CT Squared | We bring people together

We’re having a liking contest!

Andrew Neufeld — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:28:49 +0000

Hey everyone! We’re having a “liking” contest on our Facebook page!

We’re trying to get the word out about our services, so we’re giving away free stuff! Head to our Facebook page to see all the details!

Like Us and Get Free Stuff!

Holidays – A Users Guide to Surviving Your Family

Andrew Neufeld — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:25:16 +0000

Why are are holidays, something that is supposed to be so awesome, often so difficult? We often hear people complain about their dysfunctional, even crazy family dynamics and it brings to mind the concept of entropy. Entropy in physics describes the phenomena that as energy is fed into a natural system, the system tends to go in the direction of disorder, rather than organization. It’s no wonder that a family would do the same. Notice, entropy does not care whether the energy is good or bad, it still has the same tendencies; this is a phenomenon that we see in families too often.

I’d love to be able to sit here from a place of wisdom and say that I’ve conquered this myself. If I said that, however, I’d be a hypocrite. I have to say that I am blessed with a relatively normal, cohesive, congenial family who actually enjoy spending time together. That said, even my wonderful family has the tendency to drive me nuts sometimes, particularly during holidays. (Don’t worry, I’m sure they’d say the same about me). It seems as though no matter how well-meaning, loving, and excited we are to be together, somehow stress and discord creep their way in.

Why do the holidays bring out some of the most challenging family dynamics? I can think of a few reasons: 1) We tend to spend more time with family over the holidays than we do throughout the rest of the year, 2) We place pressure on ourselves to “put on a happy face,” and get along with everyone no matter how we are feeling and whatever else may be going on in our lives, or in our relationships together – for the sake of the holiday, 3) We are under a tremendous amount of pressure (often self-imposed) to live up to the holiday expectations we see around us in holiday movies, books, newspaper and magazine articles, or the families we know around us who always seem to have it all put together, 4) We are often reminded of the overwhelming abundance, or lack thereof, of “stuff” we do or do not have in comparison to those around us, and in comparison to what we desire, and finally, 5) We confuse ‘could,’ ‘can,’ or, ‘may’ with ‘should,’ ‘must,’ or, ‘have to.’

What, then, is the solution to this mess? Perspective. As I think about my own experiences, the experiences of my clients, books and articles written by others, professional or otherwise, it boils down to perspective. Realistically, most of our families really are not crazy, and more often than not, neither are we. Rather, by taking a bit of time to gain perspective and set some intentional boundaries and guidelines we may find our holidays more enjoyable. Thus, here are my 5 tips for surviving your family through the holidays (and also, how they can survive you):

1) While it is most often a “given,” that we spend time with family over the holidays, it is not a moral imperative that we spend all of our time with family over the holidays. If you see your family once every month or two, it is probably not a great idea to spend all day, every day for two weeks together over the holidays. Everything in moderation.

2) Take stock of your life and your relationships. Be realistic. If you are having a difficult time, use this information to inform tip #1. Be realistic and mindful of your ability to be with others and your need for personal space and time. Nobody wants to be Debbie Downer, the social hermit, but if you need to reduce the amount of time you spend with family in order to have the resources to be positive in your interactions with them and to avoid running emotionally dry, give yourself permission to do so. It will make your time with family more meaningful and keep you from holiday burnout.

3) Nobody said holidays are easy. Nobody said we have to mimic the movies and their holiday perfection. It is ok to be who we are, the families we are, and enjoy it. If after tips #1 and #2 you realize you’re having some difficulties, make a priorities list and prioritize what is important this holiday season. We can’t do it all, so it’s best to succeed and what is truly important to us and to our family.

4) Consider removing the emphasis on “stuff” from your holiday this year. By “stuff,” I’m referring to decorations, food, presents, trips, parties, etc. It is so easy to get bogged down in “stuff” and miss the joy of the season. Placing emphasis on joy rather than “things” is important. This tip will also aid the previous three tips.

5) Finally, take the pressure off. We all have laundry lists of things we believe we ‘must’ do, see, participate in, give, and receive during the holidays. If you were to actually write out that list, and then review it objectively, I would bet money that very few would meet the criteria for a ‘must’ – most would fall into the could/can/may category. It may not even mean not doing these things, but shifting our perspective. How many of us enjoy things we feel we must do? More often than not, we enjoy things we want to do and don’t feel forced into. It may be as simple as changing our perspective and declaring things as possibilities rather than necessities to make our holidays more enjoyable.

I hope this information helps you to maintain balance in my your life with those you love this holiday season. If you wish to delve a little deeper into your own family dynamics or if you feel you could benefit with some help in preparing for the New Year, we would love to work with you towards any goals you may have to make 2013 a wonderful year for you and your family.

Much needed vacation

Andrew Neufeld — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:19:12 +0000

After almost a year without a break, our principal, Andrew Neufeld, will be taking a much needed vacation. He will continue to hold clinic hours on Monday evenings at The Birch Tree in Ladner and at Cedar Springs Counselling, but will be taking a break from “business as usual” while on his time off.

If you are interested in our services while Andrew is away, please feel free to contact us via the form on this site, and we will return it as soon as possible.

Have a great, fun, safe Hallowe’en!

Update How to donate to the residents of Tsawwassen Terrace

Andrew Neufeld — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:38:34 +0000

Century Group has updated their website to give details on how to donate to the residents of Tsawwassen Terrace, please take a look and spread the word!

Tsawwassen Terrace Donations

Thanks to Century Group for spear heading the effort!

Update Victims of the Tsawwassen Terrace Fire

Andrew Neufeld — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:14:03 +0000

We have just received word that a Trust Fund has been established at the Royal Bank in Tsawwassen under the name “Victims of the Tsawwassen Terrace Fire”

We would like to thank those who have donated through us so far. We will be writing a cheque for the total received thus far and depositing it into the Trust Fund.

We would encourage everyone to donate through the Trust Fund at this time. If for some reason it is impossible for you to donate through the Royal Bank, please contact us and we will certainly do what we can to assist in your donating.

Thank you again for the response thus far, and as we have more information we’ll let you know. Please also visit Century Group’s website for the most current information – Century Group

Please help us reach out to the residents affected by the Tsawwassen apartment fire!

Andrew Neufeld — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 03:04:04 +0000

Our community in Tsawwassen was saddened to hear of the news of a large fire in the Tsawwassen apartments residence “Tswawwassen Terrace” early this morning, that resulted in the death of one of the residents. For those who haven’t yet heard, the news story can be found via The South Delta Leader

When something tragic like this happens in our small community, it is shocking. I’m sure many people are asking, “What can we do?”

We at CT Squared have been in contact with those involved in the effort and have offered to help in any way that we can. We are but a small part of the equation, however. We need your help! We are setting up a fund to help the residents affected by the fire, and we would love your participation.

We have set up an account to receive funds to help the residents. We have been in contact with those responding to the event and will get more information as we go forward. Until then, we can’t be specific as to how the funds will be used, but it is likely the funds will go towards immediate needs such as:

Furniture
Food
Clothing
Other immediate needs

As things move forward needs will likely include the above as well as:

Trauma Counselling
Grief Counselling
Photo recovery/restoration
Other long term needs yet to be identified

In proposing this fund, we are not a charity and as such we cannot give tax receipts. Further, we realize that we cannot be very specific because the needs have not yet been identified. All we want to do is show our fellow residents that we are here to support them in their time of need, whatever needs may arise.

100% of funds received will go towards the aid and support of residents affected by the fire.

Please use the button below to donate, and the money will automatically be earmarked for the fund. As we move forward, we will keep you abreast of the donations received as well as the identified needs the funds are going towards.

If anyone else would like to help out, we would certainly appreciate it. If anyone has any questions or concerns about donating, please call us directly and we will be happy to answer any questions or concerns.

Thank you in advance for your support of those affected by this tragic event. Let’s band together and show everyone that we are a community that supports one another!

Please spread the word by phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, or otherwise!

If you’d like to donate by personal cheque, please make the cheque to “CT Squared” with “Fire Fund” in the memo, and mail it to:

CT Squared
1215-C 56 St
Box 18172
Delta BC V4L 2B0

The online behaviour of teens…

Andrew Neufeld — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:18:04 +0000

It’s increasingly apparent that teens are using the internet in ways that we haven’t prepared them for. Parents often struggle with how to educate their kids about the positive and negative aspects of being online. Parents often wonder what to do if they discover their teen is consuming content that is dangerous to them, or interacting with others via social networks and websites in an unsafe way.

A recent study was done (see below) that highlights just this issue. If you’re one of the parents struggling with what to do, please give us a call – we have many ways to help you, and your teen with this tricky subject matter.

The behaviour of teens online

WINNER!: Melissa White Legacy Auction

Andrew Neufeld — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 06:00:31 +0000

We’re excited to announce that the auction was a success! We at CT Squared will be partnering with Fort Langley Evangelical Free Church to bring their website new life! Thank you to Terry and the team at FLEFC for supporting this auction, and choosing CT Squared for the web development needs.

Stay tuned!

New booking procedure at The Birch Tree

Andrew Neufeld — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:07:00 +0000

In an effort to make booking appointments easier, the team at the The Birch Tree in Ladner has graciously offered to handle the booking of appointments with Andrew at their offices. So, to save yourself having to wait for a returned phone call, please call 604-940-1981 to speak to Brianna at The Birch Tree in Ladner and she can help book an appointment for you.

Please also visit The Birch Tree website to check out all of the other services they have to offer!

White Family Legacy Event – Online Auction Open now

Andrew Neufeld — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:29:34 +0000

On March 2, 2012, Melissa White passed away. Diagnosed 13 months prior with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and Frontotemperol Dementia, Melissa represents a mere 5% of patients. One of the youngest in North America to have been diagnosed with both diseases, Melissa’s death at age 30 is incredibly rare and devastating to her husband and three children, ages 2, 4 and 6.

There are a number of fundraising efforts happening RIGHT NOW in support of the White Family:

1. Melissa White Legacy Raffle – $10 tickets on sale now at a number of locations in Langley, Surrey and WhiteRock. If you are not local, you can purchase via email by contacting whitefamilytrustfund@gmail.com

2. Fintastics Blitz Week – from May 26 – June 2, Fintastics is donating a portion of all haircuts directly to the White Family.

3. Melissa White Legacy Event – a Burger & Brew event on June 24th at Fort Pub in Fort Langley. Silent and Live auction items will be available to bid on that evening

4. Cash donations are accepted. You can donate IN PERSON at the Royal Bank of Canada – Willowbrook branch or send an email money transfer to whitefamilytrustfund@gmail.com

Thank you for your generosity and support!

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We at CT Squared are proud to be Corporate Sponsors of the White Family Trust Fund, and the online auction to benefit such a wonderful family. If you have been meaning to get a website done for your family, event, or otherwise, PLEASE visit the link below and bid. You can help a very deserving family out, and give your business the exposure it needs in one fell swoop.