Month: June 2011

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Phil & Magoo – Two Shih-Tzus That Need Help

poster to help find lost dog Phil the shih-tzu in Chicago
There's a $2,000 reward for Phil's safe return

Phil is now a very famous Shih-Tzu, and hopefully his fame will bring him back home safe very soon.  He was lost Thursday 6/23/11, and it is thought that he was stolen after just a minute or so loose on the street just north of the Diversey/Elston/Western intersection in Chicago.  He is a 3 yr old rescue dog with tan, brown, and black coloring.  His devoted parents, KJ and Deb, are conducting the most impressive lost dog search for him that I have ever seen.  There is a Facebook group page they encourage you to join, called “Find Phillip,” (that’s Phillip w/2 L’s) and you can be a part of the search effort, and/or join in the prayer effort for his safe return.  There is a black and white and also a color version of his poster you can print and post.  It is a poster format that was recommended to them by a private investigator very experienced in lost dog cases.  Also they are accepting fax numbers of anywhere you think might want a poster faxed to them.  If you have information please email FindChicagoPhil@gmail.com

shih-tzu found in Chicago, 20 lbs male unneutered
20 lb unneutered male shih-tzu found. Do you know who lost him? Can you help?

Just two days ago someone brought a stray shih-tzu to KJ and Deb, thinking perhaps that it was their lost dog Phil.  It was not, and now they have temporarily named him Magoo and are fostering him.  They need help finding his original owners.  He is about 20 lbs and full of love and spunk, and still adjusting to this new situation.  He loves adults, and is dominant in a humping way with their boxer, though that may be resolved or alleviated when he gets fixed.  They may not have checked for a microchip yet on him, since no doubt they are spending every spare moment searching for their own baby.  They have a diaper on him now as he tries to mark in the house.  They do have three other dogs at home so perhaps Magoo is used to being the only king in the castle!  Plus perhaps once he’s neutered….  They are guessing he’s four but do not know, and observe that his teeth are very clean and that he lacks basic leash skills.  He needs someone to train him, and no doubt his healthy appetite can be used for positive reinforcement training.  Crossroads Shih-Tzu Rescue will be vetting, fostering, and adopting him out, once his stray period is over next week.  If you are interested in helping Magoo in any way, please contact the rescue.  With the right environment and training, Magoo could make someone very happy.

So please consider sharing this blog post to help spread the word about both shih-tzu’s.  Phil needs to be found and returned to his loving home, and “Magoo” (his new name) needs his original owner located, or a new foster home and/or owner needs to contact the rescue that will help him.

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Galos Cave Spa- Relaxing & Unique

Me at the end of a Galos Salt Cave session, after the lights came back up

Both Lorenzo and I love going to Galos Cave Spa in Chicago and we went there again today.  $15 per person for 45 minutes of total relaxation.  Here’s a link to the Galos Cave Spa yelp page.  Lorenzo and I have gotten pretty lucky and get the salt cave to ourselves.  They probably have around ten chairs in there, I have been once with other people, which is fine too.  We always make sure to request a child-free hour.  Appointments begin every hour, and basically you can walk around in the salt cave in the beginning if you want, then you recline in relatively comfy chairs with blankets, and meditate and/or sleep.  They play pretty relaxing music with wave sounds, but I think next time we’ll use our iPhones & ear phones for music.

photo of inside of Galos Cave Spa in Chicago
Love the sea horses!

With this photo you get a sense of the overall look inside the room which has man-made salt formations everywhere.  I say if you need to relax, and/or enjoy meditating in new environments give it a try.  The photo also shows that you need to bring clean white socks.

Does the salt in the environment give health benefits?  I say probably.  Plus going there relaxes me in a way that surely carries health benefits.

Have you been there?  Are you planning to go?  Let’s hear your salty comments!

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Awesome 5! webcomic, page 4 of 12 out now

Laser Girl webcomic character created & drawn by artist Lorenzo Ross
Fabulous hair comes to webcomics with Laser Girl. Love that blue!

Lorenzo has finished page 4 of 12 of his Awesome 5!  webcomic.  Click here to see the entire page 4 of the Awesome 5! webcomic. If you click on that link, on the bottom you have the option of reading the pages from the beginning, in case you need a refresher on the plot.  This image here is my favorite part of page 4.  It’s the most detailed drawing of Laser Girl’s hair so far, with the most blue.  Pretty snazzy!  A laser shooting crime fighter AND cool hair.  Look out!

Lorenzo and I would both love to hear reader comments here on the blog post below!  Even simple blog comments help google to rank our post higher, so more people can find his webcomics and other art.  Did you check out the page?  What are your comments?  How about the whirling helicopter’s blades?  I love that look too!

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Poodlepalooza Plus Cat Sitting Visits: Murphy Inspires Business Improvements

poodle mix dog on grass with ball
Murphy plays a mean game of catch for a 9 year old doggie!

Most of you know that Lorenzo and I offer BarnneysHomeDogBoarding.com dog boarding in our home, providing night and day care and companionship to the dogs of only one owner at a time.  Recently we met Murphy and his parents.  Murphy is a 9 year old poodle/shih-tzu mix, and a compact bundle of cuddles, love, and a motorized wagging pompom tail.  Murphy has three cat siblings at home and since we experienced love at first sight with Murphy, we agreed to Murphy’s mom’s request for cat sitting visits for their three cats.  We are very experienced cat people due to our own cats as well as volunteer and foster experiences.

cat with woman
Charlie appears for a cuddle during the cat sitting visit

So now we offer the best for the dog-cat homes.  The dog gets round the clock love in our home, and the cats get to stay in their own home and get love and care with cat sitting visits.  This photo shows 12 year old Charlie, as we both enjoyed a cuddle this past Saturday in their home.  His cat siblings are Linky and Shadow.  Linky was the main ambassador giving us lots of cuddles and company, and Shadow who lends us her subtle companionship from afar.

Murphy is very good with other dogs, so we decided to see if he wanted to play with Teddy, another poodle mix and honored client of Barney’s Home Dog Boarding.  We invited Teddy’s parents over for dinner, to see if both well-socialized dogs would enjoy a playdate.  Of course we took all precautions and had them meet down the block outside, then when that went so well we had them play off-leash in our enclosed yard as we all supervised.


Murphy and Teddy acted like long lost twins, so we declared Poodlepalooza a success and went ahead and ordered dinner and made a night of it. In this video, the voices are mostly Teddy’s parents, as well as myself and Lorenzo. Before this video was taken the dogs had chased each other around in circles time and time again, and here in the video you see their play as they are a little winded but still enjoying their play, safe in our enclosed yard. Thanks also to Murphy’s parents, for allowing us to post this all-out festival of cuteness. Will there ever be another Poodlepalooza? Stay tuned to find out!

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Help a business – with a blog comment?

blog comments
On the right blog post - your small comment makes a huge positive splash!

Recently I have realized how huge blogging can be in promoting one’s business.  Google loves blog posts.  Furthermore, Google really loves blogs that have user comments.  Since google is not human and cannot tell if a blog post is great or not, it judges by keywords you post with your blog and if they are repeated within the article’s content, and also if there are reader comments.

To use myself as an example, I am a psychic reader and healer, specializing in personal growth readings.  The phrase “personal growth psychic readings”  is a phrase someone may use in a google search, someone who may end up loving what I do!  2,920,000 results come up when you search this phrase on google.  Today I am on the first page of results for this search, the sixth result that is not an ad.  6 out of 2,920,000.  Why?  Thanks to a blog post I wrote on this topic less than a week ago that has one user comment.  Here is the actual post about creating lasting personal change.  If you view it, notice that I listed among the keywords for the post “personal growth psychic readings.”  I suspect that if I did not have that one user comment google would not have taken the post as seriously.  Who knows how high it may rise in google results if I get two or three comments!

If you would like to support one of the businesses my husband and I have, please comment directly on any blog post that relates to the business you would like to support. Even one simple comment can make a massively positive splash in today’s world of google and other search engines, so it doesn’t have to be the most profound observation you have ever made.  For your reference, the blog post subject categories are easy to find on the right hand side of this page.  So happy positive splashing, either for your own services or one of ours.

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Adventures at the Adler Planetarium – part 1

Adler Planetarium in Chicago, external view of building
Finally used our Adler Planetarium membership. Better late than never!

A while ago I bought a Groupon for a discount on a membership at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.  I bought a family membership, then didn’t go for months and months.  Well finally, in the last two months of our year long membership, we went to the Adler Planetarium today!!!!  Here are some of the highs and lows of today’s overall very fun visit, and info about our next visit, which will be Thursday evening 6/16/11 for their monthly “Adler After Dark” over 21 event.

view of Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan taken by Adler
view of Chicago skyline & Lake Michigan taken outside Adler

OK first a brief note about our low point of the visit- the cafe.  I know someone who works for the Adler and I will try to find someone within the Adler who perhaps would use feedback about our cafe debacle in a constructive manner.  I had such high hopes, as the cafe windows provide  beautiful views of Lake Michigan.  Here’s a photo taken outside the Adler, which shows not only the lake but also the skyline.  It was so hot and humid today, so we snapped a few shots and headed for the car and air conditioning.

The acoustics inside the museum are not great, so the loudness of the children with no “indoor voices” is pretty noticeable.  One odd thing around one exhibit area was a boy being pushed in a stroller who kept making surprisingly loud nasal sounding honking noises, perhaps like an angry drunk duck yelling into a microphone while competing with a metronome.  Finally after an eternity the father said “Ok honker quiet down!” which bought us all a 45 second respite.  Silence never sounded so good.  🙂

sign for the Definiti theater at the Adler Planetarium
very cool domed theater at the Adler Planetarium

The Definiti Space Theater was where we saw two great shows about the stars, and the highlight of our visit.  The seats recline and the image projects onto the domed ceiling, which reminds me of the domed ceiling of the Omnimax at the Museum of Science and Industry.  I instantly enjoy reclining and viewing the images on the domed ceiling.  My body relaxes and my spirit becomes very present.  It’s a great feeling.  The person in front of you can fidget and knock you in your knees with their bobbing seat, if you are tall like me.  Note to self: try to pick seats behind mellow adults rather than fidgety kids.    We also saw a 3D show at the Universe Theater which really was not worth our time.  It’s a small-ish flat screen and the show would have been OK to watch at home on TV on a night when nothing else is on, but not up to what I expected for the Adler.  We will skip this theater in the future and stick with the Definiti Space Theater when we go to the Adler.

When we go back I’ll blog again.  I am going to bring our good camera so I can get good shots of some of the cool looking ornate and very old telescopes they have on display.  They are poorly lit, so the iPhone camera just didn’t do the trick.  Also when we return it’ll be for the Adler After Dark event, which will be over 21 only.  I will buy our tickets for that online in advance, to save a little money.  Have you been to the Adler Planetarium?  the Adler After Dark event?  Let me know what you think!  As always, feel free to post a comment on the blog.

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A Psychic & Psychological Look at How to Create Lasting Personal Change

photo of a small sprout growing in dirt
You can sprout new growth at any age!

It is possible to create lasting personal change over time, if you are 22 or 62.  As a psychic reader I specialize in helping people to create real and lasting change in their personal lives.  Effective personal growth begins with self-knowledge of both a given problem or issue, and the right-for-you steps to take forward.  Here is a basic outline of how to create lasting personal change.

1.  Accept that this change, even for you, is possible.

2.  Figure out small, doable steps you can take to move towards this personal change.

3.  Take those steps, and do not allow yourself to stop or give up.

4.  If you are stuck in inaction, get help.  Of course, I would humbly suggest myself as a psychic reader in this case since I specialize in helping people with their personal growth goals, but you could also try a well-recommended psychotherapist, or a friend that is gifted in their ability to inspire you to positive action.

baby walking in grass
Baby steps are positive "doable" steps YOU actually DO, not just THINK about doing.

HINT:  If you are not actually practicing your steps, it could be that your initial steps are too ambitious, and that you need to find even simpler, smaller steps that get you moving in the direction you want to be moving.  The first step is to get moving forward at all, even if it is slower than you’d like.

SUPER IRONIC HINT: Everyone is different, so what motivated one person, or what were good initial steps for one person to take might not be effective for you.  That’s why this is ironic.  I am listing steps then telling you that generalized steps can get you into trouble.  If they don’t work for you, you may get discouraged and give up totally.  That’s why step #2 is so open ended, because you have to figure out what initial steps are both helpful and doable for YOU as initial steps.  That’s also why step #4 is to get help.  Getting discouraged and doing nothing is seldom going to resolve your issue.  After all, you may have already extensively tested the “doing nothing” method and received unsatisfactory results.  😉  I think we all have!