Author Archives: Wendy Bateman

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Christmas Stress Relief

Christmas can be a very stressful time of year.

Here are some tips and advice to make your Christmas as stress-free as possible.

Do not let the festive season get you down; follow the tips and advice, relax and enjoy yourself.

Plan Ahead: start making a list of things you need to do for Christmas early. Try to prioritize the items on your list. Delegate the responsibility for certain tasks to other family members since this will reduce your workload.

Shop Online: Shop online from the comfort of your own home, and you will not only save time and be less stressed, but will probably save money too. Always make sure you buy from a reputable online retailers, and check that they can deliver before the big day.

Have Realistic Expectations: The best way to control stress is to control expectations. If each day has a realistic to-do list, there will be success at the end of the day, rather than failure. Keep it simple.

Slow Down: If you are feeling stressed, close your eyes and watch your breath. When multi-tasking gets out of hand, stop and refocus on mindfulness.

Enjoy some ME Time: Do not become so involved with holiday preparations that you forget to take care of yourself. Running yourself ragged completely diminishes the joy of the holidays and turns celebration into hard labor.

Christmas Cards: Start your Christmas cards early or change the tradition of mailing Christmas cards. Many people are switching the traditional Christmas card in the mail, instead using social media to send Holiday greetings, i.e. Facebook or email.

Set a Spending Budget: To help prevent stress over money, plan ahead, review your finances, and come up with a realistic budget for gifts. You can also get creative and think of gift ideas that do not involve money.

Have Fun: Focus on fun and relaxation, rather than on creating the perfect table or moment, and you will see your holiday stress melt away.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/avoid-christmas-stress.html

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Freestyle Libre Flash System Glucose Monitoring System

The first of its kind system, Freestyle Libre eliminates the need for routine finger sticks, requires no finger stick calibrations, and reads glucose levels through a sensor that can be worn on the back of the upper arm for up to 14 days.

How the Freestyle Libre System works:

With Abbott’s Freestyle Libre System Canadians with diabetes now have a convenient, less painful alternative to get a glucose reading.

The disposable sensor is worn on the back of the upper arm. The system measures glucose every minute in intertidal fluid through a small filament that is inserted just under the skin and held in place with a small adhesive pad. The sensor can read glucose levels through clothing making tested more convenient and discreet.

Freestyle-Libre system is clinically proven to be accurate and consistent over a 14 day period, without the need for finger stick calibration.

The ability for patients to easily obtain reliable and detailed self-glucose measurement, including current levels and trend direction of glucose without routine finger sticks, provides the person with diabetes valuable insights into their care.

As a Type 2 diabetic, I am excited to try this revolutionary new glucose-sensing technology, and I will definitely be ordering one soon,

Abbott’s Freestyle Libre System is now available for pre-order online only at myfreestyle.ca. at a cost of $49 for the reader, and $89 for each sensor(each sensor lasts for 14 days)

Abbott has secured inclusion of the product in the reimbursement coverage plan of select Canadian insurers who will notify their members upon product availability.

Why choose the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System?

  • Convenient
  • Discreet
  • Easy
  • User-friendly
  • Requires no finger prick calibration
  • Designed to stay on the body for up to 14 days
  • Water resistant
  • Small size (35mm x5 mm)

http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/freestyle-libre-system-for-people-with-diabetes-available-for-pre-order-in-canada-639171423.html

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Raubdruckerin

Raubdruckerin is an experimental print making project that uses urban structures like manhole covers, grids, technical objects and other surfaces of the urban landscape to create unique graphical patterns on streetwear basics, fabrics and paper.

Every piece is hand printed, mainly on-site in the public space, as a footprint of the city.

Raubdruckerin is based in Berlin, but is regularly on the road to street print all over European metropolis.

The main focus is to explore the surfaces of cities, searching for overlooked, seemingly insignificant details on the pavement, which turn out to be true urban design pieces.

They reveal unobserved parts of cities that are full of history, diversity and creativity.

The process of converting a detail of the city into an image, can be considered as reversed street art. A part of the city is being extracted from its origin and brought to new life in a different context.

Raubdruckerin was formed and is mainly run by Emma France Raff. Back in 2006, when she was living in Portugal she developed the idea together with her father, painter Johannes Kohlrusch.

Two years later, back in Berlin, Emma got inspired by the local manhole covers and she started printing the motives.

The pieces are printed on-site, at the original location of the chosen manhole cover or similar object. The fact that this way of textile printing is taking place outside, in the public space, creates situations that would never happen in conventional textile printing and manufacturing. It allows passengers to become viewers, observing the process as it evolves.

The low-tech printmaking technique is a simple, manual procedure. They use ecofriendly ink for their print works. The ink is water based and 100% free from petrol.

The plan for the future includes a “Grand Tour” through Europe to collect all prints possible and also they dream about travelling through Japan, the place with the most extravagant manhole covers in the world.

Raubdruckerin is hosting regular ‘street printing’ workshops at selected events, festivals and neighborhood fiestas with focus on creative exchange, under involvement of people of all ages and backgrounds.

raubdruckerin.de

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Caroline’s Cart

Drew Ann Long, a frustrated mom invents a shopping cart that helps seniors and special needs kids called ‘Caroline’s Cart’.

Ms. Long was having a difficult time taking her daughter with special needs out with her on errands.

Along with watching her 2 year old son, she needed to help her daughter along in her wheelchair while maneuvering a shopping cart at the same time.

Individuals who are caring for the elderly as well as parents of children with disabilities constantly struggle to shop and keep them comfortable all at once.

Drew Ann Long ended up designing something on her own that would help her, as well as people across the country, comfortably shop with loved ones in need.

The result is ‘Caroline’s Cart’ named for Drew’s young daughter with special needs. This amazing but simple invention is sweeping grocery stores around the world, and changing lives.

While ‘Caroline’s Cart’ is an ideal option for senior citizens who like to go shopping but can no longer walk among the aisles. It was originally developed for children with special needs.

It is a shopping cart with a large seat built into the base so that children or adults who may otherwise need a wheelchair or scooter can sit comfortably.

This ingenious invention ‘Caroline’s Cart’ created by a mother Drew Ann Long founded Parent Solution Group LLC who then began designing the innovative cart model with the help of Technibilt.

Soon her dream of making a Caroline-friendly shopping cart a reality!

Today carts are distributed around the country and can be found in such stores as Target, Walmart and many more.

And while many stores around the country currently offer Caroline’s Cart, Drew us hoping that all stores will eventually provide them so families with special needs kids or seniors can shop anywhere with ease.

https://www.littlethings.com/carolines-cart-for-seniors/?utm_source=shrd&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=uplifting

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Sewer ‘Fatbergs’

City officials in Vancouver are asking residents to stop pouring cooking oil or grease down the drain because its clogging up sewer pipes and leading to the growth of ‘fatbergs’.

Metro Vancouver says it spends $2 million every year to unblock sewer pipes and repair the damage caused by household grease.

While pouring a little grease down the drain after frying may seem harmless, but the grease mixes with hair and other debris to form ‘fatbergs’: congealed masses of fat that can become as hard as concrete.

All kinds of grease can lead to problems, including meat drippings, butter, cooking oil and more.

Metro Vancouver has launched a new public awareness campaign called ‘Wipe it, Green Bin it”. The campaign is aimed at getting people to scrape or wipe out their cooking pans and butter dishes then composting the grease, instead of washing it down the drain.

This simple awareness campaign has proved a marked improvement and difference. The pipes were kept a lot cleaner and it was a lot less money to clean the drains.

What can’t go down the drain?

  • Fats- dairy products, salad dressing, margarine, shortening etc.
  • Oils- cooking oils (olive, coconut, canola, vegetable, peanut etc.) sauces, etc.
  • Grease- pan drippings from meat, lard etc.

How to dispose of kitchen grease:

  • For small amount of grease, wipe or scrape out the pot or pan and put the grease into your green bin.
  • Larger amounts of grease, like deep fryer oil, can be dropped off at an approved recycling depot.

When cooking oils, liquid fats and grease are poured down pipes, they harden as they cool, overtime, the oily substances build and layer, gradually closing off pipes and placing a lot of weight and pressure from the inside. Add to the picture other non-flushable washing down clogs can form and pipes can eventually burst, causing raw sewage to back up into basements, or discharge directly into creeks, rivers and lakes.

To help tackle the fatberg problem here in Ontario, the City of London started the “Your Turn Program”. Community members can collect their used fats, oils, and grease in a biodegradable PLA plastic cup. When the cup is full, the person can either choose to put it in waste bin, or take the full cups to an enviro depot. The City of London even set up depots where people can drop off their filled cups.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/vancouver-ad-campaign-aims-to-prevent-sewer-fatbergs-1.3624335

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Pizza Farm: Manitoba’s Integrity Foods

Pizza lovers are dining al fresco in rural Manitoba and it all began with a wood-fired oven named Hildegard.

Hildegard can be found at Integrity Foods, a thriving organic bread and pizza business run by Dora and Cornelius Friesen on their farm outside Riverton, Manitoba.

The couple converted their attached, double car garage into a retail space where they sell their bread.

Pizza night was the outcome of their desire to share the gift of this oven.

Manitoba’s Integrity Foods provides the ultimate farm-to-fork experience.

On pizza night, guests are encouraged to relax, tour the grounds and have a picnic on the farm.

The pizzas are sold whole and boxed, adding they’ve never sold by the slice.

The experience is kid-friendly, with lots to keep all ages busy when not eating.

Most of the vegetable toppings came from the farm with an emphasis on using local products.

Their best known pizza is the Garden Special. People are given a basket and encouraged to walk the garden, filling their basket with whatever vegetable they choose.

Then they bring their selection to the oven area where staff use them to create a pizza that is about as custom-made as they come. The veggies are added raw and one of the most popular vegetables to add are beets.

The bakery and farm have also become a hub for learning over the years.

Integrity Foods is not only a livelihood but also a philosophy of life and of food. That philosophy emphasizes the health of people and their environment and includes the use of quality ingredients that are organic, local and affordable, if possible.

Pizza sales make up about 25 percent of their sales. Pizzas are made on weekends from the third weekend of June until the third weekend in November. People drive out from Winnipeg, over a 2 hour drive, especially to visit the farm and “Pick-your-own- Pizza”.

Customers fall into all age groups and are spreading the word about this hidden gem. Some families have come out for years and now their children come.

https://www.canadianpizzamag.com/profiles/pizza-farm-7222

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Sole Food Street Farm – Urban Street Farm

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is home to an Urban Street Farm that produces 25 tons of food and employs the unemployable.

Since its inception seven years ago, Sole Food Street Farms has turned acres of decrepit urban land into a prosperous street farm. The farm grows fruits and vegetables, which are harvested by some of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside residents.

Downtown Eastside is notorious for being rough around the edges, so you wouldn’t immediately know that about 30 of its inhabitants are farm workers that take on many tasks: planting seeds, caring for plants, harvesting fruits and vegetables. The street farm is even home to an orchard with 500 trees with various fruits such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, and even persimmons, figs and quince.

The street farm produces 25 tons of food annually on pavement.

It’s not just the employees that make this farm special, it’s the benefits attached to it. Gardening like this gives people a reason to tend to something every day because the community relies on them and the produce itself depends on their care.

Workers are also shown how to cook and taught basic financial skills and canning.

Sole Food Farms transforms vacant urban land into street farms that grow artisan quality fruit and vegetables, available at farmers markets, local restaurants and retail outlets.

Sole Food Farms mission is to empower individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agricultural training and inclusion in a supportive community of farmers and food lovers.

During the past 7 years, Sole Food Street Farms, now North America’s largest urban farm project has transformed acres of vacant and contaminated urban land into street farms.

The Sole Food project has empowered dozens of individuals with limited resources who are managing addiction and chronic mental health problems.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/vancouver-street-farm/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=global&utm_campaign=general-content

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Kill it with Kindness- Friendship Bench Project Canada

KIWK: Kill it with Kindness is a Federally Incorporated Not-for Profit Anti-Bullying Organization, have come together to help put bullying to an end.

Currently, the primary focus and goal of their organization is The Friendship Bench Project Canada.

The friendship bench, also known as a Buddy Bench is an interactive tool and represents a safe place for children and youth to congregate when they are in need of a friend.

The Friendship Bench is placed in schools and communities for children and youth who don’t necessarily have the voice to speak up about someone bullying them and safely express themselves.

Therefore, children/youth will sit on a bench will alert teachers, staff, volunteers or even another child/youth that they are in need of assistance. They may need someone to talk to or simply just a friend to play with.

In return, it will teach children/youth compassion, understanding, empathy and kindness.

Kill it with Kindness will continue donating The Friendship Bench in schools and community centres all across Canada and USA. Their goal is to do it worldwide and advocate on the awareness of bullying and acts of kindness.

Kill it with Kindness has grown with leaps and bounds since 2013 and will continue to grow and pave the way for a better future through the advocacy for a kinder world, Kindness does matter.

The Friendship Bench is made of 100% recycled plastic. The choice for this material is deliberate as it is environmentally friendly and it is made for all weather conditions if placed inside or outside on school grounds or playgrounds.

Even if you having a great day, a happy day, this is just as important as the Friendship Bench is placed to bring as much positivity to your school and community as possible.

The friendship bench or buddy bench is a powerful symbol of anti-bullying.

Stop the hurt. Choose Love.

http://killitwithkindness.org/custom-post-types/

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Retro Hallowe’en Candy

The big annual candy craze known as Hallowe’en is fast approaching. Popular candy Kit Kats, Snickers, Junior Mints, Skittles, Reese’s are for sale as a brightly colored display inside your neighborhood grocery store right this very moment.

Reminisce over the retro Hallowe’en candy that defined your youth.

Here are 9 childhood Hallowe’en candy favorites you probably forgot about:

  1. Push Pops: Distributed in 1986, these lollipops disguised as something way more fun was all the rage. If you have five, you could stick one on each finger and pretend you had claws. If you had only one, you could pick it into a surprisingly sharp point.
  2. Candy Buttons: These lemon/lime/orange flavored little buttons stuck to wax paper. Maximum effort to peel them off the little white paper had minimum reward in terms of flavor or enjoy ability.
  3. Hubba Bubba Gum: Hubba Brand had a signature six-foot roll of bubble tape gum.
  4. Dum Dums: Dum Dums come in delicious flavors (blue raspberry), nasty flavors (butterscotch) and many others.
  5. Sweet Tarts: You were never super excited finding Sweet Tarts in your trick or treat haul, but you weren’t particularly upset either.
  6. War Heads: These were the sourest candies on the face of the planet earth.
  7. Candy Necklaces: Fun to wear, fun to nibble on, but gross when you got to the end and were left with just a wet drool-covered of twine. The coolest kids all rocked edible jewelry at one point or another.
  8. Butterfinger BBs: Marketed heavily by the Simpsons at the height of the comic’s fame, these tiny bite-sized Butterfingers were yum by the handful. Unfortunately they ceased production in 2006.
  9. Blow Pops: Forget Tootsie Pops, getting to the center of one of these industrial-sized lollipops was a real workout.

There are dozens of retro Hallowe’en candy worth summoning from our collective cultural memory for old times’ sake, and the ones that resonate with you will depend on your age and where you are from.

http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/childhood-halloween-candies-you-probably-forgot-about?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=59eab30b04d3014924692f