December 17, 2013 Theme: Winter

Lynne was our Toastmaster today. She chose "Winter" as the theme. She encouraged us to share our favorite aspects of Winter. Lynne also shared many quotes about winter. Some were profound and others were humorous. My favorite quote was: "To shorten Winter, borrow money due in Spring."

 

Kate was our first speaker today.

She completed project 9 in the CC manual. The title of her presentation was: Recycle A Way to Life. Kate encouraged us to donate blood, bone marrow and our organs. She explained how to do it and the benefits of blood, tissue and organ donation. Kate noted that when we recycle paper we save a tree. When we recycle ourselves we save lives.

Linda was our second speaker. She completed project 2 in the CC manual. The title of her talk was: Shen Yun Performing Arts. Linda explained the costumes, dance and music of Shen Yun. She also discussed the technical skill, form and bearing involved. Linda’s passion for Shen Yun was very evident in her beautiful presentation.

Our meeting was made extra special today because Karen’s daughter Judy joined us. Guests are always welcome and encouraged to attend. We hope you will join us. Please note that our next meeting will be January 7^th. Happy Holidays!

December 10, 2013 Theme: Unusual Recipes and Remedies

 Robert was our Toastmaster today.  He chose bazaar recipes and remedies as the theme. We learned the recipes for Unboiled (but not raw) Chicken, Drunken Cornish Game Hens and Gracie Allen’s Classic Roast Beef.  Robert also shared remedies for Yogurt Hair care and Odor Be Gone pet urine remover. Since we are in the middle of holiday season, we often find ourselves immersed in materialism.  These humorous albeit simple recipes remind us of the basics that matter.  Bigger is not necessarily better and we will do better if we don’t take things so seriously.

Sophia was our first speaker today.  She completed her second presentation from the CC manual.  The title of her talk was Memory Photography.  Sophia shared with us ways to improve our personal photo taking skills. She discussed basic equipment needed, techniques and post image processing.  Sophia made her presentation easy to follow by organizing it well and putting her outline on the white board for us to follow.

Linda was our second speaker today.  She gave her icebreaker titled: Birthday Wish.  Linda is having a big week this week by earning her Associates Art degree and turning 18 years old.  We learned many wonderful things about Linda from her sharing of wishes about her past, present and future.  We are so grateful we are a part of Linda’s “present”.  She is a talented young lady, capable of making all her wishes come true.

Though we had no guests today our meeting was enriched by everyone who attended. Whether we had a leadership role or just listened attentively we all contributed to our mutual goal of becoming competent and confident leaders.  Come join us in our endeavors. Guests are always welcome.

 

December 3, 2013 Theme: Consumerism

Kathy was our Toastmaster today. She gave us a little history of consumerism which was our theme.  Consumerism started in 1800s with mass production. Mass production promoted mass consumption which was the start of consumerism.

Sophia was our first speaker today.  She gave her icebreaker titled: Mother Daughter Relationship.  Sophia spoke of her early childhood being raised by her grandparents. Then when she started grade school she lived with her parents.  Though she worked hard and earned good grades she was not able to please her mother. Hence she didn't feel close to her mother. When Sophia married and had children of her own she looked forward to being close to them. She noticed her son did not have her same work ethic. She realized she became her mother when her son asked her why she was so negative. She then understood that her mother had loved her all along, but simply wanted the best for her. Just as importantly she learned that neither she nor her children had to be perfect to be accepted.

Karen was our second speaker. She completed presentation seven from the CL manual. The title of her talk was A New Light on Chronic Pain. Karen tied this presentation into her last talk on living well with chronic pain. Karen dug deeper into new developments in chronic pain and how they can help millions of people reclaim their lives. Karen's partner Maureen gave an enthusiastic introduction to Karen's speech. Research shows that chronic pain is connected with the central nervous system. Basically pain is a tool that tells you your body needs healing. Once it is healed pain goes away. However with chronic pain the the central nervous system needs to be retrained so it stops when the healing is done. Support groups, workshops and workbooks teach tools for retraining the central nervous system so people can live well with chronic pain.

Both speakers were so informative. We were so glad Maureen was a guest today. We hope you will join us next week.  Pictures will be posted at a later date.