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 :)