text: Sweatsock 1 Posted September 14, 2018 On 2018-09-12 at 11:15 PM, Vatgerhn said: What about lowering hema requirements? void relic refinement rework? more events? kuva thingy doesnt scale up and die if you're too long in kuva survival? Then the lower level players will never get enough Kuva 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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We had some urgent paperwork to attend to concerning both Diana's visa and boat clearance so it was time to leave the tranquil idyll of the Surins and head for Nai Yang on the Phuket west coast. We left with a 15-20 kt easterly blowing and so it was beam reach bliss all the way and The Doctor proving what a fine sailing vessel she really is. Miraculously we sorted all bureaucracy in under an hour, did 3 big shops at Villa, Tesco and Makro, found a beautiful gift for Megs special birthday and got it posted off and had all provisions on board and cold beer in hand by 9 pm. What a day!!!!!
|Now that's a flat anchorage
We thought we should spend some time on the inland waterway just north of Ban Thap Lamu, the navy base anchorage north of Nai Yang. Flat anchorages without the incessant roll that plagues the west coast of Thailand in the dry season were calling like some siren call in the early and sleepless hours of morning. The bar crossing at the southern entrance was pathetic compared to the Ballina crossing we did a few years back (refer to the now best seller Tell Tales) . Once inside, the sea flattened out and it was still, flat and roll free. Some of you might not fully understand what roll is so here's a quick explanation. Wind out at sea creates swell which moves to shore and then breaks. We try and anchor out of the swell but on this coast it's not easy as it comes from the west. Swell is roll and when you lie side on, it rocks the boat from side to side as you would a baby in a bassinet. We have a ship's bell at the navigation table and when it's bad the bell striker actually hits the bell and we hear a loud ring. That is our signal to abandon ship and we pack up personal items, Motley and phones and sleep ashore on the sand. Not really but it's a thought. The inland waterway, thanks to the sand bar, has no swell and it's like being in a marina, ahhhhh bring it on.
|Wilson's new buddy
Wilson is an old soccer ball we found lying on a beach somewhere and it lived in the dinghy. You may remember the fine movie with Tom Hanks called Castaway where he has a Wilson brand soccer ball which he paints a face on and he grows to see it as his one and only friend. Tragically, it floats off and he swims out to save it but to no avail. Well, we found it it in Thailand and it was chucked into the dinghy where it became a nuisance. Everywhere you put your feet, there was Wilson asking to be moved or thrown back in the sea. Well, we pulled up outside a small village on the mainland side of the water way, went ashore, had dinner and wandered back to the dinghy. On the way back a vegie truck pulled up and as I was sourcing fresh produce Diana headed back to the dinghy. Some school kids had seen Wilson in the dingy and had taken him and were playing soccer on the concrete pad near the jetty. Diana joined in and the game switched to keep it off. There were squeals of fun and all the local mamas and papas watched on with smiles all round. These kids lived on an island and got to school each day via long tail. As they climbed aboard to head home one of then walked towards Diana to return the ball. But Wilson had found a new home and she promptly offered it back. It was flat and slightly perished but it was a ball that worked like balls do. Their grins say it all.
|School's done ........going home with Wilson
On the seaward side of the water way is an island called Koh Prah Thong and its unique in a topographical sense. Its composed of grey sand and is mostly savannah. Paper barks are everywhere and the island is covered in sand tracks.
|savannah complete with sand tracks look close and you'll see a herd of elephants just below that far hill
We took a half day tour on the back of a Toyota ute and as the photos will suggest, it was like being back in Oz or maybe the open plains of Africa.. Dry, sandy, treeless and flat. The only thing missing were a herd of elephants, or a giraffe loping along. I suggested they make up some models and place them here and there but it was seriously lost in translation. There is a big bird that is native to the island and it's some type of crane. They float around on the thermals and look like a small plane looking for a landing site.
|early morning magic in Thailand
We loved this anchorage and stayed nearly a week. There are low key resorts with great home cooked food and the time seemed to slide easily away. The Thai massage we had on the beach was quite special. The lady is an instructor and she is busy, especially since she charges 500 bht and the flash Golden Buddah resort wants 900. We booked for 8am and I went first, Diana decided to go for a walk along the beach. Early morning on these islands is magical. There is the soft wash of waves on shore, the sweet sea air, the swish of the casuarinas that line the shore and before you know it you are gone. There was something very soothing about this island, something gentle and unhurried. Something that makes Thailand a hard place to leave. Till next time. Rob.
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subset: commoncrawl


text: Home Lifestyle What's Up! 4-4-19 What's Up! 4-4-19 April 4, 2019 Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest WhatsApp You need to be logged in to see this part of the content. Subscribers, please click LOGIN to login. Subscribe HERE if you are not yet a subscriber. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Lifestyle Sponsoring a summer camper Lifestyle Clear the mental clutter Lifestyle New touring exhibit at FW's Science Central


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Thiruvannamalai: A 36-year-old quack in Tiruvannamalai was arrested on Thursday hours after a man he treated for injuries on the leg died. Health officials sealed his Arunachala Clinic, near Thiruvallur Statue, on Thirukoilur Road, Tiruvannamalai.
Police said S Arun was arrested at least twice earlier for practising allopathy without qualification, but was let off on bail.
Health department officials said this was just the tip of the iceberg. "We arrested at least 30 people in the past two months for practising medicine without qualification but almost all of them were let out on bail," said a senior health department official.
On Wednesday, Arun administered an injection to S Suresh, a daily wage labourer, who, after a short while, complained of chest pain and collapsed. Arun then asked Suresh's family to rush him to the government hospital as his condition was critical.
"He told me that my my uncle was in critical condition," Suresh's nephew Ramesh said. Suresh was taken to the Government Tiruvannamalai Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him 'brought dead.'
Medical and rural health service joint director N Rajendran and a team of officials raided the clinic on Thursday. "Arun is not a qualified doctor. He says he completed courses in emergency homoeopathy, but even those certificates are fake. I arrested Arun in June 2015 for practising allopathy without qualification but he got bail. He set up another clinic in the heart of the town," Dr Rajendran said.


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It's hard to believe, but USY, the transformative youth movement that is one of United Synagogue's enduring success stories, has moved well beyond its adolescence as it celebrates its 60th birthday. In a myriad of ways USY has shaped the lives of more than 250,000 North American Jewish teens. Significantly, it also has nurtured countless leaders in Conservative Judaism and in the larger Jewish world. Just talk to a synagogue president, rabbi, Jewish educator, or anyone else in the forefront of Jewish life – including United Synagogue's own CEO, Rabbi Steven Wernick – and chances are you'll find someone whose Jewish identity and passion were nurtured through USY.
For more than a year now – and continuing through December – United Synagogue has sponsored celebrations of USY's 60th birthday, bringing together alumni with founders and key leaders from across the decades. These events have tapped a powerful vein of memories and enthusiasm among alumni, many of whom have described their time in USY as one of the most formative experiences of their lives. That's why United Synagogue has established the new USY Alumni Association to ensure the continued vitality of this powerful youth movement and enhance its ability to reach the next generations of young Jews.
"The alumni association will foster an environment where former USYers can reignite their deep commitment to and passion for USY. It will empower them to use their expertise to help current USYers hone their leadership skills and celebrate their Jewish identity, and it will give them a platform for helping raise much-needed resources for scholarships," explained Wendy Glick, director of alumni affairs at United Synagogue.
Jeffrey Shlefstein, a USY alumnus from the New York region (METNY), will serve as inaugural chair of the association. "We have reached a crucial point in time, where we need to reconnect our alumni and provide support for the future vitality of USY," said Shlefstein. "The alumni association will provide an avenue, connect old friends and form new friendships, and mentor the next generation of Jewish leaders."
The USY Alumni Association emerges from Project Reconnect, the initial platform aimed at reconnecting alumni of all programs of the Conservative movement. The well-known programs Kol Dichfin and Come Home for the Holidays will continue through the alumni association.
We will celebrate USY in November with a month-long tribute to Danny Siegel, the celebrated writer, lecturer, philanthropist, and former USY international president who has motivated thousands of young people to embrace tzedakah and tikkun olam. We will honor Danny in the most fitting way possible: by emulating his work. Synagogues, schools and USY chapters across North America will be invited to engage in Mitzvah Month. They will find mitzvah hero project ideas and educational materials on the USY at 60 website (usy60.org). The goal: to spur a flowering of tikkun olam and social action projects across the U.S. and Canada in Danny's honor.
"When you mention tzedakah or the idea of tikkun olam, no matter in which circles – Conservative, Reform, Orthodox or nondenominational – Danny's name comes up. He has dedicated his life to these things," said Gila Hadani Ward, co-chair of USY at 60 programs and the person spearheading the Danny Siegel tribute. "Danny has shown thousands of people how a simple act can make a big difference, and the best way to honor our teacher is to show him what we've learned from him."
In October, our 60th birthday celebration moves to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, home to the EMTZA region and the birthplace of USY. The festivities are planned for Sunday, October 14, at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park. We'll toast the four area synagogues that were USY's founding congregations: Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Beth El Synagogue, Beth Jacob, and the Temple of Aaron – as well as their rabbis. Rabbi Kassel Abelson, rabbi emeritus of Beth El and past president of the Rabbinical Assembly, will represent his colleagues. We'll also celebrate the future by recognizing Beth Jacob Congregation of Mendota Heights and Rabbi Morris Allen, who galvanized the ethical kashrut movement as founder of Magen Tzedek.
The monies raised at this event, and through the USY Founders Fund, will give even more Jewish teens the opportunity to participate in USY's powerful programs, including regional conventions, summer programs such as USY on Wheels and Israel Pilgrimage, and Nativ, the yearlong program in Israel for high school graduates.
Finally, we want to hear from you. Share your USY story. Get involved with the alumni association. You can do both by visiting www.usy60.org or firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/USY60.


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Here is my blog Make A Living Online Trading Forex
I wasn't aware that some many traders are bloggers!! Weird!!
Well I started my blog a short while ago. It describes my journey and endeavours to fullfill my New Year's resolutions, which were to generate additional passive income. Although I'm trading forex for longer time, I came up to a new adventure concerning forex, while I was sourcing for passive income.
The first goal of keeping a blog is that it keeps me focused on my goal and maybe with descibing my journey I may inspire others!! Pls let you don't be scared off by the design, I know it is aweful, but realize I'm not a webdesigner (yet). My blog is name after my name: DutchTrader.info. If you like it, leave me a comment!!
doesn't look bad, I've tried to monetize my knowledge as well and went to gain money from the forex brokers on a side way - www.bestforexbonus.net, also I try to cover news section I hope my readers find it usefull
I am new to forex but I would like to help me know more about the topic. They are appreciate.
Your link doesn't work
Blog - Systematic FXSystematic FX
Mine is at DRFX - CURRENCY TRADING SERVICES
Live Trade Results, detailed explanations.
Sure, it's an article site and blog based on my experiences and learning over the past 8 years: Learn to Trade - The Lazy Trader
Lots of different angles covered
I don't have one myself, but that may be about to change!
Ahh…although i'm a memeber of this forum since years but i never mentioned my blog on this forum as i thought its against the rules… for sure i have one where i provide live projections … Forex Mata : The Science of Forex
I think this is a great question. It's fun to read other blogs traders. If you have not already, we offer a lot of blogs right here on the site. fxfreeinfo website deliver the latest information about Forex bonuses, promotions, contests, brokers press news and other offers available
take alook to my blog
in my blog you will find , price action courses , Harmonic courses , elliot wave courses and more
I hope you like it
Tripped out forex blog: arbitrager on acid
^Damn, that's an interesting blog! I looked at a few of your videos. Looks like you trade Donchian channel breakouts?
Thanks. The blog is my new therapy.
And yes. Donchian = simple, elegant, antifragile. I played for years with lots of additional shix and finally decided I could not make a better system than a simple adaptation of Donchian's methods. Using periodic highs and lows as entry points is not the strategy, it is simply the application of the strategy. The strategy looks to take advantage of the bias among the majority of market participants manifested in primary price moves (Dow market theory) over many days or months (perhaps even years). I traded stocks beginning in the 90's with very different methods. I took time off from trading as I ran another business in the mid 2000-aughts. I started trading again during the 2008 crises but more and more became interested in the forex. In the last couple of years forex has become my main focus.
I don't personally know a single person that even has the slightest interest in or knowledge of trading. My family, girlfriend, old friends, new friends, none of them have any of either. My day job is my accounting business (I do accounting for several businesses including a microscope factory and an oil refinery.) Accounting and economics are my adjacent passions. I can talk about the writings of Smith, Ricardo, Bastiat, Marx, Marshall, Keynes, Mises, Hayek, Freidman, Rothbard, even Warren Mosler. But even my friends with econ degrees know little about them and have almost no interest. I thought about making an econ blog, but my ideas are too broad to do something so general; I would need to focus. I decided forex is my trading focus so forex can be my blog focus.
One of my clients is a general contractor and the father of the business owner (dude is like 75 years old) is the most interested person I have spoken to, he is a value stock investor. But even his head was swimming as I explained the forex. I have found myself freaking people out at parties if they showed any interest in any of it. They stand puzzled as I explain how shorting a financial instrument works or what a future is or why institutions take hedge positions in the forex to offset currency risk.
So I figured I would make that blog as a therapeutic exercise, as sort of a dialog with myself and whoever may actually come along and join the discussion, and it is really helping. I have taken in so much in reading and study and contemplation over the years that I need somewhere to start putting it out before my mind explodes. I really don't care if anyone even looks at it frankly. But any discussion I have with others can be therapeutic.
I have a lot of ideas about what more I want to do with it but I have only so much time. I will eventually do it all. I am sort of waiting to see if some hardcore tripped out hippy person stumbles on it and freaks out about all the symbolism not knowing what the hell the forex is (hahaha).
Do you have a blog or YouTube channel or anything?
I never really explored donchian channels, so it's interesting to see someone trade them.
At this time, I mainly daytrade the Asian pairs (USDJPY, AUDUSD, EURJPY etc) during the Asian session. I found that time filters can be very useful on the shorter timeframes. It's a dimension of information that doesn't really exist on the 1D TF.
Yep, totally agree with you on the therapeutic benefits of a blog. It feels good to discover something and publish it, even if no-one reads it. That's part of the self-development process as a trader, IMO.
My bloggie:
Forexiation - diary of a Perth forex trader
Wow, you are blogging every trade. Nice. I traded several months ago on 5 minute charts during London open hours. I profited for two weeks, but I run my own accounting business and don't have time for that. I have to be able to adjust positions just once a day.
Most of what is out there about Donchian Channels is sort of bogus with lots of additional nonsense about middle lines and stuff. I just use them as did Donchian: new lows mean go short, new highs means go long. Take shorts below and longs above a moving average or trade with primary moves quantified with a simple trend line. Dow and Hamilton really made the basic concept of it all, Donchian actually traded it successfully. After him came the famous trend followers like Seykota and Dennis and Paul Tudor Jones. The beauty of trend following is it can be applied to any market including forex. It is nothing more than looking to benefit from the aggregate bias of all the market participants over a primary move. Simple, elegant, antifragile.
Your set-ups remind me a little of Javier Paz's varatrade Pivot Roadmap Strategy. Have you seen his book? The Forex Trading Manual. His assumption is simply that the EUR/USD will make a run for the daily pivot each day between certain hours. He trades long from price action below the pivot and short from above. Your assumption is that if one can take a contrary position near the high or low of the day you can gain on the move away from it back toward the mean. Very similar.
I just need to get down to Australia and enjoy some trips on the beach.
I've been doing some research on long-term trend-following (downloaded a few Mike Covel interviews to listen to while traveling). How long have you been trading like this?
I've opened a few "long-term" trend-following trades on the EURTRY and EURAUD. The overnight rollover is nice.
Oh yeah, Australia is beautiful, especially during the spring and autumn! Summer is a killer, though. If you do visit, watch out for any dropbears.
Drop bears target tourists, study says
I traded stocks that way for years. I have only started trading in forex since late 2013. But I haven't profited yet as I have been making changes to my implementation. Only in the last few months have I settled in with a comfortable implementation complete with a position sizing algorithm and everything. I spent most of 2014 playing with position sizing and I was actually surprised to see that I should actually trade LARGER positions than I thought at first.
The real trouble is finding a set of rules that I can follow given my schedule and psychology. I feel like I have that now. So 2015 will be my first year with that.
I love Covel's podcasts and his books are cool too. They are general and don't offer specific implementations of strategies, but I like them.
There is also a British trend following forex trader that has a good YouTube channel you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/user/fxinfoonline
I keep an eye on rollover costs, but because I trade 20 pairs most of those costs cancel out anyway.
I shorted EUR/AUD on the 9th as it broke below the 8th low which closed below the 200 day moving average. But I won't feel completely certain that it is in a downward trend until it trades below the Sep 8th low. My initial stop is just above the Jan 8th high (the current 3-day high). A downward sign is that it made another new low in yesterday's session. If it rises sufficiently to take out my stop loss and close back above the 200 day moving average, I will wait for a break of the 10-day price range to get back in long above or short below.
Ha! I will make sure to practice my accent. A funny story: When I was 9 I convinced a whole bowling alley full of people in Texas that I was from Australia by mimicking Crocodile Dundee.
The beginner's guide to FX trading


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Update on Hedwin Division of Zacros America move to Newark, DE
September 1, 2016
Dear business partner –
First of all, I would like to express our thanks to our valuable customers.
Over the past 18 months, we have been moving the bulk of our operations out of an aging facility in Baltimore, MD, relocating to our newer, larger and cleaner facility in Newark, DE.
Our move has been slow, to allow time for all equipment to be fully serviced and upgraded before placement on the Newark production floor. All lines are being completely re-qualified as they restart in Newark to ensure consistent quality.
At this time, we have all of our warehousing and administrative personnel transferred, along with most of the CUBITAINER® production lines. The remaining CUBITAINER® lines are expected to be removed from Baltimore by the end of this month. The HEDLINER®, PAYLINER®, WINLINER® and TOPLINER® manufacturing equipment will remain in Baltimore until the CUBITAINER® lines are fully operational.
We look forward to completing our move and focusing all of our efforts on improvement and innovation.
I thank you again for your continued interest in the Hedwin division, and I look forward to working with you. If you have any questions, please contact us at 800.890.1183
All the best,
Yasuo Iwasa
President, Hedwin Divsion of Zacros America
Executive Vice President, Zacros America


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Friday, 25 January 2013
Under the Ocean is now on Steam!
This has been a long time in the works, but Under the Ocean is now steam approved, so if you are considering purchasing an alpha, you will be happy to know that a steam key is now included in the deal (or if you previously supported us, you should have a steam key email!). This marks my first ever game on steam, so pretty awesome news all around. As far as updates, we have spent the few weeks of the new year doing usability updates to fix up a few of the rough edges in the game currently, next step will be kickstarting multiplayer and some of the bigger features, the time I get away from that will be spent adding rafting into the game, which is slowly chugging along in the background. As usual, play it here:
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Right to counsel
While a state may have many statutes, court decisions, or court rules governing appointment of counsel for a particular subject area, a "Key Development" is a statute/decision/rule that prevails over the others (example: a state high court decision finding a categorical right to counsel in guardianships cases takes precedence over a statute saying appointment in guardianship cases is discretionary).
Legislation, Quarantine/Inoculation (incomplete)
N.J. Stat. § 30:4-24 states that "The provisions of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes shall govern the admission and commitment of persons with ... tuberculosis ...", and N.J. Stat. Ann. § 30:4-27.14 and N. J. Stat. Ann. § 30:4-27.11(c) provide a right to counsel for long and short-term confinements, respectively. The short-term confinement statute specifies that the appointed attorney shall be "paid for by the appropriate government agency." The patient also has the "right to counsel" (it does not specifically say appointed counsel) in all placement review proceedings. N.J. R. 4:74-7(h)(2).
If "yes", the established right to counsel or discretionary appointment of counsel is limited in some way, including any of: the only authority is a lower/intermediate court decision or a city council, not a high court or state legislature; there has been a subsequent case that has cast doubt; a statute is ambiguous; or the right or discretionary appointment is not for all types of individuals or proceedings within that category.
Appointment of Counsel: categorical Qualified: no


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Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Tags: Banana Bread, Chocolate, Dessert, Double Chocolate, Easy, Eat
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Pumpkin Parfaits
It's officially winter where I live in the midwest. A huge snowstorm with over 4 inches of snow brought in the first "real" cold of the season. So these pumpkin parfaits are a sore reminder of the beautiful sweater weather of the past few months. I made these pumpkin parfaits a few weeks back in honor of fall. Now that Thanksgiving is right around the corner I thought it would be the perfect time to share the recipe with y'all.
Tags: Dessert, Eat, Parfait, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving
Monday, November 2, 2015
Coconut French Toast
I was on hiatus for one too many months. You've been asking where I have been. I moved homes, I started school, and life caught up with me. I really needed time to fall back into a routine in which I balanced school, family, and myself with all my wits around me. That meant cutting back on blogging. But I am back and for good!
I'll start us off with a little breakfast/brunch recipe that reminds me of a unicorn on an island in some far away land - it is that magical. This coconut french toast is a reminder of warmer days, beaches, and beautiful weather. I tried coconut french toast for the first time while vacationing with S in San Diego. Oh it was wonderful - crunchy, sweet, and tropical. I knew I had to recreate it. Now it had been months since that vacation, so I was nervous to recreate it but this recipe is just right!
Give it a try and good luck in the kitchen!
Coconut French Toast
(Makes 6-8 toast)
4 large eggs
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (also called shredded sweetened coconut)
8 slices of french bread
Maple syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream, strawberries for topping.
In a shallow dish or bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. If you are using canned coconut milk (which I recommend), shake it well before opening for a smooth and creamy texture. Spread the coconut flakes on a plate.
Preheat a flat pan (grill pan won't work for this one) on medium heat. Dip the french bread, one slice at a time, in the milk and egg mixture for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Then dip both sides of the soaked bread into the shredded coconut. Pat the coconut in or drizzle a little more of the egg mixture on top if it isn't sticking.
Cook the slices of bread for 3-4 minutes on each side or until nicely brown. Serve immediately or keep warm in an oven preheated to 250 degrees.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Healthy Whole Wheat Parathas
This week, I'm sharing the recipe for these wonderful whole wheat parathas on a friend's blog. She is Mona, the wonderful author of the popular blog, Zaiqa.net! Here is what I wrote for her blog...
'Mothers are the best cooks, we all know that. This amazing paratha recipe is from my beautiful mom, Farhana. She's a health nut and that is what is so special about these healthy whole wheat, fiber full parathas. With ingredients like flax seed, wheat germ, and oat bran, you may be put off from this recipe, but I will attest to their delicious flavor and amazing affects on my body! With benefits like being high in fiber, being heart healthy, lowering cholesterol and blood sugar, these parathas are really something else.
Tags: Desi, Eat, Food, Guest Post, Healthy, Paratha, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Zaiqa
Monday, June 29, 2015
Mango Ice Cream
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
NEW Painted Goose Eggs! Great Eid Gifts!
So I have exciting news! I have added a bunch of new products to my etsy shop, Eggs by Wardah. These eggs are hand painted with acrylic paints and varnished with a clear gloss finish. They have an Turkey skyline with the word "alhamdulillah" in the skyline. These would make the perfect Eid gifts!
The next two eggs are also goose eggs. They have a simple Arabic calligraphy design on the with glitter spots. These would be perfect for new moms or house warming presents.
You can find all of these eggs on my etsy page here! Enjoy!
The next two eggs are also goose eggs. They have a simple Arabic calligraphy design on the with glitter spots. These would be perfect for new moms or house warming presents.
You can find all of these eggs on my etsy page here! Enjoy!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Easy Watermelon Basket and Watermelon Coolers
Tags: basket, cooler, Drink, Easy, Eat, party, potluck, summer, watermelon, watermelon punch
Sunday, May 31, 2015
A Surprise Arabian-Themed Grad Party & A Giveaway!
My baby sis, HajBaj, is graduating from UCLA in just a few weeks with a double major and all sorts of honors and extra curriculars. It's pretty obvious that the entire family is insanely proud of her. To honor her major accomplishments, mommy, older sis, and I decided to throw her a surprise party. We did some stealthy detective work and invited all of her closest friends from school and some from outside of school as well. Then we got busy planning all the details of this surprise Arabian themed party.
My majorly talented sister Mehwish, who also has her own blog at My Slice of Pizza, was the biggest asset to this event. Together, my mom, sister, and I made almost every decoration, food item, and dessert you see in the pictures. Here's a little breakdown of everything that made this party a success.
For decor, I painted these beautiful henna lanterns/ mason jars that my sister turned into beautiful floral arrangements. Additionally, we decorated the table with confetti and fake diamonds we had from previous parties.
We pinned up a plain colored cloth backdrop and taped matching colored streamers and balloons on top to create the dessert table set up.
On the menu was baba ghanoush, hummus, pita bread, zatar and cheese naan, olives and pickles, tabbouli, spanakopita, cheese and crackers, falafel, arabian meat and rice dish, roasted chicken and veggies, and alfredo pasta. Yummm. My mom, the chef, made all the food herself with a little help from us girls and her closest friends!
For desserts, we decided to make all the dessert we loved most instead of following a theme. I supplied baklava from the most famous Middle Eastern bakery here in MI.
My sister made this amazing watermelon fruit basket and to-die for smores cupcakes with graham cracker crust and marshmallow frosting. We also bought a few more desserts - cheesecake bites and cream puffs.
Now on to the giveaway! I will be giving away one of these hand painted, henna lantern mason jars to two lucky winners. The giveaway will remain open until Friday, June 12th and I will announce the winners soon after on Facebook.
To enter the giveaway..
- like my Facebook page here
- follow my Instagram account here @ bestofwardah
- comment below saying what color you would like (out of pink, blue, and purple) and that you've liked my FB page and followed the Instagram account.
- (optional) for additional entries - share the giveaway on Facebook and Instagram and tag Best of Wardah in your posts. Write a new comment with each new entry.
- (optional) for additional entries - share the giveaway on Facebook and Instagram and tag Best of Wardah in your posts. Write a new comment with each new entry.
Don't worry, if you don't win, you can also buy them for an inexpensive price at my Etsy shop, Eggs by Wardah. Good luck!
I hope you've enjoyed this post and can take inspiration from it! :)
Tags: Arab Themed Party, Centerpiece, create, Giveaway, Grad Party, Henna, Live, Mason Jars
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Healthy, Guilt-free, and Baby Friendly Chocolate Date Balls
Date balls are the ultimate paleo dessert. With no added sugar, only natural sweetness, and full of protein, these date balls take the cake when it comes to a guilt-free dessert. These are the perfect alternative when you're craving a large slice of chocolate cake to stuff your face with. Granted, not the same thing, but the added cocoa powder adds a great fudge-y flavor. I made these date balls a week ago only to watch them be demolished by S and Baby in no time!
The date balls are so customizable. By adding a tablespoon of cocoa powder, I instantly made these date balls chocoholic friendly. I filled them with a mix of nuts and rolled them in cocoa powder, pistachio nuts powder, and coconut flakes. You can decide what nuts you want to fill your date balls with and what to roll them in. Store them refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 1 week or so. I don't think the date balls go bad, but they will lose their freshness.
My 16 month old son loved these too (probably my favorite thing about these balls)! These are the perfect treat for baby when he doesn't want to eat anything else but you want him to have that extra boost of energy and healthy fats. Don't feed these to babies under 1 years old!! For a toddler friendly alternative, chop the nuts extremely small or exclude them completely to reduce the risk of choking. Only use nuts that you have tested for allergic reactions. You might want to leave the cocoa powder out too.
Chocolate Date Balls
(makes around 25 balls)
1 1/3 cup of washed and pitted dates
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup walnuts
1-2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
cocoa powder, powdered pistachio, and coconut flakes for topping
Throw all the ingredients into a food processor (except the toppings) and blend until well combined. I ended up chopping the nuts painstakingly by hand since my food processor sucks but this is supposed to be much easier than that.
Shape the mixture into equal sized balls (I used a 1 tsp measuring spoon).
Roll them in whatever topping you desire. Enjoy!
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Mozzarella Cheese Stuffed Meat Balls
I'm moving this week and let me just get this out there, moving with a baby is hard! It makes me grateful for loving family and amazing friends. It's stressful times like these, moving or exams or welcoming a baby, when having frozen food can be so helpful. Frozen food just eliminates the stress of having to cook food! And any stress gone is a good thing.
So as I sit in a coffee shop, writing this blog post, since I don't have internet at my new place yet, I am grateful for these yummy meat balls in my freezer. Here's how you can make them too!
Tip on how to wash ground beef thoroughly - Put the meat in a large bowl and fill it with water until all the meat is separated. Shake it around and loosen all the particles, make sure water gets everywhere. Line a colander with 3 or 4 sheets of paper towels and pour in the meat. Let it strain for a few minutes and gently squeeze the paper towels so all the water drains out. Repeat until you think the meat is clean enough to your liking (for me one good rinse and drain is enough). This method is long but it gets all the icky blood out without getting little meat pieces stuck in your strainer!
Mozzarella Cheese Stuffed Meat Balls
(Makes around 12-16)
1 lb ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp water (as needed)
2 Mozzarella sticks (string cheese)
3 tbs olive oil
1 jar pasta sauce
boiled pasta
Cut the mozzarella sticks into 8 pieces each.
Mix together the first set of ingredients until fully combined. Don't be afraid to use your hands! Add water only if necessary if the mixture is too dry to shape into balls.
Next is a sweet trick on making same sized meatballs and shaping them easily. Spread the mixture into a rectangular shape. Cut 12-16 squares out of it. Press a cheese piece into the mixture. Now just roll each square into a ball! (Here is when you can freeze the meatballs. To use them, just defrost in the fridge overnight and then continue on to the next steps).
Heat oil in a large skillet and cook meatballs on each side until fully browned, around 10 minutes. Add in the pasta sauce and simmer while covered for an additional 15 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked through. Don't worry if some cheese leaks out at this point! It's not the end of the world if it does. :)
Serve over boiled pasta and enjoy!
Tags: Cheese stuffed, Easy, Eat, Frozen Meal, Meatballs, Mozzarella, Spaghetti
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What's your first reaction when you think you've got nothing to wear? Go shopping at lunchtime, fingers crossed that you'll see the one thing that will solve all your sartorial problems? Only to feel buyers' remorse by the time you're back at your desk?
Have you ever considered a more relaxed and potentially awesomely satisfying experience of shopping in your wardrobe?
I love showing ladies how to go through their wardrobes to recognise and use the clothes and accessories they already own. You can create a whole range of outfits that you've never dreamed of before simply by playing in your wardrobe. This is great skill that will save money and teach you to appreciate what you have. It's also a delightful way to crank up those creative juices to assemble outfits that are unique to you.
All you need is bit of time, open-mindedess and the willingness to take some risks.
I had the greatest time yesterday with Charlotte "shopping in her wardrobe." Like you, Charlotte has many things going on in her life. She runs her own business, is a mum to two young children and has just moved house. She had also worked hard to lose a huge amount of weight after having her children. It was time for her to celebrate her new shape with new clothes.
Charlotte warned me she'd done a huge clothes cull and wasn't left with much. But we were still able to create some smart casual outfits with the twenty odd pieces that she had using a wide range of shoes, a scarf and a couple of necklaces. I'm not sure how many times she said, "Oh, I'd never think of wearing X with Y. I only wear it with Z."
And that ladies is the belief that limits the potential we see in ourselves and our wardrobes. Too often we prescribe rules for ourselves on what we can/should/can't wear. I get that rules simplify life and save us time. The downside is we go on autopilot and stop seeing opportunity or potential around us. We stop growing. We stunt our creativity and that's when boredom and dissatisfaction kick in.
So next time you automatically reach the top which always goes with that bottom, stop. How long have you been wearing X with Y? Who made up that silly rule? What would happen if you wore X another way? Over something? Undersomething? With a belt? Or with different shoes?
Ask why to switch off your autopilot. It'll help you see possibilities and have more fun.
Charlotte successfully completed an eight-week challenge with her exercise group Body Beyond Baby. She won the grand prize in that challenge and received a Wardrobe Rejuvenation experience.


text: Most of our chorus members, well all of us really, live double and triple lives, playing, and singing in other groups, bands, and ensembles of every imaginable stripe. This includes our fabulous fiddle player, Jenée Morgan, who's roots-rock band Kingsley Flood got two great write-ups in the Boston Globe and Boston Phoenix this week. The Globe article is here, Phoenix article is here, and Kingsley Flood's website is here. The Phoenix lauded Jenée's "masterful fiddle" — we completely concur!


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Beginners Yoga 6-Week Course
in Ascot, Queensland organised by Soho Yoga Ascot
in Ascot, Queensland organised by Soho Yoga Ascot
Join Georgina for our beginners course held over 6 consecutive weeks in our Ascot studio. Each week we will focus on a specific group of poses including standing poses, balances, backbends, twists, hip openers and inversions. Our final class includes a full spectrum flow to bring it all together and give you the confidence to continue your yoga journey. We will teach you some basic yogic philosophy, pranayama (breath control), meditation & anatomy and show you pose modifications if you need them, enabling you to find your personal yoga practice in a safe and supportive environment. Our beginner course is designed with absolute beginners in mind but is also suitable for anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding of the basics. We take our time exploring alignment principles and finding a functional practice for every individual. Investment $140.


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Welcome on the homepage of the chair "Computer Graphics Systems" of Prof. Jürgen Döllner and his team. We like to inform you about our teaching and ongoing research activities in the analysis, planning and construction of computer graphics and multimedia systems.
Our group includes PostDocs, PhD students, and student assistants, and is headed by Prof. Jürgen Döllner. If you are interested in joining our team, please contact Jürgen Döllner.
The paper "Neural Style Transfer: A Paradigm Shift for Image-based Artistic Rendering?" by Amir Semmo, Tobias Isenberg, and Jürgen Döllner has been accepted as a contribution to the the joint Expressive Symposium (CAe, NPAR, SBIM). Expressive 2017 will be held in Los Angeles, CA, USA from the 29th to 30th of July and is co-located with SIGGRAPH 2017.Links:
In this meta paper we discuss image-based artistic rendering (IB-AR) based on neural style transfer (NST) and argue, while NST may represent a paradigm shift for IB-AR, that it also has to evolve as an interactive tool that considers the design aspects and mechanisms of artwork production. IB-AR received significant attention in the past decades for visual communication, covering a plethora of techniques to mimic the appeal of artistic media. Example-based rendering (EBR) represents one the most promising paradigms in IB-AR to (semi-)automatically simulate artistic media with high fidelity, but so far has been limited because it relies on pre-defined image pairs for training or informs only low-level image features for texture transfers. Recent advancements in deep convolutional neural networks showed to alleviate these limitations by separating image contents from style, thus making a generalized style transfer practicable. We categorize style transfers within the taxonomy of IB-AR, then propose a semiotic model to derive a technical research agenda for NSTs with respect to the grand challenges of NPAR. We finally discuss the potentials of NSTs, thereby identifying applications such as casual creativity and art production.


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The Skater 46 Supreme is definitely the Rolls Royce of offshore powerboats, with sumptuous cabin and cockpit accommodations. Nevertheless, the most outstanding characteristics of this hull is its incredible ride, handling and comfort at speeds near the 150 mph mark. No other boat offers the performance and comfort like the "Supreme"
Great to run to Gilberts in the Keys for lunch,it only takes 45 minutes,or down to Key West, Nassau or Bimini.


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#MeToo movement heightens public awareness
Consider this:
• 40 per cent of Canadian workers experience bullying in the workplace on a weekly basis, according to a 2006 sudy in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.
• 28 per cent of Canadians have experienced workplace sexual harassment, according to a 2014 report from the Angus Reid Institute.
• 17 per cent of all incidents of violent victimization in Canada occur in the workplace, according to a 2007 report from Statistics Canada.
Gone are the days of turning a blind eye to bullying and workplace harassment, whether sexual, verbal or psychological. Government initiatives and the #MeToo movement have heightened public awareness of these issues.
Now, more than ever, an employer must take seriously its obligation to respond to and investigate an allegation of workplace harassment.
An employer that fails or refuses to get on-board does so at its peril, risking public embarrassment and employee discontent, not to mention a hefty regulatory fine and an award of damages from a court or adjudicator.
To help employers navigate this burgeoning area of workplace management, we've identified relevant harassment legislation across Canada and recent examples of the financial implications of disregarding workplace harassment.
Harassment legislation across Canada
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories all have legislation aimed at addressing (to varying degrees) workplace harassment and bullying. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick are both in the process of developing workplace harassment legislation.
In the federal sphere, while existing workplace violence legislation has historically been applied to workplace harassment causing psychological injury, new legislation expected to come into force later this year expressly requires an employer to take proactive measures to protect against harassment, including sexual harassment, and to investigate and respond to such complaints.
Where an employer is statutorily obligated to enact measures to protect against harassment, failure to do so can result in high sanctions and fines. In Ontario, for example, as of Dec. 14, 2017, the maximum fine for an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act increased from $25,000 to $100,000 for an individual or unincorporated business, and from $500,000 to $1.5 million for a corporation.
In the case of an investigation gone wrong, an employer may also be ordered to have an investigation conducted by an independent third party at the employer's cost.
In addition to legislation directed at harassment, every Canadian jurisdiction has human rights legislation prohibiting harassment on the basis of protected grounds (such as race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion or family status).
An employer's failure to take proactive steps to prevent and respond to human rights-based harassment can result in significant sanctions such as a damage award and a range of public interest remedies aimed at reducing future incidents.
In the recent case of A.B. v. Joe Singer Shoes Limited, 2018 HRTO 107, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario awarded the applicant $200,000 in general damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. She had been subjected to egregious and persistent sexual harassment and assault over a decade, during which time Singer was her employer and landlord. The impugned behaviour included:
• grabbing, licking and kissing the applicant in the workplace
• rubbing himself against the applicant and attempting to pull her pants down
• making comments to the applicant about her chest size
• forcing the applicant to perform oral sex and sexually assaulting the applicant in her apartment
While the circumstances of this case were extreme, this damage award is one of the highest sexual harassment awards in Canada.
Civil remedies for workplace harassment
In addition to legislative sanctions, courts and arbitrators can impose considerable civil liability on an employer that fails to have and appropriately implement policies and protocols to respond to a complaint of violence or harassment. The case of Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014 ONCA 419 is a good example of how an employer's failure to appropriately investigate an allegation of harassment can be a costly mistake.
Boucher, an assistant manager at a Walmart in Windsor, Ont., was the subject of workplace harassment by her immediate supervisor. She was consistently and increasingly belittled, humiliated and demeaned, often in front of co-workers. When she complained to Walmart's senior management, they undertook to investigate her complaints, but did so only half-heartedly. The investigator found the complaints unsubstantiated following which, after another occurrence of public humiliation, Boucher quit and sued for constructive dismissal.
A jury found Boucher to have been constructively dismissed and, in addition to her entitlements under her employment agreement, awarded $1,200,000 in aggravated and punitive damages against Walmart, as well as $250,000 against Boucher's supervisor for intentional infliction of mental suffering and punitive damages. The Court of Appeal reduced the punitive award against Walmart from $1,000,000 to $100,000, and against the supervisor from $150,000 to $10,000. Still, these awards now rank among the highest in Canadian history for employer misconduct of this nature.
Ontario recognizes tort of harassment
Historically, courts only awarded damages for an employer's failure to appropriately address workplace harassment where there was also an underlying claim of wrongful or constructive dismissal. However, recently, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Merrifield v. The Attorney General, 2017 ONSC 1333 recognized the existence of the tort of harassment. Now, an Ontario employee may file a claim seeking damages for harassment independent of any other claim.
Peter Merrifield was an RCMP officer who alleged he was constructively dismissed and harassed over a prolonged period of time by the senior officers within the force. He claimed that, after deciding to run for political office, he was targeted by his superiors who damaged his reputation through baseless allegations, including of criminal misconduct. Merrifield alleged this ongoing negative treatment impeded his career advancement and caused him extreme emotional distress and depression.
The court held Merrifield could not claim damages for constructive dismissal as his relationship with the RCMP arose by virtue of statute, not contract — however, he could bring a claim for the tort of harassment. To this end, the court identified a four-part test for establishing this cause of action:
1.Was the defendant's conduct toward the plaintiff outrageous?
2.Did the defendant intend to cause emotional stress to the plaintiff or did the defendant have a reckless disregard for causing the plaintiff to suffer emotional stress?
3.Did the plaintiff suffer from severe or extreme emotional distress?
4.Was the defendant's outrageous conduct the actual and proximate cause of the emotional distress?
The court was satisfied Merrifield had satisfied all four parts of the test and awarded him damages of $100,000 for harassment and the intentional infliction of mental suffering.
It remains to be seen whether courts in other jurisdictions will also recognize the tort of harassment. However, employers across the country should be prepared for this possibility and the resulting increase in civil claims for workplace harassment.
Lessons for employers
As an employer, you may not always be able to prevent workplace harassment. However, you can take proactive steps to minimize risk and, if necessary, appropriately respond. Consider the following best practices:
• Have a workplace violence and harassment policy: Ensure it is compliant with all applicable legislation. Train employees and management on its content. Enforce it consistently and transparently.
• Investigate: An investigation is critical and in some cases mandated by law. This is not the time to take shortcuts or ignore the problem.
• Offer support: Where appropriate, offer support to an alleged victim; this can help avoid or reduce liability.
• Mediate and de-escalate: Where appropriate, make efforts to mediate and de-escalate animosity among workplace parties, particularly if they will work together in the future.
• Consult with counsel: Some situations are more complex and sensitive than others. If you think you may be in over your head, or want to bounce an idea off of someone knowledgeable but neutral, consider early consultation with employment counsel experienced in the intricacies of workplace harassment.
Lisa Bolton and Gerald Griffiths are lawyers at Sherrard Kuzz in Toronto, an employment and labour law firm representing management. They can be reached at (416) 603-0700 (main), (416) 420-0738 (24-hour) or by visiting www.sherrardkuzz.com.


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One of my many hobbies is gardening, actually hydroponic/aeroponic gardening. It's a tower that works entirely with water no soil needed and best of all no weeding. So when I received this PTI Vegetable Garden stamp set and die, I just fell in love with it.
One response to "Garden Fresh Tomato"
Very cute! I love the colors you used.


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What We Do
Zion Lutheran Church, led by God, has been established to sow God's Word, nurture the believer, and foster growth in Christ.
"Witness, Mercy, Life Together." is the three-fold emphasis for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
The apostles carefully resolved the doctrinal and practical challenges that always result from taking the Gospel to new peoples—for the sake of WITNESS to Jesus [Acts 15].
The apostles were deeply concerned that the Church be a focus of MERCY to those suffering physical need.
This WITNESS and MERCY were part and parcel of the Church's very life—yes, its LIFE TOGETHER.
These phrases—Witness, Mercy, Life Together—illustrate how the church lives and works together to proclaim the Gospel and to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ in our congregations, communities and throughout the world. And in all we do, Christ is at the center, leading us, sustaining us, keeping us focused on our mission. This will never change.


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Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason who will be one of the key contributors at Operastorming #1 took home the prize for Composer of the Year at the Icleandic Music Awards on February 20th. He received the prize for his 2012 compositions "The Isle Is Full Of Noises" and "Over Light Earth".
Daníel, along with Ben Frost also won the best music category at the Icelandic Film and TV Awards on February 16th for the score to the film'Djúpið" ('The Deep'), directed by Baltasar Kormákur.
Daníels upcoming engagements include a new commission for L.A. Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
We look forward to Daníels operatic work!
Photo: SagaSig


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It's been a while since I've done a 'What's in my bag? ' post and if you are as nosey as me, you'll love having a good snoop around my handbag.
This Zara tapestry bag remains one of my current favourites; it looks good, plus it has that special Mary Poppins quality to it, yup, capacity – I can fit loads of items inside it, no problem!
I always like to carry a note book and pen with me, it's handy for those occasions when inspiration kicks in, such as blog ideas, holiday shopping list or a wedding theme that's caught my imagination. I simply jot down my thoughts, keep myself organised and never forget those important things – sorted!
As you can see, I also have a selection of make up that I literally take e everywhere with me; after all, you never know when you might need to touch up your lippy, do you?
My essentials are tucked safely away- purse, Oyster card, keys, phone and card wallet, I really can't think of many places I could go without them.
Just one or two basics left now – I always keep a lip balm and hair bobble in my bag …just incase a need arises.
Well there we have it, the contents of my beaut of a bag.
What items would I find if i mooched around in your handbag? What are the necessities you couldn't leave home without?
Bag – Zara
Lip Stick & Compact – Chanel
Blusher & Concealer – Kiko
Sunglasses c/o The Goods Agency
Purse – Vivienne Westwood
Card Wallet – Oliver Bonas
Rollo note book c/o Beauchamps Group
Photos – Shooting Dave


text: Happy November. We still have so much to do to help our seniors with their college application process. Here are 10 tips to hep you manage this month without losing too much sleep. 2014 November College Readiness Tips For Teachers and Counselors8 Nov, 2014 in News tagged ACT / Cal State / College Access / College Greenlight / college visits / College Week Live / diverse students / First Generation / Harvard / Latinos in College / SAT / scholarships / stanford / Test Scores / University of California / usc / Yale by rjoseph


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Telephone: 01727 857223
Welcome to Skin & Tonic
Skin & Tonic is a multi-award winning beauty salon located in a quiet residential area of St Albans, Hertfordshire, we have an extensive range of treatments including Decleor and Dermalogica Facials, Aromatherapy, Hot Stone massage, CACI Ultimate Non-Surgical Face Lift, St Tropez Spray Tanning, Billion Dollar Brows and Eyelash Extensions.
Semi-Permanent Make-Up now available at Skin & Tonic Beauty Salon, see our news page for more information. We also stock top beauty brands such as NEOM Organics, Revitalash, Decleor, Dermalogica, Billion Dollar Brow Cosmetics, Jane Iredale Mineral Cosmetics and OPI.
We offer Ellipse Intense Pulsed Light for permanent hair reduction and treatment for sun damaged skin and facial thread veins. More details of this treatment can be found by visiting www.ellipseipl.co.uk For hands and feet we offer Shellac and Bio Sculpture Gel along with a range of OPI manicures and pedicures to suit all requirements.
We carry out regular audits to ensure our high standards of client care are being maintained, details of the results and findings of these audits are available on request.


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We thought it would be great to hear a bit more about the scenes and teams that make up Championship Skiing so in this, our first CSS interview, we check in with Row Emery to hear more about the freestyle scene at Stoke.
Hi Row! Thanks for doing our first CSS interview! From what we saw when we visited one of the freestyle nights at Stoke, it is clear you guys have a really lively and well loved scene. So why don't we start with that? How often are the Stoke freestyle nights, do you have a specific name for them and have they been running a while?
R: Over the past couple of years the scene at Stoke has really taken off. Our scene is like one big ski family, newbies are welcomed with open arms and everyone is equal. The sessions are every Wednesday evening 19:00 – 21:00, we just call it 'Wednesday Night Freestyle'. They have been running for about 6 years now, since Russ Boulton and Andy Topping set them up, just after the big jump was built in the summer of 2011.
How many people go along to the freestyle nights on average?
R: We regularly have 20-30 people on the slope and in some cases a lot more, with people traveling far and wide from around the Midlands. Ages of skiers and snowboarders range from 5 years old to 30 plus. It's a friendly, diverse and positive scene, bringing more new faces to the sport year on year.
As far as we can tell, you pretty much run the freestyle scene at Stoke. How did you become involved and what do you do to try and help the scene thrive?
R: I began volunteering at the slope when I was about 15 years old. Back then a guy named Russ Boulton was the manager and he kick started the revival of the notorious Stoke Massive back in the summer of 2011. This was the year the big jump was built, using materials the ski centre had lying around or cheap alternatives. It was the passion of volunteers like myself, James Cartlidge and many more that made this dream a reality. At first we were skeptical whether it would work. However, after a few tweaks of the in-run, it couldn't have been more perfect for the small amount of space we had to work with.
After that I began training as an instructor and doing more voluntary work at the club. After I finished college, I was working at the slope full time. By then it was Rob Hackney and myself running and coaching on Wednesday nights. I then took on the responsibility of slope set-up every week, doing my best to keep it fresh with new and creative set-ups each week. Now we have full slope set-ups with 8 or 9 features including basic features for people who are learning and more difficult features to challenge the experts. It was all about the perfect environment for all ages and abilities to progress together, while also making a small dry-slope a lot more exciting.
I coached the advanced levels of junior club on Saturday and Sunday mornings, this is where the likes of young guns Ted and Will came from. They soon became too good for lessons. I would have them doing a full run of turns on one leg whilst holding a grab, both way 180s across the slope between turns – you name it they could do it. So, I suggested that they came down to ski on a Wednesday night and the rest was history. I'd say that is where my freestyle coaching began. Many more kids started to get involved from the junior club lessons and elsewhere from other slopes, so the scene began to grow more and more each year.
I now do most of the coaching with some help from others from time to time. It's super relaxed, if you need coaching myself and other riders provide it. If not everybody just cracks on with the session and has fun.
When did you start skiing and have you always skied at Stoke? Do you ski elsewhere in the UK or abroad? And what are your own goals with your skiing?
R: I started skiing when I was 5 years old, freestyle at 13 years old – always at Stoke Ski Centre. When I first started freestyle it was just myself and a few school friends that regularly went down to the slope on a Friday evening, back then there was no jump and we had to pull the only feature (the blue gas pipe) onto the slope ourselves. Most of the slope was poorly maintained and looked like it was about to shut down any day. However I kept going back, now I'm glad that I did.
I do my best to get about to as many different slopes as possible since I passed my driving test back in 2014. I do a lot of filming and traveling with Ski The Kingdom every summer and as many events as I can. I spent last winter working for Planks Clothing out in The Three Valleys, this winter I'm planning on being more UK based and doing a few different film trips here and there. I really enjoy skiing with The Snow Centre squad at Hemel and Tamworth is always good fun.
For myself skiing wise, I'd just like travel around, have lots of fun, do some tricks and hopefully have plenty of content to show for it when I'm an old man. My main goal is to spread the love I have for skiing onto as many people as possible in the UK and beyond. I currently have something in the pipeline, but it's still under wraps at the moment….
You recently did some coaching qualifications – something that CSS offered to the teams involved in last years league. Is that something you'd like to do more with and go further down this pathway as a career choice?
R: I did yes, thank you for that. Oh yea absolutely, if I had the opportunity to do so! We have something special here in the UK. Even if I didn't take it up as a full time career, I would still be as heavily involved as I could be within the sport.
It's clear you have masses of talent at Stoke from 5 year old Hunter to some of the more well known names such as Justin Taylor-Tipton. Why do you think Stoke has such a vibrant scene and how do you personally approach helping such a wide range of kids and adults all at different levels to progress on their skiing week in week out?
R: I've said it many times and I'll say it again, it's all about the vibes. I do my best to give as much coaching and guidance as I can in the most relaxed manner, but generally at Stoke everyone helps each other. We all get as stoked on each other's tricks, as if we were the one landing them for the first time. That is the key to a positive environment for the progression of action sports I think.
What place does freestyle play in the grand scheme of things at Stoke? The owners and managers must be pretty chuffed at the talent that is being home grown out of the Stoke Ski Centre? Do you have support for new features or is that down to the freestyle crew to take care of?
R: Well, freestyle isn't the bread and butter at Stoke but we do have a history of producing some of the most talented skiers and snowboarders over the years. They should be stoked – I would hope! We get some support yes, but most of the features are made up from wood, recycled metal and gas pipes etc. However, there are still lots of projects to be done that we don't have the money for yet. A lot of the stuff that happens is down to the freestyle crew and volunteers.
OK thats probably enough questions for now. Anything else you'd like to add?
R: Keep an eye out for everyone. #StokeMassiveYo and check out these videos:
Stoke Section – from "God Save The Scene" (The Ski The Kingdom…
Throwback to the many fun sessions at Stoke Ski Centre Snowsports filming this section for "God Save The Scene" (The Ski The Kingdom Film)Full Film available free online now… https://vimeo.com/192959529#SkiTheKingdom
Posted by Ski The Kingdom on Thursday, 20 April 2017


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Road Trip Wednesday
Kaitlin Ward is the author of Bleeding Earth, Adaptive Books 2016, and The Farm, coming 2017 from Scholastic.
- Blogger Comments
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4 comments:
So I pushed her on the center swing, smelling the rain in her hair, my hands making little splashes on her soaked dress, and I didn't worry about tomorrow, or heaven, or college, or a little girl clutching a ridiculous pink pig. - Now I Knew You by Ron EstradaReplyDelete
"It is heavy and oppressive, seeming to suck not just light out, but everything, the way a black hole would." --The Game by Hiliary McCarthyReplyDelete
"I throw myself against the rock, clinging to the one thing that hasn't let me down. Rock stands. Rock's solid, and even though I know all about erosion, how rock deteriorates under prisoner's hammers, climber's grips, drops of water, I'm in no position to doubt it." --Phantom SpringsReplyDelete
The usual mass of turkey vultures and ravens soared above, sinisterizing the turrets even more.--Crow's RestReplyDelete


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Monday, May 26th, 2014
I'm talking about the Medieval Christian women mystics.
Julian of Norwich
Bigitta of Sweden
Mechthild of Magdeburg,
Teresa of Avila
Clare of Assisi
Hildegard of Bingen
Margery Kempe
To name a few.
These were strong, independent women who wanted more than domestic life.
Many entered the monastery where they could read and study and pray.
They wrote, they composed music, they founded and managed monasteries.
And they were passionate wild women.
At home with the intuitive and the practical.
As Carmen Acevedo Butcher says in the book A LITTLE DAILY WISDOM these women were "original, extreme, direct and frank". They were risk takers.
No one had to tell them speak up to have impact. They left fortunes and approval to be their unique selves. Some were happily married with children multi-tasking family and spiritual work. All served the poor and the sick in a hands on way. They were leaders. They got things done. They walked their own path when women didn't.
From–Clare of Assisi, letters– (words of encouragement to other women)
What you hold, may you always hold.
What you do, may you always do.
Never abandon it.
With the swiftest, lightest steps
that stir no dust,
and on feet that don't stumble,
many you walk securely into the future
with joy and speed
along the path of wisdom, happy.
May your steps be practical and sure,
As the Spirit of the Lord calls you.
I am so enjoying reading their quotes. They pull no punches.
Nicely astringent when so much religious talk gets soft and muddy.
Now, remember, they were passionately in love with God. Brazenly.
They must have driven people crazy! Good for them.


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SYDNEY MIGHT HAVE PIONEERED IT but now Melbournians are laying claim to it in Port Phillip local government
area. There. locals are setting up their own community composting system and it's not unlike its Sydney predecessor.
A couple Aerobins have been installed as well as a timber receptacle for dry, carbon-rich materials that are an important pat of the composting process. Here, shredded news and office paper, dried leaves an grass can be left to add to the nitrogen-rick food waste in the bins. A lack of carbon materials led to an infestation of cockroaches that affected the Pace Park community composting system in Sydney.
Find the location of Port Phillip community composting.
Take a look at the Port Phillip installation at their blog.


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Press Releases
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed Mark Sickles for House Delegate of the 43rd District. He is one of 107 openly LGBTQ candidates to be endorsed in the 2019 election cycle.
"I am honored and humbled by their endorsement and look forward to working with other LGBTQ members and allies in the Virginia House of Delegates," says Delegate Mark Sickles.
ALEXANDRIA, VA– The Supreme Court takes final action to confirm constituional maps for the Virginia House of Delegates. In a 5-4 ruling for the case, Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, the majority opinion stated that Republicans lack standing in their appeal of racially gerrymandered districts. Justice Ginsburg gave the majority opinion, joined by Justice Thomas, Justice Gorsuch, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan.
ALEXANDRIA, VA- On May 13, Delegate Sickles recognized and memorialized Wesley Charles Lipicky, a nine year old boy killed in a tragic school accident one year ago this month. HB 1753 was ceremonially signed into law at the Franconia Firehouse by Governor Ralph Northam. The bill's provisions, if followed by school divisions across the Commonwealth, will prevent another such accident from ever occurring.
Calling All Virginians Aboard
Discover more of Virginia with 15% off Amtrak trips within Virginia and DC
RICHMOND, Va. – On the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Virginia House Democrats today re-committed to the fight for paid family leave.
RICHMOND, VA. – This morning, Delegate Mark D. Sickles (D-43) introduced non-partisan bills to bolster state oversight of the general registrars and the local electoral boards in the Commonwealth. HB 1250 provides the State Board of Elections, through the Department and the Commissioner of Elections, authority to ensure the retraining of local electoral boards and general registrars who have not complied with all applicable state and federal, laws and regulations.
RICHMOND, VA. – Last week, Delegate Mark Sickles (D-43) introduced HB 348, a bill that requires the Virginia Board of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to submit a plan to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services that expands access to Medicaid for low-income parents and childless adults, and people with disabilities.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Yesterday, Delegate Mark Sickles (D-43) completed filing for re-election for the Virginia House of Delegates' 43rd District seat. Delegate Sickles has served in the House of Delegates for more than 13 years and is seeking his 8th term in office.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Federal District Judge Claude M. Hilton today extended Virginia's voter registration deadline until 11:59 p.m., tomorrow, Friday, October 21, 2016.
On the previous October 17, 2016, deadline, the Department of Elections online registration system crashed due to historic and unprecedented activity. According to one county registrar, thousands of citizens were denied access to the November 8 election.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Today, Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30) and Delegate Mark Sickles (D-43) introduced legislation in their respective bodies of the General Assembly to repeal Article I Section 15-A of the Constitution of Virginia and §§ 20-45.2 and 20-45.3 of the Code of Virginia.


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Search results
Hardin County Horse Banquet
The sixth annual Hardin County Horse Banquet will be held on Saturday, February 22 at the Kenton ... February 19 from the following Hardin County Horse Club Advisors or committee members: Jolene Buchenroth, ... Banquet will include a salad bar and pizza buffet with dessert. The purpose of the Hardin County Horse ...
Plan to Attend the Farm Transition/Succession Workshop
County. It is preferred that you call the Extension office to register and send in your registration fee ... Marrison from Coshocton County. On the first Day of the workshop David will discuss the key questions to ... have questions about registering feel free to call the Hardin County Extension Office at 419-674-2297 ...
Hardin County Royalty and Scholarship Applications
Committee, Hardin County Sheep Improvement and Hardin County Cattle Producers) have made available their ... Poultry Royalty Hardin County Lamb and Wool Queen Hardin County Sheep Improvement Scholarship Hardin ... Applications are being sought for various Scholarships and Royalty positions. Hardin County ...
New Pesticide Applicator Training
A class to help farmers prepare to become private pesticide applicators has been planned for ... January 30 at the Hardin County Extension office, 1021 West Lima Street, Kenton. In Ohio, pesticide ... fungicides. This class will begin at 12:30 pm and end at 4:30 pm. There is a $25 registration fee which ...
Calendar of events
Mark your calendar for some great events happening soon! Environmental Film Series-A Life in ... January- Ashland, Ohio- Thursday, January 23rd Join the Alumni Club of Ashland County for a friendly ... networking event with fellow alumni, friends, and family. Community Service: My Very Own Blanket Assembly- ...
Hardin County Dairy Banquet
represent the Hardin County Dairy Service Unit by promoting the dairy industry in parades, events during the ... The annual Hardin County Dairy Banquet will be held on Saturday, February 15 at 12:00 noon at the ... 2019 Hardin County Fair are eligible for a half-price ticket ($8). All tickets must be prepaid to ...
Sesquicentennial Scholars making waves
County Dairy Ambassador. I'm able to work while attending classes, and I love my job at an elementary ... Sciences. To learn more about the Sesquicentennial and the events surrounding the celebration click here! ... class honorary, Romophos, which raises money for Community Refugee and Immigration Services. I've also ...
Game Watch: OSU vs Michigan- Wooster, Ohio
Tip off is at 7:00, come enjoy the game with your fellow CFAES Alumni! ...
Open Networking event: Business Won!- Sunbury, Ohio
Coffee/tea and breakfast treats supplied. Hosted by the Sunbury Business Group of Delaware County The event ... Network with like-minded professionals in the Big Walnut area. Come and grow your business with ...
Support future students by remembering CFAES in your will
An up-to-date estate plan is your most effective tool for protecting the security of your loved ... ones. But did you know you can also use your estate plan to support CFAES? When you include a gift to ... The Ohio State University Foundation in your will or trust, you join a group of instrumental ...


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Dunsborough Region
Dunsborough is the premier holiday destination on the West Australian coast. One of the most popular holiday locations in WA, Dunsborough boasts some of the best Shopping, Food & Wine options outside of the Perth metro area. Boutiques, Cafes, Restaurants, Wineries, Galleries, Beauty Spa's, Gifts & Souveniers and Supemarkets are all conveniently located in the Dunsborough Village. The town is tucked in the Lee of Cape Naturaliste on the quiet shores of Geographe Bay and is the ideal base from which to explore the many attractions of the Margaret River Wine Region.
Secluded Bays, Calm Waters and on the West Coast - World Famous surfing breaks, offer many water based activities including diving on the HMAS Swan wreck. There is Whale Watching, wonderful Walk Trails and many interesting places to explore such as Eagle Bay, Meelup, Yallingup & Indijup. A wide range of accommodation is available ranging from 5 Star Resorts to Relaxed Beach Shacks and secluded Bush Chalets. Now is the time to come and start relaxing Down South in Dunsbrorough.
For more information on the region go to geographebay.com


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The Suite is furnished in the French Revival style. The queen size bed is adorned with a copper crown with cascading silk and lace drapery. On each side of the bed is matching green marble nightstands. A memory foam sleep system ensures a good nights rest. Additional furnishings included; Antique Black Marble washstand, Queen Anne wing back chair, Vanity chair, Full length mirror, and a beautiful blue Art Nouveau area rug. Some of the many amenities includes; Four full bed pillows, White noise generator, Radio alarm clock, Full closet with two spa robs and assorted clothes hangers, Iron with ironing Board, and Hair dryer.
In addition to having a separate private bathroom in the suite, your bedroom has a shower, and a pedestal sink with soap, shampoo, and fluffy bath towels, hand towels and wash clothes.
Private Bathroom
The Suite
Bedroom Chamber
Pamper yourself in the Suite's Private Bathroom, a separate room within the suite. There is an extremely long claw foot tub know as a laying tub. Also, another old fashioned pedestal sink, and comode. Plenty of fresh clean fluffy bath towels, hand towels and washclothes. Amenities include; Soap, Shampoo, Bath oils, Milk bath, Powders, Lotions, Bubble bath, Scented air freshner, Cotton balls, Tissue box and Qtips.
Private Sitting Chamber
Relax in a comfortable Private Sitting Chamber, another room within the Suite. Read, watch TV, or enjoy a Movie on the 29 inch cable television with VCR player. Furnishings include a Chase lounger, Over stuffed chair with Ottoman, Mood lighting, Pillows and blanket , Coffee table, Books and magazines, and beautiful Stained glass windows.
Guest rooms are serviced, cleaned and sanitized daily.
Come be our honored guest and treat yourself to complete luxury.


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This Idli Sambar recipe / Instant Sambar for idli is a perfect and heavenly combo with hot steaming idli's. I have already shared shared a hotel style tiffin sambar, which is little bit lengthy that calls for roasting and grinding. But this sambar is really an instant version which can be prepared under 25 mins. This is a signature recipe of my mom, she usually prepare this sambar for our guests along with idli, medu vada, kichadi or ven pongal. Addition of bengal gram is a twist to the recipe which adds more taste and I suggest to use homemade sambar powder than ready made ones. Finally, I have shared this recipe with a short YouTube video, If you like the video, please Like it, Share it and don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
Checkout youtube video below with step wise instructions
Idli Sambar Recipe | Instant Sambar for Idli
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Breakfast / Tiffin
Preparation + Cooking Time : 25 Mins | Serves : 2 to 3
- Toor Dal -- 1/2 Cup
- Bengal Gram / Channa Dal -- 1/4 Cup
- Small Onion / Shallots -- 10
- Green Chilli -- 4
- Tomato -- 4
- Turmeric Powder -- 1/8 tsp
- Sambar Powder -- 2 tsp
- Salt -- As Required
- Jaggery / Sugar -- 2 tsp
- Coriander Leaves -- For Garnishing
- Mustard Seeds -- 1 tsp
- Urad Dal -- 1/2 tsp
- Jeera / Cumin seeds -- 1 tsp
- Methi Seeds -- 1/4 tsp
- Red Chilli -- 1
- Hing -- 2 Generous Pinch
- Curry Leaves -- 2 Sprig
- Oil / Ghee -- 1 Tblsp
1. Peel the skin of shallots. Chop shallots, tomatoes and slit green chilli. Keep by side.
2. Rinse toor dal and bengal gram well. Pressure cook both the dals, with 1.5 cup of water and a pinch of turmeric powder for 4 to 5 whistles.
3. In a pan, pour 1/2 tblsp of oil add shallots and saute till transparent. Then add green chilli and tomatoes. Saute again and cover it with a lid, till the tomatoes turns mushy and leaves all the water.
4. Now pour dal water, once it starts to boil add turmeric powder, sambar powder and required salt. Mix well and boil for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Mash the dal well and add it to the boiling dal water. Boil for another 3 to 4 minutes and switch off.
6. In a small pan pour 1/2 tblsp of oil / ghee and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add urad dal, methi seeds, jeera, red chilli and curry leaves.
7. Add the tempered ingredients to the hot sambar. Finally add jaggery / sugar and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve this instant sambar with hot idli.
1. Bengal gram can be replaced with moong dal / masoor dal.
2. This sambar cannot be prepared with toor dal alone, as it doesn't taste like idli sambar. The whole taste depends on the addition of bengal gram.
3. Adjust green chilli as per spiciness required. If you want it more on the spicier side increase green chilli.
4. Use green chilli only, which adds more taste for this instant sambar for idli.
5. Shallots can be replaced with regular onions, but shallots lends more taste.
6. Use the mentioned number of tomatoes, as we don't use tamarind in this recipe. Also the tanginess in the tomatoes is enough.
7. This sambar taste good with shallots alone. But veggies like carrot, brinjal, drumstick, potato etc can be used.
8. This idli sambar recipe should be in the watery consistency only, not too thick.
9. Tempering at last, helps to retain the flavour for a long time.
10. Use ghee for tempering which adds excellent aroma to this sambar.
11. Also add hing and curry leaves generously while tempering.
12. Addition of jaggery / sugar is a must, as it gives a restaurant touch to the sambar.


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About Us
Valued Partners
It takes a lot to make a farm function day to day. Many different organizations and individuals help to make what we do a reality:
Our friend Sarah Ryan has been an incredible asset with her talented and steady hand. We've been fans of her artwork for years and we are so grateful that she was willing to create a new look for our farm. Visit her site http://www.sarahryanstudio.com/ to learn more about her and pick up a piece of art.
Vermont Compost Company gets things going every year with an incredible organic potting mix that we've relied on for several years now. They are a tremendous resource for regional farmers.
Johnny's Selected Seeds is our primary seed supplier. High Mowing Seeds provides us with our organic seed stock.
Over the Hill Slaughter House, Vermont Livestock and Slaughter and Spring Hill Poultry Processing process our pastured meat animals.
Grower's Discount Labels helps out behind the scene by printing up just about anything we need for labeling our products.
We couldn't do what we do without the help of the Farm Service Agency.
A few farms that inspire us:
- Roxbury Farm
- Nature's Harmony Farm
- Johnson's Backyard Garden
- Harmony Valley Farm
- Full Circle Farm


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We understand that not everyone loves going to the dentist. However, at Willow Dental, we are committed to making your experience with us as pleasant and stress free as possible.
That's why we're focused on giving you peace of mind and ensuring your comfort before, during and after your dental visits with us. To facilitate this, we offer sedation to provide an anxiety-free dentist visit. This includes wisdom teeth extractions and all services we offer at Willow Dental.
We offer sedation for patients who:
Under the influence of sedation, you will be relaxed and won't even remember the procedure afterwards. This service is just one more thing we do in the interest of our valued patients.Back


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Have y'all been shopping the TpT sale? I have, of course. Me shop??? No way! If you are anything like me, you are not only thinking about what you'll be doing for the next 3 weeks, you are also thinking about next year. Don't be embarrassed, you know you are planning for next year. Because as much as we all can't wait to spend a summer recuperating, we also are equally excited about a fresh start and how we're going to kick a little teacher butt next year and be even better. That's what makes teachers AMAZING! I just love y'all!!!
I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite products to finish off the year, as well as some things that are really working for me. Some are my products, some are just amazing products by my teacher friends. So here they go:
This first product is one of my favorite creations of all time. I really wanted a way to celebrate my kiddos and their differences. Giving everyone a candy bar or the same old certificate just didn't seem special to me. I wanted something my kiddos would get excited about. They love my treasure chest because it's the Dollar Tree in a box, so I thought it would be fun to buy them each something from the Dollar Store that would represent something about their personality.
1. I get to go shopping!
2. They get something fun!
3. They are just cute and a fun way to end the year.
This product was a top 10 best seller last year and everyone who used them, loved them. In fact the parents were most impressed. They come in color and black and white and all are editable, so you can easily type in the child's name and the date and your ready to go.
1. I get to go shopping!
2. They get something fun!
3. They are just cute and a fun way to end the year.
This product was a top 10 best seller last year and everyone who used them, loved them. In fact the parents were most impressed. They come in color and black and white and all are editable, so you can easily type in the child's name and the date and your ready to go.
The next two products were also in the top 10 on TpT's List. A few years ago I decided to take the Common Core and create activities and printables for my students to practice over the summer. My pack has never been just a bunch of worksheets, but activities that really help them practice the standards. These packs also includes a leveled reading list of popular books for your student's parents to help them find appropriate texts for their children to read during the year.
Here are few pictures of the kindergarten to first pack. I actually bound it into a book that my own kiddo could take on the go as we traveled during the summer. It was 2 dollars to bind it at Staples. For my student I copy and staple their books.
This is what is included in my summer packs. These are samples from the Kindergarten Review.
If you are thinking about next year and your sick of thinking about morning work, check out my morning menus. These activities are easy to manage and do a spiral review of the Common Core for grade 1. My kiddos love them! If you grab the bundle, it's already discounted, so you'll be getting a great deal for the whole year. These are also great to be used for your fast finishers. Never hear, "what do I do now?" again.
One of the best printable sellers of all time on TpT are my helpers. I would never have imagined how much they have saved my life. Just say, "Check your Helper!" Not only do these replace the huge desk nameplates that your kids never use, they also help you from spelling every word, but also save space while providing your kiddos with all the info they need.
Another pack to help you save space is my anchor chart pack. You can grab my Read Like a Rockstar Anchor chart pack. These save space and help you introduce all the major reading comprehension skills needed in grades K-3
Finally, speaking of rock stars, this product is something I won't live without. I absolutely love Cara's Fluency packs. If you don't have them, buy them now. They are so great for intervention.


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December 20, 1991, Section C, Page 17Buy Reprints
Vincente Minnelli's 1950 "Father of the Bride" is an affectionate reminder of the days when parties required stiff protocol, suburban life was martini-filled and gracious, a majority of one's college classmates were likely to be married and a father was truly a patriarch, valiantly meeting the fiscal and emotional needs of everyone in his household. It's an antique with a story that doesn't quite track in a world where Mother runs a business and Daddy's little girl plays basketball.
But "Father of the Bride" has been charmingly if improbably remade, with Steve Martin as the embattled father who suffers new indignities at each stage of his daughter's wedding plans. Mr. Martin, following in the very large footsteps of Spencer Tracy, is meant to be a sturdy, house-proud businessman and the long-married, devoted father of a 22-year-old daughter. He's not believable in any of these capacities, but he can be very funny, especially when the director, Charles Shyer, gives him room to depart from Tracy's indelible performance and make the role his own.
Mr. Martin, whose presence here probably has more to do with his success in "Parenthood" than anything else, is first seen sitting in an armchair exactly as Tracy did, rubbing his sore feet and surveying the ruins of an extravagant wedding party. The film then flashes back to the point at which George Banks (Mr. Martin) and his wife, Nina (Diane Keaton), learned that their little Annie (Kimberly Williams) may be leaving the nest.
The nest itself has moved to southern California from a starchier East Coast setting and is now conspicuously cluttered and brand-new. There's nothing about it that looks lived in, which is in keeping with the remake's artificial flavor. Still, this house becomes an interesting echo of the earlier film's exaggeratedly gracious setting. This "Father of the Bride" is filled with evidence of how the idealized vision of American family life has changed in the last 40 years, from the fact that the cost of throwing the wedding has multiplied by nearly a hundredfold to the absence of alcohol-related humor, which was a big staple of the earlier version.
This time, when the Bankses go to meet their wealthy prospective in-laws, George doesn't drink too much and talk their ears off, as Tracy did. He experiences a sudden fit of nosiness and winds up floating in his hosts' pool, clutching their bankbook while being snarled at by their guard dogs, in a routine that is much better suited to Mr. Martin's comic talents.
Some of the new film's other efforts to broaden the story are less successful, like the episode that has George going berserk in a grocery store and winding up in jail as a consequence of pre-wedding pressure. As for the wedding itself, it turns out to be overlong and anticlimactic, and it tries too hard to draw tears. The new film contains a lot more sentimental heart-to-heart talks than the earlier one did.
Mr. Martin is always the comic centerpiece of "Father of the Bride," while Ms. Keaton has been given a matronly role and much less to do. Ms. Williams, who must compete with the memory of a radiant young Elizabeth Taylor in the bride's role, does a spirited job of making the character more modern. (Ms. Taylor's most memorable line, cooing to her father about her husband-to-be's occupation: "Well, I don't know, Pops, he makes something. Does it really matter what it is?")
Kieran Culkin, playing the bride's little brother, has the same scene-stealing confidence his older brother Macaulay does. Also in the film are B. D. Wong and Martin Short as a pair of wedding consultants who are too flouncy to be entirely funny. Mr. Short, with a fussy coiffure and an indecipherable accent (he says "kek" for "cake"), strongly recalls Bronson Pinchot's hilariously bizarre art-gallery assistant in "Beverly Hills Cop."
The screenplay, credited to Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Nancy Meyers and Mr. Shyer, represents recycling at its best. The material has been successfully refurbished with new jokes and new attitudes, but the earlier film's most memorable moments have been preserved. One of these finds Mr. Martin struggling to squeeze into his old suit of formal clothes just as Tracy did, although in Mr. Martin's case it's a tuxedo with a ruffled shirt, circa 1975; Tracy wore a cutaway with top hat and tails. That's the difference between the first, formal "Father of the Bride" and the new one, in which condoms and seat belts and running shoes are part of the world.
"Father of the Bride" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It includes mild profanity. Father of the Bride Directed by Charles Shyer; screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, and Nancy Meyers and Mr. Shyer; director of photography, John Lindley; film editor, Richard Marks; music by Alan Silvestri; production designer, Sandy Veneziano; produced by Nancy Meyers, Carol Baum and Howard Rosenman; released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: 101 minutes. This film is rated PG. George Banks . . . Steve Martin Nina Banks . . . Diane Keaton Annie Banks . . . Kimberly Williams Matty Banks . . . Kieran Culkin Bryan MacKenzie . . . George Newbern Franck Eggelhoffer . . . Martin Short Howard Weinstein . . . B. D. Wong


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Not every man can look like Daniel Craig. Ohh, what I mean cannot look good like the hottest men in hollywood. However, thanks to StarBlu, for making men's swimwear a no longer has to be a fashion faux-pas.
So, now men could worry no more for there is an online beachwear botique that has got everything and every style that they are looking for, such as unique trunks, smart sandals or cool shirts at Starblue.com you sure will find it all.


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When life changes to be harder,
Change yourself to be stronger,
What hurts you today,
Makes you stronger tomorrow.
– Edwin Mamerto
Life is unpredictable, life is rigid. But hey, it is going to be a bed of roses, said no one ever.
Life can throw its most arduous challenges when you least expect them, or, rather, when you expect too much of it. It might put you in a vulnerable position with a feeling of falling between the cracks of decisions, reality, dreams and hard luck. You might not get what you always expect, or, there might be circumstances that you cannot control, but that one thing that you will always have in your possession is your choice. The choices you make, define you and the person you want to be. You can choose to fall apart, or, you can choose to swim harder, rise up from the giant wave that pulled you deep under, fight like it's your last chance of survival, and continue living stronger and more determined than ever.
I have gone through a lot of highs and lows in the past couple of years and although I would not say I have been enlightened by the power of wisdom, there is certainly a lot that I have learnt, which I would love to share with you guys in my upcoming posts. 🙂
I have always been fascinated with anything that portrays classic and rustic. Every morning I would wake up and look outside the window, admiring this beautiful red vintage car parked outside our house, and wonder, how beautiful would a photo shoot look with it.
So we decided to do one before the car disappears. The shoot was done almost a year ago and I have been contemplating ever since, about putting up the post for I had accidentally lost 80 percent of the images, especially the ones that were shot in front of the car. But as I was going through the photographs the other day, I felt that, even though I did not get what I wanted, the pictures that survived deserved a chance. If nothing else, for the effort that we put in.
I am ought to say that the more number of blogs I post and share with you guys, the more connected I feel with you. Hope you feel the same.
Do leave your precious comments if you liked this entry.
Outfit Details:
Blouse and Skirt: Ali Express
Shoes : Aldo
Bag: Myntra
Concept, Styling, Modelling, Edit: Smita Roy Majumder
Photography: Team S&T


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We're designing products, services, and experiences that improve people's lives—and we need your help. As a nonprofit design organization, we rely on donations from people like you to continue creating new solutions, pushing the edges of design for innovation, and creating more human-centered problem solvers. We're fortunate to have thousands of supporters, too many to list. Here are some of our most generous donors.
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