Don Tillman is getting married…just as soon as he picks a bride. He is a genetics professor, who came up with The Wife Project, which is the 16-page survey required of every woman he goes on a date with. He is sure the results will yield him the perfect woman to marry. Then he meets Rosie Jarman. He is drawn to her because of her mission to find her biological father, but disqualifies her as wife material. The two become friends, and Tillman has to decide whether or not he will ditch The Wife Project and pursue Rosie after all.
Why not, is the most common answer when staff are asked if they would like to play Volleyball on the school wide District teams. Most are coming out for a little fun and exercise as they become acquainted with staff from all locations within the District. When you attend a game as a spectator you can feel the slight competitive spirit of the players as well as hear a lot of laughs and you may even get to witness a few epic falls and fails to hit the ball. This just brings a lighthearted feeling to the floor and reminds us that having fun in life is important.
So far, the Buena team has played the District office team and JCMS. The season runs a short 7 weeks and typically the score does not matter as the players are just there to have fun. Cynthia Nieuwenhuis, a player on the District team said, “I played Volleyball in Middle School and I come out to laugh, have fun, and get an entertaining workout.”
If you are a member of staff and you want to participate, it’s not too late! You can email Mr. Eric Krieg or just show up for a game. The season still has a lot of time left. If you have a moment to attend a game and support your favorite team, come on out and cheer for our District staff.
Come this time of the year the sun is off most of the plot in the morning, but the weeding that needed to be done today was along the north edge of the plot, in the sun, so that was where we were. It was a slow job; the green alkanet and couch grass were well rooted – although it is strangely satisfying to pull out the long roots of the couch grass.
It is now cold enough to get the garlic planted. We are giving Scottish grown garlic a go, planting bulbs from a company in Nairn. They are being sold for eating, not planting, but are a good size so we shall see how they do.
A start too on the maintenance of the raised beds today as we began to put a new edge alongside the espalier apples.
We had a picking of sprouts, chard, parsnips, beetroot plus onions, potatoes and apples from the store.
I’d like to introduce you to Jane. Jane is married to Jack. They’ve been happily married for 15 years. They have two children, two cars, the proverbial white picket fence.
One day, Jane meets a man at the office. He’s young, smooth, and extremely handsome. He asks for her help on a project. Naturally, Jane is eager. Not necessarily because she’s attracted to him (she is) but because she likes helping people. Soon one interaction, turns into two, which turns into three, and pretty soon, Jane finds herself anticipating when she’ll see him again. Jane has officially developed a secret crush.
Jane isn’t real. Except that she is. There are thousands of Janes out there…maybe you’re one of them. “It doesn’t hurt,” you think. “It’s not like I would ever act upon it.” Maybe so. But is Jane on a slippery slope to self-destruction? Let’s take a closer look…
Justifications – You find yourself justifying your actions. “But everyone is entitled to a fantasy.” True. Attraction to others doesn’t die the minute you get married. But the minute you find yourself focusing more on the fantasy than the reality, it’s time to bail. Besides, it’s alarming how quickly things can escalate from a simple fantasy to irreparable damage to your family. Hello “Unfaithful” with Diane Lane!
If the tables were turned – Ask yourself, “if I found out my husband was doing the same thing I was, how would I feel?” If the answer is jealous, hurt, or angry…you’re in too deep. Before you indulge your secret crush, think for a second about how it would feel if you found out your husband was anticipating his next meeting with that cute colleague in the next cubicle. Would you feel comfortable knowing they were out for a drink? Knowing they were texting each other after work? Flirting on Facebook? No? Then don’t do the same.
Disclosure Overload – You find yourself starting to talk to your crush about your marital problems. The danger: it creates a false air of intimacy. You may think you’re relating and being friendly, but it’s a surefire way to signal “I’m vulnerable (read: available).” Isn’t it true that when a colleague says “I’m so in love with my husband/wife” you automatically feel that person is off-limits? Likewise, the minute you start talking about problems at home, that signals an open door to your crush. Experts say most affairs start at the office, and it’s no wonder. At work, you’ve got your best face forward— you’re seen as competent, pretty, put-together..the opposite of what you may feel when you’re at home—tired and unkempt..keeping up with endless chores, kids, pets, a spouse.
“Go-to” Status – Something good happens to you during your day, and the first person you want to tell is your crush, not your husband. It can be something simple— “I found a dollar,” or something monumental—“I got a promotion!” If you start thinking about that person more than you think of your significant other, it’s time to take a step back.
Denial denial! – You’re in denial. You think it’s “never” going to happen to you. According to therapists, the second most common slip-up happens where you’d least expect it. Common culprits? Your husband’s best friend, or your best friend’s husband! Why? Your guard is down. You’re comfortable being yourself. So are they. There is open access to that person, and you’re probably spending tons of time together. These affairs are the most insidious, because the betrayal is two-fold. Be careful.
If you find yourself in constant la-la land with Mr. McDreamy, it’s time to take a critical look at yourself. Just what exactly is this all about? What is the void in your own relationship you think this person can fill? And what’s stopping you from talking about it with your own husband/wife?
Bottom line, we’re all human. Sometimes we feel connections with other people, and sometimes those connections are undeniable. It’s simple really. If you are married, and you feel a strong attraction to another person, use discernment. Don’t put yourself in situations that could lead to more. For instance, Rachel and her husband have a rule. If they feel a little crushy towards someone, they tell each other what’s going on. By being honest about it with one another, they remove the “secret” and often times, any steam behind the attraction. Discernment.
Thanks to Caroline Madden MFT (counselingwithcaroline.com) and Jeannette York MFT (yorkMFT@yahoo.com) for their help on this article.
I can’t be the only one who has 9,001 cupcake wrappers leftover from various baking expeditions over the years.
And since I know I’m not alone, I’m also betting you’re unsure what to do with yours just like I am. I mean, sure, you could use them on actual cupcakes… but then, who wants 24 mismatched baked goods. Better to enlist the help of the kiddos and create this fun garland for your next special occasion.
Thread your needle and push it through the center of a wrapper, head on to the next and make sure you switch the sizes the colors and the wrapper direction with each new addition.
Thread as many cupcake wrapper as your heart desires, the length is entirely up to you. Use it to decorate around a cake table, on the buffet, or even as decor in your home!
If you make a cupcake garland be sure and share it with us on Instagram with the tag #TheChic so we can see it too! ~Rachel
Perpetual Ristorante is a 750 square meter space of gastronomic multi-purpose venue in Rome. It’s a restaurant, a bistrot, a wine bar, kitchen and experimental food laboratory that are spread out in three levels. Half of the space is dedicated to the kitchen, another 80 square meters are assigned to a food laboratory while 150 square meters are committed to the dining areas. The spaces are elegant, minimal and there’s a lot of space to move around. Wood, metal, and glass make up the interiors while the dramatic lighting of Davide Groppi plays a key role in the three floors of Perpetual which changes the mood. significantly.
It has crossed the line of being just a restaurant to an oasis for gourmands where a team of chefs take them on gastronomic journeys of multitude of aromas and flavors.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the interiors of Perpetual. Upon entry, the first thing that will catch your attention is the bar made with fossil wood from Kazakhstan. Just behind it is the large open kitchen separated with a glass panel door. In the next room is the bistrot which is dedicated for more informal dining. Leading up the stairs is the second level that opens to a small lounge with a wine cellar that leads the path to the more formal dining area. Behind a sliding wall, which communicates with the kitchen, lies the yeast and pastry laboratory. Finally, the last floor is reserved for the staff, with the gastronomic research laboratory and service areas.
Perpetual’s kitchen is in constant motion in which it is built around the diners. Executive Chef Cezar Predescu and his 16-strong team of young, experienced chefs who have gained their knowledge and experiences from different corners of the globe take care of the kitchen while Cezar’s wife, Daniela Ruse completes the circle being the pastry chef of the restaurant.
Chef Cezar Predescu moved from Romania to Italy twenty years ago. With deep comprehension of two cuisines combined with his team’s international backgrounds, his kitchen reflects multiplicity. Knowledge, experience, diversity and new culinary techniques using high-end equipment complete the union of high gastronomy at Perpetual’s kitchen. But it doesn’t stop there because great attention is given to the nutritional aspects of the dishes as studied together with Chef Paolo Cappuccio. The right balance of fibers, proteins, carbohydrates and fats are placed in the same level of importance as the gustatory and visual impact of every dish.
The menu of Perpetual is decisively contemporary but it keeps a traditional base. There is a careful research for raw materials that are transformed using modern techniques. The entries dynamize a normal meal. Dining at Perpetual is extraordinary, fun to discover new things, consistent with excellence and an unforgettable experience.
Getting the Tasting Menu is always the best way to get to know the chef’s concept of cooking. His beliefs, his stories, his personality and his capacity shine through the dishes that he creates for the whole course of tasting. For my dinner at Perpetual, I was treated to the 11-course meal with wine pairing. It was a remarkable dinner with perfectly-paired wines. Including a couple of sake in the wine pairing was an interesting opener for more diversity of combinations. If you have the time to relax over good food, a dining experience at this restaurant is highly recommendable.
Agraria Riva del Garda 46° Parallel extra virgin olive oil, a blend of Casaliva, Frantoio and Leccino olives and their own freshly-baked bread paired with Vezzoli Franciacorta Pas Dosè Vendemmia Zero. Three kinds of very good bread with different consistencies that you can dip in harmonious fruity oil.
Carabineros: Carpaccio di gambero rosso, mela acida e crème fraîche (red shrimp carpaccio, sour green apple and creme fraîche) paired with Tohokuizumi Toku Sake. Sake may not be so commonly paired with food in Italian restaurants but I appreciated eating this dish with fermented rice wine because it gave a wider perception of exquisite tastes.
Indivia e Radicchio, pralinè alle noci e pinoli, osmosis di camomila (endive and radicchio, pralinè of walnut and pine nuts, osmosis of chamomile) paired with Rosé d’un jour” 2017 Ferme de la Sansonnière. This is the most distinct of all, both the food and the wine. Endives and radicchio are known for their bitterness that when grilled or roasted, mellows down a bit. I love the simplicity of this dish and the amalgamation of all the flavors together spiked by the peculiar complex wine with its well-pronounced earthiness.
Carbonara 2018: spuma di uovo, guanciale e bieta (egg foam, guanciale and chard stalk) paired with Sergio Mottura Latour a Civitella 2011. This is a very curious representation of the carbonara wherein the pasta is replaced by chard stalks that tended to exude a bit of water.
Lampone candito (candied raspberry) and Nuvola: kefir, bergamotto e lici (kefir sorbet, bergamot orange and lychee cream) paired with Casale Certosa Malvasia Puntinata Passito 2015. The raspberry was a refreshing bite after the long dinner. It’s just the right size to rejuvenate the palate to the coming succession of sweet tastes. The Nuvola is just like its name. It’s a dreamy, soft and fresh dessert with absolutely beautiful and delicate flavors. I can easily eat ten of these!
In 1548, Ignatius of Loyola published one of the most popular devotional books in Christian history – the Spiritual Exercises. This book is a compilation of meditations, prayers, and other practices. In one of the Exercises, we find a way to prayerfully meditate on the cross of Christ. It seems especially appropriate for Holy Week.
In the first Exercise of his book, Ignatius introduces the idea of a colloquy, which, he says, is made “in the way one friend speaks to another . . . now begging a favor, now accusing oneself of some misdeed, now telling one’s concerns and asking counsel about them.”
In a similar way, reflect on yourself and ask: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I to do for Christ?
Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556) was a Spanish priest, theologian, spiritual director, and founder of the Jesuit order. Read more.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk, a beloved modern contemplative, and a prolific writer. He left us many books and essays on the spiritual life. When I read Merton, I’m especially struck by the way he confronts and even embraces the difficulties of living the Christian life. Following Jesus is not easy, and Merton knows this. His frank admission of his struggles ministers to us in our own.
“I have become convinced that the very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me: if only because someone so complicated and so prone to confusion and self-defeat could hardly survive for long without special mercy.” (A Thomas Merton Reader)
“Paradoxically, I have found peace because I have always been dissatisfied. My moments of depression and despair turn out to be renewals, new beginnings . . . All life tends to grow like this, in mystery inscaped with paradox and contradiction, yet centered, in its very heart, on the divine mercy . . . and the realization of the ‘new life’ that is in us who believe, by the gift of the Holy Spirit. “ (A Thomas Merton Reader)
“Those who continue to struggle are at peace. If God wills, they can pacify the world. For he[/she] who accepts the struggle in the name of Christ is delivered from its power by the victory of Christ.” (A Thomas Merton Reader)
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The Crouch Group is a full service advertising and public relations firm based in Denton, Texas. The firm was established in 1996 and provides public relations services, graphic design, video production, web design, social media marketing, promotional products and marketing and advertising media planning and buying for clients throughout the United States.
He is a 1980 graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. His background includes advertising sales and management, radio and television news, talk shows, sports play-by-play and commercial production. He has served as the public address announcer for University of North Texas Football and Basketball since 1999 and for Denton High School Football since 2014.
As a community volunteer, Tim has been a part of the last seven bond packages for the city of Denton and the Denton ISD. Voters overwhelmingly approved all of the bond proposals totaling more than 1 billion dollars in capital improvement projects for the city and the school district. As chair of Serve Denton, Tim led the organization through hiring of a new executive director in 2017. Previously he helped the Denton Parks Foundation to hire an executive director for the first time and to raise over $500,000 for construction of the Eureka 2 Project in November 2015.
One of 33 people selected nationally as a trainer for the “Igniting Ministry Campaign”, a national United Methodist Media Campaign.
The Crouch Group was founded in 1996 by Tim Crouch and Ron Ray and provides ad campaign consultation, graphic design, web design and internet marketing, video production and promotional products to its clients. The Crouch Group provides marketing and public relations services for a wide variety of types and sizes of business.
The Crouch Group has developed a legal marketing platform that has help clients to grow and transform their business. In addition, The Crouch Group has worked with United Methodist Churches throughout the United States developing and implementing advertising and marketing campaigns and strategies.
Both courses - CSS Layout Fundamentals and CSS Layout Advanced. This package will take you right through CSS Layout as used today and in the future.
THE DIRTY ARMY: Nik, I follow Landin Berryman on Instagram and it’s super confusing… I get that you have a black boyfriend but stop trying to sell the world on your ass. YOU ARE WHITE!!!
White girls don’t have a bum like that. That’s prob why she shows it off . The blacks Mexicans and South Americans love big asses
Our Community Projects are geared towards allowing the community to come together to not only learn, travel or create something new, but interacting with friends and sometimes total strangers through The Elite School of Etiquette, to work on social and dining skills . Etiquette is more than just what fork do you use.
This Class is such a fun and educational class for the 13-18 year olds and our 18- young at hearts. The girls will be making dolls using recycled materials along with learning about the etiquette of tea. The first session ages 13-18 is 10am-1pm and the 18+ session begins at 2pm.
This Class is such a fun and educational class for the little girls 6-10 , and our 11-15 year of age doll making session. The girls will be making dolls using recycled materials along with learning about the etiquette of tea. What a wonderful way of being Girlie!
Parents of the 6-10 year old girls are expected to stay and accompany them during the class to assist and enjoy the interactions of designing and creating their new doll. Then, join The Elite School of Etiquette as we share the history and etiquette of tea during our Afternoon Tea Party.
This Boot camp will also include a few instructors who will teach you a few styling techniques that you can use, so my intermediate braiders this class will also be for you, you can now advance your skills.
US - The people of Alaska are making their voices heard and are demanding that fisheries practices change to reduce halibut bycatch.
They are speaking out against the more than six million pounds of halibut that are dumped overboard each year as bycatch in trawl fisheries that target flounders, rockfish, perch, mackerel and other groundfish (not pollock).
The bycatch levels, which are set by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), have not been changed for 20 years for the so called “Amendment 80” fleet of 28 Seattle-based trawlers. At the same time, the halibut catches for commercial, sport and subsistence users have been slashed every year for 14 years due to stock depletion and slow growing, small fish.
The NPFMC will decide on cutting the halibut bycatch level by up to 50 per cent when it meets the week of June 1 in Sitka.
Federal data show that the multi-billion pound trawl fisheries discarded seven times more halibut (animals) in 2014 than were landed by fishermen in the same Bering Sea region.
“Halibut bycatch comes off the top,” said Jeff Kauffman of St. Paul, one of nearly 2,000 Alaskans who holds fishing shares of the halibut stocks. Kauffman has seen his region’s share of the small boat halibut catch dwindle by 63 per cent to less than 400,000 pounds.
Data also show the average size of the halibut caught as bycatch last year in the Bering Sea was 4.76 pounds, less than half the weight of a typical 26-inch halibut. Between 70-90 per cent of those smaller fish are slated to migrate out of the region upon maturity.
So far 16 Alaska groups and communities have passed resolutions and/or written strongly worded letters to the NPFMC pushing for a 50 per cent bycatch cut. A dozen Alaska legislators also have written to urge the Council to make the cut.
“Suggesting that a 50 per cent reduction in bycatch is a ‘fair share’ action is ridiculous. There is nothing fair, equitable or reasonable in using the blunt tool of a 50 per cent re-allocation that could cost hard working Alaskans and fishermen hundreds of jobs, and could remove well over $100 million dollars from the State of Alaska's economy in a single year,” Woodley wrote in an open letter to the industry.
Poke preventer - Few fishermen go to sea without their Vicky – the small, sharp Victorinox Swiss Army knife used for everything that needs a quick cut. But traditional knife sheaths point downward, and Vickys can badly poke fishermen scrambling atop huge pots used for crab or cod.
Anne Morris of Sand Point knew there had to be a better way. She designed and made a snazzy new Vicky sheath that lies horizontally on belts – pokey problem solved.
The knife sheath topped 23 entries to win the $1,000 first place prize last month at the Aleutian Marketplace Business Idea Competition, hosted each year by the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA) and the Aleut Corporation.
Salmon starts! - Alaska’s 2015 salmon season officially began on May 14 with the first runs of reds and kings to the Copper River near Cordova. In coming weeks salmon openers will kick off all over Alaska and regional catch forecasts are up across the board.
In all, Alaskans are bracing for a huge season – state managers project a harvest of 221 million salmon, 39 per cent higher than last year.
Driving the numbers are big forecasts for both sockeye and pink salmon. A whopping 59 million sockeye catch is set to come out of Alaska this summer, a 33 per cent increase and the largest harvest since 1995. A sockeye catch of more than 38 million is projected at Bristol this summer.
For those hard to predict pinks, the statewide harvest could top 140 million, a 46 per cent increase. At Southeast Alaska, home to the state’s largest wild pink salmon runs, the catch is pegged at 58 million fish.
Chum salmon harvests are expected to double this year to more than 17 million. On the downside, a Coho harvest of 4.6 million would be a drop of nearly 2 million fish from last year.
You can track salmon catches daily during the season via the AK Dept. of Fish and Game’s Blue Sheet.
Have you visited Michael’s blog yet? He has a new post about the Dust Witch. Creepy stuff! Be sure to visit, and if you’re in the market for some baby-hand candles, you’re going to love his shop!