Monthly Archives: November 2008

There seems to be a whole world of people out there who are willing to try anything to lose a few pounds. They will try anything — extreme diets, wacky cleanses, intense exercise regimes, diet pills, even surgeries. Obesity has become a global epidemic that is effecting all facets of society from what sizes and types of designs fashion designers create to laws about what can be served at restaurants to our failing health care systems trying to keep up with the growing sizes of people. With very few exceptions, weight loss needs to be a lifestyle change. Sometimes diet pills or surgeries can help, however, exercise and portion control are what need to be achieved to make a long term difference in a person’s weight. Sometimes the fads such as the grapefruit diet or even the Atkins diet can really be harmful instead of helpful. I think that it’s best to talk to your physician about any lifestyle changes that you are hoping to make. The doctor can work with you to create a plan that is best suited for you. The doctor should be the person to decide if pills or surgeries are a course of action that you should undertake. He may also recommend seeing a nutrionist to learn portion control and which foods are most beneficial. We’re all hoping for that one magic pill that will melt the pounds. Maybe one day. Continue reading →

I recently came across a poorly informed editorial by John Williamson who is the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.  I just got a response published on Sociberty as “The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation Comes Out Against EI After an Abortion, Regardless of Cause“.
Basically, while on the surface it sounds like the government is giving free holidays, if you look into it you find that you have to have a doctor’s referal for it and it is meant for women who have an operation that is termed as an abortion, but the baby may already be dead (it is the same operation) or the family is forced to make some tough decissions and terminate a desperately wanted and loved pregnancy due to defects that mean that the baby could not survive.  These are not people just having casual sex and then having abortion afterwards, but rather families going through the worst experience of their entire life.  While a little time off is often not enough, it at least offers these women some time to work through their grief before having to go back to work.

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I’m really trying to get started on my Christmas shopping in the last couple of weeks. My youngest who is 2 1/2 years old is definitely the easiest one to shop for. She likes pretty much anything — toys, books, clothes, etc. Christmas is going to be a whole new experience for her. She knows who Santa is but of course, does not remember Christmas from last year. I love that about little kids, every Christmas is like their first.

Shopping for a teenage boy, on the other hand, is not quite as simple. He loves video games, and, uh, more video games. I can’t even seem to get him to make a Christmas list so it’s definitely going to be tough. I’m thinking movies (James Bond and Monty Python ones are always sure hits), Xbox games, and clothes. The clothes aren’t overly exciting but it’s amazing how fast he grows and how hard he is on his clothes.

Wish me luck trying to get the shopping done. I’ve got a load of aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, moms and dads to shop for. I’ll keep you posted when I find things that are cool. Except for my husband’s gifts of course because he’ll just read this and then he’ll have no surprises. He’s like that.

If anyone has any brilliant (or crazy) ideas for gifts, feel free to post them on the comments section of this post. I’d appreciate all the help I can get! Continue reading →

I read something today that really bothered me. I’m really torn whether I should post a link to it or not because I don’t want the writer to receive more views and more money for his article. Here it is: http://www.newsflavor.com/Opinions/Will-Sympathy-Votes-Work-in-Obamas-Favor.329575

The article seems to be trying to explain why McCain is going to lose today. He doesn’t claim it is because of McCain’s poor choice of vice president, or because of the completely base nature of his campaign ads being so negative, or because Obama is the better choice for President or because the voters really would rather Obama. Instead, he seems to say that Obama is going to win on “pity votes” because of his grandmother passing so close to the election. This article and people who agree with it are really taking politics to the lowest common denominator. McCain and his supporters have really seemed to miss the point of this entire election. Is the American public so stupid that they would base their entire country on the sympathy of one man losing a member of his family? Does McCain and his supporters really think that the world can only think of one thing at a time? I think that this author and that McCain supporters in general need to wake up! It doesn’t matter what Obama’s middle name is or whether he just lost a loved one or what his pastor believed in. What matters is what Barrack Obama himself says and believes. What he does. Who he is. I am hoping that he wins and that McCain supporters don’t try to taint his victory by saying he won out of pity. It is such a cop out and so typical of the way that the McCain campaign has been conducted. Continue reading →

Election day is finally here. It’s amazing to me as a Canadian that so many Americans are voting and are so interested in the presidential election. Here in Canada, things are unfortunatley much different. Canadians have historically had very low rates of people exercising their right to vote. Many of us have no idea what the politicians believe in and frankly, don’t even care. I think that we could really learn something from our American neighbours. They have managed to create a media circus surrounding the election and kept it going for months and months. And it is actually interesting. Whereas in Canada, the only things that were interesting in our last election involved puffin poop and Steven Harper liking to eat babies. Well, okay that was all I really found interesting. Here we feel like our votes don’t really count. And, at leat in the Western part of the country, our feelings are right. Continue reading →

We watched a couple of movies last week. Kris and Mark watched Indiana Jones. Well, okay, Emma and I watched it as well. I don’t think that we liked it in the same way that they did though. I mean it was alright, I guess. There was everything you’d expect from an Indiana Jones movie — gross animals (ants and snakes, of course), an archaeological treasure (Crystal skull which is given away in the title itself), bad guys, good guys (Indy and company), and lots of action. I’ve seen all the Indiana Jones movies and this one is just another.

Emma and I had a girl’s movie night and rented Tinkerbell. She’s always been my favorite — Tinkerbell that is. I’ve always wanted to know more about her. Fairies fill little girl’s minds with charming images of painting flowers and leaves, dancing around mushrooms and a tiny world filled with tiny treasures. I didn’t even bother asking the boys if they wanted to watch it.

It really makes you think about the differences between boys and girls, men and women. I’ve been raising both a boy and a girl and have noticed several differences between the two genders seemingly from birth. I tried to make things as gender neutral as I could for both of them — dolls for my son and trucks for my daughter. But it has never seemed to work. Continue reading →