Welcoming 2009

And now let us welcome the new year...full of things that have never been.

Isn't this a lovely new year card? It's from the Pooch & Sweetheart line by Mary Engelbreit. You can find lots of her stuff at http://www.maryengelbreit.com/default.aspx

YIKES! 17,000+ stumbles

While stumbling, I came across this image. It prompted me to contemplate my 17,000+ stumbles and the resulting bookmarking of my favourites.

StumbleUpon is addictive. There are so many great, informative sites out there and it is very easy to press the Stumble button on the toolbar to seek yet one more page without thoroughly exploring the site.

My New Year resolution for 2009 is to go back and explore all those pages that moved me to bookmark them. My intention is, in addition to stumbling, is to 'go out and play' and start implementing the knowledge into my life. All those pages peaked my interest; perhaps you will enjoy them too.

I think I'll start at simple.ology and follow this article's recommendations: Want to Have Your Most Productive Day Ever? Body Clock Experts Recommend Super Schedule.

Let the playing begin! No more bookmarking just for manana. Now it will be for Sunday Stumbles, too. Enjoy!

Bow Wow

Fluffy and I just finished watching the National Dog Show. The beautiful pointer won Best in Show. Take a peek at this magnificent dog in the video below.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Brilliant gift

My friend Fiona gifted us with this wonderful book. As I expressed in my email to her, unfortunately, any box crossing our threshold is absconded by the parcel-opening monster...my husband.

In my opinion, Make Your Own Cat Toys - Saving the Planet One Cat Toy at a Time is brilliant! It behooves any loving cat owner to obtain one.

My 25 things

It's nice to reflect on the things that give us joy during the holidays. Melissa's list at The Inspired Room called 20 Little Things to Treasure at Christmas has inspired me to make a list of my own.

My 25 things, in no particular order:

1. holiday lights
2. John McDermott Christmas special on CBC
3. watching Bad Santa and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
4. listening to The Three Tenors and Gloria Estefan's Christmas Through Your Eyes
5. eggnog
6. eggs Benedict for Christmas breakfast
7. opening up the ornaments before I trim the tree and telling my husband the story of each of them (year after year after year)
8. sipping Tassimo cappuccino
9. sending holiday cards
10. playing with my craft supplies and producing less-than-perfect gifts
11. cinnamon and cloves
12. Voortman's gingerbread men
13. curled up on the chesterfield with my dog bathed in the soft glow of the tree lights
14. Christmas crackers - wearing the silly hats, reciting the stupid jokes, and playing with the cheesy toys
15. champagne for Christmas breakfast
16. getting the parcels ready to go
17. getting excited about checking the progress of the parcels on Canada Post's web site
18. German rum cake
19. chocolate brandy beans
20. holiday phone calls to family and friends
21. taking lots of pictures
22. smiling at and talking to everyone in the stores
23. seeing my husband's happy face
24. spending the holidays with people I love
25. decorating my dog (not his favourite holiday thing)

Words can heal

1. Here is the summary of the first chapter of the book Words Can Heal Handbook:
   
   Making fun of someone causes anguish and painful memories.
   
   If you find yourself about to say something cruel, remember that the words you say in a fit of anger will last a lifetime.
   
   Harsh words from a stranger can really hurt.
   
   So much anguish is caused because we simply do not think about another person’s feelings before we speak.
   
   There is no deeper wound than humiliation.
   
   Cruelty from the people closest to us stings the most.
   
   Words have the power to take a life. If you think of your mouth as a deadly weapon, you will be far more careful.
   
   In the book Words Can Heal Handbook you will find out how to improve your relationships, and how to see if you are unwittingly destroying them. You can read the online version of this book at the following link: http://www.wordscanheal.org/readthehandbook/default.htm
   
   THE PLEDGE
   
   I pledge to think more about the words I use.
   
   I will try to see how gossip hurts people, including myself, and work to eliminate it from my life.
   
   I will try to replace words that hurt with words that encourage, engage and enrich.
   
   I will not become discouraged when I am unable to choose words perfectly, because making the world a better place is hard work.
   
   And I am pledging to do that, one word at a time.
   
   I took the pledge; you can too at: http://www.wordscanheal.org/takethepledge.htm

A must read

Here's a truly awesome book for children & adults alike.

Links updated November 2012: The online version is no longer available but the author now has a web site at An Awesome Book! by Dallas Clayton

He also has a blog at Dallas Clayton

12 laws of life

Here is a link to an amazing article that I found while surfing: 12 Laws of Life I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Implementing these in my life is a worthy New Year's resolution.

Silly girlie

This is my friend Janet's cat, Shilo.

She always sits on the shower curtain rod watching Janet take her shower. Wednesday morning, she stayed up there long enough for Janet to dry off and take her picture.

128 completely free icons

You have to love freebies! Just go over to the following web page http://wefunction.com/2008/07/function-free-icon-set/ to upload a set of 128 completely free function icons.

Holiday love to everyone

The spirit of giving

I received the following email from a friend recently who felt moved to support the non-profit organization, Okala Foundation, which is run by a group of mutual acquaintances. If you would like to make a large difference in someone's life, I would happily encourage you to support Okala Foundation. It is run by reputable, dedicated people who truly care about the plight of the needy in this world and strive to give them tools to support themselves. It takes surprising little to affect a huge change.

Hi Everyone,

This is a photograph of a small group of children in Cameroon, Africa. There are two villages that Okala currently supports, Meyenne, and Ngombe. The children of Ngombe village now attend a new school that was built through funding from Okala Foundation, a non-profit organization put together by a group of women on Facebook, and through sponsorships of $85/year for one child which provides them with a year of schooling, supplies and one meal a day.

Many are orphaned by their parents who either died or are dying from Aids, and many of the children carry the same fate. For most, that one meal is the only one they will have that day given they have no food and no clean running water in the villages where they live.

One day I decided to go through my boxes of things that were in storage and I came across 2 that were filled with stuffed toys and about 80 of my most precious Beanie Babies that I had collected many years ago. My first thought was to list them on ebay, considering the amount of money that went into building my collection.
After I decided to sponsor one of the children I heard that the founder of Okala Foundation was going to Africa to visit them in November. I thought about those beanie babies, and my plans to list them on ebay changed. As I carefully placed each one in the large box I would be sending to Montreal to the Okala founder, Tamara Davy for her trip to Africa, I envisioned the look on the children’s faces as Tamara opened the box and told them they were for them.

In this photograph, the children are holding their very own beanie baby or stuffed animal that they got to choose. I put aside 2 of my favourite beanies along with a card especially for my sponsored child, Therese and I hope to have a photo soon with her holding them.

I am not sending this because I want or need a pat on the back. I wanted to share something with you that has made me very happy. I have realized how much of a difference just one person can make with one small act. If I ever had any doubts that even I can have that kind of an impact, I no longer do.

No amount of money could have brought more satisfaction than knowing that a small group of children will go to sleep at night clutching a little toy that may bring them some comfort and HOPE for a life without the pain and suffering they have lived through and continue to endure…

Gina xo