Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Double Your Donation Dec 5


Take action on 5 December and double your impact!


Ape Action Africa is excited to be part of this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge - join us and your donation will be doubled!

Donate here: The Big Give

The Christmas Challenge is a fantastic initiative created by The Big Give and supported by a range of sponsors. It is a unique opportunity for our supporters to be rewarded for their generosity by having their donations doubled, allowing us to make twice the impact through our work.

The Challenge starts at 10.00am (GMT) on 5th December and runs for just 5 days. To make sure your donations are doubled and help us make the most of this fantastic opportunity, save the 5th December in your diaries. Don’t worry if you forget though - we’ll be counting down to donation day on our website, Facebook and Twitter.

The donations you make as part of the Christmas Challenge will go directly towards the care of our sanctuary’s youngest orphans, including our newest arrivals - gorillas Luci and Chickaboo. It costs £20 a week to feed one baby gorilla – if you can help us to reach our challenge target, we’ll be able to support five babies for a whole year!


Donate here: The Big Give


How will YOU help charitable organizations this year?

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Memories - Keepsake for Kids

This is an encore presentation. Enjoy!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? As you consider the food, table settings, decorations and the dozens of other arrangements to be made, here's a suggestion for keeping the children busy and happy. It's also a great way to help them record their experiences and memories.

Use this link to download a free ebook for the kids:
Thanksgiving Keepsake for Kids

The ebook has activities that combine personal stories, family history, writing, drawing, and interviewing family members and friends.

Here are some of the questions that children can consider during the Thanksgiving holiday:
Who celebrates Thanksgiving with you?
Where will everyone travel from?
Were there any travel problems?
What did you like best about Thanksgiving?
What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
What foods will be fixed for Thanksgiving?
What will/did you give thanks for on Thanksgiving?
What will/did you do on Thanksgiving morning?
What was Thanksgiving dinner like?
What did you do on Thanksgiving night?
What stories did you hear on Thanksgiving?

What will your kids remember about Thanksgiving?
I'd love to hear about your experiences using this ebook.

If you are interested in receiving an ebook on other holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, etcetera, please leave a comment below. All suggestions are welcome.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Why I Teach About Ethical Wills

Many instructors can teach students the mechanics of writing a cohesive story. Some can help writers ferret out individual stories from their lives. However, my forte is combining both of these aspects of personal storytelling to create a compelling ethical will.

My goal is to educate people about ethical wills and how writing one creates an enduring legacy. Many of them are looking for ways to ensure their lives have been worth living and of importance to future generations—they want to be remembered.

During my writing workshops, students learn how to evoke powerful memories by drawing from their life experiences, how to examine their thoughts and select a subject, and how to write a cohesive story. The final step is to create a compelling tale that resonates with their loved ones, who are recipients of the ethical will.

Feedback from my ethical wills workshops has been positive. When participants complete a workshop and walk out with their first ethical will in their hands, I know I’ve made a difference in their lives.

Ready to start your own ethical will? Consider joining my free teleclass on Thursday:

CALL-IN INFORMATION:

Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#

Thursday 11/17/11 8 PM Eastern / 7 PM Central / 6 PM Mountain / 5 PM Pacific
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will vs a Last Will?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Inspirational Quotes from Darren LaCroix


Last week, I met Darren LaCroix, who is a World Champion of Public Speaking. He gave an inspirational presentation to the NSA-IL (National Speakers Association – Illinois). I loved that he was so willing to share his knowledge with everyone, which was impressive.

One of Darren’s free offerings is 365 days of inspirational quotations, which are available to everyone.

Just go to www.365InspirationalQuotes.com to sign up.

I’m looking forward to reading a new quote every morning. How about you?

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Simple Ethical Will


An Ethical Will is a wonderful way to pass your personal values on to your loved ones. It also tells the world what you consider important, as an individual or as a responsible corporation.

Here is a simple yet lovely example, expressed as a Code of Conduct by the J. M. Smucker Company.

J. M. Smucker’s Code of Conduct:

• Listen with your full attention

• Look for the good in others

• Have a sense of humor

• Say thank you for a job well done

What values will you include in your Ethical Will?

Friday, November 11, 2011

Veteran's Day 11-11-11

Happy Veteran's Day to all our current and retired military personnel.

Thank you for all you have given for our country.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Too Early for Snow


We live in the Midwest, where the weather can be unpredictable and unseasonably warm or cold, wet or dry, or any combination of all of them in one peculiar season. I realize that. However, I somehow missed the weather forecast for today to include snow flurries.

So when we started getting some pretty heavy snow showers, I was amazed . . . and unprepared. I happen to love winter, but usually we work up to snow season more gradually.

Fortunately for us, the huge snowflakes melted as soon as they landed on the brick pavers in the back yard.

Seeing that, and realizing I had nowhere special to go tonight, I relaxed and watched the beautiful flakes swirl around.

I also realized today was yet another day for which I am grateful. Thank you, Lord!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Apples in the Fall


This is an encore presentation from 11/13/2008. I think of this topic every year at this time. Enjoy!

Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons with the start of the new school year, foliage beginning to change and the onset of cooler days and nights. One of our memorable pastimes was to pick apples in a local orchard.

We brought our own containers - a variety of boxes, bushel baskets and tubs. For consistency in measuring how much we picked, the orchard provided their own bushel baskets to use during the picking process, then the apples were gently transferred to our own. It was lucky for us that they could not measure how many apples we managed to eat while picking.

There was an especially bountiful harvest one autumn when my son Jason was six years old. He and I had recently moved back to my hometown after living in the "City", that is, anywhere north of Interstate 80, as far as my Dad was concerned. It was a beautiful cool, crisp day with the sun shining as we drove to the orchard with Mom & Dad.

The trees were just covered with a terrific selection of big juicy apples that year: Jonathans, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious and McIntosh. Naturally, we had to grab the biggest shiniest ones to taste test before we could begin picking.

As we moved from tree to tree, Jason delighted in running ahead to survey the next target and cry, "Wow, look at all the big ones on THIS tree!" It was so easy to get caught up in the moment of fun & discovery that the four of us ended up picking seven full bushels of apples.

That was a huge amount of apples for us or for anyone. Fortunately, I had an old spare refrigerator in my garage, so we were able to pack it full with the apples that didn't fit into our main refrigerators. With all that food stockpiled, we stuffed ourselves (as well as family, friends and neighbors) with all manner of scrumptious apple delicacies.

The delicious aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg filled our house almost every day. We had apple pie, apple crisp, apple cake, apple coffeecake and apple pudding. And still we had more apples.

We had fried apples, caramel apples, taffy apples, apple butter, apple salads, apple muffins and apple dumplings. And still we had more apples.

Jason took brightly polished red and yellow apples to school for his birthday treat, and for his teacher, too. For Christmas, we even hung shiny red apples by ribbons onto our tree. And still we had more apples.

We had enough apples to last us all through that Fall and Winter and into Spring. By the time we had finally finished eating all those apples, I realized two things: 1) an apple a day really does keep the doctor away because we didn’t get sick all winter long, and 2) I never EVER got tired of apples!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Ethical Wills Insights

A myth about Ethical Wills . . . and other end-of-life documents

Some people are afraid of anything that makes them think of their own death. That could be a Last Will, a Living Will, or even an Ethical Will.

Logically, such a view is not realistic. Unfortunately, a great many older Americans feel that by ignoring what will happen after their demise, they can somehow prolong the inevitable.

Of course, no one can cheat the Grim Reaper. How much better it would be for the remaining family if someone's personal matters are all in order.

Whether you are past your prime or just starting out, I hope you consider writing your Ethical Will. Your loved ones will appreciate it, too.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Ethical Wills - What Are They Really?


An ethical will, also called a legacy letter, is usually a written document created to share significant thoughts with loved ones, such as experiences, values, wisdom, and blessings. It can be shared with family members or friends either at the time it is written, or be preserved and read after the author’s death.

Ethical wills began as a Jewish tradition over 3,000 years ago. Originally, the practice was used to orally pass down values to future generations. Topics usually included the family’s lineage since earliest times. Modern audiences find an updated approach appeals to their current needs to leave a similar legacy.

Definition

An ethical will is a document that shares significant thoughts with loved ones. It is also known as a legacy letter.

Whether an ethical will or legacy letter is as brief as a few paragraphs, or as long as a complete memoir, it is a heartfelt communication that becomes an enduring reminder of a person’s love and caring. The majority of ethical wills are written, but other alternatives will be considered later in this chapter. When written by hand, the document becomes a lovely keepsake of an individual’s handwriting.

Example:
My grandmother passed away some forty years ago, but recently I found an old recipe card in her beautiful cursive script. For an instant, it felt like she was sitting beside me again. That simple card is a priceless heirloom to me, but I wish she had known about ethical wills.

November Teleclass Schedule
CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Thursday 11/17/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will vs a Last Will?

Tuesday 11/22/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: Why Write an Ethical Will?

Wednesday 11/30/11 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / NOON PT
TOPIC: Why Write an Ethical Will?

More details about Ethical Wills available at www.bethlamie.com.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Family Stories - Will You Wait Too Long?


Four years ago, I became a Personal Historian, after taking some creative writing and memoir writing classes and joining the Association of Personal Historians (APH). As I started to get more clients, I noticed a disturbing trend: my subjects had a tendency to die.

Most of the life stories I’ve written have been about elderly people. I learned very quickly to determine the most important topics to be covered before staring any interviews, then address them first. Obviously, none of us know just how long we’ll live, but older people most likely have less time remaining. However, we can lose anyone at any age.

By the end of my first year in business, I was becoming discouraged—not because I didn’t have enough clients, but because the majority of them had passed away. To be honest, I almost felt like the Grim Reaper. For a while, I contemplated whether I was in the right field. During the interviewing and writing processes, it was easy for me to get involved with my subjects, through the good and the bad in their lives. When they died, I was terribly saddened.

One of my clients died very suddenly, but peacefully. I had just completed the interviews and written her story; all that remained was to finish pulling in the photographs I had scanned. After talking to the daughter who had commissioned me, we decided to complete her mother’s story in a booklet for the family, which I did two days later.

At the wake the next day, the family made me feel that my efforts were not only worthwhile, they were greatly appreciated. Without the stories I had preserved, the children and grandchildren would never have known some of the details from the woman’s life.

I continue to write life stories for people and encourage them to write their own. The important thing is to preserve those precious family stories before they are lost forever. None of us know exactly how much time we have. Make an effort to start saving your own family stories now, while you still can.

Are you ready to start now? Please consider coming to some of our weekly teleclasses, where we can talk about easy ways to find your own stories.

November Teleclass Schedule for Ethical Wills

CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Shedd Aquarium Visit


Today was another delightful afternoon to remember along with my other family stories. My son, Jason, and his two kids, Alex and Nicholas, ages 6 and 7 respectively, met me at Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. I hadn’t been there for some eighteen years or so, and it was nice to see how many new exhibits had been created.

Everyone’s favorite was the Caribbean Reef, which is an award-winning 90,000-gallon circular habitat open on all sides to allow patrons to walk around and view the huge variety of fish, including gigantic tarpons, Moray eels, parrotfish, sting rays, manta rays, and many more I don’t know the names of.


At the appointed hour, a docent named Lee arrived and asked the surrounding crowd to step back “five giant steps” to outside the blue circle marked on the floor so everyone could see clearly. Amazingly, everyone complied, which was a pleasant surprise, and we had ideal seats for the entire show.

A diver named Brooks entered the water to feed the sea creatures and interact with them. He stroked the manta rays and turtles as they calmly approached to feed from his hand. Another pleasant surprise was that Lee fielded questions from the crowd and relayed them to Brooks for a response.


Alex, my granddaughter, asked if they remove the stingers from the sting rays. The answer is no, they don’t. However, Brooks said the one ray swimming around without a tail was due to a fish that liked to nibble on its tail, until the tail was finally gone.

Brooks talked about the big green sea turtle named Nickel. He was injured by the motor on a boat and brought to special veterinarians for repair. Severely damaged hind flippers meant he’ll never be released back into the wild, but he’ll always have a good home at Shedd. How did he come by his name? When the doctors took x-rays, they found something stuck in his throat: they removed an old 1975 nickel, so that’s what they called him.

Nicholas liked a huge old lungfish called Granddad. He had black spots all over his long body. According to the Shedd website, “Granddad has lived longer than any fish in any aquarium in the world.” He came from Australia as a mature adult to Shedd for the World’s Fair in 1933!


Some of the other animals we saw were fogs, jellyfish or “jellies”, dolphins, sea otters, penguins, and small turtles.


We all had fun while we learned something new about the sea life all around us. This is one place we’ll need to visit again. There was too much to see in one day, plus the exhibits change on a regular basis.

Have you been to an aquarium recently? If so, what did you like best?

Friday, November 4, 2011

The Temptation of Tulips


Today was a lovely afternoon – one of those perfect autumn days when the sun is shining, the air is crisp, and it just feels good to be alive. Beautiful!

Taking advantage of the weather’s cooperation and some unexpected free time in my schedule, Hubby and I decided to work in the flower bed in front of our house. Well, okay, to be brutally honest, I decided and he reluctantly agreed to help.

Actually, I had to play my trump card to convince him: yesterday was my birthday and Hubby sort of offered to plant tulip bulbs, and three mums. Although I’m not much of a gardener, I do enjoy perennials that come back every year, at least in theory. In particular, my chrysanthemums never seem to survive our Midwest winters very well. But I keep trying!

While planting the mixed-color tulip bulbs, I couldn’t help but think about my mother. She absolutely loved tulips, especially red ones. One fall, she planted some 150 bulbs, half red and half yellow. Mom happened to have a bevy of squirrels in her neighborhood, but they always kept her entertained.

However, the next spring, she was thoroughly disgusted with those squirrels. They managed to dig up and consume every single red tulip bulb. None of the yellow ones, mind you, just the red!

Undaunted, Mom again planted red and yellow bulbs that fall. This time, however, she generously coated each and every one with hot Tobasco sauce. She waited for spring that year in anticipation of a bounty of glorious tulips in both colors.

Every day, she marched outside to watch the tender young tulip leaves poke through the dirt and begin to grow.

Every day, she watched the tiny buds develop.

Every day, she waited with bated breath to see a miniscule hint of color.

Finally, one day she trekked outside to see the tulips had burst into bloom. All yellow!

Philosophically, Mom shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I guess the squirrels need some help getting through the winter, too.” After that, every year she continued to plant red and yellow tulips. And every year, the squirrels continued to eat the red ones . . . and frolicked in her yard to say thank you.

So that’s where my thoughts carried me during our afternoon of digging, planting, and watering. It felt as if my mother was working right beside me, even though she’s been gone ten years. As she taught me, I’ll wait in anticipation for spring, when we’ll find out if my mums come back and if our pesky squirrels found the tulip bulbs.

Who knows if they’ll have a preference for our red bulbs, too?

What memories do you have about fall chores? Do they ever make you reminisce about your loved ones?

I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Keepsake for Kids - Thanksgiving Memories


What are your plans for Thanksgiving? As you consider the food, table settings, decorations and the dozens of other arrangements to be made, here's a suggestion for keeping the children busy and happy. It's also a great way to help them record their experiences and memories.

Use this link to download a free ebook for the kids:
Thanksgiving Keepsake for Kids

The ebook has activities that combine personal stories, family history, writing, drawing, and interviewing family members and friends.

Here are some of the questions that children can consider during the Thanksgiving holiday:
Who celebrates Thanksgiving with you?
Where will everyone travel from?
Were there any travel problems?
What did you like best about Thanksgiving?
What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
What foods will be fixed for Thanksgiving?
What will/did you give thanks for on Thanksgiving?
What will/did you do on Thanksgiving morning?
What was Thanksgiving dinner like?
What did you do on Thanksgiving night?
What stories did you hear on Thanksgiving?

What will your kids remember about Thanksgiving?
I'd love to hear about your experiences using this ebook.

If you are interested in receiving an ebook on other holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, etcetera, please leave a comment below. All suggestions are welcome.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Gorilla Love – a Perfect Christmas Gift


Today we have a guest post by Robin Huffman, animal-lover extraordinaire! She is living her lifelong dream to work closely as a volunteer with exotic wildlife. Currently, she is on her way from Dakar to Johannesburg, South Africa, to volunteer for four months at the Vervet Monkey Foundation. Her website with amazing artwork and photos is listed at the end of this post. - Beth

Kudos to Robin for all the excellent work she does for animals!


TWO baby gorillas have just arrived at Ape Action Africa in Cameroon, Africa! That is so rare, because there aren't many gorillas left in the wild, and because they are so fragile that they rarely survive without their mothers. But Ape Action Africa is specialized in saving these innocent orphans. Also, three baby chimps have come in this year. It costs a lot to keep the babes in milk and the 24/7 care they require! And as I've probably told you, the sanctuary lost their director & major funder, Avi Sivan, less than one year ago in a helicopter crash. The sanctuary has just sent out a special plea for financial help.

During the week of December 5 - 11, donations to the charity through Big Give will be matched. What a great Christmas gift to give someone - a gift of philanthropy! AND knowing that you are helping save these magnificent gentle creatures! I promise it will feel GREAT!!!! I will forward the link and more info as soon as I get it.

If you CAN'T WAIT and want to give NOW, you can do so through the website: Ape Action Adopt
....OR plan on making your contribution the week of Dec. 5 - 11 so it can be doubled.

Spread the word - Either way: PHILANTHROPOMANIA ROCKS!

Here's a link to the story of the two gorillas, Luci and Chickaboo: Gorilla News Story


Robin Huffman
www.peacefulportraits.com

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November Teleclass Schedule For Ethical Wills



CALL-IN INFORMATION:
Dial-In: 712 - 432 - 0900
Access: 197851#
Please join us on any of our calls!

Tuesday 11/08/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

Thursday 11/17/11 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / NOON PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will vs a Last Will?

Tuesday 11/22/11 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT
TOPIC: Why Write an Ethical Will?

Wednesday 11/30/11 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / NOON PT
TOPIC: What Is an Ethical Will?

More details about Ethical Wills at www.bethlamie.com