Much Awaited Vacation

FINALLY A MUCH AWAITED VACATION

Osoyoos

Extremely excited tonight Ben and I are leaving for a week long vacation!!!! The last vacation we went on was a four day trip down to California in April to visit Ben's family. It was a lot of fun but not long enough. Along with all the hard house work and my health issues I am excited to just getaway and not think of anything other than relaxing!!

The plan is to head to Osoyoos for 4 days and stay with Ben's family there. Then we head home for a day and pack up the truck, pick up my dog and head to Cannon Beach in Oregon.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We are camping at a little campsite 15 mins away Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. We really just have relaxing, hiking and hanging out on the agenda. We might head to Florence on our way home and do the Sand Dunes but we are really just going to play it by ear. I just can't wait to have a fun little cheap getaway. I can't wait to post all the cool pictures from the trip!!!



Riot in Vancouver

I really couldn't believe what I was watching on TV. I kept thinking that it was some kind of joke or that it was all just going to end quickly but to my horror it didn't. I had just been downtown an hour earlier watching the Stanley Cup Final in the Fan Zone at Georgia and Hamilton. Me and a couple of girls had headed downtown early so we could get good seats in front of one of the screens downtown so we could be in on the action of the final. Of course I am a Blackhawks fan but the next best team to the Hawks is the Canucks so I was excited to watch the final between the Canucks and the Bruins and wanted to see the Canucks come out on top.

Megan and I had spent at least 2 hrs searching for a place to watch the game downtown and decided to go to the Fan Zone and watch it there. We waited for Mairi to arrive and after she did we just sat and chatted and people watched the thousands of people around us. We did realize that there were a lot of drunk people around us. God must have been watching over us and wanting to protect us from what was going to happen because Mairi left right before the game was going to start to get a coffee and some snacks and when she left the fan zone they didn't tell her she wasn't going to be let back in because they had to many people in the fan zone. So once she tryed to get back in she had to call Megan and tell her that she wasn't able to get back in. So Megan and I left and met up with Mairi and then we walked to Canada Place to watch the game. We arrived at Canada Place and it was extremely busy as well. I decided that after the first period I would head back to my parents house I was really tired and hungry and didn't want to stand around anymore.



I headed home and was happy to watch the game in the comfort of my parents home. But Ben had decided to head downtown and watch the game as well. Unfortunately due to all the people in the downtown core cellphones were not working properly so I couldn't get a hold of Ben. So I knew he was still downtown when all the rioting broke out and I knew he was in the Fan Zone as well which is were it all had started. I was really worried about him. He called me about an hour after the game and explained that he was fine they were just eating and going to head home afterwards. Ben didn't realize the seriousness of the situation so he didn't realize how concerned I was. After I picked them up from downtown because the skytrain had been shut down they hadn't seen any of the tv coverage of the riot and fires so they didn't know what was really going on. The next day Ben phoned me from work and apologized because he didn't see how serious it was until he watched the news at work the next day.

I really can't believe that people decide to riot after the Canucks lost to the Bruins. After watching it for 3 hours I was still in total disbelief. The footage on the news stations was incredible. They were on the ground watching exactly what was going on. I really just don't understand why people had decided to set things on fire and destroy our beautiful Vancouver. Of course it wasn't Canucks fans who really started it but drunk kids who wanted to make the riot of 1994 look like a joke. But in it all people who weren't planning on being involved did become involved. Unfortunately it was "mob mentality" and now these people involved are starting to be recognized on social media sites and the cops are cracking down. I believe people didn't think they were going to get caught and now slowly people are getting caught and taken in to the police.

I am so thankful that I didn't hang around that evening and went home. You just never know what could of happened if you by an accident get wrapped up in what is going on and get stuck in a bad situation. God was definitely looking after me.



Photos of the Riot and the

Riot Aftermath



Volunteering

My previous job working at a hotel restaurant was really tough. I didn't get much time to do things other than work. The hospitality business is full of working nights as well as working on call and potentially 6 days a week. I decided to quit because the job was extremely draining and left me with no extra time. I went from working two jobs to only working part-time with my dad. Of course money is a little tight with only working part-time but the great things is that it gives me extra time to get involved in other things as well as spend more time at home. I decided that volunteering my time in some sort of recreational program would be something I would enjoy as well as let me feel as though I am giving back.

After a little research in to different volunteer programs that are currently available, I applied for the volunteer program at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre. After a written application and intense interview I was accepted in to the program. I work with youths from the ages of 12-17 who are in secured custody for anything from robbery to manslaughter (a tad scary I know). Right now I am doing the recreational program so we play sports for 2 hours. Anything from basketball or volleyball to floor hockey and sometimes California kick ball. It's really fun and now that has been a few months the youths are starting to open up to me. I also have more courage to ask them questions and try to help them with things they are struggling with.

Today I start a new program, it's the cooking program. It's a two hour cooking program for the boys in custody. The programs in jail revolve around teaching the youths life skills while they are in custody. Most of these kids have no guidance at home so it is imperative to teach them skils so they could potentially live on their own (away from families) once they are released from custody.

I really do feel for some of these kids. They have had no guidance in their lives from the very beginning. You are a product of your upbringing and unfortunately these kids don't have positive and caring role models in their lives. I am really hoping to be a good role model and help these kids think about what they would like to do once they are out of custody and can work towards becoming a productive part of society. Of course I am not allowed to disclose any information about what I learn at the centre but if you did hear some of the things these kids talk about anyone would be shocked. It's extremely sad and unfortunately most of the kids who are in custody once they are released will most likely end up back in custody. I have already seen two girls be released and end up back in custody within a month.

It definitely is a difficult volunteer program at times but I do pray each and every time before I go in to the centre that those kids will see something different in me and will want to ask questions and change their lives.

Remembering.....

Sunday May 29th was a bit of a difficult day for myself. It was the two year anniversary of my high school Matt Skura's death. His life was cut short due to the violent acts of some teenagers. Matt was two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday.

Matt was a great guy who stuck out like a sore thumb in a group being 6'8" with blonde hair and beeming blue eyes. He was funny, caring, always willing to help and had a passion for cars.

I really can't believe it has been 2 years already. I feel for Matts family at this time as they are going another year without their dear son.

On April 21st of this year the teens who were involved were sentenced they were given the max sentence for youths. The province covers the sentencing for Matt Skura's death. 

**Really makes me realize that we need to cherish every single moment with those special people in our lives, you never know what may happen

Remembering Matt 

Naturopath Diet is a KILLER

After being told I am going to be waiting 6 weeks to see a specialists for my bowels I decided to take matters in to my own hands and see a Naturopath. I was hoping to get some advice that might help the pain to subside. The Naturopath was super helpful but she put me on a killer diet. It's suppose to cleanse my body of everything and allow all the swelling in my bowels to go down. After 6 weeks I will slowly be able to re-introduce items back in to my diet. Also I have had my blood tested for allergies. Once that comes back I will have a better idea of what I can maybe re-introduce back in to my diet earlier.

The items that I have to completely cut out for right now are:

- Wheat
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Nuts
- Corn
- Soy
- Citrus
- Tomatoes

This weekend has been extremely difficult trying to figure out what to eat and what I can't eat. I decided to go to Whole Foods today to see if I could find some healthy snacks and alternatives that don't have any of the above items. I ended up wandering around for an hour and got extremely frustrated in the end. I couldn't find anything. So I came to the conclussion that I should just head to Chapters and buy an allergen free cook book as well as an allergen free Bakers Handbook. Along with healthy and hopefully satisify meals I hope to be able to make some delicious cookies and muffins. It's going to be interesting because of course I don't know anyone who has made any of these recipes. It's going to be hit and miss but I hope to keep the blog updated with all the recipes I try.

Here are some foods that I have been forcing myself to like so far....







Gluten Free Bread

Peppermint Tea



Chicken Broth with Veggies & Rice Cakes

Rice Milk

First Attempt to Becoming Vegetarian

For the last three weeks I have been having some interesting aabdominal/bowel issues. I have gone for tests but am now going to be waiting at least 4-6 weeks for a colonoscopy. Apparently it will be the only way to see what is happening. I have had xrays, ultrasounds, blood tests and various other tests and they have not shown anything.
Now that the I have to sit and wait to see the specialist my doctor has advised me of a few things I can do in the meantime so I can show the specialist what I have done to my diet to see what helps and what doesn't. Firstly I need to start keeping a food journal. Along with journal all my food intake, time and exactly what was in it I need to start taking out certain foods to see if it will ease my pain. The first of his suggestions was meat and dairy. Both are sometimes hard to digest in adults. Dairy especially.... I know lots of people have choice words about dairy but as per my doctor 90% of adults can not properly digest dairy. This is his stats I am sure you can find stats out there that suggest dairy is healthy for all adults.
I am taking my doctors advice and cutting out dairy and started to drink Almond Milk. It is not that bad, of course it does take some time getting use to. At first it has a very earthy taste to it but after it while it tastes just fine.
Now my next big hurdle is taking out Meat.... AHHHH that leaves me with vegetarian alternatives such as tofu, veggie ground round etc. This is especially hard since my husband is an EXTREME meat eater. He loves a good hearty steak (and so do I).
Tonight was my first attempt at making two separate meals, one vegetarian for me and one meat filled for Ben. I decided to make a simple meal like spaghetti. Just to see how I fare with trying to organize two different meals. First I made the sauce with organic tomatoe sauce, organic diced tomatoes, low-sodium tomatoe paste. I added minced garlic, red peppers and onions. At last I added spices such as oregano, tarragon and marjoram and let it all simmer for a few hours.
After that I took the lean ground beef and browned it. Then I took the veggie ground round and warmed it up. Once the sauce was perfect I put some in to the beef and some in to the veggie ground round. Let them both simmer for another hour. I made whole wheat noodles. Once those were all done it was all ready to eat. Of course making two meals was a little difficult and it was only a simple meal. It did turn out great though. The spaghetti with veggie ground round was very very tasty. I liked it better than meat spaghetti. It's going to be interesting learning how to cook vegetarian for myself. I must admit I always like a good hamburger but I have heard there are some great veggie burgers out there as well.
Today I am off to see a Naturopath in the hopes of getting a better understanding of what is good and bad for my body. They will do various blood analysis. Hopefully will help with all my problems going on.

A Fun Weekend Cut Short.....

Had a great weekend away (up until Saturday evening....)
Went off to Whistler for my soon to be sister in laws stagette. We drove up on Friday night, got to the townhouse we were renting and headed out for a quick dinner in the village.
The townhouse was such a great idea. It was nice and homey which is good when you are away for an entire weekend from your hubby :(  The townhouse had a full pool and hot tub, slept 8 people and was only a 5 minute walk away from Whistler Village. It was AWESOME!!!!!
The plan for the whole weekend was pretty chill. Mostly planned hanging around, relaxing and just having a fun girls weekend away. On Saturday four of us went snowmobiling which was incredible. I am so happy that we got to do that, originally booked for an ATV tour but since there is still to much snow they took us snowmobiling (on a private tour) for the same price as an ATV tour. We went for 2.5 hrs on the snowmobiles and then had lunch at a lovely little hut. We headed back to our townhouse afterwards, I did a little shopping in the village.
We then dressed Robin up in her lovely outfit and headed out for dinner at Ric's Grill. It was really really awesome food and the night was just lovely. Unfortunately I have been having some problems with my abdomen for the last 3 weeks and right after dinner had severe pain in my abdomen. This happened last week and I could barely move. But this time it was MUCH worse. I could hardly move and when we got back to the townhouse I was in fetal position. I contemplated heading to the Whistler Emerg but knew all I would get there would be pain meds and then I would have to head home in the morning and deal with whatever was going on.
After waiting 30 mins (hoping the pain would subside after a few advils and maybe some pepto) it didnt go away so made the decision to drive home. Glad my sister in law Jenah was willing to drive me down to the emerg at Lions Gate. I was admitted at around 1am. I didnt get out the hospital till 5am. It was a LONG morning. Unfortunately left with pain but not as bad (since I had to drive myself home). Soooo I am waiting to head to my doctor on Tuesday after all the tests the hospital ran they will be ready for him to review. Then I will be headed to a specialists.
A lot of things are running through my mind at this point. The abdomen pain is horrible when it happens and I can't bare it. But I am hoping there is nothing that is seriously wrong with my bowels. Fingers crossed it's all good. So the weekend turned out to be a lot of fun but ended kind of horribly. Now I am just sitting back and waiting for some answers.

Hockey Fanatic.......

I absolutely LOVE hockey. Just thought I would point out that obvious fact if you haven't seen my Facebook page throughout the playoffs. It all started when I began playing at the ripe age of six. My parents asked me what sport I'd like to play and of course following in my big brothers foot steps I was quick to say "Hockey of course.... but not with girls." That was the truth, I didn't want to play on a girls team I wanted to play with the boys.  My parents without objection signed me up for an all boys league for pee wees. It was great, I got to learn the rules and skate like my big bros on the really big ice! I remained playing on an all boys team until I was 12 years old. At 12 it was getting awkward in the change room.... so I decided to quit and just play school sports. But my love for the game never stopped.

As far as following professional hockey I started out loving the Canucks as they were the home team and that's who my parents cheered for. Three years ago though I took a trip to Chicago with my dad. He always likes to go to sporting events in other cities across Canada and the US (if the tickets are reasonable). One of the many things he enjoys experiencing. It turned out that when we were there it was the start of the season and there was much buzz around town of the new young guns signed to the team. "They were all young, go getters with lots of heart!" I liked the sounds of it and was excited to head to United Centre to watch the Blackhawks play Detroit Red Wings. Of course I was expecting the Red Wings to destroy the Blackhawks. But interestingly enough, after 3 periods of non stop hitting and great hockey it was tied 3-3. The Blackhawks ended up pulling it out in the end in OT. It was an AWESOME game and after that they had my heart! I loved the Chicago Blackhawks!

When I got home I did some research on the team and found out that half the team were Canadians (3 from BC alone) as well as majority of the team were under 25 years old. I LOVED IT. They were the under dogs. Also I started to love the rivalry they brought to Vancouver. The Canucks hated the Blackhawks which helped my heart grow fonder of the Hawks. Well enough about all of that the reason why I am writing this blog is because when I was at Game 7 Canucks vs Hawks I ran in to some horrible Canucks fans. They were terrible winners and were extremely inappropriate at the end of the game. The way the two men acted made me dislike the Canucks fans....how DARE they be so rude even after they won. But I must admit that I don't like most Canucks fans (half of them don't know a thing about hockey). This is slowly changing though, I watched on CTV news about the guys always dressed in green spandex suits at Canucks games. They have been told by the NHL that they have some strict rules etc of what they are not allowed to do. I think this is ridiculous. These guys are HILARIOUS.... I mean at the Canucks vs Hawks games they have Vince Vaughn dressed up in a Canucks jersey and since they have been playing the Nashville Predators they have Carrie Underwood also dressed up in a Canucks jersey. These guys have some serious heart. I commend them and think they are bringing some great excitement for everyone to the games.

Here is the story from the Province: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Riding+Green+wave/4716465/story.html

Green Guys on Global News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUrpsM7N4yc&feature=related

As well as here is some youtube videos of their amazing antics!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkXvwG8xKJI&feature=related

My Creative Side....

Money has been a tight thing around our house as of well a year ago when we decided to purchase a house. Along with paying a mortgage now we are also paying to renovate it to our liking. This is awesome but means that I can no longer spend money as I please.... a hard concept for me to learn. Since high school I have been always working full-time and well....enjoying my pay cheques. I loved having the freedom to buy what I want and well be a little irresponsible. BUT since now my concern is paying the mortgage, the reno and putting food on the table I am learning to be more frugal. Ben's really been enforcing his "Dutch Cheapness" on me. I laugh now about it but over the last year it really has been a learning experience for me.
My new little projects have been searching for used furniture to see what I can sand down and re-paint. I can't afford anything brand spanking new but can afford some used furniture that just needs a little TLC. Sooo I started my hunt looking for a small three drawer dresser and a couple of night stands but I have come up short handed.... After hours on craigslist I have only found a whole lot of crap. But on top of that my family had me convinced that restoring old furniture is a waste of my time. "To re-finish something will take hours and hours, you might as well buy something that's brand new and all done."
In hearing that I thought that I couldn't give up that easily (plus I am really stubborn and wanted to prove them all wrong!) I decided to start with a much smaller project so I could see what it would be like. I decided I would look for a large wicker laundry basket for my bedroom. After only spending 20mins on craigslist VOILA, I had found one for only $10. I went and immediately picked it up, got it home and planned my attack. I went to home depot and bought a $7 wicker spray paint in dark brown. I was soooo excited to take it home and get started.

After 10 mins of spraying it I was excited, I had done this with my very own hands!!! After a few coats (I used the entire spray paint bottle) it looked FANTASTIC!!! I am sooooo proud of myself, before I would have forked out the $45-$55 to buy a brand new one and this one only cost me $17 and approx 25 mins of my time (in total spraying the three coats).

Enjoy pics of my exciting little project...more bigger ones to come!!!

Final Product!!!

Last Few Months.....

I wanted to be a better blogger than when I attempted at one a year ago. It's not looking much better but I hope I can redeem myself and get on here more than once every three months.

A lot has been going on in our lives in the last few months. The house has been keeping us so busy and has been extremely hectic. Even the thought of coming home on an evening and spending it blogging is definitely not something I wanted to do. Now that life has slowed down just a bit I can update you on everything going and blog a lot more.

Our new kitchen is FINALLY in!!!!! It took approx. 8 weeks to get a semi working kitchen. Right now it is looking like by the end of this week (week 9) we will have a full working kitchen, all our appliances working and cupboards full. It is going to a glorious day when I am able to cook in my kitchen and then sit down at our dining table and eat a meal in our own house.

Original Kitchen

New Kitchen

Back Wall with New Door & Window

With having no kitchen we really haven't spent a lot of time at home. Mainly because we can't cook here but all the rest of our rooms have been filled with all our kitchen appliances (one set for upstairs and one set for our downstairs basement suite). Our home hasn't been a very relaxing place to be and we don't have any room to just sit down and hang out. We are finally cleaning up everything and moving things from all the other rooms to our kitchen.

Other than that Ben and I have both been working a lot. Ben is currently on night shift and keeping busy with home stuff in the mornings. I am working for my dad still and going to school at BCIT in the evenings.

Our puppy Nixon is not so much of a puppy anymore he is now 8 months old. I have been taking him to beginner dog training classes. Also I have started to volunteer once a week in the afternoons at the Burnaby Custody Centre or Juvie Hall. I am a recreational volunteer so I play sports with the kids for a few hours. It's a lot of fun and the kids are great. I would like to volunteer twice a week but just need to get used to the environment first.

Coming up in a couple of weeks we are taking a 4 day vacation to California to visit Ben's Sister and Brother in law and their 4 awesome kids. We are really excited to just go down there and hang out. We are hoping for some hot hot weather so we can come back with tans. After working on the house and putting all our effort in to it we are excited to get out of town and enjoy some relaxing time.

I will blog more in the next few days of more that has been going on.

It's Official

When I thought things couldn't get worse with my Nana it certainly has snuck up on me and gotten worse. They found the primary source of cancer is in her ovaries and she is in stage 4 already. The cancer that they thought was in her lung is not actually in her lungs it's surrounding the lungs and trying to attach to everything. 

They are going to go over everything in a meeting with an oncologist tomorrow. The doctor will go over what procedures they are going to do and the the plan of action. The doctors have already suggested she go through surgeries and perhaps chemo. All of that will be decided tomorrow. I hope it goes well and isn't to overwhelming for my mom and her sisters. They need to be strong for my Nana and be her rock.

The hardest thing about it all is that my Nana feels really alone because my Papa doesn't know whats going on he isn't there for her. She broke down with my mom and is just really sad, she feels like she is going to be battling this all on her own. But little does she know that she has three daughters who are there for her and 6 grandchildren who are willing to do anything for her to help with this fight. I want her to realize that along with all of us she also has God who is with her no matter what. She is a strong Christian lady who needs to be sure that God is always her centre. I am learning every day from her whether she knows it or not.

I love my Nana and want see her overcome this cancer.

I Love My Nana

Shock is all I can describe right now for the way I am feeling. Only a few hours ago we found out that my Nana has been diagnosed with Cancer. This came out of NOWHERE as she has always been super healthy. She hasn't had any health problems throughout her whole life. Even two weeks ago we wouldn't have guessed anything. Now today she is going to start her battle against cancer. Unfortunately right now it is way to early to really tell exactly what the status is of her cancer. What we do know is that she has secondary cancer in her lungs but they are unsure of where the primary cancer is.

Tomorrow she is going to be transferred to VGH to see a respiratory specialist and then at that time will also be assigned an oncologist to treat her cancer. We will know more when she is transferred to VGH and they do another CT scan and have the specialist looking after her.

One of the hardest things that is going on with all of this is that my Papa has alzheimer's really bad and it has gotten worse in the last two weeks. He doesn't understand where my nana is and even when we tell her she is in the hospital he just says "let her stay there and rest" and then that's it he moves on to something else.

A positive thing I take out of all of this is how strong my Nana is and how rooted in the Lord she is. Her attitude is amazing and I truly wish that I could be there if I was going through what she is going through. She goes forward with her head up high and saying that "God is in control, my life is in His hands." She is at peace with what is going on but willing to fight for her life until God takes her away to Heaven if that is His will. I love her and want her to see all her grandchildren married as well as see at least one great grandchild.

I am really struggling with giving this to God and believe that He does have His hand in everything. It all seems so overwhelming and I am not sure how to cope or how to act. It's a struggle and I know that I need to be positive just like my Nana and know that if she goes to Heaven one day I will see her there.

I love her so much and want to see her overcome this. I want to be there with her throughout this so that she knows her family loves her and is praying every day for her.

Nana giving us a little speech and a prayer at our wedding 

Purchasing a Home...

Last April Ben and I decided to buy a house. It was a HUGE MASSIVE decision that was really exciting at first. Unfortunately I was in school so didn't have a chance to even see the house before we bought it. But Ben did and thought it would be a good first start home. Of course he said it needed a lot of work but he seemed extremely hopeful it wouldn't take to long to have the basement finished and ready for people to move in to help with our mortgage payments every month.

I knew this wasn't true as soon as we took possession of the house and I finally got to take a walk through and see just how much work was ahead of us.
I definitely wasn't ready for the overwhelming responsibilities that a house brings. I didn't know what to expect and wasn't sure what exactly it means when you become a home owner and on top of it all renoing a house and making a suite from scratch in the basement. We went from paying rent of $850 a month which included everything and that was it to now everything you have to pay in to your home. It all adds up, mortgage, gas, hydro, the reno and saving money for our property tax....AHHHHHHHH
It has been a very difficult transition for me from renting to buying a reno home. All I keep thinking about is how I am only 23years old and have all this responsibility. I have been struggling since we bought the house to look at the positive aspects of being a home owner.
Since I have started to see the house come along and progress is being made I am really starting to see it come together. I am finally starting to love my house and imagine the end of it all.
I am actually starting to get excited about designing the rooms and what the finished house is going to look like. I have decided that instead of concentrating on what needs to be done on the house I started a design book of what I would like each room to look like. I have put in the book pictures of furniture, layout plans and just overall looks of what I want to see in my house. Doing that keeps my mind off of where exactly the house is at right now. Progress seems slow but I have to be patient and understanding. I know that Ben is doing a great job and is working as hard as he can. Since he is doing the reno himself in order to save us money he either works during his days off or a few extra hours either before work or after work. So instead of nagging him about getting the house done I am looking on the positive exciting part of the house which is the design of everything and the gorgeous finished house that we own!

Some home shows I enjoying watching are:
     - Disaster DIY
     - Holmes on Homes
     - Design 101
     - Designed to Sell
     - Marriage Under Construction
There are a few more but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

Tough Day of Hard Work

Our house is finally starting to really come together. Today Ben, his dad and our cousin Trevor worked hard on wiring the basement. They got a lot done with three of them working hard. I got a lot done as well today. My brother and I did 3 loads of garbage to the dump. We ended up getting the backyard all nice and cleaned up. The only things we have left to take are the metal and copper and we need to cut down the two huge stumps. 

It feels good to have it nice and clean back there. I can start to see how our whole house is transforming. I cant wait to have the whole thing done. 

The Trailer This Morning Full of Junk

The Back of the House (Pile to the Left all Junk)

Delve

Lastnight I went to a worship night at my church. It was called Delve Extended Worship.
The dictionary defines Delve as:

                                 (A) To make a careful or detailed search for information

                                 (B) To examine a subject in detail 

  

For me it was a great time to relax, worship and reflect on the last month and just what a whirlwind month it was for me. I need to be filled with more faith and spend more time looking for my advice and information in the Bible and examine subjects from the Bible in detail.

Recently I have been thinking back to when I was in High School and how easy life was. I didn't have to work, I lived at home, all I had to do is go to school for 8hrs and hang out with my friends and play lots of sports. I attended a Christian school and was surrounded by likeminded people every day. The teachers were supportive and willing to pray with you at any given moment. At the time the forced chapel time once a week was painful for me as I thought it was a waste of time. Now I wish I could have a chapel time once a week where you worship, pray and just focus on God.

Along with going to a Christian school I was also raised in a Christian home which made it obvious that I would be a Christian. When I was at home everything revolved around Jesus. Once I graduated I started to work in the real world and realized that keeping up my Christian faith was very difficult. I have kept up with going to Church but once I lost my job over a year ago and started working a new job that had weird hours I stopped going to church for almost an entire year. It definitely has set me back in just my feelings towards faith and what I believe. I have been questing a lot and have fallen far far away from God.

So many things have gone on in my life in the last year that I have realized that the only way for me to be who I was when I was younger is to get closer to God and work on my Christian Faith. I am now ready and willing to put the work in because it is important in every aspect of my life especially in my marriage since Ben and I were brought together in the Church.

2011 To Do List

My New Years Eve this year was such an exciting one...NOT!!! I had just finished getting over the flu and has just gotten a nasty nasty cold. Sooo I opted for hanging out on the couch and watching movies with my puppy as my husband went to a party and promised to be home by at least 12:30 (which he was). I was fast in bed at 10:30pm since I wasn't feeling well so I didn't ring in the New Year and definitly didn't make any New Years Resolutions for 2011.

Instead of making resolutions I have been thinking more about things I would like to try or learn and things I want to get better at. I didn't want to make resolutions like lose 10lbs before March or exercise every single day or run a marathon in 3 weeks. I decided that making unrealistic resolutions is setting me up for failure and ultimately huge disappointment. Instead I put together the list below that is a list of things I want to accomplish over the entire year. Hopefully I can share all my new experiences I have and the struggles of trying to accomplish everything on this list in a year.

                                         * Read Bible & Journal at least once a day
                                         * Pray at least once a day
                                         * Tell my husband I love him every day (even if I dont feel like it)
                                         * Help out in children's ministry at Church
                                         * Read more books (instead of watching TV)
                                         * Bake something once a month (at least)
                                         * Cook new recipes & be more creative in the kitchen
                                         * Buy a sewing machine & learn how to sew
                                         * Be more creative & crafty
                                         * Learn how to be more frugal
                                         * Make a coffee table book of wedding photos
                                         * Copy all photo's on to CD's
                                         * Learn how to play the piano
                                         * Work towards finishing my associates certificate in business
                                         * Go bungee jumping & skydiving
                                         * Play in a sports league of somesort (dodgeball perhaps)

"On a personal level, Goal setting is a process that allows people to specify then work towards their own objectives. Goal setting is a major component of Personal Development."

2010 What A Year

This year was definitely a whirlwind year. It felt like it flew by in just a few sleeps and now officially I am on to the start of another year.


In a little nut shell Here are a few things that took place over the last year...


          1) January of last year I decided to return to full time school to get my

               business diploma (have not been able to continue with schooling)

          2) Got to enjoy all the excitement of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games

          3) April Bought a house in Burnaby and moved in

          4) Continually Renoing our house (brand new basement and upgrades to 

              the upstairs)

          5) July started to work with my Dad and helping him with his business

          6) August went on a trip to Holland and Germany to visit relatives

          7) September was working two jobs and decided to quit squash altogether 

              (one of the hardest decisions)

          8) October bought our new puppy a German Shepherd cross Lab named Nixon

          9) December quit my job at the Fairmont and am just working with my dad

          

Now that I look back at a list of the events that have taken place this year that I think are the biggest and took the biggest decisions it doesn't seem like a lot but at the time it all felt a bit crazy. The year has been filled with many changes and decisions. I am excited to see what the next year will bring and what exactly will happen........

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."