Everyday - a message

I love Bif Naked... her music speaks to me. I can sit down and listen to her songs and the lyrics talk to me. Its almost as if she's writing about my life. And to me that's the sign of a truly gifted artist. I saw her on an entertainment show once and she was talking about being a "compartmentalist". Meaning that she holds everything up inside in a filing cabinet and at times in her life at the strangest time all the stress just bursts out. That describes me to a t. I've seen Bif Naked on in concert 3 times and everytime I see her concerts they get better.

This song is so important on so many levels. People in general are too busy running (what I call) the rat race that there just isn't the time to sit down and enjoy yourself. When was the last time you laid down on the lawn and just watched the clouds rolling past. Those little things in life make all the difference. In the end I don't think that anyone will ever say that they wish they'd spent more hours at the office or had more money in the bank.

"Everyday"

Something I've been wanting to say to you.
Are you sitting down?
Pretty soon, there will be a day,
when I won't be around.

I'm not trying to scare you
or play with your sympathy.
Just want to remind you
that life is a symphony.

[Chorus]
Everyday, live it like it's your last one.
Ever kiss, kiss it like it's your first love.
If i had one wish; then I would wish
that you would live today like
Everyday, Everyday is your last one.

People always rushing around,
wasting time on money.
Don't be just a face in the crowd.
Getting high and running from something.
I'm not trying to tell you what to do.
In the end, it's up to you.

[Chorus]

Dip your feet into the ocean.
Let the sun beat on your skin.
Soak in every emotion,
that you never thought you'd live.
And never take for granted,
every breath you're breathing in.
Go everywhere you've never been,

[Chorus]

Focus Groups

I've done a couple of these in the last couple of years but last nights was by far the most fun! We laughed and giggled and got paid for it!

Last week I got a phone call from Consumer Research to pre-qualify for a focus group on my Wine drinking habits. I qualified and was offered $100 for an hour and a half of my time. Of course I agreed.

So yesterday I loaded on the bus and began my 2 hour trek downtown to the Sandman Suites on Davie Street. Absolutely amazing hotel and a surprisingly painless transit journey.

When I arrived there were 2 people waiting in the lobby and we were quickly joined by 3 more women. The focus group consisted of 6 of us and we quickly got started. We discussed everything and anything that pertains to wine. Laughed, giggled, did a mini-art project. Got our white envies stuffed with cash and headed home. The trip home was long and tiring (thank goodness I made it downtown on only 1 bus fare - I grabbed a coffee to keep me going)... and WET! My goodness. When I got home I looked quite the part of a drowned rat!

All in all it was a great experience and I strongly encourage everyone to get involved with focus groups. You have nothing to lose. If you're lucky enough to get in to a focus group you're rewarded very well for your time ($100 for 1.5 hours of study time is awesome in my books.. even factoring in transit time)... and if you're like me and are bubbling with opinions then you'll be right at home.

Free Coffee! Perhaps... contest link

I love coffee! So when Kim over at Mommyknows offered up a contest for free coffee I have no choice but to jump in. There is nothing more relaxing then a Grande Peppermint Non-Fat Latte. I absolutely adore Peppermint and any sort of spice. I guess you could call me a spice girl ;o) (that's for you Angie!)...

So anyway... head on over to her fine blog for a chance to win your very own Starbucks $10 giftcard. Apparently she has:

a whole ‘schwack’ of Gift Cards to give away

So head on over to mommyknows now!

Kim always has wonderful giveaways and I've been fortunate to have won a couple times. Infact Kim's blog is what inspired me to start my own!

Good luck!

Destiny & my insight into true friends

Do you believe in destiny? Defined by Wikepedia as:

Destiny may be seen either as a fixed sequence of events that is inevitable and unchangeable, or that individuals choose their own destiny by choosing different paths throughout their life.Destiny is fate, fate is destiny.

Yesterday was one of those days that can only be described as destiny in my opinion. An entire circle of events had to happen in the same order that they did for the end result to be present.

I ran into an old friend yesterday. My best friend from junior high school. We bonded in Ms. Sandoe's HomeEc class and our combined lack of talent in the kitchen and sewing station. We had a blast and even had a flour fight once. Ms. Sandoe (believe it or not) made us clean up the flour and put it back in the canister. That was the last time that I ever ate anything we made!

Of all the places to run into someone it was heading out to walk the dike here in Maple Ridge. The dike is an expansive trail system and encompasses part of the Trans Canada Trail. In order to run into her we had to arrive at the exact right time, a couple minutes too many here or there and there wouldn't have been the opportunity to meet up. We usually take an off the beaten path down to the Alouette River and our secret Blackberry patch. So the odds of running into anyone other then in the 2 minutes it takes to get to our trailhead is slim to none (I have only ever seen 1 other group in our travels).

My daycare pick up was a little late, then we headed off to Starbucks (I treated us with some of my saved up Christmas Giftcard). Usually we would be off running but due to the heat we just hung out and drank our beverages. Then me and the girls doddled on over to Shoppers to grab some free stuff (gotta love that). They wouldn't honor the FPC on Splenda though as they're price is substantially higher then the max the manufacturer was willing to pay. So we dropped our stuff off in the car and headed to Save On Foods. Splenda was also too high so no Splenda for my coffee this morning. Headed home dropped off our items (I saved a whopping $33.95 yesterday and spent $2.49!). and then to the dyke.

Running into my friend though reminded me of a conversation on Frugal the other day. I'm not sure if the person as a troll (person who posts to intentially stir the pot and cause drama) or if they really are as truly lacking friends as they imply they are. The person who posted was going on and on about how they made the decision to not marry, have children or friends for that matter to save for retirement. I still cannot believe that anyone would put money above companionship. Even the friends that turn into non-friends still have a significant impact on your life. Every single person you meet in your life changes you in someway, some more then others.

My friend that I ran into yesterday and I have drifted apart but yet it was almost like we still talk and giggle on the phone for hours a day like we did as teenagers. There was no awkwardness. She didn't laugh as so many people do when they hear that my dream is to someday own a Mom and Pop Convenience Store on the highway. It was almost as if that was the exact thing she would have pictured me doing when I grew up.

I looked like a total shlub yesterday, but that doesn't matter, as true friends are I am sure she didn't even notice. I didn't notice what she looked like yesterday either. To me friends are beautiful regardless of what they are wearing or doing.

A friend of mine is on Herbal Magic and its working wonders for her. But to tell you the truth she looked great before the weightloss and looks great now. She is a beautiful person on the inside and there isn't anything that she wouldn't do for her friends. To me that is far more important then belonging in the pages of a fashion magazine.

To me that is what a true friend is. Someone who you have a connection with and it doesn't matter what is on the outside because if you are choosing friends based on their exterior then 99/100 times you're choosing the wrong friend.

Back to the person who has 1million dollars but no friends or family. It truly breaks my heart to think that there are people out there with no friends or family to call upon. How truly lonely she must be. My Auntie went through life and always thought she had no friends. She felt that way until the very end when all of her true friends came out of the woodwork and she was amazed at how many lives she had touched with her generosity and kind spirit.

If I came across a genie who gave me the choice to:

A) have all the money that I could ever need but I had to give up my friends and family and live life on my own forever with no true friends or family

or

B) to have just enough to get by, no more no less, but be wealthy in the companions that will make the life journey with me

I would choose option B in an instant. Love, compassion, a shoulder to cry on, a face to bring a smile to is worth more then all the money in the world to me. I wouldn't trade anyone in my life for any amount of money or fame.

I guess it was bound to happen...

Miss Tala has decided to be a Ballerina. We gave her the choice of doing Art Class, Preschool or Ballet Classes and she chose Ballet. She is so absolutely excited. She's been busy telling everyone she meets that she's going to dance class and that Grandpa Gordie is paying.

We headed out to have a look at a couple of costumes today. She picked out this one and looked so adorable that I just couldn't say no. I don't know that she will actually be able to wear it at dance class as its rather fancy... but it will be good for around the house.


As happy as she is to be taking dance classes she was none too impressed to get her picture taken (ok a couple dozen pictures taken).


All in all we're excited for the whole thing. Tala is heading off to Kindergarten next year so she needs to get used to a structured environment. Her class will be 30 minutes every Saturday thru June. And of course she'll be performing in her first recital! I have got to find a video camera before then to get it on tape. What a special day that will be!

Products Going Down Hill/Hands in Too Many Pots?

Those of you who read my blog know that I'm always out to find the best deals imaginable. But one thing is really starting to irk me and that's the steady decline of quality products on the market. And for the most part the decline seems to be in the big conglomerate companies like Proctor & Gamble & Kraft. Perhaps these companies just have their hands into too many pots to make products up to par, or perhaps they're more focused on the bottom line.

I hate getting a product and having it be substandard. There was the Kraft Delissio Pizza that was supposed to come with chicken and spinach. Can you guess how many pieces of chicken were on the entire pizza? 1! How on earth can they market a pizza as chicken when it has one measly little piece of factory formed chicken on top! My golly.

There was the Kraft LiveActive cheese that was so crumbly that I couldn't cut the cheese with a knife without it falling apart. I tell you we sure had interesting sandwiches that week until I got fed up and called Kraft to complain.

Proctor & Gamble manufacturer's a lot of products from Tide and Downy to baby products such as Pampers & Easy Ups. I am a huge champion for quality products for children. I mean seriously. Products for children should be above average. When I'm going to put a diaper on my squirmy child the tabs should not rip right off in my hand. And then again and again. I had one pack of diapers where the tabs ripped right off of half of them. Of course I called Pampers and they were very apologetic and replaced the diapers. But truthfully it never should have happened. Most recently my youngest has been peeing right out of her diapers no matter what we do. And anyone who's had to get up in the middle of the night and change the sheets knows exactly why I'm frustrated about that.

When I purchased a box of Heinz baby Cereal and inside was a grape stem you can bet your bottom dollar that I called them up and gave them a piece of my mind! That could have been a major disaster if I hadn't noticed the stem in the bowl and fed it to my infant. Companies have the onus to provide high quality safe products, and to me there is no excuse for providing a dangerous product for consumption by children.

Sure you can call and complain and the company in question will replace the product to you in the form of coupons. However call too much and you're bound to end up on the nuisance list and then no matter what sort of issue you're having you're plum out of luck for reimbursement. And then there are the products that you would never ever try again. Folgers coffee is one of those. That coffee was so bad it actually turned me off of all coffee! Thank goodness for a couple pots of Kicking Horse Coffee.

Which brings me back to my issue. Why aren't companies creating a consistently high quality product? When you're spending top dollar your products should be top quality. Simple as that. I have much more success with buying no name products. The nice thing with buying store brand is that if it is substandard you can simply bring it back to the store. There's no sitting on hold to speak to a representative, and then anxiously waiting by the mailbox for your coupon to arrive so you can replace the product. Quickly enough you learn which no name products are amazing and which ones are not. I will not buy no name brand canned Tomatoes. They are far too mushy and quite honestly the wrong color. No big deal as I've always received superior quality from Aylmer. The quality of No Name frozen veggies is on par with that of Green Giant.

I personally feel duped by companies like Proctor & Gamble having their hand in so many pots. They are the face behind Cheer, Gain & Tide laundry detergent. That's huge! Also Clairol, Cover Girl and Pampers. Unilever is the face behind brands such as Becel, Breyer's, Sunlight, Dove and Lipton. Kraft owns and operates Nabob for crying out loud. I would never had thought that coffee would fit in with a product line such as Peanut Butter & Kool-Aid. It is in my opinion that the vast difference in products that they are representing is the issue. I would love to see a track back to the old days when Sunlight was run by Sunlight, Pampers by Pampers.

I guess the other option is what my family has already started doing. Buying local products. Fruit & Veggies, baked fresh in store bread. We use as little convenience food as possible. Not only is it less expensive the quality is consistently high. And there is no denying the benefit of reducing our Carbon Footprint by buying local. The less distance that food travels the better for the environment. And well anything grown in my backyard is way up there in my list!

Christmas in July

My Dad should have bet me that I would never be able to resist giving the girls their Christmas Present early... he would have been up a couple bucks.

I had purchased a Plasma Car thru Chapters.ca with some gc's that I redeemed for and traded for. Ended up with a Plasma Car, 2 adult books and 1 Children's book for $0.43! Great shopping in my books.

Here's Tala having a blast on it.




Its great fun for everyone, and "quite" reasonably priced these days. I got mine for $59.95... so it could have been a lot more of a gauge on the pocket book. There are many trikes on the market that are more then that. The age rating on them is 3-102 with a top weight of 220 pounds. My 2 year old uses it and has a blast. It surprisingly fast and runs simply on the motion created by moving the steering wheel back and forth. Amazingly enough it was super duper easy to assemble, and took only 2 business days to arrive (ordered on Friday, arrived Monday).

The only downside is that we have found its more of an indoor toy then an outdoor toy as it runs poorly on the bumpy pavement that we have in our complex (take that Mapquest! If you mapquest our house apparently we're portions unpaved being that we're total and utter hillibilly around these here neck of the woods).

All in all I give the Plasma car 2 thumbs up. Tala's verdict is "FUN".

Woke up this morning... feeling...

OLD! Oh my goodness did I look trashed this morning. What a huge shock to the system... I woke up for work this morning, stumbled to the sink and glanced in the mirror and jumped back in horror (well maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit).

I had huge bags under my eyes, my skin was lack luster, my hair was just atrocious (how on earth did I manage to pull it back into such a tight pony tail?).

So I did what any woman would do... slathered on the anti-aging potions that some jokester over at Yves Rocher popped into my last order as my free gift. The bags under my eyes are now a distant memory/nightmare and my skin once again has a radiant glow.

But it makes me wonder if perhaps the morning that I stumbled downstairs with bride of frankenstein hair and scared the dogs half to death that it wasn't just my hair that was the culprit. The poor dogs went absolutely nuts and I couldn't figure it out until I peeked into the mirror and saw probably the worst morning hair in the history of the world.

In celebration of feeling positively ancient I will dye my hair tonight... lol. Perfect10 is my new best friend. Its so fast and easy and washes right out not like the other products on the market.

Most Amazing Little Person... ever

Every parent out there feels that their kids are just the absolute best people in the whole world. However today I witnessed one of the most amazing acts of kindness and goodness from Malie that just astounded me beyond all belief.

Andrew headed off camping this morning and dropped us off at the Heritage Days Celebration downtown (Maple Ridge). We made our way around the stands doing various activities until we came across the balloon stand. Tala got her balloon right away while Malie waited so very patiently for her turn, even letting other kids jump in ahead of her in line without any protest. We turned around and headed over towards the face painting booth and lined up. The line was pretty long and so all the kiddos were running around having a great time.

As we got closer to the front one of the girls ahead of us lost her balloon and immediately started crying. Miss Malie came to me and asked me to untie her balloon from her wrist. I did and wouldn't you know it she walked up to the little girl who was crying and offered the balloon to her.

This act of utmost generosity and concern for a complete stranger is what truly amazed me. Miss Malie is 2 years old and so amazingly considerate of the feelings of others that I can't help but be proud of her. She is constantly putting the feelings of others in front of her own. Making other people happy seems to be such an important part of her life. Just as it has always been a part of mine. I hope that this is a gift that she holds onto for her entire life and that she realizes just how amazing it is to make other people happy.

Here are a couple quick pictures of the girls with their faces done up all pretty. The News had a camera person on site and they took a picture of Tala. We were instructed to look for her picture in the local paper on Wednesday. So any of you in Maple Ridge who get the News make sure to have a peek for Tala. I'll have to bug all my neighbours to get extra copies to send to all the grandparents.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

-Winston Churchill