GrannyXpress

If these qualities pretty much describe you– then you may want to make a pressure-free, no-cost, no-risk evaluation of my biz… take a look at my website, fill in the request form after you have watched the flash movie (around 10 minutes) and read some of the other information on the site– then submit the request form. I look forward to hearing from you! If this doesn’t appeal to you but you know someone else who fits the bill, please give them this link…www.positivelyvibrant.me

The Middle Wife

The “Middle Wife”

I’ve been an educator since 1968.

I have two kids myself,
but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own
second grade class room a few years back.

When I was A kid, I loved show-and-tell.
So I always have A few sessions
with my students.

It helps them get over shyness and
usually show-and-tell is pretty tame.

Kids bring in pet turtles,model
airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that.
And I never ever place any boundaries or limitations on them.

If they want to lug it
in to school and talk about it, they’re welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Purita, a very bright, very
Smart, clever outgoing kid,
takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class
with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant,
“This is Rey,my baby brother,
and I’m going to tell you about his birthday.”

“First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their
love, and then Dad put
a seed in my Mom’s stomach, and Rey grew in there.
He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord “.

She’s standing there with her hands on the pillow, and
I’m trying not to
laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me.

The kids were watching her in amazement.

“Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying
and going, ‘Oh, Oh, oh,oh,!
Purita puts a hand behind her back and groans.

“She walked around the house for, like an hour, ‘Oh, oh, oh!

(Now this kid is doing
a hysterical duck walk and groaning).

“My Dad called the middle wife.
She delivers babies,but she doesn’t
have a sign on the car like the Domino’s man.

They got my Mom to lie down on the bed like this.

(Then Purita lies down with her back against the wall).

And then, pop!!

My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case
he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over
the bed, like psshhheeww!.
(This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming
water flowing away. It was too much!)

“Then the middle wife starts saying ‘push,
push, and ‘breathe, breathe.

They started counting, but never even got past ten.

Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother.

He was covered in yucky stuff that they
all said it was from Mom’s play-center, so there must
be a lot of toys inside there.”

Then Purita stood up, took a big theatrical
bow and returned to her seat.

I’m sure I applauded the loudest.

Ever since then, when it’s
show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case
another “Middle Wife” comes along.

This is written by an anonymous Grade two teacher.

The photo is from sxc.hu © Jenny Rollo (thanks Jenny!)

Granny Gardens

I am the Belated Gardener.
I have good intentions, but
planting by the Moon– isn’t
that some horrid pagan ritual?

And so, I usually have some
scraggly little garden
and most of my seeds– if
they do indeed, germinate–
turn into leggy vines with
tiny veggies,
hardly worth the bother.

But this year will be different.

I can feel it in my bones.

And I’m going to get hold of
this wonderful ebook that
will apparently take my
hand (well, metaphorically)
and help me be the sort of
organic gardener I, and all
of my neighbors,
are waiting for me to become.
Click Here!

Rebounding back into Life…

Today this granny came back all jazzed up with a new haircut… I had spent the morning ‘volunteering’ with the local Maternity Home (an offshoot of the Pregnancy Care Centre– called Chartis House, it reaches out to homeless pregnant women who need an oasis within the desert of hard-knocks life– women who are in recovery from drugs and the street-life) where P. used her exemplary hair-cutting skills and gave me a great ‘do’. I walked in and jumped on to the rebounder in my office for a few minutes of bounces. You can read about the benefits of ‘cellular exercise’ in the book Looking Good, Feeling Great, or you can just take it from me that rebounding is a great way to build up your cardivascular fitness.

I bought my Cellerciser from the inventor David Hall and have been extremely happy with it. It folds up so that I can take it with me when I go to stay with my grandkids or when I go to our Church’s annual week of camping (where I camp in a motel room haha). It has great bounce, unlike the cheap-y mini-trampolines that can actually injure your back when you jump on them. It is also constructed with special materials in the springs and the “skin” so as to be practically un-wreckable. You can read/here more about it here.

If you already have a rebounder that works for you but you aren’t using it, maybe you need some help with a workout? Looking Good, Feeling Great has a mass of great simple workouts, but if you would like something on DVD that gives you a little more of a workout, then I would suggest you might want to check out the First Timers; Urban Rebounding featuring J. B. Berns. Something about that beat really gets you working those cells– but in a nice way that doesn’t kill us grannies!

If you want to check out the good rebounders on eBay, click below… if the specific auction is over, just do a search for “rebounders”. Enjoy yourself– life is short and sweet!

Organic really is what to wear…

Tip from my hippie son: wear organic! Grandmothers should also buy organic items (toys, clothes, treats) for their grandkids… wouldn’t you want them to have the best of the non-toxic world?

Here are some finds on eBay: (if the bid is over when you get here, just do a search for what you would like to buy organic on the same widget below:)

Vacuum Cleaner Deals

Last week we had a call from the rug cleaners asking if they could do our rug for free in exchange for some referrals to friends. My husband took the call.

The upshot is that we DID have our rug done, and a fine job it was too (friends out there– please use this service! Call and we’ll give you the information). The guy showed us all the gunk that came from the carpet after we had vacuumed (supposedly??) with our cheap-o little cannister, and also vacuumed the dead skin from our mattress (eeeew). Did we buy the vacuum cleaner they were REALLY SELLING? Well, remember, my husband took the call. He showed the fellow how much the vacuum was selling for on EBay (about 1/5 of their cost– over $2000) and then the unexpected happened. The cleaner/salesman said, “Thank you , thank you! I KNOW this is an excellent vacuum but I really hate trying to strongarm older folks who are either senile or on a fixed income… this gives me a way out!” And he left quite pleased with himself. It was a very weird sort of WIN-WIN situation. Take a look at the brand and when you do your research, you will find that they do get an excellent consumer rating on the internet:

Still Not Too Late for Your New Year’s Resolve

At last night’s Toastmasters’ meeting we had a debate on the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of New Year’s Resolutions. I argued on the “effectiveness” side.

The New Year calendar date is a good reminder of our resolve to better ourselves… hope springs eternal.

My email bin is full of invitations to get my life off on the right foot in 2008. Here are a couple that you might find interesting to explore:

You want to try your hand at e-commerce in 2008? Maybe you already have a profitable business on-line, in which case you might not be interested in this particular proposal. But, maybe you would like to hear what some of the topnotch internet marketing have done or are doing to promote their successful businesses.

To take part in a series of FREE internet tele-calls with wise industry leaders like Greg Cesar (on powerful use of Keywords), Justin Livingston (”Intimate Marketing”), Donna Fox (”Why events are the ideal way to market to women”) and Many More teachers on the leading edge of internet marketing. These calls are a showcase of the speakers at an upcoming 3-day conference. Go here to learn more and register for the calls.

I personally recommend the interNETworking team that I am a part of for anyone who is currently involved in a network marketing venture that is simply not working out to be what you had hoped for when you signed up. If you love the products you sell, but hate pestering friends and relatives to buy those products, you might want to join me to learn a more successful and respectful system. Take a look here to see if this meshes with any of your desires and experiences and download the free report.

In the mood for optimal health and curious about what the best cleanse might be for you? Click here and check out the different programs available to start the year fresh and cleansed! If you sign up for a newsletter you will also have an opportunity to take part in an introductory 21-day e-health program for FREE.

Have fun with your aims for a healthier, wealthier you this year!

~GrannyX/ Healthia Cynthia

GrannyX LOVES A DEAL…

My son Conrad was home over the Christmas break and he made the whole clan delicious and nutritious Green Smoothies every morning with my trusty Vita-Mix. Because I sooo love the Vita-Mix and use it daily, I became an affiliate so that I can promote its many benefits to others. But I happen to know that if Conrad buys one, he will probably get it over the Bay, because that is the kind of guy he is. You might be looking for a good deal here too. Go ahead and check out my Vita-Mix affiliate site here, and then come back and compare with the possible auction deals below:

Remember, that to see the articles on the above eBay-to-go widget, you just click on the picture as it comes up. It will take you right to the specific picture, where you can bid, or look around. New to eBay?
Take a look, and then register to become a bidder. It’s a secure and easy process with this proviso: Always look for sellers with a good ratio of positive feedback (I’d say never under about 98% is what I would look for because the competition is high and I would prefer to get the seller with the best rep over someone who might seem to be offering an unbelievable deal who has a less stellar rep).
If you already have a Vita-Mix, you might want to subscribe to my Whirled Soup newsletter so you can get yummy, tummy-warming recipes delivered right to your email box twice a month. Click here to sign up for the recipe newsletter. Go to the Whirled Soup blog and sign up in the left hand frame.

Raggedy Ann Revisited

When my eldest son was little his great-grandmother gave him a Raggedy Andy doll. I have no idea what became of that doll. We moved a lot and he must have got left behind… I am finding that that is my legacy having allowed my husband to do a lot of the packing up whenever we moved (while I looked after the children).

In any case, Raggedy Ann (and her twin, Andy) were the brain children of American artist Johnny Gruelle. He was a cartoonist back in the turn of the 20th Century on to his death in 1938. Initially he did cartooning for adults, but eventually he turned his eye to the juvenile market and really enjoyed development of the Raggedy characters. There is a museum to Johnny and his characters in Arcola, Illinois. The legacy of the Raggedys was carried forward through this museum project by his sons, Worth and Richard, and their respective spouses.

Children, and adults, continue to connect with these cheerful-looking dolls. Here are a number of possibilities to introduce Ann or Andy into your doll collection– or to gift your little grandchild or great-grandchild, as my grandma did:

There are many more variations of this theme on eBay…. just click on any of the above pictures to check out what is up for auction or what can be bought directly. Have fun!

The Story of Blythe…

My little granddaughter is spell-bound by the Blythe doll videos on youtube. They are mostly made by Japanese artists, I think, and combine the whimsical, the arty and the innocent in a way that appeals to two-year olds and others who are interested in maintaining the image of ideal woman as all big-eyed, small-featured, and sweetly vacuous.

Most of the Blythe dolls I have seen have round blue eyes or green eyes and hair colors ranging from blond to coppery to turquoise blue. They have long lashes, sometimes ornamented with glitter or maribou. Their eyes open and close and rotate from side to side.

The original Blythe doll was designed by Marvin Glass and manufactured by Kenner toys in 1972. Tonka Toys bought out Kenner and in the mid-80s, Hasbro bought out Tonka Toys. Marvin Glass died in 1974 and was one of the first group inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1984.

At first children found the Blythe doll rather macabre (the large round eyes changed from green to pin to blue to orange with the pull of the string on the back of her head). As often happens with the avant garde, Blythe was only popular with a small clutch of doll collectors, and after a year she was pulled off the market.

In 1997 photographer Gina Garan was introduced to Blythe by a friend. Gina “got” Blythe right away and channeled her fascination into thousands of photos of the little doll. She began to take at least one of her Blythe dolls with her on her many assignments around the globe.

Gina showed some of her Blythe photos to the founder of CWC (Creative World Connections) who intuited that a modified Blythe would be a big hit with Japanese young women. Parco Toys introduced a TV commercial in 2000 and neo- Blythe took off in Japan.

On eBay you can find everything from vintage Blythe dolls to all the accessories (and then some) for the fashionista neo-Blythe dolls…. teeny-tiny shoes, wigs, etc. Have a look, try a bid: