Mine to Discover

Attitude of Gratitude V4#23 - Family

2012-01-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

Any of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time know that I generally include "Family" as one of my first annual gratitude posts. It's one of the few topics that I allow myself to repeat because I truly am grateful for my family. Well, I have to admit, this past November I wasn't exactly grateful for them. In fact I was kind of happy that I was so busy with school because I could avoid the drama. So, with the benefit of hindsight, let's see if I can catch you all up a little bit. First, we'll start with a recap on my family. L-R in the picture is Brittany and Seth (the oldest boy in our family and his fiance, you may remember back in August when I announced their engagement). Next is myself, then Robert and his wife(!, more on that later) Robbie, Dad, Mom and my "baby" brother, Aaron.

Yes, Wife. So Seth and Brittany got engaged in August 2011 and set their wedding date as August 2012. Then in October Robert and Robbie got engaged and decided "hey, since everyone will be in BC for Christmas, let's just get married then!" Great idea right? Well, it kind of blew up on them. Major, MAJOR drama ensued. The most majorest drama that my family has ever seen. Mostly on the case of Seth's part. To say he was livid and hurt would be an understatement. I spent HOURS on the phone with him, and then Mom, and then Brittany and a bit with Robert (who was WAY up north and out of range most of the time). In time it died down and Seth has (thankfully) mostly come to terms with it but I don't think he'll ever really forgive Robert for leapfrogging him to the altar.

So, back in November when I was supposed to be writing this post, I wasn't particularly grateful for my family. Now that Christmas and the wedding have come and gone, and we're all back on speaking terms and the drama is mostly passed down, I can go back to being grateful for them. Even with the drama they are WAY better than most families and I wouldn't trade them. Plus, I really like my new sister-in-laws which is just a bonus!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#22 - Flying

2012-01-27T18:28:00.000-05:00

Another five weeks have passed since my last post. Crazy. So, where do I start? How about where I left off. That seems more manageable. I'm just going to keep going with the gratitude posts and blog little chunks of the past month plus.

I am so glad that I love flying. My choice to live so far from my family means that flying is a fact of life if I want to see them and not spend most of my trip on a bus or in a car. Luckily I really love flying. Yes it has drawbacks but it's so worth it. Just before Christmas I was scheduled to fly out of Pearson International Airport in Toronto at 7am. I did the math and realized that, accounting for weather and traffic, in order to be there on time I would probably have to get up around 3am. Instead my friend Jess drove me out the night before. We went for dinner and she dropped me off at 11pm. I just spent the extra time in the airport with the few people that had layovers. It worked. It wasn't particularly comfortable for napping but it was quiet and I figure I probably wouldn't have slept at home anyway.

The benefit of being up for most of the night is that I got to check in and check my luggage with out waiting in line. Same with going through security, plus, they're a bit more laid back and patient at 4am. I got on the plane just after 7am as scheduled. I found my (window) seat, sat down, buckled up, put my headphones in and my jacket under my head...and the next thing I knew I looked outside the window and this <-- is the sight that greeted me. Mountains. Mountains WEST of Calgary. I had fallen asleep immediately. I didn't hear the safety announcement or I didn't feel the plane move at all. No taxiing, no take off. None of it. So, thanks to my nap, my five hour flight felt like only about 45 minutes!!! It was great! Granted I was a little disappointed because I DO like flying and I had big plans for while I was on the plane (reading, watching movies, etc) and I missed it all. That's okay though :)

This was my plane from Edmonton. Why Edmonton you ask? Well, I'll get to that. For now, I'm going to post this and hope it inspires me to get back to blogging :)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#21 - New Boots

2011-12-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

Last year I got Uggs, well, fake Uggs. Soft Moc ones but I love them. In 2009 I got my red boots. This year I got these gems (apparently new boots is a November tradition :D)

For my birthday my friend Rachel (pictured with me on my birthday below) gave me a gift certificate to the shoe store Spring. I would never have considered that for someone but I think it's brilliant!

I have noticed this style around campus and really liked them. It seemed like everyone I spoke to had gotten their boots at Spring so I made my way over there and found this pair. I love the neutral colour and they are SO soft. They're not snow boots by any stretch of the imagination but they are good for walking to the bus in the rain or on cool dry days when you don't want knee high boots. I usually wear them laced up to the top (like the one on the right) but I have seen lots of people wearing them open (like on the left). I really like the plaid inside too and I wanted you to see that ;)

Yep, I am thankful for new boots!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#20 - A Sense of Humour

2011-12-13T01:04:00.003-05:00

I'm having trouble keeping track of all the people I know who are engaged. This isn't a new problem, I generally have tons of weddings to go to but it seems like recently there's been a bunch more. I can't help but wonder though, if all these people are getting married, why am I still single? Well, let's look at WHO is getting married.

Of the seven weddings I know of that are coming up:
Two of the guys are my brothers
Two of the guys are my cousins
Two of the guys are over ten years younger than me
Two of the guys are gay and marrying each other.

Alrighty then. Let's just forget it :P

Anyway, lately I've really been enjoying Terri Clark's newest single called "The One". It really captures where I am right now.

I hear the whispers as I walk by
They always start with bless her heart
She’s still single and that’s such an empty life
She must not be lookin’ all that hard
They’ve all got their stories of why I’m still alone
But the only truth that matters is my own

I want fireworks to paint the sky
A kiss to burn my lips
I wanna feel the touch that pounds my heart down to my fingertips
And twenty years from now it still won’t be as good as it will ge
It might be a lot to ask for but I won’t take any less
Just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live withI want the one I can’t live without

Momma’s always getting on me
She says I don’t give anyone a chance
But if I can’t feel the music when somebody holds me
How am I supposed to dance
There might be a few more lonely nights
But I’m not keeping score
It’s worth the wait for what I’m waitin’ for

Fireworks to paint the sky
A kiss to burn my lips
I wanna feel the touch that pounds my heart down to my fingertips
And twenty years from now it still won’t be as good as it will get
It might be a lot to ask for but I won’t take any less
Just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live withI want the one I can’t live without

And just because I won’t settle don’t mean I won’t settle down
I don’t need a love that I can live withI want the one I can’t live without
No I can’t live without

So, I'll keep singing, and be grateful that I can laugh about it.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#19 - Christmas Music

2011-12-10T23:21:00.001-05:00

I titled this Christmas Music but really I'm grateful for Christmas music, live music, and great friends who are flexible and open to adventure.

First the music, I have four friends who have joined a celtic fiddle club and they participated in a Christmas concert on Friday night. Granted only one of them plays the violin. The others play flute, clarinet and mandolin. The music was a lot of fun. Lots of good toe tapping fiddle tunes with just enough Christmas standards thrown in to make it feel festive.

My friends Kinsey (left) and Heather (left) joined me. Kinsey had invited us over for a Christmas dinner that she was hosting on Thursday night but I had to work so I suggested dinner on Friday and then invited them both to this concert. It was held in a church in Acton which, with traffic, is well over an hour away (although it was a lot less getting home) so we had dinner and then just visited in the car. They both said that they really enjoyed the show, but for different reasons. Kinsey posted on Facebook: "Had a great time tonight at a Celtic Christmas Concert with Heidi and Heather! All those jigs and reels really made me miss PEI!" Heather said she enjoyed it because she used to be in band and was familiar with some of the music. In any case it was a fun relatively inexpensive night out and we all said we'd be game to do something like that again!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#18 - Good Days

2011-12-07T23:55:00.003-05:00

Today was just an all around good day. Let's see if I can remember all the wonderful things that happened. I guess the big one is that I finished my last paper of the term. I probably could have still worked on it for awhile but it was due at midnight so around 6pm I just decided it was done and submitted it.

I also talked to my landlord. She has been STRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSING out over renting the other room in my basement suite. I can't remember if I've posted about this but the current tenant had decided that she wanted to move because she thought it was too expensive. Well she looked around and realized that it's actually pretty middle of the road (especially considering everything is included, heat, hot water, laundry, parking, internet, tv, etc) Plus she didn't want to deal with the hassle of moving so she's decided to stay. She managed to talk our landlord down on the rent though and since we both pay the same amount, it means my rent will now be $35 cheaper for the next few months. Not a huge savings but every little bit counts right now so I am thankful. Plus this chick is pretty easy to live with so that is nice. My landlord had been considering renting to some of the guys that have inquired and the last person that looked at the place was a guy with a girlfriend so there would have been three of us here. I'd prefer to not live with a strange guy so this really is an answer to prayer.

Let's see, oh yeah, I also managed to change a tutorial I have next term to a better time slot. It was at 10:30am on Monday mornings when my next class isn't until 2:30pm. Now I have it on Wednesday with a bunch of other classes which is much better for my attendance potential.

I also realized that with my current grade in French, if I don't write the final exam AT ALL, I'll still pass the course (not by much, but I'd pass). Of course I will write so it's almost like bonus marks!

And then to end it all, I found out that my friends Angela and Matthew got engaged last night. It was their three year anniversary and the engagement isn't a surprise to anyone but it's still exciting. That makes five weddings for friends and family so far next year. We'll see how many I'm actually able to attend!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#17 - Cookies

2011-12-07T01:03:00.002-05:00

Because what is Christmas without a cookie exchange? I certainly don't NEED a bunch of cookies but they sure taste good! I made Cinnamon Sugar Crispies which have pecans on top. They were kind of small but tasty. I hope everyone liked them! These are the ladies I exchanged with. Sandy, Bev (in front), Ruth and Brenda. In the first picture Ruth was looking at Bev for some reason. In the second we were all tickling each other hence the huge grins LOL I love these ladies, and not only because they make great cookies!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#16 - Twilight

2011-12-06T13:49:00.001-05:00

Heidi's Tips for Enjoying Books that are Turned into Movies

1. don't read the book for at least a year before you see the movie so you don't remember every specific detail and don't get annoyed by minor differences in the plot

2. Set your expectations low

3. Decide that you think the lead actor is cute and is perfect for the part

With these three tips, I can say that I really enjoyed seeing Breaking Dawn on Saturday with my friends Sharlaine (back) and Elizabeth. Sharlaine didn't follow rule number three so she had a hard time with the movie as a whole. Elizabeth didn't follow one or two so she was a bit disappointed as well. For me, I really enjoyed it. It was like seeing old friends and I have to admit, I am wholly back on the Team Emmett bandwagon! ;)

Timing is everything too. This movie focuses on Edward and Bella's wedding and I couldn't help but thinking of my own brother's weddings that are coming up. Seeing Edward, Emmett and Jasper (did he make one?) make speeches just made me think of my brothers. Those guys are like brothers to me anyway, even if I do think they're cute ;)

I am looking forward to the second part of Breaking Dawn even though it contains a lot more "vampire" stuff which I don't enjoy. I am interested to see how it all plays out on screen though. I was discussing the movie with my coworker and was reminded of a blog post I wrote two years ago. It's my stance on Twilight, for the record :)

And, to make this an official "Gratitude" post, I am thankful that I have friends who I can go see them movie with! Sharlaine and Elizabeth were technically on a double date, in that their husbands went to see another movie while they saw Breaking Dawn but they allowed me to join them which I appreciate. It's always fun to see films with people who can appreciate them.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#15 - SS Sisters

2011-12-03T23:24:00.001-05:00

For the past few years I have participated in an ornament exchange on ScrapShare. I received this year's ornaments on Thursday after a very long day. I left that morning at 9am and didn't get back until almost 11:30pm. It was wonderful to be greeted by a lovely package like this.

When we sign up we fill out a brief questionnaire about how you celebrate Christmas, any colours you like, anything you collect, and any ornament that is special for any reason. I said that they're all special but that I like the ones that represent where my SS sister lives.

This year my name was assigned to Amy in VA, aka "greeneyes". She sent two ornaments and a beautiful card. The ball with the H was hand painted by a friend of hers and interestingly very closely resembles an ornament I was eyeing in the bookshop at school earlier that day!

The second one is the town hall in in her town, Vienna, VA as it looked in the 1950's. I immediately Googled it and was tickled to see that the town hall still looks exactly the same (except the trees are a bit bigger). Take a look! Here's the address: 152 Center Street South, Vienna, VA, United States

The ONLY thing wrong with this ornament? Now I want to take a road trip to Vienna, Virginia!!! Thanks Amy! Don't be surprised if I end up in your town some day ;)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#14 - Farmers Markets

2011-12-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

One of the things I loved about living in my apartment in BC was that the local Farmers Market was within walking distance of my apartment. There was nothing better than walking downtown on a sunny Saturday morning and loading up with fresh veggies.

One of the reasons I chose to move to Waterloo, Ontario was that it is close to the little town of St. Jacobs is so close. St. Jacobs has a huge Farmers Market that runs throughout the year on Saturdays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer. Unfortunately between school and work I can't always get out there so this year I was super excited to get involved in the student run Farmers Market on campus! There is a group of students (mostly in Geography interestingly enough) who work together to source local food (not always "organic" but definitely local) and sell it in the Concourse once a week. Local means seasonal so this time of year it's a lot of root vegetables (beets, turnips, sweet potatoes) which I have been having fun eating. They sell each item piece by piece. For example, 25 cents for a potato or apple, 1.25 for broccoli, etc. and focus on small amounts. One of the issues with the bigger Farmers Markets is that you often get massive amounts of food. Like two pounds of green beans or ten apples. Well that is great if you are feeding a family but for a student, on a budget, buying huge amounts of food doesn't make sense because it goes bad before you can eat it. This way you only really have to buy for the week and you can load up again next week!

I was able to volunteer for an hour and a half between classes for about a month and a half. I got off track when I got sick but I'll be back next year for sure. I stopped by the last market booth on Wednesday and they gave me a little bag of chocolates as a thank you which I immediately devoured :)

I look forward to next year and in the mean time, I'll try and take a trip out to St. Jacobs again. It's only about 15 minutes from my house so it makes a nice little trip.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#13 - Christmas Tree

2011-11-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

So apparently my new tradition is to wait until the second year that I'm at a place before I get a tree. That's what happened in my last apartment and that's what has happened here. I can't even really remember why I didn't get a tree last year. No time I think, or ornaments (because I think bulk ones are boring). This year I knew I wanted a small tree so I started shopping in early November. I ended up finding one (for twelve dollars!!!) at Zellars. It's pre-lit with white lights and I added a string of another 200 coloured lights. I still don't have many ornaments because most of them are still packed away in BC but I have collected a few. I have the ones I picked up this summer while travelling and the Starbucks ones from this year and last year. At the top is the one I received in last year's ScrapShare Ornament Swap.
The tree is three feet tall which is just perfect. It sits on a shelf in front of my mirror which makes the lights even brighter. I love having a tree up, especially when it's dark and cold out and I am stuck inside writing papers (or blogging...) and studying.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#12 - Cheeeeeeese

2011-11-27T23:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday, November 19th my friends Grace, Esther and I went over to our friend Jess's place for a sleep over and cheeeeeeese party (and yes, that many e's are necessary :D) We didn't really have any parameters. Just "bring cheese" and look how much we had for four people!!! Esther put together the tray with pickles and sausage and Grace made a spinach dip.

Jess set the table with her cloth napkins and napkin rings and we proceeded to just gorge ourselves on cheeeeeeeeese. It was fabulous :D

The favourites were applewood smoked cheddar, boursin (Grace couldn't get enough of it and even ended up having it for breakfast the next day!) and an English toffee cheese that really tasted more like fudge.
I didn't get any pictures of US. I was too focused on the food :)

It was a blast. We conceived the idea about a month ago when the four of us spontaneously went shopping in Mississauga. After the mall closed we had a light dinner at Panera Bread and then walked through one of the only Whole Foods in Canada. While we were in the deli we joked about doing a cheeeeeese party and it was so fun to actually make it happen!!! The only draw back was that I had an hors d'oeuvre planned as well but I forgot half of it. Oh well, tis the season for parties now. I'm pretty sure I can make it some time soon and who knows, maybe we'll have another cheeeeeeeese party soon too!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#11 - Remembrance Day

2011-11-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

You may remember last year how annoyed I was that I couldn't attend a proper Remembrance Day ceremony because I had class. This year I figured out where the one on campus was held (it helps to be friends with the History Students Association now) and I just skipped my French tutorial in order to attend. It was very nice. Totally student run and quite simple. Barry (top left) the president of the HSA spoke about the student's role in remembering, the president of the Student's Union spoke, a girl who had done a battle fields tour shared a bit about her experience and the Dean of Students not only read "In Flanders Fields" but also gave a bit of the story around when John McCrae wrote it and what it was like for him. Brendan (right) was the MC. He was really nervous but he did a really good job.

We had five of the music students play a couple of selections including "Last Post" (which gave me chills like it normally does) and Amazing Grace. At one point the friend I was sitting beside nuged me and pointed behind us. There were about 100 chairs filled with students and faculty but behind that it was standing room only and it was PACKED. So many people stopping and standing silently was pretty cool.

Afterwards there was a reception on one of the upper levels of the Student Centre. I ended up, somewhat randomly, talking to an older gentleman who turned out to be the past Dean of Students (and now the student centre is named after him). I had heard that he still worked on campus so I was excited to meet him. We chatted for a bit and I learned that he had actually fought for the American's in the Korean War and then went to West Virginia University where he got his degree. He came to Canada in 1968 and has been at the university ever since. I'm pretty sure most of the people in the room didn't realize that he was a veteran so that was cool plus, around campus, he's a living legend so it was extra special.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#10 - drugs

2011-11-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not one to run to drugs at every turn but sometimes they have their place. Last week...nope, that was almost two weeks ago already. Yikes! Anyway, two weeks ago, when my throat was so incredibly sore my friend Tyannah suggested Buckley's Cold and Flu capsules. Woohoo! Those thing are potent! They're also huge. I had a hard time swallowing them but man was it worth it. They work so well! I immediately felt energized after taking them (must have been whatever made them "non-drowsy") and they cleared my throat right up. Of course I'm still coughing but at least my throat doesn't hurt and my energy is back (without drugs). But I recommend those things to anyone!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#9 - Libraries

2011-11-26T17:03:00.003-05:00

I am thankful for libraries. These are some of the books I used for the paper I wrote for my Russian History class called "The Expansion of the Russian Empire into the South Under Catherine the Great". For my other papers I have used a lot of online articles and even some online books which are a neat option. I can access them all through my school library, even when I am off campus which is nice.

I have to admit though, as thankful as I was to have these books as sources, I was EXTRA happy to be able to return them when the paper was done!!! :)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#8 - Heating Pad

2011-11-23T00:03:00.004-05:00

So I got knocked completely off track with this whole challenge. I blame it on a nasty bout with a few different health issues that laid me flat, combined with a brutal essay season and, still, too many hours at work. I am committed to finishing at least 30 though. Even if it takes me till Christmas :)

So, looking back, I am thankful for my electric heating pad. I haven't needed it hardly at all this year since I have a stick skinny roommate who is always freezing. Our basement suite has been much more "normal" this year so I don't have to bundle up just to go to bed. That said, sometimes, nothing beats cuddling with a warm flannel covered square. Especially when it's that time of the month. In the absence of a bathtub, the heating pad really does make everything better :)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#7 - QWERTY Typing

2011-11-10T20:02:00.003-05:00

As I sit here and procrastinate on writing a paper, that I would really like to be finished with, I can't help but be thankful that, when the inspiration strikes, I CAN type, fully, properly. With both hands and without looking at the keyboard. (Although apparently I can't form sentences. That first one is atrocious. Sorry.) I blogged about my Keyboard 11 class memories in 2008 so I won't repeat them. I will say that I am very thankful that I took that class though. When I'm writing a research paper, my method is to retype the relevant sections from my sources. Especially when they are library books that I can't mark up. That would take forever if I was doing the "hunt n' peck" style of typing. I know there are debates going around about teaching kids cursive writing versus keyboarding in school. I think they should get them both. They're both invaluable and I'm grateful that I have both skills.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#6 - A Job I Love

2011-11-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

I originally uploaded these pictures at the end of August but somehow never got around to finishing the entry. The drinks on the left are old news now. They are the Salted Caramel Mocha and Pumpkin Spice Latte. I opened one morning and made them as test beverages. They were so cute and little (they're in short cups) that I had to take a picture. It was around that time that I got this MUG award from our assistant manager. He has since transferred to another store but it was nice to be recognized.

It has been just over a year since my original hire date at Starbucks. Because of my two month hiatus to go to Quebec in May/June, I am considered a "re-hire" but I can still tell people that I've been around for a year. There have been changes, in addition to the ASM moving we also had the manager who hired me move to another store and the original ASM was promoted to manager. It's been a good change. Jon is young, as are most of the partners at this store. In fact, I am actually the oldest! It's a weird feeling. I'm used to being the youngest! Jon does a good job of managing though and, most important for me, he listens. We're kind of understaffed right now, so it makes scheduling difficult. From the day he took on scheduling duties he has been fantastic about not scheduling me at all on Sunday's or Wednesday's (both days I have church or classes and church so there's just no time to work). Recently he's been putting me down for four shifts a week amounting to 24 hours a week. I don't mind working over 20 hours but I need it to be only three shifts a week. I know it doesn't sound like much of a difference but mentally, having two days were I don't have to go in to work at all (not to mention Sunday and Wednesday) does a huge amount for my mental well being.

As for the job itself, I really do enjoy it. I can't see myself doing it for years on end, but I do hope to do it for a few more years. It can be stressful and very physically exhausting but it's such a change from school work that I look forward to going in. Plus it's just a fun place to be :) I am grateful to have a job I love at a company I am passionate about!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#5 - Sleep

2011-11-07T10:12:00.002-05:00

(And yes, I realize this is following a post about pillows ;))

Between work, school and church I typically put in some long days. This last week was a crazy example, and definitely explains why I'm under the weather now.

Sunday morning I went to church and the out for lunch with my friend Jess. Normally I attend the potluck that the church hosts but I knew I needed to get home and do some school work so Sunday evening was relatively quiet.

Monday I was up and at the school by 9:30 in order to meet with one of my profs about one of my papers. I only have one actual class on Monday's (French) so I went to that from 12:30-1:20 and then hit the library for a bit. From there I headed home, ate a late lunch and then got ready and headed out for the church Harvest Party. It was a blast, I posted a bit about it on my first Attitude of Gratitude post. I was home by 11ish that night.

Tuesday morning I opened at work. That means working from 5am to 9:30am and classes from 10-11:30am and 2:30-4pm. You do the math. That's not a lot of sleep. I did manage to go home and get in an hour long nap between classes and then I was in bed around 11pm again.

Wednesday I have classes at 8:30am but, no surprise, I was late by just over a half an hour. I just couldn't get out of bed. Wednesday night I was again at church and then Jess and I went to Tim Horton's (all the local Starbucks close too early ;)) There was a massive crash on the 401 so I had to re-route on the way home and it was close to 1am by the time I got in bed.

Thursday and Friday I left the house around 9am in the morning and didn't return until after work at 11pm. Long. Looooong days. I won't go into details but suffice to say I was pretty much moving non-stop. By the time I finally fell into bed on Friday night I was EXHAUSTED. Thankfully, Saturday morning I was able to sleep in, and I did, till after 11am. When I finally woke up I had a leisurely couple of hours before heading in to work again. Even though I had an eight hour shift I felt a million times better after actually getting some sleep.

Yesterday was Sunday, the first Sunday in the month so we had a late service. That meant that I got to sleep in again. With the time change it wasn't as late as Saturday but it still felt good. Sleep is awesome, and you really, really appreciated it when you don't get it!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#4 - Pillows

2011-11-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

I live in a furnished two bedroom basement suite. The other bedroom is leased to another girl. When I arrived in September 2010, I was first to get here so I got first dibs on rooms. I took the one at the bottom of the stairs mostly because I knew I'd like the location better. The room has a bed, desk, nightstand and two shelving units in in (plus the shelf I bought and a LOT of other stuff). The bed is probably considered an antique. It's just a mattress on a spring base (not a box spring). It's not The Most Comfortable Bed ever but it's not horrible either. The best part though? The pillows. There are four (and two decorative ones) and I love them. Generally I pull the two in shams down along side my body when I'm sleeping and keep my head on one of the other two. It leaves me feeling all cozy and I sleep SO well with them. Even though it's a little thing, today I am grateful for pillows.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#3 - Technology

2011-11-06T10:37:00.001-05:00

Technology. You love to hate it but we're so reliant on it! For example, I just had a conversation with my brother Robert on MSN Video Chat (we usually use Skype but he's in Northern BC right now and doesn't have a great connection. MSN seems to use less bandwidth so it's more reliable). During that conversation I was checking my email and using Facebook to chat with Seth's fiance Brittany about Seth and Robert connecting via MSN. And during THAT I got a BlackBerry Message (BBM) from one of my friends following up on a conversation we had started earlier.

Earlier today I had been texing with my mom and tonight, after checking a few friends' blogs, I am doing my own blogging. Not to mention actually talking to my mom on the phone earlier.

Back "in the day" the phone was the only way of connecting, aside from snail mail. I remember my mom calling her mom and it costing something like 30 cents a minutes. Or maybe more. Something like that. A half hour phone call was around $10 each. Crazy.

So even though technology is a bit of a master, it is very useful and I am, for the most part, thankful for it.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#2 - One Life to Live

2011-11-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about this post, or about making it a Facebook status for awhile but it's never seemed like the right time. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to articulate what I am feeling but I'm going to try.

I am thankful that I only have to live my life.

It's not perfect by any means and there are things I would like to change about it, but in the grand scheme of things, I have it pretty darn good. I hear about other people and the challenges they are facing either with their health, their financial or family situations, or a plethora (heh, I love that word) of other trials and I realize just how blessed I am. I'm not talking about anyone or anything specific here. I could list a tons of people who's shoes I would rather not be in. Maybe it's a sign of getting older. Realizing that the grass really isn't greener on the other side of the fence even when it is kind of brown here :)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#1 - Friends

2011-11-01T22:11:00.007-04:00

Today is November first, again, already. I'd like to try and do the "Attitude of Gratitude" thing again this year (for the fourth time!) I've noticed that people are doing something similar on Facebook but I'm going to keep my posts here because it gives me room to expand on my thoughts if I need/want to.

My first entry is being grateful for friends. I have SO many wonderful people in my life and I am constantly reminded of just how blessed I am. I've been in Ontario for just over a year now and I have developed many amazing friendships but the deepest ones are definitely with Jess and Grace (who dressed as each other for the Harvest Party at church. It was hilarious.)

With them I can totally be myself, be silly, be happy, be sad, be real and they totally support me.

These two are only two of the people I am proud to call friends. Even when we have cookies on our faces :)

By the way, if it's not obvious, I made my costume. I'm the siren/mermaid on the Starbucks logo!

BRB

2011-10-06T13:10:00.003-04:00

Writing papers and studying for midterms (already!)

I'll be back soon, I promise.

Making French Personal

2011-10-03T10:02:00.006-04:00

I figured out a fabulous new way to study French. Actually, I came up with it a few months back but lately I've actually been putting it into practice. It's even better than watching Disney movies in French, which I still do, frequently. So what is it? Reading the bible in French! When I was in Quebec I bought a little New Testament for two bucks from a church that we passed every day (pictured at right). I am now at a point where I am comfortable enough with the language, and with my existing knowledge of how the verses read in English, to muddle my way through. I'm focusing on individual verses right now, although I have passively read full passages. Passively meaning I haven't focused on identifying each word, just the big ones - aka nouns - so I get the general gist of what it's saying. I'm finding that, not only am I practicing my new language and reinforcing both vocabulary and verb tenses but it's also making the words in the bible come alive because I'm examining them so closely. I think if I had, had the option to do this in Latin I would have enjoyed it more.

Here's a great one for practicing relative time - Hebrews 13:8 Jésus Christ est la meme hier, aujourd’hi et pour toujours.

Second "retirement"

2011-10-02T10:38:00.002-04:00

As of yesterday I was officially deactivated as a Creative Memories Consultant, for the second time. My friend Shannon says that if you chose to deactivate (meaning it doesn't happen accidently and you don't intend to go back) then it's considered "retirement". This time around it's kind of misleading though because, even though I was technically a consultant for about 14 months, I didn't actually "work the business". I mostly did it to get cheaper products for me and one friend.

I realized last night that I deactivated exactly six years to the day after the first time I was a consultant. It's hard to believe that it's actually been that long since I was a CMC. So much has happened since. I'm still scrapbooking. I did quite a few pages over the summer but I'm still running about three years behind in my chronological books. It's okay though. School takes priority.

Not much will change now that I'm not a CMC. Because I wasn't actually doing anything with it, no one will see any difference. The only thing that will be noticably absent is the billions of emails in my inbox...hopefully at least :P

It's a good thing I'm not much of a worrier

2011-10-01T18:32:00.002-04:00

I haven't bothered posting any of this saga mostly because I don't really have the time these days but also because it was unresolved for so long that dwelling on it would have made me crazy. Thanks to everyone who DID listen to me as I rode the ride.

So I have a new roommate. I'll try to recap this quickly.

April: When my old never-actually-slept-here roommate moved out, my landlord decided to not re-rent the room. They used it for storage over the summer.

Mid-September: Finances are tight upstairs (for my landlord) so she decided to see if she could find someone to take the room. She posted an ad on Craigslist specifiying "female preferred" but only got replies from guys. She asked my opinion and I expressed my reluctance to live with a strange guy. She understood and agreed but was getting really stressed out. She set up meetings with a few of them and in that time actually got some replies from girls so she brought them in first.

One of the girls moved in last night. I honestly have hardly talked to her and I still haven't figured out how to pronounce her name. She's a PhD student from somewhere in the middle east (Iraq or Iran I think). She seems nice and quiet. It's weird to have someone living here again but I feel like it will work well.

It was a bit stressful going through all the "possibilities" and getting updates all the time but I am thankful for the outcome.

School Update

2011-09-27T12:15:00.001-04:00

So we’re officially twelve days into the new school year. I have four classes again this semester.

French 230 – I get flashbacks to Quebec all the time, which makes sense. That’s where I learned a lot. My prof is kind of annoying. She’s new to this school and still finding her way. Her voice is odd too. Kind of grating and quiet. It’s hard to want to emulate her when you want her to go away. The great thing about that class is my friend Tyanah is in it. She was in French 102 with me and we got along so well. We did a lot of group work together and had a blast. She makes it worth it. I’ve only had one tutorial (a fourth hour of class that focuses more on conversation than teaching grammar). I was late for that class so I don’t actually know the TA’s name but she seems really nice. She’s on exchange from France and very gentle and patient.

North American Studies 201: Transborder Regions – Again I have a prof who is new to the school. She’s a PhD candidate from McGill. The first few days she annoyed me but I’m loving the course material even more than I thought I would so she’s growing on me. This is a required course for my major in North American Studies but it’s really, really interesting. Proof that the double major thing is a good idea. In this class I sit with a girl who was roommates in first year with a girl who was in my Latin class. Mercedes and I bonded over the fact that we were both from BC. Unfortunately after one year she decided to go back to BC. When I walked into 201 Lisa was sitting there and greeted me by name (even though it took me a little while to place who she was). She lived in BC till she was 9 and then moved to Ontario so we have a fair bit in common too. Lisa is also with me in…

North American Studies 211: Canadian Identities and Cultures – (she’s doing the double major in History and North American Studies as well). This class is only once a week, on Wednesday mornings. We’ve only met twice so far but it’s already one of my favourites. It’s taught by the head of the NA department and he’s really fun.

History 205: History of Imperial Russia – I don’t actually have any friends in this class, yet but I’m really enjoying it. Even though I’m doing Canadian History there are breadth requirements and this course qualifies as “pre-modern” (or something like that). It’s very different for me because, while I’m not totally ignorant when it comes to Russia, there is a lot to learn. The prof for this course is fantastic. Knowledgeable and funny. We were all scrambling on the first few days to write down everything on the slides and he quipped “the important stuff (on the slides) is posted online, everything else I just make up”. The research essay for this class scares me but I just need to keep narrowing down my field and getting more sources. I’m sure I’ll be fine.
So that’s the start of this year. I’ll check back in, in December to let you know how it all went :)

I knew it!

2011-08-16T14:41:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I came out of an evening church service and saw that I had missed calls from both my brother Seth. Not totally weird but I don't talk to either of them all that often so it did make me wonder what was up. I even had the conscious thought that Seth may be calling to give me some good news and wondered if I should wait to speak with him before calling Dad. In the end I got a hold of Dad first and he was calling out about something totally different. I spoke with Seth the next day and while he didn't have any "news", he did talk an awful lot about his long time girlfriend Brittany. Like more than usual. I was suspicious but it was really unfounded. Just a gut feeling.

Last Monday I got a text from Seth at 7am his time saying "are you up". I replied about an hour after receiving the message saying "yes, but I'm at work. Call me after 1pm my time". I went back out onto the floor and told my coworker (who is also named Brittany) "my brother just called to tell me that he's engaged. Maybe. I think so at least. Maybe not. I hope so though!" Again, I didn't have any real reason to feel that way.

Seth did call when I was done work and caught me on the bus on my way home. We chatted about about our days (Me having finished work and him heading up to Fort McMurry, Alberta) and then he said "well, she said yes". I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy so I answered "to what question?" and he admitted that he had proposed the night before and Brittany had said yes. My response? (I was off the bus by this time) "I KNEW IT!" LOL

They've been going out for three years now (or maybe four? I forget.) So it wasn't totally unexpected but none of my family has spoken with him specifically about it. I'm so happy for them. I really, really like Brittany and I'm happy to have her for a sister. Now we just have to hope that Seth won't be a groomzilla :P

(Pictures are Brittany and Seth and Brittany and I last Christmas).

Welcome Home

2011-08-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

My friend Jerusha was teaching in London for the first half of the year. She got back at the beginning of August so our friend Jess hosted Sunday lunch in her honour as a "welcome home". At the table L-R is me, Jerusha, our friend Sharlaine who is also from BC and Jerusha's sister Keren.
Jess outdid herself with the meal. We had an incredible fresh salad with a mango/almond puree dressing, baked brie with garlic and focaccia bread with two different dipping options for our first course. The second course was new potatoes, salmon with rosemary and other spices and corn on the cob (which was a little slow to cook so we dug into the salmon and potatoes first).

Sunday was also the day before Sharlaine's 25th birthday so the trifle dessert was in her honour.

It was a wonderful time of hanging out, catching up and mostly just being together. A lovely way to spend a Sunday. We had a late service that day so about 5pm we all packed up and headed up to church. It was great.

Jerusha and our amazing hostess, Jess.

Fun at work

2011-08-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

I closed last Friday and we decided to leave a little "surprise" for our boss who was opening. Brian took every garbage in the store and put them by the espresso machine. Not a big deal and really an easy fix in the morning but it made us giggle.

I asked our manager about it the next day and he just smiled, shrugged and replied "initially I was scared that they were undergoing some weird cleaning procedure so I was happy to find out that they just needed to be moved!"

To "make up" for our minor prank we made sure to make sure the rest of the store was in tip top shape. We even left out aprons for the openers complete with till tags and sharpies.

And lastly, a quick shot of the front of the store as seen from over the pastry case. This was at about 12:30 am just before we locked up.

French Update

2011-08-10T10:21:00.000-04:00

Classes don't start again until September 12th, so over a month still. I am so happy about that. I'm looking forward to going back and I'm excited about my classes but I am not ready yet. I'm still enjoying my summer! That said, there are certain things that have started already, like French Club. We had our first "summer meet up" on the evening of Sunday, July 24th. We met at the school and walked downtown for gelato (which we realize isn't French but all the "French" places were too far away). It was nice. It was a good mix of English and really rusty French but at least we tried.

The following Tuesday was the first meeting of the Directorate of French Club, of which I am one "Directrice". Unfortunately there weren't a lot of other people there so we just discussed what NEEDS to be done and didn't really make any decisions. We did nominate two new people (Kerri and Jeff) as co-presidents though. The person who has been our president for the past few years is just finishing her degree so she won't be around for the full year. The other "senior member" (aka person who has been on the directorate for a year or more) is going to France for half the year so these two are the only other logical candidates. They both decided that they'd take in on in a shared position. We sent the nomination out by email after the meeting and it looks like most people agree.

We met again last Friday and there were a few more people there. We also held the meeting in our regular spot in the Language Lounge at the school and the chair of the French Department joined us for a bit and shared an update from the Departmental level which was great. As of that meeting it looks like I'll be sharing the treasurer position with Kerri because I have a bit of a background in that area. Aka - when the budget worksheet was reviewed I was the only one who's eyes didn't glaze over and didn't freak out. I'm pretty comfortable with that kind of thing so I figure I may as well put my work experience to good use.

We're just working on coordinating schedules for the next meeting but it will be soon. I'm looking forward to it. I enjoy this kind of thing :)

One last "French thing". I met with the French advisor. I do get credit, for my time in Quebec but it's a "Junior" credit. Meaning 100 level which means it won't count towards my French minor. I'm okay with that though. She agreed that I need to take 230 (the next class that I would have taken if I hadn't gone to Quebec, and one that IS required for a minor) and said that I'm probably a lot more prepared for 230 now because there is quite a jump between 102 and 230. I'm happy with that. I'm taking French because I want to know it and want to be able to use it. If she had decided that Quebec equaled 230 I would have been hooped. I NEED the practice. The other good thing is, since I only took four classes each semester last year I'm technically a bit short on credits for my first year so this means I'm not as far behind. And I did GET a credit. Honestly, by about week four in Quebec I didn't really care if I got ANYTHING so this is nice.

So there, that's what's going on for the French side of my life :)

Detroit Tigers

2011-08-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

My friend Mike took a baseball tour this summer. They hit eight cities in twelve days and saw eight baseball games in that time as well as touring the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The second last stop took them to Detroit and since that was the closest to me, and it was an afternoon game, I decided to book Thursday off and join him.

This was my first time going to Detroit. It's super easy in that you just get on the 401 in Ontario and follow it down until it turns into the tunnel border crossing. The tunnel brings you out right in downtown Detroit and from there it's just a few short blocks to Comerica Park.

We met about a half an hour before the game began at the carousel. This is the only photo I got of it though :( I think we were too busy catching up. We grabbed a quick lunch (wraps because it was stinking hot so we wanted something light) and walked around the concourse before finding our seats. Actually, we found my seat which was up about twenty rows and over one section from his. My row was in the shade so we sat there and no one had a problem with it so we stayed there for the whole game.

Mike is a way bigger baseball fan than I am but this was his seventh game in a row so while we did watch the game, neither of us really needed to concentrate that much. He showed me the pictures of the cities he had visited already (Boston, Cooperstown, New York for the Yankees and the Mets, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh.)

During the seventh inning stretch I took this picture of us. I was showing how good my wide angle lens is...you can tell that I'm still not used to it!
After the game we met up with his parents and all went for dinner in "Greektown" (did you know that there's a Greektown in Detroit?) The restaurant we picked was pretty authentic Greek but not what we're used to so it was a bit disappointing (that's what you get for randomly picking a restaurant though). The servers were awesome though. They were RUNNING through the restaurant and flambeing (Is that a word? There's no red line under it.) saganaki, the Greek cheese that is doused with alcohol and then lit on fire. It was HOT and I'm pretty sure I lost some arm hairs. :P It made for a fun "show" though :)
I headed out about 7pm. The line at the border only took about a half an hour but because you're snaking through downtown and because I didn't actually know where the line went, it felt longer. The border guards each way were pretty good. Going down he was a bit suspicious that I drove so far (it's about three hours) just for a ball game so he did check my trunk but on the way back the guy hardly blinked and I was on my way in no time.

I was treated to a soft pretty sunset on the way home and, after getting stuck in a bit of construction, made it home before 11. I used a whole tank of gas going there and back but it was worth the trip.

Pinery Provincial Park

2011-08-06T10:03:00.001-04:00

Monday was a Civic Holiday in Ontario. Meaning lots of people get the day off but it's not actually a statutory holiday (it is in some provinces, BC being one). I only had to work from 8am to 1pm so when Jess mentioned that she was planning on heading to Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron I convinced her to wait around and take me with her. Actually I had volunteered to just drive out and meet her but it's about 1.5 hours from my place and she realized how dumb it would be to take two cars so she waited.

It was a perfectly lovely day. Chili, Jess's standard poodle was with us, which means we were on the dog beach. It was pretty busy but the waves were loud so even though you could see everyone else, you really couldn't hear them. The beach front in that particular spot is pretty narrow as well and backs onto a grassy bluff so there was no one behind or in front of us.

Jess and Chili played Frisbee in the water some but I mostly just sat and read my book. The sun was warm but there was a strong breeze so it wasn't too bad. I wore a cap and sunglasses for most of the day and Jess wore the big floppy hat that you can see in my picture.

She packed a scrumptious picnic salad of mangoes, avocados, and blueberries over organic lettuce along with tuna salad on rice cakes. I haven't had rice cakes in years but they are a perfect summer beach food.

As the sun started to set the beach cleared off and we ended up staying for the whole show. It was so peaceful. In the last picture the sky was almost a rainbow. Redish-orange along the horizon, yellow and a tinge of green moving up and fading into a purple blue. It was gorgeous.

Jess actually lives on Lake Ontario so we walk along the waterfront all the time when I visit. With this visit to Lake Huron I have officially completed #72 on my list (visit all five great lakes) but I look forward to spending much more time at them.

The big three-zero

2011-08-04T00:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday was my birthday. My thirtieth birthday. I'm officially in a new decade. I remember turning ten. I was so excited to be in the double digits. Turning thirty hasn't been all that bad. Not nearly as exciting as ten but nothing to dread. I had a harder time with 23 for sure. Anyway, I think the fact that I had such a wonderful day helped make it easier. My phone was going off constantly all day with Facebook messages, texts and emails. I went to church in the morning and for our weekly potluck afterwards where everyone sang Happy Birthday. In the late afternoon six of my closest friends joined me for a trip into Toronto. We parked at a shopping centre and took the subway into the downtown core. Our destination was the CN Tower which I haven't been to since my visit to Ontario in 2000. I figure once every ten years is good :)

The day was a bit smoggy and slightly overcast so we couldn't see super far but it was decent. They've expanded the glass floor since I was there last. Some people still have a lot of problems with it but I like it :)

This is the group: Jess, Rachel, me, Esther, Grace, Elizabeth and Leasa. Leasa was with me the first time I went to the tower but she didn't actually go up. Rachel and Grace were born and raised in Ontario but this was their first trip to the top!!!

After the tower Leasa and Elizabeth had to head home but the rest of us went out for a light dinner and I got a birthday brownie (with forks so I could share :)) It was close to midnight by the time I got home but it was so worth it. Great friends and great memories make turning thirty a lot better. I look forward to thirty more years of memories :)

Sometimes the best plans are the ones you don't make ahead of time

2011-07-26T22:34:00.004-04:00

Last Friday I had a morning coffee date planned with Laura, a girl I had two classes with in Fall semester and then hardly saw for the last half of the year. We were roommates for the History Students Association trip to Quebec City in January and we got together with a few others from that trip in April but that's been it. I've been meaning to contact her but she beat me to it and we set up a date for Friday morning. We tried out a neat little coffee shop in Cambridge but it turns out it's more of a bike shop than coffee place. That was fine though. We still had a nice conversation. When we had finished our drinks and caught up some we decided to walk up the street a few blocks and check out a second hand book store that she knew of. As we were buying our books (I just got a $3 copy of Little Women) she got a call from her boss saying that it was too slow and he didn't need her to come in that night. That meant that both of us had the rest of the day off! We had been talking about visiting some local historic sites together so we decided to do it. I knew of a place run by Parks Canada in Hamilton (about 30 minutes away) and we decided it would be a good destination. We stopped at Laura's house to drop off her car and have a quick lunch and then headed to Hamilton. It turned out that the place I had in mind is permanently closed. Luckily there was still something to see. In the harbour in Hamilton is the HMCS Haida, "the last of the Tribal Class destroyers which saw heavy action with the Australian, British and Canadian navies during World War II. Built for the Royal Canadian Navy at Newcastle, England, in 1942, this ship served on the frigid Murmansk run and in clearing the English Channel for the Normandy invasion. She helped sink 14 enemy vessels. Haida was recommissioned in 1952 and served two tours of duty with the United Nations in Korea, taking part in shore bombardment, blockades and attacks on trains."

The ship itself was pretty interesting. It was HOT on board though. I mean it was a hot muggy day anyways but on board it was killer, and then we went down into the engine room. Uggh. I guess that's what it would have been like though...when it wasn't covered in ice.

The best part of the day was discovering how compatible Laura and I are when it comes to touring a place like that. We seem to go at the same pace. She reads every plaque just like I do and we both find it interesting. We have plans to do more exploring together and I can't wait!

When we got back to her house I was invited for dinner. It was her parents anniversary and they were having a wonderful bar-b-que dinner to celebrate. Ribs, steak, salmon, potatoes, beans, mixed veggies, it was delicious! So that's how a coffee date turned into a very fun, full day event!

Oh the irony

2011-07-19T19:50:00.004-04:00

I opened at work this morning which meant I need to be there for 5am. Because I had to be up so early and because I was tired I went to bed earlier than normal, somewhere just before 10pm. Unfortunately my landlords were still up and fighting :( For the most part they're great. The fighting (and no bathtub which I really do miss) are the worst things about living here. Not all that bad in the big picture. In order to tune them out I put in my headphones. I have a bible app on my phone (YouVersion) and I recently discovered that some of the translations have an audio track. Whoever it is that reads has an amazing relaxing voice, especially when there are so many angry words coming from upstairs :( I've used it before for this same type of situation or for when I just need to relax and focus on something other than all the stupid stuff that speeds through my head when trying to fall asleep.

Last night I somewhat randomly chose Proverbs 17 and some of the verses made me laugh. I wish I could share them with my landlord but I don't get the feeling that they would be welcomed right now, unfortunately. I wanted to share them with you though :)

1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

Rather ironic passage choice huh?

What's up?

2011-07-18T21:31:00.000-04:00

So, what have I been doing since I got home two weeks ago? Honestly? Not much. It's been great :) I worked briefly last Saturday and then did a six hour shift on the 16th. This week I'm scheduled for 24 hours (four, six hour shifts). I went to a bridal shower, I went to the beach with a friend and her two kids, and I went out for dinner with some school friends. The picture is Kinsey and Heather, who were in my French 102 class, Kinsey's roommate Kirsten and I. Other than that, I've just been hanging out in my air-conditioned basement suite scrapbooking a bit, reading, uploading photos and generally taking it easy.

I did do a bit more genealogy research and figured out that the James Madden on the cemetery marker that I found IS my great-great-great-grandfather. Note to self: don't rely on transcripts done by volunteers. Use your own eyes and you'll see that the date IS 1866 not 1886. Duh. Anyways, I also found a marriage record for James and Amarilla (his second wife) and that lists his parents names (my great-great-great-great-grandparents) which I can in turn cross reference with census records and finally link James to another large family of Maddens that I kept running into. Turns out it's his brother! So the search continues but it's fun.

I've also been watching a lot of movies. My List has "watch all the movies on the AFI Top 100 list" and I'm slowly working through it. I estimate that I have about 72 to go so it will take awhile.

Now it's actually feeling like summer. I know my big trip was "vacation" but now I am actually relaxing and recuperating. Which is good, because school starts again in eight weeks. Eeek!!!

Weddings

2011-07-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

This is the journalling for a scrapbook page I am doing. I'm participating in a "circle journal" style challenge where you do pages in everyone else's books and they all do one in yours. It's with the ladies at church and 15 of us are participating. The theme of this book is weddings, either what yours was or what you dream about having.

Here's what you need to know about me and weddings. I love weddings. I love going to weddings, I love being in weddings, I love everything about them. Since 1998 when my cousins and friends started getting married I have been to close to three dozen weddings. I have officially been part of the bridal party in four. I've been a junior bridesmaid, a candle lighter and a bridesmaid twice. Because of that I have lots of ideas of what I want for my wedding, but nothing very concrete. I used to think that I'd be married by 22 or 23 and back then I though that May would be a good month to be married in. May 5th specifically. Well, many May fifth's have come and gone and no wedding.

Back then I probably had a dress all picked out too but that changes over time. I'm not even sure what material I would want now. I know I want my rings to be yellow gold and for my engagement ring to have a round stone. My best friend Meredith will be my maid of honour and I like the idea of purple or yellow dresses for the bridesmaids but I'm not stuck on that. I don't love roses so I'll probably go with other flowers. I like the really bright bouquets that are in style right now. I definitely want to be married in a church, but I don't know which church. I know that I want my dad to walk me down the aisle and do the whole "who giveth this woman to be married to this man" thing, while I cry :P

I don't know what music I want or what style of reception. I like weddings that are a true reflection of the couple and since I don't know who the other half of my couple is...it's really hard to plan. I want the traditional things like candle lighting, registrar signing, speeches, slide shows, cake cutting and bouquet toss...but don't expect anything if you catch the bouquet. I've caught four. It doesn't work.

That said, if God brings the right man into my life and we end up eloping in Vegas so we can buy a house, that's good too but I'd prefer to share our special day with as many friends and family as possible. And if he doesn't, well, he knows best, so I'll just keep going to weddings and be happy for others while gathering ideas, just in case.

Looking for my roots

2011-07-09T09:42:00.001-04:00

So what do you do when you've just got back from a two week road trip and you don't have to go back to work for another week? Take another road trip!!!

One of the reasons on my very, very long list of Reasons to Move to Ontario was the fact that I know my family originated out here. This is going up my dad's paternal side of the tree. It's the oldest line I have on any of my branches that is still in Canada. Everyone else immigrated within the last 100 years. This one goes back to the mid 1850's and they're still in Ontario. My grandpa is Orville, his dad is Clarence, his dad is Milton and his dad is James. I was looking for James, my great-great-great-grandpa. I didn't find him, and I am in fact more confused than when I left but I DID find James' two wives and his second son Everett.

First, the other thing I found was a detailed history of Milton's wife Eliza Jane Post. It contains over seven thousand names (including my dad). It goes back to her great-great-grandpa Nehemiah Hubble who was a United Empire Loyalist who came from the US to Canada in 1788. It also goes seven generations back from HIM to 1567. I was shaking when I found that. So excited!

Of course that doesn't solve my issues with finding James. So, in the Hubble family history it lists Milton and Eliza Jane and lists Milton's parents as James and Rebecca. That matches what I had from dad's cousin Jean (I've talked about her before in

relation to genealogy). In fact, from her, I have pictures of James and Rebecca. I need to scan them. I'll try and do that. Anyway, so I've confirmed that James and Rebecca are Milton's parents. In the Trenton, ON library (where I took my roadtrip to for my research) they have cemetery listings and Rebecca and James are both listed. Making a long story short, I found the listing and the approximate of where the cemetery is and, after the library closed, I went for a drive.

On the side of Frankford Road in Quinte West, Ontario - a road also known as Hwy 5 which seems to link to the original name of Concession Road 5, is a small cemetery. At one end is this gravestone. The inscription says: Rebecca A. McDonald, wife of James Madden, d. Aug. 16, 1863, aged 24 years, 1 mo. 4 days. My great-great-great grandma.

This confirms both Rebecca and James and the dates jive with everything else I've found. I also know that after Rebecca died James, who had a three year old Milton to care for, remarried. His second wife was Amarilla Scott and together they had a son named Everett. I don't know how long James lived after his marriage to Amarilla but I also know that after he died, she married a Daniel Phillips (confused yet?) LOL

After finding Rebecca's gravesite, I took a chance on finding another cemetery, the one that contained Amarilla's gravestone (as a side note, don't you love that name? Amarilla? Maybe it's just because I recently visited Green Gables in PEI but I love the sound of it.) So I knew there was another cemetery but I didn't know where. I knew it was in the general vicinity because the records said that a lot of families had people buried in both. Unfortunately it's hard to google cemeteries unless they have offices onsite. Anyway, I picked a direction and went for a drive, I came to a fork in the road and went down the one that was called "Ashley" (the cemetery I was looking for was originally the Ashley family plot, seemed like a safe bet). I drove through the little town of Foxboro (it's the Foxboro Cemetery...getting warmer) and sure enough, down a side road I saw monuments. Jackpot! This cemetery was larger than the last one but I had a general idea of where the monument I was looking for was located and it didn't take long to find it. It's an impressive marble structure. I'll spare you pictures of all four sides and just tell you who is there. The main name is Phillips. You've got Daniel Phillips, d. Oct 24, 1893, Amarilla Scott, wife of Daniel Phillips, d. Feb 20, 1916, aged 70 yr. 8 mo., Everett Madden d. 26 1888, aged 23 yr :( and James Madden d. June 6, 1886, aged 32 yr.

I'm confused though. The age for Everett jives with the census data I found listing him Daniel and Amarilla in the area in 1881. Who is the James that's listed her though? If it IS my James, then the math doesn't make sense. 1886 minus 32 years makes him born in 1854 which means he was six when Milton was born. Wrong. Is it another child? Is their math off? Is Amarilla buried with both her first and second husband? I don't know. So, as you can see, I have more searching to do.

After the high of linking back to Milton's wife's family so effortlessly, this other head scratcher is frustrating. By the time I finished my traipsing all over the countryside to cemeteries and then made my way back to Trenton, it was 8pm. It's a three hour drive back to Waterloo and I wanted to do some more work at the library so I found a cheap motel and stayed the night. Friday didn't turn up anything particularly useful although I do have an unverified record of James and Amarilla's marriage which lists the date as February 18, 1864 and lists him as being 30 years old. (This was just in a database, I need to find the actual record and see if I can confirm it somehow). If that is true, and it does make sense in relation to Milton's birthdate, then I'm a bit closer.

Friday I left Trenton around 1:30 and took the long way back. I'm developing a strong dislike for major highways, especially the 401 north of Toronto. I just drove it on my way back from Ottawa last weekend and I drove it to Trenton on Thursday so I wasn't excited about driving it again on Friday. Instead I drove the "old" highway, which winds through the towns along Lake Ontario. On the way I connected with Ashley, my roommate from Chicoutimi and made plans to have dinner at her place in Toronto. It was great to see her again, and not only because she's a fabulous cook and it meant I missed Toronto rush hour :) Her mom was in town so I got to meet her as well.

So, that's what I do when I have time off :) I love summer!!!

Random Memory #7: Summer Reading Programs

2011-07-06T14:42:00.005-04:00

I took these pictures a few years back anticipating a blog post like this.

I was in the library yesterday in the kids section (getting more Disney DVD's to watch in French, currently I'm watching the Little Mermaid) and I overheard the librarian explaining the summer reading program to a young girl. I used to LOVE the summer reading programs they offered in my hometown. I participated every year but I think 1994 was the year I read the most. I remember going back to the library multiple times to get more cards and stickers because I kept using mine up. I read a lot of Babysitters Club that year but a lot of other things as well. The idea was that you set a goal for yourself of minutes of reading a day. I forget exactly what mine was. Probably 15 minutes, 30 and 45 or an hour for gold. I gave myself a lot of golds. I know I read a lot.

The hardest part for me of being in university is not being able to chose what I read. I mean I find the required reading really interesting (thank goodness) but there is SO much that it's hard to fit anything else in without feeling guilty. This last year I w

as reading ALL the time, at home, on the bus, on my fifteen minute breaks at work, but it was all required reading. I don't know if that will change next year but for now, I'm enjoying my summer reading.

I never really understood "summer reading" until now. Reading is something I do all the time and until I was in university I didn't understand how some people could not have the time for reading for pleasure.

I took this picture of the books laying around my room waiting for exams to be over in April. The twilight ones are in there (and I've since added Breaking Dawn as well) because I'm hoping to scrapbook my trip to Forks, WA this summer and while I may not read them cover to cover, I will reference them while scrapbooking. The top two, Little House on the Prairie and Wind in the Willows along with Marley & Me, Like Dandelion Dust and Little Women (not yet acquired) are the selections for the book club back home that I am still an honorary (albeit bad) member of. Since I took this picture I've finished the LM Montgomery and Louis Riel & Gabriel Dumont biographies, all three Starbucks books and World Without End. I've also read two others that weren't in that pile and added at least five more. It's great to have time to read what I chose again!

My List Update

2011-07-04T14:57:00.008-04:00

We're halfway through the year and I just finished an amazing vacation so I think it's time for an update of my list of "Things To Do Before I Die". These are the items I've accomplished so far this year:

#33 Be in Ottawa for Canada Day

#36 Visit the Maritimes (I have tons of pictures but I just picked one. Me at the Louisbourg Light house on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia)

#38 Pour water from the Atlantic ocean into the Pacific (Again, I find it strange that this is FROM the Atlantic TO the Pacific. You'd think I'd have done this the other way around! Anyways, I have now poured water from the Pacific into the Atlantic and collected Atlantic seawater to take back to the West Coast.)

#63 Go white water rafting - I actually forgot this was on the list when I went in Chicoutimi.

#87 Visit all 10 Provincial Legislature Buildings. (I visited four on this trip. PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec, in that order. That means that I've been to eight and still have two left. Those two are Newfoundland and Ontario, but I plan to visit Ontario's before the summer is finished.)

#96 Learn another language - I'm far from being fluent but after spending five weeks immersed in French and signing up for two more courses this next year, I am marking this as complete. Also, when I wrote this list I was toying with the idea of taking a Latin or Greek course. I know it says "learn" another language but I know I just meant "try" one. I've done that with Latin (once was enough) and as I said, I'm continuing to do it with French. That's good enough for me.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

2011-07-02T20:30:00.003-04:00

9 different beds
8 thousand kilometres plus
7 weeks
6 hours - the approximate time it takes to drain a full gas tank - repeated countless times during this trip
5 provinces
4 Provincial Legislature buildings visited
3 hub caps on my car for most of the trip (I lost one early on)
2 royals
1 oil change

Thousands of photos and memories. A trip of a lifetime.

This is a story about second chances

2011-06-28T22:45:00.001-04:00

There were a lot of people taking the course in Chicoutimi. I heard estimates of 250 students at least. We were all students so we had a lot in common and it was easy to talk to everyone (even in French). I met a LOT of people. Obviously I got closer to some than others but in general everyone was really nice. However, there was one guy who just rubbed me wrong from the start. The school was split into classes from 1-6 with one being the highest. Each level then had two or three classes (A, B, C) I placed in 4A and while I admit I did feel out of my depth some days, it wasn’t totally horrible. So one Sunday night Ashley and I met up with a bunch of people at a local billiards place. There was the first time I met “Richard” (pronounced with a really bad French accent. Think Rocket Richard but not, cause he wasn’t that cool.) Another quick aside, at school and during school functions we HAD to speak French. Signed a contract and stuff. On our own time, some people did speak French but a lot just reverted to English. Well the night I met “Richard” he insisted on speaking only in French and then when I stumbled to keep up (this was only the second week) he asked “what class are you in? 6?” Meaning – “you suck, you must be a beginner”. Now maybe I was being sensitive but I found him rude and arrogant. I confirmed with one of my friends later and she had gotten the same vibe. For the rest of our time in Chicoutimi I generally avoided him. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the attitude.

Fast forward to nine days after the program ends. I’ve been on a grand road trip of the Maritimes (hence the lack of blogging. The only times I’ve been online I’ve been uploading photos to Facebook and I’m behind on those). So I pull into Fredericton, New Brunswick around 4:30. I locate my hostel but I can’t check in until after 6 so I drive downtown to get my bearings. Downtown is...well...gridlock would be an exaggeration. It is Fredericton afterall, but it was really busy and traffic was moving very slowly. We’re crawling past the Legislature (which I hope to visit tomorrow before I leave town) and I see what appears to be a tour group. (five or six people but one is obviously doing all the talking). So I decide to take a chance. Instead of sitting in traffic I pull off and parallel park. I put an hour’s worth of coins into the meter and approach the group. They are doing a walking tour of downtown Fredericton. It’s nearing the end and the guy delivering it is just in training but I’m allowed to join.

45 minutes later the tour ends. I chat with the guy who was delivering it and his supervisor for a few minutes and then cross the street to try and go back and locate my car. As I am waiting to cross the street again I hear a tentative “Heidi?” Keep in mind I’ve only been in this province once before and that was last week on my way through to PEI. I’ve never ever been in this city. I turn around and who’s standing there? Richard! Of all the people in the world he is who I meet on a street corner in a random town. He is here visiting his parents, who actually live about 30 minutes out of the city. So we chat a bit (in English and French – the first French I’ve really spoken since leaving Quebec but it is Richard after all) and he ends up walking with me back to my car. At my car I show him a map of where I’ve travelled and then say that I need to head back to the hostel soon. (I had dinner in the car as well so I was planning on eating that) He mentions that he had a ticket to a show by a group that he saw once at his school in Newfoundland and invites me to come. I figured, why not. I don’t really like this guy but at least I “know” him and I have nothing better to do this evening. I did go back to the hostel, had a quick nap and a shower and then met him at this pub in downtown Frederiction. We had a great chat (in English, I think he’s nicer in English) for awhile before the show and then watched the show together. It was really good. Not something I would have ever done on my own but I really enjoyed it. I headed out shortly after it was done because I have another long day tomorrow but now I have a memorable evening to leave with. A random evening what with the tour and running into Richard but memorable. And I’m glad I gave him a second chance.

Halfway

2011-05-31T22:37:00.000-04:00

Today marks the halfway point of the program already. Crazy. I'm trying to upload photos but blogger isn't cooperating so for now I'm just going to type. I left off on the morning of our first Saturday here. That afternoon my roommates, Ashley, Museb and myself went downtown to explore a bit. We ran into Steve (who lives across the street) and his girlfriend Courtney just after we arrived and together we all headed down to a chocolate/ice cream shop that had been recommended to us. We got our ice cream (vanilla soft serve dipped in milk chocolate for me) and Steve and Courtney headed home for dinner. Ashley, Museb and I took advantage of the beautiful day and went for a walk along the river front and about 3/4ths of the way over the foot bridge that connects Chicoutimi to North Chicoutimi. (there is a car bridge that runs parallel) When we came back to the Chicoutimi side we decided we were ready for our first Chicoutimi poutine so we got some at a place by the water. By the time we got back to the shops in downtown most of them were closed so we just came home and worked on homework.

Sunday was a school sponsored trip to Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Clear but not too hot with a nice breeze to keep it cool. Here is where the description would be better with pictures. Anyways, suffice to say it was a lovely day. My new hiking boots were great. I didn't get any blisters but I was VERY tired by the end of the day. We had an early night again.

Monday was a statutory holiday. Victoria Day in the rest of Canada, "Journee national des patriotes" here. I was just happy to have the day off. We ended up having a girls day. Ashley, Victoria and another girl, Beth, who lives one street over, and I went exploring. It was a miserable grey day. Our goal was to drive the 256kms around Lac-St-Jean but we only made it less than a quarter of the way. We stopped when we felt like it at places like a micro-brewery that was actually closed but that we got a brief tour of anyways. At a "fromagerie", a cute little town with a waterfall, and whenever Ashely wanted to take pictures. Just before we got back home we stopped for ice-cream again (you'll notice a recurring theme in these posts: cheese, ice-cream and beer for Ashley and Victoria. We've consumed beaucoup de each.) That evening Ashley and I again met up with a few people at La Tour. We were celebrating our "one week of being in Chicoutimi anniversary" :)

Tuesday morning were classes and in the afternoon my group (4) had our first introduction to "Danse folklorique et chanson Quebecois" The dancing was a lot of fun (it makes me miss square dancing even though it's quite different). The "chanson" unfortunately put me to sleep. It's a lot of really interesting history about the Quebecois music scene presented by the extremely dynamic music "teacher" but it's right after lunch in a dark room and I nodded off a few times.

Wednesday was classes but our teacher was absent. I'm not sure what was going on that week, something personal I think because she seemed close to tears a few times. Wednesday it got the better of her and we had a sub for the day. It was good. We focused on oral activities which I need. That afternoon we had other activities. Everyone is assigned to different things. We were given all the options, asked to rank them according to our preference and then we were placed according to availability. I'm not totally sure how it all works bust some of the choices are: rock climbing, canoeing, gigue and/or gumboot (both forms of Quebecois dance), general sports, media, improve, etc. I'm in gigue, "losir creatif" which is essentially arts and crafts and the choir. Wednesday I had choir and losir creatif. We made cards. Something I'm familiar with but I realized quickly that I didn't know how to say "may I borrow your scissors" in French so it was good for my vocab :)

Wednesday night we had dinner at school again and then the two upper level classes did improve. It didn't contain as much talking as when the animateurs did it the week before but it was still hilariously funny. One of my favourite moments was when they were pretending to give a safari at a "bilingual zoo". One of the people was a cow and on cue she mooed in English "Mooooo" and in French "le mooooo" LOL

Thursday was the full day of classes. In the afternoon for the Quebcois culture part my class had cards with significant events in Quebec history. The teacher read out the year "mille-neuf-cent-quatre-vignt-quinze" or 1995 for example and whoever correctly identified the card first got to read out the event. That one was the latest referendum regarding Quebec soverienty. That night Ashley and I ended up back at La Tour for a bit. She wasn't in to whatever we were served for supper so she wanted a snack. Of course the restaurant in the pub was closed by the time we got there :P

Friday after class instead of taking the mini-bus home, Museb and I joined Steve, Courtney and a bunch of others for lunch at a coffee shop downtown called "Cafe Cambrio". Then Museb and I walked to the car rental place where he picked up a car so he could go back to Montreal for the weekend for a conference. The rest of the weekend was free with no scheduled activities. Friday night along with a bunch of people from school, Ashley and I went back to Cafe Cambrio to the "bar" they have in the basement. I put bar in quotes because while they did have a bar, that wasn't really the feel of the place. They had live music that night, a blues cover band called "ExcaliBlues". They were really good. French guys who mostly sang in English but it was really fun.

Okay, I'm fading. That's another week. I'll fill you in on the rest of the weekend and our other adventures another time. Hopefully with pictures!

Week One

2011-05-21T11:49:00.004-04:00

Hard to believe that a whole week is already done. This post won't have many pictures because I haven't really taken very many yet.

I arrived Sunday around 6:30pm after a fairly uneventful drive. It never fails to amaze me that little towns exist in all sorts of random spots and that people actually live there. When I got to the school, University of Quebec at Chicoutimi or "UQAC" (pronounced you-kack) I was ushered into the "Centre Sociale", the big area on the bottom floor where we start and finish most days. I was given my welcome pack and had my picture taken for my student ID which they printed off right there. Then I waited while my host family was contacted and came to meet me. I spoke with a few other students and some "Animateurs/Animatrices" aka, the hosts.

My host family, Gilles and Nicole, are an older couple. They have three grown children who have six grandkids between them. Nicole babysits two of them, Mayson and Shawna on a regular basis. Shawna is 8 months and adorable. Mayson is three and a little stinker. Cute as anything but really rotten. The frustrating thing is he has a better French vocabulary than I do!!! It's hard to get him to stop doing something stupid (like climbing on the bookshelf) when you don't really have the words to communicate. I think he understands, he just likes to pretend that he doesn't :P

I wasn't expecting it but it turns out I have two colocataires (roommates) from the program. Ashley is my age and Museb is 22. We're a bit of an odd combination but we've totally bonded. We each (obviously) have our own bedrooms and we share a bathroom. We eat breakfast and supper with the family and lunch at school at the cafeteria.

Another student, Steve, lives across the street and Beth lives one street over. The school sends a "minibus" (15 seater passenger van) to pick us up each day along with the other people on our route. Even though I have my car (Ashley and Museb took the bus up here so I'm the only one with a vehicle) I take the minibus as well because it's a great time to chat with the students and animateurs (in of course). Having the car is great though because we're up on a hill and kind of far from anything.

Someone coined the term "Chicouti-mere" and "Chicouti-pere" for our host families. I refer to Ashley as my "Chicouti-soeur" and Museb as my "Chicouti-frere". Since Steve is the only student in his house along with a dog we refer to that as his "Chiciouti-chien" LOL. Basically it's to distinguish from our real parents.

Monday morning we wrote our placement tests at school. Both written and verbal. There are six levels with two or three classes each. Six is for people who haven't been exposed to any French. One is for those who are "advanced" or basically fluent. I'm in 4A. Museb's in 4B (we're still trying to figure out how much of a difference there is, it appears that A might be slightly more advanced than B but I might just like to think that :P) and Ashley's in 5A. She's fluent in Spanish as well as English so a lot of her words (especially the numbers) have Spanish pronunciation but she's awesome and really confident at just trying to speak. It's great. Museb actually lives in Montreal (he's from Toronto) so he's just learned French from hearing it. He's the best at communicating with and understanding our host family.

Monday afternoon we had a walking tour of downtown Chicoutimi, in the cold and the rain. It was a horrible day. Since then it's thankfully cleared up which has been great. For that evening we heard that people were going to a pub called "La Tour a Biere" it turned out that close to 50 students were there and we had a great time getting to know people from all over the country and celebrating our last night of speaking French.

Tuesday we were assigned to our classes and met our teachers. We had the afternoon free so Ashley, Museb and I picked up Victoria, another girl on our minibus route, and went to the mall. I forgot my hiking shoes at home so I had to buy a new pair. Tuesday night we went to bed pretty early which we needed after our late night on Monday and trying to speak French all day on Tuesday.

Wednesday was our first full day of class. My teacher is great. She's Quebecois and really big on proper pronunciation but we have a lot of fun with it. This week has been a lot of review but somehow I feel like this time around it's actually sinking in. It's great. We've had people leave our class to go down a level and to go up but I feel like I'm really in the right place. I understand the teacher for the most part but I still feel challenged by the coursework.

Wednesday night the Canucks played the Sharks so we went out to the "Bistro" across from the school. It was $2 beer night so the place was pretty packed. They have a project screen so it was a great way to watch the game, and again talk to people. Pretty much everyone is a student back home so we all have a lot in common and lots to talk about.

Thursday was class all day. Usually we just have class in the mornings and activities in the afternoon but Thursday's we have "culture" classes in the afternoons. This week in my class we made posters advertising a local tourist attraction. My group did one for a bike trek around Lac St. Jean. Others in our class did Nouvelle France and La Pulperie de Chicoutimi both of which we'ell be visiting in the next few weeks. La Pulperie is at the bottom of the hill that we live on as well and we pass it every day. I'm looking forward to visiting.

Thursday was another relatively early night. Ashley and Museb actually went over to Steve's (he has a pool table and a hot tub) but I was having an allergy attack so I just stayed home.

Friday was class in the morning and activities in the afternoon. Group 4 actually had a free afternoon so I just worked on homework and there is a LOT of it. It's great exercise but it takes awhile. I want to make sure that I stay on top of it so I get the best experience out of this.

Friday night was our "Soiree Bienvenue" at the school. They transformed the "Centre Sociale" into a night club complete with a bar and we partied there till about midnight when we moved over to La Tour again. I was home around 1am and slept in today.

Tomorrow we go for a day trip to Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay. And now you're up to date! It's been really busy but really fun.

My day in Ottawa

2011-05-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

What a wet miserable day!!! Yesterday was muggy and hot. During the night it finally started raining and today it didn't stop. It was warm though so I didn't have to dress up and I just made do with wet feet. Despite the rain I managed to cover a fair bit of ground. My main stops were the Parliament Building and the Canadian Museum of War. I also went over to the Museum of Civilization (which is across the river in Gatineau, Quebec) but only to watch an IMAX show. I finished my wanderings at Chapters where I picked up a better French dictionary (I bought one in Quebec City in January but it's intended for French speaking people so it's hard to use) and a verb book.

I called my parents when I got back to the hostel and Dad asked if Ottawa is what I expected. It's an interesting question. I found when I was in Washington, DC that, while I didn't know where things were located, I recognized most of the buildings and monuments. Here (in my own country, ironically) I really only recognize the Parliament Building, and only the Centre Block at that. Everything else has been all new.

Spring is here so there are lots of pretty flowers around to enjoy and since Ottawa is right on the river, it's a very pretty city. Even if it is overcast. There is so much to see here and it was a nice break before starting school on Monday (I have to keep saying that so I don't forget that's what this is all about!) It's been interesting to be right on the border of Ontario and Quebec as well. Most of the tour guides here are bilingual and many of the people in the shops. I keep rehearsing French in my head but when I talk it's all English. It's very annoying. I suppose it's a confidence issue. And the fact that I'm obviously Anglophone. Hopefully when I'm in a community where they don't SPEAK English, I'll use more French. That's the goal anyways.

Friday the 13th Road Trips

2011-05-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

April 13, 2007 I was dodging tornadoes on my way between San Antonio and Dallas, Texas.

May 13, 2011 on a beautiful day I drove from Waterloo to Ottawa, Ontario.

Gotta love Friday the 13th road trips!!!

The drive itself was rather uneventful. I drank a lot, I stopped for a lot of bathroom breaks. I listened to music and day dreamed. I took a twenty minute nap in a parking lot in a town called Smith Falls and woke up so sweaty that it took me an hour to cool down properly. I still felt gross when I arrived in Ottawa and after climbing the six flights of stairs up to my room I had a sponge bath too cool down. I was going to take a full shower but I didn't really have the time.

My hostel was recommended by the trip coordinator from the History Students Association. The same guy who planned our Quebec City trip in January. The HSA has stayed here in previous years and enjoyed it so I knew it would be good. It took a different route up than what is typically suggested by Google Maps and it wound through the country. Rather unspectacular scenery but pretty in the fresh springness. There was very little traffic that way as well which was nice.

Arriving in Ottawa I hit rush hour/construction so by the time I finally found the hostel and parked I admit I was a bit rattled. After being lulled by quiet country roads all day the bustle of the city was a bit nuts. After my aforementioned sponge bath, I took a quick walk over to the Parliament Buildings just to check them out. I intend to take a full tour tomorrow. I wanted to be back at the hostel for 7pm when the tour started here.

I've uploaded all the photos to Facebook. Is anyone here not a friend of mine there? Because frankly I'm tired right now :P I may double up some posts (like the ones from last weekend) but to me the blog is for the narrative of my activities. Posting pictures is separate. I have a lot of people on Facebook who don't read my blog. Or I don't know if they do. I'm okay with that. I've said all along, I blog for me...and for scrapbooking. I've chosen not to tell people about my blog so I can be more open with what I put here. What I upload to Facebook I know everyone and their dog (yes I have dogs as friends :P) will see it and that's okay too. Anyways, I guess I'm ending this post on a bit of a philosophical note. I want to try and do more blogging because I like having the record and Facebook doesn't always cut it. I need to find a balance so I'm not spending hours on both though. If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know :)

Grand Haven

2011-05-13T21:20:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to drive out to Lake Michigan. It's on my list to see all five great lakes and since we were only about 45 minutes away, this was a good time to see Michigan.

First though we started the day with my first visit to Panera Bread. There are rumours that it is coming to Canada. We'll see. I hope it does. It was delicious! Speaking of firsts, I also got my first piece of Vera Bradley! Diane gave me the ID case in Mediterranean Blue which just happens to fit my BlackBerry perfectly. I love it!

We weren't at the lake all that long. Just enough time to walk along the waters edge to the pier down to the end and back. Still, in that time we both came home sporting rosy arms and cheeks.

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining warmly and the sand was almost hot but the breeze kept us cool. We took our time walking and chatting and just being together again. It's been too long!

We stopped at Starbucks for Frappy Hour on the way out of town and then at the grocery store. When we got back to the house Jim bar-b-qued hamburgers and we had a lovely dinner.

Monday Diane had to work so I slept in a bit and left around 9. I hit Target on my way out of town and found a really cute pair of sandals. All in all a successful weekend :)

Kenny Chesney 2011

2011-05-13T21:03:00.003-04:00

I could have sworn I posted this but it's not showing up so I'm going to try again. Sorry if it's a repost.

This weekend I finally made it over to Michigan to see Diane. Being able to do this of course is one of the reasons I moved to Ontario. I feel like now that school is over, I can do the things on my list! Diane and I have always wanted to attend a Kenny Chesney concert together...after all, he's the reason we're friends. Kenny played Grand Rapids on Saturday night (his first show here since 2008) and we went together. Uncle Cracker opened the show and I really enjoyed his set. I don't know very many of his songs but it was fun to listen to him sing in his home state. Of course he did do "Smile" which I love so that was enough for me :) He also did a fun cover of Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" which he prefaced with a story about how when he was eight or so, you couldn't tell him that he WASN'T Rogers :) And then how a few years ago he actually got a call from Rogers himself, but he hung up on him LOL. This was my first time seeing Billy Currington in concert. It was alright. He's not my favourite singer by far but he is easy on the eyes ;) He sang most of his singles and a few new tracks. For "People Are Crazy" he changed the line to "women are crazy" which got a big cheer from the crowd. He sang Must Be Doin' Something Right, That's how Country Boys Roll, Pretty Good at Drinking Beer, Good Directions (my personal favourite of his) and a few others including a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" We had floor seats in the third section back so it was easy to go up closer to the stage to get a closer shot. Between sets we had a lady behind us take this picture of Diane and I. At one point Kenny said “I believe music is the most powerful thing in the world. It can take you back to a certain place in your life like nothing else.” That is a theme he often visits with his music but I have to admit, I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this concert took me on. I was telling Diane afterwards that I've been a fan of Kenny's for awhile, starting in earnest after she and I started talking. Each of his songs literally took me "back". Back to Pennsylvania in 2005 when we were riding around through Amish country in The Barge and all I wanted was Starbucks and a Walmart where I could pick up "The Road and the Radio". Back to that night in December 2005 when Diane and I met for the first time and got lost in Seattle. Back to 2006 when Erin picked me up from Dulles airport and our first stop was Target for LIVE. Back to working in various offices. Back to certain times, people and situations. To my trip out here and looking forward. It was amazing. Very emotional. The rather drunk guy beside me was a little worried when I sat down during a few of the slow songs but I needed to collect myself!!! As I had predicted, he opened with "Live a Little" and then worked through Hemingway's Whiskey, Somewhere with You, Never Wanted Nothing More, Everybody Wants to go to Heaven, Out Last Night, Beer in Mexico, Anything But Mine, Young, Big Star and more. During "Living in Fast Forward" I reached over and gave Diane a big hug when he sang the verse: My friends all grew up and they settled down Nice little houses on the outskirts o’ town They work in their office And drive SUVs They pray for their babies And they worry ‘bout me He ended with "Summertime" which he brought Uncle Kracker back to duet on and then they did a cover of David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name". The final song was "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" which Billy Currington came out to help him with. The encore was "Boys of Fall" and clips of the documentary were playing while he signed things from the stage.

Quebec

2011-05-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! Final French marks are up. I pulled a B- over all. Not bad considering I failed the first midterm [insert blushing smilie here] That makes me feel beter.

Actually I basically improved over all.

First Semester
Latin C
Geography A-
Canadian History B
North American A

Second Semester
French B-
Medieval History B-
Canadian History A-
North American A+ (!)

It should be noted that my second semster North American Studies class was a second year course as well. So not only did I bring up my grade from my first semseter NA class but I got an A+ on a second year course when I am just a first year student. Yeah me!

I'm really, really happy with that. Even with the learning curve of first semester, second seemed harder in a lot of ways and I didn't think I'd do that well. I'm glad to see that I was wrong.

So, French. The course I completed was "Introductory French 102" I was technically over qualified for the course and definitely not allowed into 101 because I have grade 11 high school French. However I contacted the course advisor and explained that grade 11 was over 10 years ago so they let me take 102 this year. As you know I was also part of the French club which helped a lot with my comprehension levels.

(forgive me if I've blogged any of this before. I'm going to launch into my little "30 second commercial" so that anyone who doesn't know, gets a better picture of why I'm doing what I am doing. I feel like I have said this a million times to people but I doubt I've blogged it so here it goes)

My goal after school is to get a job with Parks Canada or a similar organization. I'd like to work in a National Historic Site, or any historic site, preferably as a costumed interpreter...at least to start. Every SINGLE person I have mentioned that goal to always asks "how's your French"? Basically, to work for in tourism for a federal agency in Canada French is a huge bonus. Now I like French and I would love to speak it more fluently so it is something I'd want to do anyway.

Because Canada has two official languages, English and French, the federal government has designed a "Five-Week French-Language Bursary Program". They describe the opportunity as: "Discover another region of Canada while learning French. Enjoy five weeks of learning and adventure, friendship and discovery!" Program is called My Explore or, "Explore" and the official website is here: Explore Sessions run in the spring and summer at a variety of campuses around the country. You select the campus and time frame, apply for three and they see what they can do for you.

I spoke with many people (at historic sites during my trip to ON, fellow students and French Club members and professors) and they ALL suggested being outside the big cities (like Montreal and Quebec City) because they are too used to tourists there and it will be difficult to practice French when out and about. My top three choices were Chicoutimi, QC, Saint Anne's in Nova Scotia (where you also can't practice French but apparently it's beautiful and I really want to go to NS) and Trois-Pistoles, QC. The three I selected also offere university credits, accomodation with a host family and spring sessions (mid-May to mid-June).

As you know, I was awarded my first choice, Chicoutimi! I know of at least four other students at my school who were wait listed for the program (and from what I've heard, haven't been admitted) so I consider myself VERY lucky.

The course is five days a week for five weeks. You're in class every morning as well as Thursday afternoons and doing group cultural activities, in the remaining afternoons and evenings. It will be very busy (and exhausting because it's all in French) but good. There's also a "three strikes and you're out" policy. If you are caught speaking English three times you can be sent home. Now obviously if you're just trying to work out French words and you're giving the English equivilant, that's find but if you're just speaking English instead of French? That's a no-no. It's meant to encourage the use of and development of your lanugage skills. I think it's great.

Chicoutimi is about a 12 hour drive from Waterloo which is doable in one day, but boring. I have to be there on Sunday, May 15th so I decided to leave two days early and spent a bit of time in Ottawa on the way. Ottawa is about halfway and another place I've always wanted to visit. Two nights and one full day won't be nearly enough time but it will help me get a bit of a feel for the city.

So, there, that's what "Quebec" is all about. My goal while I'm there is not only to further my understanding of the language but to also imerse myself in the cultural side of things. The French classes I'll be taking in the coming years at school have a large component of French culture. My Canadian History and North American Studies classes all talk about Quebec-as-a-region-of-Canada extensively and I feel that I'll have a better understanding of what they are teaching after being there for awhile. It's fine to learn from an English Canada - text book point of view, but it's not the full picture.

Next year I will be applying for summer jobs in my chosen field and by listing "Explore" on my resume, I know it will float it higher to the top of the stack.

I'll do my best to keep you updated on my progress when I am there :)

Reflection on First Year

2011-04-21T22:28:00.000-04:00

One down, several to go. In some ways it felt like it would never be over, and now my first year of university is complete.
8 months
8 classes
8 final exams
8 midterms (which is weird because two classes didn't have midterms but two had two so it still comes to eight)
7 papers
6 different profs
countless new friends and memories.

I'm tired. Mentally and physically exhausted. I am already enjoying the break. Enjoying being able to read what I want and watch what I want or just hang out online or with friends without feeling guilty because I have readings to do or papers to write. I leave for Quebec in three weeks and that will school as well but different. I'm also looking at the classes I want to take next year so even though I've only just finished this year, I'm getting excited for September. Still, I'm glad it's four months away.

I'm excited for Quebec and all that will hold (by the way, if any of my readers don't know what I'm referring to, please comment and I'll recap it) but I'm really, really looking forward to July and August when I'm back home in Waterloo and able to explore more. Between now and when I leave I am working a fair bit, which is nice. I need the money. It's tiring too though. Especially the eight hour days. Starbucks is very physical and I come home very tired each night. I am enjoying that as well though.

But this is supposed to be a post about my first year, not what's coming. So what did I take?
Latin 101
French 102
Geography 102 (Intro to Human Geography)
History 102 (Middle Ages 1100-1350AD)
History 111 (Canada Before Confederation)
History 112 (Canada After Confederation)
North American Studies 101 (Intro to NA Studies)
North American Studies 202 (Narrative, Place and Identity)

I am a declared History Major. I've really, really enjoyed the North American courses though so I actually recently changed it to a double major in History and North America with the Canadian focus. I'm meeting with the NA advisor next week to make sure that I'm on track but for now that's the way I want to go. I'm also considering a minor in French. My time in Quebec will really help me increase my knowledge and I can make a better decision after that. It compliments my other courses and will really help with future job opportunities though so I'd really like to continue with it.

I've learned a few things this year about taking languages. (this is the reflection part of this post) For History and NA all I had to do was keep up with the readings, attend lectures and write papers. For languages a lot more practice is required. Showing up isn't enough and I know I didn't put enough effort into it. My plan next year is to engage with the prof a lot more. They have office hours, I plan to use them to help me establish proper study habits. The biggest reason I procrastinate on anything is if I don't understand or don't know how to approach something. I know that about myself yet I let the year slip by without really doing anything about it. I did a bit for Latin near the end but it was too little too late. Even with my time in Quebec I intend to work on this.

As for how to do better with my other classes, getting and reading books or research documents earlier will really help. Other than that, I have room for improvement on study skills but I know I did even better second semester than first. Mostly I just want to have fun again and enjoy the ride, cause what a ride it is!

Wednesdays

2011-04-17T23:06:00.002-04:00

Last semester Monday's were my favourite day of the week. This time around it was Wednesday's. They were pretty busy. I had French, Medieval History and Canadian History all back to back. Then I had an hour break and my Canadian History Tutorial. After that I headed home for a few hours before going to church. I also had Thursday's off. You'd think Thursday's would be my favourite day but I really did like being in class and knowing that I had a whole day off the next day. Thursday's I often worked so how good a day it was varied. Wednesday's were like a fake Friday but I wasn't as tired as I was by Friday. This week I'm looking forward to Wednesday because I will be entirely done my first year of university. I have three exams between now and then but I am really just ready to be done. Wednesday I will be. That's all I care about right now.

Rebellion or Destiny?

2011-03-26T10:40:00.005-04:00

Picture this. It's near the end of the year, grade nine. I'm in sewing class (Room 222!) talking wiht friends. The last dance of the year is coming up. I've asked my parents if I can go and, not unexpectedly, they said no. I'm lamenting this to my friends and somehow in the course of our conversation the concept of the extra-curricular Student Leadership class comes up. They're taking sign-ups in the main hall right now and they host the dances. If I joined Student Leadership I'd have to go to the dances! I'd be "working". Sweet! Iget permission to go to the "bathroom" and go immediately and sign up.

I was very active in Student Leadership (and yes, attended my share of dances which got old *really* fast) for grades ten and eleven. In grade twelve I was getting lazy and didn't want to have to be at the school for 7:15 am anymore so I didn't sign up. My teacher called me during the summer to convince me that he wanted my name on the list even if I didn't attend all the morning meetings. (Free credits! Sweet!) That year he also took me along with a few other kids to two separate leadership conferences. The provincial one at Silver Star and a local valley one.

Since then I've been on multiple committees and boards including my most recent appointment, as a "Directrice" of the French Club for the 2011/12 year. And it all started with "tricking" my parents into letting me to go a silly high school dance.

15 Places

2011-03-24T14:02:00.002-04:00

My friend Erin shared this article on Facebook: 15 places kids Should see by age 15
Click the link for the full article. I'm almost twice their suggested age of 15 (and a Canadian to boot) but of the 15, I have only seen four of the places on the list. I am interested to see how many more of these places I'll be able to knock off my list in the coming years. Numbers 3, 4, 7, 13 are near the top.

Grand Canyon - Arizona
Redwood National Park - California
Monticello - Virginia
The Freedom Trail - Massachusetts
Niagara Falls - New York
The National Mall - Washington, D.C.
Williamsburg - Virginia
Walt Disney World Resort - Florida
Independence Hall - Pennsylvania
Alcatraz Island - California
Ellis Island - New York
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
Fenway Park - Massachusetts
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve - Idaho
San Diego Zoo - California

Not the "Change" I had in mind

2011-03-23T21:46:00.005-04:00

I moved to Ontario because I wanted a "change". Today it snowed more than five inches (and it's still falling) plus it's really windy and blowing the cold wet snow everywhere. It's one of the most miserable cold weather days we've had since I arrived...and it's March 23rd.

This is NOT the "change" I had in mind.

I get that the weather here is different than in BC but this is getting ridiculous. Spring was here. The geese were all back, the snow was all melted, the mittens and gloves were put away and BAM! Yi yi yi!

Good thing I don't have to go anywhere until 5pm when I work, and for that I can catch the bus. Hopefully the wind will have stopped by then. In any case, getting to the bus stop is better than digging my car out again.

Le Salon Gastronomique

2011-03-21T18:04:00.000-04:00

Our latest homework assignment for French Class was to pic a country, find a recipe typical of that country or region, prepare it and present it at the "Salon Gastronomique" on Friday afternoon.

I did my last project with a girl named Tyanah and we paired up again for this one. She decided that we should do dessert crepes. I admit the concept scared me but she was so confident that I just agreed to go along with it. Her mom jumped on board big time as well. Mrs. T, with Tyanah's help, ended up making almost 100 mini crepes (about 5" in diameter), cutting up tons of fruit and providing us with all sorts of syrups and toppings (icing sugar, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, syrup, and the ever popular nutella). Tyanah even borrowed soccer jerseys from her brother so we could be wearing a "costume" from France.

My help came in with assembling the poster. Tyanah came over to my place with some poster board and we used my scrapbooking supplies to create a pretty awesome looking poster. I freehanded the outline of the Eiffel Tower and cut "Paris, France" out using my Sizzix. Then we printed all the other requirements (map, recipe, history of the food, pictures of famous monuments) and matted them on cranberry paper. I think it turned out pretty darn good.

The day of the Salon, our booth was one of the most popular. Lots of peole had two or three crepes, and we STILL had leftovers! The diversity of food there was incredible. It was supposed to be French speaking countries. A short list includes: Switzerland, Morroco, Madagascar, Tahiti, Some-island-that-Survior-was-on...Vatanu?, Quebec, Canada, other regions of France like Breton (they made the most yummy cookies) and so many others.

My friends Kinsey and Heather made to-die-for truffles.

Maria and Heather dressed up as French maids.

When we first got the assignment it seemed daunting but in the end it turned out to be really fun and I think we all did really, really well on it :)

This IS my home now

2011-03-20T21:40:00.002-04:00

As the school year draws to a close I find I'm getting lots of enquiries about my summer plans. I wish I could tell people what they are, but that's another post. The big question though is if I'm going "home" to BC. No, this (Ontario) IS my home now. Most people don't realize that the idea of moving came WELL before school. They think I moved here to go to school. It's an easy mistake. The thing is, I didn't. I moved here because I want to live here. I have so many things to see and do in my new province. Now that the weather is getting warmer, and when school is over, I'll be able to get out and see those things. Even if I'm working. At least I won't be stuck at home doing homework and writing papers.

And I don't have a "home" to go to. I know I'd be welcomed at my parents if I really wanted to but I'm not about to make the reverse road trip this soon and I'd go crazy without a car. The home I had (my apartment) is no longer mine. I gave it up when I moved.

Even though BC will always be my "back home", Ontario is my home now, for now. For better or for worse.

Apparently God is British

2011-03-16T20:45:00.002-04:00

I have a few different radio stations that I listen to regularly. If I am home during the week, at 7pm, the local Christian station plays "Adventures in Odyssey", a children's show I used to love. Now it provides a nice break in the middle of an evening of studying. Depending on the night (I haven't listened enough to figure out the exact schedule) different shows follow Odyssey. One is an older gentleman who plays a collection of what he terms "music for the soul". Old hymns, new ones, old ones re-done, lots of music from Salvation Army bands and a few marches here and there. He also plays clips of audio scripture. Right now the excerpt is from the book of Exodus where Moses is talking with God on Mount Sinai and getting the ten commandments. It makes me giggle because the guy who plays "God" has this big booming, authoritarian sounding voice...and a British accent! Apparently God is British. Who knew?

Waiting for the slam

2011-03-14T19:40:00.000-04:00

I was listening to Keith Urban's song "But for the Grace of God" today. It's kind of scary how exactly like my life these lyrics are. Sad too.

I can hear the neighbors
They're arguin' again
And there hasn't been peace on our street
Since who knows when
I don't mean to listen in
But the shoutin' is so loud
I turn up the radio to drown it out
And silently I say a little prayer

But for the grace of God go I
I must've been born a lucky guy
Heaven only knows how I've been blessed
With the gift of you love
And I look around and all I see
Is your happiness embracing me
Oh Lord I'd be lost
But for the grace of God

It's not neighbours, it's my landlord and her on again, off again boyfriend. They were off, for good, a few weeks ago and we had peace for a bit. She's told him that he can stay until he finishes school in May though. That means that they're "trying to work it out". Today it all blew up again. There's nothing quite like waking up to angry shouting :(

They go through periods of not talking to each other (my favourite) and getting mad over every little thing. It's amazing how angry words can make you feel even when you're not involved in the situation. I have a new appreciation for any child who survived the divorce of their parents. My parents fought occasionally but not like this couple, and not with the swearing. Usually when it blew up with my parents it would end fairly quickly with a slam of the door as Dad left to go cool off. He'd go for a walk or a drive and then come back and they'd work it out. The people upstairs just stay and fight. I wish one of them would leave! I'm not saying it's a good way to deal with conflict but it would sure make the house a lot quieter.

Usually, like today, as the song says, I "I turn up the radio to drown [the shouting] out". Sometimes I leave the house. The other day they got into it a while before I had to leave for work so I grabbed one of the books I'm reading for class and headed out early. Dad called just as I pulled in and I told him what was going on. I told him "I liked the way you handled it better" which made him laugh a bit.

By the grace of God a bit of yelling is all I had to witness as a kid (which is healthy, no one gets along ALL the time) and now. I'm so thankful that there's no physical violence :( I can still pray that the shouting will stop though. Or that someone will just leave!

Version Francaise Incluse

2011-03-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE Disney fan. Well, Disney movie fan. I have yet to make it to the mecca of Disney fans (Disneyland/world) but I love watching the full length animated movies. Before I moved, while I was packing, I watched almost every Disney movie my parents own (and that was a lot). Recently I started visiting the kids section of the library (where I get 98% of my movies anyways, the library, not the kids section) and started renting Disney DVD's. I've seen them all many times so for the most part I just have them on in the background while I'm studying or scrapbooking.

Lately, to make them really interesting, I've been switching the language track to French! I know these movies by heart so I know what they're supposed to be saying, but the French version is great. It's not just dubbed either. It's totally redone, songs and everything. You think the Cheshire Cat is trippy in English? Try him in French! Or Jafar from Aladdin? (which I'm watching right now) He's sinister in English but down right scary in French. It's great! So far I've watched (in French) Sword in the Stone (my favourite Disney movie next to Beauty and the Beast), Fox and the Hound, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and now Aladdin.

C'est bonne!

Winter Walk

2011-03-03T15:28:00.003-05:00

I walked home from the school today. I didn't technically have to go but one of my profs invited me to a guest lecture on border issues so I thought I'd go. I don't have classes on Thursdays so I'm not usually at the school but it meant that I had lots of time to walk home after the lecture. It's still cold outside but the wind died down today so it wasn't as bad as it has been. I did bundle up (winter coat, boots, mittens, scarf, ear muffs) and I was fine. I can't wait to walk without all the layers though! Walking takes me around 40 minutes. I did it a lot last fall. I look forward to doing it more as the weather warms up now.

I broke my bra

2011-03-02T23:36:00.002-05:00

How does that happen? I'm not talking about underwires popping out the end. That happens. I get it. But this one? The underwire actually snapped, mid cup. How??? And the most annoying part? It's my only light coloured bra. Which means I can't wear light coloured shirts until I get a new one (because I refuse to wear a dark bra under a white shirt. I just don't get that look. Sorry.) AND these bras are only available in the States. I've got to find out if Lane Bryant ships to Canada. That or it's another trip to Buffalo in the very near future. The good news is it's still freaking cold outside so I'm wearing lots of layers and dark colours, but Spring *IS* coming (or so I've been promised) so I NEED a light coloured bra. Preferably sooner rather than later.

Thanks Miriam. I needed that.

2011-02-25T22:37:00.000-05:00

My cousin has been posting a series of questions on her Facebook page and I in turn have shared some on SS. One of them was:

If you could give your teenage self advice on a particular situation that happened in your life, what would it be? I'm looking for less "Life will get better" answers and rather things like, "start wearing deodorant earlier" or "don't sleep with the entire football team."

My friend Miriam reposted a blog entry that she wrote a few years back. I remember reading that entry then but this part really jumped out at me today:

The best thing you can do for yourself is to get out of that town. Look around you - are you seeing an environment that fosters your drive and ambition? Find one that does. Trust that you are still capable of so much more than what you are doing now. Remember to spread your wings and fly.

In the throws of homesickness, going/being AT home, sounds really, really good. But then I start remembering all the reasons why I made the decision to move and I just get confused. "Home" (meaning BC) is where I feel like I want to be right now but I know that if I was there, I wouldn't be happy either. There's a lot about there that isn't right for me right now. Here, I miss my family and friends, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be. Even if I don't really understand why sometimes, I know it is. This is an environment that can "foster my drive and ambition". My wings are spread, I'm flying and I just need to enjoy the ride.

I was walking home from the bus tonight (it's half a block to my street and half a block up the street to my house). The sky is crystal clear and the stars are twinkling, there's a plane moving slowly across the inky blue expanse blinking red and white lights. The street lights are reflecting off the fresh (again) snow and making it all sparkle. I had fun at work (even if it was painfully slow) and I realize my health is totally "back". I breathe in sharp icy cold air, exhale and say "Yep, life is good. Even here, with all my questions for the universe. Life is good."

Thanks Miriam. I needed that reminder. <3

Royal Ontario Museum

2011-02-25T14:42:00.000-05:00

I knew that this week would be fairly anti-climactic as far as reading weeks go so I planned to meet up with my friend Grace on Wednesday to go in to Toronto to the Royal Ontario Museum, or the ROM as its more commonly known.
We met at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and took the subway to the "Museum" stop. Grace was looking forward to seeing the mummy (which we never actually did locate) so I took her picture with this pillar in the subway station :)

The side entrance to the ROM. Much more beautiful (IMO) than the very modern current main entrance.

The ROM is HUGE with artefacts from all over the world. We didn't really have a plan, just wandered around getting acquainted. I bought an annual pass so I'll definitely be going back. When I do I'll make a point of taking some of the guided tours. For now we just focused on seeing what was there and spending the day together. Because of this I really, really limited myself on pictures. Knowing I'll be going back meant I didn't take as many as I usually would. The picture above was in the Asia exhibit. They are little houses and feeding dishes for crickets!!! So cute!

The dinosaur exhibit is pretty impressive too. Grace and I found it a bit odd that they had some skeletons that were entirely replicates (no real bones at all). Especially for some of the other prehistoric animals (that I didn't take pictures of...cause they were fake anyways!)

It's become a bit of running joke that I've been in Ontario for over six months and still haven't seen a cardinal. They're around. I know they are because other people see them. Just not me. Of course I don't really spend that much time outside or looking outside so it shouldn't be that weird. Anyways, I was excited to see one in the museum :P Can you spot it?

Some of the butterflies were GORGEOUS. I loved this iridescent blue one.

One of the nice things about the ROM is simply the architecture. Exposed brick walls, wide marble (looking?) staircases and stained glass, as featured in this window although you can't see it because there's too much sunlight coming in.

This tile mosaic is in the entrance to the European Galleries. Probably my favourite part of the museum, at least this time, because it contained references to the medieval stuff I've been studying in school.

Loved this cabinet!

This display made me laugh. Picture this: you're walking through an exhibit of the evolution of armour, come around a corner and you see THIS. They had a whole write up of how modern hockey gear is modeled after metal armour! Very fun.

Grace and I spent a few hours enjoying the exhibits and then caught the subway back to Yorkdale. There we went for an early supper at the Rainforest Cafe and then shopped (although neither of us bought a single thing) for awhile before changing and heading to church. We have a midweek service and the church is a little over halfway between my house and Toronto so it's a good day to go since I'm driving anyways.

It was a fun day and it broke the week up really well. I look forward to going back soon!

Family Day

2011-02-22T11:37:00.008-05:00

I'm still getting used to stat holidays in Ontario. It seems like everything closes. Not so in BC. I mean the government offices and the libraries close of course but all the stores are open and most other places. In Ontario though all the grocery stores are closed, all the malls, AND all the expected government places. It's weird. Almost eerie. Anyways, I'm off of school this week for Reading week and the school in all their wisdom made sure it corresponded with the staturtory Family Day (a holiday we don't even have in BC, although I hear there's talk of introducing it).

First off, let me tell you that celebrating "Family Day" when you're homesick, isn't really my idea of fun. That said, I made the most of it. My wonderful friend Jess and her family "adopted" me for the day and we went for a walk in the snow :) Going out wasn't exactly high on my list of things to do but I'm so glad I did. We met at the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area which is just outside of Hamilton (somewhat central for the three vehicles that were meeting up). It was cold and windy but a beautiful day for a walk.

Not far from the parking lot is Webster's Falls. It isn't all that tall but there's a senic bridge over them so it's very pretty. There's also a set of stairs that go down to the base of the falls but under the fresh snow was a layer of ice so we decided to leave the stairs for another day. I was speaking with a coworker later that day and he said that those stairs are tricky even when there isn't snow and ice on the ground. I'm glad we avoided them!

There are actually two falls in that same area. It's part of the Niagra Escarpment so the one is just a little shorter than the famous Niagra Falls. Of course there's not nearly as much water going over them, and definitely not as much in the middle of winter. This is Tews Falls, the one that is 41 metres high, only slightly shorter than Niagra. The ice formations formed by the falling water were beautiful. Lots of different kinds. It's hard to say exactly how far the water actually falls down. I'm looking forward to going back in the summer when everything is green and the water is flowing more fully but it was beautiful to see it in this state.

The Gorge is sort of Y shaped but it opens up to a view of Hamilton. Not the prettiest city to look on, especially at this time of year, but still kind of neat to see. A few of us even saw a hawk flying down in the gorge.

Even though it was Family Day, it was still Monday and I was scheduled to work. I made it back with plenty of time and put in a five hour shift. I was scheduled for six but this worked better because it meant I did't have to take a half hour unpaid meal break, and I got home and hour and a half earlier than I had expected. After all that fresh air and exercise in the morning, and lots of phyiscal tasks at night (sanitizing, washing floors, etc) I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home. I was in bed, asleep around 11pm and slept right through till almost 10am this morning. It felt good! Today (Tuesday) I have nothing specific planned other than working on the three papers I have to write. So, for now, I'm off to the library.

What is it about being sick

2011-02-20T15:20:00.003-05:00

that makes you HOMEsick? Maybe I just want my mom. Maybe it's because in my slightly delirious state I kept forgetting where I was. I don't know but I don't like it. Sure I miss my family but for the most part I'm doing okay. Being sick sucks though and being sick and alone is even worse :(

The fever is gone now though and I'm definitely on the mend. Still a bit sniffly but that will pass too. Thank goodness for reading week to fully recover though! I need the time away from school to catch up and get going on these papers that are hanging over my head! Wish me luck!

Quelle Coincidence!

2011-02-18T12:09:00.003-05:00

I've been fighting a head cold for most of the week. Tuesday I was in bed for most of the day, Wednesday I was just snotting and sneezing everywhere. Thursday I thought I was feeling better but that night I developed a fever and had a horrible sleep. Today (Friday) I still feel horrible but I managed to pull myself out of bed, shower and go to the one class I had. I am constantly amazed by what the human body can do. I feel horrible yet I still managed to walk down to the bus stop, across campus, sit in a class and actually comprehend most of what the teacher said, and then make it back home.

The funny part about being in French class today? We were learning how to say "I am sick", "I have a fever" and "I have a runny nose". Rather appropriate!

Well, I don't have to add that to the list...

2011-02-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

I was thinking a couple of weeks ago that snowmobiling sounds fun and that I should add it to My List. That weekend I had plans to stay with friends of mine who live an hour and a bit away. They called on Thursday night to say that they had been invited by our mutual friends to go snowmobiling on their property on the Saturday and that I was included in that invitation.

It was SO much fun. We weren't out for very long but it was enough to get a good feel for it. The friends who's house we were at live in the country on a couple of acres but they have permission from the people who own the fields that they back on to, to snowmobile in the winter. I rode on the back for the first few times and then even got to drive twice myself! I could definitely see myself owning a snowmobile in the future if I stay in this area. At home we just don't get enough snow to make owning one worth while. Here though, if you can just go out your back door? Totally worth it!

I also tried cross country skiing. Fun but *hard*. I only did it for about 15 minutes but on Monday I was SO sore. I know I don't have any technique so the pain made sense. I can see why it's popular though. It's a very peaceful way to experience the outdoors. Much slower than the snowmobile though ;)

Enough with War already!

2011-02-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not blogging much this year. School keeps me pretty busy but, I need to...vent is a strong word. Something like that though. I can’t remember if I blogged last semester about how well my classes complimented each other. Anyway, they really did. I found I was constantly forgetting which prof had made which statement because they were often on the same or at least related topics. This semester I’m having the same experience. My classes are French 102, History 102 – The Central and Late Middle Ages, c. 1100-1400, History 112 – Canada after Confederation and North American Studies 202 – Narrative Place and Identity.

So far the two history courses have had really interesting parallels. When we studied the advent of towns in my Medieval Studies class we were studying how Canadians moved from the farm to the city in record numbers around the end of the nineteenth-century. Both of these shifts were cause by revolutions of sorts. In the Medieval period it was the Agricultural Revolution and in the Canadian example it was the Industrial Revolution.

This past week the parallel has been regarding wars. In Medieval Studies on Monday we had a lecture on “Castles and Siege Technology”. On Tuesday in North American Studies we had a guest speaker in talking about “Cultures of Militarization”. In Canadian History this week is all about World War I so I’ve been listening online to firsthand accounts of battles at the Somme, gas attacks at Ypres and Vimy Ridge.

We’re almost midway through the term (already!) so I have papers due and two mid-terms in the next few days (yes, this counts as studying because I had to reference my notes LOL) so being immersed in the horrors of war really isn’t my idea of fun right now. Wait, that sounds bad. What I mean is when I’m already stressed out, studying very stressful situations is that much more difficult. The parallels are interesting though. I’ll give it that. I’m just really, really looking forward to our Valentines lecture in Medieval Studies on “Chivalry and the Art of Courtly Love”. I need some lovin’ in my life!!!

Things To Do Before I Die

2011-01-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

On February 13, 2006 I posted my list of "Things To Do Before I Die". I try and review it at least once a year.

The bolded items have been accomplished. The orange ones this year.

96 (and counting) Things To Do Before I Die

1. Fly first class
2. Live on my own in my own place
3. Eat at Sonic
4. Live in another country...or at least another province
5. Host dinner party for at least 8

6. Visit an art gallery
7. Go to Texas
8. Ride in a hot air balloon
9. Fly in a small aircraft
10. Visit a planetarium

11. Take a winery tour
12. Do high tea somewhere
13. Attend Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
14. See a drive in movie
15. Get room service and have breakfast in bed at a nice hotel (I've done room service, but not for breakfast)

16. Play blackjack at a casino (I’ve played slots but not blackjack yet)
17. Make homemade ice cream
18. Try ten new foods (I have to sit down and count. Ten foods since February 2006? I’m sure I’ve accomplished that. I still need to count this but I included it last time...)
19. Go sailing
20. Ride in a limo

21. Be debt free
22. Go horse back riding on the wide open plains
23. Sleep under the stars (without a tent)
24. Fly in a 747
25. Collect all 50 US state quarters (only 8 to go!)

26. Attend my ten year high school reunion
27. Visit Australia
28. Visit Great Britain
29. Get a cat
30. Take a cruise

31. Work an election
32. Watch all moves on AFI top 100 list
33. Be in Ottawa for Canada Day
34. Draft a will
35. Spend one weekend totally unplugged. No TV, No Computer, No Phone

36. Visit the Maritimes
37. Tour the US Eastern seaboard
38. Pour water from the Atlantic ocean into the Pacific (I find it strange that this is FROM the Atlantic TO the Pacific. You'd think I'd have done this the other way around!)
39. Fast for 24 hours
40. Be in audience of a game show or talk show and/or try out for a game show or reality show

41. Learn to cook
42. Cook a turkey
43. Play with a hand bell choir
44. Complete 25 different crossword puzzles
45. Take a Self Defence Class

46. Fire a gun (yes Darrcie, this is STILL on the list ;))
47. Host a fondue
48. Take real swimming lessons (learn proper back stoke, kick turn)
49. Leave to drive a stick shift
50. Try yoga

51. Take a cake decorating class
52. Visit Nashville (maybe in April???)
53. Go parachuting
54. Take a refresher First Aid course
55. Sell something on Ebay

56. Try snowboarding
57. Try Golf
58. Watch the Yankees/Mariners play ball
59. Drink tequila in Tijuana
60. Go to Disney Land/World

61. Get a bikini wax
62. Buy a new condo (or house) (or town house)
63. Go white water rafting
64. Climb Mt. Cheam
65. Have a baby (or two, or three)

66. Read through the entire bible
67. Stay at a bed and breakfast
68. Go to Las Vegas
69. Go to Paris in the spring time
70. Learn enough about classical music to be able to identify popular pieces by ear

71. Shop at the Mall of America
72. Visit all five great lakes (Lake Superior is officially now done, as are Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. I need to spend some quality time at Lakes Huron and Michigan before I'm comfortable saying I've met this one. That should be easy now though.)
73. Stay overnight in NYC
74. Go to Boston in the fall
75. Stay overnight at a Casino

76. Visit the San Diego Zoo
77. Visit Sea World
78. Take a full two weeks off at a time
79. Go on a blind date
80. See a live horse race and place a bet

81. Visit the Grand Canyon
82. Take a trip by train (aka travel somewhere on Amtrak)
83. Do the Vancouver Sun Run
84. Go to midnight mass
85. Attend Sunrise Easter Service

86. Go skinny dipping
87. Visit all 10 Provincial Legislature Buildings. (4 down 6 to go)
88. Buy cowboy boots
89. Go to the Olympics
90. Fly in a helicopter

91. Go to a NASCAR race
92. Get married
93. Participate in a team sport for a season
94. Sing a solo at church
95. Really try to loose weight/get in better shape

96. Learn another language

I guess January is a good time to revisit this list. Last year was pretty busy so I've accomplished an additional 5 things. Only 82 to go!

A Happy Story

2010-12-21T21:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as part of the "great car shuffle" that happens most days on our driveway, I ended up on the end. This turned out to be a good thing because when I got called in to work by a very desperate co-worker, I could just drive instead of catching the bus. I was only supposed to be at work for two hours. Just covering until someone else finished an exam and came in. It turned out that her exam was done early so I wasn't really needed. I was there for about a half an hour but I'll still get paid for the two hours. Plus I got a free drink because I had been working, and this is the coworker who I closed for a few weeks ago so he's promised me a thank you. Really. It was the easiest shift EVER and a nice break from studying!

Today's Adventure

2010-12-19T00:12:00.000-05:00

I renamed this blog "Mine to Discover" in anticipation of discovering my new province. I have done that, but I haven't really posted about it. Today I had a slightly more exciting than normal day so I'm going to try and capture it. I had the day off work and my next exam isn't until Wednesday so I decided to go for a drive. I fly out of the Buffalo Airport next Thursday and since I've never so much as crossed the border here, I decided to go do a "dry run" today. I left around 9am and just followed the "fastest route" according to the GPS in my phone. I crossed in to NY State at Lewiston and promptly ran into a toll booth that only takes cash. Good to know. Next time I'll be prepared!

I found the airport fairly easily. With the border wait it was close to three hours door to door. Again, good to know. It's easier to plan now. After that I just wandered around. I hit Target (which was surprisingly quiet for the last Saturday before Christmas), Walmart (where I didn't buy ANYTHING) and Cracker Barrel for lunch (I had a craving). I also went to Starbucks because the American ones have the chocolate mint brownies and we didn't get them this year :( My discount worked though! That's exciting LOL I also got gas. Really not exciting but finding a station was a bit of an adventure so it's worth noting.

On the way back, because I didn't care about the time, I veered off my path and came back through Niagra Falls. This was my first time visiting the American side of the falls and my first time in the winter. I've only actually been to the falls once and that was over ten years ago so it was nice to go back...even if it was *freezing*. I absolutely love the thunder of all that water pouring down. I forgot how invigorating it is just to be that close to it. It makes my heart thump! Here's a few of the pictures I took, including one by a German tourist who was taking her own self portrait. I offered to take her picture and then had her take mine :)
Coming back across the border the guard asked the standard questions, where I lived, how long I had been gone, the purpose of my trip (I just said shopping because it was easier to explain) and the value of goods being brought back. I didn't buy a lot so he questioned "you drove all the way down there for $45 worth of stuff?" "Yes" "Pop the trunk please ma'am" LOL Obviously he didn't find anything there and I didn't have to explain the convoluted reason for my trip.

Coming back I wanted to get off the 403 aka Queen Elizabeth Freeway aka the ugliest road in Southern Ontario. Seriously. It's horrible. So I asked my GPS for the "shortest route". Of course it's short distance wise but I wound through (what I assume was) Hamilton, and then went cross country towards home. The roads were dry so it was a good day to go exploring. I called my parents while I was on the way and Dad asked where I was. My answer? "I dunno, halfway between where I was and where I'm going?" I love that I can drive around here and not know exactly where I am at all times! That's my adventure for today. Hopefully I can have more soon!

Update & #78

2010-12-18T01:01:00.002-05:00

I just finished my last shift at Starbucks until the new year. I realized something kind of crazy. I have two weeks off. The only time I can recall having a full two weeks off in a row was in August when I quit my job!!! Even when I went to Texas in 2007 I was only off for 12 days total. In fact...yes! It's #78 on My List (which desperately needs to be updated :D) Anyways, I'm really looking forward to the break. I just hope I don't forget everything!

Tonight was an awesome shift and I finally feel like things are starting to click. We had a pretty intense rush, with a bunch of cold drinks (my weakest area) and I totally rocked it. Yeah me!

Other good somewhat work related news? One of my coworkers has agreed to buy one of my text books! I could sell it back to the school but this way I get the same amount of money, he saves a bit and I know it's a guaranteed sale. Woohoo!

Christmas Meme

2010-12-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

I lifted this from somewhere a few days ago and I need a break so I'm going to post it now.

1. Have you started your Christmas shopping? No. My brother's have decided that we're not exchanging gifts. They're bringing me home, I'll have other expenses to get me there, they have girlfriends to buy for and no one needs the headache so we're skipping it. We'll do stockings but no "big gifts". Works for me!!!

2. Tell me about one of your special traditions. Christmas Eve is Dad’s birthday. We try and make it about him but then the tradition is for us kids to be able to open “just one” present. It’s turned into something where someone can chose what you get as your “just one”. Often it’s something they just can’t wait to see you open. In my youngest brother’s case it was usually whatever would keep him occupied the best :P Not sure how that will work this year. Unless someone finds a really cool something for someone.

3. When do you put up your Tree? Me personally, I like Remembrance Day (Nov 11) this year I don’t have one though. Mom and Dad? Dunno. They’d do December 22nd if they had a choice.

4. Are you a Black Friday shopper? I had class this year

5. Do you travel at Christmas or stay home? This year I’m travelling. First time in a long time and first that I’m “going home for Christmas”

6. What is your funniest Christmas memory? Funniest? I know one year Mom sent us on this elaborate treasure hunt and the presents ended up at the end of my bed. That confused me so bad. 1. How did they get there 2. How did I MISS THEM???

7. What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time? I really think it’s “The Holiday”. I bought it a few weeks ago and just watched it again. I didn't really grow up watching all the Christmas specials so they don't mean much to me. I love this movie though.

8. Do you do your own Christmas baking, what’s your favorite treat? I do all my own baking. Not just Christmas. I was in a cookie swap last weekend and I made chocolate mint somethings. They have a name, it’s escaping me right now.

9. Fake or Real Tree? Mom and Dad usually have real. I have/had a fake one.

10. What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done? I’m not a mom. My mom’s pretty low key too. No stress for her. If it doesn’t get done, we move on.

11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Usually for others. I like wrapping and they know it. I’ve wrapped my own (without peeking!) more times than I can count.

12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas? Just being together. Playing games is fun, but just the togetherness.

13. What Christmas craft do you like the best? I guess card making. I don’t really do anything else.

14. Christmas music? (Yes or No) If yes, what is your favorite song? Yes!!! And my dad and youngest brother are my hero's because they took all my Christmas music, ripped it to a memory stick and mailed it to me! My new favourite song is “I Wanna Be Your Christmas” by Andrew Allen though. I heard it on the radio and I love it :)

15. When do you plan to finish all of your shopping? Dunno. Christmas Eve maybe?

Learned a Very Cold Lesson Tonight

2010-12-13T23:59:00.002-05:00

Most of the skirts I wear to work are only knee length. I wear them with black tights. As it's gotten colder I've started wearing my winter boots to work and carrying my work shoes. Then I change when I get there. Today I was inside studying all day and didn't have to be at work till 7 pm. With all that time I was still running a bit late. I knew it had been snowing but I didn't really think much of it (it's been snowing off an on for weeks). I was ready about five minutes before the bus was due so I just threw on a hoodie, a scarf and my winter coat and dashed down to the bus stop. Problem #1: I didn't account for the fact that the bus schedule is screwed up by the weather. So, that would have been okay, IF I was dressed for waiting. I wasn't. I was dressed for catching the bus. The next one didn't come for 35 minutes. I don't know if you've had to catch the bus much but waiting is the most annoying thing ever. You don't know if you should stay or go, or if you'll have enough time to catch the next one. I knew I hadn't missed it because I was early but when weather is the variable, you never know WHEN it will come. By the time it did, I was near frozen. Well, my legs were. My upper body was toasty warm.

So, next time I have to work I'm doing two things differently.
1. I'm planning on catching an earlier bus so I'm not late for work
2. I'm dressing warmer. Proper leg covering/long skirt, etc.

In other happier news, I had my first Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte tonight. Yummy! I'm not much of a tea drinker (aside from Chai) but I've wanted to start trying the Starbucks teas so I can recommend them to customers. I couldn't decide what to have tonight after work and my boss suggested that. I had it "sub-vanilla" because it usually just comes with classic syrup. It's really good. I'll definitely add it to my "drinks I like" list (which is getting longer by the day!)

Attitude of Gratitude V3#30 - Facebook

2010-12-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, as I avoid studying for my next exams, I'm going to bang out my final official "Attitude of Gratitude" post.

This one I'm dedicating to Facebook. I alluded to it in my BlackBerry post but I think it deserves it's own. I love Facebook. I love that my updates come to my phone and that I can check it any time. I love that I am connected to so many people who I otherwise wouldn't have any contact with. I love that I can keep on top of what's going on with people from a distance and that I can update them on what's going on in my life.

So far I haven't really shared my blog with the general world but I'll pretty much make anyone a Facebook friend. Facebook has definitely made moving easier. It makes my world seem much smaller as well. I check it multiple times a day and send messages both on people's walls and through messages. I still have it set to French so occasionally it makes me laugh and sometimes it frustrates me because I have to stop and actually translate what's going on, but mostly I love it.

Facebook is a tool and like any tool it can be abused. I understand that some people don't have any use for it. Personally, I can't imagine my life without it!

Okay, back to studying...after I check Facebook one more time... ;)

Attitude of Gratitude V3#29 - Conditioner

2010-12-12T19:44:00.002-05:00

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Ontario was how different the water is. My whole trip had been an adventure. Lots of places we couldn't drink the water and one place it actually turned stuff orange because there was so much water in it. When I arrived here and tried to wash my hair it was horrible. I could hardly brush it out and for the first time I actually considered cutting it. Of course I didn't. Instead, I did what I've managed to go 29 years without doing. I bought different shampoo.

For someone with such long hair I'm pretty lazy when it comes to caring for it. For the most part I can get away with Pert Plus 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner and that's pretty much all I've used, ever. It's what my mom used for forever and since it worked (in BC water) I felt no need to change. Here, I had to. Interestingly I actually needed shampoo when I arrived. I had a few small travel bottles full that got me through but I didn't have a full bottle. My roommate let me try her stuff (I didn't notice it being all that much better) but I got a sample of Pantene in the mail. I used that and it was like having totally diffent hair! I know it's not a big deal to people who are used to using separate shampoo and conditioner but I am definitely a convert now. I love doing my hair now, especially after it's just been washed. I'm very thankful for conditioner!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#28 - BlackBerry

2010-12-09T16:33:00.001-05:00

I am determined to do 30 of these entries. Yes I know November is long over. I don't care though. Thankfulness shouldn't end.

Today I'm going to do an ode to a slightly obvious item. My constant companion. My tool, entertainment, distraction. The first thing I reach for in the morning and often the last thing I see at night. My connection to the world, my communication device, my addiction.

My BlackBerry.

I know it's going to make me sound old but as someone who didn't have a personal computer at home until grade 11, sometimes it astounds me that a device the size of my hand is so powerful. I use it for so much. I have three (of four) email addresses directed there, I can access Facebook and the internet. It's my address book, calendar and GPS, and that's before I even open up the full menu. I keep notes in it, use it for a calculator and play games. Oh, and it even makes phone calls! LOL And I use the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) and texting. (Really, if you can't get ahold of me, I must be in the bathroom or in class when it's usually off. Give me and hour (if I'm in class) and I'll get right back to you...unless I'm igorning you ;)

I don't have a lot of apps loaded but I do have dictionary.com and I use that one ALL the time. Long time readers of this blog may have noticed an absence of my "Word of the Day" posts. That's because I'm no longer sitting at a computer and I just search from my phone. I use that app a couple of times a day.

Addicted? Yes. But I love it :)

Attitude of Gratitude V3#27 - My Church Family

2010-12-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

I've listed out my reasons for moving to Ontario on this blog before. One of the top reasons is that I knew there was a church I could attend and people I wanted to know better. I couldn't have anticipated just how wonderful they have been though. I mean I hoped, but they're really fantastic. I live about 45 minutes from the church which you'd think would be kind of awkward. I knew there would be that distance when I chose my new hometown though. Lots of people drive in so I'm not an anomoly. Because of this distance we have a potluck almost every Sunday. Sometimes it's a pain to get ready for but I wouldn't trade that time of fellowship for anything. Everyone has been so welcoming and I kow they'd help me out with anything if I asked. Having an established community to turn to has made this transition unbelievably smooth. I am very thankful for them :)

Attitude of Graitude V3#26 - Red River Cereal

2010-12-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

As a kid I rarely ate hot cereal. I just couldn't get past the texture. Once in a long while I'd have Cream of Wheat but oatmeal was my least favourite and I never ate Red River Cereal even though my dad had it practically every morning.

When I was doing my initial shopping when I arrived in Ontario I saw this cereal and decided to try it out. I'm not going to lie and say that the fact that I had just been through Manitoba and passed over the Red River didn't have anything to do with that decision. It certainly did. Hey, marketing works. In fact when I posted a picture of the Red River my friend Jenna commented:
"The mud from this river can be mixed with equal parts silage and gravel to make the famous Red River Cereal" :P

The good news is, my taste buds have changed. I actually really enjoy this cereal now. I eat it once or twice a week and it's best with raspberry jam. I'm thankful that I like it now because on cold winter mornings, it's perfect!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#25 - Starbucks

2010-12-04T18:01:00.000-05:00

I have an undated list in a note book of "Jobs that May Be of Interest to Me". I estimate that it was written sometime in 2007. I distinctly remember writing that list. It don't exactly remember what the impetus was but I remember that the parameters were "if money wasn't an object". Meaning I opened it up so that I could write down any job no matter what the wage is. It was sort of a dreaming, not conciously goal setting exercise. Here's what I put down:

Starbucks Barista
Tour Guide - preferably at a Historic Site
Tourism Officer
At a Railway company (CPR/CN etc)
Mapping/Geography

Interesting. Some of them are really, really vague. Some require a lot more explanation. I never added to the list although I've thought about it a lot.

Notice though how "Starbucks Barista" is at the top of the list? I searched my blog and the first time that I can see that I acknowledged wanting to work for Starbucks was in August 2009 when I was considering applying for school. Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows how obsessed I am with the company. Now that I'm working there, I sometimes have to pinch myself to realize that it's actually happened!!!

Today I finished my official certification. We definitely identified "areas of improvement" but overall my boss is really happy with me. He used terms like "friendly, optimistic, efficient and a good communicator". I'm looking forward to strengthening my areas of weakness.

I love my team as well. There isn't a single person who, when I look at the schedule I think "I have to work with them?" And the people that aren't at my VERY top of list, are the ones who keep me really accountable and call me out when I'm not doing something right so they're actually really, really good TO work with.

We were supposed to have our Christmas party on Friday but it got put off to January because we couldn't convince anyone from the other stores to work. I'm sad. I was actually really looking forward to it. Not everyone can say that about their work parties! It shows how much I like working there. It's tiring for sure and sometimes I'm just not in the mood, but invariably when I get there, it's all good. Especially at Christmas time. Starbucks at Christmas is the best and I love being part of the joy!

I am thankful for my job and that I get to fulfill a dream of working at Starbucks!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#24 - Laughing at Myself

2010-12-01T17:05:00.003-05:00

The kitchen in this basement suite is tiny and set up really badly. It has a bunch of awkward angles and in the corner where it would make sense to store stuff, is the electrical box around which we have to keep a four foot empty space. Because of that we have a shelf set up just outside the kitchen door which also puts it beside the bathroom door. It works for the most part. We store dry food, our cookware and the toaster oven on there. On the top is also where my roommate stores her tea pot. I'm not sure what is wrong with me but I've knocked that stupid thing off the shelf twice, just while walking by. I guess I'm in a huge hurry to get to the bathroom or something. The first time the handle on the lid broke. Not a big deal and she improvised by using duct tape. Yesterday I knocked the whole thing off again and this time it totally smashed. I showed it to her immediately and offered to pay for the replacement. I'm such a clutz! She got a new tea pot today and has promised that she'll store it somewhere away from my gorilla arms :P

I am thankful that I can laugh at myself and that I don't have a roommate that breaks my stuff!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#23 - Good Timing

2010-11-25T10:37:00.002-05:00

My great uncle Oskar passed away this morning. It may sound like a weird thing to be "thankful" for, but I really am. He's been very, very sick for many years. Last week he had a stroke and was hospitalized. They stabalized him and he's been in a coma ever since. Mom and I talked yesterday and were comparing his situation to his mother's (my great Grandma). She also had a series of strokes but she had a STRONG heart and she "lived" in a nursing home for years. It was so hard on my grandma to see her mother like that and stressful to have to go visit someone who doesn't even recognize you :( The doctors told Aunty Helen that Uncle Oskar (her husband) really has no hope of recovery so the fact that he didn't linger, really is a blessing.

Other things to be thankful for? Mom is there in Alberta right now. She's had this trip booked for months and she's scheduled to be there for all next week as well, which means she can be there to assist with funeral arrangements and doesn't have to make separate travel plans. Oskar and Helen's oldest daughter (Mom's cousin) is there as well. So she got to say "good-bye" to her Dad and again, doesn't have to make a special trip. She can just stay.

Death can be so inconvenient and while it's sad and very final, we really couldn't have asked for better timing or less suffering. And for that, I am grateful.

Attitude of Gratitude V3#22 - ScrapShare

2010-11-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

This crazy wonderful website has helped me meet people from all over the world. I've been a member of it since January 2003 so almost eight years already (!) Five years ago it took me to Pennsylvania where I met an incredible group of women. It's hard to believe that's been five years already. Tuesday I met another "SS Sister". GACynM is in town visiting her family and inlaws and took a few minutes to run to the LSS where we hooked up. We were able to have a quick hot chocolate at Timmies as well and chat a bit. I love this website and the fact that it has given me friends all around the world. I was trying to tell her all the people I've met "IRL" and I couldn't even get through half of them. Awesome. I'm thankful for ScrapShare!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#21 - Skype

2010-11-24T22:47:00.002-05:00

I finally got Skype. I can't remember if I've mentioned it or not but it's pretty much the only way of contacting me that I didn't already have. You can email me on four different email addresses, text me, BBM me, call me, send me a message on Facebook or SS and I technically have a Twitter account though I've only tweeted twice and I rarely log in over there. Anyways, I have Skype as well now. I don't use it very much but last night was pretty sweet. I had planned a call with my best friend and just as the call was starting I posted my last blog entry. We talked for awhile and then I asked if she had read it yet (which was a trick question because I knew she hadn't. Sorry Mere ;)) But I got to watch her read it. <3 Very cool.

I'm not planning on blasting the fact that I'm going home for Christmas all over Facebook because I don't want everyone to know that I'm there and then feel left out because I'm not making time for them. There are a few people I will tell and others that will find out that I'm coming but I'm not going to make a huge deal of it. It's fun to tell the ones that I am telling though :) And Skype made telling Mere REALLY fun!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#20 - My Brothers

2010-11-23T22:45:00.000-05:00

I've been waffling about whether or not to try and go home for Christmas. There's lots of reasons on both sides of the "pros vs. cons" list and I just couldn't decide. The pros are pretty obvious. I can get time off work without an issue and it would be nice to see everyone. The cons include the fact that it's so expensive, it's a horrible time of year to travel, my last exam isn't until December 22nd, etc. etc. Well I talked to my brother Robert last week and he and Seth have decided that they really, really want me there so, as an early present, they're paying for my ticket! I fly out on December 23rd and back to Ontario on January 3rd! I'm flying Buffalo to Seattle and I still haven't figured out all get-to-the-airport stuff but the point is, I'm going home for Christmas!

I am thankful for my brothers!!! (and their pocket books :D)

Attitude of Gratitude V3#19 - My School

2010-11-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

So I'm two thirds of the way through these posts and I haven't profiled some of the major things in my life. I've alluded to them but not talked about them directly. (and I'm avoiding homework so now sounds good :D) Saturday was Sir Wilfrid Laurier's birthday but we celebrated on Friday at the school. I am thankful for my school. Considering I literally picked the school off Google maps, it's been a great choice. The school is small but it offers everything I want (so far at least). This term, I really enjoy every one of my profs and I've made friends in every class. I can't wait for the next semesters so I can experience new classes (although I still have to get through this one!)

WLU is celebrating 100 years of existance over the next twelve months (counting it's inception as Western Lutheran University) so there is a lot of pride being felt around the school. I suppose you'd get that anywhere but I'm really enjoying being a part of it.

There are lots of universities in Southern Ontario but I am thankful for whatever led me to pick Laurier.

Attitude of Gratitude V3#18 - Via

2010-11-23T09:57:00.001-05:00

I've confessed before in this blog that I'm a closet instant coffee drinker. Well, I'm happy to report that, thanks to Starbucks, I've "upgraded" my tastes. I still drink "instant" but now it's "microground" and really does taste much better. As barista's we get a free pound of coffee a week, or, a box of Via. As you can see, I have a bit of a collection :) I *love* the Christmas blend and there's rumours of Verona coming as well. The Iced Via was my saviour this summer while I was packing in a major heat wave and while travelling. I went through a few boxes of it on the road. It worked well to stop at a gas station, buy a bottle of milk, and have coffee!

A quick Via funny, the other day one of my fellow barista's said that he keeps Via in his glove box and when he's out and about he'll drive through at Tim Hortons and just order hot water, and then add Via. Smart!

Today, and most days, I'm thankful for Via. It's faster and cleaner than "real" coffee and cheaper than actually goin in to the store (although I do that a lot too). Have you tried it? What do yo think? What's you're favourite flavour?

Attitude of Gratitude V3#17 - Last Week

2010-11-23T09:37:00.003-05:00

So I kind of got off track with these posts. I will catch up, I just may be bit slow. My first one is being thankful that last week is over. I knew it would be in-freaking-sane and it certainly was. I closed on Tuesday and Thursday and had a group project and two book reports due. I alluded in post #15 to the amount of reading I was doing and frankly I feel kind of lazy not having to read at every turn. It's nice to have the break though. Oh, I also had a midterm on Friday but my prof delayed it to Monday for me. I know I didn't do great but I did better on Monday than I would have on Friday.

This last weekend I had a classroom training session for work in Burlington (which is about an hour from where I live. It was the most convenient time and location) and then I spent the night with my friend Jess. Sunday we went to church and then I worked again. Last night I closed and now I don't have to work again until Saturday!!! My school work is "normal" this week because we're getting down to the point where we're wrapping up the semester so it's nice. I need some time to breathe!

I am thankful that last week is over!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#16 - Rain

2010-11-17T01:59:00.002-05:00

Tonight, even though I'm wet, I'm thankful for rain. Because it means it's not snowing...yet... And it's cool rain. Heavy, hard driving. If it WERE snowing, it would be a blizzard. I feel like everyone around here is holding their breath just WAITING for the first snow of the season. We know it's coming, we just don't know when. In the meantime, I'll take the rain...but I DO need to buy another umbrella since I seem to have misplaced mine.

Attitude of Gratitude V3#15 - The Ability to Read

2010-11-16T18:50:00.003-05:00

I am absolutely swamped with required readings and papers right now. I have two novels that I have to do book reports on, on top of all my regular readings. I'm reading whenever I have more than two minutes strung together. In between classes, before bed, while I'm eating breakfast, on the bus, during my 15 minute break at work. You name it. I've finished one of the books and I'm halfway through the second one. My regular readings have to slide a bit this week because there just aren't enough hours in the day. So here I am, not complaining, but commenting on the sheer volume I have to read and a few classes ago in Geography, my prof was lecturing on literacy levels and the amount of people in the world who CAN'T read. I don't have time to look up the stats right now but it's a significant amount. Can't read at all. That boggles my mind. I am such a voracious reader that I can't even fathom NOT being ABLE to read.

Today, I am thankful for the ability to read, to comprehend, to write, and to not go crazy while doing it!!! (hopefully)

Attitude of Gratitude V3#14 - Mondays

2010-11-15T19:25:00.003-05:00

Mondays are my favourite day of the week right now. Sounds crazy doesn't? Let me tell you why.

They are the start of a fresh week and full of possibility with plenty of time to get everything done
I have Latin and then back to back History Lecture and History Tutorial. Three hours of classes that I really enjoy and I can go home.
I seem to rarely work on Mondays so I have the whole afternoon/evening to do school work
Mostly I just like knowing that deadlines are still a few days away.

Tuesday's aren't horrible but they're long and I usually work so they're REALLY long. Friday's are a short day but by then I'm exhausted and conflicted about wanting to go out and needing to do school work. Saturdays are okay but they're usually really busy. Sundays are good too but there's something special about Mondays. I am thankful that I enjoy Monday's so much!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#13 - Bus Codes

2010-11-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

I don't even know what to call this post. The picture here is of the bus stop by my house. What I am thankful for is the four digit number on every bus stop (2775 in this picture). I can send a text and within seconds I'll have a reply stating when the next buses are scheduled to arrive. This stop only has one bus that goes by but some of them by the school have up to four. It is SO convenient to know, to the minute, exactly how long you have to wait. Saturday after work the next bus wasn't scheduled for 25 minutes (which meant I probably missed one by 5 minutes :P) so I ended up walking most of the way home which was kind of nice. I have a note in my phone listing the codes for the stops I use the most and I'm starting to use the system more often. It is so convenient and I know I'll appreciate it even more once the snow starts to fly!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#12 - Understanding Profs

2010-11-12T20:49:00.000-05:00

Question: What do you get when you combine PMS, homesickness, a midterm that I am not prepared for and $10?

Answer: A medical note with a diagnoses of "acute stress teary unable to cope"

Money can't buy happiness but it does buy a repreive. The stress of the last few months finally came crashing down last night and I ended up in a teary mess. Today's not much better. I managed to make it down to my prof's office two hours before the exam and she agreed that I'm not in any shape to write a test. I had to go get a medical note and I can take the midterm next week. In the meantime I'm going to meet with her a few times so I can properly prepare for it. I am thankful for understanding profs.

Attitude of Gratitude V3#11 - Remembering

2010-11-11T12:42:00.003-05:00

I'm trying not to be annoyed that Ontario is apparently the only provice (and no I haven't researched this so I could be wrong) that hasn't designated November 11th, Remembrance Day, as a statutory holiday. I'm not annoyed that I have classes, in fact I'm thankful that I'm free to attend university but I'm annoyed that, because I DO have class, I wasn't able to attend a proper Remembrance Day ceremony like I usually like to do. Interestingly enough though, this minor annoyance provided me with a very profound Remembrance Day.

Today, instead of attending a large ceremony with parades, lots of flags, pomp and circumstance, I had to make do at a local memorial just across from campus. I see the memorial most days and I've stopped to reflect on it before. Today it was drapped with hand knit poppies and there were wreaths from the local Legions in front. What was amazingly profound was that at 11am, without prompting, without anyone directing and without any sound whatsoever, a group of people stopped, stood at the memorial and silently remembered. After a few minutes they each took off their poppy, placed it on a wreath and many briefly touched the monument or kissed their finger tips and then laid that kiss on the monument. It was all wordless and fairly short but it touched me deeply.

It reminded me that we don't need big flag waving ceremonies to remember. It can me done quietly, reverently and individually. We also don't need to wait for November 11th to remember. But, today I am specifically remembering. Remembering the family and each person that I never knew who gave their lives so that I can gripe about the fact that I had class and had to attend a quiet "ceremony" instead of the big one.

Attitude of Gratitude V3#10 - Stories

2010-11-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

I kind of cheated on my 7th post: Live Music. That wasn't actually what I intended to call it but with the pictures and the recap of the concert it got too long so I renamed it. Now I'm going to blog about what I was actually trying to get at: Stories.

The premise of that evening was "Stories and Songs". It was more about the stories behind the songs than the songs themselves. I am a history major and I find I am confronted with stories everywhere, and I love it! History is all about stories, of countries, of people, of events. Genealogy is the same. It's all about stories. Even at work, in the bathroom we have a poster that says "behind every drink is a story" (or something like that, I'll have to verify it) The point is, stories are everywhere and for that I am grateful!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#9 - Stars

2010-11-11T00:25:00.004-05:00

(I know I'm behind so I'm going to try and catch up a bit here)

This is a simple post but I am thankful for this on a regular basis. I live in a residential neighbourhood, not totally removed from commercial zones but apparently it's enough. I'm also on a bit of a hill but I don't know if that makes a difference. On clear nights, like tonight, and like we get frequently the stars are just amazing. I enter the basement through the back door so I have to walk around to the back of the house. Unless I make a wide arc and get close to the garage, the security light usually doesn't come on. The backyard is lit well enough from other lights that I can see just fine. The benefit of not having lights is you can really see the stars. I don't know if they're clearer than they were back home or if I'm just appreciating beauty when I can find it but they make me smile everytime I look up at the night sky. I love stars and I'm thankful that I can see them so well here!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#8 - My GG102 Group

2010-11-10T23:57:00.003-05:00

Group work is always a crapshoot. You never really know who you're going to get stuck with and if they're any good or not. For my GG102 (Human Geography) class we have five lab sessions during the semester and in those sessions we've had to do a group project. Five topics were posted and you had to write your name on the one that interested you. Unfortunately, the topic I wanted was immediately claimed by a bunch of guys that I knew I didn't want to work with. I ended up putting my name down for "Economics" which was the dumbest topic, we struggled with it the whole time. The good part? My group ROCKED! We had SO much fun together. There were five of us total. Three girls and two guys. Three business students, two history students. One fifth year, two second years and two first years. One living on campus and four living off. Only two of us kind of knew each other before the lab. The rest of us were strangers but we've had so much fun with this project and we all sit together in class now. We got together Monday night at one of the girls houses to put together our final presentation. It was tons of laughs. I don't know how well we'll actually do on the content part of the project, but I know I had fun working on it and to me, that's what matters. So, for this post, I'm thankful for awesome group members!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V3#7 - Live Music

2010-11-08T23:07:00.000-05:00

Saturday I attended a very special event. It was called "Stories & Songs" and it was hosted by the local radio station. It was a fundraiser for a local women's shelter and it was tied in with a songwriting conference. The whole event was organized by Canadian singer/songwriter Jamie Warren (in the white shirt) and it featured Deric Ruttan (plaid shirt), Victoria Banks, Duane Steel and Jamie. I debated going until about an hour before the show, which meant I ended up going alone because I hadn't arranged to go with anyone, but that was fine. It was a really cool event. The premise of the evening was that each artist in turn performed either a song that has been a hit for them or for someone else. Before they sang they gave either a bit of background on the song, a story about writing it, or some other tidbit. It was fascinating!

I've seen Deric quite a few times and he does an acoustic bit in his shows so I'd heard at least one of the stories before. He had a bunch of others to add though. He is by far one of my favourite songwriters and the people he collaborates with (Dierks Bentley, Doc Walker, etc) are my all time favourite acts.

I saw Duane live about eight years ago and he put on a great show. This was obviously very different but it was fun to see him talk about the songs. He`s just released a new album so he played a lot of new material. There are some great songs there!

This was my first time seeing Victoria or Jamie live and again, I have only good things to say. Victoria is the reigning Canadian Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the year and, even in an acoustic show, it is a title she really deserves! She has an INCREDIBLE voice! She is an extremely accomplished songwriter as well with cuts by Sara Evans, Jessica Simpson and Johnny Reid among others.

The show was in a smallish venue so I didn't have to wait long afterwards to meet them. They were all awesome and very sweet. I'm glad I convinced myself to go! I am thankful for live music, in whatever form!