Be The Positive

I got an email today! I get many emails but this one is a "proved me wrong" email. Yes, I admit it. Sometimes I am wrong, and I am not ashamed to yell it out (or blog about it!) 

This email is relevant to my previous post in which I wondered what big name corporation would dust off a few minutes in their bored day to send me anything. I ended up getting some attention of the email variety. My efforts thus far have not been in vain! Oh, the small things in life that thrill me to pieces..

My wee note was to SC Johnson raving about saran, ziploc, drano, windex and shout. It was truthful and from the heart, I love storage and cleaning. No joke.

The frame worthy response to my email went like this. 

Kate, 

Thanks for getting in touch - emails like yours are favourites here at SC Johnson. It's ever humbling and always rewarding to hear our products have a preferred place in your home. I made sure to forward your comments to the rest of my team so they too may know their efforts and appreciated. Your words echo back to us that we continue on the right path - delighting loyal consumers like you with go to products you can trust.  At SC Johnson, we are dedicated to creating products that make your life easier and keep your home clean and beautiful. Realizing it is consumers like you who have help build our business, we sincerely appreciate hearing from you. Again, thank you for writing your words mean more than you can know. 

Best regards Lisa (Consumer Relationship Center).

I first set out in this experiment to see what I could get for flinging emails to the companies of products I use to scrub the sinks and wash my hair. The excitement wool got pulled over my eyes of what I could get out of it, not fully considering what the companies would take from them. The project has become more than just about coupons. With one returned email, I have learned a lesson. These companies DO care about the consumer and appreciate the pat on the back they deserve. Making someones day is good enough, and is better than any coupon. 

I will slowly continue to work through getting in touch with more distribution companies with hopes I can give more of what I seem to have given to SC Johnson. Every company gets its fill of negative feedback, probably more often than the positive. Be the positive in their day. 

The Coupon Experiment

With the effort of an email, some companies will happily send you coupons? I was surprised (and skeptical) at such a notion. These big corporations have much more important tasks at hand than mailing little me savings! I have been hearing and reading about this happening, and though why not try? 

More of a fun experiment than seriousness, if all I need is to send a short feedback memo to respective companies and they do the rest, count me in! To enable this not take a full day, I chose to send out a few emails per day/or week. You win some, you lose some. I have no expectations, just curiosity. 

The list is easy to build as we consume these products every day. We chose them to sit on our shelves. We use them to nourish ourselves and children, we clean ourselves and our homes with them. We know their names. Its who distributes them that is the key. 

Making use of the internet, the magic of finding out who distributes what is revealed, and the emailing can begin. All companies have their official website which are easy to navigate with one primary ingredient. Click on the 'contact us" wherever it may be on the site. Be prepared to fork over some information  such as name, phone number, email etc.

Now comes the truth telling. Love them or hate them, email them to let them know what you think! Take my first attempt as a rough example. One corporation of my choice was :

We have them scattered all over the place in this house. My message was short and to the point. I am sure mine will change or improve with each one I send, I needed something to step off of!

Hello! I just wanted to comment to you on how regularly I use your cleaning products (windex, drano, and shout) and food storage solutions (saran and ziplock). In a house with two adults, two dogs and a three year old, you can imagine my gratitude for all your products provide for our home. Great work! Wishing you a great weekend. Kate

Now we just wait to see if this turns into a fly or flop. Will keep you posted!

Two Clean Dogs

This is the tail of two clean dogs. Its a big job and I did it this week! Mission accomplished, no more dirty stinky dogs in this house (except maybe their breath). 

I usually decide to do it BEFORE a major bathroom clean because well, its a pretty messy job! 

Daisy Karma our pug is a big bath fan..shes a pretty much a fan of everything and everyone, shes a pug.  She is non resistant to bubbles, back rubs and a towel shakedown..or my lap (ever). Her few faults are her loud snoring sessions, her inability to retract her tongue and her thievery of her human sister's toys. 

Moxie our local SPCA special Lab Chow mix on the other hand has to be wrestled into the tub. He knows how to play dead weight dog and is always on the lookout for a way to make the great escape. There have been more than a few soapy chase downs through the kitchen . He is afraid of everything, bubble wrap paper was added to the list this week. 

The Department Store Lion

I admit it, I am a sap. I love any story involving animals. 

I'm currently reading a book that is too amazing a story not to share. 

"A Lion Called Christian"

By Anthony Bourke and John Rendall 

A long time ago I caught this book staring out the window of my favourite book store. I judged it by its cover within seconds. A story about a lion, I'm in! 

Recently, I bought and dug right into the pages! I was unaware of the "sensation" and story and decided for the book to fill me in.

I am falling in love with every page of this book, an incredible journey of Anthony and John and their love of Christian the lion.

Here is a video that depicts the life of Christian for you. 

Click on following link : http://youtu.be/btuxO-C2IzE

Winter Masterpiece

Ice has its faults. Beware of it under your feet or car tires. Beware of it not existing in your freezer tray at a dinner party. Sometimes it just has it out for us.

And then there are the very rare (and cold) times that happen. Where it will create a masterpiece on a surface. A vision to keep oneself occupied for hours. 

We don't need spray frost on our windows, old mother nature took care of that one herself. 

The Golden Globes Party!

The wins that made me happy tonight!

MOVIES:

Best Actress: Drama Movie
 Winner - Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

I admit I haven't seen this movie yet, but love Meryl

 Streep. Can't wait to see it, looks like she has pulled off

another amazing performance.

Best Supporting Actress Movie
Winner - Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Cheered for this one, I have seen The Help. I can't

 stop smiling over Octavia Spencer, she is too adorable
 and deserve her award hands down!


Best Actress: Comedy or Musical Movie
Winner - Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Okay, so haven't seen this one either..but I can't

 wait to see it. With a well matched roll to a world

famous icon, Michelle Williams will shine.

TELEVISION:

Best Drama Series Television
 Winner - Homeland

Did catch a few episodes and enjoyed the

 freshness of a new idea for a tv series. Quality acting

 and strong plot line sets this one apart.

Best Actress, Drama Television
Winner - Claire Danes (Homeland) 



I watched Claire Danes while growing up, so

 I was happy that she won. Her work in this series is

raw, honest and clever.

Best Actress in a Mini-series or Television Movie
 Winner - Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce) 



Had the pleasure of watching this miniseries.

The first part hadme glued to the next four parts. Kate Winslet gave

a life and pulse to the Mildred Pierce. who was born from a novel.

~

I only had a small list of happy moments, since its difficult to be so

opinionated when I haven't seen all the nominees in

 action. Just thought I would blog about my few yippee moments.

Yes I had them..Hannah just coloured at the kitchen

 table and Geoff laughed at me.

~

THE COMPLETE LIST (for those who want the details):

MOVIES:

Best Picture: Drama
Winner - The Descendants

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

Moneyball

War Horse

Best Actor: Drama
Winner - George Clooney (The Descendants)

Leonardo Dicaprio (J. Edgar)

Michael Fassbender (Shame)

Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March)

Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actress: Drama
Winner - Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)

Viola Davis (The Help)

Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)

Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)

Best Supporting Actor
Winner - Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)

Albert Brooks (Drive)

Jonah Hill (Moneyball)

Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method)

Best Supporting Actress
Winner - Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Berenice Bejo (The Artist)

Jessica Chastain (The Help)

Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

Best Screenplay
Winner - Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)

The Artist

The Descendants

The Ides of March

Moneyball

Best Picture: Comedy or Musical
Winner - The Artist

50/50

Bridesmaids

Midnight in Paris

My Week With Marilyn

Best Actor: Comedy or Musical
Winner - Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Brendan Gleeson (The Guard)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50)

Ryan Gosling (Crazy, Stupid, Love)

Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris)

Best Actress: Comedy or Musical
Winner - Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Jodie Foster (Carnage)

Charlize Theron (Young Adult)

Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)

Kate Winslet (Carnage)

Best Director
Winner - Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)

George Clooney (The Ides of March)

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Alexander Payne (The Descendants)

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner - A Separation (Iran)

The Flowers Of War (China)

In The Land of Blood and Honey (USA)

The Kid With a Bike (Belgium)

The Skin I Live In (Spain)

Best Animated Film
Winner - The Adventures of Tintin

Arthur Christmas

Cars 2

Puss in Boots

Rango

Best Original Song
Winner - Masterpiece, W.E. Music & Lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry

Hello Hello, Gnomeo & Juliet Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Bernie Taupin

The Keeper, Machine Gun Preacher Music & Lyrics by Chris Cornell

Lay Your Head Down, Albert Nobbs Music by Brian Byrne, Lyrics by Glenn Close

The Living Proof, The Help Music by Thomas Newman, Mary J. Blige and Harvey Mason, Jr.; Lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas

Best Original Score
Winner - Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Howard Shore, Hugo

John Williams, War Horse


TELEVISION:

Best Comedy Series TV
Winner - Modern Family

Enlightened

Episodes

Glee

New Girl

Best Actress, Comedy TV 
Winner - Laura Dern (Enlightened)

Zooey Deschanel (New Girl)

Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Laura Linney (The Big C)

Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)

Best Actor, Comedy TV 
Winner - Matt LeBlanc (Episodes)

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

David Duchovny (Californication)

Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory)

Thomas Jane (Hung)

Best Drama Series TV
Winner - Homeland

American Horror Story

Boardwalk Empire

Boss

Game of Thrones

Best Actor, Drama TV
Winner - Kelsey Grammer (Boss)

Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Jeremy Irons (The Borgias)

Damian Lewis (Homeland)

Best Actress, Drama

Winner - Claire Danes (Homeland)

Mireille Enos (The Killing)

Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

Madeleine Stowe (Revenge)

Callie Thorne (Necessary Roughness)

Best Mini-series or TV Movie
Winner - Downton Abbey

Cinema Verite

The Hour

Mildred Pierce

Too Big to Fail

Best Actor in a Mini-series or TV Movie
Winner - Idris Elba (Luther)

Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey)

William Hurt (Too Big to Fail)

Bill Nighy (Page Eight)

Dominic West (The Hour)

Best Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie
Winner - Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce)

Romola Garai (The Hour)

Diane Lane (Cinema Verite)

Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey)

Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult)

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series or TV Movie
Winner - Jessica Lange (American Horror Story)

Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire)

Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)

SofiaVegara (Modern Family)

Evan Rachel Wood (Mildred Pierce)

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-series or TV Movie
Winner - Peter Dinklange (Game of Thrones)

Paul Giamatti (Too Big to Fail)

Guy Pearce (Mildred Pierce)

Tim Robbins (Cinema Verite)

Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)

Courtesy of HFPA.org © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

The Big Chill

So because the weather man has been wrong the past few weeks with some of the forecast, today they decided to be a bit more cautious? 

I guess they were right to forewarn us of this..

The snow wasn't stopping for anyone, so apologies for the blurry photos..

This is where I was taking them from..

Once the blizzard finished its business we decided to venture out..

To the "swings and slides" as Hannah likes to call it.

And enjoyed some family fun time before dinner..pardon the blurry photos,

I guess it just wasn't a good photo kind of day!

Back To Work Week

This past week the man is back in uniform. No, not Santa, but my husband. Geoff began his month working two blocks from our house at the Kelowna Dragoons Army Reserve. They will be responsible for keeping him busy (which they have proven to accomplish in his first week so far) until he has to return to his posting at the end of February in Comox, BC.

One perk is definitely the three day weekends, we are planning the heck out of them!

Claw Foot Garden

My weekend project will be quite the undertaking. But how beautiful is this?

Our one bathroom house has decided to take its shower power somewhere else. If it continues to give me any sort of frustration and anger (don't mess with a mom and her shower time) this is how our claw foot tub will end up. Getting it out of the house shouldn't be a problem if we own a sledgehammer to break a wall down to let it venture out into the back yard!!

I always had some caution about Friday the 13th, so when the shower broke on me this morning, the temptation was to crawl back into bed (or even better under the bed). I know how Geoff will be spending his weekend!! 

The charms of a house built in the year 1930 sometimes make an easy fix it job turn into an afternoon up to elbows in old, discontinued or haven't seen that before adventures at the hardware store.  Note to self - next house is more than welcome to be stuck in the 1970s or 1980s.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Christmas In A Box

Behind on my posts again, but what else is new?! The year!! A year full of lasts in this house, and a year full of firsts to measure out the equation.

Our house is back to normal, no more Christmas decorations in every corner. Tree and lights all tucked away for another 349 days!

While packing up the decorations our thoughts swirled. Where we will be the next time we crack open those festive bins? What town will those boxes be shipped to? What house will be decorated with our tree, lights and wreath? No one has these answers but this year.

December Diary

Dear Diary,

Hold on to your hats because its December 16th and there is a whole lot of birthday cake and tinsel to fit in before 2012. Let the chaos of the holidays begin!! A grand total of 15 days to fill with festivities, chased down with a goodbye to 2011 with a glass of champagne and 12:30am bedtime.

First full day home with Geoff was overflowing of birthday fun for our now three year old daughter Hannah. Time has run away from us, with her growing every minute of every day. Three years old today, twenty years old tomorrow.

 Started the day with cake batter pancakes with sprinkles..

And capped the day with gifts..

And a birthday cake made by Dad..

The next few days was all about the spirit of Christmas. I met Geoff halfway in terms of the decorating..but wanted to save the best parts for his homecoming. Plus, me attempting to put up the tree and stringing lights on the house with only the help of a three year old??! I think I would still be at those in a week! At least this is only blogging about it, so late doesn't exist.

We set up our fake (but loved) Christmas tree and made it sparkle and shine. Decorated the branches down memory lane with ornaments we have collected through the years.

 

And introduced a new box of shatter resistant ornaments to the tree - to make it a bit more Hannah and dog tail friendly.

Geoff got to work a few days later, stringing lights in the warmer than usual temperatures with no snow or ice to challenge his task.

Snuck in some time to sit by the fire on the colder days..

And we did take some time out of our busy schedule to do some last minute Christmas shopping and do our yearly photo opt with Mr. Clause himself. Hannah was still not sure about the man in red, but this year was an improvement from last years fears of the jolly fat guy!

But that didn't stop her from decorating some cookies for him.

Christmas Eve tradition displayed proudly on our kitchen table at bedtime.

Christmas morning included a sleep in and skype dates...and a living room that looked like this!

And a little girl who looked like this..

and this...

To finish off December, I kissed my 20s into the wind and brought on the 30s with wonderment and spent new years at home with family and glass of champagne.

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

The rest of Decemeber flew by without me catching a moment to blog. To juggle family time and be an aspiring blogger is not an easy task. With my priorities in check, I decided to take advantage of the togetherness of the Keighley family and blogging took a backseat over the past few weeks. Geoff left for basic training August 27th and returned home December 16th, so we had some catching up to do. 

Things are slowly going back to normal (apart from a tree being in our living room and lights being on the house.) That will be on the to do list, top row and in bold.

Lucky us have some extra time to relish Geoff's temporary homecoming. The end of February marks another goodbye, where he will return to the Comox Air Force Base to begin some hands on training for a few weeks.

Preparing for a yoyo 2012 with temporary absences while the beginning of Geoff's career gets in the air, we are greeting the new year with a new life for our family full of hope, dreams and smiles.