text:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has both joked about his weight and said that it's a real concern, secretly underwent a weight-loss surgery in February that experts say could help him if he gets exercise and watches what he eats.
The father of four agreed to the surgery, in which a band was placed around his stomach to restrict the amount of food he can eat, after turning 50 in September, spokesman Michael Drewniak confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Christie told The New York Post, which first reported the surgery, that he said he wasn't motivated by thoughts of running for president.
"I've struggled with this issue for 20 years," he told the newspaper. "For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them."
Christie has never disclosed his weight, but it's been an issue throughout his political career. Christie said four years ago that then-Gov. Jon Corzine was bringing it up in a campaign commercial that accused Christie of "throwing his weight around" to get out of traffic tickets.
Comics including Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman also have made fun of it. In interviews with Letterman, Orpah Winfrey, Barbara Walters and others, Christie has both joked about the issue and said solemnly that he's trying to shed pounds.
During a February appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," the governor pulled out a doughnut and said his girth was "fair game" for comedians.
Over his appearances the next few days, he was asked repeatedly about his weight. At one point, he said he had a plan for shedding some pounds: "Whether it's successful or not," he said. "You'll all be able to notice."
The next day he responded angrily to comments from a former White House physician who said she worried about him dying in office. The governor said Dr. Connie Mariano should "shut up."
Ten days after that, on Feb. 16, Christie had the surgery. He said the operation lasted 40 minutes and he was home the same afternoon.
Christie, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, declined to say how much weight he has lost since the surgery.
"A week or two ago, I went to a steakhouse and ordered a steak and ate about a third of it and I was full," he told the Post.
The Republican governor is running for a second term in November, although his name is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
"I know it sounds crazy to say that running for president is minor, but in the grand scheme of things, it was looking at Mary Pat and the kids and going, 'I have to do this for them, even if I don't give a crap about myself,'" he said.
The revelation about Christie's surgery came the same day that MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski's book featuring comments from Christie hit bookstores.
In the book, "Obsessed: America's Food Addiction — And My Own," Christie describes working out four times a week but not seeing major weight drops and hearing critics say that his weight shows he's undisciplined. He also talks about what others have said on Twitter, such as: "HEY GOVERNOR, WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST TODAY, ONE STICK OF BUTTER OR TWO?"
"For somebody like me who's had so much success in my life, and really been successful at everything I've tried, to not be able to be successful at this is incredibly discouraging," he said.
Approximately 160,000 stomach-reducing procedures of various types are performed each year. Gastric bypass, sometimes called stomach stapling, is the most common, where surgeons shrink the stomach's size and reroute food to the small intestine.
Gastric band surgery, best known by the brand name Lap-Band, is a less invasive and reversible alternative, where an adjustable ring is placed over the top of the stomach and tightened to restrict how much food can enter.
Candidates for gastric banding must have a body mass index of between 30 and 40 — plus a weight-related medical condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure — or a BMI of 40 and higher. They also must have previously attempted to lose weight through diet and exercise.
Christie, who says he does not have any other significant health problems, has talked about working with a personal trainer since he first ran for governor four years ago.
"If you eat appropriately and chew your food, it works nicely," said Dr. Christina Li, a bariatric doctor at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.
She said Christie has the resources to have people help him eat right and get exercise. While the band is removable, she said patients are told to adjust to having it for the rest of their lives.
Li said risks include infection, and that it does not work for all patients.
Dr. Jaime Ponce, who practices in Dalton, Ga., and is president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, said that people who have the procedure Christie had often lose 1 to 2 pounds per week.
Christie's procedure was performed by Dr. George Fielding, head of NYU Medical Center's Weight Management Program, who did the same procedure for New York Jets coach Rex Ryan three years ago.
The adjustable Lap-Band has been available in the U.S. since 2001 for the most obese patients. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration expanded approval to somewhat less obese patients.
AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard in Washington and AP writer Katie Zezima in Newark contributed to this report.


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Meeting Jesus at an Old Testament Feast
The default sin of the human heart is to put ourselves first. "It really is all about me!" was once a funny t-shirt slogan; it has now become a way of life. Unless preachers and Bible teachers are careful, the …Read More
The Birth of Israel
The Scriptures have emphasized the wickedness of mankind since the time of the flood. Humanity is no different than what it was prior to the flood. For instance, the line of Ham demonstrates great selfishness and evil, and a strident …Read More

subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday, March 11, 2007
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Sunday, March 11, 2007
Jesus for the Non-Religious
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Into the Great Wide Open
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 1996 - Fiction - 244 pages
"Smart but scarred, Kenny Kolodny yearns to awake from the nightmare of his smashed-up family: his mother is in an institution and forever away; his father is an abusive alcoholic; his brother lives abroad. Seventeen and alone, he hangs on the periphery of his world, until he makes a passionate connection with the troubled, beautiful, fiercely independent Junie Williamson. Kenny discovers in their highly charged, intensely erotic relationship a reality - and a capacity for caring - he has not known before."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - whitewavedarling - LibraryThing
Canty's greatest strength here is also the novel's greatest weakness. Writing unironically about teenage love, and from a first person point of view, he manages to transport readers right back to high ... Read full review
INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPENUser Review - Kirkus
First-novelist Canty (stories, A Stranger in This World, 1994) offers a tale of teenage love more engaging in its details than in the full-dimensioned pull of its characters. Troubled and sensitive ... Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
angry anyway bathroom beautiful Bennigan's body cigarette closed clothes coffee cold Connolly dark dick door downstairs driving edge everything eyes face Farrah Fawcett feeling Frank O'Hara fuck girl glasses going gone gray guess hair hallway hand happen hard head hear inside Jacob Jacob's island Junie asked Junie says Junie's K-Y jelly Kenny asked Kenny didn't Kenny felt Kenny knew Kenny says Kenny thinks Kenny thought Kenny wanted kind kissed kitchen leaves legs Liberal Religious Youth light listening mean minute mother naked neck never night picture rain raincoat remember samsara seemed Shit side sits skin Slaughterhouse-Five sleep smell smoke somewhere sorry sound staring started stood stop stupid Suburban girls Syd says talking tell There's thing took touch trying turned voice waiting walking watching Wentworth What's Williamson window words wrong


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By Hanno
I'm reading my friend Dr. Gimbel's book on Einstein's Jewish Science, and in discussing Martin Luther's view of Christianity he quotes the following from Luther:
Therefore it is clear that, as the soul needs only the word of God for its life and Righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not any works; for if it could be justified by anything else, it would not need the Word, and consequently, it would not need faith.Gimbel takes that to mean, as is usual, that for Luther, Faith is sufficient for God's Grace. It is clear Luther means to entail that no works justify Grace. God's Grace, ("Life and Righteousness") do not come from anything you do, but from faith. But there is an argument presented here, and I'm not sure it does what Luther wants it to do.
First, lets take a look at the conclusion of the argument: The soul needs only the word of God for its life and righteousness. Let me use '->' to symbolize the material conditional. 'Only' reverses the order of the conditional, so as written, the claim is: R -> W, meaning that the word is a necessary condition for salvation, righteousness, Grace. If the soul only needs the word for salvation, the Word is a necessary condition. If you have life and righteousness, then you must have the Word, since it is only through the Word that you can have life and Righteousness.
It follows, according to Luther, that the soul is justified by faith alone, and not any works. He gives an argument. If it could be justified by anything else, it would not need the Word. This is straightforward: A -> ~W. And if it does not need the Word, it does not need Faith: ~W -> ~F. But it needs faith. F. Therefore, it does not need anything else. ~A.
So then we have the following premises:
It certainly follows from that second argument
by Modus Tollens, and
By Modus Tollens as well. If you need Faith, nothing else is sufficient on its own. So you need the Word, and nothing else.
What does not follow is that Faith or the Word is sufficient for Grace. It only follows that nothing else is sufficient. For the Word to be sufficient, he would need
to be entailed by the premises, but it is not. He has defended that Faith is necessary for Grace, but not that it is sufficient. Why couldn't it be that you have Faith, but still are not give Grace? Yet that is the conclusion he wants to draw: it is justified by faith alone. This simply does not follow from any premise given. "As the soul needs only the word of God for its life and Righteousness" does not entail "it is justified by faith alone and not any works."


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Back in Februrary, I found this great post from The Long Thread about making recycled crayons for Valentine's gifts. BabyE and I jumped on the band wagon and made a whole bunch - for playgroup friends and all the students in my mom's first grade class. (I was maxed out on peeling crayons for a looong time after that!)
So, flash forward to earlier this month when Chez Beeper Bebe posted about recycled crayons. I knew it was time to pull down the giant basket of lonely bits (donated by my mom's aforementioned class) and turn them into something fabulous.
First, it took one full night to find, peel and sort crayons. I was really excited about the mix of different shades and hues of each color - kind of a crafty mystery - what color will the final crayons be???
I was so eager to start this project, I (foolishly) started the next day during nap/quiet time. I didn't realize how long it would take the crayons to melt down (and what a complete and utter mess it makes - thank goodness I don't love my kitchen floor anyway - it is now stained a bit red from spillage).
I had to stop, elbow-deep in the crayon melting due to the end of nap/quiet time. Everything was out when my husband came home and commented, "It looks like a meth lab!" God bless the husband of a crafter - he helped me figure out how to contain the melted crayon in the molds ("just mush some Play-Doh in it"). The man is a genius!
That night, I fired it all up again. Not only is this project satisfying (those lonely old bits are magically transformed - don't they just look happier?) but it proved to be a cheap, at-home facial as well - can you see all that steam coming out of the pan?
Late that night, all the crayons were melted, molded and cool. (Notice the very standard crayon colors? Despite mysterious mixes of different crayons, they all melted down to create your basic roy g. biv palette. Go figure!) Then they were packaged into bags and labeled - ready for next weekend's crafty open house.
I hope they find a good home!


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Re: Vampire Hunt RPG
"Good luck. You'll definitely need it." D said to Asher as he left the cellar.
Message Boards - Boba Fett Fan Club → Role Playing → Vampire Hunt RPG
"Good luck. You'll definitely need it." D said to Asher as he left the cellar.
"I find it rather awkward that my house is suddenly occupied by-" Ta-kow! "What has he gotten himself into now?" Henry turned away from D and headed up the stairs as he un-sheathed Goldbrand.
Alice felt her left eye socket shatter as the bullet shot into her head. The wound was bad as it damaged her brain as well as her vision. She dropped the machete and slumped to the ground hold her head together with her hands. She could heal such an injury but she suspected that she was about to be decapitated and from that there was no return.
So Alice did the only option left to her, she screamed a high pitched yowl to summon the other vampires.
Lizzie paused as she heard the high pitched scream. "That's bad news."
"You don't say," replied Victoria who held her ears at such an awful noise.
Then five vampires rounded the corner towards them.
Michael swung the sword at her fast, hoping to decapitate the vampire before she could move.
Asher wandered about the mansion a bit, trying to find Michael. "Michael?" He called out, trying not to be too loud. He heard several footsteps around a corner, and went to see if it was his comrade. "Michael? That you?" He called out as the footsteps became louder.
"Ah,no...." Came the response, a vampire with a thick european accent. "Who might you be?" The vampire rounded the corner, and Asher saw he was not alone. Two large muscular nightcrawlers stood behind him, flanking him on each side. They were heavily armed. The lead one had grown out his vampire claws to a surprising length, and a rapier was unsheathed in his right hand. His left protector was carrying a fairly long knife, and the vamp on the right a 2-handed battle axe.
"Oh, $%^&." was Asher's rebuttal.
He quickly drew his weapons and was barely able to dodge a swing of the battleaxe. He fired once into the fat vampire's stomach, and again in his left eye. He blocked a swing of the lead vampire's sword with his own, and kicked the kinfe-wielder in the face, before kicking the rapier-vamp in a more tender area down south just as the axe-vamp recovered from his wound. Asher ducked down to avoid the axe's swing, which ended up sticking in the chest of the blood-sucker's companion.
The wounded on dropped his knife. "Bleedin' idiot!" He screamed. Asher took this chance to swipe the wounded vamp's legs with is sword cutting him off at the knees. He kicked the leader square in the stomach, knocking him down, and fired another round in the standing vamp's other eye. Finally allowed a little breathing room, he transformed into his enhanced alter ego, just his lead foe regained his footing. Abandoning his gun, Asher dashed towards him, katana in hand. They rushed towards eachother, two proud swordsman fighting for their life and honor. Before they collided, Asher used his power to summersault over his foe and impale him through the heart from behind. The warrior fell down dead.
"Good riddance." He growled. Asher then examined his other two enemies. He was about to bring his blade down into the blind axe-wileder's skull, when he heard it.
chik-chak! The sound of his gun being cocked. He turned just in time to see the legless vampire (a trail of blood leading from where he had fallen to where he had dragged himself over to the gun) pull the trigger.
Asher couldn't dodge it completely, and the bullet passed straight through his left shoulder.
"Aaaaaaaaagggghhh!!" Asher howled in pain, and his eyes rolled over into his head. He fell back.
The vamp couldn't believe it. Had he killed him? Had he done it? No, it turned out, the fish-man attacker soon rose again, his eyes filled with a new bestial rage unlike anything the vampire had ever seen. It lept towards him, fangs bared, claws at the ready. He felt the monster's jaws, come down on his windpipe, and then everything went black for the vampire.
D waited patiently in the cellar, getting bored of kick-the-fake-brother's-coffin. So, finally, he just said "To hell with it", and wandered up the stairs when he was ambushed by two vampires. Immediately knocked back on his feet, D withdrew his sword so fast you could only see a silver flash in the air. Before you knew it, one vampire was already decapitated. D immediately went and knocked down the next vampire who was still living, and putting his longsword to the blood-sucker's throat, said "Tell your friend Carlos we're coming, and he's no chance of escape. The hunt is on." And with that, the vampire scurried up the stairs and went to tell Carlos of the news.
Sorry to interrupt, but this is a cool RPG. Too bad it's too late for me to join.....
(for some reason, all the current posts are not showing up for me..)
EDIT: they showed up again!
((I'm only going to post something meaningful here on the weekends, so don't count me dead just yet.))
Sorry to interrupt, but this is a cool RPG. Too bad it's too late for me to join.....
I don't think Draco will mind if you do
I hope not, the more the better
Making his way out of the cellar (with a bottle of wine stored in his cloak for after they finished their job), D unsheathed his sword. Walking for a bit, he saw two people: Asher standing with a look of rage upon his face, and what once appeared to be a vampire, no doubt a scout for Carlos. D walked over to Asher, only to step into a very large pool of blood that was now starting to dry on the wooden floor. 'Yuck, quite a mess he made' was the response from around D's left wrist. Clutching his fist tight, D acted if nothing had happened.
"Well, I see you're quite hard to kill, fish-man. Did you enjoy ripping its head off?"
"Why wouldn't I? I've made it my goal to rid the earth of this scum, but you're an exception."
"Glad to know you care. Now let's go find some more vampires to kill."
And the two went upstairs, and D once more started clutching his left fist to shut up the little face that was living in it.
As Asher and D walked along, Asher tried very hard to put his....episode out of his mind. When the vampire shot him, he had just blacked out before reawakening to find the mutilated and partly devoured body of his attacker. The bitter-rust taste of blood still filled his mouth. Asher would have to be more careful to keep control from here on out.
((I don't mind if you join, Appo.))
"Great," whispered Talbot. Without showing, or really having, a plan, he thew himself into the nearest vampire. In the process, he drew his revolver and fired at point blank range. In doing so, he injured the vampire, but shot off the top of his left index finger.
Alice lay in a pool of her own blood, her head lying beside her body. That was the way Celine found her. Celine stood at the end of the hall merely watching the interchange between Alice's killers and the group of vampires who now encircled them. She didn't join the others, she had a feeling there was more to these killers.
The fact that Alice was dead suggested an unknown strength or skill. But then Alice had always liked to play with her victims. Celine shrank back into the shadows, she needed to tell Carlos the news.
Lizzie fired her crossbow at the attacking vampires, she scored two direct hits and watched the vampires turn to dust. Her companions were dealing with another two, which left one for Lizzie. She bared her teeth at him and hissed. "Seems you're on the wrong side," the male vampire told.
"I'm on the side I'm always on, mine!" She snarled and threw a dagger at him, as expected he caught it. It allowed Lizzie time to aim her crossbow and take him out. "Fool." She said as she picked up her dagger. She was about to help the others when she saw a family silhouette at the end of the corridor. "Carlos," she growled as she lifted her crossbow and fired. But Carlos was too quick.
On pure instinct, Lizzie followed him intent on finally putting an end to his life.
Michael was wondering around, it was dark, and he was lost. Well, not lost... he thought to himself Just.....exploring without a goal He continued to wander, looking for the others.
Lizzie ran as fast as she could to keep up with Carlos, her desire to kill was strong but then she slowed her pace a little. Chances were high that Carlos was leading her into a trap. He knew the layout of the building fair better than she and he would use that to his advantage.
So Lizzie stopped and opened up her mind, using the knowledge of other vampires' minds to map out the house. She touched Carlos' mind briefly and recoiled with disgust, his was a mind of evil and darkness. Surely enough he was trying to lead her into a trap. As Lizzie came to realise this a new threat stepped out to meet her. It was a death hound, a creature that had vampire blood running through it's veins. Lizzie snarled as the hound launched itself at her.
Michael had herd some foot steps, and he ran to where he thought they were coming from, he ran out into a hallway, and some big, dog sort of thing hit him, knocking him over. The only good thing about this was that the hound wasnt expecting him to be there, and it was slightly confused as a result. Michael pushed the thing of of him,and shot at with his gun.
Henry had been ignoring most of the fighting in an attempt to keep up with Carlos, but he was to fast. "Lost him." All henry could think to do is run back to the main entrance hall to try and find some of his companions.
"Those Vamps have ruined my estate." Henry muttered. "I'm gonna have to find a new place after this."
He looked over the balcony he was resting on to see D and Asher 1 floor down.
"There they are, but where is everyone......else?" Henry looked down the hall to see a Vampire woman running his way.
He calmed his mind and ducked into the shadows, hoping to stay undetected. Sure enough, she didn't see it coming, and Henry lunged Goldbrand into her chest.
"What the matter? Surprised? Well so was I when you bit my neck! Die!" Henry twisted his katana around into Celine's heart as she burst into flames.
Henry sheathed his sword and went to find the others.
Asher looked up as he heard the sound of a vampire being exterminated. He looked up and saw Henry sheath his sword.
"There you are Henry. How about joining us? We're a bit lost, do you mind helping us navigate?" Asher asked, still clutching his sore shoulder.
((Sorry, that's all I got.))
((Bugger, I was planning to use Celine later... oh well))
It seemed that Michael had temporarily distracted the death hound. Lizzie took the opportunity to fire at it with her crossbow. She only got off one shot before the beast charged towards her. She didn't have time to re-load the bow. Instead she gripped her sword and lunged at the hound.
Michael was on his feet and was also attacking the hound. Lizzie danced back and forth away from the hound's vicious bite. The hound launched itself at her, but Lizzie had expected it and moved. She sliced at the beast's legs and watched in horror as it landed as if unhurt while blood streamed from it's wounds.
Henry, Asher and D all walked around this castle for a period of time. It seemed as if they were there forever.
"When does this place end?" came from D's left hand, and he coughed to cover it up.
((I can't remember where we were up to... too many RPGs in between...))
(in carlos vasquez's castle, it's the only place we've actually gone)
Message Boards - Boba Fett Fan Club → Role Playing → Vampire Hunt RPG
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Challenges facing retailers in the omnichannel world
My colleagues Jon Stine and Lisa Fretwell with Cisco IBSG recently published research about consumers that are constantly channel hopping in their shopping journey. We all have personal experiences shopping on the web, in the store and on mobile devices.
I recently in the middle of a conversation during lunch, made a reservation on Open Table app, purchased a case for my phone on amazon app and bought a music album on iTunes (Doctor Who Series 6), and pulled up directions to the local home improvement store, all in 10 minutes. Obviously the consumer trend is shopping across multiple channels, and some retailers are succeeding in this new world, and some are not.
I sat down with Brian Kilcourse, managing partner of Retail Systems Research and this was one of the topics we talked about.
Some of the areas we discussed are:
- Retailers are going through the biggest change since the introduction of barcodes with the Internet and smart mobile devices are being adopted by mass consumers
- Path of purchase used to start at the door, now path to purchase starts anywhere and purchase can be anywhere
- Stores are not dis-mediated, it is a convergence of digital and physical space.
- Retailers are facing changes in how to approach the supply chain, business intelligence, and instant access of information about customers & products they buy.
- Value to consumer is now measured in two dimensions: Physical values – products and availablity and price. Digital value – Information to be delivered accurate in a timely manner
- Winners understand value of information and invest
- Laggards are trying to figure out how to use legacy technology to achieve their goals and minimize costs
What do you think? Who are the winning and lagging retailers going forward?
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.


text:
Mr Samuel Oppong, National Coordinator of Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), on Tuesday said results of the 2012 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) would be ready by July 30 for placements in August.
He said the list of all successful candidates and their schools would be submitted to the Regional and District Education Directorates, Senior High Schools (SHS), Technical and Vocational Institutes and Junior High Schools (JHS).
Mr Oppong was briefing the Minister of Education, Mr Lee Ocran, during a familiarisation visit to the Secretariat and inspect on-going projects as well as have a fair idea about how the placements were done.
He said the placement forms for individual candidates would be posted on the internet for each qualified student, adding that candidates would have access to their result slips and placement forms by printing from the internet.
Mr Oppong said the CSSPS since its inception in 2005 had worked to improve upon the manual system of selection and placement of qualified BECE candidates into public and private SHS, technical and vocational institutes, by using the total processed raw scores of six subjects instead of grades, by candidates for selection.
He explained that the Secretariat dealt with three categories of students for selection and placement every year which included qualified candidates who completed BECE that year, re-entry candidates who completed BECE three years ago and foreign students.
According to Mr Oppong, under the system, candidates could choose schools from any of the 10 Regions and that the selection and placement of candidates was more transparent adding, delays in the selection and placement of candidates had been reduced as well as human errors had been eliminated.
However, he said the Secretariat faced some challenges, including the non-acceptance of placement of results, inaccurate data provided by candidates during registration by the West African Examination Council, and lack of parental participation in the registration of their children.
The choice of school without reference to parent's financial preparedness, and availability of boarding facilities and programmes as well as parents' insistence that their children should be placed in their first choice schools were some of the challenges facing the Secretariat.
He noted that it had however, introduced school digest to advertise all SHS and T/VI , continued training of CSSPS frontline implementers, continued and intensified public education about activities of the CSSPS .
Mr Oppong said: "We have arranged with WAEC to release results to the general public and CSSPS Secretariat at the same time in 2012".
He assured the Minister that the Secretariat was working round the clock to ensure that the 2012 selection and placement come out successful and on time.
Mr Ocran commended the Secretariat for their performance over the years to ensure success of the system since its inception in 2005.
He emphasised that the system had been transparent over the years and in the interest of all, and urged parents to understand and accept their children's placement in schools.
Mr Ocran urged the Secretariat to initiate a programme that would make parents have access and the opportunity to visit the Secretariat and observe how the placements were done, in order for them to clear all forms of misconceptions about their operations. GNA


text:
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Preschool In A Box: ABC Box
If you follow Itty Bitty Love blog,
today's post will look
VERY familiar!
She posted this wonderful ABC box
last week.
She made one for her awesome
Montessori classroom and I had to have one for my shelves here at home.
The girls LOVE it!
So does their mama... and their papa
The best part was how much stuff
I already had for it around the house, in our playroom and craft room!
I picked up the box at Walmart and printed the lower case letters
on my printer taped to the drawer fronts with clear packing tape.
Each girl picks a felt mat
(pink for Mini-Saurus and purple for the Frog Princess)
Then they pick one drawer,
put the upper case and lower case
letter at the top of the "page"
then, they name each item as they add it to the mat.
The Frog Princess is practicing writing the names of the items and making sentence stories.
Mini-Saurus is learning the names of objects,
the names of letters,
and what sound each object starts with.
Here are the contents of our
"M" drawer
Here are the contents of our
"S" drawer:
Snow (or snow flake)
Sea Shell
Here's our "P" drawer:
Pan (or Pot)
Here are the items
from the "B" drawer:
Bumble Bee
Happy Learning!
Labels: Explore, Preschool, School Age
Friday, September 25, 2009
Barbie Play School In A Cardboard Box
Last year, when "E" was having
some major anxiety about starting kindergarten,
we made this mini classroom
to role play what a typical day at school might be like.
It really helped her calm her fears.
I printed an alphabet chart, some classroom charts,
and a color wheel (of course) off the internet.
You can Google classroom pictures (or visit teacher blogs)
and just print out their photos of bulletin board displays, etc.
You could get super crafty and just make your own
but she wanted it to be"authentic" (it's one of her favorite big words.)
Using an empty copy paper box from daddy's office,
(remember our Little House in the Big Woods box?)
(remember our Little House in the Big Woods box?)
we glued construction paper to the "walls"and added the printed pictures, and a felt rug.
Our Barbies and Kelly dolls have had quite a lot of fun there.
That's Miss Poisson, the teacher.
She's really nice.
Sometime they take field trips to the Ocean Sensory Box and swim with the fishies.
(or the Farm Sensory Box....or the Winter Sensory Box)
Since "C" started preschool this week, we've been back to
playing in our little school.
Practicing taking turns. Sitting on the circle. Singing school songs.
Saying the pledge of allegiance (with a tiny toothpick flag).
Reading the calendar and the weather. Having tiny snacks.
Playing outside on the playground.
And of course, having the Barbie moms drop the kids off
and pick them back up at the end of school.
Somedays they take the Fisher Price Little People Bus.
How fun would this be in a real preschool classroom?
(a mini replica of your own classroom?!)
It's a really great way to help your kid's
work on some big scary feelings in the comfort of your own home.
Labels: Create, Family, Play, Preschool, School Age
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Snail Love: Homemade Gary The Snail
Since we're a snail-loving family
it shouldn't surprise you
that our favorite
Sponge Bob character
is Gary the Snail (meow!)
I made this felt softie
for the Frog Princess.
She's been treating him like a baby,
feeding him a baby bottle,
changing his diaper,
and giving him extra snuggles.
Now I have to make
another one for Mini-Saurus!
Labels: Create, Fun With Felt, Homemade Gifts, Sewing Fun
Friday, September 18, 2009
* Kid's Art: Mixed Media Rainbow
The Frog Princess "E" loved her sister's mixed media piece with tape resist.
She wanted to make one too. She went with a "rainbow" theme.
She used: watercolor, tissue paper, Elmer's school glue,
shimmery dot paints, and a bit of oil pastel on watercolor paper with painter's masking tape.
Such a happy painting. I love the sun.
It looks like an Eric Carle picture to me.
I think this one will be framed with a big white mat to hang up downstairs.
Labels: Create, Paint, Rainbow, Tissue Paper Fun
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
* Paper Plate Color Wheel Toddler Matching Game
My preschooler has mastered her basic colors.
Thanks in part to this
adorable color matching game
her sweet big sister made for her.
She made a basic color wheel on a paper plate
with bits of construction paper. (she put the grommet in the middle
just in case we wanted to add a spinner later)
I helped her wrap the clothespins with colored masking tape.
We colored the bottom half of them with sharpie markers.
It's a big hit on our Montessori shelf.
Now I'm ready to move on to more complex colors
like turquoise, scarlet, and vermillion!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Magnetic Tree
Today, we'll do a blast from the past.
This is a photo of the Frog Princess
(resplendent in her Buzz Light Year PJs)
when she was three years old.
Her favorite first book was
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
and illustrated by Lois Ehlert
(my favorite children's book illustrator!)
I made her this tree for our fridge
and her alphabet letter magnets.
The trunk was made out of brown contact paper/
shelf liner I had leftover from our kitchen cabinets,
the green leaves were cut out of green card stock
and double-sticky-taped to the doors.
So much fun,
I think I'll have to make another one for
Mini Saurus!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
* Kid's Art: Fun With Tape Resist
My good friend Jen (in real life and bloggy land)
posted this great tape resist project that she did with her daughter
last week. Check out her post at Paint Cut Paste here.
I don't know why I forgot about taping off painting edges
and using painter's tape or masking tape for resist effects.
I watched my mom do it a million times (she's a fabulous watercolorist!)
I used to do it all the time in my own pre-mommyhood-artist watercoloring days.
So fun to try a new technique with your kids!
So, we taped off a piece of white drawing paper.
I should have used heavy weight watercolor paper
or my old printmaking favorite Arches Rives BFK.
(oh...talk dirty to me! You have NO idea how much I love that paper)
The paper we used was old and wimpy so it tore a bit when we pulled up the tape.
Or it was because we used cheap-o kid craft masking tape
instead of real painter's tape but the 2.5 year old didn't care or seem to notice!
We both had a blast and she was proud of her finished masterpiece.
Now I want to try it again on canvas!
And of course the Frog Princess came home and saw it... now she wants to make one too.
Guess what we'll be doing this weekend?!
Labels: Create
Friday, September 11, 2009
Tooth Fairy Pillow Instructable
I posted directions on how to make my
on the Instructables Web Site today.
The editor's picked my project as
one of the featured kid's projects!!
If you want to check it out,
or make one of your own:
Labels: Create, Fun With Felt, Making Memories, Sewing Fun
Who Lives In a Pineapple Under the Sea? Home Made Felt Puppets
Confession time:
my darling, innocent children
started watching Sponge Bob Square Pants
this summer.
(Please don't report me to CPS)
It started
innocently enough
with our two-day trip to Pennsylvania.
We were staying in a hotel
and there was NOTHING appropriate on TV.
The girls were sick of coloring, wikki sticks,
and every other toy I brought to keep
them occupied.
While I was in the shower,
my sweet husband decided to let the girls
watch Sponge Bob.
I love him dearly,
but he may as well have given them dime bags.
They were instantly hooked.
They thought it was hilarious.
The Frog Princess was laughing,
if she thinks it's funny
then, it must be
so the two year old joined in too...
(monkey see, monkey do)
When we got home
the Frog Princess decided to make
Sponge Bob felt puppets for our
felt board.
raided my felt stash
collected her supplies:
googly eyes,
and glue.
Here is her finished product.
She even made them two-sided
(and glued the edges together)
so they are finger puppets too!
What's a momma to do?
Maybe it will give her some
"playground cred"
in First grade this year.
Labels: Create, Family, Fun With Felt, No Sew Project
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Felt Finger Puppets
The Frog Princess did a lot of
crafting this summer.
(I'm totally jealous)
Especially during her three weeks of
Art Camp!
(Still jealous...what do you mean mom can't go to art camp?
Don't you need qualified art teachers?!)
She made these little felt finger puppets
much to the amusement of Mini-Saurus.
They've been quite popular.
Just cut out two (identical)
pieces of felt,
glue the edges together (no sew!)
leave room for a little finger to fit in at the bottom
(add googly eyes, etc.)
You're good to go!
Allow me to introduce our felty friends:
We have a frog (above)
A queen/king/princess
(depends who we need for the plot line)
The grumpy alien troll who lives under the bridge,
an angel/fairy godmother.
Here's the whole "scene"
It's on hinged cardboard
so you can fold it....
like this.
It folds into a neat little box shape.
We're planning to decorate the other side
so we can have different backgrounds.
Labels: Create, Fun With Felt, No Sew Project
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First Day of First Grade- Backpacks and Snack Boxes Oh My!
The Frog Princess is
off to school
for her first day
of First Grade today.
I did a little
bit of crafting
yesterday to prep for the big day.
In first grade, they eat a snack and lunch
so she needed an extra box or bag for snack.
Well, here was my brain storm
I came up with in the shower yesterday:
Here is the front of the snack box
I painted for the Frog Princess.
Froggy (her lovey),
Goldie Snail,
and Tiny the Snail are all on here...
Side view.
There is a fairy, lady bug,
and daddy mermaid.
The back of the snack box.
Portrait of our family as mermaids
(daddy mermaid is hiding on the left side)
The other side...
with E-snail, Froggy,
and a pink sprinkle cupcake!
Here's her backpack with
felt flowers and a snail
added by her crafty mama
(who just can't leave anything alone!)
Here's her froggy I added to her strap.
This is the snail shrinky dink
(portrait of Tiny the Snail)
made by the Frog Princess
(she can't leave anything alone either!)
Special snail necklace.
A gift from Grammy
for the First Day of First Grade.
Waiting at the bus stop!
Labels: Create, Family, Fun With Felt
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Play Time: Mini Play-Doh Lands
The Frog Princess enjoyed
some last week of summer play dates
this week.
One of them was with a neighbor friend of hers.
They decided to make mini worlds on plastic trays
(so they could transport them around the house)
with Play-Doh landscaping and mini trees.
I had to grab my camera when I saw
what they were working on.
Her friend "A" chose Dinosaur Island as his theme.
The Frog Princess stuck with mini polly pockets.
I see a large home-made batch
of greens, blues, browns, and tan dough in my future.
If you want to see a REALLY COOL
play dough scene hop over to Filth Wizardry
and check out this Mermaid Table!!
Labels: Create, Play, Play Dough
Friday, September 4, 2009
Back To School Teacher Gift
We're headed to First Grade today
to meet our new teacher at Open House.
The Frog Princess is terribly excited to start
a new school year and is about to burst with anticipation!!
What could be more perfect for her than
a FROG theme
for the entire first grade (I know!!)
I like to think I may have some credit in that department
since I started a frog art lesson there
when I was teaching art in her building.
The first graders were required to make a pinch pot in clay with
"score, wet, and weld" attachment techniques added to them.
So...I came up with a super cute lesson
where they make a pinch pot,
set it on it's side (like a big cave),
then add a tongue, eyes, and legs
to create a big frog.
It was a huge hit with the kids and first grade teachers.
Such a big hit that I heard the teachers insisted that the
lesson be repeated every year after I left.
I can't wait for the Frog Princess to make hers!
I wanted to bring a little something
along for our meet and greet with her new teacher.
So the Frog Princess and I
decorated this cute
Froggy bottle of hand sanitizer.
to meet our new teacher at Open House.
The Frog Princess is terribly excited to start
a new school year and is about to burst with anticipation!!
What could be more perfect for her than
a FROG theme
for the entire first grade (I know!!)
I like to think I may have some credit in that department
since I started a frog art lesson there
when I was teaching art in her building.
The first graders were required to make a pinch pot in clay with
"score, wet, and weld" attachment techniques added to them.
So...I came up with a super cute lesson
where they make a pinch pot,
set it on it's side (like a big cave),
then add a tongue, eyes, and legs
to create a big frog.
It was a huge hit with the kids and first grade teachers.
Such a big hit that I heard the teachers insisted that the
lesson be repeated every year after I left.
I can't wait for the Frog Princess to make hers!
I wanted to bring a little something
along for our meet and greet with her new teacher.
So the Frog Princess and I
decorated this cute
Froggy bottle of hand sanitizer.
We also made a getting-to-know-you interview
(All About Me)
with questions that she answered about herself.
We included a blank interview
for her teacher to fill out
(All About You)
and mail back to us
(in a postage paid envelope we included) .
The Frog Princess is very excited
to learn more about her new teacher.
We can't wait for the REAL first day
of school on Tuesday!
P.S. Here are favorite answers on her quiz:
Name Three Things you Don't Like:
Touching Spider Webs
Cat Barf
to learn more about her new teacher.
We can't wait for the REAL first day
of school on Tuesday!
P.S. Here are favorite answers on her quiz:
Name Three Things you Don't Like:
Touching Spider Webs
Cat Barf
Labels: Create, Fall, Homemade Gifts, Making Memories, Preschool, School Age, Teacher Gifts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Snail Love
The Frog Princess has a soft spot
for tiny critters...
snails are the latest obsession.
Meet "RoboSnail"
She wanted to build a solar-powered
robot snail but we didn't want to spend
our retirement money at Radio Shack
and I don't have an engineering degree...
so she came up with this one instead.
Check it out --
she attached a small piece of
almost invisible thread
to pull him along and his shell
is interchangeable
(you can click it on and off a lego
in the center with double looped tape on it)
Remember "Tiny" the snail?
Our newest family member?
"Tiny" the Snail comes up to her
whenever she opens
the panty hose lid on his habitat
and eats cucumber from her hand.
She's like the Snail Whisperer.
He is pretty cute.
He had a small fall tonight
when she was changing out his water,
and has a small crack at the edge of his shell.
I've done some snail-research on google
this evening and I think he'll be okay.
She felt awful, and worried
he would think she didn't love him.
I'm keeping my fingers (and toes!) crossed
that this little guy lasts a long time.
She'll be devastated if something happens to him.
We're off to get him a cuttle shell
in the morning... they are supposed to help
speed up the shell healing process.
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Blog Archive
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- Preschool In A Box: ABC Box
- Barbie Play School In A Cardboard Box
- Snail Love: Homemade Gary The Snail
- * Kid's Art: Mixed Media Rainbow
- * Paper Plate Color Wheel Toddler Matching Game
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Magnetic Tree
- * Kid's Art: Fun With Tape Resist
- Tooth Fairy Pillow Instructable
- Who Lives In a Pineapple Under the Sea? Home Made ...
- Felt Finger Puppets
- First Day of First Grade- Backpacks and Snack Boxe...
- Play Time: Mini Play-Doh Lands
- Back To School Teacher Gift
- Snail Love
- Backyard Clothesline Part Two
- Backyard Clothesline
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The Shelby County Board of Education did more celebrating than planning or budgeting Thursday.
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One World Recycling is a globally responsible recycler committed to providing individuals, businesses, and government organizations with a safe, convenient, and cost effective service for the proper disposal of electronic waste ...
The electronics industry continues to create products that inspire our imaginations and make our lives easier. However, this advancement in technology comes at a high cost.
Many electronics contain highly toxic materials which have had devastating effects on communities around the globe by causing severe environmental damage and health problems related to improper handling and disposal of e-waste.
As the technology industry grows at an increasing rate, many manufactures are producing electronics with shorter life spans or products that become obsolete in only a few years. As we consume more, we put greater pressure on our raw materials causing the e-waste crisis to grow exponentially to what has now become the fastest growing waste stream on the planet.


text:
Jan. 31, 2009
ITHACA, N.Y. - Defending Ivy League champion Cornell was the prohibitive favorite to repeat when the preseason media poll was released in October. The Big Red showed why on Saturday. Jeff Foote scored a game-high 18 points as Cornell topped Yale 64-36 before an enthusiastic crowd of 3,418 at Newman Arena.
The Big Red (14-6, 4-0 Ivy) has now won 19 straight Ivy games and 17 consecutive home games.
Greg Mangano paced the Bulldogs (7-11, 2-2 Ivy) with eight points and five rebounds, both career highs. Chris Andrews added seven points, and Ross Morin scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. Travis Pinick had five points and four rebounds.
Cornell led 7-2 after five minutes, but Pinick's layup and free throw pulled Yale back within two. The Big Red then seized control with a 21-6 run, capped by a Ryan Wittman three-pointer. Wittman then made a long three-pointer from the wing as time expired in the first half to give Cornell a 34-13 lead at the intermission.
The Big Red shot 54.2 percent from the field and made four three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
Louis Dale, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, finished with 10 points and six rebounds for Cornell. Wittman added eight points and Chris Wroblewski scored seven points. Foote, the Big Red's 7-foot center, was 8 of 12 from the field and had five rebounds, all on the offensive end.
Both teams coaching staffs wore sneakers as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend, a collaborative initiative of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society to demonstrate their support for the fight against cancer.
The Bulldogs are back on the road again next weekend. They play at Harvard on Friday and then are at Dartmouth on Saturday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity


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PHILADELPHIA (AP) Langston Galloway scored 18 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, to lead Saint Joseph's to a 74-55 victory against American University on Wednesday.
C.J. Aiken and Carl Jones had 16 points apiece for the Hawks (4-1), Chris Wilson contributed 15, and Ronald Roberts Jr. grabbed 11 rebounds.
Stephen Lumpkins led American (2-4) with 18 points, Tony Wroblicky scored 14, John Schoof 12 and Daniel Munoz 10.
After Lumpkins hit a jumper for a 28-21 lead with 2:26 left in the first half, Saint Joseph's scored 11 points in a row, including 3-pointers from Galloway, Wilson and Aiken en route to a 32-28 lead at the break.
Carl Jones made two 3-pointers and a free throw to build Saint Joseph's lead to 39-30. Two free throws by Galloway and another 3-pointer from Jones made it 48-36 at the 14:48 mark, and the Hawks cruised to the victory.


text:
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Morgenstern on the Beauty, Savagery of '12 Years A Slave'
Movie audiences have never seen anything like the intertwined beauty and savagery of "12 Years a Slave," which could make or break the movie. WSJ Film Critic Joe Morgenstern offers his take. Photo: Fox Searchlight.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... it's ... it all ... I ... while past two years ... with some ... what ... well ten years Oscillator new film is beautiful and it is savage and amid the likely test audiences ability to bear witness to one of the nation's worst periods ... slavery Nenad states for the civil war WSJ's Film critic ... Joe Morris said he's here with his take on why it is worth the pain ... just a bread Hit Makes a Pearson is still a very telling my niece is a protectionist a ... black man abducted from his New York home and put into slavery in the South he says ... the story is amazing ... and is in no way cool and why that might resonate for you with this town ... well it's in no way good because the story is so her ruling and ... that would be unbelievable if you do if it were essentially true and based in eighteen fifty three memoir ... highchair and the breadth of hunger and and so the film is advancing ... and in every way ... we've never seen anything like this before when he returned to films and slippery ... and most recently jangle and Chad and I must say I have great ... admiration for ... the giant Aeon of snow that was done as a ... black comedy for less than it really did get to some of the essence of slavery ... this film by Steve McQueen is ... deadly serious ... Mizuno comedy in the ... misuse of of of the dollar compared to higher on loose Bosch vision of hell ... the tradition of ... the plantation system in the antebellum South ... it's absolutely owns Barron's depiction of slippery ... with so ... many difficult theme is that why what audiences want to suggest the subject themselves to such ... brutality and oh we ask ourselves this every time ... there is a film of this nature and that is implausible to think that this film can get a mass audience ... Ch ... it's not implausible and it will be fascinating to see what develops ... I think the answer to why you would want to subject yourself to ... this ... sort of ... harrowing experience ... because it's a work of art ... it's Steve McQueen was a ... danger before using filmmakers still ... competitor ... and that he has a very special by a very special sensibility ... he's also a specialist in the darker side of the human spirit having done ... chain which is about tortured sexuality and before that hunger which is about violence in prison ... and note no stranger to violence or tortured sexuality ... but he pulls in this together and to add to the masculine piece of filmmaking ... with a brilliant performance is another reason to see that the ... first good deterrent at all in June for the ... English actor of Nigerian parents ... Michael fast vendor who is the villain of the peace and of course ... gets the greatest ... part ... Dylan the as I soon learned to use its own reward and rum ... and will have to bear witness to this failed to sort of see those villains in action Joe thanks for just take this week will cease and ... thank you and ... I ...


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Costco Wholesale Corp. said its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 15% as lower international profit, weaker foreign-exchange rates and poor results from nonfoods merchandise categories weighed on the bottom line.
The company COST, +0.48% said the first four weeks of the quarter represented the majority of its earnings underperformance. Shares fell 2% in early trading.
Costco blamed the lower earnings on weaker sales and profits from certain nonfoods merchandise categories, particularly during the four-week holiday season; weaker profits on its fresh foods business; and lower international profits, resulting from the weakening of foreign exchange rates.
The company's sales growth has slowed recently, in contrast to other discount clubs, which have been a bright spot in retail as shoppers seek to save money by buying in bulk.
For the quarter ended Feb. 16, Costco reported a profit of $463 million, or $1.05 a share, compared with $547 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier. The year-earlier quarter included a tax benefit of 14 cents a share.
Total revenue rose 6% to $26.3 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.17 a share and revenue of $26.65 billion.
"In our view," Sterne Agee analyst Charles Grom said, "both the seasonal softness...and fresh-food margins issues (likely higher protein pressure in poultry) will pass, while the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar could remain a drag."
Revenue from membership fees rose 4.1% to $550 million, while merchandise costs rose 5.8% to $23 billion.
Total same-store sales grew 5% in February, excluding currency fluctuations. Same-store sales increased 4% in the U.S. and 5% internationally, also excluding currency changes.
"Despite the miss, we believe [Costco] continues to fare better than most," Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser said. "We would look to buy on weakness, as the core model remains intact, and the worst of the margin pressure was holiday-related."


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Register now!
ASU (Biodesign Institute Auditorium) will be host to a two day course on September 8th through September 9th – and you are invited to register and attend at no charge!!!
Attendees will get a basic knowledge of how to use the Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) to write bioinformatics programs, and is a mixture of programming talks and practical sessions where they will write their own code. Attendees will participate in hands-on labs and write a sample application that employs the file parsers, algorithms, and web connectors in MBF.
I am often asked by developers I meet at technical events:
"Are there any Microsoft events coming up in my area?"
"Are there any Microsoft events coming up in my area?"
So, what is the best answer? If you would like to have insight of upcoming events in your area (and get notified too), please sign up for the MSDN Flash!
What I enjoy about MSDN Flash myself is the ability to customize the content you receive. My geography is "Rocky Mountain", though it has been known as Desert Mountain too (see my technical online newspaper!)
The next article at DevProConnections is out!
This article is all about using the new features in CSS3 in your HTML5 web sites.
This article discusses layout, media queries, and the little things that make a difference to user experience!
The HTML5 Web Camp in LA was clearly the best one yet. Hats off to all the volunteers and the attendees for being very prepared for the event.
The event was very interactive, and many questions were regarding browser concerns. There were a few questions regarding the future of development, and we did show a video regarding Windows 8.
The demo code featured during my presentations can be downloaded below:
[ HTML5 & CSS3 demo files ]
When I travel, the hotel rooms are usually lacking with regard to a sufficient number of power outlets. I typically travel with at least two notebook computers, two phones, an iPad, and a video camera. So it goes without saying I need as many open outlets as possible. I once travelled with a typical surge protector, but that was very clunky.
I am very happy I found the Monster OTG300 USB EFS. Here are my reasons I highly recommend this product:
If you are a geek and travel is something you do often, this is one item you will be grateful you packed!
Don't miss out on the previous tech travel tip.
When a product works better than hoped for, it deserves praise. With my heavy travel burden, I want to pack as little as possible to get from point A to B. I have some nice cooling fans for my notebooks in my home office, but they are too clunky to pack and use external power supplies.
I HIGHLY recommend the KINYO|ArtDio Mini Laptop Cooling Fan (CF-201)! Here are my top reasons for this being such a great accessory when travelling:
If you are a tech traveller, this product is a must-have!!! If you have a product you can't travel without, please leave a comment and let me know!


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Care, Care & Pandas in China by Cassie Senn
Arriving in Chengdu
I had travelled quite a bit, especially around Asia, but I had never been to China. I was very excited for my trip to Chengdu, although a little nervous as I do not speak Mandarin at all! The 10 hour flight was long and tiring, but I was greeted at the airport by three beaming and friendly supervisors, Elaine, Cynthia and Guo, who definitely helped lift my spirits. I was shown where the nearest metro station and supermarket was, followed by a lovely lunch at a restaurant next to Lazy Inn Hostel where I was staying.
I landed on the Saturday and although I was the first one in my group to arrive, the supervisors made sure I didn't sit in a hostel room all day. I spent the first weekend with a Care & Community group who had just finished their first week in China. We saw some of the sights in Chengdu including the People's Park and a monastery. We also climbed a mountain which was fun, but nearly killed me! It was unbearably hot; there were also a lot of stairs and I was jetlagged.
Working at the panda base
We first took an hour-long bus ride to a smaller city outside of Chengdu. We stayed in a lovely small family run hotel, and there were western toilets in the rooms which was wonderful to see.
On the first day at Dujiangyan Panda Base we had an introduction and were given a tour around the base. We then got to spend some time watching the pandas, although they just sleep and eat a lot. Over the next four days we cleaned out the pandas indoor cages and outdoor enclosures twice a day, smashed bamboo (which was great fun but I wasn't great at it) and made panda cake. Pandas are actually surprisingly messy creatures, there were bamboo shoots everywhere. They are also very fussy about their food and only eat the best pieces of bamboo. The highlight was feeding the pandas twice a day at 11am and 2pm, it was amazing to see them up close. They are incredibly humanlike, especially in the way they hold the panda cake and carrot sticks with their hands.
It rained pretty much everyday and we all wore these ridiculous purple and blue ponchos! The staff at the base was lovely and fluent in English, so they were able to answer any of our questions, and teach us more about the pandas and the work the base does. The base is only open to volunteers and group tours. Often while working, the Chinese visitors would take pictures of me and the other western volunteers. One lovely man even asked if he could take a picture with me and another volunteer, Clare.
Working at the care centre
In the second week I worked at Chengdu Wuhou Disabled Persons Centre. This was quite a challenge as none of the kids or staff spoke English, however, hand gestures and smiles went a long way. Luckily in our group there were five other volunteers who spoke Mandarin so they were able to translate. Mia, another volunteer (who spoke Mandarin) and I helped a group of teenagers with activities such as reading, puzzles, and arts and crafts. One day we also helped with a music lesson, they sang a song and everyone had to pretend to be a kettle, but I didn't really have any idea what was going on!
It was a very rewarding experience and I bonded with a couple of the children, especially one girl who wanted me to go everywhere with her. Many of the kids were very talented at things like Chinese chess, and several played the piano beautifully! On one of the days there was a big birthday for everyone who was born in July. We performed for everyone, including playing the piano and performing a dance to a catchy Korean song, and then we all did the Macarena! We weren't all in time with each other but it was fun to do.
Free time exploring Chengdu
On the weekends and in evenings we would all go out for meals at local Chinese restaurants, and try new and exciting foods. It was great because our supervisors would often order for us, and make sure we ate some of the best dishes around. We would also use public transport like the metro and buses to visit local attractions such as Wide and Narrow Alley. I really liked doing this as it felt more like we were living and working like the local people. One of the great things was that the supervisors would ask us what we would like to do and were quite lenient on activities, so if we were really tired we could have a rest in the hotel.
We also went to the more financial district of Chengdu to do some shopping. The area was very modern and developed, with huge designer shops like Gucci! It was so different to the older more traditional buildings seen in other parts of the city, and it was quite a shock seeing how much of a contrast there was.
One of the real highlights for me was KTV (Karaoke). I was lucky enough to go twice, once with my group and once on my first weekend in Chengdu with the Care & Community group. Both nights were hilarious; there were some very memorable performances and we all belted out tunes without a care in the world. Some Korean and Chinese songs were also attempted which was hilarious! I have so many great memories and videos from these two nights.
The places we all went the most were the supermarkets. I went nearly every evening. It was really convenient as there were several next to the hotel. It gave us the freedom to go in and find foods that we hadn't tried before, and then try and pay for them without any help.
Overall impressions
I absolutely loved my trip to Chengdu, and I really fell in love with the city and the pandas! Leaving and saying goodbye to everyone was so sad. It was really hard because I had become so close to so many amazing people, even the supervisors were more like friends. I am still in contact with Cynthia and Guo, and many of the other volunteers from America, Spain, China, Korea, Belgium and France. I have made some lifelong friends and we are all thinking of having a reunion in Chengdu in the future. I had an absolutely amazing experience and have so many wonderful memories to look back on, although I do still miss the city and the people.
I would definitely recommend this trip to people who are interested in animals and care, or to anyone who wants to experience a new culture, make friends from around the world, have a bit of an adventure and go somewhere new. I am so glad I went, it was honestly one of the best things I have ever done and I am already looking at where I can go next year!
Cassie Senn
Ce témoignage de volontaire peut faire référence à des actions impliquant des orphelinats. Retrouvez plus d'informations sur la vision actuelle de Projects Abroad au sujet du volontariat dans les orphelinats et la réorientation de nos actions vers des projets d'aide à l'enfance à dimension communautaire.
Ce témoignage est basé sur l'expérience unique d'un volontaire à un certain moment donné. Nos projets s'adaptent constamment aux besoins locaux, ils évoluent au fur et à mesure que des volontaires s'impliquent et s'adaptent aux saisons, ainsi votre expérience sur place pourra être différente de celle décrite ici. Pour en savoir plus sur cette mission, vous pouvez consulter la page de ce projet ou bien contacter l'un de nos conseillers de volontaires.


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According to the Site Performance feature in Google Webmaster Tools, your pages load reeeeealy slow but, other external tools or monitoring services tell a different story.
What should you believe?
First, it's important to understand the differences between these tools, the data they capture and how it's measured.
Page Speed evaluates the performance of a specific web page and individual elements in the browser. As a result, this type of testing may not accurately reflect latency experienced by users. Page Speed is for testing and improving speed for individual pages.
Tools like webpagetest.org and monitoring services often test latency for a specific URL at various times of day and locations around the world. As a result, these kinds of tests may not reflect latency as perceived by users in the region the site targets.
Google Webmaster Tools Site Performance data is collected from actual Google Toolbar users in the same geographic region as the target audience of the site. This data can be measured in several ways. One being, time between when the user clicks on a link "until just before that document's body.onload() handler is called." If for example, if a user clicks on a link, is then redirected and then redirected again, that delay should be recorded and reflected in Google Webmaster Tools Site Performance data. These are the kinds of delays that impact users and Googlebot and that are totally missing from other tools including analytics.
Speed doesn't currently have a major impact on rankings but, slow pages deter users and hamper crawl efficiency. Crawl efficiency can be a major factor for pages with lower PageRank because " the number of pages Google crawls is roughly proportional to PageRank".


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The Republican-controlled House voted (again) to repeal the law they call "ObamaCare."
The measure passed 224-185 with only Democrats voting against the landmark health-care law while all Republicans as well as five Democrats voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as it is formally known.
Texas Republicans were happy to explain their support for the successful vote.
Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, said,
The health care system in America needs reform and improvements, but the law that was passed will cost American taxpayers trillions of dollars, will not improve care, nor will it make care more affordable. We need to start fresh and need to address the issues with common sense improvements that focus on the real issues at hand: creating a health care system that is focused on patients instead of payments, quality instead of quantity, affordability instead of cheapness, and innovation instead of stagnation.
Rep. Pete Olson, a Sugar Land Republican, also focused on what the American people want and need, saying,
Today, the House voted once again on behalf of the American people to repeal ObamaCare. A majority of Americans oppose this law, which moves our healthcare system in the wrong direction, transferring decisions about your family's healthcare from you to Washington bureaucrats. The federal government must not be allowed to interfere with what doctors you want to see and how you choose to spend your family's healthcare dollars.
Rep. Kevin Brady, a Republican from The Woodlands, also called for an improved health care system, saying, "Under ObamaCare, costs will go up for most people because of government mandates, more businesses will be forced to drop their health care plans and place their workers in the new government exchanges, and many of our Texas seniors will be no longer be able to see their doctor or use their Medicare plan of choice."
Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Midland, released this statement:
"If this law is left unchecked, it will reduce health care access with oppressive regulations, drive up cost with expensive mandates, and allow the federal government to reach further into our personal lives by interfering in our doctor-patient relationships.
"Regardless of the Supreme Court's ruling, this law remains bad policy. I will continue to vote to repeal it until it is overturned."
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, like Conaway, states that he and others will continue the battle against ObamaCare.
"While the Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of the president's health care law, fortunately the legislative branch will have the final say. Today we continue efforts to repeal this takeover of 17 percent of the U.S. economy. Whether it happens this Congress, or with a Republican-controlled Senate and White House next year, the heavy-handed mandates, multi trillion dollar tax increases, and erosion of individual liberty that puts Washington between patients and their doctors will be struck down by the court of public opinion and their elected representatives."
Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco, a Republican from southwestern Texas and a former small business owner, focused on the impact that the Health Care law would have on small business saying,
"Obamacare is also a massive burden on our economy. The 2,700 pages of Obamacare are filled with new taxes, new mandates, and other burdens that are leaving businesses wondering how they'll bear the burdens associated with this law. I've met with numerous small business owners across the 23 District of Texas, and overwhelmingly I've heard how Obamacare has left them unable to hire new employees because they have no idea what their health care costs will be to comply with the law."
Concluded Canseco: "I'm proud one of my first votes in the House of Representatives was to repeal this law completely, and I'm proud to have supported the complete repeal of Obamacare again today,"


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Kiva Fellow and author Leo Della-Moretta in his former life.
As a combat veteran, volunteering for Kiva in Ecuador is a dramatic shift from my previous professional experience. The driving factor for me to volunteer is the desire to help build something. All soldiers work and fight to protect their nations, their families, and their friends, but the reality is that we often do so by destroying people and things.
In contrast, Kiva is an institution that is enabling people around the world to build their communities and improve their lives. It's also believed to be one of the only organizations that actively injects capital into conflict zones (Kiva has partnered with microfinance institutions in Iraq). With that same mindset and goal, this article will try to explain how and why I believe microfinance can help move countries out of conflict and into social and economic development. This article is based solely on my personal experiences.
This is what your car looks like after you were blown up.
Brown everywhere. Choking on something. That is all I could see and feel for what seemed like an eternity. Then slowly, my eyes start to make out the outline of the windshield of my HMMWV through the brown. I thought to myself, "Yup, I just got blown up."
My HMMWV had run over a landmine; the brown that I had seen was the dust that had been blown into the air. We identified a farmer across the street after establishing security around my now disabled vehicle. My headquarters chose to direct my men and I to burn the farmer's crops. My headquarters' reasoning was that he knew about the land mine and chose not to report it to us as we drove down the street straight toward it. While insurgents most likely threatened him against warning us, my headquarters felt that burning his crop, his livelihood, would incentivize him to report future threats to U.S. forces. Again, the reasoning was that the punishment was better than arresting him and taking him from his family.
Could micro-finance be a better way?
Some weeks later, my unit came to believe that the person who had placed the land mine was a "10 dollar a day insurgent," i.e. someone who had no desire to attack us except for the fact that it paid a good salary. These "economic combatants" are arguably present in all wars, but their presence is greater in insurgencies. The author David Kilcullen explains this trend in his book "The Accidental Guerilla." Insurgencies produce environments where economic activity is stifled due to the risk of non-directed violence -- basically, anyone is a target. This is exacerbated by the fact that foreign capital is not invested in countries in turmoil because the risk to return on investment is seen to be as too high.
The paradox is that economic activity is one of the keys to turning a conflict zone into a post-conflict zone. The U.S. military acknowledged this when it published FM 3-24-2, Tactics in Counter Insurgency, paragraph 5-223. Additionally the U.S. military has launched multiple programs to help stimulate local economies in conflict zones. CERP is a prime example where money was used to stimulate the economy through infrastructure building. The U.S. government also recently published reports (Iraq and Afghanistan) showing how this money was not nearly as effective as it could have been.
The problems with the models used by the military can be, in my opinion, boiled down to two issues. The first is that the majority of investment the military made was in infrastructure projects, i.e. better roads and electrical networks. While this is an important component of recovery, it is not a silver bullet. The direct economic activity stimulated by these efforts is limited to the people hired to build the road. The potential for subsequent economic activity is limited due to the fact that capital is not introduced to the market for investment. This effect is lowered even further if the construction crew is not from the local area.
In fact, this effort has created the opposite effect in some areas of Afghanistan and Iraq. Remember the "$10 a day" fighter? Imagine how he feels. He has only been fighting because he needs the money. Then, the first time a good job comes to his community, the construction company isn't hiring. That guy just went from a "$10 a day" fighter to a dedicated and angry belligerent.
The second issue is that the majority of economic activity stimulated by the U.S. military was through contracts to support its mission. Again, these contractors were not from the village/tribe/region where the U.S. forces were located. This can distort the local market and create an unsustainable environment. Basically, when the military leaves, so does the economic activity.
So how can microfinance help bring peace to conflict zones? By doing what it does everywhere else: introducing capital. When capital is provided directly to entrepreneurs, economic activity is stimulated in a manner that improves the local economy without inducing distortions. The fact that the capital must be paid back to keep it coming acts as a disciplining mechanism in concert with the return on investment incentive. Additionally, economic activity has a multiplier effect. When a market is created, others will enter it to compete for the benefits. This in turn provides opportunities and incentives to economic combatants to turn away from violence and toward improving their livelihoods through the local market. In the end, the "$10 a day" fighters have an incentive to work toward peaceful solutions.
If we take another look at my unit's action in burning down crops after being attacked, another option becomes clear. Instead of penalizing the farmer for trying to stay neutral, and possibly push him toward becoming a paid insurgent, why not try to offer him a loan or other financial tools to expand his farm's economic potential? Once the farmer's business gets better, his neighbors will want to improve their economic situation as well. The community itself may turn its back on violence so they can maintain the standard of living they have come to enjoy from the economic stimulus.
While volunteering in Ecuador, I have come across many people whose lives were improved through microfinance. One example is a beekeeper who, after multiple years of receiving and repaying microloans, now produces enough honey to support her family.
It's clear that the conditions in Ecuador are not the same as those in conflict zones. But the benefits of microfinance can be exported to them, and I believe that microfinance activities can accelerate the move toward peace.
Kiva is currently partnered with two MFIs (Relief International and CHF International Access to Credit Services Initiatives) in Iraq. The current uptick in violence in Iraq highlights that there are no easy answers when dealing with conflict zones. That being said, I believe that the loans these Kiva borrowers have taken out will help, in a small way to move the country toward peace while improving their own lives.
A borrower in Iraq, identity obscured for her security.


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Our deep-seat kneeler has far superior kneeling and sitting pads, compared to our competitors'. The extra-wide base makes it much more stable than narrower models, with sturdy sides that lock in place so you can raise and lower yourself with confidence. Easily flips from kneeler to padded bench. Sides fold in for compact storage. Holds up to 250 lbs. Weighs just 9 pounds, so it's easy to carry.
Note: This kneeler is compatible with the Deep-Seat Kneeler Tool Pouch (38-577). It is not compatible with the Standard Kneeler Tool Pouch (34-315).
Gardening Success Guaranteed
Garden Lab Designed & Tested
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Expert Garden Advice


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|Version 6 (modified by anonymous, 14 years ago) (diff)
To internationalize your application, you have to make sure of the following steps:
1 That you mark your text strings using the _() function.
2 That you have create message catalogs in the right directory structure for all your text strings and supported languages.
3 That any date or number strings are formatted using the turbogears.i18n formatting functions.
1. Mark your text strings with _()
All text strings you want translated should be included in the _() function. This function is builtin to turbogears, so you don't need to import it specifically into your module, if you have already called "import turbogears".
For example: import turbogears from turbogears import controllers
class Controller(controllers.Root):
def index(self):
return dict(message=_("Welcome"))
If you want to explicitly pass in the locale in the _() call, you can do this:
print _("Welcome", "de")
Handling text strings in Kid templates is somewhat easier. If you set the cherrypy configuration setting "i18n.runTemplateFilter" to True, all text inside your Kid templates will be passed through _() automatically. The user locale (see below) can be overriden in your template by using the "lang" attribute, for example:

Welcome

Welcome

The first "Welcome" will be translated using the user locale setting, the second using the German locale. Assuming your user locale is English, you would see:

Welcome

Willkommen

However, attribute values are not translated and so have to be handled explicitly by using the _() call:

Note that text inside widget templates, etc. will also be translated.
2. Create your message catalogs
Use the Python scripts in tools/i18n, pygettext.py and msgfmt.py, to create your .po file and .mo files. For details on using this tool and creating your message catalogs, see http://docs.python.org/lib/module-gettext.html. Basically you should have a directory structure like this:
messages.pot en/
Eventually we should have tools in tg-admin to handle text extraction and compilation.
By default, _() looks for subdirectory "locales" and domain "messages" in your project directory. You can override these settings in your config file by setting "i18n.localeDir" and "i18n.domain" respectively.
If a language file(.mo) is not found, the _() call will return the plain text string.
3. Localize your dates and numbers
The i18n package has a number of useful functions for handling date, location and number formats. Data for these formats are located in LDML (Locale Data Markup Language) files under turbogears/i18n/data; if you wish to use your own files, set the config setting i18n.dataDir. When searching for a format, the full locale name (e.g. en_CA for Canadian English) is used; if no matching format is found then the fallback locale(e.g. en for English) is used. These functions are found in i18n/formats.py. They include:
format_date: returns a localized date string
get_countries: returns a list of tuples, with the international country code and localized name (e.g. ("AU", "Australia"))
format_currency: returns a formatted currency value (e.g. in German 56.89 > 56,89)
Finding the user locale
The default locale function, _get_locale, can be overriden by your own locale using the config setting "i18n.getLocale". This default function finds the locale setting in the following order:
1 By looking for a session value. By default this is "locale", but can be changed in the config setting "i18n.sessionKey".
2 By looking in the HTTP Accept-Language header for the most preferred language.
3 By using the default locale (config setting "i18n.defaultLocale", by default "en").


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- Doctors
- California
- Beverly Hills
- Internists
- Dr. David Y. Kawashiri
You may also like
Ratings for Dr. David Y. Kawashiri
Dr. Kawashiri is fantastic. I have been with him for years and just discovered ratemds.com and had to add my 2 cents. He is thorough, his office is very responsive, and he has excellent bedside manner. I recommend him to everyone I know in LA looking for a new doctor. Plus, he's part of the Cedars-Sinai network which is world class.
Dr. Kawashiri is the best doctor I ever had. He genuinely cares about his patients and goes out of his way to help them. I moved to San Diego and still drove to LA to see him.
I have been seeing Dr. Kawashiri for about 10 years. He is always friendly and very knowledgable. He always call about your test results within a few days after I've done the test. He is really good with returning phone calls when you have a question. The only one negative is that he has a lot of patiens so the wait to see him is always long, even if you have an appointment. I am very happy with Dr. K even got my other family members to be his patiens as well. Highly recommended !
Dr. Kawashiri goes above and beyond for his patients. He is extremely knowledgeable, attentive, kind and patient. He is thorough and conscientious. Dr. Kawashiri is really good about calling with test results and checking in with his patients. His staff is also friendly and helpful.
Dr. Kawashiri is extremely thorough when diagnosising and treating a patient. He always takes his time with me; making certain that I clearly understand what he is saying or looking for. He always makes himself available to answer any questions or concerns I may have. He is Top-of-the-Line!!! First rate!
Dr. David Y. Kawashiri's Credentials
Facility Affiliations
Accepting New Patients
- GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE (Grad. 1991)
Other Specialties
Areas of Expertise
Awards & Recognitions
Publications & Research
Insurance accepted by this Doctor
Top Hospitals in Beverly Hills, CA
Find a Doctor by Specialty
Featured News
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Top Internists / Geriatricians
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I don't have a CD player in my apartment, and I have never owned an mp3 player. Sometimes a full week will go past and I wont have listened to music at home. I've always been the type of person that finds a band or artist and then obsesses with them for a while. This happened to me with Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, The Frames, Sigur Rós, The Strokes and Damien Rice just to name a few.
Since relocating to the U.S I seemed to have moved away from that pattern. Every now and then I will hear a single from a new band that draws me in, but I never really take the time to sit down and listen to their music. Like most people I will never have as much free time as I did when I was at University in Belfast.
Then something changed. I was gifted a record player for Christmas… and I couldn't have been inspired more by a single act of kindness. Like a student again I have been taking the time to sit down and listen to albums, from start to finish. Classic albums like 'Into the Music' from Van Morrison and 'Everybody Knows this is Nowhere' by Neil Young. I have borrowed a few records from friends, and picked up a few myself in a little store in Park Slope called '5th Avenue Records & Tapes.' Just last week I picked up my first James Taylor record. It was 50 cents and it was little dusty, but when I cleaned it up it plays like a dream.
I am not afraid to admit that I have never taken the time to get into The Beatles. Like most people I know all the singles, but not all the album tracks. My good friend Alan just gifted me 'Let it Be', 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and 'The Beatles.' Can't really go wrong with those three to be fair. The best thing about owning a record player for me is that I am going to open my ears to a lot of music, particularly older recordings, that would have passed me by otherwise.
With plans set in stone to record my debut album a few months from now I have been writing a lot. I know that music consumption has changed so much in recent years, but I still believe in the power of a good album. I want the songs to sit well together so that people like me can enjoy listening from start to finish, and who knows maybe i'll get a few printed on vinyl…
John xo
p.s for more up to date news follow me on twitter or facebook.


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|A classic southern pie, made with chocolate and pecans and affectionately known in the south as Dixie Pie is sure to please!
Dixie PieThis is another one of those classic southern pies that's been around forever - and one that everybody has a slightly different version of; some use corn syrup making it similar to pecan pie, some use more eggs and make it more of a custard pie. Some use coconut, or raisins, or walnuts, or some combination of any or all of the above! And some, well, they add a nip of bourbon too.
In fact, if you use change the sugar to 1/2 granulated sugar with 1/2 brown sugar, add a nice hefty splash of Kentucky bourbon to the filling, and fold in the pecans/walnuts and chocolate chips with the pie filling and pour everything mixed up into the pie shell, you might have something fairly close to a copycat Kentucky Derby Race Day pie.
I like this version because to me this is simple and classic and I prefer both of those. A thin layer of chocolate on the bottom, topped with a filling that is reminiscent somewhat of a blondie and then a top layer of crunchy, toasty pecans. Helloooo darlin'.
And so easy! You don't even need to break out the mixer for this one - everything can be stirred right up in one bowl and and then poured over a pie crust topped with chocolate chips. And you can simplify it further by using a premade pie crust. I highly recommend Pillsbury.
Serve plain, with a dollop of whipped cream, or even better, warm a slice slightly in the microwave and then top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Looking for a more traditional, classic southern pecan pie without the chocolate? Click right here!
Recipe: Dixie Pie©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 1 hour | Yield: About 8 servings
- 1 unbaked pie shell
- 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup of chopped pecans
- Whipped cream to garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the bottom of the uncooked pie shell and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and flour, until well blended; add the eggs, one at a time and blend in well. Add the vanilla and pecans, mix and pour evenly into pie shell on top of the chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, remove and place strips of aluminum foil around the crust edges to prevent overbrowning and continue baking for 30 to 40 additional minutes, or until set. Let cool completely. Serve plain, with a dollop of whipped cream, or even better, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Variation: Use pecans, or switch the pecans for walnuts, use 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, add a splash of Kentucky bourbon to the filling if you like and fold in the pecans/walnuts and chocolate chips, pour mixture into the pie shell, and you'll have something close to a copycat Kentucky Derby Race Day pie.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
Requires Adobe Reader - download it free!©Deep South Dish
☛ Are you on Facebook? If you haven't already, come and join the party! We have a lot of fun & there's always room for one more at the table.
Southern Pecan Pie
Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
Old Fashioned Custard Pie
Traditional Southern Thanksgiving recipes


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(new Teva shoes -- LOVE them!)
Two years ago I blogged about some adorable OKAb shoes that I bought. I still love those shoes...but last week I looked down at my shoes and realized that the sole of one of them was ripping in half! Not a good look. I crossed my fingers and hoped that my shoes would last until I made it home (they did) and promptly went online and ordered myself some new shoes.
The verdict? I'm in love! I had no idea Teva made mary janes, but I love these! The style is the Teva Westwater 2. They are perfect for running around after my children and for my lifestyle. They run about a half a size or more big (I read lots of reviews that referenced this and my experience backs this up). However, I have BIG feet and these do not make my feet look big...and I love that!
Two thumbs up!


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After a frantic couple of weeks wrapping gifts, assembling hampers and printing shipping labels here at The Paper Package, it's so nice to be able to sit back for a while and browse the internet for fantastic and creative Christmas gift wrapping ideas.
You can never over-emphasise how much the enjoyment of a gift begins right from the moment of receiving it, and how much fun it is to be given a present that has been wrapped with care and creativity.
So heading into the final days before Christmas, I hope you enjoy some of this inspirational gift wrapping eye-candy…
Natural Style
Adding embellishments to a gift package can be a great idea – and what's more traditional and festive than red berries, greenery, holly and ivy…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Sweet Paul : Decorative Country Living : Spread Decor : Older and Wisor
Red and White Stripes
Red and white peppermint stripes are the perfect fun touch for Christmas…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Paper Crave (with free printable "no peeking" gift tag) : Country Living : Good Housekeeping : Elle Decor
Vintage Post Packages
There's no denying the nostalgia of Christmas past with these fun takes on the Christmas post…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Lololina : Willow89 : Stylizimo : Bugs and Fishes
Fabric Style
Using lovely scraps and different textures of fabric can be a stylish and original way of decorating gifts…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Older and Wisor : Southern Living : Pen 'n Paper Flowers : Original Home
Photo Finish
Finishing off your gift wrapping with a photo or picture is a great way to personalise your present…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Oh Hello Friend : A Well Travelled Woman : Creature Comforts : Older and Wisor
Paper Packages
As alternatives to the usual printed wrapping paper, these lovely parcels use paper from books or sheet music…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
SC Johnson : Holly Mathis Interiors : 100 Layer Cake : Source not known (via Pinterest)
Patterned Perfection
And finally, for a change from the understated plain paper look, these patterned papers are striking & stylish…
Sources – clockwise from top left:
Original Home : House and Home : Mondocherry : Jones Design Company (includes printable gift tags)
This is the last post for The Paper Package Blog for 2011… thanks so much for reading, and we'd like to wish you a very merry Christmas and happy new year!
p.s. Good luck with the gift wrapping and here's hoping you don't have to stay up too late wrestling with the sellotape on Christmas Eve! (been there – done that, lol)