Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Video: Recapping the latest Mass. Senate debate

Penn State aide McQueary files $4 million suit

Former Penn State football assistant Mike McQueary, who said he witnessed coach Jerry Sandusky having sex with a boy in the locker room, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the university on Tuesday, seeking $4 million.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/49264430#49264430

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Saturday, September 22, 2012

New 'stamping' process to pattern biomolecules at high resolution developed

ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2012) ? Fabricating precise biomolecular structures at extremely small scales is critical to the progress of nanotechnology and related fields.

Traditionally, one of the ways this has been accomplished has been through the use of rubber stamps with tiny features -- similar to those used by children in play, but detailed at the microscopic scale -- which are covered with molecular "inks" and then stamped onto substrate surfaces, creating a molecular patterns. But when using this technique at the nanoscale, molecules tend to diffuse on the surface both during and after stamping, blurring the patterns.

To address this problem, researchers at UCLA have turned this conventional "soft lithography" process on its head: Instead of using a stamp to transfer molecules onto bare surfaces, they have used chemically treated stamps to remove molecules already in place on gold substrates, essentially peeling away select molecules through chemical bonds to create precise patterns measuring just a few molecules across.

The new process, called chemical lift-off lithography (CLL), results in higher-resolution patterning and avoids the blurring problems of earlier techniques.

The findings are published Sept. 20 in the journal Science. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Kavli Foundation.

The stamp used in the new process is molded by using a "master" made with more sophisticated and expensive tools than those used in making rubber stamps for offices and children, but the stamps can be used over and over again. Between each use, they are simply reactivated by an oxygen plasma.

The chemical bonds formed at the stamp -- substrate interface are sufficiently strong to remove not only molecules in the monolayers but also one layer of gold atoms from the substrate. This observation settled a long-running discussion over whether, for such monolayers, gold-gold bonds break more easily than molecule-gold bonds -- they do, the researchers found.

The research team was able to fabricate a variety of high-resolution patterned features, and stamps were cleaned and reused many times with little feature deterioration. The remaining monolayer, they found, can act as a resist for etching exposed gold features. The backfilling of new molecules into the lifted-off areas enabled patterned protein capture, and sharp 40 nanometer chemical patterns were achieved.

Led by Anne Andrews and Paul Weiss, the UCLA team represents a collaboration among researchers from UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute, the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and the departments of chemistry and biochemistry, materials science and engineering, and psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.

Conventional nanolithographic patterning techniques, such as photolithography and electron-beam lithography, are expensive, time-consuming, require specialized equipment and instrumentation, and have limited capabilities for chemical patterning; here, they only need to be used for the fabrication of stamp master molds.

Once individual masters are produced, CLL is used for high-resolution, high-throughput, low-cost pattern fabrication. This method enables patterns to be transferred to underlying substrates, and multiple-stamping strategies can be used to produce high-fidelity nanometer-scale patterns on gold substrates, with the additional possibility of patterning different materials, such as silicon, germanium, platinum and graphene.

The patterns fabricated demonstrate that CLL not only transfers large-area, high-fidelity patterns, but the post-lift-off exposed gold areas are advantageous for producing multiplexed patterned surfaces for selective capture of biomolecules from complex mixtures.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Wei-Ssu Liao, Sarawut Cheunkar, Huan H. Cao, Heidi R. Bednar, Paul S. Weiss, and Anne M. Andrews. Subtractive Patterning via Chemical Lift-Off Lithography. Science, 21 September 2012: 1517-1521 DOI: 10.1126/science.1221774]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/rOw6g4ncKao/120921092647.htm

independent spirit awards

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Natural Cholesterol Guide Blue Heron Health News, Health & Fitness

Lazy Guide to Health and Beauty

Lazy Guide to Health and Beauty

Self Magazine's Fitness Director Meaghan Murphy spoke to Maggie Rodriguez about a lazy girl's guide to health and beauty including MBT Trainers, Farmacell Milk Shorts and eyelash extensions.
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The Revolution - Your Guide to Better Food Storage Season: 1

The Revolution - Your Guide to Better Food Storage Season: 1

The Revolution Season: 1 Episode: 69 Real Simple Magazine's Food Director helps with tips for food storage!
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The Revolution - Spring Allergy Survival Guide Season: 1

The Revolution - Spring Allergy Survival Guide Season: 1

The Revolution Season: 1 Episode: 61 Use these tips to get through spring allergy season!
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Puberty: Guide for Parents - Early and Late Development

Puberty: Guide for Parents - Early and Late Development

Early or late puberty are usually no reason for parents to worry about their child's health. http://www.WatchMojo.com visits the Montreal Children's Hospital to learn more about puberty and at what point a parent should become concerned with his or her child?s development.
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Guide to Basic Zumba? Fitness Steps

Guide to Basic Zumba? Fitness Steps

UK Zumba Fitness expert Donna Giffen takes you through a series of basic Zumba steps, so you can get even more from your Zumba Fitness routines. Included are the Merengue, Beto Shuffle, Salsa Basic, Kumbia and Reggaeton moves.
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LiveMojo - Sun Safety Guide

LiveMojo - Sun Safety Guide

LiveMojo Get some sun sense with WatchMojo.com and skin care expert Steve Gendron.
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A Simple Guide To British & American Health Care

A Simple Guide To British & American Health Care

Not only do you get a COMPLETELY accurate explanation of how things roll in these health care systems, you also get to witness my amazing acting skills in this one! Doctor House MD? ...that name was totally not a TV quote! And because of this video my mum now things I have major issues - she walked in on me standing on my bed dressed as a doctor / surgeon talking to a camera, waving a 1 dollar note around. Yeahhh!
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Beginner's Guide to Running a 5k

Beginner's Guide to Running a 5k

For some, running in a 5k is the result of many months training, dieting, and getting their bodies in shape. Learn the basics to training for and running in a 5k in this exercise video.
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Dowsing or Divining with a Pendulum - a Beginners Guide

Dowsing or Divining with a Pendulum - a Beginners Guide

Dowsing, or divination with a pendulum is a skill we all have (I believe). It is not witchcraft, as some will tell you but a natural talent that has been used for thousands of years. Dowsing is about amplifying small movements in the body to access information it knows or your higher self knows. Dowsing can be used to determine the best foods to eat & things to avoid. Dowsing can be used to access information from the world around us - past, present and, to a limited extent, the future. This is an introduction to dowsing and an encouragement to try for yourself. It is not intended proof for the skeptics.
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TV Guide Specials - Celebrity Bodies 2 Season: 1

TV Guide Specials - Celebrity Bodies 2 Season: 1

TV Guide Specials Season: 1 Health and fitness expert Kym Douglas talks about her Black Book of Hollywood Secrets with Marc Istook on Hollywood 411. He gets the skinny on how to slim down in sneaky ways.
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TV Guide Specials - Ozzy Osbourne's 60th Birthday

TV Guide Specials - Ozzy Osbourne's 60th Birthday

TV Guide Specials Ozzy Osbourne turns 60 and he celebrates his 60th birthday while rocking out; how else would the Prince of Darkness usher in a new year? Find out some surprising facts about how he maintains health and fitness.
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TV Guide Specials - J Aniston and J Jackson-Eggs on Ice

TV Guide Specials - J Aniston and J Jackson-Eggs on Ice

TV Guide Specials Get the dirt on the Heather Locklear health scare hoax and the talk about if Jennifer Aniston and Janet Jackson are putting their eggs on ice on Hollywood 411.
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PreOp? Patient Education Breast Biopsy Wire Guide Surgery 2

PreOp? Patient Education Breast Biopsy Wire Guide Surgery 2

http://on.fb.me/PreOp_com - NEW facebook page - it's cool! - Patient Education Patient Education Company for info: 617-244-7591 Now it's time to talk about the actual procedure your doctor has recommended for you. You may receive a sedative by mouth and an intravenous line may be put in. You will then be transferred to the operating table. Your doctor will scrub thoroughly and will apply an antiseptic solution to the skin around the area where the needle will be inserted. Then, the doctor will place a sterile drape or towels around the operative site... and will inject a local anesthetic. This will sting a bit, but your breast will quickly begin to feel numb. Usually, the surgeon will inject more than one spot - in order to make sure that the entire area is thoroughly numb Patient Education Company for info: 617-244-7591
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Beginner's Guide To Yoga

Beginner's Guide To Yoga

Beginner's Guide To Yoga
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Step by Step Guide to Power Yoga

Step by Step Guide to Power Yoga

Step by Step Guide to Power Yoga
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The Ultimate Guide Pregnancy Part 5 of 5

The Ultimate Guide Pregnancy Part 5 of 5

http://www.neobk-usana.blogspot.com/ This visually stunning program takes viewers from <b>the</b> moment of conception to <b>the</b> moment of birth. Checking in at four-week intervals, it uses a broad array of high-tech photographic and computer imaging to capture every stage of embryonic and fetal development as well as <b>the</b> changes experienced by expectant mothers during <b>pregnancy</b>. In addition, a molecular embryologist and an obstetrician/gynecologist from Georgetown University Medical Center provide ...
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The Ultimate Guide Pregnancy Part 1 of 5

The Ultimate Guide Pregnancy Part 1 of 5

http://www.neobk-usana.blogspot.com/ This visually stunning program takes viewers from the moment of conception to the moment of birth. Checking in at four-week intervals, it uses a broad array of high-tech photographic and computer imaging to capture every stage of embryonic and fetal development as well as the changes experienced by expectant mothers during pregnancy. In addition, a molecular embryologist and an obstetrician/gynecologist from Georgetown University Medical Center provide caring clinical commentary on the birth process. The program culminates with the filming of two births, one with and one without surgical intervention.
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A Guide to Moshing and Concert Survival

A Guide to Moshing and Concert Survival

a guide to moshing and concert survival. ***in the process of rendering/editing this video for the internet i ran into some hiccups. as a result some of the audio is off and some of the video has been cut out. in the original version there is indeed mention of picking people up when the fall in the pit.*** ***10,000 views on 10-11-07! Thanks everyone, and keep telling your friends!*** ***20,000 views on 11-27-07*** ***30,000 views on 12-27-07*** ***40,000 views on 01-30-08*** ***50,000 views on 02-28-08*** ***60,000 views on 03-27-08*** ***70,000 views on 04-22-08***
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A Couples' Guide to Swinging

A Couples' Guide to Swinging

What is swinging? Who does it? Can it work for you? Dr. Joy talks about "the lifestyle" and issues that can arise. This video is brought to you by iFriends.net. For more information on love and health, or to read a full transcript of this video, visit http://loveandhealth.ifriends.net/
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Liver Flush - A Guide - Part 1

Liver Flush - A Guide - Part 1

Cleanse your liver today! ..and here's part 1 of 4 on how to do it!
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Source: http://invest.5ver.com/categories/37-health-fitness/3176-natural-cholesterol-guide-blue-heron-health-news-health-fitness.html

grand jury

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Introducing Our Weekly Common Core Aligned Reading and Writing ...

Last year we took some baby steps in thinking about how the new Common Core State Standards will affect the work we do on this blog.

Two things were obvious: The standards emphasize the reading of ?informational text,? and we work for a newspaper that produces a daily geyser of it.

So, we suggested, just regularly reading Times articles and Opinion pieces, looking at Times photographs, infographics or videos, or listening to Times podcasts, can be a great start. (To further encourage reading the paper, we?re asking students ?What Interested You Most in The Times This Week?? every Friday as our Student Opinion question.)

Meanwhile, our analysis in June revealed that the three lessons we did on the Common Core last year were all in the top five most-viewed lessons of the school year, so we knew teachers were interested, too. Just last week, in fact, we were delighted by a message on Twitter sent by an English teacher:

Over the summer, we began planning how to do more. Of one thing we were certain: whatever we did, we didn?t want to send the message to educators that we have the Common Core all figured out. As former teachers ourselves, we know that matching the standards to good classroom practice will take trial and error on the ground, with actual students.

Then, via Twitter, along came a wonderful answer, in the form of Sarah Gross and Jonathan Olsen, English and social studies teachers in New Jersey who told us that teaching with The Times daily has ?revolutionized? the humanities class they team teach.

We invited them for lunch in the Times cafeteria, and within an hour we had a plan.

Last year, Mr. Olsen and Ms. Gross, who work at High Technology High School in Lincroft, N.J., a school that U.S. News ranks as the No. 1 S.T.E.M. school in the nation, created short daily reading and writing prompts for their students to use with that day?s Times. They told us they wanted to do it again this year, but wanted to tailor the tasks more closely to Common Core demands.

So we agreed. Each week, they will send us the questions they tried in class that they and their students felt were the most successful.

But because what works for Ms. Gross and Mr. Olsen?s fairly high-level students may not work for everyone, on our end we?ll take what they?ve sent and add some scaffolding or other kinds of small changes to help make the questions more accessible for a range of learners.

So, beginning Sept. 21, each Friday you?ll find three quick, classroom-tested tasks that ask students to do Common Core-focused work with that week?s Times.

Our hope is that you?ll see at least one each Friday that works for you, and that you?ll write in and help us shape the feature as we go. It?s an experiment, after all.

Below, we asked Ms. Gross and Mr. Olsen to tell you a little more about who they are and how they work.


Sarah Gross and Jon Olsen, in Their Own Words

We teach ninth-grade history and English in a humanities course using a co-teaching model. We share lessons, teach together when possible, and design projects for our students that reinforce both content areas.

For example, if the English classes are reading excerpts from the ?Rub?iy?t of Omar Khayy?m,? our history classes will focus on the rise of Islam and its spread throughout the Middle East. While studying the Middle Ages in history, the students are reading ?Romeo and Juliet? in English.

The adoption of the Common Core, with its emphasis on informational texts and its focus on horizontal integration of material among different subject areas, gave us an excuse to revisit how we teach the essential components of both English and history.

We realized that our students read a great deal, but chiefly the typical high school fiction selections like ?The Canterbury Tales,? ?Romeo and Juliet,? and ?Things Fall Apart.? Their independent reading tends to focus on young adult fiction and best sellers. While we have read a fair amount of nonfiction in history class by using primary and secondary sources, we were nowhere near the percentage suggested by the Common Core across the grade level.

So, to include more high-interest nonfiction, we successfully begged our wonderful Parent Faculty Association to finance 16 copies of The New York Times for our students to use every day during the spring semester of 2012.

By reading the newspaper daily and writing in response to the paper?s content, our students greatly improved both their critical thinking and writing ability. Using The Times to teach history and literacy this past year forever changed our approach to education.

We are now able to meet all Common Core State Standards for writing and reading informational text, while preserving the literature curriculum already studied in English class. As a result of our daily inclusion of The Times, our redesigned classroom is now filled with topical writing, lively debate and students making connections between what they are learning in their classrooms with what is happening throughout the world around them.

As Sarah, who writes a blog called The Reading Zone, put it in a post in June:

At the beginning of our great experiment, many students were lacking in general background knowledge. Today, they can speak about a variety of issues and have learned to evaluate writing for bias, opinion, facts and much more.

They follow stories over extended periods of time and can have intelligent discussions about issues that include Syria, standardized testing, Facebook?s I.P.O., ancient artifact ownership, and concussions in sports. Bringing The Times into our class has afforded us many opportunities to make connections between the past and the present and I can?t imagine teaching without the paper now.

The Nuts and Bolts: This school year we started using The Times during the first week of school. Here is what our daily morning schedule looks like:

7 a.m.: Teachers arrive at school, browse the paper, plan daily prompt.
7:35 a.m.: Papers out on desks, prompt on the board.
7:40 a.m.: Students arrive and begin to read the paper and respond to the prompt.
8 a.m.: Selected students read responses, then the class briefly debates.

Every day our students read at least one article in the paper and write in response to it. They build stamina as they read high-level informational and argumentative text in the paper.

After they complete our daily prompt in the allotted time, students can read any article in the paper they like.

Students also read the paper during downtime in class, allowing us to differentiate. They can read articles that may be at a different level than those we assign to the class as a whole since The Times is filled with pieces written at a variety of reading levels every day.


What do you think? We very much hope to develop this new feature in conversation with teachers, so post a comment this week or any Friday.

Source: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/introducing-an-experiment-weekly-common-core-practice-prompts/

appeasement ian stewart ian stewart

Friday, September 14, 2012

Navigating The Buzz of Branding: Start Here. | Business 2 Community

People aren?t looking for an ad,they aren?t looking to buy something.They are looking for a connection.?How do you do that? #branding

I am going to be speaking to a group of Insurance Brokers this week in celebration of the launch of the Aviva Community Fund, a social media powered contest looking to give away $1,000,000 to communities across Canada. The contest is a brilliant effort which not only gives back to the most invested communities, but builds patterns of engagement that extend far beyond the contest and social media itself, you can learn more about this brilliant competition here and here. In preparation, I started to think about what I would share with them about getting involved in social.

Branding : The Toughest Part of Social

The subject of my talk is not going to be limited to the Community Fund, but rather to address the importance of getting involved in Social Media as an aspect of corporate social responsibility. In particular the ability to give back to the community. As I prepared for this talk, I asked myself ?What is the biggest challenge facing small businesses (and for that matter businesses in general) with Social Media?? I believe it is branding.

The Buzz About Branding

So many people have heard the buzz about the importance of branding, ?humanizing the brand? they latch on to some of the indicators of someone who understands the brand, and then seem to lose themselves in the desperate attempts to be the human brand. Being the Brand is not about deciding you are a company who will share all kinds of personal stories to show you are human, it?s about deeply understanding who your company is, and then being able to share all content, with this ?being? in mind.

It?s not only about understanding who your company is as a brand, but feeling the vision of the brand in every single one of your actions.

  • If your brand went Zen, what would your mantra be?

  • How do your products relate to who you are as a brand?

  • How do your products, your people, your actions all tie together to reflect this?

The Path to Finding Answers

The most important thing is to get this concept down. You can start by brainstorming with the people in your company, ask them to chose words to describe who they believe you are as a company. Compare this with what you believe the core attributes you have as a company are.

The first step is a company wide alignment.
The second step is living your brand.

Living Your Brand is the Key To Success In Social

When I speak to these brokers starting Monday, and several times throughout this upcoming month, I expect to be faced with certain common questions. We?ve all heard them, and even thought them:
Where do you find content?
Where do you find the time?
What if you face opposition online, how do you respond?

The answers to all these questions come very easily if you know exactly who your brand is, if you live the values of your ?raison d?etre?, or reason of being in your every day, your every thought.

Too Many Are Lost ? This is Why They Can?t Succeed.

I believe everyone can succeed. I believe every person, company and organization can benefit from social. However, just as we as individuals must know who we are and be firmly grounded in our own beings to stay focused in life, a company more than anything must be firmly grounded in their vision, their values and then, as a result, their product.

Companies who have no soul are the ones who will have the hardest time succeeding in social media. They will resort to flat out sales pitches and screaming ads ? because that?s all they are.

You have to be more.

To succeed in Social Media, it?s not just about ?being human?. As your prospect, it?s not really all that interesting to me to see pictures of your kids, and hear about your golf game. You might peak my interest for a minute or two, but that won?t be enough. However, if you find a way to tie in the personality, the soul of your brand in a way that I, as a human can relate to, then I will buy, I will be interested, I will be motivated. If you then continue to speak to me in a language that shows our shared values, our shared interests and maybe even a shared vision. You?ve made me a fan and an advocate.

That?s how you see through the buzz, stop chasing the blogs that tell you how to succeed blindly. Center yourself and your business ? then when you read the buzz, apply it to your brand ? your ?core?. This is where the success will come from. All the questions of finding the time, looking for content, trying to attract others ? these questions will fade because you will bring social media into the realm of your brand, and then it just becomes and extension of your company?s expression.

Alientated?

If you?ve read this looking for answers, and now you just feel alienated, more confused, then this post was exactly what you needed to read. The secret of the brand is not a formula, it?s about digging deep into what you are really all about. If you read this and have no idea what soul has to do with sales, or how a brand can be human, then your first step is to re-energize your business by digging deep and finding the answers to these questions. Your business has likely gotten lost in the bustle of daily life, the work tasks at hand, the sales numbers, and the pressure.

Step back. Dig Deep. Reconnect.

Some of the images I worked with to start communicating brand. Just an example of the feeling approach, vs. how can I sell you something. The idea is to communicate what the brand is about and how it relates to the client. For me, this started with, protecting the dreams of our clients.

When you accomplish this, your prospects will become clients and you?ll be in a position to engage with fans, friends and followers in a way that will just ?flow?.

That?s your first step to your business becoming human.

Talk about it.

When you finally think you know exactly who your brand is, the biggest challenge is to interact with others and get them to understand your brand. This is the final and critical step. If you can explain your brand and why people should even care about you and your products, then this is when you can say:

?I?ve got it. I know who we are, we are ready.?

As business owners or leaders, having the dialogue with others to help frame these concepts is key.

?

I?d like to take this opportunity to thank Ric Dragon, CEO of Dragonsearch Marketing, and author of Social Marketology (a book I highly recommend) for his friendship, and in relation to this article specifically, for the amazing conversations, ideas and challenges he put forth in our personal discussions about branding and finding the words to express ?what is the brand?.

Another example of relating the deeper personal aspects of the brand through this ad campaign I have been developing. Tulips and Ferrari?s have nothing to do with each other, unless of course they are your dreams. Understanding the brand and how it fits with your various clients allows for adaptability and consistency.

What?s your understanding of ?Humanizing a Brand??

If you?ve been through this process, what were the most helpful steps you?ve been through?

Do you believe it starts at the core, or are you busy working on your perfect logo, thinking you?re on right on track?

Source: http://www.business2community.com/branding/navigating-the-buzz-of-branding-start-here-0274713

ryan tannehill

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Where is Brandy?: Scrapbook Retreat-Thanksgiving 2011

So, last year I got the WHOLE WEEK of Thanksgiving off and decided to go on two little trips. ?This would be trip 1:

I went to the Scrapbook Retreat House in Rockport, Texas which is pretty close to Corpus Christi. ?It's got a very beachy, small-town vibe. ?The house is about 5 minutes from the actual city.

We mostly stay at the house and scrapbook (and ok, surf the internet) when we're there. ?But my friend Kristi and I LOVE books so we checked out the local book store. ?Love the name-Lori's Book Nook. ?I love supporting local bookstores so I think I found a book or two.
The reason we went into town was to visit Enchantments, a scrapbook store. ?They offered a coupon on Groupon and I wanted to get my money's worth. ?The coupon had actually expired but they gave me the credit for it. ?Loved it! ?A bit pricey, and not a huge selection but still a nice scrapbook store for such a small town.
Rockport's little "downtown" area... I wanted to look more around but it didn't seem to be on the agenda.
Then we headed to Panjo's. ?Kristi and her mom love their pizza.
Doesn't it just look delicious?? ?And it was!!!! ?It was so good, I ate that pizza for the next 2-3 meals. :)

These were some of the scrapbooking pages I made while I was at the retreat house from my England trip.
Kristi and I found these while we were at the Walmart getting some groceries. ?They're $2 and sooooo worth it! ?So good! ?At the scrapbook house we stay up til the wee hours of the morning scrappin, laughin, drinkin, etc. ?It's such a cool getaway!
And another page...
Not bad, huh? ?Thought of that one on my own...as I do most of these. ?This was a seafood restaurant Kristi and I ate at in Boston from 1000 Places to See Before You Die (the name of my scrapbook, too).
I really got a lot of pages done...geez!
And this is the backyard of the Retreat House. ?It's huge!
And the view of the little lake from our scrapbook room. ?I went back in March and I think I took some extra pictures that I'll have to post. ?This scrapbook stay was such a nice getaway for the busy holiday season came! ?I went home for Thanksgiving dinner with my family and friend after this... Then Heather and I took off for NEW ORLEANS!! ?And that's what you'll see next time....... :) ?Safe travels!!

Source: http://whereisbrandy.blogspot.com/2012/09/scrapbook-retreat-thanksgiving-2011.html

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