Nicotine's World of Fun

After spending months at the center of bankruptcy rumors,Lindsay Lohan is now on a “strict” $1,000 shopping limit.

“She shop so much, she would spend all her money,” a Lohan insider tells In Touch Weekly.

It looks like Lilo's attempt at budgeting is already cutting into her shopping addiction, the actress had to place items on layaway during a January 13th trip to American Rag.

“She picked out two dresses and said she would be back tomorrow. It’s because the next day, her limit of $1,000 is restored.”

1. Take a few minutes each day to say I love you.
2. Kiss everyday.
3. Start each day with a kiss and an I love you.
4. End each day with a kiss and an I love you.
5. Plan a monthly overnight/weekend getaway.
6. Take bubble baths together at least once a month.
7. Go out on at least one date a week.
8. Take walks together as often as possible.
9. Give your love a card once a week.
10. Set one day out of each week to do something special and never miss it.
11. Say something sweet to your love every day.
12. Send an e-mail every day.
13. Every night before bed wish your partner sweet dreams.

I hope you would do the Rituals of Love :-) it is really a big help to me and my husband...I think these tips would help a relationship to last and to keep the relationship alive :-)

An online casino is a website which allows you to gamble on the internet.Casino is really a popular game especially when it comes to gambling...It is so much fun and it is so cool because if you win you get some cash.Some people really want to play casino but they do not have the time and the money to go to the casino places,so instead of going there, they just do it online.Playing online is much easier,you just go online and you can play but there are people who do not know how to do it and I would like to recommend this site called online casino, they all have the tools needed.They help players by cutting off the time consumed in filtering almost 3000 online casinos where you can play.Pro360 have a great reviews with trust score,game experiences and bonuses from online casinos including all the American Casinos,these tools are really important when you play online casinos or even online games like online poker,craps,slots and roulette.Each player has its own techniques on playing,graphics,bonus structures and features that is why Pro360 has all these details to help you to have fun,win some money and find less problems.Please visit online casino for more details and do not forget to sign up and get your bonus before you start,it also has all reviews about online casinos.Good luck and have fun playing the casino online!

We will be missing you Heath,May You Rest in Peace!

It's important to remember to take the time to appreciate our partners for the positive impacts they have made in our life...without them our daily travails would feel that bit more difficult and our lives a little more unsatisfied..Let us show husband/wife,boyfriend/girlfriend just how thankful we are...

Here are some reason why I am thankful for my husband.

1. He is my best friend.

2. The sense of security I feel by being with him.

3. He makes me feel beautiful and loved.

4. All the great times we have shared together.

5. When I am with him I never feel alone.

6. The sense of completeness I feel with him.

7. With my husband's support I feel like I can
face or achieve anything.

8. I can be myself around him.

9. He makes me laugh.

10. He loves me for who and what I am.

I am new with this blogging/blogger's world and I was always wondering how my friends get paid for blogging.I found out about this website called Smorty.Smorty is like a bridge that connects between Advertisers and Bloggers.Bloggers could get paid from the Advertisers when they write opinions about the Advertiser's products and posts with links back to the Advertisers site.Do you wanna get paid for blogging?All you have to do is join Smorty,I just did and you must too!Blogging is really great because you can share your thoughts and also get some knowledge from other people but the best thing about it is that you get paid for blogging through Smorty.Blogging and Earning at the same time,isn't that cool?Well,what are you waiting for?Get paid to blog,earn money from blog advertising,be rich,Please Join Smorty now!Good Luck!

#1: Hawaii
Spend a week on the beach, go swimming under a waterfall or relax in the seclusion of your hotel room. Close enough to be our number one destination, but far enough to still feel secluded, Hawaii is a beautiful and exotic cluster of islands each offering a myriad of things to do. Deciding which island to visit or focus your stay on is a breeze with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau website. Get an in-depth look at Hawaii, including virtual tours to help you plan the perfect honeymoon, with the resources available on their web site.
>> go to Go Hawaii

#2: Paris, France
Dine under the city lights, write sidewalk poetry, or visit cultural landmarks. Paris has a little something for everyone, especially for the romantic at heart. For more information about discovering Paris' culinary, historical and nightlife treasures for any budget, visit the Paris Pages.
>> go to Paris Pages

#3: Venice, Italy
Historical treasures abound in this city of canals and palaces. Built on 117 small islands, Venice has some of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is easy to see why romantics rate this city so highly. For more information about visiting this city, or planning your honeymoon, see the sites below.
>> go to Venezia - Official Tourist Site
>> go to Venice Honeymoons

#4: The Bahamas
Linked to some of the world's most mystical folklore, the city of Atlantis and the Fountain of Youth to name a couple, the Bahamas is truly a perfect destination for lovers. With thousands of miles of uninhabited beaches your island paradise vacation awaits! For everything you need to know about planning your visit, see the official tourist site.
>> go to The Island of the Bahamas - Official Tourist Site

#5: Italy
An ideal climate, warm and gracious people, beautiful scenery, exquisite cuisine all combine to make Italy a perfect destination for any romantic vacation. And, if you want to discover the hidden treasures of this beautiful country, we've found the perfect resource for you! The Tourism in Italy website covers everything, and really we mean EVERYTHING, about visiting this country. If your ideal romantic destination includes, Italy, you'll want to visit this site first!
>> go to Tourism In Italy

#6: Jamaica
There are so many ways to enjoy this beautiful island. Take a cruise, visit an all-inclusive resort, or tour the island like a local. The music, the sites, the cuisine... it will all enchant you and leave you with memories you'll never forget. Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean. It hosts exotic wildlife and vegetation, including some species that can only be found there. For planning your visit or discovering hidden destination spots, visit the official tourist site.
>> go to VisitJamaica.com - Official Tourist Site

#7: Las Vegas, Nevada
Visit the city that never sleeps and you won't be disapointed. Amidst luxury resorts, world-class entertainment, divine cuisine and thrilling attractions there is a little something for everyone. The best way to visit this city is with an open itinerary. Just go where the mood takes you. For more information about traveling to Las Vegas, its most romantic hotels and attractions, visit Vegas.com!
>> go to Vegas.com

#8: The Caribbean
Enjoy world class shopping, visit an uninhabited island, spend the day basking in the sun on golden beaches or party all night at carnivals and festivals. Everything you could want in the ultimate romantic vacation can be found within the islands of the Caribbean. For a detailed look of each island in the Caribbean, visit the official tourist site!
>> go to Do It Caribbean! - Official Tourist Site

#9: Europe
When thinking of the perfect honeymoon, why limit yourself to just one country when you can experience the best that Europe has to offer? Start on the south bank of London and take in the summer season of the Elizabethan Shakespeare productions, then head south to Munich to take in the 350 year old Bavarian State Opera. After that you can head to Paris, Holland, Vienna, Switzerland - the choice is yours to customize the honeymoon of your dreams. For a detailed look at each country, visit the official tourist site!
>> go to VisitEurope.com - Official Tourist Site

#10: Ireland
Although last on our list, it is certainly not the least. One user said it best, "The people are the best in the world and there is just so much history in the country. Picture it, you and your new husband strolling amongst stone walls, rolling green pastures, cliffs of dizzying heights, and castles so old and majestic they steal a part of your soul. It doesn't get any more romantic than that." For more information, visit the official tourist site!
>> go to North Ireland Tourist Board

Please follow step by step, God really made this a miracle.


First, show your palm, middle fingers should be bent and put together back to back.
Second, put the 4 fingers left, tip to tip. (As illustrated below)


Now let us begin, follow the instructions below, to find out why among the 5 pairs of fingers only 1 pair cannot split.


Try to open your thumbs:
The thumb represents your parents, because one day as the cycle of life goes, our parents will have to leave us.

Please close up your thumbs.

Open your second finger:
The second finger represents your brothers and sisters, they have their own family or lives to live. As a result they will also leave us. Now close up your second fingers.


Open up your little finger:
This represents your child or the children you are going to have. Sooner or later they too will leave because they too will live their own lives.


Now close your little finger, try to open your fourth finger where we put our wedding rings:

You will be surprised to find out that it cannot open at all. Because it represents husband and wife, you will be attached to each other.

Now, we know why... :)

Eli Manning has arrived, just in time to take his New York Giants on an improbable trip to the Super Bowl.

A suddenly matured Manning guided the Giants to their 10th straight road win Sunday, a frostbitten 23-20 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers for the NFC championship.

Now comes Mission Impossible for Manning and the Giants, who will play the unbeaten New England Patriots in two weeks for the NFL title.

After Lawrence Tynes missed a 36-yard field goal at the end of regulation following a bad snap, he got a reprieve in overtime following Corey Webster's interception of a struggling Brett Favre. He nailed a 47-yarder on his third attempt to win it, then sprinted directly to the locker room as the rest of his frozen teammates celebrated on the field.

The Giants grabbed their first NFC championship in seven years, capping a monthlong surge that reversed a trend of mediocrity built around Manning's inconsistency. He has been a revelation in the playoffs, however, and his calm leadership keyed New York's turnaround.

Manning shook off below-zero temperatures and a wind chill that would make a Siberian husky shiver. He repeatedly put the Giants (13-6) in position to win in the third-coldest championship game ever -- and certainly the most frigid of his young career.

And then he saw Tynes make his first game-winning field goal of the season in the first OT title game in nine years.

It was the second NFC title game to go to overtime. Atlanta beat Minnesota in 30-27 in 1999.

One year after older brother Peyton finally won a Super Bowl, earning MVP honors to boot, here comes Eli.

Just a month ago, Eli's moxie was being questioned as the Giants struggled to clinch a wild-card berth. He responded with the best work of his four-year career, including four touchdown passes in the season finale against the Patriots.

He and the Giants are getting another shot at New England, the first team to go 18-0. The Patriots will be after their fourth Super Bowl title in seven years on Feb. 3 at Glendale, Ariz., as well as the first completely perfect season since Miami went 17-0 in 1972.

But don't discount New York, which led the Patriots by 12 points in the third quarter before falling 38-35 on Dec. 29.

1. The word "queue" is the only word in English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.
2. Of all the words of the English language, the word "set" has the most definitions!
3. What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.
4. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
5. "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.
6. Coca-cola would be green if colouring weren't added to it.
7. There is a city called "Rome" on every continent.
8. Horatio Nelson, one of the England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.
9. The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London.
10. The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean Baptiste transfuse two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man.
11. The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.
12. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian and had only one testicle.
13. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologist and found edible.
14. Months that begins on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th".
15. The aveerage lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.
16. the six official language of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
17. Earth is the only planet not named after a god.
18. It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.
19. The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old.
20. Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not.
21. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!
22. HUman thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
23. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.
24. You hear beats over 100,000 a day!
25. Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!
26. One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet.
27. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
28. Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!
29. You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.
30. The average person laughs 10 times a day!
31. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
32. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
33. A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years.
34. Right handed people live, on average, 9 years longer than left-handed people.
35. More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.
36. Most people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.
37. It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland! (The fact about pet dogs in Iceland is incorrect. However, it is true that an epidemic once killed most of the Icelandic dog population.)
38. Beeetles tastes like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worm like fried bacon.
39. On average, a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.
40. In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
41. A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!
42. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!
43. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds.
44. Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!
45. Slugs have 4 noses.
46. Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.
47. The placement of a donkey's eyes in its head enable it to see all four feet at all times!
48. Owls are the only bird who can see the color blue.
49. Dolphins sleep with one eye open!
50. A giraffe can clean it's ears with its 21-inch tongue.

1. Find Quiet - When we are in great pain,finding true peace and comfort is not easy.But it is possible, if we first try to still our worries and fears, both external and internal.Finding a place where there are no noisy distractions is a great start. Enjoying the outward quiet, we can then calm our inner selves and nurture peace within.
   
2. Just Breathe - The act of breathing is not only a physical process, but it can also be a tool to move our pain, negative thoughts, and worry out of our bodies and hearts, replacing these with a better sense of self. In a quiet place, breathe in slowly and deeply, then let the breath out, expelling stress and pain with it. Feel the sharpness of pain subside as relaxation and calm take its place.
   
3. Listen to Music - A beautiful piece of music can inspire our spirits and soothe our pain like no other sound. It can also help us get in touch with the absolute joy of living, even if we live with severe pain. Put on your favorite piece of music - instrumental or vocal - sit back, and close your eyes. Let the music carry you away from your immediate pain to a place of calm.
   
4. Lose yourself in Prayer - So often when we pray, we ask for relief from our pain and leave it at that. Perhaps more effective when pain is oppressive is lifting up our pain and then resting quietly with the comfort that our concerns are being tended to by One greater that ourselves - and we do not have to take them back again.
   
5. Reflect in Nature - Pain can isolate us and make us feel very much alone. But in reality, we are part of an amazing world. A walk in the outdoors, a glance outside at a garden, a quiet moment with a beloved pet - each of these things can renew our sense of belonging to the world, help us to feel less alone in our pain, and make us grateful for our lives among such wonder.
   
6. Laugh More - Pain itself is no laughing matter, but the act of laughing can be physically and spiritually healing. It helps us breathe deeply, cleanses tense pain from our bodies, gives key muscles beneficial exercise, and lets us travel to an uplifting place of joy. Whether it's a joke, a cartoon, or the antics of a pet, find laughter and enjoy it often!
   
7. Reach out to others - When we are in pain, it can be easy to feel as if no one cares. But there are many in the world who feel the same thing - and we can make a difference in our lives and in others' lives by reaching out in comfort and care. A phone call to a hurting friend, a visit to someone in need, even an email to an online support group - all of these can help us become less isolated, and help others in the process.
   
8. Live in the Light - It's easy for our souls to be flooded with darkness when pain is sharp and overwhelming. We can combat this darkness by bringing on light. The flicker of a candle, the warm glow of one small lamp illuminating a dark room - light can help focus thoughts and bring comfort. Even in the darkness, be conscious of the light all around, and let it guide you to greater calm.
   
9. Take Care of Yourself - Often, there is no cure for what causes our pain. This can make us feel as if our lives are out of control. But the better we take care of ourselves, the more we will feel at least a little control over our circumstances - and our attitude toward pain. Taking time to follow a healthful regimen reflects on our spiritual health, too, and gives us a chance to rise above our pain and feel better - inside and out.
   
10. Never Lose Hope - Each day, there are new developments in medicine and in therapies to ease pain, inside and out. Hope is not just a feeling that things will be better - it is a tangible tool to motivate and guide us through the frustrations that accompany pain into positive actions that can make our lives better now and in the future. Without hope, our spirits wither. With hope, as with the Creator, all things are possible!

" Pangga,I have done a little bit of traveling, mainly where the military has taken and twice where my heart took me to see you in the Philippines. I have never really traveled the United States, but we have made plans on doing so, I'm glad we are doing this though it's a first time for both of us to see a little more around the U.S. We are also going out to visit some good friends of mine that have been waiting to long to meet you and colas, I know this will be something memorable, I look forward to our first family road trip. Take care! Ghigugma Taka Pangga!!! Mwahhhhhh "

1. How long have you been blogging?

- I just started doing it November of last last year...

2. What inspired you to write a blog, and who are your mentors?

- Anna is the one who taught me how to do my page and made one of my blogs,thanks Anna!

3. What are the 3 things that you love about being online?

- Learning new stuff just by checking out other people's blog and searching online...

- Chatting with my friends and family...

- Surfing the net makes the time go by so fast...

4. What are the three things that you struggle with in the online-world?

- When people keep bugging me when I am busy doing something...

- Sometimes when I am downloading some stuff,it makes my computer or connection slow...

- When my connection is down or something that I can't open or see any websites...

Renaldo's song is really getting popular now,it is a great song though...the song has a lesson and meaning,I hope people can see or understand that...Whoever did the re-mix of Renaldo's song did a great job...Goodluck Renaldo!!!

That picture was taken last night....We attended FRG or Family Readiness Group Meeting....It is a group of the Military Soldier and their family...Attending FRG Meetings is really important because it tackles about the soldier's life,preparing family for the deployment and it also let you know the updates of the soldier's work...FRG is also their for support during the deployments...Last night was my second time that attended the meeting since I am just new here...It was great and there was food,too!

Well,I just finished eating my brunch...I had tinolang manok,fried fish and scrambled egg with ampalaya...I am so tired right now,I did not get enough sleep last night and woke up so early today...My son's sick that's why...Last night he could not sleep well because he got cough and congested nose,after my husband gave him medicines I put him to sleep but he kept waking up because he could not breath through his nose,it's really hard so I put vicks on his back,chest and nose and it helped him went to sleep.He woke up so early today and when I felt his skin he got a fever so I gave him medicine so it will not get worse...I cooked early so he can eat,I cooked tinolang manok so he can eat some rice and soup,he never drank his milk last night and did not eat cereals either,I fed him rice and soup,he did not eat that much but at least he ate,I know he do not have an appetite for now because of his cough and cold..I bathe him with warm water after I fed him and now he is just laying down watching his cartoons...I am just waiting for my husband to come home for lunch...I do not know what else to do,well,I guess I am just going to clean our apartment or just vacuum the carpet since I am really tired...Well,until here for now...Have A Nice Day Everyone!!!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Birthplace of Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White, MYRTLE BEACH is a brazen splurge of seaside fun, an unmitigated stretch of commercial development twenty miles down the coast from the North Carolina border at the center of the sixty-mile "Grand Strand." Predominantly a family resort, it's packed fit to burst during mid-term vacations with leering, jeering students in fluorescent beachwear – if you've seen the movie Shag, you'll know what to expect. Fans of crazy golf, water parks, factory outlet malls, funfairs and parasailing will be in heaven, and the beach itself isn't bad. The widest stretch is at North Myrtle Beach, a chain of small communities among which Ocean Drive is the center.

Miami, Florida

Far and away the most exciting city in Florida, MIAMI is a stunning and often intoxicatingly beautiful place. Awash with sunlight-intensified natural colors, there are moments – when the neon-flashed South Beach skyline glows in the warm night and the palm trees sway in the breeze – when a better-looking city is hard to imagine. Even so, people, not climate or landscape, are what make Miami unique. Half of the two million population is Hispanic, the vast majority Cubans. Spanish is the predominant language almost everywhere – in many places it's the only language you'll hear, and you'll be expected to speak at least a few words – and news from Havana, Caracas or Managua frequently gets more attention than the latest word from Washington, DC.

Cancun, Mexico

Cancún is marginally closer to Miami than it is to Mexico City, and if you come on an all-inclusive package tour the place has a lot to offer: striking modern hotels on white-sand beaches; high-class entertainment including parachuting, jet-skiing, scuba-diving and golf; a hectic nightlife; and from here much of the rest of the Yucatán is easily accessible. For the independent traveller, though, it is expensive, and can be frustrating and unwelcoming. You may well be forced to spend the night here, but without pots of money the true pleasures of the place will elude you.

There are, in effect, two quite separate parts to Cancún: the zona commercial downtown – the shopping and residential centre which, as it gets older, is becoming genuinely earthy – and the zona hotelera, a string of hotels and tourist amenities around "Cancún island", actually a narrow strip of sandy land connected to the mainland at each end by causeways. It encloses a huge lagoon, so there's water on both sides.

Kaanapali, Hawaii

There had never been a town at Ka'anapali, just a small plantation wharf served by a short railroad from the sugar mill at Lahaina. What Ka'anapali did have, however, was a superb white-sand beach – far better than anything at Lahaina – backed by a tract of land that was ripe for development and more than twice the size of Waikiki.Ka'anapali is a pretty enough place, with its two rolling golf courses and sunset views of the island of Lanai filling the western horizon, but it's only worth staying here if you know you're happy with the same bland lifestyle you could find at a hundred tropical resorts around the world.

As for Ka'anapali Beach, it's divided into two separate long strands by the forbidding, 300-foot cinder cone of Pu'u Keka'a, known as the Black Rock. The sand shelves away abruptly from both sections, so swimmers soon find themselves in deep water, but bathing is usually safe outside periods of high winter surf. The rugged lava coastline around the Black Rock itself is one of the best snorkeling spots on Maui.

Nonguests of Ka'anapali's hotels are free to use the main beach, but there are also a couple of public beach parks just around the headland to the south. Both Hanaka'o'o and Wahikuli are right alongside Hwy-30; swimming is generally safer at Wahikuli, but the facilities and general ambience are more appealing at Hanaka'o'o.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Stretching for around a dozen miles along the southern coast of Oahu, and home to more than 400,000 people, HONOLULU is by far Hawaii's largest city. As the site of the islands' major airport and of the legendary beaches and skyscrapers of WAIKIKI, it also provides most visitors with their first taste of Hawaii. Many, unfortunately, leave without ever realizing quite how out of keeping it is with the rest of the state.The setting is beautiful, right on the Pacific Ocean and backed by the dramatic pali (cliffs) of the Ko'olau mountains. Downtown Honolulu, centered around a group of administrative buildings that date from the final days of the Hawaiian monarchy, nestles at the foot of the extinct Punchbowl volcano, now a military cemetery. It's a manageable size, and a lot quieter than its glamourous image might suggest. Immediately to the west is livelier Chinatown, while the airport lies four or five miles further west again, just before the sheltered inlet of Pearl Harbor

San Diego, California

Relatively free from smog and byzantine freeways, SAN DIEGO, set around a gracefully curving bay, represents the acceptable face of southern California. The second biggest city in California may be affluent and conservative, but it's also easygoing and far from smug. Although it was the site of the first mission in California, the city only really took off with the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s, and in terms of trade and significance it has long been in the shadow of Los Angeles. However, during World War II the US Navy made San Diego its Pacific Command Center, and the military continues to dominate the local economy, along with tourism.

Boracay Island, Philippines

White Beach, Boracay's biggest tourist attraction, stretches some four kilometers on the western side of the island, mostly within the barangay of Balabag. It is largely because of the pristine, white powdery sand of White Beach and the crystal-clear blue water of the surrounding sea that Boracay is often called "the world's most beautiful tropical island."

Key West, Florida

One more possible 'district' can be found just at the entrance to Key West. It's a small island called Stock Island, reportedly where the islands' cattle and other stock were kept many years ago. Today the 'stock' on Stock Island includes charter boats awaiting fishing fans, boaters and visitors who want to get a look at the crystalline waters that surround the islands. From here, too, you can take a ferry to what might be called another 'district' of Key West, the Dry Tortugas islands, where historic of Fort Jefferson was built. It was once a prison housing Dr. Samuel Mudd, who unknowingly treated John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Civil War President Abraham Lincoln. Mudd spent years alone in this fortress prison. At the city's port, there's an intriguing outdoor-indoor market where you can buy everything from handmade jewelry to hand-rolled cigars. Above it all shines a relentless sun, winding up each day with a festival known as Sunset at Mallory Dock. The daily celebration is viewed by many along with juggler/street-performer/animal-trainer/jewelry-sellers. It is an eclectic gathering at which all and sundry join in a celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—which has an amazing array of definitions here in the nation's southernmost city.

Sydney, Australia

It is as beautiful city like any in the world, with a setting that perhaps only Rio de Janeiro can rival: the water is what makes it so special, and no introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley which twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta River; in the process it washes into a hundred coves and bays, winds around rocky points, flows past the small harbour islands, slips under bridges and laps at the foot of the Opera House. If Sydney is seen at its gleaming best from the deck of a harbour ferry, especially at weekends when the harbour's jagged jaws fill with a flotilla of small vessels, racing yachts and cabin cruisers, it's seen at its most varied in its lively neighbourhoods. Getting away from the city centre and exploring them is an essential part of Sydney's pleasures.It might seem surprising that Sydney is not Australia's capital: the creation of Canberra in 1927 – intended to stem the intense rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne – has not affected the view of many Sydneysiders that their city remains the true capital of Australia, and certainly in many ways it feels like it. The city has a tangible sense of history: the old stone walls and well-worn steps in the backstreets around The Rocks are an evocative reminder that Sydney has more than two hundred years of white history behind it.

Santa Barbara, California

The six-lane coastal freeway that races past oil wells and offshore drilling platforms slows to a leisurely pace a hundred miles north of Los Angeles at SANTA BARBARA. Beautifully sited on gently sloping hills above the Pacific, the town's ubiquitous red-tiled roofs and white stucco walls of its low-rise buildings form a backdrop to some fine Spanish Revival architecture, while the golden beaches are wide and clean, lined by palm trees along a curving bay. Although a large portion of downtown has been replaced by a vast, upscale shopping mall, Santa Barbara has managed to retain its quaintly upscale yet relaxed character.

A family court suspended Britney Spears' visitation rights to her two young sons on Friday after the pop star was hospitalized in a fit of hysterics over their handover to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The Los Angeles court commissioner handling the bitter custody dispute between Spears and Federline suspended the pop star's visitation rights at an emergency court hearing, a court document showed.

The document, first obtained by celebrity Web site TMZ.com, said Spears "visitation with the minor children is suspended pending further order of the court." It added that Federline was awarded "sole legal and physical custody" of the boys. The order is in effect until January 14.

The court order was issued as Spears, 26, spent the day in a Los Angeles hospital, apparently under mental evaluation. She lost custody of the boys in October 2007 but had been allowed court-monitored visits three times a week.

But at the end of their visit on Thursday night, police were called to her Los Angeles home when she refused to hand the boys back to Federline's representatives.

Television pictures showed Spears being taken out of her home on a stretcher and driven to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in an ambulance after a four-hour standoff in which the pop singer reportedly locked herself in a bathroom.

Los Angeles police spokesman Jason Lee said Spears was under the influence of an unknown substance and was being detained and evaluated in the hospital.

UNDER CONSTANT WATCH

Us magazine, citing a source at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Medical Center, said Spears had been designated a "special needs" patient and was under constant watch.

Another source told Us magazine that in the ambulance Spears had to be restrained like a mental patient and she "was going between laughing and hysterics."

Cedars-Sinai declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality.

Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan declined to give details of Friday's closed door court hearing. Kaplan told reporters; "I am not happy about anything that has happened recently. There are no winners right now.

Spear's mother Lynne told Access Hollywood: "Just say prayers."

Spears lost primary custody of Sean Preston, 2 and Jayden James, 1, to Federline after her life spun out of control following their divorce, her stints in rehab, a bizarre head-shaving episode and reports of drinking and drug use.

She is currently undergoing court-ordered random drug and alcohol tests and parenting lessons.

Spears became a teen pop phenomenon nine years ago. She made her musical comeback in October with a new single, "Gimme More," and an album, "Blackout," that played strongly on radio and digital download charts and briefly hit No. 2 on the U.S. pop album charts.