My Dog, My Sister

When my daughter was two we bought her a puppy. To say that they are close is an understatement. They have grown together, played together and comforted each other. They have a connection. My daughter says they are sisters.

Gypsy is a Golden Labrador.

Labradors are known historically as Duck Hunting dogs. She has been known to catch a few unsuspecting birds in our yard. Her love of the water is insatiable.

For the past 7 years, Gypsy has been solely a yard dog.

Hubby, always a keen hunter, has recently started taking Gypsy out to the Bush with him for walks. She instantly loved the space and the scents it offered. Even though she had never hunted before, she roused a wallaby out on her first run.

Hubby had never considered taking her hunting before.

Gypsy had a history of wanting to go wherever her nose took her, and was not the most disciplined at coming when called.

Hubby also worried that she may be gun shy, in which case she may run at the sound, leaving him searching the bush for hours.

Miss 9 is an animal lover by nature.

When hubby told her that he and Gypsy were going hunting, she jumped up and said she was going too.

Surprised, hubby asked why she would want to go when she hated seeing animals hurt.

Her response was quick and honest.

"I only want to make sure Gypsy doesn't get hurt."

The connection these two have is so gorgeous.

 

Visions and Believing

 

I am a believer.
I think I always have been.
I believe, but cautiously.

I have been meaning to see a Psychic for sometime now. I am intrigued with their visions. Fascinated with their connections to the people of my past. Drawn to what they know of my past and future.

I understand that there are Psychics who are the real deal, and those that are not.

Hubby is not so much of a believer. He has not encouraged my wish to see a Psychic - AT ALL.

A rare opportunity arose last week, which brought a few Psychics to a Halloween Fair hosted nearby. They were practising Psychics, offering their services for $20 for 20 minutes.

So, I headed down to the Fair, by myself. I had a little look around, but really could not concentrate on the goings on at the Fair, as I was also checking out the visiting Psychics. I was trying to get a vibe for which one I should consult with.

I sat down with Jennifer. A lovely mature lady with a kind face.

She connected with me straight away, and told me things about the people around me and my current circumstances. Her descriptions were so spot on that I was a little stunned. I guess I was expecting what I often saw on television - the Psychic hitting on some possible truths, while other things were a little vague. Jennifer was very specific about some things. This lady was the real deal.

We talked of the children and family, a lady that had passed who was there to see me, and my future and how others felt about it.

I left feeling very happy about the $20 I had just spent. Needless to say, I grabbed her card and will consult Jennifer again.

Are you a believer or not? What experiences have you had to confirm your belief?

Dear Coles, Your support to my health sucks

Dear Coles,
I did my grocery shopping online today. I love this system. You have done a great job implementing this tool which makes sure you are catering for people of all walks of life. Life is busy, and you get that.

You obviously don't understand the importance of eating healthy though. If you want to look after your customers and get them coming back, then I suggest you get behind the need for Australians to eat healthy. I mean, are you happy being a factor in the biggest health dilemma of our time?

As much as I love your store and your online shopping feature, I must admit, I am only loyal to you because of the specials and deals you can offer. I scanned the specials section whilst shopping online today, trying to squeeze the best out of my budget, and found myself quite disgusted at the amount of specials being offered on foods I would class as "junk" or "sometimes food".

I note that periodically through the year there are different themes highlighted in your specials, such as baby items or pet care. Have you ever thought of devoting a specials catalogue occasionally to healthy options? Have you given any thought to how expensive it is to eat healthy? Or, perhaps this would not be as profitable as appealing to the sugar addicted or the savoury munchers? Here's a tip; most of these people would eat better with a bit of encouragement from a Supermarket giant to add something healthy to their diet every couple of weeks.

I know you think you have your eye on the ball, offering recipes that appeal to families and those trying to look after their health, but with a bit of effort and commitment you could offer your customers so much more. How about highlighting the healthiest choice within a range of product? How about bonus shopper points for a trolley with a large number of healthy items? How about supporting the schools across the country trying to encourage healthy lunch box habits? How about a Nutritionist in your store to answer questions?

I am not saying that food choice is the only factor in the rise of obesity in Australia. There are other contributing factors, but the food portion is your area of expertise, and something you would do well to look into, should you wish to gain long-term customer loyalty. It is obviously not enough to make healthy foods available to the masses. People need help with making these foods affordable, with putting these foods together to get the benefits, with looking after their special dietary needs that the modern diet has contributed to, with choices and options best for their families' needs, with healthy food becoming the easy option again.

So, will you rise to the challenge? I hope I live long enough to see it happen, Coles.

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The Seven-Year Engagement

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The Seven Years between hubby and I becoming engaged and getting married could be classed as a romantic comedy. Alas, we did not think of making a film about it. 

We were not in a rush to set a wedding date. We wanted certain things to happen first. Unlike The Five-Year Engagement, the delay was not so much setting up our careers, as setting up our future.

We both had similar ideas about how we wanted our lives together to "pan out".

We wanted to enjoy each others company and get to know each other. We wanted to be a couple and make lasting memories together. And we did just that. We love looking back at photos with the children and telling them the stories behind each adventure.

Neither of us wanted to rush into a relationship that might fade or change over time either. So for the whole time of the engagement we lived together. We lived in several houses, and even with hubby's parents for some time. We played house, payed bills, nurtured pets, changed jobs and had a few disasters we can now laugh about. We had different experiences shared with different friends and family. We holidayed together and spent time apart enjoying our hobbies. We saw the good and the bad, learned ours strengths and weaknesses, and held each other up when it was needed. We gave the relationship every chance to change and grow along as we did, and by the wedding, we certainly knew each other inside out.

We wanted children, but wanted to set ourselves up first. If that sounds a little sterile and too organised to be romantic, then I can tell you we have our impulsive moments, but the big decisions were important and we liked the sense of control. We saved for our first home, which we renovated together (we could have done a comedy movie just around that). We then wanted to have a little money behind us before our family began, so we worked toward this. We worked on our ideals and discussed things about our future in detail. There was a lot of dreaming, but mostly we were ensuring we were on the same page. Of course, our opinions do sometimes differ, and we have had our disagreements, but we had the time to work through them.

Maybe this communication, and growing together is why we celebrated our Ten-Year Anniversary this year, and hope to keep adding the decades to our tally. We have watched as some of our friends have struggled through terrible relationships, and some have ended badly. We are so glad that we took the time to set the strong foundation for ours.

We hope ours will be a happily-ever-after tale. It has been so far.

Scratching your back

In our household, we work with "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine". It has worked well for us ever since hubby and I got together. We used it to renovate our home, build a family and shape our lives. We encourage it with our children to work together to get something done. It works well in the community too, so I wonder .... why some people can't see beyond themselves to support others and build their own support network?

It is common knowledge that despite being very skilled and competent, there are some things you just can't do yourself. And some things are achieved easier and faster with help. I'm sure the pioneers of every community around the world have used this system successfully, otherwise the barter system would never have been used. To share your skills, knowledge and material objects with others, who in turn can offer you something you need is invaluable. Even in this modern day, the barter system is used as much as ever to get things done, to save money and to make life easier.

It saddens me when there are people with skills that have a selfish attitude about helping others. Sure, you might have worked hard to obtain those skills, but what is the point if nobody gets benefit from that hard work? Some people need more help than others, and that's OK too. I'm a huge believer of "what comes around, goes around", in both the good and the bad sense. In the end, even if the only reward you get is seeing somebody happier, then isn't it worth it?

Just as bad as those who find it hard to give, are those who are takers. There seems to be many of these around. They are absent or conveniently too busy if someone needs a hand, but are too happy to ask for help, and many actually expect it on a regular basis. I'm sorry but this can only go on for so long before you put someones nose out of joint.

We have often been in the situation of "it's not what you know, it's who you know". We have some amazing friends and contacts that we have called on over the years to get a good deal on a product, to do a particular job at mates' rates or offer advice. We like to think that these friends will call on us in return, and many of them have.

So have a look around you. What do you have to offer? Do you have the need for some expertise in exchange for something you have to offer? Are you a giver, a taker, or doing a great job at both? Do you work on this system?

R U OK?

Thank you to my mummy daze for a heads up on a great day, and to my big nutshell for the invitation to link up with her great post.

http://www.ruokday.com.au/content/home.aspx

The website explains the meaning behind this day and so much more

Thursday 15 September, 2011 is R U OK?Day. A national day of action that aims to prevent suicide by encouraging Australians to connect with someone they care about and help stop little problems turning into big ones.
On that day we want everyone across the country, from all backgrounds and walks of life, to ask family, friends and colleagues: "Are you OK?".
Because staying connected with others is crucial to our general health and wellbeing. Feelings of isolation and being alone are major contributing factors to depression and social issues that can ultimately result in suicide. Regular, meaningful conversations can protect those we know and love.
It's so simple but in the time it takes to have a coffee, you can start a conversation that could change a life.


This is a subject close to my heart and the only way to combat the problem of suicide is to communicate and support each other.