Grandma & Grandpa

Today would have been my maternal grandparents sixtieth wedding anniversary. Unfortunately Grandma passed away just after their 45th and as I mentioned in my last post, Grandpa passed away this last Christmas (December 28th to be specific). They had an incredibly rich life though. They met in Germany where they were both working on a farm after the war. The married on May 18, 1952 at the Lutheran Church in Beedenbostel, Germany which is just outside of Gockenholz where the farm was. In 1953 the emigrated to Canada along with my grandmother's parents, three brothers and sister. The landed at Saint John, New Brunswick and took the train to Raymond, Alberta. There they all worked on a sugar beet farm for a few years to pay back the fees that the Lutheran Church had paid to sponsor them to come to Canada. From there they moved up to just outside of Edmonton and lived on a farm and then in town for the rest of their lives. They had five children. Two boys, two girls and fifteen years later, another boy. My mom was the youngest girl. Because my family moved from Alberta to BC when I was three I didn't have daily contact with my grandparents but we'd visit several times a year and often for a longer stretch during the summer so I did have a good relationship with them. It's hard to believe they're both gone now and that Grandma has been gone for half my life. I still miss her every day. I was given her wedding ring when she passed away. It's just a simple gold band with Grandpa's initials and the date of their wedding engraved inside (HB Mai 52) I wear it every single day and rarely take it off. Today means that it is at least sixty years old as well. It's a reminder of their quiet love and simple endurance. I treasure it more than anything and am honored to wear it.

Ashley

I know a lot of people and I consider a lot of people friends. Some people are particularly special though. One year ago today I met one of those people. One year ago today I arrived in Chicoutimi, Quebec and when I got to my host family's home, I realized that there would be two other students living there with me. What I didn't know was how much and how deeply one of them would impact my life and in how short of a time. I met a lot of people during my time in Quebec but Ashley Gibson and I formed the deepest bond of all. As someone who only had brothers and who hadn't had much success with roommates, I never knew the intimacy that could develop when you live with someone, especially when you are sharing the experience of the Explore Program. It is very intense and without Ashley and the other friends I made, I don't think I would have made it though.

Ashley and I initially connected because we were so close in age (she only had six months on me). Our other housemate, Museb was much younger and good was a good sport about taking on the role of "little brother". In the five weeks that I was in Chicoutimi Ashley and I were pretty much always by each others sides. She was in a different classroom but we often ate lunch together and sought each other out at break times and for group events. Most evenings we either had dinner at the school or with our host family and then she and I (and sometimes Museb) would go out. I spent more time in pubs and bars in that time than all the rest of
my life combined (well...it felt like it anyway ;)) But really, that's what we did. Ashley drank, I drove, we were a fabulous pair. Then on weekends we'd go exploring. It was generally someone different in the back seat. Victoria joined us a few times, Beth, Vita, Steve, Adam, Connor, the list goes on but it was always, ALWAYS, Ashley and I together in the front. We covered the Saguenay Region in the sun, rain and fog and sampled every cheese curd, ice cream and beer (for her) that we could find. It was around the fourth week that I had to go out quickly. I was driving away from the house when I realized "this is the first time I've been alone in my car since I arrived!!!"

I wouldn't have had it any other way. We shared so much in such a short time

I saw Ashley twice after Quebec. Once on July 8th when I was passing through Toronto and managed to meet up with her for dinner (I met her mom that night too) and once on August 31st when we met up for lunch at a restaurant just down the street from her house. Once school started our lives both got so busy it was hard to coordinate our schedules. Even so we BBM'd frequently and stayed in touch on Facebook. Over Christmas we made plans to get together for her birthday on January 6th. My return was delayed by the death of my grandfather and her party was postponed due to the death of her grandmother. A few days after our last exchange which was "I'll let you know when we reschedule" I received a phone call from Ashley's mother telling me that Ashley had died. As far as I know her death was caused by a bad mix of new prescription drugs and just like that her young life was ended. She had just had her 32nd birthday. I did make it up to Collingwood for the funeral. That was one of the hardest drives I've ever had to make but it was also therapeutic in it's own way. It seemed like a long drive was a good way to pay homage to someone who I got to know so well in my car. I still miss her like crazy and think of her often. I've lost other friends and acquaintances but never one whom I was so close with. Even if she was only in my life for a little over seven months.

My $8.80 Gamble

So, as a follow up to my previous post, I present My $8.80 Gamble. This is the dry goods I bought at the bulk foods store as a result of reading Pinterest. (clockwise from top left) Dry kidney beans, dry pinto beans, bulgur, flour, couscous, dry black (turtle) beans and cornmeal. The flour and cornmeal aren't really a gamble, I've used them before and I was low. The beans, bulgur and couscous however, were. I have used beans before but only ever the canned kind. I even called my mom and asked why she never used dry beans. They are SOOOOO much cheaper! And, in the spirit of "real food" don't have any additives like salt. Her response was mostly that it just took too much planning to get them, soak them, cook them, and THEN include them in a recipe. It's much easier to just open a can and dump them in your pot. Fair enough but I'm finding that all the prep that goes in to cooking, especially clean cooking, is part of the fun of it. It's kind of a game for me. Now, I realize that I'm one person and if a dish I'm planning isn't ready I can just have cereal for dinner. It's different when you're feeding a family. I get that. But still, it seems worth it to me. So the black beans were for a delicious Black Bean Salad that I'm already craving again. The kidney beans, pinto beans and bulgur were for a vegetarian chili. It took me almost a week to prep it. Tuesday I started soaking the beans, Wednesday I cooked them on the stove. Thursday I soaked the bulgur and would have made the chili but it was a GORGEOUS day and just not chili weather. Friday I finally made it. Vegetarian chili is initially a little different to get used to because it doesn't have that hearty meaty taste but I added extra chili powder so it's still got kick and it's very satisfying. Plus, removing the meat makes it much healthier which is the point. I made cornbread muffins to go with it. Lastly I used the rest of the pinto beans for Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans. My landlord has a slow cooker which she stores downstairs and has given us permission to use. This was my first time using a slow cooker, ever. I like refried beans as a base for my version of Mexican food (basically just a tortilla with beans and lots and lots of veggies on top). This recipe was easy. The only thing I would do in the future is be sure to only let them cook for eight hours. I left them in for closer to nine and all the water was gone. They're a bit dry but I just add water before reheating and they're perfectly fine. The good news is that even though I've eaten over a third of it already (in wraps, pitas, etc) I still have a ton so I won't even be trying it again for a long time. 

So there, that's my report on the cooking adventures that eight dollars and eighty cents bought me. And I haven't even use the couscous yet! I have some plans for that though. I'll let you know how it goes. And who knows, maybe I'll inspire someone else to use dry goods. 

How Pinterest Changed My Life

That sounds dramatic but stay with me here. I'm online every day and accessing certain websites via my phone all day. Before Pinterest the websites I visited were very limited. Facebook, ScrapShare, my school's website, Hotmail, the bank, and a couple of radio stations. There were a handful of blogs that I visited as well but I mostly read those through the updates sent to my email. I was aware of Pinterest but avoided it like the plague because it seemed to all consuming. I finally broke down back in March or so and asked a friend for an invite. As predicted, it was immediately addicting but I found that I didn't only repin things, I actually clicked the links and visited the websites. And I made the stuff I found! So Pinterest has opened up a whole new world of websites to me (ones that I never ever would have visited on my own) and it's inspired a new passion for cooking. I have a separate board for some of the Recipes I've Tried if you're interested.

The other part of how Pinterest "changed my life" is more directly credited to a website I found because of Pinterest. 100 Days of Real Food doesn't really say anything different than anyone else but it's presented in a way that just makes sense. Initially, as a student on a very, VERY limited budget, I was drawn to Lisa's 100 Days on a Budget. If she can feed a family of four healthy, filling "real food" on $125 a week, then surely I can do it on even less than that. Especially since I have a ton of staples in the cupboard already. I read all the entries for the 100 Days on a Budget and then moved on to the Original 100 Day Pledge. Lisa follows Michael Pollan's mantra from his book "In Defense of Food" "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I haven't read the book yet myself but I plan to this summer. This plan just makes sense and in the twoish months since I discovered Lisa's blog, I have started making these changes. For the first couple of weeks to say I had "changed" was laughable because I was still eating the food I had on hand. All the processed frozen things in my freezer and boxed items in my pantry. Over time the change was reflected in my shopping habits. The best part about how Lisa presents her suggestions is that is empowering. Instead of feeling deprived because I "can't" eat certain things, the difference is that now I "can" but I CHOSE not to. For a stubborn person like me who HATES to be told what I SHOULD do (should is my most hated word ever) being given the choice of eating crap or eating whole, clean, real food, is liberating.

So this discovery of a website (with recipes) that focus on "real" food along with the eye catching pictures from Pinterest, have combined to really, finally, change how I think about food. And the best part? It's FUN! I look forward to each meal I prepare now. What a concept. :)

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday night my Uncle Doug (dad's younger brother) his wife LaRae arrived in Ontario. We met up for dinner in Burlington where they were staying before heading to Niagara. It was wonderful to see them (they're the first family that has "visited" since I moved here!) We had a nice dinner and then went for ice cream. The whole time we caught up on each other's lives, discussed all the family weddings scheduled for this year (my two brothers, their son, and one other cousin/nephew). We also reminisced about family history and discussed the genealogy research I've been doing out here.

Since I was already in Burlington I had made plans to stay over night with my friend Jess. I got to her place just before 10pm. We chatted a bit and then went to bed and slept in on Sunday. It was the first Sunday of the month so we had a late service (7pm) which meant we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted to. We started with breakfast and then went for a walk along a section of the Bruce Trail. It was a perfect day for a walk. Sunny and warm with a slight breeze that keep it just right. We walked along a creek and then up a hill and looped back around to the parking lot. The whole thing took just over an hour.

Next we drove into Oakville and went shopping in their downtown district. This was my first time visiting there and we weren't looking for anything in particular so it was just nice to poke around in the shops. Jess bought a beautiful linen skirt and we shared some meringues from a bakery while sitting in a park and watching all the little kids run around on the grass.

Once we were done shopping we went back to her place, had an amazing dinner of fish, new potatoes and salad and then got ready for church. Nothing about the day was particularly spectacular (except for the weather) but it was incredibly relaxing and wonderful. This week I am doing a lot of closing shifts at work so I am going to enjoy having my days to myself.

Back Online!

I know no one here has probably missed me since I'm blogging so infrequently these days but I was offline for the early part of this week. Not totally because I do have access on my phone but something got messed up on my computer so I couldn't get online. I finally broke down and it took it into the tech shop at school where one of my Starbucks regulars ran a "network system restore" and now it's all happy again. So how did I survive for three days without regular internet access? And why did it take me that long to decided to fix it? Two words: Downton Abbey. I borrowed the first two seasons from a friend of mine...well, a week ago today and I finished watching them last night. It's SOOOOOO GOOD! It's been a long...no, scratch that. I don't think I've EVER been this addicted to a tv show! I had heard good reviews of the show and when I heard she had it, I was excited to see what all the hype was about. I'm happy to report that it was just as good as it was made out to be. It's really what I needed following exams. Just some mindless entertainment. I also have the last few seasons of Road to Avonlea (I started watching that last summer after I got back from PEI) and I'll borrow "Larkrise to Candleford" from this same friend soon. I may rewatch Downton before I give it back though. It's that good!

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. Vegetables are best period. More on this in another post.
2. Pinterest has too many mason jars; and I don't have enough.
3. How wonderful it is to do nothing and then relax afterwards. <-- one of my favourite quotes
4. Five Love Languages is a book I'd love to recommend.
5. Using leftovers: I like all leftovers. It means less cooking!
6. Good music makes me incredibly happy!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to studying, tomorrow my plans include writing two exams and Sunday, I want to PARTY BECAUSE I'LL BE DONE SECOND YEAR!

Friday Fill-in Blog

After my French exam I was craving Greek so we went for Egyptian. That makes sense right? No? Okay, let me explain. I've been nursing a craving for tzatziki for a few weeks now. My friend Heather and I were discussing it after a recent trip to the St. Jacobs Farmers Market and she mentioned that there is an excellent Egyptian restaurant in town that serves amazing lamb, tzatziki and the tabouli that I sampled at the market for the first time and fell in love with. In celebration of completing my French exam yesterday, we went for an early dinner. I followed her lead and ordered her usual: lamb kofta served over Egyptian rice mixed with vermicelli noodles, tabouli, some sort of spicy bean mixture that I forget the name of, and of course the tzatziki. I also had some pickled (in beet juice?) turnips. It was delicious. Different from anything I've ever really eaten but I loved it. It's also a HUGE portion so I have at least half of it still waiting for me in the fridge.

So what's the Greek tie in? Just the tzatziki. When I say I'm "craving Greek" I really mostly mean the tzatziki. This stuff was different from what I am used to in that it had chunks of cucumber rather than the shredded version I have had in the past but it was still good. It inspired me to try and make my own as well. I bought "Balkan style" yogurt last time I was at the store (instead of the regular pre-sweetened stuff I usually buy) but I used it all in my morning smoothies. I need to go shopping again and I'm going to get either Balkan or Greek style yogurt and see if I can make my own tzatziki. I'll let you know how it goes!

My own Passion Tea Lemonade

I've been meaning to try this for awhile. Today I'm just sitting at home studying for my 7pm exam and getting tired of drinking water. I brewed up a large cup of Tazo brand Passion Tea (I got a tea bag from work so I could try this) poured the brewed tea into a  glass, added approximately a tablespoon of lemon concentrate (that yucky stuff from the bottle that they say you're not supposed to use but I do because it doesn't go bad like real lemons and I need it for the bran muffins I like to make), a bit of honey, all the ice cubes in my Ikea ice cube tray, and water to fill the glass to the top. It totally works! It's not exactly like Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade but it's very drinkable and a little better for you since it's sweetened with honey instead of Classic Syrup. Plus it doesn't taste like tea (I don't like regular iced tea). I'm going to get a whole tin of Passion Tea because I can see myself making this a lot more during the summer.

Random Easter Memories

I suppose any annual event makes you think about past ones but today I'm reminiscing about past Easters. When I was a kid the chocolate was there but the emphasis was, as with every Sunday, always on church. Doing an Easter egg hunt was always a bit awkward because it was either completed in a hurry before church (like the picture) or we had to wait until after which was just painful :P

Because we moved a fair bit, Easter is very much associated with the house we were living in at the time. For example I know, from our ages and the angle that this was the house on Harwood. I very clearly remember the excitement of finding our chocolates in Mom and Dad's closet too. And our "baskets" that were actually empty Becel margarine tubs :)

The year we were on Astoria we had our hunt in the back yard. That summer we found a stray chocolate egg in the dryer vent. Somehow we had missed it and by then it was very melted. Ooops!

One year on Perth we had to do the hunt in the living room because it was POURING rain outside.

When I got older it was less about the chocolate and more about the fact that I had a long weekend and it was a great time to travel. In 2000 I visited Ontario for the first time and in 2007 I was in Texas. It is crazy to think that I now LIVE in Ontario (I joked about moving back then but I never, ever would have done it) and it floors me that Texas was five years ago already.

Easter is obviously about much more than chocolate or travel. After this weekend my heart is full of thanksgiving, love and new memories as I look back five years, twelve, twenty some and two thousand to where it all began.

Yeah for impromptu ice cream dates

I had just sat down for dinner when I got a text from a friend asking what I was up to. She wanted ice cream so after I finished eating I caught a bus over to the school and we walked a few blocks down to DQ. I had a peanut buster bar, something I've been craving for awhile now. Then we walked back and I caught the bus home. All in all I was only gone for about 45 minutes but it was nice to get out and enjoy the spring evening. Yeah for being spontaneous!

Five Friends and yummy bread

I thought I blogged about the last time these lovely ladies and I got together but I can't seem to find the entry. Because of that, I'll give a bit of background. We met on the History Students Association trip to Quebec City in January 2011. While everyone else was out drinking we bonded. We see each other around campus but don't really hang out a lot. We met up in April 2011 for an outing to a bakery in Guelph and again in August or September for coffee at Williams here in Waterloo. Getting five people with crazy schedules together every few months is a bit tricky but we love catching up so I think we'll make a point of doing it for a few more years. L-R is myself, Megan (back), Laura, Louise and Adrienne. I actually have history classes with Megan and Laura this semester so I talk to them a bit more but I rarely see Louise, who is an English major or Adrienne who is an Archaeology major. 

Since I was the one who contacted everyone to organize the get together, I got to chose where we went. We decided to stay in town again and this time we checked out a new German Bakery in town (Mere, this is the one I was telling you about) Adrienne had a year end brunch banquet that day so we just met up for mid-afternoon coffee. I had one of the donuts and bought a big bag of day old buns for $5. 

The bakery actually makes it's bread IN Germany and then has it shipped over about 60% baked. They finish the baking here and serve it. The result is fresh, authentic German bread that throws everyone who supports buying local into a fit of confusion. The bread itself is obviously not local and the carbon footprint is huge but it IS a local business and it's just so good! Plus the shop itself is adorable. I'll definitely be back (this is already my second visit) they have my support for sure.

As for my lovely friends, we're all spreading out over the summer but I'm sure we'll meet up again in September, if not before.

Heidi's tips for Saving Money: Win stuff!

I'm happy to report that my track record for winning things from the local radio stations has continued in Ontario. So far I've won the newest Eric Church CD - Chief, and the previously mentioned Hunger Games movie tickets and sound track. I also "bought" (with points earned by entering bonus codes online) tickets for myself and two friends to go to to the Waterloo Region Food & Drink show at the Kitchener Market.

My latest acquisition was a "call in and win" thing on FaithFM. On Sunday nights they have a gospel hour and they've been giving away cd's and dvd's of the Collingsworth Family over the last few weeks. I've been caller 3, 4, and last night I was 2, 4 AND 7. Luckily 7 was the lucky number and I won a copy of the the "A Decade of Memories" dvd. The Collingsworth Family is here in concert this week but I can't attend because of a prior commitment so this is a nice substitute. Plus, it was freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :D

Good-bye

My latest roommate has moved out. It's a weird feeling. She's been here for six months but we hardly ever talked so I can't really say I'll "miss" her. We both just let each other do our own thing and didn't get in the others way. We shared the fridge and kitchen space but she let me have a lot more space than she ever took. The fridge looks weird because it's half empty (like, the right half is perfectly clear) and the shelf where she kept her food is empty. Other than the fact that her bedroom door is open and the room is cleared out, nothing is really different. I didn't get a chance to say good-bye though. Maybe that's what feels weird. Even though "good-bye" would be more than we've said to each other in a long while.

A new girl took a look at the place the other day. I haven't heard yet if she's going to take it or not. For the record, whoever moves in next will be my fourth roommate in two years. The first one drove me nuts, the second one I never, EVER saw, and the third one who just moved out was just there. Very unobtrusive. I'm interested to see how the next one will be.

The Hunger Games

My friend Sharlaine and I joined the throngs of people going to see The Hunger Games this weekend. The only difference for us, was that we didn't pay because I won tickets (and the soundtrack) through the local radio station :D We chose to go this weekend because it worked best for both our schedules. Sharlaine lives over an hour from me so the weekends are really the only time we can meet up and with Easter and things coming, we figured it would be better to go sooner rather than later. Plus, neither of us really wanted to wait.

I loved the movie. Now I should admit, up front, that I've only read the first book. Sharlaine lent it to me last summer. I had a hard time getting into it and getting through it and because of that, and school, I haven't bothered with the other two. She recently lent me the audio books though so, I'm hoping, with school ending soon, I should be able to listen to them finally. She was really impressed with the movie too. They made minor changes which are necessary for book adaptations but overall I think they really captured what the book was about. My favourite part by far was seeing all the costumes in the Capital. Craziness!!!

I have to admit, I'm really enjoying the soundtrack as well. I didn't think I would but it's got some really great songs on it. I was expecting to recognize more of them in the movie but either they weren't used or I was just too engrossed in the story. Probably the latter, it was that good!

Friday Fill-ins 3/23/12 (on Saturday)

This is me hopefully easing myself back into blogging. 

1. Spring was here. It was an absolutely fabulous week. Now it’s the weekend and it’s drizzling outside. I guess that’s still spring though... 
2. I like my coffee strong. Komodo Dragon blend this morning! 
3. I forgot how wonderful flip flops feel. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind my boots but my toes are loving being free.
4. Veggies are what I plan on buying at the farmers market today. 
5. Heads, shoulders, knees and aches, pains, everywhere! Why? Is this what it feels like to get old? If so, I don’t like it :P 
6. Walking to and from school is my favorite form of exercise when it's warm enough out not to wear a coat! 
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some end of year formal dinner at school. I forget what groups it’s for. I’m just going for the free dinner :D. Tomorrow my plans include HUNGER GAMES! After church, with Sharlaine! 

Want to play along?  Check it out: http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/2012/03/friday.html.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#24 - Auto save

Yes, auto save. It is a LIFESAVER. And auto recovery for that matter. The battery is gone on my laptop. As in I have zero battery. It works fabulously when it's plugged in but it can't be unplugged for more than two seconds or it shuts down. I have a loose cord connection as well so it tends to happen often. When it does I initially curse because it's a pain to boot the thing back up but then I praise god for auto save because I rarely actually lose work. Even when I haven't saved myself (which I try to do fairly regularly), the computer saves automatically every few minutes and then recovers whatever I was working on. It stinks that I have to rely on it but until I get around to getting a new battery, I'll take what I can get.

From love affair to all out relationship

I have a confession. I've been having an affair. With David. Well, with his tea anyway. Have you heard of this stuff? DAVIDsTEA? You may recall that I don't even LIKE tea. Well, this is different. I got a sample pack of "Forever Nuts" as part of my Secret Santa gift at work and I fell. in. love. Granted of all the zillions of teas that David has, that's probably the best choice for me because I love anything nutty (my Santa knows me well) but I'm interested in trying other ones now. In fact I finally stopped in at their store yesterday and I spent over $30! THIRTY!!! On TEA! ME! The coffee queen. It's not cheap so it's not like I got a lot. Just a tin of my beloved Forever Nuts, adorable little drawstring fillable tea bags (actually buying a tea ball or something which is actually cheaper sounded too much like commitment) and a mini-tin of Coco-Chai Rooibos which I haven't even tried yet. I like the herbal and rooibos teas because they aren't caffeinated and good for drinking before bed.

I feel like a traitor to Starbucks which is why it feels like an affair. The fact that it was a coworker that introduced me to this stuff is only slightly ironic. And that I've fallen head over heels in love, with tea. I'm still finding it hard to believe but I am enjoying it. I should probably be worried. I'm thirty and now I'm starting to drink tea. Pretty sure it's downhill from here. Next thing you know I'll be getting a cat. If that does happen, please, please, PLEASE stage an intervention LOL

Attitude of Gratitude V4#23 - Family

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

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

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

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 with I 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 with I 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 with I 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

 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.