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Merry Christmas, everybody! Of course, by the time we've got around to recapping this and you've got around to reading it, Christmas is but a distant memory for all of us (though if your family is anything like mine, you'll barely be even a third of the way into all of the food you bought to sustain you through the festive season). Anyway, there was Christmas, and therefore it follows that there was a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, featuring five celebrities who
There's no cold open, so we just go straight into the titles - which feature snowmen, so I suppose you could argue it's still a cold open of sorts. The theme tune has its traditional Christmas remix, reminiscent of 'Wonderful Christmastime', which as I suggested in my recap of last year's special, is THE WORST CHRISTMAS SONG IN THE HISTORY OF FOREVER. Anyway, there are just snowmen (and snowladies) [snowwomen - Resident Feminist Carrie] dancing in the titles, perhaps because it costs too much to make a special version of the titles featuring these celebrities only to use it once. Either that, or the identity of the competitors is supposed to be some sort of "surprise", even though there were press releases about them months ago (hell, I even got a press release telling me who'd won about a week before Christmas). Still, the titles are brief, which means the exposure to the Worst Christmas Song Ever is minimal, and that's always good.
In order to get the Christmas special off to the absolute worst start possible, the very first face we see is Russell Grant's. Did anyone watch Gordon Ramsay's Christmas Cookalong Live on Christmas Day? Since Russell's desperation for attention is so very extensive, he appeared on that and made rather a nuisance of himself, though to be honest I was more distracted by Gordon's complete unsuitability for hosting a live television show, considering his lack of ability to fill those awkward pauses when the cut to Max Beesley's kitchen didn't quite happen right away. (My favourite bit of the whole thing was when Gordon asked Max "what's the biggest turkey you've ever made?" and I shouted "Glitter!" at the television.) Anyway, Russell's presence here is brief (he'll be back, though, so don't get too comfortable) and we pass by him and into the Strictly Christmas House, where our Christmas pros (Ian, Erin, Anton, Katya and Vincent) are wearing festive jumpers and surrounded by some oversized novelty crackers. The band strike up with 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' (the irony of which I'm sure was not lost on them when they recorded this at the end of November) and the pros perform a jive. That's right: a professional jive routine, featuring Anton. He's even at the front for a sizeable part of the routine, which was a brave move on the choreographer's part. The men all dance together for a bit, because it's Christmas and they've all had a few drinks (not as many as Alesha though, I suspect). After a bit more business, it's time to pull open those crackers and see who's inside! Erin and Vincent pull the cracker on stage right and land themselves Barry McGuigan and Charlie "Janine" Brooks (Len's look of fake-surprise in the background is a thing of hammy beauty), Ian and Katya pull the cracker on stage left and are rewarded with Debra Stephenson and Simon FromBlue, and then Ian gives Anton a hand to pull the big cracker upstage, from which Su Pollard emerges. I love that Su Pollard got a cracker all to herself. I hope she had that written into her contract.
Finally, after all that, we have a Bruce, and we have a Tess. Daly Festive Dresswatch: feathers all around her torso at the top of a sort of a taupe-hued dress. I've seen worse, I suppose. Bruce fumbles his way through the opening lines of 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' just so he can get to "trying to find out who's nice to see you, to see you [etc]". I'm not really sure it was worth the effort it took to get to that point, really. Bruce promises us that all of the stars of the 2011 series will be returning to the floor later (at this, there's a brilliant cut to Chelsee, Robbie, Harry, Jason and Holly all sitting together, with Chelsee's expression reading as one of surprise. Was she not briefed on this?) and Tess tells us that Shakin' Stevens will be performing later with "a golden Russell Grant-shaped surprise". The only thing that would surprise me about terminal oversharer Russell Grant would be if he kept his damn mouth shut and left this series alone.
After this, it's time to meet the stars of our festive show: actress and impressionist Debra Stephenson and her partner Ian Waite, singer Simon FromBlue and his partner Katya Virshilas, EastEnders' Charlie Brooks and her partner Vincent Simone, boxing legend Barry McGuigan and his partner Erin Boag, and finally, actress and comedian Su Pollard and her partner, Anton Du Beke. Su slips down the stairs a little bit. Oh, Su.
Bruce turns to the judges, and what is this? There's an empty seat next to Len! Surely this can't be an excuse for Craig Revel-Horwood to make a campy pantomime entrance? OH YES IT CAN! Oh no it can't! OH YES IT CAN! Oh no it ca--oh, actually it can. Craig's feet appear in the chimney breast, with a voiceover of "help! Help, I'm stuck! It's a DISAHHHSTUH!" booming through the studio. Craig finally emerges...dressed as The Grinch. Cue an awful lot of children explaining that gag to their elderly relatives. Craig vamps "I've come, darling, to steal Christmas!" and hoofs his way downstage. The audience boo him (I join in the booing, but I choose to direct my booing at Len and/or Tess's stylist) and Craig makes his way to his seat, loving every melodramatic moment.
Tess reminds us that there is no phone in because this was all recorded a month ago, so the studio audience will be deciding who wins tonight. I hope the entire Su Pollard Fan Club was bussed in especially for this. Simon and Katya are up first, and Duncan FromBlue and Antony FromBlue are in the audience to support him. Not Lee Ryan, though, who is presumably off somewhere saving the elephants. Apparently Antony was also on Celebrity Mastermind over Christmas, so the boys from Blue are clearly trying to "do a McFly" over the festive season. His VT reminds us of the heydays of Blue (but not so much the heyday of Top Of The Pops, since the clip they show features Richard Blackwood on hosting duties). Seeing this reminds me that he was the only member of Blue who managed a successful solo singing career - my sister, who was watching the show with me, even remembered that she had one of his albums somewhere. Then of course this year they reformed and did Eurovision, and now he's doing Strictly, which Simon lies will be the more nerve-wracking of the two. He unwraps Katya's Festive Package (tee hee) and we see their training footage, which involves Katya ordering him about a lot. Simon says that he likes being told what to do by a woman, and Katya cackles. Simon claims that his mother "gave birth to a mover" and offers us a little demonstration, which proves short-lived, as Katya advises him "let's not do that". Katya tells us that the Christmas special is about having fun, and Simon adds "AND WINNING!" I think, given the partners Katya's been given since she came on the show, she's perhaps forgotten that it's possible to actually win the competition. (RINGER FOR KATYA IN 2012 PLZ.) Simon has prepared a smile for victory and a smile for defeat, he tells us, so he's covered either way. Katya continues to cackle at everything he says. I think she's had a bit of festive spirit from Alesha's drinks cupboard. [I think she just fancies Simon FromBlue. He's a very magnetic kind of man. Am I allowed to tell my anecdote about when I interviewed him? - Carrie]
They're dancing a cha cha cha to 'Merry Xmas Everybody', and Katya's wearing an apron, an impossibly tiny dress, and carrying a tray of canapes. I'd complain about the inherent sexism of the staging here, but I see that Katya's choreographed in a bit where she takes a hefty swig out of a champagne glass, so clearly she's cast herself as a housewife who is so frustrated at being suppressed by the patriarchy that she's been driven to alcoholism. After that, Simon bursts through the door and does a few moves, all of which are rather excessively overdanced, so I think the adrenaline's got to him a little bit. There's a bit shortly after that where Simon's seemingly supposed to rip Katya's apron off, but this doesn't quite go to plan so Katya pulls it off herself. Either that, or this was all exactly how it was supposed to play out and this is a further statement of Katya's feminist treaty that she don't need no stinkin' man to help her remove the oppressive shackles that society places on women. From there, we move into the cha cha cha proper, and Simon seems pretty good, though he's not been given much to do that's especially difficult. He moves well, though, and he has some nice lines. The routine ends with Simon returning to sit at the table, and Katya sitting on his lap, no doubt symbolising women's need to rise above men in society's hierarchy. I think.
Bruce welcomes the fabulous singers Dave Arch, and his wonderful orchestra, and then we go to the judges. Craig, sadly, has now removed all of the make-up - I was kind of hoping he'd do the whole thing in character as the Grinch. Then again, I was also hoping that Debra Stephenson would do the whole thing in character as Claudia Winkleman (the only impression on that show of hers that's even remotely close to the person it's supposed to resemble), and I was disappointed on that score as well. Anyway, festive judges joke? Craig is an Australian w(h)ine, Len is a trifle - bitter, fruity and soaked in sherry, Alesha is "a nice bit of icing on a cake" (Alesha looks uncertain as to whether this is a compliment or not, but perhaps that's because she's also thinking about how she's at least twice as soaked in sherry as Len is), and Bruno is nuts and crackers. Bruce also cracks the Bruno is "the man who put mince into mince pies" (LOLGAY) and Bruno finds this hilarious, presumably because he's been breathing in all those fumes emanating from Alesha ever since she sat down and is now three sheets to the wind.
Len tells Simon that his dance was crisp like fresh snow, sharp like the air on Christmas morning, and hot like a mulled wine, and "tutti frutti what a booty!" Yeesh. Bruce tells Simon "that's with you for life now!", and I think I speak for everyone watching when I say it's not just Simon who's had that image seared onto their brain forever. Alesha says it was strong, animalistic (?) and totally in control. She thinks it was a confident performance, and Simon should be proud. Bruno tells Simon that he turned up the heat, and he had so much hot toddy, he feels dizzy. Craig calls it "a powerhouse of strength", then confusing me some what by calling it "Amazonian". As in "a warrior woman"? Maybe that was directed at Katya, and this was Craig's subtle way of telling her that he sympathised with and approved of her feminist subtext.
They make their way up to the Tess Circle, and Simon says it was amazing, and says it's all down to Katya for whipping him into shape. Tess asks if his bandmates enjoyed it, and Simon says that he thinks Duncan and Antony were the loudest audience members, though his girlfriend was also getting very high-pitched. Either that, or Lee Ryan did manage to make it after all. Scores: Craig 9, Len 9, Alesha 9, Bruno 9 for a total of 36.
Our next couple are Debra and Ian. Bruce enthuses about how good Debra is on The Impressions Show, singling out Debra's impression of Claudia and adding "and her Fiona Bruce is amazing". All right, Bruce, there's no need to lower the tone. In her VT, we're reminded that Debra was in Bad Girls and Coronation Street, but first came to the nation's attention on Opportunity Knocks at the age of 14 (looking significantly older, or is that just me?). She says that The Impressions Show is the show she dreamed of doing when she was a kid (personally, I'd have aspired to doing something funnier with a more imaginative title) and that people always ask her to do her Davina McCall impression for them. Then we see some clips of her Tess Daly impression, which is...not great, and Debra says that after studying clips of Tess to impersonate her, it's going to be quite strange to be on the show. She and Ian will be doing an American smooth, and over rehearsal footage, she explains that it needs to look seamless and flawless, which is a struggle. All the spinning is making her nauseous, it seems. She says that she would like to win - for Ian, as a Christmas gift. I hate it when people do that - "oh, me, I don't care about winning at all, I'd just like to reward my professional partner who has laboured for so long and been unrewarded." It's such bollocks, and kind of offensive and patronising to boot. She says that she should be okay, "if I can keep my turkey down". Oh, don't worry, Debra, just let us all see your turkey - it's never done Ola any harm.
They're dancing to 'Baby It's Cold Outside', complete with some inaccurate lip-synching. The routine's quite nice in choreography terms, and being delivered pretty well, but I'd like them to be a bit closer together. It's a minor quibble, but having a massive gap between couples in ballroom always irks me. Still, the lifts are good, and Debra makes it the whole way through without vomiting, so she gets a thumbs-up from me.
Alesha tells Debra she looks gorgeous, with lovely lines, nice turns and good control. She thinks Debra looked absolutely at ease with the American smooth. Bruno calls it "light, sparkling, elegant, full of flavour - a treat for the eyes and delicious to savour". Craig thought she had "nasty flat thumbs" and points out the "gapping you could drive a sleigh through", but he loved the story, the lines and the lifts. Len thinks it was light and fluffy like a fairy on top of the tree, and that she warmed him up. Bruce, padding his part out as usual, tells Debra it was a fantastic impression of Cyd Charisse.
Up in the Tess Circle, Tess asks how many hours of training went into that - and "eight" is the answer. Suddenly I'm a lot more impressed with the performance if that's all the rehearsal time they had. Debra says she's loved every minute of the experience. Scores: Craig 8, Len 9, Alesha 10, Bruno 10 for a total of 37. Debra is flabbergasted. Tess does her next link and throws to "Claudia", and Debra does her impression, which I still find remarkably accurate, though judging from Twitter at the time this went out, an awful lot of people disagree with me.
Our third couple are Barry and Erin. Barry recounts his various boxing-related achievements, including winning BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. I wonder if there were any women nominated that time? He wonders what his "boxing friends" will think of him, and answers his own question: "Probably 'what an eejit'." Given that one of the friends pictured was Joe Calzaghe, I'd suggest Barry's unlikely to turn in the worst performance ever given on this show by one of his boxing chums. He unwraps an Erin for Christmas and explains that they're doing the quickstep, which leaves him wondering if a small, square man can be elegant. Erin tells us that she won't be wearing the high heels this year, Barry will. They cackle, because short men are funny. [Not as funny as gays though. - Carrie] Barry says that he's very much looking forward to the experience, and just wants to get it right.
The routine begins with Len ringing a boxing bell (a shameless attempt to get bonus points by not only reminding Len that Barry is a SPORTSMAN but giving Len the chance to do something SPORT-RELATED), and Barry kissing Erin under the mistletoe. They're dancing to 'Jingle Bells', and for a quickstep, it's not particularly quick, but Barry's footwork seems surprisingly good. The kicks section in the middle is less impressive, and Erin's chucked in a couple of lifts, which I assume are illegal even at Christmas, but hey, it's Erin. Would you want to be the one to remind her she's not supposed to do that? I wouldn't. It all goes a bit wrong at the end, but it's a credible enough effort.
Bruno tells Barry that he had more spirit than a well-stocked drinks cabinet, and he thought it was a fantastic quickstep. Craig points out the unfortunate loss of balance near the beginning and Barry's general need for better hand-shaping, adding that the end position left a lot to be desired, but he admired the posture, the rhythm and the charleston section in the middle. Len calls it a knockout, and suggests that Barry should have danced tomorrow because it is BOXING DAY, and makes a "snow, snow, thick thick snow" gag. Alesha tells Barry it was a routine full of content, and compliments his posture and his timing.
In the Tess Circle, Tess invites Barry to punch Craig, because this is apparently what we do now, and Barry tells her it's a different kind of dancing to what he's used to, because "I normally have somebody chasing me". Tess asks if he fancies lifting the trophy, and Barry says that he's done his best, and hopes for a bit of luck. Scores: Craig 8, Len 9, Alesha 10, Bruno 9 for a total of 36.
Next are Su and Anton. Su's VT explains that she is a FLAWLESS GODDESS who has entertained the nation for decades, with Su explaining that she's "probably best known for a situation comedy called Hi-De-Hi!", adding "I've also had a singing career, which I'm very pleased about." Heh. Sadly, the clip shown is from 'Starting Together' and not THIS MASTERPIECE. From there, Su moves on to talking about her style, and how she likes to believe she was Lady Gaga's "mentor". She thinks she's lively and camp enough to work on Strictly, and aims to give us "90 seconds of fabulousness". Only 90? Su pulls a party popper and Anton appears, and Anton tells us that she epitomises the elegant sophistication of the foxtrot. Su says that it's unusual for her "to be dancing on Christmas Day and not on a table". She thinks that even if they don't lift the glitterball, she'll have lifted her spirits just by getting through it.
The band plays 'White Christmas' and Anton arrives, shaking snow off his overcoat. Su arrives in significantly more style - on a sleigh drawn by Pasha and Artem, both wearing novelty antlers and gazing at her adoringly, as well they might. Anton lifts Su out of the sleigh and removes her long white coat to reveal a green, Christmas tree-style dress. The dancing itself is rather stilted, and you can clearly see Anton guiding her through it. I'm disappointed that there wasn't more comedy in the routine, but I suppose even if there had been, it would have been Anton-brand rather than Su-brand, so perhaps that's for the best in the long run.
Anton carries Su over to Bruce, declaring her "a Christmas gift", and Bruce tells Su that before the judges get to say anything, she's his favourite. They decide to start with Craig, with Bruce wondering if that's such a good idea. Su delights a large percentage of the watching gays by lapsing into Polari and saying worriedly "look at the eek, dear." (That means "face", for all the heterosexuals reading this.) Craig says that it lacked elegance, grace, style, fluidity, and Su went off on the wrong foot. Su: "I heard you say that! 'Wrong foot!' So that put me off immediately, I couldn't get on the right foot then!" Everyone starts laughing, and Su makes a run for Craig, who leaps out of his chair and brandishes it at her to keep her at bay. In these 15 seconds, Su's already made me laugh more than Russell Grant did in an entire series. Len tells Su she came out like the Snow Queen, white and gorgeous, and then she metamorphosed into a Christmas tree, with Anton guiding her around the floor like Rudolph. He thought it was a sheer delight. Alesha says she wants to give Su an extra point just for attacking Craig - so that'll be 11, then? Alesha says that she's used to the comedy element with Su, and she thought she was elegant and lovely, "like a lovely Christmas tree". Bruno tells Su she has "such range", and admires her body contact with Anton, pointing out that she was practically glued to Anton. Su tells us that Anton has been "ever so good", drumming the mantra of "long and slow" into her. She attempts to demonstrate, but Anton mutters "it's a bit late now, love." Bruce instructs Anton to "take her up the stairs" and Su is all "OOH MATRON!" about it, making me love her even more.
In the Tess Circle, Tess informs Su that she provided "more than 90 seconds of fabulousness". Su explains that Anton has been so good, and she didn't want to let him down. Anton cuts Tess off to tell him that Su was great, and he's had such a ball training with her. Tess taps him on the arm and without missing a beat, Anton says "you want me to stop speaking? Good luck." Heh. Tess says that Su didn't let us down on the costume front, and mispronounces Lady Gaga's name in the process. Scores: Craig 6, Len 9, Alesha 7 ("Sorry Su! Can I change my mind?"), Bruno 8 for a total of 30.
Time for our last couple of the evening, Charlie and Vincent. Tess's voiceover informs us that Charlie has won "countless awards" for playing Evil Janine in EastEnders, and the lovely VT department have illustrated this by showing her clutching her Inside Soap award in 2009. I would just like to say, without bias of any kind, that the Inside Soap Awards are the best awards of them all. Charlie explains that people either love to hate Janine, or they just hate her. She's excited about doing Strictly, because it'll be nice for her nan and granddad and her little girl to see her being happy on Christmas Day, rather than trying to kill someone. I suppose depending on your personality, you could argue that those two don't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. She pulls a cracker and out pops Vincent (presumably he was the only pro small enough to fit in one), and Vincent makes his obligatory comments about the SCREEN-MELTING CHEMISTRY that the two of them share. Charlie wins me over by openly laughing in response to this. Vincent explains their jive contains an illegal lift, and Charlie wonders if they shouldn't be playing by the rules, because she's a good girl in real life, not like that nasty Janine. Vincent retorts that rules are made to be broken, and Charlie wins the argument by reminding him he's never won. They consider that the people watching them will have eaten a lot of food, and hope to inspire them to get up and move on Christmas Day. I can't speak for anyone else, but I doubt even an apocalypse could inspire me to move before Boxing Day.
Vincent is dressed as Santa, handing out presents, before opening his sack (ooer) to reveal Charlie as a sexy Mrs Claus, and they dance to 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'. It's easily, to my mind, the most accomplished performance of the evening - Charlie copes well with some very quick choreography and her leg placement is impressive. Like all of tonight's routines, there's a section where it gets a bit sticky and wrong-looking (in this case, the middle) but by and large the dance is energetically performed and very convincing.
Len tells Charlie that she delivered a terrific jive, and Alesha compliments her on her energy, bounce and personality. Bruno thinks she was flickering like a flame, and he thinks everybody got picked up from their sofa to celebrate with that jive. Craig gives just one word to summarise: "fab-u-lous".
Tess asks Charlie what it's like to hear the word "fabulous" on Christmas Day. Charlie: "How should I know? It's November 28th." Oh, okay, fine: Charlie just says it was brilliant and thanks everyone. Tess says that the jive had more energy "than a catfight in the Queen Vic" and Charlie is too out of breath to do much more than wheeze her agreement. Tess asks Charlie how it would feel to win the trophy, and Charlie says that she wants to win it for Vincent - "he's got to win something". For some reason, the sarky "he's never won" approach goes down with me far better than the earnest "he really deserves it" à la Debra. I have no idea why - presumably I'm just a naturally catty person. Scores: Craig 9, Len 9, Alesha 9, Bruno 10 for a total of 37.
Time for a look at the festive leaderboard: Debra and Charlie are joint top, Simon and Barry are joint middle, and Su is at the bottom. Tess reminds us that the studio audience will vote for the other half of the total score, and then we get treated to a recap of the dances that we've just seen, even though there is no phone vote. With that in mind, let's just skip over that, shall we? Jolly good.
Since we need to pad this out a bit in order to occupy a whole hour of Christmas primetime scheduling, here's Shakin' Stevens with 'Merry Christmas Everyone'. The sound during this whole performance is a bit poor - you can barely hear him. Of course, depending on your tolerance for this particular festive hit, that might be a good thing. (I actually love this song and Shakin' Stevens, so I'm a bit disappointed, personally.) [Not as good as the year he performed this on Dancing on Ice, is it? - Carrie] There is a giant, conspicuous Christmas pudding set on the stage, so all eyes are on that until it finally bursts open near the end of the song to reveal - sigh - Russell Grant in his hideous gold suit. I would have paid someone good money to ensure that the Christmas pudding was completely secured and he was unable to bust out of it, and would eventually have just been lobbed into a BBC props store somewhere and not released until November next year at the earliest. Anyway, the audience goes nuts because RUSSELL IS THE STAR OF THE SHOW THIS YEAR IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD EVERYONE LOVES HIM AND HIS ADORABLE HOMOSEXUALITY, and Flavia arrives to pelt him ineffectually with faux snowballs - fauxballs, if you prefer. Make your own joke about Russell and balls if you want, but I refuse to encourage him. They do an encore of their American smooth, and oh God just FUCK OFF. I'd rather have watched Widdy again than sit through this. Hell, I'd rather have sat through the Snowdance. Or Penny Lancaster's jive. Or the Vorderumba. Or...well, you get the idea. (God bless the person who uploaded a decent-quality video of the Vorderumba to YouTube on Christmas Eve - an amazing Christmas present for us all. Now, all we need is a similarly benevolent person who's got Denise Lewis's jive somewhere in their collection...) Russell ends off-time with the music, because he may be lolz, but he's also shit.
After that, it's time to find out who's won the ugly trophy. Everyone gets a brief recap of something nice that the judges said about them - but who won the audience's vote? The Christmas champions of 2011 are...Charlie and Vincent! The firework curtain erupts and Charlie shrieks with delight as Vincent grabs her and lifts her up. That's right, he lifts her up, even though they are the same height. Tess asks Charlie how it feels to be a Christmas champion, and Charlie says that her little girl Kiki is going to be very happy. Tess congratulates Vincent on his first ever win, even though Christmas specials totally don't count. It's not like scooping the ugly trophy with BARROWMAN last year dented Kristina's steely determination in the slightest. Charlie says that she's had a great time and made a good friend in Vincent.
The victors are sent on their way, and Tess thanks everyone for taking part and watching. To see the show out, we have the stars of this year's series reunited for the very last time, even though we should not care about them because they are not lolgay like Russell is and are therefore not IMMORTAL LEGENDS OF TELEVISION. To demonstrate this, we have an extremely poor CGI shot of Russell on top of the Christmas tree, dressed as a fairy. See? Lolgay. He waves his wand (fnar) and then appears full-size in the middle of the judges, and I hope for someone to club him over the head with that comically large prop turkey that's now on the judges' desk, but no one obliges me. Anyway, all the BORING NON-LOLGAY contestants come back to do some BORING PROPER DANCING to 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!', and everyone's been given bits that make the most of their respective skill sets: Holly's given the opening bit that requires minimal effort, James has been allowed to throw things at Alex, Robbie has been allowed on camera, Jason has been given some hammy theatrical business, Russell has some more LOLGAY, Anita is demonstrating her love of all things flaming by standing by the fire with Robin, and Harry and Chelsee get the actual dancing right. Eventually, this segues into 'Wonderful Christmastime' (AARRRRGH) as the Christmas contenders return, and the judges shuffle along the floor to join them for some festive celebrating.
That's it for us in 2011! We will, of course, be back next year for series ten, and in the meantime, be sure to join us for Bitching On Ice in January. Thanks for reading, and have a very happy new year!


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Microsoft has today unveiled a cheaper subscription option for Office 365 – Personal. Previously, consumers had to fork out $10 a month for the Home package, allowing up to 5 installations of Office. With the new iPad suite now available, the company has launched a package that limits installations, but opens up support for iPads and comes with a more affordable price tag.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Google News Tests Trending Topics
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Digital photo frames- perfect valentine's gift!
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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2. Beware of the fake online casinos sites
It's important that you get money when you win otherwise there is no mean of playing. These casinos are known as rogue casinos, which accept your deposit without letting you to withdraw your winnings. Don't be scammed by them. Before you deposit your hard-earned money into a casino's account, make sure you have read the reviews or getting an informed detail about the casino to ensure it is a reputed online casino that will pay you when you win. That's why it is recommended to make proper search online casino gambling sites which are trust worthy too.
3. Stop running behind strategy that can guarantee a winning
People who are trying to find a 100% win-proof betting strategy, just wasting save energy and time because you won't find one because there is no one betting strategy that can 100% guarantee you will win at your favorite casino game. However, there are good strategies, which will alter the house edge and increase your chances of winning. Therefore, you should focus on find the best strategy instead of a win-proof strategy. Any strategy that makes you win more than lose is a good strategy.
4. Always play according to your pocket
Never go beyond your pocket money. You should treat online casino as a place for entertainment which you can spend your leisure time playing your favorite games from your computer. Although you aim is to win at casino, you should always be prepared to take losses if it is not your lucky day to win. Since there is no one strategy that can guarantee the winning, never play with the money you can't afford to lose.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Make money online without a website, how!
The best thing to affiliate online is digital products. These are information or software products that the purchaser can directly download. They also tend to have the highest payouts per sale, usually 50% or more, which can result in huge profits for you.
First, you start out by getting your affiliate link through Clickbank.com. This is an affiliate network which handles all the transactions and makes sure you are paid fully by check or directly to your account. What this affiliate link does for you is tracks all the people who click on it and who end up purchasing the offer. You then get paid up to 75% or more of each sale.
However, before you start driving traffic to your affiliate link you have to set up something called a 'redirect'. To do this, simply get a domain name from Godaddy.com for about $9 per year. You can choose a name that is related to the market you're selling in, which in this case would be the 'how to make money online' market. Then you can make your domain name redirect to your affiliate link, which will take the person directly to the sales page offer for the product you are promoting.
The last thing you have to do is direct traffic to your domain name. This can be done a few different ways. The cheapest way to do this (by cheap I mean free) is by writing articles related to your market and submitting them to article directories like EzineArticles.com. At the end of each article you need to add a 'signature' which will tell the reader briefly about the opportunity you are promoting and will have your domain link included.
The goal of this is to attract people searching for information and opportunities about making money online to your article. They will find your information useful, and be inclined to click on your link to learn more. This is known as driving targeted traffic to your sales offer.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Where to find the best online casino place?
You should always search on Internet before choosing online casino stores. While searching you need to be specific about what you want. Unless you are specific, you might end up sifting through various useless web pages filled with information. But since there are so many sites popping up every day and most of them are well advertised over the internet, finding best online casino site would not be a problem over the web.
An important thing to consider is that who empowers the online casino site? The top names in the online casino software industry are - Microgaming, Playtech and Cryptologic. These gaming giants take up the majority in this line; they are the most advanced, they offer the best games with great visuals, lucrative bonuses and complete security.
While you check out the different online casinos, you will see that some of them are not only linked to the software providers, but they also have built casino 'families' like Fortune Lounge Group, Jackpot Factory etc-etc. These online casino communities are powered by the respective online casino software provider. These communities have some games in common. For instance, there is a Progressive Jackpot slot and it is linked to all the other online casinos on the same network. It boosts the money flowing in the Jackpot and thus adds the excitement for the players.
Moreover, if you have always been an avid poker fan and have a role model for that matter, you can start finding out what poker site they play in, or endorse or sponsor like if you are a Daniel Negreanu fan, you might want to give the Poker Stars a try. Just keep in mind that there are many top poker playing sites out there and each has its own advantage.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Happy Easter
Bueche's Shop-Rite had the most colorful Easter basket display. The display created much longing in my sugar-grubbing soul. My parents never took me to church so I'd never heard of Jesus and imagined God to be a nice man in a brown suit with a matching derby hat. The Easter Bunny, however, I knew intimately.
My mother used to say He would not set foot in an unkept house, so we helped her tidy up and clean things. We then went to bed looking forward to the egg hunt and lots of sugar. Organized religion is not the only way to control the masses.
After I expressed joy and longing while passing the Bueche's (beekeez) Easter basket display, my father said (and this is one of his real life-changing gems), "Show me a kid who believes in the Easter Bunny and I'll show you a dumb kid."
This must have been in 1967 or 1968. I must have been five or six years old when I learned how dumb I am, which is cool, because most people never figure it out. Color me precocious.
My father expected us to push the creative limits of egg dying. This was in the day of Paas, the dye tablets you mixed with hot water and vinegar; none of the new-fangled glittery dying kits had been invented yet. If we wanted a swirly psychedelic egg, we had to go to some trouble, and I did, because I did not want to disappoint the Bunny with boring, monochramatic, pastel eggs.
As the years went by the Easter Bunny let it be known that we were expected to demonstrate our growing intelligence. If we looked for an egg in an easy spot we would find a note in perfect Easter Bunnyish printing (black ink, white paper): You're going to have to try harder than that, or If your name isn't Lydia, leave this egg alone. Beside the note would be a small pile of Bunny turds (raisins).
With a bit of humor, through the Easter Bunny, my dad's message was: try harder because you can and because it's fun. My dad was the best Easter Bunny. And he knew it.
In addition to sugar, most human beings seem to crave guidance, comfort, and relief from guilt. Maybe that's where the whole god thing comes from and therefore the whole reason we celebrate Easter. Curiously, the kids in my family were somehow taught some of the ways of Jesus, without Jesus's name ever coming up. Do unto others was the Big One. If you could grasp doing unto others, you were half way there. Wherever there was. Is. Will be.
We had to answer to our own consciences. The most dreaded form of discipline, second only to being called stupid, was a very terse, "Go to your room and think about that." We were never taught that we would be punished for our sins or that anyone died to make up for our sinful ways, because there was no sin. There were just things that needed to be thought about. Learning from a mistake and moving on not to repeat it was the way to relieve guilt.
Two of our beliefs definitely came from Dad's navy training, teamwork being the best example. If one sibling messed up, we all paid, so there was preventative teamwork (talking a sib out of something stupid) and damage-control teamwork (helping to hide the evidence to avoid being sent to our rooms to think about something). Another navy-founded teaching was you snooze you lose. It wasn't until sometime during the last year that I ever felt comfortable showing up late for anything.
A lot of the stuff we were supposed to learn came from my grandfather:
when you point fingers in blame, there are three pointing back at you;
be proud of who you are and do not shame the family name;
stand up straight, shoulders back, head held high, make eye contact, and offer a firm handshake;
do not lie, ever;
do not throw like a girl (that one pissed me off, so I insist on throwing like a girl);
and some other stuff that will come to me at three in the morning.
Benjamin Franklin was probably influential as well: a borrower nor a lender be; waste not want not. I never borrow from family or friends, and if anyone borrows from me they pretty much can assume I'm prepared not to be paid back. I have a disgusting tendency to eat off of other people's plates while I'm doing the dinner dishes.
Deleterious side effects like punctuality neurosis and dirty dinner plate pillaging aside, I have to say, it's worked out okay having been raised by people who realized there's just no knowing what happens after death and therefore concerned themselves with training us to learn how to get along right now rather than to indulge any worries about a heaven or hell that might come later. If they ever felt the anxiety of the incontrovertible, unavoidable end of life, they never spoke of it; they were much too busy.
Coyote writes, "Let's face it: all evidence points to the extinction of consciousness upon our death. Rather, there is no evidence whatsoever to support its continuance, so how could we possibly believe (other than out of desperation) that we do live on in some way?"
My response: Our existence here at all seems so improbable to me, and our consciousness seems so altogether baffling and unexplainable, yet here we are and we seem to be conscious of our hereness. What would be so surprising, therefore, about a continuation of consciousness, in whatever form? It's not a matter of desperation to allow for the possibility of neverending consciousness. However, to oppress and murder people based on one's fervent belief in neverending consciousness within all of the dogma surrounding that belief is desperation in its most abominable form. We hate that; it bugs us.
For me, the world is pregnant with meaning -- whatever meaning I bring to whatever event I notice in order to fill whatever need I have. When I hear the loon call, especially when the loon ought to be quiet, when I see a great blue heron in an unusual place, and especially when I see specialty rainbows -- doubles, triples, horizon-to-horizon, circling the moon -- it means to me that I need to pay attention to something, that I'm on the cusp of an opportunity to learn something big. I assign that meaning because birds and rainbows are things I associate with my dad, and what he seemed to need was for me to be smart.
Meaning, like belief, is the contrivance of human personality. Their being contrivances does not invalidate them. Either belief does something for you or it doesn't. Either you find meaning useful or you don't.
Belief for me shifts with the wind.


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I've been reading about some of the complications surrounding what it means for food to be certified as organic. Now, with produce, to be "certified organic" seems to mean that no synthetic pesticides or genetically-modified seeds have been used. There are also some guidelines addressing harvesting and packaging, but things get a little hazy when it comes to what counts as natural preservatives (or whatever the heck "food stabilizers" are). There have been lots of studies to support the environmental benefits of organic farming methods, as well as strong evidence for the nutritional superiority of food raised this way. I'm still reading up on a lot of this and trying to engage folks in conversation to better my understanding of why organic is better than conventional. Some farmers feel that our government's rather recent acknowledgment and standards pertaining to organic certification go against the spirit of what organic production means. Terms like "agribusiness" and "mega-organics" are bandied about by some of the more vocal critics of large-scale organically-certified operations. Isn't a large, organic operation better than a large conventional one? I suspect it is. I don't think, however, that "organic" necessarily trumps "local."
I'm not just talking about supporting your local food economy by keeping your dollars in the area, or the carbon footprint bit -- all of the fossil fuels used to process and transport produce from large-scale, so-called "industrial organic" operations -- that might recommend more local food acquisition, though both are very valid reasons. I mean that when you are presented with organically grown stuff from somewhere far away, it may not be in line with the kind of practices you want to support: wasteful growing, harvesting, and packaging. Take Trader Joe's, for example. I love -- love! -- their stuff, and much of it is organic, even free trade, but it is shipped in from all over the place (and "organic" -- never mind "sustainably grown" -- in one country more than likely means something different in another) and there is the issue of packaging. Oh, the packaging! I shudder at the image of the tons of saran wrap and styrofoam they contribute to landfills each year. (Then again, if TJ's didn't shrink wrap everything, the dumpster diving culture would probably wither and die of malnutrition.) I try to stick to farmers markets and food co-ops as much as possible, as they tend toward high quality, seasonal stuff without all of the packaging, and the pricing is comparable. (I do make the occasional stop into TJ's -- but not for produce, if I can at all avoid it. Nobody's perfect, certainly not me. Hey, even Michael Pollan buys Fruity Pebbles sometimes....)
More to the point, though, is the sketchiness surrounding what it means for meat (and animal products such as milk or eggs) to be "certified organic." It apparently *doesn't* mean that animals are raised or slaughtered humanely. It doesn't mean they're any less crowded or stressed than their conventionally-raised counterparts. What it means is that they are fed organically-grown corn and are not pumped up with hormones. This is a good start, but it's not good enough. What's better? Talking to the farmer or rancher directly, asking questions about their practices. If you can, visit the farms, see how the animals live. Do they have a place to roam, walk in the grass, feel the sun on their faces? This -- a happy animal life and a humane death -- is the best a meat eater can hope for in her food. I am grappling with issues related to eating meat again these days, so I suspect there will be future posts as I try to flesh things out. (Oy.)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Posted by :)Ibti at 11:30 PM
Labels: dumpster diving, maggie's mercantile organic farm, Michael Pollan, organic vs. conventional, Trader Joe's
2 comments:
Thanks, Mike. Yes, I meant "fair trade" (not "free trade"). Clearly I need more sleep. And more proofreading before posting.... ;)ReplyDelete
After reading your latest update i swear it was a deja vu conversation with Gary as to what really qualifies these days as organic. Hey looking forward to seeing you soonReplyDelete
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I often times will check out what's listed on Craig's List. Today I thought I would share what caught my eye in my home state.
On a side note….did you hear that Nebraska made #3 on the happiest states to live!
It makes me ask why and how? But then I remembered this picture I took last year. The deep green of the land, the bright blue sky above, and the gentle rolling hills sets me in a good mood. There is just something peaceful about this place. I guess I'm not alone if Nebraska made #3.
Onto Craig's List…chairs, chairs and more chairs. I think I might have a thing for chairs and bed frames(keep scrolling down). Side chairs can be cleaned up, maybe reupholstered and BOOM! you have a new extra seat. Maybe the extra seat could be a place where you drop your coat in the entry area…or a seat you can pull in for extra company in the family room…or a place to snuggle in and read a book in the bedroom.
These chairs are being sold at a second hand furniture store in town. I had never heard of this store before. I meant to check out the store on Saturday but ran out of time before it closed. Neither one had a price that was listed. The barrel chairs look like they are in great condition. It's hard to tell what the fabric is but it looks like a suede or leather. Either fabric would look nice in almost any room coloration. If you were to reupholster them it wouldn't take much fabric. And if you could do it yourself it would be any better.
The recliner had some interesting detail on the arm sides that would give a room some texture. The fabric looks like a faux leather that I don't know if I would keep. I actually can see this chair in my little guy's room as a side chair. A chair that he can kick up his feet and read a book or watch some TV. But looking deeper at this picture the seat cushion doesn't look to soft. I can just imagine myself sitting on it and just "sitting on it" not sinking in. I'm thinking it would be very comfortable. So maybe scratch this picture. All it's got going for it is the arm lattice detail.
These chairs I would take in a heart beat! They are a set of 4 Danish teak wood desk chairs for $100. I like the tapered leg, contoured back piece and the mid-tone wood color is nice. If we were ever to refinish our basement I could see these chairs around a game table. They're not too big but look comfy for your bum and back to sit and stay awhile. The seat and back piece look like the fabric is just stapled on and so it would be fairly easy to reupholster.
These chairs I totally envision in a master bedroom as a chair for a small writing desk or a chair for a bathroom. They are a rosewood chair for $100 each. To me it seems a bit high, but the selling point of the listing was the needlepoint work done on the seat. Sorry to say if these chairs came to my house the fabric would be ripped off! Not my style! The open back of these chairs would feel quite light in a room as opposed to feeling chunky.
This bed again I totally would purchase! It came in a set of a dresser and some other items so I don't know of it's price alone. The listing didn't say they wanted to keep it all together or if you could buy individual pieces. The wood is a Birdseye maple. To me it looks masculine; not a whole lot of curvy lines but has some detail at the top to keep it interesting. With this wood so light I would pair it with a grey plaid of hounds tooth bed fabric with white sheets. OH I wish this could come home to me!
Anything brass I HAVE to like! This brass full-size bed frame is listed for $100. I love that it would give any room some shine!
This bed also came in a set and I don't know of it's individual price. The set included 2 night stands and a dresser. It all was a bit to matchy match for me! The thing that appealed me about this bed frame is the detail of the turned wood. Definitely want to show that detail off! With this bedding it's not doing it. The bed frame and bedding just blend together. Using a lighter bedding fabric would take care of that. Unfortunately it's a queen size and me the hubs need our king. But sure is nice to look at!
And lastly only in the Midwest would you find a 1940's horse drawn sleigh for $1500. How awesome would this be if you had an acreage! But I guess a person would also need horses! And horses are in a whole other category themselves. Besides who has a need for a sleigh and plus who really wants to go on a sleigh ride in the freezing cold? OH well it looked like a fun thing to have and a romantic trip to take with a loved one. As once heard on Seinfeld, "there is just something about the clip-clop sound people go nuts for"!
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now,


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Welcome to Laird London
Laird Hatters are hat and cap makers. We have four London Hat Shops and one Cambridge Hat Shop. All of our hats and caps are hand-made, using traditional hat-making techniques. Our online presence offers a broad selection of the best of Classic Hats from the last hundred years. These are traditional hat and cap styles, made in contemporary cloths and colours.
At Laird, we hand make hats and caps of distinction for both men and women, and are passionate about sourcing the best British cloths, and supporting British textile manufacturing. A Laird hat evokes a rich English and Scottish and Irish heritage, with modern, contemporary look cloths. The great fabric finishes and rich colour palettes make our headwear stand out, as well as the wonderful craftsmanship. Our look is slick, with strong lines, deep colours and bold statements.
For the best of headwear we keep in stock, in-store and online, the Trilby Hat, Homburg Hat, Fedora Hat, Bowler Hat, Top Hat, Porkpie Hat, Panama Hats, Summer Hats and Winter Hats. We stock a variety of unisex hats as well as men's hats and women's hats.
In caps, we stock Bakerboy caps, Flat caps, Bond caps, Brooklyn Caps, Deerstalkers, Engineer Caps, Wax Caps, Duckbill Caps, Shooting Caps, Summer Caps, Winter Caps, Men's Caps, Women's Caps, Beanie Hats and ever popular Mariner Caps.
These are the original vintage hats and caps, in that the process of making hasn't changed much since the Edwardian period. The biggest revolution in hat-making happened in the 60's with the advent of electricity rather than gas to power the hat presses.
We ship all over the world. We hope you enjoy your experience and know you will love your Laird Hat or Cap.
Happy shopping!


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Hope everyone is well.
If you go over to You tube you can follow along with the YouTube Layout Hop.
Here is the page I have made :
Theme for this month is "Die Cuts" . Hope you guys like each and every video and please leave a comment on every video to be eligible to WIN a prize from our Sponsors.
Sponsors for May:
Cocoa Daisy Scrapbooking
Xochitl Zoe Aparicio-Sanchez
Sam Wright
There is a FAN page on Facebook please try to promote and post the fan page link on your Facebook to help spread the word. Ask people to "like" the page. Here is the link.
Line up for May:
1. Sam - http://www.youtube.com/samwri1984
2. An'Jenic - https://www.youtube.com/ScrapbookingAJCards
3. Christine - https://www.youtube.com/serenityinhim
4. Ellen H. - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7dJT8XrBGCUKU0z7IgBxoQ
5. Gina - https://www.youtube.com/user/ginabeth1
6. Fitty - https://www.youtube.com/user/MadebyFitty
7. Vicki - https://www.youtube.com/user/melovebono
8. Roni - https://www.youtube.com/user/Ronisuescrapper
9. Kat - https://www.youtube.com/user/thekatsmeow1969
10. Elisha -https://www.youtube.com/user/EMoran78
Thanks for taking the time to look and any comments left xx
Its much appreciated.


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Today, I share a collection of random thoughts towards, Truthfulness, Courage and Acceptance. This collection of thoughts has been inspired by You! I AM Grateful that you are here today to receive this message.
Created in Ambition!
~ How Good Can I Stand It? ~
Truthfulness… The Universe Will Not be Denied.
Calm is awakened through the odd-fellow, of Truthfulness. The fundamental truth found in the understanding that within each form of life is, Purpose; that every life has an embedded 'purpose'. That purpose contributes its unique piece of the universal puzzle. That's right, the universe needs you to uncover and deliver your purpose.
Purpose moves you beyond your field of study and into the creation of your life. Not just any life but, OneGR8Life! You see, anyone can learn to live life, that takes no more than survival. You my friend are being called to deliver your greatness of purpose. Your purpose will be uncovered to be that 'thing' you thought you could deliver.
Your Ambition of Purpose is that 'idea or notion' you hold about what you believe you can do for others. In the good you think you can deliver; There lies, your purpose!
"If you want to live OneGR8Life,
tie it to your Purpose -not
to people or things."
~Phillip A. Lopez
Regardless, of your purpose, you will deliver it through Ambition - Not Anxiety! Imagine for one minute that you have No limitations on what you can Be, Do, or Give... only Ambition will take you there!!
YES, There is something extraordinary about the feeling received as we work towards fulfilling our purpose; while maintaining an Ambitious thought as simple as - I Can, I Will!
Courage… Live the Examined Life.
The Question of the day is - how well have you done on holding-up your 2014 New Year resolutions?
In all truthfulness, I am not a big New Year resolution kind of guy. This may seem surprising to you, especially from a person so dedicated to living OneGR8Life, so let me explain...
It is not that I am against goal setting or more strongly, against Ambitious goal setting. To the contrary, we should all be driving towards something! And, with only one life to live, we should drive Ambitiously.
To help frame this OneGR8Life of yours, it is significant to remember that this is it folks... This is your OneGR8Life - there is no dress rehearsal here… One performance and it is Live.
So why no New Years Resolutions? After all, the beauty of life stems from the resolution that we Can - Be, Do or Give, Anything that we Desire.
No New Year resolutions is just a personal choice, for me. I wake-up everyday, I am filled with gratitude that I am able to wake rested; I slide my foot under the covers to feel that my loving wife is still laying next to me, I throw back the covers and I start charging. For me, I choose to see everyday as a start to a New Year. If you take a look around, there you will see many who share this ambitious opportunity.
My wife, Janice and I, really enjoyed our 2012 holiday; a 16-day self-guided tour starting in Paris - headed south into Italy - and back out through Paris. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to run-across some amazing individuals... all engaged in some pretty amazing (and ambitious) Live Performances. And they did not wait for the changing of a calendar to get started...
Most memorable was my airport shuttle driver, Samuel. Samuel woke-up one morning and decided the time had come - it was time for him to leave every thing he had and everyone he loved. He had enough of a war torn life in Ethiopia. He decided on that day, that he would change his dedication and direction. He could only think of one place to turn, America! He shared with me the fire that continues to burn within him; the fire that freedom brings!
Easy? I never heard this word cross Samuel's lips in the 50-minute conversation that we shared. After 15 years of an uncertain life change, I did hear Grateful, Dedicated, Thankful and Loving. Loving? Yes! Samuel shared with me a story of how one day as he was walking into a grocery store near his southern California home and he kept hearing some person shouting out his name. As the voice got closer, he turned to see a boyhood friend from his Ethiopian village. Samuel said at that moment he was filled with more love than he could hold! Thousands of miles from home, millions and millions of people between him and his village, he would run into a boyhood friend. The two men remain in constant contact, encouraging each other to believe that they CAN - that they Can do the things that they WILL to do.
Today begins your New Year! I encourage you to rise every morning with an attitude of NEW.
Take the time to create Calm, to live the 'Examined' life. Think about the things that mean the most to you - celebrate them. Imagine the life that you dream to live - memorize this. Remain in resolve to attain your dream life! In a spirit of Courage, renew your pursuit with the start of each new day as if, there was no tomorrow. This is your OneGR8Life - there is no dress rehearsal. One performance and it is Live.
Acceptance... On Failure, Fear Not!
Universal Love and Caring surround us in the transformation of an ordinary life, into OneGR8Life.
Everyone and everything, is on it's way to somewhere...
I rarely write about the significance of failure. Yet, we ALL encounter some perception of set back. That's right, of Failure, You should Fear not. The Acceptance of fact will reveal to us that all things occur for our greatest advantage, thus, perceived failure is merely a stepping stone of gained knowledge and experience. A necessary by-product of achievement.
Let's see if we can gain some new perspective...
~ Don't look for failure. You never see what you don't look for.
~ Train yourself to Never see failure. I only see mis-calculated reactions. And those mis-calculations simply allow for the creation of a new thought, and yet another action. This is called learning. And it fills our life!
~ Don't talk about failure. This is a mental attitude of attraction. You know this to be true; You will become what you think about. From the silent thoughts that you carry, to the verbal words that you share, these things are cemented to you and your validated self. Carefully directed choices are made when we choose to mentally frame things in the ways that We Do Want vs. phrasing things into statements that we don't want.
- I need this light to stay green vs. I hope this light doesn't turn red.
- I need an open lane of traffic vs. I don't have time for traffic.
- I need a community which supports me vs. I hope the room is not filled with objections.
- I need to roll this ball into the cup vs. I cannot afford to miss this putt.
Pollyanna thinking? I Don't know... I just know that I have come to the point of Acceptance which leads me to believe that, we have more mental capacity than we will ever imagine possible.
-Failure is a chosen response, which occurs when you concede to running out of options. If you don't concede, then you have not failed, you have only learned.
--- --- ---
This week release the anxiety that binds you and let your Greatness out to play. Look to avoid the slayers of ambition; but... can't... what if...
Flow ~ Create your moment of Calm in Truth, Courage, and Acceptance;
- You have heard a universal cry for help,
- You have examined your desire in response to that cry,
- You have responded to that cry with - I Can Solve That,
- The Universe has accepted Your response!
- In this sequence, you are now free to take unrestricted action,
- Move forward in confidence that you have gained Universal support.
--- --- ---
Questions / Comments - Have something that is really giving you trouble? Post Here.
OneGR8Life - Delivered Weekly; Tuesday.
Dedicated to Improving the Human Condition. -Specifically, Yours!
--- --- ---
Authored By; Phillip A. Lopez
#CreatingPhenomenal -How to Dream, Create, Live your One Great Life.


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Here is presenting Dance Ke Legend Official Song Video from the movie Hero starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty in lead roles. Music is composed by Meet Bros Anjjan. Lyrics are penned by Kumaar. Song is sung by Meet Bros and Bhoomi Trivedi.
Hero is directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Salman Khan. Film is set for release on 11th September, 2015.
Hero is a official remake of film Hero of 1980s directed by Subhash Ghai then. Already there is positive buzz going for the film after its trailer and first song promo release. Dance Ke Legend only increases the curiosity. There is no doubt being Salman Khan as producer of the film is leaving no stone unturned to promote the film.
Dance Ke Legend Official Song Video -


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Bride K and Groom B are getting married and Lauren Daversa Events is helping to plan their special day. The date has not been set yet, but the event will occur in late October of 2009. The ceremony and reception will be held at sunset at the couple's home. Simple and chic, they want to incorporate fall colors; specifically espresso brown. It will be a beautiful evening.
First thing on the agenda is securing a tent that comes equipped with air conditioning and will accommodate 150 people for dining and dancing.
Below is the dress she chose for her bridesmaids from J Crew. It is the Cotton Cady Lydia Dress in chocolate. "Elegant in crisp cotton cady with a subtle sheen. Halter silhouette. Fitted bodice, full skirt. V-neck and ruching at center front. Inset empire waistband. On-seam pockets. Ties at back neck. Back zip. Fully lined. Falls just below knee; 26" from natural waist. Import. Dry clean. Catalog/jcrew.com only."


text: So I got myself a squishy stamper form Born Pretty Store. It's pretty awesome. The biggest difference in performance it has when compared to a regular stamper, is that it easily covers the entire surface of the nail, leaving no gaps. And with my huge nails, gaping edges have been a problem in every design. I definitely am not going back to my old non-squishy konad stamper.


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HELLO SVG Attic lovers! DT Sonja here. Today I bring you a combination set I made using the newest 3D Teddy Bear and the new Beary Sweet set.
I am not sure why, but I felt that this would be a great set to give to expectant parents.
So I decided to do a pink, teal, and gender neutral set.
I did downsize the teddy bears, only because well, I didn't want to run to the store for more of the same colored paper!
This last little guy holds a gift card in his tummy. Just pull his head to reveal it!
For more projects, please visit: http://sugarbeancards.blogspot.com/
Materials Used:
Core d'nations paper
JGW 3D Teddy Bear: http://www.svgattic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=125_86&products_id=624
JGW Beary Sweet: http://www.svgattic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=125_86&products_id=625
Recollection brads
Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
Scotch Advanced Tape Glider


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BVI Budget Debate Starting on Tuesday
BVI Territory's largest proposed budget debate is to start on March 22, more than month after being presented by BVI Premier and Minister of Finance Dr Orlando Smith, and after weeks of meeting where parliamentarians examined the budget for the 2016 fiscal year; also, Accounting officers participated in these meetings, discussing plans for the ministries and departments. The meetings have finished, and now both the government and opposition sides will take part in the budget debate, which will be followed by the approval of the proposed budget, possibly with changes.
In his budget speech, the premier announced new tax measures which will make people pay more for work permits and water supply, and, along with new legislation enforcing compliance, will enable the government to collect over US$20mln in revenues. He said, however, that these new tax measures 'will not have any great effect on the citizens of the BVI'. The opposition responded to this statement, saying that the tax increases are being proposed at a time when more people have less.


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Friday, September 25, 2015
Sikhs for The Great Game
Of course, they could also be fielded for either the British or Sikh army. The possibilities for their employment are many.
Without a bit of control, a few Sikh or native units could expand beyond planned boundaries to encompass a Sikh Wars or Indian Mutiny project. Tread lightly.
22 comments:
Very nice work on these fine troops, Jonathan. It appears you may have used the staining process - if so, it really seems to have worked. Great looking figures in any case.ReplyDeleteReplies
Dean, you are spot on. The Minwax is at work on these troops. In fact, Minwax treatment is de riguer for nearly all of my painting. It seems to have better effect with some more than others but I believe it enhances every figure.Delete
I love Sikh units, and you've done an excellent job on them Jon...ReplyDelete
Really well painted unit Jon, the wash you've used (minwax?) is particularly effective on the dirty white nuances.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you, Soren! Minwax treatment is correct and does a good job of dirtying them up a bit. An interesting attribute is that the Minwax is nearly transparent after drying and allows the color to come through. Recesses in folds end up a darker shade of the base color.Delete
What pigment do you add to the Minwax, JF?Delete
Michael, I use it straight from the can; Tudor Satin.Delete
Great work. I've been toying with the idea of a 15mm Skih Wars for some time. There are some fascinating battles involved, not too mention the politics. Come on, it won't take you too far off-track...ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks, Nate! Why not do a Sikh Wars project in 15mm? With your OHW "pocket projects" that should not take too long at all.Delete
As for me, some of these troops might see service during the Sikh Wars.
I agree with the above comments. fantastic looking unit, and an especially effective use of the "dip". I half expect to see them break out into song as they march; after all, Sihks are well known to be great Sing(h)ers!ReplyDeleteReplies
Peter, that is a Sikh pun. for sure!Delete
The dip works wonders on all troop types and scales. It is especially useful for unifying a figure.
Sikh Wars! Come on, you know you want it.ReplyDeleteReplies
Jim, Jim, Jim. Do you know how many projects I have now? Too many to even get all of the collections into a game on an annual rotation. I am making good progress this year to accomplish that, though.Delete
Sikh Wars? Yes, that too interests me. Don't they all?
I know your pain Jonathan. The problem is that you keep cranking out these fantastic troops.Delete
Still, so many projects, so little time.
"Still, so many projects, so little time."Delete
My mantra, for sure!
Astonished at how prolific you are, as always (always me astonished, always you prolific). I like the amount of variety and colour you've put into the unit. Looking forward to their exploits.ReplyDeleteReplies
Glad you approve of the result, Michael!Delete
For me, painting is a relaxing endeavor. Once a process is established, a few hours a week at the painting desk can turn lead into armies ready for battle.
Very nice looking units Jonathan! All that is very tempting with NWF, Sikh Wars, Indian Mutiny.....ReplyDelete
Very tempting...Delete
Great! lovely "pastel" colors!ReplyDelete


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At the beginning of an assignment,my first step is to visualize exactly what the image will look like at its conclusion. The clearer I can see the finished painting,the faster I can begin collecting the important elements that will make it a fun and interesting process for myself,and a successful endeavor for my client.
I try to think of the action first,which then allows me to see the primary focus from many different angles,then select the one that works best,and from a fresh perspective.
Once I'm satisfied with the perspective and the composition,the details of characters and hand gestures are selected from a buffet of sketches,photos and carefully scripted reference shoots.When amassing these details,thoughts of light and color are always being presented and debated.
Although constantly aware of my original vision of the final piece,I allow myself to look for pleasant surprises that I may have overlooked. Once the painting process begins,which can vary,depending on size and usage,I work as quickly as possible,eager to see the finished work. Starting thickly with oils,in a very limited palette,allows me to construct the basic framework,which can be decorated with light washes and fine lines.The intensity of color can now be added to enhance my intentions. In the final stages,I inspect each section to ensure that it fits with my original thought.


text: Point guard Chris Anderson committed today to San Diego over UC Irvine giving the Toreros their best recruit in years. He is a fast and quick guard who has outstanding basketball IQ and great floor vision. He is also a good passer and has an explosive first step as well. Expect Anderson to start right away with senior guards Matt Dorr and Devin Ginty graduating. He is a great find for a struggling San Diego team.


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Tomorrow is my big moving day so I am a bit behind on taking photos. I did however want to share with you guys a few snaps of my new apartment along with some of my favorite finds from this week!
Room 334 for a big anniversary giveaway she was doing. To my delight, the adorable Priya of Perfectly Priya was the giveaway winner, and I LOVE how she styled her Braided Bandit 1960s Floral Dress!
Emily Green who uses some of the prettiest color palettes that I have ever seen! I just favorite a million of her clay beaded necklaces on etsy, and she is a featured seller on Fab.com today too. I think this one has to be my current favorite!
What is next for you (and Mr Bear)?
"More of the same! As I write this I'm off to an exciting shoot and Mr Bear is snoozing on his back with all four paws in the air. It just sums up life, really, we're both having a great time!"
Have a great weekend!
xo Hannah


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Come Clean
Here is a short meditation as I have been thinking about 1 John 1 and reading the poem, Cleanse the Thoughts by Walter Bruegemann
Why do I try to hide
my secrets,
my sin,
When I am already fully known by You?
My secrets ooze out of the pores of my life,
despite my best efforts to keep them hidden.
My shame keeps me
painfully isolated
from You,
from others,
from the help that I so desperately need.
Your wooing voice cries out to me,
"Come clean.
Allow yourself to be known.
Join in the celebration with the saints,
our blood-bought victory,
our bondage-breaking liberation,
our friendship-restoring redemption.
Allow yourself to be known
by Me,
by others;
And to be loved
as a less-than-perfect
image-bearer of the King."
I wish I had been a better father
Here is someone on the road to redemption and I hope he makes it!
If you are a basketball fan, you will remember Dennis Rodman–his defense, his rebounding, his flamboyance! I have not followed his life after basketball but I am guessing that it has been rough–likely much of it self-inflicted. Just watched his rambling acceptance speech into the basketball hall of fame (thanks to the heads up by Jon Acuff at Stuff Christians Like) and I value his honest and hard words about his failure to be a good son, a good husband and a good father–many of these words could be my own as well. How moving to hear him describe the men in his life! I pray that God may give Dennis grace to continue to live a transformed life even as I pray that for myself.
The joy of confession in Psalm 32
Great post on the comma of grace from Stuff Christians Like that fits well with this post. Luke 22:32, "And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." As Jonathan says about the Luke 22 , it is a "loud, wild picture of what grace really looks like." Be sure to read his full post.
Grace is why we should be willing to read and pray Psalm 32!
How right life is when
- my sin
- my iniquity and
- my transgressions
- are forgiven
- covered up
- not counted against me
Acknowledgement of my desperate need for
- confession
- forgiveness
Pain and suffering when hiding
- my physical body wastes away
- I groan all day long
- God's hand is heavy on me
- my strength is dried up
Thankfulness for God
- instructing
- teaching
- counseling
- offering prayers
- providing a hiding place
Prayer: Help me not to be stubborn or to stray
Promise—steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD
- Be glad in YHWH
- Rejoice righteous ones
- Shout for joy you upright ones
Confession is good for the soul
At least according to Ruth Barton at The Transforming Center! In an article, Practicing Lent: True Confessions, she writes
Confession is good for the soul—and everyone around us. Without the ability to face ourselves honestly and confess not only our sin and bad behaviors but also the shadow that drives them, we become dangerous to one another in the human community. We project our own darkness onto others rather than dealing with the darkness within ourselves and the weight of that is too much for any of us to bear. Lent is the season for coming out of the shadows and coming clean.
Barton says confession results from the inner dynamic of repentance. We know we need to change and desire to change. She gives three elements of confession.
1. Seeing
The first element in the process of coming clean is simply seeing something that went wrong in a behavior or an action. It might be a vague sense of something that wasn't quite right (for instance, a subtle resistance to doing something loving for another person or a subtle shading of the truth for personal advantage) or it could be something that was more clear-cut (such as an angry outburst or a blatant lie.)
2. Naming
Willingness to name the sin or negative behavior clearly for what it is and to name what was going on inside that caused that behavior.
This is not for the purpose of making excuses; rather it is to seek some understanding of the inner dynamics that caused the behavior so that we can deal with the temptation at it's root cause next time we are faced with it.
In this element of the process, we need God to guide us because while we might see the behavior clearly, the inner wounds, character deficiencies, and sin patterns that drive such behaviors are often unknown to us and we need God to reveal them.
3. Confession
True confession requires us to name our sin out loud to ourselves, to God and to the person (s) we have hurt and to take steps to renounce it for Christ's sake. A true confession will involve the willingness to making restitution if that is needed. Confession, when practiced fully, is personal (between me and God), it is interpersonal
(with the person I have hurt or offended), and it is corporate (in the context of worship in community.) It is the interplay between these three that keeps confession healthy and productive.
Confession leads to our ultimate freedom from sin, guilt, and the heavy burden of unresolved pain in our relationships.
Tiger' Great Confession
Tiger Woods may be remembered as the best golfer of all time but after listening to his apology today, he may also be remembered as giving one of the best apologies of all time for a modern public figure.
Since we are leaving town today, I was home and happened to walk by as the Tiger was speaking. Missed the first few minutes but from what I heard and from the tears I saw on my wife's face, Tiger hit it right on the head of the proverbial nail! What did I hear?
1. An acknowledgement of wrong–multiple times and in a variety of ways, Tiger confessed that he had failed, that he had done wrong. I didn't hear him say that he had sinned but with his Buddhist confession, that is maybe not so surprising.
2. Admitted an understanding of the way he had hurt others by his wrongdoings–his wife, his kids, his mom, his fans, sponsors, Foundation etc. He realized that he had violated the trust given to him, that he had failed to show respect to others (including his fellow golfers and the game itself), that he had brought shame on others by his misdeeds.
3. Expressed a desire to change. Tiger said that he did not want to repeat his failings, that he was getting help to do so, that it would be a long road to recovery.
4. Possessed an appropriate level of emotion. No, he didn't cry but from my standpoint this was not easy for him and there was a genuine level of contrition. Part of that, no doubt, was the public humiliation and damage done to his pride and reputation.
Read what a Christian suggested for a good Tiger confession. He wrote this before Tiger spoke publicly. Except for the part about trusting Christ and seeking the help of other Christians/Pastors/golfers, I think he could not have done better.
Of course, I am sad that Tiger believes that Buddhism offers him the power to transform his life. No disrespect intended but removing desire from my life has never worked for me or anyone else I know nor has self-discipline by itself. I do know that change is possible as Jesus Christ transforms my desires, longings, thoughts and ultimately my actions. But, according to the Bible, that battle between lusts of the flesh and the life of the Spirit is a continual one until we go to heaven. I do wish Tiger the best with the demons with which he is doing battle. But, I fear that apart from a daily desperate dependence on Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit he can never win the battles ahead. Transformation, not reformation is what is needed.
Thank you Tiger for leading the way with this courageous and I believe honest confession. I am one that is rooting for you.
First Sunday in Advent
Psalm 95 is the reading for this first week of Advent—advent—"the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration" of the birth of our LORD Jesus. A couple of things jump off the page at me this morning. Reading in New Living. First, the focus on community in verses 1-6: Let us sing, let us shout joyfully, let us come to him with thanksgiving, let us sing psalms of praise, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our God, he is our God, We are the people he watches over. I guess this should not surprise me since God entered into our world to make community possible, fellowship first with the Father, Son and Spirit and then with others who bow in worship before Him. And then there is the community of all of humanity—all of those created in his image. A confession—community is not something I do well but then again, it is also something without which I cannot live well! So how will I involve community in my advent? The fact that I am even thinking about advent is a surprise in itself since advent is almost completely neglected in the church traditions that I have grown up with as a Christian.
Although I also now see the character of the one towards whom and for whom I worship together in community, the second thing I noticed about this Psalm this morning was the latter part beginning at the end of verse 7. As I read, "If only you would listen to his voice today" my senses become alert to what follows in 7-10. "Hardened hearts, tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did, hearts turned away from me, refuse to do what I tell them." Advent calls me to reflect on my heart condition—and I suppose I need to work out a way to do this also in community?
Signature Sins: An Introduction
A few weeks ago I read Signature Sins by Michael Mangis (IVP 2008). He
talks about the seven deadly sins:, lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, pride and defines sin as a "failure of our soul to be fully attuned to God's soul." 15 He says a signature sin is "my sin pattern . . . my sin profile." 14 Signature sins are "places where sin has most taken root. . . Primary root of sin which lies at the core." 61 He suggests the following:
"Be in prayerful reflection about your own signature sins. Take note of those sins that cause a twinge of recognition. Be especially mindful of where your heart may desire not to look." 29
We need to name our signature sins. It is a knowing of our secret nemesis.
- Enter the process with reverence and prayer
- Accuracy and thoroughness should be our first priority
- Take great care
- Choosing a name requires a growing familiarity with the sin itself—shades of meaning are important
- Prayerfully submit to God's naming of our sin.
Apparently some are making money off of these signature sins as you will see below since you can buy and demonstrate to all your own special sin!


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Bay to Birdwood claims to be the largest and longest running classic vehicle event in the world. It involves a week of classic motoring events as part of Motorfest, culminating in a 70 kilometre drive from the Adelaide seafront to Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills. Birdwood is the home of the National Motor Museum. The event is now so large that it is split into two bi-annual events; the original event for vehicles built prior to 1954 and the Classic, for vehicles built from 1954 to 1981. For more information see the website: http://baytobirdwood.com.au/
The Bay to Birdwood route.
This year I'm going to attend the Bay to Birdwood along with 5 other cars from the Special Interest Vehicle Association. We are going to ship the cars to Adelaide, which is 2700 kilometres east of Perth across the Nullabour Plain. Some are driving back. It takes about 5 days to drive at the leisurely pace of a classic car. I am not sure I'll be driving the return but we'll see.
In the meantime it's time to tackle all those little maintenance tasks to ensure she's fit for the journey. For safety reasons I've just had seatbelts fitted. They look pretty good. Thanks to Seatbelt Solutions of Welshpool. www.seatbeltsolutions.com.au/
The results look good
About a year ago I had my original exhaust replaced. The exhaust was in terrible shape with rot holes beginning to appear in the metal. The only thing holding it together was the 300 kilograms of oil and carbon trapped inside it.
So I had to find a new exhaust. The first one I tried was a sports exhaust sourced from South Africa. It was recommended to me by some fellow DKW owners who said it provided an increase in speed and performance.
Well, it certainly did increase the car's speed. On the freeway it performed really well and I'm sure it gave about an extra 5 miles and hour, but... unfortunately most of my driving is done on suburban streets at around 40 to 50 miles an hour and it really wasn't suited to that power band. The engine ran really rough at a lower speeds and, most importantly, the undampened exhaust note was quite deafening!
After a few weeks of driving I had the sports exhaust removed and replaced with something a little quieter, but this modern exhaust, although generally okay, did not work particularly well either. The engine and exhaust continued to vibrate alot and performance at speed dropped from a comfortable maximum speed of 75 miles per hour to around 65 miles per hour. It was time to go back to an original style exhaust.


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As for their wines, the best of their offerings is their 2008 Vincero Viognier. Not to sound too much like a broken record on this blog, but Viognier really likes growing in Virginia, and Virginia wineries can do amazing things with this grape. Notaviva's Viognier is aged in stainless steel casks, which gives it a light, crisp flavor that accentuates this wine's mellow pear and kiwi undertones. Try it with grilled shrimp seasoned with Old Bay, or even sautéed rockfish cooked in sage butter. The texture and flavor of either dish will go well with this Viognier's mellow, sweet flavor.
Notaviva's 2008 "Celtico" Chambourcin is an interesting, if not entirely impressive red. It has plenty of tannins, with a smokiness that makes this wine a good fit for foods cooked on a grill – from burgers to steak. Basically, this is a red that should go with meat. Grilled meat. Preferably with a spicy dry rub or sauce. Open up a bottle with dinner and finish it off with some dark chocolate for dessert and you will have a well-paired meal. I say it is slightly unimpressive, though, for the fact that for as much smokiness and tannins as it has, that is basically it. There are some whiffs of raspberries, but not many. And with a smokiness that permeates everything from first smell to last sip, there doesn't seem to be much room for any other flavors to distinguish themselves.
What Notaviva tries to do, and does well, is add a musical dimension to wine. From the names of their wines, to the diverse varieties of music played in their tasting room, to the owner's own musical backgrounds and the musical paraphernalia that adorns the walls of their winery, it is obvious that Notaviva was opened so that the owners could pursue their two passions: music and wine. They have created a great atmosphere and make some decent wines in the process.


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edical cannabis oil is the significant oil of the cannabis plant. The medicinal components of the herb are concentrated in resin gland on the outside of the plant. This oil is made by using some kind of solvent to separate the oils from the plant material. This creates a highly intense product which both essential and useful.
Medical cannabis oil is probably one of the most beneficial cannabis products available on the market. But, there are many different products that can be referred to as "Cannabis Oil". So it is important for buyers to know everything about the medical cannabis oil before purchasing it.
Here's the summary on the different types of medical cannabis oil available, and how to select the best product for you.
1. Full extract
Full extract cannabis oil is made from the buds and sometimes leaves of the cannabis plant. This type of oil will contain a large amount of cannabinoids, which are the active compounds found in the plant.
While buying full extract oil, you may find products that contain the following compounds:
· 1:1
· Specialty products
You must know about the aforementioned components before buying this product.
2. Raw cannabis oil
It is an essential medical product that is rare to come by and is extracted without using heat. This oil considered of extremely high quality and people often buy it to get some of the anti-inflammatory benefits of the herb without experiencing a high.
3. Isolates
These are pure THC, CBD or other cannabinoids. There is value to isolates, because they allow patients to get a regular dose every time.
In conclusion, medical cannabis oil is considered to be one of the most essential oils from which many people benefit. This oil is a natural substance that will help you relax. You can buy this oil online from an authentic store and get a solution to your problems.


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When I first read this week's Tuesday @ Ten prompt phrase, I knew immediately what I would write about! I have had such a busy week that I have almost run out of time...
But, I didnt! So, here is this week's prompt:
A Moment I Will Never Forget
While watching the three youngest grandchildren, I really had my hands FULL! They are ages 1-year, 2-year and 4-year...
And that little cutie of a girl (the 1-year old!) is a real dare-devil.
So, while I was with them, she stood holding onto something, and before I knew what was happening...
She let go - and took about four steps before sitting down, and then pulled up and did it again! {Wouldn't you know it...I did not have my camera; and if I had it, I doubt I would have been quick enough to get a picture! The photo below is about a week or so after those first few steps.}
When I talked to my daughter later, she told me that I should "hold that memory in my heart, because she had not done that before"!
So, I will cherish that memory in my heart!


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Greg and I have been trying to put a trade together for sometime. Unfortunately, I think it was more of me and my collecting habits that held the trade up. Although I do have a ton of different collections going right now, I'm picky when it comes to trades. We got it done thought, and I hope Greg enjoys the LeBron patch I sent. I know I'm certainly excited to add the 2010 Upper Deck Ultimate Debut Threads Jhonas Enroth Jersey card and 2011 Panini Limited Legend Chris Mullin Jersey card. You can see the cards below. Thanks for the trade Greg!!!
Here's a link to my trade page. Let me know if you have anything I'm looking for or you see anything you like. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
|2011 Panini Limited Legend Chris Mullin Jersey
|2010 Upper Deck Ultimate Debut Threads Jhonas Enroth Jersey


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Thursday, December 2
A Lady Reading, Marguerite Gerard, 1795-1800
Gentle Readers, I have been without internet service for 30 hours, which is the reason for no posting early this Thursday. To assuage your desire for all things Regency, please enjoy this image of A Lady Reading by Marguerite Gerard, 1795-1800. Read more about this remarkable painter in Versailles and More.
2 comments:
- Southerner said...
Lovely picture, Vic. It's how I imagine you.
- 12/03/2010
- Eliza Martin said...
I know all about having your internet down. It drives me crazy.
- 12/03/2010
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Studio: Showtimes Ent.
Run Time: 93 Minuntes
DVD Release: 27th Sept 2005
Based on the award winning novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, "Speak" unfolds a story about Melinda (Kristen Stewart), a smart and spirited high school freshman who retreats into self-imposed silence after she is raped one night at a party. Feeling isolated from her classmates and from her preoccupied mother Joyce Sardnino (Elizabeth Perkins), Melinda retreats further in an attempt to escape the torments of high school. It is only through her work in art class with the help of her compassionate art teacher Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn) that she begins to reach out to others and eventually finds her own voice and inner strength. A feature debut of director/co-writer Jessica Sharzer, "Speak" resonates with stubborn honesty and sardonic humor as we follow Melinda on her journey from traumatized isolation to a brave and final triumphant disclosure.
WOW! That is the only word that even comes to mind of this amazing movie. I was totally blown away by.
It is based on the novel and stay fairly true to the book. I really enjoyed that book. However, I actually enjoyed this more. I think its the kind of story that needs to be a movie to properly appreciate the plot.
The casting for this is just superb. Kristen as Melinda is got to be her best performance. Now I do love her as Bella and I know alot of people are like "oh she can't act" well you watch this movie and then come back here and tell me she can't act. I didn't cry with the book. However, Kristen acting skills had me in tears. She has a raw talent and I am become a proper fan of her movies and will continue to follow her career. I hope we get to see her in more emotional roles as this.
The plot is captivating. It follows Melinda as she struggles through her freshman year in high after a traumtic event during a summer party that she tells no one about and ends up calling the police and now everyone hates her. The story even though its dark and emotional, its still really enjoyable and funny. Just like the book.
Being in the UK the movie isn't available on region 2. However, I did manage to watch it. And now I really thinking about getting a new dvd player that lets me play region 1 movies. I feel like the movie and book should be available everywhere as its a powerful story that really touching. A must for schools I think.
For my review of the novel see HERE


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1. Recently, Kim Kardashian wore this awful outfit.
2. This year Sister #2 graduates college.
3. Last night for dinner, I had Chicken Marsala and it was tasty!
4. January 17th is Ditch New Years Resolutions Day.
5. I've started watching the TV show The Walking Dead. It's scary and exciting all at the same time.