Jaret's Place

Taking photos of your child having a tantrum?

I was reading a blog today written by a mom who routinely photographs her childrens tantrums then posts them on her blog on the internet.

What do you think of that? Do you think its cruel? Acceptable? A riot? What?

My father took MANY MANY pictures of me while growing up and as a result, I now HATE having my picture taken. I was never photographed having a tantrum (probably because I didn't have tantrums), nor were those pictures posted on the internet (ok, ok - there was no such thing back then)! But if I am left feeling camera shy after being constantly photographed when I was HAPPY how do you think it would affect a child who is being photographed when having a meltdown? And then the pictures are posted for ALL TO SEE on the internet?

Just curious on your opinion...

Squirrel gets his nut (great pic)

Great pic - courtesy of Yahoo:

A squirrel, who's obviously not shy, reaches for a peanut from the hand of a man at Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

How long does it take to digest an earthworm?

Ok, so the other day I am walking along and I look over to see a pretty Robin hopping along the grass looking for breakfast. As the little bird hops, I can't help but wonder how long its going to take him to find his meal.

Within seconds of completing my thought, Zoop! He popped his beak into the ground, yanked out an earthworm and gulp, gulp, gulp, the earthworm was gone.

And I have to admit, it stunned me a bit at how quickly the whole process was over! I was then thinking of the earthworm. He only JUST got swallowed so his journey to the stomache had not even officially begun! So here I am, I'm an earthworm, slinking along under the ground when SWOOP! I am sucked out of the ground, I briefly see the light of day and next thing I know I am someplace verrrrrry dark, unsure of what has just happened! I wonder how long the robin can feel that earthworm squriming around inside of him before the worm comes to rest!
I am sure someone who is more knowledgable than I am in the ways of science could answer this question for me. But to actually witness the sudden disappearance of that worm has left me wondering how long DOES it take to digest an earthworm?

My amazing NEW life since being laid off from Corporate America... Absolutely LOVE it!

Wow.

My apologies for taking the past few months off! Back in December I began a new business and it has just been a phen-o-menal experience! So much to say about it and so many times over the past few months I’ve wanted to blog about my experiences but I felt I needed to do an “intro” about the fact that I began my new business before I started blogging about it.

So here we are!

I am now in my business for 3 months. What kind of business, you ask? I opened my own business with a company called Arbonne. If you haven’t heard of them yet, don’t worry, you will. Arbonne is nearly a one-billion-dollar-a-year-company and we are not yet a household name. Rest assured, we are well on our way to becoming one. We are a network marketing company that began in 1980. We offer amazing botanically-based skin care products plus health and wellness products which deliver results. And the  business opportunity tied to these amazing products changes lives. I have personally seen it happen in only the few short months that I’ve been involved.

If you’ve read this blog before (or my bio) then you know that in August 2008 I was laid off after 18 years in Corporate America working as Computer Programmer. Within one year of my layoff, my salary with Arbonne will surpass my (very decent) Computer Programmer’s salary. Difference being, now *I* decide which hours and how many hours I work (and believe me, its no longer a 40-hour PLUS work week!). I don’t have to let someone else decide how much I am going to be paid. No more HOPING I get my 3% raise each year! In fact, the difference between my 2^nd paycheck with Arbonne and my 3^rd paycheck was an increase of 985%!! Yes, you read that correctly! I was able to give myself a 985% salary increase in one month. And the best thing is… there is no limit to what I can earn.

I realize this probably sounds a little “rah-rah” and too good to be true. I thought the same thing. But now that I’ve lived it, I can tell you that it IS absolutely possible. Believe me, working in Corporate America for as long as I did, I guess I always figured I’d have a "Corporate job" for the rest of my life. And while I was doing it, it was fiiiiine. I made good money, I bought a few houses, bought a few vehicles over the years. Had no complaints. As the slowly layoffs began in my industry, I decided to open and run a gift shop alongside my full-time Programmer job in an effort to make additional income. I worked 100+ hours per week for y-e-a-r-s.  I was shot. I was never home. And I honestly believed THAT was the only path to make extra money. Not even GOOD money, just some extra money. Just work you’re a*s off, have no personal life and perhaps one day you'll have a few extra bucks. And again, that business model was perfectly acceptable to me. It absolutely never occurred to me there could be another way to make great money and even have FREE TIME to spare. Little did I know... 

 

Its quite interesting how vastly different my view of "making money" is now. In only a few short months, my world has changed. And what makes it so fantastic is that I get to help others change their worlds too. By helping others succeed, I in turn, succeed. Doesn't get better than that.

 

If you would like more information, please contact me!

You can visit my website here:

www.choose.myarbonne.com

 

Until next time...

SHINE ON

 

 

Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare. - Tom Barrett

QUIZ: What type of pet would you be?

Found an interesting quiz today! Why don't you take it and comment back on what type of pet it thinks YOU'D be?!!?

You Would Be a Pet Bird

You're intelligent and witty, yet surprisingly low maintenance. You charm people easily, and they usually love you a lot more than you love them. You resent anyone who tries to own or control you. You refuse to be fenced in. Why you would make a great pet: You're very smart and entertaining Why you would make a bad pet: You're not interested in being anyone's pet! What you would love about being a bird: Flying, obviously What you would hate about being a bird: Being caged

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

Quogue Wildlife Refuge, New York

Earlier this week was Columbus day and all the kids were off school. Several years ago before my Grandfather had passed away, my Mom used to bring him to a wildlife refuge on the east end of Long Island (Suffolk County) in New York. I never had the chance to accompany them so when my Mom suggested we go there since my 7-yr-old daughter was off from school I figured it'd be a pretty good idea. Little did I know how AMAZING this place actually was!

First off, its snuggled in a residential area so it comes as a complete surprise when you happen upon it! Judging by just the parking lot, it doesn't seem that monumental. But once you make your way out of the rather small parking area and towards the main building (which is the indoor nature center) you quickly realize: This Is A Cool Place!

There are outdoor wooded trails to walk that surround a beautiful pond with lots of ducks and geese and other assorted flying creatures. There are scenic benches where you can stop to rest all along the trails. There are bridges to cross, plenty of foliage to admire and an outdoor bird housing area where you can stop to watch the birds in flight.

I took the below photo with my iPhone. Just one of the many beautiful resting places along the trails. The photo doesn't show it well but the ground was covered in moss making this look like the most perfect "Fairy Land" that you've ever seen!  Worth the trip just to see this one benched area! If you head towards the Nature Preserve building and begin walking to your RIGHT, keeping on the trail along the water-side, within minutes you'll encounter "Fairy Land".

If trail walking is not your thing you can always visit the Distressed Wildlife Complex. They have several animals who have been injured and whom cannot be released back into the wild because their survival skills have in some way been compromised (ensuring a very short lifespan if released). There is a bald eagle, a bobcat, a red-tailed hawk and a fox just to name a few. You can read the story about each animal right on the front of their cage. Below is the bald eagle. Quite majestic in real life. The cage bars are rather distracting in this photo. Go see him for yourself!

Immediately to the right of the Nature Center is an area where we saw lots of fellows such as the one below. This guy followed me for a while, surely hoping for a snack (which I unfortunately didn't have to offer him).

The inside of the Nature Center is quite amazing. One side of the building faces the pond and is made up of huge floor-to-ceiling windows. It feels as though you are ON the pond, not really looking out AT the pond. There chairs for sitting, a few live animals to see such as 2 GIANT African Spurred Tortoises, some frogs, a large snake (Boa, I believe) and a small library area with lots of books to read. There are also assorted skeletons and "mounted" heads as well.

All in all, this was a great place for the whole family to visit or a great place to just sit and read by yourself on your own bench amongst the wildlife in the trails. I was shocked to find out that it had been around for over 50 years! I am so glad my Grandfather got to experience the Refuge before leaving this place. Thanks Mom, for bringing him! And thanks to Bob for introducing my Mom to the Refuge all those years ago on that chilly October day. She was sick and would have rather been home in bed but since it was her birthday, instead he bundled her up and introduced her to the Refuge. Now I, in turn, got to bring my daughter there! Nestled into this little east end residential community, the Quogue Wildife Refuge is fantastic little get-away. Highly recommended.

The Quogue Wildlife Refuge trails are open 365 days a year from sunrise to sunset. Explore the trails, visit the indoor nature center or meet the animals in the distressed wildlife complex.

NOTE THAT YOU CAN'T GOOGLE THIS LOCATION by just searching for the name... it doesn't come up. So here are the details for you along with a map:

The Quogue Wildlife Refuge
3 Old Country Rd
Quogue, NY 11959
(631) 653-4771
Click here for a Map

Paul Newman: a road trip, the woman and the ice cream

In light of Paul Newman passing away, I thought I'd share this email story about Mr. Newman as well as a personal story about Mr. Newman. Not sure if the email story true but its amusing nonetheless!

Here we go, email story first:

A Michigan woman and her family were vacationing in a small New England town where Paul Newman and his family often visited. One Sunday morning, the woman got up early to take a long walk. After a brisk five-mile hike she decided to treat herself to a double-dip chocolate ice cream cone. She hopped in the car, drove to the center of the village and went straight to the combination bakery/ice cream parlor.

There was only one other patron in the store: Paul Newman, sitting at the counter having a doughnut and coffee.

The woman's heart skipped a beat as her eyes made contact with those famous baby-blue eyes. The actor nodded graciously and the star struck woman smiled demurely.

“Pull yourself together!” She chides herself. “You're a happily married woman with three children. You're forty-five years old, not a teenager!”

The clerk filled her order and she took the double-dip chocolate ice cream cone in one hand and her change in the other. Then she went out the door, avoiding even a glance in Paul Newman's direction.

When she reached her car, she realized that she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Where's my ice cream cone? Did I leave it in the store? 

Back into the shop she went, expecting to see the cone still in the clerk's hand or in a holder on the counter or something! No ice cream cone was in sight.With that, she happened to look over at Paul Newman.

His face broke into his familiar warm friendly grin and he said to the woman, “You put it in your purse.”

About a decade ago, my friend Danny Midwinter was visiting me in New York. Danny is an amazing actor from London. While packing for his trip to New York he brought along with him a screenplay he'd written that he wanted to "run past" Paul Newman. Knowing that Paul Newman lived in the neighboring state of Connecticut and hearing that Paul was a very down-to-earth kind of guy, my friend Danny figured while he was here, we'd go on a little excursion to Connecticut to find Mr. Paul Newman and personally give him a copy of the screenplay.

And so we began our roadtrip to Connecticut. Danny knew the town Paul Newman lived in and his address. I drove around and around that town looking for Paul's place for about 30 minutes (this was prior to MapQuest and Google Maps being accessible from your cell phone). We finally found it. Starstruck, Danny got out and just gazed up at the large gated house. Danny then decided that Mr. Newman probably was not home and that we should go into town to seek him out. The town was small and quaint so that suggestion seemed perfectly reasonable to me. We drove back to town, parked the Jeep, got out with screenplay in hand and proceeded to stroll the streets of this amazingly lovely New England town. Everyone was so friendly towards us as Danny asked nearly every passerby (in his lovely brittish accent):

"Pardon me. Have you seen Paul Newman?"

"Has anyone seen Paul Newman today?"

After 20 minutes or so to no avail we decided to get a bite to eat, carefully choosing (of course) the restaurant that Danny felt Paul Newman would be in. We were seated, we scanned the restaurant, we interegated the waitress (in Danny's brittish accent), "M'am, have you seen Paul Newman today? I've got a screenplay here that he just MUST see. We've looked all over town. 'Ave you seen Paul Newman today?"

The waitress cheerfully replied that he had been in a few nights earlier with his wife for dinner but that she hadn't seen him since. Danny slumped a bit in disappointment and we ate our meal.

Afterwards as we walked back to the Jeep, Danny (seemingly refreshed by the food) continued to harass the local residents, happily skipping and twirling thru the streets (a la "Singing In The Rain")and yelling loudly to anyone who would look in our direction "'Ello Mate! Have you seen Paul Newman?!!? We simply MUST find him today! 'Ave you seen Mr. Newman?!!?"

Unfortunately, no one had. But I'm sure that town was talking about us for months to come. Once back at our vehicle, Danny decided it would be best to just leave the screenplay in the mailbox of Paul Newman's home. When I suggested that he might get MANY screenplays that way, Danny surmised that perhaps we were the first to be so brazen as to leave it in the mailbox of his HOME. I agreed with him as we opened the mailbox door and slid it in, then began our journey back to Long Island, New York...

Although nothing ever came of the screenplay, the memories of our travels that day will last a lifetime.  Cheers, Mate. Miss ya much, Danny!

And we'll miss you too, Mr. Newman.

Shine on

Beauty Tips That Really Work!

Although I didn't WRITE this article I wanted to be sure I shared it with everyone. LOTS of great advice!

Beauty Tips That Really Work!
Thanks to Yahoo for this

Scooby-Doo... The ORIGINAL Ghost Hunters, CSI & Myth Busters!

I am a life long fan of Scooby-Doo. The show first aired on September 13, 1969 making today the 39th year since its debut! It has entertained several generations of kids and grown-ups alike. If there was a 24-hour-day Scooby Channel, I'd watch it! NOT that I watch TV 24 hrs/day but at the very least my TV would be set to that channel so it would serve as background noise when the TV *was* on! (And of course if a good episode came on I could then run in and sneak a peek!)

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com

That said, this morning I realized that Scooby-Doo is truly one of the pioneers of modern-day televsion. Think about it:

Scooby-Doo and his Gang are truly the original:

• Ghost Hunters (trying to de-bunk a "haunting" in every episode),
• CSI (using forensic evidence to solve crimes), and
• Myth Busters (not that they scientifically de-bunk things on their show but they definitely always discover the scientific explanation for the ghostly apparitions created in each show!)

And so my love for Scooby and the Gang continues.
       Happy Birthday, Scooby! Rock On!
                And a Happy (what would have been) 90th birthday to you, Grandpa...

Catnip Mist by CatFaeries.com

Today I tried a new product called Catnip Mist which I ordered from www.catfaeries.com. You spray the mist on bedding or a toy and watch your kitty go! Best thing is that there is no cleanup afterwards.

I sprayed this product on a scratcher we have hanging from a door. It only took about 10 seconds for our "crowd" to gather to investigate the new smell when suddenly "Popeye" sprang into action displaying her door-hanging talents!

Really, really love this stuff. And as you can see from the pictures, Popeye really loves it too.

Highly recommend this product!