Like It Is

Wow! I don’t know about you, but I always get excited about a brand new year. I say goodbye to the outgoing year that will soon be no more – with thanks for having come through it, and not too much dwelling on the fact that now we’re a year older – at the same time as I look forward to welcoming in the brand new year.

At work today, we left early, with everyone saying “Happy New Year and “See you you in 2007!” Then there’s the one minute before midnight, doing the countdown when we step from one year into another…

Being a Brit abroad, with my family in England I mark the start of the new year twice. At 7 pm in Canada it will already be 2007 in England and we’ll have wished everyone there a happy new year, before we celebrate the new year here in Toronto.

The New Year brings to mind those things.. called Resolutions. I don’t make new year resolutions because somehow I never ever managed to keep them in the past. For some strange reason fwhenever I made new year resolutions the action set up a corresponding and immediate invitation to break them. By the time March came around they’d be abandoned and forgotten them.

But I do review the year, what I’ve done, become, achiieved, what I’ve learned (or not) and set goals for the year, which I write down and review at intervals through the year.This really works for me. I’ve been doing this for several years now and have found that I achieve most of the goals I write down. It’s actually pretty amazing to look back during the year and see the goals I have achieved - that of course means I set new ones. The key for me is not merely thinking them, but writing them down and setting a time around them. There is something very powerful about writing down goals and intentions. I believe it sets in motion the elements of what is needed to bring the goal. And the journey is always interesting!

So what about you? How was 2006 for you? Did you have a high point? A low point? Surprises? Are you looking forward to 2007? Do you set goals? Or do you make resolutions? If you make resolutions, how well have you kept them? What works for you?

Wishing you a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!

It seems that that the drive to pay people to have more children and bigger families becomes more intense. The sums of money being paid to them of course are getting larger and larger. Childfree people, meanwhile, while their numbers may be growing, have no such incentives. The taxes of childfree people will continue to be re-distributed to those who have children. Is it me or is this grossly unfair?

Many German mothers-to-be are reportedly trying to delay labour so their births coincide with a generous new government scheme. Parents of babies born on or after 1 January will be entitled to up to 25,200 euros (£16,911, $33,300) to ease the financial burden of parenthood. But those born even a minute earlier will not be covered by the scheme. The cash subsidies are part of a government initiative to boost Germany’s dwindling birth rate.

German women have an average of 1.37 children, well below the average of 2.1 needed to keep a population stable. One minister recently warned of “the lights going out”.

Hmm. Why bother working? Just have babies, get paid for it, and keep the lights on.

Original article

O.K. Chris tagged me. And when I first saw that I thought “Arrgh!” Another meme? But, since it was Chris, I didn’t really see how I could wriggle out…besides it gave me an opportunity to remind Chris I’d actually tagged him and he hadn’t noticed… Just like Rhea and Kath haven’t noticed in fact. I shall have to rectify.

Anyway, this meme was actually quite cool. At least it wasn’t yet another “xx number of things about me you don’t know aside from the 100 things already on my blog…” You had to go through your posts over the months and give the first line of the first post of that month. Good thing I’ve only been blogging seven months… and thank heavens for Archives because it made it simple to find them!

I tweaked the meme ever so slightly by including the link to each of my actual articles as well as the first line. So, if you like, you can check them out again or check them out for the first time. My favourite of this bunch? August, September and December. My article “Men, think you’re having a baby…” to date has had over 3,000 hits - not bad. Now, the only question remains is whom shall I tag? I think Sunburntkamel and Carol. Sorry guys!

And this really is going to be my last meme… they’re beginning to take on a life of their own and mine as well.

May: New Blog In Progress This is my first blog.

June: Carve Out Your Own Niche Living in a way that works and feels right to me is a no brainer.

July: England’s Dream is Over, Portugal is Through (World Cup Fever – and to my amazement I blogged it all from Canada and England!!) Portugal 0 England 0 (3-1 on penalties). England goes out of the world cup after being beaten by Portugal on penalties. Again.

August: We’re Having a Heatwave! This post made me laugh so much I could hardly write straight and the comments were great… Call the Fashion Police!

September: What’s The Skinny On Jeans I love my jeans. All eight pairs of them. It’s been said that I may have a jeans fetish…

October: Childfree? It’s Anti Christian Not To Want Children If you’re childfree and a Christian you are unlikely to find a comfortable spot in most churches today…

November: Turning The Pages I fixed the issue with the pages today. I had been wondering why they were not appearing on my site, since they were clearly available in my database…

December: Men Think You’re Not Having a Baby? Think Again Don’t want a baby? No matter. You may soon be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet anyway. By that time you’ll know – too late – you’ve been duped into fatherhood…

I have been tagged by Timethief.

1. I love Moleskines and I always buy several at a time. They are marvellous. They are the ultimate writing tool.

2. I own seven different styles of boots.

3. I am a bookworm.

4. I love dancing.

5. I write with a fountain pen. I have at least six in my collection, of which my beloved Mont Blanc is the one I use the most often, and my Waterman the second most often.
That’s all, folks!

A Merry Christmas, a safe and peaceful holiday time, and a wonderful New Year to my all readers and friends.

Thanks for all your support and see you in 2007!

Hope you enjoy these Christmas laughs as much as I did

I wanted to share this - I thought it so fitting for the season - and so true.
A smile costs nothing, but creates much.

It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give.
It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it, and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits.

It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and Nature’s best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.

And if in the last-minute rush of Christmas buying some of our salespeople should be too tired to give you a smile, may we ask you to leave one of yours?

For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give!

By Dale Carnegie from“How To Win Friends & Influence People”

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very happy new Year!

Well, the Great Christmas Getaway has begun in earnest in England. But I feel a bit for those whose travel plans have been abruptly put on hold by none other than Nature.

Britain has been hit by a veritable blanket of dense fog, causing travel chaos at both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. How well I remember the fog in England. It is very hard to describe it unless you have experienced it, but describing it as pea soup is not a misnomer. I remember once driving home from work through dense fog and being terrified, because literally it was almost impossible to see more than a couple of feet in front of you.It was like being wrapped in a blanket. And it was at night. The fog had fallen quite suddenly in the late afternoon and got thicker and thicker. My 20 min drive home took an hour, felt like 3, and I was gripping the steering wheel all every inch of the way home. Not only can you not see anything, you probably can’t be seen by other drivers either. Never have I been so relieved to pull into my driveway.

But today, I am happily not sitting at Heathrow Airport because my flight’s been grounded nor travelling up the M25 to visit my parents, but writing about it in Toronto. Big difference.

About 100 flights have already been cancelled and the disruption is due to continue into Friday. It probably couldn’t have happened at a worse time as this week has to be the busiest travel time of the year as millions travel home or abroad for Christmas. Now people either have to sleep at the airport, queue (for hours) or make alternative arrangements (if they can) to travel by rail. And of course, let’s not even imagine the travelling in this fog on Britain’s roads. Still, Brits will find something to laugh about in all this despite the disruption. It’s the good old British weather after all. As long as we don’t hear that it’s the “wrong kind of fog”

You can read the full story on BBC News UK here and you can see some readers wonderful photos here . And because they are so wonderful, I’ve posted a couple here. It’s humbling to know that every so often, no matter what our plans might be Nature couldn’t give a fig. Nature’s in the driving seat right now, and all we can do is wait.

Enjoy these amazing photos of my foggy Britain, courtesy of the BBC

Warwick Castle in fog

Breathtaking!

Beautiful!

A baby will bring us closer together.

Not necessarily. In fact, not quite often, not at all. And not according to this article, which I came across on Childfree News. In a study done recently it was found that “half of all Australian couples report a significant decline in satisfaction in their relationships after they have a child.”

As Vinny on Childfree News says, it isn’t particularly shocking news to childfree folk. After all, the quality of their relationship with each other is a big reason childfree couples decide to be and remain childfree. I would suspect it isn’t really a surprise to childed folk either, just not talked about. But it is nice to see it actually in print for a change and announced for people to see it. When people say they had a baby to bring them closer together, I often wonder if it means that the relationship was already in trouble and Read the rest of this entry »

I have been tagged by Carol

A - Available/Single? Very married.
B - Best Friend? My husband and my HP Ipaq 6950. And my lap top.
C- Cake or Pie? Cake. I make a mean currant cake.
D - Drink Of Choice? New Glarus Raspberry Tart. It is an out of this world beer. It’s only brewed in Wisconsin, USA. And they don’t export.
E– Essential Item You Use Everyday? My lipstick,my laptop,my Ipaq 6950.
F - Favourite Colour? Indigo. White. Green.
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Bears.
H - Hometown? Essex. UK.
I - Indulgence? Chocolate liquers. Baileys. Chocolate Martinis
J - January Or February? January. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s no secret that I just love it. The sounds, the smells, the decorations, the Christmas tree, the fun of buying presents, sending greetings and curbing my curiosity as I eye the deliciously wrapped presents under my tree – which I’m under strict orders not to investigate until Christmas Day. People rushing home doing last minute Christmas shopping, and yes, even the Christmas music (although have to admit that does get boring pretty quickly). Read the rest of this entry »