according.to.kim

Daily pic: 21 Feb 14

Thanks to technology, Neil was able to watch the last 10 minutes of today's men's hockey semi-final between Canada and USA - in the waiting room of our eye doctor's office. And we won! :) (Weeks ago, I had scheduled eye checkups for us this afternoon. Bad timing!)

Daily pic: 20 Feb 14

Receiving this button with G's team photos was a fun surprise! We watched her play centre in her game this evening. She's skating so well!

And what a day for Canadian women in sport! GOLD in both women's curling and hockey in the 2014 Winter Olympics. So exciting! (especially the hockey game, won in OT) I enjoyed seeing the final moments of both games at work today, along with my coworkers.

14/12/12

Sunshine! It seems like we haven't seen any for weeks! Or, did I just miss it while I was at work? As soon I as saw today's beautiful brightness (and hoar frost), I knew I had to capture it for my daily picture.

{Just before posting this, I learned about the horrible, senseless tragedy that took place in Connecticut today. About two minutes later, my beautiful precious children walked in the door... home from school; safe and sound. I feel like the luckiest person on earth right now -- while my heart breaks for those facing the unimaginable.}

P.S. I must also mention something about today: This morning at work, I finished a project I've been working on for more than a year (with much more focus over the past 2-3 months)! I have reviewed and edited every page on www.sasktel.com/support -- and I'm proud of our site! It isn't perfect and I'll continue making improvements, but as of today, it's pretty damn good. :)

Remembering 9-11-01

It was 10 years ago today. I still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was watching Canada AM, sitting in the green glider rocker with my seven-month-old baby on my lap. Neil was at the farm for harvest.

I will never forget the shock and fear, and the feeling that the world had suddenly and irreversibly changed. I will never forget the sadness I felt for all of those who lost loved ones in the attacks. I cried quite a bit in the days that followed. It still brings tears to my eyes. And I still think of these words from the song, Keep on the Sunny Side, which helped me feel more hopeful, then and now:

"The storm and its fury broke today,
Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear;
Clouds and storms will, in time, pass away,
The sun again will shine bright and clear."

P.S. Take a look at today's Dear Photograph entry.

Track, school, and my staycation

Sophia has continued to do well in track, and she loves it! She's participated in three quad meets and one track meet at her school. These photos are from the third quad meet in which Sophia got 1st place in triple jump. After her school meet (where she won five 2nds, one 6th, and one 8th), she received a silver medal for the Midget Girls category. We're not sure yet if she will be going to the city track meet or not.

The kids haven't had very much school lately! For the Victoria Day weekend, they had no school on Friday or Monday. While I worked until noon on Friday, Neil took six kids to the Science Centre: our three girls, our niece, the boy Neil babysits, and Madeline's friend, Lauren, who was here for a sleepover Thursday night. (Sophia also had a friend, Desirae, over for a sleepover on Saturday night.) Having a family membership for the Science Centre is awesome! They allowed all seven to go in under our membership.

The kids were in school yesterday (Tuesday), and now are off for two days due to the teachers' job action. It's not an all-out strike yet, but I hope they come to an agreement very soon! We're wondering if there will even be a city track meet at this point. Also, the school community council had a big spring carnival/fundraiser planned for tomorrow night, and it had to be postponed. I feel bad for those who have put in the hours to plan this event, so I hope it still happens (but NOT next week -- we have Mosaic).

So, the kids are only in school two days this week, and this is my vacation week! Part of me wishes they were in school for all four days as planned (I have tons of housework to do!), but on the other hand, it's nice not doing the morning rush to get them going to school. Plus, if I had been at work, I would have been jealous that my whole family had these free days without me. Georgia still has preschool, though, and right now she's at the Dino Bouncer place on a field trip. On Friday, we'll attend her preschool graduation!

Regarding my week off -- my staycation -- I am LOVING it! This is the first time in over 16 years, other than being ill or on mat leave, that I've had a whole week off and stayed home the whole time. I'm getting so much done! Not quite as much as I had hoped (my plans were too ambitious, perhaps!), but still a ton, and I'm glad. I'm relieved. So much was long overdue.

Also, I'm finally feeling better. That cold I had, that started on Friday the 13th, turned into a sinus infection and I was totally miserable all of last week. If I had not been taking this week off, I would have stayed in bed a couple of days. But I couldn't; there were too many things I had to do before my vacation. (For my sinuses, I used a neti pot a few times. I think it helped a great deal and may have shortened the infection.)

Time to get back to my spring cleaning! This is just about the half-way point of my nine days off and I intend to accomplish a great deal over the next few days. :)

PI 10/52: Dishing it out

Bonne Maman jam-jars-turned-drinking-glasses. I started saving these jars to use as drinking glasses when someone mentioned doing this in one of my Picture classes last year. They're great everyday glasses for us -- a nice size and easily replaced if broken (which has happened). I like 'em!

***

The past week has been eventful with a few significant news events, plus a few things more specific to my family. I've been wanting to post something all week but these days have been too full! (I'm off work this afternoon. Yay!)

Friday: The Royal Wedding of Will and Kate. Until about two days before the wedding, I was quite oblivious. It was so far off my radar, I probably would have had trouble saying who was getting married! Then I must have read a blog or something that made me realize it was kind of a big deal: these two will become king and queen someday, right? So I decided to pay more attention and tell my girls about the royal wedding. They had no idea. We didn't watch it live, but later Friday morning, watched some of the rebroadcast on YouTube. I had asked Neil to record it on the PVR, which he did, but we didn't bother watching it on the TV. It turns out The Royal Channel on YouTube is great for seeing the highlights! When I left for my haircut appointment on Friday morning, the girls and Georgia's friend, Henry, were watching the rebroadcast on YouTube (which you couldn't fast forward). Waiting for the balcony scene, Georgia kept saying, "When are they gonna smooch? When are they gonna smoooooch?!"

Saturday: Dinner at our friends' home. Great food and great company! And our kids and dogs play together so well. We will definitely have them over to our house for dinner sometime -- but in the summer when we can eat outside. Our dining room is not very good for entertaining.

Sunday: The end of Osama Bin Laden. I was snoozing (after laying down with Madeline) when Neil woke me to tell me the news. The first and only thing I did was check Twitter. I've discovered recently that I much prefer to see how people are reacting to news over seeing or hearing the news in other media. It has been almost ten years since we first heard that name. It's good to know the bad guys can't hide forever.

Monday: Canada's federal election. I will not "talk politics." It's not in me. But I will say, I was more interested than usual due to the surprising results: the Conservatives won a majority, the NDP became the official opposition for the first time ever, the Liberals had their worst showing ever (I think), the BQ was practically decimated (save 4 seats), and the Green party won their first elected seat. Crazy times, people. I was quite glued to my Twitter and Facebook streams along side the real-time results on CBC.ca.

Tuesday: Top Chef Canada. (Ha ha, totally not a big deal, but I thought I'd fill in the week!) Neil and I watched it after the hockey game. I love the Top Chef series, and this Canadian version is getting better as it moves along and people are knocked out. I tend to prefer the latter half of all seasons -- except Top Chef All Stars, which I thought was great all the way through.

Wednesday: The Book of Even More Awesome book signing. I love The Book of Awesome. It makes me smile and laugh out loud and that's why I decided to go see the author, Neil Pasricha, at Chapters on Wednesday evening. Georgia came with me (while Neil took Madeline to her piano lesson and Sophia was in Avonlea). I bought the new book when we got there so I could get both signed. I really enjoyed his short talk. He went into his background a little and the reasons why he started the blog, 1000 Awesome Things (these are covered in his excellent TED Talk: The 3 A's of awesome -- watch this if you haven't already!). He also shared a bit of his recent experience in NYC where he appeared on The Today Show the day before. I'm very glad we went. Plus, we saw a rainbow on the way -- which is always awesome, don't you think? And (if you're reading) it was great to see you there, Tein!

Thursday: Teachers' job action. There was no school yesterday due to the teachers' one-day strike. We're lucky it didn't inconvenience us at all since Neil stays home with the kids, and it turned out to be quite a fun day for the girls. Sophia and Bronwyn were in Avonlea at their grandparents' house. Madeline and Georgia were home with Neil. They trimmed the hedges in our front yard (okay, maybe not fun for them, but I'm glad it's done!), went to Costco, and then Madeline and Georgia went for a playdate at the home of one of M's classmates who lives nearby.

Thursday: Natural gas leak. SaskEnergy located a natural gas leak in the back alley directly behind our yard. EEK. Well, they found it and fixed it without incident, so that's good! This would not be so disconcerting if it weren't for some recent explosions in our city. Very strange.

And, oh, wasn't it beautiful outside last evening?! I spent an hour in the back yard doing some after-winter clean up. We have a new neighbour on the west side who is always out in her yard doing this and that. It's, uh, rather motivating -- she can see our yard through the fence and it ain't pretty!

PI 7/52: The shape of surprise

A flag waving in front of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #1, Regina, SK. I always hope to discover a photo opp that fits the weekly prompt as I go about my regular life, and preferrably something that reflects my life or surroundings right now, but it didn't happen the past few weeks. I had to go hunting for it. Yesterday, I took a brief walk downtown to find this reflection. Now, as I give more thought to this photo, I suppose I could relate it to the fact that we're in the midst of a federal election campaign. The fifth one in 10 years. How Canadian! I am not a fan of election campaigns, but I will vote on May 2. I always vote. Also, I will be doing our income taxes tomorrow. Uggh. At least I have a rare day off when the older kids will be in school. I will aim to complete our taxes before school is out, but I think that'll be tough. Wish me luck -- and a big refund!

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?