Observations

As some of you know, I went up to Canada for the weekend to do a little Spring Cleaning with my Mum. It went very well and, though I did not get to everything I wanted to, the most important stuff is done.

I made a few observations on my trip.

1) Cops are wimps. They do not like to set up their usual speed traps when it is snowing.

2) The above is unfortunate because you can't really speed when it is snowing.

3) Have you ever been to a dump/Transfer Station? If not, let me tell you. It is the closest place to hell on earth. Especially when you don't plug your nose and close your eyes.

4) If you are a scrapbooker and decide to go to the dump, don't forget to take your camera with you so you can memorialize this event. Because you will hopefully never go back for the rest of your life.

5) If you decide to, say, cheat on your diet in Canada (hypothetically speaking of course), a great way to do it is with a full size jumbo bag of ketchup flavored potato chips.

6) If you do hypothetically eat an entire bag of ketchup chips on your own (including all of the salt, msg, and various other choice ingredients), expect to feel like your taste buds have been obliterated for about the next 47 1/2 hours.

Easter Pictures

Priscal

Happy Easter to all of my family and friends!

One of the great things about making a life list is seeing it in print and actually starting to do things to work towards items you wish to accomplish. It also gets you thinking about what is truly important to you. My life list has really helped remind me of my word for this year, PRIORITIZE.

When I go through my list, I look at things that will take some time and then I make small steps towards that. I also look for things that are easy to do and that I have been procrastinating on. Those are some of the things I have attacked first. Some of the things I wonder if I will ever be able to do because they seem so daunting. I keep coming back to "small steps". Then there are some things on the list that I feel should be a priority and what am I waiting for?

One of those things that I have thought a lot about and just never did was to sponsor a child in a foreign country. In elementary school, we had a sponsored child that the whole school took part in helping. Her name was Mercedita, I still remember her face from the photos she would send. This experience left an impression on me. I still wonder where she is and what has become of her. She would be the same age as me.

Now that I can, I want to share this same experience with my kids and send our help and love to a child who is desperately in need. To get to know that child personally and contribute to their education, health, emotional wellbeing.

I did a fair amount of research on the various organizations that provide the chance to sponsor a child in a poverty stricken country. I ended up at the Compassion Intl website. 80% of what we give goes directly to 1 child, the child that we select. Compassion is ranked among the top 1 percent of the thousands of non-profit charitable organizations. They have a stellar reputation.

This brought me to Priscal.When I saw her picture and read her story, I knew she was the one I wanted to sponsor. I looked through hundreds of profiles but I kept coming back to Priscal. She lives in Tanzania in a small town name Spillway. It has a small population of 3000 people and most are unemployed. If work is available, they make about $16 a month.

Priscal is 7 and she is an orphan. Her parents have both passed away and she is cared for by her aunt. To help her family, she washes clothes, carries water and runs errands.

Through the sponsorship, Priscal will get healthy meals every day, medical care (especially important since she lives in an AIDS affected area), and an education.

I look forward to introducing the kids to Priscal and having them participate in caring about her. I need to work my business extra hard so I can continue to sponsor her for years to come.

I promise to update you as we receive letters and our relationship with Priscal develops.

Ellie;author

Sakura

We went to the UW a couple of days ago to see the blossoms. They were not quite at their height yet but still beautiful. It is always a great photo session, here are a few shots:



Look at these freckles:


DIMPLES!





We have done the blossom-on-the-forehead shot every year since they were born:

No more pictures, Mum!


Trying so hard to smile and co-operate!

No More Baby Steps

Today is a big day in my running program. From here on out, there is no walking involved, just straight running in each session. I think I am prepared but mentally I am a little nervous. The walking was always a safety net for me and now it is not an option. I have stuck with the program completely thous far and have not let anything make me stray from it by even a second.

The 5k is just over a month out. It's time to really buckle down and get prepared.

Granola Child

Today, Lucas handed me a bright yellow pipe cleaner and asked me to make him a pendant.

Lucas: Mummy can you make me a pendant?
Me: Ok, what kind?
Lucas: Well, use this thing and I want that circle with sticks, you know?
Me: Hmmmm. Circle with sticks?
Lucas: Yeah. Look on your computer and look at the Mystery Machine from Scooby Do.
Me: ::perplexed look::

So I Google Image "Mystery Machine Scooby" and up come some pictures of it. He checks them out. Points to the flower emblem on the MM.

Lucas: I guess I made a mistake. I don't want a flower, I want that circle with sticks.
Me: ::thinking deeply:: Aha!

Google Image "Peace Symbol"

Lucas: YES!!!!!!

I proceeded to bend a pipe cleaner into a perfect peace symbol and strung it onto some dental floss. It gave me the chance to talk about Peace, what it means to me and what it means to the world. He asked me to tell him over and over as he held his new pendant in his little hands.

He is definitely my child.