hi all

long time no see! first of all, id like to thank izzy for resetting my password as i had completely forgotten what it was. its old age, i tell ya. just kidding!

i suppose i should tell you all what i have been doing for the past year since i've left minti... well...

* i worked... and missed you girls! the work i have been doing wasnt nearly half as exciting as minti

* been on holidays on the trip that i won, plus to sydney in july. i was going to go to the nsw snowfields but it was so cold where i was staying in the outskirts of sydney that i decided not to go!

* my nephew is starting to talk, and it's so cute!! he's very much into play doh, the tellitubbies, and being the centre of attention. i also have a new nephew who the older one calls "wawa" due to the sound the baby makes when he cries.

hope everyone is keeping well, and i hope that 2009 will be a fantastic year for everyone!

As you all know, today is my last day on Minti - much to most of your relief, I'm sure! I bet you'll all have a bit of a party when I leave. Be nice to Izzy!

I woke up this morning realising that it was my final day at Minti - which was both exciting but sad at the same time. I also think it'll be strange not coming back onto Minti every morning for work... it's kind of like my routine.. like eating breakfast in the morning, but now you just skip it!

Thank you everyone for having me and listening to me (sometimes ). Thank you to Clay and Matthew for hiring me (and to them plus Rachel, and our Tech Developers for putting up with me!).

To all my Minti friends, thanks for making my work life fun and very interesting. You know who you are; and I'm glad to get to know you better.

I wish everyone the best in all they do in the future.

Lots of love and all the best,

Angie

I'm not sure if any of you recall that incident where a mum cyber-bullied her daughter's ex-friend on MySpace? (Seriously, how can you stoop that low. That's taking loving parenting way too far )

Good news - the American Federal Court has now indicted the mum. You can read more at BBC News (possibly my last parenting news update ever!)

Harvard Medical School Researchers have found a gene that may be linked to pre-eclampsia, which they hope to research further to create diagnostic tests and early treatment on humans. Apparently rats which were deficient in an enzyme called COMT were found to have developed pre-eclampsia.

I wish everyone on Minti a happy belated Mother's Day!

Thank you to everyone who sent me Happy Mother's Day wishes.

This video is for all the people who love to watch people dance, do Michael Jackson moves... and are Indian!

Great news for those who are HIV+ and are pregnant. According to a study by the University College of London, "infant infection rate of just 1.2% where preventative steps were taken."

"The researchers said it was the first time such low rates of infection had been observed at a population level." Isn't that fantastic?

I know there's a green movement at the moment where we are becoming more consciously aware in trying to save our planet. A good way is to plant trees. But trees can be annoying when they are planted where cars could actually park.

However, did you know that a study in New York just found that having more tree-line streets cut down asthma rates?

According to the news article, "Columbia University researchers found that asthma rates among children aged four and five fell by 25% for every extra 343 trees per square kilometre."

Something we should all be thinking about...

I would like to congratulate Izzy on her new position as the Minti Community Administrator (also sometimes known as the Minti Community Evangelist or Techy Titan - not sure which title Izzy would prefer )

I read that some people think that Izzy has been promoted in regards to the natural progression of  the shields - like when you get Admin status when you get a silver badge with 2 stripes. She has been elevated to true Admin status, and will be an employee of Minti - just like me! I hope that clears up some confusion there.

Once again, congratulations to Izzy for accepting this position on Minti. I wish you all the best in this job.

From the show Britain's Got Talent, here's a human and her dog freestyle dancing. Cool innit?