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December 8, 2009, 10:49 AM
By Norman Mailer
The afternoon he arrived at the convention from the airport, there was of course a large crowd on the street outside the Biltmore, and the best way to get a view was to get up on an outdoor balcony of the Biltmore, two flights above the street, and look down on the event. One waited thirty minutes, and then a honking of horns as wild as the getaway after an Italian wedding sounded around the corner, and the Kennedy cortege came into sight, circled Pershing Square, the men in the open and leading convertibles sitting backwards to look at their leader, and finally came to a halt in a space cleared for them by the police in the crowd. The television cameras were out, and a Kennedy band was playing some circus music. One saw him immediately. He had the deep orange-brown suntan of a ski instructor, and when he smiled at the crowd his teeth were amazingly white and clearly visible at a distance of fifty yards. For one moment he saluted Pershing Square, and Pershing Square saluted him back, the prince and the beggars of glamour staring at one another across a city street, one of those very special moments in the underground history of the world, and then with a quick move he was out of his car and by choice headed into the crowd instead of the lane cleared for him into the hotel by the police, so that he made his way inside surrounded by a mob, and one expected at any moment to see him lifted to its shoulders like a matador being carried back to the city after a triumph in the plaza. All the while the band kept playing the campaign tunes, sashaying circus music, and one had a moment of clarity, intense as déjà vu, for the scene which had taken place had been glimpsed before in a dozen musical comedies; it was the scene where the hero, the matinee idol, the movie star comes to the palace to claim the princess, or what is the same, and more to our soil, the football hero, the campus king, arrives at the deans home surrounded by a court of open-singing students to plead with the dean for his daughters kiss and permission to put on the big musical that night. And suddenly I saw the convention, it came into focus for me, and I understood the mood of depression which had lain over the convention, because finally it was simple: the Democrats were going to nominate a man who, no matter how serious his political dedication might be, was indisputably and willy-nilly going to be seen as a great box-office actor, and the consequences of that were staggering and not at all easy to calculate.
Since the First World War Americans have been leading a double life, and our history has moved on two rivers, one visible, the other underground; there has been the history of politics which is concrete, factual, practical and unbelievably dull if not for the consequences of the actions of some of these men; and there is a subterranean river of untapped, ferocious, lonely and romantic desires, that concentration of ecstasy and violence which is the dream life of the nation.
The twentieth century may yet be seen as that era when civilized man and underprivileged man were melted together into mass man, the iron and steel of the nineteenth century giving way to electronic circuits which communicated their messages into men, the unmistakable tendency of the new century seeming to be the creation of men as interchangeable as commodities, their extremes of personality singed out of existence by the psychic fields of force the communicators would impose. This loss of personality was a catastrophe to the future of the imagination, but billions of people might first benefit from it by having enough to eat -- one did not know -- and there remained citadels of resistance in Europe where the culture was deep and roots were visible in the architecture of the past.
Nowhere, as in America, however, was this fall from individual man to mass man felt so acutely, for America was at once the first and most prolific creator of mass communications, and the most rootless of countries, since almost no American could lay claim to the line of a family which had not once at least severed its roots by migrating here. But, if rootless, it was then the most vulnerable of countries to its own homogenization. Yet America was also the country in which the dynamic myth of the Renaissance -- that every man was potentially extraordinary -- knew its most passionate persistence. Simply, America was the land where people still believed in heroes: George Washington; Billy the Kid; Lincoln, Jefferson; Mark Twain, Jack London, Hemingway; Joe Louis, Dempsey, Gentleman Jim; America believed in athletes, rum-runners, aviators; even lovers, by the time Valentino died. It was a country which had grown by the leap of one hero past another -- is there a county in all of our ground which does not have its legendary figure? And when the West was filled, the expansion turned inward, became part of an agitated, overexcited, superheated dream life. The film studios threw up their searchlights as the frontier was finally sealed, and the romantic possibilities of the old conquest of land turned into a vertical myth, trapped within the skull, of a new kind of heroic life, each choosing his own archetype of a neo-renaissance man, be it Barrymore, Cagney, Flynn, Bogart, Brando or Sinatra, but it was almost as if there were no peace unless one could fight well, kill well (if always with honor), love well and love many, be cool, be daring, be dashing, be wild, be wily, be resourceful, be a brave gun. And this myth, that each of us was born to be free, to wander, to have adventure and to grow on the waves of the violent, the perfumed, and the unexpected, had a force which could not be tamed no matter how the nations regulators -- politicians, medicos, policemen, professors, priests, rabbis, ministers, idèologues, psychoanalysts, builders, executives and endless communicators -- would brick-in the modern life with hygiene upon sanity, and middle-brow homily over platitude; the myth would not die. Indeed a quarter of the nations business must have depended upon its existence. But it stayed alive for more than that -- it was as if the message in the labyrinth of the genes would insist that violence was locked with creativity, and adventure was the secret of love.
Once, in the Second World War and in the year or two which followed, the underground river returned to earth, and the life of the nation was intense, of the present, electric; as a lady said, "That was the time when we gave parties which changed peoples lives." The Forties was a decade when the speed with which ones own events occurred seemed as rapid as the history of the battlefields, and for the mass of people in America a forced march into a new jungle of emotion was the result. The surprises, the failures, and the dangers of that life must have terrified some nerve of awareness in the power and the mass, for, as if stricken by the orgiastic vistas the myth had carried up from underground, the retreat to a more conservative existence was disorderly, the fear of communism spread like an irrational hail of boils. To anyone who could see, the excessive hysteria of the Red wave was no preparation to face an enemy, but rather a terror of the national self: free-loving, lust-looting, atheistic, implacable -- absurdity beyond absurdity to label communism so, for the moral products of Stalinism had been Victorian sex and a ponderous machine of material theology.
Forced underground again, deep beneath all Readers Digest hospital dressings of Mental Health in Your Community, the myth continued to flow, fed by television and the film. The fissure in the national psyche widened to the danger point. The last large appearance of the myth was the vote which tricked the polls and gave Harry Truman his victory in 48. That was the last. Came the Korean War, the shadow of the H-bomb, and we were ready for the General. Uncle Harry gave way to Father, and security, regularity, order, and the life of no imagination were the command of the day. If one had any doubt of this, there was Joe McCarthy with his built-in treason detector, furnished by God, and the damage was done. In the totalitarian wind of those days, anyone who worked in Government formed the habit of being not too original, and many a mind atrophied from disuse and private shame. At the summit there was benevolence with leadership, regularity without vision, security without safety, rhetoric without life. The ship drifted on, that enormous warship of the United States, led by a Secretary of State whose cells were seceding to cancer, and as the world became more fantastic -- Africa turning itself upside down, while some new kind of machine man was being made in China -- two events occurred which stunned in the confidence of America into a new night: the Russians put up their Sputnik, and Civil Rights -- that reluctant gift to the American Negro, granted for its effect on foreign affairs -- spewed into real life at Little Rock. The national Ego was in shock: the Russians were now in some ways our technological superiors, and we had an internal problem of subject populations equal conceivably in its difficulty to the Soviet and its satellites. The fatherly calm of the General began to seem like the uxorious mellifluences of the undertaker.
Underneath it all was a larger problem. The life of politics and the life of myth had diverged too far, and the energies of the people one knew everywhere had slowed down. Twenty years ago a post-Depression generation had gone to war and formed a lively, grousing, by times inefficient, carousing, pleasure-seeking, not altogether inadequate army. It did part of what it was supposed to do, and many, out of combat, picked up a kind of private life on the fly, and had their good time despite the yaws of the military system. But today in America the generation which respected the code of the myth was Beat, a horde of half-begotten Christs with scraggly beards, heroes none, saints all, weak before the strong, empty conformisms of the authority. The sanction for finding ones growth was no longer ones flag, ones career, ones sex, ones adventure, not even ones booze. Among the best in the newest of the generations, the myth had found its voice in marijuana, and the joke of the underground was that when the Russians came over they could never dare to occupy us for long because America was too Hip. Gallows humor. The poorer truth might be that America was too Beat, the instinct of the nation so separated from its public mind that apathy, schizophrenia, and private beatitudes might be the pride of the welcoming committee any underground could offer.
Yes, the life of politics and the life of the myth had diverged too far. There was nothing to return them to one another, no common danger, no cause, no desire, and, most essentially, no hero. It was a hero America needed, a hero central to his time, a man whose personality might suggest contradiction and mysteries which could reach into the alienated circuits of the underground, because only a hero can capture the secret imagination of a people, and so be good for the vitality of his nation; a hero embodies the fantasy and so allows each private mind the liberty to consider its fantasy and find a way to grow. Each mind can become more conscious of its desire and waste less strength in hiding from itself. Roosevelt was such a hero, and Churchill, Lenin and DeGaulle; even Hitler, to take the most odious example of this thesis, was a hero, the hero-as-monster, embodying what had become the monstrous fantasy of a people, but the horror upon which the radical mind and liberal temperament foundered was that he gave outlet to the energies of the Germans and so presented the twentieth century with an index of how horrible had become the secret heart of its desire. Roosevelt is of course a happier example of the hero; from his paralytic leg to the royal elegance of his geniality he seemed to contain the country within himself; everyone from the meanest starving cripple to an ambitious young man could expand to the optimism of an improving future because the man offered an unspoken promise of a future which would be rich. The sexual and the sex-starved, the poor, the hard-working and the imaginative well-to-do could see themselves in the President, could believe him to be like themselves. So a large part of the country was able to discover its energies because not as much was wasted in feeling that the country was a poisonous nutrient which stifled the day.
Too simple? No doubt. One tries to construct a simple model. The thesis is after all not so mysterious; it would merely nudge the notion that a hero embodies his time and is not so very much better than his time, but he is larger than life and so is capable of giving direction to the time, able to encourage a nation to discover the deepest colors of its character. At bottom the concept of hero is antagonistic to impersonal social progress, to the belief that social ills can be solved by social legislating, for it sees a country as all-but-trapped in its character until it has a hero who reveals the character of the country to itself. The implication is that without such a hero the nation turns sluggish. Truman for example was not such a hero, he was not sufficiently larger than life, he inspired familiarity without excitement, he was a character but his proportions came from soap opera: Uncle Harry, full of salty common-sense and small-minded certainty, a storekeeping uncle.
Whereas Eisenhower has been the anti-Hero, the regulator. Nations do not necessarily and inevitably seek for heroes. In periods of dull anxiety, one is more likely to look for security than a dramatic confrontation, and Eisenhower could stand as a hero only for that large number of Americans who were most proud of their lack of imagination. In American life, the unspoken war of the century has taken place between the city and the small town; the city which is dynamic, orgiastic, unsettling, explosive and accelerating to the psyche; the small town which is rooted, narrow, cautious and planted in the life-logic of the family. The need of the city is to accelerate growth; the pride of the small town is to retard it. But since America has been passing through a period of enormous expansion since the war, the double-four years of Dwight Eisenhower could not retard the expansion, it could only denude it of color, character, and the development of novelty. The small town mind is rooted -- it is rooted in the small town -- and when it attempts to direct history the results are disastrously colorless because the instrument of world power which is used by the small-town mind is the committee. Committees do not create, they merely proliferate, and the incredible dullness wreaked upon the American landscape in Eisenhowers eight years has been the triumph of the corporation. A tasteless, sexless, odorless sanctity in architecture, manners, modes, styles has been the result. Eisenhower embodied half the needs of the nation, the needs of the timid, the petrified, the sanctimonious, and the sluggish. What was even worse, he did not divide the nation as a hero might (with a dramatic dialogue as the result); he merely excluded one part of the nation from the other. The result was an alienation of the best minds and bravest impulses from the faltering history which was made. Americas need in those years was to take an existential turn, to walk into the nightmare, to face into that terrible logic of history which demanded that the country and its people must become more extraordinary and more adventurous, or else perish, since the only alternative was to offer a false security in the power and the panacea of organized religion, family, and the F.B.I., a totalitarianization of the psyche by the stultifying techniques of the mass media which would seep into everyones most private associations and so leave the country powerless against the Russians even if the denouement were to take fifty years, for in a competition between totalitarianisms the first maxim of the prizefight manager would doubtless apply: "Hungry fighters win fights."
Some part of these thoughts must have been in ones mind at the moment there was the first glimpse of Kennedy entering the Biltmore Hotel; and in the days which followed, the first mystery -- the profound air of depression which hung over the convention -- gave way to a second mystery which can be answered only by history. The depression of the delegates was understandable: no one had too much doubt that Kennedy would be nominated, but if elected he would be not only the youngest President ever to be chosen by voters, he would be the most conventionally attractive young man ever to sit in the White House, and his wife -- some would claim it -- might be the most beautiful First Lady in our history. Of necessity the myth would emerge once more, because Americas politics would now be also Americas favorite movie, Americas first soap opera, Americas best-seller. One thinks of the talents of writers like Taylor Caldwell or Frank Yerby, or is it rather The Fountainhead which would contain such a fleshing of the romantic prescription? Or is it indeed ones own work which is called into question? "Well, theres your first hipster," says a writer one knows at the convention, "Sergius OShaugnessy born rich," and the temptation is to nod, for it could be true, a war hero, and the heroism is bona fide, even exceptional, a man who has lived with death, who, crippled in the back, took on an operation which would kill him or restore him to power, who chose to marry a lady whose face might be too imaginative for the taste of a democracy which likes its first ladies to be executives of home-management, a man who courts political suicide by choosing to go all out for a nomination four, eight, or twelve years before his political elders think he is ready, a man who announces a week prior to the convention that the young are better fitted to direct history than the old. Yes, it captures the attention. This is no routine candidate calling every shot by safetys routine book ("Yes," Nixon said, naturally but terribly tired an hour after his nomination, the TV cameras and lights and microphones bringing out a sweat of fatigue on his face, the words coming very slowly from the tired brain, somber, modest, sober, slow, slow enough so that one could touch emphatically the cautions behind each word, "Yes, I want to say," said Nixon, "that whatever abilities I have, I got from my mother." A tired pause dull moment of warning, " and my father." The connection now made, the rest comes easy, " and my school and my church." Such men are capable of anything.)
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EMPOWER Leadership Sports & Adventure Center is the Northeast's most exciting zip line canopy tour facility and is always looking for highly motivated, high integrity people who share our company's vision and values. Past adventure and experiential education experience is preferred. By becoming a member of our team, you will have the opportunity to build personal and professional skills by:
- Leading groups through experience-based team building programs
- Learning technical skills of the zip line canopy tour industry
- Working in an outdoor setting with a diverse client group including corporations, non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools, universities, and other community groups
Find the full job description here. At EMPOWER, our seasonal adventure guides lead groups of participants in adventures to include the zip line canopy tour. In this role, our guides are responsible for the safety and entertainment of guests, all while presenting various discussions about self-leadership, group support, and positive risk taking. EMPOWER holds its team members to exceptionally high standards of professional performance. All facilitators must have exceptional interpersonal and communication skills as well as the ability to learn and apply technical lessons.
All new staff will be required to attend a training program regardless of previous experience. Once you have submitted your application, resume, and cover letter either via email or US mail, we'll contact you. If you have what we're looking for, you'll be invited for an interview, where you will have the chance to get to know EMPOWER and we'll have a chance to get to know you. Once through the interview, if you are invited to training, be ready for a new, challenging experience that will take you to new heights! Through hands-on experiences, you will learn what it takes to be anEMPOWER seasonal adventure guide. If during training, you or we decide that it's not for you, you'll still walk away having had an empowering experience!
Applicants must have a strong desire to advance the study of leadership and do so while working at great heights (up to 75′). Additionally, applicants must be safety oriented and must have the willingness and commitment to take responsibility for a participants' safety at all times.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Spring Fashionista Giveaway Event is hosted by The Chief Blonde at Still Blonde After All These Years and Katy from ModlyChic. K Squared Glamour is our co-host!
For every giveaway in the Spring Fashionista Event that an entrant enters, they gain one entry toward the Spring Fashionista Events Main Event Prizes. Go here to enter Main Event==> $1200 in Main Event Prizes.
The Main Event Prizes total $1200 and Include:
- $600 White Gold and Citrene Stone Necklace from Emma Parker Diamonds (Diamond engagment Rings) (WOrldwide)
- $100 Amazon Gift Card (WorldWide)
- $250 Gift Card from Midnight Velvet (clothing, accessories and home decor) (US ONLY)
- $250 in Shoes from Bobbi-Toad (adorable children's Shoes) Worldwide
Don't go anyway just yet though, because you don't want to miss out on iab's individual giveaway!
insignificant at best's sponsor for the event is the amazing Apricot Collection!!! They are kind enough to giveaway a $125 gift certificate so you can go on a shopping spree. They offer beautiful women's clothes, bags, and jewelry and will be expanding to plus size clothing at the end of this month. Stay tuned for my review of their plus size clothing within the next few days! In the meantime while you're waiting be sure to enter the giveaway below!
Oh and if you'd like to learn more about Apricot Collection you can check out the sponsor spotlight I did on them for the Winter Blues event!
Now that you've entered iab's giveaway, be sure to hop to the other blogs and enter their giveaways too!
Disclaimer: insignificant at best, Still Blonde after all these YEARS , Modly Chic, K Squared Glamour and Spring Fashionista Events Giveaway or the Spring Fashionista Events Giveaway are not responsible for sponsors/bloggers that do not fulfill their prizes or for any product failure or harm caused thereby. LEGAL Stuff: 18 years of age or older to enter. US Only! Read Instructions carefully because rules vary from contest to contest. Make sure to provide a correct email address so we can reach you if you win. You have 48 hours to respond once contacted. Still Blonde after all these YEARS , Fall Fashionista Giveaway Events or the Spring Fashionista Giveaway Event bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. In most cases, shipping of prizes is the responsibility of the the sponsors who will be sending prizes to you directly. Your prize should arrive within 30 days, let us know if it doesn't and we will TRY TO HELP OUT! The writer of this giveaway received a sample for this review. Compensation was not provided. Opinions expressed are the blog's own. This Giveaway is not affiliated with, associated with or promoted by Facebook. Happy Entering!


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California wine owes much of its success to the people of Mexico who immigrated — or were brought — to this country to do its heavy lifting, work that they continue today. (Judy Bellah/Getty Images) |
But for the hand of man, California wine country may have lain forever, Jurassic Park-like, in wait for the vines that would make it famous.
Do not forget that when he came, the man spoke Spanish.
Sure, many landed in California whose languages were not the currency of Nueva Espana. They also planted vines and made wine. But we remember today the Spanish speakers, especially those who mark the fifth day of May.
California wine owes much of its success to the people of Mexico who immigrated — or were brought — to this country to do its heavy lifting, work that they continue today many generations on.
That glass of California chardonnay pearling with beads of moisture on your picnic table? It sits pretty there because, 20 years ago, Alberto Robledo, vineyard manager for Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma County, slid his grafting knife into the old wood of a mothering rootstock and suckled to it a new cane of chardonnay vine that matured and for years budded fruit.
"I learned to graft from my father and uncles," Robledo says. "I would practice on the small branches of willow trees, hundreds of times, before they let me work in the vineyards. If I do not do good work, both the rootstock and the cane die. And that's a big loss because, you know, we cannot do that over."
For Robledo, a good day, a day without rain or mischief, would be 400 graftings.
After a few years, that rootstock and its child cane would push forth chardonnay grapes that, were it not for more hands of men, would never leap as wine into that bottle on your table.
One year, many harvests ago, I pulled those grapes off a vine such as that at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley, alongside some of those men, all Mexicans, so early and cold in the morning that it was yet night.
Chardonnay is such a pretty word, such a lovely wine. It is also split skin, sticky with grape juice and stung by bees, and the bolt of pain along the back of the neck, gotten there from craning in the dark along a squat and waddle in order to find those fat and juicy grapes. It's doing that for four hours before breakfast.
That glass of chardonnay tastes delicious because Alejandro Alfaro, winemaker at Rutherford Grove Winery, midwifed the harvested grapes into wine in the cool of the cellar.
"Making wine is really hard work," says Alfaro. "But then you see people drinking it and the happiness it brings them. It's a kind of alcohol that you can actually enjoy. You see them talking about it — you know, they don't talk about beer or liquor that way — and they start laughing and enjoying their food. Making wine is something special to be proud of."
That glass of chardonnay makes you merry and gussies up your food because Jesus de Haro, cellar master at Markham Vineyards, learned to appreciate the value of his current work, indoors all day at the winery, after he first learned the value of his work outdoors like "thousands of Mexicans before me," he says.
"We are about hard work and the love of agriculture," de Haro says. "It is the passion of what we do.
"My family was growers of peaches and corn and beans in Mexico. My father brought me here when I was 14 years old and, after three or four months, all I wanted to do was go back.
"But I finally realized that I had to settle down," says de Haro, 53. "I worked in the vineyards then with my father, afterward landscaping. Slowly, here and there, I helped inside the winery. Now, here I am, cellar master."
The Mexican fire in the furnace of California winemaking is all of that work, passion and dedication, that love of land and craft, that dynamic of one generation succeeding and exceeding its former. It is also an accident of history.
"There is a very specific reason for all this," says Pedro Ceja, part owner with his family of Ceja Vineyards in Napa. "It is the bracero program, a legal immigration agreement between Mexico and the U.S., wherein Mexico would provide a labor force to the agricultural needs of the U.S. There was a lack of manpower in this country due to (World War II)." (The largest influx of Mexican farm workers under the bracero program occurred between 1942-1964.)
"But, still," reminds Ceja, "remember that the cradle of wine in the New World, the oldest winery, was first in Mexico. There you had commercial wineries before the United States was even a country. Mexico is no stranger to wine.
"To be honest about it," he adds, "because of the geographical location, Mexico is not the best for winemaking, but it is where wine began in the Americas.
"Anyway, a decent farmer honors where food comes from by respecting nature, whatever you are growing. That is the value of our culture. That's why we are fortunate to participate in this industry."
Bill St John has been writing and teaching about wine for more than 40 years.


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Shake, rattle and giggle in style. The Minnie Mouse clutch & rattle ball from Fisher-Price is an adorable lightweight ball designed to be just right for Baby's little hands! She'll love this garden themed ball featuring Minnie Mouse in the center. Butterfly and flower beads slide on six different rails and the top of the ball features a soft bow with crinkle!
Available at Amazon,Walmart
Suggested Retail Price: $8.99


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Treatment Protocol for Subclinical Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatique Syndromes
Paul Reller, L.Ac.
Subclinical hypothyroid syndromes and adrenal stress syndromes are being recognized as an underdiagnosed and increasingly prevalent problem in the United States and other developed societies due to variety of factors that include environmental chemicals, dietary habits, overuse of prescription medication and work routines that create an accumulation of immune and metabolic stress. It is estimated that as of 2008, 10 to 18% of all women over 60 years of age in Europe and the United States show signs of subclinical hypothyroidism. A history of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy to the head or neck area are also prevalent causes. 5 to 20% of subclinical hypothyroid cases with elevated TSH and positive antibody titers proceed to overt hypothyroidism each year.
In order to prevent a pattern of ill health that is all too prevalent in our aging population, these health issues should be recognized and treated as soon as the signs and symptoms appear. The patient should not wait until clinical endocrine problems, cancer, autoimmune disorders or cardiovascular problems occur. Just as metabolic syndrome, or the prediabetic state, should be treated before the need for insulin replacement occurs or secondary problems occur, these endocrine problems should be treated with a preventative medical perspective utilizing a comprehensive holistic approach.
Subclinical hypothyroid syndrome is diagnosed primarily by signs and symptoms, but laboratory testing and monitoring is still essential to correct differentiation and guidance of therapy. We often see an excess of TSH with normal values of circulating freeT3 and freeT4 (fT3 / fT4) in plasma blood tests. Circulating blood tests of freeT4 and freeT3 are the most accurate in normal testing, with accurate tests of total serum T4 and T3 sometimes problematic. Total serum T4 and T3 may be altered by the levels of thyroid binding proteins, since more than 99% of these hormones are typically bound to carrier proteins. T4 converts to T3 and reverse T3 to achieve hormonal effects. When there are problems with T4 conversion at the receptor sites, an excess of reverse T3 (rT3) may present problems, since rT3 excess blocks active T3 at the receptor sites. This presents a pathology that is not technically a hypothyroid condition, but produces similar symptoms. TSH levels are best assessed by attention to various antibodies as well as the circulating levels of TSH, fT3 and fT4, since autoimmune disorder such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis has become increasingly prevalent in the United States. In addition, diurnal cortisol levels are helpful to assess TSH, as an excess or deficiency of this adrenal hormone may be the cause of abnormal TSH levels.
Today, health management, or HMO, has brought modern medicine to a point where the patient assessment is often limited to a circulating TSH test alone. Since there is little that the pharmaceutical industry has to offer besides synthetic thyroid hormone replacement for the various hypothyroid pathologies, the number crunchers have stepped in and exerted pressure to limit supposed unnecessary testing. Responsible physicians should still pursue a complete diagnostic set of lab values and spend time analyzing the individual case and differential diagnosis. The temptation to simplify and generalize the diagnosis with one or a few lab values is one of the curses of modern medicine. True diagnosis examines all of the pertinent lab parameters from tests and compares this to signs and symptoms to insure intelligent and thorough assessment. Of course, one could start with a simplified approach, and when questions persist, do more testing. Some laboratories today offer low cost saliva, bloodstick, and now even urine blot analysis, and have developed accurate means of freezing the samples for future testing when more data is needed. This provides the physician with simple, low-cost testing, and allows a flexibility in testing that still maintains excellent value and accurate results in a timely fashion, with results immediately posted on a secure personal webpage. Accurate thyroid assessment is vital to a treatment approach that utilizes Complementary Medicine.
Recent advances in testing technology allows us to accurately assess thyroid metabolites in blood stick samples, and this is recommended for assurance of accurate diagnosis and monitoring due to its ease of collection, speed of assessment and relatively low cost. ZRT laboratories in Portland, Oregon offers TSH, freeT3, freeT4, and Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody assessment, and has published papers describing methods to insure accuracy and comparison to plasma levels. Deficiency of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) is also seen in hypothyroidism and can be assessed. This laboratory also offers assessment of Testosterone, Estradiol, Progesterone, Cortisol, DHEA-S, VitD 25-OH and other metabolites to help with an overall endocrine assessment when needed. We often see a hyperparathyroid and subclinical hypothyroid presentation today, tied to hypothalamic deficiency, especially in the aging population, and ZRT offers assessment of Somatomedin C (IGF-1) to help assess growth hormone irregularity, along with LH and FSH values. Use of automated testing and a mass spectrometer has greatly increased accuracy. This type of testing does not require drawing blood and can be ordered by a Licensed Acupuncturist in California to help monitor and assess a patient to succeed with a treatment plan that is integrated with the M.D. specialist. This type of assessment outside of the hospital clinic insures that the complementary care plan can adjust to the changing needs of the patient condition. Since the holistic approach may be complicated, this teamwork on the part of the secondary physician is essential to optimum results in the treatment plan. This type of test data can be given to the patient and brought to the M.D. specialist or case management M.D. to add to the data from more standard blood and urine testing. The modern Licensed Acupuncturist and Medical Doctor should not shy from this sensible and thorough approach to diagnosis, and collaborate freely. This approach does nothing to negate the standard approach of either the TCM or modern physician, but objectively integrates perspectives to provide better assessment and care.
The various reasons for the subclinical hypothyroid condition need to be explored if the physician wants to take a thorough and holistic approach to restoring health rather than just managing the situation with synthetic hormone substitution. Like metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, we now know that there may be a problem with the cellular uptake of circulating freeT3, with hormone receptor function and with intracellular transport. The extent to which problems with liver metabolism, kidney metabolism, deficiencies of the hormone components iodine and threonine, nutritional deficiencies of selenium, iron, copper, chromium, zinc, vitamins B12, B2, B6, A and E, chronic inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorder, excessive cortisol, adrenal fatique, estrogen dominance, environmental toxins accumulation, fluoride, or effects of medications such as SSRIs, glucocorticoids, beta-blockers, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, steroid therapies in asthma control or skin problems, lithium, opiate pain medication or dilantin contribute to functional hypothyyroidism must be assessed. This is a long list of potential contributors to the subclinical hypothyroid condition. Oversimplified reliance on a circulating level of TSH alone is ridiculous, and a holistic analysis is now expected by intelligent patients taking a proactive approach and educating themselves to their condition.
Other signs of subclinical hypthyroidism include weight gain, abdominal bloat, reduced basal body temperature, low ferritin levels, as well as dry brittle nails, thinning hair, especially eyebrows and puffiness of the face. Symptoms commonly seen are constipation, dry skin, easy fatique, intolerance of cold, anxiety and depression, and waking insomnia. We may also see heavier menstrual bleeding premenopausally, increased idiopathic joint or muscle pain, and loss of sexual drive. Basal body temperature should be measured under the axilla upon waking, before activity, and charted. Menstruating women should take the temperature on days 2 to 4 of the cycle. Normal axillary temperature is 97.8 to 98.2, although normal temperature between individuals may vary.
Essential nutrient therapy includes L-tyrosine, which is often deficient, Kombu seaweed or kelp, as a mineral and iodine source, sublingual B12, Vitamin B6 (P5P), Brewer's yeast, Krill oil for essential fatty acids EPA and DHA, selenium 200 to 800mg daily (or methylselenocysteine), and magnesium. Tyrosine attaches to iodine molecules to form active thyroid hormones, and deficiency symptoms may include low blood pressure, cool extremities, and restless leg syndrome. Other supplements may be useful for specific thyroid pathoogies, such as Pantothenic acid and Calcium AEP, which are more useful in peripheral thyroid dysfunction and hypothalamic deficiency.
Supplemental iodine may be useful if there is a deficiency, which does occur in over 80% of the population in parts of the United States. If the deficiency of iodine is too great, iodine supplementation for a small subset of patients with a particular genetic makeup (or allele) will result in temporary symptoms of hyperthyroidism that is reversed when the supplement is stopped. This is more often seen in patients with a history of autoimmune, or Hashimoto's, thyroid disorder who are now hypothyroid. To avoid this problem, conservative use of Iodoral (modern Lugol's solution) is recommended, with first trying a lower dose of the supplement, and starting with a very low dose and gradually increasing to therapeutic levels. Tapering of dosage at the end of a course is also recommended to prevent reactions to sudden changes in iodine and iodide circulating levels. Keep in mind that about 90% of iodine and iodide store in the thyroid and breast tissues, and continuous supplementation in therapy is not necessary or desirable. Monitoring is now much improved, as ZRT laboratories has completed their assessment of accurate testing and evaluation utilizing just a urine dipstick. This lab utilizes the latest technology with mass spectrometry enhanced with gas chromatogramy to fully refine and achieve accurate results. ZRT also utilizes their own extensive research, accumulated with each individual test adding to data, to insure the highest level of accuracy. Iodoral supplementation is found to be an effective and safe part of treatment protocol for most patients with hypothyroid pathology, including Hashimoto's patients with the inevitable transition to a hypothyroid state from the initital hyperthyroid condition. High dosage Iodoral or prolonged supplementation is seldom necessary.
It is recommended to avoid trans fats, aspartame sweeteners, processed whole foods, and to avoid gluten for at least 60 days (avoid commercial bakery products, wheat, barley and oats) when an autoimmune component is suspected in thyroid pathology. Analysis of the TPO levels is important in these cases. There are products that combine a variety of the essential nutrient substances, such as Immunogenics Future Formulations Thyro-Balance, for ease of use, in therapy, but these products may have limitations concerning individualized treatment protocol, or even quality assurance.
Acupuncture and herbal product recommendations are listed at the end of this article. These are suggestions of this particular TCM physician and should be utilized only by trained and licensed acupuncturists and herbalists. A variety of other treatment protocols are used effectively by other physicians and may work just as well. These recommendations also include treatment for the Adrenal Stress or Fatique Syndrome.
Since adrenal fatique may be an important cause or precursor to subclinical hypothyroidism, this should be assessed and treated first if the signs and symptoms are evident. Up to 80% of people wtih Adrenal Fatique may also have low thyroid function. Chronic pain may be a key factor in this syndrome. Pain stimulus of any sort will stimulate the hypothalamus and trigger corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), leading to larger amounts of cortisol in the blood, which in turn will cause suppression of the hypothalamic function via negative feedback control. Studies at UCLA and Taiwan in 2010 proved that deep tissue therapies, or TuiNa in TCM, produced dramatic normalization of cortisol levels, as well as improved Oxytocin balance, and immune cytokine optimization. This type of therapy may be an important addition to the protocol.
Contributors to adrenal fatique syndrome include chronic overuse of corticosteroid medications, especially in the asthmatic patient. Because of the prevalence of this problem, pharmaceutical companies have come up with a new class of asthmatic inhaler, ciclesonide glucocorticoid, called Alvesco. This steroid will reportedly deliver greater than 50% of the inhaled steroid directly to the lung tissue with smaller particles and conversion to the active des-ciclesonide in the bronchial membranes with esterase activity. Increased lipid conjugation, higher protein binding in plasma, and P450 deactivation in the liver were all bioengineered in this drug in response to the serious problems with adrenal insufficiency that occurred with standard corticosteroid use. The physician should work toward decreased use of any corticosteroid medication if possible in patients suspected of adrenal fatique syndrome.
Adrenal Fatique Syndrome, like subclinical hypothyroidism, is also diagnosed primarily by signs and symptoms, although we often see low morning cortisol levels, high evening cortisol levels, low testosterone and high fasting glucose levels. Again, active hormone saliva testing can accurately assess diurnal cortisone levels and testosterone, as well as DHEA-S. In Adrenal Fatique, the cortisol may rise abnormally at night, preventing one from falling asleep easily. This high cortisol level may inhibit 5'deiodinase enzyme that converts T4 to T3, as well as inhibit production of TSH in the pituitary. Standard tests that look only at the TSH and freeT4 levels, and not the freeT3, may be overlooking a functional T3 deficiency. Deficiency of cortisol may inhibit thyroid hormone receptor sites.
Signs of adrenal fatique may also include loss of hair on the lateral calf, dry skin, hypoglycemia with stress, decreased immunity and a craving for salty foods. Symptoms may be very similar to subclinical hypothyroidism, and typically increase with stress. These include easy fatique or diurnal energy patterns, lack of stamina, constipation, difficulty falling asleep, poor memory, increased irritability, depression, apathy and difficulty with mental focus. Differences with hypothyroid symptoms include: fatique in the early morning or mid-afternoon only, more vitality in the evening, and constipation that alternates with loose stools.
I believe that the term 'alternative' medicine has long promoted an unhealthy and mistaken attitude about the science of TCM, which historically has always been a complementary partner with allopathic medicine, and that the modern progressive MD should seek out a knowledgeable Complememtary Medicine physician, such as a Licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist, or a Naturopath, to integrate into the treatment team and provide the best and most economical care for the patient.
It is believed that the number of cases of subclinical hypothyroidism has grown substantially in recent years. Unfortunately, the standard treatment protocol for subclinical hypothyroidism, in most cases, is still the same as that for clinical hypothyroidism and involves synthetic thryroid hormone substitution such as synthroid (levothyroxine sodium). This type of treatment has become controversial, and a meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaboration has shown no benefit and substantial risk in taking synthetic thyroid medication for subclinical hypothryoidism. The risks include the possibility of stimulating hyperthyroidism as well as cardiovascular risks.
Fortunately, use of bio-identical hormone therapy and comple mentary medicine is finally being used with great success, even among a small percentage of M.D.s, over the objection of the big pharmaceuticals. Studies have proven that use of T3 and dessicated thyroid in the treatment may control the deficiency of thryoid production with fewer risks and side effects. One study showed substantial benefit from T3 use for both mood and cognitive ability, while a study of dessicated thyroid showed benefits across the board in symptom improvement compared to standard synthetic T4 use.
Some studies have shown that treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism with levothyroxine are ineffective. Tijdschr Psychiatr. 2008;50(8):539-43: This search of all relevant studies by 2008 of the treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism with levothyroxine showed no beneficial effect on the accompanying depressive syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD003419. This meta-analysis concluded that levothyroxine therapy in cases of subclinical hypothyroidism did not increase survival or decrease cardiovascular morbidity, nor did it improve symptoms or quality of life compared to either no treatment or placebo.
Herbal products found useful for Adrenal Stress or Fatique include Health Concerns' Adrenosen with adrenal glandular extract, PKA and supportive herbs, as well as products with adaptogenic herbs, including Dr. Kang's Quality of Life, Heron Botanicals Fu Zheng Formula and Health Concerns Astra 8 or 6 Gentlemen. Herbal Products to clear chronic infection or gut imbalances include Health Concerns Astra Isatis, Phellostatin or Artemestatin, and possibly a short course of Clear Heat if needed. Restoration of gut function may include Health Concerns Chzyme and Collagenex, as well as a reliable probiotic primaphadophylus. Health Concerns CordySeng is also useful periodically; study has shown that large dosage of American Ginseng over short periods increased thyroid function in animal studies, but small dosage over a longterm appeared to reduce thyroid function. Cordyceps is an herb that serves both as an immune tonic and adaptogen to stress. The supplements L-Tyrosine, sublingual B12 high dose crushed, Vitamin B6, selenium, magnesium, EpaQ krill oil, pantothenic acid, and OptiZinc, or zinc methionine, are also essential to therapy.
Acupuncture recommendations may focus on the Shaoyang, Yang Wei and Dai Mai meridians, as well as the regulatory points, using SI3, DU20, DU16, GB20, UB10, a point beside and under the spinous process of C4, DU4, K7, K6 and UB62. This will help with regulation of the autonomic nervous system, endocrine and thyroid, and aid with deficiency of the adrenals, utilizing the extraordinary meridians. If the shaoyang pulse indicates emptiness, GB41, 43, 37, xieLV5, SJ5 to P6, H7, buUB10, xie GB20, xieGB25. Direct stimulation of the thyroid gland may be accomplished with ST9 and Ren22, using Lu7 and K6 to enhance the meridian effect. In addition topical herbal creams to increase pregnenelone, progesterone and estriol may be utilized as needed and appropriate, with lab values monitored. Use of a very low dose of topical creams is recommended when starting the therapy, and care must be taken not to overstimulate. In the menstruating female patient, the progesterone stimulating creams are used only in the second half of the cycle, and use of estriol cream is used only when progesterone stimulating cream is also used.
As time goes on and research continues to improve the efficacy of integrated treatment for subclinical hypothyroid and adrenal fatique syndromes, this physician, like many others, continues to utilize improved evidence-based protocols in his practice, and this article may not be fully updated to reflect the advances in treatment protocol over time. Feel free to contact me by phone or in writing to gain more information about clinical practice and results.
Information Resources
- Wikipedia gives a clear explanation of hypthyroidism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothyroidism
- Dr. John R. Lee, a pioneer in the use of bio-identical hormones, is well represented with hypothyroid information at http://virginiahopkinstestkits.com/thyroidarticle.html
- The Holtorf Medical Group, Inc. of Foster City, California, provides excellent resource on the internet with information that is valuable to modern Complementary care. http://holtorfmed.reachlocal.net/article_info.php?articles_id=2#12
Of Interest
NOTE:"long-term use of high-dose inhaled corticosteroid therapy has potential to cause systemic side effects – impaired growth in children, decreased bone mineral density, skin thinning and bruising, and cataracts. Hypothalamic-pituitiary-adrenal-axis suppression, measured by serum or urine cortisol decrease correlates with the occurrence of systemic side effects of high-dose inhaled corticosteroids."
The information on this website is not intended to be used as a specific medical advice or cure. Please consult with the practitioner or an appropriate physician, such as a licensed acupuncturist, naturopath, or medical doctor, to discuss the proper application of the information contained on this website.


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The altar decoration should be the agenda for the wedding decoration for any couple as here al the ceremonies takes place. Here are some tips and ideas on how to make your altar decorations unique and beautiful! Ideas for creating easy and beautiful wedding decorations. Find decorations for your wedding reception and ceremony.
Wedding Altar Decorations
The first step when planning any type of church decoration is to speak to your officiant. Most churches will have regulations about what they will or will not permit you to do to the church, both inside and outside. You are likely to find that they do not want you to put any holes in the wall, and sprinkling the altar floor with flower petals are also probably not allowed. From there, some churches will allow you a great deal of flexibility, whereas others may permit only a bare minimum of decorating.
Wedding Altar Decoration Pictures
If your wedding will fall near a holiday likes Christmas or Easter, also be sure to find out what special decorations the church will have in place at that time. Perhaps they are so lovely that you do not need to add anything else. In fact, this can be a very good reason to schedule your wedding at one of these times, as you can usually cut down on your decorating costs. It is also quite possible that the seasonal flowers and the like will have to remain in place during your wedding, so you will need to choose your other décor to coordinate.
Wedding Altar Decoration Ideas
The altar area of a church is a large space to fill, so it is important to choose flowers and other elements that make a big impact. Remember that your guests will be seeing the decorations from distance. This is not the place to spend your money on special details like crystal drops in the floral arrangements to coordinate with your bridal jewelry. If you are planning on accents like that in your centerpieces and want to bring jewelry style accents to the ceremony decor, put them in your bridal bouquet. They will just get lost when view from far away.
Wedding Altar Decoration Flowers
Wedding Altar Decorating Ideas
At the minimum, plan on having some tall floral displays flanking the altar, as well as a large accent further out to each side, such as a standing candelabra or a potted tree. If your church does not permit you to have open flame, one pretty idea would be to add battery powered white lights to a potted tree. The trees can be rented, and are an easy way to add a big splash of color without the expense of creating a massive floral arrangement. A contemporary version of this would be to "plant" white birch branches into a large container in lieu of greenery. Place up lighting in the base of each pot for a dramatic effect.
Outdoor Wedding Altar Decorations
When choosing the flowers for the arrangements nearest the altar, look for ones that are tall and bold. They may not be the same types of blossoms that you use for your centerpieces, which is fine, as long as they are similar in style and color. Tall footed vases will also add height and impact. If your church allows it, a gorgeous idea is to drape a lush swag of greens and flowers on the altar table. This will look very pretty in the photographs behind you taken during the exchange of vows.
Church Wedding Altar Decorations
Asian Wedding Altar Decorations
Most altars are too large an area to fill with decorations, so don't drive yourself crazy trying to decorate every square inch. Simply choose a few large accents and position them where they will have the most impact. The special décor that you use for your wedding ceremony will make it even lovelier.


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Spark VK
(55 Recipes) Created by GOGOGRANNIE
Recipes in this Collection
Cookbook creator says: Uses Greek Yogurt Submitted by FANNETASTICFOOD Carbs: 2.3g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 0.1g | Protein: 10.4g | Calories: 117.2
This delicious vegan chili is the perfect meal for a cool, fall day. For more recipes like this, visit Daily Garnish. Submitted by THEFRONTBURNER Carbs: 40.8g | Fat: 1.4g | Fiber: 13.5g | Protein: 10.2g | Calories: 202.3
Incredible! 5.0/5
(1 rating)
Submitted by TRAVELNISTA Carbs: 44.5g | Fat: 3g | Fiber: 13.6g | Protein: 10.6g | Calories: 240.3
Incredible! 5.0/5
(1 rating)
I sometimes crave potatoes, so this seemed a good way to in what can be a filling one dish supper depending on how many servings eaten. If you don't like super spicy food, cut the pepper and oregano portions in half. Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 50g | Fat: 3g | Fiber: 9g | Protein: 8g | Calories: 247.2
Very Good 4.6/5
(49 ratings)
Submitted by DSTYLES43 Carbs: 32.3g | Fat: 0.3g | Fiber: 0g | Protein: 2.8g | Calories: 123
Incredible! 5.0/5
(1 rating)
Looking for something to use up leftover roasted turkey with healthy spinach pasta, I created this dish without added salt. The garlic helps to flavor or try sprinkling with dried basil before serving. Almost ever vitamin and mineral listed in the recipe calculator is part of this recipe! Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 19.3g | Fat: 6.2g | Fiber: 1.8g | Protein: 25.6g | Calories: 230.8
(no ratings)
Homemade sauce instead of ready made. Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 40.4g | Fat: 10.1g | Fiber: 31.1g | Protein: 38.7g | Calories: 487.2
(no ratings)
I used Multi-Grain whole wheat Pancake Mix form New Hope Mills in Amish Country Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 34.8g | Fat: 7.3g | Fiber: 5.1g | Protein: 8.1g | Calories: 228.7
(no ratings)
Looking for some extra calcium in a filling way Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 16.2g | Fat: 0.4g | Fiber: 1.5g | Protein: 4.6g | Calories: 82.8
Very Good 4.2/5
(13 ratings)
This is a modified version of a recipe on allrecipes.com that I enjoy greatly and that gives you a lot of protein, a lot of taste, and very few calories. You could make it much faster and easier with pre-prepared chicken breast, first sauteed with the onions and garlic in olive oil. You would increase the amount of broth by 1/2 cup or so and wouldn't use water in that scenario. Submitted by TISHARAY Carbs: 16.4g | Fat: 1.4g | Fiber: 5g | Protein: 18.3g | Calories: 150.8
Very Good 4.1/5
(10 ratings)
Submitted by HAPYCLRK Carbs: 15.3g | Fat: 2g | Fiber: 4.8g | Protein: 11.2g | Calories: 121.7
Incredible! 5.0/5
(3 ratings)
got a blender??? Submitted by KARENALITY Carbs: 29.9g | Fat: 1g | Fiber: 3.9g | Protein: 2.1g | Calories: 125.9
(no ratings)
Cookbook creator says: This is a variation on a recipe I found in the database. I wanted something a bit creamier. Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 43.8g | Fat: 0.9g | Fiber: 4.7g | Protein: 5.5g | Calories: 191
Use with a bag of pre-shredded broccoli & cauliflower; makes this recipe super quick. Submitted by PBERGER3 Carbs: 6.2g | Fat: 2.6g | Fiber: 0.9g | Protein: 2.3g | Calories: 60
(no ratings)
Cookbook creator says: My version of Brocolli Wocolli using Canola fat free mayo and imitation bacon bits for crunch. Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 16.4g | Fat: 10.1g | Fiber: 2.6g | Protein: 4.6g | Calories: 170
(no ratings)
Variation on Lemony Chicken Submitted by GOGOGRANNIE Carbs: 16.7g | Fat: 1.7g | Fiber: 0.6g | Protein: 26.9g | Calories: 195.3
Try this inexpensive and fresh version of a chicken casserole--no need for processed soups or sauces! Submitted by CHEF_MEG Carbs: 36.1g | Fat: 8.9g | Fiber: 8.8g | Protein: 27.9g | Calories: 320.6
Very Good 4.0/5
(107 ratings)
This is so easy, you'll be ready to eat in no time! Carbs: 24.7g | Fat: 27.7g | Fiber: 1.7g | Protein: 24.6g | Calories: 457.9
Lean and versatile, this recipe is the little black dress of your healthy recipe arsenal. Cook this roast on a Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week. We used no salt, just pepper for a truly flavorful roast. Submitted by CHEF_MEG Carbs: 0.1g | Fat: 7.6g | Fiber: 0g | Protein: 28.7g | Calories: 191.2
We don't like baked fish, but this tilapia recipe is delicious! Submitted by JANA_N_TN Carbs: 22.1g | Fat: 3.1g | Fiber: 10.9g | Protein: 27.9g | Calories: 184.7


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Wed, Jul 3, 13 at 2:30
Follow-Up Postings:
The 70s |
No way MikeG715! This was in a brand new house. If it had shag pea green carpet next to it, then it would definitely be out of date but it is really cool. Check out a differnt angle. It looks like Talavera tile but in a very muted palette. If anyone knows of a similar style, please let me know! |
- Posted by zookeeper93 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 11:00
You might ask it on the kitchen and bath forums, if you haven't already. it is very pretty. I likey. |
I used something very similar in my last house, only it wasn't all blue. It was faded reds, browns, blues, and greens. It was Italian and I ordered it from cactus stone in Phoenix. I also used it on stair risers. Maybe they can point you in the direction. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Similar tiles
- Posted by natural_one (My Page) on Tue, Aug 13, 13 at 11:56
The 70s? maybe the 1870s. Gorgeous tile! Locally we have an amazing supplier of Mexican, South American and European styled tiles. Be ready to spend some $$$ though. Look all around the gallery, but here's one page I found that has some similar tiles, just not so washed out looking but close: |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tile
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Whether you're starting your Christmas shopping or looking for an affordable Halloween costume, these blogs should help you do your holiday shopping without overspending. They feature everything from lists of where to find holiday freebies to gift wrapping guides for dudes. Check them out for some great new ideas.
December 20, 2010 | Add a Comment
Surely you're not shopped-out yet? Christmas may be five days away, but then it's time for post-holiday sales.
Read MoreDecember 17, 2010 | Add a Comment
'Tis the season for procrastinators and prepared gift-givers alike to rejoice over the final online shopping push of the holidays: Free Shipping Day, which began at midnight today and runs through 11:59 p.m. EST.
Read MoreDecember 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Winter sports junkies are a strange, strange breed. What do you get the off-kilter loved one who's unfazed by frostbite? These 15 essential goods are coveted across the snow sports gamut and Christmas provides the perfect opportunity to update any winter warrior's closet.
Read MoreDecember 6, 2010 | Add a Comment
In these hard economic times... Oh stuff it. Let's dream some big dreams today for Christmas and imagine what we'd buy with a million dollars in pocket change.
Read MoreDecember 1, 2010 | Add a Comment
Bros, geeks, soccer moms, tree huggers, metrosexuals and military moms: Gift ideas for some stereotypes may be harder than you would first think.
Read MoreNovember 29, 2010 | Add a Comment
Several weeks back we told you about the imminent downfall of Black Friday, the longtime monarch of holiday shopping. In a feudal turn, younger sibling Cyber Monday is now heir apparent to the throne, holding court with yearly sales growth and 24 hours of online convenience.
Read MoreNovember 27, 2010 | Add a Comment
Clothing is one of the most popular holiday gifts, and for good reason. Unless your gift list is composed entirely of full-time naturists, everyone needs clothes. But clothing also can be one of the more expensive and difficult items on your list.
Read MoreNovember 10, 2010 | Add a Comment
Predicting the hottest kids toys each Christmas is a particular parental nightmare. Fortunately, major merchants are worried we'll spend even less this year, so they're discounting an array of toys for kids they expect to be the biggest sellers
Read MoreNovember 8, 2010 | Add a Comment
This is the day, team. We're going out there for Black Friday shopping and we're hitting the gridiron mercilessly. The following 21 plays are carefully crafted for this veritable Super Bowl of holiday shopping. They are made for triumph.
Read MoreNovember 1, 2010 | Add a Comment
Ten hup, Black Friday mall maggots. It's time to get those boots on the ground for some serious shopping. Now grab a cart and shove...and push...and reach...and OWN that register!
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VEGAN Girl Scout Cookies!
Vegans, rejoice! Dairy-free and egg-free Girl Scout Cookies DO exist!
So here's the dealio: There are two Girl Scout Cookie manufacturers – Little Brownie Bakers and ABC Smart Cookies ←the latter has 4 vegan options (see below). To reiterate, Little Brownie Bakers doesn't have any vegan options. So even though both companies make Thin Mints, only ABC Smart Cookies has the vegan version (sorry, if I seem redundant – just trying to avoid any confusion, 'cause I love y'all). Also, it looks like the two companies split up who they supply to by region, so her's hoping you're in an ABC-friendly zone.
The following Girl Scout cookie from ABC Smart Cookies are VEGAN:
- Peanut Butter Patties – "Crispy vanilla cookies layered with real peanut butter and blanketed with a chocolaty coating" (vegan; contain wheat, soy and peanuts)
- Thanks-a-Lot – "Heart-warming shortbread cookies dipped in rich fudge" (vegan; contain wheat and soy)
- Lemonades – "Savory slices of shortbread with a refreshingly tangy lemon icing" (vegan; contain wheat and soy)
- Thin Mints (Not All! See Note Below) – "The Girl Scout Cookie Sale's number one seller" (vegan; contain wheat and soy)
Now release your inner cookie monster and go to town on these bad boys! Not sure where to find Girl Scout Cookies? Click here and enter your zip code. You're welcome.
About Sunny (Sunny's Profile)
Longtime vegan, hardcore compassionate beauty junkie, serious cake aficionado, and lover of all things floofy and sparkly! If there's something in particular you'd like me to review, drop me a line at email@example.com. You can also find me on Google +.Filed in: vegan food


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Blog | Comments |
WoW | 17 Comments |
Recent Comments:
Reader UI of the Week: Bloom with Skoddie's UI {WoW}
May 17th 2011 5:06PM Chincilla: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/chinchilla.aspx
Reader UI of the Week: Bloom with Skoddie's UI {WoW}
May 17th 2011 4:02PM I recently started using Addon Control Panel for this and it's great. Takes a bit of figuring out to get the profiles set up, but once they are all you have to do is select your PvP (or PvE) profile and then reload your UI and you're all set.
Patch 4.1: Combat log addons cause framerate issues {WoW}
Apr 26th 2011 11:24PM @Jawbone: I have a Premium account due to having posted an addon, but even so, I update them one-by-one to make sure the updates are something I want to apply and to be aware what's getting changed (in case something breaks). It really is the most important one to have of the two though, as many authors use the Wowace as their development site and they're directly linked to Curse.
Re-LJ: Probably. :) Although I left W_L almost a year ago.
Win a Razer Nostromo game keypad from WoW Insider {WoW}
Apr 26th 2011 6:52PM Sure why not! :)
Patch 4.1: Combat log addons cause framerate issues {WoW}
Apr 26th 2011 5:42PM 1) Check "Load out of date addons" in the addon menu. (Warning: All of them might not work right.)
2) Grab the Curse Client and MMOUI Minion - WoWMatrix does not get official updates unless an author goes out of their way to update for them too, it is blocked from accessing both sites.
Scattered Shots: Hunter addons {WoW}
Apr 14th 2011 5:27PM For those of you who want some pre-made PowerAuras, you can check out the wiki. For example here are mine:
I chose to go with Stay Focused! (http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info18031-StayFocused.html) instead of HunterFocusBar, because it works for all classes and overall fit my needs better. HunterFocusBar had too much "stuff" on it for me.
Scattered Shots: Grandpappy Frostheim on pet happiness {WoW}
Mar 17th 2011 4:50PM @Boobah: That's why when you wanted to dismiss your pet, you flew high enough to do so. :P Trust me, as a hunter in BC you got used to deciding when you wanted to go all the way up or stay low to keep them summoned.
Really I just wish they'd only dismiss with flying mounts and stay summoned with ground mounts.
Scattered Shots: Hunter information from BlizzCon 2010 {WoW}
Oct 25th 2010 6:22PM "It is entirely possible that we'll see the implementation of pet collars, or a similar jewelry-type item for our pets to wear, sometime in the future. Something that enables further pet customization but will not change pet appearance."
Ugh, no, got my hopes up for a bit there. I want pet appearance changes, not something else to min/max.
Scattered Shots: Hunter information from BlizzCon 2010 {WoW}
Oct 25th 2010 6:14PM @Frostheim- But in Cataclysm will we be able to Auto Shot while moving by switching to Aspect of the Fox.
Editorial: Thoughts on the Ensidia ban {WoW}
Feb 5th 2010 8:27PM You are correct in that there could be any number of things causing it, they didn't necessarily know it was the bombs and therefore exploited them.
However, they knew it was bugged and knowingly took advantage of it by ignoring the Valkyrs: http://ensidia.com/Ekyu/blog/4079/
"Along those tries we realized something was actually wrong with the floor respawning."
"The idea at this point was pretty much that if this bug happened again then we could just leave the valkyrs and DPS on boss which made the encounter even more boring (add killing encounter for you) and in the end made P3 feel lighter on our empty stomachs."
"Now for this kill, indeed apparently it wasn't a mechanic of the fight that this floor respawns (would be pretty retarded to have those valkyrs else or maybe they would just slow down your dps/healing) but we managed to kill every single valkyr a consecutive number of times and I'm pretty sure that with 10 attempts left we could have done it easily even without the floor respawning."


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Hi. It's Kendall and Kylie.
And we're here at our Seventeen Magazine photo shoot.
Behind the scenes, we??re so excited.
Yehey. We can't wait for you, guys, to see the cover and everything inside.
The best part of my cover shoot, just being able to do it with my little sister and spending time with her. And we have a lot of fun together and we love like shooting together.
I think the best part about the shoot today was definitely See Full Transcript Hide Full Transcript the outfits, for sure.
I actually love this look and I was wearing like this red plaid button up shirt and a skirt and I love that, too. My nails, I'm obsessed. It looks so cool. Love them.
You should show the pictures. So, so happy, fun.
Hey. Hi, I'm Kim and I'm here at my sisters' Seventeen Magazine cover shoot. They look so gorgeous. I'm such a proud sister.
I'm so excited that Kendall and Kylie have been chosen to be on the cover of Seventeen magazine.
I love the leather skirt, Kylie. It looks so cute.
They??re so KJ that you might wanna wear that one.
Oh, yeah.
They??re like mom??s gonna wear [unknown].
Love that.
And then, we're gonna go into this kind of plaid and mixing plaid and stripes and all of that kind of fun stuff. Collegiate glam, like so high heels and fun, but it still has jeans.
I like collegiate glam.
Me, too.
That's the tip, okay. I tried it up my alley.
My personal style, it's different almost everyday. I feel like-
I always wear colors everyday and a lot of things like guys would wear, like but in girl version.
My sisters have always liked like a tight waist or like use a belt to cinch their waist or something and I've learned from them to do that as well and I love it. I dunno. I think it makes an outfit look cuter. I like wearing heels with my outfit. I feel like that makes it cuter and my sisters taught me that. Confidence boosting thing is usually blasting music or just being like around Kylie.
Just stay like true to who you are. Like, always, like no matter who tries to put you down, no matter who like says what, because everyone gets peeved and it's like you can't listen to them.
She kinda like brings me up if I'm having like a bad day and she makes me like feel better about myself. She's really good at talking, so-
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text:
Use Urgent Detective to find out the TRUTH about ANYONE! Search through online databases and archives.
Good news is that Urgent Detective investigative help service could save you long hours, days or even weeks of hard searching, possibly in vain. Get helped by the Urgent Detective!
Urgent Detective operates under its own domain name HERE
Public Records Deschutes County OG OregonInvesting your time into investigating Public Records Deschutes County OG Oregon is a great idea if your need to gain essentially important information on a.
Public Records Clackamas County OG Oregon And NationwideWhere to search for public records clackamas county og oregon. Cascade Range,. and Mineral Resources of Deschutes County, Oregon: Oregon Department..


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There are some strong rumors going around about what imagineers have in store for DHS for a holiday celebration in come 2014 when the Osborne Lights are gone.
If they are going to dump what is left of the backstage tour LMA and Catastrophe \Cannon along with the queue prop buildings that would be a chunk of land for a Pixar expansion.
Removing Streets of America could make room for a Star Wars expansion given its location, possibly in lieu of Echo Lake, Drew and Idol buildings tossed around before. All the construction would be at the far end of the Studio's with the least amount of disruption to the park. It would give a major boost to DHS to have a Pixar and Star Wars expansion. Something for everyone.


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The other "full time" Recumbent seller has MOVED
NOW avalible for test rides
SEVEN DAYS a week !!
6 Stratford place
St Ives
By appointment ONLY – Please call - 0407282080
Most Credit Cards Acepted
Founded by Craig Head in 2009, "Recumbent & Specialised Cycling" in Sydney NSW is unique, as it is currently the only store solely specialising in recumbent bikes and Trikes in NSW. We offer ALL major brands sourced worldwide and hold in stock Greenspeed, HP Velotechnik, Scorpion, Gekko and Grasshopper, Catrike, TerraTrike, KMX and Trident for test rides and immediate delivery. We also stock elctric bikes and install Bionx electric motors.Come and talk to the experts; for a quality purchasing experience...
Prices listed on this website are RR prices suggested by the manufacturers and may vary due exchange rate.
Including freight, GST, duty and Customs charges.
Note - Advertised prices may fluctuate due to the variations in the AU$ Contact us to check the latest prices..
* RSC can not garrentee all bikes will be in stock at all times.


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Mackenzie Lank Nina Spatola, Caitlin Maroldo
Other highlights include:
About Patti Lank:
Lank has always enjoyed all sports. She grew up with five brothers and one sister, so competition started early in life. She loves the draw game. She has recorded an 8-ender (a perfect end in curling, similar to a hole-in-one in golf). Her entire family curls; her mother played Seniors out of Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She thanks five very competitive brothers and a sister for helping her develop the fierce intensity she displays.
In her own words: I began curling when I was 11 years old. By age 25 I had committed myself to becoming a world-class athlete. I chose the sport of curling because of the patience, mental toughness and balance it requires. And the support from curler to curler, no matter what the ability, is tremendous. I practice a minimum of 15 hours a week during mid-season. My training sessions consist of on-ice practice and drills, cardio workouts, weight training, and swimming. I also try to eat sensibly.
Training regimen: Work out five times per week, and include swimming.
Hobbies: Landscaping
Other favorite sports: Golf, baseball, volleyball, billiards, family biking.
What I'd like the world to know about curling: The support from curler to curler, no matter what the ability, is tremendous.
5% discount to select events
Use these codes:
Z Code: ZNXW325022 and
Agreement Code: 716372


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The template TIFIA Loan Indicative Term Sheet and Loan Agreement have been updated to reflect current USDOT's credit policies. Links to the updated versions of both templates are provided below. The term sheet sets forth certain basic terms and conditions of TIFIA credit assistance; however, the execution of a credit agreement and subsequent disbursement of funds to a project are subject to satisfactory completion of the USDOT's creditworthiness evaluation and the agreement of terms and conditions acceptable to the USDOT. The credit agreement is the definitive agreement between the USDOT and the borrower (and the guaranteed lender, if applicable) containing all terms and conditions pursuant to which the disbursement of TIFIA credit assistance is provided.
TIFIA Loan Term Sheet Sample Template (DOCX PDF) (Last Updated: July 2013)
TIFIA Loan Agreement Sample Template (DOC PDF) (Last Updated: July 2014)


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ACCA chief executive Helen Brand has been appointed as a key representative on the steering committee of the newly formed International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).
Established by the Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the Global Reporting Initiative, the IIRC's objective is to develop a concise and consistent integrated reporting framework for companies on how to present their strategic objectives, governance and business model, as well as integrating both financial and non-financial information.
The body is comprised of a cross-section of representatives from civil society and the corporate, accountancy, securities, regulatory, NGO, IGO and standard-setting sectors. ACCA is pleased to be a participant in this initiative, since it was the first professional accountancy body to put sustainability at the heart of the role of the finance professional.
'I am delighted to be joining other accountancy experts on this group,' said Helen Brand. 'ACCA has been working in this field since the early 1990s and has a 20-year record in promoting sustainability reporting, arguing that companies embracing transparency and measuring their impacts would best be able to deliver enhanced sustainable performance. It is extremely heartening to see so many high-profile names working together to achieve change.
'ACCA is passionate about ensuring that the accountancy profession plays a key role in this vital area. We have long called for the need for a clear and consistent method for businesses to report on their impacts on society and the environment, including carbon emissions. The IIRC represents a considerable force for change.'
The steering committee is to be chaired by Sir Michael Peat, principal private secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The deputy chair is Professor Mervyn King, chairman of both the King Committee on Corporate Governance and the Global Reporting Initiative. Meanwhile, Paul Druckman, Accounting for Sustainability executive board chairman, and IFAC chief executive Ian Ball are named as co-chairmen of the body's working group.


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Mon, Apr 27, 09 at 12:06
Hi - Will I compromise the flowers if I prune the Trumpet Vine at this late date?
Then ends of the vines are very dried out and dead looking. I know many people think of Trumpet Vine as invasive.
I'm looking forward to blooms a lot of the summer. |
Follow-Up Postings:
I don't have trumpet vine, but I can say that for my Blanche Sandman honeysuckles, I've just today pruned back all the "dead" material on the ends of the vines so if that's what you're talking about "pruning" (the dried out, dead looking ends), I can't imagine any harm in cleaning things up. I waited until my honeysuckles had leafed out noticeably, then just worked back (snapping test branches to make sure I was still in "dead" material that snapped easily and was dry, with no green) until I got to a green leaf set. Then I cut right above them. I would assume you could do that with any flowering vine (clematis having their own obvious exceptions). But to be certain, check out the vines forum... |
Here is a link that might be useful: Great GW thread on pruning vines
- Posted by cdo_and_doug 5 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 16, 09 at 10:32
Thanks CTLady I did go prune it very late just like you said. It looks very good now. |
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text:
Mr. Tony Joyner
Nehemiah continues to flourish with new and promising partnerships. Probably the most exciting recent collaborative efforts have been with churches committed to working with neighbothoods around them. Presently, Nehemiah is working in three such neighborhoods in Aiken, Mt. Pleasant, and Spartanburg County.
Thomas G. Faulkner, III
Our recent work with church- neighborhood partnerships is founded on the principles of assets-based community development. True neighborhood revitalization starts with neighbors using their God-given gifts to transform their neighborhoods on their own terms. This is challenging and exciting work.
Nehemiah welcomes individual or organizational initiatives tied to a particular idea for a project. Nehemiah hopes that those interested will take matters into their own hands and contribute both their financial resources and their ideas to revitilize the neighborhoods and people of South Carolina... read more…
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About Calendar Programs Digest Information For Forms Contact
Welcome to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth VITA Program
The VITA Program at UMass Dartmouth is run jointly by the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement and the Community Economic Development Center in New Bedford, MA. The program is sponsored by the IRS and generally offers free tax help to people who make $50,000 or less and need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. Student volunteers, certified by the IRS through a training program, provide free basic income tax return preparation to qualified individuals in local communities. Volunteers are needed during the spring semester during tax season.
Get Involved
The VITA Program employs student volunteers. VITA members must complete mandatory training sessions prior to being able to participate in income tax preparation.
Contact Us
If you are interested in joining our VITA program or for more information contact:
Outreach > Leduc Center for Civic Engagement > Programs > VITA
Who can participate?
Any student who is able to make a 40-hour commitment between approximately early February through mid-April. Students must be able to work at least 2 days per week during the spring semester.
What are the requirements to be a VITA volunteer?
A VITA volunteer must be able to work 40 hours from early February through mid-April, as well as volunteer at least two days during the week. Volunteers must attend a mandatory training session and successfully complete the certificatest test at the end of training to work. If you are a returning volunteer, you must attend the mandatory training seesion and review what is new in tax codes. The date and location of the training session will be announced closer to the beginning of the spring semester.
What responsibilities does a VITA volunteer have?
Volunteers have multiple roles in the tax preparation process. The Community Economic Development Center has screeners, intake, preparers, quality reviewers, and onsite checkers. Volunteers will be asked to perform many of these tasks. There are also different opportunities in the VITA program that include: Translators, Benefit Advocates, and Off-Site Coordinators.
How do I apply?
Please send an email to Deirdre Healy expressing your interest in the program.
Where can I go to learn more about the VITA program?
The following link has helpful information about the VITA program and its requirements: http://www.irs.gov/app/vita/sitemap.jsp.


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Situated at the top of Pearse Square and named after the laneway that links it with nearby Casement Square, this restaurant with rooms is housed in a corner property recently renovated by proprietors David Bird and Charlie Daly and their families.
It's an old building with an unusual interior layout - a corridor from the main entrance leads to the L-shaped restaurant, where a section with modern windows overlooking the square is bright with natural light during the day, making it particularly attractive in summer, while a second area to the back would be cosier in winter.
A central location, long opening hours, appealing and fairly priced menus, friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere ensure the popularity of Gilbert's with locals – and visitors won't miss it, as the name is proclaimed boldly on a gable wall.
Bare-topped tables boast salt and pepper mills, but also foil butter packs and singles of sauces – underlining the range of menus that this restaurant offers.
Lunch menus offer light meals like panini and open sandwiches with salad, while the range of starters includes house specialities appearing on all menus, such as a substantial bacon & smoked coley chowder served with good homemade breads (white and brown sodas and a more-ish ciabatta); a tasty tartlet of Ardsallagh goat's cheese with braised red onion, pine nuts & Cumberland sauce; and a rocket salad with mature Cashel blue cheese, pine nuts & pear.
Main courses are more specific to each meal – thus the lunchtime beer battered cod with home-cut chips may graduate to a dish of whole seabass served with lemon and caper butter, seasonal potato & vegetable in the evening, for example. The tone is generally modern, but it is good to see old favourites like steak and oyster pie, or grilled lamb's liver, offered too.
Desserts include homemade ice cream (a surprisingly rare event in Irish restaurants), some local produce and suppliers are name checked throughout each menu, and both vegetarian and coeliac friendly dishes are highlighted.
To commemorate the RMS Titanic's fateful visit to Cobh in 2012, a first class dinner menu as served on board is offered every Wednesday night (reservations essential).
Restaurant open 7 days Easter to end Oct: Mon-Wed 9am-9pm, Thu-Sat 9am-9.30pm, Sun 11am-9pm. Closed Sun & Mon off season. L & D à la carte; also 2/3 course early D €20/24. House wine €21; glass from €5.80.
Overnight guests need to present themselves at the restaurant on arrival as the entrance is around the corner. The building is tall and there is no lift but, once comfortably installed, the four en-suite rooms are spacious, smartly decorated, and thoughtfully furnished with bespoke furniture, designer lighting, original artwork by local artists and tea & coffee making facilities.
Each room has its special character – two at the back are quieter, making them the wise choice for weekend stays; one room has a modern four-poster bed, and there is a self-catering apartment at the top of the building (the 'penthouse suite'), which has a large seating area with 42" flat screen TV and a cleverly designed kitchen corner with dishwasher and small freezer as well as all the more usual appliances, a small bar and dining for six; it can also be let on a B&B basis when available.


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This is about the first man I ever had a crush on (that I realized for what it was), the choreographer for the school play last year.
The lines of your hands are clear
Elegant and definite
You gesture to the people listening attentively,
Your hands carve the substance of your words
Shaping pictures in the air in front of you,
Pulling music from the stillness as your fingers play across
A thousand instruments you have conjured in the space before you
I think of the magic your hands could work across my skin
The contours of my face taking new life in your caress
The thin muscle of my shoulders growing tense and slackening beneath your fingers
,The strong lines of your palms tracing themselves anew over the curve of my neck,
Your adept touch sensitive to my trembling
My lips pressed to your palm in reverent tenderness
Your face is dynamic
Old-fashioned handsome, bright eyes and noble features
The faintest ghost of a beard brushed across your cheeks
Your lips are curved and soft, constantly moving as you guide your pupils
Your voice rising and falling in elegant patterns, the words mere catalysts
As your eyes flash in anger, and your voice swells like a symphony
Crashing into a fiery calm, your gallant jaw clenched
As the emotion subsides and your features are once more clear and perfect
I imagine tracing my lips along the edges of your noble forehead
Running my hands over the faint stubble that shadows your rugged jaw
The icy blue of my eyes meeting the fire of yours and melting into your powerful gaze
The soft Renaissance curve of your lips pressed roughly against mine in startling violence and passion
As the fire behind your handsome face smolders over my smooth skin and melts it for your shaping
The hardness of your jaw or the delicate contour of an eyelash deciding my fate
As I trace the lines in the skin of your face, begging you for tenderness
Your form is strong
Your legs long and well-formed, stepping deftly through the world you inhabit
An understated dance, elegant and fascinating
Your arms are powerful and refined
Subtle in their suggestion of protection for those you welcome into them
Broad shouldered, you stand with the authority of a general
The delicate range of motion belies the strength with which you hold your ground
In late-night dreams your long and powerful legs are tangled with my own, so fragile in comparison
Your arms twine about my waist, encircling me fiercely
Clutching me with something like fear to lose me, mingled with desire
The faceted muscles of your shoulders contracting as I sketch patterns over them with my slender fingers
Your chest heaving and undulating beneath the hesitating caress of my lips
The power of your body simultaneously in thrall to me and holding me prisoner
You, my mentor, it is doubtful we will meet again, for the lesson is long since finished
You, my lover, remain in my head forever more
Wow. This is brilliant. Amazing. I wish I could write like this....
These gots peanuts and soap in 'um!


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Your search "grandma" resulted in 6 Articles
Charming Moms
During the month of the flowers, the good weather arrives and we enjoy it with the special day of the best of our families: with our mothers. -
Grandma's Home-Cooked Meals
Before Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti went off couchsurfing, his doting grandmother made him one last hearty meal before leaving home. As he went along his trips around the world, he documented all the delicious dishes prepared for him by the grandmas he met along the way. -
Valentine's Day Rumble: Love Can Taste Like the Wine of the Ages ended almost 3 years ago
In celebration of the love month, we're making a series of rumbles in the name all things mushy. We urge you to submit photos of love that is time tested and proven. Read on and find out how you can join. -
A Beautiful Double Exposure Holiday Movie
What happens when you mix a photo camera, a movie camera, lights, family and champagne in one analogue movie? Easy: you get a lovely and unique double exposure film. Do you want to know how I did it? Keep on reading! -
My 2011 in Analogue: Vivere Disce, Cogita Mori
Learn to live; Remember death. This would properly summarize my 2011. Making new friends, enjoying the family life, and remembering my Grandma. -
Celebrating my Mother on Mother's Day
Let me share with you the mother that has made ME possible.. in pictures that show you her delicate beauty and her quiet resolve. Here's a heartfelt salute to my wonderful mom on Mother's Day!