Tulip Blades

(a haiku)

Tulips in the spring
send their own message to us.
Telling us to stop.

Stop to smell rain drops.
Stop to see the flower bulbs
breaking through the soil.

Spring is a fresh start.
Take a leap into thin air;
see what you will find.

Image by Zaid

Pressure Chief

So... someone told me after I had ordered the CD from Columbia House that Cake's "Pressure Chief" album was dissapointing. I wholeheartedly DISAGREE! I think the bit of techno that they added to their music adds a little bit of flavour that matches the songs very well. Pressure Chief was released in 2004 but it is new to me b/c I wasn't in the country around that time! Cake did not let me down on this one! They are a mint. What do you think of this album?

Lethargy

I hate the days when I feel like a snail. A slug. I have no energy, can't work up the motivation to face the world, and end up sleeping all day. Am I alone? Does anyone else ever feel like this?

photo by Joel Sartore

Sliding With Ellie

This is me sliding with my little pup, Ellie. Aren't we cute? Kris and I take her sliding on a hill near our place every Sunday afternoon & she loves it. She's wearing a little doggie sweater my mom knit for her. So cute!

Meet Your Meat

I have recently been asked by some friends why I became a vegetarian.

Recently I followed a link to the PETA website. PETA stands for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". Below is a statement from their site regarding what they believe, as well as the link to the video that I viewed which made me face the truth about the meat industry. It is entitled "Meet your Meat" and is an expose on the farms and factories involved in the meat and dairy industry.

Personally, I do believe that some animals were made by God for us to eat, but I do not believe in eating these animals if we are not going to do it in a humane and respectable way. I have always been an animal lover, and have tried to be a vegetarian before. Hopefully this time I will do it with more resolve.

"PETA believes that animals have rights and deserve to have their best interests taken into consideration, regardless of whether they are useful to humans. Like you, they are capable of suffering and have an interest in leading their own lives; therefore, they are not ours to use—for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason."

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=meet_your_meat

The above link will take you to the page where you can select the settings you want to view the video with. There are also many other video's available on the PETA website, narrated by celebrities such as Martha Stewart, Pamela Anderson, and Trent Reznor.

Bethany & Dan's Second

I can't believe that one of my best friends, Bethany Davidson (formerly Zubis) is about to have a second child. It was only near a year ago that she had her darling son, Josiah and now she's already getting ready to pop another one out. Wow! She is one courageous woman.

First Dog Biscuit Escalade

Here is the finished product of the dog biscuits I made yesterday for Ellie. The recipe was really simple, but it was a pain rolling out the dough and cutting it up. I used the hot water rather than the meat juices (I'm a vegetarian so that kind of grosses me out) & the margarine rather than the bacon grease. Anyway - she loves them, and I tasted one myself and it wasn't bad! It tastes just like a healthier pizza crust...

Title: Puppy Dogs Favorite
Description: Dogs love them and they are easy to make!
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 45 min.
Temperature: 325

Ingredients:
3/4 cup hot water or meat juices
1/3 cup bacon grease or margarine
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
1 egg beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour

Cooking Directions: In a large bowl, pour hot water or juices over grease or margarine.
Stir in powdered milk, salt, sugar, and egg. Add flour 1/2 at a time, mix well after adding each 1/2 cup. Knead 4 to 5 minutes adding more flour to make a very stiff dough. Roll in to half inch thickness. Cut into bone shapes and place on a GREASED cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 45 min.

Tips: beef broth from the soup package has worked very well for a sub....
Submitted By: Annie

Click title link for more dog biscuit recipes!

High Heels are Erking

My friend, Calley, is the one on the left. I have never seen her dressed up and sophisticated like this... I knew that she recently purchased a pair of stilletto's for her new job... but just seeing them on her erks me! Is that how you spell "erk"? I don't think I've ever written that word before. I guess I'll just have to admit to myself that sooner or later... we all will end up wearing high heels.

Which is Which?

Which dog is mine? :o) They are both miniature long-haired dachshunds... so cute! The one on top is named "Princess" and she belongs to a woman who I met on the internet solely because her display picture was her cute little dog! So, of course, the one on the bottom is our little pride and joy, Ellie!

From Calley, on Valentine's Day

Save a Tree!

I was reading the Caldwell Family Blog again and it was so cute... they had the picture to the left posted and then text explaining how there was a tree that was almost falling over onto their grandparents house. They had to cut it down, but one of their daughters was so sad that she placed flowers on the stump... :o)

(music to my environmentalist heart!)

Make a Fashion Statement...

These are buttons that are available for purchase at http://www.about-face.org

Marilyn

I'm not THAT Sunburnt!

Oh my stars!!! Look... it's me surfing off of the north coast of the Dominican Republic sometime last year... let the dreams come alive!!!

He Has Written it Upon the Sky!

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise, he has written it upon the sky...
I will never doubt His promise, though I doubt my heart I doubt my eyes...
He will never break His promise, though the stars should break faith with the sky...
My Deliver is coming, my Deliverer is standing by!

- Rich Mullins

Lonely Man & Companion

This is the biggest painting I have ever done, and it's not really that big. It took me about 10 hours & five sittings, and it is finally complete.

Suffering in Silence

For other postcards with secrets on them, visit http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com

Be Aware of Eating Disorders

February 1-7 is Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Eating disorders are something that I am very passionate about, as much of my teenage energy was spent battling both Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. However, I was not an "anorexic" or a "bulimic" - this is something society too often does: labelling the person AS their disorder or disease. A person is not "anorexic", they are a person WITH Anorexia. A person is not "schizophrenic", they are a person WITH Schizophrenia. Be aware of the way you talk about people who have mental illnesses. Stigma & labelling hurt.

- Image is a P.D.A. print of Sheena's Place. Visit www.sheenasplace.org

Top Ten Things My Eating Disorder Has Taught Me by Patricia Hart

TOP TEN THINGS MY EATING DISORDER HAS TAUGHT ME: Do not go for a walk where you pass restaurants with pictures of perfect plastic models of food in windows Do not starve to the point of eating perfect plastic food models Do not try to have the ‘perfect’ body of models with perfectly performed plastic surgery Do not try to be the perfect plastic Barbie doll Do not pretend paying for food with plastic for disorderlied eating purposes makes it less of a strain to your budget Do not consider it a perfectly understandable personality quirk Do not believe in perfect protein meal solutions Do not tell co-workers you have medical reasons for choosing low-fat food, then take a few pieces of sweets to go. Do not read Margaret Atwood to escape mental food imagery Do not make lists of things not to do when having an eating disorder (it’s all-or-nothing thinking; another thing not to do with an eating disorder) IN CASE SOME OF THESE ARE NO GOOD, HERE’S SOME SUPPLEMENTAL ONES: Do not believe in perfect meal plans Do not believe one last blow-out Do not concentrate too hard on other people’s pantries, pretending to be just curious

- "Top Ten Things my Eating Disorder has Taught Me" link: http://www.sheenasplace.org/flushed/literary/literary3.html

"Appearances" by Kyla

I hesitate
to admit
my obsession,
the comfort
it brings
battles depression.
Outsiders can't see
approvals not sought,
thoughts deep within me
are what must be fought.
Turned back on myself
I swallow aggression
once admitted
I face
change is within
my possession.
-http://www.sheenasplace.org/flushed/poetry/poetry1.html


"Food and Weight Preoccupation"
Thoughts, feelings and behaviours related to managing food and weight can begin to interfere with our everyday activities. When we focus too much attention on our bodies and our eating, these preoccupations can quickly lead to missed opportunities in other parts of our lives. Our personal, school or professional lives, not to mention our overall well-being, can be drastically affected. Food and weight preoccupation can also lead to severe physical and emotional problems.

text: http://www.nedic.ca/knowthefacts/foodweight.shtml
painting entitled "I hate myself" link: http://www.raderprograms.com/paintings.htm

"Why I Want Recovery "

I want life, not this death
that I have lived in
I want peace, and not anxiety

I want health and strength,
not weakening and decay
I want to receive what I am given,

and not regurgitate
be it food, friends, compliments
gifts or gaiety

I want to nourish my body
and nourish my soul
I want to love myself
so that others I can love
I want to clearly see myself
so the world I can make out
I want to tell the truth

and stop living in this lie
I want to stand up for myself
and not to compromise
I want to feel to dream, to try
and not hold back, restrict
and die
No longer wish I to deny
myself the chance to learn
to fly
I want to be free just to be me
to comprehend serenity
That's why I want recovery

poem link: http://www.raderprograms.com/paintings.htm

Frantic Believing

"around every corner, and up every mountain, i'm not looking for crowns or water from fountains, i'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing, that the sight of Your face is all that i'm needing....i'll sing to you: it's going to be worth it, it's going to be worth it, it's going to be worth it all"

Humongus Cappuccino

Can you see my eyes tearing up? This is how much I love coffee... not to mention the fact that my husband made it for me!

Kitty Cat

Aren't these photo's amazing? I found them on the web somewhere, but I can't remember where. I wish I could give the artist credit. I have never seen anything like the image of the cat's tongue with all of the individual spores showing like that. Amazing!

Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Despite fellow-tourists here, it's easy to absorb the isolation of this place, the silence that exists in the closed parts and in the courtyard when the last visitor departs. The men are left to commune with time. I leave feeling that I have read a complex biography, and I have. The scenes from the lives of the holy are everywhere in Italian painting. Each panel or fresco is a chapter. "Put the action into scene," my fiction colleagues tell their writing students. Sodoma and Signorellie were particularly good at that. - from "Bella Tuscany" by Frances Mayes. She is writing about Monte Oliveto Maggiore, "one of the great monasteries of Italy".

Signs reads: "Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore (Abbazia di Monte Oliveto)
This is a house of God. Please dress and act respectfully. Thank you. No sleeveless tops, no shorts.

Everybody Loves a Weiner Dog!

This is a picture that was emailed to me some time ago. Kris thinks that we should get Ellie a dog bed shaped like a hot dog bun... Who nicknamed them weiner dogs anyway? I prefer the dignified term "Dachshund". And I don't know why some people say "Docson" or "Dobson" or "Dashhound" because it is pronounced "Dash-hund". Maybe all of this mispronunciation is what provoked the nickname "weiner dog" in the first place!

Being Still

"A few weeks ago we were at Dan's brother's house for Canadian thanksgiving, it was evening and we were watching Bryce, their 16 month old toddler struggle to stay awake. You know the picture, a little guy doing everything he can to stay up so that he doesn't miss a beat of what's going on, yet he's so tired he'll hurt himself if he doesn't sleep soon. Well, eventually Nanny Larose stepped in, picked him up and put his head on her shoulder. The usual reaction to that was of course, to pick his head up off of her shoulder and struggle to get out of her arms...that's what he did if anyone tried to put him to sleep...but when he looked and realized who had him, he didn't bother struggling, he just put his head down on her shoulder and let her take him to bed without a fight. He knew that with her, there was no use trying to fight it, he would have to rest anyways, so may as well just be still.

I'm realizing that this is sort of what we've been living with God. There is so much to learn, so much to do, explore and discover in this adventure we've been on that when it's time to rest, we fight it. We struggle with rest, we don't really know how to turn the whole thing off and be still. Yet when we realize who it is that is holding us, it is with a peaceful, secure resignation that we put our head down on the Father's shoulder and allow ourselves to be carried to that place of quiet rest in Him. It would be better if we would rest as soon as God told us to, that way we would avoid the bumps and bruises that come with stumbling about...we're learning that. But the great thing is to realize that He is the one carrying us through this whole journey we're on, so we can trust Him to show us how to be still." - from: The Caldwell Family Blog: Nov. 03, 2004 entry

Am I Getting a Job?

The Lord is good. I have been unmotivated, lethargic and mentally discouraged these past few weeks. It has been very difficult for me to get out the door and look for work... But yesterday I was reading a journal entry from a few weeks ago (i hardly ever go back in my journals - maybe i should more often!) and it was saying how I know that God has a plan for me. That God has confidence in me and has given me the talents that I have for a reason. That he would rather see me out there doing social work stuff that brings glory to Him rather than sitting at home unemployed or working at a dead-end job.

So yesterday I said to myself "you know, I was right". I remembered the conviction with which I believed these things to be true. So I also said to myself "how could you feel so trustworthy of God then, and not now? Virginia, go with the insight and emotions you had a few weeks ago when you were feeling better, rather than the depressed one's you have now." So I got up and went out the door today. I looked pretty good if I do say so myself :o) .

People had been telling me about this place downtown called "Pauline's Place". I didn't even really know what it was except that it was shelter. So I went in there and the case manager was the only one there... and she immediately invited me into her office and we talked for about an hour and a half, she showed me around the building, etc.. Turns out it is a youth shelter for both males & females. That was good news, since I love working with youth.

She is giving my resume to the executive director tomorrow and I should get a call to meet with her. WHO'S GOOD?! GOD'S GOOD!!! Thank you Lord. And thank you everyone for your prayers. Even if this doesn't end up in employment, it is giving me confidence that other professionals out there will value my skills and experience.