We were expecting them to figure something out in September, but as it turns out, today is the day that they chose to do their activity.  They decided to offer a pancake brunch at a local homeless shelter after a church service, and the turnout was quite extraordinary.

In fact, it was nice to see our Christian youth in action, having conversations with total strangers and ministering to the community.  Even the sermon that they had for their church service was a very refreshing perspective on a traditional topic and maybe out pastor could even learn a thing or two from them.

They will be reporting back to the church committee later tonight on how the event went and hopefully they will consider doing something like this again in the near future.  By getting them used to ministry at an early age, we hope that they will continue to minister to the community as adults and ensure the future of our church.

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Growing up on a farm, I was always under the assumption that small dogs were yappy, uncontrollable and just generally a nuisance.  I much preferred the bigger breeds, like a Great Dane or a mastiff and I tended to stayed away from any of the smaller breeds.

Of course I was wrong.  Smokey was very friendly and loved to get belly scratches.  Not once in all of the years that we visited her parents have I ever felt like I could end up with my nose chewed off.  In fact, when we got married two years ago, I got my wife a mini Schnauzer as a wedding gift. Of course, I also have my large dog, but our mini is a great pet, too.

Technorati Tags: Great Dane, miniature schnauzer

I was surprised to see that Cal Spas is affiliated with Cal Flame-as in Cal Flame outdoor kitchens appliances.  They make everything from Cal Flame bbq islands to sinks.  I guess I can assuage myself with one of those, now that I live in a house where getting another jacuzzi wouldn’t work out so well, but I still miss it.  It’s one of those things that was sort of an outcome of the divorce.  Even if I did get another one, it would probably just remind me of those days.  And remind me of that house.  The house was supposed to have been my dream home, with a loft and a curved staircase and an office downstairs and a giant kitchen with wood floors and 12″ tile counters.  The model was the St. Augustine model from Village Homes.

Even though I accept my situation and am happy with the setting of my new home, the house itself is just not as gracious and lovely as that one…and the missing jacuzzi is part of that.

Technorati Tags: Cal Flame bbq islands, Cal Flame outdoor kitchens appliances, Village Homes

I am writing to let you know Jim and I finally got the new website up and running and it looks great!  As you all know, with our family being dotted all over the world, we thought this website would be the best way for you all to keep up on the growth of Ali.  At two-months-old, she is already so much bigger and showing so much personality, we simply couldn’t keep up by just sending you pictures every now and again!  On the website you’ll find tons of photographs and we’ve even added a video component so you can hear her when she says her first words and watch when she takes her first steps.  It was pretty easy to set up, actually.  We followed Dreamweaver templates that were already set up and basically went off that.  With the help of a PHP solutions book, we found out about all these really cool applications that we could add through ecommerce Dreamweaver extensions.  From that application, we added a nifty family calendar that you can all log into and add to so we can keep track of who is going to be where and when!  As we all know Mel and Ian are expecting so I recommend you guys get on board with this website builder stuff as well so we can be the first to see the new baby! So it is all up and running, enjoy! And let us know if we left anything out!

Technorati Tags: Dreamweaver templates, ecommerce Dreamweaver extensions, Growth, PHP solutions, website builder

Rather than simply write out a standard note, I always give out small thank you baskets when the occasion arises. They are always appreciated and so easy and quick to do. A couple of things in a small tin or storage box that can be reused is a great gift idea.

Whenever my husband needs business gift baskets done up for his clients, he always gets me to do them up for him. While these tend to be not quite as personal as the ones for friends and family, they are still geared toward the people receiving them. A travel coffee mug with my husband’s company logo, a really nice pen and a couple of notepads work perfectly.

Technorati Tags: business gift baskets, gift baskets for women, thank you gift baskets

Christmas candles

Many of the Christmas candles made today are created out of LED Christmas lights. What this means to you as the consumer is that they will be ten times brighter and will last twice as long as the mini lights which used to be so popular in the Christmas decorating industry. The tradition of Christmas candles has come through the history of Christmas itself. In the past people used to light up their trees with real candles, today this is too dangerous and this is why Christmas candles have been produced with lights and batteries. They are just as effective and look wonderful in any home.

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Apparently there is a lot of discussion about whether so-called “green-collar” jobs, or jobs in environmentally friendly industries, should receive any aid from the stimulus. It sounds like opponents say that green jobs won’t have enough of an immediate impact on the economy. On the other hand, the proponents argue that putting money into projects that create jobs such as road construction work is simply dumping money into a failing economy, rather than making changes that will build a more sustainable society.

I’m assuming by “green-collar” jobs they mean industries such as solar power and wind power. Alternative energy sources such as solar electric are often viewed as being the way of the future, as fossil fuels become more scarce (and more expensive!).

I think the important issue here has to be not just what will get the quickest response out of the economy, but what will get the most lasting response out of the economy. We have to think about more than just the immediate future if we want to not only get out of the recession, but stay out of the recession. I guess it’s kind of like writing a business plan — you have to think about the long term as well as the short term!

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, green jobs, green-collar jobs, recession, solar electric, solar power, stimulus

Jack Russell Terriers-also known as Parson’s Terriers because they were bred by a Parson John Russell-have the heart of a lion.  I own one.  I love him.  He’d defend me against a bear, if need be.  But this translates into a whole lot of barking!   I need to know where to buy PetSafe dog bark control collars.  These can be expensive, so I actually need to know where I can buy discount pet supplies.

I guess I could keep him inside all day, which is sad because we live on an acre and he’s very happy here.  Or I could keep him in a crate all day-equally sad.  I’ve seen collars that you can use to zap the dog yourself.  But this would be activated by his bark alone.  Well, they had better work or else I’m going to send him away in one of those airline approved pet carriers.

Technorati Tags: airline approved pet carrier, buy discount pet supplies, Parson's Terriers, PetSafe bark control collars

No one plans to be broken into and have things stolen, but you can definitely plan to put in safeguards against these things happening so that hopefully they never will. My aunt was one of the few members of my family that did not listen to my warnings and she did not do the things I told her that she should in order to make sure her family and her property was as safe as possible and sure enough that year she got her house broken into and countless special and precious things of hers were stolen.

Technorati Tags: home security Seattle, home security systems Phoenix, safety, security alarm now, warning

I decided to see if a bails bonds company could help us out.  With the internet I was able to find a local Las Vegas bail bonds company that jumped at the chance to help us out.  An easy bail bonds company was not something I was expecting to find on line, but I did!  I was even able to give a friend a hand when they need to come up with New Mexico bail.

Hopefully I’ll never need to use a bonds company again, but if I do, I know where to find them.

Technorati Tags: easy bail bonds, Las Vegas bail, New Mexico bail