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How do you Make Painting Easier? #Giveaway
My husband is a handy guy. Thank goodness for that. He paints and builds and fixes. That saves a lot of money over time. Sadly we don’t always have the time for him to do the big picture projects, or even the emergency plumbing kinds of things, but he is the go to guy for helping. He lends himself to friends and family for wallpaper and painting and general fixit carpentry kinds of things. He is also very good at painting. He has a really old painting and wallpapering tray and kit and it sits in our garage waiting for someone to use it. That thing gets used about once a…
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Target Canada Closing – What Went Wrong? – Interview with Retail Expert
Target Canada made headlines across the country this week announcing they will close all 133 Canadian stores opened under two years ago. Target trended on Twitter all week, but this time it wasn’t for a twitter party or a social media marketing event. It was bad news for many. I interviewed retail expert John Winter of John Winter and Associates today on what went wrong. I used to talk with John Winter often when I wrote daily news columns for business sections of the news. I still remember interviewing him when Walmart set up shop in Canada in the 90s. That was a massive retail shift for Canadian retail. Target appeared to…
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These are My Weapons Against Child Poverty #WorldVisionGifts #TMMWVC
There is a saying in martial arts that my kids repeat over and over each time they grade. My husband knows it too. I am paraphrasing a bit but it’s a little like this – I come to you with empty hands. If I should be forced to use them. These are my weapons: my empty hands. It’s the end of 2014 and so everyone is wrapping up their year with little red bows and packaging it away to start fresh on January 1st. There is beauty and peace in that. We are building our resolutions, hopes and plans. We are collectively hopeful on January 1st each year and it…
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Wordless Wednesday Winter Wonderland
Winter was here last week and it was quite beautiful despite the big snowfall. The kids welcomed the snowy weather, as kids do, and they built snowmen and snow serpents and they even tobogganed on the weekend. My morning walks were freezing, but nonetheless gorgeous. All the neighbourhood dogs were out in their snappy little sweaters. I snapped this picture just down the street from us and it reminded me of those old fashioned Currier and Ives pictures my Mom used to love so much. I don’t mind the snow when it creates a pretty sort of landscape that has a winter wonderland feel. The snow has since been washed…
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What Makes EEVA Special? #EEVA1stBC
Imagine that you are one of the one in six people of reproductive age who struggles with infertility. Very often the medically recommended course of action is in vitro fertilization. The procedure itself can be costly. And like any medical treatment, you want to be sure you are making the best decision for your personal situation, your family. You want the best. Infertility Treatment in BC Luckily if you live in British Columbia you have some remarkable fertility clinics to choose from and some amazing talented award-winning doctors like Dr. Sonya Kashyap, medical director of @GenesisIVFBC. Kashyap was mentored by Celine Dion’s fertility doctor, Dr. Zev Rosenwaks during her competitive fellowship in reproductive medicine…
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Crowdfunding A Baby: How One BC Couple Paid for Fertility Treatments #ivf4bc #bcpoli
(This post about crowdfunding a baby was originally published in 2013. It has been UPDATED with 2016 information) You’ve heard of crowdfunding a new product. And crowdfunding to launch a concept like a new app, or the perfect Canadian winter coat. How about crowdfunding a baby? When expensive fertility treatments are necessary and they aren’t covered sometimes you have to get extremely resourceful. Remember Nick? You might have read of his creative approach to fertility funding earlier this year when he spoke to the Vancouver Sun about crowd funding health care treatment. Nick Beaulieu and his wife were running out of options when he decided to ask friends, family…
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Our Canada Day
I wholeheartedly, unabashedly love Canada Day. The first of July every year heralds summer here and we typically go out of our way to make this celebration of our country a fun family experience. Maybe it’s the fireworks. Or maybe it’s because it is the day before my eldest daughter’s birthday. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a time when we moaned at length through high school and university about the lack of a true Canadian culture. The lack of a Canadian identity. Entire careers and courses were made or taught on the topic. But somewhere in the last 10 years I think we discovered our Canadianness and tapped a source of pride. I…