That's my story...and I'm stickin' to it!

Photo Credit - Maple Key Camp

Happy Canada Day!
Today is my country's 142nd birthday.
Barely a teenager, compared to other countries.

One of the joys for me on Canada Day is watching the televised celebration from Ottawa, our country's capital. Besides the hundreds of thousands of people who show up festooned in red and white from top to bottom, there is always a group of new citizens to our country who want to be sworn in on that day, becoming Canadian citizens on Canada's birthday.

This year, there were 2,000 people who were sworn in, in various cities and towns across the country. In Ottawa, 142 people from 42 different countries became new citizens on Canada's birthday. I love this kind of story...people who choose to live here, who want to live here and feel blessed to be a part of this country.

Those of us born in Canada often take for granted the physical beauty of this country and the amazing freedom we enjoy, in living our lives as we wish. Only someone who has experienced a difficult life in another country can truly appreciate the lifestyle they enjoy when they move here. So, the best parts of any Canada Day celebration for me are the televised swearing-in ceremonies across the country for all of Canada's new citizens.

Photo credit - Banff, AB Canada Day

There are other lovely traditions that are a part of the annual Canada Day party in my home town...we have an all-day blow-out party complete with a parade, a free BBQ for all of the people who are a part of the celebrations and an opening ceremony with the Royal Canadian Legion veterans. There are pony rides, a petting zoo, the local celebrities' dunk tank and kids' games for every age.

I have provided Canada's birthday cake for the past 7 years. Cutting and serving a line-up of delicious chocolate, lemon and vanilla layer cakes to the hundreds of people crowding around my table is a fabulous part of the day for me. Wishing every single person, "Happy Canada Day!" as I hand them their choice of cake is totally cool for me. Cutting and serving so much cake is a huge chore, so I've switched to cuppycakes in the last couple of years. Much easier to serve to my hungry guests!

This year, we added an art show to our Canada Day. The organizers were concerned that no one would participate, but they found themselves swamped with gorgeous pieces at the last minute. I schlepped four of my large framed watercolour paintings to the gallery, and was blown away by the quality of the art on display. Everything from photography to oil paintings, watercolours and scratchboard work, exotic masks and jeweled bonsai trees...amazing!

I'm home, with 'jammies on and my slippers warming my feet. The crowd is just now warming up for the evening, ready to kick up their heels at the family dance and enjoy the midnight fireworks...I can already hear the band from my house! Later, just as I'm about to fall asleep, the fireworks will explode and wake me for a moment. Tomorrow, the town crew will clean up the party area and take down our huge blue and white tent, packing it away for another year. Then, there will be no signs left of the fabulous party that took place today.

Next year, we'll do it all over again.
More people will be sworn in as new citizens and I'll hand out another few hundred cuppycakes. Canada will be another year older and hopefully, we'll all still be here, healthy and happy, ready to enjoy the party!

"What is a Canadian?
A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs."
~ Anonymous

Photo credit - AOL News

Demetrios Demetriou and his son, Lagi - mirror.uk

Britain's Got Talent...
She certainly does!
If these videos don't make you laugh til you pee yourself, then you're not awake at all!

Here's the first appearance of Stavros Flatley and his son...

Stavros Flatley

Here they are, again...hil-freakin'-larious! They made it to the Final of Britain's Got Talent:

This is an interview with the Flatley father and son team....just good ol' salt-of-the-earth folks:

Here's their website...enjoy!

“I'm not an egomaniac like a lot of people say. But I am the world's best dancer, that's for sure.”
~ Michael Flatley

Why is it so difficult to stand up for myself in some situations?
I'm not sure, but I do know that it is.
Today, I had to speak my mind with a couple of people with whom I work, and it was the toughest thing for me to do.

I've been sorting through the day to see what the trigger was for me, and I think I've figured out.
I've been working with this guy who not only wants to have everything go his way, but also wants everyone else to agree with him, have all of us tell him that he is right. Then, and only then can he finally relax. Only then will he finally stop...stop talking, stop trying to convince others of his position and stop pushing, pushing, pushing.

Today, I pushed back.
It may not have been the most graceful self-defence in the world, but at least I did it.
We were discussing the way to bring a project to completion and there was one sticking point. I personally didn't care what the solution was, so all I wanted was to make a decision and get it over with.

There were several times during this long phone call that I felt like I was being treated very disrespectfully and dismissively whenI was sharing my opinion with them. I took a deep breath and said so. Although no one responded to me, and truly, I believe that no one heard me, the point for me was in saying it out loud for myself. I was not saying it for anyone else's benefit, simply for my own.

After over an hour, I gave up. Telling the others on the phone that I had to go, I assured them that I'd be fine with whatever decision they made. Then, I said goodbye very nicely...and hung up.

Later on, I received an email from the guy who had arranged the call and who was looking for universal agreement with his perspective. Apparently, the phone call continued for another half hour before everyone agreed with him. Then, and only then, was he content to end the call and go away happily.

The moral of this story?
Pick the hills you want to die on.
Today, this was not one of those hills.
Rather than getting into a disagreement, I recognized the futility of that path, chose to leave the discussion quietly and with no fuss, and let the dust settle anywhere but on me.

Was that the right decision? For me, it was.
I felt stronger, peaceful, more relaxed and very much alive after making this decision, so that tells me it was right for me.

I'm sure there are folks who will disagree with my way of dealing with an unsolvable situation. That's fine.
I'm ok with that. What I'm also ok with is that I did what was right for me and that makes me feel very good inside my soul right now.
Very good, indeed.

"But you now, you wear your soul on your sleeve, exhausting your energy, propping yourself up on a tree, mumbling, or bent over your desk, asleep.
Heaven gives you a form and you wear it out by pointless argument.
The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others."
~ Chuang Tzu

Nobody makes me laugh more than Bill Maher, when he's on a fantastic roll.
Whether he's on his soapbox on his own show or cracking up Larry King...he's just a fabulous satirist.
I might not always agree with him but I always cheer loudly for his right to speak his mind.

Tonight, he was goading a guest because of her wiffle-waffle ways.
Then, as fast as you can blink, he did a complete 180, twisted his opinion about and played devil's advocate! Too funny. Blew her furry little mind!

"We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels and free thinkers. It's overrun with sheep and conformists." ~ Bill Maher

I struggled to find quotes of Bill's that wouldn't offend the delicate ears of you, my faithful readers.
I gave up after 10 minutes.
There aren't any.

"The jury could get the case as early as next week, but the defense says they just want to introduce one last-minute load of crap." ~ Bill Maher

He's a huge Obama supporter, but he hesitates not to give him a kick in the butt if he thinks it is deserved.
He's not wacky-religious, he's very opinionated and he's a truthteller.
The world could use a lot more Bill Maher's.
That's my opinion, for what its worth.
A lot more.

"If you think you have it tough, read history books."
~ Bill Maher

This is hilarious!
I've watched it a few times and it just makes me laugh.
Nothing better than that, I say!

"People, like sheep, tend to follow a leader - occasionally in the right direction."
~ Alexander Chase