I put carpet runners under the doors, so that Anastasia would stop clawing the carpet.  She is displeased.

I read Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem.  I won't give it a full review because the only way to describe it is to assume you've read two books:  The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (crime noir), and Neuromancer by William Gibson (cyberpunk).  Imagine a perfectly blended combination of the two in tone, setting, and protagonist, and you've got the world of Conrad Metcalf, Lethem's hard-nosed, hard-boiled detective.  If you're looking for that kind of read, well, you found it.

Se fossi...

Un fiore... Veramente mi vedo più come un tubero.
Un gatto... Graffierei e morderei tutti!
Una città... Sarei Tokio.
Un profumo... Chanel n.5 of course
Una canzone... "All I need" Whitin Temptation. La canzone più bella in assoluto.
Una persona cara... sarei mia nonna. Che purtroppo e volata in cielo troppo presto.
Un sasso... sarei tagliente e spigoloso.
Un colore... Nero.
Un videogioco... Final Fantasy X
Un anime... Lucky Star
Un manga... Death Note
Un personaggio degli anime... Konata Izumi. Praticamente sono io. In tutto e per tutto. Anche se njon parlo giapponese!
Un professore... innonderei gli alunni di 4. Ossì, sono proprio cattiva.
Un genere musicale... Gothic Metal
Un hobby... cosplaying.
Una pietanza... sushi.
Uno sport... boxe.

Mi sto annoiando... Quando arriva un altro test?

In Nick Hornby's novel A Long Way Down, four characters meet on the top of a building on New Year's Eve because they all want to jump. Instead, they begin to talk about their lives and problems, and gradually change their minds. The brilliance of the novel - aside from its being extremely funny - is the skill with which Hornby alternates between the four wildly different would-be suicides.

• Martin. A divorced ex-morning talk-show host who made the tabloids and went to jail for accidentally sleeping with a fifteen year old (she said she was sixteen, and what was she doing at the club dressed like that anyway?).
• Maureen. A fifty-something, conservative, religious mother of Matty, who is a vegetable, which causes her to have almost literally no life.
• Jess. A crazy teenager who is loud, rude, oblivious, and confused because following Chas everywhere isn't really stalking him, not if all you want is an explanation, and who would have jumped if Martin hadn't sat on her head, so it wasn't her fault that she's not dead yet.
• JJ. An American pizza delivery man whose life is depressing because he lost his girl and his band, though he tells the others that he's dying to sound like he really has a reason to be on the roof.

Their story isn't about what would make a person climb the fifteen flights of stairs to Topper's Tower to make the jump; it's what happens when they decide to reach the ground by way of the stairs, to choose not to end their lives, to take the long way down. I wouldn't call it inspiring (neither would they), but the sudden, crazy way Martin, Maureen, Jess, and JJ need each other to learn how to go on makes for a strangely uplifting commentary on the incomprehensible coincidences of life.

Et Cetera

Today I hung seven pictures on the wall.

I read the book.

I did a load of laundry and a load of dishes, and I vacuumed.

I watched three episodes of the original Star Trek series and knitted about four inches of a scarf.

I cooked spaghetti with meat sauce.

I returned a DVD to Blockbuster.

I played with the ferret. She likes to crawl up the legs of my pants. This is a habit we will have to break.

As a sidenote, Lance mentioned how Superdeluxe.com is on pause right now as far as producing new content. Kind of jarring for me, because the site also hosts the cartoons by another Austin animator, Brad Neeley. I love Neeley's stuff as well.

Anyway, Lance said that a new episode of The Ted Zone will be airing this week and another next week and it's done.

The presentation Lance gave was really inspiring for me personally. He's taken the initiative to create his own work and send it to festivals, and basically had control of his own career path. His style and character animation is so cool. He also screened his first film, The Astronomer, which was beautiful in story, structure, and visuals. I would post a clip, but he made a note to say it is nowhere on the Internet. More control of his work that way. Incidentally he and Geoff also mentioned that it's not always a great idea to post your stuff on YouTube or other video sites. You obviously can't control who shows it (i.e. random bloggers like myself), and it loses the value of the work in some respects. Add to that, apparently you can't be nominated for an Academy Award if it's already out there. Yikes.

I'm really enjoying this master class because it's getting me more motivated to draw and animate. Now, I just gotta make a living out of it...

A little late for all the things you didn't say
I'm not sad for you
But I'm sad for all the time I had to waste
'Cause I learned the truth
Your heart is in a place I no longer wanna be
I knew there'd come a day I'd set you free, cause

I'm sick and tired
Of always being sick and tired

Your love isn't fair
You live in a world where you didn't listen
And you didn't care
So I'm floating, I'm floating on air
I am on air

No warning of such a sad song of broken hearts
My dreams of fairytales and fantasies
Were torn apart
I lost my piece of mind somewhere along the way
I knew there'd come a time you'd hear me say
I'm sick and tired
Of always being sick and tired

Your love isn't fair
You live in a world where you didn't listen
And you didn't care
So I'm floating, I'm floating on air

My love is on the line
My love is on the line
My love is on the line
My love is on the line

My love is on the line
My love..

Your love isn't fair
I said you live in a world where you didn't listen
And you didn't care
So I'm floating, I'm floating on air
Air, oh, I'm on air

Your love isn't fair
You live in a world where you didn't listen
And you didn't care
So I'm floating, I'm floating on air
I'm floating
I'm floating
I'm floating on air.

Anastacia - Sick And Tired

Ne-Yo and Anastasia mug for the cameras at the Just Cavalli show. (Getty Images)

Yesterday was the first day of the Milan shows, and it already feels like a carnival. But with runway footage being displayed on Jumbotron screens throughout the city, you feel like you're in the city of fashion-as-business, not fashion-as-high-design. The gigantic neon Emporio Armani Eagle that welcomes you when you get off the plane at Linate Airport is also a dead giveaway. By the way, I recommend flying into Linate over Malpensa any day -- it's way closer.

So the first show I ended up at was Just Cavalli, Roberto Cavalli's lil' sis line, where the setting was some kind of nondescript Euro beach. There was sand at your feet and a sheet of paper on your seat letting you know what celebrities were gracious enough to show up. So, who was there? Well, um, the Europop singer Anastasia, Kelly Rowland, Ne-Yo and a gaggle of Italian celebrities who I have no clue about. One of them was sitting across from me and was so into the music (or maybe even the clothes) that she couldn't stop bopping up and down with her hands up in the air, all the while constantly reapplying her lip gloss, her powder pink Versace compact in one hand and her oversize sunglasses in the other. As for the clothes: the first looks were these screen prints on denim; some editors next to me wondered if it was an image of Charles Manson's face, but I don't think it was.

I had an hour until the next show, so I made a pit stop to the amazing Corso Como sale shop. It's particularly amazing if you're a girl; for guys, it's limited to basic city. But hey, everyone needs a long-sleeve Comme des Garçons henley, right?

I then made my way to the Emporio Armani Show, which was a total madhouse! They have two shows back to back in their own space, which is really more like a stadium. Solange Knowles was on hand to represent the brand -- I think I heard somewhere she's the new ambassador of Emporio Jeans. And like at some sort of bizarre tech convention, they screened a cellphone ad for the new Samsung Emporio Phone on giant screens as everyone took their seat. Yes, fashion shows have previews now.

A look from the Emporio Armani runway. (Reuters)

The show itself was a parade of girls (and some boys) with wet, slicked-back hair wearing harem pants with that ease that Giorgio does so well -- a sort East-meets-West thing. The only thing that struck me as odd, as this was my first Armani show, was that after every three or four looks a bunch of people started clapping. Not that it wasn't clap-worthy, but I've never experienced that at any other show. I'm told it happens at every Armani show.

Then I went on to my last show for the day, Gianfranco Ferre. I grabbed the elevator to the show space just as Suzy Menkes made a dash for it -- she almost got caught in the closing door. Well, her invitation did anyway.

Later on, I went to the Triennale museum for an Ellen Von Unwerth exhibit. Plenty of girls in S&M gear writhing around in some Paris hotel suite with some jewel-encrusted shoes. The images were nice enough, but I never did catch what the exhibition was for.

Lastly, here are some of my favorite places in Milan that I visit to either stay plugged in or get far, far away from the madness. The shows I'm most looking forward to this week are Prada and Jil Sander. They're always the highlights.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&s=AARTsJo3sxDpn6u_-9Wg1jyzFOUcVWvU2Q&msa=0&msid=103739794770934605257.0004577e63249ad4617db&ll=45.467836,9.170151&spn=0.151688,0.274658&z=11&output=embed&w=400&h=315]

• Plastic Club
• Bagutta Restaurant
• Principe Bar
• Pink
• 10 Corso Como
• Corso Como Outlet

The most significant development in her career of ceaseless investigation is that she has discovered how to get into (although not out of) the bathtub.  One afternoon as I came into the room, I was momentarily alarmed that I could not locate the carpet shark; however, I heard the bell of her collar calling me into the bathroom.  Already laughing, I peered into the tub to find a very guilty looking ferret frozen under my gaze.

How, I asked myself, did Anastasia get into the tub?  Could she have possibly climbed into the trashcan, and from there onto the toilet lid, and jumped across?  Or did she scale the shower curtain with her clever claws?  But after a couple days, the mystery was solved.  To get into the tub, Anastasia merely jumped!  She jumped high enough to catch the rim of the tub, and from sheer strength pulled the rest of her body up after her.  Stricken with awe and no little amount of respect, I immediately snatched her away and put her back in her cage.  I like my bath sans ferret, thank you.

Other than this astounding feat, Anastasia continues to be consumed with rage every time she fails to run fast enough to squeak into the closet, she still loves her occasional treat of an ice cube, and she will always be allured by, although not permitted to eat, Philip's leather wallet.  Also, we wish she would sleep through the night, or at least have the courtesy not to rattle her cage whenever she wakes up.

Most number of adorable ferret yawns in a row:  an even dozen.

Απολαυστε μερικες φωτογραφιες απο το νησι μαζι με εμενα και τον Γιωργο!

[caption id="attachment_5" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Η πισινα του ξενοδοχειου και τα ποδια του Γιωργου :)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_6" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Εγω στο ξενοδοχειο. Βαζω αντιλιακο λιγο πριν κανω μπλουμ! "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_8" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Παραλια Σκοπελου, Πανορμος, γαλαζοπρασινα νερα και με απεραντι θεα!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_9" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ευτιχησμενοι μαζι..στην παραλια Πανορμος, Σκοπελου!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_10" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Αυτη ειναι η παραλια του Πανορμου!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_11" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Τα βραχια και το ομορφο γαλαζοπρασινο νερο της Σκοπελου στον Αγιο Ιωαννη!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_12" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Λιγο πριν ανεβουμε τα σκαλια του Αγιου Ιωαννη..ναι φυσηκα τα σκαλια της εκλισιας! Χεχε!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_13" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ειπα να κανω ενα διαλειμα καθως τα ανεβαινα..κακο ειναι?"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_14" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Μια ερημικη παραλια στην Σκοπελο κοντα στον Αγιο Ιωαννη..καναμε μπανιο και μας αρεσε πολυ..επειδη η παραλια ηταν με ψυλι αμουδια!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_15" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Και αυτο ειναι το εκλησακι του Αγιου Ιωαννη απο κοντα! "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_16" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Και αυτη η φωτογραφια ειναι τραβηγμενη απο μακρια ετσι ωστε να φανει ο Αγιος Ιωαννης και σε ποιο σημειο βρησκοτανε!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_17" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Εδω ειμαστε στο καραβακι για Αλωνησσο.Εγω φωτογραφια δεν ηθελα να με βγαλει αλλα ο Γιωργος ειχε τρελαθει."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_18" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Αλωνισσος..το δευτερο πανεμορφο νησι!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_19" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ειμαστε Αλωνισσο και καθωμαστε στο καφενιο της παλιας πολης κατω απο ενα τεραστειο δεντρο και πινουμε καφεδακι!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_20" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Τα υπεροχα δρομακια της Αλωνισσου!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_21" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ο Γιωργος περα απο αντρας μου ειναι και καλητεχνης φωτογραφος οπως βλεπετε!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_22" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Να τος και ο Γιωργος..εμ τι? Πως την ειδε..μονο εμενα θα βγαζει φωτογραφιες...οχι...δα!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_23" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Αυτη ειναι η αγαπημενη μου φωτογραφια! Ειναι παλια σπιτια στην Αλωνισσο τα οποια ο Γιωργος με την καλητεχνικη του φλεβα τα τραβιξε θαρεις και ειναι καρτα!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_24" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Και αυτη ειναι η τελευταια φωτογραφια απο της διακοπες μου με τον Γιωργο Σκοπελο Αλωνισσο."][/caption]

Αντε και του χρονου να παμε Μηλο επιτελους η αλλιως Ζακυνθο...! Ελπιζω να σας αρεσαν τα νησια!

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - At the beginning by Donna Lewis/Richard Marx

Posted by queenofamerica on YouTube

I love the movie that this song comes from. I liked how the director took scenes we've all seen before but cut them short, so that they're new and refreshing. Instead of a bunch of long scenes we all practical have memorized, we've got a bunch of short but good scenes. The shot of Zack's(?) eye was one I've never scene before. Even thought they used clips of Cloud from Advent children, you still feel that your watching Zack.

4/5

Mickey Vandeverre

Second Life Address:   Anastasia   203, 9, 22

Here's the Dining and Bar area, which I just introduced on the I Love Bright Colors! Page.  This set is very low in prims.  It is available on the first floor of the EtCetera Store.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (L)
& Anastasia Beaverhousen (R)

. . . or he just might start losing some gay votes.

(Source)

Fruit Salad Gay Podcast

Upcoming Fruit

Wed, September 3rd @ 8:00P (PST)

Tony Nominated Actress and

star of Broadway's Legally Blonde

ORFEH!!

FruitSaladShow.com

Comunicati TV  - RAI - Informazione - Messa in Onda : 26 Agosto 2008 - RAIUNO
AD ORIENTE

Domani 26 agosto su Raiuno alle 23.55 andrà in onda un concerto evento di Francesco Stochino Weiss che vedrà Giovanni Allevi protagonista di un viaggio virtuale da Venezia a Pechino dove il 22 agosto ha tenuto un concerto all’Auditorium della Città Proibita.

Un viaggio che conduce lo spettatore attraverso la antica via della seta percorsa a cavallo da tre cavalieri di Lucca partiti alla fine del 2007 ed arrivati in Cina in occasione delle Olimpiadi e seguiti per otto mesi da una troupe televisiva che ne ha filmato ogni dettaglio. Un viaggio, dialogo basato su un racconto dei dialoghi tra Marco Polo ed il Kublai Khan imperatore della Cina che qui sentiremo dalla voce di Armando Carrara, citando i testi originali del romanzo di Italo Calvino “Le città invisibili”.

Il dialogo con la musica di Allevi, ma anche di altri validissimi interpreti come Hevia, si interseca con lo studio delle forme delle città dell’Asia ancor oggi per molti versi misteriose, modelli urbanistici, ma anche stili di vita e di relazioni sociali diversissimi, ma tutti riconducibili alla città simbolo, Venezia.

E’ proprio dalla città sulla laguna da dove su una barca a vela prende il largo Giovanni Allevi per arrivare poco dopo a Pechino alla guida della più conosciuta orchestra dell’Asia, la China Philarmonic Orchestra.

Tanti nomi di città, tanti simboli, “Anastasia”, città del divertimento, in realtà un palcoscenico surreale siciliano con balletti, musiche e follie, “Cloe” dove tutto si incontra ma nessuno comunica, “Olinda” che cresce di un anello all’anno come i tronchi degli alberi, nella realtà il racconto dei secolari alberi di risonanza da cui vengono tratti tutti gli strumenti musicali, “Irene” che raccorda gli spazi di connessione, e così via tra finzione e realtà fino a Caofedian dal nome irreale, ma dall’aspetto concreto, ovvero il progetto della prima città del terzo millennio, ispirata a Venezia ed ideata dall’architetto italiano Pier Paolo Maggiora, che vedrà la luce tra qualche anno a pochi chilometri da Pechino.
La regia dell’evento è di Elisabetta Brusa.

Anastasia has been particularly adorable lately.  Whenever I wake her up, she is quite cuddly, curling and stretching in my arms, opening her little pink mouth in a series of enormous yawns.  Sometimes she also sneezes, and occasionally she'll even nuzzle up against me and sigh.  ...And then she wakes up, and the fun really begins.

All day I've been singing:

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works
That's nobody's business but the Turks

and snickering to myself:

"Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

I also wanted to mention that I am working on a little Aaliyah best of/covers mix cd that I will post up here soon!

Well, not actually do gymnastics, but maybe coach gymnastics. She could fake that she knew what she was doing, her name was  Anastasia, and she's been glued to the Olympics watching gymnastics since it came on.

She took another sip of wine.

She felt her life was like a bad Woody Allen movie. Not that his movies were bad but that they were long, drawn out, moody, emotional, ironic, and deep on a pretentious sort of level. She could be an actress, she knew it. She was always told she was a drama queen.

Anastasia Sempura - movie star. Celebrity. But she wouldn't be like a glamazon like Angelina, J.Lo, or anyone else who soaked up the limelight by being sexy all the time. She would be a hip star, kind of like a Sienna Miller, Kate Moss, Mary Kate girl but with something different - she was brunette after all. She'd be a brunette version of what they are.

Or maybe she could just be a model. She read enough Vogue and has seen enough America's Next Top Model (all ten seasons) to know how to smile with her eyes, lift her chin, and contort your body to make it look skinny and waif-like.

Anastasia liked her food though. She was never more than 5 or 10 pounds overweight, but models are generally 10 pounds underweight and she knew she could never be happy and malnourished at the same time.

Taking the last sip of her wine, she grabbed the bottle quickly, almost knocking it over but catching it last minute, and filled up her glass. She shook her head at the tv, knowing the American girl was robbed.

She knew that the one she shared her name with should have won, she stuck her landing for chrissakes. She knew that the poor girl wanted to bawl her eyes out, kick the gold medal winner and take it out from under her.

Anastasia stretched on her uncomfortable leather sofa, put down her glass, and changed the channel. She wondered if she drank too much. She wondered when she'd get a new job.

She switched the channel to TMZ, watching stupid celebrity shows made life a little easier, or maybe it just made her forget, she wasn't sure. She stumbled off her couch to her huge windows that overlooked the city down below.

She was wearing only lingerie, a D&G bra and panty set, with her bright green Louboutins.

Anastasia was hoping someone was going to stop by, but realised that at 1:30 am at night, it wasn't going to happen for the thirteenth day in a row.

She thought of going to bed.

Instead she lay on the couch, watching Britney flail, and thought about how difficult it could be to come out with your own handbag line. Anastasia had huge ideas, green clutches, yellow croc, and even red satin, how hard could it be?

Acolo puteţi găsi şi albumul domnului Sorin Dumitrescu, BISERICI, la preţul de 100 lei, o carte din care veţi mai găsi aici cîteva imagini împreună cu fragmente din nota introductivă.

ANASTASIA

a classic story, with beautiful romance. and russian! <3 i love this film very very much. the magical aspects of this are what i always wished i had.

POCAHONTAS

i love the traditional values in this movie, and the songs are ridiculously wonderful! the colours and themes represented in this film are great, too.

ALADDIN

woohoo! i always loved the evil guy, and the genie was a good laugh. i think this and hercules were the movies i watched most often as a child.

HERCULES

i always loved greek mythology, and i especially loved the characters in here (meg! pegasus <3) and i even have a stuffed pegasus, which is my favourite stuffed animal :) the songs in here are fun, and the story is of course, epic.

HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

i have a piano book for the soundtrack to this movie <3 i guess i didnt know it was placed in france when i was little, but i loved all the colours and festivites and masks, etc in this movie (like in the first scene with the festival celebration). this is another one i watched quite a lot as a kid.

i hope i can get these all on dvd soon. i asked my mother wehre the tapes of these movies were, and she said they were in the garage somewhere but i bet we gave them away or something : / i'm going to learn a song from each of these movies and sing it! maybe if i can i'll record myself..

Anastasia's interpretation of this word is in fact a lot simpler, taking it absolutely literally: Let the environment sustain us humans. If we look at the definition of sustainability, we can see its real meaning: to provide with nourishment.

For those who do not know Anastasia, I shall try to quickly summarise the first boook of this series. I have found very little quality information on this topic on the internet, and the fact that the book was written in Russian, and Vladimir Megre himself does not speak English does not make this any easier.

Anastasia is part documentary, part novel, part prose. Which one of those it is primarily is up to you to decide. Fact is, that it is more than just inspired by a true story. It is the account of the authors journey through the Russian Taiga on one of his business trips, and his strange and mind-boggling encounter with a stunning beauty living in total isolation.

She barely clothes herself and lives in the forest in total harmony with her environment. But not only does nature sustain Anastasia and meet her every need. She has reverted back to the primal state of humanity, when it was in total harmony in nature. When Man had no need to conquer or isolate himself from nature, but was fulfilling his role as the crown of creation, of the Gods we really are.

This sounds very fuzzy, and it is tempting to shrug it off. But, to put it into Anastasia's own words, she exists for those for whom she exists. This does not mean she is a creation of imagination. It simply shows how it is not the author, nor Anastasia's (nor mine, by the way) intention to convince anyone of her existence.

During Vladimir's stay with this forest recluse, she shows him things which defy all conventional logic. Not only does she live naked in the middle of the russian taiga, with no housing, clothing or food supplies. She also also has profound knowledge of the "nature of nature" and the nature of man and the universe.

She speaks any language spoken, is capable of doing incredible calculations in her head, has a phenomenal memory, is able to to cummunicate with nature and even influencing her own and others destinies. She shuns on our educational system and what she calls the  "technocratic world", which she beliefs are pathetic imitations trying to replace what went missing when we distanced ourselves from nature.

She beliefs nature has everything Man will ever need, on every level. According to her profound wisdom, if one lives in tune with nature, it is able to heal any disease and bring out the powerful beings we humans really are.

But these words don't do her justice. The book, which has plenty of information such as maps, specific names, dates and other verifiable material, speaks directly to your heart. You feel its truth, and unlike any book I've ever read, you can literally feel her being.

So instead of trying to cover everything here, I suggest you read the book yourself.

There are many communities around the world who have been embracing Anastasia's advice on how to grow vegetables according to Biodynamic principles and Anastacias philosophy. From a book which started out as a self-published, 2000 piece run to over 10 million sold today, this philosophy has created a whole movement of people gathering in so-called "eco-villages".  Have a look at Shambhala-Shasta, for example, which shows one way to create a community based on these foundations (also have a look at their blog).  http://www.anastasiasgarden.com provides many videos, photos and information on the topic.  There are also many links to organisations and foundations in its Links section. Also make sure you have a look at this forum shared by some sites and is very active (which I find unusual for movements like these).

I am very excited to see Anastasia's vision to still be growing, expanding beyond the borders of Russia and its Dachinks. Even here In New Zealand, on the West Coast of the South Island in Hokitika and Golden Bay, there are people getting together.

It really does fill me with excitement that these teachings are becoming reality for so many people on such a global basis. I myself would love to follow her teachings, even if its just growing vegetables. Unfortunately I'm currently living in a flat and can't really think of anywhere I could do this type of gardening. So, if you happen to live in Christchurch, New Zealand and are interested and/or involved in Biodynamic and "Anastasian" farming, I would be delighted to hear from you: chillfakt0r (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Contributed by Anastasia
Member of LovedByHer.com

I'm a mail order bride. I signed up with LovedByHer.com because I want my son to grow up with a father in his life. I was unable to find a good man who could be my sons father in the Ukraine which is my native country. I love my son.

Almost two years ago I met a man from LovedByHer.com and we began to write. I wrote several men LovedByHer.com but this man caught my eye because he wrote me regularly and his letters always gave me much detail and we ask and answered each others questions. As it was he was from America but that did not matter because my desire was to marry a good man that would be loving and caring to my son and me regardless of the country he was from. Some few months later this man (Calvin) came to the Ukraine and we met. He was not the most handsome of men but he brought my son a baseball glove and they played catch and for me he brought his kind gentle nature as the strength of a man that could lead our family. I did not care about what money he may or may not have but what I did care about was that he would love me and my son.

Now those days seem far far away as I sit waiting for tommorrow to arrive when a taxi will take me to the train station. I will ride the train some 12 hours to Kiev where my son and I will board a airplane and leave for America. My husband is from Chicago and he tells me there is a large Russian speaking community in Chicago and for that I'm happy. But I cry.

I'm happy that I have met a man that will love me and my son but I cry. I will soon leave all that I now know for a place far, far away. Ukraine life is not so good but this life I know and undersand. In America I will only know my husband. My family does not want me to go. My mother cries and holds her hand to her chest moaning that she will never see her grandson again. My sister cries because she worries for our safety and I cry because I'm scared . . . .

It is a big chance I take for my son and if I have chosen wrong it could be a disastourous chance. So I cry, pray, cry, pray. In the end I will go and be the best wife that I can be and hope that the man I think I know will be the man I have dreamt of for so many years. That his family will love me and I them and that together I take my son to a better life of love and opportunity. But for this I give away a life I know with certainty for a man I have known only a few weeks and a country I dont know at all.

Anastasia
Zaporojie, Ukraine