So You Think YOU Can Dance!

...well, it would have been fun to dance with THESE stars.

Sometimes it takes a good old Fred & Ginger dance number to help you "Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off and Start All Over Again!

For as the lyrics go:
Nothing's impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start all over again.
Enjoy!

A Rose By Any Other Name Is Still A Message From Mom

I have had a lot of things to consider in my personal family life in the past few months, which caused me some undue stress. My father had some serious health issues and was in and out of the hospital. For age 88, he went through a lot of pain and shuffling around, before he was finally settled and happy in a nursing home. Whenever family issues come up, I often sit back and meditate on thoughts of my mother and I ask her for signs that she is with me. She crossed over almost ten years ago, yet if feels like only yesterday.

My mother’s favorite flower was the gardenia, but she had a secret passion for growing roses. She had several rose bush varieties in an array of colors that ranged from red to vibrant pink, all growing along the fence on one side of family home. Each season, Mom would cut a few for me when they were in full bloom. I can remember her cutting the pointy thorns, before tenderly wrapping a wet paper towel around the stems. In remembrance of her, I keep flowers in the small Lenox vase she gave me.

I don’t generally buy roses, but I do try to have the mixture of red and pink in the arrangements of flowers that fill the vases at my Metaphysical Center. An offering of flowers is considered a “thank you” to the angels, guides and loved ones who watch over us.

Right after Mother’s Day, we put new flowers in the vases. In the Lenox vase was an arrangement of 5 pink carnations and one red carnation. Though I know the flowers are there, I rarely look at them specifically because I am usually busy in readings or focused on what I might be writing. Sue, my business partner and personal assistant, came into my office to ask a question and pointed to the vase.

“OMG! That’s weird!” She pointed and we both looked in the direction of the vase.


The pink carnations around the vase were deliberately broken in the very same place on each stem. The red carnation was standing proudly in the middle, unbroken! I approached it to investigate and took a photo. Then “something” (someone) told me to look up the meaning of carnations. Here is what I discovered:

Carnation (General) - fascination, woman's love –which I can understand because my mother shared a passion with me in my work, and we were very close.

Pink Carnation - I'll never forget you, always on my mind.
This would also be true of both of us, even though she has been gone so long.

At first the broken stems alarmed me, and I quickly scanned the web site for the meaning of the only one left standing. I “knew” the message was from Mom, and it was somehow in that red flower. There had to be a reason for it being the only survivor.

Then I saw it. Red Carnation - my heart aches for you.
In that single moment of recognition, her message was received. She was telling me that no matter where she was, she was aware of what I was going through. It gave me pause, and I sat back into my chair and allowed her love to embrace me.
Thank you, Mom, for always being there. I love you.

SPECIAL WARNING: PET TOY

Today’s blog is a special warning about pet toys, particularly one marketed for dogs. The lines of toys are made by MULTIPET INTERNATIONAL and are called “Look Who's Talking.” The ad on their web site reads that it is “More than your run of the mill plush toys, these cuties talk when your pet squeezes them.”

My Malti-Poo, Gidget, loves the small plush monkey toy that makes the sound of a monkey shouting in the jungle. Over time, she takes the stuffing out of her toys until she gets to the source of the sound. I am often very quick to clean it up, pull out whatever squeeker is inside and toss the toy in the garbage.

Over the past few days, I found two small watch batteries on the rug. I thought maybe it came out of something of mine. However, further investigation proved otherwise, when I pulled out a small square battery pack with an open back and one battery left in it inside the monkey! (The two I found, fit back into it like a puzzle.)

As we all know, dogs and children often mingle happily together in families, and so it’s not unusual for a baby to be crawling on the same floor as the family pet. This only doubled my concern. I had flashes of a dog not as discerning as my Gidget, swallowing one of those! Or a baby playing and finding it, and putting it into his/her mouth, as babies are prone to doing, and swallowing it!

We immediately called the company and a “customer service” rep calmly stated that “there is a cover on the battery pack” (as if was acceptable to have a battery pack like that in a toy in the first place!). We explained that this toy did not have one, and the thought of a dog or child swallowing a battery, and the ensuing complications was frightening, and could lead to a lawsuit. She repeated her mantra about battery pack covers, and then offered to send the same toy! I did not want the same dangerous toy. I wanted a safer one.

We were at a stalemate, so she ended the call for me by saying she was going to “talk to another manager and get back to you.” Right. It does not take a psychic to know that what she is really saying is that she has no intention of doing a thing.

The monkey is not the only toy in the line, but they all contain small battery packs made of plastic that contain at least 3 watch-sized batteries and, cover missing or not, these batteries should not be in a toy! My next call was to the Channel 7 News team to investigate this before something horrible happens…and hopefully, no animal or child has been hurt, yet.

MULTIPET INTERNATIONAL
265 W. Commercial Avenue
Moonachie, New Jersey 07074
Toll Free: (800) 900-MPET
Phone: (201) 438-6600 Fax: (201) 438-2990
Email: info@multipet.com