by Heather Plett | Apr 29, 2008 | Uncategorized
Back in 2003, SARS, West Nile virus, mad cow disease, and bird flu all hit Canada within a 3 month period (more or less). And where was I at the time? Working in media relations at the only lab in the country that had live culture of all of those diseases and was doing research and diagnostics on them. I fielded 600 media calls in 3 months. Talk about trial by fire! CBC, BBC, 60 Minutes, NPR, Nipon TV (Japan) – they all had my number.
Fast forward five years… a global food crisis hits, and where am I? Doing media relations (among other things) at the only NGO in the country focused solely on global hunger issues. Reporters are putting me on speed dial once again. I haven’t gotten close to the 600 mark yet, but there’s still time.
Fortunately, I perform well under pressure. For awhile, anyway. There’s always a breaking point.
(For those of you in Winnipeg who might have caught the 2 page feature on hunger, featuring our organization – that was one of my photos on the second page. It’s the picture of a woman carrying a bag of rice.)
by Heather Plett | Apr 23, 2008 | Uncategorized
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8zN0gKmP9w]
by Heather Plett | Apr 21, 2008 | Uncategorized
My irises are coming up
There are ladybugs in abundance on the front lawn
The bocci-balls we bought at a garage sale last fall have seen their inaugural use
Nikki and Julie have healthy colour on their faces from hours of soccer practice
I rode my bike to work this morning
Maddie’s pink bike with training wheels has been around the block a few times
I singed my eyebrows lighting the barbecue on Saturday (there’s a reason why it’s Marcel’s job!)
On the swings, Maddie shouted “I can fly!”
Slurpees!
Birkenstocks with no socks
Capri pants and t-shirts
Budding trees
Eating breakfast on the front lawn watching Maddie blow bubbles
AAAaaahhhh…
IT’S SPRING!
(sorry Calgary!)
by Heather Plett | Apr 15, 2008 | Uncategorized
If Mr. Ferber is right and sleep patterns have anything to do with parenting choices and abilities, then I have reason to be depressed. That would imply that our parenting skills regressed fairly dramatically from our first child to our last.
Our first child slept through the night at two weeks of age and has been doing so consistently ever since. Our second child started sleeping through the night at about 2 or 3 months of age, but then at 5 months, she regressed and started waking up again. After about 4 months of that, she got her groove back, and other than a few brief periods in toddler-hood has been a pretty consistent sleeper since.
Our third child? Well, she’s 6 years old and STILL has fairly regular periods where she wakes up every night. Last night she climbed into our bed twice (and both times, after a short cuddle, was sent back to her bed).
Come to think of it, the same thing happened with potty training – the last one took the longest and caused the most frustration. Oh – and soother-sucking too. She only gave up her soother at the age of three when we convinced her that my sister’s upcoming baby would need a soother and perhaps she could pass it on.
Now I’m REALLY getting depressed.
Apparently, I’ve forgotten everything I once knew about parenting.
by Heather Plett | Apr 8, 2008 | Uncategorized
But a big winner too! With my 15 pound loss since Christmas, I’m the winner of our office’s “Biggest Loser” competition.
I now have $100 to spend on new Spring clothes to fit the slimmer me. Yippee!
by Heather Plett | Mar 27, 2008 | Uncategorized
Is it Thursday today? I’m really not sure, but in case it is, here are thirteen things I don’t want to forget about this trip.
1. The little girl in Barguna who followed me around grinning and reciting her new English words “We are all connected.”
2. The giggling little girl in the low caste Musahar village where no on else smiled for the first hour of our visit.
3. Sitting on the boat, listening to the drumbeats along the shore.
4. Children running through the village covered in paint from the Holi festival.
5. The woman who proudly showed us her sewing machine and ner new sewing skills.
6. Those moments in airports when we were greeted by our hosts and I could relax because the planning had been successful and nobody’s wires had been crossed.
7. The relief of two exceptionally good camera men.
8. Rickshaw rides.
9. Darting through chaotic traffic and emerging alive on the other side.
10. Standing at the top of ferry boats and watching other boats go by.
11. Sleeping in a clean guest house after too many nights of bed bugs and dirty sheets.
12. All that lovely fabric coming home in my luggage.
13. Flower petals thrown by giggling school children.
