To-Do or Not To-Do

Can you believe we Canadians actually hold the record for making to-do lists. Yep that's right. Out of and eight country study we ranked first in the to-do list category. You know those lists we all make every week on the corner of our desk mats and on the back of napkins while having lunch or on the chocolate bar wrapper on coffee break ;

• Buy toilet paper (tired of using the comic section)
  
• Take the dog to the vet
  
• Phone Aunt Grace for her birthday
• Buy booze for weekend
  

According to a study that was done recently Canadians use to-do lists more than anyone else. In fact we are so good at it that we spend about one hour a week revising, prioritizing and checking off things just on these lists. 47% of us are so hooked on them we have multiple to-do lists. The study goes on to say 4 out of 10 Canadians feels frustrated with trying to get everything done on these lists. (Ya think?)In fact we are so bad at getting it done that we ranked last out of eight countries in the study for completing the tasks on our lists. Women apparently tend to make lists of tasks that require doing immediately while men make list with long term goals. Now why doesn't that surprise me?
I don't know about you guys, but I am now swearing off those list. The way I figure it most of the time I make those lists and spend an hour or so just looking for the list because I have lost it and then I give up and start all over again. By then I have lost at least two hours and according to the study I will probably not finish most of the things on the list anyway! The way I figure it I will save myself two hours at least a week leaving me more time to get more of the stuff done that is not on the list (because I didn't make one) than I did when I made lists. I am so glad I read the results of that study. I have saved myself hours of grief.

Toddish McWong and Muk Muk

Last week went by in a blur and I missed a few events as usual, but I can hardly believe that I missed Toddish McWong's Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner!

Then - just today, I discovered that Sumi, Miga & Quatchi got to travel across Canada with a few athletes to promote the 2010 Olympics that are coming to Whistler. You will remember these characters from my previous post in November 2010 Mascots. You will remember that Muk Muk was the mascots official side kick and I could not find a picture of him anywhere. Well poor Muk Muk apparently didn't get the chance to go along on this trip either. Now I am beginning to think that Muk Muk is more like the poor relation. You know sort of like all those homeless people we have under our bridges in our parks and in door ways on pieces of cardboard. He exists, but no one really wants to see him. It is the highlight or low light depending on what you think of Robbie Burns. (Nasty man thrown out of Ireland and became a saint in Scotland hurmph nuf said!) Complete with deep fried haggis wonton and haggis dim sum! Toddish McWong has been putting this dinner on for ten years now! It started with a few friends and has grown to be a highly promoted and paid event.

Food from Aboriginal to Zorastrianism!

I found an article in a news paper a few weeks back about the different ethnic and religious food restrictions for many people who live in our country. I found some of the food requirements interesting. Who knew if you were a witch that you would be required to eat bread and wine or that those people who run around bare foot, with bald heads ringing symbols would be required to eat foods prepared with utensils never used with unlawful foods. Maybe that is why they always look so hungry. For that matter who ever heard of Zoroastrians?
Aboriginal/First Nations Spirituality

Significant traditional spiritual/cultural/social events such a sweat lodge ceremony, pow-wo or round dance have a tradistional feast as part of the ceremony; they may require sacred foods such as strawberries, deer meat, bannok, game or certain types of fish.
Hare Krishna
Food eaten by Hare Krishna devotees must be Prasadam (spiritualized and must be prepared with the utmost cleanliness; utensils must not have been used to cook non-lawful foods like maeat, poultry, eggs and fish; lactovegetarian diet prohibits foods made from slaughtered animal by products including lar, yogurt, sour cream, cheese and breads containing lard; in an ideal situation, a Hare Krishna devotee would prepare his own meals.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Members avoid eating meat with blood left in it, or other foods to which blood has been added.
Judaism
Kosher meat, ploultry and fish; for major Jewish festivals kosher wine. During Passover leavened bread, cake, cereal, macaroni and spaghetti is avoided and legumes are forbidden.
Rastafarianism
Primarily lacto-vergetarians who eat certain fish; for special feast days items such as yams, dasheen, green bananas and plantians, coco and callalio.
Sikh
Baptized Sikhs have no set food requirements, but pudding and ghee are considered holiday foods.
Wicca
The dietrary practice of Wiccans varies depending on traditions by which a coven identifies itself and individual conscience; Wiccans participate in ceremonies that require ritual foods and feast foods such as cake or bread and carbonated fruit juse or wine. Feasting is a sharing of food potluck style. (cake or bread and wine.... maybe I am Wiccan?!?!)
Worldwide Church of God
Pork and shellfish not allowed
Zoroastrianism
Many follow a semi-vegetarian diet without beef, pork or poultry.

7 AM TUESDAY!

Perito Moreno Glacier

I
One of my co-workers sent me this video of the Peritor Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciers National Park in Argentina and I was so over awed I have played it three times.
Apparently this glacier fractures every four years give or take a few weeks.

You Can Never Fool Mother Nature!

All week long the weather guys in this province have been telling us that we are to get snow this weekend starting about noon on Saturday. Noon came and went and yes there were a few flakes, but nothing like the 5 - 10 centimeters they had promised us. In fact by 6 in the evening it was raining here and barely a flake to be seen. We all got a good chuckle, and thought we had really fooled mother nature. We went to our beds pretty smug that we had won! Till this morning when we awoke to white out conditions in many areas and the bridge that we have to cross for work for most of us was all but closed because of the wind and ice. At first I thought it was going to only last a little while and then hopefully rain - like yesterday! Nope - not a chance. About two o'clock the snow just stopped and the sun came out to display a winter wonderland. I took Lucy and headed to the bog late this afternoon for a solitary wander. It was quiet and lovely down there. Tomorrow however may be a horse of a different color (you remember gt281 I told you we had many here ). The temperatures are supposed to dip to -5 C making my trek to work a little tricky.

Bed??????

THE OZ MEME

So gt281, otherwise know as the nut case, tagged me, Musings, Drowsey, FairieKat, and AstroBob for an Oz meme. There are no rules except that gt281 gets lots of new material to use against us!

1….When Auntie Em’s house is seen twirling in the tornado,,
is it rotating clockwise or counterclockwise,, if you watch the film in Australia…

Duh! everyone who has ever lived in the south knows that tornadoes always spin counter clockwise. That's why you always buy the house on the left!

2….How big is the Tin Mans right big toe…

AS big as his heart!






3….How much did the producers have to paid HostessCupcakes to use the phase…”ding-dong” the witch is dead…

Nothing they stole the phase from the movie. I know this to be true because I once dated a lawyer who made his entire living trying to ding Hostess for stealing the "ding-dong" . Hmm... wonder what ever happened to him?


4….How many spitballs did the Munchkins shoot at Toto when Dorothy first arrived…

Hmmm... lets see there were 124 Munchkins X 2.44 spit = ???? If X = Spit... one slippery nasty lot!

5….What type of mustache wax does the mayor of Munchkinland use…

Lucky Tiger ...fine maker of Mustache wax since 1935... I dated a guy once who... oh maybe that story isn't for this crowd.

6….How many mice can be seen in the straw of the Scarecrow…

None the Winkies ate them!

7….How many bricks were used in the yellow brick road…

None they wouldn't pay union wages so the brick layers union wouldn't let them.
They forced the Munchkins to paint them on cloth. They were going to get the TinMan to do it but it cost too much for WD40 to oil his hinges so he could bend. This is true the guy I dated who used the Mustache wax (#5) told me.

8….What is a squadron of flying monkeys called…

Oh that is easy... The Flying Banana ramma bo banana's !

9....What did the Wicked Witch of the East eat that made her green…

Bad fish from a wanna be suitor - there gt281 now you have the whole story that make you happy? Yeah Yeah ... I can hear you snorting in your beer!

10…Why didn’t Dorothy pick up Toto’s poo poo when theywere going to the Emerald City…

The Apple tree told her not, but the apple tree was secretly working for the Delta Humane Society and they wanted to send someone to fine her and get her money and then she would have to pay more and more to take Toto to poo poo and soon Toto would be NoNo more!

11…Who is the man behind the curtain…

Hey how do you know about my creepy pervert neighbor? You don't live in our neighborhood do you? Have you seen him? Hey... wait a minute .... your the creep behind the curtain aren't you gt281?!?

12…How many horses of a different color are there…

Where I come from.... far too many for me to count!! Trust me on this one!

13…How long must HillaryDillary talk to fill up Professor Marvels hot-air balloon…

Not long because she was polite and let Obama go first.

14…How much would it cost in pre-inflation 1968 dollars to build the Emerald City today…

Would that be in Canadian Dollars or those falling US Bucks? Last time I was in your country some retailers tried to tell me that Canadian Bucks were worth a different amount in your country than in mine and to pay no attention to the world price?... So how's that work? I think I need that information first.


15…What size lederhosen does the Cowardly Lion wear…

The Cowardly Lion was not wearing leather shorts under all that fur... every one knows he was a cross dresser and only took the role because they promised him he could wear ladies pink panties under his costume!


So there ya go gt281 and you thought I couln't answer these didn't you? Well I fooled ya didn't I?? Pffffttttt to you too!!!

When Doggie Play Time Goes Bad

Digger used to free trapped dog

Firemen rescue dog stuck in pot

Husky's Head trapped in wall.

And then there is this one - Border Collie survives 80ft fall - A dog has survived falling 80ft off a cliff in Dorset
They didn't have a picture of this one and I don't even want to know why!

Man's best friends can certainly get themselves into some nonsense!

The Weekend From Hell!

Well I was all excited about this weekend. I had lots of things I wanted to get done and lots of fun things I wanted to do! Friday night I got side tracked by my daughter who wanted me to fulfill a promise I made to her about helping pick out some job interview clothes and ended up going down to what I consider to be shopping hell. The mall is called Metro Town and it is huge! I can not tell you how many times I have lost my car in the parking garage. There is nothing I hate worse than going shopping and at the end of the day being tired and cranky then discovering that you can't find your car. This time I wrote the damn thing down and we still ended up going to the wrong spot to get the car when we left. Then on the way home my turn signal decided to stop working! Meaning that Saturday I would have to add a trip to the mechanics on top of everything else. However, I was spared that trip by getting food poisoning along about 1:30 PM on Saturday requiring me to stay near a bathroom to barf for the next eight or so hours. You don't even want to know how I got that... trust me! (and I wouldn't give gt281 that much ammunition) All I can really say is that someone thought they were doing me a good turn by getting me some prawns however those prawns were way past their prime! Today I felt as though I had been dragged through a knot hole backwards and had to spend most of today doing the errands I didn't get finished Saturday. So much for the weekend and now .... right back to the work week! I can only hope that next weekend will be better.

Ever Changing Canadian American Relations!

Hello... finally a day off to get some of my appointments taken care of and just have some down right fun!
I had an appointment in the US today and my daughter had the day off so she came along and after my appointment we had a great time shopping at JC Penny's as they have a big sale on.
I didn't complain when they charged us exchange even though our dollar is above theirs right now I just sucked it up! Usually I don't shop much across the line as I like to buy in Canadian stores, but occasionally I have a fling. It is not so much that you can get better deals as the fact that the stores are different and so are a lot of the products. It is interesting once in awhile - kinda like a holiday.
Before 9/11 people from Canada poured over the border to shop even though our dollar was much less. For a lot of people it was a life style thing. If it was American it had to be better, but a lot of that changed with 9/11 and the bad feelings that were created both by the bad press that was put out by the US government about us and was perceived as false by most here in Canada as well as the fact that most of our country was opposed to the war and that was perceived by Americans as being unsupportive of their troops. Not to mention the whole softwood lumber fiasco that left a very big chip on most Canadian shoulders. I have many good friends in the US and I know that the lack of Canadian traffic over the border hit them hard. Many businesses went bankrupt and closed their doors. Others barely hung in there. I can remember going to Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham on a Saturday a few months after 9/11 and you could have shot a cannon through the halls and barely hit a soul. In the past the parking lot in that mall would have more Canadian cars in it than American ones.
It did not help much that our friendly border had become very unfriendly and there was a definite anti-Canadian feel to it. None of us mind being checked for security reasons, but being hassled because of who we were was a different matter entirely. It was also a new feeling as most of the time Canadians are welcomed around the world. Because I had so many friends on that side of the border I felt concerned that their families were suffering because of the lack of jobs and the hit to the economy. You would think that with our dollar at par or just above that Canadians would again flock to the US , but that has not been happening and I think it may take years to mend the fences so to speak. Canadians still nurse their wounds from being spoken of badly by the US government and from the Americans who put up anti-Canadian websites and refused to sell goods to Canadian shoppers online, but more than that in the years since 9/11 the world itself has changed. The baby boomers are getting older and the younger generation are not so enamored of the American lifestyle. Instead we have become more proud of our own country. We have found our self confidence so to speak and discovered that we are really privileged to live in THIS country.
Today while driving home through some beautiful American countryside I wondered what changes will occur in our relationship over the next few years. Especially as we are both on the brink of an election.

The Month After Christmas!

Twas the month after Christmas
And all thru the house
Nothing would fit me -- not even a Blouse
The cookies I'd nibbled -- the egg nog I'd taste
At the Holiday Parties had gone to my waist
When I got on the scales there rose such a number
When I walked to the store-- (less a walk than a lumber)
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared
The punch - the candy -- the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd NOT said -- No thank you please ---
SO away went the last of the sour cream dip --
Get rid of the fruit cake -- every cracker & chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie --- not even a lick
I'll want to chew on a celery stick
I won't have hot biscuits or even corn bread or pie
I'll munch on a carrot And quietly cry --
I'm hungry -- I'm lonesome -- and life is a bore
But isn't that what January is for ?
Unable to giggle -- no longer a riot
Happy New Year to all & to all a good DIET!!!
Unknown

Now doesn't this just ring too true for most of us? The really sad thing is that in my house we eat the left overs all the month of January too! "Waste not want not" you know!

If You Thought Your Job Sucked....

get a load of this one! (no pun intended)

Monday Thoughts!

• How long till Friday?
• I am starting the week a day behind.
  
• Welcome to Lotus land and another day of drenching rain!
  
• Driving my leaking car will be like sitting in a kiddie pool.
  
• What does the sun look like anyhow?
• Oh good CKNW tells us there will be some let up in the monotony of the rain - wind warning 70 - 90 k for the afternoon!!
  
• Healthy food for lunch? What is that?
• Another week of petitioning in the freezing cold!
• Oh bright spot - I must remember to goad gt281 about Hillary Clinton winning New Hampshire!
  
• I should have gone to the bar this weekend!
• Oh.. that's nice.... CKNW sports caster just said he had two orgasms from watching sports this weekend. Pity his wife.

Life...

It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.

It's about what judgments you pass and why.
It's about whom you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate.
It's about having inner love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or poison other
people's hearts in such a way that could have never occurred without you.

Only you choose the way those hearts are affected,
and those choices are what life's all about.

-- author unknown

Reflections on a busy weekend

This week has been a hectic one and the weekend ended up being just as busy!

Friday I accompanied my boss to the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir to watch a children's traditional music performance. The children performed traditional South Asian music and dance using traditional musical instruments from their country. The children were dressed in vibrant colored costumes much like the girl in this picture. I admire this community for encouraging their children to learn and perform music and dance from their country of origin while instilling in them gratitude to the country they now live in. The evening culminated in a feast of delicious traditional vegetarian foods.

Saturday my daughter and I spent the day cleaning up, reorganizing some of the house. and shopping. While I hate these chores I know that I can't stand to have everything in a mess so every now and then it is time to shovel out if you know what I mean. Poor Lucy got very little walking in that day and even less today as I had an early morning meeting for an event being planned for international women's day that occurs in March. After that off to my Aunt's for a quick visit as she is not feeling well and misses me now that I very little time to get over there.
I had hoped to get better organized to start my week, but I am not sure that has or will ever happen. There always seems to be a lot more left to do at the end of the weekend!

What's Up With Those Brits?!

CBC yesterday had an article about British "eggers". Apparently there are a group of men in England whose sole passion in life is stalking birds nests and stealing their eggs to add to their collection. CBC describes them as "compulsive collectors who trawl the countryside hunting for wild bird eggs." The article goes on to say that there are hundreds of British men "whose all-consuming hobby is stalking wild birds, raiding their nests, and keeping the eggs in elaborate, secret collections."

Have these guys never heard of hockey? soccer? How about video games?

New Year Resolutions!

ABSOLUTELY not! I gave up on New Year resolutions a long time ago. They don't work and they are just a set up for failure. After all if you promise that you will lose ten pounds this year have you accomplished this if you lose the ten pounds and then gain it all back later in the year? And those people who swear to quit smoking.... are you a failure if you don't quit even though the day after you made that resolution you find out that your company is laying off half the staff and you don't know what half you are in and your husband just told you he is having an affair with his twenty year old secretary! Now come on! What about the resolution about being a nicer person. What qualifies for that? Giving your whole pay cheque to some worthy cause or just letting some one butt in line at the super market?
So... I don't make new year resolutions, but I try to think about the up coming year and what I would like to do and where I would like to be. So here is my list for this year:

1. I want to get back in shape. Start working out again. This past year has been so hectic finding time to do that has been almost impossible, but this year I am going to make time.
   
2. I want to go fishing! Yes - you heard me right! I have not really been fishing for years and last summer playing around with a fishing rod on the dock in Gambier I realized how much I missed it so this year I am going to buy a fishing rod and a fishing license and go fishing!
   
3. Finally try out that water color set that I have had for two years!
4. Make time to visit with friends more often.
   
5. Get those pet sites up and running. I own five domain names all of them concerned with animals and I have yet to get one of them running seriously.
   
6. Take a much needed holiday. I don't particularly care where as long as I can do what I want for about two weeks.
   
7. Hike Hike Hike with Lucy!
   
8. Clean out the clutter. My files, my basement and my garage need a big clean up!
   
9. Eat healthier food only because I know that when I eat right I feel better and have so much more energy! So why don't I do that all the time?
   
10. Last but not least - Win the Lottery! I can hope can't I?
    

This Just Says It All!