Friday 20 January 2012

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

Hannah and I just spent 3 days at Lake Chandos with her 6th grade class.  We had a great time!  Don't get me wrong - I'm totally exhausted.  My backside might never heal from a few too many trips down the toboggan hill and I had a "near death" experience with a tree, but other than that, I had a really amazing time.  I enjoyed getting to spend time with Hannah and her friends.  They really are a great group of girls.  I love that they are still willing to have FUN.  Isn't be an 11-year-old girl just the best?









Sunday 15 January 2012

I did it!!!

When my friend Tatiana asked me if I wanted to post one photo per day during 2011 to a blog she created titled Project Exposure 2011, I reluctantly agreed.  The goal was to take one photo each day that captured my life living in an international city, in my case, TORONTO.  I was excited to be part of a photo project and eager to begin taking photos, but I was nervous that I would run out of things to photograph, be too busy to do it and quite frankly, not have photos good enough for daily viewing!  Although the project was challenging, I have to admit, I really ENJOYED it.  I was able to learn so much simply by taking so many photos (some days I would take as many as 30 or 40 photos).  I enjoyed seeing the photos of the other participants ---  they really inspired me to try new things and strive to take better photos.  After it was all over, I really wanted something TANGIBLE to show for it.  I made this photo book which I hope to order if and when Shutterfly runs a good sale! Until then, I will keep taking photos.  Project Exposure 2012 is up and running!  This year, we have 10 participants!  We are only posting one photo per week but this motivates me more than ever to find that one photo each week that I can be proud of!


Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

Saturday 7 January 2012

Christmas Vacation Recap

I boxed up the Christmas decorations today.   I have accepted that Christmas break is over and that REALITY (school, chores, work) is here until at least March when we may or may not go somewhere for Spring Break.  We really did have a nice Christmas Break.  Very relaxing.  We drove 18 hours to Kansas, visited friends & family for 11 days, and then drove 18 hours back home.  The entire trip was enjoyable; however, here are 10 random things that made me smile during the trip.
 
1.  THE VIEW
I enjoy living in Toronto but the view from my sister's back porch
is far superior to the view from mine!


  
2.  ROAD SIGNS.
Maybe it was the high quantity of caffeine in my system or sleep deprivation but I thought this sign was the best!  If we had followed the GPS, we would have ended up in the middle of Lake Michigan.


3.  MY FAMILY
We saw almost all of our immediate family members. . . including four of our seven nieces/nephews!  We only missed seeing my sister Kimberly's family.  Hope to see them soon!


4.  FRIENDS
We were able to catch up with the Emerson family - our dear friends from Topeka.  This photo is from Christmas 2000.  We were too busy talking and laughing to take any photos this year!



5.  SHOPPING
What can I say?  American stores make me smile. 
Visiting the Kansas City American Girl store is almost as fun for me as it is for Hannah.


6.  THE FOOD
We ate and ate and ate and ate.  I gained 5 lbs in two weeks!  Yikes!


7.  MY HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
Well . . . not exactly.  My 20 year high school reunion was in August and I was unable to go. 
My friend LeAnn represented my entire class when she (and her family) agreed
to meet us at Crown Center.


8.  HANDSOME ALEX
Alex has a new look!  Glasses!  We think he looks awesome!


9.  PRESENTS
Okay . . . so we know that Christmas is not about the gifts . . . but Hannah's reaction was priceless when she opened her gift.  She has been asking for an Ipod Touch for as long as I can remember.


10.  SURPRISE
We arrived LATE at our hotel (Fairfield Inn) to learn that I had been randomly selected as the guest of the day.  The prize?  A free soda!  Again, it might have been the excessive caffeine and sleep deprivation but I thought it was FANTASTIC!