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GMO OMG: Is this the End of Real Food?
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Fall 2013

When people first hear about just the basic facts concerning Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs or Genetically Engineered Foods) – the DNA of seeds altered with genes from other organisms like bacteria so food crops can withstand herbicides that will kill all other plants, patented by giant chemical companies and found in 80% of processed foods – the standard response is “Oh, my God.” For some, it’s just an exclamation, but for others, I imagine, it’s the beginnings of a prayer. There’s a mixture of horror and disbelief, as if finding out we’re living inside a very strange sci-fi novel. Beyond that, it’s the sting of humiliation from being ignorant about something so big, mixed with the anger that comes from feeling like you’ve been duped.

Even without understanding what a GMO is or why it matters, most of us believe as citizens of a supposedly free and democratic society that we have the right to know if GMOs are in the food we eat. The fact we don’t know, and that our right to know has been taken away by corporate greed and government collusion, should upset and mobilize people. When all the food and seed and water and air is owned and patented by giant multinational corporations, will we even protest? Do we have the wakefulness and willpower to take that first step and stand up for this basic right?

That central question is why a tiny story from Haiti impacted me so deeply and inspired me to make a film about this hidden takeover of our food and the world’s seeds. Months after the horrific earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, ten thousand rural farmers marched in the streets against Monsanto. In the midst of their hardships, these farmers rejected seeds donated to Haiti by the giant agrochemical company, crying out “Down with Monsanto!” They symbolically burned Monsanto’s seeds which represented slavery, debt and the extinction of their own seeds and way of life. They stood unified in their fight for food sovereignty and native seeds as a common inheritance of all humanity.

I kept asking myself “What do they know that we don’t?” Having long suffered, they possess courage and conviction that we have never even begun to arouse in ourselves. We haven’t known that we needed this courage or conviction because most of us didn’t even realize there was a fight on our hands for the future of food, our right to choose and the health of the environment and our families.

After a long drive north from the ruins and tent cities of Port-au-Prince into the treeless mountains, and then hours further to Hinche and Papaye, I remember my very first conversation with Chavannes Jean Baptist, the leader of the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP). He began with a big smile on his face, saying “The objective of Monsanto is to make money. The objective of Monsanto is not the quality of food that people are eating. Monsanto’s objective is not to protect life. It’s not to protect the environment.”

Chavannes’ smile then disappeared, replaced with passion and urgency: “When people like me say these types of seeds are poisonous, when I say these seeds are destroying the life of the land and destroying the people, that’s when I attack the interest of Monsanto.”

He cut to the heart of the issue, and it was right there in the open for everyone to see. The agrochemical industry spews lies just like the lead and tobacco industries did before them; and we believe them until the truth finally bursts forth, usually from the work of brave scientists, researchers, professors and activists who risk their careers and reputations to go against the status quo.

Monsanto says they’re all about farmers, and yet the company has sued hundreds in court and bullied thousands with its mass of lawyers and private investigators. The biotech industry says we need GMOs for higher yield, and we need that higher yield to feed the world, but, for anyone paying attention, that is the furthest thing from the truth. The facts on the ground show that GMOs don’t actually increase yields, and thirty years of peer-reviewed research from the Rodale Farming Systems trial shows that organic farming can match their yields and do even better in times of flood and drought … all without toxic chemicals, synthetic fertilizers and patents. We also know that the wealthiest countries waste almost half of the food they produce, meaning that the world produces enough food to feed nearly fourteen billion people right now. And it’s no secret that most GMOs go into making the worst food on the planet, devoid of the nutrients we need for real health, or into ethanol production – not into feeding the poor. But they tell the lie so well, exploiting the poor to prey on our emotions, that most of us believe it without looking beyond their slick thirty-second advertisements.

Are we surprised that the industry is lying to us? A giant corporation only focused on profit and securing markets for further growth is almost beholden to itself and its shareholders to lie if lying means profit. I don’t want to become a jaded, pessimistic person, always thinking the worst, but I also don’t want to be a fool either. And not being a fool in the current climate of “corporatocracy” means assuming that giant corporations monopolizing the market are probably lying to us and abusing power. That isn’t being cynical; it’s just common sense.

Chavannes wasn’t deceived by the promises of increased yield and profit, miracle seeds and wonder chemicals. He knew, as we all know, that these companies aren’t asking themselves “What’s good for this society, for people’s health, for the earth?” No, the questions they are asking are “What will increase profit? How can we produce more in a shorter amount of time, eliminate competition, ensure repeat customers and make more money?”

GMO2The new reality of the world is that giant chemical companies are feeding us and our families. And those questions of profit and growth are the ones they’re paying attention to, not the ones concerning you or your family or this land we all share and live on.

Maybe corporate greed and corruption aren’t enough to deter people from a cheap hamburger because, well, there will always be selfish monsters abusing power, but we still have to eat, right? Perhaps the death of the family farmer under the current paradigm of big industry and corporate consolidation within the food system doesn’t really hit home enough to make a change?

But I would hope that the potential health risks would at least cause parents to stop feeding their children GMOs until all the data is in. Long-term, independent studies show damage to rat livers and kidneys when fed an exclusive GMO grain diet, and new findings link Monsanto’s “Roundup” weed killer to Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

With peer-reviewed, independent studies coming out with real results that contradict the industry’s short-term studies, it seems safe to say that all is not well with this genetically altered food. Should we really allow ourselves to be a part of this experiment? And even if you’re willing to take the risk, do you have the right to subject your fellow citizens or children to it?

How can we live without destroying the sources of our life?
– Wendell Berry

Once you know about GMOs, it is not an issue you can stay on the fence about, because you eat every single day. There’s no way out, because what you eat shapes the world around us. What you eat makes you a participant in a larger system, one that interacts with the planet, whether you like it or not.

In his book, The Unsettling of America, Wendell Berry writes “In order to understand our own time and predicament and the work that is to be done, we would do well to shift the terms and say that we are divided between exploitation and nurture.”

That is the real divide in our food system, in energy, in consumerism and in our relationships with one another. If you choose to ignore GMOs and the giant corporations taking over our food because it’s overwhelming or you like the convenience and affordability of their products, then you’ve chosen to participate in the system of exploitation.

Those of us who do not live on and from the land, must stand in solidarity with farmers here and around the world who choose the way of nurture – understanding the interconnectedness of all life and embracing a way of living that regenerates soil, seed and life, so we have something to pass on to our children.

If you choose to be a “nurturer” rather than an “exploiter,” then there are simple, powerful, practical ways to live out that philosophy. First, vote with your fork; second, demand labeling for GMOs and stand up for your right to know; and, third, participate in our democracy and help promote fair food and farm policies, creating the systemic changes necessary for true sustainability.

On a personal level, which collectively can grow into national significance and create real change, you can vote with your fork. Don’t buy GMOs or any products that come from the biotech or agrochemical industry. Buy organic, local, seasonal food. Shop at farmers’ markets and join a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA). It will be tough making the transition, and it will cost more, but this is something you can start doing today.

To make this first step achievable, we have to fight for the labeling of GMOs, and that fight is happening in states across the country right now. The biggest push happened in the fall of 2012 with California’s Proposition 37. Over six million people voted for their right to know, but the pesticide and junk food industry (companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Dupont and Monsanto) spent over a million dollars a day on deceptive ads in the last month to narrowly defeat the proposition. However, no one in the movement saw it as a defeat. They had exposed the industry’s fear of labeling and willingness to spend millions to keep us in the dark, and they raised consciousness across the nation, paving the way for labeling efforts around the country. Connecticut and Maine have already enacted mandatory GMO labeling, as long as other major New Engla nd states do so, and Washington state’s I-522 ballot initiative is the battle that promises to blow this issue wide open this year.

In November, the people of Washington will vote for their right to know, but they will be voting for all of us, and thus all of us should sign up, donate and volunteer. A victory in Washington, close on the heels of victories in Connecticut and Maine, will force “Big Food” to accept that labeling GMOs at the national level is inevitable and cut a deal with regulators (the FDA in this case), as happened in Europe a decade ago.

GMO3If we can’t stand up against these companies and raise our voices for ourselves and our children, then we may truly be lost. But I don’t believe we have lost our capacity for outrage just yet. I believe once people know, once the darkness has been chased away by flickers turning into bonfires of light, people will act. Indeed that is what’s happening right now, in big and small ways, and it’s just a matter of time before the almost imperceptible swell deep in the ocean moves closer to shore, picks up speed, rises into a great wave and pounds us. Watch out Monsanto and Dow and Dupont and CEO Hugh Grant, and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and President Obama and the FDA, and all you colluders in industry lies, big money and injustice. Watch out, because the crashing wave is coming soon – and we won’t stop until our basic freedoms to choose and know what we are eating are fully restored.

Beyond voting with our forks and the immediate fight for GMO labeling, I agree with Wenonah Hauter, author of Foodopoly and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, that the next step is politicizing the growing numbers of people joining the movement for real food, who are voting with their dollars, and organizing direct relationships between farmers and eaters. She writes, “Creating a just society where everyone can enjoy healthy food produced by thriving family farmers using organic practices can only be realized by making fundamental structural changes to society and to farm and food policies.”

I feel hope every time I see my son, Finn, with his seed collection, showing his awe and wonder at the world around him. I feel hope when I realize that we don’t have to keep doing what we’re doing, exploiting the earth for profit and applying the industrialized model to how we grow our food. I feel hope when I see the power of the Earth to regenerate itself and heal the damage we have done, if only we will stop our plundering and let it heal. And seeds give me hope as well – every one a tiny miracle and promise of life.

Yes522Yes on 522
The focus of most people in favor of labeling genetically engineered food is the need to know what they are putting in their bodies and feeding their children.

I get that. In this day and age, we count every calorie and every gram of fat. People want to know what they are eating.

That is the biggest part of the motivation behind Initiative 522, which will appear on the November ballot in Washington State. If approved, it will require that our state establish a system for labeling genetically engineered food.

I, too, am concerned about the long-term health impacts of consuming genetically engineered food, but my primary concern today is one even more universal than calorie counting. My primary concern is about the economy.

Many of our trading partners, specifically those in the European Union and Pacific Rim, have banned the importation of unlabeled genetically modified foods. All told, more than sixty countries now refuse to import such products without proper labeling.

I would prefer that we had a federal labeling system in place, but I don’t have to tell you that waiting for the Feds to act on anything takes more time than we have. Instead, we have to protect the health of our communities by developing our own system now.

Connecticut became the first state to pass a law requiring such labeling, but the law will not be enacted until neighboring states follow suit. Fortunately, similar bills are indeed advancing through other legislatures throughout New England.

Washington is still the only state where labeling is currently on the ballot this fall – so we will be letting our voters decide if they want genetically engineered foods to be labeled. Success in Washington will not only help build national momentum and engage more Americans in the effort, but it will also help lay the groundwork for future campaigns across the nation.

Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, represents the 32nd Legislative District which includes Shoreline, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Woodway, Mountlake Terrace and north Seattle. Senator Chase is Co-Chair of Yes on 522, the campaign to label genetically engineered foods in Washington.

6 Responses

Well said. If the transparency of our food system isn’t worth fighting for, what is? I hope that your film will be the impetus we need as a society to begin the hard work needed to turn the wheels of change and add GMO labeling to our nation’s food supply.

Jennifer @1840Farm

Way to go Washington! After reading this well thought out and informational letter, I feel even more compelled to make a case and support and existing efforts for a similar initiative here in Tennessee. Prior to learning about GMO’s we purchased about 20% organic and shopped about once a month at our local farmers market. Now, I can proudly say that we are about 90% and go to the local market every week for all our fruits, veggies and meats. I consider myself a pretty health conscious person but I myself only found out, via my sister in law, about the presence of GMO’s in my food about 2 months ago. So now I am trying to do my part to help spread awareness through my Facebook page “Back To Nature” informing anyone who will listen about GMO’s and Fluorinated water. Thank you for your efforts to bring awareness and fight for our right to KNOW what we are eating and feeding our children.

Labeling is but a start. The entire process needs to be halted…ALL of it. The Chemicals, both on the ground and being added into the Biosphere through the “Geo-Engineering processes under way since the 90’s. The Resistance patents “oddly enough” include resistance to these same nanoparticles touted for “Solar Reflectivity”. The Traits have turned Traitor, costing the Farmers more and more labor, money and time for decreasing returns all around. If there wasn’t the subsidies in the Farm Bill to prop this kind of farming up it would quickly prove it’s unsustainability. It is time to call “Enough is enough.”

GMOs should be banned completely! There was NEVER any testing on human OR the BIOSPHERE! We have NO IDEA what the long term effect will be on us or the planet! This is reckless science of the worst kind!

I am opposed to the Genetic Engineering of animals and all foods. This is just profiteering by big business and has the potential to completely destroy our food chain and cause irreparable damage to the health of our citizens and welfare of our nation. 95% of American population opposes this genetic modified organisms (GMOs).

Livestock in the United States is in terrible shape due to the abusive ways of raising them. They carry bovine encephalopathy, Johnes disease (which incidentally, is NOT destroyed by pasteurization) and hundreds of other diseases, etc. They are totally abused in agribusiness with baby chicks having their beaks chopped off sometimes taking it all, pigs having sticks stuck up their behinds, chickens being beaten to death, pigs in cages never able to turn around in their entire lives, cows being electro shocked, water boarded, fork lifted and raised in confined animal feeding operations where they stand on cement and sleep 24/7 in a cage too small to turn around in, all those videos about the abuse of these animals are out there. This is not good for an animal’s health and in turn very unhealthy eating for the American citizens. Big business only cares about their wallets. We need a total change in how these animals are used for food. What is going on is degenerate and depraved. This genetic engineering is abusive and needs to be stopped now!

I strongly believe that selling genetically engineered animals for food (human or
otherwise) should be banned in the United States. With all the progress made in
diagnosing and treating cancer, it continues to be on the rise. This is not to
mention the numerous other diseases that are cropping up around the world, such
as bird flu and flesh-eating disease that affect animals and now humans. How
many more are there that we do not know about or are not being told about? I
believe this is the result of mankind’s intervention with nature and it needs to stop
now! I worked in a research and development company for chemical engineers and have a strong appreciation for science and technology, but it is time to look back and deal with the consequences of mistakes made in the past. It is not smart to barge ahead not knowing what the long-term consequences of messing with our food supply will be. I vote NO on GMOs and YES to have labels on foods that do contain GMOs!

Genetically engineering of animals for consumption is a very scary idea. Big greedy companies that are lobbying for this are dead set on it and it needs to be labeled so informed consumers will have a choice whether or not to purchase these Franken foods. It is hard enough to try to discern GE and irradiated vegetables. Our family currently raises a lot of our own food; and what we can’t raise at home, we buy from local organic farmers that grass-feed their animals, without the hormone RGbH, and antibiotics. The current health care crisis wouldn’t be in so much trouble if Americans really knew about all the toxins in our food supply. Are we not a sick enough nation yet? Hasn’t anyone at the FDA figured out how our food is making us sick and yet everyday there is worse news (e-coli on spinach and lettuce) which incidently comes from the huge animal factory farm waste that seeps into the aquafer or ground water that is subsequently brought up to water the organic crops a mile away! Is there some kind of gag order out there that this is such a little know fact?

Great article!! I’ll be using it as a reference to promote non-GMO month to my networking group and customers from our health store! We believe knowledge is key and the more people aware of this, the sooner we can get our food labeled! We’re here to support you 100%! Whaooo Prop 522!

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Monday, May 26, 2008

playing with the manatee of animation

Animated gifs.. Click em to watch some crazy aerial action!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

hallo thar.

Monday, May 12, 2008

gouache and heads

do do dooo... painting and practicing. some people i know, some people, i don't know.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

I remember in highschool that I stole a copy of Fahrenheit 451 from English class because it was such an awesome book. I am creating my own vision for the dystopian future that Ray Bradbury created many years ago.

(PS. I do not condone theft.... I meant to give it back after i had written the book report)

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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Mentally impaired teen was beaten into unconsciousness, and the word 'Rapest' was tattooed on his forehead, over a rape that never happened

Another in a long line of vicious, mind-numbing overreactions to a "rape" that never happened, and this one nearly killed a young man.

Two men and two women are in jail after an 18-year-old mentally impaired man was tortured and brutally beaten into unconsciousness after one of the women claimed he tried to rape her.

A police spokesman said there is no evidence to support the rape claim.

Several days earlier, the young man, Stetson Johnson, had befriended one of the women who would later attack him, Kimberly Sue Vergara, 25. Mr. Johnson was leaving Vergara's house one day when her former boyfriend confronted him and started the assault.

Vergara and another woman admitted that they used a stun gun to twice shock Mr. Johnson in the genitals while he was held down. The former boyfriend and another man forcibly tattooed the word "rapest" (sic) on Mr. Johnson's forehead and the words “I like little boys” on his chest.

Mr. Johnson asked them: “Why is this going on? … Why is this happening to me?" The attackers told him to "just shut up."

Then the attackers forcibly tied his hands together, and one of them, a 21-year-old man, beat him into unconsciousness with a baseball bat. The attackers left him to die, lying near a lake.

Police say the attack was so brutal, they are surprised that Mr. Johnson survived.

When Mr. Johnson awakened from his unconsciousness after two hours, he was bleeding, but he made his way to a trailer park a mile away, crawling part of the way. He was taken to the hospital where he spent several days in intensive care.  Now, Mr. Johnson and his mother are moving away, due to safety concerns.

To cover up the misspelled word that identified him as a vile rapist, the poor young man had a bar code tattooed on his forehead.  His mother plans to have the tattoos removed.

Sources: and

Thanks to J.P.


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Monthly Archives: May 2014

Fodder On Tour

To celebrate the re-releases of vintage Family Fodder on the Staubgold label, the band are on tour in Europe. This is the original 1981 line-up featuring Alig Fodder (keyboards, guitar, oud, vox), Grahame Painting (bass, guitar, cello, vox), Bazz Smith … Continue reading

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When This Dog Runs Into The Lake…..Check Out How He Swims!

This is hilarious! This dog goes for his first swim and he isn’t half bad! Remember, practice makes perfect! At least you have a great teacher by your side! Does your dog know how to swim?

Source: Doberman learns to swim by jennag812 on Rumble

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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Tell us a few of your favorite things!!

Copy HTML below to add to your blog!

**Edited to add that I've extended this for the giveaway till Saturday at noon. So keep linking till then! And you are still welcome to keep posting after that just for fun!

It's here! It's here! I don't know about you, but this time of year just makes everything more fun. I guess I find I'm more thankful for the little things right now too. I don't know what it is, but weeks ago, while shopping, I thought of this idea after I must have said "OH, how CUTE!" about fifty trillion times while eyeing all the Christmas stuff.

And that's how this fun post came about. So all you have to do is either create a post and link to it here, or link to a past post. It can be ANYTHING!! How about your favorite TV show right now? (Kath and Kim.) Or your favorite food? (Cinnamon Bagelfuls.) Your favorite song? (Darius Rucker, "It won't be like this for long." Dare you not to cry.) Favorite holiday decor? (Magnolias.) Toiletry? (Oil of Olay warming scrub. Ohhhh, love. it.) Home decor? (New flannel sheets from Target. Only $20 for a king size!) Anything! Have fun with it! If it's an item you buy, tell us where you get it. If you made it, tell us how. If you cook it, give us the recipe.

And if you don't have a blog or Web site, don't fret! Just leave a comment (everyone else please comment too!) and let me know by leaving your name or e-mail or something I can identify you with.

And for all'll be entered for my fantabulous giveaway! Well, not fantabulous, just kind of fabulous, or a little fantastic, either way. I've just been grabbing fun stuff for weeks as I've been shopping around. Some is Christmasy, some isn't. All my favorites right now, all fun:

Hot chocolate
Bath salts
Christmas kitchen towels
Pine scented BBW home spray
Christmas scrapbook paper
Holiday scrapbook items
Popcorn (you knew that was coming!)
Dollar bin stuff from Target
Santa matches (Precious!)
Pine cones you can glitter to your heart's content
Santa sign
Fun and easy recipes for entertaining
Reindeer food for the kiddies to sprinkle on the lawn

I'll draw the winner this Friday. So until then, Linky, Linky ladies! (Taken down for the time being because of Explorer issues!)

P.S. The reindeer food and the pine spray aren't in the picture because my frazzled brain can't remember where I put them. I'm thinking of about 32 projects I want to work on right now. It will come to me tonight when I am just about to drift off to sleep...then I'll have to get up and run to get them so I don't forget again. Bear with me.

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    New Buyers Lift Dallas FIG Show

New Buyers Lift Dallas FIG Show

February 3, 2015

By Holly Haber

DALLAS — Retailers zeroed in on jewelry and two-piece dressing for spring, as well as key fall items at Fashion Industry Gallery’s three-day market here late last month.

Many reported strong holiday sales, but held budgets even because last year’s spring and fall revenues were rocked by unseasonal weather.

The venue saw an uptick in resources and registration by merchants who hadn’t shopped FIG before, said Megan Bullard, FIG’s retail and marketing manager.

“We had a lot more exhibitors [in the Shop show] than we normally do for a January show, so that attracted buyers,” she said. “And we put out a mailer in December to try to attract new stores and that was highly effective.”

Key trends included high-waist pants, crop tops, two-piece dresses revealing a peek of midriff, strapless frocks and long fringe.

“I think the market looks good,” said Shannon Moore, buyer for the Shak contemporary boutique at Stanley Korshak in Dallas, citing A.L.C. as her favorite line at the show. Moore, whose budget was up, also favored Ulla Johnson’s strapless dress, pleated skirt and scalloped shorts and a fur poncho by Elizabeth & James.

“We do well with sexy two-piece things, as well as boho,” she said. “Everyone did a little top with fringe.”

Bridgette Hooper focused on jewelry and accessories for Bridgette’s in Tyler, Texas, picking up gold-plated monogram and nameplate necklaces by Jane Basch and layering pendant necklaces by Cheryl Dufault, along with Halston Heritage’s flared knit crop top and high-waist pants.

Clients at her high-end boutique want “buy-now, wear-now fashion, and it’s more casual, even with my older clientele,” Hooper said.

Hooper’s budget for the established store was flat, and she noted that she’s expanding her shopping center and adding a wine bar.

Veteran retailer Mary Beth Johnston hunted primarily for items and dresses for immediate delivery through April, though she also ordered colorful sweaters by Autumn Cashmere for fall.

“I’m shopping closer than I used to and a little tighter,” said Johnston, owner of MaryBeth in Dallas. “I’m going a little more casual.”

Picking up colorful tops by Go Silk, Johnston kept her budget flat, noting that strong holiday business brought last year’s sales up to par with 2013.

Carolyn McGlennon, manager and buyer of the boutique at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, shopped for B. Stellar’s linear quartz and gold-filled wire earrings — one of her top sellers — Moss Mills’ leather clutches with gold shark-tooth hardware and streamlined fashion jewelry by Theia.

“Business is very good,” McGlennon said. “I try to look for stuff that is not typically at a museum store, things that are handmade, high quality and high style.”

Jewelry designer Sarah Briggs was upbeat as she introduced sets of leather bangles and jewelry wired of long cubed semiprecious beads at Thirty 2 Thirty showroom.

“I’ve had our best four markets ever in a row,” said Briggs, citing Instagram as an effective marketing tool.
Kelsey Guy, sales manager for Agent Icon, was also pleased. It was the second show at FIG for the Los Angeles agency, which specializes in Australian resources including Asilio sportswear and Quay sunglasses.

“October was outstanding, and we’ve probably seen at least 50 or 60 stores at this show,” Guy said. “People are looking for lifestyle looks that aren’t casual basics. If they are spending, they want show-stopping pieces.”

Greg Mider, who has had a showroom in the building since it opened, said traffic was identical to last year and bookings for April, May and June deliveries ran up 3 percent.

“I didn’t have any fill-in business,” he said. “Anything new I sold. My knit business is really good and I sold contemporary silk like crazy.”

Laurie Hasson felt traffic seemed off at her showroom, but said each of her four lines posted increases. Bestsellers included Margaret O’Leary’s cotton sweaters, Wilt T-shirts in warm neutral hues and high-slit skirts by Heather and Clayton.

“We had better [Los Angeles] and Dallas markets in 2015, so those are positive signs,” Hasson said. “We’ll see how the year progresses. It still feels wobbly — it’s still a weird and strange landscape.”

Women's Wear Daily - Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Looks by Black Halo.

Looks by Black Halo.

Agent Icon showroom displayed styles by Asilio.

Agent Icon showroom displayed styles by Asilio.

Agent Icon showroom displayed styles by Asilio.


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We are a community that is filled with people of all ages. We have a great family ministry that would love to welcome your children or youth. There are young professionals here and there are others who have been part of this church for over ninety years. No matter your age, you can be part of our community.

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Home  |  FDCI Members

Registered Designer Members

Rahul Mishra (Reigstered Member)

Rahul Mishra, one of the finest talents in Indian fashion, is a staunch believer in integrating the rich heritage of Indian craft with the constantly varying pulse of global fashion. His forte is to blend the rustic-ness of Indian Arts and Crafts, and the earthiness of Indian Handloom Textiles, with the delicateness of Today’s Urban Fashion.

A Post Graduate from prestigious National Institute of Design, Rahul won the Best Student Designer of the year award in 2005 and followed it up in 2006 by winning the Pride of NID. After creating waves on the Indian Emerging Designers scene, Rahul went on to be the first Non – European Designer to win the prestigious Scholarship at the Istituto Marangoni, Milan.

Much rewarded and awarded Rahul, in a short span of time has etched a mark in the fashion scene in the country. His collections have been much lauded by the International media from style.com to BBC to hordes of National and International media.

Rahul was voted as Pepsi MTV Youth Icon for year 2009, further for 2009 he went on winning the INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER OF THE YEAR award in the most Commercial Design category at the IAF (International Apparel Federation) annual convention held in Netherlands.

Recently, Rahul was featured in the list of top 20 young Indians who would shape India's future for VISION-INDIA 2020. This year, he was amongst top 9 International Artists invited by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to be a part of the prestigious landmark exhibition titled “Transformation: Material | Magic | Memory”.

Currently, he is stocking at many multi-designer stores in India and Abroad. In India he stocks at stores, such as Aza (Mumbai & Delhi), Bombay Electric, Bombaim (Kolkata), Collage (Chennai & Bangalore), Ensemble (Mumbai & Delhi), Evoluzioni (Chennai & Bangalore), Ogaan (Delhi, Mumbai), White (Delhi) to name a few.

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Sunday, October 27, 2013

Week Twenty: Life After the Marathon

Autumn Red

A Passion for Euclidean Geometry

Hiding_Sort of

Week of October 21, 2013:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Slow walk around the neighborhood (untimed)

Wednesday: Off (flew back to Texas, so there was plenty of walking around airports with my luggage)

Thursday:  Evening run!  The first post-marathon run.  29 minutes total, with 10 minutes of slow running.

Friday: Off

Saturday: Power-walked to the bank and back, 26 min. total.

Sunday: First post-marathon LONG RUN.  42 min. total with 30 min. running at a comfortable pace.

Estimated mileage: 7.8 miles. Total minutes: 97.

I flew back to Texas on Wednesday and returned to work on Thursday.  I am so glad that I took several days off from work after the marathon; I can’t even imagine trying to run a marathon on Sunday and then working on Monday.  For the work that I do, which involves a lot of time on my feet, walking to and fro, that would have been complete torture.

And I’m happy to report that I’ve even run twice since the big race!  I felt pretty good during both runs, though I am experiencing a little twinge of something uncomfortable on the back of my leg, behind my knee.  I think with some more time, whatever it is will heal itself.  While I am getting myself ready to begin training for my next half-marathon (another Armadillo Dash!), I’m not in a rush to begin piling on the long run miles.

This week I’d like to return to my yoga mat for some dearly missed stretching and quiet time.  Thank goodness I haven’t lost all my flexibility due to marathon training, but I’m ready to work on my back and hips on the mat.

What’s on your fitness agenda for the week?

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Race Report: 2013 Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon

Detroit Marathon 2013_People Mover 10_26_13 cropped

At long last: the marathon report.  Because the first marathon is such a landmark event in a runner’s life, I feel a hint of trepidation at the thought of trying to write about it.  But in the end, I can’t NOT write about it, so here we go.

3:30 AM: I nearly have a heart attack when my alarm goes off in the middle of the night.  I manage not to turn it off but instead hit the snooze button and end up waking up my brother too.  Oops.  (But he’s nice about it.)  I wash my face and dress, unsure how exactly to layer warmer clothes over my racing clothes.  In the end, I wear pink pajama pants over my running skirt and get nicknamed “Pajamas” at our after-party celebration.  I also wear a favorite tattered sweatshirt—my Red Wings sweatshirt.  Perfect for the Detroit Marathon!

Moon Peeking Out

Running Outfit_Maybe

I eat a cold breakfast and drink cold coffee, grateful to have done most of my breakfast prep the night before.  It turns out that I have more than enough time and can spend a few minutes on Facebook, posting some race-day thoughts and letting my family know that they can track my progress during the race.  Once the race starts, my sister decides to post updates on my status for everyone to see (so sweet of her!).

James (JD) and his friend John pick me up a bit after 5 AM, and we head into the city for the race.  We arrive and park easily in the pre-dawn darkness and head to Cobo Joe’s, a bar that several running groups have rented out for the day.  JD secured John and me spots in Cobo Joe’s, and I am touched by his care.  It’s a chilly morning, and having a warm, safe spot to leave our things is wonderful.  We finish hydrating and pre-race-fueling and head out to the start.

We line up toward the back of the pack.  JD is hoping to run a sub-5:30; I’m just hoping to finish.  We marvel at the sea of runners around us; the energy is electric.  We are all here to run, ready to run, can’t WAIT to run!  It’s an exciting place to be.  Despite the chilly morning, I barely feel the cold.  I just feel happy and ready for what the day will bring.

Miles 0-8: “I think this is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”  We start the course about 20 minutes after the fastest marathoners cross the starting line, and it’s slow going at first.  The crowd is packed.  JD jogs slowly; I alternate walking and jogging.  We see piles of clothes as people start stripping off their warm layers in anticipation of warmed-up bodies.  JD tells me that any clothes dropped in the first few miles of the race are collected and donated to homeless shelters.

The start of the marathon is full of incredible sights, my favorite of which is the run up and over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada.  As we approach the bridge, we can see the runners moving like ants along the bridge.  Running up to the bridge, I turn to JD and his friend Renee and say, “I may be exaggerating, but I think this is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”  I am bubbling with joy.  By the time we’re on the bridge, we can look out onto the water and the sunlit city.  The marathon has begun.

We pass over the bridge and enter Windsor, Canada to begin the international portion of our race.  (Did you know the Detroit Marathon is an international event?  We run over a bridge and through a tunnel—to Canada and back!)  Windsor is fun and festive, and we feel good.  JD is keeping a very solid, steady pace; I’m keeping up with him just fine.  We run along the riverfront and enter the underwater tunnel to come back into the United States.  The tunnel is…interesting.  I have to duck beneath and between people who have stopped to take photos at the flags that mark the border between the US and Canada.  There are a lot of people taking pictures during the race; I’m not one of them, hence no real race photos in this post.

JD had warned me that the tunnel feels stuffy and hot compared to the cool October air outside, and he’s right.  The tunnel is fun to enter, but I’m glad to get out when it ends.  On top of the refreshing air, when we come out of the tunnel, we’re greeted by cheering crowds and signs that say, “Welcome home!”  We’re back in Detroit, and we keep running.

Miles 8-17: Slow and steady keeps the miles flying by.  To be honest, I don’t remember much of this part of the race.  We still feel pretty good, though my knees are starting to feel tight.  This is a neighborhood part of the course; we ran through Corktown, Mexicantown, and Indian Village, I believe.

Mile 17-18: How long is one mile?  After Mile 17, JD and I lose each other, and I lose track of where I am in the race.  I stop paying attention to the mile markers then become convinced that I have definitely passed the Mile 18 marker.  Nope!  So Mile 17 feels really long.  I start pacing my walk breaks so that I can alternate bites of a Clif bar with water or Gatorade.  JD and I have been taking a really conservative approach to fuel and hydration—neither of us wants to have that sloshy, full feeling in the stomach while we’re running.

Miles 18-20: Preparing for the hardest run of my life. Miles 18-20 take us out toward Belle Isle, a small island in the Detroit River.  Belle Isle is rumored to be the hardest part of the marathon.  Crowd support is sparse, the Isle is windy, and you’re about to pass the 20-mile mark, which is the start of new miles for a lot of first-time marathoners.  By Mile 18, I’m already into new miles, but knowing that we are now in single-digit numbers for the remaining miles is exciting and terrifying.  I don’t feel tired or low on energy, but my knees and hips are starting to feel painfully sore.  Not injured sore, work-out sore.  Which is, I think, about as good as I could hope to feel by Mile 20 of my first marathon.

Despite the pain, running over the bridge to Belle Isle is fun.  I look out and see the Ambassador Bridge that we ran over hours ago.  It feels like a lifetime ago.  It’s hard to believe that by Mile 20, I’ve been running for almost four hours.  I’m at 3:46:15, and I start to realize and believe that a sub-5:00 marathon is within my reach.  I keep trucking!

Miles 20-22: Onto Belle Isle and beginning our descent into pain.  Contrary to what I’ve been told, I actually love running on Belle Isle.  It’s beautiful and peaceful.  My legs hurt pretty bad, but the wind is calm and the Isle is green and sparkling.  I’m in love.

Miles 22-24: Holding on for dear life.  Mile 22 is just before we cross the bridge to leave Belle Isle and run along the Detroit riverfront.  The riverfront is gorgeous, but I can’t really appreciate it because I’m in too much pain by now.  I set tiny goals: run to the next mile marker, run for two more minutes, walk for just two minutes and then start running again.  I am doing everything I can to keep up the pace because 5:00!  It could be mine!  And how can I not go for it while I’m here and injury-free?

But oh, the pain.  At this point, the effort to run is purely mental.  My legs have long since given up getting any relief from the searing tightness.  They feel a bit numb from the effort.  But not numb enough: pain is taking over all my faculties.

Miles 24-26: Please don’t cry.  I crawl through the last whole miles, which take us back onto city streets.  They are literally the hardest miles I’ve ever run.  I struggle to not start crying.  We’re so close to the end, and I know if I start crying, I will lose it completely.  The pain, oh, it needs to end…

Mile 26 to the finish: It’s almost over.  It’s a strange feeling when you cross Mile 26 of a marathon.  You’re basically done, but wait, no, that damn fifth of a mile sits between you and the sweet finish line.  I feel like I run to the finish line in slow motion; I am “running” so slowly that it’s not purely an illusion.  But the watch doesn’t lie: if I can just claw my way to the finish, I’ll finish in under five hours.  I want this so bad that it’s all I can think about.  Finish, finish, finish…

FINISH: Wow, that was amazing.  And at last, it’s over.  26.2 miles covered in one morning.  I’m stunned and elated to have finished in an official time of 4:56:50, more than five hours after the official start of the marathon.

Surprisingly, I don’t start crying at the finish.  I wanted to cry earlier, but now I’m just done.  I move through the finish chute, collecting my medal and enough food to feed me for the next month.  I’m quickly chilled after I stop running and end up tying my space blanket around my waist to keep my bare legs warm.  I sit to rest a bit, eat, and drink some water and chocolate milk.  I have a hard time getting up again, but I stagger down to the end to wait for JD.  I see him and feel relief—he looks so happy with a marathon medal dangling around his neck.  We compare loot (SO MUCH FOOD!) and wait for his friend Renee, who is not far behind.

After congratulations and time-checking, we head back to Cobo Joe’s for drinks and pizzas.  It is truly a party, with cheers and smiles and lots of congratulations.  I am so happy to be with these people today and so lucky to have been able to run this race.  I eat until I am pleasantly full, making sure to drink water too.  I chat with JD’s running coaches, one of whom saw me on the course and cheered for me.  They are an absolute delight, and I wish I lived close enough to join the running group for their twice-weekly runs.

Finally, after basking in the afterglow in the city, we pack up and head out.  JD and I are both…beyond words.  Happy, relieved, full of pizza.  It’s been a good day.  I take a few photos on our way out of the city and feel that all those long, sweaty, lonely hours in Texas this summer were worth it for this one day of running.

Joy.  That’s how running your first marathon feels.

A few more photos from marathon day.

Old Churches

Eastern Wig and Hair Co

Church Plus Stoplight

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Recovery and Ruminations on Failure

Tall Trees

Today I went out for my first post-marathon exercise: a slow walk next to the tall trees with their autumn leaves swaying in the breeze.  It’s chilly in Michigan today, so I was bundled up in tights, a scarf, and a sweater that has its own built-in hand-warmers.

Hand Warmers and Fingers

As I walked, I thought about the marathon training cycle that ended successfully on Sunday.  I keep thinking that I really should not have run such a fast marathon.  (A side note: yes, I know that for some people, a five-hour finish is not fast.  For me, it was fast and unexpected.  Let’s just agree that fast is a relative term, okay?)  After all, I walked most of my long “runs.”  I learned how to power-walk for long intervals, slowly building endurance.  I tinkered with speeds to learn how difference paces felt, at least on a treadmill inside an air-conditioned gym.  And in the end, I chose to be outside in the Texas heat because that’s what I do: I train outside.  It’s just part of who I am.  Whenever I’m inside on a treadmill, I’m always wishing I were outside, even as I’m grateful to have the treadmill as a work-out option.

My marathon training was a series of struggles, but the most important struggle happened between my ears.  I believed that since I failed to execute my training plan perfectly, I had already failed at the marathon.  I was so hard on myself about all my setbacks, secretly convinced that I deserved to fail because I had failed in so many little ways already.  And yet…4:56:50.  Not only did I finish, but I ran the marathon respectably well.  Better than I thought possible.  Which brings me back to the mental game and a question I can’t answer:

How do we decide what is possible?

Looking back now, I feel much softer toward myself.  Not only has it been a crazy year, a year of transition and heartache and falling in love and finding myself again, it’s been a year of doing things I have never done.  I never dreamed that I’d resign from a job without a new job waiting for me.  I never thought I’d ask a new boyfriend to go on a huge, multi-destination trip with me.  And I never thought I’d start a marathon feeling so unprepared for the miles ahead of me.

When I’m being kind to myself, I can acknowledge that since August, I’ve had a very full plate.  Starting a new job is a challenge by itself, let alone a new job plus marathon training plus the rest of my life.  I fit marathon training into that life as best I could.  Sometimes I nailed my training plans; other times I fell short and tried to be flexible.  The point is that I didn’t let a lack of perfection completely derail me.  I kept at it, kept trying to do better.  I think Sunday’s performance was my ultimate “do better.”  And that felt amazing.

I want to work on being more positive with myself.  Not just with my running, but with everything.  It’s never too late to do better.  I believe that with my whole heart.  But it’s also important to know when to persist and when to back off.  If I had felt I was courting injury, I would have backed off of marathon training.  If I felt like I was under-performing at work or hurting people by being negligent, then I would have reconsidered my schedule.  Mostly, I felt the tug of disappointment that I had to settle for “good enough” in every area of my life.  But maybe “good enough” is still really damn good.  The experience of stretching myself to my limit is worth having.  It provides perspective, builds discipline, encourages growth.  I think this year has shown me my limits and my ability to adapt.  I am grateful for all of it.

Gorgeous Yellow Leaves

Boots Tights Leaves

SPI Belt_Not just for running anymore

{SPI belt: not just for running any more!}

Thanks for reading, sweet friends.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

We Gave It Our All

Bib Plus Medal

We came, we ran, we finished: JD and I are now marathoners.

Today was an amazing day.  Really, everything about the 2013 Detroit Marathon was awesome: the course, the volunteers, the police/security/border patrol.  But sharing the first marathon experience with JD was the most special thing about today.  Like many runners, we had toyed with the idea of running a marathon separately, but it was together that we made it happen.  And I love that we ran Detroit together, our beloved hometown big city.  The course blew me away with its beauty and grandeur, from crossing the Ambassador Bridge into Canada to Belle Isle to winding through historic Detroit neighborhoods.  It was Detroit as I’d never seen it before.  Seeing it through an adult’s eyes and on foot was a novel experience, one that I will forever treasure.

I’m exhausted tonight, so I just wanted to pop in to say that the race went well, we finished, and we are still (painfully) mobile.  My legs hurt so bad that when my niece tried to get me to go for an evening bike ride or sit in my lap, I had to say no.  Exercise is not my friend right now, nor is any pressure on my tender knees and quads.  I feel like a terrible auntie.

But before I go, I want to report our finishing times.  JD clocked an amazing 5:25:11, nicely snagging that under-5:30 time he wanted.  I finished in 4:56:50, a time that I had no business running, and yet there it is.  I’ll take it!

I’ll be back soon with a longer, fuller race report.  For tonight, I’m basking in the glow of a successful first marathon and ready for a deep, restful sleep.

Until then…run with heart, friends.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Week Nineteen: The Home Stretch

Excellent Happens Here'

Giant Marathon Map

From the Passenger Side

Week of October 14, 2013:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Evening run: 31 minutes total with 20 minutes running

Wednesday: Off to Detroit + Evening run with JD’s running group (29 minutes total, with 24 minutes running)

Thursday: Off.  Completely off.  Didn’t even go outside today.

Friday: Played with Devin in the yard and went for a quick walk/run with him (untimed)

Saturday: Walked around the marathon expo with JD and went to the apple orchard with the family (Does jumping up and down on a teeter-totter count as a work-out?)

Estimated mileage: 5.5 miles. Total minutes: 60.

The marathon is upon us, friends!  This morning James (JD) and I went down to the Detroit Marathon expo to pick up our bibs and soak in the marathon excitement.  For me, this week has made the marathon feel real in a way it hadn’t before.  I’m sure it’s because I’ve done almost all of my training alone, and on top of that, I’ve struggled with my commitment to this race.  But I’m here, and I’m ready to run/walk 26.2 miles starting just after 7 AM tomorrow morning.

I’m especially excited for JD to run this race.  He’s been training with a running group all summer, and his speed and endurance have both skyrocketed this year.  I think he’s going to have a fantastic race.  We’re going to try to run as much of the marathon together as possible, but I will be taking powerwalk breaks in between running bouts.  As I’ve told a lot of people, my walking plan for tomorrow is not a “death walk”—it’s powerwalking, which means the goal is to keep up the pace and effort throughout the race.  The “death walk” or “death shuffle,” as some people call it, is what happens when you’ve run as much as you can, and fatigue forces you to walk.  My goal is to avoid the death shuffle and to stay strong until the finish.

I have no idea how fast I will finish.  Those last nine miles or so are going to be very tough, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll finish by 5:30.  And if not 5:30, then please let me finish before 6:30 when the course closes!

Either way, JD and I are super excited for our first marathon.  Whatever tomorrow brings—rain or sun, cold or hot, wind or calm—I hope we have smiles on our faces at the end.

See you at the finish line, friends!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Week Eighteen: Almost There…

Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi

Voyage to Saturn

A New Friend

Week of October 7, 2013:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Evening run: 31 minutes total with 20 minutes running

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Morning run: 42 minutes total with 30 minutes running

Friday: Off (off to Corpus Christi for the last wedding of the year!)

Saturday: Off (tooling around and celebrating in Corpus)

Sunday: Evening run: 89 minutes total with 51 minutes running

Estimated mileage: 14.2 miles.  Total minutes: 162.

Over the weekend, Paul and I went to Saturn, which was a short walk from our hotel in Corpus Christi.  In fact, we visited the whole solar system, from Pluto all the way to the sun, although we did it in two legs, from Uranus to the sun one day and then Neptune to Pluto the next.  It was pretty awesome because it’s not every day you get to tour the planets!

(Wait.  Maybe I should back up and explain our interplanetary journey?)

We visited a scale model of the solar system in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Last Friday, we headed south for our final wedding of the year.  Paul’s stepbrother was getting married, so not only were we finishing our wedding circuit, but I was poised to meet Paul’s extended family.  It was a really wonderful weekend; his family was so gracious and welcoming.  I had already met some of his immediate family, including his parents, sister, and sister’s family.  (Fun side note: I met his sister’s family when I was missing my front tooth.  After the accident and a visit to urgent care, we went to Houston for his niece and nephew’s birthday (they’re twins) because why not?  I had nothing else to do that day, other than mope about my missing tooth.)  At the wedding, I also met his stepfamily and his aunt and uncle, as well as friends and acquaintances from years gone by.  Weddings are always interesting and a bit nervewracking for me (and everyone else?).  This particular wedding had a few bumps, but overall it was a lovely and love-filled weekend.

Paul and I had a free morning on Saturday, so we found breakfast at a fun local diner (Hester’s Café and Coffee Bar) and then set off for a little mini-adventure.  We visited K Space, an art gallery in which Paul’s friend Matt had a piece in the current exhibition.  We walked along the sea wall, which is where the scale model solar system is on display.  It’s a brilliant use of the space: the planets and sun are proportionally spaced apart, so the walk from one planet to the next represents the distance between, say, Saturn and Jupiter.  And walking along the sea wall is a required activity for tourists—it feels like instant vacation to stroll along the sea, looking out at the ships and water.

On Sunday evening, I dutifully set off for my last “long” work-out before the marathon.  My training plan called for 45 minutes, but I had missed a work-out earlier in the week, so I decided to roll them together and ended up clocking 89 minutes of running and walking.  It was an uncomfortable run; I had a cramp in my diaphragm for much of it, so I ended up walking more than I would have liked.  That’s running for you: you never know how any given run will turn out.

As I type this, I am above the Earth, en route to Detroit from Houston.  Paul and I ended up driving to Houston late last night and staying at his sister’s house.  This morning we had a very filling, relaxing breakfast at Black Walnut Café, which our friend Courtney introduced to us.  If you didn’t know it already, Houston has some seriously delicious vegetarian food.  Besides Black Walnut Café, we’ve also fallen hard for Fadi’s, which serves amazing Middle Eastern food.  Next on my list of places to try is Bombay Pizza Co.—they make pizzas and top them with Indian-style toppings, such as saag paneer.  Yum!

I’m looking forward to my week in Michigan, but truthfully, I already miss Paul and my cat.  Which reminds me: I almost forgot the required cat photo!  Here you go:

Two updates down, one more to go before Sunday…

Monday, October 14, 2013

Week Seventeen: Camping and Cooler Weather

Incredible Stone Formations

Week of September 30, 2013:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Evening run: 34 minutes total with 25 minutes of running

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Evening run: 49 minutes total with 37 minutes of running

Friday: Went for a hike while camping with Paul at Pedernales Falls State Park

Saturday: Another hike!

Sunday: Long run: 60 minutes total with 49 minutes of running.

Estimated mileage: 13.2 miles.  Total minutes: 143.

We’re down to the final countdown before the marathon: six days until the big M.  And here I am, weeks behind on my training log, as usual.  Better late than never, right?

Last weekend Paul and I headed west to Pedernales Falls State Park, a mouthful of a name that I can’t seem to say without pausing to get it right.  It was a gorgeous weekend, and though we had just one night of camping, we went hiking twice, cooked a wonderful (if slightly burnt) dinner, and saw a skyful of stars and our very own Milky Way shining across the light years.  I’m hoping to write more about that weekend on my other blog, so if you read both, I might be repeating myself.  I hope you’ll forgive me!

The weather turned chilly on Saturday as we drove to San Angelo for the wedding, and the cool weather stayed with us the next day when we came home.  What a difference it makes for running!  I had the most wonderful run of my training season that day—I felt speedy and strong in the pleasantly autumnal weather.  It made me so excited for my trip to Michigan and the marathon itself, which is slated to give us a temperature high of 55 degrees F.  55 degrees!  I haven’t seen weather like that since…well, maybe since that weekend in San Angelo!

In unrelated news, my sister Theresa sent Lucy some presents, including a little cat carpet with a feather and a zipper pouch for catnip.  Lucy loves her new carpet!

Lucy and Her New Carpet

Going After the Twine

And here’s proof that Paul and Lucy are soulmates:

Paul Likes the Carpet Too

He loves the carpet too.

This week’s goal: finish my marathon training posts before the actual marathon!  One down, two more to go…

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Week Sixteen: 3:32!

A few photos from my Saturday morning (my last one at home for the next few weeks!):

 Current Reading

Clouds Gathering

Sleepy Kitty

{Current reading material // Lounging outside on campus // Morning cat}

Week of September 23, 2013:

Monday: Long powerwalk, 110 minutes

Tuesday: Evening run, 42 minutes total with 30 minutes running

Wednesday: Off (date night!)

Thursday: Evening walk, 32 minutes.

Friday: Off (felt a little under the weather)

Saturday: Off (but walked around campus on a fun tour)

Sunday: Long walk/run, 212 minutes total.  Details below.

{Both estimated}  Total miles run/walked this week: 30.4.  Total minutes: 396.  WHOA NOW!

Today’s post is a two-parter.  Over the weekend, Paul and I had a friend in town.  It was Lewis!  Lewis of Austin Sea Veggies and the goats, and we were thrilled to hang out with him.  Lewis invited us to tag along with him on a sciencey Saturday adventure.  I met up with Paul and Lewis at Antonio’s, where we met even more friends for pizza and chatting.  (Note: black beans and avocado sound odd on pizza, but they are delicious.  Assuming you love black beans as much as I do.)  Afterward, we headed over to meet a professor and talk about an undergraduate research project involving coral and the tiny dinoflagellates that live with them.  Paul and I did more listening than talking during that meeting, but I like to think that we each offered something of value.  There should be more partnerships between mechanical engineers and biologists!

Afterward, we walked around campus and toured several of the fish tanks, including Aglantis in the MSC, our big beautiful student center.  Paul and I had visited Aglantis once before, as part of a Tuesday lunch date.  Today we got to see the underworkings—the pumps and hidden tank that are used to add algae-derived nutrients to the main tank.  By this time, I was ready for a nap, but my engineering-minded boyfriend was busy peering into the secret compartment.  It was very fun to get a taste of a different kind of science that’s happening right here on campus.  My work is pretty far removed from zoology, yet the techniques of molecular biology can be applied to virtually any organism.  Which probably means that I’ll always have a job, assuming that job involves things like nucleic acids and genomic sequences.  That’s certainly why I have my current job!

On Sunday afternoon, I set out for my final long work-out.  The schedule asked for 3.5 hours, and I was determined to clock 3.5 hours on my feet.  After the pity party/reality check in my last post, I realized I had one last shot to get some serious mileage into my training before the marathon.  I could do this!  I could conquer my laziness and make those mikes happen!  And as you can see above, I did, but here’s the twist I used to keep myself from getting bored.  After a warm-up, I did a running ladder of sorts, starting at 1 minute and working up to 10.  It looked something like this:

Run 1 minute.

Walk 9 minutes.

Run 2 minutes.

Walk 8 minutes.

Run 3 minutes.

Walk 7 minutes.

And so on, all the way up to running 10 minutes.  Over the course of 100 minutes, that’s 55 minutes of running.  It is an excellent way to keep your pace up while run/walking.  I did one full version of that ladder, walked for 10 minutes, and started another one, ending at 8 minutes of running (because I’d reached my time goal for the work-out).  Altogether, I logged 91 minutes of running.  I’m so happy with the ladder work-out that I will probably use it during the marathon at least once.

At the risk of bragging, I will say that I am immensely proud of myself for Sunday’s work-out.  At an estimated 17.1 miles, it is the final push before the marathon and my longest on-foot work-out ever.  I have struggled a lot with my commitment to this race.  More than once I have wondered if maybe I should not be doing it at all.  I can say now without hesitation that I am a half-marathoner at heart—I love 13.1 and see myself racing that distance for years and years.  I’ve had a real mental block for 26.2, on top of the other challenges that marathon training has posed for me, such as the time-intensive work-outs and the unforgiving Texas heat.  26.2 just hasn’t felt do-able for me, which has translated to an I-can’t-do-this attitude.  Hence my ambivalence for the past four months.

But now…now I think maybe I can do this.  17.1 is still 9.1 short of 26.2, and believe me, I was hurting by the end of 17.1.  More importantly, now I remember why we sign up for something as crazy as a 26.2-mile race: to see if we can do it.  Those of us who are first-time marathoners don’t know if we can do it.  When we push outside of our comfort zones, we give ourselves the chance to be amazing, to be better, to be more.  We do it to lift ourselves out of our daily experience.  To ascend, if only for a moment, to greatness.  Our own personal greatness.  There’s a fine line, I think, between identifying as people and identifying as the sum of our accomplishments.  I know I will be the same essential person after October 20th—I’m still me.  But if I manage to finish that damn marathon, I will be a buoyantly accomplished version of me.  I will be a marathoner.  And that’s pretty awesome.

To the marathon, friends!


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Quick hit: Christiane Amanpour wins Walter Cronkite Award

It was announced yesterday that Christiane Amanpour, host of ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, has been awarded the 2011 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Amanpour joins the ranks of 27 other honorees, including women like Katie Couric, Cokie Roberts and Rachel Maddow, and adds this award to her already stunning list of honors.

Since starting her own show last year, Amanpour has done some fantastic and characteristically hard-hitting reporting, asking tough questions of world leaders and making a point of including a lot of women as interview subjects and featured experts.

This past weekend, she interviewed Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister the woman tipped to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the IMF. There was something deeply thrilling – at least for this long-time admirer of both women – about seeing the two of them together, both of them multi-lingual, powerful professional women, in conversation about global financial policy. It made me cry happy, proud feminist tears.

Congratulations to Ms. Amanpour and to the entire team at This Week.

New York, NY

Chloe Angyal is a journalist and scholar of popular culture from Sydney, Australia. She joined the Feministing team in 2009. Her writing about politics and popular culture has been published in The Atlantic, The Guardian, New York magazine, Reuters, The LA Times and many other outlets in the US, Australia, UK, and France. She makes regular appearances on radio and television in the US and Australia. She has an AB in Sociology from Princeton University and a PhD in Arts and Media from the University of New South Wales. Her academic work focuses on Hollywood romantic comedies; her doctoral thesis was about how the genre depicts gender, sex, and power, and grew out of a series she wrote for Feministing, the Feministing Rom Com Review. Chloe is a Senior Facilitator at The OpEd Project and a Senior Advisor to The Harry Potter Alliance. You can read more of her writing at chloesangyal.com

Chloe Angyal is a journalist and scholar of popular culture from Sydney, Australia.

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_MG_9503A Place to Be Free

City of Corona Article about our Summer 2016 Session!

Listen to one of our bands performing I’d Rather Go Blind

About Us

Here at Kids Rock Free® (KRF) at Fender® Center, freedom is in the air with unrestricted access to music. Here is the ability to carve out your own personal niche and uncover the artist within.

KRF, founded in July of 1998 as a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, is committed to creating and maintaining a world-class educational facility to grant kids the freedom to learn and express their passion for music.

The continuing goal of Kids Rock Free at Fender Center is to provide the community with a music school that welcomes kids and adults to learn and experience the arts in a safe, compassionate environment where no youth are ever turned away for inability to pay. We assist low-income families with KRF scholarships so that the children have access to music lessons that offer them the special benefits music Ed can provide, including creativity, academic achievement and self-confidence. Because we still believe that In a perfect world…Kids Rock Free.

Fundraisers donations, grants and special events benefit Kids Rock Free® School of Music via student scholarships and special programming.

Kids Rock Free is a proud member of Arts Alive, Cultural Arts Council of Corona and Americans for the Arts.


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Friday, October 30, 2009

Coming Out Of The Closet

Behold a milestone: my latest piece in the Guardian is the first time I, while wearing my professional-writer's hat, discuss the scandalously fun way I paid for college.

As I said in my phone-sex story, "Behold the grandeur of the twins." I daresay my former career has something to do with why I look so much younger than I am; the good thing about spending your youth hanging upside-down from a stripper pole is that when things start to sag, they sag up.

On a more serious note: the piece discusses the (unaccountably controversial) notion in Superfreakonomics that the supply-and-demand laws which apply to every other economic endeavor apply to prostitution and sex work as well. I'd write something witty and pithy here, but I'm still waiting for my coffee to kick in.

Anonymous NoStar said...

The economic engine that will make Earth-orbit space travel profitable will be health spa space stations promoting the youth enhancing properties of zero gee on mammary glands.

As a recently married man, I will now stop any brewing fantasies before I embarrass myself.

4:58 AM
Blogger Jennifer said...

I still say knowing how to impersonate Mussolini makes me a better libertarian.

7:28 PM
Anonymous smartass sob said...

I'll bet you were hell on the monkey bars and the jungle gym when you were a child.

8:26 PM
Anonymous NoStar said...

You have a good point, Jen. Err...two good points.

6:34 AM
Anonymous Jeff P said...

Not to cast aspersions on any of Jen's talents, or question her fiercly independant streak, but she does an impressive Pol Pot impression when she brings me my evening martini, and watching her channel Stalin while cleaning the toilet gets me every time...

9:41 AM
Blogger Jennifer said...

He's lying. I will occasionally bring him a beer but I've never cleaned a toilet in my life; every so often I'll pour bleach into the tank, and figure that's sufficient.

9:51 AM
Anonymous smartass sob said...

but I've never cleaned a toilet in my life

I have - one learns all kinds of things having been brought up by my mother's generation - and if one doesn't, Uncle Sam's Navy is more than happy to rectify one's education in such matters. I'll say this: I'd rather clean a toilet than some drunken officer's vomit out of a sink. Shitty diapers aren't much fun either.

11:00 PM
Anonymous smartass sob said...

A child's shitty diapers, I meant - fortunately I haven't had to do those of any adults...yet.

11:04 PM
Blogger The New England Curmudgeon said...

I can't believe I didn't know you were writing for the Guardian. I have got to get my head out of the sand more often.

2:30 PM
Blogger Jennifer said...

Yes, Bob, pull it out! (Double entendre for the win!)

How is Xio doing,by the way? Please drop me an e-mail; my damnfool self lost your address.

2:33 PM
Blogger The New England Curmudgeon said...

Will do. I'll fill you in on the newest.

3:16 PM

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So for this post, the idea is basic. Create a similar 2 way radio mobile app, but ‘tactify’ it. lol Get it encrypted and secure, and give it functions that would be applicable to military/police/contractor uses. Or just have basic switches on the mobile app that allow a user to customize the app to suite their needs.

The top mobile app for turning your smart phone into a basic 2 way radio according to this article below is Voxer Walkie-Talkie. If you would like to play around with it, and maybe use it for hunting or none tactical purposes, here is a link to check it out. Here it is on iTunes, and below is the description of what it does.

Featured by Apple in 50+ countries
Turn your phone into a Walkie Talkie.
Don’t waste time on phone calls and voicemails.
Voxer® is a Walkie Talkie app for smartphones. Send instant Audio, Text, Photo and Location messages to one friend or a group of your friends. Your friends can listen to your message while you talk or check it out later.
-Cross Platform Messenger
-No annoying advertisements
-Works over WiFi, 3G and any other data network
-Get notifications for new messages
-Create messages even offline
-Play voice messages faster
-Connect with Facebook friends on Voxer
Voxer turns your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch device into the ultimate Push To Talk (PTT) real-time Walkie Talkie.

The other thing I was thinking about with a Tactical Radio Mobile App is that companies could save money by not having to buy expensive handheld two way radios. They could just depend upon an internet connection locally or 3G/data networks, and have a team work off of that. So instead of depending upon a repeater, you are depending upon a diversified array of ‘repeaters’. Or you could have this as your back up to your pre-existing communications system.

Another angle is to create a Garmin Rhino style mobile app. Something that turns your smart phone into a basic Garmin Rhino, complete with blue force tracker style capability and two way radio functionality.

On the downside would be battery life. So along with the mobile app, you would probably have to get hardened cases with extra battery juice installed, to further extend the radio’s life and durability through a shift. Although I think the market has plenty of sources for this type of thing. I would think a power source that would give your phone enough juice to last a 12 hour shift would be acceptable. Rechargeable would be necessary as well. Pretty neat and I hope someone out there is able to take this idea and run with it. Maybe do a kickstarter for it? –Matt

Smartphone? Presto! 2-Way Radio
September 5, 2012
Cave drawings, smoke signals, letters, Pony Express, telegrams, phone calls, text messages. From the dawn of civilization, man has experimented with different modes of communication, each with pros and cons. Smoke signals, for example, contribute to far fewer car accidents than text messages. Text messages, on the other hand, leave much less soot.
You might think that we’ve exhausted every variation on electronic communication — text, audio, video — but you’d be wrong. A new one is quietly winning over millions of gadget fans. They’re free apps with names like Voxer, HeyTell and Zello, and they really do mess with the rules of the game.
Nobody’s settled on a good name for this communications category. But if we call them voice-texting apps, or walkie-talkie apps, you’ll get the idea.
They work on iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, Android phones and Windows phones. You open the app, tap someone’s name, hold down the big Talk button and speak. A second after you start talking — yes, even before you’re finished — your voice bursts to life, extremely clearly, on your friend’s phone, wherever it may be in the world.
Your buddy can respond to you by pressing his own Talk button, and the conversation is under way.
Now, before you roll your eyes — “These youngsters today! Why do they need so many different ways to talk!?” — consider all the ways these apps improve on existing modes of chat.

Way 1: If you’re driving, walkie-talkie communication is far safer than texting. You never have to look at the phone. The Talk button is generally gigantic. It’s like trying to hit a barn door with a softball.
Way 2: Speaking is far quicker and more accurate than typing. There are no misrecognitions to correct.
Way 3: Voice is far more expressive than a text message. Nobody will ever say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I misunderstood the tone of your text message!”
Way 4: These apps have some advantages over phone calls, too. They don’t use up any of your cellular minutes. Your utterances are transmitted by Internet and use up very little data. And, of course, these apps let you communicate free wherever you can find a Wi-Fi hot spot, even when you’re out of cellular range or out of the country.
Way 5: In some situations, walkie-talkie messages are more useful than phone calls. A phone call is understood to be a conversation with defined starting and ending points.
Voice messaging apps foster a different kind of connection. It’s not one six-minute conversation; it’s sporadic bursts throughout the day. Less like a meeting, more like an intercom — with a global reach. You pipe up when you have something you want to ask or say; you’re silent the rest of the time. Like text messages, say, or those Sprint Nextel phones that work as walkie-talkies.
By the way, don’t worry about being interrupted by some idiot blaring out of your phone in a moment of intimacy, concentration or church. If the app is not actually open, then incoming voice messages simply notify you silently with an alert bubble, as a text message would. (And it doesn’t even do that until you visit your phone’s Settings app and permit notifications for that app.) Also, you can turn the speakerphone function on or off.
Each app preserves your utterances on a History screen so you can replay them later. If you were to listen to mine, you’d find a lot of exchanges that begin, for example, “Hey, did you say right or left at the Taco Bell?” or “Sorry to bug you — have you seen that flashlight we bought last week?” or “I just saw that tweet. Very funny.”
The only hard part is getting started. You have to install the app and then somehow connect it to your friends, co-workers and family. Most apps offer to auto-import your Facebook friends, or you can choose a contact from your phone’s address book and send a text-message invitation (which contains a link for downloading the app).
Once you stumble through the setup process, the rest is easy. Each app offers a Favorites list of some kind that lets you list the important people in your life — spouse, children, employees, bosses, friends, old school buddies back home.
What’s really amazing is that these apps are free. If you have an app phone, there’s no reason on earth you shouldn’t go try one out right now.
The question is, then, which one? The iTunes and Android stores list dozens of similar apps. These apps are mutually incompatible, so you want to choose the most popular one, because you’ll increase the odds that your contacts have the same app.
Here are the three that seem to have the most fans and highest ratings on the iTunes store.
ZELLO WALKIE TALKIE This free app works on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows, which makes it far more useful than, for example, iPhone-only apps. The design is beautiful, simple and uncluttered — there aren’t even ads.
Like most of the best apps, Zello lets you create groups so that you can carry on something like a party-line phone call among a handful — or hundreds — of friends or collaborators. The company suggests, for example, that you can set up a Zello “room” for your company’s customers when they have questions.
What’s wild is that Zello comes prestocked with such channels from India, London, Toronto, Washington and so on. You sit there, jaw agape, and listen to people, in real time, from all over the world. You feel the same sense of wonder you felt when you were little and your dad took you down to his basement to listen to a ham radio.
HEYTELL There’s a slightly more commercial feel to this app, thanks to the small banner ads and the option to buy add-on features. (My favorite: the voice-changing module that turns you into a robot, an auto-tune singer or the opposite gender for $2.) Another knock: This app doesn’t transmit your utterance until you release the Talk button, so it’s slightly less real-time than its rivals.
But HeyTell is available for iPhone, Android or Windows Phone, which is great. It offers group chats. It can transmit your location along with your verbiage. And it lets you send prized audio blurbs to Facebook or e-mail for posterity.
VOXER WALKIE-TALKIE Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Voxer is free. It’s for both Apple and Android devices. It’s packed with features. And it’s self-explanatory.
Voxer’s best twist is that it includes, next to the Talk button, Photo and Text buttons. Your back-and-forths with someone, therefore, can freely intermix photos, spoken sentences and typed ones. “I’m here at Home Depot, honey,” you could say. “Would this grill fit on our patio?” (Click!)
All of this shows up in a single scrolling screen, instant-messaging style. If you tap the Play button on one of the utterances, they all play back in sequence for a quick review of the conversation so far.
In the blessing-and-curse department, if you log in through Facebook, Voxer’s screen auto-lists all your Voxer-equipped Facebook friends. You don’t have to spend time individually inviting people to Vox with you. Still, the sudden appearance of all these people can be confusing, and it’s not clear how you weed out the deadwood. (The company says it intends to add a Favorites feature.)
Still, Voxer and its ilk represent a refreshing, free, truly useful new spin on communications — an ingenious crossbreed of text messages and phone calls. True, these apps don’t perform well when your Internet signal is poor, and they’re useless when you’re trying to reach people who don’t have an awesome touch-screen phone.
But that’s O.K. For them, there are always smoke signals.
Story here.


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13 Trends and Issues to Watch in 2013: Farm-To-Glass Cocktails and Sharable Plates

A strong beverage program with culinary-inspired cocktails, often using small batch spirits and seasonal produce, along with properly-tapped craft brews and a thoughtful selection of wines has become just as important as the food.

nellcote-kitchen-cocktailsAt Nellcote in Chicago, Bar Director Tim Williams and team launched a line of "kitchen cocktails" — artfully crafted and presented drinks using artisan, small batch spirits and the same locally grown, seasonal fruits and herbs from the farmer's market used by the chefs. Think farm-to-glass. "We had the idea to create a station on the line in the kitchen for a service bartender who could make these cocktails," Williams says, noting that the space opens up opportunities for chef-mixologist collaborations. "The lines between kitchen and bar are slowly getting more blurred. At the root of all this is flavor and using what's seasonally relevant and creating as much as you can to elevate a cocktail."

From a service standpoint, this means Williams starts his day in the afternoon, not the evening, coming in early to juice fruits, create infusions and make other fresh mix-ins from scratch. From an equipment standpoint, this means he needs a strong, powerful juicer, a bounty of beakers, shakers and other containers and an assortment of spoons, ladles, peelers and glasses in classic, vintage and modern styles. "Not everything is poured in a martini or rocks glass," he says. "It's about putting the cocktails in the right glasses from a historical standpoint."

While they have dominated the dining room in recent years, small, sharable plates now populate bar menus for "snacking" and light (often less expensive) meals. According to research from Technomic, 77 percent of consumers ordered food with their adult beverage purchase on their most recent visit to a bar, restaurant or lounge; of them 44 percent ordered a bar food/appetizer item. In this area, trendy tabletop's now the norm. Think unique plates, mason jars, rustic terra cotta, even pieces of wood or slate as the new presentation for quick, colorful bites.

To see all of our 2013 trends click here

Related Articles


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Thomas A. Dee, Jr., MBA

Principal, Chief Financial Officer
Boston, MA

Thomas Dee is Financial Architects Partners Chief Financial Officer. In Tom's role, he oversees all finance, accounting, human resource, and technology functions of the firm, inclusive of our proprietary technology AdminPro™. Tom joined the firm in 2004 as Director of Finance, after completing his MBA. Prior to joining FAP, Tom worked in various roles for State Street Bank and the Liberty Mutual Group.

You may not know that Tom is a "Triple Eagle," having attended BC High, BC and BC graduate school.

Master of Business Administration, Boston College
Bachelor of Science in Finance, Boston College

Prudential Tower
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Review for He Breathed Night

He Breathed Night

(#) cke-banb 2005-11-26

This was a well written story, but whenever this pairing is done, it's very cliche. However, you're a very good writer, especially when it comes to dialogue, and description. Try a different pairing. I'd like to see how that turns out. :)


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by BleedingValentine 5 reviews

I'm back bitches.

Category: My Chemical Romance - Rating: G - Genres:  - Published: 2013-11-12 - 306 words

I'M BACK GUYS. Well, sort of. The truth is, recently I've had no ambition whatsoever to write, but it's come back recently, and I think I am going to write the sequel! It's going to be based on the opening night of the show, and going to be a lot more drama based. However, I have sort of been thinking... I want to rewrite this story. I've developed as a writer and as a person since this was published over a year ago now, and I think I want to redo it. Who would want to read a re-write?

And bear in mind, it will be a billion times better, funnier, smoother writing and plot, and fuck it, I may even squish in "the sequel" into the rewrite, making the story longer and making it have a happier ending. How does that sound? I know there's probably like two of you that still read this but if you really want to, I'd really love you reading it.

However, a couple of notes. There won't be very frequent updates. I'm in my first year of sixth form (that's like a junior in American high school? I don't fucking know how it correlates) and have started my A-levels which basically means I have more free time but I need to use that free time studying. Okay? Just so you guys know it won't be as frequent as it could be. Maybe a chapter a week if you're lucky.

But that still means I'm back! So I'm going to need a vote for either; write a sequel or rewrite the whole thing and squish the original and sequel into one. I think I prefer the second option, yeah? Depending on the reactions to this post, I'll probably start posting in a couple of weeks.

Love you bitches.

~BV xo
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Thursday , March 23 2017

Sanyukt 19th March 2017 Video Episode

Watch Online Indian Drama Serial Sanyukt. Drama Sanyukt Latest Episode. Zee TV Sanyukt. Indina Sanyukt Today Episode. Ozee Sanyukt Full Video. Today Drama of Sanyukt 19 March 2017.

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Thank you

Many thanks for your application to the British Council Travel Grant Fund, offered in partnership with BFI.

Your application will be processed and assessed in accordance with our guidelines and you will be notified within 30 days about the outcome of your application. If your application is time sensitive do please mail us at

With very best wishes

British Council Film Team


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Filmation Ghostbusters Wiki

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this wiki
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Appeared in Ghostbusters
Voiced by Linda Gary

Mysteria, the self proclaimed Mistress of Mysts, was a ghost known to be very vain. She served Prime Evil.

Mysteria was very vain, which often turned out to be her greatest weakness.

She wore all violet and she usually moved in a mist. She was based on Morticia Addams from The Addams Family.

Her backstory is unknown.

I'll Be A Son of a Ghostbuster (Part I)

Frights of the Roundtable (Part II)

The Ones Who Saved The Future (Part V)

Witch's Stew

Wacky Wax Museum

Statue of Liberty

Eddie Takes Charge

He Went Brataway

Dynamite Dinosaurs

The Beastly Buggy

The Haunting Of Gizmo (non-speaking role)

Train To Doom-De-Doom-Doom

Doggone Werewolf

Little Big Bat

The Curse Of The Diamond Of Gloom

The Fourth Ghostbuster (mentioned and picture shown only)

Back To The Past

The Way You Are (non-speaking role)

  • Mysteria is said to be based on Morticia from The Addams Family.
  • Prime Evil seemed to hold her in higher regard than his other henchmen, as when he went on vacation she was supposed to be left in charge.

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Student Financial Aid

Summer 2017 Financial Aid Information Page

Please check back in March 2017 for Summer financial aid information.

Students who register for Summer 2017 and wish to receive financial aid are required to fulfill the following criteria to be eligible:

  • File the 2016-2017 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with the U.S. Department of Education before June 30, 2017. We may not be able to process your aid in time if the FAFSA form is filed late.
  • Maintain at least half-time enrollment (6 credits undergraduate, and 24 graduate units). Courses taken for audit are not included in the calculation.
  • When requested, submit any additional documentation. The Office of Student Financial Aid will notify you of any necessary documents, such as a student tax return transcript or parent tax return transcript. Do NOT submit information unless requested to do so by our office.
  • Please select the payment exemption option “Financial Aid” when registering for the summer term. We will review your account at that time for summer financial aid. If you did not note the financial aid exemption after registration, click here.

Financial aid for the Summer semester is extremely limited and is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Required Enrollment

  • At least half-time Summer enrollment is required for Direct loans, and Federal Work-Study (FWS).
  • If you drop hours at any time during the Summer sessions, your aid may be adjusted and you may receive a bill.
  • Private loans may be available to students enrolled less than half-time.

Pell Grant Information

  • Eligibility for a summer 2017 Pell Grant will be calculated based on any unused Pell Grant remaining from the 2016-17 academic year.
  • If you plan on graduating in August 2017 and/or December 2017, it may be beneficial to file the 2017-18 FAFSA if you have not done so already as we may utilize either FAFSA to determine your Pell Grant eligibility for Summer 2017.
  • No action is needed on your part. The Office of Student Financial Aid will determine eligibility.

Direct Loan Information

  • Direct loan eligibility for the summer term is calculated based on any unused loans that are remaining from the 2016-17 academic year.

    • Parents can apply for the PLUS loan by completing the application on-online at

Federal Work-Study (FWS)

  • Students who are interested in participating in the summer 2017 Federal Work-Study (FWS) program can be eligible to participate under two options:
    • Option 1: If you are enrolled for summer credits (session I or II) you will have your work study eligibility calculated according to your summer financial need. You may not work more than 20 hours per week.
    • Option 2: If you are not enrolled for summer sessions I or II and are planning to enroll for the fall 2017 semester and demonstrate need. You may work up to 40 hours per week. Earned income over the cost of education will be counted against your need for the 2017-18 academic year. Students must have a verified 2017-18 FAFSA and valid EFC to be eligible for Option 2.
  • Please apply for a summer 2017 FWS award through the Federal Work-Study Summer Request form. FWS summer awards review will begin mid-March. Students will receive an email regarding the outcome of their FWS award application.
  • Please note that summer FWS awards are listed under the 2017-18 financial aid account status and must be officially accepted online in order to participate. The Summer FWS Work Authorization form must be completed and returned to OSFA before the start of summer FWS employment.

Other Important Information

Plan on Studying Abroad or taking classes at another institution for the Summer?

Please click here.

If you have questions regarding financial aid for the summer term, please contact us.


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Christmas Candy

Aunt Daisy Turner

Aunt Daisy took us downtown to the show every summer and to Saunders for ice cream afterward.  And I always ended up with a splitting headache.  Too much high living I guess.  She and Alice would buy us dainty, expensive little dresses from Siegel’s or Himllhoch’s.  They all went to church every Sunday at  Plymouth Congregational. Daisy always gave us beautiful tins of gorgeous Christmas candy, that white kind filled with gooey black walnut stuff, those gooey raspberry kind and those hard, pink kind with a nut inside, also chocolates, of course!

Doris and Mary Virginia Graham. Their mother and baby brother Howard are looking out of the window.

See Mary Virginia’s Christmas Memories here Mary V. Graham Elkins Remembers Christmas

2 thoughts on “Christmas Candy”

  1. The candies sound very old-fashioned – especially the white kind filled with gooey black walnut stuff. Though I must admit that I’d love to know her recipe. I have a jar filled with black walnuts in my refrigerator. 🙂

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

green and gold

Feeling festive yesterday (partially due to my new sweater, which is so yummy and cozy!) I did my make up using some beautiful gold and green. It turned out a little more smoky than I anticipated, and the gold got all over my face (vampire?) but its still cute! I couldn't get the gold fall out off my face, so I just called it holiday glow.

Products used:
Gold: Goldilux from Sugarpill (wet)
Crease colors: Liberty and LA Gun from Tokidoki Robbery pallete. Gunmetal from Naked pallete from Urban Decay
hightlights :Virgin from Naked pallet from Urban Decay.

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