Holidays
Happy Easter
0March 31, 2013
by Sarah on the Road
in Holidays
I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter long weekend. My weekend so far has been filled with resting, visits with friends and sharing good food! The weather has been so amazing, sunny days with blue skies.
{Source: this was found on Facebook and then found it on this blog, but not sure of the real source!}
Don’t let me mislead you. The Bunny always did visit my house growing up. But we also knew that Easter wasn’t just about the bunny alone; there is a deeper meaning to what Easter is all about!
This morning I was going to attempt to get up to watch the sunrise. I set my alarm for 4:55am. Since the sun is officially rising about 5:44am I thought that this would be in ample time to wake up to go watch it. But when I looked out the window it was already light outside…(the sun might not have risen over the mountains yet, but it was light!) So I made the decision to go back to bed for a bit longer, until it was time to get up for church!
That is one thing I thing I do miss living up here. When I lived in Toronto on Easter Sunday I usually got up early, before the sun rose to head to the Woodbine Beach. There I met other friends and members of my church to watch the sunrise! We’d sing, read a short passage from the bible…then go home to get ready for Easter Service at 10:30am! Even though I’m really not a morning person…it was so much fun!
What special Easter traditions do you have?
Seeing Signs of Green…
7March 19, 2013
by Sarah on the Road
in Holidays
IOn Sunday I had a few friends over for a St. Paddy’s Day Potluck. I’m 5th generation Irish- Canadian…so all I have is my irish last name…so that makes me 1/4 irish! I pulled out some old decorations I had from my days as an ECE…invited some people over and had dinner!
For dessert, I made this…St. Patrick’s Jello Cream Cake!
I found the recipe after a tweet from Tori Spelling… went to the original website, followed the directions and it turned out FANTASTIC! So worth the hunt for lime jello… didn’t find lemon, so went with lime for the whole thing!
Overall it was an awesome dinner.. and my living room looked like this for awhile…(So glad I brought one of my bins of toys when I came north!)
It was fantastic food…yes, some was green-awesome broccoli salad, and some amazing garlic/chive potatoes…as well as homemade mac & cheese, shepherd’s pie, ribs, tuna-pasta dish that was awesome! (I made the shepherd’s pie and the mac & cheese while other guests made the other yummy dishes!)
Ever since Friday’s Blizzard….the weather has been so strange! It’s been above zero and the snow is melting. We’ve had rain off an on… high winds… and in front of my house is a skating rink!
So we have started to see some green...er brown on the tundra!!! (as well as lots of rocks, garbage and dog poop has started to appear!)
It’s suppose to get cold again (below zero) tomorrow…we’ll have to wait to see what happens. But right now this weather feels like May weather… not March!
Memories of the City of Love…
5February 14, 2013
In September 2012, I had the opportunity to go to France for two weeks. It was such a great trip. I got to see the Effiel Tower, and have a picnic and oh the food… don’t get me started on the amazing things I ate for those weeks! The second week I spent with my friend,Nathalie, wandering the streets of Paris, sitting in cafes, taking photos–oh so many photos, and just relaxing.
I took so many photos. When I first got back I got busy and I edited the ones that were from the first week when I was in Bordeaux. But I stopped and haven’t looked at them beyond editing a few random shots. Life is funny… sometimes you can make yourself so busy…that you don’t take the time to do the things you really want to do. I think one of my plans for 2013 is to finish up those ‘un-finished’ projects, before I start new ones!
Another reason why I didn’t rush the editing was that I wasn’t sure what to share on my blog. I knew I wanted to share my photos from the trip but wasn’t sure what or how much to share. And until this was decided I just choose not to share anything. Anyone who knows me in person knows that my whole life isn’t showcased on my blog, it’s just glimpses of my life…a snippet here and a snippet there. Don’t get me wrong it’s something I love to do…but lately I’ve had the question of balance of what to share and what not to share circling around in my brain. I think every blogger at some point in their blogging they reach a point and have to answer the questions: how much do I share? what is private? what can be public? It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately…there’s that balance. I do love to share my photos and stories with family and friends I’m not going to stop doing that. But it’s also something that I’m trying to figure out a balance…I’m still coming up with the answer. That being said, I do want to share some of my memories from France. So over the coming weeks I’ll try to post some of my favourite shots from my weeks in France.
Since today is Valentine’s Day I thought I’d share a few photos I took in Paris while wandering the streets. I was walking back to my hotel (near the Eiffel Tower) from Notre Dame. (yes, if you know Paris it is quite a long walk! But I had 3-4hours and it was such a gorgeous day…so I enjoyed my walk!) There were so many fun things to stop and look at. One of these things was the Pont des Arts.
It’s a walking bridge…and is covered with thousands of little tiny locks.
There are many different stories I’ve heard about these locks… people use to come in the secret of the night, walk hand-in-hand over the bridge and attach a small pad-lock to the bridge. Then they would throw the key into the Seine and their love would live on forever. Well tourists seeing this…started doing this in broad daylight…even *gasp* standing on the bridge taking their photos with their lock. It’s caused some controversy. Once or twice all the locks have been removed, but very soon they are replaced. (Many other cities in the world also have ‘adopted’ this tradition on their bridges…)
As I look at these engraved locks…I wonder what these couples are doing on this Valentine’s Day. Is their love standing the test of time? Being the hopeless romantic at heart I am…I hope that their love is standing the test of time.
Wishing my family and friends a very Happy Valentine’s Day.
Sending you my love from *just below* the Arctic Circle!
Luv, Sarah
Happy Family Literacy Day Canada!
0January 27, 2013
by Sarah on the Road
in Holidays
Anyone who knows me knows I love to read. Some of my earliest memories are of my mum telling me stories before I went to bed. One of the stories I loved wasn’t a book, but was a story about a little boy from Africa. I would get her to tell it over and over again.
Another memory I have from childhood is listening to my Gramma read me stories. To this day, I still love listening to her read…there’s something so comforting hearing her voice tell a story. I’m so happy that I have all these awesome memories of people reading to me, telling me stories, sharing jokes!
So what is Family Literacy?
Family literacy refers to the many ways families develop and use literacy skills, from enjoying a storybook together at bedtime and during the day, to playing with word games, singing, writing to a relative or friend, sharing day-to-day tasks such as making a shopping list or using a recipe, and surfing the Internet for fun and interesting sites (Family Literacy in Canada: Profiles of Effective Practices, Adele Thomas, Soleil Publishing Inc., 1998).
Today is the 15th Anniversary Family Literacy Day. The creators of the event are encouraging families to spend 15mins of Fun on literacy activities. So if you have kids or know some kids…take advantage and spend 15mins (or more) with them reading, or telling jokes, or playing a new board game! To look for more ideas check out the website HERE!
For a child, the more time spent with a parent reading aloud increases his or her level of attachment, enhances a sense of security, and imparts the knowledge that their parent feels they are worthwhile people with whom to spend time (How to Raise a Reader, 1987).
Did you know?
Having a parent or other caring person read aloud with their children helps children learn listening skills, vocabulary and language skills, as well as develop imagination and creativity (Family Literacy Foundation, 2001).
Have some fun with Literacy Activities with your family today. Let me know what are some things you and your family did to celebrate this day!
Trick or Treat…
6November 7, 2012
In an effort to catch up on my blogging I wanted to share some photos and stories about Halloween. It’s always better late than never right? (I feel like I’m handing in a term paper a week late with this blog post. Ahhhh the memories from my undergrad and grad school!)
It is a fun day that has many events throughout the day for the community. The Elementary and High School had costume/face painting contests in the afternoon. For children under 5…there was a costume contest for them as well at the Community Centre in the afternoon. I didn’t go to either of these events.
My Halloween started at 5pm! Here in town things the Trick-or-Treaters come between 5 and 7pm… I had visits from Buzz Light Year, Scary Monsters, Vampires, Witches and more…most of these photos were taken just after 5pm. (yes, it is that dark out at that time)
A friend of mine picked me up and drove us to the High School. (…it was one of the first really ‘cold’ nights! I think it was about -10C or so + a wind chill)! The High School was the place to be after 7:30pm. The Grade 12 students turned some classrooms into a Haunted House as a fundraiser for their grad trip. $2 was your admission, many kids went over, and over and over again! (The Grads fundraise doing various projects throughout the year to help out with their trip.) I didn’t go into the haunted house…because I’m a bit of a whimp and my #1 fear is not of the dark, but walking-moving-around- in the dark.
Being the scardy-cat I am…I hung out in the gym, talked with my friends…watched kids play and just chilled until the Costume Costume started! For the Costume Contest there were a few different categories: Best Costume, “Worst” Costume, Best Act, Best Man dressed up as a Lady, and Best Face Paint.
Top left: One of the teachers is “Snow White” in the Man-Dressed-like-Lady Category. Top Right: here’s a look at the Best Costumes. Bottom (L&R): Face Painting Category
Here’s a few selections from the “Worst” Category. This was my favourite to watch. The aim of this costume is to dress up as ‘crazy’ as you can…and not let anyone know who you are. You then parade / dance around the gym as the judges score the costumes.
…here’s someone that is just a bit of an expert in Loonie-Toonie sales!
Top L&R: more costumes for the “worst” category Bottom L: a couple men strut their stuff for the Men-dressed-as-a-lady Category!
I had so much fun talking with my friend and her family. Even got to cuddle a few cute babies, one of whom was a little Tigger!
It was an awesome night. I’m thinking next Halloween I need to put some more ‘thought’ into my costume. I suppose I have a whole year to think about it!
