YumSugar

Our Christmas Cookie Plate

jennifer76 — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:17:41 -0800

Every year we (I) do a bunch of different Christmas cookies for friends, neighbors and family. I usually do sugar cookies with royal icing, gingerbread men (I got lazy and didn't frost them this year), lime meltaways...and this year I did fudge and Twinkle's Christmas Stars. Here is a snapshot of the plate this year!

Twinkle's stars were SO easy and SO pretty!! I used Trappist Damson Plum Jam - the one made by Trappist monks and it worked jest fine. Definitely a keeper!!

SweetPeasMom gave me a great tip - roll the dough out in powdered sugar instead of flour. My sugar cookies and gingerbread men were even better this year!!

Sugar, spice and everything nice.

How to Avoid Another Waco: Keeping the Peace in 10-Year Standoff with Armed Family Compound

Roarman — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:12:53 -0800

TRINIDAD, Texas - It was Christmas Eve 1999, but John Joe Gray wasn't consumed with the holiday spirit. When the car in which he was a passenger was pulled over for speeding by two Texas state troopers near Palestine, in Anderson County, he was packing a loaded handgun in a shoulder holster. He had no permit for it.

One of the troopers ordered Gray out of the car. He either refused or was slow to respond. When the troopers tried to remove him, Gray resisted, was handcuffed and a scuffle ensued. The cops said he bit one of them and tried to grab the other's gun.

"Somehow, his hand got in my mouth," Gray said in a radio interview eight months later. "I bit down and I wouldn't let go. They sprayed me with the pepper spray three times." He was arrested and jailed.

Two weeks later at a bail hearing, Gray promised the judge he would appear at future court hearings if he bonded out of jail. He denied or downplayed the prosecutor's questions about his purported involvement in antigovernment militias and a plot to bomb a Texas interstate highway. "I'm a member of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, king of kings and lord of lords," he said.

John Joe Gray
Judge Jim Parsons granted the lower bail, but with conditions. One was that neither Gray nor anyone in his family keep firearms on their 47-acre rural compound alongside the Trinity River just outside the town of Trinidad in Henderson County, the next county north of Anderson. "I don't want these officers to go out there and have to arrest him at this compound and be confronted by a bunch of firearms," the judge said.

Gray posted bail and went home. Two months later, the father of six with no prior criminal record sent a letter to authorities: If your deputies come onto my property, bring body bags. Gray had perhaps 16 other people, including several grandchildren, living at his modest home and outbuildings at the time. Armed family members, including Gray's wife, Alicia, took turns patrolling the property. That worried authorities - so much so that even when Gray began skipping court appearances, they didn't go arrest him.

"They were pretty well fixed up with weapons," recalls Howard "Slick" Alfred, the Henderson County sheriff at the time. "They had better weapons than we had. There was children in there. He was kind of hiding behind those kids. I didn't want another Waco kind of deal." And it's not as if Gray was a threat to the community, Alfred adds. "He's not hurting anybody over there."

Now approaching 10 years of self-imposed house arrest, Gray, 60, and various family members remain secluded in the verdant countryside outside this town of 1,100 in the undulating terrain of East Texas. The family has no electricity, no phone, no running water, and hasn't had for nearly a decade. Instead, they get by with wood-burning heaters, a generator, kerosene lamps, water drawn from the river - and occasional handouts from friends and sympathizers.

Keith Tarkington lost his two sons, then aged 2 and 4, when his estranged wife Lisa Gray snatched them and took them to her father's compound in early 2000.
Not only has Gray escaped prosecution on a felony charge, he may also have helped a daughter defy a court order giving custody of her two children to her ex-husband. Gray's oldest son avoided a misdemeanor prosecution for hitting and kicking that ex-husband's truck, so fearful are authorities of a confrontation with the Gray clan. Gray also is several years delinquent on property taxes. The county has sued for payment and conceivably could sell his land to recover the money owed - but the sheriff's office finally quit trying to serve court papers on him after three attempts last year.

Gray poses a quandary for authorities: How do you arrest a heavily armed, government-hating religious zealot when trying to do so might cause a bloodbath? And what sort of message does it convey to not apprehend an accused lawbreaker? While tax-dodging, money-laundering "sovereign-citizen" extremists claiming they are subject only to God's laws are imprisoned across the nation, John Joe Gray remains free. He has thwarted four Henderson County sheriffs so far. "I see no reason right at this minute to storm a compound where officers could get killed," says the current sheriff, Ray Nutt. "My position is to sit and wait."

Shades of Gray

Even before his arrest and indictment on charges that included assaulting a trooper, Gray, who was a self-employed carpenter, was known as a fervently religious, far-right militiaman. He hosted gatherings of the Texas Constitutional Militia, an outfit formed on the first anniversary of the conclusion of the 52-day standoff between federal agents and heavily armed members of the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco 78 miles away, which ended catastrophically in 1993 with 80 men, women and children dying in an inferno. He was involved with the secessionist group, Republic of Texas, which had its own seven-day standoff with Texas Rangers in 1997, after its leader and several followers kidnapped a neighbor couple at gunpoint. Gray left the group, he said at his 2000 bail hearing, because "they was not of God. They did not go of God's ways."

At that hearing, Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe asked Gray about documents found in the car he was riding in that included plans to make a bomb and place it on a Dallas interstate, as well as instructions on urban survival, including the use of terrorist bombs and booby traps. It belonged to the car's driver, Gray maintained. Lowe asked about him being arrested on the grounds of the Capitol in Austin for carrying a weapon. Didn't happen, Gray said. And those phone calls threatening an attack on the jail unless he was released? Somebody, Gray claimed, "is trying to set me up."

Signs like this one, along with several that are more threatening, mark the perimeter of John Joe Gray's 47 acres in Henderson County, Tex. Many militia enthusiasts fear that vaccines are part of a murderous government conspiracy.
Gray also was affiliated with the Oregon-based Embassy of Heaven, which describes itself as a group of "peculiar people" who are citizens of heaven obeying the government of God, not secular authorities. The church opposes divorce and remarriage, lawyers and courtrooms. It shuns politics and elections and believes that the United States is a "pervert nation." The church issues business and driver's licenses, passports and license plates to be used instead of those offered by government. They aren't legal, of course, and before his felony arrest, Gray was cited for attempting to use an Embassy of Heaven driver's license and tag. He failed to show up for his court appearance on that, too. At the time of his arrest, neither he nor his wife, Alicia, had valid driver's licenses, his attorney told the judge in his criminal case.

Harold Colvin has been a barber in Trinidad for 51 years, and, before the dust-up with the law, John Joe Gray was one of his customers. He remembers a humorless man who grew increasingly odd. "At one time he was an average Joe Blow," says Colvin, an affable man with a full head of white hair who charges $7 for a haircut. "He had funny ideas. His were mostly religious. He said he wasn't going to pay any taxes … regardless of what the law said."

Gray's former son-in-law, Keith Tarkington, recalls Gray and other family members cutting up their Social Security cards and mailing the pieces to the Social Security Administration, advising that they no longer wanted to be part of the system. (So-called sovereign citizens, radical antigovernment activists, similarly claim to have no obligation to pay taxes or obey federal laws. Famous examples of such "sovereigns" include the Montana Freemen, who had their own 81-day standoff with federal authorities in 1996.) When he holed up on his land, Gray had lots of food stored. He began stockpiling earlier in 1999, Tarkington says, because like many in the militia movement, Gray believed that "Y2K" - the changeover of millennia on Jan. 1, 2000 - would produce cataclysmic events.

Today, Gray continues to stiff Henderson County on property taxes. He has been delinquent since 2004 on taxes on his home and land on Old River Road, which has a market value of $151,690, according to records. As of November 2008, he owed $10,149, according to the tax assessor's office. He also hasn't paid taxes since 1995 on an undeveloped parcel he owns elsewhere in the county, even though the bill is less than $6 a year. He is $176 in arrears, records show. "He's just a different kind of person," says former sheriff Alfred, 76, who retired in 2000. "He's got an entirely different philosophy than most of us."

No Regrets

In recent years, Gray and his family have lived in obscurity. It wasn't always so. In August 2000, Austin, Texas-based radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones told his audience he had received a tip that federal agents were preparing to attack Gray's compound in armored vehicles. Reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post and other media outlets descended on tiny Trinidad for a confrontation that never came.

That same month, three armed men ventured into a neighboring pasture at dusk and destroyed a surveillance camera and video transmitter that authorities had placed in a horse trailer, before retreating to the Gray property. And later that year, Chuck Norris, martial artist, actor, right-wing Christian book author and fellow Texan, met with Gray at his ranch and offered to get him free legal representation in an attempt to end the standoff. "There's two people that family looks up to: Mel Gibson and Chuck," an intermediary said. But even Norris couldn't resolve the impasse.

"God's word is the sole guide for our family," Alicia Gray said in a press release in 2000. "Our faith in God is strong and unbending … [O]ur resolve is without compromise."

Her husband seconded those thoughts. "The Lord teaches to protect my property and family with every means I can, and that is what I will do," he told an interviewer.

Citing the Waco fiasco, Alfred opted to wait Gray out. "What I hope is, we get a call either from him or somebody close to him, saying he wants to surrender," his chief deputy, Ronny Brownlow, said at the time. "Time is on our side." Brownlow succeeded Alfred as sheriff, and now he, too, has retired.

So Gray is left alone. "I feel like everyone should abide by the same law," says Colvin, his former barber. "I don't like what the law has let him get away with. I could do the same thing. But most of us wouldn't go that far."

Doug Lowe, the district attorney, says he isn't concerned that the hands-off approach will encourage other antigovernment diehards to follow Gray's example. "I don't regret not having a Waco," he says. Authorities have declined to make a martyr of Gray in the eyes of other antigovernment zealots, he notes. "They get more press when police make the siege. Eventually, the law catches up to these people."

Stealing the Children

That approach has embittered Tarkington, who was married to one of Gray's daughters. Lisa Gray left Tarkington after less than four years of marriage and took their sons, aged 2 and 4 at the time, to her father's compound. "When we was dating, I knew he [Gray] was a little bit different," Tarkington, 43, says. "It took him two years to convince my wife she was better off living with him than me."

Tarkington visited the Gray compound in 1999 trying in vain to talk to his wife and see his sons. "Don't you worry about your wife and kids. We'll take care of them," he quotes his former father-in-law as telling him. During one visit in October 1999, John Joe Gray's eldest child, Jonathan, or "Bubba," vandalized his truck, Tarkington says. Jonathan Gray was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. But the charge was dropped nearly three years later. The reason given by the prosecutor? He couldn't obtain identifying information about Jonathan Gray such as his birth date and driver's license number. The court file, however, includes a document with Jonathan Gray's birth date.

Tarkington filed for divorce and got a court order for custody of the boys. There was one problem. With no proof that his children were living at the Gray compound, he couldn't get the Henderson County Sheriff's Department to serve the document authorizing them to remove the boys from their mother's custody. Since it was a civil matter, they couldn't go on Gray's land. They left the paperwork on a fence post.

Alfred, the former sheriff, says people friendly to law enforcement visited the Gray compound back then, but told authorities that they didn't see the children. "Nobody could ever find out if those kids were there," he says. The current sheriff, Ray Nutt, says he has no information of the whereabouts of Tarkington's boys.

Tarkington spends much of his time nowadays at his parents' home in Gun Barrel City, 16 miles from the Gray family compound, pestering law enforcement agencies to arrest Gray. "A troop of Boy Scouts could do a better job," he says with disgust. "The police have done everything they can to protect John Joe Gray." He and others believe that his ex-wife and sons are now likely living in another state.

Sheriff Nutt says he sympathizes. But he also implies that Tarkington has become obsessed with Gray. "Sometimes his focus is more on Joe Gray than his children," he says. "He wants someone to assault that compound."

'We Are Militia'

Old River Road deteriorates from asphalt to hard sand and rocks as you draw nearer to John Joe Gray's home. Pastures of tall grass behind barbed-wire fences line each side. Cattle graze, and a lone gray horse ambles homeward. A couple of dreary old trailers squat in the grass, and a red barn stands nearby. Gray's property is just ahead. Perhaps 20 goats belonging to him mill about the road, momentarily blocking a car's progress. Jonathan Gray, 37, is on sentry duty, sitting in a pasture near the road, keeping an eye out for any unwelcome visitors one day late in August. It is 100 degrees.

Soon, he comes down the road to investigate why somebody has stopped outside the entrance to the compound. He's wearing a baseball cap, gray T-shirt and jeans. A pistol - in violation of the nearly 10-year-old court order - is strapped to one hip, a knife hugs the other. With his beard and mustache and hazel eyes, he resembles his father. Minutes later, a brother, Timothy, 32, and a young woman appear at the fence to stare at the stranger.

Near the driveway leading to the house hidden beyond a grove of trees, are handmade signs: "We Are Militia And Will Live Free Or You'll Die," reads one. "Militias are the people," Jonathan Gray explains. "Thomas Jefferson said every 75 years the people need to rise up and straighten the government out."

Other signs proclaim: "Disobedience to Tyranny is Obedience to God!" and "Vaccinations Equal Annihilation." Hanging from a tree is a noose and yet another sign: "Solution To Tyranny."

Day after day, month after month, this is where John Joe Gray, his wife and others have hunkered down. Property records show that the two-story, three-bedroom main house contains about 1,300 square feet. There are two tiny residential outbuildings, and a barn with two add-ons.

Jonathan Gray declines to say how many people live on the property. (Sheriff Nutt's estimate is 10 or 11.) Nor will he say if his sister, Lisa, or her children are among those living on the property.

The Law Enforcement Conundrum

Although only John Joe Gray faces an outstanding felony charge, Jonathan Gray says no one in the family ventures off their land. He suggests they might be arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the family patriarch if they did. Some folks in these parts are skeptical - they suspect that John Joe Gray probably sneaks away from time to time. "He can cross the river and be in a different county," Tarkington says.

In fact, it probably would be easy for anybody to leave the compound to buy fuel, clothing or medicines. Sheriff Nutt says that since he took office in January, his deputies have not conducted surveillance on the property.

Not that there is much to entice Gray into Trinidad anyway. The two-block "business district" is all but dead. The bank - gone. Billie's Fried Pies -- closed. Trinidad General Store, John D's T.V., Food Mart - all empty. Not much is left other than the tiny City Hall and adjacent police department, plus Harold Colvin's barber shop, which is nothing more than a modest aluminum shed. If Gray got to craving a meal in a restaurant, the Dairy Queen on the highway would be the only game in town.

All but about 15 of the Grays' 47 acres flood from time to time, says Jonathan Gray between spits of tobacco juice. "We grow what we can." Two donkeys grazing nearby are used to plow what tillable land there is, he says. The family also has plenty of game to shoot - deer, rabbits and squirrels. And from time to time, he says, friends and sympathizers drop off food and other supplies.

If living without central heat and air or a modern home-entertainment system is a hardship, Jonathan Gray - a father of four - isn't admitting it. "Your body can get used to anything," he says. He and his brother Timothy seem surprised when asked what they do for fun. "What do you mean by fun?" Timothy asks. They do play an occasional game of dominos, Jonathan says. "Dad does a lot of listening to the shortwave," he adds.

The family does not miss attending church, or need to do so, Jonathan Gray says. "What is a church but a building? What do they do in church? Pray. That's all we gotta do here, is read the Word. We go by the Bible."

When the visitor asks to speak with John Joe Gray, Timothy Gray walks up the driveway and returns minutes later. His father would not talk, he says, because the Intelligence Report wrote in 2000 that the family members were terrorists. (This is untrue.) He also ordered his sons to say no more. But does John Joe Gray intend to live out his remaining years in isolation here? "For now," Jonathan says cryptically.

So the wait goes on. Sheriff Nutt concedes that perhaps Gray should have been nabbed early on. Alfred, the sheriff when the stalemate began, isn't so sure.

"I was in law enforcement for 42 years, and I always tried to do the right thing," he says. "His case has always been a snag on me. At the time, it just didn't seem the right thing to do because of the [potential] useless waste of life. I don't know if it was the right thing to do. I feel like it was."

Source: http://www.alternet.org/rights/144943/how_to_avoid_another_waco%3A_keepi...

Wide Belts: Functional and Fashionable

frugalfashion22 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:38:51 -0800

Now that the holidays are over and I’ve admittedly eaten a little too much, I need a way to conceal the extra pounds while still looking fabulous. The solution: a stylish wide belt. It creates a slim and sexy silhouette while cinching in that waist. Here are some of my faves:

The “Wide Elastic Zipper Belt” from American Apparel is so easy to throw on with almost anything. And the exposed zipper is right in tune with that huge trend we’ve been seeing this season. The belt comes in three colors: Black, Blue, and Metallic Silver. You can find it at store.americanapparel.net for $20:

The glazed, snake embossed faux leather of the “Snake Cummerbund Belt” by Elegantly Waisted is a great way to add a little spice to the simplest dress. I love how it wraps around and ties into a cool knot at the back. It’s available at shopbop.com for $50. I promise you’ll get tons of use out of it…well worth the price:

I’ve always been a huge fan of the equestrian look, and when I saw this belt, I had to have it. It reminds me of something straight out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. With the rich brown (faux) leather and gold buckle, the “Equestrian Belt” will look great with almost anything. Find it at windsorstore.com for $15.90:

Throw on a wide belt over an oversized tunic, a cardigan, or even a dress and you’re all set. Now I don’t feel so guilty about that third plate of mac & cheese on Christmas!

Killer App: Sweet Potato and Bacon in Endive Boats

YumSugar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:10 -0800

New Year's Eve is a time for celebrating, so I always like to keep the food simple and delicious - with lots of sparkling, of course. To avoid a bunch of cleanup after a party, I prefer to serve appetizers with no utensils required. An endive spear filled with sweet potatoes, bacon, crème fraiche, and a sprinkling of chives fits the ticket perfectly.

I experimented with these on Christmas to make sure they are perfect for New Year's Eve. The sweet potato and bacon I prepped the morning of, sautéing it until nearly finished. Just before my guests arrived, I reheated the bacon and sweet potato mixture in a pan and plated the dish. The bitter endive and peppery bacon balanced the sweetness of sweet potato. Each bite reminds me of a more complex baked potato with all of the fixings. Celebrate your New Year's with sweet potato endive spears, and get the recipe by reading more.

Jennifer Hudson Determined to Spread Holiday Cheer

kty — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:54:55 -0800

Scrooges beware! Jennifer Hudson is on a mission to convert you.
“It hurts me so when I see people like, ‘Whatever, Christmas is just another day,’” the self-proclaimed “holiday fanatic” told PEOPLE over the phone Friday. “I’m that person who’s going to go over there and get you into the holiday spirit. And that’s how I’ve always been.”
With that kind of attitude, it’s no surprise the Academy Award winner plans to help audiences across the country get into the spirit Monday with her first televised holiday special.
Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home for Christmas features musical performances shot on location in Jennifer’s native Chicago: the local church where she got her start singing in the choir and the music academy where she studied, among other places. Hudson will also introduce audiences to her family, former teachers and childhood friends.
“The first thing you do for the holidays is go back home, so I went back home, and the next thing you do is spend it with all of your family and your friends in those familiar places. That’s why I chose to go back home and share it and make it personal,” Jennifer said.
As excited as Hudson is to share this Christmas with her fans, there’s one person she simply can’t wait to spend it with – her 4-month-old son David Daniel Otunga Jr.
“I need to make it great for him,” says the Dreamgirls star of her son’s first Christmas. “I just want to make it as exciting and fun for him as it was for me. And I want him to have this feeling each time this time of year comes around. Whatever that is, that’s what I want to make my tradition.”
With so much already on her plate, there’s one thing the merry mom won’t have to worry about this holiday season – preparing Christmas dinner.
“I learned my lesson from Thanksgiving,” she said. “I bit off far more than I could chew trying to cook because I am not a cook!”
Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home for Christmas airs Monday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
– Jessica Wedemeyer

Thumbprint Cookies Are a Norwegian Tradition

YumSugar — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:00:26 -0800

One of my good friends was recently explaining how much she missed her Norwegian grandmother's Christmas cookies. She recalled them as a simple butter cookie marked by her grandmother's thumbprint and sprinkled in sugar. I took note of all of the details and luckily, I was able to find a recipe that matched her description.

I gathered up all of the ingredients and got to work. These treats turned out to be simple and dense butter cookies, perfect for a quick dip in a cup of coffee. While the thumbprint was not her grandmother's, she was thrilled to receive a plate full of such a familiar cookie. If you want to give these traditional Scandinavian cookies a try for your holiday, keep reading.

My dogs

Halloween31 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:17:37 -0800

My first dog was a bedlington terrier named Archibald. i got him for my fourth birthday and after 20 years he passed away. I was blown away. After spending 20 years with a dog he not only becomes your best friend, but also a part of the family. When he died I thought I didn't want another dog for a while, but after 2 years I really really wanted another dog. I looked around and decided to get a fox terrier. I did not know about Cesar Milan back then so I got a high energy dog and was not really prepared for that. Going to pick out Luca was so much fun. Three pups running around in garden and trying to tackle each other when they could. Luca was very calm so when the day came to take him home I though this was going to be easy. The first time I left him alone he broke out of the bench and decided to destroy every shoe he could find. He is a master in getting all the insides out. You do learn to clean up everything this way. Come christmas Luca thought that the gifts under the tree were also meant for him. He wanted to beautify himself and unwrapped the bodylotion. Bit the tube so that all the lotion came out. He smelled great for weeks. He is also a big fan of lipgloss and especially if it's in a little case or tin. He can open up the tin or case and just lick all the gloss out. Luca is very high energy and extremely protective of me which means no other dogs are allowed near me which is quite a challenge when you take him out for walks.
After 4 years I was still in love with the breed of bedlington so started looking around and found a breeder. I was in luck, she was just about to have a litter so I got put on a waiting list. In January she called me and had the litter and another stroke of luck there was a puppy there for me. After the pups were 4 weeks I could come and visit them so that afternoon I was surrounded by 4 beautiful puppy's who were trying to get my attention. I had the choice between two males. I chose Lance, he was the smallest and the names together were just so cute. Now with bedlingtons there is not much difference between them they are almost all the same in temper. Always very happy and calm. They can get over excited, but that usually happens once a day with what I call crazy 5 minutes. He just runs around the house and jumps from couch to couch barks and ends up on the bed just spinning and barking trying to dig his way to china.
Bringing Lance home was a bit of a task. I took Luca for a long walk trying to lower his energy and then introduce him to Lance. In the beginning he thought Lance was toy so he was very confused when he started to see that Lance was doing things on his own. The first months I had to keep an eye on both of them. Luca weighs 12 kilo and Lance back then was just 2 kilo. Next to that Luca can be a bit clumsy and in your face so when he saw Lance he didn't really get that you need to be gentle with a puppy. For a split second i thought it wouldn't work out, but one night i had some people over to come and see the new baby and Lance wasn't having any fun so after a while he made sure to let us know that he didn't wanted to be held anymore. Luca stepped up to the plate. He started checking Lance out to see if he was ok. After that they were perfect together.
Now we're nearly 3 years later now and both are thick as thieves. The only difference is when I go out and have to leave the dogs behind for a couple of hours Luca still goes on the rampage and tries to find things he can destroy and Lance just curls up on his comfy chair and relaxes. He falls asleep and when I come home I have the best of both worlds. Luca jumps up and down behind the door (think doctor doolittle) and Lance takes at least 5 minutes before he comes and looks for you stretching out and still a bit sleepy.
I have my high energy dog and my mellowed out one and both of them together work great!!

Ed hardy just like any other pieces of ordinary Series

enjoymik — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:26:51 -0700

Bridal necklace is one of the most important stuff for the bride and the ladies in her entourage for them to really shine in their special moment. This is why many brides and their bridesmaids have truly inched their way out in looking for the best kind of this ed hardy belts jewelry to perfectly match it with their gown and the kind of make they are proud to flaunt on that special event. It is interesting that in this new generation there are now many bridal stores specializing in this craft. This type of jewelry piece is now part of the modern day wedding fashion.
Bridal necklace, just like any other pieces of ordinary jewelry, also have its many faces. By faces I mean the many ways it is best worn to fully enhance the bride and the bridesmaids' beauty in that momentous occasion. Now, it is getting more and more popular you can easily find wonderful pieces of these jewelry anywhere any time you want it.
There are many different kinds of for you to choose from. If you are one who goes for some elegant pieces, you can always have the gold or silver plated which are intricately crafted. You can either have pearly ones which are among the most commonly used to match up the lacy chiffon gown also often used by many brides.
Bridal necklace should not only match with the kind of gown you will be flaunting with. Most of these necklaces for beach themed weddings are adorned with stuffs that are associated with the beach of course like shells. It should also complement well with the wedding theme and the motif as well. You will be amazed to find out that that there are even wonderfully decorated bridal necklaces for beach themed weddings.
You only need to use your imagination to enhance your fashion sense for the occasion. You do not have to spend much on this kind of accessory as there are many of this type sold at very affordable prices to perfectly match the kind of christmas gifts you have. Now that necklaces for special occasions like weddings abound in the market, you will surely find it much easy to choose ones that are perfect for the kind of personality you got. So if you really try to shine on the most memorable event of your life, try to maximize the magic of bridal necklace.
Bridal jewelry has indeed become part of the modern day wedding. These are viewed as something to add color and elegance needed to make not only the bride but also all the ladies in her entourage shine for the moment. Thus, these kinds of jewelries should therefore be chosen carefully to fit each and every lady's personality and preference. It is now part of the essential stuffs that should be including when planning for a wedding regardless of its theme.
You can easily find them in many bridal stores near you and even a lot more in the internet. From the simplest to the most intricately crafted pieces, you will never have a hard time in looking for fendi sunglass. It is now so easy to find any kinds of bridal jewelry you may need.
These stuffs will surely add elegance and style to the lady's beauty to outshine the rest in the special occasion. Aside from enhancing the lady's beauty for the momentous event, these types of jewelry are also used to enhance the glamour and elegance of their gowns which are exclusively tailored for the affair.
For some women wedding can only happen once in their lifetime. Aside from flaunting the most elegant gown and sporting the best make up they shall ever have, having the perfect bridal jewelry to match all these, will definitely make them more stunning for everyone to adore. Thus, they should therefore look their best on this special moment of their life.
The truth is, there is even jewelry for beach themed and other types of wedding one can think of. Because these kinds of jewelries are now becoming more and more popular many manufactures and bridal stores are trying to keep abreast with what is in pertinent to it. No matter how your wedding will be, you will surely find the appropriate ed hardy iphone jewelry to match your get up even it is the simplest of the most lavish. So, if you really want to look as stunning as you can be on your wedding day, you should try to have the best bridal jewelry.

Cool Stuff: 30 Years of LucasFilm Christmas Cards ~ Star Wars Obsession Group

PinkNC — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:51:44 -0800

For the last 30 years, Lucasfilm has created special holiday greeting cards for its employees and business partners. This year’s card by Lorraine LeBer, photographed above, features three rows of die-cut pop-up Stormtroopers holding candles and songbooks.

Below are the previous Christmas cards given from LucasFilm’s to it's employees.

The 1977 Card featured art by John Alvin of R2D2 and C3PO playing music. The art was also used for the 1978 Star Wars Concert poster.

The 1978 Card featured a painting by Ralph McQuarrie of C3PO and R2D2 shopping for Christmas.

The 1979 Card featured C3PO dressed as Santa, and R2-D2 dressed as Rudolph, staning in front of a christmas fire.

The 1980's card features a painting by Ralph McQuarrie of Santa and his Droids in the North Pole workshop. The photo was later used on the LucasFilm issued Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album release.

The 1981 Card featured a painting by Ralph McQuarrie of Yoda wearing a Santa outfit, which was later made into an action figure in Christmas 2003. The cast and crew of Empire Strikes Back received this card.

The 1982 Card featured Yoda as Santa on a Sleigh with a California license plate which reads “YODA”.

The 1983 Card featured an Ewok dressed as Santa, delivering presents to Ewok village.

The 1985 Card featured the Ewoks at a human holiday christmas party.

The 1986 Card featured Ewoks building a snowman.

As interest in the series dropped, LucasFilm stopped making Star Wars themed Christmas Cards in the late 1980’s. Star Wars had a resurgence in the early 90’s and LucasFilm commissioned Ralph McQuarrie to produce a new Star Wars themed card in 1994, this one featuring a group of Jawas opening gifts.

The 1995 Card featured the Cantina Band in a snow globe.

The 1998 Card depicts the Main House at Skywalker Ranch as being made of cookies and candy canes.

The 1999 Card featured Jar Jar with his tongue stuck to a metal pole.

The 2000 Card features kids using the power of podracer rocket-moters to go sledding.

The 2001 Card featured Chewbacca walking through the snow with children from our world.

The 2002 Card featured Yoda on the cover with kids form all over the universe on the inside, with the subtitle “Exactly alike, no two are…”

The 2003 card featured Yoda looking up at the sky, looking to the horizon at the things to come. A perforated Yoda constellation appears in the sky.

The 2004 Card was rather boring, featuring a snowflake which showed all the arms of the Lucas-owned empire (LucasFilm, LucasArts…etc).

The 2005 Holiday card featured a beautiful painting by Ralph McQuarrie (click to enlarge) of all the LucasFilm characters (Indy, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and more) crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge to their new home in San Francisco’s Presidio. Star Wars fanatics might have spotted the dual Tatooine suns setting behind the Skywalker and Big Rock Ranch properties.

Back in 1979, LucasFilm sent out a similar change of address card which featured the Star Wars characters leaving the Hollywood hills.

The 2006 Holiday Card featured a photo of the stained glass dome in the Skywalker Main Home Library.

Step-by-Step Nail tutorial and 2 new nailpolishes (pic heavy)

CCee — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:36:06 -0800

Hey everyone,

It's FREEZING here, it's freezing 12 degrees Celsius, which is about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. This means my nails break and look ugly. So I have a nailplan to make them look and feel better. (But then I hid them under nailpolish to show you guys my two new polishes I'm sooo happy with).

Here is my Dior nailpolish after about two weeks of wear and tear:

Looks pretty great right? I got it during Christmas and have been wearing it ever since, this is still the first application.

But today I took it off with a cotton pad and some nailpolish remover I got from a friend of mine who never wears nailpolish and wanted to get rid of it.

I then cleaned under my nails. With dark nailpolish and remover I usually get some nailpolish gunk under my nails.

I use Herome files to shorten and shape my nails. It has 2 who have different coarsenessess on each side.

For a buffer I also use a Herome file.

Using the coarsest I do something that the file isn't meant for.

I use it to file away some of the hardened skin next to my nails. You're not supposed to cut this skin, but people buff away dead skin at their feet, so I buff away some of the dead skin on my hands. Make sure to not hurt your cuticles though if you try this. I hold my file like this:

I then shape my nails. There are a lot of different shape trends and I try to not go with them anymore, I found out that the best shape for my fingers is the same bend as the top of my finger has. Look at this picture to see that the curve of the nail is almost the same as the tip of my finger. I round the edges a bit, but not much.

Now to show you how badly my nails are actually damaged by the weather, which makes them prone to breaking and bending when I open a can or bump into things.

Now I use the fine file to file down the up sticking nail particles. I always try to not buff away all the ridges during the winter period because this thins out the nails and makes them even quicker to break. So when I file this damaged area I do it very carefully trying to only take away the out sticking parts of nail. You can use a buffer file for this, but I've done it more and I'm not as patient today. I do take the buffer file to clean up the cut and use the polish side (step 2) of the buffer file to close the damage.

I now go over the "dent" in the nail with some Hard as Wraps by Sally Hansen.

Which I then file down (when it's dry!!) until it blends in with the nail. You can skip this step if you don't file down a lot, but I always hate a little dent in my nails, even if I'm the only one who actually sees it.

I buff and polish the filed down polish to make it actually disappear in the nail even more. You now barely see the damage and it's somewhat strengthened to keep it from breaking there.

The next thing I do (after filling in the damage because there's chemicals in this and I don't think it's good to seep into a damaged nail) is use the Herome Cuticle Remover. This doesn't remove the cuticle, it's a bad name, it gets rid of overgrown cuticles. I haven't been doing anything to my nails for two weeks and even though they're not "overgrown" they are more on my nail then normally so I use this to gently loosen the cuticle. When cuticles lay loosely on the nail surface they no longer suffocate nail growth. So it's also something that helps with growing your nails. I do want the damaged part out as soon as possible, I really don't know if my nails grow any quicker with this, I think mostly supplements, vitamins and milk (calcium) help with this, but it won't damage them either so ....

I applied the gel to the cuticles and let it absorb for 3 minutes.

I then pushed back the cuticles with an orange stick and washed my hands thoroughly.

You may have noticed the laptop sitting near me, I always do my nails while watching a tv show or youtube or a tutorial online, this multitasking means I don't feel like I'm "wasting" time. I'm doing two things at once.

I now take another thing, Sally Hansen's Nail Revitaliser. Which turns discoloured, thick, ridged nails into smooth, clean healthy looking nails. Because I've been wearing dark nailpolish that stains the nails, I use this as a "better safe then sorry" measure.

This stuff works as follows, you put a dollop from the tube on your nails, then you scrub with the brush for (at least) one minute.

This is what they look like afterwards, a little dulled down.

A quick brush with the buffer and polish file to close any damage that may have occurred with the revitaliser just to be safe.

This file is on a soft surface which means you can't hurt your nails. This many short buffings is another reason why I don't file away my ridges at the start of the "manicure".

Now that the damage on my nails is "repaired", they're shaped, the cuticles are loose and they're revitalised and buffed to perfection it's time to feed them to make them healthy and strong.
I start with Herome's Hydrating Nail Gel, this stuff is amazing, and you actually feel it working. It's specifically made for dry and splitting nails. When your nails crack and the nail plates split, your nails lack moisture and this stuff brings it back.

After you put it on (I'm not only using it on the nails, whatever gets on the nailbed/cuticles doesn't do any damage and it feels so great that I'm always using a lot) my nails look like this:

After it sinks in, my nails look a lot better (the nails look wet, but they aren't, this is the moisture doing it's work which makes the nails look more "see through").

Next up is some more care, in the form of Herome Nourishing Nail Oil which repairs the condition of the nails and cuticles. I usually put this on my nails 2 to 3 times a week when I go to sleep, but now I need some extra care.

With this on my nails they look all shiny.

I massage it into my nails and then I'm ready for the next step in care.

What you see here is Badger Cuticle Care, Herome Cuticle and Nail Remedy Pen and Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Cuticle and Nail Moisture Treatment Pen.
I start with the Herome pen and follow with the Badger...

....which is restorative and rub this into my cuticles, I let this sink in for about an hour and then my nails look like this, well moisturized.

I now rub my hands/nails on a towel. If you want you can use some aceton free nailpolish remover to take away the oil from the nail, but I'm just rubbing it well, I don't want to undo the healing I've started.
The nailpolish that I'm using as a base is not the Nail Envy (OPI) I usually use, but I'm using Sally Hansen's Maximum Growth.

If you apply a new coat to your nails every day this is supposed to help your nails grow quicker. Remember when you polish your nails to get as close as possible to the cuticle, but not to actually touch them with the polish, your cuticles need air to be healthy.

Now here come the colours I got.
The left one is Dior Vernis (Long-Wearing Nail Lacquer) in 905 which is a black with very small silver glittery specks. Very very very pretty! This is the one I took off after two weeks of wear at the start of this blogpost.
The right one is Chanel Le Vernis (Nail Colour) in 479 Kaleidoscope which is a metallic mix between silver and gold. There's probably a great American name for this colour but I don't know which.

I did every other nail in the Kaleidoscope and the then bare nails in 905 Dior. After two coats (I like the extra depth of two coats, but one coat also gives great coverage, so the second layer is purely for my own idea) the nails look like this without flash:

With flash:

I hope you guys enjoyed this and didn't fall asleep halfway through.