5 pin bowling

It's like a dwarf version of 10 pin bowling, not quite as much fun and it wasn't electronic scoring so it was hard to add up the scores when pissed. Each pin has a value 5 for the head pin, 3 for the ones either side and 2 for the end ones, you get 3 goes a turn for 10 frames but nothing extra for the last frame if you get a strike.

Communication, Mentoring & Child Safety

This week I attending a training session in preparation for my volunteer work as a Big Sister and learned a lot about Communication, Mentoring & Child Safety... here are some things I learned

M - Make it special
E - Encourage and build self esteem
N - Never say never - model positive behaviour / attitudes
T - Teachable moments - look for them and act accordingly
O - Open new doors - new ideas, skills, dreams
R - Reliable - be there and do what you say you will do
I - Instill a sense of wonder, motivate and stimulate thought
N - Notice their individuality and make comments
G - Go for it and have fun!

Active Listening
F.E.L.O.R.
F - Face the person
E - Eye contact
L - Listen
O - Open posture
R - Respond

"I" Messages
Neutral description of your behaviour - "When you..."
Feelings of Emotions - "I feel..."
Effect or Reason - "Because..."
What you would lke from them instead - "So I need..."

We did a role play, this is an example

Q: WHAT IF you arranged to meet your adolescent-aged Little Sister at the beach at 5pm but it is now 5.30pm and she is half an hour late?

A: When you are late, I feel worried and let down as I don't feel the friendship is important to you. So I need you to call if you are going to be late and make an effort to be on time.

We also covered the following topics
Building Self Esteem
Effective Mentoring
Setting Boundaries
Saviour Syndrome
Good Role Modelling
Suspcisions of child abuse and how to report it
Child Safety

Christmasyfying the flat

The tree was a bit of a mission as it was too big and we only used half and had to use some creativity to get it to stand up straight and raise it up a bit but we assembled it and it worked in end

I also personalised some stockings
Put a bow on the front door
Put some ornaments around the flat

Assembling the tree...


Discovering it was too big, not just the height but the gerth, it would take up the whole flat!


Ahhh our Christmas tree complete with baubles and lights

Snow Globe

I made my own snow globe, not quite a Christmas theme but it works!

Cribbage

I learned a new card game, its based on working out the best scenarios, a bit too much counting while drinking but I quite liked it.



The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, pairs (plus triples and quadruples), runs and flushes.

Candle Making

Melt wax, i bought some and also used an old candle



Add the wicks and pour in some wax into desired holders


Let the wax cool down to do different colours


And there you have it ..homemade candles, quite simple really and handy to recycle old candles.

Mount Baker

My mission: To visit the Mountain I can view from my balcony

Here's the view from my balcony...


Me on Mount Baker

Fast Facts:
Location: Washington State, USA
Height: 3,285 meters (10,778feet)
Type: Strata-volcano
Number of eruptions in past 200 years: 8
The volcano is still active, but activity has diminished since 1978.
Present thermal activity: Steaming fumaroles at flank and crater locations.
Native Americans call the mountain "Koma Kulshan," meaning Great White Watcher.

Pumpkin Carving

This took a whole evening and absolutely killed my arms...but i think it looks pretty cool!

Finding the right pumpkin...



Making a mess...



It's an evil cat!



And an evil witch!

Roasting the pumpkin seeds...yummy

The World's Biggest Walk

I've never really done any organised hikes, runs or walks so I decided to participate in a 5km walk to raise awareness for organ donation and transplantation. The Vancouver walk was organised by my friend Sarah who tried to convince me to do it at 5am as that was when the official walk was going on 12 GMT! Luckily she decided again it and I joined in the merry crew at 10am for a brisk walk around Stanley Park on a beautiful autumn day.

Volleyball

Ok I didn't play it but I watched 3 matches my cousins played and learned about the rules and lingo

This is what I discovered in the school league volleyball games, not sure how its compare with the Olympic rules
they play to 25 points
you can still get the ball out of the court area as long as it is in the air
you can kick the ball
you can have more than 3 touches as long as its in defence (A block is not considered a hit)
if the ball touched the net on a serve it is still counted if its in
Diggers are at the back of the court - that looks like a hard position to play
Ball may be served underhand or overhand
Must win by 2 points.
The team rotates each time they win the serve
A player must not block or attack a serve

by the way my cousin came 5th in the tournament of 13 and their school is ranked 3rd in the Province, the won every match I watch this week...I am so proud of them ...aww

Learning to play the guitar

Ok this a bit crappy but bear in mind I just pick up a guitar and knew nothing about chords or tablature 2hrs before this.

Roadsense

This week I have mostly been reading the Roadsense driving guide (the Canadian equivalent to the Highway Code). I have been skipping through most of it but there are significant differences i.e driving on the right, turning right on red traffic lights, what to do at a 4 way stop, blinking traffic lights etc.

I am thinking about getting my drivers licence out here which means passing the knowledge test, taking some lessons and passing the driving test before buying a car with expensive insurance and high gas prices (for out here).

There are a couple of online practice tests that I have been trying

http://www.icbc.com/licensing/opkt.asp
http://www.yourlibrary.ca/driving/index.cfm

DIY Pot Pourri

Drying out the rose petals

Mixing it with cinnamon and adding scents



What does it smell like? Well a bit pongy to be honest! I think I will buy some if need be in future :)

Wii Workout

Thats my Wii Mii in the background taking a swing as I take one, the tennis and boxing really make you work up a sweat!

Here's a video of me playing Wii Tennis

Driving Range

I haven't done anything to do with golf for over 22 years so we went to a local driving range and got 60 balls to whack, Steve gave me tips on my swing and how to hit the ball, only about 1 in 6 went where i wanted it to and my arms ached by the end of it ...not to mention the blister i got on my hand!

How to tie a noose

Trolling & Fly fishing

Trolling
ooo which ones do we need?

It's all about gang trolls, led lines, depth monitors, fish arches, nymphs, shrimp, dry flies, coloured lures, worms

The fly fishing looks pretty neat the way you swoosh it in the air a lot ..I couldn't do it!

Diabolo

I haven't got any pics yet as I was learning the Diablo and I could do that and take pics at the same time, hopefully my friend Sarah will have a decent one. I didn't get too far, just getting it spinning, tried to chuck it in the air and failed several times but am thinking of getting one of my own to practice with.

Here's my teacher doing some tricks

Camping

So I learned the 3 rules of Camping: Keep Warm, Eat Well and Sleep Well..and my own one... bring lots of marshmallows..they are awesome!

Star Gazing

I got this map and could actually work out where Cassiopeia and Cepheus were!

Origami

So I not only created some Origami animals which is much harder than you think but I released them out into the wild....Lighthouse Park

Steve and Babette joined in creating some and we found that Steve was really good at it in a weird rain man sort of way.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

With the aid of Paul McKenna's Positivity session I have been trying to reprogram my mind and master my emotions, blocking negative behaviour or patterns.

You are supposed to change the tone of your internal voice to something more pleasant and move the sound away so when you criticise yourself in a more constructive way. Visualization is key. Change the picture and the sound and it will change the feeling

Here are some important quotes and mantras that are supposed to help you

If you keep doing what you have already done, you'll just get more of what you have already got

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right. Henry Ford

You always get more of what you focus on in life

You can never be on the outside how you think of yourself on the inside

what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail

for anything to happen in the real world, it first has to happen in the imaginary world

----------------


The mind is a powerful thing:
The Placebo Effect is one of the most common phenomena observed in medicine, but also a very mysterious one. It is powerful. In a study carried out at the University of Harvard, its effectiveness was tested in a wide range of disturbances, including pain, arterial hypertension and asthma. The result was impressive: 30 to 40% of the patients obtained relief with the use of placebo.


So I got through almost all of the cd's and i didn't feel that much more positive but I did get a pay rise so it might be working!?

Learning Dutch... isn't it weird!

this is what I learned..some very important words i think and I had to the whole flemmy thing for the g's too

geweldig - Awesome
gek - crazy
hoe gaat het? - how are you?
goed - good
slecht - bad
Ik spreek Hollands/Netherlands - I speak Dutch
vind je het leuk..? - do you like..?

ik ben dronken - I am drunk
ik voel me ziek - I feel sick
hou op - Shut up
godverdome - god dammit
rot op trut - F!@k Off Bitch
klootzak - c!@ksucker
pik/penis hoofd - dickhead


one = één
two = twee
three = drie
four = vier
five = vijf
six = zes
seven = zeven
eight = acht
nine = negen
ten = tien

Pictures

Tasks:
Reframing
Creating a Digital Images,
Finding a decent print place
Find the right space to hang it - i buggered up one set of pics by putting them too high.

Some rules:

• Framed artworks should be hung so that the centre point of the picture is at about eye level for you and the other people living in the house.
• Pictures placed in a row above a sofa will create a unified look and add length to the area.
• When hanging a picture over a piece of furniture, it often looks more balanced if the artwork is about two thirds of the width of the furniture piece.
• Relate the art to the wall size.
  

Drag Racing

Top Fuel Funny Cars

Top fuel dragsters

• 2 cars racing down a quarter mile track racing as fast as possible
• top fuel dragster and nitro funny car races going at the top speed of 330mph
• 0 to 100 mph in less than a second
• The engines have close to 8000 horse power
• burn 8 gallons of fuel per minute
• John Force sponsored by Castrol is the 14 time Funny car world champion and has 3 daughters who all race
• Before each race, each driver is allowed to perform a burnout which heats the tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction
• The winner is the first vehicle to cross the finish line and therefore the driver with the lowest total reaction time + elapsed time
• The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) oversees the majority of drag racing events in North America
• Top Alcohol dragsters are akin to 'junior' versions of the premier Top fuel dragster class

The Great Outdoors

Biking on trails around Burnaby Lake and learning to use gears!


Learning a bit about boating and driving a boat



Fishing! I caught my first fish!

Pork Pies

So at Steve's request and since they are hard to find here, we tried making our own pork pies...result er..they were ok but not quite Melton Mowbray :)