Archive for the ‘My Life’ Category
January seems from its very position on the calendar to be a month where we are both reflective yet anxious to move forward and achieve new and exciting goals. One of the hardest things to do is to get rid of what is not working. Which is why this blog Life Deco is causing me some angst. Looking at the dates I don’t write in it as much as I should but then what is the rule there? Should I get rid of it? ………..No………. Where would I have put my tribute to my dog Duke, share books, websites or merely sounded off if it no longer existed?
It is also a part of my online portfolio. And therein lies some more areas which will need decisions in the next little while. For instance I have a personal Facebook page (who doesn’t) and I have done a good job of adding professional and personal posts but I don’t have a solely business page. Up to now my reasoning was having a coaching company and online magazine leaves little time to dedicate to a vibrant business page however Facebook has emerged as such a strong place to market I really cannot ignore the urgency there. So if I go ahead I have to decide what the marketing angle is going to be. I guess I am adding to my business side, not taking anything away.
I have added to my personal life also when we adopted a dog from a local humane society in November. Unfortunately things got complicated with his pre-existing leg injury and we had to have the front right leg amputated on December 21 and a bullet removed from his hip. Not to worry he spent the Holidays on a big bed being thoroughly catered to. Now the drains and stitches are out and his head cone is off he can lick his private parts again so he is feeling happier. We have to work on getting him back to a new physical normal which means building up the strength in the front leg and his overall muscle tone.
I do enjoy stopping here with my cup of tea or coffee so I will try and do so more often. I will share, vent and as I did today think out loud.
Happy 2012, Jill (and this would have been my father’s Birthday – still miss you after all these years)
Posted in 
We don’t have to worry about George Orwell’s Big Brother hiding in our bedroom or cyber stalking us instead he has ended up in the unlikeliest of places our kitchens, school cafeterias and grocery stores seemingly wherever there is food.
School notes are being sent home to parents telling them what they can and more to the point cannot put in their kids lunches. One school has even intimated in their message that if you love your child you will not send cookies to school with them. Denmark has introduced the world’s first fat tax – a surcharge on foods that are high in saturated fat. And media headlines debate obese children being taken from their parents.
There is no doubt we have a worldwide health crisis around obesity in persons of all ages but shouldn’t the family kitchen be the first line of defense? A base line of counseling and education; which not only teaches what constitutes healthy eating but showing how to budget time and money so that the outcome is a realistic eating plan. The excuse of too busy and too expensive to put a balanced meal on the table is wearing thin, no pun intended.
I have a diabetic husband and a busy life too. One day a week I run all my errands, meet clients or friends for lunch or coffee and I shop. On that day if you’re not on the list we don’t meet, if the dry cleaning isn’t ready it waits a week and 7-days’ worth of meals is purchased. Pre-planning meals saves money & time, reduces waste and ensures three well balanced meals each day. I have also taught myself to decipher those nutrition labels and ingredient lists; my focal points are sugar (in all its disguises), fibre and sodium.
All is not perfect I answer emails while eating breakfast and work through lunch; what was in that sandwich anyway? Between 5:30 and 6pm I close the office, pour myself a glass of wine,
and start dinner. Even though we don’t eat until about 7pm most nights but we always sit down and share that meal. We also don’t deprive oursleves; you will find cookies and chocolate in my pantry and dessert served at the weekends but neither of us has a weight issue and we didn’t need to see a dietician anymore; I have the diabetic meal planning down pat.
It is probably time to examine those cultures not struggling with these obesity issues. France, parts of Asia and certain Mediterannean countries have longevity and healthy citizens perhaps the government needs to get out of our refrigerators and take a trip.
Here are some foodie articles that were the research for this post:
School Lunches in France by Vivienne Walt
Why just a junk food ban by Bronwyn Eyre
Out of the Frying Pan by Jennifer Sygo
A rescued dog with a lot of love in him and for quite awhile some serious issues; he was loving referred to in this blog as the neurotic chocolate lab; Duke went over The Bridge, August 19th. His final post is dedicated to ………….
What Duke Learnt – In His Own Words
Eating a stick of butter off the kitchen counter makes your tummy ache
When you’re scared good mummies take your head in their hands and tell you how handsome and smart you are
My first Australian Shepherd sister Jenna took care of me & taught me important dog stuff
Australian Shepherds are bossy and tell you that all the toys are theirs
I got so sad when Jenna went away but then funny Mia came to live with us
Wow, mom can get peanut butter to come out of these black rubber things and my dog chow to fall out of orange balls
I don’t have to be afraid of TVs, candles, fireworks, foil, ball caps or thunder
It’s kinda cool to have a cat friend who sleeps with you
If I smile at dad when he comes home from work it makes him laugh
The best thing about winter is my favourite blanket warm from the dryer
Happiness is the dog park, dirty tennis balls, bison bones, my plastic purple squeaky toy
For some reason it’s not ’helpful’ when I lick the dishes in the dishwasher
Mom makes a really funny noise when I wipe my cookie crumb mouth on her black pants
When you get old your head and body don’t feel good
On Friday daddy was sad, Dr Jodi is talking softly; mummy took my head in her hands and whispered “You are handsome and smart and you’re going to see Jenna”
What I learnt is I am loved …………
Thank you to Ringneck Kennels for taking in a once troubled young chocolate Labrador Retriever and then entrusting him to our care.
For looking after Duke not only physically but mentally we are so grateful to Dr. Jodi Silvernagle and all the staff at the Animal Care Centre of Strathmore.
A friend lent me this book as I am grappling with the mental and physical decline of my oldest dog. You will find though that you don’t need to own a pet to be swept up in the story of Denny, an up-and-coming race car driver, his family and the events that reshape their lives.
Garth Stein’s book stands out among the overly long list of doggy literature and it doesn’t have the fluff of Marley & Me. It is a humans’ story as told by their dog Enzo. He proves to be a wise, funny and ultimately philosophical narrator. If like me, you prefer not to look at life’s bigger issues through a spiritual purple haze his worldview even if it is from ground level is refreshingly logical. The reader will find themselves thinking about an odd assortment of things from their thumbs to the big stuff like navigating life as though you’re on a race track, hence its compelling title.
This is one of those books that affects everyone differently which makes The Art Of Racing in the Rain a great book club choice. Published in 2008 it came into my life at the right time. Reading about living and dying from a dogs perspective enabled me to step back from the overwhelming heaviness of it all.
As he nears the end of his life, avid TV watcher Enzo is fascinated by a documentary about Mongolia where dogs are laid to rest high in the hills. While I cannot give that to the chocolate Labrador who has shared my life for many years; I can grant him this last summer to warm his aching body and perhaps bring some peace to a now cloudy mind. And I know that he too will tell me when it is time.
The other day I looked out of the kitchen window and there was Duke trying to fit his big Labrador body on one small dry sunny spot in the snowy back garden. Here in Alberta winter is still clinging on for dear life; there were a few spring like days but this morning we woke up to more snow. The prolonged winter is why I have yet another book review; as the evenings are more about reading than being outside. I have started Roberta Rich’s The Midwife of Venice which I will probably have finished before I see any blades of grass on the lawn and here are my thoughts on the just finished Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay -
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read Sarah’s Key. Over the years I made sure that I was informed about the Holocaust; starting with the Diary of Anne Frank, onto Jean-Francois Steiner’s Treblinka and then Night by Elie Wiesel. I was also careful to watch shows that treated the subject with respect and truth; World at War, Schindler’s List and HBO’s 2001 undervalued Conspiracy come to mind.
From the first few pages I was soon to realize that like the main character Julia I knew nothing about the Vél d’Hiv roundup. As the book unfolds I found Sarah’s journey riveting and the modern day Julia’s story was well intertwined. Unfortunately when de Rosnay drops Sarah’s narrative and let’s the rest of it unfold through Julia’s research the book loses its substance. At that point Sarah’s Key takes on the veneer of a romance novel; the characters and scenes became banal. The last chapter was positively Danielle Steelesque, so much so that when Julia reveals the name of her baby it doesn’t read as poignant but trite.
I do recommend the book as the first half is well written and devoid of melodrama; as France is now willing to face and apologize for the Vél d’Hiv this event needs to take it place in our consciousness. Which further reinforces that if de Rosnay had continued to write Sarah’s character into the second half of the book this would have been a truly great novel from beginning to end.
As for Duke he is back in his cornor of the living room fast asleep on his big soft dog bed with an extra blanket for padding and probably dreaming about spring.
It seems as though we were just celebrating the arrival of a new century and here we are a decade into it.
In 2010 Jill Crossland Coaching grew in the way that I had engineered, veering away from life coaching and taking on more business clients, an unexpected plus was working with male entrepreneurs. This works well as not all women like my direct and down to earth coaching style. As I said to one female client last month ”You don’t pay me to agree with you.”
TimeFinders Magazine is looking for a new name that better encapsulates its broad demographic with the common denominators of being a woman with a business, family and personal life. Contest details can be found at the bottom of the home page.
In 2010 I became part of The Nuttermother online book club because I wanted to broaden my book choices; while I didn’t read every book the ones I choose took me away from my usual genres. If you haven’t done so already I recommend that you read Little Bee and The Help before taking on the latest crop of bestsellers. Little Bee brings you face to face with the question what would you do in a life and death moment. While also looking at the possible actions of a significant other if they were there beside you.
The Help should be read before the movie comes out in August of this year. I am not convinced that Hollywood will do justice to the subtle nuances of both the characters and the time in which they live. I would have preferred to see the story brought to life through an HBO or PBS”s Masterpiece Contemporary production. By the way if you were a fan of Upstairs, Downstairs new episodes are being broadcast in April.
Last years crop of mainstream TV shows had very few bright spots apart from The Good Wife and Blue Bloods; both shows have a strong cast and well written story lines. For me The Walking Dead was just another zombie show only with a better cast and script then usually accompanies this type of entertainment. Whatever your entertainment preference is it is important to carve out time to relax.
Every January I encourage clients to avoid the vicious circle of resolutions and instead we work on setting realistic goals and format a plan to find personalized solutions to problems. It is best to stay away from the one size fits all answers to life’s challenges. The National Post had another approach in their article “Instead of resolutions why not try solutions?”. The first thing that I have done was to purchase the new Blackberry Torch this weekend in the hopes of being a bit more efficient when out and about. Now to find the time to set it up to meet my specifications.
I haven’t mentioned the dogs in awhile. Mia is as lovely and easy going as always. She is enjoying the dog park that the town has finally opened. Neurotic Duke was really good at the park for a couple of weeks but then suddenly started to be grumpy with the others dogs so we had to make the decision to stop taking him. That’s my boy, always a challenge no matter how old he gets.
I hope that you continue to drop by Life Deco and I will endeavor to stay current in my writings. Happy New Year!
Funny how you can plan a week to go one way but life has a different plan. Just one of the unexpected bumps was chocolate lab Duke became ill. In spite of the amazing strides that we have made with this rescue dog his chronic anxiety is never far from the surface, that along with the fact that he is getting old led to a bad bout of acute gastritis. Translated this means a week of cleaning up dog vomit.
Anyway thanks to his amazing vet clinic we are on the road to recovery. I am grateful that the Animal Care Centre, here is Strathmore treats the whole dog – body, mind and spirit. As well as medications we went home on Friday with something called a D.A.P. Collar it releases pheromones which apparently produced wonderful results in helping to calm stressed dogs. We will see.
What I had planned to write about this week was India; a key part of President Obama’s 10 day Asia trip. The world is paying a lot of attention to this country and for more reasons than 
it being a source of call centers for overseas companies. The President has announced a 20 new trade deals that included such institutional companies as GE, Harley-Davidson and Boeing
This year the week of Diwali– the Hindu Festival of Lights falls from November 3rd to 7th. In the same way that Hollywood releases movies to coincide with the holiday season this is the week that Bollywood does the same. It has not been the banner year that India’s film makers had planned on so they are hoping that Bollywood can go global.
Keep an eye on this part of the world as globalization stands to not only improve the economy but will make us richer in our cultural perceptions.
Migraines are an ailment onto themselves. You get your full blown, you want to die ones. There is the mid-sized ‘I may make you take to a dark room, close to a toilet and not let you sleep or I might go away’ level and last is the mini migraine that I have had for awhile; the head pain is nagging and constant and your stomach is queasy but you can function.
Unfortunately though I choose this weekend to watch Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio; not knowing that it has a very vivid scene that triggers a migraine for his character. That managed to kick my symptoms up a notch. I wonder too if anyone else finds that some of the commercials for migraine medication leaves them feeling slightly unwell?
Needless to say all this has left me quite ineloquent so let’s get to our …………..
With Your Biscotti & Coffee
1) A good nights sleep can be so illusive; two very busy women HuffPost’s Arianna Huffington and Glamour‘s Cindi Leive decided to embark on a month long Sleep Challenge 2010 and they blogged about its successes and failures.
2) An Interesting Woman: Gayla Trail
Gayla Trail is a writer, photographer, and graphic designer. She is the creator of the popular gardening project, You Grow Girl and the author of You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening as well as an in-demand gardening personality and spokesperson with a focus on urban gardening, growing food, sustainable living, and community. Her own line of pithy gardening products
O magazine recently featured Gayla in How to grow your own herbs
3) Afganistan remains a paradox as these three reports illustrate
Afghan women swap burqas for police uniforms By Daphne Benoit
Lyse Doucet reports on the Afghan women jailed for bad character
A garden can be much more that than it seems Growing gardens, independence and esteem by Terry Glavin