Attitude of Gratitude V4#12 - Cheeeeeeese

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

Writing papers and studying for midterms (already!)

I'll be back soon, I promise.

Making French Personal

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"

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.