My kingdom for a flush

Is it time YET??

With New Year’s Eve barreling down upon us, I think this is a good time for a random list. (I love lists)

~I am on vacation this week. Sweet, sweet vacation. Better timing there could not be

~My Mom got us a Keurig coffee machine and we LOVE it. If you were to picture the perfect gift for my family right at this moment in time, that would be it. Everyone (including myself) has been enjoying numerous hot beverages. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, you name it, we drank it. The best selling point for me? No clean up of the coffee grounds. Love. It.

~This morning, I made a FAUX-LATTE with a Newman’s Bold Keurig coffee, microwave warmed milk and my favorite Starbucks sugar free vanilla syrup. Yum. MO.

~Plumbers. Can’t live with ‘em. Can’t flush without ‘em. We are having plumbing “issues” involving a clogged main line. OH JOY! We technically have running water, we just can’t use it. Again. Joy.  If there is anything that will make a whole family cranky is the inability to freely use the bathroom at any given time in day or night.

~So, yeah, the clog showed up, like an unwanted guest, around 6 pm last night, depositing it’s effects in the basement (Luckily we caught it fairly soon so it was not a disaster of epic proportions) (We caught it on “Frozen Pipe Watch” because it is so North Pole cold. An igloo would most likely be our new home style with this kind of weather). For about 2 hours, we (ha, “WE”. Not we at all, ANDY) snaked the drain and fiddled and tried to move the unwanted guest along. To no avail. Clogged and clogged good. Old pipes will do that. New pipes will do that too but these pipes are senior citizens and then some.

Anyway, around 8 pm, we called a neighbor, who is a plumber. As luck would have it, he does not DO that kind of job. (I did not say GOOD luck, see?) but he gave us a name of someone who would do that kind of job. Great. A referral. We were feeling a bit cocky throwing the neighbor’s name around, thinking that would get us somewhere a bit faster. Yeah. No. It did nothing.

At 10 pm, not hearing from Mr. Referral Plumber (who most likely had the GALL to have a life when WE needed him so desperately!) I then called my place of employment, where plumbers are on the payroll. I figured that *I* could come through and have  Mr. Big Corporation Plumber That I Know Personally will come and save the day.

Yeah. No. Apparently *I* don’t have any pull either. Drat it all to hell.
We spent a long, flushless night waiting for the phone to ring. It did not ring. Until 8 am today. Mr Referral Plumber will be here at 10 am. Or so.

Fingers crossed please that we will be a modern, flushable home by 10:30. Today.

~Cold. It is so blasted cold

~I was reading my new book, my Christmas gift from Derek, Stephen King’s Under the Dome (which was sold out in many a book location this Christmas, good for YOU, Mr. King), 1088 pages. A hefty read to say the least!

Anyway, I was reading away, cozy and warm on the couch (praying that I would not have any intestinal worries all the evening) (Because of the non flush zone, yanno) and Mitchell the cat wanted on the lap. I moved the book, onehanded to the side to give him room to get comfy and I almost sprained a wrist. Cripes that book is HEAVY! A bit of weight training WHILE I read. Multi tasking at it’s best.

~Here we are on the doorstep of another year. They do have a habit of rushing by, don’t’ they? Remember 10 years ago, the turn of the millenium? The hype and hysteria that went along with it? The visions of planes falling from the sky and the electricity going out permanently?

~Well, that’s it for today. I could go on and on, I’m feeling especially chatty today. Must be all of the coffee beverages I’ve been consuming lately!

~Enjoy this day, stay healthy (poor Bethany is super sick with a horrible cold right now) and have a flush or 2 for me, will ya?

[Via http://mysubstitutesandysknittingblog.wordpress.com]

Personality Test^^

Just did my personality test! Hahas.. So have you done yours? I’m pretty sure this test can help you out in understanding yourself better and maybe guide you in your choice of career in future

Click here to take the test. [note: Just to let you know you'll need to register to take the test.]

Here’s my results:

[Via http://ichocopun.wordpress.com]

Saturnalia does something unspeakable with Uranus.

This was my first Xmas in Australia and I honetly did not know what to expect; even if Lizzie had tried to explain it to me. I probably had problems understanding it as Xmas, or Yule, is so deep root in my own culture it might make it difficult for me to understand something that can be extremely different.

As I am used to celebrating Xmas on the 24th I found it difficult to grasp that here the 24th is just a normal day. Lizzie told me so, making me scratch my head and almost looking at her in disbelief; but when we arrived at her parents I realised that the 24th was actually just a regular boring day.
This might be an individual thing, but I also noticed that typical Xmas(Yule) snacks and food were missing. The closes thing to a Yule snack was my rice chocolate (rischoklad).

As they do not celebrate Xmas on the 24th, they do so on the 25th; which is a bit odd to me.
We woke up on the 25th, unpacked our presents like a wild pack of dingoes. It was more or less everyone for themselves; grabbing the gifts with your name on it and tearing off the wrapping as quick as possible.
That was followed by, to me, a pretty normal breakfast. After that you did nothing, other than maybe play around with your gifts and just be more lazy than your were on the 24th. Later in the evening you have some kind of dinner; anything goes, so nothing I know from my own Yuletide celebration.
That is more or less Xmas in Australia; or at least how I experienced it.

It was nice spending time with the family and the gifts I got were awesome, but the Yule feeling was not there at all. It was not just the lack off snow, because I have not experienced so many snowy winters the last years; but more the lack of Yule spirit and tradition.
It gladly made me appreciate my own Yule tradition even more.
Hopefully we will be back in Scandinavia next Yule.

The last days with Lizzie had been great. We have been relaxing and relaxed; just doing what we want and not having to worry about anything.
Tonight I do feel that those days might be coming to an end. I need to contact people in Sweden as I am planning to study by distance, from Australia in Sweden. Hopefully this works out better than the study here in Australia. I also need to go back to looking for work; but lucky me, I have no clue what kind of work. Can I work full-time, part-time or just casual?

Only thing I know for sure is that 2010 will start off pretty rough and with great uncertainty.

Note: This is a really crappy post, but I am posting it just as evidence that I am still alive. I am only pleased with the name; which I am not sure it deserves.

[Via http://randomoid.com]

compliments

aren’t compliments the best?  i love it when my husband compliments my cooking.  it makes me feel good and makes me want to cook more.  maybe the food sucks and he’s lying but i wouldn’t know.  i just know i still want to make more stuff.  it’s just a good, makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside feeling.  i’m happy to be able to cook for my family and know that it taste really good.

funny, today i was making a salty beef dish and even i was like woah…this smells just like it!  i still shock myself.

i’m just happy right now.

cooking tip #4

i wish i took a picture to display but unfortunately, i threw it away before i remembered to take a picture.

so the tip, purchase a good sturdy chef’s knife.  you’ll use it a lot and it needs to be strong.  mine was a cheap $8 knife and it bent when i tried to cut through a frozen fish.  it was the craziest thing ever!  the knife bent!  like the bottom of the knife bent in a fold.  i dunno, too hard to explain it but really crazy.

i hope everyone had a happy holiday season!!!

more photo’s of more yummies!

beef slices with green onion salad wrapped in red leaf lettuce!

green onion salad

cod porridge

bean sprouts

spinach

jangjorim

bibimbap

soon dobu – tofu soup with beef, veges & mixed seafood

[Via http://kwonsies.wordpress.com]

giant's wife, cont.

The day’s ride towards General Putwet’s camp seemed very much to be the calm before the storm. Most of them generally ignored her and she found herself riding alone. Commander Borut favored either riding alone or to discuss millitary buisness with his officers while he rode. And though she occasionally saw Adela, the womaan regarded her now with hostility and resentment so approuching her would be impossible….

[Via http://alwaysawriter.wordpress.com]

Sings to the joy

MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!!! XD

How is everyone christmas going? Fine?

Well, had dark chocalate log cake yesterday…

Yummy!!♥

Nice log cake, isn’t it? =D

Well, it is my first post in wordpress here.

Hope everyone enjoy their reading about this blog. =)

Emily

[Via http://bubblezdotz.wordpress.com]

The Benifits of Being Silent

If people want to get in contact with you, care about you, want to hear what you have to say, or are even mildly interested in you or what you have to say – there are advantages to being silent.

People might get worried about you. Your silence will raise questions. Where did he go? Why isn’t she saying anything? Something must be wrong because he usually never shuts up. This kind of worry can work to your benefit. Aside from sympathy, worry can lead to a heightened sense of awareness which can lead to anticipation. The next thing you visibly say or do after a period of silence will get more attention.

It is also possible that people will think you are simply deep in thought. For some reason silent people are considered deep. For instance, monks who have taken vows of silence and movie characters who do not say much are considered deep. Whenever one of these silent people speak it is always perceived that they will say something earth shattering or life changing. In reality these people are probably just out of things to say, but the perception surrounding people who are intentionally silent can work to your advantage.

Maybe people will just think you are mentally sub-normal and therefore will treat you nicer or make things easier for you.

Of course, the most likely thing to happen is that people will just be pissed at the fact that you seem to be ignoring them or haven’t made contact in a while.

On a side note: I am afraid that some people can text faster than I can type. This scares me. I type a lot.

[Via http://mmstr.wordpress.com]

Snow in Ireland....

[Via http://allsortsofthings.wordpress.com]

The shortest day.

Happy Winter Solstice!  Sunrise was at 1010, and sunset will be at 1547.  So, about 5.5 hours of sunlight.  The sun just hangs right over the horizon all day, never fully rising in the sky.  The funny thing is, I haven’t really felt like I’ve been in the dark lately.  I guess I’ve just adapted well.  The only time I really notice it is when I sleep in.  If the sun is up when I open my eyes, then it’s time for lunch, not breakfast!

So… now the days start getting longer.  I have to admit, I’m looking forward to summer.  I want to see the ‘Midnight Sun’!

[Via http://lifeofleigh.wordpress.com]

AK Anne Klein Women's Fabio Thong Sandal

AK Anne Klein Women’s Fabio Thong Sandal Reviews

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[Via http://shoecarnivalshoes.wordpress.com]

I can't believe...

• that yesterday I went to see my family in Fernandina Beach and got rear-ended at red light by some crazy lady texting while driving…
• that I had to go to TWO different hospitals last night because I had a persistent headache and nausea after the accident.
• that I ended up having to get a CT scan just to know if I could go to sleep or not because I was convinced that I had the “talk and Die” syndrome.
• that Brittney Murphy died today at 10am in LA.  She was only 32…so sad.
• that there is a really good possibility that in about nine months we could have two babies instead of one :O)
• that I still have so much sewing to do.
• that I could watch re-runs of The Nanny and Rosanne over and over and over LOL!
• how much I love our new Xbox and Lego.Indiana.Jones game!
• how much I missed the taste of Chips Ahoy and Mountain Dew.

We will probably be testing in the next couple of days although she is not due yet I think we are about 12/13 DPO.  Wish us luck!

[Via http://fruitlooped.wordpress.com]

Vacation all I ever wanted...

Vacation had to get away
Vacation…

Today was my last day of school! I am now officially on christmas break until january 4th! So am I going to do with all of my new found free time? Besides college applications, catching up on my google reader and trying out a stock pile of new recipes im going to fill out this survey. You all know how much I love them!

Survey Time!

Have you started your Christmas shopping? Yes of course, im almost done though. Just a few little odds and end to pick up.

Tell me about one of your special traditions. Ever since I was young I have put out milk and cookies for santa – and he has always left me a little extra present. (Perhaps this year I will put out some of Katie’s raw gingerbread men! They are so delish )

Are you a Black Friday Shopper? Oh yea. 

When do you put up your Tree? A week or two after thanksgiving.

Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home? Stay home! I always go to my grandma’s house on christmas day for a huge family gathering. If I could travel though, I would go somewhere warm. 

What is your funniest Christmas memory? My uncle and I did trick christmas presents for a while, and one year he totally forgot to put my teeny present in this huge box that he had. Everyone was so confused because it was just an empty box! 

What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time? A Christmas Story, or Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.

Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat? Yes I do! I don’t really have a favorite treat, but this year I am baking more for sure. My treats include two old family recipes which I’ve veganized. Welsh tea biscuits and a recipe for chocolate cake that came over from Wales with my great great great grandmother!

Fake or Real Tree? Fake. Thats all I’ve known, never had a real tree. Someday though I would like to have a real tree. I imagine that they are beautiful and smell great.

What day does the actual panic set in to get everything all done? No panic really. I like to stay on top of things and get an early start with baking and cooking so I can relax on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? No, but im sure opening them!

 What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas? Sitting in a huge circle and all taking turns opening presents! I love watching everyone’s reactions.

What Christmas craft do you like the best? Hmm… christmas craft? Probably making christmas cards or baking cookies. Baking can totally be a craft if you decorate them!

Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song? Yes yes yes! I love christmas music and start listening to it usually the day after Thanksgiving which annoys everyone. One of my favorites is All I want for christmas is you by Mirah Carrey and good old charlie brown.

When do you plan to finish all your shopping? Hopefully this week.

I’m so relieved that I made it to winter break. I am looking forward to relaxing. I have tomorrow off from work, so for the first time in a long while I will have a free saturday! Its going to be so strange. And on sunday I’m having lunch with a really close friend… and we might be making a possible excursion to my all time favorite restaurant. (As if you need reminding on what it is!)

Dont forget to check out Fantastic Foods products and leave a comment here on which products you would like me to review.

Michal ♥

[Via http://lilearthmuffin.wordpress.com]

Freedom, at last..

For 2 weeks at least. Well maybe a little less if you consider the assignments that is to be done and handed in at the end of these 2 weeks. Today’s pharma paper was.. quite okay I guess. Although when I first flipped it I went..’10? I only memorized 6!’. Yeah, I gave up about 4 marks for that part a of question 1. Oh well.

-

Kids these days are pampered aren’t they. Or so they are in my opinion. Why do I say that? I’ve no idea either. Just a feeling.

[Via http://theblackmemory.wordpress.com]

Queenstown

We’ve been in Queenstown for a few days now and we absolutely love it.  It’s small enough so that you can walk everywhere (or rather, we can walk into town from our flat) but large enough so that there is a ton of stuff to do.

Yesterday was busy.  In the morning, Tim did an acrobatic plane ride where you go in loops and upside down.  I skipped that one, I’ve got a tender belly when it comes to motion stuff.  After lunch we did Shotover Jet, which is a jetboat ride through the canyons.  We bought the photo pack, but my little travel laptop doesn’t have CD ROM so the pics will have to wait.  Suffice it to say, it was a total blast.  Fun and scary and heart pumping, I’d do it again in a heart beat.  Tim loved it of course.

Last night we both got tattoos.  Obviously.  And after a bowl of pasta at the apartment, it was off to bed. 

This morning we slept in and had an early lunch because the Queenstown Wine Tour bus came at noon to get us.  We visited four wineries and tasted a lot…a LOT of great wine.  We restrained ourselves, mostly because we have no more room in either of our wine fridge.  We did pick up a great barrel top, we have no idea how much it will cost to ship but it was so beautiful, we figured: why not? 

It’s early here, about 7 PM and we are in for the night.  We got some chicken to cook for dinner, so Tim will be busy doing that.  Ha.  Yeah right.

We have another two days before we head to Christchurch.  Tim is going to do a bungy jump and I’m going to find a hoodie if it kills me (who knew it would be so freaking hard?). 

We are still waiting to hear if the weather is good to go for Milford Sound tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I don’t think Tim will be able to get over coming all this way and not seeing it. 

We heard from some American’s that it’s cold in Chicago.  Stay warm!

[Via http://kiwisandkangaroos.wordpress.com]

Four degrees of sleeves

[Via http://lorisays.wordpress.com]

Just Another Set of 15" SSR's...

But not what you’d think!  These are some SERIOUS vintage race wheels.  Maybe from IMSA racing?  Anyone know?

WHAM!  I wish these beasts could fit under my fenders…  Mmmm…  Center locking wheels…

The rears…

I could flip the faces on my Reverse Meshes and it still wouldn’t have this deep of a lip.  I’ll still probably try to do it just for fun though.

[Via http://kyushakai.wordpress.com]

Quotes from my old website

*It wouldn’t hurt as much if you had died, but you willingly walked out of my life… that’s what kills me inside.

*Many times I’ve been alone, and many times I’ve cried, but anyway you’ll never know, the many ways I’ve tried…

*Don’t be fooled by a smile, Ignore that happy face, Cause deep down inside, is a completely different place

*Can you see what I see? No, I don’t think you can. This big black world that I live in, something you will never know about. The people I love see, the fake smile I wear every day not to hurt them. How much more can I take before I break?

*Everyday She wakes Up & Puts On a smile… just 2 Hide the pain she Feels inside

*Its crazy how strong the heart really is…someone can tear it to shreds…and yet every tiny piece can find the strength to love them still.

*I messed up once…I lost you once…I broke your heart but i tore mine to pieces

*You see her in the halls laughing and smiling, but you’ll never know that she cried herself to sleep that night…

*If emotional pain always changed into physical pain, I would be dead.

*Why did you say you’d be there I was alone… You lied I was stupid to think you’d care

*And all the fears you hold so dear will turn to whispers in your ear.

*If you love someone, you might get hurt…If you don’t love someone, you never know the joy of it…It’s a lose lose situation that everyone must suffer…Why?

*My world slowly turns to gray, I watch these clouds float over me, lost in eternal hell, waiting for my final dying day.

*I’m slowly fading, watch me fall; watch me hit the ground, in front of them all.
My presence is no longer here, its been gone for so many years, I shed these tears each night I go on, hoping I wont see the break of dawn

*Take a look, what do you see, a ghost in a corner, or is it me, you walk right by like you don’t even care, you must be blind to see that I’m not there…

*I’m not just sad for a little bit cause my boyfriend left me or someone died,
I always am, but because of my fake smile, you wont know how many tears I have cried.

*The night rain pours down on this lonely me with my back against the ally wall and a loaded gun in my hand
*I feel lost, left behind and betrayed. I trusted you, but then you broke my heart. So now all my hope has faded

*What’s better a lie that draws a smile? Or the truth that draws a tear?

*There are certain people who are not meant to fit in your life no matter how much you want them

*The wounds are open. My heart’s yet to heal. All of this pain it’s hard to tell what’s real.

*The most beautiful smiles are the ones that struggle through the tears.

*When I look into your eyes, theres nothing to see nothing but my mistakes looking back at me asking me why?

*You cannot begin to know where you’re going until you have left where you’ve been.

*I’m tried of trying, I’m tried of crying, I know I’ve been smiling… but I’m actually dying.

*Do you think it hurts much to die? It’s hurting so much to stay alive.

*No one is listening until you make a mistake.

*You can’t change who people are without destroying who they were.

*My heart’s been foolish, My mind’s been true, But following my mind is something I’m not used to.

*When you feel like everyone in the world has their backs turned on you. You have to rely on one person. “YOURSELF”.

*Sometimes growing up is like giving things up one at a time.

*You get one life, whatever you do with it, and whatever is done to you, you’ve got to face you can’t pretend it never happened.

*I will always love you but that doesn’t mean I’ll always like you.

*It’s the things that scare you are the most important worthwhile.

*Our eyes are placed in front because it’s more important to look ahead that to look back.

*Not all scars show, not all wounds heal, sometimes you can’t always see the pain someone feels.

*Everything is ok in the end and if its not ok than its not the end.

*Things change and you’ve got memories, seeing things you care about drifting away.

*Sometimes life will hand you situations where all you can do is put one foot infront of the other live moment to moment and breathe.

*The world is a place of sorrow and suffering caught in a spiral of death.

*Dear Mr.Self, why can’t I escape the pain, I run as fast as I can, But you run faster, I try to fly but you broke my wings, I try to believe but you broke my spirit, I don’t dream anymore cause you caused all this drop dead.

*Take my hand, and hold it tight, I’ll love you forever with the rest of my might, I don’t need to hurt you, but I needed to hurt myself, so my dying words with my dying breath I’ll forever love you, I’ll take your love with my death.

*Slowly slit my pale skin, to release the pain within getting weak, losing my breath, I’ve finally made my death.

*In every nightmare, there is an illusion. Not any illusion a bloody illusion of your death, A bloody illusion of me stealing your breath.

*With this razor I shall bleed out the last part of me that cares about you.

P.S. These are from Emo/Goth Days which don’t exist as much frequently… but some of em are pretty gud huh?!?

[Via http://sarautopia.wordpress.com]

Urban Landscape

Driving to breakfast on the east side this past Saturday I came across this abandoned lot. I often drive right on by photo opportunities and regret it later so I decided to stop and trespass through the already open fence. The first thing that caught my eye and the reason I actually stopped was this bizarre rebar structure. Someone had spray painted a portrait of Jim Morrison on a random piece of concrete clinging to one of it’s rusted arms. My friend described it best saying you could easily move it from it’s seedy east side location to the Vancouver Art Gallery and it would be considered some kind of masterpiece.

We walked around looking at all the randomness and made a few more photos.

And then we came across this scene. I have never seen anything like it. They were everywhere!, literally hundreds of used needles and crack pipes all in one 10 square foot location.

Oddly someone had taken the time to tidy up. Filling a bottle of “Ensure” with a half dozen syringes.

[Via http://jevanshead.wordpress.com]

Twilight confession.

This weekend I discovered the joy of reading Twilight! Yes yes laugh away, I am in my late twenties and I enjoy a piece of work meant for young-adults(which I most definitely am NOT). But hey, Twilight is more about deep emotions than adolescent love, the characters, though in their late teens, are mature enough to satisfy the mental needs of an adult reader…..HELL why am I explaining myself?

Well, with my young-adult days far far behind, I confess that I loved reading Twilight for the simplicity of language and for the way the characters are fresh and not stained by the ravages of time. I love the fact that I can read these books which are meant to be read with your head switched off and heart firmly in place. Don’t believe me? Go grab the book. Meanwhile, let me go get New Moon!

If you have read it, do let me know what you think about it, also how does the movie compare to the book?

[Via http://shilpadesh.wordpress.com]

masterpieces from paris

by susan….

While Jason was at his conference, today I took the unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most valuable artworks at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Arguably the most impressive collection of French art to ever come to Australia (and apparently ever to leave France), Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and beyond is a collection of post-impressionism artworks on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The exhibition only started 10 days ago (and shows until April 2010), so it was extremely good timing to be in Canberra at this time! It was just extraordinary to see such famous paintings in person, such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Bedroom at Arles and Imperial Crown Fritillaries in a Copper Vase, as well as Monet’s Waterlily pond, green harmony. I remember studying these pieces in art class at high school, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them in person! And at only $25 for admission, it was well worth the visit!
I was also impressed with the gallery’s other collections (all free entry), with some famous artworks such as Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles and a few Andy Warhols. I had a very cultural morning indeed!

[Via http://jasonfest.wordpress.com]

You can fly, you can - uh-oh

I tried to fly Wednesday morning… I would say that it was like in Peter Pan, and I thought a happy thought and floated off of the ground… you know the song… but alas, I ended up more something like this:

I was in a hurry (something that with my reputation for clumsiness, I should never allow myself to be) and was going to “run” upstairs to grab something I forgot.  That was not a good idea.  I got to about the third step and slipped, crashing down into the stairs, bashing my right knee and my left forearm. Of course, my right knee is the one that I have ALREADY been having problems with… sheesh.  When I told my husband later that day, he said, “Well, maybe it fixed the problem??” I’m not holding my breath.

So where did that leave me?  Well, writhing in pain for a while until I could call into work and let them know I would be late because I had an ‘accident’ at home.  They never did ask me what happen when I got in, although I ended up telling at least one of my coworkers.  I had to whine a little bit, it hurts!

Gravity: 1  Julie: 0

We will meet another day gravity… another day.

Until then, I’m rather sore and bruised… but all things considered it could have been a LOT worse, and I’m very thankful it wasn’t.

[Via http://dreamerbynight.wordpress.com]

Do these stripes make me look fat?

I’ve always heard that stripes make you look bigger, but I’m not sure that is the case this time. My youngest daughter requested that I paint a zebra for her and she picked this view. It’s a 11 x 14″ on hot press board with acrylics. I finished about half of it last night  and she seemed to be pleased so far. Again everyone have a wonderful holiday and Merry Christmas!

[Via http://asmalltowndad.wordpress.com]

The Question

There has been one question that the LORD has put in my mind lately that I’ve been wrestling with and have been challenged by.

“If I was a non-Christian, would anyone I know share the gospel with me?”

In other words, do I have friends who are committed to Jesus and his mission of preaching the gospel and making disciples, who are filled with the Holy Spirit and his ceaseless passion to see lost people be saved? Do I have friends who are bold, not living in timidity? Do I have friends who would risk feeling awkward around me, and possibly being shunned by my response to their preaching?
(The questions are rhetorical, obviously.. Praise God because I believe I do have friends who would preach to me. The questions are more so directed at myself to feel, again for a brief moment, the despair I had when I was not in Christ.)

I think you get the point.

God has been wrecking me with his gospel and my need to carry it with me always–freely and boldly sharing it with any inquirers, risking the respect from people who I hold ever so dear–for his glory.

“LORD, remove from me my idol of caring too much about what others think of me and not enough about what you think of me.”

[Via http://mwheeland.wordpress.com]

Three trees

I have promised to my imaginary friend that I will say some words about the trees bellow. No reason for this, just fun and paranoia.
Nothing special about these three musketrees. I just fixed them for the future, if the gas will become too expensive.

Tree #1

Tree #2

Tree #3

 

(c) marius09.wordpress.com

  Paparazzi diary
Bergen, Norway.
Klokka halv tolve.Jeg slapper av fordi jeg liker det. Lunsj er min favorit tid for å tenke at vinter kommer snart…
Hummm…. I have to apologize for this one. Really.
(c) 2009 marius09.wordpress.com

[Via http://marius09.wordpress.com]

Sharia fail. Dubai World loses New York hotel

Those greedy sharia financier’s. No profit, no zakat. Next default Miami, then Vegas?

NEW YORK AP – Dubai World’s investment arm, Istithmar, lost ownership of the W Union Square New York hotel in a foreclosure auction Tuesday. One of the hotel's interim lenders, a private equity firm called LEM Mezzanine, acquired the 270-room hotel for $2 million, according to Dow Jones. The sale was another financial blow to Istithmar, which acquired the hotel in October 2006 for $285 million, according to Real Capital Analytics, a data tracking firm.Calls to Dubai World and LEM Mezzanine were not immediately returned. LEM said in a statement it plans to continue to operate the hotel and hopes to “take full advantage of any market recovery.”

The W was not the only Dubai World hotel in trouble. The Fontainebleau in Miami Beach is also in financial straits. The property’s $660 million loan was due in August. Contractors also claim the owner of the historic hotel owes them $60 million.

via Dubai World loses control of New York hotel.

Creeping Capitalism?

[Via http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com]

Why I love South Africa (By Ian Macdonald)

I love her for the perfection of her days
The crisp Karoo morning
The Joburg winter noon
The late summer Cape Town sunset
The star-filled Free State night

I love her for her people
For our warm smiles
For our resilience
For our I-am-because-we-are

I love her because she delights my senses
Highveld thunderbolts
Jacarandas in bloom
Sunday braais
African sun
Icy sea

I love her raw power, her intensity, her strength

I love her because of how she makes me feel
Sometimes angry, sometimes joyous
Sometimes fearful, sometimes love-filled
Sometimes frustrated, sometimes hopeful
Always alive

I love her because she intrigues me
And challenges me
The Chinese have a curse: “May you live in interesting times”
I see it as a blessing

I love her because she helps me keep things in perspective
By reminding me how privileged I am
Every day

I love her for being a microcosm of the world
A world in one country
For what we can teach the world
About compromise
And sharing
And forgiveness
And tolerance
And hope

I love her because she’s imperfect
And full of opportunity
And potential unfulfilled

I love her because she has come so far
And has so much further to go
And whether we ever get there
Will all depend on us

I love her because she’s been so good to me
And she inspires me to return the favour

I love her because she’s my country
No matter what
I love her because she’s my home
And where my soul is at rest

[Via http://thepittfamily.wordpress.com]