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“The Chalk Boy” in rehearsal

The Chalk Boy by Joshua Conkel is the first show to open this season, Friday July 13th.

Beneath its boring facade there is more going on in the tiny town of Clear Creek than the opening of the new Taco Bell.  Four of the town’s local girls are here to take you on a tour of their funny, yet brutal reality.  They struggle with faith, friendship, sex, the occult, algebra, and the disappearance of… The Chalk Boy.  This is a deathly black comedy that punches as hard as your high school bully.

Directed by Nina Capriola and featuring Nikole Moon as Penny, Luna Ezekiel as Lauren, Genevieve Toribio as Breanna and Daniella Vargas as Trisha.

Set design by Samantha Petrovich, lighting by Matthew T. Pavellas, sound design by Vincent Eclavea Jr., costumes by Sarah Larson and props by Genevieve Toribio – stage managed by Natalie Cruz

Stay tuned for the commercial…(snap shots below!)

They can drive a sane person mad…

For those of you unfamiliar with any of the day-to-day tasks of stage management, one of the fun jobs we get to do is take line notes. A line note is a note taken during rehearsal when an actor doesn’t say a line correctly, calls “Line!” (meaning, they need the line given to them), drops words, paraphrases, etc. The Shape of Things is a four-person play…which means they have all a LOT of lines (and they are doing an awesome job, by the way!) and it’s inevitable that there will be pages upon pages of notes for them…

My wonderful assistant stage manager, Mason Brown, is a part of a SM team for the first time and I’ve delegated this responsibility to him for a few reasons:

1) I trust that he will give the actors accurate notes

2) He pays attention during rehearsal (this seems silly, but really… it can be a lot to ask)

3) As stage managers, we’ve all had to go through it: why not go all out for your first time?

So, Mason, I appreciate all that you’re doing (and the actors do, too!) Welcome to my world, kid.

This is what lines notes have done to him.  Enjoy.

Identity crisis.

As a first time costume designer on Dog Sees God, I guess the only things I’ve got going for me are:

  1.     I attended FIDM for awhile (but dropped out – sorry, Mom and Dad)
  2.     I like clothes
  3.     The show is set in modern times (so I don’t have to worry about being time period specific)
  4.     Lots of people that work with me trust my judgment (or so they tell me)

Although I am armed with these…um, powerful tools of design, this show will be no easy task: it has the most looks out of all of the shows featured in 2X4BASH. But there is a larger challenge I face: one of my characters, C.B.’s Sister, is a teenager who has an identity crisis and is constantly changing her look and how others perceive her and I need to express that via costumes. I’m definitely up for the challenge, but it’s a lot to take on.

On a personal note, I admire this about the character, in a way, and feel that it is extremely indicative of what we’re all doing in the BASH. One day, I’m someone’s stage manager and two hours later, I’m their sound designer, and all the while, dealing with the every day issues of managing a new company. Wearing multiple hats all day long can be tiring and, mostly, confusing, leaving me wondering on a daily basis “who I am” today.

This particular character inspires and scares me. Sometimes, I fear that I won’t be able to define myself clearly as an artist the best way I can this summer, since I am not primarily a “designer” by nature. I am an arts manager: I am excellent at upholding the integrity of others’ artistic choices. But making my own? That’s a scary thought, but I’m up for the challenge.

So, here’s to finding my way, through design, this summer. C.B.’s Sister: you are my personal mascot for breaking through the confusion and defining myself.

I wish I was a Mechanical Engineer

Ron Barth, President of Resource Furniture, demonstrates and explains their amazing line of Italian-designed space.
This video is pretty cool. I have been thinking of ways to to give set pieces dual purposes and this video validates my idea. (Thank you, Shane, for sending me this.)

Space is always an issue  in theater and even more so at The Western Stage, now that 2x4BASH will be in the mix of the main season productions. I have one piece built but still working out some mechanics  for Dog Sees God. Right now, the units have two roles within the same show. I can’t wait to talk to the other designers about their needs and how we may apply this idea to cross set pieces between shows. Space-saving furniture is key, in my mind, due to the fact that two shows are in the round, relying hugely on furniture alone to set the scene.

The Genesis of a Production Poster

The Impossible Task

I never thought that designing a poster for a couple of theatre productions would melt my brain, but after working on our show poster for 2X4BASH: theatre on the edge, it’s a very real possibility. Our show poster had to feature all four 2X4BASH productions plus the dates and authors, as well as the specifics of where, how much, contact info, etc. It all seemed very daunting at first.

As I was crawling into the fetal position, thinking about all the aspects the poster needed to include, I luckily glanced at the pin board above my computer.  A couple of old local band show fliers hung there like shining 1/4-page papers of hope. They had about four or five band logos on them plus the show info and it all fit onto little 1/4-page pieces of paper! If whoever designed these fliers could fit that all on there and make it look interesting, I could make a regular sized poster no problem. Plus the band show poster had the grittier look that we were looking for to represent our on-the-edge line up of plays.

The Band Poster: My Inspiration

The Font Search

And so I began my journey of making a band show themed poster. The first thing I did was create “band logos” for each of the shows. This meant finding fonts that could pass as band logos but also worked with the feeling and themes of the shows.

I never knew how mind numbingly grueling a font search could be. I searched font website after font website with glazed-over, tired eyes and eventually found the perfect ones to use. I then quickly came up with a color-blocked design that used our red, black, and white 2X4BASH colors to keep the poster simple and eye catching. Many of my fellow 2X4BASH teammates liked the design, but unfortunately, several of the fonts I used turned out to not be free for commercial use. To avoid having to contact the font creators and buy all of our fonts, I fell back into the search for fonts. This time it was even more difficult, because I tried to find free commercial use fonts that looked similar to the ones I was replacing.

After another few hours of searching fonts, I found the replacements and put it up for more review among the 2X4BASH team. Several tweaks later, our poster was complete.

The Future Is Upon Us

2X4BASH is interested in trying to fuse newer forms of technology with our theatre performances, so we included a QR code in the right bottom corner that can be scanned with an application on a smartphone and be taken to a picture of this same poster on our blog. This should make it easy for people to get our info without having to write it down.

As much as I make it sound like designing the poster was a big pain, I did have a lot of fun making it. Keep an eye out for our poster around town!

“You’re a difficult equation with a knack for heart evasion…” Design inspiration for None of the Above

So, it’s my second time ever sound designing (pretty stoked about it) and after reading the script, I felt the relationship between the two characters had a quirky, sometimes awkward, but playful tone to it. Other than the lyrics cleverly bouncing around metaphors of math and English, Sia’s “Academia” captures the kind of mood that I hope to throughout my design in the show. The song talks about two people who are trying to essentially express the same thing to one another, but it’s as if they speak two different languages. Give it a listen! Let me know what you think! (Lyrics are below).

You can be my alphabet and I will be your calculator
And together we’ll work out on the escalator
I will time you as you run up the down
And you’ll measure my footsteps as I pleasure this town
The mean of our heights is divided by the nights
Which is times’d by the daggers and the root of all our fights,
The pass of your poem is to swathe me in your knowing
And the beauty of the word is that you don’t have to show it

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

I am a dash and you are a dot
When will you see that I am all that you’ve got
I’m a binary code that you cracked long ago
But to you I’m just a novel that you wish you’d never wrote
I’m greater than x and lesser than y, so why is it
That I still can’t catch your eye?
You’re a cryptic crossword, a song I’ve never heard
While I sit here drawing circles I’m afraid of being hurt

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

You’re a difficult equation with a knack for heart evasion
Will you listen to my proof or will you add another page on
It appears to me the graph has come and stolen all the laughs
It appears to me the pen has over analysed again
And if I am a number I’m infinity plus one
And if you are five words you are afraid to be the one
And if you are a number you’re infinity plus one
And if I am four words then I am needing all your love

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

We’re following the Tweeter, the Tweeter, the Tweeter…

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

An idea that we at 2x4BASH have been toying with is incorporating “media-friendly” shows, where people can sign up to sit in designated seats in the house (as to not disturb our ‘traditional’ audience members) and use their Smartphones during the show to comment on or react as they watch. SF Playhouse (http://www.sfplayhouse.org/) used this concept during their production of Wirehead with Twitter and they re-tweeted select posts from audience members. I think this concept is pretty cool, but as I see it, there are so many factors that go into making this even slightly successful, especially introducing it as a completely new idea to our theatre community here on the Central Coast.

Cell phones in the theatre are typically considered blasphemous, but as time evolves, I feel we as theatre artists need to, as well. Most of us always have our phones on our person at all times (I know I do) and yes, I do think it’s incredibly rude to talk on your phone at the theatre, or not silence it. But if we were to create an environment where it was okay to use your little, technological limb for good rather than evil, I think both audience member and the theatre could benefit.

We have to look at the constants versus the variables in this situation. The constants: where the seats are located, making sure all participants interested sign up and have a verified Facebook/Twitter account (so we can check to see if they actually posted something). The variable: Internet connection, and the biggest variable of them all… human beings. We can only tell them what they are supposed to do, but will 100% of the participants do exactly that? Doubtful. The idea is to get our audience engaged and talking about what’s going on, on a first impression basis. Most of the time when we see a show, if something strikes us in a strong way, we have the rest of the show to think about or rationalize it. But if you had the opportunity to say exactly what they thought or felt about that moment in time (as we often do with Facebook and Twitter anyway), wouldn’t you want to?

Ideally, if we can rally up enough interest in our production, people will want to talk about it, right then and there without having to wait. I believe this is our ultimate goal: interest, reaction, dialog. We want to share our dialog with you.

To get started, follow us on Twitter! (2x4BASH) We promise to follow you back!

Some interesting links, regarding this topic:


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Everyone’s Loss

Well, I got my vent out. I REALLY needed that. I have this insane desire to be ‘heard’ sometimes. It’s not totally that; it’s when I feel I’m being…stifled. I cannot stand feeling like I’m being shut up or shut down. I had to let it out. I needed to “vent my hurt after not being able to address it with the person who needed to hear it.”  (I used your words, J. Nicely said.)

And I did. And I felt better.

And then I felt…numb.  Which was a nice change for the moment.

Now? Now I am just…sad.  An all-the-way-down-to-my-bones…heavy…quiet…sadness.

I know what I did wrong. I chased after someone who decided to walk away. Because he didn’t tell me what he was doing, I would not believe it until I was formally told. And when I wasn’t, I waited…and waited…and got resentful. I needed to hear what was going on, refusing to see the signs, allowing hope on a good day. We all have our “things.” I believed it was a temporary bump in the road, and sat back asking very little and getting less. I would “lash out” (his words). Yes. I would, when he didn’t give what was promised, as little as it was. I saw how my push could make it worse, too.

We are not communicating anymore. The wall has been built, locked, BLOCKED (I had to throw that in! 🙂 ), the door is shut. “Just somebody that I used to know” is repeating itself in my head.  And I understand, too.

We have our ‘pat phrases’ or ‘standards’ that we say to cover certain situations. Funerals…weddings…sickness…hard times… and of course, break-ups. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing; I’ve been guilty of saying many of them myself. They are meant to acknowledge and show support in situations when there is really nothing that can be said.

I’ve been getting them now.

One of the common ones is that “He’ll never find anyone like you.” That particular phrase I don’t subscribe to. I’ve never said it to anyone, about me or anyone else. But I’m bringing it up because someone recently told me a rather funny story about it that puts it in a different perspective for those who think like that:

  • “Anyway, I was grousing to Crazy Tommy about how “she’ll never find anyone like me” and he started laughing hysterically. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “That comment that she’ll never find anyone like you,” he said between laughs. “Yeah, well it’s true,” I said incredibly defensively and arrogantly. “It may be, but the other truth is she’s not going to look for somebody like you. She doesn’t want somebody like you,” he said. “She had somebody like you and then left somebody like you. Why would she do that just to go find somebody else like you?”

I’d never heard it put like that, but that is basically what I believe. We all can’t be everyone’s ‘cup of tea,’ you know. (heavy sigh)

There are two that are more common:

The first is that “you’ll find someone else.”  I always laugh at that one. I was never looking, and I’m not going to start now, just because of this.

I have a great analogy (I’ve been coming up with some good ones lately. Lol. Tooting my own horn, there) in response to that:

I love my car. No, I FUCKING love my car. I’m so happy with it that if I ever won the lottery I would just fix it up and add heated seats. And because I am so happy with my car, I don’t look at any others. And then one day, I looked at another car at the instigation of a friend. I never would have considered looking at it, otherwise. There was no reason to; I was VERY happy with what I had. And I not only looked at the other car, I took it for a test drive—and fell in love with it. For one moment, I thought I was going to be able to get it. And then I found out I couldn’t. And I went back to my own car, still very happy with it, but things had changed. I found myself still wishing I could have that other car and unable have the same enjoyment with the car that I had been so happy with. I’m resentful that the other car was shown to me, because ignorance is truly bliss. If I didn’t take it for a test drive, I never would have known I wanted it.

That was me. Happy Before. Missing Nothing. Then I was shown something I wasn’t aware of, something that I didn’t know I wanted until it was dangled in front of my face.

If I hadn’t been shown, I would still be blissfully ignorant and happy, and not feeling now like I am missing something.

I ammissing something. And I don’t want to be.

I can’t look even back and smile at the good times. (They weren’t just good. They were wonderful and beautiful.)

But right now, I need to go back to where I was. Ignorant and happy. And pretend it never happened.

I have to pretend it never happened…

The other, and most common phrase heard in this situation is:

“It’s his loss.”

–First of all, I am not thinking about his loss; I am thinking about my own.

But beyond that, I have to say that we all lost something. Everyone loses something when this happens. I can’t define what he may have lost; but the bottom line is that there is always a loss when something ends. I know my kids lost something, too. They got attached; probably more so because they were aware of my own investment (This is why my kids are NEVER part of my private life. But I thought this was different—no, it was different). And they lost the ignorant me.

I lost the obvious. But it was more than that. There had been a great friendship there, too. And that is gone. And I treasure good friendships.

And I do understand.

But the loss is still there.

And to the Universe:
No matter that I didn’t want this to happen at all
No matter that I was hurt again by having to wait so long
No matter that it was handled coldly
I finally was told what I needed to hear.
For that,
Thank you.

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Yes I’m probably driving you all a bit mad with this, but please if you have not yet voted for my debut documentary which is currently in online competition then do.

It’s easy

    1. copy and paste this link into your browser –
    2. create an account it’s free
    3. sign in to your newly created account
    4. go to Gallery Shorts
    5. click on text VIEW ALL
    6. scroll to find Abandoned Adopted Here
    7. click on poster to Abandoned Adopted Here

Fanboy Film Festival

8 . click on the RED VOTE button

Thank you –  please share with your networks and friends


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Update: Full statement from Sprint below.

The Next Web is reporting that an internal email has been going around that both Sprint and Apple are working on a fix to the slow data speeds that are plaguing Sprint iPhone 4S owners. Sprint customers with an iPhone 4S have been experiencing slow data speeds since the iPhone 4S landed on the Sprint network October 14th. Ironically, many customers switched to Sprint for the fast unlimited data plan.

One possible temporary solution, as Don Southard points out, is a free AirRave 3G Airvana offered by Sprint to help with data speeds on the device.

Sprint (and Apple) also had a slip up today by offering the iPhone 4S off-contract for only $199 (supposed to be $650). A forum user explained earlier:

Tax included depending on your shipping address. When checking out, system does not prompt you to enter SSN or sign up for new contract. It does, however, require you to agree to Sprint’s TOS via checkbox. Basically, you’re getting the subsidized price without the new contract signup.

The issue was fixed and according to Apple “refunds will be issued.”

Update: Sprint issued the following statement to TNW regarding the iPhone 4S on their network:

“Overall, iPhone performance on the Sprint network is consistent with our expectations and the rest of our high-end portfolio. Sprint also did bench-marking of Sprint’s iPhone against competitor’s iPhones and the testing showed little to no performance difference. We are seeing a very low return rate for this device but we are watching the reports of speed issues very closely. We do see opportunities to optimize performance, specifically in high network capacity areas. We see this as typical optimization work and do not have any specific area of concern. Sprint is committed to providing the best possible experience for our customers. We are listening to our customers and working closely with our partners at Apple to ensure optimal performance of iPhone devices on our network.”

About the Author


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Fairy Tale Reviews: Up Until Now!

I love fairy tales. Always have, always will. In addition to all of the new fairy tales I'll be reviewing for you over the next fortnight, I'd like to point out reviews I've previously posted here. Please look back at some other tales I've read and loved (in reverse chronological order)!

*Twisted Tales: Cinderella: Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer, both by Maureen McGowan

*Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, with illustrations by Josée Masse

*The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal (Whom I'll be interviewing during the Fortnight! ^___^ )

*East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Discusses various versions, such as ones by Sarah Beth Durst, Jessica Day George, and Edith Pattou, along with the Sir George Webbe Dasent translation illustrated by P.J. Lynch )

*Fairy Tales: The Next Big Thing? (mentions Maureen McGowan's Twisted Tales, 2011 movies, Jim C. Hines, and 2012 debut author Marissa Meyer)

*Disney's Tangled Movie Review

*Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast" by Charles Solomon

*The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

*Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier (One of my FAVORITE fairy tale re-tellings!)

*Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

  1. So many fairy tales. I clicked on a few and they look amazing.

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Alethea Kontis Vlogs a Rapunzel Fairy Tale Rant!

Welcome to A Week of Rapunzel in celebration of our favorite long-haired heroine...
not to mention the launch of Marissa Meyer's CRESS!
Check out my daily schedule of events!
Grab some promotional buttons for your blog
and stop back all week long for fun guest posts, exciting author visits, giveaways, reviews,
and more for CRESS!
Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest

Last week, I featured a great guest post with author Alethea Kontis on "The REAL Peter Woodcutter."

For those who don't know, Alethea does these AMAZING Fairy Tale Rant videos on YouTube,
In Which Princess Alethea gives the low-down on fairy tales as originally told by the Grimms, Andrew Lang, Hans Christian Andersen, and others.

For A Week of Rapunzel, Alethea has created an awesome video that takes a closer look at Rapunzel. Are you ready for your mind to be blown?

YouTube Link

I've previously reviewed Alethea Kontis' novella BLOOD AND WATER, her debut novel ENCHANTED, and her newest novel, HERO.

I've also interviewed author Alethea Kontis, and interviewed ENCHANTED cover designer Christine Kettner! Alethea has also written a guest post on "Families in Fiction" for the HERO Blog Tour and written a short story for last year's Splash into Summer event entitled "Well Behaved Mermaids Rarely Make Fairy Tales!"

New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a goddess, a force of nature, and a mess. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, turning garden gnomes into mad scientists, and making sense out of fairy tales. Alethea is the co-author of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Companion, and penned the AlphaOops series of picture books. Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines. She has done multiple collaborations with Eisner winning artist J.K. Lee, including The Wonderland Alphabet and Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome. Her debut YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award in 2012 and was nominated for both the Andre Norton Award and the Audie Award in 2013.
Visit Alethea's websiteYouTube ChannelFacebook, and Twitter!

O F F I C I A   I N F O:

Author: Alethea Kontis
Release Date: Out May 08, 2012
Publisher: Harcourt Children's
Received: Received for Review;
have also read my own finished copy!

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

Title: HERO
Author: Alethea Kontis
Release Date: Oct. 1, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard.

With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world.

Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?"

As in ENCHANTED, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.
****Tour-Wide Giveaway*****

January 26 ~ February 10

There are FIVE chances to WIN!!

Winners will be drawn randomly, entries will be validated and the IP Addresses checked for shipping qualifications to award winnings in order of preference, if indicated.
See Rafflecopter entry.
Additional restrictions on Rafflecopter apply.

1 - Signed print copy of Shadowskin by Bethany Cassel plus a signed sketch of the Main Character by the author! (US Only)
2 - eCopies of both books in the Beyond series by Kristy Tate: Beyond the Fortune Teller's Tent & Beyond the Hollow! (International)
3 - eCopy of Enchanted Fairytales by Cindy C Bennett! (International)
4 - FIVE Signed paperbacks of Enchanted by Alethea Kontis plus swag! (US Only) (That's five winners. Woop!)
5 - eCopy of The Fairytale Keeper: Avenging the Queen by Andrea Cefalo! (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  1. my son (age 1) was listening as I watched this. when she yelled "Ha!" my son thought it was hilarious, and is now yelling "ha!" and running around.

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Diana M. Rodriguez

Consultant, Writer, and Small Business Owner in Alexandria, Virginia

Communications professional and strategy consultant by day, always learning, always growing. I aim to inform, amuse, and inspire.

I’m Diana, and I founded Write Type Communications to help clients with strategy, coaching, and solutions for their personal and business growth.

I love meeting people and sharing ideas and strategies that worked for me. I've gained valuable insights along the way, and sharing them is my passion.

I hope you'll contact me to help with your business and professional challenges.
Thanks for connecting.

  • #writer
  • #blogger
  • #freelancewriter
  • #editor
  • #websitecontent
  • Work
    • Write Type Communications founder and writer


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Day 4 the End

Well I made it until 4pm on day 4. I stopped for a few reasons, Stomach craps, and getting tired.

I was planing on ending day 6. There was a chance I would be on a long drive on Day 6. I did not want to be tired or trying to come off the fast if that was the case.

And no I did not go to McDonalds or any other fast food restaurant or not even a big steak. I am coming off the fast slow like it suggested.

Beginning of Day 4

Had some cramps in my side this morning. I also have some stomach cramps that feel like I need to go to the bathroom. I tired twice this morning and very little came out and still have the cramps. Also have gas and have been burping also this morning. This is weird since I have not eaten anything that should give me gas. In fact I have not eaten anything.

From what I read regular bowel movements will happen if not more the first few days of your fast. This has not happened to me so maybe I am constipated.  You would think with drinking all the water I have been this would not be the case but who knows.

Sorry I am sure you really did not want to here about my body functions today.

Day 3

Halfway through Day 3. I am finished with work for the day. Really wanted to eat today. Water is just not doing it. I really hope it is better tomorrow. Every thing I have read the first 3 days are the hardest. Well Day 1 & 2 were not bad but today is. Have some stomachache today kind of like hunger pains. My knees are really achy and a slight headache.
If tomorrow is like today I might give up and get something to eat at lunch. This is of course if I make it through the rest of the day.

Day 2

Day 2 was not to bad. The hardest part was when I had to go to the store to buy some things. All the food looked and smelled good. I was standing in line to check out and there was some fried chicken near me and boy did it smell good. Sad part is I really do not like fried chicken.

I have been drinking a lot of water through out the day and evening. At work I walk around to different parts of the building. This place is big so I get in a little waking.

At night I pretty much just laid around and watched TV and played on the computer.  My roommate made a cake the other day and there was one piece left. Boy was that tempting maybe just a little frosting. I was a good boy and kept my self control.

End of Fast Day 1

Well I made it all day. It was hard when I stopped for fuel to not buy any snacks. Fast food started to look really good as i was driving past them.

No real hunger pains just the urge to EAT. A small headache started about 8pm.

Start of my Fast

I have to go out of town for a week. I figure this is a good time to start my fast. This way if I get cranky my wife will not suffer.

I am not doing this to lose weight all though I do have plenty to do. I have just been reading about fasting and thought I would give it a try. I know I need to switch to a more healthy diet and I thought this would a good start.

My goal it to fast from Sunday – Friday. Then back to trying to eat healthier on Saturday.

My first day (today) I will be driving for about 10 hours to were I need to work for the week. I find when I drive I tend to eat real bad. I just snack the hole time even if I am not hungry. I think it just boredom or a bad habit.

I have an audio book on CD to help with the boredom. When I stop for fuel or restroom I plan on not buying any food Just another bottle of water.


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Friday, December 3, 2010

Advent Calendar of Xmas Memories 12/3

Prompt for December 3 - Christmas Tree Ornaments -

Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family or ancestors make Christmas ornaments?

I don't think they were heirloom, but definitely cherished on our family Christmas tree growing up were the fragile glass "Old World" style ornaments, often in unusual shapes and/or with indentations, like the one pictured above in 1979. In the upper left corner, you'll also see a diamond-shaped ornament. I think that is a mirror, as I remember our tree having some of those, to help reflect the colored lights.

Heading for heirloom status is the tree skirt (above) my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Massmann Pape, made for us when I was growing up. The decorations have sequins sewn on by hand. Below is some detail:

Our tree growing up was an eclectic mix, as is ours today. Pretty much every ornament on our tree today has a story behind it. I like to buy ornaments when I travel to remind me of places I've been. There are some ornaments on the tree that my son Eric made when he was little. Unfortunately, those are still in the box, but here are some photos of some of my other shiny ornaments. Even today I have a strong preference for sparkly stuff.:

Stringing popcorn or cranberries was not part of our traditions, but I know my siblings and I made some ornaments as kids, and I've made a few since then. But that's another possible post.

(This is post 3 in the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories hosted by This post was originally published December 3, 2009.)

© Amanda Pape - 2010

1 comment:

  1. Sparkly is good. I love the variety that you have, and I'm awfully partial to the ones with indentations.


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The Face Shop

I love Korean skincare not just because it’s very popular nowadays but because it suits my skin. They usually have those cute packaging and fragrant products!

Perfume Seed Rich Body Milk, nail polish, Miracle CC Intense Cover Cushion 🌸

I have always loved moisturizers but this particular body milk is my favorite so far!

I’ll post about it on my next blog.

Their nail polish isn’t bad at all! I like the quality and it’s not pricey compared to other brands.

Review about this CC cushion is on the previous post. 😊

Overall, I love this brand. I will repurchase and will find my next favorites soon! 🤗

Review: Laneige BB Cushion Whitening

Laneige is my favorite BB Cushion brand

I’ve been using Laneige for quite some time now but from timeto time, Iwouldcheckout other Korean brands, too!My usual Cushionis the Neutral Beige in 21. On my recent trip to Laneige, this sales person just pitched her way and convinced me to get the cool beige because she said it suits me better.

So Iwent back with this. As usual, it’sgot a refill. Well, it’skind of pricey so I’mglad they have refills.

Let’s compare the two.

Pardon the Neutral beige as it’sobviously older. It’sbeen taking rides in my purses with my pens and what not 😂My swatchesNEUTRAL BEIGE: It’s got some pinkish hue and shimmer. Great on yellow undertone. Moisturized and luminous effect.

COOL BEIGE: Seems to appear lightereven though it has the same number (21). It appearsto be drier but it has more coverage.My verdict: I prefer Neutral Beige. I don’tneed to cover blemishes and Itend to have dry skin. Neutral beige makes my skin looking healthy, not pale or too bright, most importantly, it’s moisturized. 😊I love on line shopping. I’d rather keep shopping from Althea Korea! They offer free shipping and COD for a minimum purchase.Click here for discount and rebates! 😍Lastly, I’m giving Laneige CC Cushion 5 stars!⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐

Review: Witch’s Pouch Collagen Lip & Eye Remover

Hey gorgeous! I’m so glad to share with you my experience with this awesome product.

I bought this for 60% off at only P220

I’ve been using this product for a month now and I’ve never been happy with a make up remover. This product doesn’t sting my eyes. I have very sensitive skin under eye and my eyes are also very sensitive with eye make ups and other skin care products. This product nourishes my skin while cleaning out my make up. I really love it! It’s just like applying a beauty oil on my skin. it contains rice bran oil and vitamins plus hydrolized collagen!

On removing eye make up, my eyeliner and eye shadow are so easy to remove without any stinging feeling plus it feels moisturizer afterwards.

I’m so happy with this product and I’m interested to purchase again! For my rating, I’d give it a

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Shop at Althea Korea for great deals! I got this for only P220 instead of P560! New to Althea Korea? Get rebates and bonus plus additional discount from me by clicking this link:

👉🏻Althea Korea Additional Discount

Unboxing Althea (Box #3)

Hey friends! It’s been a while and I’ve been really busy so here’s a quick update! I’ve got another box of Althea Korea goodies!

Just a few things I needed and since Althea Korea offers free shipping, it’s really convenient!

Brown gel liner with brush from Witch’s Pouch

Collagen Lip & Eye (Make up) Remover

Moringa Body Lotion from Nature Holic
Reviews will be posted when I get to use them and yeah, when my schedule permits! 😝

Unboxing Althea Korea (Again!)

I know it’s just mid week but I’m just so excited to open my 2 boxes of Althea Korea goodies!!!

2 pink boxes!! 🤗

Super girly as usual.. 💕

💕Peach Body Full set (Peach Shampoo)

💕 Pore Less Freshener)

💕Rosy Tint Lips

💕Raspberry Hair Vinegar

💕OLED White effect cream

They also included this Mamonde Rose Moisturizing Flower Essential Mask. Yay! ✌🏻

Cant wait to use them and post my reviews!

Do you want to get additional discount from Althea Korea? 300 PHP awaits new members plus an addion 50 PHP thru my link here: Achimlove Discount

Althea Korea Discount Link Here!

If you love skincare and Korean cosmetics, OMG! Althea is the right place to shop!!!

They have the best deals and promotions are being done like all the time! Free Shipping straight from Korea for 1500 PHP and up! Isn’t that great? Plus you won’t have any doubts with quality because everything here is AUTHENTIC!

Upon sign up, you will receive 150 PHP rebate and 150 PHP will automatically be deducted from your bill plus another 50 PHP from this link : ALTHEA KOREA DISCOUNT

Happy Shopping!!! 💕
Related: Happy First Birthday Althea Korea!

Review: Laneige Whitening BB Cushion

I got really curious and excited to use a BB Cushion. I’ve seen many attractive designs and they’re pretty affordable, too. I saw Misha ones ranging from P450 but of course, that’s Shopee or Instagram prices. I’m a bit paranoid with fake make ups and I’ve always wanted to try Laneige so I just had to skip buying locally and went on line shopping at Althea Korea because it’s just the hottest on line shop for Korean make up and skin care. 😉
I’ve been eyeing on getting the Fruit Juice Makeup] BB cushion Whitening SPF 50+ PA+++ that was always out of stock each time I attempted to add to my cart. Finally I got it and there’s no turning back 😁 I bought mine for P1,320 instead of P1800 💰 Yay! 💕

Result/ Effect: It has good coverage. I don’t have blemishes but I can see how it smoothens my skin. It’s a skin perfecting bb cream 👍 I love it! There’s an instant glow on my skin. I have dry skin and this BB Cushion seems to give my skin some healthy glow (not shiny or greasy). My skin is moisturized and knowing that it’s also gonna be lightened over time is just so awesome! I really love the packaging. It’s neat and simple. Just great! I don’t think it will be an easy thing to use a different brand if I would be tempted to try another BB Cushion. For now, I’m sticking to this one. It’s very easy to use, sponge is just right in size and texture. So easy to blend. ❤

5 stars


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Source of Confidence!

A lack of confidence can have a massive impact upon your relationships, work performance and focus in life. I have struggled with a lack of confidence in different seasons of my life and I have talked with many people who doubt themselves and struggle with a lack of confidence.

Many heroes of the faith struggled with a lack of confidence in their capacity to answer the call of God on their lives. One of those heroes was Moses. When God asked Moses to deliver His people from Egypt, Moses baulked at the call and tried to get someone else to do it, explaining that he wasn’t an articulate speaker or great leader. God’s response to Moses was to encourage him that He would be with Moses.

God’s words to Moses aren’t very fancy but they are all that is needed for us to restore healthy confidence in ourselves and more importantly in God. When God is with you, you are a majority no matter what opposition you face. The one constant word God has spoken to me is exactly this, “Corey, I am with you.” I can’t tell you what that does for my confidence when I hear those words and feel God’s presence with me.

The next time you feel inadequate, remind yourself that your inadequacy isn’t the issue but God’s sufficiency is. You are inadequate but that’s why Jesus came and saved us from our sin and now you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil 4:13). The point is who is with you not what you can or can’t do. If God be for you, who dare be against you? Find your source of confidence in Christ and not in your circumstance or ability.

Lead the Change!

3 Responses to “Source of Confidence!”

  1. gail zammit Says:

    corey you r very inspiring and my thoughts have been on this subject for a few weeks. I often doubt my abilities but get reminded its Jesus and all about him not me. love u and miss ya all…love gailxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  2. gail zammit Says:

    I heard in a sermon a long time ago that moses actually couldnt talk..he had a this true..?.

    • Corey Turner Says:

      Hi Gail thanks for your encouraging comments and your interaction with my blog. Regarding Moses…

      Moses did have a stutter and and found it difficult to talk about God still used him in a powerful way to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt. Aaron, Moses brother in law was a great support to Moses and helped him initially with communication. Blessings.

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Greg Burson @ Activate!

Greg Burson is coming to Activate Church. Greg helps in the leadership of Edge Church, Auckland NZ and has a powerful prophetic gift that he shares with people all over the world. Greg is a great friend of Activate and hasn’t ministered here for over 2 years but on the last weekend in March 2010 Greg is coming to speak in a prophetic workshop and then he is speaking at our Sunday services as we celebrate our 4th Anniversary as a church.

You don’t want to miss out on this weekend. Activate will be hosting Greg at the following events:

Saturday 27th March – Prophetic Workshop (Time and small cost to be announced soon)

Sunday 28th March – 10am & 6pm Celebration Services (We may be moving to 3 services on this day with a 9am, 11:30pm & 6pm time slot. We will inform you of these service changes via my blog and

You are invited to come and attend what will prove to be a life changing event.

Lead the Change!

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Gang Peng, CMD, PhD, LAc, Acupuncturist in Bethesda
I graduated from Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 1982 (Bachelor of Medicine) and practice acupuncture in Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland. I also do acupuncture at National Institutes of Health as a member of pain and palliative care team. My main interests have been on pain management, sport injury, inflammation (such as arthritis, tendonitis, gastrointestinal problems) and neurological diseases (essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, dementia and ADHD). I am also an immunologist researching on inflammatory and infectious diseases. I was NIH research fellow and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry (Wayne State University 1992).
Low back pain, neck/shoulder pain, tress/anxiety/depression, migraine, allergy and rhinitis, peripheral neuropathy, nausea, Bell's palsy, essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, ADHD, foggy brain, tennis elbow, stroke recovery, urinary incontinence, plantar fasciitis, neuroma, frozen shoulder, multiple sclerosis related symptoms, fibromyalgia, lyme disease, generalized fatigue.
Personalized medicine is of great importance in my practice. Traditional acupuncture emphasizes the individualized treatment.
Call or Email Gang Peng for a free consultation now - (301) 531-5876

  • Years in Practice: 30+ Years
  • School: Beijing U of Traditional Chinese Meidicine
  • Year Graduated: 1982
  • License No. and State: U01433 Maryland

  • Avg Cost (per session): $80 - $130
  • Sliding Scale: Yes
  • Accepts Insurance: Yes
Accepted Payment Methods: Mastercard, Visa

Accepted Insurance Plans

  • Aetna
  • Alliance
  • AmeriHealth
  • BlueCross and/or BlueShield
  • Cigna
  • Great-West
  • Horizon Healthcare
  • Multiplan
  • Out of Network
Verify your health insurance coverage when you arrange your first visit.

  • Back Pain
  • Sports Medicine
  • Pain Management
  • Orthopedics
  • Cancer

  • Addiction
  • Allergies
  • Arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Blood Pressure
  • Breathing Problems
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Common Cold
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Eating Disorders
  • Essential tremor / Parkinson's disease
  • Eye Problems
  • Feet
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Headache
  • Infertility
  • Muscle Aches
  • Neck Pain
  • Pediatric
  • Pregnancy
  • Sexual Dysfunction
  • Skin Problems
  • Sleep Disorders
  • Smoking
  • Spinal Problems
  • Stress
  • Urology
  • Weight Loss
  • Wellness
  • Women's Health

Client Focus

Alternative Languages: Mandarin

  • Preteens / Tweens (11 to 13)
  • Adolescents / Teenagers (14 to 19)
  • Adults
  • Elders (65+)

Treatment Preferences

  • Auricular Acupuncture
  • Chinese Acupuncture
  • Trigger Point Acupuncture

Treatment Techniques

  • Electro acupuncture
Last Modified: 07 Jul 2015
Gang Peng, CMD, PhD, LAc, Acupuncturist in Bethesda

Gang Peng

Acupuncturist, CMD, PhD, LAc


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Friday, 17 March 2017

Fill-Me-In Fridays #1

Hey guys. So you know how I'm obsessed with weekly memes right? I've created my own! I'll leave the link to the Goodreads page here so you can all get involved with the fun. Every Friday, there is a different theme/topic which you must answer 5 questions about. It isn't easy to explain but hopefully if you carry on reading you'll get the gist! The 5 questions are the same each week but your answers will obviously change depending on the theme!

So without further ado, let's get started with this weeks! The theme this week is: Book over 500 pages!

I've only read 2 books over 500 pages.. I know that's so lame but I get intimidated and feel like I'm making no progress with big books. I'm sorry okay? So this week is probably going to be really boring for you guys.

1. What was the last book you read that was over 500 pages?

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It took me so so long to finish this book because I kept putting it down and not picking it back up again because I felt so overwhelmed by the size of it. I did eventually finish it though and really enjoyed it!

2. What is the next book you think you'll read that is over 500 pages?

The book I am currently reading is over 500 pages so that one will hopefully be finished this month because I'm absolutely loving it. It's one I've been meaning to read for a while now and that's Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It's not something I'd usually enjoy but so far it's a 5/5 star book for me.

3. What is the best book you've ever read that is over 500 pages?

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. This is one of my favourite books of all time. I found it really easy to get through despite the length as it's told in a series of letters and emails, making it a super fast read. I love unique formats for novels. It was such a cute book too.

4. What is the worst book you've ever read that is over 500 pages?

I don't really have one, I gave Love, Rosie a 5/5 stars and The Time Travelers Wife 4.5/5 so I can't really say I have a 'worst' book. I'm sure I'll find one though as it's my goal to tackle more big books this year.

5. What is a book you've read with the best cover that is over 500 pages?

Out of the 2 books I've read, I'd say I prefer The Time Traveler's Wife cover. It's just really pretty with the knee high socks and cute buckle shoes and the meadow in the back.

Image result for the time traveler's wife book

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed this and find this meme fun. Let me know what your answers are for this week in the comments below!

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Find the latest information and helpful content to download here.

Experience the energy

An overview of add energy's global business.

View our corporate brochure.

View our corporate presentation.

Watch the movie Dynamic Kill through Relief Well

The movie Dynamic Kill through Relief Well gives a good insight into how a relief well is drilled and the engineering behind a dynamic kill operation. A hypothetical blowout occurs, with the rig pulling off location, thus leaving the add energy's well kill team with a dynamic kill through a relief well as the best kill method.

Watch the short video clip of the Relief Well Injection Spool (RWIS) - Facilitates single relief well contingency


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Hi, Welcome to Densa's Den

2017-04-26 16:58:10 by ADEN777

I make trap, futanari, any type of art I feel like making. So make yourself comfortable and enjoy the den.

Recent Game Medals

Medal _13 5 Points What a pile of buffalo diarrhea! Medal Stats.
Medal _18 5 Points Welcome back! Medal Stats.
Medal #2 5 Points Reach level 2. Medal Stats.
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Medal #6 5 Points Don't skip the intro. Medal Stats.

Total Medals Earned: 5 (From 1 different game.)


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Forktown Food Tours

I went on a really fantastic food tour last week with my volunteer group, led by Jessica K. of Forktown Food Tours. We hit several spots in the Nob Hill/NW neighborhood of Portland, which is truly a food paradise. I didn’t realize they now have a farmers market at NW 23rd/Savier on Thursdays from 3-7 through Sept. 30th, so that was a real treat. I’ll have to go back: Rogue Creamery was there selling FRESH BUTTER. Wow. Besides the market, we also hit some of my other favorite places: Besaw’s, Kenny & Zuke’s, City Market, Two Tarts (gluten-free macarons!), and Wildwood.

One thing I really appreciated about the tour was that Jessica asked during the reservation process if anyone had any food allergies, and that she would do her best to accommodate them if at all possible. Now that is service!! It turned out there were two celiacs on the tour and the places we visited were extremely kind in offering us gluten-free options. I LOVE when restaurants go the extra mile. It makes a huge impression on me and I’m sure other GF people as well (we tend to tell all our friends). So THANKS especially to Two Tarts bakery for the gluten-free blackberry macarons and Kenny & Zuke’s pastrami “sandwich,” sans bread. Other tasty highlights included:

  • An awesome blackberry kir royale at Besaw’s. I’m definitely going back soon just to have another one.
  • The albacore fingerling potato salad at BBQ on the Patio at Wildwood (basically their version of happy hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays).
  • The d’Arles sausage of Olympic Provisions, my current favorite sausage of theirs. The Man prefers Alsace.
  • The crabapple single-fruit Wickson cider from Wandering Aengus Ciderworks. Wow. Interesting.

Jessica was great at providing a little Portland city history mixed in with its culinary history as well, and she kept up the pace so we didn’t linger too long in any one spot. I think it’s a super tour for both locals and visitors alike. She also offers a food tour of North Portland, which sounds intriguing, as well as a beer tour.

As an aside, Laurelhurst Market just got ranked as one of the top ten U.S. restaurants by Bon Appetit. Awesome!

Here are some photos from the food tour:

Olympic Provisions booth at farmers market

Eli and Tyler showing off their sausages.

Assorted sausages on display

Wandering Aengus booth at farmers market

I'll take a bottle of each, please.

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SharePoint Designer Workflow (WSP) Packager source-code released!

Source-code on CodePlex!

Recently I got a lot of requests to release the source-code of the SharePoint designer workflow packager. My idea was to wait a bit until I got time to clean up the code and  to fix some bugs.  But since I am still traveling this could take a while.

If you find any bugs, please feel free to become a contributor and upload your fixes 🙂

Check it out here at:

Installation notes

Be aware that there are still a couple of bugs in the code, and remember that you need C# 3.5 to be installed on your server to run this.

I won’t recommend running this on production servers unless you are a 100% sure that it works.

What’s next?

Depending on the feedback I might extend the workflow packager but it all depends on Microsoft’s roadmap on Workflows for SharePoint’s Next Release. Personally, I think that MS will port the web-based CRM 4.0 workflow editor to SharePoint, or create shared functionality for it, which would supersede this tool. Until then, I try to keep it updated with bug-fixes.

SPD Workflow Packer Source Release (And why I am a bit quiet)

Hi all,

First off, my apologies!The reason for me not blogging lately is because I am traveling Australia and New Zealand and it’s a bit hard getting wireless in my camper.

However, I am releasing the source code for the workflow packaging tool as soon as I can find a place to put it.

Until then, look at my view 🙂

I’m expected to be back and back to civilization in May 🙂

Packaging and re-using SharePoint designer workflows (Part 2)

Purpose of this article

The purpose of this article is to explain how to create SPD workflows which are portable using an approach as described in an previous post. I’ve written an small BETA tool to export, import and attach the workflows. The GUID replacement is not the most elegant approach, but is faster than rewriting Microsoft’s SPD activities. Anyway I wanted explain how it should work already.

UPDATE: The tool is live, more on this here:

Steps for getting it working

The best approach for working with the export workflows tool is as follows;

  1. Design and create the lists you want to use for you workflow.
  2. Export these lists for packaging as you are used to when packaging lists into features, you should already know how to do so.
  3. Create an empty site (blank site for instance) to validate and instantiate the lists in using your created feature. This blank site will be your workspace for creating and exporting the SharePoint Designer workflow.

Actual workflow activities

  1. Open op SharePoint Designer and create the workflows for that lists in that instantiated site.
  2. Use the workflow export utility to export the workflows and generate the workflow feature XML
  3. Package the feature in to an WSP (using WSPBuilder for instance), add the SPDToolkit.Workflows.Foundation.DLL to the GAC directory of your WSP solution.
  4. Activate the lists feature on an (empty) site and activate the workflow feature. The workflow should now be added to the site and associated with the lists.

Just for sample purposes I’ve created the very simple and silly “Beer Orders” and “Approved Beer Orders” lists in a site using the SharePoint UI. Both lists containing nothing more than just column with the default name ‘Title’. The idea of these list is that when user orders an beer with the Title “Heineken” it will immediately go to the approved orders (others will probably never be handled 🙂 ) . Maybe I will extend the sample later on to let it make more sense.

Now, since we want to use this lists in our workflow, and re-use them on multiple sites, it is important that we package the lists as an feature so we can activate the feature on multiple sites. Activating the feature will instantiate the lists on that particular site.

So, first we need to convert our UI generated list into a way that we can package it using solution packaging. There are quite some tools out there that can export lists to an list definition XML. You can use whatever tooling you want to create the list definition. I’ve used some self written logic to export the list definition and create the list instance feature.

The lists are both packaged in an feature cleverly called “Beer Lists Feature”

Since we have packaged the lists, we need to test whether the lists are correctly provisioned. We do this by creating an blank site and activating our “Beer Lists Feature”. When this is correctly provisioned we will use this site for creating our SPD workflows which we will export using our utility.

I’ve activated the “Beer Lists Feature” feature and instantiated the lists in an “Blank Site” which I created at http://litwaredemo:15000/BeerWorkspace/.

Creating the workflow

Now to create the SPD workflow we open up the site at http://litwaredemo:15000/BeerWorkspace/. We can use the new workflow option in SharePoint designer to create the workflow. The result looks a bit like this;

To explain what it does. The workflow checks whether an item is added to “Beer Orders” with the title “Heineken” (Case sensitive). If this is the case it will add an item to “Approved Beer Orders” for processing.

Exporting the workflow

We will now export our created workflow using the export workflow utility. This utility will export the workflow files and create an analyze XML file to which we can later recreate the workflow.

To export the workflow to a feature we use the following syntax:

SPDToolkit.Workflows.Utility.exe -path C:\Feature\ -name AgileDirect.ExampleSolution.Workflows -title Beer workflow -description Simple beer driven workflow A -url http://litwaredemo:15000/BeerWorkspace/

The arguments should be quite self-explanatory.

This will result in an feature like this;

Packaging it up

Now that we have the feature we need to package it. I use WSP builder, and the solution looks a bit like this in the end. You can see that its nothing more than copying the resulting feature in to the FEATURES folder of the WSP structure.

Now what we need to do is add our custom feature receiver to the GAC, so when the feature gets activated it will execute our custom feature receiver and add and the workflow to the site. To do this add it to the GAC folder of the WSPBuilder folder structure.

Now the feature needs to packaged into an WSP and an solution needs to be build, installed and deployed to an web-application. Again, I used WSPBuilder to do so.

Activating the workflows

To activate the workflows, create an empty site.I called mine, http://litwaredemo:15000/BeerWorkspaceTest/ Activate the “Beer Lists Feature” and the “Beer workflow” feature next. Please note that activating could take quite some time (up to 20 seconds for the first time). This should activate and enable the workflows on that site.

Testing the workflows

Add an item to the list “Beer Orders” with the name  “Heineken” and you will see that the workflow gets triggered and an message gets added to the history, and an item get put in the “Approved Beer Orders”

And you can see the item has appeared on the other list “Approved Beer Orders” as well.

Make it easier for your clients using feature stapling

Don’t forget that you can feature staple the features together so that the user only needs to activate one feature.

What’s next?

Well, next I will upload the utility, and I will create an screen-cast to explain how to work with the tool and export workflows. If this is still a bit too complicated to comprehend.

Its out now: Check the post

A couple of features on my wish list.

  • Create a CodePlex place for it, so I can upload the code and you guys can download and work with the tool.
  • Add support for versioning of workflows
  • More advanced support for workflows
  • Fix some bugs
  • Use the object model API instead of the webservice (avoids the long wait when activating)

Packaging and re-using SharePoint designer workflows (Part 1)

Purpose of this article

The purpose of this article is to explain some of the inner workings of SharePoint designer workflows. It will also explain why SharePoint designer workflows are not portable by default. Additionally, in the upcoming blog there will be a tool available that allows for basic packaging of  SharePoint designer workflows to features, thus enabling SPD workflows to become a part of your solution packaging process.

SharePoint Designer workflow creation process explained

When you create a workflow in SPD. There is a lot of server-client interaction involved cleverly hidden from the end user. In a nutshell, this is what happens behind the scenes when a user creates a workflow in SharePoint designer.

  1. User initiates the creation of a new workflow by choosing ‘New Workflow’ from the SPD menu.
  2. SharePoint designer queries the remote server and downloads any workflow activities registered in authorized types (in proxy form) from the server using web services. SPD opens the workflow editor, and allows the user to create the workflow using the available activities on the server.
  3. Upon save, SPD checks whether there is a Workflows library available in the site. If not it will create one. Additionally, SPD creates a folder in the Workflows library baring the same name of the workflow to store the files into.
  4. SPD serializes the workflow to its XOML (WFName.xoml) equivalent, if any rules logic is used; it will also serialize this information to a (WFName.xoml.rules file).
  5. SPD uploads the files into the folder using RPC.
  6. After uploading the files it will validate the XOML for any errors by calling a web service method on the server passing the workflow XOML.
  7. If the validation is passed it will create a configuration file that states which version of the workflow should (the actual version number of the xoml file) be used and to which list the workflow is associated. It will also specify workflow initiation conditions such as start on item creation, update or delete, and whether it should allow users to start workflow manually. This configuration file is uploaded to the server.
  8. The configuration file is processed and the workflow is associated to the list by the server by SPD calling a method on an web service passing the URL and version of the configuration file.

Anatomy of an SharePoint Designer workflow

When you create and save a workflow in SharePoint designer, it stores a couple of files in a folder baring the same name of the workflow in the workflows library as mentioned in the process above.

Each workflow folder consists out of the following files;

The workflow XOML file (My Workflow On Test A.xoml)

The workflow XOML file contains the serialized workflow markup. This is the serialized XML/XOML version of the workflow you’ve edited in SharePoint designer. It basically contains a serialized activity graph of all the workflow activities used in your workflow.

Additional rules file (My Workflow On Test A.xoml.rules)

if you have used rules logic in your workflow; Sharepoint will create a rules file in the folder as well. This file will contain all custom rules logic generated by the rules engine in the SPD workflow editor.

A workflow configuration file (My Workflow On Test A.xoml.config)
The workflow configuration file stores information on which version of workflow and rules file it should use upon workflow association. It will also contain initiation information such whether the workflow should be started upon creation of an item in the associated list, or when an item is updated and so on. Furthermore, the configuration file will have an id of a list to which it should associate the workflow to.

The reason why SPD workflows cannot be ported

So actually, there is nothing in the workflow engine and SharePoint object model that prevents you from using the same workflow XOML over and over in different sites, and thus packaging up and porting your SPD created workflows. Frankly, I think it’s pretty decent model if it was documented well. The actual thing that makes it impossible to port SPD workflows is the OOB activities that come with SharePoint itself. These activities when serialized to XOML, store GUIDS to lists itself instead of ‘pointers’ to list, or any other indirection or that matter. And here is the weakness exposed, because List-IDS are generated each time a list is instantiated the XOML workflows aren’t reusable, since they will most likely point to non existing lists.

You can see an example of this on line 26, of the XOML file (Lookup activity)

Also the configuration is hard bound to the list id.

In my opinion it feels like the workflow activities where a bit rushed, an that the indirection layer that made portability possible has somehow not survived the PBI prioritization queue.

In part two..

Well, this should be enough to explain how SPD workflows work, for now, in the next post we will go deeper into the workings and I will release an sample tool that can be used to export and import basic SharePoint designer workflows to overcome this problem.

Watch this space!


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Off the Leash: How was your weekend? I flew a plane

Even at about 3,000 feet with the engine running and while wearing a noise-canceling headset, I swear could still hear Katniss, my German shepherd mix and the shameless star of this blog, whining as I flew over my house.

Yeah, I flew over my house today.¹ It was no big deal.

My house—and Katniss—is in this picture. Can you guess which one it is?
You might think this is a patch of beautiful blue sky, but it’s actually a photo of my pants taken accidentally. Isn’t your life more enriched for knowing that?

A couple of years ago my father-in-law, a pilot, got me a discovery flight ticket for Christmas, as he knew how much I love all things flying-related. As time went by and work and life got more hectic, we never went on the flight, the purpose of which is to allow the participant to briefly fly a small plane and get a view of Austin from the air. I’m sure some discovery flight flyers go on to take lessons.

Anyway, my father-in-law and I finally made the time to go on the flight, and it was way more casual—and fun—than a typical flight you might have with an airline. We simply walked out of the hangar and got in the plane. We didn’t have to go through security, wait for hours during a layover or worry about luggage—which seems absolutely unfathomable in this day and age.

As we flew over my beloved adopted hometown with ease, as many airplanes do every day, I couldn’t help but think of my actual hometown, Dayton, Ohio, and my heroes, the Wright brothers, who were from Dayton. What would they have thought if they were in the plane with us?² It was humbling to think that two guys with high school diplomas and no advanced educations, probably not much older than our instructor pilot along with us, built a flying machine with their bare hands in the same century in which I was born, and their invention revolutionized the world. At that moment, up in the air with all of my anxieties back on the ground, I was never more proud to be from Dayton—and I’m really, really proud to be from Dayton pretty much every minute of my life.

Then it was my turn to briefly fly the plane. As a lifelong fan of aviation, I knew the basics of how the plane worked—how the cross-section of the wing was shaped to generate lift, how to steer the plane and the basic layout of the cockpit. I felt surprisingly at home at the controls, aside from the more technical aspects of flying, such as communicating constantly with the ground or adjusting the fuel mixture. It felt fairly similar to the flight simulation video games I’ve spent my whole life playing, aside from the fact that I wasn’t trying to shoot someone else out of the sky or performing ridiculous stunts. Then again, the instructor pilot handled all the more difficult aspects, such as takeoff and landing, as well as doing the lion’s share of the flying.

We flew pretty close to where the University of Texas plays football, Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Even as an Ohio native, I could never stomach Ohio State University, its football team or our state’s borderline psychosis over OSU football. Just thinking about the scarlet and gray Buckeyes makes me angry. Hook ’em, Horns! And no, I was not piloting the plane when I took this photo.

Within mere minutes, it seemed, we were back on the ground, as if flying among the birds, as mankind had dreamed of doing for thousands of years, was as easy as breathing. I’ve flown while shoehorned into large airliners dozens of times as a passenger, as many of us likely have, but being in such small confines—the plane only held three people—and being able to fly briefly myself and watch the instructor pilot fly with ease, gave me a different aspect on flying. I’m sure the awe of piloting oneself in whatever direction one chooses struck the Wrights and other Ohio natives—astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, to name a couple—much in the same way.

Here’s some words of wisdom from another, more random, view from the pilot’s chair.

The best part, perhaps, of flying was that as a constant worrier of all things, I had no space in my brain to think of anything else but the task at hand and marvel at the entire experience. And that, dear reader, is the greatest gift my father-in-law could ever give me, aside from being OK with me marrying his daughter.

¹And boy are my arms tired! Anyone? Anyone? No? I always liked that joke.

I always get the Wright brothers mixed up, but in this photo Orville is the one with the mustache. One hundred-plus years later, Orville’s mustache and others like it are all the rage with hipsters here in Austin.

²Orville and Wilbur are long dead, so they would probably first wonder how they wound up in an airplane with me, and since there’s only room for three people in the little Cessna plane, they wouldn’t even fit in the cabin with us unless they sat on someone’s lap. Talk about awkward.

3 thoughts on “Off the Leash: How was your weekend? I flew a plane

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Feed Your Zombie Hunger During ‘The Walking Dead’ Hiatus

I looked at a couple fun products you can take part in while The Walking Dead is off on hiatus. It’s up on Starpulse.

Interview Dave Fennoy: The Voice Of Lee Everett From Telltale’s ‘The Walking Dead’

I recently interviewed Dave Fennoy who voiced Lee Everett in the excellent The Walking Dead game. It’s up on Starpulse.

Noah Emmerich On Playing FBI Agent Stan Beeman On ‘The Americans’

Posted quotes from a recent Noah Emmerich conference call about The Americans over on Starpulse.

‘Veep’ Season 2 Preview: Great Cast, Incredible Guest But Needs Writing Support

Here’s my review of the first four episodes of the second season of Veep for Starpulse.

Soundfreaq Sound Kick [REVIEW]: It’s Another Bluetooth Speaker, But That’s Not Why I Love It

I recently reviewed the Soundfreaq Sound Kick for Starpulse.

Sonic-connect 2 [REVIEW]: A Desk Gadget Alert System for New E-mails and IMs

I recently reviewed a nifty little gadget that buzzes, beeps or flashes when you get incoming e-mails. It’s called the Sonic-connect 2 and the review is over on Starpulse.

Gena Lee Nolin on Creating ‘Thyroid Sexy,’ Her Upcoming Book And Possible ‘Baywatch’ Kickstarter

I recently interview Gena Lee Nolin for Starpulse.


text:
At Your Throne

I come into Your Throne Room

and kneel before the Mercy Seat

It’s Your Throne Father

that I’d bold approach

That’s Where I long to be

Just You and Me

But it’s only through The Blood

It’s only through The Blood of the Son

Your Blood is Pure

Your Blood gives Life

It cleanses Me

And sets me Free

Breaks every chain

Takes every yoke

Your Love endures

for all of Time

I am Forgiven

I am Loved

and by Your Blood

We are One

Magical – God’s Up to Something…

Magical – God’s Up to Something quite magical, with that essence of awe and wonder that only a child understands.

            It’s like walking into Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole, with so much to behold, but not knowing where to start. There’s a deep yearning to touch everything, to try everything, to take in EVERY smell, EVERY taste, EVERY sight, EVERY sound. To take it ALL in tangibly and still ask: “Is this real?” So wonderful that it seems be beyond our grasp, it’s like a dream you don’t want to wake up from.

            This is what I felt like on my first stop after leaving the airport, arriving from Nicaragua. I left the warm (well, hot) tropics and lush greens to a cold winter, where people were already gearing up for Christmas though Thanksgiving was yet days away. It all felt surreal, as if I’d completely missed a whole season of time and felt completely out of place. Then I stepped into Bass Pro with my husband, for the very first time.

            Truly it was as if I was transported back in time and was a little child visiting this very same mall, which was my ultimate favorite place to visit Santa when I was growing up. You walk in through this lower entrance, and suddenly the whole building just opens up. And your breath momentarily ceases to be, as your eyes begin to wander taking stock of what is before and all around you.

            There’s animal ‘trophies’ hung all over the walls and on displays, like the bears on the rocks at the large waterfall on the back side of the room, which really isn’t, there so much more behind it. They’ve set up a carousel in the middle of the room! There’s a fudge stand, game booths and even Santa Claus! There are larger than life decorations everywhere, and by now, who even cares or notices that this is actually a store. The whole building inside looks like it ought to be found on a mountain top. And I just felt like a little kid again, with all the same wonder and awe of it all.

            Oh God, what ARE You up to?

            Then I read this prophetic post a few nights ago, written by a voice I’ve come to pay close attention to. Her dreams, visions and encounters with Jesus always spark something deep – like deep longings etc that have lain hidden beneath the layers of life. I’d read it, or should I say, it’s more like I FELT this word. Honestly, when I’d gone back to my room to have some quiet time and thought again about this post, I could only remember a single word – IMPENDING. It was this word that grabbed my attention, and my hope. For some of us, this is a bombshell of a word signifying the fruit of long awaited dreams, visions, prophecies and prayers for what’s coming ahead. When I first read it, that word literally resounded all around and through me. It was this that I remembered as I pondered there on my bed, and then I remembered my experience at the store, just nights before.

            As I thought on these, it was if I was being enveloped by ‘veils’ of presence, glory and light; living, full of life and joy! I felt as much a part of it all as I was aware of being in it. It was also as if it all was encompassing more than just space within my room. I felt so light and nearly weightless, and joy was rising. Not just any kind of joy, but child like joy, a joy like which I’d not felt in a very, very long time. But I basked in that joy and it seemed that the more I let that joy rise, the more the atmosphere grew and increased.

            This sparked an awareness, or a belief, that something is on its way which I most assuredly did not expect! I’m not sure why, seeing as the Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace AND Joy in the Holy Ghost. And I’m pretty sure I was right smack in the midst of at least one portion of that Kingdom.

            Its seems to be, that in the midst of all our dark times, and even the darkness that the Word says would come upon the people (Isaiah 60), that He has (or soon will) released a magical wonderland – for WHO SO EVER WILL; a magical realm of endless possibility, wonder, beauty, joy, hope and awe. A ‘place’ of wonders upon wonders; discovery after discovery – IF we’ll just come expecting, and enjoying, with the awe, wonder and the mindset and heart set of a child; to dream again, where dreams are tangible and can truly manifest.

            Crystal palaces, sparkling rainbows, diamond like roadways, buildings and the like – Brilliancy all around. The air itself alive and responding to our every thought, what will we discover here? What will we create?

            Thank You, Daddy – for taking me to the “North Pole” and back to my childhood… it feels good, it feels right, if feels hopeful and full of Light.

 Note: just the week before at the hotel, I was in Mark and one of the passages I underlined in my Holman CSB bible, was from Mark 10, and I love how verse 15 is worded.

   13” Some people were bringing little children to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked them. 14. When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15. I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 16. After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them.”

Faith and Promise - creating on Pic Monkey!

                                Faith and Promise – creating!

Well gee… I thought maybe I was going to write a somewhat depressing post on transition. The although transition’s good, it can be very hard post.

But in updating the missions blog, I created a photo. Started out with one of the photos from a recent rainbow, to represent faith and the promises of God. A little adjustment with the color saturation and temp, a significant crop, then some play time with some effects and texture, etc, and voilá! Well that was fun! And you get a non-depressing photo!

(And I’ve decided photos usually look better bigger – after you clicked on them! I’m still learning my way around here!)

With another step.. a little more creating, and now we have this! What is it about creating that makes one feel better!

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things unseen, the assurance of things hoped for. "Dare to Believe... in what you can't see"

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things unseen, the evidence of                                                       things hoped for.
                       “Dare to Believe… in what you can’t see”


text:
Every time..

Every damn time, when I think about it, I must always cry. That is the only way I can cope with it. Every memory I have about that night. Every memory is sealed in my brain, sealed in my blood.

When he came into my room, that was when I knew I couldn’t stop him. He moved slowly and gently, like a poisonous snake. The beast crawled into the bed, moving from my feet, upwards. My legs, my stomach, my chest, neck, and head, were all now controlled by him. So what else could I do? Fight him? No, he held my hands tight to his.

He kissed me. Oh how crazy! Who in this world kisses his prey before killing? You don’t see lions kissing zebras. So why did he have to kiss me? Leave a mark? Saying, “This one’s mine”? That is horrible, but what followed next was worse. The way he touched me, the way I had to touch him. If I really had a say in this I promise you I would’ve never permitted this.

I must say. I must really admit, that the only way I could keep myself from killing him, was the thought that soon it would be over. How foolish of me! It never was over, it never is. Now I must walk the streets of a filthy town, wearing filthy clothes and having that terrible thought that I. I! of all the other preys in this world, I had to be the one. The one who got taken by him, my own son.


text:
“Everybody ticks. Only the anti-clockwise hear it.”

Went with Rachel to a wonderfully underground (in all senses of the word) art exhibit in the bowels of Shoreditch Town Hall. The winner – a heart-swelling mysterium in feathers – didn’t photograph so well but can be seen here.

  1. Lady P

    November 28, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    So lovely that you’re back in the webbing. This is such a beautiful thing to see, but particularly on a dingy Friday morning xxxx

  2. Courtney

    November 29, 2008 at 6:42 pm

    Amazing. What I love about art is that there is no right or
    wrong way to look at it. It is what it is. Multiple meanings
    with multiple interpretations, and all being right for that

    As for the ‘mysterium in feathers’, it is thought-provoking
    and unusual. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. I
    doubt I’d’ve seen anything like it.

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text:
Wait for it.

Wait in the doctor’s office.

Wait in the check out line.

Wait for test results.

Wait for your baby to be born.

Wait for your application to be accepted.

Wait for your kids to get home.

Wait on people who say they will come or call or get back to you.

Wait excited.

Wait angry.

Wait frustrated.

Wait sad.

I’ve been waiting for faith to come. It’s like hanging your clothes out to dry. It’s got to happen. Those clothes have been out there a long time.

I’ve been waiting with this sorrow. I didn’t know really. I didn’t know I would sit with this sorrow for so long. It’s like hanging between.

I’ve been waiting for the right moment to let go. It’s holding on tight to some expectation. It’s like spreading your arms wide and hanging there waiting for some kind of resurrection. But what if you are already way past the third day?

I’ve been waiting to be over this lose your mother thing. It’s not happening. A friend told me the other day that there are still good experiences to be had from my relationship with Mom. That is hard to believe today. I know my brothers and sisters understand. Maybe you do too. By the way, brothers and sisters, I’m holding you today in the ring that she gave me. I’ve been holding you all day.

But, I think sometimes you just hang there holding these two truths that don’t go together.

It’s heavy…this hanging. Christ knows.

Maybe we could just hang together today? I would really like that. Because I don’t really know what this waiting is all about. I know life is wearying sometimes. I know I can’t make sense of any of it sometimes, and maybe the hanging means being okay with the mystery even if the truth and the love are hard to see.

Mom hung there with it all. I saw it in her face when she voiced her concerns about us all….a graceful existence hanging between

what is and what will be,

what can’t be anymore and what has to be,

what is finishing and what is beginning,

what is breaking and what is forming.

Hang with me today?

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text:
Introducing: ‘Interesting people’ – Interview Series

Living 360°

The Oxford dictionary defines the word ‘Interesting’ as: “Arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention”.

The aim of this category is to bring you some fun interviews of some very interesting people who I know & adore, want to know and plan to meet along the way. Each will have their own unique story to tell and from them we will hopefully take a little bit of wisdom that we can use to improve our own lives – or if nothing else, have a good laugh and enjoy the read!

If you would like me to interview anybody who fits the ‘interesting’ bill then drop me a line too..

Much love!

AD x

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Make No Mistake, He’s Mine

In her own unique way, Cinnamon has been mourning the passing of Nutmeg. It appears to have taken the form of being extra-clingy to her humans, or wandering the house looking for her former room-mate, not finding him, and howling in a more “soulful” that usual voice.

One night in particular she was waking up at least once an hour, popping out from her usual under the covers sleeping position, and howling by our ears.  Apparently, another couple of times she also decided to technicolour yawn. The first time was somewhere around the 3:00am mark. Tom was on his back and Cinny way laying on his lap, his upper body in the “kill-zone”.

Fortunately for him, at least for this reason, he wasn’t sleeping deeply and heard the up-chuck “guh guh” preamble and managed to send her off the bed before the damage was done. I barely remember it to be honest, because frankly I am a total zombie when I’m woken up suddenly. Luckily Tom is the official gack cleaner in this household, so he mopped it up quickly and we settled back into bed.

He told me later that he had slept fitfully after that, never getting back into a good deep sleep the rest of the night, which probably factored into what played out later that morning. A quick aside; this is a reversal of roles for certain, because he’s normally the one that embraces sleep at the drop of a hat, and I’m generally up reading at some godforsaken hour.

Anyway, that morning (well official morning anyway) I awoke to Tom leaping out of bed exclaiming “SHE DID IT AGAIN!!!” I tried to blink myself awake and went to roll over towards the center of the bed, rolling back just in time when Tom warned me that I was heading straight for a lovely fresh pile of processed kibble.

Paper towel and spray bottle in hand, Tom began to clean up the mess while I lay with my eyes half closed as far from the center of the bed as possible. It took a few seconds to register, but I suddenly realized that I smelled bleach. Tom was just starting to spraying the duvet cover when I cried out “I SMELL BLEACH! IS THAT BLEACH?”

“Noooo” Tom said and shook the bottle he had in his hand at me with a “duh this is the pet spray bottle” gesture. “THAT’S BLEACH!!!! MY $300 SHEETS!!!” I squeaked. Yeah they were my splurge, a set of sheets which I bought from Bed Bath and Beyond that were A.) incredibly marked-down from the original $300, B.) partially paid for by a $100 gift-cert that I won in a contest and C.) SO! EFFING! SOFT! that they were sooo worth the $80 or so I actually spent on them of our own cash. Normally I would never buy such expensive sheets, they are such an impractical luxury.

I gazed down at the white spot quickly forming where once was a beautiful blue and made a sad face. Tom was cursing himself, scolding the cat for keeping him up half the night, and telling me how sorry he was and “You can’t have nice things!”

As I watched the fabric continue to lighten and listened to Tom’s self (and Cinny) flagellation, then I started to giggle. At first admittedly a slightly hysterical reaction to watching a dollar pancake sized white spot form on my once-pristine blue sheets as well as noticing the adorable tiny embossed polka-dots being joined by some white ones from the over-spray.  At that moment the full breadth of the comedic scene played back in my head and I started to REALLY laugh, I mean, how could I not?

Then I did what I always do, I took pictures.

Tom’s “I’m sorry I ruined your sheets face” :

Aaaaand what the boo-boo face was over:

bleach stain on my sheets :(

On the positive side: we will now always know exactly where (what is now) the BOTTOM of the fitted sheet is.

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text:
A 5 day – am kinda liking this energy of  the middle zone!  Even though I must admit that I’m often a “higher” energy type person and I do enjoy the rush of a great idea and being in a full on FLOW moment – it’s been restorative to me to be just allowing myself to be with what is and accepting.

I am learning myself in every moment how to be better at modulating – and at discerning – not only my own energy but also the more universal energy that we are all experiencing and traveling through!  Right now it’s the FULL moon and that’s usually a time for me of intense dreaming and releasing – we’re also receiving a cosmic wave of Platinum Rays that is really purifying and creating a frequency of unification of the Divine Masculine and Feminine energies.  So it’s appropriate that I’m running at a 5 since that’s a nice balanced spot and indicative of my own resonance with this unification flow.
I wrote this morning about the “Mother Guilt” and I ended up not making the time today to further explore that – something that I could make my self additionally guilty over (not following through on my commitments to myself!) but I’m going to choose in this moment not to do that!

I’m going to RIGHT NOW in THIS MOMENT – make a conscious decision to release the guilt.  To LET GO of all guilt I may be carrying around my ability to be a good mother and to wash it away with a COSMIC Aquamarine BLUE Wave of Water energy.

Here is my new Statement of Power:

In this moment I am guiltless – I do my best – I choose to be present as fully as I am able – I make the choices that I believe in my heart to be the best for my self and my child – I trust in the guidance of my heart and I release my child and myself to the overlighting guidance and care of Spirit.  I believe that all is well, that all is happening for a reason that I am not yet fully and consciously aware of and that exactly on time I will know all I need to know.  I am resolved to be fearless in my parenting – trusting that between us – my child and I – will co-create exactly what we each need to learn and grow together.  I believe in the love I hold in my heart for my child and that love will prevail over all present illusion. I forgive myself and my child now.  I and my child are both innocent in the eyes of  the ONE Source and that is all that really matters.
Mmmmm…… That was a good one.  I can rest easy tonight.  All is well.

If you are enjoying these Energy Evaluations or any of my posts and wish to comment – please feel free to do so – I want to hear about your journey.  What’s surfacing for you?


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Book Review: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

A heart breaking read, with a plot twist that resulted in my staying up until 3:30am to finish it. A short spoiler free review of a beautiful piece of fiction. Maddy has severe combined immunodeficiency, meaning that she is allergic 'to the world'. She has never been outside of her home, and only spends time... Continue Reading →

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

From PaulP: Two 15mm Old Glory Prussian Battalions from the 6th Reserve Regt.

'Ok, the last one to Paris cleans Napoleon's bidet!'
Here we have some lovely new entries from PaulP in the form of two battalions of 1813 era Prussian infantry from the 6th Reserve Regiment.

The boys with crimson indicate those troops who were recruited out of West Prussia, while the yellow striped fellows are from Silesia (Y'know, 'Silesia' is a great sounding word. No really, say it out loud: S-I-L-E-S-I-A. Its just too bad it also sounds like a name Paris Hilton would give her shih tzu...).

Anyway, these guys are the business. I quite like these man-sized units... Hmm, strike that and let me rephrase: I like that there are a lot of figures making up each battalion. Yeah, that's what I meant.

All of these are 15mm Old Glory castings. I really like the animation amongst the various poses.

Yes, very nice stuff indeed. Bravo Paul!

This will give Paul a tidy 32 points for the Challenge.  Yikes, I'm going to have to pull up my socks and get some stuff ready or I'm going to get dropped off the back of the peloton (paintoton? minioton? whatever.).

  1. They are very nice animated figures and superbly painted.

  2. Paul - the painting is outstanding.
    What system are you basing these lads for?

  3. John and Greg thanks very much, very much appreciated. I am basing the figures up for the General de Brigade rules.


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We are pleased to announce our upcoming production of “Low Level Panic” for this year’s Galway Theatre Festival.

Clare McIntyre’s Samuel Beckett Award winning play about three young women’s very different approaches to survival within a world defined by pornographic media is given poignant focus by director Justin Martin (fresh from working on major productions in Broadway and in the West End).

Up front and with an unsettling humour, this play lays bare the constant fear that runs like a cold underground stream through the lives of women and stars some of Galway’s best young acting talent.

This production takes place at Nun’s Island Theatre on Friday 4th October at 8pm and Saturday 5th October at 2pm and 8pm.

Tickets are available from http://www.tht.ie or call 091 569777

“Foul mouthed, funny and straight to the point” BELFAST NEWSLETTER

“McIntyre has a deadly accurate ear, a subtle sense of humour and a deep fund of compassion: she writes with thrilling understanding” SUNDAY TIMES

“A searingly realistic drama…Low Level Panic has many fine philosophical insights and is absolutely riveting” IRISH NEWS

Sarah O’Toole – Mary

Eimear Kilmartin – Jo

Aoife Martyn – Celia

Men – Eoin Barton & Jerry Fitzgerald

Director – Justin Martin

Stage Manager – Jill Murray

ASMs – Jack Scullion & Amanda Gareis

Set Design – Peter Shine

Lighting Design – Susan Collins

Costume – Sinead Coughlan at Public Romance

Choreography – Claudia O’Sullivan

Music – Clare Healy

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