Showing posts with label info. Show all posts
Showing posts with label info. Show all posts

Saturday, October 12, 2013

[addicted!]



I'm so addicted to TED talks. So many interesting speakers and you learn so much. I highly recommend that you check it out if you haven't already.
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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

{baby news!}

(image via google image search)
we are interrupting the vacation report to bring you tidings of...
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(no i'm not preggo!! :D)
...the most popular baby names in 2009.
thank goodness sienna isn't on the list. i like unique. :)
which ones are your favorites?
i like many of them but i chose just a few "me really likey" ones. i highlighted them pink or light blue.
if you're interested in any of the names, click on it and magic will happen.
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Thursday, July 23, 2009

{grrrrh!}

(image via google image search)
Stinking telemarketers who call million times (ok, maybe 10-15 is more truthful but still) even when you have asked them many times before not to call you. Today this same company (that keeps on calling and calling and calling, they must run on Duracel batteries) called us this morning (I was not very nice to them this time, I've had it!) and AGAIN TONIGHT!!! What does it take?! I've told them we're on the DO NOT CALL LIST, I've told them politely not to call, I've told them not very politely not to call. I finally got their phone number and made a complaint to the do not call list. I should have done that long time ago. Hope this works. Wish you could send a stink bomb through phone lines. I can handle when they call once but come on - repeatedly. So ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrh! :(
I'd do the "Andy Rooney" but these guys just hang up. Andy Rooney from the tv show 60 minutes shared some good tips how to get rid of telemarketers etc. He said to say to the telemarketer "Sure, I'll talk to you. Hold on just one second..." Then you put the phone down and wait for them to realize you're not going to talk to them (beep) and hang up. I've done it quite many times and I love it. :) He also shared a tip about all the unwanted mail you get. If you get something with a return envelope (postage paid) you just fill it up with all the unwanted mail you get and send it back. I've never done that as mail doesn't bother me like telemarketers do.

To sign up for the national DO NOT CALL list:
We've always kept our phone simple but maybe it's finally time for that call display option. It'll still be annoying though. Maybe I just have to get in the habit of not answering the phone and tell those close to me to leave a message and I'll call them back. We'll see if this complaint thing works. If they dare to call again... :(
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Monday, April 20, 2009

{please read this posting and spread the info}

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This is one of the hardest but the most important postings I've done so far. Please read even though the topic is a very difficult one. It is very important that we all know about this.
I turned on the tv earlier tonight. The Oprah show (www.oprah.com) was on and I thought I'd watch it for a bit. I almost turned the tv off when I realized what the topic of the show was. I am a very sensitive person who gets dramatized easily. But I could not turn the tv off. The episode was about child pornography/pedofiles. I watched it for about 20 minutes. Enough to leave me highly disturbed. I feel like crying, screaming, not wanting to live in this sometimes very SICK & EVIL world, hoping that the Millenium would come RIGHT NOW (for those of you who know what that means). I feel sick to my stomach and feel that I should throw up.
How I wish I didn't have to know about issues like this.
I'm sure we all know about this topic. But I realized while watching this show that it's something that should be talked about more and I also realized that I don't know enough. But even more important - more needs to be done to protect our children.
This is not just about naked pictures of children. This is about the worst kind of sex acts done to children. Even very young children. This is about how widespread this epidemic is. Much worse than any of us can even imagine!
I have left the worst parts out of this article which I will share now. I just can't "speak loud" the words that describe some of the things that are being done to precious children all over the world. The entire article can be found here:
You need to read this even though it's painful to read! I didn't realize that our children are in danger of becoming pedofiles. Our children! You need to read this!
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…It's estimated that more than 5 million pornographic pictures and videos of children are circulated on the Internet every day…
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To help Americans understand the severity of the problem, Lisa Ling travels to Milton, Florida, to document the arrest of a suspected child pornographer…
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When Lisa arrives at the office's CyberCrime Unit, she meets Chief Chuck McMullen, the man leading this operation.Chuck tells Lisa that the person they're after has been downloading and transmitting vile images of children being violently sexually abused."He's a higher-than-average user or possessor of child pornography," Chuck says. In just three weeks, police officers say they tracked more than 50 graphic images of child pornography to his home computer.
Though this bust is a step in the right direction, investigators say it won't even scratch the surface of this problem. Currently, the CyberCrime Unit is tracking thousands of cases in Florida alone…
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Maureen Horkan, director of the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, arrives on the scene and tells Lisa that pornography was being downloaded on a computer inside the home when the officers arrived."We have flat-out child pornography," she says. "[It's] child pornography that includes sexual conduct. Sexual conduct means penetration, means rape of children, means bondage with children. … It can be some of the most horrific stuff."After further investigation, the officers name the homeowners' 18-year-old son, a high school student, as their prime suspect. Officers pull him out of school and bring him home for questioning.
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After searching the home, a forensic analyst tells Lisa they discovered several pornographic video files and homemade CDs containing graphic content in the teen's bedroom. They also confiscated four computers and multiple hard drives."These images show the rape and sexual torture of children in all varying stages," Chuck says. "I want the public to understand that these aren't just pictures."The 18-year-old was arrested, but the next day, he was released on bond. He pled not guilty to multiple child pornography charges…
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Chuck says the suspect's parents were shocked by their son's arrest. "They were amazed because the search warrant says words like 'child pornography' and 'digital images,' and they didn't have any idea, because they knew they weren't involved in that," he says. "Then, once we told them that it was their son, they were very saddened, as any parent would be."Like most parents, Chuck says they want to protect their son, but they're also concerned about other children living in their home. "They have mixed emotions, obviously," he says. "They have other children in the house they also have to protect, so that puts them in a very difficult position."
What do parents need to know to keep their children safe? First, Maureen says moms and dads need to be aware of how much volume is out there and understand what their children are doing on their computers…
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"I think the more knowledge we have about what's going on with predators and our children, the more we are prepared to take action against them," Oprah says.
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Maureen Horkan, director of Florida's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, shares a letter of caution for all parents.
The vast distribution of child pornography affects all of our children, in addition to the victims abused in the images. The huge volume of these sexual abuse images on the Internet affects normal everyday children because it is easily accessible by children in many of the normal computer activities they engage in every day.It is not difficult to find this material; you do not have to join a club or find a website. It is trafficked on free, Web-based software that most kids know all about and use regularly to find and download things like music and movies.Parents have to talk to their children about this material and the fact that is illegal and involves real children being abused. They need to ensure that we do not show up on their doorstep next with a search warrant.
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In the three years since we started this initiative, we have gone to many homes expecting to find an adult and ended up finding a child.The consequences for our children are huge, and in every case where we find a child looking at these images, the parents had no idea. It is very likely that children would come across this material, and you can only imagine what the impact of that could be on them if they are still in the developmental stages. Exposing children to this material normalizes sexuality with and between children.This destroys them in so many ways. It objectifies sexuality, it makes it common that children can be used for sex, it normalizes violent sex and it externalizes sexual activity so they do not have to give or be emotionally present to participate. All of that is in addition to the fact that it exposes them to sex at such a young age. Normal adults who might see these images by accident (assuming they do not already harbor latent pedophilia) would be sick and not stimulated by the content, but children in developmental stages that see/use this material could be affected by it forever.They may be confused, act out similar abuse, possibly go to jail and be a registered sex offender forever.
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How can anyone hurt children?!!! How is it that the guy who was arrested got released out on bond?!!! Why is it that pedofiles ever get out of jail?!!!! ("Sure" they are rehabilitated. Many of them are multiple offenders. They get out and do it again.) Why is it that we can't protect our children better?!!! Why do the offenders (too mild of a word for these EVIL, SICK people!!!) are given "a slap on the hand" and not put to death?!!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly. In my opinion, the worst crimes (premeditated murder, any heinous crimes against children...) should be punishable by death. Let them go and meet God and face His judgment after what they have done! If it's 100% sure they are guilty, then they do not deserve to live after what they have done. It is on each of our conscience if they go out and hurt a child again if we support the unsufficient laws/punishments for these crimes.
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The only reason why I don't go insane when I think of things like this, is because I know that good will win in the end. Evil people will get their punishment. One day we don't have to put up with things like this anymore. Oh how I look forward to that day!!
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"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Jesus Christ
(Matthew 18: 6)
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That scripture talks about someone who causes a child to loose faith or leads a child astray. The word "offend" comes from a Greek word which means "cause to stumble". Can you imagine then, how God feels about someone who hurts children heinously?
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Sunday, April 19, 2009

{what to read next?}

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Just finished reading the Work & the Glory book series (9 thick books) for the second time. Cried for joy as the imaginary Steed family reunited in the Salt Lake valley. Awesome, awesome books! If anyone is ever interested in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (= the mormons), then these are the books to read. They have made three movies of the book series too. Very fascinating. Very interesting. Me lovey, lovey, lovey!
Nauvoo, Illinois which our church members built after they were forced to leave their homes in Missouri, has always fascinated me. What an incredible story how out of a swamp a beautiful city was created. Out of poverty and persecution. I so want to go and visit Nauvoo one day.
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Now I need to figure out what to read next. The Twilight books for the third time perhaps? :D Does anyone have any good book suggestions? I'm interested in books that are uplifting/interesting/mysterious or tell some kind of great story (f.ex. a historical novel) and have no swearing/sex/gory violence/disturbing scenes in it.
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I think I'll share couple of fun, historical snippets of info from the W&G books.
First one is about "The New England Primer", a book that was used to teach children to read. It was first printed in the early 1700's. "It contained a hefty dose of prayers and pieties along with basic reading material... Many of the lessons, couched in verse to make them easier to memorize, were dour in their content and illustrated with pictures to match... For example, the letter F was taught with the rhyme, "The idle Fool is whipt at school," and a wicked-looking schoolmaster with a long switch proved the point. The Y entry suggested, that one ought to take one's happiness with a dose of gloom. Here a skeleton was shown arriving at a party of children."
Our school books have come a long way. :)
Another fun snippet of info was the reason for the word malaria.
"The shakes - or ague, as it was more commonly named - was something to be dreaded. So called because of the violent shaking that often occurred during the intermittent chills and fever, the sickness was found throughout the continent, but was especially prevalent in warmer climates and in areas which contained substantial wetlands. The fact that tiny protozoa which attacked the red blood cells and caused the debilitating infection were passed to humans from the bite of the female anopheles mosquito would not be discovered for another sixty years (closer to the end of 1800's). People attributed the ailment to the musty, foul-smelling odor caused by the rotting vegetation so common to swamps and marshes. Thus came its formal name - malaria - from two Italian words meaning, literally, "bad air".
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

{big changes}


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Halloween is approaching fast enough. I was browsing a bit and found this cute butterfly costume and table setting decorations from Pottery Barn Kids. Not that I'm ordering them but they're cute so I have to share. :)
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I love feather wreaths so of course I loved this picture from an old Country Living magazine. Where could I find orange feathers...?
I also love the white pumpkins. Martha Stewart showed them once with holes drilled in them with mini lights poking through the holes. So pretty! I should make a pumpkin like that but we'll see if I ever get around it. *roll eyes* :D
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I love this Hello Kitty Halloween garland craft. If you click on the picture, you'll get a bigger version of it that you can print. I think I'll attach these to a black ribbon with black brads and I thought of adding Sienna's yearly Halloween pictures in it as well. Fun! :)
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Max put Sienna's new bed together this morning. It happened so quickly. Next thing I know the crib was gone and a new bed there. I almost had tears in my eyes. Felt like I should have taken pictures of Sienna in her crib before it was gone for good. I realized I don't have that many pictures of Sienna sleeping in her first bed. So many good memories of that bed and of our cutie pie in it. How she'd hold on to the railing and jump up and down like crazy when I went to get her.
I kept holding on to the crib for couple of reasons (in case you're wondering why on earth she was still in her crib):
*The crib was huge. Not like the little ones in Finland. Sienna had tons of room to sleep in it.
*We didn't want to buy an "in between" bed. It seemed too early to get a full size bed before.
*Sienna never thought of climbing out of her crib so it was nice to know that she was in her crib, not wandering who knows where in the house when we were sleeping.
*sigh*
They grow so quickly.
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We got her new bed from Ikea (dark brown Malm bed, goes with the rest of the furniture in her room) and Jay realized that they forgot to tell him he needed to buy the wood slats separately for the bed. Grrh.
I also need to go and buy one of those mattress cover thingys in case of nightly accidents.
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Which reminds me of something I learned. Did you guys know that childrens' nightly bed wetting is due to a lack of certain enzyme in their body? When we get older, our bodies start to produce an enzyme that stops us from going pee when we sleep. Kids who wet the bed at night don't have that enzyme in their body yet. A simple prescription from a doctor can remedy the bedwetting if the child is quite old. If they're still young - just give it some time and their body will eventually produce the enzyme. Pretty neat stuff, eh. I didn't know it before.
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Jay is working such long hours this whole month. He won't come home before it's Sienna's bedtime so Sienna and I visit Jay at the store. I stay in the store and Jay can go to the park/for a walk with Sienna for a bit. Jay needs the break and Sienna sure needs to see her daddy.
It was kind of sad being at the store yesterday knowing that at the end of the month it won't be ours anymore. I didn't think I'd get so emotional but the store is our "baby". Jay especially has put tons of effort into our business and it is sad to hand it over to someone else. So mixed feelings as always about change in our lives.
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Something else has changed too: Sienna isn't napping anymore! Naptime and bedtime started to be a struggle so one day I asked Sienna why she wasn't napping. She said seriously: "I'm NOT tired!"
So no more naps. Gone. Finito. Kaputs. :)
In some ways it's great. We can go out at any time now and don't have to worry about the nap. And of course she's going to bed nice and fast now in the evening.
I do miss my quiet hour during the day though (Sienna never slept more than an hour and 20 minutes. I could pretty much set a timer for it, it was always the same). It was nice to have a bit of time to do whatever without worrying about her.
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Changes, changes... Isn't that what life is all about? It's all good.
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Suomalaiset blogiystavani - osaatteko kaikki enkkua tarpeeksi hyvin vai pitaisiko mun aina kirjoittaa suomeksi myos? Jotkut asiat haluan enkuksi mun enkunkielisten ystavien takia.
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Oh yeah... Talking about Halloween. Sienna and I went to Michaels crafts store yesterday and they had their Halloween stuff out. There was a life size ugly, scary Halloween thingy dude there that made the most creeping kind of sounds and talking when anyone walked by. Sienna was terrified. I told the cashier lady that maybe they shouldn't have things like that in the store as the little ones get too scared. She just quickly and snobbily said that it's the store policy and they can do nothing about it. Reminder to self: don't go near Michaels during Halloween season!
I have never, ever liked the really scary Halloween stuff. To many people Halloween needs to be creepy and scary. I'm more into the cute Halloween stuff. Pumpkins, fun dress up outfits, etc. Sure the big kids probably get a kick out of graves on people's yards etc but for little ones like our Sienna, it can give them nightmares and it's just too creepy. She did have nightmares yesterday by the way. She kept talking about the "dude" for a long time after we left the store and you could just tell how scared she was. Of course Sienna is a bit more sensitive than some kids but still. Come on, little kids don't need to see the creepy stuff. Silly stuff, sure. But let's not creep our little ones out, okay. Phleeeease.
I have never understood scary movies either by the way. I know lot of people love them but did you guys know that our subconscious minds don't know that the movies we see aren't real? That's why our heart rate goes up when we see a scary movie. Our body totally reacts like it's real. I don't think it's healthy personally but hey, if that's your thing, it's your thing. Not for me though, thank you very much. :)
Oh, and while I'm at it - :) - when I was a kid I used to be scared to death of many of the Disney fairytales. The witch in Snow White, asking the man to bring Snow White's heart to her... How scary she looked. I was terrified as a kid. Of course I didn't know to tell anyone but I sure didn't like stories like that.
Sienna is like that too. She doesn't like any mean characters in shows. We tried to show her a Disney movie once and had to stop after a few minutes as she got too scared.
This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Don't get me wrong - I love Disney and will take Sienna to Disneyland etc. Some day she might even be ok to watch some of the movies. But why do they have to make some of the characters so scary? Think of the lady in the 100 Dalmatians movie being mean to all those puppies... To be honest, I still don't enjoy those old Disney movies.
I'm totally into the 100% cute and happy stuff for kids. Since I was a sensitive kid myself (who am I kidding - I'm STILL sensitive! :)) and since I now have a sensitive kid. Of course problems in shows/stories are ok. As long as they work to solve the problem. But no scary/evil stuff please. Keep it out. They'll see enough bad stuff in their lives without having to start when they're young.
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There, my two cents on that topic. Feel free to disagree in your comments. It won't change my mind :) but discussion is always fun. :)
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

"zii-koon" energia juttuja


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Mother's Day is coming soon... These pictures are from my very first Mother's Day in May 2006. What a happy day! I had waited for this for so long.
Y
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If you're wondering why all these old pictures here on the blog lately, well, I have been using them for my scrapbooking project. I'm sure I'll be posting lots more of these "oldies".
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Took Sienna to see Doctor So today. He is a chinese chiropractor who I used to work for. He does energy work (I can't remember for the life of me how to spell the name of it) and can tell people's allergies without having to poke with needles. Sienna kept getting more allergy symtomps even though we haven't given her any wheat. Turns out she is also allergic to corn and brewer's yeast. Doctor So advised me to give lots of these vegetables to Sienna: cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, brussels sprout and kale. I guess they have indole-3 carbinol which cleans the liver and helps food allergies in other ways too. He also said to give her lots of potatoes, pineapple & papaya as well. Pineapple and papaya have enzymes that help break food. I guess when you have food allergies your body doesn't break the foods very well. Now I also remember how I can test any suspected foods myself. It's so easy. Anyone can do it. And it really works!!!!! I know because when I strated working for Doctor So I had just had regular allergy tests done and then he tested me (I didn't tell him I knew what my allergies were) and listed all the same allergies they had told me previously. If you are testing a child, you just hold your hand somewhere on the child (I had my hand on Sienna's shoulder), then you keep your arm straight and someone else puts the suspected food (or other allergy item) on the child (Doctor So put it on Sienna's other shoulder) and at the same time tries to lower your arm with the other hand. If the child is not allergic to that food, you will be able to resist the pushing down on your arm. If the child is allergic, then your arm will involuntarily drop down. The more it drops down, the more severe the allergy. This way you can test if any substance you use is bad for you. Try it with white sugar. Without exception, everyone shows a bad reaction to sugar. It's just not healthy for us. If you test an adult you just place the food on that person (near heart) and test their arm. I know this sounds "coocoo" but it really works. I really believe in this energy stuff because I have seen it work so well. Doctor So is highly trained in this and can tell other problems in your body by testing you in various ways. I even took a one day course with him while I worked with him and it was soooooo interesting to see all the things you can do with this energy stuff. Anyways, I think I mentioned all this before but I just wanted to again in case someone reads this who might be interested in it. (Suomeksi tata energia juttua lausutaan "zii-koon".)
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Voi etta mun pitaisi jaksaa aina kirjoittaa suomeksi myos mutta kun tuntuu etten jaksa selittaa aina kaikkea kahdesti. Kunhan scrapbooking kiireet hellittavat niin sitten on taas enemman aikaa ja karsivallisyytta. Pitaa jotenkin pitaa tata mun suomenkielta ylla edes. Josta tuli mieleen... Oonpa onskuna silla mun vanhempi sisko tulee meille kesalla tyttonsa ja miehensa kanssa. Ihana etta edes joku minunkin perheesta vihdoinkin nakee Siennan ja Sienna nakee heidat. Odotan kovin innolla!
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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

spread the love

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I got one of these from Marita who is a Finnish muslim mommy living in Tunisia. Thanks Marita! I'm honored.
Now I need to assign this award for 5 more blogs. It's always so hard to do this (that's why I normally don't do these award thingies) because you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by excluding them from your list. It's also hard to choose from the many wonderful blogs there are. So I had to think of a way to narrow down my choices. I thought that if I do "non Finnish" blogs then I'm least likely to offend anyone. So here are 5 "non Finnish" blogs I enjoy visiting:
*talia - Talia is a very talented scrapbooker who shares her ideas and talents on her blog. She also started "The Goodie Box" with her friend Kim. Because of Talia & Kim I actually made my very first official scrapbooking page. I like the challenges they give to their readers every month. It gets your imagination going as you try to come up with a layout that matches the challenge. And Talia is super special of course because she teaches Sienna in nursery. :)
*claudine hellmuth - Claudine Hellmuth is a collage artist whom I love for the simple fact that she has authored books in which she shows art techniques. I have two of her books and one of these days I will find enough courage to try my hand in art. For someone like me (an artist wannabe who never had a chance to study art) it has meant a lot to me that she is willing to share her techniques. Thanks Claudine!
*the pioneer woman - One of my new blog finds. I haven't had a chance to dive deep into her blog yet but what I have seen so far, I have loved. She has a great sense of humor and once again - she shares techniques and inspires me with her photos. Some people just like to show their art/crafts without sharing how they do what they do. It's great when some people are willing to share the techniques so that the rest of us can learn from them.
*orange you lucky! - Helen Dardik is an illustrator who's work is inspiring and makes me feel happy. Helen also likes to share "fun, fresh and beautiful things". Cute stuff! Feel good kind of a blog. Just the way I like it. :) I'm lucky that I found her blog. Now you can be too. :)
*minor details - I like this blog for two simple reasons: babies/kids & modern design. There is such a lack of modern baby/kids stuff where I live so sites like these show me the things I crave. Great place to find cool stuff for your little ones.
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There you have it. I feel that all of these blogs qualify for the "blogging with purpose" criteria. Fun stuff!
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ps. Who did everyone like in yesterday's American Idol? I liked Brooke, David A. and Kristy Lee. I was like "darn" when David Cook's song wasn't that great this time.
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ps. I have like "million" scrapbook page ideas now. I'm going nuts because I don't have million hours to make them all. Good nuts though. :) Creative juices are flowing. Gotta love it. I can tell that this scrapbooking thing is going to stick with me now. By the way, you don't need to scrapbook all your pictures. That used to intimidate me too. Then I realized that you can just scrapbook special pages or projects here and there. Just for fun.
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ps. Ok, what's with the "like"?!!! How did that get in this posting twice? (*roll eyes*)Like, I never like say it! (I really don't) (honestly!)
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ps. It's up to the awarded person if they want to keep this award going. I know it takes time to do these. I don't even always keep them going. If anyone else wants to give this award in their blog, please feel free to do so. It's fun to see who people recommend.
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Claudine Hellmuth visited my blog!
Claudine Hellmuth visited my blog!
:-D
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Saturday, March 29, 2008

be prepared!!


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I went to an awesome Relief Society (our church's women's organization) activity last night. It was called "chicken soup for the prepared soul". There were four rooms set up for one topic each: physical, emotional, spiritual and temporal preparedness. In each room we got part of the dinner. Taco soup & tortilla chips in one, veggies & dip in another, pizza in another and hot chocolate and dessert in the last one. I really loved the mini classes and felt so uplifted afterwards. Our church has taught people - for as long as I can remember and even longer - to save enough money, food, water and other needed supplies in case of an emergency. The temporal preparedness class focused on 72 hour emergency kit. The idea behind it is to have enough necessary supplies for 3 days for your family if you ever needed to evacuate your house in a hurry (in the event of fire, flood, tornado, ice storm, chemical spill, etc). Everyone in the family should have their own backpack packed and all ready to go (front closet is the perfect place for them). Backpacks leave hands free and make it easier to carry heavy loads. Bigger backpacks for bigger people, smaller ones for small ones (well, duh :-D). What to pack?
Water, unperishable foods (both should be rotated every 6 months or so for freshness, foods that don't require cooking is the best), flashlight & portable radio (preferably solar powered or one you can "crank"), candle, waterproof matches/lighter, plastic garbage bags, first aid kit, toiletry items (including toilet paper - remove the paper roll and put it in a ziplock bag - and feminine hygiene items and diapers if needed, they mentioned that those free sample packs you get in the mail are great for this purpose), change of clothes for everyone (remembering to prepare for the weather that is typical for your area), anything your baby/children might need (including some activity items to keep children calm - according to the age of your child/children), any important medications, blankets/emergency heat blanks/sleeping bags, copies of important documents (passports, ID cards, birth/marriage certificates, wills, insurance policies, etc - they mentioned that you might keep this in a hidden place that is easy to get to in case of an emergency, there's always danger for identity theft), some cash, candy/gum, a tent/any camping type of equipment might be good to have available as well. We were also reminded to always keep our car's gas tank half full of fuel so you can get out of harm's way if needs be (that one is hard to do, I think, as it means more trips to the gas station, but wouldn't you feel terrible if something happened and your gas tank was empty and no way to get gas, maybe you could store some gas in one of those containers, if you do make sure you do it in a safe manner). All this by the way makes a great family activity every once in awhile. Twice a year you could go through the kit together to make sure everything is ok. Good idea is also to talk about what could possibly happen and what you would do as a family in case of an emergency. They recommend that you have a meeting place outside your home (one in your neighborhood and one outside the city) in case you get separated. I just took a first aid course and it's a great idea to start teaching kids that are old enough some basic first aid skills as well.
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To some this might sound ridiculous but we have all seen the news and know that anything can happen and rescue help or aid might not reach you right away in case of an emergency. Being prepared will give you some peace of mind. If you never have to use this kit - GREAT! If you do - you will be so happy that you prepared.
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In the physical prepardness class (which I desparately needed as I have struggled in this area all my life, never learned to enjoy sports or physical activities) I learned something I'd like to share with you as well. I guess the best stomach exercise is to suck your tummy in and hold it there for 5 seconds, release and repeat (work your way up to 100 repetitions which sounds like A LOT to someone like me, I guess the idea is to do as many as you can atleast). Some reasons to exercise:
*more energy
*better quality of sleep
*better quality of life
*more alert
* reduce % of body fat
*decrease health problems
*increase lung efficiency
*increase size and strength of heart muscle
*decrease resting heart rate (I just found out mine is pretty high :( )
*increase brain function
*increase self esteem
*model healthy lifestyle for your child(ren)
*you feel good afterwards
*this is also a spiritual principle, helps your whole soul
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I'm sure we all know all this but I wanted to write it in here to remind ME.
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My friend Karly taught the mental preparedness class and her class was probably my favorite. She did so AWESOME (honestly Karly!!). The Spirit was so strong in that class. I think most of our eyes were a bit wet from tears. It was all about how to handle trials in life. We all sure have them. It's important to take care of our mental health as well. Trials are a part of life which knowledge itself helps us in the middle of them. Then we don't need to ask "why me?" etc. We just know that everyone has trials, it's part of life, we are to learn from them. Karly shared one of her big trials she has had to deal with and how going through that has blessed her. I'll share a few things from her list (I'm quite sure she won't mind):
*patience
*empathy (seriously, how else could we learn it!)
*learned that she is stronger than she thought
*more willing/prepared now to help others
* closer relationships with husband/family/etc.
*prepared her husband for his church calling (he is the bishop in our ward and has to deal with all the problems anyone might have)
*learned that Heavenly Father WAS mindful of her even during the hard times, received help from Him
*learned to love the scriptures even more as she found many quotes that helped her feel peace during her trial
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Karly also shared this quote that I liked:
"When we pluck the roses, we find we often cannot avoid the thorns which spring from the same stem." (James E. Faust)
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I really like this quote as well:
"Even flowers have to grow through dirt."
I found that quote in one of Dr Laura's books.
We sure learn lots from our trials. It's hard to go through them but we sure need them. I love to have my faith and the knowledge I have about the purpose of life. It helps me to know that THIS life is meant to be hard but the NEXT one will be amazing & glorious if we live our lives well.
Well, I went off a bit with all this but last night was just so uplifting. Can't help but keep thinking about all the stuff that was talked about. Had to share atleast some. :-)
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ps.
*Know how to shut off the water, gas and electricity in your home
*Remember to plan for your pets too (leashes, pet carriers, food...)
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4 friendly hellos

Friday, March 14, 2008

heipatko jo paivaunille?


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Carol Hummel's art.
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Eipa sen kummempaa... Sienna ei ole halunnut nukkua paivaunia joinakin paivina ja alan miettimaan etta lopettaako nyt muka jo paivaunet. Tanaan vasta neljalta tuli vasyksi. Annoin nukkua puoli tuntia silla en olisi jaksanut kitinaa ja itkua nukkumaan menoon asti.
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Olen lueskellut kirjaa Suomenlinnan historiasta. Hauska oppia paikasta jossa olen usein kaynyt ja joka on yksi lemppari paikka Helsingissa. Muutama tiedon palanen:
* Suomenlinna rakentaminen kesti noin 40 vuotta. Rakentaminen alkoi noin v.1750.
* Suomenlinnan rakensi sotilaat (yksi minun esi-isista oli yksi heista) ja vangitkin. Monet heista kuolivat surkeisiin olosuhteisiin ja liiasta tyomaarasta.
* Suomenlinna kirkko oli ensin ortodoksi kirkko jossa oli viisi "sipuli" kupolia. Kun Suomenlinna vihdoin saatiin Suomalaisten haltuun (v. 1918) niin he poistivat kaiken Venajaan liittyvan eli muuttivat kirkon pelkistetyksi luterilaiseksi kirkoksi.
* Suomenlinnan syreeni puut levisivat mantereelle kun ihmiset toivat oksia niista puun aluiksi. Aikoinaan tien varret olivat vierustettu syreenipuilla (venajalaiset istuttivat ne) mutta ne myohemmin poistettiin jotta linnoitus nakyisi paremmin.
* Kirkon kellojen kumina sunnuntaisin kaikui mantereelle asti. Hyvin kylmina talvi paivina kirkkoon komennettiin 600 miesta sinne seisomaan kolmeksi tunniksi jotta kirkko lampiaisi. Sitten vasta "better folk" tulivat kirkkoon.
* Kun kirkko muutettiin luterilaiseksi, torni tehtiin myos majakaksi. Nelja lyhytta valopilkahdusta tarkoitti "H" eli Helsinki.
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2 friendly hellos

Sunday, January 27, 2008

sansku osaa

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Learned something new today. :)
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Jay found a free photo editing program that does all kinds of cool stuff (including photo collages). It's called PhotoScape. Download your own program from here:
If you like this software, you can thank them by sending in a donation. This allows them to continue to develop and support this awesome software package.
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13 friendly hellos
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