I'm not crazy, watch this - (Famous, Rich and in the Slums) - and see!

It IS easy to be so secure in our own lives, that we don't have to think about other people's lives.

While we sit and read this by the monthly paid internet, on the expensive computers, in our large heated houses with SUV's parked in the garage, sipping a hot cup of espresso, waiting for our spa appointment - these people are dieing! Oh, wait... they are living a life of hell in squalor and then they die. I know... who cares. I don't have to think about it - it's out of my realm, a world away. And what the heck can I do about it anyway? Well if everyone would get off their leather couches, away from from their flat screens, ipods and computers - and give this some consideration, we can collectively do something about it. Even one changed life is HUGE! You have the ability to change someones life! YES, all of us... rich or poor. If you are reading this, you have the means to support a child to go to school or to get AIDS meds.

I am riled up, so you will have to excuse me. This video is the most profoundly moving show I think I have ever seen. Perhaps more so because it is close to my heart... taking place in Kenya. However, I challenge all of you to please watch this and see if it doesn't move you too!

*insert sidetrack*

A while ago, I was made aware of a comment that a distant relative said about me. "What is 'Jo' thinking!?"

For some reason, this has really bothered me and I think about it often. Not that I give a rats arse what this person thinks - but I think the fact that they are so incapable of 'getting' it, is what really bothers me. It bothers me that the human race can not only be so self indulgent that they can not see beyond their lives, but that they are unwilling to as well.

People think I'm (we're) crazy. Well to all those people that stalk my blog because they think I'm crazy - I have one thing to say to you.

Watch this video and then honestly tell me that I am crazy. You know what I think is crazy? Not doing a damn thing to help people who are in this position! ...You're crazy!

Let's get on with the show... Famous, Rich and in the Slums is a documentary made by Comic Relief about 4 UK celebrities who are stripped of all their possessions and are left in Kibera for a week to experience life in one of the worlds largest slums. Life, where 1 in 5 children will die before the age of 5! They sleep with cockroaches, use the very stinky and unsanitary latrines, and work their fingers to the bone to afford one meal all the while witnessing the famine, illness and heartbreak that surrounds them.

It is shocking. It is heartbreaking. It will make you cry. Like a baby.

Here is a sneak peak.

The problem is that this show aired on UK television in March and is not available on youtube, or even for purchase (that I could find anyway). You have to download it. I have never pirated before, so I had to download UTorrent just for this. If you already have UTorrent etc, you are halfway there. If not, please download it (it's free!) and look for this show on Pirate Bay. There are 2 parts to the show. I was able to download the first part in a day, and the second part took me 2 weeks because there was only a couple seeders. However, part 1 is the most important. In part 2 they get a little sidetracked and the show takes more of a focus on helping the people they stay with rather than experiencing their lives.

If you have an interest in Africa through adoption etc... you will most certainly love this show. But, everyone really should see it. Please watch it and let me know how it affected you, or if I really am the crazy one after all...

**Further pirating instructions

After you have successfully installed utorrent, you will go to this piratebay page with the download for part one. DO NOT click any of those big green download buttons - that is where I went wrong many times. Click the small green downward arrows and "download this torrent" on the left side. My computer operates on Vista, browsing with Google Chrome. When I click download - it downloads or saves it to a file called 'downloads'.  Open utorrent. Click on File then Add Torrent. Browse, locate file and double click. Utorrent should then start to download the file. If you click on this file in the top window, the details will pop up in the lower window. This will tell you how fast the download is happening and how much has been downloaded. When I just looked, I noticed there was only one seeder - this means it will take quite a long time. If the seeder (the person who is uploading the movie to leechers) shuts his computer off, the downloading stops unless there are more seeders. The key is to keep your computer on so it can download when the seeder has his computer on.

Once it is complete and says ' finished' in the top window... click it, so the details appear in the bottom window again. Then double click the first file in the bottom window (the file with 550+ mb). On my computer the VLC media player popped up and started to play. You may have a different media player... This is an avi. file. Most players should play this type of file.

Go here for the second part.

I hope this helps. You may need to be patient - like I said, it took me weeks to get the second part....... but it is so worth it!!

My husband - the criminal.

Well I finally received a reply back from RCMP regarding Dan's long overdue fingerprinting.

The response was this :
 "Please be advised that according to our records, the application in question was received in our system on: 2011-07-05

We are unable to provide specific dates as to when the verification will be completed. Once the verification is complete, the result will be sent to the following mailing address provided:

L1 ENROLLMENT SERVICES VANCOUVER
619-470 GRANVILLE ST
VANCOUVER BC V6C 1V5

CFSS processes more than 15,000 criminal record searches each month. The processing times for applications will vary depending on whether or not an individuals fingerprints can be associated to a criminal holding maintained by the RCMP. For those that are associated and or a manual review must take place, the process can take in excess of one hundred and twenty (120) days. For those that are not associated the processing time is significantly less. For further information on processing times please visit our website. "

Hmmm... I wonder if he knows he is a criminal?

(For anyone who would like to inquire on their biometrics, you can visit their website for contact instructions.)

My Owl visioned nursery.

Ever since I made the owl taggies and burp blankets, I have fallen in love with owls. They are so cute and whimsical. I know everyone is doing it - but who gives a hoot!

I know I have to realize that I may be bringing a 3 year old home, so I need to make this nursery so it can grow with her. No baby stuff.

These are the things that inspire me.

I am going to make a rag quilt full of appliques, a blend of these two quilts:

With this fabric: (I'll have to get some pink thrown in there too!!)

I want to paint the walls green:

And throw in some great accessories:

And put up a tree!

I want to get started on the quilt this fall, but everything else will have to wait until we get back. The great thing about owls - is they are gender neutral. If we get a girl and a boy, they will share a room while they are little and I can certainly tone down the pink...

While I try really hard to not purchase anything... (definition of 'try' is ' to attempt' - which does not mean I succeed!... in fact, I'm pretty good at failing in this department!) I caved at Costco and purchased a sheet set for $16!

The cost of a virus with my string of luck.

If I didn't have bad luck, I would have no luck at all. It starts like this.

Aug 5th I get a flu that then turns into a cold that then turns into a nasty sinus infection.

Sept 1st we ended up having to leave our summer vacation 12 hours into it because I lose partial sight and speech for a few minutes. We left a suitcase in the hotel and had to forgo a night for the hotel that was prepaid - $116.

While in Vancouver, we (aka. the hubby) lost a large bag of back to school clothes for the kids at the mall. - $138

Sept 6th I landed back in emerg with this nasty sinus infection. 11 days of antibiotics.

The following week I contract a virus (on my work computer) by innocently lurking on blogs. My 2 yr prepaid prescription to Norton Antivirus didn't do much to help me out here!

Sept 15th after spending 3 days of unsuccessfully trying to eridicate the virus, I had to take it in. I was quote $45 and in one day.

Sept 19th - my sinus infection comes back with a vengance within hours of taking the last antibiotic. Dr. prescribes me another 10 days of antibiotics. Get to the pharmacy to see that she accidentally prescribed me a different antibiotic and she is gone for the day... so another goes by with no meds. My computer also comes back - 4 days late and with a $100 bill. The virus was so bad they had to wipe the entire computer. I have to start from scratch.

Sept 20th - Spend the entire day reloading software. Fun. Payroll due  - cannot provide.

Sept 21st - Have to spend $655.20 to get the software code so I can activate the payroll feature on my software. Now in tears... at this price, I think I would stuck with the damn virus! My software was working just fine before!!

-NOT to mention that Dan's biometric fingerprinting (which was done on July 5th) is missing in action and is now holding up our Dossier.

When your luck costs you over $1000 in one month... you know it's bad!

... and I have a feeling this isn't the end of my string of luck! I am looking forward to September being over and a fresh start with October!

Hibernation is setting in...

I can feel it in my bones... fall is upon us. If I were to be an animal, I most certainly would be a bear. It's an innate feeling... instinct if you will, that I have to curl up somewhere warm and not return until spring. Seriously. I did not go outside Sunday once. Nope, not even for a second. Want to know what I did? I complained feverishly about the freezing temp. "Can we please start a fire, or turn on the furnace?" ... oh about 5 times. Yes, I could have have gotten up the couch and flicked the heat button on our thermostat... but I was shivering under blankets! Once I felt I had enough heat to move a little... I quickly tried to locate my stash of socks that have been hiding all summer. (Flip flops... your dead to me now.) Then my pants, then a long sleeve shirt... and then another a few moments after that. Dan was running around half naked and looked at me like I was growing a third eyeball. Then, I spent the rest of the day trying to harness and capture the heat in any way I could. Numerous times (and I mean at least 10!)... I had to remind my husband and children that they were not born in a barn and the door needs to be closed. Seriously - I think every time one of them went in or out, they left the door wide open! What a terrible summer habit - but hello people, it is freezing! (12 degrees Celsius - what I wuss, I know!)  I drank coffee, lots of it. Then I drank tea, lots of it. After I felt comfortably warm I started to clean house. After all, this is where I am going to be spending a great deal of time over the next 6 months! I spent all summer avoiding my house and trying to be outside every chance I got... and now I have a whole lot of housecleaning to attend to. There is no spring cleaning in my house - by the time spring sets in, I'm ready to get the heck outside and into the garden. The cleaning starts in fall in my house. So I started to clean cupboards yesterday and will slowly work my way around the house until all is organized and cleaned. Summer clothes need to disappear and the winter sweaters reappear. Time to go through all the kids' clothes and put away all the ones that don't fit anymore. Cull the toys and everything else... before we settle in to a long winter. Hello socks, slippers, pajar boots, fleece pjs, hot baths, warm tea, desk heater and my automatic car starter.... we meet again.

Welcome back to my heart Ju-Ju-Be!

Remember when I hinted about my Mother's Day gift here?

Well, I never did update this because it did not arrive until this last Monday. Yes, that's right.... 4.5 months. I won't bore you with the details, but I had been given a new back order date 4 times and never rec'd it any of those times. I sent some emails off to get to the bottom of it, and in the end it was taken care of that same day. They drop shipped it to me from the warehouse and included some gifts.

As a business owner, I realize that mistakes can happen. What is really important is how a company is able to correct the mistake and maintain their reputation and clientele. I do a great deal of purchasing online and have had some really terrible service and delivery problems in the past. In all these times, I have walked away with a bad taste in my mouth. One time I was sent a lens cloth as an apology gift on a $200 purchase. Another time I was sent a promotional pen! Needless to say, I have never purchased from these businesses again.

This company however, did go out of their way to make it right. They made me feel like a valued customer... and I appreciate that!! Okay, time to spill the beans... The hint was "...it is going to be 'Major'." with a photo of jube jubes. If you haven't gotten it, then perhaps you are not familiar with this brand... let me have the honours of introducing to you, my favorite bag brand... Ju-Ju-Be. Your life will never be the same...

I had a couple of their bags already and have been absolutely in love with this make. These ladies think of everything a Mom may need when designing these bags! The Mother's day gift I ordered was a Ju-Ju-Be Major - wallet. I thought I loved my green leather fossil wallet, but this is the icing on the cake!! Check it out...

FINALLY! A wallet large enough to be carried without my purse, and I can add a purse strap and carry it as a purse if necessary. I have a large purse which is great for long outings, but typically I run around with just my wallet... so this is perfect for me!!

... and the cherry on top is that it matches my ubber lovely 'BFF' diaper bag that is silently waiting in my closet ... waiting for Kenya. Here is my original purchase post.

(Did I mention it has a crumb tray... a crumb tray! - check out all the wonders here..)

And not to be forgotten are all the lovely gifts they sent me...

A tote bag, Fuel Cell (lunch kit), Paci Pod (for pacifiers), and a change purse. 

Ju-Ju-Be - you rock!

What will our life be like in Kenya?

Many people have misconceptions about where we will be living and what we will be doing with our time. No, we will not be living in a mud hut, (much to my dismay...and I am serious.) and no I will not be scrubbing laundry by hand all day in a little stream. AND the only reason - is for the safety of our children and the fact that our priority will be adoption. I would love the idea of living in a small village... rubbing elbows with the Maasai etc., but sadly that is not conducive to the adoption efforts. We have been advised to live in Nairobi to have close contact with the courts and adoption offices etc. Traffic in Kenya is crazy... so a small commute of a few miles just within city limits can take hours, so living hours out of town is just not feasible for the travelling time we would have to do.

We will likely live in an apartment complex for safety reasons. It will be something like this one and will be located in a nice Nairobi neighborhood.

Location relevance will revolve around rental cost and proximity to our desired place of where we will volunteer or to the orphanage where our child/ren will be from.

During our first week in Kenya, we had intended on settling in and getting over our jet lag while we toured around on a bit of a safari... one last hurrah as a family of four and life as we know it. This may still happen if we can manage to raise the money. After this time, we will settle in to our apartment and will begin our visitations with our new child/ren at the orphanage. Hopefully, we will be allowed to visit for several hours a day until the 2 week period is up, upon which we can then bring her (or them) home. This is when we will start our 3 month fostering period.

During this time, our days will be spent getting acquainted to the new addition and life as a family of 5/6. We will be busy homeschooling the kids  for the first half of the day. I haven't yet dove into my homeschooling research yet, but I think we will likely be spending 4 hours a day homeschooling. This should be an easy task with Dan and I taking turns with the baby and the teaching.

After lunch we will be spending our afternoons volunteering at a local orphanage. I have been in contact with one orphanage who has happily accepted my offer to come and volunteer as a family. We will be doing lots of baby holding, feeding and diapering while the kids will be playing with the older kids and perhaps helping them with their English. Muffin will likely find herself in the toddler area... Mothering all of them. Of course during this period it is very crucial to bond with our adopted child/ren, and that will certainly play a role in how and when we volunteer. If our adopted child is a young infant, I will wear them in a moby wrap. If the child is over 1 and walking, I will still be wearing the child a lot as it is great for attachment... but will likely have less time to be hands on at the volunteering. But here again, Dan and I can take turns. I'm sure we can still be useful even while tending to our own busy toddler.

Dan and I would like to possibly get our hands further involved in perhaps a larger building project where he can use his skills. He also really wants to see Kibera, the slums of Nairobi, and see if there is some way he can help there. I can put my office/accounting skills to works at any orphanage in addition to web design, blogging etc. Not that I am a web designer - but, simple websites are easy to create and many of these organizations need all the help they can get in this department. Orphanages need to be seen to get the funding...

Basically, we want to bond as a family, and do everything we possibly can to help as a family. We want to make as much impact and difference as we possibly can in our time there while we fulfill our adoption requirements. So no, we won't be rough'n it, but we won't exactly be spending it all lounging around in the pool either!

I have been toying with the idea of scouting for families in need of a monthly sponsorship. I know many people I have spoken with do not sponsor children as they don't trust that their money is getting to where it is intended. There is a great deal of corruption in Kenya, so this is certainly a concern. During my time with the orphanages, I will investigate legit places to donate to, or establish my own private connection with a family in need. If you are at all interested in sponsorship, or one time donations... please contact me or watch the blog, as I will be sharing this information. The need in Kenya is so great, so giving a warm blanket, bag of rice or some medicine to someone in need will be a very easy thing to do... and we will be able to take photos and document the families appreciation for your generosity. Something to keep in mind anyway...

**Edit to add - "During our first week in Kenya, we had intended on settling in and getting over our jet lag while we toured around on a bit of a safari... one last hurrah as a family of four and life as we know it. This may still happen if we can manage to raise the money."

To clarify... This post was written in September prior to our Dossier been sent off, and prior to our plans for adoption financing to tank (selling property etc.). At this point, we have sold our boat etc... and were 'raising'  (saving) money not by 'fundraising'... but by collecting bottles, cutting off unecessary spending (ie. cable etc.), selling things we didn't need. (Clearly the term 'saving' would have been a more appropriate choice of words - however this did follow my aura migraine episode, after which I struggled a great deal with my vocabulary, especially written - this is NOT an excuse though, and I am leaving the term as is.) In December, we entered into a wholesale contract with a company who allowed us to sell bracelets at retail cost (as a home business) to earn money to help with our adoption fees, travel costs, and living expenses. We are not fundraising to go on a safari. I know this may seem obvious to those of you who have been following, and to those that personally know us - and quite frankly it feels silly to even have to explain this. However, if this was viewed with no regard to the timeline of events, it may be misconstrued.

Fellow bloggers... do you spend any time going back and add/editing or deleting posts that are no longer relevant... or is it just assumed that what was current then, may not depict today's picture?