text:
While driving home with my sweet Lexi today, this was our conversation.
Lexi - Mom, are we driving on the freeway?
Me - No Lexi. This is "Adams".
Lexi - Oh.
Lexi - What's the next street name? "Eves?"
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Lexi's Thoughts. (Age 4)
While driving home with my sweet Lexi today, this was our conversation.
Posted by Kristi at 10:21 PM 1 comments
Monday, September 27, 2010
When did my daughter's hands get so big? And other things I've learned about the First Grade.
This morning, I got some snuggle time in with Haley. She's 6. And she's growing so fast. I swear kids age in dog years.
So while we were laying there playing with Star Wars Figurines (don't all 6 year old girls start the morning playing with Star Wars Figurines?) I was just staring at her hands. Taking apart C3P0, putting him back together again. Holding the Storm Trooper & shooting his tiny gun. And all I kept thinking, was how big her hands were. Those could not possibly be the sweet tiny hands that used to grip my fingers, could they?
Yet here she is...6 years old. A first grader.
She's doing so well. She loves her class. She loves her teacher. I have learned that people are very opinionated about what teachers they like and don't like at Haley's school. (Though I'm sure that is universal). All I know is that I think her teacher was made for her. She is very structured and very strict. But she pours out her heart to those kids and loves them all so much. Haley used to volunteer in her classroom after school last year, and she really wanted her as her teacher. I'm so glad they were paired up. On the first day of school she came home and announced, "Well, I'm not going to get away with ANYTHING this year!" My heart might have done a little leap of joy. And it's true. She hasn't gotten away with a thing. And I love it!
Here are some pictures from her Back to School Night
Our Family Tree
On Friday, I was in the classroom helping. I think my favorite part of that morning was when I was doing crafts in the back with the kids and Haley was at the craft table with two other boys. As soon as they got there, they started talking in Star Wars Lingo about different toys they had. "I have the Storm Trooper Blaster Snow Lego Man Hans Solo Death Fighter Starship Something"... I don't know. It all sounded like the teacher in Charlie Brown talking to me. " Waah Waah Wahh Wahh Wahh... " But apparently, it was REALLY exciting to them, cause' their eyes were as big as saucers... in awe of each other's Star Wars Collection. Then Haley stands up quietly and whispers, "And I have some of these..." and proceeds to put her hands in her pockets and pull out two Darth Vader toys that she smuggled from home! "Haley, where did you get those?" I asked. She said, "I snuck them from home...I didn't want you to see them cause I thought I would get in trouble." To which I say, "But you know that you're showing them to me right now, right?" She smiled. Then the other little boy stands up and gently pulls a Boba Fett character out of his pocket. WHAT IN THE WORLD? It's like the Black Market for Star Wars toys in that first grade class.
So Haley has found herself in a classroom filled with Star Wars Freaks. They have matching backpacks, lunch boxes, and folders. They wear uniforms, so there are no matching clothes. But I'm sure they would be wearing the same underwear if I let Haley buy the Star Wars Underoos from the boys section that she wants. But you know...at some point you have to draw a line.
One other thing I've learned about first grade...they seem to be really diving into the idea of nutrition at her school. Which I'm all for. However, maybe they've learned a little too much when Haley points out people that are on the heavier side and says, "I think that person has had too many trans fatty oils." REALLY? Trans-Fatty Oils? Wow. Okay. Score one for Nutrition.
Also, score one for Reading. I love what a fabulous reader Haley is now. She wakes up every morning and reads to herself. It's a great activity that quiets her down and focuses her. I love to sit next to her and listen to her read. Hard to believe a year ago, she only new her ABC's, and now she is reading entire books.
This really is going to be a great school year. Curtis stepped up to be Room Dad. I was in a meeting one day, and he kept texting me about how big Haley was getting and how he wanted to spend some extra time with her this year...so he signed up to be Room Dad. And he's loving every minute of it. We have a great class, great teacher, great parents, and we have a little girl that we adore.
... A little girl whose sweet hands have reminded us of how quickly time goes by and we need to treasure every minute.
Posted by Kristi at 9:02 AM 1 comments
Thursday, August 26, 2010
God talks to me in the Garden.
...or maybe I just listen more when I'm in the garden.
Last weekend, Curtis and I spent a couple days re-doing our front/back yard.
There was one area where we used to have a little garden... but our lovely Golden Retriever decided she rather make that her territory, and basically trampled our plants. And the truth is, we got lazy at tending to it. So it got kind of grassy/weedy...and by "kind of", I mean, we were one step away from finding large animals hiding in there and re-opening our backyard as a zoo.
So, I finally said, enough is enough! Plants can't grow there, but we can pull up the weeds and put some mulch down and at least it will look nicer.
So we did.
And that was hard. I mean really hard. And it was hot. I mean really hot.
I believe it was approximately when I pulled up the 1,029th weed, I started to draw a parallel between weeds and sin. We never intended for that section of our yard to get out of control. But before too long, things just started to grow. And the roots started to get deeper. And when I finally got around to cleaning it up, the roots were so deep in some areas, it took all my might (plus a lot of sweat, and manly grunting) to get them out of the ground.
Isn't that the same as sin? It starts innocent enough. Maybe you mess up once, and don't really think about it. Or maybe you think you got away with it, so you do it again. Or maybe you rationalize that it's no big deal. Or maybe it just feels really good, so you keep doing it. It doesn't really matter how it starts... what matters is, if you don't tend to it...before too long, it takes over your life. And then it requires some major intervention to get it out of your life. I had my kids helping me... Curtis was bringing in mechanical tools...I mean, It had really gotten out of control. But with help, the weeds were gone.
Sometimes, we need help to get the junk...the weeds...the sin out of our life. That help begins with surveying the damage...looking out and seeing an ugly, messed up garden, and deciding something's gotta change. Then asking for help to start pulling out the weeds.
The result can be something beautiful. And it will stay beautiful with constant watering...trimming...attention...care.
The same is true with our lives. We can't allow the roots of sin to find a place in our heart. We've got to constantly tend to our soul. In a sense, we have to allow God to be the gardener...supplying us with His light and His living water. Let him trim away all the parts that are not of Him...that are not eternal.
The result will be something beautiful.
John 15 1-8
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Posted by Kristi at 2:50 PM 4 comments
Monday, June 28, 2010
So you wanna know, huh?
I mentioned something about my menus for the week and how I stayed under $100 bucks to feed our family. Inquiring minds asked me to post some deets...so I thought I'd share with you how it went down.
Backstory... Curtis and I have spent way too much on food recently. You know, like pretending we have money, and then spending it. It's really ridiculous. We don't buy clothes, toys, or anything else other people do. But we really like to eat. And apparently, we REALLY like to spend money while doing it. So we get carried away every once in a while and come back to our senses and remember we have a budget and we need to stick to it.
So here's how we pulled it off.
Last night, I got out all the grocery ads. I went through each one and picked out the good deals...on things I would normally eat. Now here's the thing... I love me some Trader Joe's...but I decided not to go there this trip. Their produce can get spendy...and sometimes I don't like how it's packaged. Like if I only want one pepper, I should only buy 1. Not 3. So I looked to the other ads for some inspiration. And when I found the veggies I liked that were on sale... I based menus around them.
So for tonight... the menu was:
Chicken/Sour Cream/Green Chili Enchiladas.
Mexican Rice
Avocado/Corn Salsa with freshly squeezed lime / salted chips.
So how did I get there?
It started at 9:30am.
Trip to the (GASP) 99 cent store. Yep I did it. And I'm so not ashamed. It's full of great deals.
Here's why I went. The same pack of tortillas that I would buy in the store for $2.69. = 99cents.
12 limes - 99cents.
Bag of onions - 99cents
packaged red and orange peppers - 99cents
Organic black beans - 99cents
Watermelon - 99cents
Tomatos - 99cents
Need I go on?
There's no shame in my game. As long as you carefully select your produce... it's really the place to start your trip. So many deals. And most of it is local, so that's good too.
Then we went to VONS...
Here I got numerous other things... all of which were ON SALE... most of which I had COUPONS for.
But the items I needed for tonight... sour cream (store brand) - 1.50 and the secret ingredient to my dinner... a Rotissiere Chicken (cause I barely like chicken...I'm sure not going to cook one, then stuff my enchiladas with it). It was also on sale for 5.99.
After that we hit up Albertsons... where I bought the non-essential but such a good deal... 8 Starbucks glassed Frappucinos for 7.00. That's 8 for the price of 2 Frapps at Sbux. Yep. Good deal.
Then SPROUTs... where I hit the gold mine in fresh produce... LOTS OF GOOD DEALS TODAY! And All part of my recipes for the week! Only bummer... out of avocados. And their shredded cheese was WAY too expensive. So we had to go to Ralphs. Which I remembered from the ads had cheap cheese... and their organic avocados were only 1.50.
So in full disclosure... here's what I spent (rounded up)
99cent store - 12.00
Vons - 41.00 (bought sunscreen/toothbrushes too
Albies - 16.00
Sprouts - 23.00
Ralphs - 6.00
Total = 98.00
And dinner was divine. Everyone ate it. The in-laws even popped by to pick up something, and what started with "I'll just have a bite" turned into much more.
So that's how we did it.
I love knowing that the rest of the week is planned out. We have good food. And we stayed within our budget.
And if you'd like the recipe for the enchiladas... Please to enjoy.
12 corn tortillas
4 cups green chile sauce, recipe below
3 cups cooked minced chicken ( I just picked chicken off the store-bought rotisserie)
1 pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I only used an 8 ounce bag)
1/4 cup minced onion
1 to 2 cups sour cream
salt to taste
green chile sauce, below
Heat tortillas on griddle or in microwave or heat in oil until flexible; cover with a towel and keep warm. Make green chile sauce, below. Mix one cup chile sauce with the minced chicken. Put 1/4 cup of the mixture on each tortilla and roll up. (* I also added a couple spoons of sour cream to the mixture). Place tortilla rolls, seam-side down, in a baking dish, cover enchiladas with shredded cheese and add onion if desired. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and return to oven for 10 minutes or until all is hot. Serve immediately.
Green Chile Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 cup minced onion 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup water 1 cup chopped green chiles salt to taste
Saute garlic and onion in oil in a heavy saucepan. Blend in flour; add water and green chile and mix well. Add salt. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
* I added a bit of sugar to my green chili sauce...it seemed like it needed it.*
Okay my friends... Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading! Now go save some money & eat home made food!!!!
Posted by Kristi at 7:48 PM 3 comments
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sea World Ban
Remember the movie the Matrix? Morpheous offered Neo two pills. If he took the red pill, he would realize what the Matrix was, and he would be pulled from it. He would know the truth. If he took the blue pill, life would go on as before. Nothing would change. Before Neo reached for the red pill, Morpheous said, " Remember, all I am offering is the truth...nothing more."
So, this week, I decided to choose the red pill. I wanted to know the truth.
Yeah, I know this sounds dramatic, but let me explain myself.
I have always loved sea life. Specifically dolphins. My room was decorated in dolphin decor throughout my childhood. I started college with a minor in marine biology so I could become a dolphin trainer at Sea World. (Yeah, that obviously did not work out.) I go to Sea World, and I cry at the mere beauty of these beautiful creatures. I LOVE DOLPHINS.
Perhaps you remember this little documentary called, "The Cove". It came out last year, and it won the OSCAR this year. I knew it was about dolphins. I knew it frowned upon captivity, and so I put off watching it because I didn't want to feel guilty about going to Sea World.
Turns out, everything I predicted turned out to be true. Time to cancel my Sea World Annual Pass.
Here's the story behind the movie...
Ric O'Berry who was the dolphin trainer in the old TV show, FLIPPER, is the man basically behind the idea of dolphins in captivity...and invented techniques used to train dolphins. He grew to realize that he had made a critical mistake in putting dolphins in captivity and has spent the past 30 years trying to undo the damage he created.
In this movie, he focuses on a small, coastal town in Taiji, Japan. A town that hunts bottlenosed dolphins. Why? It all comes down to money. Zoos and Aquariums are willing to pay top dollar for beautiful, bottlenosed dolphins that can be trained and used commercially... i.e, in Sea World shows. These dolphins will sell for an average of $150,000. The dolphins that are not selected are massacred. Literally, trapped in a cove. Left overnight. And then stabbed with spears the next morning. Leaving the ocean stained red with their blood. It is a horrifying image.
These massacres will continue to happen as long as people are paying for tickets and supporting aquariums/zoos who offer shows that feature dolphins or offer swim with dolphin programs.
The movie goes into greater detail of why dolphins do not belong in captivity. And you can also read more about it at:
As much as it pains me to know I may never again experience an interaction with a dolphin, I just can't support these animals in captivity anymore. I encourage you to watch the move and/or read these websites for more information.
Posted by Kristi at 9:48 PM 0 comments
Friday, May 14, 2010
A Birthday Letter.
Dear Lexi,
I can't not believe you've blessed our family for 4 years now. Well, technically 4 years and 9 months.
I can remember the day I realized you were growing inside of me. I just knew. In fact, I knew before science. They have tests you can buy in the store that tell you whether or not you are going to have a baby. I took a test on Friday. I didn't even tell your Daddy. He might've thought I was being silly, so I didn't want him to know until I was sure. That test told me no. But I didn't believe it. So, I took another one on Sunday morning before church. And it said yes. I KNEW IT! And Lexi, I was so happy, I got down on my knees and started crying and praying a prayer to God just saying, "thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you."
That day when daddy came home from church, your sister Haley was wearing a shirt that said, "BIG SISTER"... and he was SO surprised! Then he had to go on a trip to help people in Louisiana, so I didn't get to see him the rest of the week. But we told Grandma/Granddad & Grandma/Papa & Auntie Jen and Dodo on Friday night. We hid a pacifier in the bread basket that said, "Surprise!" And boy, were they surprised!
It was fun to have you in my belly. Even though you like weird food like McDonalds. (YUK!) Then all I wanted to eat was fruit...and I ate A LOT of fruit. Enough to give me diabetes. So, my doctor said, "NO MORE FRUIT!" Which made us both very sad!!! But I still think that is why you like fruit so much.
I knew you were going to be a girl on Christmas day of 2005. We had our nurse put your ultrasound in a secret envelope and we opened it on Christmas Day. I really thought you were a boy...but Lexi, I'm so glad you are a girl. God knew I needed you.
Here's how we told the world what your name was...
That's you inside of my belly!
You grew and grew and grew until it was time to go to the hospital. Mommy had to have a c-section, so we picked out your birthday. May 12th seemed like a really good day to us. This is a picture of us when we got to the hospital.
This is a picture of Mommy before the surgery. I was a little nervous.
Daddy was soooooo excited to meet you. Isn't he cute?
They told me it's time for surgery! Time for Lexi to be born! Now, Mommy is excited too!
Here is a picture of the doctors working on mommy so you can come out and see us.
And just a few minutes later, we had our first family picture taken...
You were finally here....
You sure found your fingers quick...
Your sister was in love with you at first sight...
We all were...
It was finally time to go home.
Oh look! The stork announced your birth! All 9lbs and 2oz of you!
We walked in those doors and began our new life with you. You have brought so much joy, so much laughter, and so much love to our family Lexi Mae.
Your Daddy and I love you with all of our hearts Lexi. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents.
Happy 4th Birthday!
Posted by Kristi at 8:37 AM 5 comments
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Scratchy Dishes.
I got kinda bummed putting my dishes away today. I noticed a lot of them are pretty scratched up. They were a wedding present, so to be fair they are over ten years old. But still, the scratches are hard for OCD people like me.
But as I bent over the sink, holding a plate in my hand, I started thinking about how many times those dishes were used. How many birthdays, dinners with family, parties with friends...How many good stories were shared over dinner....How much laughter filled the room over dessert...how many brownies were eaten while watching our favorite shows like Survivor or LOST.
And as each moment filled my mind, I started to like the way my scratchy dishes looked...because etched into each one, are sweet, precious memories.
Posted by Kristi at 2:46 PM 2 comments
Monday, May 10, 2010
While riding in the car, Lexi started singing a song. When she was done Haley said, "That was pretty Lexi. Sing it again."
Lexi said... "I can't. It's not in my brain anymore."
Posted by Kristi at 9:51 AM 0 comments
Friday, May 7, 2010
Pay no attention to the lady crying on the carousel.
Today was a beautiful day.
It was also an emotional one.
It started off with a Mother's Day Tea at Lexi's preschool. She was so excited for me to come to her classroom. And the morning did not disappoint. She sat on my lap. She sang a beautiful off -key song about Mother's Day. She made me a craft...painted in my favorite color. We shared a little sandwich and some juice together. And it was as if it was all happening in slow motion. She's growing up so quickly, I kept thinking. My heart's rhythm started to pick up the way it does before I start to cry. The tears were almost there...And then I would remind myself to stop and enjoy the moment.
Fast forward to tonight....
We took the kids to Disneyland after school. And it was just one of those perfect days. Not too crowded. The kids were in good spirits. And our little family of four was together for the first time in a long time...with no agenda. Just open to wherever the day would take us.
So many good conversations were had. So many laughs. So many smiles. So many "I wanna remember this moment" moments.
We got on to the ride, 'Finding Nemo' and I was sitting by Haley. I wish I had my phone handy to capture a picture. Instead, I will have to describe the moment. She was sitting in her little submarine chair, looking out her circular window, so wide-eyed and full of awe...so beautiful...and it was as if I almost couldn't breathe. I was so full of this amazing love for her, I thought my heart would burst. Literally burst. And the tears almost came again. Instead, I just simply leaned over and kissed her head. And said a silent prayer of a million thanks to God for blessing me with my daughter. I could not love her more. I could NOT.
And then an hour or two later, we were sitting outside on the boardwalk eating dinner. Lexi and I were finished and she wanted to go ride the carousel. "Can we ride the carousel Mommy?" Of course, I said. And so the two of us went ahead while Curtis and Haley finished dinner.
And as we were walking I just wanted time to stop. Cause I know that the wonder of the simple little carousel will soon not be enough to make my sweet little Lexi excited. And with that thought comes a thousand others...all based around my sweet baby growing up.
And those were the thoughts that captivated my heart as I sat on my sea otter and she on her fish and we rode the Little Mermaid Carousel. And each time she smiled her big smile, and laughed her big laugh, another tear would fall. I would inconspicuously wipe my eyes and hope that all the smiling parents taking pictures outside the ride wouldn't catch on to this super emotional mom that is just madly in love with her kids...willing time to stand still...and disappointed that it would not.
We got off the ride, and walked towards Curtis only to find him holding Haley like this...
Could the day be any richer?
I told Curtis I got all emotional on the carousel, to which he replied, "Why?" And as I started to tear up AGAIN, I said, "Check the blog later." "Really?" he says... "Check the blog? Is that what we've come to?" I laughed... but the truth is, today was just one of those days. The love is too thick, too much, too good. I can't even think about it without getting emotional. So it had to be written down.
Cause yeah, I'm the crazy lady that cries on carousels. I'm the one sitting alone in my house wiping my slobbering face with my sleeve cause I've run out of kleenexes...Cause I'm the one that has been blessed with a love greater than a deserve.
Posted by Kristi at 11:00 PM 3 comments
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Lexi drew Mickey Mouse today.
And though you may have a hard time picking him out, she pointed out every little attribute of Mr. Mouse.
She was very proud of herself.
I'm proud of her too. Mostly because, her drawing of Mickey Mouse shows more promise than mine.
Posted by Kristi at 8:16 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Feel the Love.
Tonight, I was driving in the car with my mom and the girls.
We passed by the hospital where Lexi was born, and I said "There's your hospital Lexi!"
The following is the remainder of our conversation.......
Lexi : That's where I was born.
Me: (feeling all sentimental) Yes it is.
Lexi: I don't want to have a baby.
Haley: Why, cause it's gonna hurt?
Lexi: I don't want to have a baby.
....perfectly setting up a moment that could be oh so sweet, my Mom says: But Lexi, Mommy had two babies, and look what she got.
Haley: A STRETCHY BELLY! That's what she got!
Posted by Kristi at 10:59 PM 1 comments
Monday, April 26, 2010
Reason #4692 I love Yoga.
Have I mentioned I like yoga? Oh, like is not the word. I love it. I really, really love it.
And the weird thing is, I just happened into it. Thought I'd give it a try. And now I spend every day thinking about when I can practice some more.
Why do I like it? So many reasons...
But here are a few...
It relaxes me.
It helps me focus.
I am slower to anger.
More hungry for peace.
I feel healthier.
I feel stronger.
And reason #4692?
It is healing my body. HUH? You say. Yes, it's true.
I have had undiagnosed leg pain for 15 years. 15 YEARS people! So many doctors, therapy, etc. My right side has been in pain since I was in Jr. High. Started with my hand and moved down to my leg. The leg pain is so severe at times it hurts to walk. Countless massages and physical therapy have only been a bandaid.
I hadn't slept on my right side since college.
Then I started yoga.
It's been 3 months of practicing at least twice a week.
And guess what? The pain is slipping away. I can sleep on my right side.
Yoga is helping me take back my body.
And I couldn't be more happy.
I take Vinyasa Style Yoga...which is power yoga. It is not easy. It is definitely a workout. One of my favorite things to hear my teacher say mid class is, "Whoever told you yoga was easy, lied to you to get you here." I think that is true.
All that to say, the class may be hard, but the rewards are plenty.
So try it. It may change your life and your body like it has changed mine.
Posted by Kristi at 10:42 PM 5 comments
Monday, April 19, 2010
Library Germs.
I took Haley to the library this afternoon. She got her first library card, and we had a pretty awesome time.
Then I went over to pick out a few books for myself, and I thought, "hmmm...why don't we do this more often?"
Then I thought...wow...these books go into a lot of different homes.
And I'm not saying it happens in my house, but I have been to a house or two where "reading material" is present in the bathroom.
So I just stood there...wondering...how many bathrooms have these books been in?
Yeah, you shouldn't let your mind go there. It can get pretty gnarly.
Posted by Kristi at 9:58 PM 5 comments
Picture Books.
I like looking at pictures. Sometimes more than words. For example....I usually read PEOPLE magazine more often than a wordy novel. (Which to be honest is a time thing more than anything else.) So for that reason, I thought I would just post some recent pics...with a word or two about each one to kinda catch you up on our life since I was missing from the blogosphere for awhile...
We spent a little time in Old World.
My sister had a beautiful baby girl named Kinley Grace. And I obviously need more pictures of her since I only have the delivery pictures to show.
But with the baby, came more time for me to spend with my niece, Emily.
Lexi and I went to the park with Cousin Emily.
We enjoyed the California Sun and have had some fun Beach Days.
We rode some tiny trains.
This came home in Haley's weekend packet...apparently she's really good at math!
She was also picked to help lead in chapel.
Peter Pan and Tink showed up at the house!
And my sweet husband made us some yummy homemade pizzas! That's Amore.
We've had some good times lately.
And that concludes my Picture Book.
The end.
Posted by Kristi at 9:23 PM 2 comments
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Blogging again. Oh, and Lexi is a Holy Roller.
I am a total slacker at this blog thing.
Life got busy. And let's face it...Facebook is a lot easier. Especially for those of us with ADD. A quick status update...and I'm out. Off to do 346 other things...and of course, not finish a one of them.
But here I sit, on a Sunday afternoon...with nothing to do. Well, I suppose I could clean my house which happens to look like a college dorm room at the moment. Or I could work on the garden, which appears to be turning into a tropical rain forest. Or I could scrub the toilets, which appear...ah well, I will stop there.
Instead, I think I will blog. I will give it another chance.
So what to talk about?
Well...lets see. A lot has happened recently...but I think I want to write down a story about my precious Lexi before I forget it.
We do this thing at our church...Baby Dedication. It's where the parents come up with their little tot and dedicate them...well, really, it's the parents saying that commit to raising them in a Godly manner, in a home where Christ is at the center. It's lovely. And they give the parents a rose to signify something (Which I forgot)...and they give the baby a little tiny Bible. You know...the tiny ones that you can barely read without putting on your bifocal glasses. The one that has no pictures and is in the King James Version...no offense...but neither of which are very "kid friendly."
So to be honest...Lexi's little Bible has sat in her dresser drawer for 3 years. She found it about 3 months ago, and carries it with her around the house. She will come up next to you and say, "Read me my Bible." And of course, you have to. You also have to translate it to a more "kid-friendly" version. But she loves this. I mean, she loves this little Bible like most kids love Dr.Seuss.
So now that you have that little backstory...tuck that away. We'll come back to it.
But first, you need to know this. We moved into our current home almost a year ago. We are friendly with our neighbors...everyone is very nice. But I have other friends that live in neighborhoods where there are kids everywhere...always coming and going. And I've always been a bit envious. I would love for my kids to have that.
So last week, we were outside playing, and the girls finally connected with some kids who live several houses down. Before I knew it, these kids were in my house, hanging out, playing. Which is cool. I liked it. But please keep in mind...we don't know these people at all.
So imagine my shock when I hear my sweet Lexi go up to this little 8 year old girl and say, "Can you please read me my Bible?"
Me. (Suddenly frozen...but waiting to see what happens.)
And the girl in her soft spoken voice says, "Okay?" Emphasis on the question mark...cause she really wasn't sure.
So here's what you need to know. I know the Bible isn't for everyone. I mean, well, it is...but some people aren't into it. I get that. And I am sensitive to it. Do I wish they would be? Of course. But I'm not so sure thrusting a little tiny King James Bible onto a girls lap and asking her to read Revelation is the way to bring something to Christ.
So then the little girl looks at Haley and says, "I don't have a Bible." And Haley says, "WHAT?" And she says, "I don't go to church." And I kid you not...my sweet, church mouse daughter DROPS THE TOY SHE HAS IN HER HAND, and says, "YOU DON'T GO TO CHURCH?"
Me. (In the kitchen making noise...getting real nervous and wondering how to handle it.)
"Haley" I say... "Not everyone goes to church."
"WHAT?" She says. She is completely confused.
Enter Lexi.
Lexi clueless about what is happening is persistent with her question... "Can you read me my Bible?"
Okay, now I realize this is getting a little crazy a little too quick. "Lexi, honey...Mommy will read it to you a little later. The girls are going to work on a craft now."
Lexi is okay with that. And she goes and takes the Bible away from the girl and then as if we are straight out of some crazy evangelistic movie, Lexi starts walking around the house with her Bible in her hand saying, "This is God's Holy Word...a light into my path...a lamp on my head." (Ah well, close enough.)
She must have said it about 10 times...over and over. And I am a crazy mixture of laughing to myself...cringing out of nervousness for the girl who probably thinks we are straight up Jesus Freaks and will never come over again...and also partially wondering if this isn't God moving/speaking through my child... Yep, all those feelings...all at once.
And right about that time, Lexi busts into the song "Waves of Mercy, WAves of Grace...Everywhere I look, I see your Face."
Seriously? When did my daughter turn into such an evangelist?
The truth is, it all made me a little nervous because I know that religion is such a polarizing topic. And although this wouldn't be the way I would choose to tell my neighbors about Jesus...I love the innocence of both my girls. I love their boldness. I love that they want to read the Bible, that they think everyone should go to church. I love that they are forming a relationship with Jesus that they want to share with their friends. I love what they are teaching me!
The good news is, we didn't scare the little girl off. She's been back over to our house since that day. So maybe my girls will keep building a relationship with her and who knows? The Little Holy Rollers might even lead her into the best relationship she could ever have....one with Jesus Christ.
Posted by Kristi at 3:03 PM 9 comments
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dear Haley.
As I drove you to school today, I loved listening to your precious, sweet voice sing songs to God. I love hearing you worship. You sang "I will exalt You. You are my God." And my heart was full.
When you told me you loved me, my heart was happy.
When Lexi told you she loved you, everything felt right.
When you closed the door to the car and started running off in your blue uniform dress, I thought about how I would miss you today and couldn't wait to pick you up and hang out with you all afternoon.
When you turned around and blew me a kiss, time stood still. Tears fell down. I felt so loved. So completely full. And so completely aware of how quickly time passes by...and how I wanted to treasure that moment for the rest of my life.
You are growing into such a beautiful young lady. I'm so proud to be your Mom. And as long as you want to blow me kisses...I will be here to catch them.
I love you sweet Haley.
Posted by Kristi at 12:16 AM 3 comments
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Hurt Billy Heel.
There is a hill on the road on the way to my mom's house. We've crossed that road so many times now. And each time, it gets a reaction out of the girls. When it was just itty bitty Haley, she would say "WEEE" and laugh. Now that she is older, and Lexi is around, they always giggle and ask the other, "Did it hurt your belly?"
Last night, I was in the car with my Mom and the two girls. We went over the hill and Lexi said, "See Grandma...it's the hurt Billy (belly) heel." (Sidebar: Both of my kids pronounce hill as heel most of the time, because I have a hard time correctly pronouncing that word as well.) So my mom says, "OH... that's what she is talking about!" Apparently the other day she was trying to describe this hill to my parents, but they could not comprehend what she was saying.
So fast forward to this morning. We took a different road, but going in the same direction as my mom's house. And Lexi says, "Where is the hurt billy heel?" And I told her we were on a different road, so we wouldn't go over the hill today.
BUT...I forgot there was a tiny bit of a hill, one that made her say "MOMMY! It was a little hurt billy heel...see I told you we would go over one." And I said, "You are right! It was like a mini hurt belly hill."
She interpreted "mini" as "Minnie"...you know...like the Mouse.
So she says, "Yeah...and we'll call the other one MICKEY hurt billy heel."
Posted by Kristi at 2:39 PM 2 comments
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A Dramatic Emotional Post about Fruit.
Tonight, Lexi and I ran to the store to grab a few items for the week ahead.
If you've had any sort of conversation with me recently, or have read a bit of my blog as of late, you know that we are on a super duper tight budget. Like 2 sizes too small of your favorite jeans tight.
The reason we went to the store was to pick up a few things on sale that went back to regular price tomorrow... one of those being grapes.
So we walk in. And let me pause and just say if you know my Lexi at all, you know that her voice is about 10 times her size. I think it has to do with hearing problems...coupled with an inheritance of loud voices on a certain side of the family (BRUCE.)
But I digress... we walk in, and she has her sale ad in one hand and with her booming voice declares... "There are the grapes. We need the grapes." And yes. We got the grapes because they were 69cents a pound... Then she pointed to the ad and proceeded to say "And we need the blueberries, and the strawberries and the raspberries too." (Sidebar: Lexi loves fruit like the desert loves the rain.) But the blueberries and the strawberries and the raspberries are not on sale, so I simply say...not today.
Yep. Not so simple. Because now we standing in front of the berries. "Here are the berries Mom." And I said, "We can't get the berries today...only the grapes." And then she points back to the ad and says (and by says I mean screams), "BUT THEY ARE ON SALE!"
At this point, I just had to lean down close and say, "Sweet Lexi... I know they are on sale, and I want them too...but they are just a little too much money right now." She looked up and me and said, "So we only get grapes?" And I said, "Yes, we only get grapes." "Okay Mommy" she says.
And honestly, I didn't think anything of it until I was just washing the grapes. The kids are in bed. Curtis isn't home. The house is quiet, and all I could think of was Lexi's sweet little voice asking for berries...but being okay that she only got grapes.
I wish I could give my kids the world. This week, I wish I could just give my kid berries. But tonight, I hope I gave her more than that. Because the reason I didn't buy the berries...the reason we're on this budget in the first place...is to be able to provide for them consistently, to not be in trouble financially, and to be secure in times of crisis. She won't get that now...but maybe one day she will.
Until then, we'll eat our grapes. We'll watch the ads. And we'll get those berries...eventually.
Posted by Kristi at 8:53 PM 7 comments
Friday, February 19, 2010
Olympic Gold.
It is February 18, 2010.
For as long as I live, I will never forget this night.
It started out great as Curtis and I got to go hear Rob Bell speak. Good stuff.
Then we came home to find Evan Lysacek starting his Olympic long program skate. So exciting.
At 11:23, I heard a door open, and a comatosed Haley walked out mumbling something about being thirsty.
We gave her some water.
She saw the Olympics were on and started talking about hockey. (Earlier in the day, I had mentioned how I was bummed I wouldn't get to see the olympics tonight, so she said she would watch them for me.) "I watched the Olympics for you mom...Hockey."
Then Curtis said, "You wanna snuggle up with us and watch some more ice skating?"
So we have spent the past hour on the couch watching ice skating. You've got to understand how much I LOVE the Olympics! And to be able to watch them with my very tired daughter (i.e. snuggly), and then to watch Evan WIN THE GOLD... it was just a moment of pure perfection.
What a great night! Hurray for the Olympics. Hurray for Evan. Hurray for sweet family memories.
Posted by Kristi at 12:19 AM 3 comments
Sunday, February 14, 2010
If you ever think it might be a good idea to show your kid an animal planet special on bats...specifically VAMPIRE BATS who drink people's blood... it's not.
While I was in the other room, Curtis was watching said special with Haley. This was at 4:50pm. It is now 9:54. And after consoling her throughout the night, and trying to explain how those exist in a completely different part of the world and she will never see them, she is sobbing in her bed about the bats.
Hmmm....let's stick to the cartoons instead next time love.
Posted by Kristi at 9:53 PM 3 comments
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I eat like a Queen.
So since we eat at home all the time now, I don't want to get bored with what we eat...so I started buying more interesting food.
Can I just say how awesome our dinner was tonight?
Warmed pita bread with Tabouleh salad. If you haven't had Tabouleh salad before it is SO DELICIOUS.... It's made with chopped fresh parsley mixed with bulgar (crushed wheat), chopped green onion, tomato, fresh mint, spices, extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
Yeah. SO GOOD.
Then Curtis grilled up some chicken/apple sausage with Grilled peppers and onions. I told him I only wanted a bite, but couldn't stop eating it.
The best part is... I added up how much all of that food was... $5.46 for BOTH OF US!
Now I look forward to tomorrow's lunch... shrimp / lime tacos.
Seriously. I eat like a queen.
Posted by Kristi at 9:32 PM 2 comments
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Just a Thought...
A friend of mine was telling me about a song that asks the question, "What if in the next life you were forced to live off of what you GAVE in this life."
It's a question that cut deep to my heart.
Because seriously, what if?
Don't be afraid to give. I believe in tithing to my church. Trust me, it's an act of faith each month. But it's liberating. It's a freeing act of obedience. But if you aren't a believer...that won't be for you. What is for you? A Charity? A Cause? A Country? There are so many people/organizations that need our help.
Don't be afraid to give.
Posted by Kristi at 10:38 AM 2 comments
Saturday, February 6, 2010
On the same team.
Since Curtis and I have been married, we've been REALLY serious about our finances two times. The first time was when we were buying our first house. The second time is now.
There is something about focusing our energy towards the same goal that brings us closer together.
I look back with the fondest of memories about our time in Vegas...saving for our house. Cutting coupons, shopping at Wal-Mart, buying the cheapest food possible, not going out, eating lunch in the breakroom at work while our friends went out, not shopping for anything other than what we needed....you get the gist of it.
Anyway... we met our goal. And it was such an accomplishment for us.
We're no where near our current goal, but each day, I have so much hope and anticipation of what the next day, week, month, year will bring. We are in this together. And that is bringing us closer to each other.
I love him so much. I'm glad we're on the same team.
Posted by Kristi at 8:42 PM 2 comments
Friday, February 5, 2010
It's the little things....
So ya'll know I've been in a Starbucks/Restaurant/Target Detox Program.
In order to not completely deprive myself, I'm allowed one Starbucks a week. I happened to get a coupon for free oatmeal in the mail (which is Curtis' favorite)... so this morning he went to Sbux to get me coffee and his free oatmeal.
A lady cut in front of him in line and then looked back and said, "I'm sorry...did I cut you off?" And he said "Yeah, but it's no big deal..." She felt so bad, she PAID FOR MY COFFEE!
How awesome is that? Our one trip to Sbux and it didn't cost us a cent!
Posted by Kristi at 9:54 AM 2 comments
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Pantry Week Night 5 & 6
I was reminded tonight that I failed to post my Night 5 & 6. It was a rough few days in mommyland... so by the end of the night, I just wanted sleep. But I am back with pictures to prove that Pantry Week continued.
Night 5...
A lovely pasta / salad/ with homemade garlic/cheese biscuit. (I GOTTA HAVE BREAD WITH MY PASTA...please note that I needed it so bad, it was half eaten by the time I took this picture.)
Night 6....
Tacos. We seem to have plenty of Mexican food around here. And I sure don't mind. Curtis grilled himself up a hamburger... double patty with cheese. I threw up in my mouth when I looked at it, so I didn't take a picture.
So tomorrow was supposed to be my shopping day, but I had to break the rules a bit and go today cause my schedule is messed up tomorrow. So the pantry is once again restocked and we are ready to rock! Looking forward to another pantry week. But don't worry... I'll spare you the pictures unless something fascinating comes up!
Posted by Kristi at 9:37 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Pantry Week. Night 4.
Well I will blame tonight's dinner choice on the fact that my body is all kinds of messed up.
But it's messed up for good reasons... my sister had her daughter last night. I got a phone call from my mom a little after 1am, and off to the hospital we went. Kinley was born at 5:53am. So beautiful. So perfect. What a sweet little miracle. I was so glad to be a part of it. I will post some pictures as soon as I can find my camera cable... I have no clue where it is.
Anyway...I came home around 8:30 and tried to rest for a couple of hours, then had to go to work. Wednesday is the only full day I have in the office, and my kids are at Grandma's house...so I don't know what their dinner was.
I got home a little after 9... scanned the fridge and the pantry...and this is what I came up with.
Yep...I am embarrassed to even show you.
Turkey Dog & Trader Jo's Reduced Guilt Potato Chips.
And you know what's worse? I ATE TWO OF THEM!!!!!!
Posted by Kristi at 10:14 PM 6 comments


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subset: commoncrawl


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Research Interests
My research focuses on planetary seismology. Part of my research is developing an algorithm to detect the Martian Core using data from the upcoming NASA Discovery mission : InSight. Until data becomes available, I use terrestrial seismic events to determine the quality and quantity events that would be needed to constrain the depth to the Martian Core, and other properties of the Martian interior structure. In addition to my work on Mars, I'm also interested in the Jovian moon, Europa. I'm trying to estimate the magnitude and frequency of events that are likely to occur from tidally induced stresses.


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text: The Norwegian Association for Development Research (NFU) works to promote development-related research and training in Norway, and to connect the Norwegian development research community by supporting links and providing channels for interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation between members. The association is organizing the biennial national NFU conference, and co-organizes the biennial Nordic Development Conferences. It runs the academic journal Forum for Development Studies jointly with the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Affairs. The NFU awards master theses and within development research.


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Commercial High Court ordered that a notice be gazetted to the effect that a case had been filed to liquidate Lanka Sugar Ltd.
Commercial High Court this week ordered that publication be made in gazette and in daily papers, to liquidate Lanka Sugar (Pvt) Ltd., on an application filed by Gal- Oya Planation Ltd.
Gal –Oya Plantation (Pvt) Ltd., had filed this action in Commercial High Court of Colombo, in terms of sec 271 of the Companies Act.
Gal Oya Plantation Ltd., states in its petition that it is a creditor of the said Lanka Sugar (Pvt) Ltd., as it has provided molasses worth Rs.151 million and had requested the same amount be paid on several instances to which Lanka sugar (Pvt) Ltd, had not conceded.
Thereafter, a statutory notice had been sent to Lanka Sugar (Pvt) Ltd and a case had been filed calling for the liquidation of Lanka Sugar (Pvt) Ltd. on the basis that it was unable to pay its debts.
Lanka sugar (Pvt) Ltd., is the entity, under which Palawatte Sugar Company and Sevenagala Sugar Company comes under.
It was submitted in court, that Chairman of Lanka Sugar (Pvt) Ltd, having accepted the liability in writing, has, thereafter, attempted to dispute the amount claimed, on the footing that it was only a confirmation made for audit purposes.


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blink-182 goes mature
By John Benson
Two years removed from its high-profile reunion tour, blink-182 is back with new tunes and a tour.
While the upcoming CD "Neighborhoods," due out later this month, includes lead single "Up All Night," the band is currently on a co-headlining tour alongside My Chemical Romance. The bill rolls into our area for a Tuesday show at Blossom Music Center and a Thursday date at First Niagara Pavilion in Pittsburgh.
Ironically the pop-punk band that made a career out of being immature has actually, well, matured and diversified over the past few years with numerous side projects.
Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass) has found success hosting Fuse show "Hoppus On Music," while Travis Barker (drums) — who nearly died in a 2008 plane crash — is pursuing a solo career and Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar) has alternative rock act Angels & Airwaves.
With so much going on, has blink now become a side project?
"It's not a side project at all," said Hoppus in a recent press conference call. "blink is our priority as a band — it's what we've done since day one for almost 20 years at this point. The other projects that we have in our lives allow us to kind of break away and do something creative and bring that knowledge and those skills back to blink as a band. But blink is no side project by any means."
Marking its first release in over six years, "Up All Night" finds a harder-edged blink-182 than its pop-punk past. There are digressions into heavy hardcore-lite guitars and alt rock synths. The band has clearly evolved from its popish roots that included hit singles ("All the Small Things," "Adam's Song" and "The Rock Show") and platinum albums ("Enema of the State," "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket," "Dude Ranch" and self-titled).
So the question has to be asked whether or not the Southern California trio can still relate to its older catalog material.
"I do," DeLonge said. "That's something that I even personally wondered about when we were getting back together. I remember the very first time we played the songs when we got back together and it made me feel exactly the same way I feel the hour before we go on stage. I always have this very specific hour where I blast music, and I listen to old punk rock music that I listened to in junior high and high school. And when I listen to those old punk bands, it gets me so excited because the whole idea is that it makes me feel the way I felt when I started playing guitar and my whole reason for wanting to break out of suburbia and go do something bigger."
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text:
It is a tool designed to help you connect with the people around you.
You can tell people what you need, what you are looking for or simply what's on your mind. It can be anything. And you can see what people around you have posted so you can respond to their needs.
Or you can just browse, you nosy little punk…
Facebook and Twitter are nice to commute with distant friends and family or to get news from all over the world. But communication is digital only. I am… wants to foster real face to face communication.
Facebook and Twitter are not near field. But I am… is both real-time and real-space. There are so many people around you, maybe the solution to a problem lives right around the block…
It's pretty simple. Just give yourself a (random) username and tell people who you are. This can be anything you want to let the people around you know about. From "I am… looking for job as a consultant" to "I am… annoyed by your loud music!" to "I am… in LOVE!!!"
Whatever it is you want to tell the world – keep it short and informative.
You only got 60 digits!
And be nice. You know what we're talking about…
The app scans for other users within a certain radius ranging from 20m to 5k and displays them in a list. Unlike Facebook or twitter, people in this list are actually around.
So, leave the house, go out and mingle!
Yes, because we want to keep it simple. This is not facebook with its fancy profiles. Think of it as twitter on legs.
Keep it short and meaningful.
And be nice, dammit!
There are several possible reasons for that:
You could either change your location or invite friends to join I am….
Yes, you actually can!
I am… has a nifty little function to do the work for you. Just go to settings and set a few keywords. The app scans for messages matching any of your keywords and alerts you if someone interesting is within your radius.
Just tap on the persons list entry. Then you can either mark, block or connect with the person.
So if you want to get in touch, tap the connect bubble to send a message. But you better be quick! He or she might be out of range soon. I am… is realtime / realspace, remember…
The dots are distance indicators. The smaller and further away the dots are, the further the person is away from you.
So if you want to get in touch, be quick! He or she might be out of range soon. I am… is realtime / realspace, remember…
Nope, no registration! I am… is realtime, it's about you and the people around you. Everybody is moving and I am… constantly changes. So it didn't feel right to put in a lengthy registration process.
You start with your first status message, that's it.
Good question! We are germans, we practically invented this stuff!
First, we won't ask for your Email or realname. So we don't know who you are.
Second, you can use your realname in your status, but you don't have to. This way, you can tell the world around you what's on your mind without letting people around you know who you are, either.
As soon as you go offline via settings or terminate the app, you are literally off the map.
Yes and no.
Yes, because during usage, your username, status, categories, keywords and location will be stored on the server. Without this small amount of information, I am… would not work.
Your data will be used for this purpose only and just as long as you use I am…!
No, because all of your personal data will be erased from our servers as soon as you log off via the settings menu.
After 4 weeks of inactivity, your data will be erased as well and only stored locally on your phone.
I am… is still in a starting phase and we want the network to grow as quickly as possible, so I am… is free for now.
Once we hit a critical mass, the app won't be free anymore and we will charge (very little) money for usage of all features. For further informations, please read Why not "free" forever?
So, go get it!
Software development is expensive, even for a comparatively small software like I am…
It has been in the making for two years before launch, and this is when regular costs for servers, support, updates, etc. come in to play.
As we do not want to sell our customers data, we opt for a more old-fashioned business model, that has been working for centuries: you want something – you have to pay for it.
As a result, we have the resources to work in the best interest of our customers, and not advertisers.
I am… v1.0 for iOS is done and we start working on Android soon. Because we are team of two and don't want to rush things we can't give you a release date, yet. But you can subscribe to our mailing list and we will notify as soon as we're ready.
I am… on a Windows Phone is a different story – and highly unlikely. But time will tell…
Submit a question, we will be happy to help you.
If it is useful to others, we will publish it in the FAQs section.


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One of the things that fascinates me about growing older is the things that I have experienced. Take the weather for example, below zero temps for days in a row! Can't say I really remember that happening before. For those of us in Ohio, we know the weather is forever changing. And as much as I love the Caribbean weather, I also enjoy the four seasons, but extreme temperatures in any season frightens me a bit
I lived in tornado alley for a while and there were some windy days and nights that forced me into a corner in the basement waiting for things to blow over. One particular night I was in bed, almost asleep, when I heard it. The train sounding noise. I got up, grabbed by French poodle in one arm and my cat in the other, and ran to the basement. As I was running out of the bedroom the glass from a six foot window hit the back of my leg. The storm wasn't listed as a tornado, but it was strong.
My dad grew up in Akron, Ohio and when it rained he would also tell the story that when he was a boy he was outside playing and it rained in his back yard but not the front. I thought that was weird. I know there are rain clouds that only rain in a certain area, but back yard to front yard seemed a close cut-off line. Then it happened to me. I was in the front yard when it started to rain and I ran to the back to put down the table umbrella and found it wasn't raining at all, in fact the sun was shining.
I spent some time back in the early 1970's, Naples and Marco Island area. You know sunny Florida. Well, one entire month it was so cold I wished I had packed my winter coat, especially at night. My heavy, winter coat for crying out loud. I did had very sunny and hot weather too. The first day I arrived went out on the beach, first time seeing the ocean and mesmerized by it, and I walked all day long. Up and down the beach. Back and forth, without sunscreen. I guess I didn't know any better. That night my body became twice its size and, I am not exaggerating. I was so swollen I was unrecognizable. I should have gone to a hospital, but, again, I guess I didn't know any better. I lived through it.
One summer, years ago in Ohio, it was steadily hot for three months. Randy and I were living in an apartment without air conditioning. On a Sunday afternoon, when the temps were in the 90's, we couldn't take it anymore and we spend three hours walking around K-Mart to get in the air conditioning. Hot temps care really make you lethargic. Sleeping was something else.
Now, we are experiencing another extreme weather condition. I can't help but hope and pray that the electric or our furnace doesn't go out. I saw people out walking today, without head gear or anything over their face or ears. The news said not to do that, I know I couldn't. So for the next week or so I will be in a house, at work, or in my heated car.
I'm holding onto the fact that spring is just around the corner and I am hoping for a somewhat normal spring. I think normal is still a thing.


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Amid accusations of a political ploy ahead of state elections due to be called anytime now, some 2,000 teachers in Sarawak were left fuming on news that they had suddenly been transferred just as school reopened today.
"We are shocked at such desperate action by the Taib Mahmud administration. It looks like despite all their talk that Sarawak will remain a BN fixed deposit, they are very afraid of the Pakatan Rakyat," PKR vice president Tian Chua told reporters.
According to teachers in Miri, the directive from the Education Ministry will take effect immediately. As such, the transfers could create chaos in the classrooms. Many of those affected claimed they have to move from one end of the state to the other, and to the rural areas.
Not only was the transfer done at such a short notice, but many of the affected teachers specialised in important subjects such as English and Bahasa Malaysia. The affected schools were also unsure as to who would be filling the void because the heads were not given prior notice.
"This is the strangest part. Those who are transferred are mostly those from the urban or the areas where the BN is expected to lose because of the boiling-over of issues on corruption and mass pilferage. I guess they will be replaced by those from BN-stronghold areas. We are very disappointed that for political survival, Taib can just turn upside-down our children's education," Ignatius Chong, a PKR stalwart in Miri, told reporters.
The Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) had been inundated by calls from affected teachers and from others worried about what may happen next.
Meanwhile, according to the Star, STU president William Gani Bina said that the 38,000 teachers in the state were speaking up over this "messy affair" and the manner in which the ministry had conducted the exercise.
"They have families and have been serving in their present schools for a long time. They were not consulted over the transfers," Gani said.
"The Education Ministry used the term 'redeployment' but these teachers were being relocated all over Sarawak.
"Sarawak is very big. If you transfer someone from Kuching to Limbang or to a school in the rural area, it is like transferring that person from one end of the peninsula to the other.
"Many schools are already facing a serious shortage of experienced teachers, especially in English. This transfer is very chaotic and will cause a lot of problems for the affected teachers, schools and students."
Gani said he had urged Deputy Education director Datuk Norizan Hashim to look into the matter.
"I told Norizan that this was a very serious matter because of the unique geographical and logistical set-up of the state.
"The ministry cannot simply enforce a transfer of teachers en masse without taking into account the impact."
Gani said STU wanted experienced and senior teachers to stay at their present postings.
It also asked for an assurance that Sarawakian teachers would not be transferred to other states, he stressed.
"If these teachers are not happy, they would not be able to teach well and their students would be affected. Worse if these affected teachers resigned," he said.
Asked on Norizan's response, Gani said the matter would be referred to the ministry's highest authority.
There are some 38,000 teachers serving in 162 primary and 177 secondary schools in Sarawak.


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Who we are: The Choice To Change (C2C) was founded in July 2010 by Eva Kernova, a citizen of Slovakia resident in the UAE and Sunil Baroi, a citizen of Bangladesh resident in Dhaka. In July 2013 they were joined by Mohammed Loch, President & CEO of DMS Global. They chose to change the lives of poverty-stricken children in the slums of Dhaka by paving an educational pathway for them to follow. Attaining any type of formal education would have been impossible for these underprivileged children without the help of such a non-profit organisation. Their aim is to break the endless cycle of poverty in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh, by providing a primary education and basic health care to the underprivileged children our foundation works with. We are completely dependent on the generosity of our donors and contributors.
Profile of the students and their families we work with: 53% of our students are female and the majority of our students are aged between 8 and 10, followed by our youngest students at the age of 4. 97% of our students are Muslim, and in terms of family size the majority have 3 siblings, with both parents present. 36% of the children's fathers are day labourers, and 71% are uneducated. Similarly, the mothers are also mainly uneducated and remain at home as housewives.The average total household income lies between 7500 –10000BDT (500AED) per month, where the most common cost of rent is 2200 –3800BDT (190AED) per month, leaving majority of our students at C2C at the level of extreme poverty.
Registration: in February 2011, C2C was officially endorsed by the government of Bangladesh as a 'Trusteeship', under the name of The Choice To Change Bangladesh Trust. After much persistence and hard work from C2C's administrators and the Director of Operations based in Dhaka, the organisation was granted 'Society Status' in March 2013. The organisation is now titled The Choice To Change Foundation and is an official NGO operating in Bangladesh; it has the following Registration Number: S-11649.
Vision: is to build a healthy environment of education and learning among underprivileged children, thus stopping the cycle of poverty in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The aim of The Choice to Change Foundation is to educate students in Dhaka city. We also aspire to one day touch the hearts and minds of countless other destitute children all over Bangladesh.
The Choice To Change's dreams and aspirations can only be made possible with your generous donations and continual support.


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|Xavier Woods (left), Big E (center), and Xavier Woods (right)
Coming in as Dolph's bodyguard in early 2013, Big E has always seemed void of personality. His matches were always pretty good and his physique even more impressive, but he was missing a character. Now, being paired with Kingston & Woods, Big E was able to show a different side of his character. He has been intense, precise, and silly all in the same breath and it has been a wonderful thing to see. With that being said, could Big E one day be WWE Champion?
History, of course, says no. It's hard enough for an African American to get over in Vince's system, let alone be a World Champion. But, Big E possess all the tools it takes to be McMahon's champion in 2015. His physique is other worldly—the guy has muscles on top of muscles. His moveset is convincing and realistic. The spear through the second rope is a show stopper. Furthermore, through his new gimmick, he has found his voice and completely changed the way we look at him. Now, I know you're wondering where I would get an idea like this out of the blue.
The Dudley Boyz returning to feud with The New Day has been amazing. The #SavetheTables campaign is most definitely stealing the show nearly every night. Recently, in a tag match against the Dudley Boyz at Night of Champions, Big E showed a hint of genius. A stroke of wrestling artistry, that had me fantasizing the idea of Big E one day being WWE Champion.
Kofi Kingston, after getting worked over by Devon for a while, decides to tag Big E in, prompting Devon to tag his "brother" Bubba Ray into the match. Big E comes into the match, as well as Bubba, and they proceed to have a staredown. In this moment, the brilliance of a heel Big E is shown. He does his signature dance with a hump at the end and screams as loud and as serious as possible, "Go home old man! Go home old man! It's our time now!" Bubba then shoves Big E, who sells it like a shotgun blast, hitting the bottom turnbuckle and floundering like a fish to get up.
Okay, okay, okay...I can hear all of you marks yelling at me now, but this act of "heeldom" as I like to call it, quickly turned a feud that was about tables (essentially, that's what it was) into a battle about tag team supremacy. Big E, in my opinion, showed a form of charisma and intensity only few have in WWE. He has all the tools to be a World Champion.
Don't think Big E could be at the top of the company someday? Think I'm an absolute nut for even suggesting this? Do you think I'm "booty"? Leave a comment below.


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I'm a noob end-user. I followed a link to this page to download Calligra for Mac, but I don't see a link for it here. What am I missing?
There are no downloads here - it's a wiki, for user information. Can you give me the URL for the page where you saw the link? I'll try to find where you should be looking
Sad to say, but it's calligra.org. The Mac port is still work in progress. The users should wait for more information soon.
I've asked the Calligra team to add a sentence or two to the page to clarify the position.


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The Perfect Jacket w/ Dressily
Happy Tuesday All! Thanksgiving is around the corner and this outfit is perfect for the causal family get together. Pairing this chic zipped leather patchwork jacket from Dressily with a ruffled top and black skinny jeans, makes this a stylish outfit that is easy to recreate. Similar pieces like these can probably be found in your closet. This jacket is a very affordable price point that will not break the bank and Dressily also offers other affordable options from dresses to shoes and all other accessories for women and men. So check them out and come back and let me know what you think.
Posted by Absolutely Alli Labels: #OOTD , Dresslilly , Fashion , Jacket , Style
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Better Prepared offer a full range of surveying services to cover yours and your clients' property needs. We are an independent practice providing services to a large variety of clients, including; insurers, solicitors/conveyancers, estate agents, brokers, accountants, major panel managers and lenders.
Our services include Private Valuations, Condition surveys, Building Surveys, Specialist Valuations and Reports, schedules of repair/condition and a range of energy reports and drawing solutions.
Our reputation is built on providing a reliable professional service and by listening to our clients' concerns, and we take pride in offering such a service to all of our customers at all times.
We are also able to work with other professionals to provide clients with tailored solutions.
For residential survey and valuation work we also operate a referral scheme so we can get to know you and your clients' requirements. To find out more call us on 01908 410020 or send an email to email@example.com. Alternatively if you have a client you want to refer now just follow this link to our referral form.


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Mail Forwarding Services
Las Vegas Mail Forwarding Services Solutions For Home Businesses
When many companies start out, they are based at small cities or even at home. This is understandable for many reasons. Many business ideas stem from interests or hobbies and develop into business opportunities. Most new companies start from home to maintain costs down all through the businesses infancy. Other businesses continue to work from home as ecommerce, online shops, drop shipping has removed the necessity for a real presence on the street.
Many home based companies choose to operate as a limited sole trader or company. Either option, the business owners have to think whether or not they need to declare their residential address as their business address. While some people cannot have any issues with this, you will have are a few facts that must be considered.
If you opt to use your residential address for your company, this will be affirmed to the company registry, tax authorities, and other government organizations. All of letter heads, adverts as well as other correspondence will have to show your residential address. If your company is net based then most clients want to see an address given in the contact details. The address is then liberally available for any client to access.
You can decide that you do not need to declare your home address to the whole world. This leaves you with a few options. Firstly, you can use a post office box usually referred to as the PO Box. These are simple to set up with the local post office or other like service providers. They are relatively cheap and provide very cheap alternative to using the residential address. Mail can be forwarded or collected for an additional cost. However, these are not the right solution.
Organizations like international couriers, banks, and many distributors of goods will never accept the PO Box as a company address. It can be difficult to buy supplies as well as deliveries if you need provide the PO Box as the business contact. In addition to that, what will your buyers think? You can agree that a PO Box address deters people from making use of your services. Think of what a prospective client will be thinking if your details online show a PO Box and never a standard contact address. It will not fill them with self-assurance.
The best alternative is to use a Las Vegas mail forwarding services company. Instead of using your PO Box, you can opt to use a company that specializes in forwarding services. This takes off the PO Box part from your company address. Some email service providers can use suite numbers to identify your mail. Many professional mail forwarding companies though, will allow you use their professional address. The mail is also sorted by company staff and forwarded to you when it is received. While this is somehow costly, as the first option it prevents any stigma connected to using the PO Boxes and this means that international couriers can deliver to your address.
This kind of mail forwarding service helps you to display your company address on your site, promotional content and company correspondence. Your clients will never know tell your mail is handled through an alternative address.


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Online Health & Safety Documents and E-Learning Centre
Providing you with a fast, efficient and cost-effective service.
Giving you instant and unlimited downloads for your products and creating bespoke health and safety documents at your request.
We offer great service, high quality H&S documents, free advice and online training courses that are second to none.
If you've got any questions or can't find what you're looking for, get in touch. We're here to help and if we can, we will.
Risk Assessments, Method Statements and COSHH Assessments
Download free templates and examples then use the video tutorials to create your own Risk Assessments, Method Statements and COSHH Assessments or browse through our catalogues and download what you need.
Don't want to create your own documents? Have a look at our BEST OFFERS and you'll see why these unique packages that can't be found on any other website are our best sellers. They simply tick all the right boxes.
If you're looking for something specific, use the search feature to filter your results.
Visit our E-Learning Centre and discover the ease of use we've built into the on line training facility.
Explore the E-Learning multi-user interface. Allowing you to purchase courses for multiple people with each person having their own unique login details.
Get training certificates at a time and pace that suits you.


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Like the movies and TV shows on iTunes store that are protected by Apple's FairPlay DRM, audiobooks you purchased from iTunes as well as Amazon Audible store are also restricted with DRM protection and prevent you from listening to the audiobooks on non-approved audiobook players. If you want to play the DRM-ed iTunes and Audible audiobooks on any popular media device or CDs without limit, you'll have to remove the DRM protection from the audiobooks at the first place. Now here in the following article, we'll show you the complete guide on how to easily remove DRM lock from iTunes or Audible audiobooks by using a smart yet powerful DRM audiobook converter.
The professional audiobook DRM removal tool we are talking about in this article is called TunesKit DRM Audiobook Converter. It's available for both Mac and Windows platforms. As one of the best DRM audiobook converter software in the world, TunesKit DRM Audiobook Converter was specially developed to bypass DRM restriction from iTunes and Audible audiobooks while converting the DRM-protected audiobook formats, including the DRM M4B, M4A, AA, AAX files to DRM-free MP3, AAC, M4A, WAV and FLAC. It's able to proceed the DRM removal at 30x faster speed while preserving the original chapter info in the converted M4A and AAC formats. Once the DRM is removed successfully from the audiobooks, you are able to transfer the DRM-free iTunes and Audible audiobooks to any audiobook player, such as iPod touch, Zune, Creative Zen, iRiver, etc. for listening.
Here is the complete tutorial of removing DRM from iTunes/Audible audiobooks by using TunesKit.
Steps to Bypass DRM Lock from iTunes/Audible AA/AAX/M4A/M4B Audiobooks
Firtly, please install the proper version of TunesKit Audiobook Converter on your computer according to the system requirements.
1. Launch TunesKit DRM Audiobook Converter, click "Add Files" button to load the iTunes or Audible audiobooks to the converter. Or you can directly drag the audiobook files to TunesKit for conversion.
2. Select the output format as you wish. It provides multiple output formats, including MP3, AAC, M4A, WAV, FLAC. If you want to keep the original chapter for the audiobooks, please select AAC or M4A as output.
3. Now you can start to remove the DRM protection from iTunes or Audible audiobooks by clicking "Convert" button.


text: I have no explanation for that kberly, and I have asked myself that question a lot. For example, Dominika C. She also has amazing pussy lips, but she doesn't stretch them out or show them off the way you are asking for either. But many girls with these amazing lips don't do it, and I really wish they would too. Thanks for your question.


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So here I am again ! Two days in a row and fulfilling my promise of bringing my Project Life posts up to date.
So week 16 included Easter and the egg hunt and a trip to Lyon for Zachary's diabetes check up. That went very well and we even had a quick shopping trip and lunch at Ikea. The fun was certainly intensified by the fact that my car's electric window has stopped working, so there was some negotiating to do at the motorway tool booths! I guess it's time for a new car (watch this space!)
My New Year Resolution of getting out on my bike more is taking shape and I have finally finished a crochet blanket that I promised Noah last year ! Here are my pages, I used Studio Calico's Bluegrass Farm Project Life kit to complete them ...
Left side ~
Right side ~
I dipped into my stash for a couple of things, the metal bicycle is from Studio Calico's add on Amsterdam kit from last year and there are a couple of cards from an older CitrusTwist kit.
Thanks for looking and have a great week.x


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Fully Licensed & Bonded
Just a short walk from the Plaza de Espana Park, the classy and well-equipped Mercure Madrid Plaza de Espana is within close proximity to the Royal Palace of Madrid and Calle Gran Via, the Spanish Broadway and a well-known commercial area. The hotel is nearby to Ventura Rodríguez Metro station with connections to the vibrant city centre and Madrid¿s most renowned attractions including the Paeque del Retiro, the Market of San Miguel, the Golden triangle of art, consisting of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and Museo Nacional del Prado. Mercure Madrid Plaza de Espana¿s 97 air-conditioned rooms are modern and classically designed, featuring facilities including, trouser press, work facilities, climate control, Wi-Fi, tea and coffee facilities and en suite with bathtub, hairdryer and amenities. Guests can request connecting rooms, cots, extra beds and rooms adapted to those with limited mobility. For additional convenience, the onsite restaurant provides a varied room service in addition to a buffet breakfast as well as an a la carte lunch, serving Spanish and international favourites. The buildings facilities also include a 24 hour reception, bar, a dry cleaning and laundry service, parking, fitness centre, safe deposit box and business facilities. *Official star rating: 4**


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Software Solutions
From an idea that come to you in the middle of the night during your sleep or on your way to a business appointment or during your daily activities Y2Fox software development team can transform your thought into computer applications. Our Software professionals have years of experience in custom software development. Our programmers specialize in building tailored software applications to the specific needs of the customer.
With the usage of a unique proprietary methodology, our team of developers constructs a project plan and timeline to assess your needs by gathering your individual business requirements. Based on your needs and requirements we will develop a comprehensive software solution that meets your goals.
Y2Fox will continue to work with you to facilitate best practices implementation of your software application by providing the following assistance:
- Thorough testing
- Proper training for utilization
- Ongoing technical support
- Consistent documentation
With our experts technical writers we can also help you documented the process and best practices scenario as it is a historically proven that all organizations, regardless of size or type of industry, can gain a distinct competitive edge by adhering to some fundamental rules:
- It's essential to establish consistent, comprehensive processes and procedures that represent the best way to accomplish a series of tasks
- By integrating best-practice with policies and procedures
- By developing Quality assurance programs to assure short term improvements result in long term return on investment
- By Ensuring Accountability from all actors in the work stream


text: Just wanted to tell you how pleased I am with my singing bowl, which arrived safely and well-packaged and exactly as described. Your site provided more detail than most in its descriptions with complete visual and audio images – so there were no surprises. I am bonding nicely with the bowl as I learn how to invite its various moods and voices. The Tibetan carpet square is also beautiful, and I much prefer it over bowl cushions. Thank you!


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ENVI 350: Sonoran Desert and the Arizona Borderlands
Spring 2018
Please contact Prof. Shustack for information on the next course offering
Credits: 3
Travel dates: anticipated between March 8-20 and will be 8-10 nights. Travel dates will be finalized late October 2017.
Additional Course Fee: $1,550/student, includes all cost of transportation, meals, etc.
Payment Schedule: $925 due upon sign-up, $625 by Jan. 26, 2018
As part of this course we will travel to the borderlands of Arizona to explore the Sonoran desert, desert grasslands and the sky islands. Along the way we will camp in state, federal and local parks.
- MCLA ENVI trip to the Sonoran Desert and the Arizona Borderlands
You Tube Video
Course Description: Explores the physical, biological and social environments of the historic
and contemporary American Southwest through a case study of southern Arizona. Through multi-day
field trip to southern Arizona, students will visit and experience southern Arizona's topography,
weather, natural areas including the Sonoran desert, desert grasslands, riparian woodlands, and high
elevation conifer forests. Throughout the course, students will consider how various people groups
from the ancient Hohokam, to Spanish conquistadors and friars, to Apache Indians, to U.S.
homesteaders and prospectors, to modern-day urbanites and U.S./Mexico border migrants use and
survive in this landscape. Due to the nature of this course, all participants should be in good physical condition.
Summary: In southern Arizona, mountains reaching to over 9000 feet punctuate the expanses of the
Sonoran desert found at elevations from ~1000-3500 feet. This result is dramatic topography called
"sky islands." These unique landforms, intersecting with the seasonal and elevational patterns of
temperature and moisture, allow for a high concentration of species diversity and natural communities
normally found over much greater latitudinal ranges. The extremes of the Sonoran desert environment
have influenced human use and habitation of this area for 1000s of years. This course will consider how
people like the ancient Hohokam, Spanish conquistadors and friars, Apache Indians, U.S. homesteaders
and prospectors, and modern-day urbanites and U.S./Mexico border migrants use and survive in this
landscape. Major themes covered during this course will include: desert species and adaptations,
elevational gradients, fire ecology, mining, human use of this region, Spanish and US history, border
issues, urban expansion, federal land management agencies, water use, and others.
Field Trip to Arizona: We will travel with our gear, fly into Tucson (or Phoenix), rent minivans,
and drive about exploring the Arizona borderland region for 8-10 days. The participants in the course
(limited to a group size of 10) will share activities, experiences and meals together. The days will be long
as we fit in as many amazing experiences and site visits as possible. Except for a few visitor centers and
museums, most of this trip will occur out-of-doors. Accommodations will be camping each night on
public land in developed or primitive campsites. During the trip we will meet with local experts. Each
student will give two mini-presentations on their selected course topics. Throughout the course the
instructor will provide context and "mini-lectures" to help orient us to each site. Because of the terrain
and topography, exploring many of these areas will require a certain level of physical ability.
Pre-Requisites: Permission of instructor; You must be in good physical condition! Students who have
taken prior environmental science or ecology courses will get the most out of this course.
Learn More


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2386 Pacifica CourtSan Leandro, CA 94579ph: (510) 878-7955fax: (866) email@example.com
We would be happy to answer any questions you have or provide you with a list of our satisfied customers.
Thank you for choosing Bayside Medical Equipment.
Copyright 2010 Bayside Medical Equipment Enterprises LLC. All rights reserved.
Web Hosting by Yahoo!


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This Man Sticks It To His Bank In The Craziest Way Imaginable
A bald middle aged man walked into Barclays Bank in Andover, Hants, and proceeded to poo all over the floor.
The man, believed to be in his 40's, walked in and gave a new meaning to special deposits. The man was said to carry out has actions with a 'calm but angry look.'
Shocked customer Garreth McCarthy said: "I was just queuing up, there were about a dozen customers there, and this guy walked in.
"He looked pretty well to do. He was a middle-aged man, in his 40s, wearing shorts and trainers, and he had a bald head.


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Hello ladies! Now that you're into the 22nd week of pregnancy, you are only weeks away from your third trimester. And you know what?!… Your baby is already the size of a small doll now! Super!
Baby's Size
Your baby is now of the size of a Papaya!
By 22nd week, your baby is 10.9 inches long (from the crown of the head to the heel of the foot) and 15.2 ounces in weight. Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn!
Baby's Development
Baby's brain has entered a phase of extremely rapid growth. Baby's lips are becoming more distinct and eyes have developed; though the iris still lacks pigment, its eyebrows and eyelids are in place.
Baby's pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily and the first signs of teeth are showing beneath its gum line. Before you know it, your baby will be smiling at you! 🙂
Baby is sleeping in cycles – about 12 to 14 hours per day (They're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!). If you haven't had your mid-pregnancy ultrasound yet, this is the week! This 18- to 22-weeks pregnant ultrasound gives you a glimpse of all baby's major organs and other body parts.
At this point, your baby has only 1 percent of body fat. But from here onward, baby will be adding layers of fat, which will help to produce and retain body heat. Your little one's fat is a lot like the kind you're putting on during pregnancy. It's called brown fat and is readily turned into energy to keep both of you on an even keel.
Your Pregnant Belly
At 22 weeks pregnant, weight gain is likely on your mind. Your uterus is certainly growing, but you can probably still bend over, sit, drive, and function fairly comfortably.
You may have increased vaginal discharge as your pregnancy progresses. Yeast infections during pregnancy are quite common. Symptoms include redness and itchiness around your vagina and a yeast-smelling discharge, but douching during pregnancy is not advised.
This is a good time to have your iron levels checked and to make sure you're drinking enough water, given how much your blood volume has increased over the past few months.
Your Symptoms
Despite the occasional aches and pains, this stage of pregnancy is fun! Your belly has grown enough for you to really "feel" pregnant, and the rest of the world knows it too. But you're not so big yet that you have trouble getting out of a chair or tying your shoes. Your morning sickness has probably ended, and your appetite's back. Enjoy this time.
If you come down with a cold or flu, the first thing you should do is let your healthcare provider know. Don't take any over-the-counter medications unless your doctor or midwife gives you the go-ahead sign. To encourage a speedy recovery, be sure to drink extra fluids, and try to eat regularly.
Now that you're pregnant, you have an increase in the amount of fluids in your body. So minor swelling is totally normal and will die down pretty much as soon as baby is born. Severe or sudden swelling, on the other hand, is not normal. It could be a sign of a dangerous pregnancy complication called pre-eclampsia, so tell your doctor right away if you're super swollen or swollen with sudden onset.
Baby continues to crowd your lungs, making it tough to breathe at times. Remember not to take your workouts too far, and when you feel winded, take a break right away.
Your Week 22 Checklist!
- Don't take over-the-counter medications without consulting your Doctor.
- Book an appointment for your mid-pregnancy ultrasound if you haven't done it yet.
- Check your iron levels.
- Enjoy these last few weeks of being able to easily get out of chairs and tie your shoes.
- Decide a maternity photographer so that you can cherish all these precious moments forever! 🙂
Present content is not a medical advise nor should it be substituted for one. Please consult a certified medical professional for medical consultation.


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This is the second version of an app written by the Communication Neuroscience Lab that supports the collection of online and offline social networks for analysis. I was tasked with completely rewriting Friendly Island to improve its flexibility, UI, and portability.
Currently under development, V2 is served by Bottle with a MongoDB backend and written mainly in jQuery. Hakim El Hattab's Reveal.js and Michael Bostock's D3.js are featured prominently throughout the app as well. Users go through the app's game-like interface and build their "island" step-by-step. Relying on self-reporting, logged data, and SNS APIs, Friendly Island constructs a comprehensive network that goes beyond linking nodes in a graph and allows for greater network analysis.
Once completed, researchers will be able to customize different versions of the app depending on their areas of interest and download the resultant log files in a simple JSON format.
See screenshots below. An active link will be posted when the app is launched.


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The boom of plug-in transportation is coming. In late 2010, GM plans to sell the Chevy Volt. Nissan, Toyota, BMW, & Mercedes will be in the plug-in game too. So what is going to happen when all these plug-in cars hit the road? Will the electricity grid collapse? Will coal plants turn the knob to 11 and choke us all to death?
You can rest assured that the grid will not collapse. Well, at least not due to plug-in cars.
The grid expands as needed. After WWII when air conditioners grew in popularity, the grid did not collapse. In the '90s when computers erupted across the country, the grid held up. In this decade, big screen TVs filled living rooms and home theaters across the country without resulting in massive outages.
The big switch to Digital Television in 2009 is projected to use 250,000 DTV converters; each using 5W when idle. 5 Watts is not much but when you have 250,000 of them they add up to over 1 megawatt of constant load added to the grid. That is over 10 thousand megawatt hours annually: a new power plant in itself.
It's true that electrified transportation would add to the demand for electric power, but the impact would be mitigated if the cars were recharged at home at night. Unlike a DTV converter that runs 24x7, plug-in cars can place their demand on the grid at off peak times. A 2006 U.S. Department of Energy study found that if all the cars and light trucks in the nation switched from oil-based fuels to electricity, the available, overnight generating capacity of our current grid could recharge 84% of the current US fleet.
In addition, the existing nighttime electricity can be stored in plug-in vehicles and retrieved during peak-demand hours through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, helping to meet daytime peak needs. This is referred to as "peak shaving" (shown in blue in the figure above) and it further levels the load making it easier for utilities to meet the needs with a more constant supply. V2G is yet unproven but could work well for fleet vehicles. The simpler method of peak shaving is to allow the utilities to turn off charging stations for short periods during peak load. The utility could do rolling 5-minute blackouts of charging stations. This allows them to reduce the load without any significant impact to charging service and is simpler to implement than V2G. This is one of the features that Better Place offers electrical utilities with their charging network.
Tools to Control Plug-in Car Grid Load
- Break out plug-in electricity costs on utility bill and compare to gas cost to reinforce saving
- Break out plug-in electricity costs on utility bill and show how much more could have been saved with off peak charging
- Incentivize nighttime charging
- Incentivize utilities so that they don't need to rate base SG investments
- Tie utility perks with 'no charge' times
- Allow utilities to turn off charging stations for short periods of time during peak load