Makin' it Happen

Update

2009-11-23T11:48:00.003-04:00

Wow, it has been quite awhile since I did a post

Again...school gets the blame...it is crazy.

As usual I underestimated the time it would take me to complete courses online..lol

Add to the mix working 3 days a week and a Warcraft membership...time was very little...BUT, I ladied up and cancelled Warcraft (hard hard thing to do especially with a new lvl 80 toon) and now I am not working really at all, only a day every two-three weeks or so...SO now I am back on school track.

I am almost done my archaeology course which is exciting and I am a little ways into my Sociology of Families course which I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE...and then I am soon starting my Urban Anthropology course which looks awesome. It is really hard not to stray and read those books...u know you are a geek when....

Other than school...home is wonderful.
I love my mom and dad. It is so nice to be home.
I am my dad's handydaugher helper when he needs me and we go on shopping trips together for tools and groceries...nothing like father/daughter bonding!

I have introduced mom into the world of burnt movies...which may have been the biggest mistake of my life - LOL. She loves horror movies...SOOO one night I compiled a list of the BEST horror movies and I have downloaded and burnt over 50 for her...she is still thanking me yet.

My nan is still chargin' on! God love her soul. Her memory is fading very quickly these days which is scary, sad, upsetting, and heart wrenching all in one. I haven't seen her lately because I had H1N1 (awesome I know) so I wasn't allowed to go ANYWHERE let alone go to a seniors complex where I could possibly infect A LOT of very vulnerable people. BUT, I am all better, and I plan on going in this week to give her a nice foot massage and paint her toenails...she loves it!

Ry is amazing as usual. He still works like a crazy man, but we manage to see each other almost everyday, if not...only a day here and there in between is missed. We have about 1/2 of our Xmas shopping done, which is a relief. We have had some nice date nights lately which are always good, and our recent one was last night when we had a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant in Lunenburg (similar to Il Mercato in Halifax) and then a movie night with Bella, Jacob and Edward...NEW MOON!!! LOL. It was really cute to see how excited Ry was to go see it, he made fun of me for raving about Twilight and then I made him watch it when I was sick and he LOVED it and then couldn't wait to see New Moon. There were these cute teenbots next to us who asked him, "I bet you were dragged here to see this right?", and Ry...being the cutest thing ever...looks at them and says..."Actually...I am super pumped to see it, I love these movies". The girls giggled. It was super cute.

NOTE
H1N1 is not fun. I recommend people get the shot and stop whining about it and making up excuses about why you shouldn't get it and just get the damn thing. TRUST ME...you DO NOT want to get it...it is the worst thing ever, and I really felt like I was done for. I couldn't get out of bed, my whole body was in pain, and upon having no appetite, the woozy stomach and sinus/head pain was enough to put any strong willed person over the edge. So I say just get the shot and be safe.

Now...back to school work.

Bronzer

2009-09-28T18:03:00.003-03:00

I have been slacking but for good reason.

One of those reasons is because I am now working 3 days a week.
Whooo. It is so nice to have money coming in again, especially where Ry and I are trying to save for a house and all kinds of other glorious and wonderful things.

I am working at a tanning salon here in Chester which is fan-freakin-tastic. I love tanning. It makes me happy. Now I am even happier because I get to tan for FREE and I get to buy all sorts of cool lotions. Oh, and I get paid, get to hang with cool people AND get to study while I work.

Which leads me to my second reason, I have started my first online distance course from Athabasca University, and I am soooo excited. I am doing Archaeology of Ancient Peoples right now, and I start two more in a few weeks.

Rockin, rockin', rockin'.

Seriously.

Not much else has been going on really, other than a few shopping trips with Ry's sister Shannon, and a couple cute dates with my lovely.

Tomorrow is my birthday....*sigh* the big 28...lol

I have no idea what he has planned, or what mom and dad have planned either, but I know something is up because they all suck really bad at hiding things, and they have been acting weird....so tomorrow will tell. All I asked for was Big Red's pizza and garlic fingers, lol, so as long as I get that I will be a happy birthday girl. LOL. Anything really. I also think Ry got me a Magic Bullet, which is SO exciting, so exciting in fact...I can hardly stand it...I will freak if he actually got me one.

Well...school work is calling me - again, story of my life.

BANG ON

2009-08-23T16:09:00.003-03:00

It's official...

I just got an email from my French prof...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE......

I GOT AN A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHICH brings my GPA up to a 3.74!!!!!!!

I got an A in French!!!!!!!!!!
I got an A in French!!!!!!!!!!

I got an A in French!!!!!!!!!!

Je suis très heureuse!!!!!!!!

I am also all moved in at mom and dad's.
I was a super unpacker and I have unpacked and set up everything in 1 1/2 days.

I'm getting way to good at this moving stuff.

Ry was such a huge help.
And he is so excited I am home.

AND I am too.

We had a dinner and a movie date last night to celebrate the move.
It was nice to get out and not have school work on my mind or feel guilty about not studying for something. FINALLY I get a bit of a break.

I am also cooking up a pretty wicked hopeful situation.
I had a meeting with my academic advisor on Thursday and she so gladly informed me that I have PLENTY of room to take ALL this coming year (both fall and winter terms) by distance education, using online courses offered by other Universities. SO I won't have to travel, and I can work at my own pace and really kick some butt. Plus, with the 8 SOSA classes I wanted to take at Dal, NONE were offered this year so I ended up settling for a full course load of classes which didn't tickle my fancy, so this way I get the credits I need to graduate, I don't have to travel, AND I get to take ones that I actually want!

I have a meeting this week coming with my wonderful sponsor and hopefully we can work everything out so I can keep this awesome plan of mine. I am sure the letter stating that I made Dean's List this term will do wonders in my meeting with him. Hoooorraaahhhh!!

And, last but not least, Hurricane Bill did drop by as a weak Category 1 hurricane today but left with not much damage except some coastal flooding in spots and a few downed trees. Now the sun is out and it's back up to a stupid hot temperature! I cross my fingers everyday that I have my room in the nice cool basement - almost like permanent free air conditioning!

It's finally OVER

2009-08-20T09:43:00.003-03:00

I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
SUMMER SCHOOL IS OVER!!!!!!!!
Oh lordy lord!

I had my Oral French Exam on Tuesday.
It went amazing.
My partner Shawn was so awesome.
She is a huge ball of fun and we had a blast.
We had to pretend we were on a blind date with each other and we had to incorporate as much stuff that we learned throughout the class as possible, without making the dialogue sound stupid. We made ours funny, and we both couldn't stop laughing through the whole thing, and neither could the prof. She's cool as heck anyway, but she found it dang funny. We also had to read two passages from our French book, which we both nailed as well.

After we finished our "blind date" our prof says..."Awesome, you guys were perfect, perfect accents, exactly what I was looking for, perfect conversation, that is a 10/10! Whooooo hoooooo! Shawn and I screamed! We were so excited. We worked really hard on it so it was nice to get that as a reward.

Yesterday I had my final exam which consisted of two parts, an oral part where we had to write down things she was saying, or listen to short stories and pick out specific information, and also answer questions she asked us, and part two was the 6 page written part. YUCK. After we did the oral part, we started the written so while we were all writing that she marked our oral portion and gave it to us when we were done the written. DRUM ROLL - - - 19.2/20!
That's right. I rocked that too! BUT the written part was HARD HARD HARD! The hardest test all year so we'll see probably Monday how I did on that. Oh boy. FINGERS ARE CROSSED. I must get on the Dean's List!

Hummmm now what else has been happening...
OH, Lisa (my friend who lives in TO) came to visit and spent two glorious days with me in Chester at my parents house. We had a great time. I made sure to show her some great little gems like Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, and of course Chester. I didn't get to show her all what I wanted to in Chester but I took her to the tavern which made up for that! LOL. We also went to Bayswater beach and went swimming in the freezing ocean. Good times! It was so nice to see her and hopefully I can make another trip to TO very soon! I'm craving a hot dog from the vendor lady outside the ROM like mad! I loved her. She has the cleanest hot dog stand I have ever seen and she gave me my pop for free the last time I was there. Oh Toronto, how I love you.

what else....
I have been spending a CRAZY amount of time out on the boat with my parents and Ry every weekend it has been nice. We have FINALLY got some good weather happening here so boating it is! Ry and I actually tented on one of the islands two weekends ago and it was LOVELY. Ry has been doing some snorkeling, and he has found lots of treasures, including the seafood kind! Shhhhh don't tell!

and....
I AM MOVING HOME TODAY!!!!!!
I am so excited I could hardly sleep last night.
I have been waiting all summer for this, and it can't come soon enough. My mom and dad are really excited to have me home, and of course Ry is like bouncing off the walls. I also landed a job working at a tanning salon where my cousin works, so I will be working there, I will be able to TAN ALL YEAR LONG FOR FREE and I will be doing promotion material and other things for her as well. The Dal Career Information Centre is also keeping me on payroll for 5 hrs a week helping them do design work and other odds and ends for people at the centre so that is great because I loved working there, but with moving to Chester I wasn't able to keep my full time position since I am only in the city two days a week starting September 10th...

....which is only like 3 weeks away...
Oh god.
Hopefully this stupid hurricane doesn't hit us because I need another boating weekend!
Miss us, miss us, miss us, miss us!

Fun Filled Weekend

2009-08-04T15:05:00.003-03:00

I made it out alive.
Camping was amazing.
Not only did we have an amazing camping trip...BUT a trip to the Big X was also thrown in there just to make it a super awesome long weekend.
I haven't been to the Big X in almost 10 years so I was excited to go back, watch some horse shows, check out some animals, and OF COURSE go on as many rides as my body could handle without throwing up.
Ry's sister Shannon and I took two nieces and a nephew with and they had a blast.
I was the ride buddy for ALL the rides.
And yes, I did the kiddie roller coaster, the kiddie swings, AND the carousel.
I did 'em all baby.
I had so much fun.
The kids were BEAT, but I was proud.
Jazzie overcame her fear of heights and went on some pretty impressive rides for an 8 year old.
And by the time we left at 10pm, they were done for and all fell asleep on the drive home.
The next morning (Saturday) bright and early we got up and all got ready to head to Risser's Beach to go camping for two glorious days.
We had AMAZING weather and the beach again became my new best friend.
I worked on my tan, ate yummy camp food, spent some good quality time with Ry, and also got to spend a lot of fun time with all the kids going on hikes, swimming, daily trips to the playground, and playing make believe games until the break of dawn.
Loved it.
Loved every minute of it.

I came back to the city this morning with the car for the week which is exciting.
Coming back to class was hard, and I wasn't pumped...UNTIL I got marks back on my exam and another assignment.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE....
French Exam #1 = A+
Assignment # 5 = 9.8/10 (A+)
Ahhhhh yeah
I am kicking some butt and lovin' it.
I can almost smell Dean's List.
And that means shopping...and the satisfaction of working hard and getting amazing grades.

Overload

2009-07-28T07:44:00.004-03:00

I was doing good at the updating thing...and then things fell apart.
But I am back in the saddle, trying to keep this ol' blog in check.
I miss blogging, but when reality sets in, I realize there are times that I just don't have...time.
Oh time...how you go by so fast.
I can't believe that Ry and I will soon celebrate a year of engagement! So exciting.
I love him to death. He truly is the best.

Health news.
CT scan came back sort of ok.
They found a mucus retention cyst in my right sinus cavity, which is pretty large.
I am now waiting to get in to see an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist) and talk about having it removed.

My doc says that this could be the BAD GUY which is causing (get this):
- high blood pressure
- headaches
- weight gain
- shortness of breath
- slight loss of smell
- and slight loss of hearing

ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I couldn't believe something like that could have ALL of those effects, but apparently it can. SO, I am kind of hoping that when it gets removed, I will go back to being normal, go off my blood pressure meds, and get back to exercising and not freaking out daily about my heart.

I will find out about my EKG this Thursday when I go back for another appointment.
I should just sleep there. They have lots of rooms with beds that would be suitable for sleeping in...I am sure I can make it work.

School news:
French is amazing. I love it.
Never thought I would say it but I really do.
I am doing awesome. 90's and stuff...so if I can keep this up, I might not have a problem getting my 3.7 GPA for the Dean's List.
Ry said that if i make Dean's List that he will take me shopping.
I love bets.
Especially ones that involve me possible getting more clothes and PURSES!!!

I am praying for sun.
This weekend, Ry and I are going on a three day camping trip with his sister Shannon, their niece Jazzie, their brother Beau and his wife Kerri and their two kids Brandon and Jillian, and our friend Candace and her three kids Caden, Coltlen, and Chantel. We have a HUGE family camp site there, we are close to the washrooms, close to the playground and close to the beach! I am so excited to have a weekend where I am not doing school work. Pray for sun. Pray, pray, pray. Fingers and toes are crossed. If it rains I have NO idea what we are going to do with 6 kids under the age of 8, let alone the adults! LOL

I'm meeting Tarra for another coffee date today, and tonight Mom, Dad, and Ry are coming in and moving a good majority of my boxes back to Chester. All to lighten the final load in a few weeks when I pick up roots and move back home. I am so excited. Beyond really.

This city is getting out of hand. Shootings in the daytime, stabbings, robberies, pellet gun attacks (ONE actually to the bus I was on yesterday just down the street from my apt which shattered the window right beside me), and all kinds of other crazy shit. This city has gone from a bit of crime to and OUTRAGEOUS amount of crime in like 3 years. I can't wait to get the hell out. Pretty bad when Halifax has a larger crime rate per capital then Toronto! CRAZY. By rank we are actually sitting at #7 on Maclean’s National Crime Rankings 2009 - Most Dangerous Cities in Canada , it's just pure madness. You can see more here at the Maclean's main National Crime Rankings website if you dare to scare.

Gradin' It Up

2009-07-07T08:56:00.003-03:00

I am so excited.
For real.

Excited like woah.

I finished my Ethnography course last week and had a few days off to relax in Chester with Ry and mom and dad, it was really wicked. BUT now it's back to the ol' school grind - I started Basic French on Thursday and I am writing my first quiz today - HA, holy poop.

I have been freaking out waiting for my grade on my Ethnography final exam and my final grade...I am a grade freak. I like knowing right away how I did, and if the wait is long I begin to put myself in panic mode.

I checked this morning....

and the verdit was in.

I got an A- on the final exam

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
AND

An A- in the course!!!
I screamed.
Really loud.

In the computer lab at school.
LOL. Seriously.
It was awesome.
I love A's.
They make me very happy.

The prof sent me an email and basically told me how great I did, and out of the 15 people in the class I had the highest mark (which surprised me because there were a lot of people who sounded really smart - guess they were faking), and I after I read her email I checked to see the average mark in the class....HAHAHAH a C+....yep...that's right...a C+ was the average! What the hell! I didn't think the class was that difficult at all...guess I am just smart. Kidding. Well maybe not.

So, that brings my current GPA up to a 3.57!!!
Holy frickin' frick!
I have been dreaming for a GPA like that for a long time!

If I can pull off something in the A range in my french class then I can hopefully boost it up enough to get to a 3.7 which will put me on the Dean's List baby!!!
New goal in place.
And....go!!

Also on a brighter note, I am feeling quite a bit better which is good.
I go Friday for a CT scan, and the on the 16th for a ECG....so fingers are crossed. Tight.

Library Literary Love

2009-06-24T08:39:00.003-03:00

I love books.

Most of you who know me well know that my book collection is getting somewhat out of hand, but I love it. That is exactly what I want. My goal is to have a library, and I will...someday very soon.

Recently, I have been spending a lot of time at the library up the street. It's an amazing one, only a few years old and just filled with little treasures. I have now mastered the borrowing systems and the notion of putting things on "hold" and having books/CD's/DVD's brought in from other libraries in the Metro area. It's a wonderful thing. I try to calm myself down before going there, telling myself that I can't keep bringing home 8-10 books a visit because I never have time to read them all, but I just lose control. I want to borrow everything. It's becoming a real problem...maybe I should see someone. LOL.

Seriously though, I spend hours there, and have been the last few days because I am feeling so much better. My blood pressure is BANG on. Yesterday it was 116/60, today it was 120/80, so I am doing well, except for the fact that I am 27 and on blood pressure medication. So I have another doc's appointment on Monday to go over everything and then I go for an ECG. There are going to be some major changes coming my way so I am trying to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. One step at a time I guess.

I write my final exam for my Ethnography class tomorrow and then I have ONE GLORIOUS week off before I dive into Basic French for the rest of the summer. Joy just fills me up. Ry was talking about school last night and he keeps saying, "Sweetie, it's only ONE more year, it's going to go so fast, you just wait and see"...yeah yeah yeah. I know it will...but it's just the though of not having ANY breaks from school this year that worries me. I usually work my buns off every summer, but this is the FIRST summer in....oh my god...7-8 years that I haven't worked...so it is really weird for many reasons...one being that I have ZERO money coming in (not that I ever had money but I always had like 20 bucks here and there but now I have ZERO), and I am in school...which is very weird because it is nice out and I am in class...for 3 hours at a time. WOW.Thank someone up above for my mom and dad who help me out with paying for school books and supplies and for Ryan who makes sure I have food in my fridge. He's the best - he really, really, really is.

My dad called me last night with exciting news - my garden is up and running!!! He said everything has come up and things are growing like crazy! I am so excited to see it. I will take pictures when I go home on Thursday night and post them - I am so proud.

Suggested Reads

"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith " - by Jon Krakauer

"The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect" - by Daphne Bramham

"The Whale Warriors: The Battle at the Bottom of the World to Save the Planet's Largest Mammals" - by Peter Heller

"Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World" - by Bill Clinton

"The Twilight Saga Collection" - by Stephenie Meyer

"The Long Rain" - by Peter Gadol

Ity Bity Progress

2009-06-17T08:37:00.003-03:00

So...this is day 4 without a headache - Hallelujah!

I had to go back to the doctor on Monday to get my blood pressure checked (and also to show them what it has been because I am keeping my own record), and it was still a bit high so the doc decided to up the dosage on my blood pressure medication from 2.5 mg to 5 mg. I still have to go in everyday to the clinic and have it taken (or when I am at home in Chester my cousin does it for me - gotta love having nurses in the family that live across the street) and then I go back in two weeks to see him again.

I still haven't heard back from my blood tests yet. Oh joy.

The doctor also said that my weight loss journey will help lower my blood pressure as well. I am still going to have a CT scan but where I feel better with the meds, it might have been my blood pressure making my headaches - which I guess is better than having something structurally wrong in my brain.

I am finally caught up on school, it didn't actually take me long...probably because I am so smart...HAHAH. No, but really I am caught up. I wrote a test that I missed yesterday and wrote and assignment due today last night and I am feeling pretty good about this course. I ended up with an A- in the summer psychology course I just took and I am shooting for some sort of an A for this Anthropology class. Then, I have a week off to spend in Chester and relax and then I start Basic French - weeeeee, until August 19th. What a slam dunk summer!

Also, my garden is in thanks to my wonderful daddy who worked very hard with me on Sunday to get that bugger planted. We planted green and yellow beans, carrots, snow peas, cucumbers, radishes, and green onions. Ryan was the biggest sweetie and he brought me all my soil that I needed as well as more tomato transplants and pepper plants all ready to go! I am very excited.

Now, it's off to class to talk about organic farming in the Annapolis Valley!!! Horray! I love this class.

Sick

2009-06-10T15:09:00.004-03:00

Well...my health has been on a rollercoaster ride the last few months...
and I am about dang sick (literally) and tired of it all and want it to end - now.

There has been a lot going on, which I won't get into in detail, but lets just say that a bump on my head that I have had for a long time finally got the best of me and I went and had it checked out...la la la la la...but in the end everything is clear and fine - thank god.

But...all is not well.
I guess I stopped hoping too soon.
Remember my "slip and fall" accident back in January?
Well...it's back...well the aftermath is...so we think.
We as in myself and my doctor (who..I might add...happens to be the hottest young man I have ever seen - well aside from Ry of course, but yeah..he's hot)
Since that fall, I have been noticing that my headaches have been getting worse and more frequent, to the point where I was using a bottle (of 72 caplets) of advil liqiud gels A MONTH and still ending up in pain.
Well...i hit the wall 2 weeks ago when I had gotten rid of the headache for a few days and then it came back with a vengence, lasting 1 1/2 weeks STRAIGHT...no break...just there...same strength, same pain.
So, I went and seen the doc.
He was concerned, and questioned the other doc I seen in Jan when he was off about my fall, and said that where she told me I had a concussion and whiplash she SHOULD have sent me right away for a CT scan to make sure everything was ok - but she didn't.
GREAT.
So, he is making an appointment for that and now I am just waiting to find out when that will be.
Then he checked my blood pressure - HA
ummm 165/99
WOWZERS
It should be 120/80
so that is not a good thing. He made me monitor it for a week and it was consistant with that number the entire time - not good.
He also gave me meds to help me sleep and help with pain - AND i stopped taking those becuase they didn't do ANYTHING. Horray.
I had another appointment this monday gone by and blood pressure was, as usual, SKY high so he put me on blood pressure meds for 30 days to see if this low dose will help. If not, we up the dose and go from there.
He also sent me for blood tests yesterday, and i have to say almost everything on the blood test sheet was checked off - scary stuff.
I am also going for a ECG (Electrocardiogram - which is when they record the electrical activity of your heart using skin electrodes)...so I am waiting to hear when that will be.
I am just one big medical mess right now and it's not a good thing, especially where I am taking summer classes, which are 3 hours long 4 days a week and REALLY demanding. Thank god I have a super prof right now who is amazing and is really understanding and gives me all the time I need to hand things in.

Ry is amazing and he is taking such good care of me along with mom and dad - I love them all. It's a real great feeling to see how much my relationship with my parents has changed over the last year and 1/2 and we have come a long way - it's great, we are all very close and they are so supportive of everything which is a bonus. As I said, I am lucky to have them, and Ry. He's one super guy and I am a very lucky girl.

I have also decided that at the end of August I will be moving out of my apt in the city and moving out to Chester, living with mom and dad until Ry and I figure out if we are going to buy a house or build one (right now building a house is winning by a long shot). I am excited to be back home, and where I will only be going to school 2 days a week starting in September, travelling won't be bad at all. I am soooo happy and excited to be close to Ry as well, since right now I only see him on the weekends which is hard on both of us.

I am praying for nice weather at least one day this weekend...I have my garden plot at mom and dad's all ready to be planted, so come ONNNNN weather, give me some sun so I can get it started - and also tone down my headache so I can actually accomplish something without wanting to throw up. My tomatoes are doing EXCELLENT in the apt so hopefully they can keep strong until I can move them into bigger pots. This ol' girl is excited for fresh home grown veggies this summer! Yay!

That's all for now.
Sorry for the long gap.
Keep the fingers and toes crossed for my heatlth!
Hope everyone is doing well!

Fluffernutter

2009-04-18T12:12:00.003-03:00

I am addicted...
to a white, fluffy, marshmellow substance called Fluff
WHY have I JUST discovered this magical stuff??
WHY I SAY? WHY?
It has 0 fat
It has 60 calories for 2.5 tablespoons
And hardly any sodium.
Ummm HELLO!!!
It's like heaven in a jar.
No joke.
I am hooked.
Line.
And sinker.
Thank god it isn't loaded full of fat and calories or my diet would be in big trouble.
I toast a piece of WW Multigrain bread.
Use 1/2 tablespoon of Light PB
And then I spread on 1 tablespoon of heaven.
The fluff
And it is a magical experience.
The Fluffernutter
It's right on the jar.
I tried it.
And fell madly in love.
Move over RYAN!!! LOL
Kidding...
well...
maybe not..?
No. I'm kidding.
I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

One exam down.
2 more to go.
Then a SMALL break.
And then BACK TO SCHOOL
weeeeee

I've also lost 4 more pounds
Whoooop Whooop

I'm on a roll
Scary as that may be....

Feelin' Good

2009-04-08T08:50:00.006-03:00

It is the last day of school...
for Winter term...
and I am so excited...
you have no idea.
Although I still have to write 4 exams, I am still super excited to be able to have a bit of a break and spend some extra time in Chester between each exam.
I miss my fiancee.
Big time.

I am really really pushing for amazing marks on these exams...
I really want to get on the Dean's List this term...
like woah baby do I ever.
BUT if i don't make it, i'll live.
I'll just have next year to try again.
As long as I keep my GPA over 3.2 I am a happy camper.
But I really really want that 3.7
I have come a long way since my 0.9 GPA in 1999
HAHAHAHA
seriously
that was my GPA
that's what happens when you get F's in EVERY single class because you never actually attend one or do any work -instead you drink and party.
Man, I was so smart at 16 yrs old. Ummm no.

I am feeling good these days.
I have started my weight loss journey and I am excited.
With not working an "on my feet super busy" job this year, and not really doing a whole lot I gained a bit more weight that I should have...and I am now at an unhealthy weight.
No surprise.
I am a yo yo when it comes to weight.
But it is time to take control and maintain a healthy weight, especially because I want to soon start looking at wedding dresses.
Also, when Ry and I decide to have a baby, I don't want to be a tank and overweight and unhealthy. I want to be fit and trim so that way it will be good for the baby and for me after I have the baby.
And no, no babies yet. Everyone has been asking.
I need to finish school...so after April of 2010...the fun will begin.
I have totally changed my lifestyle.
And it feels amazing.
Ryan and my parents have been such a support and I love them for it.
Ry is so cute. He says he loves me just the way I am but he will support me in everything I want to do.
So he is even eating what I eat and he also goes for bike rides and walks with me too!
Plus I help him with barn chores at his work every third weekend which burns like OVER 2000 calories - better than ANY workout. We clean 3 barns, and it takes us about 4 hours.
I love every minute of it...well except when the Bull that I love pretty much charged me and jammed me up against the free stall...that wasn't so pleasant...but that is rare. LOL

I am pretty strict,but not strict to the point where I won't stick with it.
I limit myself to 1200 calories a day.
I do Turbo Jam aerobics when I get up.
I drink about 3 litres of water a day.
And when I get home from school I go for a 40 min walk around a big loop in Clayton Park.
I also take vitamins and green tea pills.
Everything seems just perfect.
I feel SOOO much better.
I am sleeping better.
I have more energy.
And I am not craving junk like I use to.
I lost 5 lbs in the first week...which is a bit more than normal.
But i am not starving myself and it will usually go quick in the beginning anyway..
pretty much just water loss.
My goal is to lose 60 lbs.
It seems like a lot when I look at the number...but it won't take long if I stick to this.
My mom made a small wager with me last weekend.
It was cute.
She said if Iose the weight I want she will give me $500 to go shopping and buy all new clothes with.
So on top of wanting to do it for health reasons, and for me personally, I now have another incentive.
Exciting.

Here's to new beginnings!!!

Vroom Vroom

2009-03-17T10:47:00.010-03:00

Holy SHIT I am excited.
What a weekend!!!
It was Ry's birthday on Friday, so I schemed a little...
I called his sister Shannon and she picked me up on Thursday...
I went to his house...and waited for him to get off work.
He called me, like he does everyday, when he got off work, but I didn't answer...
He called three times, probably worried something was wrong, he worries and it's cute as hell...
Anyway, I was sitting at the kitchen table when I heard the front door open...
then I hear...
"Shan, did you hear from Mandy, I called her but she isn't answering"
And then he made it to the top of the steps and I was sitting in the kitchen!!
"Your playing HOOKIE!!!" was the first thing out of his mouth...
and then he ran over and gave me a big bear hug and gave me a kiss.
It was so damn cute.

I took Friday off school and work, and also took Sunday off at the Museum so I could spend a great weekend with him. And it was FAB. I miss him soooo much during the week so it was nice to see him for more than like 2 days.

So, for the past few months we have been talking about getting a new vehicle. Ry loves his truck, but it is on its last legs, and if he needs to use a truck he has a pick of like 10 different kinds at his work, so its not like we "need" a truck, PLUS they are harder on gas.

We have been looking a bit, talking things over, figuring numbers, and looking at low gas mileages and environmentally friendly cars. We really loved the Honda Fit (my mom has a 2009 and she loves it), and we also really really loved the Mazda 3 Sport, but both of those payments were a bit higher than we could really afford, especially with me still in school and Ry helping me out A TON.

So we decided to go check out Kia. We were pleasantly surprised. Although people think they are pieces of shit, they really aren't that bad, and they are easy on gas, green vehicles, affordable, come with a SUPER safety record, and have amazing warranties.

So, on Saturday, Ry, me and his dad went to Bridgewater to check them out. We drove in, and noticed it. Black - sexy - tinted windows - sport kit - 17 inc alloys - - it just screamed wicked awesome. We both thought it would be WAY out of our price range but come to find out, it was a brand new 2008 that needed to be moved right away, so they dropped the price BIG time to make room for the new cars arriving soon. It is a 2008 Kia Rio 5, and there were two left, exactly the same, both done up TOTALLY sport with all the extra bells and whistles.

17 inch alloys

satellite radio

sub woofer

tinted windows

power windows/locks/...power everything

heated seats

air conditioning

connector for your ipod

clarion pimpin' stereo

and....

SEXYNESS

This is EXACTLY what our new car looks like...
It's sexy, and we are both SOOOO excited.
It's Ry's car, because obviously I don't have ANY money (yay school), but where he is my fiancee...it's technically MY car too right? LOL.
He corrected me many times over the weekend, "Mandy, it's OUR car, not just mine"

I'm excited.
Holy shit am I ever.
It does 49 mpg on the highway, which is great...so....
I have a feeling that this summer (in between my crazy school schedule) we will be doing some serious road trips.
Whoop!

Rant

2009-03-11T08:37:00.002-03:00

I am doing this to get it off my chest...
and out of my head...
because I need more room for school things...
and less room for random crapola

1. It really bothers me when people walk in the MIDDLE of a sidewalk
2. It really bothers me when 3 people walk side by side on a sidewalk so that you can't pass...especially in the winter when there are snowbanks.
3. Why can't people wear deodorant?
4. I really hate when people litter
5. I really really hate when people talk, very openly and loudly, in class
6. I hate when people come to class and use their laptops to surf the net and go on facebook..like WHY COME TO CLASS AT 9:30am IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ON THE NET THE ENTIRE TIME!! STAYYYYYY HOMMMMEEE IDIOTS!
7.I really hate that Dal doesn't clean their computer labs, nor clean the keyboards, nor clean the desks. I hate seeing a ton of hair on the desks, and knowing there are HUNDREDS of germs on the keys I am currently using and have no other choice but to use it. The lab monitors aren't doing ANYTHING, someone give them a rag and some cleaner, make them earn their wage!

And now....things I love to offset the thing I hate....

1. I love Ryan
2. I love when the sun is out and I can feel it beating down on me, and I love wearing sunglasses
3. I love COSTCO!!!
4. I love my grammy, my family, and my friends
5. I love pineapple smothered in vanilla yogort and all bran
6. I love pizza
7. I love to recycle
8. I love BOOKS and the LIBRARY!!!!
9. I also love flamethrower burgers from DQ - it's my little piece of heaven when I feel bad

The End.

Summer School

2009-03-09T13:48:00.003-03:00

I can't believe school is almost over...
Well..."winter term" that is...
I had originally signed up for 3 summer classes at Dal...
and then 1 at the Mount...total of 4
I might have to make that total 5
UGH!!!!!
WTF
Anyway...
I am signed up for:

DAL
Ethnography in a Global Context
Intro to Psychology and Neuropsychology I
Basic French
History of Atlantic Canada

MOUNT
Fundamental Concepts in Mathmatics

Whooooo freakin' hooooo
Well some will be interesting...
but *History of Atlantic Canada* = barf or snore
I have NO idea how I am going to get thru this summer without wanting to lay down in the middle of Willett Street....buuuttt anyways...
(obviously I am being very positive today - HA)

Fall '09 / Winter '10 timetable came out today
and I am not happy
6 of the Anthroplogy courses I wanted/needed to take for my degree...and so I can GRADUATE in May 2010...AREN'T BEING OFFERD!!!!!
So I had to rearrange what I thought my schedule was going to be...
and now it is good....and bad
boooo to classes not offered

The weekend has come and gone
and it was LOVELY, LOVELY
Ry and I had such a nice, relaxing, alone time weekend
We don't get those often...so it was so nice
We both agreed we need those more...
especially where we don't see each other during the week

I have lots of work to do
2 papers to write
1 assignment
and then finals
and then....
I start all over again in May with summer classes
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

let the good times roll....

Green Lantern and the Ju/'hoansi

2009-02-26T13:31:00.004-04:00

It is Spring Break.
Whoot.
It is so nice to be home, spend time with mom and dad...
and of course be with Ry..
I miss him so much during the school weeks
It is so nice to be able to see him everyday
He's the best, and I am VERY lucky to have him.
I thank a higherpower...oh...almost every hour.

Anyway, even though I am on a *break*, it's not really a break.
I had two papers to write.
Both are due March 2nd.
Boooo to that.
Yeah.
Booo.

I have one paper completed.
My food consumption patterns compared to those of the Ju/'hoansi tribe of Africa.
It was so much fun to do and write.
I wrote 7 pages, only 3 were *required*
and I had a hard time stopping there
Come to find out, our eating patterns and forms of consumption are similar!!!
Who freakin' knew!

I am now writing the second paper.
Respond to a scholarly arguement concerning the ideological content of cartoons and comics.
Sounds fun eh?
It is.
But it is also very very challenging.
The outline was full of big words that I have never seen before.
The stupid science student part of me sucks when it comes to big words.
Anyway, I chose a few articles and focused on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic series.
It's pretty cool.
Honest.
Who knew that racism, drug abuse, environmental issues, and political issues were wrapped up in comics???
I had no idea.
Until my first Cartoons and Comics class.
It's a damn sweet class.

Anyway, I must get back to writing about comic books.
It's a tough life.
HA.

Tomorrow is friday.
Tomorrow I register for SUMMER classes.
HA HA HA HA
Holy f-u-c-k.
That's right.
Summer classes.
And the winter term isn't even over yet.
Horaaahhh for summer classes.
I am taking 4.
I end winter term in April.
Start summer term in April.
End summer term in August.
Start fall term in September.
ROFL
Have I mentioned before that I am crazy?
Incase I haven't...
I'm crazy.

Moments

2009-02-19T09:26:00.012-04:00

Spring Break starts Friday.
Let's just say Amanda is very excited.

Even though I just had a month off for Christmas....
this term has done a number on me...in more ways than one.

I'll start with a sad note.
And end with a happy one.

Sad note.

My precious, loving, cute, adorable, doggie named Odie who was 15 years old finally had his time. He has been suffering from cancer for awhile, and for the past few months my parents and I have been very selfish in keeping him alive just because we couldn't see our lives without him.

It is at this point that you really have to sit back and think about HIS suffering and how he deserves not to be put through that anymore. So...my poor dad...who has spent EVERY SINGLE DAY at Odie's side for the last 6 years had the hardest day of his life last week. He took Odie to a really great vet in Mahone Bay and he ended his suffering.

Look at my little man...he's so handsome.

Anyway, everyone always says how hard it is to lose a pet, some even say it's like losing a child. I now have EVERY idea of what that feels like. I have lost people close to me before from tragic accidents, but it has been so long that I sort of "forgot" what that pain feels like. It is exactly like a deep ache in your chest, and it will take a long time to go away. I'm really going to miss him.

Now....
Happy Note.

I just wrote two midterms.
Geochemistry for Aquatic Environments
Introduction to Anthropology

I was nervous for both of these.
I always go into "panic mode" before exams.
I put a lot of pressure on myself, and more now than ever...
Especially with the special funding I received this year for my tuition.
(all thanks to student loan not giving me anymore money)

Anyway.
I took about 3 days + a weekend to study for both midterms.
I locked myself in the apt.
Kept from seeing Ryan (which was sooo hard)
And dove right in.
Hit the books head first.
I studied hard.
I got my marks back on Monday and yesterday.
Whoooooooooooooooooooo!!

Geochem - 82%
Anthropology - 84%

I was soooooo pumped.
It was just what I needed to boost my confidence
And also to help get my mind off Odie a little.
And have positive thoughts.

And....one another positive note....

I decided that I really don't have enough on my plate these days - HA and that I should really devote a bit more time to doing something that is rewarding and that will help others.

So...on top of having 5 courses, working two days a week at the Career Centre at Dal, volunteering at the Natural History Museum on Sundays, and being a note taker for students with disabilities....I decided to apply for a volunteer position at St. Stephens Elementary School in the North End of Halifax to help out with their special reading program.

I'm crazy.
Really.

Anyway, I had an interview with the principal and we hit it off. She is an amazing woman. I met with the teacher who's class I will be helping out in (grade 1's and 2's), and I start in two weeks!!! It is every Thursday (I don't have any classes anyways) for 1-3 hours, whatever I can give. It is to help out kids who are falling a bit behind on their reading and need a bit more confidence and reassurance that they can succeed. I am really excited. I think it is going to be another rewarding job and really....I have now learned that a rewarding job is worth more than any money in the world.

Lastly, with my limited time these days and my true passion for reading books, I find I don't have enough time to keep up with the books I want to read.....so I decided....thanks to a suggestion from my good dear friend Tarra, that I try using Audio Books.

BRILLIANT IDEA

I am currently listening to "Giving: How Each of us Can Change The World" by Bill Clinton.
It is fan-freakin-tastic.
Bill is one brilliant man.
His book has made me cry more than once, and is full of inspiration.

I will close this post with one of my favorite quotes from this book:

"A Chance....that's often all one person can give another...but it can make ALL the difference" - Bill Clinton

Slip'n'Fall

2009-01-28T08:57:00.003-04:00

Sooooo, u know what?
I love being injured.
Really. I do....
ummmm actually no...no I do not.

Last Sunday night...we had a snow/ice storm
It was not fun.
I was late getting home from the museum...
and I had to wait a long time in the storm for the bus...
BUT when I got home my wonderful loving fiancee had supper ready
He made me a delicious pork roast and potato salad
I tell ya...I love that boy to death.
More and more everyday.

ANYWAY
In the morning...everything was ice
This was January 19th
I came out of my apt as I usually do and BOOM
Slipped
Fell
Cleared 6 stairs
Hit
Cracked my head
Slid down a landing
Down two more steps
Down another landing
Down two more steps
Down another landing
AND finally...down two more steps to the sidewalk on Willett Street
No joke.
It was like I was on a fucking crazy carpet

I hurt all over
A lady in the parking lot came over to check on me
She helped me up
I burst into tears
I was so pissed
I called Ryan
He was so pissed that they didn't sand/salt
They are responsible to
BUT they didn't
I called the doctor
Made an appointment
Came back inside and laid down

Tuesday I went to the doctor
I wasn't going ANYWHERE Monday with all that ice around
I got checked out
Yay
Minor concussion + Whiplash
So awesome - not
She gave me a perscription for oxycodone
Wicked
A narcotic
I'll take it
She wrote me a note, told me to stay in bed all week
So I missed school, work, and the museum
Boooo
Kind of
Being in bed sounds awesome....
it really is...except when you are in pain and aren't allowed to do anything
then it's not so much fun

It's been a week....
I still hurt...
the pills work "ok"...but not the best
and I have SOO much school work to do...
crappy

BUT Ryan has been taking amazing care of me
and I think after today I should be ok for school
Thank god...or whoever is up there....

Lovin' It

2009-01-06T09:34:00.006-04:00

Winter break is over.
Boo freakin' hoo.
BUT the month I had off was absolutely amazing.
Oh boy was it ever.
I was so excited to be home with the fam and Ry for an entire month.
It was busy, but I did manage to have a few relaxing days...
the ones where I stayed in my PJ's alllll day....
those days are priceless and very hard to come by.

So many wonderful things took place.
I will name a few:
- being with Ry
- Ry's neice's and nephew's Christmas Concert
- spending time with my Nan
- Barn days
- New baby cows
- 4-wheelin' days
- gingerbread house creations
- holiday crafts
- minor booze
- lots of sleep
- lots of movies
- lots of popcorn
- and...EGGNOG

I also started my new position at the Museum of Natural History!!!
It is freakin' fantastic. No joke.
I worked a bit over the holidays but during the rest of the school year I am only there on Sundays.
I don't get paid....that is what volunteering is all about....
BUT it doesn't matter
I get to make crafts, play with kids, and play with the tide tank sea creatures for four hours on a Sunday...
I would hardly call that WORK
Everyone there is super nice, funny, and really cool so I am having a blast.

School...is freakin' awesome.
That's right...awesome.
My new classes are wicked. I have:
1. Geochemistry for Aquatic Environments
2. Geological Oceanography
3. Introduction to Anthropology (second part)
4. Cartoons and Comics
5. Rock n' Roll Era and Beyond

This is going to be a kick ass semister...
I am super pumped...
but I miss my baby....
hopefully I will be able to get my homework done during the week so I can spend
every minute possible with him on the weekends...

hope everyone is happy and healthy!!!

Been a long long time...

2008-11-12T16:05:00.003-04:00

I know, I suck.
Over the summer when I decided I was going to blog again, I was excited and made a promise that I would try to do it a few days a week...HA, boy did I really try and fool myself or what!

I think I almost forget, just for a second, how busy/crazy/insane school is.

But I love it.

I really do.
Every freakin' minute.

This year, I feel like I have finally hit my groove.

I am a total organized freak.

Not like I wasn't before...well I was just not THIS organized.

I have taken it to a WHOLE other level.

I am getting stuff in on time, getting stuff done BEFORE the night before it's due, LOL, and actually not feeling stressed that much.

I am doing very well.
Classes are amazing.
Know what else is amzing?
Making the move to change my major combination.

Yep, that's right.
I am now doing a DOUBLE major in Earth Science and Social Anthroplogy

and I am very very very excited about it

Seriously, I am one darn happy lady.

I have shifted, yet again, my career path.

But, thanks to my new job on campus, I now know that this is all part of being a University student, and it is perfectly healthy.

Oh yeah, about my job, I am a Career Information Assistant at the Career Information Centre on campus.

BEST JOB EVER.

Bottom line.

My boss Carol is probably the nicest lady I have ever met, and everyone in the centre is so super supportive.

I have been meeting with one of the Career Advisors in the centre since September and she has given me AMAZING input and we have great brain storming sessions and I have come so far in really digging to the root of what it is that I REALLY LOVE to do and what I am good at.

Seems stupid, but sometimes people like me get side tracked and end up on a path they don't want to be on nor do they know how they got on that path in the first place.

So...after a few sessions we pin pointed it down to me being the following:

- is creative

- loves kids

- loves detailed work

- loves to organize

- loves to plan

- loves to design

- likes to work with people

- likes to be a leader

- likes lab/microscope work

- HATES math / chem / physics (that was no surprise, LOL)

- HATES fieldwork

- HATES mapping

So, we made a huge map of my life, past jobs, stuff I like, stuff I don't like, and dream jobs, ideas of things I see myself doing.

- Curator for a Museum

- Museum Program Assistant

- Teacher

- Museum Collections

...these are just a few that I am focusing on....

Teaching would be great, but I am not sure yet.
I am focusing more on the Curator side, working in a museum setting.

Ry and I are probably going to end up buying land soon at home in Chester, so my job needs to be close to me, so we can raise a family and be close to both of our families at the same time. It is something that we have talked a lot about and something that we both think is very important to both of us.

ANYWAY, I changed my major combo.
I will be finished my earth science part of my degree as of April this year.

Next year I just do a few Anthro courses....

and then in April of 2010...this ol' girl will GRADUATE!!!!!

I am so freakin' excited.

Beyond really.

Oh, what else...

The new apartment is amazing

It is sooooo nice to have my own space again.

And also have a place for Ry and I to call home.

He still travels back and forth, splits days in the city with me and days in Chester, but it works for now, with what we can both do.

I fall more madly in love with him as each day goes by, no joke.

He is just one amazing guy.

He just loves taking care of me and it feel so damn nice to have the secure feeling surrounding me.

He's a keeper.

My ring still sparkles...

and I still stare at it...daily...

it is beautiful

and I am happy....

Engaged

2008-09-22T14:04:00.005-03:00

I am engaged.
I now have a fiancee.
AND I have the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.
A lot happened over the weekend.
And I can honestly say that Saturday, September 20th will be a day that I will never forget...ever.

Ry and I fit together perfectly.
On our first date...I KNEW that this was it.
He was the one that I was going to marry.

We just...click.

We have known each other since we were kids, and I was in school with one of his older brothers, and we know each others families so well. We were close in high school and we still talk and joke about how I use to get him to skip Mr. Mclean's class and come hang out with me on my spares. We were just friends, and that was that. So I thought. I never knew he had a thing for me until his brother AND his mom told me last month when we were talking about high school days. We drifted apart because I moved to the city for school and we went our different ways, like all of us did.

But this summer really got things moving again, and it is all because of dad's accident. Even though it was a horrible and very scary time, it was the fuel that started this fire.

He wanted me, right away. And what Ryan wants, Ryan gets!! LOL. He has more determination than any guy I have ever dated. He knew what he wanted and he didn't stop until he had it, and its all in a good way!!

I just remember looking at him thinking...``Holy shit...THIS is what love feels like...and THIS is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with...oh my god...I can`t lose him``. And apparently he was thinking the same thing.

He picked the ring out on his own.
ALL on his own.

And I am so impressed I just can`t even explain it.

He bought it with intentions on giving it to me just before Christmas.

But he caved.
He said he couldn`t take it.

All he wanted to do was put it on my finger.
And that is what he did.

He asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
OF COURSE I said yes.
Then he went on to tell me that I was not allowed to wear it until we told his parents AND he asked my dad for permission.

He had planned to ask him ahead of time obvously but where he caved and just decided he couldn`t wait any longer, he wanted to clear it with dad FIRST before I could have it.

So I cried.
A lot.

A lot a lot.

A happy cry of course.
And he cried.

Also a happy cry.
And we both just had the biggest smiles on our faces the entire drive out to Chester.

I felt like a kid.

We went to his parents place first. It was hilarous because the first thing his mom said when we sat her down was, ``Oh my god, your pregnant``, LOL!!!! After we told her like ten times that I wasn`t pregnant...she looked at Ryan and said...``Oh..OH MY GOD you bought her a diamond didn`t you!`` Hahaha. Then Ry says, ``Actually mom, I bought her 27 diamonds``!!! He`s so freakin`cute, its just unreal! The engagement ring has a diamond in the middle and then 6 diamonds around that (which makes up the main setting), and then the band has 4 diamonds on each side, AND then the wedding band that came with the engagement ring has 12 diamonds running all the way across it!!!!! It is absolutely stunning.

It is seriously the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
I can`t stop looking at it.
Honestly, I almost pass out everytime I look at it.
No joke.
I couldn`t have WISHED for anything more perfect.
It fits like a glove and just sparkles out of control.
The setting is really unique.
I will take more pictures soon and post them.
It`s high which I didn`t think I liked but I was wrong.
The way this ring is set makes me feel regal, like a queen.
It just screams it.
I know everyone must feel like this about their own ring, and now I FINALLY get to feel that feeling too!!! AND IT FEELS DAMN AMAZING!!!!!
I was showing this bad boy off ALLLLL day, walking around proud as a peacock!

Saturday = Best day of my LIFE thus far.
I am still on a high.
And it`s Monday.
My birthday is next Monday....and god knows what he has planned for that.
I am just the luckiest girl in the world and I am so lucky to have him in my life....
As my fiancee!!!!!!
I love the way that sounds!

We are going to wait until I am done my undergrad (which is not this year but next) to get married because he knows how important school is to me and he doesn`t want me doing school AND trying to plan a wedding with him at the same time. So not plans yet, but they will begin very soon, I want to try and do a little bit here and there so I won`t be so overwhelmed when the time gets closer.

My mom and dad are just in shambles.
In good shambles though.
My mom just adores Ry and my dad thinks the world of him.
I have only seen dad cry like twice ever in my life...
Saturday night made it three times.
Everyone is so excited and happy and that just makes me that much happier...
Which i didn`t think was possible.

I love Ryan to the moon and back.
And it is soooo nice to have someone return that love ten times over.
Saturday night when we were in bed, he kept whispering, ``Your my fiancee...god I love the sound of that, I have been wanting to say that so bad``. And I just kept staring at the ring, and then he would whisper, ``Baby that ring looks absolutely beautiful on your finger``. He never let me go all night. I had one of the best night sleeps in the world. I FINALLY feel safe, protected, beautiful, special, and so happy and just hearing him say, ``I love you``, is like music to my ears! He called me four times yesterday while I was on a field trip for school to tell me he loved me. And he calls and wakes me up every morning for school and we talk every night before we go to bed.

I am so happy.
There isn`t enough room in all of blogger land for me to write about it.
I love him so much.
He loves me.
And we are the two happiest people alive right now.
Let the planning begin!!

Short

2008-09-18T15:49:00.002-03:00

Holy shit I have a lot of school work.
Reports.
Labs.
Assignments.
Tutorial Assignments.
Readings.
Suggested Readings.
Wow.
So this is short.
I love school...despite the crazy amount of work.
I love ALL of my classes.
I love my boy.
I love textbooks.
I love new Dalhousie clothes.
And I love all of you
The end.

Higher Learning

2008-09-09T15:55:00.003-03:00

School is in.
And in FULL force let me tell you.
I arrived home from 3rd year Geology Field School on Sept. 2nd.
I had my field school geological map due on Sept.5th
Then a lab due today, and one due thursday....
AND my final field school report due this coming friday.
Holy shitballs.
Nothing like getting right back into the swing of things.
Anyway, field school was beyond amazing.
Us geologists have WAY to much fun
This year we were paired up with someone and spent the week traversing 6 different rivers
alone
in the woods
no GPS
just a compass
wow
it was awesome
My partner was Allison, and i was excited
She is so much fun and we had a blast everyday
The rivers were VERY high, and in some spots water was well above our waist
In a river...
for 8 hours a day
hiking ALL UP STREAM
and lots and lots of crazy cliff climbs
lots of cuts, bumps, bruises
lots of laughs
i had a ton of fun
and made it home in one piece
a little sick....and bumped up....but still in one piece

i actually unpacked last night
wow
what a nice feeling
kind of
sort of
i have been living out of a suitcase since July
and then living out of a suitcase + sleeping bag for a week
so it was nice to come home and unpack and actually hang things up
not have to dig around in a bag to find it
don't get me wrong...i didn't mind it that much...but still...nothing like being home
except Ryan isn't here
and my bed feels so lonely
but we are gonna make it
he is coming to get me every friday after he gets off work, and then bringing me back on sunday
so i will get to see him
if i don't have a lot of work during the week he will come in then as well...
it'll be hard, but i know we will be fine
he's got a one track mind - me
and he has more motivation and is willing to work thru pretty much any situation
so i have nothing to worry about
PLUS being the cute, sweet, boyfriend he is...where he bought me a phone on his plan...we can call each other for free so we talk a lot.
i can't even describe how happy i am
and how happy he makes me
its just insane
a good insane

anyway...right now i am doing what i do best ladies and gents
PROCRASTINATING
i like how "pro" is actually a part of that word
i believe i am a pro at procrastination
i have a report due friday
it must be done by thursday so i can go home and see my boy
off i go

About A Boy

2008-08-22T09:46:00.006-03:00

Ok, so most of you are probably wondering why I haven't been giving any details yet...The reason....I didn't want to jinkx ANYTHING.
I have very very bad luck when it comes to boys.
So I wasn't willing to risk ANYTHING this time around.
Some of you know.
Some of you don't.
Now you will all know.
I have a boy.
Yes.
It's true. No jokes.
There is so much to tell, but I will try and keep it short, and G-Rated - LOL.

His name is Ryan.
I have known him since I was a kid.
We grew up together.
I was really good friends with his two older brothers, and I partied with them all the time growing up.
He was always "my little Ry" (he's only a year younger than me, but he was two grades behind me).
I use to get him out of class on my spares, I use to drink at his parents house with him and his brothers, and we got into a bit of trouble back in our day.
I have known his parents for years, and they are a hoot.

How did this come about?
It's pretty crazy.
But my mom keeps saying that this was all meant to be.
She's cute I tell ya, a keeper even.
When my dad had his accident with the wood splitter, mom had asked Ryan if he would come to the house and cut the rest of the wood for dad. (Mom and Ryan both work for John Risley). Ry said no problem and showed up at the house bright and early. I was excited to see him because I hadn't seen him in years.
I seen him get out of the car and almost died.
He wasn't "my little Ry" anymore.
He was all grown up.
Tanned.
Buffed.
And sexy.
I wanted to hide in the house, but I knew i had to go out and help him.
We worked our buns off all day that Sunday.
We chatted a bit, he flirted, and I gave it right back.
At the end of the day when he was all finished, he asked me if I was seeing anyone.
We chatted a bit more, and then he asked me if he could give me a call later on the next day.
I told him he could, and we said goodbye.
I didn't think he would call.
I was wrong.
He did.
He called on his lunch break.
And he called after work.
We talked for over an hour.
It was so nice. I felt like a little school girl.
It's actually hilarous.
Then he called the next day after work and was talking to my dad.
He asked dad if it was ok if he asked me out for ice cream.
No jokes. Fucking adorable. Seriously.
He doesn't know this but he had me right then and there, at that very moment.
I was all his.
We went for ice cream, he just blew me away with everything.
I was sad to see him go home.
He kissed me. And that was it.
That kiss sealed the deal.
I knew from that moment that I was going to do everything in my power to NEVER EVER let him go, and that I wanted to be with him forever.

We haven't spent a night apart since.
Either here at mom and dad's or at his parents place.
We just flow.
We have known each other for so long, and even though we were apart, it feels like we weren't at all.
We know each other's family SOOO well, so it was like we just slipped into something amazing.
Everything is so comfortable.
And I am just glowing. Seriously. I am.
It feels so good to finally feel like this.
I have always thought I knew what love felt like...and I think I talked myself into believing I was in it.
But now...I can honestly say that this is UNLIKE ANYTHING I have ever felt before.
He makes me feel beautiful, confident, and he treats me like a queen.
I finally feel comfortable with myself.
It has taken so long...but it is worth it.
Just the way he looks at me, how he never wants to let me go....it's just...beyond amazing.
Diane - you know me well...and this may come as a HUGE shock to you...but this is no joke.
I actually think I have finally met my match when it comes to you know what! NO JOKE.
This boys staminna is unlike ANYTHING I have EVER experienced.
I never thought I would ever say that, but its totally true.
OH Di, do I have stories for you!!! LOL.
ANYWAY....
He is so supportive with school, it just blows my mind.
He takes such good care of me, and he does it because he loves to do it, not because I ask him or I expect it.
He just does it. Because it's him, and because he just loves to make me happy, and I love making him happy.
He took me shopping the other night, and just totally spoiled me like crazy.
He added another cell phone on his plan for me, so we can call each other anytime and it won't cost us, and so I wouldn't have to buy cell phone minutes while I am in school.
So I have a brand new freaking phone! He's crazy.
Di - I will send you my new number, my old one (209-6626) is no longer my number.
I promise I will post pics soon. I have to get pics from three people, who are slow as dirt, but I will probably take some tonight as well.
He is making me supper before I leave for Field School tomorrow for 11 days.
He's freaking out a bit, he says he doesn't know what he is going to do without me by his side when he goes to sleep..for 11 days. LOL.
He's so freaking cute its just insane.

I woke up this morning to the sun shining through his window.
His arms around me.
He was laying there so quiet, just looking at me.
He shoots me that cute little grin of his.
"Baby, you are so beautiful...I could watch you sleep for hours"
He leaned in and kissed me on the nose.
"I love you", he says.
I think I smiled THE biggest smile ever.
I kissed him right back.
"and I love YOU"
FINALLY

Injured

2008-07-25T14:12:00.005-03:00

My heart sank.
I cried. Very hard.
And I was scared shitless.

"I don't want you to worry...but your dad is in the hospital"

Just reading those words from my mom in her email...almost made me throw up.

I hate being 45 min away, especially when something like this happens.
I feel so helpless.

Dad and my brother were splitting wood with the wood splitter.
Dad just slipped his attention for a split second, and BOOM.
His sleeve got caught, and pulled his hand in toward the blade.
THANK GOD his hand was stuck between the wood and the metal spike piece that pushed the wood in, and wade was able to shut it down before it cut his hand COMPLETELY off.

He was quick...but, he wasn't quick enough.

Dad's hand got pretty mangled. I won't get into the details because I know I almost vomited when mom was telling me. But he has lost one finger so far, and part of another one.
They did a skin graft on the inside of his upper arm, its HUGE, and tried to fix up both.

It is not a pretty sight.

All I know is when mom said the plastic surgeon was snapping dad's bones off at the end of his finger because that was all that was left...i pretty much vomited in my mouth.

He has diabetes, and it has taken almost 4 years to FINALLY get it under control and then this happens which put his sugar up to almost 30...which is NOT GOOD considering it is suppose to be 5-6. The meds aren't helping, he is in EXTREME pain, and there is nothing anyone can do - THAT has to be the worst part.

My dad NEVER shows pain, or emotion, i think i have seen him cry once in my 26 years...so to see him in pain, admitting how bad the pain is, and have tears in his eyes...well you might as well rip my freakin' heart right out.

So I am at home. Helping to take care of him.

He obviously can't check his blood sugar, or give himself his insulin needle, so i am now the live in nurse for him while mom is at work. Thank god i have this wicked awesome summer job where i can work from anywhere as long as i have my files and email. My boss is so super understanding, and i couldn't ask for a better one (well other than Ash, my old boss at Starbucks).

There were many times when i was growing up that him and mom took care of me when something happened, so now its my turn to take care of them, so i will do whatever it takes, no matter what. It is hard though, because he is super cranky, moody, groggy, a bit wacked out, and just sad/angry. So dealing with that personality takes a lot out of you, but i just have to stop, put myself in his shoes, with meds that aren't helping the pain at all, and then i think i would be EXACTLY the same way as he is. So my goal is just to keep his sugar low, keep him comfortable, and do whatever i can to make this as bearable as i can. I feel very helpless but at least i am trying.

I think this was the accident that finally brought him down a few pegs.

He no longer has that "i'm invincible" attitude which is great.

And he no longer takes things that are STUPID dangerous lightly.

I have to take him back to the plastic surgeon on Wednesday to check everything out, and we will then find out if they have to amputate anymore fingers, or parts of fingers.

So Wednesday will be a tough day.

Not looking forward to it, but its gotta be done.

....fingers are crossed....

....along with toes...

Updates, Decks, Beer Faces, and Ghetto Cabs

2008-07-21T18:49:00.006-03:00

Oh boy am I excited.
I have been wanting to blog for a long time.
And now I am back.
And very excited.

VERY short Update.
Then, the main event.

Update
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have completed year TWO of my degree.
I can't believe I am going into 3rd year.
Sometimes it seems like I will never see the end, but that's ok.
I am doing a combined honors in Geology/Oceanography...
And I am in heaven.
Rocks. The Ocean. Wow. That's love right there.
I love school.
I have met some amazing people, and our program has a very tight group.
We all get along, we all have a blast, and we all help each other out.
I scored a job working with my Oceanography professor in Nov and he actually hired me on full time for the summer working in his lab, so I left Starbucks (which makes me sad a little cause I love my SBucks peeps, and I miss my wicked awesome customers), and now I am at the lab full time for the summer.
I love my job.
I am getting to learn how to use MATLAB, and I get to be involved in some projects with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, so I am getting lots of valuable experience.
I work a lot on my own AND I have my own OFFICE! Ahhhh yeah!
I make my own hours so I have a lot of freedom which I haven't had in a long time.

Decks, Beer Faces, and Ghetto Cabs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday night I went out.
Crazy...I know.
My friend Diane invited me to join her and some of her friends at the Lower Deck.
The deck is such a great pub.
Such a down home rockin place.
Good bands. Good food. Good times.
The night started out great.
We scored the table up front, and drinks started rollin'
We ordered some food and listened to Shameless play some 80's tunes.
Then...the craziness kicked into high gear.
I was minding my own business, just eating my burger when out of NOWHERE I got smacked with the menu. I look to my right, and a lady...oh she must have been late 50's was sitting there with the stupidest look on her face.
She freakin' threw her menu at me.
Seriously. Not kidding.
I looked at Diane to make sure I wasn't seeing things...and then looked back at her stupid face.
Wow. Ok. Lady is a bit crazy. Whatever. Moving on.
A few minutes later we are all chatting, and as I went to take a drink of my vodka + vitamin water the bench our side of the table was sitting on jolted backward and I spilled a bit of my drink down the front of my shirt.
I look to my right again...OH LOOK it's crazy lady pulling out the bench so she can get in to sit down...which she obviously doesn't need to do, and she obviously didn't think it would be a good idea to let any of US know that she was going to do it.
I shot her a pissed/angry girl/don't mess with me old lady look.
I don't think she caught it.
Then, not even 5 minutes later, as I am jamming to Shameless' version of Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight", something happens...
SPLASH
All over my face.
A beer. Thrown at me. Sideways. From crazy lady to the right.
It was at that moment that I realized something....and it all started to make sense.
She was on a day pass from the NS.
Duh.
Seriously. My elastic band is getting stretched a lot lately...and she wound that sucker up and...
*SNAP*
I turned to her and let her have it.
(I will beep the bad words out for PG viewers)
"What the *bleep* to you think you are doing?"
"Are you *bleeping* stupid, what the *bleep*"
"You better watch yourself you crazy lady"
I got up, went to the bar, and got napkins.
The crazy lady is still sitting there with a stupid grin on her face.
I made sure to inform one of the cute waiters who grabed a large stack of napkins for me of what just happend so they could kick her out.
I went back to our table, and I am now on the other side, across from her, wiping up the full glass of beer she threw at me.
Then...something happened.
I snapped again.
I just kept looking at her stupid grin and something came over me.
I picked up the HUGE wad of beer soaked napkins in my hand, and wound up...and THREW.
I hit her square in the face.
I still can't believe that I actually did that.
The table behind us all turned around.
They had all seen the previous events and kept turning around and making comments on how crazy she was.
It took her a minute to realize what I just did.
Then she picked it up and tried to throw it back.
But she failed.
Obiously playing baseball last weekend helped my skill a whole lot.
It was quite a MONEY shot.
Then a bunch of bouncers all joined together and escorted her out.
She did not want to go.
And ran her lips the entire way out of the pub, and we could still hear her out on the boardwalk.
It was HILARIOUS.
The rest of my night at the deck was wicked.
Patio party. Good tunes.
The Lower Deck Dancing Man.
New pals.
Hot boys. LOTS and LOTS of hot boys.
And drinks.
I ended the night just after midnight.
I was tired. And wanted to come home.
So I grabbed a cab and settled in for my ride home.
NOT so fast Amanda. Not so fast.
There was a lady in the middle of the road.
She flagged down my cab.
Not even kidding.
The cabs window was down.
She says...
"Hey sir, you give me a ride, i'll pay for her way yo, for real, I got cash, lots of cash, i'll pay her - where you goin' sweetie?"
Oh shit...she is talking to me.
I am so not ready for this.
I grab my purse tight.
I know i'm an idiot but I felt violated.
I tell her I am going home.
She doesn't like my answer and comes to the back and gets in beside me.
That's it. I'm so dead. First thing I thought of. No jokes.
The ride home was hilarous.
She made him turn up the radio, crank the rap music and she began to rap along.
I should have paid cover.
She was quite the act.
So, it took me about 35 min to get home from downtown, with no traffic...a ride that should at the MOST take me 17 mins.
We stopped at an Esso, and then at McDonalds.
I just wanted to go home.
Oh man do I ever have bad luck somtimes...well...all the time.
We FINALLY made it to my place and she gave me nod, said she's got me covered, and she said thanks for letting her tag along in my cab.
Ohhhh what a night.

....its good to be back....

A Year has past....

2008-07-21T15:54:00.001-03:00

I'm BAAACCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!
And very excited to blog again.
I miss it very much.
I have had so many times when I wanted to write down experiences...but didn't.
Shame on me!
This will happen no more!
Because I am back.
And better than ever!

Tired

2007-06-15T11:02:00.000-03:00

It has been a long time. I'm sorry.
I blame Facebook, work, the weather and stress.

I am working a lot.

I love my job, don't get me wrong...working at Starbucks was a great move for me and I knew it would pay off, not only with the people I have met but with connections with people. I have recently been introduced to a lad from China who is here studying Tsunami's (which is an area I am interested in, part of my Oceanography/Geology obession). One of my regulars brought him in one day and called me over to meet him. He is so sweet and we had a great chat, and we ended the converstation with him inviting me to his lab to see what he has going on.

HELL YEAH!

Another one of my customers came in last week when I wasn't working to look for me and asked to get my number because he had a job offer for me. So, he called me and offered me a job to work for him at the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning from 7am - 1pm and he would pay me very good money and under the table - dream come true? No..but AMAZINGLY awesome. He's a chef, has his own catering business, and he makes the yummy delicious breakfast wraps at the Market who people line up to get/and watch. He's an entertainer that's for sure and such an amazingly sweet man.

SO....I have been working...my ass off....a lot.
I don't know what day of the week it is half the time, I have no concept of time off or a weekend, but its all good. So far we haven't had a summer AT ALL, it has been soooo crappy here, so really I am not missing much.

I am currently working on a 16 day marathon with only 2 days off....WHOOT! And those days were not together. It really feels like I live at work, and some of my regulars said I should get a bed downstairs in the staff room so I can just sleep there....they might have a point...its getting to be that way. But, I love it, I don't mind working a lot, and now I can get caught up on the bills that have been stressing me for months, and save for school in 3 months!!!!!!!!

THREE MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!
THREE MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!
I am soooooooo excited.
I really am.
Well I really start in August so not even three months...ekkk!

I had a session with the Assistant Registrar a week or two ago about a few things and she also took the time to lay out my next few years and how I should structure everything to get my Double Honors on the go. It won't be too bad I don't think. I won't end up being that far behind which is sweet. So now I am excited because I can't wait to get back to school and take classes, this year is going to be a HARD one, I am taking a full course load and all of the courses are AMAZING and I am stoked for it.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope everyone is happy and healthy.
And girls, I am sorry I haven't been in touch, or haven't hung out, but I really have had NO time or money to do anything. If I get a day off all I want to do is sleep and then I end up having 10 million things to do because I haven't had time to do anything. Hopefully, I can see u all soon.

xox

Give me an A....A!!

2007-05-06T08:04:00.000-03:00

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I am SOOOOOOOOOO pumped!!!
OMG.
OMG.
I checked my marks....
I got my A in Geology!!!!!!!!!!!
Frickin' yeah baby!! Frickin' yeah!!!!

Suck it Dal probation!! SUCK IT!

So, I end my first year of University with a....
3.2 GPA!

OH SNAP!!

*grinning from ear to ear*

Not To Shabby

2007-04-25T07:36:00.000-03:00

So I have been checking my online account every day.
I want my marks back on the exams I wrote.
I am beginning to get impatient.
I don't like impatient.
I wrote Environmental on the 12th.
Those should have been marked a long time ago.
So I check last night.
I get excited.
New grade was posted for final exam.
I got a 70.36....whoot!
Now, that may not seem great to any of you...
nothing like my other marks that I have been getting
BUT that is really good!!
I am pumped.
I loved that class.
But she was probably the hardest marker in the WORLD - no joke.
So, Tarra helped me figure out what I needed to get a B- in that class.
I needed to get above a 70 on the final to get a B-
It's no A grade.
But I can't get A's in every single class.
I just try to get as many as I can.
So, from my calculations I ended up with a B- in Enviro.
We'll see when Dal posts the ACTUAL class grade up if I am right.
But if I am, i'll take the B-
I'm cool with that.

Now to wait for my Geo mark.
I was not happy with the exam.
I studied to hard.
I didn't need to study really.
And I overloaded my brain.
I had a hard time with the exam.
I was kicking myself after.
I talked to my prof and she assured me I didn't do as bad as I thought
But I really think I did.
I want an A in that class.
Fingers are crossed.
Whoot to B - grades!

D to the DONE

2007-04-23T18:32:00.000-03:00

I AM DONE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHOOT!
WHOOT!

Exams are over.
No more school....
Well for a few weeks anyway.
What am I going to do?
HA!
Boy.
Good question.
Get outside.
Enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather we are having.
Hike.
Kayak.
Work on my tan.
Go out.
Drink.
See my girls.
Play some PS2.

And after all that is done, then I will hit the books again.
Bring it on Pre-Calculus...
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!
I'm ready for ya baby!!
Ohhhhhhh yeeeeahhhhh!

Exam-o-ramma

2007-04-12T08:05:00.000-03:00

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Guess what???

I have an exam tonight!!!!!!!!!
Whoot!!!
Know what else?
It is from 7-10 PM!!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't that fan-dam-tastic???
I think so!

It's Environmental.
And it's cumulative.
So material from September to now.
WOW.
Awesome.
I have been studying for the past 4 days...
and my brain is starting to ache
So hopefully I will do well.
My prof knows that I need a 70 on the exam to get a B....
I want an A...
but i'd have to ACE the exam to get it...
oh well...
guess I can't get A's in every course...
but I can damn well try
i figure if i push for A's and give 150%...then how can I do bad right?
righhhhttttt
ha ha

anyway...
i'm off to continue the study marathon
weeeeeeeeeee

Happy Hop Hop

2007-04-08T16:57:00.000-03:00

Happy Easter Everyone
Hope the Easter Bunny found you all!!

Rock Queen

2007-04-05T07:13:00.000-03:00

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Man am I pumped or am I PUMPED!!!!
I'm SUPER pumped!!!!

I got my Geology Lab Exam mark back yesterday.
14/15

OH YEAH
that's right baby!!!!!
So.....drum roll please...

My final Geology Lab mark is....
A+

DOUBLE OH YEAH!!
So...as it stands right now (regardless of my final exam mark) I will come out with nothing less than an A- in Geology!!! WHOOT!!! I almost wet my pants last night when I saw the marks! SOOO if I kick some serious arse on the final exam, I can probably pull off an A or *maybe* even an A+ !!!!! Man I will so some serious arm waving and running around my apartment if I get anything more than an A-. Man that would be fantastic.

Yet again Dal probation - I have this to say to you:
HOW DO YA LIKE THEM APPLES BABY!!!!
TAKE THAT!!!

Involved

2007-04-04T08:25:00.000-03:00

I am in overdrive.
It's pure madness.
It really is.

This has been my week so far:

- Geology Lab Exam was on Monday
- Journalism Assignment was due Monday
- Geology Assignment was due yesterday
- Journalism Take Home Final Exam due Thursday

- Environmental "Build Your Own Enviro Friendly City" project due Thursday

I seriously feel like I want to vomit.
It may not look like a lot, but it SO is.
Trust me.

Anyway, I thought I would share this with all of you because it is really sweet and it is times like these when I realize how much I love my Starbucks job and how lucky I am to have such a great staff and boss to work with.

We have what are called Green Apron Cards, and there are a few; Welcoming, Genuine, Knowledgeable, Involved, and Considerate. Every time you see someone doing something that falls into one of those categories, you grab a card, write on the back why you think they deserve it, and put it in their mailbox. It's such a GREAT way to connect with the other partners in the store and to also let people know that you noticed...even the little things they do. I really think stuff like this goes out the window with a big office job and that is what I love so much about this one. Even something like holding the door open for someone with a stroller, giving upset babies the store teddy bear to play with, or taking their coffee and treat to the table for them because they have their hands full...all those little things you do just because you feel the need to go above and beyond, to connect with people - and the green apron cards lets us pick up on everyone of those and show each other we notice and we respect everyone. It may seem kind of geeky, but it really is fantastic in the work setting.

So, last night Rob (who is a Senior Barista at work) calls me into the office. He says that he was about to write up an "involved" green apron card for me when he realized it was my 5th one. Every time you get five of each type of card, you then get a green apron pin to wear on your apron for that specific type. So he hands me this award card, along with my new INVOLVED green apron pin!! Again, it may sound geeky to you, but maybe not so much when you read this:

Awww! Isn't that cute! I love Rob. He is so great. I have worked hard at work to set up the recycling program and I really do try and give 100% every single shift. I think I can do it because to me it is not really even like work. I will admit, I almost teared up.

Hardcore

2007-03-26T20:40:00.000-03:00

I am currently working on my new workout spreadsheet so I can take it to Ryan tomorrow. Where we have intensified my workout and added more exercises, I feel like I now need to have a schedule where I mix stuff up so I can keep my body confused on what is really going on. Apparently it is how you work it, I just do what I am told.

So...since I am bored and feel like I need to share this super hard work that I am doing, the following is my weekly schedule at the gym. Feel free to (a) laugh at me (b) vomit (c) use it (d) pat me on the back (e) all of the above.

MONDAY - CARDIO/FULL

20 min warm-up (elliptical trainer)

cable chest press - 45 lbs

hammer strength chest - 15 lbs

hammer strength back - 45 lbs

lat pull down bar - 60 lbs

leg extensions - 75 lbs

hamstring curls - 75 lbs

swiss ball hands-to-feet - 15 reps/3 sets

forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets

lunges with shoulder side raises - 15 reps/3 sets

swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets

crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

TUESDAY - CARDIO/ABS

30 min warm-up (crossramp stepper)
20 min cardio (elliptical trainer)

forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets

swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets

crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

WEDNESDAY - CARDIO/ARMS/ABS

20 min warm-up (treadmill)

cable chest press - 45 lbs

hammer strength chest - 15 lbs

hammer strength back - 45 lbs

lat pull down bar - 60 lbs

forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets
lunges with shoulder side raises - 15 reps/3 sets

crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets

crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

THURSDAY- CARDIO/ABS

30 min warm-up (crossramp stepper)
20 min cardio (elliptical trainer)

forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets
swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets
crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

FRIDAY - CARDIO/FULL

20 min warm-up (elliptical trainer)

cable chest press - 45 lbs
hammer strength chest - 15 lbs
hammer strength back - 45 lbs
lat pull down bar - 60 lbs
leg extensions - 75 lbs
hamstring curls - 75 lb

swiss ball hands-to-feet - 15 reps/3 sets
forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets
lunges with shoulder side raises - 15 reps/3 sets
swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets
crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3sets
crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

SATURDAY - CARDIO/LEGS/ABS

20 min warm-up (treadmill)

leg extensions - 75 lbs
hamstring curls - 75 lbs

swiss ball hands-to-feet - 15 reps/3 sets
forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3 sets
swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets
crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

SUNDAY- CARDIO/ABS

30 min warm-up (crossramp stepper)
20 min cardio (elliptical trainer)

forearm plank on swiss ball - hold for 3o sec/3sets
swiss ball wall squat - 15 reps/3 sets
crunches with feet on ball - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (normal) - 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs extended) 20 reps/3 sets
crunches (legs crossed) 20 reps/3 sets

Well...there you have it! It is crazy how when you lay it out like that how WWF it looks. I feel great and that is the main thing, and I am seeing results which helps. I have more energy, I don't have that many junk food cravings anymore, and I am drinking enough water to support a small country (which has its good and bad aspects I guess, ha ha). Every month when I meet with Ryan we go over my workout and he checks my weight and we up it. So the numbers change every month - whoot! Hopefully by the end of the summer (or even better...before I go to Australia if I get money) I will be able to bench press a small child and do more than 1 chin-up without throwing my guts up.

The goals I set for myself are unreal...I wonder how I do it sometimes.
No wonder I am single...jesus I can barely put up with myself!!

The Winner Is....

2007-03-21T19:03:00.000-03:00

AUSTRALIA!!!!

I am so freakin' pumped right now!!
OMG!!! OMG!!!
I received an email today from ISV giving me the news
Australia was third on my list of countries but OH WELL
I can handle being in Australia for a month this summer...
doing Environmental Conservation work....
YEP
SO PUMPED
SO now...the task begins.
I have one major corporate sponsor to hit up

I have already spoken to him about it...
and he has asked me to send him a short blurb on why I want to go...
and why I think it is important to me to do this and how it will relate to school

I almost died when he left a message on my phone....
seriously almost died
my mom knows him...and he has ties to Dal....
so there is a very good chance....
he may just fund the entire trip....
and if he does...
I will scream
and kick...
and vomit - bottom line
GOD I hope I can get the money

So everyone here is your job:
Keep those fingers, toes, eyes, arms and legs crossed
it's gonna take a lot of prayers to make this happen
Aussie Boys BEWARE!!

OMG Aussie BOYS!!! Sweet lordy.
That might be VERY dangerous....
thank god I won't have much time to spend doing social things
i'll be workin' my buns off for the entire month
but it will all be SO worth it
I WANNA GO!!
I WANNA GO!!

The Waiting Game

2007-03-18T11:25:00.000-03:00

Lots of things have been going down.
All are very good things.

I am not really going to go into detail about it right now, but when I get more concrete info I will be sure to inform all of you about it. But, until then, here is a brief update while I wait for laundry to finish, and just because I love to list things, it makes me feel special:

(1) I was accepted to the ISV (International Student Volunteer) program for a month this summer, one of 50 people (out of 400) chosen from Dalhousie University. YAY! I was so excited. Still am. But I need to have funding to go, so I am currently working on the $4000 needed for funding - yay for corporate sponsors!

(2) If I get my funding, I will be spending a month in either Costa Rica, New Zealand, or Australia this summer doing environmental and endangered species conservation work. SWEET!

(3) I have stepped my workout at the gym up about....oh...30 notches. Ryan (my personal trainer) has really put his foot down and now I am going almost everyday of the week, alternating a serious pumping workout with severe stab myself in the eye cardio. It's incredible. I have lost 8 pounds in the last 2 weeks...so something is working! Thank god! ESPECIALLY since I have a wedding this summer and if I go away...I am NOT jamming my ass into a hot ass bridesmaid dress or bathing suit...I REFUSE to do it.

(4) I had my yearly review at work last week. I kicked ass. I got pretty much top score on everything except drink speed. Scott says that I just need to not talk as much while I am on bar making drinks and work more on multi-tasking and I will be kickin' arse. I told him that I can do that when he stops letting hot boys in the store...it will only be THEN that I will cut down on flirting..I MEAN talking to boys.

(5) My friend Tanya from home had her baby girl last week! So exciting! Welcome to the world little Makiya Suzanne Bond! I can't wait to see you!

(6) I worked last night (St. Patty's Day) and I ended up cleaning an ass print off the cafe window after someone stuck his ass up against our window in the faces of some poor people having a latte, cleaning green silly string about 10 times off the window, had to call the police about a purse snatching and a robbery, and had to kick old people out at 12am and take lip from them, got hit on by one of the HOTTEST guys I have ever seen in my entire life, and pulled a muscle in my thigh seriously and now I have one hot ass ghetto limp - BIG PIMPIN!!!

Well...there you have it! The list is complete. Enjoy!
I'll post more news on my ISV program when it becomes available!

Rockin' It Out

2007-03-09T16:26:00.000-04:00

Who's the smart ass??
Yeah...that would be...ME
Yep.
Sure am.
God I amaze myself sometimes.
Ha ha ha.

I got my mark back for my Geology Mid-Term
A Baby!!!!
OHHHHH yeah.
I got an A
I got an A
I got an A!!!!!!

Smart, smart woman.

Because It's How I Roll....

2007-03-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

So some may say I am a geek.
I'm ok with that.
Geeks do have their cool moments.
And I have been having quite a few of those these days.
So "cool geek" is just fine with me.
That is my nickname in one of my classes
I'm the OLD one.
Who knew that being 25 would be old?
I guess when you are 19-20 it does seem older.
Anyway, I had two mid-terms today.

Geology.
Journalism.

Geology:
I studied my arse off for. I studied hard core over break, read the text book, read my notes, went over the power point slides from class, read my Geo Manual, went over my homework assignments, and lastly studied from our in class quizzes. There wasn't an area that I didn't touch and conquer. I love the stuff man. It is SO much fun to learn. I am loving that class and my profs. They rock my socks.

And just to let my geeky side ooze out for a bit, I thought I would share my new study skill with all of you, so you can (a) laugh and point at me, (b) snicker, (c) shake your head, (d) wonder why you didn't think of that when you were in school, (e) be damn well jealous.

Lisa - I expect you to share this amazing study skill with some of your students who are "visual" learners and who are poor and can't afford to have chalk boards and white boards in their house to use. Be prepared to be amazed folks...

That's right...your vision is not playing tricks on you. I have mastered the art of mini-blind white boarding!! Man I should seriously be in the Guinness Book of World Records for this - someone get them on the horn! Is this not a genius idea? Seriously? I realized that I am visual. I love learning from the board. And my Geo prof LOVES drawing on the board and she is my new hero because of that. SO, I thought why not put stuff up like a big white board instead of reading EVERYTHING from a book with like size 7 font. BINGO! I just sat back in my chair, read over the pages, studied, and it worked like a damn charm. The exam went really well so I think, we'll have to see what my mark is before I can actually go about manufacturing this idea.

Journalism:
HA HA HA HA HA HA. Oh my. So obviously Geology was my #1 priority when it came to studying. I was having so much fun that I didn't leave time to study for my Journalism exam. It was only worth 5% of 50%...and out of that 50% I already have an A+ and a B+ so I wasn't even worried if I even passed this exam or not. It was on the "Elements of Journalism"...bahahaha - BORING. We never get to write anything for our exams, its all on boring dry heaving material. Makes me sad because I always fail. Anyway, this is how the exam went - EXACTLY like this I kid you not:

(1) I sit down
(2) get pen out
(3) exam is placed on my desk
(4) I write my name on it
(5) I look at the questions
(6) I look at the questions on the back
(7) I flip the exam back over to the front
(8) I put my coat on
(9) I zip up my book bag
(10) I hand it to my prof
(11) He raises and eyebrow
(12) He says, "Oh my"
(14) He follows that up with, "Not one question eh"
(15) I nod, smile, and say, "It's how I roll - have a good weekend"
(16) The End

No joke. All serious. It was damn hilarious. I bet everyone in the class was either jealous that I just left a boring exam, or stunned that I didn't even attempt it. Either way I don't care. Most of them are King's snobs anyway who are to busy trying to be trendy wearing their leggings under skirts with high tops and I could care less what they think of me. I bet they are just jealous 'cause I am one SMOKIN' hot rock nerd. HA HA. This is what I tell myself anyway.

Ok, my work here is done.
I am going to take the night off.
Play some serious PS2 and read.
I am excited.
Here I go.

Stuffy

2007-02-27T22:26:00.000-04:00

I'm sick.
I have the flu.
And boy is it awesome.
No really - it is.
Kidding.
It is SO not anything close to awesome.
Far from it.
My nose is stuffy.
My chest is congested.
My nose is runny.
My throat is sore.

I have a fever.

I have the sweats.
I pretty much feel like a bag of crap.
Whoot.

School is crazy as usual.
My "reading week" was full of reading (go figure), and no relaxing (surprise surprise), and now school is back on and of course having the wonderful luck that I have, I just so happen to have TWO mid-terms on Thursday and two research papers due next week. Double Whoot.

Underneath all this discomfort I am having with school right now, I still love it. No matter how much work is involved. It is so where I belong right now. I am such a student and I love it. Gawd it feels good to be student again. Mind is open - it's like information soup on high boil!! It's fantastic. My mind hasn't had this much fun in a long time.

And just think...there is only 6 more weeks left!
That's it! Nuts!!
Then it's summer.
Then comes the SUPER fun part.
(and by super I mean NOT so super)
I am (surprise surprise) back to school again.
I am taking Pre-Calculus Plus over the summer.
HA HA HA HA
Wow.
I am SUCH a student.

Who on earth takes calculus over the summer?
Four days a week of grueling math/numbers?
Me that's who!
I'm totally pumped.
I need it though.
And I will do whatever it takes.
I also need to take University Prep Chemistry...
and wait for it...wait...
University Prep Physics
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
riiiiiggghhhhtttt
all in "prep" for taking the real full meal deals next year
Triple Whoot.

My poor brain is going to have wanted posters out with a hefty reward on my ass. All I can say is I hope the mug shot is a pretty one because I will be putting the brain to work this summer, more than its use to. It should be interesting.

Now I must go take a few Nighttime cold and flu pills to see if I can knock myself out for the rest of the evening so I can try and finally have a good nights sleep. It's a par-tay up in here.

Rally and Riot

2007-02-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

So school is nuts...as most of you have probably guessed since I haven't written in forever. I do write random stuff on my Facebook, but not a lot. Stupid addictive Facebook. Best part is I don't even know why it is so addictive...ANYhoo.

School is in mid-term mode which is always a good time.
Labs.
Mid-Terms.
Mega Assignments.
Term Papers.
Major Feature Assignments.
Video Tutorials.
Working.
Sleep.
I am doin' it all ladies and gents, and doin' it with STYLE!
I feel like I need to start a riot.
For reals people. For reals.

I got my first two A+ marks of the year in the past few weeks.
One was a Journalism Assignment.
The other was my HUGE Journalism Class presentation on Afghanistan.
Man did I ever bring that home with my team.
We kicked some serious buns. And it was amazing.

Next week is Spring Break.
HA. HA. HA. HA. HA.
Spring Break. What the hell is that?
So much for a break! I will be working and i'll be doing ANOTHER major assignment PLUS studying for two MORE mid-terms which are after my break. SO...my free time is slim to none. But I did have the chance to attend the first two Navigation Rallies of the season and I was PUMPED beyond. Colin and I tied for first place in the first Rally, and came in last in the second only because we got LOST due to a stupid road sign that wasn't there, and took us from first place to last...BUT it's ok.

This is us getting second place - WEEE

And this is the point board...GRRR...stupid ties. Booo!!

And now, it is time for me and my friend bed to have a chat. It has been a long time since we have spent a full night together and I am very excited. I need sleep. And sleep needs me. It's really a love/hate relationship, but somehow I make it work. It's wonderful. Never a dull moment.

Hope everyone is doing well.
I miss my girls.
And I am sorry I haven't been posting and keeping in touch.
I am in hermit mode.
Teddy Ruxpin style.
*muah*

Amanda vs Evil Homework

2007-02-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

Guess who's winning??

Slip n' Slide

2007-01-24T14:53:00.000-04:00

So I was crossing the hospital parking lot today.
Walking, minding my own biznass.
Everything was cool n' happenin'.
I had my tunes cranked up.
And then...
I hit a patch of ice...
and...
WHAMO!
Down hard on my ass/hip
FUDGE it hurt.
So now...instead of glass in my hands....
I have rocks.
Its amazing.
I guess being a hand model is out of the question huh?
Shoot! There goes my dream job.

I think my homework is about to swallow me whole.
It's pretty awesome.
I have a journalism presentation tomorrow with my group.
The topic is the same from last term:
Canada in Afghanistan
It has now gotten a BIT personal where my cousin Bruce is there.
So he has been sending me emails and some pics
I am going to use that.
It should give the whole thing a very "real" edge.
Should be fun.
But I will be nervous.
Anyway, I must get back
Homework is getting hungry and I am about to be a meal.

Love in a Plastic Bag

2007-01-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

The story of my life....

Glass Hands

2007-01-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I am flat out with school...and I mean FLAT
SO much work this semester
WAY more than last...
and I have NO idea how that is possible...but it is

Two things worth mentioning have happened recently
I will quickly tell you about them:

(1) New Camy Cam
My friend Mandy from high school who now lives in Vancouver with her boyfriend Nick sent me an email about a week or so ago and said that she reads the blog and it makes her laugh and smile (thanks girl, I am glad you enjoy my random rants), and she had read that I didn't have a digital camera and then went on to say that they had a new digital camera and were looking to get rid of their old one. SO she gave her old one to me!! It came in the mail the other day and I was SOOO excited! It's the perfect little camera for me, small, works amazing, easy to use. I don't need anything fancy. It is literally close to the size of my cell phone., it is sooo cute! THANK YOU SO MUCH Mandy!! OMG you rock. You are like my freakin' personal hero! Check it out, isn't she a purdy little thang...

Ok, so moving on to the second thing which I will only go into briefly because I am running out of free time here today and because there isn't enough white space in blogger to really describe and explain everything that happened:

(2) Starbucks Xmas Party
So we waited until Jan.16th to have our party because a lot of peeps were away for the holidays. It was at Ginger's (the guy who owns the three Coffee Vision Starbucks in town - his brother owns Ginger's) and it was one hella crazy night let me tell ya. Sweet lord.

- I had to work till 8pm. It was cool. Then we closed the store.
- I began to drink beer from an iced venti cup and a straw
- I had 3 beer at work WHILE closing in 20 min - HA HA
- showed up at Ginger's
- right to the bar
- started with Stella
- moved to drinking paralyzers
- our store was BY FAR the most rowdy store
- we were dancing (on tables and chairs) and just being NUTS
- our two underagers who work with us were drunk by the time we left there
- we were slipping them drinks in the bathroom (it was pretty damn smooth)
- we won prizes
- got an AWESOME pep talk from the own Patrick who is SO awesome
- then a gang of us left for Tribeca
- managed to get the underagers in
- danced
- drank more
- Cody loses his cell phone thru the stairs and it is stuck
- I decide to crawl under the steps, shimmy my way up the ramp to get it
- I am successful
- then Charlie notices I am bleeding
- there was glass under the stairs on the ramp
- a lot was in my hands
- i brushed it off (aka I was VERY intox and had NO concept of pain)
- stopped at pizza corner (ummmm pep with donair)
- back to Courts place
- we all sat in silence because none of us could even talk (again so intox)
- headed home
- picked glass out of my hands AND legs the next day
- no hangover
- the end

And now some pictures I stole from people to end this lovely blogger post. I hope you all enjoyed it and please take this piece of advice from me - don't crawl under bar stairs. Not a good ending.

Compass

2007-01-16T08:19:00.000-04:00

I had my first "real" Geology lab yesterday.
It was snowing/freezing rain pretty bad.
I was not impressed.
BUT I love that class, and the lab is important so I was a trooper.

At my bench there are two boys. They are both in my enviro class so we all recognize each other but don't really talk. Anyway, we had to get in groups with our bench, and work on our lab together. We had to go outside and map out a part of the campus behind the LCS, and plot trees and landmarks using a protractor, compass and compass bearings. We had to pace distances and convert stuff...and read maps...oh MAN it was SO freakin' hard. ANYWAY, Lynden went to surveying school so he knew the deal but not 100% as they learned on GPS...this was OLD school which i liked though (and come to find out Geologists actually still do it this way most of the time, so you need to know it)

I fit in with the boys right away. Tony (the other dude at my bench) is from Bridgewater, so we had that "south shore connection", and he knew some people I knew..blah blah, and Lynden is from Saskatchewan...BUT his sister is dating a guy from Chester who i know of...so that was really weird. We were outside in the freezing rain with a compass, paper, and pencil freezing our butts off for a long time. Tony gave up and left at like 4pm. Our lab time is actually from 1:25-4:35, but Lynden and I said that we wanted to stay and finish it, no matter how long it took. After plotting trees we had to do a to scale sized map of the lab room, find distances on a map using scale, and find direction on a bigger map and locate points using a compass. It took us FOREVER...BUT we finally got done at 6pm! Sweet Lord!! We were the last two people in the lab room with our lab instructor. It was fun actually. We seemed to get along pretty well which is exciting.

Some may say it was protractor love....
ha ha ha. No, it wasn't.

I think he has a girlfriend.
But he's a cool dude, smart as heck, and we get along.
It will make the labs more fun now that I know I get along with them...
AND that I know Lynden will stay until its done - no matter what.

iAmazing

2007-01-10T09:21:00.000-04:00

Apple does it again!
Is there anything they can't do?
Well...they haven't been able to give me milk and cookies, read me a bedtime story or tuck me into bed yet, BUT after seeing some of their latest inventions...it won't be long now!!

Introducing....
The iPhone!!!!!!!!!!

Is that not THE sexiest thing you have ever seen?
Seriously! Don't lie!

Tarra sent me the link to Steve Jobs iPhone Introduction (he is the CEO of Apple) and I have to say, MAN he is one smart man and he gives one hell of an intro I can tell you that. And the best thing is - he does it in front of a TON of people wearing sneakers, jeans and a turtleneck for god sakes! INCREDIBLE! Totally different compared to Keynotes done by Bill Gates. Like Tarra was telling me, its like those commericials by Apple where the PC dude is all stuffy in a suit and the Mac dude is just chillin' in jeans. I love those commercials.

ANYWAY, watch the iPhone Intro and Keynote Address.
They are mindblowing and entertaining.

Watch iPhone Introduction Here

Rockin' Like Rocks

2007-01-09T08:27:00.000-04:00

I love school.
And school loves me.
My Geology class is amazing.
Bottom Line.
My text book is SO cool.
I almost had a panic attack when I was buying it, I was so excited.
I had my first Lab yesterday = Good times.
My Lab Instructor is a LOON...he's great.
Ohhh it's gonna be a fun semester!
Time to sit back and enjoy the "fun" now while I can...
because in a few weeks...guess what happens?
WINTER MID-TERMS!!
Whoot!

Blood Diamond

2007-01-06T00:17:00.000-04:00

Everyone needs to go see the movie Blood Diamond
No ifs ands or buts about it.
Go.
Please.
Take everyone with you.
I went tonight with a bunch of people from work.
I cried.
I gasped.
I jumped.
I stared.
I felt anger.
Crash has been at the top of my movie list...
and now this is on the same line...
Amazing.
Moving.
Powerful.
Devastating.
Gruesome.
I can't even begin to write how incredible this film is.
Just go see for yourself.

And promise yourself one thing...
You will never be a part of any conflict diamonds EVER
This is serious stuff.
And we don't even know the half.
This movie will open your eyes.
I know it sure has hell opened mine....

Wicked Awesome

2007-01-04T19:17:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of Winter Term...
And I have to say it was a damn good one.
Actually it was wicked awesome...
Yes...I just actually used "wicked" and "awesome" together.
I am starting a new trend. Whoot!

Natural Disasters is over which I was sad about.
But not sad about my final mark of an A-

So in place of Natural Disasters, I am taking Geology I. My class is in the dreadful LSC, so for those of you are familiar with the LSC know what I mean. Dark, cement, dreary, cold, and one damn confusing layout. But anyway, my classroom is really small which is good. There are only 30 people in my class (very refreshing considering my Natural Disasters class had 400 students in it) and I know some people from ND and Enviro class so that is cool. My prof is amazing, I think I am really going to like her. She's really laid back, approachable, and likes to draw on the board! Seriously, can't get much better than that! You know it will be ok when the class is over and you get that little sense of upsetness because you want to keep going. Labs, fields trips, small class...oh I smell an exciting time.

Randoms:
- I am addicted to Superstores Herb & Cheese bagels from the bakery bins

- I am VERY upset that The OC is cancelled *TEAR*

- I have a new found love for A&W Root Beer (thanks Lisa, all your fault)

- Did I mention I am upset about The OC?

- My thumbs hurt from playing PS2
- I am sick of the Rosie & Donald Trump bashing - Grow Up!
- I fell UP the steps by the LSC yesterday HARD and hurt my arms and knee

Ok, well now its time to do dishes and get some homework done. They don't waste any time that's for sure. BOOM! Here ya go! Here's some homework. Weee. And OH, I need to stay tuned to ET Canada because they are going to tell us "Justin Timberlake's buff boy secrets"...wow...can't miss that.

Well Hello There 2007!

2007-01-03T18:08:00.000-04:00

I have been super busy.
But what's new.

New Years was a blast though.
Lisa, Christa, Matt and Jeff were all home from TDot/Vancouver so we all had tickets to go see Joel Plaskett at the Marquee and we were all very excited. I drank a whole lot of Amaretto, put on a fancy sparkly top, and had some damn good fun - ending the night off of course with some good ol' Alexandria's pizza. Umm Umm good. Scott gave me a few days off to relax after working the insane-o Starbucks marathon, so I was able to get some good PS2 gaming in with Colin and sleep in. So very nice.

I start back to school tomorrow.
Very exciting.
I can't wait.
Yay.

I was able to get out and socialize today - very cool.
I met Jacq and Di for lunch at the Alehouse (which by the way has KICK ass food)
I haven't seen the girls in so long.
Florrie and Jen couldn't make it but we will have another girls night very soon.
Not to fret girls. We will make it happen.

And now for the finishing touches of this post -pictures!

Babies, and New Years are the subjects:

Jace - my cousin Julies cutie baby boy, flared nostrils and all!!

Saege - my cousin Heather's little girl (with our Grandma)

And a few random New Years pics. There are more but it will be a bit before I collect all of them from various cameras. Mental Note: get a digital camera. I need one. It's a must. So much stuff to document, so little time!

Me and Lisa

Me and Matty Blades

Thumbs Down to 2006!

Cheers and Smiles for 2007!!

Overdrive

2006-12-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

I worked 6 days in a row.
I had Xmas Day off.
It was my only day off.
Now, I work the next 7 days in a row.
Yes. This is no joke.
That means New Year's Eve (only till 7 though)...
AND New Year's day...
Then I am back to school on January 3rd
So much for a Christmas break.
I can't believe I am still alive.
So much going on.
I am dead tired.
But I am still breathing.
I had a nice day off at home with my parents.
My brother didn't make it out.
He is going thru a rough time.
We missed him.
But I did get to see a lot of my family...
chow down on turkey, and chocolate ice cream.
Good times were had.
Now, its bed time.
I work at 8am in the morning.
Oh joy oh bliss.
(umm speaking of bliss...now I want a cranberry bliss bar from work)
My first morning shift in a LONG time.
I have a feeling it will be a painful morning.
Hoorrahhh.

Ho Ho Ho

2006-12-25T14:24:00.000-04:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Have a safe and happy Holiday!

Joyeux Noël!
Vrolijke Kerstmis!
Frohe Weihnachten!
Natale Allegro!
Веселое Рождество!
Feliz Navidad!

I hope Santa found everyone!
XOX

OHHHHHH YEEAHHHHHH

2006-12-22T12:53:00.000-04:00

Today = Amazing
I am pretty much at the point of tears....
I am soooo freakin' happy right now....
OMG I am going to lose my mind!
My mark for Natural Disasters was just posted....
The Verdict...

Pop Quiz 1: 100 (out of 100)
Pop Quiz 2: 100 (out of 100)
Pop Quiz 3: 100 (out of 100)
Pop Quiz 4: 88 (out of 100)
Pop Quiz 5: 100 (out of 100)
Quiz Score: 100.0 (out of 100.0)

Midterm 1: 87.4 (out of 100.0)
Midterm2: 65.7 (out of 100.0)
FinalExam: 76.0 (out of 100.0)

Assignment 1: 90 (out of 100)
Assignment 2: 100.0 (out of 100.0)
Total Homework: 95.0 (out of 100.0)

Course Score: 82.7 (out of 100.0)
Letter Grade: A-

I got my freakin' A baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even though its an A-...its still a gawd damn A!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AM SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
I totally thought I failed the final exam.
I totally thought my chances for an A were out the window....
HA!!!!!!!! OMG I am so pumped.
How do ya like them apples Dal Probation???

I just got off the phone with my dad.
I called to give him and my mom the good news.
He was so excited.
It felt good to hear him say how proud he is of me.
And he ends with a true "dad" style ending:
"Well, good for you honey, we are proud of ya. When you get home on Christmas Eve we'll celebrate and have a few drinks of rum and some lobsters. Good job, dad's proud of ya"
Awwww.
How adorable is that?
Seriously?

Well...on that note, I must now get ready for work.
Oh Santa.....I forgot one thing on my list....

(k) a bunk bed for work...

Dear Santa...

2006-12-22T12:12:00.000-04:00

This year has been a very big year for me.
Lots of changes.
Lots of hard decisions.
Lots of ups and downs.
Lots of exciting moments.
But I have been rollin' with the punches.

Seeing as how I have been such a good girl this year, I would like to address a few issues and firm up a few points as to why I think I should get the things listed on my Christmas list.

(1) I have been a very good girl
(2) I have been working very hard
(3) I have put school first and gave it 100% of everything I have
(4) I have done good deeds like helping elderly ladies up and down stairs, crossing the street and I have ran home in a rain storm to bring my scrabble game in to work so a couple on a first date could play, bond, and fall in love.

(5) I have reached a new bonding level with my dad
(6) I have managed to come out of every bad situation with my head high
(7) I have been a pretty good sounding board...not as good as I would have liked...but as good as I can given my busy and crazy work/school schedule
(8) I have mended a broken friendship
(9) I racked in $15 in tips in 25 min at work the other night (that HAS to count for something)

All of these things, when listed out, are pretty dang impressive if I do say so myself...not that I want to brag or anything...but seriously Santa, check me out! So, these are the reasons why I think I deserve some...if not all the things listed below:

Amanda's HO HO List

(a) Snow on Christmas Eve
(b) A pony
(c) A pair of hooker heels
(d) Chocolate Covered Cherries

(e) The new PS3 with a few games
(f) A kettle

(g) The war to end
(h) The planet to be saved
(i) Peace on Earth?

(j) and... a hot pink crazy carpet

As you can see, most are very doable Santa. There are a few tough ones, but I am sure you and your elves can all work together and make this a Christmas unlike any other.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Holidays everyone!
Wishing you all the best this holiday season!
Stay safe, and don't drink and drive.

Worth the Weight

2006-12-18T22:57:00.000-04:00

OH MY GOODNESS!
I totally forgot to post this....
which is funny because it was the coolest news of the day!

I had a personal training session at the gym today with Ryan.
It was amazing as usual.
I felt like 10 million bucks when I left there.
And...
*drum roll please*

I weighed in...
and....

I am down 8 more pounds!!!!!

SO exciting!
Now I need to step it up a few more notches before school starts back up again....and it will be all good...
well on the way to success

The Passion of Starbucks?

2006-12-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

Well last night was a super cool night at work.
Another Star Sighting!!!

The other day Rielle was saying that James Caviezel was in at work and she served him. She said he was so nice and it was damn cool that he ordered and then actually sat down in the cafe and stayed for awhile.

OH, before I go any further, I should probably explain who James Caviezel is incase some of you don't know who he is. Well, his most famous semi-recent role was "Jesus" in Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ, he also played in The Count of Monte Cristo, Pay It Forward, and from where I remembered him from, the movie Frequency with Dennis Quade where he talks thru the radio. Oh good times. Ok, so to continue...

WELL, last night he decided to come back and pay us another visit! We were all SOOO freakin' excited. It was so cool. Courtney was serving him and he asked her tons of questions about drinks and stuff, he was so super sweet and wished her and Teika a Merry Christmas. Then, I was like....um guys, wouldn't it be totally cool if we got his autograph? None of them wanted to get it, so me...of course being the outspoken I'll do just about anything girl, slid in beside Charlie on hot bar (he was standing there waiting for his drink) and I quietly leaned over and asked in a cute little voice if it would be possible to bother him for his autograph. He winked, and said, "Sure sweetheart, what's your name"...I ALMOST DIED! So awesome! He signed the piece of paper, handed it back to me, and winked. Such a cutie.

He sat down again in the cafe with a man (who was wearing a Roman collar, which is very ironic) and stayed for quite some time. No one bothered him, and it was just so cool. I was put back on hot bar while Charlie went on break and when he got up to leave he came up to the hot bar to put his trash in the garbage and leaned over to me and winked AGAIN and wished me a Merry Christmas! SO adorable!!! He is in town doing a movie so hopefully he will be back again so we call all droll over how handsome he is and swoon.

Great night!
I love getting to see and meet stars!
It's SO totally Hollywood!
Halifax - - The New Hollywood
Has a catchy ring to it doesn't it?
Ha ha ha.

Kandahar Bound

2006-12-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, 2 days before his birthday and 12 days before Christmas, my cousin Bruce (Julie's brother) left on a 6 month deployment to support Canadian troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is such a sad, scary, and proud time for the whole family. He has arrived there safe and we now have an address where we can send him letters/packages. I am very excited about that. Apparently we can send things for free to him up until January 15th, so I will be taking super advantage of that for sure. If anyone knows where I can get a card or something that makes a "farting" noise, please let me know, ha ha, seriously. When we were kids living in BC Bruce, Julie and I were really close and he ALWAYS use to pin me down and fart on me, it was so funny, but not at the time. Ha ha, so I need to send him something to remind him that I haven't forgotten about that.

There was an article in The Valley Today paper about the troops leaving. This is the part that had Bruce in it, really cute:

The Valley Today
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

By Andrew Rankin

GREENWOOD - In a sea of green and beige uniforms, Cpl. Bruce Swinemar leaned into his fiance, Lisa Williams, and their three-year-old daughter, Kali Williams’ head rested on Swinemar’s big shoulder and Kali’s little arms were flung around her dad’s neck as the three hugged tight, just hours before Swinemar headed out on a six-month deployment to support Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

They were among the throng inside the Annapolis mess at 14 Wing Greenwood as families gathered to say farewell to departing Armed Forces members who were boarding a commercial jet to an unnamed location in southwest Asia.

Swinemar, a telecommunications technician, is among 95 members of the 14 Mission support squadron who must leave loved ones behind at Christmas time.They are to staff a support base that is to service the Kandahar battle fields. The squadron, made up of mechanics, telecommunication technicians, cooks, nurses, logistics personnel and others, will ensure the supply aircrafts servicing Kandhar combat areas are properly stocked, while others will ensure the base itself is maintained.Capt. J.P. Turcotte, 14 Wing spokesman, said members are the foundation behind the Afghani mission.

Swinemar says he knows he and the rest of the members fill an important role, and that leaving family and friends is one of those major sacrifices that are part of being in the military.

“I’ve spent four years in the military,” he said. “I’m excited but sad about leaving my family here. But I joined, and it’s my duty to go, so I’ll go.”

His fiance, wiping tears from her eyes, said she understands what’s at stake for those who sign up for military life.

“I’m sad that he’s leaving, of course,” Williams said. “But I’m proud at the same time. I know he’s coming back, so it’s OK.”

So sad. I won't even get into my views on the whole War thing because Blogger doesn't have enough space on their servers. But all I will say is that I love my cousin Bruce very much and I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers during the next 6 months in hope that he stays safe and that the time flys for him to come home soon.

'Tis The Season...

2006-12-16T12:20:00.000-04:00

Well, its that time of year again, and that only means one thing...

Da Da Da Da

I pretty much cry every time I watch this....
It's hilarious.
I love it.
There is also a Family Guy version if you prefer...

Family Guy Da Da Da Da

Design Guru

2006-12-14T15:28:00.000-04:00

Well, some of you will be happy to know (Lisa more than anyone) that I am putting my free time away from school to good use and I am back at doing some web design updates, and new projects to kill time, feed my design addiction, and keep my skills sharp and alert.

When I saw Steve play at his last show, it really reminded me why I have been doing his site for free for him since 1999...and that is because he is one damn talented young man. So, after having a moment that night, I now look at the state of his site now (which is all mixed up and old and terrible) and I decided that today would be the day that I would break out the "dream plan" I had for his site over the summer and start to make it a reality.

I got a hold of Steve to tell him the news and he is pretty damn excited which then makes me even more excited and from that point of the morning on I have been working away like mad and this is what I have settled on so far for the main page. I am obviously not even close to being done, but its what I have at this point...and its enough that I can put a screenshot on here to show you (mostly show Lisa because she shares a very special "Steve Bond" with me) and see what you all think of course....

So, if anyone has any worthy suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I am pretty good at taking comments and have come to really appreciate other peoples ideas...go figure! And now I must clean up my apartment and then get ready for day 2 of my 5 day working extravaganza! If it is anything like last night, it should be a ball of fun. Charlie and I spent oh...about 3 hours putting together this crazy shelf for down in our storage room...only for Scott to come in as we were literally screwing the last screw in and say..."Yeah...guys...this shelf isn't going to work, we are going to need something that is stronger...I see this now...sorry...if you guys can just take it a part and put it back in the box I will go to Home Depot tomorrow and get a stronger one"...

silence...

I almost kicked him right in chops.
Seriously. I was very close.
And then I calmed down.
Then Charlie and I laughed our asses off.
It was actually pretty comical.
Oh well, we got paid to assemble and disassemble a shelf.
Nothing wrong with that.

OH, and we also created a new drink...

The Gingerbread Man Misto
1 Tazo Joy tea bag
pumps of Gingerbread syrup (3 for a tall, 4 for a grande, 5 for venti)
add a tiny bit of hot water to steep the tea bag
top with steamed egg nogg
sprinkle with nutmeg

OMG you seriously have NO IDEA how good this is...
I almost died of excitement.
No lies. It's damn delicious.
And it is by FAR the best holiday drink on the market

Done and Done

2006-12-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

The time has come my friends.
Yesterday was a glorious day...

I WROTE MY LAST EXAM!!!!
Ohhhhh yyyeeaaahhhh!!!

It was Environmental Studies....and it was a dozy for sure...even with the cheat sheet, but I think I managed to do pretty well. I answered all of the short answer questions except for 3...which is pretty dang good considering the first exam I only answered....3...ha ha...and I some how managed to get a 51.38! Go figure! So...if I go by that, I should FOR SURE get a higher mark...I better...damn it.

Last night I met up with Tarra and we had a small "we kicked ass first term" celebration by grabbing a bite to eat (Tarra bought me supper, it was quite a little date, we even let Shane join in our little love fest, ha ha, poor Shane always sharing his girlfriend with me) and then we did what girls do best....WENT SHOPPING!!! Well...correction....Tarra went shopping, I just tried on stuff in preparation for the Xmas Party dress shopping that I am going to do next week. We also tried on some pretty U-G-L-Y stuff just for fun. OMG one dress that Tarra tried on almost killed me, it really did. My stomach STILL hurts today from laughing so hard. It was like we were time warped back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, eating mutton chops and drinking from goblets...no lie man, it was this velour, square neck, lace up the back, grandma's carpet UGLY ass dress. It was HILARIOUS! We have way to much fun, we really do - should be illegal. We called it a night early and headed home after doing the girl swap, she left with Shane and I left with Colin. Good times were had for sure. It was a nice little outing for a few hours to really pound in our brains that we are done school for 2 weeks and we really don't have any homework to do! Weeee.

The weekend was full of news:

(1) My cousin Heather got engaged! I am so excited for them. It's about damn time! Her and Wayne have been together for almost 4 years now I think, they just built a house together and they have a baby together (Saege), so it came at a good time. Very exciting, and I can't wait to get home again to see them...and of course get some baby lovin' from Saege and Jade (who is growing up SO fast and will soon be starting school!)

(2)My friend Tanya (from home) who was my best friend since grade 6 (which...OMG was like 19 years ago!!!!!) is also pregnant. We lost touch in the past year after we moved out from our apartment in Bedford, and I haven't really talked to her since then. She is 6 months right now, and is having a little girl. So very exciting. Her sister just also had another baby 4 months ago, a little boy, Keaton, who is a cutie pie too! Lots of babies!!

(3) My mom left for Hawaii on Thursday of last week to participate in the Joints in Motion Arthritis Foundation Marathon which took place in Honolulu, Hawaii. She did the FULL marathon on December 10th and I am happy to report that she completed the 26.2 miles in 12 hours! She said in her email that she wasn't going to give up and she was going to do the entire thing, no matter what it took...and she did! I am SO proud of her! She is in better shape than me, and looks great at 55. She is there until Sunday, relaxing and enjoying the full Hawaiian experience (which I am SO jealous of!!), but she did get me some lava and some other surprises so it should be fun to open up gifts and see the pictures!

Well that's about all.
Thanks for the Xmas cards Lisa and Jules!
xox

It's A BOY!!!!

2006-12-08T01:12:00.000-04:00

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jace Anthony Scott

(I am not sure which last name they are using, I am assuming it will be Power). He was born at 9:09 pm, on December 7th. Weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz, and 21 inches long

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I am SOOOO excited right now!! I seriously can't even sit still. I had no idea I would be THIS excited, but I am. I will admit...I have a few tears in my eyes...yeah yeah cry baby...just say it...its ok...I am perfectly ok with it. My aunt sent me a video of him in the incubator and that was it for me...lost it...gawd damn cute babies!!!

And proud papa Bryan! Can't see Jace in this one, but Bry sure looks amazed! So cute. Well those are the first pics of the new bundle of joy. Auntie Theresa (Julie's Mom) made it VERY clear to me that I am the FIRST one to get pics of Jace, so I should feel special...and I do....very much, ha ha. Ok, now I am going to stop crying and get to sleep. Love you Jules!!!! and Bry and Jace!!!! xoxox Can't wait to see you all!

Operation Baby Power

2006-12-07T07:45:00.000-04:00

OMG
OMG
I am SOOOOOOO excited right now
Last night my Aunt sent me an message saying that my cousin Julie was on her way to the hospital. Her water broke!!! SO, they sent her back home to be comfy until she has to go back in....which means....SHE IS GOING TO HAVE THE BABY TODAY!!!!!
Ekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
I am sooo excited.
OMG.

Jules sent us an email last night at 1am saying that she was home safe but in a lot of pain. Poor thing, but that's what havin' a baby is all about! Ha, easy for me to say as I sit here NOT pregnant and ready to give birth with my cervix on a mad dash to dialate. Ha, sorry to all the boys who read this!

This works out just great. It really does.
See, I really am excited to have kids.
Most of you who know me know that I have wanted kids for a long time and can't wait to have them. But see, here's the cool thing. OBVIOUSLY I am in no position to have them ANY time soon, so I just let my cousins do all the dirty work, then I get to spoil them and babysit them once and a while. Works out pretty damn great.

I have come to terms on a few things which I DO NOT have:
(1) I obviously need a SERIOUS "boyfriend", or "husband"
(2) I want a really good job and be done school or be doing my Masters or PhD
(3) And I want my own house

SO....until these things happen...
keep those babies comin' ladies!
Well...Jules it just might be you left though...
I think Heb is done, she has 2 girls now and I think she is throwin' in the towel...
So...its all up to you now!! Ha ha

SOOOO excited!!
I can't wait to see pics of little Baby Power!

SB, KParty and NYE with JPE

2006-12-05T13:36:00.000-04:00

Well...classes are done.
School....is ALMOST over.
I have one last exam on the 12th.
THEN I am done.

MARK UPDATE
I went to the School of Journalism yesterday to pick up my Canada in Afghanistan scrapbook and essay that I had to do. It was worth 30% of the second half of the class mark (my Journalism class is in two parts, each are worth 50%, so this scrapbook was with 30% of one of the 50's). I was nervous, I worked REALLY hard on it and I really wanted to do well. Well...verdit is...YE-freakin-HAW baby! I got a 17/20 on the essay part, and a 19/20 on the scrapbook!!! Eureka! Very happy about that. Victory baby!

Well, I am happy to report that I actually had a freakin' weekend!
I know, hard to believe...I almost can't believe it myself.
Most was last minute, which I think is what made it rock so much.

FRIDAY
Steve send me a message saying that he was playing at the Seahorse and really wanted me to come out and see him play, since I have been doing his website for him since 1999, and haven't been to a show of his on over a year. So...at the last minute I decided to brave the POURING rain and head out to his show...by myself. I was thinking...well, i'll just show up, have 1 drink, chat, watch him play one or two songs and leave (I had to work at 8am on saturday). Oh how plans can change! I get there, I find out I am on the guest list so I get in for free (Bonus #1), then I see Steve, he is very excited, tells me that I am to drink as much as possible on him (Bonus #2), and I am to stay for the entire evening. How can one turn down an offer like that? I mean really? Seriously? Can't do it. Nope. Didn't do it. Steve's new fiance is the sweetest thing ever, her sister shows up later and ends up being in 3rd year Geology at Dal, so her and I HIT it off right away and chatted up about that pretty much all night. I ended up having SUCH an awesome time, drank a lot, and Steve played SO well, blew my mind actually, and made me remember why I do his website for him as a favor. Gawd he's one talented boy.

SATURDAY
I was supposed to work a close shift on Saturday, but on Friday my boss Scott asked me it I could work his shift instead because he was going on a Pub Crawl and wanted to not have to come into work at 8am. SO, I switched, and worked 8-4 for him. HA, was pretty awesome because I didn't end up getting home until 3am...then up at 7 for work..wee. Anyway, Saturday night was Karla's party which I wasn't able to go to originally, so I was excited to be able to go. I made a trip to the NSLC and bought some Bailey's...then got some Egg Nogg...and some cherries to make my famous Noggtini's. Ummm. DELICIOUS! Tarra picked me up, we got ready and her, Shane and I headed to Karla's place. (OH, Tarra bought me a "I'm proud of you for kicking some serious ass at school" present, and I got her soemthing as well. It was fun to do a little unexpected gift exchange.)

Karla's rocked! It's always such a good time with that crew man. They are THE funnest people to party with. They really are. I wish we could party every weekend like that. We played some Beer Pong, which just happens to be the best gawd damn drinking game ever...it really is....especially when Justin M is on your team who is like a GIANT and has such a height advantage, AND can pretty much just reach over the table and drop them in the other teams cups. I suggest that everyone try this game at your next party, it really is a blast. We all stayed up really late, had a TON of laughs, lots of drinks, snacks, and then ended the night by covering Justin G in flour becuase he fell asleep first. We have it on tape AND we have pics, I will post some of those as soon as I get copies. They are pretty freakin' priceless let me tell ya.

Good times.
I'll say it again - those guys are the BEST party pals one could ask for.

WEATHER UPDATE
Yesterday we had our first snowfall of the season.
It was like a BLIZZARD out there for a few hours.
I think the last time I checked last night = 20 cm was what we got.
I am NOT happy about it at all, but I didn't have to go outside so I was happy.
I will admit, I did look pretty...but only from the inside looking out.

TODAY
I am doing more cleaning (which is SO much fun), then I am going to study and keep a low profile around here, as I am kind of "on call" for tonight for work, as it is our Cheer Party tonight which is when we give out free Holiday Drinks and snacks from 6 pm - 9 pm....which equals PURE INSANE MADNESS. So, I told them I would go in and help out if they needed me, which I am thinking they probably will. I do need more money for xmas, and I know how stressful it can get there when we are short staffed and I wouldn't want them to go thru that while I was sitting home and could totally help. I did get outside today though, I ventured down to Sam The Record Man to buy two tickets for me and Lisa for Joel Plaskett's New Years Eve show at the Marquee. I was also informed by Lisa that Christa AND Blades are coming home here and will also be going to the show....so it looks like New Years Eve will be a total blast and I will be getting into some serious trouble with two of my old roomies from back in the day and with Matty Blades! So exciting.

Now, time to clean, eat, do laundry, and study...and probably get called into work. Oh, one last thing. Tasha is moving to Edmonton on Friday so Tash this is for you. Have a SAFE trip, be careful, knock those Edmonton boys off the map baby, and good luck! You will do just fine, I know you will, and I am very proud of you for making some seriously big decisions. BUT, like I have told you many times before, you gotta do things for YOU and YOU only, things that will make you happy - and take risks! There is nothing like it! You should be proud of yourself, and just don't put pressure on yourself, go out there and have a blast! Good luck chicky! Rock it out like rocks baby!!! :) xox

Brain Pain

2006-11-30T21:57:00.000-04:00

This morning was my Natural Disasters final exam.
It was VERY hard.
And I studied really, really, REALLY hard for it.
There were lots of math questions....which I wasn't expecting.
I forgot one equation....
That did me in...
CONSIDERING there were 10 freakin' questions about that ONE equation!
I almost died
I guessed on ALL 10 of those questions.
I am sooooo mad right now.
And upset.
I really wanted a gawd damn A in that class.
I worked really hard.
And as of last night I thought I had a good handle on it.
I studied hard.
If I passed, I will be shocked.
Totally disappointed.

Round two began this after noon.
Final Exam # 2 - Journalism
HA
Yeah
Wow
It was open book so I was excited about that...
But wasn't so excited to see ALL the questions were essay questions.
I ran out of time....
So did the rest of the class.

I left feeling out of breath, and more upset.
All I can say is I am glad I had my super awesome good day yesterday.
I think it boosted me up enough so that today didn't knock me out.

Good news = CLASSES ARE FINISHED!!!!!
I now have a break (well semi break) until December 12th

Then I have the rest of the month off to re-charge my brain...

and get ready for second semister

Weee

Bed...

Here I come

Victory

2006-11-29T11:37:00.000-04:00

Wow...yesterday was probably one of the best days I have had in a long time. I am still running off the high which is pretty impressive. Yay for school induced highs! It was a nice crisp morning, which always makes me happy when I have to walk to school. The sun was out, and it was just such a nice morning. I had my last Natural Disasters class *sob*, but it was an awesome one. We went over a TON of stuff for the final and he also put up exams from last year and the year previous to that and we went thru them, so we could see how questions were formatted and stuff...VERY awesome. Like who does that in University? Apparently my super awesome prof Dr. John Gosse! Gawd he is so totally cool.

Anyway, after class I met up with our TA Alan (who is one of John's Grad Students) to go over my second Mid-Term. I didn't post it, but I received my mark back...yeah...65! So I was VERY shocked to see this and really wanted to have a look at it to see where I went wrong and if something was f'd up when they scanned it because I was POSITIVE I didn't do that bad. Well, turns out I really didn't do BAD, but where the exam was a smaller amount of questions, as soon as you get one wrong it really slams your mark down. So I really didn't get that many wrong, its just each question was worth so much that when I did get one wrong I lost a TON of points. They realized this when out of 350 students....only 20 passed...HA! And I was one of them, nah nah na na nah! Alan goes, "Ahh Amanda, you shouldn't be worried man, you had one of the highest marks in the class"...HA HA! Awesome! They also decided to re-check two questions and also give points to people who put another answer that was also right, I happened to do that for both, so I got two extra marks added on to my exam which will put me above a 70 I think...SWEET! It's no 83 but I am happy. And if my TA says I have nothing to worry about..then I am not gonna worry.

So, there were a few people there going over the test with Alan, and when they left it was just me and him. So he started to ask me about what I wanted to do, and all that fun stuff. He also told me about his background, and how he is from Utah and went to Utah State but REALLY wanted to come to Dal for Grad School to work with John because he is a leader in the Earth Science field. Come to find out, he really is. He is one of the top profs with the most funding at Dal, and where he just won the W.W Hutchison Metal from the Geological Association of Canada (check out the link, he's such a cute man), and he has his own SUPER lab at Dal called - Dalhousie Cosmogenic Nuclide Exposure Dating Facility. What a SUPER HERO PROF!! So...while I was talking to Alan, John shows up and chats for a bit. Alan then proceeds to tell him how impressed he was with all the stuff I have been researching on my own and then John asks me to join him in his office so we can chat! Ekkkk! I was so scared. I was in his office for over an hour...really chatting it up, looking at some of his research and all the places he has been, and really getting my hands dirty. I was really searching for some mentor...someone to say, "Psstt, hey you, why don't you come join us over here in this department". I just needed a bit more direction, I have been searching for direction, I want it, need it, my wheels are turning and I really feel like I am not going as fast as I could be. SO, the meeting really pushed me along and gave me lots of things to look forward to, got me acquainted more with my prof and my TA, and inject DIRECTION ladies and gents!! Oh man I am so PUMPED!! Holy crap! Alan also told me that he would be shocked if I got anything less than an A in the course...HAHA yeeesssss!!

So, then John proceeded to tell me that I need to start coming by the lab and checking stuff out, getting my feet wet, and meeting some of his other grad students. SO...I can't WAIT to do that! Ekkk!!! I am so excited that I almost want to pee my pants. AND, to top it all off...Dall apparently has one of THE top researchers in Plate Tectonics....and John said he will get me a meeting with him so I can chat and see if it tickles my fancy...which at this point I think I am shooting for! So yay! GO ME!!!!!

SO - now I must study!!! I have two final exams tomorrow and then I am a free woman...until Dec. 12th...and then after that I really AM a free woman for the rest of the month...well free from school anyway. I will be working 5-6 days a week but still...I am excited! Hoorrrahhh!

Starbucks Test and Tune

2006-11-27T11:26:00.000-04:00

Last night at work, it was a bit slow...which NEVER happens. So, to celebrate the spare time we had, we decided to try and test some drink recipies that I found on the Starbucks Facebook group. Lets just say that by the end of the night we were all PRETTY much sweating out pounds of sugar...but it was SO worth it! Prepare your taste buds!

Orgasmachino

half frapp coffe base

half cream base

one pump of mocha

one pump of white chocolate mocha

one pump of hazelnut

one pump of vanilla

3 scoops of chocolate chips

whip cream IN the blender

grande scoop of ice

blend

It's LOVE in a gawd damn grande size cup let me tell you...but SO bad for you - its a nice treat drink! I can't even begin to tell you how good this is...it freakin' knocked my socks off. It really is orgasmic.

Blended Strawberry Apple Juice

Tree Top Organic Apple Juice to the first line

strawberry sauce to the second line

scoop of ice

melon syrup (1 pump for a tall, 2 for a grande, 3 for a venti)

blend

Mexican Hot Chocolate

mocha syrup (3 pumps for a tall, 4 for a grande, 5 for a venti)
tazo chai syrup (1 pump for a tall, 1 for a grande, and 2 for a venti)
top with steamed milk, whip cream, and nutmeg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok...so then we decided to make our own creations. SUCH a fun night. There is nothing like having a pretty much ENDLESS supply of ingredients at your disposal to create yummy drinks. Anything your wild imagination can think of!

Laura's Tazo Chai Steamed Cider

Tazo Chai syrup (2 pumps for a tall, 3 for a grande, 4 for a venti)

top with steamed Tree Top Organic Apple Juice

SOOOO simple but yet SOO very yummy. Just makes you want to wrap up in a cozy warm blanket by a fire and read or something. VERY soothing drink. I think the next time I feel sick I will DEF get this. I have a feeling it will make the sicky gross feeling disapear!

Amanda's CocoBanana Creme

2 shot glasses filled with banana sauce
pour in tall cup

1 pump of coconut syrup

a small drop of 190 degree tea water to mix them
top with steamed milk, whip cream, and coconut flakes

Lindsey's Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

mocha syrup (3 pumps for a tall, 4 for a grande, 5 for a venti)
gingerbread syurp (one less pump than the mocha for each size)
top with steamed milk, whip cream, nutmeg and red sprinkles

Jen's Strawberry Banana Blended Lemonade

strawberry sauce half way to the first line
banana sauce the rest of the way to the first line

lemonade to the second line

ice and blend

Jen created this one over the summer and we all love it and still make it, its one of our favs. My next shift is Wednesday night, so I am busy collecting new ideas to test! It's a neverending road!!! Gawd I have such a fun job!!!

Like A Champ

2006-11-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

The countdown has begun my friends...yes...yes it has.
Classes end in 6 Days.
This is freaking amazing.
I can't believe how fast first semester went.
It just BLEW by.
I started out on on side of the fence - the "I love school, I can't get enough" side
and now I am sitting on it, straddling both sides.
Don't take this the wrong way - I don't mean I hate school when I say this.
I just mean that I need a gawd damn break, plain and simple.

I am sad in a way. My Natural Disasters course is over. I only have one more class on Tuesday, but it won't even be a real class because it is a Final Exam review class...this makes me sad because I LIVE for that class, it's freaking amazing. BUT, its all good. It just gives me more of a reason to spend more time in Dr. Gosse's office and bug him about how he is my "idol" and how I want to be just like him when I grow up...except the female version of course. I also need to get my ass into his amazingly awesome lab so I can get my hands dirty and try and gain more direction. Weee. I love direction.

So I am posting because I am taking a break from studying like a champ. I have been hitting the books since I got home from work at 4 today...and its now 11. Ugghhhh. I can't believe how much material we covered in 3 months in Natural Disasters, its unreal. I want to knock the final out of the park...I will settle for NOTHING less than an A- in that course, and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure I get higher than that. Right now I am sitting VERY comfy and even though I haven't seen my mark for the second mid-term or the homework assignment, I think I am safe. If I pull off an A- or better I am SO taking myself on one SERIOUS shopping spree...or...book a vacation away for a week in Orlando and get my hot, warm, dip n' dots, roller coaster fix in. Ohhh man...I won't even start with that. I'll get way to excited and WAY to distracted.

All I know is that if I kick some serious ass this year, I am going to celebrate like no ones business. It'll be like "Amanda gone Wild"....minus the making out with girls and flashing boys with cameras...ha ha. Shopping, tanning, and pampering will be replacing those.

Fun Stuff:
(a) a cute boy who is a regular at work complimented on my hair this morning and said I looked pretty, totally flirted with me, gave me the wrong change, and blushed. It was pretty adorable.

(b) my "grande, vanilla, double cup latte" sexy boy was in today to see me. I love how he is called by his drink and not his name, it cracks me up. His name is actually Michael, and he is one beautiful creature let me tell you. I know him from back in my Mahons days which is crazy. All I know is at one point Christa was talking to him about how she use to see him and his little girl (who is the damn cutest thing u have ever seen) at the pool all the time, and then he was rubbing up against me saying that I just wanted to see him with his shirt off...which...is the total truth but I didn't mention it...maybe he can read minds...humm...something to look into. ANYWAY, he's hot, beautiful, successful, strong, confident, and has the cutest smile. He's my dream boy. He is not the type of guy who would ever go for a girl like me but I am ok with flirting and keeping my dreamy thoughts to myself....for now. Although...he did tell me that he would do "anything" for me and then that progressed into something like if we were downtown that we would have to get it on....SO that might be a hint/good sign. Who knows.

(c) We received a 100% + 5 star snapshot the other day at work. A snapshot is the "secret shopper" that comes in and tests us on stuff without us knowing, times us, takes temps and weights of drinks, and checks to see if stuff is clean. Pretty intense, but we KILLED it. Scooter (aka Scott) is so happy and proud of us which rocks, and we feel pretty damn good too! Go us!! Our customers love us and we love them, and you only have to be in the store for 20 min to see that. We know probably about 30 regulars by name, and know more peoples drinks than that on top of it. Pretty impressive. It is so much fun to work there, I love our customers, and I love our staff, we have so much fun. I can't WAIT for the staff party. OMG the pics and play-by-play of that is going to be UNREAL. All 3 Starbucks in town (owned by CoffeeVision, not Corp. Stores like Chapters) together in one place = DANGER!

Now...I must get to bed.
My eyes are burning out of my skull.
And I am starting to get a headache...weee!

New Look, New Life

2006-11-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

Well...this is what I have decided on after going thru so many template ideas. So far I am enjoying the new look. We'll see how long I can go before I change it again....ha ha. I am so hard to please.

And, one more thing.
I am getting VERY excited.
Why?

Well...two reasons:

(1) School is FINALLY winding down and xmas break will be starting. I am super duper excited about having some time off of studying and just being able to work and come home....bum around and maybe even go out - downtown even, and drink, hang, and have a few weeks of a normal life. I am sure by the end of December I will be so damn antsy to get back to school...I know how I get...can't stay relaxed for to long, I have to be on the go.

(2) My cousin Julie is 37 weeks pregnant and she had an appointment with her doctor today and she said that she will probably go early, and that they are going to induce her on December 9th, WHICH is the date that I picked in the "guess the baby's date and weight" game...so now all I need to do is bring it home on the weight and I win! Wee. ANYWAY, I am SOOOO excited...another cousin having a baby for me to spoil and love to death. I can't believe how fast it went, it feels like just the other day she told me she was pregnant. Incredible. Her and Bryan are getting married in the summer so she will have time to get back down to her like size 0 because...MAN is she ever all baby! Holy crap, her baby belly is rockin' out prego style. She will probably kill me for this one (sorry Jules, love ya) but I have to post a pic to show you guys - oh and Jenny, here is what you have to look forward to...ha ha. I also can't believe how fast it is going for you as well and your baby belly so far....too cute! Jules doesn't look to happy in the pic, she has had a rough few weeks with not feelin' so hot, but her and Bryan are really excited.

And this is soon to be Baby Power! OMG this is just the most amazing thing ever...seriously...like look at those pouty lips!!!!!!!! Toooo freakin' cute. I am so super excited and can't WAIT to meet him/her....well...I think it is a "him"...but who really knows.

Ok, now it's bedtime. I am beat.
School in the morning.
Weee.
Nighty Night.

(PS - Lisa I will look into getting the 16th off so I can be your date to Sean & Julie's wedding reception for sure....that sounds like a damn good time. Thanks for asking me! I'll let you know)

I think I feel sick...maybe?

2006-11-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

Wow...well I just have to say that this morning has been very exciting, for a number of random reasons, none of which will be a big deal to any of you, but for me...oh they are significant.

First thing - I go thru my closet trying to find something to wear because I have been slacking and haven't done laundry in forever...and I decide to go thru the box of stuff I packed away to see if I might have put any of my "fat" pants in there by accident. I came across a fav pair of jeans that are from the Gap that use to fit me, but haven't in a long time...ahhh probably since April. So I say..what the hell and try them on...EUREKA! They friggin' fit me! I was so damn excited! TOTALLY made my morning for sure. I also tried on a really hot pair of beige dress pants that I use to wear at my old job and those bad boys fit me too! Double ohhhh yeeahhhh!

Second thing - I felt like celebrating the fitting into fav jeans and actually look pretty today for school...I usually just wear sweatpants (I am a slob), and I feel so different. Its amazing what happens when you actually put time into what you look like and how good you feel. I feel like putting on "I'm Every Woman" by Whitney and blasting it! Ha ha...seriously. Instead, I'll have to stick with "I Belong To Me" by Jessica Simpson. Not a good trade off, but whatever.

and lastly....

Third thing - I had an appointment to see a doctor at the Dal Health Clinic today to check out these weird red, dry, itchy spots that I have been breaking out with..they are really starting to pee me off. SO...I am waiting in the waiting room, and I see this really hot ass doctor walking back and fourth, taking patients, but I can't read the name on his door. All I know is my appointment is with Dr. Botten...male? female? I dunno....so I keep my eyes open, and then his door was push closed a bit...and BOOM...I started to sweat...Dr. Botten was on his door. I wanted to run out, just because I was feeling pretty but not pretty enough to lift up my shirt for some hottie Dr. My turn came...he smiled..I melted...and went in his office. I was going to ask him if he wanted to take off his pants...but I thought that MIGHT be moving a bit to quick...SO I opted for asking how his day was going so far. We chatted, he "examined" me....ha ha (I only wish, damn it) and then he told me that is just a small case of skin psoriasis, he then gave me a prescription and then sent me on my way. But not before he ended with, "You smell very pretty"....(HA HA I am NOT even kidding...and I was a bit taken off guard, and then REALLY considered asking him about losing the pants) and then I thought about how gutsy that was as a doctor...but took it and tucked it away in my compliments box (which is pretty empty these days), smiled, said "thank you...it's called Marshmallow", and walked out.

Freakin' hilarious.
Only Me.
I should have my own reality TV show.
No jokes.
I could be rich.

I think I am suddenly feeling sick...I could fake that for another appointment...
*cough*
*cough*

Hummmm

2006-11-20T09:11:00.000-04:00

Ok, quick note:

I am in the process of trying to use the new Blogger Bata and change templates and all kinds of crazy stuff, so please bare with me until I get it all done.

This is not the design I am sticking with...I just picked it for now until I can figure out how to use all the new features.

Weee.

Baby Saege

2006-11-09T16:08:00.000-04:00

These are the ones that I have ready. She was blowing bubbles everytime I went to take a picture...so she looks really funny, I love it. Oh babies, they melt my heart, they really do. She's a keeper that's for sure.

Rainy Day

2006-11-09T10:49:00.000-04:00

It is so crappy outside.
Pouring rain.
Blowing wind.
Slippery wet leaves on the ground.
Flooded sidewalks.
Wet feet and sweatpants.
People who smell like wet dog.
ALL of the wonderful things that go along with rain.

I am sitting at the Dal wireless coffee shop, waiting for my next class to start. I woke up this morning with a stuffy nose and a small sore throat...GRRRR. I have been sniffing all morning so far, not impressed considering that I have my huge Journalism project due tomorrow, and then my SECOND Natural Disasters Mid-Term on Tuesday which I have to study all weekend for.

As I was sitting here sniffing up a storm I remembered that a month ago when Jonah was sick at work he took a Refresh tea bag and a Green Ginger tea bag and put them both in a cup to mix them and it really helped unclog his nose and made him feel a lot better. SO, the wired coffee shop sells Tazo tea and they have both of those kinds so I decided that I would go and get my little short cup loaded up with both tea bags and get a damn strong ass cup of the "Super Tea" and see if it helps me feel better. It's damn yummy that's for sure. I just might have to get those two kinds tonight at work for my free tea, yay for free boxes of Tazo!

I received my mark back for my Enviro mid-term.
Errrrr.....yeah.....lets just say I won't be posting ANYTHING showing my mark.
Nope.
Won't be going there.
Woooohooooo.
Yep.
Didn't do so well.
Nope.
Not so much.
THANK GOD it was only worth 10%.

Anyway...moving on to some good news. I had my first one-on-on meeting with my Journalism Tutor last week and it went fantastic. When I first sat down she said, "There are 3 people who can write in this group...and you are one of them, but I think you already know that". I almost jumped out of my seat. Wee. Anyway, we had a good chat, and she told me a few things to try and work on, but she really didn't have to much to say which is a good thing. She told me to start writing and submitting things to The Coast and she said that when things calm down at school that she will try and get me into the Chronicle Herald to help her with a few things. Pretty sweet. Yay for connections! Even though its not what I want to do, it will still be a huge help for when the time comes that I have to write research papers and...well...of couse...the books that I want to write when I grow up :)

Other than that, not much else. Work is busy. I had a good weekend off last weekend, which I used and went home to mom and dad's to visit. I also went to see my cousins baby Saege, and help them with their new house they are building. WOW, it is BEAUTIFUL. ended up staying with them for the night and painting the entire house inside and started to help put the kitchen cupboards and stuff up. What a job...sweet lord...makes me NEVER want to build my own house but at the same time...it is also pretty damn cool. I can't believe how big Sage is now, she is freakin' adorable. Heather put me right in charge, bathing, changing, feeding, and putting her to sleep. I just wanted to take her home with me...god she's cute. I will post pics later on when I get them all geared up on my comp. Now, I must get to class. Excellent.

Star Struck

2006-11-02T10:41:00.000-04:00

Well Gorbs, my time finally came for me to brag about my star sightings!! Yay!!
Both were VERY exciting for me, one a BIT more than the other...pretty damn cool....especially for being in Halifax, hasn't really been that much "star" action lately here.

First Star Sighting:
On Sunday I was on my way to Lawtons to get freezies and ginger ale (good combo eh?, ha ha) and I was on the corner by the Lord Nelson and I see two men walking toward me, and one I just locked eyes with and thought....Holy *bleep* are you kidding me? As he got closer I realized that my "holy bleep" was correct...walking toward me, with a smile on his face obviously because I was staring HARD core at him with a stupid "I use to watch you on TV every night with my dad when I was a kid look" was good ol' Tom Selleck...yep...an older, scruffy Magnum PI. He smiled at me, I grined back with this school girl red face look, and continued on my journey to get my freezies and ginger ale. Tres Bien!

Second Star Sighting:
This one...was a bit more orgasmic for me...not because he is hot...he is far from it...but just because of the proximity that he has had with a certian man who I would pretty much kill to have alone....ok ok ì`ll get to that point in a second. So I was at work yesterday, and I was working the hot bar, steaming milk and making drinks at quite a lightening speed if I do say so myself. At around 4, there was quite a line forming, and I was on a roll....then I look up to check the line again and staring me right in the face is William Devane!! I almost shit my pants (sorry but I am trying to make this as real as possible), seriously...I just froze...and smiled this HUGE smile. He smiled back at me, and winked. He was scruffed up, with a hat, and no one around him seemed to even care (or even know who he is), he was just chillin`in line. Ok...now for those of you who don`t know the name William Devane....lets give you some hints...

(1) He has acted along side one sexy, hot ass man with the last name Bauer
(2) He plays Secretary of Defense James Heller on 24...

AND...for those of you POOR soles who don`t watch 24...well then you are shit out of luck..and this would not be of any importance to you at all so I am sorry for taking up your time...

ANYWAY, he ordered a grande egg nog latte, and a tall latte and made his way to the end of the bar. He looked at me...smiled...and winked again. I had the BIGGEST, stupid 2 year old grin on my face and just said....`Hi`....then i slapped myself around in my brain and began to chat quietly (as not to direct attention to him so I could have him all to myself) about how he was enjoying his time here, and he went on to tell me that he isn`t here long and won`t get to enjoy it. I told him to make sure he took a trip to the Keith`s Brewery (ha ha, I did...seriously) and if not to get to the Garrison Brewery for some good brew! I said that I loved 24 and that I thought he did a great job, and asked what it was like to worth with Kiefer..we chatted about that for a sec, then I finished his drinks, he slipped me a $20 bill, said he was waiting all day for an egg nogg latte, he heard they were out now, and then smiled, winked again and headed out. I just stood there all star struck..and totally got mad at myself for not getting his autograph! Oh well. I seen him this morning to, on my way to school...he smiled again and winked. Frickin`eh!!

I just wanted to touch him and see if I could get any Jack vibes from him....

If Kiefer ever came into the store, I would probably faint...wait...no...I would jump him and totally take off his pants for sure...no jokes....I would take the risk of being thrown in jail for that. Ha ha. Anyway, I need to get going to class....weeeeeeee.

Hopefully....my new sexy hot phone will be here today so I can get that all set up! I am super excited to make the switch. Whoop!

The Verdict

2006-10-31T09:53:00.000-04:00

Today my friends...is a good day...VERY good day.
Why you ask?
Well...allow me to fill you in.

Our mid-term marks were FINALLY posted this morning for our Natural Disasters course. It was the first mid-term that I wrote, and that I seriously studied my ass off for, AND just happens to be my favorite class...AND will probably be the swaying factor that makes me do the transition into picking Earth Science as my major.

ANYWAY...enough suspense here....

Mark: 83.7 / 100
Translation: A-

Look On My Face: Priceless

Currently Feeling: Pretty *bleeping* amazing

and to prove I am not pulling this out of my arse...

And now...I really don't give a rats ass how I do on any of my other exams...well I do but...this was the most important one for me, this was the bread and butter. I studied really damn hard for that exam and it paid off.

And after all that I say this:
Dal probation...take that baby!!! Amanda is rockin' it out University style!

Straight Edge

2006-10-29T17:50:00.000-04:00

Well after having my Palm Treo 650 for about 3 weeks now, I have come to the conclusion that it is just not for me, and I am not so happy with it. It really is a cool gadget, but it is beginning to lose its cool factor and gain a new one called ANNOYANCE! Yes...yes, I know I was crazy to have even bought it, but live and learn right? So, I went to talk to my buddy Scott at Telus (who just happens to be the coolest phone dude ever, no bullshit and doesn't pressure you and gives it to you straight up) and he tells me to Ebay my phone, says i'll get $300 for it easy, and then get a new phone that is more me and more my speed, or go back to using my red samsung.

So, I got a hold of my trusty Ebay dealer (Colin) and asked him to help me list my Palm Treo and see if we could sell it. I also told him that I have wanted a hot pink Razr for a LONG time, and probably should have got one of those instead of the Treo, so we look on Ebay for one.

In one day....yes....that's right....ONE day....my Treo has been sold for $255 (I probably could have got more but I just wanted to sell it) and Colin won an auction for a hot pink Razr which is now mine!!! Weeee!!! I am SO freakin' pumped, holy crap! It does EVERYTHING my Treo does, except it doesn't have internet....which was a piss off to use anyway...AND it's WAY hotter.

Buh Bye Treo....
and HEELLOOO sexy hot pink Razr!!!
Man its a hot phone! Gawd!
And no...don't worry, I won't be walking down Spring Garden Road with my Starbucks latte and my Bluetooth wireless ear piece, nope...won't be using that in public. It'll just be me...and that sexy ass phone takin' on the world!!

I made it through exam hell week, and now I am in a clear...but not really a clear...BUT enough of one that I can get to bed early, have some time to do some slow reading and studying, and then its off to the races again with my second Natural Disasters mid-term on Nov.14th and then my Natural Disasters FINAL exam on Nov. 30th! Busy, busy bee!

Rewind

2006-10-25T06:02:00.000-03:00

Again...can I stress how damn confusing boys can be?
Yeah...wow. *cough*
OK then.

After the crazy conversation I had last night with Larry, I have decided that it is probably not a good idea that we go on our "date" on Friday night. Things seem to be getting more confusing, and right now that is SO not what I need. A lot of stuff is really hard to explain to him, especially over messenger, but I tried my best - and failed.

Anyway...man that is one f'd up situation.
I REALLY don't have time for boys right now.
It sounds really geeky...and almost hard to believe because all of you know that I love boys and love chasing after boys...especially ones who think I am pretty, but school has to come first.

I did HORRIBLE on my Envio mid-term yesterday which has put me in a bit of a bad mood. Mind you it was only worth 10% of my mark....which is going to be a lifesaver, but after doing so well on everything else, just sitting there and feeling SO lost in all the material really did a number on me.

MUST talk to my prof Karrin about some stuff.
MUST do more research with Dr. Gosse.
MUST spend more time reading.
MUST spend less time on boys.

After this crazy, retarded, super busy week...I am going to need a vacation.

My Mind...Woah

2006-10-22T23:32:00.000-03:00

Oh my...why do boys have to be so damn confusing?
Please, someone shed some light on this situation....
Good Lord!

I had today off, so I spent most of my day working on my Journalism Assignment (which is due tomorrow), and studying for my Environmental Science mid-term which is on Tuesday. I have to admit...I am not feeling as confident for this exam like I was for my Natural Disasters that's for sure. The exam is made up of multiple choice AND short answer...which scares the hell out of me. I haven't had to write short answers on an exam...oh...since high school...so I am slowly slipping into freak out mode, WHICH I can't let myself do. I need to stay focused, but its hard.

I took a break today at lunch and grabbed a coffee at work and took it over to Larry who was working today at Pete's Frootique, I figured he would need one and I just wanted to stop by and say hi. Before I left home though, I decided that I had enough of wearing sweatpants and comfy clothes and that today would be the day that I step it up a few notches and dress to impress like a lady. Larry has only ever seen me at work (wearing my sexy green apron) and dressed casual, so I thought he deserved to see what I am made of, and that I can actually clean up nice. So I put on my sexy black dress pants and my nice brown striped sweater and actually did my hair. I will admit, I looked pretty darn cute. Ha ha.

When he came around the corner of the prep area, he stopped dead in his tracks and mouthed "wow"...it was probably the cutest thing ever...and I instantly turned 4 shades of red. We signed for a bit, and then I headed for home. He didn't really say anything to me when we were talking about how I looked, so I just took the "wow" as my hint that he noticed that I cleaned up, and moved on. But no...he wasn't gonna stop there, no way. When he got off work he sent me a text message asking me if I had plans today because he had never seen me look so pretty before, and that he liked it.

Then he wrote this txt msg: (remember their english isn't perfect)
"oh aww. I like that. I most see u casual clothes and at work. lol. wink. when I see you today, my mind...woah, you look sexy..."

How freakin' cute is that!!! OMG. I almost died. I was blushing so bad when I was reading the txt message, and I had the biggest smile on my face. I forgot what it was like to be told you look pretty and sexy, and be complimented on your clothing. It feels damn amazing! I definitely needed the compliment that's for sure, and I am glad he was the one to give it to me.

We have plans to get together on Friday for a movie night at his place....so I am really excited for that....but nervous at the same time. Lots of things are going through my mind right now, but most are good ones. I am just going to take it one step at a time. He was the one who told me he didn't want a girlfriend, and he knows that I am not ready for a boyfriend, so lets hope it all goes smoothly. We are just friends, and I enjoy spending time with him. I get SUPER amazing practice with my signing when I spend time with him, and it is really helping me speed the learning process up. Sunday is Deaf Association Bowling night, so I am looking forward to getting together with Jill and Vanessa again and being in an event where I am forced to only use sign to communicate. It really is truly amazing. I will try to remember to take pics this time, so I can post them on here for you all. Gotta test out the new camera on my phone!

Now...for those of you who I have told I have a busy week coming up...I don't lie. Here is a breakdown for ya'll so you can see what I am up against.

Monday - Journalism assignment due, work 10-6, Library with Court to study
Tuesday - Enviro Mid-Term

Wednesday- work, 10-3

Thursday - Journalism Mid-Term, Journalism Front Page assignment due

Friday - Natural Disasters Research project due, date with Larry

Saturday - work 12-6

Sunday - Deaf Association Bowling

Baaammmmmm. Check that out!
Crazy eh...told ya!
I will not rest.

Now its time for bed.....

Rated PG

2006-10-21T20:26:00.000-03:00

I was reading the paper the other day for class and getting articles out for my Journalism Project and I saw this little comic pic and laughed my ass off...so I cut it out and it is on my bulletin board for when I need a good laugh and ALSO to remind me how lucky we are to be the hometown for Bubbles...seriously...we even have "Bubbles Mansion" now..which apparently is a nightclub?? WTF is that? Oh my...I love it.

Anyway, if you don't watch the TPB (Trailer Park Boys) you damn well should because it is probably the craziest show ever...and it's filmed right here in good ol' Nova Scotia! I am pretty much in tears every time I watch the damn show...it kills me...

Smart Ass

2006-10-19T21:08:00.000-03:00

Today was a good day for marks....I wish all my mark days could be like this. Here is a short summary, and then I have to get back to studying...weee

Natural Disasters Quiz = 100%
Journalism Grammar Test = B+
Journalism Assignments = A, A, A, B+

Journalism Assignment total so far this term = -A, -A, -A, A, A, A, B+
Natural Disaster Quiz total so far this term = 100%, 100%

Ohhhh yeaaaahhhhh
Take THAT stupid Dal Probation!

I will get my Natural Disasters mid-term mark back next week...
fingers are crossed big time for that one.
Pump up the Jam!

Workin' It

2006-10-18T20:22:00.000-03:00

Man I miss blogging!

I was so use to doing it everyday and now I am lucky if I can blog once a week! Good lord! Anyway, things are crazy busy as usual, thanks to mid-terms and work, but I am rolling with the busy waves just fine I think....but I am not done yet, so maybe ask me next week.

My new phone is FANtastic.
I love it.
I still don't know how to do everything on it yet....
but I am working on it

I am back at the gym, and it feels so freakin' awesome. Ryan, my personal trainer (I went to high school with him) is amazing. He pushes me to where I definitely wouldn't push myself and he is such a good motivator. He has really gone above and beyond trying to fit working out in around my busy schedule and hooking me up with recipes, and snack ideas for when I am on campus, and setting me up with what we are calling an "Extreme Makeover : Amanda Edition" program. It is pretty intense! I did my first weight program the other night and after I thought I was going to die...really. And today, I had a hard job to lift the coffee urns off the burners at work, I am SO sore, but it's a good sore and I feel great. He took all my measurements and weighed me in, so I will check back with him in a month to get a new set of numbers.

Sign Language is going great. Jill has been such a big help, and so has Larry. They are both so awesome. Last Friday night, I met with Jill and Vanessa (who also took the ASL program with Jill) and we went to Deaf Association Pub Night. WOW...is all I can say. Sweet LORD they sign fast, I was sooooo scared I thought I was going to vomit...but I didn't. I held my own, and just told them to slow down and made out just fine. There were lots of hearing people there (but there is no talking allowed) and a lot of them were interpreter students...man they are good! Holy crap. I was very jealous. Anyway, I am working on trying to get into the ASL program at NSCC (its part time two nights a week), because that will be the only real way that I can learn everything I need to know, plus I think it would be an awesome experience. And for those of you who are wondering, Larry is doing just fine. We are just friends (nothing more) and we try to hang out as much as we can but we are both really busy. He's a TOTAL sweetie, but he isn't ready for a girlfriend...and I am not ready for a boyfriend yet either...plus I don't know enough sign language to have a relationship with him even if we both wanted it. Anyway, we are just hanging out, being friends, and it's awesome. I am very lucky to have him in my life that's for sure.

School is awesome as usual. I just wrote my first mid-term on Tuesday for my Natural Disasters course. I think I did ok....I studied a TON...but I freak out doing exams, but I tried really hard to chill out and just take it easy, so hopefully I did ok, I should have my mark back soon.

Now...time to get back to studying for my NEXT mid-term on Tues...plus the two papers I have due....weee! Oh...LOST is on...I guess I am going to have to put studying on hold until that is over...gotta get my LOST fix!

Cotton Factory

2006-10-07T07:45:00.000-03:00

I love shopping online. I really do.
There is just something about sitting in my pj's and clicking buttons and then a few weeks later I get to go to the Post Office and get a package!
How fun is that!!
It really takes shopping to a WHOLE other level for me.
Weird....yes. But, its the truth.
I am in an honest mood.
Anyway, I will warn you, the TShirts that I bought are a bit geeky...
But I have been known to be a bit geeky at times so it works well.

Thank you CottonFactory
Here are the ones I ordered online and picked up tonight from the Post Office:

(1) I'm Being Mugged

(2) Without You I'm Nothing

(3) Cereal Killer

(4) Nobody Ever Uses the White Crayon

AND while I am on a roll here with Blogger letting me post pictures...here is a pic of my NEW phone that I am going to be picking up on TUESDAY after school!!!! OMG I am almost peeing my pants I am so freakin' excited!

Isn't she purdy!!!!!! Cute little Palm Treo 650....awww.

Alrighty then, now that I have spent this much time procrastinating...it's time I spend one more hour watching the newest episode of House....god I love House...and then get down to some SERIOUS mid-term studying!! Horray!!

Bonjour Fall

2006-10-03T18:13:00.000-03:00

Wow...the leaves are on the ground....
I am digging out my sweaters...
And I can see my breath for pretty much the entire day now...
BUT I am still wearing my flip flops!
I will NOT give them up, just can't do it.

Boy I love being busy. Wow.
It has been so nice. BUT being busy means I don't know what day it is usually, and I don't have time to post in my blogger, or see my friends all that much (sorry dudes). But school is getting 98% of my attention and it seems to be working out just dandy.

I watched a feature that I found by the Discovery Channel called, "The Mega Tsunami" the other night and I have to say that it has set me on quite a fun and interesting journey to say the least. I was reading about Tsunami's in my Natural Disasters book for class and then decided to go off and research more on them and somehow I ended up finding the DC feature.

One word: SCARY

Anyway, I watched it, then did some mild research on it and came up with a few questions and ideas and then emailed my Natural Disasters prof about the island of Las Palma which was in the DC feature. He was VERY impressed by my ideas and my questions, but admitted that he hadn't really heard about what was going on and then asked me if I could get him a copy of the feature so him and my TA could watch it and then we can all get together and discuss it. I was pretty damn impressed. Hell ya! I definitely want to talk about this stuff! Bring it on! I didn't say it QUITE like that, but I was very excited.

So this morning, being the nerdy keener I am, I burnt him a copy and took it to him before my lecture started. He shook my hand, said he was impressed and he was excited to watch it and talk to me about it. YAY! Second bond with a prof is underway! And they say you can't bond with a prof in first year with big classes....pffttt!! Whatever! You SO can! It's nerdy but damn cool when you have profs saying that they are impressed. Who knew I was capable of all this! On fire I tell ya!

Anyway, I have decided 100% that I am going to upgrade my phone to the Palm Treo 650, My brother gave me a nice gift certificate to the mall so I am able to use that for the purchase of my new toy! So next week I am going in to adopt the little critter. I am so freakin' excited.

My birthday was cool. Thanks to all of you who sent me ecards and who left BDay wishes on here and on my messenger! You are all the best! Tarra and I went out for lunch and then she took me to DQ for a treat after! It was so tasty! I stayed home and did some relaxing which I needed, and did some homework. My parents came in to see me which was super sweet, and brought me my new TV! Yay, now I am already to watch my shows when they start coming on!

I am working a lot this week, and mid-terms are in 3 WEEKS!! So I probably won't be blogging like I should be. Hopefully I will post something more interesting very soon.

xox

Yay for A's

2006-09-28T21:30:00.001-03:00

Well....today was SUCH an exciting day. Holy crap.
Gawd I love school....did I tell you guys that yet?? :)

ANYWAY, today in my Journalism tutorial our TA gave us back our first 3 assignments and she had decided to combine them and give us a letter grade for all 3. She was saying how she was impressed by a few of our assignments but she didn't give out to many A's. But there were a lot of B's...so I was like..well...wow a B would be super cool...considering I didn't pass ANYTHING my first year back in 1999...so anything is good for me.

So....she was going around handing back our papers and when she got to me she says, "Amanda, I am SO impressed by your writing. You are a great writer and I can't wait until I can work one on one with you. I am excited to talk to you about a few ideas I have, and also about maybe helping me out at the Chronicle Herald on a few things". Then I look down at my paper and read what she wrote.

Awesome job! Your writing is wonderful. I wouldn't change a single thing.
Your writing is lively and descriptive; you grasp my attention in every piece.
Grade: A-

I almost fell over.
Seriously.
Came pretty close.
My whole tutorial group went silent.
I turned BRIGHT red...and those of u who know me know how red I turn...
I just smiled and said thanks really softly...
I was SO embarrassed...
But at the same time...
just wanted to jump up and down like a 2 year old...
I am FINALLY doing well and loving what I am doing!
Oh I was so pumped I just wanted to get up and leave and run forever!
It sounds silly, but to me it is a big deal.
I have waited a LONG time to be in school and love it and do well...
I haven't gotten an A in my life (well in High School but that doesn't count)
Even though its an A-...its still an A god damn it!
I am super stoked about it.
I probably won't sleep tonight..ha ha...seriously.

Anyway, yesterday I went new phone shopping at Telus to see what I can upgrade to that has super txt messaging ability and has a key pad, and more things to help me keep organized for school...and I think I found a winner...

The Palm® Treo™ 650!!!(And now after today I am so totally going to get one)
For some reason blogger won't let me post a pic....and it is making me very frustrated. Damn u blogger...damn you! Anyway, click HERE if you want to see what it looks like...its so purdy!

Anyway, Jenny do you have the Treo? I thought a while back you posted something about a new toy you bought and I thought it was a Palm...I could be wrong though. Anyway, if you do have one, how do you like it?

Ok, well I must get down to homework here since....

TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
The Big 25 here I come baby!!!!
Very excited!

Nighty Night!
xox

Kisses and Books

2006-09-26T23:22:00.000-03:00

Some of you (Lisa and the Homburg Ladies) might know a bit more of what has been going on, which is cool....but I am not going to go into great detail on here yet...just because I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch....or something like that, you know what I mean.

Anyway, i'll just say that I am VERY happy where things are right now, and SUPER happy where things are when it comes to a special boy in my life. Sign Language is coming along quite nicely, my vocab is increasing daily, and I am getting better and better at spelling and putting together sentences enough to really chat up a storm with Larry. Speaking of Larry...*blush*, he just might be the cutest guy I have ever had the pleasure of meeting - honestly. He has been SUCH a huge support system for me, and he has been SO super patient when he is signing to me, going very slow and really taking time to sit down and go over my lesson stuff from Jill. We had a "date" the other day and it was probably the most adorable thing ever. I can't even describe how amazing it is to sit there with him and sign to him...it is one of those things that gives you chills and instant gratification....AND maybe a whole lot of butterflies because he is so damn hot (OK, happy now? I said it.) It was really awesome to have him hold the list of words from my lessons with Jill and point to them and then I could sign them back to him, only stumbling on a few. He was VERY impressed, and he gets really excited when I learn a bit more and am able to carry on more of a converstation.

Ok, ok...so maybe when we were sitting there he might have happened to lean in and give me a kiss....OK..there. It's out. I said it. Cat is out of the bag. Yay for loose cats.

ANYWAY...moving on...

(Note to Self:) Look into text messaging plans for my cell phone, AND look at getting a better phone for texting. I don't even want to see my cell bill, it is going to be SO high from all my txt messages to Larry. It is a HUGE means of communication between us (well that and messenger) and I think it is important to have to be able to talk a bit more in depth with each other.

School is so FANtastic. Oh my goodness. It is wonderful. My Enviro prof knows my name, and she is the coolest. My Natural Disasters prof is prob the funniest Earth Science prof going, and that class is super interesting. My eyes don't leave the screen for a second during his lectures. He is all about doing experiments in front of the class (of about 300 people) and he loves making jokes and putting in funny things in between slides. The guy is my hero. (Well other than David Suzuki of course, gawd he is like the Enviro God)

Random Information:
"In 1990, a flood killed around 100,000 people in Bangladesh. In just TWO WEEKS, the average rate of population growth in Bangladesh replaced those 100,000 people that were killed."

THIS MADE MY HEART STOP.
This is right my my Environmental text book.
No joke.
That is SERIOUS baby making.
And VERY frightening.
No wonder our population is growing at an alarming rate.

Good god.

Books I Think are Amazing and are worth Reading:
(1) Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
Author ~ (Lester R. Brown)

(2) The Change in the Weather - People, Weather, and the Science of Climate
Author ~ (William K. Stevens)

Blogger Summary:
- Sign Language is going great
- Larry kissed me
- School is awesome
- I got 100% on my first Natural Disasters pop quiz
- My Enviro prof knows my name, very cool
- People in Bangladesh need to chill out in bed and use condoms
- Those books are must reads

The End.

Ladies Night

2006-09-20T22:41:00.000-03:00

I finally had a saturday off over the weekend that passed. Oh man was I ever pumped to not have to work and be able to go out!!! Especially because I was able to get together with the girls (minus Jen Mac, we missed u Jen!) and be silly, drink, play some board games, some drinking games and head downtown!

Anyway, good times were had for sure.
Here are some super cute pics of the girls and I.
Yay for super cute pics!!
I love you girls!!!!

Diane and Florrie playing MASTERMIND!!!

Florrie, Me, and Di

Teee Hee...drinkin'

Seriously thinking about something....or someone? He he...aww

Grrrrrrr!!! Di and Me

Me, Florrie, and Jacq

Jacq and Di

Been A Long Time...

2006-09-15T23:20:00.000-03:00

Ok, I am actually going to blog!!
Can you freakin' believe this!!
Wozers!
I can hardly even stand it.
Where the heck do I start!
Ok, let me break it down for ya'll in groups ok?
Yes, its very OCD of me, but whatever.
It will be less confusing...I hope.

(1) School
School is pretty freaking amazing. It really is. It is really hard to describe how good it feels to really love my classes and really have opinions and be able to share them, write and get awesome feedback, and just be among other people my age who really give a shit about the planet and what is happening to it. Being among strong minded young people is pretty darn empowering.

I have two...yes two...Journalism assignments due EVERY Monday, plus we have to read both local papers and keep up on current world news because we get quizzed on it. It is pretty serious stuff. We were all assigned a "Beat" assignment and mine ended up being "Canada in Afghanistan" so from now until November we have to collect every bit of information on our topic, put them in groups of similar writing styles and topics related to our Beat and then scrapbook it all up! I am so pumped. Oh man do I ever love that topic! It's going to be hot!

Courtney (a girl from work) is actually in my Environmental Studies class so that is pretty wicked. We will be able to study and stuff when exam time comes...which is soon...and school just started!! Yay!

My Enviro T.A. is a pretty cool dude. His name is Ramsey and I was pretty out spoken the first tutorial and he was all excited and talked to me after class about some stuff, so yeah, I know those will be fun for sure.

In my Natural Disasters class on Thurs, the prof did the "Great Beer Experiment" and at that moment he became my new favorite person. Ha ha. The class is at 8:30am in the morning and there are like 300 first years who are just rolling out of bed, tired, hungover, and most still asleep or wearing clothes from the bar the night before, and he had ALL their attention in 2.5 seconds. As soon as he mentioned beer it was like a silence swept across that room. Hilarious....it really was. Anyway, he used his microphone and put it right down by the can of beer to get the "full effect" of the sound of cracking a beer and pouring it. It was SO funny. He had lab glasses on too which was funny to begin with. Oh good times. Bottom Line = School is amazing.

(2) Work
Work is going great. I am finally getting into a groove with everything and I don't have to look up how to make certain drinks anymore. I love being more comfortable with everything and being able to multitask and make more than one drink at a time. The first few times I was put on hot bar I thought I was going to vomit. It gets STUPID busy at times and you have a TON of drinks and I would freak out, but now that I am able to cruise thru I don't mind it at all.

Everyone is so much fun and so sweet. We all get along great and we have a blast. We actually had our first "Snapshot" a few weeks ago, which is a secret shopper who comes in and rates us on a whole bunch of stuff. Yup...we got 100%! Oh yeah!! Scott (my boss) was VERY happy. We are developing relationships with our regulars, we know their names now and know what they get. It is so much fun to be able to do that, meet more people and make it less like a job and more like a fun chill out spot. Stress is pretty much not there, and we make it as fun as we can.

(3) Sign Language
My friend Jill has been meeting with me to teach me Sign Language. She took the ASL course at the Community College here, so she knows the deal. If you all remember my "List of Things to Do" that I posted a long time ago back in Feb, you know that Sign Language was on there. I have wanted to learn for a LONG time now and I am so excited that Jill is able to meet with me once a week to teach me.

Larry, a new friend of mine, is deaf. He comes into work all the time and I totally hated that I couldn't sign to him. It just felt so cold and so impersonal. He is pretty excited that I am learning how to sign, and he has been helping me along as well. It is pretty amazing how even though I don't know a whole lot yet, that we can communicate to each other and I can figure out what he is saying. I know the alphabet so that is a HUGE help. The first step really. If you know that you can get along just fine, you just spell everything, no biggie. He has been SO patient with me, and when he is signing to me he goes very slow so I can read the letters and learn. He is such a sweetie. Wanna know a secret? I have a pretty big crush on him. Yep, its true. Sshhhh. Don't tell. He is so sweet, kind, beautiful eyes, big heart, patient, involved in the deaf community, caring, and just all around a nice guy. I really like spending time with him. Today we had a coffee date at my work and we sat there for 3 hours and signed back and fourth. It was pretty amazing. I did very well if I do say so myself.

I am getting better as each day goes by. I practice a lot, and Tarra is also learning so we will be able to practice with each other when we don't get to see Jill. It is amazing. Bottom line. I am really excited I am learning and can't wait until I get good enough to learn all the signs for stuff so I don't have to spell a ton of stuff. Larry keeps telling me that I have to take it slow, and he doesn't care that I don't know everything yet, he knows I am trying. Gawd he's adorable!!

(4) Life in General
Life in general is going great. School is paid for, rent is paid up until December, work is a ball of fun, school is kick ass, my friends are gems...I love you all, and I have added something to my life that really makes me feel special. Having the ability to be able to sign is one of the best feelings I have ever felt. Very rewarding. I am lucky to have Jill to teach me, and SUPER lucky to have met Larry. He is one very special guy.

Well, there you have it! Holy crap-ola that is one long blog! Now it is time for me to end, save, and exit. I must get to bed! I was off today and I am off tomorrow as well! Tomorrow night I am going out with Jacq, Di, Florrie and hopefully Jen. I am pumped. It has been a long time since we have gone out. Wentz is having his bachelor party tomorrow night and we are planning on meeting up with all the boyz downtown and crashing it...should be interesting....and full of trouble. Horray!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Take Care!
xox

Busy Bee

2006-09-13T08:50:00.000-03:00

Ok, I am still living and breathing everyone, no need to panic! Ha ha.
I have been SO busy with school and work that I haven't had time to sit down and blog...I am freakin' out here! But school and work come first.

School is beyond amazing.
I love EVERY class, and my profs are so amazing.
Being on campus makes me feel so alive again. Like I am where I should be. I am so glad I took the rough, bumpy road and took chances so I could be where I am now. It was all worth it. Ten times over.

I have to run, I need to go get printer supplies and print off lecture notes for Thursday. Hope everyone is doing well.

Super Duper Excited

2006-09-08T12:37:00.000-03:00

I don't have a whole lot of time right now to tell you all about my first day back at Dal because Tarra and I have a date today to hit the bookstore and do some runnin' around, BUT I will say that it was INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, AWESOME, FANTASTIC. It was more than I had hoped it would be, and I had very big expectations...but it blew past those for sure.

My profs are all awesome awesome awesome, the class sizes are very good, campus is rockin' out in full first week swing, all my books are bought, school supplies are almost done, map of the world is now up on my wall by my desk, homework has been assigned ALREADY - due Monday morning at 9:30 am...the race begins!

Thank you all for your words of encouragement this summer as I made my way through some rough spots. I am very lucky to have the wonderful friends that I have.

I will post in more detail later on.
Cheers!

Fall Frolics

2006-09-05T20:35:00.000-03:00

When I was looking out my window today out on to Victoria Park on South Park Street I noticed one thing that really made me sad. The leaves are turning ALREADY!!! There is one tree that has a TON of burnt orange leaves on it! When the hell did that happen! What is it like as soon as September 1st hits the leaves all have a freakin' conference and say...Hey fellas, its about time we change our colors, hustle up!?? Good lord! Fall...I am not ready for you yet! I still want +20 degree weather so I can keep my flip flops on and not have to wear a sweater...damn it all!

There is one plus to Fall coming. It means back to school for me!!! I had to go on campus today to pick up my new DalCard and my Bus pass...yeah...HA...bad move Amanda. Obviously I didn't think things thru at all when I thought I could just waltz right into the DalCard office and pick up my ID on pretty much the first day students are moved into Res. Holy lineup Batman! It was unreal. I won't even get into how I waited 30 min to then get pulled out of line on false hope and then get sent back to the end of it...waited another 30 min to get to the counter and then be told that my card is at Howe Hall because I was "suppose" to move there.....nope...won't even get into how much anger I had. I was not happy. But it all worked out, I now have my card, my bus pass...all geared up.

Tarra came by to pick me up after she got off work and we headed back to campus to put up Research posters for DND and check out where are classes are, get her combined honors papers signed, and suck in all that back to school air. Gawd there is nothing like being on campus on the first week of school. Students everywhere, the smell of the Dawg Father cookin' up some mean lookin' dogs, bookstore lineups, and Frosh running around doing silly stuff. Exciting!!

I start bright an early on Thursday morning...that's 2 days from now!! Ekkkk. I have my Natural Disasters course at 8:30 am...I can't wait. I am really excited for that course. Want to know what is just as exciting? In our DSU handbooks that Tarra and I picked up today was an ad for Happy Dudes Surf Emporium which offers Surf Camps every Tues and Thurs for $95 bucks. That includes 3 hours of instruction, equipment rental, lunch at Dudes Food Takeout, and a T-Shirt. Not to shabby if I do say so! SO...Tarra and I are flipping out! We were talking a few times this summer about learning to surf...so this is perfect. It's getting colder, but we have wetsuits...and you just have to suck it up and take it! Hopefully we can get out there this weekend or next weekend to get things going...oh I am so stoked.

Trooper

2006-09-02T09:25:00.000-03:00

Well...it's a little after 9am in the morning...
And I am up out of bed...
So much for sleeping in until noon.
Boo to that.
That was my goal last night when going to bed at 1am...
To sleep until noon and get caught up.
Didn't happen.
The sun beaming thru my windows had other plans for me.
Shining in my eyes, raising up the temp...it wanted me up.

Why would I want to sleep in till noon you ask?
I worked my 7am-3pm shift and then came home....
Ashley called at 4:30pm wanting me to come back in to do the 5-12am shit...
Jon didn't show up.
He didn't check the new schedule.
I could have said no...but I really want the extra hours before I start school.
So I worked a total of 16 long and hard hours....yeah...inSANEo.
I did a lot of organizing in the stock room and in Scott's office.
I was super OCD last night, it was kind of scary.
Ashley was a bit freaked out.
They have NO idea how bad I can get.
It's wild...it really is.
Anyway...when I got home I felt like a zombie.
Ian (my buddy from SQUID) was online and tried to cheer me up.
He said he would take me for an ice cream....
Ha Ha...very cute. But I passed.
Especially at 1am.
Now, I must get my day started.
I need to get outside and enjoy this wicked weather.

OH, I forgot to tell you guys!

My friend Jill (who I met thru Tarra & Shane) is going to teach me sign language!! I am SOOOOOO freakin' pumped up. You have no idea. I have been wanting to learn for a VERY long time. A few of our customers are deaf and I think it would be so amazing if I knew enough so that I could sign to them instead of getting them to point or write on paper what they want. Really show them that I care about making them feel at home in the store and like we actually care about them. Jill actually learned a while ago, and she is really involved with the deaf community. I had no idea! She goes to most of the deaf community events, like Bowling and Pub Night, and she said it is a blast! She is going to take me with her when they start up again this month. Excited!!! We are going to meet whenever we have free time and start. Maybe even this weekend when she gets back from camping. Ohhh I am so flippin' pumped. Ekkk! My boss Scott saw me learning how to sign my name and he is all impressed now and is really happy that I am going to learn so I can communicate with our deaf customers.

The journey begins ladies and gents.

School Countdown = 5 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Little Crush

2006-08-28T10:19:00.000-03:00

It was nice out yesterday and I had the day off so after I did my laundry and the things I needed to get done I decided that I needed to do something fun. So, when Jacq messaged me and asked if I was up for heading down to the Lower Deck to sit outside in the sun, have a beer and check out some music...I jumped on that wagon like a wildfire.

On our waterfront walk we ran into Gord, a friend of Jacq's who she hasn't seen in a long time so we picked him up and he came along to join our patio party at the Deck. Nice dude. So anyway, it ends up that Paul Lamb from Crush was playing....*swoon*....I enjoy him, and I enjoy him even more now because he was wearing flip flops. It was just him and his guitar on the patio, with huge speakers booming over the waterfront. It was delightful.

I love his voice. It is tres sexy. Deep and Delicious...no joke. Anyway, he played AWESOME songs...I knew all of them which excited me even more....well I lie..the ones I didn't know were the ones he wrote and were new...but they were still really, really good. He did a WICKED cover of Daivd Gray's Babylon, and Billy Joel's Piano Man....oh how it brought me back to the Grawood Days...it was so great. He started to sing Where Not Gonna Take It which was flippin' hilarious...I was dying...but then he stopped. I was sad. He DEF would have been my hero if he sang that. He laughed, so did everyone else.

Awww it's Jacq, this picture is so cute! Anyway, it was like a big kitchen party...but without the kitchen? Good times were had. Apparently he plays there all the time so I will return Mr. Paul Lamb...have no fear.

Home On The Range

2006-08-27T10:07:00.000-03:00

My apartment is FINALLY back together!! I am so freakin' happy that I don't have to move out of here....No more packing...Hooray! I hated the look of boxes everywhere...so trashy looking...I know, I know...OCD...yeah yeah...we all know that I am so lets move on...

Now...comes the fun part. I can now get even MORE settled in here. I am going to paint my bathroom a serious popsicle pink...And it's going to look FAB! I can't wait!!!

I also need to go to WallyWorld and pick up a really cool basket type chair that I seen...they have them in bright colors to match my apt...I love my chair that I have now...but it's just to plain and sophisticated for this apartment...it sticks out like a sore thumb...apparently sore thumbs stick out? I never quite understood that one....hummm...anyway...

I have the next two days off...thank goodness. Holy crap it was SOOO stupid busy last night...I almost cried. But we all survived it and toward the end of the night (like around 11:30 when I was off) it slowed down and it was a really nice pace...time enough to get some cleaning done and some mingling with the customers...havin' some chit chats with artsy boys from upstairs at the Film offices...and playing with cute kids up way past their bedtimes.

Today = Laundry Day. I do SOOOO much laundry now...it's unreal. My work clothes get SO dirty and my apron looks like a bomb went off on it after every shift so I have become best friends with the cute guy at the Summer St. Royal Bank and I don't even have to ask for a roll of quarters, he just goes and gets them and has them ready as soon as he sees me, it's pretty cute...I think he's flirting...but...whatever...maybe it's the awesome RBC customer service in action...BAH...no...I like the flirting story better.

Tomorrow...it's off to Dal to check out the bookstore and see which editions they are using this year and then try to find some sweet deals on Tiger Books. Fingers are crossed. I DEF have to hit the bookstore like NOW before next week or I will end up waiting like 10 years to get in that place....a MAD HOUSE is what that place becomes. Insane in the Membrane. Then maybe I'll go back to Old Navy....there were a few things that I had my eye on yesterday...but did not buy...but now after sleeping on it...I still feel as though my closet should be blessed with those new items.

Now....off to the gym, then out to enjoy the sun, take some pics, stop by work to get some pics of our new store and the crazy staff, and then home to get in my pj's do laundry and soak my tired, pissed off feet.

Over and Out.

Baby Boom

2006-08-25T18:44:00.000-03:00

It is my great pleasure to present to this wonderful world......
Saege Swinemar

My cousin Heather had her second baby on Tuesday, so last night after work Colin drove me to Bridgewater to see her and little baby Saege. She is just the SWEETEST thing. Most of you know how much I LOVE kids and want like a soccer team at some point so I was in my glory last night. I didn't want to give her back! Ha ha. Both mom and baby are doing just great. I love the baby smell...and cute little baby feet! OMG, so adorable. I totally undressed Saege just so I could see her feet...I just had to, they were all covered up!

Anyway, I didn't take anymore pics because I was SO zoned out on her and wasn't even worried about taking pictures...which is odd for me, so if it wasn't for Colin who took these two...I wouldn't have any! SO, the next time I get home to visit I will be sure to take more.

Sweet as sugar.
Precious.
Melt my heart.

Second Thoughts

2006-08-22T13:59:00.000-03:00

I am ABSOLUTELY crazy....
But I have been having some serious second thoughts about moving into Res.....
Having to leave my apt...and the giving up the cats.....
and today...i cried....because I don't want to give them away....
I love them so much and they are like my babies....

I am soooo scared that I am going to get into trouble living in Res and party and not do well in school......and I need to do well...so much is riding on this year....

I feel so stupid and scared....
All day today I have been thinking that I don't want to leave here and if student loan gave me money...then I can just pre-pay rent here...and then be all set....because the money is mine no matter where I live...

I know...this is nuts....but all this packing...the cats...having to move....giving up my freedom...showing my apartment to other people...its all crashing down on me as the time ticks out of control......

I don't want to move....
I don't want to give up the cats....
My head hurts....

I think showing the apartment yesterday and getting all kinds of calls put me into SERIOUS second thought overdrive last night and today. It feels pointless to move from here and go to Res...now that everything is layed out on the table and I am beginning to realize how much I am going to lose...to really gain nothing. Well...be on campus...well frigg my aptartment is only 7 min away anyway so its not like I am far now...

Oreo and I were napping a bit ago and just looking at her all curled up on my pillow...broke my freakin' heart. I have been trying to not think about giving them up...just because I knew it would be hard...but I didn't realize HOW hard it was going to be. It may sound stupid to some of you...they are just cats right? But that's the problem...they aren't "just cats"...they are like my kids...they are so sweet and keep me company, and just the thought of giving them up and not knowing if they will be taken care of...kills me.

I love this apartment.
I really do.
It's me. It's bright. It's cozy.

It's right in the coolest spot in the city.
And its STUPID close to work and school.
So why the HELL would I want to leave here...and go back to Res?
I don't think I can do it.
I don't think I can leave here.
I DON'T want to leave here.