**There was a bit of confusion with the Giveaway instructions. The Giveaway post has been updated with new instructions scroll down to check them out. Thanks for your patience!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wedding Photos in Manti Utah. Sneak Peek.
Laura + Erik = happy people
"Thanks for the email and the photos, I just looked at them. Wow! you guys do such good work. I loved them. So many good ones with erik and I and then so many of the families, and everything else. Thank you thank you! Thanks again!! I really appreciate all that you did!! - Laura"
"Thanks for the email and the photos, I just looked at them. Wow! you guys do such good work. I loved them. So many good ones with erik and I and then so many of the families, and everything else. Thank you thank you! Thanks again!! I really appreciate all that you did!! - Laura"
100th Post Giveaway!
Today is our 100th post! Thanks so much for sticking by us over the last 9 months. That's a good chunk of time (we could have had a baby in that time... wait, Maria did!). We wanted to do a simple recap of our 5 favorite project posts since we started the SEI Lifestyle Blog. We want to make sure that you are made aware of these amazing posts in case you missed them.
• #5- star album Josh had a video tutorial on how to create a star album. It featured Alpine Frost but can be made with any paper line anytime of the year.
• #4- mimosa leftovers Every month we feature how to use your Club SEI leftovers. With this post we provided a box, bag and flower template.
• #3- paperdoll One of our favorite projects was this paper doll. If you need a project to entertain a bored little girl on summer break, visit this post
• #2- baby blocks Anyone having a baby will love you forever with these customized baby blocks
And our number one post that everyone fell in love with was from our guest blogger, Heather Mildenstein. It was her baby tie tutorial:
Since our CHA Sneak Peak was our #1 giveaway (with over 100 comments), we have decided to give away one more sample packet. Click here if you can't remember the contents.
Entering the giveaway is simple. Here's how:
1. From your blog, link back to this post! See, simple.
2. Leave a comment showing your blog address.
• #5- star album Josh had a video tutorial on how to create a star album. It featured Alpine Frost but can be made with any paper line anytime of the year.• #4- mimosa leftovers Every month we feature how to use your Club SEI leftovers. With this post we provided a box, bag and flower template.
• #3- paperdoll One of our favorite projects was this paper doll. If you need a project to entertain a bored little girl on summer break, visit this post
• #2- baby blocks Anyone having a baby will love you forever with these customized baby blocks
And our number one post that everyone fell in love with was from our guest blogger, Heather Mildenstein. It was her baby tie tutorial:
Since our CHA Sneak Peak was our #1 giveaway (with over 100 comments), we have decided to give away one more sample packet. Click here if you can't remember the contents.
GIVEAWAY PACK!
Entering the giveaway is simple. Here's how:1. From your blog, link back to this post! See, simple.
2. Leave a comment showing your blog address.
3. Your blog must have a post containing the link below:
http://seilifestyle.blogspot.com/2009/06/100th-post-giveaway.html
• Giveaway is open until Monday, July 6th! Good luck.
Alpine Forget-me-not
I climbed Mt. Sniktau on Thursday June 18 and then again on Tuesday June 23rd. In the span of those 4 days, the Alpine Forget-me-nots (Eritrichum aretioides) had sprouted in droves. The tundra wildflower season is here. In fact, these pictures come from this past weekends trip to Crystal Lake in Summit County. They are quite wide spread.
These diminutive flowers extend only an inch above the ground. The flower is about the size of my pinky nail. They are bright blue and stand out as clumps of color all across the tundra.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Online Blog Exclusive!
The weather just keeps getting more & more beautiful. Summer colors are my favorite. The color pallets are always so bright and lively. A few months back we finished this line, Silk Road. To me it just screams summer, and it makes all my good summer feelings come alive. This week we are doing an online exclusive. Silk Road was featured as the May Club SEI kit and we liked it so much we decided to make the papers available to purchase. This line will only be available online and we are allowing our blog readers to be the first to purchase it online.
All you have to do is click here and at checkout enter the promotional code: seiblog.The promo code will also give you 10% off your entire order. It expires a week from today, July 6th, so be sure to use it while you can.
All you have to do is click here and at checkout enter the promotional code: seiblog.The promo code will also give you 10% off your entire order. It expires a week from today, July 6th, so be sure to use it while you can.
Film is Not Dead Workshop - Park City Utah
I'm excited to attend this fabulous workshop from a really talented photographer Jonathan Canlas. Check it out. Drop a comment if you are planning on going. See you there.
Film is Not Dead official website.
Film is Not Dead official website.
Food Matters
Hello World!!!
The weekend was lovely, no? I have spent it with my Turkish friends on Croatian coast. Saturday night was really clear and we were lucky finding a small, quiet and calm spot in the camp where we were just laying down and watching the stars. Ah, how great are the summer nights! It occurred to me that each of those stars is traveling on its own path, although we can not see it; just like ants, we are living in the huge civilizations here and there, but also traveling our own paths. But how do we meet? What is the energy behind? I have no idea, but I know how great it is to have such feelings with people who are more like brothers and sisters to me, with similar understanding of such traveling and I must admit I felt really lucky. Lucky to be there, lucky to be with them.
Everything was balanced, like life should be. We cleaned up all the waste we produced, even very unusual things - to see a Turkish guy picking up his cigarette from the floor? Yes. We are changing. And we want love, peace, sharing, empathy, smile, hug, laughter!
Today I am making detox in my temple of this thoughts, my body. There is a movie I saw some months ago and it really affected me in many ways. I hope you will take some time for it.
Lets start cleaning the Earth by cleaning our home of our Souls, our bodies.
Sustaining eco friendly life!
The weekend was lovely, no? I have spent it with my Turkish friends on Croatian coast. Saturday night was really clear and we were lucky finding a small, quiet and calm spot in the camp where we were just laying down and watching the stars. Ah, how great are the summer nights! It occurred to me that each of those stars is traveling on its own path, although we can not see it; just like ants, we are living in the huge civilizations here and there, but also traveling our own paths. But how do we meet? What is the energy behind? I have no idea, but I know how great it is to have such feelings with people who are more like brothers and sisters to me, with similar understanding of such traveling and I must admit I felt really lucky. Lucky to be there, lucky to be with them.
Everything was balanced, like life should be. We cleaned up all the waste we produced, even very unusual things - to see a Turkish guy picking up his cigarette from the floor? Yes. We are changing. And we want love, peace, sharing, empathy, smile, hug, laughter!
Today I am making detox in my temple of this thoughts, my body. There is a movie I saw some months ago and it really affected me in many ways. I hope you will take some time for it.
Lets start cleaning the Earth by cleaning our home of our Souls, our bodies.
Sustaining eco friendly life!
Food Matters
Hello World!!!
The weekend was lovely, no? I have spent it with my Turkish friends on Croatian coast. Saturday night was really clear and we were lucky finding a small, quiet and calm spot in the camp where we were just laying down and watching the stars. Ah, how great are the summer nights! It occurred to me that each of those stars is traveling on its own path, although we can not see it; just like ants, we are living in the huge civilizations here and there, but also traveling our own paths. But how do we meet? What is the energy behind? I have no idea, but I know how great it is to have such feelings with people who are more like brothers and sisters to me, with similar understanding of such traveling and I must admit I felt really lucky. Lucky to be there, lucky to be with them.
Everything was balanced, like life should be. We cleaned up all the waste we produced, even very unusual things - to see a Turkish guy picking up his cigarette from the floor? Yes. We are changing. And we want love, peace, sharing, empathy, smile, hug, laughter!
Today I am making detox in my temple of this thoughts, my body. There is a movie I saw some months ago and it really affected me in many ways. I hope you will take some time for it.
Lets start cleaning the Earth by cleaning our home of our Souls, our bodies.
Sustaining eco friendly life!
The weekend was lovely, no? I have spent it with my Turkish friends on Croatian coast. Saturday night was really clear and we were lucky finding a small, quiet and calm spot in the camp where we were just laying down and watching the stars. Ah, how great are the summer nights! It occurred to me that each of those stars is traveling on its own path, although we can not see it; just like ants, we are living in the huge civilizations here and there, but also traveling our own paths. But how do we meet? What is the energy behind? I have no idea, but I know how great it is to have such feelings with people who are more like brothers and sisters to me, with similar understanding of such traveling and I must admit I felt really lucky. Lucky to be there, lucky to be with them.
Everything was balanced, like life should be. We cleaned up all the waste we produced, even very unusual things - to see a Turkish guy picking up his cigarette from the floor? Yes. We are changing. And we want love, peace, sharing, empathy, smile, hug, laughter!
Today I am making detox in my temple of this thoughts, my body. There is a movie I saw some months ago and it really affected me in many ways. I hope you will take some time for it.
Lets start cleaning the Earth by cleaning our home of our Souls, our bodies.
Sustaining eco friendly life!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Solution to Obama-care. The American Businessman
What happens if we end up with Obama’s socialist Health Care that he and the Democrats are trying to have enacted in this country?
While it’s not a certainty that this will happen, I believe it’s likely that we’ll get some form of Socialized Medicine from the Democrats and Obama.
What is likely to happen should the public system be created is that the health insurance industry will disappear. Obama claims that you can continue your current plan but the companies will not be able to compete. Businesses will be forced to cover employees and if they don’t, they will be fined. Since the employees aren’t being covered, they’ll have to go to the socialist care put out by Obama, or they will have to purchase their own coverage from private industry. Government will see to it that they are much less expensive than private care, so people will choose the government plan. They’ll actually not have much choice because they won’t be able to afford private plans because they will need their money to pay their taxes.
However, the American people have always been an independent group. Many will fight off the government plan as long as they can. Businesses are in business to earn a profit. They are not in business to supply people with jobs and benefits. Business will also fight back. This could be the new American Revolution that comes about. Consider a couple of possibilities.
First the American people. We won’t put up with government running our lives. Caging people up is not the way to endear them to you. If the resistance is strong enough before the next election, we could see Democrats falling like flies in the next election with the Republicans taking over and repealing many of these socialist laws that are being enacted. Or we may see more Democrats looking out for the American people rather than big lobbyists to be corrupted by or to corrupt themselves.
The idea that I find most fascinating, however, is American Business. The Obama administration has taken over Chrysler and General Motors. The Unions now own a substantial portion of GM along with the U.S. and Canada. One of the ideas floated is that unions would be exempt from taxes related to health care. But there is still another car company out there that is large and did not take any bailout and did not file bankruptcy and is not under the governments thumb yet. Ford Motor Company.
Let’s assume that Obama’s health care plan is going to be expensive to Ford Motor Company and they choose not to provide the health insurance to their employees. However, they must obey the law if this is enacted. So what could their solution be?
Ford Motor Company could lay off all of their employees and tell them that they will never be called back. Instead, Ford could advertise for Independent Contractors to come and do the work that they need done. But there aren’t that many independent contractors out there to replace all of the workers that Ford just laid off. There is however, a very large pool of people that are unemployed, that could be independent contractors. They are the current employees of Ford Motor Company. So, let’s use Joe Sixpack as an example. He’s working for Ford Motor Company today and he’s earning $50,000 per year. He has all of the benefits of working for Ford. Ford pays him every two weeks, deducts out taxes, deducts out Social Security and pays the employer half of social security and all other expenses related to employing Joe. Joe has a wife and two kids. They are all covered under the benefit package provided by Ford.
Ford now needs to cut expenses to compete with the new Government Motors and Chrysler. So they decide a good way to save a lot of money is lay off Joe and his co-workers, and bring in independent contractors.
Joe is an innovative guy and decides he’s going into business for himself as an independent contractor. He registers a business name and approaches Ford about becoming an independent contractor doing the work that Ford needs to have done.
Joe, however needs to think of his family. He must provide health insurance for himself and his family, he needs to earn enough to feed, clothe and set aside money for his children’s education and for his own retirement. So Joe negotiates a contract with Ford to work for them for $60,000 for one year. He agrees to put out a certain number of units per day using a five day work schedule, for nine hours per day.
Ford no longer has to pay benefits, Joe will take care of it from his pay that he negotiated. Joe will also have business expenses that he didn't have before, as a result of being a business owner, thus saving more money in taxes. Ford no longer has to pay half of Joes Social Security. It’s now Joe’s responsibility as an independent contractor to pay for his own social security. The same with Medicare. Ford also doesn’t have to give Joe a two week paid vacation each year. Joe can take his two weeks, but he just won’t be paid during those two weeks.
Ford no longer has to withhold money for Joe’s taxes. It’s now Joe’s responsibility. Ford no longer has any obligation to take part in pensions for Joe, although Joe is free to negotiate any other perks if Ford is willing to give him any. It’s now Joe’s responsibility for himself and his family to create his own education for children, and his own retirement for himself.
Joe’s business is now merit based. If he does the job, Ford is happy to have him continue to do the work they need done. If he fails to do the job as his contract states, Ford is free to replace him and bring in another independent contractor to fill their needs.
There is no more need for unions. Joe negotiated his own contract. Joe could even hire employees under his business or he is free to hire his own independent contractors to fill other positions that need to be filled.
This simple little act, has created a spurt of new businesses (each former employee of Ford), has saved Ford from the nightmare of tax withholding, social security expense, health care expense and more. Not only has it created those new businesses, but it’s also created a demand for more CPA’s, for example, which creates the need for more offices to house the CPA's. After all, Joe will need someone to do his record keeping, not to mention his taxes. This will also give Joe the choice of going to the government for health care, or to go out and get his own health care privately.
Imagine if this were to happen at Ford Motor Company and it would work. How long do you think it would take for other businesses to see the benefits of hiring independent contractors rather than employees? The former employee, who is now an independent contractor would have to take more pride in his work because it’s now his business name attached to his work. He’d have more control over his money. He’d have more of a stake in how much the government charges in taxes each year which means he’d pay more attention at election time and make sure that he’s voting for the person that’s going to best serve his needs for his business.
Joe would have more of a stake in seeing that he gets a health care plan that will take care of his family as he wants them cared for. Should he not be satisfied, he could then change over to a competitor in health insurance to get better care. Doctors may find it necessary to open their own offices again rather than being with a group of doctors. All of these create more competition, more innovation on the part of many industries.
Ford Motor company would be saving a lot of money in employee expenses. This would lead to lower prices of cars. That would increase the demand for more cars, which would create a need for more independent contractors to fill that need. States would be clamoring for a factory to be built in their state to hire their unemployed citizens. They’d be forced to change the tax code to entice Ford to build more in their state so that their state’s citizens would be hired.
Since Ford’s major competitor would be Government Motors and Chrysler, both owned by the government, they would now be leveling the playing field that Obamacare will tilt in the governments favor.
This is just one idea. What other ideas would Ford come up with to stay competitive. In the meantime, Obama would be responsible for busting the unions. While it would be Ford that would get the ball rolling to fix the problems in health care in this country, Obama would be inadvertently responsible for fixing it by trying to create this socialist society that is doomed to failure, by creating the reaction by American business to save their way of life, improve their businesses and the American people that would take advantage and create their own business and improve their businesses.
The American businessman would once again stand up and lead the newest American Revolution by creating a better business and personal standard of living climate against what is becoming a more and more tyrannical government. No government would be toppled. It would have to be responsive to the actions taken by the American Businessman.
There’s an old law of physics. For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Obama pushing through government control of businesses and forcing health care on them is the action. Businesses finding a way to improve themselves while staying within the laws would rebuild the economy, and be the equal and opposite reaction.
You’re welcome to comment.
Brett
While it’s not a certainty that this will happen, I believe it’s likely that we’ll get some form of Socialized Medicine from the Democrats and Obama.
What is likely to happen should the public system be created is that the health insurance industry will disappear. Obama claims that you can continue your current plan but the companies will not be able to compete. Businesses will be forced to cover employees and if they don’t, they will be fined. Since the employees aren’t being covered, they’ll have to go to the socialist care put out by Obama, or they will have to purchase their own coverage from private industry. Government will see to it that they are much less expensive than private care, so people will choose the government plan. They’ll actually not have much choice because they won’t be able to afford private plans because they will need their money to pay their taxes.
However, the American people have always been an independent group. Many will fight off the government plan as long as they can. Businesses are in business to earn a profit. They are not in business to supply people with jobs and benefits. Business will also fight back. This could be the new American Revolution that comes about. Consider a couple of possibilities.
First the American people. We won’t put up with government running our lives. Caging people up is not the way to endear them to you. If the resistance is strong enough before the next election, we could see Democrats falling like flies in the next election with the Republicans taking over and repealing many of these socialist laws that are being enacted. Or we may see more Democrats looking out for the American people rather than big lobbyists to be corrupted by or to corrupt themselves.
The idea that I find most fascinating, however, is American Business. The Obama administration has taken over Chrysler and General Motors. The Unions now own a substantial portion of GM along with the U.S. and Canada. One of the ideas floated is that unions would be exempt from taxes related to health care. But there is still another car company out there that is large and did not take any bailout and did not file bankruptcy and is not under the governments thumb yet. Ford Motor Company.
Let’s assume that Obama’s health care plan is going to be expensive to Ford Motor Company and they choose not to provide the health insurance to their employees. However, they must obey the law if this is enacted. So what could their solution be?
Ford Motor Company could lay off all of their employees and tell them that they will never be called back. Instead, Ford could advertise for Independent Contractors to come and do the work that they need done. But there aren’t that many independent contractors out there to replace all of the workers that Ford just laid off. There is however, a very large pool of people that are unemployed, that could be independent contractors. They are the current employees of Ford Motor Company. So, let’s use Joe Sixpack as an example. He’s working for Ford Motor Company today and he’s earning $50,000 per year. He has all of the benefits of working for Ford. Ford pays him every two weeks, deducts out taxes, deducts out Social Security and pays the employer half of social security and all other expenses related to employing Joe. Joe has a wife and two kids. They are all covered under the benefit package provided by Ford.
Ford now needs to cut expenses to compete with the new Government Motors and Chrysler. So they decide a good way to save a lot of money is lay off Joe and his co-workers, and bring in independent contractors.
Joe is an innovative guy and decides he’s going into business for himself as an independent contractor. He registers a business name and approaches Ford about becoming an independent contractor doing the work that Ford needs to have done.
Joe, however needs to think of his family. He must provide health insurance for himself and his family, he needs to earn enough to feed, clothe and set aside money for his children’s education and for his own retirement. So Joe negotiates a contract with Ford to work for them for $60,000 for one year. He agrees to put out a certain number of units per day using a five day work schedule, for nine hours per day.
Ford no longer has to pay benefits, Joe will take care of it from his pay that he negotiated. Joe will also have business expenses that he didn't have before, as a result of being a business owner, thus saving more money in taxes. Ford no longer has to pay half of Joes Social Security. It’s now Joe’s responsibility as an independent contractor to pay for his own social security. The same with Medicare. Ford also doesn’t have to give Joe a two week paid vacation each year. Joe can take his two weeks, but he just won’t be paid during those two weeks.
Ford no longer has to withhold money for Joe’s taxes. It’s now Joe’s responsibility. Ford no longer has any obligation to take part in pensions for Joe, although Joe is free to negotiate any other perks if Ford is willing to give him any. It’s now Joe’s responsibility for himself and his family to create his own education for children, and his own retirement for himself.
Joe’s business is now merit based. If he does the job, Ford is happy to have him continue to do the work they need done. If he fails to do the job as his contract states, Ford is free to replace him and bring in another independent contractor to fill their needs.
There is no more need for unions. Joe negotiated his own contract. Joe could even hire employees under his business or he is free to hire his own independent contractors to fill other positions that need to be filled.
This simple little act, has created a spurt of new businesses (each former employee of Ford), has saved Ford from the nightmare of tax withholding, social security expense, health care expense and more. Not only has it created those new businesses, but it’s also created a demand for more CPA’s, for example, which creates the need for more offices to house the CPA's. After all, Joe will need someone to do his record keeping, not to mention his taxes. This will also give Joe the choice of going to the government for health care, or to go out and get his own health care privately.
Imagine if this were to happen at Ford Motor Company and it would work. How long do you think it would take for other businesses to see the benefits of hiring independent contractors rather than employees? The former employee, who is now an independent contractor would have to take more pride in his work because it’s now his business name attached to his work. He’d have more control over his money. He’d have more of a stake in how much the government charges in taxes each year which means he’d pay more attention at election time and make sure that he’s voting for the person that’s going to best serve his needs for his business.
Joe would have more of a stake in seeing that he gets a health care plan that will take care of his family as he wants them cared for. Should he not be satisfied, he could then change over to a competitor in health insurance to get better care. Doctors may find it necessary to open their own offices again rather than being with a group of doctors. All of these create more competition, more innovation on the part of many industries.
Ford Motor company would be saving a lot of money in employee expenses. This would lead to lower prices of cars. That would increase the demand for more cars, which would create a need for more independent contractors to fill that need. States would be clamoring for a factory to be built in their state to hire their unemployed citizens. They’d be forced to change the tax code to entice Ford to build more in their state so that their state’s citizens would be hired.
Since Ford’s major competitor would be Government Motors and Chrysler, both owned by the government, they would now be leveling the playing field that Obamacare will tilt in the governments favor.
This is just one idea. What other ideas would Ford come up with to stay competitive. In the meantime, Obama would be responsible for busting the unions. While it would be Ford that would get the ball rolling to fix the problems in health care in this country, Obama would be inadvertently responsible for fixing it by trying to create this socialist society that is doomed to failure, by creating the reaction by American business to save their way of life, improve their businesses and the American people that would take advantage and create their own business and improve their businesses.
The American businessman would once again stand up and lead the newest American Revolution by creating a better business and personal standard of living climate against what is becoming a more and more tyrannical government. No government would be toppled. It would have to be responsive to the actions taken by the American Businessman.
There’s an old law of physics. For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Obama pushing through government control of businesses and forcing health care on them is the action. Businesses finding a way to improve themselves while staying within the laws would rebuild the economy, and be the equal and opposite reaction.
You’re welcome to comment.
Brett
Celebrities and their Watches
I have a watch fetish and its fun to see which watch is adorned in the hands of celebs.
Lets check out some of their watches.
1. Reese Witherspoon - In real life its the Rolex President in yellow gold that adornes her wrist most of the times. Reese has some sentimental values attached to her Rolex President. Though, in the movie 'Four Chritmases', Reese Witherspoon was wearing the fab Cartier Roadster Watch. I totally love Cartier Roadster.
.
2. Princess Diana - The elegant and sophisticated Princess Diana used to wear an 18 carat Cartier Tank Francaise watch.
Cartier's Tank Watch is quite popular with celebrities and is adorned on the wrists of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Naomi Campbell, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan. Even the late US President John F. Keneddy was a fan of Cartier Tank Watch. Even the First Lady Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing a Tank Francaise. Louis Cartier's Tank watch has been the cult object du jour since decades and continues to be so.
Cartier watches are known for attracting celebrities and royalty, as they are without a doubt the crème-de-la-crème of fine watch making. Whether your taste in watches is flamboyant or conservative, modern or classic, there is a distinctive Cartier timepiece just for you.
You like Cartier Tank Watch?
.
3. Shilpa Shetty - Shilpa Shetty wears a huge men sized Rolex Yacht-Master.
There is something with celebs and Rolex. I think there wouldn't be any celebrity without a Rolex - Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Will Smith, Saif Ali Khan, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Mean Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and the list goes on...
.
4. Britney Spears - Britney wears Roger Dubuis watch. Among her favorites, there are also Chopard Montres Dame and Breitling watches.
.
5. Halle Berry - The sexy Halle Berry loves wearing her Franck Muller Casablanca 2852.
.
6. Sylvester Stallone - You may not know but Stallone has a watch fetish and has a huge watch collection. His favourite though is watches by Panerai, which he is often seen wearing.
.
Lets check out some of their watches.
1. Reese Witherspoon - In real life its the Rolex President in yellow gold that adornes her wrist most of the times. Reese has some sentimental values attached to her Rolex President. Though, in the movie 'Four Chritmases', Reese Witherspoon was wearing the fab Cartier Roadster Watch. I totally love Cartier Roadster.
.
2. Princess Diana - The elegant and sophisticated Princess Diana used to wear an 18 carat Cartier Tank Francaise watch.Cartier's Tank Watch is quite popular with celebrities and is adorned on the wrists of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Naomi Campbell, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan. Even the late US President John F. Keneddy was a fan of Cartier Tank Watch. Even the First Lady Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing a Tank Francaise. Louis Cartier's Tank watch has been the cult object du jour since decades and continues to be so.
Cartier watches are known for attracting celebrities and royalty, as they are without a doubt the crème-de-la-crème of fine watch making. Whether your taste in watches is flamboyant or conservative, modern or classic, there is a distinctive Cartier timepiece just for you.
You like Cartier Tank Watch?
.
3. Shilpa Shetty - Shilpa Shetty wears a huge men sized Rolex Yacht-Master.
There is something with celebs and Rolex. I think there wouldn't be any celebrity without a Rolex - Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Will Smith, Saif Ali Khan, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Mean Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and the list goes on...
.
4. Britney Spears - Britney wears Roger Dubuis watch. Among her favorites, there are also Chopard Montres Dame and Breitling watches.
.
5. Halle Berry - The sexy Halle Berry loves wearing her Franck Muller Casablanca 2852.
.
6. Sylvester Stallone - You may not know but Stallone has a watch fetish and has a huge watch collection. His favourite though is watches by Panerai, which he is often seen wearing.
.
Celebrities and their Watches
I have a watch fetish and its fun to see which watch is adorned in the hands of celebs.
Lets check out some of their watches.
1. Reese Witherspoon - In real life its the Rolex President in yellow gold that adornes her wrist most of the times. Reese has some sentimental values attached to her Rolex President. Though, in the movie 'Four Chritmases', Reese Witherspoon was wearing the fab Cartier Roadster Watch. I totally love Cartier Roadster.
.
2. Princess Diana - The elegant and sophisticated Princess Diana used to wear an 18 carat Cartier Tank Francaise watch.
Cartier's Tank Watch is quite popular with celebrities and is adorned on the wrists of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Naomi Campbell, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan. Even the late US President John F. Keneddy was a fan of Cartier Tank Watch. Even the First Lady Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing a Tank Francaise. Louis Cartier's Tank watch has been the cult object du jour since decades and continues to be so.
Cartier watches are known for attracting celebrities and royalty, as they are without a doubt the crème-de-la-crème of fine watch making. Whether your taste in watches is flamboyant or conservative, modern or classic, there is a distinctive Cartier timepiece just for you.
You like Cartier Tank Watch?
.
3. Shilpa Shetty - Shilpa Shetty wears a huge men sized Rolex Yacht-Master.
There is something with celebs and Rolex. I think there wouldn't be any celebrity without a Rolex - Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Will Smith, Saif Ali Khan, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Mean Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and the list goes on...
.
4. Britney Spears - Britney wears Roger Dubuis watch. Among her favorites, there are also Chopard Montres Dame and Breitling watches.
.
5. Halle Berry - The sexy Halle Berry loves wearing her Franck Muller Casablanca 2852.
.
6. Sylvester Stallone - You may not know but Stallone has a watch fetish and has a huge watch collection. His favourite though is watches by Panerai, which he is often seen wearing.
.
Lets check out some of their watches.
1. Reese Witherspoon - In real life its the Rolex President in yellow gold that adornes her wrist most of the times. Reese has some sentimental values attached to her Rolex President. Though, in the movie 'Four Chritmases', Reese Witherspoon was wearing the fab Cartier Roadster Watch. I totally love Cartier Roadster.
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2. Princess Diana - The elegant and sophisticated Princess Diana used to wear an 18 carat Cartier Tank Francaise watch.Cartier's Tank Watch is quite popular with celebrities and is adorned on the wrists of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Naomi Campbell, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan. Even the late US President John F. Keneddy was a fan of Cartier Tank Watch. Even the First Lady Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing a Tank Francaise. Louis Cartier's Tank watch has been the cult object du jour since decades and continues to be so.
Cartier watches are known for attracting celebrities and royalty, as they are without a doubt the crème-de-la-crème of fine watch making. Whether your taste in watches is flamboyant or conservative, modern or classic, there is a distinctive Cartier timepiece just for you.
You like Cartier Tank Watch?
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3. Shilpa Shetty - Shilpa Shetty wears a huge men sized Rolex Yacht-Master.
There is something with celebs and Rolex. I think there wouldn't be any celebrity without a Rolex - Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Will Smith, Saif Ali Khan, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Mean Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and the list goes on...
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4. Britney Spears - Britney wears Roger Dubuis watch. Among her favorites, there are also Chopard Montres Dame and Breitling watches.
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5. Halle Berry - The sexy Halle Berry loves wearing her Franck Muller Casablanca 2852.
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6. Sylvester Stallone - You may not know but Stallone has a watch fetish and has a huge watch collection. His favourite though is watches by Panerai, which he is often seen wearing.
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Pesman Trail (Mount Goliath Nature Area)
Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 11,503 ft to 12,152 ft
Elevation Gain: 649 ft
The Pesman trail wanders through a Bristlecone Pine forest but also has stunning views of the open tundra.
The Pesman Trail, sometimes called the Mount Goliath Trail, is a fascinating walk amongst the oldest living trees on earth, the Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata). The trail starts at the Dos Chappell Nature Center located 3 miles up from the Mt. Evan's fee station. A Federal lands pass ($80.00/yr) will now get you in. There is plenty of parking, a bathroom, and an interpretive forest ranger on duty to answer all your questions. At noon the Ranger on duty leads a 45 minute interpretive walk through the alpine gardens adjacent to the Nature Center.
The beginning of the trail, while packed dirt, does ascend 500 or more feet in a short series of switch backs.
One of the Bristlecones along the trail
The trail gains most of its 642 ft in the first half mile. Since it starts above 11,000 ft, this means lung-sucking distress for most of us. The trail has the advantage, however, of being relatively smooth with only occasional rocky portions. Quite a rarity in Colorado.
When the trail levels out, it leaves the forest for a rocky slope with tundra views.
Besides wandering through a square mile of Bristlecone Pines, the trail also traverses a broad ridge with distant views, tundra flowers, and towering boulders. It really is incredibly scenic. I kept expecting a herd of Mt. Evan's resident Mountain Goats to come trotting into view.
Looking west. The two peaks on the far right of the picture are Chief Mountain and Squaw Mountain.
The trail ends at a picnic area on Mt. Evan's Road. I almost did not go all the way because I had already climbed most of the way up Mt. Sniktau earlier that morning and was really feeling the altitude, but I am glad I did. From the terminus of the trail, there are incredible views of the Continental Divide to the west. There is also a short Alpine Garden Trail in the area, which later in the season is filled with low-lying but flowering tundra plants.
The upper trailhead. Near the car is a picnic table.
Near the upper trailhead is the intersection with the Alpine Garden Trail. There are also great views of the Continental Divide.
If one has two cars, then making the Pesman Trail a shuttle hike would be possible either heading up for maximum cardiovascular distress, or heading down for an easier outing. This trail is a great way to spend time above treeline without having to scale thousands of feet in elevation gain. The views are well worth the effort and seeing the Bristlecone Pines is a rare treat.
Elevation: 11,503 ft to 12,152 ft
Elevation Gain: 649 ft
The Pesman trail wanders through a Bristlecone Pine forest but also has stunning views of the open tundra.The Pesman Trail, sometimes called the Mount Goliath Trail, is a fascinating walk amongst the oldest living trees on earth, the Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata). The trail starts at the Dos Chappell Nature Center located 3 miles up from the Mt. Evan's fee station. A Federal lands pass ($80.00/yr) will now get you in. There is plenty of parking, a bathroom, and an interpretive forest ranger on duty to answer all your questions. At noon the Ranger on duty leads a 45 minute interpretive walk through the alpine gardens adjacent to the Nature Center.
The beginning of the trail, while packed dirt, does ascend 500 or more feet in a short series of switch backs.
One of the Bristlecones along the trailThe trail gains most of its 642 ft in the first half mile. Since it starts above 11,000 ft, this means lung-sucking distress for most of us. The trail has the advantage, however, of being relatively smooth with only occasional rocky portions. Quite a rarity in Colorado.
When the trail levels out, it leaves the forest for a rocky slope with tundra views.Besides wandering through a square mile of Bristlecone Pines, the trail also traverses a broad ridge with distant views, tundra flowers, and towering boulders. It really is incredibly scenic. I kept expecting a herd of Mt. Evan's resident Mountain Goats to come trotting into view.
Looking west. The two peaks on the far right of the picture are Chief Mountain and Squaw Mountain.The trail ends at a picnic area on Mt. Evan's Road. I almost did not go all the way because I had already climbed most of the way up Mt. Sniktau earlier that morning and was really feeling the altitude, but I am glad I did. From the terminus of the trail, there are incredible views of the Continental Divide to the west. There is also a short Alpine Garden Trail in the area, which later in the season is filled with low-lying but flowering tundra plants.
The upper trailhead. Near the car is a picnic table.
Near the upper trailhead is the intersection with the Alpine Garden Trail. There are also great views of the Continental Divide.If one has two cars, then making the Pesman Trail a shuttle hike would be possible either heading up for maximum cardiovascular distress, or heading down for an easier outing. This trail is a great way to spend time above treeline without having to scale thousands of feet in elevation gain. The views are well worth the effort and seeing the Bristlecone Pines is a rare treat.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Emma Watson - Looking Lovely in Teen Vogue
British star Emma Watson, famous for her role in Harry Potter, looks lovely in Teen Vogue's August 2009 edition.
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From 2001 to 2007, Ms Watson starred in five Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Her role in Harry Potter has won her several awards.
In case you don't know, Emma is also the new face of Burberry, and currently feaures in their Autumn Winter 2009 Campaign. British girl, for a British brand.
Image Source
Related Posts:
Celebrity Watch - The Chic Looks
In spot: Lady Gaga
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Emma on her style: She likes to play safe with the sophisticated Chanel. She says,"I live, really, in jeans from Topshop, blazers from Ralph Lauren or Reiss, and ballet flats. It’s very hard to describe your own style and I’m young, so I’m still experimenting. But I think it’s quite British and very much about individuality. There’s nothing interesting about looking perfect—you lose the point. You want what you’re wearing to say something about you, about who you are".
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From 2001 to 2007, Ms Watson starred in five Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Her role in Harry Potter has won her several awards.
In case you don't know, Emma is also the new face of Burberry, and currently feaures in their Autumn Winter 2009 Campaign. British girl, for a British brand.
Image Source
Related Posts:
Celebrity Watch - The Chic Looks
In spot: Lady Gaga
.
Emma Watson - Looking Lovely in Teen Vogue
British star Emma Watson, famous for her role in Harry Potter, looks lovely in Teen Vogue's August 2009 edition.
.
.
From 2001 to 2007, Ms Watson starred in five Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Her role in Harry Potter has won her several awards.
In case you don't know, Emma is also the new face of Burberry, and currently feaures in their Autumn Winter 2009 Campaign. British girl, for a British brand.
Image Source
Related Posts:
Celebrity Watch - The Chic Looks
In spot: Lady Gaga
.
.
.
Emma on her style: She likes to play safe with the sophisticated Chanel. She says,"I live, really, in jeans from Topshop, blazers from Ralph Lauren or Reiss, and ballet flats. It’s very hard to describe your own style and I’m young, so I’m still experimenting. But I think it’s quite British and very much about individuality. There’s nothing interesting about looking perfect—you lose the point. You want what you’re wearing to say something about you, about who you are".
.
.
From 2001 to 2007, Ms Watson starred in five Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Her role in Harry Potter has won her several awards.
In case you don't know, Emma is also the new face of Burberry, and currently feaures in their Autumn Winter 2009 Campaign. British girl, for a British brand.
Image Source
Related Posts:
Celebrity Watch - The Chic Looks
In spot: Lady Gaga
.
Weekend Projects
Summer is always a great time for me to catch up on projects that have been burdening me for a while. I think it has to do with the longer days making me feel like I have all the time in the world. I love summer! I found this website today called Oliver + S. They have the cutest patterns for children's clothing. They are all under $20 and they offer both girl and boy patterns. I think I might make these one of my weekend projects. I can work on a few outfits for my nephew. Whatever you busy yourself with this weekend, have an enjoyable one. Take it slow and appreciate the small things.
Lupine
Lupine at the Acorn Creek Trailhead
Lupine on the Tenderfoot TrailColorado has been inundated with rain this spring, which has made for a bummer crop of wildflowers. Lupine (Lupinus argenteus) is one of my favorites. It grows on dry slows that are also covered with Sagebrush. Lupine is a member of the Legume family, which means the bacteria in along its roots return Nitrogen to the soil.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wonderful Stationary
This past week, I received a postcard from my friend Rachel addressed from Barcelona, Spain. Mandi is still in Switzerland... and I'm getting the travel bug. Since I won't be able to travel abroad anytime soon, I figured I needed to do something in my life that would make me feel better. This stationary from Paperwink hit the spot. Although I can't travel abroad and find exotic postcards, I can have personalized ones. They make me happy!
Does anyone out there have any summer escapades planned?
Does anyone out there have any summer escapades planned?
Health Care in America
In the interest of full disclosure, before I comment on this topic, I want to make it known that I am licensed to sell health insurance in Michigan. I rarely sell it. I do have to offer it. I don't like selling health care insurance. It's cumbersome for me, confusing to everyone. Now, understand I'm talking about major medical coverage. Going to your doctor. There are exceptions to what I said. I do suggest and offer Long Term Care coverage and Medicare Supplement plans for the retired.
The President held a press conference during the day yesterday. It was nice to see that he didn't interrupt prime time programming for a change. It's much better when few are watching. During his press conference, he said that he didn't understand the notion that government entering the health care business wouldn't be competition for the market place and can't understand why insurance companies would balk at government offering a public solution to health care in the United States.
There are a couple of simple answers to this. I have no doubt that he can't understand it. You have to believe in our market system to understand. First, let me say right off the bat that we do have a problem in this country with health care. There are problems with it. However, and this is where any liberals reading this will start seeing smoke coming from their ears, our health care system, flawed as it may be, is still the BEST HEALTH CARE AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD!
If it weren't, people from around the world would not be coming here to get their care rather than waiting on a waiting list in their own country for someone to decide they are worthy of seeing a doctor.
NOBODY in this country has to go without seeing a doctor. If you need the emergency room, you will not be turned away. If you need to see a doctor, you will be able to see one, and you won't have to wait for months to get that broken arm fixed.
But let's get to Obama's words about not understanding why anyone would have a problem with a public health system competing against the private companies. Private companies exist to make a profit. They can't exist without a profit. They must pay their sales people to offer insurance to the American people. They must pay the underwriters to write the policy. They must pay for the creation of some of the most innovative care plans ever created. Think about it. When you go to work, do you want to get paid? What if your company didn't pay you? What incentive would you have to go to work in the morning? Imagine if you called your insurance company because you have a claim and there is nobody there to answer the phone? Nobody to mail your check or pay your doctor? These are people that do this work and the companies must make a profit to pay them to do that work, and to earn money to support their own families.
How does this differ from the Federal government if they manage to get into the insurance business? Government doesn't have to work for a profit. If they run short on funds, they can always go into deficit spending....again. They can have Congress appropriate more money to pay for it. Where doesn't Congress get their money? From you and I. TAXES.
Government has no need to run a profitable business. They can just go to the people for more money. So when they force insurance companies out of business and there is no more competition, when they need more money, their argument will be, 'you don't want to go without health insurance for your children, so we're going to raise taxes'. Again and again.
Can you name one business that has ever been run successfully by the government? I can. The military. That's it. They botched Social Security. They plunged Medicare/Medicaid into deep debt and will be operating in the red in a matter of months if it hasn't happened already.
How do I know they will force insurance companies out of business? Have you tried to find a private insurance for someone over the age of 65? You can't. The best that the elderly have is Medicare Supplement. It "supplements" Medicare...which as I mentioned is operating in the red. And the rates on the Medicare Supplement continue to rise. Why? Because Medicare doesn't have the money any longer, and more and more are reaching the age of the elderly. The baby boomers started retiring and that will only grow for the next 20 years. In addition, medical advances are keeping people alive longer and longer. This will increase expenses.
Competition works. Capitalism works. The free market system works. Obama putting a public health system into place is not competition. It's taking a level playing field and tilting it towards government.
We now know that the Federal Government has forced states to take the so-called stimulus money. We know that the Federal Government fired the CEO of GM and they have their own people running the new Government Motors even if in the background pulling the strings. We now know that Bank of America was forced to take on a bad investment (Chairman Bernanke is dealing with that in hearings today). Each thing that Government gets into gets corrupted. The one success story they have is the military and they are cutting funding for the military. Of course, we also know that the dictator Obama took over ABC on Wednesday night under the guise of answering health care questions.
If Obama's health plan was the be all and end all as he tries to make it sound, why did he have to have the infomercial last night on ABC where there was no opposition allowed? No hard questions asked. Why was the deck stacked against those opposing his plan? Why did he have to have the hand picked audience where there was no dissenting point of views permitted? If his plan will stand up to scrutiny, he wouldn't have had to take over ABC for the night and stage that dog and pony show.
There are problems with our Health Care in this country, but it's the best health care in the world. Let the professionals in the health care industry solve the problem and leave government out of it. Leave Obama out of it. To have government or the dictator Obama take it over is only guaranteeing that our standard of health care will drop to the level of the Canadian system (see the link below). The British system, the German system. All failing. All expensive and paid for with higher and higher taxes and still they don't have enough money.
If Obama's plan is so good, why is it that he has to provide for Unions to not have to pay taxes on their health care while everyone else does? This is another example of Obama trying to walk into a window. The "pain" is hidden, but it's there when you hit it.
You're welcome to comment.
Brett
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