Finding a Job in Midland Ontario

Finding a Job in Midland Ontario using the Job Bank Canada can be a difficult thing. Even when you find a full time job, most likely you will get paid minimum wage to be away from your house, your kids, and your hobbies for the best part of the weekday – and for many, the weekend too. That's IF you can find a full time job.

Instead of looking for jobs in Midland Ontario with the job bank in Canada, I started a business, and have helped everyday people do the same thing. I teach them how to work their businesses all over Canada AND the US. So, you get to live where you want and still have work.

Working from home has been a blessing, and has paid! I’m down to working about 10 hours a week – not quite the 4 hour work week, but I’m pretty happy with it.

What my home businesses have done for me?

*I’m re-learning French. I live in a heavily French poulated area, and It’s something I’ve always wanted to make time to do.

*I’m taking a University Course – Sustainable Urban Agriculture. Why? I love making food in yards. And digging in the dirt.

*I got to stay home all summer with my girls. Granted, we spent a few days in jammies all day, Barbies or Polly Pockets all over the floor at my feet, but hey… jammy days aren’t a BAD thing.

*My sweetheart quit his job, and is going to school. Following HIS bliss, too!
*I have time to be CREATIVE! I have a studio/gallery space, thanks to my home business– All the crafty stuff needs to go live somewhere other than all over my house. I’ve always wanted a studio space

*I’ve found the time to write 2 poetry books, and I’m half way through another novel. This thing excites me! Being a published author was definately something on my “list.”

*During the school year, I get to go to school functions that happen half way through the day. Oh, and class trips!

*I get to follow my bliss! Sometimes that’s sleeping in. Sometimes that’s hanging laundry. Sometimes that’s gardening in the yard. Sometimes it’s reading in the library. Sometimes it’s writing in my favourite diner.
Sometimes it’s painting or making dolls!

When I first started, I went at it like crazy – I probably worked 4 hours a day – placing ads, writing blogs, following up, and spending time and money LEARNING the ropes! It seemed almost obsessive then.. but I’m NOW glad I put in that effort!

What would you do, if you could get paid full time but only have to work 10 hours a week? Think good and hard on it. This is happening for people who would otherwise use the job bank in Canada to find a job in Midland Ontario right now, this place where so many people feel there is no money to be made or live off of.
Contact me if you want to hear the rest of my story, and if you want more information on how to live YOUR bliss!

I'm REALLY doing this - and it's my passion to help you have this freedom too!!!

10 Beginning Gardener Mistakes to Avoid

There’s a lot to learn about gardening, but it’s a fun adventure and well worth the time and energy. Make the most of your gardening with these experienced gardeners’ tips to prevent and fix some common gardening mistakes. Check out this article by Hobby Farms.

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crops-and-gardening/10-beginner-gardening-mistakes-to-avoid.aspx

How to Garden Organically in your Home with Success

Using a seed starter tray in the house can be tricky business. You've got to keep the moisture just right, or you'll run into issues that can kill your seedlings. The Tower Garden that I've just made a home for, is pretty simple, but I really wanted to see how simple it was. 

With the Rock Wool starter cubes that come with a Garden Tower, many of the regular problems are eliminated with indoor starting. Also vermiculite is included with a Garden Tower, to help the seedlings stay just moist enough to germinate in the house, and grow successfully. These little guys were planted about 3 days ago, and are already germinating. what you are seeing is a row of Certified Organic Mesclun Mix from The Cottage Gardener popping up.

This mixed package contains Arugula, Russian Red Kale, Osaka Purple mustard green, Tatsoi mustard green, Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce, Red Salad Bowl lettuce and Persian Cress. Lots of FANTASTIC greens to add to our daily diet. And, although I know there will be some cold frames in my future for growing this stuff later and earlier in the season that I normally do - It's going to be excellent to have it earlier.

AND like I said... I want to see and show that this is really a viable option for people who can't garden, but still want to be in control of their food sources.

There's also some Kale getting a little jump up there.

I am feeling extremely confident about this experiment. It helps that I've seen it in action, and tasted the food off of one, in person. I'll be writing more as this experiement continues.

For more information on the Garden Tower, see http://LPetroff.TowerGarden.com

This Seasons First Sowing - yes, In February

Tonight was very exciting in my gardening world!

I planted Isis Candy Tomatoes,Organic Red Burbank Tomatoes, Galilee Spinach, Mesclun Mix, Prizehead Lettuce, Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch Organic Kale and Organic Five Colour Silverbeet Swiss Chard. (not 100% the chard will work, as it is a beet... but here's hoping we get some greens from it. When I planted it I was ONLY thinking about the greens!)

It is February 17th.

I can do this, because my Tower Garden is all set up and ready to go. I am super excited about taking CONTROL over what we eat in winter months, before the garden is ready.

I have to tell you, I walk by lettuces and a lot of fruit and veggies in the produce aisle. Because they are shipped in from far far away, and have lost so much nutrients on the way. Most likely they have been sprayed with toxic gook. What is the point of eating that if it's really got very little that is GOOD for me and the kids in them? So, we eat a lot of "Made in Canada" Frozen veg. It gets very very boring after some time.

I saw the Garden Tower in action a few weeks ago. Tasted some of the greens that were growing on it. And when I found out that the company itself does LOW monthly payments without interest, I was sold. Plus, it had the seal of approval from my organic-gardening girlfriend.

My seeds have all arrived from The Cottage Gardener, so I have been busting at the seams to get started. 

In a few weeks I'll have seedlings that are ready for the tower. And a few weeks after that, I am going to eat LETTUCE. Grown in my own kitchen.

I cannot even tell you how excited I am. It's simple, I know. But It feels really good to provide organic, locally grown food for my kids and I, picked JUST before enjoying.

I'm getting antsy for planting some seedings to get into my outdoor garden... but it's too early for that yet. I think another month before I'll be able to put seeds in pots indoors, under my growing lights!

Get a TOWER GARDEN of your own, $50 a month payments on the unit till it's done - then your food is free! 

Grow Healthy and Organic food in your home.

Update! My seedlings - March 1st

 

Happy Family Day!

Day Two Juice Plus Challenge

Day 2

Breakfast:
*Cup o' Tea. Milk and Honey. You're going to see this a lot.
*Juice Plus Smoothie 1 cup Almond milk + 1/4 cup water + 27g (scoop to the line.) chocolate Juice Plus Complete. Added a handful of frozen strawberries from the summer.

Lunch:
I totally missed my mid morning snack. Ugh. But Lunch was early.
*Half of a "Beef dip" sandwich at Boston Pizza, and the side salad.
*Cup o' Tea
So. Full.

Mid Aft Snack:
* Hand full of almonds
*A breakfast muffin (the ones I made, and had yesterday too.)
*Left over veggie burger (plain, no bun or condiments.)
*More tea. I am seeing a disturbing trend here.
**One capsule each of Orchard Blend and Garden Blend, taken with a measured cup of water.

Dinner:
**Juice Plus Smoothie 1 cup Almond milk + 1/2 cup water + 27g (scoop to the line.) chocolate Juice Plus Complete. Added a whole banana. This  made the shake a lot more than it usually is, but it was filling.

Evening Snack:
I'm replacing my missed morning snack in the evening. I actually get quite hungry in the evening and for months have been in the hobbit habit of "second dinner." If I don't eat, I will wake by 1am extremely hungry. My regular bedtime is usually no earlier than 11pm. Evening snack happens around 9pm
*Apple

So, yesterday evening I started feeling unwell. I know this is because I didn't get enough calories in me during the day! Writing this stuff down has really opened my eyes to how I treat my body, and what I expect it to run on. I also didn't drink enough water yesterday. My guts were hurting because of this. I know that for me, I can't treat my smoothies as a DRINK during the day, I have to regard it as food. That's how my body is treating it. So, today I drank more water, (although it didn't get written down, as I drank all day.) but More water is a habit I'm going to have to get into and reinforce.

I also eat small portions - this is my habit, and what makes my body happy. So I'll just have to consciously make my evening snack/"Second Dinner" something sensible.

Day 2 down. I am learning things!

 

Day One Juice Plus Challenge

Day 1
Breakfast:
*One Black tea (with honey and a dollop of milk. I have something warm to drink in the morning to get my guts moving! lol
*Juice Plus Smoothie 1 cup Almond milk + 1/4 cup water + 27g (scoop to the line.) chocolate Juice Plus Complete.

Mid morning snack:
*A med sized home made 'breakfast' muffin. (made with 1/2 brown flour, carrots, apples, spices.) if you were to see it fully baked in the muffin tin, it doesn't flop over the side of the muffin cup.
*One capsule each of Orchard Blend and Garden Blend, taken with a measured cup of water.

Lunch:
*Juice Plus Smoothie 1 cup Almond milk + 1/4 cup water + 27g (scoop to the line.) chocolate Juice Plus Complete. (yes, I know. Not very creative of me. I need to get some groceries to mix it up.)

Mid afternoon snack:
*One large Tim Hortons Tea (yes,it had sugar in it.)
*15 rice crackers dipped in hummus

Dinner:
*One Vegetarian hamburger patty (no bread or condiments. Just didn't feel like it.)
*6 cheese tortillini pieces with home made white cheese sauce. Bit of spinach on them.
*Green Peas (about 1/4 cup?)
*One capsule each of Orchard Blend and Garden Blend, taken with a measured cup of water.

So, today was left over day for dinner. And looking back on my choices, although I'm happy they were healthy choices, I can see that I need to get some fruit, to find some better balance with this. I also am going to have to find/create some smoothy recipes so that my smoothies have more calories. 
Oh, also I should mention that I am mostly a vegetarian. Ha, I know it's a funny thing to say. I eat meat once every 2 weeks or so. So, for my body size and weight, and age, I only need about 27g of protein a day. I normally get this with legumes. (hummus, nuts, also eggs.)

I felt hungry today before my mid morning snack, because I had put it off. I would normally snack around 10:30, and it was 11:30 when my stomach went HAY HAY HAY!! 

One of my rules is to never let myself get to that level of hungry. I normally graze all day long, which has improved my metabolism and digestion immensely. So, that is a lesson learned. Don't forget to eat.

I cannot find a measuring tape to measure my waist! This is annoying.
I also do not own a scale to check my weight. I will do this the first chance I get... 


 

2 Week Juice Plus Complete 'Challenge'

Once upon a time I did a 90 day challenge for weight loss. The product turned out to have stuff in it that I wasn't fond of. (Sucralose!) I lost weight and inches. I was pretty happy with that. But I wasn't happy taking the shakes anymore. I took months to find a replacement. It had to be naturally sourced! And not be ridiculously expensive. I had a hard time finding both.

In that time, I've been sitting and driving more, and exercising WAY less. What I consumed changed - I've gone to a mostly vegetarian diet  - and was so happy to discover that cookies and muffins can be vegetarian. (ugh.)

So, now that I've found Juice Plus Complete, I'm going to start a 2 week Challenge. 2 weeks, because I really don't want to starve myself. I want to FEEL better, and take care of my body better. 2 weeks is a good start to some great habits.

Here's the plan:

• Tea in the morning to wake up  my system. I sometimes drink herbal, sometimes black tea. Sweeten with honey.
• 1 Juice Plus Complete shake/smoothie for breakfast
• A healthy snack mid morning
• 1 Juice Plus Complete shake/smoothie for lunch
• A health snack mid afternoon
• A regular healthy dinner
• I also take Juice Plus Garden Blend and Juice Plus Orchard Blend

This is Colin. He lost 33 lbs in 2 months using Juice Plus Complete.

I am also incorporating the quiet work outs I used to do regularly. Yoga and following along with a belly dance DVD that I adore. Both of these things I do at home. I'm personally not into going OUT to do my workouts. To me, it wastes hours of my day. I don't need to work out in a group. (but if you are going to follow along and do this with me, you work out anyway that you need to.)

Today, I will take my measurements. Measurements will be taken a week from now, and at the end of the 2 weeks to see what I've accomplished.

I will be journalling what I"ve consumed, and posting the Shake/smoothie recipes.

IF YOU would like to follow along with me on this journey, and see what great new habits you can develop for yourself, I'll be tagging these posts with "Juice Plus Challenge" and the day I'm at. Feel free to email me with any questions, or join us on our Juice Plus Facebook page.

Woots!

Lori.

10 Tips for Using a Food Dehydrator

My friend Jysline has a GORGEOUS and quite functional food dehydrator.
I have the jealouses over this.
My friend Monika has had a natural sun dehydrator built for her.
I also have the jealouses.
I am going to get one too. Soon. Right after the little one gets all of her teeth rearranged.

Anyway, found this article today, and thought it had some great things to consider. 

http://www.survivalandbeyond.net/10-tips-for-using-a-food-dehydrator/

Juice Plus Sweetener and Ingredient TRUTH Exposed

I have been looking for a NATURAL alternative to the shakes I had been taking. The one I had been taking were sweetened with the chemcial Sucralose. Not Impressed.

See this link to see what I found:

http://spiritfeet.blogspot.ca/2013/02/juice-plus-sweetener-and-ingredient.html

French Fry Casserole.

Because it sounds WAY more funny if you tack 'Casserole' on it.

So, this is how this happened in my house.

Took the girls to the Union Burger in Penetanguishene. After going ON some weeks ago about how I really don't like going there, taking care of my diet, etc. BUT.. but... a FLYER came in the mail saying kids eat free on weekends buy one adult meal, kid gets theirs free... so I gathered up the ex and off we went. (Yes, this feels sufficiently awkward to write. Yes. What ev's..)

None of us were able to get through our Fries. Those flipping burgers are SO huge. I had a veggie burger, which I hoped would save me some face if I got busted in a burger joint. But that sucker was STILL too much food. FOUR boxes of fries came  home with me. I figured, I PAID FOR 'EM! I'll use them somehow.

In the car, we joked about how to make them edible the day after. And the theory of FRENCH FRY CASSEROLE was born.

French Fry Casserole Recipe

 Grab the leftover bag from the fridge. Hunt around for the PAM spray that you never use, because you didn't buy it and forget that it's there all the time. Hunt for a casserole dish in the cupboards. Wash the pretzel salt out of the casserole dish.

 Spread leftover fries out in the casserole. Realize that you forgot to spray the casserole dish with the PAM even though it's sitting RIGHT THERE. Realize also that you clearly overestimated how many fries were left and you'll have to get a smaller casserole dish.

 Scoop the leftover fries out into the smaller casserole dish. A nice little Corningware dish, a gift for your wedding, long since ended. Think about your ex. Laugh a little because you got to keep the Corningware but didn't have to keep him. Think about marriage and how you should never do that again.

Again, forget to use the Pam spray on the casserole dish. Say "Screw it" to no one in particular. Put Pam back in the cupboard.

Fill a measuring cup to ONE cup of water, and scoop 4 tablespoons of Watkins Turkey gravy mix into it. Think about how you are indeed NOT a vegetarian, but most likely ARE a Hypocritarian, as you've consumed meat twice already this week, and are about to eat turkey gravy. Think about how you ALSO should probably cook the gravy first, but then realize the oven will do that dirty work for you, and it saves you from having to dirty an extra pot.

Pour that shite over your fries till they are about halfway covered. They are pretty dry and are gonna suck that stuff up.

Grate some cheese. We had cheddar in the house, so that's what went on. It was a fairly generous amount.

 Put that baby into Casserole Jail, uncovered.  I put my oven at 325 F. Which for NORMAL ovens, who are not asshats like MY oven, would be about 450. Bake for 20 minutes.  Throw a pot on to boil and fill with frozen broccoli and cauliflower because you're feeling inadequate as a mother.

 Timer goes off. Take another 5 minutes to tear children away from their ipods. Because "Mine Craft, Mom!" Grab your most gnarly-for-photo-shoots but most-favourite-evar oven mitts and rescue that mess from Casserole Jail.

Surprise. That looks SUSPICIOUSLY like POUTINE. Tastes SURPRISINGLY like poutine. 

Second-hand, day old, fast food fries SAVED. 

So, the final results: Both the girls ate it. The fries were revived from drying out a bit in the fridge with all that gravy. It was awesome. And, I'm sure I'll have a new zit tomorrow to prove it. Oh, and the last step was to put the cauliflower and broccoli BACK in the fridge because no one ate any. Put them in a casserole tomorrow.

L.