If you can't help by finding pins, you can pin this yourself!
Posted in 2011
One thing I absolutely cannot get enough of is “year in review” lists at the end of each year. If there was a year in review marathon on TV, I would spend my entire Christmas break watching it. When 1999 was becoming 2000, I nearly lost my mind with CENTURY in review specials. That’s ONE HUNDRED TIMES better than a year in review! Anyway, I’m cheating a bit because 2011 was a huge year for me, but below is my top 11 of 2011. In a very particular order.
11. Planning a 2-day retreat to allow staff at our organization “room to breathe.” Creating space for 150 people to connect with each other and rejuvenate is a great feeling.
10. June 21. Finally watching the office building come down to make room for this.
9. May 31. Taking a sledgehammer to our old office walls before the building was demolished. And filming it.
8. November 23. Seeing my fundraising apparel line go from an initial idea to fully complete, and then seeing other people wearing it.
7. August 30. Being picked up from work by Graham, after he packed up and moved home from Ontario. The end of our long distance relationship!
6. August 20. Paying for $5 of an elderly lady’s $8.80 grocery bill because she was unable to cover the cost herself. She was buying milk and toilet paper. Read the story here.
5. The moment when Graham handed in his thesis and was done his defense, and now officially holds a Master of Arts degree.
4. January 24. Flying to Hamilton, ON (4 hours away) and surprising Graham at his door at midnight in the middle of a snowstorm. He thought he was dreaming and just kept saying ‘no’ and shaking his head.
3. October 3-10. Spending a week in Mexico with my new husband – relaxing, laughing and getting tanned. And playing ping pong.
2. February 23. Having Graham get down on one knee, in front of the Bow river, in -20C and ask me to be his wife. A moment I’ll never forget.
1. October 1. Marrying the love of my life in front of (almost) all of our friends and family.
Leave a comment with your #1 moment from 2011!
Posted in 2011, Personal, This post contains pictures
Tagged apparel line, long distance relationship, week in mexico
**A blog post from 2008 that I just found in my drafts**
I truly believe that almost the entire history of a family can be told through the story of their Christmas ornaments. Newly married couples usually have a smaller tree, or a number of ornaments that are store bought and generic, as their story together is still in the infant stage. I just finished decorating my parents’ tree with my mom, and with every ornament placed on the branches, a new memory is brought forward about how it was acquired, or what monumental occasions occurred during the year etched on the front. No matter how many times the ornament has been displayed, and how many times the story told, they never lose their importance. The little angel, with the pink crinoline skirt and the wooden face, was purchased by a young girl 46 years ago. In the deep cold of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the doorbell rang on one December night in 1962. Behind the door stood a woman selling small handmade ornaments for 50 cents. The young girl fell in love with the pink skirted angel and my Grandmother purchased it for her, as a gift, so my mother could have something of her own to hang on the Christmas tree. That wonderfully crafted moment of delight is still hanging on the Christmas tree so many years later.
Another cold December, my brother (then 3) wanted to buy ‘his’ new baby (unborn) a hockey stick for Christmas. My mother was in the hospital having the baby from December 19 until the 23, and so left little time for Christmas shopping for the new addition. Once I had arrived home in a bundle of blankets and weather protective gear, my brother quickly realized that the new baby sister was, well, useless, and would not make much use out of a hockey stick. In the cold Canadian night on December 23, four days after giving birth, my mom took my older brother to the pharmacy to pick out a gift. Almost immediately, he spotted it. He spotted the gift that would be absolutely perfect for his new baby sister: a blue bird ornament. He knew then that the hockey stick could wait, because nothing could be more perfect a gift as this. This, as my first Christmas gift ever, is, by far, my favourite ornament on the Christmas tree, this year and every year.
Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you take the moments necessary to look at your Christmas tree and truly realize the memories behind the ornaments.
Posted in 2011
When my husband and I moved into our first place together (read: less than a month ago), the far wall of our living room was a blank slate. The room had odd dimensions, and we haven’t really enough money to do whatever we want. I wanted a fireplace, and we already had a fireplace-like space heater. I thought it would be cheeky to build the room around it, so we did.
“Honey, let’s buy a mantle.” “A mantle? How do you BUY a mantle?” “Well, you just buy a mantle.” So, we looked on Kijiji, and voila, there was an old, slightly worn, not very nice mantle. And it was big. So G ventures over and buys this mantle for $10.
It needed to be a bit narrower, as well as shorter to not make the little heater look comical. So G and his dad took the top off.
Cut it in half and took out about a foot.
Pushed the sides together, and flipped the removed piece around and used it to stabilize the top of the mantle.
Glued the sides back together and clamped it. Then took the same amount off of the top piece (not pictured)
Took 6 inches off each leg. The legs of the mantle. Not of each other.
Sanded the entire thing and applied 3 coats of white spray-paint.
Flanked it with bookcases, put the fireplace in the opening and our TV on top.
And finally, I will cover the back (which also covers the cords from the TV and the fireplace) with outdoor patio fabric.
Mantle: $10
Paint: $10
Fabric: $10
Posted in 2011, DIY, DIY and Projects, projects
Tagged bookcases flanking fireplace, DIY fireplace, mantle makeover
Many of the invitees to our wedding asked us to make our wedding invitation public after the wedding. So we did! Here it is – how to make a wonderful wedding invitation with 2 hours, a couple of markers and poster board, 5 lemons and some lipgloss.
Posted in 2011
In my new(ish) position at work, I’ve been helping a lot of our staff become acquainted with Twitter. Do you remember how stupid you thought it was when you started using it? I’m trying to minimize that and help our staff to be using it responsibly. In my search for supplementary materials, I really only found two videos. The twitter training videos I could find are all extremely outdated. So I made my own. I hope you find it useful.
Posted in 2011
Tagged twitter, twitter help, twitter training, twitter tutorial, what's a hashtag, what's a twitter
