It’s me and I need some help.

I have been updating some of my personal business websites, along with the hppp://sftongxuehui.weebly.com and http://banhanoi.wordpress.com that you see here.  I just put up the Google Friend Connect feature on my sites, so I need to have some friends joining me before they let me use a new feature that is currently in beta.  Please come visit and be my friends, I will block you off later if you decided that I’m not worthy being your friend.

Take a look at the contents and tell me what you think.  I wrote most of the stuff myself, and man, that’s hard work!

Here are the links:

• http://fitnessguide101.com
• http://holidays.knk28.com
• http://beautyzone.knk28.com

Thanks a million!

I have collected quite a few great recipes over the year.  I post them on one of my blogs just in case I loose the hand written copy.  Care to come and take a look?  I will be adding more as I remember or when I make them.  So check back often and see what I have cooking!

• My favorite Thanksgiving turkey recipe
• Marinated Broccoli and Tomatoes salad
• Rum Cake (Um…Yummm!)
• Red Cabbage and Apple slaw
• …and many many more…..Just hop over to THIS SITE and take a look.

I have read the Chinese version of this story somewhere a long time ago and will try to dig it out and post for the Chinese readers to enjoy.

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks a way and I thought this is a great time to share this story with you, since Thanksgiving is all about giving and sharing.  As most of us here in the San Francisco area and if you have followed us for some time, you would probably know that we are hosting a World Reunion here next year and this should serve as a great parable for the organization of the event.  We are cooking a pot of stone soup and need a lot of ingredients added to the pot to make it as delicious as we can.  Thanks to the many that have offered their money, times an resources to help in the event.  This is a huge pot of soup that we are cooking, we definitely can use everyone and anyone’s help, monetarily and emotionally.  Let’s work together so by this time next year, we can all look back at the August 28th, 2010 day and say: “yeah! I threw in some great ingredients to make the soup that will be remembered by many people, for the rest of their lives!”

Here we go, the story retold, enjoy:-)

One day a man went to a village and all the people were hiding. There was a farmer that came and the man asked the farmer why everyone was hiding. The farmer said that all the people of village were hungry and the children were weak.

The man went to the lake and filled a pot with water. He added a stone to the pot full of water and brought it to the village. He put it on a fire to cook.

The farmer asked him what he was making. The man told him it was Stone Soup. The farmer said that he had never heard of Stone Soup and asked if he could have some. The man said only if you give me a vegetable, so the farmer gave him a potato.

Along came another villager and he asked the man what he was making. The man said it was Stone Soup. The villager said that he had never heard of Stone Soup and asked if he could have some. The man said only if he would give him a vegetable. The villager added a carrot to the soup.

A woman came along and asked what the man was making. He said he was making Stone Soup. The woman asked if she could have some. The man said only if he she would give him a vegetable, so she added her onion to the soup.

All the people in the village started to smell the stone soup and came to see what the man was cooking. They all added their vegetables to the soup. After a while, the soup pot was filled with many wonderful flavors and the entire village had a feast.

Everybody thanked the stranger and he was there for many days to feed them the Stone Soup.

After the stranger left, the village people decided to try the same thing and they worked together to make many feasts.

Found this article on Yahoo.  May be you would be interest too.

Summer is the time for picnics, going to the beach, and barbecues. Unfortunately, it’s also the time for indoor pests. Commercial pest control is full of nasty chemicals, even though there are natural ways to fight off many pests.  Here are some ideas for ridding your home of creepy crawlies, without needing a hazmat suit (and of course, saving you some money).

Remember: The number one rule to keeping many bugs out is keeping the house clean. So don’t let your dirty dishes pile up, make sure to sweep and vacuum, etc.  Prevent any need for nontoxic pest control by using nontoxic household cleaners or even make your own homemade cleaners.

Ants

• Vinegar can be used to destroy ant trails. Without clear trails, the ants will get confused and may stay outside for a while. You can use it diluted with water or straight. And, of course, vinegar is also a great household homemade cleaner, so not only do you get rid of the ants, you get some cleaning done too.
• Cinnamon and black pepper are both increasingly being used in garden and indoor insect control. You can try dusting the outdoor nests with either of these spices. Cinnamon is more beneficial as a natural barrier to stop them from coming in — it’s most effective when you find the source of where the ants are coming in.
• Add borax to sugar. Many people believe that you should use a 50-50 concentration, however, ultimately the goal is to have the ants bring borax back to their nests.  Starting with a lower concentration such as 5% or 10% borax to sugar and gradually increasing it to 40%-50% will allow the ants to have more time to bring more back.  The mixture should be placed where you see the ants or on the ant trails.
• Baby powder or talcum powder is not appreciated by these bugs.  The theory is if you dust the ants and the trail, they’ll stop coming.
• Liquid soap diluted with water is an easy way to wipe out your pests while not harming your people.  When used outside as a spray, you’ll want to dilute the soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s Organic Castile Soap) — roughly 1 or 2 tablespoons per quart of water — to kill the pests but not your plants.
• Bay leaves, cloves, and cayenne pepper have long been used for ant control.  Try putting one of these at their entry point, and in drawers, shelves, etc., where the ants are going, to prevent them from coming in.
• Peppermint can be sprayed around your home’s perimeter and at ant entry points.  This will deter them from coming inside.

More resources: SimpleGiftsFarm.com, Sugar Ant Hotel from Care2.

Fruit flies

• Clean up any ripe fruit droppings and take out the trash (or if you are a green superstar, your compost!) nightly for a few days — fruit flies lay their eggs in overripe fruit.
• Apple cider vinegar is a great natural way to get rid of fruit flies.  Pour some into a glass, and place a paper funnel over the container.  Fruit flies love the smell and will fly into the glass, but will not find their way back out the funnel (for 4 of 5 fruit flies…).
• Leave a glass of cheap wine (apparently, fruit flies particularly like chardonnay) out.  Mix a bit of detergent in it. The flies will sip on it and die shortly thereafter.
• Make your own fly paper by boiling water, sugar, and corn syrup together. Spread the mixture on brown paper grocery bags and wait for the flies to stick.
• Suck up flies through the back of an old hair dryer.  The flies will go in the hot back end of the dryer and fry.
• Basil deters fruit flies. Mix some basil oil with water and spray your kitchen.

Wasps

• Make a trap from an old soda bottle to catch wasps.  Using a 2-liter soda bottle, cut off the top 1/3 of the way down. Flip the top so that the bottle neck is facing down into the rest of the bottle. Tape or staple the bottle neck to the outside of the bottom piece so that it fits tight. Fill the bottle part way with soda or fruit juice. You could even line the top of the bottle with jam to help attract the wasps.  Wasps will enter the bottle but will not be able to get out. Clean and refill the trap daily or as needed.
• Remove the nest. If you find a hanging nest, wait until the wasps are less active (namely, at night). Carefully approach the nest. Put a cloth or plastic trash bag entirely over the next and quickly tie it off at the top. Remove the nest from wherever it is hanging, then submerge the bag under water and weigh it down with a rock.

More resources: EarthEasy, Get Rid of Things.

Slugs

Slugs can be a huge pest in any garden. They’re fond of eating plants, shrubs, and mosses, much to any gardener’s chagrin.

• Fill small bowls with stale beer and place the bowls strategically in areas of the garden where the slugs are most active. Slugs apparently like stale beer, so they climb in to drink and they meet their maker (they drown in the liquid).
• Other eco-friendly slug-fighting tactics include liquids that work similarly such as grape juice or a tea made from yeast, honey, and water.

A touching poem I like to share:

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
“Oh excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too;
I wasn’t watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
“Wake up, little one, wake up,” I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
He smiled, “I found ‘em, out by the tree.
I picked ‘em because they’re pretty like you.
I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”
He said, “Oh, Mom, that’s okay.
I love you anyway.”
I said, “Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”
FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed,
don’t you think?
So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU !

This is a true story that was shared with me a couple of years ago.  And now, I would like to share it with you.  Hope it will touch your heart as it did mine.  God bless you all:

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished On December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front  wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?”

The pastor explained The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .  The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Who says God does not work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you, His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see us through.

So when the road you’re traveling on seems difficult at best. Just remember I’m here praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on to those you want God to bless and don’t forget  to send it back to the one who asked God to bless you first. When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

My dear, sweet Heavenly Father, I pray you bless all my friends and family in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with you. This I pray for in the precious name of your Blessed Son, Jesus Christ…Amen.

Please do not turn on A/C immediately as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows after you enter your car and turn ON the air-conditioning after a couple of minutes. According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emits Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen – take note of the heated plastic Smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage. Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft… A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level… & the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins. It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is very difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

‘When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.’ –

I would like to share this piece of information that came through my email.  Again, it’s always be safe than sorry.  Hope this will help save someone (even one) from countering any of these.  If you find it helpful, please pass it on to someone you know.  You just might have saved them too.  Here is the entirety of the email:

This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.

GPS
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football
match. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things
stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.

When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had
been stolen.

The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage
door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to
finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean up the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of
its contents.

I haven’t used my ATM card for over 10 years now but there are a lot of people who do.  Thought this might be useful even though I just pray no one will ever have to be in the situation to use it.  It’s a recommendation from a Realtor friend.  Just read and store it somewhere in your mind or tell some one, it might just help stopping a crime.

WHEN A THIEF FORCES YOU TO TAKE MONEY FROM THE ATM, DO NOT ARGUE OR RESIST,YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT HE/SHE MIGHT DO TO YOU. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IS TO PUNCH YOUR PIN IN THE REVERSE, I.E IF YOUR PIN IS 1254, YOU PUNCH 4521. THE MOMENT YOU PUNCH IN THE REVERSE, THE MONEY WILL COME OUT BUT WILL BE STUCK INTO THE MACHINE HALF WAY OUT AND IT WILL ALERT THE POLICE WITHOUT THE NOTICE OF THE THIEF. EVERY ATM HAS IT, IT IS SPECIALLY MADE TO SIGNIFY DANGER AND HELP. NOT EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THIS. FORWARD THIS TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT