My precious Nugget was diagnosed with kidney problems. For several years, he was vomiting once every so many months, then all of a sudden his vomiting became nightly. After a few days of trying different things (including changing his diet), I took him to his doctor and had his blood tested.

Nugget has been on medication and a nutrient that has nearly stopped his vomiting, and improved his overall mood to that of being a “puppy” once again.

Lately though, his vomiting started to happen… 3 times in one day. Needless to say, this time I telephoned his Vet’s office the next day.

I was instructed to purchase children’s gravol and give Nugget one teaspoon daily to lessen the nausea he was suffering. Nausea is apparently quit common among humans and animals with kidney problems (one of 10 different symptoms posted here: http://www.lifeoptions.org/kidneyinfo/ckdinfo.php?page=4).

After several days of constantly vomiting, my precious decided he wanted his hair cut off. He had no patience left to tolerate daily comb-outs nor his cute little top-knot anymore. So, I telephoned his personal groomer (he prefers only ONE professional groomer to cut his hair, Selena Power). Thank God it’s warmer weather right now, though we’ve had a few days of cooler temps… which is why he’s pictured here with a sweater on. It was a tad too cool for him to handle on those days.

Nugget started shivering, sometimes uncontrollably just prior to getting his hair cut… but more noticeably afterward. Being worried that he might be suffering from pain, I did an Internet search to see what MIGHT be causing him to shiver… and no, he was NOT cold at the times he was shivering.

The search results I received for dog shaking, dog shaking trembling, dog shaking uncontrollably, dog shakes uncontrollably, dog shakes when sleeping (which he did sometimes too), and dog shivering not cold… well, I have to say I was sadly disappointed in what I read on the many different web pages and postings. One of the web pages was supposed to have been a response from a Vet, though I rather doubt it was a REAL Veterinarian who posted THAT particular response.

No matter… later that same day, after Nugget’s Vet’s office was open, I telephoned them and asked why Nugget might be shivering so much lately… and I added that he is NOT cold.

Well daaaah! The answer I received was just what I might have expected.

“Shivering can be a sign that the dog MAY be suffering from pain, but in Nugget’s case it is likely that during the times he feels most nauseated is when he shivers.”

Bingo! Yup, now that’s an answer that makes sense.

Anyway… I feed my Nugget three small servings of dog food (low protein) a day. In between his afternoon meal, and his meal just before bedtime, I give him a few teaspoons of sweet potato that offers him a healthy treat… and… helps stabilize his tummy so he’ll be less apt to be nauseated… and thus shiver.

I SHOULD have guessed what I learned today… because after EACH time I fed or treated Nugget, his shivering subsides and then stops all together.

Am offering this info here in case YOU need the proper info like I did today! If this helped you, please make sure to leave your comment below.

Related posts:
Potty Pan For Dogs…
Are You Poisoning Your Pet?

Have you ever created a page in WordPress and didn’t want it to show up in the sidebar menu with the title you saved it under?

Well, a client recently wanted his website loading page titled “Welcome to Our Site” for visitor to see when entering his site, but also wanted to show this page as his “Home” or loading page in both the header and sidebar of his WordPress template.

After several failed attempts to search the internet, followed by unanswered posts to queries posted in WordPress forums for a resolve to the sidebar menu, and then I attempted to make the change myself.

Voila… it worked! So… here’s what I did.

Earlier on, I had discovered how to solve this issue with the header.php, but could NOT find help with changes needed in the sidebar. So, using what I was given to resolve renaming the page title for the header.php, which was as follows:

<li><a href=”<?php bloginfo(‘url’); ?>”>Home</a></li>
<?php wp_list_pages(‘sort_column=menu_order&depth=1&title_li=&exclude= 113′); ?>

Be sure YOU change the page numbers for exclude= 113′); ?> that YOU want excluded in YOUR WordPress template.

Here’s how you can discover the ID of your page. Sign in to your WordPress Admin panel and click on Pages. Locate the page you wish to hide in the navigation, and open in Edit mode… note what I have circled in red, in the screen print below. [click on image below to see a closer view. Use your browsers back button to return here.]

In this case, your number would be 145.

Anyway, after several attempts I decided to try using the following code:

<li><a href=”<?php bloginfo(‘url’); ?>”>Home</a></li>

<?php wp_list_pages(‘title_li=&depth=-1=&exclude= 13′); ?>

When I added this, the sidebar immediately gave 2 lists of pages to navigate… with “Welcome to Our Site” missing on the second, but “Home” appeared.

Then I located the following code in the sidebar.php:

<?php

foreach ($recentposts as $post) {

if ($post->post_title == ”)

$post->post_title = sprintf(__(‘Post #%s’), $post->ID);

echo “<li><a href=’”.get_permalink($post->ID).”‘>”;

the_title();

echo ‘</a></li>’;

}

?>

…and removed it all together. Voila! The sidebar appeared as my client wanted it to!

Finding help doing a Google search these days can be very frustrating, to say the least.  However, knowing how frustrated I was in trying to get help with this…. I will post my resolve here, in hope that Google will offer it to you in YOUR next search for how to hide a page from sidebar navigation in WordPress.

Deliciously, delectable Yorkshire Pudding’s are commonly served with beef and gravy. They originally hit the scene in Yorkshire because it was an inexpensive way to round out a meal at a time when meat was scarce. Someone was definitely thinking smart because Yorkshire’s are amazingly delicious and made with a few simple ingredients.

You can buy pre-packaged Yorkshire mixes, but it’s really NOT necessary. Making your own isn’t really isn’t all that complicated, and you probably have all of the ingredients sitting in your pantry right now.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 lg eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or beef drippings, if available)
• Salt – optional

Also have on hand: whisk, mixing bowl, teaspoon, ladle and muffin pan.

Yields: 12
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Step 1: Preheat Oven

Make sure your oven rack is in the middle of your oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2: Mix Ingredients

In a small mixing bowl, add 1 cup flour. I’m using whole wheat flour here, and it turns out quite nicely, but you can use white flour if you prefer.

…add the 1 cup of milk.

…crack and add the 2 eggs.

Whisk only until the ingredients are fully mixed:

Step 3: Get Ready for Baking

Take 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and place a little bit of oil in each muffin tin. Then place the muffin tin into the preheated oven for only 5 minutes.

Note: You can use beef drippings instead of vegetable oil, if you’re cooking your roast in a roasting pan, and have drippings available. Personally, I find the vegetable oil heats up better and results in a better Yorkshire muffin… but connoisseurs may beg to differ.

After 5 minutes, remove the muffin pan with the hot oil from your oven. Without delaying, distribute the batter among the 12 cups. Each cup will be about 1/3 or less full.

Once each cup is full, place the muffin pan back into the oven for 30 minutes. You MUST resist temptation to open the oven before that or you might find your Yorkshires don’t rise as well. If you need to check on them, turn on your oven’s internal light.

Remove after 30 minutes and allow to cool only slightly. Serve warm roast beef and gravy.

Related recipe: Mouth-Watering Crock Pot Roast – Why Not Impress Your Guests

This is a very simple recipe that let’s you cook your entire meal in the crock pot. And the good news is, you’re family will think you’re an amazing chef that slaved in the kitchen all day long. The only thing you will probably want to add to this is a nice hot batch of Yorkshire puddings…and those are a snap to put together as well.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 pot roast – 2 to 3 pounds. A sirloin tip works well. Not too fancy, but not the cheapest stuff either. It will be a nice tender piece of meat after cooking in the crock pot for 8 hours.
• 3 -4 small onions
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup cranberry sauce, with whole berries.
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp onion salt
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 envelope beef stock
• ¾ beef stock prepared
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Carrots (use baby carrots, or peel carrots and cut them into 2 inch chunks.)
• Potatoes (use small yellow potatoes that have a nice sweet flavour, or cut up russet potatoes into smaller chunks.)

TIP: For the carrots and potatoes, how many you can add will depend on the size of your crock pot… and YOUR preference. If you love leftovers, cook extra. The potatoes also taste divine as chips the next day. Just slice them, fry them in olive oil, and then lightly salt them for a treat or breakfast item.

Also have on hand: Small bowl, measuring cups, crock pot, measuring spoons, knife and cutting board.

Serves: 4-5
Prep Time: Approximately 40 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours

Step 1: Slice the Onions

Peel and slice the onions into coin-shaped pieces

Make a small layer of onions at the bottom of the pot. They will keep the meat from sticking and they taste AWESOME afterward. If you like a lot of onions feel to slice up more and add them.

Step 2: Prepare the Meat

Start by salting and peppering the meat to taste.

Carefully place the roast in the crockpot, on top of the onions.

Step 3: Prepare the Gravy

There’s no need to mess with flour and make gravy after the roast is done. Put together a few ingredients, throw them in the crockpot and you’ve got ready-made and DELICIOUS gravy when you’re done.

Start by mixing the following ingredient in a small bowl.

Add ½ cup of ketchup.

Add ½ cup of cranberry sauce

Add 1 tsp onion salt.

Add 1 tsp dry mustard.

Next, add ½ tsp marjoram

and, the ½ tsp thyme

Fold in 1 envelope of beef stock

…then add ¾ cup of prepared stock. The envelope we added prior just adds a little extra flavour to this yummy gravy.

Whisk it, mixing until it is smooth…except the cranberries, of course.

Set aside the gravy mix for a moment. We’ll get back to it.

Step 4: Add the Veggies & Gravy Mix

Place the potatoes around the meat. If you have a smaller crock pot, then is shown here, just tuck the potatoes in tightly down the side. There is plenty of liquid in this recipe so they’ll cook very nicely, and won’t dry out or stick to the sides.

then add the carrots…

And finally, pour all the gravy mix in the center, over top of the meat.

Step 5: Start the Crock Pot

All right, we’re ready to start cooking now. Put the lid on the crock pot.

Put the crock pot on low to cook for 8 hours.

Step 6: Get Ready to Serve

After 8 hours, you’ve got delectably soft carrots, potatoes, meat and gravy.

Start by removing the potatoes and carrots. Use a slotted spoon or fork, whichever works for you.

You might take out the onions at this time or leave them with the gravy, depending on your preference. I usually remove some of the onions for eating (they’re REALLY good), and then leave the rest in for the gravy.

Remove the roast and get ready to slice. I use the word “slice” loosely though. This meat will be very tender and basically fall apart on you. But it’s delicious and that’s what matters!

Pour the remaining gravy into a gravy boat or a measuring cup.

Related recipe: Tasty Yorkshire Puddings – The Easy Way

While at Extreme Fitness in Thornhill, Ontario, on Thursday, 22 October 2009, Todd Jamison returned to his parked car. He was horrified at the condition he found his Hyundai Elantra (only recently Todd had paid the Elantra off).

Thinking his car had been vandalized with something like a baseball bat, for whatever reason he knew not… Todd went up to where he knew surveillance cameras were monitoring the parking lot. He asked if he could review the footage in order to find the culprit.

Here’s the footage in which Todd discovered who totally destroyed his 2004 Elantra!

A BMW SUV drives up over Todd’s blue Elantra and the white car beside Todd’s… then just drives away. Not to worry folks, the vehicle was spotted later, and the driver has now been charged.

2009 Hyundai Elantra

Having taken a few days off work to find a new vehicle, on 31 October, Todd received a call from his office on pretense of a client needing to see him. Once Todd was finished with the one client, Todd was asked to return to the parking lot and go over what had happened to his car. That’s where Hyundai Canada representative Barb Pitblado present Todd with his brand new Hyundai Elantra! Apparently, Barb stated “We wanted to help the guy. This was our random act of kindness.”

5 stars for Hyundai!!!!

Source: AutoNorth

On July 27, 2010 I cancelled the added insurance that Bell Internet Service put on my account for me back in June and July.

That same year, on August 1, I telephoned 310-7873, and was assured that I have 78.06 GB of download allowance, which is clearly shown at Bell’s internet tracking website. [Click on the image below to see a clear view of my internet usage tracking. Screen print taken 2 August]

When I informed the lady that this looked like what I would have had WITH the insurance, and asked her if she was SURE. She assured me that this website is up to date. When I told her I did not trust her word due to too many previous reps mistakes, and asked her if she could send me an email guaranteeing me that is my monthly download allowance. She told me she could not that I would need to get that from customer service.

Over the past few years now, I have been told many “stories” from Bell reps, and then when I telephone to complain about the misinformation (I have even asked them to listen to THEIR recorded call), all I’ve ever received from Bell’s complaint department was something along the lines of “well, that rep shouldn’t have told you that because…” …and I’ve been forced to pay for THEIR mistake anyway.

Customer service wasn’t open that day, so on August 2, I telephoned 310-7873… selected 1, entered my 10 digit phone number as I was prompted, then I selected 3, and then 2… and got to Bell’s internet customer service department.

The customer service lady then assured me I have a 78.06 GB monthly download allowance. I asked her, “Are you sure? I had the insurance removed awhile ago now, and at THAT time, the gentleman told me I have a 25 GB monthly allowance without the insurance.”

After much prompting, the lady left me on hold and went off to check other records. She discovered that yes, in fact I had called on the 27 of July, and requested the added insurance be removed. My new monthly download allowance is only 25 GB.

So then my question to her was, “why has the online tracking record not been updated? It’s not like I cancelled the insurance yesterday. This IS an electronic record…”

I then requested that this fact be logged as my complaint to Bell…

You betcha’ I feel Bell’s internet tracking usage misleading at best! Can you imagine the cost of my August bill if I HAD of used the 78.06 GB that TWO reps guaranteed me I had? [Click on the image below to see a clear view of my internet usage tracking. Screen print taken 2 August]

PS: It’s been several hours since my call with customer service and I have NOT received a confirmation email as the lady had promised I would receive. I even made sure to verify she had my correct email address… which she did. Customer service at it’s best, huh?!

UPDATE: Here it is… a new billing month. You know, the month where the last customer service rep of Bell’s assured me that my internet tracking usage would be corrected to read 25GB by the 11^th of the month…

Well, look what greeted me once I had signed into Bell’s internet tracking usage this morning… the 12^th of the month:

…you can click on the image above to see it up close. Go ahead… and really pay attention the blued area on the usage allowance bar.

After calling for clarification again, I was informed that this kind of mistake happens rarely.

Yeah, SU-U-URE it does.

And that within 5-7 working days, this WILL be corrected.

SU-U-URE it will… just like the last rep assured me.

Oh, but this time it will be because this rep is upgrading the last rep’s ticket to have this corrected.

Wow, isn’t it great living in an age that takes nearly a month now to make a simple correction to an electronic document. Don’t ya’ just love technology?

Ooooh, hurry up November 1!

Related articles:
Tired of Feeling Ripped Off By Ma’ Bell and or Rogers?
Leaving Bell Telephone For Distributel – My Experience

Have you been lied to about the health benefits of canola oil, or what?

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

If you’ve been following my fitness newsletters for any length of time, you should have noticed, I NEVER include canola oil in ANY of my recipes …nor do I include it on any of my lists of healthy foods.

Many have asked me why that is. All they hear in the mainstream media is that canola oil is “heart healthy” …and a good source of monounsaturated fats, similar to olive oil. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

First of all, you need to realize that much of what you read and hear about in the media has been influenced by heavy-handed marketing tactics by major food companies. Canola oil is cheap for them to produce so they want to dupe you into believing this is “healthy oil”. This way people, restaurants, etc., will buy it up as their oil of choice for regular use.

The Dirty Truth About Canola Oil

Yes, it is true that canola oil is high in monounsaturates, but let me explain why canola oil is anything BUT “healthy”.

Canola oil is made from something called rapeseed. Rapeseed actually has been altered over the years to reduce the percentage of a problematic component of rapeseed, which is erucic acid.

What is erucic acid, you ask? Well, following is the definition as posted in a medical dictionary:

Important note on canola oil “urban legends”: There is a problem with most websites that DEFEND canola oil, saying that internet “urban legends” on the dangers of canola oil are unfounded.

The problem is that these websites that defend canola oil ONLY talk about the issue of erucic acid. The issue of erucic acid IS an urban legend, because erucic acid has evolved to very low levels over the years, so it is a non-issue.

The websites that defend canola oil are “barkin’ up the wrong tree,” because they do not address the issue of the processing of canola oil …and oxidation of the polyunsaturated component of canola oil, which is what makes it unhealthy for human consumption.

THAT’S the real issue that they either don’t understand (because they are not nutritional experts) or they are simply ignoring this issue.

Let Us Look at the REAL Issues With Canola Oil:

Canola oil typically ranges between 55-65% monounsaturated fat and between 28-35% polyunsaturated fat, with just a small amount of saturated fat.

While we’ve been led to believe that high monounsaturated fat oils are GOOD for us (which they are in the case of virgin olive oil …or from unprocessed nuts or seeds), the fact is that canola oil has more DISadvantages than it has advantages.

As you may have red in other newsletters of mine …or in my Truth about Abs book… one of the biggest problems with highly processed and refined vegetable oils (such as corn oil, soybean oil, and yes, even canola oil!) is that the polyunsaturated component of the oil is highly unstable under heat, light, and pressure …and this heavily oxidizes the polyunsaturates which increases free radicals in your body.

The end result of all of this refining and processing are oils that are highly inflammatory in your body when you consume them. They potentially contribute to heart disease, weight gain, and other degenerative diseases.

The reason that extra virgin olive oil is good for you is that it is cold pressed without the use of heat and solvents to aid extraction.

Canola oil, on the other hand, is typically extracted and refined using high heat, pressure, and petroleum solvents such as hexane.

Most canola oil undergoes a process of caustic refining, degumming, bleaching, and deoderization… all using high heat and questionable chemicals.

Does Canola Even Have Trans Fats?

Even worse, all of this high heat, high pressure processing with solvents actually forces some of the omega-3 content of canola oil to be transformed into trans fats.

According to Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, and Nutritional Biochemist, “Although the Canadian government lists the trans fat content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans fat levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid canola oil”.

…and this is the crap they’re marketing to you and I as a “health oil”?

As you can see from the details above on how canola oil is processed, are YOU convinced that it’s any healthier for you than other junk oils like soybean oil or corn oil.

The bottom line is this; it’s an inflammatory oil in your body and should be avoided whenever possible.

The only canola oil that MIGHT be reasonable is IF you see proof that it is “cold pressed” …and organic. I rather doubt you’ll find any as most canola oil is NOT cold pressed or organic. So, why not choose oils that you know are healthier.

Your best options are the following oils:

• extra virgin olive oil - for lower temperature cooking or used as a healthy salad dressing oil
• Udo’s Choice Oil Blend – NEVER use this for cooking as it has a higher polyunsaturated fat content (therefore heat destroys the benefits of this oil), but it is a cold processed blend of healthy oils that mixes well with olive oil for salad dressings.
• Virgin coconut oil - great for all temperatures of cooking due to it’s high stability under heat. A great source of healthy saturated fats in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), one of which is Lauric Acid, which helps support the immune system and is lacking in most western diets.
• Organic grass-fed butter – I like to use a mix of butter, coconut oil, and a small bit of olive oil for most of my cooking. Grass-fed butter is a great source of CLA, which has even been shown in studies to have muscle building and fat burning properties.

So don’t be fooled by food labels claiming that they contain “healthy canola oil”… as you have learned here, this couldn’t be further from the truth! Choose some of the healthier options from those listed above and your body will thank you.

Please feel free to copy the link to this article (in your browser bar) and post on your Facebook, Twitter, myspace, or blog/forum pages to share with your friends and family to help them eat healthier.

If you liked this article, please click the “Like” button at the top for Facebook.

To a leaner and healthier body,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Related Articles:
The Salad Dressing You Should NEVER Eat – and my Alternative Super-Healthy Recipe
Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You? The TRUTH About Egg Yolks