Steven Gerrard Football Images

Steven Gerrard Football Images

Steven Gerrard and Wife

Steven Gerrard The Champion

Engage in a Public Service: Adopt a Dog Today!

     If you've at the very least read the title of this blog entry, first off "Welcome to the new secret passion of Nick Carrillo."  Hopefully throughout this little entry, you too may come to understand many of the positive elements in adopting a dog, all to which I have experienced first hand and am now passing onto you my readers.  For those who may take offense to anything I say, I will apologize now, even though this is my blog and I can say whatever the hell I want...make your own damn blog if you don't agree.
     To start, many of you may already know that Jenn and I adopted our little Stella approximately 1 year ago.  For anyone who's going into something they have never done before, there was a certain amount of anxiety and worry when we first started thinking about this decision.  For myself the anxiety was mostly in the mere fact that, "God, I'm an adult now and if I wanted to I could adopt 50 dogs right now and no one could do a damn thing about it", and really before I just jumped into this decision I had to ask myself:
 #1 "Should I really do this, just because I can?". 
   It kind of reminded me of the day that I turned 18 and literally went to the nearest convenient store and bought a can of tobacco.  At the time I thought it was kind of cool to do such a thing, only to later put way to much in my mouth and throw-up in a soiled area of my parents garden that later unexpectedly produced the most beautiful beefsteak tomatoes anyone had ever seen.  With this little side story, No, I am not saying that sometimes mistakes turn into beautiful life-giving joys...or am I.  My point, really, is to tell you the reader to go into the adoption process first and foremost with a level head and full understanding of the amount of time you and your spouse are able to give to this animal.  With few exceptions after having been through what I think is the hardest part of the dog ownership process (the first year), I really do believe that just about anyone can adopt a dog of some sort.  Those who really aren't suitable in my opinion, and trust me I wish there were enough people out there to each have 10 dogs, are those who:

A. Travel alot
B.  Currently live in an area where dogs aren't allowed.
C. Are the type of person who wouldn't think twice about just giving the dog back up for adoption.
D. Just don't want a dog and really don't like dogs. (kind of like me with cats, this blog isn't about cats...sorry.)

Our favorite mistake Stella at 12 weeks, fresh from the shelter.

Puppies and mustaches, what a combo!
She's no longer a puppy and I no longer have a mustache...don't worry.

           With these three things being said, this leaves alot of people open to being eligible in my book for adopting some type of dog, and trust me there are many sizes, breeds, and ages out there who literally just need your certain situation to be brought into all to just keep living a dog life.  It sounds harsh but I'd say for everytime you "think" you can't adopt a dog for some apparent reason not listed above, I'd say 10 dogs are euthanized.  I know it sounds harsh, but it's a sick reality.  Now let me back up  a little bit and bring you into the life Jenn and I had before we got her.  Jenn worked 8am-7pm, Monday thru Friday and sometimes weekends.  I was both in school at random hours and also working part time.  As many of you know we live in a two bedroom apartment with a balcony and really don't have a typical yard area for a dog to play in.  With all of this being said, nothing has really changed in our life , many people may have thought to themselves that we weren't ready for a dog, because we needed a yard, we needed time, and we needed ample resources and experience, all of which we had no idea how to get.  Well ladies and gentlemen, you all know where this is going, as you all know Jenn and I have the greatest little 60lb dog ever in our Miss Stella.  No, we weren't a typical looking dog owner, we didn't have a huge yard to just stick her when we were gone and ignore her in when we were home, we didn't have 15 hours in the day to devote to this dog only to really pay about 1 hour of attention to her a day, rather we did want a dog and with that being said we made it work with the resources we had and the information available to us.  I am very confident that given just about anybodies situation a dog of some sort can truly be fit into any equation, barring some of the exceptions I had noted before.

Stella at about 5 months loving her long walks

        So many of you are probably wondering, "How do we do it?"  As I had said before, first and foremost we wanted a dog and were the kind of people who would research our situation and be honest with ourselves about the type of dog we could handle.  There were many resources online of the types of dogs suitable for apartment living, all to which needed to kind of fit within the framework of what Jenn and I could deal with on a day to day basis.  For Jenn and I we kind of categorized our favorable breed as having a medium-large build and some athletic ability (since we wanted a dog who could fetch, run with me, and be intimidating enough if Jenn ever had to walk it at night all alone.)  With all of this being said we wondered is this type of dog even capable of living in an apartment as often times many people just associate people who live in apartments as only being able to have "little dogs".  While this probably is true in some cases, in large part it is a myth, as many large breeds like being indoors as long as they get there 1-2 hours of exercise every day.  Even smaller dogs when they don't get their exercise will make it very known to their owners, "OK, I am feeling cooped up, I need to go and play".  I don't want to offend anyone who has a little dog, as I for many years had my dog "Leo" a Westhighland (Westie) Terrier, who was awesome.  Back to Stella though, in the beginning we decided to go with a medium sized breed puppy, only because we had heard that "crating" puppies early on and throughout their early years was completely humane, assuming the crate was big enough and wasn't left in the crate for longer then 6 hours on a regular basis.  We had decided to go the puppy route only because we figured it would be a little easier to control her digestive process and develop good habits early on, later hoping that we could leave her in the apartment with our balcony door open when we weren't home, something we've already tried and is going very well even as she is just over a year old.  Looking back however, after talking to a lot of people, Jenn and I could have gone with an older dog with our situation and have been just as content.  Older dogs are great for apartments also, assuming they are over the chewing process, understand where they're allowed to go to the restroom, and don't have separation anxiety and bark non-stop while you are gone.  Alot of times though for someone adopting an older dog (big or small) who lives in an apartment, typically the shelter knows their behavior and whether or not they'll be suitable for apartment living, but seriously an older dog can be awesome and it's sick to know the amount of people who just give up great dogs after 5-8 years of having them, only because their just sick of it, have to move, or couldn't afford them.  Their are alot of beautiful hidden gems out there who really aren't asking for much more then a good bed to sleep on, a couple meals a day, fresh water, a couple nice walks, and a little love.  Simply assuming a dog who is in a shelter or with a rescue group is a "problem" dog just isn't fair.  Dog's are fairly simple creatures, who really only need attention, routine, and a couple meals a day to feel that they've lived.  People who think all dogs need a rigorous hunting schedule, followed by constant stimulation mentally, and high protein diets to survive are doing an injustice to many of the dogs who die each and every day who seriously only need to be wanted and loved.

Stella in her favorite chair at 6 months (She has since grown out of this chair)

      At this point in our Stella's young life she has grown accustomed to going on two long walks every day.  Sometimes those walks are at 6am and sometimes they are at 10pm, however it is Jenn and I's dedication to doing this that I truly believe Stella realizes and respects.  Now, even though I've had a couple glasses of wine already, I do get the sense that Stella just knows she's going to get to walk twice a day and understands that sometimes their early and sometimes their later in the evening.  The point is that Stella knows for at least 2 hours a day she gets to walk and for her some days that's all she needs.  After a walk she instantly eats her food and much like any of us, after we exercise and eat, the next thing she wants to do is sleep.  It's at this point lately that I've been letting her nap on her blanket in the apartment, with all the doors to the bathrooms shut, when I'm not home and I sware to you when I've been getting home 6-8 hours later, everything is FINE and sometimes I even catch her just getting up from a nap, content as can be.  Just think what the poor dogs who are in a shelter or pound are thinking on a day to day basis, they have no idea what tomorrow brings, for Stella at the very least she knows Jenn or I are going to be home with a few hours and no one else is going to walk in that door except for one of us.  If I came home to a dog who has torn the front room apart and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of furniture, I would seriously wonder, "What the Hell did I do to make her do that?"  That's the mentality that dog owners have to assume, as every action by them results in their dogs reaction, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize what they have or haven't done to warrant such behaviors.
  Ladies and Gentlemen, owning a dog is such a rewarding experience to which I would hope all of my family and friends could some day experience.  It is my hope that in reading my blog today and in the future, that you realize in the most miniscule way you too can alter a dog's life who is close to be euthanized.  Jenn and I have developed such a bond with our dog Stella, that we can only wish at this point that each of our blog readers and their friends can some day experience on their own.  In addition, Jenn and I support heavily the shelter we adopted Stella from and are more then willing to introduce anyone to when they are ready.  The name of the shelter is "Sparky and the Gang" and they truly are comprised of some of the most passionate and loving people who live on this earth.  They are very knowledgable of all shapes, sizes, and ages of dogs and are more then willing to accomodate you in any way.  If you told them you only wanted a certain breed, they would literally look day and night to find a deserving dog for you and your family.  I'll be honest their website is somewhat limited, however it's only because they move a lot of dogs throughout the Southern California Area.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me and I can certainly put you into contact with the right people.  They're all volunteers so they do have limited time, however I know some of them personally and would love to put you into contact with one of them for a visit to their shelter or recommendation on your individual situation.  Please remember their are dogs out their dying every day because people don't realize they're worthy of owning a dog.  Take it from Jenn and I, with a little bit of time, alot of love, and a passion for dogs, there are millions of dogs out there waiting to be adopted.  Please don't buy from a puppy mill, there are so many beautiful pure bred and mixed breed puppies just waiting to be adopted for a fraction of the cost and all of their shots.  If you want my real take on a purebred dog, as beautiful as some of them are, call me some time, I'll give you my thoughts as they pertain to you.  I love all dogs, young and old, mixed and purebred, however I am pretty confident I know when certain dogs are suitable for certain people more then others.
If you are interested in checking out the shelter where Jenn and I got Stella, click the link below, they literally bring in new rescues every day.

http://www.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=CA270&sort=&preview=

God Bless
NC

Finished the caricature at last.

Whoopee, I’ve finally finished THAT commission!!!!! Another gift caricature complete! (Dances around the room cheering!") Now, should I post it before it’s been collected. I might wait on that, doesn’t feel right to post yet.I think in furture I might insist on a deadline, when the client does one. This open ended finish time doesn't galvanise any quick action. Mind you, I've had deadlines that were forgotten about before, so that might not work.

I’ve also completed the interview with Whoople, all done and dusted. Just need to wait to find out when it will be posted. I did a sketch of Martine McCucheon in poor light last night. I thought I’d done brown but it’s purple! I can’t decide whether to go over in brown or continue with the purple theme! I don’t think it’s going to be posted as it is.

Luca Toni wallpaper

Luca Toni Football Player

Luca Toni Picture

Luca Toni Wallpaper

Roger Federer Wins Australian Open
Against Andy Murray To Add Tally To
16 GrandSlams .

Roger Federer dismantled Andy Murray in the Australian Open final Sunday to extend his own record to 16 Grand Slam titles and prolong the British drought.

Federer collected his fourth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (11) win at Rod Laver Arena that, apart from the tiebreaker, lacked the drama and raw emotion of his five-set loss here last year to then No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Federer saved five set points and wasted two match points in the tiebreaker with some uncharacteristic shot selection before clinching it when Murray netted a backhand after 2 hours, 41 minutes.

Federer got on top early, breaking Murray's opening service game when he leaped onto a second serve and fired a forehand down the line to lead 2-0.

Murray rallied immediately, breaking Federer's serve to huge cheers from the crowd with consecutive passing shots—one which the Swiss star even had to applaud.

Federer had to save three break points in the fifth game before holding with back-to-back aces. He then broke Murray in the eighth game, lifting his intensity in perfect time so that he could serve for the set.

He had no trouble closing with a forehand winner down the line.

Federer dominated the second set after breaking Murray's serve in the third game. The Scot did fend off seven break points across two service games to ensure Federer had to serve it out.

When Federer's intensity dropped slightly in the third, Murray pounced. He broke in the sixth game, roaring "C'Mon" after rifling a forehand past Federer at the net.

He didn't face a breakpoint until he was serving to take the match into a fourth set, when Federer pounced again. He got his first breakpoint chance of the third set with an angled forehand service return and clinched it two points later when Murray netted a forehand.

Federer rallied from 5-2 down in the third to force the tiebreaker and, after saving three set points, missed his first chance to finish it off when his forehand just missed the line.

Murray netted a backhand and Federer looked to the heavens in relief before he began the rejoicing.

As I expected , Roger Federer won the Australian Open title .

I don't know but there's something about me making great predictions .

Anyways , for all those who haven't watched the match , I strongly advise you to watch the THIRD set . It shows how strong Federer's determination to win the title and it really does show .

Federer was down 5-2 but he managed to break back to force a tie-breaker . But I'm not gonna fill you guys in too much . There are some shots that are out of this world from both players .

You'll have to see it to believe it .

Quote of the day :

Andy Murray .

"Hopefully , one time I can come back and win here ," he added , his voice breaking .

"I got great support back home the last couple of weeks. Sorry I couldn't do it for you tonight but ... "

Murray could barely finish his thank you speech , explaining : " I can cry like Roger ; it's just a shame I can't play like him . "

( referring to Roger's sobbing moment at the finals

against Nadal .)

************

Congratulations to Serena Williams
on he fifth Australian Open title !

As per my prediction , I was right again .

As you all should know by now , Serena Williams defeated Belgium's Justine Henin by 6-4 , 3-6 , 6-2 score to grab her fifth Australian Open title .

She now has the same amount of GrandSlam titles as the great and legendary Billie Jean King of 12 titles .

Justine Henin , former world number one put on quite a fight against the current world number one with her volleys and sharp angle , pinpointed one-handed backhands that often caught Williams off guard .

In the first set however , Serena broke Henin's service to take the game up to a 6-4 lead .

During the first and second set , it was clear to see that Serena was a nervous wreck as she continued feeding some shots to Henin . Her forehand shots often landed right on the T line which gave Henin the opportunity to give a forehand winner .

But during the second set , Henin played wonderful tennis as she managed to break Serena's service giving Henin the 4-3 lead . After that , it was all downhill for Serena as she struggled to break service but failed .

However , during the third set it was obvious Serena played aggresive tennis as she continued to dominate the baseline shots . There were points of the third set where Henin's sharp angled backhands and forehands did not move the world number one at all .

Serena stood her ground and returned every shot given to her like a pro ( not that she isn't ) . Finally after breaking Henin's service , Serena was to serve for the match point . Serving 4 times with all 4 points won , Serena made a service which Henin returned the ball fell right on the line .

A disbelief-ed Serena could only smile at that point . After that , an error made by Henin ended the match by 6-4 , 3-6 , 6-2 .



Right from the beginning I knew Serena will win .

My predictions were right and I'm happy that they were .

One last time , congratulations to Serena Williams .

Queen of tennis .





Signing off ,



- Jaden -

C'est un plaisir....

I just spilled Joghurt on my bed-sheets.

Sweet Jesus, why does THIS always happen to me?

Właśnie rozlałam jogurt na pościel.

Dlaczego TO się zawsze zdarza mi?

Boats at sea

Many years ago, while I was on honeymoon I took some photographs around Sagres in Portugal. Always with the intention of painting the scene. This is my first attempt. The picture detail is poor as I only had a 110 camera – remember those!!!! Which has not enlarged very well and the details are a bit fuzzy. I managed a quick sketch which has worked out pretty well, despite the restrictions. Except for the sky, I got caught out a bit by the drying time of the watercolour pencils! Dipped it in first time, but didn’t pick up enough water, by the time I’d repeated the exercise I had a hard edge which I couldn’t soften. I’m planning to have another go, probably on better paper.

Born to fly

Born to fly!

Robert Kranjec!

Cette fois...sans la France

Oberstdorf, Ski Flying Team competition.

Austria won, well-deserved.

No France today.

Though there was some nice tiny little, short glimpse.

Thank you Eurosport.

You made me smile!

Hahaha.

If France would had jumped, they would have shown the rest...

Whateva

I have fever. High fever.

This explains a lot.

And now a bit more serious. One month Eurosport online is wonderful. Believe me. I can watch everything. All their channels, news, competitions. This is almost heaven.

Though....I still feel bad. Running nose and so on.

Loty Narciarskie w Oberstdorfie, zawody drużynowe.

Wygrała zasłużenie Austria.

Dzisiaj bez Francji.

Chociaż był dziś mały, maluteńki, króciutki momencik.

Dziękuję Eurosport!

Uśmiech pojawił się na mojej twarzy.

Haha

Gdyby dziś Francuzi skakali to by pokazali reszcie...

Nieważne.

Mam gorączkę, wysoką.

To wiele tłumaczy.

A teraz trochę poważniej. Miesiąc internetowego Eurosportu to błogosławieństwo. Wierzcie mi. Mogę oglądać wszelakie kanały, programy, wiadomości. Prawie jak w raju.

Tymczasem wciąż czuję się kiepsko. Nos i te sprawy.

................Ce que femme veut, Dieu le veut.

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi Wallpaper

Lionel Messi Football Picture

Organised chaos!

As I predicted yesterday, today has not been rife with drawing. I’ve painted a little bit and am planning to sketch some boats now.

In the meantime I’m leaving you with this picture of my workplace. I was asked to submit a picture of where I create my art with the interview and thought it would be good to blog it as well.

The work in progress is on the easel. I try to do them in natural light hence stopping for the evening. In case you might be wondering, it is a cast iron sewing machine with a box easel on top. My art materials are stored in the various boxes and bags around it. We’re in the process of organising the house in general and I’m looking at storage options, but it has to look right as it’s in my living room. I also plan to get a studio easel at some point… blah, blah, blah. I’ll post a picture when it’s done. It will be the opposite of changing rooms. Several months to change a really tiny space. I just don’t want to loose my lovely sewing machine.

'Bin Laden' Goes Green.

I have never laughed so much at a single headline in my life. This is so much fail it's almost beautiful. Osama Bin Laden, true to form, appears at a highly convenient time. This time in a rather unique way. Right around the time of numerous climate change scandals, he decides to publicly blame the US for global warming! They aren't even trying anymore. This is the sort of thing you'd expect to read on a parody site like The Onion or Uncyclopedia. I think this story essentially confirms everything I have suspected about both Bin Laden and climate change.

Bin Laden Blames U.S. for Global Warming!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584249,00.html

You can't make this stuff up! Hahahahaha!

Related Info:

Environmentalist Osama Bin Laden Demands Green Economy

Federer demolishes Tsonga to seal a place
in the finals at the Australian Open !

Once again , Roger Federer showed the world his capability of creating behemoth shots to and fro and the frenchman , Tsonga had to pay the ultimate price for it .

It was Roger Federer vs Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals that created much publicity for Federer and myself as people by the dozens tune in to read more about Federer's outstanding performance .

At the first set , both players were doing great until the moment Federer broke Tsonga's service causing a lead at 3-2 . From that moment on , Tsonga can pretty much do nothing as the Swiss Maestro took the set to a perfect , 6-2 .

During the second set , there was a slight resistance from Tsonga as the gorilla-faced Frenchman fought back . Unfortunately , once Federer broke his service at 3-4 it was downhill from then onwards .

Finally on the third and final set that will ultimately seal him a spot in the finals , is all one way traffic in favor for Federer .

Tsonga was not able to break or fight back the Swiss as he completely ' Federer-rised ' his French opponent to dust . Finally , an unforced error by Tsonga gave Federer the finals spot against Britain's number one , Andy Murray ,


I don't really have anything much to say about this match . It was really a one-way-traffic game once Federer broke Tsonga's serve .

But there were some intense net shots between the two players and Tsonga played fantastic tennis but I think he was fatigued mentally , not physically . Physically he was fine but I think he was just mentally tired . And perhaps the lack of motivation and his will to give up just came up short causing him to not able to play his best at that time .

The last time Tsonga and Federer met was at Vancouver , if I'm not mistaken (sorry if I'm wrong). And Tsonga took Federer out in straight sets .

I'm pretty sure Federer is as happy as a canary right now knowing that he has a chance to raise his GrandSlam count to a sweet 16 !




Quotes by Federer during the post-match interview ,
( not that accurate . I just wrote what I remembered )

'' Yeah , I hope that you know Andy will see me as a nice guy and
a father and you know ..
maybe let me win . "
( his comments on winning his first major as a father )



" Yeah I know that Andy wants to be the first British to win a major in like what .. ?
150 , 000 years ? "
( Britain has not won a single major in like God knows how long )



" It's a tactical game and we're gonna play the usual . I'll give a backhand and he returns a forehand , I shoot a forehand and he'll make a dropshot , I'll run to the net and return the ball and he'll give a lob and I'll run backwards and make a shot between my legs .. "
( referring to the Djokovich shot-between-his-legs
he made at the US Open . )
Roger Federer : " The best shot I made in my life "

Based on how Federer has performed today , I can confidently say that the Swiss Maestro has a big chance on winning the finals . I mean ,

He finally starts playing like when he was a young tennis player back in 2002 . He started running with trademark footwork around the court , making less and less unforced errors with a couple of aces . And of course the usual out-of-this-world shots he is able to produce throughout the match .

If he can play great tennis like how he has shown us all today , I'm pretty sure the Australian Open title is his ( lets not jinx it though ! )



However , Murray is at his peak right now . There were two shots he made when he battled the giant Marin Cilic of Croatia that is ALMOST EXACTLY the shots Federer made when he was a young player .

His footwork definitely improved and his forehands are pure lethal . If Murray has his game on tomorrow , it will definitely make Federer's game a living hell . Which means ,

Roger has to put on a magic match in order to win . He has to pray that he doesn't make a lot of errors or unforced errors tomorrow , throw in a couple of aces and a dash of luck from the Lady herself ..

You'll see Federer holding up the trophy he long wants all this while .


In conclusion , my money is on Federer .

Go Feddie !

************

Tomorrow , the current world number one , Serena Williams will battle the former world number one , Justine Henin , at the finals of the Australian Open .

Henin has impressed me a whole lot . She is starting to become the next Kim Clijsters . As a matter of fact she is definitely playing better than Clijisters herself .

But Serena has a pretty lethal service game which could be the key to her success . And she is starting to move around the court much smoothly and her forehands and backhands are definitely at the peak of her career .


If I were to bet $ 50 , I'll take the wise choice by betting on Justine Henin .

But if I were to go by plain instinct and gut , I'll go with Serena .

My support definitely goes out to Serena anyways . If she can put on the best game of her life , she will definitely put Henin to sleep at ease .

Serena and Venus Williams

By the way , the William Sisters have defended their doubles title and have bumped it up to their 4th doubles title here at the Aussie Open .

The sisters won Zimbabwe's Cara Black and America's Liezel Huber by 6-4 , 6-3 in the finals .

Venus and Serena are the reigning Aussie Open champs , having beaten Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova and Japanese Ai Sugiyama in last year’s women’s doubles finale . The super sisters now own 11 major doubles titles , three of which came last year .


Congratulations to the William Sisters !

********

I'll keep you updated on the victories of the women's final and men's final .

You might get the women's final results on my post a bit late .

I wanna' wait for the men to finish up too and then post a blog .




Signing off ,


- Jaden -

Liverpool Football Team

Liverpool Football Team

Liverpool Wallpaper

Steven Gerrard Liverpool Team

Limpet no more!

Oh Happy Day!!! Ewan is feeling much better today so I was not required to cuddle him CONSTANTLY as yesterday. Which meant I was able to do some work. Correction, work I’m happy with…

So today I did some painting – the commission is looking good. Abstract finished. Sketching done when waiting for the other 2 at the school and the bus stop.

So here’s my abstract.

I’m thinking of “Focus” for a title or maybe “Origins of life”. The last title just came to me.

I’m off to celebrate 21 years of married life with Andrew. There will be wine involved! I might not get much done tomorrow, we’ll see shall we?

Gael Clichy Pictures

Gael Clichy Wallpaper

Gael Clichy Football Players

Gael Clichy Action

Honey I'm Home

Nick finally put our crock-pot to work. We’ve only had this wedding gift for two years, but a cold winter night inspired us to finally use it. To my surprise my husband did a ton of homework before attempting this slow cooking meal. With the guidance from my mom’s San Francisco cooking care package, Nick made the most amazing pull pork sandwich! To complete the sandwich, Nick went to Olives, our FAVORITE neighborhood gourmet grocer (http://www.olivesgourmetgrocer.com) and bought fresh coleslaw and potato salad. Of course we had to document the meal Bobby Carrillo style (Nick’s grandfather use to take pictures of all his meals).

Cheers!!!

Stella hoping Nick will give her a bite!

Work of art........

Hope, Grief ....

I have seen these pictures on a blog I follow. Pictures taken by the Dutch artist Erwin Olaf . The most striking thing about his masterpieces is the fact that they are incredibly sad.

Here are some of his photographies :

First exam was THE shit

My exam in American Studies was the SHIT! It was simply awful. I got up with fever and felt pretty shitty this morning. Some of my teachers think that I am constantly ill and have some hardcore immunodeficiancy. Anyways. As expected, we were given quotations. And I freaked out. It was my favourite course this term, and I really wanted to pass this as good as it gets. And now I am sending prayers for a pass.

And I can't sleep. It's probably part whateva of my freaking insomnia. And I feel bad. And it's snowing. Holy crap. It is SO snowing here.

What the hell is going on with me?

Pierwszy egzamin z Amerykanistyki był do dupy. Po prostu koszmar. Obudziłam się dnia wczorajszego z gorączką i z generalnie niezbyt dobrym samopoczuciem. Paru moich wykładowców już się zastanawia nad moimi ciągłymi chorobami i sugerują, że mam jakąś słabą odporność. Cóż, tak jak się spodziewałam, dali nam cytaty. A ja w tym momencie wpadłam w szał ( mogę się zawsze tłumaczyć niepoczytalnością z powodu gorączki). To były moje ulubione zajęcia w tym semestrze, i naprawdę chciałam zdać ten egzamin jak tylko najlepiej. A teraz wysyłam modły ku niebu, by tylko zdać.

I znowu nie mogę spać. Pewnie to już nie wiadomo jaka część mojej cholernej bezsenności. I się czuję źle. I pada śnieg. I to jak!

Co się ze mną dzieje do cholery?

kolejny problem. A nawet dwa miliony. Człowiek, któremu powiedziałam 3 razy ( raz miło, drugi raz normalnie trzeci raz stanowczo) NIET,że nici z tego, znowu do mnie wypisuje. I znowu się przyczepił ( że tak się wyrażę), i znowu tu przyjeżdża i znowu wypisuje i wypytuje. Po jakiemu ja mam do niego przemawiać? On nie rozumie, że ja nie mam nawet czasu pod koniec tygodnia by za przeproszeniem ( nie napiszę) ? I przyczepił się i drugi. Dobrze, że mieszka jeszcze dalej. Nic dziwnego, że mam nerwicę i nie mogę spać. Nic dziwnego....

Oh Yuk!

Warning, do not read this if you are at all squeamish!
Hopefully, by the time I post this I will have a creation, of some sort. Might entitle it “child vomiting all over you whilst giving him a cuddle” which is what happened as I walked my youngest to school. The title might need some work but you can’t say children don’t inspire (rolls eyes and sighs!) It’s a new style of experiential pictures!He was scooting along on the way to school, I was walking the dog. When he stopped suddenly and said he had a “tummy ache” he looked cold and burst into tears. I picked him up and gave him a cuddle, then he was sick! I won’t go into more detail but it was horrid!!!!
After walking home with a child and myself (covered in it), a scooter and a dog! Removing all soiled garments with the dog shut outside and cleaning up and changing…I consequently spent most of today cuddling a sick child. He was too fidgety for that me to be able to paint. Hopefully tonight! Is it me or am I finding too many excuses at the moment? I spent a little time on an abstract but not sketching – didn’t have my book handy, when will I learn??????
Update: Not quite finished with the abstract so it will have to wait until tomorrow, I’m learning patience! Yesterday I found out via Linked in about a website that does artist interviews and promotion free. I thought I’d give it a try, nothing to lose and it might be worthwhile. I’ve had a reply to say they’d like to feature me, so I’ll keep you posted! Watch this space.
As I have no new pictures, I thought I’d share an old one. This is a sketch I did outside the Smithsonian in Washington in 1994. It’s A4, I’ve since discovered pastel is easier when it’s BIG!

Roger Federer breaks Davydenko-curse
to reach the semi-finals of the
Australian Open !

Just minutes ago , the world and myself witnessed a classic fairytale ending .

An exhilarating match between the Russian bald bastard , Nikolay Davydenko and the Swiss Maestro , Roger Federer .

The match ended by 2-6 , 6-3 , 6-0 , 7-5 .

The first set was shit for Federer . As the sun and shade disrupted his play , he fell terribly by 2-6 to the arrogant Nikolay Davydenko .

After the first set , Federer took a toilet break and slowly took his time to and back to the court.

It was revealed later on in the interview that Federer took his sweet time going to the toilet to hopefully wait for the sun and shade to pass by the court so that his vision will not be interrupted.

In case none of you do not understand what I mean , here's a brief explanation .

The russian hits shot from the shady part , and out to Federer
at the sunny part .
Which means , a fast moving ball will techinically be flying out
from the dark into the light .

Imagine a football being kicked to you from a pitch black room .
You can't see the ball coming until it hits you at point blank range .

This is what Federer's conditions were .

So , that's what Federer was trying to avoid . He decided to stall the match by slowly taking a toilet break .

This is what I call brilliance with a stroke of genius by the genius .




And during the second set , Federer broke the Russian's serve and took the set to a 6-3 victory .

Once the sun and shade factor was gone , Federer demolished the Russian at the 3rd set by annihilating Davedenko by a humialiting 6-0 !

As for the final set , both players had their chances of breaking each other's service once or twice. It was really interesting to see the tanacity of Davydenko as he scrambles around the court trying to keep up under pressure by Federer .

At the last point , Federer hit a cross court forehand winner to seal the set by 7-5 .



I really knew deep down Federer will win . It's just mere impossible by the fact that the world number one will give some bald Russian the chance on winning the AO .

Besides , that Russian looked horrible throughout the match . He looked like Grandma Yeon being trampled by a herd of cows with a dash of piss on the face .

The conclusion is that no one on this Earth can win a match and still look so full of class from the beginning to the end .

No one is better than the man himself ,

Roger Federer .

*********

In the women's tennis , Serena Williams blasted her way through to the semi-finals after defeating Victoria Azarenka by 4-6 , 7-6 , 6-2 .

However , Serena's elder sister Venus was taken out by China's Li Na by 2-6 , 7-6 , 7-5 .

Which means , Li Na will be facing a bigger and stronger version of the Williams Sisters at the semis , Serena Williams .

My money's on Serena .



On the other side , Justine Henin of Belgium will be facing China's Zheng Jie at the semis .

The chances of Zheng Jie of winning this match is really low but I'll root for her considering our backgrounds ( Chinese people rules ! )

But statistically , Justine Henin has the upper advantage of winning the match considering how she has been playing since the start of the Australian Open .

BUT , if Zheng Jie and Li Na were to defeat their opponents , it will REALLY be an amazing thing to see as for the FIRST TIME EVER , two Chinese women tennis players will battle it out at the finals of this big event .



Now , THAT'S interesting to see .

(:




Signing off ,

The ever enthusiatic ,


- Jaden -

Kaka Best Wallpaper

Kaka Best Wallpaper

Kaka Football Images

Kaka & Pato of AC Milan

"The CIT Deception" by brokenstyx

Some guy from here in the UK has made this debunking of CIT. It's a very good analysis of their methods and distortions. He does an amazing job at analysing Roosevelt Roberts' testimony in part 2, and even uses a flight simulator in Part 4 to prove that a north side impact may be possible.











Related Info:

National Geographic, Muse, Internet Censorship, Sibel Edmonds, Invisible Empire, 911-DIS.INFO and the Union of Truthers and Debunkers

Not All Debunking Is Created Equal

Dawn Vignola’s Account vs. CIT’s Methods by Erik Larson

Scootle's CIT Deception Mock Trailer

Meetings and Birthdays!

Nothing to post today. I’ve been doing birthday preparations, my middle child just turned 9 and I had a very long but productive meeting about the Buckingham Art for All Art trail. Hopefully will do some sketching later and post tomorrow. Some exciting potential developments but need to be kept on the QT!

Javier Saviola Wallpaper

Javier Saviola Football Players

Javier Saviola Photo

Javier Saviola Best Picture