Steal-of-a-Deal Day!

Picking up Leslie (from Edmonton) at the airport. Little did we know that it was Steal-of-a-Deal Day. Boy were we in for a surprise!!
Went to Beans and Leaves for some bevvy's

Shoot!! Knew it was true! They have even written a book about it...

Leslie picked up this yellow hat as a joke when she realized that it had her name on it!!! Like it was meant to be. It was 3.00 at MCC, then we found out it was half price on blue tag items so then it was only 1.50!! I bought one of my textbooks for 75 cents as well instead of paying thirty dollars for it!! And I bought a board game for a dollar. Wow! What deals were found at MCC!

Action shot

Hot dogs at Costco=Steal of a Deal!!

Salt is free, so i figured if I ate it, I was getting an amazing deal!

YAM FRIES!!

Bird watching

Facebook Friends

This week has been fairly busy, but so good. So thought I'd give a little rundown on what my week has been like!!

First off, I must admit that although I am slightly addicted to Facebook, I am thankful for it because I have been reconnected with old friends which has been such a blessing!! One of those friends is Bridgid who I went to high school with. We had not seen each other in about five years and meet up last Sunday at Anton's pasta Bar (sooo good!!!) for dinner!! It was great to see her and catch up after all these years!

Monday I had my last day of carpooling with Tami. I have thoroughly enjoyed having someone to drive to school with one day a week and it served as a great time to hang out as well!! We also went to the Fort Pub for lunch to celebrate classes being done!!

Monday night I went to a Bible study with a couple friends. We are studying the book of Colossians and it is so good to study the book as a whole and to be able to see it within its cultural context!

Tuesday I got a lot of errands done and then met up with my friend Cheryl (also a friend from high school) and we went to the movie Premonition. It was a movie I really hadn't wanted to see, but it was really good! I really appreciated the ending and the way it was all weaved together. I would highly recommend it! The movie wasn't too creepy itself-it was just the music that made it creepy!! haha

Wednesday I met a friend for lunch and then a friend from school Kristen (who this post is really for.. just so she'll have something to read for her 6000th visit) came over so we could have a study party. The evening started off by putting our notes into giant ziploc bags and studying in the pool.. haha.. most people don't believe it's possible, but it's genius!! My favorite way to study! My pool is clean and heated now and so it's so wonderful!! Then we went for dinner to a Japanese restaurant and then played piano a little and hung out. (I mean.. we studied).. I am realizing more and more that I am not good at studying in groups!! haha.. because I don't actually study!

Thursday I had my first exam: sociology. Then I decided instead of studying I would go shopping! I bought some great clothes and got 20% off on all of them!! Yippee! Then I met my friend Brooke for dinner and then watched the Canucks game (sad they lost :( ).

Friday (today) I had two exams and they were all right. Hadn't really studied for them much and was actually relieved in the release of realizing that that is okay. And it was. I am learning slowly.. haha.. Kristen and I went out for lunch just to not study.. what a great way to spend one's time!! Tonight I worked until 10:30pm and tomorrow I get to work at 6:30 am and have another exam in the evening! Ode to joy! Only three more exams!

This week has been an interesting one. My thinking has been a bit of everywhere as expressed in my poem. It has been good to just stop and slow down and enjoy time without classes.

This weekend should be full and fun and I will be sure to post some pictures after the weekend is up! And now if you have made it through this long rambling post, congrats!! haha..

Poem

My spirit has been brewing of late and as a result I have been writing a lot of poetry. Thought I'd share one here just to put it out there. Some of my thoughts of late mashed into a poem :)


Conflicting

At times my life seems futile
I want to throw in the towel.
My desire is to seek You,
To live rightly before You,
Yet my flesh gets in the way.

The line of sin gets continually blurred,
As I pull it towards me
Changing its shape
So I can seem holy,
Yet I am not.

I try and fail, try and fail,
How easy it would be to dwell
In the failure
In the despair

I know there is more.
There is resurrection power,
Yet I keep the stone rolled
Over the grave.

He arose!
I shoved Him back down.
He was victorious!
I chose my failure.
He reigns!
I attempt to usurp His throne.

Who are You Jesus?
I hear many things,
Some conflict.

Your still small voice replies:
I AM.
All encompassing.
I AM.
Your strength.
I AM.
Victorious over sin
I AM
The lover of your soul
I AM
Your guiding light
I AM
Your life
I AM

Trust in me.
Turn to me.
Return to me.
I love you.
Just as you are.
I love you.
Draw near to me.
I love you.
I’m waiting

Spring!!

Mt Baker looked absolutely amazing the other night, so I kept driving and driving, chasing after being able to have more and more better shots. I wish I had had my zoom lens with me!! But this is the shot I got! Doesn't capture the beauty fully, but it was amazing!
The sky also looked amazing. In a perfect world there would not be streetlights and building everywhere, so I could take a nice picture of just outside.. but such is not the case.

Jocelyn and I decided to make breakfast Easter style. So we made french toast with paska! haha.. look at the size difference between those eggs!! it's amazing! oh the joys of living on a chicken farm!

this was the yolk size difference which I likewise thought was fairly amazing!

I absolutely love coming into my driveway in spring!! the flowering trees and flowers everywhere are amazing!! As the weeks go on, I will try to take more and more pics of our garden, because it really is amazing! The other day I took a paper writing break to go take pictures and it was great!

Along the road in front of our house we have these flowering bushes. they are not in full bloom yet, but I always think they look amazing!

I approached this flowering bush to take pictures and was shocked at the number of bumble bees within it! look closely and find the one in this shot!

So this week has been kind of crazy being the last week of classes and all! Easter Sunday was great! I got to sing in our church choir which was a great time of rejoicing and praising God together! Then I went home to finish up my last few papers!! And even though I have one more class left on Monday, I am officially done all my assignment for this semester!! YAY!! i just have six finals to go!! but I am not too worried about those! Just excited for new classes and moving onward!

Wednesday night I got to go to the first game of the Canucks playoffs! I had my camera but silly me had left the memory card in my computer, so i am sorry to say i have no pics!! Every one got a towel on their seats so they could fully participate in towel power. it was pretty sweet!! everything was white and there was lint flying around everywhere! haha.. The game ended at the end of the fourth overtime with Sedin bringing in the victory goal! Anyway, it was a lot of fun to be there for the first game, and it was worth staying 3.5 extra hours to watch the Canucks win!! I figure we got more for our money anyway since we got over two full hockey games in!!

And now I must go clean my fish tank before delaying any longer! More updates to come this weekend hopefully! (sorry for the lack of updating lately-especially for you kristen! haha)

Good Friday

Had a great weekend with two family gatherings, lots of hanging out with friends, singing in church and working on two papers. Here are some pics from my Good Friday Family Gathering that happened at Mill Lake. We had a good time playing Bocce (except when the balls landed in dog crap...). Most people sit and chat at family get-togethers. Mine does that, but this time we also decided it would be fun to keep jumping off the tree to see who could grab the branch first and swing from it. A little more sophisticated than most I know, but hey, we have fun doing it and it's always an adventure!! :)

Scoping out the tree....

Sandy and I also went for a bike ride in the morning! It was a beautiful morning for a ride!!

Funny story

I am at the moment writing a psych paper (which is why I am posting on my blog..) and I was reading through some of my research. I just ran across a cute/funny story that had a good meaning to it as well, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Interesting to see how different people have different perceptions on life and perceive different meanings in situations. Here's the story:

Two brothers, a 6-year-old and a 5-year-old, decide that today is the day they will learn how to swear. The 6-year-old says, "I'm gonna say the word 'damn'" and the 5-year-old replies with glee, "I'll say the word 'ass'" and they giggle and wait for their opportunity. Mother calls for them to come down for breakfast. They run downstairs, into the kitchen, and jump on the stools. "What would you like for breakfast?" Mother asks the oldest. "Give me some cereal, damn it!" the 6-year old replies, and without skipping a beat, Mother slaps him with the back of her hand across his face. He runs crying and embarrassed to his room. She turns to the 5-year-old and with a stern grimace says, "And what would you like?" to which he replies with a tremor in his voice, "I don't know, but you can bet your ass it won't be cereal."

the joys of spring!

Things of late have been kind of crazy with the semester of school ending and just life! And it's been so nice outside, making me want to be outside! I have been working out a lot (yay fitness challenge at work) and part of my working out has been happening outside with my bike! It's so fantastic to be outside and just enjoy everything around me. Yesterday I went for a 20km ride and took a few shots along the way. At one point I was coming up to a road crossing, and up ahead on the road, I saw a pitbull starting to run to where I was going to be. So I started pedalling as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. The dog jumped up, bit my leg, I fell of my bike.. oh wait, that didn't happen. I was faster than fast and outran the dog! Yay! It got my adrenaline going quite a bit though!!

I am excited for Easter this weekend! Far too often I do not take enough time to actually reflect upon Easter. I realize that I take the cross so for granted. In ensemble at church, we have been practicing "Were you there" and we're singing it on Easter Sunday. As we were singing, it was mentioned the depth of meaning in that song. Often I sing it as a good song and because this one's a tricky arrangement, I'm busy looking at my notes! But to actually take a moment to stop and think of what that would have been like if I had been there when Jesus was crucified. Wow. Takes my breath away just at the mere thought about it. It ends with "Were you there when he rose up from the grave?" Imagine that... What would have my reaction been? What would have it felt like? I am excited to ponder more this weekend and to be in different church services that will invoke me to more reflection!

Spring is here! And tomorrow is Short Pants Friday! Many of you do not know what that is, but the first friday of every April is Short Pants Friday! It is a day to bring out the short pants (or a skirt), to show off your ankles in the celebration that Spring is here! So if anyone feels like joining in, go for it! It's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow too, so go nuts!

Kristen and I go to Starbucks every chapel break on Tuesdays and Thursdays between our two classes. Today we stopped at Cobs and it was such a joyous time.

walking in a winter wonderland...

When I saw the scene of the blue sky, spotted snow and the house on the hill with the fence in front.. I just had to take a picture to capture the moment. interesting.

Last night I read on the weather forecast there was supposed to be 1cm of snow. When I awoke this morning, there was far more than 1 cm!! I was shocked, but it truly was lovely! The roads were fine and so while driving I could enjoy the beauty of it all blanketing its beauty over everything it touched! Wonderful!

When I was younger, I absolutely loved the snow and got giddy and excited every time I saw it. I scoffed when I heard adults who hated it and would always complain about it. Now it seems that I have turned into that which I was astonished at when I was younger.. How could anyone actually hate the snow? The beauty of it, the awe and wonder of it... Yet I have lost sight of the magic and have allowed myself to get swept away in the "miserableness" of something that was once wonderful.

I think of this not only in regards to snow, but also to different things in life. I need to go back to that child's view of the things around me. I have been reading my journals from when I was younger (I always like to read the corresponding date to today) and I am blown away by how I was as a 12 year old. I am inspired and encouraged by reading words I wrote. I need to go back to that place of wonder, awe and trust.