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Tag Archives: VBAC

VBAC On My Mind

Yesterday I described 5 ways to help make your VBAC  birth dreams come true. There are many other things I could have added. Sometimes I help a mom process her Cesarean birth experience by talking about it and looking at the birth record from her doctor. I can often assist her making sense of the doctor’s jargon.

Sometimes we discuss her cesarean birth and her lingering feelings about it. Sometimes I encourage her to use crayons (or pastels) and make a picture of her birth — or of her ideal birth. In other words, there are many ways to support a mom. I tailor my support to her needs.

What is wonderful, though is that sometimes, after all the discussions and preparations and attempts to make this new birth experience better, the second baby is just born vaginally without a lot of worry. It just happens! That is lovely to behold. Everyone is excited and in awe of what the mom just accomplished. That is when she begins her journey to realize that — she could do it! Her body was capable of it all along.

VBAC — 5 Things That Help

Here are 5 things you can do to increase your chances of a vaginal birth after you’ve had a cesarean birth:

  1. Choose your caregiver by their VBAC success record. It isn’t enough for them to say that they will support your VBAC. Find out how much success they have had and what aspects of your pregnancy and previous birth make that make a VBAC favorable for you.
  2. Find a doula to support your labor. Sometimes a doula will come to your house in earlier labor to support you so that you won’t get to the hospital too early. Getting there in a well-established labor greatly increases your chances. That is just one way a doula can help. Support is beautiful!
  3. Invest in your VBAC. Write a birth vision, we show you how to do it in my book: Doulas’ Guide to Birthing Your Way. Go see a chiropractor who works on pregnant women. See a nutritionist. Do pregnancy yoga. Choose whichever of these works for you.
  4. Find out your birth options and do everything you can to support your VBAC. Then, if you have a cesarean birth again, you’ll know you tried everything. Knowing that you needed  to have a cesarean birth is one of the keys to recovering from it.
  5. Visualize your gentle vaginal birth. Seeing is believing. Visualization is practice for your actual birth.

Guide to Incorporating a C-birth into Your Life

As a doula I always work to help my moms avoid having an unnecessary cesarean birth. That still leaves necessary cesarean births though. If you have had a cesarean birth, at some point you need to incorporate this into your life. It doesn’t happen all at once. Here are some pointers to help you:

1. Call it a cesarean birth. You gave birth with obstetrical assistance. Believe me, they couldn’t have done it without you!

2. Try to evaluate the medical necessity of your birth. Give it a scale of 1-10. Ask your caregiver for assistance. Then look at was it a medical necessity for your baby, for you or a combination of the two (such as CPD cephalo-pelvic distocia = baby didn’t fit).

3. Evaluate the cultural necessity of your birth. Most women give birth where they live. Most do not fly off somewhere to a more congenial place to give birth. Therefore, the birth culture of where you are living will make a difference. Ina May Gaskin has claimed a cesarean rate of 2% in her community on the farm. Pittsburgh’s is closer to 30%, but most Pittsburgh mothers can’t go to Ina May’s farm to give birth. After you evaluate the cultural necessity, give it a scale of 1-10.

4. Define the moment you realized you needed to have a cesarean. Call it your cesarean moment. Then learn to accept it. Use can use artwork. Nursing your baby also helps.

5. Try thinking of your cesarean birth as part of your gift of mothering. We all give things to our children we never expect them to repay. Cesarean birth is one gift.

6. Define what issues made it a C-birth and then explore your VBAC possibilities. The Bishop Score can help as well as this VBAC score.

7. Write your birth story with you as the heroine. Give yourself credit!


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Personal Credibility Strategy for Testers

One thing I often talk with testers about is a prime focus of our work: being credible reporters of useful and timely information in a diplomatically persuasive way. Coupled with that, I’m just coming out of a particular job wherein I feel my career took two steps backward and I’m now in process of regaining my forward momentum. The “steps backward” have to do with personal credibility and it’s why I’ve been silent for a month or so.

This is not a post where I will rail against my previous job. I actually learned quite a bit on this particular job and worked with some really good, fun, and interesting people. But there’s no denying that the job essentially stopped all forward momentum on my career, for the better part of a year and a half. I needed to analyze why that was and, in particular, why I felt this problem happened. Ultimately it came down to what I titled this post: I felt my credibility as a tester was being undermined. My personal integrity was essentially being eroded.

More to the point, I found that my message got subverted. On the other hand, I have to admit some culpability in allowing that to happen.

So I’ll first talk about the situation very briefly and then get into what I hope people can take from this post, which is the credibility factor.

The Situation

Regarding the specific situation, I was essentially a test solution provider. Some people prefer to think about tools. Others prefer to think about people and processes. I don’t have the luxury of separating. I have to think about both. Yet there was a segment of the company that, without respecting other people and understanding processes, merely wanted to introduce tools. It got so bad that we wouldn’t even consider test candidates — or managers! — unless they could “code.”

… yet I promoted tools …

What’s ironic here is that, as part of my overall solution, I did in fact introduce tools of my own making (Lucid, Specify, and Symbiont). Those tools, however, were introduced as a means to an end which was a fail fast, blame slow, learn quickly culture when it came to treating testing as a design activity with a broad mandate within both development and business analysis functions.

… but the tools were a means …

In this viewpoint, people are more important than processes, which, in turn, are more important than tools. Having that belief is part of how I maintain my personal integrity because it keeps my focus on the people using technology (and consuming the output from it) rather than the technology itself. A specific tool can be used to implement a given process, to be sure, but it is a means, not an end.

… and the ends were up to the people …

This viewpoint, even though capable of being stated quite simply, leads to a series of people-focused interactions that require a high degree of meaningful collaboration. Tools should be orchestrated and integrated for use by different teams who share processes and incentives and who support shared (or at least aligned) goals. My specific tools were meant to be in service of an approach for freeing up time of the current staff so they could focus on harder problems which would in turn allow us to deliver even more business value.

This, however, got subverted. The tools — and the ability of people solely to “code” — became paramount, over and above what the tools and coding abilities were acting in service to. My goal was to enhance the processes with tools rather than restrict the processes because of the tools chosen. And this is the exact opposite of what started to develop.

… and I can pinpoint the reason why …

The main players, particularly some of the very high-level managers, simply didn’t understand this. To be fair, this could certainly point to me not conveying it well enough. The problem is that without understanding the ideas behind the approach — attempting to improve collaboration, and sharing processes in a concrete way — every attempt to adopt a set of wider testing discipline methods will fail. With my departure, I know the company is going to attempt to continue some of these ideas. Without the broader understanding of why, however, the how will be lacking. That’s not because I won’t be there; it’s because the credibility of the approach will always be undermined, unless people acquire and internalize the same knowledge and, more importantly, believe it.

… and thus I left things at the status quo …

I don’t believe I left things worse than when I found them, but I’m not sure I did much more than simply maintain the status quo. Regardless of reasons, I have to treat that as a personal failing that has undermined my credibility.

My personal view is that the company is poised to fail at implementing these concepts and that still really bothers me, even though it’s no longer “my problem.” To be sure, I don’t think this localized failure will translate into a wider failure for the company. I simply think that testing there will always be a reactive discipline. And as a tester who believes in the integrity of testing as a proactive, design-guiding discipline, that bothers me. In my view, it robs testing of the credibility that it has. And that matters to me. Obviously it’s up to each individual as to whether their personal credibility is hampered by that. Mine certainly was.

Okay, that all sounds kind of doom-and-gloom so let’s talk a little about credibility.

Credibility is really important because you always have an audience. And it’s the audience’s perception of your characteristics that matter. The reality is the perception. Your intention doesn’t count. All that counts is what the people you write or speak to perceive, not just about you but also about your message.

  • If you are credible, you are persuasive.
  • If you are persuasive, you have a chance of meeting your objectives.

This, in turn, starts getting testers ready to assume leadership (not necessarily management!) roles. As such, I think it’s important to look at credibility in terms of various dimensions. I’m not going to be terribly rigorous about this here; I just want to get a few ideas out there.

Passion and Enthusiasm Build Credibility

Your audience, in just about any context, can forgive a lot. Audiences will forgive a slight lapse in memory, a certain lack of eloquence, a certain amount of nervousness, and so on. What they won’t (and shouldn’t!) forgive is lack of enthusiasm. Because in that case you’ve bored them, which is another way of saying you wasted on of their most precious commodities: time. If you don’t appear to care, they won’t care. So that’s important: you must have passion (without zealotry) and enthusiasm (without mania) for what you are talking about. To have the passion and enthusiasm, you generally must have a good experience base for what you are talking about. The passion and enthusiasm comes because you have experience enough to know that what you are talking about works, makes sense, and is career-enhancing.

Your True Voice Builds Credibility

Here’s a key lesson I think everyone learns eventually: don’t become someone else just because you are speaking or writing. Be you. Be your voice. This is the same advice given to fiction writers as well as singers and dancers. The idea is to be the expression of what you want to convey. People will start to recognize your voice in things, just as many writers can recognize the “voice” of an author they particularly like.

Communication and Presentation Build Credibility

Personal and professional communication leads to effective presentation. Effective presentation leads to persuasive communication. I don’t think too much more about this need be said. People have to believe your message and for them to do that, they have to first understand it (effective communication) and then feel compelled by it (effective presentation).

Likability and Credibility

What’s often lost in all this is the component of having people genuinely like you. And here’s where the dark side can come in a bit, which I’ve always found fascinating.

If a person likes you, they’re far more open to your influence. They’ll be less sensitive to certain aspects of your ideas. They’re going to be more forgiving of certain things. Liking is based on emotions and emotions can distort valuations. That sounds bad but it can actually work in your favor. People who feel emotional towards you lack some of the ability to make clear, objective decisions.

So your job is to be likable but, as a credible person, your job is to make sure that people are in fact being persuaded to make decisions based on the most relevant information. As you can imagine, this approach can be abused. You can manipulate people to get what you want. However, you can also use this to guide or mentor people towards leadership wherein they focus on being those credible reporters of information.

Personal Credibility is Tied to Character

Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution after the enthusiasm with which the resolution was made has passed. The true measure of character is simply the capacity to follow through. Character is self-discipline in action. You can tell how much character you have by how willing you are to discipline yourself to make the sacrifices that are necessary in the short term to reap the benefits of the long term.

My last job, for a variety of reasons, was eroding my character and that really began to scare me. I saw no option save removing myself from that environment. However what all of this did is reinforce, in my mind, not only my feelings of importance towards personal credibility as an active strategy, but also my view of the ideas and tool solutions that I promote. I still have introspecting to do regarding how much and to what extent my own personal failings played a part in this credibility erosion.

This is particularly important to me because, as a blog writer, I do have to maintain some level of personal credibility with myself. It’s actually very hard for me to write articles because there’s an inherent notion of credibility that I have to maintain — but I need to believe that I’m truly doing so. People need to believe I care and that I have at least some inkling of what I’m talking about, even when it’s largely opinion-based. Periodic introspective posts like this are, I hope, yet one more way to establish that credibility.

About Jeff Nyman

Anything I put here is an approximation of the truth. You're getting a particular view of myself ... and it's the view I'm choosing to present to you. If you've never met me before in person, please realize I'm not the same in person as I am in writing. That's because I can only put part of myself down into words. If you have met me before in person then I'd ask you to consider that the view you've formed that way and the view you come to by reading what I say here may, in fact, both be true. I'd advise that you not automatically discard either viewpoint when they conflict or accept either as truth when they agree.
This entry was posted in Career, Communication. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Personal Credibility Strategy for Testers

  1. chicagofloater says:

    Good post, well said, glad to hear that you have moved to what should be a much better place for someone with your talents.

  2. Greg says:

    Thank you for sharing the fruits of your introspection so eloquently. Having been employed (note the past tense) in a parallel role at this same company, I certainly understand where you are coming from, and why you are introspecting.

    As you point out, credibility and respect are absolutely key elements for a QA professional. It is easy to lose both when an organization focuses on continuous delivery without including process improvement.

    Unfortunately, my personal enthusiasm dwindled when I was required to conform to what I considered unreasonable expectations — “coding” in a language with which I was unfamiliar for a significant percentage of my time being one of them. Even though I managed to have this requirement relaxed to some extent, the credibility of the company quickly diminished for me, along with my belief in any chance for success, so I moved on. I was like “a fish climbing a tree”, and it was time to get back in the water.

    I still recognize your true voice in this posting, so don’t be too harsh in your judgment of yourself, Jeff.  Sometimes you’re just up against an anomaly that doesn’t synch up with your personal integrity. Move on. Let it go.

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Home / News / Lebanon / Nabih Berri condens US sanctions on Lebanese figures

Nabih Berri condens US sanctions on Lebanese figures

New U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah, including two Lebanese lawmakers, amount to an assault on the country and its parliament, Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on three top officials from Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday: Amin Sherri and Muhammad Raad, members of Lebanon’s parliament, as well as Wafiq Sada, who coordinates with Lebanon’s security agencies.

It marks the first time the U.S. Treasury has designated a Lebanese MP under a sanctions list targeting those accused of supporting terrorist organizations. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions were part of efforts to counter Hezbollah’s “corrupting influence” in Lebanon.

Washington classifies Hezbollah, a heavily armed Shi’ite political and military movement that wields major influence in Lebanon, as a terrorist group.

“It is an assault on the parliament and as a result an assault on all of Lebanon,” Berri, a Shi’ite ally of Hezbollah, said in a statement.

Lebanon’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds fell and the cost of insuring exposure to its debt rose on Wednesday after the sanctions.

Meanwhile, 5-year credit default swaps (CDS) jumped 17 basis points (bps) from Tuesday’s close to 925 bps, according to IHS Markit. CDS last traded at these levels in January, when fears of a potential debt restructuring rattled Lebanon investors.

“These sanctions are unwarranted and do not serve financial stability,” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a senior Berri aide, said on Tuesday night in a TV interview. “Lebanon and its banks are committed to all the legislation and there is no justification at all for escalating these sanctions.”

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad told Lebanese al-Jadeed TV the move was “an insult to the Lebanese people” and a blow to the country’s sovereignty.

Source: Reuters

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Oh Simple Things…

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When people asked me what I was passionate about, I didn’t say writing, or science, or reading, or cooking, or indulging in one of those YOLO activities. I like all those things but I always knew my real passion was to relax. In fact, the very goal of my life would be to relax as much as possible while making enough money to sustain myself, and regularly save a little too. I know making money and relaxing are two different things but that’s the reason why I said ‘as much as possible’. Some people tend to laugh when I say that but that’s a good goal because it is almost impossible to stay relaxed in the present times.

Sometimes I feel like I need to refresh myself and so I look for big things to do. A big gathering, a travel plan, a fancy dinner, or just something dramatic. The big things however, drain the energy out of me and require more time than I can afford to spend exhausting myself. So when things are not that great in life, the simple pleasures never fail me. Things like, a very hot bath on a cold day, going for a late night drive or late night ice-cream, marine drive or any sea face, looking down at the city from an aeroplane window, having a friend who understands things, sad/emotional music, slightly crisp french fries, subtle flirting through texts (life depends on it), sometimes when the sun and the moon are in the sky at the same time, a fortunate long and refreshing sleep, going for a short walk, dark chocolate, and oh so many things, they save me. The mere knowledge that this year there was a historic pink-flower bloom in the Atacama desert after plenty of rainfall, makes me happy because ‘rain in the desert’ is one of those typical poetic things that people say can never happen! Imagine a desert flooded with pink flowers. Imagine having all of these small things happen in one day, or maybe two. They shouldn’t even be called small things, they are given less credit than they deserve. They drive us through the day.

I am usually cheering the underdogs in life, so cheering these extremely modest pleasures (pleasures that don’t boast about their awesomeness) comes naturally. I think its amazing that something as simple as listening to John Lenon sing, ‘Hey Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better’ actually makes you want to make things better, isn’t it?

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Tricks For 2016 Payday Loans No Brokers

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Dead Pool 12th August 2018

Another relatively quiet week, I think we should send out the flying monkeys again, we could do with the demise of a high ranking Dead Pool star to spice things up.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Charlotte Rae, 92, American actress (The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, 101 Dalmatians: The Series), bone cancer.
  • Joël Robuchon, 73, French chef and cookbook author, Meilleur Ouvrier de France winner 1976, complications from pancreatic cancer.
  • Nicholas Bett, 28, Kenyan hurdler, world champion (2015), traffic collision.
  • V. S. Naipaul, 85, Trinidadian-born British writer (A House for Mr Biswas), Nobel Prize laureate (2001).

In Other News

Friends star Matthew Perry has undergone surgery after suffering a ruptured bowel, according to reports. A representative for the actor said that he was taken to an LA hospital to repair the perforation. Perry has been a vocal advocate of addiction recovery after struggling with alcohol abuse himself during his time on the show, admitting he has little memory of shooting three seasons. In 1997 and 2001 he completed time in rehab to recover from his use of Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines and alcohol. In 2013 he told ABC News: “Mostly it was drinking, you know, and opiates. I think I was pretty good at hiding it, but eventually people were aware. I honestly recoil. It’s scary to look at that. I was a sick guy.”

Ant and Dec have postponed next year’s Saturday Night Takeaway, with the show not set to return until 2020. Dec Donnelly will also front November’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’ alone, while Ant McPartlin continues to take a break from all TV presenting until 2019. They said it was a joint decision to postpone a new series of Takeaway. Ant stepped down from his TV work in March following his arrest on drink driving following a car crash. He was fined £86,000 and given a 20-month driving ban after pleading guilty to drink driving and announced he would immediately be taking time out from presenting and seeking treatment for addiction. In a statement Ant said his recovery is going “very well” and “for that to continue, having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off”. He added: “I’d like to thank both Dec and ITV for their continued support and I look forward to getting back to work in the new year.”

A coroner has ruled Superman actress Margot Kidder’s death was suicide. The 69-year-old actress was found dead at her home in Montana on 13th May. Park County Coroner’s office said she died “as a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose”. A joint statement from the coroner’s office and her family urged “those suffering from mental illnesses, addiction and/or suicidal thoughts to seek appropriate counselling and treatment”. The actress found fame starring as Lois Lane alongside Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s. The actress, who had bipolar disorder, told People magazine in 1996 about her mental health problems and revealed that she had taken an overdose at 14 and suffered badly from mood swings. She gave the interview following her high-profile disappearance for several days in 1996 where she ended up living on the streets, paranoid that people were out to get her.

On This Day

  • 1865 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs 1st antiseptic surgery.
  • 1883 – The last quagga dies at the Natura Artis Magistra, a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • 1953 – The first testing of a real thermonuclear weapon (not test devices): The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of “RDS-6s” (Joe 4), the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb.
  • 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released.
  • 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.

  • 30 BC– Cleopatra, Egyptian queen (b. 69 BC)
  • 1964 – Ian Fleming, English spy, journalist, and author (b. 1908)
  • 1982 – Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 2009 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Lauren Bacall, American model, actress, and singer (b. 1924)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cara Delevingne (26), Sam J. Jones (64), Jim Beaver (68), Pete Sampras (47), Chris Hemsworth (35), Anna Gunn (50), Ian McDiarmid (74), Hulk Hogan (65), Antonio Banderas (58), Rosanna Arquette (59), Rhona Mitra (42), Anna Kendrick (33), Gillian Anderson (50), Sam Elliott (74), Eric Bana (50), Melanie Griffith (61), Audrey Tautou (42), McG (50), Dustin Hoffman (81), Charlize Theron (43), Abbie Cornish (36), Michael Shannon (44), David Duchovny (58), Tobin Bell (76), M. Night Shyamalan (48), Michelle Yeoh (56), Barbara Windsor (81) and Geri Horner (46).

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Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research

Donnelly Centre Research Thesis Prize

Donnelly Thesis Prize will be awarded annually to Ph.D. students who complete their thesis requirements while studying in the Donnelly Centre.  A selection committee will select up to three recipients annually on the basis of quality, originality and significance of their work, which shall represent a diverse range of research topics.

Award value:

Donnelly centre interior detail

Applications requirements:

  • Application form: PDF iconDonnellyThesisPrize-AppForm-2017.pdf (121.36 KB)
  • Curriculum vitae detailing contributions to research and development using the NSERC Form 201 format (see Part 1:  Contributions to research and development) at:

  • A two page summary of the thesis work, written by the applicant, outlining the significance, impact and originality of results as well as possible applications for the work.  The summary should also include a nominee's specific contributions to collaborative publications and research activities.  Applicants should also describe how their work embodies the mandate of the Donnelly Centre.

  • A recommendation letter from the thesis supervisor including thesis submission date, a description of the problem, techniques, results and potential impact of the thesis work.

  • A copy of up to two relevant publications for the committee's review

Award conditions:

The student must have studied in the Donnelly Centre and have passed the final senate oral in the previous calendar year.

The next application deadline will be posted in the eary 2019.

Forward completed application package to: or 160 College St, Room 230. Include "Donnelly Thesis Prize" in the e-mail title.

Questions about this award may also be sent to:

Meet Simon Eng, 2019 Thesis Prize Winner

Meet Oren Kraus, 2018 Thesis Prize Winner

Meet Hong Han, 2017 Thesis Prize Winner

Meet Wendy Qiao, 2016 Thesis Prize Winner

Meet Alphonsus Ng, 2015 Thesis Prize Winner


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Paeonia suffruticosa

Pronunciation: Pay-ohn-ee-uh
Family: Paeoniaceae
Common Name: Tree peony
Plant Type:
  • trees, shrubs
Height to: 7'
Width to: 7'
USDA Hardiness Zones:
  • -10 to -20ºF ZONE 5
  • 0 to -10ºF ZONE 6
  • 10 to 0ºF ZONE 7
  • 20 to 10ºF ZONE 8
Sun Exposure:
  • full sun
Bloom Season:
  • mid spring
  • late spring
Bloom Description: Tree peony (paeonia suffruticosa) produce single, sometimes semi-double, cup to bowl shaped, sometimes scented, white, pink, red or purple flowers, 6-12" across, some with maroon marks at the bases
Pests and Diseases: Wilt, ringspot virus, tip blight, stem rot, botrytis blight, leaf blotch, japanese beetle, and nematodes
Propagation: Sow tree peony (paeonia suffruticosa) seed in containers in autumn or early winter (they may take 2 or 3 years to germinate). Divide in early autumn, and replant so the new growths (the "eyes") are 2" below the soil surface. Take root cuttings in winter.
Native to: China
Winter Sowing Zones: Zone 5-8
Notes for Identification: Variety or cultivar: tree peony (paeonia suffruticosa) is an upright, sparsely branched, deciduous shrub. Foliage: deeply lobed, dark green leaves with elliptic to ovate leaflets, deeply cut into pointed lobeshabit: uprightsuggested uses: city, cottage/informal, flower arranging, beds and borders, low maintenancecultivation: plant in moist, humus-rich, free-draining soil in full sun to partial shade. Peonies are long lived plants, but they often resent disturbance. Warning: if ingested, all parts can cause mild stomach upset. Years to maturity: 2-5source: various resources including the american horticultural society a to z encyclopedia of garden plants and the usda
USDA Heat Zones (days above 86ºF):
  • Less then 1 day ZONE 1
  • 1 to 7 days ZONE 2
  • 7 to 14 days ZONE 3
  • 14 to 30 days ZONE 4
  • 30 to 45 days ZONE 5
  • 45 to 60 days ZONE 6
  • 60 to 90 days ZONE 7
  • 90 to 120 days ZONE 8
Seed photo: 0
Seed Label: 0
Located in: Trees, Shrubs
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Tibouchina organensis

Pronunciation: tib-OO-kee-nuh or-gan-EN-sis
Family: Melastomataceae
Synonym: Tibouchina semidecandra subs. floribunda of gardens
Common Name: Glory bush
Plant Type:
  • trees, shrubs
Height to: 20ft (6m)
Width to: 10ft (3m)
USDA Hardiness Zones:
  • 60 to 50ºF ZONE 12
  • 70 to 60ºF ZONE 13
  • 80 to 70ºF ZONE 14
Sun Exposure:
  • full sun
Bloom Season:
  • early summer
  • mid summer
  • late summer
  • early autumn
  • mid autumn
Bloom Description: Glory Bush (Tibouchina organensis) produces open, leafy panicles of satin-textured, saucer-shaped, bluish-purple flowers, 4in (10cm) or more across.
Soil Type: Under glass, grow in soil-based potting mix. Outdoors, grow in fertile, moist soil.
  • No
Pests and Diseases: Gray mold, mushroom root rot, leaf spots, and root rot of seedlings can all occur. Spider mites can occur under glass.
Propagation: Sow Glory Bush (Tibouchina organensis) seed at 61ºF/16ºC in spring. Root softwood cuttings in late spring, or semi-ripe cuttings in summer, both with bottom heat
Native to: Brazil
Winter Sowing Zones: None
Notes for Identification:

Glory Bush (Tibouchina organensis) is an open, erect shrub with 4-angled, hairy stems and ovate-oblong, velvety-hairy, grayish green leaves, to 6in (15cm) long, sometimes maturing to bright scarlet.

Care: Under glass, grow in full light with shade from the hot sun.  During growing season, water freely and apply a balanced liquid fertilizer monthly, water sparingly in winter.  Prune in late winter.

Source: Various sources including The American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and the USDA

USDA Heat Zones (days above 86ºF):
  • Any Heat Zone 1 to 210+ Days
Seed photo: 0
Seed Label: 0
Located in: Trees, Shrubs
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Cuba could reintroduce commercial advertising in its mass media

Half a century after banning commercial advertising in its mass media, this important marketing tool could make a comeback in the island's audiovisual communications scene.

The inclusion in the new portfolio of projects for which Cuba is seeking foreign investment recently published by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of one to establish a paid cable television channel could be the springboard to reintroduce commercial advertising in Cuban television. To be sure, such a move would be a positive one in Cuba's reform process.

The national television system requires financial resources to create new programming that would be well received by national audiences and would compete with the informal, innovative and popular "package" of content that is transmitted person-to-person weekly through USB memory drives and reaches millions of Cubans.  The national system also needs to modernize its technological base and improve working conditions for the professionals who work in this field.

The project to establish a paid cable television channel can be seen as a step forward in Cuba's reinsertion into international markets, meeting the challenges associated with the process of transformation of the economy. It recognizes that attracting foreign investment and stimulating the growth of the tourism sector and national industries with their own brands require the use of advertising.

Should the proposal to create a paid television channel materialize, it would be very beneficial for the private sector and state enterprises in providing them with a medium to promote their products and services in a competitive environment driven by foreign brands already marketed in the island and new ones that are expected to enter the Cuban market in the near future.

While the investment project included in the investment portfolio does not explicitly mention advertising, it is obvious that one of the main ways for financing a paid cable television channel would be commercial advertising.

Through advertising, Cuban brands owned by the government such as Havana Club, Cohiba, Ciego Montero, Partagás, Montecristo, Cristal, Bucanero, among others, could reach the eyes and ears of the avalanche of tourists expected to come to the island in the next few years whether traveling by air, cruise ships or ferries. There would also be business opportunities for the nascent private sector -- for example, restaurants (paladares) such as “Doña Eutimia”, “Rio Mar”, and “El Litoral”,  among others -- to advertise their offerings through national television channels.

The potential financial gains from commercial advertising are very substantial.  As a market dry of advertising  for more than half a century, there is pent up demand to advertise by a wide range of national and foreign companies and brands seeking to make themselves known and position themselves in the Cuban market and in the mind of Cuban consumers.

The reintroduction of advertising would open up opportunities for many Cuban professionals to be able to practice their skills and creativity, banned or severely limited for many decades. It is possible that small and medium size marketing and advertising firms would emerge, promoting efficiency and filling the existing void and creating a competive environment.

In the last five years, as part of the reforms driven by President Raúl Castro, the Cuban government has taken numerous steps to prepare the ground for the reintroduction of advertising. Today, signs and billboards advertise the services of fancy paladares, hostels, beauty shops, small shops to service cell telephones, and other small businesses authorized under the self-employment legislation.  Self-employed businesspersons have been allowed to advertise in the telephone directories and more recently, the National Information Agency, a government institution, has created a website called  "” with classified advertising.[1]

In 2005, professor Ángel Hernández (former Marketing Director of the Corporación CIMEX) and the author carried out a study to document the familiarity of Cuban consumers with brands. We were able to document a surprisingly high level of brand familiarity, particularly since advertising had been banned for almost half a century. The study showed that despite the very low purchasing power of the Cuban population at the time of the study, 41% of those interviewed indicated that the brand of the product affected their shopping behavior.[2]

At that time, advertising was only permitted through the radio station Taino, a station focused on international tourists. Advertising was also allowed at the point of sale. The Brazilian-Cuban joint venture Brascuba excelled at point-of-sale advertising.  Undoubtedly, veteran marketer Mirtha  Muñiz did a masterful job in promoting the products of the joint venture using the small and very limited spaces available for advertising.

What would be the behavior of Cuban consumers in a business environment where advertising would be an integral part of marketing branded products?

I can already sense that should this happen, it would be innovative and transforming. Foreign companies investing in the island would not feel as strangers to consumers, operating in an alien market. Advertising would support their sales efforts and could open the door to franchising. Currently, franchising is not a business model used in the island, with the exception of “La Casa del Habano”, very successful in international markets, operated by the joint venture Habanos S.A.

Are we at the threshold of the Cuba 3.0 that Juan Antonio Blanco has been talking about?

Cuba needs medium-size enterprises, and franchises are business models that can be very successful and can propel emerging economies. The development of franchises in Cuba is necessary and a challenge in the reform process. Let's hope that the paid cable television channel represents a window of change for the benefit of the Cuban economy.  The country needs it, and so do the Cuban people.

[1] Granma. “Disponible en Internet web cubana dedicada a clasificados y publicidad”. Agosto, 2015.

[2] Morales Dopico, Emilio, and Hernández Gómez, Ángel.” Estudio sobre notoriedad y conocimiento de marcas en la población cubana”. Cuba: ¿tránsito silencioso al capitalismo? Alexandria Library Incorporated, 2009, Pag 70.


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UAC A/C Compressor & Component Kits

Moderator: rlwalker

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UAC A/C Compressor & Component Kits

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text:
There is a Place

By: Woodrow Odom Lucas

There is a place in the night when sleep won’t come,

When all of our attempts toward slumber fail and we lay awake murmuring, “Why?”

It is in this place, that if we quiet our minds,

We can hear angels explain our situation to us in a new way,

We can perceive new solutions to old problems,

We can make plans that before seemed daunting.

There is a place in the night when sleep won’t come,

And when you hit it, don’t panic, don’t wrestle,

But lay in silence and listen,

You will most assuredly hear the sound of wisdom,

And a still small voice saying, “Don’t give up, I love you!!”

The Conundrum of for Profit Healthcare

By: Woodrow Odom Lucas

There was a point in my life when I thought that capitalism was the source of all of the pain in the world.  I would castigate family members as greedy hoarders of wealth.  I would quote pro socialist and pro-communist literature.  I would tout appropriate bible verses such as Paul’s avowal that “The Love of Money is the root of all evil”.  But as I have aged, I have very much softened on the idea of Capitalism and its ills.  And really now believe  that some hybrid economic system which blends the ambition of for profit creativity with a social welfare state that tends to individuals who have more difficulty thriving in free market enclaves .

However, when it comes to Healthcare, I often feel the “pro Fidel Castro” side of my personality vying for dominance over my greater moderation.  So tonight I thought that I would explore with you, just what my misgivings are surrounding what I term, “The For Profit Healthcare Imperative.”  As I journey through and out of severe and persistent mental illness many of my favorite providers charge me for their services.  And I have no problem with them charging me for their services as I believe they do impeccable work and deserve to be remunerated for that work.  Similarly, I have no problem with people getting rich, and hope to one day be one of them.  It doesn’t cause me any pangs of anger or outrage when I see Louis Hay a billionaire, or Joel Osteen as a multimillionaire.  I believe that these people of faith and healing are popular because their messages create joy and healing, and that popularity makes them rich through the sale of books and the preponderance of speaking engagements that they receive.

But I think that something is devastatingly wrong when hospitals intentionally keep people sick, just so they can have a higher census.  I think something is radically awry, when pharmaceutical companies create subpar products which will not alleviate symptoms as much as others they have tested because of the higher profits they will yield with the less helpful meds.  I just spent 2 years working in for profit healthcare, and while the people were very nice, it often felt like we were selling cars instead of trying to bring people to a state of health and wellness.  I think that really is one of the big misnomers about for profit healthcare; this idea that you can run a healthcare company in the same way that you run a real estate firm or an antique business when PEOPLE’S LIVES AND QUALITY OF LIFE ARE AT STAKE.

If you run a health care company and you do not prioritize people’s health and wellness over your profit margin, you will invariably end up sacrificing people’s wellbeing for your bottom line.  But the really unfortunate irony of for profit healthcare, is that if you do as you ought and prioritize people’s health and wellness over your profit margin, you will very likely go out of business.  And so now we see that “The For Profit Imperative” in healthcare creates a system of winners who are providing subpar care to patients and clients and losers who are providing excellent care but who can compete with those who are doing unethical things for the sake of profit.

EF Shumaker wrote a book entitled “Small is Beautiful.”  Perhaps the problem in the “For Profit Imperative” scenario is the same as the problem in de facto free market competition.  When unregulated entities become too large, they begin to dominate the industry often with problematic business practices, whereas smaller more excellence driven providers are too small to generate the kinds of economies of scale to stay competitive.

So what’s my solution?  Well one solution may be to force all healthcare initiatives to operate as 501-C3’s consequently negating the kind of wall street graft that can enter in when they become a publicly traded company and also keeping operating profit as a priority that is clearly below successful healing and health and wellness.  And so here is my take home.  Healthcare is a vastly different industry than real estate, or automobiles, or utilities because people’s suffering and recovery from that suffering is sacred and should always be prioritized above any sort of fiscal bottom line.  And a free market economy that rewards company’s for prioritizing health and wellness over profit will be a free market society of healthy people, but a free market economy that rewards prioritizing profit over health and wellness will be a society with a quality of life index similar to a 3rd world nation, which is exactly the scenario in the United States.

Namaste and God Bless!! Woody

The Mystery of Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

By: Woodrow Odom Lucas

Tonight, I watched the movie “Misery” on HBO. “Misery” is a 1990 American psychological horror film starring Kathy Bates and James Caan.  In the movie, Kathy Bates plays a mentally imbalanced woman who is obsessed with author James Caan who as a consequence of her obsession torments Caan throughout the movie, until Caan finally kills her in self-defense.  The movie was one of the best that I have seen and was riveting from beginning to end.  However, it also created mixed emotions within me.  As I was watching the movie, mesmerized by Bates’ nefarious pathology, I thought to myself, “I wonder if this woman is the caricature that dominates the public view of mental illness?”

I am not sure, but it sometimes seems to me like individuals living with severe and persistent mental illness are often viewed either as hapless victims to be rescued or menacing monsters to be contained;  when the reality is much more heterogeneous and varied than those extreme stereotypes.  I could be overstating my perception, but it seems like I often here people throwing out DSM diagnoses like they are judgments, insults, or general states of being.  Like I often hear people say, “Oh he’s such a narcissist!!”  or “Stop being so OCD” or “I am so depressed by what’s going on in the NBA Finals.”  I think the danger in phrases like these is that they completely ignore the reality that there are real people who are suffering in real suffering as a consequence of these ailments, and that this suffering can be extremely painful to endure.   Like I rarely hear anyone say, “Oh he so has Prostate Cancer!” or “Girl, I am so full of breast cancer over what happened today!!”  People do not casually throw around physical diagnoses because they realize that these diagnoses are difficult to deal with and very serious.  Illnesses like Cancer, Diabetes, even Aids evoke compassion and empathy.  But illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar often evoke fear and ridicule.

As a person who is overcoming severe and persistent mental illness, I have often dreamed of having a “real illness” which I could face with heroism instead of stigma.  I have often imagined myself surrounded by family and friends on my hospital bed, smiling as I looked forward into the heaven that awaited me.  Not begging God night after night to abate my symptoms so that I can perform in excellence on my job.  Or carrying extra Ativan around with myself in case I have an “episode” while  taking care of my kids.  Although I know that I am a hero for overcoming the things that I have overcome.  And although I know that I am a saint for enduring with hope the things that I have endured.  I believe it would be much easier to just be diagnosed with something “real” that others could understand, than the mystery that is severe and persistent mental illness.

There is no scientific cure for severe and persistent mental illness; and as a consequence hopelessness is often instilled into people who suffer with this malady by the very practitioners who are supposed to be healing them.  I thank God every day that when I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder I had belief in a higher power that was beyond science’s reach.  Similarly, you are often viewed as insane if you mention the words “demon” or “spiritual imbalance” to a psychiatrist.  Yet the very communities like Pentacostals or New Agers who have the faith to bring about healing are often totally against the use of psychotropic meds.  I have even heard someone who I highly respect tell me that she thought mental illness was “a deception of the devil.”  The ignorance, myopia, judgment, and immaturity that plagues the public and mental health practitioners concerning mental illness, forces me to view severe and persistent mental illness as a mystery that we have yet to solve.  In honesty, I do not have the patience to wait for this society to obtain the love, compassion, empathy, understanding, faith, hope, and generosity necessary to solve the overall problem of mental illness.  Case in point, I see very few ribbons on people’s cars or fund raising initiatives to cure “mental illness.”  As a consequence, I am quite satisfied with obtaining my own healing with the faith and grace that God has given me, and then seeing what I can offer others.  Because if I wait for stigma and ignorance concerning this malady to disappear, I think that I will be waiting a long time.


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Maximising Time (and the tools to do it)

Time Management

There are certain things in life that feel infinite. Time. Love. Health. The capacity for thought and imagination. Then something happens that reminds us of our mortality. Of the fragile nature of things. Somewhere in that sadness comes the realisation that we have one beautiful, amazing, crazy, short and wonderful life. And that we should spend it wisely. Read more

The Long Drive – ways to use peak hour

the long drive

My return to corporate work has also heralded a return to peak hour traffic. But with a different perspective. As a mum I cherish periods of time alone, no matter how that time presents itself.

Of course grid locked traffic is never ideal – particularly when the clock ticks steadily towards late. That’s stressful no matter how much you crave alone time. Fortunately, it hasn’t happened often.

Accidents aside, I have a fairly leisurely 45 minute ride in and out of work. And I treasure it.

Here’s how I get the most out of the traffic minutes: Read more

Time is not elastic

I have finally stopped fighting time. Not age, exactly, I think the hope in a jar will be around for some time yet. But I am tired of manipulating time. Trying to fit all the things into a tiny space and being surprised when it leaks.

time is not elastic

Time does not bend in the ways I want it to. Things take a certain amount of time and they do not contract just because my time frame is short. And yet I try to push everything into small pockets of time and when those pockets explode at the seams they make me feel rushed and stressed. Confused as to why I couldn’t make it work. Busy. Busy. Busy.  Read more

6 Ways to Sneak Writing Time

Some of the world’s best books have been written in an hour a day over months.

I saw Elizabeth Gilbert speak earlier in the year and this is what stayed with me. In all her practical glory she pointed out that every writer wants acres of time, a pretty loft and an inspirational view. No one gets that. If you wait around for the perfect time, perfect space and perfect level of inspiration, you won’t write.
6 ways to sneak writing time
As a working mum, I snatch at time to write. Beg, borrow, sneak and steal it. It’s important to me so I follow it. If writing wasn’t a need, I wouldn’t treat it like one. But it is and so I try to fit it into my busy life as best I can. There is no loft, no pretty view (only chores undone) and sneakily small cracks which I  stuff with words.

So how do I do this?  Find these small spaces of time to write and make the most of them?

Read more


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Monday, September 26, 2005

Calendar - bridal shop

Crafters a dying breed at Candy Dance
Reno Gazette Journal, NV - Sep 25, 2005 Scott Sady/reno gazette-journal Sherose Renck, right, and her friend, Sydney Pitts, get their first taste of entrepreneurship Saturday at the Genoa Candy Dance

Wrigley establishes lab to cook up new sweets in fight for candy
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (subscription), AR - Sep 25, 2005 bought the popular Life Savers and Altoids candy brands earlier this year, many analysts said the top chewing gum maker was going on a buying spree to take a Releases a Guide to Candy Vending Machines (press release), UK - 8 hours ago According to, candy vending machines are one of the most popular types of automatic merchandisers. Some examples

Tennis mailbag, with CNN's Candy Reid
CNN International - Sep 23, 2005 (CNN) -- Do you have a question about tennis for World Sport Anchor Candy Reid? E-mail Q: Hi again Candy! I'm Iris. Q: Hi Candy.

Oklahoma 71-year-old vies for homecoming queen
USA Today - 10 hours ago She spent time recently in front of the University Center and other spots on campus handing out campaign stickers and candy. Thursday

Lebanon mother indicted in baby's drowning
Dayton Daily News (subscription), OH - 6 hours ago LEBANON | A Warren County grand jury indicted Candy Hensley, 24, of Lebanon, on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the June drowning death of her 5-month

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• NSN: 1450-01-359-5782
  • PDI Part: 4572

The M-10 adapter assembly extends above the bed of the MHU-141/M munitions trailer and acts as a second deck of munitions handling, allowing for the transporting of up to twice as many munitions on a single MHU-141/M. This allows for greater operational efficiencies in weapons transportation to and from the flight line. The M-10 adapter assembly is commonly used to transport a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions. Consisting of two T-shaped steel members, two support stand assemblies, two support arm assemblies and three stabilizer bar assemblies, the M-10 adapter assembly holds universal munitions chocks (includes PDI proprietary urethane rubber, all-weather resistant chock pads) that can be adjusted horizontally across the support arm assembly in order to fit the end users munitions handling requirements.

M-10 Adapter Assembly Main Image
Shipping Weight (pounds) 504
Overall Dimensions
Height 23 inches
Width 12 inches
Length 76 inches

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Phone: 216.271.7344
Fax: 216.271.7550
Email: sales@thepdigroup.com

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N.J. Senate votes 23-11 to keep Trump off the 2020 ballot unless he releases tax returns

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

River Vale NJ , Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi :

“Thursday the New Jersey Senate is voted on a bill that would prohibit President Donald Trump from being placed on the New Jersey Ballot unless he releases a copy of his tax returns. While we can debate whether a Presidential candidate should release his tax returns, the law is clear that the New Jersey proposed legislation would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL. “

“On March 30, 2017, I received a legal opinion from the non partisan Office of Legislative Services regarding this exact debate. I asked whether the State of New Jersey could impose conditions to be placed on the ballot solely of the Presidential candidate and not all other candidates as well. The ANSWER WAS NO. I therefore ask my colleagues why are we spending tax payer monies on a lawsuit that we have already been told by our own legal counsel WE WILL LOSE? If you want the President’s tax returns as a condition precedent to appearing on a NJ Ballot you better be willing to include in the legislation showing your own, Governor Murphy’s as well as Senators Menendez, Cory Booker’s and all of your Congressional candidates too. “

“The opinion provided to me states as follows: “treating voters or candidates for federal office in an inconsistent manner, without sufficient justification, violates the provisions of the First and Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, any ballot access requirement implement by the State Legislature must treat all candidates for the office equally to have a greater likelihood of surviving a constitutional challenge….In conclusion, it is the opinion of Legislative Counsel that the Qualification Clauses in Articles I and II of the United States Constitution and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution constrain the Legislature’s power to restrict candidates for federal elective office from appearing on the ballot.”

3 thoughts on “N.J. Senate votes 23-11 to keep Trump off the 2020 ballot unless he releases tax returns

  1. Trump could contend that he was ‘undocumented ‘ and would be embraced by the libs. Don’t forget that Romney released his returns and Harry Reid lied and said he hadn’t paid taxes in 10 years.

  2. We are such morons.

  3. Trenton Democrats continually waste OUR TAX DOLLARS on this kind of garbage! Always playing dirty politics instead of working to lower our taxes, cut spending and implement the services they are suppose to be doing for the citizens of NJ!!
    How about using Our Tax Dollars on actually maintaining our roads, bridges & seeing to it that our Governor, Mayors etc are “ upholding the rule of law..” such as immigration laws. They should be cutting funding given to illegals living in sanctuary cities in NJ at tax payers expense!! Overturning Gov’s Free Community college forcillegsls causing s greater burden on many families that can’t afford to send their own children to those same colleges!!
    No instead Trenton Democrats choose to waste time & OUR money making a political blunder that will cost We the Taxpayers legal fees, court cases and frankly more embarassment then they all do already!!!

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Mischa Barton’s Mental Breakdown May Be Broached in Truck Crash Trial

AceShowbizMischa Barton‘s past mental health problems could be brought up in court in her legal battle over a truck crash.

The O.C.” actress was sued for nearly $27,000 (£20,800) by the homeowners’ association at the Park Wellington condos in West Hollywood for allegedly ramming her rented U-Haul track into the building, causing structural damages that required expensive repairs, in February 2017.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, lawyers for the homeowners are demanding they be allowed to question the actress about her “level of intoxication and mental health at the time of the accident as impacted by her hospitalisation for an apparent breakdown two weeks prior to the accident.”

Her U-Haul crash, which occurred while she was moving home with her then-boyfriend Adam Spaw, happened the month after she was hospitalised after allegedly ranting at neighbours in her back garden. She underwent a mental health evaluation and blamed the incident on her drink being spiked with drugs while at a party. Her mental health has been a cause for concern in the past as she entered rehab following a 2007 DUI arrest and suffered an emotional breakdown in 2009.

The homeowners association’s lawyers are demanding she be questioned over the incident, which she claimed not to remember, writing in their filing that, “this evidence is relevant not only to her mental state at the time of the crash but also her credibility as to her recollections of the events of the day of the accident.”

Mischa, 33, has denied all wrongdoing for the accident and recently filed her own documents attempting to prevent her hospitalisation being brought up in court. Her filing states that there is “no evidence” she was intoxicated in any way at the time of the crash, citing a traffic report that established she had not been drinking.

The case will head to trial on 30 April.

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Ten Months

Another month has flown by, and our little guy is nearing the 1 year mark! This month’s photo session with him was considerably more challenging than usual. He is so interested in exploring everything around him, and becoming quite uninterested in his mama with the big camera in front of her face. Try as I might by calling his name, making funny noises, and playing peekaboo, Caleb would indulge me with only half second glances before turning his attention elsewhere. However, thanks to a quick camera and fast fingers, I was able to get some good shots.
Caleb continues to grow and change so much as the weeks go by. He is a very fast crawler now and often surprises me by how quickly he makes it from one point to another. It’s hard to believe he’s only been crawling for a month. He seems to be in no hurry to start walking. He’ll pull up to his knees, but cannot get himself up onto his feet just yet. If I set him up on his feet while holding onto a wall or couch, he likes to hang out that way for a while.
Caleb continues to eat with enthusiasm, and gets quite excited when he sees that we are preparing something for him. Some of his new favorites are Cheerios, broccoli, and black beans mixed with applesauce. In addition to his two bottom teeth, Caleb recently sprouted a couple teeth on top. Interestingly, instead of the usual two front teeth, his front left tooth and right incisor came through. I think the right front tooth is close behind though.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, this is the first month that Caleb has slept in his crib! During the transition from Korea to Arizona and finally here to Alabama, Caleb had been in a pack n play. When our household goods arrived, we found out that the moving company had somehow lost the portion of the crib that holds the mattress in place. Jason got to work and built a replacement piece, so Caleb has been enjoying his nights in a real crib for the last few weeks.

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Kaili'a - August 28, 2013 - 5:17 am

Danielle, your boys are so different looking!?!? I love it!! 🙂 Both absolutely adorable!

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Chef’s Log 78: T’was Fine to Dine at Mine-Ority

Continuing my trend of celebrating some of the prettiest food I’ve eaten, my next post will highlight what I’ve sampled from Mineority by Saby. First, a word about the restaurant. Located in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, Mineority’s decor and theme captures the essence of a mine (which explains the clever wordplay in the name). The dishes are an inventive and often delightfully quirky blend of local and international cuisine. Continue reading


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10 Celebrity Moms Who Had Home Births

10 Celebrity Moms Who Had Home Births

jennifer connellyEvery woman chooses to bring her baby into the world in their own way. Some choose, or have to have, c-sections. Others, a natural birth at the hospital. While still others opt for one of the most natural births of all -- a home birth. Doesn't matter. What matters is that mama and baby are both safe and happy.

Check out these 10 celebrity moms who decided to give birth at home. Some may surprise you.

Image via Karon Liu/Flickr

  • Pamela Anderson

    You might not peg Pam Anderson to be a "crunchy" mama, but the blonde bombshell gave birth to both of her sons at home. "I gave birth at home both times -- natural -- with a midwife, in water ... with nothing," she said.

  • Meryl Streep

    Alan Light/Flickr

    Meryl Streep reportedly had a homebirth for at least one of her daughters.

  • Demi Moore

    The beautiful Demi Moore gave birth to daughters Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah all at home.

  • Julianne Moore

    Julianne Moore gave birth to daughter, Liv, at home. She also has been a part of Ricki Lake's home birth advocacy mission.

  • Jennifer Connelly

    Karon Liu/Flickr

    Jennifer Connelly and husband Paul Bettany welcomed their daughter Agnes Lark via a birthing pool in their Brooklyn home.

  • Cindy Crawford

    Jason Merritt/Getty

    A 1999 People article reads: "Eager to shield her privacy, Crawford gave birth in the couple's Brentwood home under the supervision of a midwife and a nurse—and the anxious, joyful gaze of her husband."

  • Gisele Bundchen

    Famously outspoken natural parenting advocate, Gisele Bundchen, gave birth at home. She said: "Giving birth was the most intense and life-changing experience of my life. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to deliver at home, surrounded by love and where I felt safe. It was a really great experience. I never felt so vulnerable but so strong at the same time."

  • Evangeline Lilly

    Evangeline Lilly gave birth outside in a thunderstorm. She said: "We decided to have the baby at home because we wanted it to be a natural birth, and it turns out that it was 30 hours of natural."

  • Alyson Hannigan

    Hannigan decided to home birth after watching The Business of Being Born. She said: "It’s not the right choice for everyone, but it definitely was for me. I never wavered on it. I knew if I needed to go to the hospital I would, but thankfully everything went well and it was a magnificent experience."

  • Alanis Morissette

    Lunchbox LP/Flickr

    Alanis Morissette gave birth to her son at home. Of her experience, she said: "I had a natural birth at home in my bedroom. It was very long -- over 25 hours -- and harrowing. Not unusually for me, I was silent, so it felt like this long drug trip of a prayer that was physically excruciating. My husband saved the day. When I asked him, he would squeeze my head. At other times he would just be there and that was all I needed."

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Strangers Create 'Sisterhood' To Donate Breast Milk to New Mom Going Through Chemo

Lauren Miller smiles while sitting with a friend and holding her baby.
KOLD via Facebook

Arizona mom Lauren Miller was overjoyed last year when she learned she was pregnant for the second time. But just a month later, she started noticing symptoms that couldn't be pinned on normal pregnancy aches and pains. Eventually, doctors gave her a terrifying diagnosis: She had a rare form of leukemia known as Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and it would mean that motherhood the second time around would look very different from how she imagined it.

  • Miller, who already had a 9-year-old child at home, was overcome with fear and emotion about what this would mean for the future.

    “I had no idea, anything about cancer," she told KOLD.

    But she learned quickly. The mom of soon-to-be two was put on steroids during her pregnancy, which doctors hoped would boost her platelet levels so she could carry her daughter to term. It worked, and in December, Miller was able to give birth to a healthy daughter named Scarlett.

    As part of her treatment, though, Miller would have to stop taking the steroids once her daughter was born, and when she did, her body "hit rock bottom." So much so, in fact, that it sent her back to the hospital -- where she was unable to hold her daughter for days.

    “It was just hard," Miller described. "Because I missed her so much because she was so new. And it’s still hard every time I have to go to the hospital. It’s really hard because I’m not able to be there.”

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  • One of the most heartbreaking parts of all was that Miller couldn't breastfeed her daughter, as she had planned to, because of the chemotherapy.

    That is, until the power of one Facebook post proved to her that anything is possible when you have a village. (Even if that village is made up of strangers you've never met.)

    As it turns out, a Facebook post by Miller's sister, Brooke Hasselman, reached a local Arizona mom named Kayla Randall, who was touched by the mother's story.

    In her post, Hasselman was asking for breast milk donations for her sister, who had wanted more than anything to breastfeed. Randall was touched and wanted to help, and luckily, she had a way.

    "It was easy for me to just pump a little bit extra and it was well worth it,” Randall told KOLD. And so pump she did.

  • But Randall went one step further while she was at it, and reached out to other Arizona moms who might be able to help too.

    “They were like, ‘Oh you need some? I have some extra, here it is,’” Randall shared.

    Before she knew it, breast milk donations were coming in left and right. In fact, Randall has received so much breast milk for Miller that she's had to buy a separate freezer just to store it all before delivering it to the new mama.

    What's resulted has been called a "sisterhood" by some, who are amazed at the incredible outpouring of support by women all over the state.

  • According to Brooke, the generosity has left her sister with a profound sense of hope and support.

    "I think it's 100 percent helped her stay more positive with making sure that's one less worry for her," Brooke told This Is Tucson. "I think everyone's biggest fear was postpartum depression after finding out she couldn't breastfeed. But with all the donations so far I definitely think it's kept her worry at bay."

    Although it may be a fairly new practice in the US, many cultures have historically practiced informal breast milk sharing, according to La Leche League -- especially in times of illness, emergency, or maternal stress. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that if a mother's breast milk is not available, the next best thing is breast milk from another woman. Although experts warn against the risks of informal milk-sharing online between strangers, mothers do have the option of going through the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, which can locate the nearest milk bank donation center.

  • Lauren's family is grateful they didn't have to look far for generous donations (and have so much milk that little Scarlett's set for months!).

    Most of all, it allows the new mom to focus her efforts on getting through her treatment and fighting leukemia with everything she's got, in the name of her kids.

    "It’s made such a huge difference," Miller told KOLD. "I mean, every ounce counts."

    A crowdfunding page has been set up to help cover unexpected medical costs that have hit Lauren and her family hard. If you would like to donate or support the family in any way, check out her page at GoFundMe to learn more about her story.


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Cabaret Coming to McFarland Theater

The Smith McFarland Theater if located in the Fine Arts Building Photo Credit/ Lauren Shook

By Madison Petro

Staff Writer

East Stroudsburg University’s Musical Theatre Organization will present its 2017 cabaret “Broadway Through the Ages” this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. This annual cabaret will take place in the Smith-McFarland Theatre at Fine Arts.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

“Broadway Through the Ages” is a musical revue of songs featured on Broadway throughout the years. Performances will include songs from musicals such as “Legally Blonde,” “Hamilton,” “Spring Awakening,” “In the Heights” and more.

The cabaret is hosted by the Musical Theatre Organization, or MTO. MTO is a student-run club on campus that presents various musical performances throughout the academic year such as holiday caroling and singing at campus events and nursing homes.

Performers in this year’s cabaret include MTO e-board members, club members, student directors and stage managers.

For more information, contact Rebecca Roeber at

Email Madison at:

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text: London historian Victor Keegan told the extraordinary story of how Old Pye Street, Westminster and its surrounds (seen here in Gustave Doré’s etching) - were so depraved that Dickens dubbed them The Devil’s Acre.  Following his own recent research, Victor compared old etchings and drawings to some of the buildings and streets we know so well. A fascinating snapshot of extreme poverty and the change that George Peabody and others contributed to the area.


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Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Slightly New Approach

Life has been, well, it's been too much like life lately. That's almost as great for a writer like me as it is terrible.

Life's woes create powerful emotions to draw from and pour into my craft. At the same time, those woes and emotions war with the will to write. That doesn't even allow for the hectic schedule I maintain.

I hear you thinking out there. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Life stinks. So does mine. So does everyone's at some point. Get over yourself." And you know what? You're correct. If that's all this post was about, then it could be a wasted post. We're making our way to the writing inspiration in just a moment.

And, I'm not saying that life is completely terrible. For instance, as of this morning I've lost 32 pounds from the heaviest I weighed myself. Since, at some point  I stopped weighing myself because it became too depressing, I suspect I've lost even more than those 32.

I'll tell you how I did it, partly because I like talking about it, but mostly because it's a nice transition to the new writing approach.

I made a lifestyle change. I'm not dieting. I'm not doing crazy fad workouts or starvation plans. The doctor said I had to change my lifestyle or take blood pressure medication, and I didn't want to go on medicine for that.

Two changes. That's it. I started eating right, and started exercising right. (It would have been just as accurate to leave off the second "right" in the previous sentence.)

Briefly, the eating changes include increasing my water intake; lowering my dairy intake; removing all wheat and most whole grains; sticking primarily to meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. I only drink water, almond milk, green tea and the occasional milk. I've increased my (good) fats and protein by a wide margin.

As far as the exercise go, I alternate days. The on days includes HIIT, heavy weights usually performed in a circuit and laps in the swimming pool. In the off days I only swim.

Beyond all the built in health benefits (which I've ghost-blogged about with some success over at of these choices, there are two reasons they have worked for me.

Persistence and consistency. I don't miss a day exercising. Eventually I will, and that's okay, the body needs rest. But, you'll find me back at it the next day. Same goes for eating. I allow myself treats from time to time, but even then I try to choose healthier alternatives to my previous habits.

My muscle gains and fat loss were dramatically fast. At first. I continue to see the same changes, although it's more gradual.

Gradual is good.

I reached the point in writing where I was writing in spurts, or not at all. More often than not, it was "not at all."

But, as I posted earlier, writing is a lot like going to the gym. In this instance, steady progress that is consistent will lead to results. My new approach is simple. Work on writing every day. I used to hold myself to amounts of time, or a certain amount of words. That worked for me, but only when I could maintain the incredibly busy pace of my life.

Now, I'm not going to let a day go by without working at the craft. Sometimes the words are going to flow super quickly, like the first ten pounds or so that I lost. Sometimes they'll trickle, but the progress will be gradual.

If I make progress in a day, then it's a good day. Just before this blog, I nailed down a 500 word outline to a new story. I'm not usually much of an outliner, but this story required it. I have little in the way of actual prose (just a few lines of dialogue) but you know what I do have? Progress.

Oh, and I also have all those fantastically powerful emotions I started this blog with. They'll come in handy as I continue to write.

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Elegant jewelry patchogue

Please find below posting on elegant jewelry patchogue.

elegant jewelry patchogue photos

Some types of jewelry proved also considered a fantastic luck charm. Rhinestone jewelry is 1 sough after gem if we are referring to jewelries. Discovering just the right rhinestone jewelry is actually very tedious.

Distinct beautiful parts of Jewelry can be produced of several different materials, polymer clay is one of them. Sometimes what you will want to begin looking for is based on the kind of jewelry. This sort of jewelry consists of good quality raw materials.

What our website visitors state on the subject of this blog post:


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5 Brands Reinventing Luxury Retail

on February 1 | in Blog, E-commerce, Featured, Multichannel, Stores, Technology | by | with No Comments

What do you think of when you hear ‘luxury retail’? Big name brands? Personal service? High-quality products at equally high prices?

Once upon a time luxury retail was very much aimed at those with deep pockets. It was about having the very best products with service to match – but paying for it. In turn these traditional luxury brands became aspirational and sought after by shoppers in general.

future of luxury retail

What is luxury retail?

Things are changing though. Customers are becoming more discerning in their buying choices. They are demanding for their money than just a logo on a product. New brands are springing up that offer a new type of luxury experience. There is a need to justify what they are doing – and consequently their prices.

Equally, luxury retail is more about what something is worth to the individual. The value doesn’t come from the brand name, but what it represents – whether that’s heritage, craftmanship, exclusivity, authenticity or the way it makes the customer feel.

Brands need to make a personal connection. This goes hand-in-hand with knowing the customer. Luxury retail is about personalised experiences and curation. The idea of the luxury retailer that recognises the regular customer, and knows what they like, hasn’t gone away. But it’s evolving into something a bit less stuffy and a lot more immersive across all channels – in-store, digital, social media and more.

We take a look at five brands that are redefining the meaning of luxury and how they’re doing it:

Rapha future of luxury retail

While many may not associate cycling with luxury, Rapha is tapping into many of the sector’s key traits. Its products are well-made and high-end, but the in-store experience is what really differentiates it.

Rapha has created a network of more than 18 Clubhouses across the world which are designed to act as a community for like-minded people. Visitors can enjoy a coffee and watch the latest bike races on TV, as well as head out on organised cycle rides.

The staff are experts in not just Rapha, but cycling in general, which means they’re able to engage with customer more deeply. This might be sharing experiences, suggesting routes or helping pick the right products for a certain trip. Some Clubhouses even have spaces for customers to try out products in certain weather conditions, such as wind, rain and heat, to see how they perform. Rapha understands that the products must deliver the goods in order for someone to pay the higher price.

Notably, every Clubhouse is profitable and Rapha also has more than 12,000 paying Rapha Cycle Club members. It shows the value that the personal connection has to customers and how experiences elevate a brand to being on a higher level.

Aesop new luxury retail

Aesop is well-known for its range of skin, hair and body care products. Originally born in Australia, the brand is now found all over the world. With more than 30 years of experience for customers to buy into, the focus is on products that use as many natural and plant-based ingredients as possible. Customers are willing to pay more to have access to this high-level expertise with Aesop running its own custom-built lab for product development.

Its store designs help to evoke the feeling of luxury, with each space having a different personal touch. The company uses a lot of wood and natural materials to tie in with its ethos and to create spaces that feel a bit special.

Exclusivity is another way that Aesop makes the new luxury experience. It only sells its products through its own stores and website, department stores and a few select stockists. This helps its customers to know they are buying the genuine article. It also believes that the service offered by its staff sets the experience apart.

3x1 Denim luxury retail

3×1 Denim

New York’s 3×1 Denim shows how new luxury can be applied to jeans. Its showroom houses a 24-person strong in-store factory where jeans are made from scratch. While it does have a range of jeans ready-made and available for purchase online or in-store, the real luxury experience is in its custom-fit service.

These jeans are made by hand in the same way as a tailor does a suit, which means that they are the perfect fit for the individual customer. There is also over 800 different denim fabrics for customers to choose from, including many from the rarest mills and looms around the world.

As such, these aren’t jeans that someone can just walk in and grab off a shelf or rail. The exclusive, personalised nature makes them worth paying more for. Again, customers are paying for the expertise, as well as the whole experience of having something tailored.

Sipsmith new luxury retail

Sipsmith Gin

Sipsmith Gin began life in 2009 with the ambition to return to the old ways of going things. As such, the company set up the first traditional copper gin distillery in London since 1820.

All Sipsmith Gin is handmade in small batches to ensure the quality remains high. This care and attention makes it a more luxurious choice of gin. The company’s storytelling also adds to its luxury status. Customers can read all about the different stills used in the distilling process on Sipsmith’s website, and even see what their current status is.

They can also type in the batch number from their gin to find out exactly what happened on the day it was bottled. Coupled with the ability to take a digital 360-degree tour of the distillery, or even to visit in person, this brings the customer as close as possible to their purchase. This is what the new luxury offers – the ability to know exactly where your product came from.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese luxury retail experiences

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

This is a great example of luxury in a sector where you might not expect it. This artisan cheesemaker began life 15 years and now has stores in Seattle and New York. While cheese may seem like a basic grocery item, this is definitely not your standard product at as much as $34 a pound.

Beecher’s justifies its pricing by creating the best quality product possible. All the milk used in its cheese production is locally sourced to ensure freshness and reduce environmental impact. It’s also chosen to be free of any nasties such as bovine growth hormones.

The customer can watch the cheese being made in-front of them at the stores. This helps to emphasise the craft that goes into each product, and in turn helps explain the higher prices. The in-store production also gives Beecher’s the chance to forge personal connections with customers.

The end product feels special, compared to processed or supermarket cheeses, and so it’s worth spending more on. There is also a sense of buying into tradition, which makes the cheese seem more valuable.

reinventing luxury retail experiences

Focus on value

In many respects, the reinvention of luxury doesn’t so much discard the values of the past, but builds on them. Customers still want to feel that they are getting something special, something that not everyone has, but they won’t pay a high price for it just because it has someone’s name on it. There has to be an intrinsic value to the products.

The new luxury needs to focus on tapping into customer emotions and personal preferences. If retailers can build an experience that focuses on the individual and fosters a special place in the customer’s heart, then they’ll find them willing to pay for it. And that’s valuable on both sides.
Via Insider Trends

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