In honor of the new season, I traveled to Connecticut this weekend to pick apples. It's a good time, picking apples--even though it now costs $20 for the "medium" bag that you have to buy in order to enter the orchards. $20!  The "large" bag holds a bunch more apples, I'm sure, but it's $35, and I can't think of a single reason to spend $35 on apples. (Note to readers: Bring a large purse/tote bag with you. In case, uh, the bag they give you breaks. Or something.)

Anyway, after my friends and I divided our pickings, I ended up with 14 apples. I searched the Internets for a delicious apple cake recipe and fell on one that had a huge list of comments, all of them glowing. So I made the cake, only I made it in loaf pans instead of a round pan thing, and instead of orange juice I added milk (because a commenter said that was ok!), and I didn't have baking powder so I used baking soda because they both have "baking" in their titles. I mixed ingredients in the order I was supposed to, at least. But when I finished mixing, the batter was in one big sticky clump. The recipe says to "pour" the batter into the pan, but as this was a physical impossibility, I took it upon myself to add about, um, 2 more cups of milk. It was skim. At least now the batter was very nearly pourable, so I sort of clumpily spread it into the pan with the 6 chopped apples and baked away.

Not shockingly, what I ended up with is a sort of dry, dense, tasteless white bread with intermittent chunks of apple. Yet, I used almost half of my apples on this cake, so I don't want to toss it. What do you think I should do? Add caramel sauce? Serve with ice cream and just make sure I always have 5 parts ice cream to 1 part cake? Take it to the park and feed it to the ducks?

Well, this week I was able to watch the game at home, thanks to DirecTV's Supercast (awesome), and now I have a bit of a dilemma.

So, I began the game wearing a t-shirt that I got at Old Navy. It's a cute shirt, I think, though the neckline is high, which makes it a little chokey. But I digress. I wore this t-shirt through the first three quarters, but the Bucs fell behind and their odds of winning started looked bleak. It dawned on me that it might be prudent to put on the same shirt I'd worn during last week's Bucs game, in which they came from behind to win the game in the fourth quarter. This was feasible because I sitting in my apartment. Sure enough, I changed shirts, and the Bucs scored twice for an easy win.

Here's my question. Do I have to wear the t-shirt every week that I go to the sports bar? (Note: I live four blocks away from the laundromat and it costs $2.25 to wash a single load, so a weekly washing is out of the question.)

But if this is a come-from-behind t, and not a win-it-with-ease t, should I not wear it at all? Or do you think that I should chill out (at least until there is a playoff race) and/or consider taking some sort of antipsychotic?

• What are you struggling with?

• What do you not know how to do that you want to know how to do, wow that was almost a tongue twister!

I'll start of telling you what I need help with and what I'm doing to to figure it out.  What I need the most help with right now is writing this blog!  I have never written a blog before,  to be completely honest I have never written anything public before other then  myspace and other social networks.  I'm getting my help for this from my small, but wise, network of  affiliate marketers.  They have also advised me to find some affiliate forums and make some friends there to get more help. So as soon as I'm finished writing this that is what I'm going to do and its also what I suggest that you do.  Let me know if this helped you at all and again tell me what else you may need help with.

Write you later!

Richard Sanders

Normally I planned to raise the money for the home via concerts but facing this crisis I have to beg all of you reading this blog: please donate money for food!
As there are literally no chances of sending smaller amounts of money from Europe to Uganda the easiest possibility is transferring the money to my german account. I will travel back to Uganda at the 12th of September, get all the money from my account and give it to Ruth.
If you request it we can write you a donation recite which I will bring to Germany with my return on the 17th of September. (Please indicate on the transfernote if you would like to get the recite and that this is a donation for the orphanage)

My account details:
Name: Sebastian Hesse
BLZ: 700 202 70
Nr: 46774876
IBAN: DE39700202700046774876
Swift (BIC): HYVEDEMMXXX
note: Name, Donation, recite yes or no

I wont ask you for any specific amount of money, just send as much as you feel comfortable with. But please tell others from this site and the food problem and hopefully we will solve this crisis together!

Thank you very much for your help
Basi

P.s. if you would like to make a bigger donation (above 150$) you can send it directly to Ruth via Western Union, please contact me or Ruth by mail or phone in case you want to do so:
Me: 002503726133 / hesse.sebastian@gmail.com
Ruth: admin@anotherhope.org

I am writing this post...in hopes of Helping Hands from the Good People of the Internet...Your comments, Input, Support, will be tremendously appreciated.

I am writing this Post for a Single Parent Lady with a Son, Teenager, this is the saddest story I have ever heard.  But let's start from the Start, many years ago.

This young Lady, which is now older, started working at 15, for a dentist, and worked her way through school providing her own support, even at 15 when she lived at home.  Her Dad was on disability, and the Apple of Her Eye, and he in return though the Sun rose and set in her.  The Social Security Administration provided a check for support, for her, but she never received one penny towards her support.  She bought her own clothes, paid her own car payment, paid her own insurance, and even lent the parents money, on occasion.  The support definitely was misused.

As time went on, this young lady became very successful through hard work, drive, and determination.  Her jobs were very high paying, and even though the parents had the Disability and a Sideline slightly illegal business, that she was unaware of, she would show up every weekend with $100.00 and 150.00 to give to Dad to help him pay bills.  Mom never said, we don't need this, we have it covered, she took it, even when it wasn't needed.  Of course this made it hard on daughter to pay high house payments, and support 2 children, but she made the sacrifice that was not needed. I call a spade and spade, this was being taken advantage of.  Dad would yearly, give the daughter a bonus from his Veteran Reimbursement, as a way of thank.

Time went out, daughter bought mobile home retail lot, explained to mom, there would not be money to spare, due to getting started.  This did not stop mom for a minute, she called so many times for money, salespeople starting saying, how much money did she want this time?  Even when daughter truthfully told her she didn't have, mom would call every day crying until she got her way.  One month even took the house payment from the daughter, and daughter had to scramble to replace so as to have a place to live.

And then their was Sister,  constantly calling to borrow money for groceries, electricity, gas...anything.  How did they expect daughter to live, she was working to give out all her checks.  Daughter always gave it to them, it bothered her not to let them have, after all they were family.  At one point, Daughter got hurt very badly, could not work, so the fantastic money really dwindled down,  The entire family including a young man, his wife, and daughter would schedule Holiday get togethers, etc. and the Daughter with the money was never invited.  They would never tell her, all go to Barbeque.

My friend was so hurt by all these items, not to mention the ones below', when she needed help, nobody was there, mom would not even call her.  This friend, I will call her Joan, is struggling so much financially, to support her child.

She was married 23 years, to a then great guy with a fabulous job that supported and took care of his family.  He becam an alcoholic, and after years of begging him to stop drinking, and the abuse that went with it, he actually at one point chased his entire family out of the home at gun point.  To the world they had it all, 5 cars 100000+ house, pool, whole nine yards.  Inside that home was pure ____, and occasional beatings.  She had to protect her children from the rages, stepping in between them.

This lady has been through soo much, and survived it all, almost.  In 2001she suffered a devastating injury, began having Epileptic type seizures, and had to quit work.  The ex husband starting coming around, wanting to be friends.  In 2003 he had a very bad automobile accident, my friend, Joan went with him to the hospital via ambulance, and took care of everything for him, never left the Hospital, took him to her home for Recovery from a broken neck.

She took complete care of him for two years, talking to attorneys, explaining to him what he did not understand, due to Head Trauma, taking care of running an entire household by her self, when she was sick herself.  She put her Health last, and boy is it ever showing now.

In 2003 he suffered a Schizophrenic Episode, and she spent two weeks in a Motel Room, trying to talk him through it, while he constantly had a Knife Present for use, as he thought people were trying to hurt him.  He even told the doctor she had tried to Poison him, thank goodness the doctor knew better.  Once she got him better, he wanted to buy a mobile home and pay cash, for everybody, Joan, son, and himself, because he knew he was not capable of living alone.

Once a year, he has one of these Schizophrenic Episodes, and has raging fits, refusing to pay bills, getting power cut off, etc.  Joan has found herself  these last few months, having to find a way to pay all the essential bills. He keeps his entire check, disability, never buys groceries, anything for the child etc.

Joan packed up and left last year, three weeks later he showed up, 100 miles away at Joan's mother's home, hunting for her.  He had been evicted, lot rent, no power, no food, and still had his entire check in his pocket.

Being such a good, kind, person, Joan went to help, she fixed the eviction, cut the power back on, bought groceries, and spent weeks getting the house liveable again.  Now once again, its the same old episodes, only this time much worse;

He is again hoarding his check, and she is having to scramble to try to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and things the 15 yr old needs.  For one month every day, he has threatened to make her move, put her out on the door step.  If she doesn't do this or that, she has to leave right now.  He is trying to control her every move, got mad today because she has a Doctor's Appointment Tomorrow.  Got mad because she had to purchase her medication when it was due, only $70.00; his runs 800.00 monthly.  He has taken her cell phone, which is tied to her sons on a share plan, she saved months to be able to get this, he refuses to give it back.  Says he is keeping it, and she is going to pay for it, and its in her name.  The carrier said she would have to complete a warrant, to get it back.  She tried changing the codes, and when he found out, he told her either give him the codes or leave right now.  She has nowhere to go, her mother lives with her brother, her sister is a "B" that won't help anyone.  Joan has cried everyday for a month, begging her mom to please move out and rent a house, but Mom really doesn't want to, she doesn't even call her.  Joan has begun having frequent seizures, as many as three a night.  She doesn't have the funds for the Doctor, because of having to pay all the bills, and I am worried about her.

She is such a kind, caring, person, that has always been there for everybody else, and now,

Nobody is here for her;

She is so sad, she doesn't feel like anybody cares including her mom.

She is very scared, not knowing what tomorrow will bring and if she will be out on the street with her son.

Joan is trying to gather money to move, anyway she can, yardsales, picking up cans, anything at all.

She doesn't have transportation, she's going to have to handle that obstacle too.

I ask you, why, and how, can such a good person be treated like this from all the people she has helped.

Please, any ideas, any comments, just log in and say, I care,

be her family, she wants so badly.

I cried last nite, when she told me, "you don't know how it feels to not have anyone in the world, family"

Well, I am her family, even though just her best friend, I will stick by her and help her until the end.

Just one hour ago, she called me crying again, had been told, if she spoke, she would be put out in this Monsoon, on the street.  She was pleading for help to pay the bills, before everything was cut off.  She has already paid most of the bills, while he is holding his entire check.  He won't buy gas for the automobile, any groceries, any school items for the child, telephone bill, she has paid all of this.

Why does such bad things happen to such good people?

If you have any ideas, comments, suggestions, please do include your input...SHE IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP.  We really don't want her to have to take the Teenager to the Shelter.

Thank you in advance for any ideas, suggestions, even a job she can do,

sportsmom

For those of you that are wondering about the change in the bible order count from earlier this morning, there was a second page of electronic orders that we failed to include.  2,062 Bibles have been ordered over the past 9 1/2 hours.

I cannot begin to express the need and the desire by people across the globe for the Word of God.  If you can possibly help -- by donating your extra Bibles, and/or donating to the cost of shipping expenses, you will be doing an unimaginable service to the Glory of God.  May God Bless everyone that has prayed on behalf of this ministry and provided encouragement.  Please take a moment and click the link below to see what the excitement is all about:  WWW.BIBLEDONATE.ORG  To READ HEARTFELT COMMENTS FROM THOSE REQUESTING BIBLES CLICK HERE

ANyway, Jo is trying to find other people who either have it or know something about it to try and get a Blog support system going for her friend.

If you do know anything about this disease or anyone who has it, please go to Jo's Blog and let her know!

Foreigner - a cave woman in Kullu

After Losing Her Passport 8 Years Ago, Woman Has Been Begging To Survive

Ashwani Kumar | TNN

Kullu: It was eight years ago when Dimitri came to Kasol valley as a foreign tourist and lost her bag containing her passport and visa. Ever since she’s been living in a cave and begging—only from foreigners—for a living, without hope or a home.

None even seems to be waiting for her back home in America. Or is it Italy? Or Germany? May be Canada. In a shuddering tale of alienation, Dimitri landed in India only to lose touch with everyone in this world.

Now 53, she spends most of the time in a cave in the forest. To survive, she begs from foreigners, drawing their attention with the words ‘please help’ written on a plate. Refusing to interact with Indians, she reluctantly gave away the bare minimum information to a mediaperson—Dimitri, an American citizen. “If you are saying she is Dimitri, then as per police record, she is daughter of Ezioreagam, resident of Toreno, Via Cassimi 19, Italy,” said Kullu SP, Jagat Ram. Shashi Pal Singh, BDC chairman of Kullu block and member, panchayat samiti from Kasol said, “She has been living here for last many years.”

Left high and dry, many said she had become mentally unstable. In 2003, the police caught her and a Kullu court sentenced her to seven months’ term for being in India without documents.

“After her term she was sent to the Italian embassy but they refused to accept her saying she is not Italian. The police tried other embassies as well but none recognized her. Ultimately, she was sent to Nari Niketan in Mandi,” said Ram. Just how she managed to escape from there, none knows.

“The police had put up the case again with German, Israel, American, Italian and Canadian embassies. We also informed the ministry of external affairs, principal secretary, home, HP, CID, district welfare officer and Nari Niketan,” said Ram.

Woman says she is American but police records say Dimitri is an Italian resident. But the Italian mission has refused to accept he.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does anyone happen to recognize her from the photos I have uploaded? Can they please contact the Kullu police authorities in India?

Many thanks and God bless you.

nataliebeth

It happened. My HotFlashCommentary.com blog disappeared. After dozens of hours of creative writing and thinking and fixing and learning, my site was crashed. It all started after a rather uncomfortable long-distance 10 day get together with someone I met online. I live in Florida so off to Arizona I go.  I heard this self-proclaimed computer wiz say, "I will help you run it and throw it over to my host for free...blah, blah, blah. Yea right. Not with no chemistry. It never happened. There was no like, no desire between us at all. Zip, zero, nada on either side. Needless to say,  I did not enjoy the trip. I just wanted to get home.

My HotFlashCommentary Web Blog was looking excellent but will be even better when I get witing all new material. I invite you to check it out on occasion.

If anybody knows how to get my site back somehow through Wordpress, please tell me. Moral of the story is, it probably a bad idea to date your Web hoster. I knew better than to just let it ride and did not back it up in time. My fault. Is there a way to get it back?

Thank you.

Regards, Linda Lee

...Myanmar has suffered some unbearable tragedies following a massive cyclone on May 2nd. Tens of thousands of people are dead, and upwards of a million are in danger of losing there homes, families and lives due to the inevitable aftereffects of a disaster of this magnitude. On top of this, the military government of Myanmar has just recently intercepted international aid intended to reach those suffering. I don't know what that will necessarily entail in the days to come, but eventually help will reach there - if we make sure it does. Please, for a mom's day present, or for no other reason than there is no good hip hop to buy in the stores, give what you can to alleviate suffering, make sure our politicians keep the pressure on - it'll make you feel better, and for a legitimate reason. Click here to give through Direct Relief International, they are getting medical assistance to border areas as long as aid can't reach people through the government. (Actually, you should give through whatever organization you feel represents your wishes the best, just give something, your time in drafting a letter, whatever, I'm not made of $$ either...).

And while we're here, talking about this, remember this, and this, and this, and whatever it is you care about when you're up at nights alone with your thoughts, whether that's the SPCA or the NAACP or the NOW or the HRW or the HRC- the point is to connect, to extend past yourself, in whatever way you care to.

Thanks for humoring my ego,

Joe

If you have info that could lead to the capture of the Smiley Face Killers, please:

1. Click on the word "Comments" in blue below to post your info on the blog
   .
2. To help others catch these killers, please include in your comments below the name of the radio station or TV station or newspaper or website where you first learned about the "Catch the Smiley Face Killers" blog.

For more info on the Smiley Face Killers, please follow the links below.

* April 29 story at Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352960,00.html

* April 29 story from the New York Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/04/29/2008-04-29_exnypd_cops_say_smiley_face_is_link_in_4.html

* April 29 story and video from THE TODAY SHOW: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24366804/

When you're on a diet and your weight gets stuck...they try to help you get a breakthrough. Usually they tell you to starve yourself.

Well in the spiritual world there are many things that will cause or promote your breakthrough and they all make sense. But today, we'll just talk about one:   praying for others.

This is not a message that will knock people's socks off or a shouting message! You won't necessarily feel any better, any different, any more or any less than you already are. But this message can lead to your breakthrough.

SO LISTEN UP!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The average person wants to be prayed for at great length. I've had it happen many times myself; it's a great feeling, but I don't crave it. I take my joy in praying for other people. While I'm at it God always has my back. Oh yeah!

So many people have it made. They have a place to sleep, more food than they need, money in the bank, running water. indoor toilets, no war, they can worship openly and not in secret, they don't have to live under constant threat, they have medical coverage, life insurance, transportation, recreational opportunities, wise investments and I can go on and on. If you're really Blessed; you have a spiritual life. I'm not talking atheism, horoscopes or anything but Jesus.

While on the other hand; some people have none of that. God wants us to see about the people who have none of that or some of that. God works through us. This is no time to be selfish or thoughtless. Please make a decision today to pick a country or a place or a group of people who don't have what you have and pray for them. They may be: poor people in this country, oppressed people in other countries like" Turkey, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Muslims in Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Africa, Middle East, please pray for the eye of the terrorists to be enlightened in Jesus Christ...please pray for the Homeless, the downtrodden, the people who beg for money on the corners, the people who've lost houses...there are so many to pray for. Please help!

Not just that I don't own a car, but I don't drive. By choice so far.

There's no massively sinister reason for it.

It just scares the shit out of me. It's as simple as that.

The thought that you're in charge of something that can kill people, the thought that you have to rely on other people to be sensible when in control of something that can kill people.... it just scares the shit out of me.

There's this and the fact that my very own arms disobey me when asked to act in conjunction with my legs and eyes... they seem to have saved any type of inter-bodily cooperation for walking, eating and the like and thus far seem disinterested in applying any type of effort for driving.

The result? Lots of stalling, 18 point turns and generally bad driving.

Passenger driving I can do.

I'm perfect at that. I can see how to drive. I understand how it works. I understand what my body has to do in order to accomplish it. I just can't do it.

Now, I'm not sure if it's some sort of psychological barrier I have to learning because actually the thought of being successful means being in control of a car or whether I am just really that shit that I can't do it.

I have no idea.

The frustrating thing is that if I passed my test, I would be given a car .. my job comes with a car! :roll:

And I can't drive.

The other thing that has started to play on my mind is that my dad made a comment recently.

Whenever we go to stay at their house, 9 times out of 10 he'll come and fetch us. Load everything in the car and drive us back. BN is also license-less.

His reason was more complicated to begin with. He was ill with Graves disease at 18. It affected his eyes very near the beginning and resulted in him having to stop driving lessons and sell the car he'd already bought. He's just never got back on the horse so to speak. Mainly because we feel we can never really justify the money but more because I would be given a car and it makes sense for me to pass the test first.

The only thing is - I'm not doing it.

My dad said - he's worried that if anything happens to him we'll be stuck. He's worried that I'm putting something off that is going to make my life progressively more difficult and that if I leave it and leave it - eventually I'll be old and license-less and that I'll be trapped relying on others - God forbid... I should find myself alone.

So - that worked. I've been thinking about driving ever since. Barely a day passes when I don't think about it and wonder how I can sort it out.

What should I do?

I've done courses before. I've had about 17-18 lessons. Last drove when I was pregnant with Rowan I think..... although it could have been after that actually I can't remember.

Should I do an intensive course? Should I start slowly but surely? I have this feeling that if I start again - there's another chance that I could start a course and never finish it again.

Basically. I have a lack of drive to drive.

I need a jump start...

Please go on over to Dan at 0ddness. Tomorrow is CHD awareness day.

Spread the word.