A Few More Favorite Things

     Sometimes I run across things I really enjoy and it's always heartbreaking to not be able to find them again. In this day of the internet, sometimes you can find things again. I find this awesome - and heart mending. 

     One of the heart-mending things I have discovered is Blue Bell ice cream. In Ohio. Oh yes! Outback Steakhouse uses Blue Bell ice cream. And one time when the manager visited our table I told him how wonderful it was to have a taste of it in Ohio. He offered to let me order it from them. You have to order the big three? three and a half? gallon size. But who cares!? It's Blue Bell Ice Cream! And the cost is quite reasonable for the amount of ice cream you are getting. I think it's $25.

     Alternatively, you can get Blue Bell to ship straight to your house at the price of $129 for four half gallons. If Homemade Vanilla is what you want, your local Outback Steakhouse manager is your new BFF, saving you literally hundreds of dollars on ice cream! 

     Another heart-mending thing is Dunroven House Direct. Our little town had this amazing Ace Hardware which carried great quality stuff. One of the things it carried was really nice tea towels. I require a certain kind of towel in the kitchen, and most towels you can buy just don't cut it. Even Williams-Sonoma towels, when you buy an assorted package, are only half okay. One kind is great, but the other kind gets wonky when you wash it. No bueno. These are lovely and stay nice forever. Their prices are fantastic and there is never a shipping charge. 

     Speaking of frozen treats, have you ever tried Talenti? They make these ahhh-mazing gelatos and sorbettos. They even have pops now. Oh my gosh, I already knew I was in love with the rich tastes of their many flavors. Then this happened: 

          Unassuming, no? 

     But wait until you taste it! There are not sufficient words to describe the experience. You will just have to try it for yourself. I've always been a fan of the Roman Raspberry, Lisbon Lemon, Caramel Cookie Crunch,  and their Caramel Apple Pie is so good I'm tempted to use words like 'Amaze-balls', but I really don't talk like that. You're welcome. I see they are selling some of their flavors in quarts now, too! (Yes, this is exciting for me.) I hope they make their way to places I shop, soon. They have a lot more delicious flavors. I'm sure you will find one/s you love. 

*Their containers are great for saving, too. We have used them for everything from storing a pint of paint to carrying individual cupcakes to very special people. 

     You know what would probably go great with some of this Talenti? I think the Tahitian Vanilla would be complemented greatly by Ilene's "Granola so Great I would share it with God - if I could." Hippie Chick Granola is what all granola should taste like, but no other granola does taste like. You're welcome.

     Reminder: Don't forget the seven places you should be shopping online.

     One more heart-mending thing: About a year and a half ago I lost my wedding rings. They fell right off my hand during the course of a day and we never did find them. My husband replaced them recently with something just as amazing! A part of me will always be looking out of the corner of my eye for those rings, but I think I wont cry over them again. (Unless I do, because who can understand why we are overcome with tears sometimes?) 

Update: What I Have Been Thinking Lately. Because Doing is Hard

     While I realize this is possibly both useless and senseless, here is a little update into my life:

• I still have tens of unfinished projects going on. Bed, bookcase, dressers, etc.
• I have spent an inordinate amount of time looking at different fondue on Pinterest lately.
• I am possibly fondue obsessed, having been to the Melting Pot three times in five weeks.
• I am, as of late, unsettled. It's like my axis has been mis-tilted. I have no idea why. Yet.
• I feel a deep need to purge.
• And shop.
• I am lazy enough that all the purging and shopping is on indefinite hold. 
• Just like the unfinished projects! It's a pattern...
• I have to stop myself from beginning new projects on a nearly daily basis.
• My husband has begun saying "Remember, my bookshelves come first." 
• The bookshelves are in his office.
• I've started thinking his office would make an EXCELLENT, giant butlers pantry.
• Shhhh... don't tell him.
• Because he works from home. He might take it wrong and find it offensive. 
• But another fridge could even go in there and hello? How awesome would that be? 
• Maybe the built in bookshelves could be for small appliances?
• And then the coat closet turned appliance garage could be a coat closet again?
• Or something EVEN BETTER?
• What do you think?
• Do you know how I can ban my husband from reading/commenting on this post?
• Not that I would ever do that. 
• This is pretty much my exact stream of consciousness.
• You're welcome, world.

I Hate to Damage the Psyche of a Good Chair

     The last few weeks have been a blur of what to eat/not eat, what needs washed, dried, folded, put away, wiped up, wiped down, swept, mopped, scrubbed, mowed, pulled, watered, filled, drained, heated, cooled, painted, sanded, waxed, taken, dropped off, heard, written, crossed off, let in, fed, taken out, walked, hugged, ripped out, replaced, straightened, shined, polished, caulked, replaced, checked, adjusted, verified, etc. I bet yours have been about the same. 

Gratuitous photo of Audrey with her buntings. Because I know some of you require pictures.

     The most difficult part for me? Was the eating/ not eating. I had a health scare, and I have the all-clear from my doctor now. I feel like I can breathe again. But saying I had a health scare makes me feel like I am downplaying how I felt by about a kajillion. I started eating clean, eating what I should eat for my kidneys, to be precise. 

     Let me just tell you that in my whole life I have always eaten a lot of junk. Not lots of McDonalds or something - but lots of sugar went into this container of awesomeness. I was downing way more soft drinks than I want to admit. I swear there were days when I drank ten cans of Pepsi. No lie. 

     Add to that chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And other candy. Every day. Many a day. And the baking. And the no-bake stuff. And the desserts, which are official. All that other stuff was unofficial, in case you were wondering. 

     Have I mentioned cheese? Because I really, really, really like cheese. Really. A lot. Times ten. 

     All that stuff (and oh-so-much more) was bad for me. And I stopped it. And I was making myself miserable. Also, I was hoping for a miracle when I had my next blood tests. I was hungry and sick of berries, cucumbers, cherries, celery, watermelon, onion, garlic, and whatever else was on the super-kidney list. I may have been feeling pretty sorry for myself. And very much afraid. I'm not good at admitting it when I'm afraid. I just get cranky. This way nobody can tell if I'm just my regular cranky or afraid. Great plan, isn't it!?

     Like I said, the blood tests all came back improved with everything in normal range, so it paid off. I lost nearly 30 pounds in those seven weeks, and my thyroid is now doing better than it was. It's still not good though, just improved. 

     My point, if I ever had one was "The last several weeks were miserable for me. Now I am feeling a great sense of relief." 

     On top of the great sense of relief, I am also feeling better in general. The pain I have had all of my life? The daily, constant, inescapable pain I always had in my neck and shoulders? It's gone! I'm going to attribute it to eating clean. You really should try it. You will probably like it! 

     I will still have occasional treats. Key word: occasional. Meaning not all day every day. (This note is more to remind myself than for you. I am sure you know what occasional means.)

  To celebrate my new-found peace and health I did a little shopping of the Craigslist variety. We agree we want a large table in our dining room. We want a large table which we can make extra extra large. My goal is a table which starts at nine feet and can expand to fifteen feet. We will use it at nine feet for day to day and pull it into the long room and run it and other tables all the way from the stove to the fireplace. 

Which would make this the 'before' photo

And make this the 'during' photo.

        Sorry Charlie, there is no after photo. Not yet. 

     Craigslist did net me these beautiful chairs from Yugoslavia. They are quite old, they are sturdy, they are comfortable, and best of all, they are mine.

    They don't match the table at all. But I do not care. Wait, that's a lie. I care. I am not sure if I can paint them yet. I know I can paint them. I mean I am not sure if I can do that to the chairs. I do not want to damage their psyche.  For now the table will be covered with a tablecloth. But I love that table so much that I like to look at it. So the chairs may have to take paint. We'll live with it a while and get to know them. I do not have to decide right now.

In Summary: 

• I feel better
• Chairs

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.    

Paint Chip Notebooks

Paint Chips to Mini Notebooks

Who has a clever mother? That's right, this girl, right here!

     My mom came over yesterday with these little notebooks she made from some paint samples we had picked up some time ago. Since most people love little notebooks, this seems like a really cool thing everyone can do and give to all the list-makers in our lives.

     She used regular old paper and figured out how/where to print the name so she could personalize the sheets of paper for me. You wouldn't have to do that, of course. How awesome? You could make them as thin or thick as you like.

     I think you all have some getting busy to do!

Help Me to Help Her

     I can not help but fall in love with beautiful old dressers like this one. She has so much potential, don't you think? Look at those legs, those delicate little wheels, the perfect hardware, the lines! Look at that awesome piece on top. it actually screws off from the back like a mirror does. I took it off to clean it when I first brought it home.

     The thing is I am not one of those people with the gift of vision. I can tell she has great potential, but I do not know how to bring it out. I can see a great scroll for graphics, but I can not figure out what to put there. There's even a place on the top drawer for a headline or title. Or maybe something else, totally different.

She's looking for love - in my face

In order to demonstrate my pure genius and lack of true artistic talent I will show you the u.s.p.s. envelope they used to give me my stamps and postcards, which I tore apart so I could trace these elements from the computer screen. 

     Please do not let my inability to even trace deter you from sharing your genius ideas with me. Somehow I can manage to execute since I have a cricut machine with Make The Cut software and a printer.

     My goal is to use free graphics. Maybe from Karen at The Graphics Fairy.  

     I will most likely be linking up and asking for help anywhere I can think of because I want this to be really great. I'm going to try to find some of my favorite pieces and track down the people who did them and ask for advice. I don't know if any of them will actually come to see this and offer suggestions, but it can't hurt to ask, right? 

   

O-Cedar, O-Duster, Oh What a Disapointment

     Like any good housewife with 1400+ sq feet of hardwood floors on the main level of her house, two shih tzus, and five kids I could use a little help keeping up with my floors. Can you say doggie tumbleweed? I knew you could! Imagine my excitement when I learned O-Cedar had come up with a little robot vac made for dust and doggie hair! I can turn it on every night and let it do what it does best.

     I ran out to the two local stores listed on the website as carrying it. Neither of them had it. So I waited and stalked the stores. Friday I was at Target, and what appears before me at the end of the isle with hangers and closet accessories? The O-Duster! I imagined we were in a field of wildflowers, just the O-Duster and I, running towards each other. I scooped it up with enthusiasm, and extra little cloths for it, too. I felt so triumphant loading this little housewife's helper of a miracle into my minivan! 

     My life a little bit more complete than when I woke up that day, I took it home and asked my daughter to plug it in and charge it for me. Yesterday I got up, swept the floors, and put the O-Duster down to see what it could do. I put it in the dining room, in the kitchen, at the bottom of the stairs, in the powder room, in the front room. I carried it all over. And this is what it did:

     Silly, silly me. Only now do I notice their own you-tube video is not a real video of a real product doing real moving and real cleaning, but a sort of cartoon. I'm glad I saved the box because O-Duster is going back to Target. I can not tell you how disappointed I am. I am tempted to trade it for another in case a second one would be better.

*In case you wondered, we did try nudging it a bit to see if it would take off, but it would not. It just spins.

Update: I went back today to exchange it for another one. I had posted to their facebook page and they told me to contact customer service, who offered to send new wheels to see if it helped as an option. Their other option was exchange it at the store. I am impatient so I exchanged it. It's charging overnight so I'll see how it behaves tomorrow. 

2nd Update: The second one seemed fine when I turned it on. In less than five minutes it was doing the same thing.  I did get it from the same place. The dented box I did not choose the first day was the one I had to choose when I did the exchange. I really wanted this to work.

Pretend You're Normal

"Pretend you're normal!" I used to say to my kids often. When they were little, and driving me a bit more batty than I could take at the moment. Or when we were being goofy and needed to straighten up right away  for whatever door we were about to walk through. I wonder if they remember being told so often to pretend to be normal.

A few weeks ago my doctor told me to quit apologizing for who I am. Then she clarified, because she had to, that I needed to quit apologizing to myself for who I am. Since then, I have seen quite a few messages in my day-to-day life which remind me of what she said. They remind me I need to accept who I am, and how I am. Then I watched the finale and the reunion show for Survivor and I saw Cochran was going through the same thing. Embracing who he is instead of being ashamed of it. Instead of being afraid of judgement for being who he was, which, ironically, made him who he is now, which is different. Somehow letting go of the fear of judgement makes us able to be our pure selves. It's not just animals who can smell fear.

Yesterday, while out shopping at Home Goods, I saw this sign. So many thoughts ran though my head:

• I can make that sign myself. 
• The one I make will not look good enough, I should buy this one
• realization of the ridiculousness of the sentiment of the sign vs. my previous thought
• Remembering, after Victoria died, saying to someone "I'm just going to offer myself and my friendship. Here I am with all my flaws, loving you"
• Remembering my cousin's response to me saying this

And now, remembering how I always thought Victoria's middle name should have been Grace, because she was full of it.  And how when I first met her and asked her about her beliefs she told me "I'm saved by grace"

Yes, now this sign is on my ever-growing list of things I am going to make myself. It will not be perfect. It will make me perfectly happy.

There are still times when I contend it is good to pretend your are normal. But we should all learn to embrace what makes us who we are. Maybe I need to blast "Take Me As I am" from some speakers today, as a reminder to embrace myself. (Nod to young punk #4)

Bombay Company Is Back!

     Back in 2007 I won this contest on Fuel My Blog and the prize was $200. I used the prize to buy tables to flank our bed from Bombay Company. I love them as much today as I did the day I bought them. Not long after that, Bombay Company closed their stores in the U.S. and kind of disappeared from my radar. But they are back and as great as ever. They have a facebook presence now. I'm going to begin working with them on Pinterest soon. Here is a link to Bombay Company's U.S. Pinterest account.  Also, here they are on twitter. 

     I do not want to buy all my furniture from the big box stores made out of flakeboard. I like my furniture to have curves, like me. Maybe interesting, chunky legs, like me. I also appreciate the hardware when I buy something like this. My bedside tables both have a top drawer which locks, and a decorative keyhole on the bottom drawer.  The drawer fronts are rounded. 

     While I was on facebook today I saw they are going to start selling rugs. If their rugs are as nice as their other things, I would say we are in luck! Who needs a rug or ten for their new house? I know I do! 

Reality - What Is Wrong With This Picture?

      Reality is rarely exactly as I had planned things would be. Part of the reason for me is I plan all of these projects, I dream them up in my mind, and they are so pretty. Then I do them, look at them, and think 'Aw shucks, this isn't what I thought it would be like. Everyone else's stuff seems so polished and perfect.' I feel like the kid in art class who never quite got it. This could be because I was always the kid in art class who never quite gets it. You might be thinking I am just too hard on myself, but if you get a super close look, you will see what I mean: 

Exhibit 1: Bookshelf trim not caulked or painted. See how nicely it lines up?  

Exhibit 2: Although the shelves were made deeper in the appliance garage, I still haven't painted and prettied it up at all.
I am afraid I will never get my embossed "Grown Up" card.
You guys have those, right?

Exhibit 3: What the heck happened to my stoop? I dunno!? It was like this yesterday.

Exhibit 4: All those rocks were what we dug up in lieu of dirt when the azaleas were planted too close together and never moved.
Ignore the non-existent upgraded lawn. Thanks for nothing on that one, Ryan Homes. 

The drop cloth I bought for curtains, still in the washer.
This would be no big deal if I had not failed to remove it for four days straight.
That's right folks, it's on it's FIFTH wash cycle right now.
I'm sure my Grown Up card is just lost in the mail, right?

blurry photo of the marks made on the wall just hours after I did touch up painting all over the house. 

The dog toy, leaves (other dog toys) and a different, already washed and dry drop cloth.
I am using it to make a screen the dogs can not penetrate so we can put the tree in the front room.
What? Don't judge me. 

Dining room. Someone needs to come and make my stuff look magically delicious.
 Marian? Miss Mustard Seed? Sarah? Thrifty Decor Chick?

Ann? Can I get a "No Doy"? Anyone? Ferris?

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.  

   

The Wings Of An Angel

     I simply do not know how long I have wanted these angel wings. I had seen them around but my gosh, they were expen$ive! I started following Decor Steals when it was newish (I think it was, anyway) and it was called WUSLU. They would bring them out and the timing wouldn't be right for me, or they would all be gone before I got to them. But last time was my lucky day and I was able to get them!

     They arrived yesterday and they are everything I had hoped they would be and more. I absolutely adore them. All you new house gang - I know we are all looking for things to decorate our new, bigger homes. Decor Steals has a new fabulous deal every day - and a sister site, Antique Farm House, where there are more deals going on all the time. Don't let the name fool you - I'm sure someone with any decor style can find things they love. 

Welcome Home!

 Same picture, but different edits. I took this with my phone pressed up on the window from outside. I guess because of the double paned windows(?) I got some inside and some outside. I thought it was a neat surprise!

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.  

Dinah Meets Miss Mustard Seed

Just a little teaser of Dinah with her first spot of Tricycle Red from Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Line.

I was babysitting for a bit today and when I got home the package was waiting for me. Hooray!

 I immediately changed my clothes and mixed up the first little bit of paint. 

Miss Mustard Seed's Tricycle Red Milk Paint

Did I mention I am excited!?

When Odd Things Happen To Okay People

     People who know me can hardly believe I was at "The Mall" yesterday because, well, I loathe shopping malls. They're so disappointing. What happened to malls where you could roam freely? Instead, I feel like I am at a carnival full of seedy drifters, all of them calling out to me from their booths, aggressively trying to pull me in to their assorted livelihoods. It's really anything but charming, and I resent it. I have no need for knock-off sunglasses, brittle iPhone covers, things my boys could fly about the house, or $300 flattening irons. If I do want to buy giant character slippers or sea salt scrub, I'm sure I can find these things through conventional shopping methods.

    Shopping in a mall just isn't what it used to be. There are no more gift shops, no more record stores, no more baked potato bar. It makes me sigh - and miss the 80's. Remember when the whole walkway in the mall was empty space to take up with a gaggle of your girlfriends and giggle about what boys you just saw? When you could rock your new raspberry scented Swatch watch and you wouldn't wave your arm and hit someone trying to coerce you into letting them 'thread' your brows because there was no such thing as threading your brows? Yeah, me too.

     So I went to the mall yesterday because I needed my makeup, and Lancome is in gift time at Macys. When all the planets align in this way, I go to the mall. It happens once, maybe twice a year. Honest to God, I can not remember the last time I went to the mall - I think it was September, and I had to make a run to Aeropostale for jeans for #5. I almost made it to June, people. One more day and I would have made it to June.

     The mall offered a back-to-the future type surprise for me, because Taco Bell was reinstated in the food court, after quite a few years of banishment. Makes me wonder if McDonalds will be next. There was also a Burger joint where the fish joint used to be. A bunch of stores were moved around and I saw the place with the ugly cupcakes, which had taken over the spot where they used to sell the not-so-great cookies, which before that was a Godiva I am still grieving - was replaced by an Aveda! We now have about 19 places in the mall to purchase beauty products. More if you count the little carnival booths in the walkways.


     My point, if I ever had one, was this: The mall was chock full of surprises for me yesterday. The best one was at a place called Yankee Candles. If you don't have one, it's a place where they sell overpriced candles and lots of people buy them because they can. Well guess what your house can smell like now, thanks to the geniuses who obviously ran over from the genius bar at the Apple store across the hall? Now, and I can't even type this without chuckling to myself, they sell "Man Candles."

Here, for your pleasure, is a preview of the Man Candles:

Man Candles: Man Town, 2x4, Riding Mower & First Down

Man Candles, In case the scent names aren't enough, you see a remote and masking tape and a clipboard with kisses and hugs drawn on it. 

     A person couldn't make this stuff up, it's just that good. Now, who wants to know what "Man Town" smells like? I was a little afraid. But if I hear news it's a combo of wet dog, dial soap, and chips and salsa with a tinge of bacon I will not be all that surprised.

I Began My Adventures With Annie

"Before" picture. Well, before it was done, at least.

  

      I waited very patiently while our house was being built. I dreamed about moving in and getting settled. Changing our address with everyone and changing schools and getting rid of lots of stuff. Then getting rid of more stuff. Purge, purge, purge. But the thing I was dreaming about every day was opening up my two precious cans of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Oh yes! This was my dream! Finally, on Thursday, I dug right in. I was going to be home waiting for an afternoon delivery, so this was my chance! Of course, I started to paint the turntable before I remembered to take a picture. I found this puppy at Goodwill, and paid almost as much for it as the person who bought it brand new at Ikea. It was in sad, sad shape. Fine by me, I had plans for it anyway.

After a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Louis Blue

Then I added the Soft Wax and Buffed until my arms turned to jello. Then I buffed twice more. Really, I need to get those big boys to do this. It's exhausting.

Meanwhile, this was going on upstairs: When I went to get my phone to take pictures the appliance delivery guys called and asked to deliver early. Sure thing!

And this was going on in the kitchen beside me. I had taken everything out of the old refrigerator, so it was all on the counters. Then they had to take the doors off both fridges to get them through the door. Whew! It was hot and they left the front door wide open the whole time. They were here for what felt like hours. Nice guys, but I was glad when they left and I could put the groceries away and do laundry!

Watching paint dry. No lie!

Since they were here, I decided to start this, too. This sat in my grandmother's dining room under her wall mounted phone for much of my life. Then She gave it to me. Then it was in her barn. Then I brought it back home. It held an old typewriter for a couple of years. It will probably reside in my front room/sitting room/parlor. (I'm not sure what to name this room.)

The Shine Project

   



     Every once in a while someone comes along who helps us express what is in our hearts. These people are our treasures. If we are lucky, we get to have them as friends forever. Sometimes, though, they reach out and share something with us from a distance. That's the case this time. I don't personally know Ashley, but I love her idea, The Shine Project.

     In a nutshell, the shine project encourages people to do nice things. To enrich their own lives by enriching others. It's a kind of pay it forward project, for everyone to have a chance to shine their own light in their own way. It could just stop there an I would already be in love with it. But it doesn't. There is a Shine Store and there are Shine events and in the end kids are getting help with college scholarships and leadership mentoring.

     Go look at The Shine Project yourself. It's pretty interesting and inspiring.

Look at the stuff I just ordered from the  Shine Store:

Love this so much!

Shine Wristband

Shine Necklace

Making The Cut

     I looked around today for a source for Cricut Vinyl and found a place which sells a lot of great stuff. I like the prices, too! They also carry Silhouette Vinyl in their store.

     They sell it in the sizes of your machine, so if you want to buy a 12"x6" piece you can - for only 99 cents! But if you want a lot of a certain color (10 yards!) you can buy it super cheap by the roll! This makes each 6"x12" sheet just under 40 cents!

     I can't help being excited about this since it costs more to get it at the craft store and the colors available at my craft store were white and black. Expressions Vinyl has nearly 40 colors! If you own any kind of cutting machine you owe it to yourself to go check out their site.

     They also have Printable Vinyl. I know! I can hardly believe it myself. I did not know you could print on vinyl. You smarty-pants types could figure out how to print on it AND cut it, I just know. Then someone can teach me. Pretty please?

 

*I was not compensated for this post. Mostly, this is just information provided by me to be helpful to you. I did sign up to be an affiliate with them so if people go through my links I can earn $50 when the total of orders reaches $1,000. When that happens I'll likely use it to buy more vinyl!

Dictionary Dresser

 

I got this dresser last Spring when I stopped at a yard sale. The lady had it shoved in her garage with a lot of stuff on top of it and I asked about it when she let me take a look around. There were rabbits hopping around in there, and lots of very interesting old stuff. All of it was treated pretty much like trash, but I loved the shape of this one. I brought it home and dry brushed it, mod podged some beachy looking paper on top of it, and put it in my bathroom. When it was in there my mother convinced me to  use blue paint on it. I did it and I hated it.  Then I decided I didn't want to leave it in there, so I used Mod Podge and an old dictionary to re-do the top and put it in our bedroom.

A few days ago I decided to change it up and paint the whole thing. I was going to paint the hardware as well, but once I saw it against the creamy paint I loved it. It's not perfect by any means, but it is perfect for me.

Have you done anything you love lately?

P.S. While I was at it I painted the birdcage, too. Much better!

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Birdseed Hurricanes

I made this last fall with an assortment of dollar tree  items. I had filled them with whole coffee beans, but as Winter wore on I got ready for something a little more light and Spring-like. So I poured the coffee beans into a gallon Ziploc and added birdseed. What do you think?

*please forgive the terrible photo quality, it was taken with my phone. 

I linked up this post to I Heart Naptime
Tatertots and Jello

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