For May Day

lunch

home again

just got home from san francisco. what a great trip. I was out there with the jons (jon black and jon becker) visiting our digerness friends, and doing some music for a conference with city church in santa cruz. the trip was complete - music with friends, late night delayed flights, long nights and good talks (when I was able to keep my eyes open), a trip to the santa cruz boardwalk, a ride on the santa cruz roller coaster, amoeba records (where I acquired the entire nick drake catalogue), and a meal of cow tongue and pig stomach, which made jon becker somewhat toxic for the plane ride home.I shot film all weekend, so no photos from me yet. here are a few from the friends.tomorrow I hit the road with griffin. good times.

Today night

snacks

Gettin' Stuff Done

Thats right. Learnt. Sure, it hasnt made me rich yet, and probably wont, but Ive managed to hammer out two short scripts this weekend. Four and eight pages, respectively. Both a little darker than my usual work, but both I feel are respectable efforts. Will they get produced? Hopefully. At the very worst Ill produce/direct/star in them myself. Does that make me an auteur? I doubt it. In other news, Ive spent the rest of my weekend researching recent feature spec script sales. What Ive learned is that much of what Im writing is too indie for Hollywood. Im not saying Im a horrible writer (though I could be&) but Im beginning to realize that I need to think bigger in my writing. Instead of the $1 million film, I need to start thinking about the $20 million film. Of the four features Ive completed, plus the most recent one I started, they all take place in one to three days. I think this is okay, but the problem lies in the fact that they could all probably be filmed in real time. Thats probably not okay. Maybe Im exaggerating a little bit, but still. For comedy specs, here are the two biggest things I noticed in my research: 1) They had a catchy/zany title, like, The Many Deaths of Barnaby James, a 2008 Black List finalist, written by Brian Nathanson. Id bet this is a name to remember. 2) They had an equally catchy/zany logline, like, “A teenage apprentice in a macabre circus for the dead yearns to bring his true love back to life, but not before encountering the many dangerous and mysterious gothic characters that stand in his way.” Both catchy and both zany. I now know this is what I need to do. Im a comedy writer. I should be able to come up with something equally catchy and equally zany. Also, I need to stop using the word zany before I punch myself in the face. Love, The Unemployed Screenwriter

RED RICE :)

MY LOVED RED RICE! ~

january is good for

have not been posting as much lately. things have been intense. a solid mix of bad and good. I have some friends, one in particular who has been a good friend to me for a long time, in ways that I have quietly needed someone to be a good friend to me, and he says that I am "the meetinest person" he knows. not sure if that is true or not, but it's funny when he says it, and it is true, I go to a lot of meetings. I keep up with a lot of people. and of course, some people more than others.been sitting with a number of my friends through some particularly dark, worrisome times. it's made it easy to second guess how much hope any of us have. and then over the weekend I drove to nashville with some old college friends who are remarkably conservative. I was surprised by some of the things they said and talked about - much of it seemed so foreign to me - but I still appreciated the time and the chance to reconnect. and it was interesting to be reminded about the way I used to think about things. seems like another life.I've been taking a lot of photographs, and I've been lining up some pretty exciting photo jobs. more on that as they come; I'm still so surprised by this venture. I enjoy it, and I like pictures, and I am thankful for the opportunity to tell stories and show scenes and people the way I see them. and I say this so much, but it just sort of nags on my soul - at the end of the day, I'm really not a photographer, I'm a musician. and I know nobody really cares about that but I have this constant tension about it and it really does kind of drive me crazy. brooke rolls her eyes at me when I talk about it, which I attribute to her wisdom. but lately, it's been driving me to write an absurd amount of music. I've been recording a number of demos in the video mode of the photobooth application on my mac, and this image comes from one of those videos.I am anticipating a lot of writing and travel in the coming weeks and months. I will try to keep some images and music on this blog, as well as some of the ideas I am constantly mulling for the worstweblogintheworld.and on a lighter note, I have joined a new band where I am playing drums and it is the most fun I have had playing music in maybe several years. and that is not to say that music has not been fun for me, it is really just me saying that playing drums is awesome.

What's In a Name?

Does "library" matter?My alma mater, Rutgers SCILS, has decided to remove "library" from its name and become SCI.A meeting with current students, alumni, etc. is being live blogged at SCILS or SCI.Personally? I'm both embarrassed and appalled. To me, this is a loud "libraries and librarians don't matter" -- tho, Rutgers will still accept tuition from those who want an MLIS degree. Our money is good; who we are and what we do? Not so much.About eighteen months ago, Amy at Library Garden said we should "pimp ourselves" -- be loud and proud about our MLS/MLISs.The library news is full of bad news: libraries closing, hours cut, staff reduced, budgets cut.And what does SCILS do? The opposite of being proud; instead, they back away from the l-word.I wonder, if our professional schools don't want to promote libraries, does it matter? Should we just toss the towel in, say it doesn't matter whether or not we are librarians? It doesn't matter if we work in libraries? Heck, if it doesn't matter, why do we need an MLS or MLIS? Maybe we should all go back to school for this type of degree, if libraries don't matter.Edited to add: The Annoyed Librarian addresses the name change. Her point? Or at least, what I think her point is? That the professors at universities teaching library science aren't librarians: "The permanent faculty at library schools aren't librarians. What they research and teach has only the most tenuous connection if any to libraries or librarianship." So the name doesn't matter, because what goes on at "library school" has nothing to do with libraries; and Rutgers has a captive student audience who won't go elsewhere, no matter what the name is.

CSIS

My friends over at Sanba productions are partying again on the 25th. To see the directions on the poster to the right, click on it and visit its Flickr page.++++++++++++SanBa Productions Presents:4/25 Come Help Us Celebrate the Two-Year Anniversary of Join USWhere: Join US - Just a 5 minute walk from the Kaohsiung Train Station.Date: April 25, 2009Time: 6PM-4AMThe Night Will Feature:The Blue Truckers (Kaohsiung's favorite reggae band)Jahson The Scientist (UK via Montserrat)F**k You (Taiwan)DJ Paty (Panama)DJ 2 Hands (UK)$NT 300 Gets you in the door with 1 free beer.$NT 250 with a valid student IDKaohsiung Insider friends get a second free beer. So be sure to sign up.www.sanbaparty.com++++++++++++++CSIS is hosting a conference on the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) on the 22nd. Wish I could be there for the second panel consisting of Romberg, Glaser, Paal, and Shriver.The other interesting thing is that President Ma Ying-jeou will give the keynote speech. By videoconference. Remember two years ago when President Chen Shui-bian of that selfsame nation attempted to videoconference at the National Press Club? The State Department/Bush Administration decided that Chen had violated the ban on official travel to the US, echoing Beijing's objections. At the time I wrote:In other words, officials within the US State Department -- thankfully not the whole State Department -- decided to take the exact position that Beijing had advanced: that pixels containing Chen Shui-bian's image should not be allowed to re-assemble themselves on digital screens inside the territory of the United States, especially when accompanied by audio. This revolutionary interpretation of US policy is indeed a well thought-out position, with powerful implications for YouTube, the world's media, and the major image hosting services -- not to mention US citizens who teleconference to verboten countries (there goes my blog interview with Kim Jung-Il). Does this new assertion that One China means no Presidential teleconferences from Taiwan apply only to real-time audio and video? Or is it a complete ban on all A-bian pix? What about telephone calls? But let's not stop there...what if the National Press Club had sponsored Real-Time Chat With Chen Shui-bian. Would the State Department now be reviewing ways of punishing MSN? Mayhap we can look forward to reading letters like:"Dear Editor:As you know, the President of Taiwan is participating in an online chat with the National Press Club next Saturday. While we respect the right of free speech, the US State Department wishes to remind you that any use of "Orz" directed at the Taiwan Leader in which the "O" is more than 1.5 times the height of the "r" is a violation of the One China policy.Sincerely,Rod BendoverState DepartmentWhat is the State Department going to do when the first 3-D tech comes out? Dear Captain Picard: It has come to our attention that Chen Shui-bian has been appearing on the holodeck....So now I can't wait to hear the complaining from our State Department about pixels and audio containing images of President Ma appearing at CSIS.The CSIS info is below:Dear Colleague:We cordially invite you to "U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Looking Forward 30 Years After the Taiwan Relations Act" on Wednesday April 22 from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.We are delighted to announce that President Ma Ying-jeou will deliver the opening address via videoconference. The Honorable Richard Armitage will introduce the President.We are also pleased to have the Honorable Robert Dole deliver the luncheon keynote address.*The two panels will comprise of constructive analysis and critique on the Taiwan Relations Act's relevance today, the effect it has had on U.S.-Taiwan-China relations, and the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations; particularly within the context of the ongoing warming of relations across the Taiwan Strait.We hope you will be able to join us on April 22.Sincerely,Charles W. Freeman IIICSIS Freeman Chair in China StudiesPlease RSVP by clicking here. This invitation is non-transferable. If you have any questions, please contact Savina Rupani at srupani@csis.org or at (202) 457-8719.U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Looking Forward 30 Years After the Taiwan Relations ActApril 22, 2009 ~ 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.CSIS, 1800 K St NW, Washington, DC7:45 AM - 8:25 AMRegistration and time to write questions on cards for President Ma. We will pick up cards at 8:20 and would like for everyone to be seated by 8:25 before the videoconference starts.8:30 AM - 9:30 AM President Ma Ying-jeou Videoconference from TaiwanIntroduction: Richard Armitage, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State9:45 AM - 10:45 AM The TRA at Thirty: Serving American Interests Past, Present and FutureChair:Alex Lennon, Editor of Washington Quarterly & Senior Fellow, CSISPanelists:Jacques DeLisle, Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolKerry Dumbaugh, Specialist, Asian Affairs, Congressional Research ServiceFrank Jannuzi, Professional Staff Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations*11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S.-Taiwan Relations: Looking ForwardChair: Bonnie Glaser, Senior Fellow, CSISPanelists:Douglas Paal, VP & Director of China Program, Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceAlan Romberg, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson CenterRandy Schriver, Partner, Armitage International and CSIS Senior Associate12:15 PM - 1:30 PM Luncheon KeynoteSenator Robert Dole, Special Counsel, Alston & Bird**awaiting final confirmation

Preserved egg

How do you cope with long distance love?

To start with, me and my friends live in different cities of 2 hours flight. We are not in the same country. At this moment, he cannot come to work here as he doesn't special skills to be able to persuade any employers to hire him while the wages in his home town is too low to support my family here. The results is we do not see each other more than a month in a year. Although we are getting on fine with this, I sometimes worry about our future.

no blog

Oh my...has it really been that long since my last post??Hmmm...what has happened in my wee corner of the world?Noah has been enjoying his summer holiday--lots of day and weekend trips here there and everywhere! We learned along time ago that it is MUCH better to keep him busy and to expose him to lots of different environments...it's totally exhausting, but in the end, well worth the lack o' sleep! He's a an age (3 1/2 yrs) where he is equal parts of sheer joy and sheer hell :)He's currently involved in a gym program as well as...get this...cooking classes! Too much fun! He'll be starting summer school (aka summer camp) at his new Montessori school in a few weeks--enter end of summer knitting extravaganza! He's also taking part in Kerrie's Secret Pal for kids (cool, huh?)We had great fun shopping for his secret pal....girls are SO MUCH fun to shop for!!! YAY!!!I've been plugging away at my stripey version of Tempting, finished up a lovely Lena Brown shawl-just needs a little fringe action, finished up a sweet little Sophie bag for gifting as well as a felted iPod pouch (for the iPod I've been hinting at for a few months now-techie hubby is not a huge follower of the Apple crowd). We also have two new babies coming soon-which means knitting sweet little things. One baby will arrive in Ocotber-so I MUST knit him a pumpkin hat. The other wee one is due in February, but his/her mom LOVES the fall...so, another pumpkin hat! I'm sure other items will follow as well.I've also developped a renewed interest in my historical leanings. My mom and dad came to visit for an extended Canada Day fest (by the way...should you ever decide to come to Ottawa to visit--COME ON CANADA DAY--it simply rocks!!!)and we were able to visit Upper Canada Village. Inspiration got the better of me and I was inclined to drive back for yet another visit a week later, and purchase a season's pass. It's a beautiful little village with tons of historical buildings and fabulous interpreters who are more than generous with their time to explain all things 1860. After cruising around their website, I noticed that they're holding a traditional 1860 Fall Fair...all entries must be historical accurate. So....being a sucker for this sort of thing, and feeling a need to challenge myself, I've decided I will enter at least one item for judging. I purchased a whack load of wool which was made at the operating mill on the premises and have been checking out eBay for Godey's Lady's books as well as Peterson's magazines. I've also checked out a few books from the library which are just awesome. Problems I've encountered thus far include weird needle sizes, fibres which are readily available anymore (Berlin wool for instance) and patterns with different abbreviations. I've figured a few of these out, but will have to check with someone at the Village to be sure that the fibres I've chosen to work with are acceptable period pieces.Also....I've decided I'd like to take a swing at spinning. I've contacted the local Spinner's Guild and unfortunately, they meet on the same night as my Quilt Guild. Which sucks! But, I've already had one fine shop owner offer to teach me on a drop spindle as well as on a wheel, when I'm ready! Yay!!! New hobby!!! I think I'll check into this in the Fall.I'm also working on two flannel raggy quilts for two weddings that we have coming up in August and October. These are so easy, instant gratification....that is, once all of the cutting is done...ugh. Quilting would be so much more appealing to me right now if there wasn't as much cutting and stuff. I feel so unfocussed lately...is it the heat, my age,or just a case of the extended "blahs".Anyhoo..must run...the blog is a work in progress and I still have more tinkering to do! Photos to follow soon...I forgot to mention that I lost our digital camera, bought one a few days ago, and of course, found the old one...UGH!!!!Happy Summer!

Mini tomato

garter stitch yoke

This garter stitch yoke on the Cobblestone Pullover is going to be the end of me. It is taking forever and a day to finish it. It would help if I had more time to knit, of course...but that doesn't seem to be happening. I have a new super-cool camera, but I haven't totally figured out how to use it to its best advantage yet, and so pictures are kind of crappy. Actually, take out kind of, they are just plain craptastic. Amy and I went to one of our local yarn stores on Good Friday and checked out some yarn I'd give you a link...but the website is currently under construction, and it's kind of pointless). I bought a pretty pattern, some Lamb's Pride in a dark green to make a sweater vest, and some really gorgeous pink Malabrigo, ummm, just because. I am planning a scarf and hat from the MmmmMalabrigo for next winter. I'm planning a lot of knitting actually:The Elizabeth Bennet Cable Cardigan (the yarn is on back-order from Webs. I did not stay with the pink after all, but ordered a gorgeous rich brown)The U-Neck Vest also from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits--using the Lamb's Pride The Saratoga Shrug from Dovetail Designs...see link above...A lace shawl? Am I ready??Socks...That should keep me busy until Fall...plus the little things that pop up. I am waiting to find out what gender baby my friend Paul is having this year. I made him a baby cardigan last year for his little guy Dimaggio... they are expecting again and, depending, I will have another little project on the horizon. Although I am not sure how I will top that one...

Nothing glisters

Falling metal prices cripple the scrap industryCALL it an instance of the butterfly effect. The thieves who sawed through the bleachers at Kenwood High School, in east Baltimore, and sold them for scrap did not know they were working for contractors in Sao Paulo and Shanghai, but they were. A spike in metal prices from 2003 through the first half of 2008fuelled by a building boom in emerging markets, especially in the BRIC countrieshave led metal thefts in Baltimore County to increase by as much as 1,195% since 2005. As those economies have cooled, however, demand and metal prices have both plunged. Good news for spectators of high-school sports, but awful for the scrap industry.The scrap-metal trade exists across the country. Any activity that uses metal generates scrap, and scrap can be recycled for a variety of uses: it goes into 60% of all metals and alloys produced in America. Baltimore is blessed with excellent water and rail access (great for sending scrap onward, or overseas) and a strong manufacturing tradition, both factors that have led to an old and diverse scrap industry in the city.

give me a hoe down, please

you know what I love? I love a good hoedown. there's nothing quite like a room filled with awkwardly dancing human beings. you throw in a banjo, maybe an accordion, maybe a bass, maybe a guy with a microphone telling you to "docie doe" and what you have is a patented recipe for joy. so I say, sign me up, I'm in.when I was in jr. high, we had hoe downs during PE. at this point in my life, it represented the closest any woman (and by woman I of course mean 13 year old girl with braces) had ever been to me. it was exciting and I dug it.when I was in college, we had hoe downs. this is because I went to auburn, and has nothing to do with the fact that auburn is a terrible place for anybody to go to college. but auburn is in the middle of nowhere. and so for fun we would go out to somebody's barn house, clear out all of their goats and chickens and horses and crocodiles, spread out some hay, turn on the hi-fi and then dance the night away as we all caught malaria. gosh those were good times.I have heard that some friends may be planning a hoe down here in birmingham. when that goes down, BTM will be there, dancing his heart out. about this, I have no doubt.

Chiness food 2

Chiness food 1

Last one eatten on May 5th.

sticks chichen

taste another taste

taste another country's taste

Fit Beauties Need a Good Foundation

Not everyone is concerned about looking pretty while working out, but you know what? Nobody's going to judge you for wanting to cover acne or other imperfections before you hit the gym. But here's the thing -- you don't want to wear just any foundation when you're working up a sweat. Some makeup can actually create more acne. Dermatologist-recommended cosmetics brand Cover FX offers products that give good coverage (in a wide variety of shades) and, at the same time, they're good for your skin -- even when you sweat.I had a chance to try out Mineral FX Pure Mineral Foundation with SPF 15 ($37 at Sephora). While I don't really have problem skin (I mean, sure, a zit pops up here and there, but in general, it's pretty clear), I don't always have a chance to remove makeup before I hit the gym or go for a run. I was really curious to see if, for one thing, I would like the coverage of the loose powder mineral makeup (I've always been a pressed powder girl), and second, how it would stand up to a workout. So, I took it out for a test run. Literally.

taken with you for train traveling

How do you define family?

To anyone reading this, Happy New Year! I think it is going to be an interesting one. I am starting 2006 with a lot already going on.For starters, I am doing my first foster care related work on Tuesday, when I talk to a group of teens in care who are part of a speaker's bureau. Their facilitator asked me about six weeks ago if I would come talk to them some time and then I got an e-mail from her the other day and some time became Tuesday. I am going to talk to them about speaking out, including how opportunities present themselves, knowing your audience and tips to sounding prepared. I am really excited about talking to this group. As corny as it may sound, I believe that children are our future and an investment in someone younger than me who has aspirations is the best way to use my time.Also, my best friend is expecting her first baby around my first wedding anniversary. I am SO excited. I called dibs on the shower as soon as I heard and have already been working on it. I feel as though this baby will be like a little niece or nephew to me. It never occurred to me that perhaps my friend did not view this exactly as I do.We were talking on the phone recently when she commented that she and her husband have decided that they need to make a will, now that they are expecting, and decide who they would want to care for their child, (God forbid) should anything ever happen to them. She has a brother and so does he. They would seem like the first logical choices, but neither of them are presently in a situation to care for children. The next step in her mind and mine was to think about the grandparents, but that also did not yield an acceptable answer. To me, the next step after that was each of their closest friends and family who they are really close to. This was where my friend and I disagreed and what led me to the title of this post. She told me, "We would want to keep the baby in the family." I will not lie, this stung, since she has no sisters and has always called me her sister, but I tried to understand her point of view. My friend defines family as the people related to you biologically. She was raised in a traditional nuclear family with a mom, a dad, two kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and this is what she pictures when she thinks of the word family.Because I was raised in foster care, my view of family is a little different from hers. To me, a family is the group of people who you choose to have as your support network, who are closer than your outer rings of friends. For me, my family includes my birth mom, my foster parents, my foster sister, my foster grandfather, my two best friends and their families, my husband, his mother, his brother, my mentor and her family. They are the people my husband and I count on when the chips are down and the ones we would think of if we were having a child and wanted to plan for a guardian for them. I am predisposed to define family this way, as I lack functional biological connections people like my friend have and I have set about to fill up the slots with other people who love me and who I love.So, clearly, there is a difference in definition because of a difference in perspective. We are both right for our given situation. I feel bad because I tried to change my friend's mind and convince her that my husband and I should be the ones they choose, even after she said they want to keep the baby with blood relatives if anything were to happen. I feel that everyone has the right to define family as their heart tells them, and yet I tried to infringe on my best friend's right to do this. I am going to give her a call and let her know that I will support whatever choice they make and that I do not expect her to change, since she would not expect me to change.It still hurts a little though, to know how high up on my list she is and to know that I am not equally high on hers. This has been a problem I have encountered most of my life, so you would think I would be past it by now, but I am not. I have always wanted to be as important to people as they are to me, but with few rare exceptions, it has not happened that way. Perhaps this is something everyone deals with and I am just more sensitive to it because I grew up in foster care and know how easily people throw eachother away. Perhaps I cherish my connections mroe than most people because I have fewer of them. Either way, it is an icky feeling that I hope I will some day find a way to deal with.

To the countryside to eat wild

wild pork

Pumpkin Corn Turnip

sweet for today's

Pumpkin Corn Turnip

Ascetics Invented Yoga 'Cause They Were Poor

I'm busy. I start teaching at 11 a.m. and end my theatre rehearsals at 10:30 p.m. The days seem to blur into one another; despite our progress both in class and in rehearsal, it feels like I am doing, over and over, the same thing.Thus: the busier I get with school/work-related activity, the more important it seems to be that I have some kind of alternate creative outlet, something wildly different than what I am doing the rest of the overstuffed week.Last year at this time, it was cooking. Up through about February, it was still cooking -- but around the beginning of the year, something started to change. At first I thought I was imagining things, but then the WSJ confirmed it: grocery prices have skyrocketed. Milk has gone up by 26% and eggs have gone up by 24%. Grocery stores have tried to entice shoppers by cutting prices in other areas, but, as the WSJ notes:At a Wal-Mart Supercenter in a northern suburb of Chicago, the price of a box of Little Debbie Frosted Donuts was recently reduced to $1.50 from $1.63 while a box of Sunbelt Oats & Honey granola bars was cut to $1.66 from $1.80. But even with the promotions, the price of a basket of goods selected by Credit Suisse researchers at a Chicago Wal-Mart was up 2.5% in February compared with January. The basket price of a Target Corp. store in Chicago was up 2% and that of a Kroger Co.'s Food4Less store in Chicago was down 0.1%.Since January 2008, I have purchased milk once: a quarter-gallon to make the quiche, and it was an event. I've purchased eggs twice this year, I believe. I eat a lot of lentils and spinach, and when there was a sale on vegetables at the Kroger, bought a bunch and made enough sabzi to stock my freezer for a while.So what have I been doing instead? Yoga -- and I've become obsessed. Obsessed to the point where I kind of plan my meetings around ensuring I will get an hour-long yoga break at some point during the day.I started out doing a session in the afternoons, before rehearsal; then switched to the mornings, then realized that on certain days I could do mornings and afternoons. I've gone online and drooled over videos of ashtanga, fantasizing about a day when I could take ashtanga classes because it's supposed to be the hardest yoga ever, and learning it would be a superchallenge.Long story short, it finally hit me: the reason I've become so interested in yoga and exploring my physical endurance is because I, literally, have nothing else to explore. I have frugalized myself down to such an extent that the only thing left is my own body. Other forms of entertainment -- shopping, movies, going to bars, going to concerts, discovering new music, even cooking -- are all out, at least until I get a post-graduation job. On the plus side, I've got back abs. I've never had back abs before. I suppose lack of income has its benefits. ^__^

Joys!

Last week I spoke to a group of teens who are in foster care about the opportunities that have been given to me to speak out about the system, to attend college and to do other things that I never would have dreamed of doing when I was in care. It was a very exciting thing for me to get to do, as I am a firm believer in the power to improve the world by empowering future generations of leaders. I made it a point of telling them how much like them I was at their age and how all of the opportunities I was given are things that they too can get. This particular group is forming a speaker's bureau so that people can learn more about the foster care system from the people most knowledgable and most affected by it, the kids. I want them to know that they can achieve that goal and so much more.One other thing that came out of me talking to this group is that one of my best friends, who has been an excellent public speaker since high school and has only gotten better since, came along to meet the group. She decided to help them with their public speaking preparations and other related things. This friend was never in foster care, but she is one of the most compassionate people that I have ever met. As soon as I started talking to her about my non-profit, this speaker's bureau and the like, she was ready and willing to help out. I cannot say what an immense asset she will be to this group, with her knowledge, passionate speaking, empathetic nature...and, oh yeah...she is a certified sign language interpreter, so now they can reach deaf audiences as well. I am so happy that she is doing this, it makes me want to cry. This friend of mine is truly an amazing woman. She has popped up in a couple of my other posts. She is 23, but her younger brother is only 9 and she is the one listed to care for him if anything ever happens to her mom, which she has taken very much to heart. Should she ever be called upon to fulfill this duty (God forbid, cause her mom is awesome and I want her around forever) she wants to do it to her fullest capabilities and so she has been planning her financial assets around that. In addition, she is in charge of her company's charitable donations and she really gets into that. Her company sponsors a family year-round and my friend is in charge of getting them what they need. Also, she is a girlscout leader, a volleyball coach and an awesome friend. I count myself really lucky to have her in my life. Other than the speaker's bureau...what does this have to do with foster care? Someday, she wants to be a foster mom! Won't that be amazing?! She is exactly the kind of person I would have loved to have had for a foster mom when I was a kid. I cannot wait until the time comes when she is ready to do that. She will be great.

Using Carrot Juice for Relieving Constipation

Carrot juice contains certain oils that work on the mucus membranes of the stomach and colon. Find out how you can use carrots with other vegetables to increase their power for relieving constipation. Carrots are high in fiber and beta-carotene, an antioxidant, which the body converts to vitamin A. Carrots can make your stools softer and larger.Why are larger stools better? Because larger stools dilute toxins, exposure less toxins to colon walls, and press against colon walls to promote peristaltic action.Drink carrot juice twice daily, once in the morning and in the evening before bedtime.Its action on the body produces enormous benefits since it contains a good number of vitamins and minerals - B, C, D, E, K, carotene, sodium, and potassium. These nutrients help to clean out your colon and speed up fecal matter movement.

If you are pregnant, drink carrot juice daily to build up your breast milk and to provide your baby with the nutrients that it . It can reduces inflammation and protect against cancer. Celery has a chemical call polyacetylene, which reduces prostaglandins that cause inflammation.Celery has a calming effect on the nervous system. If you have been using laxatives, which have overworked your colon nerves, celery will help to relax these nerves and give them a rest.Adding carrot juice to celery juice provides an even better nutritional drink. This drink will help to restore nerve function in your colon and improve its health. Celery has the highest content of organic sodium. This sodium is used throughout the body as lymph saline liquid allowing cells to work and live properly.Celery is also beneficial for the stomach. The stomach lining is filled with sodium and this sodium is necessary to prevent ulcers.

Eat carrots and celery during the day and for your salads; drink a glass of carrot juice in the morning and one in afternoon. By eating slightly steamed carrots you can increase the carotene available from the carrots by up to 4 times. However, by cooking carrots, you destroy the enzymes that will help you to digest them quickly and completely. Boost your carrot juice by juicing with it a few stalks of celery, which includes the leaves. The leaves have more nutrients than the stalk and are part of the nutritional value of celery.Tomato, Carrot, Celery DrinkHere's a drink you can take in the afternoon to activate a bowel movement.With a juicer, juice some tomatoes, carrots, and celery.

Instant cereal beverage

How To Grow Luscious Tomatoes

Tomatoes should be grown in full sunlight.
Tomato plants require abundant moisture.
Tomatoes grow well in many types of soil but prefer fertile, well-drained soil with pH of about 6.5.
Garden soil may be improved by adding rotted manure, leaf mold, peat moss, or other organic materials.
The ideal tomato plant should be six to eight inches tall, dark green, with a stocky stem and well-developed root system.

Plant tomatoes when the weather has warmed and the soil temperature is above 60 degrees F and air temperature is never lower than 45 degrees at night.
Plant seedlings a little deeper than they were in the pots.
Set out tomato plants in the evening or on a cloudy day.
Mulching helps stop weed growth and water loss from the soil. Place a two to three inch layer of organic material such as compost, leaves, straw, grass clippings, hay, newspapers, or black or red plastic sheeting around the growing plants.
Tomatoes can be grown on the ground or supported by stakes or cages. If using stakes put the stake in when planting As the plant grows taller, tie it loosely to the stake every 12 inches with soft fabric or twine.
Tomatoes require at least one inch of water per week during May and June and at least two inches per week during July, August, and September. Water once or twice a week and to a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
Space dwarf plants 12 inches apart; staked tomatoes should be 12 to 18 inches apart. Allow 2 to 4 feet between non-staked plants.
Rows should be spaced 3 to 5 feet apart for staked plants and 4 to 6 feet apart for non-staked plants.
A 10-20-10 fertilizer should be applied at planting time. Sidedress for the first time when the first fruits are one-third grown. Use about one to two tablespoons per plant. Mix the fertilizer into the soil then water, being careful not to get the fertilizer on the foliage. A second application should be made two weeks after the first ripe fruit and a third application one month later. Water the plants thoroughly after fertilizing. All fertilizers should be worked into the top six inches of soil.

How To Prevent Damping Off

When preparing to plant be sure that flats, tools, plant containers, and benches are clean. Damping off pathogens can live in these containers. The easiest way to disinfect them is to dip them in a bleach solution for 10 seconds. Use 1 part bleach to 4 parts water. Or use 70 percent rubbing alcohol.

Plant in a light, well drained fertile seedbed. Preferably use sterile soils that have been pasteurized with heat before planting. Maintain a soil pH at the low end of the average scale. A soil of 6.4 pH is less susceptible to root rot than a pH of 7.5. As plants are watered the pH gradually increases. Test often and continue to maintain a lower pH while the plants are still germinating. If necessary use one tablespoon of vinegar to 1 gallon of water to lower a rising pH level.

Plant seeds no deeper than 4 times their own thickness. Keep the seedbed soil on the dry side after planting and allow plenty of bright light but not direct sunlight.

Use plant containers with drainage holes, water from the bottom only, and avoid excess watering. Do not allow pots to stand in water as excess water cannot drain and the roots will be starved for oxygen which will stop all growth of seedlings. Never water late in the day.

Avoid overcrowding and overfeeding of plants. Do not overfertilize, especially with nitrogen.

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