BBQ weekend

Happy Sunday everyone! We got invited for bbq party yesterday it was fun plus the music was awesome! Not to forget food was great and i got 6 jello shots hmmm hehehe.

Here's some pics from yesterday.
Sarah plays trumpet and one of the vocalist.

of course not just us enjoying the jazz music, the doggie too. hehehehe. very nice dogs

me & julie

Me & Sarah. Sarah the trumpet player and the vocalist.

Tom, Ron, Patty & meh

Happy Sunday and God bless!

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Saturday Photo Hunt ~ Creative

Creative ... my creations. Sewing was my passion before I start working. My husband was the one who taught me how to sew and challenge me with my creativity.

This is the 1st dress i sewn by hand, when my husband saw it he was really impressed and introduce me the electric sewing machine, it's an old sewing machine he had but it works good. After awhile he decided to buy me a new one since i enjoyed it a lot.

This dress I made when my friend got married and it's the last dress i made for her. I really missed my sewing.

sorry for posting this i know is not christmas yet lol, just want to show you guys that i do crafts too. wink* more [HERE].

my daughter creation. she made a scarp for her school project.

Dresses i sewn when my daughter was a toddler.

This is it. Happy weekend everyone. God bless!

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Lindsay Lohan an innocent?

she claims in e-mail that she's an innocent, yeah right! Such a waste a talent. I used to like her.

Experts believe Lohan may get 180 days in jail. Going back to rehab would be her best bet to avoid jail time. LOS ANGELES - Lindsay Lohan’s best bet for avoiding jail time is to go back into rehab yet again and remove herself from a high-flying party lifestyle — if not, she could be facing up to six months behind bars, legal observers said Wednesday.

Lohan, 21, was less than two weeks out of a recovery program and was voluntarily wearing an alcohol-monitoring device when she was arrested Tuesday in Santa Monica for investigation of misdemeanor driving both under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession.

Her lawyer, Blair Berk, has said she had a “relapse” and was receiving medical care at an undisclosed location. A call to Lohan’s publicist was not returned Wednesday.

The actress completed more than six weeks in rehab less than two weeks ago, and had checked into another recovery clinic in January.

Over the weekend, she was photographed at a party in a pink bikini, with the monitoring device on her ankle.

That behavior won’t cut it anymore and neither will spa-style clinics, said Barry Gerald Sands, a Century City defense attorney who’s also a certified drug and alcohol counselor.

“Whatever you have done in the past, do a 360-degree turn and go the other way,” Sands said Wednesday. “She has to change her alleged friends, people sharing or selling her drugs. She has to lead a clean and sober life.

“Silk-sheet recovery homes don’t do the job.”

Rehab rather than jail
If Lohan is charged with a crime, she could ask a judge to order her to remain in rehabilitation while she awaits trial, Sands said.

A “recovery team” should be in place that includes doctors and addiction specialists who can give the judge alternatives to jail. And if she is convicted, the rehab time would count against whatever jail sentence is issued, Sands said.

Lohan has never been convicted of a drug or alcohol crime and judges routinely place first-time DUI offenders on probation rather than behind bars. However, Lohan’s case could be complicated because she also was arrested for investigation of felony DUI in Beverly Hills on Memorial Day after her Mercedes-Benz crashed into a curb.

That case was submitted to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office last week and is being reviewed, spokeswoman Jane Robison said.

If she is convicted of two felonies in the two cases, she might be eligible for 18 months or more in state prison but such a sentence is unlikely, said Lawrence Taylor, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who runs one of the nation’s top DUI defense law firms.

“Our prisons are packed already,” he said. “We don’t need some recreational (drug) users with a small amount of coke with a clean record.”

Paris case puts pressure on prosecutors, judges
On the other hand, Lohan probably will have to do some time in county jail simply because prosecutors and judges saw the backlash when Paris Hilton was briefly allowed to serve her DUI sentence at home instead of jail.

“They’re going to see how sensitive everything was ... Everything was being looked at with a microscope and broadcast to the entire world, literally,” Taylor said. “They saw what happened and judges do run for re-election, and deputy DAs are aware that their bosses run for re-election.” Both sides would be interested in stalling a court case until the media frenzy ebbs but that is unlikely if the continued scrutiny of Paris Hilton is any signpost, Taylor said.

“Entertainment has become more important than information and the media is looking ... for money. They’re looking for audience, they’re looking to give the public what they want,” he said.

That scrutiny means that Lohan, if convicted, probably will get some jail time regardless of whether it is warranted in her case, Taylor said.

“I would say this woman’s going to be doing at least 30 days” and perhaps as long as 180 days if she is convicted of two DUIs along with drug possession, Taylor said.

However, virtually all DUI cases are settled by plea agreements.

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Weekend Fun!

Saturday, went to a baby's shower given by May ... Here's a few pics to share.

Julie & Annie. Annie she call me with my nick name Tata ... she can pronounce my nick-name really good.


me - have to taste the pancit if it's good. yep sure is!


me and Annie


3 layer cake made of over 100 diapers...isn't it neat?


more pics [HERE]

Sunday, we installed all the new appliances and it wasn't easy at all though took us all day to do it. We both happy after all the hard work got done today! So tired and i have soooo much work to do at work.

All for now ang have a wonderful week everyone!

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Perfect Food Pairs - 2

Black beans + Salsa = Higher mineral absorption

Beans are chock full of nutrients, but the phytic acid in them blocks absorption of important minerals, such as zinc and iron. To help your body absorb more minerals, eat beans with a vitamin C-rich food like salsa, since vitamin C counters the effects of phytic acid.

Yogurt + Jerusalem artichokes = Higher calcium absorption and increased immunity

Yogurt is loaded with calcium and live bacteria that help keep your immune system strong. Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes, contain inulin-an indigestible carbohydrate that helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria and increases calcium absorption in the intestines.

Mixed greens + Olive or canola oil = Higher beta-carotene absorption

Arugula, romaine, and other leafy greens are a great source of carotenoids like beta-carotene, which offer protection against cancer and Alzheimer's. But a study from Iowa State University revealed that virtually no carotenoids were absorbed by those who ate a salad with fat-free dressing, since carotenoids need fat to be utilized by the body.

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German Word Daily

Learning German word way difficult for me and I’m sure you guys too. At www.germanworddaily.com learning German word seems a lot easier. The endeavor of the German Word Daily website is to learn one German word everyday using video slide show. Even pictures are included as visual aids to help you better remember the words you are learning each day.

Let’s learn together at German Word Daily. Learning German word everyday would be awesome!

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Perfect Food Pairs - 1

Boost nutrition easily by combining these foods.

Cereal + Strawberries = Higher iron absorption

Even if your bowl of iron-rich breakfast cereal contains 50 percent of your daily iron needs, your body will absorb only eight percent. Double the absorption simply by topping it with a vitamin C-rich food like strawberries or kiwi.

Whole-grain toast + Peanut butter = Higher vitamin E absorption

Whole grains, especially breads, are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which helps stave off muscle soreness after a tough workout and offers protection against heart disease. Your body, however, needs help getting vitamin E into your circulation. Pairing healthy fats, such as peanut butter or a dip of olive oil, with your whole grains helps the body access vitamin E.

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Gossip may be good for you

Here's a secret: Gossip may be good for you
Don't feel guilty — you're not telling tales, you're building relationships.

By: Linda Carroll
MSNBC contributor

Gossip.

It’s as compelling as a car wreck, irresistible as a whispered conversation
at a nearby table. You indulge and then feel ashamed, like a dieter after
dessert.

But maybe you don’t have to feel guilty after all.

Researchers say that a little bit of gossip is healthy. It's what keeps the
culture going, greasing the social machinery.

It’s almost like being told that cigarettes are good for you.

“It’s a social skill, not a character flaw,” says Frank McAndrew a
professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. “It’s only when
you don’t do it well that you get into trouble.

To discover more about how gossip works — to learn who and what people are
most likely to gab about — McAndrew rounded up 140 college students. He and
his colleagues asked the 42 men and 98 women to read 12 brief fictional
stories — the type that would be the perfect grist for gossip.

Some of the stories had positive subjects, such as a winning a major award
or inheriting a large sum of money. Some of the stories revolved around
negative themes, including drunken behavior, sexual promiscuity, gambling
problems and academic cheating.

After reading each story, the students were told to rank how likely they
would be to seek out more information depending on whether the scenario
described a relative, a professor, an acquaintance, a friend, a stranger,
an enemy or rival, or a romantic partner.

The results, recently published in the Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, showed that the nature of the gossip controlled whether it was
passed on. People generally were willing to share damaging, negative
personal information when it involved a same sex rival. And they’d happily
pass on good news only if it was about a friend.

Baby bump fascination

This result may help explain recent changes in the kinds of celebrity
gossip women choose to read.

These days readers aren’t much interested in dirt, says Bonnie Fuller,
chief editorial director of Star magazine. “Our readers love good news
about celebrities,” she says. “They love to hear about romance, weddings,
pregnancies, babies and births.”

Fuller suspects this is because a new type of woman is flipping through the
pages of magazines like the Star. “They’re younger and more educated,” she
says. “They’re working women who have jobs and families and kids. They view
celebrities as part of their larger circle of friends. They want to read
about drama in celebrity relationships because they relate to that in their
own lives.”

But frankly, seeing the rich and famous caught sporting an extra few pounds
makes everyone feel a little better about themselves, says Laura Johansson,
a horse trainer in Mannington, N.J.

The 46-year-old says she and her closest friends do their serious trash
talk while lounging in the hot tub sipping a glass of wine.

"You're bonding with your friends and it's the one time you can be
outrageously judgmental," she explains. "When you're learning about the
misfortunes of jerks, it makes you feel good. And when it's some good news
about someone you like, you enjoy it vicariously."

There might be something else at work, too. McAndrew believes our brains
are wired to gossip.

We feel pleasure whenever we share savory scraps of information because
gossip helps build and cement connections with others, McAndrew explains.
Besides, he says, those tidbits can be the tool people use to enforce
unwritten societal commandments, like: Thou shalt not mooch off thy
friends.

It doesn’t take long to spot a slacker, once people start to tell tales,
McAndrew says.

That view resonates with Jeffrey Wilson, who normally wouldn’t think of
himself as a gossip. The 27-year-old athletic trainer recalls standing on a
railroad platform one day with two buddies. They were all waiting for a
fourth friend who never turned up. After missing their train, the three
started to compare notes. The no show, they learned, also tended to have a
lot of emergencies and regularly needed to borrow money.

“We decided not to talk to him anymore,” says Wilson, of San Jose. “He’d
done it for 10 years and we figured he had to learn that he couldn’t step
all over us anymore.”

He said, she said

Another intriguing aspect of the new study: men and women gossip
differently. Under most circumstances, the men in the study were much more
likely to share savory snippets with romantic partners rather than male
friends. Women were less selective, transmitting tasty tidbits to both
lovers and friends.

This comes as no surprise to anthropologist Helen Fisher. It’s a leftover
from way back when, when humankind still lived on the savannah, says
Fisher, a professor at Rutgers University and author of “Why We Love.”

Men were out hunting, often alone, Fisher says. Women, on the other hand,
needed to raise babies. They needed to build a network. Sharing information
about others was a way to start and cement connections, she adds.

Knowing when to zip it

So, is all gossip good?

No, says McAndrew. Gossip is only good when people use it selectively for
the good of their social group.

“It’s important to share information, but not indiscriminately,” he
explains. “It’s bad when it serves no purpose but to ingratiate yourself
with a group by saying awful things about someone else.”

This is something that rings true for Johansson, the horse trainer, who
ruefully remembers a time — more than 20 years ago — when she
indiscriminately used gossip to fit in. “I did it to get attention,” she
says. “I wanted to be the storyteller in the group.”

Johansson’s indiscretions cost her. “The things I said hurt people,” she
says. “I got kicked out of the group. It was a painful lesson. I’m very
careful about what I pass along now.”

What kind of tidbits are still on the table?

“When it’s good news, that’s a no brainer,” says Johansson. “I’ll always
share that. I’ll pass on negative stuff, too, but only when I think it’s
going to protect a friend from harm.”

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Dietary hopes dashed for breast cancer patients

Extra servings of fruits, veggies fail to prevent disease's return, study finds.
source:msnbc

Hopes that a diet low in fat and chock-full of fruits and vegetables could prevent the return of breast cancer were dashed Tuesday by a large, seven-year experiment in more than 3,000 women.

The government study found no benefit from a mega-veggies-and-fruit diet over the U.S. recommended servings of five fruits and vegetables a day — more than most Americans get.

Researchers noted that none of the breast cancer survivors lost weight on either diet. That led some experts to suggest that weight loss and exercise should be the next frontier for cancer prevention research. The study appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.“It sends us back to the drawing board,” said Susan Gapstur of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the new study but co-wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.

“Should we really have focused on dietary components like fruits, vegetables and fat?” Gapstur asked. “Or should we be focusing, in addition to diet, on lifestyle factors including physical activity and weight?”

For now, the message for the 2.4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States is that they don’t need to go overboard on veggies, researchers said.

“This should really lift some of the guilt if women are feeling, ‘I’m just not doing enough,”’ said study co-author Marcia Stefanick of Stanford University.

The research was kicked off by a $5 million grant from the late Wal-Mart heir John Walton and got an additional $30 million in support from the National Cancer Institute.

read the rest HERE

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Comic Sunday - Dilbert

I need this to get a raise. :-)

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Saturday Photo Hunt ~ Shadow

My daughter's shadow. She took the picture by herself in our front yard. Pretty cool huh?! She looks like she's 7 feet tall! hehehe.

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Compare prices @ Compare4.us

I think it’s a habit to everyone out there, including me before go shopping or buy new stuff its smart thing to do always compare prices online. Well, why waste our valuable time browsing multiple retails web site when Compare4.us is there for us, you can compare prices from millions of products with one click. This includes specials, deals, discounts and coupons from major retailers and chains. You can even check everyday hot deals or new products. I browsed the web site to me; it’s a best site to compare prices online. So, make sure to check Compare4.us for easy shopping and best deals!

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Joke time ... Spaghetti

I have been away from my computer pass couple days, just busy and & tired. Anyway, here's a joke for Friday. :-)

A wealthy man was having an affair with an Italian woman for several
> years. One night, during one of their rendezvous, she confided in him
> that
> she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he
> would pay her a large sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly
> have the child. If she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also
> provide child support until the child turned 18. She agreed, but asked
> how
> he would know when the baby was born. To keep it discrete, he told her
> to
> simply mail him a post card, and write Spaghetti" on the back. He would
> then arrange for child support payments to begin.
>
> One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife. His
> wife
> said, "Honey, you received a very strange post card today." "Oh, just
> give
> it to me and I'll explain it," he said. The wife handed him the ! card
> and
> watched as her husband read the card, turned white and collapsed.
>
>
> On the card was written: "Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Two with
> meatballs, one without! Request bread...

Happy Friday and enjoy!

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Recipe - Chinese Glazed Pork Chops

Been awhile haven't post here, just little busy and 3 hours ago we didn't have the power. :-( . Anyway, I would like to share this recipe, my co-worker made this one and it's really yummy.

Chinese Glazed Pork Chops
(from ‘Cook’s Country’ Magazine)

4 bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops, ¾ to 1 inch thick
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
¼ Cup soy sauce
¼ Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chops and cook until weel browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.
2. Whisk remaining ingredients together in bowl. Pour off fat from skillet, add contents of bowl, and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
3. Return chops and accumulated juices to skillet. Simmer, turning once or twice, until sauce glazes chops and meat registers 145 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer chops and glaze to platter. Serve.

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Saturday Photo Hunt ~ Fake

iPhone: Fake Pictures for the Fun of it!

source: iPhoneFreak

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I Choose

I...

• Choose to love...rather than hate.
• Choose to laugh...rather than cry.
• Choose to create...rather than destroy.
• Choose to persevere...rather than quit.
• Choose to praise...rather than criticize.
• Choose to heal...rather than wound.
• Choose to give...rather than steal.
• Choose to act...rather than delay.
• Choose to grow...rather than decay.
• Choose to pray...rather than curse.
• Choose to live...rather than die.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend everyone. God bless!

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My brain color is blue?

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

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Happy 4th of July

On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave" so they can begin their American Dream.

The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings. Through the Internet we are learning about and communicating with people of different nations, with different languages and different races throughout the world. Bringing the world closer with understanding and knowledge can only benefit all nations.

We invite all nations to celebrate with Americans online this Fourth of July.

Happy Birthday, America!

source: usacitylink

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Christmas on July???

Can you imagine July already? Time flies so fast. Today I start my cleaning early and my surprise I found couple Christmas décor and a gift still wrapped. It’s July 1st and people start thinking of Christmas shopping, well, I found 1 gift already, I should open it what it is maybe I can re-gifted for someone. :-) .

Happy 1st of July everyone.

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