Terrible ... :(

13 are feared dead in a hostage situation at a Binghamton, NY immigration services centre. More details can be found by clicking here.

Sad sad situation ...

Silvio Berlusconi annoys Queen Elizabeth II

Following the group photo for the G20 summit in London yesterday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi annoyed Queen Elizabeth II of England by shouting after US President Barack Obama in a video which has become an amusing Youtube hit. While translated into Italian, the quotes are:

BERLUSCONI: Mr. Obama!
QUEEN: Why does he have to shout?

Enjoy:

LT's adoption

We've been fostering him up until now ...
We signed adoption papers today.
We are Little Tyke's parents. :D

Madonna Controversy

Many people have been crying foul as Madonna goes to Malawi to adopt her second child. Several agencies have suggested her daughter-to-be would be better off in her home environment, as would any child. She faced similar criticisms when she adopted her son David Banda from Malawi a year and a half or so ago.

Here's my take - obviously in a perfect world, children would never be taken out of their homes. Their parents would love them and raise them, no one would have more children than they could handle, or be unable to have children they want so very much. Everyone would be able to have just the family they want - nothing more and nothing less. But that is not the case, unfortunately, and the same fates which left Ari and I unable to have 'children of our own' (I hate that expression), leaves parents with children they cannot raise, and children without parents.

In both David's case, and new baby girl's case, as far as Madonna goes, they were in orphanages in a very poor African country. The former had a widowed father who could not take care of him; to my understanding, the latter is actually an orphan. Madonna is many things I dislike, but compared to many other celebrities she has raised her children well - we know of them, she does not hide them or make them unnecessarily afraid of the spotlight she lives in, but she also doesn't exploit them to it. She provides a good home environment with rules we all should live by in terms of TV watching, junk food, etc. Yes she is at this point a single mother, having divorced ex-husband Guy Ritchie, but they seem to at least have an amicable co-parenting arrangement. To be raised by a very wealthy, yet down to earth (as far as child-rearing is concerned) woman as opposed to dirt poor and effectively parentless in Malawi, is far preferable.

Is it important children know their roots and their culture? Yes - and Madonna provides that. She took David Banda back to Malawi with her this trip and introduced him to his biological father - a man who I have no doubt loves David, and wishes he could parent him. I admire his willingness, despite, I'm sure, missing his son deeply, to provide as good a life for him as he could. I'm sure he wishes he could have made a different decision, but he felt he couldn't - no one took the child away from him, he gave him up. I fail to see where staying in an orphanage, or being adopted to other, poor parents within Malawi, would be a better life for David or his soon-to-be-sister than the one they have been and are about to be provided.

My 101 Things/101 Days redo

As I said giving myself a do-over - replacing the things I had already accomplished, and starting tomorrow (Monday).

((Mar 30-July 8))

I'm taking this idea from my friend Tatiana, to set out 101 goals for myself in the next 101 days starting today. Some will be easy to attain, others harder, some will be important and 'deep', others will be slily fun, and we'll see how it goes. I'll update here as I knock goals off my list. Please feel free to follow along, or to do with me. :)

** items which have been 'strike-thru'ed (line through them) are done. :)

1. Lose 20 lbs. (0/20)
2. Finish the novel I've started writing.
3. Do one nice thing for someone every day. (0/101)
4. Do at least 1/2 hour of exercise every day. (0/101)
5. Be consistent enough with the radio show to get it going live.
6. Join the Babytime group at the Kitchener Public Library.
7. Find work for at least 2 more weeks of the summer.
8. Read at least 3 books. (0/3)
9. Go to church each week (0/13)
10. Finish my cross stitch I'm making for Liam.
11. Clean out the guest room (which has become a storage room).
12. Go to a dress-up dance with Ari.
13. Have one nice bubble bath a week. (0/13)
14. Learn 1 more dance (eg Salsa, Meringue).
15. Go roller blading and not quit after 5 mins.
16. Get my bike fixed.
17. Clean out the car and get it washed, vaccuumed and tuned up.
18. Have at least 1 play date a month. (0/3)
19. No messing with my hair - no cuts, no perms, dye touchups only. (0/101)
20. Go through my clothes to see what fits, what I wear, what i don't, etc.
21. Ditto shoes.
22. Cook for Ari at least once a week. (0/13)
23. Organize our actual storage room.
24. Donate my time to one good cause a month. (0/3)
25. Go to one new restaurant a month. (0/3)
26. See one movie a week. (0/13)
27. Donate my tutoring money to charity.
28. Get my retainer wire fixed.
29. Read at least a chapter of the bible a day. (0/101)
30. Know where we're going for summer vacation and plan it.
31. Sign up for an English course for summer semester so I can get my English AQ for the fall.
32. No pizza. (0/101)
33. Have one night a week with Ari set aside for fun ('date night' even if it includes Liam). (0/13)
34. Redo our back yard.
35. Create my unit plan for camp.
36. Read one book in French.
37. Go to the U.S. to buy diet Cherry Coke.
38. Take LT to one new city a month. (0/3)
39. Have a mani/pedi.
40. Tell Ari I love him every day. (0/101)
41. Learn a new skill (knitting, an instrument, a language).
45. Try one new wine a month. (0/3)
46. Share one piece of writing for the purposes of critique and feedback.
47. Finish 'Thank You' cards for LT's gifts.
48. Get one famous person's autograph.
49. Redo the linoleum floors in my house.
50. Set aside $30 ever week I don't have fast food for a non-food treat (eg CD, DVD). Subway excepted.
51. Get one other person to do the 101 things in 101 days.
52. Look into setting up a will (unsure if possible to complete as adoption won't be complete).
53. No non-diet pop. (0/101)
54. Submit a piece of writing to a publisher.
55. Get a baby seat for my bike, and LT a helmet.
56. Blog every day (except my monthly 'no computer day' - see below). (0/98)
57. Renew and update my Apply to Education account (resume, references, cover letter etc.).
58. Call in to a radio show.
59. Go through my junk drawers (like, one in every room)
60. Get through the pile of stuff on my desk (DVDs/CDs to burn, photos to put away).
61. Go through my 'correspondence' storage space: organize it.
62. Find a place for the things I just cleared out of Mom's house.
63. Buy at least one of the board games Ari and I have been coveting.
64. Have a games night with friends.
65. Finish my puzzle.
66. See at least one friend a week. (0/13)
67. Get on the Do Not Call list.
68. Call the diaper service and get LT into cloth diapers.
69. Be on time to things. (0/101)
70. LT's naming ceremony and open house.
71. Redo the chips the movers left in the paint job in our house.
72. Wash windows.
73. Unpack from our trip, do laundry etc. within 48 hours (by Tues. night).
74. Have a picnic.
75. Go to the gym twice a week at least (0/26).
76. Get Ari's Big Lebowski poster and McGill diploma either framed or plaqued.
77. Update my "Wrestlemania" collection
78. Beat "Zelda II: The Adventures of Link" without dying once.
79. Make one person laugh every day. (0/101)
80. Dance at least once a week. (0/13)
81. See one live theatre production.
82. Pray every day. (0/101)
83. Sign LT's adoption placement papers.
84. Sign LT's adoption finalization papers.
85. Watch and label the old wrestling videos Mom sent home with me.
86. Take LT to the zoo.
87. Make a new friend.
88. Don't miss any appointments.
89. Go swimming.
90. Go to an arcade but don't spend more than $20.
91. Introduce LT to solid foods.
92. Clean up Ari's side of the office for him (or get him to with my awesome powers of persuasion).
93. Distribute our formal LT/family photos to our folks.
94. Donate blood.
95. Bake once a month. (0/3).
96. Make a list of things which have caused me pain/anger/regret/sadness,

and burn it.
97. Go somewhere I've never been.
98. Have one internet-free day a month (0/3).
99. Have one TV free day a month (0/3).
100. Get a piercing.
101. Go to the Royal Ontario Museum.

Utterly disgusting

Most insulting piece of video I've seen in a long time.



I know it's FoxNEWS ...
Not even mainstream American opinion ...
And I know insults shouldn't be taken so seriously,
Especially considering the source.
But as the granddaughter, niece, and sister
Of Canadian servicemen -
For shame.
As if FoxNEWS had any to begin with.

Also don't forget - Earth Hour

Remember to turn off the lights, computers, etc. in your house at 8:30 pm tonight. :)