Are YOU ready for Halloween?

Are you ready for Halloween? Halloween is one of those holidays (if you can call it that) where you can easily make the most of it and fill it with several fun events or simply do nothing and watch it quickly pass.  Why not make the most of it and hit at least two halloween parties and plan some kind of an adventure!  If you’re going to be handing out candy… you can take the traditional route OR you can make a difference by providing more ethical and ecologically sound treats.  You’ll feel better about yourself for passively educating the kids and their parents by supplying these treats, and when gorging on the leftovers.  Even more, you can even take part in reverse trick-or-treating!

Want some last minute costume ideas? Try this alphabetized list here, and this list here but be SURE to check out these details here.  And you too can be David Suzuki !

Having a Halloween Party? For a killer environment (no pun intended) string up some spider webbing from your walls to your ceiling (as seen in picture below) and plug in a couple of blacklights.  Spider webbing can be attached to walls and ceiling easily, using poster tack.

If you’re in the Toronto area, you might want to check out this year’s “Halloween Haunt” at Canada’s Wonderland.  It’s sure to be a blast!

Enjoy!

It’s all about YOU.

It was during my four day hiatus from writing, that I reveled in the value of ‘taking time for myself’.  I needed to reconnect with ME, re-evaluate my personal obligations and recalibrate some boundaries to regain my balance and flow…  I did this by spending time in nature and in the company of healthy, positive, loving and wonderful friends.  As much as I love writing, spending time in front of a computer to keep up with my posts, was not near the top of my list (hence the delay since the last post).

Here are some of my reflections…

It is easy to start to lose yourself in the cloudy chaos of life’s obligations. Obligations that can be healthy for your journey such as schoolwork, personal fitness, making time for loved ones and yourself OR obligations that can be UNHEALTHY such as the ones you create for yourself based on your own insecurities, your built up perception of societal expectations, or peer pressures from loved ones, friends or so-called friends.

Being able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy ‘obligations’ is the first step to establishing healthy boundaries. Establishing healthy boundaries for yourself is something that isn’t taught at school, unless you take a program like this.  A clear and important example of one of the benefits of establishing boundaries, is that you will be able to feel more like yourself without losing energy to others (<go to ‘Featured Article’, half-way down the page).  Having healthy boundaries will allow you to NOT submit and set aside YOUR needs, for the needs of the louder/alpha person and you will spend more time honoring yourself and your needs. If you want to learn more about setting boundaries, there are many good books out there such as this one.

If you are one of those alpha people, or have been called self-absorbed, selfish or narcisistic, start paying attention to how you affect people and learn to be more gentle. You CAN learn to be more gentle without feeling like you’re changing who you feel you are right now. This observation of self will bring you to a new level of understanding of compassion and appreciation, two valuable tools that will serve you well towards a more engaged and fulfilling life filled with more of the type of people you want in your life, you just might not know who these people are yet. But in time, you’ll know and they’ll come.

Backstreet Boys Snowballed!!!

This is one hardcore mofo bird…. Although his musical taste is questionable.

For more informative posts, click on the Categories to your right.

                                                                                                           

Are you on Facebook?

For an interactive experience, be sure to also join the Starving Student’s Survival Strategies Facebook Group. You can also find it by searching for it by name, in the ‘Groups’ tab.

Enjoy!

Quick! Get informed about Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)

If you are still unclear about whether to vote for, or against MMP in Ontario, review links below.

• A great debatably unbiased article comparing First-Past-The Post (FPTP) to Mixed Member Proportional (MMP),  by the Toronto Star.
• Information from the official Vote forMMP website and a piece on how it works.
• Two great articles on one page, from Canadianation.ca

This is a chance to be a part of changing the course of Ontario’s history on a grand scale.

It is important to keep in mind that there is a strong connection between media funding/advertising contracts and the larger political parties who have the money/power.  From what I’ve been hearing on the radio and reading about on internet news, it sounds like the big boys (Liberals and Conservatives) are afraid of what MMP might mean for them.  Don’t let them have their way!  This is your chance to contribute to improving the electoral system of this province.

And if you haven’t done your research yet about Frank de Jong and the Green Party of Ontario, you MUST have peak.  Also, have a look at who’s the Green in your riding and what they’re about.

On October 10th, DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!

No time for breakfast?

What you have for breakfast sets the pace to your day.  Many people make the mistake of skipping breakfast or simply having a cup of coffee for breakfast, or even worse, coffee and a pastry.

If this is you, STOP IT!

The very best thing you can do for your body when you wake up in the morning is to drink/chug back a big glass of water.  Want to make it taste good?  Add a squirt of lemon juice.

Now, for breakfast:

Wait, let’s rewind for a minute.   If you go grocery shopping on the weekend, buy a dozen eggs (preferrably free-range) then on Sunday evening get in the kitchen, turn on some soulful music, flick on your mood lighting and do the following:

Cont’d