a peek inside the fishbowl

This week’s craft at Canadian Family Magazine is a something you can make with your kids for them to bring to school as a wee Valentine’s day gift for their classmates. Here’s a hint:

It is really easy to make and the kids were impressed with the results. Read the article here. :)

If you’re looking for other ideas for Valentine’s card crafts the kids can bring to school, here are two little projects we’ve made in the past:

• Lollipop flowers (includes a free template)
• Lollipop butterflies (also includes a template)

Happy crafting!

I wear my nerd girl badge with pride. I like computers. I tinker with code. I think it’s cool to be smart. My nerdyness, combined with Mark’s geekyness, has combined to create a family that is deeply ensconced in nature and science and technology. And games.

That’s why when I was offered a new Xbox/Kinect gaming package I had no choice but to accept it. Xbox Canada is a new patron as well, which I’m pretty happy about. Great family gaming is something I can really get behind.

My family recently received an Xbox Kinect bundle, which, when you buy in the store, comes with one controller and one game called Kinect Adventures. We also received three other games: Kinect Sports: Season Two, Dance Central 2, and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012. (You can read more about those games on the Xbox Canada website).

I will be reviewing and posting about our experiences with each game (please note: opinions are my own), but I want to begin by talking about the Kinect itself and our experience with it.

The Kinect is unique in the fact that your body is the controller. You don’t have to hold anything in your hand in order to play Kinect games. It’s really cool, in fact, as a person who remembers playing Breakout on a Vic 20, it’s pretty awesome to see how far gaming has come. The future of gaming is here, in our living room! I never thought I’d live to see the day. It’s so JETSONS. You navigate the screens by waving and holding your hand over on screen “buttons.” It’s also voice controlled, which is kind of neat too, and works remarkably well.

It’s simple to set up and get started. Our particular bundle didn’t come with hard drive space. The internal memory is referred to as 4G of flash drive space, but I think hard core gamers or people who crave extra content (like games or movie rentals, which is something you can actually do though the Xbox Marketplace) would appreciate the 250GB version so they can download additional content and games. The 4G is fine for our purposes. For now. :)

The first game we tried was the one that came with our unit: Kinect Adventures. It is a great game and we all enjoy it very much. It contains five different mini-games, all of which will have you jumping, ducking, dodging, leaping, crouching, and laughing like mad at yourself (and other members of your family).

I liked all the mini games but my favourites were River Rush and Rallyball. River Rush has you standing on an inflatable raft, jumping and leaning to collect tokens as you speed down a river. Rallyball is a cross between handball and racquetball on steroids. Or maybe my favourite is Reflex Ridge. I truly can’t decide.

I had fun, and I must have burned a lot of calories playing these games. It’s fun, it’s exercise, it’s … Funxercise! Ha. All kidding aside, here’s the product page. Click on the trailer to see what I mean.

One of the neat things about the Adventures game is that the Kinect sensor bar snaps photos of you (often mid-leap) while you’re playing. I thought this was a great addition to the gaming experience and we all got a big kick out of it.

Do note that Kinect games require quite a bit of space. They recommend 6-8 feet in front on your TV, and a similar width is a good idea too. We had to move some furniture around, but it wasn’t a big deal. It’s an ideal game for the basement rec room, and I was reminded again and again how much I am looking forward to having a semi-finished basement. :)

There are a couple of things I really like about the Xbox/Kinect game system:

1. 1) It REALLY gets us moving. My advice: wear gym clothes, or layers, because you will be sweaty and out of breath in no time. I ask you: what other games (other than being outside and playing them in real life of course), will have you huffing and puffing in the same way? My eldest’s legs were sore after we played together last time. (I was glad to hear that, especially now that it’s winter and we’re not getting out as much as I’d like to!)
2. 2) I find a lot of video/computer games to be solitary pursuits. Ordinarily I’d never hang around and watch someone play, but the Kinect is truly a social game. The whole family will want to join in, and even those who don’t play will get a kick out of watching, even grandma and grandpa (!) … but more about that later. :)

That’s it for part one! Other game reviews will be posted in the coming weeks.

Thank you Xbox Canada for your patronage!

We have always called this place The House Without Eyes:

This 100-year old clapboard house is the latest victim in the infill game. I predict that the wide lot (not pictured) will result in yet another super sized duplex that will look down on the neighbours on each side.

Most days I love living in Westboro, and other days I dread what this community will look like 5, 10, 20 years from now. A small part of me wants to give up on Westboro, turn tail and run because the thoughtless expansion is just so depressing, but then I can’t think of a place where I would rather live.

How much infill development is too much? How many condos along Richmond Road is too many? It seems there is no end in sight.

A big thank you to every one who responded to my pitch the other day. You all rock. I will be getting in touch with each of you to arrange for a delivery date!

-

I forgot to post a link to Friday’s craft of the week! Here’s a hint:

Get the full scoop over at Canadian Family Magazine. :)

The other night I trudged home late, from a meeting with Councillor Hobbs and all the community associations in Kitchissippi Ward. During the meeting we went around the table and talked about the concerns in each of our neighborhoods. I walked home in the freezing dark, feeling tired but inspired. These people REALLY love their city, so much so that they took a Wednesday night out of their busy lives to talk about how they can improve it for the people who live here. It was uplifting, and got me thinking: what small things can we do to make our city a better place to live?

-

Some of you might remember that I’ve been involved with the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB). They are a wonderful organization that does amazing work right here in the city. They’ve been around for over 50 years and they do their work quietly and seemingly without much fanfare, even though they are one of the largest and most comprehensive non-profit agencies serving youth in this community. Over 350 caring professionals work from 20 locations across the Ottawa to deliver a vast range of programs and services that support at-risk youth and their families in areas such as mental health, employment, youth justice, and housing.

It’s the latter that I want to talk to you about today, during a week that has had temperatures plummeting to bone-chilling lows.

Housing and homelessness are real issues even though many of us don’t see it in our day-to-day lives. There are young people who are struggling and need our help.

• Each year, more than 1,200 youth rely on YSB to help them access and maintain the most basic needs — food, shelter and safety
• In just one year, the Young Women’s and Young Men’s shelters provided 20,000 individual nights of shelter for youth in need of a safe place to stay
• Over 80% of youth served by the Housing and Trusteeship Program avoid becoming homeless after working with YSB staff on life-skills, conflict resolution, budgeting and housing

I think these are pretty incredible numbers. And with big numbers come big costs, but there are small things that individuals can do to help.

The YSB has launched a fundraiser in partnership with an organization called Raising the Roof and they’re selling toques to help support the YSB’s housing program. 80 per cent of each toque sale goes right back to YSB to help young people right here in Ottawa.

• One toque will provide one youth with 3 nutritious supper meals.
• 10 toques will provide supper and groceries for 24 youth in a shelter for one day.
• 1 box of toques will help 16 young people purchase a monthly bus pass to go to school, go to work, and get back on their feet.

Everyone who buys a toque is encouraged to wear it loud and proud to help raise awareness of this critical issue. What’s more, February 7 has been officially deemed Toque Tuesday. That’s the day you don’t want to forget your toque at home. If people ask where you got your fabulous chapeau (or even if they don’t), we hope you will spread the news and point them back to YSB and tell them about the wonderful work they’re doing.

So here’s my big ask. I’m buying 30 toques, and I’m hoping I can sell one or two (but preferably all of them) to you, my readers, in the Ottawa area. The cost is a minimum of $10/toque. I will even deliver them to your home or place of business, and hopefully you’ll let me snap a photo of you wearing your toque. (Which you will hopefully post on your Facebook pages and share with your networks along with this link.)

Please help me spread the word and help me reach my 30!

If you’re a school, church, or business (big or small!) and would like to buy a larger quantity of toques for your staff, please send an email to ysbfoundation@ysb.on.ca. They’ll be happy to work something out with you. (If you DO contact them for a larger order, let me know because I’d love to meet you and shake your hand.)

Interested? Leave a comment below and let me know if you are able to buy one from me. If you are not in a position to make a purchase, please consider tweeting this out or sharing this message with your own networks.

Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity, and for helping make Ottawa a great place to live!

Over to you!

p.s. I’ll be emailing each person who comments below to set up a time/date!

Update: January 23

I’m sold out, but it’s not too late to buy toques online through the Raising the Roof website: http://www.raisingtheroof.org/Our-Programs/Toque-Campaign/Purchase-a-Toque.aspx#order

Proceeds from any toques sold in Ottawa will be directed to YSB.

Alternatively, from Monday – Friday 8:30-4:30 pm you can drop by the YSB head office at 2675 Queensview Drive (near the Ikea) to purchase toques. Thanks again for your support! Yay!