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)

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Post tags: dogs, Facebook, New Year

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

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Post tags: diabetes, meal planning, obesity, time management, weight issues

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.   

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Post tags: Animal Care Centre of Strathmore, Australian Shepherds, chocolate lab, Duke, pets

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.

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Post tags: 'The art of racing in the rain', book review, chocolate lab, Duke, Garth Stein

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.

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Post tags: dogs, Duke, Paris, Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay, The Midwife of Venice, Vél d’Hiv, winter