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Saturday, April 13, 2013

That's A'MOLE!

well..that's new!!

The human body is an AMAZING thing
a wonderful, complex-at times confusing-amazing thing
There is NO other time in your entire life, that its wonder & complexity will manifest itself more greatly, than during gestation
It will also be at its MOST confusing during those 40 weeks..
at least that was the case for me
puberty, in the (ALMOST) verbatim words of Sir M.C. Hammer, 'can't touch it'

 Now during my stint with pregnancy i learned
a LOT about myself..a LOT about my body..
some of what i discovered
MAY have manifested itself just since baby's conception
 & some MIGHT have been there my entire 22 years of being just
for me to find it
...but then again i wouldn't know because i obviously DIDN'T find it

An example of the latter being
my BOOGER mole

It all started one fine evening in early February ..
sitting around the kitchen table..
in the midst of deep meaningful conversation (cause that's all we have in casa DeCoria) my dear sister Coley suddenly exclaims (in a semi-disgusted tone)
'Why do you have a BOOGER on your shoulder?'
admittedly i'm taken aback..
my mind is reeling
'how did i get a booger on my shoulder?'
more importantly
so i find words, play it cool, & ask
'What are you talking about?'
she replies (ever degrading)
'That booger on your shoulder you filthy hampster'
so i look down to investigate
& sure enough there is what appears to be nose residue
on. my. shoulder

it was NOT a booger
it was in fact a mole
a mole that i have had my entire life
a mole that up until 8 months before was small, dark brown, & FLAT
NOT this light-brown-puffed-up-brainy-BEHEMOTH

first & foremost, i am relieved that nobody intentionally wiped a booger upon my shoulder..
secondly, i wonder, 'what the hell happened to my mole'..
and last, but to me least, ...i hope it doesn't mean cancer..

moving on to my next example
'NIPpin out'

so then maybe a week later
...maybe not even a week
i make another startling discovery
(now i'm really not sure what led me to find this next.. thing
but i found it so that's all that matters)
so that fateful morn of a very confusing day in my life
i had been to the gym & due to my growing girth
i. sweat. a. LOT
..mostly kinda sorta ONLY in my bra..
i don't get swack, i don't get swass, but i get mean swoob
due to my copious amounts of boob perspiration
 i had to switch bras once i got home
i'm in the midst of my wardrobe change
making sure everything is dry & normal
& that's when i saw it
in all it's not-normalness
towards the bottom of my right breast, what appeared to be a
third nipple, was suddenly
just. there.
i'm not going to lie to you i stared at it for an inordinate amount of time
i mean come on.. how often in your life are you going to find another nipple on your person.. & one that looks like it belongs on a CAT no less
so i'm investigating & all the while my mind was reeling..
 'WHAT AM I?!?!'
immediately i send a text to my Coley
it read
'ummmm.. sooooo.. i think i have a third nipple.. just found it..'
& i wait & i wait & i WAIT
& the response
there was no response
radio. silence.

i'm dying at this point, still in shock, needing to hash it out
& my person is letting me down
i mean in all fairness she rarely has her phone on her & even more rarely responds
but i was talking about a
it at least merited a 'bummer' or 'that sucks' or 'far out, me too!'
(ps she doesn't really have one too..)
really in my life the 2 times i've texted her when it's been really important
she kinda left me hanging
(obviously she eventually got around to responding about me being preggers.. although, she DID think the picture of a positive pee stick was a JOKE, at first..who's laughing now??)
but my 'cat teat' text??
i heard nothing
so i pulled it together, composed myself, & buried it deep, DEEP down

the next time Coley was home though..
probably only a few days later..
i exhumed what i had pushed out of my mind
once again addressing her as i was walking up the stairs
'Cole i think i have a 3rd nipple'
 (she was at the top of the stairs with Moo)
 both suddenly take a new-found interest in my discovery & they want to see it
right. then.
i at first day no
hesitating so share it with stranger eyes..
i then realize their bodies have formed a barricade at the top of the stairs
 so if i want to reach the top i have to give the goods
...or at least show them..
so with almost no self-respect left, i make like it's spring break, raise my shirt hem & bare my bottom boob
they stare in silence for .2 seconds.
& then they laugh.. & laugh.. & laugh..
then they move closer to take a better look
& they laugh some more..
& then, finally, once it's lost some of its entertainment value
they become somewhat concerned
 & suggest i have Dr. Milleson check it out at my next OB/GYN appt..
i realize it's probably not something she deals with on the reg but i'm hoping she might be able to help me understand WHY i'm suddenly exhibiting
alarming feline tendencies

so now i'm at my final OB/GYN appt..
pee in a cup, find out how NOT-thin i am, we listen to the baby, everything's good,
& lastly she asked do you have any questions or concerns??
i say 'yes..'
(because i do..i have some VERY concerning questions)
i then proceed to ease into it by telling her about
'booger mole'
i wanted to start things out normal, not lay it on too thick too fast
she says okay well we can check it out & maybe have it biopsied if need be
i say 'wonderful'
then sit there in silence
she then proceeds to once again ask
'anything else?'
i, not being able to hold out any longer, finally have to address 'IT'
'umm.. yes.. i sort of.. i.. um.. i think i found a third nipple'
now THIS got her attention
she says with new found interest
i then proceed to show her my seemingly new nipple
she investigates & starts to ask about it
i really wasn't in any position to answer many of her questions seeing as i myself was still getting to know it
so we kinda stare at it for a minute longer
& then she let's me know that it kinda looks like maybe a mole
that it doesn't look unsafe
weird yes but not necessarily alarming
 & we'd find out soon if it lactates
that is just. what. i want. to hear

so i leave my dr's appt.
feeling somewhat liberated that 'cat teat' is out of the bag
& upon my arrival home Coley & Moo are curious
about how it went
i give them the run down about everything
& then Moo asked
'Well what did she say about 'booger mole?''
i then realize
i completely forgot about 'booger mole'!!
not only that
Dr. Milleson completely forgot about 'booger mole'
it's totally understandable
i mean COME ON
how many times does someone address you with a problem of
too. many. nipples?
i'm not sure but i'm guessing it's a really low if not non-existant number
we WERE concerned about both new developments
as soon as i whipped 'CAT TEAT' out 'BOOGER MOLE' was old news

so you might be sitting there wondering
'why did i disclose this information?' or 'how can you unread what you just read'
at the very least you can take from this
2 VERY good examples of how confusing & amazing the human body can be
1 inordinately long blog post within which you will probably read the word 'nipple' more times than at ANY other time in your life..
at least i hope that's the case
(i can't imagine many causes to have that word that many times in any one place)
 i'm going to have to raise that count
 just a few more real quick
 while i disclose that 'cat nipple' does NOT lactate
 & therefore is just a very unfortunate looking & porely placed mole..
not a nipple

 have a great rest of your day!!
be sure to floss, look left & right before crossing, & when you count your blessings
be SURE to include
the fact that you have only dos semi-or-very-normal nipples! :)

(ps if you have more than 2 you can count as many blessings as needed per nipple)

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Helen Keller Jokes - DEAF-initely unacceptable

Not what you think..if i'm thinking what i think you're thinking..i think..

okay.. so judging solely by this blog posts title
 you're probably now thinking that it is
going to be about me, being a dick, making fun of the KELLSTER..

i mean come on folks..
that would be extremely
of me..
(yes bad puns are my calling)
really though, it's going to be so much more than that
due to my preggers brain
(medical term=stooopid)
i have a hard time focusing on any
thing to even make a full blog post..
so this is going to be a medley of everything that has been running through my mind today
everything that i can remember
it will be a 'trailmix blogpost' if you will

i am disturbed
not SUPER disturbed
 MODERATELY disturbed..
over cereal ads today
this isn't a recent developement persay
it's just not something that i talk about a lot
mostly cause it's not something that comes up
in normal day-to-day conversations
(although admittedly most things that fill my daily oral banterings aren't things that come up organically..)
anyways you may be wondering
'what is Amy's beef with breakfast foods'

well aside from the fact that i can't partake in most of it
a fact that i'm not bitter about all..
i don't like to think of my food as being
full of sugar & perservatives while being void of any nutritional value i can live with
 i find myself slightely horrified over the ever growing number of tv ads featuring
cereal EATING cereal
& it's not even cereal consuming different brands of cereal!
which just adds to the sickness of it all
like sister cereal eating sister cereal
i mean 3rd cousin cereal munching on one eachother MIGHT be more acceptable
but overall it's just not something i'm comfortable with cause
& maybe i'm taking this too far & thinking about this a little more than i should
so judge me if you want
i don't want to be able to associate ANY part of my morning with the Donner Party..

too soon??

while we're on the subject of commercials
is there really a need to make
30 second slot as racially diverse as humanly possible??

admittedly this occurs in MOST commercials today
but i notice ethnicity keeps it's pimp hand especially strong when peddling clogged arteries
let me let you in on a little secret FA(s)TFOOD corperations
you. do. NOT
have to make every promotion as colorful as a box of crayons
people will keep buying your products
America's obesity epidemic has pretty much ensured

you. will. be. successful.
so please..
tone down the color brigade
(however i must admit i LOVE that while trying to fit as many 'flavors' into their ethnic trailmix as possible they always, always, ALWAYS include a GINGER..which in a way including them segregates them even more)

toilet paper
there is one ad in particular that i'm thinking of
& it's one where there are multiple women
talking about
'what they want from there toilet paper'
& maybe i'm just easy when it comes to my theraputic paper
all I want from my TP is it to be there when i'm doing my business..
& these ladies are going off talking about how they want theirs to be
dependable, strong, soft..ect. ect..
& in my head i'm thinking are we still talking about bath tissue..
cause it kinda sounds like your confusing your requirements for crapper paper with what you want in a man??
then it gets worst
when one of the paid spokespersons talks about how she wants to
'get clean, while 'staying clean'
as in wipe WITHOUT breaking through
& so then i'm borderline horrified cause i'm wondering
you're not trying to remove paint!!
(why i even have to point this out initiates an inner face palm)

was the bi-stake boys church ball championship
i did NOT go watch
mainly cause my little brother doesn't love me & didn't invite me..
a little because being around that many minors makes me feel a tad bit like a
(^^^that picture SCREAMS 'surprise adoption' ps^^^)

which meant more than my ward is boss
it meant that life in the DeCoria household was good tonight
& honestly it really didn't matter that i didn't go observe
cause i got to listen to Dad & Ben break down the game when they got home
(the depth they can reach when talking about the
form of an athletic undertaking is admirable..)
well Ben told us that one of our church leaders
(who was the stand in coach for the beginning part of the game)
did something that i found
in church ball
he flat out said
'i don't believe in everyone's a winner, cause there will be ONE winner & ONE loser, so if you play well you're going to get more playing time'
& i really want to air five/knucks the man that said this cause it's absolutely right!
i mean i know it's
& it's meant for everyone to be able to participate
but that doesn't necessarily mean equal playing time..
& honestly human nature dictates
'people like to WIN!'
especially when talking about teenage boys..
(they are soooo moody)
anyways so now we're talking about the whole
how should game time be divided so it's
fair while still sensible
 & Ben seemed a little in disbelief that they are more concerned with
equality than victory
which got the screws in my mind turning
 & i had to stop him & say okay you think it's bad with
we could have
& they would get JUST as much playing time as
any other player on the team
so there ya have it..
while it doesn't always make sense to the players
makes a heck of a lot more sense when you got a 'P' instead of a 'V'..

PS.. for a full hook-up see IVIE..
March Special only $19.00 ;)

Thursday, February 14, 2013

i want you, i need you, oh baby, oh baby

 today is once again that blasted competely arbitrary 24 hr period where people treat their significant other the way they should treat them the other 364 days of the year
(it's not like being treated well for ONE day should make up for all the other days in the year that you were treated like dog dump..slate=not clean)

now i'm not just anti-today because i don't have someone special to shower me with gifts & kiss my ass/the very ground i walk on..
no thats not it
so lets be clear that i have never understood the need to have 'today'
& most gifts fall flat in my book..

candy-seems like a bust,you just eat it & feel quilty later when your slaving away at the gym
flowers??- here let me give you a dying plant.. that was viciously assaulted so you can put it in water only to watch it slowly die (much like my feelings for you will most likely do one day)
stuffed animals-geez thanks, my dog is going to love this when i let him anhialate this & leave the fluffy guts strewn from hell to breakfast

but alas what do i know..
it still comes every year without fail
& it seems as if there is no stopping it
(if i could be the grinch of valentines day i'd do it.. i'd do it in a heartbeat.. a hummingbird heartbeat.. & those are fast)

however this year on VDay (gag)
i. wasn't. alone..
mostly due in part to the  fact i pack around a tiny human being all. the. time
so i'm NEVER alone
i mean i looked alone
fat and alone
but sometimes looking like you belong on an episode of Maury happens

in spite of today being what it was i had a pretty good one
i have my coley here :)
which means i also have muh chunkmunk on hand :) :) :)
sushi for dinner
nerds for dessert
& a footrub was my perfect nightcap

essentially i'm greatful i made it through today mostly unscathed

ps.. i know a lot of people were complaining about it being
'single-awareness day'
& to all of you i say
you have many, many other days to be aware that you are
everyday can be your 'single-awareness day' if you let it be
..your welcome..

ps.. i realize this blogpost was 'BRIEF'
 (see what i did there??)
but it kinda just felt like a short-story/written-the-day-it-was-due sorta day

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Well that was extremely MOVIE-ing..

Speaking of CINEMAtters..

Everyone has that one family member
You know what i'm talking about
the one that you love to hate to watch any sort of movie with..
well in my case EVERYONE of my kin falls into that catagory
in some way or another

and admittedly it might (but probably not) be partly due to me
after-all i have a hard time
playing peanut gallery

To begin my little analysis i'm gonna start with my familys head honcho

That's more like it..
Okay so this lovely lady is Moo Moo
lover of all things Pixar
she is not THAT bad to watch movies with..
as in
 while they are still going
 immediately after they end can be a different story
the movie was set in the south, deep south, anywhere near the southern states,  any character had even a HINT of a southern accent, or if fried chicken and/or collard greens was any part of the movie..
let's be clear..
 my mother is from NORTHERN Idaho
(which ps. is different from Idaho as a whole.. it should really be it's own state)
she was raised no where near the southern east coast
so we're really not sure why she likes to go through the following 2 weeks seemingly possessed by Della Maes backwoods inbred cousin Cleetus..
we're not even sure if her accent is Southern or Retard..
all we know is it's kinda like a Miley Cyrus movie
as soon as it STARTS we want it to STOP..

'Dad' you not asked a million questions you'd have never figured it out..
oh wait you still don't get it..
or as we sometimes call him
Curious George
unless he started the movie with you & pays close attention
his questions will be endless & he still will usually not 'get it' by the end of the movie..
however he doesn't just leave it at the credits
he'll take it with him & ponder it for a few days, trying to make sense of it
 and then days later he'll bring it up & spell out the already spelled out movie..
at least he's persistant!! he always figures it out
he actually likes LOUIS LAMOURE movies..
as in the books weren't enough for him to realize
'holy heck i've read this same story 50 times over'
he has to WATCH that same song and dance too..
(be honest people.. reading more than one of his books is like
wiping before you poop
it don't make sense..)

Coley coley trolly bumholey
where do i start with this poser
(sidenote: she wants to be me.. she doesn't even know it.. but i'm like her hero)
actually she is probably my most favorite person to watch stuff with
she is an excellent addition to my peanut gallery
her only flaw is she doesn't like watching traggic love stories
which doesn't fly
cause they are like my favey
(i'm a sadist)
also.. she is superb at movie quotes..
especially of the Disney Genre
(yes i'm giving them their own genre)
& she can remember the names of even the smallest insignificant characters
(yes sometimes i wonder if she is slightly autistic & thats her tell..that & phone numbers)

yup.. this nutsucks included in this blog too.. seeing as he's part of our gene pool now.. can't keep him out.. can't hold him down
Phillbilly's achilles heel is he likes any movie..
okay that's a bit of a broad overstatement
Phil likes any movie that any NORMAL self-respecting human wouldn't..
as long as there are fast cars, big explosions, bad accents, impossible fight sequences, & next to no plot
he is one happy camper..
oh and he loves the movie
p.s i love you
(which triggers my involuntary gag reflex)

the piece de resistance
the biggest reason for this seemingly reasonless blog
okay so brooke has selective goldfish syndrome..
she can watch a movie
 than 100 times..
yet anytime she watches said movie it's as if it's a new experience for her ENTIRELY..
this is best exemplified when she watched horror films..
the whole time she'll be like
(remember she's already seen this movie multiple times)
or i always love it when she cheers on the characters
when NO..
 they can't make it..
 they won't make it this time just as they haven't made it the last 10 times..
she really has a reoccuring problem with giving the characters false hope..
..dream killer..

'Ben' is this getting over?
Ben, while also being very adept at movie quote battles, is very poor at being the butt of most of our cinema related jokes..
which is ridiculous cause we are obvi hilarious..
but trust that this is no fault of ours
he needs to learn to suck it up
and take multiple hits for the team..
it's kind of hard to really put a finger on what makes it hard to watch movies with Ben..
mostly cause he watches few movies with us
us=his family
he mostly avoids us like we are the plague
(the plague of awesomeness)

roly poly OLY!
Lyv likes to fight me on watching movies she's never even heard of..
she usually moans and groans & throws in multiple
'this movie looks gay', 'amy i don't want to watch this, & "i already hate it'
before the previews even have a chance to be viewed..
she normally ends up liking the movies
(not all of them but most)
she can be extremely loud and mobile during slasher flicks..
for loooooooooong periods of time..
it get's to the point where you're like
'she's definetly used up her entire oxygen supply so how is she still making noise?'
even the characters in the movie are like
'chill small blond girl!'
she's made a habit of asking me key plot questions that could potentially spoil the ending
over and over until i answer her..
 she gets upset at me for telling her..
making me the bad movie buddy
(i just give people what they want)

Monday, February 4, 2013

Spank the Plank

unorthodox FAM rocks..

so tonight we're all sitting around being related & such..
well i guess not phil..
he was here by default
(when i say default i mean he married my sister)
so, you see, no blood relation

(we keep him around mainly for reproductive purposes via my sister.. they've done really well so far & we'd like more like Gabe.. eventually)

i realize it WAS a monday night
so according to Mormon culture
monday night=FHE
we didn't label it or make it formal
(but i'm gonna say it was an unofficial FHE..)

so we're all watching 'the biggest loser'
(lots of fatties breathing hard & shaking lard)
they're exercising.. being sweaty.. looking miserable
& in the midst of this perspiration & sadness comes
so i look at Ben & ask if he is even capable of doing the plank..
not really waiting for a response
i then may or may not (or may) have trash talked him
saying that i could 'out-plank' him
he then told me i can't even do the plank
(referencing my convex midsection as the reason for my inability to perform)
i of course scoff at him & immediately show him i CAN infact plank
(2 points for the preggers team)
so then we decide that we are going to have a little healthy competition..
so Phil, Coley, Ben, Lyv, & Myself all position ourselves around the living room
and the well-being promoting battle commenced

so we're battling the bulge
people on TV are battling the bulge (a much bigger bulge but a bulge nonetheless)
the bulge doesn't stand a chance..
admittedly our refs (mom, dad, gabe)
had to tell some of us to 'put our butts down' so that we were in
but all in all everything is going well
but eventually Coley falls
(she just had a baby 3 months ago.. & it was a rough pregnancy)
shortly thereafter Ben goes down
(he did NOT have a baby 3 months ago & will never have a pregnancy)

Phil then wants to make it interesting and says
so the remaining three
(Lyv, myself, & Phil)
one arm it..
i then see Lyv cheating by means of using her other arm to help prop herself up..
so i take my free arm & push her cheating apendage away..
causing her to fall over
Lyv is now OUT!

so now it's just me & Phil
aka: the final countdown
aka: the babies conceived in the 80's, born in the 90's
aka: shit just got real
and neither one of us is backing down..
we stay propped up all Side saddle like for a while longer
i say 'nuts to this' & shift back to the
good old-fashioned

so then we're still there fighting the good fight
(ps realize it has turned into a pretty lengthy competition at this point)
at this point I'm starting to feel really warm, my belly is really flexed..
Phil's camo shorts are FAR up his crack & his butt cheeks are clenched
(my mom is asking me to please not go into labor over this)
but now is not the time to worry about a birthing!
now is DO or DIE & neither of us want to lose..
 eventually one of us has to falter..
where there is a winner there must also be a loser..
so Phil went down and i WON!
amy rules & phil drools

you're right it didn't happen that way..
actually i finally dropped down & subsequently made Phil victorious
(ps as it turns out i didn't have to go down that far seeing as my belly cleared the floor by AN INCH)
but i put up a good amount of effort..
he can feel good about his 1st place finish knowing he had to work for it..

and NO.. i didn't balance on my belly to secure my 2nd place finish
(i wasn't going to be a bad mother & use my baby to cheat my way to the top
..almost top..)
i got there all by my-36 weeks pregnant-self!
doing what i do
reppin all the baby mama's

so there you have it
my LENGTHY retelling of seemingly mundane family activities

peace & blessings y'all:)

ps.. in case any were wondering i listened to my moo moo & didn't send myself into labor!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

like any other normal female i'd like to think that i have a pair of average feet
10 toes
borderline ticklish
loves slippers, flippy floppys, and fresh mowed grass
tend to reak like old cheese if they get shoved into tennis shoes sans socks..
oh and BUGLY..
(cause lets be honest feet are kinda like pugs..

cute in a mostly ugly way)
so you know..
my feet NEVER seem to callous..
my heels are just scars from blisters that
come, pop, rejuice, pop, dissappear, then come again..
it's a vicious never ending cycle
so now that i've given you that lovely little inside into my orthopedic history
(you're welcome ps)
i MUST however commend them for having a higher than norm pain tolerance..
a HUGE bonus
considering i would be substancially heftier
if i couldn't
chronically abuse them..

seriously though, if i waited for every blister to heal before jumping back on the horse
or in this case treadmill
i'd work out about once a week..
and thats lame sauce..
however sometimes it has drawbacks..
such as..
i don't know when to stop..
i always just push them until my goal is accomplished..
an example of this happening a few weeks ago..
i rode to IF with my mom, for appointments,
 the Wednesday evening prior to that fateful Thursday
and when Moo had to fly out early the next morning for work
she just drove herself in the van to the airport and parked it
intending for me to get a ride from my Aunt Dene later in the day
so that i may have a mode of transportation
however when it came time for Van Retrieval
i decided that i might as well just walk from my Aunt's house..
cause it was only like 2 miles..

it was a FEW MORE THAN A FEW..

so there was my FIRST brain fart..
when i went to put on my shoes designated for this type of activity
 i remembered my tennis shoes were in said van
naturally in their ergonomically correct place
i put on my leather 'wannabe-biker' books
(i try to make pregnancy look more Bad A than it is..)
there lies my SECOND brain fart..
and it looked fairly mild outside so i went with minimum winter wear for my trek
enter THIRD brain fart
the one day that Idaho decided it wanted to man up
and have a day kinda like a Wyoming winter..
lets just state for the record by the time i reached my destination
i couldn't feel most of my body..
(they look cozy compaired to how i felt)
so basically a lot of brain fartage went on in a short amount of time..
so i set off on my adventure
sweats tucked into knee high biker boots, a lime green puffy coat that makes me look even more rotund than i currently am, fluffy patterened earmuffs, and
(cause i couldn't find it's significant other)
(yes i did in fact look as homo-rific as all the people in the picture above)

it's such a mystery why no one pulled over to offer a ride..
so i'm walking.. walking and losing feeling..but making progress
and all goes well for the first mile.. mile & 1/2..
and then my right foot starts to hurt..
we're almost there..
but no.. no we are not almost there
and soon my left foot starts to feel some discomfort as well
and the right foots suffering only increases..
i then get to the point in my journey where i
remember a short cut..
so i am faced with a decision..
continue on the path i know FOR SURE
take a GAMBLE and arrive at destination sooner
my feet are crying a little bit..
i'm already startin to do the geezer lean at this point
so i decide to take the path less traveled..
not my best idea
(not my worst either)
i. get. lost.
i end up having to back track a couple times
all the while the suffering in my boots is
i am finally able to locate a way out of hellish suburban labrynth

and back out onto the main road i would have taken anyways
had i stayed true to the course..
palm. face.
so i'm ALMOST back on track
my dogs are barking so loud
 i. want. to. cry
not sure if i was able to hold back my tears
if it was too cold for them to leave my eyes & they just froze before they could make an exit
but all the sudden i feel something go
in my right boot..
i kinda pause
and for a moment
i. am. relieved.
cause in my head whatever was hurting is now gone and all will be well
all was NOT well..
and the pain is now worst..
but i have no other option but to push onward..
(if HUNT & EDWARDS stopped would they have beaten LEWIS & CLARK to the Pacific Ocean?? i submit they would NOT!!)
(white water in the morning.. and.. thats it!)
so i'm now hobbling along at sloth pace..
i'm actually more like doing a weird IGOR drag my right foot shuffle thing..
and i still have a mile to go..
but i close the distance slowly but surely..
i finally make it to the employee parking lot..
when i arrive my heart involuntarily sinks a bit..
because MOO always parks nearest the exit..
except for today.. when she parked as far from it as she possibly could have..
which added only 100 ft to my trek..
but when something on your foot has
100 ft is a big dang deal..
Man Van has never been so lovely to me than at the moment when i turned the key in her ignition and cranked that heater
( i mean trips to state wrestling, and hog-tying Olyvia with braided walmart sacks & gagging her with a bikini top on a family vaca are close seconds but nothing compares to being able to simply sit down after seemingly walking 1000 miles)
when my fingers regained some dexterity i was finally able to remove my boots and discover
not so surprisingly
2 bloody socks..
do i care though at this moment??
once again i am just happy to be on my rear end..
i change outta those knee high leather torture devices
and i am back in action
.. well with a slight limp..
later that night i take a bath & finally remove my bloody socks
(yes i wore them the rest of my day color me gross)
and upon closer inspection i find 5 blisters, 1 cut, and
sick nasty poo poo..
i was okay with all of it until i found out about my little fallen soldier..
and then i was mostly just sicked out..
don't think i did all that for nothing
a. i had a car.
b. when i had about .3 miles left i looked down on the sidewalk and what did i see
a crumpled germy dolla dolla bill y'all
making my missing toenail not all for naught!!
moral of my journey:
don't wear leather biking boots in subarctic tempuratures to make a 5 mile journey..
cause while you think your tootsies are about as ugly as they could possibly get right now
as is
 let me tell you
and something so small & seemingly insignificant as
ONE toenail M.I.A
 makes a
difference in their overal appearence!

be good to your dogs:)
here are a few things that are ALL better looking than feet!

Monday, December 17, 2012

DO as i SAY.. NOT as i've DONE!
This is a blog post for the ladies.
Ladies some of you out there are with boys that do not treat you well.
For some of you this might be a recent development.
For others this may be a reoccuring trend.
To both of those situations i say
When i say this i am not implying it will never work out. It very well might.
But if it does in fact work out, will you be happy if things stay the same way they are right now.
In THIS moment?
If not then distance yourself. Until that person in question learns to treat you the way you deserve to be treated & gains respect for you.
 I KNOW how hard this is.
But as hard as it is you need to find a way to
That may sound impossible but trust me when i say it is necessary.
Cause one day he may not be there, & you will want to fall apart.
You will need to be strong if this happens & have some love for yourself so you don't destroy yourself.
I am still learning how to do this.
But i work on it everyday. I guess it's easier for me to refrain from self loathing to too far of an extent at this point in time because i HAVE to take care of myself.
I CANNOT let myself fall apart & i CANNOT give up
because i'm responsible for another human being besides myself
Some of you
won't have this same excuse to keep it together.
But really
You CANNOT change him. You CANNOT make him treat you right. You CANNOT make him care.
And this has NOTHING to do with you.
It has EVERYTHING to do with him.
And the choices he makes.
Yes, he CHOOSES to do this too.
He will tell you, you deserve better than what he gives you. That he needs to do better.
BUT words without actions are worth about 2 big brown shits.
There is nothing you CAN or SHOULD have to change about yourself to fix things.
If you ever want things to get better though you need to be the one to change.
Cause chances are if he's the one reaping all the benefits
'GETTING his cake and EATING it too'
he is not going to do a DAMN thing to upset the current state of things
Why should he?
He still gets to be 'one of the boys', have all the freedom he could desire, stay in a constant state of carefree, and STILL have you on the side when ever he wants.
He probably tells you he does, and he has probably convinced himself that he might.
BUT trust me when i say this is for his sake.
You do not destroy people you care about.
You DESERVE better.
You DESERVE someone who is willing to put in AS MUCH IF NOT MORE than you are.
You DESERVE having every day be YOUR NEW FAVORITE DAY!
So please girls. DO NOT SETTLE.
I'm not saying he's not the one. I sincerly hope that he is your one and only.
However do NOT let him treat you like you are ANYTHING less than amazing.
One and only's are meant to go both ways.
Im 22 years old. Single. And pregnant.
Pretty pregnant
Over 7 months pregnant.
And my pregnancy is rapidly approaching its end.
In some ways this is a relieving thought.
But to be honest it's a more terrifying than anything.
I'm entering my third trimester & i still have
what i'm going to do..
This is nothing like what i expected my life to be like.
 After meeting the father of our now growing child..
This is DEFINETLY not what i expected my first pregnancy to be.
The single part.
I expected this invasion of my body to be pretty awful
(and it has NOT disappointed)
Especially since the father of my child was with me for 1&1/2 years
No one would have ever guess that though the way he treated me.
People STILL wouldn't believe it if i didn't have evidence sitting heavily on my midsection
Technically we dated for 6 months.
And then i was more or less (or MORE) his
For 12 more months
And I ALLOWED it to happen..
Was i wrong to allow it to happen?
And from more than even a religious standpoint.
From the point of being a human being it was wrong to allow that sort of abuse.
Most people look at the word 'abuse' and they think only of the physical form.
Lets be clear that is NOT the kind I speak of.
I allowed him to convince me time and time again he DID care about me.
He WOULD do better.
He WOULD treat me better.
That never happened. And I never pushed for it.
Not REALLY pushed for it anyways.
I was willing to put up with all his excuses if it meant i got to keep him.
I'd let everything slide.
I allowed him to treat me like a second class citizen.
And when we'd screw up morally I'd allow him to treat me like it was my fault.
When his christian guilt would kick in & he'd push me away like i was the reason for all of our sins.
I TOOK it.
And i let him tell me he was
'Sorry for messing up.. again.'
Little did i realize you can make a mistake
after that it's a
Guess what it didn't get better.
And eventually it caught up with us.
Well with ME at first
Honestly I'm still not sure how much of it will really affect him
Some might say we had a good run
(as sick an sadistic as that sounds??)
Our sins didn't catch up with us for a long time
Alas I still ended up pregnant.
Ever so convex and alone..
The biggest problem that led to all this?
I know
What a pathetic sob story.. brought this upon herself..Who cares(no one probably)
 Blah blah blah
But really ladies
Heed my words

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16 January 2012

Pollycraft Monday #123 - Bingo Challenge!

Good morning!  I hope everyone had a great weekend and did you all enjoy the Tiddly Inks blog hop?  It was fun to see all those fabulous creations out there in blogland!

Today it's time for a new challenge at Pollycraft and the lovely Cazza has set a bingo board!  You just have to choose three squares in a row to participate (vertical, horizontal or diagonal).

This week's prize is a fabulous 10 digis of your choice from our very own Paula at Pollycraft!  Do head over to the Pollycraft challenge blog and check out the fabulous inspiration from my lovely teamies!

For my card today, I chose to use Ribbon, Pollycraft image and Pearls (diagonal from top left).
This is Chester in Love... one of my favourite Pollycraft images.  The card is a small one to fit in the box I made last week... 11cm x 11cm.  The papers are from October Afternoon and the seam binding is from The Ribbon Girl.  The tag is from Maya Rd and the sentiment is an old stamp from my stash.  I have coloured Chester with copics (see details below) and added Glossy Accents to his eyes and heart.

Here's a close-up of the cute little guy:

And here are the copics I used:

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Dream Valley Challenges: Anything Goes
Gingerloft Challenge #31: Anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time #96: Anything Goes
Pile it On Challenge #3: Fuzzy Friends
Sentimental Sundays #89: Ribbon

That's all from me today my friends!  I hope you can join us for the challenge this week!

Have a lovely week!

Maria Therese said...

So pretty ♥

RiNNE said...

So darling!!! Cute papers!! And he's colored beautifully! You are the Queen of glossy accents!

Hi Arabella: Thanks for showing your copics. This really helps people. Your card is so cute and coloring is beautiful. I love your paper. Thanks for entering Sentimental Sundays. Love samara dt.

Marjo said...

So darn cute! Thanks for playing with us at OSAAT

xoxo Marjo

Faye said...

What totally awesome colouring, as always! You've created so much depth. Wow. Faberoony card. xxx

Sarah said...

Another wonderful card, Arabella. He is just so cute and such lovely papers you've used - gorgeous! Sarah

Vicky said...

This is gorgeous sweetie I Love the image & the papers are lush hun.

Lotsa hugs Vicky xxx

Jennipher said...

Darling image. Thanks for joining us at Sentimental Sundays.

Susie said...

Such a sweet card - love the cute image and the gorgeous colours! Thanks for joining our "Anything Goes" challenge at Dream Valley. Susie x

melsanford said...

Oh this is so cute! Love the adorable image :-) Thank you for joining us at Dream Valley! Love 'n' hugs, Mel xx

Sherry said...

Awesome card. Luv the coloring.Thanks for joining us at Gingerloft.

Sherry - DT

Sherry said...

Cute card, luv the coloring. Thanks for joining us at Gingerloft.

Sherry - DT

Heather P said...

Really cute card- such a cute digi, I love that little monkey guy, so cute! Thanks for joining us at Pile it on this week!
Heather P

Heather P said...

Such a cute card, and fun digi, I love that little monkey guy, so cute! Thanks for joining us at Pile it on this week!
Heather P

Gemma said...

aww this is so cute! your colouring is gorgeous :) Thanks for playing along at Pile it on this week! Gemma :)

Tameko said...

Adorable card. Love all the added details. Thanks for joining the Sentimental Sundays Challenge this week.

Sheena said...

Gorgeous Arabella - I do love Chester! Sheena xx

Calypso's Crafts said...

Oh Arabella- This is gorgeous...every thing you colors seems to come to life. Thank you for joining us at Sentimental Sundays.

Jennifer Scull said...

your little monkey is as sweet as can be! thanks for joining us at Pile it On! :)

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Technology »

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A cup of tea with Calvin Lai (Part 1)

Natural born leader and charismatic Chinatown identity Calvin Lai is the principal of Belle Property Adelaide City. Recently Belle Property Adelaide City announced they are a major sponsor of Chinatown Adelaide Lunar New Year 2017. We took some time to have a cup of tea and chat with Calvin about the coming LNY celebrations and what’s happening in Chinatown. As a sponsor of the coming LNY celebration in Chinatown, how do we improve Chinatown to become a major Adelaide city attraction? Chinatown and the Central Market Precinct already attract domestic and international attention as unique retail venue and dining destination. Our business community would like to improve that experience. In your opinion, what can we do? Our international staff are all very familiar with what Grote and Gouger Street have to offer and how it compares highly with other Chinatown in SE Asia. We already know that luxury tourists and HNWI “high

Belle Property Adelaide City 启泰 Launch Party

Belle Property Adelaide City Launch Party

Over 100 guests attended the launch party and Penfolds wine tasting including VIP guest Peter Hanscomb, CEO of Belle Property Australasia and former Labor Senator the Hon Nick Bolkus. In September, Inspire Real Estate joined the Belle Property network and is the first office with dual franchises – Belle Property and Belle Property International. Belle Property Adelaide City is a specialist residential real estate company that focuses on resale and management of homes and apartments. Belle Property International is a world-class concierge partner that represents both property developers and investors across Asia and Australia. Led by Principal, Calvin Lai, a well-respected local area expert who has been selling property in Adelaide for over six years, the multicultural team are set to deliver a personalised and unique approach to large scale projects and residential real estate.


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Up to the minute Amber Alert Information

Monday, December 03, 2007

House GOP Responds to Budget Deficit

Seifert Says: "Stop growing government. Start growing jobs."

Saint Paul - (November 30, 2007) - House Republican Leader Marty Seifert today said the state's $373 million budget deficit demands fiscal restraint and accountability in the upcoming legislative session.

"We need to spur the economy with business development and job growth," said House Republican Leader Marty Seifert. "Government should not grow at a faster rate than the private sector. Government needs to make sacrifices so we don't increase the tax burden on job creators and families. Our financial ground will continue to erode until we acknowledge that we cannot grow government and tax our way to prosperity.

"The state's budget forecast reflects the impact of a national economic slowdown that is being largely driven by slower projected economic growth, record high oil prices, an increasingly weak housing market and the resulting tightening on lending.

"Minnesotans across the state are seeing less discretionary income and that has a direct impact on the state's economy," Seifert said. "While businesses, families and farms are looking to tighten their budgets, the Democrats are working on plans to raise their taxes to fuel the growth of government."

Government spending has grown rapidly in the past 10 years. State general fund spending has increased nearly 40 percent in the last 10 years from $24 billion to $34.5 billion.

"Now is not the time to raise taxes. We do not need more money from taxpayers to fund unsustainable growth in government programs. We need to prioritize, cut wasteful government spending and use taxpayer dollars more efficiently," Seifert said.

Seifert said the budget deficit presents many challenges to the spending proposals and large bonding bill already being discussed for the next legislative session.

"The state budget should operate like the family budget. When there is less revenue, we spend less money," Seifert said. "The Democrats already spent the $34 billion in the state's budget and squandered away a $2 billion surplus. We simply do not have the money in the checkbook for more spending. The bonding bill must stay within the $965 million threshold. It should focus on fixing our state's core infrastructure needs. Festivals, theaters and ice rinks come in a distant second to funding for safe roads and bridges.

Seifert said the budget deficit could have been higher if the Democrats tax and spend proposals were all signed into law. Governor Tim Pawlenty line-itemed veto more than $32 million in spending and vetoed a pork-filled bonding bill.

"The Democrats overspent last session and then tried to raise our taxes," Seifert said. "Government doesn't need relief. Minnesotans do. We need to protect the taxpayer pocketbook, not use it as a never-ending cash machine."

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Dressed in black with his hair slicked back, G-Eazy adds a touch of class to hip-hop. For as traditionally dapper as he may be, he’s got both feet firmly planted in the future. So what does the future look like for the producer, songwriter, and rapper? Well, it’s just as bright as he is…

Raised in Oakland, CA, G-Eazy made the decision to enroll at Loyola University New Orleans because of their strong music industry program where he started to cultivate and craft his own inimitable style while still in college. For the budding artist, the partying wasn’t nearly as important as creating. He missed more than a few keggers so he could lay down tracks in his dorm room for a series of buzz-generating mixtapes culminating in his 2011 breakout, Endless Summer.

With the release of Endless Summer, G-Eazy started to garner attention from both the backpackers and the mainstream. Diploma in hand, he hit 2012 running. During that summer’s Warped Tour, he produced, wrote, and recorded what would become his full-length debut, Must Be Nice. Blending elegant production with a sly, slick, and smooth flow, the album landed at #3 on the iTunes Hip Hop Chart completely independent of a label.

That next chapter is already unfolding. 2013 saw G-Eazy complete his first headline tour, selling out shows everywhere from New York, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Looking more like a Tarantino hero than a standard MC, he stirred up a frenzy among the heavily female crowds, dodging a bras or two from the stage on a nightly basis. From the overwhelming success of the tour Paste Magazine named G-Eazy in their top artists to watch in 2013, High Times Magazine named him the “Best New Artist of 2013,” and Lil Wayne tapped him to join the America’s Most Wanted Festival nationwide tour.

The response has only grown more fervent, with G-Eazy’s second nationwide headline tour leading to the release of his highly anticipated second full-length album These Things Happen, which topped the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B and Top Rap Albums Charts, also earning the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 and the Top Digital Albums Chart. The critics are in agreement with G-Eazy’s legions of fans, with Billboard proclaiming that G-Eazy is “The Young Elvis” in a multi-page feature story and The New York Times stating that G-Eazy is “clever, approachable and extremely legible” on These Things Happen. Even after VIBE exclaimed that “G-Eazy is, in fact, already a star, or at the very least destined to become one,” his goal remains the same as it did when he first started.

Given Name: Gerald Earl Gillum
AKA: G-Eazy
DOB: May 24,1989
Label: RCA

Website: http://www.g-eazy.com/
Social Media:

Get Tickets: http://www.g-eazy.com/tour/

G-Eazy Videos


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Southern Boy in ChiTown

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Good Eats

After my post of a couple of weeks ago about not eating out, we've now managed to get out and do a little discovery of some of the local eats.

Last Tuesday J and I got taken out to dinner by one of my old work friends and one of my old bosses that happened to be in town. Dinner was at Trattoria No. 10 which really was as good as advertised. The next night I had a vendor in town staying at the Wyndham, so we met for dinner a block away at Viand, which J had been wanting me to try. It was good enough that J and I went there the next night.

One of the things I've been trying to find is someplace to eat relatively often that doesn't cost twice as much as what we're used to in Chapel Hill. The Thai place a couple of block away (Amarit) fits the bill although the food is nowhere near the best Thai we've had. On the other hand, Fornetto Mei at the Whitehall Hotel on Delaware is much more expensive but if you're not too shy to order appetizers as entrees it's not bad. The reviews are pretty spotty but we stopped by there Monday night after we flew in and had a really nice late-night meal in the bar area. It'll certainly be worth a trip back.

Lady J's birthday is Tuesday and she's trying to decide between Zest and Roy's for dinner, both good choices.

Lying Bastards

You know who you are! "Oh, you're going to Chicago at just the right time - spring is great!" "Wow, you're going to love Chicago in the spring!"

Uh, no. So far the best I can say about it is "hey, the wind doesn't bite through my overcoat quite as bad as it did back in March" or "that constant rain isn't quite as cold now as it was a few weeks ago".

Seriously, kids, didn't you think I'd find out that spring in Chicago is a myth? I'm assuming that you knew I had to come up here anyway so were just trying to make me feel a little better about it and I suppose that was nice of you but seriously, this just pretty much sucks.

In all honesty, Friday evening wasn't that bad. Both Lady J and I had had pretty crappy days and the best thing I can ever think of for that is to get some fresh ocean-blown air. With the Atlantic a couple thousand miles further away than I'm used to, we were perfectly happy with the inland sea of Lake Michigan. It hadn't hit me until then that J hadn't even been to the lake yet, so we walked out Chicago Ave to the Lakeshore underpass and walked up the lakeside to the Oak Street beach. Did a little window shopping on Oak Street and Rush while watching all the Friday diners hitting the restaurants before walking back towards the apartment and checking out the neighborhood Thai place.

But nights like Friday have been few and far between and the forecast for the next week (into next weekend) is for rain or at least heavy clouds every single day. Bleecchh!

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Homesick, but for where?

Spent all of Easter Sunday in the apartment working - I literally did not step foot outside the building. By Wednesday I had over 40 hours in and was feeling really homesick - ready to get the hell out for a few days.

3:30 Friday rolled around and I walked out of the Aon Center to head north and I realized that as I walked past the folks already hanging outside at Quartino's on State Street in the beautiful afternoon sunshine and as I passed folks doing the same at Rosebud's on Rush in the cab on the way to Midway - hell, I didn't want to leave at all! I wanted my sweetie with me but I would have been perfectly happy to plop down at one of the outdoor tables at any of those places and not leave until they kicked us out.

Finally made it up to Division Tuesday to meet a couple of guys from work (for those that are not Chicago-savvy, Division and Rush is one of the bar/restaurant/club scenes). I doubt I'd be interested in hitting it on a Friday or Saturday, but Tuesday felt about right - lots of people around but not so crowded that it was uncomfortable.

Noticed something on the way to the airport - all the cabs have Illinois license plates of "nnnn TX", which would imply that there are a maximum of 10,000 cabs in Illinois. I would swear to you that there are at least 9,950 at any given time along about a 10-block stretch of Michigan Ave, so for you folks in Champaign and Peoria, good luck hailing a taxi!

Saturday, April 15, 2006

I'm finding that on the few occasions that I'm not either working or trying to sleep, I end up going out and just walking. I did that twice last night - first walking down Dearborn and then Wabash to Wacker and back up Michigan before cutting over to the lakefront at Chicago Plaza. It was there near Navy Pier that I took the horrifying shot above - I can think of few things more frightening that a LeRoy Neiman show at a gallery. /* shudder */ The gallery complex itself though is definitely on my list of places to come back to.

After getting back to the apartment, I dropped off the camera, changed clothes, and decided I needed some magazines that I could take with me for when I decided to eat out alone (I'm still working my way through Neil Stephenson's Quicksilver in trade, so it's huge and not fun to carry around). So I took a somewhat circuitous route to the Borders, taking me north on State as far as Delaware before wandering back through the Friday night crowds on Michigan Ave. to my neighborhood Italian place for a nice spaghetti putanesca and a chat with the bartender. Walked past a number of restaurants and bars that look worth investigating later, but last night being the first really warm night (and a holiday weekend to boot) everything was packed. Hey, looks like I'll be here for awhile and my sweetie will be back in a week, so there's plenty of time to check places out.

Wabash at the Chicago River

The first couple of weeks I was in Chicago I walked down Michigan to work every day. But the week before I moved into the apartment, I moved into a different hotel and started walking past the new Trump Tower jobsite and crossing the river on Wabash, which gave me a much different perspective on that part of the city (as well as being a much more relaxed walk). Friday evening I finally had a chance to walk back down with the camera (I realized that as part of the "protective coloration" mentioned in the previous post, I'm limiting my photography for the most part to Friday evening through Sunday evening, a period where almost everyone on the street is a tourist of some sort).

The top photo is the best one I've been able to get of Bertand Goldberg's Marina City, built in the early 60's. It wasn't until I'd walked that way that I realized the bottom 20 floors or so is for parking - those are some hell river views those cars have! Just to the right you can see the corner of the IBM building designed by Mies van der Rohe in the early 70's, one of the last buildings to come out of his office before his death and the tallest of his in the US.

The second photo is really the reason I love the walk - the cool mix of architecture that you can see all in one shot. The stark, square Aon Center and the modern 2 Prudential almost hidden by the very Deco Carbide and Carbon Building (now the Hard Rock Hotel) with the funky round Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist in the foreground. Oh, and the world famous Morton's Steakhouse for you carnivores and the oh-so-hip Hotel Monaco peeking in from the right.

The bottom shot is 35 East Wacker (formerly the Jewellers Building), which I like for the Baroque domes and cornices - cleaner than the Gothic Trib Tower but still very cool. What I didn't know before reading a local architecture book is that 22 stories (my photo doesn't really show the bottom 25 stories or so) were originally an elevator-driven parking garage, all done without someone behind the wheel of the car.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Urban Boy

While I was home last weekend and waxing poetic about the dogwoods and wisteria and azaleas and redbuds and how fucking beautiful North Carolina is in the spring, Lady J observed that I seem right at home in the city. That actually brought me up short, as I've thought that before but realized that I've spent almost my whole life living either in the suburbs of southern cities (Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, DC (and yes, DC is in many ways a Southern city), Greensboro) or in a college town. I do feel comfortable in cities but I certainly have yet to make myself at home in Chicago, due more to spending almost all of my time here working than anything else. I at least feel pretty much at home in the surrounding few blocks, but I haven't ventured out on the L to other parts of the city - until I do, I'm still a tourist.

As far as being a city boy, I'll admit that the thought of having a lawn fills me more with dread than joy and I'd be perfectly happy enjoying those dogwoods and azaleas in parks and on campus rather than necessarily having to have my own. I seem to take pretty naturally to protective coloration (as evidenced by the Borders clerk last week that was convinced we were native Chicagoans and the hordes of people with nametags that are constantly asking me directions). As much as I miss my home and my town, I could live here - no problem - except that I don't think I could afford to live here in the style that I'd want to unless someone continued to pay my expenses!

All of that being said, after the week (and month) I've had, my temptation is to pick up a six-pack downstairs and sit in the apartment tonight playing Dungeon Siege.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Dad update

Part of the reason for taking a long weekend last weekend was to get up to the NC mountains to see Dad in Asheville. Unfortunately our Friday night flight didn't get us home until about 3am Saturday morning. We did go ahead and drive up Saturday night and then spent a few hours with him in the hospital on Sunday before driving back to Chapel Hill. He's continuing to improve, more slowly than he'd like sometimes but still improving. He was a lot more comfortable than we were as he'd picked up a hospital-common resistant staph infection which meant we had to be gowned and gloved while in the room (and I HATE the gloves). But he does seem to finally be healing, he's getting some strength back (although he and his physical therapist are still having it out) and certainly seems to feel better in general than he has in months. There's a chance he could be home in another week or so but as he said, he wants to make sure this is really better - he ain't going to go through this again!

Sunday, April 09, 2006

The View

No, not that horrible TV show - the view from the new apartment! We moved in early Saturday afternoon (April Fool's Day) and the first picture is the sight that greeted us as we stepped onto the balcony - a skycrane at about eye level delivering an AC unit or something to the building across the way. The apartment faces pretty much due north and yes, that is Lake Michigan you can see in the background. The second pic is looking to the right (east) from the balcony - nice view of the Hancock bldg in the clouds. It really isn't always cloudy, but you'd be hardpressed to convince Lady J of that, especially after the thunderstorm that rolled through on Sunday (she swears she saw lightning that originated below the level of the apartment). We're on the 45th floor of a 52-story building - pretty neat!

It's a one-bedroom (really a one-bedroom, not a studio, although the bureau and bed take up 98% of the floor space in the bedroom) with two large-ish closets and a kitchen/living room/dining "room" (and an oddly-large bathroom). The package includes broadband and cable but Lady J is sad because the cable includes about 23 Spanish-language channels but no Sci-Fi! It also includes a washer-dryer, which was a real must.

Didn't get a second key until Wednesday or broadband working until Thursday but all-in-all, very few problems. It ain't home, but it ain't bad.


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Tips For Turning Your Photographs Right Into A Vine

You Can Be Great At Photography With These Great Tips

Photography can be very enriching and help you can do. You will never be great at it without a bit of knowledge and planned effort though. The following article will give you some fantastic shots.

Try using different settings on the camera such as shutter speeds for finding what works the best for you. Photography allows you capture a single moment or show motion over time periods. Using a fast shutter speed can help you catch moving objects, while a slow shutter speed is great for capturing serene natural settings.

Do not make adjusting your camera settings too complex. Master one control at a time, such as shutter speed or aperture, one at a time.

Keep your arms in close to your body while holding your camera, and hold on to the bottom of your camera. This keeps the camera steady and prevent blurry shots. Putting your hands beneath the lens and camera, instead of on top, prevents you from dropping your camera accidentally.

Framing your subject is an important part of photographic composition. Zoom in on your subject and cut out extraneous objects from the background.This will unclutter the photograph as well as eliminating unnecessary focal points and prevent tons of clutter in your pictures.

Another great idea is to have the subject focus on someone or something within the shot.

This is a tip will help you can use in photography. Educate yourself about the advantages of different shutter speed is and how to manipulate it. Your camera will have setting indicators for S,M,P, and S. The letter "P" on the camera represents program mode. This setting is fully automated and will have the shutter speed ad aperture already set. If you are less than professional, "P" is a safe choice!

Frame all of your shots.Try to use natural materials into the pictures you take. This helps to build your composition skills.

Another great check here idea is to have the subject to look at another person in the shot.

Learn composition by learning that less is more with photographs.Simplicity is the way to go, so apply this to your photographs.

Your camera can serve as a fantastic way to get beautiful shots if used correctly.

Use different shutter speeds for various effects. While a fast shutter speed is the norm, a slower speed offers a variety of different effects.Did you see that guy on the person riding a bike who was going past at a fast pace? The bike will be clear and the background will be streaked, while they themselves will appear crisp and clear.

Take extra precaution whenever you are photographing beautiful pictures in nature. Take a few minutes to enjoy the scene, as well as to make sure that you are leaving no traces. If you stumble across a breathtaking spot which gives you the perfect vantage point from which to shoot stunning images, take special care to leave it as you found it so the next curious photographer can find it in the same condition.

When you are taking photos of moving objects, make sure that you are using settings that will actually show the subject and not just blurs showing movement. This feature allows you clear pictures of moving subjects.

While most professional photographers will use the name brand equipment, there is no harm in testing out all the manufacturers that are available.

After reading this article, hopefully you're full of ideas and ready to start experimenting with new techniques. Apply this advice and your pictures will improve. If they aren't working for you, try new things until your skills start improving.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Season's Greetings!

Happy holidays! Can you believe that it is almost Christmas Eve? It sure seems like it comes quicker with each passing year! I had high hopes at the beginning of the month to write numerous blog posts and include photos of the many holiday paper crafts that I have created and designed for the season. As you can see, that didn't happen! But, better late than never.

This is the holiday card that I created for 2011...some of you might have received one in the mail! I decided to go with a winter theme so that the card could easily be displayed beyond Christmas. Compared to some of the holiday cards that I have created in past years, this one was fairly simple because it consisted of only one layer. Despite it's simplicity, I love this card and I am very happy about how it turned out.

Although December has flown by, I did have some time to make some cute "doo-dads" (love that word!) for gift bags, and I also embellished some adorable notebooks that I found during one of my many visits to Michael's this month. Perhaps you were a lucky recipient of one of these notebooks. Wink wink!

Despite it being a very busy month with so much to do to get ready for Christmas, I have managed to relax while spending time with my dear friends. Although Christmas preparations can be fun (and stressful!), I think that my best memories from this season will be of the time I spent with family and friends. Speaking of family, I am off to spend Christmas with my parents this year in their "neck of the woods." For my readers who don't know where that might be, check back soon for highlights of my Christmas celebration, including photos! You can also keep up with me on Twitter (see the link to my Twitter feed in the right-hand column of my blog).

I hope that by now you have finished with all of your shopping and things on your holiday "to-do" list so that you can take time to relax, perhaps with family and/or friends, and enjoy this Christmas weekend. No matter how you choose to celebrate, I hope that you are surrounded by loved ones and experience many magical moments.

While I typically end my posts with a quote, today I am going to do something different. Do you happen to have a favorite Christmas song, or perhaps a Christmas tune that has gotten stuck in your head this year? After all, some of the radio stations around here have been playing Christmas music since before Thanksgiving! Anyway, I'll leave you with a few verses from one of my favorite Christmas songs, The Holiday Song (Happy Holiday) sung by Andy Williams. It seems that many people have a "love-hate" relationship with this song, but I happen to like it.

It's the holiday season
And Santa Claus has got a toy
For every good girl and good little boy

He's a great big bundle of joy

He'll be coming down the chimney, down

Coming down the chimney, down

He'll have a big fat pack upon his back

And lots of goodies for you and me
So leave a peppermint stick for old St. Nick
Hanging on the Christmas tree

It's the holiday season

With the whoop-de-do and hickory dock

And don't forget to hang up your sock
'Cause just exactly at 12 o'clock

He'll be coming down the chimney

Coming down the chimney

Coming down the chimney, down!

Happy Holiday

Happy Holiday

While the merry bells keep ringing

Happy Holidays to you

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Happy December!

Happy Holidays! Now that it's December 1, it's officially time to start celebrating on my blog and I hope that you'll join me for some festive fun this month. It's sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

Throughout December I'll be featuring a variety of handmade holiday tags and other holiday-themed paper-crafting goodies here on my blog.

So, without further ado, here's a photo of a cute tag that would add an adorable touch to any Christmas package.

The darling ice skate was created with the On Ice stamp set and coordinating die available from Papertrey Ink. This is one of my favorite winter stamp sets because I have fond memories of waking up on Christmas morning and finding a new pair of ice skates waiting under the Christmas tree for me. My dad would take me to a frozen pond near our house, in Massachusetts, and I would lace up those skates and glide all around the pond for hours...or until it got too chilly! Now that I live in California, it's challenging to find a pond to skate on, but I do like to go to the small skating rinks that pop up in the area during the holiday season. It's the perfect way to feel like a child again.

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."
-Laura Ingalls Wilder


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Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Why people were choose Christiano Furniture custom home bar

With the fast paced, digitalized businesses, it is now much easier to explore distinct sorts of furniture to fulfill all residential, antique, corporate, commercial etc décor requirements. But with so many options accessible on hand, users can now just select their choice with the convenience of their home and get the furniture shipped and assembled quite easily.
Online décor and furniture websites offers an eclectic range of Custom design home bars, sophisticated dining room furniture, living room sofas, Chairs, accents, Chandeliers etc. Simply, this one website has plenty of affordable as well as luxurious furnishing options for all corners and rooms of residential space.
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Buying a furniture piece off the catalogue is okay for those who can find exactly what they are looking for. But those who have confusions and doubts can always get their choice of Home bars or Chests, Cabinets, Tables, unique accents etc personalized to suit the aura, home décor style and theme of their space. It is absolutely normal to have distinct taste for décor style and the way with which one decorates and fills the house and personal space with furniture also reflects the personal style. So, even if one is a fan of certain nonchalance and minimalism or great old antiques or the renaissance style, the alternative of personalized furniture always takes the style a notch up. Christiano Furniture offers this amazing alternative for personalized manufacture and customized finishing of the home bars, cabinets etc.
Unique array of furniture items is offered online thus corporate as well as residential requirements for home décor can easily be fulfilled. Besides, easy to navigate pages, 24*7 updated inventories, complete details of all products with highly competitive prices and convenient online ordering, shipping option allows for comfortable and safe online shopping. In addition, the aforementioned online business also feasible customer service option with return policy of 3 days from purchase.
Variety of options makes furniture shopping easy
Furniture shopping is not a piece of cake and more often than not, people don't realize the proper potential of stocking up the house or business space with the right sort of furnishings. However, people who are not sure about the kind of furniture that would complement their space can seek personal assistance online or get aid from Interior designers to select the right pieces for the right layout.
Get all accessories in place
Just getting a sofa, accents and home bar won't do but using the right accessories to finish the aesthetics and elaborate the feasibility is also important. Accessories like decorative lighting fixtures can also be arranged online for quite budget friendly quotes. Specific accessories like particular beverage glass (Wine glasses, scotch glasses), blenders etc should also be selected carefully.
The technical aspect
Technological advanced and space saving furniture may be costly but is suitable for long term usage.
So, scrutinize and weight all aspects of the shortlisted pieces and have a happy home-business space decorating experience.

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Rules: Postings must be an ad announcing an intent to sell, buy or trade. Full item description and photo(s) must be posted within the message here, not as links to other websites. Links to online auctions and other sites: Links to online auctions, dealer sites or other listings of items are permitted, but you should be careful to ensure that such listings will comply with our other ChronoTrader Policies. In addition, we request that sellers linking to online auctions or listings offer some benefit or accomodation to ChronoTrader readers (for example, some discount or an undertaking to end an auction early, to keep a watch "in the family"). Photos must be of the actual item for sale in its present condition. No counterfeit or replica products. No post for the same item may be repeated within 7 days, except to lower the asking price. Commercial dealers are limited to three unique posts per day. [More...]

FS: Eterna Automatic Bumper Brevete Men's Militar 40's

Eterna Automatic Bumper Brevete Men's Militar 40's

Rare Dial Bumper Automatic - Swiss Made

Brand : Eterna
Reference : Automatic Bumper Brevete
Diameter : 35 mm without crown
Movement : Eterna Automatic Brevete Bumper movement, It Runs Well And It Keeps Time .
Case Material : Steel case. Good condition case.
Bracelet material: Leather Strap - Brown - end to end : 24 cm - Steel/Gold Clasp
Glass : Plexiglas - Excellent condition
Dial : Rare Champagne Is In Good Condition
Condition : Good condition 8 about 10
Other specifications : Watch hasn´t box or papers.
Shipping registered and insured.

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Vision & Mission

The CIM Underground Mining Society (UMS) and the Surface Mining Society were founded in 2011, through the amalgamation of four societies into two. The goal was to offer a more logical structure to better support the members of the CIM, as follows:

These societies:

  1. Metal Mining
  2. Coal and Industrial Minerals
  3. Oil Sands
  4. Innovative Mining Technology

Were amalgamated to:

  1. Underground Mining Society
  2. Surface Mining Society

It is the goal of the UMS to evolve in response to the needs of the industry and the interest of its members.

Major responsibilities of the UMS include:

  • Organizing MEMO (Maintenance Engineering – Mine Operators) Conferences, in conjunction with the Maintenance and Engineering Society, the hosting CIM branch, and CIM National.
  • Promote, chair, solicit papers for Technical Sessions at the CIM Conference and Exhibition
  • Administering awards and scholarship programs
  • Providing peer review of technical papers for publication
  • Promote mini conferences on specific topics of interest to UMS members

The objectives of the UMS are to:

  • Promoting and facilitating the exchange of information and data on all subjects related to the mining industry.
  • Educating the public on many aspects of the mining industry.
  • Promoting mining as a positive, growing and dynamic industry with many exciting opportunities.
  • Promoting the improvement of underground mining standards through peer review of technical papers, public and private industry presentations of technology, and best practice topics.
  • Encouraging individuals to join/stay in the mining industry through the award of scholarships.
  • Serving as a resource and support body to mine operating personnel, consulting engineers and designers, and suppliers of mine equipment.


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Evers, Alex S.

Henry E. Mallinckrodt Professor and Chairman of Anesthesiology
Description of Research:

My laboratory focuses on the protein chemistry of GABAA receptors to identify and characterize drug binding sites, sequence variants and post-translational modifications as well as to define the protein complexes in which GABAA receptors reside in vivo. A variety of biochemical and molecular biological approaches are applied to these problems, with particular emphasis on high-resolution mass spectrometry.

The lab has a longstanding interest in identifying the sites to which anesthetics bind to produce their effects. We have focused on anesthetic neurosteroids, using neurosteroid analogue photolabeling reagents to covalently label protein binding sites and identifying the sites of incorporation using protein mass spectrometry.

The lab has also pioneered methods for mass spectrometric methods to sequence the transmembrane segments of native GABAA receptor from picomole quantities of protein. Current directions in the lab include: 1) Studies of dynamic regulation of protein phosphorylation (particularly ion channels) in native brain using global (“shotgun”) mass spectrometric techniques and 2) Identification of GABAA-receptor associated proteins in brain using immunopurification coupled to mass spectrometry with label-free quantitation.