If the title of this blog post sounds confusing, just bear with me… Kiva is a micro-lending organization that I support. Micro-lending is a way that people in third world countries can borrow money (without getting scalped by crazy interest rates) for things like reeds to weave baskets, or a goat to start a goat cheese business. Amounts that seem tiny to us, but can literally change their life and provide their kids with food and an education. Many of these loans come with business training and mentoring support. It’s amazing how much difference these small amounts can make!

And of course, you’re not just giving them food, which will eventually run out… and then what? You’re providing them with the tools they need to create their own food source, or support structure – in a way that EMPOWERS them and provides dignity. Seriously. What could be better?

So, because I have been loaning money through Kiva, they sent me this promo link – which means that if you click this link right now, you will be able to make a $25 loan to a third world entrepreneur – for free! Kiva and Ladies Home Journal will cover your loan amount for you. I guess they’re hoping that you’ll enjoy the experience so much, once you’ve done it once, that you’ll keep going. But act quickly as these free trials will likely be snapped up fast.

I urge you to give it a try and if you’ve got kids or grandkids, let them make the choice of who to lend to! You’ll then receive updates via email on the progress of your loan project and how the person is doing:

Click here to make your free loan donation…

When you go to this webpage, you’ll notice that the loans can be made to any of the 1021 women seeking funding – women, not men. Now I’m not sure if this is because Ladies Home Journal is the sponsor… but it reminds me of something I read in Mohammed Yunus’ book, Banker To The Poor (fantastic book, by the way). Yunus pioneered the micro-lending model and as he was the first one, he did loads of experimentation to find out what factors influenced whether people would repay the loans, what traits made for the most successful loan recipients, etc.

And Yunus found that women were the most reliable people to lend money to. Because whilst men might use their success to buy snazzy clothes, alcohol, or get a mistress, the women made sure the money was used to better the living conditions of the children and family. The women entrepreneurs typically ensured the children were fed and clothed first, then the children were educated, then they would get a better house, and then they might buy themselves a new sari. Yunus found that loaning to women also increased their husband’s respect and appreciation for them and lessened their abuse.

So anyway, what are you waiting for? Get this $25 out to someone who deserves a chance and feel the true Christmas blessing of being able to give to someone truly in need and make a significant difference in their life:

Click here to donate $25 for FREE!

These free trials will likely get snapped up quickly, so don’t wait!

Soar higher,

Jini

A couple of months ago, I read Jeanette Walls’ amazing memoir of her childhood – The Glass Castle. Of course, the book provoked many thoughts and questions for me – as I’m sure it did for anyone who read it. And if you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend it – and don’t worry, it’s not like an Oprah selection book that leaves you despairing and depressed at the end.

But without going into the myriad of thoughts and questions this book provoked (we discussed it at a book club meeting and after two hours still weren’t done!), one overriding question remained for me:

Were her mother’s paintings good enough to provide a clue to her extreme pursuit of her art above her children’s welfare?

By that I mean: would anyone berate Picasso, or Rembrandt or Michelangelo for not devoting enough time to their kids (if they had any)? Would anyone want to tear a strip out of these artists and say that they should have been able to give up their all-consuming art for their kids? Or does the evidence of their art provide some measure of justification for the extreme selfishness of their lives? What about Mozart or Van Gogh – history is littered with examples of the brilliant artist archetype who was also a bit nuts.

Of course, I’m not saying it’s okay to neglect or abuse your children for the sake of your art – or for the sake of anything. But for me, as an artist (singer, painter, writer), it would provide some other kind of a piece of an explanation for Rosemary’s (her mother) behaviour – which is otherwise so unfathomable.

People who do not have a strong creative drive, don’t understand that you need to create or die. They can’t possibly understand how the life of a housewife would be just like a living death to an artist. Hence, we have so many housewives who have incorporated creativity into their role – through their cooking, baking, sewing clothes, crafts, directing children’s plays and concerts, field trips, etc. Or women like me, who have found a way to interweave or balance their different roles – so that they can pursue their creative visions yet still be a good Mum.

As someone who was so dysfunctional and so wounded herself, Rosemary Walls’ didn’t seem able to achieve any kind of balance or rhythm between her artist self and her mother self. And at the end of the book, it was killing me: Was her art good enough to even warrant her extreme dedication to it? Of course, no matter how good it was, it would not justify her neglect of her children – but I’m not looking to pass judgment here, I’m looking for a piece of understanding of this women and her viewpoint.

Well, after much searching, I found this video – that not only shows Rosemary, but SOME OF HER PAINTINGS as well. Thank god, I can now put that question in my brain to rest. I know my opinion of her art (nope, she was no Manet) – I’ll let you watch the video and form your own:

And just in case you’re curious, here are some of my paintings – and yes, my three children are very well taken care of, in spite of all my artistic pursuits!

KENYA ELDER – Watercolor & Acrylic (22″x30″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

WATER MAELSTROM – Acrylic (16″x20″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

LUNCH – Acrylic (22″x30″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

YOGA NUDE – Conte & Charcoal (18″x22″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

A’GHRA – Watercolor (16″x20″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

EAGLE TOTEM – Watercolor & Ink (9″x10″) – by Jini Patel Thompson

Here’s to finding the healthy balance and expression of the creativity within each of us!

Jini

Following on from my Utopia post: If we stay year-round in White Rock, then my hubby would like to add an indoor pool to our house. An excellent idea since he and the kids swim every day when we’re near a pool or ocean. We also could combine my solarium idea with the indoor pool space.

Talk about making your pool just part of your house!

However, chlorine is a highly toxic, damaging substance – both for our bodies and the environment. So I’ve begun researching alternatives.

Dr. Joseph Mercola’s site is great for this since he has a feedback section where we can hear from actual pool owners. There’s no substitute for personal experience in my opinion. The following information is gleaned from the community feedback on Mercola’s site and some of the recommended websites themselves. Since most of the information below is quoted, rather than italicizing the quotes, I have italicized my comments instead.

Mercola recommends Ozone as the best system, however in the comments section by pool owners, many say it is not ideal and that they have found better systems:
http://v.mercola.com/qa/chlorine-alternative-for-pool-or-hot-tub-2880.aspx

Here’s what some people say about salt water pools:

Read the rest of this entry »

Following on from my last post about The Perfect Place To Live, here’s what else I’ve learned about myself during this exploration:

1. I’ve noticed that no matter where I am, when things get really difficult (kids, health, food – i.e. sourcing healthy food and cooking from scratch, exhaustion, etc.) my knee-jerk reaction is to get out of there and go to the other place. If I’m in White Rock, then I think, “Well if I was in Playa del Carmen, this wouldn’t be happening because x, y, z. So I need to get to Playa and everything will be okay.” And then vice versa. When I get frustrated, exhausted, or angry here in Playa, my automatic assumption is that changing the location (going home) will bring relief, solve the problem.

2. I’m here in the Caribbean Mayan Riviera and there are atill times when I’m cold.

3. The kids are no easier to take care of here in Playa where they are able to go outside all the time. You see, in White Rock, the kids are so much easier to take care of in the summer, than in the winter. Because when they get ratty in the house, I take them outside to the yard and presto, everyone is great.

So I had assumed that if we lived somewhere the weather was nice, the kids would be so much easier to take care of and my life would get a lot easier. Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver

I live in a place that is absolutely fantastic, except for one big problem: the weather. Here in Vancouver, Canada it is rainy, dark and depressing for about eight months of the year. For me, that is a long time without sun and no, I’m not one of those hardy Canadians who gets on all the rain gear and goes hiking and mountain biking in the midst of it anyway.

So, for the last eleven years, I have been trying to find a way to escape Vancouver during the dark, wet winter months.

I started by selling my telecommunications company and setting up a new company that was completely Internet-based. My husband later joined me in this company and then he also started another Internet-based company. So we are both fully mobile. All we need to live and work anywhere in the world is a phone and high-speed Internet connection. Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Locke – the host/creator of this web tv show, “Help, My Business Sucks!” is just the cutest little Englishman and the shows are really enjoyable.

In this episode he talks about shipping problems and why they never use USPS International Insured – something our customers are always asking us to use since the courier charges (UPS & FedEx) are so expensive. So, if you watch this show, you’ll know why we ONLY ship international orders FedEx…

Which, by the way, we do get a 50% discount on and we pass that entire savings on to our customers. So although the courier charge seems very expensive, it’s actually only half of what it would cost you to ship it yourself.

Anyway, enough said about shipping! This show is about much more than that and like I said, it’s really enjoyable. Click below to watch it:

Episode #17 – Why Dell Sucks, Donny Deutsch ‘The Big Idea’ TV Show, Ideas for Using Online Videos to Promote Your Business, a Cool Nifty Click, and a BAD Lesson From UPS.

If you subscribe to this show, you’ll be sent it every week.

Enjoy!

Jini

Anthropomorphism is defined as:

The attribution of human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects, or deities. It appears in the mythologies of many cultures and as a literary device in fables and allegories.

Go on, call me naive, accuse me of anthropomorphism, but don’t tell me it’s not obvious what these animals are feeling!

This is really fun, it’s from my friend Aileen Nobles (psychic and EFT therapist) – ENJOY!

YOUR JULY NUMEROLOGY FORECAST

To find your personal forecast add the day and month of your birth date. Continue adding until you get a single digit. Read the rest of this entry »

Geez, sure wish I’d known/thought about this before birthing mine!

Here’s one of the many birth stories shared on this natural birthing site.

Go have a look at the short video on the site too, they’ve even got the famous Dr. Christiane Northrup on it:

www.orgasmicbirth.com

Orgasm a Tool for Birth – By Shiraz Ariel Drori

I am a mother of three great kids, birth coach and doula and want to share with you a special story.

The idea that there is a connection between the womb and orgasm had emerged in my head when I was 8 months pregnant with my first baby. I had experienced a sensual pregnancy and enjoyed a very good sex life with my husband. I decided to try to use this powerful tool at my birth. The first labor was difficult due to the fact that I had a placental abruption and hadn’t realized it. At the end I gave birth naturally with no epidural and a small tear that required 4 stitches. At the time I didn’t think that the orgasm helped me but then I realized that maybe it did, maybe it saved me from a c-section. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new development happening on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in a province called Guanacaste – it’s called Finca Las Brisas, which means Farm of the Breezes. Ian and I looked seriously at buying in here and the only thing that stopped us was the houses would be too small for our large family and home-based businesses.

However, I think it’s a fabulous ‘second-home’ option for those of you who need to be careful about your health and need to have a really toxin-free environment. Plus, it’s cheaper than you’d think. So open your mind a little, lift your self-imposed limitations and go have a look around their website: www.fincalasbrisas.org

I myself spent several hours on the site, so I can tell you what’s so great about this development and really sets it apart:

Read the rest of this entry »

My husband Ian had a brainstorm thursday night and suggested we drive to California for what’s left of Spring Break. So, adventurous souls that we are, we pack up the car and leave friday. Here’s what happened:

We want to leave at around 7:30 pm and drive for as long as we can while kiddies asleep.

However, don’t get out the driveway till 10:20.

Hugo (22 months) cranky as hell from sleep being disturbed.

Keeps whacking Oscar (7 yrs old) in the head.

Oscar complaining that he just wants to have a good night’s sleep in his bed.

Zara (5 yrs old) lies down on the pile of pillows in the back and she’s out.

Realize we have no US accident health insurance.

I’m on a new/concentrated food-based probiotic experiment which creates the most foul smelling gas in the universe. Let blow with the first fart. Read the rest of this entry »