text:
Shimano SH-R315 Road Shoes
Item: 11-0505
Shimano's Custom-Fit technology is designed for Pro Tour racers who demand maximum stability and power transfer, plus the comfort to endure six-hour stages. And now it's available to you in their SH-R315 road shoes. Heat moldable, Custom-Fit insoles achieve the perfect combination of fit, comfort and energy transfer, so you can really power up the climbs. Hollow channel, weaved carbon/composite sole is lightweight, ultra-rigid and is anatomically fitted to your foot for a super efficient pedal stroke. Sleek upper with low-profile buckles and straps enhance aerodynamics, air intake/exhaust system cools your feet, and monocoque cup increases heel hold.
- Custom-Fit insoles feature an ergonomic, heat moldable base with a rigid, high-density EVA support structure that provides instant support, comfort and stability
- Lightweight carbon composite sole transfers power directly to the pedals
- Hollow Channel sole construction is lightweight, strong and ultra-rigid
- Curved, anatomical last for natural shoe-to-foot interface
- Rovenica synthetic leather combines lightweight strength and suppleness with outstanding durability, abrasion-resistance and shape retentiveness
- 3D moisture control mesh upper has excellent elasticity, high memory and is extremely breathable
- Integrated air intake and exhaust system keeps feet dry and fresh
- Monocoque heel cup improves ergonomics for better heel hold and stability
- Anti-slip heel lining knitted with metal fibers prevents heel lift
- Dual offset straps relieve pressure points
- Low-profile, micro-adjust buckle for a custom fit
- Best matched with Shimano Dura-Ace PD-7900 Pedals
- Performance Bicycle retail stores do not have the ability to heat mold shoes for customers.


text:
If you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough.
When something bad happens, you have three choices: let it define you, let it destroy you, or let it strengthen you.
The purpose of life is to discover and develop your gift. The meaning of life comes from sharing your gift with others. - David Viscott
Monday, May 05, 2008
Yet another Miwok, like another day...
My life, as any one of you, is not simply divided on ultrarunning and the rest of it, it all merged together. So, unfortunately for you, I can't split my story, yet once I get over with prelude, I will tell you one thing – my pre-race mess has nothing to little to do with how the race itself went. I will not take any excuses. I made a simple single mistake that cost me a good day I was capable of – and I should know better…
I arrived to San Francisco at 1pm and took BART to the city – to stay in my friend's Rick place. Rick was gone to do a triathlon for the weekend, but kindly provided me with a key, and I relaxed for a few hours, playing on the computer and waiting for another friend Jason to finish work. Jason was my perennial pacer at my 2 previous Miwok races. He picked me up and we went out for dinner, where I chocked on super-spicy "hot-n-sour" soup and inhaled a ton of shrimps in green curry.
At 10pm I happily went to bed, hoping for a good 6 hr sleep.
A few minutes past midnight my phone rang – my ex, in a rage of anger, announced that Alex was gone from the house, and "what are you actions?!", demanding my immediate return. 20 minutes later he called back announcing that police stooped a car with drunk teenagers and he has to be picked up. I got on the phone and changed my flight back to Saturday early morning. Another 20 minutes later I got another call from him that Alex was the only one sober and they are going home. Some time passed – and my son calls that he is sorry, blah-blah, but he wants me to run the race as planned. After some consideration, I change my flight to late Saturday night – so much for free tickets I get on frequent flyer miles, this trip cost me more than any other this year did or will…There was no sleep after that, despite swallowing a sleeping pill at 2:30am hoping to get at least a couple more hours. That'd be all for whining. I'll just add that I wasn't that much concerned for Alex and his actions as I was for words and possible actions of my ex. I pray one day I'll be free from it.
Jason picked me up at 4:45 am to drive to the start. He wasn't going to pace me this year as he had prior commitments, but he did offer to give me a ride – thanks! The line to parking lot on the road was insane as there were new rules, and that made us somewhat anxious, although I realized the race will not start until all the runners arrive. The start was delayed by 15 minutes, and in a daze of my mood I managed to say a few "hello's". This is the part I missed the most from my weekend – the mingling at the start and even more so at the finish. I did, however, met up with a friend David S. and asked him to take me to the airport after the finish. I left my bag with all the clothes and belongings at the finish line (without even signing my name on it - I wasn't planning to drag it to the race) and packed my wallet and cell phone with me in case I need to make a dash to the airport.
We all moved to the beach, the starting line of the Miwok 100k. Due to delayed time of start, the dawn was already breaking in, and it was beautiful – I think they should permanently move time to 6am. We got into a conga line soon after getting off sand to trickle on a single track. I felt wonderful – strong, happy to be there, swift, making my way around and spilling on a road climb.
This is a great place to chat with runners. People spread out on a 2-lane road and go uphill, mostly power-walking, sometimes breaking into a jog (at least that's what happening where I am). Adrien passes me, so does Stacey, Tom R. and so many runners, before Donald catches up. This is a first time we meet face to face, and, just like when I met Scott Dunlap, I am surprised how tall he is. I figured it from the pictures, but in real life it is still an almost shock. We talk – yes, of course, about WS100. His latest post installment made me laugh, and as we discuss it, the runners around listen or chime in occasionally. It is a blast to live in memories of 100 milers, and Donald is a sweetheart. For a very long time I am also a hip-joint twin with a girl from CO named Jean, who ran Wasatch 100 last year for the first one, arriving into ultrarunning from mountain biking. We play tag, as well as with Steve Ansel , there, just as Donald introduces me to his future WS pacer Richard. There is a lot of laughter here, and I felt awesome, and the downhill was marvelous.
First AS is water only, where I arrived some 15 min ahead of chart, and Tia Bodington herself (an RD for Miwok) is serving us. I put a mix of newly-trial Infinit mix into the bottle (got it off Joe Kulak's blog site, check it out – the company mixes carbs, protein and salt, as well as taste strength in any given concentration after getting you through questioning), thanked profusely and went out on a flat path leading to another climb. The plan was 1 bottle of powder (200 cal) between aid stations, gels every 30-35 min and a sip of coke from mile 30 on every AS. On this hill I lost Donald for good, and was hanging out with Rena Shuman and Kim Gimenez a lot. These girls are a blast and so experienced, we continue to chat and pace off each other. I walk hard on this hill and feel no wear and tear from the track workout – my hamstring finally loosened up. The sun has risen and treats us to magnificent views, and I remember why I love coming back here. I am a dark forest mountain girl at heart, but this coast line with vast hills and ocean views are breathtaking!
The descent with knee-barring drop lets me test out my quads – and they are holding on great. Tennessee Valley AS at 12M comes in 2:04, a full 20 min earlier than expected. I am surprised to say the least, and just as I vow to slow down, Stan Jensen shows me 7 fingers. Only later did I realize he was showing 17 (10 and 7), at this point I just give him a "look" (how come? At least that many passed me so far and however many were ahead to begin with. Besides, I am in broken mind state with my favorite family crap) and feel how subconsciously I hit the "gas pedal". Ah-uh, bad choice…but it really does feel good to let myself "race" a little after so many pour runs.
I don't remember details of Muir Beach and Pan Toll aid stations (mile 16 and 21.7) besides the fact I was still feeling fantastic and 15 min ahead of pace. I am toying with the idea if I keep it up, I may finish closer to 11:30 than 12 hrs. What stupid thoughts at 22 miles into the race! But I am having fun. We enter the long stretch on Bolinas Ridge trail, 7 miles of rolling terrain along the hill with ocean on our left, and I play with Steve Ansel again. He announces he is a downhiller, and actually does pass me every time the trail has a decline, and then slows down on flatter and incline sections, and I am amusing myself with ideas how did I suddenly became uphill runner instead of downhill…how is that possible to change overnight? But to my full surprise I run practically all the hills and flats and not even straining myself. Yikes…until in the last 2M of this section where the trails go very slim and slanted, I make a summersault and fall. My left hamstring seizes, what scared me, although I feel on the right side, hitting my thumb and, of course, totally skinning my right knee and shin. I think I am going to stop shaving my right leg for good – there is no hair will ever grow on the place where I skin 3 times in 3 races in a row, before it even heals. I hobble as I assess the hamstring (a much more important part, despite the fact that the right knee pours blood like hell). And soon begin to run again. Whew, nothing serious. Though blood did give many folks a lot of scare as it looked like a good war wound, dripped on logs we had to climb over (one girl behind managed to splatter my blood on her own legs) and I was very proud to display it (got "Yowser, what a nice present to cherish!" from Luis Escobar too, bummer he was racing and not taking pictures). The "WOW" factor we, mortals, got when Dave Mackey was heading back a full mile before we reached Bolinas Ridge AS, and that had never happened to either of us around, what meant he was on a CR pace.
We buzzed about it till we came in to mile 28.4. While I was filling up my bottles and choking down yet another gel with comments "watch me puke" (I didn't), I heard Gretchen and gave a wave. Quickly heading out, we all wondered where the rest of the front runners is. That's the beauty of out-back course, you get to see the leaders! Soon (well, to be honest, a full 15 min behind Dave Mackey) there was Geoff Roes who screamed "Hi, Olga" and gave me a brain work how come I don't know who he is until I figured it out (blog land is awesome), and then Lewis Taylor, OR favorite for this race. Then came Jerker and Jean Pomier, Hal was walking slowly (injury), buddy Sean Meissner as always with Kami Semick (women's winner and a hot star from OR as well, they train together a lot), Mark Tanaka and many many others. We rolled on dirt road, and I was still running most of the up sections, still in owe at myself. On the steep downhill drop to the turn-around for the last 2 miles the high fives and smiles and encouragements were non-stop. What a blast!!!
Randal Trail AS, mile 35.6…this is where I did that stupid thing I am not allowed to due to experience. But such is our sport, we make mistakes, and as I emailed Donald today, I only had run 1 (ONE) ultra that was flawless, and believe it or not, it was my first one…Anyway, I was carrying little packets of my powder mix in the pocket of the Nathan pack, and the second half of those was in the back compartment. Here is where I should have made a transfer – and I was too lazy and high on good mood to do so. So I filled my bottles with water and took on uphill back…hard, passing a few folks and thinking I am on fire. I was. For about 5M out of 7 total, until I bonked. I still somehow pressed on, I quickly realized what had happened – and what did I do? Nothing! I decided to wait till the AS to take a gel!
By the time I came to Bolinas Ridge (42.8M), I was so far behind in fuel, my brain went into hypoglycemic state and as much as I knew I need to put calories in ASAP, I kept forgetting to bring the bottle to my mouth and open a next gel…all the while still trying to press on and passing about 5 people at the start of next stretch. I guess everyone else was bonky, it had nothing to do with me. There is a lot more walking on the way back on those gorgeous hills, and every step is a hard work. Mind starts dipping down, and I question my resolve to go on, to run ultras, to go after a 100 miler – everything. I feel like such a failure, and in the last mile all 5 of those I passed at the beginning of the ridge shuffle pass me back. This really brings me down. Don't take me wrong – but it's a bad day for me if I get passed in the second half. That's my cue and it's a shitty sign. At Pan Toll (mile 49.5) I am trying to decide if I want to continue, if it's worth a suffering and if I make 13 hrs cut off (not official, but the one to head out for my night flight).
I look around, while trying to answer all those questions, and hear a British accent "Would you like some ice cream?" I don't eat real food during a race. I look at him with his smile ear to ear and such sexy accent, and can't resist. Yup, I am alive. I will be flirting up until my death bed, and even there I hope to crack a joke or few and smirk a famous eye squeeze/smile before I slip away. I pick a flavor, open it up – and make a decision. I walk out of the AS with an ice cream dripping in my hand and going after the finish.
I eat it during next mile of single track; with no rush neither in pace nor in swallowing. The cold heavy fat bites drop into my stomach, and as great as it feels mentally, my stomach begins to ache, more with each step, also sending side stitches and making me bend over every step on a dirt road downhill. It is downhill – and I can't run, nor can I shuffle, yet I am OK with it and just moving forward. I feel strength returning to my legs, I just wish I could shake that pain in mid-riff away, but I am patient. Now I know I'll come back. Isn't it what ultrarunning – no, life – is all about? You make mistake – you fix it – you get back on track. By the time I reach a single track poison oak-overgrown weaving trail into Highway 1 crossing, I am pushing the power walk like crazy and pass on people again. Breathe, step, breathe. Arm swing, smile. Bottle sip, power. I am back…even if behind the time.
I keep on moving about the same, and I lost count of folks lost to heat and bad pacing/eating tactic. I feel bad for every one I get by – I was just there myself. I also not one good thing to experience – my feet have no blisters. It is especially obvious on the downhill into Tennessee Valley AS, where both previous years I had tears streaming on my face – my feet do not like dirt road downhill. I wonder if it's the orthotics that elevated the midfoot arch and relieved some pressure from the balls of my feet, the Drymax socks or the absence of greese (I forgot my tube with Sportslick at home) – and the combination of all three, and I am liking it! I enter last AS at 58.4M, wave to Stan J again ("Ice in bottles for Olga, she is ice-cold!"), get a "you are caked in salt, you need something?" from volunteers, respond with "I've been around, I'll make it: and take off mad. Now I want to go home – I want to go home so badly, I am flooded with feelings of uselessness of been here and the need to be home and hug my boys. I sob a few times (what shouldn't be surprising anymore to anyone) and yell at myself to not waste energy. I powerhike so fast, I check off more people, at least 6, as I see the last ridge nearing. This is it, baby, like nothing, just push it on. I crest the hill, pick another girl up and fly downhill on a road. This is a 1.5M with a 1000 feet drop, only a couple of bumps – and I am feeling like an eagle. Steps wide open, quads in perfect shape, I run this downhill like I haven't 2 previous times, weaving around a few more guys and just streaming, screaming inside, finish line getting closer by second. I cross it – in 12:32 – and hug tight Dave Stevenson and his wife Lynn. I break into crying and shaking while in their arms – "Just take me home" – and they gently lead me to the bathroom to change. Hopefully, Stacey wasn't too scared of my breakdown there, but it happens – and the spent hormones at such an event make it that much worse. I am sorry…
Dave and Lynn drop me off in the city, and I actually have enough time to call my Russian friends (who I was supposed to spend the next 24 hrs with and who had made so many plans!!!), they picked me up, cleaned me and fed me in their house and drove me to the airport. Mike picked me up at 12:30 am, and that was the end of my not-fulfilled mini-vacation I dreamt about so long…
Alex was home asleep (he left Dad's house after the incident), and after pitiful short nap I went to pick up Stephen. The day was a bit fuzzy with a lack of sleep, but we played, yes, we talked (and I'll spare you details, even though after my recent email to the ultralist there are no secrets in my life), we went to the Gorge for a short hike (much shorter than anticipated because Ronda, Gail, Mike M. and Bushwhacker were faster than I thought, so we bumped into them much sooner and hung out a bit while walking back. As always, my Sanctuary of Gorge lifted my spirit (why not? Everybody's alive and healthy, my boys are with me, my friends are the best of the best, and I am capable of running 62 miles on trails!), and thus my 3rd week of challenge finished with 85 miles.
Just as a side note – as bad of a stretch I had, I know I was able to break 12 hrs physically, so overall I am pretty satisfied with the race. I wish I had made smarter choice on catching up the fueling part once I realized what mistake I made, and I hope to learn from it – but most likely, I won't, and I'll make more and more mistakes in races to come…and in life as well. The important part is – I am not going to stop this crazy sport, or passion, or just plain craze. I just love it too much. I had this whole paragraph forming in my head on the airplane to Miwok before the race how I would start…"you can never do it unless you completely in love with it…personally, I can't put a race mind in it in the first half because it takes me at least 6 hrs to keep thinking – aw, I am so happy to be here, with friends, on trail, with views, alive, capable…I am the blessed soul to have found it and will not anything stop me from doing it…" and so on, but I think my post already exceeded all the limits. If you've read so far – wow, my hat is off to you.
Results will be posted here, first glimpse on top runners is here.
30 comments:
Nice report girl. Sorry you didn't go sub 12 but you did notch another finish. Which is something to be happy about. Just remember that a bad day on the trail is still better than a good day at work.
- May 5, 2008, 2:55:00 AM
- Ruslan said...
Hey Olga! Sorry for switching from Eng to Rus.. Оля Молодец, это происходит в наше время, в наши дни и часы, возможно когда я бегу свои несчастные 8 или 10 миль. Ольга - про такие вещи кино можно снимать или продолжения в духе Д.Лондона делать. Про british accent и оттенки голоса - вот я бы в этом положении об этом только и думал :) Да черт с ними с 12 часами / также по русски можно сказать: Да Бог с ними с 12 часами. Если для нас открываются такие вещи .. про ошибки и про все заново и это проецируется на жизнь. Тогда стоит бежать.
This is it.
- May 5, 2008, 4:59:00 AM
- Thomas said...
Thanks for taking the time to write all this, Olga. You should definitely not give up this sport. I get the feeling that ultra running is the one thing that keeps you sane, and the support from the ultra family is immeasurable.
Hope it will work out.
- May 5, 2008, 5:48:00 AM
- AnthonyP said...
What a great report ! You are an amazing woman. I can't wait for you to visit your old stomping grounds so we can hang together !
- May 5, 2008, 5:59:00 AM
- Its Just Water said...
Olga you are an inspiration. I can not imagine trying to run for so long or so far, what an accomplishment.
I look forward to reading more.
Thank you for your support!!
- May 5, 2008, 6:56:00 AM
- Rooster said...
Props to you Olga, what a night you had before the race but you picked up the pieces and forged on...with a smile on your face. 12hrs?????....you can run 11:10 there if I remember correctly :). Good to see you yesterday and you looked like you hadn't run a step!
- May 5, 2008, 7:55:00 AM
good attitude. and great report! I'm glad you included pictures as those always helps the course come alive. Looks gorgeous!
- May 5, 2008, 10:33:00 AM
- Danni said...
You are TOUGH.AS.NAILS. I want to be you when I grow up -- except maybe without children (JUST KIDDING!) :-)
- May 5, 2008, 10:38:00 AM
- kendrara said...
ha ha danni! you crack me up. Anyway, Olga, um, wow? i thought life was supposed to simplify? ;) I can't even imagine running 50 miles (coming up 4 m3 this weekend) let alone 60. Great job and keep on flirting - next time just skip the ice cream till later maybe! :o)
- May 5, 2008, 12:37:00 PM
- angie's pink fuzzy said...
good job powering through; being honest in your assessment of what happened. sorry to hear about oleg and his reactions to alex.
- May 5, 2008, 2:16:00 PM
- rick said...
Sorry to hear about the family drama right before your race. Your weekend getaway and you still couldn't leave home behind.
The start of Miwok is my all time favorite start out of all the races I've done. Seeing all my ultra-folk making their way through the beach and snaking up the first trail is a sight I never get tired of, in person or in pictures.
Way to finish another Miwok, I'm glad you liked our trails as much as we love them. Nice that you had your "Gorge" to come home to.
- May 5, 2008, 2:55:00 PM
- Sarah said...
"Isn't it what ultrarunning – no, life – is all about? You make mistake – you fix it – you get back on track."
Absolutely! You did great, girl! Sorry about the family drama, but I loved reading every word of your report. : )
- May 5, 2008, 3:40:00 PM
- Jamie said...
You never cease to amaze me. Great race, and way to tough things out. Awesome job, Olga. Thanks for sharing your stories.
- May 5, 2008, 6:35:00 PM
- Meghan said...
This entry made my heart swoop around over and over. You are an intensely strong, powerful woman.
You are so right about life and running and everything else being muddied together. And about ultrarunning being a fair representation of what life is all about, the good times and the bad times. While you can't control what happens in the world around you, you can control how you react to it. This weekend you have proven that you respond positively and with strength when life hands you something really tough. And that is why I think you're amazing.
Keep your head held high on this one, Olga. While you might not have had as great a day as you wished for, you did what you could with what you had. You should be proud!
Thinking of you,
- May 5, 2008, 7:59:00 PM
- Devon said...
Ditto what everyone has said. It is an amazing thing to be able to balance both physically and emotionally what you did in such a short time. You are an inspiration. Truly!
- May 5, 2008, 8:51:00 PM
- Backofpack said...
I'm not surprised. Not surprised that you pulled through because you always do!
- May 5, 2008, 9:15:00 PM
Another incredible story from an incredible runner. You must have ahuge heart to withstand all of your lifes tests.
- May 5, 2008, 9:39:00 PM
- Donald said...
Thank you for sharing all of this Olga. I could tell it was troubling you a lot on the trails on Saturday. I'm sorry that the day didn't go the way you wanted it to.
Despite all of that, I really loved meeting you and sharing some time together, however briefly. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again under better circumstances.
Also - I had an ice cream sandwich too! I cuold hardly believe that guy when he said he had some. Luckily mine didn't make me sick though - that part was already behind me.
Congrats on another tough race, and thanks again for a great report.
- May 6, 2008, 12:31:00 AM
- Geoff said...
nice running into you out on the trail. hopefully next time we'll get a chance for a more proper introduction.
great race out there though. you dealt with a lot to cross that finish line and learned a lot and you'll be a stronger person/runner for it.
- May 6, 2008, 11:23:00 AM
- Lisa said...
Olga, you are a warrior. I am so glad you pressed on and finished. Isn't it about the whole journey? If you ever do upstate NY Adirondacks or Canandaigua/Finger Lakes Ultras, I will crew for you. (I still think you look to young to have any kids. Woman, you are well-preserved.)
- May 6, 2008, 11:45:00 AM
- jeanbean said...
Hi Olga - great to meet you going up the 1st hill and love your blog. See you at the next one - run happy! Jean from CO.
- May 6, 2008, 12:06:00 PM
- Bob Gentile said...
Well another busy, crazy Olga weekend. Sorry to hear about the drama at home.
Way to close the race out and Finish!! You are Winner :-)
Lets catch up when u get a chance!
- May 6, 2008, 9:50:00 PM
- Lisa B said...
Hi sweet Olga. I can relate to pre-race drama and that loss of control feeling when the drama hits and you have to drop everything and run to take care of other business. I can relate to the enormous toll it takes on your mind and body if you do get to run anyway, like you did at Miwok. I KNOW how hard it is, how difficult to have the stress of life nearly overwhelm you at a time when you hoped the your stresses would only be those imposed on your body by the trail.
THAT'S why I KNOW you are one of the toughest women I know. That's one of the reasons I admire you. And that's one of the reasons I keep coming back to your blog...for inspiration and motivation and sharing life, which includes running.
Keep embracing the freedom of the trails. Let it overwhelm you. Keep soaring like an eagle. I will too.
Love ya!
- May 7, 2008, 9:31:00 AM
Your amazing Olga!! Thanks for the reports. You ran an exceptional race dispite many challenges. See you in Los Alamos next week! It should be an awesome course.
- May 7, 2008, 2:03:00 PM
- Jon said...
Very cool. Even with the drama pre-race, you were able to get through 62 miles of trail. I hope that whatever happened after you returned home was handled swiftly and with little to no pain on your part.
- May 7, 2008, 5:05:00 PM
- Steve S said...
I loved your report and the quote "You make mistake – you fix it – you get back on track." As always, you did your best under the circumstances.
Hugs and best hopes for your health and family
- May 7, 2008, 6:12:00 PM
- JeffO said...
Don't stop u;tra-running or blogging. We need you! You're power us through. We see you can do anything, in the roughest set of circumstances. I feel like such a wimp! And I know when things get bad for me and I get pissy, I'll eventually think of you and then I'll scold myself, hold up my head, and forge on. It means so much to have a real-life, modern day hero. You are TOUGH and passionate at the same time! Very impressive.
I'm blabbering... I'm done.
- May 7, 2008, 10:12:00 PM
- Sunshine Girl said...
Geez Olga, you have a solid support network in Ultra-land and in Blog-land! I need to join the Olga fan club! I got a great picture of you up on my race report. Congrats on your day.
- May 8, 2008, 1:29:00 AM
- Mark Tanaka (Ultrailnakaman) said...
Wow, especially with all the family crises, I think you could call it a great run-- falling, ice cream and getting passed the 2nd half aside (I had the same unfortunate experience getting passed). Stay addicted!
- May 8, 2008, 1:28:00 PM
olga, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you on the trail, but duty calls (I passed you as you made a pit stop just before Tennessee Valley, lol). Well, I sort of said hi, did a head nod thingy. too funny.
seriously though, damn! you're a strong person and a strong runner. you did great despite all that you've got going on. Stay true and you'll get through it all.
take care,
- May 8, 2008, 8:40:00 PM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When you purchase this handmade carpet on mengalorient.com, you contribute for education and health for carpet knotting families. Care & Fair is an organization that improves the living conditions of the weavers and their families in the carpets producing regions of Pakistan from India and Nepal. Know more ...
Origin: PAKISTAN Azad, pattern Boukhara, pattern Jaldar, Karachi, Lahore, Pakoti, Peshawar
Pakistan: Officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is an independent state since 1947. It is bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, China and India.
These rugs have a thin yarn, soft and shiny. The pattern is sometimes surrounded by silk.
These hand-knotted productions has motifs inspired by Turkmens (Bukhara), Iran floral and Caucasians.
They are baptized in the name of the city where the weavers make rugs. The main cities are: Lahore and Karachi.
Warps and weft are un cotton.
There are all sizes and colors available.
According to workshops:
There are the best (shiny high quality wool).
And the worst (dry wool or mercerized cotton yarn that mimic or imitate brilliant wool or silk ).
It is mainly the quality of the wool and wool density (compaction wool on the loom) which ensures good wear resistance. Not to be confused with the number of knots/dm ² which gives better detail only if it is high. Take the example of a digital photo, the more pixels there are, the more the image is sharp and detailed. But in the rugs, it is not always a guarantee of durability ... Only the quality and density of wool ensures high strength.


text:
From the chorus lines of Broadway to Manhattan nightclubs she co-owned to a contracting business on the South Fork, Jacqueline Scott was a woman who made her mark on the world and left a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She died on Nov. 16 in Naples, Fla., of cancer, a friend, Sandy Rapp, said.
Ms. Scott came to live in Wainscott after leaving New York City. Among her building projects were several collaborations with Harry Bates, a well-known architect here.
She was born in Cleveland on Jan. 1, 1931, where she grew up and studied dance. She left the home of her mother, Ruth Palm, to move to New York City, where she studied design at the Pratt Institute and worked as a chorus performer.
Ms. Scott parlayed her theater contacts into two successful Manhattan nightclubs, which she owned with Anne Butler. These were Mary, Mary and Three, which during the 1960s and early '70s was a well-reviewed hot spot with a restaurant and cabaret where Blossom Dearie was a regular performer and theater legends including Judy Garland would drop by for a guest appearance.
She retired to Naples, but spent a great deal of time abroad, keeping a residence in Rome for many years.
Ms. Scott spent her final days cared for by her friends Connie and Maas van den Top of Naples. There was no service; her ashes will be dispersed in the Atlantic Ocean.


text:
Vanessa Hudgens & Austin Butler: Christmas is Coming!
Vanessa Hudgens dons a chic dress while watching a Knicks basketball game with her boyfriend Austin Butler at Madison Square Garden on Friday (November 30) in New York City.
The 23-year-old actress watched the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards with a final score of 108-87.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa recently wrote on her blog, "It's happening!!! Christmas is coming!!! I love the holidays. Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to start thinking about gifts… I might do a lil gift guide for the holidays. What do you guys think?."
In case you missed it, have a look at Vanessa on the cover of Glow magazine's Winter issue.
FYI: Austin is wearing AllSaints.


text:
Bolthouse Farms Salsa Ranch Yogurt Dressing - MUST-TRY product alert! This dressing isn't new, but we're newly in LOVE with it. In a line of amazing yogurt-based dressings, this flavor is a serious standout. Zesty, creamy, and perfect for dressing salads and dipping veggies. A 2-tbsp. serving has 45 calories, 3g fat, 210mg sodium, 3g carbs, 0g fiber, 2g sugars, and 1g protein (PointsPlus® value 1*). Find it with the refrigerated salad dressings at select supermarkets nationwide.
Lean Cuisine Honestly Good - After hearing about this all-natural line of frozen meals back in March, we're honestly THRILLED it's finally here! Check out the varieties: Honey Citrus Chicken, Lemongrass Salmon, Pineapple Black Pepper Beef, Plum Ginger Grain-Crusted Fish, Pomegranate Chicken, and Roasted Red Pepper Chicken. Each entrée has 270 - 390 calories, 7 - 9g fat, 290 - 590mg sodium, 29 - 54 carbs, 4 - 7g fiber, 6 - 19g sugars, and 15 - 27g protein (PointsPlus® value 7 - 10*). And while the sauces are included in those stats, they're packed in their own little pouches, so you can add as little or as much as you like. These meals are rolling out nationwide this month, so be on the lookout!
Emerald 100 Calorie Packs Vanilla Roast Almonds - In a world of chocolate this and chocolate that, vanilla is seriously underrated. Enter the latest portion-controlled snacks from Emerald: Vanilla Roast Almonds! Each pack has 100 calories, 8g fat, 35mg sodium, 4g carbs, 2g fiber, 1g sugars, and 3g protein (PointsPlus® value 3*). Anyone else tempted to mix these with the Cocoa Roast version? Yummm...
Just how big of a priority do you consider a healthful diet? Is it more important than money, clothes, or your kids getting good grades? A recent survey of 1,500 women posed some "Would you rather... ?" scenarios, and the results are pretty intriguing! Here are a few findings...
* 60 percent of the ladies surveyed would rather eat healthy than have healthy financial savings.
* 83 percent would rather have a healthy body than a great wardrobe.
* 70 percent would rather their kids eat healthy than get good grades.
Very interesting! We love a good game of "Would You Rather... ?", so we took inspiration from this survey and whipped up an HG poll! CLICK HERE NOW to weigh in, and check back next week for the results!
Frozen Fruit Blend at Costco - INCREDIBLY URGENT! If you purchased Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen fruit from Costco, do NOT consume it. Select lots have been potentially linked to a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A. Click for further info. The product was also sold at Harris Teeter stores under the name Harris Teeter Organic Antioxidant Berry Blend. Check your freezers NOW.
Smoked Salmon and Other Seafood Products - Check your fridge and freezer for smoked salmon and lox from Sea Passion, Raley's, and Jensen's Old Fashioned Smokehouse. Parent brand Salmolux issued a voluntary recall due to possible listeria contamination. Affected states include AZ, CA, ID, MI, NV, NY, OH, TX, and WA. Click for details. Also recalled for listeria-related concerns? Latis Brand Seafood Products sold nationwide. Click for the full 411.
Allergy-Related Recalls - If you have food sensitivities or allergies, listen up. Select EZ Peel Shrimp sold at Hy-Vee and other seafood counters (in IA, NE, KS, IL, MO, SD, MN, and WI) have been recalled for an undeclared sulfite allergen. And a limited number of Lightlife Farmer's Market Veggie Burgers are being called back due to an undeclared milk allergen. The burgers were distributed nationwide. Click here and here for all the need-to-know info.
Three years ago, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (a group of American food and beverage companies) promised to slash 1.5 trillion calories from the marketplace by 2015. Well, it's only 2013, and they've already done it! Companies in the HWCF include Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft, Sara Lee, and more heavy hitters. Way to go! ***Why should fast-food restaurants post calorie counts right on their menu boards? Because most people just don't know how many calories are in the foods they're eating. A survey of more than 3,000 kids, teens, and adults found that participants underestimated the calorie content of fast-food meals by an average of about 200 calories per meal. That's actually not so bad considering how high in calories many of those meals are... We must be getting better at this! Play it safe, and check the chain's website for stats before you hit the drive-thru. ***Who's freshening up? Walmart! The brand's head honchos are so confident in the freshness of their produce, they're offering a 100 percent money-back guarantee. To ensure the quality of their fruits 'n veggies, they plan to buy produce directly from growers to get it on shelves faster, have weekly inspections, and offer training programs to employees. Very nice! ***Before you head out on a summer road trip, read the newest Hungry Girl piece in Redbook! Take notes on smart eats to snag from gas stations, diners, and chain restaurants. Grab a copy of the June issue of the magazine, or check out the HG column online. And that's all we've got. HG out!
There's some crucial info in this week's News! Click "Send to a Friend" NOW.
Yum, yum, yum... Happy National Herbs & Spices Day, June 10th. Click to read up on some of our faves, along with recipe suggestions!
SmartPoints® value not what you expected? Click here for more info on how the values are calculated, plus more FAQs about PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® values on our website.


text:
Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Sings the Praises of Education
Linkin Park's Chester Bennington may be one of the top rockers in the business thanks to his time with the band, but the singer knows he's lucky and admitted during a recent "Town Hall" meeting with fans that there is a part of his past he would change if he could.
He told the crowd, "The one thing I regret probably more than anything else in my life was dropping out of school to do things that I thought were more interesting at the time. The one thing that I really desire the most to this day, even though I'm really surrounded by a lot of educated guys that actually did go to school and did really well and I'm in a situation to learn from what they have to offer, is the one thing I don't feel fulfilled in at this point in my life. Because of that, all I want to do is learn. All I want to do is learn about things and it doesn't matter what it is, I feel like there's a big hole in my experience in life because I chose to do the more irresponsible thing."
The singer says he knows he hit the jackpot when he met up with his Linkin Park cohorts, and adds, "If I'd been in a band with just other guys that, for example the guys I had been in bands with before instead of these guys, I'd be working at a nightclub somewhere or doing something that I don't like doing for not a lot of money and thinking about all the things I could have done, so staying in school is really, really super important."
Bennington said during the Sirius/XM "Town Hall" event that he did go back and get his GED, but he adds, "It's just a high school equivalency, and I want more. When the time is right, I would like to go just because it's something I would like to accomplish in my life. I don't know when that's gonna be cause we're like … I'm in an interesting situation doing what I love to do. I got fortunate. I always tell my kids, 'Don't do what your dad did, because I won the lottery. That's not a good way to plan your future. Do what dad's friends have done and think about what you're doing and make it happen because of your talent and your intellect and not just on crossing your fingers and hoping to die.'"
Bennington is currently out with Linkin Park joining tourmates Incubus on the Honda Civic Tour.


text:
On second thoughts … bugger psychology, try a stormJune 16, 2009 at 7:24 am | Posted in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | 4 Comments
I was wittering on fairly meaninglessly in my last post about whether I'd brought on a flare etc. Yesterday I had to pick up a coffee cup with both hands (which is NOT usual for me) – today I'm half way down a cup of coffee without having even thought about it … make that all the way down and wanting another one …
Anyway, couple of hours after my lost post a storm started. A big storm. A four hour storm with thunder, lighting, rain, sleet, hail, manhole covers flooding in the roads, roads flooding, our workshop out the back flooding, and very sadly, Tiny Cat 2 (now officially known as Nollie) losing her kittens to it.
I did start following the Accuweather Arthritis Index a while back and couldn't see a link, but now, and incidentally feeling MUCH better than 24 hours ago, I am beginning to wonder! Perhaps I should start keeping a weather diary and see what comes of it.
Anyway – good news – no flare!!!! (So long as helping to clear out the flooded workshop and finding Nollie's dead kitten doesn't bring one on! (Hubby buried it in the garden this morning with Nollie and Middle-Sized Cat looking on. Middle-Sized cat then ceremoniously meowed a few words and … chased Nollie off.
4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.


text:
Sunday, 26 December 2010
Papertrey December Blog Hop Challenge
Anyhoo, I find this holiday break nice & relaxing, and having hubby at home means that I've got more time for crafting! Thus when I spotted the PTI December Blog Hop information on a fellow stamper's blog this morning, I decided to jump right in! I never hopped with PTI before, but wanted to do so for quite a while... so there ya' go :)
Here's what the task is...
It's that time again for our annual holiday leftovers challenge! Use scraps of wrapping paper, parts of holiday cards, recycle gift tags or bits of ribbon on a paper crafting project. We all have plenty of it laying around after all the holiday excitement and this is your chance to incorporate some of those pretty little things into an amazing piece of art!
So what did I do? I recycled the scraps ribbon from my gift tags... since it's my beloved PTI ribbon that I tend to hoard, I knew that it's up for recycling from the start!
Supplies: cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream, Melon Berry); paper: Jillibean Soup; stamps: Papertrey Ink (Polka dot Basics, Fancy Flourishes, All About You Additions); ink: Papertrey Ink (Fresh Snow, Tea Dye Duo - Camomile), Versa Color (Pink), StazOn (Timber Brown); edge distresser; butterfly punch: Martha Stewart; label: Pink Paislee Artisan Elements; grosgrain ribbon: Papertrey Ink; buttons; thread; pearls: Kaisercraft
Of course, I had to have a sketch to start with, and I chose CPS153, for this week's "recollection" challenge over at Card Positioning Systems.
Thank you for visiting! xxx
26 comments:
This is gorgeous Iwona - I love the symmetry of it and that shape in the center with the butterflies. Hope your Christmas was Merry!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous! Love the colors. TFS!ReplyDelete
My. this is so lovely! A real eye popper!ReplyDelete
This card is just STUNNING!ReplyDelete
So gorgeous! I especially love all of those colors together!ReplyDelete
that label is beautiful! just got the polka dot basics and will have to remember to use the 2 different sizes for a background like you did here. very cool!ReplyDelete
Lovely! Nice vintage feel~~ReplyDelete
really pretty!!ReplyDelete
Wonderful! I love all the special details! I love that ribbon also! I have a hard time even using it:)ReplyDelete
Your card is gorgeous, and I love the sentiment!ReplyDelete
EEK!! this is so gorgeous Iwona!!!!ReplyDelete
A real BEAUTY!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!ReplyDelete
VERY B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!ReplyDelete
great card! and your little princess is too cute!ReplyDelete
A really beautiful card Iwona! Lovely. :-)ReplyDelete
very beautiful!ReplyDelete
WOW!! What a beautiful card! LOVE it!ReplyDelete
è bellissima!!!ReplyDelete
Very beautiful!ReplyDelete
Oh Chupa, this is SUCH a lovely card! I love how you framed the "you"! Excellent pairing of patterns and colors!ReplyDelete
This is so pretty! Love the graduated sizes of polka dots! And, the frame and ribbon, the way you used the swirls with the butterflies...fantastic!ReplyDelete
Beautiful! Love the way you backed those flourishes up to each other. Makes a perfect background for an accent piece. The way you stamped the polka dots is brilliant. What a great idea to use the graduated sizes like that!ReplyDelete
Stunning, my dear! WOW!ReplyDelete
Beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Beautiful as always!ReplyDelete


text:
Showing 1–12 of 138 results
York Furrier
Call 630-832-2200
Email Us
Live Chat
All furs ranch raised or government controlled and labeled to show country of origin.
Register to receive:
Fashion News, Social Soiree Highlights, Exclusive Offers, Special Event Invitations, and so Much More!
* Required Field
Already A Member? Log In


text:
Building an ecommerce site that customers love largely comes down to two things: sweating (and testing) the small stuff, and understanding human psychology.
How do people view, browse, and use your site? While testing will be the final judgement for what works on your site, conversion studies can be a great place to begin when designing your site.
Today I'd like to go over five big ecommerce design mistakes that I commonly notice on far too many of the shops that I visit.
Be sure to take careful note if your site is making any of the following mistakes, and try implementing A/B tests with my corrections; I have a hunch you'll see a noticeable change in your bottom line!
1. Lack of a Clear Value Proposition
One of my favorite conversion experts, Peep Laja of Markitekt, has the perfect quote for why communicating your value to customers is so important:
Your value proposition is the #1 thing that determines whether people will bother reading more about your product or hit the back button. If I could give you only one piece of conversion advice, "test your value proposition" would be it.
A strong value proposition is your argument as to why customers should buy from you when they could buy from the competition. This is especially important for ecommerce, because why should customers buy from you when they could buy from Amazon?
Unfortunately, not only do many ecommerce sites have poor value propositions, but many sites even have difficulty communicating exactly what they sell! I don't mean to pick on Yummy Tummy—a great soup and baked goods company—but landing on their site is one of the more confusing experiences I've had online:
What exactly am I buying here? If I can't figure it out soon, I'm likely to leave.
Compare that with sites that have excellent value propositions, such as Wolverine Boots:
Or Luxy Hair:
Both of these examples also make great used of images in their value propositions. Although clear, concise copy is very important for every website, remember that images can also tell a story about a product. As legendary advertiser Claude Hopkins would say:
Use pictures only to attract those who may profit you. Use them only when they form a better selling argument than the same amount of space set in type.
The essential elements of any good value proposition include the following items:
- A headline (possibly with subheadings) that uses simple, clear language as to why an item is worth purchasing. It's not a slogan, it's a promise of value, such as "Create a professional client proposal in minutes," as seen on Bidsketch.
- Body copy explaining why buying this item from you is the best choice. What do you have to offer that others don't? Why are you different?
- Additional benefits and social proof (elements like free shipping and guarantees).
- Images that create desire by showcasing the item in use.
When people understand what they are buying, and why they should buy it from you, I guarantee that your site will see an increase in sales over a design that doesn't communicate clearly with customers. People often don't know why they might need your product until you tell them ("You'll love our newest product because..."), so don't be afraid to be direct and crystal clear.
2. Misguided Product Descriptions
We all know that product descriptions can be extremely important, but oftentimes ecommerce store owners include or remove them at abandon.
As it turns out, these descriptions mean different things when you are selling different products. Check out the study conducted by the Nielsen Group below:
Here's what they found:
Thumbnails of bookcases were studied intensely, whereas thumbnails of flat-panel TVs were mainly ignored. In fact, on the full Amazon page, only 18% of the viewing time was spent on the photos, while 82% was spent on the text.
The comparison was between bookshelves and shelving on the Pottery Barn website, and TV listings on Amazon. When you think about it, the difference in the products is quite clear: most people buying a bookshelf care about how it will look in their room. Most people buying a TV do care somewhat about how it looks, but are mostly concerned with the specs (how big, Plasma or LCD, is it a smart TV?, etc.)
As the Nielsen write-up would so humorously point out:
The TV photos are of no help in deciding between the products. A guy in a canoe vs. a football player? What, because I watch more football than water sports, I'll buy the TV showing a football player?
That's in contrast to a bookshelf, where cherry colored vs. oak colored matters. You can incorporate this information into how you handle product descriptions by really thinking about your product and how your customer shops for it.
Do they care mostly about how it looks, or about what it's capable of? Adjust your image use and product descriptions based on this need, and you'll have far more informed and happy shoppers.
3. Failing to Properly Utilize Quality Images
If you happen to sell items that are mostly dependent on looks (like the Pottery Barn example above), you should know by now that the visuals that you use are incredibly important.
In fact, one case study from Visual Website Optimizer showcased how an increase in ecommerce image size improved conversions by a notable amount:
Variation 2 with the large images and product description viewable on mouse over was the winner. It resulted in a straight 9.46% increase in sales (96% chance to beat original).
In another test first mentioned by Peep Laja, an online store was able to improve conversions via site search by 100% when they included images in the search bar, which looked like this:
There is also the matter of image quality. As this study mentions, one of the best ways to sell a physical good is to get it in somebody's hands. Since you can't do that online, the best alternative is to get them to imagine it in their hands.
High quality images help with this.
Kith NYC always has excellent images for the products they sell. When you're selling a $500 pair of men's boot, the visual better capture some imaginations:
As you can imagine, "action" shots often work well for fashion items and any product that is using aesthetics as a big selling point.
Consider the comments that people left on Reddit when someone posted about a Victorinox watch that was being sold on Amazon:
That's a great picture. It looks so much better than it does in that Amazon listing. I wouldn't give it the time of day just going by the Amazon page but your picture…
Remember that your images are going to be a big part of moving your products in many industries, so if you're selling homegrown stuff or even dropshipping, invest in quality photos.
4.) No Visual Hierarchy or Attention to Fitt's Law
You don't need to be a web designer to understand the importance of a visual hierarchy. One of the better images I've seen that clearly showcases how one should work comes from Josh Byers of StudioPress:
With a visual hierarchy in place, it's easy to navigate a website because actions begin to become recognizable due to the site's design. It becomes apparent that all accent colored text is a clickable link, and that base text is unclickable, used only to complement the site's overall background color.
One part of this hierarchy is the use of Fitt's law. In essence, the law states that eyes are drawn to larger items which makes them more clickable (duh). Therefore, important elements should be made larger and stand out from the rest of the page.
Color accents can also be used here, such as how the old MailChimp site used to offset their blue background with a red button:
Why is Fitt's law important?
Take a look at this case study from TechWyse. The team was working on a trucking site, and first examined where people were looking on the page:
As you can see, that big unclickable 'NO FEES' button was hogging all the attention! The problem is that this section of the site doesn't help to make any sales, the phone number is how they land customers.
Changes had to be made, and fast:
This is obviously much better. On-page viewing patterns don't automatically equate to more sales, but at the very least more people could find and were viewing the company phone number.
How about your site? Do any large, eye-grabbing on page elements not lead to direct sales or leads? Try to ease friction by looking at how you can highlight the most important elements on your site and blend in the less important links and information.
5. The Site Doesn't Look Trustworthy
When competing against the big boys of ecommerce, there is one thing you need to realize: their brand recognition means that they don't have to prove to people that they are trustworthy.
Just because you are trustworthy does not mean customers will believe you.
Your site has to reflect your willingness, ability and track record for delivering on your promises. As Derek Halpern first revealed, an interesting study done on the trustworthiness of health sites found that the design of the site played more of a role than the actual content of the site.
So how can you make your site appear more trustworthy? You need to take a customer focused approach here—too many companies offer up social proof in a way that seems like chest bumping, instead of thinking about the psychology behind why a potential customer might be worried about shopping via an online store they've never used before.
Instead, really think about what worries a customer might have when shopping from an unkown store, and structure your social proof to address these issues. Here are a few of my favorite elements to utilize:
Customer Testimonials
The perfect testimonial is typically found through a well known customer, or a customer that perfectly represents one of your personas. In other words, the source of the testimonial often matters just as much as what was said, so put your best foot forward by selecting the praise you received that will be most comforting to prospective customers.
Notable Press
Prospects respect notable publications in your industry (Forbes for business, GQ for fashion, etc.), and if you've been featured there, it is very much worth noting. A recognizable press mention will go a long way in letting customers know that you're for real. Check out how Pebble Watch features their press mentions with logos right at the top of their homepage.
Interesting Info About the Company
How can customer guarantee that you'll be around even a few months after their purchase? One of the best ways to show that you plan to be around for the long haul is to share some interesting information about what your company does. At Help Scout, we share how many emails we processed last month:
An Up to Date Design
You aren't required to hire a world class designer (though you can find some here) to launch your bootstrapped ecommerce business, but just know that people do judge books buy their cover, and will judge your business by your site's design. Avoid trends, but make sure your site looks up to date and cleanly designed.
Always Be Testing
The final thought I'd like to leave you with when it comes to your ecommerce store design is that at a certain level, testing should become an ongoing process.
You can always discover some unusual things that go against the "best practices" that people preach elsewhere.
Consider the following case study from Body Ecology, which revealed a startling finding: the site greatly improved conversion when they removed drop-downs from their navigation, and instead utilized category pages with brief descriptions:
As you can read in the published case study, the change was relatively minor in design but fairly drastic for results:
As you can clearly see via the results, the average revenue per conversion has increased significantly and now stands at $143.61, which is great if you compare it to the average revenue per conversion of the Control, which was $100.33.
So remember that best practices are just a starting point, so adopt the mindset of "always be testing" and you won't fall prey to common practices that may not be working for your site.
About the Author: Gregory Ciotti is the marketing strategist at Help Scout, the invisible help desk software for small business. Learn about smarter customer service training and how to build customer loyalty by reading our blog.
Join 446,005 entrepreneurs who already have a head start.
Get free online marketing tips and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
Thanks for subscribing
You'll start receiving free tips and resources soon. In the meantime, start building your store with a free 14-day trial of Shopify.


text:
Purchase products related to this category, Beauty Salons, online here.
Telefax: No fax number available
Website: No web address available
Biz owner? Moderate reviews or edit listing.
Search entire category for Beauty Salons
Beauty Salons, in Bradenton, are places where standard beauty treatments like facials, massages, hair treatments, etc, are provided with the aim of beautifying, cleansing, and relaxing a client. Men visit men's salons, and women visit ladies' salons, but unisex parlors are also a rage in Bradenton these days.


text:
Edward Kienholz: Five Car Stud 1969–1972, Revisited
Edward Kienholz's Five Car Stud (1969–72) is a powerful work that depicts the hatred many white Americans expressed toward racial minorities and interracial partnerships in the not-too-distant-past; it stands as Kienholz's major civil rights work. In this horrifying life-size tableau, four automobiles and a pickup truck are arranged on a dirt floor in a dark room with their headlights illuminating a shocking scene: a group of white men exacting their gruesome "punishment" on an African American man whom they have discovered drinking with a white woman. Commenting on the work and its theme of racial oppression, Kienholz said at the time, "If six to one is unfair odds in my tableau, then 170 million to 20 million is sure as hell unfair odds in my country." Although our society increasingly considers itself postracial, Five Car Stud is a harsh reminder of a shameful part of our history whose traces still linger. It was seen only in Germany in 1972 and has since remained in storage in Japan for almost forty years. This is its first public showing in the United States. Please note that this work contains images of explicit violence and nudity.
This presentation is organized by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark and is jointly presented in Los Angeles by the Getty Research Institute and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, with support from the Getty Foundation.
Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, coming together to tell the story of the birth of the LA art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time will take place for six months beginning October 2011. Sponsors
Image: Edward Kienholz, Five Car Stud 1969–1972, Revisited, Photography by Tom Vinetz. © Kienholz. Collection of Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura, Japan. Courtesy of L.A. Louver, Venice, CA and The Pace Gallery, New York.
Nancy Kienholz on Five Car Stud
Nancy Kienholz talks about Five Car Stud, which she spent several years restoring prior to the exhibition at LACMA.
Cast by Kienholz: An Interview with Keith Berwick
In 1971, television host Keith Berwick interviewed Edward Kienholz at the artist's studio during the making of Five Car Stud. During the interview, Kienholz made a plaster cast of Berwick's body to be used as one of the figures in the artwork. I recently I had the chance to talk with Berwick to learn more about his experience...
Kienholz on Exhibit, 1969
This 1969 film by June Steel consists of audience reactions to a Kienholz exhibit at LACMA, which includes his well-known pieces '"The Birthday', 'Back Seat Dodge', and 'Roxy's'. More about the film.


text:
Everyone playing in online casinos is eager to hit an online jackpot! And why not? – winning is where it's at and when you're gaming in the finest online casino, the 888 jackpot is the ultimate achievement. Big winners are regularly crowned and the Mega Gold & Green Slots Machine game is one such power-player. This exciting progressive slots game cranks out 3 spinning reels of slots gaming prowess – just the way you like it! Form a winning combination and all it takes is a payline to hit jackpot gold! And when the lucky symbols line up, players win mega online jackpot prizes. Remember that there's both a free play game and a real money gaming version to be enjoyed. The last winner clocked in a cool $71k with this game – maybe it's time to give it a try!
Power players love to game with online slots. There's no need to learn fancy rules or to compute statistical odds at MIT level – all you do is click to spin! It's that easy. Players at this premier online gaming destination relish the prospect of world-class action right at their fingertips. Leading online slots games include the likes of the X-Factor Video Slot, Play Your Cards Right and King Kong! That's right slots fans, you can win jackpot cash in an instant at 888casino. Bigger prizes more regularly is our promise to you! Remember that you're only going to win it if you're in it! So get locked and loaded with the most sizzling-hot gaming titles online. Here at our gaming enclave, you're always in the money when you play our jackpot slots!


text:
Education >> Browse Articles >> Education Article
The Skinny on Student Loans
An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. Federal law sets the maximum interest rates and fees lenders may charge for federally guaranteed loans, and nothing prevents a lender from charging lower fees.
Find a school that will get you ready for a career in rescue and public safety.
Here are three types of education loans:
Federal Student Loans
Many students rely on federal government loans to finance their educations. These loans have low interest rates and do not require credit checks or collateral. Student loans also provide a variety of deferment options and extended repayment terms. Student loans include the Federal Stafford and Federal Perkins Loans. For more information:
- Free application for federal student aid
Private Loans
Private Education Loans, also known as Alternative Education Loans, help bridge the gap between the actual cost of your education and the limited amount the government allows you to borrow in its programs. Private loans are offered by private lenders, and there are no federal forms to complete. Eligibility for private student loans often depends on your credit score.
Loan Consolidation
Consolidation loans combine several education loans into one bigger loan from a single lender, which is then used to pay off the balances on the other loans. It is very similar to refinancing a mortgage. Consolidation loans are available for most federal loans, including FFELP (Stafford, PLUS and SLS), FISL, Perkins, Health Professional Student Loans, NSL, HEAL, Guaranteed Student Loans and Direct loans. Some lenders offer private consolidation loans for private education loans as well. For more information:
- FinAid's page of common questions about consolidation
Find a school that will get you ready for a career in rescue and public safety.


text:
Our Day 5 prize, the Bag E Bottoms, goes to Blossom for her answer, "I've sewn a few simple tote bags, but haven't attempted any handbags yet. These look very useful!"
Thanks to everyone for their comments (and advice). Blossom, email email@example.com with your mailing address to receive your prize!
Our Day 6 prize is perfect for this time of year: Sew the Perfect Gift (Martingale & Company). This cute book is packed with 25 handmade projects from top designers, such as pincushions, bracelets and purses. Not just for Christmas, there are projects for birthdays and 'just because.'
I've been making ornaments for my friends out of scrapbook paper, curled and glued into curly hearts. They're adorable and not Christmas-specific. So my question to you is:
What was the best handmade gift you've ever given/received?
Post your answer in the comments and tomorrow the winner will be announced! We're already halfway through our 12 Days of Giveaways, can you believe it?


text:
The data center as we know it today started to take shape as the dot-com bubble expanded in the late 1990s. Growth slowed when the bubble burst, but by 2003 the pace of change was accelerating again as IT organizations scrambled to meet demand for computing and expectations for 24/7 availability.
At the same time, a new issue was emerging: energy consumption. The Uptime Institute, a consortium of companies devoted to maximizing efficiency and uptime in data centers and IT organizations, released the "Revolutionizing Data Center Energy Efficiency" report in 2008, which focused on data center energy usage. In the report, the group announced that data center energy use doubled between 2000 and 2006 and predicted it would double again by 2012. With this in mind, the industry started to turn its attention to reducing energy consumption.
Those efforts ramped up in the second half of 2008 as the U.S. economy entered a deep recession, and companies were forced to find ways to reduce spending. IT organizations began to look seriously at energy efficiency in terms of cost savings as well as environmental responsibility. This is reflected in survey data compiled by the Data Center Users' Group (DCUG), a group of approximately 2,000 influential data center, IT, and facility managers founded by Emerson Network Power. DCUG members surveyed in 2005 did not include energy efficiency in their top five data center concerns. In spring of 2008, efficiency made the list at No. 5. By spring of 2009, efficiency had moved to the second position.
Enhance efficiency without compromising availability
The challenge for data centers is to maintain or improve availability in increasingly dense computing environments while reducing costs and increasing efficiency. In 2008 and 2009, a number of companies experienced well-publicized data center outages, including Rackspace, Google, Equinix, Paypal, and Air New Zealand. Outages such as these can cause disruptions in services and lost data as well as cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In the wake of those outages, respondents to the fall 2009 DCUG survey showed a renewed respect for availability. In fact, it jumped from the fourth most important concern just six months earlier to the No. 1 concern — the first time it occupied that top spot since the DCUG formed in 2004 (click here to see Table). The likely reason again is economic: One significant outage can be so costly that it wipes out years of savings achieved through incremental efficiency improvements.
To meet the sometimes conflicting objectives of reducing costs and increasing availability, data center management must enter a new stage of maturity. This can be accomplished by establishing data center infrastructures that leverage four distinct opportunities to enhance efficiency without compromising availability — opportunities that will drive data center infrastructure design and management in the years to come.
1. High-density design
Data centers already are moving toward high-density computing environments as newer, more dense servers are deployed. It's important to note, however, that moving to a high-density computing environment does require a different approach to infrastructure design, including:
High-density cooling: Placing high-efficiency cooling units closer to the source of heat (e.g., near the rack) complements the base room air-conditioning system. These systems can reduce cooling power consumption by as much as 32% compared to traditional room-only designs. High-density cooling systems have become a basic building block of the data center of the future, delivering the ability to meet the needs of today's 10kW, 20kW, and 30kW racks while offering the ability to support densities of 60kW or higher in the future.
Intelligent aisle containment: The efficient and well-established practice of hot/cold aisle alignments sets up another movement — containment. Aisle containment prevents the mixing of hot and cold air to improve cooling efficiency. Both hot-aisle and cold-aisle containment systems are available.
High-density power distribution: Power distribution has evolved from single-stage to two-stage designs to enable increased density, reduced cabling and more effective use of data center space. Single-stage distribution often is unable to support the number of devices in today's data center as breaker space is expended long before system capacity is reached. Two-stage distribution eliminates this limitation by separating deliverable capacity and physical distribution capability into subsystems.
The first stage receives high-voltage power from the UPS and can be configured with a mix of circuit and branch-level distribution breakers. The second stage or load-level units can be tailored to the requirements of specific racks or rows. Growing density can be supported by adding breakers to the primary distribution unit and adding additional load-level distribution units.
2. Ensuring availability
As mentioned earlier in the article, a number of high-profile data center outages seemed to refocus businesses on the importance of availability. In the fall 2009 DCUG survey, availability was a major concern for 56% of respondents versus just 41% in the spring 2009 DCUG survey. Understanding that a large percentage of outages are triggered either by electrical or thermal issues, the challenge is optimizing the efficiency gains related to power and cooling approaches while understanding IT criticality and the need for availability. Some of the choices to be made and the potential trade-offs between efficiency and availability include:
Uninterruptible power supply: Data center managers should consider the power topology and availability requirements when selecting a UPS. In terms of topology, there are several available in the market today: standby, line interactive, double conversion, and delta conversion. Double and delta conversion type UPSs are commonly used at larger data center facilities.
Economization: Economizers, which use outside air to reduce work required by the cooling system, can be an effective approach to lowering energy consumption if they are properly applied. Two base methods exist: air side and water side. Water-side economization allows organizations to achieve the benefits of economization without the risks of contaminants presented by air-side approaches. All approaches have pros and cons. Data center professionals should discuss the appropriate applications with local experts.
Service: A proactive view of service and preventive maintenance in the data center can deliver additional efficiencies. Making business decisions with the goal of minimizing service-related issues may result in additional expense up-front, but it can increase life cycle costs. Meanwhile, establishing and following a comprehensive service and preventive maintenance program can extend the life cycle of IT equipment and delay major capital investments.
An Emerson Network Power study of the impact of preventive maintenance on UPS reliability revealed that the mean time between failures (MTBF) for units that received two preventive maintenance service visits a year is 23 times better than a UPS with no preventive maintenance visits. According to the study, reliability continued to steadily increase with additional visits when conducted by highly trained engineers.
3. Providing flexible support
IT demand can fluctuate depending on everything from holiday buying seasons or Wall Street fluctuations to strategic organizational changes and new applications. Responding to those swings without compromising efficiency requires infrastructure technologies capable of dynamically adapting to short-term changes while providing the scalability to support long-term changes. Previous generations of infrastructure systems were unable to adjust to variations in load. Cooling systems had to operate at full capacity all the time, regardless of actual load demands. UPS systems, meanwhile, operated most efficiently at full load. However, full load operation is the exception rather than norm. The lack of flexibility in the power and cooling systems led to inherent energy inefficiency.
Today, technologies enable the infrastructure to adapt to those changes. Where previous generation data centers were unable to achieve optimum efficiency at anything less than full load, today's facilities can take full advantage of these innovative technologies to match the data center's power and cooling needs more precisely, regardless of the load demands and operating conditions.
Cooling systems: Newer data center cooling technologies can adapt to change and deliver high efficiency at reduced loads. For example, variable-speed drive fans allow fan speed and power draw to be increased or reduced to match the load, resulting in fan energy savings of 50% or more.
Power systems: New designs in power systems allow improved component performance at 40% to 60% load compared to full load. Power curves that once showed efficiency increasing with load now have been effectively flattened as peak efficiencies can be achieved at important 40% to 50% load thresholds. Scalable UPS solutions also allow data center managers to add capacity when needed.
Distribution systems: In the power distribution system, new TP1-rated transformers are more efficient at half load than they are at full load while pushing overall efficiency above 98%. In-rack PDUs allow rack power distribution systems to adapt to changing technology requirements. They also provide monitoring at the receptacle level to give data center and IT managers the ability to proactively manage changes.
4. Visibility and control enable optimization
If you can't monitor and control infrastructure performance, you can't improve it. Management systems that provide a holistic view of the entire data center are key to ensuring availability, improving efficiency, planning for the future, and managing change. Today's data center supports more critical, interdependent devices and IT systems in higher density environments than ever before. This fact has increased the complexity of data center management and created the need for more sophisticated, automated approaches to IT infrastructure management.
Gaining control of the infrastructure environment leads to an optimized data center that improves availability and energy efficiency, extends equipment life, proactively manages the inventory and capacity of the IT operation, increases the effectiveness of staff, and decreases the consumption of resources. The key to achieving these performance optimization benefits is a comprehensive infrastructure management solution.
Infrastructure management typically progresses through phases. The first phase should involve a data center assessment to provide insight into current conditions in the data center and opportunities for improvement. After establishing that baseline, a sensor network is strategically deployed to collect power, temperature, and equipment status for critical devices in the rack, row, and room. Data from the sensor network is continuously collected by centralized monitoring systems to not only provide a window into equipment and facility performance, but also to point out trends and prevent problems wherever they may be located.
A network of communication and control devices can also be used with power and cooling systems to better match performance to demand and increase efficiency.
The final phase is optimization. A comprehensive infrastructure management system can help data center managers improve equipment utilization, reduce server deployment times, and more accurately forecast future equipment requirements, resulting in operating and capital expense reductions. Managers not only improve inventory and capacity management, but also process management, ensuring all assets are performing at optimum levels. Effective optimization can provide a common window into the data center, improving forecasts, managing supply and demand, and improving levels of efficiency and availability.
Opportunities to improve efficiency and optimize performance can be revealed throughout the data center life cycle — from design and deployment through operations, management, and planning. Businesses that succeed in this effort will look beyond energy when considering efficiency and take every opportunity throughout that life cycle to achieve efficiencies without compromising performance and availability.
Panfil is vice president and general manager of Liebert AC Power, Emerson Network Power, Columbus, Ohio. He can be reached at [email protected]


text:
Wednesday's NHL trade deadline day has work to do if it wants to match the plot-twisting drama that occurred on the day before the deadline.
In case you missed it, the Anaheim Ducks traded for a defenseman with a broken leg, the Minnesota Wild landed a goalie, but not the one everyone expected, and the Vancouver Canucks, two points out of a playoff spot, traded their most proven goalie for an unproven goalie and a third-line player. And just to spice up the deal, the Canucks are going to pay 15% of their former goalie's salary.
The Philadelphia Flyers also acquired the NHL's leading shot blocker Andrew MacDonald from the New York Islanders. But that almost seems too boring to report.
MORE: Bryzgalov to Wild
The defenseman with the broken leg is Stephane Robidas, and his acquisition could end up being one of the best moves of the trading season.
Robidas broke his leg in November, and he's expected to be ready to play later this month. He has the ability to be a top four defenseman on a Ducks team that has the NHL's best record. Robidas is a feisty competitor, hard to play against, a good fit for a team hoping to go far in the playoffs.
The price the Ducks paid was a conditional fourth-round pick, a pick they picked up from the Washington Capitals in a trade for Dustin Penner. It becomes a third-rounder if Anaheim wins two rounds in the playoffs and Robidas plays half the playoff games. Penner, meanwhile, becomes a possible linemate for Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
The Wild, a team playing surprisingly well, added a goalie as expected. But it was Ilya Bryzgalov, not Jaroslav Halak or Martin Brodeur or Tim Thomas. Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher knew Bryzgalov from their days in Anaheim and liked him.
MORE: The top rentals
The Wild gave up a fourth-rounder for Bryzgalov, less than they probably would have paid for some of their other options.
That left the Oilers needing a goalie and they acquired Anaheim's Viktor Fasth for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-round pick in 2015, which is considered to be a better draft year.
But the show-stopper on Tuesday was the Canucks' decision to trade Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for goalie Jacob Markstrom and role player Shawn Matthias. Plus, the Canucks will pay part of his contract, which runs until 2022.
If you are a Canucks fan, you are left scratching your head because eight months ago, the team had two good goaltending options in Luongo and Cory Schneider. Now they have traded both players, and they have received in return prospect Bo Horvat, Markstrom and Matthias.
Last summer, no one would have guessed that both goalies would end up gone, and they certainly would have expected to get more in return. The real hope is that Markstrom's one-time promise as a franchise goalie will pan out.
MORE: Luongo trade is a stunner
The Luongo move clearly seems to have been affected by the fallout over coach John Tortorella's decision not to use Luongo in Sunday's Heritage Classic. It's fair to say the relationship between Tortorella and Luongo was destined to have issues after that.
What makes the move stranger still is the Canucks are still alive in the playoffs. Maybe Eddie Lack can carry the load, or maybe not. He does not have a body of work to study.
But we know for sure is you won't find too many people around the NHL who believe the Canucks managed the Schneider-Luongo situation very well.
That's why Wednesday could also be very interesting because the Canucks are entertaining offers on veteran Ryan Kesler.
The consensus would be that if you are trading a player of Kesler's caliber, you'd be better off doing it this summer because general managers are more inclined to shake up their roster.
But after seeing how the Luongo situation played out, the Canucks could end up trading him on Wednesday. Vancouver fans probably can't wait to see how that plays out.
Follow Kevin Allen on Twitter @ByKevinAllen


text:
TMZ has obtained this photo of little Tiger -- the two-year-old Maltese pooch that was allegedly mauled by Sam Ronson's bulldog, Cadillac, earlier today.
As we first reported, authorities received a 911 call from a person who claims Tiger and Tiger's owner were attacked by another dog near Sam's L.A. apartment.
Tiger later died as a result of his injuries.
R.I.P. Tiger
2008 - 2010
CommentsClick To View
Hot Video


text:
Photographs and Memories: Gil Haller at Artspace Gallery
Much like encountering an insect caught in amber, certain moments have been frozen in the ooze of what feels like memory: the wending of wind through olive trees, the breaking up as light meets water, the arc of his wife's back. New paintings by Gil Haller on display at poet Linda Zisquit's Artspace Gallery in Jerusalem's German Colony neighborhood focus on a specific time and place.
The choice of subject includes landscapes from Israel, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Italy, self-portraits, family and a still life, but more than the pleasant locations or situations that inspired these works there is something else mixed in between what Haller transposes from the perceived into what he conveys. Strong compositional divisions of the formats are evident and his search for color includes the range from intensely warm oranges and ochers to quieter lavender and peachy pastels, sometimes bordering on the sweet and delicate.
Haller, Jerusalem born in 1979, studied painting at the Jerusalem Studio School for three years, and subsequently spent time on student cultural exchanges in Italy. This is Haller's third solo exhibit, his second at this venue. Fans of the television program "The Portrait ("ha Diokan") may recall his appearance on that popular reality show where he painted Knesset member Ahmad Tibi's likeness.
Old photographs often serve as a source of inspiration for Haller, and, in other work outside this exhibit, he has transposed black and white photos into close duplications of the originals, parlaying vintage sporting events or obscure family memorabilia into a second life for those long-forgotten moments. The verisimilitude is so close that they can cause confusion as to whether they are formed mechanically or by the human hand, and beg a philosophical question regarding the significance of "reality."
The 25 paintings completed over a three year period in the current exhibit, titled "You had to be there," are not efforts at painstaking duplication of musty photographs or of nature. While photographs are Haller's starting point in these works, as well, something else besides marveling at his copying abilities is at play here.
There is certainly nothing new in the use of photographs as an aide memoire for a painter. Practically since the invention of photography painters quickly caught on to the camera's faster eye and ability to order space as an asset to their work. Delacroix, Degas, Eakins, and thousands of painters in their wake adopted photography as one more tool to achieve their goals, though it might remain in the realm of a trade secret.
A handy shortcut to translating the three-dimensional world into two dimensions, photography organizes much of the visual information that real life assaults one with and saves the artist many decisions. But stream-lining creates other issues for the painter: how can one keep the painting vital in a time when the photograph is ubiquitous, when a phone camera and Instagrams are a click away for every lay person?
The photograph, whether from magazines, the internet or family albums, is the start, but not the end of Haller's paintings. The instantaneous click is slowed to a much different pace when transformed into paint, a kind of technical throwback as if applying a buggy whip to jet travel.
The works have a contemporary feel, but the execution is not accomplished through the latest technical processes. The shapes of color that Haller interconnects sometimes give a sense of color separation in modern printing processes, resulting in the simplification of the larger masses of the paintings and the intertwining of smaller details with jagged geometric borders delineating them one from the other. His brushwork is nearly flat, a good thing here, so that the viewer can appreciate the unadorned, directly- painted color transitions without distracting flourishes. Inside the shapes, some masses are a single hue, while others have their own nuances of variety within the borders. The paintings are not formulaic in their creation, thus saving them from being deadened by an automatic procedure. Here perception, memory and imagination co-mingle.
Of the two self-portraits on display, one profile, one full-faced, it is the latter that drew me in. Haller's steady gaze takes us into his own frozen moment, we see his neutral expression that fails to belie a hint of weariness. To my taste, Haller is at his best in his carefully considered figure paintings, where his feel for emotional nuance is just under the surface. Confidence is paired with restraint.
Simplified, yet not simple. Like being there.
Artspace Gallery, ends January 17, Tuesday 5-7, Thursday 5-7 or by appointment 02-5662423. (All images courtesy of Artspace Gallery).


text:
Lily Collins: 'Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' Extended Clip -- Watch Now!
Lily Collins seeks safety inside the fridge after a demon fight in this extended clip from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons.
After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opens August 21st. Check out the clip below!
Posted to: Jamie Campbell Bower, Lily Collins, Mortal Instruments


text:
|Hey Mom! Learn more about the Gerber Life Insurance Grow-Up Plan!
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Registered Users
AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
I've never posted about a parenting issue here, but I really need some advise other than "let her cry it out" so here goes.
YDD just turned 1. I had terrible insomnia while I was pregnant and she is a horrible sleeper. She was waking ever 45 minutes until I kicked her out of my bed about 3 months ago. She now wakes up to nurse anywhere from 3 to 6 times per night. I haven't had more than 4 solid hours of sleep in almost 2 years.
This whole time I have been telling myself that it will be over soon and that I just need to get through this phase, she's only little for so long, etc.
I'm realizing now that she's not going to be done soon. She eats almost nothing, won't take a bottle and is too distracted to nurse much during the day. When she wakes at night, she's probably hungry.
My big problem is that I NEED sleep. I am an angry and stupid person when I don't have enough. I am a bad mother, a bad wife and a bad friend. This has been going on for 2 years now. I am falling apart and I want my old self back. I want to enjoy my kids, I want to have energy and I want to be able to engage in an adult conversation.
Which is more important, meeting my baby's nighttime needs or meeting the daytime needs of my whole family (I have 2 older kids)? How do I balance this? Can I night wean without CIO? My other 2 just started STTN on their own well before 1, so I have no idea how to do this.
Registered Users
There are ways to night wean w/o CIO. Try posting on the breastfeeding board - someone there should know for sure but I think its the Newman method...one of those pro BF- doctors
Sent from my DROID2 using DS Forum
Wife to Brandon - my high school sweetheart (Oct 00), delaying vaccs as best we can and WOH parents to Trent (Nov 08) our intact, formerly ERF, slightly son and Lilly (May 12) our , maybe one day , and (for now) daughter (my hypnobaby).
Registered Users
Formerly: mama***ms
Re: AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
mama. I posted a thread very similar to this one not long ago... my DS3 just turned 12 months, and was waking every 1.5-2 hours at night. The best advice I got was to night wean ASAP. You can do that without letting her CIO. Following the advice given to me by my LLL leaders and mamas on here, my DS goes into DS3's room at each waking after 11:30pm... he will rock and cuddle DS3 until he falls back asleep. It's been a long process, but we're making progress. He is now sleeping 7pm-5am most nights (waking to eat only at 10-11pm). Some nights he will still wake up 1-2 times, but DH goes in and gets him back to sleep. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks, we will eliminate those wakings as well.
I originally intended on letting DS3 night wean himself, at his own pace, but I'm pregnant and have two other children that need a calm, happy mama... sleep deprivation does not make me calm or happy .
ETA - how often does she nurse during the day, and is she eating any solids? DS3 just started eating more solids (up to 3 meals/day now), and does a ton of what I call "drive-by" nursing sessions (nursing for 3-5 minutes, every hour or so). I make sure he nurses really well at his 5am wake-up (before the older two are awake), before naptime, and before bedtime. It also helps if I can nurse him in his room, while my 5 and 2.5 year olds watch a quick cartoon or something... less distractions that way.
Trying-to-stay-sane mama to four boys (5/07, 10/09, 7/11, and 11/12)
Last edited by AnimalHouse; 08-12-2012 at 08:49 AM.
Registered Users
You can night wean without CIO, but most likely not without crying. As long as you are there with her, rocking, patting, singing, etc it isn't CIO. CIO is when she's left alone. Can dad get involved in the night time routine?
Single Mommy to my 3 year old DS born all natural. We are a Cosleeping, Breastfeeding, Babywearing Non-Vaxing DUO!!
Last edited by Connor; 08-12-2012 at 08:48 AM.
Registered Users
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Dirty South
Posts: 718
Is your LO walking yet? She was an awful sleeper and got worse the month before she started walking at 12 mos.
Hugs, Mama, sleep deprivation is the pits and I am mean and lazy when I am zombie like. I feel ya.
Try night weaning. Offer to nurse more during the day, take her into a quiet dark room so she can calm down.
Honestly, I don't think modified CIO is the worst. I let DD cry for about 10 minutes one night, due to me needing a break and the fact that she was screaming in my arms anyhow. She ended up falling asleep. It isn't something I use all the time but I find just putting her down and letting her figure it out is what she wants.
You can try having your DH soothe her during wake ups, too. Mine is only home 2-3 nights a week so that didn't work for us.
At 15 months old (today!), she still wakes 2-5 times in a 12 hr period. Last night she slept straight from 1030-545!!! Miracles do happen, sometimes
Loving Life as a Coastie Wife
Welcomed Liberty Grace May 12, 2011!
Registered Users
Re: AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
Thanks mamas. I was thinking about trying to get DH to take her during the first part of the night. I'm just worried that he'll let her cry. He's one of the loudest proponents of CIO.
I guess I could just go pat her butt when she wakes but she gets SO worked up when I go in. She also won't let me hold her when she wakes at night. All she wants is the boob.
I'm also just really worried that she's not getting enough during the day. I offer a lot, both breast and solids, but she's just not that interested anymore.
Registered Users
Check out the No Cry Sleep Solution. I found some success with a modified Pantley method. It is gradual and gentle.
Registered Users
Re: AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
This is how I successfully nightweaned. Even though you aren't co-sleeping/bedsharing, you can take the basic concepts and apply them to your child as she is old enough for them. Understanding why your baby is crying, (anger at not getting what they want/expect as opposed to fear), and that they are capable of understanding made a huge difference in my ability to deal with the night weaning and the inevitable crying that goes along with it. I also think that babies that age are fully capable of understanding "not now" and "later." We just have to teach them, even if they get ticked off at us.
Melissa-Wife, mother to DS 4/02 and DD 4/07, DS 7/08 DD 7/13
ISO: my lost shaker of salt
Registered Users
Re: AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
I agree, you can get her to sleep longer. I'm willing to bet that she is so upset when YOU go in because she KNOWS that you'll give her the boob if she demands hard enough. except that wearing a turtleneck bodysuit isn't exactly practical, it might be exactly what you need rock her, pat her, sing to her, do whatever you need to do but DON'T GIVE HER THE BOOB!! offer her a bottle of milk, or a cup, or a straw, or whatever she needs.
you can start slowly too, agree that she gets no boob before 3am. if she's STILL waking then, you can decide if you want to give in. Likely she won't still be waking, but it's something to get yourself through those moments of self doubt.
When dd was about this age I noticed a huge correlation between how much she nursed during the day and how much she woke at night. Changing your day time nursing routine may help too. Find a quiet spot that you can go and get 5 or 6 good nursing sessions in during the day and see if that helps, especially the one right before bed.
Elaine, SAHM to E (11/07), J (8/09), A (2/11), G (11/12), P (7/14)
Registered Users
Re: AP Mamas - I have a sleep dilema
I like the idea of no boob for a seven hour stretch. I would be happy with 6 hours.
I can always sleep in her room or I can try to make DH sleep there. I tried sleeping in her room when I moved her out of my bed, but she sleeps so much better without me in the room. I can't bring her back to my bed because my older kids are in my room (long story). She was waking them throughout the night.
I'll have to run this all by DH.
Thanks again for all the suggestions. It's SO nice to know I'm not alone.
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


text:
A platform version of "Time Ahead" - Magician removes three unknown cards from a blue deck and sets them backs out on the small stand. - Three spectators each name a "thought of" card which is openly removed from a red pack and set face out on the same stand. The stand is turned around to show that the selections match the predictions. No force. Both decks and the stand are supplied. Easy to perform.
Do you own this product? Write a review.


text:
Introduction to Museum Research
EEB 3895, Spring 2014
Discovering and proposing research at the
UConn Biodiversity Collections
Meeting Time: Thursdays, 11:00-11:50 in BPB112
Alejandro Rico
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: Biology/Pharmacy 404
Phone:(860) 486-0309
Office hours: Mondays 2-3 pm and by appointment
UConn has the privilege to host comprehensive Biodiversity Research collections encompassing the richness of the world's organisms. This course is designed to take advantage of this valuable resource. Students will learn about the types of specimens (spirit, skins, fossils, etc.), preparation techniques, and information that can be extracted from them.
Course Policies
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism and cheating are violations of the student conduct code, and may be punished by failure in the course or, in severe cases, dismissal from the University. For more information, see Section IV of the Student Conduct Code.
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, you should contact a course instructor and the Center for Students with Disabilities (Wilbur Cross Building, Room 201) within the first two weeks of the semester.
Project Paper:
First proposal [30 points];
Final (revised) proposal [50 points]
Project Presentations:
First proposal [30 points];
Final (revised) proposal [50 points]
Paper discussions:
4 papers at 5 points each [20 points]
Curatorial work arranged with the Vertebrate Collections Manager: Sue Hochgraf email@example.com 860-486-8945
4 hours at 5 points per hour [20 points]
Total: [200 points]
Grading scale: A = 100-90%, B = 89-80%, C = 79-70%, D = 69-60%, F = 59-0%. Plus/minus system will be used for the final grade.
Lecture Schedule & Materials
|Jan 30
|Introduction, goals, and grading. Museums and Research Collections
|Meeting place: Collections Library
|Feb 6
|Exploring UConn collections I: Spirit, round, and pinned specimens
|Morphological variation in vanishing Mexican desert fishes of the genus Characodon (Goodeidae).pdf
|UConn Research Collections Policies
|Feb 13
|Exploring UConn collections II: Skeletons, eggs, feathers, and plants
|Modelling habitat-suitability using museum collections- an example with three sympatric Apodemus species from the Alps.pdf
|Feb 20
|Preparation techniques, curatorial work, and data collection protocols
|Feb 27
|Presentations of project ideas and proposed methodology
|Mar 6
|Project pilot work I
|Mar 13
|Project pilot work II
|Mar 20
|Spring recess
|Mar 27
|Presentations of modified project ideas and definite methodology
|Apr 3
|Submission of the projects written proposals. Project work I
|Apr 10
|Submission of the projects written proposals. Project work II
|Apr 17
|Submission of the projects written proposals. Project work III
|Apr 24
|Project work IV
|May 1
|Project final presentations
|May 8
|Final submission of the project written proposals