Five thousand miles away, a man sought comfort from the burning sun. He rested against a banana tree. The strong south wind whittled the fine grains of white sand, sweeping them across the village outskirts, their sharp edges tearing at his skin.

The dry air burned his throat when he breathed, the sand and dust clinging to his sweaty brown skin. He coughed hard, the veins in his neck red and engorged from the strenuous effort it required to breathe.

He waited until the storm subsided.

Slowly, the branches stopped rattling above him and the man walked away from the tree. He observed the shadow that it cast. By it’s angle, he deduced it was khamsa – five o’clock. The man knew he had to hurry, he was to meet the mysterious men at quarter past.

I cannot be late…

He thought back to that cold morning when the men came to his house.

“Azimat, some men are asking for you.”
His wife’s face peeked through a wooden door. He dropped the carving knife and walked to her.
“Who is it?” She shrugged her shoulders. He went to the entrance.

“Salaam Aleikum brother!”

There were two men. They wore golden watches and fine silk dresses – their hair, neatly combed and luscious, their stomachs big and round. Azimat eyed them with apprehension.

Both of them were smiling, and the first extended his hand.

“Salaam.” Azimat replied, shaking the soft, warm hand of the stranger.
“Brother, may we come in and rest a little while? Our trips was long and our gullets dry.” the other asked.

Azimat accepted, it was rare that they had visitors. He told his wife to gather all the food there was, and they sat down onto the rug, around an oval metal table that reached to their knees. They had eggs, cheese and some of yesterday’s bread. The men devoured the food quickly . Azimat recollected not being able to take his eyes off them.

Later, after they stretched out onto the worn out rug, with their large bellies clearly satisfied they told him why they were here.

“Azimat…”

They know my name. But how?

“I bring you good news. We are here because we believe you can help us. If you will come and work with us, you will enjoy all the luxuries that Allah presents to us every day.”

The other man, who so far sat there quietly added, “We have been observing you Azimat and we believe you have what it takes. You are strong and your mind is clear. You have spent your whole life following orders. You will be perfect.”

“A perfect warrior.” The other man whispered, almost to himself.

Azimat was shocked, but he said nothing. They told him that he should meet them at the village gates a week from now.

”Take this money, there is enough for your family to live on until we meet, and then there will be more.”

“Much more.” The other man gleamed, his lips moist from the buttered bread.

And then, they left.

Why would they come to me? An un-educated farm worker? At most I could be their slave! Azimat reflected.

His bare feet dragged along the rough, rocky surface. Each step became more painful then the next. The jagged rocks pierced his flesh like barren knives, but he did not flinch, even though he had walked for five long, arduous hours .

In the corner of his vision he noticed children gather around him. They had come out of their family huts to watch him. Some of them laughed at his agony.

“Go back inside!” he yelled at them. Suddenly the children stopped laughing. They froze in terror at his scarred face, a wide scar that ran the length of his cheek. Azimat felt sorry for scaring them. He tried to smile and give them a wave but they had run back inside to their mothers.

He pressed on forward, arriving at the peak. Atop the mountainous hill, he could see the village down below. Filled with relief, he stopped to rest before his descent. His journey so far had been long. The bones and muscles of his legs stung from exertion, but it did not matter. He was sure it was for the best.

Though he stood far from the village centre, he could smell the life beneath him. The gusty wind carried the exotic aroma of spices and chocolate, of freshly ground coffee and rich, sweet tobacco straight into his nostrils. Such pleasure overcame his senses. He closed his eyes enjoying the moment – this was a new experience for him.

Suddenly his eyelids rocked back, revealing a single brown eye. He had lost the other as a youth – a punishment for stealing food from a market run by a brother of a man who held high office in the town.

I will not be weak. He silently declared. Allah has given me this opportunity and I will not fail at the first temptation.
With a swift, but tired step, he hu
Oops, sorry there’s a bit more but yahoo cut it off.

I exercise for an hour to an hour and a half in the morning walking 6kms up a hill and I work up quite a sweat. I then do a few minutes on my Ab circle pro and a few days a week do light weights and also some skipping. Also three to four days a week my partner will then do the same 6km walk again with me in the afternoon.

Is this enough to be losing at-least half a kilo a week? Can anyone add some tips or pointers which will help speed up the process?

Thanks

It has icing mixture (not pure) sugar in it, and the frosting is flat and quite soft.

I am after rose looking swirls that keep their shape for frosting. Can I just substitute the icing mixture for pure icing sugar? Will that work or does it not work that way?

Just any advise.. thanks
Im not trying to make decorations. Im just “frosting” it. I want to pipe a large swirl on it to give the effect of the rose. I have seem people do this with cream cheese icing, but I dont know how they get the stiffness.

The recipe I have is like butter cream except it has cream cheese in it.

The recipe I have has icing sugar mixture (the stuff with cornflour etc) and is a bit too soft to pipe into a swirl. I was wondering if I can just put pure icing sugar in instead, and if this will make the cream cheese buttercream stiff enough to hold a swirl…?
As I said I have seen photos of a buttercream rose swirl frosting as well as the same effect but it is cream cheese.

Morning 8:00-11:00 pm
-three chocolate donuts with milk
-a hot pocket (ham and cheese)
-four slices of left over pizza.
-ten oreos
-king size hersheys bar.
-three rolls.
-a bagel with cream cheese
-two chewy bars.

Mid day 12-6 pm
-two mcchicken sandwiches.
-large fries.
-top ramen.
-bag or hot cheetos.
-two large churros.
-bag or skittles.
-bag of baked doritos.
-lasagnia.
-breadsticks.

Night 7-11 pm
-2 chili dogs
-2 pop tarts
-five scoops of ice cream
-toast with butter
-pudding.
-banana
-three soft chocolate chip cookies
-a bowl of coco pebbles.

I usually give her;

Meats, i.e. Steak, chicken, lamb, and pork
Chocolates and cake
Custards and cream
Pasta
Cheese and ham toasties
and i let her drink some of my soft drink sometimes

are any of these bad for her like i mean will they harm her / her health ?

i heard that meat is hard for them to digest so i dont give her much of it.

(i do give he veggies and fruit aswell but she doesnt really eat it)

Childs Age: 1- 5 , 6 – 8 , 9 – 12 / Child’s Gender: Male Female

1.What food do your child/children prefer on a daily basis?
•Processed food (lollies, chocolate)
•Vegetables
•Fruit
•Fast food (McDonalds, Hungry Jacks)
•Meat
•Dairy (cheese, yoghurt)
•Grains ( bread, pasta, rice)

2.What food do you think is best to feed your child/children?

•Processed food (lollies, chocolate)
•Vegetables
•Fruit
•Fast food (McDonalds, Hungry Jacks)
•Meat
•Dairy (cheese, yoghurt)
•Grains ( bread, pasta, rice)

3.Does the type of food that you feed your child affect their behaviour?

•Yes
•No

In what way?

4.What kind of drink do your child/children prefer?

•Soft drink
•Water
•Cordial
•Juice
•Milk

5. What drink would you find is best for your child/children?

•Soft drink
•Water
•Cordial
•Juice
•Milk

6.Does the type of drink that your child consumes affect their behaviour?

•Yes
•No

In what way?

7.Do you think that the way food or drink is presented to your child/children affects whether or not they will consume it?

•Yes
•No
Why/ Why not?

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and
Didn’t
Get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright
Colored
Lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
When we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks
We
Took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of the Ute, on a warm day was always a special
Treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO
ONE
Actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with
Sugar in it, but we weren’t overweight because……

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
Were
Back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
Ride
Down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running
Into
The bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at
All, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround
Sound,
No cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
Rooms……….WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were
No
Lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live
In
Us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,

Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told
It
Would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door
Or
Rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
Didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard
Of.
They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
Solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO

DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to
Grow
Up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives
For our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know
How
Brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors,
Doesn’t
It?!

PS – The big type is because your eyes are shot at your age