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I think single moms put too much thought into introducing a guy to their child. I let JD meet my new friend this week. Breathe in, breathe out. But there were boundaries and I naturally freaked out.
My book Rattled! (Broadway Books, 2009) launched on Audible.com and Apple iTunes on Monday. (Shout out to single mom and actress Emily Bauer for killing the recording!) It was a big day for me and I was proud and super excited. I didn't have a babysitter for Monday (I didn't know in advance about the launch date) and I planned for my friend to come over at 9 PM when JD would be fast asleep (something we've seamlessly done a bunch of times now). On the way home, 9 PM seemed so far away and I was bursting with adrenaline from the book news! I couldn't wait to scoop up JD at day care, hug him and whirl him around—but I also wanted to see my friend. In a moment of pure distraction, bliss, excitement, I texted him to just come over and eat with us. After I sent the text and he said, OK, my stomach sunk and I was like, Holy Sh*t what did I just do.
When I got home and settled with JD I opened up a bottle of wine and poured a glass. Then I texted my friend with rules: OK, so don't hug me, kiss me, hold my hand, embrace me or be flirty in front of the baby, OK?" He wrote back "LOL, OK, I promise."
I neurotically texted back, "No, I'm serious. No affection in front of JD. I told him you're my friend."
And he is my friend. But he's kinda more at this point. (I know my longtime glamour.com Storked! readers are doing happy dances right now.)
The thing is, JD has met and chilled with my platonic guy friends, but I've never freaked out about them coming over, because there was never anything going on. I am one of those women that really does have guy friends without anything else on the side.
I started heating up lasagna and chicken parm that was homemade (and delicious), but leftover from the prior evening. My phone rang. It was the downstairs buzz-in. Breathe in, breathe out.
"Bud, Mommy's friend is here," I said and I really felt like I was gonna pass out.
"OK, Mom! I will hide! I am a NinjaBOOOOY! KAAAA-RATE!!" he said running into his room.
I opened the door before my friend got to it and he came walking down the hallway, smiling with a bottle of wine. I smiled back and laughed.
"Congratulations on your book," he said and handed me the bottle.
"Thank you," I said and smiled. And he smiled and I let him in. And we didn't do anything physical. And he didn't try and I found this respectful and adorable.
"Bud," I called. JD came running out smiling. He was barefoot, wearing little track pants and a Spiderman tee.
"This is *Joe," I said. "High five it out!"
They did.
JD was up until his usual bedtime. We all ate, talked, played. I cleaned up.
It was innocent and fun. And completely unassuming on all ends. It was...normal.
You don't need to tell your kids, "This is Mommy's special friend"—that's where you go wrong. It's like when your kid falls at the park, if you make a big deal, they cry and make a big deal. I'm not making a big deal out of anything relationship-wise until I'm sure. And I'm not sure. This is the fun part. The dating and finding out each other's fave movie, food, color, vacay desitination. But, I think it's OK to let him know JD on this very basic level. JD is the most important person in my life. What a sham, not to show this little beautiful boy off.
Discuss. Commence with the happy dances.
More info @ ChristineCoppa.net


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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, March 7 (UPI) -- Water samples from an ancient lake buried under ice near the South Pole contain a type of life not found anywhere else on Earth, Russian researchers say.
Bacteria found in probes of water from sub-glacial Lake Vostok do not match any of the 40-plus known subkingdoms of bacteria, Sergei Bulat of the Laboratory of Eukaryote Genetics at the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute said.
"After excluding all known contaminants ... we discovered bacterial DNA that does not match any known species listed in global databanks," Bulat told RIA Novosti Thursday. "We call it unidentified and 'unclassified' life."
Seven samples of the same species of bacteria were found in water frozen on the head of the drill that in 2012 reached the lake buried beneath a 2.1-mile-thick ice sheet.
Attempts to identify the newly discovered microorganism showed it did not fit any of the main categories of microorganisms in its taxonomic domain, the researchers said.
Scientists have long suspected unique species of extremophile microbes, sustained by geothermal heat and capable of surviving in Vostok's dark depths, might have evolved in the lake.
"If it were found on Mars, people would call it Martian DNA," Bulat said. "But this is DNA from Earth."

subset: commoncrawl


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copper necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 170 diseños de 26 diseñadores freelance.
We are launching a unique pomegranate syrup product and need a very eye catching logo and label that is distinctive. We are thinking classy, sophisticated but modern and artistically inspired. We are going after the "upmarket" consumer market and need to stand out on the store shelves. This will not be a cheap product and needs to reflect this.
Upmarket Syrup users:
LABEL SPECS: Wraparound rectangular label 5.156" x 2.56" - Full Color
The following required components must be incorporated into the label:
• The name of the product: "PomPour"
• Tagline: "100% Pure Pomegranate Syrup"
• An image of a Pomegranate either in logo or photo form.
• Nutritional Facts box,
• UPC Barcode box
• A description about 4-5 lines long.
• "Ingredients: 100% Pure Pomegranates"
• The phrase: "Contains no added sugars, preservatives or colors. Flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients."
• The phrase: "Refrigerate after opening"
• "Net Weight 250gr" on the bottom.
Please place design on bottle so overall look and feel is presented. Bottle can be downloaded from here: http://www.yousendit.com/download/c…SHdLSkE9PQ
The syrup itself is deep red, in a clear bottle, so the colors of the label need to work well together.
EDIT: The label should somehow tell the consumer that this is a "syrup" product, not a juice!
All your ideas are welcome! Please feel free to ask any and all questions to clarify what we're looking for. We look forward to your entries!
We have learned a lot from all the great designs here, therefore we've decided on a more definite direction and approach to our marketing problem. Since our pomegranate sauce has MANY USES, we would like to make this our main selling point on the label. This will allow us to grab a wider market, not just dessert toppings.
There are many many talented designers who have entered our contest. For those of you that are willing to change direction with us, please consider the following in all future submissions:
1. There should be no specific food shot. Just a Pomegranate.
2. Colors should be bright and/or have high contrast, this makes the product jump off the shelf. Best examples so far are #108 and #47.
3. The following needs to be front and center:
The Secret Ingredient for:
Salad Dressings
Ice Cream
4. "100% Pure Pomegranate Syrup" should also be fairly prominent.
5. "PomPour" can be smaller and not as prominent.
6. Bottle image can be downloaded here:
We want to be able to tell the consumer in the first 5 seconds the great uses for this product. Keep this in mind when designing the label.
Looking forward to further submissions! Thanks!