International Women's Day March 8, 2013

Happy Women's Day!!
(Click above to go to the site)

I want to thank a very beautiful woman for reminding me that today was coming.  She actually sent me a "Women's Day" card.  She creates wonderful music with her fantastic voice and style.

Thank You Lynda Law!! 

Here is one of her videos.

I believe you will agree her music is a credit to all women, who strive to live and love and learn as the intelligent human beings that we are.
Here is her YouTube Channel, Facebook Page

I also want to thank all the women out there for just being who you are.  Everyday I meet more of you here on the internet, through blog and other social medias.

It is wonderful that there is a day for women.  

It is a way to make the world aware of the many things that women help others and strive to better the world.

But most importantly it shows all the world the injustices done to women, some before they are born and never have a chance to better our world.   

There are women out there who are treated worse than a rabid dog.  Not even acknowledge as a living, feeling human being.  Young girls treated as toys and slaves for the enjoyment of men.

There are countries where women have not one single right.  They can not show the world their face, or voice an opinion.  They are not allowed the right to a faithful marriage or the right to leave a harmful one.

There are young girls out there that will never know what it feels like to go to school, or read and write.

Many will never have the right to choose who they want to love and marry.

 Even more will never grow up at all.

There are women who everyday work hard in a factory or other job just to survive, but yet may not make it home because the country they live in do not consider that raping and killing women is really all that bad, and the men never looked for or arrested.

We live in a world where "humans" are supposedly equal.  

Yet color and race are still considered as inferior by many, which is wrong and not even close to the truth.

Women are humans too, we have the right to live and be free.  We are not inferior either.

Women through time have proved this.  

Maybe one day when we all finally stand up to those who put down our sisters because they are women, or brothers because of their race, color or religion, we can turn International Women's Day, to

International People Day, just to remind us never, ever to treat another human being as subhuman or inferior.

I would love to see that day come!

I would love to see the world where everyone is equal and never fear being treated so inhumanly again.

That would be the Day to celebrate!!!

That is all I ever wanted, to live in a peaceful world, where hate doe not exist, that no human or animal need feel fear for their lives or that of the coming generation.

I know I will never see that world, but I will try everyday to make that world possible.

So that maybe our children's children may see this world. 

I sometimes try to picture the people's of the future seeing

"International Women's Day in a news clip or paper and saying

 "What kind of people lived than, that they needed a day to make people aware that all are equal?  

Well this is turning out longer than I expected. 

Later today my post will be about the Liebster Blog Award  I was nominated for by two women, 

Catherine Healey from Book Club Librarian

and

Sopia Bains from Goobledygook Book Hooked

Until than Remember do something to day for women or girls! 

Let us show the people and countries that we value women!

Alice 

alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com 

Where is my food made??!!

Hello again!

Well it seems not so easy to find information on Canadian and/ or American Food and Make-up Companies that produce products outside  of the country.  But do not fret will dedicate time to doing more research on this subject.  What I was trying to find was a site that you could look up a company and see where they produce / manufacture their product.  With the concern with laws in certain countries being very different from Canada and the United States, there is a lot of worry over what is exactly in the products, and conditions in which they are made.  When I first saw the UPC post on Country codes I got curious and shared (Reading bar-codes, interesting!!!!) what I found.  Than when I found the list that I posted on January 23, 2013: "Okay more on upc codes- country" I noticed the statement on almost every site I found:

 The country of origin indicated in barcodes may not be the same country where a product was manufactured. It is the country where the company that produces the product is headquartered. A company located in Switzerland could have manufacturing sites in India, China or other country. A more reliable method for finding the country in which a product was manufactured is to look for a "made in" label on the product packaging.


Supposedly this is the best way to see where something is made.  Wrong!!!  Since I started my current job almost 5 years ago, I have learned one thing I didn't know.  Almost every product has an expiry date.  Not just food, deodorant,  toothpaste, creams, soap, shampoo etc.  It is not always easy to find the expire date but it is there. If is has a code not an expire date, I now find myself not buying the product.  I do not know the laws in the USA but expire dates are now mandatory   In many cases it is the packaging that expires (it starts to break down), but you have to remember there are some things, chemicals, that also break down, or lose effectiveness after expire date.  Some things may still work but others, like test strips for Diabetes
have an exact date because they are no longer reliable after that date.  Now the reason I mention this is that I  do know that reading labels is not as easy as it sounds.  The fact that the above statement refers to look for the "made in"on the label.

Maybe be I am missing something.  I have grabbed 6 food products from my kitchen.  Surprise to me  I found only 1 that says "made in" and it was made in the United States of America",  2 says imported for, 1 says produced for and the other 2 said nothing except brand name.  Am I missing something, what happened to saying where the product was made.  I actually brought this point out to someone, and they said because they were made in Canada.  If that was true would it not say Made in Canada???  If I owned the company I would be proud to put Made in Canada (okay I am Canadian) but I do know that logic says you can't put Made in Canada if it wasn't.  So where I ask were these made???  I cannot believe this idea that if it has no "made in" on label that it is made here.  That does not make sense!!  What if it is sold in another country?  Extra work to make separate labels, bad business sense.

So this is where you, the reader, can help!  Check 1 or 2 things in you kitchen and tell  if it has a "made in" on it, this includes everyone no matter where you live.  I am curious to see if I am the only one having a problem with finding out where my food comes from.  The one thing I am sure of is fresh fruit and vegetables because at the Grocery Store it says that on the label on the bin /shelf.

Now the other thing I was asked was about makeup.  Well I don't use a lot of makeup but grabbed 6 things from my bathroom 2 makeup, 1 makeup remover, 1 toothpaste, 1 hand cream and 1 hair product (gel/ cream twist).   In order (scary) China, China, USA, Imported, Canada with imported USA products, Imported.  So not food but found 4 "made in" on label.  Still would like to have known where toothpaste was made!!!!

Guess I will now be very careful on reading labels. Checking for the "made in" on each. Looks like makeup is now off my shopping list unless made here or the States. Something tells me that my grocery bill just went up!  Like I needed that! So I guess the 2 main rules for shopping is "made in" and expiry date!

I did find some sites that where interesting, with some information on companies.  Here are a few.

Manta.com:  12,099 Food Companies in Canada ,
                   Manta has 111,741 companies under Food Companies in United States
Food Processing
FCPC (Food & Consumer Products of Canada)
Ach Food Companies Inc  (French's, Mazola, Karo,  Fleischmann's etc)  click brands at the bottom for Product Sites with recipes etc , had to share this one :)

Well I hope that was a little helpful!!

Please if you can let me know about the "made in" on 1 or 2 of your food products, Thank You!

Alice M
alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com

Well it is Christmas Time!!!!!!

I love this time of year!!! Even my bully can’t ruin it!!

Last night, after work, I had Christmas dinner at my sisters.  Most of the family was there and my niece too!!!  We don’t get to see her much, she moved out of province.  Since she will not be here at Christmas, we had an early Christmas for her.  It was fun and the food was great.  My sister is a very good cook!!!

I took some pictures of my sister’s decorations.  Check them out!

Her Tree

She really loves Rudolph!  ;~))

  

   

Here is Kasha.

(Check out her food dish ;~0)

  

And Se7en.

(she is a little nervous with so many people around, my sis had to hold her)

Here is my tree. ;~)

(My sister gave it to me, think it is the biggest one I have ever had!!!!)

It almost reaches the ceiling!!!

I collect Christmas tins and boxes and

put them under my tree so it doesn’t look bare.  

Why? 

Because the cats will open any present I put under there LOL!!!!

This I saved for last, 

it is my sister’s Christmas card she sent out this year.  

The monster destroying Welland,

 is Moe, her Bearded Dragon!!!

 LOL!!

Don’t forget about my eBook draw, it is on the 27^th!! 

Only requirement is, to join this site. 

I will draw one name from the members.  

(My family’s  names will not qualify).

Well I hoped you liked my pictures!!! 

Tomorrow I will decorate the ginger tree and sleighs (already glued together and haven’t had time to finish them) with work and the Christmas dinner and well you know, her.

So thanks for dropping by!!! 

Hope you come back soon!

Alice M

alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com

Book update and one (eBook) to give away :)

Well hello again!!  Sorry but have been very busy and next week will be another long one.  Trying to get apartment ready for Christmas.  Working on a gingerbread village. :-)  I am using kits that I have bought that are expired, figured it can`t be eaten can use to decorate.  I want to spray it with a crystal clear finish so that it will last a few years, this way can add pieces every year and replace any when the need arises.  When I finished will post picture.

The little spare time I have I use to read. on the fourth book of John Carter of Mars(1-5) by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  It is great surprised at how long ago it was written, but will get into it in more detail when I finish the 5 book.

I am also reading Dressed To Kill:  The Link Between Brest Cancer and Bras By Soma Grismaijer, Sydney Ross Singer.  I am just over half way through and I have to tell you it was quite a surprise to read.  Not only is it well written but it flows beautifully, he could have wrote books for a living.  It is also easy to read, not a lot of words that you would have to be looking up constantly, he uses words that us regular joes can understand.  Now  would normally be finished reading this book but I didn't want to rush through it.  I read a bit everyday and give my mind a chance to absorb what I am reading.  Now you would think that would be easy to do but it truly is hard to put down.  Will let you know more after I finish reading it.

I really think that everyone should read this book, it gives some really thoughtful insight.  So I have decided to do something special. 

Since everyone who reads this is using some form of computer (laptop, tablet even phone) I have decided to buy one eBook copy of :   

 Dressed To Kill:  The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras,

and give it away to someone.  To enter this contest all you have to do is join this site,(you dont have to have a blog to join!) you will find it on the right of this page.  I will draw a name from the members on Dec 27, 2012.  I will than email the winner and get the email address that they want the eBook sent to.  So good luck all!

Thanks for dropping by!  Please share!!

Alice M

alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com

OK The Bra thing again!

Hello!  I was going to do part 2 of parental controls using my notebook with Windows XP.  Well found the power cord finally (didn't realize how long it has been since I used it).  So updating the programs and defragmenting, so I am sorry but will be writing part 2 tomorrow. Also just a note about password; if you even think they might know your password, change it.  You can also check your own history to see if they were on there. Plus I did notice that some of the parental control programs offer cell phone protection too, so if your child has a cell phone(or your planning to get them one) check to see if the carrier offers parental controls and if they work with others you can add for more protection.

I did find something good to write about for tonight though. :)

A little while ago, October 22, 2012, I wrote a post called “Bra or not to Bra?Yes I said Bra!”  A friend of mine found an article about women who were overweight had higher chances of breast cancer.  And of course these women would where bras more.

So I decided to do a little surfing and found some articles on the bra issue.

Surprise for me found one link led me to an article that said:

 Common Fears With No Evidence: Antiperspirantsand Bras . 

 Antiperspirants?  Wow that was new to me! LOL!  Now when I first read the article and decided to put it on my blog it was because I found it interesting, and still do.  Look what I am learning!

Now from what I have read all more or less agree that bras aren't the cause of cancer.  Well I think we knew that. The idea that bras my cut off lymphatic drainage(which I can gather this body fluid actually travels up and out of the armpits, guess that is where the deodorant comes in), seems to be intriguing but from what I could gather that problem can be solved with a proper fitting bra. 

I did find one site that didn't deny or confirm anything and I will put the link here because it is also interesting and touches on a few different myths.  It is:  Factors That Do Not Increase Risk.

I like this one from The New York Times, Science, Published: February 15, 2010:  In his answer he said: “...and colleagues compared National Cancer Institute data on breast cancer risk for women treated for melanoma who had several underarm lymph nodes removed and those who did not. The surgery, which is known to block lymph drainage from breast tissue, did not detectably increase breast cancer rates, the study found, meaning that it is extremely unlikely that wearing a bra, which affects lymph flow minimally if at all, would do so.”

This one makes a good point too.  I refers to the 1960’s when many women where going braless.  It is from ABC News on September 21, 2007:

DoUnderwire Bras Increase My Risk for Breast Cancer?

Question: Do underwire bras increase my risk for breast cancer?

Answer: I do not believe that underwire bras increase the risk of breast cancer. There are many studies that are reported that try to associate things that we have in our lifestyle -- our habits -- that might influence cancer risk. But one has to remember that we all have very complex lifestyles in western society and to sort out one item or another, such as an underwire bra, would be a terribly difficult task to associate, and especially since most people would expect that it would have to be use over a long period of time, not a short period of time, that would be correlated. So, consequently, you might expect that breast cancer risk would have gone down in the 1960s when braless-ness was in fact in vogue, and in fact that's not what we saw in the statistics. So it's hard to associate many of these lifestyle factors with cancer risk per se, although lifestyle factors are one of the things that we can modify personally.

Here are 2 more articles Fact or Fiction? Underwire Bras Cause Cancer  from April 19, 2007 and The truth about brasfrom Monday, October 30, 2006.

By far the best article I read was Can Wearing Your Bra Cause Cancer? From May 19, 2009, By Dr. Mercola.

I will just show you a few paragraphs, you really should read it.  It seems to cover all the views with a few extras to boot.  Including the underwire itself, I could not find anything about the wire in any of the other articles, even though they all made a reference to it.  e.g.

Over 85 percent of the lymph fluid flowing from the breast drains to the armpit lymph nodes. Most of the rest drains to the nodes along the breast bone. Bras and other external tight clothing can impede flow.

The nature of the bra, the tightness, and the length of time worn, will all influence the degree of blockage of lymphatic drainage. Thus, wearing a bra might contribute to the development of breast cancer as a result of cutting off lymphatic drainage, so that toxic chemicals are trapped in the breast."

And this: As described by John D. Andre, D.C., N.D.[4], below your breasts are two important neuro-lymphatic reflex points.  The one below your right breast corresponds to your liver and gallbladder. The one below your left breast goes to your stomach.

If a woman keeps the metal underwires on top of those reflex points, over time that WILL mess up the functioning of the associated circuits: Liver, gallbladder, and stomach.

So I learned something new today.  I like learning.  Hope you do too.  Even if you don’t read any of the other articles please read the last one, By Dr. Mercola. I would have put it on here but that would have made this post twice as long.

I got these from Hippie Peace Freaks 

Thanks for dropping by!  See you soon,

Alice M

alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com

Bra or not to Bra? Yes I said Bra!

That is the name of the article I read. “To bra or not to bra? Hmmm…”  You have to read this.  I get this magazine at work every couple of months called HWS (Health, Wellness & Safety Magazine.)  It is a free magazine.   This month my boss read it before me this time and found it first and he remembered reading a similar one years ago.  I have copied the article for you here but will post the address for the current issue after the article and again under Links from Posts on the right hand side of this page.  It uses PDF format but just in case there are a few who might not be able to read it, here it is:

By Laurie-Ann Whitnall 

HWS Magazine, October / November 2012, 

Volume 4 Issue 1, Page 18.

Now it is not medical fact but it does give women something to think about.

Now it is a local magazine, but it always has good articles inside and a favorite of mine, is the recipe in the back of the magazine, usually on the inside back page or 2^nd to the last page.  This month it is “Ultimate Fresh Pasta Sauce”.  Also one entitled  “Finding a new pet”  and many more.  I hope you enjoy it, I know I do.

Now on a serious note; while doing some research yesterday I found a great site.  It is called timeforkids.com.  There is an article, Alice’s Story, and I quote “Alice’s Story is a show produced by a theater company called Making Books Sing.  The show, which helps kids understand and deal with bullying, is performed in schools.” There is more you can read it for you self at:

TimeforKids 

There is a video on the site you can watch of what they do, just click here:  Alice's Story Video. Now this site is for parents and teachers, so if you know someone or maybe belong to the PTA you can direct them to this site.  Any one can access the site itself.

Maybe we need more of these types of learning tools to help teach the kids what to do and understand how to deal with these problems that they face daily.

Well I need to make some finishing touches on my next post.  So will let you go for now.  Remember if you have a site that you think  I or my readers might like, please let me know.  It doesn't have to be serious because serious all the time only takes away the joy of life.  Things that make you smile or laugh are always a good thing to share.  :) 

So have a good night (or day) and please come back soon.

Thanks

Alice M