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Hi everyone! It’s time to give back! I have been trying to come up with a fun way to give to charity, give to listeners, and have fun at the same time. Well, I think I have figured it out. Welcome SALKI’S AUCTION HOUSE!

Here’s how it works:
An item will go up for auction on Thursdays at 9am on the Salki’s Auction House facebook page. Bidding will take place right underneath the picture, on the wall. It will start at 2 dolllars and you have to go up by at least .25 (cents) each time. The auction will CLOSE at 4pm that day. It’s very easy! The last bidder, the one one who bid the MOST, buys the item.
Here’s the best part, all of the money goes to the Salvation Army!
PRIZE PICK-UP needs to be sometime in the following 2 weeks. (from the station) This is where you will drop the money off, pick up your auction item, and maybe…another little surprise as well!

So let’s have some fun everyone! PUNCH IN : AUCTION for 500 points

xox kerr

I know, I know…I seem to ramble on about the same things sometimes! But, I came across this and I thought I would pass it along. Perfectionism is boring!

(CNN) — The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting, but as hard as we try, we can’t turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like “Never good enough” and “What will people think?”

Why, when we know that there’s no such thing as perfect, do most of us spend an incredible amount of time and energy trying to be everything to everyone? Is it that we really admire perfection? No — the truth is that we are actually drawn to people who are real and down-to-earth. We love authenticity and we know that life is messy and imperfect.

We get sucked into perfection for one very simple reason: We believe perfection will protect us. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.

We all need to feel worthy of love and belonging, and our worthiness is on the line when we feel like we are never ___ enough (you can fill in the blank: thin, beautiful, smart, extraordinary, talented, popular, promoted, admired, accomplished).

Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be our best. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth; it’s a shield. Perfectionism is a 20-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from being seen and taking flight.

Living in a society that floods us with unattainable expectations around every topic imaginable, from how much we should weigh to how many times a week we should be having sex, putting down the perfection shield is scary. Finding the courage, compassion and connection to move from “What will people think?” to “I am enough,” is not easy. But however afraid we are of change, the question that we must ultimately answer is this:

What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think — or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

So, how do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to embrace our imperfections and to recognize that we are enough — that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy? Why we’re all so afraid to let our true selves be seen and known. Why are we so paralyzed by what other people think? After studying vulnerability, shame, and authenticity for the past decade, here’s what I’ve learned.

A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.

There are certainly other causes of illness, numbing, and hurt, but the absence of love and belonging will always lead to suffering.

As I conducted my research interviews, I realized that only one thing separated the men and women who felt a deep sense of love and belonging from the people who seem to be struggling for it. That one thing is the belief in their worthiness. It’s as simple and complicated as this:

If we want to fully experience love and belonging, we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging.

The greatest challenge for most of us is believing that we are worthy now, right this minute. Worthiness doesn’t have prerequisites.

So many of us have created a long list of worthiness prerequisites:

• I’ll be worthy when I lose 20 pounds

• I’ll be worthy if I can get pregnant

• I’ll be worthy if I get/stay sober

• I’ll be worthy if everyone thinks I’m a good parent

• I’ll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together

• I’ll be worthy when I make partner

• I’ll be worthy when my parents finally approve

• I’ll be worthy when I can do it all and look like I’m not even trying

Here’s what is truly at the heart of whole-heartedness: Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is.

Letting go of our prerequisites for worthiness means making the long walk from “What will people think?” to “I am enough.” But, like all great journeys, this walk starts with one step, and the first step in the Wholehearted journey is practicing courage.

The root of the word courage is cor — the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.

Over time, this definition has changed, and, today, courage is more synonymous with being heroic. Heroics are important and we certainly need heroes, but I think we’ve lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we’re feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage.

Heroics are often about putting our life on the line. Courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. If we want to live and love with our whole hearts and engage in the world from a place of worthiness, our first step is practicing the courage it takes to own our stories and tell the truth about who we are. It doesn’t get braver than that. Punch in NOT PERFECT for 1000 points

Love you all, and you’re perfectly unperfect!
kerr

I have lived in Winnipeg most of my life. A brief 10 year stint in Toronto never stopped me from being ‘Peg city proud. But I am not just from Winnipeg. I am from Fort Garry. That’s my hood, that’s how I roll, that’s what I know. Why is it that no matter where we live when we are older, we still hold our ‘area’ of origin close to our hearts. Brownies, ( or cubs) skating, craft sales, and summer drop-in programs at the community centre ….it all happened there. Remember the little canteen with all of the candy, the super sweet hot chocolate in the coke cups in the winter and the cinnamon lips? 1000 points when you punch in BROWNIES. The school you went to, the parks you played in, the roads you biked on, they made up YOUR area. And you never really thought about it much, until you met people from ANOTHER area. It just seemed so foreign. ‘Why would anybody want to live in any other area than this one? My area is the best!’ And beyond that, we woud categorize the areas in to ‘GOOD’ areas and ‘BAD’ areas. The ones where no one wanted to be from. (I will not be specific, because there is one in particular, that we all know has changed..it starts with a T and ends with an A) And then some areas you maybe wished you were from. Some areas were famous for hockey, others famous for having a big school, others for having nothing. There were rivalries too. In particular, Fort Garry and Fort Richmond seemed to always be duking it out. Who’s highschool was the best etc. But at the same time, we would seemingly stick together if approached by St. james or East k. people. Then we joined forces. It was/is partly how we identify ourselves within our city. When people ask where I am from, I still say, “Winnipeg, grew up in Fort Garry”. Then they say, “Ahhh, a Fort Garry girl”. To this day, I never know if that is a GOOD thing or a BAD thing! Which area are you from? Share your memories, leave a comment! I want to know, I may have something up my sleeve!
Winnipeg rocks.
xoxokerr

Sitting at the waffle place in Osborne village, I look around at all of the customers and wonder if I really fit in. Do ever feel like maybe you’re just not cool? I sure do. There were always the few in school, that were just cool. They didn’t even need to DO anything. Remember? The minute they walked in the classroom, or the lunch room, or the school dance….they would just have that air of coolness. Be it a boy or a girl, they had what it took. OK, maybe it was that they were above average in looks or athletic talent. Or maybe they that lived in the big house and had the pool. Or they had great style. Notice how I didn’t say great clothes? It was STYLE that they had. Always ahead of the game when it came to fashion and music. They would wear stuff that would only seemingly be available to the rest of the high school population 6 months later! How did they do it? How did they know? How did they find out what music was cool? I found out from THEM…but where did THEY find out? Liked by most teachers with marks to prove it, these ‘cool people’ seemed to be well rounded as well. They never got in trouble, but they were just wild enough to successfully sneak in that beer to the dance, or to snag their parents car late one night. Never busted, never caught. They were like TEFLON. (punch in DORK for 1000 points) I’m not saying I was the biggest dork in highschool. I had a group of friends, we did stuff. But, one slip up and I would always get in trouble. If I didn’t study for that test…FAIL. I wasn’t allowed my license until 18. I was in the highschool musical. Usually the ‘cool kids’ played sports. Don’t get me wrong, I’m older now. You’re older now. Does this phase us anymore? Probably not, right? Around 30 years old is when I really stopped wondering where I fit in, and just did ‘me’ instead. No longer wondering where the cool kids are getting their fashion and music sense from…I can just wear and listen to what I like. I don’t feel the need to be a vegetarian one week, on an all meat-protein diet the next, into Apple computers or all of a sudden a hot yoga maniac. I like fashion, sure, but I’ll still copy others…I don’t need to be a trend setter. Too much work! Music? Sure, as long as it’s not death-metal..I’m game. I am however enjoying a cup of 4 dollar basil-infused imported tea right now at the trendiest and coolest place I could find in Osborne Village. Looking around, I guess today, maybe I am hangin’ with the cool group. For the next 6 minutes anyway…then I leave and turn into a pumpkin.
I love each and every one of you! You are all a huge part of my life! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
xoxo
kerr

Ahh Christmas! The decorations! The music! The cheer! The presents! And it’s true, it IS better to give than receive! But buying gifts can be hard. Will they like it? Will it fit? Am I spending too much? Or too little? We’ve all been there, we have a ‘dollar amount’ in our heads that we are going to spend on people. Parents get the most, followed by siblings, friends, then hopefully there is something left over for your 90 year old aunt. ( But she always just asks for a hug anyway) punch in HUG for 1000 reward points. Oh yeah, and we can’t forget the boss, the co-worker, the babysitter, the butcher, the baker the candle stick maker. You get the point. What do we GET all of these people? We can’t possibly know what they really want or need. So what happens? We end up having to buy useless and generic Christmas gifts that may or may not be liked or appreciated, some of which will be re-gifted or rot in their desk at work along with that old apple they brought for lunch when they went on that ‘cleanse’ 3 months ago.
Gift cards are great. But they are the ULTIMATE ‘ I gave up’ present. The, ‘I dunno, YOU PICK’, gift. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting them, I just don’t like GIVING them. They are sometimes better though, especially from that person who always gives you that weird gift. You know what I mean. Growing up, there’s always that one friend or relative that can never seem to get it right. They ask you what you like! You tell them. You say, ‘Well aunt Genie, I am really into the smurfs. I love anything smurfs. I really want smurf stuff!’ So what does she get you? She gets you the homemade, knitted SMURF sweater from the church bizzarre. The sweater with a giant smurf face on it. But not REALLY a smurf, because, you know, there was no pattern, they kind of just guessed. ‘THANKS! I LOVE IT!! WOW!’
We’ve ALL had to do THAT one. The fake, ‘I LOVE IT!’ The fake, ‘thank you so much, I’ll wear it everyday’, hug. And then you have to put it on, do a fashion show type thing and then pictures….oh, yeah. We’ve all been there. But the point is, it’s hard to please everyone. Young or old, gifting can be tricky. I’ll get all Christmassy on you now. At the end of the day, it’s about friends and family and laughing. But you know that. Oh yeah. And gift cards, or just cash. Cash is good. No one scoffs at cash. So yeah, give ‘em money. They won’t complain. You know I’m kidding! or am I?
Cheers friends! Love to you from Me, Francois and Alexdandra! xoxox

How many times a day are we frustrated? The line at the grocery store is taking too long…’COME ON! THIS SAYS EXPRESS…YOU’RE WAY OVER THE….’ Ok, calm down. Or, the elderly driver in front of us who is doing 30 in a 60….so we feel the best thing to do is speed up, look at them and cut them off out of sheer..’I'll show YOU how to drive!!’ attitude.
Or, how we seem to complain that there is nothing on TV, nothing to wear, nothing ‘good’ to eat, it’s too hot outside, it’s cold, too windy, why is it raining today, how come that person did that, I want this, I’m sad because I don’t have THAT, and I wanted THAT..and I didn’t GET THAT! BOO HOO. The problem today is that everyone wants too much. Nothing is ever enough. Bigger, better, louder, faster, more, more, gimme more! And, the last time I checked..as a society, we are more miserable than ever. There are more heart attacks, there is more depression, there is more debt, there is more misery than ever before. And yet, some of the happiest people I meet, and I’m sure you know what I mean, are often the one’s who seem to have very little. They don’t NEED the stuff. The THINGS. The material possessions that seems to fill up our houses, but never seems to fill up our hearts. I consider myslef one of the lucky ones. I learned a long time ago that having THINGS doesn’t mean anything. People don’t like you more if you have more. If they do, those aren’t real friends. What impresses people? Sincerity, trust, honesty, being a good listener, empathy and love. Not what they have. We are not what we have. Gratitude plays a big role in the way we function in this thing called life. My mom has always told me to be thankful for what I already have…and not what I don’t have. And to be happy with what ‘is’ and not focus on what ‘isn’t’. She told me a story…she was going to visit a woman in the hospital who was very ill. As she made her way through the hospital parking lot, it was clear, there were no spots. It was frustrating! She would have to park down the street. It was also raining. So now the far walk to the hospital would be a wet one. ugggh.
When she finally found a spot she remembered what she had been telling me about gratitude. Instead of being angry that she could not park close to the hospital, she had gratitude for being able to own a car, and have a job to pay for it. Instead of cursing the rain, she realized that she was thankful to be able to be outside and be alive and feel the rain as her poor friend lay there inside on a hospital bed. If you are able to read this on a computer, that’s enough to be thankful for, some people don’t have the luxury. Next time you’re mad in line at the grocery store, mad about how you shouldn’t have to be in a line this long, think about how lucky you are to be in a store at all, where you can pick your own food…plus you can read a magazine for free. (just thought I’d lighten things up there at the end…with the magazine comment…)
Cheers to all of my blog friends..punch in ‘gratitude’ for 1000 points. xokerr

Oh great, my pants are too tight. They weren’t tight LAST week! What happened? Don’t you hate the way our weight, as women, goes up and down! It drives me batty! One day I’ll be able to wear a skirt that I bought 4 years ago..BEFORE the baby, and the next time, I’m muffin topping all over the place! Remember the days that we could eat anything we wanted and not gain a pound? Chocolates for dinner, and entire meal made out of cheese, cookies for breakfast…it didn’t matter! The pants still fit. Now,it takes planning. ‘ Hmmm, let’s see..it’s Thursday, I have that party coming up NEXT Friday, SO..if I cut back on dairy all weekend and give up toast, I may be able to get that zipper up on that skirt that seemed to fit me 3 weeks ago…that’s before I gained the 2 pounds the previous week from the ‘All you can eat Bufffet for the the going away lunch for that co-worker that I barely knew anyway, but hey, it was a free lunch. ‘
I am a big believer in stretchy clothes. They can’t be too stretchy though, or you never KNOW if you had one too many Honey Cruller’s. Just stretchy enough so that your weight can yo-yo comfortably. A couple pounds up or down..and you can still breathe. Just know, that if you start wearing sweatpants day in and day out, when the time comes to put on a pair of Jeans..you might be in a bit of shock. There’s nothing worse than wearing your new yoga pants for the entire week of the Christmas holidays, only to discover that when you have to put on actual clothes, You feel like a stuffed sausage. UGH! I know this because, it happens to me! All. The. Time. Punch in ‘sausage’ for 1000 points. But oh well! So, I guess there is no moral to this blog. Just, that, we should be easier on ourselves. We’re women, we fluctuate, we work hard, we like stretchy pants..and we often enjoy cookies for breakfast. And that’s OK.
Cheers ladies! And Men too!
xo kerr

Do you ever have those days where you just can’t seem to turn your brain off. Or on. I meant on! See, like right there. It’s like something just isn’t connecting. You can’t form sentences. Your thoughts jump around from one thing to the next, no focus, you’re all over the place, look, a tree, everything is confusing and nothing makes sense. A person will talk straight at you, and you won’t have heard a word they’ve said. But you actually can’t even recall what was distracting you…you were just gone. Or how about when you’re driving and you actually go on auto-pilot. You’ll be driving and driving around town, thinking of random things. Making all of the turns and stops and signalling. And then for some reason, you ‘ wake up’. And you realize, that you have no recollection of driving! Where was I all that time? How did I manage to not flatten someone? Or myself for that matter. Punch TREE for 1000 points. Or the keys. Where are my keys? Where are my sunglesses? Where did they go? This is crazy! I JUST had them. Great. Now I have to re-trace my steps. Where are they…no..seriously…. I JUST had them. Did they evaporate? Man…honestly, I must be a lunatic…because HOW can I lose my sunglasses AND my keys at the same.!!!!!!!..Oh. They’re on my head. Keys..in my hand. Woah. Woah. Is that how you spell it? W –O- A- H? It looks weird. Same with the word ‘ Keys’. Hmmm…sometimes the spelling of words even looks wrong. Simple words. The other day, I was convinced that ‘IF’ was a strange word. What happens to us? Why are some days so clear and others like a cloudy haze. Some days we can convey what we want to say easily…other days it’s as though we have no grasp of language all together. What happens? Does a switch go off? Does something fizzle? Is it chemical? Who can we blame?
I know. Let’s blame the kids.

xo kerr

Everything is so busy these days. Even people who are retired seem busy. My parents are both technically retired, but now they have their OWN businesses and seem to have less time than ever! (minus the 6 week cruises they sometimes take)
But life is like that. We comlpain when we don’t have enough time, and we complain when there’s nothing to do. But for the most part, especially me in my mid-thirties (cough, cough) life is just BUSY. It’s like a game of TETRIS most of the time eh?
“oh…ok…so TODAY, I have to make a lunch for her daycare tomorrow, wash part of my clothes and part of her clothes and maybe ONE of his shirts, because I don’t have time to do three loads…just the one…OK, THEN..oh right..we said we’re having fish today for supper, you know, to be healthy…yeah..uh…boy…guess I’d better actually buy some. Which means, I have to go to the store..oh man, why didn’t I fill the car up? Oh no, and where’s the rest of the toilet paper? It’s GONE? I JUST bought that? Now how am I gonna blow my nose! What’s this letter? Oh yeah, that membership fee for that good cause I signed up for…they take it out of my credit card? Each month? Well..we’ll see how long I can afford to be a philanthropist for…..ok, so, where was I? Hello? Yes, this is SHE. Sure, tell me about why I should vote for you and NO, I have nothing else goin’ on at this very moment! AHHHHHHHHHH!”
It never ends right? But, that’s life. That’s why we’re here. You have to work, to pay the bills, to raise the kids, to get food on the table. We all have to open mail, scrub the floor sometimes, take out horrible smelling garbage, wipe their noses, clean the remote control because there is spaghetti sauce on it from 2 weeks ago…and on and on. BUT, it’s these things that make the moments of serenity so sweet. When all of the dishes are done, and he’s back outside working in the garage, and she’s asleep. And it’s quiet. Ssssshhhhh. It’s that moment. It’s THAT moment, that is heaven.

Similar to that feeling of quietness…is when you are FINALLY alone in a bathroom stall….and no one at work knows where you are. But that’s just me.
cheers, xo kerr
ps…TETRIS is the magic word today. (600 points!)

I still pinch myself everyday. (not literally, I bruise really easy) It’s been a whole year already of doing the morning show! Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I got the call that I had to come in the NEXT morning. I remember picking up my messages. “Uhhhhh, Kerri, do you think you can start, like, tomorrow?” ‘”Sure!” I said. Then quickly remembered…that I had a 9 month old! Oh my goodness. “What time do I have to get up? When? That early eh…” It was perfect! At the time I had been getting up at all hours of the night anyway! Why not make it a career! Starting any new job is nerve racking, right? Filling in for somebody who people loved and adored was MORE nerve racking!
I had big shoes to fill! Big, giant, oversized shoes. But, all I could do was give it all I had. This was my dream job…right here, right NOW! I remember when the mic went on for the first time. I thought, Oh MAN….WHAT AM I DOING!!!??? What have I got myself into!!?? I was terrified. TERRIFIED! Thank goodness he was patient and had a sense of humour….those early days would have been too scary. And as the days rolled on and the months have passed, I am finally starting to figure things out on this thing we like to call ‘the Morning Show’. I want to tell you, that I am so grateful to you for being so patient, and for giving me a chance. Thank you for allowing me into your life. I wish I could get to know each and every one of you! I am a little quirky, a little goofy and you know now that I am terrible at anything sports related. But, thanks for liking me anyway! And if you don’t, I usually hear about it! lol! So thank you, thank you , thank you for letting me become your friend! ps. Francois and Alexandra say hi and they’re right here and they’re bugging me to get off the computer because she needs a bath and he can’t find the cheese we bought the other day to make a sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch. (and we have a strict budget, so there will be NO buying of lunches…so I REALLY have to go find that cheese) punch in CHEESE for 1000 points.
Much Love and here’s to the future!!! xo kerr