alternatives.
Although he would like to have spent most of his time on policy questions, Gerlach has been unable to avoid the political side of the job, both because demographic changes have made the 6th District one of the most closely-watched swing districts in the country, but also because the two-year term leaves very little time when House members are not campaigning, or planning a campaign.
'It's the era of the permanent campaign,' he said. 'From November to January, nothing really happens and then the new year comes and the robo-calls start, the emails. You get no real time off from the campaign and it's tough to legislate that way.'
Part of the cause for the 'permanent campaign' is the short-length of the terms.
'I do think in this day and age, a two-year-term is too short. I think it should be four years and leave the Senate at six, but those terms are in the Constitution' and given the current political difficulty in such basic functions as adopting an annual budget, Gerlach said he did not see agreement to make a change to the Constitution coming to Washington any time soon.
Further, the increasing number of 'safe districts' in the country allows for candidates who are further left, and further right, of the mainstream political spectrum to be elected without fear of consequences at the voting booth for taking uncompromising positions and delivering little in terms of tangible results, Gerlach said.
'When you have 435 seats (in the House of Representatives) but only 50 are competitive, you only have 50 members who need to be flexible, and it gets harder and harder to find common ground,' he said. 'And every 10 years when they re-district, more districts get a little bit safer.'
Gerlach said he recognized the irony of that statement coming from someone who has arguably benefitted from the re-drawing of a district that now includes parts of five counties, but not one entire county, but few would say his district has historically been 'safe.'
Democrats at the national level have repeatedly targeted the 6 District as 'winnable' since 2002, and Gerlach's margins of victory often have been ridiculously thin. Some national publications have, at times, called them the slimmest in the nation.
(Perhaps that's why Gerlach's announcement that he will not run again made news across the country, including in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.)
As a result, over the years there has been a lot of money spent on both sides of the aisle trying to win the 6th District seat, which stretches across portions of Chester, Montgomery, Berks and Lebanon counties.
It is not a cheap proposition, as Gerlach certainly knows.
'Philadelphia is the fourth most expensive media market in the nation and one week's worth of television ads to get good penetration costs $800,000,' Gerlach said. 'That's a lot of money. In a close race, you can go through $2 million in three weeks and you can't afford not to be running ads if your opponent is. You've got to compete.'
'One district-wide mailing can cost $50,000,' and then you add in the funding streams unleashed by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision 'and it gets to be a pretty expensive proposition. But you can't afford not to advertise. As a candidate, you are no different than any other product or service that needs to advertise to get in front of people,' Gerlach said.
Nevertheless, Gerlach said the amount of money now required to run a campaign is 'not corrosive. It's freedom of speech. Where it goes off track is not when the ads are hard-hitting, I don't have a problem with that, it's when they're not factual or relevant to the job you're running for.'
So he won't miss not having to worry about those things for the next 12 months as both parties jostle for position and to find the candidate who can win the seat.
In the meantime, 'I'm not going anywhere. There is still work to do,' said Gerlach.
Of the work he has done in his 11 years in office, Gerlach said there are two aspects of which he is the most proud.
'I'm really proud of the constituent services we provide, helping a veteran get his benefits, that kind of thing, our office staff really excels at that,' Gerlach said.
As for legislation, 'well I'm pleased about the bill I just authored and the President signed that allows four-strain flu vaccine into the market place,' Gerlach. 'But in terms of my time here, I was proud to be part of the Medicare Part D bill, that was good for seniors and I helped get language in there to ensure that states like Pennsylvania,' which also provide help paying for medications, get reimbursed by the federal government. 'That meant hundreds of millions of dollars for Pennsylvania.'
Looking further back, 'I was very pleased with the results of my first bill, to establish a national veterans cemetery in Southeast Pennsylvania,' he added.
As he looks back on his time in Washington, Gerlach noted that his decision to leave seems to be part of a pattern.
'You know I was a lawyer for 10 years, and then I was in state government for 12 years and when I'm done here, I will have served 12 years in Congress,' said Gerlach.
As for what's next, Gerlach continues to keep it close the vest.
He insists he has no immediate plans, but many say a man who has been in the public eye as long as Gerlach, who briefly ran for governor in 2010, is not likely to quietly fade away any time soon.


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Your website can't rank without links! This is a truth that every SEO fully understands. Links continue to remain the number one ranking factor for Google.
You can't buy links because any link intended to manipulate search results is counted as spam by Google and can result in a Google manually penalizing your site in the search results.
The only way to make people link back to your site is to earn them. Building links by earning them is a penalty-proof action plan for your SEO strategy.
Here are 4 techniques that are extremely effective in building links in 2019 and ahead:
1- Participate in High-Quality Guest Posting
Guest posting still remains the number one link building strategy for most of the SEOs.
Under guest posting, you find websites who are looking for authors to prepare content for them. You approach those webmasters and ask them to allow you to become a contributor on your website. If they accept you then you can start publishing content on their website with a link back to your website.
Please note that guest posting should be done to increase your reputation as an author and genuinely help the readers with the content you are producing. In the process, you earn links. Guest posting is not a way to build anchor text rich links back to your website.
You can find guest posts to publish your article by conducting a Google search. Here are some example search strings:
"Write for us" "your niche"
"Become a contributor" "your niche"
"Guest post for us" "your niche"
"This is a guest post by" "your niche"
A word of caution: Do not carry large scale guest posting campaigns with exact match keyword text because this is a violation of the Google link guidelines and might result in a manual penalty.
2- Spy On Your Competitor Backlinks
Another great way to build links to your website is by spying on your competitor backlinks.
You can use a tool like the free backlink checker by Neil Patel to quickly identify the links your competition has.
Simply enter your competitor's domain in the search bar and this tool will return all the links your competitor has after sorting them as one link per domain. You will also be able to filter the links on the basis of dofollow and nofollow.
Carefully review all these backlinks and find out the best link opportunities for your website.
3- Conduct Influencer Interviews Or Invite Influencers To Guest Post On Your Blog
You can even network with influencers in your niche via LinkedIn and invite them to guest post on your blog. When influencers will start publishing content on your website then the chances of linking back to your website from their website, social profiles, other websites will also increase.
Identify the best influencers in your niche and approach them for an interview. You can conduct an interview via email. Most of the time, micro-influencers would be happy to give their interviews. Do not forget to send the published link of the interview to the influencers. There are chances that some of the influencers will link back to the interview from their own websites.
4- Use The Skyscraper Method To Produce Quality Content
This is probably the most genuine method of build links and is popularized by Brian Dean of Backlinko.
Under this method, you need to identify the content piece that is ranking on top of Google for keywords related to your business niche. The keyword should be informational in nature.
After identification of content, you need to carefully evaluate those content pieces like their word count, style of writing, use of images and videos, use of linking, use of language, depth of content, etc.
Thereafter, you need to produce content that is 10 times better than the content that is ranking on the first position in Google.
As the last step, you need to email webmasters who are linking to the original content and inform them about this new resource that you have just created. A simple email template that you can use for this task is provided below (as suggested by Brian Dean of Backlinko):
You can take the help of the backlink checker tool in method 2 above to find sites that are linking to the content. Brian Dean was able to build 11 links out of 160 email requests with an 11% success rate.
What's Next?
Without wasting any more time, start creating backlinks for your website because your competitors are already busy doing this. Earning links is hard but it should be a continuous process. Use the above 4 strategies to earn links in a legit manner that Google approves. Happy link earning!
Also SEE:
Natural Links is What Google is Looking For
Seo Secrets
Checking Whether Your Site is Manually Penalized by Google
How to Write a Reconsideration Request?
Why Paid Links Are a Violation of Webmaster Guidelines
Google Disavow Links Tool
Link Farms
Link Churning
Penguin 2.0 Recovery Guide
What Exactly is a High Quality Backlink?
Google Search Quality Updates


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Dunbar to give $14-a-night Crow's Nest a chance
British Amateur champion Alan Dunbar thought his place in the 2013 Masters was priceless. And it is.
But even though it turns out that it's going to cost him $14 a day to stay in the famous Crow's Nest at Augusta National, the 22-year old from Rathmore is happy to stay there for at least two days of what will be his final event before he can start playing for cash as a professional.
Managed by Chubby Chandler's ISM stable thanks to a change in the Rules of Amateur Status in 2011, Dunbar said: "Augusta charge you $14 a day for your room and board but it's going to be a once in a lifetime experience. You couldn't put a price on a place in the Masters and I'm really looking forward to it."
The amateur invitees get to stay in the attic dormitory at the world's most exclusive club from April 8-14 and Dunbar is looking forward to following in the footsteps of Irish winners of the Amateur such as Joe Carr, Garth McGimpsey, Brian McElhinney and Michael Hoey as well as legends of the game such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
And while the Portrush native initially plans only to stay there the weekend before the Masters having taken on US Amateur champion Steven Fox in the traditional George Cup match at the Golf Club of Georgia the previous Friday, he's not ruling out spending an entire week under the eves of the famous old clubhouse.
"I'll stay at the Crow's Nest the Saturday and Sunday before the Masters for sure and if it's spot on I'll stay the rest of the week," he said. "I'll definitely have a room at the ISM house if it doesn't work out, so it's all good."
Dunbar revealed that he will turn professional straight after the Masters and confessed that he is not tempted to wait until after the US Open at Merion, for which he would have been exempt thanks to his win at Royal Troon.
"No, the road for me after what I achieved in the amateur game is going to be turning pro after the Masters," he said at the Irish Golf Writers' Awards in Carton House last week. "Hopefully I will get a few invites on the main tour before Augusta but I have no plans after that. I'm just really looking forward to this year."
Back to full fitness after being struck down by a bug during last year's World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey, Dunbar has been keeping sharp at the Fox Club in Florida under the watchful eye of former Irish tour player Eoghan O'Connell.
"I got sick in Turkey and that knocked me back for two months," said Dunbar, who was physically incapable of playing anywhere near his best at the European Tour Q-School.
"I lost 5kg over four or five days in Turkey and I was lying in bed for four weeks before Stage Two of Q-School," he explained. "The first shots I hit were a couple of days before I flew over to Spain for that and I was done after the first round. Even after that it was two or three weeks before I was back to 100 percent.
"I went to Florida before Christmas to build a bit of fitness and went back there again recently and got two good weeks of practice now and I have never hit it as well."
Dunbar hopes to play practice rounds with "all the Irish guys" at Augusta, adding: "Obviously I'd like to play with Graeme as a fellow Rathmore man but there's all the other guys too like Rory and Darren Clarke and hopefully Shane Lowry too."


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Full-Service Marketing and Public Relations Agency in Cambridge, MA
Maxima Marketing is a full marketing and public relations agency that provide travel writing, destination wedding writing, luxury marketing, hair salon marketing and more. We are also the leading agency in the industry in offering public relations services, branding, creative marketing strategies and social media management services to business of Cambridge, MA.
Cambridge is a city that is located directly north of Boston, across the Charles River. It is home to two of the world's most prestigious universities, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These two universities are also the top two employers in the city, other top employers include Biogen Idec, Novartis, Mount Auburn Hospital, Genzyme, and Akamai Technologies. Thus, it is a city full of innovative businesses and start-ups.
Contact a Full-Service Innovative Marketing Agency in Cambridge Today
Contact Maxima Marketing today to be treated like a number—Number One. Debbi Kickham will personally handle your account and marketing campaign. Give us a call today at (781) 407-9305 or email us at email@example.com today for a free initial consultation. We proudly serve the Greater Cambridge area including Cambridge, Westwood, Brookline, Newton, and more.


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Here are the best deals at Fred Meyer this week. The Fred Meyer ad runs Sunday-Saturday in the Pacific Northwest. Make sure to check out the current Fred Meyer Catalina list and load any Fred Meyer eCoupons or Cellfire coupons you need to your Rewards Card.
Red, Green or Black Seedless Grapes on sale $.99/lb
*GREAT price!
Organic Strawberries on sale $2.50/lb
Blueberries (2 lbs) on sale $4.98
Lettuce on sale $1
Broccoli Crowns on sale $.88/lb
Organic Grape Tomatoes (10 0z) on sale $2
Fresh, Lean Ground Beef on sale $1.99/lb
Fresh, Wild, Northwest Shrimp Meat on sale $4.99/lb
Fresh Wild Rock Cod Fillets on sale $3.99/lb
*This is a good price and worth stocking up on a few extra.
Petite Boneless Sirloin Steaks on sale $3.99/lb
Wild Mahi Mahi Fillets on sale $4.99/lb
*This is good, right?
Tillamook Butter (16 oz) or Cheese (8 oz) Shreds, Bar, or Slices on sale $2 with weekly ad coupon — limit 4
Lay's Potato Chips on sale $2 with weekly ad coupon — limit 2
Fred Meyer Buns or Twist Bread on sale $.99 with weekly ad coupon — limit 4
Fred Meyer Vegetables, Beans or Tomatoes on sale $.50 with weekly ad coupon — limit 6
*Good price for stocking up.
Bob's Red Mill Bulk Oats on sale $.59/lb
*This is a pretty good price but I believe that WinCo is $.50/lb. Can someone confirm that?
Fred Meyer Frozen Waffles on sale $1.50
Fred Meyer Instant Oatmeal on sale $1.67
Fred Meyer Sour Cream (24 oz) on sale $1.88
Session Lager (12 pack) on sale $9.99
*This is a good price for this beer and it tastes really good.
Kellogg's Cereals on sale $2
Buy 2
Use $1/2 Frosted Flakes coupon, Use $1/2 Frosted Mini-Wheats coupon from 7/14 SS insert
$1.50 each after coupon when you buy 2
Bar-S Franks on sale $.99
Use $.75/1 coupon from 6/30 RP insert
$.24 after coupon
*Did we get this coupon?
Boulder Canyon Chips on sale $1.67
Use $1/1 coupon
$.67 after coupon
Horizon Organic Milk on sale $3.29
Buy 2
Use $1/2 coupon
$2.79 each after coupon when you buy 2
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream on sale $2.99
Buy 3
Use $2.50/3 coupon
$2.16 each after coupon when you buy 3
*Better deal at Safeway with a double.
Activia Yogurt on sale $1.88
Use $1/1 coupon (share with friends to get $1.50/1 coupon)
As low as $.38 after coupon
Comforts Diapers Pack on sale $5.99
*Price range from $.11 per diaper for size 1 to $.29 per diaper for size 6
BIC Disposable Razors on sale $3.99 with weekly ad coupon — limit 2
Use $2/1 coupon from 7/14 SS insert
$1.99 after coupon
Nature Made Vitamins on sale BOGO FREE
Use $1.75/2 coupon
final price will vary
Friskies Cat Treats on sale $1.25
Buy 2
Use $1.10/2 coupon
$.70 each after coupon when you buy 2
Hanes Bed Pillow on sale $2.99 (reg. $7.99)
Backpack on sale $9.99
Twin Pocket Portfolio on sale $.15
#2 Pencils (10 pack) or School Glue on sale $.50
Crayola (24 pack) Crayons on sale $.50
New to couponing? Check out the Ultimate Guide to Couponing here.
This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.


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The Crash Confidence Index shows the percentage of individuals and institutions who see little probability that the stock market will crash in the next six months. A lower percentage indicates that more investors expect a crash. We reached a low in the beginning of 2009, the bottom of the most recent crash.
From there the market rallied. A contrarian investor, one who goes against the tide, may see this recent low in the index as a bullish sign. The moment the everyday investor becomes the most bearish can be the moment the market turns and heads higher…or not…just something to think about.


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After very careful deliberation, we've chosen the winners from Hack Week III. The categories were: Best Cross-Pollination Team, First Penguin Awards, and the Best Overall Projects.
The Best Cross-Pollination Team: Awards the project that connects different teams, and raises awareness of each other's work.
First Penguin Award: Awards the project that goes out on a limb to try something difficult and risky… and probably fails. Named in honor of the first penguin to jump into the water when there may be predators swimming below.
Best Overall Projects: Goes to the projects that the panelists thought were "best†for one reason or other. Surprisingly enough, we had a tie for first place on this one!
And the winners are:


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Curriculum Overview
Curriculum Overview
At Hillcrest School we have such a wide range of abilities, needs and ages that we cannot have one curriculum to fit all of our pupils. We believe that each Class Teacher, with support from their class teams, are best placed to and should be allowed to design individual curriculums to suit either individual pupils or groups of pupils within their class.
The most effective and powerful curricula are those that are flexible, allow for responsiveness and continually change through evaluation, adjusted to reflect new insights and learning from our teachers, teaching assistants and classrooms.
Each learner is unique and most children and young people across our school follow their own bespoke curriculum. There may be a number of different curricular for groups or individuals in each class and depending on their individual needs (age, ability, physical needs, learning needs and health) the curriculum will focus on varying proportions of each.
Our choice of curriculum organisation has been developed around the starting point of pupil need and is contextualised to meet the specific needs of the pupils in our school and to support their personal development and welfare.
The curriculum at Hillcrest School complies with the guidelines of the National Curriculum. However, it is designed to take into account each pupil's special needs and the pace at which he/she can learn. The curriculum embraces all that is learned through school, whether in lessons or as part of informal learning within and beyond the school day.
The school has a clear focus on the personal, social development and wellbeing of each child, as well as on their academic progress. At Hillcrest, we aim to teach our children how to grow into positive, responsible and independent people who can work and co-operate with others while developing their knowledge and skills, so that they achieve their full potential.
Sex and Relationships Education (S.R.E.)
Education about Sex and Relationships is taught within the Science, Focus & PPSED programme. The school adapts and follows the Northumberland RSE Core Curriculum; this is a flexible scheme of work for mainstream and special schools. The school is also supported by the Northumberland Specialist Health Improvement Service, who have developed specific resources for pupils with additional needs.
Additional support and Intervention
For those pupils who would benefit from additional intervention in their learning to support their continued progress, school offers Emotional Literacy sessions, in addition to the delivery of Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy programmes.


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Wireless World: New roaming standard?
Consumer interest in mobile Internet access continues to climb, and computer industry leaders including Intel Corp. and others are now calling for the creation of a global roaming standard for wireless, experts tell United Press International's Wireless World.
Current standards like WiFi and WiMax cannot take wireless to the next level -- international roaming -- because convergence of technologies is creating new demands on networks.
At this week's Wireless Communications Association trade show in San Jose, Calif., Intel's general manager for mobile connectivity said there is "increasing" consumer demand for mobile wireless, and a global standard for WiMax should be established.
Other experts at the conference, like Sprint-Nextel Chief Operating Officer Len J. Lauer, said they envision the mobile phone emerging as the "third screen," behind PCs and TVs, and that in order to keep up, Internet Protocol-based networks will have to be "transformed."
This transformation is leading to a "revolution" -- the creation of "personal mobile broadband," said Dr. Martin Cooper, co-founder and executive chairman of ArrayComm LLC and another speaker at the conference.
Thursday the industry announced its first certifications for fixed wireless broadband systems, the first products developed for 3.5 GHz systems, based on IEEE 802.16-2004 and ETSI HiperMAN standards.
To be sure, there is a capitalistic, not an altruistic, element behind all the interest in the standards-setting. "Those who favor interoperable standards are those who sell hardware -- or those who can conceive of Web-based services reaching ever-broader customer sets because their connections are more reliable, or exist at all," Rita Gunther McGrath, an associate professor at Columbia Business School at Columbia University in New York, told Wireless World.
Not everyone in the industry, however, wants or accepts the standards that are being promoted, she observed. "Resistance, such as it is, comes from those who would like to embed their intellectual property in a part of the platform in some way, and thus benefit from the growth of WiMax-enabled networks," said McGrath, who is also co-author of "MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves that Drive Exceptional Business Growth."
"So you'll see these folks holding out for specifications that favor their technologies in some way."
The "holy grail" for these companies would be to have their technology, whatever it may be, become as universal in the WiMax platform as Qualcomm's technology is in mobile-phone CDMA devices. The idea for companies would be to "be able to collect transactional revenue from the IP held there," said McGrath.
This is what McGrath laconically labels the "enduring dilemma" of new technology "ecosystems."
Rather than simply pushing new standards, Gerald Flournoy, executive vice president of information-technology solutions at the Boston-based Millennium Group consultancy, told Wireless World that it is better to advocate for controls, metrics and analytic tools to measure outcomes and potential outcomes and get a "clear picture" of what is "smoke and mirrors" with new technologies and "what works."
There is already evidence, however, that mobile customers do much more than just talk with their mobile devices. A survey released earlier this week by Sprint shows that more than half of the nation's wireless-phone subscribers use their mobile phones for activities sometimes far flung from chatting.
"The list of features and data applications available on mobile phones continues to grow to meet the needs of consumers on the go," said Jeff Hallock, vice president of product marketing and strategy at Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kan.
For example, nearly two-thirds of consumers said they use mobile phones for the data-intensive application of obtaining maps and directions while traveling, the survey said.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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Ohio man charged with murder after 3 bodies found
A registered sex offender was charged Monday with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping in connection with three bodies found wrapped in plastic bags in a gritty neighborhood in suburban Cleveland.
East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton identified one of the victims as Angela Deskins, 38. She had been reported missing since June 7 and was listed on the police missing persons website.
Bail was set at $6 million for Michael Madison, 35, who was taken into custody Friday after police received a call about a foul odor emanating from a home. Officers arrived to find Madison and the body of a woman. Two more female bodies were found nearby on Saturday.
Community members, alongside police, searched 12 streets and about 50 abandoned homes Sunday for evidence of more victims that Police Chief Ralph Spotts said could be part of a serial killing spree. No more bodies were found.
Norton said another search will be organized soon.
In 2009, the mostly nude bodies of 11 women were found in garbage bags and plastic sheets throughout the Cleveland home of Anthony Sowell, who was convicted in 2011 of murdering the women and sentenced to death.
Madison, who was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted rape in 2002, threatened about a month ago to attack women in the same fashion as Sowell, said Eric Wilson, a neighbor.
"We are dealing with a sick individual," Norton said, adding that Madison "said some things that led us to believe that in some way, shape, or form, Sowell might be an influence."
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office says it may take up to several days to identify the other bodies. The bodies were in an advanced decomposition state; police believe the women were killed within the last seven to 11 days. All were found curled up in a fetal position and stuffed in plastic bags.
Contributing: WKYC.com; Associated Press


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Film Score Monthly
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The soundtrack for 93 Days was recorded with a 65-piece orchestra and ranges from serene solo segments to thematic musical landscapes that underscore the dramatic developments. The music reflects the bravery and sacrifice made by a small team of doctors in Lagos, Nigeria, who quickly contained the Ebola virus that broke out in 2014, with only 8 deaths in a city of over 20 million people.
"After our early discussions I realized that Steve wanted the music to make a significant statement in the film and to accentuate the soul and humanity behind the story. So for me it was a fascinating opportunity to compose a lyrical score that expressed the emotions and heroism of the people that perished in order to save thousands. We have various melodic elements such as a four-chord motif for the core medical stuff, an ebola-threat melody based on contrabasses and trombones, and a native african element, which is featured with Onyi, a wonderful singer of Nigerian roots, who is based in LA and whose voice brings a wonderful dimension to many parts of the score" Kallis says.
George Kallis' first collaboration with director Steve Gukas was on the film A Place in the Stars, which earned the composer an African Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Music in 2015. Cyprus-born George Kallis is a film & TV composer based in Los Angeles who has studied composition at Berklee College of Music and the Royal College of Music. He has composed music for over 20 films, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning TV programs, and commercial spots for top brands and film trailers. He is best-known for his scores of Highlander:The Source, and Gagarin: First in Space, also released by MovieScore Media.
1 Speech of Remembrance 6:13
2 This Is My City 2:07
3 The Beautiful Man 2:42
4 International Reports 2:09
5 Liberian Threats 2:33
6 The Disease Is Spreading 2:42
7 Evelyn's Story 1:54
8 Blood Everywhere 1:48
9 Mr. Sawyer 2:16
10 US Presentation 1:49
11 Miscarriage 2:06
12 Dr. Abaniwo 2:10
13 Happy Birthday 2:01
14 It Started 2:11
15 Taken to the Ward 3:33
16 The Valley of the Shadow of Death 2:02
17 Evelyn


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IMLS Announces 2015 National Medal Finalists
The U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced 30 libraries and museums as finalists to receive the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, including seven ASTC-member institutions. The National Medal is the highest honor given to museums and libraries in the U.S. for exemplary service to their communities. The seven ASTC-member... Read More


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When you want to get from point A to point B, you can choose to walk, to drive, to get the bus, the train or even buy a plane ticket. Of course, it all depends on the distance that we are talking about. If you do not have a driver's license, you can not drive yourself from one location to another. You can either ask someone to take you there or opt for other means of transportation. It would be best if you did not have to depend on anyone when you want to go somewhere. That is why you should think about contacting the Driving School Guisborough and ask for an experienced Driving Instructor Guisborough that can help you get your license.
There are numerous reasons you should consider going to a Driving School Guisborough and take some lessons with a Driving Instructor Guisborough. First of all, you will never have to depend on anyone when it comes to going from one place to another. You can just hop in your car and drive. You do not have to pay attention to the bus or train schedule. Whatever emergency you might have, you can simply drive where you are needed. If you do not have a driver's license, you have to call a cab or ask a friend to pick you up. It is always best to be independent. Also, if you take driving lessons from the right instructor, you will surely be able to pass the test from your first try.
No one is forced to have a driver's license. However, you will find that it is really useful to have one when you need to go to work, take your kids to school, go on holiday and so on. Even though there are other options there, having the possibility to drive your own car removes the middle man. Also, if you take the bus or the train, you have to travel with strangers that sit next to you. If you can drive your own car, you do not have to go through this. The truth is that you should get your driver's license because it will help you manage various situations better. Driving your own car is not only comfortable, but an independent action as well.
The formalities are really simple. As long as you have found a reputable Driving School Guisborough and a great Driving Instructor Guisborough, the experience will be more than pleasant. You will need a few lessons so that you learn how to drive a car, park it and so on and then you can take the test. Soon enough, you will not have to depend on anyone to drive you anywhere! Start looking for the right driving instructor today!
If you are looking for a great Driving School Guisborough and Driving Instructor Guisborough, the right thing to do is to visit our website today and get in touch with the right professionals. With just a few simple clicks, you can make the first step to becoming a driver!


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Taxi bays will be retained and enhanced as part of the City Centre Renewal.
Smoother footpaths and a street without gutters will make getting in and out of taxis an easier process.
This website owned and maintained by Warrnambool City Council
PO Box 198, 25 Liebig Street Warrnambool Victoria 3280
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Confidence in the Water
Swimming is a life skill as well as great exercise and a challenging sport. The YMCA offers swim lessons for all ages, swim leagues, Masters swim, adaptive swim, and more. Swim year-round in our heated, indoor pools and swim with the folks that created group swim lessons! Make sure you check out all the Aquatics Programs the YMCA offers at the following branches:
Safety Around Water
Annually, over 3,500 American children are treated in the emergency due to a drowning-related incident. Approximately 75% of child drownings occur because of a lapse in adult supervision of less than five minutes.
- It takes less than one minute for a child to silently slip below the water's surface.
- Most drownings occur within 10-30 feet of safety.
You are your child's best lifeguard. However, without proper training or strong swimming ability, you could put yourself in danger. If possible, only swim in areas where a lifeguard is present. Use barriers around the pool and assign an adult to supervise pool activities even when a lifeguard is on duty. Never jump in to save someone. Throw out a flotation device or use a pole to reach a drowning child or adult.
We believe the ability to swim is a critical life skill for every child, teen and adult. In swim lessons, we use a variety of methods to help overcome fears, build confidence in the water and develop skills that last a lifetime. Qualified instructors meet kids and adults at their own level, help families set achievable goals and celebrate all successes.
We offer free swim assessments to Y members under the age of 12 that include:
- Treading water for one minute
- Swimming the length of the pool
- Floating on front and back
- Jumping into water over their head
If your child is unable to complete this test, they should remain in the shallow end of the pool and within arm's length of an adult at all times.
Be Water Smart From the Start!
Swim Lessons at the Y
With a 150-year history of helping people learn to swim, the Y's swimming classes are designed to teach this lifelong skill to kids and adults of all skill levels in a safe environment. Swimming is one of the most effective tools in developing the spirit, mind and body.
The YMCA offers unique, age-specific swim lessons through group or private classes year round with new classes beginning each month.
Ready to get started? See the swim lesson schedule at the YMCA branch most convenient for you.
Masters Swim Team
Swim with coached workouts with other adult swimmers. This Adult Masters Swim Team is by qualified and experienced aquatics staff. Each workout will be new and challenging. Each class focuses on various skills including: Stroke Technique, Endurance, Speed, and Strength. Must be 18 or older to participate. This is a US Masters Swimming program so there is a nominal $43 yearly membership fee.
Our club name is YMCA Chattanooga Masters Swim Club.
The abbreviation is YCHA and the club number is 153-072.
Questions? Contact one of the following:
- Downtown: Lisa Becht
- Hamilton: Schuyler Colling
- YMCA Healthy Living Center at North River: Travis Corder
Pool Parties
There's nothing more fun than pool parties or lock-ins at the Y! Come celebrate your next birthday with us! We can accommodate up to 25 kids per party (additional kids welcome for an additional fee).
Booking a Party
We accept MasterCard, Visa, America Express, Discover, cash or check. See below for contact info on booking a party.
Outside food/drink:
You can bring food, drinks, cake, and decorations. Table cloths are recommended. Guests are responsible for removing gifts and personal items before the scheduled party time is over. No glitter or confetti.
Swim Party Guidelines
All swimmers under the age of 14 must take a swim test. Swimmers who do not pass or decline to take the test may swim in the shallow area of the pool under any of the following conditions:
- They are within arm's length of the parent
- They are 5 feet or taller
- They are wearing a Coast Guard approved Personal Floatation Device
- Children under the age of 4 MUST wear a swim diaper in the pool
- Children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult in the pool area
Please contact your local branch to inquire about Lock-Ins, as available/offerings may vary.
Ready to book your party? Contact the following people at your local branch:
- Downtown YMCA - Blan Williams or call 423-266-3766
- Hamilton YMCA - Nikki Bryant or call 423-899-1721
- Cleveland YMCA - Rebecca Flynn or call 423-476-5573
- YMCA Healthy Living Center at North River - Travis Corder or call 423-877-3517


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The sun is out, the air is warm, and there's nothing to do. That's a lie. The best part about summer is the abundance of activities available for you, especially the ones that are free. Chicago, like all the great cities, has her list of summer fun so check them out when you have time. Who needs TV and air conditioning when you can be having a great time with your family and friends and creating new memories? Not to mention, all of it is free! What are you waiting for?
Part of the Chicago Park District, the Lincoln Park Conservatory is the place to go for all flora lovers. Inside, the conservatory is split into four houses: the Palm house, Fern House, Orchid House, and Show House. Each has a different display, some of exotic tropical plants and others of local flora found around the area. Check out the dates and maybe you'll even be able to catch one of the many flower shows that are held in the Lincoln Park Conservatory.
If history is your thing, the Hull House is a definite place to visit. Step into the past and experience Jane Addams' dream of helping the less fortunate. Go through the house and check out the exhibits. In Jane Addams' room, you can find her personal history through pictures and diary entries. In the gallery, you can see photographs of the house and the surrounding area when it was up and running. For more information, check out the website:
For all the stargazers, Dearborn Observatory is opened to the public from 10PM-11PM on Fridays. However, if you want to guarantee a chance to peer into the telescope and admire the stars, you can reserve a group tour for an hour earlier. Located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University, it's a great place for a twilight stroll before a chance to see the stars.
For those more interested in physical activities check out Dance Chicago and the Chicago Summer Dance. Get free dance lessons at the Park. Afterwards, join the huge dance party as everyone rocks out to the theme of the night. Whether it's swing night or disco night, grab your partner or grab some friends and dance the night away for free.
International Museum of Surgical Science
For something out of the box, check out the International Museum of Surgical Science. Explore and learn about the history of surgery and be amazed and the latest innovations and discoveries. DNA science, plastic surgery, human anatomy; if these are the things that perk your interest, definitely check out IMSS.


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Where to stay in Tlajomulco de Zuniga
What's Tlajomulco de Zuniga like?
Where are the best places to stay in Tlajomulco de Zuniga?
We have 24 Tlajomulco de Zuniga accommodations with prices starting at NZD 11. Choose one of our 3852 deals and get discounts of up to 66%.
Below are the number of accommodations by star rating in Tlajomulco de Zuniga and the surrounding area:
- • 7 5-star accommodations from NZD 142 per night
- • 66 4-star accommodations from NZD 78 per night
- • 154 3-star accommodations from NZD 35 per night
- • 26 2-star accommodations from NZD 13 per night
Here are our travelers' top 3 places to stay in Tlajomulco de Zuniga:
Ramada Encore Guadalajara3.5-star hotel with bar, 24-hour fitness center
- • Free breakfast • Free parking • Free WiFi • Restaurant • Central location
Hangar Inn Guadalajara Aeropuerto3.5-star hotel
- • Free parking • Free WiFi • Free airport shuttle • Restaurant • Central location
City Express Plus Guadalajara PalomarTlajomulco de Zuniga hotel next to shopping
- • Free breakfast • Free parking • Free WiFi • Free area shuttle • Central location
How to Get to Tlajomulco de Zuniga
What is the closest airport to Tlajomulco de Zuniga?
- • Guadalajara, Jalisco (GDL-Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Intl.), 7.8 mi (12.6 km) from central Tlajomulco de Zuniga
Things to See and Do in Tlajomulco de Zuniga
What is there to see in Tlajomulco de Zuniga?
- • Arena VFG
- • Forest of the Spring
- • Temple of Santa Cruz
When is the best time to visit Tlajomulco de Zuniga?
- • Hottest months: May, April, June, March (average 88°F)
- • Coldest months: January, December, February, November (average 50°F)
- • Rainiest months: July, August, June, and September (average 8.65 inches of rainfall)
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Support for e-signatures should make life easier
It's currently summer holiday season, which is good news for all concerned unless you are a poor... Read More
Time of the essence: it's now or never!
Time is always an important factor in contractual relationships but when time is 'of the... Read More
Gone, but not forgotten?
When a tenant under a lease granted on or after 1 January 1996, transfers its interest to someone... Read More
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Buying at auction is often perceived as a favourable method of acquiring commercial property as it... Read More
This blog is intended only as a synopsis of certain recent developments. If any matter referred to in this blog is sought to be relied upon, further advice should be obtained.


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Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper
The grooviest swimsuit in the universe - baby fashion will never be the same!
From the Riviera to the neighbourhood kiddie pool, your baby will have the cutest bum around. And rest assured - nobody will ever have to empty the pool because of your little darling! Fashion and peace of mind - what better combination can there be in a baby swimsuit ....
Engineered with painstaking attention to detail and functionality:
- A trim and attractive design that has a terrific fit on any baby
- Interior polyester mesh for easy clean ups
- Coated nylon layer sandwiched inside that will hold in the messiest stuff a baby can throw at you!
- Fun cotton prints on the outside
- Adjustable hook and loop closures for a snug and comfortable fit
- Stretchy soft lycra bindings to protect baby's tender skin
What should you put inside the SWIMMI?
Absolutely nothing!
Can you use the Swimmi as a waterproof wrap as well?
No. The Swimmi is specially designed for use as a swim diaper. It may look like other wraps, but it's not meant to work like one!
The SWIMMI is made with careful attention to detail in our own wonderful factory in Montreal, so that we are assured of good quality and fair labour practices. Most of the fabrics and components we produce with are sourced in North America and all are guaranteed lead, phthalate and BPA free.
|9 - 15 lbs / 4 - 7 kg
|15 - 22 lbs / 7 - 10 kg
|22 - 30 lbs / 10 - 13.5 kg
|30 lbs / 13.5 kg
General Conformity Certificate
Manufactured by: Bummis
Made in: Canada
Available Patterns:
|camping critters
|clown fish
|fishies (discontinued)
|koi fish


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People talk about following a passion like it's something easy to do.
However, when you're choosing to quit your full-time job for an entirely new career, sacrificing precious free time to take on a side gig, or going public with something you really care about, the path to following your dreams is easier said than done.
Good news: We rounded up lots of awesome advice to think about before you start moving forward with the whole "follow your passion" thing.
- Want to achieve any dream? Try following one (or all) of these 34 one-sentence rules to keep yourself on track. (The Financial Diet)
- Cal Newport preaches that instead of following your passion, you should try cultivating it. (The Minimalists)
- Most people don't actually end up doing what they're passionate about, so what's stopping them? Here are the top seven reasons—and how to get past them. (Lifehacker)
- One important thing to consider: Is there any way your true interest can help you change people's lives? This thinking exercise gives you clarity. (Quartz)
- If you're going to take the leap of faith, you're still going to have to do some serious planning before you jump. (The Empowered Dollar)
- Make sure you understand that changing your life trajectory to fulfill your career fantasy definitely won't be easy. (Elephant Journal)
- Really not sure if quitting your job is the right thing? You should absolutely consider these 15 key decisions. (Financial Samurai)
- Despite the large number of think pieces saying that this is bad advice, here are seven reasons why it can be empowering. (Lifehack)
- Still trying to figure out what your passion actually is? This step-by-step guide can help. (The Daily Muse)
TopicsLinks We Love , Career Paths , Finding Your Passion
Photo of woman reading courtesy of Shutterstock.
Lily Herman is a New York-based writer and editor. In recent months, her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Glamour, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, TIME, Newsweek, Fast Company, and Mashable. You can check out her website, LinkedIn, and Twitter.More from this Author


text: One of the greatest compliments I've received has to be what a friend said to me this past week. She said " You know what I love about you sandra, You just don't give a f***. You march to the beat of your own drum and if someone says anything about it you just say… Bitch don't kill my vibe". In my 20's I spent a lot of time worrying about how others perceived me. Was I wearing the right thing? Did I say the right thing? Was I at all the right places? What did all of this get me? THE WRONG FRIENDS. You attract what you put out and what I was putting out was a whole lot of self absorbed people who valued the wrong things in life. Your vibe attracts your tribe. My 30's came a long with a sense of peace. I let go of anything and anyone who didn't inspire me, motivate me or accepted me as I am. Who am I? I am ME…………Unapologetically Sandra D.


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Do you love pomegranate, but you don't love peeling one and removing the seeds? Well, you will love this post then!
Today I'm going to show you how to peel a pomegranate in just a few minutes, without any mess!
Pomegranates are absolutely delicious, and they're also really good for you. Unfortunately, some people are put off by the task of removing the seeds from a pomegranate because they think it's finicky and time-consuming, or they've heard that it can be a messy process. Both of these facts CAN be true. It CAN be messy to remove the beautiful, red, tart, fruit from a pomegranate, and it can also be time-consuming IF you don't know what you're doing.
We're going to fix that today though because there's a very quick and simple way to seed a pomegranate with out the mess.
This method is mess-free and so quick and simple simple, you may just find yourself putting pomegranates in your shopping cart from now until the end of the pomegranate season.
By the way, in case you're wondering, in the northern hemisphere, pomegranate season runs Oct-Feb, while in the southern hemisphere, it's Mar-May. (I did not know this before today. I am not an expert in all things pomegranate. I did some googling earlier today).
Easy way to to peel a pomegranate without the mess:
Here we go… grab a pomegranate, a knife, a bowl of cold water, and set yourself up at the kitchen sink. (I set my bowl right IN the sink).
- Slice off the "flowering" end of the pomegranate and SCORE the peel 4 times (at 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock, if you know what I mean). You don't have to score deeply. You can see how deep I went in this next photo, and I probably went "down" the side of the pomegranate about an inch to an inch and a half. (warning: Do not do this while sitting on a white sofa, or even while wearing a white shirt for that matter. Pomegranate juice does stain).
- Pop the pomegranate into your bowl of cold water and let it sit for 4-5 minutes. (I don't know why the 4-5 minute part. I've skipped straight to step 3 before, and it's been fine.
- With the pomegranate submerged in the bowl of water, gently pry it apart. (keeping it submerged prevents berries and juice from spraying and staining you). (These are not my hands in the next 2 pics. My 15 year old offered to be my hand model when it became apparent that I couldn't hold a camera and pry apart a pomegranate under water. ( I realize in this next picture, the pomegranate is not actually UNDER water. We just wanted to show you the prying apart process.)
- Now, (still under-water), use your thumbs and fingers to wiggle and pry all of the seeds, which are called ARILS, free from the white pith of the pomegranate.
- Use your hands or a seive to skim any pith out of the water. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the pith, for the most part, will float, making this fairly easy to do.
- Lastly, scoop up the arils by the handful, and run them under some cold water to rinse any last little bits of pith away.
And there you have it! A super easy way to peel a pomegranate! Start to finish, that took about 5 minutes. Not bad, eh? Now grab yourself a bowl, and enjoy!
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids' crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.


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When readers come to your blog they usually come from referring sites or search engines and their interaction with your blog depends upon your content. If they liked the article they will comment and share it. So there must be attractive and usable section at the end of post, which will allow them to easily subscribe, comment, vote, check related articles and and share the post on social media sites.
I was searching for inspiration to design my blog post footer and saw different interesting blogs. I complied those blogs for your inspiration too. Do tell me which one you like or do share yours, it will help me to design my post footer 🙂


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Amy Vickers
Originally from the Midlands, Amy trained as an actor for three years at Bath Spa University and graduated in 2015.
Amy has recently completed a two week tour with The Natural Theatre Company and the Developing Heath & Independence charity. The aim was to raise awareness about youth homelessness with a short piece of theatre. Following a week of R&D and devising, they visited schools, colleges and pupil referral units in the Bath and Wiltshire area.
Currently, Amy is working with The Natural Theatre Company in collaboration with Cheddar Gorge Caves until 31st October.
Amy has been a regular performer with The Natural Theatre Company since September 2016.