Pumpkin Carving Tips

I love to carve pumpkins at Halloween. These are a few tips that I think are helpful for carving the perfect pumpkin.

Choosing a Pumpkin
- watch out for pumpkins that are heavy, have wobbly stems, have punctures or bruises, or a weak bottom. These could be rotten or damaged and will decay faster.

Tools
- a poker for tracing a pattern (a thumbtack will work but a nail or metal skewer is better)
- a scraper to clean out guts
- a small and large saw

Preparation
- use the scraper to make the inside walls smooth
- scrape the side you're going to carve until it's about an inch thick

Template
- tape or tack the template to the pumpkin
- poke holes along the lines about half way through the pumpkin wall
- the closer the wholes the easier it will be to follow with the saw
- when the template is transferred rub flour into the holes so they stand out and wipe the skin clean

Carving
- don't cut, saw
- hold saw like a pencil and cut straight through
- start in the center of the design and with the smaller pieces
- a carved pumpkin can last from 1 day to 1 week

Happy Halloween!

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The Meaning of Canadian Thanksgiving

I realized the other day that I knew more about the history of American Thanksgiving then the Canadian version. So I looked it up on wiki.

Apparently, the reason for giving thanks changed throughout the years depending on what the event was at the time. It started with Martin Frobisher who celebrated safely returning home after exploring the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, Samuel de Champlain arrived with French settlers and they gave thanks for their own reasons. Later, people gave thanks after various wars ended. But mainly Thanksgiving is a time for people to give thanks at the end of the harvest season. Canadian Parliament defines it as . . . . "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October".


So now I know. I used to celebrate Thanksgiving as just "Turkey Day" because I didn't like that people celebrated the pilgrims taking away land from the First Nations people (I don't think that's something we should be proud of and I think it's offensive to indigenous people). But now I know that it isn't so much about that. Thanksgiving is really just a time to be thankful for our fortunes, family, and health. I've been told that my whole life ... I'm just actually realizing it now.


Happy Thanksgiving.

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Sexy Beer

Bavarian Brewery Claims to Spice Up Sex Lives With a New Erotic Beer

By JOSIE COX September 14, 2009

abcnews.com

Jürgen Hopf fits the stereotype of a Bavarian beer-maker, with his traditional felt hat, rosy cheeks, and proudly protruding beer-belly. But Hopf has given Germany's favorite drink an unlikely twist, creating libido-enhancing beer.

And the potion which he created almost seven years ago, has gone from strength to strength. Sales of the bottles adorned with a picture of a woman removing her top now make up more than a tenth of all the beer brewed in his village.

But his invention came about by chance, Hopf says. "I work at a brewery where all the processes are automated. One night though, the system failed and I was called up to try and fix it as I live just over the road," he told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "It was the middle of the night and there wasn't a soul in sight so I crossed the road wearing just my little boxer shorts and slippers."

What happened next is something which Hopf describes as pure magic. When he entered the brewery the machine was completely broken and couldn't be restarted. Semi-naked with no sleeves to role up, he picked up a large stick and started stirring the soupy brew by hand. "I suddenly felt strange and I knew that this beer would be different from any beer we had ever made before," he recalls.

Sure enough, two months later, the beer brewed that night back in 2002, had become somewhat of a local legend. Anyone in the village of Schönbrunn -- a settlement of 1,400 in the heart of the Fichtelgebirge Mountains in Bavaria -- who tried the beverage, reported a drastically increased libido. "Everyone I asked told me that they had not watched TV in the weeks," Hopf chuckles, "instead they had went straight to the bedroom with no time to spare!"

Hopf produced his "Erotic Beer" in ever larger batches. But each bottle is still brewed manually in the middle of the night by the 53-year-old brewmaster, who dresses in nothing but a scant, traditional Bavarian loin-cloth when making his beer.

Today, his brainchild has become one of the most successful products in the small village, which relies on agriculture and is home to only a few family owned businesses.

Although beer is commonly believed to lower a man's fertility, other companies -- such as the German biggest erotic store chain Beate Uhse -- have also tried their hand at marketing libido-enhancing versions of Germany's favorite drink. The "Popp-Bier," German slang for "F*@# Beer," with 4.8 percent alcohol content, hit the shelves in 2007 but was snubbed for its stiff price of almost €10 for a standard bottle.

Hopf's "Erotic Beer," on the other hand, was an instant hit when it was unveiled at an international beer fair in Milan, Italy, in 2002. "The Italian machos were absolutely crazy about it," recalls Hopf, whose name is almost the German translation of the English word for hops -- the flower used in the production of beer.

Related Links

Jenga Drinking Game

Hangover Cures

Comedian Bob Marely: Pizza and Beer

iPhone Helps You Find Weed

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Recommended Movie: Sweeney Todd

I was surprised how much I liked this movie. I'm definetly not into musicals. At the movie theatre, in the opening scene, when Johnny Depp started singing I was thinking "OMG what was I thinking?". But I gave it a chance and I loved it!

I love Tim Burton's gothic style and I think Johnny Depp is a great actor.

What I liked most about the movie was the overall storyline and the amazing visuals. It was more like art than a movie. It just seemed to possess such fantastical quality and magic.

I was able to pick up an original copy of the play from the 1970's. It was also great and actually more adult.


It doesn't change my opinion of musicals (I f***ing hated Across the Universe). But it does support that it's great when Johnny Depp and Tim Burton team up.


Plot Summary from IMDB

"After hard years in exile for a crime he didn't commit, Benjamin Barker, now Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of the evil Judge Turpin. In his anger, Sweeney goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Mrs. Lovett, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Sweeney's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain."

Related Links

Funny Scary Movies

Recommended Movie: Apocalypto

Recommended Movie: Princess Bride

Recommended Movie: Step Brothers

Recommended Movie: Zoolander

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Texting 101: Learning how to text

Course Description: Ever read a text message, trying to figure out what the f*** it means? I have. The following lessons will help you to decipher those sometimes uncomprehensible acroymns and spellings (for those of us that aren't quite "with it").

Lesson 1: Numbers as Words
Using numbers as words or as part of words is a good shortcut for people who don't have texting phones.

1 one (Use Some1, instead of Someone)

2 to/too/two (Use ME2, instead of Me Too)

4 for/four (Use B4, instead of Before)

8 eight (Use GR8, instead of Great)
from textlingo.com

Lesson 2: Letters as Words
Using these letters as words can also help shorten the message.
R - are
B - be
C - see
K - okay
U - you

Lesson 3: More Shorcuts
You can shorten the message even more by omitting: vowels, double letters, punctuation, and capitals.

whr r u - where are you?

msg - message

Lesson 4: Emoticons
Your keyboard can create emotions that will enrich your message.

: ; ^^ eyes

0 o D ) ( / ] [ X mouths

. > < - o noses

0 halo

> angry eyebrows

p tongue sticking out

examples:
:D - smiling
:O - wow
; ) - wink
:( - frown
>:) - evil/cheeky

Lesson 5: Common Phrases
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
B4 - Before
BBL - Be Back Later
BRB - Be Right Back
CYA - See You
FYI - For Your Information
GR8 - Great!
ILU - I Love You
IMO - In My Opinion
LOL - Laughing out loud
L8R - Later
NOOB - Newbie
NP - No Problem
OXOXO - Hugs and Kisses
RUOK - Are You Okay?
ASL - Age, Sex and Location
THNQ -Thank You
THX - Thanks
TTYL - Talk To You Later
W8 - Wait
2NITE - Tonight
from textlingo.com

Lesson 6: Not So Common Text Lingo
10Q - thank you
143 - I love you
182 - I hate you
4Q - F*** You
2BZ4UQT - Too Busy For You Cutey
404 - I haven't a clue
4COL - For Crying Out Loud
AWGTHTGTTA - Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again
BDBI5M - Busy Daydreaming Back In 5 Minutes
C-P - Sleepy
DWB - Don't Write Back
FOFL - Falling on Floor Laughing
GAS? - Got A Second?
HAND - Have a Nice Day
ICBW - I Could Be Wrong
JSYK - Just So You Know
KK - Kiss Kiss
LYLB - Love You Later Bye
MYOB - Mind Your Own Business
NRN - No Reply Necessary
OSINTOT - Oh Sh** I Never Thought Of That
PLO - Peace, Love, Out
QYB - Quit Your Bitching
ROTFLMFAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My F***ing Ass Off
SHMILY - See How Much I Love You
TAP - Take A Pill
URAPITA - You Are A Pain In The Ass
VEG - Very Evil Grin
WAFB - What A F***ing Bitch
YABA - Yet Another Bloody Acronym
ZZZ - Sleeping, Bored, Tired
from netlingo.com

Even More Lingo
Visit netlingo.com for the largest list of text lingo.

Your New BFF
You can translate your text messages at lingo2word.com. It's really cool and fun. It correctly translated every acroymn I typed, even the ones I thought I had made up. So if you still don't get it, let this site do the work for you.

thats all 4 2day class. hpe u lrnd lots. TT4N

Related Links
iPhone helps you find weed
Earn money from your website
Fold your shirt in two seconds
Does texting make you mean?
Car warranty phone scam

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