Blueberry Crumb Bars

The smitten kitchen is a favourite blog of mine. I love visiting and seeing what she is up to. Well today on my visit I seen some amazing Blueberry Crumb Bars... I have to make them.

Recipe is here!

Abundance of jobs.

Contrary to the reports in the media worldwide, the job market is pretty good nowadays-isn’t it?

Now, I hear you complain but I want to tell you one thing. If you are really serious and if you possess the right attitude, there are Jobs in Hospitality industry that are for grabs. Only you should learn to look at the right place to find jobs.

I know of a reputed recruitment agency based in the U.K. and they have several offices across the U.K. They offer total recruitment solutions for job seekers in various industries.

Through searchconsultancy.co.uk, one can search for office jobs, sales jobs, engineering jobs, call center jobs and so on.

One can even be specific about the location of jobs. For example, residents of Manchester will have no problems finding Jobs In Manchester. Like that, there are jobs in Glasgow, Birmingham and other places in the U.K.

They offer more than jobs dear. You can seek their expert interview tips and they also help you build an attractive resume. This speaks for their seriousness and commitment both to the job seekers and employers.

I wish more people are aware of Searchconsultancy.co.uk. As a service, I am going to promote them through several online media.

Thumbs up for this diet pills review site.

The interruption through my cell phone while I was taking my class was annoying even though it came from my best friend in Virginia, U.S.A. The SMS asked me to read the email sent by him. I didn’t bother to reply but mentally asserted to read the email.

When the class was over, I opened the email and found the content was about a review site for the best diet pills in the market. I wondered why I should visit a website dealing with diet pills as I definitely don’t need them.

The site has accounted for the top 10 diet pills out of 200 plus diet pills that are in the market. The parameters for reviewing and grading included one important aspect which I have not come across in several other weight loss pills review sites.

Pricesexposed.net is considering the quality of the ingredients of the diet pills they are reviewing and this I feel is well thought of and is an important criterion for ranking.

I gave thumbs up sign for the site in Stumble upon.

The cybers laws that affect us all.

Many Indians that are using email are required to know about the implications of the cyber laws and can't plead 'Ignorance' anymore when their email is hacked and misused for illegal activities.

The Times of India carries an important article on this issue that should be read by all the Indian Internet users.

In the wake of recent happenings in India, this article is published because the news story of a threat for destructive activities through email. It implies that if our email is hacked and the IP address stolen for misuse by anyone, we have to prove our innocence and cannot plead ignorance.

But what about MAC (media access control)? Can that also be hacked? And what about 'E-discovery'-that allows an Internet user to ask his/her internet service provider for details of his account that is not available in India?

Packed with anti-oxidants.

I liked the interior of that A/C chair car in the train in which I traveled yesterday from Harihar to Bangalore. The seats were new and wore a good looking and red color patterned upholstery.

The train was less crowded and I could choose any seat I wanted. I took an aisle seat, settled down and ordered coffee from the first coffee vendor. While sipping the coffee, I noticed an empty plastic box that bore the name Leptovox.

Glancing at its contents, I was impressed with the list that included Barley, Wheat and Grass green tea among others.

Hmm… have some of the weight loss diet pills manufactured abroad reached the shelves Indian medical stores?

I pocketed the empty plastic bottle with some embarrassment () but fortunately, the ticket examiner who saw my act decently turned away.

How does your Garden Grow?

Some pictures of my garden and how things are growing.Here is Shaylin with our tomato plants... the one plant is so large and
not one tomato on it.

Some tomatoes on some of our other plants.

Look at my pepper.. it is a growing.

Grandma Eckert's Peach Custard Pie

This entry was given to me by my wife, Angie.

One of my favorite things about peach season, now that I am a mom, is baking a pie with my daughter. I slice and peel; she perfectly places the peaches in the crust! Then she helps me crack the eggs and scramble the custard before we pour it over the peaches. We all enjoy the smell of baking peaches for the next hour or so.
This recipe is one of Chris’ favorite’s. It was his Grandmother Ruth’s and it is excellent!! Of course, it can be made even better with a scoop of Eckert’s frozen custard.

Enjoy, Angie

PEACH CUSTARD PIE
3 cups peeled, sliced peaches (about 7 peaches)
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour

Arrange fruit in bottom of pie shell. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, and flour; add cream and vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over fruit. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (The pie should brown slightly on the top)
Angie’s notes: I cover my crust with "pie crust savers" or aluminum foil for the first 40 minutes of baking. I bake my pie on a cookie sheet in effort to prevent custard spills inside my oven.

Rob's Birthday Cake

This is my husband's birthday cake. This is the first cake I have made like this and I really enjoyed making it. I do need to practice though so I can get my decorating skills down better. I have never taken a class or anything.

The sun only made it on to the cake because some little 4 year old with red hair
decided she wanted to help mommy. And viola.... finger through the cake.

The final product.... and it looks okay... but better yet it tasted wonderful!!!!

Think like man and shop like a woman.

After 22 years of marriage, I learnt this secret while shopping for women’s dress. After first two visits to the shopping mall, I avoided taking my husband as he was very impatient.

This proved to be an unwisely decision because, my clothes selection was not at all liked even by women. If at all my dress attracted some admiration, it is because that particular dress would have been selected by my husband.

I realized that my eyes can’t pick anything that is liked men and so I decided that I should shop like woman but think like a man. From then on, I left it to my husband’s choice for my dress requirements.

He took that responsibility seriously and started compiling plenty of style resources. He used to browse through several online fashion magazines, linger around women forums with a female username, scour the Shopwiki as they are the best online shopping mall where one can compare with thousands of brands and stores.

The only disturbing factor is he is now called on frequently by several ladies from my street. I am going to hang a card on my door that says, “Husband is busy”.

Convertible gold bullion.

Please read till the end of this blog post before you guess on what I mean by gold convertible. America’s most dependable precious metals dealer Monex offers three different forms gold bullion and one of them is a 10 ounce gold bullion bar made of finest gold that is hallmarked by Heraeus, one of the world's leading refiners, and the 800 year-old Austrian Mint, one of the world's leading minting institutions.

What is the big advantage of buying this convertible gold bullion? At a later date, when you want to dispose off half of the 10 ounce bar, Monex will gladly convert the gold bar into pure one-ounce Vienna Philharmonic gold coins with no commission at current market rates.

Monex Precious Metals is home to a large and dedicated staff of hard asset professionals committed to serving your precious metals investment needs and being America’s best dealer with a convenient market and competitive precious metals prices.

At my suggestion, my relative bought this 10 ounce convertible gold bar three months ago from Monex but fortunately, he did not face any need to convert it till now.

A stray dog stole the shoe.

It is one of those days when nothing happens to my liking. It seems the day of frustration for me.

First, the arguing parent, next the heat, third is the power cut and now my husband demands a new pair of Adidas Trainers because a stray dog took away one of his running shoes.

Fortunately, that was very old and so anyway his demand for new trainers is justified. My son gave an unsolicited advice to his father that he should buy Nike Trainers as they last longer than Adidas. “Adidas dad, is only for boxers”-he ridiculed his dad’s choice. Oh, from where he got that notion?

But my husband is not a casual shopper. He compares several brands offered by several online stores, list out his choices, spends considerable time in deciding finally.

A cheap attitude.

I was deeply perturbed when a parent of my student argued with me about the fees. And he knows very well that my fees are the lowest.

He wanted to enroll his daughter for 10th std yesterday. I said ok but I told him that classes have been going since February and his daughter had already missed plenty of lessons. But I also assured him that I will give him some special classes to make up the loss of lessons.

When he asked how much is the fee I told him what are my charges. He could not agree because his daughter is joining only in the middle of the year. This argument of his was put forward after my assurance to make up the lost classes which I need not give anyway.

Some attitude!

Growing opportunities for trained beauticians.

Coming out of the beauty schools in illinois empty handed is almost unheard of. Graduates trained by the Regency Beauty Institute are usually grabbed by leading beauty salons, five star hotels, and film producing companies as hairstylists, manicurists, makeup artists, waxing specialists, hair color specialists, and skin care specialists.

Regency is the fastest growing beauty school in the country. Regency has expanded from two Minnesota schools in 2002 to almost 30 campuses across nine states, with continued growth underway for next year.

With such an expansion, they are sending out more number of beauticians and several of them set up their own beauty parlors. Even during their training at Regency Beauty School, students provide high-quality, discounted salon services to the public under expert faculty supervision.

For more information, visit regencybeauty.com and contact Kim Radetzki-Brosdahl
Vice President, Marketing.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Earn up to $4000 per month.

Here are some headlines like the above:
Earn $200 per day as a home typist.
Work as an online clerk and we pay you $35 per hour.

I am sure you have seen such ads in your email especially if you have subscribed to Go Freelance, a New York based company that is in the business of providing income opportunities to all provided if they are a paid member of it.

They say they connect freelancer to the employers. I remember once one of my close friend narrate his bad experience with these type of match makers. GoFreelance.com seems to offer jobs as a proof reader, freelance writer, freelance programmers and graphic designers.

I wonder whether all their promises are true and if outsiders of America also get freelance opportunities through Gofreelance.com

Any feedback?

Blogging in the dark.

I am an expert now blogging in the dark. My eyes are accustomed to see the white letters on my black keyboard in near darkness.

Yes, the darkness is very natural because it happens daily between 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM and also at other times when the Government switches off the electricity to save electricity so that the saved energy can be diverted off to more important purposes than my blogging, your napping, someone's cooking etc etc.

The outside temperature will be around 38 degree C. We have been living like an ostrich since April this year. The heat is beating on us mercilessly. The rain clouds seem to have taken extended leave of absence.

Rain, rain, come again!

Online resources for writers.

I know the demand for resources for professional as well as freelance writers. Being a freelance writer myself, I am in contact with several freelancers who keep directing me to free resources given in forums, through e-books and web links.

Here is one more from an authentic source. “Capella University makes comprehensive online academic writing center available to the public. The online university’s Online Writing Center features multi-media modules aimed at graduate level students studying in a variety of disciplines.”

The person who showed me this is a MBA graduate from Capella University. He did his health care school mba course to assist his doctor wife who has partnered with a few other specialist doctors to establish a medium range hospital in a small town in Minneapolis.

The full web release of Capella University that was attached with the email from my friend contained this announcement of Leslie Olsen, coordinator of Capella’s Writing Center.

“We decided to make this writing resource available to the general public because, first, it’s the nature of writing centers to share resources, and second, we have some unique resources to share that are a result of the collaboration among faculty, staff, and our incredible web and instructional designers.”

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

The ceiling fan with stunning design.

My prestige took a severe beating. Do you see the lamp in the picture here? It is a table lamp alright but it is something unique. It is fitted with iPod speakers and your iPod can also be charged in this beautiful pink table lamp.

When such a beauty is not noticed by anyone in my house, how do you expect me to feel?

I bought this online from my favorite mall for lamps and ceiling fans. I am not exaggerating when I say that Farreys.com is the best online shop for all your floor lamps, lamp shades, ceiling fans, door fittings etc.

I warn you! It is very difficult to select what you want from farreys.com because they have a vast products range and you will feel like buying more than your immediate needs.

For example, see this rare ceiling fan fitted with two fans.

Do you know they have about 80 different fans that are all eye catching with great designs and colors?

But when you buy one from Farreys.com, be sure to shamelessly inform about it when you have a visitor.

Day 2 of school....

I have to tell you... it is going so well... my little one wants to keep going after we have done the days work... but so far we are keeping on track. More of an update and pictures later.

Moving a Big Rock

This video is absolutely incredible... seriously! Give it a view.

The dug pit is about to be filled up.

The pit is dug long before it was necessary and today is the the day for it to get filled up. The world is watching over the proceedings in the Indian Parliament. Will the Government survive? I hope so because of change of allegiance of a few political parties in the last week.

Several corporate houses seemed to have come forward to support the Congress Government financially. The news papers have been reporting strange stories.

I have been watching news in Yahoo! but so far nothing is reported.

Yes, here is some news published 10 minutes ago:
"BSP staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha over alleged remarks of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad against party chief Mayawati."

I think this must be a big blow for the Congress Government.

Cheesy Ranch Potato Bake

* 4 pounds russet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
* 2 teaspoons chili powder
* 1 teaspoon season salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted (I spray mine one and somethings just use EV Olive oil)
* 1 (8 ounce) package shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend
* 1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing
* Bacon pieces to liking

1. Bake potatoes for about 1 hour the night before at 400*F.
2. The next day put potatoes in the crockpot with Cheese and Ranch Dressing and bacon pieces.
3. Cook on low for about 3 hours until cheese is melted.
   

First day of school for us!!!!!!!!!!

Today we plan on starting our first day of school. I can't tell you how excited I am. I figure come family when school traditionally goes in we will be doing lots of stuff with different homeschooling groups so if we get a head start now I will feel a whole lot better. Besides she is more than eager to start. She can't wait.

Layouts from Alyssa's 8x8 Album

I am doing an album for my daughter as she had graduated grade 8 this past June. I would like to have all her pictures and layouts done shortly so she can always look back on them with fondness.

Sorry the pictures aren't the best... it was too much light with my flash on the camera. :(

World Youth Day, Part II: Papal Mass

Just back from the Papal Mass which concludes World Youth Day, which took place at Randwick Racecourse, a massive horse track about 4k from downtown Sydney. The event was enormous -- I don't know if they hit the 500,000 they were predicting or not, but it sure looked full. (Click to get the big picture.)


Probably the coolest part of the liturgy itself was the bringing of the Gospel book, which was danced and sung by people from Fiji. I'm downloading a video of it onto Youtube. I'll post a link when it's done. Suffice it to say, experiencing how other cultures pray and celebrate -- just amazing.


Speaking of other cultures, I love this banner which hung above the altar area. The image actually comes from an an aboriginal woman. I guess she and her son were out on a boat a few years ago, and he said, look, mom. And she looked, and she saw this huge white dove floating above the land. She identified it as a vision of the Holy Spirit -- Australia is actually known, by the way, as the Great Southern Land of the Holy Spirit. So she went home and painted it in exactly the way you see it here. The dot-style is very aboriginal. Someone explained to me that the dots represent the dust from which we come and to which we fade. The red background, to my mind, functions as an image of this great land, which is oh so red at its heart.

In his homily, the Pope prayed for "a New Upper Room", that is, a new experience of the Holy Spirit coming down upon us and sending us out into the world, as had happened to the disciples at Pentecost in the Upper Room. A neat image. He also asked us, What is the world we are leaving for the next generation, a question that haunts.

I have to say too, being able to give out communion while the choir sang "Taste & See", a song from my own ordination liturgy, was really powerful. I was sent into the middle of an area, and I just stood in one place, turning round and round while people of all kinds of different walks of life came up from all sides.

Of course, there were funny moments in the liturgy, too. Like the walking. Not at the event, but to get there and to get home, oy vey did we walk. Honestly, when I got off the train finally to go home, my leg hurt in places I've never felt before.

Understatement of the Year.

There was also the pre-liturgy vibe, which was sort of telethon meets tele-evangelist meets motorcycle rally. We had two "hosts", a man and a woman, who would come running up on stage and try to get people wound up with "Are you ready to meet the Pope?" and "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, ARE YOU READY?", followed by faux-meaningful interludes that ill-suited the occasion.


My favorite moment, though, was when the male host introduced the Pope's arrival onto the course at Randwick in the Autopapa. "AND NOW...." he hollered, (I kid you not), "PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR HIS HOLINESS, POPE BENEDICT... the SIXTEENTH!" I just needed "SO LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" for the moment to be complete.

Immediately prior to the liturgy, former Australian Idol Guy Sebastian and others sang some Christian rock songs, including the WYD "theme song", "Receive the Power," which is impossible to get out of your head once it's in there. Impossible.

Sebastian's sentiments were genuine, and his passion laudable. Still, I wanted to shake him a bit when he said "This isn't a performance, this isn't a show, we're praying here," immediately after he had just made a costume change.

Guy Sebastian: third song, second outfit.

The one other challenge of the day, I'd say, was language. The Pope has a wonderful tradition at World Youth Day (and every Sunday he's in Rome, too), of speaking a few brief, nicely prepared words to welcome people in different languages. He begins, that language group cheers, he says some nice things, and then he's on to the next one. People really enjoy it.

But today the language choices were almost entirely European. The Pope spoke in French, then Italian, then German, then Spanish, the Portuguese, then English. It was great, but as I'm sitting there surrounded by Africans and Asians, I couldn't help but wish for something in Swahili or an Asian language. To be fair, the prayers of the faithful included ones in Arabic and I think Chinese (maybe Vietnamese).

Also, the Our Father was sung in Latin, which I just didn't get. The youth don't speak it, and frankly neither do a lot of the rest of us, and of all the prayers of the mass, I'd say the Our Father is the one that most embodies for people our sense of unity. We hold hands, sometimes we sing, we've just done the sign of peace. Doing it Latin really shortcircuits that. I don't know. Color me "Huh?"

Having said that, as I sit here in bed, considering ice for my legs and a chocolate milkshake for my stomach, I have to say, it was a great, great day.

Next World Youth Day will be in 2011 in Madrid. And at the end of the liturgy, I found out the guy sitting next to me was a priest from Madrid named...Ignacio. Could it be a sign?

The Spirit of Skillful Work

Has God given you a spirit of skill to be used in your work? What about your ministry? People today often regard work and ministry as separate categories, one secular, the other sacred. They often view them as competing interests. Some even think that ministry work is only done by, well, … ministers. Professional clergy, that is--those who have been called into ministry.

I want to challenge this view. I agree with Martin Luther’s doctrine of vocation, which views all good works, and all vocations (callings) as ordained by God for building up the church and transforming the world. I want to challenge the view that the clergy are the exclusive ministry workers, while the laity are passive spectators of ministry. I think the apostle Paul had more than this in mind when he wrote to the Christians in Colossae, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17) [my emphasis]. I'd like to convince you that, even though you may not be called into leadership as a pastor, or elder, your particular calling is vitally important to the health of the church and to the condition of society.

We often hear about spiritual gifts for the building up of the church. Scripture mentions such things as wisdom, knowledge, discerning of spirits, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, faith, working of miracles, healing, helps, administration, ministry, exhortation, giving, leading, showing mercy, and evangelism (1 Corinthians 12:1-30; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11). We often hear about the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). But seldom do we hear about the skills of craftsmanship, artistry and other works that God has ordained for glory and beauty. He has established His perfect purposes for such works, namely that we worship Him by our efforts, and that we care for our neighbor through the skillful work of our hands.

God seems to be in the business of equipping people with the skills to do good work. When Moses served as the general contractor for building the tabernacle, God told him to appoint “all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill” to make garments for Aaron and the priests "for glory and beauty" (Exodus 28:2-3). God called Bezalel into service, saying, ”I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic design, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ... I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded” (Exodus 31:3-6).

The doctrine of vocation is more than occupationalism, or the pursuit of a good job. For the Christian, skilled work should be viewed as an act of worship and a response to God’s calling. King David knew about God’s desire for quality work when he commanded skilled leaders to direct the Jewish big band and the choir for celebrations and for temple worship (1 Chronicles 15:16-28). God even gave one director, Heman, a whopping family of fourteen sons and three daughters, all skilled musicians, to help him make merry with music (1 Chronicles 25:4-6). King Solomon recognized God’s vocational calling when he wrote, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” (Proverbs 22:29).

There are many examples in scripture of God-given skills and abilities.

Hunting (Genesis 25:27)
Music and singing (1 Samuel 16:16; 1 Chronicles 15:22; 2 Chronicles 34:12)
Stonecutting, masonry &, carpentry (1 Chronicles 22:15)
Metal work, fabrics & engraving (2 Chronicles 2:7)
Law (Ezra 7:6)
Weaponry and warfare (2 Chronilces 26:15; Jeremiah 46:9; 50:9)
Wisdom, knowledge, learning (Daniel 1:4)
Ship building and sailing (Ezekiel 27:8-9)
Lamentation (Amos 5:16)

This list in just a small sample of what God calls people to do skillfully. The vocational options are almost endless. Once we realize that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do our own good works (Ephesians 2:10), we can put our abilities to use in glorifying God and loving our neighbors through service.

What abilities has God given you? Are you a doctor? Then treat patients for God’s glory. Are you a plumber? Then fix pipes to serve your neighbor. Are you a baker? Then bake delicious bread unto the Lord. Are you an artist? Then make something beautiful that reflects the character of God. Are you a parent? Then raise godly, virtuous children. Do it all with skill. Don’t forget that faithfulness in little things is a prerequisite for greater responsibilities, and that a good servant is one who does the will of his master.

So use your abilities and callings as the Lord has enabled you. Let them operate in concert with your spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. Let every aspect of your life be a living sacrifice of service unto the Lord. You wouldn’t keep your lamp hidden under a basket, would you? Not when it can light the room and keep your guests from barking their shins on the furniture in the dark. Likewise, don’t keep your skills and abilities to yourself. Don't be bashful about them. Don't be stingy with them. Instead, use them to glorify God. He deserves the worship. Your neighbor deserves the benefits.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

World Youth Day: Part I

A few up close impressions of World Youth Day (I flew in today):

Please God Make Them Stop Singing and Put Them to Work.
One of the big sources of buzz this week has been about how young people in public spaces are spontaneously singing and dancing. Some find the whole thing a bit ridiculous. Others think it wonderful. "Wouldn't it be nice," I've heard more than once, said wistfully, "if we all enjoyed life like that?"

I had my first taste of "Now is the time on Sprockets when we sing" on a train headed into town this morning. A group, I think, of Portuguese males from Brazil were shouting a song as we rolled along. I have to say, between its march-like/barroom cadence and the hearty-har-har quality of the men's voices, basically begging for another group of testosterone-bound creatures to compete with, I felt like I was at a soccer match or Yankees/Red Sox rather than a youth festival (let alone a religious one).



Walking with the 100000 or so pilgrims to Randwick Park (above -- click on it to get the full effect), where they are camped out for the night , a similar phenomenon: lots of flag waving and national cheers. It was the Aussies, of all people, who did most of it. I say "of all people" because many Australians that I've met do not like one bit all the American flag waving and nationalism. But like something out of a rugby match, there their young people were, yelling "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oy! Oy! Oy! Aussie! Oy!" I was spared "USA! USA!", thanks be to God.

It all felt very male and not exactly the right spirit for the day. It isolated groups from one another, created us's and them's where the point is a strange and myriad (and miraculous) sort of we. I'd rather have had them all singing "I'd Like to Make the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony" or, God help us, "It's a Small World", than this. Group leaders, adults, where were you?

Actually, here's my real idea: get these kids to do service work. We call them pilgrims, and I'm sure that some are operating on a pretty thin budget. But I don't know, to me, you want to do the Christian thing, service has to be a part of it. It's not just liturgy. And seeing all their energy, all their positive well being and their strength -- well God, to think what they could have done for Australia this week, or maybe last week. So WYD planners, listen up. Take this thing to the next level.

You Can't Get There from Here.
If you need anything from World Youth Day (as I did today), don't speak to anyone attached to World Youth Day itself. They have no clue what is going on at their own events, and they will lead you astray. I spent four hours today walking around Sydney trying to find the right office to get a very small, simple ID just to be able to attend the WYD mass tomorrow. Four hours, with lots and lots of walking, through crowds. Even at the Randwick race track, I really didn't get anywhere until I hopped a fence, entered a restricted area, and was accosted by two police officers. It sounds bad, I know, and I was told soon after that another guy who had done a similar thing was handcuffed. But those guys were great to me, and they took me to Kathleen, an amazing young woman helping with the overall production (not a WYD person, but the group they hired to do the event). And just like that, all was well. I was taken to the accreditation trailer, which I could never have found on my own, let alone reached, as it was in this restricted area, given my proper identification, and put on a bus aimed towards home. All the support staff was just great, and if you think of it, say a prayer for them. They've been working 17 hours days all week, and they will be there with the pilgrims all night. Kathleen told me she'll be sleeping in her car. Yet they were all most helpful.

The view from inside Randwick (again, take a click for a better view).

As for the WYD staff -- well, I don't know what to say. It's definitely an impossible event, there's no doubt of that. But at the same time -- when you hear that priests, who represent just a wee part of the total number at the event, had to wait 7 or 8 hours in line to get this one bleeding piece of paper -- well, it's just buggered.

Orlando’s golf shop.

I think I have been misled to believe that the golf courses in Ireland are the most spectacular in the world. I fed this information through email to a friend and rebuked me rather strongly. He is of the opinion that Orlando golf courses are the best in the world.

Is that so?

In my friend’s email I noted that seniors are given a special discount on green fees. Green fees-what is that? I looked up in the Internet and came to know that it is the amount of money a club charges to play the golf course. Of course it is natural that the green fee often varies depending on time of week, time of day and status of the golfer.

I suppose you are curious why I am bringing up all this when I can’t even lift a golf club? The father of one of students is filming the golf courses in Orlando. I am just helping him with his background work.

And in Other News

If you're looking for something fun for the weekend, check out Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog, an online musical starring Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) and Nathan Fillion (the nice doctor from the movie Waitress) and written and directed by Joss Whedon (writer/director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Serenity and writer of the movie Toy Story). It's funny and it's free!

Great Photos

Caption: And with that, the Pope began singing "Amore."



I don't know who he is, but everybody seems to be taking pictures of him.



I'M TAKING PICTURES OF THE POPE -- WITH BOTH HANDS!



Caption: And then they took "Pope Benedict" back to Greenvale.



Tertians Chun Ng and Raymond Manyanga finish first and second in the 1K World Youth Day marathon.



The people of Australia turn their back on tertian Mars Tan. He accepts the insult happily as a delayed grace of the Spiritual Exercises.


(OK, I know, it's not from Australia, but still.)


Actually, this is my nephew Jimmy at his all-pirate birthday party.


The wind-blown look.

The "I'm the King of the World" look.


The rakish new friend of your grandmother's.


Atheist chic.


And my personal favorite:
Caption: When do we eat the kangaroo?

Heard in Sydney

Yesterday the Pope made his way to North Sydney to visit the shrine to Mary MacKillop, founder of the order of the sisters of St. Joseph (the Josephites) and someday soon to become the first Australian saint. People lined the streets to see the Pope's motorcade. And one bystander apparently held a sign saying "You are Peter."

A friend of a friend was at the scene, and overheard two ladies discussing the sign.

"Who is this Peter?"

"I don't know. I think he must be someone who came with the Pope."

A true story.

Speaking to God through loud speakers.

* Are you ill? So what, I am not bothered.
* What, you are studying for your exams and it is your future? Well, I am least bothered.
* So what you are meditating?

That will be the response you get/experience when the most dreaded month of Adi comes and the entire Tamilnadu state will be bombarded with loud cacophony of Amman devotional songs.

And do you know those songs when you hear won't give you any sense of devotion but make you shut your ears tightly.

In spite of banning of cone speakers, every street will be fitted with one and you will be rudely waken up from your sleep at 5.00 AM.

You can do any atrocities in the name of God and religion and none can touch you. That is the God men of Tamilnadu for you.

Martha Stewart's Vanilla Cupcakes

Martha Stewart's Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients
Makes 24
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl, beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to assure the batter is thoroughly mixed. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling papers about 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack of the oven until tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Billy's Vanilla Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients
Makes enough for 30 cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Martha Stewart's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Martha Stewart's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
Makes about 20 (3 1/2-inch) cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened
2 large eggs
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Seen in Sydney

Seen in Sydney: teenagers wearing shirts with the slogan "Does this shirt make me look Catholic?"

The Answer: Yes, yes, it does.

Other T-Shirts to be purchased at World Youth Day:
Got mass?
I'm with Father Stupid.
WWNDD? (What Would Napoleon Dynamite Do?)
I went to World Youth Day and all I got was the sacraments. (Back: And that's all I needed.)

Box Day!!!!!!!!

Box day was officially July 9th....
(due to a death in my family we didn't get it open and looked at until yesterday)

The box has arrived!

Shaylin showing how excited she is about the box being here.
She can hardly wait to get started.

I love having my week laid out of me. It makes it so much easier to
plan my life.

The books are all on the shelf we bought at Ikea on Monday.

For those who don't remember our curriculum is Sonlight.

Running shoes called Asics.

Blame it on absolute ignorance; shame on me for one who has been spidering the net since 1998. How can I become such a ….?

Only a few hours before, I came to know the usefulness of shopwiki.com. Its spiders crawl the internet 24/7, eating on their way every store that they find, digest the complete information about the store and its products and then display the digested information neatly on shopwiki.com

For example, when you search for running shoes in shopwiki.com, it gives you results that first have some basic information on the product, and then lists out the available brands of running shoes, their types and finally the top picks.

So, with such one search, we are given all the information we need to buy without hopping over to several other web sites. For example, I came to know of a new brand of running shoes called Asics from my search at shopwiki.com

I thought I will have some more fun and searched for iPod nano. I was presented with as many as 449 search results.

Shopwiki.com is undoubtedly the best online shop one can expect.

HOW R U? B16

The Melbourne Age reports this morning that the Pope is sending mass (no pun intended) text messages to pilgrims each day of the World Youth Day festivities. Yesterday's text:

Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus - BXVI.

Rumored possibilities for today:

HAVE U BEEN 2 MASS 2DAY?

YOUR SINS R 4GIVEN. LUV, J. XT

OMG, IM SO COLD! R WE IN SYD OR ANTARCTICA? LOL! B16

In Other News:
On the same page of the Age (no rhyme intended) is a story about a drunk driver (here the term is "drink driving", actually) whose blood alcohol percentage was .462!!! Has to be a record.

WYD SYD 2008

"I wonder how my White Sox did?" (From the BBC News)

This week, young adults are coming to Sydney from all over the world for World Youth Day. Here in Melbourne, even, we've seen a lot of people wearing flags from their home countries as well as lots of World Youth Day gear (T-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, jackets, flags, faux-Aussie "outback" hats).

I will be going to the Pope's big mass on Sunday. Until then, if you're interested in how Australia is perceiving the whole event, here is a link to a transcript of a video from Australia's in-depth news program, the 7:30 Report. (To watch the video itself, click one of the links under "Video" on the right hand side of the page. OR, go to the homepage and scroll down the list of stories on the right hand side until you get to "Sydney Braces Itself for World Youth Day".)

I'll try to add some more color commentary in the days to come.

The battle between family members.

The ground floor plan for our proposed bungalow at the foothills of the Western Ghats is almost ready. I should thank my son and my husband for their enthusiastic contribution so far. They have even declined the services of an architect.

Today, we are going to sit for a brain storming session to decide on the painting and furniture. I foresee some disapproval of my choices of patio furniture and garden furniture for which I have certain ideas.

Of course the main issue of disapproval will be over the choice of paint color but I have devised my own plan of putting forth my case with three dimensional drawings that are sure to convince the two chauvinistic males in my house.

I have decided to be firm, at least this time.

Look at this butterfly shaped patio chair and please tell me whether this will get approved by the male members of your family.

By ’30, half the world will be overweight

It is ironical that being a lean person, I am guiding obese people to shed their embarrassing fat. So how did I become some sort of an authority on Diet Pills? It is because of my exposure to the Internet while in real life, I am yet to see a weight loss pill.

I have gained sufficient knowledge about the reasons of accumulated fat and other related information and statistics.

Even today, I read in the news paper that by the year 2030, half of the world will be over weight. This is according to the research conducted at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

With this prediction, I foresee a rush of new diet pills in the already flooded market. This will pave way for more confusion for obese people as to which weight loss tablet is the best among the lot.

In the interest of consumers, consumerpricewatch.net has published information about over 200 diet pills in the market.

More engineering colleges means...

My husband's friend, a bank manager looked crest fallen when I visited his house yesterday. The reason for his dull mood was his daughter is yet to gain admission in an engineering college.

She has not secured good marks and thus she can't hope to get into any of the reputed institutions. All she can hope for is opt for a faculty that is not in high demand. Even the news that there will be more seats to grab with the addition of more than 50 engineering colleges this year in our state, did not cheer her up.

More engineering colleges means more shortage of quality academic staff. This genuine concern prevails in several campuses among students and parents.

Though the Government is yet to address this vexing issue, students pin their hopes and their parents sell their assets to meet the educational expenses.

If you are fat, blame Leptin.

Yes, I am serious. Don’t take unnecessary blame for your obesity but a point a helpless finger on the hormone called Leptin.

How people get fat? Mostly the reason is attributed to over eating. But why do they over eat? The absence of enough vitamin D in the blood interferes with the functioning of a hormone called Leptin, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full.

In other words, it is responsible for the input it gives the brain regarding energy storage and thus it indirectly regulates the appetite and metabolism.

Of course you have to still consider taking weight loss pills once you have gained unwanted fat. But here you face the biggest problem; which weight loss pills you should take.

There are hundreds of diet pills on the market that literally confuse you. What works better for someone may not be suitable for you. So, how do you choose the diet pills?

Weightlosspills.net is an ideal resource to know about several diet pills based on reviews by experts.

More Than Peaches

Here at Eckert's we grow much more than peaches and apples. This time of year we are very busy harvesting several crops for you to enjoy in our Country Store. Currently, we are harvesting tomatoes, green bell peppers and banana peppers. As the summer progresses we will also have red and yellow bell peppers.

In addition to the crops we grow, we partner with many area farmers to get as many home grown products as possible. Currently, we have home grown sweet corn, cantaloupe, squash, beets, cucumbers and zucchini.

So make sure to stop by our Country Store in Belleville, IL to get a fresh taste of summer. Not to mention the freshest peaches available anywhere.

Cheers,

Chris

Poetry in Cartoon Form

Cartoons by Michael Leunig, great Melbournian cartoonist. (Think Gary Larson with a political edge/spiritual agenda.)


From July 10th's "The Age," Melbourne's Newspaper. (The iPhone has just been announced in Australia.)



The man on the left is John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, whom George Bush called "Man of Steel".