So what do you think of my new template? I'll be honest, I'm not entirely happy with it... I'm not sure if a little tweeking will do the trick but I'll try it out and see how it goes over the next few weeks. Do you like this one better or my other one?

Today was gorgeous! I love this Spring weather, and what makes it even better... Sunday is daylight savings!! It's always nice to sleep in an extra hour... but it will mess with my Grandpa! He already wakes up at 5am in the hospital so I hope he gets with the change and isn't wake up at 4am until the next daylight savings change!

I got to wear just a sweater today over my t-shirt, no jacket needed... okay well it was a little chilly with the wind but I am good at sucking it up! :) AND I wore one of my new tops and my new sandals from Arkansas... they are so adorable! They are brown suede with these pink bows... oh they are so cute I'll take a picture! And they matched my outfit perfectly... which is always key. Although I don't like it when my sandals match a part of my outfit exactly (with regards to colour) unless it's white or black.



Anyways, nothing really exciting happened today... except I got a couple good quotes:
"As long as you love yourself people can do nothing but love you too." I think that we should be telling our sisters, daughters, cousins, friends and nieces every day that they are gorgeous, because they are. It's a horrible thing plaguing youth today, I remember growing up thinking I was the ugliest person in the world, it's a horrible horrible feeling and I never want anyone I know to have to feel that as a child!
The other one I can't remember... but my horoscope is good today... I read it once a week in the Cord (if I remember) haha....
LIBRA
If you are thinking about a close friend or partner, a lot your situation with him or her will soon be resolved. Don't let issues in the past effect the future. Things are going to be getting better over the next while
AND (since I'm a cusp baby) SCORPIO
Even if you are unsure about what you are working towards you must keep going until all of your work is finished. Your rewards will soon be coming to you. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Focus on your goals.

Who knows what this all means, but what it should mean is I have to get back to my assignment... yay... (boo)... I will be up late... it's only 12:30am though and I'm still holding in quite well... who knows maybe there will be some more 4am postings!

I had the most fabulous sleep and woke feeling more refreshed then I have in a long time... I mean it still wasn't perfect, but pretty darn close! Jumped out of bed, showered and got dressed for the gorgeous weather that we had today... one of my new tops (in turquoise), dress pants and my green sandals. I had to dress business casual because I did a bunch of interviews for my research study. Anyways, I was walked across to the main campus and had to go over this grassy area which was a slight hill, I could tell it was wet and mucky but thought as long as I walk slow I'll be fine. Wrong. My sandal went in sideways somehow and I twisted around managing to only drop one knee and calf in the mud as well as covering my feet. So here I am with one leg covered in mud wearing my dress pants on my way to class... shit. Ran into the bathroom and tried to wash it off, did an okay job, but when it dried you could definitely see something was there if you looked carefully. I even got mud under my toenails! EWW!

Get to class, sit through a rather fun Crime lecture summing up our last unit and starting to review for the exam. At the end of class I go up to the prof to make sure he got my assignment from the previous Thursday, I handed it into a sketchy box so I came with another copy just in case. He knows my name and quite a bit about me so it always makes me feel special when I go talk to him. He said he did in fact get my assignment and not to worry, I said he could have the second one too if he wanted and then if one got a higher grade I'd take that one back. He laughed and I went to wish him a good weekend, then remembered it was only Tuesday and said "Have a good couple days!" Boy did I feel stupid then! Oh well.

Started the first of my interviews, I had four interviews before my next class, all went well and those being interviewed seemed receptive of my questions. I headed to the library before class to grab some books for a research paper, apparently I hadn't been watching the clock and only had 20 minutes to run from the library (holding a stack of books) across to the other side of campus and then some to my car, move it into the St. Mike's parking lot (you can only have your car on the road for 3 hours, you can park in school lots for free after a certain time) and then dash back to the other side of campus for my class... I made it with 3 minutes to spare AND didn't slip in any mud!

Class was horrible, I hate my Research Methods class, apparently I'm a Quantitative Girl not Qualitative. After class I met up with Julie and we walked over to our Habitat Meeting. I'm on the exec next year in charge of fundraising... we need a lot of money to make our builds happen. I'm excited! I had two more interviews after the meeting, one of them was long because it was with a friend from home. We talked for about an hour (the interview took 15 minutes) and talked about everything, including talking about how instead of Mono I might have an Iron Deficiency... but in any case it involves a blood test which I'm terrified of!! Hopefully the problem will just go away....

Came home and it was already 8:00... made some dinner since I hadn't been able to eat all day and watched a little TV before buckling down to do some work. Got distracted and re-mapped part of my Europe trip possibly... what do you think Spain or Switzerland. With Spain there is more travel time and less time to spend in other places because it takes a couple days to get to Madrid from Florence. However, Spain would be awesome and culturally amazing... however, wouldn't Switzerland also be amazing? I think it sounds like I have made up my mind, but I was so excited about Spain so I'm confused with my own thinking. Any thoughts?

Now I'm just sitting here, watched Amazing Race 7... I admit I love that show. My Mom just called, she can't sleep. We talked for about 30 minutes then I said she should go to bed, she isn't tired but has to be up at 6am. She's going to finish her chapter in her book then head to bed.

Tomorrow I have only one class and my last article comes out in the Cord. I hope the weather is a gorgeous as today!!! Today was not only sandals weather, it was also skirt and t-shirt weather! Well maybe if a skirt then a sweater on top of that t-shirt haha!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!!

When you get Mary Poppins on DVD!

What a fantastic long weekend! And it wasn't even long for me because I already have Fridays off normally! On Friday everything was closed, so my Mom and I fed my Grandpa lunch AND dinner. It was a very good day for him, actually it was a good weekend! On Friday he even asked us (at dinner time) if we could cut his hair. That's one of the most 'with-it' comments he has made in MONTHS. So it was great and we happily agreed to cut it the next morning. Friday night I spent with a really good friend... due to the person's privacy, I'm keeping the details of the night private, but I got home at 3am and was exhausted!!

On Saturday, we took the sissors into the hopsital with one of those plastic barber sheets to catch the hair. We propped him up in bed (he hates being moved) and he did not complain once! It took 45 minutes in a stuffy HOT room but he looks great now and is much happier to have the hair short. After feeding lunch we had to run some errands. First to Hikers Haven so my Dad could return something and I could try on packs for Europe, then we went to Price Club to pick up some thing for washing the car (his didn't hold up over the winter) and I got some new books, all of which I left at home for my Mom to read, then to Canadian Tire for a return *yawn* and finally to the grocery store for me! :) After dinner I dropped by my friend Carmen's house because I haven't seen her and Mel since Christmas! It was great to see them but I couldn't stay long because I had already made other plans, which Carmen knew all about. When I was there however she shared some news that quite frankly blew me away!... Her younger sister is pregnant! Carmen just found out three weeks ago, the rest of the family has known since the beginning... which was 7 months ago! So she is due in June and it's going to be a baby boy (Liam Skylar). Amanda seems somewhat indifferent about keeping him from what I have heard but the parents of the baby's Father feel that it is very 'un-Christian' because it's spliting up the family. What family! The parents (his) said she can bring Liam by every once in a while... THANKS. And he is in his 3rd year at York so it's not as if he will be dropping out to support the baby, so what family is it spliting up when half of them don't seem to give a rat's ass! I'm worried for the baby, Amanda can barely take care of herself! She is vegetarian and apparently allergic to something in Iron pills, the doctor told her that her levels were so low that she or the baby could die in child birth, she doesn't seem to care. Anyways, enough about THAT...! So that night after Carmen's place I went out with Tom, James, Dave, Cassy, Richard and Christina. Em showed up for about an hour with Lara. Anyways, after hanging out at Dave's for a while we went to a local bar. The cops showed up asking everyone for ID, they said it was more a check on the "establishment" then on us... well I still felt kind of violated. I mean, I'm old enough so I didn't have anything to worry about, but it still felt as though there was no trust (and yes, I realize it's their job). Funny thing is, Cassy is not old enough and the police believed her fake ID!! We had a great time, just talking, I didn't drink because a) I'm broke and b) I was driving! After the bar, and me taking the boys to McDonalds -they called McDonalds to ask what the McDeal Meal was for the day and it met their standards- we went back to Dave's house for a while. On our way out we saw the coolest thing, now keep in mind it's like 2am on Easter morning, sitting on Dave's lawn was a little adorable brown bunny rabbit!! I tried to catch it, and failed miserably! Dropped James off at home, then Tom... we had one amazing conversation as I sat in his driveway, it was fantastic! Reminded me how much I love some of my friends and why.


Sarah

Sunday... HAPPY EASTER... we fed Grandpa lunch, he wasn't AS responsive as he had been but it was far from a bad day. Went home and got dinner ready for the night then it was pretty much just sitting around reading and doing homework until 4:30 when the family showed up for dinner. Hannah was wild and demanding... she is getting so jealous of Sarah. Apparently when people say (about Sarah) "Oh, she's walking!" Hannah says "I am too!" Poor kid. Sarah had some nasty thing with her eyes and they were all goopy, apparently it's just part of this nasty cold she has, I limited touching time with her, I don't want gunk oozing out of me!!!

Went shopping this morning before coming back to school, mostly just got clothes that I can wear at work this summer but I got a new pair of skate shoes (DC) because my old ones are all worn out and I need something to take with me to Europe. Now, I'm here sitting back in my room putting off work... maybe I'll check up on all the blogs I slacked on reading this weekend... yeah that's what I'll do.

Labels: Pictures

Well, after allowing you all to see my stressed craziness last night through the pictorial below I decided to post something else, so that isn't the first thing one sees when coming to my blog.

Have a great Easter weekend everyone, I have some great plans lined up and am looking forward to my break from school.. although, I have Fridays off anyways, so I'm not actually missing anything!

While writing an essay on the policing and criminalization of rape... it's 4am

Today is a gorgeous day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I am in my vest and sandals. You know the day is going to be great when you don't have to wear socks!!! I wore sandals last year until Thanksgiving (Oct) when we got our first snow... now mind you the weather was still incredibly cold up until this time, there were many a day when my toes turned white as I trudged home in negative whatever weather... a 15 minute walk is FOREVER with frozen toes. But now, the time has come again, where I can officially begin with my sandal wearing. I admit, I wore them in Arkansas and it was hard to put them away upon returning home... I also admit that when it snows this weekend my toes will be cold and my Mom will yell at me... but I will stand strong! I don't have any of those cheap Old Navy flip flops... not that there is anything wrong with them... but I tend to go towards the nicer and more expensive kind... and I have those in excess. My favourite are a pair from American Eagle in a beige cord material... but I got some in Arkansas that might compete, they are brown with these really cute pink bows on them... okay that sounds ugly but they really are cute! It's going to be a great day!

I'm off to make lunch... and as an aside, in Canada we walk on the right side of the street, pass on the left, it's just like driving... in England do they walk on the left? I never noticed when I was over there, I think they must have because I kept running into people... hm... interesting.

First off, thank you to everyone who has congratulated me, either through my blog, in person or on MSN. I think this is going to be my last year playing hockey until after I graduate... it's a really hard decision giving up something that I love so much, but I just don't seem to have enough time to dedicate to my team, which I feel horribly about. And now, we're going into the Championship game, to win my last season would be remarkable, to come in second, well that's still pretty good. I have said once before that it would be my last year playing, the season before coming to university, and look at me now. We won that year too, that game is one of my best memories. I think it was one of the only times I have wanted to cry because I was truly happy. Standing in that line waiting to get my trophy knowing that we were number one. We played all three periods, then went into overtime, into shootouts and finally after going through almost our entire team... we scored and won. It was incredible, we piled on the ice, half of us rushed our goalie, the other half the girl who had just scored, and we just rolled on the ice screaming. It was incredible. It had been a crazy weekend, we had been in a tournament for the previous two days, somehow won all our games and were supposed to go to the finals... on the same day and time as our championship game back home. Needless to say we dropped out of the tournament, but it was great practice for what was to come. I hope we win, but if we don't, it was fun trying... right?

Below I have included an article about our game that was in the paper...
Philthy's win title
Apr 4, 2003

Philthy McNastys are the 2002-03 Oakville Hornets Midget/Intermediate champions.
But not before an absolutely thrilling overtime cliffhanger before a full house, that came down to the dreaded shootout.

Fusepoint and Philthy McNastys played three periods of scoreless but exciting end-to-end hockey. They then played a five-minute overtime and were still tied. Then they played four-on-four for another scoreless five minutes. Then another five minutes, three-on-three.

K.L. for Fusepoint and M.L. for Philthy McNastys were flawless in net. Pucks were flying off posts, crossbars and sticks but none went in.

Finally, the dreaded shoot-out came. Fusepoint's C.Z. scored first but the fifth and final shooter N.D. evened it up for the white team.

Finally on the 11th shooter for Philthy McNastys, M.E. scored to win the championship.

Coaches B.T. and P.D. both proved they had strong hearts by surviving all the excitement. Congratulations go out to both teams as this was a hard fought, clean and exciting game.

Number One!

We won! I can't believe it! We won our semi-final game (for hockey), so we are onto the Championship game on April 3rd... VERY EXCITED!

Grandma and the grandkids... I have been reflecting a lot, and being sad a lot, this is hard, Easter was special to my Grandma. She was a very religious person. Someone said back around Valentine's day when I said how strange it was for my Grandma not being there, that I had to go through all the holidays before I could fully accept that she was gone. Well here comes another, and it's going to be a hard one. Right after is Mother's Day... what are we supposed to do? My Grandma would always come over for lunch and we would have potato salad and rolled lunch meats and vegetables, and other stuff like that... but this year it's going to be so strange. I want to call her, I think if I call her house I'll get her answering machine but I don't know if I can handle hearing her voice and knowing that I can't talk to her for real. So this Easter I'm going to buy Sarah and Hannah stuffed bunny rabbits, because that is what my Grandma would have done, and for the rest of us, chocolate Easter eggs. I'm not quite ready to let her go and I don't think anyone else is either.

So Grandma, I don't know if I believe you can hear me or not, or that you can see me, but if you can, watch me play tonight, because everything I do, I do it for you.

I think I'm having one of those good days people talk about all the time and yet at the same time, I'm not. I just got the most fabulous e-mail from a friend, the details of which aren't necessarily important, except to say that we had been fighting and all is better. It was one of those e-mails that starts with a happy beginning that when you read you know the e-mail will contain only happy information, and it did.

After a meeting on campus, I came home to find an assortment of my housemates and some of the neighbours (Leanne, Christina, Asif, Ty and Moe) just starting Ray, so I watched that, it was pretty good in my opinion. Later last night I watched The Notebook, which I was very disappointed in and thought the book had been much better.

Back to my day, today. So besides the good e-mail, I also managed to get some errands accomplished. Have you ever noticed that actually getting out of the house and doing things that need to be done is much more satisfying then finishing things inside the house? I went to Shoppers to pick up a medication that I have to start tomorrow and got my skates sharpened while looking for some new running shoes. Then came back here and cooked myself some lunch and read for the rest of the day. But now I've hit an impass. I don't want to do work but I have so much to do!!!

I have made the difficult decision to not visit my Grandpa tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do so I should be focusing on that. I feel bad. I really do. But last week I saw him twice and it's Easter weekend so I will see him a bunch of times. Am I being selfish? I feel as though I should go home and see him, I do every Sunday, but what if I don't and something happens?

Now, I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to post this, but there doesn't appear to be one any time soon, so this has to be good enough. I found an e-mail in my inbox last week from Tricia informing a group of us about a very nice man named Greg. Greg lost his wife nearly a year ago to Breast Cancer. On April 1st every comment on his site will be worth a dollar, so go over there. This is his post:

Sticky Post: First Anniversary Memorial Commentathon
On April 1, we'll be running another commentathon in memory of my wife on the first anniversary of her death. Things are already better organized for this one. On January 11, we raised almost three thousand dollars for the National Breast Cancer Foundation programs for breast cancer education and screening for low-income women. Our target on April 1 will be $10,000. If you are interested in helping out, in dollars, prizes, or website PR, or just want the latest info, please see our sponsorship form. If you want more detail on how this all works, check out this post by my friend Crystal. Button links are available here. Thanks!

UPDATE: As of March 8, we are pushing close to $3000 in total sponsorship. Thank you so much; I remain hopeful we can get to $10,000. In addition, we now have commitments to offer one iPod Mini and three iPod Shuffles as raffle prizes. It now appears that I have secured an iBook for the grand prize, if we meet the $10k goal, but I have also succeeded in getting a new Mac mini donated, the slickest little "desktop" you have ever seen. I’m still working out the details on how to make the raffle part of this work, but I believe I have secured an impartial judge. Stay tuned.

So please go to his site and donate money, show your support, it really is a great thing he is doing. You can put some buttons on your computer like the one I have displayed, it very quick and easy, if you need help let me know and I would be more than happy to do it for you.

Well I'm still alive... yup I made it. There was a point last night when I didn't know how I was going to get home... but then a very nice taxi came and picked me up and drove me to my door step. I would write all about the evening but there isn't much to tell really, we drank a lot of green beer and maanged to find a lot of goodies including some antlers, a hat, these little glowing button things, and some plastic cups that say "Happy St. Patrick's Day from Alexander Keith's". So instead of me explaining, check out the pictures...

Third Arkansas Reunion: St. Patrick's Day Pictures

Okay, so allow me to share with you a tidbit of yesterday's news. I would have posted this yesterday but thought I would rather post about my Mom since it was her birthday.

Two Not Guilty of Air India Bombing
Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Vancouver businessman, and Ajaib Singh Bagri, a Kamloops, B.C., sawmill worker have been released of charges in bombings that took place in 1985. The first bomb went off in an air plane just off the coast of Ireland and killed 329 people, the second went off prematurely and killed 2 baggage handlers.

Actor Robert Blake acquitted of Killing Wife
Blake was accused of killing his wife four years ago, only 6 months after their marriage. In court they decided there was unsufficient evidence so they dropped the charges. I just hope his 4 year old daughter won't be horribly scarred for life by this.

Scott Peterson sentenced to death
I can't say I am too happy about this verdict. I'm sure everyone knows the case so I won't even bother going into it. I think Scott Peterson is a horrible horrible man, but why let him off easy by sentencing him to death? In Laci's brother, Brent Rocha's testimony he said, about bringing a gun to kill Scott, "I chose not to kill you myself for one reason, so you would have to sweat it out and not take the easy way out." He shows no remorse, no sympathy. Horrible, horrible man. Let him suffer until the day he dies, shrivelled up and thinking about his dead wife and son every day. But that's just how I feel about the death penalty...

Labrador Man gets 7-years for 'animalistic' abuse
A man tortured and sexually assaulted a teenage girl whom he held captive for 3 weeks. In court, they were told that he also abused his girl friend and shot her with a pellet gun. He has been sentenced to seven years with consideration to the fact that he suffers with fetal alcohol syndrome and is from acommunity known for an addiction for sniffing gasoline. Disgustingly, the girl wasn't even reported missing and nothing was thought to be wrong until she arrived home bruised and broken after escaping.

Machete Attacker 'sorry'
This one is extremely delightful. A woman attacker her neighbour with a machete attempting to kill her. She managed to chop the woman's hands off while leaving her for dead. The hands have been reattached by she has very limited motor functions in one hand and none in the other. She suffers from severe emotional problems and cannot be left alone. The woman was only charged with 6.5 more years in jail and has the possibilty for parole after 2-3. Horrifying. Stay friendly with your neighbours!

Miscarriage Blamed on Stay in British Jail
A Canadian woman of Afgan discent flew into Glasgow to visit her husband, a refugee living in Scotland, after being detained and questioned she was thrown into jail. She complained of pains but was not tended to. The case is still under investigation.

Crazy day in the news, wonder what today will bring being St. Patrick's Day and all... I'm out drinking my green beer tonight, and I'm VERY excited, I'm sure I'll post alcohol influenced pictures tomorrow, but until then... HAVE FUN EVERYONE! :)

Today is my Mom's birthday. She is fifty years old. They say that you should never reveal a woman's age, but I say, what is there to be ashamed of! At 50 she has raised two children, my brother is 26 and I am 19. At 50 she has been married for 30 years, 31 in November. At 50 she has a ton of friends. At 50 she goes to the gym 5 mornings a week. At 50 she has taken care of and nurtured elderly parents and parent in laws never once saying she didn't deserve it. At 50 she is an amazing artist but nobody knows it. At 50 she is gorgeous. At 50 she is everything I want to be when I'm 50.

My Mom is my best friend. She has been with me through the hard times and the not so hard times. Supported me in everything I have ever done. And been there when some of those choices were the wrong ones. She will do something for me in the drop of a hat. And not just for me, but anyone she meets. She is generous and caring, kind beyond belief. She is an amazing person. And yes, I am bragging. Because this amazing person is my Mom and I didn't even have to choose her, she chose me. This year has been hard on her. My Grandpa, her Dad, went into the hospital in September and will never come out. She has watched him break down until now, some days, it's hard to tell if he knows himself. Yet she goes to the hospital every day, sometimes twice. It tears her down every time, yet she does it.

My Mom is amazing. She bakes my friends brownies and cookies. Sends me candy and cards in the mail just to say she cares.

Sometimes I ask what I ever did to deserve a Mom like her, but I think the answer to that question is be just as amazing to my kids as she always was to my brother and I. I hope. And how many people actually want to be their mother? I know I do.

Happy Birthday Mom. You're amazing at 50, I can't wait until 60.

Well today was a wash. I did nothing. And I really mean NOTHING! I read all day, which was nice, something to allow me to get away from reality, but now reality is banging at my door louder then it was this morning as I slept through my not actually set alarm. I guess I just couldn't sleep last night. In the evening I went "out for coffee" with Shirley to this cute place called Moody Blues. I say "out for coffee" because neither of us actually had coffee, we both had tea, the most delicious tea actually. Mine was mango and she got blueberry. It was real tea, not the stuff in those bags that you just add water too. It was super yummy and the aroma filled my body so I could smell it all night. It was nice to get out. Go talk. So now I'm sitting here. Typing this in a writing style that isn't my own but something completely different then the normal. I don't really like it. Makes me feel disjointed. But for today this is me. Abnormal. Everyone needs to be different every once in a while. Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday. I think she looks closer to 40 then 50. I hope I age like my Mom! I love my Mom. I think that's all I have to say. Oh, I got accepted to be a mentor for Laurier International Friendship Exchange *LIFE*. That should be cool.

So apparently I had a fantastic weekend. I say, apparently, because I didn't realize it had been quite that good until I got home late tonight. As I already said I went out with my Arkansas friends after going to the Fantasia party on Thursday. We had a great time at the bar, which always happens (even if it isn't the bar) when we get together. I guess I never expected to make such amazing friends on this trip... yeah I thought we would bond, but see each other this often after? That I did not expect. But it's great. Pictures from the 2nd Reunion are online, we are moving all of our photos from Ofoto to yahoo photos because some people are having issues uploading while in Residence. Check them out: 2nd Reunion Photos

Second Arkansas Reunion

Saturday I had to wake up incredibly early, and since I had been so nervous about the party the next day I hadn't slept the night before. I drove into Oakville and started getting everything I needed... the drive took longer than it should have because of a stupid blizzard, but I got there at least! Picked up the flowers, which were beautiful then I swung by my house to grab my Dad's car so I could go get all the dishes and glasses, then picked up candles and some last minute stuff. Went home, grabbed my car, got the fruit and vegetable platter from the store, came home, unloaded both cars and then had to start organizing. Boy was that a struggle! There were 100 plates and glasses to put somewhere, and all the rooms had to be cleaned and organized. At 4:30 two of my Mom's friends stopped by to drop off food and saw I needed help, so they stayed for about an hour to help organize things, and hold down the fort while I had my shower. Everything was ready for people by 6:15, the first guests showed up at 6:50, and then the party was in full swing. I can't believe I relatively single handedly planned a party for 50 people! A few ended up not making it because of the weather, but they were coming from quite far so it's better that they didn't risk it (the roads were like an ice rink apparently). Everything went great, my Mom was surprised and had a great time. When I showed her the slideshow I made of her life she cried, which made me happy because they weren't sad tears. There was enough food and alcohol to feed an army, so I got to bring left-overs back with me and we distributed some to neighbours. I'm so glad it went well, you can see the pictures here: Mom's 50th Birthday Surprise! (Isn't my Mom gorgeous!)

The Family at Mom's 50th Birthday Party

Today we slept in a little bit later then normal... company didn't leave until 3am! My Aunt Ruth (My Grandpa's sister) was supposed to come down from London with her daughter, she said the roads were still bad there so she will come down some time in April. This would have been a great time for her to see my Grandpa, he was more alert then normal today. I like days like today, they make the rest of the days feel shorter. I can remember these days to keep me happy for longer now. After my Grandpa, we went to drop something off at my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Lou's house (Mom's Aunt and Uncle, my great Aunt and Uncle) then stopped by my Uncle Brian's house to drop off some more stuff. My Mom and I spent most of the day together, we organized and divided up the food (and ate a lot too!) and pretty much just vegged.

I had hockey tonight, we tied, which was okay. It would have been nicer to win obviously, but in either case, win or tie, we are in FIRST PLACE going into Semi-finals next weekend. I'm really excited! I think this might be my last season playing so it would be nice to win the Championship game!

Also in the great news department, our Laurier Girls Hockey Team is officially the best in Canada, they have been the best in Ontario for years now, but they finally have the award they deserve. Check out our amazing girls: Laurier Dethrones Alberta for School's First Hockey National Banner

I just found out how much I'm getting back on my taxes... I had been going around saying that I needed to win the thousand dollars from Roll up the Rim because I had already spent the money, but today I was informed that I no longer need to win! I am getting back OVER a THOUSAND dollars!! Yeah, so that made my weekend all the better! Thank you Government for a great little savings plan!

I think that's all my good news for now...

Labels: Pictures

Today has been a great yet horrible day. I did fun stuff, but I feel horrible, very depressed and quite lethargic.

Last night I went out with my Arkansas friends after going to a Fantasia party... for those of you who don't know what that is... it's like a Tupperware party with sex toys. It was great!

I had a great sleep, something that is rare for me, but Lija was supposed to call at some point in the middle of the night and she didn't. I got worried about her when I woke up and hadn't heard from her, but luckily there was an e-mail in my inbox.

All day I basically vegged... a stressed veg mind you. Baked all day, so it was waiting, wait for the oven to warm up, wait for the time to be done, wait for it to cool and then repeat. I only have one 8x8 pan so I had to have the squares cool before I could start the next type. I only ended up making two, they took forever to cool down even in the freezer. The first, Raspberry Bars, are disgusting, but I don't like coconut so that's why... the second are super yummy! They don't have a name... lol... but they are good!
Yummy Squares
1 1/4 cups flower
1 Heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or marg.
Mix together as pastry. Spread on well greased 8x8
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons flour
1/2 cup coconut (I left this out)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
Spread on fist mixture and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

My edges became crispy because my oven is really old and sucky here at school... but I cut that off.. :)

After my baking escapades I went out bowling.. yes bowling, with the Student Life section of the Cord which was fun, but by this point I was very lethargic/sad feeling so I didn't have as much fun as I should. I suck a bowling, serious suckage... but I tried and that's all that matters, right?

Why am I feeling so down? I think it's just stress, tomorrow is the big surprise party. Also, things are happening left right and centre and because of the content of the "things" I can't talk to my closest friends about it. Which sucks because then I jsut keep it all bottled inside. It's not something that uspets me, or bothers me, but I think about it, which tires me out. I think about a lot, there is always something going on in my head that I just can't stop.

I guess I'm not really sad, not depressed, just tired, very very tired. I'm actually quite happy, everything in my life is going right. But there is something in my heart, telling me I can't be happy, not yet.

Eventually everything is going to come out in the open, hopefully it will end for the better.

In the meantime, I'm planning my trip. Only 2 months until I'm out of here and finally get to reunite with Lija!

Just got off the phone with Lija, everything is working out...!!!

So it's after 12:00 which means it is officially your 20th Birthday, how scary is that! Such a big boy, and to think, we were only 15 when we first started this whole ordeal.

Can't say I have regretted one second of it.




Except maybe that one time when we drank all night in Toronto and I had to get my butt back for work at 9am, I kind of regret that night... it wasn't a fun morning!! And YOU were the one who was late for work!

I don't regret those times we fought, we're just helping each other become better lawyers. Anything and everything can be debated. And will. (PS. River Oaks is better... remember that one?)




I'm glad you came into my life, and sometimes you just know when you have a forever bond. Thanks for making me smile when I am sad, and teaching me that I'm beautiful.

Happy Birthday Darlin!

I talked to a really good/old friend of mine and they just had a MAJOR change in their life which I think of as an AWESOME change. This means such great things for them... and well, it actually will have super positive outcomes on me! I am so happy, haven't stopped smiling since I found out last night! I know some people are upset about what has happened, but that's just because they can't see the light through the trees.

Okay, sorry to keep you all in suspense... if you were in suspense, I don't know, only Jeanette commented and I think she was... ANYWAYS.... I'm trying to make the moment bigger, you may all be disappointed. I think I'll start with my awesome day... hehe

So today I had an interview for a program I'm really interested in here at Laurier *cross fingers* so hopefully I'll get the position. I have a bunch of apps due this week for other positions, kind of makes me nervous!! Anyways, after that I braved the Waterloo blizzard to drive home for dinner, then over to my Aunt and Uncle's house for Sarah's first birthday party. I love my two girls, although I admit I didn't have nearly enough patience to deal with Hannah tonight. Spent most of the night with the baby, she doesn't cry, and is always laughing and smiling, what an easy going kid!! Now I'm back in Waterloo, sitting in an empty house, my roommates all went to the bar tonight, but that's okay, I'm tired anyways... :)

I was going to post something on first loves and "first times" but decided to put that off until I really have nothing to talk about. So I actually have nothing else to stall with... so on Monday I headed home and fed my Grandpa dinner since my parents went away for a couple days for some condo they won at Blue Mountain, and afterwards swung by a special building at which I purchased....

MY TICKET TO EUROPE! It's really going to happen. I mean Lija and I have been talking about it, but now I have the ticket, so it's going to happen! I'm backpacking around Europe for a month!! I'm super excited and currently planning where we want to go... YAY!

Check out my pictures from Building a House in Arkansas!

I love that feeling as you take your first sip of warm tea and it caresses the inside of your chest as it slowly glides down to your tummy warming your entire body in the process. That nice sweet taste that it leaves in your mouth as you warm your hands on the ceramic mug before taking another soothing sip.

So I had a pretty great weekend! On Thursday we had our "Arkansas Four-Day Reunion" which was amazing! We missed each other so much that we had to get together, and while I still do miss them, that will help tide me over for a whole week this time (especially since I talk to all 17 of them almost every day!) We went to the on-campus bar, Wilfs because one of our girls is underage (17!) and it worked out well because it was Battle of the Bands. I probably drank one Pint too many, but that's okay with me, I don't get hangovers regardless of how much I drink so it's just a matter of getting myself home (which the taxi man took care of). It was an incredibly late night, since after the bar closed we sat around in the basement of one of the residences and laughed about well... nothing. Although Ryan/Hamlet did sing for us "Build me up Buttercup" which was hilarious and I have on video, and he then proceeded to lick this nasty hair ball on the floor... anyways it was a good and very drunk night. If you check out the pictures you will notice that at all times I either have one drink in my hand, two drinks or a drink and a pitcher.

On Friday I high-tailed it home for dinner with my parents then they kindly drove me into Toronto to see K... I was going to take the GO Train but apparently they love me or something like that :-p. K and I spent the night talking and watching movies, somehow I managed to stay up until 4:30 which is quite the feat considering my drunken sleep the night before had been horrendous! I woke up with the sunrise *cou9:30gh* and got ready to take the train back to Oakville. Went into Etobicoke to see my Grandpa and feed him lunch then I guess did nothing because I can't remember the rest of my day... hm... In any case, I stayed home for dinner (HOME COOKED FOOD ROCKS) so I could talk to Lija (in Australia) before hitting the highway back to Waterloo.

Saturday night in Waterloo the neighbours threw a party so I showed up a little late to already drunken roommates, shared a few drinks with everyone and then retired to bed a little early (around 2am) since I had a ton to do the next day including write an article for the school paper.

Sunday, I was very productive, wrote my article, an essay and an essay proposal. Then dragged my tired ass to hockey where WE WON! It was a FANTASTIC game, we were on fire and won 6-1. They got their last goal at the end of the third period and to tell you the truth we must have been getting cocky because that puppy just rolled in, slow as molasses! It was an awesome game though, I am in SO much pain now which happens when you miss two weeks near the end of the season! We are currently ranked first in playoff standings which will hopefully remain until our round robin in a couple of weeks, I would love to bring home a trophy this year as I think it might be my last.... which is something I say EVERY year.

Today was an awesome day, but I think I might postpone my great news until my next post because this is getting rather long. In the meantime, I will give you a hint... it cost me a lot of money and will last a month.

What's going on in the world of Ashley since getting back on Sunday you ask? Well it's been quite boring actually but I seem to have a lot to share, odd I know! I definately didn't mean to leave the post about eating a fruit fly up that long... sorry!!

I slept pretty much all day Sunday and then went to bed very early... fell asleep with the lights on and Friends playing on my DVD player actually, luckily I was prepared and already in my pjs! You can't really blame me for all the sleep, not only had I just driven 22 hours but I just had that week of hard work and early mornings not to mention the sun draining all my energy. Inbetween sleeping and um... sleeping, I called my Mommy and talked to her for a bit, found out that Monty got a hair cut and was doing well with obedience training. I'm sure we talked about other things but most of that day is just a blur of sequins and pearls. I'm sure I did some other things of significance... however eating wasn't one of them, NO food!

So Monday was full of excitement... that's a lie. But I did attend my first class back, it drained me so much! I have reverted back to my hermitness and don't leave my room unless it's to go to class or greet the delivery man bringing my one meal a day. (Once again, NO food!)

I was talking to my Uncle Brian and when I was away his girl friend, Joanne found out that the reason she has been so sick recently is due to a cancerous tumor on her thyroid. They seem to think that with an operation she will be 100% o-k, I sure hope so!

So I finally went grocery shopping on Wednesday, it took me about an hour to shovel out my car... damn snow! Before going shopping I was pretty much living off "car food" as in the food that I took for travelling that wasn't consumed on the drive. This is what I hate up until Wednesday... now there were some other things thrown in there, but you get the idea.

An empty fridge diet
Then after going shopping I could actually prepare myself a real meal last night... impressive isn't it!?

That's better!

So last night we had a four day reunion for my Arkansas crew... we miss each other so much, we have all become such good friends, it's so strange how you can become friends that quickly with people you just met. Anyways, it was amazing, and I drank possibly one pint too many, but that's okay, I feel alright today... I didn't sleep well last night, worst "I've been drinking" sleep ever!! We went to our on campus bar so that Christine (the only underager) could come, and there happened to be some Music Exlosion thing on, so that was cool :)

I remember once we were sitting watching Dawson's Creek after an all night party and someone exclaimed, referring to Joey, "who actually talks like that in an argument!?" Mike and I both laughed, that's me, exactly. I have always used big words in arguments helps me get my point across... little does everyone know that in the heat of the moment I can make a fake word sound believable as it slides off my toungue. The whole point of that is I was just watching Dawson's Creek (yay for TBS!)

There was a fruit fly flying around my room and annoying me all evening and night... and now it's gone... I think I swallowed it! *ick!*

One hurt my friend, and I hate this, I think that boys f-ing suck! Why are you such assholes! Why don't you see a good thing when you have it!? F-ing pricks!