What makes you laugh out loud?

Whitney - I know it's safe to say here, on this page - imitating her prairie aunties!  It is hilarious.

These girls:

People who paint their house these colours:

Jalen - she has pink hair!  Yay for her!

 Is it a pose or does he really need to cut his nails?  And why does someone need a hat when they are sitting in the shade under a canopy of shade???

Cheeky monkey!

Gatlin - he knows exactly what he wore on, mmm ... let's say July 29, 1999:

The Artful Blogger

This, I am discovering, is an interesting and interactive way to communicate, stay in touch, sell product and express ideas.  There are many bloggers out there who are willing to share their knowledge and offer tutorials on their sites.  Some give gifts or prizes!  Very generous souls! 

This "blog" won't have any pictures because I am still learning to do that and wasn't so successful this time.  Also, soon (Whit, please help!) I am hoping to get a playlist of what is on Pinky Pod and figure out how to change my "wallpaper". 

I admit that I enjoy reading other blogs but somehow cannot wrap my head around someone actually wanting to read anything I have set to an e-page.  I am struggling right now - want to show my darling Whit that I can do this without having to run to her every time, but ...

Michelle, a friend of Whitney's (they are both actually just real treats to know), is quite talented at putting thought to page.  She admits to being addicted to reading blogs.  This must allow her to take advantage of other ideas yet make them original to her.

Whitney (my niece) also has her business blog tied to her "chat" blog.

Brighid (my niece) is a fabulous photographer and always has great pics to look at.

Jalen (my niece - there are many) currently has a list of things she would like to do before a certain age. That would be an interesting idea to "borrow".

All of their sites have the following qualities I enjoy:  they have not taken them to a hugely sophisticated website level (yet); one feels invited into their lives (all far more interesting than mine); and - most importantly - all incorporate pictures.

Having looked at quite a few over the last weeks one thing is clear:  there are original ideas but, equally, "borrowed" ideas.  Not having any experience at this I know I will be "borrowing" for the first while.

Life through a lens

For a long portion of my life I carried a camera everywhere I went. The nieces and nephews were growing up and I felt the need to record every second I got to spend with them (and they were and are so darn cute!). Then they started having lives of their own: getting boyfriends; girlfriends; married even. Married! And the time just wasn't there anymore.


Now that they are older and I get to spend even less time with them I feel the need to once again record every second of it. As well, life is just far too interesting to not be with a camera.


It took me a long time to be convinced I needed to convert to digital but I have and not just with one camera but with two. I still keep my old SLR handy with black and white film it – it just has a certain nostalgia.


Bexx and Amy came to Kits this weekend to cruise 4th Avenue, visit their most fave auntie (not that they have a lot of selection) and see the fireworks.

I wish I could say she got her looks from me but, fortunately for her, she is only blessed with my personality!
Just a word about Bexx: not only is she drop dead beautiful and a talented dancer, she is one of the sweetest people in the world. She's at post-secondary school now and each time I see her she has decided to do something different but that's okay because she is getting really good at exploring her options. She has also started to incorporate volunteer work into her life.

Amy is just a little sweetheart as well.  We like to take her on day trips with us because she keeps us so entertained with her constant chatter.

Yes, she's wearing my pink helmut!  Who couldn't love that face ...

Sarah and Baird

My two little friends Sarah (Are we there yet?) Sullivan and Baird Sullivan (siblings of Finn)

will be participating in the Canuck Place Children's Hospice Adventure Challenge (https://payment.csfm.com/events/canuck_place/visitor/index.php?action=profil) on September 11, 2010.
This is Sarah’s second year participating. They have asked for help in raising funds through collecting bottles and cans.
This email is my request for any bottles and cans you have that you may be willing to donate. I will come to your place and pick them up, convert them to cash and then arrange to have that donated to the kids.

 Last year was the first year the Challenge was opened up to kids aged 5 to 16 and Sarah’s first year participating. She wanted to do something to honour Finn and to help Canuck Place - a place that means a great deal to her. With her good friend Harry, the first kids Team Finn participated in the Challenge last year. The kids were at it for no less than 4 hours (with no breaks - they ate on the fly).

 Baird is now 5 and old enough to take on the Challenge (I’m sure he will happily consume many gummi bears as his training nutrition!). He and his friend Pierce (age 9) comprise Team Finn1. Sarah is teamed up with Lily (age 5) to comprise Team Finn2. Lily is the daughter of Nathan (fabulous physio at Lynn Valley Phyiso) and Kristen (fellow Finn-sters).

 So, if you have any bottles, cans, etc. that you would like to get rid of and have those funds donated, please let me know. Sarah and Baird have each raised $38 for the Adventure Challenge by returning bottles and are well on their way to raising the $500 minimum.

 Thanks!

Just Words...

Oh, I so don’t want to be here.  I so don’t want to be in a frock sitting in a chair reading about icky, mean people.  I want to be in cycling shorts and I want that ride to have never ended!  I’m not sure how many times over the course of the months leading up to the ride that I heard it was “gruelling”, but it wasn’t at all.

I don't even know where to start.  It doesn’t matter what or how I tell you, it will be a tacky dollar-store version of what the experience was really like.

Thanks (so many thanks) to all of my friends, Team Finn raised more than $516,000.  In Patrick’s words:

A half million dollars.  Half million dollars.  Half million.

You, me, us, we.  A half million dollars.

Unbelievable.

Thank you everyone ...

Below is an excerpt from a Facebook entry made by a gal pal.  I include this because word is getting out about how determined Team Finn is:

Congratulations to all the Ride to Conquer Cancer riders this weekend on their journey to Seattle ...
[Team Finn] raised and exceeded [their] fund-raising goals ...

Team Finn’s captains, Patrick Sullivan and Gavin Marshall – wow, both cherries on top of the sundae!

******

Due to that insidious neck pain I had to stop on day two at pit #2.  It was my perfect day for cycling - rain!  I was enjoying every single minute and was in no pain at all from day one - my legs were not sore; my butt was not sore; everything was almost perfect.  I didn't have any feeling in two fingers on my left hand (and still don’t which makes typing this [and work] a bit awkward) but that was just an annoyance rather than anything else.  Right after pit #1 I noticed the pain in my neck started again but since I had ridden 100k before with that pain I was just going to “conquer” it as there was only about 70K remaining.  Then I noticed that every time I moved my head I started to get sparkles in my vision, and then it was just constant sparkles.  At that point it was not safe for me to be on the bike.  I got to pit #2 and a fellow Finnster was there waiting to catch a ride to the end because her knee had been irritating her.  After much to-ing and fro-ing we decided to end it together.  Trust me when I tell you how crushed I was.  After those many kilometres, all that training, and that many hours on a bike, no one (at my level of bike riding) should have been feeling as good as I was!

******

Day one was incredible.  So, so much fun.  It was beautiful and sunny.  The energy at the start and end was huge.  Pink started to grow!  It was like a snowball going downhill - just kept getting bigger.  As we left the start all Team Finn gathered outside the gate and waited to head off together.  Being in the mass I don't know what it looked like but I can imagine it was quite a sight.

I hadn't gone 100 yards and I saw them:  Colleen and Audrey cheering their little hearts out with pink signs for Team Finn!  And they just kept showing up!  Every time I turned a corner they had beaten me to it (not difficult to do!).  I can't tell you how many people that day came along side of me and asked me if I was the Terri with the fabulous cheerleaders.  At one point they were on one side of the street and my friend Kim (from work) was on the other side.

After we got through the border the riders started to spread out a fair bit and, yes, I was toward the end and was by myself alot.  Really, though, everyone is talking to each other (I’m not talking about the constant hum of "on your left".  Yes, yes, I know I’m slow!).  About noon I caught up with a Finnster who was having troubles so we kept each other company for quite a while.  At that point we were at the bottom of Bellingham (yes, I stress that) and we had quite a climb to go.

Now, this is where folklore is created:  Some say the hill was 4 or 4.5K and some say 4 or 4.5 miles.  To err on the side of caution and not contribute to myth, I will say 4K.  Mercy, but it was long.

It didn't help that Patrick and Gavin, and their merry speedster band of scalliwags were going so fast they created a head wind for the rest of us weekend warriors!  They insist they had wind as well but we stand firm in our belief they created it!

At this point it's worth noting that if you are not part of the speed demons you get tofu chicken for lunch!  Basically you get what the speedsters don't want.  And, I just found out from one of my judges, if you’re a speedster you get waffles at the pit stops.  Mmmm ... I don’t think some of us knew waffles even were an option!  Ah well, it was all part of the fun.

It was a long day – more than 10 hours on the road for me.  When I got to camp though my gal pal Janet was there with a big hug (her squeeze was riding), my little hero Sarah was there with a big hug and fellow Finnster Spencer.  There is nothing better than hugs from very special people.

I could just go on forever about how perfect the weekend was but it would take more time than you actually want to spend reading.

Patrick had sent an email on Friday advising that as many Finnsters as they could gather at 3:30 on Sunday would ride the final bit in together and cross the finish line as a group.  I couldn't finish the last part of the ride but I did wait for them just before the finish line and crossed with the team.  Again, there are no words for that moment.

And there was Sarah - beautiful Sarah.  I got another hug!  Below is a picture of Sarah, Doreen and I.  I’m just going to pretend that Doreen and I are her favourites!

Doreen suffered yet another fall and chin split!

Will I do it again?  Without hestiation - YES, YES, YES.  Not just for the fun and camradarie but why I did it in the first place.  I'll do it for everyone I know that has had to watch someone they love be taken from them.  I’ll do it for those that have survived.  I’ll do it for Sam and Patrick who lost their little son.  I'll do it for Baird who lost a twin brother, a very part of who he is.  I'll do it for Sarah, a big sister whose grace and generous spirit are an example for everyone.  But mostly I'll do it for a little boy who never got a chance to ask for anything in life and now all he asks, through Patrick and Sam, is that we do it for the next one.  We do it so maybe one day there won't be any more that get taken from us.  And really, who can say no to a little boy?