just4moms.netExciting News Every Mom Should Know…

By Jon Tatting—

A new and unique, full service salon complete with day spa, color bar and metro ambiance has already created a buzz in downtown North Branch.

Nestled among the storefronts on Main Street, Pure Bliss Spa & Tan opened on Feb. 22 with a team of hair stylists, nail technician, massage therapist, esthitician and guest hostesses. Also welcoming is the atmosphere, an open concept brought to life through art mixed with comfort, from floor to wall.

So far so good for manager and stylist Deanna Haupert, who grew up and started her career in North Branch.

“I am thrilled with how well we’re doing. We’ve heard nothing but good feedback,” she said of her growing clientele and the community.

Haupert also likes the fact that people no longer have to make the trip to White Bear Lake, Forest Lake or the Cities to find a full service day spa experience.

Pure Bliss, 6420 Main St., offers a variety of services including hair, skin care, massage, tanning, nails, waxing and hair extensions. Guests can choose from a number of professional hair care products — Lanza, Davines and Milk Shake, which are only available in professional salons.

“Our color line is Lanza, and it’s probably the nicest color line I’ve used in my 36 years in the industry,” said Haupert. “It leaves your hair extremely shiny and in better shape than when you came in, which is why they call it ‘Healing Color Care.’ Our guests have loved it.”

The color bar

The center-point of Pure Bliss is the color bar, a unique concept that is very popular in new York, Haupert explained, noting it was added to the design plan to give something new for customers while creating something different from the other good salons in town.

“It (the color bar) keeps everyone feeling involved in the color process,” she continued. “Guests can see their color is art — their selection may involve three or four tubes or formulas of color. People like to see their color is unique and special. it makes guests feel special, too.”

Also at Pure Bliss, guests will find purses, belts and wallets from Kandi’s Kloset for sale. the salon serves coffee and fresh baked mini muffins throughout the day from next door neighbor North Country Coffee. Coming soon is a Plasma TV to further add to the experience.

Haupert credits Pure Bliss owners Martha and Mike Zentner and Angie and Rocky Larson for taking “a leap of faith” in this unique business investment. In fact, she claims she took a similar “leap” in terms of her own career.

“I always hoped North Branch would have an upper end spa business, and if that happened, I wanted to be a part of it,” said Haupert, who started as a stylist at her mother’s salon, Magic Touch, in North Branch before taking her talents to Forest Lake.

Hollywood comes to North Branch

Join Pure Bliss for its grand opening with plenty of daily specials during the week of April 23-27.

The event will conclude in style on Friday night, April 27, when the salon rolls out the red carpet — literally, complete with velvet ropes — for guests looking for the Hollywood treatment in North Branch. the experience includes photo ops, search lights, entertainment and hors d’oeuvres.

“We want to give people the royal treatment,” said Haupert.

For more information or appointments, Pure Bliss can be reached at 651-277-0886; e-mail: purebliss.spa.tan@hotmail.com; or on the Web: pureblisstanspa.com.

Store hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The good midwife of Sichuan

Apr 7th 2012 | CHENGDU | from the print edition

THE scene at the women’s and children’s hospital in Chengdu could be in any well-appointed modern maternity unit. Doting fathers stare at newborns dozing on crisp bedding as masked cleaners keep the corridors spotless. The Angel hospital in Sichuan’s capital is part of a wave of privately owned hospitals, catering to patients fleeing crowded state clinics.

The patients here are well-off locals, paying from 20,000 yuan ($3,200) for a Caesarean delivery and the latest drugs. Rooms cost extra, including suites for families to host postnatal banquets.

The roots of private health care in Communist China go back to clinics that treated venereal disease. In other respects, the taint of private care has gone, and foreign investment is encouraged. Over 30 joint ventures have been approved; many more are in the pipeline. The country’s new five-year plan endorses private-sector investors as part of the solution to the country’s shortage of affordable health care. Health spending has soared in recent years and is set to top 700 billion yuan by 2015.

The authorities also think the private sector can serve as a model for public hospitals dogged by poor administration, demands for patients to pay cash up front, and bribes by pharmaceutical companies to prescribe their drugs. Liu Shuyan, the Angel’s chief doctor, talks of “patient pathways” and “mother-centred care”: the kind of jargon that accompanied the drive for health reform in Britain a decade ago.

Political sensitivities meant private care began only slowly in China. An early crop of joint-venture hospitals sprouted at the start of the 1990s. But the number of beds was restricted, and pioneers such as Chindex International (whose chief executive is the wife of one of The Economist’s Beijing correspondents) served mainly expat patients. Now, two-fifths of Chindex patients are Chinese.

The new openness to private care is attracting fresh interest. An American group, CHC Healthcare, holds the controlling stake in a general hospital being built in Cixi in coastal Zhejiang province. Tim Perry, its legal adviser, is not taken by the new commitment to allow full foreign ownership. better, he thinks, to have the assurance of a trusted Chinese partner holding a minority stake.

Local authorities hold sway over how joint ventures fare. for instance, state-insurance payments for treatments are modest, though being knitted into the Chinese system of payments can give operators greater stability. John Porter, who runs SinoCare, with four hospitals in China, has just been allowed to expand his hospital in Chengdu’s high-tech belt to 500 beds. he says the authorities are keen on outside providers, if profit margins are not excessive (ie, about half those in the West).

Opportunities for scale can compensate for such irritations. The population over 65 will rise by 8m a year for the next five years, so nursing homes will become an increasingly tempting business. for all the constraints, China looks set for a larger dose of healthful capitalism.

from the print edition | China

The NFL and Nike unveiled their new line of team jerseys today and the only team receiving a makeover was the Seattle Seahawks. not exactly the most flattering uniforms. some thought Seattle would return to their old

Jailed after he was caught harassing a witness against him, Todd a. Hoss was accused of spending investors' money on Seahawks box seats, alimony payments and to sponsor a hydroplane. He's also alleged to have used the money to pay off other investors

The Seattle Seahawks are a member of the National Football League and participate in the NFC West. the Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976 along with Tampa Bay as expansion teams. Seattle is the only team to have played

The Seattle Seahawks are a member of the National Football League and participate in the NFC West. the Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976 along with Tampa Bay as expansion teams. Seattle is the only team to have played

Tags: new nfl uniforms, new nike nfl jerseys, new nike nfl uniforms, nfl uniforms 2012, nike nfl uniforms, seattle seahawks

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(CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Franciscan Brother Daniel P. Horan

Young Franciscan: Getting to know God is like dating April 3rd, 2012

NEW YORK (CNS) – Getting to know God is akin to entering a dating relationship, according to Franciscan Brother Daniel P. Horan.

When two people already like one another, they devote copious amounts of time and energy to learning everything they can about each other and joyfully anticipate spending time together, he explained.

“Dating requires intentionality, planning and effort,” Brother Horan said.

Brother Horan, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, is the author of “Dating God: Live and Love in the way of St. Francis.” at 28, he is not very far removed from the more traditional understanding of dating.

Brother Horan earned a master’s degree in systematic theology at Washington Theological Union and will complete a master’s in divinity in May. He expects to be ordained May 19 in Silver Spring, Md. After a summer assignment to St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J., he will begin studies for a doctorate in systematic theology.

the dating imagery occurred to him during a Franciscan workshop on the writings of Sts. Francis and Clare during his novitiate. “their expressions of their relationship with God, while not quite love letters, evoked images of the tenuousness, ambivalence, excitement, energy and passion of dating,” Brother Horan said.

“Like other images for the human-divine interrelationship, it won’t be helpful for everybody. Any language to talk about our relationship with God always falls short, but this one is shocking and startling enough to get people thinking about their relationship with God in a new way,” he said.

From April 6, 2012 issue of Catholic San Francisco.

WASHINGTON — President Obama painted a stark contrast between his visions on health care, taxes, and the federal budget and that of congressional Republicans in a speech to the nation’s newspaper executives on Tuesday.

His hour-long appearance at a luncheon sponsored by the associated Press at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park had the echoes of a campaign speech, highlighting some of the same themes he put forth during his State of the Union address such as the growing chasm between the country’s wealthy and the middle class.

Obama also used the speech to set his budget proposal apart from the one put forth by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan that the House passed last week. In doing so, Obama waded into campaign politics, criticizing Republican front-runner Mitt Romney’s ethusiastic support of the Ryan budget.

“He even called it marvelous, which is a word you don’t often hear when it comes to describing a budget,” Obama said, before going on to eviscerate Ryan’s proposal.

“It’s a Trojan Horse, disguised as a deficit reduction plan,” Obama said. “It’s really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It’s nothing but thinly-veiled Social Darwinism.”

The $3.5 trillion Ryan budget, which is not expected to make it out of the Democratic-controlled Senate, is “so far to the right,” Obama said, that it makes the 1994 Republican-sponsored Contract with America “look like the New Deal.”

Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had helped draft the contract and who is struggling in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, had once referred to Ryan’s budget as “right wing social engineering,” Obama pointed out.

The Ryan budget breaks a bipartisan agreement and lays out “massive” new cuts above and beyond what the president and Republican leaders had agreed to last summer, Obama said. the results, he said, are ominous for the country’s future.

If the Ryan plan goes forward, Obama painted a dire picture starting in 2014: Nearly 10 million college students will see their financial aid slashed by an average of $1,000 a year. there would be fewer medical research grants to find cures for diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and Alzheimer’s, along with fewer scientific research grants. Investments in clean energy technology would be cut by nearly a fifth. more than 200,000 low-income youngsters would lose their chance to enroll in Head start. two million mothers and their children would be cut from programs that provide access to healthy food.

Obama predicted that the list would expand beyond education and health to reduce federal resources to combat violent and financial crimes, and to secure the nation’s borders. National parks would be closed for part or all of the year. Cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration would result in more flight cancellations and delays. and over time, weather forecasts would become less accurate because the nation would no longer be able to afford new satellites, and governors would have to endure longer waits to issue hurricane evacuation orders.

“This is not conjecture,” Obama said. “I am not exaggerating. These are facts. and these are just the cuts that would happen the year after next.”

He also highlighted what would happen to the popular Medicaid and Medicare programs under the Ryan budget. Cuts to Medicaid would put access to health care at risk for 19 million Americans — the elderly in nursing homes, low-income children, middle-class families with children who have autism and Down syndrome.

Under Ryan’s plan for Medicare, seniors who retire in 10 years would receive vouchers that allow them to choose between private health plans and traditional Medicare. but, Obama warned, “if health care costs rise faster than the amount of the voucher, that’s too bad. Seniors bear the risk.”

“It’s a bad idea,” he said. “And it will ultimately end Medicare as we know it.”

While the ensuing months until the November election will no doubt be full of “gaffes and minor controversies,” Obama said, referring to hot mics and Etch a Sketch moments, “there are also big fundamental issues at stake right now” that deserve serious debate and coverage.

“By gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last — education and training; research and development — it’s a prescription for decline,” Obama said.

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeTracyJan.

It was a day for fruits, vegetables and healthy grub Saturday during a Los Angeles-wide Good Food Day of Service. | See photo gallery.

Among the 30 or so chosen locations for the event was Emerson Avenue Community Garden at Orville Wright Middle School in Westchester, where dozens of volunteers nurtured gardens and tended to rows of peas, strawberries, kale and lettuce.

When ready, the plants will be harvested and eaten by students and community members.

The party atmosphere was repeated throughout the city.

The event, presented by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Angeles Food Policy Council, focused “on building a more just and sustainable food system” – in a region containing some of the highest rates of obesity in the state.

Healthy revelers at an event in Sylmar began with a 5K run in heavy drizzle, then took to more than two dozen booths around the track.

Young kids got their faces painted while older boys and girls hula hooped and teenagers demonstrated football on the field.

At Meet each need with Dignity, volunteers added bell peppers, parsnips and turnips to the mix.

“Fruits and vegetables,” admonished Roberta Acantilado, project director for the Network for a Healthy California-LAUSD, whose booth handed out “Healthy Latino Recipes” and other guides.

“And for breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal, lots of grain. No butter. Just lots of fruits.”

Wendee Pizano, the chef founder of Guayaba Kitchen, a nonprofit cooking collective, was thrilled to pick up six nameless tomato seedlings.

“To-mate-oes. To-maht-oes. I’m excited, excited,” said Pizano, 30. “Some salsa, I make tomato jam. it is the season. now is the time.”

Others agreed it was the moment to grab a garden hoe or patio trowel.

“When you get (produce) at the market, a lot of times it’s terrible,” said Albert Chang, of the Southern California Garden Club.

“But when you grow it yourself, it tastes great, you know what’s in it, and you get all the fruits of your labor.”

At the Emerson garden, plans include 38 plots to be used by families and members of the community. also on deck are trees for a mini-orchard, an outdoor circular seating area and a walking path.

dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com

(818) 713-3730

From the blog Play Date Waivers: a bizarre new trend in parenting: Shine on.
ca.shine.yahoo.com/…/play-date-waivers-bizarre-trend-parenti…

ENID — Enid Public Schools Board of Education approved bids Monday night for two construction projects but threw out all the bids on a third job. the three projects in this month’s round of bids were renovation of Monroe Elementary School, renovation of Carter Education Service Center and landscaping work at Waller Middle School. the work is part of the $99.4 million bond issue passed by voters two years ago. the board voted to reject all bids on landscaping at Waller because the low bid — coming in at about half the highest bid — was missing several required documents. Board members unanimously approved contracts with Heritage Construction, of Stillwater, for renovation of Monroe and Rick Scott Construction, of Ponca City, for window replacements and interior improvements to Carver. Heritage’s bid for work at Monroe was $1.8 million. “I will comment briefly that that is a little over budget,” Superintendent Shawn Hime said. Hime said additional costs likely will be incurred to remove asbestos and do ground work to correct drainage problems on the grounds. Monroe will get extensive renovation to the first and second halls, including parking lot repair, new fencing, heat and air system work, painting, classroom sink replacement, an electrical upgrade, crack repair,  cleaning of brick, windows, doors and hardware, and work on drainage, flooring, lighting, restrooms, exterior doors, sidewalks, blinds and stage curtains. Rick Scott Construction’s bid for work at Carver came in at $227,000. Work will include redoing the east entrance canopy, doors and hardware, renovation of restrooms and fixtures to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, painting, cleaning of brick and fire alarms, and work on blinds, windows and flooring. Board members also voted to move the remaining balance of $2,254 from the 2003 Revenue Bond Fund to the 2010 General Purpose Bond Fund. “We have completed all of the 2003 scheduled improvements to the high school,” said Karl White, chief financial officer for the district. “There’s really not much that is that small that we could spend that on.” In other matters, the school board approved numerous routine fund transfers and purchases from school activity funds an declared vehicles and electronic equipment as surplus property. In personnel transactions, hired were Tracey Layman, 4-year-old program at Greenbrier Village, and Courtney Schooley, teacher assistant, McKinley Elementary School. Resignations included Shaemon’ Fuston, orchestra at Waller Middle School and Enid High School; Courtney Schooley, kindergarten, McKinley Elementary School; Jamie Bender, paraprofessional, Glenwood Elementary School; Samantha Bodey, child nutrition worker, Monroe Elementary School; Sharon Dean, child nutrition worker, Hoover Elementary School; David Gibson, custodian, Waller Middle School; and Wendy LaGrange, custodian, warehouse. the next major construction project to be bid will be renovation of Longfellow Middle School. Bids will be due April 10 and on the agenda for the school board on April 16.

This recipe for Oven-Baked Lamb with Potatoes is from "Around a Greek Table: Recipes & Stories Arranged According to the Liturgical Seasons of the Eastern Church" by Katerina Katsarka Whitley. No comments have been posted to this article. 1.
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Flying cars aren’t just science fiction anymore.

Skip to next paragraph a rival company in the Netherlands is also building a flying car called the PAL-V which could compete with Terrafugia’s model.

Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. the vehicle — dubbed the Transition — has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. Last month, it flew at 1,400 feet (426 meters) for eight minutes. Commercial jets fly at 35,000 feet (10.668 meters).

Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000.

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And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. the car needs a runway.

The flying car has always had a special place in the American imagination. Inventors have been trying to make them since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst who owns R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York.

But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. the government has already granted the company’s request to use special tires and glass that are lighter than normal automotive ones, to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. the government has also temporarily exempted the Transition from the requirement to equip vehicles with electronic stability control, which would add about six pounds (2.72 kilograms) to the vehicle. the Transition is currently going through a battery of automotive crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.

Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft. the standards govern the size and speed of the plane and licensing requirements for pilots, which are less restrictive than requirements for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a relatively low hurdle for pilots.

The Transition can reach around 70 miles per hour (112 kph) on the road and 115 mph (185 kph) in the air, spokesman Steven Moscaritolo said. on the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon (15 kilometers per liter).

Mann questions the size of the market for the Transition. the general aviation market has been in decline for two decades, he said, largely because of fuel costs and the high cost of liability for manufacturers. also, fewer people are learning how to fly.

"this is not going to be an inexpensive aircraft to produce or market," he said. "it has some uniqueness, and will get some sales, but the question is, could it ever be a profitable enterprise?"

Mann sees the western U.S. as the most likely market, where people could fly instead of driving long distances.

Terrafugia has been working on flying cars since 2006, and has already pushed back the launch once. Last summer the company said it would have to delay expected 2011 deliveries due to design challenges and problems with parts suppliers.

With the appearance in New York, the company hopes to attract the eye of customers as well as investors.

"We are introducing ourselves as a viable company to the automotive world," Moscaritolo said.