happy new year

Happy New year to all blog readers new and far.

Take time to reflect on the year, and the moments you cherished. The laughs, the tears, the lessons learned.

Remember those who have left us, and be thankful for their relationship with you.

Plan to live healthy and safely, and to be kind to others, as you enter 2010.

Count your blessings.

Give to the less fortunate. Give anything... even a warm smile.

To those who you love, tell them that you do. Tell them they are important. Tell them you enjoy their company. It's not always enough to assume they know.

Be happy and those around you will be too !

Make a bucket list.

Don't dwell on the past. Dwell only on things you can change.

Face fears.

Embrace life.

Kiss often.

Read Charlene 's blog.

Blue Moon Tonight

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On this last night of the year, nearly everyone worldwide will see the full moon all night long.~~

There will also be a very small partial lunar eclipse, with the moon just skimming Earth’s shadow, near moon rise for us.
~~Here’s more about the Blue Moon: This is the second full moon in December and according to recent tradition, a second full moon in a calendar month has the name Blue Moon.

Motor Trend

Motor trend Magazine has an offer. Get a free ticket to a car show (somewhere far away) and they'll give you 12 free issues of motor trend. Good for Loverboy.

The form is here, http://www.autoshowtickets.com/sv/index.asp?code=RADIO and once you are done "get ticket" , the ticket appears, ready to be printed. And hopefully the magazines are ready to come too.

(Our province is listed at the bottom of the scroll list, after the us states of course)

I'm puzzled

Started my new puzzle tonight. It's an angel puzzle given to me by an angel :)

Dorlene dit " Merci !!"

Best of Holiday cookies

Mrs. Fields, move over. I am armed with 12 cookie recipes from Chatelaine. Of course I will share with blog readers. I have to honest. I am a good cook, but I am not a good baker, unlike my sis. Pies and galette blanche are ok, but don't ask me to whip up a torte. I can hardly make a pan of squares.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/click.php?id=44962&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rogersmags.com%2Fchatelaine%2FCHE_TDP_digitalCookieRecipeBook.pdf

highway Webcams

~~The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal has installed a second highway camera on the Cobequid Pass section of Highway 104.
The new camera is located at Lornevale Station, near the Mines Bass River Road overpass. The other camera on the Cobequid Pass is located at Westchester, about 40 kilometres from Springhill.
There are now 47 highway cameras on the department's website. Images from all of Nova Scotia's highway cameras are available online at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/cameras/camera.asp.
The highway camera page on the department's website receives up to 250,000 visits per month in winter. ~~ thanks Mrs L.

Baby it's cold outside ..

From the Elf Movie... oh you gotta love it !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp3UoqOkFJo

and if you and your hubby are in the singing mood....check out the karaoke version with lyrics... Oh Yeah !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9hp00BaH4E

Baby it's cold outside

Looking out the window here... all I can say is It's Cold Out ! Today I was wearing a jacket and gloves, so you know it's gotta be freezing !

Just how cold is it? Not as cold as you think. It's - 7 with a wind chill of -16. Although it's cold, it doesn't freeze your nose hairs. So we shouldn't complain.

In Hay River , NWT, it's -25 and wind chill of -37. Lots of frozen nose hairs and children conceived I bet.

Free Ride in Hali

Metro Transit is once again offering free, extended transit service on December 31st, New Year's Eve, on its conventional bus, Access-A-Bus, Community Transit & Alderney ferry services.

Free transit service begins at 8:30pm until end of service. The last Alderney ferry leaves Halifax at 1:45am.

Eastpak

I really don't know whom they are, but today they are giving away 300 wallets.

Try it. scroll almost to bottom.

http://www.pak30.fr/#wpcf7-f1-p1-o1

Stamp Prices

are going up. Instead of 54 cents, it will cost you 57. They claim the average household buys 45 stamps a year. If the Permanent™ stamp is purchased in advance of rate changes, there will be no impact for you. You can use the Permanemt stamp (with the P) after the increase, hence the name permanent. Good idea for the small business, and I should get my stamps today.

Canada Post delivers to 15 million addresses nationwide, and this number is increasing . There are more addresses. But there is less mail to deliver . In 2008, the number of mail pieces handled by Canada Post declined by 87 million pieces. That's a lot of mail.

Baby Brain ?

You can buy it at the apps store for your ipod touch or iphone. Helps mom keep track of importatnt things during those first months, that I didn't keep track of. What next.

http://www.babybrainapp.com/

Blind Side

For those of you who are familiar with the movie starring Sandra Bullock..... Tonight 20 / 20 profiles his life on ABC.

(based on the true story of Michael Oher, who went from poverty to football stardom with the support of a Memphis family who took him off the streets).

Crop Circles

...................................................................~~Today, one of the more vigorously promoted ideas is that they are messages, buried in complex numerological codes, concerning a Great Change connected to the pre-Columbian Mayan calendar and due to occur in 2012.~~

I don't know about the crop circles. There's a lot of ideas out there. Some think that the amount of circles in southern England's Wiltshire , has a connetion to Stongehenge and another stone circle in the village of Avebury. I read that some men did recreate one, with no footsteps, but in daylight with a rope and lumber, and took 5 hours. As far as aliens ? It seems to me I wouldn't travel millions of light years to do ...what ? flatten some wheat.

Gardeners Alert !

Great sample for the neighbour and others with nicer yards than myself. A free gardener's ideas book ! and an easy form for you to fill out. http://www.provenwinners.com/winnerscircle/ce_winnerscircle.cfm?winnerscircle

Tonight in the sky

~~Tonight, moving eastward as it always does in orbit around Earth, the moon will pass by the Pleiades.

Early stargazers sometimes described the Pleiades as a ‘swarm of bees’ in the night sky.

Modern stargazers sometimes mistake it for the asterism known as the Little Dipper. The true Little Dipper is always in the north, while the tinier dipper of the Pleiades travels from east to west across the sky.

The Pleiades star cluster is also called the Seven Sisters. To the average human eye under good conditions, six or seven stars of this cluster are visible. That’s the reason for the common name Seven Sisters. But a small telescope or a good pair of binoculars reveals several dozen stars here, and in fact there are several hundred members of this cluster . The Pleiades marks the shoulder of the Bull in the constellation Taurus. The Pleiades stars are relatively young, as stars go, and quite hot, as evidenced by their bluish color. ~~

VCF

I didn't order a free sample, but will post it just the same. It's vaginal contraceptive film. ~~ is a semi-transparent square of soluble film which incorporates a highly efficient and safe material that kills sperm on contact.~~ http://www.vcf-contraceptive.com/sample.asp

Feminists Political Party

Good old Sweden. They have a feminists political party and have been somewhat creative in their recent campaign. They've got t-shirts and flag and what-not plastered with a slogan that says feminists make better lovers.

Sweden Party says says that: “Feminists, both guys and girls, are all of us who see that there are injustices between the sexes in our society."

And supposedly they are good at satisfying the sexual needs of their partners in between the sheets. Makes you want to book a trip there, does it not, Iceland friends?

So now "It's better in the Bahamas", and "satisfying in Sweden". What about us Canadians, eh? I may have to check that out and blog any findings. As far as I know, the greatest thing in bed around here is a set of Egyptian 800 thread count sheets you can buy at the ex.

Boxing Day Blog

Spent most of of the Boxing day wondering around the house, doing the odd chore. Nothing too strenuous. Only thing I thought of boxing was pants that will take a few months to fit into again !

I did entertain Froggie for a couple hours and then Lady Di popped in for a tea.

Last night I went to a card game/Karaoke night. The latter being better for me. Guess you could call it an orgy card game. One person screwed everybody at the table. Left me very dissatisfied however. ha ha !

Then onto karaoke, and we had a couple new songs. The hillbilly showed up with her couple Elly-Mays, and they even sang after much pressure. Thanks for the night ! I enjoyed it.

Boxing Day

~~What is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day is a day the higher classes gave gifts to the lower classes. Before or on December 25th people of similar class would exchange gifts to celebrate the Christmas season. Gifts were not exchanged with the lower class until the next day called Boxing Day. It is also known as St. Stephen’s Day.
Why is the holiday named Boxing Day?
The holiday is named Boxing Day because the tradition of giving gifts of cash, food, clothing and other goods to the less fortunate were placed into boxes for easier transportation. The goods were distributed based on the family needs and their services to the giver.~~

Tiger Woods 12 days of christmas

Just priceless....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tJ_M7N-uxc

Charlie Brown

Nothing says it quite like Linus, from Charlie Brown's Christmas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn10FF-FQfs

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David ,a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Merry Christmas blog readers ... and to all a good night.

Next year

I will.... get Christmas cards done early so I don't have to rely on a good photo taken by a twelve year old. The cards will be ordered right so I don't get wrong cards and the wrong quantity. I will be on the ball, and not demand my cards at the Walmart counter that have been ordered at Superstore.

I will... not hide gifts that I cannot later find. Must I search every Christmas eve for that one misplaced gift ? Where the heck is that Harry Potter DVD ??? I have looked everywhere, including sock and underwear drawer. Even thought maybe I had hid it under some sexy lingerie, but rest assured, nothing has been touched , and I even noticed some dry rot.

I will .... consistently refuel my car in a timely manner, so when Loverboy offers to fill it up at Ti-Paul's, he will not run out of gas getting there.

I will .... teach son#2 how to change a toilet paper roll. I feel if he can have a girlfriend and shoot a pellet gun, surely he can learn this small household task.

Olivia's Mom

So? Are you here yet?

Wish I had a better nickname for you, but the most-beautiful-woman -in-the-world name was already taken ! have only blogged good things about you, mainly your drink concoction !

Blog meet

Thanks blog readers for dropping in for some wassail.

The laughs were plenty.

I got a kick out of the name tags.

Two non-named were by, and thanks for coming Madame A and the Fishy One. There was much laughter about raising children, and the absorbency of pads. I am supposed to mention the "B" word ( B**** #1 and B**** #2 ) but hey, that's got nothing to do with me. It will be hard however to pick up that litre of milk without smiling .

Until next time.

Happy Holidays & keep clicking your mouse "right".

Laurent's latest

http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-412716-Christmas-dinner-1883-meat-for-the-table-no-easy-task.html

The first christmas card

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The first commercial Christmas card was commissioned by Henry Cole in 1843. He ordered 1000 copies of the card designed by John C Horsley which depict a family enjoying a festive drink together; Religious greetings cards came some years later. The cards were advertised for sale in the Athenaeum newspaper and cost 6 pennies each thus making them a very expensive luxury item. ~~

Happy Birthday Mrs L

Had a great party Mrs. L. ... and the floors were so shiny !
Mrs. Tiptoe made a wonderful cake. What kind of woman makes gumdrop cakes? Think about it. Do I look like the kind of woman who would? What about Lcutie? Oprah? It's a hard question, I know.

There's always much knowledge being tossed around at Mrs L. The sailor and the oceanographer know a lot of weird stuff. There's cricket terms and rules (like hockey on valium) and then I learned a bit about Moby Dick, and the rules of prayer. Can't pray for yourself. Can't pray for money.

I actually found some rules of prayer
A)~~When you pray, go inside a secret chamber or closet and when you have the door closed securely, pray to your Father that is in secret and when the Father sees you praying in secret, he will reward you openly. In other words, you have a much greater chance of God answering the problems you pray about if you do it in secret.~~
( My caution: I think that this may have been the start of some of the problems)

B)~~The Father knows what things you have need of even before you ask him. ~~
(My opinion: so why should we ask?)

c)~~ All prayers first go to Jesus Christ, then onto the Father in Heaven.~~
( My comments: like Canada Post? JC must be a busy man))

D)~~When you pray be certain you are forgiving all men and women of their trespasses against you, for if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you of your wrongs and sins. You cannot receive the good things of God if you do not forgive others, your prayers will not be answered.
(My comments: sorry about the Starrs road traffic, I will wave some through. I promise!)

Matthew 7.5

From SBS* tonight.....

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

translated clearly: You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

*SBS = sailor bible study

Blog Readers

I wish to extend an invitiation to all my blog readers.

You are invited to my home Tuesday, Dec 22nd, at 7 pm, for a drink of Wassail.

No RSVP needed.

Please bring only yourself and your merry mood, who ever you are. No gifts will be accepted.

If you are a secret blog reader, step out of the closet and come on over.

Honey Almond Salad

Greens, feta cheese and almonds

to that add the dressing which is: 3 ounces olive oil , 1 clove garlic , 2 tbsp honey, and 1 tbsp lemon, 1 ounce vinegar and salt and pepper.

Glad you liked it Rocco !

COLES 25 % off until Dec 24th

One of my favorite stores...chapters/Coles/Indigo ... the book store has a printable coupon for 25% off one regular priced item in the store ! Wow... wish I had it a couple weeks ago.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/25-Off/25offpromo-promo.html

Yoga with Monique

Beginners Yoga Workshop ($30) – January 24th, 2010 West Pubnico

9:00am - 2:00pm (pre-registration required; space limited to 18)

We will be covering basic alignment with the use of a wall, blocks and straps. Great for those just starting out in yoga, or with some experience and wanting to get back to basics. Bring a lunch.

Phone: 762-0261 or email: monique.deon@gmail.com

Teeth trouble

Yes, they can also be called the terrible twos... especially when there are two missing. No, KLS... nothing funny here.

Happy Tails

get your dog a sample of shampoo... or hand it to your husband when he's in the shower.

https://forms.netsuite.com/app/site/crm/externalleadpage.nl;jsessionid=0a0114481f43466868b8508a4c1dbc7b8102b0adc6ca.e34Nbx8KaxuLaO0Lbh0Mch0MahiPe0?compid=578086&formid=53&h=896f190e8419620258e8&redirect_count=1&did_javascript_redirect=T

Tis better to give than receive

Well, it may be better to give than to receive, unless you are trying to give to Denco. To Denco, it's very hard to give indeed, (unless you are "Den", and have created a "paper" flower). HAHA!

I figured the tiny gesture wrapped in gold paper would be met with two hands saying n0-no-no ! Instead it was met with a blank turn away glare, hands on hips, with the smallest of grins on her face.

I knew I was in trouble, but she warmed up to it, and so did I.

Had a nice fire going, plenty laughs, and some wine ! Thanks for being such a good friend !

Christmas Eve checklist list

I came across this checklist, and thought it was cute...

Christmas Eve
Make sure you've got a pan big enough to hold the turkey.
Make sure you can get the turkey into the oven - have you got enough foil to cover it?
Check timings for cooking turkey .
Check you have enough plates.
Check you have enough serving dishes (for brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, stuffing).
Lay in liver/hangover treatments.
Make brandy butter.
Get 5p/10p/20p coins for Christmas pud.
Collect cheese.
Buy chocolates.
Make/buy cranberry sauce.
Prepare alternative to Christmas pudding.
Remember who's gone vegetarian since last Christmas.
Make sure you have ingredients for said dishes.
Chocolate sardines will not do.
Check the booze supply.
Calculate probable calorific intake.
Calculate post-Christmas action plan to cope with excess.
Make plans to offload unused food items and unwanted presents.
Check supplies of: eggs, milk, butter, cream, lemons, limes, clementines, ginger, fennel, celeriac, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, chicory, salad things, pulses, frozen peas and lavatory paper.
Take turkey out of fridge.
Remove wishbone.
Take mince pies out of freezer.
Line up bottles of wine. Count them.
Put fizz into fridge.
Make sure you've got three pairs of oven gloves.
Make stock.
Take stock.
Pour glass of nerve tonic.
Contemplate the morrow.
Pour second glass of nerve tonic.
Sink into profound depression.
Go to bed.

Scrabble 2 letter words

Sorry Mrs Tiptoe and Ldot, these are not in alphabetical order. As for the Lexulous queen... she already knows it all. Haha !

AA - rough, cindery lava
EX - the letter "X"
OH - to exclaim in surprise
AB - abdominal muscle
FA - a tone of the scale
OM - a mantra
AD - advertisement
GO - to move along
ON - batsman's side of wicket
AE - one
HA - sound of surprise
OP - a style of abstract art
AG - pertaining to agriculture
HE - male person
OR - the heraldic color gold
AH - expresses delight
HI - used as a greeting
OS - a bone
AI - three-toed sloth
HM - expresses consideration
OW - expresses pain
AL - an East Indian tree
HO - expresses surprise
OX - a clumsy person
AM - form of "to be"
ID - part of the psyche
OY - expresses dismay
AN - indefinite article
IF - a possibility
PA - father
AR - the letter "R"
IN - to harvest
PE - a Hebrew letter
AS - to the same degree
IS - form of "to be"
PI - a Greek letter
AT - in the position of
IT - neuter pronoun
RE - a tone of the scale
AW - expresses protest
JO - sweetheart
SH - urges silence
AX - cutting tool
KA - (Egyptian) spiritual self
SI - ti (a tone of the scale)
AY - affirmative vote
LA - tone of the scale
SO - sol (a tone of the scale)
BA - (Egyptian) eternal soul
LI - Chinese unit of distance
TA - expression of gratitude
BE - to have actuality
LO - expresses surprise
TI - a tone of the scale
BI - a bisexual
MA - mother
TO - in the direction of
BO - a pal
ME - personal pronoun
UH - expresses hesitation
BY - a side issue
MI - tone of the scale
UM - indicates hesitation
DE - of; from - used in names
MM - expresses assent
UN - one
DO - a tone of the scale
MO - a moment
UP - to raise
ED - pertaining to education
MU - a Greek letter
US - personal pronoun
EF - the letter "F"
MY - possessive pronoun
UT - musical tone (is now DO)
EH - expresses doubt
NA - no; not
WE - pronoun
EL - elevated railroad
NE - born with the name of
WO - woe
EM - the letter "M"
NO - a negative reply
XI - a Greek letter
EN - the letter "N"
NU - a Greek letter
XU - monetary unit of Vietnam
ER - expresses hesitation
OD - a hypothetical force
YA - you
ES - the letter "S"
OE - Faeroe Islands whirlwind
YE - you
ET - a past tense of eat
OF - coming from
YO - used to call attention

.... Cat No Longer Purring

~~Engineer Chris Kenney finds the timing of the decision to be a little awkward due to the fact that an ACOA-funded transportation survey of the entire South West area was due in the next couple of months. “It seems strange that they (provincial government) wouldn’t wait for that report to be tabled and see what it had to say before they make this decision. But it’s all politics and the governments are all saying they have no money. The timing just seems bad, that’s all. “This cuts this end of the province off completely. There’s absolutely no transportation left here at all. It’s just amazing that over the years everything’s just disappeared.”

Kenney worked for Bay Ferries since they started their run between Maine and Nova Scotia. He’s worked the Cat’s predecessors since 1970: the original Bluenose, the Marine Evangeline, the new Bluenose and the first Cat. He’s not happy about ending his career three to four years before he wanted to.

“It’s the end of your career pretty well when you add the age factor in. That’s part of the hard thing too because most of the employees were ones that had worked on the Bluenose originally,” he said.Some form of ferry service has been operating out of Yarmouth since the 1800s. ~~

Benjamin Moore Paint Preview.

Using only a photo you upload, you can try different color paints to see the results before you even start. Mom you should try this with the sunroom.

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps_en_ca.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=portletInstance_2&portletInstance_2_actionOverride=%2Fbm%2Fcms%2FContentRenderer%2FrenderContent&portletInstance_2cnp=public_site%2Farticles%2Fexplore_color%2Fec_color_help_ca&portletInstance_2np=public_site%2Farticles%2Fapplication_article%2Fapp_personal_color_viewer&_pageLabel=fh_home_ca

Large gift tag

Need a large gift tag for a large gift.? Print your own. I understand they are 3.75 X 9 inches,

UPDATE: I printed some and they were great. Fun cutting them out, and perfect for the big gifts.

http://desktoppub.about.com/library/weekly/xmastags.gif

I am in trouble

Got a threatening email from this blogger site, that I had offending stuff or a "not nice" link on one of my posts. They removed it, and I can repost it once I change it. Well that is very interesting. It was a post called Chrismas in Iceland and it had no link, as some of my posts do. I also cannot find the offending part of it. Oh well.... I'll let it slide. I better stick to simple stuff like sex, religion, breasts, and politics.

Cinnamon Girl turns another year older.

Heck, I am a few days late, but hope your day was great. Sending some love to Oscar and the man in your life. Wink, Wink !

Counterfeit $10

Police in our area caution you that there are counterfeit ten dollar bills currently being circulated. They say they are fairly easy to detect. Call them if you come across one.

EB Games Boxing Day specials

I mean, should they even advertise the boxing day specials so early ?

Deals
New Tony Hawk Ride Game +Board =$99.99
Used Nintendo DS Lite $54.99 (with purchase of two used DS $20+ games)
Used Wii $89.99 (with purchase of two used Wii $20+ games)
Used PSP-1000 $54.99 (with purchase of two used PSP $20+ games) Dec 26-28
Prince of Persia 2008 - $9.99
Dissidia FF PSP - $19.99 (Dec 26-31)

PS3 250gb w/ free Little Big Planet GOTY and God of War Collection - $349 (dec 31 only)

ALBERTO

~~Here's a nice freebie offer from Alberto European - become an Alberto European Facebook fan, and you'll get a free full-size hair product of your choice!

When you opt to become a fan, you'll be asked to provide some information such as your name and mailing address. Once you have provided this information, Alberto European will mail you a coupon, which you can then redeem for one full-size Alberto European styling product of your choosing! You should allow up to four weeks to receive your coupon in the mail and this offer is limited to one coupon per Facebook user per household. Enjoy! ~~

Volcano Hekla

When we were in Iceland in July, we learned that Hekla was the next volcano to blow her top. They expected her to erupt within 12 months. They now have a webcam set up. We saw this volcano in the distance. They know she is heating up, because the snow on the top is melting. Best viewed in daylight, which is scarce right now. The webcam is here: http://www.ruv.is/hekla/

And another webcam for viewing the volcano "katia" is here :http://www.ruv.is/katla/

In God we still Trust

For this month only, you can get a free book titled : In God We Still Trust

http://harvest-tv.com/giveaway/index.cfm

Free Seeds and bulbs

This is a pretty cool site and giveaway. They will send you free seeds and bulbs. Whatcha got to lose? The cook should like this one, as she's always eager to plant seeds.

http://www.freeplant.net/index.html

Freezing Celery

I hate to buy celery, mainly because I only like it in soups and in my homemade shrimp mould. But I guess you can freeze celery. And mine is headed there !

Celery loses its crisp texture when frozen, but it still suitable for use in cooked dishes. Select crisp, green, tender stalks, free from coarse strings. The ribs should be firm and rigid, snapping crisply when broken in half.
Preparing for Freezing: Wash thoroughly, trim and cut . Lay in a single layer of chopped pieces or whole stalks on cookie sheets and place them in the freezer. When fully frozen (12 to 24 hours), portion them into suitable containers and freeze. Leave no headspace.
Suitable packaging for freezing celery includes freezer-grade plastic bags, rigid plastic containers or glass containers and heavy duty-aluminum foil.
Thawing: Add frozen celery directly to dishes while cooking.

Northern Reflections.... 50% off Friday

click on this link and print your coupon. Good for Friday the 18th only:

http://p.p0.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=HiX4nesmFVIx8YGuu0z_tH&masterid=1153883&companyid=110343&source=eml_us_yesmail1153887_coupon

NDP

AH the NPD....

Responsible for bad weather, and now threatening to increase the HST to 15%. They'll be popular for sure ! If there is a tax hike, it won't happen before July 2010.