Zasuu Designs Ltd is pleased to be a sponsor of YMCA Canada's initiative, “Yoga for Peace”. In celebration of 25 years of peace building, YMCA’s across Canada will be taking part in a nation-wide one day event on November 24th. This event is a demonstration of YMCA Canada’s shared commitment to peace building.

The yoga class taught by Shannon Smadella, Miss Canada 2009 at the Crowfoot YMCA will be held in the main floor gymnasium from 12-1pm and will be free to everyone. For more information please contact the Crowfoot YMCA at 403-547-6576

Well it’s been almost two months since my last post was removed from the site.  I made some comments about a certain Canadian musician that were obviously not appreciated!

I spent 8 hours trying to write a blog to go along with the below photos, but it just didn’t work out.  Whether it’s “writer’s block” or “Andy can’t write”, we’ll never know.  The problem was that I came up with a bunch of random ideas and tried to write something based on them, rather than write random ideas based on something productive.  The funniest thing I could come up with involved Simpson brand orange juice; OJ of the Simpson variety will surely make you better at football and killing people.

Without further time wastage, below are my photos of Colombia and Northern Ecuador.  Two months in Colombia and two weeks in Ecuador have left me speechless . . . literally.  And I thought Central America was fun!  Please enjoy my very amateur photography!

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Earlier this week we had the chance to sit down with Shannon Smadella and talk with her about her numerous achievments during her reign as Miss Canada. Shannon gave us some great insights how she's trying to make a difference through projects like the Shannon Smadella Initiative www.shannonsmadellainitiative.com and her upcoming participation in the YMCA Canada's upcoming Yoga for Peace event on November 24th.

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I grew up in a small town in Northern Manitoba moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1999 to pursue my education in Science and Business.  In 2000, while attending University I started running my own business, which I continued to run for seven years.  The next step in my life lead me to working in Radio and TV in Saskatoon, Calgary, Toronto and Los Angeles.  I've always had a love for acting and in 2008 moved to Los Angeles to train at New York Film Academy in Acting for film and has since starred in two feature films.  In 2008 I won the title of Miss Saskatchewan and represented Saskatchewan in the National Pageant, which I also won.  Representing Canada throughout the year was one of my best experiences.  In that time I also wrote two books, worked on three different TV shows, and toured Canada speaking to young women in schools about inner beauty and confidence.  I was not the “typical” beauty queen, and to prove a point I even wore a dress made out of burlap (potato sack) on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards!  After that I was deemed “The Burlap Beauty Queen”.  I believes that the pageant system is a great place for young women to be role modes for their peers and women all around the world.  I've been nominated as a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA in Saskatoon, and is a Celebrity Ambassador for the American Red Cross Santa Monica Chapter

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We had the chance to sit down with Jessica Groeneveld and talk about her amazing career in K1 Slalom kayaking.

 Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I was born and raised in Innisfail Alberta, and attended kindergarden to graduation here. I finished high school a semester early so I could move to Chilliwack, B.C and train full time. I lived there for 2 years. In the Fall of 2008 I moved to Calgary where there was a new High Performance team to train with. I now live in Calgary training full time and attending school at Mount Royal University. Other interests include, Baking/cooking, and spending any extra time with friends and family.

When did you begin paddling?
I first discovered paddling at the Innisfail pool after swimming lessons one day (winter 2000). I told my mom I wanted to try it (I always love to try new things)!   She went and asked the instructor if I could join, and they enrolled me in kayak lessons. In the spring of 2000 I joined the local club and started practicing slalom. Later in the summer I got to attend the Alberta Summer Games in Grand Prairie for paddling; this is where i won my first Gold medal, and decided that I was going to be a kayaker!
What creates your inner drive?
I think that my inner drive comes from my passion for the sport. Kayaking is a very well rounded sport technically, physically, and mentally.  There is always new stuff to learn, and things to improve on. The opportunities that paddling has brought into my life are amazing as well, I have travelled the world and seen many remote areas that are breathtakingly beautiful. To me the perfect day is a sunny warm day on the river.

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