Christmas Decor 2012

Such an exciting time!! Christmas is right around the corner and the decorations are already up. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a Christmas FANATIC!! I love absolutely everything about Christmas and the feelings that go with it. All the Mason jars have been strategically placed around the kitchen with white lights in or behind them to give that special festive glow and flameless candles are spread throughout the living room for a Christmas hue.

Book Signing Events

Come join me and my books 'Zero the Superhero' and 'I Want a Dragon' at Chapters Chinook at the Chinook Mall in Calgary, AB. 'Zero the Superhero' - Saturday November 3, 11:00-3:00, and 'I Want a Dragon' - Sunday November 4, 11:00-3:00.

 

WHAT? THERE IS A DRUG THAT MAY ELIMINATE CANCER AND BECAUSE THERE IS NO MONEY IN IT PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES DON'T WANT IT?

This absolutely BLOWS MY MIND! CTV News did a report on a cancer drug DCA, that could very possibly cure cancers such as brain, breast and lung cancer.  Because the drug has no patent and any drug company can produce it, no pharmaceutical company wants to touch it because it will not make them money.

An estimated 186 400 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Canada in 2012, with an estimated 75 700 deaths caused by the disease. And, because there is little money to be made in this possible cure, a drug that can be bought in bulk by universities, pharmaceutical companies do not want to produce it.

CTV News report on DCA

I did not believe that in this progressively thinking and health conscious era a price could actually be put on a person's life. Apparently I am wrong. Because there is not a buck to be made in saving the lives of millions, millions will suffer. How sad!

The Perfect Book Cover

Today I am working out ideas for the perfect cover for my historical fiction novel, "Of Lions and Lambs".

This is an integral part of the whole publication process because the book's cover can actually make or break a book's saleability factor. The cover must have important "grab and buy" appeal, must be eye catching and give the reader a brief understanding what the novel is about; so color, graphics and the overall presentation is imperative when creating this masterpiece. I'm all about the shiny, sparkly, jazzy take-advantage-of-my-A.D.D. type-book covers, but is this typical for all? Children's book covers must be fun, bright and active, but what about adult novels?

What do you look for when grabbing a book off the shelf? Before you even get the chance to read the back cover blurb, what draws your attention to the book? Is it the color? The picture? Or just the author it is written by?

Eye catching, colorful, fun

Bright, dynamic, exciting

Wise Words

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."                                                                                                                        Wayne Dyer. 


Very wise words. They are neither complicated nor is their meaning complex, yet are difficult to understand for so many.


Sometimes it is easier to sit and stew in your own pity, anger, and frustration than it is to actually do something about the issue. Sometimes complaining masks itself as a fixer and makes you believe you are doing something about it, changing it. But complaining, blaming and avoiding only builds a life that creates more complaining, blaming and avoiding. Take ownership of yourself and the decisions you have or have not made because you own them. Some will say, "My mother or my father or my spouse, teacher, boss, friend, enemy blah, blah blah." Yep, they hurt you found your weaknesses and exploited them, but you choose how you react to those situations and how long you give your power to someone or something else. It's all you. Your life, your will and your feelings. So own it, step over it and run from it because the past can not hold you back and the future has not yet been written. Right now is what you can control so control it and get over it.

Fun Fall Market Booth Set-Up!

What a great time this evening setting up for the All Through the House & Red Barn Mercantile Fun Fall Market. So many great people with AMAZING things. Can hardly wait to see what else and who else sets up for the sale tomorrow.

Of course A Chick with Stuff was there, ME!!!!!

 I sure like stuff!!

And the wonderful Kelly Miller from Kelly Miller Creations!

And...lots of other vendors!

Saturday September 22 and Sunday September 23 are going to be a BLAST!!!
Open both days from 10-4. Thanks a bunch Monika and Karen for hosting this fantastic event!

Fun Fall Market

Come check out all my pretty things at the Fun Fall Market All Through the House & Red Barn Mercantile, Sat Sept 22 & Sun Sept 23 from 10-5. Lots of vendors and interesting things and ME!!!

Such an Amazing Book Review!!

Such an honor and privilege to have my children's books reviewed by Adventures of My Family of 8. And, please check out Adventures of My Family of 8s website for awesome coupons and giveaways! Thanks so much Shauna.
http://adventuresof8.com/2012/09/gve-it-away-time-wn-2-childrens-books-zero-the-superhero-i-want-a-dragon/

Book Signing and Author Visit

Come join me and my children's book, 'I Want a Dragon' at Chapters Crowfoot on Sunday September 16 from 11:00 to 4:00 at 66 Crowfoot Terrace N.W. in Calgary, Alberta. See you there!

Pretty Apothecary Jars/Bottles

I will be a vendor at All Through the House on September 22nd and 23rd here in Okotoks, AB.

See for yourself!

It is going to such a fun weekend and I CAN NOT WAIT!! Thank you Monika and Karen for keeping me in the loop about this event!

So, today I was putting the finishing touches on some apothecary bottles that I created. Love, love love!!! But, again, I can't keep all of them so I am selling a bunch, and they will also help pay for my shabby chic addiction....YAYYYYY!!! Ohhhhhh....myyyyy.....precious!!!!

What Should I Do..So Many Pretty Things

Here is my dilemma.

I have been collecting pretty, pretty unique, antique and vintage things for an upcoming sale in which I am a vendor, and don't know what I should  keep and what I should sell. I love all of it because I made a decision a while ago to only bring home items that I love just in case they don't sell and I keep them here a bit longer. Here is my dilemma, I LOVE IT ALL!!! I love the old dressers, and desk, and chairs, the sewing machine, the gears, the lamps, the tools and strange shovel. I love the violin, and skates and incubator, the mirror, 2 pictures, bottles, burlap sacks, the 3 wooden step ladders and 2 wooden ironing boards and all the other stuff buried in the garage. But...I am not loving the picture editing program I use.  Any way I save this picture it ends up sideways.

Oh well, I'm A Chick with Stuff, not a computer genius!

Cheese

Isn’t cheese an incredible creation? The food of the Gods. 

Solidified milk curds that form a wonderful snack of endless possibilities. Cheese can go with anything; cereals, desserts, fruits and vegetables, flesh and fowl, grape juice and fine wine. Hot or cold it is a wonder to the senses. I love how it pulls into fine stringy cheese hairs when I try to bite it off a pizza, and how it pools on a plate and then gets crusty bits when I over heat it in the microwave. Cheese is fun! I would probably bath in cheese if I could. I wonder if I can absorb cholesterol by osmosis?

Good-Bye Mr. Beyond the Skies the Limit

It saddened me today at the news that Neil Armstrong had passed on.

 


 For those of you who don't know what an iconic man Mr. Armstrong was, it was he who left his foot print on the moon in 1969 and spoke the unforgettable phrase "That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

I can not imagine his feelings or his thoughts as he slowly stepped out of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, and took that first step. Eleven other people have walked on the moon, but he was the first person to feel alien soil beneath his feet and truly understand that there is so much more than THIS!

Neil Armstrong proved to the world that really the sky is not the limit, that there is so much more to this universe than what we mere humans can comprehend. He taught us to live life like there is so much more than 'us', to understand that this world is really just a little bit of what's really out there, and that this world is just a little bit. We are all placed here for one purpose, and that is to be all we can be and to do all we can do to make this world a thing of greatness. That it is our duty to explore beyond what our mind thinks it knows, and to believe that there is something more than this.

Thank you Mr. Neil Armstrong for proving that the sky really isn't the limit.

VanessaCanevaro.Com

Whooohooo!!! My new and improved site is up and running and I couldn't be more proud. It has been designed by a real person and not me! 

Ain't she a beaut?!!

VanessaCanevaro.com

Dear Girls Who Were in the Outdoor Public Washroom Before Me!

 

I am writing this letter in regards to an incident I would like to report that occurred on August 16, 2012.



Dear Girls Who Were in the Outdoor Public Washroom Before Me,

I would like to bring attention to a situation I had while using a public restroom facility somewhere between Alberta and Saskatchewan.

It was already a very, very long drive and the venti Caramel Macchiato (which is so incredibly delish that I can not leave town without purchasing one), was saying, "Hey, it's time to evacuate the premises." Being a lady, I can not and will not treat a highway, gravel road, small shrub in the ditch or the side of a vehicle as my personal bathroom, so I waited very patiently until we made the 1 1/2 hour drive up and down hills, over bumps and through valleys.

Believe you me, Girls Who Were in the Outdoor Public Washroom Before Me, it was a great feat of accomplishment to endure the twitchy feeling of really having to pee. The leg jiggling, bum scooching and brain distracting was intense, but I did it and for that I am very, very proud. The sight of the roadside pull over made my eyes tear-up and I felt as I would burst with immense joy as the truck rolled into the parking lot outside the washrooms. As fast as my finger could push that seat belt lock I took off out of the truck and threw open the first bathroom stall door.

Oh the horror, oh the disappointment, oh the pain in my body when I saw the swarms of flies circling the toilet. The smell was overpowering to say the least, but even more disturbing that the horrendous stench that came from this facility was from the brown pile of poop that had proudly perched itself on the back of the toilet seat. Now, being a very girlie girl I do understand the need to straddle any public washroom toilet because, hey, stuff may get stuck or go 'up there', and I know that I am NOT a coordinated woman so it is an acrobatic feat for me to carry out such a life threatening task as the toilet straddle, but never ever in the history of EVER have I left a deuce on a toilet at home or in public.

I have brought this complaint to your organization in hopes that someone will do DNA testing on the poop to find out who accidentally left it behind. I reported this incident to my friend Tara directly after it occurred and she made a very good suggestion as to what should happen to the individual who mistakenly took a poop on the toilet. She thinks the, "Girl should have her pink card taken away!" and I totally agree with her.

Is there a way the Pink Card can be revoked?

Sincerely,
The Girl Who Had to Use the Other Bathroom Instead.

Gondola Gonorrhea

Yep, that's me in the gondola as we ascend the mountain. Notice the uneasy/terrified/hey, I might throw-up look on my face and my son's 'Hey you, I got her on this box of terror!' grin.

For most people, riding in a plastic cube suspended by 2 inch cables a million feet in the air is no biggie, I mean really, what could possible go wrong? But for me, the possibilities are truly endless and let me tell you why.

1. Has nobody else watched the gondola crashes on You Tube? This is a very real thing people and I don't bounce well.

B. There is no reason why my body needs to be higher than the trees.

3. OK, so what really is moving this thing? How the heck does something this heavy roll up a mountain? And what happens if that power source suddenly stops? Will we stop? Roll backwards to our doom and become like swinging bumper cars crashing into each other until finally the unlucky car at the bottom is squeezed back into launch site. What if I'm in that car that's plastered against the wall of the launch site? That's going to really hurt!

4. Those doors on that box don't look super secure to me! There are no locks or latches, just a slidy thing, and why would there be windows that open at all? Do they want me dangling body parts out of something this high in the air?

e) Why is it that gondola and gonorrhea are so similar? They even sound the same. Is it because the steps in treating both conditions, the fear of gondola transportation and gonorrhea are pretty much the same?

"There are two goals in treating a sexually transmitted disease, especially one as easily spread as gonorrhea. The first is to cure the infection in the patient." Ummm...the first treatment in gondola transportation fear is to take the patient by the hand and lead her into the plastic box, holding her hand through the whole process, curing the need for her to run like a terrified maniac because she can't let go of her son's hand, that would be rude. "The second is to locate and test all of the other people the person had sexual contact with and treat them to prevent further spread of the disease." Force other family members, husband, to ride in the cage of doom thus causing extra reason for her faux bravery because, hey, she ain't no baby. She won't be the one who further spreads this condition.

Yes, I was very, very, very scared and did sing 'The Wheels on the Bus' the whole way up and chanted, "Thousands of people do this every day, they're ok." as I went higher and higher. I did contemplate walking back down the mountain when I reached the top, but then decided that it would be more of a roll/plummet down the mountain side as there are no actual steps on Sulphur Mountain (which I think is really quite inconsiderate. I do plan on sending a strongly worded email someday to someone who has a say in something) so, I did ride the gondola all the way down again, but this time it was much easier like a bubble floating about, bouncing on the tree tops popping in and out of the clouds.

Maybe next time, if there is ever a next time I will read the suggestions for the treatment of gonorrhea first.
'Never treat yourself without being seen by your doctor first. Your health care provider will determine the best and most up-to-date treatment' and just not go on the gondola at all.