the good life

farewell.

2012-02-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

I have been mulling over some various things for a long time now in regards to this blog, I would say off and on for about a year.

There are many things I love about it - the feeling of staying connected, as well as using it as a way for me to document my life and remember how I'm feeling in particular moments.

However, as time has gone by, I've realized there are a lot of negative things about it as well. Slowly but surely it has started to rob me of the joy I should be experiencing in my life. It's led to feelings of guilt (for when I don't post), inadequacy (from comparing myself to other people & their blogs), and neglect of my relationship with God (because I get so caught in in my life).

The more I read other blogs (ones I truly enjoy and that encourage me), the worse I would start to feel about my own life. I'm not a wife, mother, missionary, crafter, photographer, foodie or baker, there's nothing really exotic about me at all. I'm just an average, ordinary girl. I'm beginning to realize there's nothing wrong with that; but for a long time I felt like less of a person because I didn't fit into those specific roles. I didn't feel like I fit anywhere, and therefore didn't have a voice.

The second reason I've decided to end this (maybe it should have been the first) is to grow closer to God. This blog allowed me to focus on me, what's going on in my life, things I'm doing. I read other blogs about people that have amazing relationships with God and I feel incredibly encouraged by them - I hope they keep blogging! However, personally, I get way too involved in myself and start to ignore the most important relationship in my life.

The third reason also has to do with relationships. It's been said over and over again that the more connected we are to technology, the more disconnected our reality is. I want my family and friends to know what's going on in my life, but I no longer want to passively tell everyone these things. I want to have an active relationship with them, where we speak with each other be it face to face, on the phone, in notes and letters, or whatever. I want to have stories to tell people when I see them, not just have them hear about them on my blog.

The last reason is that the very thing I enjoy about this blog, the journalling, is also a negative. I hardly ever write in my actual journals anymore, even though there's a lot of stuff I want to record that I don't put here. But I feel like since I have this blog, I don't need to write privately. I love the idea of my great-grandchildren one day finding my old journals in a trunk somewhere and reading about what life was like growing up for me (like what life without Google was, or what is was like to wait for your favourite song to come on the radio so you could record it to a cassette!).

So, there it is. As Shelby in Steel Magnolias said, "I feel the need to make things as simple as possible." I want to increase my creativity in my real life, enjoy relationships with my friends and family more, and spend more time with God, listening to what He wants for my life, not the other way around. I think by removing this aspect of my life I will finally be able to find my own identity in Christ, and not worry so much about what others think of me.

I will still be on facebook, and might actually start using my flickr account to post photos ;) If you like, you can also follow my Instagram feed @katfalk.

Thank you for listening to me the past 3 years, and reading through 308 posts of my life. (If you actually read all of them, you get a gold internet star! :) I've truly loved doing this, and have found some amazing people and will continue to be encouraged by their blogs.

All the best,

~ Kat

can i just say

2012-01-31T11:00:00.003-07:00

I love my friends. I really do. They are just the bestest.

I met with my BFF Robyn yesterday at The White Spot, which is super appropriate because we were meeting to plan our annual Vancouver trip! (The White Spot is a western Canada chain, and there are a billion of them on the coast, since it started in Vancouver.)

Robyn on our 2008 trip

This trip is going to be fantastic! There are SO many things I am excited to see and do, but I'm also excited for the chance to do this trip again with one of the few people in the world I look forward to spending 12+ hours in a car with :) We've done this trip since 2008 (except, for some reason in 2010. Which I didn't even realize until now when I went hunting for a photo. I'm not convinced we didn't go, since I can't figure out a reason why we wouldn't have.) And every year I get this sinking feeling that it might be the last year. I try not to expect it'll happen. Maybe because I'm the perpetually single friend and I'm scared my married friends will no longer have time for me.

(Note: That previous comment is not intended to be a fact; I am not abandoned by any of my married friends! I totally realize husbands and children come first, and I am so not trying to make you feel bad for anything! These things just happen as we get older & our lives change and I'm sure one day I'll find that out first-hand :)

Me chowing down on ice cream in 2008

So when she brought up our trip to the coast, I immediately set to making lists and costing things out :) (I love a good reason for a spreadsheet!) We are both trying to stick to a budget this year, since last year kind of went off the rails...in a good way. We had fun, it was just expensive fun!

Teeny tiny Robyn on the beach...for some reason the only photo of her I could find from 2009.

I won't go into detail about our trip, it's a surprise for later ;) Besides, nothing's for certain and I'd rather wait and tell you about it what we did, not what we were going to do but never got around to doing it.


Me...YES I AM DEATHLY PALE & MY ARM BLENDS INTO MY SHIRT! WHATEVER	!

This year is going to be a little more interesting because we've made a little weight wager. We both want to lose some weight and decided to put our money where our mouth is. Robyn started it; I'm going to be reminding her of that for the next 5 months. After we decided the terms of our bet we both kind of looked at each other with that look of "What did we just do exactly?!?!" So we'll see how this goes ;)

Us in sunshiny 2011!

If this trip is half as much fun as our planning session was, it's going to be great! I can't believe how much this friend of mine makes me laugh!

P.S. I just noticed that my hair is nearly the exact same length in all of these pictures. I swear these were all taken in different years, I apparently have a habit of cutting off my hair in the summer!

quiet

2012-01-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Life has been kind of quiet/hectic lately, hence the lack of posting. Hectic because I've been busy almost every. single. day. But quiet because it's not really the most exciting business, just...life. My mom stayed at my house for a couple nights while she helped out my sister during the day. We had some fun and she treated me to Sodajerks :)

I love this stuff, it tastes just like those Coca-cola candies :)

I also got to visit my niece! I had a Saturday afternoon cuddle with her.

That last one was actually taken by my sister earlier this week...but it was too cute not to include ;) Plus, she slept the whole time I held her and I wanted to show off those big blue eyes :D

My former roommate also came over Saturday night for a Harry Potter movie night. I made dinner and we took it downstairs to eat, but decided to be civilized & eat at a table.

My brother's table is usually tucked in the corner of the basement, but we dragged it into the middle for our meal. It felt kind of funny, but it did the trick :) Plus, we didn't get super messy from trying to balance plates on our laps.

And yesterday I took a lovely walk to the river valley. On the way back I heard something behind me and when I looked around thought I saw an off-leash dog. And no owner. Yeah, it was a coyote. I started walking a bit faster and was grateful to see some people walking my direction :)

finally!

2012-01-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was historic my friends. After 25 years of struggle, I can finally say that................I beat my sister at Dutch Blitz :)

She's always bested me at this, since we were little. Of course, she was 4 years older and therefore had a slight advantage. Until last night, when I totally owned her.

In other news, my brother's bread machine hates me. I've attempted 2 loaves of bread in that dumb thing, and this is what happened:

Then, he tries the exact same recipe and ends of with this:

WTF you stupid bread machine?! How in the world does this happen? I give up. I told him that he's making the bread from now on, I quit.

winter has come

2012-01-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

We were blessed with some snow, finally. As well as everyone on the west coast, judging from facebook statuses.

This is news because I live on the prairies; last year we had a solid 3 feet of snow in our backyard for at least 4 months. The city snow removal crews created the largest ever "snow mountain", which finally completely melted in September. Yes, September.

So this has been a strange winter - temperatures around +10 C, no snow on the ground, wearing light fall jackets everyday (sometimes no jacket!), it's been odd indeed. Until this morning.

I'm not sure how much we got, but my neighborhood is blanketed. Some areas it's only a couple of inches, some drifts are a foot tall. After shoveling the sidewalk, I decided it seemed like a good day to take to the trails and enjoy the newly white surroundings.

Well. Within about 3 minutes I wished I had put on long johns and a scarf. Thankfully I remembered a toque and some warm mittens. But the wind - oh my, I had forgotten all about wind chill. I'm still waiting for the feeling to come back to my legs.

And walking in snow is something I am just not used too. I definitely got a good workout from that alone. It's a little like running on sand, only with big heavy boots on your feet.

All in all though, there were good moments. Like being the first to step in a blank white sheet of snow. What is that urge? That urge to ruin an expanse of perfection with your own footprints? Whatever that is, it's something I don't take for granted anymore. Growing up on a farm, it was easy to be the first one out there in the snow - my parents didn't really take to running across the yard unless the cows were out. But in the city it's a little different.

And the quiet. Some might think it's eerie when the city can be so quiet. I relish it. When I am up at the top of the river valley, looking down to the houses below, across the river to downtown, it's magical how the noise just disappears. It's as if everyone knows it's a day for staying home, making a pot of tea, and curling up with a good book.

(I was also thankful when no one was around to watch me wipe out. Twice. It's easy to forget that underneath all that snow is a month-old layer of solid ice. That plus my zero-traction knockoff UGG boots from Costco was just not a good combination.)

I left my phone at home & didn't take a camera, so I have no pictures to show you. But you can't really capture the kind of quiet beauty that is a gentle snowfall. It's something to be experienced, not observed.

art of the muses

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Rhythm, pitch, dynamics, timbre...it all combines into magic.

I find myself willing to do the most inane tasks if it means I get to listen to my music. When I make a new playlist for the gym I want to go work out right now. When I walk to and fro, getting groceries, library books and the like, the routine tasks feel full of life when paired with the right soundtrack. When I need to get down & dirty, roll up my sleeves, and tackle the sorry state of clutter my house is in, music makes me want to work, want to keep going. When I feel blue and apathetic towards life, a song has the ability to penetrate my dark clouds and fill my heart with light and weightlessness.

I think this is one of my favourite little mysteries in life. It occurred to me while I was running around the track at the gym. I was going to stop; one song was winding down, it was time for a treat, a break, a reason to give up. I had done enough, I heard me say to myself. You're legs hurt. No one will judge you for quitting. No reason to go above and beyond.

But then, Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga came on and suddenly I found myself smiling. And running faster. Because suddenly I didn't want to quit.

This mystifies me. I'm not really a huge fan of Lady Gaga; I find her completely whack-a-doo. But - the girl can craft a catchy tune. When I'm at the gym, I find music completely different from my usual repertoire keeps me going. Stuff like Taio Cruz (like it's dyno-mite...), Family Force 5, the Glee Cast, and the Rocket Summer are my cheering companions. The rhythm my body moves to. It's not music I would normally listen to, but it sure does the trick for an hour every other day.

And then when I'm at home. I could get lost in my computer's library of songs. With over 5,000 to choose from, it would take me over 2 weeks to cycle through it all. But I love it all (some a bit more than others). Even songs I can't bear to listen to anymore because I played them 11,000 times in a row when I first fell in love with them I cannot bring myself to delete. Even the songs that I can't listen to because they remind me of a less than idyllic situation.

One of those is Cough Syrup by Young the Giant. It's a good song, but I don't really like hearing it. That is the song I remember hearing while my brother drove us through the snowy streets to pick up my brother-in-law, when my sister was first admitted to the hospital and we weren't sure what was going to happen, to her or my niece. Even though everything turned out fine and we have this incredible new person in our lives, hearing that song makes me feel all the anxiousness and fear and hope and shock of that night.

And this might be an odd one - I'm not even sure I can explain it - but some songs make me think of future memories. Does that even make sense? I sometimes hear a song and instantly feel that it should remind me of something momentous, but I don't have a memory of it yet; it's as if it's coming. One of those is 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong by Mogwai. I can't explain it; there is something like a magnetic force in the first strains that draws me in, and won't let me fast forward or skip a second of that song. It's one of the few I have to listen the length of. Anything less and I feel cheated.

It's an odd force over my life, but one I thank God for. He gave some the ability to craft beautiful art that can speak to your soul; erase bad memories (or at least tint them a different colour); and enhance the sometimes tiresome monotony of life by injecting vibrancy into our core. And while I ache over the fact I cannot produce or create that art, I am fully appreciative and thankful I can experience it.

get ready

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I had a visit with my niece this weekend. You know what that means...

PICTURES!!

She kills me with cuteness. Especially that nose. Also? She might be coming home this week!!! I'm so excited for my sister & brother-in-law for their baby girl to finally come home. She's gotta pass a couple of tests first, so please pray for that!

In slightly less exciting news, please welcome Herman the houseplant:

That's right, I get to cross #17 off my list...with any luck, #18 as well if I can keep this little guy alive until my birthday ;)

rough start

2012-01-03T08:00:00.004-07:00

So far this year I have laid on the couch and watched 3 Harry Potter movies (I forgot how loooong they are) along with copious amounts of Netflix and about 45 naps. Exciting right?

I also puked my guts out and had to call in sick yesterday, the first workday of 2012. Who feels like a crappy employee?

The good news is that I'm feeling better and hoping this little bug or whatever is behind me. I hate being sick.

twenty twelve

2012-01-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Here she is - 2012.

I always have high hopes for a new year - I felt the same about 2011. Not to say that last year disappointed, but maybe just...fell short. And a lot of that was my own doing.

This year is a bit different. I'm excited at the prospect of a new "blank page", new days to live and new experiences. But I don't have the same high hopes - I think it's because I don't really like the number 12.

That probably makes me slightly crazy, but we all knew already how unbalanced I am.

Anyways, I have been thinking the past few days about my word for 2012. I usually don't think very hard about it; this year I didn't have to think about it at all. When I asked God for a little inspiration, this word immediately popped into my head and it's been rattling around there ever since.

Sacrifice.

When I heard it, I knew it was "the word", but I wasn't really excited about it. Sacrifice means giving up something I want, being less selfish, and putting others first. So I tried coming up with some other defining words for this year, but felt kind of guilty, like I was cheating on the one I knew I should go with.

So there it is, my word for this year is sacrifice. Dying to myself, making from for Christ to work in me.

good times had by all

2011-12-27T08:00:00.014-07:00

We opened presents...I got a new hairdryer & the Harry Potter DVD set, among other fantastic treasures. The best part though was watching my sis & BIL open all the gifts we bought for Caleigh.

(Aren't these the cutest?!?!)

We got to hold my niece - it was the first time we were all together as a family.

(Isn't she the cutest?!?!?!)

We drank a little...

(I really like vanilla coke...)

And I have a new favourite drinking glass.

(Super classy, right?)

All in all, a fantastic Christmas weekend. Lot of laughters and celebrating Christ's birth with family. I can't wait for next year's celebration! ;)

i wish it was christmas to-day-ay

2011-12-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it - tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!

My Christmas present came early...I got to hold my niece! All 2lb 13oz of her :)

I just love her so much...and Christmas is so much fun when you get to buy all sorts of cute little girly things :)

Well, I have 301 more things to do today to get the house ready - my parents come tomorrow!

Happy Christmas everyone, have a lovely holiday with your loved ones!

I Wish It Was Christmas Today by Julian Casablancas on Grooveshark

i'm sensing a pattern

2011-12-15T08:00:00.002-07:00

I checked and it looks like December is always a pretty sparse posting month for me - too much to do I guess. I'm also blaming lack of sun.

I didn't realize it until yesterday - I haven't seen the sun in ages. I'm almost positive it doesn't exist anymore. My Vitamin D levels must be severely low, which explains why I've been so exhausted all the time. I can't wait until I can visit Arizona and get some sunshiiine!

Other than that, it's business as usual - work is crazy busy, life is crazy busy.

We're celebrating Christmas at my house this year, instead of my parents' house. They live about an hour and a half away, and my sister and BIL want to stick close to the city to be near my niece, which makes total sense. It's going to be a little odd though - I've never celebrated Christmas anywhere except for at the farm.

But it also meant I get to have a tree :) I've never put up a tree. And now my vacuum lives in my living room, because I had to get a real tree.

I bribed my sister & BIL with pizza to come help decorate it :) My brother even helped too, so between the 4 of us it got done really quickly - and no fighting! It's amazing how well siblings get along when they are in the 20s and 30s :)

This is my favourite ornament - a pink, plastic star I got in 1990 (I was 4) from my Sunday School teacher. I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world when I got it. And for whatever reason, it remains my favourite.

And just because...a pic of my niece (without her CPAP!!) and her mama :) I have all sorts of little gifties to get for this little one. Babies are just so fun to shop for!

robyn it's your birthday

2011-12-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

I just needed to do a quick shout-out for one of my BFF's, Robyn.

It's her BIRTHDAY!

She's just fantastic. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend. I think a good barometer of friendships is how well you survive car trips together - we've pretty much defeated that test a bajillion times.

We've known each other for 7 years, and been super awesome besties for about 5 of those years. I wouldn't trade any of those moments for the world.

Happy birthday friend! I'm so happy you are in my life and hope you have a fantastic year! ;)

excuse me while i clutch my stomach in pain

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sooooo...I joined a gym.

I know what you're thinking. Another gym? Gosh, how many times do we have to hear this? And I bet it's going to be "totally different" this time, right?

Don't worry, I've already given the spiel to myself. I'll save you the sales pitch.

It's not really a gym-gym though. It's "community recreational facility". And this time I'm plunking down some cash to get me going, beyond the monthly fee. (I know, I can hardly believe it myself. It was practically an out-of-body experience when I was asking for information on how to spend more money.) I feel like by making a financial commitment, I need to follow through for once in my life so that it's not a waste of money.

I had a session with a trainer last night. Not a personal training session, per se, just a "getting started" session. We talked about some of my fitness goals and she is going to create a program for me to work on so that every time I go to the gym I don't just hop on an elliptical and get my 30 minutes of cardio.

So this session. It was a "toe in the water" session, to show me what I'll be doing. And it kicked. my. butt. I was so sore I felt justified going to Wal-Mart at 10:30 at night to get myself some chocolate milk as a reward. Seriously, the exercises she had me doing - I keep looking down expecting my muscles to start bulging at any second.

I feel ripped apart, but in a good way. I feel like I'll be too sore to laugh tomorrow, but in a good way. I feel like my legs are no longer muscle & bone any more but are in fact just really large spaghetti noodles, but in a good way.

So it's going to be hard and it's going to suck. A lot. I have to admit, I really like my lifestyle of eating lots of junk food and watching a lot of TV. Junk food tastes so fantastic and I am really good at watching TV. I could probably medal in it. But at the same time, I want a heck of a lot more out of my life. Obviously what I'm doing now isn't working.

So here I go. Again. If you feel so inclined, I wouldn't mind a prayer or two sent on my behalf for continued motivation. Because while I am on the "new gym high" right now, next week I'll probably be whining and making up excuses about how I can't go. That's how I roll.

good golly

2011-12-01T11:00:00.006-07:00

I did not mean to take that much time away. Apparently blogging is like exercise - the less you do it, the easier it is to not do it.

But I have been busy. We had my mom's birthday...

She like the iPad we got her :)

I've been doing some Christmas shopping. I did not buy this because it is super creepy looking.

I found Coldstone Creamery here in E-town and am oh so happy about it...

And of course I've gotten some Caleigh Belle visits in :) That girl just melts my heart. She officially weighs 2 pounds now! My sis sent me this pic last night of her with her eyes open. I just love her so much.

That's about it. I just wanted to prove I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth or anything.

God is good // i'm an auntie!!!

2011-11-21T11:00:00.011-07:00

This past weekend has been...surreal. A crazy collision of nearly every emotion I think, intensified to a level I've never felt before.

November 19 at 7:57am, my niece Caleigh Elizabeth was born. She weighs 1 lb 13 oz and is 13.5 inches long - the tiniest little bundle of perfection I've ever seen!

Her name Caleigh (pronounced like Callie) means "joyous celebration" and "beautiful", so it's perfectly fitting! There are so many things about her birth that just tell what an amazing God we serve. She showed off her lungs with a proper scream when she came out, and a doctor told us that when they put the blankets on her she tried kicking them away :)

Her preemie diaper :)

She's here 11 weeks sooner that we all thought she would be, but she came according to God's timing, not ours. My sister is doing really well too; both her & Josh are handling this unbelievably well - they have been so strong and positive about this whole thing.

I'm sure there will be some long months ahead for the 3 of them, but this is the family God designed them for - in His infinite wisdom, He has given Caleigh to them as an incredible gift. Good things come in small packages! :)

already?

2011-11-17T11:00:00.004-07:00

I can't believe this week is almost over.

I must admit - once snow hits the ground, I turn into a hermit. I've been holed up in my little home, drinking tea, scanning old photos, reading books, and maybe watching a tv show or two ;)

Do you like my wreath? My cousin visited me on the weekend and taught me how to make those little flowers. They were super easy - take a strip of fabric, loosely knot it at one end, then twirl the fabric a bit and wrap around in a circle (like a hair bun), hot gluing as you go (unlike a hair bun). Glue the flowers to a wreath and there you go!

I think I can safely cross #25 off my list now :)

severely lacking

2011-11-09T11:00:00.001-07:00

One thing I've noticed from this whole tracking-what-I-eat thing is that I tend to shy away from one thing: vegetables.

This most definitely is not new. I hated vegetables when I was a kid. Especially green ones (peas, broccoli, cucumbers, etc.) Which is ironic, since green is my favourite colour.

I read a book awhile (twice, actually) called Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. I remember him showing a comparison of vegetable lovers vs. fruit lovers which I thought was really interesting:

"Compared to the average person, vegetable lovers:
    - Like to try new recipes and entertain at home
    - Enjoy spicy foods
    - Think you cook nutritiously
    - Enjoy an occasional glass of wine

Compared to the average person, fruit lovers:
   - Often eat dessert with dinner
   - Spend little time cooking
   - Avoid new recipes and entertaining
   - Enjoy an occasional candy bar

If we step back, the survey results make sense: Fruits are convenient, but veggies require some degree of preparation such as peeling or trimming. Someone who is vegetable-prone may also be more accustomed to food preparation – and less threatened by new recipes or the prospect of dinner guests.
Fruits are generally sweeter than vegetables, and fruit lovers may prefer sweeter foods, desserts, and candy. Vegetables, however, run the range from bitter to savory. That is probably why vegetable lovers preferred the strong and savory tastes of exotic or spicy foods, and even the bitter tannins of red wines." (Source)

I'm definitely a fruit-lover. I need dessert to "complete" a meal, I hate spending a lot of time cooking (hence why eggs are a dinner staple for me), and I eat more than the "occasional" candy bar (especially when I can get'em free at work!). Of course, I do like spicy foods and trying new recipes, but those things are few and far between; most of the time I cook what's familiar and easy.

So, any tips from you veggie lovers? I know you're out there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday - $4.50

No breakfast (I know, I know), egg ham & cheese sandwich for lunch with some Dad's cookies, leftover palt from Mom & Dad for dinner. Oh and ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday - $2.00

Toast with PB&J at work, ham sandwich + a Coke and...gulp...a whole Costco muffin (yikes, can you say sugar rush?), scrambled eggs for dinner.

catch-up

2011-11-07T11:00:00.002-07:00

I ate a lot of leftovers and free food last week and weekend.

Wednesday - $7.50
Breakfast at work, chicken with macaroni & cheese leftovers for lunch and dinner. Because that's how I roll.

Thursday - $8.00
No breakfast (whoops), leftover chicken & pasta for lunch, dried pork ribs & vegetable soup for dinner. I may have also had some fruit and a two halves of a Costco muffin as well during the day.

Friday - $7.50
Breakfast at work, Wendy's meal for lunch (it wasn't even that good :P especially now that I think of the money spent on it), free dinner at the 'rents.

Saturday - FREE!
I stayed at the farm and my parents fed me like good parents are wont to do. We had fried palt, bacon, leftover Halloween candy, crackers with meat & cheese, and watermelon. In other words, super duper healthy stuff.

Sunday - $4.00
My brother made french toast for breakfast. Leftover dried pork ribs for lunch, toast & eggs for dinner. And an apple for snack.

All in all, that works out to $5.40/day. Not bad, not bad at all. Thanks for the free food, Mom & Dad!

favourites

2011-11-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

they just don't make dance numbers in movies like these anymore.

p.s. I'm still tracking what I eat and stuff - i've just been too tired lately to come up with some sort of way to post it without boring you to death.

running start

2011-11-02T11:00:00.009-06:00

So far this little experiment is kind of fun. Let's hope the fun continues...

I've decided to round the total of each meal and snacks up to the nearest quarter. It would be next to impossible to track the cost of things like salt & pepper, a half cup of flour, or what have you. I figure rounding everything up kind of includes all that. I also really like multiples of five.

I will also be guesstimating how much some things cost, since I'll be using food that I have already purchased and won't remember the prices I paid. So no one should be using these prices to calculate inflation or anything.

As of right now, I haven't really come up with an interesting way to post all of this - no doubt you don't want to read about what I ate for 30 days :P So I think I will stick to a summary form for now, and put it at the end of each post. I will probably not about weekends - I'll try to keep track on my own, but it's a lot of grazing I do, so it would be annoying to put it all on here.

Yesterday:

Breakfast: PB&J toast with tea. Cost? Free! I didn't have time to eat at home, so I ate when I got to work. Sometimes the warehouse of food and full kitchen come in handy.

Lunch: sandwich, small bag of chips, and an apple - cost $2.25

Dinner - Total cost was $4.00 I picked up a roast chicken from Safeway so that Ryan & I could have "Swiss Chalet" night. Basically, we just pick up the chicken, make oven fries at home, and buy the Swiss Chalet gravy packets. I figured there are about 4 servings of chicken ($2.12/serving). I didn't want to buy fries since I had leftover homemade cauliflower mac & cheese ($1/serving) at home. The gravy is about $0.20/serving, and I also had some leftover raw carrots & celery at about $0.60.

So my whole day cost me only $6.25 - which doesn't sound bad, but if that's how much I ate everyday, I'd spend $190/month (on average). This is pretty eye-opening for me already; up until a short while ago, I thought $100/month was a totally reasonable amount for a single girl. Guess I shouldn't feel that guilty for constantly going over my monthly food budget.

ambitious

2011-10-31T16:10:00.000-06:00

I am nothing if not ambitious with my goals. Whether it's going a year without junk food (ha!), thinking I can lose 20 lbs in a month (double ha! and unhealthy...) or thinking it's wise to work 2 jobs and go to school full time (ha ha ha!).

I get these ideas in my head and think they're completely doable when that is exactly what they are not (for me, that is...other people have probably done all of the above quite successfully and with much less complaining than I, no doubt).

However, that doesn't mean I won't continue to make goals and completely fail at achieving them. I'm human. I am also trying to defeat that pesky all-or-nothing mentality that is part of my personality.

The next goal I have? I've decided I am going to track what I eat for a month, discuss it here, and also report how much money went down my throat.

There are several reasons why I want to do this. One, I really like monetary breakdowns. They're much better than the nervous kind. Second-of-ly, I am battling two wars right now: my love of food vs. my desire to lose weight, and my love of spending money vs. the weight of my student debt. Tracking what I'm eating and how much it's costing me will tie all these issues in a nice little bow and give me an idea of what I am doing to myself and my bank account.

This is not intended to turn into a health/food blog, in case you're worried about that. I love food of all kinds; I will not be giving up chocolate, going vegan, or having glucose injected into my veins. All I want is to eat like a "normal" person (whatever that is), learning to approach food without fear, guilt, or shame.

I am also very interested in the financial aspect. I think our society swallows a lot of money; I've noticed that I've picked up my brother's habit of just buying whatever looks good regardless of the cost. I want to be better about planning and cooking at home and I hope this little experiment with help with that.

I haven't come up with any hard and fast rules about all this; a lot of it will be fleshed out as I go. And if any of you have any tips or tricks to pass along, by all means do so!

a bit better

2011-10-28T11:00:00.004-06:00

Therapy can be amazingly cheap.

Here I was, all down in the dumps yesterday, but then I had an excellent evening. Exercise, a good meal that I shared with my dad, an impromptu visit with my sister and BIL....

Sometimes drop-by visits are the best.

Work will still be work, and it's not going to change overnight. I'll still probably have to psych myself up in the mornings. But music can be tremendously powerful in chasing those blues away. Apparently this vid only cost $7 to make. The band, Acres of Lions, is from BC, and I love them! The song is technically not really a happy subject I guess, but come on, how can you not start dancing to this?

(For you Edmontonians, Sonic represents at 0:10!)

And these guys are local and amazing! (At least, I think they're local; they were Sonic's Band of the Month during October here.) The band is Zerbin, the song is New Earth, and I love love love it - I bet you a hundred million dollars you will be whistling this tune for the next hour.

Both songs are available on iTunes. So for $1.98 there's your therapy. And if you're like me and get iTunes gift cards from Airmiles, it's completely free :)

blargh-eha-werhg-ghoa

2011-10-27T15:24:00.000-06:00

No, that is not some new Halloween greeting. I let my fingers and emotions pick the title. It pretty much sums up what I feel right now.

Recently someone made a comment to me that Christian bloggers can get a bit, ahem, annoying with their positivity (this comment was made by a fellow Christian). I happen to agree with that comment.

I get it though - we want to be a light to the world, and if we're constantly complaining about our life, that's not very terrific. But nothing in life is ever going to be perfect 100% of the time, why do we have to pretend that it is?

That's why I feel like it's ok to say this: right now, I don't really enjoy my life. I just don't.

That's a hard thing for me to say. Because as soon as I say that, The Guilt comes. That Guilt says I have a home, money in the bank, food on the table, a car to drive, friends, family, even luxuries like a computer, a pretty duvet for my bed, chocolate, and a freaking iPhone for goodness' sake!

But I don't believe having those things completely revokes your right to be a little less than satisfied with your life. Or maybe that's just my own first-world mentality. It's also possible that perhaps, just maybe, there is the tiniest chance that by having all these things I am less happy as a result. (Gasp! Did I just infer that owning Apple products doesn't bring lifelong happiness? The horror!)

I think a big part of this nagging feeling of discontent is my job. More Guilt. Because 2 years ago I didn't have a job, and EI is not really that fun to live on.

But every day, I have to give myself a pep talk to get out of bed. Not just a little "let's-get-going" chat, I have to convince myself that it is necessary to shower and go to work today. I have to refute my own reasons why I could maybe call in sick. Every. Day. This process takes anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.

I'm honestly not sure if this is severe laziness, some early winter blues, or if I really hate my job that much. It's certainly not a bad job, and I'm grateful for the pay cheque. But that's kind of as far as it goes. The happiest moments of my day are when I get to home for lunch and when I leave work at then end of the day.

I'm fully aware that people everywhere do not have jobs they love, and that there will always be aspects of work which are unpleasant. But I am really getting exhausted from these 45 minute "pep talks."

Please, tell me that this is normal?

convert

2011-10-24T11:00:00.001-06:00

I am officially hooked on Jane Austin.

I had always secretly made fun of Jane Austin fans. How cliche, I thought. But I am in love. So far I am only in the midst of Pride & Prejudice (chapter 25 of 61!), but it's official; I've caught the bug. I want to read Persuasion, and Emma, Sense & Sensibility, everything.

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." (Ch. 5)

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment." (Ch. 6)

"It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples." (Ch. 18)

"I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are) who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time. I am perfectly serious in my refusal. You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who could make you so." (Ch. 19)

"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." (Ch. 20)

"But if I go on, I shall displease you by saying what I think of persons you esteem. Stop me whilst you can." (Ch. 24)

this is not a food blog

2011-10-21T11:00:00.002-06:00

Honest.

Doesn't this look tasty?

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It's called Autumn Chopped Salad. I found it via Pinterest and thought it sounded fabulous. Mine turned out looking...less fabulous.

It was still good though. It's why I washed the romaine yesterday, and made the bacon bits. Except...I forgot to put the bacon bits in. And I didn't have poppyseed dressing or balsamic vinaigrette. So I used pomegranate vinaigrette. It ended up tasting very much like my knock-off Apple Pecan Chicken Salad from Wendy's. (Favourite. Salad. Ever.) Except that pear was used instead of apple.

I also rinsed some chickpeas.

I left them to dry over night and I'm going to try roasting them today. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Remember these?

Yeah, me too. They're still in my freezer. Hopefully I do something with them soon. I don't think I can just leave a muffin pan of frozen yogurt in my freezer, can I?

Have a happy weekend!

prep work

2011-10-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I...

washed kale

and romaine lettuce

and made some tasty bacon bits

and froze some greek yogurt

I found a bunch of food ideas on Pinterest and instead of just pinning the stuff and never doing anything about it, thought I'd try out a few ideas.

So last night was prep work. When I actually use this stuff I'll provide more info and link love to where I found these bright ideas.

Also? I took pictures with a real camera, aka not my phone. It was weird. I miss Instagram.

wordless wednesday

2011-10-19T11:00:00.002-06:00

current events

2011-10-18T11:00:00.020-06:00

Yesterday I accomplished many things. (Well, a few things.)

I went grocey shopping and bought so much I had to stop halfway through to go get a cart since I couldn't carry my basket. It took 2 trips to get all the groceries in the house. Anyways, to make room for all this food I had to clean out the cupboard, which led to this:

No joke - the night before I nearly dumped all the spaghetti out and my brother said, "You should tape the box shut." I replied with an apathetic "yeah", but ignored the instruction.

While cleaning out the cupboard I dumped the spaghetti out. Thank goodness my brother wasn't there. He would have said "that'll learn you." Just shows I should listen to my elders.

I also went to the library and picked up this book:

Another one by Francis Chan. I love reading anything this guy writes. He's wise, inspiring, and incredibly humble. I loved Crazy Love and The Forgotten God, but I am nervous about this one.

"If you are excited to read this book, you have issues.

Do you understand the weight of what we are about to consider? We are exploring the possibility that you and I may end up being tormented in hell. Excited would be the wrong term to use here. Necessary would be more fitting."

That's the opening of the introduction.

I may read 'Little House on the Prairie' after this, just to inject some much-needed lightheartedness.

I put together my October calendar from Scout Creative. I know, it's over halfway through October. But I'm still ahead of when I put together September's (the 28th I believe). I like to take them to work.

This is the extent of my Halloween decorating.

All in all, a productive evening.

things i liked about this weekend

2011-10-17T11:00:00.001-06:00

1. On Friday I said au revoir to this tiny excuse for an office desk...

And hellooooo to this lovely piece of workspace...

A co-worker said I look so tiny sitting at my desk now. I think I stumbled onto a new weight loss program :) I might take another pic when everything is set up, it looks pretty messy right now.

2. I did a little shopping/Christmas gift idea-hunting on Saturday. For all that hard work, I bought myself some Cookies by George.

I ended up sharing with my siblings, because sometimes I can be a lovely person who does that sort of thing. Plus, I really don't need to eat them all myself.

3. My sister and brother-in-law came over to do laundry and we Dutch Blitz-ed it up. I took no pictures because this is a Very Serious Game and I had to devote my full attention to winning. Except my sister was playing, so that meant I didn't win.

4. I have finished Proverbs this weekend, and I think I highlighted every since verse.

5. A walk on a Sunday afternoon may be the most perfect thing in the world.

O. M. G.

2011-10-14T19:06:00.000-06:00

I just died of laughter. Or heart failure. I'm really not sure which one yet.

It's pretty much my worst fear realized, only I can laugh because it happened to someone else.

cue the charlie brown soundtrack

2011-10-14T11:00:00.002-06:00

Source

The cooling temperatures, wind blowing the trees bare, spooky Halloween decorations. For me it all reminds me of one thing...

Christmas!

Actually, it's only because Thanksgiving is over. It gives me permission to anticipate the impending holiday season :)

The past few years I've been kind of pretending to get into the holiday spirit. I'm not sure why - as a kid it was my favourite holiday! Maybe because as an adult there is so much more rushing around to do, things to buy, snow & ice to drive in, sidewalks to shovel, and darkness (so much darkness!).

But thanks to Pinterest, I am finding LOTS of projects I can do to decorate my house :) I don't get a tree; I go to my parents' house to celebrate, so I think it's a waste to cut down a tree or buy a fake one when I won't even be here. But there are lots of other things to do, including those cute little pine cones above.

But it's not necessarily the decorations; I'm just excited! I've been humming Christmas carols already! Ha! I'm also determined to be more organized and have all gift-buying done by the end of November. Then I can just relax and enjoy the season, basking in all it's red & green glory.

P.S. I've also been perusing the World Vision Gift Catalogue to see what I can do this year. This may also be helping me get into the holiday spirit so early :)

doing our part for the environment

2011-10-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

When I was at the farm, we planted a new tree.

Ain't it purty? We used to have a big weeping birch tree in our front yard, but it was dying and it needed to come out when the new house was built. It was a very important tree; my siblings and I had our 1-year (ish) photos taken there, many a family photo, and all our grad photos were taken in front of that tree (even my mom's; which is odd, since it was my dad that grew up here).

My dad wanted to get it planted though, because of my sister's baby :) He wants to make sure "the tree" is there (and maybe growing some leaves) by the time Baby comes.

The men worked to get the tree in...except for a couple of breaks.

And the women stood around taking pictures. As it should be.

long weekend

2011-10-11T11:00:00.001-06:00

What a fantastic long weekend. I think I heard the sound of an entire country unbuckling their belts on Sunday. Or was that just my family?

Saturday my family gathered at my maternal grandparents house for dinner. Not for Thanksgiving, just to visit. My grandparents are getting ready to leave for the winter (they're Arizona snowbirds, and I'm slightly jealous they get to escape Canadian winters).

Sunday I went to the farm for turkey. Mmm-hmmm! What a delicious feast. My mom always cooks way too much food, and we all brought way too much dessert. But it was oh so good.

Yesterday was just a really nice day off. I pulled up dead sunflowers from the ~~patch of dirt~~ flowerbed in my backyard. I also used up the rest of my BC apples :( Back in September, I brought home 2 huge bags of apples. I devoured the first bag in about a week; the other bag took more time. I actually thought I had finished them, but found some in the fridge the other day.

So I peeled and chopped. And made delicious, cinnamon-y applesauce. I decided to be proactive and freeze some of it, before I consume it all.

I discovered, though, that I prefer a chunky applesauce. I used my handy dandy hand blender, which is great for soups, but made the applesauce the consistency of baby food. No matter; it's still delicious and will probably taste great on some oatmeal in the morning :)

today-o

2011-10-07T13:00:00.000-06:00

Remember my whining from yesterday? Yeah, me too. I'm still in that funk, waiting on that red light. But I'm not gonna talk about it anymore.

Because today is Friday.

And not only is it the best day of the week, but I also get to talk to one of my BFFs that I haven't talked to in a long time. I'm so lucky - I have a lot of BFFs. Which is good, because that's one of my favourite acronyms to say.

It's Jenene! This pic is from a couple years ago, when she got married, obviously. I don't know many people who just happen to wear wedding veils on a regular basis. You can see more recent pics of her here at her own blog, along with updates on her cutie-patootey little daughter. Gosh she's a sweetie.

Anyways, we get to Skype tonight, and I am ca-razy excited.

Thank God it's Friday indeed.

waiting

2011-10-06T13:00:00.008-06:00

You know the feeling when you've been stuck at a red light for so long, you're thinking it's broken? Or maybe you need to get out and push the button?

That's what my life feels like - one big red light.

It's just a feeling that's settled on me, like a cloud. This feeling that I am waiting, constantly waiting. For something to happen, for my life to begin. That there must be some break from the monotony of everyday life of sleep, work, repeat. I've been finding it difficult to blog, since everything feels meaningless - and no, I'm not reading Ecclesiastes yet.

Everything just feels stalled. My job, my finances, my relationships. Everything is static; as a girl who's terrified of change, it's odd I'm craving elasticity.

I looked up university courses today. Again. I also looked up flight tickets to New Zealand, Turkey, and Ethiopia.

The thing is, I don't really want to go to school, nor am I particularly fond of traveling. I just want...something. A shake-up, a break in routine. (Of course, 2 years ago yesterday I had gotten laid off of my job; talk about a shake-up. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.)

It makes me wonder - am I supposed to get out and push the button, or is the light broken and I need to wait for God to fix it?

catch up

2011-10-03T15:21:00.000-06:00

My cousin has now come and gone. It was so great to see her again. Lots of catching up, including birthday gifts :) I felt bad - her gift kind of fell through, so she'll just have to settle for an ultra good Christmas gift this year.
Anyways, because she's awesome, she bought me TOMS!

They look kind of green here, but are actually a dark grey. I love them! They are oh so comfy and I am so excited to finally have a pair. She also gave me the prettiest earrings, that she made. I don't have a pic of them, but I really should.

We ended up doing a little shopping on Whyte Ave before bidding each other adieu. It was so nice to have her in town :)

P.S. She also showed me the website The Purl Bee and I am in love! I think I've pinned half their site now...

P.P.S. I am in Chapter 17 of Pride and Prejudice and loving it. Why didn't I ever read it before?

visitor

2011-09-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

Remember this character?

Here's a hint.

We're related. Our fathers are brothers.

Yup, my cousin/BFF is visiting this weekend. She'll be the first to break in my guest room. She has a wedding in the city so she's using me for the cheap rent (um...free). I haven't seen her in like, forever. Maybe we'll take some new pics.*

The only thing I'm hung up on is that she's a vegetarian; what else do you serve someone for breakfast besides bacon & eggs?! Turkey bacon?

*these photos are très old, taken at my apartment downtown many moons ago. She looks different now, all cool and pharmacist-y. I still look the same - even my hair is the same length, complete with the bangs that badly need trimmed (thus pulled back). I give up; short of plastic surgery I think I'm always going to look like I'm still in high school.

wants vs. needs

2011-09-29T15:00:00.000-06:00

It's about to get a lot uncomfortable up in here. Cause I'm gonna be talking about everyone's favourite topic - money!

Because I have none. It's been a little tight around here. Ok, a lot tight.

Several things are to blame. But mostly, it's because I think I make more money than I actually do, and subsequently spend more than I should.

Don't get me wrong; I'm very happy with what I make and consider myself extremely blessed. The problem is that I haven't really been keeping very good track of my "blessings", despite loving the time I spend on my budgeting spreadsheets. I have to be the most financially-obsessed broke person I know.

One of my 26 by 26 goals is that I stay on budget for 6 months. Being a last-minute kind of girl, I am giving myself from September 24 - March 23 to accomplish this. Smart, I know.

First, to get myself on track, I put myself on a spending freeze. No unnecessary purchasing, other than things I have already committed to. This meant I returned some stuff that I bought without thinking, and I have several projects on hold for home-beautifying. Pretty walls are nice, but not if I'm spending too much to get them.

Second, I've eliminated the word "deserve" from my vocabulary. It's a ridiculous word that should be cast out of the English language. It makes one buy silly things they don't need, like cookies. Expensive cookies. From someone named George. It also blurs that line between a want vs. a need. That line gets oh-so-blurry when you "deserve" something.

I flip-flopped a lot on the whole getting-a-second-job situation. I had actually decided I was just going to do it - I had done it before, I could manage. But now I've changed my mind. I realize it means a few more months of debt payments, but there were a few reasons I came to this conclusion.

One, we are getting very busy at work. I won't necessarily be working a lot of overtime, it will just be extremely hectic days. I had a few of those days last week - driving home I was just exhausted, I could have gone to bed as soon as I got home.

Two, I really want to start getting involved with church and other relationships. I don't want to be reluctant to volunteer to do things because I am working weird shifts. I've done that before - it's not fun.

Third, and maybe most importantly, I really like that I work during the day and come home to whatever it is I want to do. I'm aware that sounds completely selfish. But who knows, what if I'm married in a couple years and having kids? I don't want to waste my single years just working myself into the ground. Right now I enjoy that I can come home and do nothing if I want. Or go for a run. Or eat dinner at 9 at night. Or read a book. Or go to Costco to browse. Or go on Pinterest for 3 hours. Like I said, it's selfish; but at least I'm acknowledging that ;)

wordless wednesday

2011-09-28T16:00:00.003-06:00

halfway

2011-09-26T16:00:00.009-06:00

I am just a couple days past the halfway point of my 26 by 26 goals. So here's a bit of an update:

1. Get to my goal weight. Ummm...I'm only down about 10 pounds. The problem is, I think there is so much time to do this, but really there isn't. Time to get my butt in shape (pun most definitely intended).
2. Dye my hair - even just a little. Done this summer! Highlights count! :) And now I'm growing them out...way too expensive to maintain...
3. Read the Bible cover to cover. Still going strong with this. I'm going to be reading ahead soon to prepare for #21.
4. Play piano more. This one is a big fail. I think I've sat down at the piano twice since April.
5. Keep my bedroom clean & organized for at least 1 month. I still have 6 months to do this...
6. Stick to my budget for 6 months. I just started this, unfortunately. But so far so good.
7. Pay off all or most of my student loans. This is going alright - I won't have it all paid off by my birthday, but it will be within a few months. Which is a-ok in my books :)
8. Finish a C.S. Lewis book (that isn't a part of the Chronicles of Narnia). I plan on doing this during November, 'The Screwtape Letters' to be precise.
9. Run a 10k race. I'm a bit off the wagon with the running. I plan to get started again though, especially since there are very few weeks left of nice outside weather.
10. Sew a quilt. I highly doubt this one is going to happen.
11. Defeat Photoshop. I am starting to fiddle around with it a bit more, but plan on getting some books from the library to help me out. It might be a good winter activity.
12. Organize my house & get rid of anything I do not regularly use. In process.
13. Make some new friends in Edmonton (does that sound pathetic?). I'm getting more involved with my church, which will hopefully lead me to developing more relationships.
14. Visit a new city I've never been before. Done! Seattle, I love thee...
15. Be more dedicated to this blog. Um, I think I'm doing ok on this. It's been a bit dull the last couple weeks. But I think I'm getting better at more regular postings.
16. Read Pride & Prejudice. January!
17. Buy a plant. I plan on buying one March 23 :)
18. Keep said plant alive. See above.
19. Go away by myself out of the city. Done - went camping all by myself in August. Well, technically there were friends there, but I stayed in my own trailer during the night, so it counts.
20. "Put myself out there" and go on a date. I'll let you know when this happens. Maybe.
21. Memorize the book of James. My plan is to finish reading the entire Bible by the end of February, then spend March memorizing this book. Hopefully that will be enough time.
22. Plan my meals - and stick to the plan. Oh this is going just atrociously.
23. Never complain - give thanks instead. Not one that I can really measure, but something I just want to continue working on.
24. Learn more about photography past just pushing a button. Yeah, I think my camera skills are getting worse. Mostly because I just use my phone and Instagram now.
25. Finish 2 crafty projects. Finished one (garlands for Easter), and the second one should be easy to do - I have tons of Christmas decorating ideas, not to mention a baby shower to throw next year :)
26. Roast a chicken. Done for my dad's birthday! It was a giant chicken...

I know for sure that I may not actually achieve some of these, but I figure as long as I'm trying then no harm done, right?

it's the little things // happy fall

2011-09-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the first day of Fall. Huzzah!

I celebrated by having dinner at my friend's house on Wednesday night. Or more accurately, she texted me that she had pulled pork in the slow cooker, did I want to come over?

Dinner was delicious. My contribution was chocolate milk and cheesecake. She also had orange creamsicle cupcakes - I'm not a big fruity-dessert fan, and I don't even like creamsicles, but these were delish. I could have eaten 4 of them. I'd like 4 of them right now.

The ironic thing is...

She ate her cheesecake. I ate my cupcake. The rest got leftover :) I had no interest in cheesecake after that orangey goodness.

I also got my new stamp at work. I was only supposed to pick a colour from red, black or blue. I picked green, and my stamp makes me happy :) I hope that doesn't make me pathetic.

Happy first day of fall everyone! Go out and roll around in some leaves or something!

monday monday

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I loathe Mondays. I really do. That's not new though - how many people do you know that look forward to them?

I don't have much to say. I'll leave you with some Pinterest love and random photos of my own.

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Our kitties eat off the china at the farm...

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Tunes review

2011-09-16T08:00:00.028-06:00

I love music. I'd listen to it all day long if I could. I usually have a song in my head during the day. Sometimes it's annoying - last month for two days straight I could not get "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" out of my head. Weird enough in August, but it was also the one from the Peanuts Christmas movie.

I digress.

I bought a CD recently - well, not a real one. I don't typically do that. I'm an iTunes downloader. It's way easier and cheaper and I just adore it. I also like that you can make wishlists, because I'm too lazy and disorganized to keep track of paper lists.

The album I bought is Josh White's Achor album. It was released last November, nearly a year ago, and it's probably been on my wishlist that long. It cost a whole $7.99 people! I actually have no idea why I didn't buy it long ago. That's the cost of a fast food dinner. Let's not pretend I haven't had a few of those since last November.

I don't usually go for Christian music, since I find that constant covers of the same Chris Tomlin song really gets on my nerves. But I really really love this album. What sold me on it was the track "Awake". Go to iTunes now and listen to the sample.

Isn't it just amazing? Did it give you goosebumps? I couldn't get enough of it. I listened to it over and over when I bought it.

What really blew my mind is I just read this article about the artist and I was shocked to find out he was the lead singer of Telecast! My roommate in Bible college had their first album, which I actually liked a lot back then. They definitely had more of a pop/mainstream CCM sound though, whereas this solo venture is much more folksy/bluegrass. Plus he's from Portland and for some reason I think people from Portland are incredibly cool. I have no idea why.

If I had more readers, here's where I'd go all Pioneer Woman on you and say that I'm doing a giveaway of $5,000 iTunes gift cards to a random 27 people. But I don't have that many readers or $135,000 for giveaways. So go and spend $7.99 on the real album. You won't regret it.

Reading

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am not capable of the copious amounts of reading I used to be.

This is a mantra I need to repeat to myself; maybe one day it'll kick in.

Currently I am reading:

1. Forgotten God by Francis Chan - an amazing read, but it's taking me forever because it's about the Holy Spirit and I'm really trying to take it in instead of letting my eyes gloss over the words for the sake of finishing it.

2. Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard - I'm not too far into it, but so far I like. Our culture is obsessed with "stuff" and this book is an explanation why that is.

3. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - This is my 1,328th time trying to read a C. S. Lewis book that's not Narnia book. It's hard. His thinking and writing is way more in depth than I am and I have to sit and think about almost every single paragraphy.

4. The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook by Erin Chase - I know, I'm not a mom. But I still need to eat dinner. This is a nice easy book to read :) I think 75% of the reading I now do is cookbooks. Sad.

5. The Bible by...God, I suppose (I don't need a backlink to this, right?) - I highly recommend this one ;) I'm a bit behind on this since I was working my way through some OT books that were looooong. But so far so good :)

I also have 9 more books on hold at the library. And I went through my books the other day to try and purge some I don't read anymore and all I ended up doing was making a stack of 12 books I want to reread again this second.

I think I need help.

Good weekend

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

I had a great weekend of outside church (complete with pancake breakfast!), cuddling kittens, and roasting hot dogs over a fire at the farm.

Ok, fine. My brother roasted the hot dogs. I don't like doing it myself.

I've been in a bit of a funk lately in that I positively dread Mondays and going to work in general. I'm hoping this feeling soon passes. I blame it on the September blues - while I love fall, I feel like it's a time of change. When things don't change I feel restless and irritable.

Of course when the do change I also get restless and irritable.

There's just no pleasing this woman I tell you.

Summer is here

2011-09-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

It's only 2 weeks until fall is officially here, but finally our summer weather has arrived. It's going to be around 30 degrees here all week.

It's put me in a summer music mood.

Specifically a Danish summer music mood. I'm in love with Oh Land's album. I just got it from the library before my holiday. She's gorgeous, a former dance, and has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. I'm slightly jealous. And White Nights is now my official alarm song for the morning :)

I'm back

2011-09-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

drivingsingingmountainsroadsmusicspiraltunnelssubwaysubs

lumberjacksamateurIronChefcompetitionridingingolfcartspachofriesrodeosbullriding

phonedyinghorseblankets(deep-frieddoughygoodness)dogshowsDDutchmenicecreammorebullriding

churchSundaydinnerboatingallafternoonweinerroastcampfire

drivingdrivingdrivingtrafficjamMASHplayingmoredriving...home

What an utterly lovely, wonderful, busy, exhausting, enchanting weekend I had.

I'm off // Lovely September

2011-09-01T09:01:00.000-06:00

Away I go, off on holidays. I've been off for the last three days, but now I am really on vacation :)

Off to BC to visit a friend and her family. A high of 13 degrees is expected today for Edmonton - where I'm going it's going to be mid to high 20s :) I am very happy about this.

I am also looking forward to September - not for any reason other than it's September. The fall cometh. Fall is my favourite season by far.

Summer was wet and not altogether pleasant this year. Fall, be good to me.

It's official

2011-08-31T15:04:00.001-06:00

Since it's gone viral on facebook, I feel like I can talk about it here now...

I'm going to be an auntie :)

I am over-the-moon excited about it. I have been bugging my sister for a little niece or nephew ever since she got married, ha! It's about time for a baby in the family.

She's due in February and I think I should make this for Baby ;)

Source

Question

2011-08-30T00:13:00.000-06:00

Any of you go to camp?

Do you remember doing wide games? Weren't they super fun? Capture the Flag, Mission Impossible, etc. etc. They were great. You didn't need any special skill or ability. You just ran out and...played.

Anyways, a couple friends and I were discussing these wide games and how we totally miss getting to play them.

What ones do you remember playing? Your favourites? Do tell.

Early start

2011-08-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

In second grade we had to keep journals. My teacher, Mrs. Durand, was so kind and wrote a response to every single entry.

Poor woman.

Especially since my very first entry was this gem:

Aug. 30, 1993: "Once before we went to camping, Dad said to my brother, go check on the kittins. But when he got there all that was there was mostly blood. The kittins were dead!!!"

Have I ever mentioned I grew up on a farm and this isn't as horrible as it sounds? The barn cats would pick strange places to have the kittens and we couldn't always protect them. We're not horrible pet owners or anything.

Some other great ones:

Sept. 30, 1993: "On summer holidays we went camping with some people."

Oct. 8, 1993: "I've lost seven teeth."

Oct. 13, 1993: "On tuesday Dad had to carry a thing for my Grandpa. His aunt died."

Nov. 24, 1993: "On my birthday, I'm going to invite 6 kids. No boys!" (My birthday wasn't for 5 months!)

Feb. 8, 1994: "The calf that just fell out by it's self is a sister too my sister's calf!"

Mar. 9, 1994: "I got my allergy tests on Wednesday. They hurt! But I got two stickers because I didn't cry! Chelsea's brother had to get them on thursday! Isn't that weird. And they had to draw on my arm. if i drew on my arm my mom and dad would be very mad. But these were docters so they had to draw on my arm!"

Mar. 22, 1994: "It is only three more days until my REAL birthday but it is four more days until my birthday party and my uncoles boss had an hardatack and died."

Mar. 24, 1994: "It's my birthday today and I got sturup pants, a bugs bunny jersy and a beauty and the Beast rug to put beside my bed and two books, and thats it. But I'm going to get more presents tonight." [Ungrateful wretch of a child. Mrs. Durand got it right, her comment that day was, "You sound like you are spoiled!"]

May 3, 1994: "last night our bull was wild. First he broke off our swing gate, then he broke the chain off our other gate, then he jumped the fence, and then he jumped the barb wire fence, so he was in were he wasn't suposed to be! The first time we had to put up boards were the swing gate was and then he dented the other gate! And then this morning a whole bunch cows got out of the crel! So my mom, dad, and Ryan had to get them into the crel!" [FYI "crel" = "corral"]

June 1, 1994: "It's my dad's 38th birthday and we gave him a volleyball net! My sister put on the card she made "There's enough candles for on your birthday!" That means he's getting old! Ha Ha Ha!"

I really got a kick out of myself back then. As evident by the unnecessary exclamations marks. Oh my.

Thursday rambles

2011-08-25T08:00:00.004-06:00

I got to see a baby last night. His name is Judah. He gave me some smiles and showered me with spit up. He's a baby, so I didn't really mind. If he's doing that in three years though, then we'll have to have a talk. His parents fed me and my brother dinner and we had a great visit. There were many bursts of laughter. We'll have to do it again very soon.

I've been buuuusy this week, which is a nice change from coming home and ignoring the housework. Now I can ignore the housework but not from the couch, so I don't need to feel guilty.

I bought this necklace for myself, from Meghan Wagg Designs. I've waited long enough for Prince Charming to arrive and buy me nice jewelry; it's not going to happen any time soon. I had spied this necklace at the Make It fair back in May but it was too much money to commit to. So I put a little away each month and voila! A necklace! I love it - I have no idea what the designs are supposed to be. Amoebas? Leaves? Whatever, it's still pretty.

My running has resumed once again. I took a hiatus when I got sick and I just wasn't motivated to start again last week. My quads were very sore yesterday. But it's going well.

I made chocolate cupcakes a few days ago. No reason, just craving chocolate cupcakes. I am now sick to death of chocolate cupcakes. Note to self: either halve the recipe or share them with numerous other people. Your thighs will thank you.

I got a post card in the mail from a friend. And I had gotten a card last week from a different friend. This cartoon is way true.


Source

I think...

2011-08-24T08:00:00.011-06:00

...that last-minute plans with a good friend is a great Tuesday night activity.

...subtitles are not necessary as long as most of the movie is in english.

...taking a pint of Häagen-Dazs Chocolate & Peanut Butter ice cream to the movie theatre is a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

...it's ok to laugh at you're friend when she drips ice cream on herself with her very first bite.

...it's even better to laugh at yourself when you get home and realize you got it all over your shirt.

...that it's ok to tell your friends that they are in fact good friends, and not feel the need to follow-up with sarcasm. I think that's called "growth".

Addicted

2011-08-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

It's official. I am hooked on Pinterest.

Actually, I've been hooked for a long time. It's incredible the amount of time you can spend on that site. The ideas, the creativity...they overwhelm.

But then I'm torn. I'm torn between wanting my own home, where I could paint and rip out cupboards, and screw things into the wall without worrying about my damage deposit. Of course, then I think about mortgage payments and the thought of not screwing things into the walls doesn't seem so bad.

Even more than that, I'm torn between wanting lovely things and having a nice home, and then there's people like Katie who (probably) also would like pretty things but could never justify buying nice things when so many people around her go hungry.

I'm torn.

I've been thinking a lot about how much I have and how little others have. And then my next thought is that it'd be great to win the lottery and get whatever I wanted and never have a care in the world again.

I don't think it's right to feel guilty over what I have; I work hard, pay my bills, all that fun stuff. I also try to give what I earn to others who haven't had the same opportunities I have.

And then when I find stuff like this on Pinterest, even my addiction points me to good things :)

Source

Split Personality

2011-08-22T08:00:00.004-06:00

My name has changed over the years. Not my real one of course, just nicknames. Sometimes I think my personality has changed with the name. It's not a bad thing; I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not.

When I was little, my nickname was Moses. It was short for Moses Pete. I also went by Peaches, Petrie, and Snot Nose Pete (courtesy of my sister - it's ok, I kind of lived up to it, I was a sickly child). I have no idea why my family used these names. You'd have to ask them. I also never noticed the "Pete" trend until now. Huh.

A couple more made a little sense - Casey, because I had a haircut like Casey from Mr. Dress-Up. That didn't bother me, until my brother told me Casey was a boy. And my maternal grandparents called me Katie. That was actually what my mom was going to call me for a nickname but as soon as I was born she took one look at me and said, "Nope, she's a Kathryn."

For many many years I was Kathryn. Nobody tried to come up with any other nicknames. Then in high school my mom started calling my Ryn. I liked it; it got a little confusing when my brother was home though, since his name is Ryan.

When I went to college my roommate decided in about a week that she didn't want to say my whole name, so would I mind if she called me Kat? I said fine as long as I could call her Jess; if she can't bother with 2 syllables, I'm not gonna say 3! And hence forever forth when someone asks if I have a nickname, I tell them it's Kat.

After I moved to Edmonton and became a youth leader at my church, people started calling me Lisa. The youth pastor had trouble remembering my name at first, so it started as a joke. But the name got used so much that even the kids couldn't remember my real name! But hey, I got a trophy out of it.

And that's where I'm at now. Somewhere between Moses, Kathryn, Lisa and Kat. I'm going to develop a complex. It's kind of funny; I never introduce myself as anything but Kathryn. But some people jump on the nickname train early. Like my chiropractor's office - within a couple visits they were calling me Kat :)

I like nicknames. They're familiar, friendly, and make you feel like you're on the "inside". Although I could probably do without being called Snot Nose Pete ever again.

Playing house

2011-08-19T18:27:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel as if you're still 14 years old, but suddenly everyone thinks you can do all these adult things? Be responsible and all that jazz?

I realized yesterday that in 3 years I will have been out of high school for ten years. That kind of intimidates me. I know it's still 3 years away, but that's not so long really. And then before you know it I'm having this conversation...

"...and I'm going to be forty."

"When?"

"Someday."

"In eight years."

"But it's there. It's just sitting there like this big dead end."

10 points if you can guess that movie.

Anyways, my point is that I don't feel like I'm 25. I find myself constantly amazed by the things people allow me to do: drive a car, have a job, rent an apartment. It's not even that they allow me to do these things; it's that I'm expected to do them. This is, after all, life in North America.

It's just odd to me. That's all.

Idiosyncrasies

2011-08-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

1. I love having wet hair - if there was a product I could use to put in my hair so that it'd stay wet all day, I'd use it all the time.

2. I will sit on the very tip of my computer desk chair for weeks before it occurs to me to clean all the crap off of it. When my brother cleans the living room that's where he puts all my stuff. I hate cleaning.

3. I would rather just keep buying underwear than do the laundry. It's an illness.

4. I hate my eyelashes. They're plenty long, just really thin. (Ironically, it's the only part of my body that's thin.) I always fall for the mascaras that promise BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL LASHES! It's only been in the past couple years that I've noticed they pretty much just use fake eyelashes in their ads. Have you seen this one? It's the worst. I doubt she's born with those.

5. I never play the piano anymore, but I don't want to get rid of it because I don't know what else would go against that wall.

6. I hate buying shoes. I usually wait until the sole is falling off or there is a hole straight through the shoe before I will go buy new ones.

7. I love giving gifts, but I'm terrible with giving the right gifts. I seem to find stuff randomly when I'm shopping that remind me of people. But when it comes to birthdays and Christmas, I can never find that stuff. You have no idea the stress I put myself through when buying someone a gift. It's a nightmare. I blame it on having no money - if I had money y'all would get crazy cool stuff from me.

8. I have gotten dozens of books from the library this year and probably finished about 4 of them. I have a hard time with follow through.

9. I am constantly making lists, but never doing any of the stuff on the lists.

10. I avoid doing the dishes if the sink is full of dirty ones. Piled beside the sink = good to go. Piled inside the sink? Who knows what's in there. I ain't going in.

A folk-ing good time

2011-08-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I got to go to Edmonton Folk Festival. I did not realize how big of a privilege this is.
I found out last week that they had sold out in two hours. I consider myself fortunate to get a ticket (shout-out to my friend Robyn's father-in-law for getting them!)

Of course, then I had to go and get sick.

Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat but perservered and went to work, and later that night, the festival (including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who may or may not have been very high while performing). The next morning I also perserverd and went to work - I left two and a half hours later, sick as a dog. I ended up staying home all day with a sore throat, aches, and a fever. Not especially good festival health.

I stayed home Saturday too, but decided to go to the evening concert. So glad I did! I got to see KT Tunstall and Brandi Carlile, who was amazing! Determined not to waste my hard-earned money, I also attended the Sunday sessions. I think the sessions are my fave part of the whole weekend. You get to hear some people you may not hear otherwise. Some bands I am definitely going to check out are The Deep Dark Woods, The Once, Scenic Route to Alaska, and...a whole bunch more. There were a lot to remember.

And a festival post isn't complete without a word to the food. Oh the food. I didn't really go overboard because, hey, I was sick. That and it's expensive! I wanted to get a chocolate-dipped banana but they were like $4! Please, a banana costs like 11 cents at the store. I ended up getting perogies and kubasa on Sunday for lunch, and tried some deep-fried oreos on Saturday. They were sooo good. But definitely one of those once-every-few-years treats.

And that was Folk Festival. I have some new favourite bands, an attractive sunburn, and thanks to the cold I caught, lost 3 pounds while eating deep-fried goodness. A great weekend.

I heart vacation and babies

2011-08-02T14:50:00.000-06:00

I'm still celebrating our "civic holiday". I kind of think it's weird they have to give it some sort of name. Just be honest and say, hey we need a long weekend in August - let's just call it August Long Weekend. It's what everyone does anyways.

I drove down Saturday morning to see my friend Rayanna and her now 1yo baby. I can't believe she's 1 already! Isn't she a doll?

I got her this outfit for her bday. It's was a little big, but still super cute :)

Then I headed to Camrose to help my sis and BIL move on Saturday. That was super fun. They moved out of a 2nd-floor walkup and into a 3rd-floor walkup. Did they learn nothing from helping my move out of my 4th-floor walkup?? It was alright though, we got it all done it a pretty decent amount of time. Moving is just one of the (numerous) times in my life I'm thankful I'm not a man - they had to do all the furniture :)

I took no photos because we were hot, smelly, busy, and sweaty. I don't think I've sweated so much in my life. Gross. But then that night I headed out to "the lake" where my parents keep their trailer. Since they jetted off to Europe for a week, I decided to help myself to it. I discovered they keep it well stocked with snacks.

I wasn't really there by myself though. Some very close friends were there as well. We all used to go camping together back in the day, but since we've all gotten older and scattered across the province, we don't really see each other that often. But I was determined to got because they have had a veritable baby explosion.

For a few years, there was one granddaughter in the family. In the last year, THREE boys have been born! This is the first one, Alex, the birthday boy. We celebrated his first bday this weekend. Poor guy got about 10 mosquito bites on his forehead during the night. He's still fantastically handsome though. Just look at that smile.

And here's Ti. He's 6mos, but nearly the same size as Alex! Oh is he ever such a smiley happy baby! His favourite thing is either chewing on his hand or jumping. If my arms didn't get a work out the previous day moving boxes, they sure did when I held him!

And this is the newest, snuggly one, Judah, and he is 1 month old. He slept the whole time, which I loved. My general rule of thumb is to hand a baby over back to his momma if he starts crying. But that wasn't necessary with this little guy. I could have held him for hours.

I can see how it might be a bit overwhelming to have so many babies at one family function but it worked out quite well this time - no one had to fight to hold one :) Maybe in a few years, my own family's get-togethers will have so many little people. It definitely makes the party way more exciting!

Even though I came back last night, I still have 2 days off from work, thank goodness. It's so nice not to worry about being anywhere or doing anything. Except laundry. I have some smelly campfire laundry to do. But when you're on vacation, even laundry isn't that bad.

Hello and goodbye

2011-07-29T15:00:00.001-06:00

Excuse the cobwebs. And please refrain from writing your name in the dust.

It appears that I don't post here quite as often as I'd like. I'm going to blame that on summer - there very essence of summer is that it lacks consistency. Therefore I am going along with the spirit of summer and going to be totally inconsistent with my posting, and none too apologetic for it either.

Memory is failing me in my advancing age, since I can't even tell you what I've been up to, since I barely know myself. Yesterday I went to the Taste of Edmonton festival, which was delicious. I stuffed my face with dry spicy chicken, cinnamon naan, chicken satay, and chocolate peanut butter chunks (which were NOT as good as I hoped!).

We also got dumped on by the constant dark cloud hanging over the city. It was so nice and sunny - shorts and t-shirt weather. I even donned my prescription sunglasses and skipped out the door with nary a thought of my other glasses. So I looked like a goofus wearing sunglasses in the dark when it started raining.

I am thoroughly wiped out though. I am so hard I can barely keep my eyes open. I have too many things to do though - shopping, laundry, bill paying, etc. Because this weekend is going to be busier than my week.

It is August long weekend and I will be camping. Monday is a holiday, and I decided to take Tuesday and Wednesday off as well, just for fun (and because I have a kabillion holidays to use up at work, I know, I know, what a horrendous problem to have).

Anyways, I'm off and will hopefully be back in fine form next week to regale you with tales of my travels to Central Alberta. Such an exotic locale. And meanwhile, my parents boarded a plane to Europe today. Boy do I feel lame-o.

Two idiots in a car

2011-07-21T15:00:00.005-06:00

Last night my friend Robyn and I went to a farmers' market. That part of the story is rather boring (though I did get some delicious looking produce and fresh eggs).

After the market we decided to go for dinner. Our stomachs craved food, specifically shoestring fries. We had to wait fooooorrrreevvverr for our waitress because apparently it looked like we were having so much fun that she didn't want to interrupt us.

No joke, that's exactly what she said. I'm all, girl we're HUNGRY! Interrupt away! Besides, you're probably not going to see us just sit quietly, staring at each other. Is that what people do when they go out with friends? Really?

So after the eleven hours it took to get our food, devour it, and actually get the cheque to pay for the meal (that part took about 8 hours in and of itself), we headed back to my house to watch SYTYCD. Thank the Lord Almighty for PVRs. My brother gets a shout-out too since, you know, he pays for it. However, on the way there, we got so caught up in our own hilarity that we nearly died laughing.

Okay, "died" may be an exaggeration (I tend to do that now and again). But still - that was one scary/hilarious car ride. I believe it started with this little conversation:

Robyn: [Something about how] I don't want my legs to flay about.
Kat: Flay, huh?
Robyn: Yeah, Bobby-style!

As in Bobby Flay. For some reason, this was the funniest thing I have ever heard and I proceeded to double over in laughter while driving. Not a safe thing to do. It gave me a new appreciation for all the driving she did during the numerous moments we had exactly like that when we went to Seattle.

Before I knew it I was travelling 50 in an 80 zone, my eyes stinging like crazy from all the crying, and my stomach muscles were aching from laughing so hard. The worst thing was, I couldn't stop for the life of me!

We got home safely and managed to calm down enough to eat ice cream (Nuttin' Better, mmhmm!) and watch the show. But I got to thinking - I've had way more moments of uncontrollable laughter than I can count, which I am so thankful for. But the person I've had the most with is probably Robyn.

I think it's because we share a brain. She's one of the few that "gets" me.

How it is going

2011-07-19T08:00:00.002-06:00

So I started a running program.

I know, I've probably said that sentence a thousand times. But it's for reals this time. Why? What's the difference?

Honestly, I have no idea. Other than that I have stuck to it for a whole week. Plus one day. Since it's a six week program, I am over 17% done. This is the furthest I've ever gone in a running program before. Seriously. I think that may be the most pathetic thing I've ever admitted online. Wait, I've talked about my undying love for budgeting and spreadsheets, haven't I? Make this the second most pathetic thing.

Anyways, I have definitely been noticing a difference. Not necessarily with my ability, but in my attitude. I have been getting up at 6am to go running (including Sunday!) and yesterday I couldn't go because of an early morning thunderstorm. I found myself...gulp...disappointed.

I know, I know. Weird huh? Me! Disappointed about not exercising! Don't worry. I'm *fairly* certain it's not a sign of the apocolypse. But maybe double check just in case. That's your homework for today.

So I had to go and run this afternoon, in the heat and humidity. It was so much worse than doing it in the morning. I had to really push myself, and it felt so stupid because this should have been an easier run than yesterday's.

Once I got in the house, the humidity made it even worse. The sweat was dripping. So I jumped in the shower to cool off, and no joke, I required a fan to dry off. Because the water literally just sat there on my skin. (Plus the fan felt sooo good.)

Okay, I really shouldn't complain about the heat. It's rained 47 days out of the last 33 or something ridiculous like that. Added to that, we are officially the mosquito capital of the northern hemisphere* right now. So if you are lucky enough to enjoy the sun, chances are you're slapping yourself silly while you do so.

Hey, when did this turn into such a whiny post? (Oh I see it, right around paragraph 6. Guys, I made it 5 whole paragraphs before I complained about something!) I'll let y'all go now and enjoy your day.

Be grateful for it. Don't be like me.

*Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is a fact or not. I heard we were the mosquito capital of something, I was just too lazy to look it up.

An Instagram Story

2011-07-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

One day a girl, let's call her Lisa, bought an iPhone. Because there just wasn't enough bills to pay already.

Lisa couldn't deny this one desire of her heart (alright, "one desire" might be a lie). Right away she got her hands on the long-awaited Instagram.

Suddenly everything started looking better. Like the fan on her dresser.

Or her bedroom wall.

Or Curious George. (Ok, he was already pretty good-looking.)

The next day she went out for dinner with her parents. Because of her trusty mobile device, she got a pic of this cute dog. (Her pesky brother may have stuck his foot in the first take.)

She took pictures on her way to Bible study. While her friend was driving of course.

And took pictures on the way to her another friend's house. (Just the one pic, and the light was red! She promises to never do it again.)

Lisa even got a pic of the view from her friends' balcony. She's slightly jealous of it.

Then she was even able to make the view from her office look good this morning!

Until noon today. Go away clouds.

All in all, Lisa loves it. But now she's realizing she should probably start taking pictures of people not just random crap and scenery.

Rain rain, go away

2011-07-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

It has been raining ca-ha-ha-honstantly. So I've been staying inside, keeping warm, and watching copious amounts of Scrubs online.

Which explains why I keep dragging out words a la Dr. Cox style.

So basically I haven't really been doing much. Laying low. Catching up on naps. Pretty lame, huh?

But I've been trying to be a little productive. Yesterday I started and finished all my laundry. (This is a major feat - I'm really good at throwing a load or two in the washer and dryer, I just always run out of steam when I have to fold & put away all of it. Ugh. I hate that part. So I usually keep it all in the laundry basket and pull it out as I need it. But then all the clean stuff gets mixed in with the dirty, and I have to wash it all together again. It's a dangerous cycle my friends.)

I also cooked last week! Orange chicken. Mmhmm yummy. This is one of the few dishes that I will actually eat the leftovers from. I know. It's that good. I hate leftovers.

I've actually made this a couple of times. I originally got the recipe {here}. I stick pretty closely to it; the only things I changed were that I substituted chipotle chili pepper (it's all I had) instead of the whole dried chilis. That and I reduce the amount of meat and add in sliced red pepper, some matchstick carrots, and snow peas. Cause I gotta eat me veggies.

Doesn't it look good?

Forgive me...I have never claimed to be a food photographer.

You need to serve this over jasmine rice. I suppose any old rice will do. But trust me on the jasmine. Oh it's good.

And because I like to multi-task, I also made a new calender for July. It was a free download from {Curiosity Group}. I just found them and wish I had been getting these calenders all along, aren't they the greatest? I think I'll make them anyways. I took it to work before I got a pic of it, but it was pretty much like what you see on the website.

You should go make one now. I promise it'll be fun times.

What is up

2011-07-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

It feels like forever since I've written something here that actually has to do with my life. Funny how that happens.

I blame summer for that. Summer is very much a sensory season; I feel the need to take it all in before it's gone. The smell of cut grass, or after it rains. The sight of lush green grass and growing gardens. The sound of summer thunder, and birds in the trees when I wake up in the morning. The taste of watermelon and hot dogs roasted over a fire.

So I've been a little busy with summer and all it entails.

Summer is also wedding season. Nearly all my friends are already married, so I only have one wedding - my friend Christina got married over the July long weekend.

We met at my old job and became quite good friends. It's one of those friendships that's very easy; we talk about everything. And we'd keep going if people would let us. I remember one time we went to a hockey game and afterward stopped at McDonalds for some fries. We were there until after 1am; we noticed they were cleaning up, so we asked if they wanted us to leave. Turns out they had closed an hour before, but didn't want to bother us :) I'm so happy we kept up our friendship after we stopped working together.

Anyways, I was her maid of honour. It was a very long day, but a lot of fun. Both her and her husband are Chinese, so it was interesting to do some different stuff that I'm not used to, like the tea ceremony. And dress changes. Oh my, the dress changes. She had 4 dresses in all. A traditional Chinese dress for the tea ceremony, a white dress for pictures, a red Chinese dress for the meal, and a purple evening gown for the dance.

We hit the ground running at 7am for hair and makeup. They people that did this were Chinese too, and afterward one of the bridesmaids told me that the makeup person was having a hard time since my eyes were a "funny shape" - she was used to working on Asians! :)

This was me after hair & makeup.

I don't think I've worn so much eye liner in my life. It was crazy. I liked my hair though. He didn't bother curling it (he tried once - it didn't work, my hair is stubborn), but he used a boatload of hair spray to make it stay. It was like a helmet the whole day.

The tea ceremony was in the morning, then a lunch was held at noon. These were both at her parents' house in their backyard. Then the wedding party left to drop some stuff off at Christina & Gerry's, then to pick up the cakes, then to pictures at the legislature grounds. Then it was back to the reception venue for hair & makeup touch-ups. After that it was just the meal then having fun :)

We got some silly shots in at the reception.

Look at all those tiny Asians!

This one was scary - we nearly dropped her! She had felt herself falling, and grabbed onto me, but I had slathered on the sunscreen that afternoon and was slippery, so she couldn't get a good hold and we all just panicked and...yeah. We recovered well, this was taken after that :)

I think this is the first picture of us together. Ever. We realized this that day. Whatever, we've only been friends for like, 4 years. No big deal.

She had red velvet cupcakes for everyone, and those cookies which have a picture of a volleyball on them (Gerry plays volleyball). Christina is the biggest Coke fan I know; she actually has a whole room in her house devoted Coke memorabilia. So these were so perfect! She only had 12 made, so the wedding party all got one.

I was up at 6am, and got home at 1:30am. But I was determined to get cleaned up and get my hair down before I went to bed. This was after I took all the pins out. I told you he used a lot of hair spray! My hair did. not. move. I had to pull it apart piece by piece.

Ahhh, much better!

That's all I feel like writing for now. More to come next week!

I feel like myself when...

2011-06-29T13:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not wearing any makeup (except for mascara, that's allowed ;)

I'm in jeans and a t-shirt.

I'm wearing my glasses, not contacts.

I've had my chocolate fix.

I've been exercising.

I've spent time with my Father.

My house is a little messy.

I've been eating my leafy greens.

I'm working on some sort of list.

I'm with people who would never want me any other way.

Do you have a hero?

2011-06-22T13:00:00.006-06:00

I do. However cliche it is...Audrey Hepburn.

I know I wasn't born while she was making movies - but it's not really her movies that were the great thing about her.

Sure, they were entertaining - but do you think she would still be remembered so fondly if she wasn't the person she was aside from her career as an actress?

I think one of the reasons I like her so much is because there's nothing bad you can say about her - mostly because she seems like the kind of person who would never say anything bad about anyone else. I really admire people like that.

She seemed so natural; comfortable in her own skin. Sure, most pics of her are all glammed up. But she seems like the kind of girl who was probably happiest at home, raising her children, being in her garden. I could be completely off base on that, that's why I used the word "seems" ;)

I don't believe in idolizing anyone. I just think...as far as humans go, she was pretty great.

I just want to have an ounce of the class & grace she had wherever she went. It's too bad they never figured out how to bottle that while she was here.

Number 26

2011-06-21T13:00:00.002-06:00

For Father's Day I had the fam over for lunch after church. And now I can cross #26 off of my list because I roasted my first bird :)

Aren't my non-matching oven mitts super glamorous?

It feels good to cross this one off the list - it was definitely way more stressful than I thought it'd be. I think when I have my own family I'll start my own tradition of having burgers or soup or something for Thanksgiving. Turkeys and chickens are way too much work.

But the food was good, and my mom & brother-in-law helped clean up all the dishes. Making a big meal for 6 people creates a lot of dishes!

The best part is that most of the 9 lb 6 oz chicken was eaten :)

I hate leftovers. They're the worst.

P.S. Happy first day of summer! Maybe the sun will co-operate now!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T08:00:00.005-06:00

Here's a song for y'all - an updated classic, done by Cake.

My dad had the original Muppets version on a record that he used to put on for us, usually after dinner. I loved it because it delayed having to do the dishes! And when the record player broke...let's just say it's one song my dad can actually sing quite well! ;)

We've had some pretty great times over the years, huh Dad? Here's to your 31 years of fatherhood! I love you!

That did it

2011-06-17T14:41:00.000-06:00

My music must have chased away the rain, at least for a little while :) It's sunny and the only clouds in the sky are big, white and fluffy...for now.

Today I had an answer to prayer. I've been debating for the last couple weeks if I should go on a missions trip with my church to Romania this summer.

At first I was being all dramatic and Gideon-like, thinking I should ask God for a sign. Then I heard a sermon series on Ruth recently, and the pastor briefly compared the faith of Ruth to the faith of Abraham, suggesting Ruth's faith was greater.

The reason? God never specifically called her to go with Naomi to Bethleham. Abraham had a specific calling to fall back on; Ruth didn't have that luxury. So when times were tough, when they had nowhere to live, no food, she most likely wondered why she decided to go there.

Yet God blessed her abundantly for her decision. He gave her a home, food, and work. Ultimately a family and place in the lineage of Jesus too.

So I decided to go.

Then I had to fill out the application. This caught me off guard. It asked some point blank questions about my faith and life, about ways I could help the team and serve. At first I wasn't sure how to answer the questions, but gradually things started coming to mind.

I was all set to hand in my application when I had a thought - I hadn't asked my boss yet. The time the trip would occur was right when the person I'm covering maternity leave for comes back. I will need to catch her up to speed and start on my new job as well (whatever that is). It's when we're invoicing, getting things cleaned up for the fiscal year end, dealing with some people leaving, others being hired on. It's a busy time.

But I figured since I was willing to go, I had made the decision in my heart, it was up to God to open the doors necessary for me to go. So I screwed up my courage and tentatively asked my boss if there was the possibility of taking some time off for this trip...

He said no.

So I guess I have my answer.

To be honest, I'm not terribly upset or disappointed. I knew it was kind of a long shot based on the cycles of my job. There are a lot of reasons not to go right now.

What I'm taking away from all this is that I need to be more available to serve here. Filling out that application was kind of a kick in the pants to start living my faith right where I am, instead of jumping into another country and culture to do so.

Rain rain

2011-06-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's been raining a couple of days, and will continuing raining throughout the weekend here. The weather is trying to trick me into thinking I live on the west coast ;)

So I thought I'd put up a couple of my favourite summery tunes.

I cannot wait to see these bands (and many others) this summer at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival :D

Now go have a great weekend!

Another list

2011-06-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

Because I'm too lazy to write a real post, that's why. But I do have a catchy summery tune for you!

I am working on... my Bible study for tomorrow. Crammed 5 days of homework into 2 :)

I am waiting...for the weekend. Everybody's work-ing for the weekend...

I am aching...to find my iPod touch. I feel like I'm back in the stone age using my circa 2007 nano.

I am craving...sleep. I plan on doing that soon.

I am listening to...Adventures in Odyssey (specifically, Pilgrim's Progress Revisited). AIO is responsible for most of my Biblical education during my lifetime.

I am anticipating...February. Ummmm, no reason in particular...

I am researching...recipes for Sunday. Cooking for Father's Day!

I am thinking...I need more bacon in my life.

I need to...

2011-06-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

...sleep more. I get sooo tiiired at work lately.

...run more. I need the movement. I feel sloth-like.

...eat more. Vegetables that is. I should probably lay off the other stuff.

...laugh more. Community and fellowship is important.

...read more. I am severely behind on my Bible-in-a-year goal.

...listen more. God and people must get tired of hearing my voice.

...work more. I need that second job. Stat.

...love more. Everyone has an uphill battle; I am not special in this.

My oldest friend

2011-06-14T08:00:00.012-06:00

Today is special. Today is my oldest friend's birthday.

This was her at her second birthday. I wasn't born yet. Since she was born before me she got the big eyes, the great hair, the photogenic face, and something I've never forgiven her for, the curly eyelashes.

I am so thankful I got to live life with a big sister.

Someone to look up to. Someone to blame my mullet on. (Not seen in this pic - I would never put our matching mullets on the internet!) Someone to fight with and get in trouble with.

Someone to cut my Barbie's hair (she had to practice if she wanted to be a hairdresser one day!). Someone to dress up with, and be totally girly with. My brother did not appreciate this so much.

Someone to do my hair, and my nails, and pick out my clothes. I pretty much fell apart in the beauty department when she left home. It took me awhile to get it together.

Someone who has been an absolute treasure to me (heh heh) over the years, a best friend who you can never really get rid of.

Someone who's always been a good example of how to be silly and make others laugh. She's still photogenic when she does that!

Someone who lives her life with beauty, and has been a fantastic example of a big sister.

My hope is that I have a daughter one day, and then have another one, so that she can know the joy, the frustration, the laughter, the happiness, the drama that a sister can bring! :)

I love you Chris! Happy Birthday lovely lady!

Don't be afraid of the process

2011-06-13T08:00:00.016-06:00

Let me just clarify one thing for my American friends right now.

I'm saying PRO-cess. Not PRAW-cess. I'd appreciate it if you kept the Canadian* in my voice while you read ;)

All kidding aside, I came to a revelation last night. I went for a walk - it was such a beautiful Sunday evening. Walks always have the power to clear my head, help me sort my thoughts, and most importantly, pray. I'm lucky too, because my favourite spot in the world is only about 10 minutes from my house.

So I walked and talked. (I'm still not at that place spiritually where God can do most of the talking - I feel the need to fill the silence. I'm learning!) I spoke a little while on some things I was frustrated with. My student loans are taking too long to pay off, the weight is taking too long to come off, marriage and children seem like a long way off, and my relationship with God is way off what I think it should be.

One thing that God managed to get through to me in the middle of all this was don't be afraid of the process. I seem to want everything now. Student loans gone, a house, a husband, children, a close relationship with the Father, the whole shebang. But life isn't like that.

These things are ok to want - being healthy, in relationship with others and with God, being debt free. None of that is harmful or sinful in any way. In fact, I believe those desires are 100% from God. But I can't jump from here to there in one leap. It has to happen in steps, little by little.

Because it's in the process that all of that happens. Without the process, without the battles and the fight and the tears and sweat and sacrifice, there would be no joy, no triumph, no victory when those things come to fruition. Without the process, none of it really matters. If it were easy to have any of that stuff, how could we not take them for granted?

So if you're frustrated or irritated that something doesn't seem to be happening in your life, take heart; don't be afraid of the process. The process is where life happens.

*I'm not entirely certain if PRO-cess is a Canadian thing or not - I definitely hear it both ways here. I just know that it's how this Canadian girl says it and her American friend's husband had no idea what she was talking about one time when she used it.

My former roommate

2011-06-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

I was watching So You Think You Can Dance last night with my most recent ex-roommate. (Doesn't "ex-roommate" sound awful? It implies we had a huge falling out and we couldn't stand the sight of each other anymore. Which of course isn't true.)

We had watched a little while when we had dinner (she brought me a Wendy's Apple Pecan chicken salad, my current fast food obsession, yum!) but we had to leave in the middle of it for Bible study.

It's times like these I'm thankful for a PVR. It's times like these I'm thankful for my brother who pays for the PVR. It's times like these when I'm thankful he reminds me we have a PVR and that the show is already being recorded.

After Bible study, we came back to finish up. It was just the introduction of the top 20, so mostly just fun dances. At the end there were 3 dances: top 10 guys, top 10 girls, and all together.

During the guys routine she was all, "This is just like Inception!"

I laughed at her. Inception? How in the world is this like Inception? It's a dance routine for crying out loud!

Her response?

"Because they're all wearing suits and stuff..."

Apparently if you wear a suit you look like you're from Inception :) I told her I think that's the funniest thing she's said that night, but she said lots more funny stuff that evening that I don't remember. Plus, I think "feet of a nimble giant" will always have a place in my heart.

A girl's gotta eat

2011-06-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to be more active in the kitchen lately. Sometimes it's not easy, and it's always messy. I am the messiest cook I know. It's really terrible, I think I need therapy.

The internet is so great for recipes. Who bothers with cookbooks anymore? If you have a computer and internet, you have a whole smorgasbord of recipes at your fingertips. Especially when it comes to food bloggers. Man there are some talented people out there.

I'm pretty simple though, and like to start small. I've been trying stuff out here and there, some of Pioneer Woman's recipes in particular. I don't need to link to her, do I? I'm pretty sure half the world knows about her, and the other half doesn't because they don't have internet.

Anyways, her cooking usually appeals to me. Mostly because it's some sort of meat, in some sort of sauce, with some sort of pasta. I love meat, sauce, and pasta.

I've tried a few recipes, with varied results. Sometimes it depends on my mood and how much I feel like measuring. (I'm terrible at measuring - I usually just eyeball it. Mostly because I am lazy and want to clean as few dishes as possible. It makes for some interesting flavours too.)

But last night I decided to make this dish. I won't go into detail about it because you can read her post; saves me the trouble of re-telling the process ;)

I really like how it turned out. I'm a huge fan of sesame oil, so I knew I'd like the sauce, the Ponzu was a bit of a different flavour but I definitely enjoyed it.

But the steak.

Oh, the steak.

Doesn't the steak look good? I think next time I'd cook it one or two minutes longer - but it was still tender and tasty :) My mother would probably throw up if she had to eat it. That means it's not overcooked. (Seriously, the woman eats hockey pucks for steak! I don't know how she does it. But I still love her.)

I had to improvise a little. I had no green onion, but I had a red pepper, and thought that'd be good. I had no cilantro for garnish, but I had sweet pea shoots which also did the trick. (FYI, sweet pea shoots are delicious on sandwiches, as a little change from lettuce.)

I have never been so excited for leftovers before. I can't wait for lunch.

Thou shalt not covet

2011-06-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

But I do anyways. Oh, I do.

Not in my heart though. No need to worry about my spiritual health here.

But don't you think it would be great to live in this converted church?


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And this would be great for storage :)


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This dress makes me happy...if only white were my colour.

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For a punch of summer :)


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And just for kicks, I wouldn't mind one of these...

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But of course, this always reminds me of the truth and makes me thankful for my cheap phone plan :)

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Oh summer

2011-06-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last night I could hear thunder in the distance. See the dark clouds forming. The air was heavy, the earth expectant; nature seemed to wait.

I love a summer storm. The rain, the thunder, the lightning.

As a kid, I had a love/hate relationship with them. At first they scared me - a storm meant power outage, which meant using candles. This terrified me because my single greatest fear growing up was that our house would burn down.

As I started getting older (and more confident that the house wouldn't torch after a match was lit), I began to realize how much my dad liked storms. At first that seemed odd - that someone could just stand there at the kitchen window and watch the rain come down, the lightning fork across the sky.

I too started appreciating the summer storm. I remember in Bible college one such storm - my and my friend Jenene, standing outside in the middle of the downpour, giddy at a display so reminiscent of the prairies we hailed from.

I can still feel the air when my friend Rayanna came to visit me, a million years ago it seems, and we sat on my balcony watching a lightning storm, acting like a couple of the nutcases we were.

My former roommate, Robyn, with whom I shared a one-bedroom apartment for awhile, also loved a good storm. If it was thundering, raining, lightning, we would both crowd at the window between our beds, losing sleep but enjoying every second of it. Sometimes you saw weird things (green flashes in the sky after lightning?!) but overall it was always a welcome sight.

And so now when a storm comes, I am there. At the window, my face nearly pressed against the glass. My heart wanting to yell out, "Is that all you got?"

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You should read this

2011-06-06T13:00:00.001-06:00

My mom gave this book to my brother for his birthday in May.

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My mom had started reading it, so my brother left it with her to finish. Then my sister read it. Then I read it last night. It only took about 2 hours ;)

In spite of being a quick read, this was a good book. The authors are not writers by trade; but that doesn't change the subject material, which is a little boy's incredible experience of being in heaven.

Normally I am usually quick to doubt and discount such stories - but what does a 4-year-old have to gain from sharing his experiences? Absolutely nothing. Other than he wanted people to know that heaven is for real.

I had chills up and down my spine through most of it, and cried during more than one chapter.

You should go read it now.

Vacation, Part V: Homeward!

2011-06-03T13:00:00.012-06:00

(I added some music - one song for each new post. I just liked how certain parts of the trip felt like a song. I highly suggest having it on while you read. It makes it better.)

I was excited but not excited about returning home.

It's always nice to go home after a holiday - and I was more than ready for some clean laundry and saying good riddance to carting a suitcase around. Not to mention the fact that my own bed was awaiting me.

But I had fallen in love with the west coast, especially stateside (something this thoroughly Canadian girl never thought she'd say).

We started out bright and early at 6:30am. We had intended on 6am, but I have a terrible habit of not being on time. I don't know why. If it's important, like work, I'm on time; it's those flexible deadlines that are tricky. The ones that you set, but you know there's no real repercussion for missing them.

I was a terrible road trip companion starting out. I kept falling asleep. Poor Robyn. We decided to drive through Washington, through the Idaho panhandle, then north through a little bit of BC and up through Alberta.

I remember waking up at one point thinking we surely weren't in Washington anymore. Did you know that the mountains don't cover the whole state? I didn't. It didn't even take us that long til they were gone.

So the first part of the trip was pretty boring. Around Spokane I started to perk up a bit. That's what happens when I break out the camera.

I snapped this one for my bro; his name is Thor on his ball hockey team.

Then we started seeing some more of the pretty pretty mountains we know and love so well.

Silly semi truck got in my shot.

I don't remember where it was, but we were driving through some little town and I saw a sign that I swore said "Fruits & Videos". I said, out loud, "Why would they sell fruits and videos?"

Yeah, I definitely misread that. It was totally Fruits & Veggies. Robyn positively doubled over in laughter at my stupidity. Not a good thing for the driver to do.

"Why on earth would they sell fruit with the VIDEOS? Besides, this is the 21st century, nobody sells videos!" From then for the duration of the trip on I would hear her mutter under her breath, "Fruits and videos!"

We followed this car for awhile. He's in about a billion of my photos now. Stupid blue car.

I can't remember where exactly we crossed the border into Canada. It seemed to take forever.

Then when we did, I swear the sky got bluer. The mountains got taller. The clouds were puffier.

It was good to be back in the motherland.

I can just hear you now; you don't want to see another pic of a mountain as long as you live (or at least as long as you read this blog).

Fine, here you go. Robyn snapped these two while I drove for a bit. Ain't they pretty?

Then all of a sudden we were in Calgary! Except it wasn't all of a sudden - it took a very long time. I also had to pee very badly, which made it even worse.

We stopped at Peters' Drive-In. There was a massive line-up and we had to wait an hour. Normally we wouldn't have bothered but we had been sitting in a car for 14 hours; it felt good to stand for awhile.

Besides, it was so crowded because it was Customer Appreciation Day, which meant the milkshakes were free :)

The milkshakes are huge. So are the fries. We shared a small. I think we maybe ate half of them.

The milkshakes are good, and super thick. I looked like this pretty much the whole time I was drinking it.

This is the crowd that we had to wait through. You can't even see the people that are underneath the actual window part, which is about another 5 feet of crowd. Ugh, we also got stuck in front of the most annoying group of girls on the planet. Girls, why must you be annoying?

It was great to leave Calgary (it always is, *smirk*). I never thought I'd be so happy to drive QE2. Normally I hate that highway, it's so boring, but when you know it's the last highway you'll take that day, and it'll only take 3 hours? Piece of cake.

Pop quiz: how can you tell when you're getting close to Edmonton?

Answer: When the road and surrounding land is flat as a pancake.

Robyn said if you squinted your eyes and looked at the below grain elevator (or whatever it's called; it's been a long time since the farm days), it looked like a castle. I think she's nuts.

The sun started going down after that. (Wow, my observation skills astound me.)

I like this one - it was taken after the previous one, just with different camera settings. The pink sky is just lovely, I think.

When it really started getting dark, I was pretty loopy which explains these last pics. I heard Robyn say "Oooh myyy" a lot. That's how I know she thinks I'm going insane.

Insane on sleep deprivation!

I was very happy to finally get home. It was a long drive. I practically kissed my front entryway.

I didn't though. That'd be way gross.

But my bed did feel particularly delicious that night.

Vacation, Part IV: Seattle!

2011-06-02T13:00:00.001-06:00

(I added some music - one song for each new post. I just liked how certain parts of the trip felt like a song. I highly suggest having it on while you read. It makes it better.)

Did you eat yet? Are you well hydrated? I just thought I'd check - this post is going to be a long one. I have a few pics and more than a few words about Seattle.

What do I have to say about Seattle?

LOVED. IT. I adored it, as much as anyone could adore a city that they spent 2 days in. Is it possible to fall in love that quickly? I like to think so.

Seattle really stole my heart. I'm not even sure what it was about it - it was just so...west coast. Laid back. Beautiful.

We drove there Thursday night to get a good sleep. We stayed in Bellevue, not Seattle, because we are silly and didn't realize Bellevue was it's own city. Whatever, we're tourists, what do we know. But it turned out for the better - we found some cool stuff in Bellevue.

Friday morning we set out for Pike Place Market. The first thing we both did was gasp and try to breathe again. The flowers.

The smell of them actually hits you. I can't remember the last time I bought flowers and could actually smell them. And the best part? That price tag.

I think if I lived here I would buy flowers every week. For every room in my house. And some extra for my friends. And random strangers.

There were tons of other vendors, and of course the fish-throwing place. I don't know what they were called, but it was kind of cool to watch them.

We also taste-tested this:

Dark chocolate linguine. Pasta: it's what's for dessert. I really wanted to buy some, but had no earthly idea what I would do with it or who would eat it. Of course, knowing where my chocolate-loving carbalicious taste buds come from, I should have bought some for my mom.

After the market we headed to the first Starbucks. This was Robyn's idea (not that I was surprised one bit). It was neat, and super duper crowed.

I ended up buying a Starbucks Pike Place mug. I didn't plan on buying anything, but then all the barista had to mention was that it was exclusive to that store. Well. I can't not buy it now! I am such a sucker.

After that we went to the aquarium. It was ok; Vancouver's is way better. We bought some Seattle city passes from Costco before our trip. So we got to do all the touristy things without paying an arm and a leg for them. I'm glad we did, because it gave us a plan, but I don't think I would bother with any of that stuff in the future. Just an FYI for ya.

This is the only pic I got at the aquarium. Ha!

We also found a letterpress gallery with some fantastic art. I highly suggest it. We each got a pack of cards. This is mine.

I'd also just like to interject that the guy who worked there was lovely. As in handsome. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Actually, there were lots of very, very good-looking men in Seattle. They were everywhere! That also just might have something to do with why I now want to move there...

After I picked my jaw up off the floor and stopped drooling over such masculine beauty, it was on to the space needle!

I was particularly excited for this, since I love heights.

Here's a tip: if you find yourself in Seattle, don't bother with the space needle. While it was fun (and part of the city pass), the Bank of America is twice as high and costs only $5. You also have to take two elevators up; the first one stops on the 40th floor and there is a Starbucks there :) We didn't end up going because we didn't want to pay for more parking downtown. But there's always next time...

After the space needle, we were walking through a park and noticed a pipe band.

So we stayed and watched. You can too, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

(There should be a video of a pipe band right here. But I had some technical difficulties. My profound apologies and I am deeply sorry for your, no doubt, extreme disappointment.)

After the spontaneous pipe band performance, we went to the science centre. It was definitely for kids, but hey, we had the passes. Robyn loved that they had a butterfly exhibit habitat thinger.

I snapped about 4 pictures before I got freaked out by all the winged creatures. Some of those suckers were big.

So I darted out of there in a flash and was much more comfortable taking pics of these kinds of butterflies.

After that we headed over to the Experience Music Project | Science Fiction museum. I wish I was more a music nut, because this place was pretty darn awesome.

Love the white cello up there :)

The music exhibit that was currently running was Nirvana. I definitely like their music, but don't know a lot about them, much to the chagrin of my brother.

I loved all the quotes and trivia and pictures and memorabilia. It was definitely something to remember. A little piece of 90s, Seattle grunge rock, changing the musical landscape for forever.

That night we were sta-HAR-ving! We had been walking around all day and didn't eat lunch. So we went to the Cheesecake Factory. I thought I was ordering something much more exotic than chicken fingers, but that's pretty much what I got. I was a good girl though and ordered vegetables with my mountain of chicken.

There was so much chicken! This is why America is obese! But the really embarrassing thing is I ate almost that whole plate of food, minus the condiments. I was grateful for all that chicken, because I found the broccoli wasn't horrible if I took a bite, then quickly put a bite of chicken in. Robyn called them my "chicken chasers".

Did I mention that we also had bread before that? And our own "small" appetizers? (I had the edamame.) And that we ordered cheesecake after that? To be fair, we had our cake packaged up, untouched. But still, I ate a whole ton of food. And I have no regrets.

After that...we went back to the Space Needle. Our city pass gave us two admissions, so we decided to go see it at night. I loved that :D My roommate in Bible college used to make fun of my reactions to the city lights.

Utter joy right there...

Then we fell into bed that night. Oh what a day. (We even got lost twice; not because we didn't know where we were going, but because we were laughing so hard we kept missing our exits! Gotta be careful of that sort of thing.)

The next day we didn't really have any plans. Well, we did take a paper class at a store. That was kind of interesting. It ended up not really being my style, but it was still fun. Then we went for lunch to a place called boom noodle. It was delicious; the cold, cloudy weather called for something warm, so I had some delicous spicy lemon chicken ramen. Mmmm, I want some more right now.

After that we headed to the beach in West Seattle. The sun decided to play and came out, so we sipped some water and just walked along the beach, then sat and enjoyed the ocean for awhile.

Betcha didn't know Seattle had a Statue of Liberty, did you?

Enjoying the sun and water...

Laying down, looking up...

After that we drove around to *ahem* a couple different Targets to find what we wanted, and I spotted a Macaroni Grill. My friend in Arizona took me when I visited her for her wedding, and it was really good. Their bread is to die for. Mmmm, I want some right now...

I needed something relatively healthy, so I went with the chicken skewers and grilled veggies. Robyn got the same, just with lamb. Doesn't it look delicious?

After that, it was back to the hotel to pack and sleep; it was going to be an early morning.

I loved pretty much everything about these two days. I can't wait to go back again one day.

Vacation, Part III: Bellingham!

2011-06-01T17:00:00.002-06:00

(I added some music - one song for each new post. I just liked how certain parts of the trip felt like a song. I highly suggest having it on while you read. It makes it better.)

The day after whale watching, Robyn drove me down south of the border to Bellingham. My good good friend Jenene lives there, with her husband Art and her bee-U-tiful baby Sophia.

Robyn and I attempted to do some shopping. There were no good deals to be had. We both didn't feel well either - she had a headache and I had severe cramping/female issues. Because I just had to go and be a woman on my vacation. Lovely.

Anyways, we headed to Jenene's after lunch. This was my first time meeting Sophia and OH MY GOODNESS. I think she just might be a contender for the cutest baby in the world. I mean, babies are generally cute as it is, but she's got this full head of dark hair and I am just a sucker for that sort of thing. Plus her head is perfectly round. I don't know why I constantly marveled at that, but it was perfectly round! She also looks just like Jenene, but also like her dad too. Which would make sense...

The first night there we went to a restaurant called Boundary Bay Brewery. It's a really cool place - they even had a guy playing piano the whole night, which was neato. I loved the decor too - Jenene's mom said it was kind of hippie, but I loved the eclecticness of it. Apparently they also brew their own beer there. But seeing as how I don't like beer (other than that one time I had it I guess), I stuck with water. It was delicious.

At the suggestion of Art & Jenene (and Sophia by default), I decided to try "the BEST mac & cheese EVER." They said it exactly like that.

Let me tell you, they were right. This is the BEST mac & cheese you will ever eat in your life.

There were something like 7 different cheeses in it. Okay, maybe no that many. But it was sooo goood. I couldn't eat it all because it IS mac & cheese, but others at the table gladly helped out :)

Sophia had a good time as well.

(I told you her head was perfectly round.)

We tried to do a flower picture, but she just kept face-planting it...

A lot of my visit was daily-life kind of stuff. It was so fun to be able to watch my friend be a mom. I think that is one of the strangest and most fascinating things of life, and it is so cool to see it happening to my friends. I mean, of course I grew up knowing people who had kids - but when it starts happening to your friends, it's just a whole 'nother ball game.

And I seriously don't know how they do it. I mean, I have no idea how anything can get done during the day. Seeing the amount of work it is just to feed Sophia and keep her clean and happy - wow. I mean, it was so fun to help out, but...wow, it's a lot of work for Jenene. But she is just superb at it. I hope I can be as good at it one day.

That was another thing - being with Sophia so much just made me want my own kids about a bazillion times more than I already did. But it also made me thankful that I am still single - does that sound odd? I mean, I am thankful that I am taking the time to ENJOY being single. I don't want to waste this time I do have; I don't want to be one of those women who suddenly find themselves married with 8 kids and think, "What did I DO before this?"

On Wednesday her mom had to leave. It was kind of funny because when Jenene told her mom I'd be there for a little bit of her stay, she was really worried I'd be mad. But then I was worried that she'd be irritated that I was there :) Of course it wasn't like that. Jenene's family lives in Manitoba, and I know they want to see Sophia as much as they can, I could never begrudge them that.

This was taken I think the day her mom left.

Love that dark hair...

That night Art & Jenene's friends, Wayne & Sozan came over. We all went to dinner that night to Bayou on Bay. They serve cajun food there (as if that's not self-explanatory from the name). Jenene & I shared a couple of appetizers, frog legs & alligator dip :) The frog legs were really good - exactly how Jenene described them to me, they taste like a cross between chicken & fish. The alligator dip was spinach dip with crawfish & alligator meat in it. It was tasty, but I don't think I could eat a whole lot of it. The frog legs I'd definitely go for again :)

We went back to their place and played a game of Bohnanza. I had never played it before; Art said it was a farming game, so I'd like it, ha! It was a lot of fun, I love card games and seeing the competitiveness come out in people.

The next day I had to leave. I was so sad to leave them. I could have stayed another two weeks. Or a year. Or 10 years. I loved Bellingham. I loved the houses, and the flowers, and the whole feel of the place. It's such a nice city to be in - not too big, not too small. A Goldilocks city. Which suits me because hey, my hair is gold! But I loved being with my friends who I don't get to see very often. It always makes me so sad to leave them. I made sure to snuggle with a sleeping Sophia a good hour before Robyn picked me up.

The thing I'm kicking myself for is that I am terrible at photographing everyday-life moments. I did not get one. single. picture. of Jenene - we meant to get one of the 2 of us, but it kept slipping our minds. I never think to break my camera out over those little moments, but those are the ones that count the most, I think. That's something I want to be better at.

So, all in all, it was a spectacular visit. I love living life with people, especially those that live far away. I just wish I was able to do it a heck of a lot more :)

Vacation, Part II: Whales!

2011-05-31T16:25:00.005-06:00

(I added some music - one song for each new post. I just liked how certain parts of the trip felt like a song. I highly suggest having it on while you read. It makes it better.)

It's kind of funny - every time I told people I was going on vacation, I told them it was to Vancouver, then Washington. In reality, I never stepped foot in Vancouver this time around. My interests lied elsewhere I guess :) We stayed with Robyn's friends in Surrey. Then, really my only day in Canada, we went whale watching in Steveston.

Source

This was not the boat we took.

But ours was similar (I forgot to get a pic of it). There was a whale sighting near Galiano Island - a group of transient killer whales. The transient ones are the guys who eat harbour seals and sea lions. The residents eat mostly salmon. I think in total we saw 8 of them, which was pretty cool.

First off, we saw some California sea lions. Aren't they gorgeous creatures? (I'm totally kidding by the way, I thought they were way ugly. Except that sleeping on, he was kinda cut I guess.)

Then we drove a little further out to the island. We were going pretty fast.

Let's play a game, shall we? It's called "Spot the Whale!"

Then I started taking more of these kind of pictures.

Those got boring quick. Then we saw one do a spy hop!

And another one!

This one is a male. You can tell because his dorsal fin is so much taller than the others.

I liked this one because the lighthouse is in it. I have a penchant for lighthouses. And elephants. But we didn't see any of those.

Here's a couple videos. You have to be a little patient while watching them, it takes time for those big guys to come back up for air. The first one is some females and a calf. The second one has a couple males, if memory serves me correctly.

Then we saw some cute little harbour seals! Mmmm, lunch. (That's what the whales think when they see them. I personally don't see the appeal.) I thought they looked like rocks or something at first.

And that's whale watching!

Vacation, Part I: Driving

2011-05-30T12:29:00.005-06:00

(I added some music - one song for each new post. I just liked how certain parts of the trip felt like a song. I highly suggest having it on while you read. It makes it better.)

I am home. Blessed, wonderful home.

There's nothing like a good holiday to make you glad to be home. Unless you had a terrible holiday; you'd probably be glad to come home then too. Fortunately that was not the case for me.

I decided to take a couple extra holidays afterward, to give me a chance to unpack, do laundry, clean my room, and relax a little. Doesn't everyone need to recover after their vacation? Besides, I think the most depressing thought in the world is when the day you leave your destination you think to yourself, "I have to be at work tomorrow." That thought gives me the heebie jeebies.

Did I sleep in though? No.

Have I unpacked yet? No.

Have I done laundry yet? No.

Have I uploaded my pictures to my computer and started blogging about the trip? YES!

It's all about priorities people.

Robyn and I started out bright and early last Saturday morning, settling in for the drive from Edmonton to Vancouver. Robyn and I go way back; we were in Bible college together in BC, then she followed me out here to Edmonton because she loves me so much. (Ok, that's a total lie. She followed a boy out here. They're married now.) Robyn and I were also roommates here in E-town. For a year and a half we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. Gosh I love being cheap. We saved SO much money, and became quite good friends. So much so that we can spend 14 hours in a car together, no problem.

I know, I know, enough with the history lesson Kathryn! You want to hear more about the drive, right? That's what I thought.

For a little while, the drive is terribly boring. It's flat, and you have to go through towns like Entwistle and Edson and Hinton. Believe you me, they are not that exciting.

If you're lucky, there's a bend in the road to keep things interesting.

But before you know it, you see mountains in the distance!

The closer you get to Jasper, the better the scenery gets.

Then before you know it you're in Kamloops!

I have no idea what my hair is doing.

I was very happy because for some reason gas here was only 106.7/L. Don't ask me why back home, where we HAVE the oil, we pay about $0.25/L more! And the rest of BC was around $1.33/L, which is what we expected, so that was a nice little Kamploops treat.

And a little hint to glasses-wearers? Those glasses are prescription sunglasses. They saved me. Last time I checked I hadn't won the lottery and would normally not be able to have such a luxury. But they only cost $20! Yup, you read that right. I got them from a site called Zenni Optical. You need some basic info on your eyes, like presciption & pupil distance, but other than that it's simple simple! So if you're not covered for glasses thru work (which I'm not), it's great!*

Back to the trip...

We took a different route than usual, so that we'd follow the Fraser River. We stopped real quick at Hell's Gate, and took a look down. We wanted to ride the tram, but we got there at 5:30 - they closed at 5:00. Nuts.

Some light reading if you're interested...

The view down...

It's not as impressive here as it was there. Hearing the water roar - pretty cool. Would have been neat to take the tram, but maybe next time :)

It was pretty easy going the rest of the way. We had tons of fun. Even made up our own car game :) Well, Robyn technically made it up, I acted as the self-appointed General Commissioner. I'm not sure what a real GC does, but I took it upon myself to come up with new rules as well as make those tough calls as to who gets the point (it was usually me :D).

I can't even count how many times I cried from laughter on this trip. It's a good thing I don't wear makeup. People wonder why I love road trips; it's because I have always gone on them with fun people. Robyn and I have a similar sense of humour, so it always works great. We make so many memories that I think they fall out to make room for new ones.

Which is why I blog. Otherwise I'd forget everything.

I'll have more posts on the trip this week, I swear they'll be more interesting than just pics of mountains. (Well, maybe not. Depends what you're into.)

*This isn't some sort of odd, misplaced advertisement. I just truly love these glasses.

FYI

2011-05-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am currently out of the country.

Life is good here on the west coast. Sunny, green, and more importantly, mosquito free. Edmonton, are there still mosquitos? If so, I'm not coming here until they're gone.

I went whale watching yesterday. And now I am hanging out with my friend Jenene, her husband Art, and their adorable daughter Sophia for a few days. She's awesome. And she eats a lot.

You won't hear from me for awhile. Because vacation is fantastic.

See you next week!

The last photos

2011-05-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

My camera died a sad little death. It's not even really dead, just impossible to take photos with. Because of the white blocky thingers and the black splotchiness.

However, I tired to take a few, simply because I love my mom's reactions to certain things. Especially homemade Mother's Day cards. Observe.

Here she is reading it...

Next comes the gut-busting laughter (I accidentally wrote but-gusting laughter, then realized that would be embarrassingly wrong, especially for my mother)...

Please ignore the giant fingers that are trying to take over the world - again, white blocky thingers and black splotchiness were what I was dealing with...

Then she calms down and kinds of sighs, while she looks it over again...

"You guys!" is what she says, and "guys" becomes 2 syllables...

You can kind of make out from this photo that we cut and pasted my mother together, wearing a bathrobe and rubber boots, while chasing a cow (something farm wives just have to do every once in awhile, and bathrobes are just the best thing to do it in, apparently). It may have been more accurate to not have the rubber boots, since usually at least one of them used to come off in the corral when she would run.

Anyways, what you can't see it what we wrote.

"Happy Mother's Day to a mom who knows how to get down & dirty!"

Aren't we peaches? I might add that this whole thing was my brother's mastermind. I just helped with the execution.

Pretty good for some last photos. So long, trusty little Casio. You were a good friend these past 4 (or is it 5?) years.

Of course

2011-05-16T17:22:00.001-06:00

I was very dutiful and charged my camera over the weekend, like I said I would.

It's sure too bad I broke the screen.

It was my own carelessness that did it in. I threw it in my purse to take to the farm - without putting it in a case first (something I've done seemingly hundreds of times). Something must have put too much pressure on the LCD screen because when I took it out, there were these weird white chunk thingers and a black splotchy thing (I know, I'm super technical).

I guess it's time for a new camera.

The timing couldn't be worse too. I leave on my trip this Saturday. Normally I wouldn't worry about replacing it so quickly. But I am going to the west coast. You better believe I am going to need a working camera while there.

Weekend Agenda

2011-05-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

I can't think of a real post, so I thought I'd list out all that's going on & what I need to do.

1. Charge camera.
2. Take picture of hair with charged camera.
3. Go to Make It tonight with my sister & brother-in-law.
4. Pack hurriedly so that I can catch a ride with them to Camrose and save myself the gas money (at 124.9/L you would too!).
5. Have a pedicure-fun time with my sister and mom tomorrow.
6. Come back to the city, try to find birthday gifts for my brother, brother-in-law, and a Mother's Day gifts for my mom (I know it's late, that's how my family rolls).
7. Go to meeting at the church, before church.
8. Go back to the farm Sunday afternoon for one, possibly two, birthdays and Mother's Day festivities. (I'm really not at all sure what's happeinging.)
9. Come back to the city and fall onto bed in exhaustion.
10. Thank my lucky stars I don't have that second job yet.

FYI

2011-05-09T17:07:00.001-06:00

Never do a 6am boot camp. Please trust me on this.

It hurts to sneeze. It hurts to stand. It hurts to climb a stair.

Oh stairs. How I loathe them now. Stairs and I used to get along great. I used to live in a 4th floor walkup apartment. I used to jog in the river valley, where stairs abound. I used to climb 6 or 7 flights to ge to my classes while in college.

Of course, I used to be about 20 pounds lighter when I did all that. I'm blaming the suburbs for making me fat. (It has nothing to do with my love of chocolate, I swear!)

We had to do stairs today. Lots of them. For the WARM-UP. As in, there were other exercises to follow. At 6am.

So now I can't move. Part of this is my fault, I suppose. I should have recognized my limitations and taken a couple more breaks. But that's the problem when I work out along with strangers; I feel like I have to be as good as themm. Damn my pride.

I am strongly contemplating not going back. I honestly feel it was way too advanced for me. I have no qualms about some soreness after a good workout, but this is ridiculous.

What kills me was that was supposed to be the beginners workout.

The mop is lopped

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

I thought I'd show you what happened to me today.

"Happened" as in I walked into my hairdresser's and told her go ahead, chop it all off.

Isn't it funny how these things just "happen"?

That's a good 8 or 9 inches of non-dyed blonde hair right there. Don't worry; it'll be donated.

As soon as it was snipped off, I felt so free. It's been tickling my neck all evening. I love it.

I can also cross #2 off my list, as I am also sporting some new blonde highlights. They're fairly soft as I decided to go with something natural as I'm in a wedding soon. After that - I may decide to branch out a little.

It feels really really good right now. I'm still waiting for that feeling to kick in that makes you feel as if you've lost a limb...

P.S. I was going to do an "after pick", but the lighting is terrible. You'll just have to wait for that :)

Finally!

2011-05-04T08:00:00.003-06:00

It's been a long time coming, but we're finally seeing more of this now:

Yes, that is green grass my friends! I am doing a happy dance :)

Yesterday was a fantastic day...full of GIANT unexpected blessings, for sure! It's such a great feeling when employers recognize hard work, isn't it?

I am also anticipating feeling like a human again in the near future. I've been feeling a bit unkempt as of late, but that's all going to change. Today is my massage, soon I will get my hair trimmed (and subsequently get these bangs out of my eyes), and next week a pedicure.

These are things that make being a woman delightful.

I love when the biggest decision you have to face is what colour you'd like your toes to be. That's when you know you have a lot to be thankful for.

Listening to...

2011-05-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

I realize in this post I kind of dissed a certain genre of music. Well, I still maintain what I said. But it doesn't mean that I don't listen to any Christian music.

This one I downloaded after my church's Easter service last week. I had never heard of it before, or the artist who recorded it. But I love it. I've been listening to it constantly. The recorded track isn't as good as when we sang it during church - but that's to be expected. Between the choir, the dancers, the hundreds of people singing - pretty hard to compete with.

Anyways, here's that song.

P.S. If you're Canadian and haven't voted yet - go vote! :)

6 years ago

2011-04-27T17:04:00.000-06:00

I was going through some old photos on my computer today when I realized that it was about 6 years ago exactly that I was heading in to the most depressing summer of my life.

But I'm not going to talk about that.

I was leaving Bible college. Where I had met some of my very dearest friends - I'm happy to say that they are still dear friends.

I cannot imagine my life without knowing these 2 lovely ladies. I am so blessed to count them as friends.

P.S. I was not even in my twenties yet when these photos were taken. Now I want to cry.

Much much more

2011-04-22T13:04:00.000-06:00

In a flurry of Easter preparations it's good to stop and really think about why we do all this.

It's not about giant Easter eggs.

Source

It's not about the Easter bunny.

Source

It's not even about chocolate.

Source

No, it's about something so much more than that. More than food, or spending time with family, or going to church (although those are all excellent things).

"Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father."

~ Phillippians 2:15 ~

Happy Easter weekend everyone. I pray you do celebrate with good food and fellowship. I pray you also find meaning in this holy day beyond those things, and experience the extraordinary love of God.

What a difference a week makes

2011-04-19T14:56:00.002-06:00

Last week I talked here about going for a run - my first run of the year!

While triumphant (in that I actually rolled out of my bed, down the stairs, and out the door that early in the morning), the after-effects were truly awful.

It was all because of my shoes. Never again will I purchase such awful, terrible shoes. I forget what brand they were, but I bought them at Costco. These shoes were not uncomfortable - no, the pain came later that day, whenever I tried to walk. I got horrible shin splints from those shoes. Luckily, since Costco is awesome, I was able to return them and get my $38.84 back :)

The actual running part was also...lacking. I really had to push and encourage myself to do it. I'm on an extremely easy plan, for anyone with a modicum of physical ability. Which I do not have. So this plan is actually challenging. It involves a whole 5 minutes of running with each minute separated by 2 minutes of walking. See, doesn't that sound hard?

After the third minute, I wasn't sure I could do any more. So I gave myself a 3 minute break instead of 2 before my 4th running minute. And told myself I didn't have to do the 5th one. That worked...until I was sick of walking and decided to just do the 5th minute, to get home faster.

Which leads me to today. I hadn't gone out again so that I could rest my shins and because it also snowed last week, of course. And a girl cannot go running in the snow. At least, not this non-hardcore runner. No, I'm an apathetic runner. Give me nice weather to run in and I'll do it; snow and rain are an entirely different story.

Today was, dare I say, pleasant. I didn't have to try as hard. I didn't need an extra minute of walking before that 3rd running minute. I didn't need to persuade myself to finish all 5 running minutes. And when I got back, I wasn't even super tired. I also shaved about 2.5 minutes off the whole route (since I walked faster between the running minutes).

Not bad for a second attempt, I think.

Here's hoping the whole getting-up-at-6am gets easier though. Early mornings are hard.

Monday kickstart - Gungor

2011-04-18T08:00:00.009-06:00

Here's something to know about me: I hate the beginning of the week (as do everyone else). And I am terribly picky with my music.

I listen to a lot of music. But it has to be good. (Yes I realize that "good" is highly objective.) And I don't mean this to sound the way it's going to sound, but that's why I don't like a lot of Christian music. It all sounds the same after awhile - endless covers of the same songs.

That's why I like these guys. The music is original and authentic and just plain fantastic. They are also super talented. Give it a listen and see if you don't agree.

The second one is my fave off the album. It's a bit of a rough video, but I love that they're doing it outside as well as acoustic :)

In process

2011-04-16T21:39:00.000-06:00

I was sick and tired of staring at poppies all the time, so I've stripped this thing down to the bare bones for awhile.

I need to refresh my eyes.

And I need to learn some serious coding. Don't be surprised if you see some odd looks here.

In the meantime, some tunage pour vous...

Things that creep me out at 6am

2011-04-12T06:49:00.000-06:00

I really did it. This morning I put on a sports bra, laced up my sneaks and headed outside to hit the pavement. (Don't worry, I wore more than that.)

I hated almost every minute of it. But mostly just because right before the sun makes an appearance that early in the morning, my neighborhood is downright creepy. I started listing these things mentally during my run. You know, to give me motivation to get home instead of curling up on a ball in the middle of the street, waiting for a car to flatten me. Sometimes that seem like a more viable weight-loss option, I won't lie. Anyways, here they are.

1. Wind.
2. Wind chimes.
3. Abandoned children's toys strewn about in the front yard.
3. Sirens.
4. That person walking 200 feet away from me. Is it a rapist?
5. Crows/any bird making noise.
6. That sound a stick made when I stepped on it.
7. Forgetting my glasses. (Isn't that how horror movies start? When people can't see clearly? I don't know, I've never seen one. But that sounds like a great opening. Hollywood, feel free to use that idea.)
8. Trees.
9. Signposts.
10. That little house that usually looks cute in daylight - right now it looks like where a wicked witch would live.
11. Frozen puddles.

That's all I can remember. I think it's pretty safe to say that almost everything creeps me out that early in the morning. I mean, I live in a really safe area; it's not like I have a reason to be scared of anything. It's just...those moments before the sun comes up seem really unfriendly.

That and I constantly think that the more I run, the less chance I have of being able to out-run someone chasing me. I'd already be tired, so that'd give them an advantage, right? Does anyone else think like this??