Be Strong Be Smart Be Yourself

I am experiencing the end of a phase in my life where our daughters have participated in a variety of organized sports. I'm looking forward to their next phase, as well as my own.

I think participation in some sort of sporting activity is one of the best things for people of any age. Cycling, dance, gymnastics, running, crew, swimming, volleyball, softball, basketball, fencing, golf, kayaking, backpacking, skiing; you name it just some sort of physical activity.

Good things to be gained from any of those activities; self esteem, confidence, getting along, concentration, stamina, working together, the joy of movement and benefits of physical effort.

Team sports have their unique challenges and benefits.

But just to have the chance to be active and strong is such a gift.

I thank God that my daughters have been given such excellent minds and strong bodies allowing them to excel academically and athletically. I am a very blessed Dad.

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I guess in a way it's always about balance. Strong and smart doesn't mean you can't be good looking and enjoy pretty things.

It's getting quite late now I have to say good night and good morning to you.

I wish you well my friend. Whatever shape you are in be your self and let your light shine. There's no one else quite like you.

Remember to breath.


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I like these Danskin ads because they show strong healthy women. Danskin has a webpage that's fun to look at too.


Click here here to discover special offers currently available at Danskin's Online store.








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Pretty Colored Stuff

Tried to capture some of the light, and blossoms on the trees on my street today at
my picture blog Pretty Colored Stuff.



Down The Street

Butterfly Kit, Kite and Canopy

Earlier this month I wrote a post called "Butterflies Will Be Coming Soon" posted here at CafeJack. This morning I happened across some pretty neat butterfly things at Discovery.com. Enjoy the coming of Spring.


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Discovery Butterfly Kit Kids can experience the magic of metamorphosis as they watch caterpillars transform into painted lady butterflies!

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Butterfly Kite Wow your friends with this flying wonder - complete with an innovative structure that makes it rugged, yet easy to maneuver.

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Discovery Butterfly Canopy This unique habitat lets you witness one of nature's most spectacular transformations up close.

Top Ten Mexican Beach Resorts

The Discovery Travel Channel has an article today on the Top Ten Mexican Beach Resorts.

I went through the ten and my pick would be La Jolla de Mismaloya. Sounds very beautiful. The resort is seven miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta.



The reviews from people who stayed there from Expedia are very good. The Lekliff Restaurant, called by some, "The most beautiful restaurant in the world is ten minutes south of the resort."

Expedia is offering rooms at the La Jolla de Mismaloya starting at $158 a night depending on the date. Alaska Airlines has some package deals as well as www.americawestvacations.com

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Einfach und schnell günstige Hotels finden - Jetzt bei Expedia.de!

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Before you go why not pick up some Swimwear, Beach Shoes and Fun Stuff over at Amazon's stores and a few toys at Discovery.com.











Discovery.com Has Great Toys for Baby Too!

Revisit this page each day and We will uncover a new coupon code that you can add to your order to enjoy great savings!

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You Need To Start A Band

You Really Need To Start a Band

Okay you don't really need to...but it might be fun. You can work your way down the page from the beautiful guitars, to the percussion instruments (including a cowbell), the keyboards and finally the Kazoo.

Or you could just start with the Kazoo.

I have waaaayyyy too much time on my hands. I spent a few hours cutting and pasting those pictures of guitars and other musical instruments. On the plus side, at least I'm staying out of fights and bars and that kind of trouble/fun ;-)

Well until I get that band going anyway...

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All of the guitars pictured on my page, and a lot more, are available at Guitartrader.com, where they are having a -

GREEN TAG SALE - Special Items 50% OFF or More!





The percussion and keyboard instruments are available at -

Amazon's Musical Instruments.

"Between Heaven and Earth" by Tim Cox

This picture called "Between Heaven and Earth" by Tim Cox reminds me of the Big Sky country of Montana.





And this one called "The Fall of the Cowboy" by Frederic Remington as well...





I like the colors in "Where Wild West Went" by Stephen Morath...





I bet Woody would like Montana...





Montana is...



Montana is also a good place for rainbows, either the fishy type shown in this picture called "Rainbow Trout" by Eileen Klatt -




Or the kind this cowboy is looking at in "Fringe Benefit" by Duane Bryers -





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If you like any of the paintings or pictures above you can click on them to purchase direct from ARTinaClick.com.

You might want to visit ARTinaClick.com to have a look at their large selection of "Prints, Posters, Paintings, and Sports Memorabilia"-




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Montanan's take a lot of pride in John Steinbeck's love of Montana.

Steinbeck's Travel's With Charley has some of his travels in Montana. Some of which are described in words and beautiful pictures in About Montana | The University of Montana.



If you aren't familiar with the book, this review by Edward Bosnar (Zagreb, Croatia), one of Amazon's Top 1000 Reviewer's, provides a look at Travels With Charley -

"Still very fresh

It's amazing how relevant Steinbeck's observations of America are forty years after he wrote this book. In fact, much of what he says seems to apply even more now than when he first wrote it, such as when he observes: "the mountain of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use. In this, if in no other way, we can see the wild and wreckless exuberance of our production, and waste seems to be the index." In a similar vein, he wonders, when considering the expansion of large cities, "why progress looks so much like destruction." Steinbeck's sarcasm also comes to the surface when he notes some of the many odd habits and leisure activities of Americans, such as antique-hunting in omnipresent antique shops, which he felt were "bulging with authentic and attested trash from an earlier time." He was also quite impressed with the country's intrepid hunters, to whom he feared his poodle Charley would look like a buck deer. After spending an evening in Maine with some migrant farms workers from Quebec, he expressed (rather vainly, in retrospect) his hope that the country would not some day be overwhelmed "by people not too proud or too lazy or too soft to bend to the earth and pick up the things we eat." Far from being simply critical though, what comes out of this book is Steinbeck's great love for the country. His view that the "American identity is an exact and provable thing" still rings true today. "Travels with Charley" is not just classic travel literature, it is also a very readable and informative set of observations on America in the mid-20th century and beyond."

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Maybe this spring or summer would be a good time to take your family, friends or just your self out on a road trip for your very own Travel's With Charley. Maybe swing by Montana. It's a pretty place, a big place and an interesting place, as described in the State of Montana Vacation, Adventure, Recreation and Travel Planning Guide

Happy trails to you...