Democrats win crucial Senate seat

President Barack Obama's party secured a critical 60-member majority in the US Senate, after the last undecided seat was awarded to a Democrat.

Why Would You Choose to Earn Less?

In March 2008, I quit a full time job that earned around $50,000 per year. I did not return to the workplace. My wifes closest friend has a marketable college degree and a substantial amount of successful organizational experience. Shes made the active choice to be a stay at home mother to her two children, giving up that income. A friend of mine had a factory job that paid $12 an hour. One day, he turned in his resignation, replacing that job with another where he swept floors for $8 an hour. In each case, a person walked away from a job or a career, actively choosing another route that earned significantly less. In our modern world, what would possess someone to make this unorthodox choice? Why are there millions of stay-at-home parents out there? Why do people walk away from jobs that pay well and take jobs that pay less? Its simple. Money isnt everything. A long while back, I read and reviewed Daniel Gilberts excellent book Stumbling on Happiness. Today, when I reflect upon that book, I realize that one little point he made stuck in my mind. Gilbert wrote about a study that showed peoples happiness with their lives and correlated that information with their salary. What did he find? $40,000 is a truly magic number. Below that number, people were much less happy with their lives - people with a household income of $20K or $30K were generally less happy with their state of living than people earning $40K. Whats interesting, though, is that people earning over $40K were not any happier with their lives. Additional income did nothing to increase peoples happiness with the state of their life. Gilbert offered a bunch of his own conclusions from that study, but my conclusion was pretty simple: any income above a certain surprisingly-low threshold does not make you happier. I wont say that threshold is exactly $40K - its not, because that number varies a lot based on location, number of dependents, and so on - but I will say that the magical amount of enough income is much lower than many people think. What does that enough income represent? It represents the amount of money needed to keep a roof over your head, food on your plate, a car in your driveway, and a little bit of breathing room to enjoy life. Income beyond that does nothing more than inflate our basic standard of living - a nicer house, a nicer car, a nicer vacation. But over the long run, those nicer things dont contribute at all to lasting happiness. Once we have those nicer things, were right back where we started, wanting something nicer yet. Our Honda becomes the Acura weve wanted, and then before long we want a BMW. Our 1,000 square foot house becomes a 1,600 square foot house, then we want a 2,400 square foot house. Our camping vacation in Minnesota becomes a weeklong trek through Yellowstone, then we want weeklong treks through every national park. Our freebie cell phone becomes a Razr, then we want an iPhone. Once our bases are covered, more of the same doesnt bring us fulfillment. Instead, fulfillment comes from the things that make you happy and bring you value in life. It might be that your value comes from having a big bank account or the corner office - and thats great. But for a lot of people, whether theyre acting on it or not, fulfillment comes from other sources. Perhaps it comes from being a parent. Perhaps it comes from work that theyre passionate about. Maybe it comes from minimalist living. Whatever that fulfillment is, it rarely comes from acquiring more of the same things you already have. People ask why Im so interested in personal finance. Its got to be incredibly boring to read about 401(k)s all day. To me, personal finance is just a series of techniques that allows you to widen your horizons, to make things in your life secure so that you can take that leap and fall headfirst into the things in your life that bring you fulfillment. Whatever they may be. Its a story that I never get tired of investigating or talking about. Whenever I see someone making the active choice to earn less, I usually smile. Why? Because theres no clearer sign that theyve figured this all out for themselves on some level.

GT

The broken road

Siteki, Swaziland06/05/09MiddayAs the mist settles over the emerald mountains of Swaziland, the Good shepherd hospital stirs into movement.The first few hours of my work day are spent in clinic. There I see patients afflicted with every imaginable ailment. From tropical infections like schistosomiasis to the complications of terminal HIV like toxoplasmosis, cryptococcal meningitis and multi drug resistant tuberculosis. These severe conditions are interspersed with the more benign aches and pains and dripping noses which can still malign the days of a Swazi man or woman.After clinic I assemble with the homebased care team and we drive out to the the neigbourhoods surrounding the little hamlet of Siteki.The yellow grass grows wild and taller than a basketballer. And we drive through it each day.Sometimes we go around it. But usually it is 'through'.The nurses say "Left here!" - and we turn.... making roads where I'm sure no road was ever meant to be...The homebased care truck is small but sturdy. The windshield cracked by years of being battered by pebbles and flying debris as the team travels the dusty roads of Siteki. It navigates the most inhospitable terrain, roads covered in mud and potholes and ditches. Grass quite literally as high as an 'elephants eye'.Each day we visit a series of homesteads. A homestead is a group of huts where one or more families reside.We are a medical service, and as such the primary purpose of our work is to provide compassionate medical care to those afflicted with severe HIV, Tuberculosis and those who are simply too sick or too poor to get to hospital.In addition to medical care each family recieves a bag of corn soya, milli meal (which can be made into a porridge), beans, and on good days a bag of oranges or a bottle of milk.Many of the homesteads we visit consist entirely of orphan children fending for themselves. In a country where 10% of the population are orphan children under the age of 15, orphan headed households are sadly very common.A doctors or nurses office is where you find it in Swaziland. Sometimes in a field of corn....Sometimes under a tree. (This is what we might look like if you were inside a hut)The aim of homebased care is to treat not only the patient but their family. To assess issues within the home like access to water, sanitation, poverty, malnutrition and sick family members. It is to look broadly and see a patient within the context of their every day lives as opposed to merely an afflicted body part or disease process.In addition to assessing and treating patients, the reason I was asked to work with homebased care this year was to empower the team, teaching further clinical skills and knowledge about disease and its management. But in truth I am the one who is learning.This team are expert in areas where every physician can refine their skills. They know how to see deeply and listen intently, how to treat the ostracised, unloved and dying with dignity and gentle reverence. They believe that the soul of medicine is not simply about handing out pills to patients but about helping an equal in need.In more ways than my little words can describe, this team of beautiful men and women and the other human angels whom I encounter each day are my teachers.We walk the broken road together, delving into our own woundedness to find a seed of hope to plant in the heart of another to whom the winter has come.From Siteki with love,Maithri

Junior World Hockey

Don and I are watching the Gold Metal Juniors World Hockey Championship game. Canada versus Sweden.
I kind of like the color scheme. Its really easy to tell the two teams apart with the red, black with white flourishes for the Canadian Team and then pretty sky blue and bright yellow for Sweden.
Don had our whole day organized around this event.
I made us some clam onion chip dip and am sitting here with him, blog to you.
Canada is leading 1-0 after the first period which has just finished, so that means Don will have a 15 minute break to chat and gaze at me lovingly, so Im off! Ill write more in the next period.
Oh& never mind. He just switched the channel and is now catching up on the Pittsburgh - NY Rangers game (2nd period P-0, NY R-1)
I guess the loving gaze will have to wait until after the hockey is over.
The chip dip was really good, but now my mouth tastes of onions. It makes me want to go upstairs to the fridge and get myself some more.
I am going to finish this blog, then Im going to read my Richard Russells Remarks to see what he has to say about the markets. Yesterday he had a picture of a bull in the left hand corner. Kind of gave me a little jolt. I got used to seeing that snarling bear in that spot.
Oh hey, and for all of my bloggers who are a little nervous about debt, or how they are going to manage things in the upcoming year, Suze Orman is going to be on Oprah on Thursday and whoever tunes in will be able to download a free e-copy of her new book, 2009 Action Plan: How to keep your money safe.
I like Suze, have read quite a few of her books over the years. They really helped when I was first trying to handle my own finances, because they were written in a way that was easily accessible, in terms I could understand, and they didnt make me break into a sweaty panic attack. I find she writes in a way that women can understand.
That being said, it is really important, that you never take anyones advice absolutely. If I had taken all the advice from all the investment books that I have read, I would be a h__l of a lot poorer than I am right now.
Its not that the people that write these books are trying to screw the poor well-meaning people who buy their books. They really believe what they are writing. However, nobody knows everything.
When making an investment you always need to check with your belly, look at the upside and the downside, know yourself and only make investments that you understand and feel comfortable with. And if someone is trying to sell you something that doesnt make logical sense to you. DONT do it. Maybe later youll understand it and feel comfortable doing it, or maybe it was a stupid investment and the person who was trying to talk you into it, would get a big commission if you said yes.
Thats how a lot of people got into this mortgage/foreclosure mess. Trust your gut. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Also, I imagine Suze is going to talk a little bit about whats coming down the pike via the credit card companies. Pay attention to what she says about this! Dont hide your head in the sand, because I have read about this coming credit card storm from many very reliable sources. And believe me, its coming. Figure out what you need to do so everything doesnt collapses around your head.
Phew! I didnt know I was going to go on a financial rampage. Ive really been trying hard not to.
I better sign off.
Love, Meg xo

Bible reading for May 8, 2009

Deuteronomy 27-28:14 (New International Version) Deuteronomy 27 The Altar on Mount Ebal 1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all these commands that I give you today. 2 When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. 3 Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. 5 Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them. 6 Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 Sacrifice fellowship offerings [a] there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up." Curses From Mount Ebal 9 Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. 10 Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today." 11 On the same day Moses commanded the people: 12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice: 15 "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idola thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman's handsand sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 16 "Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 17 "Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary stone." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 18 "Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 19 "Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 20 "Cursed is the man who sleeps with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 21 "Cursed is the man who has sexual relations with any animal." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 22 "Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 23 "Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 24 "Cursed is the man who kills his neighbor secretly." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 25 "Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" 26 "Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"Deuteronomy 28 Blessings for Obedience 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestockthe calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperityin the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your groundin the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.Footnotes:Deuteronomy 27:7 Traditionally peace offerings Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright

More taxes

More taxes,at least there are

Personal income tax ,medical insurance

Income fell 100yuan

Have a try,I can do it!

Christmas 2009 Advent Activities

When I put away all of my Christmas decorations and supplies, I try to make notes on what I need to do for next year. (It helps me to jot it all down while it is fresh in my mind.) To-do's for 2009:Make cards for advent calendar activities.Buy supplies for advent calendar-hohos, hershey kisses, chocolate coins.Buy tickets to the Nutcracker or othe Christmas play.Take pictures for Christmas card.Scrap 4 x 6 layout for X-mas Cards.Have cards printed at Wal-Mart.Buy envelopes and stamps.Address, stuff and stamp cards.Scrap calendars for grandparents.Gifts for nieces and nephews.Gifts for girls and hubby.Planned activities/focus for Advent calendars:Christmas Story-Bookmarks for Bibles, Read Christmas StoryThe Nutcracker-Small Nutcrackers, Go See the NutcrackerCandy Cane-Candy Cane PencilsNativity-Make Your Own Nativity StickersReindeers-Foamie Reindeer KitCarols-New Christmas Carols on ipodStockings-Make Your Own Stocking KitsCoal-Snowman painted coal or coal candy (we are all diamonds inside)St. Nicholas-Chocolate Coins*Focus of Christmas-Santa Kneeling at Baby Jesus OrnamentYule Log-Ho ho's*Befana-Gifts in Shoes (Santa puzzle ball, magic x-mas tree, cards)Jingle Bells-jingle bell hair tiesChristmas Cookies-sprinklesAngels-Angel pinsOrnaments-Go get ornamentsPickle Ornaments-Gift of Make Your own Fleece Blanket and PillowGive to the Needy-Read Silver PackagesChristmas Tree-mini Christmas TreesWhite Christmas-Snowflake window clings, instant snowWreaths-paint your own ceramic wreath ornament.Cards-stickers to make cards.St. Lucia-hot chocolate packets*Englishing tradition of mumming-Tickets to go see playMistletoe-Hershey kisses.

Scamander RRV.

Little Potato

March was a much more reflective month than it usually is. In the last eleven years, I've been dedicated to producing what seemed like week long festivals in honor of Ben's birthdays. Now he is eleven and big parties are being replaced by a special gift or overnight excursion. I can see that bittersweet look in his eyes as he watches his little boyhood slip through his fingertips. He still wants to want those experiences - the pageantry of balloons, a noisy crowd of kids, too many gifts and too many sweets. Tweenhood is all about going two steps forward and one step back on a daily basis.So what does this have to do with the East Village? I've been finding it difficult to write about the neighborhood for much of the same reasons. It's coming time to go. To leave the building I've known since my birth. I don't know that this will ever be my home again -- even though I will visit from time to time and will be in the neighborhood often.American culture tends to downplay the sanctity in a sense of place. Our economy wants us to be mobile and our character is ever onward and upward. But love it or hate it, we all sprouted somewhere and it's in our blood. In many ways, I'm at peace with our next steps. The generations of family who walked these same streets have taught me all the things they thought I should know. They've given me their blessing and I see it every day in the spirit of my son.

Iran protesters defy rally ban

Hundreds of supporters of Iran's defeated candidate Hossein Mousavi rally against the presidential result, defying a ban.

A Tale of Two Kills Show, Live @ Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO, 4.22.09, & Live @ Webster Hall, NYC, 5.02.09

Live @ Webster Hall, NYC, 5.02.09Photos by Merry Swankster Once I arrived at the Fox and found a firm place to plant my feet, it didn't take more than a few minutes for me to wonder why the Kills weren't my favorite band. If not presently at least as an ex-fling. Scratchy, garage-bred guitars raised in electro back alleys are just my type. That they were as mean and ominous sounding as the sneer from the Kills' male half upped the ante on my sudden smittenness. Their sexed-up sound was like a racing infatuation high on even faster drugs. Music that begged to be played loud and reckless, like the two jerking torsos of the band members leaning on one another for support, quivering all the while with the intensity of partners in extended foreplay. It was perfectly suited for a dingy club in a sketchy dead-end in one of the Sohos of the world. While Boulder's sanitized university environment and college hipster crowd doesn't exactly fit the bill of a London or New York bohemian scene, like any perceived reality, it's all about how the senses discern. Getting down with the young drunk lovers indeed. For those unfamiliar with the Kills, or lacking basic concepts of fractional mathematics, the band is a duo - vocalist Alison "VV" Mosshart and guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. The latter might be more commonly known to tabloid followers as beau of Kate Moss, British supermodel, topless yachter, etc. VV's singing fits somewhere in between early Karen O's downtown punk inflection and a detached art-house snob (raised on a steady diet of filthy Classic Rock records, natch). Along with her statuesque presence, de rigueur rocker threads, and a long messy mane of brown hair doubling as facial curtains, she is the perfect archetype for dangerously unapproachable rock goddess. Dude doesn't exactly exude a warm and friendly vibe either. I can best describe him as I saw him - the most coked-out looking guy in the room. Though to be fair he was literally in the spotlight so my observation lacks empirical data to be considered scientific. The tunes were standard representations of their album work. Backed by tracked drums and assorted accompaniment, had the driving rhythms been extended beyond the song structures they'd be shoe-ins for a tranced-out electro act. Luckily that didn't happen. Our show time was cut short on the front end due to the fact we drove from Denver immediately after Franz Ferdinand and also on the back end after Ms. VV succumbed to the effects of Colorado's high altitude. It wasn't pretty, but with this group it's not supposed to be. Still completely worth it from my vantage point. In case you missed it, here are the deets on that story. JK: Following the Denver show's abrupt ending, their subsequent Manhattan gig was, if not triumphant, then at least complete. Yes, we got the "Screamin" Jay Hawkins' number "Spell On You" that the Boulder setlist had inaccurately predicted (a grinding noise-fuck version, no less). Seeing the band live, for the first time since their initial, mesmerizing string of New York shows, I'm struck by how committed the members are to their aesthetic. The temptation to flesh out the line-up with a live drummer or stray bassist must have been present since their first hints of success, but the band's performance is almost entirely based on the desperate interplay of two people. People who maybe aren't even all that good for each other (and I dunno, seeing Jamie Hince pull Allsion's hair mid-song was kind of uncomfortable, still) but can't help but drown out the rest of the world with blinding electro-personal magnetism. Understanding your strength as a band is one vital step that often trips up fledgling groups. I also mused, watching itchy/swoony tracks like "Last Day of Magic" or "Tape Song" that the Kills are both lucky and unlucky to have come up when they did, in a post-White Stripes landscape. Lucky, that people might give them a chance in the first place, unlucky that easy press comparisons might have doomed them from gaining a different audience. If Jack and Meg had exuded an ounce of the unkempt sexuality that the aforementioned songs do, their sibling feint would have been actually scandalous rather than merely eccentric. More CO pics, beyond...

Husqvarna' make.

home cleaner

Is it possible to be an animal lover and a meat eater?

I've been on some discussions lately where people have challenged me in my

beliefs...namely that I can even love an animal and still be a meat eater.
I personally don't think this is a conflict. I am a Christian and as one do

believe that the animals of the world are here for us...and that we are

stewards of this world. We need to be responsible...but that they can also be

considered food and clothing.
Now I know there are those that do not share my belief and I am perfectly

fine with that...even though I do not personally believe it....after

all...those little kittens that you are feeding are also eating

animals...from pet food companies.
So I ask you ....am I a hypocrite for believing this way or am I just doing

what God commanded when he kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden?

You Ask, I Answer:BHT/BHA

You Ask, I Answer:BHT/BHA
at：2009-05-12 22:46:41 Click: 0
I bought some gum today and the last items on the ingredient list are "BHT and BHA to preserve freshness."Do you have any idea what that is? It sounds freaky and "chemical"-y.-- Lori Echter[Location withheld]Chewing gum ingredient lists -- especially those of sugarfree gums -- are always fascinating. Artificial sweeteners and dyes abound! But, hey, at least they whiten your teeth, right?Since BHT and BHA are antioxidants (they prevent the oxidation of oils and fats), their presence increases the shelf life of gum and many other packaged foods.Yes, gum contains oils (in the form of glycerol, which impart a waxy texture).You are correct when you say that these two ingredients sound "chemical"-y. They ARE chemicals. BHT stands for butylated hydroxytoluene, while BHA is an acronym for butylated hydroxyanisole.Although the United States considers them safe to include in food processing, the European Union has banned BHA from all cosmetic products. BHT, meanwhile, is banned from the British food supply amidst reports of its carcinogenic risks and harmful renal effects.A significant problem here is not so much that the miniscule amounts of BHA or BHT in food are deadly, but rather that because so many people eat heavily processed diets, the amounts of BHA and BHT being consumed worry some researchers.For what it's worth, the Food & Drug Administration claims to be conducting "further research" on BHT (they have been saying this for at least a decade).Whenever possible, I suggest you purchase products that use natural antioxidants to preserve freshness (i.e. tocopherols, also known as vitamin E).

Different Day, Same Cow?

Would you ever eat the meat -- or drink the milk -- of a cloned cow?Heck, why am I even asking? You really have no choice!One of George W. Bush's last decisions as Commander-in-Chief included quietly passing legislation allowing the meat and milk of cloned animals to be sold to consumers without being labeled as such.The Food and Drug Association's argument is that since food from cloned cattle is no less healthy than that of "conventional" cattle, there is no need to differentiate between the two.In fact, some documentation quotes scientists as saying cloned meat can actually be better, since it often results in tender, juicier steaks (right, I am sure this was the driving force behind animal cloning).The main line of reasoning behind cloning is to provide more food to the American public.Really? The food industry is already supplying an average of 3,900 calories per person -- almost double the requirement for most people. Do we really need more food? And if we do, why is red meat the chosen one?The chances of you having consumed food from a cloned animal is low, as the number of them is currently too low to enter the food supply.However, don't expect any special announcements once this happens.Industry response to concerns from consumers? "If you don't feel comfortable eating food from a cloned animal, buy organic."Thoughts?

One. Long. Bus ride.

I feel like I am spending my life always looking for a sign that I am on the right track; making the right choice for what God wants me to do. I am constantly looking for clear signs, and I worry that I might misread them when they seem a bit muddy. Do you do ever feel like that?I have always and forever been a color-inside-the-lines kind of person, and so change is hard for me. (..it all goes back to trust) I like stability, for the most part. That is not to say that I am not a risk taker, but I am cautious. I am an over-thinker.The past two and half years have been a series of doors closing and opening, of do-overs and try-it-another-ways. I can look back and see the long, winding, meandering path I have been traveling that has taken me from that that first petrified moment of being suddenly single, to to the fork in the road of figuring out what new way I will find to earn a living after a job lay off, to where I am now, in the uncertain economy, wearing lots of different hats, not sure at all of anything. (Talk about insecure times- I'm not even sure where I should live.) Paralleled with this I can see all of the many ways I have grown- both personally and spiritually, and I am wondering if I have what it takes to make the right choice in the next decisions coming my way.You know, our perspective on how big of a risk something might be varies, depending on our age I think. What would seem like a no-brainer to someone at, say, 26, is a big deal at the age of 52. For example, I've realized that I am obsessed with the notion of having a job with paid benefits like healthcare and the security of a guaranteed paycheck (regardless of how tiny it might be, it is constant) which in turn, led me to my current job choice, and continuing to live in the biggest little city, as opposed to daringly following my passion of creating, writing, and entrepreneurship full time, possibly even doing so up in my beloved PTown. At 24, my choice might have been entirely different, although I am not quite sure.Does that make it a good choice? A bad choice? Everything we do is a decision made. Doing nothing is really doing something, if that makes any sense.I have several opportunities in front of me right now, some big and some small, but each of them would alter the path I am currently on in my life. There doesn't appear to be any clear sign (that I can see anyway) directing me on which path to take. Friends and family all have good advice and opinions to share and that makes the choices before me all the more difficult and unclear. All I know is that some choices on the list feel much riskier (er..more risky?) than to keep doin' what I'm doin' and that takes me way out of my comfort zone. I am not at all sure that I can hit the restart button for a third time and succeed.I keep saying that I know I am not the one driving the bus, I am to trust and not worry, but...well, it's just so much easier said than done. I long for my life to be easy again. I am guessing that I haven't let loose of the steering wheel all the way, and that's what the hold up is. Man, this is one long busride.

Scattered thoughts

For the month of January I have given Korey my Sundays. He has asked himself to get a LARGE quantity of work done by the end of January or at the very least before we leave for Spain on the 14th of February - nice Valentine's gift, eh?* So the way I could best support Korey and his studies this afternoon was to get me and Gabriel out of the house (so Korey could write uninterrupted by us) and tick some errands off the family to-do list at the same time. Trouble is, it is a cold and windy and rainy day out there. The kind of cold, windy, rainy day you get here in Ireland and in other damp places like the west coast of Canada. Gabriel and I must have been gone for a little over five hours. On foot. With a pram. Gabriel stayed dry because we have a fantastic rain guard for that pram, even if it is a little awkward and clumsy. I stayed dry from mid-thigh to neck because of that leather jacket I recently got for free from FreeCycle.org. But... I was ready for a warm cup of moccachino when I got in and took the first opportunity to put my feet up and read for 20 minutes - my daily fun for Wendy time.Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch AlbomMany of you probably read it in the late 90s when it was first published; come to think of it so did I. But... it was one of the gifts Korey gave me for Christmas this year. **Here's a bit of what I just finished reading, I'll go back far enough to give you a little background before we get to the part of the quote that seemed to jive with something I've been wanting to blog about anyway. Here we go:Meanwhile I looked for signs of the disease's progression. His fingers worked well enough to write with a pencil, or hold up his glasses, but he could not lift his arms much higher than his chest. He was spending less and less time in the kitchen or living room and more in his study, where he had a large reclining chair set up with pillows, blankets, and specially cut pieces of foam rubber that held his feet and gave support to his withered legs. He kept a bell near his side, and when his head needed adjusting or he had to "go to the commode," as he referred to it, he would shake the bell and Connie, Tony, Bertha, or Amy - his small army of home care workers - would come in. It wasn't always easy for him to lift the bell, and he got frustrated when he couldn't make it work. I asked Morrie if he felt sorry for himself."Sometimes, in the mornings," he said. "That's when I mourn. I feel around my body, I move my fingers and my hands - whatever I can still move - and I mourn what I've lost. I mourn the slow, insidious way in which I'm dying. But then I stopmourning."Just like that?"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life. On the people who are coming to see me. On the stories I'm going to hear. On you - if it's Tuesday. Because we're Tuesday people."I grinned. Tuesday people."Mitch I don't allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each morning, a few tears, and that's all."I thought about all the people I knew who spent many of their waking hours feeling sorry for themselves. How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self-pity.I remember a former vice-principal/colleague/friend telling me sometime in the autumn of 2003, "I give myself one day to feel down in the dumps and no more." AND... I remember thinking to myself, "Clearly she's never struggled with depression. You just can't do that with depression."The funny thing is, I'm beginning to think you can. Even with depression. Maybe especially with depression. You see, since March-ish 2006, I've been spending 20 minutes per day doing a daily brain-drain where I write down every single thought that comes to my mind with absolutely no emphasis on completing a thought or sentence or word - just stream of conscious writing. This is where I allow myself time to worry/fret/pity myself/celebrate/whatever emotions have come up between now and yesterday, for 20 minutes they have freedom to make their way into my brain and onto the paper in front of me. And I promptly shred what I've written as soon as the 20 minutes are over.There are two other times where I allow the negative thoughts to come if they want to. One, while I'm doing my daily twenty minutes of "fun for me" time or while I'm doing my weekly two hour block of "artist" activities. Which makes my life seem really regimented and scheduled but it really isn't. I have these three pre-requisites and the rest of life can be as fluid as we like.Now, funny me, I sometimes feel guilty for spending this amount of time on me. After all, I'm a mother, a wife, a friend... But if you do the math, it's not that selfish at all. In fact, even mathematically it might just be a very efficient use of time. 20 minutes of fun-for-me per day+ 20 minutes of journal or brain-drain per day+ 2 hours of artist time per week= 6 hours per week where I allow the past to teach me how to think, where I allow all emotions even self-pity or sh... hatred or other really ugly emotions. Allow is the operative word. These 6 hours don't necessarily revolve around the negative or the past, they just make room for it. These 6 hours are probably the most honest I get before God each week. They are really holy times in their own way.Back to the math. "Maths" if you're Irish. "Mathematics" works in both countries. Anyway, let's get back to it.24 hours per day x 7 days per week= 168 hours per week---168 hours per week - 6 hours per week where I allow the negative or past to enter in= 162 hours per week of living in the now, with a focus on the positive aspects of life.Now, who can argue with math like that?* Please note that I am still Canadian enough to end most sentences with "eh"!!! :-) I know I know I am becoming increasingly "Irish" or "European" sounding - it just can't be helped and besides it adds a nice flavour to my speech, doesn't it? And a not-so-funny funny for my non-Canadian readers: How do you spell Canada?C eh? N eh? D eh?And Korey's self-imposed "By-the-end-of-January" list or "Before-we-go-to-Spain" list as I remember it:prep and teach a one-day course (tomorrow)prep and teach three evening classescomplete and submit assignments 4, 5 and 6 of 6 for Empower (so that he can be a registered and qualified presenter in Ireland)present his PhD research to date to his post-graduate peers (they take turns doing PowerPoint presentations of where they're at followed by fielding questions)complete/write/edit/draft his thesis outline and the first chapter of his thesis so that he can do the "transfer up exam" (Even though his studies are moving towards a PhD, he has been officially registered as a Master's student to this point; the "transfer up" is a mandatory part of the PhD process.)do the "transfer up exam" (really a formal interview with two senior professors of the faculty, one of whom is his supervising professor)Now, that's a very long list, isn't it? No wonder I've offered him my Sundays - it's the least I could do. ** Aside number one: DON'T even think of feeling sorry for me for getting a book I'd already read. You should have seen my eyes light up when I saw it - it's a book well worth reading.Aside number two: We do a lot of our shopping - including gifts for each other - at charity shops; I think Korey might have paid one or two euro for a gift I love! Neat, eh?

Power

One night out gardening

I think this is the last week before we lose daylight saving time. It was nice to break the gardening drought and weed and mulch this evening. I weeded around my rhubarb and cleared the path leading up to the rhubarb. It is a brick path which the birds flicked mulch and compost onto and then the weeds took hold in the lovely growing medium. I think the bricks can come out and go somewhere where the lovely red can be enjoyed. We can replace the bricks with wood chip next time we get a big bag.I found a broccoli head!!!! Oh lovely lovely. I've had such mixed experiences with broccoli that I hadn't expected success. Broccoli for tea tomorrow then. I did weed and then put my comfrey brew on the younger broccoli plants and mulched them up with pea straw.Of course I killed a lot of caterpillars. I weeded around the hydrangea cuttings which I planted earlier this year. Then I laid the weeds around the plants as mulch. Of the four which I inspected, three have 'taken'. I think the fourth was the one which Favourite Handyman drove the lawn mower into.The radiccio is turning deep red instead of green! Yes I know this is what it is supposed to do but there was no sign for so long and now it looks completely gorgeous. I think it would be worth planting for its looks alone. Maybe it will feature in some whimsical potager in my future garden. I've read about creating magic garden spaces for children before and the idea does appeal. We have the beginnings of a tree hut to start us off so far...Sometimes I encounter people who turn my life upside down, or some part of it. There is an educational psychologist called Laughton King who is pressing all my wow buttons tonight. It is nothing to do with gardening, or anything I tend to blog about. But now I'm thinking about how some people think in pictures and what it means for them in a word-biased education system and I'm looking at my son and thinking about one thousand things and recognising so much in LK's book. Tomorrow I get to start [again] on really the biggest challenge to every morning: changing how we get our son to get dressed so I keep my cool for the first hours in each day. Nova if you are reading, I am very interested to know if you and/or Paul have encountered LK. As LK acknowledges, his stuff isn't particularly original, but it is so accessible. And it has walked into my life at just the powerful time.

How To Perform Self Hypnosis

Editors Note: This is a guest post by Jon Rhodes of HypnoBusters Blog. Hypnotherapy is a great tool for relaxation and relieving stress. It helps calm both the mind and body, giving a valuable ‘time out’. However it can be quite costly to hire a clinical hypnotherapist, and we may not always want one around when we want to de-stress. This is not a problem, as it is possible to do self hypnosis, and I will show you how. To begin with, you will need to make sure that you will not be disturbed for at least half and hour, preferably an hour. Turn off phones, and tell family and friends not to bother you. Find a comfortable place. Somewhere that is neat and tidy, and of a comfortable temperature. Subdue the lighting if this helps you. If you wish, you could light some candles and burn some incense. You can be seated, or led down – whichever you prefer. Importantly make sure that your legs are not crossed, as you could end up going numb after half an hour. Relaxation Close your eyes and take 10 slow deep breaths – in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Say to yourself the word ‘Relax’ on each out breath. Imagine yourself at the top of 10 steps, with a door at the bottom. With every slow step you take down, feel yourself becoming deeper and deeper relaxed. When you get to the bottom open the door to your ideal place of relaxation. It could be a beach, a garden, anywhere. It could be somewhere real, or imagined – your own uniquely special relaxing haven. Use as many senses as you can. Take a good look around. Pause and listen to any sounds. Perhaps you can hear the call of a bird, or the breeze gently blowing. Perhaps you can smell the sweet scent of flowers, or the salt in the sea? Touch objects, and make the experience as real as you possibly can. Explore your relaxing haven, and enjoy it for as long as you wish. This is a great technique to help relaxation, and your ability to relax will improve the more you do this. Most of us do not relax anywhere near enough, and this can damage our health in many ways. Lack of relaxation can weaken our immune systems, causing us to become more prone to illness. Inadequate relaxation may also increase irritability, anxiety, and unhappiness. These problems can affect our behaviour, increasing our likelihood to overeat, smoke, drink, takes drugs etc. Even if you just do this relaxation work, you will massively improve your overall health in almost every area. The Hypnotic State If you are struggling with this technique, then persevere. Getting into a hypnotic state is a skill that will improve over time. Don’t expect too much, hypnosis is not the ‘magical state’ that the media often portrays at as being. You will probably still be aware of what is going on around you, and may well think ‘is this it?’ However you will notice the difference when you wake up. It may be worthwhile visiting a clinical hypnotherapist, or buying a recording at least once, in order to experience the feeling of a trance. When you have experienced a trance a few times, you will be more informed as to what state of mind you are seeking. You will have experienced a hypnotic trance many times in your life. It is the state of mind where you are so engrossed in a book or film that you become lost in that world. It is that state of mind where you drive for miles without thinking, and you don’t realise how you managed to get to your destination. It is that state of mind where you stare into space, daydreaming about nothing in particular. Techniques for Specific Work You can also take this self hypnosis a little further if you wish. You can learn to give yourself specific therapy as you become more accomplished. Here are a few techniques you can use after you have reached number 5. What the mind imagines, it believes has really happened. If you imagine something bad happening to you, you will feel the emotions as if it is really happening. This can make the mind unhappy, as it will inwardly believe that these things have really happened to you. Success breeds success, so if you visualise yourself achieving something, then it will help you to do just that. You may wish to visualise yourself slimmer, healthier or wealthier for example. Or you may wish to visualise yourself having achieved something, such as a promotion or a new job. Make the image as real as you can, use as many of your senses as you can, and do this as often. You are only limited by your imagination. In fact you should notice that your creative powers increase the more that you use self hypnosis, as your mind becomes more accustomed to using its creative powers. Stick with it. What I sometimes find is that people will stop using hypnosis once they have made the necessary improvements that they wished to make. However this may eventually deny you the overall benefits of the increased relaxation, as things may slowly slip back to where they started. Set a specific time to do it, even if it is only once or twice a week, and stick to it. If you have specific issues that you wish to deal with, then increase this accordingly, perhaps every day for a few weeks. I hope me sharing this technique with you will help some of you to improve your mental and physical wellbeing, and realise what a safe and powerful tool for change hypnosis is. I genuinely want to help as many people as possible to live long, healthy and happy lives, and I hope this contributes in some way. Please feel free to contact me to share your success stories, or for further advice. About the Author Jon Rhodes is one of the UK’s leading clinical hypnotherapists. You can find free downloads at Free Hypnosis Treatment, and find more information on his online hypnosis sessions at HypnoBusters. Copyright UrbanMonk.Net

Do they share the food?

WFT！ Joey does'nt share the food.

Do you like it when it rains?

From where I am now, it's raining hard outside. I don't like it when it rains

this hard, it's difficult to travel and commute because some streets would be

flooded and I'd get soaked even when walking with an umbrella. I also don't

like it when it rains and I'm not in the comforts of my home. How about you,

what do you feel when it rains?

May 9, 1995

My dad loved the bagpipes. Beyond reason. My wife and I went to more than a few Military Tattoos with him.One of the first tapes he ever bought me was The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Amazing Grace. I wore it out, and was thrilled when a year ago I found it again on CD.He was in a hospital but on his feet when he died. As I lowered him to the bed my ear was over his mouth as he let out the death rattle. That will forever scramble your psyche.At his funeral my mom and I made sure we had a lone piper at the gravesite. The Piper played Amazing Grace and The Last Post.He died 14 years ago today.This one's for you, Pop.The Royal Scots Dragoon GuardsAmazing Grace

24: 3AM-4AM: Jack Gets CTU....Sort Of

3AM-4AM Jack is being treated for his seizure by the head of CDC. Jack is trying to tell her about Tony when Walker comes in. Jack is finally able to speak and gets out that Tony double crossed them and to get an APB out on him. Walker is shocked, but mostly because she realizes that Tony was the one who killed Moss. Tony however, is one step ahead and kills a couple of agents and steals their vehicle to get outside of the perimeter. Tony meets Galvez at a hotel and wants the canister. Galvez wants the money first. He gets it and then tosses Tony the bag. But Tony finds a phone book instead and when he turns Galvez has a gun on him. Tony of course gets the upper hand by a carefully placed flinging of the phone book and kills Galvez. Tony finds the canister in the vent and waits for Cara to arrive. Cara wants to hand over the canister to the "the people" so that they can make more, but Tony thinks it would be a bad idea to wait 6 months for another attack. They need to do so now, when the country is already down. Tim Woods is meeting with the President and filling her in on Hodges attempt to kill himself when they get the call from Jack and Walker. Jack apologizes for believing in Tony and making her do the same. Taylor tells Jack that she may have a lead from Hodges as he told her that he was just a small part of something bigger. Jack of course wants to question him, and Taylor tells him that torture is not on the agenda for the day. Jack says that he won't lay a hand on him that he won't have to. They will give him something that he wants and that is proof of death. Jack knows his family was threatened and that is why Hodges tried to kill himself. Hodges will give them the info they need to go into witness protection. Olivia is pissed when she finds out her mother is making a deal with Hodges and wants to know how she could do so when Hodges killed her son. Olivia thinks he should be charged as an enemy combatant and tortured, but Taylor will hear none of it. Cara sets up a conference call on her computer with the group of people. She tells them that she wants to go ahead with an attack and that they have found a fall guy named Jibraan who is Arab immigrant. The group seems unsure that they can pull it off in a few hours, but Cara finally gets Wilson to weigh in and he convinces them that Hodges gave them an opportunity with his lunacy. The group votes to go ahead with an immediate attack. Tony kisses Cara to thank her. Jack meets with Hodges who is ranting that his family will be hurt. Jack presents Hodges the deal, but Hodges says that he doesn't know who the people actually are, because he never met them. He does tell Jack that they were planning an attack for early next year so that the American people could see that these private military contractors were needed and that they were giving some of the bio weapon to enemy countries and sleeper cells so that they could then be blamed for the attacks. Hodges tries to compare himself to Jack, but Jack tells him that they are nothing alike, that he was trying to protect his country, not protect government contracts. Jack threatens to call up the Post and pretends to do so to give the story that Hodges is still alive. But Hodges swears to Jack that he doesn't know any names. The thermal readings show that he isn't lying. Jack the Taylor agrees that the threat will be imminent and not a few months out. Jack needs the CTU servers re-commissioned so that they can get access to the terrorists who may have been funding this sort of mission. Taylor orders to have them brought into FBI. Jack knows that he needs someone who is familiar with CTU and can work fast so he calls up Chloe. She is glad to hear from him, but devastated when he tells her the news about Bill is true. She agrees to help and wakes up Morris. She tells him to get Prescott (their son) out of town because of the bio weapon threat, but that she has to stay and help Jack. Morris wants her to come with them, but she tells him to just get their son to safety. Jack and Walker brief some FBI agents on what they will be looking for and Janis puts up a fuss about working for CTU. Walker tells her to get over it. When Chloe arrives, Jack tells her the news about Tony. Chloe doesn't believe it at first, but Jack tells her the Tony that they once knew is gone and he makes her promise out loud that she is really willing to help and treat Tony as an enemy. Tony and Cara are waiting outside of Jibraans apartment. Inside he is cooking breakfast (up awfully early aren't they). Jibraan, as Cara explains, is 27, has an expired VISA, and no ties to any kind of extremist group though his parents was killed in some bombing in Pakistan. She tells Tony that his body will be left with the canister and they will fill in the rest of his "background". Jibraan tells his brother to be careful at work, because it's dangerous being Muslim with all that is going on. His brother Hamid dismisses him telling him that everyone at work thinks he is Puerto Rican. Two more unmarked cars approach and Tony and Cara get out and enter the apartment building. Aaron goes to Olivia's office to get the witness protection document. She tells Aaron that she cannot believe her mother would do this after what Hodges did to her son and her brother. Aaron offers his condolences and asks if there is anything he can do, and Olivia offhandedly tells him that he can kill Hodges. Olivia apologizes and then calls up her friend Martin Collier. She previously worked with the politician and remembers a time when he told her that there was no problem that couldn't be fixed or eliminated. Olivia reminds Collier of this remark and he agrees to meet her at the White House. At FBI Janis is busy bitching about how they are violating the Bill of Rights while Chloe tries to get work done. Jack comes over and lays into Janis telling her that if she doesn't want to be involved to leave, but that David Palmer had the server's re-commissioner so that they could be used. Chloe is confused. Why would Jack say Palmers name and now she wants to know what is wrong with Jack. Back at Jibraans apartment the lights go out. Jibraan goes to check the box and Tony's team rushes in. They take Hamid hostage and Jibraan as well when he walks in. Tony puts a gun to his head and tells him to do what he says and no one will get hurt. Doesn't Tony know that, that line is so cliché?

Red mini car