Babies and Boyfriends and Blogs

My friend Erin just had her baby! A girl named Sydney Rae, I would like to say congratulations and love the name! You and Devon will be excellent parents and I am so excited to see all 3 of you!

On a side note:My boyfriend Brian has a great blog(much fancier than mine as he is a computer programmer). A couple of days ago he made me a "Panda Gallery" using Flickr. Pandas are my new favorite animal. Thought I would give you all the link so you could take a peek.

www.briandanchilla.com

Love you and miss you all

INNER BEAUTY

Autumn
Beautiful leaves
Yellows, oranges, reds
Falling slowly
Seductively
Onto the street.
It reminds me of
a girl undressing
The leaves falling
Revealing...
the ugliness of the naked branches.


This is my poem for all the people that have eating disorders. 15% of women have, have had or will form an eating disorder in their lifetime. Free yourself from the stereotypes, the media and all things that are unattainable. Beauty comes in so many different forms and inner beauty is by far the most important.

SNOW DAYS IN SASKATCHEWAN?

It is very odd to have a snow day in Saskatchewan. We have terrible weather a lot and things usually keep going no matter what the conditions. We got dumped on this weekend. I was supposed to go to Tisdale but we had crazy amounts of snow, little visibility and otherwise general terrible road conditions. As such, I stayed in the city. The good thing about snow days is that you can get a lot done seeing as you are stuck inside and can't go anywhere. We had some people over for a dinner party and games night on Saturday(all lived very close and so no one had to cancel and some walked(or trudged you might say) through the snow to my condo. Brian made Chicken Parmesan and it was a hit! The 8 of us had fun playing games till after 1am. I got a lot of homework and work stuff done this weekend too which was great. Brian and I ventured out yesterday as we were both starting to get "cabin fever". We went to a bookstore which was closed because of the weather, almost got stuck twice and stopped at a grocery store which is usually busy and only had about 10 people in it, we also went to Tim Hortons for coffee and the only people there were the workers and us...haha. Last night we attempted to go for a walk and only made it a block, very good workout to try to walk through this much snow;-) I am hoping the weather gets better by next weekend as I want to go see Mom, go to my friend's bridal shower and I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my good friend Erin's baby(which was due on January 20th) so am hoping it comes safely and they can get to the hospital in time in this weather! Well I think I will clean out my closet, do laundry, make a lovely dinner for tonight and do my new bikini body workout video.
On a sidenote: "Test the Nation IQ test" aired on CBC last night and so for 2 hours Brian and I did it to find out how "smart" we were. Conclusion: Apparently I am getting dumber by the year as my score was significantly lower than the previous year. Will say I am not mentally challenged but close;-) Brian, on the other hand, close to genius. Figuring the test was biased and those that came out on top seemed to be the male mathematician types;-)

In Love

As far as the ocean is wide

and land spreads from sea to sea;

You will be someone special

a miracle to my life and me.

As high upon the mountain tops

as high as one can climb;

You will be sweet and dear to me

the best friend I could ever find.

As all the stars that twinkle

throughout the heavens above;

You will be my reminder

of what it means to love.

Yesterday I saw a shooting star

up in the sky at night

I know that you were sent to me

to make everything right.

Sometimes when I lay there

and am swallowed up in dreams

I realize that my real life now

is everything that it seems...

GNOMES

On a new note(as I am feeling very romantic today) I would like to talk about gnomes. My boyfriend just reminded me that we are gnomes and not penguins;-)
WE LOVE GARDEN GNOMES!
The funny thing is: (I don't think either of us knew this at all)
Gnome apparently comes from the Greek word gnosis meaning "I LOVE"

Penguins

Penguins (or Pengi's for you in Japan) are my new favourite animal. They are cute and like the ice and snow( like the stuff I live in 6 months of the year) and I like the "pebble factor".

Pebble factor:

"the male penguin goes to a beach and spends the whole entire day looking for the perfect pebble for the mate.."

this was found in an encyclopedia site but as I read on I found the penguins steal each others pebbles....dumb penguins. The idea of it all was hopelessly romantic! I wanted everyone to be like the penguins and the penguins are putting on a facade.... crazy birds! Oh well, one can only wish that is what true love is like...right?

Tressa the Human Sushi

So I splurged today and got myself a seaweed body wrap and massage after school! I have not had a massage in months and it was well deserved I thought! Brian gives me massages once in awhile but there is nothin' like a professional one with fancy robes and all. It was delightful! Ok well truthfully...they made me into some sort of human sushi roll and the whole time I was thinking "I have got to blog about this!" but then I fell asleep. This must be how sushi feel. They are wrapped so tightly they cannot move and smell strongly of seaweed. When it was painted on me around my neck and chest I couldn't help but feel nauseous but it quickly surpassed and I felt very relaxed and "tightly bound" one may say. The seaweed is supposed to be great for detoxification and pulling all the bad stuff out and so that is what I did. Would I do it again? Probably not. I would just opt for the regular massage but thought it was a good experience and my skin does feel awfully smooth and I feel replenished in a way. She wrapped me in layer upon layer of plastics and blankets...good thing I am not claustrophobic. Anyway, good times...reminded me of Japan;-) haha

The Lucky Rooster

Well being born in the year of the Rooster has not had an "up" year in a long while now. Last year, in particular, was pretty terrible actually. Ever since the 1st of 2010 I have had nothing but GREAT luck. I got a scholarship, my father's estate money was paid out to me(after a long wait with no money coming in both of these were greatly appreciated). Today I found out that my Mom is cancer-free after getting the results of her biopsy only a couple of hours ago!!!!!! I am feeling very happy and lucky at the moment and I am thankful for this good luck that has come my way after a long dry spell if that is what you would call it. My personal life is going well. I am in the last leg of my schooling(marks were great last semester and classes now are really great and am enjoying them all). I am living by myself(sans roommate!) for the first time in a long time and LOVING having a place to call all my own. My boyfriend is absolutely wonderful and I am thankful to have him in my life and hope 2010 is good to both of us and our relationship. Also, it is January in Saskatchewan and it is about zero degrees and is melting! WOW that is so nice. I am looking forward to a trip to Mexico(we leave for Angie's wedding there on March 31st) where I will be a bridesmaid. Brian and I get to go a day early and stay at the resort for an extra night free of charge, as I said I am on a roll with luck. Anyway, happy 2010 everyone and I hope everything in your lives are as great as mine right now.

Let's Hope...

My Mom went for a mammogram recently and they found a large mass. She goes regularly for these tests so it was a shock to her and those who love her. On Tuesday I took her to Saskatoon City Hospital for a biopsy. They removed five cysts and we are now awaiting the results which will take 7-10 days. Mom is having a hard time waiting , as am I. I think the most stressful thing whenever one gets sick is waiting for a diagnosis and waiting for those test results. The tests themselves often aren't pleasant either. I feel very sad for my Mom as she has not had it easy. She has had many health problems for years now as she is a brittle diabetic. Her eyes have been affected and she has lost some of her eyesight, then she began having heart complications also due to the diabetes. She had minor heart surgery in the fall and has had problems with that and will need to get another in the near future. If these things weren't enough of a hardship, she went for her mammogram and they found this mass. We don't know yet if it is benign or malignant but I am wishing, praying and hoping that it is not cancer. This is the last thing anyone needs but my Mom has been going through so much that she REALLY doesn't need it. It is always good to try to be optimistic because the brain is so powerful. All the negative things that happen to us only make us stronger, I truly believe that.

"In time of sickness, the soul collects itself anew."
Latin Proverb

The Sun Has Set

The sun has set on a period of our lives. It is that time again where we say goodbye to a year and all the memories that it held and hello to a new one. 2010 marks the end of an entire decade to say my farewells to. A decade where much has happened to me, the decade since high school! I feel both privileged and lucky to have had the chance to go to University. I have a B.A.(English) and am almost done my second degree(B.Ed with a double major/double minor). I have had the opportunity to live in Japan, meet many people from all over the world and teach there. That experience is one that has changed me forever. It was like living in a dream for over 2 years and I look back upon that time now and smile with fondness. It is one of the highlights of the decade for certain. This has been a period of great technological advancement all over the world. I can't believe we never had cell phones and laptops when I was in school;-) Things are changing so rapidly, I cannot imagine what life will be like in the future. From Sega to Wii, walkie-talkie sized cell phones for "emergency use only" to the sleek new i-phones and Blackberry's, heavy laptops to feather lite ones, enormous televisions to plasma flat screens...we have much to keep ourselves busy with these days. I just hope the world doesn't forget to smell the flowers, taste the rain, play outside, use their imaginations, and talk to people face to face. I have made many new friends and made stronger bonds with some of my old friends. I have had people in my life and lost them, although they are no longer a part of who I am now they have had an impact on me and I wish them nothing but the best. I had to say goodbye to my father as well as my grandfather and hope they are resting in peace after the struggles they endured in this world. I think I have learned a lot about myself in this past decade and had many ups and downs but am happy now with the person I have become and the dreams that I have followed. I am ready to close one chapter of my life and am optimistic about what lies ahead for me and those closest to me. I wish you all good luck, good fortune, good health and an abundance of love and happiness in the decade to come. I am not sure what is in store for me(who does really??) but I know that this decade to come will be even better for me than the last...