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Posts tagged 'motherhood'
Photo a Day May: Your personality – 31.
I mixed up yesterday's and today's challenge but alas, here we are. Today's challenge is your personality. So, for all intents and purposes, mine.
I whipped up a little photo grid and pulled together some photos from the last couple of months that accurately depict a large part of who I am. The rest, you can make your own conclusions for all I care. ;)
Lover. I try to just love. Feel it. Give it. Spread it. Share it. Its hard sometimes but we all could use a bit more of it. That and hugs!
Mother. Self explanatory… ish. This one has huge amazing…. implications? Right word? I am a mom. i am mom. Mom I am. Is it all I am? No. Is it a ginormous part of who I am? Absofrigginlutely. Aaand I love it. I really ought to expand on what that means for me, 'cause its kind of a big deal. Quite the journey.
Friend. Love em. Miss em. Need em. Cherish em.
Pet owner and lover. Well again. Speaks for itself. We love our dog, and the love between Cade and Lily makes me melt every single day. This pooch has taught us a whole heck of a lot.
Mentor. Leader.Student. Teacher. These all sort of group together for me. I want my life to constantly intellectually challenge me. I want to always be learning about myself, the world, people around me, my family, my partner. Sometimes I want to turn the brain off, yes, and sometimes I do. But generally…
Foodie – in the sense that I just love it. Everything about it. I love trying new things and experimenting.
Advocate. For human rights, ethics, birth rights, children, self-love, women's health. Gosh I just opened up a can of worms.
We'll just close it for now…
With regards to health though – this is huge. Personality or not, its related to the food thing and the desire and need to be healthy and treat our bodies kindly by fuelling them with health in so many different forms.
Arts and crafts. I love creativity and I think its a huge passageway into a very special part of our soul. We need to feed and nurture it in whatever way works for us. Its different for you and I. It is also connected to spirituality and the idea of being grounded and centred. These are huge aspects of me and something I strive towards daily. Whether its a personality thing or not is debatable. To me it feels more internalized than that. But it works and I can run with it.
What would your personality look like in a photo grid?
Photo a Day May: Love – 15.
Today felt long and I am feeling spent and burnt. Unfortunately capturing a photo of love may not have been at the forefront of my memory today. Fortunately it was the love of a little boy that helped guide me through the trickier moments. It comes with the territory of being a parent, I think. How can I be sad when my boy is looking at me with such concern, such empathy, and such… love? Those eyes. Those words. Oh he was saying the most beautiful things and I could not help but to cradle him close. Wowwee is he ever empathetic and caring. I mean, I knew that already, but you know.
So love.
It means so much and I am far too tired and in need of chill that I cannot expand the way I want to. Do we all need a bit more of it in our lives? Um heck yeah. It surely would not do any harm. But then why do we resist it, I will never know.
In case I need to further explain the photos, love to me is the cornerstone of exploration, trust and community. Can I really stand on this toy case, and trust myself to do it? Why yes I can. I am safe and I have got this. Love and let go, love and let go. But its not what it sounds. By letting go we love harder and deeper. Oh so deeper.
And can I just say one thing? In regards to love? My son has helped me reach for it, seek it out, and express it more. He has helped me to love and to know what that means. Gosh. What a gift. He has taught me the importance of supports and community. In parenting. In loving. In life, in anything really. We need each other and we need ourselves. And oh gee how I am so grateful to have a great lot of you.
It takes a darn village.
Photo a Day May: Something you do everyday – 9.
I love everyday. Sometimes not enough, but never too much.
And seriously? I cannot think of a better way to capture love than with this photo.
At one point, Lily was close to him and that too would have been a great depiction of love. A capture of my boy un his jammies playing by the river though… perfect.
Just look at that face. Expression. Heart.
That ain't nothing but love. Believe me when I say, this boy loves hard.
Photo a Day May: A smell you adore – 8.
I almost put up a photo of my morning coffee, or the fresh blackberries I had for lunch, and even considered another photo of the boy (because we all know and love that baby smell, delicious), but when it all came down to it, I had to go with the very… thing that breathes the life, delicious, heaven scent smell into all of these – the one and only, air. And of course, it has to be fresh. Today was a day I have been waiting for, the day where I could sprawl out on the grass, my boy in my lap, and just breathe it in, take it all, one inhale at a time. Yum. And then, 5 o'clock daily freakout started, and that wonderful, calming, soulful thing called breathing it in became even more critical. Breathe. Fresh. Air. A constant reminder, to loosen up, to ease the anxiety, to chill. And I will say this, toddlerhood is intense. I feel like it is a parenting secret that no one let me in on. Maybe its a blocked memory? But oh. Oh no. No no no. It is intense in the very best way. These little souls are doing and learning and seeing so much. That is crazy, a wild ride, incredible. Aaaand then there is the other extreme. Intense as well, and a little more… taxing? Taxing. I am trying to organize my life in my brain before I write, but right now all I can think of is the intense nature of it all. And does anyone else think being a work-out-of-the-home mom is crazy nutty? Who thought of this anyway? Sigh. Breathe. Fresh. Air.
Photo a Day May: Someone who inspires you – 7.
Gosh, really? Where do I begin? This sweet little being, the soul full of beauty and love has taken me on the wildest journey that I have ever been. Who ever thought? One little boy can hold so very much of the word in his tiny hands. He can take that world, shake it all around, turn it upside down and all around, and we still have smiles on our faces, crumbs and stains on our clothes, and so very much love to give. He has inspired me, on a very surface and simple level, to love, to heal, to give, to receive, to battle – in the most gentle but assertive and meaningful sense of the word, and to learn how to find patience. Sometimes its a struggle. But it always feels instinctual. Its just the journey, how I get there, thats maybe not. Thats all a part of the fun, however. Cadester, you make my world go round. You teach me. You glow in this certain way that I have never ever before witnessed. Keep on shinin' baby boy, mama loves you.
Heal the soul, Feed the heart.
I am so sick and tired about blogging how I never blog. I am sick of starting posts with "I'm back" or "so I took an unintentional break." It's all the same junk, all the time. I take breaks, they are unintentional. I have mini-meltdowns, I forget about my blog, I get up on the uppity and sail through my life without so much as a thought about my main writing outlet. How dare I ignore myself, because this blog really is just an extension of that? I prevent myself from writing about anything substantial, aside from the fact that when I am gone that is substantial but most definitely not the most substantial moment that has occurred since the last time I wrote. SIGH DOUBLE SIGH.
I am not sure if I have made a promise before, to myself and to my blog. Probably? Kinda feel like I've been there done that with every sort of "I VOW TO BLOG ALL THE TIME EVERY TIME" deal, but please don't judge as I am about to make it again.
Aside from my mini-explanation two days ago, I haven't blogged in nearly three months. That is an eternity. Imagine something you thoroughly enjoy, now axe it out of your life for three months and imagine the sorrow. My heart is filled with it, and then part of my heart gets mad because I am the only one that can change that and I haven't done that.
I feel like I am at a very transitional point in my life, and in all honesty, I think I always will be. As human beings, I think we always are, because we always are growing and changing, even if we feel we are pretty stagnant. The last five months have been an incredible adjustment, and they totally still are, and I am still adapting. I think C is too, though seriously, I feel like he is just going with the flow and is mostly loving it. The boy loves daycare. He loves his friends. He loves his daycare provider. That really just tickles me pink, it truly does. Mainly, I am happy he is happy. Daycare is not a choice for us but a necessity, at this point in our lives anyway. If we had a choice, we wouldn't be utilizing it, or at least not on a full-time basis, I already know this much is true. I am pretty certain I would be much happier, more fulfilled and satisfied, if I was a mama who did not work out of the home or at least not on a full-time basis. It feels awful to write such a sentiment, but it is what I believe. The tricky part of this is, because it is not really an option right now, is navigating it so I still feel thoroughly fulfilled, and that I am providing my family and myself with the very best me possible. That part, I haven't yet figured out. What I do know, is my boy is growing way fast, and I know that part of what I need to do is to let go of my hangups around what I can't have, and focus on trying to enjoy what I do have. It's the quality now, not the quantity. Wise words from some wise women.
Back in January (!!!) I talked about the growth I have been encountering, the changes I have been making, and while they are mostly the same, there's even more to add to it, and that warms my heart deeply. I'm still on my handmade gift only path, and we're heading into the middle of April. It's so fun, so satisfying, and it really nurtures and helps to fulfill my creative soul. I have sewn turtles and flax magic bags, made no-sew fleece blankets, made miniature taggy blankets, along with various other goodies. I am learning skills left right and centre and I absolutely love it. I've got to gather up some more tricks for my bag of crafts, because I'm needing a dose of fresh crafty ideas in my life, but for now this is good.
Another huge development in my life is that I registered for the Doula Training course that is offered here. I am beyond thrilled for this new step in my life and I have this feeling, I just know, that this is going to be a good thing. I questioned myself slightly before I registered, mainly because I had to drop a bit of cash in order to take the course, but I know deep, deep down that I am meant to do this. It is my passion through and through, for various reasons. I thought I'd get the birth high, then it would dwindle, but oh no, ohhh noo it's still there, stronger than ever. I am not obsessed, I am passionate. The gig starts April 26, and is ten weeks long, one night a week. I imagine I will branch out in the blog-world to have a doula biz site up, but that's for another day.
As of Saturday morning, I have temporarily deactivated my Facebook account. It was a decision that I had to do. The clincher for me, was the struggle I actually had with clicking 'Deactivate.' I couldn't do it, well I mean – I obviously did, but I hummed and ha'ed for quite some time, days, before I went ahead and did it. That experience alone reinforced to me that I was far too addicted to it. It had taken a hold of my life, and gripped it with all of its psychotic Facebook intensity. SO not cool. The whole smart phone phenomenon made it even worse. Honestly? Do I need to check my Facebook ALL the time? Just 'to check'? Highly unlikely. But even more than that, was the psychopathic tendencies of Facebook, that is, if Facebook was a person. Stalkerish, right? Creepy. And I was a part of the game. I couldn't let go of certain Friends on my Friends list, because the fun would end. And by fun I mean, the ability for me to poke my head in on their virtual life at any given time. I get that we are in the 21st century and social networking is the way of the future, but when does it become social psychopathic tendencies and not social networking anymore? Hmm. The privacy settings are shady at best, and I just needed a break.. It is not okay when I feel my blood pressure rise, my cheeks become rosy, at the sight of some ridiculous, attention-seeking status update by someone I really don't even care about. That is not okay. Sure, there are plenty of things I like about Facebook. I like the support that some of the communities provide, the ability to see photographs of family and friends in faraway lands, but for now, for me, there are other ways to have these needs met. And quite honestly, I'd like to spend a little bit more time talking to the people I care about instead of creeping on some jerk-face who I really don't.
I am no longer seeing the counsellor I mentioned in my second last post. Not because of anything more than we really weren't getting anywhere that significant. It was alright, and she helped to somewhat shed light on a few issues I was struggling with, but it was not entirely what I needed. In hindsight, I am not even sure I know what I need. We're at that point, and I know it's not a great point to be at, but it's a starting point, and I know I am here, so I'll roll with it. And it's nothing against psychologists, but that is not exactly what I am needing right now, I don't believe. So tomorrow the journey continues, and I will meet with a homeopathic doctor/social worker/counsellor in one. She comes HIGHLY recommended and so I am quite anxious to have this experience. I've got a couple of things I want to address, and I am also anticipating that she will guide the session and we will do some exploring.
As for my running shoes, they haven't been laced up in way too long. March came and went, and that is the hardest month of every year for me. The winters are too long, and the spring lingers. I love the first days of spring, but then let's get this show on the road. I am tired of cold mornings, and my cold appendages itch for warm skin. The plan is to get out there and get running, again, because last summer when I learned that running was a total outlet for me, was one of the best summers ever, and I need that injection of wholeness, of light, and of endorphins, in my life, on a constant basis. The issue right now is that I am feeling really unable to battle the brisk mornings, and so I'm anxiously awaiting the warm ones. In time?
And without turning to 'external' sources of healing, I am mostly feeling very blessed, very privileged, to have this here family that I do. My son provides me with an insane amount of beauty, life, and love, and I don't even know how to say it properly. He basically just blows my mind, over, and over, and over again. Every little word he says, every thing he does. He is the most beautiful soul, the most beautiful creature, the most beautiful beauty. Yeesh. so.much.love. And thee baby-daddy, well aye, I get hung up on things, on complains, on this and that, but gosh darn, I am lucky. Who ever thought I would be living in my small-but-its-cozy house, with a 17 month old, a 3 year old poochy, and a partner? I am not sure I ever did, but oh boy, am I sure glad I do.
Happy Monday, friends, dream sweetly & sleep tightly.
I'm back, I'm back, I'm back.
Soooooo, I've sort of been MIA. I wish I could say I was soul searching and hugging my babies 24/7, but unfortunately it's just because I have been downright tired and downright busy. I am having a bit of a, err, time… if you will, with this back to work transition. It's taking its toll on me, and while I am happy to say that we are in a pretty good routine, it's because we have to go. Plain and simple. If we weren't, we would all be unravelling and it just would not be pretty. So, routine it is and routine it has to be. The bonus is that my boy is doing swimmingly well at daycare. He's a rockstar, he really is. He makes me proud and me makes my heart beam EVERY SINGLE DAY. What a little monkey. Who ever thought humans could love other humans that much? I mean, c'mon now, we all know that humans, most of the time, are kind of… ridiculous? Annoying? Idiotic? Crappy? You pick your choice word. But nope. Not this human, and not this love. This is inTENSE.
Do you even know how many times I have said "I should blog about this" in the past month? Too many, actually. I'm sort of a dork like that. I have been called dork, geek, nerd, what have you. Out loud. By more than one person. So I just go with it, because really, that is what I am and I am alright with that. In my books, when you call me that, you are calling me awesome, so thank you!
(By the way, this post is bound to be a bit of a wild card. Roll with it.)
So in the last month that I was away, while I said that I am not doing any soul searching, that is not entirely true. I am always soul searching, and while I have a lot less time for that now (so it seems), it is all that much more important for me to do a lot of soul searching. You see… I had a rebirth when the boy entered our lives. Obviously I guess, right? I think it is sort of an unspoken right but maybe not. Anyway, I had a major one. Huge. Life changing, perspective shifting, all that awesome stuff. I sort of kind of felt like I was hitting the tip of the iceberg on that journey and then blammo, thrown back into my place of employment. It was hard. It still is, and it might always will be. No jonesin' here. SO, in terms of that, because I am not living my life in a sort of free for all sense anymore, I need to be looking inward in order to look outward. That really truly is another post for another day, but in my soul searching I have done numerous things. Regarding self-care, it has always been really important for me to take care of every single aspect of me. Physical, creative/spiritual, social, emotional, mental… what have you. So as you can see above, I have learned to knit. Oh yes I have, and what you are seeing above is my first completed project, a super spunky rainbow dishcloth to bring some much needed light to the dismal task of scrubbing crumbed up, filthy dishes. I am also working on a scarf for myself. In fact, I made quite a bit of progress, and then tore it all off because it was way too wide and I was not happy with it. So back at square one we are.
Also in terms of the creative spiritual stuff, I whipped up a bath of a post-partum herbal bath (first photo) for some dear friends who are bringing life to Earth within the next couple of days to the next couple of months. I borrowed the recipe from this post about 'Mother Roasting' and it smells absolutely glorious. I am going to package it up all prettily and give with grace. Alongside that, I also made Mother's Milk Tea, using a recipe from the Passionate Homemaking blog. The benefits of the herbs in the tea are listed on the site. I haven't tasted it yet but I figure I probably should before I'm gifting it to others.
These projects are the beginning of one of my goals, or should I just say intentions, of 2012, which is to give homemade gifts… only. It sounds doable but it also does sound very laborious. It is fulfilling for me to give gifts in the first place, but it does a little something special for my heart and for my soul to give a gift that I created, so let's hope this bandwagon keeps on chuggin'.
In terms of physical care, I have been really focusing and working on going to the gym in the mornings before work. It does mean that I have to get up at around 5:15am to be there for 5:30, but it feels oh so very good once I am there, and even better once I am leaving there, sweaty brow and all. 6:30am and my workout is done for the day? Day-um. It's hard, it really is, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I am pretty sure I got some indirect messages that I wouldn't be able to do it, so a slight part of the awesomeness is pride and being able to say, oh shit yeah I'm doing it. Keeping active has always been really important to me, and so I could not jeopardize that aspect upon going back to work. And there is no way that once I get home, bundled up, cozied up with my fam-jam, that I would be heading out to the gym to get some sweating in. Nope. Not happening.
Also somewhat in line with the spiritual piece, but moreso with the mental/emotional piece, is that I have sought out some counselling for myself. Finally. I have met with her three times so far, and it's been alright. She has helped me to gain some perspective on certain aspects of my life and relationships with people, and my different roles that I have taken on. What really prompted this was going back to work and how difficult it really was and is. I knew that I had to do something else to take care of myself, and so I reached out in this regard. I am not sure how long I will see her or where it will go, but I only know that it is a start. I yearn for a connection, and the age old 'when the student is ready the teacher will come' I guess kind of stands, and does relate. It feels really good to lay it all out there, because I have spent the majority of my life being the one that people dump their stuff onto. And that's okay! But it's really hard not to get caught up in that. And it's even harder to sort of forget about yourself in that process. Losing myself is not where I want to be.
Socially, I think sort of speaks for itself. In this little rebirth thingy I've got going on, I have come to recognize the people that I genuinely need to have close by, within reach. I need my solid supports like anybody else, but I have never felt such a strong pull towards people that I consider close to me. You really get to know people on a different level at certain times of your life, and I truly feel blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I think they're all there for some reason or another, whether it's cosmic or whether it is simply a good ol' friendly relationship with somebody that means the world to me. But there are people that we cross paths with in school, or in jobs, or wherever. A lot of them come and go, but there's those special ones. Those special ones, who years later, are there more than they have ever been. Those special ones shine. Those special ones really make me wonder how after only working together sporadically for a couple months, eight years later, she's still there. Hold them close, people. They're few and far between.
Also related to pretty much every aspect of myself (and I've likely blogged about this too many times) is the fact that I want to and need to continue doing this regularly. I feel good when I write. I feel good when I share with others and engage in dialogue, and so I need to, need to, need to keep this up. It is an outlet for me, and while I do feel censored (I hate that I do, but bottomline, I don't tell everyone everything, and while there are things I would love to write about and have some of you read, honestly, I am not so sure how I feel about all of the world reading it. No harsh feelings, just how it is) I do feel excited by the idea of sharing things and connecting.
So with that, I am going to more efficiently glue myself to this here couch, and zone out for a couple hours before bed. Netflix, anyone?


text: JB Martin is a weaver of technical fabrics with expertise in materials for advanced composites and protection-ballistic applications. We manufacture high performance materials used in the manufacture of: boat & shipbuilding- civilian and military, transportation -trains, trucks, automotive, aerospace, hard and soft armour- civilian and military, wind energy- turbine blades, tooling, communications- satellite dishes, structural reinforcement- bridge repair, parking garages. We manufacture woven and unidirectional fabrics using high performance fibres including carbon, aramid, S2 & E glass, basalt, HMPP, nylon, flax and many hybrid materials.

subset: commoncrawl


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Let's find out the good color combinations with purple for bedroom in the following post. Purple is considered as one of the most popular bedroom colors in the world. Do you know why people love to have purple in their bedroom? This color makes the occupants comfortable. You will be sleepy when seeing the interesting purple tone. This color has the shooting and relaxing feeling which can calm the people before they go to bed. If you want to renew the bedroom, you can incorporate it with purple tone. You can have it as the wall, bed sheet or even furniture color. Before you apply purple on the intended area, you have to note on the different shades of purple. You can choose lavender, lilac, violet, deep purple, or even soft purple tone.
The light or medium shade of purple makes the bedroom soothing and relaxing for they remind you with lavender field in the countryside area. If you want regality and luxury, add a hint of dark purple in the bedroom. The accent color that you apply in the bedroom also determines the interior design. You can choose white, black, soft grey, cream and beige as the good color combinations with purple for bedroom. The combination of white and purple is enticing to have for master, teen or even kid bedroom. This combination is very flexible. It can build the romantic style for master bedroom. For instance, you can have the wall decorated in soft purple, while the bed frame and other furniture pieces are finished in deep brown.
Spread a comfortable white linen bed sheet to make the bedroom enticing. Then you can decorate the top of the bed with satin purple toss pillows and comforter. It can feature the floral pattern since purple is often associated with beauty of nature. If you are interested to use good color combinations with purple for bedroom for teens or kids, you can fill the space with modern furniture pieces. The accent wall can feature the violet tone. Match it with a twin or single bed frame if the bedroom is super small. You can add a hint of brown tone to the fur area rug.
Published at Friday, February 26th 2016 by Aubrey Charlotte
Teen Purple Bedroom Purple Bedroom Colors Bedroom Interior Master Purple Bedroom Good Color Combinations Modern Bedroom Best Purple Bedroom Purple Bedroom Ideas Bedroom Curtains Impressive Purple Bedroom
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Review - Well Warrior 1 L96 (Noob's perspective)
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January 11th, 2008, 01:15
Trader rating
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Review - Well Warrior 1 L96 (Noob's perspective)
I want to start a disclaimer stating that I realize that this isn't a "real airsoft gun" but for someone that's just starting out... I think it's a heck of a steal and wanted to post a newb's review of my first experiences, in the interest of hopefully saving a lot of headaches/noob threads about it. *If we only knew how to use the search button lol*
I had typed this all out on the Atlantic Airsoft forum, so I'll just link there. If anyone wishes, I could probably import it into this forum for ease of access however.
Hopefully, this will be a help to SOMEONE anyway.
I haven't seen many Warrior 1 reviews, and I don't think any here at all, so I'm going to post my own with the hope of helping someone else decide if this is the rifle for them or not.
Also, if anyone wants me to try tests with this rifle, I'd be more than happy to do what I can with what I have.
Before I start, there's a couple of things I'd like to mention:
I purchased this rifle from A&A Airsoft. The guy that was there was very very helpful, honest, and quick to respond to e-mails. I appreciate that his customer service was so prompt and helpful - great guy.
Also, I'm still a noob to airsoft, so quite honestly this review might be biased with my lack of experience. That being said, I tried to offer as much factual information as opposed to opinion that way you all have the ability to create your own judgment instead of relying on "how I feel" about things.
Ok - On with the Review.
Service - awesome. Mentioned above.
The shipping took a little over a week, but I didn't pay for faster shipping so I got exactly what I expected lol
The packaging was entirely adequate, and did what it was supposed to (It made it to me safely)
Instead of just letting it sit there, I decided I wanted to see what was inside ;-)
"WTF" Was my initial thought: I ordered the Well Warrior 1... not this Mauser SR thing. (Honestly, I was a little put off by it... ) I didn't quite know how I felt entirely though, and it looked exactly like the Warrior 1 so I decided to open it up and take a look.
Well, it LOOKS like a Warrior 1... so I took a little closer inspection to see what details would lead me to believe it is.
I didn't take pics of when I took the trigger assembly apart, but I did shoot this:
After closer inspection, I was relieved to know that it actually is the exact same 3rd party/china replica. Didn't actually SAY Warrior 1 on it, but everywhere I check has the *EXACT* same parts and labeling, so I'm satisfied that I am getting what I asked/paid for.
In more detail of what actually came with this rifle:
The only thing I'm not showing there is the mounting clamps for the scope (at this point I didn't realize that I didn't have them there until I went to mount the scope and couldn't find them anywhere.)
What we're looking at is 1 Mag, (Capacity say 23, I can get 25 in but haven't really pushed it beyond that), cleaning tube (plastic rod), barrel assembly, stock, scope, bipod, allen/hex keys, speed loader with L96 mag extension, strap.
My thoughts on these items:
Mag: Metal, solid, and works. Simple, I like it.
Cleaning tube: It's a plastic rod. I'll probably get an actual cleaning rod or pipe cleaner or something that will do a better job, however it'll get stuck bb's out of there if I ever get any (here's to hoping I don't)
Barrel assembly: Metal. Heavy Metal. I'll talk about it more later.
Stock: It's plastic which is fine... It's a very solid plastic which I like. I think I might prefer a metal one, but it's heavy enough as it is, and I do find that it's well balanced so it's pretty easy to carry.
Bipod: I have an opinion on that later too
Allen keys: Yes - they're metal too lol (They work, whatever)
Speed loader: Nice - I didn't have one of these before now - holds around 90 rounds and seems to work well enough on all of my guns
Strap: Wow - the strap is awesome! BUT: The metal brackets are garbage. They're a thin, cheap metal and look like they could come off at any time. Honestly, the straps nice, but I wouldn't trust the mounting clips whatsoever. I could see the gun go flying in the middle of a game... My advice: "File 13" it. (Throw away)
BB's: Yeah - no markings... no weight, no way to tell if they'd jam up the gun. I saved them for my handgun, but I doubt I'll even use them for that. (Toss away for most of you I imagine)
So here it is, fully assembled.
Initial thoughts:
HUGE. I didn't expect it to be this big. I mean, I knew it was a larger rifle, but this is really massive and pretty heavy too. Around 8-9 lbs... very solid feel honestly.
What's metal: The entire internal trigger assembly is metal, just the external casing is plastic. The trigger itself is also metal, except the dual inner trigger which needs to be pressed to allow the actual trigger to be pulled. (It could be metal, and I just can't tell, but it looks and feels slightly different than the rest of the materials. I could be just crazy though)
The entire barrel itself is metal, and so are the scope mounts. The scope is also metal, and seems to be pretty good... Standard 3-9x40 scope that came with the rifle. The stock is plastic, with very solid rubber parts, and doesn't feel flimsy at all. I wouldn't want to drop this rifle, but I feel confident that if I did, it would be totally fine.
The BiPod is also metal, though I'm not very impressed with the quality of the bipod. I mean, it works, yes, but it's just very... flimsy? Once it's attached to the front stock of the gun, it's well in place, and as I understand it, it's supposed to be able to flex a little so you can aim, etc... Maybe I guess I'm not used to what a good-quality one is like so I can't make a direct comparison. I just thought it would be more solid than it is.
I did take this rifle apart and one of the issues that other people have had is that the barrel spacers are often misplaced (slide around) which can have a negative impact on their accuracy. I did disassemble the barrel and removed the brass barrel (noticing several things along the way that I'll mention) and the spacers were definitely misaligned. I used some tape to make sure they don't slide along the inside of the tube, and put everything back together:
(I was able to hit stuff just fine)
So far my initial thoughts were good... but I was having this nagging issue: I couldn't set up the scope for the life of me - I just couldn't get it to sit properly or aim right.
Well - here's where I'm going to fully admit my "noobness" for airsoft. When I assembled this rifle, the accuracy was horrible. I started troubleshooting, trying to find out why:
I took apart the entire gun and discovered a few things (The barrel spacers being the first issue, but I fixed that)
The hopup, which sucks by the way, was just a little piece of rubber, being pushed down by a round clamp that is adjusted with a female hex screw.
Does it work, sure, but not very well - it's quite inconsistent and I couldn't figure out why!
After more searching, I realized that it was actually crooked! So I took apart the hopup and did my best to straighten things out. I have a Taurus 24/7 springer that uses "V-hop Technology" and it seems to work really well... I don't know why they didn't use that instead, but I DO know something that I'd like to upgrade later on... that before using this one, I didn't think makes any difference.
Anyway, I fixed the hopup the best I could, adjusted the spacers, cleaned out the inner barrel of any grease/grime/debris, and put things back together.
So it started shooting VERY straight... I was extremely impressed.
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Wow.. where did this day go? Tried to motivate myself to work on some podcasts and that didn't happen to instead I did some house cleaning. I love having a clean house, it's surprising how dirty one person can make a house. I spent a few hours cleaning the inside of the house and then spent a half hour walking around the outside of the house picking up debris that the winds brought over.
Can't wait to see more of this fantastic fairy tale / fantasy series.


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A Forfar man is hoping to raise £2000 in memory of his father for a charity which aims to fight heart and circulatory disease.
Andy Kydd will be running four marathons across Scotland next year and has already put his running shoes and fancy dress costumes on for obstacle course races (OCRs) to raise money for British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland.
His dad, Roy, died earlier in the year at the age of 80.
Andy is fundraising under the hashtag #brandandybhf.
He said: "The #brandandybhf story began after my dad passed away in August following serious heart problems.
"Owing to his illness, I was aware of some of the amazing work the British Heart Foundation did and wanted to support their fundraising efforts while doing something in memory of my dad.
"The initial goal was to run four marathons across Scotland in 2017. This included Edinburgh, Strathearn, Loch Ness and Glen Coe. However, I couldn't wait to get started so I decided to do a few winter OCRs in fancy dress to raise some more money."
His first event was a 7km in a crocodile suit and the next, which was last Sunday, was another 7km but this time in a 'sexy' Santa costume for the Trailtroopers Tinsel Dash.
Andy added: "The marathons will be the main challenge, but I'm going to do lots of other smaller challenges along the way.
"I am aiming to raise £2000 by the end of 2017 and currently we are sitting at the £400 mark which is a brilliant start."
Deirdre Curley, BHF Scotland's fundraising manager, said: "We never cease to be amazed by the extraordinary ways people like Andy fundraise for BHF Scotland. Every contribution, big or small, plays a crucial part in every breakthrough we make so we are incredibly grateful for their support."
Follow Andy's progress on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Brandandybhf/
To sponsor him visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Andy-Kydd1


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John Watts, Senior Editor – CVs at CAP, writes:
There is some legislation coming over the hill about which many dealers seem to be blissfully unaware.
It comes in the form of European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA), due to be in place for commercial vehicles by the end of 2014, which not only covers complete models produced by the manufacturers, but also any third-party bodywork fitted, for example a tipper fitted to a chassis-cab, or a minibus conversion to a panel van.
The legislation also extends to items of equipment that materially affect a vehicle's dimensions, which means that the fitment of tow-hitches comes under the new rules.
For many years third-party bodybuilders have enjoyed good business relationships with dealers and operators alike, the majority of which have supplied high-quality product which has "done the job" very successfully. The new legislation is being introduced to ensure commonality of safety and construction standards, as well as traceability of componentry, and bodybuilders will have to demonstrate these in order to obtain type approval for their equipment. Significant financial and time investment will be required to obtain 'series approval', which will enable bodybuilders to continue producing multiples of their standard offerings.
Demonstrable standards
To achieve type approval for a new model of vehicle, bodybuilders will need to demonstrate that they have quality management standards that meet the requirements for Conformity of Production (CoP) and that their vehicles meet the technical requirements set out in the Directive and associated legislation.
Many smaller organisations may be able to obtain approval under the National Small Series Type Approval scheme, which is less rigorous, and intended for companies selling their product on a national basis only.
Potential pitfalls
However, there are several pitfalls for the unwary dealer. Registration of new vehicles cannot take place until all type approval certificates have been issued and are submitted with the registration application, so dealers will need to have robust processes in place to ensure that the correct paperwork is in place.
Also, if in future a used vehicle is modified eg a wheelbase/axle modification, body-swop etc, a new Type Approval Certificate will be required, which might need an Individual Vehicle Approval, which will add cost and cause delays in delivery.
So the message to commercial vehicle dealers is clear – ECWVTA is coming, so ensure that all your suppliers are up to speed with their requirements, and put processes in place to administer the paperwork. The consequences of not doing so could be that you have vehicles that you will be unable to register, resulting in financial losses and disgruntled customers.
- Full details of the scheme can be found on the Department for Transport website.


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Last week I received a most unfortunate news within my family. I was on my way home when I saw the message, and was so distraught that I became oblivious to the bus as it came and went right in front of me. I don't know how I was able to collect myself since, but somehow I managed to still go out to pass out some pies and pastries to a few strangers who were truly down on their luck, including a man who lost his left leg and could not work but who was always happy to see me~
I was really glad I did went out, because I feel that somehow because of what I did, I was paid back today. A kind local woman who had an abundance of produce in her garden shared the goods with me. I'm really grateful for this not only because of the timing (I had not yet have time to go grocery shopping in two weeks due to dealing with the tragedy) but also because she remembered me and chose to give me the beautiful organic produce. The generous quantity, which includes herbs, edible flowers, tomatoes, kale, apples, and a zucchini, will last me about a week~ I feel this really reinforced my belief that kindness is truly the better choice, and that blessings/karma pay back in unexpected timing but always under optimum conditions ^o^
I was lucky enough to be invited into a private gift circle and had always been on the giving side. This is the first time I'm the receiver, and it was very much appreciated 🙂 I asked for the sweet woman to give priority to people with more needs first, but she thought it was "fair" to give me the top picking~ Seeing her and receiving her kindness really cheered me up and made my little day~ I feel encouraged to carry on and pay forward the kindness, even if it makes me seem silly at times ^o^
#blessing #payingitforward #vancouvergiftcircle #unconditionalkindness#unexpectedkarma #communityhelping


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Just listening to some old songs on my iTunes.
I find it interesting how - depending on your state of mind - you can extract different things from the lyrics of a song. If you're feeling down and out, every sad lyric applies to your life. If you're mad, you rage with every injustice that is sung about. If you're in love, every romantic line is something you'd say to your girl.
My line of the week (at least this week) comes from an old Cracker song...
"I don't know what the world may need but I'm sure as hell that it starts with me, and that's a wisdom I'd laughed at.''
I have no idea what that means about my mood but hey...it's still a good song regardless.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
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Windows Symptoms Basics Maintenance Error Messages by Tim Fisher Updated October 03, 2016 The Startup Settings (Windows 10 & 8) and Advanced Boot Options menus (Windows 7, Vista, & XP) exist If you have multiple Windows installations, it will list each one, and you would type the number (that is 1, 2, or 3 etc) associated with the installation you would like See the notes in Step 3 about accessing these diagnostic areas.Windows XP & Me Users: Again, this troubleshooting option is not available to you. When you do so, Setup will examine the disk drives in the system. have a peek at this web-site
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This is what my kitchen table looked like by 10am.
I am spending my home day crafting, creating and preparing.
I have told the kiddos that they can not help.
Hopefully there will be a shoppe update by the end of the weekend.
I miss creating for myself, by myself with my own ideas...though my p/t job is creativity filled this is a nice change of pace.
What are you up to today?


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I'm immersed in a lovely three-day holiday at Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences NM. Nominally, Ma'ikwe and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary—now just 10 days before our sixth. We had meant to mark this occasion nearer to when it actually occurred, but we postponed due to Ma'ikwe's poor health last spring.
The image above is of one of the Riverbend pools, where patrons can soak in warm water overlooking the Rio Grande River as it wends its way from Albuquerque to El Paso. It's a pretty nice set up.
We're also celebrating Ma'ikwe's rising return to health after a brutal 2012 battling Lyme disease, and, most important of all, we're marking that our marriage is doing better. In fact, much better. All good reasons to suspend normalcy for a few days of communing with hot water. (As someone who earns a living working with groups in hot water, there's a certain poetic justice about turning literally to hot water for rest and renewal.)
We arrived Tuesday afternoon and were being shown around by the proprietor, Wayne Long, when Ma'ikwe happened to mention how different the weather was here (in the 60s and breezy) than back home In Missouri, where they were coping with a forecast of cold rain. At mention of the (I'll show you mine if you) Show-Me (yours) State, Wayne asked where we were from. When we disclosed that we lived in the northeast corner, he shared that he had grandparents in Canton (only 45 miles to southeast of Rutledge). Well how about that? Then it got really strange.
When Wayne continued, saying he grew up in Missouri, we naturally inquired where. His answer was: De Soto. While this small town of 6400 (an hour south, southwest of St Louis) is best known as the boyhood home of our current governor, Jay Nixon, it was noteworthy to me because my daughter-in-law's grandparents, Bob & Juanita Purcell, live there and it's the headquarters of Purcell Tire, where my son, Ceilee, works.
Given that De Soto isn't all that big, I asked if Wayne had heard of Purcell Tire. Gobsmacked, he put his hands on his hips and replied, "My brother, Paul, was childhood friends with Dennis Flynn (the Operating President at Purcell) and Paul has a career with the company." Small world, indeed.
Dennis is my daughter-in-law's uncle, and both Ceilee and Paul had just been together in Phoenix for a meeting of Purcell executives. Here I thought Ma'ikwe and I were disappearing from the known universe into a sleepy town of 6400 noted for its warm water and goofy name, and we may as well have been the second coming of Ralph Edwards given how much we matched up with Wayne's World.
If you were paying close attention above, De Soto (named for the Spanish explorer, not the car) & Truth or Consequences (named for the popular '40s radio show, not an oracle working in concert with the hot springs, a la Delphi) have, for some reason, the same population within half a percent. I tell you the parallels between these two disparate places is downright Roswellian. (Speaking of which, Wayne was wearing a bright, rainbow-colored tie-dyed tee shirt featuring a green alien in the middle as all of this unfolded. Take me to your leader?)
With all these revelations going on during the first 15 minutes, you had to wonder what kind of mindbending experiences we'd have once we got into the hot water. Fortunately, Ma'ikwe hasn't been passing out (which was the unexpected highlight of our last trip together to a NM hot springs—see Adventures in Hydrotherapy for more about that). It has been spectacularly relaxing though, which is what we had in mind all along.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
You Can Retreat, But You Can't Hide
at 11:22 AM
Labels: Ceilee Sandhill, Ma'ikwe's health, Purcell Tire, retreat, Riverbend Hot Springs, small world, Truth or Consequences NM
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Day 30 (8/18) - Urumqi
The sleeper bus arrived in Urumqi in the afternoon , and to my astonishment we were only one hour late. Urumqi is Xinjiang's black hole which I was now passing through for the fourth and last time, in order to get a train back to Zhangye. So I checked into the same hotel and set about killing another evening.
With hopes high, I decided to give Hu Yan a call, the girl who gave me her phone number last time I was in town. She sounded genuinely delighted to hear from me - and was also in the city of Hami for the weekend. I lead the romantic life of a poorly written sitcom character. This was especially appropriate because I had considered going straight to Hami, since it's about halfway to Zhangye and I could visit the British teacher Tracy who just left Zhangye for Hami.
As I paid for the phone call the shop owner, who undoubtedly would have been listening in on my struggling Chinese conversation, wanted to show off her "English-speaking" daughter. To my totaly surprise she did speak extremely quiet and nearly-fluent English, and I didn't know to make of her. Some Uyghurs could pass as Westerners, and she looked like a British imposter working undercover in a Uyghur convenience store. I guess she actually was Uyghur, but has been living in Australia.
With nothing to do I once again headed to Fubar, the Western bar. There is a middle-aged man I have seen there every time who depresses me because he looks like a lonely, balding version of me. He probably teaches English. A small group of regulars and an owner were pre-occupied at the other end of the bar with a new toy - a large hour-glass monstrosity with multiple taps for dispensing absinthe, which was taken down from the shelf. One of them was telling an absinthe story from Norway that ended with him not remembering a full day in which he took a plane to Beijing, without any of his luggage.
After a while, an older Chinese man struck up a conversation with me in English. He introduced Tian Tian ("Heaven"), the pretty and much younger girl sitting between us, as "my girlfriend... but only for tonight." Sympathizing with my traveling alone, he related his visit to Australia - "I sat alone in the pool. I had no lover. Not interesting." Tian Tian involved herself in the conversation by toasting my glass every two minutes. Even among a group of people, drinking from your glass alone is considered rude or at least odd in China.
Back in my hotel room, I had to ignore several calls from the local brothel, who I could hear making the rounds of all the rooms. When they called earlier they sounded so bored and listless I thought it must actually be the front desk, until they managed in terrible English "do you want a massage?". Mostly I was just bothered by them calling each night when I was trying to sleep; I need to learn how to tell people off in Chinese.
Day 31
For about the twentieth time in Xinjiang I ordered zhua fan, a good lamb and rice dish. That morning, however, I got a special bonus - a front-row view of the skinless and headless animal gracing another table, which the cook soon set about sawing in half. Call me old-fashioned, but I tend to like kitchens with walls.
Allow me to once more vent my frustrations on buying train tickets. I would best compare it to getting tickets for the most popular rock tour in America, except they can only be bought in person with cash in the city of the show, and go on sale about 5 days beforehand. Even the travel agencies (the "ticket scalpers" you might say) had no tickets, so I went to the station to see what I could turn up. Chinese people have only the barest concept of the line, and the closer you get to the front, the more prison rules set in. Someone just behind me elbowed me out of the way and quickly ordered, but when another person behind me actually reached their arm over me with money in their hand and shouted what they wanted, the counter woman angrily told him to wait his turn. There were no sleeper tickets to Zhangye (or anywhere I expect), just hard seat tickets, so I got one that left in two days and hoped I could upgrade on the train, which I've been told is easy to do. This was a huge mistake, but more on that later.
I spent the rest of the afternoon using the internet in one of the numerous internet cafes in Urumqi. For some reason internet cafes ("net bars") in China are always in ill-lit, smoke-filled and seedy basements, like modern opium dens. And for some they seem almost as addicting - the only student I failed last term was apparently a net bar addict, who never attended any of his classes or even his final exams. For dinner I decided to treat myself to a Brazilian barbecue restaurant called Sabbath I had heard about, which had live music. When I told the waitress I was alone she laughed and said "only one?", which of course didn't make me at all self-conscious. The band was terrible, though they seemed to be actually Brazilian. Maybe classy Asian bars and restaurants act as a dumping ground for mediocre Western musicians, like in Lost in Translation. I should move to Shanghai, brush up on "Hotel California" and "Scarborough Fair" , and start a jazz band. The food was good, but shockingly expensive - about 12 times what I normally pay for dinner.
With nothing to do but go to a bar again, I figured I could at least try a new place. I don't know what the bar I went to was called, but it was aggressively promoting Carlsberg "Chill" beer and I couldn't think of a more appropriate name for the place. It was trying very hard to be cool, with Western movie posters and a tiny see-through dance floor equipped with a dozen lights and even a smoke machine. However, it was definitely cheesy and definitely lacking in customers for a Saturday night. I sat in one of the booths, but was soon told to sit at one of the plain tables in the middle because the booths for reserved for certain people. I then noticed the tables were labeled "B" and the booths were "A", and actually at a higher elevation. I didn't understand, or really care, what you needed to do to get into an "A" booth (Party official?). The server wanted to know what the word for "bar" was in English, which I supposed might be the height of my conversation success there.
I was quickly bored and a little self-conscious about being alone in such a big, empty place. However, there was an attractive and bored-looking Chinese girl sitting alone in a booth who seemed to be casting glances in my direction, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try invading "A" territory one more time. She made no objections to my sitting there, and we proceeded to have two different conversations. She would repeat what I said to herself, making it obvious she heard something else each time, so I imagine it went something along the lines of "I work as an English teacher" "Oh, so you just got out of prison, interesting." Then she would say something to me I didn't understand at all, and I would smile and nod in agreement. Alas, the scintillating conversation was interrupted by the server, who in nervous English said:
"If you want to talk to her, you must pay, 20 yuan per hour"
"Huh? You mean to sit here?"
"To talk to her"
Then she said something about how she was working, and the wheels slowly clicked into place.
"Ohhh.... I didn't know. No thank you" I said, making my exit. I suppose that was less awkward than it might've been if he hadn't said anything.
On the street I heard what sounded suspiciously like a live band, and to my surprise there actually was a band in another bar. I'm not sure I'll ever be impressed with Chinese rock music, but they really had some life to them and were fun to watch. For a couple of songs there was a talented female singer, including one which seemed to be in English, although the only word I could make out was "Jesus." I would love to see more live music in Zhangye, but I won't be making any plans to move to Urumqi anytime soon.
Day 32
I had yet to see the market and Muslim quarter of Urumqi, which turned out to be the most interesting part of the city I know of. There happened to be another backpacking Westerner at the restaurant I ate lunch at named Derek, and when we struck up conversation he turned out to be a Peace Corp volunteer who also knew Julian and Cynthia, the PC teachers who had just left Zhangye. Small, strange world when you travel. As he taught at a medical college he had done a unit on sex ed, which he was sure was going to get him fired when the students started bringing things to their presentations like condoms on cucumbers and a videotape of a cat, well, pleasing himself. I always wonder what's really going on behind the innocent faces I teach. I thought my being in Urumqi a day longer than expected might at least allow me to meet up with that girl Hu Yan, but as I should have surely known before calling, the cruel masters of fate responded by delaying her weekend trip another day.
Day 33
My last day in Xinjiang. My train left around 7pm, so I had time to finally see the museum in Urumqi. I was pleased to see a proper museum, with air-conditioning and more than one room, more than one floor even. There were good displays about the numerous ethnic minorities Xinjiang and the region's history (which, as told by the plaques, is nothing but an inspiring account of varied ethnic "brothers" working joyously towards the common goal of development and securing the borderland). I enjoyed the miniature models of places I had actually been to throughout Xinjiang. As in the Hotan museum the highlight was the mummies, with a whole room dedicated to them, including a bizarre fixation on the "Loulan Beauty" with both a painting and a full-size clay model guessing what she looked like before she was a shriveled, decrepit mummy.
And then it was time to board the last train. I tried to head directly for the desk that upgraded tickets, but was waiting in the wrong spot and ended up as a late arrival in the small, aggressive crowd. I was told there were no sleeper tickets when I did get through to the ticket woman, and got the same news when I checked back later as some were told to do. I'm not sure what quirk it is in the ticket system that allows there to be sleeper tickets available to be purchased on the train when they are impossible to get beforehand, but it turned out to be a false hope. As I thought might likely happen, I prepared myself to sit in "hard seat" class for the 15 1/2 hour overnight journey to Zhangye, wishing again I had broken up the trip by stopping in Hami. The guide books generally recommend not getting a hard seat ticket for a trip of more than 4 hours. It was fine for the first six hours or so, but as about 8 hours passed and it got towards the time I ought to be sleeping, my tolerance started to wear very thin.
Day 34 - return to Zhangye
The last 7 or 8 hours truly sucked - the bright lights worked against the tiny shred of hope for sleeping I had, and the crowded aisles weren't really a break from the cramped seat. I had to remind myself that I was only of hundreds of people doing this (no empty seats, most continuing further to Lanzhou) and they mostly seemed to take it in stride, playing cards and joking around and, somehow, sleeping. The Chinese have developed an amazing talent for not being bothered about things. Nonetheless, the last hours passed painfully slowly, especially when the train was delayed by one and a half hours, and after 17 hours overnight in a seat I was less thrilled during my return to Zhangye in the morning than I expected. I also managed to get some kind of illness in that time, so my first 48 hours back in Zhangye have mostly been spent sleeping and feeling like I got in a fight, and lost.
However, two days later I'm returning to normal, and enjoying the normalcy of being in my apartment and a city I'm on good terms with. Even if I pulled together the funds, I'm not sure I would fully enjoy one of those one-year round-the-world backpacking epics some people do, at least not on my own. I've been fortunate enough in life that I have difficulty saying which trip was the best, but Xinjiang definitely lived up to expectations. Along with the longest time I've spent traveling, the trip could be described in numerous dramatic exclamations - the farthest city west in China ! the hottest spot in China! the second-lowest place in the world! the largest province in China - 1/6th of the country, and four times the size of California! the farthest city from the ocean in the world! mountains! deserts! colorful minorities! camels! Actually, after a full year I'll have seen little of the most typically "Chinese" parts of China, though there's always time for that later. Out of curiosity I've made an estimate of the number of hours I spent on buses and trains between cities on the trip, and came up with 192, or about 8 full days. It's surprising that "Xinjiang" is a name pretty much unheard of in the West, but like most I couldn't name more than about three cities or any of the provinces in China before coming. Nows it's back to the life that I've come to know here - running into students on the streets (and forgetting their names), walking beneath the bright lights of Zhangye at night, and forgetting what it was to be anonymous. It's good to be back.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Xinjiang Travels: Part VI
Labels: minorities in China, traveling
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Hey Jared et al,
In a nutshell, we found an almost perfect setup to what we wanted using the
existing equip and software that we had for this customer.
1 Windows 2003 Server
1 Suse Linux 9 Enterprize server (updated with OES)
Our issue was that we could not add all the ZEN 6.5 Suite to a single
Windows 2003 server, sync the active directory with eDirectory, and add in
Identity Manager 2.02.
The suggestion was to put eDirectory on the SUSE linux server along with
Identity manager.
We did manage to get everything from the ZEN 6.5 Suite with the exception of
the massive Inventory database, which really does need a second server just
for itself, with lots of drive space.
We placed the eDirectory onto the Linux server and successfully sync'd it
with the Active directory on the Win2003 server.
We also got the Notes drivers to work on the linux server in Identity
manager with iManager 2.5 console.
Thanks for the help Jared, it worked the way we thought it would. NMAS
fingerprint devices are working as well in this setup. Complete control of
the Windows network with ZENWorks down to which application and desktop a
user can access, how they get access to lotus notes, their home drive
mappings, all with a press of a finger print.


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Itchy Breast.. Is It Eczema Or Should I Be More Concerned?
Originally asked by Community Member K
Itchy Breast… Is It Eczema Or Should I Be More Concerned?
I'm 21 and for the last few months my right breast has been very itchy on and off…at times the itch can be unbearable and no amount of scratching gets rid of it it's like a weird tingly/pin pricking sensation under the skin almost…when it gets like this my nipple although not itchy starts to crack and sometimes bleed and the breast looks swollen and out of shape! I've visited my doctor who prescribed cream for me and has also referred me to the hospital to be on the safe side, the cream helped with the cracked nipple but my breast still gets itchy and swollen at times although not as often… my appointment for the hospital came through and I know this sounds awful but I'm not sure if I should go…I feel almost like I may be wasting time that other people may really need and that this may only be something minor. I'm only a very small B cup and I can't feel any lumps…is it possible that this could just be eczema maybe or should I be more concerned??
Itchy breasts can be a difficult problem, but usually the cause is not dangerous. Because the cream helps and the itch comes and goes, this is not likely to be cancer. However, I do think you should follow your doctor's recommendation to go to the hospital. I'm not clear whether he is referring you to a specialist with an office in the hospital or whether he wants you to have some further tests like a mammogram or ultrasound done. Nevertheless, you should trust your family doctor's recommendation that more investigation is needed. Please try not to scratch; that can make it worse. Try pressing really hard with the palm of your hand without rubbing or scratching. I hope you soon get some relief.
You should know Answers to your question are meant to provide general health information but should not replace medical advice you receive from a doctor. No answers should be viewed as a diagnosis or recommended treatment for a condition.
Answered by: Phyllis Johnson


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There was a 2015 record of ten new entries on this Sunday's show. Have a look and see how many of them you know.
Picture 10 of 10
Kodaline came in at No.40 with track 2, 'One Day' from their second studio album 'Coming Up For Air'.
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Storm or no storm, duck chores must be done! Crazy blowing & drifting snow!! One step is knee deep the next the snow is blown clear. This snow stings the eyes---YIKES! Needless to say we got our outside stuff done quickly and returned to the safety of the house! The wind is picking up even more! Going to be quite a ride!!
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My bargain-hunter of a husband found a great deal on a TV for us. Ours broke a few weeks back and we had been using a spare one that is pretty small and has white lines running through it. It is fine for the kids to watch a movie but it just won't do for my episodes of Trauma Life in the ER, Hoarders or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and soon Gator football games (September 3 can't come soon enough).
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I was pleasantly surprised when they got it home to see just how big it was and an even better surprise, the buttons are all on the top so Jackson can't turn it off and on constantly (I am pretty sure that is what broke our other one). What a blessing!


text: Home > Experts > Question Question Posted by: Sss | 2008/11/05 Bleeding after inner thigh exrcise. I am a 26 years old lady, I have a concern. I exercise atleast 4 time a week for an hour session. I do a lot of my lower body, sometimes after exercising my inner thighs a bleed a bit from my virgina. Sometimes it happens after 90 Min of Spinner ( Cycling) class Is there something I should be worried about. Not what you were looking for? Try searching again, or ask your own question Our expert says: FitnessDoc hi thereI think for this, you need to consider seeing a medical specialist, because it's certainly not a normal response and so I really would suggest seeing a doctor. I hate to pass the buck, but this is definitely one to see a doctor about.Ross The information provided does not constitute a diagnosis of your condition. You should consult a medical practitioner or other appropriate health care professional for a physical exmanication, diagnosis and formal advice. Health24 and the expert accept no responsibility or liability for any damage or personal harm you may suffer resulting from making use of this content. Have your say Your name (optional) Your comment Security × Thanks for commenting! Your comment will appear on the site shortly. Search health advice Find an answer × Thanks for commenting! Your comment will appear on the site shortly. Reply to Your name (optional) Your comment Security Close Submit comment Recently: Asked Questions Answered Questions Commented Questions i am on chronic medication fro hypertension but does not help what can i do? Advice on getting hysterectomy Advice on getting hysterectomy Is it anxiety? I had a complicated UTI the doctor gave me Ciploxx 500, after 7 days I`m still swollen and now my urien is full of blood. Asthma medication Shortness of breath Shortness of breath and wheezing. What can I expect from a cough that is related to bacterial pnuemonia? Hi im on depo for one month now and have gained 7kg despite of the fact that im using herbex slimming products.What can I di to stop the weight gain? Contramyl XR vs. Concerta I feel being in denial is the root. Only then could it be solved. Hes willing but surrounded by family setting him up knowing he'll fail They tell me watch see what he does. It never fails. Helovesher Am I the problem Resignation query advertisement From our sponsors Win a R1 500 hamper with Alpecin Hypertension Consumer Fact Sheet Understanding diabetes self-management WIN a R2000 Skin Renewal voucher!


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SoHo NEWS & TIPS
Helping You Make the Most of Your Small Office/Home Office
Comment The Post Below...
If you are just starting a new business, you might need a
little direction to attract those first sales. Today's
article includes an interview with Neil Platt, vice
president of sales and business development at six-year-old
CashEdge Inc. He offers valuable tips to help you attract
customers and build a sales force.
Be sure to visit the SoHo News and Tips blog!
SoHo News & Tips Blog
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- H&R Block Inc. dupes clients into investing
their tax refunds in retirement accounts that
cost more in fees than they generated in interest...
- US Airways Group Inc. working with GE Commercial
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approximately $3 billion in debt...
- Britain threatens to scrap a planned 10 billion
pound purchase of the new Joint Strike Fighter
if the United States refuses it access to
American military secrets...
- Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex to invest
around $37.5 billion over the next 20 years to
develop the Chicontepec on-shore oil field...
- Sony confirms speculation the Japanese launch of
its highly anticipated PlayStation 3 has been
pushed back until November from the original
target for a spring debut...
- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - the nation's
three major consumer credit bureaus - create a
new credit-scoring system designed to make it
easier for financial institutions to evaluate
loan applications...
- A freak lightning bolt triggers an underground
gas explosion which traps and kills 12 American
miners at the foot of a two-mile mine shaft...
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Tips for Winning Those First Sales
By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
Generating initial sales is among the toughest
challenges for new businesses. We asked Neil Platt,
vice president of sales and business development
at six-year-old CashEdge Inc., for tips on attract-
ing customers and building a sales force. He faced
this task in 2000 on joining the New York-based
provider of online financial applications for banks,
credit unions and wealth-management firms. The
privately held company now has more than 450
customers and eight full-time sales professionals.
How do you gain the trust of first-time customers?
If someone is uncomfortable doing business with
you because you are new and untested, ask them
what it would take to make them comfortable, and
try and work with them to implement those changes.
One of our earliest prospects was very interested
in our services, but felt that we didn't have the
operational and security infrastructure to support
such a large institution. We were a small, untest-
ed company at the time. We asked what it would
take for them to do business with us. They gave us
a list of changes, which helped us build security
systems and procedures to support any size
financial institution, and we made the sale.
What do you do to build client relationships?
We've tried very hard to establish deep ongoing
relationships with our clients. Each of our major
clients has a dedicated relationship manager, who
is responsible for being the voice of the customer
within the company. That person also represents
the face of the company to the client and is
responsible and compensated for growing the client
relationship over time. You cannot underestimate
the value of relationships and service.
There's no question that our best clients keep
coming back to us because of the strength of our
relationships and the value we have provided them
in the past. The biggest challenge here is success-
fully institutionalizing your relationships. For
the first or second sale, the CEO or founder might
be more involved than he or she will be in the
future. He or she might be building on a previous
relationship, for example. But when a company gets
bigger, it will be impossible for it to give same
level of personal service or attention to its 100th
customer as it did for its first.
Tell us about a sales mistake you made when start-
ing out.
I failed to understand all of the steps necessary
to get closure. If you are dealing with a person
at a prospect company who seems over-eager, then
you can get the impression that you're moving
faster than you really are. But if you haven't
completed the steps, you're not going to close the
sale. I once spent a lot of time with a prospect
who was very interested in our products, but had
no way of getting a budget for them. Had I deter-
mined this up front by asking whether the products
were budgeted for, I could've more effectively
used our time.
Can you give a tip for closing a sale?
The best way to close a sale is to maintain a
tight control on the process and continually get
feedback from the prospect as to where you are in
the sales process. Early in a sales process you
want to ask questions like: "What kind of steps
are we going to have to go through for you to
make a decision as to whether or not you will buy
our product?" You may agree you have to pass steps
"A," "B," and "C," and come to a decision.
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In my industry, before we can sell a complex
piece of software to a bank, we first need to
develop a shared business case. Then we need to
get approval from the prospect's internal techno-
logy, risk-management and compliance units. Then
we need budget sign-off. If we haven't completed
all the steps, we can't close the sale. I encour-
age our salespeople to develop a relationship
with a "coach" inside the prospect to help us
make sure we are covering the appropriate steps.
If you follow that process, you should know rough-
ly when sales are ready to close. The most
difficult part of this is the back-and-forth
communication and making sure you're always moving
forward. Sales like this can involve an enormous
commitment of time and effort. If you're not in
control of the process, it's easy to lose sight
of the whole game plan.
When a customer isn't interested in buying, how
far should you go when trying to find out why?
You need to find out what the problem is as early
as possible. At the end of the day, anyone can
talk about the features and benefits of your
product or service. What makes a truly effectively
salesperson is the ability to ferret out and
address customer objections throughout the sales
We learned this lesson when a potential customer
professed to liking everything about our product
and service, but then ultimately decided not to
do business with us. Had we been able to unearth
the problem earlier on in the process, we could've
addressed it effectively. But we didn't, and, as
a result, the business when to a competitor.
Eventually, we asked what went wrong, and he said
he felt our company was too small and potentially
unstable. No question it was our responsibility
to get that out in the open sooner.
When did you know it was time to hire a full-time
At some point, you'll realize that there's more
demand than you can meet with your existing staff
-- whether that's one person or a team of a dozen.
A good time to think about it is after you've got
an initial one or two satisfied customers. A new
product or service often develops around them.
Until the product is fully developed and your
initial customers are satisfied and willing to
serve as references, you may not need additional
Salespeople tend to be very entrepreneurial by
nature, and, in my experience, good salespeople
are always scouring the market, even if they're
not explicitly looking for a new job. We've had
success with the online job boards. If anything,
the only risk you run with those is you get piles
of resumes, and it's a little bit of work sorting
through them.
I don't think it's necessary to use a search firm,
unless you're searching for something very
specific, such as a salesperson who sold a
particular kind of engineering part. Good sales-
people strike a balance between being motivated
to bring in a commission and meet the company's
goals. Not all salespeople are natural team play-
ers, but I believe that is ultimately an important
Liability issues can be addresed through insurance,
so while limited liability is one reason to choose a
corporate form of organization, check with knowledge-
able advisors before making a final decision.
So what did you think about this issue? Drop me a line and let
me know at email@example.com
Archive link:
SoHo News & Tips Archives
End of SoHo News & Tips http://www.SoHoTIPS.com
Copyright 2006 PENN L.L.C. All rights reserved.