Last week I wrote a post about how to create a personal mission statement. I've had a very busy week (which is why this post is a little late), but I've been thinking about my mission statement quite often while I was quietly working on things or when I was able to steal some quiet time. I really found this exercise to be challenging. Not in a this is really hard, kind of way, but more of not bringing every aspect of my life into this mission statement. I wanted to stay focused on what I want for myself. What I hope to learn as I go through this journey. So here is what I have come up with.
I am putting myself first, so that I can give from my heart to those around me.
I am loving myself and accepting all the parts of my life and myself.
I am letting go of expectations and releasing my wild woman.
I am learning to live a life filled with peace, love, and joy - day by day, moment by moment.
I am I am open to growth and change as I learn navigate a new path, so that I can live a full and inspired life.
How about you? Did you create a personal mission statement? I would love to see what you came up with and support you on your journey. I hope you'll share in the comments or leave a link to your blog post.
Back in Decemeber I took the 30 Proactiv Challenge. Since then life has been chaotic and I am finally getting a chance to tell you what I thought of my first experience with Proactiv.
The most memorable moment was the very first day I used the 3 step system. My face was in desperate need of help. When I used the cleanser, toner and moisturizer for the first time I knew I was going to love this. My skin felt so clean but not too clean, and my skin instantly felt smoother.
The product was very light - in the way that it felt and the way it smelled. I don't like strong smelling beauty products and this one was just perfect.
In the first week I noticed that it was a little too drying for my skin, so I cut back to using the system every other day. This worked perfectly for me. I was able to enjoy the benefits of not experiencing breakouts yet not have super dry, flaky skin.
Two of my children (pre-teen and teen) also gave the product a try for a few days, as well, and they both really liked the way their skin felt after using it.
If you struggle with acne I would absolutely recommend this product to you. It really does live up to all of the commercial hype!
Disclosure – I participated in the New Proactiv Canada program hosted by Mom Central on behalf of Guthy-Renker. I received a 30-day trial kit and a gift card as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.
This week I am going to add in the addition of the Weight Release workbook and the webinar videos. My intention this week is to create a personal mission statement for this part of my journey. I've done this in the past, but I'm really in a different place now than I was when I created the other mission statements. I'm going to put a lot of thought into this and try to come up a mission statement that fits me now.
What is a personal mission statement?
This is the clearly defined reason for the choices you make. This should be a positive, life affirming statement, which illustrates what you want in your life. This statement helps to focus your decisions and support your positive choices. (Source : Weight Release Workbook)
How to create your personal mission statement?
Your mission statement shouldn't be result orientated, it should be quality of experience orientated.
Do some inner work and ask yourself a few questions:
What do you ultimately want for your life?
What do you want your spirituality to be like?
How do you want to be in relationship to food?
How do you want to be in relationship to yourself?
The list can involve many aspects of your life. I'm going to keep my mission statement fairly focused right now on just a few areas of my life. Later on I'll be doing a vision and I can include more things there as well.
Keep it positive!
Don't put negative statements in your mission statement. Keep the Law of Attraction in mind when you are writing. The energy you put out is what you will get back. "I will" and "I am" statements are great!
Repeat it and believe it!
Once you have your mission statement written put it on a 3x5 card and carry it with you, or post it somewhere where you will see it often. This will help you keep your focus on what you truly want and you'll start to believe and see your life aligning with your mission statement.
Have you ever created a personal mission statement?
Stephen Covey is well-known for his approach to personal, family and business management through mission statements. Here is a link to his website. Maybe check out what he has to say about creating a mission statement if you would like more ideas of where begin.
If you feel led, I hope that you'll join me in this exercise. If you are open to sharing what you come up with I would love to read your mission statement (in your own blog or in the comments) and offer support for your journey.
Last week my first intention towards wholeness was to re-read Weight Release A Liberating Journey. This is probably the 4th time (at least) that I have read this book in less than a year. I absolutely love this book. Every time I read it, I learn something new. I think it's probably because every time I read it I'm in a different place in my life so certain things just really click.
While reading the book this week I took copious amounts of notes. This is the first time I've actually done that while reading Weight Release. There is no way I can share everything in this post that spoke to me while reading; so I will be including some of it further along in my journey as I explore different aspects of my life.
There is one part though that I want to share today. This really puts into perspective where I am at and have been for the last few months.
If you are going to climb, if you are going to challenge yourself to expand beyond your present circumstances, you will ultimately be forced with setback.
However, if you view the setbacks as temporary and you truly grasp the learning opportunity in the experience, you will ultimately reach new heights.
Back in November when I miscarried, everything just stopped. Before that point I was really moving forward in my life. I was applying the things I learned in Weight Release, and I was releasing weight, but more importantly I was really beginning to have a deep, personal, loving relationship with myself.
Then November 22 came, and it all stopped. Even though everyone told me and even though deep down I know it wasn't my fault; there was a voice inside of me trying to convince me that - I was too overweight too carry a baby, that my previous c-section was the cause & if I'd just done ____ then I wouldn't have had the c-section, that I had done too much those first weeks and I should have taken it easy, that...and the list goes on.
Everyone told me to take care of myself, be kind to myself, give myself time...didn't they realize Christmas was coming? I didn't have time to "fall apart". I figured if I did what they said, that's exactly what would happen - I would fall apart. I've never felt grief and pain like that. And I felt like I was so new into my journey and trying to approach things differently - I didn't know how to cope or how I would cope. So I made a conscious decision to do what I know. I shoved my emotions down (literally) and continued on - because Christmas was coming & people were depending on me.
But what about me?
I've spent the last 3 months (roughly) feeding my feelings - finding comfort in food. When the voices get loud I quiet them with distractions - cleaning, music, anything so that I don't have to sit quietly and feel the pain and now the hate. The hate is back. I hate that I have put on weight - the voice that says "well it's your fault; you've done this too yourself". The voice that says you are no good. So many negative thoughts have crept their way back in...
So that's the brutal honesty of where I am at. But it's just a setback. That's all. There is another quote that really struck me when reading:
Pain is a part of life but suffering is optional. ~ Dr. Ron Hulnick
Today I am no longer going to suffer. I'm going to forgive myself for buying into the negative voices, for not being courageous and working through my pain and grief, for not putting myself first and loving myself. I am blessed. Really! I know what is possible. I've already started to walk in the path of self-love. I know what that feels like. I know that it's not always going to be easy and this pain that I've felt may not be the only time I will feel it, but I can learn how to navigate it better. I can learn how to keep my peace, love, and joy in times of great sorrow. I want to take a leap of faith and get off the path I am on. Amazing things are on the horizon.
Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
~Maya Angelou
Because this post is already exceptionally long, I'm going to put my intentions for this week in a separate post.
Yesterday I was talking to a friend, giving her some advice (hmm I wonder now if that advice was wanted...). Basically I was telling her just to "do." How she's read all the books and she's made lots of plans and at some point she just has to do. How that waiting to for the "perfect plan" or the "perfect starting point" is holding her back from actually achieving what she says she wants.
Well, no sooner had I finished telling this to her, when I heard a voice tell me "You're one to talk. Maybe you should try taking your own advice." gasp! But it's true. I've been doing the same thing as my friend, just in a different area of my life.
I came up with this (what I think is) a great vision regarding some of my "New Year's Goals" & self-love. I've been putting off getting started for many different reasons - waiting for the "perfect day", the "perfect title", someone else to give me the go-ahead. Really what I think it all boils own to is resistance - fear of the unknown (which really isn't that unknown), fear of the work that I know is going to be involved, fear of letting go of...well, a lot of things.
*Deep breath*
But I know what is on the other side of that fear is the gold. I have to walk through the metaphorical fire to get to the gold. So many times we imagine that fire to be a lot bigger and hotter than it really ends up being too. I want that gold! I can see the gold; I can visualize the life I want. So today I start the journey - My Service To Self Journey - Becoming My Best Me.
I have a basic idea (vision) of what I want to do on this journey. I'm sure as things progress my ideals may change and that's okay too. If you've read my blog before you know that I have worked with Freeman Michaels in the past doing the Weight-Release Program. The Weight-Release program at the core is so much more than just about weight; it's about changing your life. So I've decided I'm going to start this week with re-reading Weight-Release A Liberating Journey.
Each week for however long (I really only have a vision - the plan will just happen); I'm going to work on some aspect of my life that I want to change or cultivate.
This is going to be an exciting journey! I'm so excited to see how this is going to unfold and how my life is going to change for the better. Hold on for the ride - it might get bumpy but it's sure to be exciting!
Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life’s only true lessons are writ small in the margin. Whatever you want in life, start today. Not tomorrow - today. Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning. Your happiness depends on starting today - every day! LIVE! ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie.
"Getting organized is one of the top five New Year's resolutions people make."
~Standolyn Robertson, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers
Did you make a resolution to get organized this year? I think the majority of us make this resolution in one way or another. My resolution was to set up household routines and stick to them so that I can have more fun. Part of that will be getting things organized, so yeah, I made that resolution too. :) I can certainly understand why so many of us make these types of resolutions. The new year symbolizes a "fresh start." And our external environment is often a reflection of our internal environment - a cluttered home (or work space) reflects a cluttered mind.
Since January is National Get-Organized Month, I thought I would list some tips and tools for getting organized.
Lighten Up: Feng shui experts have found that well-lit areas tend to have less clutter. Look around your home and see if this is true for you. I know it is for me! If it's cloudy or dark in the house I feel like I can get by with doing less - I don't see the dust and mess as clear as I would if it were bright in the house. Add some brighter lamps, open up the curtains - let the sun shine in.
A Home for Loose Items: We all have these areas in our homes, they tend to be the hot spots - where we set all the little things that seem to float around the house (magazines, remotes, keys). Find a basket for each type of item so that it will have a home - other than the flat surface you are trying to keep clean.
Store items close to where they are used: Does your family play games in the living room? Set a nearby shelf or closet aside to store them. Do you craft? Think about setting up a crafting area near where you craft. Storing items close to where we use them increases the likely hood that they will be put away when we are finished with them.
Websites: There are a ton of organizational websites out there for your use. Here a few that I use on a regular basis.
Flylady - Creating routines, decluttering, cleaning by zones all 15 minutes at a time. Flylady's system is done using a Household Notebook. I personally love the notebook but I pick and choose what I use from the Flylady site. It doesn't all work for me.
My Messy House - I use this for my Weekly House Blessing (Flylady term). Flylady has WHB on hour a week, that's impossible for me no matter how hard I try. So I use the My Messy House plan to do my WHB one room (lucky room of the day) per day (Monday - Friday).
S.H.E.'s Organized - This is the home of Pam Young and Peggy Jones' Sidetracked Home Executives™ household management system. This is where I started. I am a proud SHE. This system is often referred to as being "in the box". It's set up with 3x5 cards and a box holder. I have incorporated a lot of Pam & Peggy's system into my Household Notebook.
Apps: I am sure there are a lot more apps and computer programs you can use for helping you get organized but here are just a few I use or have tried.
Google Calendar - You can use this in place of a household notebook. I also have a few friends that use Outlook instead of a notebook.
Cozi - This is a free online organizer (there is also a free mobile app). You can use it for appointments, lists, blogging and you can share with family members online too!
Home Routines - This an app for the itouch/iphone. This is one of my favorite organizational apps. I love this app. I have recommended this app to a few friends on Twitter too and they have loved it too. It is one app that is absolutely worth buying. One friend bought an itouch just to download this app. :)
Awesome Note - This is another app for the itouch/iphone/ipad. I just downloaded it this weekend and I love this app as well. There are so many things you can do with this app - it's amazing. It ranks right up there with the Home Routines app and I've only had it about 3 days.
So go have some fun getting organized this year! Remember this though - motivation follows action. Don't let yourself stop you from reaching your goals. Waiting for the motivation to strike or waiting until (insert whatever you are waiting for) often results in never reaching our goals. Vision what you want and then just go for it! Once you start working towards your goal, you'll be surprised how much motivation you will find to continue. Progress not perfection - life, organizing, loving ourselves -it's all a journey!
Do you have any tips or tricks for getting and staying organized? I'd love to hear them!
Welcome to my first Menu of 2011! Wow! It's hard to believe another brand new year has started. Hopefully (crossing my fingers) I will be very diligent this year about consistently posting my menu plan. I always make a menu but posting...well...that hasn't been my strong point. :)
So enough with the chatting let's get to the menu!
Please note - I use organic, local ingredients when possible. Also the recipes usually call for all- purpose flour. I usually use a mix of 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 white or just all whole wheat. Remember a recipe is just something to go by, feel free to change them up for health/your family's tastes.
Healthy Eating Menu for Mommy{Sunday - Saturday}
Breakfast:
Sunday: 1 cup oatmeal, 2 TB slivered almonds, 2 TB raw pumpkin seeds, 2 TB dried cranberries, 1 cup almond mylk.
The word pretty is unworthy of everything you will be, and no child of mine will be contained in five letters.
“You will be pretty intelligent,
pretty creative,
pretty amazing.
But you, will never be merely 'pretty'.”
~Katie Makkai
I love listening to this poem by Katie Makkai. I have probably listened to it at least 10-15 times, since the first time I heard it. The words are so true. As women, society as a whole puts a lot of pressure on us to be pretty. I have never felt pretty as far back as I can remember and this poem helped me realize it's okay not to be pretty. It's more than okay. Why should I want to be just pretty? I am so much more than pretty. It's easy to get down on ourselves about our looks - I hope this poem will help you realize being 'pretty' isn't really as worthy of a goal as we might think in the moment.
I'm working on falling in love with myself. That means loving me for who I am and not what I think I look like. I know I am my own worst critic. I hope that if you need it, this post can help you work towards loving yourself more too. If we can't love ourselves how can we really love anyone else the way they should be loved? We owe it to ourselves to fall in love with ourselves.
Here we are at the start of a brand new year. I've been thinking about the end of 2010 and the start of a new year for a couple of weeks. There is something about a new year that is exciting to me. It's like an unopened book and I can't wait to see what is going to happen.
I don't know about you but every year I've set New Year's Resolutions only to fail the same day or to start off strong and fade off a few weeks later. This year I've decided to take a different approach. I'm going to set some intentions and keep in mind I have the whole year (and the rest of my life really) to make these intentions a reality. I'm really starting to understand that life really is a journey. I'm never going to fully arrive. You know what I mean? There is never going to be a day where I am able to say "okay, well I love myself enough now I don't need to work on that anymore". But to think that every day I can work on loving myself more and more; I can work on being a healthier me every single day; I can become a better mom & wife every day. Wow! What a journey this can will be!
Make good self-honoring choices when it comes to food
Practice mindful eating
*work on establishing a healthy relationship with food
Exercise for at least 20 minutes every day
*yoga *wii game *walk
Go to sleep at a reasonable hour (10pm Every day)
Spiritual Health
Make time for myself every day to take a hot bath or meditate
Read a book or watch a movie each week that inspires me to think, feel, or do.
Write morning pages
*Complete The Artist’s Way
Set a daily intention
Read morning message from Good Morning
Start a notebook with my favourite quotes
(Emerson instructed us to “Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your reading have been to you like the blast of triumph out of Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul.”)Personal Growth
Set up & follow household routines; so I will have more time for fun
Work towards establishing my self-worth/fall in love with myself
Date myself for 1 hour every week
Family Goals
Spend less time online in the evenings
Plan activities for us to do as a family for fun (1 day or evening a week)
*Dinner & a Movie *Local family outings *Family game night *Ask kids for ideas
Complete the 20 Days to Being a More Mindful Mother blog challenge
Relationship with Spouse
Complete the Love Dare
Plan time to spend together alone to concentrate on building our relationship
*Date night (out or at home)
Practice really listening without rushing to judgement
Practice communicating effectively
Goals for Fun!
Blog every day (either on main blog and/or one of the sub-blogs)
*Work on building my blog(s) *Comment on at least 5 blogs every day *Set up a blog routine & be able to have blogs in draft for future posting
365 Project – take a picture daily & put on Flicker
Craft – Set aside time each week to create
*get enough stuff made up to open up an etsy.com store Financial Goals
Create & Follow a budget
Think about money in abundance
Business Goals
Enter accounting weekly
Set up monthly in-store classes
Create website for the store
Be more active on social networking sites
Did you set any new year intentions? I'd love to hear about them! Happy New Year!!
Well as you can tell we missed a few days of our activities. Just about every one of us is sick so I just decided to take the weekend of and we all just rested or in the case of Bean, got out of the house of sickness. I'm still not feeling all that great (probably worse than I did feel this weekend in fact) but decided if I didn't get back at the activities Christmas would be here and we wouldn't be done.
Merry Christmas from Sweden, where the merry season begins on the evening of December 13th.
On St. Lucia Day the eldest daughter of the family assumes the role of the Italian saint Santa Lucia. Wearing a dress of white and a lighted wreath in her hair, she serves sweet rolls and drinks to her family, singing carols all the while.
So for tonight's activity we made cinnamon rolls in honor of St. Lucia Day.
Bub getting the butter on the dough
Bean sprinkling on the brown sugar
Little E sprinkling on the cinnamon
Finished Cinnamon Rolls
If you'd like to know my recipe for cinnamon rolls (I make the dough in the bread machine), you can find that here.
I'm sure you've all seen the commercials for Proactiv at some time in your life. I know I've seen them so many times, and I've always wondered does it really work? In my teen years I had such a horrible time with breakouts (who didn't right?) Even now as I'm approaching my 40's, I still struggle with breakouts. I wonder if anything will ever keep my skin clear and still manage the dry skin I get during the winter. I've seen the celebrities on the commercials talking about how Proactiv worked so great for them, yet I'm always skeptical of commercials. Unless I have a friend that has actually tired it and says they love whatever product, I never hold much stock into what I see on tv. So when I was offered the chance participate in the 30-day New Proactiv Challenge, as a blog tour from Mom Central; I jumped at it! And so I begin my 30 day challenge and I will be that friend who will tell you if Proactiv really lives up to all the claims. :)
The Proactiv products I will be using consists of a 3 Step System, that clears and helps prevent acne blemishes and is designed for twice daily use.
Features pharmaceutical-grade benzoyl peroxide as an antimicrobial
Ultra-fine micro-crystal pharmaceutical-grade benzoyl peroxide penetrates pores fast while being gentle on the skin
There is also a team of Proactiv trained Skin Care Advisors, that provide round-the-clock guidance and education to ensure that you get the best possible treatment!
And now for the Giveaway!
Five {5} Canadian readers are going to win a full size bottle of Proactiv Green Tea Moisturizer (ARV $33).
Mandatory Entry: Tell me if you’ve tried the New Proactiv yet, and if you have, what are your thoughts? And, if you haven’t tried Proactiv yet, why would you like to try it?
Extra Entries (remember the mandatory entry is the only required entry):
Follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect - leave your GFC Name (1 entry)
Subscribe to Typical Ramblings, Atypical Nonsense via email (1 entry)
Follow Me @Luvschweetheart and @Proactiv on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway; leave the URL where you did. (you may tweet once per day for an extra entry) You can use this tweet: FIVE winners: full size @Proactiv Green Tea Moisturizer {$33 value} from @Luvschweetheart http://bit.ly/ggzVY1 #NewProactiv {Canada only} (1 entry per day)
"Like" Typical Ramblings, Atypical Nonsense on Facebook - Leave your first name & last initial (1 entry)
Add my button to your blog and leave a link to where you did. (1 entry)
Leave a comment for each entry. You must leave your email in your comments so that I can contact you.
This giveaway is open to Canada only! Giveaway will end Dec 17, 2010 at 9:00 pm EST. The winners will be chosen by random.org and will be notified by email. You must contact me within 48 hours. If you fail to claim your prize, a new winner will be chosen by random.org and emailed. You may enter the Proactiv Giveaway on other blogs, but you are only eligible to win once.
**I am participating in the New Proactiv Canada program hosted by Mom Central on behalf of Guthy-Renker. I received a 30-day trial kit and a gift card a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.**
Seems like a lot of our nights the activity gets changed. Oh well, that's life. I guess it's good to have some back-ups in your pocket if you are going to try to do this with your family. :) I've been dealing with Little E being sick for nearly 3 weeks now, that includes multiple night time wakings; and now I am starting to get a cold or something. So I really wasn't up to making latkes and figuring out how we were going to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah (we'll try again next year). Instead we made some holiday rice krispy squares. It took 2 batches to get them right, but I think the kids had fun.
Tonight were were going to make some Christmas candy but some friends of ours called and wanted to do Christmas with us before they go to visit their family for the holidays. I love visits with good friends so I was more than happy to put off our candy plans for some time with them. Tonight for day 8 of our 25 days of Christmas, I present Christmas with friends. :)
let the unwrapping commence!
Happily scored a new psp game!
See what I got mom
I'm ready for snow now!
Thank you L & P for a fun evening with great friends. We hope that you have a safe trip and enjoy the time with your family. Can't wait to see you when you get home! Merry Christmas!
Tonight's activity for day 7 of our 25 days of Christmas was dinner and a movie. We have done this a couple times this year and it's always a lot of fun, so I was really looking forward to planning to do this during the holidays. I chose the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for tonights movie.
The kids and I spent a little time this afternoon making the decorations to go along with our themed dinner. And Bub was kind enough to de-decorate his tree and let us use it for our "Grinch tree". We also used some little red hearts (“But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”), red curly ribbon and tinsel (“The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel!”)
They would feast on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast beast
Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least!
The Feast:
Who Hash {Hashbrown potatoes baked in the oven}
Who Roast Beast {Roast beef}
Grinchy Green Beans {Green Beans with scallions & sliced mushrooms}
Who Pudding {Chocolate pudding with whipped cream & chocolate shavings}
Movie Food:
Cindy Lou Who Brew {Root Beer}
Popcorn
Bananas {“You’re a bad banana with a... greasy black peel.”}
And that was our family fun for tonight! The kids really enjoyed it and Little E kept saying "I love Christmas". <3 This is why I do this.
Today started off with finding out what Sinterklaas left in the kids shoes overnight. I think he was supposed to come while we were still awake, but I'm sure with the weather there was a delay. ;) (We've never done this before so honestly I'm not 100% sure how Sinterklaas works. If you know please let me know in the comments.)
Visit from Sinterklaas
This evening for the 6th day of our 25 Days of Christmas we were going to bake Speculaas Cookies in celebration of the Feast of St. Nicolas. However after a busy and stressful afternoon I was completely exhausted. So change of plans included some hot chocolate with a showing of the original Frosty the Snowman.
I love nights like this <3
My little loves enjoying a quiet evening together :)
Hope you are having fun celebrating the 25 days of Christmas in your house. What have you been doing so far? Or do you have different traditions? I'd love to hear what you do.
My 3 favorite ornaments from my childhood. They used to belong to my grandmother.
For the 5th day of our 25 days of Christmas we put up and decorated our Christmas tree. This day is a huge deal to the kids. It's an all afternoon, into the evening event.
We start off the fun with a little smörgåsbord lunch
Followed with A Charlie Brown Christmas & a few other Holiday programs while I work on the lights.
Then daddy and I put up the tree. I get the lights and beads on just right (or good enough as the case may be)
And then the part the kids have been waiting for all afternoon - the decorations!! Finally :)
She might wanna lay off the eggnog a bit, eh? ;)
Little E really enjoyed examining each and every ornament before hanging them on the tree
Had to be fast to get a picture tonight!
Having fun decorating our tree so pretty :)
They did a beautiful job!
Merry Christmas!
Hope you had a fun weekend with your family too. What did you do this weekend to celebrate the holidays?
Tonight for the 4th day of our 25 days of Christmas we were going to decorate the tree for our activity but both big kids are still gone. They asked us not to decorate the tree without them, so I had to come up with another replacement activity. Tonight I decided on a hand print and foot print reindeer. Evan loved this! He had so much fun making his very own Rudolph.
Inking up his little foot. (the ink wasn't quite as washable as I thought:/)
Very carefully stepping on the paper
One little foot print <3
Sure seems happy to be getting dirty hands ;)
Adding the antlers
Almost finished now
Time for the eyes
The MOST famous reindeer of all!
What did you do with your kids today to celebrate the holidays?
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