SARcasm

Junior Kindergarten Registration

2012-01-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

So ... Monday is a big day in our household. Little Tyke begins junior kindergarten this September - being a late-in-the-year baby (November), he will be starting at three years old. Monday is the start of kindergarten registration, so I will hie me to his new school to sign him up, birth certificate and immunization records in hand.

I have to say, for someone who is usually sentimental and a bit weepy about these things - and don't get me wrong, I can't believe he is this 'grown up', and I'm sure come September I will shed a nostalgic tear or two - I'm actually really excited about this. LT loves other kids, he loves learning, and he thrives on structure. He has wanted to go to school since his friend S, our babysitter's granddaughter, started school this year. So I'm thrilled for him, knowing how excited he will be.

There are things to iron out - the school he will be attending has only half-day kindergarten, so we're hoping our present caregiver will be willing to still care for him half-time, for example - but I think overall this is going to be an amazing adventure for our family, and for LT in particular. One more step, one more milestone ... and it seems like yesterday we were cheering him on when he'd finish a bottle, or roll over from his tummy to his back. Yeah ... OK ... I've got to say it ... our baby's growing up. And Mommy couldn't be more proud.

A couple more off the list ...

2012-01-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Two very good books finished this week - TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, by Mitch Albom, which was on my list ... and "Black Berry, Sweet Juice: Black and White in Canada", a book recommended to me as the mother of two mixed-race boys, by my minister, by Lawrence Hill (acclaimed author of Book of Negroes). I have added it to the list at the expense of The Host, you can see it in bold below. Granted the Host was a much longer book, but it was trash; and, unlike author Stephenie Meyers' previous work, not even trash you could at least sit, enjoy and shut the brain off. It was a big overreach that I found boring. A slow start is fine - I have patience for that. But when I'm 150-200 pages into a book and still feeling either bored or 'huh?' by turns ... yeah. Movin' on.

I also wanted to quickly cross off and add a review for Girlfriend in a Coma, which I finished last month but didn't have the time to review.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
~~9. Black Berry, Sweet Juice: Black and White in Canada - Lawrence Hill~~
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
~~14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom~~
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
~~55. Primary Colours - Anonymous~~
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
~~61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien~~
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
~~65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman~~
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
~~73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies~~
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
~~90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland~~
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: A short, easy, but thoughtful read - this story of a man who got absorbed into the North American culture and work ethic, rediscovering what's important with the help of his dying professor in his (the professor's) last weeks of life. Both heartwarming and saddening, Morrie Schwartz dies the way we all should aspire to - with dignity, with concern for the world and the people he was leaving behind ... 'a teacher to the last', as he wanted on his epitaph. This isn't a long book full of big words, but in its simplicity it lets us access complex thoughts and feelings, and assess frankly what is important in this world, so we don't learn those life lessons on our deathbed. Even if this doesn't change how we live ... it will at least make us more aware, and remind us, as Morrie says, "Death ends life, it doesn't end relationships."

BLACK BERRY, SWEET JUICE: Lawrence Hill provides a broad perspective on the mixed-race experience in Canada, and was a real insight into the world our sons are about to face. You won't agree with everyone Hill interviews, or even with Hill himself all the time - they don't agree with each other, and Hill himself sometimes contradicts himself as he walks the line between suggesting that race shouldn't matter when it comes to how we feel about one another (his parents intermarried, and he did too, so obviously he understands love knows no colour, even while expressing sympathy for African-Canadian women who resent black men marrying white women, for example), while acknowledging at the same time there are experiences people of colour will experience that 'white' folks might struggle to relate to (being more sympathetic than I would have liked, for example, to racial matching in custody and adoption issues, and more than a little condescending toward a 20-something man of mixed race asking why his skin colour should define him anyway). You might agree or disagree, he might have you stand and cheer or make you mad - but it is a thoughtful read with a great cross-section of perspectives across the black Canadian community. Worth a read.

GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA: Part coming of age story, part ensemble cast buddy book, part apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy, Douglas Coupland weaves several different concepts, perspectives, genres, into this book - leaves me curious and interested in reading more from this well-respected author; thank goodness I have a few more Coupland books on my list yet! :) Hard to sit and give a plot synopsis without spoilers, or at the very least going way too long, so many characters, twists, turns etc. does this story have - but it is very likely you will enjoy it if you don't mind a read that is light on difficulty, if perhaps a bit heavy on subject matter (you can tell from the title it's a fun, breezy beach read can't you?)

Our New Car

2012-01-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

2012 for us started with a bang - literally - as we ended up in a car accident on January 1, not 10 minutes from our home after making the return trip from visiting family and friends in Kitchener-Waterloo. Not fun, although we know we are very lucky that all four of us walked away with nary a scratch ... our car, purchased only 10 months ago, took one for the team, and we're grateful the biggest frustration was another round of car shopping. All that being said, we're pleased to announce that the frustration is over as we have purchased a new Cobalt - almost the exact same car, actually, same year, roughly the same mileage, just a few more automated bells and whistles. We figured - we loved our last car, why mess with a good thing? :)

So ... meet the new car, same as the old car, just a bit more red. :)

Fifth Business

2012-01-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

So sick and unmotivated seems to land one with some time on their hands - that certainly covers me, where last week I managed to complete Robertson Davies' "Fifth Business" off of my 101 Books in 1001 Days list.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
~~55. Primary Colours - Anonymous~~
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
~~61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien~~
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
~~65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman~~
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
~~73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies~~
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

Davies packs so much into this novel! Much about human nature - the idea that we're all the stars of our own autobiographies, even if in the grand stage of the world we're simply 'Fifth Business' - or the extra person on stage (the best friend ... the confidant ... picture Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, for example). The 'star' of this book is Dunstan Ramsay, formerly Dunstable, who seems to be a bit player in everyone else's drama. But he puts a heavy importance on his own life and role - as evidenced by his undying loyalty to Mary Dempster, who was rendered 'simple', as they put it, by a blow to the head meant for Dunstable as a boy. Long past the time anyone remembered the incident, or even Mrs. Dempster herself (including the perpetrator of the blow, Dunstan's longtime frenemy - boys DO that? - Boy Staunton. This shows either Ramsay's overinflated (or others' underinflated) sense of his importance in the machinations of life.

Just that is a lot to encompass and incorporate into a novel. But add the other didactic levels it works on - as a tome of Canadian history covering both World Wars, the depression, the unification of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and so much more - as an analysis and discussion of religion (starting with Ramsay's insistence that Mary Dempster is a saint, leading to his studies of saints generally, and a lot of his connections in the Roman Catholic world) ... the 'coming of age and then some' aspect of Dunstan growing from 9-year-old-boy to nearly-70-year-old man ...

I have to admit with this book I cheated a bit - I had already read it in Senior English almost a dozen years ago. But I don't think I understood then just how many levels this book works at. It is not only at its core a good story - it touches on almost all of my areas of primary interest, from teaching to history to religion. Davies does this, and does it well. I recommend this book to anyone interested, and look so forward to reading the rest of the Deptford trilogy (not sequels per se - more roughly the same story from different perspectives, filling in gaps and yes, extending a little bit further into the future from where Dunstan Ramsay, as narrator, leaves off) - The Manticore and World of Wonders.

In sickness and health ... And a good laugh.

2012-01-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

So I've spent much of the last 2 weeks now feeling like death warmed over; an eye infection meets an awful cold that won't go away, and creates one miserable Sarah.

My eye's currently being treated and improving but one of the side effects of the drops I've been using is light sensitivity. I bit off more than I could chew today as I drove to church for the morning ... which was fine; but by the time it was time to drive myself home the sun was out with a vengeance and bouncing off all the lovely white snow. Usually I would enjoy this and find it quiet pretty, but with my big dilated eyes, it was overwhelming. I got about a block and realized I could no further go.

So what does my wonderful husband do? He bundles up our two boys and buses out to get me. Not too much of a hardship for the kids - who love the bus - but such a nice gesture and I really thank Ari. He was my hero today, and he is wonderful.

I also wanted to share something a cyber-friend of mine posted yesterday; in a pretty miserable week or two (the Holidays were fabulous and I loved the time and generosity of our family and friends, don't get me wrong - I would have liked to have been in better health to enjoy it), this was a fabulous laugh I appreciated, combining well both of my careers as a substitute teacher, and lay minister:

Enjoy your week everyone! :) XO

2011-12-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

Amidst a very busy couple of months where I haven't posted as much as I'd have liked, it has been such a blessing this weekend to celebrate Christ's birthday with my church family, and a holiday of love and togetherness with my family. It was our first Christmas without my grandfather, which was of course sad, because he'd have loved what Christmas was this year - a time of family togetherness, my parents and step-parents, my brother, my grandmother and step-grandmother, and of course us and the kids all together ... it was a time of generosity and love and stands out, despite that, as an amazing Christmas.

I hope everyone out there has enjoyed the holidays as much as we have, and will continue to do as it's off to Kitchener tomorrow to enjoy the last couple of nights of Chanukah with my in-laws, and see other family and friends out that-a-way. Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, Seasons Greetings to one and all. XO

Alight at Night

2011-12-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

This is what we did last night (not our video - and you don't need to watch the whole thing it's 10 minutes long - but worth checking out some highlights):

This is 'Alight at Night', an evening Christmas program at Upper Canada Village, an awesome old fashioned 'village', an outdoor living museum between Morrisburg and Ingleside in Eastern Ontario (not far from Cornwall, or Ottawa) - just Google it for more information; it's really cool. If you want something a bit shorter but neat to see, look on Youtube for Alight at Night and check out the 'sound and light show' featured in several videos. It's an amazing, family-friendly experience. Just be sure to dress nice and warm - it's nighttime in December after all! :)

Jesus - Occupier?

2011-12-06T13:17:00.001-08:00

First of all, please CLICK HERE to read the CNN religion blog I'm responding to, written by the head of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins.

Now ... my first reaction was, oh my God, where do I even start with this? And then ... well, maybe I don't even need to start with it; it's such hooey, no one would believe this, would they?

Then I remember, many do - many good hearted folks have both this image of the Occupy movement adherents (if you've been living under a rock the last two months, look it up) as lazy, welfare-collecting hippies with a senes of entitlement, the first generation of 'Participation Ribbon' winners who don't understand life has winners and losers ... and this image of Jesus as a devout, socially and economically conservative figure in their own image. And I think this needs to be addressed.

First of all, I'm not even going to start with the religious aspect. I'm going to start with the point Perkins makes about halfway through this blog that "each of us is given the same opportunity to build our lives, and each of us shares the same responsibility to invest our lives for the purpose of bringing a return and leaving a legacy." I'm sorry - both of these points are simply fallacious. Ask anyone who has been discriminated against due to race or ethnicity, anyone who has been too poor to attend good schools, get good healthcare, anyone who graduated university (or didn't!) at a time when jobs were at a premium and thus was unable to get one ... opportunity is not equal. Nor is responsibility - and in a very sick twist Jesus would never approve of, oftentimes the largest bulk of the responsibility to fix the various messes in our world today is placed on the poor, as the rich benefit from lower tax cuts, from more secure jobs, from excellent severance packages when those jobs DO come to an end. This is just not true. Period. And anyone who can say with a straight face anymore that 'each of us is given the same opportunity to build our lives' has their head buried so deep in the sand I'm wondering if they'll ever seet he light.

Now, in terms of the Parable of the Talents Jesus shares - yes, it is a tale of hard work and responsibility. However, the master of the servants the master left responsible for his money also spoke to, and understood, that they might have different strengths, different ability levels - 'talents' as we understand the word today - and didn't specify what their calling necessarily was; he only asked them to care well for his belongings and do their best. Working to shape a more fair and equitable world to the best of our abilities - in terms perhaps better understood to more conservative Christians, caring for the Lord's creation until His return, as best as we can - is what we have been tasked with. This is not an homage to the free market - it is an homage to excelling as much as possible, and at least doing no harm. In that sense ... a few bad apples aside ... the occupiers are indeed living out the Jesus message.

Still not convinced? Well ... at the end of the day then, perhaps we should remember further words shared by this same Jesus - the one at the very heart of his Christian message:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Digital Nativity

2011-11-27T19:24:00.001-08:00

I think I may have posted this last year, but it bears repeating.

May YOUR journey, following the star to the Bethlehem stable, be filled with wonder and joy.

Dirty Thirty

2011-11-24T17:40:00.001-08:00

So the hubby turns 30 today. That's right, my Ari is now officially over the hill. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. :D

Love you, my dear. Happy birthday! XOXOXO

Two of the Best

2011-11-18T14:37:00.001-08:00

This week has been quite the week in our little world. As we celebrated Little Tyke's third birthday on Tuesday, today we lost my grandfather, Cal Wilson, after a long struggle. They have only visited a very few times but took well to each other each time. I will be spending my weekend, and a few days next week, celebrating both of these special people, and what they have meant to all of us. God bless you Grampa. And God bless you, little man. XO

Remembrance Day

2011-11-10T09:38:00.001-08:00

In the busy week that has passed, in the busy week ahead, I don't want to forget tomorrow is Remembrance Day. Our chance to remember those who died in fights, some of which we agreed with, some we didn't, but always so that we would have the right to have those discussions. It is a time to be thankful to those who made it home, but nonetheless took the ultimate risk. It's a time to remember the adage about 'supporting our troops ... bring them home', and hope someday, in a perfect world - the world these men and women died for - there will be no more need to send our young adults off to war.

In the words of Rick Mercer:

Thank you Grandpa ... an 88-year-old World War II veteran. Thank you Uncle Tommy, whose peacekeeping took him all over the world. And to Kyle, my brother, a former reservist, who never did go overseas but would have in a heartbeat. God bless us everyone.

Happy Halloween! :) XOXO

2011-10-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you Rick Mercer

2011-10-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a few days behind on this one - I've been meaning to share but haven't had a whole lot of time to get back here to the blog. But after the suicide of Jamie Hubley here in Ottawa last week, due to being bullied for being an out gay student, Rick Mercer (think, Canada's answer to Jon Stewart in a way), had the following to say - which I appreciate greatly.

Two More Down

2011-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Knocked two more books off my list over the last two weeks or so - Girlfriend in a Coma, by Douglas Coupland, and The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold - which replaced Stephenie Meyer's The Host on my list. Started that book ... got about 100 pages in ... realized, it sucked ... might give it another old college try one day, but didn't enjoy it enough to pursue it. These two books, however ...

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
~~9. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold~~
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
~~55. Primary Colours - Anonymous~~
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
~~61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien~~
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
~~65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman~~
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
~~90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland~~
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

Both of these books have some elements in common - both are semi metaphysical/mystical, have some discussion of the nature of Heaven and the afterlife, both begin in the face of angsty 1970s teenagerdom and proceed to discuss the decades of fallout following a tragic event - the death of a fourteen year old in The Lovely Bones, and the onset of Karen's coma in Girlfriend in a Coma.

Yet both are incredibly different - while Bones basically describes the impact of the loss of a child on her family, friends, school and neighbourhood from a variety of perspectives - and does a great job of it at that, so don't want to minimize that - Girlfriend is almost like 2-3 different stories in one. There's the first part, where Karen falls into and remains in her coma ... there's the part where she wakes up seventeen years later ... and there's the post-Apocalyptic distopia in which the main characters find themselves. They are both ensemble stories dealing with the impact of different events on a variety of characters, told from an individual's perspective - in both cases, largely from the perspective of the dearly departed - the murdered child in Bones' case, and a high school buddy who died of Leukemia in the case of Girlfriend.

Both are really good - they aren't hard reads from the perspective of language, book length, understandability, or any of that; although they are also obviously not entirely light subject matter (albeit with some humourous or lighter moments - moreso in Girlfriend; there can be a feeling in The Lovely Bones of the heavy, crushing sadness not letting up ... although it sometimes manifests itself in more tender and beautiful than horrible ways). I can recommend both books fairly strongly.

National Novel Writing Month - Coming Up!

2011-10-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

So November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! I have several friends who have done this at least a few years now, and I've wanted to since hearing about it - writing a novel is definitely on my bucket list! :) And I gave it a semi-honest shot in 2009 in that I signed up for an account and wrote a whole bunch of 'first pages' before giving up. But this is my first real, 'The kids are a bit bigger, I've figured out a way I can attend some of the write-ins, etc.' kind of situation. I don't know how weekday evenings will work, but Ari and I have already worked out an arrangement whereby on the weekends at least, he will be resuming his running (now that both boys are old enough for the running stroller) while I attend write-ins; and for my part, instead of wasting my time with TV or videogames or what have you after the boys go to bed, I will be writing instead.

So I don't know how this will affect my keeping up with my blog - my goal is that maybe it will actually enhance it as maybe I put some excerpts up here etc. But I'm pretty excited. Want to participate too? You can sign up by CLICKING HERE to become a NaNoWriMo participant. GOOD LUCK to all! :) XO

In Memoriam

2011-10-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

William Heaney, 1941-2011

My Uncle Bill Passed away last week. My dad's brother, my uncle, the father of my cousin and Godfather Billy. Of a heart attack. Thus the lack of blogging as we had this to face as a family. He was a good man, leaving behind his son, his daughter-in-law Carole, and grandsons Jonathan and Danny. Donations to the Cardiac Institute in Montreal in his name are appreciated.

Hug your loved ones. XO

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

2011-10-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

So, I know I'm incredibly late in posting this - and I apologize profusely. A week of some work, some job interviewing, and all of us getting the worst cold this side of cold and flu season, can do that. My every intention was to be back on track with blogging last week, and God-willing I will be again this week. Meanwhile though I did want to wish all of my Canadian family, friends and readers retroactively a fabulous Canadian Thanksgiving - I hope everyone got to share a delicious meal with loved ones and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather here in Ontario (shorts, t-shirts and sunhats ... in Canada ... in the middle of October ... I am not kidding you ... busting every stereotype known to man here!)

As always ... just a short list of things I am thankful for:

My family - my parents, including steps- and in-laws, my brother, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, husband, children ... you all brighten my day, and even when you don't (because let's face it, no family is 100% sympatico 100% of the time), there is always something to be learned, and I am grateful for the lessons. I could not ask for a better family ... I truly feel we are a team and face challenges together, while doing our best to avoid creating them ourselves. Do we always succeed? Heck, who does? But we love each other. And that's 99% of the battle right there.
My friends. Great ones, good ones, challenging ones, long-forgotten ones. I can honestly say there is a very limited number of people in my life who have occupied space and not earned it. Much like with my family, I appreciate the support and the challenges, and I appreciate the relationships that take work - because they're worth it - and those which are easier - because they can be a breath of fresh air. Whether you make me work doubletime so our friendship isn't taken for granted, or whether I can just plain count on you, no questions asked ... you are important to me and I appreciate that.
My work. I don't necessarily have the lovely, 100% fulltime public school teaching contract I might have dreamed of having by the time I was five years into my career. A Jack of All Trades, that's me - I supply teach, I am a part-time youth minister, and I teach online high school courses ad-hoc. But whether it's plain old networking and relationship-building en route to a more stable teaching position ... whether it's helping high school kids work toward their diploma ... or whether it's sharing the love of God with shiny, happy young faces at church, it is good and meaningful work I'm proud of at the end of the day.
Dumb luck. I have clean water to drink, food to eat, a roof over my head, work to go to (often), a car to drive there ... I sometimes wonder if I've 'earned' these things ... some I have. Five years of school, working hard, earning everything we have ... I'm proud of that. But I also know at least some of the above comes from being born in the right place into the right opportunities.

I also want to express my thanks, lastly, for the last ten years. I know Ari, my husband, fit into the first thing I was thankful for - my family. But Friday came and went as the ten-year anniversary of us as a couple - when we actually acknowledged that one dance, two dates (and yes, they were dates, honey! lol ...) and how many countless hours of emailing, ICQ (yeah ... dating myself already with that one), and phoning, meant more than just "We're really good friends". 10 years, 9 addresses, 4 cities, 4 degrees, 1 wedding, 3 cars, 2 cats, 5 fish, 1 gerbil and ... oh yeah, 2 kids later, we're still going strong.

"Looks like we made it ... look how far we've come now, baby."

Primary Colours

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

So after a 2 week or so hiatus (my apologies - it has been a very, very busy time up in heeyah), I have turned my attention from Canadian politics to American politics, as I finished up Primary Colours by Joe Klein (originally published anonymously). This novel was reportedly based, with various degrees of looseness, on the Bill Clinton presidential campaign of 1992.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
~~55. Primary Colours - Anonymous~~
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
~~61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien~~
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
~~65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman~~
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

This novel is absolutely breathtaking in terms of getting right to the ugly heart of American politics and the ugliness it has become. Personal foibles become the stuff of legend, while important policy ideas become secondary in the mind of the American public. Jack Stanton, a man whose political heart is in the right place despite his deep personal ammorality, finds himself and his wife sucked into a system they'd originally tried to fight, but ultimately become one of the worst symbols of. How true is this to the Clinton power couple? I'd like to think better of the Clinton legacy than that, however his own personal failings are well known and on public record. Either way, Joe Klein writes an interesting, riveting novel that even those not particularly familiar with the inner workings of politics shouldn't find too cumbersome to follow. I enjoyed it - I also strongly recommend the movie, which I watched years ago, starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson as Jack and Susan Stanton, and Kathy Bates as dustbuster Libby Holden, and Adrian Lester as Henry Burton. See the trailer below:

The Death Penalty

2011-09-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

I know - a nice light topic for our edification today, huh? But in the past week, it's been on my mind a bit, as in the United States, Troy Davis - convicted twenty years ago for the murder of a police officer - was put to death this week, around the same time as we in Canada (which does not have capital punishment) learned of the terminal illness of serial killer Clifford Olson.

I am not going to deal with the guilt or innocence here of either man - not in any doubt in Olson's case, and in a fair bit of doubt in Davis' - because in large part that's not my central thesis here. I mean, it is, to the extent in general that judges and jurors are humans, who therefore almost by definition can err, and the fallibility of the legal process is reason #1 I'm anti-death penalty. I have said and still say that until and unless we can create an inerrant justice system in which the rate of wrongful conviction is, without any doubt, absolute 0, death is far too absolute and final a judgement to potentially go wrong with. In saying guilt or innocence here is irrelevant, it is more in the sense that I'm not familiar enough with the details of either case to speak to the guilt or innocence of either - particularly Davis', as I do believe Olson has confessed etc. But also, because there's a more salient point I want to address here.

Throughout the last week or two, the families' of both of the above mens' purported (or actual) victims have spoken of the relief they would feel when they got the phonecall informing them of the death of the accused. And this is often the #1 case made by advocates of capital punishment - the concept of victims' rights, of closure and some sense of retribution (which is a nice way of saying vengeance - yes - that high and lofty Christian ideal) for those who lost loved ones. And I want to make perfectly clear here, that I do sympathize with victims of crime. As admittedly snearing as the above sentence might have sounded, I actually am not one who judges people for falling short of ideals - particularly in un-ideal circumstances. It is completely natural for one who lost a loved one violently at another's hands to be angry ... to hate ... to wish to erase that person's existence, and the pain it has caused, from their world. Like anyone, I have experienced times in my life where others have hurt me and/or my loved ones, in some cases very badly. They have caused anger. They have caused me, in private - and sometimes not so privately - to question my own ideals, standards, beliefs, in light of new and painful realities.

However, it is that word, that concept - reality - which can so often get lost to pain. And the reality is, I think those waiting patiently for the phonecall that is going to change their life and take away their pain after so many years, are going to be sadly surprised by the reality of it. Once that phone is put back down - your loved one will still be gone, their former space at the table will still be empty, and really, justice won't have been served; because the true injustice is the years that you were robbed of, which nothing - not even the death of the accused - is ever going to be able to fix. And that isn't even compounding the injustice by bringing up the possibility that 'we might have been wrong' - that's the reality, even if we got the right dirty perp.

I want to pause now and point out I am a great believer in justice - and this means being tough on crime where need-be. Even as a true red-blooded progressive, I find the idea that murderers pretty much automatically get out of jail after 25 years laughable. And I believe again, that victims and their families have the right, as much as possible, to get whatever closure is reasonable on their pain. But I don't see how responding to death with death creates any more closure than the knowledge the criminal who hurt me and my family is left alone behind bars with the reality of their actions for the rest of their natural lives. That IS justice, that IS a cold and hard reality. And to anyone who says it's more mercy or better treatment than they showed others ... is that what we hold ourselves to? The standard of the most deviant among us? Let us be the things these monsters aren't ... let us be firm but merciful, tough but reasonable ... that is truly the way of honouring those lost to crime and violence - to end that nightmare cycle, at the end of which really, whatever we tell ourselves ... grief remains.

Happy Birthday Gramma!

2011-09-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my Gramma a happy birthday tomrorow! Not sure if I'm going to be able to blog during the day (although of course I will give her a call) but I wanted to take the time and wish her a very, very lovely birthday weekend, and a fabulous year ahead. My gramma is the coolness, and always has been. XO

We remember ...

2011-09-11T17:26:00.001-07:00

Two Tributes

2011-09-02T05:33:00.000-07:00

While we were away last week, Canada lost a great man in Jack Layton, newly Leader of the Opposition, leading the New Democratic Party to its greatest showing yet, and landing them as the official opposition party for the first time in history. Prior to the campaign, Layton had undergone hip surgery, and, perhaps more seriously, seemd to have beaten back cancer.

However, after serving as Leader of the Opposition in the house for only a matter of days, during the summer session in July, Layton announced he was temporarily stepping down due to treatment required for a new, apparently more aggressive cancer. He looked frail and gaunt, but determined to return to Parliament when it reopened September 19. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and this past Monday, August 22, Jack succumbed to his illness. He left behind a letter for all Canadians which can be found easily by googling Jack Layton's letter; youtube footage is available of his funeral last Saturday. But as a fitting tribute to share on this site, I want to include Jack's own words, in his own voice from election night this year, to remind everyone of what he stood for, and the battle that all progressives, be they Liberal or NDP, face ahead. May Jack rest in peace, and may we not just yet.

On a smaller scale, Canada's most senior news anchor, Lloyd Robertson of CTV news, told us yesterday for the last time what kind of day it's been, as he hangs up the microphone after 40+ years behind the anchor's desk, and 35 years at the CTV. Perhaps the most fun reflection on who Robertson was can be found here, in the following Royal Canadian Air Farce tribute:

The Last Ten Days ...

2011-08-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

So it's been an insane 10 days! On August 20, we went back to Southwestern Ontario for Little J's naming ceremony ... a lovely weekend with family and friends. Ari's grandma from California was there, and we got to see so many folks we hadn't seen since at least the holidays ... it was so wonderful to see so many people come together for our little family.

credit for the above photo to Alex Pominville of Pominville Photography.

It was then off to Wildwood, NJ on the Jersey Shore for a week at my favourite childhood vacation spot. After 12 hours of driving spread over two days (including an overnight in Binghamton, NY), we reached our destination, and it was a blast! :)

The boys enjoyed the beach ...

Although my fearless Little Tyke developed a bit of spooks around the waves, which is unlike him, and a bit sad and diasppointing, but of course in a way almost a relief to his parents who are glad he's so brave, but sometimes wish he understood the idea of danger a BIT better ...

And rides ...

But it was definitely a weird week at the same time. The first sign of the strangeness to come was an earthquake we felt on our first day out on the beach. Apparently, a 5.8-magnitude quake hit Virginia, down the coast, which we managed to feel up in Jersey (I've heard from some Ontarians they felt it too - so apparently quite the thing).

Unfortunately, though, as minor as that was where we were, it was only the harbinger of things to come. Our lovely, almost week-long vacation, it turns out, was only meant to last 3 days instead of six, as on Thursday we received word that Hurricane Irene was heading up the coast to the Jersey Shore, and Wildwood was being evacuated as of 8am Friday morning.

A bitterly disappointed Daigen family loaded up all of our stuff and began the drive inland and north, eventually reaching Montreal, where we decided to make SOMETHING of our two remaining days of vacation anyway, hitting the Biodome on Sunday, featuring animals and plant life from four ecosystems found in the Americas (the rain forest, the gulf of St. Lawrence, the St. Lawrence maple forest, and the sub-polar region).

The boys even got to ride on their first subway - Montreal's excellent Metro!

Incidentally, Montreal met Irene as well on Sunday, only she wasn't quite so harsh to La Belle Ville as she was to the Jersey Shore.

And we checked out the Ecomuseum Zoo on Monday on our way, finally, home.

We calculated almost 40 hours of driving, 4 hotels, 5 different cities overnight, and just about every kind of weather but snow on this trip. Relaxing beachside family vacation, as planned? Not exactly. An unforgettable adventure? Yeah ... one could say that.

Happy Birthday Little J!

2011-08-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Little J, our youngest baby, this handsome, chili-covered sweetie above. Today, he turns one. Tomorrow, we're heading back to Kitchener-Waterloo to celebrate his birthday and 'naming' - an ecumenical mashup between a Baptism and a briss, with less bloodshed - with dear family and friends, one year to the day after we learned this little wonderbaby had come into the world, and Little Tyke was a big brother. After that, we're heading to the New Jersey shore for, what, if I say so myself, I consider to be some well-deserved fun in the sun. :) So if the blogging is less frequent over the next few days ... please know that means there will be more to talk about later. We're going to enjoy the last couple weeks of summer.

How will YOU be spending them?

VACATION!!!

2011-08-15T17:57:00.001-07:00

Yeah - you can see where my head's at. lol Can't wait ...

Summer Reading

2011-08-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

Just wanted to mention a couple of books I've read in the last week - the fact I've gone through two books this week tells you they weren't terribly difficult to read, and took little enough time I'm not adding them to my 101 book list - however, I wanted to share that, while somewhat (okay a lot) fluffy, they were fun reads and I'm sure if I thought about it I could criticize their quality as 'literature' ... but that's just it, I wasn't thinking. :)

UNTOLD STORY by Monica Ali documents what might have happened if Princess Diana had survived that car crash in Paris, only to fake her own death about a month later in a drowning/shark attack off the coast of Brazil, to go on to live undercover in small-town America. By far the smarter of these two books, it's still pulp lit, but a lot of fun, with a fair bit of thought put into it. Just because it's short-ish, and easy to read, I can imagine it having been a challenge to plot out and write - and I applaud Monica Ali for applying her talent as best she could to a real mass-appeal novel that will grab the tabloid-reading crowd, without being God-awful, or really even bad by any stretch.

SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL covers the lives of Sweet Valley High's famous Wakefield Twins, Elizabeth and Jessica, ten years and one huge falling out later. Updating everyone who grew up on the Sweet Valley pablum in their tweens and teens on the lives of the beautiful California girls and their friends, while this is the definition of drug store pulp, as a former SVH reader, I have to admit it was worth it if for nothing but the nostalgia factor. You'll be surprised who you root for - absolute trash, but of the most fun kind. :)

What has everyone else been reading this summer?

Wildwood Bound

2011-08-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

In two weeks from right now, we will have just come back to our hotel room in Wildwood NJ after our first evening on their famous Boardwalk. We will have celebrated Little J's birthday and naming ceremony with family and friends, and spent some time back in our hometown, which we're also looking forward to bigtime.

In between, we will be cleaning, packing, working, parenting, enjoying the lovely summer ... not necessarily in that order lol. It's been such a good one. And as it winds down and we look forward to our vacation, it is also time that teacher hiring swings back into something of a higher gear - wish me luck in that department too! It's all just life, man ... and we're enjoying it currently.

Reading Update

2011-08-03T07:23:00.001-07:00

I just completed "The Secret Mulroney Tapes" by acclaimed (though conservative) Canadian journalist Peter C. Newman. While not a completely unbiased or magisterially historical biography - Newman explains why early on in the book, due to Mulroney's lack of follow-through providing him confidential documents that could have fleshed out this story - what this might lack as a comprehensive, exhaustive look at 'The Mulroney Years' it more than makes up for as a character sketch of one of the most controversial, yet accomplished and risk-taking, Prime Ministers in Canadian history.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
~~65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman~~
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

While not a completely unbiased or magisterially historical biography - Newman explains why early on in the book, due to Mulroney's lack of follow-through providing him confidential documents that could have fleshed out this story - what this might lack as a comprehensive, exhaustive look at 'The Mulroney Years' it more than makes up for as a character sketch of one of the most controversial, yet accomplished and risk-taking, Prime Ministers in Canadian history. What this book did for me, while solidifying my perception of him as arrogant and self-aggrandizing, was mellow my view of him as an ideological Reagan-ite or Thatcher-ite. More left-leaning than I thought, if anyone has successfully squared the circle of the 'Progressive Conservative' oxymoron, it is Mulroney. I definitely recommend this read - it's not heavy politics or history, it's completely digestible, and gives you a front row seat to the movers and shakers in an incredibly intense and important time in Canadian history.

Thank you Matt Damon!

2011-08-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

Congrats Kyle!

2011-07-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Guys! Today was the North American piping and drumming championships in nearby Maxville, at the Glengarry Highland Games. The grade 1 competition was won by the Peel Police Pipe & Drum band, of which my brother Kyle, a tenor drummer, is a part. They're off to the World Piping Championships in Glasgow next month (August). Congrats guys and all the best through the rest of the season! :)

Mean - Taylor Swift

2011-07-26T08:16:00.001-07:00

Norway and other sad news ...

2011-07-26T07:12:00.001-07:00

I know these thoughts are dated - I became ill overnight Friday, spent Saturday in bed, and we have been passing whatever bug it is around since, pretty much - and/or I've been working.

But I have found the news of the terrorist attack in Norway - and no mistake, just because it was only one person, and (gasp!) a non-Muslim, it was just that, a terrorist attack - incredibly sad. This peaceful nation where even the police are unarmed (firearms are kept in a lockbox in their car, which they require permission to retrieve) was nowhere near prepared for such a tragedy and the loss of life in such a small country - or any country - is painful. For Glenn Beck yesterday to have compared the youth camp that was attacked to the Hitler Youth, simply for being a politically-engaged group of young adults and teens, was obscene and tasteless. A young generation of people engaged in the public life of their country, an active citizenry, is something we in North America can look toward with envy ... another thing robbed along with innocence there.

I find myself oscillating between whether this nutcase - whose name I will not publish, nor links to his manifestoes, as if there is anything that has become clear, it is that his ultimate goal is not only the 'revolution' he is attempting to start in Norway, but also attention, whether for himself or for his cause - deserves an open trial as all citizens do, or whether that would simply give him the attention and platform he so craves. The democrat in me of course cries out for an open trial, for the process of justice being done to be transparent ... on the other hand, he doesn't deserve a blessed thing he wants, and he wants cameras and tape recorders on him. This is what terrorism does to democracy, to justice ... it makes us doubt the very foundations of who we are as a people. Sad.

Also sad was the news here in Canada that Opposition Leader Jack Layton would be temporarily stepping down to battle a new cancer - not the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with about 18 months ago that he seems to have under control - one, judging from the look and sound of him, which is infinitely more severe, and yet, judging from his optimistic tone, one he remains confident he can battle and win over. There are conflicting signs - a previously very open Layton playing specifics very close to the vest; an optimistic tone contrasting with a very poignant visual. But reality is reality and for better or worse this will play its course - we hope for, and plan, for the better.

As a Liberal whose loyalties are currently shaky in the light of years of corruption, arrogance, and the lack of a leader to whip those elements back under control and take the proper lead of Canada's Party, I have looked to Jack as the best leader on the national scene right now - the leader of a party who I agree with 80-90% of their platform if not 100%, and the best voice to counter the new Conservative majority. We need him - and on a more personal note, after years of hard work, he deserves the chance to do this job - once thought to be the highest he could even in his wildest dreams hope of achieving. He's a hair's breadth away from the Prime Ministership; he - and Canada - deserve that chance. Our prayers are with him and his family for his continued health, and his return to leadership when the house resumes in September.

Where have I been?

2011-07-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

The answer to the above question is, BUSY!

Working two jobs - even jobs that I'm reasonably enjoying - definitely drops the blog on the priority list; hope that's understandable. But I want to say we're well, we're happy, and our time has been well spent as we hit up Ogdensburg NY this past weekend for some cross-border shopping (and to take Little J's passport out for its first spin), as well as a beach day Sunday. This coming weekend the boys have a birthday party to go to, before getting some babysitting around their bedtime (so we don't miss out on their company - one of our biggest challenges especially both working full-time-and-then-some, is having couple time, without being away from the kids more than we already), so we can have a date night (thanks to our lovely neighbours T&C).

We're a month to the day away from our vacation. Can NOT wait - two days in Kitchener Ontario, our hometown, for Little J's 'naming' and birthday celebrations, before heading down to Wildwood, New Jersey, for some family friendly Jersey Shore time. :) We'll be heading home by way of New York City so we'll get to catch Ari's aunt, uncle and cousin then also.

Meanwhile though I'm still kickin' and thanks for bearing with me; I will do my very best now that I've gotten out from under a bit of a backlog in my one job, to keep up here. :) If not, hey, it's the summer - everything slows down except life itself apparently. Hope yours is going well!

XO Sarah

Parenting in a Multiethnic Family

2011-07-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

Please CLICK HERE for an amazing article by my friend Kate over at http://www.perpetuallynesting.com - amazing.

Summer Reading ...

2011-07-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

I finished up "Last Night at the Chateau Marmont" earlier this week and thought I'd take a moment to share my thoughts. It was a long enough book I felt it not cheating too much to replace a book below with it. So BEGONE Paradise Lost ... OK yeah so it's a superlong classic being replaced by a 300 page chick-lit novel ... and I debated long and hard whether or not to replace it, but realistically it's not one I'd have gotten through in the allotted time anyway ... so I feel a bit less bad about it I think.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
~~24. Last Night at the Chateau Marmont - Laura Weisberger~~
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

So ... as stated above ... chick lit ... and not even quite the same quality chick lit as The Time Traveller's Wife. But it was such enjoyable fun! :) The characters make you mad sometimes - you want them to just stop and actually talk to one another instead of bottling everything up. You can't help but think, if they had such a great relationship, they'd do so, and be more considerate of each other's needs - make plans and compromises before things get out of hand. Still, then there would be no book, would there? It's an easy read, fast-paced page turner. Don't read if you are looking for anything particularly deep or thought-provoking; any conflicts or 'villains' are fairly superficial and never quite feel like real threats. But for a fun romance that won't take you more than a few days to read - excellent summer beach/camp/cottage reading fare - I still recommend it, and don't want my cynicism about the literary quality of the book to reflect at all on the fun and enjoyability of the read.

Happy Long Weekend!

2011-07-03T21:08:00.001-07:00

To my Canadian friends: Happy 144th birthday Canada! Did you see the Royals this weekend?
To my American friends: Congratulations on the 235th anniversary of getting those pesky Royals out. :)

For real: I hope all my my American and Canadian friends and family have had/are having a fabulous long weekend celebrating the wonderful things I strongly believe both of our countries stand for. God bless us, every one.

Post-It Note Tuesday

2011-06-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations

2011-06-27T15:22:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a lovely one. After two days as Wonder-housekeeper, I deemed the place officially fit for parental units (both my own, and the in-laws) to visit. Enter Ari's folks. Why? To babysit the wee ones so we could attend a wedding rehearsal - I was set to read, and needed to practice. Sort of.

Which meant, of course, a wedding was around the corner! That was Saturday. Enter not only the in-laws, again to do a beautiful (and dirty) job watching the kiddos, but my mother, my step-dad, my brother, his plus-one and my grandma, to attend Mr. and Mrs. Shelley's big day. It was untold oodles of brilliant fun. :) Capped off by a BBQ with all the same players (minus my brother and G who had to go home) on Sunday, I can honestly not remember a weekend more fun than this one in a long time. Unless of course it was the one before, the one featuring a waterpark, a wedding anniversary, and Father's Day on an amphibus.

The summer is here and the time is awesome personified, as predicted - even if the blogging remains a bit more irregular than I'd hoped. Now ... if only I could find some lucre-inducing occupation for a couple of months, now that the school year endeth, to keep the good times rolling. Surely finding some 6-8 week clerical position to tool around in and keep the homefires burning shouldn't be too hard ... right?

John McGee - Idaho State Senator - Arrested for DUI and Grand Theft Auto

2011-06-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

Please watch the video below and riddle me this, Batman - Anthony Weiner sends some admittedly inappropriate photos and exhibits incredibly poor personal judgement, but represents his consistuents well and has effectively been cleared of any politica wrongdoing in terms of using any congressional resources etc. (Yes - he communicated with a 17 year old girl on Twitter, however it has since come out it was innocent - unseemly in light of recent events, but completely non-sexual in nature). Yet his resignation is sought - nay, demanded, insisted upon - by the Democratic machinery. Meanwhile Idaho Republicans are taking a 'wait and see' approach to handling one of their own in light of, in my opinion, a much worse, more dangerous, and ugly scandal. Just saying.

Happy Anniversary

2011-06-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

It's not quite there yet but I won't have time to post this tomorrow.

June 18 2005. I married the man with whom I celebrate 6 years of marriage tomorrow. In those six years we have ...

Lived in 5 homes ...
Had at least 10 fulltime jobs between us ...
Earned 2 degrees ...
Bought 3 cars ...
Lived in 3 cities ...
Visited 2 continents ...
Had two children.

Would I do anything different? Yeah. Not much I don't think.

I was teasing Ari last night about how Snoop Dogg bought his wife a dozen roses and a sports car for THEIR anniversary. This is what Ari greeted me at the door with today:

Thanks honey! :) I uh ... appreciate it. Or something. ;) Happy Anniversary!

Summer Lovin', Havin' a Blast ...

2011-06-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

So - it's a busy time in the life of the Daigen clan (yeah I know - does a blog entry go by where I don't say that?). But at least we're at a point now we're into a routine, and it's productive weekdays and fun-filled weekends. I'm excited about the summer.

This weekend is a special time for us, as Saturday is our 6th wedding anniversary, and Sunday is, of course, Father's Day. The weekend afterward is all about family, as my cousin is getting married! Friday is the wedding rehearsal, which I will be attending as I'm doing a reading. Saturday is the wedding itself - my whole mom's side will be there; Kyle my brother is coming up, and my grandmother will be there too. My lovely in-laws are going to come into town to babysit the kiddies so we can go to the wedding, and they'll be joining us at a barbecue at my mother's the Sunday before heading back to Southwestern Ontario.

Canada Day Weekend follows, and maybe by then I'll have convinced the dear husband to head downtown and try our best to catch a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - less formally known as Will and Kate. From there, hopefully at least I will have found a job and we'll have settled in to a routine until the end of August, when we head back to SW Ontario ourselves for Little J's birthday party and naming ceremony, and then to the Jersey Shore to ~~get our GTL on~~ have some R&R and enjoy the boardwalk, the beach, some fun in the sun.

Hopefully in between all that there will be some work accomplished, some reading and blogging done and all that ... what are YOUR summer plans? :)

Book List Update

2011-06-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

But before I start ... Happy Happy Birthday to my girlfriend Alex! :) Hoping she has a wonderful year ahead of her - she deserves it. You can check out her blog at http://ourthingcalledlife.blogspot.com/ - please enjoy! :)

Now then - on to the book list at hand. :) I have knocked two books off my list since last reporting in - Audrey Niffeneger's The Time Traveller's Wife and Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. See below for reviews.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
~~2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger~~
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Paradise Lost - John Milton
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
~~56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates~~
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

I was intrigued by The Time Traveller's wife. I recognize it's solidly Chick Lit, so not everyone's cup of tea. But I found it readable and entertaining Chick Lit, my pages kept turning and with great frequency, and there were a few 1am nights due to my inability to put it down, so I suppose that speaks well of it! While some have complained that Niffeneggerl eft a few questions unanswered/had some inconsistencies/what have you in the time travelling concept usually so detailed and fleshed out in other sci fi/fantasy fare, I don't mind that; it allows us to focus on the core story, and quite frankly, if we're dealing with time-travel-as-genetic-illness, there would probably BE unanswered questions anyway. The emotional conflicts within that idea - that we are helpless to change time even if we see it and know it - and yet on the other hand perhaps we don't so strongly need to miss people as they can travel at times into the future and never really leave us ... it's interesting, and I enjoyed seeing Niffenegger grapple with that. She really conveys the trapped feeling of being a prisoner of time, as well as the freedom from having to make choices when life is written out for you.

As for Revolutionary Road - it is definitely an unpleasant read if you're looking for a love story. Be warned, there are no sympathetic characters here ... no one to root for ... this is a very cynical look at an unsympathetic dystopian suburb - and everyone, in one fashion or another, striving to keep up appearances (whether of the Suburban dream, or of the bohemian cynic stuck 'against their will' - or perhaps not so much - in Disturbia). I recommend it for the most part from an artistic standpoint, as a good read - but be warned there is nothing redeeming or fluffy about it ... it is human nature at its ugliest, and Yates makes no apologies, any more than his characters do.

Two very different books about two very different relationships - and yet the sense of being trapped, of drowning, remains. An interesting two books to read in a row, for sure. Hope to update you on another one or two I've completed soon. Thanks for reading along with me.

Senate Page Fired for Protest During Throne Speech

2011-06-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

Check out the video below:

What do you think? Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around an opinion. On the one hand, I would imagine this young woman, Brigitte dePape, and I would for the most part be of a political mind when it comes to stances on issues - I tend to be progressive in my end-goals, where I describe myself as a moderate comes more in my approach. And I definitely admire the tenacity of her convictions and her chutzpah, as Ari would call it.

At the same time, I am enough of a traditionalist, with respect for the parliament (moreso than our PM - let me tell you, hearing Conservatives today speaking of a contemptuous act toward Parliament kind of make me laugh) and for parliamentary tradition, that I'm given a little bit of pause at her methods. I don't know if I would go so far as to call this a security breech as some do - the woman worked in Parliament and came in with paper tucked into her skirt, she wasn't some uncleared attendee who set off a metal detector - and I'm not sure if I would consider it 'illegal' exactly. Uncivil, for sure - but is incivility sometimes justified?

Just not sure ... still thinkin' ... but definitely livened up what can be a bit of a long and droning speech, didn't it? :) We can at least thank Brigitte dePape for that.

TheStar Liberals pass law to ease adoption of Crown wards

2011-06-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

TheStar Liberals pass law to ease adoption of Crown wards

Sorry - I know I know I've been terribly absent. I was out of town at a conference, and then yesterday was my birthday ... and now it's late and I'm kind of draggy and tired. But I promise to be back to more regular posting now. I was for awhile a week or two ago, and it always sucks when stuff comes up just as you're getting into a rhythm and routine (although really good stuff - a fun conference I'll share more about in the next day or two, and my birthday was nice too).

Meanwhile though I did want to share the link above, considering the journey in our family here the last couple of years - this is great news, and definitely something to congratulate the McGuinty government on (I know, there hasn't been much, but ... the guy still has a good heart I think). Thanks for indulging me! :)

Victoria Day Weekend

2011-05-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a lovely long weekend. We're most of the way thru it and on our end it's been lovely. Despite starting on Friday with our son having an allergic reaction to a vaccine, and the news of the untimely death of wrestling legend (and one of my personal favourites) Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, I think our little family has since rallied, as Benadryl has worked its wonders, and we had a lovely day yesterday enjoying a travelling fair here in Ottawa, as well as the end of the Tulip Festival near Dow's Lake. We're a bit unsure of what we're going to turn today and tomorrow into, as it's supposed to be thunder-stormy at any time now, but there IS a WWE pay per view tonight I'm sure we'll end up watching, and we'll figure out a lovely way to spend tomorrow and wrap up our weekend ... perhaps Cosmic Adventures style? Although picturing the crowds ... hmmm ...

Perhaps the most amazing fact is that we're all still here, seeing as yesterday was supposed to be the Rapture and all according to Rev. Howard Camping and his Family Radio folks. After all the talk of destruction surrounding Judgement Day, it has been lovely to celebrate creation at church today as we planted a butterfly garden, to provide chemical free wildflowers for our local butterfly population. While the Sunday School, who was supposed to scatter the seeds, were only two in number with the long weekend, we still had fun joining the rest of the congregation outside for singing and blessing our new creation. May the butterflies enjoy it as much as we enjoyed setting it out for them.

Blessings on butterfly wings into the new week, everyone. Much love!

Response to the National Post Article about the United Church of Canada

2011-05-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

If you CLICK HERE, you will find the United Church of Canada made the National Post's Religion page today. While normally I would ignore such articles, especially considering the source, I think there are a few important things to respond to here in regards to the church I grew up in, and the church that I love.

FIRST - THE SMALL PART I AGREE WITH
I do agree there's an unfortunate trend with some progressive Christians to avoid 'God/Jesus' language, and I think it's important we use it; not only does it explain our motivation for the work we do, but it also demonstrates there are multiple ways of being Christian - unfortunately being ashamed of Christianity only plays into the idea fundamentalism embraces that there is only one meaning to that name, and honestly, we do a disservice to Christ's ministry to not speak up for what we believe in - we own that title too! And I too will express disbelief in Gretta Vosper, a renowned Atheist, being a minister in a church who yes, still has in its creed that 'We believe in God, who has created and is creating ... we believe in Jesus, the Word made flesh'.

However ... I take issue with two major points in the NP article.

ONE - THE ONE ABOUT THE UNITED CHURCH BEING TOO 'OF THIS WORLD'
This is the most silly one. I think a bigger problem in churches today, more than dogma being too loose OR strict, or what have you, is a matter of relevance - people relating to it. And if taking your faith to the streets - living it, acting on it, 'walking the walk' as opposed to simply preaching and praying - isn't relevant, I don't know what is. Granted, we could probably do a better job of discussing what inspires us to be active in the realms of the environment and social justice, but it doesn't mean that we're on the wrong track in doing it. And ...

TWO - THE ONE ABOUT 'MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS'
Okay - granted I obviously don't completely disagree with this; truly buying into our creed of at believing in some creative force beyond ourselves, and Jesus as greatest example of living in right relationship with that force and its creation, I don't think is too much to ask if we're going to identify as a 'Christian Church' (and for the record I have no problem with those who don't - I'm married to a Jewish man, find much to respect in Islam, and embrace just about anything that brings peace and fulfilment - I guess I just think those who shy away from invoking Christ's name or even using the term God might feel more comfortable in a Unitarian setting or book club than a church, for their own sake moreso than a 'kick'em out' attitude). But beyond that, I don't care if 'God' to you is some old man in the sky, or some Jedi-like 'force', or if you believe Jesus is divine or simply an incredibly inspiring teacher whose message has survived 2000 years (a miracle in itself) - and again, I think this argument misses the point about relevance discussed above anyway. On that score, I think the UCC's grass roots campaign to be God's hands and feet in the world is on the right track.

UPDATE: Moderator Mardi Tindal's response to this article can be found on her Wondercafe blog by CLICKING HERE.

Once and For All ...

2011-05-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a conversation Ari had today ... and an ensuing convo on Facebook ... I want to address once and for all questions we get asked on a regular basis by strangers (yes strangers) at parks, malls, grocery stores, what have you, when we're out with the boys.

Yes they are darker than us.
And no (when one of us is out alone with them), my husband (or Ari's wife) is not black - they were adopted.
No, it wasn't our choice, we are infertile, so ...
No, we can't have 'biological' children, although
Yes, we do have kids of our own. you're looking at them.
Yes, they are 'real brothers'. They are also biological brothers.
I will not tell you the story of their bio parents other than 'they made the right call' - that's not my story to share, even if I thought you were entitled to it.
They were adopted from Canada ...
Through the public system, and
No, it did not take forever.
And might I add, on behalf of all parents in general and adoptive parents specifically ...
That the simple fact of me having children does not entitle you to my life story, but since we're going there -
Why is your three year old still drinking out of a baby bottle,
Or five year old still sucking on a pacifier?
Why aren't you breast feeding?
Yeah ... we are a family, just as real as yours, we're doing just fine, and we are now moving on. Thank you.

End rant.

Happy Mother's Day (belatedly)

2011-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take the time, after a lovely and busy weekend, first of all to thank my boys, Ari, Little Tyke and Little J, for a lovely couple of family days. We spent Saturday out and about downtown Ottawa, enjoying the first day of the Tulip Festival ... an annual festival celebrating a gift of millions of tulips given to us by Dutch princess Juliana due to granting her and her two daughters refugre during World War II. In fact, her third daughter, Princess Margrieth, was born right here in Ottawa! On Sunday, Mother's Day itself, Ari surprised me with a trip to Kingston, where we were going to take a 1000 Islands boat cruise ... unfortunately there wasn't enough demand for the cruise, so instead we wandered the city, spending some time in a local park, visiting my old university campus, grabbing some yummy Thai food and tiring out the boys before the drive home. lol

Perhaps more importantly than all that though ... I want to extend a Happy Mother's Day to

First and foremost my mother Jean. She is the most awesomest woman I have ever met, and it is my life's mission to be more like her - less combative, more selfless, focusing on the positive and with a good handle on the priorities in life. She is my hero and there's nothing more I can say about that.

Beyond that in no particular order, my other moms. My grandma Jean had as big a hand as anyone in raising me and to this day we are still incredibly close. She used to tell me once the time would come I'd be less and less interested in visiting her ... not true! :) I love our time together, either on the phone or in person. And my step-mother Monique is also an amazing woman - strong in faith, long in patience, such a wonderful love and support not just to my dad, but to my brother and I too. And my mother-in-law Val, who has always been such a calm, supportive influence in our family; she raised a great man (who was smart enough to fall in love with me, haha), dotes on my kids, and has welcomed me happily into her family - I can't ask for more in a MIL.

Last but not least - to all the moms I know. I'd list them but I know I'd forget some. Alex ... Joanna ... Kate ... Marjorie ... Anne ... the moms I know from churches and schools ... and to those moms whose roles aren't necessarily 'defined'. To my cousin Allison who will be taking on two step-kids when she gets married next month, and to my boys' other mother, who did the most selfless and giving thing she could to provide them with (I'd like to think) a good home, and us with the two best sons we could have dreamed of. May everyone, every mom in their way, have had a lovely day yesterday, and feel Mother's Day all the rest of the year long.

The Death of Osama bin Laden

2011-05-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Haven't had time to blog on this this week, as it was the week Ari went off parental leave and we were adjusting to our new routine. But now that I have a moment ... some thoughts on easily the biggest news of the week, the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden at the hands of an elite US Navy SEAL team.

Gut reaction was 'good riddance' ...
And I still don't want to imply I mourn his death
Or am shedding any tears.
Although it would be nice ...
Nice to have taken him alive
And given him a trial,
Show him he hasn't killed western ideas
Like justice.
Treat him like the criminal he is,
Show him the justice
He never showed his victims.
I don't mourn his death -
I mourn what he killed before.
I mourn what died with him.
And yet I still hope ...
I hope this doesn't lead to retaliation.
I hope this brings closure
To those who have suffered.
I hope this allows all of us
To sleep a bit easier at night.
Ding dong the witch is dead?
Perhaps ...
But let's remember,
The things he represented,
Sadly, are not yet.
And we all must be vigilant
To fight the terror, the hate,
In our own hearts and others
With love, peace, compassion and justice -
Those things never shown
By extremists who embrace terror -
Who fly planes into buildings
Bomb clinics
Behead hostages
Or torture prisoners of war.
Let us learn, let us grow from this,
Let us congratulate the president
And the Navy SEALS
Who did what needed to be done.
Let us wish peace on those who have suffered,
And God's blessings on all
As we now work to move forward
From one of the most awful experiences
Of our century and its fallout,
Insha'allah.

Looking on the Bright Side ...

2011-05-03T08:55:00.001-07:00

Of last night's election in Canada, which resulted in a Conservative Party of Canada majority government ...

The NDP are the new official opposition, so whichever side of the political divide one might fall on, there is now a real opportunity to air those views. Ah, but if you are a centrist like I tend to be?
The Liberals, while shellacked last night, have been flailing aimlessly since the Dynamic Duo of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin resigned in rapid succession, taking many of their party's more experienced and worthwhile voices down in their rancor. They have needed some time to regroup and plan a new course for the future, but they have been busy in the important role of Official Opposition to a Minority Government; now in third place, they will really have the opportunity to re-assess, rebuild.
The Bloc Quebecois has been reduced to a rump. And while I sympathize Quebec has a unique culture and some unique needs, so do many parts of the country, and a party that ultimately seeks to break our country up, quite honestly, has been way too close to having way too much power for a long time. While I think the Liberals are just due for some 'time in the wilderness' as the Cons were 20 years ago, I think this might be a serious paradigm shift in Quebec. And speaking from my Anglo-Quebecker by background, that can only be a good thing.
The Green party got their first-ever seat in the House of Commons for their leader, Elizabeth May, which can only be a good thing for the legitimacy of their party.
The Conservatives will have a real opportunity to govern with something of a mandate; hopefully they will do good things with it. If not, it will create the opportunity to reassess ...
How a party with 40% support gets a majority, and just how that provides a mandate. I will stay away from getting into political nitty-gritty as honestly I think representatives of all ends of the political spectrum have SOMETHING to offer and deserve a place at the table - but I will say that the First Past the Post system doesn't provide, for anyone, an accurate representation of just who should be at the table and in what ... well ... proportion, if you will. Look up Proportional Representation; while I try not to use this blog as much as I might have in the past for soap-boxing - everyone's entitled to their views, and I have no particular desire to be controversial - when we see the Bloc Quebecois over-represented for years ... when we see the opportunity for the Liberals and NDP to split votes and the Conservatives to come up the middle ... when 40% can lead to a majority government ... when votes can honestly be wasted ... it's time to take a second look at our system.

Just saying ... welcome to the New Canada. Congratulations to Stephen Harper and Jack Layton, and Messrs. Ignatieff and Duceppe ... well, we wish you well in your future endeavours. :) Somehow, I suspect you will both land on your feet. Here's hoping the rest of us do too.

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

2011-04-29T23:18:00.001-07:00

Today, Prince William married his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton, who became Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, based on royal titles bestowed by the groom's granny hours before the wedding. Please check out a (slightly long, at 13 minutes) video of highlights below. Want an even shorter one? CLICK HERE for the 'Royal Wedding in 60 Seconds'. :)

Mazel Tov and a lifetime of happiness to the Royal Couple.

Legend of Zelda ... the Movie?

2011-04-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

OK - so not really. This was an April Fool's Day trick from IGN a couple of years ago. Still - it would be neat to see someday. I'm guessing it's a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' ... I certainly hope so as a Zelda fan. :)

Happy Passover, Happy Easter

2011-04-26T03:23:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned last week celebrating Passover with my in-laws, which was lovely. This past weekend was Easter, and we spent it with my mom and step-dad, my dad and step-mom, and my brother (as well as my Uncle Bob). The festivities started Saturday afternoon with an Easter egg hunt for Little Tyke and Little J, as well as a lovely family dinner, and continued into Sunday as we went to church together and had brunch at my house before everyone hit the road. I believe I can speak for everyone to say a good time was had by all. :)

Sunday evening Ari and I decided to enjoy the lovely weather of the day and bought some smoked meat sandwiches downtown to eat on Parliament Hill - a lovely place to picnic and soak up the sun, with lots of running around room for Little Tyke. :) Who should we run into there but my cousin Ken from Montreal! I haven't seen him in about 5 years, since my uncle's funeral, and I got to meet his second son too, who was a real sweetie LT's age - the boys played together so nicely. I was sorry to miss his wife and oldest, who were back at their hotel, but it was still a super-nice Easter surprise.

Yesterday we went to the park for the afternoon, and stopped in at the pet store to complete Little Tyke's easter gift - we bought him a Betta fish, since he'd been so enthralled by the fish at Denny's where we had Palm Sunday brunc with my in-laws last week. Definitely a hit, he's enjoyed having "Fishy" in his room ever since. Now? 6:30 am and I'm on my way to a day of work. But I wanted to check in before heading off - hope everyone's holidays, whichever you celebrated - were fabulous, and I wish you a great last week of April. Much love!

T Mobile Royal Wedding

2011-04-20T20:55:00.001-07:00

Check this video out - lots of fun. :)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Stephen Colbert Sings 'Friday' with The Roots (4/1/11) - Video - NBC.com

2011-04-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Can't embed this without violating copyright - and it's a couple weeks old - but given the day of the week ... thought sharing would be appropriate. Enjoy y'all!

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Stephen Colbert Sings 'Friday' with The Roots (4/1/11) - Video - NBC.com

A Lovely Time ...

2011-04-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

So it's been a busy few days - but worth it.

I usually make a point here of not talking too much about work, other than mentioning that yes I am a teacher, and yes, from time to time it keeps me busy. Occasionally, I might mention sometimes I wish it did moreso. But working both in education, and in youth ministry - in other words, with children - I tend to consider discretion and confidentiality a big part of professionalism, no matter which of my two work hats I'm wearing.

However, I had such a great experience this weekend that I wanted to share. My pastor, Ellie, and I awhile back came up with the idea that, as the Trinity United Church Sunday School has grown beautifully, and the parents spend a good deal of time after church chatting anyway, since our children's choir practices at that time, we should have a potluck lunch. That went down yesterday. Was it a busy time? Absolutely. Was it a lot of work? For sure. However ... seeing the kids play together so nicely, while having the chance to actually sit down and have a meaningful conversation with the parents I work with and get some good feedback on the children and family ministry at church, instead of a few hurried words on our way in and out of church, was fabulous for me. A good time was had by all, and while I went home and napped for an hour or three, it was well worth the effort - especially given it was all hands on deck as a potluck, and for cleanup afteward (Moms are great lol).

I felt very fulfilled in my work yesterday seeing it culminate in almost all of the people I work with gathering in one place ... being able to include my boys, and seeing LT and Little J have such a great time, was the icing on a very sweet cake. Anyone from Trinity who might meander over this way ... thank you very much for making yesterday such a Spirit-driven event in this Easter season. I enjoyed working, and socializing, together with all of you to make it happen. Much love and many blessings.

Mr. Harper, are you on your meds? - Opinion - Macleans.ca

2011-04-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

Click below for a fun election-season read. :)

Mr. Harper, are you on your meds? - Opinion - Macleans.ca

One more down ...

2011-04-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Reading List Update

With about 3 weeks to spare until Easter, I managed to complete John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg's "The First Christmas". Now, perhaps in time for next Christmas, I will have completed 'The Last Week', hmmm ... ? :)

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Paradise Lost - John Milton
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
~~36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan~~
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

This book was really interesting, in that while it was very accessible and readable - you don't need some divinity degree to read it - it still covered some deep and complex stuff. I love Crossan, Borg, John Shelby Spong, Karen Armstrong and others of their ilk for making very complex theological thought and learning available to the masses; there is so much misinterpretation and misunderstanding of just what Jesus' message was and has been, that I feel progressive Christians tend to shy away from that term and that identity rather than claim it and defend it. A well-written book articulating just what the wonder and mystery of the Christmas story is supposed to represent was a wonderful thing to read at Christmas (and yes, beyond) and bring myself back in touch with the holiday's true spirit. An excellent offering. :)

An Important Message from Rick Mercer

2011-04-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

(and a promise I will blog more regularly going forward - this week was just more jam-packed than I realized it would be ... my apologies, I've been too busy living life to write about it this week :)

What do teachers make?

2011-03-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

For all the amazing educators I know, with many warm thoughts. XOXO

Back to the Polls

2011-03-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

So it's all but official; amidst an earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, an uprising in Libya, government grinding slowly but surely towards a standstill in the US, Charlie Sheen's emotional breakdown and Elizabeth Taylor's sad passing today, that we, boring ole Canada, over the last week have held our government in contempt of Parliament (the very first time this has ever happened) for their un-transparent dealings (not recalling which specific scandal this was about ... the KAIROS scandal? ... In and Out? ... the refusal of a public inquiry about knowingly handing over military prisoners to potentially be tortured, with Parliament?), and the NDP announced they will not support the government's newly-tabled budget, becoming the last opposition party to withdraw its support, and meaning effectively a vote of non-confidence, meaning the government falls as it will not have enough votes to support its budget passing as a minority government.

Meanwhile, the Liberals tomorrow will be tabling a specific non-confidence motion to be voted on Friday. The government falls this week, which means an early-May election. Let the campaign begin!

Hugely important movie

2011-03-17T19:01:00.001-07:00

I would recommend anyone who works with children and/or their education - teachers, principals, parents, government officials, school board trustees, psychologists, kids themselves - see this movie, "Race to Nowhere". Incredibly important.

Some thoughts on Lent

2011-03-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Lenten season started at my church today ... although of course it started earlier this past week, with Ash Wednesday. This season is time to reflect ...

While some see Lent as a time of confession and atonement, debasing one's sinful self in preparation for the Hope and Light of Easter morning ... and I myself definitely see in it an opportunity for self-reflection ... I think it is more than that. I think while it is a time to look at that which is difficult and dark - about ourselves, about those around us, about the world - it is also a time for acceptance, for making peace, dare I say, for forgiveness. This is the tack my church is taking on this Lenten season, and I think it is a vital one - especially given how deeply misunderstood the concept of 'forgiveness' and 'atonement' can be in some Christian circles. The fact is - we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Conflict will arise, forgiveness is more than simply a virtue, it is necessary. And beyond interpersonal conflict, there will always be 'darkness' and 'difficulty' in the world in which we live - this is a fact with which we must make peace, in order to truly understand Jesus' Easter message.

Does this mean we must accept all injustice? Be a doormat because we have been taught to 'forgive'? No! In fact, sometimes forgiving means letting go of painful relationships in order to allow both yourself and your (not-so?)-loved-one be your best selves without one another. But it does mean not carrying around bitterness or anger or hurt ... allowing yourself to move on, to accept what has happened even if you don't accept it continuing; to be OK and forgive, even if you don't forget - forgetting is a disservice in a life in which learning experiences shape all of our next steps.

In the bigger picture, we saw a horrific example of just how dark a place the world can be on Friday, with the 9.0 earthquake which has absolutely devastated Japan. While compassion and prayer are great beginnings - should we misunderstand 'accepting' and 'making peace' as saying 'these things happen' before moving on with our own lives? Not in the slightest. It does mean accepting it has happened - and it means making peace with that fact, as human beings, means doing what we can to help out. If we cannot help - which sometimes we can't - accepting that is key. But personally, where I CAN help, I seldom find peace with not doing so.

What is YOUR way to Lenten peace, acceptance, and forgiveness? I know I am seeking my own ... will you join me?

Mysterious absence ...

2011-03-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

Why?
Stomach flu.
First Little Tyke's ...
Then Ari's ...
Then mine and Little J's.
It's been fun ...
NOT.
Mostly back on track ...
Only LJ still a bit buggy.
Hopefully the week=
Better than the weekend.
Next weekend MUST be better -
The in-laws are coming!
Which is actually always fun,
Yes fun. :)
Hope everyone
Has had a blessed Shrove Tuesday,
And enters the Lenten season
In the spirit of redemption,
Forgiveness, and contemplation
It is meant to represent.
I'm giving up fast food
And hopefully a few pounds with it.
Wish me luck on this journey
Which hopefully lasts
More than 40 days!

New Car! And my brief ponderings on the news of the week.

2011-03-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

So - we are the proud new owners of a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt with 53,500 km on it - yay us. That's where we've been the last couple of weeks as I may or may not have specified. Not particularly witty, funny, or exciting (except to us - nice new car=the result), but yeah. Last couple of days have been quieter, except both hubby and Little Tyke are both sick with a fun-seeming tummy bug that I might be catching too ... boo. It's been a busy time and I've had barely enough time to follow the good (the progress being made in the movement for democracy in the Middle East) the bad (evil Wisconsin governors attempting to take away teachers' collective bargaining rights) and the ugly (Charlie Sheen's winning warlock tiger blood), much less devote a whole heckuva lot of time to really dissect it.

However - please note that I wish the first continued success, and may peace and sanity reign in Libya; the second defeat at the hands of integral public employees and the Democratic representatives in the state legislature (although as he is printing off layoff slips in light of the refusal to pass his legislation, it looks like heels just got dug in), and the last a nice, long, health-restoring trip to a hospital or rehab ... let me just say I feel for those who genuinely care for this man - his parents, his children ... and I put a plea out to his fans who find this nonsense entertaining and edgy, and the media who keeps egging him on to keep themselves on TV, their entertainment blogs up to date, and their newspapers/tabloids/mags in print, to stop exploiting a man who needs help, not a platform.

May all of you be well. XOXO

This is the Stuff - Francesca Batistelli

2011-02-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

A fun and relatable song I heard on the radio for the first time today - enjoyed it! :D

Reading List Update

2011-02-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

A detour from my 101 books in 1001 days project this past week as the second autobiography of one of my favourite wrestlers - the incredibly athletic, entertaining, and yes, oh, mildly attractive Chris Jericho - hit bookstands and I considered it a must-read. :) Please note its addition to the below list.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Paradise Lost - John Milton
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Undisputed - Chris Jericho~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

You can find my review over at my In This Very Ring blog by CLICKING HERE. And yes I note it has replaced one of the books on religion I've been on a kick of lately - unfortunately, as much as 99% of the time I enjoy Bart Ehrman, I struggled through his God's Problem book a bit, as ultimately I disagree with him - which I can deal with and often in fact find entertaining and fun if done right; but for an intelligent and readable Jesus scholar, I find his arguments against a deity due to the suffering in the world (the whole concept that if God is both almighty AND loving, there shouldn't be suffering in the world - thus, since there is, that which we call Holy is either powerless to stop it, or cruel) to be simplistic. A very intelligent case can be made on that side - however his seems to amount to 'Because I can't believe in a God who is not Theistic (old man 'out there' somewhere) - ie God as presence, God as spirit, God as nature - a God who is more complex than 'The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away', therefore as that foundation has crumbled for me, I can no longer believe in the Divine, period' - which I would expect more from a very learned religious studies professor who I would have thought could wrap his head around more complex, postmodern religious ideas.

I do hope to pick his book up again perhaps - however it went back to the library before I could complete it and I don't feel a particular urgency to grab it again. Jericho's book was about twice the length and honestly, fairly well written itself, so this isn't exactly 'cheating' in the sense of building up my book count. lol And as I said - I might add Ehrman back at a later date if the book catches my eye again while browsing. He's a smart enough guy whose work I've enjoyed enough to date, I'd believe the more complex crux of his argument coming later in the book than I got to at this point.

Ruby and Bon Jovi

2011-02-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

So it's been some week. We had to say goodbye to our 2004 Chevy Optra, Ruby, this week as she died. Oh, she could be revived, to the tune of $2500. But for a seven year old car with 180 000 km on it, we decided it was more feasible to buy a new car - we will be greeting our as-yet unnamed 2006 Pontiac G5 sometime in the next week-ish. This isn't incredibly great financially either - but the salesman at the lot has offered us a great financing deal and is looking to see if he can have both car payments rolled into one and just paid out over a longer period of time as opposed to two payments a month for the next two years. We appreciate this.

On a much happier note, however, we got to celebrate a belated Valentine's Day. Yesterday, my mom got to spend her birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY!) with her two grandsons as Ari took me, for my Valentine's gift, to see THIS awesome concert in Montreal ... yup. Jon Bon Jovi. Ari likes the rock'n'roll, I like the guy. This concert worked just fine for both of us.

Here's to a fun weekend, and a new week ahead - Happy Family Day Ontario!

In Honour of Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

Click here for a fun Video in honour of Cupid's Day ... and whether you are single or attached, remember: be sure to be good to one another, and yourselves, today and every day. Hope everyone has a ... uh ... Super evening! :)

Potty Training

2011-02-06T10:49:00.001-08:00

Yup. This has been our project this week with Little Tyke - and I feel a reasonable excuse as to where I've been lol. We've definitely had some frustrations - Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was a child's ability to know where and when to pee! But I think we've gotten to some success. Over the last 24 hours or so, Little Tyke has had only 1 accident, and we're taking him every 20-30 minutes to the potty. This is hardly a finished process - he is initiating maybe once a day on a good day, so it's more about dilligence on our part than his learning to know he has to go. But he's been wetting himself less and less frequently, which tells me he is at least learning to hold it until he's on the potty, and while we're not at, or even near, the finish line, I at least feel we're past the halfway point. So proud of our LT!!! :) And of Little J for putting up with the extra attention big brother's been getting the last few days. Fun stuff all around, but thinking we might be getting to the 'it was worth it' point.

Hope those of you who are into that sort of thing enjoy the Superbowl tonight; *I* will be enjoying marking while hubby watches it, and then catching the Glee special afterward. Yay Glee!

Mark Zuckerberg meets ... Mark Zuckerberg.

2011-01-29T23:26:00.001-08:00

LOLZ!

Sickness ... and the Payoff

2011-01-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

So I've been ill this week.

That's the explanation for my absence.

Wednesday was OK ... I went to work ... but slowly nausea began consuming me.

By the time I was home, dinner seemed uniquely unappealing.

By 11pm I was throwing up.

I was up most of the rest of the night ... did a minimal amount of work, slept, and tried to keep some plain, bland food down most of yesterday.

Today, I feel much better (although any big piles of greasy salty fatty stuff is incredibly unattractive still - not such a bad thing for a girl trying to watch what she eats).

Today was also mild out, but a lovely winter day - cold enough, for example, ice would still be frozen.

This meant skating.

Little Tyke's first time on skates. The wee one stayed in his stroller ... a good time, however, was had by all.

Also - I have skates that fit me now. No more walking on the Rideau Canal.

Even illness has a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now for the weekend?

A visit to my mother's tomorrow ... work Sunday ... then work Monday/Tuesday.

So it might be a few days again ...

But you have fair warning.

Be blessed. XO

Letters to God

2011-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Sesame Street Live

2011-01-22T21:45:00.001-08:00

After a busy week of supply teaching, work at church, etc. - we got to have fun today. We went with my mom, my step-dad, and our boys to Sesame Street Live here in Ottawa at the Scotia Bank Place. So much fun:

Elmo's Green Thumb=a very fun show. I wonder what they'll have on offer next year. :)

Check out this very cool video we saw in church today:

2011-01-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

Watch the Tramcar, Please

2011-01-15T17:05:00.001-08:00

Anyone who has ever been to Wildwood, NJ knows that expression - this quaint, doo-wop resort town has been a family vacation destination of mine since I was six weeks old, and is probably the spot with which I am most familiar on the Jersey Shore (sorry, JWoww and Sitch). It is definitely traditional beach-midway, with a long oceanside beach and a boardwalk running along it replete with amusement piers. Well - the easiest way to travel the 3km boards? By the yellow 'Sightseer' tramcar - whose warning to unsuspecting pedestrians is exactly that phrase, blared out on a megaphone at intervals.

Why do I bring this up now? Because this is where my family is planning to vacation this upcoming summer, my first time back in eight years, which in turn had been my first time back in ... oh about 4 or so. I can already taste Mack's Pizza, see the garish neon signs, hear the nasal tram warning ... so excited, in a very existential, circle-of-life kind of way, to be bringing my boys to a place I have almost literally known and loved all my life.

In my early research today to start doing some planning ahead for this holiday, I found an awesome new blog to share with you, if you are a Wildwood vet like me - check it out HERE, at http://boardwalkmemories.blogspot.com/. And don't forget ... WTTCP! :D

Gabrielle Giffords

2011-01-12T16:01:00.001-08:00

So, on Saturday, US Congresswoman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, was shot at what was effectively a town hall meeting at a grocery store in her home district of Tucson. Jared Loughner has thus far been the only gunman/suspect arrested, having injured not only Rep. Giffords, but twelve others at the meeting, as well as killing six - including Federal Judge John Roll, and a 9 year old girl named Christina Taylor Green, who was amazingly enough born on Sept. 11, 2001 - yes, THAT 9/11 - and was attending the event having just recently been elected to her student council and wanting to see how politics works.

So many thoughts through my head, both reasonable and unreasonable, emotional and cold, fair and unfair ... with apologies, here they are:

How awful. And how dare they run that man's mug shot so often, when really this should be a time to remember the victims.
Having said that - while I am against the death penalty, I will not be shedding any tears at this man's execution, or using this as a case study against it in any particular way.
I agree with those who find it unfair to blame politicians and their rhetoric for this assassination (attempt) - ultimately we are all responsible for our own decisions ... nevertheless ...
How can we expect any different when our elected officials - ie, mainstream politicians who are supposed to represent mainstream views, as opposed to the lunatic fringe, speak of 'watering the tree of liberty' (a longtime euphemism for armed revolution/insurrection), reverting to 'those second amendment solution' (referring to the constitutional amendment allowing pretty much unlimited gun liberties in the US), and putting posters out their featuring political opponents' districts in the crosshairs of a gun (one of whom, by the way, was Gabby Giffords)? Maybe 'blame' is too strong; but a surfeit of caution to keep our hands clean and the appearance of impropriety at bay is perhaps fair.
Either way, whichever of the above positions you fall under - thinking your first real extended statement following such a tragedy should involve spending more time exonerating yourself rather than sympathizing over and bemoaning the REAL loss and REAL tragedy of this situation, you, sister, are not even remotely a victim in this situation, and in fact while I wouldn't say you're a perpetrator either, you certainly haven't helped, nor are you doing so now. You have NO class.
And speaking of no class - all I am going to say is, anyone who thinks it even remotely appropriate to protest a 9-year-old's funeral because she is Catholic, or any of these funerals because they had the nerve to associate with a centrist-progressive Congresswoman, is not a church, they are not Christians, and they are on the fast track to hell in their own particular handbaskets. I refuse to name these people and give them even more attention - but they bring a whole new meaning to the term evil.

May God bless and keep all the victims of this situation, and their families, friends and colleagues. And may this remind us that democracy, even in the world's oldest and possibly best, is fragile, and we must respect and love and nurture the freedoms and privileges it brings us. And please, let us honour those who are dead and injured by being more respectful in our treatment of those with the courage (yes courage) to enter the blood sport of politics - it is a very brave, courageous and important role, and most who undertake it do so honourably and with good intentions - even in our disagreements, let's remember that.

Except you, Sarah Palin. You can just sit on your own thumb and spin, and be grateful that's the worst I'm wishing on you after the spectacle you have made of yourself for nigh on 2 1/2 years now.

Christmas Reading

2011-01-07T21:55:00.001-08:00

NOTE: Sorry for the tardiness of posting again after the new year - illness in our family right after the holidays seems to be becoming a tradition for us. Back to your regularly scheduled programming now ...

So I did manage to complete one book over the holidays, and make some major headway into a couple of others. I completed 'Putting Away Childish Things' by Marcus Borg, on my list below.

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Paradise Lost - John Milton
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
~~100. Putting Away Childish Things - Marcus Borg~~
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

(and yes - I did switch "God's Problem" for this one, after just adding it to my list last week; I had some trouble really getting into it, to be honest; I can understand people 'not' believing in God - I'm married to one of them - but given the author, Bart Ehrman, is an incredibly creative and intelligent guy, I'm disappointed his belief fell strictly on the 'God can't be an all loving AND all powerful deity if pepole suffer - as a scholar he knows there are different ways to see the holy - and it's his prerogative to reject those ways, just from the first 4-5 chapters I've read I expected a better argument than 'when the "Gandalf in the sky" image fell, I just couldn't compute it' - which is what this book felt like, and I know Ehrman is capable of more than that)

But that's a sidetrack - on to putting away childish things with Marcus Borg. This book has a lot going for it - the storyline, though basic, is interesting; it's a fun way for one to familiarize themselves with progressive, emergent Christianity - Borg's beliefs, and my own - as well as the arguments against it as well, on both sides. The novel is 'didactic', or designed to teach, and that sometimes takes away a bit from it - there's a lot of rehashing and exposition, for example, amongst people who would more likely talk in shorthand, simply to clue readers in; and this also interferes with a lot of the dialogue between characters who, while interesting, all sound alike in their speech patterns. Nonetheless, I give him credit for developing an interesting plot and cramming a whole lot of emerging Christianity 101 into this book; I think he could have used a polish on the dialogue, and how to better handle exposition and painstakign explanation amongst 'experts' - but on the other hand, this also allowed for him to reference in-text almost all sources these characters would use, allowing for further study for those who are interested. Is this a great classic of Western literature? No. Is it a strong success for a first novel with a didactic bent? Definitely. And from one of my very favourite theologians/Christian scholars as well. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-01-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hi guys,

Christmas week, and the week after, became much more busy than I'd planned. This year is probably the first ever that I didn't post a 'Merry Christmas' on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; and I haven't posted this past week when I intended to. But I wanted to take the time to hope everyone had the lovely holiday we did, and that 2011 brings naught but good things to all! :) It is 10 to 11 and we've been on the road for the last 8 hours or so now so I'm keeping this short - but blessings to everyone, and here's to more posting in the new year.

Much love,

Sarah XO

The Digital Nativity Story

2010-12-17T23:30:00.001-08:00

Brilliant video I've had shared with me a couple of times as a Youth Pastor - enjoy!

Cans for Comments Update

2010-12-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hi all - know I might not get comments on this one as it isn't particularly fascinating but I just wanted to let everyone know that as of now I will be donating 9 cans to the food bank ... please remember between now and Christmas to post on my blog posts - and be sure and visit the blogs along the side I mentioned playing along with this game too. XO

The Magnificat

2010-12-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name."

Lovely words in themselves ... right? I'm sure at moments of happiness and peace, almost all of us can muster up either these words or their equivalent depending on our belief system. But ... can you imagine the strength, the courage, the faith, to utter them at perhaps one of our lowest or scariest moments? Mary, Mother of Jesus, recites this, the Magnificat, upon learning she is pregnant with the Christ Child. Now, this in itself is wonderful news ... but picture the realities in this world, in terms of what this otherwise-magnificent news would lead her to face. Young, single, unexpectedly pregnant in the last century BCE/first century CE ... risking the loss of her fiance, the potential loss of any hope of a future respectable marriage, bringing perceived shame to herself and her family ... yet then ... even then, she was able to praise God, and steel herself to face the enormous task ahead. Just food for Advent thought ...

Mary did you know, when you kiss your little baby
You kiss the face of God?

Updated Reading List

2010-12-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

So I realized I hadn't updated everyone on my 101 books in 1001 days project in awhile. That is in large part because I haven't *finished* any new books in awhile lol (ACTUALLY THAT'S NOT TRUE - please find my review for 'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown, below the book list - AND I'm halfway through quite a few so there will probably be like 5 or 6 reviews shortly after the holidays). But I did change a few books on my list (again all of a similar length so I'm not trading 900 page books for 200 page books or anything like that - and where I have, I have also replaced a few shorter books with some longer ones so it all comes out in the wash). So I wanted to update everyone on that score. New books below are found in bold:

~~1. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris~~
2. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
~~3. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi~~
~~4. The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs~~
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
~~6. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama~~
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyers
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. TOlkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Paradise Lost - John Milton
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
~~27. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham~~
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
~~31. This United Church of Ours - Ralph Milton~~
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
36. The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
~~43. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown~~
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
~~47. Under the Dome - Stephen King~~
48. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Primary Colours - Anonymous
56. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
~~58. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark~~
~~59. Misquoting Jesus - Bart Ehrman~~
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Peter C. Newman
~~66. Why I Hate Canadians - Will Ferguson~~
~~67. Planet Simpson - Chris Turner~~
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
~~85. The Emerging Christian Way - Marcus Borg et al~~
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
~~87. What Happened to Anna K - Irina Reyn~~
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
~~98. Good Book - David Plotz~~
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
100. God's Problem - Bart D. Ehrman
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

(and please note that while those last two books did replace Dr. Phil books, it is not because I don't appreciate his work, so much as his books are actually not long or hard to get through, and as such I feel like I can read those AND complete the books on this list)

THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown - REVIEW
While I definitely enjoyed the Lost Symbol, I can also say that if you've read any other Dan Brown, it won't surprise you much. For once, they don't have one of the good, supportive guys turn into the villain at the end, so I suppose the lack of a twist is a twist, lol, but otherwise it is simply a very smart thriller. If you're interested in American and Masonic history, as opposed to Roman Catholic history, as portrayed in the last two Robert Langdon novels by Brown (Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code), and you enjoy the Robert Langdon books, you'll enjoy this one; and if you don't, you won't. It is very true to Dan Brown's history and style. Which is to say, while I enjoyed it, and recognize a lot of research went into it, the plot itself was as formulaic as you'd expect, although still riveting and pageturning at the same time.

Science and Story

2010-12-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

I wanted to put a plug in here for one of my fellow Parishioners' incredibly intelligent, thoughtful, thought-provoking blog, Science and Story. Please check out Arlene's journey in faith and discussion here:

http://scienceandstory.wordpress.com

I will also link to her in my blogroll, to the right. While I was vaguely aware that this was something she did, tonight I was inspired to click the link at the bottom of an email she sent to me - and she is definitely on my reading list from here out. Brilliant.

D-List Celebs Sing Let It Be ... Glenn Close too

2010-12-04T22:23:00.001-08:00

Check out this video - as various pseudo-celebrities from Tonya Harding to Roger Moore to David Faustino, Jason Alexander, Glenn Close and beyond sing John Lennon's 'Let it Be'.

Right - and keep it on up with the comments for cans. XO

UPDATE: Cans for Comments and Travel

2010-12-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

So I don't want to make all my upcoming posts about Cans for Comments, but I wanted to thank folks for my feedback so far - I'm at 5 cans so far, thank you folks - and quickly be sure to give some link love to everyone (I know of ...) playing along right now. :)

Here are the links so far - I'll put them in my sidebar as well.

The founder of this particular feast - Tatiana at http://dubioushausfrau.blogspot.com
My darlin' friend Alex at http://ourthingcalledlife@blogspot.com
And Cindy at http://foodieatthefinishline.blogspot.com

Meanwhile, I may or may not get the opportunity to post tomorrow. Why??? Because I am going to a very dear friend of mine's wedding. L and I have known each other almost ten years now and have been through a lot together. We've had times of being very close, times of being out of touch (we have probably spent at least half our friendship living in different cities), but I have always considered her a very special person and a wonderful friend who truly deserves the happiness she has found with S. I am sure they will have just a beautiful day tomorrow and I'm thrilled Ari and I get to be a part of it.

Meanwhile, Little Tyke gets to spend his weekend with Nana so as not to haave had to take the 6 hour drive here (Mama misses you, though, my big little boy), and Little Pup came along with us so his grandparents here get some grandbaby love too. Second night of Chanukah with my in-laws. A nice steak, a nice glass of wine, and beautiful candles. Yup ... shaping up to be a lovely weekend. Hope the same is true for everyone else. XO

Advent and Chanukah

2010-12-01T21:58:00.001-08:00

It's a big week - heck, a big month - in the Daigen house. Tonight was the first night of Chanukah, which we celebrated by dancing (was that a hora, Ari?) and singing and opening gifts. Because we also celebrate Christmas, Chanukah we do a bit differently; we do a gift exchange where each person gets one gift a night; in a family of 4, this means two gifts apiece. Eventually, this will turn into a draw, where each family member draws two names out of a hat, and has their name in a hat twice, and such. This way, Chanukah still gets celebrated and acknowledged, but we don't go nuts trying to figure out which gifts are Chanukah, which are Christmas, which are from Mom and Dad, which are from Santa, etc.

Tonight was also the first night of advent. And inspired by a blogger friend of mine, Tatiana (click HERE to see her blog, the Dubious Hausfrau), I've decided to give back this Holiday season. So from now until Dec. 25 (my 'Merry Christmas' blog), I am going to totally copycat her 'Cans for Comments' gig (and while I usually find copy catting annoying, I figure doing so in the name of a good cause, and giving credit to the person who gave me the idea, is fair game ;) ).

How does it work? Well, during the time specified above, I am going to donate a can or box of food to our local foodbank for every comment I get on my blog. So - comment on this post? I'm donating a can to the foodbank. Right up to Christmas day. So a bit different from Tatiana's game, but that's OK too. So please come - post away. XO!

A Few Personal Wishes

2010-11-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

A Happy Thanksgiving to my American relatives; I'm hoping their long weekend is full of family, friends, good health and excellent Black Friday shopping deals.
We are now one week out from my 'baby sister' L-N's wedding and I'm so excited for her that she's found such a wonderful guy and found such happiness in her life. She's had a road that has been both bumpy and smooth at times, but she now has S to help her through the choppy seas, and to share her joy in the calm ones. They both deserve all the happiness in the world.
Someone very dear to me has been going through a rough time for the last year. Sorry - absolutely no details here, it is not my story to share and incredibly personal - but let's just say that after they, and those around them, have gone through just about every conceivable hurt and pain that they could go through over the last 12 months, some closure has been achieved this week, and while the road ahead is not going to be an easy one, I am hopeful now that the trip might be a successful one and pray very much for that to be the case as they take steps to put their lives together again.
Lastly, for my loved ones and friends, and yours, as we once again put our tree up, attend church, brave the malls, light the Menorah and generally enjoy family around the Heaney-Daigen hearth; so much this past year to be both thankful for, and to learn from; so many challenges, but oh so many rewards. As the holiday season is upon us, I wish for us, and you all, the opportunity to reflect, to relive and relish, to learn, to overcome ... and whether it is US Thanksgiving this weekend, Hannukah starting next week, or Christmas in a bit under a month ... I wish everyone a happy one this year. XO

Congratulations William and Kate! :D

2010-11-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

So a couple days behind the news, but I wanted to extend my humble congratulations to His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales, and his fiancee, Kate Middleton, on their engagement announced Wednesday, after 8 years as a couple. They strike me as a very intelligent, grounded, down-to-earth couple and while I have learned better about 'never saying never' as celebrity, and particularly Royal, marriages are concerned, I am optimistic these two have a great future together, and I wish them all the best. And if they don't ... hey, I've already arranged the 'battle for William' with another girlfriend of mine, loser gets his brother. ;)

Check out the very charming interview the newly-engaged royal couple conducted shortly after the engagement announcement:

Happy birthday little man ...

2010-11-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

So it seems just as my actual tangible schedule frees up, other intangible things come up. You know - like, Little Tyke's second birthday! lol If you're wondering where I've been since Wednesday last, that about explains it. A couple days of housecleaning to make it sparkle before the (grand)parents came to visit. My dad and stepmom were in Friday night for dinner, and back the next day, along with my mom and step-dad, brother, Ari's parents, and my cousin Allison and her new family, to celebrate LT's birthday. Monday (yesterday) was the actual day of, and we took him to a barbecue restauranta and Megamind at the movie theatre. We are officially celebrated out up in he-ah! Last night was a 3-hour oldschool WWE Monday Night Raw I have been dying to see and we didn't even have the chance to check THAT out before passing out in exhaustion. That=tired lol. But so worth it to celebrate our favourite little Toddler. Love you LT - XO!!!

The Saga of the Computer

2010-11-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Starring me - a dolt.

So ... let's flash back to about 18 months ago. My 2-and-a-bit-year-old computer (Xmas 06 gift), which had been a bit sluggish and dud-like from the beginning, had slowed down to the point of unbearability. Between myself and one of my best friends, who is a computer genius who has a like, 99.9% record of fixing any tech problem we throw at him, we manage, in fixing it, to damage it beyond repair. I find me a 1 year old Dell Vostro laptop on Kijiji. Yes. Dolt. Nonetheless, I did due dilligence, checked the computer, checked out the family selling it, and was very happy with it. Very happy indeed. Even with little hiccups - needed to replace the AC adaptor, for example - it was by FAR the best computer I'd ever owned; satisfied with it right from the top and remained so until Thursday/Friday night.

When I turned it on, and the screen didn't light up. Machine=whirring and hiccuping and clearly 'going', but no action on the monitor. Despite the best long distance help friends (and close at hand help Ari ...) could give, the ultimate decision was made; brand new computer.

So ... yeah. Doing the math that means as of yesterday I'm on my 3rd new computer in 4 years. Boo! On the plus side? This is my first very BRAND NEW computer in 4 years, and it is lovely. I managed to skip the Vista debacle entirely and am running on a lovely new Windows 7 OS. Nice, organized, AND managed to get all of my important files transferred (yes, that's the additional complication to this story; one of my main sources of income is teaching high school courses online. So me being without a computer ... or without access to my documents file = bad news).

So I guess on the positive end of things I have a GREAT new compy. Lovesit. Still ... boo on having to replace otherwise good computers. Sucksy.

The Good and the Bad

2010-11-02T20:07:00.001-07:00

The Good - Little Tyke's first trick or treating this weekend. He enjoyed it and got a nice, toddler-sized haul. His touchy mood of the last few weeks seems to have improved, and his baby brother has learned to smile. I have been working steadily between the church and teaching, while still having plenty of time to enjoy my boys. Life has been good.

The Bad - I'm sorry, American politics is upsetting. I have enjoyed some of the past week on this score - Barack Obama going on Jon Stewart's Daily Show and performing beautifully, and the latter's Rally to Restore Sanity this weekend were highlights. Apparently, however, those messages fell on deaf ears as the not so-G-OP has taken back over the House of Representatives and picked up an unfortunate number of Senate seats. Alright, progressives - stand up, brush off, and let's start trudging towards 2012 and Obama's hopeful re-election. What's the alternative, after all, Sarah Palin? "Good policy is good politics". Just keep saying that to yourselves, and know in the end it will prove true, even if this year seems an egregious betrayal of that reality.

God bless you all. Be well. XO

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

2010-10-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Please check out last night's Daily Show to see Barack Obama say just about everything I've wanted him to say since the GOP decided to vilify him as a socialist and the more lefty wing of the Democrats have decided it would be better to kamikaze themselves and deliver the reigns of power back to 'Them' (dun dun dun) than to give their guy some time to do his thing.

Comedy Central in the US or the Comedy Network's website in Canada will allow you to see the president's interview, and it's good stuff all around. Good job to Stewart for not shying away from the hard questions, and good job to Obama for answering them. Kudos to both men for perhaps buying the Democrats some time and votes en route to Tuesday's midterm election.

Happy Birthday Al!

2010-10-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hi all - sorry it's been several days, this has been a big celebration weekend in our family, as Ari's dad turned 60. We had him, my mother-in-law, as well as Ari's aunt and uncle in town for the weekend. It was a lovely, tiring, busy, fantastic time, that we'll get to do all over again next month when Little Tyke turns 2 and Ari turns 29. Hurray for families gathering for fun, positive occasions.

BTW just as a note on politics, since yes I still follow that from time to time between teaching, pastor-ing, parenting, etc. - Toronto. All I have to say is ... HAHA! ;) No ... I joke. I honestly think one of the most immature and irresponsible people in Canadian politics was just elected mayor of Toronto. It is a sad day. Mike Harris, former Ontario premier, spoke at Rob Ford's victory rally - nuff said. At least Ottawa seems to have kept its head - in a fairly accurate reflection of the "B"-ish report card I'd give our current city council, a few incumbents were returned, some new faces were sent to the council table ... I think by and large I'm happy with the results.

Is this where we say we get the hockey team ... I mean ... government ... we deserve? ;) ((again ... honest, JOKES. As sad and depressed as this makes me, I am still a Leafs girl through and through ... the shame)).

Back - I hope!

2010-10-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

Not that I've REALLY been away - more that it's been a busy few weeks and I have been unable to blog as I would hope.

I've wanted to express my relief at the rescue of the Chilean miners this week who were pulled out of a collapsed mine after 68 days underground ... and my disappointment at some dismissing this as just another flash in the pan Princess Diana dies/Paris Hilton gets arrested story.

I've wanted to express how impressed I am at how people have come together in light of so many LGBT youth who have been bullied to the point of suicide/suicide attempts during this still-young school year ... and who knows how many before.

I've wanted to explain how important it is, as municipal elections come up here in Ottawa (and I think Ontario more broadly), and mid-term elections are coming up in the States, what an important civic duty voting is - especially in the United States where the only party worth their citizens' trust runs the risk of losing Congress this time around.

At the same time, I've wanted to express how that party needs to stay true to their ideals - especially the current Democratic administration, for whom I have nearly-unlimited respect in the light of healthcare reform, financial reform, etc., but in whom I am currently very disappointed as they appeal the Federal bench's repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a policy they express disagreement with in the first place. You just got your way with no political fallout folks - come on.

I've wanted to express my sadness this week as celebrity couples (shock of shocks I know, but ones who seem to have cared about each other) Courteney Cox and David Arquette, and Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, have broken up (nowhere quite near the level of the other stories of course ... but nonetheless caught my eye).

I have done all those things now - although in nowhere near as timely a fashion as I'd like, nor in as much detail as I'd have liked. That's just the kind of week it's been ... in OUR world as a whole, and mine in particular.

May God bless you as we head into a new one. XO

Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Homage

2010-10-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

NICE! :D

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-11T08:03:00.001-07:00

So it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada! Ari and Little Tyke headed to California to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday, so Little J and I spent the weekend with my mom and my grandparents, before coming back to Ottawa yesterday (as a youth pastor ... oh yeah, I work Sundays!). The other boys should be home tonight. So it hasn't been a great big family celebration. But I did one to list off some things I'm thankful for:

Starting close to home, the people I live with. Ari is my best possible co-parent, a wonderful help and support, and my best friend. Together we are creating two wonderful little men, LT and Little J, and for that, no matter how tired we might get, or busy, we will always have a reason to connect with one another, and I could not be more proud of the job we're doing with those boys. The boys themselves - LT's energy and smiles and eternal good mood, and Little J's sense of wonder and waking up to the world, to me, are what the Bible speaks of when it speaks of approaching the Kingdom like a little child. It is so inspiring to me. I suppose I am also thankful for my cats too, useless mousers that they are.
My parents - all four of them, in their ways, are good people from whom I have learned a lot. They have all shaped me in some way, big or small, and while of course there have been disagreements and disappointments along the way (I mean, I was a teenager once after all, heehee), I can honestly say they've never let me fall, and they've always been there when it matters. I have never felt alone in any struggle, and that is because of these people. My mom's selfless and unconditional love and support, my dad's intelligence and generosity, my step-dad's no-nonsense, hard working, but good-hearted approach to life, and my step-mom's grace and good humour in the face of almost anything are all things I aspire to.
My brother - this little person (yes whose diapers I used to help change lol) has grown into an incredibly mature, strong young man who has handled a tough year with more grace than I think I would have. This kid is my hero and even more than ever his protective big sister wants nothing but the very best of everything for him.
My in-laws - they have raised a great kid, welcomed me into their family, and love my children. Good food and good wine flows whenever we visit, and we have grown into a relationship now that I don't know if I could have foreseen when Ari and I were just dating. For all of these things, I am eternally thankful.
My friends, past and present - I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I have had friends who have mistreated me, and who I have mistreated; I have friends who have been wonderful to me, and who I have been wonderful to. I have friends everywhere in between on that scale. But they all have meant something, and again, they have all shaped where I am now in my life. And I am appreciative of all of them.
The tangible stuff - a roof over my head, three incredibly flexible yet fulfilling and enjoyable jobs, food in my belly, a car to drive, the lovely neighbourhood and city we live in, the opportunity to travel and go out a bit ... these aren't things I take for granted, and they are things I am so thankful we have.
The less tangible stuff - I am thankful for my God, for the peace and happiness I feel today despite coming off a rough week, I am thankful for nature, and the world's increasing awareness of it. I am thankful for music, for the sun and rain, for all the things that make our world more than just a space rock suitable for living on, to a place we would WANT to live. :)

What's your list? XO

Inspiring

2010-10-07T21:44:00.001-07:00

There's an infuriating yet inspiring story I've been following on Anderson Cooper 360 of late - a long one with lots of details but this video sums it up pretty well. Feel free to poke around more if you want. But in light of the recent rash of young LGBT people committing suicide due to bullying and mistreatment, and given in this case that the mistreatment is coming from a 'respected', professional in a position of influence in the community - I applaud Anderson Cooper and the U of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong for their class and eloquence in covering and living through this story respectively, with an eye to both this personal matter, and the bigger picture of the acceptance of the LGBT community.

SARcasm

Junior Kindergarten Registration

A couple more off the list ...

Our New Car

Fifth Business

In sickness and health ... And a good laugh.

Alight at Night

Jesus - Occupier?

Digital Nativity

Dirty Thirty

Two of the Best

Remembrance Day

Happy Halloween! :) XOXO

Thank you Rick Mercer

Two More Down

National Novel Writing Month - Coming Up!

In Memoriam

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

Primary Colours

The Death Penalty

Happy Birthday Gramma!

We remember ...

More Reading

Two Tributes

The Last Ten Days ...

Happy Birthday Little J!

VACATION!!!

Summer Reading

Wildwood Bound

Reading Update

Thank you Matt Damon!

Congrats Kyle!

Mean - Taylor Swift

Norway and other sad news ...

Where have I been?

Parenting in a Multiethnic Family

Summer Reading ...

Happy Long Weekend!

Post-It Note Tuesday

Congratulations

John McGee - Idaho State Senator - Arrested for DUI and Grand Theft Auto

Happy Anniversary

Summer Lovin', Havin' a Blast ...

Book List Update

Senate Page Fired for Protest During Throne Speech

TheStar Liberals pass law to ease adoption of Crown wards

Victoria Day Weekend

Response to the National Post Article about the United Church of Canada

Once and For All ...

Happy Mother's Day (belatedly)

The Death of Osama bin Laden

Looking on the Bright Side ...

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Legend of Zelda ... the Movie?

Happy Passover, Happy Easter

T Mobile Royal Wedding

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Stephen Colbert Sings 'Friday' with The Roots (4/1/11) - Video - NBC.com

A Lovely Time ...

Mr. Harper, are you on your meds? - Opinion - Macleans.ca

One more down ...

Reading List Update

An Important Message from Rick Mercer

What do teachers make?

Back to the Polls

Hugely important movie

Some thoughts on Lent

Mysterious absence ...

New Car! And my brief ponderings on the news of the week.

This is the Stuff - Francesca Batistelli

Reading List Update

Ruby and Bon Jovi

In Honour of Valentine's Day

Potty Training

Mark Zuckerberg meets ... Mark Zuckerberg.

Sickness ... and the Payoff

Letters to God

Sesame Street Live

Check out this very cool video we saw in church today:

Watch the Tramcar, Please

Gabrielle Giffords