Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Let Us All Be Like Coffee
things were so
hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to
give up She
was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as soon as one problem was
solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on
a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots,
in the second she
placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them
sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a
bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,'
she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
and noted that
they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and
break it. After
pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it
mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling
water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer
shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the
boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were
unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the
water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with
pain & adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial
hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a
stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain.. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things
are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate
yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an
egg or a coffee bean?
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they
just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Have You Ever Seen A Water Bridge?
Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!
This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin.
The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.
To those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers and physicists.
Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge
traffic, or just the weight of the water???
Answer:
It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water!
Why? A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Is It Alzheimer’s?
Everybody has moments of forgetfulness; you can’t remember where you put your keys, or a person’s name just eludes you. Like many others, you wonder “Am I getting Alzheimer’s Disease?”
The likelihood of this brief forgetfulness being Alzheimer’s Disease is very low. Age-related memory changes are very common. Any changes, however, should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.
The Alzheimer’s Association describes the difference in symptoms between Alzheimer’s Disease and normal age-related memory changes as: “Someone with Alzheimer’s Disease forgets entire experiences, rarely remembers later, is gradually unable to use notes as reminders, and is gradually unable to care for self. In contrast, a person with normal age-related memory changes can forget part of an experience, often remembers later, is usually able to follow written/spoken directions, is usually able to use notes as reminders, and is usually able to care for self.
In other words, with normal age-related memory changes, you can’t remember where you put the .keys, or that person’s name, but with Alzheimer’s Disease, you wouldn’t remember that you had keys, or having even met that person.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a brain disorder which was first diagnosed in 1906 by a German physician named Alois Alzheimer. One of his patients, Frau Auguste D., was noted in 1901 to have severe memory loss, personality changes, difficulty with comprehension and communication, and eventually loss of physical functioning.
After her death in 1906, Dr. Alzheimer performed an autopsy and found significant shrinkage of her brain. He also noted fatty deposits in her brain, tangles of brain cells, and abnormal deposits, or plaques, around the cells.
Dr. Alzheimer’s study was published in 1907, and in 1910 the disease was recognized as a particular brain disorder. The disease was then named after Dr. Alzheimer.
Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease, which is the most common form of dementia. Each year, the number grows.
Although there are drugs which can temporarily slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, there is currently no cure. The disease is always fatal. Plaques and tangles continue to form in the brains of those suffering from the disease, causing continual deterioration of memory, physical functioning, and behavioral changes.
People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease can often be cared for safely in their homes by family caregivers. Supplemental assistance can be provided by a local home care agency. As the disease advances, however, many people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias have better quality of life in a secure Alzheimer’s Dementia Unit in an assisted living or nursing home setting.
One such unit exists at Marathon Healthcare Center of Springfield,
The Alzheimer’s Association has put together a list of 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. They are as follows:
1) Memory Loss- (Unable to recall information later)
2) Difficulty performing familiar tasks
3) Problems with language
4) Disorientation to time and place
5) Poor or decreased judgement
6) Problems with abstract thinking
7) Misplacing things
8) Changes in mood or behavior
9) Changes in personality
10) Loss of initiative
If you or a loved one has these warning signs, cantact your physician for further guidance. For more information regarding Alzheimer’s Disease, please contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 413-787-1113 or Marathon Healthcare Center of Springfield at 413-731-5318.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
A Must For Every Baby!
ADORABLE! Mint green with white trim newborn size cardigan and cap set. PERFECT shower gift for a baby boy or girl! Just imagine how cute the little one will look going home from the hospital in this sweet set.
Hand made with love in a non-smoking home.
Click on photo for more information
Aromatherapy In Grocery Stores
Grocey Stores are now using aroma theraphy.
A new supermarket opened near my house. It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh.
Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.
When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and you
experience the scent of fresh mown hay.
In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal grilled Steaks with onions.
When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle,
And the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.
The bread department features the tantalizing smell of fresh Baked bread & cookies.
I don't buy toilet paper there any more.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Hand Made Baby Sweater Set- A Must for Every Baby
Hand made with love in a non-smoking home.
Click on photo for more information
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Superbowl Final Update
- Stewie & Underdog fighting over Coke but Charlie Brown won!
More Favorite Commercials
- Really cool to see Justin Timberlake doesnt take himself too seriously
OMG though, Tom Petty sounds great but looks really rough..............................
Superbowl
Best commercials so far..........................
- Fire breathing boyfriend (I think I dated him a while back)
- Rocky Clydesdale
Poll Results
Think- best commercials of the year!
Food For Health
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and
radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that
carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four
chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood
food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape
looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are
also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper
cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut
just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen
neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes,
they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods
specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are
23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it
from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs
of the body.
Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the
womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's
research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances
hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how
profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from
blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical
constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has
only studied and named about 141 of them).
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the
glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help
clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears
which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.
We all really should pay attention to the food we eat!
Red Underwear and Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year brings renewal and prosperity
David Hogben, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, February 02, 2008Whether it's recognized with red clothing -- even underwear -- fierce dragons or envelopes full of crisp currency, Chinese New Year is all about renewal, prosperity and scaring away evil spirits.
That's where all the red and gold come in, Mike Chen said as people purchased goods at his booth in the Yaohan Centre mall Friday to celebrate the Year of the Rat next Thursday.
Red scares away the evil and gold attracts prosperity, said Chen, surrounded with red signs to frame doorways, shiny gold-fabric rats and a kaleidoscope of crepe paper dragons and lions.
From past parades: traditional dragons -- such as the ones dueling it out at the corner of Main and Pender -- abound during the annual Chinese New Year parade and can mesmerize young and old alike).
His Fukunoya Enterprises buzzed with activity as did the rest of the mall as shoppers gathered treats, exotic foods and decorations.
In Chinese mythology, the New Year is seen as a monster, Chen said.
"The monster came and ate people. People were very scared so they stayed awake, gathered together and ate a very good last dinner and prepared to die," he explained.
People born in a year of the rat, the first year of the 12-year lunar cycle, are advised to wear red, every day if possible, to scare away the evil spirits that could curse them.
"Red will change your luck," said Syrus Lee, promoter for the Chinese Cultural Centre's New Year's parade.
But red underwear?
"Probably red pants would be more powerful than red underwear, but you don't want to wear red pants every day," said Lee, adding that red is also a popular colour for gamblers looking for a little luck.