tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18036311619264764362024-03-18T21:23:55.208-07:00Randomness in MindA collection of random thoughts and musings, sometimes funny, other times clever but most of the time nothing more than random.ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-33432798192451552622012-04-05T05:29:00.000-07:002012-04-05T05:29:46.755-07:00Update on Quitting SmokingSo I've been using an electronic cigarettes to help me with quitting smoking for a little over 2 months now and it's time for an update.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>I'm successfully down to smoking only 2 real cigarettes per day!!!!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I have to say that after a few weeks I wasn't overly impressed with the e-cig I bought; the batteries started to die pretty quickly and I ended up using all 3 batteries I had up to twice per day ........ 6 batteries recharged per day isn't great!! I bought and XXL battery from a different site and a Passthrough which connects to a USB port on my PC and got by quite happily. I got a little fed up with the cartridges, finding I was filling them too often so I got some cartomizers to try - these incorporate the atomizer and cartridge in one. I definitely found that I got a much better vape from the cartomizers so I would recommend them if you are seriously looking for a substitute to help you quit smoking. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I'm down to using a combination of 5mg, 8mg and 0mg eliquids!!</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">There are loads of websites selling eliquids, some are better than others for sure and the price can vary greatly. I use a couple of different sites to get the flavour/strength combinations that I like.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'd have to say that if I were to buy my first ecig now, I'd go with the Green Smoke one that a friend of mine has. Although the initial outlay is much higher, she has been using the same 2 batteries for over 6 months now without any deterioration - which is amazingly cost effective. The Green Smoke company are very adamant that their product is not an aide to quitting smoking but really they are just covering themselves legally. The main problem that put me off buying the Green Smoke in the first place was the range of flavours they have since I wasn't sure if I would be able to buy compatible cartomizers to fill with my own choice of flavours, but now I'm pretty sure that there are compatible ones available so again, in hindsight I really should have gone for this brand.<b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I gave myself an approximate 6 months window to be off of both cigarettes AND ecigarettes and being less than half way through that time period, I'm pretty confident that I'm going to succeed.<b> </b>Great since the Chancellor just put an additional 37 pence on a pack of cigarettes!! I'm also conscious that my dad died of a heart attack at 40 years old and I'll soon be reaching that milestone myself (with an additional risk from high cholesterol).<b> </b>And as an added bonus, since I smoke any cigarettes I do have outside, my house now smells so much better and I can actually plan to redecorate!!<b><br />
</b></div></div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-625306759799187612012-01-27T05:04:00.000-08:002012-01-27T05:04:15.213-08:00Quitting Smoking with Electronic CigarettesI have been a smoker for around 25 years now. I started smoking in my early teens, ironically not long after my mum quit herself. Up until then I detested cigarette smoke and had never thought that I would take up the habit.<br />
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Over the years I have tried to quit maybe four or five times, obviously unsuccessfully. When nicotine replacement "therapies" came out, I tried each one with little success. My best attempt to date at quitting smoking was in 2001 when I lasted 12 weeks without a cigarette on willpower alone.<br />
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Now that I'm at home full time, and on a low income, the effects of smoking have become increasingly troublesome. Everything in my house reeks of stale smoke, even though I only smoke in one room of the house. Nicotine stains in that room are beyond embarassing and disgusting and I pretty much gave up redecorating to cover it up as it only seems to last a few months. Being confined in a smokey environment is wreaking havoc on my skin and my health and and spending approximately £160 per month on cigarettes is not really in my budget.<br />
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I had looked into electronic cigarettes online around 18 months ago but was sceptical to say the least. I had already tried quitting with the inhalators without any success at all and I didn't believe that an electronic cigarette would be all that much different. However, a friend recently let me try her own electronic cigarette and I was really surprised at how close it came to the real thing. And so I looked around online again to what options were available.<br />
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I wanted to find an ecigarette that had options for 0mg nicotine as the overall aim is to quit smoking completely, not simply replace one habit with another (not all sites offered 0mg options). Having previously smoked flovored tobacco via an Egyptian shisha, I was also keen to find an ecigarette option that offered a range of non-tobacco flavours. What I found was that there was a huge variation in price range and options available for starter kits. Still being marginally sceptical, I opted for one of the least expensive kits but also purchased some extra items that would keep me going for several weeks. <br />
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<u>Day 1</u><br />
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Taking the first few "hits" from the electronic cigarette was strange to say the least. It takes a couple of short puffs to get the vapor coming through but after that it's fine. My first impressions were that the tobacco flavour that was supplied with the kit wasn't very nice (more like a melted plastic flavour if truth be told); and that there was very little "throat hit". At first I thought that it was comparable to smoking a lights version of a cigarette brand that I wasn't keen on. However after having a normal cigarette straight after "vaping" to compare, I found that the "throat hit" was actually identical. Going back to the ecigarette, the plastic taste disappeared; I figured that it was due to the "newness" of the atomiser unit and once it had burned off, for lack of a better term, the taste was fine.<br />
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Since I hadn't received the kit until after lunchtime that day, I used it to get used to the ecigarette but continued to smoke real cigarettes pretty much as normal.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gecigarette.co.uk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1JcQkvSiAHbgQkykCDJMqxiLvS73yd43U8l4lhRU6BPj0VnLlQ_yicxudfY8kEzJhrI2P-dfhuwFoOdeVNcjzZa3PzDNxLrmJ_oWRWfXDb3gCDjUMA67dpPaIjrCzwCfR0zG5wtXfXM/s320/cm75.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<u>Days 2-6</u><br />
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I began the quitting process in earnest on the second day. I was still getting used to the electronic cigarette but managed to cut down to 7 real cigarettes that day - from a 20-30 per day habit I found that really impressive. Over the following 4 days I stayed at 7-8 real cigarettes per day. I could potentially have smoked fewer than that but I didn't want to push myself too far too fast and set myself up for failure. The 7-8 cigarettes was easy to stick to, it wasn't a number I conciously picked, rather it was where I naturally felt comfortable in combination with the ecigarette.<br />
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<br />
<u>Observations so far:</u><br />
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What I'm finding so far with the electronic cigarette is that the size is no problem; being only marginally longer than a superkings cigarette. When I'm going out and about I even pop my ecigarette into an old cigarette packet for safekeeping along with an extra cartridge. The weight takes a little getting used to. Electronic cigarettes are much heavier than real ones. This wasn't too much of a problem but occasionally I would leave my real cigarette hanging in my mouth whilst I needed two hands on the pc keyboard for example; but this isn't really possible with the weight of the ecigarette.<br />
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The kit that I bought, being one of the least expensive on the UK market, came with two manual batteries. That means that you have to hold down a little button to activate the atomiser each time you puff. When placing the order I figured that that may become a tad annoying so I ordered an additional, automatic battery which activates as soon as you inhale on the cartridge. What I actually found was that both types are completely fine. I actually get a marginally better "hit" from the manual batteries. Two fully charged batteries last me an entire day and the batteries take around 2-3 hours to recharge.<br />
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A little extra note here, although I bought the least expensive kit available, it's <u>identical</u> to ones that are being sold at almost double the price on other websites, they even have the same model number. <br />
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My kit was shipped for free and I received it within two days of placing the order, as a recorded delivery package. All in all, I couldn't have been more pleased with the process.<br />
<br />
Different websites make different claims on how long a cartridge or cartomiser will last/how many cigarettes it's equivalent to. Bearing in mind that my pre-electronic cigarette level was 20-30 cigarettes per day, now that I am down to 3 real cigarettes per day I'm using two x 8mg nicotine catridges in addition. That makes my cartridge use less than £1 per day using the prefilled catridges and could be even less still using empty cartridges and e-liquid. What I will say is that I was a little optimistic in my choice of 8mg catridges and would perhaps have been better starting out with 18mg.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I will add updates on my progress; yesterday for example was Day 7 and I smoked a total of three real cigarettes!! I'm really optimistic for my progress so will keep you up to date. If you want to check out ecigarettes yourself in the meantime, then for the UK I highly recommend <a href="http://www.gecigarette.co.uk/" target="_blank">Genesis.</a> If you decide to go ahead and order from there, <i>use the coupon code <b><span style="color: #d5a6bd;">cm75</span></b> (case sensitive) to get 7.5% off your order</i>.</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-14894612092083194102011-10-23T05:20:00.000-07:002011-10-24T08:20:40.024-07:00Condolences</br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWMPTPUK6x9WYeG2homxegsyAPWgE7YOEWookcr_8_Gy_kdF9K-pP9KA0mrZl5amIn9mFzrhnPVItZMIqbGay-MyUW8MU8oxdLMCTtKtrlmXWXVwO41FRKeDWpWhu1oYSyz_kzb4bkpg/s1600/58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWMPTPUK6x9WYeG2homxegsyAPWgE7YOEWookcr_8_Gy_kdF9K-pP9KA0mrZl5amIn9mFzrhnPVItZMIqbGay-MyUW8MU8oxdLMCTtKtrlmXWXVwO41FRKeDWpWhu1oYSyz_kzb4bkpg/s1600/58.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Thoughts go to family and friends on this very sad day. </div><div style="text-align: center;">The world is a little less bright.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
24th October 2011:<br />
<br />
It's more than a full day after the tragic news and my heart is still heavy, tears brim in my eyes; but what I feel is nothing compared to those who truly knew the great Marco Simoncelli. He had a larger than life personality that reached through the airwaves and touched people's heart in a very rare and special manner. His determination, dedication and resilience would be difficult to match and we can only surmise where his incredible talent would have taken him. Rest in peace Super Sic, you will be sorely missed and never forgotten.<br />
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</br></br></br></br></br></br></br>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-21498480697541567432011-09-27T15:07:00.000-07:002011-09-27T15:07:25.842-07:00Okay Kaboodle, ENOUGH already!! Just quit with the junk mail!!So I signed up for kaboodle (the online shopping community) last year. I quickly realised it wasn't for me and stopped using it. Then a few months ago I started getting their weekly newsletter. It bugs me because I'm really not interested in it so I click the link to go to the site and unsubscribe. The next week, another newsletter. Okay, so maybe I didn't hit the unsubscribe button or something - I do it again, next week another newsletter. So I unsubsribe AGAIN and log into the account and change all of my notification settings, save it and log out. Next week, another newsletter. So I log in to kaboodle AGAIN, after unsubscribing AGAIN and change the email address on my account to a junk address I have and then I reply to the email telling them I unsubscribed 4 times already. So guess what? Yeah, I just got another kaboodle crappy newsletter. Are you kidding me?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">KABOODLE YOU SUCK!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Seriously, you do.</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-4017673435768302742011-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:002011-09-17T07:19:20.053-07:00The Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012On the weekend of 2nd-5th June 2012 (yes, thet IS a long weekend, lol) Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 60 year anniversary as our sovereign with her Diamond Jubilee. Exhibitions and events to mark the occasion began as early as March 2011 with the planting of trees in an ongoing project to create a four hundred and sixty acre wood in Leicestershire. Watch this short clip of presenter Clive Anderson and HRH Princess Anne launching the project.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="210" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWjypEIEBag" width="374"></iframe></div><br />
Several touring exhibitions will begin making rounds of the UK in January 2012 displaying both portraits and photography of the Queen. Street parties are being planned around the country by communities and organisations in order to join in the celebrations. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Read more on the 2012 Jubilee Celebrations and find some great Jubilee souvenirs <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/souvenirs-for-the-queens-diamond-jubilee-2012">here</a>.</b></div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-88824086449572102852011-09-13T05:33:00.000-07:002011-09-13T05:34:47.684-07:00Animal Crackers - so funny!I came across this hilarious animals video Animal Crackers:<br />
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<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ssXJtzFOjA?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ssXJtzFOjA?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="430" height="260"></object>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-56667366111926788522011-09-08T06:35:00.000-07:002011-09-08T06:35:40.195-07:00Do you believe in "traditional" ghosts?I wrote a squidoo lens based on experiences I had many years ago - don't ask me why I added it to squidoo instead of here, with hindsight I should have put it here but it's too late now, lol.<br />
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I don't believe in ghosts, at least not in the normal sense, but I HAVE had four experiences in my life where I saw "something" that was akin to a ghost. I have a very analytical, scientific mind so what I saw really perplexes me. You can read more about it here:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/do-you-believe-in-ghosts-how-about-live-ones-">Do you believe in ghosts? How about live ones?</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0FkUP854ZnCUbFwdgT-VXLUSrkQLYANvNyps9pjAlpyjy0A4MW7pQBB11Mkl1njHWYRUBoLYSq1YBFd4WPXLrO_TjxHcHRadcBeUuyMw0fUapFQwwCfcKd6LwzP1TOVP6VHTE1G-Vp4/s1600/ghostly+thumbnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0FkUP854ZnCUbFwdgT-VXLUSrkQLYANvNyps9pjAlpyjy0A4MW7pQBB11Mkl1njHWYRUBoLYSq1YBFd4WPXLrO_TjxHcHRadcBeUuyMw0fUapFQwwCfcKd6LwzP1TOVP6VHTE1G-Vp4/s320/ghostly+thumbnail.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-2079341220032663022011-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:002011-08-17T10:04:31.630-07:00Zombies, Zombies EverywhereOk so there are no zombies, I'm just getting hyped up for the new season of The Walking Dead (which isn't even until the middle of October). Kinda weird since I've never liked zombie movies or shows - Vampires and any other horror stuff yes, zombies, not so much. But then again it's not too surprising since Frank Darabont had a big hand in it and he was behind some of my all time favourite movies: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Unfortunately it seems that he's now parted ways with the show. It's also kinda weird that I like the shows since I will always picture Andrew Lincoln who plays the lead role of Rick Grimes as dweeby Egg from the UK series "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115390/">This Life</a>".<br />
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In other Zombie related news, apparently Brad Pitt's controversial adaptation of "World War Z" is partly going to be filmed in nearby Glasgow's George Square (filling in for Philadelphia -wtf? - hey ho, hope it brings some much needed cash flow to the city). We also apparently have "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" based on the book reworking by Seth Grahame-Smith to look forward to that may or may not star Keira Knightly, erm, wasn't Natalie Portman signed up to do something like that way, way back? I always get those two actresses confused for some reason anyway so no matter.<br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pride_prejudice_zombies_cover_poster-228862041931812492?gl=quirkclassics&print_width=23&print_height=33.8429&rf=238893334753946081&tc=rm"><img alt="Pride Prejudice & Zombies Cover Poster print" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pride_prejudice_zombies_cover_poster-p2288620419318124927g1w_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pride_prejudice_zombies_cover_poster-228862041931812492?gl=quirkclassics&print_width=23&print_height=33.8429&rf=238893334753946081">Pride, Prejudice and Zombies Cover Poster</a><br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/quirkclassics?rf=238893334753946081&tc=rm">quirkclassics</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">More official gear <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/quirkclassics?rf=238893334753946081&tc=rm">here</a>.</div><br />
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ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-26875449200495010352011-08-15T04:20:00.000-07:002011-08-15T04:20:07.242-07:00Anti-Bullying Campaign steps up a gear.Though I can't profess to like "Jedward", I do have to applaud them and other celebrities for stepping up and offering their time and fame free of charge for the current campaign by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (<a href="http://www.ispcc.ie/">ISPCC</a>). Jedward, along with other including Louis Walsh (the nicer version of Simon Cowell) stepped up and had makeup applied to make them look as though they had been physically beaten for the new campaign on Anti-Bullying. And while the campaign has been the inception of the Irish charity, it's impact will surely be equally as beneficial across the UK.<br />
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That being said, I do think it kind of misses the mark on non-violent bullying, which can be in person or cyber-bullying. I have personally been bullied 3 times in my life and only one of those times was it physical. In fact, since I was an adult on the other two occasions, I didn't even realise that was being done to me WAS bullying. I had to be told that that is what it was when I sought counselling for the way I felt as a result of it. <br />
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I was bullied in the workplace (a <b>professional</b> workplace environment) by the three other girls who were in the same team as I. So what happened and what made it bullying? It started out small, the three of them discussing work strategies at coffee breaks whilst I was off in the smoking room and then dictating the plan of work to me when I returned; having whispered conversations between themselves to deliberately exclude me; not replying when I walked in to the office/lab each morning and said "Good Morning". Over a period of around 9 months it continued and progressively deteriorated to a point where not one of them would talk to me on a personal level at all right down to where they would not talk to me about even the most important of work issues. On more than one occasion, the leader of the bullying trio became very aggressive and abusive towards me - for not cleaning up after her. Though I went to management twice about the problem and even asked my Union representative for advice, nothing was done and it got to the point where I could no loger cope. I was off work for the next 5 months. During that time, management decided what they should do about the situation - move me to another group. Nothing happened to the three bullies and in essence, since payment and promotion depend upon performance, I was the one that was penalised - firstly because of my absence and secondly because I had to start builing up my professional reputation and standing in the new team of people whom didn't know me, what I had done previously, or what I was capable of. When I did return to work, I was placed in the office/lab right next door to the bullies, with a connecting door between the two. I had to go and clear my own desk in my old office space and move my own PC. The day I did that, I stayed in work until 7pm so that I could go into my old office area AFTER they had left for the night. Later in time at a work's social function, one of the bullies had the nerve to come up to me abd berate me for doing that, telling me how awkward I made it for THEM by coming back to work. I tried to put it all behind me but passing those three girls in the corridor every day or in the canteen was hard. After a while I managed to be able to smile to them when I passed them but until the day I left, I got nothing but an evil look from the ringleader. The bullying was a big contributing factor in why I lost my job. I never fully got over the incident or how the girls had just gotten away with it. After I was sacked on health grounds as being incapable of doing my job (yeah 12 hour days without overtime to help the team makes me incapable) I tried to take the company to an employment tribunal. Funnily enough, not one person that had witnessed the bullying could remember anything about it, others had moved on to work at other companies and basically it left me with no corroboration. The fact that I had said I was happy in my new team counted against me. The counsellor whom I had seen at the time had destroyed her notes on the case. It did come out in the communications between myself and the company however, that the manager to whom I spoke to twice about the bullying during the time that it was happening didn't take it seriously and decided not to do anything about it! The same manager had blocked my getting a promotion some time after the bullying had taken place, citing my sickness absence as the reason.<br />
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To know that management as much as condoned the bullying, and knowing that I was the one penalised for it still makes still feel sick to this day whenever I pass the building I used to work in. I don't go to the grocery store at lunchtimes or immediately after working hours because I know that some of my former colleagues may be there at those times.<br />
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Bullying is not just a physical thing and it's not just kids that do it. Bullying ruins lives. Let's stamp it out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/">Anti-Bullying Alliance UK</a><br />
<a href="http://www.beatbullying.org/">Beat Bullying UK</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nobully.com/">No Bully USA</a><br />
<a href="http://www.pacer.org/bullying/">National Bullying Prevention Center USA</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/">Bullying. No Way! AU</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stop_cyber_bullying_now_mousepad-144875253302266759?rf=238893334753946081">Stop Bullying Stickers</a></div></td> <td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stamp_out_bullying_shirt-235563930551907784?group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="STAMP Out Bullying SHIRT shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/stamp_out_bullying_shirt-p2355639305519077842nclb_125.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stamp_out_bullying_shirt-235563930551907784?group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">STAMP Out Bullying SHIRT</a></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/dignity_wins_tshirt-235772130618471107?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Dignity Wins shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/dignity_wins_tshirt-p235772130618471107fumbh_125.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/dignity_wins_tshirt-235772130618471107?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Dignity Wins</a></div></td> <td style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bullying_survivor_tshirt-235614525782396588?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="BULLYING SURVIVOR shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/bullying_survivor_tshirt-p2356145257823965882dolk_125.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bullying_survivor_tshirt-235614525782396588?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">BULLYING SURVIVOR</a></div></td> </tr>
</tbody> </table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-9318536853527998132011-08-05T05:11:00.000-07:002011-08-11T06:10:26.414-07:00Consumer Rights - Warning for UK Residents - Thermal Roof CoatingIn a weak moment, I was conned into having work done to the roof of my house by a ruthless company of rougue traders. The work was shoddy, the product ineffective and it took around 9 months to have my roof look resonably acceptable. The company? <b>AQUASHIELD</b>, based in Glasgow, UK but operating under the guise of a national company by using multiple franchises. After/during my experience I wrote and article over at Squidoo to warn others in the UK about this company and the sneaky ways in which they manage to escape any recourse for their unscrupulous methods. They are now operating as P<b>ROTEX THERMAL SOLUTIONS</b> and <b>PROTEX ENERGY SOLUTIONS</b>, <b>THERMAHOME, PV SOLAR and FREE ELECTRICITY 4 U</b>.<br />
<br />
The company phones me on a weekly basis, even though each time I tell them that I KNOW they are Aquashield and that I want my telephone number remover from their list - it is now bordering on harassment. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">A full account and photographs of the terrible experience that I AND many other people have had can be read at: </span><b><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/AquashieldCowboys">http://www.squidoo.com/AquashieldCowboys</a></b></span><br />
<br />
Please do not let these people sucker you or your loved ones into having any work done.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaDDr8-SJXJBnDd0c2hEQAO5isfMxUuBVbT4bSBG3WOAMdMkQ_Pw9fhhf_r3uEfWjyyldI3NCSKoRWivaKzHvOk2We0QwQzUeSEp3uQ0R1FIx_V-SYDJvfFbmMLYXfs54zZ3yN8nHEJA/s1600/S1056047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaDDr8-SJXJBnDd0c2hEQAO5isfMxUuBVbT4bSBG3WOAMdMkQ_Pw9fhhf_r3uEfWjyyldI3NCSKoRWivaKzHvOk2We0QwQzUeSEp3uQ0R1FIx_V-SYDJvfFbmMLYXfs54zZ3yN8nHEJA/s320/S1056047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssnOr07nUcXe3YKTHUYmqU28rvqD1WRsoD_uhhR5SfrNXfyIefxrEDhkuX3DTSn6TFTE7F6vxrB2ZvCklvMlpvzdbR3sikBSZ5Nx_lgOegMbr_gVBISbRwLX_PUsV9X4TtJQUsWDi21c/s1600/Aquashield+close-up+after+2+weeks+file+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssnOr07nUcXe3YKTHUYmqU28rvqD1WRsoD_uhhR5SfrNXfyIefxrEDhkuX3DTSn6TFTE7F6vxrB2ZvCklvMlpvzdbR3sikBSZ5Nx_lgOegMbr_gVBISbRwLX_PUsV9X4TtJQUsWDi21c/s320/Aquashield+close-up+after+2+weeks+file+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The new company claims on their website "For your total and absolute peace of mind Protex is a reputable company and has over 30 years experience in the roof and wall coatings and UPVC replacement industry." Yet the "Protex Thermal Solutions" company was only formed in February 2011:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMWdU7o_nauxqvM7iuAKseyA5VIt1bsu0nqPityTqigFzei_EJrb7OhqbWZmwSE46Sap7d_mRP6P7Z2vXznwEH_nWVepgtSkuqvPkFeROTx2g4qNm2MffkcoV_JIZrOwt5VeE4VW8AKk/s1600/Protex+Thermal+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMWdU7o_nauxqvM7iuAKseyA5VIt1bsu0nqPityTqigFzei_EJrb7OhqbWZmwSE46Sap7d_mRP6P7Z2vXznwEH_nWVepgtSkuqvPkFeROTx2g4qNm2MffkcoV_JIZrOwt5VeE4VW8AKk/s320/Protex+Thermal+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And "Protex Energy Solutions" in May 2011:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ke6pusYAnqFYpBAJUab74-DATJhVcOqCFzAEy3EPVC83Zc864dp2XjJ2ExrGhALB1Vkg-j34thp1ONJcr6YWmvDpXB8RRBQLpJ3mq31s7d_BeKv5i49IvVNLQgFdRehkXqXQUx0ZBdk/s1600/Protex+Energy+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ke6pusYAnqFYpBAJUab74-DATJhVcOqCFzAEy3EPVC83Zc864dp2XjJ2ExrGhALB1Vkg-j34thp1ONJcr6YWmvDpXB8RRBQLpJ3mq31s7d_BeKv5i49IvVNLQgFdRehkXqXQUx0ZBdk/s320/Protex+Energy+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>What they fail to say on the website(s) is how the previous companies owned by the same people were HIGHLY disreputable and how they simply operate multiple franchises in order to get out of fixing their mistakes or refunding customers.ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-81242610643055133392011-07-09T13:36:00.000-07:002011-07-09T13:36:42.396-07:00Inspired by my boyfriendMy boyfriend was over here in Scotland for 6 months from the USA and he LOVES cooking out on the grill/barbecue. Even when it was cold or raining, we'd eat from the grill 2-3 times a week. So when he'd gone back home and I got back to designing for my zazzle store, I suddenly became inspired to create a couple of barbecue designs.<br />
<br />
The first was a little cartoon back yard BBQ scene that I then used as a 4th July invitation and in another of my stores as a cute children's party invite:<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/fun_4th_july_independence_day_bbq_party_invitation-161952562293062897?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Fun 4th July Independence Day BBQ Party Invitation invitation" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/fun_4th_july_independence_day_bbq_party_invitation-p1619525622930628972dzjr_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/colorful_animal_bbq_cartoon_childrens_party_invitation-161904225982679839?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Colorful Animal BBQ Cartoon Children's Party invitation" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/colorful_animal_bbq_cartoon_childrens_party_invitation-p1619042259826798392dzjr_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a></div><br />
The second design was more of a cheeky little dig at my bf since whenever he cooked for anyone over here they went crazy about how good his food was - even the fussiest of eaters enjoyed and devoured his food! Of course on the product the text can be changed so no-one has to work around with my bf's name on their shirt, lol. I'm not sure if he's managed to see the design yet but he was flattered when I told him about it on messenger.<br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bbq_grilling_coat_of_arms_humorous_vector_design_tshirt-235814319081384078?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="BBQ Grilling Coat of Arms Humorous Vector Design shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/bbq_grilling_coat_of_arms_humorous_vector_design_tshirt-p23581431908138407826v7p_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a><br />
</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-84858262130551897622011-07-07T09:59:00.000-07:002011-07-07T09:59:39.181-07:00Not really, but .....It is not very widely know that Scottish Bagpipes are actually animals. In fact, they are a form of cat that make a vey high-pitched wailing noise when angry. The animal has a very unusual pelt, ofetn brightly colored and featuring a number of stripes in a grid-like pattern. As it's such a ferocious beastie, many Scotsmen like to catch Bagpipes and exhibit them in a manner akin to lion tamers in order to show off their own machismo however the bagpipes take serious offense to this and let their feelings be known very vocally indeed! On rare occasions some Scotswomen also tame Bagpipes. In order to prevent the captured bagpipes from making an escape, three of their legs are often tethered with a tassled rope.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bagpipe_tamer_funny_cartoon_vector_t_shirt-235576995404429022?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Bagpipe Tamer Funny Cartoon Vector T-Shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/bagpipe_tamer_funny_cartoon_vector_t_shirt-p235576995404429022ficce_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bagpipe_tamer_funny_cartoon_vector_t_shirt-235576995404429022?view=front&group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Bagpipe Tamer Funny Cartoon Vector T-Shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/bagpipe_tamer_funny_cartoon_vector_t_shirt-p235576995404429022f0uz4_325.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/bagpipe_tamer_funny_cartoon_vector_t_shirt-235576995404429022?view=front&group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Bagpipe Tamer Funny Cartoon Vector T-Shirt</a><br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-24543864638300953742011-01-26T14:34:00.000-08:002011-01-26T14:34:05.892-08:00Rising Petrol PricesI got this email about petrol prices in my inbox today. I'm not convinced that the idea will work, people tend to put convenience over saving a few pennies, but nonetheless I think it's a good idea and worth sharing. For my part I don't purchase petrol from any of the big sellers anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Here is an interesting idea to think about (and act upon?)...unless you've already received the same message independently! </em><br />
<br />
<em>We are hitting 129.9 pence a litre in some areas now and soon we will be faced with paying £1.50 per litre. So Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea:</em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
<em>This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign' that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.</em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
<em>Please read it and join in!</em><br />
<br />
<em>Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS - not sellers control the market place. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea: </em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
<em>For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two biggest oil companies (which now are one) i.e. ESSO and BP. </em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
<em>If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!</em>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-15780844747858401002010-11-29T07:14:00.000-08:002010-11-29T07:14:23.639-08:00My first catch!Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything. It kinda makes me feel guilty!! I have been busy though, so I have lots to write about even if it is a bit out-of-date now, lol.<br />
<br />
A few weeks ago I went fishing for the very first time. I've gone quite a few times before but just watched my boyfriend and his dad fish. This time I actually took part. We went to a local lake/pond that had just been stocked with trout so it's kinda cheating; with the odds of catching something totally stacked in my favour, lol. Having said that, I did do exceptionally well!! My boyfriend cast the first line for me and even hooked the fish but he let me reel it in - I told him that it didn't count as me catching it so from then on I did everything myself. I went on to catch another 4 myself in the next hour or so!! My boyfriend wasn't fishing himself and his dad only caught one fish the whole time so I think I did pretty darn well for my first time out!! I wasn't all that keen on getting my photo taken though, since I looked rather rough that day, lol. Here's my catch though:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KBVURC18YYrqkGwS4v1_-IpojdHH1-jsqw-O43ytbadEzjfCGC3VWup74pTUztLZMQLKpW9dUgOxQD9HS7fsrwNa7-C_nHRYaX4puwiqtkPv2oWkcV7xao_R3jwR8JUgopm1SCDAhBY/s1600/S1056703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KBVURC18YYrqkGwS4v1_-IpojdHH1-jsqw-O43ytbadEzjfCGC3VWup74pTUztLZMQLKpW9dUgOxQD9HS7fsrwNa7-C_nHRYaX4puwiqtkPv2oWkcV7xao_R3jwR8JUgopm1SCDAhBY/s320/S1056703.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/fishing_is_serious_business_fishing_shirt-235752377716842440?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Fishing is Serious Business Fishing Shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/fishing_is_serious_business_fishing_shirt-p2357523777168424402nzlj_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/fishing_is_serious_business_fishing_shirt-235752377716842440?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Fishing is Serious Business Fishing Shirt</a> <br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/uteezfishing?rf=238893334753946081">UTeezFishing</a></div><br />
A week or so after the fishing expedition (lmao) we went over to War Eagle, Arkansas and visited the mill and the caverns. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4Th_R5npdN03IYRdBqEbnVvMQSpOjXZkG64vR_1kGTDe5evh5a5APZ3pb6phKfXsuQBP5Fw-4tZSnGYZLuhj7-eCerTeRaTB6hbPuZHxdeQbeklDb-DRObRLLCwLzEGhsBz0YcLzlro/s1600/S1056740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4Th_R5npdN03IYRdBqEbnVvMQSpOjXZkG64vR_1kGTDe5evh5a5APZ3pb6phKfXsuQBP5Fw-4tZSnGYZLuhj7-eCerTeRaTB6hbPuZHxdeQbeklDb-DRObRLLCwLzEGhsBz0YcLzlro/s320/S1056740.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The mill and surrounding scenery are really beautiful, and it was such a gorgeous day!! (I really wished that I had a better camera to do the place justice but my photography skills are, well, non-existent, so I really can't justify the expense of a quality camera.) We wandered around the mill inside and out. It seems to be a pretty darn unlucky place!! It's been built and rebuilt four times in 1832, 1838, 1873 and 1973 due to flooding and fires!!! <br />
<br />
After the mill, we went on to the War Eagle Caverns. We didn't go into the caverns themselves as we'd gone to do the gemstone panning at the visitor centre. I've loved gemstones since I was a kid and used to have loads of fun at the Creetown Gemstone Museum near Stranraer, Scotland (guess I was always a bit of a geek, lol). The bag of dirt for panning was around $10 and you know it's pre-loaded with a few inexpensive gems but it was still a fun experience and I did actually get excited to see the loot, lol.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhWB3B0jCedfdlnGYUK2JSgchGGKRVcskbrebfKPpFPmDbekFTYmbfjFZWCu_6U_bcMedHnz8SIpV1Oe2aNTvBFPdHl1-8apMGNweNjUfuajfo-v_QZUZyBrjpFIxJBaWZ-Td_I36Qxc/s1600/S1056758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhWB3B0jCedfdlnGYUK2JSgchGGKRVcskbrebfKPpFPmDbekFTYmbfjFZWCu_6U_bcMedHnz8SIpV1Oe2aNTvBFPdHl1-8apMGNweNjUfuajfo-v_QZUZyBrjpFIxJBaWZ-Td_I36Qxc/s320/S1056758.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/colorful_gemstones_poster-228457914866880980?print_width=24&print_height=18&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Colorful Gemstones Poster print" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/colorful_gemstones_poster-p2284579148668809807g1w_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/colorful_gemstones_poster-228457914866880980?print_width=24&print_height=18&rf=238893334753946081">Colorful Gemstones Poster</a> <br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/rebeccabrittain?rf=238893334753946081">RebeccaBrittain</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/posters?rf=238893334753946081">Poster printing</a> from zazzle</div><br />
Anyway, now you know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth; I'm just in Arkansas, lol.ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-85043517830704910622010-10-18T09:55:00.000-07:002010-10-18T09:55:43.245-07:00My First Ever Jack O'Lantern (at age 38)Okay, so at 38 years old I had never, EVER carved a pumpkin for Halloween. My excuse? Well when I was a kid in the UK, pumpkins weren't available in the stores. I do remember that my parents carved out turnips (or swedes) for Jack O' Lanterns when I was young but since I struggle trying to cut a turnip for cooking I never bothered to attempt carving one for halloween. <br />
<br />
Well, this year I'm going to be in the USA for Halloween and my fiance decided to get a pumpin for me to carve. It's a little bit early yet but we figured I may need a practice run, lol. So, on Saturday afternoon I made my first attempt......<br />
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We bought a pumpkin carving kit with design templates - cheating a little but I figured that that was allowedfor a first attempt. It took a couple of hours to do even though it was a simple design, and boy did my hands ache when it was done!! I'm quite proud of it though - for a practice run.<br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/smiling_pumpkin_halloween_sticker-217671963337963373?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Smiling Pumpkin Halloween Sticker sticker" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/smiling_pumpkin_halloween_sticker-p217671963337963373836x_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vintage_halloween_pumpkin_pattern_mousepad-144977317890247830?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Pattern Mousepad mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/vintage_halloween_pumpkin_pattern_mousepad-p1449773178902478307pdd_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/cute_pumpkins_postcard-239678246489586127?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Cute Pumpkins postcard" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/cute_pumpkins_postcard-p2396782464895861277onr_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pumpkin_patch_card-137002346356463310?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Pumpkin Patch card" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pumpkin_patch_card-p137002346356463310vdun_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pumpkins_in_fall_leaves_card-137606709913123576?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Pumpkins in Fall Leaves card card" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pumpkins_in_fall_leaves_card-p1376067099131235767gqe_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/100_0643_100_0643_100_0643_100_0643_100_064_tie-151291041118109332?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="100_0643, 100_0643, 100_0643, 100_0643, 100_064... tie" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/100_0643_100_0643_100_0643_100_0643_100_064_tie-p1512910411181093328gnz_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pumpkins_in_the_attic_poster-228839040811691126?dim=30x12.74in&width=22.5000&height=9.5550&unit=in&size=small&print_width=22.5000&print_height=9.5550&media=basic_poster_dye&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="" attic?="" in="" print?="" pumpkins="" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pumpkins_in_the_attic_poster-p228839040811691126vsu7_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" the="" /></a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pumpkin_witch_keychain-146541487295038404?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Pumpkin Witch Keychain keychain" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pumpkin_witch_keychain-p1465414872950384048phu_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/pumpkin_vines_card-137463929727280078?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Pumpkin Vines card" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/pumpkin_vines_card-p1374639297272800788g3x_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-52202926272060515752010-10-02T18:28:00.000-07:002010-10-07T08:17:42.423-07:00Tote BagsCanvas tote bags are a great alternative to grocery bags for your weekly shopping; sturdy and reusable as well as being environmentally friendly. Until recently I have been using canvas bags purchased at the grocery store, with a huge logo on both sides ....... so I've been paying to advertise for them and that kinda irks me. I have literally hundreds of tote bag designs across my zazzle stores so decided it was about time that I advertised for myself when I do my weekly shop at the store. Here are a few of my own designs and some from other zazzlers:<br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic_mandala_bag-149221227396721505?rf=238094667710150200"><img alt="Animatastic Mandala bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/animatastic_mandala_bag-p1492212273967215052w912_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic_mandala_bag-149221227396721505?rf=238094667710150200">Animatastic Mandala</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a><br />
Learn <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sell?rf=238094667710150200">how to sell artwork</a> on Zazzle</div><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic_noahs_ark_bible_story_illustration_bag-149223423966044070?rf=238094667710150200"><img alt="Animatastic Noah's Ark Bible Story Illustration bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/animatastic_noahs_ark_bible_story_illustration_bag-p1492234239660440702w912_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic_noahs_ark_bible_story_illustration_bag-149223423966044070?rf=238094667710150200">Animatastic Noah's Ark Bible Story Illustration</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a><br />
More <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/ark+bags?rf=238094667710150200">Ark Bags</a> </div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/funky_circles_rainbow_colors_fractal_design_bag-149537551112486324?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Funky Circles Rainbow Colors Fractal Design bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/funky_circles_rainbow_colors_fractal_design_bag-p1495375511124863242wl6f_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/funky_circles_rainbow_colors_fractal_design_bag-149537551112486324?rf=238893334753946081">Funky Circles Rainbow Colors Fractal Design</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
Browse more <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/retro+bags?rf=238893334753946081">Retro Bags</a> </div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/posie_panda_bear_cute_cartoon_animal_bag-149889066081512466?rf=238094667710150200"><img alt="Posie Panda Bear Cute Cartoon Animal bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/posie_panda_bear_cute_cartoon_animal_bag-p1498890660815124662w90n_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/posie_panda_bear_cute_cartoon_animal_bag-149889066081512466?rf=238094667710150200">Posie Panda Bear Cute Cartoon Animal</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a><br />
See more <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/panda+bags?rf=238094667710150200">Panda Bags</a> </div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/art_nouveau_roses_tote_bag-149833887934130490?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Art Nouveau Roses Tote Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/art_nouveau_roses_tote_bag-p1498338879341304902w912_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/art_nouveau_roses_tote_bag-149833887934130490?rf=238893334753946081">Art Nouveau Roses Tote Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
Browse other <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/style+bags?rf=238893334753946081">Style Bags</a> </div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/merry_christmas_panda_bear_cartoon_tote_bag-149068673259587787?rf=238094667710150200"><img alt="Merry Christmas panda Bear Cartoon Tote Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/merry_christmas_panda_bear_cartoon_tote_bag-p1490686732595877872wdk8_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/merry_christmas_panda_bear_cartoon_tote_bag-149068673259587787?rf=238094667710150200">Merry Christmas panda Bear Cartoon Tote Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a><br />
Create <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238094667710150200">photo bags</a> from zazzle</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/trick_or_treat_spooky_halloween_candy_swag_bag-149531159736723743?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Trick or Treat Spooky Halloween Candy Swag Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/trick_or_treat_spooky_halloween_candy_swag_bag-p1495311597367237432w9cq_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/trick_or_treat_spooky_halloween_candy_swag_bag-149531159736723743?rf=238893334753946081">Trick or Treat Spooky Halloween Candy Swag Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
Make a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238893334753946081">custom bags</a> at zazzle</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tobacco_flower_print_tote_bag-149470342798871194?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Tobacco Flower Print Tote Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/tobacco_flower_print_tote_bag-p1494703427988711942wl6f_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tobacco_flower_print_tote_bag-149470342798871194?rf=238893334753946081">Tobacco Flower Print Tote Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
Learn how to <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sell?rf=238893334753946081">sell artwork online</a> at Zazzle.com</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stylish_accent_bag-149116955451595466?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Stylish Accent Bag - bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/stylish_accent_bag-p1491169554515954662w9dq_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stylish_accent_bag-149116955451595466?rf=238893334753946081">Stylish Accent Bag -</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/myspacestudio?rf=238893334753946081">MySpaceStudio</a><br />
Make a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238893334753946081">photo bag</a> on Zazzle</div>I can't believe that this one is proced at $58.40, but there you go!!<br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yinyang_canvas_tote_bag-149589535453127284?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Yinyang Canvas Tote Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/yinyang_canvas_tote_bag-p1495895354531272842wd64_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yinyang_canvas_tote_bag-149589535453127284?rf=238893334753946081">Yinyang Canvas Tote Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/flynn_the_cat?rf=238893334753946081">Flynn_the_Cat</a><br />
Learn how to <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sell?rf=238893334753946081">sell art online</a> at Zazzle.com</div><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/chinese_love_calligraphy_flower_custom_tote_bag-149678968175659819?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Chinese LOVE Calligraphy Flower Custom Tote Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/chinese_love_calligraphy_flower_custom_tote_bag-p1496789681756598192wl6f_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/chinese_love_calligraphy_flower_custom_tote_bag-149678968175659819?rf=238893334753946081">Chinese LOVE Calligraphy Flower Custom Tote Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/fat_fa_tin?rf=238893334753946081">fat_fa_tin</a><br />
Design a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238893334753946081">tote bag</a> on Zazzle</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/earth_day_sunflower_bag-149270529411190572?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Earth Day Sunflower Bag bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/earth_day_sunflower_bag-p1492705294111905722ihf6_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/earth_day_sunflower_bag-149270529411190572?rf=238893334753946081">Earth Day Sunflower Bag</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/politicalgirl?rf=238893334753946081">politicalgirl</a><br />
Create a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238893334753946081">bag</a> at zazzle.com</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/art_nouveau_rose_bag-149100028457983833?gl=ArtformTheHeart&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Art Nouveau Rose bag" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/art_nouveau_rose_bag-p1491000284579838332w90n_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/art_nouveau_rose_bag-149100028457983833?gl=ArtformTheHeart&rf=238893334753946081">Art Nouveau Rose</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
Create your own <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/bags?rf=238893334753946081">personalized bags</a> using zazzle </div><br />
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Tote bags are also great for carrying books, gymn clothes, or anything else you can think of. I'm always rushing out the door at the last minute and used to always throw whatever I needed to take with me into unsightly plastic grocery bags, not anymore, lol.ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-22336754225744483302010-09-30T16:43:00.000-07:002010-09-30T16:43:40.604-07:00Running round in circles, just a-chasing my tail.You know that feeling when you have so many things to do and not enough time to do them so you just end up flailing around? Well that's how I'm feeling right now and my poor little brain is frazzled from it all.<br />
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The reason I'm having such a hectic time? Well I'm trying to promote my <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238893334753946081">zazzle</a> stores (have forgotten all about creating art/designs/products for this week) and I head out for an extended stay in the USA first thing Monday morning. The flights were only booked 2 days ago, so I'm in a mad rush trying to ogranise everything. Normally I excell under pressure so it feels really weird to be chasing my tail like this. I have promotion for zazzle lined up for several weeks/months in advance for some of my stores and also for promoting other artists, but I seem to have run out of time a tad to line up the rest of my stores. I have a hundred and one things to do in my house and relating to my car, finances ets before I leave - please give me an extra 10 hours in the day, maybe that way I can get 8 hours sleep and a few more things done!<br />
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Of course, I could possibly be refused entry at US immigration (really worried about that) because my trips and itineraries make them suspicious that I intend to stay illegally, beyond the visa waiver limit of 90 days, so there is always the possibility that I'll be right back here in grey and dreary Scotland first thing Tuesday morning. When I went over to the USA for Christmas last year I was taken aside at immigration control - a total shock because I'm probably one of the most law abiding, honest people you will ever meet - and questioned. They gave me clearance exentually and I only just managed to make my connecting flight - but I'm worried that they may now have a mark against my name, lol.<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-32943415758656180892010-09-28T20:02:00.000-07:002010-09-28T20:02:00.584-07:00Things got expensive!! - or Retro Memories Take 2I was in the corner store the other day, buying a few things. When I got to the checkout, there on the counter top were "Chelsea Whoppers" - a favourite of mine when I was a kid. They stopped making them years ago but more recently a small company in Ayrshire re-discovered the recipe and has been manufacturing them and selling as a travelling rep. I can never resist when the corner shop manages to get Chelsea Whoppers in stock - it's not a regular thing - but this time, instead of getting 10 strips of whoppers for 40p, I only got 6!! I was majorly disappointed. Back in the day, the little strips were a penny each, the whole box was £2.50 for exactly 250 whoppers (yes, I saved up my pocket money to buy a whole box one time, lol).<br />
<br />
I remember when we used to buy "10 pence mix-ups". A little paper bag (poke) filled with penny and half-penny candies. I wonder what you'd get in one of those nowadays - one strip of whopper and a midget gem?<br />
<br />
I also remember back in primary school when we had a tuck shop at break time. You could buy a small bottle of Barrs soft drink for around 15 pence and even get 5 pence back for returning the glass bottle! Seems like similar sized bottles of pop are around £1 nowadays and you don't get anything back for recycling the plastic!<br />
<br />
I'm really showing my age aren't I? lol<br />
<br />
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/candy_canes_and_peppermints_card-137845659726531600?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Candy Canes and Peppermints Card card" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/candy_canes_and_peppermints_card-p1378456597265316007gqe_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/candy_canes_and_peppermints_card-137845659726531600?rf=238893334753946081">Candy Canes and Peppermints Card</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/mlewallpapers?rf=238893334753946081">mlewallpapers</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sweet_holiday_greetings_card-137103483260170163?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Sweet Holiday Greetings! card" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/sweet_holiday_greetings_card-p1371034832601701637gq6_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sweet_holiday_greetings_card-137103483260170163?rf=238893334753946081">Sweet Holiday Greetings!</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/niagaragirl?rf=238893334753946081">niagaragirl</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/licorice_allsorts_shoes-167733187462163835?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Licorice Allsorts kedsshoe" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/licorice_allsorts_shoes-p167733187462163835ccfg_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/licorice_allsorts_shoes-167733187462163835?rf=238893334753946081">Licorice Allsorts</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/prawny?rf=238893334753946081">prawny</a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yummy_candy_mousepad-144278139187619203?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="yummy candy! mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/yummy_candy_mousepad-p1442781391876192037pdd_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yummy_candy_mousepad-144278139187619203?rf=238893334753946081">yummy candy!</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/elle0423?rf=238893334753946081">elle0423</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/chocolate_candies_poster_print-228531380194287341?print_width=15&print_height=20&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="" candies="" chocolate="" poster="" print?="" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/chocolate_candies_poster_print-p228531380194287341vsu7_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/chocolate_candies_poster_print-228531380194287341?print_width=15&print_height=20&rf=238893334753946081">"chocolate candies poster"</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/hallmarkphotography?rf=238893334753946081">hallmarkphotography</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/oh_sweet_candy_land_birthday_cupcake_invitations-161060904448649335?t_text1=Please%20join%20us%20for%20the%20Sweetest%20Adventure!%0d%0a&t_text2=Emma%e2%80%99s%20%0d%0a&t_text3=4th%20Birthday&t_text4=Saturday%2c%20May%2023rd%0d%0a4%3a00%20pm%0d%0aOur%20Home%0d%0a3454%20Eden%20Cliff%20Trail&t_text5=Be%20Sweet%20and%20RSVP%0d%0a555-5555&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Oh Sweet Candy Land Birthday Cupcake Invitations invitation" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/oh_sweet_candy_land_birthday_cupcake_invitations-p1610609044486493352djzx_125.jpg?t_text1=Please%20join%20us%20for%20the%20Sweetest%20Adventure!%0d%0a&t_text2=Emma%e2%80%99s%20%0d%0a&t_text3=4th%20Birthday&t_text4=Saturday%2c%20May%2023rd%0d%0a4%3a00%20pm%0d%0aOur%20Home%0d%0a3454%20Eden%20Cliff%20Trail&t_text5=Be%20Sweet%20and%20RSVP%0d%0a555-5555" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/oh_sweet_candy_land_birthday_cupcake_invitations-161060904448649335?t_text1=Please%20join%20us%20for%20the%20Sweetest%20Adventure!%0d%0a&t_text2=Emma%e2%80%99s%20%0d%0a&t_text3=4th%20Birthday&t_text4=Saturday%2c%20May%2023rd%0d%0a4%3a00%20pm%0d%0aOur%20Home%0d%0a3454%20Eden%20Cliff%20Trail&t_text5=Be%20Sweet%20and%20RSVP%0d%0a555-5555&rf=238893334753946081">Oh Sweet Candy Land Invitations</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/littlebeaneboutique?rf=238893334753946081">LittlebeaneBoutique</a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/wonderland_cupcake_candy_lollipop_sweet_tarts_mug-168916105856011699?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Wonderland Cupcake Candy Lollipop Sweet Tarts mug" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/wonderland_cupcake_candy_lollipop_sweet_tarts_mug-p1689161058560116992o3v5_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/wonderland_cupcake_candy_lollipop_sweet_tarts_mug-168916105856011699?rf=238893334753946081">Wonderland Cupcake Candy</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/littlebeaneboutique?rf=238893334753946081">LittlebeaneBoutique</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/licorice_love_mousepad-144436344856191807?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Licorice love mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/licorice_love_mousepad-p1444363448561918077pdd_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/licorice_love_mousepad-144436344856191807?rf=238893334753946081">Licorice love</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sweetshoppe?rf=238893334753946081">SweetShoppe</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/kawaii_candy_apple_festive_colors_magnet-147045494164761511?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Kawaii Candy Apple Festive Colors magnet" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/kawaii_candy_apple_festive_colors_magnet-p1470454941647615118gm5_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/kawaii_candy_apple_festive_colors_magnet-147045494164761511?rf=238893334753946081">Kawaii Candy Apple</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/ice_cream_solves_all_my_problems_magnet-147995869348892449?gl=ArtformTheHeart&t_text1=Ice%20cream%20solves%20all%20%0d%0amy%20problems!&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Ice cream solves all my problems magnet" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/ice_cream_solves_all_my_problems_magnet-p1479958693488924498gm5_125.jpg?t_text1=Ice%20cream%20solves%20all%20%0d%0amy%20problems!" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/ice_cream_solves_all_my_problems_magnet-147995869348892449?gl=ArtformTheHeart&t_text1=Ice%20cream%20solves%20all%20%0d%0amy%20problems!&rf=238893334753946081">Ice cream solves all my problems</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/double_scoop_sweets_keychain-146625644973381868?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Double scoop sweets keychain" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/double_scoop_sweets_keychain-p1466256449733818688phu_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/double_scoop_sweets_keychain-146625644973381868?rf=238893334753946081">Double scoop sweets</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/sweetshoppe?rf=238893334753946081">SweetShoppe</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yummy_sundae_cocoa_magnet-147701051624507856?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Yummy Sundae - Cocoa magnet" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/yummy_sundae_cocoa_magnet-p1477010516245078568gm5_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/yummy_sundae_cocoa_magnet-147701051624507856?rf=238893334753946081">Yummy Sundae - Cocoa</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/countrykitchen?rf=238893334753946081">countrykitchen</a> </div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-61474409080393527692010-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:002010-09-27T12:34:59.380-07:0050% Off Cards and 25% Off Pet ClothingGrab a HUGE 50% off Greetings cards or a nice 25% off Pet clothing through Sunday 3rd October on <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238893334753946081">zazzle</a>.com. Enter code: <strong>HAPPYDOGWEEK</strong> at the checkout.<br />
<br />
Just in time to get your pooch some warm t-shirts what with the weather turning colder, lol.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">* 50% of the card net sale price and 25% of the pet apparel net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased and the coupon code HAPPYDOGWEEK is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from September 27, 2010 through October 3, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.</span>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-2727802508591207672010-09-23T03:55:00.000-07:002010-09-23T03:55:02.890-07:00Ridiculous TrademarksWith it being in the news recently about Facebook(TM) suing Teachbook over the use of the word 'book' in regards to a social networking website, I thought it would make a good post to point out some other ridiculous trademarks/wordmarks that have been granted around the world. How on earth trademark offices can grant registration on single words or everyday phrases in common use is beyond me. I do hope that I don't infringe any trademarks by writing this post ;oP<br />
<br />
"<strong>Have a nice day</strong>" has a lot of 'dead' trademark registrations for a huge array of products and uses and as far as I can tell, one 'live' trademark.<br />
<br />
"<strong>Life is Good</strong>" is currently trademarked for just about everything by a company of the same name - seriously??? Well ok then, "My Life is Good" .... that acceptable??<br />
<br />
"<strong>Drama Queen</strong>" als has numerous live trademarks covering most commercial uses of the phrase.<br />
<br />
"<strong>I bet on me</strong>" is covered for just about everything that it is possible for a person to wear.<br />
I personally thought it was hilarious that "<strong>Roughneck Sausage</strong>" was trademarked. It only seems to cover pork sausage products, but really, when I read "Roughneck Sausage" I was thinking a WHOLE different thing, lol.<br />
<br />
"<strong>GREEN RED NAUTICAL GEAR BY PORTSTARBOARD INDUSTRIES</strong>" is also trademarked along with a little pencil drawing circle design. DANG!! I soooo wanted to use that phrase on a t-shirt!!<br />
"<strong>Go Green</strong>" is trademarked, so we'd better not become environmentally friendly or try to encourage others to do so. ;op<br />
<br />
One company believes it has trademark over all uses of the word "<strong>Peeps</strong>" and trademark/copyright on anything that looks remotely like a chicken. Apparently, Peeps are an American candy that most people seem to find nauseating, but the company who makes them likes to make people sick in other ways too - by suing them for using the word peeps.<br />
<br />
Well, I'm not going to be a <strong>Drama Queen</strong>, so not another <strong>Peep</strong> out of me. <strong>Have a Nice Day</strong> because <strong>Life is Good</strong>. <br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.co.uk/banana_tee_tshirt-235970716705461353?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Banana Tee shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/banana_tee_tshirt-p2359707167054613532w610_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.co.uk/banana_tee_tshirt-235970716705461353?group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Banana Tee</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.co.uk/fungraphix?rf=238893334753946081">FunGraphix</a></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">Go on, smile, hehehe. </div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-37202674894564167502010-09-11T04:41:00.000-07:002010-09-11T04:41:34.886-07:00From a Psoriasis SuffererI have psoriasis. On my hands it's pretty bad. Today for example, I have patches of dry on the heel of my hands and around the base of my thumbs, flaking skin, a few small areas where the skin is cracking, and over 100 tiny 'blisters' that are either itchy or painful depending on where they are (underneath a fingernail is worst!). I also have a patch on my scalp about the size of a dime or a 5p piece that is somewhat like a really bad case of dandruff. In the past I've had the scalp spot be around the size of a quarter or 10p piece and just assuming it was dandruf, scrubbed my scalp really hard with a succession of different dandruff treatments, only to end up with a bald spot (luckily it was easy enough to hide until the hair grew back but it did look rather strange having 'tufty' bits of hair atop my head when the rest is 3/4 way down my back). <br />
<br />
Psoriasis looks awful, and if I'm being honest, had I seen it on someone else's hands, not knowing what it was, I would be more than slightly grossed out. It certainly looks as if it 'could' be some nasty, contagious disease and so I fully expect other people to be grossed out by it unless they have encountered it themelves. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Some psoriasis facts:</u><br />
<br />
Firstly, no matter how bad psoriasis looks, it is not infectious. You cannot 'catch' it by touching affected skin.<br />
<br />
It's caused by certain cells of the body's immune system becoming overactive and producing an inflammatory response.<br />
<br />
The sclaes/plaques/blisters are caused by skin cells renewing themselves at an accelerated rate.<br />
<br />
Any fluid within the blisters is actually sterile.<br />
<br />
Although the medical profession maintains that psoriasis is neither caused nor triggered by stress, having suffered from it for almost two and a half years, I can tell you that stress most definately does cause psoriasis to flare up. (Let's face it, depression and stress can weaken the body's immune system and cause a whole host of other physical symptoms, so I will not believe that stress is unable to trigger/worsen psoriasis and quite frankly I resent being told that it's a 'ridiculous idea').<br />
<br />
Psoriasis can affect any part of the body but the most commonly affected areas are the hands, feet, elbows and scalp.<br />
<br />
<u>Types of treatment:</u><br />
<br />
Topical creams and ointments are the first 'go to'. These can be steroid based, vitamin analogues or coal tar preparations.<br />
<br />
Phototherapy (UV treatment) is usually the first option if topical treatments are unsuccessful. But don't try it yourself!! Phototherapy uses a very specific, narrow UV spectrum for very controlled time periods and should only be done under medical supervision.<br />
<br />
Systemic treatments (tablets in this case) can be prescribed by a dermatologist and most work by slowing down the rate, although cylcosporin is an immune suppressant that can also be used. Systemic treatments spread throughout the entire body and can cause a variety of side effects.<br />
<br />
Biological injections differ from the systemic treatments in that they use naturally occuring proteins (hormones, inhibitors etc) and are targeted specifically to the affected site. <br />
<div align="center">------------</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I have personally tried half a dozen different topical treatments, most of which had no effect whatsoever. I was placed on a waiting list for UV treatment by my dermatologist back in April. Finally two weeks ago I got a telephone call that a spot had opened up. However, the treatment is given several days per week over a period of 10 weeks and as I was supposed to be going to the USA for 2-3 months, I had to ask to be bumped farther down the waiting list. Now it would appear that I'm NOT going to America at all (because being practical and worrying about certain, very real and impotrant issues means that I'm not enthusiastic enough and therefore not wanted - * lots of expletives about hipocrisy & double standards removed *) but I'm going to have to wait until at least December to start the treatment now - thanks!</div><div style="text-align: center;">------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Whenever I blog, I try to include some relevant products from zazzle in the post; partly to illustrate my post and partly in the hope of earning a small referral fee (don't worry, the fee isn't added onto the price of the prducts, you pay the same whether the sale is referred or not). However, writing this post I really didn't think there would be anything suitable. There are many 'cause' products on zazzle, but since psoriasis isn't life-threatening and often considered nothing more than an inconvenience, I didn't think that it would make it onto the zazzle radar. WRONG. There are actually 1,826 zazzle products tagged with 'psoriasis'. Even then, I don't like promoting 'awareness' products because some storekeepers either do not donate a single penny to the cause they are profiting from (grr!!), or have no way to guarantee to customers that they DO donate. On this occassion however, I found that the National Psoriasis Foundation (a genuine non-profit organisation) actually have their own official zazzle store. Their main website can be found <a href="http://www.psoriasis.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1336&chid=28">here</a>, packed full of information, and their zazzle store <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/psoriasisfoundation?rf=238893334753946081">here</a>. Another point that is encouraging about the NPF is that they acknowledge a link between psoriasis and stress, something which finally makes me feel somewhat vindicated!!<br />
</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/long_sleeve_fitted_t_shirt-235258196657110449?gl=psoriasisfoundation&context=amberh&group=womens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Long sleeve fitted T-shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/long_sleeve_fitted_t_shirt-p235258196657110449fa4nw_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/long_sleeve_fitted_t_shirt-235258196657110449?gl=psoriasisfoundation&context=amberh&group=womens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Long sleeve fitted T-shirt</a> <br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/psoriasisfoundation?rf=238893334753946081">psoriasisfoundation</a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/npf_mug-168951475762618921?gl=psoriasisfoundation&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="NPF Mug mug" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/npf_mug-p1689514757626189212o3v5_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/npf_mug-168951475762618921?gl=psoriasisfoundation&rf=238893334753946081">NPF Mug</a> <br />
by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/psoriasisfoundation?rf=238893334753946081">psoriasisfoundation</a><br />
</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-87208633818466303902010-09-07T04:06:00.000-07:002011-09-09T04:20:04.584-07:00Do you love Vampires?Ever since I was a kid I loved horror movies. Way back when I was around 5 years old, my sister and I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch the 'Hammer House of Horror' double bills and anything else horror related. As I grew up, 'The Lost Boys' was one of my favourite movies - I developed a crush on the late Corey Haim whilst my older sister fell for Jason Patric. 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' the 1992 movie was a bit of a let down on the acting front, it could have been so great with a slightly different cast. The movie of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was completely cringeworthy, but embarassingly, I became hooked on the television series and was also a devout follower of the spin-off series 'Angel'. Interview with a Vampire' (the movie) came out the year after I graduated University and that got me started on reading all of the Anne Rice novels. I watched the first Twilight movie and skipped the rest - I guess I'm too old for that teenage stuff nowadays, lol, but I am hooked on 'True Blood' (it could do with a little less on the explicit sexual content though; yes, I am a prude). <br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/say_it_vampire_shirt-235163911065363399?gl=everOctober&group=womens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="'Say it... Vampire' Shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/say_it_vampire_shirt-p235163911065363399ad7t3_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/say_it_vampire_shirt-235163911065363399?gl=everOctober&group=womens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">'Say it... Vampire' Shirt</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/everoctober?rf=238893334753946081">everOctober</a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/victoria_the_vampire_tshirt-235023335887289565?group=womens&lifestyle=fashion&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Victoria the Vampire shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/victoria_the_vampire_tshirt-p235023335887289565fhj2o_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/victoria_the_vampire_tshirt-235023335887289565?group=womens&lifestyle=fashion&rf=238893334753946081">Victoria the Vampire</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/buttermilkbiscuits?rf=238893334753946081">ButtermilkBiscuits</a></div></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampire_love_tshirt-235686036112325060?group=womens&lifestyle=fashion&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Vampire Love shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/vampire_love_tshirt-p2356860361123250602mr8l_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampire_love_tshirt-235686036112325060?group=womens&lifestyle=fashion&rf=238893334753946081">Vampire Love</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/clonecire?rf=238893334753946081">clonecire</a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampires_coffin_t_shirt-235597565437656422?style=basic_tshirt_light&color=creme&view=front&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Vampires Coffin T Shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/vampires_coffin_t_shirt-p2355975654376564222sr0q_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampires_coffin_t_shirt-235597565437656422?style=basic_tshirt_light&color=creme&view=front&lifestyle=classic&rf=238893334753946081">Vampires Coffin T Shirt</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/halloweentees?rf=238893334753946081">HalloweenTees</a> </div></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/hunger_pains_mousepad-144807294810308684?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="" hunger="" mousepad="" mousepad?="" pains?="" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/hunger_pains_mousepad-p1448072948103086847pdd_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/hunger_pains_mousepad-144807294810308684?rf=238893334753946081">"Hunger Pains" Mousepad</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/strangeling?rf=238893334753946081">strangeling</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/home_sweet_home_vampire_fantasy_mousepad-144005546610953592?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Home Sweet Home Vampire Fantasy mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/home_sweet_home_vampire_fantasy_mousepad-p1440055466109535927pdd_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/home_sweet_home_vampire_fantasy_mousepad-144005546610953592?rf=238893334753946081">Home Sweet Home Vampire Fantasy</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/gothictoggs?rf=238893334753946081">gothictoggs</a></div></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampire_army_gothic_bumper_sticker-128454931562127723?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Vampire Army gothic Bumper Sticker bumpersticker" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/vampire_army_gothic_bumper_sticker-p12845493156212772383h9_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/vampire_army_gothic_bumper_sticker-128454931562127723?rf=238893334753946081">Vampire Army gothic Bumper Sticker</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/gothictoggs?rf=238893334753946081">gothictoggs</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_cartoon_bumper_sticker-128318799777136866?gl=Animatastic&rf=238094667710150200"><img alt="Halloween Vampire Panda Bear Cartoon bumpersticker" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_cartoon_bumper_sticker-p12831879977713686683h9_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_cartoon_bumper_sticker-128318799777136866?gl=Animatastic&rf=238094667710150200">Halloween Vampire Panda Bear Cartoon</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a></div></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_magnet-147051260286371665?gl=Animatastic&rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Halloween Vampire Panda Bear magnet" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_magnet-p1470512602863716658gm5_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/halloween_vampire_panda_bear_magnet-147051260286371665?gl=Animatastic&rf=238893334753946081">Halloween Vampire Panda Bear</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic?rf=238893334753946081">Animatastic</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/nosferatu_magnet-147850396922685226?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Nosferatu! magnet" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/nosferatu_magnet-p1478503969226852268gm5_200.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/nosferatu_magnet-147850396922685226?rf=238893334753946081">Nosferatu!</a> </div><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/heydaygraphix?rf=238893334753946081">HeydayGraphix</a></div></td></tr>
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</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">You may also be interested in the article <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/the-origins-of-vampires-gothic-horror-fiction"><b>The Origins of Vampires in Gothic Horror Fiction</b></a>.</span></div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-3566512740437965002010-09-03T13:12:00.000-07:002010-09-03T13:12:30.238-07:00Coolest new fashion accessory - yeah right!!I was at the supermarket, buying cigarettes at the kiosk (I know, I really should stop!!) and I spotted a little display box beside the register. The box claimed theat the product inside was the "Coolest new fashion accessory" and it was only £1.99 (around $3.30). I'm not exactly fashion oriented, but I had to look closer and find out what this hot new fashion accessory was in a little plastic baggie. The bags were about an inch and a half square - this is a rather SMALL "Coolest new fashion accessory" then!! I picked on up and had a look .......... about a dozen or so two-tone elastic/rubber bands!!!!!! Are you kidding me???? lol. To paraphrase Billy Conolly: For a ******* rubber band??? I did a search online and found the almost-as-crazy idea of animal shaped rubber band bracelets - at least that's marginally original, but what's the point in animal shapes since they deform when you put them on? Maybe I'm getting too old, lol<br />
<br />
This is a much better 'fashion' use of rubber bands (though I don't think I'd personally be brave enough to wear them, lol):<br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/rubber_bands_keds_shoe_shoes-167534804167367304?rf=238893334753946081"><img alt="Rubber bands Keds Shoe kedsshoe" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/rubber_bands_keds_shoe_shoes-p1675348041673673042z1jm_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/rubber_bands_keds_shoe_shoes-167534804167367304?rf=238893334753946081">Rubber bands Keds Shoe</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/gavila_pt?rf=238893334753946081">gavila_pt</a><br />
Make <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/shoes?rf=238893334753946081">custom shoes</a> at zazzle<br />
<br />
Remember that you can grab 30% off Keds shoes at <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238893334753946081">zazzle</a> this Labor Day Weekend.</div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-82309541776975547092010-09-02T03:22:00.000-07:002010-09-02T03:22:56.902-07:00Heads-Up on great savings at Zazzle - Up to 60% off!!<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/?rf=238893334753946081">Zazzle</a> are having a huge sale for the Labor Day Weekend, get in and grab some bargains while the promotion lasts!!<br />
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USE PROMO CODE: <strong><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/labordaysale?rf=238893334753946081">LABORDAYSALE</a></strong><br />
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60% of the apron net sale price, 50% of the poster net sale price, 30% of the shoe net sale price, 20% of the bag and embroidered bag net sale price, 20% of the hat and embroidered hat net sale price, 10% off the shirt and embroidered shirt net sale price, and 10% of the mug net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased and the coupon code <strong><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/labordaysale?rf=238893334753946081">LABORDAYSALE</a></strong> is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer does not apply to framed posters. Offer is valid from September 2, 2010 through September 6, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.<br />
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Visit any of our recommended stores for great savings:<br />
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<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformtheheart*">ArtformTheHeart</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/artformnouveau*">ArtformNouveau</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/animatastic*">Animatastic</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/thestepmomproject*">TheStepmomProject</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/teewhiz*">TeeWhiz</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/mad_in_the_usa*">Made in the USA</a>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803631161926476436.post-53728886581450745222010-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:002010-08-31T10:39:00.380-07:00National Stepfamily Day - September 16thIn the United States at least, September 16 is "National Stepfamily Day". A day dedicated to stepfamilies.<br />
<br />
Being a step-parent is a huge resposibility and undertaking. There are many pitfalls and it takes a lot of effort to make things work. Two of my nephews were brought up with a stepfather, not entirely successfully. My '<br />
Brother in Law clearly favoured his own two children over his stepchildren and as an outsider, I can see huge differences in character between the two pairs of children. Of course there are other factors involved and I don't see everything that goes on, but in some ways his influence is very apparent. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with my older nephews, on the contrary, to me they seem more respectful and less 'arrogant' than their younger siblings.<br />
<br />
I also found myself in the situation of being a stepparent temporarily. I found it very difficult indeed. Not being the biological parent, I felt that I had no rights to discipline nor guide and tried to remain detached from those aspects of the role. But when a child looks to you as the 'supervising adult', 'stepmother', etc., it makes it very difficult. There was a definite tendancy for me to try to be more of a friend than a parent, but sometimes the responsibility was unavoidable. When I gave my permission for the kids to do something that they wanted to do (usually only in the absence of their father) things were great. However, when I asked/told them not to do things that were wrong/dangerous/inconsiderate, the resentment started. <br />
I wasn't a perfect stepmom, I never had children of my own and have never wanted to have children of my own. Unfortunately and with hindsight, that may have implied to those kids that I didn't want THEM, which really wasn't the case, I just wanted everyone to know that it was all new to me and that it might take a LOT of practice to get it right. I did the best that I could in the unusual and imperfect circumstances that were given, and where I made mistakes I have to live with that and learn from it.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of respect for Step-parents, and Foster Parents, it's really not an easy job. Kudos to those who do it successfully.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/a_stepmothers_love_rose_bouquet_mouse_pad_mousepad-144247497498284420?rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="A Stepmother's love... Rose Bouquet Mouse Pad mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/a_stepmothers_love_rose_bouquet_mouse_pad_mousepad-p1442474974982844207pdd_325.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/a_stepmothers_love_rose_bouquet_mouse_pad_mousepad-144247497498284420?rf=238268809192224467">A Stepmother's love... Rose Bouquet Mouse Pad</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/thestepmomproject*">thestepmomproject</a><br />
See more <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stepmother+mousepads?rf=238268809192224467">Stepmother Mousepads</a> </div><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepdad_mug-168359566464110465?rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="World's Best Stepdad mug" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/worlds_best_stepdad_mug-p168359566464110465214d9_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepdad_mug-168359566464110465?rf=238268809192224467">World's Best Stepdad</a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepmom_mousepad-144939967100051618?rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="World's Best Stepmom mousepad" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/worlds_best_stepmom_mousepad-p1449399671000516187pdd_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepmom_mousepad-144939967100051618?rf=238268809192224467">World's Best Stepmom</a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stepmoms_button-145099779611844742?rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="Stepmoms button" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/stepmoms_button-p1450997796118447427pvx_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stepmoms_button-145099779611844742?rf=238268809192224467">Stepmoms</a> Button</div></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/i_3_heart_my_stepsister_t_shirt-235764648322834142?style=kids_ladies_fitted_babydoll&color=white&context=brianna&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="I <3 (Heart) my stepsister T-shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/i_3_heart_my_stepsister_t_shirt-p2357646483228341422z07z_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/i_3_heart_my_stepsister_t_shirt-235764648322834142?style=kids_ladies_fitted_babydoll&color=white&context=brianna&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467">I Heart my stepsister T-shirt</a> </div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/i_3_heart_my_stepbrother_t_shirt-235083988642280960?style=kids_basic_tshirt_light&size=y_m&context=ben&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="I Heart my stepbrother T-shirt shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/i_3_heart_my_stepbrother_t_shirt-p2350839886422809602m529_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/i_3_heart_my_stepbrother_t_shirt-235083988642280960?style=kids_basic_tshirt_light&size=y_m&context=ben&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467">I Heart my stepbrother T-shirt</a></div></td><td><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepdaughter_tshirt-235714939009327127?lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467"><img alt="World's Best Stepdaughter shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/worlds_best_stepdaughter_tshirt-p23571493900932712729daj_125.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/worlds_best_stepdaughter_tshirt-235714939009327127?lifestyle=classic&rf=238268809192224467">World's Best Stepdaughter</a> </div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">See more Stepfamily greetings cards and gifts </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1712081914"></span><span style="font-size: large;">here<span id="goog_1712081915"></span></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></div>ArtformTheHeart*http://www.blogger.com/profile/09597480813284129219noreply@blogger.com0