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Gingerbread Muffins (V & GF)
First, the unadorned version:
I have a fondness for cake. Gingerbread has always been one of my favorites, as is carrot cake. There's just something about the sweet and spicy all in one bite that I find hard to resist.
Back over the holidays, I spotted a bottle of molasses at Aldi, and ever since I bought it I've been wanting to make my favorite gingerbread, which is based on an old Cooking Light recipe. I don't often have eggs around, and since both siblings are no longer eating gluten, I wound up veganizing these and making them gluten free (no one will ever know if you don't tell them). A couple of notes--I like these as muffins because they are portioned out and easy to grab. And, really, who doesn't love the extra crust? These are just fine, too, without powdered sugar on top or you could go wild and frost them as you wish. Also, I didn't bother with the cloves and threw in a dash of Vietnamese Cinnamon, but that's just me.
Gingerbread Muffins
Makes 8 robust muffins
1/4 c. hot water
1 T. (heaping) of flax meal
1/4 cup coconut oil (or you can use whatever oil or shortening you like)
1/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup plant milk (I used vanilla soy)
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour mix
1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Powdered sugar (optional)
My cooking has been a bit different of late because of a few factors, including travel and lots of holiday visits (Thanksgiving at my mom's house, Christmas at D's dad's house). Another change here has been that I finally decided that though it seems like a luxury I would try out KC Organics Door-to-Door. So, a lot of the cooking I've been doing has been dictated by what I get in the box. If you live in KC, Chicago, Colorado, Michigan, or Milwaukee, you might give this service a try. Here's why:
So, what seemed like a luxury at first has turned out to be pretty cost effective, really. I have yet to price things out, but I don't think I could buy non-organic and get the variety I get in a box and spend less. Check out the site and you'll see some samples of what the different boxes contain.
As a result, I've been letting the box dictate what I cook in a way. That led to Sicilian Chard over Quinoa and Spinach Potato Tacos this week. Both of these recipes are keepers. I will admit that I made a few adjustments in the chard recipe--I used a bunch of chard and a bunch of Lacinato kale because that's what was in my fridge. The kale also helped cut the earthy taste of the chard (which I like, but it can be overwhelming). I would think kale alone would be fine if you don't like chard. Also, dark raisins were what I have and I used walnuts for the pine nuts. Because my preserved lemons were done and this dish is very tagine-like (olives, dried fruit, quinoa is very couscous like), I decided to chop one up and use it. Incredibly tasty!
The Spinach-Potato Tacos are from the folks at Forks Over Knives and they are quite tasty. I didn't have any cilantro, but I did have a jar of green salsa that went well with these. I also can recommend the FoK app for your phone. It's great if you are in the store and need to figure out what to cook for dinner so you can grab the ingredients. They add new recipes every week, too, so if you balk at the $4.99 price tag just know the app will grow over time.
A guest post today from my sister Debbie, who is working on cleaning gluten out of her diet. You can see her blog here. Enjoy! --Angel
Recently, my husband was told he might be a Celiac. Looking at the laundry list of symptoms, I came to realize I actually seem to have a lot more of the symptoms than he does. Adding to that, I am the one who cooks and largely shops for the kitchen. I would much rather just adapt to living gluten-free than have to fix food for each of us, and I have been tinkering around with some gluten-free ("GF") cooking--mainly trying to bake breads. I haven't had what I consider much success. The breads are dense and sometimes come out wet in the middle and well-done on the outside.
We donated unopened gluten-containing food items to the local Salvation Army food kitchen and distributed partially used items to friends and family who don't have any problems. It was a LOT of stuff. When you start thinking of cutting gluten from your diet, it becomes clear just how ubiquitous gluten is in our foodstuffs. Before this latest transition, we had been following a largely plant-based diet for the past two years. Getting rid of gluten cuts quite a range of vegetarian meat replacements out of one's diet. But not to fret, we will endure this as well.
Anway, I was commiserating with my spouse about the lost joys of pizza, french bread...you get the idea. I was searching the internet for recipes and came across one for Farinata Genovese on www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com. The recipe is an adaptation from one of Mark Bittman's recipes. Farinata is a Ligurian (province of Italy) flatbread made with chickpea flour. It's very simple as you basically mix a little chickpea flour with water, salt, and olive oil and let it rest for at least an hour and up to 12 hours. I'm thinking that since I loved the recipe letting it sit for an hour, I wonder what letting it sit for 12 will do for it. Ok, on with the cooking!
Farinata Genovese with Eggplant, Squash, and Peppers
1 cup Chickpea Flour
1-3/4 cup Water
3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt or 1/2 teaspoon Table Salt
1 teaspoon, ground Black Pepper
At least 5 tablespoons Olive oil, divided (I used my garlic-infused olive oil)
1/2 large Onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary
1 eggplant, sliced
1 zucchini squash, sliced
1 yellow crookneck squash, sliced
3-5 small brightly colored sweet peppers, sliced
garlic powder
smoked mozzarella cheese (or cheese/vegan cheese of choice)
1. Mix the chickpea flour with the salt. While whisking, add 2 TBS of the oil and then slowly add the water. Once mixed, cover and let the mixture sit for at least 1 hour up to 12.
2. While the chickpea mixture is resting, prepare your mise en place. Wash and discard the ends of the eggplant. Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds. Lay the eggplant onto a platter and lightly salt the tops of each layer when building the platter. Treat the squash the same way as you did the eggplant but add some garlic powder as well as salt.
3. Heat about 1 TBS of the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet and spread it around. When the skillet is hot, add one layer of squash to the skillet and saute about 1 minute. Flip the squash and cook another minute. You are looking for a nice sear on each piece. Place the cooked squash on a clean platter. Proceed in this manner until all the squash is cooked. You may have to add 1 TBS of olive oil between each batch.
4. Cook the eggplant in the same manner as the squash until all the eggplant is cooked.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F for at least 8 minutes.
6. Add about 3 TBS of olive oil to the skillet and saute the thinly sliced onion until brown and caramelized but not burnt, about 1-2 minutes. Spread the onions evenly over the bottom of the skillet.
7. Stir the chickpea mixture and add directly over the onions in the skillet and swirl to make sure it covers the entire bottom of the skillet.
8. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and the center is cooked.
10. Bring the skillet out and sprinkle the ground black pepper and rosemary over the baked farinata. Drizzle olive oil over the base. Layer the seared eggplant over the base. Layer the squash over the eggplant. Spread the cut peppers over the squash. Grate enough smoked mozzarella cheese to make a thin covering over all the vegetables.
11. Return to the oven and bake an additional 8 minutes at 400°.
12. Cut the finished farinata and serve in wedges while hot.
4-8 servings; serve with a crisp green salad with a lovely balsamic vinegarette. Buon appetito!
Who's dishing?
Angel lives in Camden, Arkansas where she writes stuff and sometimes sends it out to other people to read. She used to grade papers, but not anymore. Check out her main site to see what she's up to lately.
November 2017


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You can't keep a good spy down, but you can dig deeper into his past. In a red carpet interview with Matt Damon, Empire learned that the next Bourne film is looking like it will be a prequel. Says Damon:
"There'll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one," he said, "just because I think we're probably another five years away from doing it – we've got to get a script…"
This sounds like more of a stopgap than a real Bourne movie. Maybe it's because I'm too attached to the Damon/Greengrass mix but I'm not sure what a prequel has to offer. The whole point of the Bourne trilogy is Jason Bourne's attempt to discover his past. By the end of The Bourne Ultimatum, we know what happened to him and so any new ground would probably just be a random mission featuring the character. On the bright side, we could see his training process and how he learned to kill someone with a rolled up magazine.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Advantis Medical Imaging provides advanced web based software solutions in the field of MR Imaging. More specifically, Advantis offers a highly sophisticated, web based and user friendly post processing and 3D visualisation software suite named "Brainance", for the processing of three different brain MRI exams: Diffusion, Perfusion and Functional MRI.
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Our dedicated team works every day to ensure that everything works fine. We can assist you with any technical issue you may encounter. Remote and efficient technical support.
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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'biography' tag.
"Sometimes I'm so bloody sweet, even I can't stand it." – Julie Andrews
I'll admit it – I'm a musical theatre geek. Give me Sondheim over the Stereophonics, Cole Porter over Coldplay…you get the idea. I came out to my parents after watching Mary Poppins, aged four, by explaining that when I grew up I was going to marry Julie Andrews. My mother, liberal soul that she is, explained very kindly that Julie was already married. Later on, at school, my R.E teacher sat us down in front of The Sound of Music and said, "Girls, these are your two choices in life – God or Chrisopher Plummer." Even as a good little convent girl, I was thinking "Screw that, I want Fraulein Maria." So it was probably inevitable that I was going to snap up Home: A Memoir of My Early Years as soon as it hit the shops. Having spent an evening devouring it, I'm glad I did – but it wasn't what I was expecting.
It's an account of the dying days of vaudeville and music hall, where Andrews spent the first decade of her career as a teenage singing sensation, travelling Britain with her mother and stepfather, before charting her meteroic ascent on Broadway and her eventual departure to L.A to transform herself into the practically perfect flying nanny who stole my four-year-old self's heart. With a "freakish, four-octave range" and an adult-sized larynx in a child's throat, she made her stage debut at the age of 12 and by her late teens was a child star, as well as the only breadwinner and sole owner of the family home. Moving from sad to horrifying to funny in the blink of an eye, Andrews describes a childhood of grim poverty and shabby showbusiness in a family ruled over by her unpredicatable, alcoholic stepfather Ted Andrews.
Someone – probably one of the analysts she refers to so frequently – once asked Andrews which parent she hated the most. Although quoting the question, she tactfully never answers it – but she doesn't really have to. Her parents' divorce during her early childhood both set her on the path for eventual stardom and left scars that she revisits sixty years later. The seperation from her real father, Ted Wells, gnaws at the first half of the book, made even more tragic by her mother's overbearing passive-aggression and descent into alcoholism, the sporadic physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather and the eventual revelation that Wells was not her biological father at all. By the time she steps onto the plane bound for New York and an outstanding turn as Polly Brown in The Boyfriend, the reader breathes a sigh of relief. 'Home' may, as she states in the book's opening lines, have been her first word, but it was a toxic environment that even now she can't quite bring herself to entirely condemn.
Broadway is the spoonful of sugar that makes the first half of the book easier to swallow – although both crippled with terrible homesickness and terrified that at any moment she would be recast (and thus sent back to her family), she never settled permanently in Britain again. She tackles the near-disaster of her first proper acting role and her difficult co-star Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady with guts, charm, and what Moss Hart called "that terrible British strength that makes you wonder how they ever lost India." Even then Andrews was gaining a reputation for hard work and a sweet personality, but she was never as wholesome as she would later be portrayed. She talks about tumbling into bed with a dashing transatlantic lover, and freely admits that had Richard Burton propositioned her earlier in the run of Camelot, she would probably have succumbed – despite being newly married to her childhood friend and first husband, Tony Walton. Although there is never any real scandal – and she does appear, by and large, to be as nice as you'd think – she politely but firmly knocks her Mary Poppins image on the head. Not for nothing was she nicknamed on the Sound of Music set as 'the nun with a switchblade'.
An early piece of advice by a director is right on the money – instead of camping it up for laughs, Andrews is at her best when she's entirely deadpan, spoofing her own image. It's something she uses to good effect in Home, whether she's describing with rapture how Cecil Beaton spent hours photographing her – only to admire his own handiwork and dismiss his subject as unphotogenic. And she recalls with glee how she left the stage one night, agreeing with her horrified co-stars that an unimpressed audience were "twats". In her defence, she explains, she hadn't known what the word meant – but after her husband explained, she still stood by it. She is dryly, wickedly funny and the sweeter a sentence begins, the raunchier the punchline you can expect.
The descriptions of her love of singing are bittersweet, and it is telling that the book stops decades before her final appearance on Broadway and the botched operation that ended her singing career. But rather than being a eulogy for a life she can no longer lead, Andrews uses her memoir to break the silence that has surrounded her early life and pristine reputation – leading the reader to wonder if, instead of losing her voice, Julie Andrews has finally found it.


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Personal Attorney, Russia Investigation
Marc E. Kasowitz is a New York lawyer representing President Trump in the Russia investigation. He also represents Sberbank, Russia's largest state-owned bank, and Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch and close friend of Vladimir Putin's who has done business with Paul Manafort. Trump has been working with Kasowitz for more than 15 years. The Washington Post places their first case together, Trump's Atlantic Casino debt restructuring, in 2001.
After former FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress in June 2017, Kasowitz threatened to file a complaint against him with the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department Inspector General, but Trump and his attorney have a history of threating lawsuit that they never file. Kasowitz accused Comey of making an "unauthorized disclosure of privileged information" in the form of notes he took after meeting with the President. After President Trump tweeted Comey better hope he didn't have tapes of their conversations, Comey gave his contemporaneous notes to a friend to share with the media.


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Rare Disease Poses Challenge for Mizzou Wrestler
COLUMBIA -- Missouri wrestling coach Brian Smith describes his 157 pounder Kyle Bradley as reserved and quiet, but expect him to make plenty of noise this season after two straight trips to the NCAA Championships.
Facing Kyle Bradley on the wrestling mat is a test.
"He has the talent to be an All-American National Champ. He's been beating some of the best people in the country," said Coach Brian Smith.
He won 25 matches last season but he doesn't overpower opponents.
Smith said, "He's going to finesse you and going to beat you with technique and he's getting better at that. He can wrestle that stronger guy but he's going to out technique them."
"That's funny that he said that because my little league coach strived on being a technician and hitting on a lot of repetitions and things like that and getting perfect technique," said Bradley
Perfect technique is necessary when you compete with a rare disease.
Bradley said, "I found out when I was young I would sit close to the TV and my parents would move me back and I'd move closer so they started taking me to eye doctor after eye doctor and finally found out I had this really rare disease."
It's called Retinoschisis. Surgery isn't an option and glasses don't help it much.
"It's like little blisters on my retina," said Bradley. "It's like having a pair of binoculars and not being able to focus in all the way."
"He's legally blind and he can't see. When we're in matches I always let him know the score and the time... how much is left on the scoreboard," Smith said.
Without the disease Bradley might never have found wrestling.
"He told me I couldn't play sports with a small ball so baseball was eliminated and he recommended wrestling and soccer," said Bradley.
"He's never let it bother him," Smith said. "That's the great thing about it. You would never know. He's out there wrestling and in public and you don't realize it."
After last season Bradley won the Wilma Rudolph Award. It honors student athletes who have overcome odds to achieve success.
"A lot of people told me what I could and couldn't do growing up." Bradley said, "Like I couldn't drive and they thought I'd be blind by now."
Instead he sees more than most because he doesn't see any limitations to what he can do.
Bradley said, "They thought by now I'd be blind and it would get gradually worse over time, but I've been lucky enough it's stayed the same."
"I think he's an inspiration to any kid with a disability. This is a disability, but he doesn't let it bother his life," said Smith.
The NCAA invited Bradley to speak at an upcoming convention in Dallas. Bradley will wrestle at a larger weight class this season, moving up from 149 to 157 pounds.


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Examining meaning. Examining emotion. Allowing handcrafts to have a dialogue.
January 28, 2012
I am proud to know handcrafters who push the boundaries of what is safe and acceptable in modern society. Crafting is an art and has a meaning behind it, and sometimes that meaning is not always beautiful. The beauty comes from examining those meanings and emotions, and evolving.
If you haven't had a chance to look at the guest post on Whipup by my lovely friend C, please do. And share your voice. The whole point is for us to talk about what language means to us.
I am proud of what she has started. I am proud to have a strong, thoughtful, and talented woman as a friend.


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BlueReg Group / Social Contribution
BlueReg takes pride in supporting Share and Fédération Française de Sport Adapté (FFSA) in France.
Share is a non-profit organisation engaged in the improvement of education, health and sustainable development.More details
Fédération Française de Sport Adapté (FFSA) promote physical and sports activities for people with intellectual disabilities and/or those suffering from mental illness. They promote development, self-confidence & control of one's body.More details


text: Is technology polarizing us? When was the last time you talked to the person next to you on a plane and made a connection with them, versus scrolling through your emails? When you Google something (e.g. a particular type of restaurant), were the results limited to what you already know and like, or were they serendipitous (e.g. let's just see what looks interesting)?


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General events
Opportunity sessions and briefings
With the support of the Queensland State Government, ICN conducts project opportunity seminars for suppliers and will be represented at a number of upcoming major conference events throughout Queensland. The purpose of the project opportunity seminars is to inform as many suppliers, particularly in the regions, of major project supply chain opportunities in their local area. ICN works with government and private sector major infrastructure, industrial, energy and resources projects to analyse engineering and procurement specifications to provide capable and competitive local supply options. At these seminars, local suppliers will be informed about:
major government infrastructure and industrial projects in the region (presentations also given by local major project proponents)
how ICN can help your business to access project opportunities
the Queensland Local Industry Policy and the benefits for your business.
Other event listings
QMI Solutions event listings
Information relating to events and seminars that are coming up in Queensland through QMI Solutions, can be viewed at the QMI events page or email firstname.lastname@example.com if you have any queries about ICN events, including the Bid Preparation and Tendering Workshops.
Townsville and North West Queensland Regional Development Australia (RDA) event listings
Other regional events and webinars relating to strategic economic, social and environmental objectives, can be viewed at the Regional Development Australia page.


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How to Make Fennel Tea Using Seeds
Making Fennel Tea
If your experience of making tea is only using a teabag, I'll show you how simple it is to make fennel tea from seeds. Don't be misled by sites which say you have to grind the seeds; you don't need to do this which makes it even easier.
When I make fennel tea, I normally make half a teapot. That will give me enough for two large mugs of tea. I fill a medium-sized saucepan a third full of tap water. This is about 20 ounces or 600 ml.
Into this, I sprinkle two teaspoons of fennel seeds. These seeds are left whole as in the photo below. I don't grind them or crush them. I cover the pan and bring this to a boil. Once the tea has boiled, it will have a greenish hue, and the anise smell will tell you that the seeds are reacting with the boiling water.
I pour the boiled water and seeds into my teapot. My teapot has an internal strainer, which is called an infuser, that prevents any particles passing through into my cup. If you don't have this type, a simple tea strainer will work.
That's all there is to making fennel tea. You don't need to try and source fresh fennel bulbs; there is no chopping or pounding involved and no mess! I just tip the boiled seeds into my compost bin.
Although I don't sweeten my tea, you can use a sweetener such as sugar, honey, agave, or stevia.
Since arriving in Brazil, I've been introduced to many different things, one of which was making various medicinal teas. Don't get hung up on the term medicinal because you don't have to be ill to enjoy a cup of fennel tea.
When I looked on the internet about fennel tea, most of the pages I saw were using the fine leaves or cutting up the bulb and making tea with this. For me, this wasn't helpful because in all the time I have lived here, I have never seen the bulb for sale. I live in a provincial area and rarely go to a large supermarket.
For me, using the seeds was the only option. Here too, I looked on the internet and was surprised to see people weren't making the tea the same way I was. I don't crush the seeds, as it's unnecessary.
Medicinal Uses of Fennel
Fennel has been used for centuries in many countries for its curative properties. Some of these have documented studies to back up fennel's effectiveness, and some are passed down through the generations.
I personally drink it as a warming tea but have made it for people who visit and complain of feeling nauseous. For me, I have seen benefits to digestion problems in myself and my children. When I lived in the UK, I bought gripe water which is sold as a traditional remedy for intestinal wind and colic. Gripe water is made with a base of fennel. Sometimes it contains ginger, lemon balm, and even charcoal to help soothe a baby who is irritable due to having a tummy ache or trapped wind.
That is as far as I will go without seeing concrete studies proving more.
I have seen wild unsubstantiated claims that it will:
- Burn fat by speeding up the metabolism
- Help with weight loss because of its diuretic properties
- Clean the kidneys
- Treat liver disease
The list goes on and on, and although I search those pages for references of medical sites confirming their validity, there doesn't seem to be research data to back up these claims.
A Cure for Toad Venom
Here in Brazil, fennel tea has other uses. A few years ago, we had an incident where my husband was removing cane toads from our farm. Cane toads secrete a poisonous substance when they feel threatened, and some of this hit my husband in the eye. He quickly rinsed his eyes, but he still felt there was something wrong. I drove him to the hospital where a doctor examined his eyes. He said there was no permanent damage.
After speaking with a friend who was a nurse here in Brazil, she came over to help my husband. The first thing she did was to put fennel seeds in a pan of water for tea. She carefully rinsed the eyes with a gentle eye wash solution and then applied human breast milk using an eye dropper! Apparently, here in the rural area, I live in, the application of breast milk to eye problems is normal. Needless to say, I was surprised but thankful for this local knowledge.
She said that the milk would neutralize the venom and the drinking of the fennel tea would remove toxins from the body because of its diuretic properties.
My husband suffered no long-term effects from his ordeal other than remembering to be more careful when removing them.
After reading this will you be making fennel tea?
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
© 2018 Mary Wickison
I may try the tea but I think I will skip the toad venom. The toad can keep that for himself.
The fennel seed cure for toad venom is new to me. We do make fennel seed tea. It is great for relieving a stomachache and toning up the digestive system.
We, like you, use the whole seeds to make fennel tea. A mix of fennel seeds and mishri is an excellent digestive and mouth freshener. Restaurants in our country serve it after meals.
Useful information.
Interesting, Mary. I have never been a tea drinker at all until just recently. I have been drinking Chamomile herbal tea for several months to help the pain of my trigeminal neuralgia. I do use a tea bag. I have been reading more and more articles about the benefits of different teas. I have always been a coffee drinker, but my mindset is changing.
I normally make this for my kids and I drink it sometimes,, it's good for indigestion as well, when my kids complain of tummy pain, I give them one tea spoon of this.
Thanks for sharing the benefits of using it.Didn't know about all these.
Very interesting read.
I love the taste of fennel and eat it. Most people toss the tops above the bulb but I add it to soups and the fennel fronds to salads, etc. I have fennel seeds in our spice cupboard and will definitely be making some fennel tea after reading this.
Now I am curious as to why your husband would be removing cane toads from your property. Glad his eyes were not damaged and the "cures" were certainly interesting.
I will have to give this tea a try as I see how much benefit it is to the body.
I'm just now getting to this but wow was this fascinating in so many ways. I like fennel and will be experimenting with making the tea. And those cane toads in Brazil sound awful but just as curious is the idea of having someone's breastmilk in your eye as a solution.
Definitely someday maybe I'll try fennel tea, if they sell fennel here in Michigan. A local teas and chocolates shop, called Chocolatea, sells dozens of kinds of teas. I'll see if they have any made from fennel.
Thanks, Mary. This article is a life saver for me. I've got fennel seeds but didn't quite know what to do with them. Now I do. The weight loss benefits make it attractive.
I'm definitely going to try this. Thanks so much for the info. The tea sounds amazing.
I will definitely try this. I like the smell of fennel seeds and the bonus of helping with metabolism is what I need now.
I've never tried fennel tea before, but it sounds really nice to make. I'll give this a go, thankyou.
Mary your article was highly informative and well structured making a good read. The rural area you live sounds a fantastic place to live also. I am into learning any natural ingredients which detox the body and aids in eliminating waste, and have never looked deeply into fennel before.
Thanks for sharing, have a great day
Regards, Dale
This actually grows wild in our backyard, so I think I'll give this a try. Thanks, Mary!
I never realized that fennel could be made into a tea. But since I drink a lot of tea (mainly green), I'll definitely have to try this out one day. Thanks for sharing with us and have a great weekend!
Thanks for this idea Mary. Nowadays I seem to have constant digestive problems, so it's worth trying fennel tea. We eat fennel bulbs in our house - in fact had some sliced into a stir fry yesterday evening. I like the slightly aniseed taste. It's a long time since I heard gripe water mentioned! Used to give it to my eldest son when he was a baby, but never checked the list of ingredients.
Great tip. Thanks!


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The 'Scarlet Letter' murder mystery
Beth Barnard was having an affair with her married boss, which police believe is the reason the letter "A" was brutally carved into her chest.
She lived with her parents on idyllic Phillip Island, a five-thousand-strong beach community, and worked as a farmhand for the Camerons, a well-liked and wealthy family from the area. Fergus Cameron was a founding shareholder of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, a lucrative venture, but nevertheless he continued working for the family farm.
It soon became common knowledge to numerous townsfolk that 23-year-old Barnard and 36-year-old Fergus Cameron were engaged in an illicit relationship, complicated by Cameron's marriage and his two sons.
His wife, Vivienne Cameron, had started to hear the rumours.
On the evening of September 22, 1986, Fergus left work early and spent a few hours at Beth's parents' house, taking advantage of the fact they were out of town. During this time his wife Vivienne called the farmhouse and ascertained that he wasn't at work like he'd claimed he'd be. Evidence of Fergus's affair was starting to become undeniable and, as she waited for her husband, she stewed.
At 9.20pm, Fergus returned home and Vivienne confronted him about the affair. Blindsided, he confessed all. In a fit of rage, she smashed a wine glass across his head and back, causing injuries so severe, she needed to take him to hospital. The pair arranged for Fergus's sister Marnie and her husband Ian to come around and watch the two kids.
Marnie and Ian were greeted with a blood-and-glass strewn house, which they dutifully cleaned up.
The couple returned from the hospital about 12.30am, in a much calmer state. Discussing their splintered marriage, the pair decided to divorce. Given the Camerons were a prominent family on Phillip Island, it was decided Fergus would stay there with the kids; Vivienne would move back to Melbourne and stay with her parents, while she figured out her next move.
She dropped Fergus off at his sister's house and returned home.
About 3am, Robin Dixon's husband was woken by a phone call.
Robin's friend Vivienne Cameron was on the phone, requesting the pair come over to look after her children while she took her husband to the hospital - a trip that actually happened hours earlier. Robin agreed to the request and arrived at the house to find both adults gone, with the children sleeping soundly. Robin noticed Vivienne had left her purse behind. This would become a relevant piece of information.
According to the official timeline, shortly after making the call to Robin, Vivienne hopped into her husband's Toyota LandCruiser and made her way to Beth's house.
The LandCruiser was seen by Beth's neighbour about 3.30am, then was next spotted about 5am at the Phillip Island Bridge, where it would stay until police located it 10 hours later. When they examined the vehicle they found it contained, among other items, two packets of cigarettes, a carving knife and a face washer covered in blood.
Fergus was woken at his sister's house the next morning by a call from Robin, asking why Vivienne had not yet returned for the children. Fergus's thoughts turned to his mistress, Beth, and the violent fight with his wife the previous night. Rather than check on her himself, he asked his brother Don and brother-in-law Ian to pay her a visit.
The scene Don and Ian walked in on was truly horrific. Beth Barnard's nightgown had been lifted up to her neck, and her body bore the results of numerous frenzied slash and stab marks. Her throat had been deeply sliced, and an unmistakeable "A" had been carved into her chest.
"You're talking about four slashes one way, 10 slashes the other and five across. That's not just someone gently carving an A," former detective Rory O'Connor, who headed up the investigation, explained to True Crime Scene.
Her hands had defensive cuts on them and paper towels near the bathroom sink were stained with blood, as was much of the house. A knife had been disposed of near her body. A few stray cigarette butts were found, suggesting the killer was in no real rush to leave; nor were they particularly concerned about covering their tracks.
One thing was clear. This murder was personal.
"This was a vicious and frenzied attack," O'Connor continued.
"It was personal all right. There is no doubt about intent whatsoever."
The "A" carved on her chest was of most interest. Police theorised that this was a reference to The Scarlet Letter: A Romance, the decidedly unromantic 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel centres on a young woman who gives birth to a baby out of wedlock. Her public trial involves her having to wear a scarlet "A" on her chest for the rest of her life - a sign to the community that she was an adulteress.
The connection to Beth Barnard's affair was clear. Vivienne Cameron quickly became the obvious suspect.
As police searched for Vivienne, they came across her LandCruiser parked near the bridge - knife and blood inside - but saw no sight of Vivienne.
She was never seen alive again and, considering where her car was parked, the previous evening's revelations, the hospital visit and the evidence in the car, it was assumed Vivienne Cameron murdered Beth Barnard, then drove to the bridge where she killed herself in the early hours.
"I am satisfied that (Vivienne Cameron) is dead and that she leapt from the San Remo Bridge into the water below, and I am satisfied that the deceased contributed to the cause of (Barnard's) death," coroner BJ Maher found in 1988.
The case was closed, and the Cameron family were allowed to carry on with their lives.
Still, doubts remained, and continue to plague the residents of the small island.
One phone call completely throws out the official timeline police were working with.
Glenda Frost received a phone call about 10am on September 23, a call she swears was from Vivienne Cameron. This call came five hours after Cameron's vehicle was first spotted near the bridge, when it is presumed she leapt to her death. Frost is adamant it was Cameron. The pair spoke about sewing patterns and of details that only Cameron knew. Cameron also maintained she hadn't mixed the days or time up, as a friend had visited that morning who confirmed the details.
Vivienne's purse, the one seen inside her house by Robin Dixon, was also found inside the LandCruiser, further muddying the official timeline. It would have had to have been placed in the vehicle sometime in the hours leading up to the Landcruiser's discovery at 4pm.
DNA testing done during the 1990s did find the blood on the handle of the knife at the crime scene belonged to Vivienne, yet none of Vivienne's DNA was on or around Beth's body. The only places Vivienne's DNA was recovered were on isolated items: a towel, a knife and on the cigarette butts found in the house.
The towel found in the bathroom contained Vivienne's blood, yet none of Beth's. If Vivienne had murdered Beth in such a brutal fashion, then used this towel to clean up, it seems impossible this towel would contain none of Beth's blood.
Vivienne's blood was also found in the Cameron house, despite hospital records stating she was not treated during their visit, with only Fergus being seen to. This blood would have had to appear sometime after 12.30am.
New Zealand true crime show Sensing Murder sent a private investigator to Phillip Island in 2006. While the show's main premise - charging three physics with speaking to the dead murder victims to help solve cold cases - is decidedly unscientific, the investigator uncovered a lot of evidence that blasts holes in the official version of the story.
The investigator found it odd that no other reported suicides had ever been registered at the bridge and that Vivienne's body failed to be found in the waters below, despite an extensive search.
He uncovered recordings of Beth describing a former partner who was stalking her just before she was murdered. She didn't seem scared by the man's attention, more amused, but he followed her around, waited outside her house on various occasions, left her flowers - and left Phillip Island shortly after her murder.
Police say they cleared this suspect, who has never been publicly named.
Most shocking was a piece of paper with Beth's blood on it that the private investigator said was found in another Phillip Island home. This paper was seen in the house before midnight, hours before Beth was claimed to have been killed, again throwing out the official timeline.
Details of the witness, the DNA results, and the house were legally suppressed, so the veracity of this final detail remains uncertain.
Still, it all casts doubt on whether Vivienne acted alone. Or at all.
Author Vikki Petraitis, who wrote the 1993 book The Phillip Island Murder, became fascinated with the case after attending a professional development course to help teachers better aid the children of divorce. She was told the story of Vivienne Cameron, the premise being that her own parents' separation later triggered her mental breakdown upon the dissolution of her own marriage. It seemed to Petraitis like a straightforward premise for a book.
"Woman snaps, girlfriend is murdered, woman suicides," she tells news.com.au.
"But a closer inspection revealed it to be so much more complicated and not as clear as it first seemed. There are so many theories and all we know is that we don't know what really happened on the night. What we do know is that the official version doesn't really make sense."
Petraitis visited Phillip Island to interview locals and research the case, but was met with a curious level of resistance, and a climate of fear.
"When I first went to the island to start my research, I was warned off writing the book, so I knew from the start there would be opposition", she explains.
"What kept me going were the people who were willing to speak to me off the record about how they felt justice hadn't been done. They certainly felt that if the official version was correct, Vivienne had acted out of character. The case also brings up the question: would a woman commit that kind of brutal crime? Could a woman hold on to murderous rage for seven hours?"
This aspect of the crime seems to most fascinate the public. Petraitis tells news.com.au that although her book came out over 25 years ago, she is still regularly contacted by those with theories on what happened. But, as she explains, "The police can't act on theories. They can only act on facts and evidence."
While researching her book, she contacted the forensic scientist who originally examined the evidence from the crime scene. He revealed his uncertainty that the knife found near Beth's body - the one that DNA testing later found to contain Vivienne's blood on the handle - was actually the one used in the murder, pointing out the double cuts on her clothing were inconsistent with the blade.
This suggests a separate murder weapon, and possibly planted evidence, containing Vivienne's blood. Add this to the locals' unease at being interviewed for her book, and it would seem there are those who may know more than they are letting on.
"Many refused to be interviewed when I first wrote the book," Petraitis recalls. "Some would only be interviewed off the island. It seemed like people were scared to speak about it. I have no idea why."
When the book was published, Phillip Island bookstores refused to stock it. An excerpt ran in The Sunday Age, which local newsagencies and corner stores wouldn't sell.
Luckily, time has made those on the island more open to discussion.
"Thirty years later, people are much more willing to talk. It is still a topic of regular conversation among many locals," Petraitis says.
"People need an ending to the case that makes sense. They need to feel justice has been done."
Fergus Cameron still lives on Phillip Island and is deputy chair of Destination Phillip Island, the tourism organisation tasked with attracting holiday makers to the beautiful, peaceful destination. News.com.au does not suggest Fergus Cameron had anything to do with Beth Barnard's murder.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14


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Take the pressure of designing your dream home from scratch off of you and let us do the hard work. Choose from one of our plans and you're one step ahead. We have several layouts from which to choose. You won't be disappointed in these beautiful designs.
Custom Build
Whether you have a few ideas, a plot of land, or even if you have the plans and just need a general contractor and builder, Anderson Leonarkis Construction is the company for you! We will even help you customize the plans you have to create a home that is uniquely yours.
Already have the house, but wish to make it your dream home? We will add on to your existing structure or remodel to create the living space you desire. Our renovation construction services include additions, kitchen and bath remodels, updating your outdoor living with new outside structures and entertaining spaces, as well as total home window replacement, roofing or siding.


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Our Story
Croft Carbon College is a project designed by Leith Community Crops in Pots.
"Peas, Love and Bumblebees"
The Croft Carbon College is a Climate Challenge Funded community education project led by Leith Community Crops in Pots which will become a local centre for raising environmental awareness within the community, providing accessible and engaging courses and community events that encourage Leithers to take both personal and collective action to create a happy, healthy, leafy Leith.
The delivery of the course programme will be a collaboration between the expertise of LCCiP staff and complimentary organisations and educators focused on other areas of environmental sustainability. We hope this method will help foster a resilient and collaborative approach between local organisations and individuals working to enhance the environmental skills and confidence of the Leith community.
Year 1 of the college, consisting of three terms and commencing in August 2018, will be treated as a pilot with courses delivered on a low-cost trial basis. In order to ensure the college meets the needs and interest of the Leith community,
we will be undertaking regular engagement and consultation throughout to get feedback from both course participants and the wider community.
Running alongside the delivery of courses in terms 1-2 will be the development of an accessible 'croft carbon college app', which we hope to launch in term 2. The app will enable future college course participants to personally track their carbon footprint in an easy manner whilst also having access to a bank of hints and tips to help them on their journey.
In the first year, the majority of activities will be delivered from our Croft office or outdoors on the croft with some use of nearby community buildings or partnership spaces. From year 2/3 the aim is for the college to be delivered from the refurbished Croft Pavilion, subject to development.
Meet Our Team
Evie Murray
Roxana Romero
Justus Wachs
Catherine Kwella
Volunteering Opportunities
Interested in supporting your community to go green and looking to gain some new skills?
We are currently recruiting for a variety of volunteer roles to support the activities of the Croft Carbon College over the next year. The following is an example of the roles we're currently recruiting for, but we are always interested in hearing from individuals who can add value through other skills or experience –
- Communications
- Film-making
- Events organising
- Data recording/research
- General support for the team (can be done as job shadowing)
You don't need to have a lot of experience in these areas as long as you can demonstrate your enthusiasm and passion for our cause and are keen to gain skills and experience in your role of interest.
There are also plenty of opportunities to join as a single events volunteer or to collaborate with us on your own projects. To find out more or to organise a meeting with our team to discuss a potential role please get in touch via email@example.com.
More information about volunteering for the wider charity and associated projects can be found here (insert link to volunteer page on LCCiP site) or by emailing email@example.com.
If you have any questions, please email us on email@example.com and our team will be in touch with you as soon as they can.
Our Partners
The Croft Carbon College is funded by the Climate Challenge Fund –


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A majority of Americans think President Obama's $447 biillion proposal to create jobs will not actually help lower the unemployment rate, according to a poll released Wednesday by Bloomberg.
And his overall approval rating on the economy fell to 33 percent from 39 percent in June. His approval rating on the economy was 43 percent in March.
His economic disapproval ratings rose to 67 percent from 57 percent in June and 52 percent in March.
Those are grim numbers for the White House and the trend is clearly going in the wrong direction just as the campaign season heats up.
Core Support Decline
Of the respondents who said they've supported Obama at one point since he launched his presidential campaign in 2007, fewer than half say they still support him as fervently.
Thirty-seven percent say their support has waned and 19 percent say he lost their backing because they've grown disappointed or angry with his leadership.
Almost a third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents say they'd like to see Obama face a primary challenge.
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20105949-503544.html


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New update for the stable version of WhatsApp for Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S, Note, Tab, Ace, Mini, Nexus or any other Samsung device with Android. This is version 2.9.1035, which fixes the bug where an error occurred in the service notification date.
If you're not from this planet and still not know what this is, we say that WhatsApp for Samsung you can send free messages to other users, even between different mobile platforms. When you install the application, simply open it to work properly. We need a network connection via Wifi or 3G.
WhatsApp for Samsung is free for 1 year, after free trial period we can purchase service for $0.99 USD/year.
Changelog WhatsApp for Samsung Android v2.9.1035:
- bug fix for service notification incorrect date of 1974 and 2110
WhatsApp for Samsung is available on Google Play for free.
Download | Google Play
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With millions of blogs already on the web, and new ones getting in on the act, blogging is an activity that sees a mind-boggling investment of cumulative time and effort. But while all blogs are started with a degree of passion, only some succeed.
But first, what is the definition of a successful blogger? The best way to deem a blogger a success is if he or she is able to make a living out of blogging. But very few people are able to do this. It's not as easy as it looks to create substantial, unique content that will attract plenty of traffic. To be a successful blogger, you need to understand that there is a lot of information and resources available on the internet and you need to be a cut above the rest. You need to write about things that you know about and are passionate about rather than content you think others want to read. Once you have focus you'll be able to define your target audience and then write for them, providing relevant and valuable information about your subjects.
Yet, there are also some blogs with great content that don't succeed in generating revenue.
To be a booming blogger, it is significant you understand that why other bloggers fail.
1. Launching too soon
Imagine this: You are surfing the net, looking for information on how to, say, increase your cat's IQ. You find this one blog post that gives you amazing insights and leaves you hungry for more information on bringing up a super-pet. But you find nothing there. It's just that one stellar post. What will be your reaction? Will you wait around another article or look elsewhere to find out more about puzzles that will bring kitty closer to winning that Nobel? It's likely that you will move on. Thus, it is very important that you launch your blog only when it has a substantial number of articles quench your readers' curiosity.
2. Lagging behind on promotions
After put together a good collection of interesting content and launch your blog, you can just sit back and wait for the traffic to arrive, right? Wrong. You cannot assume that your content has magnetic powers. You need to spread the word about your blog to let people know about its existence.
One of the major reasons why blogs fail is that bloggers do not look at them as a business. Like any other business, you need to do the right marketing for success. There are plenty of avenues: social media marketing, enabling e-mail subscriptions, joining online communities and forums and building up a web presence, replying to comments on your blogs and leaving behind yours on others' blogs.
3. Hoarding content
You may have figured out how to write quality posts targeted to your niche audiences, but don't keep all the good stuff to yourself - distribute it. Failure to share their content on other popular sites is one of the major reasons many bloggers fail to see success. As a rough guideline, publish seven-eight posts on your website per month and the rest of the time, publish guest posts on other popular sites. This helps in increasing your online presence, much needed for a blogger.
4. Letting blogs get stale
Many people don't bother with the minor maintenance that most blogs need. Some simple updates, tweaks and changes can be performed in a matter of few clicks. You do not require much technical knowledge of such things. Keep your blog current and relevant even if they've been posted a while ago.
5. Giving up too easily
One of the big reasons many bloggers fail is that they do not try. If you really have the passion and desire to be a successful writer then get started. You can succeed only if you try.
Make sure you try to engage with "real" people to populate "real writing" which is based on true experiences with which people can engage. It will make you a better writer and thus, more likely to succeed.


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To find out more about the Inspired Metastatic Breast Cancer Quilt, please visit and "Like" www.facebook.com/IMBCAPPP
Supporters are now helping to
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Every year October becomes Pink! Pink for the cause, Pink for the cure! Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer has no cure! This message is a fallacy! Over 40,000 women and men will die each year as the breast cancer in one's early stage morphed to stage 4 and spread to distant parts of the body. The message is clear-The Metastatic breast cancer community receive's less than 3% funding for stage 4…
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OSCAR-winning actor Cate Blanchett, 49, shared an amusing anecdote when she appeared on Britain's The Jonathan Ross Show last weekend.
Along with espousing the delights of living in the English countryside with her family and their two pigs, Benson and Hedges, Blanchett shared that she'd once been invited to Buckingham Palace for lunch — but the Aussie Oscar winner was not sure why she'd been invited.
Although Blanchett didn't specify when the visit to Buckingham Palace occurred, it seems it might have been in 1999, around the release of Elizabeth, in which she starred as Queen Elizabeth I, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Blanchett's comic tale was inspired by stories that Paul Whitehouse and Ray Winstone, also guests on the show, shared about Prince Philip driving past their film set in his Range Rover and declining to meet anyone. Winstone revealed that Prince Philip had rather unceremoniously declined his offer to meet Sir Michael Caine.
This prompted Blanchett to launch into her own story or her encounter with the Duke of Edinburgh, enthralling her fellow guests, which included Joanna Lumley and Jack Black.
The Aussie actor, who has developed a reputation for her outspoken and mischievous media appearances — as well as some positively larrikin turns on US talk shows — revealed, "I went to their house once for lunch and there were twelve of us, and I couldn't work out for the life of me why I'd been invited.
"I played Queen Elizabeth, and I'm sitting next to her [Queen Elizabeth II], and maybe she's seen the movie and wants to ask me about my interpretation, and I sat next to him [Prince Philip] and he said, 'Oh I hear you're an actor' and I said, 'Yeah, that's right' and he said, 'Well I was given a DVD player for Christmas and I can't work out whether I put the green cord in or the red cord in'," said Blanchett hilariously.
"And I said, 'Well, sir it's really not my area of expertise. I thought, 'He's invited me to lunch to tell me about his DVD player'.''
At the time, Prince Philip, who is now 97, appeared not to recognise the rising star. Now retired from public life, the Duke still attends occasional engagements with the Queen.
As for Blanchett, she has played her fair share of royalty, reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth I in The Golden Age, and as Galadriel, queen of the elves in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
An international, multi-award-winning A-list actor, Blanchett has achieved a level of grandness today that makes Prince Philip's request even more outlandish than it was at the time.


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New OUSD Community Resource Guide
Posted 11/12/19
Oceanside Unified School District recently compiled a list of all our local partners who help meet families' needs in areas from health and wellness to after school care. These partners play an integral role in achieving our goal of removing any barriers to education. This list was created as a resource for parents, guardians, staff and community partners.
Please visit our Parent Resources website for a continually updated list of current programs and services.


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Amethyst Crystal Skull 65mm
Out of stock
Amethyst Crystal Skull 65mm
The amethyst crystal skulls is approximately 6.5cm wide (From front to back) and weighs approx. 224g.
Amethyst is a meditative and calming stone which works in the emotional, spiritual, and physical planes to promote calm, balance, and peace. It is also used to eliminate impatience. Amethyst is used as beneficial when dealing with legal problems and money issues, which can lead to prosperity and abundance, though it is not the best known prosperity stone.
Crystal Skulls
Ancient cultures were also aware that carving crystals into the shape of a human skull increased their power to affect healing and human consciousness on all levels. Crystal skulls are empowered by the natural healing properties inherent within different stones, which resonate at different frequencies of healing and consciousness.
Crystal skulls can be programmed and directed by desired intention for supporting the healing of oneself and others. One can work with specific stones for assistance with specific conditions, or one can work with an all-purpose crystal skull carved of clear quartz crystal.
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Last week I sent all three of my boys off to their first days of school.
Kaleb's first day
Nathan's first day (It was raining when he went to school...I didn't get many good pictures, and caused a mini traffic jam getting this one by shooting through the car window while in the junior high drop-off loop)
Jake's first day of school...he gets to drive himself this year!
I argued with Nathan's counselor. (The problem with his schedule is still not resolved.)
I listened very solemnly to Kaleb talk about how he is different now he is in fouth grade (he doesn't "play" anymore, he "hangs out," and he needs to read "important, hard books," preferably about monsters).
I shopped a great sale but bought myself nothing.
I ran 14-ish miles, some sluggish, some blissful, a few that felt entirely effortless.
I finished Tell the Wolves I'm Home and it made me cry. I started The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and it made me laugh.
I got to see Haley.
(She drove Kaleb to school on his first day, per his request.)
I talked to my husband. I laughed with him. I came home to find him painting the trim on the garage. I also argued with him and wished I wasn't. I wished I could make things better somehow.
I spent hours talking with Jake. There—I also wish I could make that better. That hardness he is going through. Some of it is my fault, some of it his, but he is in a hard place he doesn't know how to get out of and all I can help him with is words.
I talked to my mom. I texted with my sister while she drove to California. I talked to my other sister on the phone.
I prayed. I laughed. I cried.
I made chocolate chip cookies with Nathan, and potato salad, and confetti rice salad, and roast beef with balsalmic vinegar.
I ate one of the most delicious watermelons of the summer.
There was rain nearly every day, which was like a sacrament. There was morning snow on my favorite mountain. There was a rainbow tonight that was so beautiful I made my neighbors come outside and admire it with me.
Tonight, I felt like something I've been struggling with was finally righting itself, and for one good, long hour I could breath deeply. I felt, if not exactly free, then lightened of my Atlas stone. When it turned left, the resettling of weight was almost unbearable, but then I told my friends the story of the day I lost my temper with my classful of 4th-period hooligans and shouted the F word at them, and then we all laughed together and the weight readjusted itself to a more bearable spot.
And then, just now, because I couldn't sleep and he wasn't asleep yet, Jake and I went outside (after midnight in the pouring rain) to put out the drain spouts together, and then we rain in the drenching storm, and the cold didn't make us go inside, or being soaked all the way through—but eventually the lightning did.
It was a good week and a hard one. It was usual for my life right now, and I know one day life will change and I will miss these days (as I miss other days) so I am making peace with the hard and savoring the good.
How was your week?


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Marouane Chamakh struck twice to inspire Crystal Palace to a thrilling win at Southampton and a first FA Cup fifth round appearance in five seasons.
The striker slid in a rebound to level Graziano Pelle's prodded close-range opener as the sides served up four goals in 13 first-half minutes.
Yaya Sanogo slammed in his first Palace goal with the aid of a deflection to cancel out Scott Dann's own goal.
And Chamakh sealed the win before half-time, rounding Fraser Forster to net.
It was a potent return from injury for Chamakh, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since 13 December.
His winner confirmed Palace's second last-16 appearance in 12 years and the striker was superbly supported by Sanogo, Wilfried Zaha and Fraizer Campbell.
They terrorised the Premier League's tightest defence. Ronald Koeman's side had conceded two goals in a game only once this season but Palace's three efforts from just 36% possession in the first half underlined their clinical display.
Former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew had to defend his approach towards the FA Cup this week, having won just one tie in four seasons on Tyneside – a record he has now surpassed in three weeks at Palace.
It is now four wins from four for the 53-year-old and his side ended Southampton's eight-match unbeaten run in the process.
Saints, whose manager Koeman has won domestic cups in Netherlands with Ajax and Spain with Valencia, led twice early on.
Pelle's prod from an in-swinging corner was followed swiftly by Chamakh's first goal since August, as he bravely followed up on Sanogo's shot to net from four yards.
Southampton, runners-up in 2003, have reached round five in six of the last 12 seasons and led again when Dann skewed into his own goal at the near post, but they again squandered the advantage quickly.
Sanogo and Campbell had drawn saves from Forster either side of Dann's unfortunate moment and they continued to probe – equalising when Sanogo slammed in the exceptional Zaha's pass with the aid of a wicked deflection.
And Palace were ahead before the break when Chamakh collected a diagonal through-ball on his chest before rounding Forster, ensuring both his shots on the day yielded goals.
Southampton pushed hard after the break but barely forced a save, with a wall of yellow shirts blocking shots and intercepting in key areas as Palace moved within three wins of a Wembley final.


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Updating your Capture Polar/Argo/Atlas/Nexum license to the latest Capture 2018™ version gives you loads of new features to use for your future drawings and virtual programming.
- Native Feel
- New Rendering Engine
- New Design Tab
- New Design Tools
- New Universe and Library Tab
- Empowered Reports
- More Plot Options
- File Format and Protocol Updates
- Superb DWG Export
Capture 2018™ supports a wide range of ethernet DMX protocols like Art-Net and sACN but also connects directly to High End and MA Lighting consoles as well as consoles that support CITP from brands such as ADB, Avolites, ChamSys and Strand Lighting.
Capture 2018™ also plays back local video files, streams video directly from CITP/MSEX compatible and Green Hippo media servers, receives laser projector content from LaserAnimation Sollinger and Pangolin systems and live positioning information directly from Kinesys K2 systems.
Capture 2018™ is a 64-bit application for both Mac OS X and Windows platforms. This allows Capture to use more RAM to accommodate the ever-growing production sizes, as well as the use of the latest computer technologies out there, such as SketchUp 2016 support on Mac OS X and moving to video playback and compression based on AVFoundation on Mac OS X and Windows Media Foundation on Windows.
Capture 2018™ is available in 4 versions:
Solo, Duet, Quartet, & Symphony
- Number of DMX Universes - 2
- Record, Playback and Render Still Snapshots in High Resolution
- Import Models via SKP, 3DS & OBJ Files with Layers, Groups and Materials
- Full AtlaBase Library with On-Demand Addition of Missing Items
- Laser feeds from LaserAnimation and Pangolin - 2
- Video Playbacks from Local File - 2
- Paperwork - Create Plots, Reports & Print
- Video Streams from CITP/MSEX or Green Hippo Media Servers - 2
- Import Models via DXF & DWG Files with Layers and Groups
- Record, play back and render movie snapshots to video files
- Create Stand-Alone Presentation Executables with Snapshots
- Motion Controlled Cameras & Scenery using DMX and Kinesys K2
- DMX Controlled Water Jet Effects - 2
- Mac OS X Users: Mac OS X 10.9 or later will be required.
- Windows Users: 64-bit Windows 7 or later will be required. (If you are running a Windows 32-bit installation your Windows license covers you for 64 bits as well, but a full reinstallation of Windows is required.)
NO Returns on Software Updates.
Product names used on this page may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged.
Specifications and documentation subject to change without notice.


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Why You Should Read Reviews About Travel Agencies Before Booking
Of course, you can choose to book a hotel, flight tours, and some other activities yourself before embarking on a journey. Doing this is exciting, but most of the time, it creates problems for people in the long run. What makes it create a problem for travelers in the long term is that they usually don't know there are some other activities they need to perform, such as itineraries, visas, park permission, and so on. Things like this give them extra stress and headaches, which is the reason why it is essential to consult a travel agency for guides on the journey you are going. Probably, they work out everything for you. We want to help you avoid stress while traveling as our little guide will help you know the advantages of using a travel agency to help you process your journey. There is nothing terrible about it.
Clarity: the travel agency gets your details and bundles everything together in a convenient fashion so you can worry less. Travel agents work with trusted local guides of your destinations scenic experience and arrange the transportation you will need that will help you get to everywhere you want to visit.
Organization: travel agents make sure everything is organized for you to have a safe trip. At first, if you visit their website, you will see basic packages of most destinations you are going, that is what will give you confidence that the travel agencies you want to contact are up to the task and can help you out. Their packages are mostly customized and always ready to make adjustments where necessary. For example, if you would like to stay more than the days you booked or would like to go through extra costs than what you have budgeted for, travel agents are always at …» Read more


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Every ALTA Language Training Program begins with a proposal defining the details of the Program including location, content, materials, methods, schedule, fees and results. We guarantee that 75% of the participants in our Group Programs, or the individual learner attending our One-on-One training, will reach the target performance level in the specified time.
We test each participant at the beginning, during, and at the end of the program using our language testing technology. If 75% of the participants in our Group Program, or the individual learner attending our One-on-One training, have not met the agreed upon performance level, we provide additional training at our cost until the performance level is achieved.
You know the deliverables before you start.
Program Location Options
- Live Online Training — We can provide One-on-One or Group language training with a trainer through WebEx.
- Your Facility or Facilities — We will provide on-site trainers either from our home location or we will hire and train competent, local trainers to deliver your program on-site. We are used to working with client production and work schedules.
- The ALTA Training Center — Our Training Center can handle individuals to multiple groups of twenty. We can provide housing alternatives from hotels within walking distance to home-stays.
Program Materials
Customized materials are designed prior to the program as part of our Program Development Process. Language training program materials usually consist of a training manual for each student with possible supplemental support materials such as online lessons, daily email lessons, customized terminology, audio tapes or CDs and visual aids.
Program Methods
All Training is customized. The training program method for oral training is either the Direct or Audio-Lingual Method. Programs that include reading or writing use appropriate training methods for those skills
Program Management
All Training Programs have a Program Director whose responsibility is to deliver the results you expect. Larger Programs often have a Program Team including a Program Director, Language Director and Scheduling Director. The Program Trainers report to the Program Director. What this means is that you have a decision-maker to make the program work, to discuss details and to adjust to unexpected changes. We can provide considerable detail in terms of scheduling and participant performance.


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Hello everyone!!!! I have a few new layouts for you to take a peek at. I decided to try making a tag which is something I rarely do - in fact I have not made one in many years. I saw some tags that other people had made and decided to use up some left over items from a layout that I had done. I enjoyed making it but did not know what I was going to use it for. So I ended up making another layout and adding the tag to it. I really surprised myself. Here is the tag and the layout.
I did do some stencilling with moulding paste on the page first and a bit of spraying for more texture. The tag completed the page and I did not need to add too many more items on the page.
Here are a couple more layouts I did. The first one is a heritage layout which I did in a class at the store. I decided to share it with you.
And this last one is another mixed media layout. Lots of texture with a stencil and moulding paste. I then painted the squares from the stencil in different colours using watercolour paints. I accented the squares here and there with a black journaling pen.
I do hope you enjoy these layouts. Until next time,
"The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word,
and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you've had."


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Deciding to scan concrete for your project was a smart decision for many reasons. It saves you time by knowing where to exactly cut, drill, or core. It saves money by preventing damages. And, most importantly, it keeps your project safe. Now that you want to move forward with our scanning services, here is what you should expect.
One of our expertly trained GPR analysts will arrive at the jobsite. Before they start scanning, they will meet with you to discuss the areas that you want scanned. You would need to provide a layout for the analyst to scan.
After this, the analyst is ready to scan. GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) is safe to use during regular business hours. This means that any trades on the jobsite can continue with their job while the scanning takes place.
The analyst might use different types of equipment depending on the job itself. Our analysts carry the GSSI Mini XT. This equipment is ideal for locating rebar, conduits, post-tension cables, voids, and real time determination of concrete slab thickness. They also use the GSSI 2000 MHz palm antenna. This equipment works in small spaces, approximately 2" from the wall. In addition to the GPR equipment used, all analysts are also equipped with an RD 7100 unit. This unit is ideal for locating live conduits within walls, slabs, or ceilings.
While the scan takes place, the data shows up in real time. Our analysts can interpret the data and from there he/she can mark any objects directly on the concrete surface with tape, chalk, keel, or markers (as pictured above). Then, the analyst would communicate their findings with you.
Sometimes, the proposed layouts are clear and ready for coring or drilling. Some other times, the analyst finds post tension cable, rebar, or other objects in the area where the coring or drilling is proposed. If this is the case for your project, you can propose a second layout location. The analyst will then proceed to scan that area to make sure that it is clear and safe.
After the scanning, a summarized written field report of the findings will be provided you. With this piece of information, in addition to your field markings, you can make decisions as to where to cut, core, or drill. Additional electronic reports are also available upon request, including pictures and 3D scans. These reports take additional time and will be completed off-site and will be emailed to you.
Now you know what to expect when hiring Penhall Technologies for our concrete scanning services. When our analysts arrive on site, you will find that you have gained a trusted partner who will undoubtedly add value to your project. Regardless of the project scale, our analysts always come prepared and ready.


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May 2013
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher via the author
It's August in Savannah, Georgia - hardly the season for a traditional Southern wedding with hoopskirts and crinolines. One could die from the heat - or from a cake knife in the back...
Reagan Summerside should be devoting all her energy to her consignment shop the Prissy Fox. But when her dear friend Chantilly Parker is arrested for murder, Reagan vows to clear her name. The victim is Simon Ambrose, who's found lying in his own wedding cake with a knife in his back.
Chantilly has motive (Simon broke her heart to marry wealthy Waynetta Waverly) and opportunity (crashing the wedding in her UPS delivery truck). And she has cake on her face, and the stolen bridesmaid dress the killer wore is in her truck. But Chantilly would never wear crinoline to kill a man!
With the help of her flamboyant auntie, KiKi, and vexing but attractive attorney Walker Boone, Reagan is determined to save her friend - before she's forced to turn in her brown uniform for an orange jumpsuit...
My thoughts: This is the 2nd in Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series and it was as good as the first one, Iced Chiffon. There is humor, mystery, and fun characters that just keep you glued to the pages.
This time around, Reagan needs to prove that her friend, Chantilly, did not kill her ex-fiance. In doing so, she finds herself in some pretty serious predicaments as well as some pretty humorous ones. And, to top it off, Walker Boone, her ex-husband's lawyer, just happens to catch her and/or show up just when she needs him, despite the fact that he gets on her last nerve. There's definitely something between Reagan and Walker - there's a sizzle in the air whenever they are near each other - but nothing substantial has happened yet...perhaps in the next book???
Along with these two, Aunt KiKi is also back, still spouting her Cher-isms from her time on tour with Cher. It seems things are going well with Reagan's consignment shop The Prissy Fox - though she should probably be spending more time building her business. Luckily she has the Abbott sisters to help out, not only minding the store while she's out sleuthing, but also sending tweets to bring customers in - not bad for two retired school teachers.
I really enjoy cozy mysteries and every once in a while I am able to figure out who-done-it. Unfortunately that didn't happen this time, but watching Reagan try to figure everything out still kept me hooked. I am really looking forward to continuing this series.
If you read cozy mysteries, what's your favorite series?
Books in this series:
- Iced Chiffon
- Killer in Crinoline


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4012 Central Florida Pkwy. Orlando, FL32837 • highballandharvest.com
The JW Marriott and the Ritz Carlton are both so massive on their own that when you connect them it creates a structural morass the likes of an MC Escher drawing. And while you might wish you had Google maps to find your way through the Shining-like halls of this behemoth, there's gold in them, thar hills! The treasure I speak of is Highball & Harvest a contemporary Southern restaurant located somewhere in the belly of the Ritz.
The décor is a little all over the place, but ultimately passes as nice and the service is suspiciously friendly, perhaps I think that because I'm from New York City where most people that jolly are heavily medicated.
But our waiter's chipper demeanor aside, he was also spot on with the recommendations, the first of which being the Parker House rolls . They are so good I actually recommend NOT ordering them, because the temptation to fill up on bread will be immense. Which means you'll need to dig deep, mustering up some serious willpower so that you can enjoy the things to come. Things like the crab cakes with fried green tomatoes and remoulade. An ultimate worthy dish to the second power, proving tops in both the crab cake category as well as the fried green tomato.
Another dish I highly recommend is the blackened grouper. Cooked perfectly and placed over a bed of hominy ragu, adouille sausage and pickled okra.
On the mortal end of the spectrum I would place the kale salad the sticky toffee pudding and the donuts. None of them were bad or even mediocre, but they just didn't wow like their predecessors.
I do, however, feel the need to expound upon the donuts as I applaud the presentation. Dusted cinnamon sugar donut bites served warm in a paper bag next to a tube of Nutella which you use to inject the donuts full of chocolaty wonder. It's definitely good, but just shy of great.
But I don't want to end things on a blah note, because I really did love this place. So, I have saved one of my favorite things for last, the cocktail. Called the Doc Holiday it comes in a copper mug filled to the brim with Tito's vodka (not something I believe was around during Doc's existence, but I'll let it slide), ginger beer, grapefruit and blueberry jam. Plus hand-cut ice. Now I'm not exactly sure how hand-cut ice actually influences the flavor of the drink, but they seem to be very proud of it at H&H. And while I kid the things I love, I can't say enough about this drink. In fact, it's not just a drink, it's an experience. As is Highball & Harvest in its entirely. Run. Don't walk. Assuming you can actually find it.


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It started, explains Emma McIlroy, the co-founder of a new tomboy-inspired online store and community, in the men's department of a clothes shop. "I was staring at a graphic T-shirt with an awesome picture of Kate Moss on it, Jules [Parsley, her co-founder] was staring at a blazer and she said 'Why don't they make this stuff for us?'" says McIlroy on the phone from Portland in the US. "That stuck in our heads and it has been a three-year journey of testing the idea with consumers, testing it with brands to see if the product was available. But it started with a need, with us staring lovingly at some men's products that wouldn't fit us."
Their site, Wildfang, launches on Friday and has already attracted a big response online, not least because the pre-launch site features a wonderful video starring, among others, the actor Kate Moennig and Hannah Blilie, the drummer from Gossip, along with a voiceover by Parsley's 86-year-old grandmother.
McIlroy and Parsley are adamant it isn't a fashion trend – their tagline is "This isn't just a shop. It's a movement" – but a continuation that builds on generations of tomboys. "Whether you were Patti Smith, Lauren Hutton, Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, the tomboy has always been with us," says McIlroy. "It's much more than a style, there's an attitude. Right now it's a perfect time for us – we've seen androgyny and tomboy be a big story on the catwalks, we've seen Pinterest explode with tomboy content and Tumblr explode with tomboy blogs."
Amber Butchart, a fashion historian, agrees. "There is a movement at the moment around fashion playing with the idea of gender – the gender boundaries are becoming more fluid. You have people like Andrej Pejic modelling both menswear and womenswear, and Casey Legler [a woman who has signed as a male model]."
In the last few years, a more androgynous aesthetic has infiltrated the catwalks (Stella McCartney's work is the obvious example) and filtered down to the high street, and it shows no sign of slowing. At the Dries Van Noten show in Paris last month, for example, the show was explained as "fused gender: Fred and Ginger in one outfit".
Could tomboy have the power to become a genuine culture, as opposed to a passing trend? "Subcultures are something generally associated with the post-war period up through the 90s," says Butchart. "A lot of people don't really think subcultures can exist any more – it's more the rise of niche markets and the internet has been pivotal in that, so there's more of a pick'n'mix attitude towards creating your own look, more a focus on individuality than on a group look. So it's quite unusual to find something situating itself as a movement now. Stylistically, I don't think it will be shortlived. A lot of these pieces have been circulating for a few years, and won't be going anywhere fast."
I've always felt there was a giddy, liberating spirit attached to tomboy style – it reminds me of the muddy dungarees of my childhood and those days, as an adult, when I choose to wear brogues over heels and feel I could run and run. And perhaps it is clunkingly obvious that it's a refreshing antidote to the hypersexualised images of women we tend to be served up. Taralyn Thuot, Wildfang's creative director, adds: "But I also feel very strongly that we want [the tomboy] to feel sexy, but we want her to feel sexy because she's being herself and not being a representation of what she thinks men want her to be."
• Wildfang launches on Friday and will be offering UK shipping soon.


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text: Gabriel Harrison Unknown 4/29/2017 - 2:07 PM Permalink Report Abuse 6 out of 7 people found the following review helpful 4 out of 5 Well made Easy to apply like the option to change the grip feel by sanding or wiping with alcohol was skeptical of a sticker application but overall satisfied with this product Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes Comment | Was this review helpful? Yes | No Name Leave a Comment Submit Comment


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How to Organize Too Many Pairs of Shoes
Options—You've Got Them
If you love shoes, you might have just too many to keep organized. Sure, you needed to buy 3 new pairs of sandals, 4 new pairs of flats, 2 pairs of high heels, and 5 pairs of flip flops for the spring. You can't keep wearing all those boots you've got in your closet during warm weather. That totally makes sense! But now, where do you put them all? Well, I am here to help you get organized.
Your First Assignment
The first thing you need to do, my fellow shoe addicts, is to take them all out and look at them. Yes, this is your moment of truth. Take the shoes from under the bed, in the closet, behind the couch, in the hallway, and put them in one spot. Take a long hard look at your addiction.
Do you need all these shoes? Are there any two that are similar? Can you give some to a friend, a charity, or perhaps sell them at a yard sale or online? I suggest making a "donate" pile and a "sale" pile. Only create a "sale" pile if you are genuinely going to do it. Don't just say you are going to put them on Craigslist, but they only end up back under your bed instead.
The next pile you are going to want to make is a "trash" pile. Yes, some of those old favorites that the dog chewed on the pair that has been stinking up your closet for months and needs to be thrown out. Of course, it is fine to save a pair specifically for yard work or something like that, but toss out the rest of the old, stinky ones. Your friends and family will thank you for it.
If you made a lot of recent purchases and now find you simply do not need them all, you can also make a "return" pile. Sure, the sales associates might get annoyed with you, but if you bought new brown sandals last week forgetting about the brown sandals you bought on clearance last September, it might be best to return the pair you just got. Now you are saving money and space at the same time!
Let's Get Organized
Now that you've got all your shoes you are keeping in full view, it is time to assess how best to organize them. In some situations, one can easily organize 20 pairs or less by keeping them in shoeboxes and putting them in a closet. Often, you can line them along shelves so you can easily find them.
Shoes are much less likely to get dusty in boxes. Also, clearly labeled boxes are a great way to stay organized. However, this technique has some drawbacks. First of all, shoe boxes take up a lot of space. Second, if you have more than 20 shoes, this is probably going to be unreasonable. You will need more space and an easy way to access your collection. If you have plenty, it is time to throw out the boxes now and move on to some other ways to organize those shoes.
Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer
If you would like to keep some in your closet, but want the ones that you wear all the time more accessible, an over the door shoe organizer will be your best bet. These organizers often hold about a dozen pairs.
What is great about this type of organizer is it is relatively inexpensive. It is also convenient because it does not take up any space in your closet or under your bed.
It does have some drawbacks though. First, depending on what door you hang this on, the door may never close correctly again. Second, you can't use this for heavy shoes. If most of your shoes are athletic shoes and boots, I would not recommend this. If, however, you are a big fan of flip flops and ballet flats, this could very well be a great organizer for you.
Under-the-Bed Shoe Organizer
If you are not a fan of having your door weighted down or taking a whiff of the shoes each time you open that door, you might want to try stashing your shoes under the bed instead. I would recommend getting an organizer rather than letting them get lost under there.
Keeping your shoes under the bed is a good strategy if you don't have an excessive amount. It is also a nice "out of sight, out of mind" way to organize. I highly recommend this if you are storing away some shoes for the season as well. It will keep them dust-free and in a safe spot until your are ready to wear them again.
Hanging Shoe Organizer
If your major addiction is shoe shopping, but not buying clothes, then you may have enough room in your closet to hang your shoes. You can buy a hanging organizer for your closet. They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, and they are relatively inexpensive.
Unfortunately, I find these organizers to be a bit limiting. Once again, if you do not own heavy shoes, this is going to be fine. But if you do, this organizer might just weigh down things too much and pull down the pole or shelving units in your closets. Beware! Also, if you have a lot of clothes, this is probably not going to work out too well for you. Yes, you may be able to get one long, thin organizer in your closet, but you probably won't be able to squeeze much more than that in there.
The Shoe Rack
It has finally come down to this. No ordinary or small organizer will do any longer. The shoe rack just has to happen. These are shelving units made specifically to hold shoes—or you can easily convert another kind of rack. Either way, the shoe rack is for the true shoe lover with a vast collection.
In some cases, you can get racks that just have metal poles. Those are a bit restricting since some shoes do not fit properly. But there are other options that fit a wide range of styles.
What is great about these racks is they are sturdier than the other options and fit well into a closet. What is not so great is usually the price or the issue of finding a closet for them. However, you and your addiction have gotten you to this place in your life. Now you must find the perfect closet or bedroom location to accomodate.
Time to Get Organized
If all else fails, you are probably going to have to use a combination of all of these methods for complete shoe organization. I know that is what it has come down to in my own life. Have no fear! Once you toss out boxes, throw away old shoes, and put together your donation pile, you will find your collection is not so outrageous after all. You might even opt to buy more shoes! OK, you should not do that, but still, you can get organized.
Using some or all of the products listed here is your best bet in making your closets more organized and your shoes easier to find. You might even discover a pair you once loved, but had forgotten along the way. Good luck to you!
Shoe Poll
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
The sheer volume of closet shoe organizers out there is amazing.
These are some great tips for organizing shoes...mine get out of hand sometimes...
I only have about 5 pairs of shoes. So the shoe rack works fine for me.
I loved your ideas though, jeannieinabottle.
Jeannie, I have over 70 pairs of shoes, boots, sandals and sneakers. And that's after going thru and throwing a bunch away or donating them! I just try to keep them lined up neatly. They take over 3 closets and are 3 rows deep, with flip flops sitting on top of each other in stacks of 3 pair. Ridiculous, huh? Especially since I'm bare-footed 99% of the time!
I have way too many shoes and my husband complains because I take up all the room on the shoe rack and don't leave him any room for his 3 pairs. Your next hub should be about packing shoes for vacation. I can never figure out how to get by without taking at least a dozen pairs! By the way, I think I have the same boots as you.
I think Springtime is a great time to get things organized and you have some excellent ideas. I saw a couple of pairs of your shoes that I would like to have! haha Great hub.
Great article love shoes..hate finding the space for them...
I only have five pair....I don't think I have a problem, do you?
I will, however, give this hub to Bev, who may just need some help. I didn't say that, though. :)


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Writing an essay means researching the topic. Luckily for some, the topic is on oneself. With that being said, I've currently written this essay a dozen times and still can't manage to save a draft. Writing about something so close to me, makes me come off as cheesey and that's the last thing I want. I want people to read this and feel the passion that I have for the health (fitness) and the wellness field. Hopefully you can tell by the end of this what has motivated me, why I myself could use the help and how I will help not only the community I live in, but as many people everywhere that I can.
I've been working as a personal trainer for about 5 years now, and in doing so, I've realized how truly amazing it is to impact someone's life. Someone who may be battling the same demons I once did. I may be living paycheck to paycheck, but I'm helping people help themselves, and no amount of money could bring the same amount of joy. I've struggled with finding myself worth, wondering if I can actually make a difference. Know a days, everyone is a trainer or some sort of guru. I, for one, want to stand out. I don't just want to fall in the cracks of this every growing industry, preaching anything just to make a few dollars. Being a trainer for as long as I have, I now know that this isn't just physical. That there is no magic pill, that every part of this process is mental and emotional. In order for me to help the way I need to help, I need to be taught. I attend classes taught by people like Frank Ardito, and it gives me goose bumps. The knowledge that these people possess is overwhelming, yet so admirable. All I want is to be able to teach and bring knowledge to those who truly want it. Who want help to understand what is truly going on inside of them. What has given me hope in becoming who I'm meant to be has been continuing my education. Although, I didn't go to college right after high school, I knew what I wanted to become. I knew I was going to be in the fitness industry for the rest of my life, and it still stands true today. The people I meet, the lives they've said I've helped change, the relationships, the success, the failures, the knowledge; it's all been my motivation. It's the guilt from not doing everything I could to attend college post high school, which has put my dreams on hold. I know it may sound like an excuse, but it's the truth. Without a proper education, I feel like I am not giving everything I can to my clients. People want to see that you know what you are talking about, so I want to feel like I know what I am talking about. Like Albert Einstein once said, "Any fool can know. The point is to understand." I want to be taught the things I need to know, because as much as I feel my personal experiences help greatly, I can't be naïve to the fact that I have a lot to learn.
"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning- Jiddu Krishnamurti". I may not have much, I may be 25 still living at home, I may feel stuck most days, but what I do have is the ability to see past the struggles, and understand that each day I continue to do what I was meant to do, is going to have such a great return in the end.


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So recently I got my MIL hooked on Pinterest. Good or Bad mistake I don't know yet, but she LOVES IT!!!! I was showing her my boards and we were in my Organization and Tips board and she saw this pin:
{source European Chic Design}
She got all excited and said the she wanted to make that. LOL Then asked me, "where would I put it?" I knew exactly where she need to put it! I told her she needs to replace her apron hook with it. She immediately went over to her wall and said. "Yep, you're right!"
(The wall before. FYI that hook has already fallen off once before! She collects aprons.)
Well the other day I was over at my in-laws house after work for our weekly Family Night and she got all excited b/c she had bought the things to make it and HAD to show me. LOL I love her! She brought out the piece of wood and had my FIL measure the wall and the board. He cut it and sanded it. We had to run over to Hobby Lobby b/c she needed one more knob. We got the knobs placed and my FIL drilled the holes. He even created some extra support for a couple of the knobs so that they would stick up more for a place to hang an apron.
( Do you see the extra wood there behind the knob? My FIL is a genius! He thought of that.)
Here is what the board looked like when all the knobs were temporairly placed before the board was painted.
Cute huh!? All the knobs sit level with each other.
My FIL painted it and got it mounted onto the wall and this is what it looks like now.
She can now find the apron that she wants to wear without having to dig for it!
I think that I will be making one of these to hang baby girls headbands on.