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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:
YOU CAN'T HUG A CROCODILE AND HOPE IT TURNS INTO A BUNNY RABBIT
MAKING EVERY MARBLE COUNT
It encourages me to take care with each week, to live it wisely,
to spend it carefully, and to cherish every marble.
Linda Hunter
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Janet Bauer
Janet Bauer
Janet Bauer
3 PART FULL SERIES . LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN
THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION IS ACTIVE AND WORKING WITHIN ALL OF US
If we think back to a time when we were feeling down or depressed, how did the body feel?
Was it full of energy?
Probably not.
Ulla Jacobs
SAY THE WRONG THING MUCH?
We are such cowards when it comes to speaking up, but so much damage is done when we don’t.
How come we keep repeating this bad behaviour?
Why didn’t we learn to deal with issues instead of avoiding them?
Allison Rees
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'WHEREVER YOU GO... THERE YOU ARE'
That's always been one of my favorite sayings. (And anyone who knows me well enough, knows that I love old quotes and sayings.)
I first heard this one many years ago.
And then I found out there was a book with that title!
That particular quote just seems to sum everything up, especially when I'm in conversation with myself and the conversation seems to be going on for too long.
Just wrap it up Johanna. Stop dissecting the details.
Johanna Socha
EDITORIAL
Do the Thing
Preparing to do the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Scheduling time to do the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Making a to-do list for the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Telling people you’re going to do the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Hating on yourself for not doing the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Hating on other people who have done the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Reading about how to do the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Reading about how other people did the thing - isn’t doing the thing.
Reading this essay - isn’t doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing - is doing the thing.
Go and do the thing.
~ author unknown
FIND YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE
KIKI AND PEACHES TRY - ZUMBA
We're not gonna lie, post-holiday has been rough. How can it not be?
But there's always a price to pay for a really good charcuterie board.
Kiki Larue
KIKI & PEACHES TRY AFRICAN HAND DRUMMING
But now it was time to crank it up a notch and get our bongo on.
Kiki Larue
KIKI & PEACHES TRY ... HOT YOGA
The door opened and we were instantly hit with a solid wall of heat.
The room was filled to capacity with women and men of various shapes and sizes quietly sitting on their mats; deep breathing, meditating, trying to stay conscious, we weren’t quite sure.
Kiki Larue
CHOCOLATE OATMEAL SQUARES
Deliciously decadent squares that are best eaten - anytime!
Sally Rae Dyck
ULLA'S GOOD MORNING MUFFINS
... and commented that she did not get a sugar high or a bloated feeling afterwards.
Ulla Jacobs
SALLY'S KITCHEN PHILOSOPHY
My personal kitchen philosophy for food preparation is pretty straight forward: use pure, fresh ingredients with minimal to no additives.
That means avoid packaged, canned and prepared foods whenever possible.
Sally Rae Dyck
ONE-POT WONDERS . LAZY CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE
There is nothing like a good casserole.
An ultimate comfort food, they are fast and easy, nutritious and filling.
This one-pot wonder is certainly easy to serve, and with the addition of a salad you have a well-rounded meal to satisfy most palates.
Sally Rae Dyck
BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED ... BEGIN AGAIN!
What guided me through it was some random advice that would become my life mantra.
I can hear the words like it was yesterday: They were spoken quietly: “I don’t know why this burden has been placed on you. We can only have faith that things will turn out as they are supposed to. What you can do is 'Bloom where you are planted' and 'Trust in the journey'."
Brenda Hayter
WHEN WORDS MEET WATER
We grew up with the rhyme, 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me', yet life keeps teaching us otherwise.
Words shape the human heart.
And the heart is complex and tender, at its best when it is honoured rather than handled carelessly.
Celia Louise
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NEWEST CONTRIBUTORS
COMPLETE 8 PART SERIES BY KATE LARSEN ON LOVE . BETRAYAL . LOSS & PARADISE
TERRY'S FOUR PART JOURNEY WITH CANCER & BEYOND
Terry Dance-Bennink
Terry Dance-Bennink
Terry Dance-Bennink
Terry Dance-Bennink
ELAINE'S THREE PART SERIES . CAREFUL WHAT YOU PLAN . IT MAY NOT GO THE WAY YOU THINK!
Elaine Lakeman
Elaine Lakeman
Elaine Lakeman
WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS?
Two of the most important lessons I have learned on my journey are to persevere and to talk about issues.
I am not perfect, have obstacles on my path, and make mistakes.
Arianna Merritt
IN SEARCH OF THE VILLAGE
To provide a “happy life” for my children, I moved us into a lovely, 2500-square-foot heritage house, on a lovely street with lovely older neighbors who waved at us from their lovely gardens.
We were living a picture-perfect North American dream.
Behind closed doors, though, the wheels had come off the wagon. Completely.
Mollie Kaye
ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY TODAY?
I always thought luck and chance were the same thing, and that they couldn’t be controlled or manipulated.
Laureen Barry
WHAT CAN'T BE SEEN
Nobody chooses illness.
Many people, young and old, spend their lives fighting invisible illnesses. Nobody can look at us and understand why we talk about managing symptoms and quality of life. The common refrain among my online friends is that no one understands what can’t be seen.
Jane Waterman
CATCH UP WITH OUR CONTRIBUTORS
ARE MY SKILLS STILL RELEVANT?
If you are not working any more, either by choice, retirement or other reasons, have you ever asked yourself, “would I still be able to capably do my job?”
Nancy J. Wood
WHY YOU SHOULD STOP WAITING FOR LATE PEOPLE
I am often left waiting for people. There I sit alone at a coffee shop, at an office building, or waiting for the phone to ring for a pre-planned phone call at my home office.
Sarah Daviau
MY DEAREST RON
I will not lie.
The pain of a broken heart is agonizing and debilitating.
I am struggling, struggling with what some consider uncomplicated: walking without crying, putting in a full day’s work, settling into a routine and being in the company of many.
Janice Hayward
PERIMENOPAUSE & GREEN BUILDING
So here’s the nasty fact. Many of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals... that have been scientifically proven to affect health (like phthalates) are also present in our personal care products. The nastiest of all the chemicals are the preservatives and the fragrances.
Ann Baird
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
Recognizing that globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation, Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) works in partnership with UN agencies and regional and local organizations toward ending this injustice.
Vernice Shostal
ONE MOTHER'S TRAGEDY ... AND A MISSION TO KEEP HER SON'S LEGACY ALIVE
Andrew was a boisterous youngster, full of life, spirit and energy, and sometimes a little mischief. He was that kid who actually did pull the fire alarm in school. Maureen often wondered what she was going to do with the boy!
Maureen Eykelenboom
DOING IT THE HARD WAY
“…but what really got me fired up was when he told me I had three things working against me…”
Do what you love.
For some this comes easy, for others it’s hard. Working to pay the bills is a reality, but what if that work was something you enjoyed?
Don’t settle.
I see people taking jobs for the wrong reasons, like higher pay levels, but sacrificing happiness. I was five years old when my parents bought their first house.
Sybil Verch
AT LEAST I DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE...
Sometimes I think its best to tell yourself you don’t live where you live.
You have more adventures that way, and you can always leave town.
Catherine Moffatt
Gifty Serbeh-Dunn
Carlie Kilduff
Astri Wright
Carmen Waterman
Leanne Dyck
Germana Rovinelli
Beverley Mallette
Linda Irvine
Emily Madill
Allison Rees
THE WHY ... AND THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
There are so many questions I ask myself over and over each night as I lay my head down to sleep.
Well I am going to try to figure out the answers to those questions as I begin this new journey into writing. They say what better way to figure out a problem than to put it in writing to see if it really is a problem, or (as I hope) the beginning of a new path in life.
Brooke Sackett
GENERATIONAL WISDOM
Have you ever heard or been almost ready to say, “When I was young...?”
Cue the eye rolling!
The “old oak bucket syndrome” is rarely welcome in a generational discussion.
Rhonda Todrick
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO TRAVEL?
Instead of “How are you?”
do your friends ask,
“Where have you been?”
Donna Marie Lynch
HIGHLANDS GAL
Personal history is about saving our stories before it’s too late, so that generations to come will know who we were and where they came from, and to give them a personal, meaningful understanding of history.
Pattie Whitehouse
IS IT JUST ME...
…or are people less polite than they were 10 years ago? That’s the question I have been asking people lately. Turns out I am not alone in noticing this downward societal trend.
Sarah Daviau
WHAT'S REALLY WAITING FOR US?
The retirement to do list had started at least 10 years before, and every time I was overly stressed or it was a beautiful day, I would think to myself, Just wait … it’s coming!
Dona Anderson
THE EBB AND FLOW OF CONFIDENCE
...it has occurred to me that without the ebb of confidence, we would never experience the joy of the flow of it.
Beth Cougler-Blom
MUSINGS ... STRONG WOMEN CAN MAKE ANYTHING HAPPEN
“There will always be skeptics and there will always be opinionated people, but to do what you truly believe in, is an accomplishment which very few people can actually take ownership of.”
Joyce Bezusko
EDGE-DWELLERS...AND PEOPLE LIKE ME.
Two thoughts ran through my mind like fire through pine beetle surrendered forests; the first, quickly delivered inside my own laughter sounded like, “He’s poking fun at me!” the second, as quickly delivered with a stun similar to the emotion carried by a falling tree was,
“My ancestors are poking fun at him!”
Nancy E. Brown
I AM FOREVER DRAWN HOME
I can still hear the crickets, and the woodpecker with the bright red cap that hung out by the old school for as long as I can remember.
The tide is low; the smell of seaweed is intense.
The huckleberries are so vivid in my mind’s eye that I’m sure I can smell them, though I know they have no scent.
Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi
SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING...JUST A MOM
It is truly wonderful what has been accomplished by and for women in the last century.
Equal rights and opportunities at home, in society and in a career setting. We have come so far that it seems being a stay-at-home mother is an exception. Double income families have become the rule, and we have shaped our society and education to fit that choice of lifestyle. At the same time, life has become expensive, especially in a city like Victoria, to the point where having a doubl
Elaine Smithers
MY SON'S ADDICTION...A MOTHER'S STORY
I’ve heard it said that addiction is like playing Russian roulette;
No one knows when they take that first drink or do that first drug, if they have the addiction gene or not.
They do what many people do socially in society with no repercussion. Nothing happens to them. But someone with an addictive gene does the same thing, and they are addicted.
Louise Chabros
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