Rainbow ~ 25:365

A few more positive days..in pictures

La lune ~ 21:365

I love the moon and try to capture it whenever I can with my camera. 

First photo is straight out of the camera, second one is just cropped a bit. 

52 books :: Book 4 :: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games has been on my to-read list for a little while. I finally decided to request the first in the trilogy from the library. I started this book and right away got emerged in the story of this young girl that volunteers herself in the place of her younger sister to go to the hunger games. The games are a sort of punishment, a yearly reminder to the nation to not go against the Capitol. They are televised and the participants compete against each other to the death in a man-made arena. The arena is more like its own little world, filled with different landscapes, animals, etc.. I enjoy stories of survival and set in a natural environment. The descriptions of the different settings, the clothing, the various foods and especially the feelings that Katniss goes through made this book a page-turner for me. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

I found an interesting interview of the author about where she found her idea for this trilogy:


   

snow and a volcano ~ living positively in 2011

We went for a walk on Sunday at a local conservation area,

a beautiful small forest

with a little river and many boardwalks.

I love being in nature with my family and our husky!

16:365

At the end of our walk in the forest,

with our rosy cheeks,

filled with fresh air and fun.

17:365

This volcano was drawn by my oldest daughter

for her illustrated dictionary

in her world geography notebook.

We have so many good laughs

when we do geography together,

not sure why..just happens!

18:365

looking back ~ 15:365

Sometimes in the winter, I like to look at photos of the beach...wish I could be there, in the warm sunshine, toes in the sand, looking at the ocean.



I think it's positive, not negative, to wish like that. Because it means that I have had the chance to know other places and to have beautiful memories too.


Florida '09

Living positively 15:365

snow boys, sleep, sunny ~ living positively

Winter time isn't a very exciting time around here, but I still manage to see the positive every day... like watching my son playing in the swirling, windy, freezing snow with his friend...and also watching my new kitten sleep soundly and wishing I could take a nap...and finally the sun! coming back from taking our husky to the dog park for some fun.

a little walk and alone time ~ postively 2011

On day 9 of living positively, we went for a little walk near our house.

There isn't a lot of snow left right now.

   Even if the walk was short, even if this time,

my dog was pulling like he had a sled behind him,

even if my teenager was cranky..

I still love the walk, the fresh air, and being together.

On day 10, which was Monday, Adrienne had her Cadets meeting

and that means almost three hours to myself.

The meeting is about 25 minute drive away from home, so I just stay near.

I do enjoy this time alone, and either sit at the library to read or visit the thrift store.

52 books :: Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is one of those books that I noticed whenever I was at the library or at a bookstore in the young adult section. I was curious and so decided to give it a try. It is another werewolf and girl love story, without vampires this time. It seemed to start really slowly and I had to tell myself a few times to just keep on going. By the second half of the book, I was curious to see how it would end. I really enjoyed the writing and especially the way the author describes the surroundings and the emotions in her book.

From the author's website:
"For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever."

I enjoyed watching this little book trailer the author created out of cut paper:








Books read: 3/52

One Word Project ~ Moment

I am participating this year in the One Word Project organized by the Shutter Sisters.

What is it? It's a monthly community project where we offer up a unique word (every month gets a new word) that's up for visual interpretation of the photographic kind by YOU. (from the Shutter Sisters post).

For January, the word is actually our word. We get to choose the word and we can choose to focus on that word as our word for 2011. I thought about it for a while and decided to choose "moment" because I want to remember this year to live in the moment, especially to appreciate the moment I am in.

Here is my photo for the OWP for my word "moment":

Positively 2011 ~ days 7 and 8

family and games ~ 7:365

my in laws came for a 2-day visit (they live four hours away)

we spent our time catching up, playing games together, eating, and relaxing

Celeste had a great time with her Papa playing Connect 4.

cats ~ 8:365

while I was putting away all the holiday decorations,

our cats were playing under the tree.

The light colour one came to us on Christmas Day

and she has adjusted very well.

living with pets always brings a smile to our faces.

we have 2 guinea pigs, 2 cats and 1 dog ;)

soft in the snow ~ positively 2011

I love going for walks with my Orion, just him and me. I also love the way the back of his ears feel, so soft. He loves snow.


We were both happy.


6:365 living positively

fruits! ~ positively 2011

In the cold Canadian winters, fresh fruits are something to be positive about!

We like to eat them fresh or juice them. Today we made a juice with these three fruits (apples, pears, and grapes), a small piece of ginger root, and a sprinkle of cinnamon..very yummy!

5:365 living positively

~ world geography and library time ~ positively 2011

Positively 2011 is a daily photography challenge but I might put a few days worth at a time to share with you here.

Here are day three and four out of three-hundred and sixty-five:

Learning together with my children is always a positive experience. We were studying Eastern Europe on day three.

on day four we walked to the library.



in the photo, my youngest is selecting some books, she loves baby books still!


we visit our local library at least once a week, usually more. this branch is small, but very close to our house. we know all the librarians and they know us! we always walk out with piles of books! we love to read :)


it's always a positive experience to visit the library!

52 books :: A Child Called It & A Brother's Journey

I started my challenge this year with two books about child abuse. They were both very difficult to read for me, but at the same time I have to say that being able to relate to their stories in some ways kept me reading. I wanted to know how they got out of their situations.
The books were "A Child Called IT" by Dave Pelzer and "A Brother's Journey" by his brother, Richard Pelzer. Both stories are true stories of childhood abuse. Their mother was an alcoholic and put them through horrible situations.
I do think these books are important because the world needs to know what sometimes happens behind closed doors, we all need be aware. When I was growing up and was a victim myself, I never knew that it was wrong. I thought I was just a bad kid and that this was the normal way for parents to deal with me. In public or on the rare occasions that friends came to our appartment, everything was "normal", in other words there was a completely different attitude shown to outsiders. Some people to this day, would never believe me if I shared my story I am sure. I found out how wrong my childhood experiences were once I moved an ocean away from my parents. By then, I was an adult and just wanted to start my own life, move on. I took care of myself, went to therapy, and also read a lot about how to break the cycle. I did not want to repeat history. And I haven't. My children, when they are grown, will hear my story if they wish, but for now, I am just so happy that they are able to live in a safe, loving environment.
Anyway, both books are autobiographies and are filled with detailed descriptions of the torture they endured. It turned my stomach at some points. I just wanted to warn you, in case you want to read these books. If you are a victim yourself, the one book that really helped me (even more than therapy) was called The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass.

Read: 2/52
Next book: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

~ caramel sundae on sunday ~ positively 2011

we don't often go out to dinner, maybe once every six months..so when we do, my whole family really enjoys it. we tried a rotisserie and ribs place on sunday evening. my son was moaning while he ate his ribs! he loved his caramel sundae too.



2::365 - living positively

Positively 2011

I am giving myself a photography challenge this year, a challenge to seeing the positive in each and every day of 2011. I joined a group called "a year of living positively" on flickr. Here is the description:

"sometimes we get bogged down

in the day-to-day trappings of a stressful existence.
this group is an atttempt,
and experiment, if you will,
to remind us all that if we look closely enough
we can find something we are grateful for each and every day. :)
photo submissions should include a brief description about something you are grateful for, or something you appreciate on that particular day!"


Today's photo shows what was especially positive for me, which was spending time reading in my favourite chair with a cozy blanket, looking through the pile of sewing/quilting related books from the library and reading two difficult books (a child called it + a brother's journey).