tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14990413867167585042024-03-19T05:33:44.766-07:00gotnikMGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403264219334669670noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1499041386716758504.post-61561154799800746272022-02-26T14:07:00.000-08:002024-02-26T14:12:03.684-08:00The Latest VR Games: A Dive into the Future of Fun<p>Virtual reality (VR) has been one of the most exciting and promising technologies of the last decade. With the ability to immerse users in fully interactive digital worlds, VR has revolutionized the way we experience entertainment. In this article, we'll explore some of the latest <a href="https://vrgamerworld.website/" target="_blank">VR games</a> that are taking the gaming experience to new heights.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr3ImZ9Ityl8OwGR6HomDMC1qwOSWBslmt7dGvTxzo2AWo1QX6N098cxBtuPnGAnmM8yP7lHUfL7uvehL6UOihHa6cQ5LjmGB5l5iAdT5RulX8J5FK1CDcoyq-B_ykLTzgYCeKikESUxBRssjBF8KxptK8E7BNMcQ9tFrNj_IOlZFfmJjAm3oU9YKmXHE/s616/Half-Life%20Alyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="616" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr3ImZ9Ityl8OwGR6HomDMC1qwOSWBslmt7dGvTxzo2AWo1QX6N098cxBtuPnGAnmM8yP7lHUfL7uvehL6UOihHa6cQ5LjmGB5l5iAdT5RulX8J5FK1CDcoyq-B_ykLTzgYCeKikESUxBRssjBF8KxptK8E7BNMcQ9tFrNj_IOlZFfmJjAm3oU9YKmXHE/w640-h366/Half-Life%20Alyx.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">1. Half-Life: Alyx</h2><p>Half-Life: Alyx is one of the most anticipated VR games of all time. Developed by Valve Corporation, the game is a prequel to the Half-Life series and follows protagonist Alyx Vance as she battles an alien invasion in a dystopian city. With stunning graphics and immersive gameplay, Half-Life: Alyx is a perfect example of how VR can take storytelling and gameplay to new heights.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2. Beat Saber</h2><p>Beat Saber is a VR rhythm game that has gained significant popularity since its release in 2018. In the game, players use motion controllers to slice colored blocks to the beat of the music. With a wide variety of songs and difficulty levels, Beat Saber is a game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages and skill levels.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">3. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners</h2><p>The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a VR survival horror game based on the popular TV series. In the game, players must fight off hordes of zombies as they explore a post-apocalyptic world. With immersive gameplay and an exciting story, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a game that will keep players on the edge of their seats.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">4. Star Wars: Squadrons</h2><p>Star Wars: Squadrons is a VR space combat game that allows players to pilot iconic Star Wars spacecraft. With stunning graphics and exciting gameplay, Star Wars: Squadrons is a game that will delight fans of the franchise.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">5. No Man's Sky VR</h2><p>No Man's Sky VR is a virtual reality version of the popular space exploration game No Man's Sky. In the game, players can explore a procedurally generated universe, discover new planets and alien species, and trade with other players. With immersive gameplay and a wealth of content, No Man's Sky VR is a game that offers a unique and exciting gaming experience.</p><p><br /></p><p>Virtual reality has revolutionized the way we experience entertainment, and the latest VR games are a testament to that. With stunning graphics, exciting gameplay, and unparalleled immersion, these games are taking the gaming experience to new heights. Whether you're a VR enthusiast or just looking for a new way to experience entertainment, these games are definitely worth checking out.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yHYVL0nwQhc?si=3_O2rBHdfPHrAK4R" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_h-yLK_nj5CtTOKkGPa_SVhpfInizsRw-VuKwcskNOzFu4-SnLL3cxXBN7B77wkvaiRiEqqAypn19ekDx-cdjZs41hd_KtIyzI5NU0edVYvR2Cc_SmlKBBKobM8EsmgiZO2NW02i7ag/s1600/nba.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_h-yLK_nj5CtTOKkGPa_SVhpfInizsRw-VuKwcskNOzFu4-SnLL3cxXBN7B77wkvaiRiEqqAypn19ekDx-cdjZs41hd_KtIyzI5NU0edVYvR2Cc_SmlKBBKobM8EsmgiZO2NW02i7ag/s400/nba.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The brand of premium hearing aids Beats and the National Basketball Association in the United States (NBA) announced an alliance to turn the firm into the official audio partner of the NBA, the National Women's Basketball Association (WNBA), the NBA G League and USA Basketball from October of this year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As part of the partnership with the NBA, Beats will provide players with hearing aids to use during the main events, including NBA All-Star, NBA Draft presented by State Farm, NBA international games in China and Europe, WNBA All -Star, WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, and the exhibition tours of the national men's and women's basketball teams in the United States. In addition, Beats will collaborate and establish separate agreements with the NBA teams.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The multi-year agreement will build on the global recognition of the music and technology brand while expanding its list of NBA stars, including LeBron James, Draymond Green, James Harden, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">NBA commissioner Adam Silver said: "Through our partnership, we have a great opportunity to merge sports, pop culture and technology to offer unparalleled experiences and premium products to our fans."</div><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">"The NBA and its players have long been important drivers of global culture. Basketball, music and style are the same voice: Julius Erving became an icon of the style, Allen Iverson consolidated the place of hip hop on and off the court and LeBron is constantly discovering new music ... the list goes on and on "Said Luke Wood, president of Beats by Dr. Dre."<br />
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This is what the video that makes the announcement of the alliance looks like:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T_KLPuk332Y?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<u><b>Beyond sport</b></u><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">The work of Beats is not limited to the sports industry, but also to permeate in other sectors, such as the automotive industry. Some examples of collaborations in this area are the following have been with Chrysler in 2012, when for the first time the sound experience of Beats was transferred to a car: the Chrysler 300S 2012. This partnership led the music studio to non-car consumers. only by adding horns, but also working with the music creators themselves to reproduce the sound the way it is done in the studio. With Seat, the collaboration began last year by offering BeatsAudio as a premium sound system in different models of the range (Ibiza, Leon, Arona and Ateca).</div><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l8MSXa58d7jCuAHLA2GK7QFII2r7iTB2w10CX5T6rWK3gzkQd2lBnp49TmrbuwxImzB8CiFuwX7kIA2GOtB3XW36QUw5zH3J1nioae6Bv8fDxhpaBZdY5kqXk1T0RwfjicSaOTk58wk/s1600/soundseeker.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l8MSXa58d7jCuAHLA2GK7QFII2r7iTB2w10CX5T6rWK3gzkQd2lBnp49TmrbuwxImzB8CiFuwX7kIA2GOtB3XW36QUw5zH3J1nioae6Bv8fDxhpaBZdY5kqXk1T0RwfjicSaOTk58wk/s400/soundseeker.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now your photographs can not only be observed, but also listen. Royal Caribbean presented the first mobile application that will transform travelers' most memorable photos into music. It is through artificial intelligence that the SoundSeeker app creates a predetermined track based on the mood projected in your photographs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Available for free, this app works by uploading three photographs of your choice to your platform, which analyzes them according to their colors, background, emotions, body language and face. Afterwards, SoundSeeker processes the information obtained and turns it into a unique piece of musical art that can be shared through your social networks, acting as a virtual DJ to musicalize the most presumable moments of life.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The arrival of this application is a sample of the new ways available to share our most emotional moments using tools that use the highest technology. And in this case, it is thanks to the innovation of companies like Royal Caribbean supported by the Music Theory and by the Berklee College of Music that this app is available online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Berklee took advantage of the theory of music to create a roadmap for the tool that helps determine the musical pairing of the photos, taking into account the combinations of tone, tempo and instrumental, among others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SoundSeeker uses machine learning, an artificial intelligence technique that allows computers to simulate human intelligence and make decisions for themselves without explicit instructions. During the development of SoundSeeker, Royal Caribbean, along with a team of musicians and technologists, made connections between hundreds of music tracks and more than 10,000 photos to teach SoundSeeker how to make these connections.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The AI in SoundSeeker uses Google Cloud Vision to identify objects, facial expressions and colors in a user's photo, making reference to the route map developed by the leaders in music theory at Berklee. SoundSeeker finds the musical elements corresponding to each mood in the photo to compose a genuinely different audiovisual photo album.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SoundSeeker is equipped to generate over one million unique tracks, based on custom base tracks, composed exclusively for Royal Caribbean's SoundSeeker. Custom tracks are inspired by a wide variety of music, including hip-hop from the 90s, rock, and electronic and modern dance music.</div><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Are you ready to create music with your images?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigW_twbcfJAjAGztCSVPD_5S9bmi_0TMxCBUCkJDTWEOdIUR8u62-4m8VpHTri2CwRRl4jUdQ68gFSlWw-ERhlX5vsT52WFmv62nTjxyj8AkdxerIZz8aiXKM8Y979ZTW-eFVyY4Ff1CQ/s1600/Tesla-surf-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tesla surfboard" border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigW_twbcfJAjAGztCSVPD_5S9bmi_0TMxCBUCkJDTWEOdIUR8u62-4m8VpHTri2CwRRl4jUdQ68gFSlWw-ERhlX5vsT52WFmv62nTjxyj8AkdxerIZz8aiXKM8Y979ZTW-eFVyY4Ff1CQ/s400/Tesla-surf-01.jpg" title="Tesla surfboard" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">When we thought that Tesla could not surprise us, it brings to the market a new product that has impressed everyone: a surfboard. That's right, although the company has not only specialized in the creation of vehicles now it seems that it wants to dominate the sports market with the launch of this tool.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">It was an unannounced release. What was it due to? probably to the limited edition of this surfboard: only 2 thousand of them were sold on their platform last weekend at a price of 1,500 dollars each, and as expected, sold out in full in a matter of minutes Today, they are already considered a collection product that will probably never be used for what was originally created.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLNOkk5JAbCXGk4xjhtFViYiZzVGjB2AFmPxKAPg6i9rAgBvv0CZ2y3UIKX6h_dPQkcnDd2H0uszzsXouk36P-SY5g7w7YC9xmOh6spxjwmdAifjVxo_G7qoAgVbw1tIrTvwRueKQjPg/s1600/Tesla-surf-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Luxury surboards Testa" border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="900" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLNOkk5JAbCXGk4xjhtFViYiZzVGjB2AFmPxKAPg6i9rAgBvv0CZ2y3UIKX6h_dPQkcnDd2H0uszzsXouk36P-SY5g7w7YC9xmOh6spxjwmdAifjVxo_G7qoAgVbw1tIrTvwRueKQjPg/s400/Tesla-surf-02.jpg" title="Luxury surboards Testa" width="400" /></a></div><br />
But what makes this surfboard different from the others? His design. The new product of Tesla could not be far from the capacity in the matter that characterizes the brand, and therefore, the table has a matt and shiny finish that resembles some boards of Tesla cars, in addition to having a "Black Dart" carbon fiber platform similar to the one that many of its vehicles have inside it.<br />
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Behind his conception is a collaboration with Lost Surfboards and surfer Matt "Mayhem" Biolos, fundamental to create this limited edition of Tesla.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoew0kvqjgPDa6D5M2sgCGVts50eK1eqd5Fjuyg44ts2GEAxCIOVmcrSd4IcyWQqokJEegukgF0j0yU1NU7jXe31DpJxgMBE9jl2l1UXIbKfQv3LVrxkTsaZQ2-F56ZwWK9zP29YucuQ/s1600/Tesla-surf-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Luxury Testa surfboards" border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="900" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoew0kvqjgPDa6D5M2sgCGVts50eK1eqd5Fjuyg44ts2GEAxCIOVmcrSd4IcyWQqokJEegukgF0j0yU1NU7jXe31DpJxgMBE9jl2l1UXIbKfQv3LVrxkTsaZQ2-F56ZwWK9zP29YucuQ/s400/Tesla-surf-03.jpg" title="Luxury Testa surfboards" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Esta singular tabla de surf de Tesla se une al catálogo de creaciones de la compañía, entre las tazas, sudaderas, camisetas, juguetes para niños y una popular batería externa para celulares en forma de súper cargador.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">¿Cuál será la próxima creación de la compañía?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First it was PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds: since the second half of 2017 it began to gather millions of adult players in this title of vast dimensions and realistic aesthetics.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Then appeared Fortnite: Battle Royale, a game that was initially based on construction but evolved with a game mode direct to what was being a trend. This work of the company Epic Games had only 7 million users in October, but now it has more than 45 million.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">There is no doubt that one of the explanations of its success is that it is free. Unlike other video games that take away the sleep of the youngest - those who do not have the money to spend freely but depend on their parents - this work is free-to-play.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This means that starting to play does not cost money and, therefore, spending hours and hours with friends using voice chat only requires the console and Internet connection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And despite everything, Epic Games has come out the round with more than 126 million dollars in revenue through cosmetic elements with this modality created in just two months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also a title that enters through the eyes. Unlike other alternatives within the multiplayer shooters, Fortnite: Battle Royale has a graphic engine created by the company itself: Unreal Engine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are absolute connoisseurs of this tool, facilitating that both the animation of the characters and the recreation of the world are attractive for the youngest of the house and those who already have more than thirty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A fundamental difference with other rivals is that you can build things, a mechanics that increases the player's intervention in the manipulation of the world; and unique games are created where, depending on what the future is constructed, it will take on an unexpected aspect.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The daily attention deposited to the project confirm the commitment of the study in the game: constant updates; new content each month that invites you to return to know how these developments affect the games; Few drops of servers online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The arrival of Fortnite: Battle Royale to mobile devices has been the straw that has filled the glass, eliminating any remaining barrier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ElRubius Sunday event, with a streaming of 100 youtubers with more than 10 million viewers, highlights this video game.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Would you put your brain in the hands of scientists who can create immersive worlds and even fool your mind to think that these images are real? This team of neuroscientists is trying to reverse engineer experiences by stimulating neurons to excite the same neural patterns.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Currently, the steps to achieve this are ... a bit invasive. Scientists genetically modify neurons with photosensitive proteins so that they can carefully manipulate neurons using light. This is what we know as optogenetics, for which a metal plate must also be implanted surgically on the target area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists announced an essential first step to simulate false sensations in the human brain that are so real that our brains can think that they really are ours, that we experience them at some time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Researchers Nicolas C. Pégard, Alan R. Mardinly and Ian Antón Oldenburg (under the supervision of Hillel Adesnik), detailed how they 'hacked' the brains of laboratory rats to create such false images. They used laser lighter flashes in the brain to activate or suppress individual neurons. By doing this, they were able to simulate patterns that mimic brain activity. Thus, they tried to show visual stimuli in the form of holographic obstacles, which the running mice tried to avoid actively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The technology used to generate the holograms is called "optogenetics without 3D scanning with temporal focus" or 3D-SHOT. A liquid crystal display acts as a photographic negative, but for holograms. Using this negative, scientists mold the lasers in 3D patterns of their choice, inside the brain. Then, the laser pulses are fired every millisecond in bursts to maintain the hologram.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How did the researchers know that the mouse brain was effectively "cheated"?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"At the same time we used our holograms, we could see the neurons blinking," explains Alan R. Mardinly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The scientists also recorded video footage of what they were seeing inside the brain of the rodents. The activated neurons shone fluorescent green, while the purple arrows indicated the laser light that activates them.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">But it was not 3D-SHOT that caught the attention: "The ingenuity of the team led us to the advancement of the study: the ability to direct and fire specific neurons without causing neighboring neurons to activate.We knew that each neuron has its own distant target that you are trying to achieve, but unless you can enter and write a pattern in a neuron and not in the neighboring neuron, you do not have the ability to ask questions about what is happening and what these different patterns mean, "Oldenburg explains.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For some observers, the experiment invites comparisons with science fiction and fears that this technology will inevitably be used for mind control or emotional manipulation. The researchers reject this kind of thinking. First, just because in a mouse it can be done, it does not mean that in a human it does.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A personal assistant, a unique remote control and a Smart Hub will be the instruments to manage all compatible connected devices and appliances, thanks to the new SmartThings application.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">SmartThings is an open standard for IoT that will connect Samsung products and any brand adhering to this protocol. Smart is the implementation of this approach in the entire line of Samsung TVs, and starts from the moment the TV is removed from box.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing that the user has to do, before setting up his Smart TV, is to download the SmartThings application on his mobile device, be it Android or IOS. Customers who have Galaxy S8 Smartphone or later already have this app on their device. Once discharged, the TV on power-up detects the SmartThing app via Bluetooth. From here you just have to connect, configure the WiFi and use the SmartThing application to configure the Smart Hub screen and the applications that the client wants to appear on the main panel of your TV.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SmartThings not only helps to set up the TV. It also achieves that the mobile device can become a platform to see and interact with all the IoT devices that the user has in the home. But also SmartThings offers the client additional functions such as notification of connected IoT devices, display of the universal guide on the Smartphone, calendar appointments, notifications of the content of the TV, control of the TV on the Smartphone, control panels of all IoT devices connected, or access to the new functions of Ambient Mode and Universal Guide available on the Samsung Smart TVs of 2018.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>One Remote, Universal Guide, TV Plus and Steam Link</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the Smart TV is connected and configured with all the devices and with the SmartPhone through SmartThing, the customer can use the Samsung One Remote to navigate the content and operate the television using voice control. 2018 is the third year in which Samsung offers the One Remote solution that allows to control with a single command all the connected devices. It has autodetection, so the control will automatically recognize all the devices, controlling them at the moment, to avoid having the room full of controls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2016 One Remote was able to control the television, the decoder, the video game console and the Blu-ray player. In 2017 Samsung's product control for audio and video was added as systems and speakers for home theater. And in 2018 Samsung adds the compatibility with audio and video products connected by optical cable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With Samsung's Universal Guide, the user has a personalized panel that provides access to content from all sources, and integrated into a single screen for easy navigation. In this way Samsung is able to offer recommendations based on preferences and what the user has seen before, so the more you use it the better the recommendations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The main screen of the Universal Guide is the "For you" screen, which offers recommendations according to your tastes, being a new feature in the television sets of 2018. This screen will show the current and upcoming content of the television in direct, 4K contents, and news , among others. For sports and music the offer of the guide is similar to that of the televisions of 2017. And the voice assistant allows vocal navigation and searches in the universal guide.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">TV Plus, another reference feature of Samsung's Smart TVs, shows a separate icon that appears first in the Smart Hub section and adds content from different OTT providers to the TV channel line, making it easier to access that content. This platform being one of the largest in offering 4k content.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Solutions for the smart home</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the field of the IoT, and using Samsung's SmartThings platform, "V-Home by Vodafone" allows customers to control smart devices from their homes from the smartphone, compatible with the Samsung SmartThings ecosystem.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The best fitness bracelets of 2018: Buying guide</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What data do we want to register?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most important thing: we must consider what is our sporting activity, and from there choose the wearable that best fits our needs. Some fitness wristbands collect the number of steps and calories burned. Others add a heart rate monitor that helps us know if we are doing the exercise correctly.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Do we want moral support?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes. Motivation is really important when doing sports, and many activity monitors have interesting functions to "force" you to do sports. In most you can select a daily goal and know when you have reached it, while others, through your app, allow you to get medals or compete against your friends. Many have alarms to warn you of your periods of inactivity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Battery life</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The typical battery life of these devices is one week, but we can find one with a duration of only two days and others with a duration of up to more than 1 year. The use of your fitness bracelet will also influence the battery life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Waterproof</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If your main sport is swimming, you need a water resistant wristband. But you also have to consider if you want a device with which you can get in without a problem in the shower and forget that you have it on you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Smart functions</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do you want it to work as a smartwatch and give you notifications on your mobile? Incoming calls or messages will appear on your wristband.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Do you want to wear it on your wrist or somewhere else?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not all of these activity monitors are put on the wrist, others work with a clip to put on clothes or even put in your pocket.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The activity monitor applications</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Increasingly important. A good app greatly improves the experience of using the fitness bracelet. Fitbit and Jawbone have excellent applications. We will also be able to consult all our records on the PC or even online websites subscribing to the services provided by some brands.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The 3 best fitness bracelets of 2018: the best physical activity monitors</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.-Garmin Vívosmart HR+</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJtafihOwICg6P2TZhqUZxL5EbyNZ29rYwVgDv57xGprxmKi0reefl3Rib1BXValVItVGOVIqMfaNRpJVxScJ2tU8QJUh7aYzEwZxtZl9Zj9Vkmk7EI5tzsy9VL7jfOWkF2KtBvW927M/s1600/garmin-vivosmart-hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="473" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJtafihOwICg6P2TZhqUZxL5EbyNZ29rYwVgDv57xGprxmKi0reefl3Rib1BXValVItVGOVIqMfaNRpJVxScJ2tU8QJUh7aYzEwZxtZl9Zj9Vkmk7EI5tzsy9VL7jfOWkF2KtBvW927M/s640/garmin-vivosmart-hr.jpg" width="431" /></a></div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Water resistant design</li>
<li>5 days of battery life</li>
<li>GPS and pulse control</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">It's not that it has the best style in the world, but its features are truly spectacular. It has an accelerometer, barometric altimeter, GPS and an optical heart rate monitor. It is water resistant to 50M, so you will never have to remove it from the wrist. And best of all, the measurements it provides are very accurate. The Garmin App is very good. Its price is somewhat high.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.-Withings Go</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HvOYNSp7BclcBSvvhDKxdEPr4fNCcAUUIWMqsL_7m97v3VQHCGcSTkNXLa0vblN-B9NZ6vW3shsNCD9rA1yI7-gTqwnJGsQIvsL7o7KFcXb0ecikZ6v-3k_PQwae5UTaFmkuo8vnBiE/s1600/Withings_Go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HvOYNSp7BclcBSvvhDKxdEPr4fNCcAUUIWMqsL_7m97v3VQHCGcSTkNXLa0vblN-B9NZ6vW3shsNCD9rA1yI7-gTqwnJGsQIvsL7o7KFcXb0ecikZ6v-3k_PQwae5UTaFmkuo8vnBiE/s640/Withings_Go.jpg" width="431" /></a></div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>1 "e-ink screen</li>
<li>Weight: 9grams</li>
<li>Compatible with Android and iOS</li>
<li>The battery lasts 8 months</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a very simple fitness bracelet with an impressive battery life and a lot of options. Automatically track the steps of walking and running, calories burned, distance and swimming, in addition to controlling your sleep cycles. You can wear it on your wrist, hold it with the clip or in your pocket. On the other hand, you can not see the time on the dial and it does not have backlighting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3.-Moov Now</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tC6V07kIbd9T264UYEEOiUh7GINwCK5KOVjqh1xAdywTZqoNMxOaxZ779iBIyzYR9BpSe2WdrKXZ0eo_SsHPiKrJZF1xJMYyowKCcQrSaA0b3Fn7hCK0ZCbGxJfILe3fXbJbvMBdXQs/s1600/Moov_now_M1508BL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="443" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tC6V07kIbd9T264UYEEOiUh7GINwCK5KOVjqh1xAdywTZqoNMxOaxZ779iBIyzYR9BpSe2WdrKXZ0eo_SsHPiKrJZF1xJMYyowKCcQrSaA0b3Fn7hCK0ZCbGxJfILe3fXbJbvMBdXQs/s400/Moov_now_M1508BL.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>With personal trainer</li>
<li>Resistant to water and dust</li>
<li>Serves running, cycling, walking, swimming, boxing</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">A curious design for a model that has enhanced the original fitness bracelet. Moov Now is designed to be worn on the wrist or ankle, and comes with two straps. He is able to record many types of activities. and has a 9-axis sensor that can capture any type of movement you make. It has a personal trainer by voice and the battery life is up to 6 months (button battery). The level of detail in their statistics is very good.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some examples...</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many small-sized technological devices can be considered gadgets, such as mobile phones, remote controls, iPods, PDAs, calculators, watches, etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Google also has its sidebar with many (virtual) gadgets that can be used with the operating system Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac and GNU Linux</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">The pen (pencil), the spanner, the comb, the fork, among many others, also fit within the less technological definition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The best gadgets of today</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The TIME magazine prepared a list with the technological devices that marked the year 2010. The great and famous Apple managed to position four of its products. The iPad was established as the electronic device of the year, according to the publication. Although it is not the first touchscreen tablet, it did manage to sell 3 million units in just one month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the TIME list, the Samsung Galaxy S appears as the second best device of the year. It is one of the leading representatives of Android in the smartphone segment, giving a tough fight to the iPhone 4.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The MacBook Air 11 is the third in the list of the magazine. After the boom in netbooks, companies once again gave importance to the ultralight segment, in which Apple's Mac Air 11 "is a worthy exponent. Logi</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">tech Revue is the device that fits in the fourth position. It serves to connect to the new platform of Google TV, the new adventure of the computer company that intends to integrate television and internet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite not having been a sales success, the Nexus One occupies a good position in the TIME list. It is the first Google smartphone, which has already ordered a new model from Samsung, and, therefore, the first Android representative in the market.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The iPhone 4 is the third Apple device in the list of the most prominent gadgets of the year. Despite the innocence of Apple in the error of the antenna, the smartphone immediately caught the attention of users: they sold more than 1.5 million units in less than a week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apple's latest device, in seventh place on the list, is Apple TV, which allows content to be played via streaming.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Toshiba Libretto occupies the position number eight. It is a 7 "dual touch screen tablet, a concept that Acer took and improved with its Iconia: a powerful notebook with dual 14" touch screen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Microsoft's Kinect is the second to last on the TIME list. The new motion control for the Xbox 360 console is the beginning of the end of manual controls for videogames, which led the company to sell millions in a few months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nook Color closes the top ten. The Barnes & Noble e-reader incorporates Android, a novelty in the segment.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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Mission<br />
Social object<br />
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The fundamental purpose of the AUF is to promote, disseminate and increase culture in all its manifestations, especially through physical culture, and through football as a physical, recreational, educational and hygienic exercise, for which:<br />
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a) direct and promote football throughout the country, developing friendly relations with associations or institutions in other countries, promoting the organization of football matches and tournaments, controlling strict compliance with the rules of the game imposed by the International Football Association Board, in order to prevent any irregular practice of this sport;<br />
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b) promote, create and maintain centers and institutes where cultural, social and sports expressions are encouraged, particularly those aimed at the healthy development of children, youth and sports in general;<br />
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c) will remain, in the fulfillment of its purposes, alien to any question that has no direct relationship with the culture or an expression through sports. Discrimination against any country, individual or group of people is prohibited because of their ethnic origin, sex, language, religion, politics or for any other reason. The contravention will be punishable with suspension or exemption.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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I used to wake up to Rachel’s voice two inches from my face as she stood beside my bed wishing me good morning. Before that, I woke to her toddler kisses and wet breath on my face when she climbed into our bed at six in the morning. Now more often I wake to the sound of sisters, connecting happily before making that first connection with Mom or Dad. “There were bells, In the air………” I heard Hannah singing sweetly this morning while she played with her sister. The other morning I heard Rachel explaining the gag reflex to Hannah, “You see, Hannah, when you smell throw up it makes you want to throw up.” This is a fact I had pointed out to Rachel a day earlier after Rachel vomited on my bedroom carpet. She saw me gag when I was cleaning it up and said, “Gee, Mom, I think you’re getting sick, too.” Now here they were, the next morning, playing throw-up together with a yellow salad bowl. Hannah kneeling in front of the yellow salad bowl, not quite getting what throw-up really is, which is ironic, I might add, since she was quite the barf queen when she was a baby. </div>
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Late this morning, Hannah watched as I sat on the bathroom floor with Rachel, rubbing her back and holding her belly (the only thing that seemed to soothe her). She didn’t actually throw up, but we spent a good intense hour getting through a wave of what I assume was nausea. Later this afternoon, Hannah quietly beckoned me into the bathroom. “I’m going to throw up,” she announced cheerfully. “Does your tummy hurt?” I asked skeptically. “No.” she responded, patting the tiles of the bathroom, showing me she wanted me to sit in the same position she saw me in with Rachel. She leaned over the toilet bowl and said, “After I’m done, I’m going to get a biiiiiiiiig treat. Like going poo-poo.” We sat for a few seconds. “Are you done?” I asked. She nodded. We got up and went back in the kitchen. “Did you throw up?” her Dad asked. “Yup.” She answered importantly.</div>
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Somehow, the stomach flu has not flattened us to the floor today. Rachel’s stomach virus seems to hit about once every 24 hours without a whole lot of trauma in between. (I literally knocked on wood after I wrote that.) Mr. R and I managed to finish cleaning the garage. A BIG deal, considering we haven’t been able to park our cars in the garage since we had our house painted last Christmas. A very long stretch—even for us. As I sat working in the garage it struck me how much easier things have gotten, even on a barfing day. Hannah was sitting at the table in the art room we set up in the garage. Rachel was inside watching Music Man, the garage door propped open so we could hear if anything went wrong. No toddler grabbing things from the shelves. No baby screeching for me with arms stretched out. Six hours out of ten the girls play beautifully together. If I play a part in their pretend games, I only need to play a supporting role, if anything. I’m usually assigned the role of “Grandma,” who occasionally baby-sits while “Mom” goes out. Feeling a little frumpy about playing Grandma once again (No offense to the grandmas our there. If anyone is frumpy, it's me.), I asked if I could be a Princess Grandma. Rachel thought, no. A Queen Grandma would be more appropriate. I protested at first, but then gave myself the role of Queen of England, which amused me greatly. I tried to get the girls to act out nursery rhymes for me, while I recited them in a posh accent, but that fizzled quickly. I just may be losing my touch.</div>
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A day earlier, I was feeling playful and put a book on my head, beginning to walk around the room. It reminded me of my sister’s best friend in grade school, who used to run away from her Catholic school to our house, where she’d end up hanging out with me, while my Mom waited for her parents to pick her up. My sisters, who were going to public school, were at school when she’d come. She’d usually teach me lessons that the nuns had taught her, like how to act like a "lady." How to do a sort of curtsey when you pick up your handkerchief. And how to walk with a book on your head. So I was amusing myself the this day thinking of Sis's friend as I placed a book on my head, “Look, I am walking like a…..” I paused. Did I really want to say lady? Thinking, thinking. What I really was feeling was powerful. Yoga has made me feel strong and well balanced, able to hold a book on my head. So I stood there, looking for the right word. Hannah finished the sentence for me: “like a skunk!”</div>
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At the same time life seems to be getting easier, other things are shifting, keeping things challenging. Rachel doesn’t nap, so my down time is limited. Right now, she is supposed to be taking a quiet time. Instead she has made her way into this office. I told her if she wanted to stay with me, she had to remember that it was my quiet time, too. She drew, and then made her way back to my desk, picking items up and asking me very sweet questions about them. I began to remind her that quiet time required actual quiet. Finally, I looked at her and smiled. “Are you wanting attention?” She smiled. I held her in my arms, we talked, and then I gave her a project. She is sorting my cards. The girt loves a project, I tell you.</div>
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I had a revelation the other day. I realized that I could actually set official rules in the house. I know. I am a slow learner. (Okay, okay, I watched Super Nanny the other night. Joe is a sweetheart). After dinner, I made an announcement. I wrote six rules on a piece of construction paper as I dictated them. One of the rules made Rachel’s eyes light up. Rule #6: Clean Up Messes Before Watching TV. Rachel interpreted this to mean: When you want to watch TV, clean up and your wish shall be granted. When I explained to her yesterday that was not what the rule meant, she actually went to the rule list, read it out loud, and argued her point, as if the list was the Constitution. I made some faces at her and we laughed. This is where “I’m in charge” comes in handy.</div>
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Oh, what a lengthy wandering post. What I am really DYING to shout to the world about is this. A new purchase. An extravagant purchase. A new baby really. A Baby Grand. The old Raehan probably wouldn’t have told you about it, but I’m feeling bold in my last week here. I’m throwing my privacy issues to the wind. THIS is what is on my mind while I’m rubbing my daughters back in front of the toilet. This baby.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEcBGZzIkkXpsmXMyAZAWYCHcJC0Lydc5_xCUwg4e7zCISsE9Hcs9kl01ZdZ09P4LwXK3K0yMhK0fhMJuMW2CbSsllkuLBgM_dcfuZ5AFLHakl8W6sKEqocNMkt1EWovLnWmyBGNn6Kw/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEcBGZzIkkXpsmXMyAZAWYCHcJC0Lydc5_xCUwg4e7zCISsE9Hcs9kl01ZdZ09P4LwXK3K0yMhK0fhMJuMW2CbSsllkuLBgM_dcfuZ5AFLHakl8W6sKEqocNMkt1EWovLnWmyBGNn6Kw/s1600/001.jpg" /></a></div>
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And my Minnesota roots tell me not to tell you this without apologizing in some way, like to mention that my car is old. Because, well, it is, but also because that’s how I was brought up, feeling apologetic for owning nice things. Tell me you like my sandals, and I’ll tell you I got them half off at a sale. My Dad studied in a monastery and dedicated himself to having a non-materialistic life. That commitment was always part of him. I’ve got all that baggage—good or bad—locked in me.* And really, buying a new piano WAS a very extravagant thing to do, considering not a single one of is a piano virtuoso. But every time I’ve had access to a piano in recent years I’m all over it. I’m thirsting for it. And I have this dream of turning our front room into a music room. The piano hasn’t arrived yet, and my fingers are itching. ITCHING I tell you. The very worrying thing is that as well as my girls play together and often without me, whenever I sit down to play our electric piano, they are all over me and the piano. </div>
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Worrisome indeed. </div>
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Rule #7: When Mama's playing, let her play.</div>
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Oh man. I need a lawyer.</div>
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*(I re-read this and am realizing that the reason I probably want a music room is because my Dad had one growing up. They had a family band and I used to be fascinated by their music parlor and the lore surrounding it. How odd of me not to see this connection. I wish he could be here to play the piano, his clarinet, or even his accordian. I think move his photo to the piano when we're all set up.)</div>
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It started with my post about boundaries. Writing that post left me feeling so unsettled and uncomfortable that I knew something was up inside of me. Last night I figured it out, and then I cried myself to sleep.</div>
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You see, there's been this force moving around inside of me, first like a loose lump of knotted thread and now sometimes like an ocean rolling deep into the night. Last night I recognized it for what it is. It's a voice inside of me, but I can't hear what it's saying. I need to write and find it, but it's not the kind of writing that I want to do here. I am embarassed to write about this because I don't mean to sound all "artsy fartsy" and "I am a writer"-ish. It's just that no matter how much I love you all, this blog will never be a place without boundaries for me and I really want to understand this voice of mine. </div>
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So last night, I imagined my life without my blog, a life where I would have time for more private writing, writing just for me, with no boundaries. I saw it and realized I wanted it. I REALLY wanted it.</div>
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And then I cried. </div>
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For you. For Raehan. For this space. For all these loves of mine.</div>
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++++++++++</div>
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I am going to leave this post up top as a sticky post, but I'm going to spend another week or so here on this blog, writing my heart out about my girls, like I did when I started this gig. You'll find new posts cropping up below this post. I want to capture my girls, bottle them up, in this glorious summer that we're having together. And then on my last day (and you'll know when it comes cause I'll say good-bye), I will write my heart out about me. And I will close the museum, for a long time, perhaps forever. But I'll still be hanging around the neighborhood. And I will send periodic updates for those who leave e-mail addresses.</div>
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Thank you, friends. If love is touching souls, then I love you. </div>
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Tears. I have tears, as Rachel used to say.</div>
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(And what do you know, I have no idea how to do a sticky post on blogger and my browser isn't letting me fiddle with the time-stamp.)</div>
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Catherine Newman is leaving ParentCenter, but she will have a weekly column at Wondertime.com in addition to her newish monthly column there. It looks like the weekly column will stay true to the down and gritty Catherine that we love. However, I also love her monthly column, which is more fully in tune with the compassionate person she is. Her montly column also seems to reflect the tone of Wondertime, which strives to help moms "see the world through the eyes of their children." It's very refreshing.</div>
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The one thing that makes me sad about her move to Wondertime is the loss of the bulletin boards. I love the group of women (well, ahem, most of them) who comment there. Gosh, we should just have a big Ben and Birdy bash. Like BlogHer, but so much better. (I have every right to make this assessment because I wasn't at BlogHer. Ha-ha-ha-ha. I crack myself up.) All of the non-Ben and Birdy groupies that I love need to come, too.</div>
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Gosh, before learning about her new column, I was all ready to write a farewell post describing my feelings for this woman. I think most of her fans feel that there is a division in their lives, pre-Catherine and post-Catherine. </div>
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I never wrote about this here, but I met her at a book signing last year. I was a speechless idiot in her presence, but I loved meeting her and watching her interact with people (I was near the end of the line). She is as funny in person as in her book and columns. The thing she doesn't lilke to admit in her columns is that she is extremely kind. I started loving Catherine because her columns made me giggle like a schoolgirl when I was 8 months pregnant and NOTHING else could make me laugh. Then her writing inspired me to start writing, first in a private journal, then later here. </div>
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What I love about Catherine now, is that more than making me want to be a better writer, she has made me want to be a better person, a better parent. To be honest, I arrogantly thought I was doing okay in that department. Reading about Catherine struggling to be a better parent in her humble, self-depreciating way, has made me realize that I can be better, too. </div>
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That's about all I'll say about that.</div>
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We are in the local supermarket and I have a large grocery list. Hours ago, in a burst of inspiration, I took out our kids cookbooks and chose about 10 recipes to tackle together this week. We need projects. Big time. Hannah is sitting in the back of the cart. I have filled the little shopping cart seat area with fruits and vegetables and I've got eight more aisles to go. My time is running out. There is limited space in the cart and Hannah's expiration time is uncertain.</div>
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"Hey, Mom, let's get Mango Tango!" Rachel says, staring over at the Odwalla juice display.</div>
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"No. It's too expensive." (We sometimes buy it at Costco, where it is about half the price.)</div>
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She thinks for about four seconds and then asks enthusiastically, "But, what if it was on sale?"</div>
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I feel myself getting irritated. Here we go again. Rachel's mind-numbing reasoning. Her ace negotiation skills.</div>
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"We're sticking to the list," I say firmly, not even glancing at the Odwalla stand. The girl had a valid point. I could have checked if it was on sale, but damnit, I just wanted her to take no for an answer. Just once. </div>
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This time the conversation ended there. No more questions. We moved on. On other days, it's an exhausting game of mental gymnastics. The girl is smarter than me. I'm more powerful and ultimately win, but if our sport had a panel of judges, I doubt I'd be so lucky.</div>
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It always baffles me a little when a parent describes a child as easy. Maybe I just haven't had an easy child yet, but my girls are challenging.....easy in some ways, hard in others. Very different from each other, but not opposites. And in no way easy. Rachel was never one to throw public tantrums, but could throw a good one at home. She slept through the night eventually, but not early on, and not when she was sick or teething. She was work, and each age has had different challenges. And rewards.</div>
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I'm always asking her to stop complaining-sometimes her whining seems endless--but at the same time, the girl is an incredibly positive spirit. She was so excited last week when I unscrewed the top of an old IKEA baby dresser and turned it into a small bookshelf for Hannah. She placed the books beautifully on the shelves and was so excited she said, with no sarcasm, "This is the most exciting time I've ever had with you two!" (Stop laughing. We DO get out.)</div>
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There are other frustrating paradoxes. The girl is a fantastic older sister. I mean, it's a beautiful thing. But at the same time, the buttons she can push. Oy. She is constantly telling Hannah she is wrong about something and I am constantly telling her to not correct Hannah--to just let her say what she wants to say. Perhaps it is the younger sister in me. I don't know. But I do know how many conversations end in a battle between older and younger sister of "yes", "no," "yes," "NO!" "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah." Too many. </div>
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My point is, this girl is good. She is fantastic, really. But I am constantly on her case. Sometimes I need to be. And sometimes I need to back off. It's hard to get it exactly right.</div>
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The other day we couldn't find her swimsuit. I had looked for over a half hour and was irritated at her for not helping me look. Okay, she gave a feeble attempt for five feet or so and then collapsed on the floor in a heap. So I went on strike. I told her if she could find her swimsuit we would go and if not we wouldn't. Then I went downstairs and left her in her room to think it over. I wasn't convinced that this was fair of me. I listened to her cry, but I was too tired to get up and keep looking. She stopped crying. She shouted down to me a suggestion about wearing one of Hannah's swimsuits. I hollered back up without listening very carefully that, no, it wasn't appropriate. She couldn't wear a swimsuit that was too small. She protested. I got irritated. She cried. And when she came downstairs and we talked a bit more I understood what she was suggesting. She wanted to wear a bikini top under Hannah's one-piece swimsuit. Hannah's suit was only slightly too small. It was brilliant suggestion, really. The top didn't match the one-piece, but together they looked fine really. We went swimming.</div>
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One afternoon last week--perhaps it was the same day we went swimming, I'm not sure--Rachel was having trouble listening as I was putting Hannah down to nap. We butted heads. And then after a while I went into her room and suggested she come lie down in my bed with me, because I was tired and so was she. She whined a little, because she was over-tired, but then she joined me.</div>
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She lay in my arms as I drifted in and out of sleep. I had flashbacks to when she was two and I had to lay down on the edge of the bed with her to keep her from climbing out of bed. I remembered how I used to have to turn my back to her so she wouldn't get distracted and try to get me to talk or laugh. While my back was turned, I would hear her talking to herself in a two-year old babbling sort of way until she finally fell asleep. Now here she was, such a grown-up, really. And on this afternoon last week, after we had shut our eyes long enough to feel rejuvenated, we looked into each other's eyes and kissed and swooned at each other like lovers. We whispered into each other's ears how nice it was to have this time alone to cuddle.</div>
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And when we got out of bed it was like we were refreshed and reconnected again. Rachel later told me how much she enjoyed that time together. I could see it in her eyes. It was like her spirit was revived.</div>
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Do you ever pay attention to how much time you spend each day making eye contact with people? I'm asking because I forget to, and when I do it makes such a difference. I read somewhere that all a dog needs is five minutes a day of intense attention with an owner. That if you lay down on the floor with them and give them five minutes of complete attention, they'll get the connection they need. I know there are a lot of studies out there talking about how important this kind of intimancy--this connecting-- is in a romantic relationship. And with yoga, I am learning the importance of and joy in re-connecting with my body.*</div>
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Some things really are easy in the end. </div>
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I said, SOME things.</div>
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(I'll actually be back on Tuessday for the Perfect Post Awards and other honorable mentions.)</div>
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*Psst....I can do the full wheel now. Hee-hee.</div>
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I just finished watching Finding Neverland for the first time. Why did you not tell me this movie was so breathtaking? Why have I never really taken to Peter Pan before? Why did Crash win the Oscar and not Neverland? Why does Peter Pan usually look like Sandy Duncan and not Johnny Depp? Why can't I live in England and look like Kate Winslet? Why do I suddenly want to have boys, lots of boys.</div>
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I'll have to read the play and see if makes more sense to me now. To be quite honest, that play always confused the hell out of me. </div>
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I finished setting up bloglines. Please don't tell me I didn't have to manually enter each link on my blogroll. I don't want to know. If you do, I'll knock you over. Or maybe I'll just throw a tantrum. Which one will get me into more trouble?</div>
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See you Monday folks. I'm back to my regularly scheduled program.</div>
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And this is a message to my own Johnny Depp. We miss you! Our windows are open awaiting your flight home.</div>
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Hello again. It's been so quiet here lately. It seems like half of you are on blog vacations, or semi-vacations, and the other half are whipping out hot posts, really sizzling brilliant ones. And here I sit, having a month of "Gee, I really need to get that done" posts. </div>
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Do you know what I love about you? (and I am laughing to myself as I think about it.) Every time I have a "oh I am so boring post" you come and pat me on the head and tell me "oh, you are not boring" and it's like I'm having a party and most everyone has left because the party is REALLY slow, except for a few old friends and they are patting me on the head and telling me what a great party I'm having, And I feel like the luckiest woman alive because of it, and it makes me want to laugh.</div>
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Smoocherooskies. </div>
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++++++++++</div>
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Will you go give a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to my very dear friend, MommaK? Her birthday is on Saturday, but she'll be on vacation. Catch her before she goes, if you can. Happy Birthday K!! You are the Mary to my Laura, the Juliet to my Anna, and a cherished internet sister. Hug. Now go enjoy your vacation.</div>
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++++++++++</div>
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Progress Report</div>
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*Still working on setting up bloglines. If only it didn't involve work.</div>
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*Office looks worse than it was, but is actually close to being done. The piles that exist now are meaningful.</div>
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*Laundry--(ditto from above)</div>
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What else is going on? I painted an old weathered wooden bench today. I love this bench because it glides and at the same time, looks simple. I painted it sunshine yellow and did just a bit of stenciling on it. It has a shabby chic look, which was not intentional, but I'm going with it. I'm starting to get my head into my landscaping and am even playing with the idea of doing a lot of it myself in the fall when I'll have my mornings free. </div>
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I'm getting ready for a girls night out.....except it's really a girls night in. My friends are coming here! Hee-hee. We are ordering Thai and drinking wine. This means I don't have to cook or drive home. It also will be great to be able to move around, mingle, play games, etc. This is my oldest mom's group. A wonderful group of women. I still remember the first time we got together and thinking I didn't really belong there, and I remember my first impressions of people. So funny how first impressions are often just wrong. </div>
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I've decided to go back to posting only on Mondays. So, meet me here on Monday. I'll have lots to say about my girls, and will give you highlights of the sizzling posts I've been reading. I have a post about Rachel brewing in my head, but it's not quite there, so I'll save it until then.</div>
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I'm sitting in our family room watching my girls dance to the Music Man soundrack. Hannah is dressed in a swimsuit and a tutu. Rachel, who is usually the first one dressed in the morning, is still in her nightgown. They are running in circles, holding hands and swinging, until they fall down laughing. I'm getting deja vu. I have vague memories of falling down and laughing so hard my tummy hurt while my Dad played the accordian, or piano. But now, here I am, throwing things out like, "Not so fast! Someone is going to get hurt." Yes, I need to relax.</div>
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These days we are living in a bizarre little world of Music Man references. The other night, during dinner, as my husband and I were trying to follow Rachel's train of thought as she babbled on about something (non-stop talker that she is), Hannah, out of the blue said, "What da ya talk?" And we are perhaps the only family that listens to the Music Man enough to even understand that reference. And proud of it, baby!</div>
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I announced this morning that we would stay inside all day. I'm not sure if it's going to happen, but I made my point and set my intention for the day. After two days of running around to parties and such in 110 degree heat, I am craving a day at home. I am, at my core, a homebody, though I try to stretch myself and get out as much as I can. On a normal day, we're out and about by now. But today, I am indulging. I stayed in my pajamas until I digusted even myself. I did manage to clean the kitchen, water the plants in the back, and make playdough while wearing pajamas. Now you know why I was disgusted with myself. That's a little too much activity for fun pajama wearing. We don't want to sweat in our pajamas do we? When you've crossed that line, it's time to move on.</div>
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I am dressed now, sitting here, thinking of all I could be doing; laundry; sorting out the piles of papers, scrapbook scraps, and bills in my office; finishining clearing the garage out so I can park my car in it instead of letting it sit in my driveway and turn into a mobile sauna; figuring out bloglines so there is a method to my blog-reading and I don't leave anyone out; sorting out my e-mail inbox; doing some yoga. But here I sit, staring at navel, waiting for the next breakdown. But, hey, remember, my kitchen IS clean, my plants watered, and I'm dressed. Where's that medal when I need it?</div>
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If you know me well, you know that I am continually having a mental, when not physical, battle with the clutter in my office. My husband and I have the same battle with our garage. I find it interesting how much joy Rachel gets out of the very same clutter. My office is like a big treasure box to her. Stickers, pencils, paper, photos. It's all quite wonderful to her. To me it just looks piles of crap. Well, that's only partly true. There is a part of me that is in love with my office, too. I am mostly in love with what it could be, but also a little in love what it is, crap and all. I would trade the latter for the former, though. I do strive to be Flyofficelady. It could happen, right?</div>
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I'm sitting here now talking to Rachel. She wants to have a tea party. I've never had one before. Hmmmmmm. Parenthood does stretch a soul, doesn't it?</div>
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And that's my day, folks. There have been a few breakdowns, whining fests, and such while I've written this. Music Man is still blaring. Rachel keeps turning it louder.</div>
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"Lida Rose...oh won't you be mine....."</div>
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I love that song.</div>
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What's your day like?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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Hello! I said my hiatus would end about now, but once again I've got nuthin'. A few of you expressed eagerness to hear about my "project" once it was completed. Sheepishly, I must tell you, there is/was no project. I was taking as intensive class. Did I tell you that my full name is Raehan Perpetual Studento? No? </div>
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Anyway, the class is over now and I would seriously bore you to death if I even told you the title of the course. Just know that it excited me. And now, it's summer once more for me. </div>
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The girls have spent these two weeks in camp, and after tomorrow will be home for the rest of the summer. I've started focusing on my yard and landscaping, and getting the garage in tip-top shape. I have this sudden urge to organize the house to the bone. I don't know if it will happen, considering tomorrow is the last day of camp for the girls.</div>
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Hmmmmmm. I feel very boring. </div>
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I have two more things to say. The first I'm hesitating about.....because it's really so.....(yawn). It's this. My girls are getting along so well this summer. The extra time together has made them the closest of friends. (knock-on-wood). It is so damn sweet. They do fight, but much less than usual, and they are so loving with each other. I love it. One of the teachers at the camp made a remark to me about it. Being a big sister herself, she loves watching Rachel with Hannah. Every morning, without any prodding, they hold hands while approaching the other kids/teachers, and then continue to look out for each other throughout the day. I wish there was a way to describe it to make it funnier, or less saccharin, but it just simply is truly a beautiful sight to behold these days. There's not to much more to it than that. I'm sure the dynamic will go through some changes when school starts again. </div>
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The other thing I want to talk about is limits. What are your boundaries when it comes to your blog? I know I try not to write about anything I'm going to regret in the morning....or that would make a friend or a loved one feel uncomfortable...or that could conceivably hurt someone. What I write is absolutely the truth, and comes straight from the heart, but it is from a "big picture" standpoint. This blog is my oasis. Where everything comes into perspective for me and I can find some zen. For others, blogging is a place to vent. I find those blogs helpful, too. It's fascinating to me, though, how we all have different rules and boundaries.</div>
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For me, anonymity is crucial. If I ever got an offer to get paid to write about my family life and the condition was that I had to use my real name, I wouldn't do it. But many writers that I admire are not anonymous. How does that impact their lives? And why is it so important to me that blogging doesn't have a strong impact on my real life? I don't tell friends about my blog because I don't want it to affect my relationships in any way, even positively. I just want my life to go along its natural rhythm, whatever the heck that means. I mean, really, it is somewhat silly, but not to me.</div>
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Some bloggers don't feel comfortable writing about their children. Right now, my kids really the only thing I do feel completely comfortable writing about. Why? When my kids get older and it is not as fair to spill their lives out here, what will I write about? My dog? (Who is lying under my desk and is having "digestive problems." Holy moly. If Hannah were here, she'd say, "I smell skunk spray." And you see, I'm back to talking about my kids again. Comfort.) Anything, but me. I'm not saying I don't write about myself. I'm just saying I am more comfortable talking about my kids. It feels like safer territory to me.</div>
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What are your boundaries? I probably have guessed already, but indulge me. I'd like to hear it from you.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">No need to comment here. I just wanted you to know. I'll be back in about 10 days or so. Let's say, a week from Friday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will be catching up on your posts in my breaks. If you are behind on my writing here, you can relax. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahhhhhhh. Put those feet up. In fact, take a snoozer.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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I don't know how many of you know much about my life prior to kids--professionally, I mean. I don't write about it much here because I like to keep my personal and professional lives separate. Ha-ha-ha-ha. Let me qualify this. Theoretical professional life. I really can't say I have much of a professional life. There are other factors that keep me from writing about my past life. Since I'm anonymous and want to stay that way, I deliberately choose to be vague about certain details. Also, it's painful for me to think very much about my old passion. </div>
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Let me try to be a little less vague. I was a historian, working for a doctorate and a tenure-track position. I got the doctorate. At the very same time I had a baby. At some point in my first year of motherhood, I knew it wasn't going to work for me to have a baby and have a tenure-track position. I also knew if I took myself off the market and took a break in my career, the opportunities to jump back in years later would be slim to none. I chose a part-time job at a museum, so I could relax and focus on motherhood, and then with my second child, I decided to stop working.</div>
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I love my life. I love having time for my kids. I am not bored in any sense of the word. My kids keep me active and happy, and to keep my mind and resume active, I am reinvintng myself professionally, studying to become an archivist so I don't have to give up history altogether. No regrets at all. I live a joyful, interesting, challenging, fulfilled life.</div>
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There are moments though. I imagine it's a bit like being happily married and running into an old flame. I'll turn a channel and see a documentry that falls into my area of expertise. Or I'll see an historian that I've met, or studied under being interviewed on c-span. My heart quickens. My mind scurries around nervously. I may watch for a few minutes and then I change the channel because it hurts, and I feel a panic, a feeling of unpreparedness. Being friends with this old love won't work, my feelings signal. I move on. I choose comfort, new challenges that take me in different directions and don't hurt. I run away because it feels safer.</div>
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Last night I had dream that I was attending a conference. I was supposed to present a paper there but I had no paper written. I was sitting at the table in front of the conference room and searching through my laptop trying to cut and past things togther so I'd have something to present. I woke up and had to reassure myself that it was all a dream and there was nothing to worry about.</div>
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Here is the punchline. I'd like to become casual friends with my old flame again. I want to open my heart to it again. No, I don't want to pursue a teaching job. I've moved on, and am excited about my current direction. It's just that I don't want to run away from this old passion of mine anymore. I want to be able to bump into it in a coffeeshop and say hello and embrace it, rather than running and hiding in the toilet stall. Maybe we can even have a hearty conversation at times.</div>
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I picked this book from the shelf in my nightstand yesterday, and yes, as I am reading it, I can't look at it without my heart beating faster, but I'm going to work through it. I'm going to breathe my way back into this old love of mine again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbk-jGDf3FDSVnhFhBMD4UjVkT_kyOl8n2E6MCv-70iOH5FmE_yT1VffIIl8pzC6yL-P_71dNUNiEVQ1o6JxgWDPdOPatocF7dgkb8uB_8Uf_SFIahH2P1mA6gT8BDVdLVCwDs2EG-Sk/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbk-jGDf3FDSVnhFhBMD4UjVkT_kyOl8n2E6MCv-70iOH5FmE_yT1VffIIl8pzC6yL-P_71dNUNiEVQ1o6JxgWDPdOPatocF7dgkb8uB_8Uf_SFIahH2P1mA6gT8BDVdLVCwDs2EG-Sk/s1600/001.jpg" /></a></div>
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Happy Fourth of July everyone! </div>
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What's your old flame? Are you friends with it? Do you want to be?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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I don't know when it happened. I've become a person that has a hard time with transitions. I develop allergies. I get anxious. These reactions are predictable, but for the most part, unpreventable. So, when, in May, I looked ahead to a summer of no pre-school and very few structured activities, I started to sneeze a bit, as I tried to map out how we would spend our days out without going crazy. I'm just that way. </div>
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It is a relief, therefore, that I am no longer in transition. Summer is here. I still am working out activities and such, but we are here. No morning rush. More room to breathe. </div>
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Take for instance, Friday morning. As I was getting breakfast together, Rachel handed me the lyrics to Seventy-Six Trombones (The Music Man) that we had printed out a few days earlier and asked that I sing the song for her. I finished what I was doing and sang for her, as I read the lyrics in ridiculously tiny 5 point type. Then we all marched up and down the hallway singing the song.</div>
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While Hannah is still asking to watch or listen to Annie, Rachel has moved on and in my humble opinion, upwards. She has become a passionate fan of The Music Man. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibz-lQjYjeroAIq-7nlYqoYjbbmVCHuTUUNiz3157kb7sRQ-vHZVw5NQk7hfFesE78kvx4NK2alQorWX-Ks4uhO83eqexzA7RlGlANs4BJLl6QD3Mj5dLMvkV1l2fPzRf3rjZmLb4a0kw/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibz-lQjYjeroAIq-7nlYqoYjbbmVCHuTUUNiz3157kb7sRQ-vHZVw5NQk7hfFesE78kvx4NK2alQorWX-Ks4uhO83eqexzA7RlGlANs4BJLl6QD3Mj5dLMvkV1l2fPzRf3rjZmLb4a0kw/s1600/001.jpg" /></a></div>
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We watched the play live when one of her little friends was in it a while back. Then my husband bought the music. This past Sunday, we rented the movie--the Robert Preston and Shirley Jones version. Ahhhh. Perfection. I adore this movie. It used to be a tradition in my family to watch it at least once when we came home for college vacations. I have to admit, it makes me little proud that Rachel loves it, too. Such mature taste we both have (tee-hee). After watching both the play and movie versions, Rachel's initial favorite scene was the romantic song on the footbridge. One time, she even literally sighed at the end of the scene. I would worry, but I was exactly the same way at her age. My uncle still tells the story of taking me, my sisters, and cousins to Snow White when we were kids. When he asked us what our favorite characters were, I answered, "the prince," while all the other kids called out a name of one of the dwarfs. I was so young, I didn't undestand my feelings to be romantic in any way. I was just really impressed by the guy--who sang a good song and seemed so darn nice. Rachel is at the same stage, experiencing romantic feelings without understanding them as romantic. But back to Music Man. Rachel now loves the final parade scene in the movie. Suddenly, she's interested in learning an instrument. So it's fun and good. And if she ends up coming home one day with a Robert Preston look-a-like, I'll just smile and try to shut up about it. It'll be hard, though. God, I love Robert Preston in this movie and I love Shirley Jones for loving him. </div>
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Later on that day, I was searching for something on my ipod and came across two versions of the song "From a Distance" (Bette Middler and The Byrds). We have a beautiful children's book, illustrating the lyrics to the song and Hannah likes it when I sing the song as we turn the pages. So, I put the song on, without giving Hannah a heads-up, and her eyes got wide. Without saying anything she ran upstairs and got the book and we must have listened to the song four times when turning the pages of the book. Then she held the book open in her hands like a prayer book, dancing, and Rachel and I danced a pseudo-tango together.</div>
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Afterwards I sat on the floor taking photos of the girls dancing around together to other music. Hannah, who has short hair, was upset that her pony tail wasn't as long as Rachel's. I watched as Rachel tried to explain to Hannah, in a sweet, kindly patronizing voice, that Hannah could let her hair grow and perhaps have long hair by her birthday. Hannah, who has a very limited sense of time and thinks her October birthday is right around the corner, listened and nodded, saying, "I want long hair for my birthday." When her Dad came home that evening she told him, "I want to get long hair for my birthday." And then she said, "I want to watch the "From a Distance" movie." Now we are constantly hearing her ask to go get her hair cut so she can get long hair. </div>
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We are making headway on the potty training. (This is the point where anyone who dislikes potty training talk can leave the room discretely.) Hannah is in love with her pull-ups and panties, keeps dry all day, and now.......drumroll.....actually pees in the potty, rather than holding it in all day and peeing in diapers in her bed four times before falling asleep. It was rough for a while though. For about a week, we struggled with her fear or peeing. Then one day, I threw the potty training story books away and started singing a song, with lots of hand gestures, about a girl named Hannah who was afraid of her pee, and how her Mama talked to her pee, wagging her finger sternly at it, and telling it it needed to come out. At the end of the song, Hannah isn't afraid of pee-pee anymore. Hannah latched on to this song and started requesting it. The funniest moment came when we were both tired of being in the bathroom. She was sitting on the potty seat. I was on the foor. She asked me to sing the song. When I came to the end of the song, I was singing something like "Pee-pee I'm not afraid of you!" (I change the lyrics slightly every time.) Hannah put her arms around me, started swaying back and forth with me in her arms while I sang. As I sang, "I'm not afraid of you anymore,.." she sang, "Yes, I am afraid." I started laughing and she laughed right along with me. We laughed and swayed together, giddy from exhaustion.</div>
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This week, she's peeing little bits into every public bathroom we come near. I'm constantly in and out of toilet stalls. But it's progress, baby. I'll take it.</div>
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And I'll take summer. Yes, I will. My very dear friend, Space, with have to take a back seat for a while. I'm having an affair with spontaneity again and it feels fine, in a dizzying sort of way.</div>
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(Which is probably why I can't seem to stick to my only-posting-on-Monday schedule anymore. That and being a Gemini. I may have to get back on schedule soon, but all bet's are off for a wee while.)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</script></div>MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403264219334669670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1499041386716758504.post-84592330969995485882006-06-22T14:28:00.000-07:002012-06-27T14:29:26.721-07:00Changing the Subject<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, my husband is a little bashful about me writing about his sexy soccer legs and I need to put a new post up here to distract you from my last one. However, I don't have much to say because I'm in a bit of a recuperation period. We had my mother-in-law and eleven year-old nephew here for three days, which was fun, but also more work than I am used to. Did you know that eleven year old boys can still be affectionate? Yes? Because he spent a half hour this afternoon in my arms telling me good-bye and that he'll miss me "mucho much." </div>
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I have a cough and sore throat. Why is the cold-flu season moving into summer season? Not allowed. </div>
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But my point is, I love my nephew, even though he sometimes makes my head spin. We had a grand time playing Apples to Apples every night after the girls went down to bed. The boy is smart and sweet, and we laughed much. In fact, my belly hurt at times. I will miss him "mucho much." And I will miss my sweet mother-in-law, too.</div>
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By the way, if you have to keep re-setting the circuit breaker to your air conditioner on hot days, is there a problem with your air conditioner or your circuits.....or is it just too darn hot?</div>
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Oh, and just to annoy you, I'll tell you that Hannah has been talking up a storm and is too cute for words. Too cute. And my Rachel, why I think she's grown two more inches this past week. Really. I've got two tall girls. My tallest girl is missing her nephew mucho much. She loves fiercely. Many tears shed today.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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Dear you,</div>
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I was eighteen, just beginning my sophomore year at college, visiting a good friend at an on-campus house. You walked in, your skin dark from soccer practices. And something in me.....what is the word....clicked in recognition? Not love at first sight. Looking back I think my soul recognized you. I can't explain it. </div>
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First friendship, then something more, then long-distance. Then many years together before becoming parents. </div>
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Did I imagine you as the father that you are when I watched your sexy legs playing soccer from my dorm window. I did not. At least I don't remember doing so. I think I focused on those sexy legs and movie star looks and then how you made me feel and how I was more myself with you than without you. And how you laughed at my quirky jokes when nobody else caught them.</div>
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I think of you as a deep, saturated green, calming my red, orange, yellow, blue and purple. Sometimes I wear green because it makes me feel closer to you.</div>
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You are sexier than you were way back when. But more importantly, stronger, more resilient, more forgiving than I ever could have imagined.</div>
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You make me feel beautiful, sexy, funny and free. Without you, I don't feel all those things; I feel less than I am.</div>
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I never have compared you to my father, but something happened the other day that made me realize what you have in common with him. You are a peacemaker, a mediator, a reliever of tension. You have faced a lot of pain, taken a lot of....well, to be completely honest, crap....and turned it into something beautiful.</div>
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You are and will be the green to your daughters' reds, yellows, oranges and purples, too. Lucky them. Lucky me.</div>
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We need you. We love you. We see you.</div>
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Love, love,</div>
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me</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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There is just one more notch needed on Hannah's belt before she becomes a big girl with a capital B. </div>
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"I'm a big girl and I'm not a big girl" she confessed to me the other night as I was tucking her in after another exhausting round of trying to go potty. </div>
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At 2 1/2 she has suddenly become so wise. She is exactly right. A big girl in so many ways. The way she can sleep in a big girl bed without any help at all, and without waking up at night. The way she can hold her pee in all morning and until she's in bed napping. And then again in the afternoon.....until she's in bed for the night. (Sigh.) The way she's been wearing Rachel's pretty big girl panties and sneaking other dirty ones from the laundry hamper, carrying several at a time around like jewels. </div>
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And maybe I'm becoming a bigger girl, too. I am slowing down my pace, gathering patience, as we hunker down to get this notch finished. </div>
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Because you see, she's afraid to let go....to release the inner faucet.....to pee....without a diaper on. It's happened a few times by accident, when I've grabbed her and placed her on the potty right as she's started to go pee---but these were not happy accidents from her point of view.</div>
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This morning I sensed an opportunity. Her bladder of steel's guard seemed to be down. It was 9:30 and she was having trouble keeping her panties dry. She'd take them off and there would be a little round wet spot. "I peeped," she'd tell me, and to be honest peeped seem to be the perfect word for what she had done.</div>
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"Well, if you're going pee, you've got to sit on the potty."</div>
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"Nooooooooo."</div>
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"If you're not going to try to use the potty, we can't wear panties."</div>
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"Nooooooooooooooo.'</div>
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Finally, I got her to sit on the potty and give a few deliberate drops. Woo-hoo. I celebrated. She got to eat a bit of leftover birthday cake. And she sat on the pot for a good 15 minutes or so while she ate, but nothing more than drops. She had earned the privilege of wearing panties again, though.</div>
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I picked up a book while she played by herself. Suddenly, she grabbed her crotch through her dress and said, "I threw up." Apparently, this time the drop was more than a drop. She had definitely not turned the faucet on, however. Just a light sprinkling.</div>
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Another half hour or so passed and the faucet turned itself on. She started panicking and crying, I grabbed her and sat her on the potty. She continued to cry as she filled her potty. </div>
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I whooped. I hollered. I cheered. She laughed through tears and then just cried. I sat down and comforted her. </div>
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Later we were sitting at the table, enjoying some juice as a reward, and I talked excitedly about her using the potty seat. "Aren't you happy that you used the potty?" I asked her.</div>
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She hesitated, wanting to be able agree with me, and then slowly shook her head and said, "I was scared. And then I cried."</div>
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Later we went panty shopping since she seems to have moved passed her awkward "toddler panties" and earned the right to wear clean big girl panties that she can call her own. Besides, her big sister's generosity was beginning to wear thin this morning and coming home to a pile of wet panties is pretty much going to break the sharing panties deal entirely.</div>
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And I am trying to remember to breathe, just like I tell Hannah as as she's sitting on the potty looking at me anxiously and cluelessly without breathing. Breathe, I say, as I take in a few deep ones of my own. So, I'm starting to as I wait for her to let go so she can buckle up her Big girl belt for real. Because I don't know if I'll be there in the labor room one day telling her to breathe. In fact, the odds are that I won't. THIS is our time. Now. And I damn well better enjoy it peeps and all.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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