Singing in the Rainbow

Notes and Cards

2010-03-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

I simply love getting notes and cards. Even if the note simply says "Hey! I went out to pick up groceries. Be back around 5." I know, I don't really have a need to get excited about notes like that, but I do.
The other day I got a letter/card in the mail from Jill. Being the crafty woman that she is, she created it so perfectly and with such pretty colours I nearly squealed with delight. Yes, squealed. Although it's not usually a word that people use to describe hand-made cards, I just did. As you can see, it's very pretty. Thus, the squealing.

Lucky me, I've also received several letters, cards, and notes during this school year from various people. Some of them are friends who live on campus, other who have come to visit, friends from last year who did not return, and people from home. I've enjoyed each and every one of them. It lets me know that people are willing to spend not only the time to write the letter but the .59 cents (or whatever stamps cost now) on me, which obviously gives me the warm fuzzy feelings inside.

The other great thing about getting letters is that it inspires me to write to others and I actually do this quite often. If you're wondering "where the heck is my letter than?" don't worry. I've probably written you one, it's just that I'm terrible at actually sending them out!

Counting down

2010-03-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

I'm counting down for a lot of different reasons these days.
1) Only 11 more days until I'm home for Easter and Rachelle and Jack's wedding.
2) Only 19 more days until classes are finishes and exam studies begin.
3) Only 32 more days until I've finished my final final exam.
4) Only 32 more days until my parents drive out here to pick me up, meet my friends, and see where I've been living for the past year and a half.
5) Only 36 more days until I need to have a job lined up and can begin working.

All of these things hold great excitement and some of them stress, but I'm looking forward to them all in a special way.

Midterms...dun, dun, DUN!

2010-03-07T17:44:00.000-06:00

Is that what you would write for scary, looming music "dun, dun, DUN,"? That's the only way I could think to write it. Maybe a "da na, da na, da na," would have worked better, but the "dun, dun, DUN," seems more frightening in my mind.
Anywho, I have three midterms this week. One, or possibly all three of them may be tomorrow. I don't really know because I had to reschedule two of them and I haven't heard back as to when they are going to be.
Because I have three midterms, tomorrow-ish, I really should be studying right now. Instead, I walked through the Assinabouin Forest (something I don't regret at all), spent the afternoon at Joe Black's coffee shop with wonderful friends and wonderful food (another thing I don't regret at all) and an hour or so on the phone with my family (and yet another thing I don't regret at all). I did get a fair bit of work done while at the coffee shop for my one midterm, but really should be practicing piano right now. I have to put together three folk songs to play and master that silly figured bass...sometimes it royally confuses me. Which is silly; it's not that complicated of a concept. So, away I go, to practice, to become a successful keyboard skills student! Farewell!
Oh, and I have really nice fingernails right now! I know its random, but for a girl whose never had nice fingernails because of the NASTY habit of biting them off, this is a real achievement! 7 out of 10 are near perfect!

I follow better than I lead

2010-02-17T12:04:00.001-06:00

I love following other peoples blogs. They say the most interesting things. They have the most unique lives. They love to blog.
And, I get to snag really great blogging ideas off of them.
Like my friend Jill. She has this wonderful little thing on the side of her blog tallying all the couples that she know that have gotten engaged this year and also, all the couples she knows that have been married this year. So far it 4-0 for the engaged couples, but we all know that will change in time.
I figured, "I like this idea so much! Why not do it on my blog too" So I have. Only I had added an additional element to include the soon to be parents that I know (feels like there is a lot of them) and then, of course, once the little ones enter the world I've got a box for that too.

I have nothing to say

2010-02-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry, but I really have nothing to blog about. How boring, I know. But there is honestly nothing happening right now. Other than a lot of time in the practice room here at school and trying to figure out how to analyze music in theory class. Sad day.

Vinyl Record Bowl

2010-01-31T16:00:00.003-06:00

Today my friend Sue and I were browsing a jewelry website when we stumbled upon vinyl record bowls. They were awesome looking and since we both had a few extra records kicking around we figured, why not try and make one ourselves?

Thanks to handy, dandy Google we were able to find basic instructions and some ridiculous videos on how to make them.

I don't have any pictures of the process, but making them is really simple. All you do is preheat your oven to 200-250. Place the record on top of an upside down bowl (you can use any size of bowl depending on what size you want your record bowl to end up) that is placed on a cookie sheet. Leave them in the oven for two-five minutes (basically until the record starts to fall down around the bowl it's on top of). Take it out of the oven and mold it into the shape that you want. And you have an amazing record bowl just like that! Sweet eh?

(I know I look like a nerd in this picture, but I was super excited about what I had just created and I couldn't contain my over the top smile.)

Our Little Place

2010-01-28T15:44:00.002-06:00

We've basically settled into our apartment in the basement now. Thanks to great friends we managed to add a bright lamp and a red chair to our furniture. It's nice to have an extra seat for when there are more then three people wanting to sit in the living room area (I don't even know what to call it because it's such an odd space).
Here are the pictures that Jill's been begging for. Enjoy!

The lovely red chair that has my sweet green light that Jill got me above it (yes, it's the glowing orb). This is to your left just as you walk in the door. We're still waiting for someone to come and get rid of that desk that is sticking into the left hand side of the photo.

And here is what you see when you walk into the living room area after coming in the door and ditching your shoes in our broken closet.

Messy kitchen area. I promise it was clean this morning, but I made some lasagna this afternoon and haven't quite cleaned up yet.

Kitchen table and Kylie's desk/work space/where we put stuff we don't know what else to do with.

And finally our awesome half bath. It's so nice not to have to go down the hall to brush my teeth before going to bed at night.

I would have shown you a picture of our room, but the clothes monster has strewn stuff everywhere and there is no hope of ever finding the floor again.

The painting

2010-01-21T12:50:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of painting I was talking about previously. I'm going to paint again tomorrow with actual acrylics which will be nice.

Painting

2010-01-19T14:54:00.000-06:00

Last night, for the first time in a long time, I sat down at my kitchen table (I can say that now that I have an apartment) and began to paint. Unfortunately the only paints avalible at the time were water colours (water colours and I just can't seem to make things work). Even though I think water colour paintings are beautiful, I cannot seem, for the life of me, to make a decent piece of art with them. So instead of painting nicely I sqeezed the paste onto the tray and painted with it, without actually using that much water. Think acrilic paints with a watery feel to them.
The results didn't turn out too shabby either. Once I figured out how to mix the colours properly and not dab too much water onto the already curling cardboard, it was actually quite fun. It's refreshing to do something creative that doesn't actually count as a credit on your transcript.

An Apartment Odor-deal

2010-01-18T10:54:00.000-06:00

Since the beginning of this semester my roommate Kylie and Ihave been trying to move out of our teeny-tiny-dorm room into the basement apartment we had been promised last semester. The day I had arrived on campus, we were told that the current resident, commonly referred to as "the Asian man," (because he isn't a student here none of the students know his name and have simply resorted to calling him that) would be moving out that night and once the room had been cleaned we could move in the following evening.
The next evening, when we had the resident RA open the door for us to our new place, both us and the Asian man were unpleasantly surprised to see eacho ther there. According to what he had told Kylie he wasn't moving out until the weekend. So we were sadly required to stay another few nights in our dorm room.
Eventually, as in last Tuesday, we were able to move in. For whatever reason though, there was a smell in here that was more than we could bear. So we set to work on what became known as the Deoderizng Oder-deal.
First off, and maybe even most importantly, we wiped down every flat surface with our lovely smelling melon and cucumber soapy water. When we were finished and the smell still continued to linger in the room, we vacuumed, washed curtains, wiped even more stuff down, washed floors with bleach water, burned multiple sented candels, and left the windows open 24/7 in order to attempt to distinguish the smell.
Although the smell of the apartment had imporved dramatically, odors from the previous resident (and possibley residents) still lingered. So we did the only thing that one can do in a situation like this: cover every square inch of the carpet and couch in baking soda. The key to using baking soda to remove oders, as Google has so willingly informed me, is that one must leave it on the odor filled surface for as long as possible. So for 24 hours or so the apartment was lightl dusted with fake snow (I feel this is a better visual than it looking like we had a bag of cocaine explode all over the place).
After vacuuming it up the following day, an amazing smell filled the room; the smell of nothing!

Lovely Christmas Break

2010-01-10T15:15:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I may have forgotten to blog when I was at home. Or maybe, more accurately, I chose not to blog while I was at home. You see, I was just having too much fun being at home and didn't really feel up to sitting down and being on my computer. In fact, I sort of avoided the computer at all costs. It reminded me too much of papers, research, and hours wasted avoiding homework. But, I am writing now, so that makes it all okay, right?
My Christmas break was definitely needed. I loved the fact that there was no nipping wind blowing in my face while I walked outside and that I didn't have to trudge through the snow to get out to our newly installed hot tub. It was perfectly delightful.
I enjoyed some well deserved rest in my beautiful bed, read through Jew and Improved (which I would strongly recommend reading), cooked delicious meals, visited with my family, took the first set of professional family photos we've had done in years, baked some Christmas baking, engaged on an epic snowshoeing hike up Mount Washington, talked about news, the world, the 2010 Olympics, and so much more with my family, visited with missed friends, visited my church family, and did some very rushed Christmas shopping due to the fact that I arrived only a few short days before Christmas. There was so much more that happened in that time, but those highlights were certainly wonderful!
Here are a few photos that Agnes Mitchell Photography took of my family and I thought you might enjoy!

Sorry

2009-12-14T23:37:00.000-06:00

I here by promise to update once I get home for Christmas break. Until then you will simply have to make due with the fact that I'm studying for my four exams that are in the next four days. Sorry!

Papers

2009-11-21T23:23:00.002-06:00

For the life of me I cannot write this paper!
As a music student I spend most of my time practicing music, improving my musical skills (not very much like nunchuck skills), and completing theory assignments. Thus I hardly ever write papers. Except for the occasional one, like the one that I'm desperately trying to write now.
I've been blaming my lack of proper research skills on the fact that this is only the fourth paper I've written all semester and the other three were merely reflection papers on classes I had attended.

So why is it so hard for me to write papers? I pumped out a kajillion papers while in TREAD and now all the sudden an eight page research paper (a.k.a a paper where you are given all the information already you just need to reorganize it in order to present others research [supposedly it's a good learning experience]) is staring me in the face and I want to run and hide in a wardrobe that will take me far, far away.
In the time that it has taken me to write the less than 100 words I have put together as an intro, I'm almost certain we could have solved 63 Rubik's cubes, made a pie that looks like a UFO, preformed a reenactment of every episode of Friends (it was the only TV show I could think of that's been on the air for more years then man has been on the moon), and found a way to create an anti virus program that would show you a little monster eating the evil viruses that infect our computer (and I have no idea how you would even begin to create a program). Oh dear me.
So there you have it. If anyone has a great way for me to stay focused and accomplish this paper before it's due on Tuesday, please let me know!

Lack of Update

2009-11-05T09:21:00.000-06:00

The reason I haven't updated in two weeks is due to the fact that I haven't been alive. Whatever I caught seemed to have sucked most of the life out of me.

I had been living in the schools quarantine room for a week (I was most thankful for the privacy of my own bathroom) where I spent my time sleeping, watching movies, drinking plenty of liquids (thanks Kylie), sleeping, talking to my mommy on the phone, visiting friends from a distance, sleeping, attempting to do homework, and some more sleeping. Which is why there hasn't been an update.
Unfortunately there is nothing new to report about my life because of the fact that I have either been sick in bed or at the Urgent Care Clinic waiting to see a doctor or attempting to catch up on my homework...my life is so thrilling!

The Theory Assignment that is Never Done

2009-10-18T15:59:00.003-05:00

Hours and hours I've spent working on this assignment
Pouring over notes and rests
Trying to figure out how to make sense of this great big line of black dots on a page
Instead of sweet completion,
I am left with utter confusion
I would like to say that I'm good at music,
That it comes naturally for me
But it would seem that Second Species Counterpoint desires to prove me wrong
I suppose that you could say maybe I'm too creative for it's limitations
Or maybe that the context in which it is constructed does not suit my learning style
You might also say however,
that I just don't get it and should go running through a field to try and clear my head
Or that today just isn't my day
Any old way you look at it,
I've got a few hours left before it needs to be slid underneath the door to my professors office
And yet, here I am blogging about it

Winter

2009-10-10T14:36:00.000-05:00

Winter is here at CMU. It seems like just yesterday that it was fall. Well, actually it was. The leaves on the trees were green, the sun was shining, and then all of the sudden the wind blew in, the leaves instantly fell from the trees (it was the strangest thing I had ever seen), and the snow started falling. It was a strange and beautiful sight all at once.
I've always loved the first snow fall. At home we always play a Christmas CD or two on the first snow fall, so this morning Kylie and I played Ella Fitzgerald's, "Ella Wishes you a Swinging Christmas." It was a great way to start winter.
Here's a look-see at what the weather is like outside.

Not as snowy as it was earlier, but winter has arrived!

The passing of music history

2009-10-01T14:35:00.000-05:00

Two blogs ago I mention how much I loved music history and talked about all the neat and interesting things I had been learning.

This week, however, I had to drop the course. Due to some rather pesky illness that I've been fighting all summer I felt that it would be better to drop one of my most time consuming courses and take time to get better, rather than be dead at the end of the semester and not be able to come back.

I am slightly, but not overly, saddened that I had to drop music history. It is such an insightful course that has taught me boundless loads of information about where Western music came from and how it is what it is today. Also, now I don't have to study my brains out in an attempt to pass the nearly impossible listening tests that are once a month; which makes me very happy.

School is a wonderfully amazing thing and I think I would be a student forever if 1) I didn't have to pay such an exorbitant amount for tuition, 2) I didn't require final exams to pass classes (final exams hate me and I hate them), and 3) if I could keep everyone roughly the same age so that I didn't feel like one of the Golden Girls every time I walked into a class room.

Pictures

2009-09-27T14:03:00.002-05:00

I finally took the pictures of my room I told you about. So here they are. And yes, it's a mess.

A colourful closet of clothes

Our palm tree

My cool Tibetan birthday present from Chris

Work space

Our desk. See how much stuff we can fit in one small space?

Plainchant

2009-09-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

As a music student, I spend a lot of time listening to, playing, and experiencing different genres of music. In my music history class we've been looking at the history of plainchant or Gregorian chant (think monks from the 12th century). As much as people talk about how boring that style of music is (I mean after all, they just keep going back to the same note all the time and between that they only go up and down within an octave), I love it. Like really, really love it!

I have been listening to plainchant all week and enjoying every single minuet of it. My favorite composer thus far is Hildegard von Bingen. She was an extrodinary woman, focused on her Creator and on the obtainment of knowledge. Various books on science, medicine, music, theology, and many other topics are accredited to her name. She was one of the first people to write an entire musical production. She's my hero.

To say the least, looking at music in a very simplistic form has been a wonderful eye opener for me. I'm enjoying every minute that I get to spend learning about the various aspects of music; all the way from Biblical times to present day.

In the Swing

2009-09-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

So I'm back at school; trying my best to get into the swing of things here and trying hard not to think about the fact that in a few months I'll be trudging across the road in -50°. So cold!
I have moved back into the same room that I had last semester and also have the same great roommate. Kylie and I get a long so well it's almost like a match made in heaven. I'm both enjoying and not enjoying dorm life at the same time. Sharing a poorly functioning bathroom, having to open a million doors just to get anywhere (especially when your arms are full), always eating cafeteria food, etc, can get a little sad after a while. Then again, our door room is very cozy and I have a wonderful roommate. Plus the girls on our floor are amazing, funny, and generally quite great!
This semester I'm taking 5-6 classes. I have 5 academic classes (all music classes except for one psych) and piano lessons. Plus an on campus job, volunteering at the Blaurock Cafe here on campus and Wednesday night worship. I'm quite pleased with all my classes thus far (I will finally have my psych class for the first time tonight and find out how much work that entails). Music History 1 will be just as much of, if not more than, a challenge than last year. I wish I could upload the pieces into my brain with all the little details that go along with them. But I guess I'm stuck with old fashioned memorization until that technology comes along.
Kylie and I, along with another friend of ours, Nils, are attending the Faith Covenant Church here in town. It's just a quick bus ride (45 minuets) away. The pastor speaks well and uses lots of Bible verses (that's important, right?), the music thrills my soul (nice and loud on this last Sunday), the congregation is very welcoming (met some really great people, but darn it all I can't remember their names), and they gave us FREE food (we get fed leftovers on Sunday afternoons here at school so the BBQ was a thousand times better)!
Soon I'll try and put up some pictures so you can all see what it looks like around here without the snow and cold winds blowing.
Karissa

Free Food

2009-07-16T00:54:00.001-05:00

Tonight I was craving some Chicken McNuggets (I know, I know, not the healthiest craving) so I told Korey we should run down to McDonald's and grab some. After giving our order in the drive through, I thought it was funny that the girl never gave us our total. Once we arrived at the window we were both pleasantly surprised to find that all their tills were down and the food was free. Seriously, they were just giving food away! It made my day. I love free food.

Ireland

2009-06-01T20:01:00.001-05:00

A few simple days ago was the one year anniversary to when I jumped on a plane and flew my way over to Ireland to meet up with my most wonderful friend Jill. It was an exciting adventure, filled with many sunny days, a violent flu or two, some EXTREMELY touristy moments, the ringing of some bells in Cork, the hiking of the very large Croagh Patrick, hiding out from the rain in a fairy glade, celebrating my birthday at a medieval banquet in a castle, the kissing of the Blarney Stone, seeing Fungi the dolphin, exploring the burren, attempting to see the cliffs of Moher through the fog, staying in some pretty scary and some pretty sweet hostels, and so much more. Really, the list is endless. Here are some of my favorite pictures (in no particular order) to celebrate the "one year anniversary!"

Croagh Patrick from afar

Before the climb

The climb

At the top!

The Rock of Cashel (which I actually thought was just a rock we were going to see when Jill first told me about it)

"Over yonder"

Dance, dance, dance!

The Kylemore Abbey in Letterfrack

The waves of Inishmore

A wooden gate with Dun Aengus in the far off distance

Rooster in the window

The cliff side

The Carrick-a-rede rope bridge

The Giants Causeway

Dublin Zoo

Jill and I at Donegal Castle

Shipwreck on the Dingle peninsula

Jill at the Independent Hostel in Derry

The Shandon Bells

Don't walk on the grass near the seagulls

Chatty birthday girl

Sometimes Jill and I did crazy things. Such as running around in the forest with bags on our heads yelling that we found the fairy glade!

Belfast courthouse

A walk along the beach in Balley Castle

The Island

2009-05-19T18:23:00.000-05:00

I really and truly LOVE the Island!

In the Sun

2009-04-28T00:22:00.000-05:00

I'm back home now. Enjoying the sunshine. Enjoying the warmth. Enjoying my family!
Being back from school has been strange. My mind is still fried from final exams and it's having trouble processing looking for work, which really isn't a good thing.
Also, now that I'm home, I go to bed early. Like it's 10:30 now and I'm seriously considering getting my pj's on and crawling into bed (especially because my sheets have been freshly washed and my bed smells like the sunshine because I hung everything out on the line). What's with that? At school I would never make it to bed before 12:00, but that could be that excitement didn't usually start until after snack (which began at 9:00 pm).
On a completely different note, the other day I was thinking about moving and how often I've done it in the last little while. Since I've graduated I've moved seven times. Unless of course you count my time in Ireland, then it's nine times. Crazy eh? It's definitely become a lot easier to say good-bye to people and also to meet new people.
And on another note, I'm completely at a loss as to what to do for work this summer. The truth of the matter is that I really am not going to be given a chance to be picky because there isn't much around, but I still don't even know what I'm interested in. I love "behind the scenes" kinda stuff where no one sees me (like banquets) but am not sure if there's much of that available right now. I guess we'll find out when I start pounding the pavement later on this week. Yay job searches!
Okay, so now that I've done another random information post I'm going to check the newspaper and see if I can't find myself some workage. Night!

My Castle

2009-04-16T00:58:00.001-05:00

This is where I go to school (except that for the majority of the year there is snow everywhere!).

Path

Hall

Doors

Front

Heater

Icons

2009-04-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

Icons make me happy. I don't know why but icons like this one...

...always make me smile and think artsy thoughts. I'm not sure what artsy thoughts are exactly, but I think them when I look at icons.

Especially icons related to musical things like the treble clef.
I'm not sure why I'm blogging about icons and musical things or even artsy thoughts, but I am. It could be that I'm writing a 1500 word paper and my brain snapped somewhere along the way that which caused me to think about icons and music notes and artsy things.
Or maybe I'm just strange like that...

Blogging

2009-03-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

I don't actually like blogging myself. I often feel like I have nothing special to say or that my life isn't really interesting enough for people to want to read about or that when I do do something interesting it wouldn't make sense to the people who weren't there and the people who are there might not find it interesting to read a blog about something they've just done.
I do however, love, love, love (did I mention that I love) to read other peoples blogs! They always seem to have the most interesting things to say, where as I feel like mine is missed the mark.
Blogs tell me about their lives; kind of like getting an e-mail but not as personal. Through blogging (and Facebook) I've found out about at least five of my friends or acquaintances getting engaged. I've discovered some quirky things about peoples personalities or what their like. For example, Jill will never look into the bottom of the glass when she's drinking. Now that's something I never would have known if I hadn't read her blog. And now every time I drink out of a glass I'm amused; thinking about Jill and her avoid-eye-contact-with-the-liquid-inside-the-cup.
So I suppose that if I find it interesting to read about other peoples quirks, then somewhere out there someone might be interested in mine. Now I just need to find something different to write about.

Oh and this picture makes me happy.

Sleep and Psych

2009-03-16T09:38:00.000-05:00

It would seem that the words University and sleep don't go together. Someone told me one time, you can only pick two out of the following three while you're at University: your options are sleep, socializing, and good grades. So it seems that sleep has flown out the window. I am however doing quite well at socializing and attempting to gain good grades.
Last night a friend and I were studying for the psych test we have today. I figured out that once I'm finished this psych course and I combine it with the one I took last semester, I'll have taken eight psych tests; two of which are final exams. Its just a wee bit insane! Don't you think? I thought five was crazy enough last semester.
So I was up til a very early hour studying and visiting. I mean, if I'm not going to get sleep I should probably try and succeed at the other two options right?
Now, however, it's time for me to go finish writing a term paper that's due tomorrow and study some more. Doesn't University sound great?!

Minneapolis Road Trip

2009-03-03T18:57:00.000-06:00

Last week four friends and I headed down to the States for a road trip adventure. We began on Friday afternoon, once everyone's classes were finished up, and headed straight for Minneapolis. I had contacted Joshua, from TREAD, and were were able to crash at his families place for Friday and Saturday night. It was great to see him for the first time in about a year and half as well as get to meet his family.
Our trip consisted mostly of time spent in Minneapolis shopping, catching the sights, checking out areas of downtown and being lost. Fortunately we somehow always managed to make it back to the 94 and find our way from there. Here are a few pictures of our adventures.

Kylie and I in the car on the way down.

At the IKEA playing with the kids toys.

I want one of these chairs so badly! Unfortunately I would be a wee bit squished to sit in it for an extended period of time.

Stefan, Kylie and Karissa at the Mall of America.

The Mall of America

Kylie and me by the giant palm tree.

Kylie and I by the Giant Spoon

Karissa, Chris, Stefan and Brad by the Giant Spoon

Buildings.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of us with Josh or at his house (at least nothing exciting that you would want to see). We had a most fantastical time and I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the very, very, very late update.

A Delightful Day

2009-01-24T11:01:00.000-06:00

Warning: this blog might be slightly random. I've got whole whack of thoughts in my head and this is what order they came out in.
Even though it's a chilly -22 out right now, it's beautiful. I love the fact that Winnipeg has such delightfully bright sunshine and almost every day of the week too.
The sunlight on the snow may blind me, but I love the feeling of the warmth of the sun mixed in with the chill of the wind. Unless of course that wind is sucking your breath right out of you and you have to walk backwards (I saw a woman doing this yesterday and it made me laugh out loud).

The other night I was out with some of my friends for a desert night at one of the schools profs houses. After our lovely evening, on our way back to the dorms the wind was softly blowing the snow off of the roofs and up into the air. It was this amazing vision of sparkling delight.

Here at CMU we have this huge castle like/Gothic looking building on our North campus. I've been thinking, ever since I got here that I should run over there and take some artsy pictures of it for you all to see. So hopefully this afternoon, even though it's cold, my friend Kylie and I are going to run over there and have fun going crazy with my camera.

So maybe later this week I'll have a post for you filled with pictures of my life at CMU so far!

I made it

2009-01-13T11:25:00.000-06:00

Hey All,
I did make it here; alive and well, but freezing!!! It's so cold! And tomorrow it's supposed to be -50 with the wind chill. I think I might die.
However, everything else, besides the freezingness, is going great. I'm all moved into my dorm and have met all the girls on my floor. One of them (darn it, can't remember her name) has been coming into my room to study, as it is freezing in her room and boiling in mine. Quite nice to have someone to chat with.
I have four classes, plus the one online one that I'm finishing through TRU and my applied piano lessons. By this afternoon I will have attended all of my classes once and will know what books to buy and such.
I actually just spent almost $300.00 on one class alone! Eeek!
Anyways I have to run to lunch and get myself ready for my next two classes.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging notes.
If you want to send me a nice little letter. I'm Box 211 at the CMU address that you can find on the CMU website at the bottom of the home page.
Hope to hear from you soon!

The Unexpected

2009-01-08T16:11:00.000-06:00

We all know that things happen which we least expect. This last week in my life, something like that happened.
After a lot of phone calls, some faxing and praying, I found out today that I have been accepted to the Canadian Mennonite University and that I will be flying out early Sunday morning to begin my classes on Monday.
It's hard to explain how it all happened but what I can say that would make the most sense is that God wants me there, so I am going.
It would seem that in my life, nothing goes quite how I have had it planned. Like Proverbs 19:6 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." My course this year was to be in school, working towards my Music Therapy degree. God's steps for me was that I would attend TRU for the Fall semester and then move onto CMU for this Winter one.
It is hard for me to accept in some ways. I love living in this house with Kels, Bran, and Karen and will miss them and my other friends here a lot! I'm also excited about meeting new people and seeing another part of this amazing country (although I can't say that -20 or lower weather is very beneficial sounding).
So there is my unexpected news. I ask that you would all be praying for me; for His love to shine through me and that I would make some good friends soon. I will miss being in B.C. and being able to spend time with you all here.
I wish I could have seen your shocked faces when you read this...

Dr. Seuss

2009-01-05T22:53:00.000-06:00

I have always love Dr. Seuss books. Their silly rhyming lines, the made up animals and characters, the bright primary colors that draw my eye in. It's simply a delight. The titles especially: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, Green Eggs and Ham.
But I have to say that my favorite Dr. Seuss of all time though is The Foot Book. The truth is that my love for this book is somewhat hilarious. In truth, I don't really like feet. Especially when people put their feet near my face, or if I look at peoples feet and see that they haven't cut their toe nails all time time (eeew long toe nails make me shiver), or especially when people touch my bare feet.
I do however, love this book. So I've posted it here for you to read because you all have to know how great it really is.

The Foot Book, by Dr. Seuss

Left foot, left foot

Right foot, right

Feet in the morning

Feet at night.

Left foot,

Right.

Wet foot, dry foot

Low foot, high foot

Front feet, back feet

Red feet, black feet

Left foot, right foot

Feet, feet, feet

How many, many feet you meet.

Slow feet, quick feet.

Trick feet, sick feet

Up feet, down feet

Here come the clown feet.

Small feet, big feet

Here come the pig feet.

His feet, her feet

Fuzzy fur feet

In the house and on the street,

How many, many feet you meet.

Up in the air feet

Over a chair feet

More and more feet

Twenty-four feet.

Here come more and more..................................and more feet!

Left foot. Right foot.

Feet. Feet. Feet.

Oh how many feet you meet.

Unfortunately it's not as nice without the pictures but I really do enjoy just reading it too. I hope you enjoyed it.

Classes

2008-11-25T23:56:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it. I only have two classes left; three more hours. And then my final exam of course.
I've enjoyed my psychology class a lot, except for the fact that all of our marks are based on exams. When you don't test very well, you kind of wish your professor would want to look at some written work. Oh well, at least I'm well prepared for what my final exam is going to look like.
In other news Karen just found out that she is going to be able to have the full two weeks off of work so she can come home for Christmas with us! I'm super excited that she's coming; we didn't want to leave her here at the house all by herself for Christmas (that would have been quite sad).
Only 30 days until Christmas :)

I shouldn't be doing this...

2008-11-21T16:10:00.000-06:00

...I really should be doing school.
When I started my Psychology course at TRU, I was also supposed to be taking a night course on Sociology. I ended up switching to the online version of the Sociology because the whole night class thing didn't work out so well and my prof was strange. I'm not really how else to describe him.
The whole reason that I thought the online thing would be great, is that after years and years of doing school on my own with help from my mom, I figured that I could plow through this course and be finished before the end of the semester.
Wrong.
Because I don't have to attend classes during the week, I continually put Sociology to the side and end up not doing it later.
Today I sat down to actually get some done, but distractions pulled me away once again. Do you how scatterbrained I feel right now?
So now I'm blogging, being distracted from the tasks at hand, and in a few minutes I'm going to go baby-sit for an hour or so for some friends.
Maybe when I return my brain will be here waiting for me and I'll actually get something done.

Music

2008-11-15T16:02:00.000-06:00

Pride & Prejudice. What a delightfully wonderful movie. I could seriously just watch it over and over and over and over.... But ultimately the best part of the movie for me, is the music. I mean the rest is great too. On the other hand, the skilfully orchestrated violin and piano pieces move my soul! Seriously I love this music. I guess that's why when I saw the music book for it (advanced level, so that it isn't one of those 5-finger once for little kids) at World of Music (I can't remember what it's actually called now) I had to have it. I totally freaked out inside!

After making my purchase I sat down at my piano (well actually it's just my keyboard, but one can dream) and began playing. Although I haven't mastered any of the pieces yet, I'm really enjoying learning them and can't wait until I sound a little bit more like the soundtrack.

A trip to Kelowna

2008-10-26T23:26:00.001-05:00

This weekend I enjoyed a wonderful time with my friend Lauren (one of the greatest girl counsellors at Sunnybrea this summer with me).
I left on Friday morning and made it to Westbank by 11 something-ish. We enjoyed a blustery walk along the lake, while we were also stopping to take pictures of almost everything with her new fancy Canon Rebel camera (which I think is named Ronald, but I can't remember for certain). Seriously, that thing can take pictures non stop; most fantastic! I'm sure we must have taken about a hundred pictures in a half-an-hour.
Afterward we ate some lunch and grabbed some flour and chocolate chips from the grocery store in order to have everything we needed for the banana muffins we wanted to make later. As it turns out, we needed sugar, not flour, for our muffins (see the rest of this story below at the *)
We spent a long time looking through Lauren's amazing photos from her trips to here and there, and then mine from Ireland. I then enjoyed watching a lovely Disney movie with her and we headed off to bed.
In the morning we made our delectable muffins. We thought we weren't going to have enough sugar to complete the batch, but no fear! Lauren's "Mummles" saved the day when she remembered that she had a box of sugar packets in her car (I guess that's what happens when you manage a coffee shop). So about a hundred sugar packets later, we had successfully created the sweet muffins.
Then we went to visit the giant new Walmart that Westbank has. Seriously, the thing is a mini mall; in some places it would actually be a big mall, but seriously, it's gigantic. After exploring the giant Walmart for a while, we then headed out to Subway for a lovely sub lunch. Taking our subs we headed over the movie theater and bought out tickets for High School Musical 3. Yes indeed I have watched all three now. I was feeling all bursting-into-song-like after that.
Later at the mall we poked around, but nether of us really wanted to shop. I guess we were basically killing time between our movie and when Lauren started work. There just doesn't seem to be anything that is interesting to me right now (actually, more like anything I can afford).
After being in Chapters for about an hour when Lauren started work, I headed back to her parents place and watched some movies and ate dinner.
When Lauren came home we hyperly enjoyed reading the strange ingredients that they put into cosmetics. Seriously "Lanalool," whats that? Or "Zazna...something a rather." Crazy!
Then this morning we scooted off to her church, Harvest Fellowship. Lauren twisted my arm and I sang on the worship team with her. Such an amazingly wonderful little church. Her dad is an amazing speaker!
Unfortunately that put an end to my time there and I had to jet back home.
So here I am, writing this long overdue blog and thinking about the fact that at 7:30 tomorrow morning I need to be in Pritchard watching little kids...

Happy Birthday Karen!

2008-09-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

So I'm back here in the good old Loops, doing school, thinking about job options, hanging out with my roommate, sis and bro-in-law, but not with Jill because her schedule is much to busy for me :( *make sad face*
Today is Karen's 21st birthday. We've had some great fun indeed together. A lovely dinner at Kelly O'Brians started off our night. Such good food, mmmmm Potchos! Karen was even able to get that special birthday balloon from our waiter. Immediately after the balloon was slipped around her wrist, I insist, she became another person. Well actually, she was still Karen, just several years younger ;). After dinner we jetted over to the DQ to grab the lovely ice cream cake that makes any party complete. And then a quick stop to grab 21 from Video Mart (hopefully it's good, haven't watched it quite yet) before heading home.
So we're just enjoying letting the food in our stomachs settle while we wait for Brandon to get home and well crack open the cake and enjoy our movie!

I'm just not the blogger that I wish I was

2008-09-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's been almost three months. If anyone actually is reading this anymore, a giant YIPPY because I've actually got something new up here. So since the last post was from when I was still in Ireland here's what happened a little bit after that.
I flew home on Thursday the 26th of June around 4 something and I arrived in Canada on Thursday the 26th of June around 5:30 something. My wonderful mother picked me up at the airport and we jumped into the car and drove straight up to Kamloops. After catching a few hours of sleep we ran around town getting the essentials for camp and then booked it out to Sunnybrae. It was really strange getting straight into stuff at camp without actually taking a second to readjust to life in Canada. Fortunately Mom and I arrived just in time for lunch where I was able to meet a few of the people I would be living with for the next two months. I was excited to be at camp but nervous about making a bad jet legged first impression on these people. Turns out that right after lunch we were heading off to do "Something so hard you wont know what it is until it kicks you in the face" challenge. Turns out that the challenge was to get into three groups. Wait, I know what your thinking, "how hard is it to get into three groups?" but really, it actually was. The rest of the challenge wasn't so hard after that.
We divided ourselves into three groups, one that was blindfolded, one that had no use of their arms, and another that couldn't talk. Then with one from each of the three groups we began our challenge. They also told us that if anyone in our group was caught doing what they weren't allowed to (like use their arms) then another "disability" would be added to them. First off we grabbed life jackets from the boat shed. Not hard at all you're thinking, but remember I'm lacking my arms here. And I'm trying to communicate with a team member I had never met before (my mute team member and I know each other from when my family used to live in Kamloops). So after getting life jackets we grabbed a canoe and started off on our way to Sunnybrae park. I don't know how long it took us to get there, but our blind person was in the back steering and I was trying to yell directions because our mute paddler couldn't. "Left, ooops, I mean right!" "Umm, we're kind of almost on shore maybe we should head ri..left some more." Gosh, who knew that the pressure would cause me to forget me Lefts and Rights?
Once we were up on the Sunnybrae beach the next part of our adventure began. We got to hike to the top of Sunnybrae cliffs. Once again, not too hard when you have all those things like sight, arms, a mouth to communicate with and the lack of jet leg. Actually we did not too bad at all. Our mute led the way with the blind close behind and me yelling "Rocks!", "Branch!", "LEFT!" and "Umm, don't step to the left, you'll fall to your death!" At the top we were freed of our disabilities where our leaders told us how proud they were of our efforts to work together and communicate with each other, despite our lack of communication tools.
It was at that time that we learned about the real challenge. You know, the whole time we were thinking the challenge would be to get everyone up to the top of the Sunnybrae cliffs in one piece, but instead it was for 25-35 people (not really sure of the exact number) to eat 200 hot dogs in half an hour. Yes, 200 hot dogs in half an hour. That means five to eight hot dogs each. I must admit that I did eat six and I regret that choice. However, my crazy girl Lauren wowed us all by downing eleven! That's more than the average boy there.
It was a great bonding time to be sure. It's not very often that you just meet someone and then have to watch them throw up two or three hot dogs.
(Sorry, got not pictures for ya)

Irish

2008-06-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of funny things I've experienced or seen since I've been here that are somewhat if not 100% Irish...

Clocks are on 24 hour time, like the whole 14:30 thing, but no one actually ever says it like that.
Light switches are upside down!
Dinner actually means lunch
It's "Post" not "Mail"
You often see door knobs in the middle of the door, but you never really use them.
It's "Toilet" never bathroom or washroom.
If you ask for Lemonade you end up with a Sprite.
People will paint their house crazy colors just to stand out from the rest, especially apartments that are all in a row together because they paint to a certain point on the wall an then it changes to the next apartments color.
Wacky Wollies are these hilarious sheep that make me laugh every time I see them.
You don't walk on the sidewalk, you walk on the foot path.
Nothing (house-wise) is made of wood here...it's all either stone or brick or some kind of stucco thing.
Instead of saying "It's five thirty" they say "It's half-five." (which I actually like better!)

That's all for now...comments? ;)

Some more for ya...

2008-06-19T17:22:00.000-05:00

Jill and I have survived one more whole week (at least) in Ireland together. Last time I left off we road a crazy bus to Galway (which I have mispronounced only a thousand times and sounded like a complete tourist to be sure). While in Galway, we stayed at this crazy big and busy hostel which have female dorms; very ducky :) Met some neat girls from Canada (Vancouver area) and enjoyed their company the first two nights.

We also took a tour of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher, which was somewhat wet, foggy and soggy. After our walking tour at the Burren Jill and I were so wet and squishy that we even took pictures of our feet to prove how wet it was. The landscape was truly stunning though.This was a sign at the cliffs warning about the dangers of falling off the edge. Our bus driver said that they loose about 5-8 people every year, some by accident, some by the wind blowing them off and others for other unfortunate reasons.

Then we jetted off to the Aran Island of Inishmore where we viewed over 450 km of stone fences and a crazy old stone fort that is built on the side of a cliff (a.k.a. danger zone!) by bike. I must warn you however that not only are Jill and I not the safest, most experienced with those contraptions. It was quite an adventure! We were on a small Irish road which could classify as a death trap or something dangerous like that. Unfortunately there are no pictures to prove our cycling. We also spent a lot of time searching for something known as "The Worm Hole" but only came up empty (twice actually). We did however see a lot of amazing waves and cliffs along the way.

After that we skipped onto the Dingle Peninsula where we got to see Fungi, the resident dolphin. Jill and I took this gorgeous walk-about along the coast line and saw Fungi's "Fungalow Bungalow." The sites were simply stunning with the vibrant green of the hills and blue sky and water! That's all for now, even though there is plenty more to speak of, but I hope that you enjoyed the few pictures that I was able to put up.
Kriss

Feeling better

2008-06-10T15:28:00.000-05:00

Jill and I made it from Letterfrack to Galway today, even though I wasn't sure that I would survive the journey.
We are now in a hostel that is hopping full of people our age. Like Jill said, the average person in town is about 23 years old, which puts a lot of young people in the hostel too.
Since I didn't really write anything last time, I figured you might want to hear about some of the adventures that Jill and I have been having.
- I have been mistaken for an Australian by a drunk man at the bus stop
- Jill and I hiked Croagh Patrick and I nearly died going up and down. Jill however, is an amazing hiker (something like a billy goat) and totally beat me going up and down.
- We got to do laundry today, the first time since I arrived, and it's so nice to smell all pretty again!!
- Jill rode in the death seat on the bus today because it was sooo full. Basically she was right at the front with the sun blinding her and every bump sending her almost through the window.
gosh, when I get down to writing things I can't remember what I was going to say at all! Sorry all!

Letterfrack

2008-06-08T08:39:00.000-05:00

Jill and I are in Letterfrack right now, and it must be the smallest place we have been to yet. It's a very cute little town, although I must admit that I haven't seen very much of it at all as I have been quite sick over these last few days. If you are thinking about it please pray that I would get better soon.
Unfortunately I don't really feel like writing my own words, so you'll have to see what Jill says, just click on the link on the right side of the page that says "Jill."
Maybe talk again when I feel better.

In the village that I can't pronounce without "somone" laughing at me

2008-06-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

Jill and I have made it to Donegal now. It's a beautiful little city!
We are staying in another Independent Hostel which I am enjoying much more than the one we were in two nights ago in Derry. I unfortunately cannot post any pictures but will try hard to when I get back.
Funny story, Jill and I were in Derry waiting to get on our bus when this funny old Irish man came up beside me and began blathering on. Within two seconds I discovered he was drunk. Not only do I have a bit of a time figuring out what people are saying here, but when they are drunk it's even worse! Turns out he wanted to know if we knew how to do digital imaging to get rid of something in a picture he took. We both told him we didn't, but he asked again and again. He went on talking and asking us stuff, like where we were from. He guessed that I was from Australia and later Jill and I had a good laugh over that. The best part of the conversation though is that right near the end her informed me that if he was a year younger he would have married me. Laughing I told him, "No, I don't' think you would have." He was quite the interesting man anyways!
I've seen so much amazing stuff and when I can put pictures up I will show you the wonders of it all too!

Derry and such

2008-06-02T03:03:00.000-05:00

Jill and I are in Derry right now. We spent last night soaking up some of the sights along the river and doing our first night in a Hostel. It's sort of strange being in this big house with a ton of people you don't know. Not really any privacy either.
Two days ago we toured the Giants Causeway and saw some awesome sights. If you don't know what the Causeway is, Google it, it will blow your mind!! We also did the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge which was totally thrilling!
I have to run, but will hopefully update later.
Hugs to ya all, Karissa

Two days

2008-05-26T11:22:00.001-05:00

There are only two days left of my "normal" life here in Canada. Two days and counting...(for any of you who have seen James Bond with my family you should be laughing right now. For any of you that haven't I'm sorry).
I amazingly only have a few little things left to pick up before I go. Slowly been collecting all those important little things that are vital to Jill and I's trip. Like Microfiber towels.
Let me tell you my exciting story about Microfiber towels. First of all, if you don't know what a microfiber towel is than let me explain. It's a towel, and it's made out of microfiber. :) Actually they're these great traveling towels because they take up hardly any space and they absorb water really well.
Second, they are really, really expensive. I called our pool and Valhalla only to discover if I wanted to spend $50.00 on each of them then I could obtain the perfect travel towels for Jill and I. However my mother, in all her wonder, called Fabricland, and they sell it by the bucket loads! When we showed up to look for the stuff the women helping us even offered to surge the edges of both towels for us. :D Oh happy day!
But the best part is, that they cost us about $6.00 each. WOOHOO!

Drafts

2008-05-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

I was just checking my posts and I had four drafts that I've never published. One was just a title even, hardly worth mentioning. I guess that's me just starting away at something and then getting distracted like I so often am.
I must admit too that I do wish I was a better blogger. More dedicated, like Jill, but alas I am not. However I have decided that while in Ireland blogging (and probably Facebook) shall be my main form of communication because I will not be able to get everyone updated otherwise. So hopefully my skills at regular bloggage will increase instead of remaining a slow but steady stream.

All about Ireland

2008-05-20T00:51:00.000-05:00

I am: going to Ireland in 8 days!
I think: that it's going to be fantastical!
I know: that Jill is awesome at planning sweet things to go and see
I want: to have enough money while I'm there
I have: so much left to do before I go
I wish: I could see it all
I hate: not being in Ireland yet, but am happy to spend time with my family
I miss: out when I'm tired
I fear: getting completely lost somewhere in Ireland or not being able to find somewhere to sleep for the night
I feel: stoked about going!
I hear: that the whether has improved and is looking more like summer!
I smell: fresh air
I crave: a great cup of coffee with Jill in Ireland :)
I wonder: what the most exciting thing will be about my trip?
I regret: not getting myself organized sooner for all the little details
I love: the fact that it's only 8 more days
I care: fully have selected what I'm going to bring with me
I always: found that if you want to fulfil a dream, you should tell God about it. He's the best at making things happen
I am not: going to be in Canada for very much longer
I believe: that my dream is coming true
I fight: the idea of being frightened by airport security
I write: to-do lists because I would forget otherwise
I listen: to Jill. She's the Ireland expert!
I need: a backpack to put all my stuff in!

SOLD!

2008-04-23T21:43:00.000-05:00

We sold our house! Finally! Actually it wasn't even on the market that long, but when you're waiting for someone to buy, it just seems like forever. Especially when you have people coming back for second showings and then still not buying it! But the exciting thing is that we have sold our place now and when mom and dad get home we'll be looking for a place ourselves. They looked at a lot of places before they left, but didn't buy anything before leaving.
It will be nice to be moved into town. One so that Mom doesn't have to drive Korey back and forth to school everyday and two so that I can walk or ride a bike anywhere I want to go. It's exciting! Hurray! :)
Thursday night was the Tread graduation and I was thrilled to watch Joshua, Karen and Lindsay accept the honours they deserved. Here are some pictures of the night.

The graduates

Me and my Karen

Ninja girls

All graduated

The Treadettes

Blog-a-lot or Blog-a-lack

2008-04-09T12:29:00.000-05:00

I am a blog-a-lacker. You see I suffer from lack of interesting topics that would catch my readers interest and keep them coming back to my blog to see the new and exciting things I have written. Instead you must suffer the fate of having to read of the oh-so-not-so-interestingly-so things that happen in my life.
One interesting thing that has happened lately is that my family went up to Kamloops last week and saw K&B and delightful new house!!!! They got possession of the house on Tuesday and when we walked in on Wednesday night it looked as if they had been there for ages. Kelsey claims that Brandon is a slave driver and they worked themselves silly getting the place in order. It looks great and they love the fact that they have their own place. Our visit was short and sweet, like always, but we really enjoyed being with them and helping make their new place a home.
Another interesting thing is that I've booked an appointment to get rid of my silly "N". Whoever had the brilliant idea to punish us young people with N's and L's should try having one! Goodness they're a pain in the tukos. Mine will be gone soon though, which is a relief!
Anywho, I'm in a random mood and I think I'll go do something productive for a while. Byes!

End and Start

2008-03-21T00:22:00.000-05:00

I'm saying "good-bye" to the Best Western, the Westerly Hotel and "hello" to the start of something new.
Last Monday I handed in my resignation saying that Saturday would be my last day. So two days left and I'm free as a bird. I do like my job, sometimes, but am ready to do something different. I'm hoping to get a job working outside, doing something physically stimulating. The last thing I need is a job where I sit on my tuchis all day. I was also thinking of getting a coffee shop job part time too. I love coffee shops! Or maybe waitressing. I donno.
The cool thing about all this is that I'm not worried about getting another job. I mean if worrying were a good thing I would have lots of reasons too. I have rent to pay, a car to fill up, travel expenses, and school in the fall (which means that I will be moving [another expense]). But I'm not worried at all. I know that this is all in His hands and by worrying I'm only saying that He isn't big enough to take the drivers seat in my life.
So after the Good Friday service I'm hoping to run around dropping off resumes and maybe end up with a job :)

Can it be?!

2008-03-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Well folks, its official. I have a clean desk. The few things that are on it are supposed to be there. Isn't that amazing?! You should see how spotless it looks; a sight to see. The only reason it's clean however, is not because of my one day getting the urge to keep it nice and tidy, it's because we're selling our house and the real estate agent is coming today to take pictures.
I must admit that I've been hiding stuff in every crick and cranny. My suit case that I got for Christmas has a load of empty binders in it. I've put all the wrong clothes in all the wrong drawers. I hid all my yarn for making toques and such in a big box under my dress clothes that are hanging up in the closet. I guess the important part is that most people who come into my room will see it as clean. The rest of you who know me and who have seen it lately will know that there is more than meets the eye. ;)

Red

2008-03-05T23:18:00.001-06:00

The bottom of my hair is red. Well, pinky red, but still red. Karen and I dyed our hair together last Saturday afternoon. Karen did a much better job on me that I did on her, but the end results were still awesome!
Have a look-see at the pictures below.

AHHHHH, what am I doing?
End result!
Karen loves her new hair colour so much she is singing for joy!
And that's that :)

Another messy desk day

2008-02-16T23:10:00.000-06:00

I'm a mess maker. I'm not sure how I do so well at it, but if people paid for the messes I can make, than I wouldn't be waitressing in order to go to school in the fall.
It's not like I even think about it. I just set stuff down and move on. Then later, when I set more stuff down I notice that the pile is begining to grow. And a while after that, it seems like I've burried my life down under.
A few random items that have managed to find their way into the pile include a doodled on lesson from the Young adults group (Emmaus) that I attend, a cut out of a lovely looking moca coffee that I hope to someday incorporate into a collage, some pieces of scrap fabric that I've been wanting to sew onto my plane blue hoddie to give it some life, and a Nalgine water bottle that has been sitting on my desk for over a month waiting to be thrown out (okay, I will admit that is gross, give me a second to go chuck that one out!).
Okey dokey, back on track. Oh! exciting news! I finished my applications and have got everythign (except the money) sent off to the two colleges I've applied for. :) hurray!

Miss Rag Quilt 2008

2008-02-06T22:12:00.000-06:00

Well folks the votes have been cast and the count is in. The winner of this years Miss Rag Quilt 2008 is... "Oh, thank you! Thank you all! It is such an honor to be chosen for this title. I have worked many hours on my quilt and know that I will enjoy it emencly. I would like to thank my sponsor, Auntie Rachel of Piece by Piece Quilts. Without her generous donation of the fantastic fabric I would not have been able to put this all together!"

And without further adue, here are some pictures of the finished project.

Pictures

2008-01-26T16:30:00.000-06:00

In continuation with my "My Desk" series, I figured why not talk about my pictures that I have on it?

I have got three framed photos; one black and white, and two in colour. All three of them are very special to me. The first one (if they come in any particular order) is the B&W of Jill and I at Isabel Lake (or at least I think that's what lake it was). I don't even remember what year it was taken, but during one of the McQueen Lake home school camping trips Jill and I were having a brake by the water and mom snapped this shot.

My two color photos are family ones. Well technically the person in one of the photos isn't family, but my mom did the shot and spiced it up. It says, "People are just about as happy as they make up their mind to be." Abraham Lincoln. A reminder to keep on smiling and to be happy even if I have the opportunity to feel down.

Korey's Baptism. Definitely important! No, the water was not that green, but for some reason, beyond my knowledge, the digital camera capture it as such. This is at Riverbend during the last week of summer camp 2006 (as you can see, he had a lot more hair back then, hehe). It was really cool to be able to watch the baptism and to hear the testimony of his heart. Love you brother!So that ends my desk talk for now...hope you all enjoyed.

My Desk

2008-01-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

This is my unofficial series on random stuff that's on my desk.

I have a jar in my room (more specifically, on my desk)
I guess you could call it my tip jar
Or my Ireland jar
Or my pay-for-my-cellphone-bill jar
Or my I-need-some-spare-change-quickly jar
Or my money jar.
All around it's a nice thing.
My goal originally was to put all my tips into it so that I would be saving my pay cheques for school and my tips for Ireland. I've stuck pretty well to making sure my pay cheques stay far away from being used for random stuff, but I haven't stuck to making sure my Ireland fund is being fully supported.
I think I'm rambling.
Honestly, I just knew that I needed to post something and that was the first thing I saw.
I guess I could talk about my almost empty milk glass, or the shaving cream container that came out of my stocking, or my bow tie for when I work up in banquets, or my iPod. Naw...

Jill's 20 today!

2008-01-16T19:29:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited! Today is Jill's 20th birthday and she is living her life long dream of being in Ireland right at this moment (even though she is sleeping right now because they are eight hours ahead there). So I figured I would make a little tribute to Jill because of what a wonderful friend she is to me and for all the years we've known each other (coming up on 14 now).

To Jill:

Thank you for being my friend. As simple as that sounds, it's true. I've always loved our friendship even in it's difficult times. I remember the first day we met. Playing "hats" in my parents old Suburban on the way back to you're house. I knew it would be good times from then on. Other fond memories include playing Beanie Babies, Barbies, Littlest Pet Shop, The Yogesters, sewing clothes for our toys, tea parties, playing in my room while Kelsey and Kelsey were on the bunk bed talking and thinking how bored they must be "just talking," drinking "Sunshine," going for walks to the corner store, playing out in the forest at my house, playing music together, being in Anne of Green Gables together, trampoline time, playing cards, dreaming of Ireland, and soooooo much more.

I'm so stoked that I get to spend a month with you on the other side of the world and that we'll get to have the adventure of our lives!

Biggest hugs, Karissa

To everyone else, yes that's right, I am going to Ireland too. Jill and I are going to do some traveling and sightseeing; hopefully we'll catch a bit of the UK (or Great Britain whatever you want to call it) as well. I'm super thrilled and can't wait for May 28th to arrive.

My iPod

2008-01-12T00:36:00.000-06:00

I got my surprise. It was an iPod shuffle that I had purchased on Boxing day (it actually was on sale even, $20.00 off!) through a friend of Korey's that works at Future Shop. I'm stoked about having music with me wherever I go now and not be having to pack that lovely big diskman around with me. Yay for music and funtastical gifts :)

Hair

2008-01-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

I did an ooopps with my hair. I cut it...short and dyed it, orange/blond. All within about 30 hours. So now, I'm looking at my hair, hating it, and wondering when the heck I thought it would be a good idea. I might try and and dye it again in a few days. Regular blond hopefully, if it actually works that is.

So this was the first time I cut it.

And this is after cutting and dying it
Oh dear!

Yank!

2008-01-05T22:21:00.000-06:00

I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled; three out of four! And let me tell you, it sounds like its going to be ducky. I'm doing the conscious sedation thing where they put you under, but you're still technically awake, even though you don't remember anything. After that I'll get to sleep for three days. Don't mind the being home and relaxing part, but the whole loosing my wisdomness, it saddens me. Some days I have a hard enough time being smart. How will I survive with only one smart tooth left?

For those of you who care...

2008-01-02T20:59:00.001-06:00

...my exciting new package should be getting here soon :)

New Year, New Goals

2008-01-02T18:43:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it, I've never made New Years resolutions before, but after reading Jill's list of them from last year I figured, why not?

- Start running/jogging. It's something I've always wanted to do and even though I started last fall, I didn't keep it up, so now I want to start again. Although I'm not sure I want to start right now when it's cold.
- Attend school in the fall. Where that is, I'm not sure yet, but as long as I get into school I would be happy.
- Travel out of the country (don't know if it will happen or not, but maybe).
- Eat less sweets. I've started to realize how addicted I've become to chocolate, candies, cookies, and all other good things that start with "C". Goodness, just talking about them makes me "hungry." You see my problem is that I'm usually not hungry when I eat them. So I want to cut back. If I eat less of them then maybe when I'm actually hungry I'll enjoy them better.
- Do two significant fasts. One from food and one from media.

Ummm I think that's all....I guess I shouldn't go too extreme on my first try at this.

A new year soon to come...

2007-12-29T08:06:00.000-06:00

...and I'll be working with a bunch of drunks.
You know, you never really realize how gross excessive drinking really is until it's all around you and you're the one who's sober. People doing absolutely ridiculous things; like repeating phrases full of swearing, shouted at the top of their lungs during a song that has nothing to do with what their say, or running around announcing to everyone, "Hey! I'm totally wasted!!! Hahaha!!!" and then continuing to drink. Fortunately most people take a cab home. Unfortunately some don't.
Gosh, where am I even going with this?
Oh right New Years eve... so I have to work on New Years eve, although I won't be there till the bitter end because I have to work the next morning as well so I'll get sent home to get some lovely rest and peace and quiet. You know, I'm not even sure I know where I'm going with this although I know I was trying to talk about New Years...huh...guess I loose it sometimes.
Oh! and I'm going to have an exciting post to right about soon, I just have to wait for it to arrive so that I can show it to you! :)
Oh...and sorry about my drunk rant...I mean, that makes it sound like I was drunk when I was ranting, but I was just ranting about other people being drunk...ugg, I think it's too early in the morning for this!

Updatingness...without being told :)

2007-12-18T01:09:00.000-06:00

Hey All! I'm updating right now without having to be reminded by my lovely helpers to do it...isn't that ducky? Maybe they just got sick of asking me to write on here and have given up all hope of me ever blogging again. At least it hasn't been 3 or 4 months like some blogs I've read.
I've been working fairly steady for the past few weeks and am dreading the fact that I have to work Christmas Eve day, Christmas day and Boxing day...stupid buffets anyhow. It totally baffles me that people actually want to eat their Christmas dinner in a restaurant full of other people. Wow, like talk about non-personalized. Apparently there are a lot of people who do it though. We have six different seating's all together. "Like crazy!" Although I do have to work, I'm sure it will be fun too. Hopefully there will be a ducky amount of tips too :) That always helps to make things go better.
Other than work, it's been plain old life...with the exception of course that Karen has gone home to Ontario for Christmas, Korey getting a cute little Boxer puppy (a female named Chevy), and the fact that I went to my first formal young adults thing ever last night (and it was a ton of fun!).
Oh random story. About a week ago now I woke up one morning to my mom talking on the phone and all the sudden she says, "Oh my goodness! Karissa's car is in the ditch! OH my!" So I quickly shot out of bed to discover that my car (actually it's my parents car but everyone calls it my car because I drive it the most and fill it up the most) had nicely rolled out of it's parking space and into the ditch across our driveway. Talk about Ahhhh! Anyways, it turns out that I, in my wisdom (and the fact that I had to work late into the night before) had forgotten to leave the car in gear and put the emergency break on. Hence there was a ditched red VW when I woke up in the morning. Fortunately it didn't take too long to get out and there was hardly any damage at all...and my wonderful father fixed that which was damaged and even then it didn't take too long.
So that's my embarrassing story of the week. Maybe next week I'll have done something else stupid that I can tell you about :)

Amazing God

2007-11-21T16:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was blessed with an exceptionally, unexpected surprise. While driving home from town after work my cell phone began to ring. Korey answered it and handing the phone to me said, "It's Pastor Ron." Why on earth our Pastor would be phoning me, on my cell phone, was a complete mystery to me.
"Hello?"
"Hi Karissa, it's Pastor Ron."
"Hey, how are you?"
"Good, and you?"
"Good thanks."
"I've got some news for you, but you have to promise me you won't drive off the road okay?"
"Ummm...ok." (If you think I was confused at this point, you're oh so right!)
"Someone anonymously gave money to you, through the Church, for you to go to school next year."
Complete silence
"They have given you a thousand dollars, so when you go to school next fall just let us know and we'll get the money to you."
"Oh my goodness. Wow. Really? Oh that is so amazing!"
"Haha, remember to stay on the road okay?"
"Don't worry Pastor Ron, I'm on a straight stretch."

I still can't believe it. God is so great! He's providing for me in so many ways that I don't know how my mind stays in one pieces. Praise God for His great provisions!

I had to take some pictures before I put this up...

2007-11-08T10:47:00.000-06:00

Here's what it was like before...
And after...

Ba-bye!

2007-11-08T10:41:00.003-06:00

Check out what I did this week... :)

More photos to come...

Extol Dance

2007-10-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=19479707720&oid=4819869196

I'm not sure if this will work, but hopefully if you click on the link above you'll see the dance that the Extol Crew did before I was part of it. Unfortunately there is a lot of excess noise going on because two teenage girls filmed it and they were having lots of fun yelling at their friends and brother. Obviously they had fun though :D
Oh, and the music and the video are kind of out of sync so the dancers are actually a little faster than the music actually is. I guess that's those wonderfully cheap digital cameras for ya...

Sniffle

2007-10-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

I've had a cold now for about three days, this one being the fourth, and I think I'm going to go crazy! I've still been going to work, and out with friends and all, but this is my day off before I'm back to work in the restaurant (I worked banquets on Friday and Saturday) and I really don't want to be sniffling all over the customers as I ask them what they would like to eat. "Hi, *sniffle* can I *sniffle, snort, sniffle* take your order *sneeze*?" I mean wouldn't you love it if you knew the girl serving your food had probably already contaminated the entire restaurant? So I'm hoping that by tomorrow morning I'll be feeling blessedly better and ready to boogy (not booger).

Last time I wrote, I had said that I was joining Extol. And so far it's been super! I've almost mastered (almost, being the key word) the dance that they preformed about a month ago and then this Thursday we'll be starting a new one! I'm really excited about it, and can't wait to be someone who isn't trying to learn something almost everyone already knows.

Wasted time...

2007-10-13T22:22:00.000-05:00

I'm good at it, that's for sure!

I find that after I'm done work I'm so tired that I hardly want to do anything...so instead I waste lots of time on the computer...sitting on my butt of course! It's nice to be sitting down, but I sort of feel like I'm a major slack off. Fortunately I'm getting into some new and exciting thing. Like going out with my friends and I've joined a hip hop dance team that our church has (The Extol Crew). I'm super stoked about getting into dance again. It's been such a long time (almost 10 years) since I was in dance. Yes, little Karissa in her green Ugly Bug Ball dance outfit...very attractive...you remember don't you Jill? ;)

However, although I'm wasting time on the computer a lot, I discovered this sweet website. It's called Spiral Frog and it is a free music downloading site...the kicker is that it's 100% legal. Not sure how it works exactly, but in the end I get free music! :D So I downloaded the new Rascal Flatts CD tonight and it sounds pretty sweet so far. Very sad last song though. Their music is mighty good.

Okay, I'm rambling...

Blah, blah, blah!

2007-10-08T23:47:00.000-05:00

As most of you are well aware, I can ramble. I can also talk nonsensically, weirdly, incomprehensibly, impractically, loudly. And I'm starting to think that my blogs are alot like that. I wonder...does anyone actually make sense of what I'm trying to say? Do they laugh at what I think is supposed to be a funny part? Are they challenged when I say something serious?
Goodness, see that! I'm rambling...going from one topic to another.
Wanna know something? I went shopping with Karen in Nanaimo last week and we had a blast! I bet you really wanted to know that. Wanna know something else? We took a ton of pictures! Wanna see?

Driving home
Mmmmm Frapichino!

Singing in the Rain...

2007-10-08T13:40:00.001-05:00

I'm searching for a Youtube video to post on here...but don't have time to right now...so the post will have to wait a little while more!

Believe and Be Satisified

2007-09-25T15:42:00.000-05:00

"Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.
But God to a Christian says; “No, not until you are satisfied,
fulfilled and content with living loved by Me alone and giving yourself totally,
unreservedly to Me, to have an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone. I love you my child and until you discover that, only then will you find satisfaction, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with Me exclusively of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing…one that you cannot imagine… I want you to have the best! Please allow me to bring it to you. You keep watching Me, expecting the great things. Keep that satisfaction of knowing that I am. Keep learning and listening to the things that I tell you and you must wait. Don’t be anxious and don’t worry. Don’t look around at the things others have gotten or that I have given them. Don’t look around at the things you think you want. Just keep looking off and away up to Me or you’ll miss what I have to show you. And when you are ready, I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than you ever would dream. You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready, ( I am working right this minute to have you both ready at the same time) and until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I’ve prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies the relationship with Me and this is perfect love.

And, my dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with me and enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection of love that I offer you with myself. I love you utterly.
I am God Almighty,
So Believe Me and be satisfied”.

Author Unknown

P.S.

2007-09-14T23:14:00.001-05:00

That's the biggest blog I've ever written! :O

Insignificance

2007-09-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

Ever thought about the word: Insignificant or insignificance? Ever associated it with yourself? Ever thought of your true insignificance in comparison to the vast Universe? Something cool about the word Universe, is that according to it's Latin origin, the word Universe means, a single spoken sentence. Isn't that the most amazing thing? The Universe, which God created, was created by His single spoken sentence.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 NIV "At first this: God created the Heavens and the Earth-all you see, all you don't see." Genesis 1:1 The Message
"And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:14-18 NIV
Think about that, the vast Universe, created by God in a single spoken sentence. Now think about yourself. Think about how before time began God had you in mind. He numbered your days, the hairs on your head, the height you would grow to, the years that would pass before you married, etc. He had everything laid out before you even had a chance to say anything about it. In fact, He even chose what language you would speak when you did say something about how you wanted your life to run.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16
Now think about the Universe again. Think about how vast, how wide, how deep, how amazing it is. Look up the Hubble Space Telescope (http://hubblesite.org/); search through the awesome pictures of the many different pictures of nebulae, exotics, stars, galaxies, etc. Let those pictures sink in for a while...
Had a good look? Now that you know how small and insignificant you are compared to the Universe, compared to the vastness of God Himself, who is completely unmeasurable, think about the greatness of His love for you by allowing you the grace, the joy and the gift, oh so wonderful, of becoming His child. Think about how He gave up everything, becoming a mere servant, so that you could become something great.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-10
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace trough the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." Romans 3:21-26
Doesn't that make your life seem so much more like living? Doesn't it make you want to shine God's glory to all who live on earth? As my brother once wrote, "Am I going let a star out shine me?"
Think about your insignificance compared to the Universe, but remember God loves you so much that He chose to make you His child. Remember, you aren't insignificant in God's eyes!

I don't think I'm good at this whole blogging thing...

2007-09-12T21:59:00.000-05:00

...but the good new is, that I have Jill to remind me. :)
I started my new job today, at the Westerly Hotel. My legs are killing me now; totally tired! It's a "Food & Beverage Server" position (a.k.a I serve food at the restaurant, do room service, and will be learning all about banquet serving on Friday). I only worked a five hour shift today, but I'm so tired. *Yawn* Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I spent a lot of time today clearing table (almost dropped a lot of plates and silverware once), putting on clean table cloths (make sure that crease is right smack in the middle of the table), re-setting the places (it's more complicated than it looks), serving tea and coffee (some of those people have strong accents and trying to figure out what kind of tea they want it crazy hard!), polishing silverware (hot water burns your little fingers I tell you), and any other random jobs that Susan thought of giving me. All in all it was a good day, but I must admit I am nervous about finally serving my first table. I have this horrible fear of spilling stuff all over someone, getting their order wrong, or the most horrid thing of all, having someone at my table find a hair in their food! Oh gosh, I think that would do me in!!!!
Anywho, I'm tired and yes, even thinking about going to bed. Smiles :)

Interesting things that happened on my birthday

2007-08-31T13:45:00.000-05:00

I got this idea off of someone's blog and thought I would give you some interesting tidbits of information about random stuff that happened on my birthday in past years.

- 1942 Anne Frank begins to keep a diary
- 1952 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words "under God" to the United States' Pledge of Allegiance
- 1967 Mariner 5 is launched towards Venus
- 1993 A week long product tampering scare, later proven to be a hoax, occurs as customers throughout the USA discover syringes in unopened cans of Diet Pepsi Cola (I knew that Pepsi was evil!)
- 2005 Asafa Powell from Jamaica sets a new world record on the 100 m sprint in Athens with 9.77 seconds.

It is also Mothers Day in Afghanistan, Flag Day in the USA, and the International Webloggers Day!

Pictures

2007-08-27T13:12:00.000-05:00

Berry much fun (because that hasn't been used enough yet!).

"I wanna stop, and thank you baby, I just wanna STOP and thank you baby!!"

Jill and I on our way to Kamloops, isn't the man sleeping in the background the best? :P

Because I love pictures :)

KAMLOOPS!

2007-08-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! As it turns out I get to head off to Kamloops tomorrow and stay until Sunday! The best part of it is that I am traveling with my fantastical friend Jill both ways. She is going up for a wedding and some quick visiting and I'm going up for pure visiting purposes :) I'm totally thrilled and can't wait to see everyone again. It will be great to just relax and enjoy some summer too (yay for hot weather in Kamloops)!

I'll report back later on this wonderous event. :)

Found this on Facebook and thought it was cute!

And one for you Mrs. Coulter...I mean Aneta

2007-08-11T00:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am really giving you all a really real update right now.

Currently life is a little frusterating, confusing and wierd, but then again, when isn't it? I'm working at the Eatery in the Mall (although some days I wonder if you could even classify it as a Mall) and looking for more work as well. I have had a job offer, which I turned down (it really wasn't me at all and I can make better money at Tim Hortons even, so...), but am trying to keep smiling as I look for work. It was neat to be blessed with the job offer and to know that people are watching how I work at the Eatery and that they enjoy me. :)

Last weekend I had a super visit with Jill! It was awesome to head over to Quadra finally and see this wonderful Camp Homewood that Jill has always talked about, but I have never seen. We had a great time playing cards (Skip-Bo!), eating (mmm brownies and icecream), tanning (my legs are still white Jill), going for walks (that house was amazing), and so much more! Catching up once again was sweet and I loved being outside. After working inside for the last 6 days before that it was great to spend time outdoors.

Okay, so this update is coming to a quick end because I need my sleep as I have to work tomorrow...Hope you all enjoyed and I'll try not to let so much time pass before I write on this thing again!

Here's to you Jill!

2007-08-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

I was visiting Jill out at Camp Homewood this weekend and she informed me that it was high time I updated my blog. So here you are Jill, this is my update! ;)

Hmmm...

2007-07-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

It's strange to try and make up your mind about something. Some people have no problem. They decide what it is that they want or want to do and then stick with it until the end. Other people (more like myself), have difficulties deciding what to eat for breakfast, if they should attend one school or the other, if taking a new job is the right choice, if becoming an astronaut is what they really want to do (no, I don't want to be an astronaut!).

Since my last post, I have made a major decision indeed. Aren't you all proud of me? I even did it by myself, well, with the input of others of course! That decision was to move back down to Vancouver Island and work at another job here. You see, a very unfortunate thing happened. It got too hot in Kamloops for it to be safe for the loggers to be running the machinery and thus, if they can't run, then Mr. Pagdin and I can't run lines. With that ending and my housecleaning jobs dwindling down I made the choice to come home. Of course it was all a little more complicated then that, but you get what I mean.

I've actually only been home for a week and two days, but it feels like it's been forever! I'm really happy to be with my family and enjoying seeing all the youth again while the YFC camp that they are all attending was at Riverbend this week. I had great fun with them all, visiting at Firesides, watching their skits, listening to their testimonies and just enjoying one anther's company. I've also got to catch up a lot with my pal Lindsay, and we've been making the most of the spare times she has to chat. Another great thing, I've been getting to see my Elsah! :)

Time is short and I have to work in the morning...plus I need to squeeze something called a jog in there somewhere tomorrow, so I best be off.

Smiles!

This picture is from one the skits from Westcoast trip, but I thought that Korey and Mike looked greatly fun here and that it should be shared. After all, it's not everyday that Korey wears a pink toque!

Bruises, Duck Mites, and Sunburn...

2007-07-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

You would think I'm trying to inflict pain on myself or something :P...Within the last week or so I've managed to get a sweet sunburn on the back of my legs, as well as my shoulders. Then I went swimming in the lake and got duck mites. Itch, Itch, Itch! But before all that I dropped a pallet on my legs and got two sweet bruises. *Scratch itchy spot*

All in all it's a fantastic week though :). I got to work in the bush on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was so hot on Wednesday that we were forced (uh huh) to take a break at McDonald's to cool down...the air conditioner is such a nice feature don't you think? *Adjust body so that sunburn doesn't touch the chair*

I'm very trilled that it's the weekend...although I'm not sure what I'll be doing. There is talk around here of fishing and swimming. Maybe even camping...but we'll have to see on that one. Kelsey and Brandon got home from the Island yesterday and now there's food in the house :)!!! Yay! Oh, and of course I'm happy to have them home too!

Alright so if this isn't too random for you then hopefully you enjoyed it. I must run and find something for my itches...I'm going crazy!!

Megan's Grad

2007-06-29T19:01:00.001-05:00

Last afternoon and evening I was privilege to be a part of Megan's grad. For those of you who don't know who Megan is, the two of us have been really good friends for a super long time and we are crazy together :).
The ceremony was very long! I felt sorry for all the little kids who had to suffer through the speeches and such. It was neat to see another old friend there too, Anna, whom I had not seen in ages. After the ceremony we had a dinner and a dance. Megan and her friends are such goofs and they certainly made the dance floor so much more interesting!! I finally got to see a lot of Megan's that she has always talked about, but I've never really had a chance to spend time with.
It was a wonderful time and I'm excited for Megan as she is moving on to University of Victoria in the fall to become a Marine Biologist. Way to go girl!

19!

2007-06-22T18:18:00.001-05:00

Well dear friends, tis true, I am 19 now! Here are some pictures of the exciting day. Well technically they are a few days after, but this is when we celebrated as a family (plus a few great extras). Mmm Dairy Queen cake!
Look at me! I can't handle the stress of being 19, this is just too much I tell you!!
Linds surprised me by coming for a visit too! It was great to have you girl!
Mommy and Kelsey enjoying the food and of course my company ;)

All in all it was a fantastical day and I am so happy that I could share it with my family!

And now for the Karissa update news...

2007-06-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

...a recent announcement has reviled that Karissa Epp's birthday is rapidly approaching. Aging levels are said to increase to 19 this year and the chances of them reducing are zero. Sources say she isn't sure whether or not she is happy about only one more year of teenage hood or not. However she is trilled to be able to be with her family on that special day!
In other news, the forestry work is going well. Today was a great day for finding iron boundary pins. According to the professionals, these small iron stakes can be difficult to find. "There's a white triangle shaped stake often near the iron pin. Sometimes it might be right beside it, other times it might be a few metres away. In any case, you sometimes have to get down on your knees, dig through the grass and the dirt to find in. Other times you just have to bring the metal scanner in and let it do the job. However, more often then not, all's it does is find pieces of wire and such, not usually the pins."
There has been an unusual amount of rain in the Kamloops area over the last week and a bit. Some are wondering if miss Epp brought the bad weather up with her. "I'm sorry it's raining, but there isn't anything I can do about it. Besides, it's good for the grass!"
Some prime visiting time has been happening between Karissa and her dear friend Megan. While house sitting right near Megan's place, Karissa has been able to sneak some quality time in with her before heading back to Kelsey and Brandon's place at the end of the week.
Thanks for tuning in. I'm Wanda Wandasnail. Goodnight.

Updating... :)

2007-05-30T01:02:00.000-05:00

Things have been great since moving back up here to Kamloops. Not that things weren’t great in Courtenay, but God has certainly made it clear that He wants me here in Kamloops. I’m not sure the “exact” reason (although, does God need an exact reason?) that He has brought me here, but I am excited to be here for Him.
I’m working in forestry up here (yup, I’m one of those people who flags out areas to be logged) and loving it. When Kelsey was doing it I had always thought that I would never be able to do that, but now that I’m up here and doing it, it has been great!! Other than forestry (which is only twice a week), God has been putting together an amazing amount of housecleaning and house-sitting jobs for me. I’m actually going to be house-sitting and housecleaning at our family friends for the next two weeks while they take a trip to Europe. It has been great so far, and I am looking forward to another few months before school starts.
I know that this isn’t very long at all, but I should “hit the hay” before it gets too late. Hugs to ya all!Here's a picture of one of the cute Boxer puppies I got to take care of last weekend. They are so funny and cute!

2007-05-21T23:10:00.000-05:00

Life is a little busy right now, but if you would care to take a look you can see what it's been like for the last while...
Camping with Kelsey and Brandon and Webbers at Denise lake. The cute little camper!

Fishing...well actually, just being in the boat, because I don't fish.
Wildfire
Tai in the boat.
The cute couple...I think Brandon was a little tired in the warm camper
Sweet clouds!

My bestest little sister, Elsah! A visit together before I moved.
My visit with Jill before moving back to Kamloops.
Jill and I built this sweet Inuksuk.
Me and my stuff in the ferry line up.
Freezing fun on the ferry.

Random things...

2007-04-29T15:40:00.000-05:00

I’m Home! It’s great to be back and settling in. Although it’s kind of weird because my Mom isn’t here and Korey and I just took my Dad to the airport. So I’m home, but Korey is the only one here, which is good because we get to spend a sweet amount of time together! Mom does come home tomorrow (so I guess I better vacuum the floor :P). It’s been so good to be home and just relaxing, building puzzles, playing music with Korey, playing my piano and just lounging around. I’ve also been cooking; something I haven’t done all year and really miss.
Sad news: Jill wasn’t able to come for this weekend. Hopefully soon though Jill! We will prevail! (umm…never mind…hehe) I can’t wait to see you. I’m all bummed out that it didn’t happen, but you probably wouldn’t have wanted to sleep in my disaster of a room anyways. It’s actually starting to look a little bit more like a room, except that I have two beds in here that take up almost all of the floor space. Karen, what I sacrifice for you…I tell ya ;).
Okay other random news (I’m really into blabbering on and on today), I have to get a job. And the craziest thing is that I have never had an official job. I have never worked in a coffee shop, or restaurant, or at a fast food place, or in a mall, or anything for that matter. Yes I babysat, did lots of farm work, and tons of odd jobs stuff, but never officially have I had a job (in other words, a T4, I wouldn’t have known they existed except that I had to do fake taxes in Math 11). So I’m kind of stoked and kind of nervous about getting a job. I mean you want to make yourself look good without making it seem like your super conceited. And you also want a good paying job, or at least one where they actually give you raises, but because I don’t have any formal training in anything (ever single ad says “experience need” or “experience an asset”) there’s no where that I can get on in a good higher position. The great part about all of that is that God’s going to pick out the right job for me, so I’m sure it will be ducky. I just have to go apply now…oh, and write a résumé.

History

2007-04-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

Yay! I'm done history, or as Lindsay likes to say "History is history!" I really enjoyed our history, course, Dr. E. did a super job of teaching it, but I must say that I'm glad it's done. We had our final exam today and, whoa baby! Let's just say that I'm not the biggest exam fan in the world, but then again, who is?
Totally exciting news, after tomorrow I'll only have one project (which is fairly significant) and one minor exam to write and then I'll have finished my first year of college. Also Jill is coming for the weekend, I get to pick her up at the ferry on Saturday and then we get to be together and crazy until sometime on Monday morning. Jade is also back from Prairie on Sunday night. I'm super stoked about seeing my friends again!
Sad news, Karen is leaving on the 5th of May and I probably won’t see her again until Christmas time. :( It will be really strange being apart after living together for the last year, and by living together I mean doing everything together: eating, studying, playing, sharing a room, driving, partying, etc. (you get the picture). However, the really exciting thing is that she's going to spend all of next week with me! We're going to rope Lindsay into hanging out with us too (maybe we'll kidnap you Linds ;) ) and hopefully create some really sweet memorizes for our last week together as Treadettes. Do I hear an "amen" for a date night ladies?
Anyways, hopefully I'll write a more significant blog after this week is finished and I'm back home again (I move on Friday!!!!).
Peaces...

Pictures

2007-04-22T18:01:00.000-05:00

I have this thing when I have to get pictures taken of me, I often fail to stay serious for very long. Today Karen was taking pictures for me, because for some odd reason Prairie wants some pictures of me and I don't really have any good passport type photo ones to send them, so I asked Karen if she would take a few. As it turns out, I think we had taken three pictures and I had to start goofing off. I mean, what's the fun in just staring straight at the camera and smiling, plain and simple like? Making faces is way cooler! So I thought I would share some of the fun with you guys, and here are the pictures to prove it.

So things are going nice and dandy...

...until I can't keep a strait face anymore...

...and then Karen tilts the camera for effect! :P

New Blogspot!

2007-04-20T17:27:00.000-05:00

So guys, check it out! This is my sweet new blog because in a few short days I will no longer be a Treadette (which is very sad) and us Treadettes wont be needing to post on our Treadette site anymore. So, I officially decided (and you can take whatever view you so choose, but I believe that what I am standing for is right!) that the Singing in the Rainbow blogspot should come into being and hence, here it is. Righty-o! :)

Singing in the Rainbow

Notes and Cards

Counting down

Midterms...dun, dun, DUN!

I follow better than I lead

I have nothing to say

Vinyl Record Bowl

Our Little Place

The painting

Painting

An Apartment Odor-deal

Lovely Christmas Break

Sorry

Papers

Lack of Update

The Theory Assignment that is Never Done

Winter

The passing of music history

Pictures

Plainchant

In the Swing

Free Food

Ireland

The Island

In the Sun

My Castle

Icons

Blogging

Sleep and Psych

Minneapolis Road Trip

A Delightful Day

I made it

The Unexpected

Dr. Seuss

Classes

I shouldn't be doing this...

Music

A trip to Kelowna

Happy Birthday Karen!

I'm just not the blogger that I wish I was

Irish

Some more for ya...

Feeling better

Letterfrack

In the village that I can't pronounce without "somone" laughing at me

Derry and such

Two days

Drafts

All about Ireland

SOLD!

Blog-a-lot or Blog-a-lack

End and Start

Can it be?!

Red

Another messy desk day

Miss Rag Quilt 2008

Pictures

My Desk

Jill's 20 today!

My iPod

Hair

Yank!

For those of you who care...

New Year, New Goals

A new year soon to come...

Updatingness...without being told :)

Amazing God

I had to take some pictures before I put this up...

Ba-bye!

Extol Dance

*Sniffle*

Wasted time...

Blah, blah, blah!

Singing in the Rain...

Believe and Be Satisified

P.S.

Insignificance

I don't think I'm good at this whole blogging thing...

Interesting things that happened on my birthday

Pictures

Sniffle