Cross Border Shopping: Fiscal Responsibility or Patriotic Infidelity?

So, once again in our house, the topic of crossing the border to shop has come up. Grocery shopping, to be exact. For some reason, the household opposition does not seem to take issue with ordering items online and crossing the border to pick it up (ahem... someone has five new pairs of shoes he would not otherwise find in his size). Nor does it seem problematic to have people bring us things when they come to visit.

As our stockpile of items that our Oregon and Washington visitors have brought us in the last couple of months dwindles, I am tempted to raid the shelves of Trader Joe's and use my Costco card in Bellingham. This is met with great resistance from an otherwise extremely laid back individual. And, I mean, great resistance.

The discussion continued the other night and I was outnumbered two to one by the paramedic and my cousin (um... hello? a little family  loyalty would be nice). Both believe that it is important to support our local retailers and to keep our local economy going. While I agree with this - in principle - I am conflicted as a middle income earner who tries to make my dollar stretch. My new favourite beverage - peppermint tea - is over $2 per box cheaper at Trader Joe's than at my local big box store. My tummy friendly coffee is less than half the price. The list is pretty much endless. A two dollar or more difference on several items adds up significantly - even when calculating the cost of mileage to travel there.

And what I would like to know is why oh why is there such a price difference on the exact same items? The paramedic likes to talk about "pink sludge" but I am pretty sure that there is no "pink sludge" in my peppermint tea... and huge chunks of Tillamook cheddar cheese or Monterey pepper jack cheese do not seem to upset the paramedic's stomach so I doubt there is any "pink sludge" there either.

Incidentally, as I was discussing this topic this morning with my friend - and talking about my experience car shopping with the paramedic - she wondered out loud why someone so adamant about not buying American is holding tight to his American brand preference? To which I responded... hhmmmm... good point.

But to return to the current dilemma... Where are my loyalties supposed to lie? With my local economy or my household budget? Am I really a bad Canadian if I am trying to find ways to better provide for my family?

Yippee Skippee for Change

Back at school today and looking forward to the changes for the upcoming school year. So, today, I am thankful for change. The great Ross Gellar said "No one likes change except for a wet baby." I do not think that we all skip gleefully towards change but sometimes change is a good thing. All the change in my life has been an absolute blessing. If you could see me right now you would see me jumping up and down, clapping my hands and giggling at the change that is to come...

So, to keep it brief: I am thankful for a paramedic who loves me, hot showers, catching up with old friends, peppermint tea, sane people, California vacations and blonde highlights.

And I promise to make the coffee tomorrow... ;)

Can It Get Any More Shameful?

Community Living BC, which provides services to the developmentally disabled, closed group homes and cut back services. Last fall, it was announced that the "bonus structure" for executives was
"abolished." The bonus structure was for between five to 10% of their salaries - totalling about $300,000. At the time, the Liberal Social Development minister stated: "That is up to the board to decide how they compensate staff at CLBC. But what they will do is they will go away and look at a new system of compensation that doesn't include a bonus-type structure." Interpretation: they can still have the money; they just can't say it was a bonus.

Fast forward to this spring and surprise! surprise! there are no more bonuses but the people scheduled to get a 5% bonus are now getting a 4.99% raise and those in line for a 10% bonus are seeing their salaries go up 9.66%. Thankfully, we cannot be outraged by this because, as our illustrious premier explained, these are not bonuses but "holdbacks." As she explains, after much sputtering and humming and hawing "What used to happen before is that they had their base pay -- some of it was held back until they met specific targets."

Wow. So now they don't have to earn their bonus - we just hand it to them. While I am confident that the premier does not have the sense to be ashamed of not only these actions but her ludicrous explanation, I certainly hope that Stephanie Cadieux does. And what about the people receiving these bonuses? How can they accept this money knowing that they are not meeting the needs of the people who it is their job to service? Greed. Greed. Greed. That must make all those in need of CLBC services who are not receiving them feel much better.

Incidentally, CLBC reports that it costs about $48 800 per year*, on average, to provide supports and services per adult per year. Surely, the $300 000 would be put to better use providing support for six additional individuals.

Perhaps our premier could spend less time prepping for media coverage and her overpaid PR consultant could teach her the meaning of "priority" and "decency."

*http://communitylivingaction.org/facts/funding/

Scottish voices, sedatives and home health care pros

Today I give thanks for the  male Scottish nurse who has now woken me up twice from sedation in the last four months. There is something nice about waking up in a fog and feeling pretty certain that your long deceased Scottish grandfather is whispering in your ear.

I am also thankful for whoever invented sedation. I cannot even imagine these procedures without them.

Finally, as always,  I am thankful for my personal paramedic who stayed home to take care  of me. If only emptying the dishwasher was part of his training...

Celebrating All The Special Days...

It was one year ago yesterday that the paramedic and I had our first official date. It was also the first and last time he ate tofu (at least that is what he thinks)... but that part we did not celebrate.
In addition to being thankful for my dad as part of the Hallmark holiday of Father's Day, yesterday's giving thanks was a total no brainer. I am so thankful that I went on that date last year despite having the world's worst headache and an incredible amount of trepidation... what a wonderful gift that one decision brought into my life. Thank you to the wonderful ladies in my life who nudged me along the way.

As we celebrated our life as a couple - and most importantly our friendship - the paramedic made an offhand remark that next year we will be able to bypass this anniversary to celebrate a different one. Ummmm (insert sound of screeching brakes)... wait just a minute. Why celebrate just one special day when there are many more? The first meeting is the starting off point to all those special ones so I believe it needs to be celebrated just as much as the wedding anniversary... because without it, there would be nothing else. That Friday evening last June was the "big bang" (if you will) for all of the incredible things that I give thanks for every day. And I intend to celebrate that every year.

My brother joked to the paramedic that he needed to get used to celebrating everything... including the first time we ate rice together, the first time we sneezed in unison, blah blah blah... and everyone laughed. I laughed too but it got me thinking. Why not celebrate all those wonderful firsts? Our memories are so much a part of what makes us who we are... celebrating all the silly special days helps remind us how truly lucky we are for all that we have. And, as he patrols the house, picking up all my flip flops scattered in every room and organizing the counter clutter, I hope he will always reminder and celebrate that special day when he first collected all my shoes, returned them to the closet and figured out how many pairs there actually are :).

So yesterday, like everyday, I ended it by saying "Thank you for choosing me" out of the millions to choose from.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. - Lao Tzu

Never, in all my life, have I known such strength and courage. I am so incredibly excited for what lies ahead for us as a couple and as a family. I cannot wait to begin each day with you.

Why Hello There, Sunshine...

As I sat outside enjoying the sun and flipping through the latest issue of People Style Watch, I gave thanks for the warmth of this elusive friend. After what seemed like a never ending winter - even yesterday I was wearing knee high boots and a cashmere blend sweater - I am so excited for the summer and all the wonderful things that will come with it.

I'm also thankful for the smile and laughter on the paramedic's face as he saw my lobster-esque chest... and his friendly reminder that the goal is golden not scorched. Probably time for a Groupon for a spray tan.

As our trip is fast approaching, I am also grateful - after the debacle with my first choice - that I have fianlly narrowed down the all important dress to three very different contenders. Now just to choose... or maybe keep all three and just have several ceremonies throughout the summer. :) I keep thinking of my sparkly friend who would wash her dishes in her wedding dress and think how wonderful it would be to have three different outfits for cooking dinner. No dress for dishes since that ain't my job... and I am super duper thankful for that.

And not to beg but... please, sunshine, stick around all weekend... you, me and the paramedic will have so much fun. Promise!

My sparkly friend, education and hilarious "grammar" videos

Sometimes it's the people who find the seats in the middle of our bus who get comfortable and stay for a long journey. I am grateful for those who choose to stay on my bus and enjoy our travels together. On Facebook today, one such friend posted something about getting her sparkle back. It's not like she is some sort of Stella who needed to get her groove back, she just felt like she lost her "sparkle." What I admire about my friend is that she is, to me, always sparkly. No matter what life throws at her, she can always throw her head back and laugh her hearty "oh my god" laugh. I have never met anyone who is more self aware and even when she makes some really bad choices - and there have been some doozies ;) - she is the first one to admit it. I give thanks for her today and every day and really enjoy the times when she moves to the front of my bus before making her way back to her comfortable seat in the middle. I am also so grateful that she laughed out loud today when I referred to myself as her "moral" friend (old joke) and reminded me of my own doozies of bad decisions as well. You, my sparkly friend, always govern yourself accordingly.

I also think I would be remiss if I did not give thanks for my education. As my district handed out heavy pink slips this year and drew the lay off line really high, my education saved me from joining the ranks of the unemployed. I am grateful that I took a chance a few years ago and took a layoff from my previous district. Had I not done that, I never would have ended up in a protected position which I only got, in the first place, because of my specialty education.

And, sorry guys, but I also have to come out and say that people mixing up "your" and "you're" drives me crazy. I know I have developed a social sieve because I no longer point it out when people mix them up... but it is so annoying. I am so happy to have found this video to share... it's just too bad that it is so profanity laced that I can not use it in the classroom. The next time you are typing please remember some of the lyrics and stop making these idiotic mistakes. Puh-lease!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32p8d6OudgU

Thankful that I'm not "that" guy...

It's amazing what some people just can't let go of... I admit it took me a long time to just chalk negative experiences up to all part of the journey and to focus on the here and now. A little over a year ago, I received a rather amusing letter (although I think the intention was to threaten and cause fear) advising me that I needed to govern myself accordingly. Every now and then, I think about this ridiculous "advice" and its source. It never fails to make me laugh. I am pretty sure I govern myself accordingly but still wonder to whose standards I was expected to hold myself to. I generally hold myself to my own and it seems to work pretty well.

I recently read one of those annoying photo things that people share on Facebook which read something like "Why do we keep people in our lives who have already left?" This is hilarious considering that a lot of our "friends" on Facebook are not people who are actively a part of our lives. But it also makes me think about those people whose lives we have left who just cannot let go.

A couple of weeks ago, a negative comment showed up on one of my posts calling me a whiner and a lazy loser. So weird. I see absolutely no point in someone making a comment like this. To hurt me? It's a cowardly comment made by someone who did not identify themselves. Certainly it was from someone who I have chosen to exclude from my life; an anonymous comment on a blog won't change that. I deleted the comment.

Another nasty one - from a blog post nearly nine months ago - showed up yesterday. A comment made in the middle of the work day. I wonder if I should feel flattered that I had such an impact on someone's life that they are reading through old blog posts in the middle of a work day. I am not flattered - just sad. I feel sad for this person that they aren't able to figure out that you shouldn't keep people in your life who have already left.

So, anonymous commentator, please remember that while you are thinking of nasty things to say, I am so thankful for all the wonderful people, experiences and things in my life today and tomorrow that I just want to share it with whoever is willing to read it. Sorry you can't say the same.