BringOnTheJoy

I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much. Mother Teresa

People will forget what you said to them or what you did to them but they will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou

“nuff said”

I can’t tell you how great I think Facebook is! 

I have found what I thought were long lost friends from high school, college, shows, marriages, events, tours, cities I have lived etc., and truly know how blessed I have been, thus far, to have made friends with people around the world. Friends who are kind and loving and caring and thoughtful. Friends who are  making an effort for their lives and the lives of others to be more fulfilling, comfortable, loving, caring and motivated.

Each day someone I know posts something that reminds me of who they are, what we had, have or may have together in the future. We get to know each other all over again or in a deeper way.

Sometimes the posts are so funny I sit at my computer crying with laughter and sometimes the posts are so touching I just sit at my computer crying. 

I have gone through divorces (mine included), birth of children and grandchildren, death of children, loved ones, friends and treasured pets with those friends.  I have gone through the joy of a new job, a college graduation, a goal reached, a mountain climbed, a dream realized, a star on the rise. AND I have gone through disappointments, lay offs, legal battles, car accidents,  and rejections with them all. 

My FB friends are with me in my triumphs and my tribulations. They buoy me up when I am going down for the third time in a sea of pain or anguish and they cheer me on when life hands me the brass ring on a silver platter.

Unwavering in the desire to reach out to those near and far, to let them know “You matter to me” as they have all done for me.

I know FB has had privacy issues brought to their attention recently that they are endeavoring to rectify. Although we are all on a public website we have made a point of only “friending” certain people and we protect that friend list vigorously.  These are shared thoughts and moments that become precious to us and we don’t want anyone to spoil them.

So, in essence, Thank You Facebook for reconnecting me with friends past, present and future. If a man IS an island, let mine be Manhattan, where there is room for each and every friend I have.

If you haven’t heard yet, getting our act together is the way to a happy life. I HAVE to recommend a few books that have changed my life for the better and opened my eyes to myself and to the behavior of others. Run do not walk to your fave bookstore or log on to Amazon.com and get these books: Ask and It Is Given and The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks, The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. The content can be jarring for those not ready to address their lives and their behavior but for those ready to find the joy in life and address the power of the ego, you will be glad you sunk your teeth into these books. Have a Happy and a Healthy Day. Until Next time.

As a former veterinary technician I have probably seen it all. (Yep, just another weird diversion in my eclectic life!)

As a pet lover and lifelong pet owner I have taken that responsibility very seriously -
from how I care for my pets to where I get them.

My family and I had been seeking a dog for a long time, after our previous dog passed away.

I contacted breed specific rescues and all breed rescues, shelters and pounds. Both in the US and in Canada.

We specifically needed a small dog, 10 lbs. or under. One that could travel with us with ease and wouldn’t need to be left at home.

In my opinion, Canada and the US has a shortage of highly adoptable small dogs. If one gets into the system it is quickly placed through word of mouth or amazing organizations like Brindle Web (www.brindleweb.com), Animal Advocates – an all volunteer, charitable organization based in North Vancouver, or a myriad of groups in BC.

I saw a dog I thought might be suitable at www.Petfinder.com and emailed Sandy Simans, who runs a little organization called 1atatime (http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/BC120.html). She emailed me and let me know of the deplorable conditions at a shelter in Louisiana and that a group of concerned BC animal lovers were going to this shelter and pulling dogs daily. At this particular shelter, dogs have 48 hours until they are euthanized and are immediately euthanized if they are surrendered.

Because of the shortage of highly adoptable small dogs in Canada and the US and the high demand, prospective pet owners feel they have no alternatives but to go to places that may have less than reputable methods for getting puppies.

Some of these places are pet stores and some are individuals who work with puppy mills. A puppy mill turns out puppies at very high rates, has many, many females breeding, the conditions are unsanitary and crowded and the puppies oftentimes have genetic, health and physical problems. There are parasites all over and they easily get infections.

Mind you, there are reputable pet stores and breeders, if you want to go that route. I have a friend who adopted from a pet store in Vancouver, BC and she was grilled before the woman would agree to let her adopt.

There are things you must look out for if you cannot find a puppy in a shelter or a rescue. A lot of information can be found on No Puppy Mills, BC (www.nopuppymillscanada.ca).

You have to know where to look to find puppies from individuals. Read ads in the papers carefully and if one catches your eye, call and ask a lot of questions. Do they breed their females often, how many litters do you currently have, will you guarantee the puppies health, would you take the puppy back if after a reasonable amount of time if the new owner has to give it up, will you give support to the new owner and let the new owner know of possible genetic problems?

Dogs that come from breeders that are reputable make these puppies a part of their family. Their children take time with them and they live with them and are loved as if they were going to live with the family forever. They let you spend time with the prospective puppy and they do not push you or try to convince you to adopt immediately. They let you play with the puppy and find the right one for your family, one with a good temperament, that looks healthy, has no skin problems, weepy eyes, or is lethargic.

If a particular ad says they have many, many different breeds or can get anything you want, that is a red flag.

If an ad offers a 2 year old purebred dog for free this is most likely a dog that has been a puppy mill dog and bred over and over again and is not socialized, is a biter or has unadoptable behaviors and are not housebroken.

In the eyes of the Canadian/ American Kennel Clubs – if a breeder breeds for any other reason than to improve health and temperament of the breed, then they are not a reputable breeder!

Well, my webmaster has been working hard to redesign my website to reflect the life/business changes I have been experiencing. All good, yes, all good.

I said on my Facebook page yesterday that I had a lot of great things happening in my life these days so I’d love to share them with you here.

In the last few years I had gotten more involved in the fitness industry. After years as a dancer, stunt woman, professional water skier, circus artist and choreographer, I was involved in fitness for my profession. You’ve got to be in amazing shape to hold any of these careers. So I coached a lot since it was natural progression and folks asked me to help them get in better shape. With a degree in dance I had to study the workings of the human body and that really helped.

Ultimately, my ex and I (he wasn’t my ex then – haha) opened a Gym in BC that since has been taken over by our partners. Being involved on a day-to-day basis at the gym is no longer possible, as I live in a completely different country, nor does it interest me. I trained clients weekly and really enjoyed it. BUT it was not my dream, not why I think I was put on this planet…kind of an off shoot of my life, but nonetheless a GREAT experience. Now I coach clients in fitness part time, just like I am a notary public part time (“what will she think of next?”). It is great supplemental income and I enjoy it even more since the pressure is off to have to survive completely from it.

Sooo, with my commuting back and forth to LA to see friends, network and to find out truly what I am best at, a few great things fell into my lap.

#1 – a manager approached me about repping me as an actor (I acted all over the US for many, many years) AND to rep me as a writer and producer (I co-wrote and produced 2 series(one an award-winner) in Canada that aired in 40 countries, and two pilots). The cool thing is I didn’t pursue it, it pursued me.

#2 – an idea I have had for a sitcom based on my life, is also getting attention. So I am “taking meetings” (Hollywood speak for bantering around ideas with those in the know) for the sitcom, producing a pilot for it and writing my brains out. I have been lucky enough to be introduced to some folks in a position to help me AND some connected friends have agreed to help out. Yes, I KNOW I am blessed, trust me!

And like I said on my Facebook page – after a hiatus from entertainment, I have been sucked back in…and I am thrilled about it.

I guess it is my density…uh, destiny. (Back to the Future)

It took some pretty stressful situations to get me to this point. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger…nothing ventured, nothing gained…dreams do come true. I am a walking, talking cliche these days but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Gotta hand it to the folks who knocked me down…I took a beating, but came up swinging and am a lot better off than I was before!

Thanks for reading, until next time, have a happy and healthy day!

I wrote this prose while sitting in my former home on Bowen Island, British Columbia during another black out that commonly occurred in the winter.

Winter wind howls,
a crack, a loud thud
another tree down
and another and another
lights flicker
all electricity ceases
again
for the 12th time.

We weren’t meant to live
like this
in this day
in this age
in the dark.

Bathtubs filled with water
freezers closed tightly
hoping
power resumes
before food spoils.

Thirty six, no, thirty eight candles
light the dark.

We trudge outside for more fire wood.
The wind howls through the trees
sounds like a train
but there are no trains
on the island.

I sit at the window
absorbing the last few glimpses
of light.
Will there be another night
another day
in the dark?

How deeply can a tree bend?
Surrounded by trees
I watch them bow to each other
and dance and circle.
They shed their limbs like
unnecessary accessories.
Then they stand still.

No wind, no rain
eerie calm
the calm before the next
sway, crack, thud.

Old fashioned telephones, flashlights,
propane stoves, candles,
endless candles.
Staples on an island.

Build a fire in the fireplace
and wait in silence.
Eerie silence – no matter
find something to do
read, write,
Pray.

The trees begin to perform a frantic dance again
waving their tentacles erratically.

A tree in the road
keeps me in
keeps others out.

The raven comes again and again
unaffected by the loss of electricity,
but where does he perch when the trees shake him loose
from their limbs?

I will light the stove
and make sweet tea
stoke the fire -

and wait.

What I seek, seeks me.
Each One, Teach One – Albert Schweitzer
If you have power – empower someone
You must accept suffering before you can transcend it.
If you are absolutely comfortable with not knowing who you are, then what’s left is…who you are!
Give up defining yourself to yourself and others, you will not die, you will come to life.
Cleverness divides, Intelligence includes.
Make peace with the present moment.
Tell the same story, live the same circumstances.
No one can give you grief without giving you expansion, you are being harrassed into becoming more.
All is not lost if something flops.

Think about it, all of it! Until next time…