Rebecca's Happy Blog

I love my dog!

2008-06-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

I love my dog! I don't know what I'd do without him. He's my boy Ted. And oddly enough I still love him even when he forces me to clean up things no person should ever have to do. Yeah, last night was interesting but I still love him today. Ok, how do I go about this in a decent way. Ummm, I don't think I can so here's the scoop...on the poop!

So last night my brother stayed over on my couch and in the middle of the night my hubby could smell this awful stink coming from the living room. We both get up and tip toe in the dark and realize it's a really awful smell and there was no doubt, that was a doggie poo smell. Ugh! Now our boy Ted is trained to go outside but in this case he obviously couldn't hold it. Why? Well, it wasn't a regular poo. This was the diarrhea sort. Yeah, gross!! He must have been embarrassed about it because he let loose at the far end of the room, right behind the couch where my brother was sleeping and here's Mike and I tippy toeing around in the dark with flashlights trying to find it but not wake my brother. Oh and boy did we find it....all over the floor in a big puddle. GROSS!

A few weeks back Teddy was sick from the other end of the doggie body and Mike spent an hour in the middle of the night cleaning that mess, so, sadly it was my turn. Luckily we'd replenished the paper towel from that last yucky situation and ended up using an entire roll of paper towel to clean up this mess. And the whole time Mike is whispering "Oh!" "Aw!" "Ew!" "Gross!" and I'm like "Shut up! Hearing you grunt and groan doesn't make the clean up process for me any easier!" Yeah, talk about disgusting. Ok, I won't go into detail as I'm sure you can imagine. But, through all the noise and the flashlights and the odd carpet cleaning mechanism's buzzing sound, my brother didn't wake up. Probably a good thing. But the weirdest part is that he didn't wake up from the smell, which was truly disgusting! I was dry-heaving the whole time. Luckily I have a box of Lush bath bombs and anyone who knows that smell, knows it's strong, and so now, that box is sitting near 'the spot' to try to mask the smell. Fortunately the carpet cleaner removed the stain but the smell is still lingering. So now my house smells like a rancid bath bomb. I love my dog. Aren't you glad you read my blog today? Isn't life interesting sometimes!?

And hey, if you have a dog I'm sure you've been there. If you have any home remedies for getting rid of that stench I'd love to hear them!!

Procrastinator Extraordinaire

2008-06-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am a procrastinator extraordinaire! Hence the lack of blog posts in the past month and a half. Oops. Life got in the way. Didn't really feel like it. Wasn't sure what to talk about. Oh and I blame my hubby for the procrastinator'ness. He's the king of procrastination and he knows it. But anyways, I'm here now, thanks to my friend Gregg (he's a blogger too) for kicking my behind and getting my butt onto the couch to do this. Wouldn't one normally want to kick their pal's butt OFF the couch? But it's for a good cause. Ok so I'm rambling....procrastinating again perhaps? haha. Ok what to write about.

I asked my brother and he said write about how you're hanging with your brother. Well, it's true. I'm hanging with my brother. He's visiting from Victoria cause our sister is starting her second bout of chemo tomorrow on his birthday so we thought it would be a good time to all get together in the cancer ward for a celebration. Odd, I know. But, it's in times like these that you want your family to be together, so cancer or no cancer we're going to have a birthday party at the hospital. We might even give him the royal bumps! Now that would put a smile on the patients I'm sure.

Neither my brother nor I have attended one of our sister's chemo appointments as of yet. She had 2 months worth earlier this year so we didn't think we'd ever have to attend once that round was over, but unfortunately the chemo didn't work so the doctors are on to plan B. Kinda scary when you have to go to plan B when fighting cancer. So now, attending the chemo appointment with her seems all that much more important. I have to admit, selfishly, I'm not looking forward to it. But such is life. For her though, I will put a smile on my face and do my best to be strong and there for her. Meanwhile, I'm hanging with my brother and discussing life. A life we hope to share with our sister for many years to come.

Fire & Snow - a good mix?

2008-05-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm a full supporter of the Olympic Games and as a child once dreamed of being an Olympic athlete. I was a competitive figure skater and so the drive of competition and sportsmanship and pride in one's country drives me to watch the Olympics on TV every 4 years. I love it and can't wait to attend the Winter Olympics in my hometown of Vancouver when they're here in 2010.

However, sometimes I think some things to do with the Olympics should be reconsidered. For example, the women ski jumpers who are still not allowed to compete. In this day and age? Come on! If the sport allows men to compete then the women should be competing too. That's a no brainer. But then there's also the issue of the cost of the games. I know the two week event itself is a huge cost but I support that. I think the Games is a great way to bring the world together in a positive way but I do think the money spent on some aspects of the Olympics could be better spent elsewhere.

I saw on the news today that the Olympic flame en route to Beijing made it all the way up to the top of Mount Everest. What? Why does this fire need to be mixed with snow? Climbing Mount Everest (albeit very cool!) involves a lot of cost and I really don't think a random flame needs to make this trek....especially when the money used to pay for that expedition could be used towards much needed social services in the host City of the games. I know there's the traditionalist view that the flame travels from Greece around the world to the host city, and I support that tradition, but wouldn't a direct flight from Greece to Beijing suffice? And it would be cheaper! Just think of how expensive it is for that flame and all of it's caretakers and PR people etc to travel the world from city to city and protest to protest. I would never attend one of those protests but I do think the money spent on this could be better spent. Here's my suggestion: I think that every time a City is awarded an upcoming Olympics, that the 'flame' budget should go to the Host City for social services or some sort of betterment of the Host City leading up to the games. That way, the flame travels to the City and creates a legacy for years to come. The flame could live beyond the two week event and be shared with people from around the world! Now that's a good mix of Fire and Snow!

I was like a kid meeting a mascot!

2008-05-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I don't recall meeting that many mascots in my life, or maybe I just wasn't all that interested but last week I had the opportunity to meet Quatchi, Sumi and Miga - the mascots for the 2010 Olympics and wow, was I like a kid in a candy store! I was so thrilled to have my camera on hand and I snapped photos of me with each of them. It was really fun! Not sure why, but seeing the cute mascots just brought out the wee kid in me and I wanted to play...it was kinda like I turned 6 years old all of a sudden. Now clowns on the other hand have the complete opposite effect. I don't like clowns. They're scary....they always were as a kid and even more so now as an adult. But the Olympic Mascots....they're the best and made me so happy!

An Extra Ray of Sunshine at the Sun Run

2008-04-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was the coldest Sun Run on record and the largest but also a beautiful sunny day! Yesterday over 59,000 people ran and walked the 10km Vancouver Sun Run and I was one of them. I've run it a few times before and walked it a handful of times as well and it's always a great time. So many people and such great energy with such a huge crowd.

Yesterday's event was particularly touching though as one participant was wheeled past me about half way through. I didn't think I'd end up being teary eyed at all while participating in this 10km event, but I got teary eyed. You might remember a few years ago in the news there was a young Korean girl who was living in Vancouver and learning english as a second language. Her name was Ji-Won Park. Back in 2002 she was jogging around Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park and her life completely changed when she was attacked, strangled and beaten and left for dead. She survived but suffers from brain damage, she can't speak and she's confined to a wheelchair. At the Sun Run, the Sun really was shining, a ray of hope, and many rays of inspiration as friends of Ji-Won Park were pushing her wheelchair through the 10 kilometer route all wearing huge smiles on their faces and helping her to experience something she likely would have run herself if she hadn't been attacked 6 years ago. It really was an amazing moment to see her fly past me beaming a ray of light from ear to ear and outward to everyone whom she passed. What a wonderful and teary eyed moment. Awesome.

Blog Block!

2008-04-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog I thought I'd easily have topics to write about every day but I was wrong. You might have noticed that I haven't blogged over this past week....it's not that I've been really busy or anything grand like that. I think I actually have had Blog Block. You know, like writer's block, well I've got blog block. Maybe it's the weather....when will it get sunny and warm? Seriously! When? And what's with the weather these days. Last Saturday it was sunny and 21 - which was a dramatic change from the 10 degree cloudy/rainy weather the week and months before....and now, one week later we're expecting snow flurries this Saturday. What is up with the world??!! This weekend is the Sun Run and in year's past it's been a spring-like day and this weekend we're expecting snow? I'm participating albeit a Sun Walk, but who wants to walk or run in the snow? Craziness!! Ha, kinda funny that when one has nothing to talk about we resort to talking about the weather....and here, I had nothing to write about yet it turns into writing about the weather. I imagine it'll happen again. Oh and I suppose we could blame the snow on my hubby as a month or so ago he commented "I guess winter is over" and it snowed again. Then last Saturday in the gorgeous 21 degree sunshine he said "Well I guess winter really is over now" and alas it's supposed to snow!!

It's funny how things happen...

2008-04-09T22:01:00.001-07:00

Just yesterday I posted about all the emails going around claiming different things and how you can go to Snopes.com to see if the claims are true or false. It was a reminder that we can't always believe everything we read on the internet. And it's funny how things happen because today I checked my email and turns out I got another one of these 'claim' emails. This one is about how women shouldn't drink from water bottles that have been left in vehicles because the heat causes toxins in the plastic container to seep into the water and causes cancer. It even said this is how Sheryl Crow got breast cancer. Well as you can imagine I went to Snopes.com and the site said that this claim is FALSE. Well, I guess I need to take my own advice because although I believe that Snopes is pretty accurate, it's important to note that they too don't always have all the facts.

Normally I'd see that the claim was false and I'd carry on and drink out of plastic water bottles. However, in this case there could be more to it. The last time the info was updated on the Snopes site was June of 2007. And why is this date important? Well, back in December of 2007 a news report came out saying that a sports retailer called Mountain Equipment Co-op had pulled a bunch of plastic water bottles (made of polycarbonate) off their shelves due to the potential health risks. The full article can be read in the Globe and Mail. The retailer had heard that independent research suggested that polycarbonate plastic is made mostly of bisphenol A which has been linked to illnesses, even though manufacturers of bisphenol A say the product is harmless. Health Canada is now doing a review of the contradicting evidence and hopes to have a report out by next year.

In the meantime, if you're concerned and don't want to drink out of plastic bottles made of polycarbonate, look on the bottom of the bottle and if you see a #7 or a #1 then toss it. Bottles with the numbers #2, #4 or #5 are still considered safe and are made of other types of plastics. A good site that gives further explanation of all this is the Labour Environmental Alliance Society. And if you're still concerned about drinking out of plastic bottles, then the best bet is to find a bottle made of stainless steel or glass.

It's scary and sad that is seems like so many things in life are being connected to illness, particularly cancer, so while there are many emails claiming causes of cancer, let's hope they're not all true. While Snopes isn't neccessarily wrong, it appears there's more research to be done. I don't know about you but I'm eagerly anticipating the outcome of this water bottle study.

You can't believe everything you read, especially on the internet!

2008-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that the majority of emails these days are 'forwards'? And often forwards telling you things and you wonder if they're actually true? Well it's a good thing if you question theses emails, and don't just read them and take them as fact. Because more often than not, they're not true, at least not completely...but then sometimes they are.

For example, have you seen the email with the photo of the unborn baby's hand that reaches out of the womb and grasps the surgeons hand? It seemed so touching. Or how about the one about not flicking your lights while driving at night or a gang will come get you? Good to know! Isn't that an urban myth? Oh and I fell for this one, that you shouldn't drink cold water after eating a meal because it congeals with the oily food in your stomach and can lead to cancer? I admit, I actually drank hot water after lunch after reading that one. Oh and this one scared me, that you shouldn't answer your cell phone when it's still connected to the charger because you could get electrocuted - yikes!

Well, the truth is that none of these are true, at least not completely. How do I know? There's a great website that I go to every time I get one of these 'forwards' to find out of it's true or an urban myth. The website is Snopes.com . It's great for finding out the truth about not only all the crazy forwards but also about some story that you heard about years ago. The site is an urban legend reference guide essentially and it even gives you some background on how the legend came to be. You simply type in some key words and it will tell you TRUE or FALSE. So, let's see what it said about the cell charger causing electrocutions. Well, in this case it had a couple of responses. The idea that answering a charging cell can electrocute you is FALSE but, it did say that some cell phone chargers or batteries can explode or cause fires...so, there you go, we all learned something.

So the next time somebody sends you a forward warning you to not microwave food in plastic containers because research proves cancer causing agents are released into the food, don't always believe everything you read.....check it out at Snopes first because in this case, again, it's false.

Now maybe I'm pulling your leg...after all, you shouldn't believe everything you read, especially on the internet. Hmmm???

This is a NON happy blog post!

2008-04-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm always trying to think of ways to make my posts 'happy' seeing as it is "Rebecca's Happy Blog" but today this is completely a NON happy blog. Why? Because I'm grumpy and feel crappy. Why? Well let's see....I'm female....any ideas? I have to admit that at least once a month (hint hint) I really do not enjoy being a woman. Maybe I sound ungrateful because most of the time I love being female, but when you feel as crappy as I do right now, you'd likely feel the same way. And trust me, you DON'T want to feel like this. I realize in the big scheme of things, when looking at the big picture, that it's really no big deal. I have my health generally so I shouldn't complain. But, when you feel this way for 2 whole days every 4 weeks, and don't feel like getting out of bed, it really sucks! Grrrr.....but on the bright side (yes I guess there is one) my hubby is baking me chocolate chunk cookies right now. Yay. If only he could spike em with some pain killers!

Me and Trevor Linden....

2008-04-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok so his wife has nothing to worry about (she's gorgeous! and I'm happily married) but I have to admit that when I was young I had a major crush on Trevor Linden. I was dating a guy in high school who played hockey so we watched all the games and went to many too and I think I can blame him for my crush because he got me into the whole trading hockey cards and all that. He created the hype and I followed, but only Trevor Linden. Man did I have a crush! My boyfriend was going to a skate with the Canucks event and I even gave him a photo of myself to get him to get Trevor to sign! How vain! But he took it and Trevor signed it. I was in heaven! I even told my boyfriend (whom I loved dearly) that if I had the opportunity to date Trevor Linden that I'd leave him for Trevor, and he seemed fine with it as we were both pretty sure I would never meet him.

Anyway, high school ended, that relationship ended and my infatuation with Trevor Linden ended. Or so I thought. Well it did end for years and years....too many other fish in the sea I suppose. But then a couple of summers ago my Mom and I were in a golf store and who was trying on golf shoes but TREVOR. I was in my 30s but acted like I was 16. Total school girl crush took over me. I whispered in excitement to my Mom "That's Trevor Linden over there!" She knew that thru work I'd interviewed him a few months back so she said "Go talk to him, introduce yourself. Meet him professionally." But there was NO way. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't think of what to say or how to approach him...all I could do was continue shopping but watching him out of the corner of my eye the whole time. Pretty crazy I know. Since then I haven't thought about him at all until....

Last year, in the months leading up to my wedding I had a dream that Trevor interrupted my wedding ceremony and burst into the church yelling "Don't marry him, you're meant to be with me." Ok, I have to tell you I always have really CRAZY dreams that don't make sense, so this dream didn't frighten me about my upcoming marriage, I just laughed at it. And no, he didn't show up and interrupt my wedding - which was by the way the best day of my life!

And since my wedding last year I haven't thought about him at all, other than when people ask, "Did Trevor interrupt your wedding?" referencing that silly dream. In fact, I spent so many years dating guys who were major hockey fans that I saw a lot of games, now I don't even watch hockey anymore. I'm just not that into it. However, tonight I'm watching. Seeing as it could be Trevor's very last NHL game as a Vancouver Canuck, I think I owe it to myself to watch him one last time. After all, he's still pretty darn cute, and, in my opinion, the best Captain the Canucks have ever had. In fact, I think I still have my hockey card of him in a box somewhere in storage. I can't give that up! I'm too sentimental. Ahh silly crushes! Go Trevor!

Dirty Doggz to PawFection!

2008-04-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

If you're a doggie owner you likely have your regular places to visit for pet supplies but if you're looking for a great place to wash your dog, you've got to check out Dirty Doggz in North Van.

You can either drop off your pooch for a bath or do it yourself. They have these great big waist height tubs, aprons for you to wear while washing, warm water, really nice shampoos and conditioners all included, fluffy towels and these great and powerful dryers so that Fifi or Fido go home all pretty and soft, and CLEAN! And if your pup is anything like my Teddy, they can get pretty darn dirty in this neck of the woods. Why do dogs love rolling in the yucky stuff ie.dead salmon? Oh and the best part, when you're all done, you just leave the dirt and hair and mess for them to clean up. Nice! And if you're not into washing your dog, for a few dollars more they'll do it all for you. I personally like to wash Teddy myself - it's a good bonding experience for our whole family. Usually my hubby and I take him together. Team work!

They also have a professional groomer on staff (Nicole) and some great retail supplies if you're in need of a new collar, or squeak toy or food (we got an awesome brush there!), and after every bath your pup gets a treat. So nice!!

Katya, the owner, and top dog washer, LOVES dogs and often brings her own pups to the shop. It's a great place!!

Now when we're out in the Fraser Valley we go to PawFection Pet Tubs in Chilliwack. One of the owners, Kim, absolutely ADORES animals and they have a similar set up where you can wash your dog yourself with all of the needed supplies right there and waiting for you. Plus a boutique (we got Ted's car seatbelt there-safety first!), full grooming services and they even sell the cool dog tubs....if only I had room in my house. And, like most pet places, Kim's pup Chrissy Snow is the resident 4-legged furry friend who will greet you at the shop. That's her in the photo - she was in a charity doggy fashion show for the Home Show and carried by Lynn Spence of CityLine fame. So cute!

Gold Diggers!!

2008-04-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Can you say Heather Mills? Oh don't get me started on her....she's crazy! And, why won't she just go away and take care of her daughter and live in peace with her not deserved $49-Million Dollars. Oh right, I'm not going to get started....

The reason I bring up Gold Diggers is to say hello to all the Mountain FM listeners who are Gold Diggers and welcome to my blog! I had the flu for 3 weeks in March and while I was at home sick on the couch Mike set me up with this blog. It's fun! I get to write about whatever I want and I try to keep it on happy topics, but really, I should have called it Rebecca's Random Reality, that pretty much explains it. Just snippets of my life or what I'm thinking about.

Mikey, Teddy and I are missing everybody in Sea 2 Sky but we're not far. In fact, I still listen to Mountain FM especially Robbee Dobbie Doo in the mornings - I think that should be his official on-air name from now on, don't you? He's doing a great job and we're very proud of him.

Ok at this point I'm sure you're thinking...'ok enough blogging Rebecca, we're here for the Bonus Code' so I won't make you wait any longer. The Bonus Code is the name of our dog and I've mentioned his name in this post...and if you're not sure, my husband is Mike. Good luck! And hey, feel free to drop me a line or say hi - just click on Comments below.

Take care and I hope you're well!
Rebecca
(former Mountain FM Announcer)

Why wear a purple bracelet?

2008-04-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Plastic bracelets have been all the rage over the past few years and so many different groups have them in many different colours to support different causes. Of course there was the Lance Armstrong yellow bracelet and the pink Breast Cancer bracelet and so many others. I actually didn't wear one until I discovered the Purple Bracelet. Why do I choose to wear this one? Well, studies have shown that positive people are healthier, live longer and have a better sense of well-being, they're happier people. And in a world right now that is so full of hate and destruction and terror and sadness and pain (ok I know it's not all bad but there is a lot of yuckiness in the world right now) I really wanted to be a positive part of the world, not negative. Besides, nobody wants to be around a negative person, who needs it?! So, to do my part, and to remind me to continue to try to do my part, I got a purple Positively Speaking bracelet. You can get them online by donation to charity. It's actually a bit of a difficult challenge but basically you wear the purple bracelet to remind you to speak positively for 21 days straight. And when you mess up (I messed up within a few hours on day 1) you swap it to the other wrist....and keep going til you've reached 21 days. Why 21 days? Well that's how long it takes to form a new habit and speaking positively all the time isn't as easy as it seems. I've always tried to be a good person, a kind, loving and caring person but what comes out of my mouth doesn't always exemplify that attempt. We all have things in life that frustrate us and sometimes we get down on things, or bitch about things, yet complaining isn't speaking positively now is it? The bracelet reminds us to try to think before we open our mouth and try to look at the bright side, and find a way to be more democratic and to not add any more negativity to the situation. Oh and gossip is the worst! Everybody wants to know everybody's business and it's so easy to slip into a gossipy conversation, but, gossip isn't healthy and we all know that. So, with the bracelet, when I'm tempted to open my mouth, I try to pause and either get out of the conversation or I try to say something nice. Remember what Mom always used to say..."If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all!" And whadaya know, it'll make you feel good about yourself as well! I have to admit I haven't reached 21 days yet but I'm trying.

To Blog is to Heal??

2008-04-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is interesting. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that 'writing' can alleviate some of the physical symptoms of disease. The study, led by Joshua M. Smyth, professor of psychology at North Dakota State University in Fargo, was centred on 112 men and women with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis. One group of patients was asked to write about the most stressful event in their lives, while a control group was asked to write about emotionally neutral topics for 20 minutes on three consecutive days.

At the four-month checkup it was discovered that asthma patients in the experimental group showed improvements of 19 per cent in lung function, while the control group experienced no change. Rheumatoid arthritis patients in the experimental group showed a reduction in disease severity of 28 per cent, compared to no change in the control group. Overall, 47 per cent of the experimental patients had what Smyth describes as a clinically relevant improvement in symptoms. Now he's trying to determine why patients were helped by writing, and speculates that writing about traumatic events may have helped patients to finally deal with and accept tragedies that had been causing stress and sleeplessness. By altering the physiological stress patterns in their bodies, their health improved.

Ok, makes sense and that's great news for bloggers. Not only am I having fun blogging, I'm creating a positive effect on my well-being. To blog is to heal. I wonder if people with psychological issues are more drawn to blogging than mentally healthy people. Hmmm....

How to get Happy?

2008-04-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

While not all of my posts are happy ones, yet the name of my blog is 'Rebecca's Happy Blog', I will strive to make it happy when I can. So how do we achieve being happy? I know I've strived for 'it' in all the wrong ways, but, have learned from those experiences, so that's positive. An American psychologist and author, Dan Baker, wrote a book called 'What Happy People Know' and he claims he's found the 6 key tools for people to use to find their own 'happy'. Because if there's one thing I've learned, only you can make yourself happy. You can't rely on others. It's up to you.

These 6 tools to happiness are tools which can help us avoid what he calls the four ‘happiness traps’. The traps are: the ‘Trying-to-Buy-Happiness Trap’, the ‘Trying-to-find-Happiness-Through-Pleasure Trap’, the ‘Trying-to-Find-Happiness-by-overcoming Weaknesses Trap’, and the ‘Trying-to-Force-Happiness Trap’. Yep, I've visited those traps before. They seem pretty self-explanatory and one can understand how one can get caught, but what are the 6 tools to avoid them and find authentic happiness? How do we achieve being happy? Well, here we go...according to Dan Baker:

- Appreciation: The outward-bound kind of love which gives everything and asks for nothing, making it pure and strong.
- Choice: Having no choices leads inexorably towards depression and anxiety. Baker says that “anyone can choose the course of their lives, but only happy people do it”.
- Personal Power: A proactive force which gives the individual power over their feelings and their fate. It is made up of two constitutent parts: taking action and taking responsibility.
- Leading with your strengths: Focusing on strengths, rather than retreating into focusing on weaknesses, enables a swifter solving (and resolving) of situations.
- The power of language: Language can be used in a healthy or horrible way, and words have immense power to constrain or to liberate.
- Multidimensional Living: Putting equal energy into the three main components of life (relationships, health, and purpose) is the final key to living a truly happy life.

These are all pretty straight forward, no big surprise, but totally make sense and are worth remembering. Nobody said life would be easy...here's hoping it is most of the time, but we are the creators of our own destiny and we do have the capability of being really happy, so if you're not quite there, hopefully these 6 tools will help. Here's to happiness!

An Update on my Sister - March 30

2008-03-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I emailed this note to friends and family yesterday but someone suggested I post it here as well....an update on my sister's breast cancer fight.

Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your many emails and phone calls and kind words for us as a family and for my sister especially. She has remained very positive through all this, albeit tired, but she starts chemo tomorrow so we expect she'll likely start to feel worse as the drugs take effect. She has been told she'll lose her hair within two weeks but she's not concerned about that, more about feeling nauseous. The doctor's plan for her is 2-4 chemo treatments over the next 8 weeks followed by surgery to remove the lump, followed by radiation. We imagine this will go thru the summer. Then there will be 5 years of daily drugs that she'll have to take and we pray that after the 5 years she'll be cancer free.
So many of you have offered to lend a hand and we're so very appreciative of that. There's so many different ways that people can help whether it's emotional support or research, financial or practical. As her husband will still be working full-time thru her treatment we thought that practical help would really benefit them. While we have no expectations of you, if you felt that you were able to help in some way, perhaps by preparing and dropping off a meal for them (keeping in mind she's allergic to flaxseed) or maybe offering to clean their apartment, or dropping off an already read magazine, something like that, I know they'd be very grateful. I imagine these next weeks will be rather overwhelming for both of them so we thought that if you were wanting to do something like this that you could let Mom or I know and then we can let her know the timing.
She has been very touched by everyone's love and support and kindness and we thank you for that. Thank you also for your prayer's and positive energy!
Hugs,Rebecca
(on behalf of our family)

Earth Hour's Hour....

2008-03-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

So? How did you do? Did you turn off your lights for Earth Hour last night? We did. We'd decided we'd get all organized in advance, getting the candles out and the matches, unplugging unneccessary appliances and power cords and making a plan of how to entertain ourselves for an hour without power. And no, there won't be a baby arriving in 9 months! My husband Mike even made fun of me because I was acting like suddenly the power supply would be shut off right at 8pm, but really, that's how I was approaching the whole thing, so I wanted to be prepared.

We had a great time actually. We took the doggie for a walk around 7pm so had turned everything off before we left and when we got home before 8pm it was pretty much dark so our Earth Hour started a bit early. We didn't turn on any lights but lit some candles. We sat on the couch for a bit and chatted and then I had a GREAT hot bath with candlelight and before we knew it, Earth Hour was over and it was after 9pm. We didn't even have time for the planned candle lit scrabble game. We decided though to keep the lights off for the whole evening and then the only power we did use was the TV/DVD player to watch a movie before bed.

It really wasn't hard to not use the lights for an entire evening so we're going to try to be more aware of our power usage on a daily basis and only use the neccessary lights in the evening, and all day for that matter!

Here's hoping your Earth Hour was a fun success! And if you missed Earth Hour last night, there's no reason you can't create your own Earth Hour, and hopefully, eventually, strive to make every hour Earth Hour. We're going to try.

It's just one hour...

2008-03-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

The World Wildlife Fund is encouraging everyone to take part in Earth Hour TONIGHT! It's really simple, we all just have to turn off the lights or other unneccessary electrical things to save energy. It starts at 8pm and it's for just an hour, however, hopefully it will help people to realize that we don't always have to have everything plugged in and using energy constantly. Earth Hour is an attempt to help slow climate change and it will take all of us to make a difference.

Did you know that when you have certain items plugged in but you're not actually using them at the time that they're still using energy. For example, if you could uplug your microwave and coffee machine sitting on your counter when you're not using them that would help. Also, when you don't have your cell phone plugged into it's charger, you can unplug the charger. Every little bit helps. Obviously if you can turn out the lights, that's the easiest way to help support Earth Hour but it's also a good habit to get into turning off your lights when you don't need them. Let's try to make every hour Earth Hour.

Kudos to Canadians as Canada has one of the highest participation levels around the world with over 150 cities participating. If you'd like to participate you can simply turn off your lights but if you'd like to send a message to our government showing that you care about our Earth then you can sign up as a participant of Earth Hour on the World Wildlife Fund website - I just did. The site also has tons of other suggestions on how we can live "The Good Life" and help to fight climate change. Simple things like wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot, that's doable! Plus, there's a live kilowatt counter on the site so you can see how the energy levels will actually change tonight at 8pm. Kinda cool. So let's all do our part and 'turn out for Earth Hour'!!

WASP - What A Super Party!

2008-03-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I MC'd a fundraising gala for WASP, the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program and wow, WASP - What A Super Party! WASP supports people with disabilities and enables them to participate in sports, particularly skiing and riding, and many Paralympians got their start with WASP. It's an amazing program! Truly inspiring!

I think everybody left the 1st annual Friends of WASP Gala with a smile on their face. Possibly because they made a donation to a wonderful cause, enjoyed the scrumptious dinner, or won a fantastic auction prize. But I imagine more than a few left smiling because they'd had the opportunity to laugh their heads off. Why? Well, it was laughing at me. Not with me, but at me.

I've MC'd many events before but I've never been an Auctioneer. When I saw the program outline and it listed a live auction I asked the organizer if she'd arranged for an auctioneer to do the auction but she had hoped I'd do it. I suggested she find someone experienced because I'd never done this before and I really didn't want to risk not raising enough money for WASP. After all, it was a fundraiser. But she was confident that I'd be fine. Wow, was she wrong!!

I now know for sure that I am clearly not a good auctioneer, entertaining perhaps, but not good. However, my attempt at doing it made everyone in the room laugh, especially me, at myself!! I was horrible, and I'm not just saying that to be all dramatic. I forgot what the bid amount was at, not once, but at least a half a dozen times. No joke. I also couldn't keep track of who had most recently bid, it was a mess, but a funny one. My own confusion even confused the bidders and we weren't sure who had bid what and even one bidder upped his own current bid. It was pretty crazy. Clearly I'd never done this before and everyone in the room could tell. But luckily, the room was filled with some amazing people who could easily relate to how difficult this was and in the end, the target fundraising goal was reached and everyone was very entertained.

I don't think I'll be signing up to be an Auctioneer anytime soon although it turns out some people thought it was actually a ploy of mine to be so messed up to either get sympathy bids or just to confuse bidders to get the bids higher....well, no, that was definitely not the case, but hey, if it came across that way then I'm ok with that. Whatever it takes to raise the most amount of money for the great cause right? And after the evening was over, many people commented on what a great job I'd done. I think they were being really nice.

Hey, you have to be able to laugh at yourself right? Well, it was a great laugh! What a super party!

Ha ha ha, gotta love the ads!

2008-03-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ha ha ha. I get such a kick out of the Google AdSense ads that pop up on my blog. Of course the spiders scan the site to see what topics I'm posting about and then Google posts the relevant ads....and I just saw that one of the ads is for tickets to a Donny & Marie concert....too funny, considering my recent posts about them. That made me laugh!

Happy Friday!! And, even happier weekend!!!

I learned something new about Donny & Marie!

2008-03-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I kinda feel bad now about going on and on about Donny and Marie and what have they done lately? (see previous post 'What's the Deal with Donny and Marie') I just learned that they and the rest of the Osmond family are the founders of the Children's Miracle Network. I had no idea but I'm glad to have learned this and to see celebrities using their celebrity for the betterment of the world - good on them! So while they haven't released a new CD as of late, they are helping over 17 million children each year at the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals in North America, and I believe they're going international soon. Now that's deserving of a few extra minutes of fame.

Money CAN buy happiness?!

2008-03-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is a great story and I love happy news stories. And funny that's it's still on the topic of consumerism - seems to be a theme for me recently posts-wise, yet I'm really not much of a shopper myself. But anyways, did you hear the story in the news yesterday about how shopping and spending money can actually make one happy? This definitely ties in to the theory in "Story of Stuff" (see below post) about how we're so driven to get more stuff, however, this has a bit of a twist.

According to research done at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School, money can buy happiness, but, only if you spend it on someone else. It seems our society is always trying to keep up with the Jones' but that of course means spending money on oneself to have the nicest house with the white picket fence or the fastest car, a new boat and whatever else you might want. We seem to think that the more we have the happier we'll be. I have to admit I'd be pretty happy to have any, or all of those things. But in this case, the money spent needs to be spent on others and then you'll be happier than if you bought something for yourself. Isn't this great? I just love this story and it just goes to show that the lesson we learned in kindergarten is true: giving is better than receiving. And if you happen to be a fan of shopping, well, who can complain if you're buying something for someone else because really everyone wins!

Ok, now I'm off to pick up some Easter treats, and no, they're not for myself! :)

Happy Easter!

Hmmm...the green choo choo.

2008-03-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

On a similar topic to the theme of "Story of Stuff" in my previous post, have you seen the new The Bay commercial on TV? It's called "The New Renaissance - Rules for Living Well" and is basically going on the whole 'it's spring so go shopping for the new season' theme BUT it's trying to use the whole 'go green' theme to encourage you to shop, but not neccessarily for green products, just for stuff.

It's actually very smart, but oh so sneaky! For example, the soft, sexy male voice says 'Walk to work' while showing an attractive woman walking in very cool new open toed pumps - and what woman isn't dying to pull out her summery shoes to show off her recent pedicure now that the snow has cleared and the winter boots have been stashed at the back of the closet? The Bay is supporting being green by suggesting we all walk to work (kudos to them!), however, who would actually walk to work in pumps? Ok, I know some people do, but I'm not one of them. I'm all about comfort myself. The Bay is betting that by showing these sexy new shoes and tying them to the cause that they'll sell shoes, shoes and more shoes. And, as women tend to be, likely they will.

The ad suggests further tips to be green all the while showing products that 'relate' but aren't neccessarily 'green' products. But I bet they'll make some sales on those products just because they've suggested they're green. I guess their goal of making some greenbacks just jumped on board the green train. Smart....but sneaky...but smart.

Doing our part for our world!

2008-03-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm definitely not one to preach but....I watched this video today called "The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard" and while I already thought I was somewhat 'green', I realized that green isn't even enough for the future our our world.

I care about the future of the planet and for my future kids (don't have any yet) and for future generations, but wow, this whole issue of using up our resources and creating garbage twice as fast as we did a generation ago is a much bigger issue than I thought. The stats in this video are staggering.

While I learned the lesson a bunch of years back that it's not about how much money one makes or how much stuff one has, our society is still so driven by stuff. Gotta have more stuff! And better stuff. Yet most of the stuff I already have really would still suffice. I have an older big fat TV but if works. I don't NEED an awesome flat screen LCD, but it would be nice. We're so driven by getting the latest and greatest - no wonder there's so many perfectly good but maybe not the latest and greatest computers in the landfills. Ugh, it makes me shudder to think about it. And, the worse part for me personally is that I contribute to that 'gotta have more stuff' as I work in media and yes, media promotes consumerism which drives our economy but also our desire to 'have more stuff'. I know my place of work is very supportive of being green and recycling and paying attention to our carbon footprint, but is that enough? Sadly no, at least not from what I learned today by watching "The Story of Stuff".

I really encourage you to watch it because it's our world afterall. We're all in it together and it's going to take ALL of us to make a difference. I'll warn you, it is 20 minutes long, but isn't our future worth 20 minutes? It's definitely worth watching to help give us all a new perspective.

Maybe tomorrow morning instead of doing your daily crossword, or Sudoku, grab a coffee and take 20 minutes to watch this informative video. On the website it says "It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever." Trust me, if you watch it, you'll be glad you did! And I'm sure you'll be encouraging your friends to watch it too.

Helen Keller - what an inspiration!

2008-03-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of favourite quotes and they happen to be by the same woman. A very inspiring woman named Helen Keller (1880-1968) who was not only deaf but also blind. For those of you who aren't familiar with her, she was a famous American Author and Educator and so much more.

My fave quotes are:

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”
I just love this quote and try to always remember that life is for living so let's get to it!

This second quote we included in our wedding program, it's so beautiful.
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

At her funeral, Senator Lister Hill of Alabama expressed the feelings of so many when he said of Helen Keller, "She will live on, one of the few, the immortal names not born to die. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith." I completely agree. What an inspiration!