So there's good news and bad news ...
First the good news ... I got an A on my first paper for school! Since I hadn't written "scholarly" for over 5 years I was a teeny bit anxious. Not worried just anxious ... but yep 84% which is an A. And the comments were ... "Convincing argument, good integration of ideas and application - well written. Excellent intro, interesting points made and well researched." Yeah for me ... now I just need to learn to write in APA style ...
And ... this weekend I'm in a skit at church ... and the cool part is I wrote it! Here's the script ...
40 Days of Growth – Drama – Not getting hands dirty.
Setting: Mohawk College horticulture class.
Larry: Hi, I’m Larry.
Jane: Hi, I’m Jane. (Shakes hands) You’re new aren’t you? I haven’t seen you before. Is it your first class? Are you nervous? Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. I’ve taken a few courses.
Larry: Oh, so you’re an old hand at flowers and plants are you?
Jane: Yes, in fact I’ve taken 6 courses so far.
Larry: So what kind of things are covered in this course?
Jane: Oh, you’ll learn all sort of different things. Plant identification, some information on herbal medicine, soil characteristics, gardening tools, differences between trees and plants, herbs and flowers and the ecology of different plants. Do you watch gardening shows on TV? What’s your favourite?
Larry: I do watch a few. What about you?
Jane: Do you watch Gardeners Diary? And what about The City Gardner? You know since I live in the City I think it’s great. Matt James gives such great ideas for small yards. Have you watched Outdoor Spaces? It’s good. She does gardening makeovers. It’s amazing to see what can be achieved. Do you read gardening books?
Larry: I’ve read a few.
Jane: You really should get the New Ontario Gardener because it’s all about Ontario gardens so it’s really applicable. And you simply must listen to Ed Lawrence on Ontario Today on CBC Radio. He’s so approachable and answers questions so well. I’ve also read tons of books on gardening. So, what’s your favourite flower?
Larry: Hostas are easy and Black Eyed Susans.
Jane: Ah, rudbeckia. Yes, I like that one too. It’s lovely and hardy since it’s a native plant. Its drought resistant, heat resistant and adds great winter interest with its seedpod heads. It’s also great in poor soil and can grow in either full sun or part-shade. I’m also fond of Echinacea, how about you?
Larry: Echinacea? Oh the medicine?
Jane: Oh yes it’s a medicine but it the Latin names for Purple Coneflower. You should learn the Latin names because they are the “official” botanical name. I usually use the Latin simply because its easier to refer to a specific plant that way. Rudbeckia is the Latin name for Black Eyed Susan and Echinacea is the Latin name
Larry: WOW … you sure know a lot.
Jane: Oh, I don’t know. I just really enjoy flowers and plants.
Larry: You sure must. I’ll bet you have an enormous garden.
Jane: Oh no, I don’t have a garden.
Larry: Oh, you must live in an apartment. Do you container garden?
Jane: No, I don’t garden.
Larry: You don’t garden? But you know so much about plants. Why on earth don’t you have a garden?
Jane: Well, I don’t like worms and I really don’t like getting my hands dirty. I’m much happier reading about flowers in books and talking about plants. I don’t need to garden to enjoy flowers do I?
Larry: Do you spend a lot on cut flowers?
Jane: No, not really. I actually prefer artificial flowers at home. They don’t die and always look nice. You can get some really nice ones from Michael’s Craft Store.
Larry: But aren’t you missing the point?
Jane: Oh, I don’t think so. I can look at lovely silk flowers, they match my décor. Plus I have some lovely photographs of flowers on my walls that also match my decor.
Larry: So you have all this knowledge and passion for flowers but you’re content with artificial flowers and two-dimensional images?
Jane: Yes.
Larry: Oh … I think I’m in the wrong class.
Now the bad news ... IT SNOWED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I saw snow ... albeit teeny little flakes but it was SNOW ... in OCTOBER ... mid-October ... and after a Monday that got up to 21 ... quite the shock.
Cheers
~ Shirley
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Wedding Photos!
In September my dear friend Patti got married. In her honour myself and three friends from the Ministry of Labour who also worked with Patti wore shalwars. (When we worked with Patti she had a shalwar and declared on Friday to be "Shalwar Day" so we all wore shalwars to work!).
It was a lovely wedding ... here are some pics from the wedding.
It was a lovely wedding ... here are some pics from the wedding.
The Shalwars ~ Lovely and Colourful Eh?
The Wedding Cake
The Happy Couple
~ Shirley
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Latest Update
Well since I posted last lots has happened ... I started back to school (doing my Masters of Education at Brock ... did I mention that?) and handed in my first paper last night ... we'll see how it goes. It's been fun going to class and doing the readings ... no sweat ... in fact I have quite a bit of prior knowledge which is good.
2nd ... I ran the Toronto Waterfront 1/2 Marathon ... and I really didn't think I was "trained" enough. So I thought i'd just go out and do an easy R5/W1 for the whole thing. Then when I got up that morning there was a wind (not a breeze) of 37K gusting to 52K/hr ... NICE! Anyway ... I managed to pull off a 2:21 and felt pretty darn good. Here's a pic from the race. I can't find my finish photo.
3rd ... my beloved Tiger Cats are now completely without playoff hope. The game last Sat was bad ... but despite the incessant rain we lasted until 5 mins to go in the game. Die-hards I tell you! In fact ... the last game is Oct 15 and then we're considering going to the McMaster Marauders last home game the weekend after. I can't believe I actually LIKE football. WEIRD!!!!!!
Well ... all for how ... ciao!
~ Shirley
2nd ... I ran the Toronto Waterfront 1/2 Marathon ... and I really didn't think I was "trained" enough. So I thought i'd just go out and do an easy R5/W1 for the whole thing. Then when I got up that morning there was a wind (not a breeze) of 37K gusting to 52K/hr ... NICE! Anyway ... I managed to pull off a 2:21 and felt pretty darn good. Here's a pic from the race. I can't find my finish photo.
3rd ... my beloved Tiger Cats are now completely without playoff hope. The game last Sat was bad ... but despite the incessant rain we lasted until 5 mins to go in the game. Die-hards I tell you! In fact ... the last game is Oct 15 and then we're considering going to the McMaster Marauders last home game the weekend after. I can't believe I actually LIKE football. WEIRD!!!!!!
Well ... all for how ... ciao!
~ Shirley
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
LIFE IS THE COFFEE
I got this in an email today and wanted to share ...
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. After all the guests had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress."
"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups & and then began eyeing each other's cups."
"Now consider this: Life is the coffee. The jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just used to hold and contain life. The type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee. He didn't make the cups ~ we do. Enjoy your coffee.
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections"
~ Shirley
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. After all the guests had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress."
"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups & and then began eyeing each other's cups."
"Now consider this: Life is the coffee. The jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just used to hold and contain life. The type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee. He didn't make the cups ~ we do. Enjoy your coffee.
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections"
~ Shirley
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Before you buy that next bottle of water ...
consider this ... from the Utne Reader, May/June 2006 issue:
The breaking news on bottled water suggests that it might not be the tall cool drink that ecofriendly, health-conscious consumers seek. Plastic bottles are piling up in landfills as billions of gallons of fossil fuels are used to ship the stuff worldwide. In the United States -- where half of Americans drink bottled water regularly, and one in six avoids the tap entirely -- consumers have been convinced that hitting the bottle is a healthy choice, even though the Environmental Protection Agency does a better job of monitoring what comes from home taps than the Food and Drug Administration does tracking water sold at the grocery store.
Less attention has been paid to another effect of branded water: It advances a corporate agenda to privatize public drinking supplies. "Bottled water is getting people into the habit of paying an awful lot more for their drinking water," says Tony Clarke, author of "Inside the Bottle" (www.insidethebottle.org), a book-length expose of the industry published in 2005 by Canada's Polaris Institute and cited in Canadian Dimension (Jan./Feb. 2006). As much, in fact, as 10,000 times what they pay for tap water.
In 2003 the world's three largest for-profit water services corporations, France's Suez and Vivendi (now Veolia) and Germany's RWE-Thames, announced their goal to take control of 70 percent of U.S. and Canadian public water utilities within 10 years. By conditioning people to pay more for water than they do for gasoline, Clarke argues, the industry undermines confidence in public water utilities, setting the stage for privatization.
In communities that have privatized water services, prices have spiked and service often suffers. In 2003, after four years of rate hikes, dirty water, and service shutoffs, the mayor of Atlanta canceled the city's contract with Suez subsidiary United Water and announced that the government would resume running the system, and that it would be more efficient and reliable. In November, residents of Lexington, Kentucky, hope to pass a referendum that would reclaim public control of their privatized water utility, according to Stephanie Powell, an organizer with Green Corps, a national group assisting with the effort.
According to Clarke, the massive bottling operations of the leading water brands also amount to a form of de facto privatization. Municipal water utilities often charge bottlers preferential rates. And two of the most popular brands in the United States, Coca-Cola's Dasani and Pepsi's Aquafina, are nothing more than tap water, drawn from municipal supplies, filtered, and sold at a huge profit.
These sorts of tactics make for a thriving business: Consumers are spending more than $100 billion a year on bottled water, reports the Earth Policy Institute (www.earth-policy.org). At the same time, water shortages near bottling plants have been reported everywhere from villages in India to towns in Wisconsin, Texas, New Hampshire, and Florida, as companies extract water to sell elsewhere. This as the United Nations tries to convince its members to double their spending on water sanitation, to $30 billion annually, in order to halve the number of people who will go without safe drinking water by 2015.
And this comment from the United Church of Canada who recently advised members to stop buying bottled water.
Water is a prominent symbol in our Christian faith stories, both in scripture and in rituals such as baptism. A gift of God, water is essential to life—of plants, animals, and ourselves. Yet in today's world, access to water and water quality are both at risk. Water is a vital concern within many Canadian, First Nations, and global partner communities.
"If you've got $100 to spend on groceries each week, we don't want people buying into some subliminal message that the water in their taps isn't safe and that . . . they have to be spending $10 to $15 on a couple of cases of bottled water. In fact, they're paying for their water twice. They're buying that bottled water and they're also paying taxes for water -- crazy, if you're on a limited income." said UCC social policy coordinator Richard Chambers
Shirley’s comment … I'm totally in agreement ... in fact I only buy bottled water when I have to or when I forget my plastic water container. I drink tap water regulary and often get funny looks from people.
~ Shirley
The breaking news on bottled water suggests that it might not be the tall cool drink that ecofriendly, health-conscious consumers seek. Plastic bottles are piling up in landfills as billions of gallons of fossil fuels are used to ship the stuff worldwide. In the United States -- where half of Americans drink bottled water regularly, and one in six avoids the tap entirely -- consumers have been convinced that hitting the bottle is a healthy choice, even though the Environmental Protection Agency does a better job of monitoring what comes from home taps than the Food and Drug Administration does tracking water sold at the grocery store.
Less attention has been paid to another effect of branded water: It advances a corporate agenda to privatize public drinking supplies. "Bottled water is getting people into the habit of paying an awful lot more for their drinking water," says Tony Clarke, author of "Inside the Bottle" (www.insidethebottle.org), a book-length expose of the industry published in 2005 by Canada's Polaris Institute and cited in Canadian Dimension (Jan./Feb. 2006). As much, in fact, as 10,000 times what they pay for tap water.
In 2003 the world's three largest for-profit water services corporations, France's Suez and Vivendi (now Veolia) and Germany's RWE-Thames, announced their goal to take control of 70 percent of U.S. and Canadian public water utilities within 10 years. By conditioning people to pay more for water than they do for gasoline, Clarke argues, the industry undermines confidence in public water utilities, setting the stage for privatization.
In communities that have privatized water services, prices have spiked and service often suffers. In 2003, after four years of rate hikes, dirty water, and service shutoffs, the mayor of Atlanta canceled the city's contract with Suez subsidiary United Water and announced that the government would resume running the system, and that it would be more efficient and reliable. In November, residents of Lexington, Kentucky, hope to pass a referendum that would reclaim public control of their privatized water utility, according to Stephanie Powell, an organizer with Green Corps, a national group assisting with the effort.
According to Clarke, the massive bottling operations of the leading water brands also amount to a form of de facto privatization. Municipal water utilities often charge bottlers preferential rates. And two of the most popular brands in the United States, Coca-Cola's Dasani and Pepsi's Aquafina, are nothing more than tap water, drawn from municipal supplies, filtered, and sold at a huge profit.
These sorts of tactics make for a thriving business: Consumers are spending more than $100 billion a year on bottled water, reports the Earth Policy Institute (www.earth-policy.org). At the same time, water shortages near bottling plants have been reported everywhere from villages in India to towns in Wisconsin, Texas, New Hampshire, and Florida, as companies extract water to sell elsewhere. This as the United Nations tries to convince its members to double their spending on water sanitation, to $30 billion annually, in order to halve the number of people who will go without safe drinking water by 2015.
And this comment from the United Church of Canada who recently advised members to stop buying bottled water.
Water is a prominent symbol in our Christian faith stories, both in scripture and in rituals such as baptism. A gift of God, water is essential to life—of plants, animals, and ourselves. Yet in today's world, access to water and water quality are both at risk. Water is a vital concern within many Canadian, First Nations, and global partner communities.
"If you've got $100 to spend on groceries each week, we don't want people buying into some subliminal message that the water in their taps isn't safe and that . . . they have to be spending $10 to $15 on a couple of cases of bottled water. In fact, they're paying for their water twice. They're buying that bottled water and they're also paying taxes for water -- crazy, if you're on a limited income." said UCC social policy coordinator Richard Chambers
Shirley’s comment … I'm totally in agreement ... in fact I only buy bottled water when I have to or when I forget my plastic water container. I drink tap water regulary and often get funny looks from people.
~ Shirley
Monday, September 11, 2006
September 11 ...
Wow ... hard to believe it's been 5 years since that awful day ...
I (like everyone else) remember vividly where I was and what I was doing ... in a meeting and there was a knock on the door and George said "Sorry to interrupt but planes have hit the World Trade Centre and there are more up there ... my wife wants me to leave since we are next door to the American Embassy." and I said "You're kidding, right?" and he said "No, I'm dead serious." and I said "No, you're kidding, right?" I just couldn't believe it ... and then going to Communications to see what was happening on TV and thinking it was just like a movie ... oh my ...
And Alan Jackson's song "Where Were You" ... it was months before I could listen to that song without crying ...
I did however seen an AWESOME documentary recently ... it's being repeated tonight at 10:00 p.m. on CBC Newsworld called "9/11: The Falling Man" This link will give you more details ... quite a powerful piece ... worth watching!
~ Shirley
I (like everyone else) remember vividly where I was and what I was doing ... in a meeting and there was a knock on the door and George said "Sorry to interrupt but planes have hit the World Trade Centre and there are more up there ... my wife wants me to leave since we are next door to the American Embassy." and I said "You're kidding, right?" and he said "No, I'm dead serious." and I said "No, you're kidding, right?" I just couldn't believe it ... and then going to Communications to see what was happening on TV and thinking it was just like a movie ... oh my ...
And Alan Jackson's song "Where Were You" ... it was months before I could listen to that song without crying ...
I did however seen an AWESOME documentary recently ... it's being repeated tonight at 10:00 p.m. on CBC Newsworld called "9/11: The Falling Man" This link will give you more details ... quite a powerful piece ... worth watching!
~ Shirley
Friday, August 25, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Criticism and the Church
I heard this story on CBC Radio this morning .
While I completely understand the perspective of being respectful of others and honouring those in leadership roles, I still believe there is a role for Christians to have a say in politics. To not think critically about those in leadership is to abdicate any responsibility.
We Christians are PART of the world and should not withdraw from taking those in leadership roles to task about their actions.
My $0.02. What's yours?
~ Shirley
While I completely understand the perspective of being respectful of others and honouring those in leadership roles, I still believe there is a role for Christians to have a say in politics. To not think critically about those in leadership is to abdicate any responsibility.
We Christians are PART of the world and should not withdraw from taking those in leadership roles to task about their actions.
My $0.02. What's yours?
~ Shirley
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Photos
I've posted some pics of the medals from Sunday's Race on FLICKR (see the side) ... for some reason I can't post them on here ... it gets stuck ... ah well ... check out the side ... do I look proud??
~ Shirley
~ Shirley
Monday, August 21, 2006
Medals!
So yesterday my DH, DS and SIL and I did the Dundas Cactus 5K race.
Chrystal and I ran together for most of it and pulled off a 29:00 finish. (Well actually I was 29:02).
Connor did a 32:09 finish and Michael a 32:15 finish. Now here's the cool part ... they BOTH placed 3rd in their age category! And they both beat another father/son team to get third. Kinda cool, especially for Michael. Since he's running in the 50-54 age category he's usually running against guys who've been running for years and are speed demons. They both felt pretty darn good.
MY BOYS ROCK!
The other cool part was that Lisa Collins was also at the race. I know Lisa from church - she's the wife of the Youth Pastor. She apparently started running 1 year ago and yesterday managed an AWESOME finish time of 27:25 AND she also came in 3rd in her age category.
WAY TO GO LISA!
Cheers
~ Shirley
Chrystal and I ran together for most of it and pulled off a 29:00 finish. (Well actually I was 29:02).
Connor did a 32:09 finish and Michael a 32:15 finish. Now here's the cool part ... they BOTH placed 3rd in their age category! And they both beat another father/son team to get third. Kinda cool, especially for Michael. Since he's running in the 50-54 age category he's usually running against guys who've been running for years and are speed demons. They both felt pretty darn good.
MY BOYS ROCK!
The other cool part was that Lisa Collins was also at the race. I know Lisa from church - she's the wife of the Youth Pastor. She apparently started running 1 year ago and yesterday managed an AWESOME finish time of 27:25 AND she also came in 3rd in her age category.
WAY TO GO LISA!
Cheers
~ Shirley
Friday, August 18, 2006
Summer, Summer, Summer ...
.. is almost over! Where did it go??
Been a busy summer ... we had a LOVELY vacation in a 140 yr old cottage on a 2 1/2 acre island in the Thousand Islands . Got to know the area well thanks to our host and got to experience "nautical life" ... having a boat as your major form of transportation is cool!
I also attended my niece's wedding last weekend. She looked LOVELY, don't you think?. Here's a picture.
I wore a dress I got from ebay. First time I've done that ... it ended up costing $35 Cdn including shipping and (I think) looked LOVELY. See what you think! This is a pic of me in the dress with my Mom.
Now the latest is that my beloved Tiger Cats aren't doing well so far this season. The last game they played was against our arch-rivals the Toronto Argonauts and ... well ... we lost 20-2! The crowd was booing at 1/2 time ... and most people left with 5 mins left in the game. It was AWFUL! I'm hoping that Jason and the boys pull it out Saturday night. They've had some good games (like against Montreal, Calgary and Winnepeg) and then ... well there was one game 29-0. I did get a GREAT Ti-Cat t-shirt which I hope to wear with pride to the next game (and with pride home agian!) Here's a link to the t-shirt (I can't get it to post the pic).
And finally ... I head back to school in just a few weeks. I'm going to do my Master of Education degree at Brock University in St. Catharines. Should be fun! My first class is Sept 12. Looking forward to being a student again!
Hope your summer is going well.
~ Shirley
Friday, July 21, 2006
My Boy Comes Home Today!!!!!!
My son comes home today!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes he's been away at camp ... ALL WEEK!!! I haven't seen or spoken to him since Sunday. And boy was that traumatic. We dropped him off and he'd been looking forward to going for WEEKS. Well he was okay (me, less so) and as we started to leave the parking lot he ran after the car crying! Talk about rip your heart out of your chest!
We stayed and settled him down and when DH called on Monday they said he was AOK when they went by at bedtime. :)
So our house has felt very quiet ... I've missed him SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! I cried when we were on our way home on Sunday. But that said there have been some side benefits ... Ive' been getting out of the house MUCH quicker in the morning; I've been getting lots of exercise in the evening and DH and I have had the opportunity to spend to good QT time together.
Now tomorrow we're off to a cottage in the 1000 islands ... shoudl be FUN!!!
~ Shirley
Yes he's been away at camp ... ALL WEEK!!! I haven't seen or spoken to him since Sunday. And boy was that traumatic. We dropped him off and he'd been looking forward to going for WEEKS. Well he was okay (me, less so) and as we started to leave the parking lot he ran after the car crying! Talk about rip your heart out of your chest!
We stayed and settled him down and when DH called on Monday they said he was AOK when they went by at bedtime. :)
So our house has felt very quiet ... I've missed him SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! I cried when we were on our way home on Sunday. But that said there have been some side benefits ... Ive' been getting out of the house MUCH quicker in the morning; I've been getting lots of exercise in the evening and DH and I have had the opportunity to spend to good QT time together.
Now tomorrow we're off to a cottage in the 1000 islands ... shoudl be FUN!!!
~ Shirley
Thursday, July 13, 2006
My Baby's Growing Up!
My little boy ain't so little anymore! He's been making amazing growth this summer ... take a look at what he's been doing:
Earlier this week he learned to ride a bike. He had a bike with training wheels on that he rode but 4 years ago when we suggested taking the training wheels off he balked! And showed no interested whatsoever in riding a bike after that. This week and last he has been attending McMaster Sports Fitness School and enjoying Outdoor Adventure and Orienteering. Well as part of Outdoor Adventure, the group was going mountain biking ... Connor of course couldn't go. So that very night he said he wanted to try and within 20 minutes he ws riding a bike!
Tonight he's at overnight camp with his group from Mac. They are camping and tubing at Elora Gorge ... he should have a BLAST.
Next week however is going to be hard ... he's going to his first overnight camp for the week! He's going to Canterbury Hills ... it's only in Ancaster but it's his first time away for 5 days! The longest we've been apart is 3 nights and that's when I've been away and he's at his Grandmas. This time I'm at home and he's away ... it's gonna be tough!
I said to him last night ... "You're going to be away all next week." He said "Yes, get used to it Mom." ... He's obviously ready ... I'm not!
~ Shirley
Earlier this week he learned to ride a bike. He had a bike with training wheels on that he rode but 4 years ago when we suggested taking the training wheels off he balked! And showed no interested whatsoever in riding a bike after that. This week and last he has been attending McMaster Sports Fitness School and enjoying Outdoor Adventure and Orienteering. Well as part of Outdoor Adventure, the group was going mountain biking ... Connor of course couldn't go. So that very night he said he wanted to try and within 20 minutes he ws riding a bike!
Tonight he's at overnight camp with his group from Mac. They are camping and tubing at Elora Gorge ... he should have a BLAST.
Next week however is going to be hard ... he's going to his first overnight camp for the week! He's going to Canterbury Hills ... it's only in Ancaster but it's his first time away for 5 days! The longest we've been apart is 3 nights and that's when I've been away and he's at his Grandmas. This time I'm at home and he's away ... it's gonna be tough!
I said to him last night ... "You're going to be away all next week." He said "Yes, get used to it Mom." ... He's obviously ready ... I'm not!
~ Shirley
Monday, July 10, 2006
I have the World's Sweetest Son!
Yesterday I spent the day with my MIL and DS in Port Dover to see the tallships. It was very cool. There were 3 tallships there: The Playfair and Pathfinder out of Toronto and the St. Lawrence II out of Kingston.
It was great fun ... the tall ships were AWESOME to see. Then on the way home we stopped by Barton & Sherman to see the fun right after Italy won the FIFA world cup ... PANDEMONIUM!! There were cars beeping and Italian flags EVERYWHERE.
Now for the sweetest son part ... when we got home I was sitting outside with Michael on a lounger and asked Connor to get me some water with lime. When he came out he had put a straw, and a little drink umbrella with a cherry in it ... SWEET KID!!!
~ Shirley
It was great fun ... the tall ships were AWESOME to see. Then on the way home we stopped by Barton & Sherman to see the fun right after Italy won the FIFA world cup ... PANDEMONIUM!! There were cars beeping and Italian flags EVERYWHERE.
Now for the sweetest son part ... when we got home I was sitting outside with Michael on a lounger and asked Connor to get me some water with lime. When he came out he had put a straw, and a little drink umbrella with a cherry in it ... SWEET KID!!!
~ Shirley
Thursday, July 06, 2006
The National ...
Earlier this week I posted about the desecrating of the War Memorial in Ottawa. Well I also sent an email to The National, the flagship news show on CBC.
Well last night my email made it on! Yep ... they have a section called "Your Turn" where they post 2 comments from viewers and mine was chosen!
They broadcast: "When my family visits Ottawa we always make a point of visiting the War Memorial and paying our respects to those who served. When I told my 11 year old son about what had occurred at the War Memorial he said "I hope they go to jail, because that's what they deserve." My thoughts exactly. Shirley Forsyth, Hamilton, Ontario"
Cool eh?
~ Shirley
Well last night my email made it on! Yep ... they have a section called "Your Turn" where they post 2 comments from viewers and mine was chosen!
They broadcast: "When my family visits Ottawa we always make a point of visiting the War Memorial and paying our respects to those who served. When I told my 11 year old son about what had occurred at the War Memorial he said "I hope they go to jail, because that's what they deserve." My thoughts exactly. Shirley Forsyth, Hamilton, Ontario"
Cool eh?
~ Shirley
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
War Memorial
Have you heard about what happened at the War Memorial over the weekend? Check this link ... it's just AWFUL and made that much worse that it was a veteran that witnessed the awful spectacle.
I hope that those involved get charged AND convicted of all 3 possible charges:
I hope that those involved get charged AND convicted of all 3 possible charges:
- mischief
- being drunk in a public place and
- performing an indecent act in a public place.
They should also be tried publically so that they are subject to the derision and defamation that they bestowed on others.
Whenever we visit Ottawa we always stop by the War Memorial and spend a few minutes to give thanks to those who served and made our great country what it is ... to think that some IDIOTS (that's what they are) would urinate on it is absolutely UNTHINKABLE to me!
~ Shirley
Monday, June 26, 2006
Why I Run
A message board I post on had this thread ... and I thought I'd share my post ...
Why do I run? Well it certainly wasn't due to gym teacher in high school! I hgh school I was NO athlete. I HATED running - got a stitch each and every time. I quit taking gym the minute I could which was Grade 10.
As years passed I would walk and I was a waitress for many years (running up and down stairs carrying food and drink is quite a cardio workout let me tell you!) and for a while I did aerobics each and every lunch hour.
Then at the age of 31 I got pregnant with my son and put on 40 lbs. After he was born I lost 30 lickety split but the last 10 kept hanging around putting my weight around 160. I maintained that weight until he was 7 when he wasn't a good excuse anymore. I joined weightwatchers and lost 25 lbs. and felt great but didn't start exercising until after.
THEN the summer before I turned 40 I met a woman at a party who had done a marathon for Team in Training ... she was so inspiring I thought to myself "what a way to celebrate my 40th year and my new shape" ... so I walked a 1/2 marathon in October of 2002 and then started running. Well actually I ran my fist 5K in August before the October 1/2. I'll never forget coming close to the finish line and seeing 34:00 when I expected to see 38:00!
Then after the 1/2 I started running in November with a buddy who was going to do her first full for her 40th .. we trained together and finished our first marathon in May of 2003. I'll never forget that race ... I KNEW I wanted to do another marathon while I was doing it ... and I've done 7 since!
So ... I run to remind myself that I CAN DO ANYTHING! I'm not fast, not pretty when I run and not in any way shape or form "gifted" athletically ... I can just put one foot in front of the other for a long time ... AND I LIKE IT!!
Finishing marathons reminds me that I have the power within me to do whatever I set my mind to. It's an amazing feeling ... try it sometime.
~ Shirley
Why do I run? Well it certainly wasn't due to gym teacher in high school! I hgh school I was NO athlete. I HATED running - got a stitch each and every time. I quit taking gym the minute I could which was Grade 10.
As years passed I would walk and I was a waitress for many years (running up and down stairs carrying food and drink is quite a cardio workout let me tell you!) and for a while I did aerobics each and every lunch hour.
Then at the age of 31 I got pregnant with my son and put on 40 lbs. After he was born I lost 30 lickety split but the last 10 kept hanging around putting my weight around 160. I maintained that weight until he was 7 when he wasn't a good excuse anymore. I joined weightwatchers and lost 25 lbs. and felt great but didn't start exercising until after.
THEN the summer before I turned 40 I met a woman at a party who had done a marathon for Team in Training ... she was so inspiring I thought to myself "what a way to celebrate my 40th year and my new shape" ... so I walked a 1/2 marathon in October of 2002 and then started running. Well actually I ran my fist 5K in August before the October 1/2. I'll never forget coming close to the finish line and seeing 34:00 when I expected to see 38:00!
Then after the 1/2 I started running in November with a buddy who was going to do her first full for her 40th .. we trained together and finished our first marathon in May of 2003. I'll never forget that race ... I KNEW I wanted to do another marathon while I was doing it ... and I've done 7 since!
So ... I run to remind myself that I CAN DO ANYTHING! I'm not fast, not pretty when I run and not in any way shape or form "gifted" athletically ... I can just put one foot in front of the other for a long time ... AND I LIKE IT!!
Finishing marathons reminds me that I have the power within me to do whatever I set my mind to. It's an amazing feeling ... try it sometime.
~ Shirley
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday ...
So I've been busy lately which is why I haven't posted.
Busy at work and my son finished school last week. I went camping with his class last Tues night at the Royal Botanical Gardens. i fell asleep to the sound of one of his classmates at 11:30 and woke up to the same classmate at 5:20 ... YUCK! And of course, when one wakes up they all start waking up! Not much sleep that night!
Thursday night it was his piano recital. He did really well ... he's officially in Grade 5 for piano now. This time he'll do the practical piano exam and he also needs to do the theory exam. And when he gets to Grade 7 piano it's worth a highschool credit!
This past weekend was busy. We had a garage sale Sat am, then a neighbourhood garden party Sat pm to mee our new neighbours hosted by the neighbours who are moving.
Then I met a dear friend and we headed to Canada's Wonderland for a concert. We say Mercyme and Jeremy Camp. Both are Christian bands ... they were GREAT!!! It's been a while since I went to a concert and this one was a Christian concert. It was a totally different feel than I remember. Mercyme obviously did their absolutely TOP hit single, I Can Only Imagine. (Click on the link to hear it played on Windows Media Player)
I LOVE that song. I looked around after the song was finished and there were quite a few people wiping away tears. If you've never heard it before ... take a listen ... AMAZING!!!
Well ... that's it for me now ...
~ Shirley
Busy at work and my son finished school last week. I went camping with his class last Tues night at the Royal Botanical Gardens. i fell asleep to the sound of one of his classmates at 11:30 and woke up to the same classmate at 5:20 ... YUCK! And of course, when one wakes up they all start waking up! Not much sleep that night!
Thursday night it was his piano recital. He did really well ... he's officially in Grade 5 for piano now. This time he'll do the practical piano exam and he also needs to do the theory exam. And when he gets to Grade 7 piano it's worth a highschool credit!
This past weekend was busy. We had a garage sale Sat am, then a neighbourhood garden party Sat pm to mee our new neighbours hosted by the neighbours who are moving.
Then I met a dear friend and we headed to Canada's Wonderland for a concert. We say Mercyme and Jeremy Camp. Both are Christian bands ... they were GREAT!!! It's been a while since I went to a concert and this one was a Christian concert. It was a totally different feel than I remember. Mercyme obviously did their absolutely TOP hit single, I Can Only Imagine. (Click on the link to hear it played on Windows Media Player)
I LOVE that song. I looked around after the song was finished and there were quite a few people wiping away tears. If you've never heard it before ... take a listen ... AMAZING!!!
Well ... that's it for me now ...
~ Shirley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
