hee hee hee

get your own travel profile

I had signed off blogger, but I couldn't help adding this!

travels around the world

In my blog spy-ing today. I found this awesome link.

create your own visited country map

Unfortunately...I've only seen 2% of the world. I'm hoping that will change.

Ho hum...Brad&I went to Yip Hong's for supper tonight. And my fortune, which is appropriate for this blog, was "You will travel to many exotic places in your lifetime". Boy oh boy I sure hope that's true.

I'd sure love to go to Italy. But if that doesn't work...anywhere warm, with sand and sun! What countries would you like to visit soon?

Habakkuk

This was something that was shared in my ladies small group. It's just awesome. I was sharing with them about grieving and how frustrating it is that Jenn & John didn't get to have their baby in their arms. And this is what was brought up.

Habakkuk. A man that questioned God. A man that was frustrated and brought his complaints directly to God. He was not afraid to bring his difficult questions before God.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The sovereign Lord is my strength." -Habakkuk 3:17-19.

The comments at the bottom of my bible further expand on these sentiments. "Habakkuk affirmed that even in the times of starvation and loss, he would still rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk's feelings were not controlled by the events around him but by faith in God's ability to give him strength. When nothing makes sense, and when troubles seem more than you can bear, remember that God gives strength. Take your eyes off your difficulties and look to God."

How special that in the midst of their grieving Jenn&John are able to turn to God, ask and lean on God for strength and peace.

help desk

Today I did my usual weekly run to the police station. Unfortunately, today some unkind female officer was at the help desk. Pretty much every week, I pick up the same forms from the police station. I know the exact location of where to find them in the police station and can happily tell any rather lost police officer the directions to said forms. So like usual I started describing where the were to the unknowing police officer.

Well...she started grilling me, who do I usually have contact with? what's their phone number? where do you usually pick them up from? are they expecting you? Oh my goodness!! Fortunately I was able to spew off the phone number. Apparently she didn't feel like walking to that particular office, pick them up and bring them to me because she called that number, no answer. So I started giving her directions again. She goes, "I don't doubt you!", and I responded like a deer in the headlights with, "?ok??" Then she proceeded to page someone from the Traffic office to call her. And then asked them if they knew anything about who I was. And then she told me, "sit down". No please, no "hey, wouldn't you mind taking a seat?!" How bizzarre.

Anyways...thankfully one of our buddies...came out, waved me to come back and helped me out. I was almost in tears. Not nice lady. And he let me know that she is not a nice lady, phew!! I thought maybe it was just me.

On the upswing! I took the bus home today! Yipee!! I love taking the bus, there is something very urban feeling about it. And I like that I'm using public transportation. I used the cities nifty click and go system and easily and successfully found the route I wanted. Yeah Saskatoon bus service, well done. Of course, when I got off the bus, the rear doors got stuck on the snow bank and I had to get the driver to come help unjam them! Hee hee hee HO hum.

cupcakes

This past Sunday's cake decorating class was all about flowers. And figures, and well a whole bunch of other stuff. Anyways...here was my rather feeble attempt to decorate a few cupcakes. Some of the ladies did awesome cute cupcakes.

check, check!

I finally finished the little beside dresser that I was re-finishing. The one with the probable lead paint. Oops.

Don't you just love checking things off the to-do list! I sure do! One more down, yipee!

christmas gift ideas II

World Vision also has a gift catalogue. Check it out!

christmas gift ideas

I thought this was such an awesome idea.

From Canadian Food for the Hungry.

bathroom break

Yesterday, just before leaving work, I decided I better make one last trip to the bathroom.

Good thing I did because as I was about to leave the office, I realized I didn't have my keys. Hmmm - where did they go, after a five minutes search around my desk. I realized I'd left them somewhere? Where was the last place I'd been?! The Bathroom.

Oh dear - way down the hall I went, into the bathroom I go and there still sitting on the counter 2.5 hrs later are my keys!! PHEW! My keys were there. Hee hee hee.

relatives

Yeehaw! Yesterday was +5.

Shauna, you blogged about how time passing is relative. How about temperature! It feels SO warm out. The glorious sun is shining, the snow is melting, my jacket is unzipped and no scarf or mitts! Ahhhh...what a gentle reprieve.

Sometimes it sure feels like a lot of life revolves around "relatives" (hee hee hee no pun intended)! Brad and I were watching George Stroumboulopoulos from CBC's The Hour, before going to bed the other night. And Mr. Stroumboulopoulos was interviewing Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters. It was neat to hear how Dave Grohl described his experience with fame. He said something to the effect of, "that I'm still the same person, just life passing around me is different". It reminded me of the first time I travelled abroad and thought, for some reason, that I would be different. When really I was the same person just standing on different soil surrounded by a different view. It kindof bothered me. Now that's not to say that your environment and circumstances won't affect you or mold you, but we are who we are.

No one's experience is ever the same. I was reading the blogs of two other teachers, teaching English in Japan with the same group that I did and how interesting that their experiences of life there are so different from my experiences there. It's very interesting. We'll have commonalilties but such different experiences that it's almost totally different. I was encouraging someone the other day to avoid a particular store because of mine and others bad experiences and they responded with, "yes, that was what happened to you but everyone has different experiences". Ahhh - yes, tis true but sometimes wisdom also comes from experience. I'm sure I can hear a whole bunch of parents that once had teenagers going..."it's so true, if only they'd listened". My eyes, my lenses.

back blog II

So I was reminded of another silly story during supper with Janet&Ian.

"pell-o"

About 5 1/2 years ago, on a conference in London, Ontario I said that word. There was a very cute boy at the conference and he came up and introduced himself to me. Well my head got so flustered and as he said, "hi, my name's Enzo". I said, "oh hi, my name's pello, I, I, I mean Pella"

Ahhh sillyboys. Tee hee hee.

side note: while looking for a jell-o image, I found a link to this really cool jell-o recipe!

cake decorating

This was our long weekend, and with all the busy-ness happening we decided to stay put in Saskatoon. Which also meant that I did not miss my cake decorating class. Sarah, Tanya, Eleanor and I are in the midst of a 4-week class. Phew - it's been stressing me out.

Aren't hobbies suppose to be relaxing? Well here's what I managed to create. You like the #1 Brad? - hee hee hee ;)

akeelah and the bee

This holiday weekend if you are looking for a good movie to watch try, "Akeelah and the Bee".

Sarah and I relaxed last Sunday afternoon and watched this beautiful movie!

winter wonderland

Today I walked home amidst the snowbanks. Winter is back. I had almost forgotten that winter had arrived a few weeks ago until I woke up this morning and was slapped by winter. Sometime between going to sleep and waking up we had freezing rain and then 1 FOOT of snow. That's A LOT of snow. So winter really is here.

I thought that walking was a much better alternative than trying to drive Brad to work on the other side of the city, to my work. Shovel out the car after work, pick up Brad and then drive all the way back home. And I decided since it wasn't too cold and since I missed ballet on Mon. walking was a very good alternative. But I forgot that the foot path through the park wouldn't be shovelled and all the friendly university neighbours didn't shovel their walks. Needless to say I think I burned more calories walking home than I would have in ballet. I wonder what's harder to walk in...sand? or snow banks? And 5 minutes after getting back home it's night. Ho hum...I'm dreaming of Cuba and sand.

back blog

As per a conversation on Sat. night with Jen&John and Brad...we thought of the idea of backblogging. Maybe it's not a new idea but I thought I would share a story, that I had almost forgot about, from when Miss Amelie (from France) was here.

Amelie and I had the privilege of attending a roadsafety conference in Banff in June 2003. Wow, this really is back blogging. Anyways...we were walking from our room over to the others room and decided to take a quieter path instead of the main road. We spotted an Elk, quietly eating in the grove. So we thought, if we walk quietly and calmly, it should be fine.

We were wrong...The elk...huffed and gnarled, starting stomping it's hooves and then CHARGE!! It was galloping towards us and I took off. TOOK OFF RUNNINNG FOR MY LIFE. Never, ever, have I ran with such speed or determination. All I could think was where's the nearest door and how soon can I get there. But I didn't think that the deer would probably catch me. DUMB.

For some reason I turned around and there was no Amelie, where had she gone. Ahhhh - there she is standing behind a tree...yes, behind a tree. With a very angry and charged up elk. And in a parisian accent you hear, "help me, please help me". hee hee hee. And so we were rescued from harm by a delivery truck and some young men.

Huffing, puffing and heartbeats racing we reached our destination where they held up a notice, "achtung, caution, alert...elk calving season". Our room didn't come with this informative notice?

If, ever being chased by an elk, always run behind a tree or TALL object. Apparently that is the best way to avoid further confrontation. Thank goodness the elk followed her and not me!

peace that passes all understanding

We had the privilege of seeing Jenn&John on Sat. night. It was so neat to see how God IS holding them in His arms and to see how HIS peace is physically carrying them through this experience. It's just awesome that while they are grieving you can see their sense of peace.

It is just so neat when you see a friend and their husband drawing together. How Jen&John are supporting each other and loving each other and leaning on God's strength. God is an awesome God.

How this little life that was lost continues to bring life.

The only words that keep coming to me head are, "this too shall pass". That even though this is a time of mourning and grieving, there will be a time of rejoicing.

Click here to read Gordon Wallace's obituary.

reunion?

Look what I received in the mailbox yesterday!
Is it possible that University was that long ago?

sadness

There are some experiences in life that people should never have to experience and there are times when life is too real.

May God give peace to you...and love, with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Eph. 6:23