From Saint to Sinner: Jean Seberg

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9_HFFULxvQdH48SzNa_FHjy7dG3TIJKOCmUZ8ioZ_9Ujm-9DQT9ZRbmsq85YsPEvH5M3f-rMiP6TYvhrB6K5rC9ys-hwZnM5ZgJktlhtu4qFtCvThrCiqceN5Z24E-5zlDPWN-SDWfi-/s1600/JeanSeberg%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9_HFFULxvQdH48SzNa_FHjy7dG3TIJKOCmUZ8ioZ_9Ujm-9DQT9ZRbmsq85YsPEvH5M3f-rMiP6TYvhrB6K5rC9ys-hwZnM5ZgJktlhtu4qFtCvThrCiqceN5Z24E-5zlDPWN-SDWfi-/s320/JeanSeberg%255B1%255D.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This Sunday, March 13, the first Sunday of Lent, Turner Classic Movies will feature films about one of the Catholic Church’s most popular saints, Joan of Arc. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Wednesday the 16^th, TCM will honor the Museum of Modern Art’s film archive by screening 14 films representing its collection. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each of these tributes will include a film starring Jean Seberg and directed by Otto Preminger.</span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While <b>Saint Joan</b> (1957) and <b>Bonjour Tristesse</b> (1958) rank somewhere in the mid-range of Preminger's body of work (which includes <b>Laura</b>, <b>The Man With the Golden Arm</b> and <b>Anatomy of a Murder</b>), they were Seberg’s first two films and significant for their influence on the evolution of her unconventional career.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preminger was riding high in 1956 when he announced that, a la David O. Selznick’s <b>Gone with the Wind</b> campaign, he was going to audition unknowns for the title role in his upcoming opus, an adaptation of the 1923 George Bernard Shaw play <b>Saint Joan</b>. Enormous publicity accompanied his worldwide search and he auditioned thousands of candidates. In the end he made only three screen tests and selected an inexperienced American teenager over actresses Kelli Blaine of New York and Doreen Denning of Stockholm.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jean Seberg was a 17-year old amateur from Marshalltown, Iowa, when she was chosen to star as Saint Joan. Though she had aspired to be an actress from an early age, her stage experience consisted of one season with a local stock company. But Preminger was impressed with the unusual combination of piquancy and pliability he detected in her - plus Seberg was an innocent, “younger than springtime,” fine-featured blonde.</span></div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7cGIoKKZWZZyY6R4Ntz-tn569lRGS9gGTcmSlvU071XYFolNLaqr-AACtfzHEjfmSTwCKgIKxK8gJLx_NzJT4Ig5dBoWksFCN1iD3qr4MaKUXo4xG_8_ExVdZ3rfQXUnOm-eaWQa18in/s1600/saint+joan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7cGIoKKZWZZyY6R4Ntz-tn569lRGS9gGTcmSlvU071XYFolNLaqr-AACtfzHEjfmSTwCKgIKxK8gJLx_NzJT4Ig5dBoWksFCN1iD3qr4MaKUXo4xG_8_ExVdZ3rfQXUnOm-eaWQa18in/s200/saint+joan.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Seberg as Saint Joan</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For Seberg, the high point of her experience on <b>Saint Joan</b> may have been her fairytale discovery. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once</span> filming began she found herself in the intimidating company of veteran actors such as Richard Widmark, John Gielgud, Anton Walbrook, Richard Todd and Finlay Currie. Gielgud, who was fond of her, noted that she barely knew the rudiments of acting but struggled mightily to find her way. Preminger did little to help. Notorious for mercilessly bullying actors (though not stars), he made no exception for his protégé. In the view of observers including Gielgud, the director endlessly berated her, crushing the very freshness and spontaneity that had attracted him in the first place. As if Preminger's behavior and the pressures of making her first film weren't enough, an accident on the set may have summed up Seberg's dilemma. The scene in which Joan of Arc was to be burned to death required that the actress be chained to a stake. During filming, as smoke and flames began to engulf her, Jean started to scream that she was actually burning. She was quickly rescued and not badly hurt but Preminger, who realized the mishap had been caught on film, was so pleased with "crowd rea</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ction" that he told a reporter he might actually use the footage.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Saint Joan </b>was not well received, though Preminger's promotional fanfare had stirred up great interest and anticipation. Saul Bass's evocative title sequence (shown below) hints at the film's appeal. Perhaps its true potential was the moderate success of a well-intentioned presitige piece, but it failed with the mass audience to which it was promoted. The press criticized Preminger's direction and Grahame Greene's screenplay, but it was Jean Seberg who received scathing reviews and was widely blamed for the flop.</span></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SXqeCnTr9MY" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preminger's next project was already in the works by the time <b>Saint Joan </b>wrapped. And he planned, once again, to feature Jean Seberg in a starring role.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 1954, 19-year-old French writer Francioise Sagan created an international sensation with her racy first novel, <u>Bonjour Tristesse</u>. Preminger and Seberg's next film would be an adaptation of Sagan's bestseller. Seberg was to co-star with Deborah Kerr and David Niven as Niven's daughter, a spoiled caf<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">é</span></span> society brat. The melodramatic tale of dissipation and cruelty was primarily set and filmed on the French Riviera during the high season. And Preminger provided his company with the finest in accommodations and luxury extras. Nevertheless, Seberg was once more subjected to his volatile temperament. This time, though, one of her co-stars stood up to the director. Deborah Kerr challenged Preminger, telling him she could not tolerate his abusive treatment of the young actress.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwMLc1VDOZaE96UEDer1CHyQaUa8KPfvCHxNkhGLktg_tD8T51BhqaV5qaHW-0kYUtUPlUZ1pJ66aQd1o14SsCwzD5_CA_VgQeFrk55ugOscv-xHeHHyfVOWLoAfjcEWpyFYfmxYhdLUn/s1600/jean+seberg+tristesse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwMLc1VDOZaE96UEDer1CHyQaUa8KPfvCHxNkhGLktg_tD8T51BhqaV5qaHW-0kYUtUPlUZ1pJ66aQd1o14SsCwzD5_CA_VgQeFrk55ugOscv-xHeHHyfVOWLoAfjcEWpyFYfmxYhdLUn/s200/jean+seberg+tristesse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">By the time filming was completed, Seberg was engaged to Francois Moreuil a French lawyer, and her collaboration with Preminger was about to come to an end. <b>Bonjour Tristesse</b> was set for release in January 1958 and, following the demise of <b>Saint Joan</b>,<b> </b>Seberg's career seemed to rest on the success or failure of her second film. In an interview at the time of <b>Bonjour Tristesse</b>'s<b> </b>release, she was aggressively grilled on the subject... <a href="http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/seberg_jean.html"><span style="color: #990000;">click here</span></a> to view Jean Seberg's January 1958 interview with Mike Wallace.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Bonjour Tristesse</b> failed miserably when it was released, and both Preminger and Seberg were subjected to a drubbing in the press. Perhaps by this time the director had given up his dream of making her a star for he had no future plans to work with her and when Francoise Moreuil, by now Seberg's husband, approached him about selling her contract to Columbia, Preminger agreed. Within a year the studio cast her in<b> The Mouse That</b> <b>Roared</b> (1959), a popular Peter Sellers vehicle and, though a "small" film, it was Seberg's first success.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Very soon Jean Seberg's career would undergo another unexpected twist.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91vPLis5INBRyQW-GBhR5D6WmkQB_JkM2V159NLZiL8OQj-sgHN_g8qXwj813W3P7uUeDv8CTW1vWdC94wDVywvSHd3-8yKtbSvK50i7iapUJUgXOZk7D97S0YvinOFAoOay6XxZyCR7K/s1600/jean+and+jean+paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91vPLis5INBRyQW-GBhR5D6WmkQB_JkM2V159NLZiL8OQj-sgHN_g8qXwj813W3P7uUeDv8CTW1vWdC94wDVywvSHd3-8yKtbSvK50i7iapUJUgXOZk7D97S0YvinOFAoOay6XxZyCR7K/s200/jean+and+jean+paul.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...with Belmondo in <b>Breathless</b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">o begin with, and importantly, <b>Bonjour Tristesse </b>had been a critical success in France and Seberg had become a critics' darling there. Meanwhile, her French husband, Francoise Moreuil, happened to be connected to filmmakers/writers associated with the fabled French publication, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Cahiers du Cinema</i> - where both <b>Saint Joan </b>and <b>Bonjour Tristesse </b>were highly regarded and Seberg was revered. Soon the young actress was being pursued by about-to-become-legendary filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard to co-star in his first major feature, <b>A Bout de Souffle</b>...or <b>Breathless </b>(1960).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seberg was introduced to Godard by her husband. After much discussion between the actress and the auteur, a 12-page telegram from Godard to Moreuil and an affordable arrangement for all concerned, a deal was struck. Godard saw Seberg as an international name who could help his film succeed outside France, and Seberg was anxious to prove herself. To her good fortune, Godard was no bully and worked well with actresses, filming them to advantage. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another surprise for Seberg in working with Godard was his approach to the script. She might be given her lines on pieces of paper in the morning before a shoot or Godard might shout lines to her during a scene. Godard was experienced at writing dialogue and he was able to shout while shooting because the film was shot mute with sound and dialogue added later. But all of this was new to Seberg whose previous performances had been entirely controlled by the autocratic Preminger.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">No one on the project at the time realized <b>Breathless</b> would receive the level of acclaim or have the influence on cinema that it achieved. Hailed for its bold visual style and approach to editing, it became a pivotal film of the French New Wave.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jean Seberg became a legend along with the film and her co-star, Jean-Paul Belmondo. Her casual boyish chic and pixie haircut (predating Mia Farrow's famous 'do by many years) remain iconic today. She went on to make films in both Europe and the U.S., though her later American films were generally lackluster.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Saint Joan</b> is now appreciated as a sincere if uneven attempt to translate weighty Shaw to film and is generally viewed as an honorable effort. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Bonjour Tristesse</b>'s <b></b>popularity has improved dramatically since 1958. Frequently cited are visually striking scenes of grainy black and white that dissolve into stunning color as the story moves from present to past and back again. The film's themes, estrangement and excess among the rich and languid, are noted for anticipating those Fellini famously visited with <b>La Dolce Vita</b> a few years later. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jean Seberg's earliest performances have been assessed more fairly in recent years and many critics view her work far differently than her detractors of the 1950s. David Thomson has called her Saint Joan "a shrewd and touching fusion of provincial America, rural France, and Shaw's notion of a fustian saint picking logic with kings and bishops." He has deemed her portrayal in <b>Bonjour Tristesse</b> "marvelous" and praised her self-possession and maturity.</span><br /><br /><u><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>Turner Classic Movies Schedule</b></span></u><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Saint Joan </b>airs Sunday, March 13, at 10:30pm Eastern/7:30pm Pacific</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Bonjour Tristesse </b>airs Wednesday, March 16, at 9:30pm Eastern/6:30pm Pacific </span></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kjNkrlLiJQg" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe></span>

Bonjour Tristesse Breathless Jean Seberg Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Paul Belmondo Otto Preminger Saint Joan TCM The Lady Eve (author) From Saint to Sinner: Jean Seberg

This Sunday, March 13, the first Sunday of Lent, Turner Classic Movies will feature films about one of the Catholic Church’s most popular sa...

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5 Secrets to climbing the ladder faster - CEOs and other top execs share tips for getting where you want to be

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/4c/ar5l1zm69j6yhj3vc54c.gif?time=12/8/2010%202:51:08%20pm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/4c/ar5l1zm69j6yhj3vc54c.gif?time=12/8/2010%202:51:08%20pm" /></a></div>By Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder <br /><br />Sometimes getting from where you are to where you'd like to be career-wise can seem like a daunting task. While time and experience certainly help, there are other actions that can speed the process along. Here, executives in a variety of fields share their tips on how to move up the ladder a bit faster.<br /><br />Accumulate knowledge<br /><br />"Knowledge is power," states Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president of strategic planning and human resources for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. "You need to read about your industry, know what people are doing and keep your edge on innovation."Anthony Leone, founder of Energy Kitchen, a restaurant franchise based in New York City, agrees. "Learn as much as you possibly can in your chosen field. Become such an asset to your company that the owners tell themselves, 'We cannot live without this person.'" He further suggests asking your boss what skills would most benefit the company, then going out and learning them "to the point that they just roll off your tongue, like your phone number."<br /><br />Know how to ask questions<br /><br />Armed with a solid understanding of their field, workers who gain attention are ones who know how to ask appropriate questions.<br /><br />"Asking good questions is an art," states Elizabeth Sobol, managing director of IMG Artists, North America. "I will be much more impressed if you ask me good ones than if you talk over me, trying to show me how much you know."<br /><br />Similarly, employees should not worry that asking questions is a sign of ineptitude. "Do not be afraid to admit that you do not understand something," says Robert Stack, president and CEO of Community Options Inc., a national nonprofit organization that develops homes and employment for people with disabilities. "There is nothing wrong with not knowing; it is not asking or pretending to understand that always seems to have negative ramifications."<br /><br />Think outside yourself<br /><br />People who move up quickly are often ones who are good at examining the needs and goals of the company as a whole, not just in their own particular niche. Matzigkeit says that because her field (health care) is very specialized, it is easy to get deep in your own area. "In order to advance and truly identify ways you can have continued impact in an organization, you need to get connected to the big picture. Only then can you develop your skills, broaden your exposure and find ways to apply your transferable skills."<br /><br />For managers looking to advance, Randy Murphy -- president and CEO of the restaurant franchise Mama Fu's Asian House -- suggests wandering around. "Have a presence in your store, and always know what is going on with your guests, employees and overall operations." He also notes that ambitious employees should always be looking for their own replacement. "Develop and train those under you so the team overall does better and so that you have a quality replacement to free you up for promotion to the next level."<br /><br />Give it your all<br /><br />Of course one of the best ways to gain notice is to be a solid performer. "If you execute flawlessly, you will have a solid reputation, which will allow you to network into the right circles," states Brian Curin, president of the footwear chain Flip Flop Shops.<br /><br />"Go beyond the job description," Stack adds. "If you are a person who is supposed to help persons with disparities find jobs, then work extra hours and get creative. If you are supposed to help with fundraising, go out of your way to ask someone you do not know for support. Always be a little early, and always ask you manager what you can do that means a little extra."<br /><br />Let your passion shine through<br /><br />Doing all of these things, from learning as much as possible about a field to regularly giving 100 percent, can involve a great deal of time and effort. Some employees will look at these challenges as obstacles to overcome in order to get ahead. Others will view them with enthusiasm because they truly have a passion for their field. Guess who usually moves up faster?<br /><br />Sobol says that she is impressed by people "who are fascinated by our business and are clearly always trying to learn and understand more about it," adding that "it is not hard to glean who is doing it out of genuine interest and who is not, so don't try to fake it!"<br /><br />For those who lack that passion, maybe it's time to consider looking for a new ladder to climb. The rungs might not seem so hard to navigate when the journey upward is already enjoyable.<br /><br />Beth Braccio Hering researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.

5 Secrets to climbing the ladder faster - CEOs and other top execs share tips for getting where you want to be

By Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder Sometimes getting from where you are to where you'd like to be career-wise can seem lik...

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Who Is My Neighbor? Muslims In America

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s excellent novel, The Lacuna. It’s about a good-hearted young man who grew up in Mexico, became a popular American novelist, and was then done in the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy era because as a teenager he had been a cook for Diego Rivera. It all seemed so odd. I wondered if Peru has a problem with Un-Peruvian Activities. I wondered what an Un-Italian activity would be? The story was about a historic oddity when we had panicked over the spread of communism to China and Eastern Europe. We look back and shake our heads in wonder.<br /><br />But today I tuned in to see the House Commmittee On Homeland Security hearings investigating Muslims in America. This strikes me as more disturbing than McCarthy. Here the “association” that makes one suspect is a religious association – an association protected by the 1st Amendment’s “free exercise clause.” I can live with the intrusive searches at airports and the surveillance of all sorts of communications. I am grateful to the Department of Homeland Security for its remarkable success in stifling terrorism. But this action of the House Committee is a troubling intrusion of government into religious practice.<br /><br />Bob Herbert’s editorial “Flailing After Muslims” in the March 8 New York Times expresses most of my concern. He says of our past instances of demonizing religions, races, or ethnic groups, “there have always been people willing to stand up boldly and courageously against such injustice. Their efforts are needed now.” Despite the committee chair’s claim that Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement, Herbert notes that of the 120 Muslims accused of terrorist plots in the past decade, 48 were turned in by other Muslims. What he does not say is that targeting Muslims is fodder for anti-American propaganda and actually increases our risk of attack as well as diminishing our credibility in international relations.<br /><br />So I am all the more struck by the generosity of spirit in Akbar Ahmed’s excellent article “Fair To Muslims?” also in the March 8 New York Times, in which as a Muslim he says, “The topic is urgent and the hearings overdue . . . . Muslims should embrace the chance to explain their beliefs fully and clearly.” Ahmed paints an honest and mixed picture of the situation today. Having traveled the length and breadth of our land studying the experience of American Muslims post 9-11, he has heard the stories of school children called terrorists, women attacked for wearing the hajib, and mosques vandalized. He has heard Bill O’Reilly compare the Koran to Mein Kampf.<br /><br />But he has also heard Muslims say that America is the best country in the world to be a Muslim and heard a Nigerian Muslim say that Thomas Jefferson is “at the top of my heart.” Ahmed writes of the slow, steady process of reconciliation that has been achieved through interfaith dialogue over the years. So I will try to open my mind about the House Committee on Homeland Security hearings. God may bring good out of it. As Job said to his brothers, “You meant it to me for evil, but the Lord used it for good.”<br /><br />I am very pleased to see strong Muslim participation in Las Vegas Valley Interfaith. Here Christians, Muslims, and Jews are not looking for bomb making materials in each other’s closets. We are working together to fight the sexual exploitation of children. Neither terrorists nor congressional committees will distract us from the real mission of mediating God’s love to a hurting world.

Who Is My Neighbor? Muslims In America

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s excellent novel, The Lacuna. It’s about a good-hearted young man who grew up in Mexico, became a popula...

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Weekend Chicago Trip

<p>Kyle and I made our 2nd annual trip to Chicago to see Mel & Steve (Kyle’s sister & her husband). We took off for Chicago after he got out of class Thursday night, which ended up meaning we had a 3am arrival time! I stayed up with Kyle about half the time, but boy being prego I just can’t last as late! Kyle did great though and got us to Chi-town safely!</p> <p>We slept in Friday morning a bit and then headed about an hour north to Wisconsin to a HUGE outlet mall! But before our day of shopping we went to the Jelly Belly Factory!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGqMy2Ih3_-N8TGbxXwPITgDQ4fDflOZeV1ACe92_TG9ItRjhLlRh4sew3RSFvORPsN-ox_dKGUxh9H9FCv6YBulWjW0jpNXUxDDsizJxuiGHqnSA8nj8wgtVVhU0aBqjurtCBtHoul8n/s1600-h/DSC09822%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09822" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrswlv2C46F4mm1v0uh9z8q8bD_5lahznGzvvZAuTgKvZ_yNxkV6_2KXQSvMoRgXvqo0cUdMIsT0Obsyp1D96-MtcOZ6_mvqW5pk0IPNpubIvMB3tybb7I0qajao86jX0BHX66GNul-Qbi/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09822" width="404"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlXx6uKK7GZ1LYb4wT01FzbC1osxCHtkWrC0FFXj4Z6zwWp5LgtQ84wkBgpfs5XuajWdq7U1QYxhpSTGBbA1D41svBMgPQ1vLq4soUm8WIPN5KItGxPUIUS66lh6CtGVdugkuWwzwcyHh/s1600-h/DSC09824%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09824" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvuZMb-N0DweVjTLsMdsRnAfJQCL516inlHV-rKyVHnEDE3yFUG7O91OT1Mf_SPxQhYlAZ5vW6IIfLV-woBIpvbTk76cPrW8hpBxpp3QkgXNLSTePuJUCkl2UR3wcU4WlH6q_GZge_pgM/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09824" width="404"></a></p> <p>The middle of the store was a huge sample station! Look closely and check out some of those flavors on the bottom…baby wipes, booger, barf, skunk spray…no thanks! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VV0gk4R-biT0r6WRbxqonxUjKUBFnW1A8z-j77QPg6UYuyZ_QIxkj3HiGAZGHnkuGMBknc8ycS0fVhf4oCz6wWEYEdUcsR9AI2B1Xp2CfLTbdFmJZ4FaUGp7ts96ueQiPoEIvkOt5TjP/s1600-h/DSC09823%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09823" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFpfPFwO29iu4do532v04lgzTzGQJDOBnsREA4-k8gXhFxVsqSkonL2QIAcSMBK7pmFfnmXNB8DqqWMqh1YxJYe7vSyfZRKpFTcSZmGZXhecaW5qvHannnoBF9NvQau_xygnugBzWrEN6/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09823" width="404"></a></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rWgjRwqnpeTAr20zN8nHZM1B8cjVPZbyMvV0zxaPL5cJ6M6xbDj95Bp9ZiUnKmk89XUPUReuigvrc0ilJDDbC5LpFJ7Q2OXIl79tWaDPxx8UbafuhW7dJayM5R9yCySPBT62SWstDTGr/s1600-h/DSC09826%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09826" border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_-n0xq_ZZaTkQoNI0y_oT71zeBv18p4WbEYypnb3qPM5NUVTtjOZJuVuWUA_iYJkmVRoKiiGObIyn7QqXSZIEJrLTBYPReCQZvazv1U2Wy2BBuEzBbHhAmc9hJDQLi70Ojb6r9bOy9XG/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09826" width="404"></a></p> <p>Not sure if this counts as vegetable serving! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gQaNQZkVkA0KZVsK8Qhupy-rqBkJUDz4fCeuH3GjARWmULKTEsUI6WhPJ_yxWpb-xZ9pVX1KvzvGnCSK-JOAvBw2eFouI0WmrpFj6_GR_JZIgkh7ne5XAccqnmxG4J1krscSjd8s1Vrn/s1600-h/DSC09825%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09825" border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkrWP0GOrWESv0xbseh_xTe6919EsnxqHn047i71lJf6xOIwBxMA2eDdwtu-vlyHutYt68cBJRGtWuWBZkzZ_uJ6sPNPIQYBCNTtjImq1ar4trjLxSt2EHB5MazQp4aeLRxnyF-WBQ6Nj/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09825" width="354"></a></p> <p>We finally made it to the check out with a few Jelly Belly finds, only to find out they were hiding the good stuff up there! Check out the size of those peanut butter cups! Of course we HAD to get one!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZzIdPUwu_Ie9IatSIqfQp2AWVyBkjw8ccNSbcqwRftj0MrpjDBxOXzzLHiZgxMUewexl-NvsyGsWCppfYiGrZGxxWA_tkQh2N1zsL2UNebLs2SKUW9S-nW9WpYQNiiwzJFqPZpZmvFnU/s1600-h/DSC09827%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09827" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULkpB6UQ_XQ4V6cbVgG0sE4o4WHmPCuaX9KWzudaZg96v7fAy7mxkhDE-6VfAZJ_Pkvat-iMKCQX2oWw4EBhtlOpxjnX0Nz12yDx4uGWtpmtH8Lcgnic2Goz_8-ovvwyq59NSm9MsiQHv/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09827" width="404"></a></p> <p>Next we were off to empty our wallets at the outlet mall! The place was HUGE! Sadly it was raining so we hit our favorite stores and called it an afternoon by 3pm. <img height="225" src="http://www.fsdir.com/upload_files/logo_41.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="400"></p> <p>So this was Kyle’s first time in Wisconsin, so he had to have a real Wisconsin experience! Cheese!! Mar’s Cheese Castle to be exact!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYHS3nyHKaynfOuliqokZlOfqEVDSOa1Ll8XS7kE5ZE1mA7FkrkksGR9qhnnW-uxbld3OcdVx4Z6oSI8JxgYlyePCs_dX0lyNeuIP2TfdNzyt345azfekq9LZsJ7w1t8Ez_ZNJHb9I2LD/s1600-h/DSC09838%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09838" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRpe66JZ08gymc20X3081h-LYGASGJcmrEGqdmsZxi9waGzj1OCjEQRkqCwj7mVXzsMbkHd-uSPi-2ysOiKo3kgyRu8a1Gz_Vq8sZvCnCbQJgstZptUlqeMXiCti5_hvKFxq-OtH7Z62W/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09838" width="404"></a></p> <p>It was literally a castle! And it just opened the day we were there! Great timing, huh!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGbWkCSN9NeiOwAaSF1oq076MOuF9U1BPa4uooxqylVtGylECFWUCdechQzA1pY3-sjWpC0aBwFbcZOyFJPgo7wW-DjpgadbN-h0kNNZ609ZLT2HNlhSHCswOXW8vskO3a2ELiNndzM41/s1600-h/DSC09837%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09837" border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bKnneVIYnB0WECjUUxDKd3KEOqtP-aaoaidbcW4Y-DI-J710iyf4z9au2KosiU6ZHMkzr9_WhBGOjnVzlm2H2_09CUE8LZD3csykjhqCAMEBKCbZuF-gGPE3jCFxe_ftGP-0FHlHLUGC/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09837" width="404"></a></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHXDlgCCUO1o3w9AKwGSJGrVEA4Gv_vx-OV86Q4B3GBGHnAG6pKsfZqFp4kmYXuFRgYqhxJ_XZUiFqbrgKIZpOl6HlBvACvSsmRpZWh-Y5B2DqkyFNNyq01nxHAHAHGy0Flo7scJXzIAS/s1600-h/DSC09835%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09835" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix193f0dc8ipNCURuRqYpV17cvuxIAHK-2UABfnOo79MDmvCRH_lHr7YTDc2ZjIITgiQmi6iikRahf8XsP5ZF7d5KT3QifIMzMEjtj0g9It4zlxfSdIOFy8J2lDRFUG-2H8HGVXplKroMD/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09835" width="404"></a></p> <p>There were all kinds of things made out of cheese…<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDhNTMs6d8McS-QCFRMfGO0FieNp3rJUYvbyzqB_Fq8ntWnLIqRpSKurLi7hPl8hCpfWJ-ebiKiid3_e3CC-IyFqPyyirpDfm35Agax-xwZTdXpIIUoUekSJYJ_mk48O_NXFsutF8cRUx/s1600-h/DSC09828%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09828" border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IYNenbIRxpvHFaq8mdgfalIDNSJwVYdXgFgZqZD2-Nn_IljBgipXLyOolW1RkOZvZyUJzJnxVij8jwA0yX3HIPQImL6WDh4oaY65qG4OR9W4NuFobl46m2GaShelTCvLhpaguEHuXS6A/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09828" width="404"></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDugAGcuSJ3l4e2uTr-I53439ibbfMtlJcGZhEYCUwjVa9y_6KHsvL3JUbXen5M4daWKDTeWlHDjT32Zar-kBwRKQydIVTVrO7vxIO_9Zl74cxWnrkLpp6ZvThdo2fHfBW422MUm_ZFHxq/s1600-h/DSC09829%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09829" border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4xy_YpdU5ga-60c8ZkERc9D9-qUmqbBc1AWac7F3EQa53d1st71AFCmcFdfTvZOvfdHyE5fXolEPG8Z2rx-dkW-_cIC6e70usyeTvMgbyR9d4CdceYJFVqzNd3qfzVbYpXvt25c2KfYm/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09829" width="354"></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMw4RjnsRbPu3XxYxHtfCSBP9__HK0Zenhh9Eu68LfB477Fk5gzZD2pP9Za6yq1DWlievtdeMk2QMnOft-_WMZrfCJXy0YLoWsOicZ1B5WZtu_VNzpsP0lnAjJ6NaJ4bwiHLnW5cZeNUT/s1600-h/DSC09830%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09830" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iORiZsxiDV2o8XAgYCEThGHhAX246zs_2i4t-XBmrOKk-2yjJjFoULSlvIrsp9TwwsP_FINcKGxTC7kfq_wzeTRIQZz6pdkyNEKK0kme4R-TfXdsKL4erbAEuvfFUOkzh35lPV1j8cr_/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09830" width="404"></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQFrLYybALlnHifooXxCKqhIr5Nb8JT3m1cJqCtW322KAM7cP9Oq4yWxCroPakBxvlqOp9Zkjf4TJpJnzPaRYwE942Dp4sLbWeFpf_-LE6V56G5tA6OfFSEsBqSDmA7IuositSKWU3ouza/s1600-h/DSC09831%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09831" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXdy8cSjlI_SeKXQ3Oo2BSLq7yTNlWqGK0bkP01oD8A2LBonTTO4jPZ95VRTAip-GB9DvoZBdfqucb8YZgHcDnKo12r2Js2fVm24qRrmC4e1043i3-kqjTHHBuiDqputJLBrU29egY84k/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09831" width="404"></a></p> <p><strike>Beer</strike> sausage & cheese anyone?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zLhAL2Rba9vIiAJzgjdBFa8TiCvuK4GUdN8KB4yIaOpMSvcovAFw_KxiG6iJIXcpfBslQZjp5Gl5G9Ch8UA-ALGHd7vDpiiP8ChQhOHK7bOgcro-KNkwxy50X7yk580ZhTFiivjRnOuQ/s1600-h/DSC09833%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09833" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRHh2H4mR9ss72R0XRCeYoJ6TpnvJJ7sawnHWfu0i1-7XWnFKpYElIGLfedMVlfTbMJij_tom6th0ypBT9JXgU9iBo289vNbfSja0Rk9FTVEpCOFbdHfzWm39CfJg67LIr-H-p2DLk7Go/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09833" width="404"></a></p> <p>Of course there were samples galore! Check out that giant wedge of cheese!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvv32jIxsMGwHxzbrjxbRksfc-o-_4n2FALbN7uDUVBbCwVsm2fYVj8j0VwM0FB5FBVCV3KYr_QwsbpKXKANnzuR5FqL9yzjhhfBz4Pk9FHmgEIKoTwXvLVUGgksPe-MK9Dai5HreXV26/s1600-h/DSC09834%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09834" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoBL7-FmVSYXDH5D8Qov1k6PZM3LdvZODkXu4OdcWL6QipAxqpDsA5EpPmpNroePY6ShMlNz9E08e9nsYG8zWmKTEucJJonbJhqL32iK71X8n1RmK06XdQFpGlnL1DHE8ZN8xnoorKz_k/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09834" width="404"></a></p> <p>Chocolate cheese fudge anyone? It was actually <strong><u>VERY</u></strong> good. The said they just replaced the milk with cheese. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SfvWT9lllHiAxVzYDO1k6Bh189tX3jYRzSSH9V61jU9-pAmbN91JKbMfp621THgTdrjqfkvjJGgiJC2fAxR717_qxWkozdcEDMiV3vp4S1vpxIo6mW-WPp17042Gzvkn0LghtYH0C4DS/s1600-h/DSC09832%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09832" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqcyoTpYtqyo_SysMd6oayw-I9n2E9a744YWFB4Me8y6obpj6XUKR5FQ9YEAarp7wSmfYf2tMnzHYIKwZV68MrYHiMmRUhCTzvRrzzH9PGoHOVYJb9OOdfYSnp0ZlBwti1jGV5Pq4fJWD/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09832" width="404"></a></p> <p>No castle is complete with knights! :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXJTZb-WIDuB3z_ivxQBFIbRPNC9NuMxynogD1f-KRHpEdZ_8-DuQIVjulPuxcVrswo0CQLJR8tdgwMhmoDG9_UHX630ZM9S0p3MKMYP5OkQaCRE8LtbM6eHR-IhABp7FE_SLtidOSmg3/s1600-h/DSC09836%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09836" border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HG_RZ9wy3sIa9rnyVbT2z5A7-OjhIxlJOXeiUnvJgLBC-EIzgCoD6p5lli5OA-xj75qvPLwQpqLub7QTMq1kts_ExE68747NyQ4XJRHjy2sffqXPllpwqFP8dHJzV6VXhZy9Mp-gZkIu/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09836" width="354"></a></p> <p>After our cheese excursion we hit up Ikea! This is an old picture, it was raining cats & dogs when we got there! We picked up a few things for the nursery. Can’t wait to show you guys!!<img height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLAAqeTmV5EInnHpxn0Y5s9coT8jRp9Dp-o_LqlsrI8oYEilALVMKUMxERW7GtOShSYDn_VdvPLkaue_9ne7_Tc0Lx3kcs629TMomevOgbZbUubwK15984iSFwEHmN1h8KByzuri4wtek/s1600/Ikea.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="400"></p> <p>When we got back to Mel & Steve’s place and knew just what we wanted! Our giant peanut butter cup! We cut it into 4th’s and each enjoyed a piece of delicious-ness!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oIYxSzLKrA40QavjWDJvv0DcgftNLent1mDDcSwGBES0HlcLOzYr-VtPJdQ9fG4odrrLrTE6oU9gt3HC2Iw4CCB0DQnwzlBjFHCNTgcRF6_BDXlnDi0iDzw44xrycXGtfgxCTU5QBatW/s1600-h/DSC09839%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09839" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdga-jYyaI3a1ERz_cFasLTlK8T_cyW6CTf69lQqdeayY-iHG1YveVWR8_Lxmf5mhPrOoJG5sf9bAYJvD4N6ithid_CkmsdKgDeUrhxflk9nIlb8hvkWVx44_yf8o52dfzQHPg_DfaqHs/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09839" width="404"></a></p> <p>Friday supper we knew just where we wanted to go….Giordanos!!<img alt="[DSC061423.jpg]" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeaTJTPOSpVe8rtYiXeGlnGsx-oqVu4hCOg6a1J9lM27ygLvFWerCcPVrzvKBYKKWVxCmnjPzITcAwkNErTQd9iNR2QM29Ugn2EC6ATYIbQfk_mhVawHyGJtsmTcqjRLNLFzFcc5stolI/s1600/DSC061423.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="400"></p> <p>It was well worth the 30 minute wait for our pizza to cook!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIZjhJWH9YL03LUclCXClIT8ng62AGgnoNuYV7v54tNBdH_G8MeF1wnmPUvc7vkjCIuq3fC-SRPfVgLwkQ-VvTkkhro7OQkCZntPtaFu5exe4dtgYPDM-huh7yjHvwgesh99D_uC2pslV/s1600-h/DSC09842%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09842" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8KNGCoG0tjlgkIN3hWSwr0wNX0SrZrQTmzS8Ajs6F842StaoO3-Q1CtNlBwbCquixlQ7DXos3mT-1Z1z_EQlPvO3rTMyf_fFG2-pr2W4jXzGjrevBY272zFZnnQiVxfxIRDLp7KsKHSx/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09842" width="404"></a></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqQx0Q1lHcQG-eqrerIJRktlRANQy2R4vScTheQluLqt9EzZ2ANbEskegRpQxCBC9bRjOgxrSyjBXe4GAeddwVgUhU2cZixVtaOck8p-a4lkMoKAHcuIhimzYs-HjueSuR4Ip4lDgDjZc/s1600-h/DSC09841%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09841" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkUy8z9bn2L-6t0s15ywEGoGroFZpmHSCJ5XYu8HvQ8J-5pYlW6d3UFobXgWzQpUgtZ1Ewa8heAPodVphMKmt_3kmSuofFnmYHYiGWLeifTBQGOkjGFEtyU-uXiAk0pM5d-8bYZNXJaRS/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09841" width="404"></a></p> <p>Mmmm, look at all that cheesy goodness!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ug-KOEfIZmSlXDmiZ7ZdgUEFRN4ElKFmdxhwDFkbdj5cPtmVd9GcOpGQP5ZB8_0DLtD50w8RCVCz4Jf4vk0t_PZEePj0rsghmTXgnPklyW61cMESsnv5V_ODZsQcS-ArKsFJwGydCNHq/s1600-h/DSC09843%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09843" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwsRV2uJ3KICOaI-6Ct_TfYw3hbwds1B7Zpoh2bYtnAqjpERfCVZmFzQMezXEAEyvg-V_Zf0yUFx2LOIzgEz05ct6ZnYcymIen1pCIpj1JiJI0w-LL48dXttlA5SGoRKkSBOqWDIzsnyT/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09843" width="404"></a></p> <p>Saturday we spent our day shopping…the mall, Costco, Marshalls….you name it! :) Here are a few of my favorite finds!</p> <p>Some new kicks!! Don’t ya love the sparkles!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUVZbHGpOGVRhbNXWUa1ljyIYzJS3RzfcoIm8u_r1O-7QvxRHcFTaKupwk6SbuYOfk0wzCuiIiQZ8y6qIQn8zZUoPiNiEVnRIQ4OK9oYte1tuDi7QdymKFP5NLkRa4wOB05xmiQExwmCy/s1600-h/DSC09852%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09852" border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZjUWnsIWx0kmcII4GHmMbTtZr_mXpbV-3Ay9tCVefvOlAoEtgcwK6ggtSNXH7J9h_S3ZAIKQr6vdNlLo4a-bHbE1KlWD_MGeJqySR15gx-akouWpIPHI9E96sFu5SadVlO1UGLxK-QRs/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09852" width="404"></a> </p> <p>And of course I couldn’t pass up a few things for Baby Bangert!</p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="721" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="359"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2tjf5EoVKn8IQqVWl5PViSNAFDdoDrt-dr8B15LYUu3K3fZ3Jl_mq7pFtOWoj5D3gSDg3wYbVXCQUZ7Ifa983Te7pvBvKuQeukLGW4H7zfyOExflryuWoUhEoNKFPiqAyFMlNCng-ccx/s1600-h/DSC09853%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09853" border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQr1uhzG-gmJlo8Mb98EQ31zTLiDc3TRLlJLuBJMHsr9e1yeQDmTJbvQUt-6_MgppbtNdQE3Zjf4YOrjTNKt7RhArzs7pd9D8MBqTidrSVuhQSNl57e_Hgi4la7neglAoz_oz6GhHmlLBh/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09853" width="254"></a></td> <td valign="top" width="360"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjArlkiOO_IRgBqA-1j-xaV3ZbrUgxEThJMsCVXytT3J3BBcIig48aBDSD4NtDaVZ4YwuL7Lm3sGQiC_EDg3DdGHyNMELtPNmA9rvL36BgjVKR6MjjzOq-O3SyxBsHJhY8b2YE9b9dWCL/s1600-h/DSC09854%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09854" border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoVHh2r2dS6CzlfOk-QvS8hwhGcmPjBN59Wntn6OzrpNJocsi4mR_XPzwcdLGnUJRsA9_14knyirMNu9ZwZO2XUfTW-foijtz0Ac8CfzuEpObzP_sZEYI1h_8APeplbaIwSXYTGJ7pR4x/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09854" width="254"></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>After our day of shopping we went out for supper with some of Mel & Steve’s friends at one of their favorite spots, Ron of Japan, a Japanese steak house. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhBh0zjV9rUJlEZSsW45l5bZlrdtz3GqQSh4z4JJ63hYGUOOyCDQJKz5Bye86H6TYTDHoKQ-rcWbuRcizZneSTkDKKz8m9wCZso3dLNj0Alh3skDjCoBDpgl88BhpwSemPeIbPd5gn3-J/s1600-h/DSC09844%5B6%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09844" border="0" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECqB0BpH1DFUrHDGWkl88kbOnY75hyinTWWYwvBc6bgZWcXWOsilTXBOQmcFBgB1mKQDcXUi0CHvZLMVQHqexx7aIjbL3Pz-fszy6F9Mj0lmgntxYtZirrvtlIkLi1xAbC3mT0FWDSBEN/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09844" width="354"></a></p> <p>This was the kind of place where they cook right in front of you!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIxeZo75foVMLJizQz-Q77Kkn3yPfgHaIVqWxNVJ7emHF7d38OQ-pnbW2Virpr5WbYvntGUi8ZC2PXv1msrRhKc-yweaJf6hF5_iKsMHtLHkfVhKT9sWbJAETYfQE_2XoeWYip731__2-/s1600-h/DSC09845%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09845" border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrW16OjvmyiSBtQz76mRe19KT8XKa2CGFFR711Hp2dJ0HWdUSVwPdgzQzXTPqMum9-EwT7rEzRD9qjJ2CN54wdXe98m9p0LFt5Cny1FqYC6jTaYr2RoSroeaeLXNheo2cU615xUz4o1-k/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09845" width="354"></a></p> <p>Pretty impressive!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1z0VkAP6Ne_VproVkQk28ehm9hF04oXOpzGAWvEheilRTnymR-dkfC5eAZcsSHcKyuDMEhhOlPNdloyHBsgsCfeCpVUiszQsrfDV3C4sttYYKkyLr8q_eqf6MmbWVHRTLoW1YR8re9gn/s1600-h/DSC09847%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09847" border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1m_U2sNGPC6nLneohV48R47dRQaMTHvF6qeRxY4byHIFbKkHS1zuhwgGOPnuUKfQmPHsQCeDf0WHA5LLn_7FCiXsi8Vuc1Ji7u50osyLoadZGfnDhxoDggRK3o12DiPEBLxLnIu34xtgg/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09847" width="354"></a></p> <p>We had a good time & of course, plenty of food!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKxJ-3D0tiRDNxygh8py-kX4Uc7uKqnLIKb-D3rKxXrR848bFmnYMujHlaDNnA9qH3Kd2fPowhGZwIXaniI6pAtvupIqi6MIEBNLtaQTdRvelOUqUEa14F5JrZxyz-doBfPrZOyjCRPmF/s1600-h/DSC09850%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09850" border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJTTtjtH1xVFH_J0vFJhHHxZeL1-uxwcKnvo3J4mPaDDY6jBJOOMf0wDZIoFB6HDMdOAWqdG2f_1lXf25ya_0iGb6UHj5Z2gdiSbpsaG7kvx_qT36HOfkPd-Dpesi5QKgPW3Zv1OB_wJa/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09850" width="404"></a></p> <p>Sunday we slept in, packed up the car, and Kyle wanted one more stop before we left town…Portillos! Kyle got his hot dog & Italian beef and I stuck with their chocolate cake!<img alt="[DSC06116[1].jpg]" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV04_2H2iePwwRzx3pNXLA2HoHJUL9LCAiIb9Z-y1tRqjlMCUchgZ4JLbH_FAB3QbRolSvO1w8DhcbRzTeR8-7EhStUoU2cBI55w9DedSB14FRAQQRd2lHf-7YkhnyDFsKLGHP2Xzxy8bG/s1600/DSC06116%5B1%5D.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="400"></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p align="left">We said our goodbyes and made the trip home. Thanks for a wonderful weekend guys! Next time you’ll have a family of 3 visiting! :)</p> <p align="center"><img alt="[DSC071383.jpg]" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBo1MGLf6xbqvmquomHQb4qPv24A1gwFyUpQmEPYAzpMvaBKPv0NhDmnUk2DxjpeWdcLL-ahwM7cyV6ENlHD1cCAUw9qu1L2v1mAeEo-bmCTfuybW_qWn6I0hjsGB7-lENqy0V2XemQud/s1600/DSC071383.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="400"><em>(old picture…sadly we didn’t get a picture of the 4 of us while we were together)</em></p>

Weekend Chicago Trip

Kyle and I made our 2nd annual trip to Chicago to see Mel & Steve (Kyle’s sister & her husband). We took off for Chicago after he go...

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Should you ever bring up salary in an interview?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/kf/ar5m0mn67hs7l4sswzkf.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/kf/ar5m0mn67hs7l4sswzkf.gif" /></a></div>By Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder <br /><br />They liked your résumé, you wowed them with your cover letter and now it's time for the interview. You've answered all of the tough questions but there's one area that remains to be discussed: salary. Should you bring it up?<br /><br />In short: no. There are serious repercussions for job candidates bringing up salary before the employer does, says Ronald Kaufman, author of "Anatomy of Success."<br /><br />"If the candidate brings up the money first, it could imply that's their main focus and they'll leave as soon as they get a better salary somewhere else," Kaufman says. "I want someone who wants a long-term career with my company and who wants to do the work they're interviewing for."<br /><br />Additionally, if salary is brought up too early, candidates run the risk of being offered the low end of the scale.<br /><br />"Once an employer gets to know you and how you can help them to achieve their goals, there's a greater likelihood that they'll offer the higher end of the scale or even a better job," Kaufman says.<br /><br />Many candidates get confused when an employer asks for salary requirements in the application or cover letter. When it comes to the cover letter, your best bet is to say, "Salary is negotiable" or to provide a range. This way, you have addressed the question but you haven't cornered yourself on a figure.<br /><br />If an applicant comes in for an interview and is filling out the application, however, Kaufman says it's OK to provide a salary, but it's still a gamble.<br /><br />"The risk can be pricing yourself out of their range and raising the question of why you're willing to work for less money and the prevailing fear that you'll quit for more money," he warns.<br /><br />Ideally, candidates won't discuss salary until after an employer has made an offer, Kaufman says.<br /><br />"Once they want you and have made that commitment, then you're in a stronger bargaining position," he notes.<br /><br />But many candidates are willing to accept the first offer they receive without negotiating more.<br /><br />"The employer naturally wants to pay as little as possible, so if you've been willing to work for a certain amount in the past, they assume that, especially in this tough job market, you'll be willing to work for a similar amount," he says. But if you play your cards right, the negotiation gods may be on your side.<br /><br />"Do your research and know what the position should pay. Be sure to understand what the job entails, what their expectations are and what they're looking for in an ideal candidate for the job," Kaufman says. "Show them how you fit their needs. Ask something like, 'When someone does the work to your satisfaction, what did you have in mind to pay them?' Be sure to stop talking at this point, and let them speak first."<br /><br />If the employer makes you an offer that is just too low for you to accept, Kaufman suggests you tell them your minimum and suggest meeting again in a few days to discuss the possibilities further.<br /><br />"You can also suggest a trial period where you agree to work for a lesser amount, and at the end of that time when you've proven yourself, your salary goes up to a higher amount," he says.<br /><br />If you're still stumped on how to address salary in an interview, Kaufman offers these additional tips on how to do so effectively:<br /><br />First, know your minimum salary in annual, monthly, weekly and even daily terms. "What is the lowest amount you'll accept or you'll walk away? If you're vague and uncertain of what you want, they will sense that and make a lower offer," he says. <br /><br />And second, be neutral in your response -- no matter whether they offer you a high or low amount, he says.<br /><br />"If the amount is high and you show that you're overjoyed by it, you're telling them they made a mistake and they may rescind the offer. If the amount is low and you show a negative emotion, it creates a bad impression that you'll be hard to deal with as an employee and will probably leave as soon as you can find a higher paying job," Kaufman says. "Stay neutral. Let them know you want the job, repeat what you can do for them, and that based on the responsibilities of the job, you feel a higher salary is warranted."<br /><br />Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.

Should you ever bring up salary in an interview?

By Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder They liked your résumé, you wowed them with your cover letter and now it's time for the inte...

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Tales of Manhattan…and Hollywood (and more): The Last of Sheila

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETCX9yQLjrmoImGbz2h06itSiZd6j5SrYEZxHwhRJxEb5NgephvGzpU76MuLefW_cyLqc4FHAoqh_bKpnqEbF6-2rv_IIim0yfDoAlZ_tNLnHWu0_gRnkCaQir89f8DCIr24am93hGg2j/s1600/last+of+sheila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETCX9yQLjrmoImGbz2h06itSiZd6j5SrYEZxHwhRJxEb5NgephvGzpU76MuLefW_cyLqc4FHAoqh_bKpnqEbF6-2rv_IIim0yfDoAlZ_tNLnHWu0_gRnkCaQir89f8DCIr24am93hGg2j/s320/last+of+sheila.jpg" width="273" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The murder mystery has been a movie staple since the silent era. In the 1930s variations on the drawing-room style whodunit, perhaps epitomized by the lighthearted Powell/Loy “Thin Man” series and the suspenseful Rathbone/ Bruce “Sherlock Holmes” franchise, became popular. Fairly standard in these mysteries was a group of people in a remote location where one (or more) of them is murdered; the killer was not, in most cases, unmasked until the last act. One of Agatha Christie’s most popular whodunits, written in 1939, was filmed by Rene Clair in 1945 as the memorable <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And Then There Were None</b>, starring Walter Huston and Barry Fitzgerald.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>But the “cozy” whodunit has never entirely gone out of style and an updated variant, the whodunit with an all-star cast emerged. This tale concerns one such film, a clever and absorbing entry from the era of “Easy Riders and Raging Bulls,” and how it came to be…</span> <br /><a name='more'></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfpeF0u4MyWisMK4RRvlmwZuxZugcNioyWuf2ijysXhHDpri_U8-n7cKb5FF_9lanuUgfpI6W8hgIKqRAP8zV5vbQrrA0OrkGlJIAaXFF0uSBQxfjR8PxAKokZxf15mCQos0Bz9HxtKbR/s1600/Perkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfpeF0u4MyWisMK4RRvlmwZuxZugcNioyWuf2ijysXhHDpri_U8-n7cKb5FF_9lanuUgfpI6W8hgIKqRAP8zV5vbQrrA0OrkGlJIAaXFF0uSBQxfjR8PxAKokZxf15mCQos0Bz9HxtKbR/s200/Perkins.jpg" width="179" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anthony Perkins</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the late 1960’s actor Anthony Perkins, synonymous with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Psycho</b>’s Norman Bates, lived in Manhattan and was part of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s social set. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sondheim, a Broadway legend among whose masterworks is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sweeney Todd</b>, shared many interests with Perkins, one of which was a love of sophisticated games and puzzles. Sondheim was well known at the time for his own rendition of the “murder game,” an at-home version of the whodunit, and was famous for going to great lengths to ensure his players really experienced “a certain amount of fear …” Writer Peter Shaffer (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amadeus</b>) was so dazzled after playing that he asked Sondheim to stage a game in London at the home of his twin brother, Anthony (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Frenzy</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death on the Nile </b>). The London game later inspired Anthony Shaffer to write <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sleuth</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaxDm8p6q0IYIPexwcuaP_RtiPCwUpkEuYiOokoseCUJ0WYvrODFhX7BtjBcX-RGTaEExuBSWq9GoVvDZYUQIIcfQENAHmQ5i0N4ItshuIB7DC0HLEt26AOzk2XwkaQk44YSnOmMnJFYB/s1600/sondheim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaxDm8p6q0IYIPexwcuaP_RtiPCwUpkEuYiOokoseCUJ0WYvrODFhX7BtjBcX-RGTaEExuBSWq9GoVvDZYUQIIcfQENAHmQ5i0N4ItshuIB7DC0HLEt26AOzk2XwkaQk44YSnOmMnJFYB/s200/sondheim.jpg" width="195" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stephen Sondheim</span></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A scavenger hunt Sondheim and Perkins cooked up for Halloween 1968 became legendary. It had taken the two friends a full month to plan the “Eleanor Clark French Memorial Treasure Hunt,” to which they invited several famous friends (including Roddy McDowall, Lee Remick and Herb Ross). The group of twenty would spend the night roaming, in limousines with maps, all over Manhattan in search of clues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually Sondheim and Perkins got together and wrote <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila</b>. A whodunit about an elaborate – and murderous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- game, the story became a 1973 film directed by Herb Ross and was studded with stars James Coburn, James Mason, Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, Ian McShane and Joan Hackett. Perhaps relishing the opportunity to satirize the movie business, Sondheim and Perkins created characters, both cutthroat and cowardly, straight out of Hollywood. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila </b>begins with the hit-and-run death of Sheila Green, a gossip columnist (briefly played by Yvonne Romain, formerly of B-movies and still the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>longtime wife of writer/composer/lyricist Leslie Bricusse). A year later her husband, ruthless producer Clinton Green (James Coburn) invites a group of industry associates to join him for a week-long Mediterranean cruise on his yacht, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sheila</i>. In attendance is a variety of industry types – director, actress, screenwriter, agent - each in need of Clinton in one way or another. Once all are on board, he reveals that he’s devised "The Sheila Green Memorial Gossip Game" as an entertainment during the trip. However, the devious exec’s true motive is to expose his wife’s killer in public; all six of his guests had attended a party at his home the night Sheila died - and the vengeful producer knows her death was no accident. However, as the game develops, his plan goes awry…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The convoluted cat-and-mouse thriller had originally been set on a snowbound estate on the East Coast. But filming on the Riviera seemed much more appealing to all and the estate was transformed into a luxury yacht. As it turned out, the change in location led to major difficulties…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">    </span></span></span>For starters, the yacht chartered for location shooting sank off the coast of Greece on its way to France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A replacement was quickly found but it wasn’t as large as the original and this caused delays and additional expense when interior sets had to be rebuilt.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">    </span></span></span>Then there were bomb threats from the Arab terrorist group Black September, apparently in protest of Jews working on the project. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5dEkWyZd2CAmty_42D7-wzxLGfRH5WGllHAUi1H_59Qyqg-u965BQ6EmgEyd9v_LeHfoA93n1YEEP5sr8eR4eiVcQ4Z8wGOpWy_YfWTye2tM35xJV9IpHnSzxmx3yWsqsi8R3Eix2Gho/s1600/last+mengers+with+jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="141" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5dEkWyZd2CAmty_42D7-wzxLGfRH5WGllHAUi1H_59Qyqg-u965BQ6EmgEyd9v_LeHfoA93n1YEEP5sr8eR4eiVcQ4Z8wGOpWy_YfWTye2tM35xJV9IpHnSzxmx3yWsqsi8R3Eix2Gho/s200/last+mengers+with+jack.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sue Mengers and Jack Nicholson</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not so much a problem for the production but a challenge for the actress,Dyan Cannon was asked to gain weight for her role. Putting on pounds might have been a worrisome proposition, but equally daunting may have been that her character, a blatantly bitchy and profane talent agent, was based on her own (and Perkins’s) agent at the time, the powerful Sue Mengers.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Super-agent Mengers had arrived in Hollywood from New York just in time for the “decade under the influence.” She’d started in the agency business as an MCA receptionist in 1955. Working her way up and around, she departed for the West Coast in 1968 and, at CMA, joined the once exclusive boys club of Hollywood talent agents. Soft-faced, zaftig and very blonde, Mengers played hardball with the best of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She developed a reputation for her parties, her pot, her foul mouth and her sense of humor – but most of all, she was acknowledged for her mastery of the art of the deal. Time Magazine called her “a cross between Mama Cass and Mack the Knife.” Mengers was at her apex when <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila</b> came out, with a client list that included not only Cannon and Perkins but also Streisand, McQueen, Burt Reynolds, Mike Nichols, Faye Dunaway, Ali McGraw and a long list of other in-demand stars of the new Hollywood.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cannon, a deft comedienne, bravely soldiered on and her performance as the brassy virago was the picture’s stand-out turn and earned the actress much critical praise.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHJNiJmnu4W-OMqzGdrPq_TpFf_1PW6toTgiBcG2PqApEedS2Kbt9jpoOTOEkh8hAW_sYnESwgAgUFEwSkSm5alw7jeBe-jVSres_Y99MqKDANQQhu9Z1KG9OWkw6V4Yv_PKp-1sEM8IG/s1600/raqie%253B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHJNiJmnu4W-OMqzGdrPq_TpFf_1PW6toTgiBcG2PqApEedS2Kbt9jpoOTOEkh8hAW_sYnESwgAgUFEwSkSm5alw7jeBe-jVSres_Y99MqKDANQQhu9Z1KG9OWkw6V4Yv_PKp-1sEM8IG/s200/raqie%253B.jpg" width="160" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Raquel Welch</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Playing the part of a Hollywood sexpot was Hollywood sexpot Raquel Welch. Anthony Perkins thought she was the most physically perfect woman he’d ever seen, and he was not alone. The former beauty queen/weather girl was in her early 30s then and one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. She’d begun to develop a reputation as difficult to work with and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sheila </b>set may have been one of the sources of her tag as a diva. At one point she walked off the set claiming director Ross had attacked her. James Mason, highly respected for his then nearly 40-year career, commented publicly that Welch was the most inconsiderate actress he’d ever worked with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perkins remarked, “She really should have done it closer to when the picture actually opened when something like that in the paper would have done the picture some good.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Though sprinkled with stars, laced with sly humor and plot twists, and appreciated by critics from Vincent Canby to Roger Ebert, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila </b>was not a box office hit. It would be one year later, with Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Murder on the Orient Express</b>, that the star-studded whodunit would gain a wide audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Though <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sheila</b> was ignored by the Academy, Sondheim and Perkins’s screenplay won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turner Classic Movies is featuring guest programmers on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the month of March, and this time the group has been selected from TCM's own staff. Alexa Foreman of the Studio Production team chose <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila</b> and described it as, “a mystery that few have heard of, even though it was written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, and may be the best-cast movie ever.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIljP2AF47B08wEBSG-PD9NST_pgrnRcWhJZ-lEVLoYDSmBTOuJzblkpAORwr1SuDIM8RGKPIIF4IQ0N-HKaP0Bh2-455Qk6PMwZ_FPXwXZ_ncsgbBFyXEjGIm0lzgguU0T8U-r08ofzHR/s1600/last+of+sheila+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="251" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIljP2AF47B08wEBSG-PD9NST_pgrnRcWhJZ-lEVLoYDSmBTOuJzblkpAORwr1SuDIM8RGKPIIF4IQ0N-HKaP0Bh2-455Qk6PMwZ_FPXwXZ_ncsgbBFyXEjGIm0lzgguU0T8U-r08ofzHR/s320/last+of+sheila+3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was not familiar with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila </b>the first (and last) time I saw it, which was years ago on television. At first I was mostly curious to see a film I didn't know about that boasted an all-star cast. But I love a mystery and quickly became engrossed in a tricky plot enhanced by barbed dialogue and a sinister undercurrent.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TCM’s screening of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last of Sheila</b> will be its premiere on the classic movie channel. The film has developed a cult following among murder mystery lovers over the years and currently has a 91% positive rating from critics at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rotten Tomatoes. I'm looking forward to seeing <b>The Last of Sheila </b>for the first time in a very long time and will be thinking of Stephen Sondheim as I watch...the incomparable Mr. S will be celebrating his 81st birthday on March 22...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>The Last of Sheila</b> will air on TCM on Thursday, March 31, at 10:30pm Eastern/7:30pm Pacific (it is currently available to Comcast customers On Demand under Premium Channels/Preferred Collection)</i></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qr1SVsVxqnM" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe>

Anthony Perkins Dyan Cannon Herb Ross Ian McShane James Coburn James Mason Joan Hackett Raquel Welch Richard Benjamin Stephen Sondheim The Lady Eve (author) The Last of Sheila Whodunit Tales of Manhattan…and Hollywood (and more): The Last of Sheila

The murder mystery has been a movie staple since the silent era. In the 1930s variations on the drawing-room style whodunit, perhaps epitomi...

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Well-paying jobs you can get right out of high school

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/9s/ar5l4m65x6vr30ln4w9s.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/9s/ar5l4m65x6vr30ln4w9s.gif" /></a></div>By Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder.com <br /><br />With increasing costs to higher education, pursuing a college degree can be tough for some. But here's the good news: Even if you don't continue school for another four years (or put it off until later in your career), there are still a surprising number of career opportunities for those with a high school diploma. With many career paths providing on-the-job training these days, it's often possible to move up into higher-paying positons without an additional degree.<br /><br />Here's a look at jobs you can get right after high school, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook:<br /><br />Loan officer<br /><br />Average annual salary: $61,928<br /><br />Anyone who's ever taken out loans to pay for a house, a car or even to start a small business has had to turn to a loan officer to help complete the transaction. Loan officers not only facilitate the lending process but are also involved with determining how clients will repay the loans.<br /><br />Medical appliance technician<br /><br />Average annual salary: $57,484<br /><br />Working with medical devices that are prescribed by podiatrists or prosthetists, medical appliance technicians are in charge of helping patients use the prescribed devices correctly. The technicians work with anything from replacement limbs to hearing aids and are responsible for gaining full understanding of each device.<br /><br />Stationary engineer or boiler operator<br /><br />Average annual salary: $55,373<br /><br />Working in malls, warehouses, hotels or large office buildings, stationary engineers manage the complicated ventilation, and heating and air-conditioning systems in these buildings. Stationary engineers oversee heat, electricity and cooling equipment in order to maintain optimal conditions in the work environment. <br /><br />Postal service mail carrier<br /><br />Average annual salary: $49,499<br /><br />Delivering mail to local businesses and residences, Postal Service mail carriers travel on established routes and also help with sorting of mail. Mail carriers value the stability of their job and the ability to build long-term relationships with those they deliver mail to.<br /><br />Line installer and repairer<br /><br />Average annual salary: $47,759<br /><br />Working to keep your cable and electricity lines running, line installer and repairers understand the complicated web of networks that connect people with the outside world. As these networks expand and need to be updated, those who understand how to maintain them are in constant demand.<br /><br />Desktop publisher<br /><br />Average annual salary: $46,524<br /><br />Using computer publishing software, desktop publishers produce printed materials like brochures, books and magazines.<br /><br />Quality control inspector<br /><br />Average annual salary: $46,378<br /><br />Maintaining the quality of products in any industry, inspectors work hard to make sure customers are getting exactly what they paid for. Testing vehicles, clothing, food and even electronic components means there is plenty of work variety to adjust to different interests.<br /><br />Floral designer<br /><br />Average annual salary: $45,234<br /><br />A dream job for aspiring creative types, floral designers come up with unique ways to present flowers. Using live or faux flowers, greenery, embellishments and vases, floral designers sell their work for occasions like weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties and funerals.<br /><br />Hazardous materials removal workers<br /><br />Average annual salary: $45,220<br /><br />As the spotlight on hazardous materials increases, removal workers have the important job of identifying and safely removing materials like asbestos, nuclear waste, mercury and others. Many respond to emergency situations to help protect people from accidental exposure to health harming materials and carcinogens.<br /><br />Firefighter<br /><br />Average annual salary: $45,145<br /><br />Working to save people and property from fire emergencies means risking your life to protect the public. In addition to putting out fires, firefighters work directly with ambulances and the police department to respond to other emergencies. <br /><br />*Average national salary information is from cbsalary.com<br /><br /><br /><br />Alina Dizik researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.

Well-paying jobs you can get right out of high school

By Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder.com With increasing costs to higher education, pursuing a college degree can be tough for some. But...

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Happy Saturday!

Silly title to this post. Happy + Saturday goes without saying! <br /><br />It's a gorgeous day here in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is shining and not a cloud in the sky. It's been raining nonstop for what feels like weeks, wet, cold and gray. I'm thrilled to see the sun and the deep blue of the sky. It makes me smile. <br /><br />I'm off to Weight Watchers for my 11:15 a.m. meeting. I don't think I lost anything. In fact, I may have gained. I ate an entire bag of frosted animal crackers a few nights ago. I'm not sure what came over me. I was in the store, saw them on the shelf and bought them. It wasn't planned, it just happened. Over 2,000 calories in the bag. I kicked my own butt the next morning when I woke up and remembered what I had done. I don't know why I did it when I know I have the Big Climb in only two weeks. It made me angry with myself, but time to move forward. That stuff happens, I just have to keep going. <br /><br />Plans for today are not very exciting, Weight Watchers, gym, grocery shopping, house cleaning. In that order. Already started on laundry. Fun times weekend chores. My husband is working on taxes so he's not the most fun guy to be around today. At least it's not pouring down raining so running errands will be slightly more enjoyable. I won't have to worry about a monsoon hitting me running from car to store and store to car.<br /><br /><strong>Hank update</strong><br />Here's the latest on Hank. I'm so relieved he's safe and in a good foster home. I talked with Jessica several times every day last week about Hank. I was the point person in my neighborhood since he was always spotted a few blocks from my house. One time he was seen two houses down from me. Anyway, Jessica loves this dog to pieces, and she persevered until he was found. Great ending to the story!<br /><br />Post on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saving-Great-Animals/102972989743662">Saving Great Animals Facebook</a> page:<br />We have Hank out of the hospital now. Here he is with our wonderful volunteer Jessica St Germain. Hank is now recouping in a loving foster home who has lots of experience working with dogs in emotional need. We will begin to look at who is the best fit for Hank for his forever home! THANK YOU to everyone who helped save him!<br /><br /><object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GLyxt0SLr2M&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GLyxt0SLr2M&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>

Happy Saturday!

Silly title to this post. Happy + Saturday goes without saying! It's a gorgeous day here in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is shining an...

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24 weeks

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuy-7-So13KlrWeKVcJ6m2Aahe4Agq31rXLNUKKS2Tx4walPpXWEIlRcIieKHm-xzdR62Ot2QTuDzuzZjr8iIOwPnMccsXeUspXSksdC7Xovu_juK7WDzYkE5Zt4yly3MuNS9hfQkVVYG3/s1600-h/24%20weeks%20-%203.2.11%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="24 weeks - 3.2.11" border="0" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiO0Dw5mUAGRIMez3il-ZMwqsf6BeG_8i5SvLHjd9r4DZJapwgDKw1vt2hyphenhyphenaMomTrX_I1nL_oKHn3LcPpT8dvizEK4Z4zijLnBxLdTWEfbNH3X61RZgOM94avNv_91eW1vjQiJoNLgvXW5/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="24 weeks - 3.2.11" width="404"></a> </p> <p><strong>How Far Along:</strong> 24 Weeks </p> <p><strong>Size of baby:</strong> Baby Bangert is the size of a papaya!</p> <p><strong>Maternity Clothes:</strong> I wear maternity jeans and pants but everything else is regular.  Things are getting tighter though! </p> <p><strong>Gender:</strong> It’s a girl!!! </p> <p><strong>Movement: </strong>She’s a busy bee in the evenings and I've been starting to feel her more & more throughout the day! Kyle is anxiously awaiting his turn to be able to feel her!</p> <p><strong></strong><strong>Sleep:</strong> Not too bad, I get up a few times throughout the night to go to the bathroom. I guess it’s preparing me for a newborn! </p> <p><strong>What I miss:</strong> Sleeping on my stomach and a bigger selection of clothes! </p> <p><strong>Cravings:</strong> I don't have specific cravings. I just like to eat! ;) I don’t think ice cream counts, I love that anytime! </p> <p><strong>Symptoms:</strong> Really can’t complain! Feeling pretty well! </p> <p><strong>Best Moment this week:</strong> Spending the weekend with good friends. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkdUjCt0kWyCvWTQZgpvagZy0sZTcTnJ657GTZ0V1GosmCQ5_k-FJ3Vo6lQiRXfrvRupE-Zz4f7FH1YE5Ztqm2XfXpHaWvmtchuJodFWU-mnarGAAzMdAxpaspAgXC452qqNuu8EKyxCi/s1600-h/DSC01788%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC01788" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyselLvmHNpi4lv3eRbt-7tlCzzwrzzz1pZQf2rDvTdztvcco3gfz6MDAIx_O725HCYODVB3O7SH-jQw6yTaLQVXEc7jg-V8xpYH0xgAEBAcxxGC3bGvhjkHCOjcDMuXl8MbvqptuQ7qut/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC01788" width="404"></a></p> <p>AND picking up the glider for the nursery!!! So cozy!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SFOpj_J3oumofX3mLyxcSbk-ywUGja80DWjU87x9318WjjZv1EsdNxv54XskuWq_xPV3OQfZy-IUv1h4HOrTP_6k7yL77VLwWEWdh0eIM9U6Xs1nhTtoMSysAWd6VaSJ3ZsLODef9Drb/s1600-h/DSC09817%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09817" border="0" height="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJQtqvqpovIbRmmoA7t-67c536D6qVM6P8HwSlBllH3ef4r6o062CTupxCriSRB05utvMFYDwJXGfMBZeINZc3v-bgt1dbdV7RNfVY1hLEJxmJZqvnLR8sknpcQW_k_8fy79wEF4aP-Gf/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09817" width="354"></a></p> <p>So I’m behind (what’s new!), Thursday started week 25, but I wanted to put this up anyways! Hard to believe I have 15 weeks left. I’m so excited/anxious to meet my little girl. Kyle and I are currently in Chicago visiting his sister & brother-in-law. Can’t wait to share all the fun things we’ve done and we’ve gotten!</p> <p>Hope everyone has a great weekend and I’ll “see” you again for my 25th week post!</p>

24 weeks

How Far Along: 24 Weeks Size of baby: Baby Bangert is the size of a papaya! Maternity Clothes: I wear maternity jeans and pants but e...

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Hank's capture video

I loved this video!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jVXOwBO8oQw" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />It made me cry because it's such a happy event. You can see what a gentle soul this little guy is just by his demeanor. He's been on the run for a week, in a completely foreign land, with snow and freezing temperatures this last week. Scrounging for food and sick with bronchitis. He didn't understand our language since he's from Taiwan, and I'm sure everything smells very differently here than it did in Taiwan. You can see how gentle he is when Jim (the tracking dog owner) picks him up and puts him in the kennel. Really touching.<br /><br /><span class="messageBody">Posting today on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saving-Great-Animals/102972989743662">Saving Great Animals Facebook</a>:</span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody"></span><span class="messageBody">Please email us if you would like to FOSTER HANK. He will be in need of a soft warm place to land as of this afternoon. He is being treated for Bronchitis with antibiotics and has a sore hip and leg from being on the run. The best place for him is in a home without any other dogs, since he has been through so much this past week, and with out any young children. Once he is settled and the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has worn off his new home settings may change, but for now we want to find him a home where things are quiet and he will receive lots of TLC. PLEASE let us know if you can help.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="messageBody">~~~~~~~~~</span></div><span class="messageBody">If you live in the Pacific Northwest and are interested in either fostering or adopting this very special dog, email the Saving Great Animals director, Vashti Escobedo- Director Saving Great Animals: Matching Families and Pets at <a href="mailto:vashti@savinggreatanimals.org">vashti@savinggreatanimals.org</a>.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> ~~~~~~~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I've never heard of this organization until last weekend,  <u><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://missing%20pet%20partnership,%20seattle%20pet%20detectives./">Missing Pet Partnership, Seattle Pet Detectives</a></span></u>. They were hired by the Saving Great Animals rescue group to find Hank. I was really impressed by these folks. <br /><br />The lady in the yellow vest in the video is Cat, and she is really a neat lady. They worked so hard to find Hank. They plastered the neighborhood with signs. There were signs everywhere. You couldn't go down a street within a two-mile radius from where he was lost without seeing one of the lost dog signs (and they were huge signs). They used a tracking dog to find where Hank was hanging out. They had a video camera at one of the live animal traps. They had a phone hotline that was answered 24/7. <br /><br />I guess most major cities have a service like this, but I'd never heard of such a thing. Good to know in case I ever lose a pet. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">There were also about 30 volunteers working to find Hank. A really nice group of people donating their time to help in the search. The whole thing just made me feel better about people in general. The world really isn't such a bad place. There's a lot of good out there, we just don't always see it. </div>

Hank's capture video

I loved this video! It made me cry because it's such a happy event. You can see what a gentle soul this little guy is just by his demean...

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Best Day Ever!! (Hank and me updates)

After four crazy, emotional roller coaster days of searching for Hank, posting signs, checking the live animal traps, I received the following email this afternoon:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBPJ_xH4t7sUAGGlAZD6Ia6Hqc1csBxe2sw4qvE_P2zxp3qzXKRK9m9z8rRlW8-5Fnk3LMGOUnysVFMIdQVoPmib_WFtrQNhuXk3nS5q4pei1LQHMHeiXvKH2SrsrMwOTzOdJNGe0OliH/s1600/Hank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBPJ_xH4t7sUAGGlAZD6Ia6Hqc1csBxe2sw4qvE_P2zxp3qzXKRK9m9z8rRlW8-5Fnk3LMGOUnysVFMIdQVoPmib_WFtrQNhuXk3nS5q4pei1LQHMHeiXvKH2SrsrMwOTzOdJNGe0OliH/s400/Hank.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br />BEST DAY EVER!! Hank has been caught! We can’t believe our eyes and there are plenty of tears from this exhausting long haul. The work is not done yet, as off to the vet he goes.  He is tired, dehydrated, scared and hungry.  But he is alive.<br /><br />We have paid the homeowner a reward (which they made sure to ask for!) and Vashti and Jessica are ready to take him to the vet. <br /><br />We will keep you posted through the day and send a picture. We are not done thanking you ALL! <br /><br />A happy ending!<br /><br /><u>Me update</u><br />It turns out that setting a goal of losing ten pounds in three weeks was kind of stupid. I know when I put crazy deadlines on myself they backfire in my face, so I don't know why I do this. It never works. You know the definition of insanity, well, that's me...insane.<br /><br />My food has been pretty good, but not good enough to lose weight (I'm down a couple pounds to 180, but that's not the number I wanted to see). I've been eating very healthy food, but my portions are too large. Same old story with me. I eat too much of the good stuff.<br /><br />Exercise is rocking. Today was a pure cardio day. I do those about once a week, where I only do cardio and no weights. <br /><br />Thirty minutes at a steady pace on the StairMaster, 121 floors, average step rate 68. Thirty minutes on the stationary bike. At lunch I went over the Sea-Tac Doubletree. Fourteen floors from the basement to the top. Each jaunt up was 225 steps. I did it four times, or 900 steps. The Big Climb is 1,311 steps. <br /><br />After 14 floors I had to turn around and go back down the stairs, back to the first floor, then start over. So I get a break every 14 floors. It was still hard. The first time it wasn't bad, second time a little bit more difficult, third time, ouch, it's hurting me. Fourth time, OMG I'm going to die! No way can I climb 69 floors non-stop. <br /><br />My co-worker that's done the Big Climb three times in the last three years keeps telling me it's a mind game. He said it's really 70% mental and 30% physical. If your mind believes you can do it, then you can do it. I know today my mind kept saying 'you are so screwed Diana!'. If only I'd lost that 20 pounds or even 10 pounds, this would have been so much easier. <br /><br />Since I can't lose a lot of weight at this point (only 18 days left!), I'm going to focus on the exercise. I'll continue my gym workouts as usual, adding in the exercise bike more often since it's good for the quads and quads are good for the stairs, and add in a daily DoubleTree stair workout during lunch. I also need to focus more on my core, a strong core is good for climbing stairs. <br /><br />Mind over matter, mind over matter. Yes, I can do this!

Best Day Ever!! (Hank and me updates)

After four crazy, emotional roller coaster days of searching for Hank, posting signs, checking the live animal traps, I received the followi...

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