Catching up....

On Valentine's day hubby and I took a lovely walk around the neighbourhood. The owner of the property not far from us has been doing a lot of clearing. I think he is thinking of selling the land in parcels. Some of the area in which he has cleared has the most wonderful view of the water and the local islands and the coastal mountain range. I am sure whoever the lucky person(s) are who buy the property will enjoy the wonderful view.
While walking in the cleared area we noticed some of the local vegetation.....this really caught my eye.....At first I thought is was frost on a twig.....but after a closer look....it appears to be some kind of fungus....what do you think?


I found this very intriguing....how these two trees of different species intertwined. As our walk took place on Valentine's day the first thing that came to mind was even in nature opposites can attrack. Then is got me thinking even further.... if nature can find harmony and compatibility in difference what is wrong with the human race?

We made our way home. Hubby and I had no special plans for Valentine's day, but I couldn't let it go by without making a special something for us to enjoy...It's called Strawberry Cream Cake

I got a little messy with the Belgian chocolate....but boy was it yummy......

Now onto a completely different note. As most of you know I am into birding. Over the past couple of years I have shared photos of birds that I have spotted in my travels. Today was no exception in the bird spotting category. With spring just around the corner the birds have been abundant. So while I was clicking away with my camera it dawned on me that maybe I should start a blog on birding. So that is exactly what I did. The link to it is on my sidebar...but here is it as well....it's called The Amateur Birder. I have met many of my blogging friends as a result of birding. What I am hoping to acheive with this blog is that it would be used by amateur birders like myself to share birds that we have seen....their antics and the likes. I figure there are some wonderful people with a lot of resources out there and we can share our love for birds. So please stop by my new blog....let me know if you like to bird and if you have photos to share or questions to ask.....I am hoping this blog will be used to talk about anything to do with birding.

I hope you will join me in the fun.

A poem for you....

Another week beginning, Lord, Another page to turn, another chance to start a new With Lessons still to learn, A time to lose all last week's fears And leave them all behind, To look for bright horizons, Lord, And find new peace of mind. Then going forward through the week Whatever lies in store, Be with us on the path we tread, And keep us safe once more.

by ~ Iris Hesselden~

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! Stay safe and be good to yourself!

Cheers!

Sunday Camera Critters

We were out fishing last summer, and hoping to catch some salmon. All we seemed to catch were theses "Dog fish" actually they are part of the shark family. This is youngest son holding his catch of the day.

If you would like to play along please check out Misty's Musings at My Dog's Keep Me Sane
Hope you all are have a great weekend!

Something to Celebrate

I received this award the other day from my dear blogging friend Peppylady.

It's her "Encouragement Award" Whenever Peppylady visits a blog she ends her comments by saying "Coffee's on". Peppylady says this award represents the encouragement people provide her and that the coffee is on and are ready to listen, encourage and even advise.
Thank you so much Peppylady. Again this is a very hard award to pass along as I would say all bloggers who leave comments are leaving comments of encouragement or good will....but in the spirit of the award I would love to pass this along to:

Jeni at Down River Drivel
Claudia at On A Limb with Claudia
Grandmocha at In the MIddle~Mad Hatter

It was also Peppylady's Birthday yesterday....so if you get a chance stop on over and see who she shares her birthday with.

That gave me an idea.....What do all these people and I have in common?


1922 Shelly Winters (actress)

1933 Roman Polanski (film director)

1936 Robert Redford (actor)

1954 Patrick Swayze (actor)

1957 Denis Leary (actor, comedian)

1958 Madeleine Stowe (actress)

1969 Masta Killa (rapper)

1969 Edward Norton (actor)

1969 Christian Slater (actor)


On This Day In History:

1920 The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is ratified.

1991 Soviet hard-liners launch a coup to topple the government of the vacationing President Mikhail Gorbachev.

1227 Genghis Khan, Mongol leader and warrior, dies.

1994 Blues singer Cab Calloway dies of a stroke at age 86.

Hope you all have a fantastic Day!

The single Letter name..........

The other day I wrote about insurance companies and how I don't like them. The unfortunate thing is I do have a policy that I am currently trying to make a claim on and as a result I have to correspond with them.

I recieved correspondence from my case manager last week and I don't know if this person was trying to stay anonymous or if their actual last name is only one letter name. This person signed the letter with just a single letter....i.e Mr. Kevin G. My question to myself was is this for real or as I said are they trying to remain somewhat anonymous. The reason I wondered that is because you never get to speak to these case managers directly. I have to go through the bank that I have the insurance with and they look things up on the computer to see where the file is at. I am not given a telephone number or possibly of a last name of the person who is handling my file. Seems a tad odd don't you think?

It got me thinking, are there really names out there, whether it be a first name or last name that actually are only one letter? I did some checking and I still don't think I understand or got answers.

Looks like the most common use for single use letter names is for bands in the music industry. In my search I also came across a blogger who was posting on a similar topic and had taken offense to people abbreviating names by using single letters and hence felt those individuals had lost their identity. Of course one of the respondents to this person post stated that their first name was indeed a single letter name. This then reminded me of my brother. When he was a real estate business he shortened his last name to a one letter name. He said he did it because so many people had difficulties saying the last name so he thought it would be easier if he just gave them his first name and the first letter of his last name...it did have a catchy tone to it and I guess in the real estate industry you want to do anything positive that will make you stand out from the competition.

But I wonder, do you really think that is what this is about that people want their name to sound catchy or do they really just want to stay anonymous? I can understand abbreviations and single letter use in arenas such as this but when sending out a professional letter and only use a single letter for your last name just seems odd to me.

I ended up writing a letter to Mr. G and all the while I felt it odd that I was addressing this individual in this manner.

Update on this post....I wrote this post yesterday before I got my mail....can you guess what arrived in the mail? I'll tell you. I got another letter from the insurance company from a completely different case manager. T his person like Mr. G signed their letter using their first name and initial for their last name. It makes me wonder what is going on with this company that they find it necessary to have such a policy? Are times that rough that the company has adopted such a protocol for their staff to stay anonymous? How very odd and sad. Doesn't give me much confidence in this company.

Reality TV....what's it all about ?

Do any of you watch Reality TV? Shows like John and Kate plus 8, or the Dugger Family a family of soon to be 18, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Bachelor, The House or Little People Big World and the list goes on.

Well I have to admit that on occasion I have been known to watch John & Kate plus 8....I guess I watched as I was intrigued wondering what it would be like to raise never mind twins but multiples in their case 6 plus their twin daughters. After watching one episode I found it really wasn't that much different from raising children who are close in age. Yes lots of extra laundry and tears to wipe and scratched knees to put a band aid on....but really it is pretty much the same.

So what is the attraction to all this Reality TV? I know there has been research done on this and obviously their is a market for it as more and more Reality shows are popping every season. The latest being about Jockey's. Again what is it...what draws us to a Tuesday night to sit down in front of the television and watch such programs? Are our own lives so boring that we need to look in on someones so called life? Are we that bored and need to watch such mindless drivel?

Some of the show I find an insult to our intelligence and members of the cast should apologize to the public for their displays of bad behaviour. I'm talking about The Real Housewives of Orange County here.... What is so real about these over Botoxed, Cosmetically altered women? I have only seen the adds for the show and that is enough for me to know that it's not a program for me. What do I care about watching some rich spoilt women gallivanting around the country going to the spa, drinking their bubbly and talking trash about each other. No thank you there are some great Documentaries out there that I would far rather watch. Better yet read a book.

So this is what we have been relegated .... so called Reality TV. First thing I ask myself is how real is this....Do you really think their lives are like that? I don't want to believe that some people can be that rude, ignorant or egocentric...but I guess they must be.

What is the attraction to shows like the Bachelor or Bachelorette? Why do I give a hoot as to who this person marries? Why does air time have to be wasted on watching someone have a so called intimate dinner with their possible future husband or wife....why...why are we drawn to this?

Let's take the Dugger family for instance...again I haven't watched the show only the advertisements. Yes that is a very large family....something they choose to do....I too grew up in a large family of 12 children....most of my friends came from large families albeit it not 18 but 14...so why is there a program about them? Families can and do amazing things. When you have large families everyone has to pitch in, everyone has chores....grocery shopping was an all day affair for my mom....she would do the major shopping at the grocery store and then her and my dad would go to the bakery often buying the day old bread and then off to the butcher where they would get the hamburger meat the chicken necks and backs and maybe a roast for Sunday dinner. I don't recall there being anything special about doing what you had to do to raise your family. Yes I thought my parents were extraordinary people to provide for us the way they did, but was it TV worthy? I don't know.

If you really want reality TV why aren't those producers out there with the cameras and just filming what goes on in the streets everyday.....do they witness an act of kindness...do they observe an accident....do they see someone just stopping to lend a helping hand.....Reality TV as I understand it is to be non scripted....but I can't believe that some parts of it aren't. How natural are you going to be with a camera following you around all day? Here's the true test....put a hidden camera in someones home for a day...or a restaurant...or a bank.....film the goings on in that environment for a day....see what happens.

If you want reality look at yourself....look at all the amazing things you have accomplished in your life. Look at the adversities you have overcome. Take a good look around you and see the wonderful circle of family and friends you have...that didn't just happen...YOU made it happen...that is reality.

Insurance a false sense of security......

How many of you have been talked into buying those extended warranties? You know the ones when you go to Future Shop or Best Buy and you purchase some electronic and they want to you get the extended warranty....or you go and purchase an appliance and again they want you to purchase the extended warranty, and what about those one's on vehicles, now those can cost you. When I bought my Mustang it was practically new, they talked me into purchasing the extended warranty...what a goof I was, it cost me an additional $3500 for that insurance and I never used it.
Back to the salesperson who first off tries to sell you the most expensive item in the product line for which you are purchasing...you finally decide what it is you want and then of course they use the pitch on the extended warranty. I actually had a sales person try and sell me an extended warranty on a chair I bought for my husband. Can you believe it! I know these sales people make most of their money on selling the extended warranties but really it's just not right.

I am told that all products have a shelf life or life expectancy....how long a product is estimated to last. Personally I think the product should last that..and if it doesn't the manufacturer should be responsible for either replacing or repairing the product. It should also be affordable that if the product does only last the predicted life time then it's not going to cost you an arm and leg to replace it.

Now let's talk about life insurance, home insurance, mortgage insurance and health insurance. Again I am finding it to be a bunch of crap.

I got my first life insurance policy when I was 24 it was shortly after I had my first pacemaker and my first daughter had been born. I had my life insurance policy with this company up until last year, when it came time for my renewal. I went to renew and right out of the blue they cancelled my policy because they said I "lied" about my pacemaker. I was shocked. The only reason I went to this company was because I knew they provided policies for people who had pacemakers. So why would I lie. I had a very thorough physical way back when I applied for the policy...I completed all the forms, I couldn't believe what was happening. I spoke with the broker who I maintained contact with all these years and he said he would do what he could....he spoke with them....we wrote letters...but they were having nothing to do with it. So there I was with no life insurance...now what am I going to do. We found another policy holder...it is costing me triple of what I was paying...and has a lot more limitations. The life insurance policy does nothing for me, when your dead your dead. It is however giving me peace of mind that if I were to die tomorrow at least I know I would have left something for my hubby and family.

Personally I wouldn't have gone for the life insurance....but when I went for mortgage insurance they turned me down. Again I was shocked. I was turned down because of my pacemaker and colitis...I am considered a high risk. High risk....bull s..t. I run regularly, I am not over weight, I don't have hypertension or cholesterol issues...none of the risk factors which would normally be considered. So as a result I went to increase my life insurance policy and that is how the whole mess with the life insurance started.

I have home insurance coverage....but right now as it stands it would be void as it says we don't have a wood burning fireplace, but we do....we always have....I have personally been to the agent on three occasions to get this changed but it hasn't happened....I know I have to pursue that more.

I have a loan that I got an insurance policy on in case of injury/illness. I went to go make a claim on this policy this past month......again they are making me jump through hoops to get them to pay up for the loan( and this is not asking them to pay out the loan it's only asking that they pay the monthly loan). I am still paying the loan....I just wanted it covered while I was off on sick leave....chances are it won't get covered by the time I go back to work....it's been useless. You see I couldn't even claim for it until I had been off work for 6 weeks then of course all the medical forms have to be completed by myself and my doctor...which I had done....but no...they send me and my doctor more letters telling us about all these restrictions and how they want more information...like I said by the time I get this approved...if I do get it approved....I will be back at work and won't need it.

Health care, in Canada we have universal health care. What the means is if you have to have surgery you can have the surgery...there is no such thing as an HMO dictating your treatment. Most employers offer health benefit packages which often includes not only health coverage, but extended health(prescriptions, glasses,massage therapy, and chiropractor just to name a few)dental and long term disability insurance. Now if your employer does not offer this or if you are a retiree you still can get the basic provincial health insurance which again covers any doctors visit, hospitalization, surgeries and the likes. If you can't afford the provincial premiums then there are systems in place where the government would pay for such services. But you would have to prove eligibility for such services. Which I think is only right.

So, I talked to my brother who is an insurance adjuster about the whole insurance thing. He said to me that insurance companies are not out there to pay your claims or make our lives easier....they are out there to make money...and you making a claims takes money away...so of course they are going to do whatever they can not to pay out on a claim.

So let me recap this....I have life insurance which is very restrictive..and I truly wonder if I were to die tomorrow if my hubby would be able to get anything....but that would be a battle he would have to fight. The house insurance as it stands isn't worth the paper it is drawn up on because we have a wood burning fireplace and the loan insurance company is already giving me the run around. To me insurance is truly a scam in the greatest sense of the word and yet it is consider acceptable and prudent. But that has been falsely fed to us by the insurance companies.

I have fed into this insurance scam and allowed them to provide me with a false sense of security, that they will be there when you need them.

When I was looking for pictures to coincide with this post I came across this one cartoon...it was a picture of the insurance agent on the one side of the desk and two snowmen on the other the caption said "Are you prepared if one of you melts" That was just the icing on the cake.

Goals.....

" When we remember that life is a process, it helps us put our goal-setting in perspective. The purpose of setting goals is to give us a temporary structure in which to operate. Unfortunately, when we begin to believe that the structure is solid and real, we lose touch wit the process of getting there. This is why we often feel so depressed and let down when we reach our goals. We have not let ourselves enjoy the experience of that journey, and when we reach the end, we have missed the journey.
Being in the present allows us to experience the journey, and to respond to the process of the journey. When we operate this way, we see that all goals are just temporary ideas that change as we draw near to them."

Each Day is a journey. Each day is a process

~Anne Wilson Schaef~

I have often used those phrases "life is a process" and "this is my journey". Although I mean those words when I say them, like Anne says I tend to lose touch with the enjoyment of the journey.

I am a very goal orientated person. I have always enjoyed projects and assignments whatever it might be. Unfortunately, I looked to the end product to give me my reward and not appreciate the hard work and effort and the process in getting there. I missed the journey.

I am fortunate that I recognize this and have an opportunity to change. I want to slow down to enjoy the process and ultimately the journey. I am the captain of this ship and I guide it's course...it's time to enjoy the course in which I'm am charting.

Ramblings.....

I started writing this post at 0420 this morning. I had been awake since 0230.... my mind was very active thinking about many things. I stayed up until 11pm last night I wasn't tired but I knew it was going to be a long day today so I thought I should try and get some sleep. I had a bad dream....which partially had to do with a program I had watched on TV last evening.

Have any of you ever watched that program Intervention? It's about people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, food whatever....but it's where the addiction has taken over their lives and the families have requested that an Interventionist steps in and helps the family see how they can help their loved one. The Interventionists points out to the families who their behaviours at times enables the addicts behaviours. The purpose of the program is to get the addict to agree to an intervention by way of getting treatment for their addiction. I watched back to back episodes. The first two shows dealt with people who were addicted to alcohol. The one man was in very bad shape. Being a nurse I have seen patients like him to many times to count. This man was so far along...you could see the tremors, the vomiting, the perspiration as it dripped down his face....his shear sense of anxiety and need to get another drink. It was very sad to watch. In the end these people did take the intervention....some people are successful some are not.

Another episode was giving updates on previous interventions....one was for a gal who was addicted to methamphetamine and the other was killing himself with food. Both of them had underlying issues regarding their sexuality and their families refusal to accept it.

The individual who was addicted to methamphetamine came from a profoundly religious family. She was a top notch athlete in the running for the Olympics. What I found disturbing in this episode was when the mother said that her daughters sexuality was demonic. I truly could not believe I was hearing this woman say this about her daughter. The father wasn't much better...they were making it sound that she was intentionally being gay to hurt them. Although I believe the parents thought they were speaking out of love for their daughter I found both their comments to be terribly hurtful and detrimental towards the daughter's well being. In fact it made me wonder if she possibly sought out the drugs as a way to escape and hide from the pain caused by her parents beliefs. There was a lot more to this episode than I am sharing here, but what stood in my mind was as parents we sometimes don't realize the effects our behaviours, actions and comments have on our children.

The reason I mention this is that last evening my middle daughter called me...I could tell she was upset....and I asked her what was wrong and she immediately broke down in tears.

You see back in September she started off on a new career path in the safety field as a Safety officer for construction sites. Now there is a lot of rules and regulations that govern jobs like these and having to be the enforcer of these regulations can be stressful. The soul purpose of her job is to ensure the employees that she is responsible for stay safe. In order to achieve this it is essential she ensure to the best of her ability that the standards are being met. This can be a daunting tasks especially when it is compounded with the fact that she is female working in a predominately male environment. She is knew to the site and has the responsibilty of telling someone who has been there for 15 years that they are not following protocol...not an easy task. As a result she has had to deal with the jeers and the derogatory comments...not a job for the meek and timid which I might add she is not. I tried to explain to her she is not there to make friends....she is there to make sure the workers are safe and that no one gets injured on her shift. If that makes her unpopular then so be it...chances are that reinforces that fact that she is doing her job. There have been times when she could have shut the site down but she didn't...instead she went the extra mile and did what it took to make it safe and to try to minimize the work stoppage.

So needless to say she is stressed. Yesterday she cut herself on a rusty piece of metal so she went to the First Aid and was going to write up the incident. The Superintendent at the sight didn't want her to write it up...told her to go pour some peroxide on it and put a band aid on it....now you know if I was at home...I most probably would have done that. But this is a job sight...it is the expectation that she follow protocol complete the necessary documents and seek medical aid. Setting standards can sometimes come with a price. You often make enemies and are not popular. Yesterday was no exception. She knew what she had to do. She also knew she had to get a tetanus shot. So when she called me it was around dinner time her work day was complete. She was on the bus on the way to the clinic to go get a tetanus shot. She was telling me that she really hated what she was doing. That she didn't want to do it anymore, that the only reason she was continuing was because she didn't want to let her father or I down. That broke my heart. I told I truly didn't care what it was she did as long as she was happy. I have not only said this to her in the past but I have said it to her siblings, and I stand by what I said. I don't care if she or her sisters bus tables for the rest of their lives as long as they are the best bus person they can be and enjoy what they are doing. You know what she told me, she said "Mom, I want to be a cop.....I am going to a recruitment session on Saturday" All kinds of pictures go flashing throuh my head. My daughter the Police officer, oh alrighty then,now my heart skips a beat.

Camera Critters #40

With winter strongly wrapped around most of the country with flooding on the Westcoast and snow storms on the Eastcoast, I thought it would be nice to show a little Spring. This picture was taken from my front window last spring. I was looking out my window when what should arrive at my flower box but this beautiful Butterfly. I wish I knew the name of this butterfly, do you?

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out Misty's Musings

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This week's theme is "Aftermath". I wasn't sure what to post for this theme until I had viewed some other blogs and realized that I might have something that would do. Back in 2006 we had the worst wind storms I have ever experienced in my life. Power was out for a week. Winds got up to 120km/hr....you've heard of white out conditions well we had what I called green out conditions...the roads were covered with trees and their debris...a four lane highway was down to one lane.....I had to drive to work that evening...it was the most frightening drive of my life....power lines falling down around you....swerving to miss flying branches.....Vancouver's Stanley Park was hit hard as well and lost thousands of trees.....the park is still recovering.....

Here's a glimpse of what happened at our place. My husband had some of those tent shelters....not anymore...we also lost some very large trees....Our driveway was blocked and we had to get the chain saw out to make a path to get through....We are very prone to high winds where I live and in the fall and winter months you expect to have a least one black out a week.....

If you would like to join in on the photo hunt please check out tnchick for all the instructions.

Let's get real.....

So I have really been trying to take every one's advice and just lay low and relax and heal. So I have read a few books and a text book for work, and done a lot of television watching....something I don't do a whole heck of a lot of.

Wow is day time TV full of crap or what.....You've got your Jerry Springer who's guests are always fighting with each other on stage...we see way to much flesh and at times it's beyond obscene...then you have Maury Povich....who dedicates most of his shows on teen pregnancy and who's your daddy...lie detectors and so on....throw into the mix all those Judge Murphy and Judge Joe and the likes....and of course let's not forget those home decorating shows...telling you how to decorate and drop an easy $1000 on some faux throw or something...or better yet what about shows like What not to wear? Dear god who died and made these two hosts the guru's for fashion....have you seen what they wear sometimes? Then there is the reality TV shows...now that is when it gets really interesting......The nanny, or Wife Swap....I ask you who on this planet would want to up lift their lives and go live with some strange family for a couple of weeks who's morals and cultural beliefs are so opposing to you own? Or what about that show...oh what is it called? hmmmm let me think....oh yeah it's something about all these California housewives...who all act like they are in their teens, behave worse than some toddlers and live off of their husbands fortunes and spend their days at spas, shopping and having body augmentation.....oh my goodness.....reality TV really really sucks!!!! Bring on the books.

Then if the programming isn't bad enough you get inundated with really bad commercials...and again I have found that day time commercials to be far worse then evening.... and are certainly geered towards a certain market. The female market... and based on the commercials I gather they think all stay at home mom's are obsessed with either wanting to lose weight, clean windows with the latest cleaners...or wash floors with some fancy shmancy floor cleaner and mop. But for me.....nothing burns my twizzlers more than commercials that keep telling us about losing weight.


Especially this time of year....just after the holidays....telling us to lose those extra pounds...blah blah blah....Ok I know we all need to be accountable for living healthy life styles and making good life choices. So where am I going with this you might ask. Well I was watching a Special K commercial today....and well it made me mad.....now it's not the first time I have watched this commercial....oh no....I have seen it a few times...and the more I watched it the more infuriated I got about it. It's a woman and her daughter playing outside...running around a snowman that they have just finished making....note I mentioned they were already outdoors doing something active. The mom is wearing a white coat, red scarf, hat and mittens. The young daughter pipes up and say something along the lines that her mom looks like the snowman.....at first I thought well yeah...they are dressed similar...but that to me is where it ends. The Special K folks want us to think that mom is over weight and needs to lose some weight...the next scene they show mom in the kitchen eating a bowel of Special K.....mom by no means was over weight.....

As I said it infuriated me...I thought what kind of images are they sending our daughters and other women.....So being the person that I am I felt that I needed to write a letter. So I went onto the web and found both the Canadian and US advertising and marketing representatives...and sent off an email explaining my displeasure with this particular advertisement. Now I don't know if it will get me anywhere....but I couldn't just sit by and say nothing. It was important to me to let them know I found this particular commercial in poor taste. One of the things I suggested they look at when they do commercials like this was to look at the persons BMI(body mass index)which is used to determine if someone is truly over weight. As I said the woman they had portrayed in the commercial was by no means overweight...and I just didn't understand what message they where trying to send.

So what I am saying here....couple of things...there's a lot of bad daytime tv out there....that portrays women in a bad light....and as an individual if I find something offensive then I need to speak up....I maybe only one voice....but one voice is better than no voice.

Have a great day....and might I suggest you pick up a good book or puzzle or better yet get out for a walk if possible...and turn off the TV. Cheers all?

Humor Thursday

A few people have asked me how I am coming along post surgery. My answer honestly would be slower than I had hoped. My chests from my sternotomy still is very uncomfortable......my old pacemaker site is uncomfortable as they did a lot of scar tissue removal and it required retention sutures to keep it closed...now that those are out....it pulls and burns at times....but I know that is just the nerve endings.....the left side of my chest where my new pacemaker was implanted seems to be healing well..but because it is NEW it takes longer to heal. I am getting a cold.....now if there are any of you out there who has ever had broken ribs or a sternotomy you will know what I mean. Sneezing and coughing and blowing your nose can be very uncomfortable. Last night hubby set up my vaporizer with some Vick's rub in it... he had me take some god awful cough syrup and a hot cold medication drink......well it did help me sleep for a bit, but moving in bed is challenging. I am still doing my daily walks...and trying to stay active as possible....some days it's just a couch day.

Hence my mood is not the greatest....and so I thought I would bring on some humour today to help pick me up....and maybe put a smile on some of your faces.....Have a great day!!!

Van Gogh Ear Award.....

This is the Van Gogh's Ear Award as created by Roger of Idaho Photo This is what he wrote about the Van Gogh's Ear Award:


"Every year I like to make up a award and hand it out to people that make a difference in the blogsphere. I like to make it a award for all to enjoy and pass out if one so wants to, I just ask if your going to give it out to link back to me as the creator of the Van Gogh's Ear Award."


Inspiration of the Van Gogh's Ear Award


"You may know the story of Vincent Van Gogh a well known artist in history. Although a brilliant painter in his later years went quite insane he received the nickname of fou roux ("the redheaded madman"). The most bazaar of Vincent's behavior is when he cut off the lower part of his own left ear lobe, which he wrapped in newspaper and gave to a prostitute named Rachel in the local brothel, asking her to "keep this object carefully. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide July 29, 1890 he was 37 years old. His works of art are priceless."

The point of this award

"We are all artist in are own way be it art, photography, writing, philosophy, comedy, blogging and we all go a little crazy sometimes. But if you ever feel so crazy to cut off your ear and give it to a prostitute 'Seek Help'!"

This award was given to me by my dear blogging friend Akelamalu. When I was telling her that although I appreciated the award it struck me as funny how it was titled Van Gogh. You see ever since my surgery I had explained to people that the scars on my chest reminded me of a very bad Van Gogh painting and that the surgeon got a little scissor happy....and then what should happen I get this award.

Anyhow, I am very honoured to accept this award.....and I would like to pass this along.....


Cathy at Cathy's Place
Jeni at Down River Drivel
Michele at Rocky Mountain retreat

Sunday Critters #39

Gosh I haven't participated in this one for a long time.....being the bird lover that I am I think this week's entry will be of a the Blue Heron I took at the bay down the road from me.....

If you would like to join in on the fun....please check out..... Misty's Musings for all of the instructions.

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

The first photo hunt for 2009 and the theme is "Hope"....seems kind of appropriate don't you think....when I first saw the theme I thought what kind of picture(s) do I have that would reflect such a theme...so I just looked at pictures I took this past fall and December and this is what I came up with......I'd hoped that all the canning I did this fall turned out....so far most of it did.....the pickles didn't...not sure what I did wrong....

I hoped that my daughter enjoyed her 16th birthday and all the wonderful gifts that she got....

I hoped that the snow would stop falling so my girls would be able to make it home for Christmas ...and it did

My eldest daughter hoping that her mince tarts would turn out....and they did!

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out tnchick for all of the instructions.

Here's "Hoping" you have a fantastic day!!!!

The New Year ahead......

The New Year has begun....and I was a tad disappointed.....actually allot disappointed. It snowed New Years Eve and when I got up yesterday morning it was still snowing. So what does this mean....it meant I wasn't going to be able to do the Polar Bear swim. I was pissed at the weather and at myself. I really wanted to do it.....but I realized that it would be fool hearted of me to think that I would be able to make it across the rocky shore...now partly covered with snow. I also realized that I wouldn't be able to tread water so again that would be foolish of me. I recognized that.

I started to think about all those wonderful people in this world that have had dreams and were faced with what some would say insurmountable odds....but through those challenges they persevered and made their dream come true. I wanted to be one of those people....not necessarily on the grand scale....just my scale....I feel I let myself down and for that I am pissed. If I had put more thought into it there could have been a way to make the Polar bear swim happen....For example if I had put on a life jacket I wouldn't have had to worry so much about treading water with my arms...my legs would have done well enough...and if I had the helping hand of my hubby or friend to just help me get to the waters edge I could have walked into the water.....there could have been a way....I just didn't think about it enough.

I am a goal orientated person, I have said this before....and for not being able to reach the first goal I had set for myself for the New Year really put a stinger in my mood for the beginning of 2009. It's important to me to make some positive changes happen in my life for this year....and only I can make them happen. I am sure there will many factors and challenges in front of me that will try to tell me it's not achievable or try to convince me I am reaching beyond the stars....but I am tired of letting it just be....I am tired of accepting things just because they appear to hard or insurmountable....not this year....this year I am going to strive to reach the goals, and as I do I will happily strike them off of my list. Some people may now consider these kind of lists as their "Bucket List".

I was reading an article the other day in Reader's Digest and it was about procrastination. When I think of procrastination I think about people myself included who sometimes are fearful of taking the next step....whatever that step might be. I read their list on how to try to over come procrastination....some of the strategies I tried through out my life....the biggest one of course is making the lists.... At the end of each day you would review your list...see what you accomplished...scratch it off....add more things...make adjustments...and get ready for the next day. I love the idea of lists as it gives me something concrete. Something that I can look at and say "hey I did that today" These daily lists don't have to be earth shattering....but they can be small things that lead up to something big that you want to achieve. Yes lists work for me...the most important thing to remember is to reward myself. Yes that is what they say we need to acknowledge our accomplishments in a positive way.This photo is of the Search and Rescue boat out in Cox Bay on the West Coast of Vancouver Island....this photo to me epitomizes challenges we are faced with in our lives...we have to face the storms...we must challenge ourselves.

What ever your dreams, desires, wishes, hopes or goals are for the coming year and the next....I wish you much success in achieving them.

~Each day is a journey. Each day is a process~ Anne Wilson Schaef

The hush after the storm.......

I don't like to think of my girls visits as a whirl wind storm....but sometimes it is. They are very rambunctious, full of life...and well the activity around here never seems to stop.

My girls and their friend went home today. There is an eerie hush in my house....Bert is wondering around wondering were everyone went. The only reminder that they were here is the mountain of laundry left behind.

Yes....all the bed linens, and towels that need to be washed. Funny thing is, I just did 4 loads of laundry yesterday. I forgot how much laundry needs to be done when you have a houseful of people. I remember the days when the girls were little....I would do a couple of loads of laundry every day....now I am lucky(or unlucky however you want to look at it) if I do one every other day.....Then there are the dishes....I don't think my dishwasher has had so much use since their last visit Oh and then there are the showers and baths.....I can only imagine my hydro bill next month. Ah, but it is all worth it in the end.

It's been enough.....enough Christmas, enough celebrations....I need to rest. I have overdone it....my girls were very helpful...but they don't know where everything is, or where things should go...you know what I mean....you see things in your house that others don't. Anyhow, there has been a lot of activity around here.

Yesterday brought more snow....the girls were to go home....but that didn't happen. So the girls and hubby decided they were going to go out on the quad and have some fun. First they hooked up a tube with a long rope and got dragged by the quad....then if that wasn't enough they decided they wanted to try and ski behind the quad....yup you got it.....Quad skiing....who knows maybe it will become a winter Olympic sport. Middle daughter took footage of hubby and their friend trying their hand at this sport...it was hilarious. The skis would get stuck in the ruts in the road...and well lets say there were some interesting landings.....the not so graceful kind. Eldest daughter has a few choice bruises to show for her efforts. The flying into snow banks did not seem to deter any of them. After a few hours of this they all came in with rosy cheeks and sore bodies but still laughing.

It will be a quite New Years Eve for hubby and I.....and I am ok with that. Eldest daughter thought that she might come back for New Years...but I suggested she stay on the mainland with her friends for a couple of days and then come back. I think she is going to take me up on that suggestion. I think she is a little home sick for her friends. New Years day I am hoping I will be strong enough to do the Polar Bear swim....not sure about that...but I will let you all know if I do.

A year in review Meme......

I was tagged for this meme by Peppylady it's called "The first sentence Meme" I like to call it a year in review. You see you take the first sentence from the first post you made for each month over the past year. It was kind of fun. I didn't realize all the different things I had done over this past year....from a Polar bear swim, shoulder injury, to weddings, travelling to the interior to see friends,getting a new job, boating, many visits from family and friends, to having surgery....yes it has been a very full year and then some. I'm not going to tag anyone...but if you would like to play please do....but let me know if you do so I can come on over to read about your year in review.

January 2008 1st sentence of first post......."Well here we are January 1st 2008 the beginning of a new year and my 2nd Polar Bear swim."

February 2008 1st sentence of first post for that month........"Is anyone else having problems with Blogger? I can't seem to get my spell check or the uploading of pictures to work either yesterday or this morning......Urgh!"

I actually liked the other parts of that post when I was talking about pictures mysteriously falling....

March 2008 1 st sentence(albeit a run on sentence)of first post for the month......"This weeks theme is PARTY....oh my goodness I feel like I should be putting up banners...maybe I might...who doesn't like a good Party......growing up in a family of 12 children there was always a party, birthday parties, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, valentines parties, St. Paddy's day parties...you get the idea......we celebrated everything....oh the parties we use to have...and still do....... so when I started looking through old photos I noticed a theme..it would appear that I certainly liked parties from an early stage....I certainly liked to wear Party hats.....yes party hats....so here is my take on the theme of Party......

April 2008 1 st sentence of the first post for the month........"Well I haven't been around for a couple of days...not much to post about.."
.
May 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month......"Another week has begun....my gosh how time flies...

June 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month...."We made our way home from Kamloops via the Coquihalla Highway,the scenery is very different from the Fraser Canyon route"

July 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month..."I'm am sure we have all heard remakes of songs.

August 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month...."I finished at my old job on Saturday morning and I started a week of holidays!

September 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month......"This past weekend hubby and I had the pleasure of traveling to the mainland to participate in my nieces’
wedding."

October 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month....."Life is funny sometimes isn't it?"

November 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month....."Do you remember the Andy Griffith Show.....with Gomer, Opey and the gang?"

December 2008 1st sentence of the first post for the month....."Well here we are only two weeks away from Christmas"

Baby Update........

Baby finally arrived at 0037 this morning. It's a boy! 8lbs. 2 oz. 20 inches long......he was delivered into a tub of warm water and I am told mom and baby are doing swimmingly.....Looking forward to getting some pictures of the new little guy. I was saying to my hubby that the male gene seems to be predominant in his family. Out of the 9 grandchildren 6 of them are male and the two great grandchildren are both male.......anyhow hopefully there will be pictures to follow soon. So I did finally get to eat the chocolate. Congratulations to the new mom and dad.....and welcome to the newest addition to our family.