Happy New Year! PARTY ROCK ANTHEM - Free Music before 12 midnite ET....

Here you are from LMFAO! PARTY ROCK ANTHEM!

You only have an hour and a half to download!

iTunes freebie today only: Kelly Clarkson

Missed yesterday's freebie, which was a TV show download anyway, so - didn't miss much.


Here is today's freebie iTunes download:

Kelly Clarkson

I am not overly fond of her myself, but hey....worth a listen.......

Free offer ends at Midnite ET tonite.

Christmas Whine.....



Minus the mug.  The chocolate was a
tiny little square, which of course, I cant
eat anyway - gives me mouth ulcers...



A couple weeks ago, my husband's employer hosted a Christmas dinner outing at a local restaurant. The employer was footing the bill for the food - but not the alcohol - which, to me was quite a reasonable and responsible thing to do.

Who wants to sit and eat with a bunch of drunks who are trying to max out on the free drinks - then possibly have them drive home? 

Liability issues.

The meals averaged anywhere from $20 to $40 per plate. Most everyone ordered the most expensive. I ordered salmon, which came in at $20 - the lower end of the scale.  Everyone also ordered dessert.

The guy sitting across from me was the husband of the gal that works at the front desk at the office. He was complaining that the boss (not attending) was demanding that the *actual* bill was sent to headquarters, as opposed to a scan or fax.  It wouldn't even be her own stamp or envelope that she uses to send it!

Personally, I didn't quite get all the complaining going on. After all, he was getting a FREE MEAL.
Having run several of my own "businesses"....and also now our rentals - I can understand why one would want the *actual* billing. It makes good business sense, especially if you are going to be audited. 

And - why would they whine and complain about that anyway? It could be that they felt it was a matter of trust, but still.........

I suppose I wasn't very popular when I spoke up and pointed out that it was well within the employer's rights to want the original receipt and said -   "I wouldn't care what type of paperwork he wanted - when I am getting my meal paid for!!!"

Uncomfortable silence ensued.

I made a point of telling my husband the following week to let his fellow employees know that all I got from my employer was one tiny piece of wrapped chocolate and a cranberry teabag tucked inside a Christmas card.

I suppose now, I'm the one that appears to be whining......

And Just Because....

After Nursing for 35 years this coming year, forgive me if I like animals way better than people sometimes.....

Watch this dog's reaction when His Owner plays the guitar...

Pink Stuff.....

12 Days Of Christmas: FREE MUSIC -- Coldplay

Our local newspaper is offering free downloads from iTunes store - today is the first day.  Catch is - you have to download it before midnight tonite....ET.  

Tomorrow is another artist...but the freebies will continue for the next 11 days (December 26 to January 6th)

Here is where you can find the invite - oh - and here

  Not sure which ones are coming up next......

One more Christmas Video ....

Another one, similar to the Little Star in a previous post....

It's All Wrong!!!

looking down my cousin's street

It's snowing in East Texas where my cousins live......and yet, here where I live in Canada....NOTHING!

I want SNOW for Christmas!!!

Is it too much to ask????


********************
I have flowers blooming for pete's sake!  I want SNOW!!!!

I blame it on the expensive snowblower that my husband bought last year in anticipation of the horrible snowfall they were predicting we would get......that never did materialize.......

Sure-fire way to prevent snow - buy a snowblower!

Electronics for Christmas: Beware!

Ok, when you are cheating when playing a game on your iPhone......using an animal......

Expect the animal to not understand.......and get even........!

A Christmas Present: HIV Vaccine

An announcement was made that the HIV Vaccine got the OK to proceed to human trials.
This vaccine has been 20 years in the making.

This work is being done at London, Ontario's own Western University here in Canada.

Here is the announcement:



What a great Christmas Present!!

Kindergarten Nativity.....The Christmas Star

My girlfriend's granddaughter is the little "Star" in this rendition of the Nativity Story.

She is only 2 years old.

The whole production is so cute:


the Christmas Star from the Stirring on Vimeo.

Public Service Announcement from the CDC

Pay attention.

There will be a quiz.

And by the way, if you fast forward to 2:30 - you will get the entire song in a nice,  compact 30 seconds......

A Year in Review: Zeitgeist!

Once again!

Only 301 views....see the total grow as it gets passed around the globe!

What do You with the Lousy Xmas Gifts?????

Think twice about your gift- giving!!

Consumer Reports has a good article on what *actually* happens to those Christmas gifts you give that the recipient doesn't care for.....



Thanks to Consumer Reports website

 Sad............ but true.

So - what do you do?

Personally, I think that Christmas is so overdone,  so commercialized.......why can't we go back to just homemade gifts.....or just  - doing the simple things?  Such as.....telling each person what we wish for them or how we appreciate them in a poem?  Or doing a good deed? Or paying it forward to a stranger?

The thought of even considering that a gift is "lousy" is repulsive to me.

I swear, I didn't have much as a child, yet I was just as happy with what little I had.  We were lucky to get one gift. 

We didn't have the fancy electronics or the latest fad gifts.   My dad was too busy trying to put food on the table....gifts weren't a priority.   I don't think I ever got  a doll as a gift  - not one that had a full set of limbs anyway!

Things were so much simpler.  It was a magical time.....hiking around in the snowdrifts....tobogganing with friends and family......hot chocolate fireside by the frozen lake after skating.....the snow floating down softly from the black sky....so quiet your ears hurt.........hauling home the Christmas tree from the next valley over.......

It didn't matter that there weren't stacks and stacks of gifts under the tree......

I truly believe the satisfaction level and happiness was at a  far greater level than what is experienced today.

The Spirit of Christmas has somehow been lost in the last few decades.

***************************

And in light of the current subject, here is something for you to watch:

All I want for Christmas....YOU!

She is only 10 years old.

Her 2 brothers are the backup band - I had featured them last month with one of Adele's songs.

Adorable! And it's Christmas!

For Those of You who have Been Busy studying:

Thanks to http://www.9gag.com/

Ban on Christmas

Well, well, well.

Common sense prevails for once - in Quebec.

Service Canada...the working end of Canada....has got the OK from the Conservative Government to decorate for Christmas.

The Quebec Government had banned any Christmas decorations (holly boughs and trees included) because a Muslim complained that it "offended" them. 

Now, I am certainly not offended by any type of religion displaying their icons, or prayers, or clothing or having their own celebrations go public with the parades and such. 

I am perfectly fine with everything (well, I do take exception of the ceremonial knives if worn on commercial airplanes) and anything that another religion celebrates - even in public.   It's a free country.

Please don't take this as an anti-Muslim rant.  It isn't.

I have taken part in other religions' ceremonial celebrations. 

I have joined Muslim friends to watch parades celebrating Muslim culture - specifically Ramadan - in the next town over when they publicly celebrated their religious beliefs right down the main street and through the city more than once.

The nurse that sits next to me at work is Muslim and she was telling me how her family takes part in some of the Christmas celebrations.    I even got a Christmas card from another one of my girlfriends who is Muslim  last year  (and yes it did say "Merry Christmas" - not - "Happy Holidays").

I have attended services at a Jewish synagog and partook in the Hannukka celebrations.  I have attended both Protestant and Catholic churches.
  
Our Santa Parade downtown Vancouver  includes all local ethnic groups.

Live and let live is my motto.


I don't tell you what you can and can't do -   you don't tell me what I can and can't do.  Within reason and the confines of criminal and civil law, of course. 

Why does the Government bow to only one or two voices of objection out there when there are thousands - no - millions of others out there that are OK with celebrations, or at the very least -  even neutral about them?

To ban Christmas decorations because they offend is just plain stupid.  It's a cultural thing, not a religious thing for most people.  It's political correctness taken too far.


Shouldn't we be ALL-INCLUSIVE???


That's what this country is all about!


I know that all of my Muslim and Buddhist friends agree.   They wouldn't like to see their own celebrations and customs outlawed - so why ban so called "Christian" celebrations?


Certainly the Muslim community as a whole in Canada has no objections, quote:

Religious minorities, meanwhile, lined up against the ban. Salam Elmenyawi, head of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said he enjoys seeing Christmas lights and other decorations.“I guarantee you, for most Muslims this is a non-issue,” he said. “I’m not offended by these decorations at all. They remind us of the spirit of giving.”

I am glad that the Quebec Government has come to it's senses.

Although, I do note that "religious icons" are still not allowed.

AND: I still say the Christmas tree is not a "Holiday" tree...........

HEAD INJURIES : one stop shopping

I have made comments on head injuries in sports in previous blogposts here and here.  I heard recently on the news how even a series of minor head injuries can cause early dementia to those in their 20's.

There is a mishmash of data on the web already, but there was never one place to go for all the information.

Now, a Canadian Sports Medicine doc, Paul Echlin,  has created a website - The Sport Concussion Library - that pulls together all the information into a one-stop shopping place for Researchers, MDs, First Responders, Parents, Coaches, Schools and Athletes, where one can get information about sport induced concussions.

Chart obtained from this website: Science 2.0
Notice that it does not include Ice Hockey!

It is aimed at educating the public.....but also professionals.  He was tired of seeing so many young persons come into his office - poorly diagnosed and treated and with little understanding of the seriousness and the effect it has on the youth's future.

It is a non-profit, no fee resource.  It has all the up-to-date research that has been done on concussions.

The site gives access to 1500 studies and articles published in Medical Journals and 60 thesis' and book chapters dealing with concussion.  It is linked to many prominent reliable Medical websites.

There are interactive teaching modules. 

There is a SCAT2  test - a concussion assessment tool - that can be given by therapists and MDs and PARENTS to screen an athlete for concussion post injuries.   Use via the MD's website is FREE OF CHARGE.

As Dr. Echlin states: (as reported on Global News)

"This is a public service ... It's not about commercialized sport. It's about the public health of our children.

"Parents are key to this. They can be proactive and empowered. Because I think in the past the parents haven't been empowered and they felt at the mercy of sports people, and not even physicians.

"So it's about them determining what's best for their children."

 

Hopefully, there are people out there who read this, and can use it to further educate themselves and prevent further brain injury and protect our younger generation who have others making decisions for them based on the attitude of "buck up and get back out there on the ice".

Frustration Times Two

Don't you just hate it when Blogger creates an error that wipes out most of a post?

Yes, it just happened to me.

Frustration.

2 hours of time wasted.

So this is all you get:

Photos I took when I visited my folks in November.  One day it was fall....the next day it was winter.

Overnight.

The difference a day makes.

The driveway is 700 meters of almost vertical winding road.   It's a chore for a vehicle to get up it in the summer, never mind the winter.

My folks (mom - 80, dad - 82) will get out there first thing in the am, before they do anything else and clear the drive - mostly by hand with two snow shovels.  

My dad has a heavy duty snowblower that he uses when the snowfall is too deep to shovel by hand, and for someone who has Parkinson's and often almost falls over using his walker in the house......he gets out there and is the first to push it up and down the drive. 

THEN he gets the salt and makes another trip up and down the drive.  I swear it's the only thing that keeps him healthy because I took the shovel and cleared half of the drive with him that morning and I was out of breath!

I am waiting for a call that they have fallen and broken their hips.  They just refuse to call someone for help.

One Christmas we even paid someone to go over there to do it for them, but they still did it on their own.

Frustration.

FREE Christmas Song Downloads....

Can you believe it?????

Click on the link above to download  in your choice of audio format for FREE!

My favorites?

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Angels We Have Heard on High

She Won't Be Home

Silver Bells

White Christmas

Baby It's Cold Outside

Silent Night

What Child is This






Hey. If you can get something for free nowadays.....go for it!

At the very least, you can listen to Christmas Songs while blogging....!

I know it's old - but it's still funny......

This is from 2007 but, in the spirit of the start of the winter season, it's one of my favorite cartoons:

And since I can't get enough of Christmas.....

I love this interpretation of "Little Drummer Boy"!  My cousin is a teacher at the high school this 17-year-old attends!



I wish we had snow!!!!

Christmas is coming:

Here is a brand new song out by a brand new 17-year-old Canadian artist, the niece of my girlfriend from Ottawa:



"A Country Boy For Christmas" available now on iTunes.ca as part of the 'CMT – The Gift of Giving' compilation album. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this album will go to Canadian food banks through Corus Entertainment's community giving initiative Corus Feeds Kids.

"Gift of Giving" is a one hour performance/documentary program featuring an enchanting Christmas concert performed before a live audience. A blend of traditional and original songs will be brought to life by our diverse case of artists. Documentary-style story elements will weave between the performances telling the story of hunger in Canada and the important role provided by food banks and charities.

Hosted by Canadian country music singer and humanitarian George Canyon, the special will feature performances and interviews with fellow Canadians Chantal Kreviazuk, Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, Jimmy Rankin, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Kira Isabella. Gift of Giving will air throughout December on CMT, YTV, W Network and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada). (Full list of airdates below.)

A companion CD features the show's performers as well as holiday music from Johnny Reid, Rascal Flatts, Dean Brody, Gord Bamford, Darius Rucker, Chad Brownlee (former professional hockey player defenceman turned musician), Luke Bryan and Sugarland. Gift of Giving, the first ever holiday compilation CD from CMT, is now available in-store and on iTunes.



CMT Airdates:
Saturday, December 3 at 9am ET/6PT, 1pm ET/10PT and 10pm ET/7PT
Sunday, December 4 at 7pm ET/4PT
Tuesday, December 6 at 6pm ET/3PT and 11pm ET/8PT
Friday, December 9 at 9pm ET/6PT
Sunday, December 11 at 10pm ET/7PT
Thursday, December 15 at 8pm ET/5PT and 12am ET/9PT
Friday, December 16 at 1am ET/10PT
Saturday, December 17 at 9am ET/6PT
Sunday, December 18 at 10am ET/7PT
Monday, December 19 at 4pm ET/1PT
Thursday, December 22 at 11pm ET/8 PT
Friday, December 23 at 7pm ET/4 PT
Saturday, December 24 at 8pm ET/5PT
Sunday, December 25 at 7pm ET/4PT

OWN Airdates:
Sunday, December 18 at 2pm ET/11PT
Tuesday, December 20 at 9pm ET/6PT

W Network Airdate:
Saturday, December 10 at 1pm ET/10PT

YTV Airdates:
Monday, December 19 at 10pm ET/7PT
Saturday, December 24 at 11pm ET/8PT