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RUBYTWOSDAY's Recent Blog Entries
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
There are two seasons in the region of Eastern Ontario - winter and the season of the Canada Goose. Winter seems to last about 9 months and once that is over the Canada geese take over - everywhere - parks, farmer's fields, back yards. You can find members of this protected species pretty much everywhere you go. They have polluted our parks and waterways. They make a nuisance of themselves in almost every public park area around. They seem to know that they do not have any enemies and just walk away, gaggling as they go. Municipalities have tried different methods to ensure that the geese do not stick around too long, but none of these efforts seem to really work.
When the Canada Goose was first identified as a species at risk of extinction, a ban on hunting them was enforced. Different areas were set up as refuge sites where the birds could feed during the trek south in the fall. The areas where the geese would land before migrating south were used in the fall only and we rarely saw geese during the spring and summer months, except for when they were returning north as well. But now, the birds don't seem to migrate further north and they are laying eggs and raising their young very close to residential areas. The fecal matter that they leave behind makes it not enjoyable to go for a stroll in any grassy parkland area.
This morning on the radio I heard news that disturbed me even more regarding these protected birds. Apparently, the City of Toronto has had enough. Their new plan is to capture the geese and relocate them to protected wild-life areas - one of which is less than 30 miles from where I live. As if we don't already have enough of these feathered friends! So, in essence, they are not getting rid of the problem - they are just moving it. Maybe its time the government re-visits their laws and regulations regarding these animals, before they become an even bigger nuisance than they have become.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Over the last few days I have spent some time exploring this massive website SparkPeople. I have checked out each of the teams that I am a member of. I have huddled in teams, read blogs posted by other team members, and posted some myself.
When I had exhausted the blogs of team members I then checked out the SparkPeople Community page. I discovered that the SP Community page lists who they consider the best member pages for the following categories: Motivational, Community Involvement, Fitness, Inspirational, Positive Attitude and Weight Loss.
I spent time viewing some of these pages and quickly realized that a lot of these spotlighted members were AOL. Or at least my criteria to determine if they were active- had they posted a blog in the last six months? updated their status recently? – told me they weren’t using the website at all. Now, I don’t want to send negative here, but how can I consider that someone is at the top of SparkPeople community involvement if they haven’t interacted on Spark People in such a long time?
And then that got me to thinking about the Spark Team formed during the week I joined in December 6 – 12, 2009. I still belong to this team, and I occasionally go in and say good morning, and I read the blogs that active members are posting. This team has 6886 members. I opened up a page that listed all the members and started looking at some of their pages. Like the AOL motivational members, most of my team-mates are not active!
So here is my dilemma. In my search for a new me, I have decluttered a lot of my life – my wardrobe, my ‘things’ which ranged from books to frog collections, my spending habits and yes, even Spark Team memberships. But I have refused to end my membership with this team that was formed in 2009. I haven’t even given the idea a chance to brew in my mind, until today. But today, as I took stock, of this team, I began to wonder why I bother to huddle in the morning, as no one else ever does. The team leader is inactive and has been for at least the last 60 days. There are a few members who blog, but very few. I sent out a message in February or March of this year asking if anyone was still sparking – no response. So I’m now wondering if this spark team is just extra baggage I don’t need hanging around.
I belong to nine teams, and all of the others have activity with members who are active and interact with others daily.
How many of you have removed your Spark People Class of insert the date here? How many of you have lots of fun and activity with your SP Class members?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
My newly retired husband has just finished relocating our small garden patch in the hopes of eliminating a tomato plant virus we have experienced over the last couple of years. Garden is ready and just on time for my Victoria Day planting ritual!
Next step is planning what should go in this new garden plot? I have the tomato plants – they were planted on March 17th – a family tradition passed down by my Dad. I know that I will plant some yellow beans, that’s a given. Maybe I’ll try a row of different types of leaf lettuce. They would go well on sandwiches at lunchtime.
Now if only my husband could convince our resident rabbit that our humane trap is really only a method to travel to new and more exciting places!
Friday, April 29, 2011
The title of my post tells it all. Today, my husband is retiring. He has worked for the same employer and paid into a pension plan for over 35 years. Not everyone will be able to reach such a milestone. And he did it even though he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 30 years ago.
Not sure how he's going to like working for the new boss (me)! But I have a honey-do list ready and waiting!
Hopefully I'll be able to join him in his retirement mode soon too!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Last fall when I was still Sparking regularly, I made a commitment to myself that I needed to participate in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day along with watching my diet to be successful in living a healthy lifestyle.
Counting the calories isn’t a big hardship for me. I religiously use the Nutrition Tracker in SparkPeople and usually manage to stay within my calorie range.
My main source of exercise consists of walking. I manage to walk at least once a day and try to make sure that the total time walked per day is 30 minutes. On days when the weather does not permit (which means rain) I have a few options. I can either drive into town and walk around the concourse at our local arena, hop on an exercise bike I purchased in the winter and spend some time spinning in front of the TV or use an exercise program my son purchased for me, for Christmas 2010, for my PS2 – Yourself!Fitness.
I have to admit that walking is the most attractive form of exercise for me. The exercise bike sits in my basement and is rarely used. And as for the PS2 fitness program – I haven’t even opened the box, let alone pop it into my machine.
During the last couple of weeks I have been playing with a pound. Up a pound, down a pound, but haven’t managed to lose any more weight. I only have 9 or 10 pounds left to shed and I am beginning to think I need to mix things up a bit.
So, tonight I have made an appointment with my PS2. Hopefully I’ll get further into the game than just setting up my username and specs!
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
Just getting started is half the battle...I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get going! :D
