NOROVIRUS STRIKES AGAIN!

The cruise ship, Crown Princess will end its current cruise two days early due to the large number of gastrointestinal illness cases for the second week in a row. The 3,080-passenger ship will return to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday instead of Saturday. There it will undergo two days of sanitization in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was reported that 114 passengers and 59 crew members were diagnosed with a gastrointestinal virus believed to be norovirus. Those passengers affected will receive full refunds, flights home and coverage of change fees for airlines. They will also receive hotel accommodations if necessary and a 25% credit for a future cruise.

Last weeks cruise totaled 364 passengers and 30 crew members infected with norovirus. The ship underwent rigorous sanitation procedures under the supervision of the CDC, but apparently it wasn’t enough.

Norovirus is the second most common illness next to the common cold, and is highly contagious, spreading easily in confined spaces such as hospitals, hotels, dormitories and cruise ships. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea.

                                                                           -Marion Ambrose



10 Ways to Stay Healthy on a Cruise (CRUISE CRITIC) http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?id=1061)

Wash your hands. The number-one way to avoid getting Norovirus or other illnesses on a cruise is to thoroughly wash your hands -- more than you ordinarily would -- before and after you eat, after you use the restroom, when returning to the cruise ship after a day in port and every time you touch a stranger or an oft-touched item like a stairway railing or a slot machine. In this way, you'll kill any germs before they can infect you. In addition to ramping up hand-washing, also take advantage of the hand sanitizers strategically placed around cruise ships in the dining areas, by the gangway and even in various lounges and public spaces. But note that using a hand sanitizer is not a replacement for basic hand-washing.

GOTTA LOVE AUTOCORRECT.....

These were the 15 most viewed, most shared, and most popular images sent in to DYAC.
-submitted by Michelle

9 YEAR OLD STABBED,STRANGLED AND THROAT SLIT BY 15 YEAR OLD "MONSTER"

Just what does a “monster” look like? According to Patty Priess, mother of slain 9 year old Elizabeth Olten, of St. Martins Missouri, it looks like Alyssa Bustamante!

In October of 2009, Bustamante, 15 years old at the time, strangled, stabbed and slit the throat of 9 year old Elizabeth. She used her own younger sister to lure Elizabeth out “to play”. She had also dug a few shallow graves in anticipation of her kill. In her confession, Bustamante said she wanted to feel what it was like to kill someone. In a journal that was later found, she wrote "I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they're dead. I don't know how to feel atm. It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable. I'm kinda nervous and shaky though right now. Kay, I gotta go to church now...lol." She then went off to a church dance and enjoyed herself while Elizabeth’s family and police began a massive search for little Elizabeth.

Bustamante could have been charged with first degree murder and sentenced to life in an adult prison with no chance for parole, but instead pleaded guilty to second degree murder and armed criminal action. Wednesday morning she was sentenced to life in prison with the chance for parole for the murder and a consecutive 30 year prison term for the criminal action charge.

Bustamante apologized to Elizabeth’s family at the trial, Patty Priess, mother of the slain girl, sat silently, staring blindly forward and made no response.

Bustamante’s lawyers attributed her actions to the fact that she had been taking the drug Prozac for an extended period due to depression, and the drug made her prone to violence. Elizabeth’s mother still thinks Bustamante is “an evil monster”.

Murder victim Elizabeth Olten

VALENTINES GIFTS FOR DUMMYS....

Dawn Boyle

Valentine's Day is all about love and romance. Therefore, the gift of "going out" is top of list. A romantic dinner at her favorite restaurant . You can take her somewhere else for a spa treatments including massages or team rooms. If your wife's parents or children live elsewhere it will be a good idea to give her the gift of traveling in order to see them. While out you can talk about your marriage, regarding what is done, what is wrong, and what should be done to improve your relationship in the years to come.

There is no way you can go wrong with jewelry. Wait, I take that back...make sure you know what she likes. There is a difference between gold, silver, platinum, etc...diamonds always work!

Maybe some flowers??? If your wife is anything like me than NO FLOWERS!! Be practical and get her a plant or bush that she can re-plant in the spring. I love Hydrangea's....just saying.

If you have children, certainly get at least a card for your kids to give to their Mommy! Encourage them to make homemade gifts for her. If your kids are a little older, a gift certificate for a mani-pedi would surely make her smile!

The best gift of all is time. Give your wife time alone. Space. A night off, no not on Valentines Day, under no circumstances should she cook on this special day...in fact just by ordering a pizza in will lighten her load and will be much appreciated!

Happy Almost Valentines Day....You have a week....GET IT DONE! GET SOMETHING!!!

HUSBAND OF MISSING WOMAN TAKES HATCHET TO YOUNG SONS

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

It sounds like it should be a story in Paranormal Pub: horrendous, violent, and unthinkable. But this story is true. Josh Powell, husband of Susan Powell (missing since December) took a hatchet to his seven year old son’s neck and his 5 year old son’s neck and head. He then set the house on fire and he and the boys ultimately died of smoke inhalation.

Powell steadfastly denied having anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of his wife, Susan. Only a few days before, Powell had filed a motion seeking custody of his children. The judge denied his motion and left the boys in the custody of Susan Powell’s parents with supervised visits.

On Sunday, the two boys arrived for one of these visits. They in the house ahead of the social worker and Powell locked the door. According to autopsy reports, he then used a hatchet on both children and then set the house on fire. Authorities said Powell had made thorough plans well ahead of time to commit the murder/suicide. Just before the boys arrived, Powell sent out emails to friends, cousins and his pastor saying he was sorry, where to find his money and that he couldn’t live without his boys. No mention was made of his missing wife.

Interestingly enough, Josh Powell’s father Steve Powell, is a “person of interest” in Susan’s disappearance. He is in jail at present on voyeurism and child pornography charges. Explicit images were found on his computers during a search of his home concerning the disappearance of his daughter in law. He claimed to have had an affair with Susan, but her parents, Charles and Judy Cox, strongly deny this claim.

Judy Cox said the boys didn’t want to visit their father for their weekly Sunday visit but she talked them into it. She now regrets having done so.

WANNA LAUGH?!?!??!

Q: What does a man who loves his car do on February 14?
A: He gives it a Valenshine!

Girl: “I can’t be your valentine for medical reasons.”
Boy: “Really?”
Girl: “Yeah, you make me sick!”

Q: Why is Valentine’s Day the best day for a celebration?
A: Because you can really party hearty!

Q: What did the cholcolate syrup say to the ice cream?
A: “I’m sweet on you!”

My Best Friends

I moved into my neighborhood a little over seven years ago. It was a big move for me, not knowing anyone who lived in the town and being a stay-at-home mother of a 3 year old and 7 month old. We bought a house that was out of our price range like everyone else, but with one thing in mind....we would make it our home, the place where we would never leave. Within hours (that's right I said HOURS) of the U Haul pulling in the driveway of our new home on Halloween, I had the luxury of meeting one of the women in the story below.

My friend Gina is a "GO-TO" friend. She finishes my sentences or with just a look knows exactly what I am thinking. She has my back and the biggest heart in the world. She is a survivor in many ways...and together we will survive the years ahead with our kids who have turner and are turning into teenagers....I am very lucky to have her in my life.

On Sunday night I received an email from her about a story her friend wrote about their "CREW"....it brought me to tears for many reasons, it made me think about my friends - new & old. It made me realize how people come into your life and the purpose they serve...it is something, everyone does leave an impression. I am very happy to share this story with you....and I hope it tugs a little at your heart enough to smile through some tears and call a friend.

Thank you Gina M. for sharing - you make my heart smile!

D.B.K.

Coleen Colwell Schneider

People are lucky to have one best friend their whole life.  I am super lucky because I have six best friends in mine.  These six girls have been my best friends for over thirty years.  We have been through so many of life’s ups and downs.  Boyfriends, jobs, weddings, babies, even cancer.  We have laughed, cried, fought and supported each other over and over again.  Our husbands have become close friends and our children think they are cousins.

We share so many memories and know each other’s deepest secrets.  I have a twenty year old daughter and two teenage sons and most of my close friends have kids around the same ages.  When they get caught having parties at our house when we aren’t home, or drinking when they are not of age, or dating some loser, we complain to each other and advise each other about how to parent.  Then, ten minutes later, we are reminiscing about parties we had and loser boyfriends we dated, and we are laughing till we cry.

After 9/11, my friend Gina had read a story about a ring that was found in the rubble at ground zero.  It was a ring that belonged to one of the victims.  The ring belonged to a woman who wore the ring as a symbol of her friendships with her childhood girlfriends.  They also had the same ring.  We were all turning forty that year and it was a no-brainer what the gift to each other would be. This is the ring that we all share and treasure.

What I treasure more than this ring, are these six girls, Maureen, Joanne, Darlene, Gina, Lisa and Cathy. We are not perfect but we love and respect each other and have passed the test of time. I have learned so much from each one of them and they have all been a great influence in my life.  They are smart, beautiful and make me laugh more than anyone can imagine.  W.A. Wallace said “
Friendship is the fusion of souls.”  I believe this to be true because these girls are my soul-mates.

This month our 50^th birthdays begin.  We wanted to do something special again.  Luckily, Lisa is a jeweler and found the perfect gift:  a set of bangle bracelets that resemble the ring.  The bracelets, like the ring, like our friendships, have no end.  They will go on and on.

THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

You know the drill - everywhere we go, people are talking about the Mayan Calendar, Nuclear War, The Doomsday Clock and all things pointing to a dark and bleak future for us all. Consider this scenario:
A man and his son are pushing a shopping cart with their belongings across a devastated American landscape. There has been a global catastrophe, and the few survivors cling to a meager existence. Ruthless gangs roam the ruined cities in search of food. Nothing grows, the animals have all died, and the canned goods have nearly run out, so cannibalism has become the default option. In this world drenched in violence, human interaction is mediated almost solely by rod and gun. As they trek westward to the coast, the father tells his son that they are the carriers of the fire, that they are the good guys, that they must blunder on until they meet the other good guys. The boy struggles to understand, for his experience of survival has been full of pain and hunger and death. At one point, he asks his father plaintively how the two of them could possibly be good guys since they haven’t actually helped anyone on their journey. Short of utter annihilation, it’s the bleakest future imaginable.

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is a modern classic of post-apocalypse fiction. It depicts the effects of a great burst of violence, perhaps a nuclear attack, and then the horrific violence that the survivors visit upon themselves. The science fiction genre once  produced a plethora of utopian narratives – Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s Herland, H.G. Wells’ Men Like Gods. But after the great bloodlettings of the 20^th century, the genre became a great deal darker. The future was no longer an island paradise but instead a totalitarian state (1984), a planet decimated by disease (The Stand), or a world so degraded by nuclear war that even language had begun to devolve (Riddley Walker). Published in the post-9/11 era, The Road reflects a resurgent anxiety over the barbarism that lies just around the corner and just beneath the surface.

This anxiety over an impending barbarism is reflected in headlines that trumpet the threat of nuclear terrorism, melting icebergs, paralyzing pandemics, and disappearing food stocks. If the promise of future cataclysm doesn’t raise your blood pressure, then there’s all the daily global violence to which we’ve become dangerously inured. The Syrian government has killed thousands of protestors. War drags on in Somalia. The narcobattles in Mexico have left tens of thousands dead. The insurgencies in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq continue. Nigeria is on the verge of civil war. Each year we build a new addition to the charnel house of contemporary life.

Virtually everything we read in novels and newspapers, not to mention the video games we play and the Hollywood movies we watch, reminds us that we’re steeped in violence and that it’s only going to get worse. And then, along comes Dr. Steven Pinker with "The Better Angels of our Nature".

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?

This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.

Are you as tired as I am of seeing, hearing, and reading about impending doom and inevitable destruction? I think we all should take the time to read what Dr. Pinker has to say. At the very least, it will give us several hours of peace and non violence in our lives!

http://books.google.com/books?id=J7ATQb6LZX0C&dq=%22The+Better+Angels+of+Our+Nature%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/the-better-angels-of-our-nature-pinker_b_1228554.html

SOUL FOOD

Barbara Ward-Finneran

Dream... Hope... Push... Aspire... 

Have faith in your vision and courage for that which you cannot yet see.  

Work hard enough towards your goals so that what you dream of today, becomes the reality of your tomorrow.

Keep the promises that you make to yourself!

©  All Rights Reserved

IT'S THE RAGE - TASTING PARTIES

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

My niece Katie just moved into her new condo. She’s young, single, beautiful and very, very smart. I wanted to get her a special gift but I was afraid she might not like what I picked out, so I decided to get her a gift certificate to Pier 1. I walked in and started looking around as I wandered over to the register. It was then that I found it – an amazing, wonderful, fun discovery: the tasting party!

Pier 1 had a whole section of classy, colorful, whimsical, and art deco tasting party serving pieces. There were little shot-glass like glasses that fit into a wavy glass rectangle with colorful squiggles running through it, individual spoon-like mini dishes, and little white shell-like cups that fit on rectangular white mini trays. I fell in love with them all! I wound up buying a 3 tier server with the white rectangular plates on each tier and mini shell cups as well as tiny covered serving cups to sit on the plates. I fully intend to go back and collect more of the different sets!

My next step is to actually plan a tasting party. For my first, I’ve decided to have a wine and hors d’oeuvre tasting. Each guest (or couple) will be asked to bring a bottle of their favorite wine and an hors d’oeuvre  to share. I’ll have different serving ware ready if guests need them as well as luncheon sized plated and silverware. I think I’ll have small plastic wine glasses for the tasting, but each guest will also have a regular glass wine glass with a charm so they can have a full glass once they’ve found their favorite. I’ll also supply the dessert, a fabulous theme cake that will serve as a table centerpiece during the party.

 I’m making my own invitations with a picture on the front to give guests an idea of what a tasting party looks like. I’m going to challenge them to bring something no one else will, so we’ll have a good variety of hors d’oeuvres.

I’m planning it for Valentine’s Day so An Evening of Romance will be my theme. Soft lights, candles, romantic music and red roses should set the mood.

I hope my guests will enjoy the party as much as I’m enjoying the planning!