Exams are over and, discounting the weekend that I know will be nuts as we try to get everything ready for Drew’s departure, I’ve been busy doing as little as possible today. Got to sleep in this morning which was very lovely. Decadent even. Classes and exams are done until next semester so there was no need to get us early to study.

When we finally crawled out of bed we headed to the mall – Kingsway, not WEM – to do some last minute shopping for friends and neighbours. I’ve been pretty lazy this Christmas and am using Drew’s impending departure as my excuse. I didn’t sent out Christmas cards this year and am only sending a few packages out to friends and family. I haven’t actually shipped any of those yet either. The plan is to get them in the mail tomorrow. So don’t feel that I snubbed you if you receive nothing from us this year. You’re in good company as we snubbed nearly everyone. Grandma’s excepted. Can’t miss sending a package to Drew’s grandma. Just have to find her address. It’s around here somewhere…

After shopping we headed to our local Legion to renew our memberships. We really should be more active in our Legion since they do so much good work. I tend to say that it’s hard to find the time between school and work but I’m sure if I tried harder I could. Must do better in future.

As for school, I have one of my texts already so perhaps I should make use of the break between semesters to get some pre-reading before classes begin. Sounds like a good and mature plan. Likely means I won’t get around to it during the Christmas break. I don’t think my books for the other two classes will arrive before the new year.

Enough babbling. Time to spend some quality time with the hubby. Night all.

Exam finished and things were recognizable. Bonus. Carpooled to base with hubby so I could write exam and he could do last minute stuff at work. Exam has been finished for 30+ mins. He’s MIA and cell phone is off. Too cold to go wandering outside when I have no ideas which building he is in. Then again all buildings are locked or require ID to access. Stuck waiting at a door looking like the dogs do when we leave home. Pathetic and forlorn. I am not amused!

Winter is finally here to stay in Edmonton.  We had a few days of snow in November but nothing that didn’t melt away within a day of landing on the ground.  This past week has seen a small amount of snow float through the air. Maybe 2-4cm when all is said and done. Not much.  Coupled with the below freezing temperatures that help develop ice patches it’s resulting in a bit of havoc on the roads. Enough to cause a large number of people to forget how to drive safely in the snow.  Stop signs, speed limits, and red lights still seem to be non applicable for some dimwitted drivers.

With winter comes the shift to the winter blog theme.  I debated long and hard before I clicked the button since this week would normally see my blog decked out in black and grey as I settle in to study for and complete my final exams. Don’t get too attached to the snowy path and less than soothing blues. Depending on how poorly the studying goes I may end up with the locked in my basement theme before the weekend is over.

I suppose I better stop procastinating and get back to my readings.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Tweetsgiving was a success.

WE DID IT!!! We raised over $10,000 in just 48 hours through the power of Twitter and social media. 336 contributors collectively raised enough money to fund a new classroom for a school in Tanzania. On this special Thanksgiving Day, all we can say is THANK YOU!

You can still donate if you’d like. Epic Change will continue to accept donations through it’s widget at Tweetsgiving.org and everything collected above and beyond the original 10,00$ goal will be earmarked for purchasing books for the school’s first library, which you may inscribe with a personal tweet of gratitude.

I like bricks. I spent years donating to the Juno Beach Centre fundraiser to buy my dad a brick. As a child, I loved Lego. Ok, I’m not kidding anyone, I still love Lego.  But there’s something special about charity drives that involve bricks.  They stand for something. Peace. Security. Future.

Yesterday I posted about a social media fundraiser – Tweetsgiving.  Now that I’m not blogging from my phone, I have a bit more functionality available to my blog postings and can include direct links and other fun bits and pieces.

So, what is Tweetsgiving?

Tweetsgiving is a Twitter celebration of gratitude and giving created by Epic Change, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The project aims to demonstrate the power of the social web by raising $10,000 in 48 hours to build a classroom in Tanzania.

While the campaign was launched and is geared mainly towards collecting messages of gratitude from Twitter users, you don’t need have a Twitter account to donate. Just go to tweetsgiving.org and click on the ChipIn widget (uses PayPal).

To date 5610.06$ has been collected. Half-way through the campaign and just a little over half-way to the goal.  Tweetsgiving ends at noon on Nov 28th.  What are you waiting for?

If you’re the type who needs to get something in return – and foreigners such as Canadians won’t be able to claim any charitable donation tax deductions from donating to US based charities – you can purchase something from the Epic Change store. Every purchase will add one or more bricks to the tally.

Learn More

• TomWatson; CauseWired – A Happy ‘TweetsGiving’
• buzzmarketing daily – Put the “giving” back in Thanksgiving!

Highlight of my day yesterday?  Tabz retweeted my Tweetsgiving message.