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According to the National Association of Realtors, new contracts signed for home sales rose 1.5% last month to the highest level in nearly three years. The trade group's Pending Home Sales Index rose to 105.7 in March, up from the previous month's 104.1 and exceeding analysts' expectations. Compared to a year earlier, the index was up 7% last month, marking the 23rd straight month of year-over-year increases. New contracts for home sales last month increased the most–2.7 percent–in Southern states. The index was another indication of improvement in the housing market. The group expects existing home sales to rise to nearly 5 million sales this year, an increase of about 6.5-7 % over 2012. The median price for existing home sales is expected to rise about 7.5%.
On a local level, tourism set another Manatee County tax collection record in March 2013, which marked the 23rd month out of the past 24 that resort tax collections by the Manatee Co. Tax Collector's Office exceeded the same month's collections the previous year. The resort tax collections division reported $1.492 million was collected in March 2013, a 12.06% climb from the $1.344 million in March 2012. March collections also brought the year-to-date resort tax collected to $5.040 million, an 11% hike from the $4.537 million collected during the first six months of the 2011-12 fiscal year. Holmes Beach leads the way in bed tax collections with $391,239, followed by Longboat Key with $244,744, Anna Maria at $181,562 and Bradenton Beach with $147,611.
Island wide, real estate SALES are up 57% over the last 12 months, totaling 420 through the end of April, up from 363 a year ago. Both island and off-island real estate is moving into a Sellers' advantage, with multiple offers reported coming in on properties that are priced right and that have all of the desirable ingredients Buyers are looking for. I recently showed a property off-island, in Wisteria Park, and when we walked in the door, we were told there was already one offer made and two more coming. It had only been listed five days!
Currently, island inventory is down, with only 45 properties on the market in Anna Maria and 12 pending and due to close. In Holmes Beach, the total inventory (condos and single family homes combined) is 165, with 35 pending and due to close, and in Bradenton Beach, the total inventory is at 13, with nine pending and due to close.


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|'Munkanap' means weekdays, 'Pihenő nap' indicates weekends. The fact that weekday traffic invariably exceeds weekend traffic shows that, at least on this street, bikes are used for practical transport more than leisure.
The high count is no abberation: Since the counter was installed in 2010, shortly after bike lanes were painted on both sides of the street, cycling levels have climbed year by year. The 2013 result represents a three-fold increase from 2010!
It's difficult getting a simple measurement of cycling levels in Budapest. A 2009 Europe-wide Gallup poll, based on a household survey of travel habits, showed that among Budapest residents, fewer than 2 percent used a bicycle as their main mode of transport. A more recent Hungarian travel survey -- which I can't find now -- indicated a similarly unimpressive level of cycling in Budapest.
It can be assumed, though, that in the downtown core cycling levels are much higher than the overall city level. This is obvious to anyone who uses the roads, but no survey's been done to isolate that number. The data from the kiskörút is the closest thing available -- a good indicator of what's happening all over central Budapest. It proves what we all feel in our bones: cycling here's been growing by leaps and bounds.

subset: commoncrawl


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Happy 100th post! A red letter day!
That's right, it's the 100th post on this blog! Party! I actually was going to update earlier, but I felt like the 100th post needed to be exciting, more so than just me commenting on the usual stuff of life. Look throughout the post for letters that are in red. Collect the letters, rearrange them, and it will spell out a secret message!
First, I've had requests for more pictures and videos of Ruby. Let's dig in, shall we? Here's a collection I call, "A Visit from the Cleaning Fairy"
|The Cleaning Fairy approaches the ugly scene....
|"Whew, I've got my work cut out for me! I don't know where to start!"
|"One swish of my magic wand, and hopefully this place will start looking better"
|"All in a day's work!"
Next, I need to put up some pictures from Allen's birthday, which was September 8th. I checked back in the blog and I didn't write about it at all! Oh dear. Well, Allen's birthday dinner request was have homemade versions of the Burger King California Whoppers (which have avocado on them). I did my best to work that BK magic, and I think they turned out pretty well.
Allen prefers pie to cake, so I got a Chocolate Silk Pie and festooned it with fancy birthday candles.
Of course, we felt obliged to take pictures of ourselves with the camera.
|"Festooned? Really? That does not sound manly enough to describe this pie."
It was a pretty good birthday celebration, I'd say. Allen likes his birthdays to be low key events.
What else shall adorn this 100th post? Oh, I should mention by way of follow up to my last post that I my professor re-examined my work and had a colleague look at it, and the colleague said that it shouldn't have been graded so harshly. So, my grade was upped to a 37 out of 40. Yay!
Here are some pictures of Ruby as she continues to refine the process of feeding herself. I think she looks like Santa when she tries to eat Greek yogurt by herself!
|Notice that she is holding the spoon...in her other hand!
|Ruby decided she was ready to hold her own cheese sandwich, thank you very much!
|In the parking lot of the Maritime Museum. The quintessential "Are we having fun yet?" photo
|"Of course we're having fun!"
|"Whatever you say, Dad."
Okay, there's a good story behind this picture. She spent several minutes just standing and staring at this display of the man holding the fish. I was thought it was very cute how she just kept staring at it, almost reverently. I wondered what about it had entranced her so. As I got closer, I heard her grunting and a smell wafted through the air that revealed the reason behind her deep state of concentration. Oh well!
|Allen is good about remembering to take pictures of me so that my presence is documented on such outings.
|You have to pay to park at this memorial, so we just snapped a picture from the slowly moving car, like the cheapskates we are.


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There are many more wrong ways to write a business to business lead generation email than there are right ways. Here are a few guidelines for writing your own lead generation templates.
Make it a series. Most sales people stop trying to make contact after the second attempt. Most sales require 5+ follow ups. Lead generation isn't any different except instead of asking for money, you're asking for a response. When crafting a campaign you need a series of emails that flow together and hit different reasons why someone's life will be easier by using your product.
Personalize. The more you can personalize a lead generation email, the better it will perform. Most software that uses templates have places where you can fill in the brackets with [personal information] such as [name], [business], or [industry].
Keep it short. Your prospect is busy. Respect their time by keeping your lead generation email limited to five or fewer sentences. It's more difficult to compact everything, but it'll dramatically improve response rate.
Keep the goal in mind. The goal is to get a reply. These are not sales emails. The prospect needs to do exactly one thing to turn into a lead, reply. Whether you goal is set up a call or email back and forth a few times, let them know your goal and how easily they can do that.
Tell a story. People love stories. That's what they remember. If you have clients who are willing to let you use them in your marketing efforts, write about how they got from where they were to where they are with your help.
Use testimonials to demonstrate credibility. Like stories, people like to know that you're legit. In your emails include names of your well known clients (with permission of course) to build credibility. If you can get testimonials from these same clients to include as well, that's even better!
Illustrate the difference between where they are and where they could be. When you boil down marketing, it's getting the prospect to tell themselves a story about how your product will get them from where they are to where they want to be. Your prospects will take whatever you say with a grain of salt. They believe the stories they tell themselves. If you can get them to tell themselves a story about how your product will help them, you'll generate more leads in no time.
The subject line needs to be better than the entire body of the email. Your subject line needs to be great. It doesn't have to be a hook, but it needs to get the email opened. It must be compelling without sounding salesy. It must make a promise that is fulfilled in the body of the message. It must appeal enough to someone's self interest without being unbelieveable.


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Losing my Cherry
The good looking one is my sister. The big red one is Cherry. The one with 'who let her walk the streets with that hair' hair is me, aged 23. The balloons are celebrating my return home from a year's backpacking with my Significant Ex.
I missed my family. I missed my friends. I missed my dog. And I missed my 2cv. I missed other things, like big jumpers and hot baths and pints of beer, but these were the important things I missed.
I got my 2cv when I was 18 and I sold her when I was 32. And Charlie is absolutely spot on (see comments on previous post) to link this with my newfound desire for a Tata Nano.
I loved that car far more than was healthy. In the time I had her, she received a new roof, a new chassis, a new front bumper, new kingpins (whatever they are), two new wheels, new seat belts (in the front: there were none in the back), a new floor, multiple new exhausts and tyres, endless new spark plugs and handbrake pins and god only knows what else. By the end I was sourcing parts off the internet and carrying them carefully down to the endlessly patient Oxford French Car Centre to be welded into place.
The windscreen wipers had two speeds: on and off. The maximum speed I ever managed was 75mph (or thereabouts - the needle was juddering against the end of the dial so it might have been faster, there was just no way to tell), downhill on the middle lane of the M6 screaming my lungs out. The lights were hopeless, and prone to flickering, especially in the rain, when the tape deck would also slow down as water dripped through it. At such times, I would be thankful for the rusted through parts of the floor, as they provided valuable drainage.
In the winter, you got nowhere without a can of WD40 and an ability to judge the precise combination of choke and accelerator required to avoid a) flattening the battery or b) flooding the engine. I once had to ask a policeman for a jump start in the car park of a motorway service station. It was 6am and I was wearing a T-shirt that said 'Trust me, I'm a condom'.
I always carried fuses for the lights (actually, only once the brake-light, headlight and indicator fuses had blown and my Significant Ex and I had to drive 10 miles in thick fog with him hanging out the passenger window shouting directions and me using 'slowing down now!' hand signals), the aforementioned jump leads, a torch, a big fluorescent waterproof and a telescopic wrench for getting the wheel nuts off. I had cause to use them all. The anxiety was lessened a bit once I got a mobile phone and could afford to join the RAC. A lovely man came out to me once when my accelerator cable jammed on the A34 -- I had to pull off the road with Cherry roaring like a stuck pig and I was a bit embarrassed, but he said he loved coming out to 2cvs because he could always fix them. He emerged from his van with a spring that looked like he'd nicked it off an anglepoise lamp, and I was on my way.
An article in the Times stated that they were the least safe car on the road. This prompted my only ever letter to a national newspaper, where I pointed out that at least in a 2cv you know you're not safe, so you drive accordingly, while your Jaguar/Volvo/Saab owner (these were the days before the invasion of the 4x4 bodysnatchers) is far more likely to drive like a twat because s/he feels invincible. So who's safer there, then? Huh? If we all drove 2cvs, I concluded, the world would be a better place.
And you know, when it comes down to it, despite the fact that I offer silent thanks to the car I now drive (M's 10 year old Mercedes A Class) every time the heavens open (or the wind blows or the frost bites or the motorway stretches out endlessly before me) for being so comfortable, so reliable, so unlikely to break down or blow up or kill or maim me in some unpredictable way, so *likely* to get me from A to B without incident, basically, a large part of me still believes the conclusion of that letter.
If you own a 2cv, and especially if you drive it in anger, you rely on the goodwill of humanity. I loved that about it even as I found it terrifying. But I also loved the romance of entry-level motoring: you, your tunes, alone with your thoughts or your boy by your side or a car full of friends, with the roof off (does the Tata Nano come in convertible?), the tape deck up to 11 because you'll never hear it otherwise, rolling cigarettes at red lights, groaning up hills, swooping down them, finally getting what they're on about when they talk about the open road. The fact that you're only a wing and a prayer away from getting the bus home makes that freedom taste all the sweeter, and the fact that most people simply can't see the point of that is the cherry on top. That's not why I called her Cherry though. That was just her name, as soon as I set eyes on her.
The Tata Nano is the closest thing to living that dream I've seen in a long time, though the Smart Car came pretty close before it went all kitsch. I like to think I haven't moved on into mid-life crisis car territory (for girls I think this probably equals MG or new-style Mini or Beetle) -- but the fact that the only other thing I have looked longingly at recently is J the plumber's ancient Land Rover is kind of reassuring.
Who knew I had that much to say about cars? I certainly didn't.
Labels: cars


text:
Had an interesting comment on the previous post – though I knew it would be coming. Thought I would share both the comment and my response with the world! Oh and I LOVE that it is from someone who had all the courage of a lion and signed it "anonymous" – as if I don't have my ways of knowing exactly who it was!!
Anonymous says:
One issue voters will be the downfall of this country…try and look at ALL the issues. And yes, this post is from a Catholic.
- And I reply:
Dear anonymous….
One issue voters will not be the downfall of this country, friend. The downfall of our country happened when a court made it legal for us to kill babies because we didn't feel like parenting them. The downfall of our country occurs every single day when we kill our childrens' playmates and siblings. There are currently 1.3 million abortions performed each year in the United States….and you think me voting with a conscience in effort to put someone into office who will appoint the appropriate people to the Supreme Court in order to STOP this genocide is the problem?
That is what I consider the downfall of our country. That so many people like yourself care more about taxation, oil, education, and the like and yet can't bring themselves to keep first things first. We have become such a selfish society. If it is not convenient or pleasing, we want to avoid it at all costs. LIFE is the ONLY issue that actually matters. Without life, do you think the babies that died today at the hands of a murderer CARE at all about their education? No, I can tell you, they are simply begging to be allowed to have a chance to breathe, to eat, to grow.
Single issue voter? You betchya. And I know that I can look in the mirror every.single.day with a clear conscience knowing that I have done my part to help change our country for the better. Because anytime we stop killing our own babies, we become a better nation. Period.


text: If you've never been the websites of ScrewAttack or Cinemassacre, and never seen anything by the Angry Videogame Nerd, then you don't know what you're missing. He's basically long-time gamer who makes videos in which he moans about some of the worst old games out there – and often they're hilarious. Sometimes he seems to be hiding his lack of skill underneath his whining (Double Dragon III, for instance, which he rates as impossible – but I thought was ace and finished many times on my own), but usually he's more or less on the money. This time, he's tearing apart a genuinely hard game, Ninja Gaiden on the NES. Check it out below or at this link. Warning, obscenities and adult-oriented language aplenty.[gtrailer]61549?type=wmv[/gtrailer]


text:
The world population is now estimated at 7.5 billion people, with most coming from poor developing countries that are least able to deal with their exploding populations. In my view, no greater threat exists to the stability of our environment, indeed to our existence, than overpopulation. It is notoriously an outstanding cause of poverty, suffering, unemployment and even war.
Yet, we see popes fly into poverty stricken Third World countries and tell its poor uneducated masses, whose bodies already show the advanced signs of malnutrition and starvation, that they should be "fruitful and multiply." I know the Church has always understood that high birth rates increase ecclesiastical power, but to encourage families to keep producing children regardless of a family's ability to even marginally sustain itself is a monumental display of ignorance and arrogance. Unfortunately, it's the same institution that suppresses educational information above family planning, birth control and other reproductive services.
The Church has made progress over the past few years in protecting altar boys. It's now time for the Church to start protecting women and their families. To make irresponsible parenthood a virtue and irrational human proliferation a duty, is not only profoundly repugnant, it is morally despicable. Our primary concern should be about the quality of life, not about the quantity of it.
Borden Applegate
*The opinions expressed in the Letters To The Editor section do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, management or sponsors of Micromedia Publications/Jersey Shore Online. Letters to the Editor are the OPINION of the writer and the content is not necessarily checked for accuracy.*


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Bootstrap : Responsive CSS, mobile first Framework
Bootstrap is the most popular CSS and JS framework for creating mobile friendly or you can say responsive websites easily and in most effective way. If you understand the HTML5 and CSS/CSS3 then you can easily understand how Bootstrap CSS works and how it can help you create responsive websites?
In Boostrap CSS you will find all the classes which are responsive. You can use those classes not just to make layout responsive but everything including images, videos etc.
Read more : Responsive Circular menu with Jquery
Read more : Responsive Circular menu with Jquery
How to add Bootstrap in your website:
You can add bootstrap either using online links or offline files.
But first make sure that you are using:
But first make sure that you are using:
- <!DOCTYPE html>
- <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
Add bootstrap using Online Links
You just need to add the following lines between your  tag to use Boothstrap CSS and JS in your design..

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css">

Add Boostrap using offline files
- To add Bootstrap you need to download Bootstrap latest version from here.
- Extract it.
- Move the CSS files in your CSS folder, JS files in your JS folder.
- Link these files in your  tag.
Read More : Pure CSS Responsive Slider without JQuery
You can even take the help of Bootstrap tutorials of W3schools.
If you still have any question, feel free to ask me via comments.
If you like what you find here, do share with your friends.


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Blue Cape Creative is looking for interested students to intern for our video production in Knoxville on May 23-26th.
Shoot Details
Client: Destination Imagination (DI)
What: Promotional Videos for the DI program
When: May 23 (set up), May 24-26 (production) – 8am-6pm, with a one-hour lunch break
Where: Hilton Knoxville Hotel, Knoxville Convention Center, and UT Campus
Pay: $60 per day. Lunch will either be provided or an additional $15 stipend will be added.
Intern Role
This shoot is with a small crew, so interns will serve primarily as Production Assistants (PAs) but will gain hands-on experience with many aspects of production including lighting, audio, and camera. Ideal interns have prior production experience, but it is not required. A willingness to jump in and an interest in learning is critical to success.
Expected tasks include, but are not limited to:
- setting up and adjusting lighting
- operating a boom mic
- assisting the director and producer in keeping the set organized
- helping pack, load, transport, and unload equipment
Apply Today
If you're interested in the position, fill out the information below. All applications are due by Thursday, May 11 at 11:59pm.


text:
Go to your admin, select the product in question, choose "update".
In there you will notice that at various places is a checkbox that reads "update all options".
The very first of these, next to the "Available online" checkbox if selected will cause every iteration of that product to have and display the same options. Probably not what you want.
Go through the list and select the "update all options" checkboxes that are exactly the same for every iteration of that product and "update" at the bottom of the page.
Than, and this is the boring part, after the product updates check to see that the changes have taken hold, if so, select "update" again and if, as an example, size is the first option choose the NEXT size in the option drop-down and wait for a refresh and choose all the various necessary changes on down as well as making any text or graphic changes and hit "update" at the bottom of the page.
You'll need to do that for each different iteration of that product.
Some of these changes might be more easily done directly in the database.
I had to change a table in a long description and because each long description was potentially a little different from every other it was easier and much quicker to do it in the database.
I hope this is the answer you need.


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The best Hyundai i10 alternatives
We're big fans of the Hyundai i10 at carwow. The spacious cabin makes it a practical city car, and while the smooth ride allows it to soak up the most patchy urban roads, it hasn't come at the expense of a little fun for the driver.
This end of the market is a fiercely contested one, however. If for any reason you think that the i10 might not be for you, be sure to take a look at these alternatives. Alternatively, put the Hyundai i10 in our car configurator to see the deals carwow could help you get.
Citroen C1
If style and value for money are priorities, the Citroen C1 might be worth considering over the i10. The Citroen's price starts at £200 less than the Hyundai, despite offering slightly superior performance and fuel economy claimed to be 8.8mpg more efficient. It isn't quite as spacious inside, but the wealth of customisation options endows the C1 with a more youthful image. It's even available with a retractable canvas roof.
If you'd like the C1's qualities with a subtly different style, take a look at the Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo – the trio were developed alongside each other, and though each are different cosmetically, they're almost identical under the skin.
Put the Citroen C1 in our car configurator to see the deals carwow could help you get.
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 has become a massive success in the city car class since its release, thanks to its cute retro style which nothing else in the class can match.
You can buy one for less than £10,000, and when equipped with the 0.9-litre turbocharged petrol it returns 74.3pg in official tests. The boot may be a little cramped – there's only 180 litres of space – but nothing else in the class can compete with its appeal.
Spec up a Fiat 500 in our car configurator to see the deals on offer.
Ford Ka
Under the skin, the Ford Ka shares many components with the Fiat 500. Thanks to its more conventional appearance, the Ford is the cheaper car of the pair.
One engine is available to buyers – a 1.3-litre petrol – which is nippy enough for town driving, while stop/start technology boosts the fuel economy in heavy traffic. The steering, the gearshift and the clutch pedal are all very light, which makes it very easy to drive around town.
Pick your perfect Ford Ka in our car configurator to see the deals available.
Kia Picanto
The Kia Picanto boasts many similar qualities to the i10 – a spacious cabin, a comprehensive warranty, low insurance groups – but packages them all within a slightly more sporty-looking body.
Inside, the interior is one of the best-built in the class, and everything is laid out logically yet stylishly. Prices start at around £8,300 – a couple of hundred pounds less than the Hyundai.
Spec up a Kia Picanto in our car configurator to see the potential savings.
Skoda Citigo
Like the C1/108/Aygo triplets, the Skoda Citigo shares much with two other cars – the SEAT Mii and Volkswagen Up are mechanically very similar. Whichever of the three you choose, you're buying what are widely accepted to be the best city cars on sale.
Fun to drive, cheap to run, and built to a standard previously unheard of at the budget end of the market, the Citigo Is a very hard car to fault. All but the top spec models fall into Group 1 insurance, so it shouldn't cost the earth to run, either.
Put the Skoda Citigo in our car configurator to see the reductions offered.
Find out more
Put the Hyundai i10 in our car configurator to see how much carwow could help you save. Or, if you still need help picking you next car, check out our car chooser.


text:
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
AT the beginning of every week, a steady stream of Chinese restaurant workers files into the nest of Chinatown employment agencies clustered under the Manhattan Bridge: young men with spiky hair barely out of their teens, smooth-skinned girls who still giggle about their crushes and stocky older men who left their families behind in China years ago.
The workers walk in and out, in and out, checking each of the dozens of dusty single-room agencies. They focus on the white boards and walls of Post-it notes that list the hundreds, if not thousands, of job openings available across the country each week: kitchen helpers, chefs, waitresses, telephone answerers, deliverymen who can drive, deliverymen who don't need to drive.
Among the job seekers one Monday late last month was Xue Qingxi, a 38-year-old immigrant with large, friendly eyes and a bright green T-shirt who arrived in New York City the day before, towing his belongings in two small black rolling suitcases. Feeling it was time for a change, he had just left his job as a cook in a Chinese restaurant in North Carolina. Where, exactly, in North Carolina, he wasn't sure. "It's all rural," he said dismissively. After renting a bed for the night for $15, he was wandering in and out of the employment agencies the next afternoon, looking for his next job. "I want to leave tonight," he said.
There are more than 36,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States – more than the number of McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King restaurants combined, says Chinese Restaurant News, an industry publication. They have popped up in exurban strip malls and on the decaying streets of former industrial centers in the Midwest: buffets, takeouts, sit-downs. And the main hub for staffing that vast network of restaurants – or at least those that lie east of the Rocky Mountains – is at the convergence of Forsyth, Division and Eldridge Streets, where the rumble of the subway can be heard overhead.
"It's remarkable how successful the Chinese have been in adapting their food to America, making it so phenomenally available," said Kenneth J. Guest, a sociology professor at Baruch College in New York, who has studied Chinese restaurant workers. "You can go and get a great meal for great prices, based on workers paid well below minimum wage."
Well, on paper at least, the salaries will squeak by minimum wage, especially if tips are taken into consideration. The agencies have posted signs in Chinese explaining the concept of the federal minimum wage law.
The vast majority of these workers, like Mr. Xue, are undocumented, and have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of being in the United States. In the Delaware-size area around Fuzhou, a southeastern city that has become China's leading exporter of restaurant workers to the United States, the going rate for being smuggled is now upward of $60,000, Professor Guest said.
The risk of being caught exists, but arrests are sporadic. Last November, United States Immigration and Customs agents detained 80 illegal immigrants and arrested eight people in a raid of Chinese buffets in five New York State counties. In recent years, authorities have also focused on restaurants and employment agencies in Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan. The detained illegal immigrants are usually put into deportation proceedings.
But for almost all the workers, including Mr. Xue, the risk is worth it. They care only about three numbers: the monthly salary, the area code where the restaurant is located and the number of hours it takes to travel by bus from New York City to the job.
The monthly salary, for a job that requires six 12-hour days a week, ranges generally from $1,800 to $2,700, scaling upward from dishwasher to waitress to cook. It is understood that all jobs beyond commuting distance of New York City include free room and board, provided by the restaurant owner. The owners rent or buy houses or apartments that serve as dorms for the workers.
The jobs can last from a few days (if things don't work out) to several months or longer. The workers are mobile and seldom have roots to the nameless small towns and strip malls they end up in.
For workers who cannot read the names of their destinations in English, area codes serve as the restaurants' main geographical identifiers. The workers do not see America as a series of cities or even states, but as a collection of area codes, almost all with dozens upon dozens of Chinese restaurants looking for help. Maps in every Chinese agency break down the country by area code, with recently introduced area codes scribbled in by hand.
For many restaurant workers, the number of hours by bus is a critical measure of how far they are from the American center of their universe, East Broadway in Chinatown. Almost all travel by bus, because many do not speak English or have identification, so they cannot travel by plane. A network of Chinese bus companies has sprung up to shuttle the restaurant workers from Chinatown to the rest of the country. Some have started to draw non-Chinese riders, specifically the "Chinatown buses" that run between New York and Boston or Washington. One bus-company sign advertises the destination and the fare: "Minnesota (612, 551, 952, 763) $150; Wisconsin (920, 715, 608, 414) $120."
At Sincere Agency on Division Street, which sometimes places more than 100 workers in a day, Mr. Xue found an appealing job as a cook in Ohio ($2,400 a month, 440 area code, near Cleveland, 10 hours by bus). In the short phone interview with the restaurant owner, the questions were practical. Instead of "What do you see yourself doing in five years?," Mr. Xue was asked: "How many years' experience do you have?" and "Can you leave tonight?"
A verbal agreement was reached, and Mr. Xue pulled out $30 in cash to pay the agency. Unlike many employment agencies where the employer pays for the match, the employees here pay for the privilege of finding a job. Competition among a growing number of agencies has pushed the going rate down over the years, to $30, down from 2 percent of one month's salary. Some fly-by-night agencies have pushed it to $15 or $20, which causes the regulated agencies to grumble about the cost of rent and insurance.
The agency clerk gave Mr. Xue two slips of paper: one listing the name of the restaurant and the contact number for the owner, the other telling him where to catch a bus to Ohio at 5 o'clock.
As he left to retrieve his things, Mr. Xue got a call on his cellphone from the restaurant telling him that he was not wanted because he was northern Chinese. Language barriers, the restaurant explained. So Mr. Xue returned to Sincere Agency for another job. This time it was in South Carolina, and the bus was leaving at 10 p.m.
By 9:30 that night, Mr. Xue was seated on a cushy white bus with air-conditioning and DVD movies. In the belly of the bus were his two black suitcases holding his white chef's cap, pictures of his son and Chinese novels. He paid $80 cash for the ticket. When the ride ended, he would have made a 60-hour journey from North Carolina to South Carolina, by way of Manhattan.
As the bus pulled into the sparse night traffic and dimmed its interior lights, almost all the seats were full. About 90 percent of the people on the bus, Mr. Xue said, were heading to work in Chinese restaurants in the South.
The bus joined the tractor-trailers heading south on the Interstate with their goods. They would all arrive after the sun rose the next morning.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company


text:
|"Yes, mine was the Big Mac with fries!"
|"Now then BFF! It's only bloody ME!!!"
|"Sorry, I'm kinda lost! What networks
are there in England?"
The next five seconds were really uncomfortable, as me, Hannah and the phone shop guy all stood there staring at each other. I could see I'd surprised the phone shop guy. He might not have been able to spell his own name without the help of his name badge, but at this moment in time he had kicked my ass at, well....life!"How much does a phone call cost to other Orange users?""5p a minute" "How much does it cost to call other networks, like O2 and, erm....sorry, what other networks are there again?"
|"Seriously, don't piss Mummy off....off you little shit!"
|"And this one time,
in Brazil!"


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Rupert Murdoch has returned from Australia, where he celebrated his mother's 100th birthday. Now the mogul faces another important date.
The contract for Murdoch's chief lieutenant, News Corp. President Peter Chernin, expires June 30, and the two executives have been locked in negotiations for months. They haven't struck a deal, and concern is mounting inside the company, and on Wall Street, that Chernin will not renew.
Fueling the speculation is Murdoch's arrival this week in Los Angeles for an extensive review of the West Coast operations of News Corp., which include the Fox network, movie studio and cable channels. Murdoch spent much of the last year in New York immersed in his purchase of Dow Jones & Co. and putting his imprimatur on the Wall Street Journal.
Some Fox executives worry that Chernin, who has been key to the company's smooth operations, might leave News Corp. at a difficult time. The stock closed Thursday at $7.24 -- off 65% from its 52-week high. Last week News Corp. reported a $6.4-billion loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31, much of it owing to asset write-downs.


text: 03 • 17 • 16 The Best of 2015 Engagements Matthew & Ashley's Blush Winery Wedding Previous Post Steve & Jessica's Dreamy Canyon Engagement Next Post share on facebok.pin this post.contact me.back to top no comments Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.


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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
My Consolation Prize...
6 comments:
- Lilyofthevalley4September 21, 2006 at 2:40 AM
Oh how cute! I've been thinking and praying for you!! Praying we will be reading the birth story real soon!!ReplyDelete
- treasurekeeperSeptember 21, 2006 at 7:22 AM
How late was Benjamin? I don't remember his due date. I'm just so sore and tired :)! My worry is that I won't have the stamina left to be a "good mommy" when he finally gets here! Maybe I'm forgetting that adrenaline rush that labor gives you, I just hope it works the same way when you feel like you've been laboring for three weeks :).ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 21, 2006 at 8:03 AM
Wow! You have some patience...I have never gone past 39 weeks and a few days. You are a saint!ReplyDelete
Can I also just say that those chubby cheeks make it all worth while? He is too too cute!!! Makes me long to see my little guy!
Well, put it this way. We'll have our babies if not sooner, than definitely later, lol.
Be blessed, and take it easy hun.
- treasurekeeperSeptember 21, 2006 at 8:44 AM
Our babies *could* have the same birthdays!!!ReplyDelete
I do get a kick out of those chubby cheeks though ;), even if I did have to last into my 41st week to get the picture :).
- Lilyofthevalley4September 21, 2006 at 3:34 PM
Benjamin was just 3 days past the due date, which was a first for me. :) So I can sort of imagine what you are going through, but just 3 days does not sound like much at all when you are a week + past!! :)ReplyDelete
- treasurekeeperSeptember 22, 2006 at 6:03 AM
those first few days over were the worst emotionally because I had so thoroughly convinced myself that he would be early like Bathani :). I have to admit though that, physically, I'm feeling pretty sore and worn down right about now. I'm fine as long as I can sit on the couch all day with my feet up ;), HA! Schooltime is actually the most relaxing time I get. It really is a blessing to be able to sit and listen to Tori read or explain a lesson to Bri and know I'm resting and accomplishing something at the same time :). I don't get these pioneer women who came in from the harvesting to have their babies and then were right back out there soon after, ugh!ReplyDelete


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Refrigerator, 25 Inch Deep Refrigerator Ge Counter Depth Refrigerator Silver Color Two Door: amusing 25 inch deep refrigerator
Published at October 19th, 2017 07:54:42 AM by Leopold
Marked as lg refrigerator subject also counter depth refrigerator sears topic also 25 inch counter depth refrigerator object with sub zero counter depth refrigerator object as well as counter depth french door area of interest or counter depth refrigerator 30 wide subject with Refrigerator, So don't forget to check out the main article in amusing 25 inch deep refrigerator
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Twitter has set the social media world on fire and it's not slowing down. It is quick and efficient.
Even the most monotonous internet user must admit that it is pretty dang fun. RV Advertising can really benefit from Twitter.
The idea of Twitter is to build a community of RV friends and followers through an exchange of short 140 character messages. You build trust with your followers and in the end build relationships.
Twitter is going 24/7 and it helps create a face for dealerships. If you are planning to engage in Twitter and begin tweeting (or maybe you already have) there are a few rules of etiquette that you will want to remember if you're going to use Twitter for your dealership. If you do it right, it can help drive your dealership traffic.
1. Be willing to embark and follow people. The most popular Twitterers are those who open up the lines of communication both ways. Simply "allowing" people the honor of following you and receiving your tweets is not enough. The entire point of Twitter is personal contact and building relationships. So if someone follows you, you should follow them back. A good example is Michael Gass (@michaelgass) who has over 13,142 followers on Twitter—and follows 13,403+ himself. There are applications which allow you to organize your followers into different groups so that you can keep up on your favorite contacts without them getting lost in the shuffle.
2. Don't chat. Twitter is not a chat room, it is a way to communicate with people. If you are having a conversation with another Twitterer that exceeds more than just a couple tweets—use the Direct Message feature. Otherwise, it's annoying and bothersome and no one wants to read that.
3. Twitter is public. Everyone who follows you can see your tweets. That means that if you are Twittering as a part of your business networking, you want to represent yourself in the best way possible at all times. Drunken tweets, excessive swearing, abusive language, off-color jokes—these can all alienate you from your onlookers even if they don't say anything specifically about it to you. Good rule of thumb: Don't say anything on Twitter that you wouldn't say on national television.
4. Take a break. When you tweet, you may be tempted to send out a bunch of messages all at the same time. It's best to send out two or three at a time, otherwise you appear to be one of those obnoxious people who attempt to dominate the conversation when you're in a group of people. And nobody likes that person.
5. Go easy on self promotion. Many people join Twitter as a way to promote their business, product, service, blog or other projects. That's great! You can make some amazing connections on Twitter; which, will improve your business and help you form some important relationships. However, if you are obnoxious about plugging your wares, people will begin to avoid or un-follow you. New Marketing is about drawing people in, not proselytizing; and, the best way to do that is by being interesting and engaging. Twittering self-promoting ads all day long is pretty much just spam. Do you like spam? Neither does anyone else.
Twitter can be an amazing tool for creating a network of friends, contacts, and resources; but as is true with any community, you must remain considerate of others to be considered a valuable member.


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Anyone know what length stem comes on a coiler primo (M)?
I am thinking of getting a Diabolous stem, and wanted to know if i could get the same fit with one of the longer ones.
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Suburban Property Values – Your Mortgage Broker for Calgary and Okotoks
Calgary is a big city that carries a lot of advantages for its residents, however, just like other large urban expanses, life in Calgary does have a few drawbacks. It can be busy, crowded and expensive, but luckily geography has allowed for several nearby alternatives. Calgary is fortunate to be surrounded by plenty of space – to the west are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, to the north, south and east are the grassy plains of Alberta's prairies. Several "bedroom communities" that have popped up over the past few decades offer attractive alternatives for those who feel most comfortable outside of the city limits.
The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) recently reported that sales in Calgary's surrounding communities of Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks rose by 22 per cent from 2012's numbers from July 1 until the end of September of this year. In that time, 1,288 resale homes were sold, up from 1,052. For the entire year thus far, sales in outlying areas are up over 10 per cent from last.
The summer has always been a traditional time to begin searching for a new home for your family, but it's always a good idea to begin researching your mortgage long before you start looking. Mortgage brokers specializing in Calgary and Okotoks real estate such as Mortgages By Candice can assist with your mortgage planning process. We can help ascertain whether or not this is the best time for you to buy, and assist in setting you up for a flawless pre-approval. Mortgage brokers work for their clients – not for lenders – and are skilled an ensuring the rates and terms of your mortgage are the most beneficial to you in the long run.
Okotoks vs. Calgary…
In a recent news release, CREB president Becky Walters said, "Affordability and lifestyle preference play a significant role for consumers considering surrounding communities. These areas tend to provide single-family homes that offer more features at a lower cost."
Even though all locations keep growing at a healthy rate – as does their real estate values – the cost of a home in Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks remains lower than comparable properties in Calgary. According to CREB, Okotoks' benchmark single-family home price sat at $388,933 – up four per cent from a year ago – at the end of September. In comparison, in Calgary CREB reported an average cost of $463,700 for a single family home for the same month.
The nearly $70,000 difference can be very attractive to a buyer!
Currently, the Town of Okotoks is making an extensive effort to provide a wide range of housing options for residents (and future residents). They are looking to ensure there is something available for every type of buyer, such as affordable single family homes, duplexes, condominiums and rentals suites. An extensive pathway system continues to be developed that links the town together, and priorities are being placed on accommodating their demographic that is aging. You can also expect lower property taxes in Okotoks than in Calgary, as well as plenty of schools and community services. Okotoks has a thriving arts and culture scene, plus a picturesque centre reminiscent of the main streets of many of Alberta's boomtowns.
Other benefits to living in Okotoks include a short, 20-minute commute to Calgary and a small-town feel that many find feels safer and more family-friendly than some neighbourhoods in Calgary.
The Age of the Mortgage Broker in Calgary and Okotoks
Mortgage brokers are becoming an increasingly popular choice for those on the search for a new home for their wide range of skills, accessibility and versatile nature. Mortgage brokers have access to a number of different lenders offering a variety of packages, and with the high activity of the real estate market of Calgary and Okotoks, there are a lot of lenders vying for your business. A mortgage broker can help you take advantage of the best they have to offer.
Discover your options and just how close you are to home ownership with Mortgages By Candice. Contact us today!
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To register with SASS - Academic Accommodations, we require you to create a Ventus account (see below) and to provide SASS - Academic Accommodations with documentation to substantiate the existence of a temporary or permanent disability.
Once we receive your documentation you will be contacted by our staff to schedule your initial appointment.
First year students are encouraged to register for the Access Service Transition Program designed to help first year students successfully transition from secondary to post-secondary education.


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Sonnets of a Chorus Girl (Sonnet 1)
Sonnet Central Home
An Easy Mash
LAST night I seen him in the second row;
You ought of saw the way he looked at me!
And when I done my fancy kick--oh, gee!
He simply yelled, it seemed to please him so.
They say his father has a pile of dough
And he's the only son. I guess I'll see
If something can't be done. It ought to be
An easy thing to get the boy in tow.
He don't look much as though he knew a lot,
But if he has the money I won't care;
I guess I wouldn't like to have a yacht
And ropes of pearls and fancy things to wear!
And then there are the papers--think of what
They'll say when I have caught my millionaire.


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As soon as i received these i inserted them into/under my cushions & wow, just wow.A small investment to extend the life of your cushions. Don't hesitate to purchase these, they work.
We just got the board and it is fantastic as of right now. The most used spot on the couch was sagging and hard to get up from, even with pillows under you. My hubby and i are both tall and big so we were you have to call it first. We are very happy with the purchase and the product so far. It was easy to put in the cushion and i am very happy with the 'new couch' feel.
Not enough good things to say about these. We have a loveseat that is only a couple years old and i never have been happy with the firmness of the cushions. Got a set of these and finally the loveseat has the comfort i wanted. Here are the specifications for the SagsAway Sagging Cushion Support –:
- Follow 3 Easy Steps and Watch Video (before you order) to enjoy restored COMFORT and SUPPORT when inserted INSIDE your zippered cushion cover. 3 steps indicate if this can help your situation. Package = one insert to restore one cushion. Made in USA.
- Cushion Height (-) Sag Depth = Remaining Foam Thickness. Less than 2" of remaining thickness indicates either the cushion foam or the spring deck is too weak. Your measurements determine your results to restore seat cushions, not weak or broken springs.
- No Sags is DIFFERENT. A military grade foam inserted INSIDE the cushion cover to compress the remaining seat foam to increase firmness. Laying it the under the cushion is a mistake and results won't last as the foam product settles into the spring deck
- STEP (1) Measure for size (Regular) 20″ x 18″ or (Large) 20″ x 27″. STEP (2) Measure cushion height with no one sitting. STEP (3) Measure cushion sag depth while sitting. With 6" cushion: less than 3" use 1" Severe (or) sags 3" to 4″ use 1.5" Extreme
- Try One – TEST RESULTS. Then if needed, cut and trim to fit or customize for any size cushion by purchasing an extra insert for additional filler. Instructions and phone help are included. Amazon handles all returns within 30 days – less return shipping
I have three of these – two 'extreme,' one 'severe. ' there are two seats on my couch that get used more than the third so i got these to fix the broken down feel and even things out. For about $100 my couch feels like it has more comfort and support then the day i bought it. My back doesn't hurt anymore while i watch a movie.
These work impressively well, either inside or under sofa cushions. We have had bad luck with several sofas and solutions like planks, and these seem to work the best. Worth the cost for 5 of them.
Reviews from purchasers :
- Great price and work great!!
- Excellent product.
- YES. Amazing. Back to order more!
The cushions on my couch were slightly sagging on a flex steel frame after 10 year. I was having trouble with my back and was using pillows underneath and blankets and things to boist and support the cushions but nothing worked. I bought medium support and it was not enough. So i purchased two of the severe inserts and i think they work really well. The couch looks better and my back is not hurting anymore. I cut down the smaller support and used it in a chair and that also helped with support. The product is a little expensive but it works well and much better than the cost of new replacement cushions which i don't think would hold up.
I wasn't really expecting much with this. I purchase one to start then ended up ordering two more. My couch was getting a little low and pretty uncomfortable. These supports bought me some time. I'm not sure how long they will hold up but my cushion support is like brand new.
Best solution to a sagging sofa. I ran around to several upholstery stores and they wanted hundreds of dollars to fix my cushions. I wasn't satisfied with their solutions to my problem. So when i went to amazon the no sag popped up. I read the instructions, ordered 1 as they recommended and it came in 2 days with prime. I ordered the second (as i have 2 large cushions) and bingo problem solved. I highly recommend this product. I can sit comfortably on my sofa once more.
Oh the difference the supports have made. The cushions are no longer saggy. This is notably felt between the two cushions. Since the support has to fit snugly, my only concern is that the fabric will rub against the support when standing up and sitting down. Over time, this may cause the fabric on the cushion to thin where the support is touching it. As preventative measure, i am going to put a thin layer of material between the support and the cushion. Overall i am really happy with this product and would recommend it.
I bought one to test on the center cushion of my office sofa. It made a difference although i'm still debating if it is enough to warrant buying two more for the end cushions. It should be noted that i requested firm cushions when i ordered the sofa and they are well-stuffed, but for some reason still mushy. I can't say if the product would work better on thin, worn cushions.
Bought one to try in my couch. I agree with the other poster about price. It is kind of expensive for what you get but it will be worth it to save my couch, which is in excellent condition otherwise. They are hard to get inside the cushions. You have to go very slow and it takes awhile but it will be worth it. I recommend trying one out if you're not sure.
I guess it would work but after i providentially removed the fabric on the bottom of my sofa i found the real problem. One of the support cables snapped. Possibly the result of my kids jumping on it at some time. Anyway, you may want to look. Here i fixed it with a garage door cable and some cable clamps from a local home center for around 15 bucks. Now what to do with the cushion support.
I don't typically write reviews, but these are so awesome i had to share. They rejuvenated both of my sofas and improved the look, feel and longevity of them both. Super easy to install (less than 10 minutes) and worth every penny.
Then my wife was happy enough to buy 2 more. It's no miracle but the extreme version is much better. I may buy the less extremes to give it even more boost. But they are so damn expensive. It's hard to say if the $100 i've spent so far is better than putting plywood underneath. This seems to be the best and least damaging solution to boosting a $1000 couch.
What a differencei like the look of my couch, but i don't like sitting in it anymore. I hate feeling like i'm sinking into the cushions, which is what happens with most foam cushions after a few months of use. So after reading all the positive reviews, i thought i would give this a try. I put it in the cushion closest to the armrest, since that's the one that gets the most use. As you can see in the pictures, it made a visible difference. I measured the sag with me sitting on the seat. And sitting on the cushion was much more comfortable. The seat felt firm, but still comfy since it's my couch cushion, but i was no longer sinking down. Installation couldn't have been easier, unzip cushion, insert no sag between foam and fabric, zip cushion back up.
I ordered one of these, per the companies suggestion, to see if it would work. This is great, & beats buying a new couch & love seat. I will be ordering more to cover my whole sectional in the next few weeks. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.
This is just what we needed. My hubby had hip replacement 2 months ago and the sagging seat in our sofa made it difficult for him to be comfortable. This firmed the seat perfectly and an added bonus is 'the sofa looks great'. We'll buy more in the future.
I'm using them for a 10yr old down sectional that has lost all support and seemingly some coiling. (that will not be replaced until the kids move on. They work better inside the cushions but i feel they can work outside of the cushions like a board across the supports as well.
I got a hand me down couch, which while i am grateful for, can be a bit saggy in the cushions. Because of how the cushions were manufactured, i wasn't able to put the cushion support in the cushion itself. So i put the cushion under my couch cushions and i believe it worked quite nicely. Of course, this isn't a complete fix, but i could tell a great difference as to which side had this cushion and which one didn't.
I am so happy with how these cushion supports worked. My couch is about 8 years old, but it is the perfect size for the room it's in. It is in pretty good shape, other than the sagging cushions. They were to the point that you sunk in when you sat down. The quotes i got to have them re-stuffed were not even worth it. These made our couch cushions look and feel brand new. I attached a picture showing one cushion without the support and one with. They filled out the cushion cover and boosted up the seats, which are comfortable again.These are the most affordable fix you will find for sagging cushions, and they work great.
These are not really properly sized to support the entire cushion of a couch. I can't deny they lift, one also found that one was always falling off the edges, one would have to order extra to completely cover the springs in order for this to work.


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Amanda, you always come up with the most interesting and fun gifts for your kids' teachers and others. I am sure they will be very pleased with your thoughtfulness.
It's Friday! I kinda fell off the edge of the earth for a little bit, and what better way to re-enter the blogosphere than with a P"Inspired" post. This week's post features our end-of-year teacher thank you gifts.
The budget was tight and our kid's teachers are amazing. I was stuck for quite a while as I tried to figure out a gift to equal the contribution they had made, nothing was coming to mind, I was totally stumped. I thought of using the fallback of repeating last year's gifts, but we had some of the same teachers from last year, and really how many plastic tumblers can one person need? At the eleventh hour I decide it was better to say a little thanks than no thank you at all and so armed with the $20 I had in my pocket and my Pinterest account I accepted my mission.
First, I tackled the gifts for our main classroom teachers. These 4 ladies are fantastic. They helped a jumping bean learn to sit still, a struggling reader advance 10 reading levels, a rusher-so-I-can-always-be-first is being trained to accept that doing your best is more important, and the attitude transformation in my eldest was nothing short of a miracle. I know these ladies didn't just help my kids but the 80 kids between them were all blessed by their dedication, how do you say thank you for that?
I jumped off of this pin:
This particular pin is just an image which means I needed to create the printable, and so I changed the words a bit:
Then I gathered my supplies:
I had the scrapbooking paper on hand as well as the curly ribbon. I purchased the little jars that have magnets on the bottom at Walmart for $2 a piece and picked up 2 small bags of M&Ms for $6 (and I only used 1 full bag and a bit from the other). I struggled a bit with how to package them, but finally figured it out:
There are also 3 EAs in our kid's classrooms. They do not work directly with our kids, but these women influence all the children in the classroom. Our EAs in particular are super friendly, made the kids bunches of rainbow loom bracelets, and at least once a week our kids had a story of how one of the EAs had made their week better. Again, how does one adequately say thanks!
I jumped off this pin:
I had to change the words a bit as my kids' names didn't match up the way they do here, but that's not hard to do. I also was lucky enough to find Crayola Scentsation markers on sale at Walmart and so stayed in my budget, score!
Such a little gift, but it's hard for this go-big-or-go-home girl to do the little things, but I needed to remind myself a little thanks is better than no thanks at all.
I thought I was done, but my kids also LOVE their bus drivers. It's a relationship I do not fully understand, but these guys definitely deserve some thanks too! While I was walking the aisles begging for some inspiration of what to give their bus drivers, (and honestly I don't even know their names), all sorts of cheesy candy-gram style messages came to me. And then I saw these, and for only $2 a bag;
Then I let my cheesy self go wild:
A little thanks, that I hope, goes a long way to show our teachers how much we appreciate them. How about you? Any year-end P"Inspired" thank yous at your house this year?


text:
ACME Diecast Aquarama Speedboat Replica
ACME Diecast Aquarama Speedboat Replica
Estimated ship date:
Qualifies For Free Shipping* All orders over $99
This is a fully assembled model of the legendary Riva Aqurama speedboat that was designed by Carlo Riva in the 1960's. Using historical photographs, drawings and original plans, master craftsmen spend hundreds of hours hand-crafting these highly detailed wooden models. Each is built to scale with high-grade red cedar, rosewood, and mahogany using the plank on frame construction method that's similar to the building of actual ships. Highlights include realistic gauges, windshield frame, navigation lights, flag pole, hand-stitched leather seats, and stainless steel hand rails on the swimming platform. Wooden display stand included. Measures 27"W x 8"D x 7"H.


text:
In addition to incorporating the soothing sounds of water trickling and gurgling in your pond, pond spitters serve as an essential solution to providing aeration to pond water, especially during the hot summer month when pond oxygen levels are lower than normal.Read more
Pond spitters and décor accessories are a time-honoured way to accentuate your pond and add a bit of character.
More than just pond décor accents, Spitters help keep your pond and fish healthy through the summer. Ponds require additional aeration during the hot summer months. The constant flow of water helps to oxygenate the pond.
Other pond accessories help directly protect your favorite fish and koi by warding off predators. Duck and heron decoys discourage the real the thing from taking up residence and harming your fish.


text:
Alphonce C. L. Omolo
Violence against Children in Kenya
An Ecological Model of Risk Factors and Consequences, Responses and Projects
2015, Sozialisations- und Bildungsforschung: international, komparativ, historisch <br />Research in Socialisation and Education: international, comparative, historical, Band 14, 244 Seiten, paperback, 29,90 €, ISBN 978-3-8309-3172-0
This qualitative research applied the ecological model of socialisation of Urie Bronfenbrenner as its theoretical and analytical framework in examining risk factors and consequences, responses and projects. In assessing what is being done to prevent violence against children in Kenya, Alphonce C.L. Omolo reviews existing projects and policies that shape prevention measures including the possible influence of international conventions. He also analyses diverse sets of ideas, attitudes, philosophies and practices that explain the similar and the different notions of childhood in African and in Western settings. Exploring the social construction of violence, the author examines ideas and discourses that explain the heterogeneous characteristics of violence and how their understanding, occurrence and severity vary from culture to culture.
Alphonce C. L. Omolo (born 1966 in Kisumu, Kenya) studied Childhood (Sociology of Childhood and Children's Rights) at the Institute of Education, University of London. He completed his doctoral degree (Dr. phil.) at the Faculty for Philosophy and Educational Research in the Field of Comparative Education at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, in 2014. He has extended experience and worked in different capacities in street children, youth work and other children and youth protection programmes in Kenya, Tanzania and London between 1987 and 2010. He practices in Kenya and other countries of Africa as a consultant (www.lensthru.com) in the field of child protection (in emergencies and social sector), youth work, education, research and social development.


text: The Women's Ministry of Pilgrim Baptist Church (172 Shrewsbury Avenue, Red Bank) will host it's Women's Conference & Women's Day Celebration weekend on Saturday & Sunday (Sept. 24-25). The theme will be: "Women of Royalty; We Are Because He Is!" Saturday's Conference will include workshops and luncheon that will feature; Rev. Audrey Williamson of Monmouth University. Sunday's celebration will be held at both the 8am & 11am services and will feature the Women's Day Choir and Rev. Michelle Bartee-Lewis (8am) and Rev. Gail Simmons (11am). A Special Women's Day Breakfast will be prepared by the Men's Ministry of Pilgrim and will be served at 9:30am on Sunday (no cost). For further information, please call: 732-747-2343. All Are Welcome!


text:
Note: The ADXL193 outputs an analog voltage. This voltage is in ratio to the measured acceleration and to the supply voltage. You will need some extra hardware to convert this analog signal to a usable digital one. Luckily, many uCs have a built in Analog to Digital converter.
Dimensions: 0.4x0.55"


text:
sr devOps/cloud engineer proxy
Budget $250-750 USD
GIT/GitHub, Subversion,
Maven, Ant,
Jenkins, Hudson.
AWS (EC2, ELB, Dynamo DB, S3, CFT, RDS, IAM), Azure
Chef, Ansible
Docker, Kubernetes.
Nagios, Splunk, App Dynamics.
Shell scripting, bash scripting, Python
Apache Tomcat, JBOSS, WebLogic
NoSQL, MYSQL
Linux, Windows,
28 freelancers are bidding on average $523 for this job
Dear,Sir I have read your project description and am ready for starting your project for now. I will work very hard and best for you. Best Regards
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text:
Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Chevron Training for me? Any experiences with them, good or bad? Want to do this course by DL and am so afraid Ill mess up.
Many thanks,
Hi everyone, I know it has been a long time since the pst, but I am looking for some help for the childcare level 5 with chevron course, I am nearly done but I need some help.
hi, i would like to do montessori course with cheveron, are they really good in delivering classes, will it be worth to do montessori level 6. can i apply for montessori teacher job after finishing the course?can anybody suggest please.
hey sunnychic,
yes i know that. you mean work experience i guess? well i could go and do it in the same montessori where i have done my other experiences, so that wouldnt be a problem. just wondering are these courses recognised nationwide, so if theres a montessori teacher position available to apply, i could apply after finishing the course. that was my main concern.
Hi yellow moon. I would be very dubious of doing Montessori modules online. You need to get your hands on the materials - if you can at all, do them in a class based setting. As far as I know chevron do them online.
hey guys,
i have done supervision in childcare in college full-time (well actually it was 3 days a week plus one extra day for workexperience). it was hard, but you wont get cert for nothing. i was happy over the moon and back when i got my results tho - all distinctions! let me say now that my native language isnt english and im also a single mother of two. so its duable girls! i did it, so why cant you?! i have done my workplacement in a montessori school, most pre-schools love to have students around, its great help.
now the other day i was looking at that chevron training page too and discovered they do level 6 in montessori. is that reliable? i mean after finishing that course i should be able to teach kids like a montessori teacher? went to fas and asked about it, they had no clue and asked me to find it out myself so they could fund a part of the course costs.
I know it is a while since your post but just wondering how it went...I'm thinking of signing up with Chevron to..
Post Deleted Because: The OP deleted this post
It's the childcare one I'm doing. The guy in Chevron said that level 6 is more difficult alright but it was up to me. Maybe I'm nuts but sure I'll give it a go & hope it works out.
Fair play to you shockedmum. I wish I had just made my decision now but I just cant seem to do it! Is it the Montessori/Childcare or the Childcare one you are doing? How come you didnt have to complete a Level 5 Qualification first as it says on thoses prospectuses that its an entry requirement. So disillusioned!!!!
Hiya littlemix, Oh I'm jumping straight in at the deepend:-) no formal training either but I figured if I'm doing it I may as well go the whole hog. My Mam owns a playschool & is planning on retiring soon so the plan is that I do my work experience with her & then take over in time. She has often taken on girls for work experience though, lots of places do so I wouldn't worry about that, you'll get sorted. Go for it:-) I've dobe I.T.for 15 years so this is a bug change, great though. Sure you've more experience than most with your little ones.
Shockedmum, how do you plan on completing your work experience? Are you working in childcare and do you already have Fetac Level 5 Childcare done? Im wondering if I can go straight to Level 6. I have no (formal) experience in childcare (besides my own 3 babies LOL)!
I still havn't committed!! I'm afraid to! The work experience is the only thing stopping me!
Hi girls, I've just signed up with them today for fetec level 6, all 8 modules. I did a lot of searching & these guys seemed to be the most reliable. My nerves are gone too as it's been years since I've done any studying. I'm kind of excited too, I've two young kids so I plan on studying at night when they're asleep. Best of luck!
I am also debating going with Chevron at the moment too. I hope to start in August. Did you make your mind up yet? I am so nervous about jumping in too. It's years since I've studied but I am fairly self motivated. I'm also going to sign up for the 8 modules.
Post Deleted Because: Deleted by RollerCoaster.ie Admin
I think you will have to make time for study which is very hard with work and family. I had a problem which meant I needed more time which they gave me at no extra cost unlike another online trainer I used for the level 6. I think it is cheaper to do all 8 modules rather then pay for 1 at a time. You could try booking 1 to see if distance is for you?
Here is a great place for help!
Thanks Cleomolly. I am hoping to do Fetac Level 5 Childcare, for the Major Award so its 8 modules. Im just nervous I suppose! So glad to hear you had a positive experience with them. Im working full-time and have 3 kiddies so I have to make sure whatever provider I use is up to scratch.
Hi, I did afterschool care level 5 with them and I had no problems at all. What course were you going to do?
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The DaPonte String Quartet gave its fans an early Christmas present this past weekend with a series of concerts featuring little-known masterpieces – Haydn's "Razor" Quartet in F Minor, Op. 55, No. 2; three pieces by John Adams from "John's Book of Alleged Dances" and, in celebration of his 100th Anniversary, Giusseppe Verdi's only string quartet, in E Minor.
I attended the second concert of the series, at Damariscotta's refurbished Lincoln Theater. The final one was Dec. 9, at Mid-Coast Presbyterian Church in Topsham.
Haydn's Quartet in F Minor, Op. 55, No. 2 ("Razor") got its name from the fact that the composer is said to have traded it for a pair of razors.
Why one of the wealthiest composers of his time would have done such a thing remains a mystery, although the anecdote has Haydn exclaiming to a friend while shaving that he would give his best quartet for a good razor. The friend ran to fetch his best and a legend was born.
It might also be that Haydn was dissatisfied with it. The quartet attempts to be tragic but the composer's good nature keeps breaking through. The conflict between gloom and cheerfulness, and Haydn's own innovations, keep it interesting.
The most striking movement is one that is ordinarily the simplest, a Menuetto Allegretto punctuated by long fermatas, after each of which the theme takes off in a different key. The DaPonte kept the surprises coming.
An equally quirky set of pieces for string quartet, from John Adams "John's Book of Alleged Dances," included "She's So Fine," a cello song for Jeane Jenrenaud, then cellist of the Kronos Quartet, which commissioned the work; "Judah to Ocean," a description of a San Francisco streetcar ride; and "Habanera," a "portrait of an aging Cuban dictator," with some sly references to Fidel Castro.
"Habanera" was played over a recording of complex computer-generated rhythms, a device that worked extremely well.
The featured event of the evening was Giusseppe Verdi's String Quartet in E Minor, written in 1873.
Verdi himself didn't know what to think of it. I think of it as a sketch book into which the composer could pour a flood of ideas, sometimes connected only by the binding. One finds a plethora of melodies in various combinations, as if the composer were experimenting with the best set of voices to present an aria. There are also reflections of orchestral themes from his operas.
The quartet even contains a fugue, as if the composer set out to prove that he could do it. He did, brilliantly.
The pastiche gives lip service to classical form, but in the hands of the DaPonte it was a delight to hear from beginning to end.
Christopher Hyde's Classical Beat column appears in the Maine Sunday Telegram. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Kate Hall of Casco wins national title
Boston Celtics
LaVine scores 42 as Bulls handle Celtics, 126-116
Varsity Maine
Saturday's high school roundup: Winthrop boys reign in Class C South
Saturday's Top 25 basketball: Top-ranked Duke downs Syracuse
Mills faces higher-than-expected inauguration costs


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TORONTO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed marginally higher on Wednesday as firmer energy issues offset a drop in materials stocks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE unofficially closed up 15.55 points, or 0.12 percent at C$13,380.70.
($1=$1.01 Canadian) (Reporting by Solarina Ho; editing by Peter Galloway)


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My life, my family, my studies...as I keep it all together...or have fun trying in Kodiak, Alaska
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Snow and Ice in Kodiak
It has been snowy and wet, and snowy again. Traditional winter weather for Kodiak. Quite slippery going up and down the trail. Emmy calls it "tony." It has been beautiful though.
Photo 1: View from front window of our cabin. Note broken willow at bottom from the weight of the snow. That was my favorite willow, but it is not going to stand back up on its own.
Photo 2: View near Bells Flats yesterday. The color of the water was amazing. The camera didn't even capture it, so I boosted the saturation, but it is still not quite the full effect we saw.
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No one read this blog, and quite frankly, I'm not sober enough to care. Atleast my typing is awesome.
This is a post about "adult friends." Not the kind of the friends you make sexy-time with, but the kind you meet out of high school. It seems the older you get, the harder it is to meet new people and maintain relationships. Maybe its just me, the perpetually awkward, but I get the feeling this is a common thing.
My boyfriend and I have had conversations about how our parents only have one or two friends that aren't family. I used to think that was totally impossible, having so many party friends in my youth. Now, as the years creep by, and friends fall by the wayside, I can see how that would happen.
And it terrifies the fuck out of me.
I used to be so social, using booze as a remedy for my constant awkwardness. I have a lot of friends on Facebook. I'm like... totes popular. But how many of these people would I want to have over for dinner? How many of them would I go to with intimate problems?
Very few. It seems all the "friends" you accumulated in your youth are quite worthless. You realize how vapid and shallow people really are, and those people are quickly abandoned. Your giant circle of friends turns into a whole bunch of people you just kinda know, with ten or so exceptions.
I spent my evening with an old friend from middle school, who went to a different high school, and then moved out of state. It's just a crazy random happenstance that she is engaged to the tenant downstairs. She was really fun, and I feel comfortable with her because I knew her in my youth. We were able to bond over the countless things we have in common, and I may have found another recruit for my yarn bomb.
But how do you make friends as an adult? Can I organize play-dates?
How did life get so complicated?
Seacrest out?
Gotta find a better way to say goodbye...
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Adulthood Appears... Again.
Posted by Paige
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Looking back on it, she realised that the entrapment and path to slavery had been amazingly simple with young Caleb. The 40-year-old domina had a well-heeled stable of sluts and slaves, but most – of necessity – were of "a certain age".
After all, even if she would have taken them, very few 18-year-olds could afford her high prices – high prices for which, Mistress Diabolique knew, she offered an excellent service.
With men in their mid-30s to their late 50s, and women mostly in their 40s, Mistress Diabolique had a steady and affluent clientele. But as soon as she saw her young nephew in his semi-thong – it covered half his pert young bum – she knew she had to "have" him, as it were.
Part of the lad's steps to slavery were the result of his morning and afternoon chats with her assistant, the lovely ebony bitch, Tammy. A tall, large-busted lady, Tammy was 25 and she loved playing games with the youth – only at the start the "game" was two-handed crib.
While Mistress Diabolique had been ensconced in her well-appointed basement dungeon with a local bank manager, Tammy had taught Caleb how to play the game she described as "the best two-handed card game in the world".
Soon the terms "15-2, 15-4 and the rest won't score" were tripping off Caleb's tongue like a pub-hardened veteran. And soon, Mistress Diabolique knew, as she watched the pair playing while she rested between clients, something else would be "tripping off" the lad's tongue.
Tammy always wore a gleaming black satin bra, matching panties and suspender belt and shiny black stockings. Her feet would be shod in lace-up, "fuck me" stilettos, and her hair a glistening black pile of lustrous locks falling to her mid-back.
While no Naomi Campbell, she was an utterly beguiling beauty. For his part, Caleb wore his black PVC posing pouch as he amused Tammy with his new-found aptitude at cards.
One morning, Mistress D, as Tammy referred to her, was watching the pair playing cards, when Caleb asked: "Aunty, just what is it you do downstairs in the basement?"
Mistress D looked at Tammy, who was wearing a cheeky grin.
"Go on Mistress D," said Tammy, "show him around. You've been leaving those femdom magazines lying around the house, he must have a pretty good idea of what we specialise in, anyway."
Mistress D sighed. "OK, Tammy, perhaps he'll find it interesting," she said, knowing that the more disinterested she seemed, the more Caleb would be curious. "What time's the fucking vicar due?"
Tammy inspected her large black, leather-bound diary. "In 30 minutes, you've got plenty of time, I'll let you know when he's in the holding cell."
And so, on the fourth day of his annual visit, Caleb went down into the basement, following the lovely full, firm body of the woman who had, for a very short space of time, been married to his father's older brother.
It was a lovely body to follow. The professional domina was clad in a black leather bustier, which gleamed with studded metal clips and pushed her big breasts into glorious uplift. On her hips shone a pair of black leather hot pants, which were cut so that half her extremely lickable buttocks were on display. Knee-high boots added to her hauteur.
Caleb was hard in his posing pouch, and didn't bother to hide it. He knew she knew she turned him on. False modesty was not something that worked with his aunt, as he well knew by now.
At the door to the "theatre of dreams" as she sometimes referred to it, Mistress D held onto the knob, then looked back and noticed that another "knob" was hard, indeed.
"Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly," said the 40-year-old as she swung the door open.
Stepping inside, Caleb saw a sight that would forever be etched in his mind. He had seen plenty of "dungeon" interiors in his aunt's strategically-placed magazines, but nothing like this.
The walls were draped in heavy, lush, dark red velvet curtains. Frames held implements which looked as if they could inflict quite severe, not to say intolerable pain. There was what looked like a metal, two-posted flogging frame, with a metal crossbar. From it hung black straps.
In the centre of the room was what was obviously a flogging bench. Off to one side a large, luxury leather couch. In one corner a similarly comfortable-looking easy chair. Another plain kitchen chair, with strategically-placed straps, stood alongside it.
In another corner, head pointing in to the velvet drapes, was a sort of leather-padded Y-shaped gurney, on a sturdy metal frame, with castor wheels for easy portability.
Caleb gasped. "Shit, aunty, pardon my language, but it's stunning – do you use all of these things," he said, gingerly fingering a thriple-thonged tawse.
Mistress D smiled. "Darling, half of them are purely for show, it's just their mere presence which sends lovely little tremors of fear through my slaves," she said.
"No, my expertise is more in the erotic domination of recalcitrant slaves, not in flaying the flesh from their backs – you see, most of them are married, it wouldn't do for them to appear before their wives – or husbands, for that matter – displaying welts and bruises," she informed her young nephew.
"But," said Caleb, struggling for words, "but, what, I mean – I don't know how to put it – what do you do?"
Mistress D laughed, and walked towards the young man, placing a cool hand on his burgeoning "crown jewels".
"I tease and torment them," she informed him. "I allow them to perform body worship."
"Where?" asked Caleb, his voice now a husky rasp.
"Here," said Mistress D, running her free hand across her ample breasts. "Here," now across her lovely pert buttocks.
Then, in a low, also husky voice, she added "Here" and ran her hand across her leather-covered minge.
"Sometimes, if they're really good – or should I say 'naughty'? – I give them a golden shower. And if they've been really, really naughty, I let them drink it," she said, her eyes burning into Caleb's.
"Drink it?" he stammered, incredulously. "Isn't that dangerous, aunty?"
She noticed that while he seemed perturbed at the thought, his cock was still threatening to smash its way through his shiny PVC pouch-cum-cage.
"Yes, drink it, darling, I'm perfectly healthy, and anyway with the water I drink all day it's pretty well sterile."
"Why?" asked Caleb. "I mean, why do they drink it?"
"Because they're my slaves, Caleb," said Mistress D, quietly, still gazing into his eyes. "Because they want to please me. Because they don't want to piss me off, pardon that rather awful pun."
Still stroking his hard-on through his pouch, she lowered her voice slightly and pressed her leather-covered breasts against Cabel's quivering, naked upper body. "Do you know how I punish them if they do?"
"Do what?" asked the lad.
"If they piss me off, silly," smiled his aunt. "How?" he said, in a rasping, hushed whisper.
"I don't let them lick my pussy after I've pissed on them as they lie between my feet," she said, smiling.
"Do you, er, you know, do you fuck them, aunty?" asked the lad, his voice now recovering, becoming stronger.
"Never," smiled Mistress D. "That would make me a common prostitute. Now some people may still describe me as a prostitute, my darling, but 'common' most certainly never.
"No, if they want that sort of performance they can strike a deal with Tammy, but usually she and I only permit them to enjoy the indignities of facesitting."
Caleb looked puzzled. "Facesitting, aunty?"
Mistress D sighed a small sigh. "My darling, don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked.
"Yes," Caleb nodded. "She's my age, she has a lovely figure, aunty, but not as good as yours or Tammy's."
"Well," said Mistress D, "doesn't she ever make you lie down on your back and then put her pussy and buttocks on your face and wriggle around a lot?"
"No," said Caleb, his voice a hissed whisper, once more. "Never, aunty. Never." The disappointment in his voice was palpable.
"Oh you poor, poor thing," said Mistress D, once more using a very quiet voice, "we've got to remedy that situation, haven't we, my dear?"
But Caleb did not reply. Instead, he sank to his knees in front of his aunt's leather hot pants and reached up with his hands to cup her firm, half-bared buttocks.
Then his mouth pressed against her pudenda and he gave her a long, lingering kiss there.
"Shoot," thought Mistress D, to herself, "I knew winning him over was going to be easy, but I didn't think it was going to be this easy!"


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In every foreign country where our nation has troops stationed, we also have formal agreements with the governments of those countries spelling out the conditions under which our troops are hosted. Those agreements are called Status of Forces Agreements, or SOFAs. While Cat 6 travelers do not need to be intimately familiar with ALL the details of these agreements, one particular aspect seems to be a stumbling point for many – where can we, and where can we NOT use commissaries and exchanges?
Lady Cat 6's personal philosophy is that I travel to experience the cultures of the people in the countries I visit, and that includes using their grocery, sundry, and drug stores (pharmacies). In all my travels in Europe and Asia, I have never been to a location that does not have these commercial establishments in the local area!
That being said, knowing what is permitted in the countries we visit can save a lot of frustration. In some countries, like Italy, visiting retirees are free to use US facilities. In others, like Germany, we are not.
Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to abide by the agreements our government has negotiated.
Fortunately, there are handy little charts,
here: https://www.aafes.com/exchange-stores/overseas/
and here: https://www.commissaries.com/documents/contact_deca/faqs/authorized_shopping_outside_us.cfm
that provide information regarding shopping at exchanges (BX/PX/Navy Exchange) and commissaries overseas. Simply find the country you want to visit, and find your answer. Easy-peasy!
Since so many retirees transit or visit Germany in our travels, a few notes are in order:
Regarding Ramstein, the main point of entry into Germany for space a travelers: though retirees are not permitted to use the commissary or BX, they CAN, except for car rental concessions shop at any of the private vendors (feel free to load up on Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas bling!), in the mall complex, and they CAN purchase sundries at the little shopette. Retirees can also take advantage of the tours provided by MWR.
It is possible, if one intends to visit Germany for 30 days or more, and one desires to document that intent, and provide receipts for all purchases, to make arrangements to shop at the commissary and BX and pay the attendant taxes to the German government. Instructions on the requirements and process are found here: https://www.commissaries.com/regions/exchange_shopping_germany.pdf
Regarding the Edelweiss Resort: many retirees in the past have enjoyed staying at the Edelweiss Resort, in Garmisch. No longer. Details can be found here: http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/reservation-eligibility Never fear though, Germany has many resort properties and tour operators we CAN utilize, in addition to thousands of charming B&Bs, restaurants, and other recreational opportunities!
Some SOFAs are soft and warm and cushy and easy, some are firm and streamlined and spare and forbidding. Successful Cat 6 travelers are aware of the particular "styles" of SOFAs in the countries they are visiting, and know when to sit and relax, and when to stay off the furniture!


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Chocolate and orange are THE flavours of winter, Christmas is passed and it's time to indulge in a healthier treat… get that New Year's resolution workin for you.
But just because something's healthy for you doesn't mean you should have to skip out on flavour.
These raw chocolate-orange snow balls are beyond easy to thrown together, simply blend all of the ingredients, roll into balls, and you're done!
Loaded with healthy fats to keep your skin protected against the harsh winter cold, and protein to aid in recovering after your new-year-new-me workout sessions, these decadent little truffles have it all.
Roll em in the coating of your choice, we enjoy coating them with melted coconut butter and then finely grating pure dark chocolate overtop before it has time to harden, yum!
If you recreate these morsels make sure to tag us in a photo on instagram @lavenderandlavish so we can check out how you did!
Happy rolling!
RECIPE: Makes 20 Snowballs.
Raw Chocolate Orange Snowballs
- 2/3 cups Oats, ground
- 2/3 cups Cashews, soaked overnight
- 1/3 cup Dates
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Orange Extract
- 2 tbsp Cacao Powder
- Zest of 1/2 an Orange
- Juice of 1/2 an Orange
- 1/4 cup Shredded Coconut
10 minute prep time, 3 hours to chill.
- Blitz in a high speed blender your oats until they're a fine powder
- Add to the blender your cashews, vanilla, salt, cacao powder, coconut, and orange extract, blend to combine.
- Add your dates to the blender and blend until a "dough" ball forms.
- Remove your dough ball from the blender and knead in the remaining ingredients.
- Chill in the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Using a tbsp measure portion the dough into 20 pieces and roll these into balls.
- Coat with coconut butter, coconut shreds, orange zest, or cacoa powder and keep in the fridge or the freezer.
- Enjoy!


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July 1, 2010 (CHICAGO) --A sixth Chicago police officer is charged in an extortion plot involving the city's towing industry.
Juan Prado was arrested Thursday morning when he surrendered to FBI agents. The 11-year veteran of the police department is accused of soliciting more than $1,100 dollars from a tow truck driver in 2006. The driver was secretly working for the FBI.
Prado allegedly provided him with opportunities to tow vehicles in his northwest side police district in exchange for money.Prado is free on bond.


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EDIT: this was pretty terrible. We all felt highly exploited. It was pretty dead all things considered, and the people that were there weren't cool or fit, the place stank of bleach and there was constantly people walking round after you with mops, it was £4.40 a can of red stripe so any tipsiness we had built up before entering was quickly converted to sobriety. The security was gay and everywhere (yes like Carol Ann Duffy this week) one of our friends who was admittedly doing something he shouldn't was taken into a room and strip searched. And I thought worst of all it was £15 to get in AND £1 extra if you wanted to leave and come back in! WTF? Isn't that against some EU directive? paying to get fresh air? I don't know who to write to....might nip round to Diane's.
Friday, 1 May 2009
This Sunday...
info tickets
Posted by TOMthinks at Friday, May 01, 2009
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Hudson's Baptism
Kathryn's Baby Shower
Sammie's Prom
Jennifer's Prom
Grant's Prom
DLUMC Women's Retreat 2017
Crosswild 2016
Mary Kay's Retirement Party!
Mimi's 80th Birthday
Kentucky Oaks 2014
Phi Mu Bonnamu
Ashlyn's 21st!
Grace Christian Academy Homecoming
Noah's Senior Homecoming
Highway 85 at Hurricanes
Forest Hill 30th Reunion
Chiles Homecoming 2013
Color Run Tallahassee 2013
Easter 2013 at the Lakes
DLUMC 2012 Women's Retreat - Honey Lake Plantation
Jilly's 7th Birthday Party
Crosswild Baptisms
Crosswild - Follow
Vacation Bible School - DLUMC 2011
Kentucky Oaks and Derby Party 2010


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And then there was that time we went to a city that had streets made out of water. It sounds crazy, cliche and a little farfetched, but that is exactly what Venice is like. And the traffic is hectic! Everywhere there are little barges running around on the waterways doing whatever it is they do. Of course there are walkways in between the buildings, but the water ways seem to be the main way to transport things.
Overall, Venice is a wonderful city that just doesn't seem real, even where you are actually there. The buildings are all really big with these water ways in between them so you never know what might be around the corner. I also think it would be the easiest city in the world to get lost in. There are amazing sites that are so tucked away that they are hard to find – like the Rialto Bridge (above).
The main area that people head to for sight seeing is the Piazza San Marco. It has an amazing church, and observation tower and a massive palace! It was also the setting for the famous James Bond gondola scene.
There are also amazing little churches nestled away all through the streets – like this one below.
Speaking of churches, the Santa Maria della Salute is massive! You can almost see it from anywhere in Venice. It's located on the Grand Canal and is spectacular both inside and out.
One thing that did open our eyes in Venice was in relation to a new trend that has emerged, the padlock on the bridge. People like us are supposed to buy padlocks with our names written or engraved on it and lock it on a bridge in a romantic location like Venice. The problem is that the weight of these locks are actually causing bridges to collapse! Venice is now actively removing the padlocks (as seen in the photo below) and there are campaigns to ask people to stop doing it. There have been monuments built specifically to hang padlocks on, to avoid historical bridges becoming damaged due to this new trend. More info here: http://www.monicacesarato.com/blog/2014/08/25/unlock-love-venice/
All in all, we had an amazing time and almost can't believe we actually went to Venice!


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What's up in
An obscure number theorist who became an overnight sensation with a major proof about the gaps between prime numbers now finds quiet inspiration walking along the Pacific Coast.
A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave.
Two years ago, Yitang Zhang was virtually unknown. Now his surprise solution to a major problem in number theory has catapulted him to mathematical stardom. Where does he go from here?
A year after tackling how close together prime number pairs can stay, mathematicians have now made the first major advance in 76 years in understanding how far apart primes can be.
Working on the centuries-old twin primes conjecture, two solitary researchers and a massive collaboration have made enormous advances over the last six months.
A virtually unknown researcher has made a great advance in one of mathematics' oldest problems, the twin primes conjecture.