i just love this picture of a bookstore entrance in france.

Isn't this just completely beautiful yet sad?

This poem was read by Shane at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I quite like it. This is the 'full' version.

"We Are More" by Shane Koyczan

When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we’ve got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
“ been there done that”
and maybe that’s where we used to be at
it’s true
we’ve done and we’ve been
we’ve seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don’t forget to mention that we have set sparks

we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say “eh?”
and yes

we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you’re welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today

filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like “someday”

someday we’ll be great
someday we’ll be this
or that
someday we’ll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday

we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through

and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don’t have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don’t all know what it is in life we’re looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you’ve been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can’t wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
“ keep exploring... we are more”
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it’s true

Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”
so don’t say “been there done that”
unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don’t say you’ve been there done that
unless you’ve been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you’ll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn’t pack for the first time
but don’t let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what’s more
is that we didn’t just say it
we made it be.

I'm tired of this skin. It doesn't look so crisp and fresh to me anymore. I'm ready for something different. I'm browsing and googling....Get ready for a change folks.

There's so much to do, but instead I'm procrastinating. I'm surfing the net while my child is absorbed in watching "The Magic School Bus". I should be cleaning up or organizing my church stuff or finishing planning for my service or exercising or anything. I'm so good at this procrastination stuff. :P

I'm validating this lazy behaviour by making advance blog posts for days when I don't have so much to say.

Okay, so I was tagged by Frugal Dreamer a couple days ago....I'm supposed to do the following:

1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.

2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.

3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they've been tagged.

THE FACTS OF DINAH

1. My name is not Dinah. It's something else. Dinah is my alter ego and one day I'll tell you all why.

2. I smoke. I admit it. I start and I stop and I start and I stop. I'm working on it.

3. I got married in Glasgow, Scotland at the Registrars Office. We got married at 10 AM, were done by 10:30 AM, back at the hotel and changed by 11 AM, & out for lunch at noon. It was wonderful.

4. I've had glasses since I was 4. I even broke the 'unbreakable' pair of glasses 7 times.

5. I'm pretty clumsy. Stuff falls off shelves and things don't stay put when I'm around. Heck, I don't stay put when I'm around.

6. I'm tone deaf. Completely and totally. I don't understand tunes, melody's, keys, or rhythm. I just sing for the joy of it.

7. I have very large feet. Excessively large. Like size 11 women's large. Sometimes 12. Shoe shopping generally makes me cry.

But I don't know who else to tag...I think everyone's been tagged already. The tag ends with me. :P

Winnipeg Transit has had this ad campaign going on forever and a decade now. It's called Busology and is 14 cartoons about bus ridership. This is their explanation of the ad campaign:

A humorous look at public transit! Mounds of bags in the aisle, the symphony of heavy metal music, passengers not moving to the back of the bus and the gentle aroma of food and beverages – these are the reasons for Busology. Busology provides a good natured, humorous look at common situations that can make our public transit system unpleasant for travelers. It’s hard to establish enforceable rules for many of these situations, because most really come down to a matter of common courtesy. We sincerely hope you enjoy the Busology and that it results in a more pleasant ride for you and all passengers.


I've looked at these ads for years now and while I think they are lame I've never really paid much attention to them. Except for this one. This one really gets on my nerves everytime I see it. In fact I can't believe that people haven't complained and had it removed.

Some people make an obstacle course out of the aisle with strollers, and packages. Please keep your belongings out of the way of other passengers.

It's the stroller part that makes me irate. I've been a bus rider with a child in a stroller before. There's NOWHERE to put a stroller. The aisles aren't wide enough. The old buses which aren't even accesible with a stroller and the aisles are even more narrower then the new buses. People won't give up the priority seating, they look at you and glare. It doesn't matter what size your stroller is too. Big or small none of them fit. Even if you fold them up they can't fit in the seat with you on the ground. & fuck, you've got to get to daycare or get home from daycare. What do they expect parents/caregivers to do? Stay at home? If I could afford it I would not be taking the crappy bus (& actually not bus--but 5 buses...that's right if I have to do the daycare pick up it takes me 5 buses to get from work to daycare and then back home--5 buses) I would be driving in my car. Gah.

I've been slightly AWOL from my blog and from others blogs. I'm playing a new computer game right now that I am absolutely obsessed with....so today's post is going to be 10 random things.

1. My fridge is not here. We got a call last night saying that it had not yet arrived from the warehouse in Ontario. They did not give us an ETA. I hope it comes soon. It's a good thing we don't need it right away.

2. Andrew is sick. I don't know with what but he has not ate today and is only reluctantly drinking. It's 5:50 as I type this and he's already asleep.

3. Our pilot light on the furnace and hot water heater went off for some reason on New Years Day. It got WAY chilly in here. The thermostat said 10.5 degrees! Yikes! Thankfully my father and my hubby were able to light them back up before any pipes froze. It was worrisome because it was MINUS 35 outside that day.

4. I've been thinking a lot about God and serving God and how I should (could?) be doing this. I am currently the Sunday School co-ordinator at my church, but really it is making me more upset and frustrated and not wanting to go to church. Something I did not want to happen again. I am really considering not continuing as co-ordinator when this session ends in May. Children are not my thing (no matter how much everyone tells me I am good with them and no matter how much I might like colouring and pasting with them) and managing adults to manage children is really not my thing. Right now the only bonus to this position is that I make an extra $192 a month which we have needed to have in our budget since I started in August.

5. While playing my computer game I am crocheting intermittently. What am I crocheting, you ask? You guessed it...more dishcloths. I'm making some for ME. I haven't made anything for myself in a very long time.

6. Gas is getting quite cheap in our city! It's about 76 cents a litre here! & because we get gas at Superstore we get an extra 15 cents off a litre for using our PC Mastercard. It was pretty darn cheap to fill our car the other day.

7. We spent New Years quietly this year. We went for supper (Yummy Thai!), then for a beer (at Billabong), and then we came home and watched 3rd Watch.

8. I took our Tree down today, but we are missing one box...so quite a few ornaments are sitting on the dining room table until I find it.

9. I really want to win Gails contest. I hope I do.

10. We have gotten quite lax with money and our budget over the Christmas Holidays. It's time to get back on Track.

Steve and my father have been hard at work getting the house ready for our hosting of Christmas Eve dinner. Quite a while ago my father had moved the doorway into the kitchen so that we could have more workspace in the kitchen. We had the hole in the wall for months and months and months (12 actually). He has finally drywalled it up and they painted this past week! I love my new colour. It makes the room look so bright and airy and spacious.

This is from before we moved in so it's not our furniture. Note where the doorway is.

Note how the doorway is moved over & please excuse the godawful mess! I'll have to take some pictures when it's all clean and orderly for Christmas Eve Dinner.

What are perishky's you ask? They are a little piece of heaven that Grandma only makes once a year and they are sitting in my deep freeze right now just waiting for Christmas Eve dinner.

Some people call them meat buns. Some people say they're like perogies. Some people call them pastry. Some people call them desert. I seriously just eat them and don't talk about them to anyone because then there might not be as many for me to eat.

My grandma makes them with a pizza pop kinda dough (sort of, but not really--but it's not a pastry either) and then the inside is filled with sauerkraut and fried bacon and caraway seeds (i think they're caraway seeds). They are so yummy! The thing with my Grandma is that you have to cajole her into making them. You have to carry on about how good they are and that you only get them at Christmas and that you love them and that there is never leftovers...because she doesn't like making them. Or so she says. I think she just really likes the praise.

I tried googling to find a picture...but none look like the kind my grandma makes....so you'll just have to imagine them.

I wonder if anyone would notice if I had a few...dozen? :p

Whaddya think?

I got tired of only having 2 columns. I decided I needed 3 of them! I briefly looked around and found this one. So far I'm really quite pleased with it. It's easy to manipulate and hasn't screwed up so far.

The only downside is my BlogRoll seems to have disappeared. *sigh* I spent a long time working on it and now it's gone. Please give me a shout out to your blog and perhaps to a funny, interesting, riveting, well-written one that you think I would also like.

I've now got my December Goals right where I can see them every time I look at the blog and my works in progress are right there too.

Update on my Weekend goals (just to prove to myself that I did stuff this weekend)

• Wrap Hitched Kids Secret Santa package (card?) DONE
  
• Mail Hitched Kids Secret Santa package out, DONE
  
• Mail a gift package out for an order I have, DONE
  
• Make an appointment for Family Pictures
• Make Spaghetti Sauce & freeze DONE
  
• Type out Daycare Board Meeting Minutes
• Buy more cotton yarn DONE
  
• Go to used store to look for sweaters to felt DONE
  

Not bad, eh? Everything but 2. I admit I am totally avoiding typing out the minutes and I still haven't decided where we should go for family portraits...

Cheers!

PS. How do you do that strikethrough on text in Blogger?

I love making lists. I have them everywhere and I make them for everything. Chores, job tasks, goals, dreams, hopes, crafts to make, crafts on the go, groceries, everything and everything. i make them on the computer, on scraps of paper, in fancy notebooks, on my blog, i love using different media.

The only problem is that I don't do anything with those lists. I like to look at them. Rarely do I follow through and cross things off. Even rarer do I actually complete the tasks.
At work the same 2 things have been at the top of my to do list for months now--File and Redo Subject Files. Months. I keep re-writing them...and then I keep re-writing them. At home I always start my health habits goals with drink more water and exercise and then just look at the words. Same thing in my church job...lots of lists of potential activities and then no follow through.

Like I've said a million times. I'm the idea girl. Nothing more nothing less. I can think of eleventy ideas a day and end up following through on negative 3 of them.

So, readers, don't get annoyed or pissed off at the fact that it is a different list, a different idea, a different plan, a different goal...it's all just who i am....unfocused and random.

today there is nothing inspiring to talk about.

i think we are going to have some grilled cheese sandwiches, watch 3rd watch on DVD and start on the spring (in winter) cleaning.

that is all. all i can say is...when did we get so boring?

ever have one of those days? or one of those weeks? or months? or years?

i'm in that right now. it doesn't seem what i do everything keeps unraveling or falling apart. the more organized i try to become, the more messy everything is. the more i try to do the right thing, the more wrong things seem to happen. the harder i try at work the more mistakes i make. y'know, that kind of thing.

for example: way back in like june or july i was given the keys to my church because i am the new children's ministry co-ordinator. i took them, put them somewhere (& not on my key chain) and never gave them a second thought. fast forward to the last few weeks where i've had this niggly feeling, and had circumstances where i could have gone to the church to do some work but haven't because i haven't been sure where the keys are...but i've put it off and put it off until tonight. tomorrow i'm hosting an event and i will invariably be the last person out of the building and need to lock up. so i start looking through my key ring and nope. no keys. i look through my purse, drawers, coat pockets, counters, little bowls full of crap i have, i look everywhere. panic sets in and i call the other CMC and fess up that i have lost my keys...and ask to borrow hers. she agrees reluctantly and i still feel awful. i'm dreading telling the church secretary that i've lost it, dread having to make them get another key cut. my anxiety is through the roof....and then...then i find it in my 'safe' spot...which is so safe that i don't even remember putting it there. i'm so thankful to have found they keys but now i feel silly for having called her only to find them 10 minutes later. bah.

now i'm anxious because i can't remember what i picked as the security code.

A local Christian College is running a new ad campaign that is all about 'busting' stereotypes of Christians. I've been sitting across from these ads on the bus quite a bit lately and I'm really not seeing the stereotype.

This is the first one. & I'm not sure what they mean by 'crutch' and I'm not sure why the blonde is confused. I really don't get this ad and I am an avid church goer and I have a degree in Religious Studies. I've stared at this picture for days now and I'm still no closer in understanding.


I looked up these ads on the Providence Website and this is what it tells me

“Think” shows a pretty blonde in a classroom setting who seems confused, with the headline, “Christians use their faith as a crutch.” This ad is meant to show the stereotype that many young Christians go on to secular university or even a good Christian school and still find themselves unable to clearly and intelligently converse about their faith with others.

Now, I would never have gotten from A to B on this one by myself...Am I alone here? I know that I can talk about what I believe quite well. However, I just don't think OTHERS need to hear me go on about my Faith and my Tenets... To me this is all very personal... So it's a stereotype that Christians can't express their faith because they are pretty and go on to post-secondary education?


This is the second ad. When I first saw this ad I was pleased because I at least understood it. Mind you I didn't agree with it, but I UNDERSTOOD what they were saying. I didn't need to consult the website but just for kicks here is what they have to say about this ad:

“Serve” shows a homeless person with the headline, “The end is near, so Christians don’t care,” to show the stereotype that some Christians think they aren’t going to be on earth very long so they don’t need to care about issues like homelessness, poverty, or even the environment.

Really? There's really Christians out there that act/think/live like this? Enough that this is a stereotype of Christianity? Really? This has really dumbfounded me and after thinking about this for a few days I have decided that this 'stereotype' is really not a stereotype but the exception to the rule...especially because we have successfully made it past Y2K.

The third ad is probably the most clear and accurate of stereotypes regarding Christians...however, have I seen this ad on the bus? Nope. Not even once and I take a lot of buses during the day. It's too bad because I think most people would/could understand this one the best.

God loves us all and we should all love one another. simple.

We need a new vacuum. But we don't want to spend a fortune on one but we want it to work like we did.

We have been to Wal-Mart and Superstore and looked at the vacuums, but really have no idea what to get. We know that we cannot spend more then 100 dollars before taxes and really the cheaper the better (but it still has to work good). We also know that it HAS to be bagless and not need further purchases of silly attachments/filters/gadgets/or gizmos.

What kind of vacuum do you have? What brand do you recommend? What do we need to know?

PS. Does anyone else think the way vacuum is spelled is completely ridiculous?

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day.

Please take the time to remember the veterans of the past and the veterans of today. Attend a ceremony.

The three of us will be at Vimy Ridge tomorrow at 10:30 for the ceremony there. It is the one I have always gone to. It's small and informal and meaningful. It won't be too long of a ceremony for Andrew and if need be him and Steve can go play in the adjacent park.

Where will you be?

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time".

Tonight we are staying in sans child (he's gone to Grandma and Grandpas for a sleepover), watching Bones Season 2 and eating Spinach & Artichoke Dip with Taco chips. Yum-o!

Our income was not as much as expected this week so we are slightly poor. this is our version of saving money.

I went to Safeway after work tonight and somehow walked out spending 46.10! 46.10?!? How the heck is that saving money? I'm flabbergasted. What did I buy you ask? Not much...

Beef Jerky - 9.98 (total impulse buy and this is where I went wrong)
Tortilla Chips - 3.09
Pineapple Bits - 4/5.00 (another not-so-wise purchase. i wanted to get 1 can of pineapple chunks so i could make sweet & sour chicken another day...and got sucked into the 4/5 deal...which is not as great as I initially thought)
Artichoke Hearts - 3.52
Cream cheese - 7.38 (I got 2 packages...and I don't think I need to for the recipe, but I didn't want to run short...)
Frozen Spinach - 1.79
Mozzarella - 6.49 (again, this is more cheese then needed for the recipe but the little blocks of cheese were the same price as this big one so I went with the big one)
Parmesan - 4.49 (holy jeebers expensive!)
Frozen Potstickers - 3.99 (these were on clearance...regular 11.99)

For the total of 46.10. I want to divide this up and figure out how much this meal at home is costing...When I add up all the ingredients that will be used in this dish (not factoring in the leftover component of cream cheese and mozzarella) we get 26.76. Divide that by 2 and we get 13.38! Add in the the 3.99 potstickers which I am also going to cook tonight and we get a meal that is 16 dollars each for me and Steve (30.75 total). Steve will probably pick up some beers (but he would have done that regardless) and I might have a rye and coke (which I already have on hand). So even if we add in say 10 bucks for Beer then it is 40 bucks and we're still coming out ahead! Even more ahead because we have the beautiful LEFTOVERS. I love leftovers.

This is WAY cheaper then our usual Friday night fare. Generally when we go out to eat on a Friday or Saturday night we drop 60 bucks minimum. Minimum. Often it is closer to 100 bucks.

I'm feeling better about staying in tonight already now.

Now on to the 15.99 chicken wings. Steve really likes chicken wings so I was going to pick up a box of frozen wings to go along with the artichoke dip but holy crap they were 15.99!!!!! 15.99. So I ditched the idea of the wings and bought the 3.99 potstickers. When did frozen chicken wings become so expensive? I definitely noticed that the price of food seems higher then it used to. I'm also hoping that items were more expensive at Safeway because it's Safeway and more upscale then Superstore where we do 995 of our shopping at.

Now I'm off to make the dip. I hope it tastes marvelous...

appreciate what you have


after watching this i realize that today i am thankful for my fridge, having a bank account, and my bachelor of arts.

It's hard for me to stay focused. I'm the idea girl. I can generate seven thousand ideas a day. I can have 2 dozen tabs open on the computer. I can start 8 different crafts. I can make 4 different budgets. I can have a dozen different long term plans. I can choose to go back to school one day and then the next decide to switch careers and then the week after want to stay at what i'm doing. i can triple book myself with friends very easily. i can have 20 books on the shelf that i haven't read yet--but plan to any day. i have 3 different blogs. a swack of mesage boards i visit every day.

you see where this is going? i can dream very well. i can even be practical to a degree. i can find solutions everywhere and anytime.

what i have problems with? follow through. persistence. perserverance. continuity. flow.

some examples:

• GYM MEMBERSHIPS....are evil as far as i'm concerned. they cost a lot of money and i never go for more then 4 months. i go religiously the first 3 months, and then i start to slide. right down into the pit of complete non-attendance.
• COMMITTEES...they're meant to be joined and then dropped right? even when you're chair, right?
• WEIGHT LOSS....i go back and forth between weight watchers, sommersizing, gorging, and general healthy eating faster then folks can do man makers....no follow through...
  
• CRAFTING....everyone has piles of started-but-not-finished crafts right? i remember once i even bought a 20 dollar book (on credit card) about how to make these cute little pot people and cute little pot people villages. where are they you ask? still in the book...now if i only know where the book was...no follow through...
  
• USED BOOK SALES...i go crazy at these buying armfuls and armfuls of books and then never end up reaidng 1/4 of them...no follow through there.
  

i find this is creeping into my work life as well. i started some largish projects a few months ago (mostly updating old files) and i still have. not. finished. them yet. it always seems that something new is popping up or something needs to be done.

it's happening at home too. keeping up with everything i want to do for andrew. the complicated stuff and the not so complicated stuff (ie. teeth brushing--yep, i've got no follow through on that too).

sometimes blogging helps me stay foccused. except then i make some crazy post about how i'm going to make a post a day and then promptly stop posting the day before. or i say, 'i'm going to drink 8 glasses of water a day for 1 mont' and then forget about it 2 days later.

i used to make lists and promises and oaths and goals and stuff like that...and then would promptly lose them.

i've gotta stay focussed. starting....now.

promise.