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as you all know, sometimes I do things a little out of the ordinary like; take pictures of random findings, move things that don't have to be moved, start projects that never seem to find a finishing point, let my mind wonder about things that have absolutely nothing to do with life, start blogs that I don't actually visit until I have more important things I should be doing (like studying for tests....)
today is one of those random days. I started painting 16 y/o's room a shade of gray he requested and once I finished, I felt it was missing an important element... a headboard. I started my search online for a decent looking headboard that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg (because I'm learning to budget...) During my search I learned something about myself~ I have expensive taste! every headboard that I liked cost somewhere between $600 and $3000! (reality check!)
all of a sudden i got this super great idea, i'll make my own headboard, how hard (& expensive) can it be??? to my surprise, it wasn't expensive at all.. here is a list of items I used to build my head board along with cost:
(2) bi-fold closet doors $0.00 (they were tucked inside of my shed)
(5) 4x8x1 boards $0.00 (they were in the shed too...)
wood screws $0.00 (once again, items just sitting around the garage purchased who knows when...)
faux leather material $10.00 (Garden Ridge sells 2 yards of cut fabric for $5 in every style/pattern)
Poly-fil $8.59 from Michaels (used my 40% off one item coupon- yea!)
I started by supporting the bi-fold closet doors with the 4x8 board, this also keeps the doors from folding up on who ever decides to sleep in 16 y/o's bed! Then I covered the doors with poly-fil, and finally wrapped the doors with my awesome "faux" leather. I wasn't to happy with the flatness of the extreamly large headboard so I laid some of the poly-fil on two of the 4x8 boards and covered each board with more "faux" leather and then attached them to the lower half of the head board (this gives a bit of back support should 16 y/o decide he wants to sit up and read in bed.... HA! THAT was a joke (ahahaha, 16 y/o reading a book~ riiiggght...) I finished off the look with a small throw pillow that was made from the left over poly-fil and "faux" leather.
The end result~ an awesome headboard that cost me exactly $18.59! well at least I thought it was awesome, hubby looked at it and frowned... maybe I'll add the poly-filled covered 4x8 boards the whole length up the headboard... although that would probably bring my cost up~ you know what, I like it the way it is...
What do you think???


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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Short Note: For ALX (Le Parkour Video Game!)
BTW, I dedicate this and my last two posts to ALX, who is off in Honduras helpin the villagers with their water and sanitation needz, and who me and the Little Bitty hope will grow his hair back out in a non-exotic bird fashion.
So without further ado, here is a trailer of Mirror's Edge, which is due late, late 2008, and is confirmed for PC.
(In the tradition of Rock, Paper, Shotgun: Thanks Gametrailers! I'd give you ITB4free!)
ALX, I hope you have access to some flash and high speed internets somewhere. I think this game was maked fuh u.
BTW, for those of you who don't know what Parkour is, peep this vid. Starts a little slow, but stay with it.
Seriously, makes me wanna go workout or summet. BTW, I can do all of that. Yup.
2 comments:
- Alex C said...
Yeah, I'll add that game to the list. If it were just parkour, I'd get bored and just go do it myself for realz. But if I can do Matrix jumps and combat AND do parkour, then sweet.
The first few seconds of the video, I was like 'hey, i can do that. and that. AND that! neat! oh...wait...no, that I can't do. no way.'
Haven't really done parkour here yet. I climbed a series of 7 6 ft walls that were all right next to eachother as fast as I could a couple times...got all scraped up. It was cool. Nothing much to do in my city, here, tho. Some concrete benches to vault over...all the buildings are secured with barbed wire. I dun wanna parkour into people's backyards.
- May 10, 2008 at 10:02 PM
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- December 11, 2012 at 12:53 PM

subset: commoncrawl


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For the first time in its six-year history, the Amgen Tour of California had to cancel a day of cycling. It was snowing.
Stage 1 of the 800-mile, eight-stage race was scheduled to be 118 miles around Lake Tahoe and then was shortened to 50 miles before it was scrapped at 1:15 p.m. The opening stage was to have been dedicated to Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt of the Leopard Trek team, who was killed last Monday after crashing during a descent in the Giro d'Italia.
Levi Leipheimer, three-time Tour of California winner, addressed the crowd at the start in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday after the cancellation.
"The riders discussed it as a group, and we just don't feel comfortable riding knowing what can happen, especially in light of what happened last Monday," Leipheimer said.


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A blue robotic cat from the 22nd century, Doraemon is manufactured on the 3rd of September 2112 bearing the code MS-903 at the Matsushiba Robot Factory. Doraemon is considered to be a substandard product because many of his robotic features malfunctioned after production. During his manufacture, he got struck by lightning and lost an important screw in his brain, affecting his performance in both studies and socializing.
Cute cosplay! I have to admit, I got pretty confused with who she was until Lily pointed out the bell around her neck. Thanks to Haley for sending this!
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ultima says: "I see racial profiling as something different from racism. The former takes cognizance of those particular border violators or illegal aliens who are most likely to be found within the ranks the ranks of of their ethnic brethren."
Christina responds: I have no idea what that means.
Racial profiling is based on faulty reasoning. It presupposes that qualities attributed to a subset of a larger group are true of the group as a whole.


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We are thrilled to announce the first Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook has been released!
You'll find sketches for layouts with one, two, three & multiple photos! You'll even find double page sketches! Plus, sample layouts from talented designers that will spark your creativity!
Most of the sketches use standard photo sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10). To get extra mileage out of the sketches, switch it up! Use the sketches to create cards, double pagers, etc.! If you need ideas for "switching it up", check out the cards in the Sample Layouts section or visit the Sassy Lil' Sketch blog on Saturdays.
The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook is available for online viewing or you can easily download and print it. It's your choice!
Click here or the button in the sidebar to get the Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook & get scrapping!


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Drunken Cherry and Shaved Dark Chocolate Crostata
Hotchocspoons: chocolate on a spoon that's ready to be dipped & swirled into a mug of milk to make a perfect cuppa cocoa.
Limited edition Black Collection from Compartes Chcolatiers debuts today. The collection features Macallan Single-Malt Scotch, Black Truffle, Black Sesame + Wasabi and Black Guiness Stout Beer truffles.
Chocolate Frangelico Truffles ~ Elegantly rich in style and in flavor, these truffles are a great holiday dessert.
Broiling everyday mashed potatoes dresses them up with irresistible crunch.
Chocolate Espresso Pots de Creme
What's Gaby Cooking adapted her mother's recipe for molasses cookies to make this gluten-free version.
The perfect banana bread: tender, moist and airy with a sweet caramelized flavor.
Tahitian Vanilla Cake
Coffee Meringue Cupcakes, Spiced Poached Pears And My First Book Deal
This Dorie Greenspan classic French dessert cake is unusual -containing cream of wheat! - but boy it is tasty!
The tableware designed by Marcel Wanders for the business class of KLM.
Cranberry Sandwich Bread. Great with a smear of cream cheese or loaded with your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers!
A healthy, flavorful dish to aid your Thanksgiving hangover: Butternut Squash Soup with Cream & Spiced Nuts.
Apple Slab Pie ~ A great way to turn this autumn's abundance of apples into a delicious treat served in square pieces by the Urban Baker.
These macarons are inspired by the chilly winds of the fall - hot chocolate and marshmallow is the perfect combination for this weather!
SLOSHED! features the Norwegian Wood, an earthy, complex, lightly sweet and surprisingly refreshing after-dinner cocktail.
From Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology" comes the classic Whiskey Sour in wonderful, slurpy form.
The Urban Baker made muffins with some left over sweet potatoes adding ginger, buttermilk, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans.
Delicate double-salmon fishcakes
chocolate caramel tarts - an indulgent treat!
Foie bonbon
Halloumi and Beef 'Carpaccio' Salad with Fried Capers
FEATUREDNOTCOT Holiday Coupons!!! A little something from us and some of our friends to help with your shopping! Happy Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling. I mean what gets better than that! It's heaven!
Fancy Gems Mini Choux - reinventing one of my favourite cookies as tiny choux pastries
Moroccan-spiced Chicken Pie with Phyllo Pastry
What do people do in their spare time in Hong Kong? Shop and eat. And eat. Here's a list of places, from hip to classic, to get a taste of the city.
Turkey Fry Fail ~ Eater has a collection of some of the worst turkey frying fires. It's an archive of terrible ideas.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie ~ The American classic gets a little updating from COOK.
The gorgeous work by food and lifestyle photographer Anna Williams is the perfect treat to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Drop Doughnuts ~ Sweet pumpkin fritters from Lara Ferroni.
Splashes and Pours ~ Cook Your Dream breaks out the off camera flash, for some fun spills and pours.
Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies~ Fresh 365 makes these cookies both tart and sweet with homemade cranberry jam.
A handful of sage transforms everyday caramel into an earthy autumnal confection.
Winter Squash Soufflé ~ One Tribe Gourmet adds maple syrup and Grana Padano cheese to this fluffy Thanksgiving side dish.
Rainbow Cake ~ The plain white frosting on Love and Olive Oil's cake mask the vibrant layered interior.
Churros with orange and Cointreau spiked hot chocolate
Involtini Di Bresola by David Rocco.
"Please, Sir, Can I Have S'more?" Cupcakes—the flavors of a true campfire s'more in cupcake form
Thanksgiving Feast Recipes: Appetizers, Side Dishes, Sauces, Breads & Desserts
Delicious oat, pear, and raspberry loaf. A great seasonal end to a meal.
Antipasto Eggplant Stacks - delicious, easy and perfect for the holidays!!
Recipe for Rustic Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
Wild Ingredients ~ The New York Times takes a look at some of the wild ingredients chefs are using to give their restaurants unique tastes.


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Full Length of War Room in High Quality VideoNow you can watch full War Room in high definition format with duration 120 Min and was published in 2015-08-28 and MPAA rating is 18.
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Hello All. Today, I made a Wrap for my favorite "go to" gift container. I love these little 3" x 2" tin containers. They are food safe and can house anything from candy to bath products. I used Echo Park paper and tags to create the wrap for this container. I then used chiffon green ribbon and red rick rack to create the sealing ribbon and bow. I embellished this with a Country Fresh 1/2" red burlap covered button.
When you think of Christmas wrapping, this is as simple and inexpensive as you can get. These containers sell for $1.00 in qtys greater than 10…you cannot buy gift bags less than that. What better to embellish with than some Pinque Peacock Products?


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March 27, 2011, 5:02 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized
Filed under: Uncategorized
Here's a great video on "The mini-home/house"- which in the past had been featured on about 40+ news-related videos, but I feel this is one of the better, quick overviews on this home. Another one to file under: "Start Saving" though- or, you could build your own container house for about 10,000.00 if you're fairly handy….
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
Leave a Comment so far
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The Benchmade Mini Griptilian 557SBKOD Black Blade with OD Handle and Serated Tanto Style Blade designed by Mel Pardue. Well known for its AXIS lock Ambidextrious use and overall good looks and functionality the Benchmade Mini-Griptilian is a knife everyone is comfortable with in their pocket.
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- Item #: 557SBKOD


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Sunday, June 29, 2008
Look how far we've come!
Searching though old pictures is fun and I found this one of Laine. It reminded me of how far she has come with the healing of the Strawberry Hemangioma that developed after birth. This picture was taken about 2 months after it stopped growing so this isn't when it was at the largest, but, it gives you an idea from when she was 10 months old to now about 2 1/2 years. We are hopeful in the next few years she will continue to heal better. She may need some plastic surgery in a couple years but our doctors are hopeful that it will get better with more time. We have seen Dermatology, Hematology and Opthalmalogy at U of M and all are pleased with the progress. We see all the doctors again later this summer for check ups. We'll keep you posted! She also returns to her Genetic/Metabolic doctors later this summer and we are pleased with Laine's progress and health and hope they are too. She has only had one hospital stay this last winter for the year so far. We are hopeful for no more stays this year. We give God the glory for meeting our needs and answering our prayers. During the first few weeks after she was born and we were faced with her Metabolic condition and the growing Hemangioma, needless to say that I was one stressed momma. I would have never guessed our lives would return to our "normal" that it is today (although it was my prayer). I am reminded to ask by prayer and petition our desires and God is good and faithful.
Posted by JenD at 10:50 PM No comments:
Labels: faith, God, health, Laine, strawberry hemangioma
Friday, June 27, 2008
My strong and brave girl
Paige went to camp this week and I so happy to see her when we picked her up. We threw our arms around each other and just hugged for a while. She came home Wednesday night (it was a 4 day camp for her age). All the campers receive a reward for qualities seen in them during the week. Paige got Humility. Paige got Humility because of her character and that just makes me so proud. I think camp was a little harder on her than she thought it would be. She said "camp was a blast...but the nights were really hard". She threw up two different nights because she was homesick. But the last night there (I think she knew she would see us the next day) she did just fine. She never asked to go home or even call even though she was homesick. She made friends, learned about Jesus, did crafts, water activities, dancing, and keeps remember more stories of the fun. The car ride home she was so exhausted she slept almost the entire way. Now since she has had a couple days to process camp...She loved it. She is thinking about going back next summer although she says she wants to wait until she turns 8 to decide for sure. She is brave!!! I am not sure I would have wanted to go at 7 years old. She really wanted to go so I encouraged her. I'll keep encouraging her. Thank you God for my strong, brave, independent little Paige.
Posted by JenD at 4:00 PM 1 comment:
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The hard days of being a nurse
Being a nurse for the last ten years I have seen my share of heartbreaking stories, illnesses, patients and families. I have probably been present for at least 50 people passing. Every week I take care of at least a few precious patients who have less than a week to live. I have shed a few tears for every patient that passes away (If I ever don't then it would be time to hang up my stethoscope). But, few have touched me in a way that one particular family has this last year. I cry today for her family as she is very sick and barring a miracle I have learned she probably has less than a day to live. The special thing about her is that her faith is strong in the mist of miserable circumstances. But God is good and faithful during this time. She has encouraged so many people during this time of her illness. Her family has been a shining light. I pray for them today and I know how good our God is and ask for that miracle. Our God is big enough. I have asked for miracles before (When Laine was born and diagnosed with VLCAD). So I have seen first hand how he has blessed Laine's life and our family. We give God all the glory for how good Laine is doing and so strong, sassy and feisty. So tonight I think of them and His promises. We "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" Phil 4:13
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
PottyTraining (I should have thought of this)
OK, last night Jeff comes home with a plastic Tupperware container with lid and and bag of M&M's. He says a buddy at work did this and every time their child went potty they gave them one M&M. Duh...I should have thought of this before...Laine loves (and I mean loves chocolate with a capital LOVE). So we pour the M&M's in the container (see through so she can drool) and she says "I want some". I told her every time she sits on the potty chair she can have one M&M. Every time she goes potty she can have 3. It did not take more than just a little while and 2 potty trips to go potty on the toilet. Thank God we are headed in the right direction. Seriously, if that guy's advice gets my kid potty trained before her 3rd birthday then I am so buying him dinner (or maybe just a big bag of M&M's)!
Posted by JenD at 10:00 AM 2 comments:
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Paige at camp
Well Paige and been at camp since Sunday and she did really good when I dropped her off. She was a little quiet in the car when we getting closer to the camp. But then once she saw how cool it was she was really excited and asked "If I have fun can I come again..later this summer." She has 8 girls in the cabin (it is a tree house...very cool) and 2 counselors. When we got to the camp they took the parents around the camp and showed us the lake, craft area, dining hall and also the water park, and boating area as well as the cabins. We got to meet her counselors and it was so cool. When we walked up to the cabin a college girl Beth (Middle of top row of the picture) was her counselor and I have known her since she was a little girl as her parents attend our church. She is working there for the summer and attends college at CMU. I have probably known her since she was Paige's age. It was such a relief to know her and leave Paige with her. There is another counselor named Sara and she seemed sweet too (Top row right side). She comes home tomorrow night and I will be happy to see her. It is so quiet around here and Laine keeps asking "Where's Paigeie". (just in case you don't recognize Paige she is in the second row, third from the left with glasses)
Posted by JenD at 2:08 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Paige
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Being needed
As mothers don't we have that place in our hearts, in our souls where we just love to be needed (especially with our kids?) I know it makes me feel important. So can you imagine what went through my mind the day we received the brochure for a Christian summer camp...for 7 year olds and Paige tells me she wants to go. She just turned 7 and apparently they have camps for kids in first grade (What??? Who knew?) I know I went to camp in like 6th grade or something and even that was pushing it for me. I told her to pray about it and maybe in a month or so we could talk about it.
Well about a month went by and she brings up the issue again. She wants to go and thinks she is ready. She doesn't know anyone but says she'll make friends and learn about Jesus. This is a conversation we had that cracked me up from our little serious 7 year old...
Me: OK, at camp if they ask any questions you don't know the answer to, just say Jesus, cuz it is always about Him.
Paige: So if they (the camp) ask "Did you bring a blankie?", "I am just suppose to say Jesus?" with a smirk on her face.
Me: "Um well...No."
Me: OK, at camp if they ask any questions you don't know the answer to, just say Jesus, cuz it is always about Him.
Paige: So if they (the camp) ask "Did you bring a blankie?", "I am just suppose to say Jesus?" with a smirk on her face.
Me: "Um well...No."
I should clarify that the camp is only Sunday to Wednesday. But Paige and I haven't been away from each other that long except for the times Laine has been in the hospital (and then dad or grammie was here). But I will cope. It is the least I can do. Yes I am out of my comfort zone. I don't have control over if she brushes her teeth and if her fingernails are clean. But there are more important things I am hoping she will learn. My prayer is she will see how many kids think Jesus is cool, and learning about Him is cool too, and swimming and canoeing and hiking and games.
They should make camp for grownups. I want to go too... She leaves this Sunday. I will keep you posted. Sure would be a long 3 hour drive in the middle of the night if she needs me. That's OK honey, I wouldn't mind a bit.
Posted by JenD at 11:09 PM No comments:
Monday, June 16, 2008
Potty Training stinks...literally
OK seriously if I didn't spend so much money on cutting, highlighting and coloring my hair I'm thinking I might just have pulled it out already. First picture this...the first child Paige sat on the potty chair at 2 1/2 and we told her to tell us when she had to go and she never had a accident NOT ONCE. She was potty trained from that day forward. I know, I'm sure you are all laughing and thinking now I get what I deserve, but come on. OK, this is what my life has been like the last 5 months. Pooping on everything except the potty chair. Laine who will be 3 in August and needs to be potty trained to start preschool in September (already paid the nonrefundable deposit) has pooped on her toys, the Leapster, the living room floor, the bathroom floor and many pairs of nice Dora panties. We have tried helping her think it is her idea and she has no part of that. She just says she "doesn't want to". She is too busy playing, eating, drawing or just about anything to be bother by walking down the hall to the bathroom. We have tried the Dora Potty seat, the Potty chair, the ducks that float in the seat potty chair. We have tried using M & M candy for every time she would sit on the chair. I have tried stickers, hugs, praise and anything Dora. Paige has tried to demonstrate multiple times. Laine usually just says "it just not working mom" after sitting on the chair for 1.2 seconds. This was our story tonight
Laine: "Mom will you clean my poopy butt?"
Me: "Laine did you go potty in your pull up? " and my stern mommy look
Laine: "Mommy please clean my poopy butt."
Me: Another stern look and "Laine we don't say butt in this house."
Laine: "Mommy will you please clean my poopy bottom."
Laine: As I am cleaning her she says "it's OK mommy it's just an accident and I love you soooooo much."
Me: "I love you too Laine."
Thank you God you these precious moments with my strong willed, fiesty, sassy little girl. I wouldn't do anything to trade these times. They are so special. I just know one of these days she is going to think this was her idea and and she will be my strongwilled fiesty sassy potty trained little girl.
Posted by JenD at 9:48 PM 3 comments:
Labels: children, pottytraining, toddler
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day
Paige and Laine with Daddy. June 2008
Jeff is an amazing dad who loves his 2 little girls. He takes time to teach Paige about science, electricity and magnets and will take time to learn about Dora, Boots, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical too (He even has been known to sing along.) He knows how to make ponytails for the girls hair, and a mean macaroni and cheese. He is calm, loving, patient, and a good teacher and example. Paige says she loves her dad "because he is funny and is the greatest dad and grills good things and teaches me how to spell", and Laine loves her dad "because I want to". I'm sure just the answer he thought Laine would say. We love you daddy! Happy Father's Day
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Good Bye Lake Michigan
Our trip to Frankfort comes to an end as we headed home today. Here is a picture of the girls and I. Laine stayed healthy the whole trip, thank God. Paige went swimming most every day, Jeff went fishing a couple times, and I tried reading some new books. I recommend the following...1) The Last Lecture, 2) Animal,Vegetable, Miracle and also 3) If you Lived Here, I'd know your name. We went to the beach in a small little town called Empire on Friday. I was so refreshed and renewed after spending an hour or so there. The girls played on the playground and Jeff and I just sat and watched them play and then walked the beach and watch the waves come in. The waves were so strong and splashing and the rough surf caused the sand to make the water an aqua/blue color...it was so beautiful. I wish I could bottle that right up, so on days when I can't figure out how to relax I can pop that lid right off. I always get a lump in my throat when we have to leave. I loved not having a routine for a while. What do you do to relax and renew yourself? JenD
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The views of the Mackinaw Bridge
The last couple days we went to Mackinaw Island and Mackinaw City. We also saw the Mackinaw Bridge from both places. A couple things struck me about seeing this enormous bridge that connects our Upper and Lower Peninsula in Michigan. The views stepping back were so much better than when we were on the bridge. The most interesting views were from both the mainland and the island. When we were on the bridge it was hard to see the beauty, the patterns, the uniqueness, and the enormity of this bridge. It looked ordinary, regular, and normal. The bridge didn't change though, just my perspective of it. Isn't that just like our lives..... Our normal, routine, simple, stressful, ordinary days are spectacular when we just take time to take a step back and enjoy "the view". I know we all have reasons why it is hard to take a step back (jobs, illnesses, stress, finances, and schedules). But when you can... just do it! This is as much a reminder for me as anything. Sometimes the routines of the day seem boring and normal but I know that I am blessed beyond measure with these extraordinaire moments with my husband and girls. With God I am able to appreciate all these times. What is your favorite view?
Monday, June 9, 2008
Lake Michigan
What I love about Frankfort Michigan. (It was suppose to be top ten but I had to add a couple)
1) The sunsets
2) The coffee and goodies at the Crescent Bakery (and the fritters of coarse)
3) The sand
4) Sitting on the beach with a good book (This time it is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch)
5) Drive in movies (even though the girls fell asleep)
6) My favorite little bookstore
7) Relaxing
8) Sleeping in
9) The fog rolling in (it is mysterious and magically the way it drifts into town and down the streets)
10) Spending time with Jeff and the girls and doing it all or nothing at all....
11) Papano's Pizza
12) French Silk Ice cream
Posted by JenD at 3:00 PM No comments:
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A Trip to Holland
I read this poem a few months after Laine was born. It tugged at my heart strings as Tulips and Holland have always been special to us. We go to Holland Michigan to see the tulips every May. The tradition started before we had the girls and continues to this day.
Welcome to Holland
Welcome to Holland
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability-to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby it's like planning a fabulous vacation to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, The Michelangelo David, the Gondolas in Venice, you may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says Welcome to Holland.
Holland?!? you say. What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I have dreamed of going to Italy.
But there has been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
Holland?!? you say. What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I have dreamed of going to Italy.
But there has been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never met.
It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you have been there for a while and catch your breath, you look around....and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips...Holland even has Rembrandts.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never met.
It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you have been there for a while and catch your breath, you look around....and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips...Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about the wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you are going to say Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned.
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever ,ever go away...because the loss of that dream is very, very significant loss.
But, if you spend the rest of your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, very lovely things...about Holland.
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever ,ever go away...because the loss of that dream is very, very significant loss.
But, if you spend the rest of your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, very lovely things...about Holland.
By Emily Pearl Kingsley 1987
We thank God for helping us to grow and learn during Laine's medical issues and VLCAD. He helped us to be stronger than we ever knew we could be. He strengthen our faith. He provided. He understands. He loves.
Friday, June 6, 2008
A picture is worth a thousand words....
Laine was playing outside a couple weeks ago and I snapped this picture of her. I love this picture. The innocence, curiosity and simplicity speak so loudly to me. I loved her natural look. The wonder and amazement that she has for every new experience is awesome. That's one thing I love about being a parent is that children help bring excitement and joy to the most simple things. Even Paige at 7 still is excited about bubbles, sidewalk chalk, rainbows, splashing in the mud puddles, caterpillars and butterflies and most recently her new tadpole that is amazingly still alive after almost 2 weeks of being "rescued" from our friend's pool. She is feeding it and watching it grow. God, help me to appreciate the simple, normal, magical, wonderful, and fulfilling moments you give me too.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Box of Band-aids worth a million bucks
Yesterday Laine and I went to Target. I was busy getting supplies for our vacation and she saw a travel size box of Sponge Bob band aids that she had to have. "PLeeeease I need it"... she says. I didn't know that a .99 cent box of band aids could keep a 2 year old busy for about 1 hour. Are you kidding me? All these expensive toys and she was thrilled with something so simple. She had 9 of the 10 band aids on her arms and legs by the time she was done but I got some packing done and my Blog started. Might have to try that again....
Posted by JenD at 2:55 PM No comments:
Labels: children
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Beginning....
Today I decided to begin a blog. I wanted to share our stories, pictures and happenings in the Decker Family. The simple things that occur everyday bring us much joy. We treasure how God has provided for our family and especially our youngest daughter's life during the last 2 1/2 years. I hope you find the simple things in your own life that can change your life . Let me introduce myself...
I'm Jen..nice to meet you. I'm married to Jeff a swell guy. I have a 7 year old daughter Paige and 2 1/2 year old daughter Laine. Laine was born healthy, but then had an abnormal newborn screening. She was diagnosed with a rare Metabolic/Genetic disorder called VLCAD. She also developed 2 Strawberry Hemangiomas (unrelated medical issues) and saw about 11 different doctors during the first year. Now she is doing very well and the doctors are still puzzled and can't be sure of the Metabolic issue. Our family prays that indeed she has been healed and we give God the glory for that one!
For today's post this is a picture of a Petoskey Stone Jeff found last summer. We are headed to Frankfort Michigan (Lake Michigan) this Friday for a relaxing week vacation. Our family enjoys long walks on the beach to find these treasures.
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Check out the amazing people, places, and events at Northeastern during the month of July as documented through the lenses of university photographers.
Up Next
In photos: A historic visit to Havana
President Joseph E. Aoun signed an agreement with the University of Havana—the most comprehensive academic initiative by an American institution in Cuba—last week during a visit to Cuba, where he led a delegation of Northeastern faculty and staff and members of Congress. This photo essay is the fifth in our five-part series covering the visit.
- by Adam Glanzman March 6, 2017


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The 2018 Writing Competition is now closed.
Deadline: March 31, 2018 (11:59pm CST)
Results now available
essay winners | sijo winners | winning entries | judges
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated!
Essay category
Focusing on introducing students and young adults to Korean culture and history through literature, our essay category utilizes folk tales and contemporary literature to explore Korean culture, past and present.
Adult division (age 25 and younger) & senior division (grade 12 and younger): Contestants are to read Yi Mun-yol's novella An Appointment with His Brother and write an essay in response to the provided prompt. Please note that the topic and prompt for senior and adult divisions are the same this year.
Junior division (grade 8 and younger): Contestants are to write an essay in response to one of three provided topics regarding a folktale of the contestant's choice. Contestants must choose one of the stories listed on our folktales page.
Sijo category
One division open to students grade 12 and younger: Created in collaboration with the Korea Institute at Harvard University, the goal of our sijo category is to introduce students to a lesser-known style of poetry, the traditional Korean sijo. Read about how to write sijo, or see last year's winning entries.
2018 registration and applications - now closed
Regarding our online application system, we would like to remind students that they may edit their entries and applications until the competition deadline.
For information regarding teacher accounts, please see our teacher information page.
We would like to stress that all personal information is kept strictly confidential and no information is shared with parties outside of the Sejong Cultural Society. Please email any questions or concerns to email@example.com. We welcome and appreciate feedback of any kind.
The goals of the Sejong Writing Competition are to discover children and young adults talented in writing and to encourage them to learn and write about Korean and its culture. Through this writing competition we hope to increase the awareness and understanding of Korea's cultural heritage amongst the younger generations growing up in the United States.
This competition is open to all residents of the US and Canada age 25 and younger regardless of ethnic background.
The Sejong Writing Competition is supported in part by grants from the LTI Korea, the Daesan Foundation, the Doosan Yonkang Foundation, and the Academy of Korean Studies.


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Tigers 5, White Sox 2
Notes: Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen, who does not expect the White Sox to make a major trade, hears the Tigers might be interested in dealing for Washington OF Alfonso Soriano -- and hopes they do. "They would have to give up (Justin) Verlander or (Joel) Zumaya," Guillen said. "I'd rather see Soriano at the plate than Verlander or Zumaya on the mound." ... Rodriguez hit a double in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. He has at least two hits in 10 of 15 games. ... Detroit's Kenny Rogers (11-3) will face Chicago's Jose Contreras (9-1) in the series finale.
Athletics 5, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE Â? Barry Zito pitched seven innings of five-hit ball, Frank Thomas homered and drove in three runs, and Oakland beat Kris Benson and Baltimore.
Milton Bradley and Eric Chavez also homered for the Athletics, who took two of three from Baltimore to improve to 5-2 since the All-Star break. Milton Bradley went 3-for-4 and is 9-for-19 in five games since returning from the disabled list.
Ramon Hernandez drove in the lone run for the Orioles, now 9-23 when the opposition starts a left-hander.
Zito (10-6) allowed one run, one walk and hit a batter with a pitch. It was the 14th time in 21 starts he has gone at least seven innings, and the 12th time he yielded two runs or fewer.
Red Sox 1, Royals 0
BOSTON Â? Not since Babe Ruth was pitching for Boston had the Red Sox won a pair of games like this.
Josh Beckett held hapless Kansas City Royals to four hits over eight innings and Manny Ramirez homered to lead Boston to its second consecutive 1-0 victory.
The last time the Red Sox won two straight 1-0 games at Fenway was 1916, when the ballpark was only 4 years old and Boston was on its way to its second World Series title in a row. Ruth beat the New York Yankees on June 22 and Ernie Shore edged the Philadelphia Athletics on June 23, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
A day after two Red Sox rookies combined to one-hit the Royals, Beckett (12-5) struck out seven and walked none to join TorontoÂ?s Roy Halladay as the ALÂ?s only 12-game winners.
Mariners 3, Yankees 2
NEW YORK Â? Ichiro Suzuki touched off SeattleÂ?s go-ahead rally in the eighth inning with his third hit of the afternoon and the Mariners snapped a four-game losing streak.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for New York, which had won nine of its last 10.
J.J. Putz got the final three outs for his 18th save in 21 tries. He blew a ninth-inning chance in the MarinersÂ? previous game Â? a 5-4 loss in 11 innings to the Yankees that, because of a long rain delay, ended around 12:40 a.m. Wednesday.
Indians 6, Angels 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. � Paul Byrd threw six strong innings to help end Los Angeles� eight-game winning streak, Ben Broussard hit a two-run homer that snapped John Lackey�s scoreless string at 30ð innings and Cleveland stopped its own five-game skid.
Byrd (7-6) allowed three runs, 10 hits and no walks over six innings to improve his career record against the Angels to 3-0, including a three-hit shutout for Kansas City in 2002. The right-hander started against his ex-teammates for the first time since signing a two-year, $14 million contract with the Indians in December.
Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4
TORONTO Â? Kevin Millwood earned his 10th win and Gary Matthews Jr. hit a go-ahead double in a four-run seventh inning to lead Texas on a troubling night for the Blue Jays.
Designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand refused to sit in the dugout with his Toronto teammates after he was chastised during a team meeting.
Hours before, Hillenbrand criticized the organization and said he expects to be traded. He was upset because he wasnÂ?t in the starting lineup again and nobody in the front office congratulated him on adopting a baby girl last weekend.
Mark DeRosa hit a tying homer for the Rangers, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit. Akinori Otsuka pitched the ninth for his 20 save in 22 chances.
Twins 7, Devil Rays 2
MINNEAPOLIS Â? Rondell White hit two home runs to lead Minnesota to its sixth straight victory.
Brad Radke won his fourth straight decision for Minnesota, which has won 18 of 23 overall and 19 of the last 20 at home. Radke (8-7) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, while striking out four and walking none.
Greg Norton and Jonny Gomes both homered for the Devil Rays, who have lost a season-high six in a row. Tampa Bay has lost 11 straight to the Twins dating to 2004.
Jae Seo (0-4) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 5ð innings. Seo has lost all four of his starts since being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 27.
Astros 4, Cubs 2
CHICAGO Â? Roger Clemens outpitched Greg Maddux in a rare matchup of 300-game winners and Houston beat the Cubs.
Clemens (2-3) threw six shutout innings to earn his 343rd career victory and move into sole possession of eighth place on the career list. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five.
Maddux (7-11) allowed seven hits and three runs in seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts. He lost his sixth straight decision and hasnÂ?t won since June 9.
Phillies 5, Padres 4
SAN DIEGO Â? Bobby Abreu hit a two-run double in the ninth inning off a suddenly shaky Trevor Hoffman, and Philadelphia rallied past San Diego to avoid a three-game sweep.
Hoffman has two blown saves in his last three chances, plus one in the All-Star game last week.
Padres manager Bruce Bochy came out to get the relief ace after he allowed AbreuÂ?s hit to right-center with none out Â? HoffmanÂ?s third blown save in 28 chances.
Pirates 6, Rockies 5
PITTSBURGH Â? Maybe hosting the All-Star game was all the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to regain respectability.
Joe Randa drove in three runs and the Pirates beat Colorado to win their second consecutive series since the All-Star break. Pittsburgh won two series in a row for only the second time this season.
Randa, who began the season as the PiratesÂ? starting third baseman but lost his job after going on the disabled list, went 2-for-4 and has hit .500 (11-for-22) with nine RBIs in his last five starts.
Marlins 1, Nationals 0
MIAMI Â? Rookie Anibal Sanchez extended his shutout streak to 18Ã innings, allowing one hit in seven-plus innings as Florida beat Washington.
Acquired last November in the trade that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox, Sanchez started the season at Double-A Carolina and was recalled June 25. The right-hander pitched 5ð scoreless innings against the New York Yankees in his debut.
Sanchez is 3-0 with an ERA of 3.41, including a 1.46 ERA in four starts. He beat Roger Clemens in his last outing and has given up only three hits in his past 14 innings.
The NationalsÂ? lone hit off Sanchez was a line drive to right-center by Austin Kearns leading off the third.
Giants 7, Brewers 6
SAN FRANCISCO Â? Ray Durham hit a two-run single off closer Derrick TurnbowÂ?s glove in the ninth inning, and San Francisco turned a couple of lucky bounces into a win over Milwaukee.
Barry Bonds began the rally with a pinch-hit single, right after Turnbow thought heÂ?d struck out the Giants star.
Jose Vizcaino pinch-ran and with one out, Steve Finley hit a chopper up the middle that skipped past shortstop Bill Hall and deflected off second baseman Rickie WeeksÂ? mitt, bounding into center field for a double..
DÂ?backs 8, Dodgers 0
PHOENIX Â? Miguel Batista pitched a six-hitter and Stephen Drew had three hits to help the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night.
Batista (9-5) struck out two and walked two in his third complete game of the season. It was his first shutout since he blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 9, 2004, when he was pitching for the Blue Jays.
Former Dodger Shawn Green and Orlando Hudson each hit two-run homers for the Diamondbacks, who have won seven of their last nine games. Luis Gonzalez added three hits, including an RBI double.
Reds 7, Mets 4
CINCINNATI Â? Jason LaRueÂ?s two-run double in the eighth inning Wednesday night sparked the Cincinnati Reds to a victory that featured a long rain delay, a broken winning streak and a little taste of Hollywood.


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Religion Notes / News of area faith groups
Christian recording artist Carman will present a concert and gospel message at 7 p.m. Friday in Evangel Assembly, 8180 Greiner Road, Clarence.
A $10 guaranteed seating pass is available from the local sponsor church, Wheatfield Community Church, by calling 553-3794.
VIP tickets are $20 each and include a free CD, a meet and greet after the concert and preferred seating. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Carman has 15 gold- or platinum-selling CDs.
The A Cappella Choir of Bowling Green State University in Ohio will perform a program of sacred and secular choral music at 7 p.m. May 6 in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and West Ferry Street.
The sacred portion of the program will feature a variety of styles ranging from 16th century pieces in English and Latin to a contemporary setting of Psalm 139 by Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström to African-American spirituals and a gospel song.
The A Cappella Choir consists of 30 singers who are primarily music majors. Mark Munson is director of the chorus. A free-will offering will be accepted.
For more information, contact Philip Nicolai at 883-1275 or 352-5907 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Monday, March 13, 2017
Beware The Wrath Of A Grumpy Big Ape
10 comments:
Great review! One thing I'd critique about giant ape translations from story to onscreen is the glorification of the ape's physical makeup (cut muscles and over exaggeration of the canine teeth). Seriously, I would much rather a more realistic depiction of the ape: large, but more focused on aggression rather than the physical cut of the muscles.ReplyDelete
Did you see the way folks freaked out over the way Harambi drug that kid across the water in the zoo? That was horrific and the ape was just an overgrown ape. I think when you over exaggerate the physical look of the monster, it is a distraction from the real horror.
< sarcasm > Samuel L. Jackson in a grouchy role? NO! You don't say. < / sarcasm >
Another great review!ReplyDelete
Good review - I'll definitely have to put this on my to-watch list.ReplyDelete
Wonderful review and impressive writing.ReplyDelete
I would not have considered a King Kong movie without this review. Thanks.ReplyDelete
@Diane: count on special effects to render a beast looking like a gym ad! And Sam thrives on grouchiness.ReplyDelete
@Kelly: thanks!
@Lady Fi: good.
@Eve: thank you.
@Petrea: I enjoyed it.
I have to admit I really hadn't thought of seeing this one until reading your review. Sounds like a good film!ReplyDelete
I'm glad there are people who like this kind of movie, but I'm going to read a book instead. :)ReplyDelete
I'm sorry, William, I meant to include that I was truly impressed with your review and the calibre of your writing. It is extraordinary!ReplyDelete
Even more eager to see this movie now!ReplyDelete
Comments and opinions always welcome. If you're a spammer, your messages aren't going to last long here, even if they do make it past the spam filters. Keep it up with the spam, and I'll send Dick Cheney after you.


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This month's issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry features an editorial commentary by Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. In it, Dr. Dawson describes how the dramatic progress in autism research has paralleled increased recognition of autism's prevalence and financial impact.
"This issue of the journal features three articles on autism," she writes in her editorial. "A decade ago, the journal published about the same number of autism articles per year."
Dr. Dawson also notes that, while the funding for autism research has dramatically increased over the last decade, it hasn't kept pace with the increasing scale of the public health challenges posed by autism.
Despite an increase in research and funding, "we yet to fully describe the causes of ASD or developed effective medical treatments for it," Dr. Dawson writes. "[This issue's] articles point to an urgent need for more research on prenatal and early postnatal brain development in autism, with a focus on how genes and environmental risk factors combine to increase risk for ASD."
In one of the three articles, scientists report a three-fold increase in autism risk associated with exposure to traffic-related air pollution during pregnancy and the first year of life. (Free full text here.) The study's lead author, Heather Volk, Ph.D., M.P.H., is the recipient of an Autism Speaks research grant to study autism risk and gene-environment interactions involving air pollution.
A second report confirms an association between autism and changes in immune function. The study is the first to use new brain imaging techniques to demonstrate immune function changes in adults with autism. Specifically, it looked at microglial activation in the brain. Microglial cells are the brain's first and primary immune defense.
The third study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the size of the cerebral cortex (cortical volume) in ASD. It compared the cortical volume of young men on the autism spectrum with that of their unaffected peers. The study's key finding is that autism-associated differences in brain volume reflect differences in surface area, not cortical thickness. This sheds light on mechanisms that might account for early brain overgrowth in individuals with ASD.
"More research is needed to develop strategies for preventing or reducing the disabling symptoms associated with this highly prevalent and costly neurodevelopmental disorder," Dr. Dawson concludes.
Autism Speaks continues to fund a wealth of studies on the genetic and environmental factors involved in the development of autism. You can explore these and other studies using this website's Grant Search.


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By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
The Rawlins properties in Keizer Station are formally foreclosed upon.
The Keizer City Council held a special hearing last Thursday, March 6 on the issue. City councilors had approved a settlement agreement at their March 3 regular meeting, but city attorney Shannon Johnson said state statute required the city to hold a public hearing prior to agreeing to enter into an option to sell publicly-owned ground.
"We will move forward as quickly as we can with the foreclosure process," Johnson said. "We will save substantial costs if we move quickly."
Johnson said the two properties have Local Improvement District (LID) assessments of $7.1 million against them, while the real market value for the properties combined is $2.2 million. Johnson called it "extremely likely" the city will be the high bidder in the sheriff's sale for the properties.
If indeed the city is the high bidder, the Rawlinses will have the opportunity to purchase the properties from the city at least 13 months after the sheriff's sale goes through. The purchase price would be $3 million after 13 to 16 months, jumping up at $500,000 increments until topping out at $5 million after 50 to 60 months.
Attempts to reach the Rawlinses were unsuccessful.
City officials make bond calls for improvements at Keizer Station, with the next call believed to be due in May.
"We may not be able to make the date, even if everything goes perfect," Johnson said. "We pay bonds down twice a year. Essentially everything would have to go perfect to make the next bond call. We're trying to make it because it's significant savings."
In response to a question from citizen Bill Quinn about the city's liability, Johnson and city manager Chris Eppley said the amount would be $1.4 million.
"That's if (the Rawlinses) pay us back at the lowest amount," Eppley said.
Conversely, Johnson said the best scenario for the city is for the Rawlinses to buy the property back at the highest amount.
"It's like a bank," Johnson said. "Say they foreclose on you. You don't owe any more, but you don't own anymore, either. We're grumbling at this end. Even if we foreclose easily, what would we be able to sell the property for? We don't think we could sell it for more than $3 million."
Eppley said being proactive ends up saving the city money.
"If we did nothing and kicked the can down the road, the potential (extra costs) would be millions and millions," he said. "We're paying $1.4 million to offset possible $8 (million) to $10 million in costs in the future. We didn't feel it was ethical to do that to future iterations of this group."
Councilors had little comment during the meeting.
"Just in my scenario, the worst case is if they do not buy the property back, at the end of five years we have property we can't sell," council president Joe Egli said.
Councilors approved a motion to authorize the agreement. It was approved 4-0, with councilors Dennis Koho and Jim Taylor abstaining.
Mayor Lore Christopher was pleased with the agreement, considering the details.
"Ideally, I would have liked the Rawlinses to come forward when they had an opportunity to do so, if they were so concerned about the assessment of the LIDs," Christopher told the Keizertimes afterwards. "They had two opportunities to do so and they didn't. But I am pleased we were able to handle the settlement locally. It was a local issue and I did not like relying on the legislature making decisions for our city. I think


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Card number two using the Stampin' Up! set "Forest Friends." These images seemed like they would make nice baby cards.
I stamped the deer with a purple ink and matted with purple, also. Mounted on foam squares, of course! LOL! The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View and I matted it with the same purple cardstock. The sentiment is from an old Studio G dollar set.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!
A place for me to share the cards I create, and maybe a few other things, too!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Forest Friends - Part Two
Labels: Baby, DIe Cuts With a View, Stampin' Up!, Studio G
4 comments:
- Sheri said...
What a very sweet card. You are really stretching your imagination with all of these sets! Great job!
- August 20, 2014 at 7:42 AM
- Sandy said...
You are so right Lynette...this is a perfect baby card!
- August 20, 2014 at 8:53 AM
- Heartwarmers from Vicki said...
Definitely cute for a baby card!
- August 20, 2014 at 11:03 AM
- Leslie Miller said...
Well, I had to go look... I do have a set called Forest Friends from 2005. Critters, but very different. I'll be coming up on it one of these days, but I'm still in the "A's", sheesh! You're making much better progress than I am! This is adorable as a baby card! Love how you stamped the sweet fawn in purple. I have that paper, too. Baby cards are okay by me anytime!
- August 20, 2014 at 11:16 AM
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i can't believe its been months since a formal sex tip showed up. SORRY! i've meant to do more, but life as life took over. the 3rd tip comes soon.
a bunch of things to catch up to today though. i like michelle branch, the singer. she sings well with santana. she should be his lead singer permanent.
the girl at Maiwa at the net loft. i cruised back, TWICE to see if she's there. outta luck. i'll try more. i am too shy to even talk to her, i just wanna see her again. she's amazing to look at.
me and sanna went to sandbar thursday, the day after her "21st" birthday. it turns out sanna is a bit of a liar. she just turned 19. that made her 18 at sunshine valley. she acts alot older than she is. obviously. i found out more why. she was an only child until she was about 10. her folks lived in southern Sudan, the Christian part she says. i don't know much about African Christian geography, though.
anyway, Sudan is not a wonderful place for Christians. they spent some time in Kenya once they got out, then Marseille, a place she was always scared in at her young age then. her folks eventually settled in Oshawa of all places before they moved out to the coast where her dad's in chemical engineering. whew. anyway it was tough moving and running around. sanna grew up fast i guess and acts with a self-assureness that bud and his bro don't even have. but that's no sweat.
but i think she's still missing some youthful vitality because life's been more serious for her then for most Canadians. and what she's not really experienced she just doesn't talk about. that lets her appear more mature than other girls her age. not that she's not that mature, but she needs to party more. 🙂
anyway, that was thursday. sandbar was a blast and we got goodly loaded and came home.
what's home. ok offtopic here but tough shit.
i'm housesitting for a couple of late 40s yaletown garried guppies. huh? i was too hungover to goto the dyke march today, but char did. she told me someone there told her about being garried. gay+married=garried. pretty cool. guppies=gay yuppies.
my uncle pete knows these guys. one of their sisters is an actor in town. you can imdb her, which is very very cool. but it's all the shit films and shows they show here, not even x-files which she hated anyway. anyway uncle pete's in town and is spending time with this woman, "sara". and her bro and his husband and in new zealand for august doing some gay thing and she's housesitting, but pete's taken her to tofino to kayak up into some rainforest. and thus we're housesitting. me and sanna.
i've been here since wednesday. sanna came over to crash thursday night and is still here.
uncle pete needs a mention. i love uncle pete. he's the only sane member of my family. my dad's an asshole and far far far far away, my mom's a recovering doormat, my sister was awesome, she's gone though. i miss her alot. uncle pete is my mom's only brother. he still lives in the 80s. he had a mullet until last year [it worked for him though] when he went all Bronsky Beat. i'm still trying to figure out what that means. i know it was an 80s British band that i think was gay. but i don't get the hair reference yet. anyway, pete's hair is now a cm long. he looks good. he always looks good. 🙂
anyway, about 10 years ago when my "family" was still together [in its very broken way] pete spent a summer with us. my dad was in and out of town on "business" [his ho in Prince George] and i got to get a sense of who my mom was before she conceived me, married the sperm donor and started becoming what is a mild tragedy. she sounded cool. pete is cool, though. since the mid 90s, i've been caring for his LP collection. i like 80s music. his 45s from the 70s are pretty special too.
my email address includes sunmoonwindrain which is from a Tears for Fears song from my second favorite of their albums, Seeds of Love. my fave is The Hurting, especially Suffer the Children, for obvious reasons.
pete emails sometimes and tells me lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng stories about what he's doing. his material possessions [aside from his albums] fit in a car's trunk. he travels around the USA singing, busking, picking up short term bike courier stuff with a company with offices in tons of cities. and he writes songs, hits Burning Man [i have to go], and generally marches in anti-war rallies and sleeps on couches of US military deserters homes who are themselves living under the radar a bit.
sometimes i'm on msn and pete will ding me and we'll talk for hours. sometimes he sends things to me in the mail that i know are from him. an In and Out burger tshirt from Arizona. a beer mug from a bar in New Orleans that i fear isn't there anymore. with that one he sent a pix of him on a hotel balcony during Mardi Gras. 4 bottomless women holding their shirts up to show their tits stood all around him. 2 of them had gooned expressions. good times. 🙂 and another pix of him in a glass hotel elevator with a woman in a tight dancing dress peeling it down to show her tits. in the glass you can see a bit of a reflection of another hottie taking the pix. pete lives well.
also, some mint from Georgia. and a Fenway Park pennant from Boston. that kinda stuff.
anyway, he's my grounding some times. moving out from home outside Penticton into Penticton, then moving to UBC, then leaving UBC, then finding a good place to continue school. he kept up solid in all those times. he wasn't around when my family fell to real shit, but he couldn't of done anything then anyway. but whatever.
ok. i've just read all this. i was gonna cut it all except the start, but sanna said no. she read my last post and this one and says i should keep it all. wtf. 🙂
ok. so the garried guppies.
i meet the sister [in imdb, the first i've met] on wednesday when i pack my shit in here. she's lovely. i'm pretty sure i saw her in Bard on the Beach a few years ago, but i don't recall which year i was there and [blush] which actual play i saw. whoops. anyway, "sara" is sweet and she and pete are goooood friends, but they're very free people who remain commited to loving relationships. for pete it's 3 or 4 women including sara around the continent. i can understand that.
i also have one of pete's March for Jesus shirts from along time ago. i haven't looked at it lately, but pete was into that for a while. i told him about reverent agnosticism and showed him my blog in BigChurch.com and he gets it and buys it and added his Buhddist minimalism thing into it. i don't totally get that but that's cool. when i read Sidhartha, he says i'll get it. 🙂
so pete and sara drift away on thursday and sanna and i hit Sandbar and come home to crash. yesterday was a spectacular day.
it was the most recent except for today, spectacular day. we ended up hitting the Folk Fest and sat on the beach on the sunday night during the full show. Jane Siberry [i have one of pete's albums of hers. it's got Mimi on the Beach, her famous song]. she's changed her name to something i gotta look it up. and she's "selling" her music online now by donations or free. getting outta the capitalism thing of it or something.
anyway, sanna and me sat on the shitty sand at Jericho to listen to awesome music. and we strolled around the vendors [the sand at Wreck is the only good non dusty, not full of sticks and front end loader tracks sand in the lower mainland. i'm a sand snob sanna says. she's right. sanna likes her name in here. she's gonna go by sanna now. if she does she has to pay me a loonie every time anyone calls her sanna.].
the title, remember it? Jewish girls? i'm getting there.
so we're at Jericho not being able to afford the vendor's stuff and when Folk Fest ends we join a drum circle. it ends cuz people said there's another one out at Spanish Banks. this wrecked guy won't go though, because he's rambling about how Double Standard promised to come so he's gotta be there. whatever. i googled double standard and i don't know WHAT he's talking about. we go. and we dance and dance and dance. we're not even boozed up. we're just in the move groove. and since we were close enough to wreck beach i took off my shirt and bikini top. another chick was wearing just a deep v-neck see thru tunic. luscious woman. i really enjoyed dancing that free. i don't do that at wreck cuz i'm not crazy enough to stay there overnight.
sanna kept her clothes on. too bad. 🙂 though she appreciates my breasts.
well. that was Folk Fest for cheap folks. and sanna and me do our thing and get together for sandbar. yesterday we slept in until banana pancakes. and we're sitting on the balcony, cramped as it is, watching the people in the 2 building we can see into and napping. no sex. no nudity. just boring people doing boring things. not as boring looking as us on the balcony, but boring still. we weren't bored. talk was good.
then in mid-day i'm looking over and down a floor or two and i see this woman with shoulder length blond curly hair and blue and green plain thigh length shorts and NO SHIRT stretching against the wall of her balcony, she's like leaning forward to stretch out her calves or something. she looked so hot. sanna saw her too. then i looked back a few minutes later and she hasn't moved. sanna's like, shit, that's too wierd. we're still hungover i think and the sun isn't helping.
and this woman? it turns out when we stand up and look at her closer and we go inside to get a different angle through the windows, that she isn't a woman. she's a clay pot [her tanned back] with dead flower stems and leaves that spill abit over the edge [her hair] and sitting on a table with a green and blue plaid table clothe [her shorts]. we SCREAM laughing. if you don't see this as funny, you need to have been there i guess.
so anyway, yesterday while in recovery, we talk about lots. sanna broke up with her bf and has seen buddy's bro twice. living in the valley makes it tough for that situation. but they're not dating, just fucking. no stress then. sanna's past the born again virgin thing. though i must confess i admire her attempt at it.
and we talked about girl sex stuff and orgasms and grinding and such. she keeps track of her orgasms in her journal. she's not afraid of everyone on the internet knowing either. very cool. 6. that's how many. 1 in sunshine valley. 2 with bud's bro since then. and 3 on her own in the last year. and considering that SHE JUST GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL 5 WEEKS AGO [lying bitch], i'm pretty impressed that she had orgasms while still a high school student. i read a survey once that said few girls do in high school. they have lots of sex and lots of guys cum in and on them, but they way more often don't. tragic. feminism is not dead.
but we talked about methods and techniques and stuff and tho she knows i'm bi and isn't interested in playing with me, she did agree to cool off yesterday in the mid afternoon heat in a nice cool bath where i could show her what i do with my vibe. it was SPECTACULAR to cum when she was watching. it was a great gift to me even if she won't let me fuck her.
and yes, we're getting to the Jewish girl.
ok. how about now. when i was in rez at UBC there was a Jewish girl on my floor. she had a thing on her door frame. i can't remember what it's called. there were also two Sikhs and a Muslim girl then two. i know they chatted together if they weren't best friends. i was a closet christian that year so i didn't take part in the comparative religion yaks they seem to have had. too bad. i missed out there. there's a Jewish girl at my school now. she's got the thing on the door.
next door to the garried guppies in this building is a Jewish girl. woman actually. she's like 30. after our bath yesterday. we go out for some booze. she's got a thing on her door frame. she comes out wearing a really nice white dress with red polka dots. it's almost knee length. it's loose at the top. with spaghetti straps. i take a peek in the elevator but see nothing. i'm tempted to drop my keys to get her to bend over to pick them up. not.
anyway, she's heading out to dinner and a flick with her bf. we walk out into the lobby and head out towards the lickher store. we see buddy pulled up in a nice sedan and she pops into the car and waves bye. bf's wearing a yamika. how do you spell yamika?
anyway we go get booze. and put in a call to one of my bud guys who promises to swing by with some stuff before 600pm. nice.
we get off the phone and check messages. buddy from ubc and his bro want to come into town, where am i staying, am i housesitting, do i know i owe them a place to crash for a couple nights, can they come into town early and crash before the fireworks tonight [which we can see a bunch of them from the balcony, yay]. so i tell sanna that her dad called and said she needs to come home.
ouch. the girl can PUNCH.
bud and bro swing by after 700pm and we order pizza. sanna and bro watch a movie and talk and talk and talk. i like how they talk. it's so cool. they like to talk. but me and bud slide into the bedroom where he slides into me and i feel good. bud's an interesting guy. i can count on one thumb how many guys i've met who don't mind tasting their own cum. we fucked for a while, he came, i came close. he pulls out and i wipe a bit. then he starts licking me. i'm still cummy with sweat and my cream around, but i've never known a guy who'll suck me when his [or someone else's] cum is still in/on my pussy. bud's a good guy. way to go bud.
we shower and go go out to catch the rest of the movie and sanna and bro are already necking and grinding. sanna goes, thank you for the last couple days, holly. this is in return for today's lesson. and she takes bro's shorts down, takes off hers and her panties and starts grinding on top of him on the couch beside where me and bud are sitting in the love seat. [sanna's not even blushing right now as i'm typing this. wow. good girl.]
and she slides bro's cock into her and lifts up and rests down on it, up and down, just for me. well, her too she says. totally. at the same time she's doing one of the things with her clit that i showed her in the bath. and i'm just in a daze watching that white cock slide in and out of her black black pussy. such a beautiful site. and when she cums, bro is so thrilled that he cums too. they wipe up and go shower.
and that's enough of the movie. now bud and bro have brought season 1 of 24, which we've never seen. i've seen every Alias except for one in the 3rd season, but i won't watch 24 until i can do it right.
so i say, hey, let's play pool first. the common room in the building is on the second floor above the lobby. it has pool and foosball and a big couch and monster tv for hockey parties or Super Bowl or whatever. we go down and it's not booked and no one's in, so we sign up and head in.
we play some pool. we watch 5 or 6 episodes. and bud and bro go out for some nibblies. the pot is working.
it's like 130am.
and me and sanna are sitting in the big chair in front of the window watching the people roam around looking for the hot dog guys. there's this one pair of guys we see go back and forth 3 times. they're first nations. young guy has ghetto wear on and we walks with a swagger like a dealer-pimp. older guy wears shorts and a Canucks shirt and walks with the humility of the Dali Lama. i can't get a read on them. is it just immaturity and self-consciousness that makes a guy walk like that?
anyway, before bud and bro get back, the sedan pulls up in front of the lobby door. we can see down. Jewish girl next door in her awesome dress is sitting there. car goes off. lights go off. i can see more down her dress from a floor above a high lobby than i could beside her in the elevator. nice tan i think.
they start necking. i guess this based on her body posture leaning left and his black shirted arm wrapping over her back. we can't see their heads cuz there's no sunroof.
this goes on for a few minutes. me and sanna are impressed. they're right there on the street, but it is late. only like 3 people go by in the 5 minutes we watch. during that time, bf's hand reaches between her legs twice rubbing her pussy over her dress, and up over her boob like 5 times. after the third time down to her pussy, i see her pop her head over towards the window. it's closed. air conditioning i guess. she looks up and down the street. but not up!
then she twists in her seat and slides her panties onto the floor and lifts her skirt halfway up her thigh and lies her head back onto the headrest. we still can't see her face.
i've heard that Middle Eastern girls have a reputation for being firey horny. what that's based on is beyond me. who cares. maybe it's a male desire of Middle Eastern girls. maybe it's true. don't know.
bf slides his hand back between her legs now, this time underneath. she pushes the skirt down a bit over his forearm. he starts rubbing her. she's a fan as she's clearly breathing heavier. bf's other hand slides her left strap down and slides under her dress to feel all the way down to her nipple. she's happy. after a few minutes he stops and slides his arms back. me and sanna look at each other and lean back so our faces aren't totally up against the window but still so we can see. 15 seconds later, 2 girls walk by their car. bf's clearly watching out for pedestrians. 🙂
another 10 seconds and he's back into her. i'm getting wet. sanna just said she was too. good for you sanna! another few minutes go by and he stops once for a fellow walking by and then another few minutes before the girl clearly cums. she's been holding the right arm rest generally. at one magical point she squeezes it and bends her arm to almost a right angle, lifting her torso forward and dropping her dress to show us part of her left breast.
we're quite impressed. i'm a voyeur. i embrace it. i like to watch. i like porn, soft porn better than hard.
and so. talk to Jewish girls. my plan is to meet up with the woman next door and have a chat and get to know her and get a sense of what sex tips for Jewish girls would look like. and it might not happen. i'm only here until pete's back. but my idea goes for all Jewish girls i meet. or Muslims or Sikhs or anyone who's in a religion where there are codes for behaviour, regardless of whether or not they are different for guys and girls.
so if you are one of those girls, email me or comment on this and let me know what your story is. cuz i bet we have something in common.
we're all in this together, even if each of our this-es are different. maybe it's a chick thing. i don't know. but it is something. and that's why i started this blog anyway.
time to burn. fireworks starting soon, just heard a warning boom.
in touch,
Filed under: Burning Man, Christians, Fireworks, Fuck Buddies, Jewish Girls, Judaism, Maiwa, Marseille, Oshawa, Parked Cars, Sandbar, Sanna, Sex, Sin, Sudan, Tears for Fears, UBC, Vancouver Dyke March, Yaletown | Leave a comment »


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I had pinned this awhile ago on Pinterest............here's the recipe............
Happy Trails!
Great ideas! I've been trying to keep more fruits in the house also. So far so good. Since the middle of the first week of January I've lost 8.8 pounds. Only about 40 more to go! Ha ha!
Blessings, Betsy
Wow! Good for you! I'm not trying to lose weight but that's not saying I couldn't stand to! LOL!ReplyDelete
Those bites look yummy. Might have to give them a go. The Weight Watchers leaders always remind us to have healthy food orepped and ready to go in our mouths so we don't grab the oreos lolReplyDelete
Actually they turned out to be a bit sweet for me. I might leave the chocolate chips out next time. I'm not a big chocolate or sweet person....mostly cookies or pies. I usually try a recipe the first time as it is written and then tweak it for my own tastes.Delete
Having healthy snacks at the ready is great! I bought some similar chocolate squares Bare Naked Granola Bites chocolate and oats and good for you stuff! :)ReplyDelete
Now you're talkin'! I actually prefer the fruit and maybe some triscuits. I lvoe blueberries and those red seedless grapes too.Delete
I have a three-tiered metal basket that I keep apples, oranges, lemons, limes, bananas and other fruit in. I love having fruit available in winter too. Looks great!ReplyDelete
You would need one with your family! Here, it's just me, myself, and I~Delete
The energy bites look so yummy! Have a great weekend!ReplyDelete
Thank you! Actually, I was not crazy about the energy bites...too sweet for me....if I make them again I would leave out the chocolate chips but that's just me...the only woman in the world who doesn't care for chocolate, or furs, or diamonds either for that matter! LOL!Delete
They look delicious and so healthy. Good luck with your healthy eating! XReplyDelete
Hi Maggie! So great to hear from you! Please read above comment about energy bites. LOL!Delete
Thank you so much for stopping by and for commenting. Comments are "grist for the mill" and I appreciate each and every one of them!


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Hi Paul,
I would like to ask if you know of any resources I can reference for ArcSight correlation rules authoring.
In particular, I am looking for Web App and VOIP Security. Thanks in advance.
So first of all, there's an unfortunate shortage of sources on building content for ArcSight. It's part of why I blog about it, because there are only a few people putting information out there. And if SIM's in general are going to mature, then best practices and an open community are part of that maturation. Besides blogs like mine, the ArcSight forums are a good place to get questions answered and share content. Beyond that, I would highly recommend the annual User Conference that ArcSight puts on. For those that can't attend the User Conference, the slides are published to your software site, and definitely worth downloading. And of course ArcSight's own training offerings. But that is pretty much the extent of resources available at the moment.
As far as ways to monitor Web Apps and VoIP Security with ArcSight, it's going to boil down to the log sources you have available. Here are a couple of ideas I have off the top of my head.
For Web App there are tons of optiions. ArcSight works with several web security proxies, IIS and Apache, most IDS/IPS products under the sun, web app servers like Weblogic and WebSphere, and the more popular commercial databases like Oracle, MS-SQL, and DB2. Depending on what's in your web environment and which sources you're drawing from, you have lots of options here. An easy idea might be to create a filter to sift through web server logs for special characters (like < > ' or - ) or requests where the web server returned a 500 or some other obscure error (not 403 or 404).
VoIP is a trickier one to go after since there's no ArcSight connector for CallManager or whatever SIP gateway you use. You could write one with the Flex Connector SDK, but I'm not sure how great your SIP gateway logs are to begin with it comes to security. I think switches, IDS/IPS, and firewall are your best bets here. You'd want to filter firewall logs for packets sourced from your VoIP VLAN address space that might indicate a rogue device connected to your voice network. (Which reminds me, a new version of voiphopper just came out.) You might also want to filter IDS logs for traffic sourced from your VoIP VLANs as well. Hopefully you've already got "switchport port-security maximum 2" set on all of your VoIP ports (and all of your userland switch ports in general) to prevent ARP spoofing/poisoning attacks. In which case, if you send your switch syslogs to ArcSight, a rule to alert on 'NOMAC' messages could be very useful. These can be regular errors, but also occur when someone attempts ARP-based MITM attacks in a port where port-security has been configured.
Anyway, I hope that helps, Anonymous. Good luck with your projects.


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Brazil appeal Silva ban
The Brazilian Football Federation have lodged an appeal to FIFA in a bid to have captain Thiago Silva's one-game suspension overturned.
Silva was ruled out of Brazil's FIFA World Cup semi-final showdown with Germany after picking up a yellow card in the country's 2-1 win over Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday - his second caution of the tournament.
The 29-year-old was cautioned for blocking Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina as he attempted to kick the ball in the 64th minute at the Estadio Governador Placido Aderaldo Castelo.
With Tuesday's clash in Belo Horizonte looming, Brazil's Football Federation (CBF) confirmed their intention to contest the ban in a statement released on Sunday.
"The CBF today requested the FIFA Disciplinary Committee cited the cancellation of a booking unfairly applied to the Brazilian player Thiago Silva by referee Carlos Velasco," they said.
FIFA spokesperson Delia Fischer later revealed the governing body had received an appeal from the CBF, with the incident set to be analysed.
The news comes after star forward Neymar was ruled out of World Cup with a fractured vertebra sustained against Colombia.


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Monday, May 21, 2007
"Merchants, Pay Attention to Rising Credit-Card Fees" (Indystar.com)
Posted by Tales from the World of Photo Scanning at 8:14 AM
SEE NEW SITE - Welcome to WayTooHigh.com: The Credit Card Interchange Report. This site features the most comprehensive international breaking news, daily updates and commentaries on the history of merchant interchange fees. The goal in representing millions of merchants and cardholders is to reform an antiquated, costly and unfair payment system and explain why the nearly $40 billion annual merchant interchange fee is a hidden tax on consumers and retailers.


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The Board of County Commissioners of Santa Rosa County, Florida will receive sealed bids from qualified licensed Contractors for the installation of an irrigation and landscaping on Navarre Parkway.
All bids must be original and delivered by hand, Fed Ex, or mail to the Santa Rosa County Procurement Department at 6495 Caroline Street Suite G, Milton, Florida, 32570; and must be received by 10:00 A.M., November 3, 2015, at which time bids will be opened and read aloud. All interested parties are invited to attend. Bids are to be sealed and clearly labeled "Bid – Irrigation and Landscaping". Bids received after the time set for opening will be rejected and returned to the bidder unopened.
Questions concerning this project should be directed in writing to Glenn Bailey at email@example.com prior to October 23, 2015 at 4:30 P. M.
Project documents, including drawings and specifications relative thereto may be inspected at the Santa Rosa County Procurement Department, 6495 Caroline Street, Milton, Florida 32570. Plans and specifications may be secured from the Santa Rosa County Procurement Department for a non-refundable cost of $25.00 per CD.
A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at 10:00 A.M., October 23, 2015 at the Santa Rosa County Procurement Department, 6495 Caroline Street Suite G, Milton, Florida 32570. All interested parties are invited to attend.
The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to waive informalities in bids, to reject any or all bids with or without cause, and to accept the bid that in its judgment is in the best interest of Santa Rosa County, Florida.
Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners encourages all segments of the business community to participate in its procurement opportunities, including small businesses, minority/women owned businesses, and disadvantaged business enterprises. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sex, or age in the administration of contracts.
By order of the Board of County Commissioners of Santa Rosa County, Florida
Legal #2809
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Update On What We Know About Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS 4
Michael Bay finally got to complete his "small" film PAIN AND GAIN after years of trying to get it done and now is transitioning back to what I like to call "BLOCKBUSTING".
TRANSFORMERS 4 has been moved to Bay's front burner and getting full energy from his production company. He recently spoke out about the movie and what to expect, namely: It WILL NOT be a reboot...
It's not a reboot, that's maybe the wrong word. I don't want to say reboot because then people will think we're doing a Spider-Man and starting from the beginning. We're not. We're taking the story that you've seen — the story we've told in three movies already — and we're taking it in a new direction. But we're leaving those three as the history. It all still counts. I met with the writer before I went off to do 'Pain and Gain' and we talked about a bunch of ideas. We let that simmer for a bit. He's been thinking about stuff and now we're getting back together next week to see what we've got and to see if it gels.So without as much of a human focused story, will the autobots be going to space?
I think so, yeah, a little. That feels like the way to go, doesn't it? I want to go a little off but I don't want to go too sci-fi. I still want to keep it grounded. That's what works in these movies, that's what makes it accessible.It looks like TRANSFORMERS 4 will cost about $30m less than TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON so what does Bay have to say about budgeting?
Here's the thing, it's tough to find someone who's done these kind of movies and to have the complication of creating the new stuff that needs to be in this movie – not just characters but a new type of action, I hope – and that's a lot for someone new to bite off. And so after this one I will leave it in the best hands possible. That's the plan.
TRANSFORMERS 4 is slated for a June 2014 release with an entirely new cast. No word on whether TF4 will follow TF3's stereoscopic epicness, but one would certainly assume so.
Source: LATimes


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Wonderfully wintery smocked necklaces from Tinctory.
La Cabane Perchee build the most beautiful treehouses in the world. I've always wanted a treehouse and any one of these would be absolutely perfect thankyou!There was a great storque round up of folky things on etsy the other day.
AND on the off chance that anyone didn't see this when it cropped up all over blogs a few months back 'My First Crush' is a wonderful wee video by illustrator Julia Pott (who sells some amazing temporary tattoos in her shop)


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MEXICO CITY — Mexican Judges halted the extradition of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the Mexican drug kingpin known as El Chapo, pending the outcome of appeals filed this week by Mr. Guzmán's lawyers.
The appeals argue that the statute of limitations has run out on some of the crimes that Mr. Guzmán is accused of committing, his lead lawyer, José Refugio Rodríguez, told The Associated Press. They also argue that some of the accusations are based on hearsay rather than direct evidence, the lawyer said.
Mexico City appellate judges ruled that the appeals, which were filed in two courts on Monday and seek to block extradition requests by prosecutors in California and Texas, could go forward. Stays in Mexican extradition cases are nearly automatic, a courts official said, and the appeals process could take months, if not years, to run its course. The judges' decisions were published Tuesday.
Mr. Guzmán faces various criminal charges in several American jurisdictions, including murder, drug trafficking, money laundering and arms possession. He is currently imprisoned in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, but American officials would like to see him in custody in the United States as soon as possible, to ensure that he can be prosecuted and, they say, to significantly lower the chances of his escape, a skill he has ably demonstrated.
After a 2001 escape from Mexican custody, he remained on the run until his capture in 2014. He fled again a year later, bolting through a mile-long tunnel that led from his prison cell to a warehouse. After his recapture in January, the Mexican government finally decided to accede to a longstanding American request for extradition.
Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Relations approved the extradition in May after receiving guarantees from the United States that Mr. Guzmán would not face the death penalty. Mexico, which has abolished capital punishment, refuses to extradite its citizens if they would face possible execution in the receiving country.
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I love coffee. I love the smell of coffee. I love a cup of coffee in the morning and a cup in the evening. While I have tried to cut down on the amount of coffee I consume in one day, the Mrs. and I can go through a pot on a cold winter day easily.
Now, I cannot drink my coffee black. I need some creamer and I like a little bit of flavoring. So, the wife and I would buy the various flavors of coffee creamer, trying the seasonals as well as the mainstays like French Vanilla or Carmel. When we started dieting we both found that the creamers consumed way to many points. So we had to find an alternative. Skim milk and splenda, while good in a pinch, just did not really do it for us. It was with great joy, then, that we found a perfect little "mash-up" that we really love in our coffee and does not kill our diet. The outlay of cost is not substantial and while it adds a little more preparation time, it gives us some great tasting coffee house coffee.
First, you start off by going to Amazon and buying two things, a frother and a bottle or variety pack, depending upon your likes, of Torani Sugar Free syrups. The Torani is awesome and if you get the sugar free syrups, the calories/points are very low per serving. Personally, I like the Chocolate, the Vanilla and the Carmel. DO NOT make the mistake of buying the Classic Carmel, it is just not as good. The Hazelnut is not bad, it just comes off as a little bitter to me. The variety pack is good if you like or want to try these flavors and the Irish Creme or Raspberry. You can find the variety pack HERE. The other thing you need to get is a frother. We picked up this one and it has worked out well. It is a basic, no frills frother that does the job and does it well and cheaply.
Now that you have that, go and pick up some silk or blue diamond sugar free or unsweetened almond milk. You can get the flavored, if you choose not to get the syrups, but I would suggest you go flavor free if you get syrups.
Now, measure out some of the almond milk. For two cups of coffee, I generally fill up the almond milk to the line on the frother (I do not know how much that is, but I believe it is about a cup).
Add the flavoring. I will generally use 2 tablespoons per cup of coffee.
Pour the milk-flavoring into a pot and warm it up. DO NOT use a microwave as the almond milk seems to separate in the microwave. Warm up the milk until it is hot, but not bubbling hot.
Pour the milk-flavoring mix into the frother. Froth the milk for about 10 -15 pumps. You will now have a nice frothy milk flavoring.
If you have a fresh brewed pot, pour the milk into your cups and then pour your coffee. If you have warmed up your coffee in the microwave, pour the milk mixture into the coffee and stir.
Atlas Shrugged
If you have been paying attention, you know that the movie that some said could never be made, has been made. It appears to be a pretty close adaptation to the original. In case you have not seen or heard anything about this, check out the trailer below.
Recently, the producers released a scene from the movie which can be viewed below
This movie was made, according to IMDB, with a budget of only 15 million. That is nothing by today's standards. The cast is mostly television actors but from what I have seen, read and heard from those that have seen this movie, they all do an excellent job.
We all need to support this movie. As of now, I do not know if it is going to run anywhere here in St. Louis but should it, we should organize a group to see this movie when it opens. If you are in another area of the country, please get your friends together to see this movie. The producers, director and actors of this movie will probably be ostracized for being a part of this important and relevant film and we, the movie going public, should buycott this movie and make sure we all go and see it.
Who is with me?
Comic Books
Even though I am over 35, I still love comic books. I love the art and the stories they tell. While I do not buy the monthly issues, I regularly pick up the collections and graphic novels. Additionally, I watch the cartoon movies that are put out by both Marvel and DC. It was while watching one that I came across a revelation of sorts.
I was watching a DC cartoon that was had Superman and Batman. I figured that it would be no big deal to let my 8 year old daughter watch it with me. As she is curled up next to me, I became increasingly uncomfortable with the way these artists portrayed women. It was not that they portrayed them as weak or feeble. In fact all of the women were very strong physically and mentally and could keep pace with the men. My uncomfortableness was due to the way they were drawn and the clothes that they wore. Supergirl was model skinny thin but was, well, well endowed. She always wore a half shirt and her clothes were somewhat tight and showy. Pausing the movie, I checked the rating and found that it was rated PG 13. I stopped the movie and finished after my daughter went to bed.
This whole thing got me thinking, though. Girls are reading comics now. They are not just reading Archie and such. There are many young girls and women who read Spiderman, Iron Man, Batman, Wonder Woman, Avengers, X-Men and so forth. The women, as they are portrayed in these comics, are completely unrealistic in body dimensions. While I understand that these are comics, I have to wonder, what does this do for already body conscious women. Comic books are fantasy, but the portrayal of these strong women in barely there outfits can be daunting. I know that part of it is for the male fantasy, but what about the young women?
I do not believe in censorship or in stopping these companies' right to draw and distribute comics. I enjoy these comics but what responsibility, other than slapping a rating on them, do these companies have? Do they have any responsibility? Are there other fathers out there that struggle with this too?
I would love to hear your thoughts.