whisper...can you hear

Peters Drive in

2009-07-13T06:46:00.000-06:00

I could use a Peter's burger from Calgary.....

Team Work

2009-07-12T06:04:00.002-06:00

How powerful it is when we work together in unity!

Canadian geese always fly in a "V" formation.

Have you ever wondered why? Because the lead goose is moving the wind resistance for the rest of them. So while he is flapping real hard, the rest of them are cruising. After awhile, the lead goose gets tired and he falls back and the next goose moves up.

Do you know what scientists have discovered in wind tunnel experiments? That geese flying in a "V" formation can fly 72% farther than one goose could fly by himself.

What are we trying to do by ourselves that could be more efficiently accomplished when the task is shared?

Week 2

2009-06-29T18:48:00.002-06:00

Day one of back yard renovations

2009-06-14T19:50:00.001-06:00

T - minus 36 days

2009-04-28T18:24:00.002-06:00

I have a lot of work to do in the next 36 days. I have a few things still on my list that need to get checked off. Today I made a commitment to my work out buddy: 5 days a week we will do one of our work outs, either Wii Personal trainer, Wii Fit or hitting the loop for Boot Camp + 150 calories on the treed mill before we ride bike to get the kids from school. Just more exercise so I do not have to not give up food.

June 3rd - Belly Button ring if the abs look good :-) an d I hit goal weight of 137.

my horoscope today

2009-04-24T11:46:00.000-06:00

You are the spark that keeps things exciting today -- use your initiative to keep your love life lovely or to show that new client why you and your team are the best to serve their needs.

It has been far to long since I wrote

2009-04-22T21:50:00.003-06:00

One thing my blog has given me is a place to organize and journal some of my thoughts.

I originally started this because as I market my business on line I realized that well I am just a web site and an email address ( oh yes and a very kind English women called me dodgy) - why would anyone just call or request information from me - it has become more than I could have imagined. I think my blog is a glimpse into who I am - the mom and wife, the sister, the granddaughter, the friend, the cousin and niece, the mentor, the business women, the chef, the designer and that I may be the only person in my family with a brown thumb ( I am trying and at least living in the south I can kill and replace plants and they have time to grow). If my husband was reading this he would be saying yah yah get to the point....hey its my blog and I can write what ever I want :-)

For those of you who are my friends and family you know who I am you know my character, you love me for all my good and bad :-) My heart is big and I tend to share it openly.

I think one of my biggest flaws is I care to much, want to help everyone. I choose to wear rose colored glasses and always look for the good in people. I remember when I was in grade school I was vote the most likely to plan my own wedding shower - that is a whole other story. (phew needed to get that off my chest too) I have been accused of planning to far in advance and worrying about details. I sacrifice my time for perfect strangers. If I make a promise I keep it. I worry about my family, will always be the big sister and do everything I can to help - even when told by other she is an "adult she does not need you". ( sorry that was was off track but need to get off my heart - phew that feels great)

But if I take off my rose colored glasses what will I see?
A world without honor or trust.
Loyalty only found in the family dog.
A whole lot of people who only look out for #1.
Families who disconnect.
Business crumbling.
People losing homes and retirement funds?
A hand shake no longer is good.
Cancer.
Death and Taxes........No thanks

So as I write this down and it all makes sense (I think) to me but it may be complete babble to most who read it (hey it is much better than bottling it up and needing antidepressants and a shrink) - I CHOOSE TO KEEP ON MY GLASSES, GIVE MY HEART & MY TIME even if it is hurts. I will however remind myself everyday you can only help those who want or are willing to help themselves. I will also remind myself my heart is fragile but if it breaks a little my husband and kids will always always - first say "I told you so" and then be the band aid to fix it.

So for today I only have one regret I gave some of my time away this evening and I should not have ( but I except that is just who I am and will most likely do it again) - I missed out on the first Metallica Wii concert on my daughters 8th birthday. (Mike can you believe it she is 8 and knows all the words ...yikes). But we did have a great time - we had a girl afternoon of her first pedicure and then shopping spending birthday money.

The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.
Francis Maitland Balfour ( much better with words - could have just put the quote)

And if you got to here you I can only imagine you must be one of my friends - thanks for listening - ha I do have a shrink I just dont have to pay for it......night John boy.

Hot Chicken Ceasar Salad

2009-04-08T10:14:00.004-06:00

Hot Chicken Caesar Salad

This one is very easy and easy to do for one or 100.

I use organic Caesar lettuce hearts - rip into bit size and place in large bowl

Dressing - buy light dressing and I add a dash of extra garlic and ground pepper. Lightly toss the dressing and lettuce - optional toss ins - Parmesan cheese.

Croutons - I make my own - bread or hamburger buns what ever you have in the pantry - rip into bit size, place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt - bake 350 till golden brown

Chicken - I use chicken filet's but breast cut up will work. I cook them in a frying pan with a little olive oil till golden brown - light salt and pepper. When they are cooked add you favorite hot sauce - coat the chicken. ( for my kids I toss the chicken in BBQ sauce)

Serve the hot chicken on a bed of the salad add the fresh croutons......dinner in 15 min :-)
Happy Hump DAY

Hydrangea

2009-04-05T10:58:00.002-06:00

Mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are the most popular hydrangeas grown in home gardens and landscapes. Most mopheads grown today are blue or pink. A few varieties are white.

I am trying to grow hydrangeas this year in my flower bed, I just love the color and the size of the blooms. I come from a family of green thumbs and well I TRY. I just really do not like dirt but love the end results. I figure if I ask enough questions at the greenhouse I should have some marginal results.

strange clouds last week

2009-03-29T18:45:00.003-06:00

Dallas Farmers Market

2009-03-22T10:07:00.003-06:00

I just love spending Saturday morning shopping at the Dallas Farmers Market.

twitter...

2009-03-15T20:11:00.001-06:00

Do you tweet? www.twitter.com

Hockeyville....please hlp

2009-03-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

Is Humboldt Hockeyville? We certainly think sobut we cant prove it to the rest of Canada without your help!

Our community of Humboldt, SK is one of the Top 5 for CBC Kraft Hockeyville 2009! The winner is decided based upon phone, internet & text voting. Voting begins tonight at 10pm and goes until Wed. March 4th at 11pm.

Our problem? We are a small community and so can't accomplish this on our own. We are hoping that friends like you will do 2 things:

#1 Vote at least 10 times (or more if you have time)
#2 Copy and send this request on to 10 of your friends, asking them to do the same.

Check out the pdf attachment that further explains the details about what the Hockeyville title will mean for Humboldt.

THERE ARE 3 EASY WAYS TO VOTE:
Online: www.cbcsports.ca/hockeyville
Toll free telephone: 1-866-533-8066
Text message: "Vote Humboldt" to 222111 (standard text messaging rates apply)*SaskTel message regarding Text Messaging. Please click here.
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,

Shannon Harms

To do Vitamins or Not to do Vitamin that is the question...

2009-02-23T10:27:00.005-07:00

Question #1 Do you take vitamins?
My answer 4 years ago was, I did when I was pregnant but not right now.
I also asked this question on Facebook - 10 people responded 7 yes/3 no

Question #2 What kind of vitamins do you take?
I take the Vitality Pack. My Dr. recommended that I take vitamins because we just don't get the nutrients from our food. I said to him but I eat a healthy balanced diet, lots of fruits and vegetables. He came back to me with that is important BUT much of our food today just does not have the nutrient value that it did at one time.

So I did a bit of reading about this and it makes sense - we have depleted our soil with over production our fruits and vegetables and they are picked before they are ripened not able to get what they need from the soil or the sun. Think about is have you ever eaten a tomato right from the garden as apposed to even a vine ripened tomato from the grocery store - completely different taste.

My Facebook response - GNC, Generic, Juice Plus, Vitality, One a Day, Multivitamin

4 Things to consider when buying Vitamins
1.What do they cost?
2. What do they have in them? is it the correct dose that you need?
3. Do they absorb?
4. Do you feel different when you take them? or maybe look at it this way do you feel different if you forget to take them?

Cost
With budgets tightening we are looking for value. Looking at vitamins they can range so drastically in price and just because a vitamin is expensive certainly does not make it the best vitamin to take.

Dose
Are you taking the proper amount for your age and gender, vitamins are specific to each group of people because our bodies need different amounts.

Absorb
Interesting fact - the 2 leading selling brands of vitamins on the market Centrum and One a Day - have under 10% Solubility of Copper, Iron, Manganese & Zinc * this info was taken from Merck Index and Handbook of Chemistry and Physics My Vitality Pack that I take is 85% Solubility *this has been scientifically proven and independently verified
http://www.oligofructosecomplex.net/ more about my vitamins and why they are the most bio available vitamins on the market.

I read a story a while back that talked about the city of Phoenix having to clean out the sewer system, I believe it was every 3 months ( I could be off a bit) because of all the vitamins that did not absorb and ended up in the sewer.

Do you feel different?
This is the key, when you take your vitamins do you feel different? I rather look at it like this, if you forget do you feel different. I know if I miss even just one day I can tell.

This weekend we were watching a show and on came the commercial, and I can't remember the prescription drug that it was for but we laughed about all the side effects. 1/2 of the commercial was about the different ailments the drug can cause when taking it. I guess I would rather be proactive than reactive with side effects.

So my final thought is we take care of the engine in our car, we change oil, we clean filters, we make sure the tires have the right mount of air and we swear that it runs better when it is clean why wouldn't we do the same for our bodies. I decide to take action and give my body every chance it has in fighting free radicals and filling in the gaps I am missing in my diet. Do your home work before you waste money on vitamins and make sure you are getting value. Just my thoughts....on this whole subject of vitamins :-)

On a side note I am also growing my own tomatoes, and looking at what other veggies I can container grow.

Friday Funny

2009-02-20T08:21:00.002-07:00

The IRS decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to the IRS office.
The IRS auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney.

The auditor said, 'Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and nofull-time employment, Which you explain by saying that you win moneygambling. I'm not sure the IRS finds that believable.

'I'm a great gambler, and I can prove it,' says Grandpa. 'How about a demonstration?'

The auditor thinks for a moment and said, 'Okay. Go ahead.'

Grandpa says, 'I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.'

The auditor thinks a moment and says, 'It's a bet.'Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it.

The auditor's jaw drops.Grandpa says, 'Now, I'll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.'Now the auditor can tell Grandpa isn't blind, so he takes the bet.

Grandpa removes his dentures and bites his good eye.

The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand,with Grandpa's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.

'Want to go double or nothing?' Grandpa asks 'I'll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that waste basket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.'

The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again.Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although hestrains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on theother side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor's desk.The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win.

But Grandpa's own attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.

'Are you okay?' the auditor asks.

'Not really,' says the attorney.

'This morning, when Grandpa told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and pee all over your desk and that you'd be happy about it!'

MORAL: Don't Mess with Old People!!

touch....

2009-02-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

"People will forget what you said.

People will forget what you did.

But people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou

Sleepover

2009-02-07T11:33:00.002-07:00

Well it all turned out way better than I could have imagined. Last night we had 5 boys spend the night to celebrate my son's 11th birthday. The night started out with the tramp and then 6 boys in my kitchen, kneading dough and making pizza. The night consisted of more trampoline, Wii, piano, singing and a lot of laughing. Yes, Piano - Colton one of the boys is a self taught pianist and very good. The singing was to a TV show they all must watch, as the 6 of them sang while making pizza.

When it got dark the try boys came out including Dad. We have an open field behind our house and it has a pack of coyotes. A stealth operation with flash lights and binoculars lead to a late night adventure walk with Dad in the lead. I think it was about 1:00 before the last one went to sleep and to my knowledge no one got their finger nails painted for falling asleep first.

7am - it started all over with a big breakfast. What a really great group of boys who are always welcome to come and hang at our house. No one wanted it to end.

Friday Funny - Why parents Drink

2009-02-06T06:00:00.003-07:00

Thanks Uncle David...

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent one day but had not phoned in sick . Needing to have an urgent problem with one of the main computers resolved, he dialled the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.

Hello?

Is your daddy home? he asked.

Yes, whispered the small voice.

May I talk with him?

The child whispered, No

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, Is your Mummy there?

Yes

May I talk with her? Again the small voice whispered, No

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is anybody else there?

Yes, whispered the child,a policeman.

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with the policeman?

No, he's busy, whispered the child.

Busy doing what?

Talking to Daddy and Mummy and the Fireman, came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, 'What is that noise?'

A helicopter, answered the whispering voice.

What is going on there?'demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive. Again, whispering, the child answered, The search team just landed a helicopter.

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, 'What are they searching for?'

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... ME.

Viral Marketing

2009-02-04T09:02:00.003-07:00

I am taking some classes on viral marketing and find myself facinated by human nature. Did you know the 85% of peoples purchases are influenced by people they know rather than an advertisement. Think about it have you ever told a friend about a movie, facebook, a new dish at your favorite restaurant, your favorite green house ( and garden guru), a big shoe sale, or even your favorite photographer. We all share our thoughts and opinions and influence peoples purchasing habits.

Now to viral marketing - the definition is "the use of varied kinds of marketing both online and offline to create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm."

Experiment #1 : So I have a secret and thought maybe you all could help me spread the secret, wait I am not going to tell you just yet. What I am asking all my readers to do is tell 5 people you know to read my blog and leave a remark after this post saying so and so sent me to read your blog. As soon as I hit 100 remarks I will reveal my secret. So ready set go....what are you waiting for start spreading that I have a secret.

My creative friends

2009-02-03T16:39:00.003-07:00

I would love to sit sown and stamp and scrap book but I get a case of OCD and the world stops and nothing gets done. I know lots of people enjoy it. My very dear friend Deborah is the queen of cards and scrap booking. Below is her site check it out:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/deborahellis

Happy Birthday Sheryl

2009-02-03T14:54:00.002-07:00

I was laughing after talking to my friend Sheryl today. To set the story - She lived one door down from me when I was in elementary school. In our house we had a 10 minute rule on the phone - no matter what. If we did not abide by the rule my step father was known to come along and just hang up the phone. Not even sure what we could have possibly talked about as it was often I had just left her house. It has been 25 years and we still find a lot to talk about.

Sheryl I hope you have a wonderful birthday and as our very wise friend Tamara would say - Live everyday, laugh, enjoy life, experience life - have no regrets.

40 is just 30 with experience.
Cheers

words to live by

2009-01-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

"Life is too short to wake up in
the morning with regrets, so love
the people who treat you right,
forget about the ones who don't,
and believe that everything
happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just
promised it would be worth it."

Good information to know

2009-01-30T08:22:00.002-07:00

Look up any product in your home: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/

FACT - An EPA study confirmed that indoor air can be 3-70X more chemically polluted than outdoor air?
FACT - Scientists are linking cancer to long term chemical exposure?
FACT - Women who work from HOME have a 54% greater rate of cancer?
FACT - Cancer used to rarely exist in children and today it is the #1 cause of death in children with the 2nd cause being accidental poisonings - usually by dish soap...

KNOWN TOXINS IN SOME OF OUR EVERYDAY PRODUCTS:

Dove Beauty Bar: Quaternium 15: Formaldehyde-Carcinogen. Causes
cancer, dermatitis, neurotoxic, sensitizer-poisonious, irritant to
the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Butylated Hydroxytoluene, (BHT)
Carcinogen.

Johnson's Baby Shampoo: Quaternium 15: FD&C RED 40: Carcinogen, and
causes dermatitis.

Crest Tarter Control Toothpaste: Saccharin: Carcinogen, contains
Phenol If you accidentally swallow more than a pea-sized amount of
this, you must contact the Poison Control Center immediately. This
warning does not appear on the tube.

Tide & Cheer Detergent: Can cause temporary respiratory
tract irritation. Symptoms include stinging, swelling, or redness.
Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and
tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth,
throat, and stomach if swallowed. Sodium Sulfate: Corrosive, Severe
eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Can cause asthma attacks. Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate: Carcinogen

Clorox: Sodium Hypochlorite: Corrosive. Sensitizer: Can be fatal if
swallowed. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Especially hazardous
to people with heart conditions or asthma.

Cascade: Sodium Hypochlorite Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can
cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as
cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed.

Fantastic, Formula 409:Butyl Cellosolve: Neurotoxic. Eye and skin
irritant. Damages central nervous system, kidney, and liver. Readily
absorbed through the skin. Damages blood and body's ability to make
blood.

Windex Aerosol Glass Cleaner: Butyl Cellosolve (see above) Isobutane:
Neurotoxic

Lysol Disinfectant: Dioxin; Carcinogen. 500,000 times more deadly
than DDT Ethyl Alcohol: Eye, skin, respiratory tract irritant.

Reminded

2009-01-29T09:33:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I was reminded of the benefits of being a good friend. I spoke with a very dear friend, you know one of those people in your life that no matter how long it has been some what of a time vortex happens and it seems like just yesterday you spoke (oh wait it was).

It was so great to hear her voice and especially her laugh. It was so wonderful to hear about her family and how happy she is. We could not remember the last time we saw each other, or even why we lost touch. After we spoke she sent me the best email that just made my day. In fact I am still smiling.

My advice to all, find one of those long lost friends today and reconnect. Life is not a dress rehearsal make the most of it and have no regrets.

we are hiring

2009-01-27T15:47:00.001-07:00

Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost--

So sad, but my company is hiring please let your friends know.