according.to.kim

Highlights to be postponed

I typically draft my weekly higlights during my lunch break on Mondays and then finish and post them in the evening, but that's not happening today because today is all about AC/DC! I am totally excited about seeing them tonight! Who Made Who was one of a handful of albums in constant rotation during volleyball warm-ups when I was in high school. Ahhh, good times. I simply couldn't interrupt my anticipation of the concert by reflecting on the past week. After all, I've only had 24 hours to absorb the fact that we're going because we just got tickets yesterday when a few more seats became available. Thanks to Neil for checking Ticketmaster.ca throughout the week!

Simplification is hot

I saw an interesting presentation today called "Where in the World the World is Going" by Trends Analyst and Business Strategist, Warren Evans. He described a trend toward simplification that resonates with me more than anything.

This evening, my dance class was canceled, so I enjoyed a little unexpected free time. When I learned it was canceled, my mind flooded with the possibilities -- far more than I could accomplish in just a couple hours -- but at least I was able to do a couple things I needed to do.

Oh yeah, something historical was happening today too -- Obama's inauguration. I haven't seen, heard, or read a thing about it. I will try to catch up tomorrow.

***
Today I'm thankful for:

• curb-side recycling pickup
• e-bills (less paper in my house)
• bedtime snuggles

Food Bank Drive today!

We have been out collecting donations for the Regina & District Food Bank for the Great Food Fight of 2008: Regina vs. The World! If you're in Regina and you haven't donated today, you have until 5:00 p.m. to get your donation over to any fire hall, Safeway, or the Food Bank to be counted in the effort to get the world record back (from Winnipeg). Go!

The Story of Stuff

Please watch The Story of Stuff with Annie Leondard.

"From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns."

It's a very quick 20 minutes. I promise. And then take a look at the 10 Little and Big Things You Can Do. Great information!

Saskatchewan!

During the First Session of the Twenty-Sixth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, the Swift Current Comp Chamber Singers, under the direction of Ms. Marcia McLean, sang two selections:  Saskatchewan and Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel. The first one is entirely comprised of the names of Saskatchewan towns and cities in alphabetical order. It's really neat! Of course, I must note that Neil's hometown, Avonlea, is mentioned in the first few seconds, and my hometown, Yellow Grass, is mentioned in the last few seconds.

You can watch and listen to this wonderful performance by going to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan website (www.legassembly.sk.ca). On the Multimedia page, click on the video archive for December 10, 2007. The Saskatchewan performance runs for about eight minutes between minutes 44 and 53 on the video (just in case you want to skip ahead!).

Daily pic: 10 Dec 07

Just a little Christmas display in my neighbourhood -- with a little somethin' extra at the top!

On our way home from Sophia's dance class, we noticed the lights at the top of the Legislative building and decided to pull in for a closer look. Then we quickly decided this should be my daily pic, so -- after calculating that I'd still have time to get ready for volleyball tonight -- we dashed home, picked up the camera and tripod and went back for a little photo shoot. I had to experiment a bit because I don't take photos like this everyday. The specs on this photo are shutter speed 1/5 (slowish), aperture 4.0, ISO 400, no flash, and I used a tripod and the timer to ensure no camera shake.

Daily pic: 26 Nov 07

The Green Mile

All five of us were there! Hooray for Saskatchewan!

Daily pic: 23 Nov 07

Friday, November 23 was Green Day in Saskatchewan and we participated, of course! Neil wouldn't have it any other way.  And the rest of us are certainly willing to join in the fun (it doesn't hurt that Sophia and Bronwyn's favourite colour is green!). I was kind of glad I had to work yesterday as I got to see how many people in my work place and in the mall were decked out in their Roughrider gear or in any green they could find. There were lots! For those of us in my office who didn't have any official Rider clothing, a coworker made up some Roughrider logo stickers for us to don.

In keeping with this theme, and in the off-chance you haven't seen it, here's a fun video with Jason Plumb and The Willing singing Paint the Whole World Green. I don't know about you, but my inbox is full of Rider-related email messages! I don't mind. This is so huge. Saskatchewanians, no matter where they currently live, have Grey Cup Fever. There's no doubt about it.

I don't recall anything quite like this in the past. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. I lived here in 1997, the last time the Riders went to the Grey Cup. Was it this big of a deal? In 1989, I went to a Grey Cup party with a bunch of Agros in Saskatoon and the Riders won. I do remember everyone taking to the streets after the game, but I was oblivious to any pre-game excitement. Of course, at that time, I wasn't dating or married to someone who "bleeds green"!

Oh, and what about the amazing generousity of the Rider Nation?! I think it's fantastic that 11 young people with cancer (each to be accompanied by a parent or caregiver) get to go to the Grey Cup in Toronto -- all through the donations and work of individuals, corporations, and the Roughrider organization just since Monday. I love stories like this.

(The picture is Neil, Sophia, and Bronwyn making pizza for supper. Our niece is staying with us all weekend while her mom is in Toronto for work meetings. She won't be going to the Grey Cup game, but she's going to Riderville tonight and has been able to see TO painted green!)

P.S. I forgot to mention that on Thursday, on the bus for a field trip that included Grades 1-3, Sophia and Bronwyn learned to sing the chorus of Green is the Colour (see the lyrics for several Rider songs) and they've since enjoyed singing it at the top of their lungs whenever the mood strikes. They've also had a couple Rider Pride days at school over the past month.

{Who knew I would have so much to say about this?!}

Daily pic: 19 Nov 07

Today was a pretty ordinary (and dreary) Monday, except for one thing: the undeniable excitement and buzz over the Riders heading to the Grey Cup. I haven't lived in other places with CFL teams, but I suspect nothing compares to Rider Pride. Look out TO!

Daily pic: 18 Nov 07

I took this one while Georgia, Neil, and I waited for the Santa Claus parade to begin this afternoon. (I love taking pictures in natural light!) Sophia and Madeline were on the Girl Guides float in the parade, so we had to be there an hour and 15 minutes before the parade started. Lots of waiting. The temperature wasn't bad today, but the wind chill made it necessary to bundle up.

How 'bout those Riders?! Off to the Grey Cup. Good stuff!

Daily pic: 17 Nov 07

A great many Saskatchewanians are on pins and needles as the clock counts down toward the CFL Western Final to be played Sunday afternoon in BC. Go Riders!

FreeRice.com

This is awesome! You can have fun (and learn new words) playing a vocabulary game at FreeRice.com and for every correct answer you give, 10 grains of rice will be donated to the world's hungry through United Nations. It all adds up. How does it work? You can read about it here: Online game nets billionth grain of rice donation. For those who enjoy a little competition, my vocabulary level peaked at 38 today. I don't know if that's good or bad! What's your level?

Daily pic: 07 Nov 07

A photo of our provincial flag... just as the polls are closing on this Election Day 2007. I wanted to photograph something fitting to this day, but non-partisan. I don't like discussing politics at all, but I always vote, and I will be following the results tonight -- with perhaps a bit more interest than usual.

Daily pic: 13 Oct 07

As I mentioned earlier, because Sophia and Madeline are in Sparks (the youngest segment of the Girl Guides organization), we helped collect donations for the food bank this morning. All of us went for about 30 minutes, then Neil, Sophia, and Georgia continued collecting for another hour while Madeline and I went to our Irish dance classes (we had to go as we hadn't been there for three weeks). Sophia is holding one of the large paper bags that were distributed all over the city preceding today's collection. It was so nice when there was a bag of food sitting on the front step waiting to be picked up.

Daily pic: 12 Oct 07

Sophia really enjoys doing workbook-type activities now. This one is a dry-erase learn-to-write-your-letters book.

Later this morning, my Sparks are off to help collect food for the annual Food Drive. Last year, Regina set the Guinness World Record for the most food collected in a 24-hour period, and this year, we're competing against Winnipeg to break the record again. If you're in the Regina area, make a donation to the food bank today (before 5:00 p.m. Oct 13)!

Regina Corn MAiZE

I'm taking Sophia and Madeline to a corn maze near Regina today for a Sparks event. Looks like fun! There's a website called The MAiZE (www.cornfieldmaze.com) that provides information about corn mazes throughout the world. See the Regina Corn MAiZE page.

Here's an aerial view of the maze we'll be visiting:
Photograph by: Roy Antal, The Leader-Post.
From the article: Corn maze is amazing, August 22, 2007.

The Canadian dollar

Did you hear the news? For the first time since 1976, the Canadian dollar reached par with the US dollar today (for a short time anyway). It amazes me! I just never thought our dollar would equal the US dollar (not that I gave it much thought at all). This is so great for online shopping!

Lauren's Ride

There's a little girl named Lauren who has Angelman Syndrome (AS), a very serious neuro-genetic disorder. From July 1 to 20, her uncle is cycling 3000 km (1800 miles) from Yellowknife to Winnipeg to raise awareness for this little-known condition. Lauren's Ride rolled into town today and Lauren's grandparents happen to live across the street from us.

To learn more about Lauren's Ride and Angelman Syndrome, visit www.laurensride.ca. Lauren's story, as told by her parents and 11-year old sister, brought tears to my eyes. If you'd like to see the Lauren's Ride crew and show your support, it looks like they'll be at the east Walmart parking lot, Victoria & Prince of Wales, on July 16 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The website also provides information on supporting Lauren's Ride through donations to either the Canadian Angelman Syndrome Society (CASS) or the Lauren Wiebe Trust Fund.

The week in review

Highlights:

• Going to Mom's the Word at The Globe with friends.
• Sophia looking forward to her first skating lesson and understanding how many days she had to wait. She'd look at the calendar every day and count the days.
• Winning a week of free lunches at my work cafeteria.
• Warmer weather.

Lowlights:

• Sophia having an unexplained fever Tuesday night.
• Our babysitter being sick Thursday and Friday.
• Hearing about the flooding in east-central SK. We know at least five families with cabins at Fishing Lake. I'm thinking of them and hoping for the best.
• Getting sick with a stomach bug on Friday...

I started feeling ill on the way home from work. How's that for crappy timing? I felt good all day and was so looking forward to the weekend. I'm feeling better now, but was pretty wiped for most of today. I haven't accomplished much since work yesterday and that drives me crazy!

Well, I can't say I'm surprised I caught something. Georgia was sick all last week (but diarrhea only; no vomiting), at least three other kids at our babysitter were sick last week and the week before, and our babysitter, nephew Cole, and aunt Glenys have all had a stomach bug this week. Is it all related? Who knows. I wish I could rewind my life and find out exactly how I caught it and where it came from.