Memories of my Grandmother

Sunday, October 25^th marked eight years since my Grandmother passed away. To date, she still remains the most influential woman in my life.

Here are some of my fondest memories of our time spent together:

I remember spending countless weekends with my Grandmother anytime my parents needed a break from me. I would watch her cook and bake. We would sing and take long walks. We always ended our day with a word of prayer.

I remember one time when my Grandmother must have been cooking fried fish and the entire apartment was full of smoke. We went outside and sat on the grass in the front of her building and talked for hours.

I remember when my Grandmother showed us a different way to cook hot dog wieners. She would fry them for us instead of boiling them.

I remember a time when my Grandmother was spending a few months with us after the birth of my last sister. We got into an argument and I made the mistake of talking back to her. All she said to me was, “Wait until your Father gets home”. I think you can guess what happened to me when my Dad got home.  I never made the mistake of talking back to my Grandmother again.

I remember  spending a week with my Grandmother and her telling me that we were going to Sal’s on Saturday morning. I assumed Sal was a friend of hers. Sal’s happened to be a grocery store nearby.

I remember giving my Grandmother a tambourine for her 90^th Birthday. During my stay with her, she played that instrument while singing some of her favourite church songs.

I remember my last moments with my Grandmother while she was in the hospital. I sang “clap your tiny hands” to her. It was one of her favourite children’s songs that she loved to sing to us. It hurt watching her trying to sing and clap along with me but I was so happy that she was still able to respond. Before I left, I read her a few scripture verses.

Other than these memories, my Grandmother was a woman of faith. She loved God with all of her heart. She shared the Gospel with everyone she met. She wanted nothing more than to see her entire family serve Christ.

As much as I miss her, I know that she’s enjoying her time in Heaven with her Creator. She lived 92 years on this earth and her legacy continues to live on.

Grandma, some sweet day we will meet again.

I love you and see you soon!

What are some of your fondest memories of a loved one that has passed away?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.


Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

suretap - The New Way to Pay

Every time I lost my wallet, I would start to panic. I would try and retrace my steps in hopes that I would find it.

Sound familiar? Most of you have probably been there a few times. It’s definitely not a good feeling. Just thinking about all the cards you would have to cancel until you found it could lead to a major headache.

A few years ago, there were rumours that we wouldn’t need to carry our credit or debit cards anymore. An app was in the works that would allow us to make purchases with our phone. That app has finally arrived. It’s called suretap.

 The app is free and available with the following phone companies: Rogers, Bell Mobility, TELUS, Virgin Mobile and Koodo.

The suretap wallet can only be downloaded on Android and Blackberry phones.

Major credit cards and gift cards can be stored on the phone once the app is installed. Here’s how:

The only downside to this is that you can only make purchases up to $100 (tax included).

Banks that have partnered with suretap are: CIBC, TD, Scotiabank and Desjardins.

If you were to lose your phone, you would treat the situation as if you had lost your wallet – call your phone provider to lock the app and call your bank to suspend your credit cards.

Suretap is available all across Canada.

Considering we live in a “cashless society”, this new method of payment is definitely convenient but not one that I’m ready to embrace. The thought of adding my credit card information to my phone is a bit unsettling even though they say it’s safe. Call me old fashioned but I’d rather continue to carry my cards in my wallet. 

Would you consider using the suretap wallet to make your daily purchases?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

Prince or Princess: It's Time to Reveal

I always dreamed that my firstborn would be a boy. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I started calling our Baby Shrimp by the name we had chosen for him.

Three weeks before I was to find out, I had a feeling that I was having a girl. I knew we would be disappointed at first but we would love her just the same. My Mother always said as long as the baby is healthy, has ten fingers and ten toes, that’s all that matters.

Tuesday, September 1^st was the big day. As soon as I walked into the Sonographer’s office, she asked me what I was hoping for. I told her a boy but my gut feeling was telling me that it was a girl.

Forty-five minutes later, she kept her eyes on the screen and asked, “Do you still want to know what you’re having?”

Three weeks later I had some of my family and friends over for our gender reveal party. 

The vote was a close one. Six people voted for a boy and five voted for a girl. 

As the clock struck 7, one of my girlfriends said that there was no way that I would have a gender reveal party if I was having a girl.

Well, those who voted for a boy were…WRONG! We’re having a Princess and we couldn’t be happier.

Special thanks to my girlfriends Charlette, Amanda, Jordana and Lisa for helping me organize this party.  A BIG thank you to Jordana for taking such memorable photos.

Only 2, 184 more hours to go until I meet my Princess.

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

Wash your hands please and thanks!

My Mother told us to always wash our hands when coming from outside, after using the washroom, coughing, sneezing and handling money.

I wish everyone’s Mom taught them to do the same.

A couple of months ago, I had to make a quick stop at a public washroom. There were seven women ahead of me.  

I decided to watch and see who would wash their hands with soap versus those who wouldn’t. 

The first lady wet her hands with water, pressed the soap dispenser and nothing came out. She went to the second dispenser and again nothing came out. She went to the third one and thank God it had soap.

One down, six more to go.

The next two ladies went to the same sink as the first woman. They both wet their hands, pressed the soap dispenser and pretended like there was soap in there. They wet their hands again as if they were rinsing off the soap and walked out.

Gross.

Another lady just wet her fingertips and walked out.

Nasty.

By this time I was so disgusted I stopped watching.  

I can’t blame my Dad when he says he hates eating out because you just don’t know what people’s hand washing habits are like.

Just in case you didn’t know, today is Global Hand Washing Day.

According to statistics, we carry up to 10 million bacteria on our hands.

We’re also supposed to wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

As we approach the flu season, do yourself a favour and wash your hands as much as possible. By doing this, you'll help stop the spread of germs.

Have you ever witnessed anyone wash their hands without soap or leave the washroom without washing their hands?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

The Niqab Debate

With so many other issues to address, I’m still trying to figure out why Prime Minister Stephen Harper is making a big deal about women wearing niqabs during their Canadian citizenship ceremony.

December 2001, former Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney, banned anyone from wearing a niqab while taking their citizenship oaths.

In 2012, Zunera Ishaq was denied from becoming a Canadian citizenship because she refused to remove her niqab during the ceremony. 

She then took the issue to court. The Federal court of Canada found the Conservative government’s policy unlawful in February.

Earlier this month, Zunera became a Canadian citizen while wearing her niqab. Prior to taking her citizenship oaths, she removed it in private to prove her identity.

If Stephen Harper is re-elected on October 19^th, he plans on taking this issue to the Supreme Court of Canada. He would also like to see niqabs banned for those who work as government officials.

As long as women agree to remove their niqabs to take government photo id, during court appearances, interviews and before taking their citizenship oaths to prove their identity, I don’t see the issue with them wearing it.

While I am still undecided about which party to vote for, the issue of the niqab should be the least of our country's worries.

What are your thoughts on the issue of niqabs being banned from Canadian citizenship ceremonies and for those who work as government officials if the Conservative government is re-elected?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

A Time to Give Thanks: Part II

On Tuesday, I wrote about a few people who really helped me out over the years in “A Time to Give Thanks: Part I”. My post was inspired by the “7 Days of Thankfulness” devotional my Pastor gave out to our congregation on Sunday.

Today, I want to give God thanks for sparing my life from what could have been three deadly accidents in the last three years.

The first one was on Boxing Day 2012 around 11PM.

One of my sisters and I were getting ready to head home from my Dads. Before we left, I decided to listen to the weather report. The meteorologist on CP24 advised all to stay home if possible because there was a lot of black ice on the road. I decided to ignore the warning.

 We weren’t on the highway for even five minutes when my car skidded out of control. We went from one end of the highway to the next. This repeated one last time before my car flipped over and landed back on all fours.

After the shock wore off, my  sister called our Dad and asked him to come and get us.

 While all of this was happening, a tow truck that was heading westbound saw what happened and came to our rescue. 

Thank God there were no other cars on the road when my car spun out of control. We headed back to my Dad’s house with not one scratch and my car was dent free.

The second scare happened around the same time in December 2013. 

I was on the road around 4AM when my car skidded on some black ice again. A driver who was going in the opposite direction stopped to make sure I was ok. I looked at him and all I could say was “thank you Jesus”.

 I escaped from being in a serious accident a second time.

The final time  was last year on either the 13^th or 20^th of December. 

I was heading home from Mississauga from my Uncle’s house. I had two of my sisters and nephew in the car with me. I was having a hard time finding the highway even with the help of my GPS. I ended up calling one of my friends who helped direct me to the highway. 

 I was only on the highway for a few seconds when one of my sisters said that she thinks we got on the wrong entrance and to try the next one up ahead. As soon as I made a U turn to get off, I noticed a car stop right behind me.

What I thought was the entrance onto the highway was actually the exit off the highway.

My parents could have ended up burying three children and a grandson last Christmas if it wasn’t for God looking out for us.

What are you giving God thanks for this Thanksgiving season?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

A Time to Give Thanks: Part I

With Thanksgiving this weekend, my Pastor created a “7 Days of Thankfulness” devotional for the entire congregation. The whole point of this devotional is to not only give God thanks for all He has done but to also remember those who have showed us kindness over the years. 

Pastor Castro didn't want us to just remember those individuals. He encouraged us to give them a call, send them an email or write them a thank you card to show our appreciation.

There are four individuals who stood out in my mind while reflecting on who I would contact this week.

The first two are one of my girlfriends and her husband.

Back in July 2010, I was going through some serious financial troubles. It got to the point where my electricity got turned off. I ended up throwing out six bags of food and came home to a dark house every night for about a month.

One day they called asking for me to meet them. During our short meeting, they blessed me with $500. They weren’t aware of the seriousness of my situation but knew I had a lot on my plate and wanted to help. 

My financial blessing helped pay some bills and most importantly I had money to buy food.

The next individual helped save my sanity towards the end of 2010. 

My friend was in the area and decided to stop by for a quick visit. After we finished catching up, I mentioned how I was in desperate need of a vacation. My friend asked where I wanted to go. My reply was Jamaica since I had never been. Before my friend left that night, I was told to that my flight would be paid for so that I could head to Jamaica for Christmas. 

To date, that was the best Christmas gift I have ever received.

Lastly, in June during my first trimester, I was talking to one of my sisters and told her I was having a hard time eating my own cooking. She then offered to come over and cook for me. She cooked enough food to last me for an entire month.

If it wasn’t for her, I would have spent a whole lot of  money on fast food.

I encourage you to also thank those who have helped you over the years.  Surprise that individual with a phone call, an email or a thank you note letting them know how much you appreciate them.

What are you most grateful for during this Thanksgiving season?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

My Happiness Project: All Things Baby

It’s month ten of my Happiness Project and what a fun one this will be.

With only three months to go before I meet my little one, it’s time to get some things in order.

Last weekend, I attended the Baby Show at the Exhibition Place. The sessions that I attended were very informative. 

My “to do” list for this month includes:

1) Start and complete my baby registry

2) Finalize my baby shower list and have my girlfriends take care of the rest where my baby shower is concerned

3) Start shopping around for the BIG ticket items

4) Sign up for an Infant CPR course

5)  Sign up for a Lamaze Class

6) Sign up for a prenatal Yoga class at Balanced Life Yoga (maybe)

7) Start looking for a Pediatrician

Last week I added another relaxing pastime to my list - colouring. Sounds childish, right? Those were my exact thoughts during my last few visits at Chapters last month.

Last Friday while passing the adult colouring book display, I decided to stop and take a look and see what they had. I ended up purchasing the “Butterflies” colouring book with a pack of pencil crayons.

The Chapters in my area has an Adult colouring session every Wednesday afternoon that I'm going to attend .

On the days when I don’t want to read or even bake, I’ll resort to my childhood pastime - colouring with some music playing in the background.

What resolutions have you made for this month?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)