SWINE FLU & why its spreading so fast!

I truly believe that if you think you are going to get sick, then you will get sick.

Remember SARS? I live near Toronto, what was the hub of the disease.

I never wore a mask, or stayed away from Asians, or whatever else was thought to prevent catching the disease.

Panic breeds and creates the conditions we are fearful about!!

I think when a collective of people get together and worry, the energy of their worries accelerates the conditions they want to avoid in the first place.

I know this sounds new-agey or you may say " nobody wants to get sick"

I want to share some things I have noticed.

Notice how there hasn't been any news of plane crashes in awhile? That's because we are not thinking about it. We are not focusing on plane crashes. The media has something else to report on: swine flu. Does that mean the skies are safer? What if I told you that on April 17th, there were two plane crashes. 1 in Indonesia killing 11 and in Venezuela that same day also killing 11 people. Or that a few days ago on the 25th there was a helicopter crash in France, killing all 5 on board.

When that plane landed in the Hudson river, there seemed to be an influx of stories in the media about plane crashes. In fact planes were crashing more in February, maybe because as a collective society we worried about it, we sent those energies out and in turn caused more plane crashes.

In January there were 3 plane crashes globally (and only 16 fatalities).

On January 15th the plane landed in the Hudson no fatalities (thankfully)

after that February has had the highest amount of plane crashes and fatalities so far:
6 crashes between the 7th-25th a 2 1/2 wk period & a combined fatality amount of 102 people.

March: 4 crashes about one per week, 44 fatalities
April: 5 crashes about one per week 58 fatalities

We're tapering off, possibly due to the fact that we are no longer focused on plane crashes, and turned our creative and potentially destructive collective energies to swine flu fears.

So don't be surprised that as we worry more about it, more people will get sick and die from it!!

the story of the saved gooseling, chick

HERE'S THE STORY:

Jim and I went for a walk by pier 8, down the street from my house. We saw a Canadian goose with her little chick swimming..
We walked around and on the way back, we saw the little goose struggling to get up the hill to get to his mom. we stuck around in case it needed help. It got up but then we heard another baby goose crying. It was dark out and lucky Jim had a mini flashlight on his key chain
There are these concrete holes and there was a baby goose down in one.
I reached in the 2 ft hole and took him out..adorable
I put him near his mom but she rejected him and I figured it was because I touched him.
I felt bad.
I was at home worried that the chicks may fall in again so I figured have to go back to fill the holes. Especially since the forecast was calling for rain and if they fell in they would die from drowning.
I had this foam mattress topper that has been in my closet for years so I decided to cut it up and take it down there and stuff the holes.
so that's what I did at 1am..lol
I stuffed them with soft material so the babies wouldn't fall in.

At first I was thinking of filling the hole w/ rocks but thought people may think I was burying a body if I went down there with a shovel...ha ha
more good news...
when I got there the mother was laying down with both babies snuggled beside her...she accepted the one I touched..

the point of this story is we can all help animals, even in weird ways at weird times of night..

**the end**

Haunted Manotick

MANOTICK Sun. April 19th, 2009.

Manotick is a small town outside of Ottawa. We visited Watson's Mill. The picture above I took and it looks to me like a figure of a woman. It may not be. It could be anything, but that's what it resembles.
The miller's wife, Ann Crosby died there when she was in her early 20's. There are 2 theories as to how she died. One is her skirt got caught in some of the milling equipment and pulled her down and she got crushed.
The other theory is something fell on her and crushed her.
Maybe she is the one in the picture.?!

The mill has a couple floors and is a working museum. They still make flour. The building has stone walls and wood floors. I love the way it looks in there. The attic is dark. I didn't get any odd feeling s or anything but as I was going up the stairs, one of the camera's I was holding started flashing.

The basement was by far the coolest and freakiest area of the building. There is a split level and if you go down more you can see turbines and the water coming in. Another lady in the group took a picture down there and it looks like she captured a little boy figure hiding under the stairs. And it would make sense if what the tour guide told us was true: that a boy spirit hides down there and plays hide and seek with people. Remember kids worked in these places and died there as well.

Anyways great place. I'd recommend it!!

www.watsonsmill.com

Haunted Ottawa trip

I went to Ottawa Ontario for the 1st time on Friday April 17-Sunday April 19th

I went with the group Haunted Hamilton www.hauntedhamilton.com

We left at 9am, made a couple of stops and arrived in Ottawa around 3pm. The jail is a large stone structure. It's imposing and creepy looking.

We stayed at the Carleton County Gaol, a jail built in 1860's and remained a jail until it became a hostel in 1972. We slept in cells with iron bar doors. no windows in the cells. Just brick celiings and walls. We had a tour of the building with stories of life in prison at those times.

If women went to jail their children would have to join them in the jail and help serve out the mother's sentence. And of course in those days children weren't seen as precious darlings..lol..they were small people that could work. There was no glass on the windows at the time so snow, rain etc would blow in through the windows and into the prisoner's cells as they slept etc. And you know Canadian winters, they are cold!!! No wonder many prisoners got gangrene and had to have amputations done. And the hot humid summers weren't much better!! the windows also let in flies and mosquitos carrying various diseases.

It's no wonder that many people DIED within the prison's walls. Either through sickness or suicide. and of course the jail has the gallows still intact. There were 3 official hangings recorded at the jail, but possibly many "unofficial" hangings as well.

The jail is right across from a big mall called the Rideau Centre. I went to Sephora and got some makeup on sale...sweet!!!

MY EXPERINCE:

The 1st night I couldn't sleep because of the dark.. There were 5 people in the cell. We had the light on and around 3am it went out> whether by itself or by someone else in the room I am not sure! All I know is if I was scared before, I was terrified now. There was alot of noise out in the hallway. I could hear a man's voice saying " come here, hey" over and over. until about 4:30am. That's when I decided to get up and get out. I went down to the old chapel now a TV room. and stayed there til sun up.

Saturday: 1st we had breakfast at a buffet joint called "Joey's". Then we went to Laurier House. The stately home of 2 former Canadian PM's. Sir Wilfred Laurier and W.L MacKenzie King. There were some deaths in the home and when we were in a room downstairs I got this rush of heat from my throat down to my navel. it was a very odd sensation and definitely unnatural.

That night I slept in the TV room. I figured there was no point in even trying to sleep in my cell.

Sunday:

Went to a small town called Manotick and you can read all about that in the next post!!

Mom's cancer update

Thankfully the cancer has not spread to my mom's brain or liver.
She is in stage 3 and starts chemo this Friday.
I feel hopeful!

Money Tips you can start using today

I think its time we as a collective society start to do things more simply. You know, the way things were done in the past. I think it will help our wallets and the environment. We have gotten so used to "luxuries" that we don't realize the harm its doing.
here are some tips:

Vegetables and Fruit:
If we grew our own, we would have a ready supply of food and if you maintain the plants/trees, you would have a renewable source of food.
But make sure to use organic pesticides.

Milk/pop:
I remember when I was young there was a pop company that would deliver 12 bottles in a case. When you were done you put all the glass bottles back in, they'd pick it up and bring you a new case. The price was good and the bottles were re-used. Although I wasn't around for the milk delivery days, I am sure it was the same principal.


Water:
For God's sake, the Earth only has so much.
Drink from a tap and avoid millions ob bottles ending up in landfills. If you hate tap water (and I do) here is a tip. Boil the water first, after it cools add some fresh lemon juice to your glass.

IF like me you like taking a bath, use the leftover water for other things. It takes up time but at least you are saving water. example: I have a bath then use a container to water all the plants in my house and if enough is left and still warm, i give my dogs a bath.

Create a rain barrel to water the vegetable and fruit trees you planted out back.

And for people who live in apartment building. Do some research and you will find there are vegetables you can grow in smaller spaces.

Use coupons:
I don't know why more people don't take advantage of coupons, competitor price matching etc. oh wait, yes I do..pride!! I used to be like that. I wouldn't use a coupon because I was worried the cashier would think I was poor. Now my thinking has changed..the more money I save, the more that can be spent on other things.

Credit:
Credit is important, but it can get you into alot of trouble.
My credit rules are:
(1)If you get one, make sure it is one with an incentive program that makes sense for you. Personal example: I don't like to fly, so getting one where you collect airmiles makes no sense for me. However, I go to the movies often and I have a Scene Scotiabank Visa. That way when I do use the card, I get points to redeem for free nights out at the movies.

(2) only buy what you have the cash to back up. The other day I ordered Go Smile products. I used my Visa to order, but I have a "credit card payment envelope" that I put the money for the product into already. So when it arrives in the mail I can go pay my card.

(3) Always, repeat ALWAYS pay your balance in full. If you really can't afford to do that then look over your finances and create a budget because you are doing something wrong. But if you really can't pay the whole thing then pay more then the minimum requirement. And do not use your card until you get back to $0.

Clothing:
Learn to sew:
you can save money if you learn to sew rips, hemlines etc.

If you are planning to lose weight that's great!! But don't go out and buy clothing in smaller sizes to "motivate" you. I did this before and it made no sense to me. I spent money to purchase something that looked so good but that I couldn't wear.
And you may never be the size you are hoping to be. If you really dedicated then save money to buy the clothes WHEN you lose the weight.

Same with shoes. Don't buy the wrong size because the shoes are hot. I have been guilty of this as well. Shoes should be comfortable. And it doesn't feel good when your feet are crammed into too small shoes or you have to wear 3 pairs of socks to fit into shoes that are too big..

These are some small tips that I have used to turn my spending habits around. Try em out and see what works for you.

car re-possessed pt 1 and 2

Part 1

so I am at work yesterday and my mom calls to tell em to take a cab home. That my dad won't be picking me up because the car got towed.
I get hom and everyone is stressed to the maximus...
I guess my parents were a little behind in their car payments (because my pops is a construction work and doesn't work in our Canadian winters, so money has been scarce)
My mom had made an arrangement with a lady at the company to make smaller payments.
She ok'd that but they came and took my dad's car..He was LIVID!!!
No one could sleep last night!!

Part 2
last night I prayed for a miracle..I said "God, if you are there, we need a miracle"
well we got one.
My mom called to find out what happened, they looked into it and realized they made a mistake. SO they are returning the car Thursday and they will pay the $600 towing fee and for the troubles they are giving my dad the month of May for free!!!

I love/hate him

My fiance has a great job..
he makes $45,000 per year
has weekends and paid holidays
full benefits
allowances
4wks paid holiday

and all he does is complain about how boring it is

I am so pised about that!!!

these are tough economic times
He should be happy!!!!

If he lost his job I am sure he would be very depressed!!!

I am annoyed with him

my MOM is stronger than your mom

Remember how in school as kids we said stuff like this/ My mom's prettier, my dad's stronger? well I think I may be right if I say my mom is super strong..
as I have mentioned before she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. But she got even more bad news the other day. She went to the hospital to get all the info about starting chemo but they can't yet because they think the cancer may have spread to both her liver and brain. So she needs some MRI testing first and then if it has spread to her brain, she will need surgery first.
I am falling apart but she is stronger then I thought she would be.
Frankly I do believe in miracles but I am still worried.
she seems to be doing quite well despite the bad news.
Women: if you feel a lump..GET TO THE DR. EARLY!!! My mother felt a lump a year ago and I hope she doesn't pay for the mistake of leaving it unchecked with her life..

TIPS for quick and efficient room cleaning

I am doing some spring cleaning. Its as good a day as any to get that done..since its "warm" enough to open the windows up for once. By the way by "warm" I mean 14C (or 57.2 F)

How do you clean bedrooms effectively and quickly?

1) make your bed first

2) take any objects from any dressers, desks etc and put on your bed. Include anything thats on the floor

3) Now polish and dust all the furniture

4) Put items back on, photo frames, jewllery boxes, etc
put Only essential items back on

5) whatever is left on the bed are the extras that need to be sorted.

6) Recycables (almost anything can be recycled), items to donate, items belonging to others that you need to return to people, libraries etc, stuff you are keeping that needs to be organzied better etc.

7) check bed, may need to shake the covers off

8) get things out of the house asap, if you don't, they risk re-piling up

9) vacuum last.