Toms Shoes

This movement is rad.

Toms shoes is a company which was developed for the purpose of distributing one pair of shoes to a child in a third-world country for every single pair of shoes that they sell.

What an awesome idea.

http://www.tomsshoes.ca/content.asp?tid=529

check it out.

Personally, I love this pair:

I just need to have a little recovery time from my "all natural supplement" med purchases and school tuition and then these bad boys will be making an appearance on my feet! haha

Autumn

I wrote this poem in the end of August 2009, and it seems fitting to share it once again...

My eager friend has left his subtle fingerprints across a day that is not his own.
A scent, one smell - a memory. "Back so soon?"
But no. Just a hint, in jest, before retreating - almost undetected - into the August midday.
A shade, a hue, has caught my eye - a leaf anxiously embracing my dear friend's splendor.
A deliciously majestic auburn, shaming it's neighbors in appearance.
But this poor, beautiful leaf will be the first to fall... a leader for the myriads to follow.
"You're too early, dear friend", and I know he agrees as the wind catches my hair.
"A couple more weeks, then?"...and I know he's gone again.
But soon, as time dances away another season, he'll return.
With ferver and passion he'll paint his canvas in rich golds, intermingling reds, oranges and browns - a stunning work of art.
But his welcome is never as warm as the world which he creates around us.
A sigh, at first;
a mourning time over the loss of another sweet season who left us much too young.
In this sad state we sit, as my friend labours, unappreciated, to remake the world around us.
He knows his time will come...
And then, before it even seems he was here at all, he will be the one dearly missed.
I've missed you, my old friend. Welcome back.

on with the show!

As you may or may not know, I spent these past two weeks running "Shine Performing Arts" day camps! My mom and I were out to lunch (literally and figuratively) one day back in March or early April and we were discussing the possibility of me running my own musical theatre classes... and that's how Shine Performing Arts was formed! My friend Jon Campbell from Kuztek solutions created the website (http://www.shineperformingarts.com/), I printed flyers out and posted them around town and I ran ads in the Abbotsford newspaper. Slowly but surely, parents began to sign their kids up!


So, August 9th-13th I had nine children between the ages of 6 and 8 learning about singing, acting and dancing down in the Youth Center of Immanuel Fellowship Baptist church! Monday through Friday, 9am - 2:30pm, I was "Miss Jay". At the end of the week we invited the parents to come and watch us "perform" what we had learned. One of the moms video taped the kids performing - http://www.youtube.com/user/celinasart#p/a/u/1/m_HOCsJmyTQ


Sorry about the whining kid... believe me, it was much more annoying in person! haha


Then, the 16th-20th I had six 10 - 12 year olds (and one random 7 year old little sister who asked to join in half way through the week!). This camp was more drama based - we played lots of theatre games, learning about improv, blocking, vocal techniques, etc. Really fun! Below are some pics of them from the last two days.

I had a tonne of fun with these kids. Many of the parents from both groups were wondering whether I would be running once-a-week classes in the fall, which I was hoping to do! So, all in all, it was a great two weeks, and I look forward to many more camps to come!