Alison’s cousin Chloe came to stay for a couple of days. Unfortunately I was too tired from managing them and scooping poop to take very many photos. We went to Wild Wild Wet on Thursday, and the girls had a swell time. On Friday, they presented me with a jointly-signed note saying that they would like to have their nails painted, please. So I looked around on the Internet and found someone to come to the house to paint all three girls’ nails, and give me a pedicure as well.

It was Zoe's first time painting nails. She kept moving around and smudging the paint, but the manicurist very patiently reapplied it for her at least three times. She chose the colour herself! The scrapes on her fingers are from Wild Wild Wet.

Alison and her bright pink nails. Her toes are the same colour as Zoe's fingernails.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of Chloe’s nails. She chose a very deep purple which I also chose for my toes. But I’m not going to show you my toes so you’ll just have to imagine the colour!

Here are some pictures of my sister’s recently completed paintings.  Not bad for a beginner, eh?

Click these babies to enlarge.

By Cara Sulieman

IT HAS been a popular playground game for generations, but children in one Scottish school have been banned from playing British Bulldogs on “health and safety grounds”.

Pupils at Edinburgh’s Firrhill High School have been told not to play the game, along with other “physical” pastimes such as wrestling.

The game involves kids running across the field and trying to break through a human chain formed by the other team.

It has had a revival in recent years as schoolchildren are encouraged to be more active in the playground – but has been banned in schools across the country.

“Not allowed”

And a series of minor injuries caused by playing the game at Firrhill has led to the acting senior depute Nick McClellan telling the kids not to play it during school hours.

A note in the daily bulletin message to pupils on the school’s website reads: “Please note that taking part in physical games such as wrestling or British Bulldogs is not allowed in the school grounds at breaks and lunchtimes.

“On health and safety grounds there is a significant risk of injury to pupils and these types of games are therefore unacceptable in school.”

Just last year, the Local Government Association (LGA) – which represents councils in England and Wales – called for the game to be reintroduced, saying schools needed to strike a balance between health and safety and getting the kids active.

But the move has support from local councillors, who say the game is “not appropriate”.

Councillor Jeremy Balfour said: “If schools can’t provide the necessary supervision, it’s probably a game that is not appropriate for kids at break times.”

“Don’t get out of hand”

Other councillors are calling for the school to life the ban, saying risk is “part of growing up”.

Councillor Alison Johnstone said: “This is a game that I played when I was at school and the fact that it’s still going strong shows it does have a real appeal.

“Clearly we have to take health and safety considerations into account but we have to be a lot more imaginative and can’t simply ban anything that has a bit of risk attached to it, as that’s part of growing up.”

A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council said: “We don’t have a central policy on activity in playgrounds.

“The school doesn’t want to see children wrestling or running into each other and getting hurt. They are simply trying to ensure things don’t get out of hand.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

I need some second opinions. What do you guys think of this video?
I sort of hate it, but I love the song.

I’m not sure what it’s trying to do… other than be like, “Look at these weird paper arms and legs!” I’m typically a huge advocate for puppetry, but this just isn’t working for me. The effects are done flawlessly, I just don’t think the paper extremities look very good and for such a great song, the whole concept sort of goes nowhere.

Anyone else? Thoughts? Bueller?

SGDogMart delivered Bryan’s new Varikennel crate last night. I have to give them a big shout-out, because they provided fantastic service. Not only did they do same-day delivery when their usual delivery schedule is Fridays to Sundays, they also waived the delivery fee of $10 AND they gave us a small discount. Props to them. Do check them out if you need stuff for your dogs. They’re still a very young website, but I’m sure their product range will grow in time.

Woof!

I came home to find photographic evidence that a new puppy had moved into the new crate. Alison thought it would be fun to play in the crate since it was brand new and sparkling clean. I told her that if she was naughty, I’d put her in the old crate for a time-out!

Bryan was amused at Alison's antics.

Bryan’s settled nicely into the new crate, which is much more suitable for his size right now than the large one. There is just enough room for him to lie down, stand up and turn around, and we’ve put in a towel, his rope bone and a tennis ball filled with some Jerhigh sticks to entertain him while he’s in there. So far, so good.

is rad.christina hendricks is my hero.

From Monday I am gonna start my Club Penguin world trip! I will be taking some snapshots and I will put them in my scrapbook. I will be waddling round any random server and take a pic of anything that seems intresting. I will also take a photo of some penguin friends and just explore the wonderful place!

I will not forget to share some of the amazing photos I’ll take and you might catch me! You are all welcome to take a picture with me!!! Here are all the info you need to catch me.

Name: Esmeralda718

Wig: The Blonde Sidetied

Status: Member

Good Luck finding me!!

Anyway, I just uploaded my first vid in Youtube! My singing voice is just horrible, squeaky…. I don’t think I am ever gonna make it as a singer. Here it is:

Is the microphone rubbish or is it just me who spoiled the song. Say it is rubbish. Say it. Say it!!!!! I can’t think of a bad enough word to describe it. You can sing along if you want. Here are the lyrics.

                                            ~ Alison ~

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIconlOBOGo

ALISON or Advanced Learning Interactive System ONline (http://www.alison.com) is a free online resources for basic and essential workplace skills. ALISON provides high-quality, engaging, interactive multimedia courseware for certification and standards-based learning. All courses on ALISON are accessible for free to individual learners.

The mission of ALISON is to enable anyone, anywhere, to educate themselves for free via interactive self-paced multimedia. It is our belief that through ALISON, the cost of access to high-quality education can be removed. Through the ALISON learning platform we can assist people around the world in educating themselves, thereby creating a more equitable and sustainable global society. More…

These days, a similar thought bubble has been appearing over my head quite often. Sometimes it’s because of something I happen to see. Sometimes it’s because of something I think, or wonder about. Self-editing, however, is crucial, so you will not find these types of things here.

Also, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to plug Clark & Michael (pictured above), which is most likely the best internet TV show…ever. (And no, I am not qualified to make such a statement.) But really, how can you go wrong with Michael Cera playing a character who is basically George-Michael Bluth with an anger-management problem? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I highly recommend watching all three seasons of the greatest television show of all time. Really. Or just borrow it from a friend, because I guarantee that if you’re in the 18-35 demographic, at least one of your friends owns this series.

If you’ve never seen Arrested Development, you’re probably sick of people telling you to watch it, so it’s the last time I’ll ever plug this show online again. (But we just want to make your life better, and more fulfilling. So much more fulfilling. )

Emma Cook returns to TOPSHOP for another successful collaboration with the high street brand. This time round Emma has emblazoned jumper dresses and sweaters and cardigans with the average ‘name’ – whether that be Janet or Louise or maybe Geoff or Gerrard. However, I’m quite enjoying the Claire and Grace names being sat next to eachother on the below cardigan… (I miss that!)

Cx

Emma Cook for Topshop, £70

Emma Cook for Topshop, £65

Emma Cook for Topshop, £50

This isn’t a super great music video or anything, but it has great energy, it’s fun, and I like this girl. This is pretty much my new favorite song.

A rant.

So have you ever been on the internet, reading a supposed professional blag or website written by alleged “professional writers,” and found that they seem to have little or no regard whatsoever for the rules of the English language? They fail to punctuate, capitalize, spell correctly, and even choose the correct word for what they’re trying to express. In addition to this complete “fuck you” to proper writing, they will blatantly cite facts that aren’t facts at all, but are, instead, things they just made up in their heads. And then they pass judgment on the incorrect “facts.” I’ve decided to label this phenomena “fact fucking,” or, if you’re feeling street, “phact phucking.” It’s also very popular among people like Rush Limbaugh and other conservative “media personalities” and their dumb-headed followers.

Couldn't resist.

Now, nobody’s perfect, especially me. And this isn’t even about politics or journalism! It’s about communicating clearly. We’ve all fallen victim to typos, and I am certainly guilty of crimes of grammar and misinformation as anyone who reads this blog knows. There might even be some in this very post! Oh hypocrisy. But it really chaps my ass that college-educated people who call themselves “professional writers” display such gross inattention to their “craft” (if they are, in fact, “professionals.”)

I’ve never claimed to be such a professional. If I were a professional, I’d probably be writing a book and not a bloggity-blog on the interweb, with an audience as large as six people. Hell, I’d be hard-pressed to label myself a competent or “good” writer, but I still manage to keep a grip on the rules of sentence structure as I believe we were all taught in the fifth grade. It’s not difficult! Proofreading, people!

I guess where I’m going with this is… nowhere. Check your damn facts before you get all worked up over something. And your grammar. If you’ve got an opinion, let it be known as such. Something meant to be taken remotely seriously shouldn’t read like a half-baked thirteen year-old’s Facebook status updates. And please, be consistent with the size and color of your font within the same article. For the love of Pete!!

My new favorite site, “Dealbreaker”, outlines character traits that are NOT okay when getting to know someone else. In honor of this site’s awesomeness, I’ve decided to come up with a few dealbreakers of my own, construed for the target demographic of our GE readers. Feel free to add more. Except Betty and Tim. You two are so fucking excluded.

Level: MountainClimber

You Work Out on The Elliptical

What the fuck, dudes? Everyone knows the elliptical is that stupid gym accessory that doesn’t actually burn calories, but just makes women feel better about themselves. How dare you steal my workout machine from under my untoned bosom!

This is the face I reserve exclusively for chainsaws.

Your Obnoxious Laugh

This one is the worst, because I love someone that has a sense of humor. But when your laugh is obnoxious, I find myself talking about my dead grandparents and “The Pianist”. “Hey Olivia, want to go see Pirate Radio?” you ask me. No, Obnoxious Guffawster, I ran out of ear plugs last week and even when we sat at opposite sides of the theater I could pick out your estranged giggling from front row. No THANKS.

You Drink Diet Soda

Hey, I have an idea. Ooo, I know it’s a little naughty. Sure, you may feel guilty about it later. Yes, I guess you could consider this to be “edgy,” but, yeah, reach for it. That’s right, grab the bottle. How’s that red feel in your hands? Bet you’re glad it’s not aluminum-colored this time. You took a risk, and I’m glad. Because real soda is for real people.

You Take Me Seriously

When I said I wanted to invent a new form of intergalactic communication, I didn’t think you would actually call NASA for a telephonic consult. And hey, I like lemons, and I like peanut butter, but I was totally kidding when I said Reese’s should come out with a lemonade. Why did you have to ruin my jar of Jif for demonstration purposes, dude?

You Play Magic: The Gathering

…..

dealMAKER:

You Are Edward Cullen

I am into that. The biting thing. Hey, buddy. I got you some fangs. What? You don’t have to wear them in public. Just, um, kiss my neck under this sparkling gazebo of desire.

Don’t forget the contacts.

Dealbreaker: You Don’t Read Googly Eyes

No.

Dealbreakers added by Alison….

Lazy Typing

I can handle the occasional “street” abbreviation in the form of a “u” instead of “you” or “tmrw” in place of “tomorrow” in a text message where your screen space is limited and you have to type with those damn small keys, but anywhere else, it is entirely unacceptable. It makes me think you are lazy, uneducated, and possibly just can’t spell. Plus it makes you look like a dumb-dumb doo doo head. GROSS.

Hair Gel

NO! No no no no no. It wasn’t okay in 1997, and it’s not okay now. I know a guy from high school who seems like he would be a decent date, but yet, he’s rocking the same ‘do he did in middle school and it’s just embarrassing for all involved. I promise I don’t want to touch your crispy porcupine head, and neither does anyone else who’s not a consumer of MTV programming. Put. The. Dep. Down.

In the kitchen, an amused Barney, arm well braced in measured anticipation of the recoil, smiles with anticipation as he takes aim at the enchanting Alison.

Alison, inspiration for the song of that name, sitting across the kitchen table, brazenly  ignoring the gun pointed at her, enchants me with what I hopefully imagine is the gaze of a beautiful woman interested in my presence.

She's a winner.

Alison’s school held Sports Day yesterday, and she won herself a medal! She came in third for a game called Wheel of Fortune and had to go up to shake the principal’s hand and have the bronze medal put on her. She told me that while she was waiting to be called, she was trying to decide which hand was the proper hand to use for shaking. And then she asked whether we could drill holes in one of the walls at home, so that it would be her “medal wall”. Never let it be said that my daughter has no ambition!