Theresa can be anywhere and receive messages from “spirit”… meaning, she can connect with those who have passed on and can’t help but tell those involved that their family member is “coming through” to send a message.
Theresa helps other families find closure and peace – she knows things that only those involved would ever know.
Her ‘gift’ is one that she just can’t turn off, even if she wanted to.
Does the paranormal freak you out? Are you a skeptic or do you believe?
Kids love nature. That’s a given. But how many children have access to nature everyday, or at least a few times a week?
City children spend much of their time pounding pavement on the way to school, at recess and even play on concrete playgrounds on the weekend. Many don’t even get outside. Does it matter where your kids play?
According to studies, children think, process, learn, and play better when they are in the green outdoors. Known as Biophilia, there is a belief that we have a genetic need to be surrounded by and interact with nature.
Kids prefer to look at nature scenes and love being outdoors in green spaces; it helps them think and concentrate better, according to research. Studies have shown that children given math and cognitive tests performed better when they spent time playing in a natural playground versus children who spent time playing in a concrete playground.
Being in the great outdoors lessens stress, improves creativity, physical and mental well-being. Kids need nature – studies have shown that daily exposure to natural settings improves focus.
With the increase of ADD and ADHD, we need to send kids out to play every chance we get. Children who get to play outside in nature all year round tend to have better co-operation skills, are more motivated, enthusiastic and physically healthy.
So why are we not letting our children thrive?
Our plugged-in habits are unfortunately teaching kids to do the same more than ever: play video games watch TV, surf the internet, etc. Some parents will spring on the ‘safety’ reason; the world is a more dangerous place now. There are more cars. There are more dangers.
When we were growing up, these tools were not around. Now more than ever, it is up to us to control, monitor and sometimes eliminate these tools completely, to allow for outdoor play.
Kids want to play. Mother nature is very forgiving too. Kids are free to look at bugs, pull dandelions, and climb trees over and over again. They want to be outside.
Make it easy for them to make this decision. Your children will be smarter, calmer, happier, and as a bonus, care more about this planet.
In the words of Randy White: “We need to allow children to develop their biophilia, their love for the Earth, before we ask them to save it.”
Disturbing numbers:
1. Children at eight years old can identify 25 percent more Pokemon characters than wildlife species (Balmfold, Clegg, Coulson and Taylor, 2002)
2. One in ten children have never ridden a bike (UK study)
3. 70 percent of the mothers reported playing outdoors every day when they were young, compared with only 31 percent of their children (Clemens 2004)
4. A quarter of children today have never had the simple pleasure of rolling down a hill! (UK study)
How often do your kids get outdoors to play?
Monika Meulman is a certified aromatherapist and healer and has worked in complementary health for over 15 years. At Healing Muse, she does aromatherapy massage, foot treatments, body readings, intuitive healing treatments and reiki sessions. Monika is also the president of The Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists (cfacanada.com) and Founder of the Lakeshore Environmental Gardening Society. Follow her on Twitter.
I have pretty dry hair, even though I don’t use permanent colour or highlights. Most days, and especially on rainy days, my hair is a giant frizz ball. I’ve tried many products to smooth out my frizzy hair – deep conditioners, leave-in treatments, serums and even just warm extra virgin olive oil to calm down my long tresses.
I had the chance to try out Dove’s Nourishing Oil Care collection which includes Shampoo, Conditioner, Daily Treatment Conditioner, Leave-In Smoothing Cream and the new Anti-Frizz Serum.
All of these products contain a blend of weightless Nutri-Oils to help control frizz without making hair feel heavy or greasy.
I first used the Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo with weightless Nutri-Oils that help “revive dry, frizzy hair”. Usually I need quite a bit for my long, thick hair but a quarter-size was enough to get a really nice lather going. It has a light, pleasant smell as well which I like because I’m sensitive to hair products with too-heavy perfumes.
Once I washed my hair, I used the Daily Treatment Conditioner which looked so good coming out of the tube – almost like candy! I left the product in my hair while I took care of some other business – those winter stubbly legs!
Dove hair expert Mark Townsend says you should shampoo your hair when you first get in the shower and then apply conditioner and leave it in while you do everything else, like exfoliate or shave your legs. Those extra few minutes makes a huge difference in keeping your hair healthy and shiny looking.
Keeping the Daily Treatment Conditioner in longer seemed to really smooth my hard-to-manage tresses.
After showering, I wrapped my hair in a towel to dry for a few minutes. Here’s a tip from Townsend: to help avoid rough hair texture, try blotting it with a towel to get rid of excess water rather than rubbing. The friction of the towel against your locks just creates frizz!
Before I brought out the hair dryer, I added a few drops of Dove’s Nourishing Oil Care Anti-Frizz Serum and worked it through my hair. The Anti-Frizz Serum is enriched with Argan Oil from Morocco for soft, smooth hair.
To my delight, a lot of the frizz that comes with blow-drying was gone. The serum didn’t leave an oily residue on my hands either and seemed to absorb into the hair really quickly. The natural almond and coconut oils in the serum really seemed to work; it penetrates into the hair shaft and repairs any damage caused by heat styling tools. I’ve used serums before that only left my hair greasy and limp, but the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Anti-Frizz Serum was light and didn’t weigh down my hair.
After blow drying my hair with a diffuser, I used a dab of the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Smoothing Cream to my hair. Townsend says that adding just a pea-sized amount to your tresses helps make your blowout last all day and into the night. Raking it through your hair gives it extra shine, texture and hold – a treatment and styling product in one.
Voila!
My hair feels softer and smoother, bouncy and full. I can run my fingers through my hair without any tangles or it feeling really dry and brittle. My hair smells lovely, looks shinier and the frizz is tamer!
I was delighted by the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Collection and having just used the products once, I can’t wait to see how my hair will look and feel after a week of using them!
To find out more about Dove haircare products, visit their Facebook page.
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Dove via Glam Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dove.
Considering the season began last September and hockey took up every weekend morning, it’s a bit of a relief that the season has ended for the spring and summer.
My son’s hockey team played a good season. But they did come out tied last place with another team.
Yet every member of the team (they’re seven years old) received this:
I thought it was nice but I was left wondering why each player had to bring home a trophy. It’s nice to get rewarded for playing the season but I should the losing teams and players all receive a trophy?
What is this teaching our kids? Is this setting our kids up for failure when in the real world, not everyone will get a trophy?
I worry that this sends the wrong message to kids that they will be rewarded for just showing up and playing the game, whether they win or lose. I wonder if this will only add to the entitled attitude that kids seem to have these days.
It also takes away the prestige of receiving a “real” trophy and downplays the hard work involved in winning the trophy for real. Sure we feel bad if our kids are left out because they didn’t receive a trophy at the end of the year. But kids are smarter than that – they know they lost, they probably wonder why they even received a trophy if they didn’t win.
I think it’s be a much more effective lesson to teach kids about winning and losing, working hard next time, earning the win and putting in the extra effort the next time. It’s an opportunity to show our kids how to be a ‘good loser’ and to be humble about winning.
I think trophies should only be awarded to the winner or just the winning team. In the real world, not everyone gets the winning prize – only the best of the best who worked hard will receive it. If you don’t win, it’s a good lesson. Disappointment is a part of life and kids need to learn how to handle disappointment.
The hope is that losing will motivate kids to try harder and do better next time. Like adults, kids can begin learning about setting goals and understanding that they need to work hard to attain them.
I asked my kids what they think: my five year old thinks that only the winning team should win trophies. But my seven year old thinks everyone should get a trophy “because it’s fair”.
Oh, hello Lara Flynn Boyle, I didn’t recognize you and your new face.
You ask why she has done this to herself, but come on, you know why. Why do celebrities repeatedly undergo procedures that eventually destroy the faces we once idolized? Why do celebs get plastic surgery when they don’t have to? Because you want them to, that’s why.
It’s no secret that society shames aging and aims to rip away whatever shred of confidence we have in ourselves. There are anti-aging products aimed at eight-year-olds, for pete’s sake. There are creams, serums, lotions and potions that scream at us to use them to fight off fine lines, wrinkles, greys, sags, anything relating to aging or being less than Photoshop-perfection. Cosmetic procedures and botox are available at walk-in clinics and there are even easy-payment options if you can’t afford the price of a face lift all at once.
We gobble up these insults. We participate in the celebrity-bashing. And then we look at our daughters and we complain that the Big Bad Businesses are objectifying them, and rage against all that holds them down.
I’m not saying we held the syringe to Lara’s face, but we did nothing to stop her, did we?
Lara Flynn Boyle then (left), and now (right)
We tore Whitney Houston to pieces and mocked her addiction relentlessly while she lived. And when she finally succumbed to her demons, we raised her atop a pedestal and tsk-tsked the world for not having saved her. We pummel Lindsay Lohan with insults and push for her demise, too. If the time comes and she is also a victim, will we then remember her potential too late?
Celebrities are humans, too, and react the same way to insults as you would. If you walked out of the house today and returned to find the internet abuzz discussing your body, wouldn’t we all rally to your support? Of course we would. It isn’t right to shred anyone’s appearance, it just isn’t. It destroys self-esteem and perpetuates the things we’re all fighting so hard to stop our daughters from experiencing.
The reason celebrities do this to themselves is because you sit there on your couch eating potato chips, dissing that woman for looking old, that one for being too skinny, this one for being too fat, the other one for being a whore, and all of them for making choices of which you disapprove. Go look in the mirror and re-evaluate the reasons you’re tearing someone else to pieces and maybe that little bit of perspective will save us all from having to feel like collagen lips should be our next investment. Invest in self-esteem from within and maybe we’ll start seeing faces more like ours in ads and on film.
We can’t possibly pretend we’re being supportive of women, of the aging process, of natural beauty when we participate in these kinds of abusive conversations.
AlexDurrell digs her humour like she likes her wine…dry. With a bite. She knows the lyrics to pretty much every song ever written, has a weakness for plaid and for all her complaining, she always finds the silver lining. Her two kids and one husband (for now…she’s evaluating the benefits of Brother Husbands) are the things that make her happiest and most frustrated in life, and there’s not a thing she’d change about that. Despite the name, she blogs here and here but is usually found in her pajamas on Twitter.
Q: Why is it difficult for my older child to go to sleep on his own?
Dr. G:
Falling asleep alone is a skill. Mastering this skill takes some people longer than others.
There are lots of factors to consider. I’m guessing from your question that your child does not have trouble falling asleep with company. Is this because he fidgets and plays and thinks about things, needing reminders to settle down and lay quietly? Is this because he feels lonely or scared by himself in bed? Is this because he is worried or anxious about something and needs the reassurance of someone who loves him to help him feel safe? Does he simply like the company?
Is the problem sleep itself? When children go through puberty, their hormone levels are changing. One of these hormones changes the timing of its peak, and this changes the child’s sleep-wake cycle. Most children during and after puberty have their wake cycle from about 11am – 1am. That means it is hard for them to wake up before 10 or 11am and very hard to fall asleep before midnight or one in the morning. Also, though it’s more common in adults, some children do suffer from insomnia.
Assuming your son can sleep if you’re beside him, it’s a good idea for him to learn the skill of falling asleep on his own. I suggest finding some reasons that he would like to have this skill. For example, maybe he wants to accept sleepover invitations but hasn’t because he feels he needs to be with you. Maybe the nights he is home with a sitter or you are away are very hard on him. Find some goal to motivate him.
Next, ask him what it is about your presence that helps him. What is the obstacle to sleep if he is alone? Listen to his answers without trying to fix the problem. If he isn’t sure, ask him to think about it. Also, you may have a sense of what the reasons are – ask him if you might be right.
Now that you have a better understanding about the problem, there are a few ways you can go about this:
1. A step-by-step approach.
Start by sitting in a chair near his bed for a few nights, then by hanging out in the next room with the doors open, then by being on the same floor of the house. Let him see that he can (though it may take a while) fall asleep without you.
2. A different approach.
Let your son know that you are not going to stay in the room with him anymore waiting for him to fall asleep. You will, however, check on him every five minutes. Not to ask if he needs anything, just to reassure him with your presence. Do your usual bedtime routine, tuck him in and then leave the room. Do come back every few minutes, say hi, tell him you love him, say goodnight. No drama, just calm, patient reassurance.
3. A rewards method.
You can stop sitting with him cold turkey and reward him for each night that he falls asleep without coming out of his room. Research shows that this is effective only in the short-term, however. If he is worried that he really can’t fall asleep without you, this may prove to him that he can. However, if he knows he can and just doesn’t want to, this method will not work in the long run.
If you are worried that your son has enough anxiety or stress that he really needs your presence in all of his quiet time, he might benefit from a counselor to talk to as well. It is an important skill for children to learn – not only the ability to fall asleep, but also the ability to be alone.
Dr. Deborah Gilboa is a Board Certified family physician, mother of four, and a professional parenting writer and speaker (for parents, community & business). Her signature individualized workshop, “How to Get the Behavior You Want, Without Being the Parent You Hate” captivates parents through her humorous straight talk, which lifts the guilt out of parenting. Her mission is to help parents raise children they can respect and admire. Visit her website.
There are two main reasons that drove me to want to write this article: 1) I’m tired of explaining myself to people over and over again any time I eat food in front of them; and 2) I was the last person on earth who ever thought they could ever become a vegan.
People become vegans for many reasons: the taste/texture of meat, respect for animals, the way meat is processed, etc. Or, if you’re like me, the decision happened one fateful BBQ season when every time I ate meat it would come right back up (sexy, I know).
At first I just became a vegetarian (I was in denial). That worked for a month. Then I slowly tried to eat meat again only to find that no matter what I did, meat just didn’t like me and wasn’t going to be part of my life again.
Once I gave up meat entirely I started to realize that the same uncomfortable bloating, cramps, etc. that I experienced with meat started to happen more frequently with dairy. One late night bowl of ice cream later followed by a very horrible sleepless night turned me vegan forever.
For me, this was a quick and easy sign that something wasn’t right. Rather than spend hundreds of dollars to see a nutritionist, I went cold turkey – or in this case, cold tofu.
It was hard at first, I won’t lie. I really had no idea where to start. I was a meat and dairy CONSUMER! I cannot express this point enough.
If you could see the look on some of my friends and families faces when I first informed them of my new diet you would understand. I mean, I was the chick who could eat her weight in steak and bacon was not a choice, it was a religion. Don’t forget Ice cream! Oh man, I could eat a litre myself without any regrets.
If my personal way of living wasn’t enough, there are my parents. My mom grew up on a farm where meat and dairy IS life and my dad had to have meat for dinner and dairy and eggs every day because that’s how he has lived for 64 years.
Eat your veggies!
Luckily there are amazing films, literature and fantastic blogs/websites for vegans across the globe. These are still invaluable to me in order to make information available when I need it and my new diet easier with every Google search.
I was also blessed to have a handful of vegetarian and vegan friends that I could call from the grocery store the first few times I went (who would’ve thought that there wasn’t just one kind of tofu!). The most important thing of all; I didn’t want to feel sick anymore.
The results: not a single belly ache, long bathroom visit or un-flu related sickness since. I’ve been going for about six months or so now and I won’t ever go back. I may get tired of explaining to people how I could give up meat, how I am still getting all my nutrients and how I am not going to die or become so skinny that I won’t be able to stand; but that is nothing compared to how comfortable I feel in my own body.
I have a brand new love of food. I can taste every tiny spice and sauce that I eat. I am eating things I never thought I would and really cannot imagine my life without all the new fruits, vegetables, nuts and ingredients that are now an every day part of my life.
I find I am more innovative and creative with my meals and they are all fantastic; cooking is fun again! If anything, I am getting more of what my body needs than I ever did before becoming vegan.
If you would have told me a year ago today that I would be a vegan I would have laughed in your face, told you where to go and cut another slice off the roast and gobble it down. Now, I am proud of being a vegan. Not because it is healthier, or makes me love food more, or stops me from having to take medicine in order to eat dinner…but because it is right for me.
If you think this is right for you I implore you to just give it a try. The more people I talk to about why I decided to become vegan, the more I realize how many people feel sick after eating and just accept it as every day life. It doesn’t have to be. If you don’t like it after a month or see no improvements concerning your general health and well being then maybe being vegan is not for you.
Also, feel free to see a doctor before hand but make sure the final choice is up to you. You won’t know until you try! I do suggest researching before hand and continue to stay up-to-date on nutrients and read articles about balanced meal choices.
After all, there is so much more to being vegan than eating tofu!
Shannon Lintott works in production at a professional theatre company in Toronto. A recent graduate of the Ryerson Performance Production BFA program, she spends her free time exploring the internet, taking photographs, reading or writing on one of her numerous and addictive websites. The majority of her time is spent watching movies and reviewing them on her movie review blog I Like (good) Movies. Follow Shannon on Twitter.
I’m lucky because I will have two Easters; the “regular” Easter and the Greek Orthodox Easter. My hips won’t be happy though.
I looked around the fabulous interwebs to find the best Easter crafts, recipes and décor ideas because – I need to face the facts – I am no Martha Stewart.
I consider myself to be more of a Martha Stewartelli or Martha Stewartopoulos…
I ever inspired with what I found and want to share them with you.
Decorating eggs is one of the best ways to get your kids involved in Easter activities… of course, eating chocolate should be reserved for moms!
Here are some fun Easter egg ideas that we discovered around the internet… easy Easter egg recipes and decorating ideas for you to enjoy with your kids:
For an epic story about gods and titans, have low expectations.
Wrath of the Titans, a sequel to the inferior remake of the 80’s sword and sandal cult classic Clash of the Titans was actually OK.
I am not saying its perfect by any means but if you’re bored and want to see something go ahead. But I warn you do not go in there thinking big action packed movie.
Wrath of the Titans picks up 10 years later as Peruses has a son whom he doesn’t want to take the mantel of demi-god and live a simple life as a fisherman’s son. Zeus recruits Peruses to put their past away and team up together to defeat Cronos, Zeus’s father who plans on destroying the world. It’s a classic team up story if I have ever heard of one, however, due to lack of serious action in the scenes that called for more action.
The film was a great popcorn film meaning full of nonsense action and predictable plot but its fun and enjoyable anyway. The few scenes however that do contain action they cut so quickly that you don’t even know what’s going on within the scene, the best example is when Peruses is fighting the Minotaur and the fight ends literally within 30 seconds for a 10-15 minute build up of intense Labyrinth navigating. It’s just not effective by any means in making you feel like waiting all that time was worth it.
I can’t say I didn’t enjoy myself but I wouldn’t run out to see the movie. If you really want to see a great action movie go see The Raid.Wrath of the Titans is the prime example when Hollywood seriously messes up on a movie because they are completely not sync with visual storytelling and/or character development.
Joseph S. Tiberia is a recent graduate of Adelphi University with a major in Video/Film Production. He has interned for Half Yard Production and NYC’s Face-Off comedy troupe in the past. He specializes in cinematography freelance work. Joseph is also a movie reviewer for Totalfilmnerd.com. His favorite film of all time is A BitterSweet Life.
Easter Yarn Wreath
Easter Table Setting
Paper Mache Easter Eggs
Natural Dyed Herb Stenciled Eggs