8:30am: 2 eggs

11:45pm: steamed otah, okonomiyaki

6:30pm: okonomiyaki, watermelon, pineapples

Weight: 126kg

Several days ago i found nice torrent toolbar,it can be for safari, IE, Mozilla, etc.

The name of it is:

Here you can find almost all torrent trackers you need, but only international!
So, enjoy)))

Um dos mais conhecidos trackers de torrents do mundo vai passar apenas a ter conteúdo legal.

De acordo com este artigo publicado no blog oficial, o grande motivo de isto ter acontecido foi a grande pressão por parte das entidades que protegem os direitos de autor, que se não fossem respeitados, levariam ao encerramento do site.

Pelos vistos cada vez o cerco se aperta mais, mas quanto mais eles fazem destas coisas, mais sites aparecem a distribuir o mesmo conteúdo. Sou a favor da compra de originais, se forem vendidos a preços justos e adequados ao bolso do comprador.

Links: Site oficial / Blog

Allotracker

https://www.allotracker.com/

Mon tracker préféré sans hésitation,

• les derniers torrents ajouter sont tous seedé par des grosses connections à +100Mbits sous seedbox et autres, se qui permet d’avoir des débits assez impressionnant
• vous ne passez pas 2h à chercher se que vous voulez, les recherches sont rapide et pertinente
• Le ratio minimum est de 0.5 ce qui est vraiment très confortable pour vous gros leecher et petit seeder!

vous l’aurez compris, c’est que du bonheur!

9:00am: low fat milk, fried egg with whitebait

12:00am: chicken breast, vegetable soup

5:00pm: rice, vegetables, chicken nuggets

8:00-10:00pm: walking

Weight: 126g

Mininova, the bountiful treasure chest of semi-legal media has gone perfectly legit recently. Bowing down to the pressure of copyright groups(and a court order). Mininova now only distributes and tracks “content distribution” torrents. Which I guess, to the everyman, translates too “none of the good stuff”.

http://mnstat.com/images/blog/index.html

I guess this is another move in the copyright industry’s game of Whack-a-Torrent. Starting up a website incurs relatively negligibile costs, so taking down torrent trackers will be a length hobby. That said, not all of them are popular. So really, the copyright industry really only has to take out the significantly popular ones, which only diverts traffic to lesser known ones. Seems like a pointless game really. Maybe someone needs to work out a way to have a rapidly propagating P2P torrent file sharing and tracking service.

It’s a sad day for all ye’ prospective pirates out there.

8:00am: button mushrooms, low fat milk

2:00pm: seaweed, rice /w curry powder, 2 slices of steamed chicken breast, apple

6:30pm: low fat milk, oats

Weight: 126kg

10:00am: chicken bun, low fat milk

12:00pm: wantan mee dry with curry powder, 1 nori

8:00pm: carrot cake

9:00-11:00pm: walking

Weight: 127kg

Od slej naprej priljubljena mininova.org ni več javni tacker ampak je postala samo tracker za objavljanje vseh stvari ki jih njeni uporabniki sami naredijo, tako da na trackerju ni možno več dolpotegnit niti najmanjši pornič

Kot piše na njihovem blogu, Mininova zagotovi brezplačno pasovno širino ter izpostavljenost na njihovi strani. Za dodatne bombončke se seveda doplača.

Sam nisem bil pristaš public trackerjev a na mininovi se je našlo bale stvari katerih na zasebnih trackerjev ni bilo. V upanju na kako novo “…nova”, farewell.

7:45am: egg tart, low fat milk

1:00pm: 1 tomato, 1 apple, 1 taiwan sausage steamed

6:00pm: fruits

7:00pm: sliced fish porridge

Weight: 127kg

8:00am: bacon, bread

12:00pm: curry potato

5:00pm: broccoli, 1 carrot, rice

8:00-10:00pm: walking

Weight: 127kg

Sziasztok Pingvinek!

Ma megjelent a Card-Jitsu Tűz, sajnos csak tagoknak.

Sensei-el már nem találkozni. Ez a játék valamivel másabb elven működik mint az Card-Jitsu. Ahogy azt már írtam korábban, a játékkal 3-4en is játszhatnak egyszerre! Ahhoz hogy tudj vele játszani, Sensei-től előbb újabb 10 lapot kell kérned.

Így néz ki a játék:

(Kattints a képre, vagy IDE a nagyobb mérethez)

Itt nem öveket kapsz, hanem Tűz Ninja ruhadarabokat, ha mind megvan, le kell győznöd Sensei-t és akkor az amulettedben a tűz helyén egy vörös kő lesz. Várhatóan hamarosan bővítve lesz a Ninják leírás is a Card-Jitsu Tűzzel. Ha ki akarod próbálni és nem vagy tag, használd az egyik tag pingvint a Közpingvinek menüpontból.

Pár kép Sensei-ről, amikor lehetett vele találkozni:

A bejegyzéssel kapcsolatos leírások:
Ninják

A bejegyzéssel kapcsolatos menüpontok:
Közpingvinek

SZÓLJ HOZZÁ!!!

8:00am: carrot cake

12:00pm: vegetables, carrot, chicken

5:00pm: milo and oats

8:00-10:00pm: walking

10:30pm: low fat milk, mango, dragonfruit

Weight: 127kg

This is my new tracker and keep refreshing.

Tips

1) The Gift usually will stay in one spot for 5 minutes at a time.

2) Gifts are most commonly found in the DownTown Area.

3) Gifts are most commonly on Beatstreet and sometimes Funkitron.

4) The Gifts recieved are random (Most common are green carpet and clothes).

5) Starting Search Parties makes Gift Tracker even more accurate!

6) The present is Blue with a Red Ribbon (See Picture on Tracker).

7) If you do find the gift click on it to recieve the item inside (You can only recieve one gift per day and you may recieve the same gift more than once).

8 ) The room the gift is in is usually very crowded.

9) The Gift usually appears every 50 minutes or so and stays for 5-10 minutes.

10) Gift may be on multiple servers at once.

11) Please comment if it helped.

Spread The World

FunkyPunky

The last ABAA meeting for the year is nearly upon us — 8 Dec 2009. The topic of conversation will be ‘what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world’?

At first I thought this would be a very interesting conversation but the more I thought about it the more I thought it was a little naive to be asking the question in this way. Is there an actual role? … see for yourself . . .

Kanban

• Prescribes no formal roles

ZenAgile

• Samurai – the defender of the project
• Roshi – the project lead, teacher and mentor
• Sensei – the team’s mentor, leader and users’ champion
• Team – multi-disciplinary where its members are chosen based on need

Scrum

• Scrum Master – protector and champion of the team from The Powers That Be
• Product Owner – customer representative and stack prioritiser
• Team – multi-disciplinary based on need

Extreme Programming (XP)

• Tracker - measures and communicates the team’s progress
• Coach – like the Sensei in ZenAgile this is a supporting role that helps a team stay on process and help the team learn
• Tester – helps the customer define and write acceptance tests for user stories in the same way a Product Owner might do in Scrum
• Customer - defines what is the right product to build, determines the order in which features will be built, and makes sure the product actually work
• Programmer - implements the code to support the user stories
• Programmer administrator - manages the programmer environment

DSDM [1]

• Executive Sponsor – commits appropriate funds and resources
• Visionary – initialises the project by ensuring that essential requirements are found early on. The Visionary has the most accurate perception of the business objectives of the system and the project. Another task is to supervise and keep the development process in the right track.
• Ambassador User – the knowledge of user community into the project, ensures that the developers receive enough amount of user’s feedback during the development process.
• Advisor User – the one who represents important users’ viewpoints
• Project Manager – manages the project in general
• Technical Coordinator – designs the system architecture and controls the technical quality in the project
• Team Leader – ensures that the team works effectively as a whole.
• Developer – interprets the system requirements and model it including developing the deliverable code and build the prototypes
• Tester - checks the correctness in a technical extents by performing some testings. Tester will have to give some comments and documentation.
• Scribe – gathers and records the requirements, agreements, and decisions made in every workshop
• Facilitator – manages the workshops progress, acts as a motor for preparation and communication.

RUP

• Well, it has over 30 roles … so let’s not go there

If the essence of agile is simplicity then there’s certainly something wrong with some of these ways of working. The most striking thing in all of these is the lack of an actual, dedicated, business analysis role. There are certainly elements of a standard BA in DSDM’s Scribe and Facilitator roles. The Tester and Tracker roles in XP could also be done by someone with a BA background. Craig Brown of Better Projects has even suggested that a BA could undertake the role of the Product Owner in Scrum. But Scrum, ZenAgile and Kanban essentially take the most appropriate people with the most appropriate skills in order to acomplish a specific task or activity. In these, there is obvious room for a BA role to lead or follow, but no defined role for a BA to play as it’s task dependent.

So what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world? Just like there is no PM role in agile there is also no actual BA role either. In some areas that focus more on software engineering there aren’t even any standard analyst roles but moreover a focus on eliciting customer needs directly. It means that in some agile projects there may not be a perceived need to involve an analyst at all.

In reality, though, someone needs to assist with the following:

• Understanding users’ needs, wants, expectations, capabilities and attitudes
• Communicating and documenting those needs
• Translating those needs to those who will implement the project
• Ensuring that the output meets the needs of users and the strategic goals of the project and, moreover, the organisation as a whole

This reinforces that skills in business analysis are important for everyone in the project and not just a single role as is prevalent in traditional waterfall projects. It suggests that everyone, from the project lead, samurai or scrum master, should have these skills.

So what is a business analyst’s role in an agile world? There is no BA role. But everyone should definitely have a business analysts skills.

M

- – - -

1. http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/rh/49/Roles-of-DSDM.html

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”……It definitely is! Before you can even celebrate Thanksgiving, you’re preparing for Christmas. The gifts, the decorations, the cookies: all of it just puts you in the holiday spirit. People all over celebrate Christmas in different ways with their families. It’s a time for happiness and peace, and a time just to be together with the ones you love. For some, Christmas is one of the most special and anticipated days of the year. And being a fan of Christmas myself, I just love everything about it! So I’ve decided to write this blog for my other Christmas fans as well.

In this blog you will find Holiday themed questions, with responses from my viewers (and myself!), recipes, gift ideas, tips, recommendations and much more! This is the Ultimate Holiday Blog!

Christmas Questions

1. What do you love most about Christmas?

Irishclover7: I love the decorations and the music most. Both of those just scream Christmas for me. Course, I do love the food too. Its like a second Thanksgiving!

Natalieallan: The country being on shutdown, there’s nothing nicer when you live in the city to get a break from the constant traffic night and day. The shops are shut and you get to relax

Rychesgirl: Spending quality time with friends and family

Suzanne: When it’s over (lol) the kid’s excitement 

KittenQueercat: The holiday spirit, the give-away ceremonies, decorating my tree in a different theme each year, the cold weather, listening to my xmas mixtape(http://www.imeem.com/people/sww0PLJ/playlist/QhiayGcK/merry-xmas-music-playlist/), making presents, cookies, and, I’m not gonna lie, getting presents, the lights, the decorations, the ancient holiday of Yule… 

Kaisa:  Hard to say, maybe the Christmas spirit when everybody get together. Christmas holiday is a good thing too and the movies that come from tv

2. What is the Best or Worst Christmas gift you have ever gotten?

Irishclover7: Not sure about the worst Christmas gift. I guess when I was younger the worst Christmas gift would have been clothes, but now I ask for clothes for Christmas. The best Christmas gift, would probably have to be my electric scooter. I loved riding that thing!

Natalieallan: Best present = a kitten, worst present = a bible (donated it to the local Christian book store)

Rychesgirl: Best gift was a digital camera, worst gift was childish gifts from my Aunts. 

Suzanne: Nothing I can honestly remember 

KittenQueercat: The best present I have ever received is my laptop! Thanks, mom!  The worst would have to be one year where I got nothing but a blanket, but I’m not ungrateful.  It’s my favorite warm blanket ever with a deer on it and way better than coal…

Kaisa:  Once I got these ”dry leaves” that are supposed to smell good (it was from a friend). I had no idea what to do with them. After keeping them in my closet I threw them away. The best gift is probably the cellphone I got two years ago or then the theater tickets I got last year.

3. What are your favorite memories of Christmas?

Irishclover7: My favorite memories of Christmas is the part when I get up real early and look around at all the presents sitting around and the tree all lit up. Then I’d take down my stocking and open it, while Christmas music played in the background.

Natalieallan: Being little and the youngest in my family, I’d get spoiled rotten. My mother always chose the best presents and it would be fun. Don’t get spoiled so much now…

Rychesgirl: Having the whole family over for Dinner. We had a packed house that day. 

Suzanne: Waking up early Christmas morning when I was a little girl and all the presents

KittenQueercat: Being a little kid and waking up Christmas morning, decorating a Heaven and Hell themed tree one year with white lights and angels on the top and red lights and ozzy osbourne ornaments on the bottom, sharing my first christmas with a boyfriend I love, and the year I had tons of money and got everyone in my family alot of great presents!

Kaisa:  My first Christmas I remember was probably the best. I still believed in Santa Claus and his little helpers. When Santa came to the house (in Finland we celebrate Christmas in Christmas eve, the Santa comes in the afternoon, gives the gifts and goes to other house), I scared him so much that I ran to my room and went under the bed. I got many gifts and I was so happy

4. What Christmas songs or movies do you love the most?

Irishclover7: My favorite Christmas songs would have to be “O, Holy Night!”, and “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas”. I love those songs. And my favorite movies would be all of the Rankin Bass, animation movies, (plus all the songs from those too!). I also like Elf with Will Ferrell, and the Santa Clause series with Tim Allen.

Argelmatta: Home Alone, definitely!!! and Skipping Xmas.

 Natalieallan: I love the home alone movies, they’re great. We tend to get a lot of crap like Mary Poppins here in the UK. Songs, I like all the rock n roll stuff like Slade and the Darkness. Wizard is good too.

Rychesgirl: Fave movie “The Santa Clause” 

Suzanne: A Christmas Story (classic love it), Frosty the snow man, I saw momma kissing Santa clause, and the chipmunk one (the hula hoop gets me every time) 

KittenQueercat: For songs, see the above mix.  My favorite christmas movie….hmm, that would have to be The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood starring a young Liza Minelli. 

Kaisa:  I almost hate Christmas songs these days because they get stuck in my head. But the one where they sing like silent night, holy night, …. you know? That’s pretty beautiful song. I like all Christmas, no favourite.

5. What are your favorite Christmas recipes, or cookie recipes?

Irishclover7: I love most all of it! I love to make decorated sugar cookies for Christmas, and I also love the Spinach Dip. And you cant forget the Farm Store egg nog, yum!

Natalieallan: Yule log, Christmas cake, and orange and cranberry muffins. I also like to cook venison and Christmas and making those chocolate coin things you hang on the tree is fun. I’m a big foodie so I tend to cook buffets rather than set meals. There’s nothing better than making your own mulled wine too.

Rychesgirl: Chocolate Chip Cookies, & Lasagna. I make a mean one. 

Suzanne: my mother’s peanut butter fudge or her spice bread yummy!! 

KittenQueercat: Gingerbread house and sugar cookies with hot chocolate.  White fudge with peppermint pieces.  

Kaisa: Often in Christmas we eat potatoes with this really good meat sauce (my mom’s own recipe) and then some salad, boiled eggs, this good cheese, carrot and rutabaga casserole. Nothing special really. Oh, of course we have those traditional cookies and mince pies.

Ah, Santa Clause. The big man with a white beard and a red suit, who rides through the night in his sleigh pulled by reindeer and delivers presents to all the good little boys and girls. What a man he is, to be able to pull all that off within 24 hours. Lucky for him he only works one night a year. His elves however work the whole year, making tons of gifts for the children.

The story of Santa Clause has been around for years, and each country has their own version. And though some people may not believe in Santa anymore, you can believe that there was a real Santa. Yes, he did exist. Maybe not in the way your story books describe him, but there was a man who delivered gifts, as I recall, a Saint Nicholas. Of course we know that the original Santa never wore a red suit, nor had elves and reindeer, but over the centuries, we’ve adapted our own version of Jolly ol’ Saint Nick. And while Santa is a popular product of our imagination, and our way of commercializing Christmas, we must remember what the holiday is really about: the birth of Jesus. And if you believe otherwise, then so be it. Yes, Santa, and presents, decorations, and lights, all symbolize Christmas today, but without Christ, there would be no CHRISTmas.

Santa and the Northpole

The history of Christmas

Christmas Around the World

Celebrate Christmas with Santa

Santa’s Village

Official NORAD Santa Tracker

Christmas dinner it seems is one of the most anticipated things next to opening the presents on Christmas morning. Families gather round at a table to enjoy home cooked food of all sorts! And of course, what could be better than the desert?! Cookies, pies, puddings, oh my! And who wouldnt want to cozy up next to a warm fire with some hot cocoa or eggnog? Well as you’re getting for the holiday season, I’ve picked out a few recipes you might enjoy. Try em out !

~Sugar Cookie Recipe # 1~

Cookies:
3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soft butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla (can substitute almond extract)

Icing
1/3 cup Crisco (transfat-free) or a 1/3 cup of softened butter
1 pound of confectioners sugar
About 1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

1 Sift dry ingredients (use a real sifter), cut in butter and add other ingredients. Blend thoroughly; chill for several hours.

2 Break off a piece of dough the size of an orange and pat it flat in your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll on dough on floured board (best to use a 2/1 ration of flour/sugar – 4 Tbsp flour mixed with 2 Tbsp sugar) or between wax paper. (It helps if you flour both sides of the dough.) Roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out and put on silpat-lined or ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes at 400 F. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as you see them turning color at the base of the cookie. Let cool completely.

3 Mix icing ingredients together until smooth. Separate into different bowls, add food coloring to achieve various colors. Spread on cookies with a butter knife, use cake decorating piping equipment to add decorative accents. If you want the sprinkle type decorating candies to stick, brush the cookie with clear Karo syrup and then sprinkle.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Adapted from the recipe for Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies, Huntsville Heritage Cookbook, 1967, The Junior League of Huntsville, AL, Lowry Printing, Inc.

~Sugar Cookie Recipe # 2~ 

Cookie:
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Icing:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup milk
Food coloring

1. Cream butter for 2 minutes, add sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract, beat until light and fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and add to batter, stirring to blend.

2. Divide dough in half, form 2 balls. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

3. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough (about 1/2 of one dough ball at a time) on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8″ thickness. Dip cookie cutters into flour; cut out shapes. Place cookies on silpat lined or lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375°F for 7-8 minutes.

4 To make icing, combine sugar, almond extract and just enough milk (about 1/4 cup) to make the frosting the consistency of thin glue. Pour icing into shallow bowls wide enough for dipping cookies. Add food coloring.

5 To decorate, dip the topside of each cookie into the icing. Remove quickly and let icing drip of excess back into the icing bowl. Let dry. Pour additional colored frosting into pastry piping, or use a plastic sandwich bag with the tip of one corner nicked off. Gently squeeze frosting on to cookies in whatever patterns you choose.

Makes 2-3 dozen.

~Amazingly Good Eggnog~

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups light rum
• 4 cups light cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine milk, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil.
2. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.
3. Stir in rum, cream, 2 teaspoon vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

~Classic Gingerbread Cutouts~

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•  
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and eggs. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; beat into the molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.
3. Divide dough into 2 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners’ sugar and cream of tartar. Blend in egg whites. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick and stiff. Keep covered with a moist cloth until ready to frost cookies.

~Remarkable Fudge~

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
• 4 cups white sugar

Directions

1. Line a 13×9 inch baking dish with foil and butter the foil.
2. In the top half of a double boiler combine the butter or margarine, evaporated milk and sugar. Cook on medium heat for 12 minutes or until it reaches a temperature of 236 degrees F (112 degrees C). Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, vanilla and marshmallow creme. Stir until chocolate chips melt then mix in the chopped walnuts. Spread mixture into the prepared pan. Score into squares while still warm. Refrigerate until firm then cut along the scored lines.

~Candy Cane Fudge~

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) packages vanilla baking chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cups crushed candy canes
• 1 dash red or green food coloring

Directions

1. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, and grease the foil.
2. Combine the vanilla chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until almost melted, remove from heat and continue to stir until smooth. When chips are completely melted, stir in the peppermint extract, food coloring, and candy canes.
3. Spread evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Chill for 2 hours, then cut into squares.

~Spinach Dip with Water Chestnuts~

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 envelope dry vegetable soup mix
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped

Directions

•   In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, dry vegetable soup mix, water chestnuts and green onions. Cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 2 hours before serving.

~Creamy Hot Cocoa~

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions 

1. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

 Kaboose Christmas Crafts and Recipes

Christmas on MarthaStewart.com

Christmas Recipes 

 Now on to Christmas shopping! Probably everyone’s favorite part of the season, right? Well maybe not. For some its exciting and for others its just a drag. And many get it done early to avoid the Christmas rush. Many years Christmas shopping (like the day after Thanksgiving) has proven to be quite deadly. Sad to see that many will  trample over other people for a sale. Which is more important: your life, or that HD TV? But anywho! Lets not bring sadness into the holiday season. Lets enjoy the holidays and enjoy a very simple shopping trip as well. Use these links to help you find deals on your Christmas presents this year!

Guide to best day after Christmas sales online

Christmas shopping without the hassle!

Christmas Cards at Hallmark

Bronner’s Christmas Ornaments

 Now, another part of the holidays is the travel. People all over travel to their parent’s houses, or to their friend’s or sibling’s houses to celebrate Christmas. And you know, during the holidays hotels will be packed, and the roads will be full of traffic jams. Just wonderful isnt it? Thats when you turn up “Jingle Bells” really loud, and have a party right in your car! Kidding of course. If you didnt know, some fun places in America are all about Christmas, and even have Christmas themed names, like Santa Clause or yes, even, Christmas. You could skip the Christmas dinner with your family (although Im sure you wouldnt), or maybe even invite your family, to some of these unique holiday destinations. And when we say holiday, we really mean it! But book early, hotel rooms go fast!

Santa Claus Museum

Christmas City, Bethlehem PA

Fort Christmas, Christmas Florida

Holiday World, Santa Claus Indiana

Santa’s Lodge, Santa Claus Indiana

Smoky Mountain Winterfest

Jingle Bell Parks

 Top Ten Christmas Light Shows

 Sleigh Ride Locations

 ”Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches…”

Ah….dont you just love the smell of Christmas trees? I do! Its one of my favorite smells of the holidays. The fun of picking out your Christmas tree, taking it home, and decorating is, is what really brings back ol’ memories. Its something the whole family can be involved in. And I know little kids love to put the decorations on the tree, including the ones they’ve made themselves! Whether you go to your nearest Home Depot or Walmart, or to an actual tree farm, picking out your Christmas tree is a very special moment. Here are a few Christmas Tree links, to find your own Christmas tree this year, or to join the National Christmas Tree Association.

National Christmas Tree Association

Pick Your Own Christmas Tree

 Who doesnt love Christmas Carols?? I mean, you cant have a Christmas holiday without singing them, or turning the radio up real loud. It just wouldnt be Christmas without good ol’ Burl Ives, Elvis, Bing Crosby, and all the rest! So I’ve put the lyrics to some of my favorite Christmas Carols right here for ya! You can find more with the link below, or download them from Walmart, itunes, or Amazon.com.

~Carol of the Bells~

Hark! How the bells
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say,
“Throw cares away.”
Christmas is here
Bringing good cheer
To young and old
Meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong
That is their song
With joyful ring
All caroling
One seems to hear
Words of good cheer
From everywhere
Filling the air

Oh how they pound,
Raising the sound,
O’er hill and dale,
Telling their tale,
Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

On, on they send
On without end
Their joyful tone
To every home

(repeat from the beginning)

Ding, dong, ding, dong.

~Oh Holy Night~

Oh holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! 

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend.

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

~Here Comes Santa Claus~

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
are pulling on the reins.
Bells are ringing, children singing;
All is merry and bright.
Hang your stockings and say your prayers,
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He’s got a bag that is filled with toys
for the boys and girls again.
Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle,
What a beautiful sight.
Jump in bed, cover up your head,
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

~Up On The Housetop~

Up on the housetop reindeer pause
Out jumps good old Santa Clause
Down thru the chimney with lots of toys
All for the little ones
Christmas joys.

Chorus

Ho, ho, ho!
Who wouldn’t go!
Ho, ho, ho!
Who wouldn’t go!
Up on the housetop
Click, click, click
Down thru the chimney with
Good Saint Nick

First comes the stocking
Of little Nell
Oh, dear Santa
Fill it well
Give her a dolly
That laughs and cries
One that will open
And shut her eyes

Repeat Chorus

Next comes the stocking
Of little Will
Oh, just see what
A glorious fill
Here is a hammer
And lots of tacks
Also a ball
And a whip that cracks

Repeat Chorus

~Rocking Around the Christmas Tree~

Rocking around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Every couple tries to stop.

Rocking around the Christmas tree,
Let the Christmas spirit ring
Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie
And we’ll do some caroling.

You will get a sentimental
Feeling when you hear
Voices singing let’s be jolly,
Deck the halls with boughs of holly.

Rocking around the Christmas tree,
Have a happy holiday
Everyone dancing merrily
In the new old-fashioned way.

~Silver Bells~

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style.
In the air
There’s a feeling
of Christmas.

Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you’ll hear,

Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city.
Ring-a-ling, hear them sing.
Soon it will be Christmas day.

Strings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
Home with their treasures.

Hear the snow crunch.
See the kids bunch.
This is Santa’s big scene.
And above all this bustle
You’ll hear,

Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day.

~Buon Natale~

Buon Natale, means Merry Christmas to you
Buon Natale, to everyone
Happy New Year and lots of fun
Buon Natale may all your wishes come true
Buon Natale in Italy means
A Merry Christmas to you
Far away across the sea
In sunny Italy
There’s a quaint little town
Not a clock has been wound
For over a century
They don’t know the time or year
And no one seems to care
And this is the reason
The Christmas season
Is celebrated all year
Buon Natale, means Merry Christmas to you
Buon Natale, to everyone
Happy New Year and lots of fun
Buon Natale may all your wishes come true
Buon Natale in Italy means
A Merry Christmas to you

~Have a Holly Jolly Christmas~

Have a holly jolly Christmas
It’s the best time of the year
Well
I don’t know if there’ll be snow
But have a cup of cheer

Have a holly jolly Christmas
And when you walk down the street
Say hello to friends you know
And everyone you meet

Ho ho the mistletoe
Hung where you can see
Somebody waits for you
Kiss her once for me

Have a holly jolly Christmas
And in case you didn’t hear
Oh, by golly
Have a holly jolly Christmas
This year

Have a holly jolly Christmas
And when you walk down the street
Say hello to friends you know
And everyone you meet

Have a holly jolly Christmas
And in case you didn’t hear
Oh, by golly
Have a holly jolly Christmas
This year

~Blue Christmas~

I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you
I’ll be so blue thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won’t be the same, if you’re not here with me

And when those blue snowflakes start fallin’
And when those blue melodies start callin’
You’ll be doin’ all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I’ll have a blue Christmas with out you.

Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won’t be the same, if you’re not here with me
I’ll have a Blue Christmas that’s certain
And when that blue heartache starts hurtin’
You’ll be doin’ all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas

~Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy~

Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum

Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
to lay before the king pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
so to honour him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
when we come

Little baby pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I stood beside him there pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I played my drum for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I played my best for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
And he smiled at me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
me and my drum

Peace on Earth, can it be
Years from now, perhaps we’ll see
See the day of glory
See the day, when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can

I pray my wish will come true
For my child and your child too
He’ll see the day of glory
See the day when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be
Can it be

Christmas Songs and Lyrics

Let it snow! Let it Snow! Let it snow!  Snow is quite a wonderful sight to see during the Holidays. I myself have never seen snow, but I can imagine how wonderful it is. For those who live up north where it seems to be always snowing, they proabably feel differently than I do, and they’re probably wishing they lived down here in the South. But for some of us who cant get up north to see the white delight, we can surely have close-to-the-real-thing right in our own home or backyards! And Im not talking about that cheap snow, Im talking about cold, wet, instant snow! I found this online and I just love it. Its reusable, so all you have to do is re-wet it when you want to use it again. And it feels just like real snow. Your kids will deffinitely enjoy this! Use it in the house, outside, for crafts, or decorations, or for whatever else comes to mind. You can even create little packs of snow to give as gifts. And hey, with enough of it, you can even build your very own snowman.

Snow Wonder –Instant snow!

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is watch Christmas movies. And I have a lot of favorites! And Im sure you have plenty of favorites as well, that you like to share with your family. So I decided to make a list of the top ten Christmas movies I love, that I think you’d love too (if you havent already seen it!), and maybe you can find a movie to watch this year with your loved ones.

***

10. Charlie Brown Christmas – Who doesn’t love the classics? Charlie Brown is a big classic for any holiday, and Christmas especially. It’s a movie for the kids, and the adults, and it’s a nice little movie to warm your heart.

9. Christmas Vacation – Hilarious! Maybe not for children, but definitely one for teens and adults! Chevy Chase is so funny in this movie, and you’ll still be cracking up even after it’s over. In fact, I wonder if most families come close to these nut-cases during the holidays!

8. Santa Claus is Coming to Town – A Rankin/ Bass classic. You just gotta love Fred Astaire in this one. Plus several of the songs are catchy. Although not the actual story of Santa Clause, I still love this movie.

7. Snow Dogs – Cuba Gooding did a great job in this one, as a dentist who goes to Alaska after his mother dies, and finds out his father is white. The dogs are cute, and so is the story. It’s a great family movie.

6. The Grinch – I prefer the one with Jim Carrey to the cartoon. You just can’t beat Jim’s hideous touch to the wonderful character. It’s more lively and colorful compared to the cartoon version, and you laugh! You can’t laugh to anything in the cartoon, which makes this movie a big Christmas hit in my book!

5. Snow 1 and 2 – This aired on ABC Family. It’s an ABC Family original I believe, and you can buy this on DVD at Amazon, and probably from ABC’s website. Both movies are wonderful!!!!! I absolutely love the idea in this movie, and it really does make the holidays even better. Great movie to watch!!

4. The Polar Express – I was a little hesitant before watching this movie. It didn’t seem to interest me very much. Then I watched it and was a little confused. But after watching it again, I actually found that I love it! The message it sends is perfect for those little non-believers, and it does make you want to believe again. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that Tom Hanks plays a majority of the characters.

3. The Christmas Story – A CLASSIC!!! How can you compare to the leg lamp, or the tongue stuck to the pole routine? If this movie doesn’t make you bust out laughing then nothing can! You can’t get anymore Christmas that this folks.

2. Elf – I am a big, big, big, fan of Will Ferrell. He’s hilarious in most everything he does. And this movie was a chance to see a more playful and less vulgar side of Will. Its perfect for kids and families all over, and it does give you several laughs. It’s a great movie to watch.

1. The Year without a Santa Claus – Now to my all time favorite! I love Rankin/ Bass movies, but this one tops the charts. I love every song in this movie and every time I watch it, I sing along. Plus I just love the Miser Brothers!! (I’m more partial to Snow Miser myself). It’s just a cute little movie. And kids will love it too.

Uh oh!!! I almost forgot one! I dont know how I missed these movies, because I love these more than any of them combined! The Santa Clause series! Never, has Tim Allen ever done a more superb job in a movie. These three movies are fantastic, funny, charming, delightful, and magical!! A must must see for everyone!!

Top 25 Christmas Movies of all Time

Lets not forget the children this holiday season! Find Jokes, Coloring pages, e-cards, and more with the links below. Plus, learn how to say “Merry Christmas” in 123 languages around the world.

All things Christmas!

Christmas Coloring Pages

Christmas Jokes

Merry Christmas in 123 languages 

And make your child’s holiday even more memorable with a letter or phone call straight from santa himself!  Find different packages and different rates using the website below.

Get a letter or phone call from Santa

Well thanks for checking out my Ultimate Holiday Blog! If you want to comment or add more links, please feel free to do so below! Thanks bunches! Dont forget to bookmark this blog post, forward it, or tweet it!

10:00am: 2 eggs, glutinous rice, mushrooms

12:00pm: 1/2 small red snapper steamed, vegetable and fishball soup, 1/3 mango

5:00pm: low fat milk, oats, 1 slice pandan chiffon cake

8:00-10:00pm: walking

Weight: 127kg

Altro sito molto interessante per il nuovo marketing musicale attraverso Internet: NextBigSound.

NextBigSound è in grado di analizzare ogni volta che un utente menziona un’artista nei social network più famosi (Last.fm, MySpace, Facebook, iLike, Last.fm, Twitter). Da tutti questi dati poi è in grado di realizzare dei grafici comparativi.

Utilissimo per tracciare i trend di popolarità dei vari artisti.