Strange Days

Folks, I am just blown away. I wonder if she would mix up a batch in her kitchen and put it on her china and set it in front of her own children.

Dog food destined for starving children
30 January 2006
By JO MCKENZIE-MCLEAN

A Canterbury woman's plan to send powdered dog food to starving Kenyan children has not been given the thumbs up by Oxfam New Zealand.

A shipment of 6000 emergency packs of dog food mixture is bound for Rusinga Island on Kenya's Lake Victoria as part of a relief effort for the area's starving children.

Christine Drummond, founder of Mighty Mix dog food, said she was working with a Kenyan aid agency to provide the raw ingredients for a special nutritional food.
A shipment is due to leave Lyttelton in March.

But the scheme has failed to get the thumbs up from at least one international aid agency.

Drummond said the relief food, called NZ's Raw Dry Nourish, used the same ingredients as Mighty Mix dog food biscuits.

"The first plan was to send dog biscuits and change the vitamins then when I heard there were so many little children I could not send them a bicky," she said.
Instead she developed a powder that she says just needs water added to form a sustainable meal.

The formula was packed with freeze-dried meats – beef, mutton, pork and chicken, deer velvet, green lip mussel, kelp, garlic, egg, whole grain cereals and cold-pressed flax seed flour, she said.

"I made it out of ingredients they are used to eating, so the main bulk product is corn."

Drummond said she was exporting the raw ingredients to Kenya where it would be mixed by charity staff according to her recipe.

Drummond was devised the mixture after talking to North Canterbury woman Lois McGirr whose daughter had recently returned from a poverty-stricken village in Kenya. The pair had teamed up to get the food to Kenya.

McGirr said she was distributing the food through the Mercy Mission charity, based in Kenya, and was promoting the food as a "nutritional supplement" rather than dog food.

"I do not think it's deceitful. I would be happy to tell them the full story but as long as the doctors she (Drummond) has been working with have been okaying it, I don't think it's an issue. It's not just a dog food."

The Press tried to contact the Mercy Mission through a number on its website, but calls were met by a recorded message.

Mighty Mix dog food agent Gaynor Siviter said that if the dog food mixture helped the Kenyan children as it helped dogs, it would be "marvellous".

"The dogs thrive on it. They have energy, put on weight. It's bizarre but if it's edible and it works for these people then it's a brilliant idea. It beats eating rice."

Oxfam New Zealand executive director Barry Coates said he had not heard of the scheme but it was unlikely to achieve the desired outcome.

"I think it is much better to get food supplies from within Kenya rather than sending it around the world.

"Sending food shipments from New Zealand to Kenya does not seem to be the best use of time and effort and the fact it's coming from a dog food manufacturer could make people suspicious."

Drought, crop failures and massive food shortages in parts of the east African country have left millions of people without access to adequate food supplies.
Oxfam International estimates the number of people at risk is between 2.5 million and 3.5 million.

Meanwhile, I'm at the bank yesterday, and when i was leaving there was a grinding noise in my tire, i thought i had curbed the tire, but that wasn't the case, a piece of metal fell out of the right front tire, I was able to get the car across the street to a tire place (with a nasty grinding noise the whole while) and they basically told me that the brake fell out of the tire.

?!?!

so anyway....i wound up having to have the car towed, and incurring a 475 buck bill that i have no idea how im going to pay. this was just NOT in my "things that have to be paid this month" budget....

:(

Dr Deb wrote a great post "What Parents Need to Know About Child Sexual Abuse". It gives info that most of us hear a lot about, but also has a lot of info that you may not know. So head over there and read that, if you get a chance.

One of the things that I felt was lacking in the article, and which may need an article all to itself is Child on Child Sexual Abuse. As parents, we spend a lot of time worrying about that "stranger" our child may come in contact with, or warily eyeballing the little league coach, boy scout leader, male librarian, school security guard, odd neighbor, etc, ever since we were told that much sexual abuse is committed by someone the child knows.

By the time my daughter was 5 or 6, she had never spent the night out of my home, she was never left during the day with anyone, whether I knew them or not, I just wasn't in the habit of leaving her with people. I was asked to go out with a group of friends one weekend, and my close friend, (that I had known since we were kids) said that she would watch my daughter for the night. She had two girls about 8 and 10 at the time and a little boy about 3 or 4. Although I don't believe the fact that my friend was married to a woman had anything to do with what happened, many people have disagreed. Maybe they're right, I'm not sure. The fact is, the 10 year old molested my daughter that night, she didn't penetrate her, but she touched her, and a few days later, my daughter told me. I was horrified. Absolutely horrified.

When she explained what happened she told me that it was her fault. I talked to her, I told her it wasn't her fault, that the girl shouldn't have touched her, and all the things we tell someone after the fact.

Inside I was screaming; "how could i have let this happen?", "what was so important about going out?", "I should have known better". Years later I understand that as a single mother, it is important that you get out of the house, even if just for a sense of perspective, or to be around other adults. I also recognize the need to have someone you can trust to keep your child/children, and how difficult that can be.

We talked about it that day, and a few times after that, and after a while she didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore, so I let it go. A few months ago, I wrote an entry about her coming home one day after school and our conversation when she asked me if she might be gay, because there was a girl in school she had a crush on. Long story short, midway through the convo she referenced the girl who had touched her those many years ago. I was shocked. I didn't think she even remembered it, no less that she would place it smack dab in the middle of a convo about sexual identity, I really was floored.

When I told her I was suprised that she remembered that, she said "Oh yeah, I always remembered it, it's bothered me for a long time". (Again with the shock.) I'm like "why didn't you talk to me about it, we talk about everything" she said something to the effect of it wasn't a constant thing on her mind but she did think about it sometimes. So again, I told her it wasn't her fault, we talked about it for a while, I made sure she was clear on what happened, the situation, etc and especially, again and again I made sure she was clear that she did nothing to make this happen to her.

So.....A friend of mine has a son, good kid, he's 9....doesn't get in trouble, comes from a good home. His mom has a friend who has a son the same age, they've been friends a few years and their sons have participated in a lot of activities together. Not to go into deatial here, but that boy molested her son one night during a sleepover, and she busted him. It was a bad scene and she won't deal with that person anymore, but it makes you wonder what kind of damage has already been done?

Ask yourself how many times your child has sleepovers?

where do the childen sleep?

It's obviously not enought to seperate the sexes as these two incidences show, they were same-sex molestings.

Are we to assume that any child that molests another child, has been molested themselves?

Or do we chalk it up to child curiosity?

If we chalk it up to child curiosity, are we saying that one child cannot molest another?

should we assume that these incidences happen only at night? or could they happen at the beach, pool, park, bathrooms, clubhouses, basements, closets, playground?

I don't have all the answers. I just saying that it's something that needs to be looked at, and we need to be aware of the other children they are around. We need to be aware of their sleeping arrangements, what games they are playing, and as much of the background of the other child as is possible.

Do I sound paranoid? Maybe. But you wouldn't let a stranger sleep over in your kids room, but we let kids they know JUST from school sleep over?

Myself, I don't let Jess sleep over other peoples house (except her grandmother and her aunt...that's it) and I monitor the kids that come to my house as well as keep an eye on them when they're in her room for hours on end. I actually think being a little paranoid is better than thinking it couldn't happen to your child, because once the child is molested or raped, their's no going back, you cannot earase, undo or turn back time, and the long term affects it may have on your child are still unknown.

What do you think?

For my blogfriend 2Sons, I finally found your blog, and I tried to leave a message, and it says your comments are restricted to team members only, and you do not have an email listed. I don't know if this is on purpose, because yopu do not want people to leave comments, but let me know either way.

I’m fifteen for a moment, caught in between ten and twenty, And I’m just dreaming, counting the ways to where you are.

I’m twenty-two for a moment, she feels better than ever, And we’re on fire, making our way back from Mars.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you, time to buy and time to lose. Fifteen, there’s never a wish better than this, When you've only got a hundred years to live.

I’m thirty-three for a moment, still the man but you see I’m a \"they\", A kid on the way babe, a family on my mind.

I’m forty-five for a moment, the sea is high, And I’m heading into a crisis, chasing the years of my life.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you, Time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star. Fifteen, I’m all right with you. Fifteen, there’s never a wish better than this, When you've only got a hundred years to live.

Halftime goes by, suddenly you’re wise!
Another blink of an eye, sixty-seven is gone.
The sun is getting high, we’re moving on.

I’m ninety-nine for a moment, dying for just another moment, And I’m just dreaming, counting the ways to where you are.

Fifteen, there's still time for you.
Twenty-two, I feel her too.
Thirty-three, you're on your way.
Every day's a new day.

Fifteen, there’s still time for you, time to buy and time to choose.
Hey fifteen, there’s never a wish better than this
When you've only got a hundred years to live.

This song by Five for Fighting (which by the way is only one guy) makes me catch my breath every time I hear it. Sometimes we forget that our time here is limited, and we get so caught up in the minutia of our daily lives, we forget that we are but a speck in this universe, a mere drop of water in the ocean of the universe.

Take a moment today and tell someone you love them....call someone who you've been thinking about and tell them so....give someone you know a hug....give a homeless person 3 bucks....do something different. Make a difference. Even if it's only in the life of a child, a mate/spouse, friend, parent...or a stranger.

Pay it forward was always such an awesome concept to me. You do something thats above and beyond for someone and let them know that the only thing you expect from them is that they "pay it forward" by doing something, sometime, for someone else. Can you imagine what an awesome world this would be if we practiced that concept?

"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love."

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous
than sincere indifference,
and concientious stupidity"

...but what is a bitter, bitter shame is that martinlutherking.com is a PORN site, and martinlutherking.org is run by Stormfront, a white supremist organization. It's a fucking crying shame. (yeah I know I don't normally cuss on here, but if anything deserves it, this does.) Just answer me one question....all of those thousands of Martin Luther King book reports that are due on tuesday...how many of those children either saw tits and ass, or Stormfront crap (masked as a martin luther friendly site I might add)? ::shakes head::: It's a crying shame that there's no way to take these site names from them, but I BET a MILLION dollars, if this was to happen to Georgebush.com not only would the site dissapear, but the people who made them would probably disapear to0....

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder, even children get older
And I'm getting older too

Oh, take my love, take it down
Aha, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down

And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down

Joe went to NJ w/ his mother to take care of some personal business. He left last tuesday and will be back this tuesday. I miss him terribly, and it has made me think of what my life would be like without him. He is an awesome presence in my life as well as my daughters life, and I think we are better because of him.

I spoke to him tonight, and he told me he's so ready to be home, which, of course I was glad to hear.

I'm not used to being in a house this size. Even when we stayed in our tiny little apartment, I was nervous if he wasn't there at night, but this house...this is something totally different. If someone broke into the house, my bedroom is so far from the front I wouldn't hear it. Granted if they came in the back I would probably blow their brains out....but I guess you can see where the whole thing just makes me nervous. lol

I've spent the whole weekend putting tons of Jessica's 14/16 clothes up on Ebay, I've always bought her quility clothing, and most of it is in like-new condition, so I think it will sell. it should. If so, I will put it toward her 14th birthday that is coming up in Feb. She wants to have her party here at the house and invite kids from school. We're talking about 50 or so kids. I'm so not looking forward to it. It's bad enough when she has two of her girlfriends here this weekend...they giggle like mad at absolutely nothing, eat like horses and hog up the phone.

Yeah, yeah I'm complaining....but she's a good kid...and it's all a part of being a teenager....in a sense, I'm kind of enjoying it all. I know in a few years she'll be running off into the sunrise of her life, so I have to enjoy even the moments that drive me nuts. It scares me to know that one day she won't be my "little girl" anymore...she will grow up and one day become someone else's "mommy"....will she still be my little girl?

I suppose at that time, I will be able to look back, and see the work that I put into my little girl to make her into a woman....and maybe have the opprotunity to revel in being a grandmother. I ask god to bless our relationship all the time....the last thing I want is for us to have an adversarial relationship, like my mother and I had. So far, so good...she still talks to me about everything, and we're able to laugh about most things, rather than take them too seriously. I'm lucky to have her.

Bodhichitta, Three Lords of Materialism
Current mood: introspective


My friend Henry sent me this. It made such an impression on me, I'm going to get the book. The truth is a beautiful thing whether we want to face it or not.

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"Chitta means 'mind' and also 'heart' or 'attitude'. Bodhi means 'awake,' 'enlightened,' or 'completely open.'

Sometimes the completely opened heart and mind of bodhichitta is called the soft spot, a place as vulnerable and tender as an open wound. It is equated in part, with our ability to love…

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A teaching that supports us in this process of unblocking bodhichitta is that of the three lords of materialism. These are the three ways that we shield ourselves from this fluid, un-pin-downable world, three strategies we use to provide ourselves with the illusion of security. This teaching encourages us to become very familiar with these strategies of ego, to see clearly how we continue to seek comfort and ease in ways that only strengthen our fears...

The first of the three lords of materialism is called the lord of form. It represents how we look to externals to give us solid ground. We can begin to pay attention to our methods of escape. What do I do when I feel anxious and depressed, bored or lonely? Is 'shopping therapy' my way of coping? Or do I turn to alcohol or food? Do I cheer myself up with drugs or sex, or do I seek adventure? Do I prefer retreating into the beauty of nature or into the delicious world provided by a really good book? Do I fill up the space by making phone calls, by surfing the net, by watching hours of TV? Some of these methods are dangerous, some are humorous, some are quite benign. The point is that we can misuse any substance or activity to run away from insecurity. When we become addicted to the lord of form, we are creating the causes and conditions for suffering to escalate. We can't get any lasting satisfaction no matter how hard we try. Instead the very feelings we're trying to escape from get stronger. ...No matter how we get trapped our usual reaction is not to become serious about what's happening. We do not naturally investigate the strategies of ego. Most of us just blindly reach for something familiar that we associate with relief and then wonder why we stay dissatisfied. The radical approach of bodhichitta practice is to pay attention to what we do. Without judging it we train in kindly acknowledging whatever is going on. Eventually we might decide to stop hurting ourselves in the same old ways.

The second of the three lords of materialism is the lord of speech. This lord represents how we use beliefs of all kinds to give us the illusion of certainty about the nature of reality. Any of the 'isms' - political, ecological, philosophical, or spiritual-can be misused in this way... The problem isn't with the beliefs themselves but with how we use them to get ground under our feet, how we use them to feel right and to make someone else wrong, how we use them to avoid feeling the uneasiness of not knowing what is going on... Being caught by the lord of speech may start with just a reasonable conviction about what we feel to be true. However, if we find ourselves becoming righteously indignant, that's a sure sign that we've gone too far and that our ability to effect change will be hindered. Beliefs and ideals have become just another way to put up walls.

The third lord, the lord of mind, uses the most subtle and seductive strategy of all. The lord of mind comes into play when we attempt to avoid uneasiness by seeking special states of mind. We can use drugs this way. We can use sports. We can use falling in love. We can use spiritual practices. There are many ways to obtain altered states of mind. These special states are addictive. It feels so good to break free from our mundane experience. We want more... Even though peak experiences might show us the truth and inform us about why we are training, they are essentially no big deal. If we can't integrate them into the ups and downs of our lives, if we cling to them, they will hinder us. We can trust our experiences as valid, but then we have to move on and learn to get along with our neighbors. Then even the most remarkable insights can begin to permeate our lives... It isn't the special states themselves that are the problem, it's their addictive quality. Since it is inevitable that what goes up must come down, when we take refuge in the lord of mind we are doomed to disappointment.

Each of us has a variety of habitual tactics for avoiding life as it is. In a nutshell, that's the message of the three lords of materialism. This simple teaching is, it seems, everyone's autobiography. When we use these strategies we become less able to enjoy the tenderness and wonder that is available in the most unremarkable of times. Connecting with bodhichitta is ordinary.

When we don't run from everyday uncertainty, we can contact bodhichitta. It's a natural force that wants to emerge. It is, in fact, unstoppable. Once we stop blocking it with ego's strategies, the refreshing water of bodhichitta will definitely begin to flow. We can slow it down. We can dam it up. Nevertheless, whenever there's an opening, bodhichitta will always appear, like those weeds and flowers that pop out of the sidewalk as soon as there's a crack."

~ Excerpts from Pema Chodron's book, The Places That Scare You : A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times

Some cool things I've come across that you might like.

Google Earth

One of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Fly from space to your neighborhood. Type in an address and zoom right in. Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions. Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings. Save and share your searches and favorites. Even add your own annotations. Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and more.

I think what blew me away the most was going from outer space, and zooming in right to my house. I saves searches like, where I grew up, my moms house, my sisters house, my business partners house. When I click my house and then click my sisters address, it zooms from my house to her house in NJ. Very breathtaking, and very cool. Here's a screenshot of my house, you can click on it to enlarge it.




Google Earth System requirements include;

Operating system: Windows 2000, Windows XP
CPU speed: Intel® Pentium® PIII 500 MHz
System memory (RAM): 128MB
200MB hard-disk space
3D graphics card: 3D-capable video card with 16MB VRAM
1024x768, 32-bit true color screen
Network speed: 128 kbps ("Broadband/Cable Internet")

and sorry Mac users, they're not ready for you guys yet. If you decide to check it out, let me know what you think.

Retrievr

From the folks at Flickr, comes Retrievr. You draw a shape in the lil box and it "retrieves" pictures that contain the same shape elements. Sometimes the results are amazing....sometimes, not so much. But you will wind up seeing lots and lots of amazing photos. Who knew there were so many talented photographers out there?

Here's a line drawing I did and the results. The best on was the lady with the lags (bottom left), not an exact match, but definitly an interesting one. You can check it out yourself at Retrievr

Legal Vote

On Legal Vote, all of you fans of Law and Order and CSI can have a voice and be heard! Read about real cases and vote on what you think was right or wrong in the case.

A current case reads:

In July of 1992, 32-year-old Mr. P. was struck by a police car while he was riding his motorcycle. While being treated in the emergency room, he was given a tetanus shot. He subsequently developed Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) -- a serious and debilitating disease.

Is Mr. P.'s condition the result of the treatment he received for injuries sustained in the accident?

The site claims that these are fact situations of real cases involving real individuals. Your input and opinions can actually affect how a real case will be tried in front of a jury, or may actually bring about a settlement of the case.

Pretty cool eh?

Well. thats all I have for now. I've been doing tons of cleaning for the new year. Which reminds me, don't forget to check out my list of things for trade. C'mon, I know I'm not the only one doing spring cleaning, don't you have some stuff you want to get rid of and get something cool in return?

I have plans to make another quilt, im cutting squares right now...I cleaned jess's room and she has tons of old t-shirts that I can't give away or sell because of stains, so I'll just cut them into squares for quilting. I'm going to make a quilt for my other two nieces, and may make one for my sister as a suprise for her birthday. (crossing fingers, hoping she doesnt read this, lol)

I'm 97% done with my latest painting, and I'm going to post pics of it as well as pics of my studio for those who have asked in the past if they could see it.

Do you know anyone who does life insurance that I could ask a question? Let me know.

Well I passed through the holidays, relatively unscathed. I didn't go online much, but I cleaned out my office and art studio, tried out some new recipes, and I made a queen size quilt for my daughter and a crib size one for my niece. It was my first time making a quilt, but I wanted to give her something special that she could have for many years. It's a little larger than queen size...I hand cut all the squares and hearts, sewed the designs and hearts on by hand from little pieces of different things; her pajamas from when she was a baby, an old blanket, ect.

Here's one pic, I posted a bunch on my photoblog right here.





When I gave it to her she said

her: this is the best gift I got for Christmas

me: cut the crap, you got an mp3 player

her: but this is handmade mom, you made it with love

the girl is something else, she knows how to make me cry and be proud all at the same time. :)

I'm going to post pics of the quilt as soon as I find the cord to my digital camera.

Here's the recipe for my New Years Drink...I call it a Magarlisa (lol)(lisa is my name, chase is my nickname)

A large Margarita glass (bigger the better)

put sugar in a dish, wet rim and dip rim in sugar to coat rim.

fill glass halfway with lemonade. either store bought or homemade (homemade is best)
add

one shot of peach schnapps
one shot of Ameretto
two shots of Malibu (coconut rum)
sugar if you need it sweeter
crushed ice

I make a quart sized container, so just add ingredients as per cup.

sit back, sip and enjoy. :)

I also made an awesome spinach and artichoke dip, like the one you get a Houlahan's, black eyed peas and rice (called Hoppin John..it's good luck to make on New Years), and some great cookies (Choc Chip, Oatmeal crisps and butterscotch chip...email me for recipes)

Jessica's back home. I'm feeling good. Ready to start a wonderful New Year. Life is good.

:)

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Oh, by the way, I put up a list of things I have for trade. I will be adding tons of stuff to this list. I did something like this a few years back and it was awesome. (I could put the stuff on ebay, but it's just not as much fun. lol) Check it out, there may be something I have that you want. I will add this as a link on the side of my blog later today so you can reference it as I add new things.

Items For Trade (click here)