Monday.  Last day of November.  I'm already getting excited about Christmas thanks to a call from Lauren yesterday.  She's figuring out her shifts at the coffee shop and counting down to coming home and we can't wait.  With the exception of my co-workers, I've got almost all of my Christmas shopping done this year.  The fact that my parents and sister were mules for my western-bound gifts this fall gave me a concrete deadline and a definite reward for getting shopping and wrapping done good and early!

Hope you had a good weekend; ours saw us gently simmering in comfort and warmth.

I haven't checked yet with Mary Ellen Beninger (our morning news host) to see if she followed through, but we both clipped a chili recipe out of the Metro on Friday with plans to make it on the weekend.  I brought it to her attention and, as soon as I mentioned coconut milk, she was coming at me with a pair of scissors - in a good way - and clipping that baby right out of there.

I grabbed the ingredients on our way north and was going to make it on Saturday but, by the time I got around to looking at the recipe, I'd left myself far too few hours for a slow cooker to get the job done (unless we wanted a late night dinner).  So I made it yesterday instead.  Nothing better on a chilly day to have a fire going and a slow cooker bubbling.  Add to that a pair of well-worn flannel pj's, and you have my idea of paradise.

Now, as usual, I added a few extras: more carrots, a can of chick peas and some mushrooms plus extra tomato paste - and a half packet of sodium-reduced taco seasoning mix - and it turned out wonderfully.  I wasn't sure how the apples would taste, but as it turns out, I pretty much drowned them with the other ingredients, so their flavour didn't have a chance to poke through.  You might want to follow the recipe (what a novel idea!) for optimum results.  When I misplaced the Metro recipe, I found the identical one online, so here it is:

CrockPot Turkey Chili with Apples

from Korey Kealey of FoodThought

1 each: onion, carrot and celery stalk, chopped
2 cups each: apples, cored and chopped and butternut squash, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb (454 g) ground turkey, cooked
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
¼ tsp (1 mL) each: salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (10 fl oz/284 mL) undiluted chicken broth
1 can (400 mL) light coconut milk
2 tbsp (25 mL) tomato paste
1 cup (250 mL) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Combine everything in your CrockPot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if you like.

Turns out we were enjoying it while the Grey Cup game was on.  Nice little coincidence there (unless that's why the paper had the recipe to begin with, and I didn't put two and two together).

Hope you enjoy our debut today at 8:15 am of Santa's Big Bag of Cash.  Should be fun - will people stick with their original present or go for more?  Seems with all of the winners who took $1000 the past three weeks instead of going for the CHFI Ten Grand in their hand...I bet we'll see some careful winners.  Oh, and CHFI Loyalty Club members who are caller #15 (since it's at 8:15) get $98 regardless, so that's pretty cool, too.

Take care and we'll talk to you in December.  Yep - tomorrow.

This just in and tell all your friends: tolerance is not the same as inclusion.  Wouldn't we all be happier at this time of year if people would drop the facade of tolerance and be inclusive.  Open our minds to other people's beliefs, keep our own intact, and worship in our own, private and special way?  Nobody can make anyone stop saying "Christmas", just as no one can make someone else start to believe in the Baby Jesus, a Virgin Birth or the Resurrection.  Faith is personal.  It belongs to each of us and if we're secure in our faith, no one can take it away from us.

Now, it's less than a month until Christmas.  Can we please all just get along (and put an end to the e-mails complaining 'cause Christmas ain't as "white" as it used to be - and you know I'm not talking snow.)  Enough already.  Now, back to your Holiday - and Christmas - Favourites.

CHFI has turned up the red & green and will be sliding you into the spirit for the next four weeks.  Starting Monday, we give you a bag of cash and a chance to dash - awesome trips at 7:30 am and Christmas Cash at 8:15 am daily (where you get to keep the money amount you've opened, or go for another present under the tree).  And...we're already mapping out the 17th CHFI Christmas Eve at Erin's!  This year has flown by.

And you're probably starting to get that little flutter of anxiety that comes with the question, "Oh, what do I get them this year?"  I know I am.

You may know that Rob and I are supporters of Plan Canada (formerly Foster Parents Plan) and have three "daughters" in Third World countries.  This year, Plan Canada has begun a new program called "Because I Am a Girl" and - given that I came from a family of four daughters, have one of my own and have adopted only girls myself - I wanted to share it with you.  Read more about it HERE.

I've chosen Birthing Kits.  For $25 each, here's what you get:

When you picture a home birth, do you envision a mud floor in a straw hut?  That’s where most women in the developing world deliver their babies.  These home birthing kits, given to trained traditional birthing attendants, are filled with such things as sterilized instruments, gloves, antiseptic and fresh towels — enough supplies to give 10 babies a healthy start in life.

There are literacy programs (for two women: $100), stoves, sewing machines - all kinds of girl and woman specific gifts that are so, so perfect.  Check it out.

Then again, you could choose something like a goat for that hard-to-buy-for-cause-she-has-EVERYTHING person on your gift list this year!  That is $75.  Mango trees are just $12 each or 10 for $100.  These are called Ethical Gifts - ones that bring hope and change.  As the flyer I read yesterday said:

Really, does your mother need another pair of fuzzy slippers or scented soaps?  Wouldn't she love to receive a gift that would ensure healthy eyesight for two classrooms of children?  Wouldn't your clients appreciate the gift of providing a family in need with the food and income generated by three hens and a rooster over a plastic mug with your company's name on it?

That's what ethical giving is: real dollars going to real projects that change real lives.  To learn more about how you can make a difference, click here.

Okay, perhaps not literally!  You can, however, request a free gift card to notify the person you're honouring.  When you order online, you can even choose to have a Plan e-card sent instantly!  I still remember the Christmas my sister Cindy bought me a goat - 'cause aren't the holidays all about "kids"?  Ha ha!  Think of what a difference your gift to someone could make this year.

Take care, have a good day and thank you again for coming by.  Have a great weekend - enjoy the Christmas music - and we'll meet back here on Monday.

Justice.

After two days of holding our breath and praying that they'd come back with a righteous verdict, at noon yesterday we heard the news: a jury of six women and six men found Christopher Little guilty of first degree murder in a Newmarket courtroom.  The former Markham resident now faces a life sentence with no chance for parole for 25 years.  I'm sorry it's not two life sentences to run consecutively for the deaths of both Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez.  But, for now, we'll be grateful for a guilty verdict and then, with dread, await the inevitable appeal.  On what possible grounds, I wonder?  On what grounds, Little?

With deliberations going on since Monday, many of us who knew, worked with and/or loved Julie (and just as many who were close to Paula) were becoming increasingly anxious that the murderer of these two vibrant young women might walk a free man.

I cannot imagine how the families of Paula and Julie are coping in the aftermath of their loved ones' tragic, senseless deaths.  Yes, it's been nearly three years now since Julie was found butchered in her bed, Paula in the Crocker/Little family's garage, also lifeless.  But time will never fully heal the wounds that Little's night of rage caused both families.

I'm guessing - only guessing - that perhaps what hurts almost as much as each family's loss has been the systematic parading of these women's most intimate secrets, thoughts and acts in front of the eyes of the public.  How wrong is it that we know about Julie's love life or Paula and estranged husband Rick's personal choices during the dying days of their marriage?  It's completely and utterly disgusting, is what it is.

It turns total strangers into voyeurs who speculate, salivate and then formulate their own stories and theories about the lives of these women.  Paula and Julie were assassinated each, twice: once by Christopher Little, and a second time by his defense team who defiled their memories and exposed every single unsavoury bit about their lives in the cause of so-called justice.  Shame, shame, shame!

Who among us could withstand such an acrid scrutiny?  Whose life would emerge as shiny on the other side of such raking and scraping?  I don't know one person whose reputation or dignity could survive what those of Paula and Julie were put through in this man's "defence".  And that is sick and tragic.

The families of these two women - including Julie's two children - will suffer for the rest of their shattered lives.  What happened that February night to Julie and Paula is heinous enough; what happened in a Newmarket courtroom this year has been a crime of a whole different nature.

The Julie we knew at CHFI, where she worked in sales as an Account Executive, is not the woman that everyone heard and read about from the trial.  Much of what we were told by Christopher Little's defense team was stuff he had told them.  None of us is a saint, but Julie Crocker was a good woman, a good friend, a great mother and an even better daughter.  As her mother puts it, it was her kindness that led her to try so hard to let her husband down easily when the marriage was obviously ending.  You can read Judy Crocker's impact statement here.  It's a tough read, but I urge you to take a few minutes.  It's the least all of us can do to cleanse our minds of the vile lies and garbage that have been planted there during the course of this trial.  Please read it.

Today, Julie's mother Judy joins us live on CHFI at 7:20 am.  Her daughter was a co-worker and friend of ours and, as such, we welcome the opportunity to talk with Mrs. Crocker to find out how the children are doing and what yesterday's verdict means in finding just a modicum of peace for her family.  It's all we can wish her now - just peace.

Welcome to Wednesday...and we're back to work.  Seems like forever since Mike and I were in the blessedly familiar (plus wind-and-rain-free) confines of our studio at 777 Jarvis, but I know that as soon as we're back in those chairs and have adjusted them to suit our heights, it'll feel like home again in a matter of moments.

There is no doubt we'll be talking about last night's Dancing With the Stars finale and the great whoop of glee that went up among 40-something women across the land with the win of a former teen idol.  Yes after weeks of ups, downs, aches, pains, trips and triumphs, Donny Osmond won himself the Mirrorball Trophy - with great help, of course, from partner Kym Johnson!  The judges' favourite, Mya, came in second, followed by the amazingly effervescent Kelly Osbourne.  What a lovely surprise she turned out to be, huh?

Honestly, as a formerly rabid Osmond fan, even I was surprised at the number of listeners who mentioned him during last week's trip.  Even BT's Jennifer Valentyne was a fan - same as me - and was rooting for him to win.

When I was a tween and a teen, at least in my circle of friends in Trenton, there were but a few choices as to whose poster could grace your bedroom wall: Donny Osmond or David Cassidy, with perhaps a Leif Garrett tossed in there for a little of the blond bad boy.  Bobby Sherman or the boys from Emergency were for our older sisters; we were the Donny vs David girls.  In my heart, at least, there could be no contest; it was His Purpleness (Donald Clark Osmond's favourite colour, in case you didn't know).

In those pre-VCR days, when the Osmonds were on TV, be it American Bandstand or some evening variety show visit (I'm not old enough to remember the Andy Williams days), I'd plant myself in front of the television and...sob.  I'd have tears running down my cheeks watching him and his fabulously handsome brothers singing, dancing and smiling.  There's a special kind of heartbreak that came with loving an idol; the fantasy and futility made it such a bipolar ride, but one I wouldn't have traded for anything.

Strangely, although the Osmonds (and their offspring) continue to perform - most recently in Vegas - I've never felt an urge to go to see them.  Yes, I get e-mails from Osmondites who still go, hang out with them and are treated with kindness and respect by their idols, but I don't want to go back there.  That time was too precious, just too fraught with emotions, to revisit.  I will always remember the fringed pantsuits, the purity and innocence of loving those five so much, and if I choose to freeze that little slice of my growing up, like a laboratory slide, and tuck it away to preserve its perfection, then that's up to me.

Congratulations "51-year-old Donny".  You've reminded me that all those years ago, I put my money - and my heart - on the right horse.

Got some sad news on Monday night that you've undoubtedly heard by now, and that is of the death of Jacksoul frontman and Juno winner Haydain Neale.  He was 39 years old and passed peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Sunday morning.  Haydain had battled lung cancer for seven months, but that's not even the most shocking part of the story.

Two years ago, Neale sustained serious head injuries when his Vespa collided with a car.  With the release of a single a few weeks ago, and the upcoming drop of the CD SOULmate next week, most of us thought the worst was behind this artist.  His recovery well underway - if not seemingly complete - he was doing again what he was meant to do: spread love and relentlessly positive vibe through songs like "Still Believe in Love", "Can't Stop" and "Shady Day".  He even appeared briefly in the Oct. 4 taping of a Bravo special that aired Nov. 10th.

None of us knew that "Lonesome Highway" would be the last new single that Haydain Neale would live to hear debut on the radio.  Our thoughts and good wishes go to his wife Michaela and their daughter Yasmin.  All proceeds from SOULmate are going to a trust fund in the Neale family name.

If you have a message you'd like to send to Haydain's family, the link to his website is here.  You'll also hear his latest single.  I do hope that that highway isn't so lonesome, after all, Haydain.

Thank you for coming by today.  It's nice to be sharing mornings with you again.

Erin

Hey there - welcome into Tuesday!  I'm happy to share with you just a few more pictures from last week's CHFI Listener Trip to Sandals Dunn's River in Jamaica.  As the tans start to fade and the good times become fond memories, I thought you wouldn't mind.  Here's one journal reader who sure doesn't; "A" wrote this note and I just had to include it here today.  Talk about making all the extra work worthwhile:

Hi Erin, Once again I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate that you take the time to write these journals and send pictures etc. I know it must be the last thing you feel like doing sometimes. I have had agoraphobia since I was a teenager and though I have stretched out the boundaries enough to have a full enough life with it, I still cannot travel any great distances.

So going with you (kind of) on your trips to Newfoundland and now to Jamaica are very special for me. You really make it come alive and I can almost imagine being there myself... I hope you have a safe trip home and thanks again. "A"

We picked up Molly and Pepper from "camp" on Sunday morning and headed north for two days of R&R.  I was already missing them, then came to our room Friday night to see this puppy made from towels, waiting for us - exactly as Molly would.  Aw, Malone!!!

Here we are awaiting our Friday morning live "hit" with Breakfast Television and the truly lovely Jennifer Valentyne.  Yes, it's ValentYne - I carelessly spelled it wrong all last week - and those are our listeners standing behind us.

You can't have missed Gord's "kilt".  It's a towel - you'll have to e-mail him to find out where he got it if somebody on your Christmas list might look good in one, too!  I know that Jenn was admiring it!

At the last minute, Jenn's producer Tracy suggested everybody jump in the pool at the end of the week's final hit.  I wasn't dressed for it.  Here I'm trying to make my excuses to Jenn...

...but Mike decided to go for it.  I checked his pockets for valuables before he took the leap.

Then, after making a splash, there was inevitable wave - but this one was a "good-bye".  After that we all tore back to our radio broadcast site to wrap up OUR show!

Once we'd said our "Love ya, Buh-Bye"s from the piano bar, we enjoyed a laidback day on the beach, poolside and in the warm, clear ocean.

At 2 pm there was a rehearsal for the evening staff/guest talent show.  We were represented by Rob McCarroll who comes down with us annually with friend and our engineer Ron.  He sang Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" and nailed it!  Our winner Dave Watson killed with his blues guitar and boogie woogie "Goin' to Chicago" - that's him in the red shirt - Dave was great!

I sang "Blue Bayou" and duetted with Jennifer on "Let It Be Me", the Everly Brothers ballad...and we did all right - considering there was only one microphone!  The dancers were great and we heard the vocal talents of several staffers, including a greenskeeper and the lady who makes the pizza!  The "playmakers" who kept us entertained poolside all week (and made us do crazy things like those Beach Olympics!) were great dancers, too.

And then...it was time to learn some dance steps, or in the case of Rob and me, go home to bed (and find that towel puppy waiting for us).

It was a trip we'll never forget just for the sheer generosity and kindness of the CHFI winners who donated over $1100 US to the Sandals Foundation.  They wrote and sang two songs for us (you may have heard part of one on Friday's show), and there were hugs and tears as we said good-bye.

It's back to reality tomorrow.  I'll be with you (and Mike and The General) in the morning.

Thanks so much for sharing this journey with us.  And have a gentle day.

Well, we're home.  Yep, Mike and I were given today and tomorrow off, but we're taking a few days to re-cooper-ate (and re-davis-ate) and we'll come back fresh on Wednesday.  In the meantime, so much has happened since last we shared time here.

We got home safe and sound Saturday night, although I left our camera on the plane.  Luckily, it turned up at Air Canada's lost and found, and it only cost the $60 cab ride that Rob had to take while Mike, Deb and I went ahead home in the prearranged ride.  At least it gave me time to get a head start on unpacking.  Got it all done, and some of Rob's too.

I thought I'd start today with an update on one of the highlights of our trip.  I hope you heard on Friday's show a little clip of Adam Stewart who is CEO of Sandals and the son of Sandals Founder and Chairman Butch Stewart.  The Stewarts have set up a Sandals Foundation, the aim of which is to improve community, education and environment.  When Adam told us about this initiative in an interview taped after Thursday's show, I got to thinking: why don't we raise some money for it, and leave Sandals a thank-you from the CHFI Winners this year?

On Thursday night we had our winner "farewell" dinner (pictures to come in a few paragraphs) and told everyone our idea.  Then on Friday, we raffled off an autographed Butch Stewart coffee table book, a bottle of rum and some Jamaica tourism bags to everyone who'd put a donation in an envelope left in their room.  When the raffle entries were tallied, a stunning $660 US had been raised by the winners of our trip!

OK - but it gets even better.  Fast forward to Friday night at the staff/guests' talent show.  I get called up to the stage, along with Jackie Gilgannon (promotions magician) and Ron Combden (our engineer for the week).  Gord and Mike were invited, too, but they were already in bed.

I couldn't believe the words as I read the letter written by the group to us all - and to Ian "The General" MacArthur, who helmed the show beautifully from home this time.

So, on top of that $660 given on Friday morning, another $440 came on Friday night.  Every cent of that money is going to a 6-year-old boy, who lives near Sandals Dunn's River, who is going blind.  He has cataracts in both eyes and needs an operation at a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica and it's expected to cost about $15,000.  The amazing people who make up this year's winners' group have gone a long way towards hopefully helping that boy get his sight back.

That's a first.  In the years we've been doing trips, no group has felt it necessary to give Mike and me a gift - besides the individual presents and souvenirs that listeners like Lisa and Juliet gave us this year (thanks, girls!).  But they were told by Rob that we have been blessed more than enough.  They wanted to give anyway.

I'm sure Adam Stewart, who's pictured here and, yes, is only 28 years old, will be so pleased.  We're going to make sure he hears it from us and knows that CHFI listeners are as good at giving as they are receiving!

Now, about that winner dinner!  We all donned our Thursday best, and met in the lobby of the hotel.  Rob and Jackie dashed up to the second floor to take pictures and isn't this a great looking group of very happy people?

Mike and I did a little posin' on the staircase...

And one more for the paparazzi!

Our hosts, longtime GM Louis Grant and his amazing staff, put together a beautiful dinner out on the lawn in the front of the hotel.  The evening was nothing short of perfect, and included steak and lobster.  We couldn't believe it!

Then Brad Wells stood up and said a few words to Mike, Gord and me, on behalf of all of the 2009 winners.  We were so touched by it all.

We'll share another batch of great pictures with you tomorrow.

Still can't believe Oprah is calling it quits.  Just watched the tape from Friday and cried when she did.  What I find harder to believe is that Judge Judy is the daytime ratings winner.  But once again, there's something for everybody, huh?

Enjoy Tish and Darren and we'll be back with you here tomorrow.

Erin

Sounds of laughter everywhere...And the dancing girls swaying to and fro...I must declare that my heart is there
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico
[Jamaica Farewell by Erving Burgess]

As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end", and our 2009 CHFI Listener Trip to Sandals Dunn's River in Jamaica is no exception.  I'll share a few more pictures with you next week and then it's all just memories and stories and hopes that next year we'll get to do this again and that you'll be with us.  (As a matter of fact, we do have some good reasons for you to update your passport coming in a matter of weeks, but I'm not allowed to fill you in just yet!)

I thought that today - for the sake of closure and all - I'd take you on a sunset cruise.

The Red Curl leaves the Dunn's River property for its sunset cruise at 4:30 daily.

Rob, the Breakfast Television crew, Gord and his lady Dawn plus Jackie Gilgannon (our promotions magician) and her boyfriend Jay, and yours truly were all on board this spanking new catamaran called the Red Curl.  Oh, Alfie and Greg from BT did take another boat so they could shoot video of us!  City TV, once again, EVERYWHERE!

As we sailed along Jamaica's north coast for about 2-1/2 hours, we were treated not only to spectacular scenery, but a lively narration of some of the spots we were seeing such as Sandals founder Butch Stewart's waterfalls and property...

...and Mick Jagger's house on the hill.  Too secluded for me to shoot, I suspect it was probably the mansion with all of that smoke emanating from it (tee hee).  Meantime, we enjoyed some fine hospitality on board the Red Curl, with a great DJ spinning the latest dance hits from home and abroad, plus we were treated to hot hors d'oeuvres and fruit punch.  Cheers, Jennifer, and thanks for sharing your winners and TV audience with CHFI!

Sometimes it's fun just to watch "men at work", wouldn't you say?

Our own Kingpin, Gord Rennie took the controls of the Red Curl for a few moments.  He wanted me to write as the caption for this one, "ME drive boat!  ME drive boat!"...and so, I did...

As we sailed, it was easy to find a quiet moment simply to be thankful.  Jackie shot this one as I watched a cruise ship in the distance.

There's that ship, undoubtedly filled with happy shoppers from the Ocho Rios craft market we'd visited Monday.

I have lots more pictures to share with you, and I'll do that Monday and Tuesday, if you don't mind.  Rob dropped the little piece of apparatus that puts in photos, so until we can hit Staples tomorrow, we'll have to put some on hold 'til Monday.

It is sad to be leaving here tomorrow, but we leave with a real lightness of spirit at having been able to make sure that so many people had, as the song (and Sandals ad) goes, "the time of their lives".

Take care, and thank you for being part of this.  And yes, just as you requested, it appears we are bringing home sunshine with us (but the temperatures, well, they may make us check those before we leave).  Talk to you soon -

Welcome - and thanks so much for checking in.  This week is going SO quickly, and for the first time in years, Toronto hasn't received its first big snowstorm while we're down here.  I can't tell you how much guilt that's alleviated.  But that's my baggage.

We didn't pack umbrellas, but thank goodness Sandals had us "covered" with them today.  If you want to see the amazing team work of promo magician Jackie and our listeners - in efforts to keep us dry - then navigate to the Photo Gallery section of my website and click on November 2009. 

Had the great honour of sitting for a chat with Sandals Chairman and Founder Butch Stewart yesterday.  You're going to hear some of it on today's show, but here's the man himself.

His latest gem is the Emerald Bay property that opens in January in the Exumas, Bahamas.  It was a Four Seasons property and they're in the process of "Sandalizing" it.  Boy, I'd love to see that.  Says Air Canada is flying there, too.  Shall we start hoping for a listener trip there?

The best part about sitting down to chat with Mr. Stewart was the chance to thank him personally for the way his staff has graciously welcomed our CHFI listeners.  To a person, everyone's been treated wonderfully.  Tonight we have our "Farewell Dinner", although of course there's another show tomorrow and some of the group don't even leave until Sunday.

As the interview wrapped up, we were visited by Sandals butler Israel, one of several who take care of many guests here.  Honestly, if you need a cooler by the beach, he's there.  Reservations?  Front of the line.  Got a special brand of liquor that you like?  You call the butler on your own personal cell phone just for him.  If pampering is your thing, Sandals' butler service is unbelievable.  (Surely people don't actually live like this?)  The new hotel in the Exumas is all butler suites.  Unreal.

We had a lovely visit this week from the Parry Town public school choir.  I had to share with you this colourful picture of these angelic little girls, whose school benefits from a Sandals program that gives back to each community it is in.

Here we are, Mike, Gord and me with Sandals Dunn's River General Manager Louie Grant.  What a great guy.  He made such an impression on Rob and me on our very first Sandals visit in 1992; we couldn't have imagined that one day we'd be his guest and not just delighted paying customers.

Here we are setting up for another TV hit with Jennifer Valentine of City TV's Breakfast Television and a few of her winners.  We were talking shopping, while yesterday Mike was on to elaborate on the TV vs Radio Beach Olympics.  (And yes, I'm still finding sand everywhere!)

Here's me trying to win a contest in those games.  In this one, you run into the ocean and then come out and the woman most covered in sand is the champ.  Here's winner Lisa helping me out.  Ewwwwwwww!

I was totally beaten by BT winner Marianne who rolled in the sand - face and all - and deserved that bottle of rum!  I'd still be picking sand from my eyelashes if I'd done what she did.  What a trooper!

Here's Mike competing in another event...he certainly won for form, wouldn't you say?  (But it looks like Jennifer is coming to get that ball from him.  Look out, Mike!)

By the way, I think we're doing another live hit with them today at 8:20 on City tv, but anything can change when you're trying to coordinate two live shows!

After the morning show yesterday, there was a golf outing for four CHFI foursomes.  Rob's won the little mini tournament (with teammates Dennis, Ron and Mark) to bring home some Sandals golf goodies.  I had a nap and prepared journals, Rob came home and showered and then we took a shuttle to the nearby Sandals Royal Plantation property just a 15 minute ride away.  We'd stayed there just the two of us in 2001 and hadn't been back since - oh, my, but it's gorgeous.  I'll try to share some pictures with you of that spot on Monday.

Tomorrow's journal will feature a Jamaican farewell with the beautiful Sandals Sunset Cruise, as we wrap up the week together.  Don't forget, we have another CHFI Ten Grand in Your Hand winner coming tomorrow morning too.

Today we take in a "Lazy River" tube ride (I sure hope it's "lazy" anyway) after the morning show and a quick nap and then it's our good-bye dinner tonight.  Those pics come Monday and Tuesday, too.  I'm trying to spread them out a bit so that I don't spend two hours a day putting together this journal because, believe me, there just isn't enough time in each day!

Thank you for coming by.  I mean that.  And your kind e-mails and tweets have been fabulous.  I'm so glad you're enjoying this week of shows and pictures, too.  Talk to you soon!

Erin

Wednesday already?  This week is flying by.  That's what happens when you jam so much into each day.

Yesterday was the Beach Olympics and we've got some video that we're going to try to send.  They're huge files but Rob has it figured out.  Keep checking CHFI Facebook and, of course, chfi.com for photos.

Last night we were treated to a Sandals catamaran sunset cruise.  It was idyllic.  I highly, highly recommend it if you're coming down to Sandals...and I do hope you're considering it.  They're treating all of our winners royally - even today's golf tournament is complimentary - and we couldn't ask for a better resort to partner with for you.

You may have seen our bit on Breakfast Television on City yesterday morning, as Jennifer Valentine, her TV crew and a few of the 5 BT winners took Jackie Gilgannon and me along from CHFI to visit the local craft market in Ocho Rios.  Another great thing about this area - everything is so local.  Whether you're visiting the falls, golfing, taking in the natural beauty parks or doing some shopping, everything is within a 15 to 30 minute bus ride (along great roads, by the way) from the Sandals resort.  Love it.  Here we are, ready to shop.

Oh, jeez, how I hate to barter.  You ask a price, they say $10 and you're supposed to try to talk them down.  Best I got to was $8; I always feel like they work hard for the money, sitting in the hot sun, making a living the hard way.   We looked at a bunch of necklaces.

And I chose this one, a nice hematite necklace for $5 - the price he asked, by the way!

Here, we had a big laugh as Jennifer and I failed miserably at bartering - you may have seen it on BT yesterday.

And while she and a vendor got down with their bad selves on some little drums...

I was moved to...um...dance....

Then we came upon a little barrier that truly looked like the world's lowest limbo bar.  Jennifer was game...

And we even found a little coconut shell purse that might come if she ever needs to play Xena, Warrior Princess with her daughter!

Grandma Amy was the first person to greet us at the crafts market and the last to say good-bye.  Just another reason to love Jamaica.

Thanks to Jackie for coming along and shooting these pics and to you for being here with us through the journal.  Hope you're having a great week and we'll look forward to talking with you every morning from here at Sandals Dunn's River.

Thanks for coming in - hope your week is going well.  Yesterday was busy, but for a "first" show down here, it went as smoothly as if it was the fourth.  A few little bumps here and there, but nothing that got in the way of sharing with you some of the magic that comes with a live remote broadcast from an island far, far away.  We were even treated to the beautiful sunrise you see above.

We had an incredible turnout from listeners who all wanted to see what happens when you do a live show and we hope they had as much fun as we did.  Here we all are as of about 6:30 am...talk about good sports!  Getting up that early on their vacation - we couldn't ask for more.

Here's Mike (with engineer Ron Combden and promo magician Jackie Gilgannon in the background) at our broadcast table.

Everybody was lively, especially when you consider that Sandals put on a welcome party for us the night  before that even featured a few of our guests (and producer Gord) dancing on tables.  Yes, dancing on tables!  Now, I didn't get shots of any of that - Mike & I had headed off to beddies - but here we are greeting Jennifer Valentine from City TV for the first time this trip (we were at Sandals St. Lucia together last year, and met up at Disney World earlier in '09).

She is such a sweetie.  Tomorrow we'll share some pics of Jenn and me shopping in the Ocho Rios craft market.  Yesterday we did a live cut-in from Sandals, and here we are getting ready for it.  They sure have a big crew; with us it's Mike, Gord, Ron, Jackie and me (and our ever-helpful spouses).  Just another reason to love radio.  That, and it doesn't matter how crazy curly my hair gets 'til you put a camera on me.  Argh!

Our first show, as I mentioned, went really well.  We closed it off with a group called the Happy Smilers (definitely not a blues band!) and I'm still waiting to hear if I passed the audition...

Later, as I shopped with Jenn, Mike represented us extremely well at some kind of beer competition in the pool.

I haven't gotten all the details yet (you'll hear them this morning, I expect) but here he is in training, perhaps doing some stretches?  Look at that form!  A champion, for sure!

I took part in some pool aerobics with some of our winners (haven't had time to hit the gym here yet), so I hope this helped a bit...

Today is a crazy busy one.  After the show, we'll grab a bite of breakfast, hopefully some sun and then a nap.  Our CHFI/Breakfast TV Beach Olympics take place at 3, then it's a sunset cruise to wrap up the day.  Then bed again, as we prepare for another show tomorrow.  Phew!  Look forward to talking to talk to you then.

Hello and welcome to lovely Jamaica.  We're here with about 70 CHFI winners (spouses/daughters/partners included) at the Sandals Dunn's River in Ocho Rios, and truly the only thing missing is you.  Above, the flags as they flew yesterday morning over the beach.

Here's where we are, on a map I shot that showed up on the little screen in the seat back ahead of us.  The flight was great: 4 hours long and uneventful.  We had a group check-in and all went extremely smoothly.  We met our first group of listeners at the airport Saturday morning, and I even had some names and faces memorized by the time we got on the plane.  Now, if only they'd wear the same outfits all week...

Shot this from the newly renovated and extremely efficient Sangster International Airport after our landing.  The clouds that greeted us cleared out by evening, leaving us with a sunny Sunday.

When you arrive at Sangster, there's a lounge for Sandals guests.  There, they tagged and loaded our bags for the 1-1/2 hour bus ride on smooth and new highways to Ocho Rios.  A really seamless travel day, all around.

Outside Sangster, these guys welcomed visitors with colourful leis.  Nice touch, yes?  On the way to our resort, we stopped briefly at a spot that seemed to call out to Mike and my Rob.  I wonder why?

Yesterday, the second half of our group arrived (they'll stay an extra day after we leave next weekend) and they gave us as warm a greeting as we gave them!

The gal in the yellow cover-up is our amazing promotions coordinator Jackie Gilgannon.  We couldn't have done this trip without her and she's been just amazing - everyone here (and anyone who's ever dealt with Jackie on anything) agrees.  After everyone got their room keys and their bags delivered - with astounding speed, I might add - we gathered for a winners' dinner on the beach.  It was perfection, and for lots of great shots, check out the new CHFI Facebook site.  Jackie was our official paparazzi for the event, and she'll be sharing pics with you there all week.

In the meantime, here's where we're doing our show from starting this morning.

We have broadcast from this spot before - it was in January 2006, when Mike and I did our first remote shows together.  It rained and we were almost to our ankles in water, but this year the forecast calls for sun and fun.  And we promise you'll have as much fun listening to the show as we can possibly make it.

We'll have lots of music to get your morning going and all of your favourite features: Wise Guys, Ticket Blitz, Feel Good Favourite and, of course, the CHFI Ten Grand in Your Hand contest, with a brand new week of winning.  Don't you miss a minute of it.

Just to the right of that pool table, our broadcast table and microphones are set up - lots more pictures tomorrow.  In the meantime, I'm thinking of you and hoping you enjoy this trip with us vicariously.  Thank you for sharing it, and we'll be back with you here tomorrow.

Take care,

Hey - it's Friday.  Weekend looks fairly good for Santa's visit on Sunday (don't miss the CHFI float with lots of penguins) and for our outward bound flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Of course, we'll have journals here next week; as I promised yesterday in my rather abbreviated journal (I had meant to come back and add a few more paragraphs but forgot in my rush to get to bed before 10 pm) I'll share pictures with you.  I know, I know - you'd rather be with us.  I get that.  But I hope this will be the next best thing until perhaps next year.  Very early next year...'cause we're going to make you check your passport expiry date again before you know it.  And that's as much as I can say right now!

I have a few photos to share with you this week before we head out.  As you know, I emceed the Celebration of Hope gala in Markham last Sunday.  As it turns out, almost $200,000 was raised!  Two-thirds of that goes to the breast health centre at Markham Stouffville Hospital; the remainder to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  It was an amazing day.  Here I am with Allan Bell, who has helped helm this event for the better part of 20 years now - just a little longer than I have been involved but, of course, his role has been immense, while mine has just been to show up and try to keep things on track!

I love that shot - but this one below is Rob's favourite, by far.  It's me (unfortunately without the great jewelry that Gay Isber designed for the outfit, since we auctioned it right off me before this pic was taken) with Markham Fire Chief Bill Snowball and Allan.

Call that one my "salute to firefighters!" or something.  Great fun.

The next day, Mike Cooper and I took part in a United Way fundraiser held right in our Rogers building at One Mount Pleasant.  I grabbed my iPhone and took a few pictures.  Then, while I donned a chef's hat to serve pizza...

...Mike was proving his prowess over a hot burner, as he served up stir fry with the ever patient Nigel at his side.  My pizza partner, far left, was named David Miller.  (This one has no plans to retire).

It was great fun.  Whether it's harkening back to my first days at DQ, or Tim Hortons and McDonalds fundraisers, I do love serving people food.  There's something about providing comfort and fulfilling a need that gratifies me on a primal level.  Oh, and the fact it was for a great cause made it even better.

I do have to tell you that I witnessed something no person should ever have to see.  As I stood behind the counter, arranging and rearranging the Pizza Pizza slices that glistened under warm, loving lamps, I glanced down at the recycling box at my feet.  And there... (just a second, I have to compose myself)

...there lay....

...be strong, be strong, be strong, Erin!  This has to be told...

...about ten slices of perfectly good, beautiful pizza, tossed callously into the garbage.  Their only sin: being more than an hour old.

Noooooooooooo!  Don't they know that pizza gets tastier as it ages?  The sauce and the crust mingle lustily, the pepperoni and cheese only deepen their loving embrace!  Cut down heartlessly in the prime of their pizza perfection, these love triangles had borne the shame of being ignored for more than sixty minutes.  Thus, in the interests of freshness and safety, they were ignominiously dispatched to the garbage.  Next stop: a Dumpster.  (But only because I couldn't figure out a way to rescue the poor things surreptitiously.  If only my purse had a plastic lining!)

Life does not make sense, my friend.  It just doesn't, no matter how you slice it.  ~ sigh ~

Sometimes the pizza loses, and sometimes - thanks to the pizza - you win.  Don't miss today's winner of the CHFI Ten Grand In Your Hand contest with Pizza Pizza.  It's been an exciting week with way more $1000 winners (thanks to an additional play at 5:30 pm) and we can't wait to hear how it all comes out this morning at 7:30 am.

I hope you have a terrific weekend, no matter what you have planned.  The travel gods and Air Canada Vacations willing, we'll all get down to Jamaica and our resort in Dunn's River safe and sound and we'll be talking to you Monday morning.

Take care, and thanks for coming by here today.  Talk to you Monday.

Here we are at Thursday.  Hope your week's going well - mine's been pretty much a blur (I know, what else is new?) thanks in part to bleary eyes.

My sis is here from BC and, despite her best efforts to let us nap when we need to and get to bed in good time, the dogs just can't help springing off the bed (and back on again) every time Auntie Heather comes, goes and walks down the hallway.  Turns out she's very exciting (but, to them, in three minute bursts)!

My schedule hasn't really made for a lot of fun time with Heather, but at least we got out for a nice lunch on Tuesday and plan to have dinner somewhere tonight.  At least she understands the life of the perpetually sleep-deprived.  That's how Rob and I roll.

She heads out on the train to Montreal tomorrow to take an opal grading course (she's a gemologist by trade) then flies home next week.  It's nice we get to see each other every now and then - a luxury, given that she lives so far away.

Speaking of the "jet set", I haven't started packing yet, but we're off to Jamaica with our CHFI winners on Saturday.  Some join us on Sunday (and they'll stay 7 days as well) and we'll all be with you on Monday morning on CHFI.

I am going to pepper this journal with pictures for you, sharing this trip as I usually do with our travels.  And, of course, you'll have chances to win $1000 with us every day, too...and $10,000 on Friday after the 7:30 am news.  Whatever you do, don't miss your name - not just with us, but with Darren at 5:30 too.

This is Remembrance Day.  When (to paraphrase Canadian John McCrae's In Flanders Fields) to us, from failing hands, was thrown the torch.  It is ours to hold high, and we shall not break faith with those who died in Flanders Fields, or anywhere else in the world, defending the freedoms and values that we Canadians should hold so dear.

I say "should hold" because really, how many of us do?  We live in a ridiculously - and I mean ridiculously - blessed, bountiful and fortunate country.  We are free to disagree without being shot, we are free to vote without fear of having our fingers cut off or being blown off as we mark our X.  We are free to love who we want, wear what we want, say what we want and, most importantly, believe - or not believe - what we want.  And we are so damned spoiled that many of us we take most of it for granted.

How many people haven't even worn a poppy this year?  At an event I attended recently, of a large group of adults seated on a stage - people who shape minds and hearts and set examples - at least two-thirds were without poppies.

Maybe those poppies were on their coats?

I hosted an event on Sunday and didn't wear a poppy on either dress I donned, as the event was being taped to air in December and we didn't want to "date" the broadcast.  I made the wrong decision.  I did not wear one of the three poppies I brought with me that day and I will not make that mistake again.

Yesterday in a restaurant of ethnic origin, I noticed that none of the servers or hosts, and few of the customers, wore a poppy.  Is it, I wondered, because it is our military heroes that we are to remember today, and not those of their homeland?

Then it occurred to me: it was because of the deaths and other innumerable sacrifices of our young Canadian men and women, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters, that Canada is the extraordinarily, ridiculously wonderful country to live in that it is.  The country that welcomes, that provides, that offers opportunity and endless space to grow.  Those soldiers we honour today and in the days leading up to November 11 are the reason we wear a poppy.

If I lived in Japan and everyone, say, wore a green ribbon on a day of remembrance for Hiroshima, I would wear a green ribbon out of respect for the land I called my home, and the losses of its sons and daughters.  And yes, that is taking into account the fact that thousands of Canadian soldiers were made Prisoners of War by the Japanese during WWII.  It's about respect, is it not?

(You should know, by the way, that the restaurant was not Japanese; I use the symbolism of a ribbon in Hiroshima as an example.  And I am in no way saying that it's all about who is more Canadian than whom.  That is not at all the point of what I'm saying.  If that's what anyone surmises, they underestimate me and that assumption is beneath us both.)

Regardless, my point is moot if the sons and daughters of this land we call home don't bother to buy or wear a poppy, either.  If charity begins at home, so must patriotism (obviously) and pride.  We cannot forget.

Please don't let 11 am go by today without taking time for quiet reflection.  Remember the struggles, the sacrifices, the hardships and injuries.  The losses, the loved ones, the families irrevocably torn apart and hearts shredded beyond all repair.

Prove that "true patriot love" is much more than just a line we sing to start a hockey game.

Please turn up your computer volume and take a moment to watch the Remembrance Day video that our own Jay Kennedy put together.  You should really see it; click here, then navigate to the Media Gallery and click on To Our Canadian Troops. 

The song to which he set the montage of images is one I've told you about here already.  It's by Dennis Leclair who, last night, along with a local military band and school choir, performed "To Our Canadian Troops" for an array of dignitaries, soldiers, politicians and attendees at a fundraiser called, appropriately, "True Patriot Love".  All money raised last night and through sales of Dennis's CD is going to help military families in need.

Over the past several weeks, I've been proud to help Dennis (and my sister Heather, who wrote the band arrangement for this stirring piece) as he raised awareness and funds. He will continue to do so, and an upcoming DVD accompanying the CD will include Jay Kennedy's photo montage.

Take a moment to watch it - and remember - today, won't you?

Erin

Some thoughts today about a day in history two decades ago.

Below is a picture of one of my prize possessions: a piece of the Berlin Wall.  It's the size of a large loaf of sourdough bread, weighs a ton and was brought home by my dad during one of his trips to Germany as a Canadian Armed Forces officer.

He tells me that he took that large chunk under the watchful eyes (and probably through the gun scopes) of soldiers preventing East Germans from trying to get through to the West.  I'm kind of surprised he did it, but I have a suspicion there may have been some bier involved, ja?

A few years ago, Rob and I were fortunate enough to visit Berlin.  Among the many unforgettable experiences was a chance to walk, not just near, but on the Berlin Wall.  After its removal, these stones were left as a reminder of the city's division.  It is an astounding feeling to step over a barrier that changed so much of Europe for 28 years.  And (although its destruction began at night) on this day, the world was awakening to the news that the wall was coming down.

While the wall's destruction meant freedom and change for the people of both sides of Germany, it also meant the loss of a great amount of art, as renowned painters had used the Berlin Wall as the world's longest canvas.

It was also an ever-changing canvas; artwork was often painted over within hours or days. The Wall art was not protected, everybody could paint there - as long as you were on the Western side.  The Eastern side was white or grey until "the fall" when that side too began to bear bright colours and striking messages.

Today there are only a few painted sections left, as a reminder.  We captured one of them at Potsdamer Platz.

What a remarkable thing to be remembering this week as the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is marked around the world.  If you're interested in a film that depicts the bleak hopelessness, fear and oppression of East Berliners, and the changes wrought by the wall's destruction, I urge you to search out The Lives of Others.  I have linked the trailer to it here; it was so riveting that, until just now, I had completely forgotten that it was in German with English subtitles.

Have a good day and thank you so much for coming by.

Life is a rough biography.  Memories smooth out the edges.  [Dante G. Roque]

Wasn't that a weekend?  When I finally got outside for a few minutes late yesterday afternoon, I was hit in the face with a whiff of spring.  And just for a moment, it wasn't November, it was April!  I hope you indulged in similar weather fantasies this weekend.

Friday seems like three years ago now, instead of three days, but all went well.  Lauren arrived safely Thursday night from Ottawa.  After the Women of Influence luncheon - a hugely successful sell-out - we met up, spent a few hours together and then she got herself ready for her big night.

At 7 pm in the school auditorium, we joined dozens of other proud, excited and, yes, relieved parents to watch the Convocation of the Class of 2008/09, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts.

Principal Barrie Sketchley began the evening with a speech about not choosing "shoes too small".  The gist of his address was to aim high, and he illustrated his tale with plenty of emotion.  The man truly loves his work and although I'm sure he has plenty of challenging days, his students are lucky to have him.

The proof is also in the pudding: some 60% of this public high school's graduating class were Ontario Scholars, achieving averages of 80 percent or higher.  Does that strike you as high?  I haven't been able to find a provincial average, but it sure seems incredible to us.  Says a lot for a school and its teachers, for sure.  Not to mention the fact that the kids are studying what they love, and there's no doubt that that makes a difference in commitment and achievement and, yes, marks.

Dozens of awards were then handed out (I mentioned Friday that Lauren received two, including a shared one for Musical Theatre, plus French honours and an Ontario Scholarship) and then diplomas were distributed.  As the evening neared the three-hour mark, the graduating class was stirred by the valedictory address of student Solomon Grant.

He spoke of a young Maritime woman who was her high school's valedictorian in 1973 and who took that opportunity to point out what was wrong with the system by which she got that honour.  She'd been chosen because of her marks, and she suggested that a valedictorian should be selected by her or his peers, not simply by academic standing.  She had numerous other suggestions, many of which had also been implemented in years to come by other schools (and probably her own).

Rob and I both got a catch in our throats when Solomon revealed that that young woman was his mother.  We were riveted from then on.

It was a great evening.  Lauren and Nathan came home, we shared an early birthday cake for her boyfriend and listened to their just-released high school band cd.  They then left to join friends and spend the next few hours taking turns singing at a local Korean karaoke restaurant.  We didn't see much of her this weekend, but she had a great time.  Then back to Ottawa last evening.

I am an awful mom.  We took video and I'm unable to find a good still shot from it; Rob took a few stills but they were blurry.  So I have not one picture from her high school graduation.  I don't even have the photos their school sold us; she took them all!  So, sorry, I've no shots today.  I get an F in Current Events.

I don't have any pictures from yesterday's event either.  I was too busy being in it to shoot it.  Of course, it was the Celebration of Hope Gala in Markham, an annual fundraising blowout that includes shopping, dining, auctions and some amazing stories.

This year they introduced the Hope Awards, whose recipients have not only had - and beaten - cancer, but who used their battles to widen knowledge and attention for their cause.  It was an incredible day and although I'm not sure just how much money we managed to raise (I say "we" although I merely helped host the event) it was undoubtedly a huge success.  York Region Rogers subscribers will be seeing it next month as "Celebration of Hope".  You might want to watch for it.

Well, friend, I'll sign off for now.  Today during the noon hour, Mike and I are going to don our hair nets and serve pizza for our fellow Rogers employees to benefit United Way.  Oh, I'd love to have some pictures of THAT for you!  This week I am also hoping that I'll be able to share some time with my sister Heather (from BC) who happens to be staying in our spare bedroom!

Enjoy the new and improved CHFI Ten Grand In Your Hand with Pizza Pizza.  Don't forget to listen for your name at 5:30 pm each day, too.  And if you can't - well, that's what the "buddy system" is all about.  So maybe you have to share a little cash - wouldn't it be worth it???

Erin

Ahhhhh...Friday.  Got a hugely busy couple of days ahead, but the duties are interspersed with moments of great enjoyment, too.  I like the balance that lies ahead, or at least the illusion that I'm choosing to hold on to!

Today it's an entire panel of bankers at the Deloitte Women of Influence luncheon.  Looking forward to hosting it again.  By the way, if you're coming, it's at the Royal York this time.  Don't be like me last year and head to the Convention Centre for a lunch at the Fairmont!  (I still made it in time, but it's the stuff that cold sweat nightmares are made of).

Tomorrow, I head to Hilton Markham Suites to bed down for the night before the whirlwind gala Sunday that is the Celebration of Hope.  I've told you about this in years past and in the weeks leading up to this one.  This year, it's going to be different in that we're honouring several trailblazers - people like Mark Dailey of CITY TV and Bev Thomson of Canada AM - for their courage to put a "face" to cancer, and help raise awareness for the disease, and not just their fight against it.

I hope to have pics for you here on Monday - Tuesday at the latest.  And it won't just be of the gala.

That's because tonight we're going to set foot in Lauren's high school for the last time.  After four years of visiting for a variety of reasons but primarily to see our daughter perform, we're going to watch her - and her Class of '09 schoolmates - take the stage for a final time, at Convocation.

On Monday she called us in tears.

"Is Daddy there?" she asked.

"Yes, he is - what's going on?" I said, my fear rising with every word that spilled out.

"Put him on speaker phone.  I have news!"

I did, and when she'd caught her breath she shared with us the announcement that she and her boyfriend Nathan were jointly receiving the award they'd been hoping for all year for Musical Theatre.  While we'd had our fingers crossed for both of them to win, we couldn't have imagined the school would choose that they should share it.

While I tearfully congratulated her, she interrupted me to tell me there was more news: she'd won a second scholarship, this one for the student with highest marks who was going on to community college.  None of us had even known that award existed!

As you can imagine, we've all been pretty pleased and proud this week.  I mean, it doesn't take an award or scholarship to do that - we all know when we've raised a child who seems to know right from wrong, does the proper thing even when no one's around to notice, and will choose to try to lighten someone's load, if given the chance.  We all hope that the lessons and morals we instill in our children to do the right thing will stay with them and carry them through.

An award is nothing more, nothing less than icing on a sweet, layered and wonderful cake.  And more than anything, we look forward to having a moment - if not today then hopefully tomorrow - to sit and enjoy a big slice together, the three of us.

I wish you a wonderful weekend and again, am hoping to have some pictures for you here on Monday.  Take care, enjoy our final CHFI Trip a Day Giveaway (for now; we still have oodles of reasons to get your passport updated) at 7:30 am today.

On Monday, the CHFI Ten Grand in Your Hand with Pizza Pizza returns with not just five, but now NINE instant $1000 winners a week.  Of course, you can take the $1000 and run (and scream) or put it in for Friday's $10,000.  Ah, the suspense!  And it returns on Monday.  I love this station.

And thank you for making it all so much fun to do, day in, day out - no matter how full some of these days get!

Welcome in - thank you for spending some time with me here today.

I want to share with you what I think is just another great reader e-mail, and then we'll put this subject to rest.  Holly Carter has some advice, some hard-earned wisdom, and I wanted to pass it along.  But if her name sounds familiar to you, it should; she was our winner in yesterday's CHFI Trip a Day Giveaway to Sandals in Jamaica.  Here's what Holly had to say:

Dear Erin.........firstly I have to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ..to you Mike, Ian, Gord and the entire CHFI team for the amazing trip that I was lucky enough to win this morning. I am having moments of complete joy, interspersed with total shock......I cannot wait to meet you all, and spend what will surely be the trip of a lifetime for me and my wonderful husband.

Now onto other things, I read with interest and heart break the stories regarding dogs and chocolates. Sad to be sure, but the information is invaluable and thank you to those for sharing.

I also want to include a tidbit in regards to cats and plants. I have thought myself to be fairly well informed as to what plants we need to keep out of reach of our little furry friends. However I had no idea about lilies and how toxic they are to cats. So I share this information in the hopes it will prevent a calamity and heart break to a cat owner. We were given a beautiful flower arrangement. It contained some gorgeous lilies. Stargazer lilies to be exact.

Well my one cat 'Rocky' got into them. I noticed early one morning his fur around his neck and his two front paws a very distinct bright yellow color. The pollen from the stamens. At first I did not think too much about it, but decided to check on the Internet anyway about lilies....to my horror it told of how deadly they were and every part of the plant was toxic, leaves, petals, stem, stamens etc. I quickly called the vet and then the saga began, blood tests, IV's, and charcoal down the throat again and again, we had to transport him to an overnight clinic so he could have 24 hour care. In the morning we transported him back to our own vet and he had more IV's and blood tests. $$$$, very costly as you might imagine.

Finally after 3 days we got him back home and his blood showed he was in the clear, we got lucky. So be sure to tell your family and friends to never bring lilies into the house if they have cats.....all lilies are bad, Easter, Tiger, Peace, Stargazer, Japanese...etc. If they eat some and are not tended to within the first 6-8 hours, the outcome is very poor, and death usually follows within a few days. The toxin destroys the kidneys, and it takes very little of the plant to do so.

I thought I knew about most plants and cats, but apparently not, and I was surprised when I asked two of the girls who work the front desk at the vet, and they said that they had no idea either. So as I said spread the word. Thanks Erin.

According to www.wisegeek.com, other foods that dogs and cats should avoid include: raisins, macadamia nuts, mushrooms, tomatoes and tomato plants, chicken bones, Xylitol (a sweetener found in Trident and Orbit gum, just 5 pieces can kill a 65 lb dog), raw potatoes, nutmeg, turkey skin, alcohol and hops.  Read more - especially about Xylitol, which can be found in many diabetic foods - here.

As usual, our listeners and readers have been of great help.  You amaze me.  I hope I've helped a bit in return.

Thanks again and we'll usher in a weekend here tomorrow.  Lauren called us this week in tears (with good news) and I think I can spill a few of the beans here.

Good morning - welcome to Wednesday.  We're halfway through the week already and I know that I often write that on this weekday, but somehow it seems to spring upon me.  Boy, there are a couple of busy weeks ahead of us before we get on that Air Canada plane to Jamaica on the weekend of the 14th with CHFI winners.  For one, my big sister Heather is in the province.  She's with me next week and I look forward to hosting and visiting with her, but hate to duck out for a daily nap and 10 pm bedtime!

This Sunday is one of the biggest events of my year: the annual Celebration of Hope, a gala I have the honour of hosting each year for my friend and inspiration, Allan Bell.  For two decades now, this event has raised money for breast cancer research and the diagnostic centre at Markham Stouffville Hospital.  It's a huge event and keeps getting bigger.  The whole thing is a whirlwind for me.

In an unusual - but fortuitous - turn of events, there are still a few tickets to this outrageously fun gala (which includes incredible onsite shopping and a performance by Phantom of the Opera star Adam Brasier, too).  There are more details under the 'Recent Announcements' section of my homepage.  You will be so glad you joined us - and best of all, it's in the daytime.

It hasn't even sunk in yet that Lauren's home from Ottawa tomorrow night.  She and boyfriend Nathan join their Class of '09 in convocation from high school.  I'll be trying to squeeze in time with her - no, making time to be with her - between a Women of Influence lunch on Friday that I'm emceeing, the gala on Sunday and, of course, her plans to hang with friends.  How do we get so busy?  Jeepers.

Enough about me.  Let's share a few e-mails from yesterday about dogs and chocolate.  They were touching enough that I thought you might want to read them, too, as further caution.  You'll note that events in both e-mails took place around Christmas, so if you get nothing more from today's journal, it's a reminder to be vigilant.

From G:

Read your blog today (and everyday) regarding dogs and chocolate.  We had a beautiful German Shepherd/Husky Mutt "Cody" we adopted back in 1991 who was the best pet ever. We had never seen him go after food on a table. I make homemade chocolate at Christmas every year soft centres, caramels etc., so I felt comfortable leaving dishes of chocolate around the house on end tables for company.

One evening we had to go out as a family for a little while, after we had returned I noticed that the chocolates were gone and while I was interrogating my boys (age 10 and 12 at the time) as to which one had decided to pig out we noticed our 100 lb dog was bouncing up and down like a kangaroo.  We put him outside to calm down.  He then started to take flying leaps at the door trying to get in. We then called the vet emerg line. That's when we learned about dogs and chocolate.  He was on a high like heroine.

We were lucky that he was such a large dog.  The amount of chocolate he ate would have killed a smaller pet.

Today's journal had special meaning for me. The message of the poppies and the soldiers - a great annual reminder though I am sure all soldiers are in our hearts and prayers daily.

The message that really struck a heart-felt pain was your mention of chocolate and dogs. Unfortunately I know first hand how deadly chocolate is to dogs.

Hard as it is to believe, I lost my two dogs, Angel & Arch, 13 and 11 respectively, to chocolate. I was going through a bad time in my life and absentmindedly left a bag of bulk food goods on the floor as I raced to go get my daughter from someone's house. Upon my return, the goods were all over the place and much to my heart sick surprise there was crumbs of chocolate - reminding me that I had bought baker's chocolate for Christmas baking.

Yes it was a week before Christmas with two children grade three and kindergarten and now having them to get a life lesson all too early in life - about just that life and death. My dogs' suffering was so painful to witness and trying to get help was even harder.

One animal hospital wanted to do a series of tests to find how much they consumed when it was obvious that they were beyond being helped. The receptionist called them doorstops. They could not walk or see - the reaction was so fast despite them trying to rid their bodies of what they digested in nature's way. The hospital refused to put them down. I contacted SAD and they could not believe the lack of treatment I received and suggested that I wait for my vet to open the next day. Fortunately but with so much sadness and guilt on my part, Arch died. Angel kept trying to fight but was put to sleep the next day. There is not a second that goes by that I do not regret what I did to them.

So yes, warn your listeners about chocolate. No should have to witness the suffering it can cause despite the pleasure it gives to humans. Thank you for listening.

When I think of our chihuahua-mix Mindy getting up and eating Mom's Easter centrepiece, or our dogs getting into chocolate at my sister's house, I'm amazed at how they emerged seemingly unscathed.  Lucky, I suppose, that it wasn't the dark baker's chocolate.  A reminder that it's Theobromine, a bitter alkaloid found in higher concentrations in dark chocolate, that is the culprit.

Take care, friend, have a gentle day and I'll be back with you here tomorrow.  Two more days of Sandals Trip a Day giveaways, and then the CHFI Ten Grand in Your Hand with Pizza Pizza returns.  Hope you're in on that, too.  Goodness knows, we can all use some sunshine, but $1000 a day - or $10,000 each week - sure goes a long way, too.

Erin

Good day - welcome to Tuesday.  Got your poppy yet?  Last Friday (the final Friday of October) was the first official day for poppy sales.  Wear it on your left, close to your heart, if you can.  If your seatbelt plucks it off every time you buckle up, do what you can.  I'm sure our veterans and soldiers wouldn't have an issue with you wearing it on your right lapel if you have to, as long as you remember.  That's what truly matters.

My annual tip for keeping a poppy on: use an earring back to hold the straight pin or - if you choose - use a tiny Canada flag pin through the centre instead.  Another handy tip: stick the pin through a pencil eraser - that'll hold it.  Or just keep buying replacements.  The Legion and the myriad families it helps can make good use of your donations.

I heard from three journal readers yesterday who loved those crud-coloured molasses kisses that I so dissed yesterday.  To Dianne, Denise and Gaby, I too wish that you'd lived near me.  I'd have gladly given you mine.

I just wanted to pass along a friendly reminder for you to tell the kids to keep their candy hidden somewhere other than, say, under the bed, or some other place that a little pet might find it.

In preparing for one of last week's evening shows, I did some research about dogs and the toxicity of chocolate.  Sure enough, it's not a myth.  In fact, you may be interested to know that some chocolates are more toxic for dogs (and cats, too) than others.

Unsweetened (baker's) chocolate contains 8-10 times the amount of Theobromine - a bitter alkaloid in the cacao plant that's toxic to animals - as milk chocolate.  Semi-sweet chocolate falls roughly in between the two for Theobromine content.  White chocolate contains Theobromine, but in such small amounts that poisoning is unlikely.  And yes, caffeine is present in chocolate, but less than Theobromine.

So if you were wondering if that was just some myth about dogs and chocolate, the short answer is “no”, but a lot depends on what kind of chocolate it is.  Find out more at vetmedicine.about.com.   And just remind the kids to keep their candy out of reach.  Not just of their siblings...but the family pet, too.

Have a good day and thanks for coming by.

Hope you had a restful and interesting weekend.  I was at the cottage alone (Rob stayed in TO for two Whiskey Jack gigs, a rehearsal and a dinner to attend last night) and no one came to the door trick or treating.  That's a good thing because all I could have offered them was wrapped Mandarin oranges, or maybe a handful of croutons.  I totally did not prepare for any visitors and, as it turns out, was right not to.

I can just about imagine how busy your Saturday was if you have little ones in the house.  One great thing about Hallowe'en falling on a Saturday is that you didn't have to race home from work to get the kids fed, dressed up, made up and on their way; you had all day to do that.  The bad thing: you also had all day to try to keep them sane before what's probably the most exciting night of the year for a child.

I was reminded yesterday about an e-mail from a man who suggested that with H1N1, it was time to call off this "outdated custom" of going door-to-door for candy.  My question would be: okay, how would you go about stopping it?  How would you explain it to your children, and how can you have forgotten what it's like to be a child?

Some of my clearest and fondest memories are of Hallowe'en: the somewhat lame costumes we'd throw together ('cause we were not the kind of family that went out and bought costumes, and mom was way too busy keeping it all together to try to put together Oscar-winning outfits for four kids), and our often futile efforts to hide candy from said siblings.

When the excitement of making the rounds had ended, I remember coming home and pouring out my motherlode from an old pillowcase onto the living room rug.  There I'd sort it: candy bars in one pile, gum, mini Life Savers and jaw breakers in another.  There'd be a separate pile for apples, single candies, etc..  Do you remember those god-awful filling-removing molasses kisses in scary orange and black paper that - when you finally got desperate enough to eat - you couldn't even peel off the candy?  Gah.  Somebody must have liked them, but I haven't found anyone yet!

Best treats: full-sized chocolate bars.  So rare, the four-leaf clover of Hallowe'en goodies.  Worst treats: a tie between chips that were little more than crumbs once they'd been jostled around in a cloth sack for two hours, and cans of pop.  The pop should have been as big a treat as the full-sized chocolate bars, but they weighed a ton to tote around.  And they killed the chips.

Once we'd dutifully brought home the candy (and no, we didn't always adhere to the rule of "no eating while you're out", although we meant to), we'd lay it out.  The apples went to mom, who made sauce out of them.  The rest, I'd put in piles.

But there was an uneasiness that filled the air, as what should have been a joyous ritual was played out...because hovering like a vulture over the entire proceedings would be my dad, who - with little warning - would swoop in and grab anything with peanuts (his favourite).  We sqwaked like a momma bird guarding her nest, but not that loudly; we knew it was part of the game.

It was one of the things that made the whole night so memorable.  I even recall the year we didn't have Hallowe'en: we were in England (I was eight or so) and, since they didn't celebrate the holiday there, all of the Canadian and American kids on the Air Force base were treated to a party.  It wasn't a normal Hallowe'en, but it was memorable just the same.  I went as a genie.  Mom drew on facial hair and I wore dad's light blue long underwear.  No wonder I'm scarred.

An "outdated custom"?  I don't think so.  Had the pandemic threat become more of reality, then perhaps we'd have needed to rethink Hallowe'en for this year.  Fortunately that wasn't a necessity and people were just reminded about hygiene, but calling off Hallowe'en seems to bring to mind a character more closely associated with the holiday of Christmas: the Grinch.

Hope you had a good one.  Here's to happy memories and making more of them for ourselves and our children every chance we get.

Speaking of making memories - don't forget that we have five more luxury trips for two to Sandals in Jamaica, today through Friday after the 7:30 am news.  Don't miss out - go to www.chfi.com to sign up for our Loyalty Club if you're not yet in it - and next week, we're back to the CHFI Ten Grand in Your Hand with Pizza Pizza.

All treats, no tricks.  Just the way we like it.  Have a great day.