'Tis the Season for Giving

It's that time of year again and holiday shopping is on the mind. Some people have already finished their shopping, or at least begun. I on the other hand just started thinking about what on earth I can get for everyone on my list.

First, I will begin at my church's Christmas Bazaar; hopefully I win a lot of gifts! And then I will continue on to Winners, Homesense, and Marshalls; they're all run by the same company. And a great way that they're able to entice people to shop there for Christmas is by giving employees 20% off coupons for family and friends. Luckily, I have a friend who works at Winners who gave me the coupon. I will most definitely be checking it out. For one, it may be a one stop shop as they have so many departments for everyone, and second, I just love shopping and finding cool new things there!

However, when I listen to the radio, I always hear the commercial for the Shopping Channel. One stop shop from home. Sounds great, and so easy! But I question how reliable the products are since I wouldn't be able to see and feel things in person. But golly gosh their commercial entices me to check it out!

I do know for sure that I will give my parents the gift of giving; sending animals, seeds, school supplies etc. to countries in the world that need them. My parents will get a card to let them know what they have sent over. What I love is that these are not just materialistic items being sent over, they provide the opportunity to to make money, be independent, and make a living. That's a real gift!

And just today I was told that with the World Wildlife Fund, a gift option that they have created is symbolically adopting an animal. By doing this, the proceeds support the WWF conservation efforts, and in return, the person recieving the gift gets a plush animal, adoption certificate, and details of the gift's support. I think this will be an easy gift that I can feel really good about giving to my niece and nephews; not to mention that it will help teach them to gift to others!

The favourite gifts I give are the ones that help others who need it most. For my family, we are quite privileged, so these are the best gifts for us.

Happy shopping!

live life and be happy

Micky D's

McDonald's restaurants over the years have gone through many renovations; currently they have a high-class restaurant feel. However, I remember when I was a little girl, and the McDonald's in my hometown was the best! I say the best because it was unique, different than others. People would actually drive out of their town to come to "my" McDonalds.

Do you remember when McDonald's had pizza Happy Meals? Yes, individual pizzas! And they had McDonalds cookies (similar to arrowroot but in McDonald shapes) that came with your Happy Meal.

So those were highlights of McDonalds, but the best part, the Play Place. Yah, there are still Play Places at McDonalds, but not like mine used to be. There was a Party Caboose where we would have birthday parties (with Happy Meal of choice; pizza). That was located on one side of the Play Place. And when we finished eating, we would go play. The house was built in the wall. Kids would pee in there all the time. But that was the best! I remember a small location you could climb up to in the wall and fit 4-5 kids! And then you would come out at the top of the wall, and you could slide down. And there was a Ball Pit! What a time to be a kid!

Now all McDonalds look and feel the same. I suppose there are legal reasons as to why the Play Places have changed, but the fun and child-centered environment has come to be unimportant. They now seem to focus on McCafe. I suppose a technique to attract the Tim Horton's goers.

But when does change become too much?

What ever happened to



emjoy life and be happy

Scams

I recently attended the Wedding Dreams Show hosted by Grand River Shows. I was so excited to go for a couple reasons; to see how the whole event came together, and to learn more about weddings! Now I'm not engaged, but I think that wedding planning is a career opportunity for me, so I went. Despite all of the awkward "when is the date" questions, the show overall was great!

One exciting booth that I looked at was the Dinner 4 Two booth. I entered to win a trip that they were giving away, and also recieved a small reusable bag with a matching pot holder. Everything was so cute and well put together, and seemed to be well marketed due to their logo and design.

A friend who had also gone to the show had asked me a few days later if I had recieved a call from Dinner 4 Two. I hadn't at the time, and she told me about the phone call, and then about her internet research and reviews that all concluded to their whole presentation being a scam.

When I got the call, it was very exciting. They told me that my boyfriend and I would be given free items including matching aprons and the choice of a few trips and wedding bands; all for FREE! All we had to do was attend a short culinary demonstration. There was no obligation to buy, and we would still get the free gifts.

Because I was already told this was a scam from a trustworthy friend, I didn't let the excitement get the best of me. I asked if they would be able to email me the details so that I could have it in writing. However, emailing was not an option for them. They said I could check their website but that all of the information wouldn't be on there so I had to write it down myself. Really the whole thing felt like a scam, but I understand how they would easily take advantage of vulnerable young couples.

In the reviews I read, their presentation techniques included scare tactics; telling the couples that all other cookware was dangerous to their health, but theirs was not. Also, they didn't mention the extra costs that people would be charged. And all of their "free" gifts and trips, had high sky additional fees, which really just paid for the trips; not so free anymore.

Moral of the story, always be on your guard. People will try to sell you products and services and entice you with gifts that have hidden costs. The whole thing sounds so exciting, and they seem like professionals, so it is easy to fall into their traps. However, reviews have shown that the cookware that people spent lots of money on were not special, and wore down just as, if not faster than any other cookware.

Beware of what you hear; do your own reserach; and consult others advice before committing to such expenses!

enjoy life and be happy!

MicroVolunteering

With such busy lives these days, its hard to find time to go out and volunteer, but somehow there is enough time to sit in front of the computer and use social media.

Koodo, yes the phone company, has this new way of volunteering; microvolunteering!

It's pretty cool. You just go to the KoodoNation website to get started! It works in two ways, either you post a volunteer opportunity, or you choose to volunteer.

The purpose is to create a larger community that provides ways for younger or computer savy individuals to get involved from home. You join a team, sign up, and look for a volunteer opportunity that you want to do. They are all tasks that use the computer and that don't need a big time commitment. The goals and outcomes of that tasks are identified so that you know exactly what you need to do!

The goal of microvolunteering is to get people to spend as much time volunteering as they do on facebook.

I think that this is going to be the next big thing and change the world!

enjoy life and be happy

Homework

Everyday my brother comes home after school. He will often play with the dog, skateboard on the driveway, and watch T.V. or hang out with his friends. However, once the night goes on, usually after dinner, he will get out his homework. Sometimes it is math, or science, or even french. Now oddly enough, everytime he gets his binder and opens it to his homework sheets, he always asks "how do I do this?" or "what does this mean?". My first instinct is well don't your teachers teach you anything?! But then I remind myself that yes, they probably do teach the class what they need to know.

So perhaps the issue is really a lack of paying attention in class; too much talking, doodling, day dreaming, starring at the girl of the week, etc. But that may not be it. Perhaps he's a genius and know that when he comes home, he or my brothers or my father or sometimes my mother will actually help him with his homework. By help him I mean that he scams us into doing his homework for him. We try to teach him new techniques or new ways of thinking, and the result is that we've done all the work!

But perhaps it's neither of the above. Is media getting in the way? Is it too distracting? He's doing his french homework, or he was when I began writing this post. The homework is to identify the root word; easy right? Well he has done one word, said "I don't get it" and then continued to play on his iPod. After a few minutes, he announced "I really need to concentrate!" Hooray I thought! By George he's figured out his own problem! And here I am, sitting at the dining room table typing this blog next to my brother with his homework out in front of him, and he is simply reading what I am writing and eating a pencil (gross).

And although he is following along with what I am writing.. he hasn't gotten the hint...

GET TO WORK YOU LAZY A**!!

(and now he has called me a name and asked for my help..)

enjoy life and be happy

Social Media

Technology is advancing at an incredible rate, and with technology comes social media. There are so many different types of social media that to know and frequently use them would have to be your full-time job! The social media that I use include my student email, personal email, Facebook, Pinterest, this blog, and an e-Portfolio. And these alone are difficult for me to keep up with! But I barely use any social media compared to others. Some also use Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube to list a few.

However, for the younger generations, social media is a main means of communication and has become a popular pastime for them. This means that going into the field of Recreation and Leisure, or any career, knowing how to use and utilize the most current social media tools is vital! Not only that, but you have to use them well. And to do so, you have to be willing to learn and accept change because what's popular today can easily be different tomorrow.

enjoy life and be happy