39 Ways to Make Your Love Last and Last (For the women)

1. Fight (a little). Getting your grrs out keeps small annoyances from snowballing.

2. Walk hand in hand. Even just to your car after an evening at Waffle House.

3. Compliment each other. This one's a daily to-do, if you can. There's no nice thing that's too small to mention: his excellent taste in music, the way he always opens the door for you — it's all worth a verbal love tap. And he will swoon.

4. Make love (obviously). But also ...

5. Have generous sex. You need at least one sexual connection a week that's all about pleasing the other person. (Dear busy people: Feel free to multitask and make this the sex from before. Same goes for this next one ...)

6. Sleep together before work. Put down the straightening iron and heat things up this way: "Weekday morning sex is the secret sauce in a relationship,"

7. Get into bed and ... sleep. "Sometimes the best thing a couple can do to ignite their passion for each other is sleep,"

8. Let something go. Argue over the stuff that matters, but once a week let him (and yourself) off the hook for things that don't: Yes, he chews his popcorn loud. No, it won't kill you.

9. Laugh really hard. Laughter is a relationship's Krazy Glue: It bonds you. Uninspired? Fast-forward to the chest-waxing scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin

... Once a Month

10. Be do-gooders. Volunteering together (even just helping a friend move) bonds you because you're ID-ing

11. Do something scary. Been together a while? A pounding heart mimics the rush of brand-new love

12. Talk about money. Whether it's "Should we open a joint account?" or just, "Hey, let's split the bill tonight."

13. Brag publicly about him: his fearless pursuit of the mouse in your kitchen, the armful of hydrangeas he surprised you with, the raise he landed even in this economy. Surely once a month you can think of something that'll make him blush in front of your friends. He'll probably get you back too.

14. Declare something "this stays in Vegas." A silly nickname, or a crazy bedroom mishap. Share something intimate, then pull the couple bubble around you tightly.

15. Be the man. Not literally, but if your guy always initiates dates, romance, whatever, take the lead for once.

16. Disappear together. Hike somewhere AT&T can't find you (and thus your mother, your boss and his needy friend Bob can't find you either). No woods? Any time spent totally alone together — a long drive, even — will do the trick.

17. Disappear alone. We're not advocating game-playing, exactly. But in this world of 24/7 availability, it can be good for your relationship to each have some solo time. Afterward, you'll feel recharged, like the free-spirited single girl he fell for once upon a time.

18. Go to a party! And mingle separately. It screams confidence and makes the after-party rehash even sweeter.

19. Have sex some way you've never had it before. A worthy challenge, whether you've been together 10 days or 10 years. Try a new position or play out a fantasy. Doesn't matter whether it's really new to you, as long as it's new to you as a couple.

... Once a Year

20. Build a doghouse. Or restore a Firebird.

21. Now get the dog. Or at least a plant. Anything that'll grow with your love.

22. Say the tough thing. The dark family secret. The crazy career dream. If you can't confess to your significant other, then who? (Hey, you think Barack never said to Michelle way back when, "This may sound nuts, but I think I want to be president someday"?)

23. Cancel Valentine's Day and invent your own lovey-dovey holiday. Lobsterfest 2009, anyone?

24. Fall apart. You can't schedule this. But it's important that you each know, via experience, that you can completely, utterly lose your grip — weep over a bad haircut, threaten to leave your job after a nutso day, have a wrenching fight with your mom — and not lose each other.

25. Don't. Get. Up. At least once a year, break open some bubbly, disable the Wi-Fi, and don't get out of bed for the weekend.

26. Take him to a game. Enough said!

27. Re-kiss your first kiss. All timid and hopeful ... and wonderful.

28. Write each other. A love note

29. Think back on all the reasons you fell for him, whether you've dated for a year or a decade. Some will be big (his extra-dry sense of humor); some will be small (his love of argyle). Make sure you tell him, and remind yourself. Hello, butterflies! There you are again.

... And Once In a Lifetime

30. Get lost together in a foreign country.

31. Damn the cost and go do the dream.

32. Get intimate someplace you might be discovered.

33. Suffer through food poisoning together.

34. Go to each other's "fun" high school reunions.

35. Pay off the mortgage!

36. Come back from the brink of a breakup even stronger.

37. Together, convince a skeptic pal to believe in love.

38. Have a poor phase. Maybe a rich phase, too.

39. Count the stars. Know your love is one in a billion

I'm Backkkkkkkk!

well it's about time to get back to the blog I have started. I have alot on my mind and I am ready to type it out. Stay tuned because I am trying to think where to start!

Well that did not take long!

JERUSALEM - Palestinian militants fired three homemade rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday, threatening to unravel a cease-fire days after it began, and Israel responded by closing vital border crossings into Gaza.
Despite what it called a "gross violation" of the truce, Israel refrained from military action and said it would send an envoy soon to Egypt to work on the next stage of a broader cease-fire agreement: a prisoner swap that would bring home an Israeli soldier held by Hamas for more than two years.
Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, promised to rein in the Iran- and Syria-backed faction that carried out the rocket attacks and pledged to remain committed to the truce that went into effect June 19 and urged restraint by all sides.
The fact that the cease-fire held up despite the severe strain was an indication that both sides had a lot at stake in the negotiations for a broader agreement. Hamas wants to show it can break the Israeli blockade and provide much-needed relief to Gaza's beleaguered residents, while Israel wants to stop the daily rocket fire that has disrupted the lives of thousands of its citizens.
The midafternoon barrage, which slightly wounded two people, capped a day of violence that presented the truce with its first serious test. Just before midnight, Palestinian militants fired a mortar shell into an empty area in southern Israel. And in a pre-dawn raid, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians, one of them an Islamic Jihad area commander, in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Islamic Jihad, a militant group backed by Syria and Iran, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza. Although the West Bank is not included in the truce agreement, the group said the rockets were retaliation for the Nablus raid.
"We cannot keep our hands tied when this is happening to our brothers in the West Bank," the group said.
A neighbor said a Palestinian bystander was also shot to death by troops when he opened the door of his apartment during the raid. The Israeli military said the man was a militant killed during a gunbattle with troops.
Hamas accused Israel of provoking the rocket fire but moved quickly to lower tensions and said it would talk to Islamic Jihad to ensure quiet.
"We in Hamas are committed to the calm. We will talk and we will make sure that all of the factions are committed to the calm, too," said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
Israeli government spokesman David Baker called the rocket fire "a gross violation of the calm."
Israel took no military action but late Tuesday decided to shut the crossings, cutting off shipments of basic supplies that had been increased as part of the truce deal, according to defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been made public. There was no word on when the crossings would be reopened.

Thieves take Jesus statue from church cross

Now I know times are tough. I know alot of people are hurting for money. With that being said there are just some things that I KNOW I would not do. This is one of them!

Thieves who stole an 8-foot statue of Jesus Christ off a crucifix in Detroit may have been seeking copper to sell as scrap. Problem is, it's made of plaster.

The Rev. Barry Randolph said Wednesday that the statue at the Church of the Messiah is green and looks like copper, one of several metals coveted by thieves because of soaring scrap prices.
Thieves have damaged copper pipes and stolen aluminum gutters at the church over the past few months, said Donya Ray-Gregg, a member of the congregation, which over the years has dwindled from about 350 members to 50.

It's unclear when the statue was snatched. A parishioner noticed it missing Monday from its perch on the side of the church, 10 feet above the ground. A small piece of plaster was found nearby.

The church has made a public plea for help.
"It is so crazy," Randolph said. "It's been there for so long and was a symbol of hope to a lot of people in this neighborhood."

Police were investigating, but department spokesman James Tate said it was doubtful thieves had mistaken the plaster statue for copper.

"People who steal copper know what copper is and what it feels like," Tate said. "There is no way they would think a plaster statue is some type of metal."

Would you do this to your mom?

I read this article today and I thought this was so sad. It was sad for many reasons. One that she lost her job and house but most of all her kids hae not come and gotten her out of this situation. Read it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Barbara Harvey climbs into the back of her small Honda sport utility vehicle and snuggles with her two golden retrievers, her head nestled on a pillow propped against the driver's seat.

A former loan processor, the 67-year-old mother of three grown children said she never thought she'd spend her golden years sleeping in her car in a parking lot.

"This is my bed, my dogs," she said. "This is my life in this car right now."
Harvey was forced into homelessness this year after being laid off. She said that three-quarters of her income went to paying rent in Santa Barbara, where the median house in the scenic oceanfront city costs more than $1 million. She lost her condo two months ago and had little savings as backup.

"It went to hell in a handbasket," she said. "I didn't think this would happen to me. It's just something that I don't think that people think is going to happen to them, is what it amounts to. It happens very quickly, too."

Harvey now works part time for $8 an hour, and she draws Social Security to help make ends meet. But she still cannot afford an apartment, and so every night she pulls into a gated parking lot to sleep in her car, along with other women who find themselves in a similar predicament.

There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization.

It is illegal for people in California to sleep in their cars on streets. New Beginnings worked with the city to allow the parking lots as a safe place for the homeless to sleep in their vehicles without being harassed by people on the streets or ticketed by police.

Harvey stays at the city's only parking lot for women. "This is very safe, and that's why I feel very comfortable," she said.

Nancy Kapp, the New Beginnings parking lot coordinator, said the group began seeing a need for the lots in recent months as California's foreclosure crisis hit the city hard. She said a growing number of senior citizens, women and lower- and middle-class families live on the streets.

"You look around today, and there are so many," said Kapp, who was homeless with her young daughter two decades ago. "I see women sleeping on benches. It's heartbreaking."

She added, "The way the economy is going, it's just amazing the people that are becoming homeless. It's hit the middle class."

She and others with New Beginnings walk the streets looking for people and families sleeping in their cars. The workers inform them about the parking lot program.
New Beginnings screens people to make sure they won't cause trouble. No alcohol or drugs are allowed in the parking lots.

"What we are trying to do is we pull bad apples out, and we put good apples in the parking lots and really help people out," said Shaw Tolley, another coordinator with New Beginnings.
Most of the time, the lots are transition points. New Beginnings works with each person to try to find a more permanent housing solution.

"It saddens me when they live in their vehicles," Tolley said. "It is not the most ideal situation for senior citizens and families, but it is reality."
He added, "We need to engage this problem. This is reality."

John Quigley, an economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley, said the California housing crisis has left many middle-class families temporarily homeless or forced them to go to food banks to feed their families.

"Part of the reason why it's so painful in Santa Barbara is, there's so little in the way of alternative housing," Quigley said. "If there were alternative low and moderate housing and rental accommodations that were reasonably close by, you can imagine it wouldn't have this desperate look to it as people living in their cars."

At the only lot for women in Santa Barbara, it's a tough existence. There are no showers or running water. On the night CNN visited, a half-dozen women were in the parking lot before nightfall.

Linn Labou, 54, lives in her car with four cats. She used to be in the National Guard and is on a waiting list for government housing, but the wait is a year long.

"I went looking for family, but I couldn't get them to help me," she said.
As for Harvey, she begins each day by walking her two dogs before going to her part-time job. She leaves the dogs in her car with its windows cracked while she works.

100,000 Dead?

I hear it and read about it but for some reason I can not wrap my mind around the fact that a storm could possibly kill this many people. I am a logical person. Sometimes maybe to logical I guess. I think about the hurricanes that hit the east coast of the US every year. You always hear of lots of homes that are damaged. Power will be out for a few days. You may hear of a handful of deaths.

Now you take this storm that hit Burma. In comparison it would have been a category 3 maybe 4 hurricane. This storm may at the end kill 100,000 people. Why? I can only assume that it is because of the infrastructure is so weak. The do not have homes and building that have codes like we do in the US. Maybe they have an extremely large amount of people that live close to the coast line. Regardless, that’s like a nuclear bomb hitting that country. How many children will die? You are talking about a generation or a couple of generations gone.

How to Raise a Happy Kid

Five Steps to Lifelong JoyFortunately, it’s easier than you might think to begin instilling the inner qualities that lead to a lifetime of happiness. With patience and an open mind, the following five steps can help you lay the groundwork for your child:

Connect with others. More than any other single factor we can control, connection is the key to a happy childhood, and adulthood. Connection, in the form of unconditional love from an adult, helps foster self-confidence. Try to create an atmosphere at home in which your child feels cared for, welcomed, and treated fairly. Without that feeling, kids shy away from new things and experiences.

Foster a can-do attitude. This is one of the most reliable defenses against depression and despair at any age. Children watch and learn from how you deal with disappointment, be it in your career or at an athletic event or even just in being cut off in traffic. You can encourage competition, making sure that your child experiences both victory and defeat, and help her deal with each. You can use humor to deal with the pain, or bits of philosophy, or simply let your children see that you never give up.

Pretend and play. Unstructured play hones children’s imagination, teaches critical problem-solving skills, and trains them to tolerate frustration. It also helps children learn that doing things again and again leads to improvement. In fact, play is the most important “work” your child can do. Practice, as part of structured activity, trains children how to receive help and get the most from other adults, such as good teachers and coaches.

Create opportunities for mastery. With mastery comes confidence, leadership skills, initiative, and an enduring desire for hard work. It transforms a child (or an adult) from a reluctant, fearful learner into a motivated player. One of the great goals of parents, teachers, and coaches should be to find areas in which a child might experience mastery, then, make it possible for the child to feel this potent sensation. Once there, children want to go there again and again.

Provide recognition. The feeling of being valued by others (friends, family, community) is key. You can exert a tremendous positive influence through the recognition you offer. We adults too quickly forget how much it meant to us when we were young — it meant the world to us, and to children today it still does. Recognition in turn reinforces the sense of connection that all children need.