Cecilie's Journal

Friday, September 30, 2005

Don't lose your head...

Beware...

My friend was cleaning at home not long ago and found an old magazine. She looked it through to see if she could throw it away or not. She cut the above ad out and mailed me before getting rid of the magazine. I couldn't resist putting it on my blog and I think you all get why. I thought it was funny.. we should all beware of reading or doing things that can make our heads fall off... The magazine doesn't exist anymore.. I wonder why..! While I'm still online I will do a shameless plug for my friend's newly made website Helena of Sweden (in swedish), where you can buy jewelery and some other stuff that she makes. This is mainly targeting the visitors from Sweden but she has customers from the US too. She can also do customize jewelery.. if you want in a certain color and so on. Just send her an e-mail for more details or any other questions you might have.

What more before I sign off for today. Yesterday when I was hanging out with Susanne we went around in different boutiques looking at the changes in fashion. It seams to be soft colors in earthy tones dominating right now, but the most popular colors will be purple and gray if I'm not totally wrong. I read in a magazine that the horizontal stripes are coming back in fashion, both for women and men and it's thin or thick stripes in different colors. I guess I have to take time to go through my wardrobe and find any clothes with stripes. Like all other trends they come back in fashion after a few years. That's why you shouldn't throw away certain timeless clothing, it will be a money saver.. to dig deep in the dark wardrobe instead of the wallet. It's like the manchester trend, that has been in fashion and still are. Which mean I can use my black manchester jacket a little longer before it's time to put away. I really like the manchester fabric and especially that jacket.

Posted at 7:15:49 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Thursday, September 29, 2005

Lightcafé.. another new innovation...

Met earlier today my friend Susanne at our regular café Mondo. I haven't seen her for a couple of weeks and it's always fun to hang out. She brings out the funny person within me, that is when we aren't talking serious issues. She seamed to be very happy when she walked towards me outside the café and then I found out that Martin is her boyfriend and he was the one who had brought the big girlfriend/boyfriend question up last week. I'm truly very glad for her.. she both needs to be happy again and definitley deserves it. It hasn't been easy for her since Elvan died in May last year and even if this relationship won't last forever.. it gives her the opportunity to move on with her life. When she first told me that she was going out with someone, but wasn't sure if it felt right afterwards.. I never thought they would end up together. Her guilty feelings.. about going on a date when she still loves Elvan made it feel wrong. I think he would have liked her to be happy and go on living.. even if it means finding someone else she can share her life with. I guess she will always love Elvan, even though she's with Martin now.

Something else we talked about was how life seams to be way to stressful nowadays and how we would like to take control over situations that causes us to feel stressed out.. to reduce the high stress factor we are both feeling. To quote a word Anthony Hopkins on Late Night a few days ago used.. it would be great if we could 'zen-out' and just take a moment to relax without pondering and analysing things to much. More live life as it comes than trying to control every little outcome. But it's really difficult when we both are perfectionists in everything we do or try to accomplish and then we are women.. we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselfs and reflect over things that happens more than necessary, but that's our nature.

Another thing is that the hours of the day aren't enough and now when fall is coming with more hours of darkness than light.. and not to mention the autumn weather, it has a tendency to make my mood go down. I'm feeling more tired, cold, and when I saw an ad in a magazine about making reservation for Christmas buffet now otherwise it may be booked up.. I got a big knot in my stomach of reading that. Is that a stress factor or what.. September is not over yet and who's counting the days before it's Christmas already.. 86 days left... yes, I know I'm a lunatic. I think I need help.. well, some light therapy wouldn't be wrong. Actually I wish it would open a lightcafé here in my town. This is something pretty new and as far as I know the only lightcafé is in Stockholm. A great idée to offer light therapy and a coffee or thé break with friends.. saves time in a pleasant way and hopefully one feels better afterwards. The recommendation is to spend at least half an hour, to get the necessary dose of daylight but it would be useful to stay about 45 minutes the first time to get the full effect. The preferable dose of this particular light would be half an hour every day. For all those who are lucky enough living near a lightcafé and are tired both of and during the long dark period we have here in Scandinavia, this new innovation is something to try.. it might be an elevating experience. If I get the opportunity to go and visit my friend Helena in Stockholm later this fall, I will definitley pay the lightcafé a visit.

Posted at 10:55:43 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Chinese panda legend...

'The legend begins with the panda as a totally white bear. One day a young little shepherdess came upon a white panda cub being attacked by a leopard. Trying to save the defenseless panda she charged the leopard with a large bamboo shoot, striking him over and over again. The leopard was not hurt by the bamboo and turned on the little girl instead and she was killed. This act of bravery saved the panda's life but the little girl lost hers in the struggle. All the white pandas held a funeral in honor of the brave little girl and wore black armbands as a sign of mourning. The black dye of the armbands, moistened by many tears from the pandas, began to run. When the pandas wiped their eyes, the armband left black marks. When the pandas consoled each other by hugging, the dye left black spots on their backs. When they covered their ears to block out the sound of crying, the black dye colored their ears.. since that day all pandas have carried these marks. Overcome with sorrow, the girl's three sisters threw themselves into her grave, whereupon the earth shook and in place of the grave a huge mountain appeared. That mountain still stands, and is called Siguniang.. the four sisters mountain. Each sister was transformed into one of it's peaks and between the ridges that spread from it the sisters continue to protect the pandas to this day.'

The Giant Panda's peaceful existence of rarely feeding on other animals and the Chinese ancient belief that during wartime the panda went hungry and only flourished in times of peace won the Giant Panda it's fame as a symbol of peace in China. A picture of the panda was used on flags as a signal for surrender. Today, the Giant Panda is the logo for the World Wildlife Fund for Nature. They chose a fitting logo, after all, the Giant Panda is one of the world's most cherished yet endangered animals on Earth. There are many strikes against the Giant Panda that they must overcome to survive. Their habitats are being destroyed along with their main food supply of bamboo. A Panda will eat as much as 20 pounds of bamboo in a day. As their habitats are destroyed, their populations are being fragmented. Without needed genetic exchange, these creatures have been and will continue to become weaker genetically resulting in birth defects and lower birth rates and making it harder for them to resist disease. To make matters worse the Giant Panda is slow to reproduce. Multiple births are uncommon and even then the odds are that only one survives. The mother panda can only take care of one cub every two years. It's hard to believe that anyone would want to ever kill one of these magnificent animals, but it's true. Their skins are highly prized by underground markets in the Far East. The Chinese government has passed laws to protect them. In fact, the act of poaching a Giant Panda is punishable by a life sentence. The only place on Earth that the Giant Panda lives in the wild is in the mountains of central China. Researchers believe there are less than 1000 of these beautiful animals left, of which about 300 or so live in captivity. Pandas in the wild will live about 18 to 20 years while those in captivity will live to be about 30.

Posted at 11:19:05 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Monday, September 26, 2005

Chocolate yoga.. a new innovation...

Have you ever heard of chocolate yoga before? I haven't and I have practice yoga for several years and trying to keep myself updated. I was surfing to find some new articles to read about the latest on the subject and found this thing about 'Chocolate Yoga'. As a chocolate lover and a lover of yoga I think this might be something worth trying. So, out with the traditional yoga, Power Yoga and even Bikram Yoga... and thumbs up for the Chocolate Yoga. It's actually not chocolate but the raw Cacao bean that is used. It's chocolate in its purest form with a very high cacao level. The chocolate is mixed with honey and taken just before a Yoga class. Chocolate beans are supposed to lift you up and provide an energy boost that will get the yoga practiser to a new dimension. Chocolate yoga, an exercise concept where inner peace begins with the stomach, seams to have found an enthusiastic audience among America's fit and famished. The practice combines the natural high of stretching with the endorphin high of eating chocolate to facilitate relaxation, health and happiness. Still in its infancy, chocolate yoga is probably gaining in popularity like any other innovation. The simplicity of the idea, not to mention its palatability, is almost certain to inspire and spread to other countries. In a typical class the yoga begins with a 'sacramental' offering of raw chocolate, which is homemade from organic cacao and sweetened with honey. Participants are then invited to start nibbling, focusing on the sensations that unfold as the full expression of the chocolate works its way from the mouth through the body. Controlled consumption has been proven to improve blood flow, reduce blood pressure and increase good cholesterol levels.

What is cacao and what kind of effects on the body does it have? Cacao is the seed of a fruit of an Amazonian tree that was brought to Central America during or before the time of the Olmecs. Cacao beans were so revered by the Mayans and Aztecs that they used them as money! In 1753 Carl von Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish scientist, thought that cacao was so important that he named the genus and species of this tree himself. He named this tree 'Theobroma cacao' which literally means 'cacao, the food of the gods'. Cacao beans contain no sugar and between 12% and 50% fat depending on variety and growth conditions. Nature's First Law cacao beans are around 40% fat content.. low compared to other nuts. Cacao seems to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. This is likely the primary reason we women crave chocolate during the menstrual period. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD)... over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in Magnesium.

Cacao also contains subtle amounts of caffeine and theobromine. However, experiments have shown that these stimulants are far different when consumed raw than cooked. Cacao seems to diminish appetite, probably due to its monoamine oxidase enzyme inhibitors (MAO inhibitors). These are different from digestive enzyme inhibitors found in most nuts and seeds. These rare MAO inhibitors actually produce favorable results when consumed by allowing more serotonin and other neurotransmitters to circulate in the brain. Another substance found in chocolate is phenylethylamine (PEA). PEA is an adrenal-related chemical that is also created within the brain and released when we are in love. This is one of the reasons why love and chocolate have a deep correlation. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness. Last but not least a neurotransmitter called anandamide, has been isolated in cacao. Anandamide is also produced naturally in the brain. Anandamide is known as 'The Bliss Chemical' because it is released while we are feeling great. Cacao contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies' ability to breakdown anandamide. This means that natural anandamide and/or cacao anandamide may stick around longer, making us feel good longer, when we eat cacao. I can only see a good outcome of this delight combination. Who knows.. eating cacao nibs and practising yoga may cause me to have THE BEST DAY EVER!

Posted at 7:49:25 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Friday, September 23, 2005

Paleforce.. superheroes to the rescue...

Jim Gaffigan is one funny dude and he is a person that may go unnoticed, because.. face it, he's not a typical hunky celebraty looking kind of guy that women raise their eyebrows over.. at first glance. But he has what it takes to entertain an audience and make them twist in pain of laughter. I really wish I could see one of his shows.. that would really be something. Don't have money to make a trip to the US in the near future, so I'll just have to do with his TV appearances here and there. The best ones are without no doubt on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Not long ago Jim guested Coney Cone Cone, that episode hasn't been aired here in Sweden yet.. but I payed Jim's website a visit the other day and got to see a funny cartoon clip that was shown on Late Night. Jim has many projects going on and he has wanted to be/play a superhero (he is not just a stand up comedian but also an actor). The cartoon named Paleforce was made by Paul Noth. Coner Boner and Jim got to be two superheroes fighting crime with their paleness. They are as equal pale as whities can be. Gaffigan seams to be a really nice person and very down to earth kind of guy.. he can be found at 'myspace' interacting with his fans in such a great way.. click here... Jim has been asked by HBO to do an hour show and I hope one of the broadcasting networks here in Sweden will pick it up.. they did a rerun on some HBO series featuring Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Denis Leary, Bill Maher not to long ago.. so it's not impossible they'll get Jim on the screen for us, holding my fingers crossed.. To watch the cartoon click on the image below...

I have to mention that unfortunatley didn't Conando and the Late Night staff win any of the categories they were Emmy Award nominated in. To bad 'cause I really think they deserved to get at least one. We weren't able to watch the ceremony here in Sweden.. but I was told O'Brien got to present an award and did a mighty fine job.. his inner comedian popped out as usual. 'Every girl dreams of getting an Emmy... and I was no exception.' 'Only one of these five ladies can go home with the Emmy tonight. So at last I can live out my fantasy of disappointing 4 women at once.' Well, he got something else to look forward to instead.. he will in a couple of months get a visit by the stork...

Posted at 7:56:41 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Rita on its way to New Orleans...

The tropical storm Rita hit Florida Keys and Cuba this morning (swedish time) and is on its way to the suffered New Orleans area. They have hardly begun to recoperate after the mess hurricane Katrina made and now the people have to evacuate again. Rita was upgraded from being a tropical storm to a level 2 or 3 hurricane and if it goes over the Mexican Gulf Stream then it probably will increase to a level 4 or 5 hurricane, when it reach New Orleans. The only positive thing in this horrible destruction by a natural phenomenon is that.. FEMA and all the other 'slow' people to react should be doing things better the second time around.. hopefully. I wish everyone to be safe and well...

I got an early phone call this morning from my mother who let me know that my little nephew is doing much better now and they will be able to go home later on today. He got his left arm in a cast and they also had to put his left shoulder back in place... it was dislocated really bad.

I've been told that it's been a bit difficult to access this blog the past few days. It seams to be that my bloghost has been changing or is at the moment changing server this week.. due to that this blog didn't load at all at some point. But I think the process is soon to be finish, so have patience please. Hope though its not some other kind of problem.. like the ones I had with my other bloghost, which made me move to this one. I don't want to change bloghost again and I really haven't got the time for it either. Moving on to something positive I will at last get my hands on Maher's book today.. can't hardly wait to begin reading. It's another episode of Lost tonight so it has to wait til after that though.

Posted at 8:24:36 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Nephew in surgery...

Yesterday afternoon my four year old nephew André had an accident and he got hurt really bad. His parents took him to hospital and they had to stay overnight.. and earlier today he was going to get anaesthesize before surgery. I still haven't heard anything since I talked to my mother for a few hours ago. So I don't know how it went and if everything is alright, but I do believe mother is driving to Gothenburg tomorrow where my sister and her family are living. I would also like to get the first train up.. but I will probably only be in the way and I really don't know what I can do to help.. more than worry myself to death... and I guess I can do that as well down here too. This is just a meaningless entry to let some anxiety steam out, because I'm upset over this and also pretty angry at a certain person for being negligent. It shouldn't have happened and that's all I'm going to say right now...

Posted at 7:54:48 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Monday, September 19, 2005

Sluurpin' wheatgrass juice...

Why on earth do people drink grass juice? You'd think that people would realize that grass is for cows! Is wheatgrass juice just a fad for health freaks? I think wheatgrass juice has a sweet taste. Do I think it's delicious..? Well, not really... in fact no kind of grass made into juice tastes really delicious.. but of all the health foods out there, it really deliver health and fulfill all the claims made about them. Now you probably think I'm selling wheatgrass juice.. I'm not, but I have used it several times before. Used it sounds like it's some kind of a drug I'm talking about.. it's not. I've recently started to drink wheatgrass juice (liquid chlorophyll) again and this made some of my friends go.. what..? So I thought I should make an entry about wheatgrass and it's history for those who are interested in that, here we go...

Wheatgrass...

A short history of this ubiquitous substance called wheatgrass:

During the early 1900's a man named Edmund Bordeaux Szekely discovered an ancient biblical manuscript which he subsequently translated. It was a remarkable discovery and Szekely was so enthralled with the translation that he formed a society he called the Biogenic Society to promulgate the teaching of this new/old way of eating. He began publishing the manuscripts in the form of little books, which he sold very inexpensively because he felt that the world needed the message. He called the books 'The Essene Gospel of Peace'. The Essenes were a very righteous people who lived near the Dead Sea during the time of Jesus Christ. Christ actually taught them the laws of health during that time. The main teaching of Essene Book I is: 'Don't kill your food by cooking it.' The main teaching of Essene Book IV is : 'all grasses are good for man and wheatgrass is the perfect food for man.'

In the 1940's a man by the name of Charles Kettering (former Chairman of the Board of General Motors) donated money for the study of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll was studied intensively by medical doctors using FDA required standards i.e. double blind studies, etc. There are currently over 40 articles written up in medical journals about the healing effects of chlorophyll. These medical doctors found that chlorophyll was a great healer and used it as such for quite some time.

The next question is… why aren't they still using it? Answer: I am sure if drug companies knew that if the average individual knew that the chlorophyll from their backyard grass would heal them, then they probably wouldn't be using high powered and high priced drugs… and then, who could make money? Sometime during the 1940's a lady by the name of Ann Wigmore healed herself of cancer from the weeds she found in vacant lots in Boston. She began a study of natural healing modalities and with the help of a friend, Dr. Earp Thomas, she found that there are 4700 varieties of grass in the world and all are good for humans. She arrived at the conclusion that wheatgrass was the best or the medicinal grass.

Here we are in the year 2000 and many people are finding out for themselves the great benefits of wheatgrass (liquid chlorophyll). The father of Chinese medicine said 'It is the diet which maintains true health and becomes the best drug.' Hippocrates, considered the father of western medicine, said basically the same thing. His teaching based on that the body can act as its own physician when provided with the proper tools (living organic nourishment), used in the way nature intended.. unprocessed and uncooked. For some people the truth seems to be that God originally designed the foods of the earth in such a way that they would not only nourish his earthly children, but would keep them at a peak of health. Our mistake seems to be that we alter this grand design by cooking, therefore destroying the food before we eat it.

I myself, tried the wheatgrass juice for the first time about five to six years ago. Mainly to get a better absorption of oxygen and to reduce attacks of migraine, which often made me confined to my bed rest of the day. Also being an asthmatic since childhood I haven't had any serious problems after the first period I drank wheatgrass juice. Another benefit it had on me was my sleep. I slept better and deeper (REM).. thereby felt more rested when I woke up in the morning. During the days I stayed very alert and stimulated. I have only positive outcomes from sluurpin' wheatgrass juice.. the only bad thing I can think of is it's quite expensive to buy.. so I only drink wheatgrass juice in periods. I could get seeds and grow wheatgrass and make my own juice, but that's one more project for me to do way in the future. To read more on wheatgrass visit GoGreen.. click here...

Posted at 10:27:41 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Sunday, September 18, 2005

Funny answering machine answers...

These are funny but actual answering machine messages and answers recorded and verified by the World Famous International Institute of Answering Machine Answers...

Hi. This is John: If you are the phone company, I already sent the money. If you are my parents, please send money. If you are my financial aid institution, you didn't lend me enough money. If you are my friends, you owe me money. If you are a female, don't worry I have plenty of money.
Hi. I am probably home. I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message, and if I don't call back, it's you.
Hi, this is George. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message, and then wait by your phone until I call you back.
Hello, you are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need siding, windows, or a hot tub, and their carpets are clean. They give to charity through their office and do not need their picture taken. If you're still with me, leave your name and number and they will get back to you.
A is for academics, B is for beer. One of those reasons is why we're not here. So leave a message.
If you are a burglar, then we're probably home cleaning our weapons right now and can't come to the phone. Otherwise, we probably aren't home and it's safe to leave a message.

It's cold and raining outside today, so I'm going to stay at home making some hot chaï latte and scones.. Too bad I haven't got the book I've ordered yet, guess I have to do with Maya Angelou's 'I know why the caged bird sings'. I hope Maher's book will arrive soon. I received my contact lenses on Friday and that transaction went smoothly. Will do that again 'coz it was much cheaper and it took only three days before I got them. Otherwise not much are happening at the moment..

I finally made a decision to change the colors again and have now returned to the original background color black, but keeping the blog layout as it was in the new version. A few more links added.. see the new feature with Bloglinker on the third side section. Down on the bottom of this page there is a link to a blogring I joined not long ago.. that's actually my first one. Don't know if the blogs in the ring are any good or not, but if you got a suggestion of a ring I should join let me know. The background music seams to work as it should.. will change the theme later on this evening if I get time for it. The priority when I'm online is the xml/feed document, because this bloghost doesn't have an automatic xml/feed creator which in my opinion s*cks. Also the bookmark button aren't working.. I can't make the JavaScript working as I want it to, so right now it's just a button without any function. Got to think a little more on that one or ask for help. I think that's pretty much all for now.. continue all to have a nice Sunday afternoon.

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster feedster:0afa77ec08023fe0417186a77b298b30

Posted at 11:27:32 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Thursday, September 15, 2005

The 2005 World Summit in New York...

Swedish Prime Minister Persson has opened the world's largest summit which is set to approve a watered-down blueprint to restructure the embattled United Nations on its 60th anniversary. Persson chairs the summit as Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson presides over the incoming General Assembly session, which got under way Tuesday. Kofi Annan paid a quick visit to Stockholm on Friday the 2nd to discuss with Swedish Prime Minister how to prevent the forthcoming UN summit from failing. The meeting will focus on reforms of the organisation and on how to ensure member states meet the goals set for them five years ago to help world poverty by 2015; goals which so far have not been acted upon.

The three-day gathering in New York (14th-16th September), brings together more than 170 Heads of State and Governments to review progress made since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000. This Declaration represents an ambitious set of values, principles and objectives for the global challenges of the twenty-first century, as well as deadlines for collective action. The interrelated issues of development, security, human rights and institutional reform will be the core subject-matter of the Summit, which is expected to adopt decisions on future action, including on institutional reforms of the UN. The Summit provides the EU with a unique opportunity to consolidate and deepen effective multilateralism. In this context, the EU is expected to make a strong and substantial contribution to the 2005 UN Summit and to the success of this high-level event.

John Bolton, the newly appointed American ambassador to the United Nations, has handed in a list of over 750 suggestions for changes to the document that UN member states have been negotiating on for the past six months. Further trouble for the UN is threatened in the form of a report, on senior UN officials' roles in the Iraq Oil for Food scandal. Kofi Annan's son, Kojo, is among those suspected of wrongdoing. The scandal has given ammunition to the American administration and Bolton, a long-standing critic of the United Nations. Britain, which currently holds the EU presidency, is also said to be working hard with the United States to ensure that the summit doesn't crumble.

I really hope the UN summit comes to conclusions, which are much more than simply more words, but actually say something which can be turned into something that is done by taking real action from the participating countries in this summit. For further information click the image below...

As usually George W Bush keeps doing the most odd things at the wrong moments or maybe it's because he's always in the eye of attention. At the G8 summit he had the bike incident and now at this World summit a photographer from Reuters captures Bush on pictures when he wrote on a piece of paper 'I think I MAY NEED A BATHROOM break? Is this possible...' and then past it over to Condoleezza Rice for help...

Bush hoping for help from Rice...

Posted at 12:49:37 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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