Tag Archive | Shelters

Ain’t Love Grand?

Feb14

This is the front of the Valentine's day Card I gave to my Honey, David

Yes, “ain’t” is a word in the dictionary. Today is Valentine’s Day. A day to celebrate love, proclaim love from the deepest parts of your soul to your special someone (or someone’s if you are are in a plural Marriage like the show that was on TLC, “First Wives”). It sure takes a lot of self-esteem not to get jealous of your husband showing love to your other sister wives, I could never do it, but I admire people who share a common foundation that works for them. As long as it is in agreement between all parties, and it doesn’t hurt anyone, why not? I watched the series on NetFlix and was taken with the deep love and respect they have for each other and their kids. And guess what, you have other people to help with the housework and child raising, and if you are not in the mood, you can ask your sister wife to “take the bullet for you”, so to speak.

But I digress. I am so grateful for the love that my husband, David and I share. We  say “I love you” everday. We do special things for each other, make coffee for each other or fix meals for each other, take over the household chores if one is swamped with work. Because we are both artists besides the work we do for the company we work at, Divineware, David is the webmaster at the Humane Society of the North Bay, that is an ongoing project. He gets to do his cartoon art on the website. He is in the midst of promoting their annual fundraiser, Barkitecture, that is another full time job.

I have my art work. I am producing my “Let Their Voice Be Heard“ concert fundraising project to go to places in the country promoting the

This is Fiona showing you what Dad and the Four-legged kids got for me. The kids gave me the "Hello Kitty" Chocolates. Fiona says she resembles "Hello Kitty".

message of peace, respect, love and dignity between animals and humans (as well as other beings on the planet). I am writing more songs. I started working with a guide,a well-known singer/songwriter who passed on, that is helping me fine tunng my piano playing skills.

I just agreed to serve on the Board of Trustees for the church I belong to the Vallejo Center for Spiritual Living. I am also the Chair of the Public Relations committee (I am still in the process of bringing in the committee). So between all our activites. We are constantly taking care of a project. And then besides our work we also have 5 active four-legged kids. So constant cleaning to the cages, litter boxes (our rabbits have their own litter boxes). We don’t free feed our cats or rabbits, and our bunnies get fresh organic veggies from the garden or the store.

But that is some of the things that keeps our 11 year marriage growing strong. I was talking to a lady from our church recently, Linda Moore-Watts and asked her what makes her 24 year marriage work? One of the first things Linda said was “patience” the second thing she said is “listening”. She also mentioned that it is important to have your own interestes besides things you do together.

When I have posed this question to people, who I can tell still have that spark for each other, I hear similar responses. One of my favorite phrases is “don’t take anything personally“. The times that David and I argue, we may say some pretty intense things, out of anger, but I know that in spite of these verbal barbs thrown at me, he loves me. He has since were sophomores in high school and this fact, reminds me when I want to storm out of the house and say “That’s it!”

I want to leave you with a valentine email we got from our boss:

“Its a special day to us because it was  vday 11 years ago that I proposed the idea of starting the company to Virginia  so that I could spend each and every day with her.” 

What a wonderful declaration of love. And one of the big tests they have passed of how well they not only love each other, but like being with each other is that they leave their home in the Sabastopol area and travel in their RV and stay in  San Diego with their two cats. Now that is togetherness!

Tap your way through life

Feb12

I think Tap dancing is a great form of exercise and fun to watch. I remember watching Gwen Verdon in “White Christmas”. There was a song she was tapping to and her toe was tapping so fast I couldn’t see it move but I could hear it. I also loved the fancy footwork of Gregory Hines, he wasn’t bad on the eyes either. This is actually not a blog entry about tap dancing. This was a creative way of talking about one of my favorite things to do when I am stressed, angry or have physical pain. I tap it away.

Yes, you read right. I tap it away. I use a form of acupressure that is called the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.  This healing modality is also called Energy Psychology, because we are using our words to change the energy in the body by using key phrases.  There is one core issue that is causing the problem. One master practitioner said that when you use EFT on a problem it is like turning back the clock to the time before you suffered the trauma.

For instance, I used to have a phobia of speaking up for myself when I was in conflict. My brain would instantly freeze and I couldn’t remember what I needed to say. This really got in the way when I had work conflicts. Then later on, after I left the meeting, I would kick myself because, then my brain woke up and I remembered what I needed to say. I finally went to an EFT practitioner and through the tapping , I found out that my core issue or unconscious message was that I would be punished if I spoke up. This came from an experience I had when I was in fourth grade.

I had a very tyrannical teacher. She was a believer that if you don’t  answer the questions correctly or you make a mistake, you would be hit on the knuckles with a ruler or locked in a closet.  My classmates were always saying “Someone needs to get rid of her.”  One day as we were learning square dancing, I didn’t move the right way and she grabbed me by the collar and yanked me back. She was wearing a ring with a sharp edge and she cut my neck. When I got home I showed my parents. They went and spoke to the principal and the teacher got a reprimand. The next day she stood in front of the class, and said that  I told on her. Instead of all the kids patting me on the back and saying “good job” they all turned against me and asked me how I could be so mean? I was ostracized and it lasted until I got out of grammar school.  Through the series of tappings I started feeling my anxiety lessen and now when there is a conflict, my mind is still alert. This name fits perfectly.  It is like being released from an emotional prison. This was a big one for me and it lasted for over 44 years!

EFT practitioners have used EFT to help veterans, release Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms. There was one person  memories of the war were so strong, he had to literally drink so he could pass out. After a few weeks of EFT, he no longer drinks and he can sleep through the night. I have also used EFT on animals a the shelter I voluteer at. This was a dog who was kept in the back yard and used only for mating. She had no socialization what so ever. When the animal behaviorist, Bobbi Durston, and myself first started working on Freckles, she was restless and paced a lot. After a few rounds of tapping, she went to the toy box that was in the room and chose one of the tennis balls and started asking everyone in the room to roll the ball to her. Bobbi  was grining from ear to ear. She said “this is the first time in Freckles’ life that she has learned to play with a ball”. Two weeks later, Freckles got adopted.

Here is a short video that explains the basis of EFT:

I use this method when I work with clients teaching about  using the Law of Attraction. We can work and find out what the core issue that is holding them back. Maybe they want to have a loving, positive relationship and they keep attracting the same type of person that makes them miserable. What is the subconscious message that is telling my client this is their perfect mate?  Once we find the core issue through one or more rounds of tapping. We can clear it, then use a positive set up phrase to replace the old messages, much like reprogamming a software program, and the issue is gone. How do you know it is gone? You will feel neutral about the core issue and your life experience changes.  So if you are feeling stuck in any part of your life, start tapping. If you would like EFT Coaching, contact me on the “Contact Visions Alchemy” page.

Thinking outside the box in a different way

Feb5

I hear this phrase , “think outside the box” all the time. So I started thinking, instead of thinking outside the box, why not go inside the box and re-shape it into a shape you like? who says the box is made out of a rigid substance? maybe the box is make of pipe cleaners or clay? It is like being a visionary alchemist. We use things that may not fit in our life and visualize them into something else. Just a thought…

Amy is a happy girl who loves to dress up.

Today I finished my art project for the Humane Society of the North Bay’s Denim and Diamonds Barkitecture fundraiser. What is this. I will go into details in a moment.  The project I created is an 3D  8 X 10 wall hanging . A cat  I named Amy. Amy is wearing a jacket and skirt made of denim to go with the theme. The photo I have included doesn’t really show the 3 dimensions, but it is still cute. My designs will tell me what to name them. Amy was made with watercolor paper,  gold fabric paint, clear rhinestones, 3d scrapbook roses and a touch of decoupage sealant. The frame I got from a thrift store. It was a little weathered, but the frame was well built. I took two coats of Indian Blue acrylic paint and two coats blue glitter paint. I never worked with fabric before or made a jacket or skirt, but for the first time, I am very pleased with her. I really want her to go to a good home.

What is the Barkitecture fundraiser for the Humane Society of the North Bay? It is an annual event in which organizations and individuals build dog houses and cat domicile’s and then they are auctioned off. They also have a silent auction (that is where Amy will be) and people write down their bids. They also have fabulous food and drink.  This is one of the Humane Society’s well attended and successful events, the dream child of the HSNB Director, Peter Wilson. I have known Peter for quite a while. We both met when we worked at Pet Food Express.  If you are in the Vallejo area, please plan on attending. Like I said it is really a lot of fun and a very good cause. For more information go to www.barkitecture.net

We Can Let Their Voice Be Heard

Jan22

My new CD-This is 10 years in the making!

One of my life long dreams is coming into manifestation. I have recorded a CD to promote peaceful co-existence between all humans and animals. The name of the CD is titled “Let Their Voice Be Heard”. It is a collection of 10 songs. These songs have been written over a 10 year span. This is part of my work as a peaceful animal activist. I have worked with animals at the local humane society for over 5 years. I learned how to use the Emotional Freedom Technique on animals that were shy or fearful. I produce a show on TV called “The Paw Stops Here” that brings awareness to the public how great and amazing animals are and I interview pet parents about their four-legged kids. I have been a volunteer instructor for the Open Paw Program for Cats.  It is training program for animals in the shelter. We teach them that humans are great beings so they feel comfortable around us and show their true personalities so they are adopted quicker.

What I have come to learn from working with animals is they have a tremendous capacity for love-giving and recieving. They communicate with us if we are willing to listen. And we can be surprised when we take the time to observe how they think and process information. I have one cat who uses sign language to tell me when he wants to sit on my lap and when he is hungry. I am meeting more and more pet parents who have feline and canine siblings in the same family and they co-habitate peacefully. My brother, Gabriel has an Australian Shepherd named Tucker who raised a kitten named Madison who is now over 2 years old. There are so many stories out there, I can probably live another 40 years and I still won’t hear them all.

I am using this CD to help raise funds for shelters, rescue groups and organizations that promote peace and wellness for animals. I am going to use the concerts across the country and raise money for these organizations. A percentage of the proceeds from the concert will go back to one of these organizations. I have my first concert coming up in March (I will list the event on my “events” page) If you can’t attend you can still donate something to the organization. I am so grateful that things fell into place the way they did. if you go to the “Botticelli Woman Productions” page, you can hear a sample. I am so grateful. It is true if I am open to my dreams I can “dream” them into manifestation.