If you aren't at least smiling by the end of this video, I don't know what will make you smile!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
What do I do in an evening?
I never feel I have enough time to blog. Or put away clean laundry. Or exercise. Or ... well, I always feel busy.
Then I read this post by Marie-Eve. She talks about a typical evening, and I realized how little I actually do in an evening.
By the way, go read her post. It's beautiful: the theme is that children don't make life easier, but they're incredibly rewarding. When you have a few moments to enjoy them, of course! :) It's a beautiful post ... and it made me realize that I'm not really that busy.
Maybe I'll motivate myself by thinking of how much more parents have to do than me! :)
Then I read this post by Marie-Eve. She talks about a typical evening, and I realized how little I actually do in an evening.
By the way, go read her post. It's beautiful: the theme is that children don't make life easier, but they're incredibly rewarding. When you have a few moments to enjoy them, of course! :) It's a beautiful post ... and it made me realize that I'm not really that busy.
Maybe I'll motivate myself by thinking of how much more parents have to do than me! :)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Audio Links?
Does anyone know any way I can post an audio files on-line? I have a copy of the interview I did, and I'd like to share it. It's a .wma audio file, and I can't figure out how to post it to blogger.
If I could post it to you-tube, then I could put the link here, but I don't think that I can post .wma files to you-tube.
Let me know if you know how to post an audio file anywhere on the internet so I can share it! :)
If I could post it to you-tube, then I could put the link here, but I don't think that I can post .wma files to you-tube.
Let me know if you know how to post an audio file anywhere on the internet so I can share it! :)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Activism: Kidney Cancer
Listen to 98.3 Fly FM at 8:45 EST tomorrow morning (Wednesday, July 21st), a Kingston radio station. If you aren't local, you can always live stream it from Fly FM Kingston.
I'm going to be interviewed for their "Family Matters" segment at 8:45 EST. This segment is held daily to talk about family and health issues. Kidney cancer used to be incredibly rare, but it is now the 10th most common newly diagnosed cancer. Ontario has recently decided to provide access to TORISEL, a Health Canada approved intravenous chemo. (That means TORISEL is now "free" for Ontarians who are diagnosed with kidney cancer as a first treatment.)
I'm going to talk about what kidney cancer is, how the "new" targeted chemotherapies work, why it's so great that TORISEL is covered, and why other Health Canada approved chemos (like the oral chemotherapies Sutent and Nexavar) need to be covered in Ontario, too.
The press release on TORISEL is here.
Listen in! (I think it's going to be live, which is intimidating!) And please feel free to re-post this information!
I'm going to be interviewed for their "Family Matters" segment at 8:45 EST. This segment is held daily to talk about family and health issues. Kidney cancer used to be incredibly rare, but it is now the 10th most common newly diagnosed cancer. Ontario has recently decided to provide access to TORISEL, a Health Canada approved intravenous chemo. (That means TORISEL is now "free" for Ontarians who are diagnosed with kidney cancer as a first treatment.)
I'm going to talk about what kidney cancer is, how the "new" targeted chemotherapies work, why it's so great that TORISEL is covered, and why other Health Canada approved chemos (like the oral chemotherapies Sutent and Nexavar) need to be covered in Ontario, too.
The press release on TORISEL is here.
Listen in! (I think it's going to be live, which is intimidating!) And please feel free to re-post this information!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Name Game
My "blog twin" Carly (The Less Than Domestic Goddess) has had some amazing posts lately. She's talked about some challenges in trying to conceive, the challenges of living with one's husband and brother in the same apartment due to economic pressures, the challenges of a crazy mother-in-law (she is crazy), and the challenges of running a blog. If you don't read Carly's posts, you need to subscribe or visit her blog!
This post will be a reply to her post entitled (Changing My Name: One Year Late). The gist of her post is that she has two last names - her maiden and married last names. She didn't hyphenate, but she legally has two last names. (Kinda like hyphenating, but without a hypen between). She goes by either last name, partially depending on her mood, sometimes in a flighty way (if she's mad at her hubby, she goes by her maiden name), but more out of genuine confusion over which she prefers.
Let me state that I legally "inverse" hyphenated. I'd have preferred two last names, like Carly, but with Hanna as one of the last names, it would sound like I had two first names!
I personally find it abhorrent when women change their name because it's the right thing to do or it's the easiest thing or it's what they always assumed they'd do. To me, it seems like someone who always "assumed" that's what they'd do was groomed to prepare herself to be a wife, as if that's a goal. Yes, being married is great and it's a wonderful thing to want to spend the rest of your life with someone; however, getting married should not be a goal in life. A goal is something you set for personal betterment. Getting married is what two people who want to commit to each other do. Going to university, becoming a teacher, getting a promotion - these are goals.
I don't understand women who change their name because their maiden name is hard to pronounce or difficult to spell. (I mean, that's the best reason you could come up with for changing your name?) And as for women who want to have the same last name of their kids: in this "modern" time, people can deal with mothers having different last names than their kids. And let's be honest, you could always consider hyphenating your kid's name. It's not a death sentence or a horrible crime to do that, although some people think it is. You know Helena Bonham-Carter, the actress? Her family name is Bonham-Carter or Bonham Carter. Her cousin once removed is James Bonham-Carter, who was my high school biology teacher. This is a whole family with a hyphenated last name. I also dated someone early in university who had a hyphenated last name of his mother's and father's last names. He was actually proud of having these two last names merged into one hyphenated last name.
I sympathize with Carly's debate. And I pointed out in my comment that you can change your name years into the marriage. Sarah Michelle Gellar changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze on her fifth anniversary, but of course she's professional known as Sarah Michelle Gellar. (And some women change their name socially but go by their maiden name professionally. That's another option.)
While I hyphenated (inverse hyphenation: Married-Maiden), I professionally go by my maiden name. I think changing or hyphenating your name is a personal decision. I haven't completely decided what to do, either, I suppose.
Thanks, Carly, for your thought-provoking post!
This post will be a reply to her post entitled (Changing My Name: One Year Late). The gist of her post is that she has two last names - her maiden and married last names. She didn't hyphenate, but she legally has two last names. (Kinda like hyphenating, but without a hypen between). She goes by either last name, partially depending on her mood, sometimes in a flighty way (if she's mad at her hubby, she goes by her maiden name), but more out of genuine confusion over which she prefers.
Let me state that I legally "inverse" hyphenated. I'd have preferred two last names, like Carly, but with Hanna as one of the last names, it would sound like I had two first names!
I personally find it abhorrent when women change their name because it's the right thing to do or it's the easiest thing or it's what they always assumed they'd do. To me, it seems like someone who always "assumed" that's what they'd do was groomed to prepare herself to be a wife, as if that's a goal. Yes, being married is great and it's a wonderful thing to want to spend the rest of your life with someone; however, getting married should not be a goal in life. A goal is something you set for personal betterment. Getting married is what two people who want to commit to each other do. Going to university, becoming a teacher, getting a promotion - these are goals.
I don't understand women who change their name because their maiden name is hard to pronounce or difficult to spell. (I mean, that's the best reason you could come up with for changing your name?) And as for women who want to have the same last name of their kids: in this "modern" time, people can deal with mothers having different last names than their kids. And let's be honest, you could always consider hyphenating your kid's name. It's not a death sentence or a horrible crime to do that, although some people think it is. You know Helena Bonham-Carter, the actress? Her family name is Bonham-Carter or Bonham Carter. Her cousin once removed is James Bonham-Carter, who was my high school biology teacher. This is a whole family with a hyphenated last name. I also dated someone early in university who had a hyphenated last name of his mother's and father's last names. He was actually proud of having these two last names merged into one hyphenated last name.
I sympathize with Carly's debate. And I pointed out in my comment that you can change your name years into the marriage. Sarah Michelle Gellar changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze on her fifth anniversary, but of course she's professional known as Sarah Michelle Gellar. (And some women change their name socially but go by their maiden name professionally. That's another option.)
While I hyphenated (inverse hyphenation: Married-Maiden), I professionally go by my maiden name. I think changing or hyphenating your name is a personal decision. I haven't completely decided what to do, either, I suppose.
Thanks, Carly, for your thought-provoking post!
Posting
Well, I haven't posted nearly as frequently. Part of that is due to me being swamped at work. Part of it is due to not being able to post pictures, which is incredibly frustrating. And part of it is due to me being lazy. (C'mon, when I get home from my swamped days, I just want to go to bed!)
I've been reading all the blogs I follow. Since my creativity is literally nil, I think I'll spend today replaying to some of my favourite posts. Or at least up until my "brand new" antique dining room set arrives. It's 150 years old, but it's new to me! :)
I've been reading all the blogs I follow. Since my creativity is literally nil, I think I'll spend today replaying to some of my favourite posts. Or at least up until my "brand new" antique dining room set arrives. It's 150 years old, but it's new to me! :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A Mother's Pride (aka Princess was so good this week-end!)
I will upload pictures tomorrow to show you our Pool Party this past Canada Day week-end. (Canada Day is July 1st, so it usually falls on the same week-end as Independence Day for those of you south of the border.)
We had about 40 people over, including children ranging from 7 months to 13. There were two darling 7-month-olds (Charlotte and Kiara), two toddler (14-month-old Charlie and seventeen-month-old Liam), six-year-old former ring bearer (for us) Kylan, plus three 11-13 year old names Tyler, Jordan and Spencer. There were new men, big scary men, children running and screaming. And Princess was good. Kylan's nervous around dogs, but within a couple minutes, they were cuddling. Princess quickly learned that if she sits under the toddlers, food will come her way! She sat beside people to be petted, greeted new guests as they arrived with a tail wag (no jumping and no barking) and was generally the best behaved dog ever. She growled once to tell someone she didn't want to be picked up (but it was a very quiet 'rrr' to indicate dislike, rather than a full-out growl).
She was so good. We were so proud of her! We were watching her very closely for the first two hours, but after that we relaxed after all the guests had arrived and we saw how Princess was behaving. We prepared everyone who was coming to be prepared for her behaviours, and our plan was to crate/pen her once she became excited or over-stimulated. We didn't need to do anything, though! People who hadn't met her before were confused that we had prepared them for a scared rescue dog who was prone to fear-based behaviours; and they arrived to meet the friendliest, most docile dog many of them said they'd ever met.
She was so good. You should see how proud Wade and I were of our cute little dog that night! :)
Pictures to come soon ... I was going to uplaod them from my camera at work (shh!) where I have faster internet and could use my work laptop, but I forgot the camera cord. I'll try again tomorrow!
We had about 40 people over, including children ranging from 7 months to 13. There were two darling 7-month-olds (Charlotte and Kiara), two toddler (14-month-old Charlie and seventeen-month-old Liam), six-year-old former ring bearer (for us) Kylan, plus three 11-13 year old names Tyler, Jordan and Spencer. There were new men, big scary men, children running and screaming. And Princess was good. Kylan's nervous around dogs, but within a couple minutes, they were cuddling. Princess quickly learned that if she sits under the toddlers, food will come her way! She sat beside people to be petted, greeted new guests as they arrived with a tail wag (no jumping and no barking) and was generally the best behaved dog ever. She growled once to tell someone she didn't want to be picked up (but it was a very quiet 'rrr' to indicate dislike, rather than a full-out growl).
She was so good. We were so proud of her! We were watching her very closely for the first two hours, but after that we relaxed after all the guests had arrived and we saw how Princess was behaving. We prepared everyone who was coming to be prepared for her behaviours, and our plan was to crate/pen her once she became excited or over-stimulated. We didn't need to do anything, though! People who hadn't met her before were confused that we had prepared them for a scared rescue dog who was prone to fear-based behaviours; and they arrived to meet the friendliest, most docile dog many of them said they'd ever met.
She was so good. You should see how proud Wade and I were of our cute little dog that night! :)
Pictures to come soon ... I was going to uplaod them from my camera at work (shh!) where I have faster internet and could use my work laptop, but I forgot the camera cord. I'll try again tomorrow!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Princess ... le sigh
Princess was bad. If you may remember, shortly after we adopted Princess in the fall, she was startled by a boy on a bike. This time, she was excited by a neighbour. We don't let her off-leash, but we'll make exceptions when we're coming in from the car. (When we get home from a car-ride, especially when we have food, she's thrilled to follow us in the house.) I was carrying in her dog food and some human food, and she was trotting behind me.
Well, she was distracted by a rabbit and she charged away. I ran after her. She lost the rabbit and stopped running. As I got close to her, she noticed there was a dog being walked by the house. Princess was about 20 feet from the dog and his owner, and the neighbour was excitingly yelling at my dog to "go home". As the neighbour kept repeating this phrase, the voice got louder, higher pitched, and more excited. Not all people know this, but dogs respond to human's emotional responses, so a loud, excited voice creates an excited dog. Princess stood about 20 feet away watching the neighbour and other dog for a good 10 seconds (several minutes in dog time), as I ran closer. As I got closer, the neighbour's voice was extremely excited, and my dog ran after the neighbour's dog.
If it wasn't so upseting, it would be quite funny. The scene was out of a sit-com, except there was nothing funny about it for either of us. The neighbour and I ran around each other in a circle, as the two dogs ran around each other in a circle. The neighbour kept yelling comments about how could I be such a bad person and have such a bad dog. (Seriously.) Her voice was, understandably, excited, which fed both of the dog's excitement. I was yelling at Princess to "stop" in my firm, listen-to-me voice. (Stop is a command she knows. Well, she knows the command when she's calm, but an excited dog sometimes has selective hearing.) It felt like every time I got close to catching my dog, the neighbour stepped in front of me (to protect the other dog), causing Princess to change direction, and therefore preventing me from getting to Princess. The neighbour and I continued to run around circling each other (as the neighbour continued to repeatedly yell about how I was such a bad person and I yelled at Princess to "stop") for a good 30 seconds. (Hours in dog time.)
As the neighbour was walking away, I was subduing Princess to teach her that was bad. I apologized. The neighbour ignored me and kept walking away. Several seconds later, the neighbour looked back, then gave me a funny look, a very "taken aback" look. I don't know if the neighbour was surprised that I apologized or surprised I remembered the neighbour's name. (We've only met once. Perhaps the neighbour didn't remember we'd met. Or maybe I remembered the name wrong? But I don't think so, I'm pretty sure I remembered it correctly.)
This dog bit Princess. I think Princess may haved nipped the dog. (Princess doesn't bite, but rather nips, meaning the skin is not broken and therefore no diseases can be transmitted.) Princess's shots were all updated three weeks ago, so I won't go ask her if the other dog's shots are up-to-date. (I don't think I'd have the nerve. In fact, I'm currently holed up in my house, almost hiding, because I'm so upset.) The neighbour has every right to be upset, too. An off-leash dog ran at her dog, followed by a crazy owner who was only yelling "stop".
My heart has been thumping out of my chest the past hour, since it happened. I'm starting to calm down. I think I need a bath and some peppermint tea now.
Sigh.
Not exactly what I want to deal with. Pretty soon, the neighbours are going to start hating us. (Maybe I'm being melodramatic.)
Well, she was distracted by a rabbit and she charged away. I ran after her. She lost the rabbit and stopped running. As I got close to her, she noticed there was a dog being walked by the house. Princess was about 20 feet from the dog and his owner, and the neighbour was excitingly yelling at my dog to "go home". As the neighbour kept repeating this phrase, the voice got louder, higher pitched, and more excited. Not all people know this, but dogs respond to human's emotional responses, so a loud, excited voice creates an excited dog. Princess stood about 20 feet away watching the neighbour and other dog for a good 10 seconds (several minutes in dog time), as I ran closer. As I got closer, the neighbour's voice was extremely excited, and my dog ran after the neighbour's dog.
If it wasn't so upseting, it would be quite funny. The scene was out of a sit-com, except there was nothing funny about it for either of us. The neighbour and I ran around each other in a circle, as the two dogs ran around each other in a circle. The neighbour kept yelling comments about how could I be such a bad person and have such a bad dog. (Seriously.) Her voice was, understandably, excited, which fed both of the dog's excitement. I was yelling at Princess to "stop" in my firm, listen-to-me voice. (Stop is a command she knows. Well, she knows the command when she's calm, but an excited dog sometimes has selective hearing.) It felt like every time I got close to catching my dog, the neighbour stepped in front of me (to protect the other dog), causing Princess to change direction, and therefore preventing me from getting to Princess. The neighbour and I continued to run around circling each other (as the neighbour continued to repeatedly yell about how I was such a bad person and I yelled at Princess to "stop") for a good 30 seconds. (Hours in dog time.)
As the neighbour was walking away, I was subduing Princess to teach her that was bad. I apologized. The neighbour ignored me and kept walking away. Several seconds later, the neighbour looked back, then gave me a funny look, a very "taken aback" look. I don't know if the neighbour was surprised that I apologized or surprised I remembered the neighbour's name. (We've only met once. Perhaps the neighbour didn't remember we'd met. Or maybe I remembered the name wrong? But I don't think so, I'm pretty sure I remembered it correctly.)
This dog bit Princess. I think Princess may haved nipped the dog. (Princess doesn't bite, but rather nips, meaning the skin is not broken and therefore no diseases can be transmitted.) Princess's shots were all updated three weeks ago, so I won't go ask her if the other dog's shots are up-to-date. (I don't think I'd have the nerve. In fact, I'm currently holed up in my house, almost hiding, because I'm so upset.) The neighbour has every right to be upset, too. An off-leash dog ran at her dog, followed by a crazy owner who was only yelling "stop".
My heart has been thumping out of my chest the past hour, since it happened. I'm starting to calm down. I think I need a bath and some peppermint tea now.
Sigh.
Not exactly what I want to deal with. Pretty soon, the neighbours are going to start hating us. (Maybe I'm being melodramatic.)
Friday, June 25, 2010
"I felt the Earth move under my feet"
I could have easily titled this "Shakin' All Over".
Now get that song out of your head now :)
Here in southeastern Ontario, we had an earthquake on Wednesday. Although not a large earthquake (reports range from 5.0 to 5.6 on the richter scale), it was unusual for two reasons: first, we don't get many noticeable earthquakes, and second, it could be felt in a 1000 km (600+ mile) radius. The large radius was due to the cooler rocks being a better conductor of vibrations than the warmer rockers of many earthquake regions, such as California.
We have construction out front of our building, so occasional compacting and demolition has been shaking us. At first, my co-worker and I thought it was an oddly long demolition. Then we got a call that it was an earthquake.
I admit, I was a little figuratively shook up, plus I was worried about how my dog took it. Some animals were reportedly upset. Everyone around the office was buzzing, and other office occupants who we'd never seen before "popped by" our office to see how we felt. I wasn't getting any work done, so I went home.
Princess was fine. She was just happy to see me, the exact same way she is every day when I get home from work.
Now get that song out of your head now :)
Here in southeastern Ontario, we had an earthquake on Wednesday. Although not a large earthquake (reports range from 5.0 to 5.6 on the richter scale), it was unusual for two reasons: first, we don't get many noticeable earthquakes, and second, it could be felt in a 1000 km (600+ mile) radius. The large radius was due to the cooler rocks being a better conductor of vibrations than the warmer rockers of many earthquake regions, such as California.
We have construction out front of our building, so occasional compacting and demolition has been shaking us. At first, my co-worker and I thought it was an oddly long demolition. Then we got a call that it was an earthquake.
I admit, I was a little figuratively shook up, plus I was worried about how my dog took it. Some animals were reportedly upset. Everyone around the office was buzzing, and other office occupants who we'd never seen before "popped by" our office to see how we felt. I wasn't getting any work done, so I went home.
Princess was fine. She was just happy to see me, the exact same way she is every day when I get home from work.
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