Welcome To My Life

I am excited!

2005-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post because i've pretty much stopped using my blog, i've been converting to myspace to keep in touch with all my ywam friends and that's what everyone has been telling me is the cool thing to do and what can i say, i am a conformer...But i just wanted to write that to update my friend Megan...because she is the only person who leaves comments...haha!! But MEgan, i am so glad you are moving home, we can hang out all the time once i get back from Indonesia which is very exciting for me!! WE will be reunited again and can hang out all the stinkin time!! Oh wow MEgan do i have so much to talk with you about!! LAter Gaters!!
PS Sorry to anyone else reading this, it probably doesn't make sense, and i just don't have the time to explain it..haha!!

Really quick update!

2005-12-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, it has been so long since i've blogged, but this will have to be quick! I just got back from spending the week in san francisco and it was awesome, i will update y'all with some pictures in the next couple days, the internet here hasn't been working for the last couple days, so my internet using was cut off. But school here is going good, only 3 more weeks of class and then i get to go home for Christmas break and then outreach! It's insane how fast this time has gone by. I am excited to go home to visit all my friends and family at home in winnipeg, but i will be so sad to leave California, i love it here and could live here forever!! But i have to go, i have become addicted to crochet, and i have to go make some Christmas presents, later gaters!

Hey Everyone!

2005-11-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been awhile since my last blog, i just can't seem to stay on top of it! So much has been going on, where should i start. The weather here has been beautiful, usually it's foggy at least 3 days a week because i live right on the ocean, but this past little while it has been incredibly beautiful, everyday is in the 80's and sunny. I've feel so blessed. Expecially when back home in winterpeg they had a blizzard and it's freezing cold, and everyday i'm wearing shorts! I even went swimming in the ocean without my wetsuit on! I was impressed with myself, becuase that never happens! ALso, i'm getting very excited because on sunday morning i'm leaving for San Francisco where i will spend the week! I can't wait, i love that city and they have great shopping!! And by that i mean Old Navy Bargain basement baby and Forever 21 (Ashley!) I can't wait to shop!! Also, i'm going to be taking the Trolly all the way to Fisherman's Warf and back. I am so excited! IT's the same one as on Full House and i plan to sing the theme song while i'm on it! But i'll write and tell all about San Francisco once i get there! Hmm..what else can i tell you about whats happening in my life right now..I watched Kicking and Screaming tonight, it was kinda a letdown, i thought it would be way funnier but it was more of a kids movie, but Will Farrell is still halarious and a comedic genious, don't worry!! But that's all for now!! Later Gaters!!

i suck at blogging

2005-11-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

The Afters
Jessica, Rachel, and Keirah at the concert!
Jeremy Camp...Rachels brother called on our way to the show and said that we were going to see JC squared...i thought that was pretty funny! (jeremy camp/ jesus christ-get it!)
Bethany Dillion

So, i've decided that i suck at blogging, i never seem to write updates!! So lots has been going on here in sunny california, which is such a lie, because if you live by the ocean like me, it's foggy alot, like today. But it's still beautiful! This week in class we are studying the fear of the lord...i lady named Donna is here from Colorado, she is such an awesome woman, so sincere and genuine. This afternoon we did a bunch of trust games, the ones where you catch each other, and sitting down in a circle as a group...they were quite interesting. Last week we studied our identity in christ..a man named Rob from idaho came and spoke to us, he was so passionate about the subject that it transfered to me and alot of the other people..he was so awesome! I'm so thankful that God has brought all these different people here to speak to us...it has been so amazing and i'm learning so much!
Last monday(halloween) i went with some friends Rachel, Keirah and Jessica to santa barbara and we went to see Jeremy Camp, Bethany Dillion and The Afters in concert! It was stinkin awesome!! We had really good spots, right up at the stage (that's the only place to be at a concert!) and it was so great!! So i took a bunch of great pictures and videos and sang along to alot of songs!!
But there is so much happening each day that now that i sit down to write it's hard to think of specific things to highlight! So that's all for me today! Later Gaters!

Pictures as Promised!

2005-10-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is Lyssa, she was trying to find a costume for halloween..here she was a gypsie.

This is a stellar picture of the sky i took today at the beach!
This is a picture of my, tracy's and rachel's shoes at the beach...who wears runners to the beach?

This is Rachel attacking Joe with a pumpkin!
This is my DTS at the pumpkin patch this afternoon!!

THis is Rachel, Keirah, Tracy and Brandon in the van!
This is Sandra, Danielle, me, Rachel and Jill with our pumpkins!
Me and Danielle in my room!
Tracy and Rachel with pumpkin heads!
Me and Nicole with a pumpkin!
Jon, Brandan, Joe, Lyssa and Me in the cornmaze this afternoon!
Brandon and his boyfriend, chillin on the couch.
Tierney and her new friend.

Hey there everyone!! It's time for my weekly update of pictures from the week!! So today it was fun day at the base, so we went to a pumpkin patch and ran through a cornmaze and picked out pumpkins and then went home and carved them!! It was alot of fun!! Then tonight, we all chilled at one of the houses and had pizza and a bunch of us girls spent the evening learning the dance moves to "thriller" off of michael Jacksons Best Of video..it was amazing...i am getting quite good at it too..NOT!! I am so NOT a dancer!! You might have noticed the picture of Lyssa dressed up, well later tonight we went and found costumes because tomorrow is a benefit concert and it's a costume party too!! It will be alot of fun!! I also went to the beach this afternoon..i love the beach, it's so peaceful!! Well take care everyone!! Later Gaters!!

A new update!

2005-10-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!
I just thought i'd update y'all! Life in California is going great!! I'm keeping busy and learning so much! An exciting update is that we decided where we are going for outreach....drumroll please...I am going to Indonesia for 6 weeks and then Isreal for 2 weeks! So i am excited about that! And wow guys GOD PROVIDES!! I asked my mom to ask around at church to see if anyone had a hiking backpack that i could borrow, so i wouldn't have to buy one, cuz they are quite expensive. And in that same week my mom emailed me back and told me someone at her work has one and will let me borrow it!! Praise God!!
Classes are going really well, i am learning so much, so far we've covered these topics
1) Evangelism
2) Hearing the voice of God
3) Grace
4) Discipleship
The week that has impacted me the most has definatly been Grace, that teaching rocked my socks! The main thing that stood out to me in that teaching is that "there is nothing i can do that will make God love me any less". I think i always knew that in my head but now it's moved into my heart! But i need to go for supper so i'll put some new pictures on here later!!

Camping

2005-10-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is Jessica, rachel and me! Jessica wants me to tell you all she is wearing a shirt!
Rachel, me and danielle at our campsite.
The view after we climbed this huge sand dune all the way to the top..or maybe it was a sand mountain!
This is what we walked over for about 2 mile!
Jessica about to whip us with seaweed..huge seeweed.

Lyssa, one of my leaders and Nicole.
We found a cave!! And this is a little place you could crawl through!
This is me, Mariah, Jessica and Nicole inside the cave!
one of the views standing on the beach!
One of the views after climbing a huge rock.
Another view of the beach!

So this weekend i went camping with all my dts students. It was a good time! We walked along the beach and climbed some mountains, walked along the edge of the cliff and climbed up 30 foot sand dunes! It was a great adventure...i did this all barefoot too and with my camera. It was so beautiful there! But it was the most primitive camping i've ever done in my life, there was no running water and only outhouses. I think they were trying to get us

ready for outreach!! (I found out that i'm going to Indonesia for outreach!!) Our campsite also got attacked by racoons. They are crazy, they got in my tent and into MY SLEEPING BAG!! I'm not even joking!!! And during the night they tried to get into my tent and i had to kick them as they were opening the tent and they ran off..it was crazy..in one of the other tents they actually got in and took my roomate sandra's backpack and dragged it down the road and in the morning someone else from down the road came and brought it back!! They are crazy! The funny thing is that Sandra thought they were cute before and wanted to cuddle with them, but surprisingly she has changed her mind about the cuddling!! But the scenery was so beautiful there! I hope the pictures do it justice!!

Francis Canada

2005-10-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!

WEll, today is Thanksgiving...it kinda didn't feel like it because i'm in california and we had class, and it was a regular day, but my dts made me and the 2 other canadians a turkey dinner with all the fixings for dinner, except the turkey didn't cook. so we had mashed potatoes (some of them were still hard and they were chunky lol) corn, green beans and instant stuffing...it was interesting..nothing like the normal thanksgiving, but we all take turns cooking dinner and Rachel had never made a big dinner before, but it was a really good night, it's the thought that counts and i thought that it was so nice of them to make the dinner for us.

This afternoon i started my community service, i'm working at the local elementary school with the after school program. It was so much fun, the kids are all really great, and after i helped them with their homework a bunch of the kids went outside with me to help me try to catch a lizard!! And i caught one!! Well, one of the boys caught it and then i took it from him, but it escaped and i had to catch it again by myself!! I decided to name the lizard Francis, but one little boy insisted i name it Canada...so the lizard was named Francis Canada!! I will never forget you francis Canada!! OH!! Another really cool thing about this afternoon, there was a guy that works there named Luke, i'm not sure if he's a teacher or just works with the afterschool program, but it turns out that he did YWAM before, he did his DTS in Australia, but he used to live in cayucus and he actually lived on the same street i live on now! I thought that was super cool...what are the chances! He actually invited me to come to his church sometime...it's a town over so i don't know if i will be able to get a ride, but it's a vineyard church and apparently they have awesome worship and one of my roommates really wants to go to a vineyard church one time, so i will eventually end up going there.

A bunch of the girls here are all reading the book "captivating" by John and Stasi Eldridge, i've only just started reading it, but it is soo good so far, so i'd encourage anyone to read it! We're doing it as a book study!

Well i'll end of this blog by letting everyone know that i am having an awesome time here so far...it's already week 2. I'm beginning to see how fast the time will really go, i mean there are only 12 weeks of school and then christmas and then outreach. OH! MY dts leaders keep saying whenever things go wrong..."oh that's good outreach prep" and just talking about all the scary things like eating bugs and sleeping on the ground...and i was like "you guys are starting to scare me about outreach" but they assured me that this is worse case secenrio, and that if you come expecting that then there is no where to go but up! :) So that's whats happening with me! I love and miss you all!!
Later Gaters

Pictures Finally!!

2005-10-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last night at a bonfire at the beach (YEAH!) we played some game where we had to form a base and then try to get as many people to jump on without the base falling..it was alot of fun!!
This is mariah, jessica and Lyssa at KFC in Santa Barbara!
THis is my favorite rock, right on the ocean...i love to climb it and sit there and journal and get alone with God! It's so peaceful...my favorite place here!
LAst night, Brenden, Jo and Lyssa playing money to raise money for the homeless people..they made almost $20..we plan to practice and go again and we're actually going to have songs, and i'll sing with them..it was so funny to watch them perform!!
This is Jessica, Lyssa, me and Tracy trying to sell advice! We only got $1 before we got evicted from the spot we were in. it was a good idea in theory!
This is Tracy and Mariah sitting on a fountain in sanata Barbara!
THis is what the movie theatres all look like here...they are soo neat!! I can't wait to go see a movie at one!!
THe Ocean. i took this picture when i was in Morro Bay, which is the next town over from Cayucos, about a 1 min drive tops.
Me, Mariah, and Tracy in the car on the way to santa Barbara.
WE went here to eat on wed..they only have them in california, arazona and nevada apparently!
Shooting stars in santa barbara...i thought they were super cool!!
THe bus me and tract took from san fransico to SLO!
Me and Tracy on the bus from san fran..it was a 7 hour bus ride..but we listened to my ipod and sang the entire time, so it went by pretty quickly!!
This is me, SAndra, tracy, rachel, jessica and danielle at the pier in cayucus!
This is a picture i took off the pier...it's of part of the town i live in now!
Me and Tracy at the pier!

WEll that's all for me for now...i have to go to dinner now, but i'll probably be updating this more regularly from now on, so stay tuned to see what's happening is sunny california!!

I'm in Cali!!

2005-10-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! I'm in CAlifornia right now!! It's so amazing..it's incredibly beautiful here, i can barely believe i'm here...i live like 5 houses from the ocean and today i went swimming in the ocean and body surfing!! It's freezing cold, but it's so worth the coldness to have the expereince, i am just incredibly glad i bought a wetsuit...it was so worth the money i spent to buy it! Hmm..what else can i tell you...there is just so much! All the people here are super nice, i've started to make some new friends...OH!! I'm also going to Santa Barbara tomorrow for the evening...i am very excited to be going there! I'm living in Cayocus, Ca right now, it is a small coastal town, but it is very beautiful and peaceful..the word quaint comes to mind..its a retirement community, so there are alot of seniors, but then there is everyone from my dts, so there are alot of young people too. but i have to leave for my first guitar lesson, so i will write later, and also post some pictures!! Later Gaters!

My Last Night At Home...

2005-09-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...i just thought i would take a second to say goodbye to all my winnipeg friends...i don't have a lot of time b/c i'm not done packing and i still have to watch the oc, but i wanted to let everyone know that i leave tomorrow morning at 6:50 in the morning, that means i have to leave my house at 5:30 am..YUK! that is the only part i'm not looking forward too and leaving my dog...he is asleep on my lap right now and thinking about leaving him is very sad. But when i get to California i will right and update you all about my trip and i will provide pictures too...so stay tuned!! Also, if anyone wants to know my new address or phone number just email me and i'll let you know!! I will miss you all!! Later Gaters!!

Jerkface and 2 days to go...

2005-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

hey there...So only 2 days to go, it is a very surreal feeling..i still can't believe that i am actually going! Today i went to the church so that Darren (youth and music pastor) could show me how to change the strings on my guitar, i ended up staying there for over 2 hours and we had a really good chat..also some people came to the church that i hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to yet, so that was great that i got to see them. Now my guitar sounds great, and is all ready to go!! This evening i went to young adults and they had a dinner and a goodbye thing for me, it was really nice. They all prayed for me and they were praying for my safety in california and europe and i found it hard to believe that they were talking about me and that i am actually going! I'm actually doing this!! WOW!

Then after the dinner i came home and called Brock...cuz we were supposed to hang out tonite, but he didn't answer his cell or his home, so i left him a message to call me, but he never did! So i'm a little bummed cuz i was planning on spending the evening with him...and he didn;t even call...thats the major issue here...i understand things come up and stuff happens, but the least you can do is call. How long does a phone call take...seriously! If he would have called everything would have been fine...but he didn't so he is now known as Jerkface! so to any of you bloggers out there..if you can't hang out with your friend and you said you would..call them and let them know...Don't leave them hanging!! LAter Gaters

PS. I miss my trusty friend Megan alot...i tried calling her tonite but she wasn't home... :(

4 days to go...

2005-09-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

So, i am starting to feel quite nervous now, only 4 days until i leave my home for 6 months away! I've been hanging out with alot of different friends this week especially, seeing evveryone before i leave. I'm really going to miss all of my friends! I was so busy with work this summer that i didn't get to see them that much, but now that i'm not working i've been catching up with them and it's going to be sad to leave. It will actually be super hard to leave, i'll miss my family alot and my dog!!

On friday night i went to youth at my church and led worship there for the last time, for awhile anyways...it was such a weird feeling. i hate saying goodbye... I'm really going to miss all the youth and the other youth leaders... after youth they had a cake for me, and then a bunch of them came back to my place and we played cards because it was "my night" and we could do anything i wanted!! I love playing cards, it's so much fun!!

Saturday i slept in which was amazing!! and then in the afternoon i went garage saling with my friend Alycia, seriously it was the worst stinking day for garage sailing..(spelling, haha!!) we drove around for an hour and only founf 3 garage sales and they were all run by grandma's who were selling their old shoes...we were thinking about buying a pair and starting a new trend...the are good for your back!! The reason i went was i was looking for a guitar case. I didn't find one, but my mom's best friend found one for me!! Her son inlaw is letting me borrow his extra one! So that is such a blessing!! Seriously God provides!! I really needed to get a case, and the crazy thing is that i didn't even think to pray about it and God still provided one!! I love it! But let me tell you, he got all the glory! So saturday night i babysat for the fryza girls one last time, and they've just moved to a new house in the country so i got to see the house..but on the way i drove 10 mins past my exit and had to call for directions, so i was a bit late..their new house has a hot tub, so we went in it, it was awesome!! I'm really going to miss those girls!!

WEll, today was my last sunday here in winnipeg and at my church...how crazy is that!!! It makes me nervous to type about this...ahh...church was good, the pastor prayed for me to send me off. THen this afternoon i helped my mom make dinner b/c i had a bunch of people over for dinner tonite so i could for sure see them before i go! We had lasagna, garlic bread and apple crisp...it was really good, mostly b/c i only helped prepare ingredients, not cook...i am not a good cook...lately i've been trying to learn to cook, but all of my attempts have failed miserably...i am only good at baking! But it was really nice to see some of my friends again...and we watched the season premeire of Gray's Anatomy...i love that show!

9 days to go...

2005-09-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

So, 9 days until i leave for California, i'm starting to get nervous! It would be so easy to just stay home and stay in my comfort zone, but i'm excited to see what God has in store for me this year!

I just visited the band Starfield's website, and i read the journal and checked out some pictures, and right now i am totally aware how badly i want that life, i want to be able to do that! Make music for a living, and tour around the world sharing it with people. Hopefully one day!! But i guess i'll have to wait and see what God has in mind for me. THere's this song i heard and a line from it goes "if you wanna see God laugh tell him your plans" THat is so true, hey!!

Today i met Tracy, who is going to YWAM with me, it was really good to meet her face to face and put face to a voice. We've talked alot on the phone but today was the first time we met! It was a fun time, we were both felt like we'd known each other forever. So i'm super excited she's going to California with me!! Tonite, i had a fire with my brother and his friend Qunicy and then we played Crib by the fire with a candle for light, it was a good time!

LAst night, i hung out with my new/old friend Brock. I say new old b/c he is probably my oldest friend b/c i've known him since i was 4, but we lost touch during the teen years and have just recently started hanging out again, anyways we hung out at his place for awhile and then went to see a movie at Grant Park, "The Constant GArdener". It was a really good movie actually, it was about Africa and basically a conspiracy within a drug company where they were testing a new drug on hiv positive people without their knowledge and it was killing a bunch of them. It was a super heavy movie and totally makes you think. I think it's so sad how Africa is the continent that's forgotten, i wish there was more i could do to help out over there. Actually i'd love to go to Africa. As a side note i was watching Switchfoot on Much Music and they were talking about how Africa is so full of hope. It kinda sounds hard to believe when you think about all the problems that are over there, but totally believable, they aren't caught up in all the materialism that us westerners are. i guess less really is more. But there was one part in the movie that really stood out to me. It basically was when a husband and wife were driving home and she makes him stop and pull over, so they can drive this boy and his baby neice to their village 40 miles away, but the husband won't alow it, saying that their are too many people to help and that they can't help them all.. The wife argues that these people are right here, and they can help them. But he refuses and drives away. I think that response is typical of most people, the idea that you can't help everyone, so why even try...but really that's the wrong attitude. Just a thought.

Jam...

2005-09-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Right now i am sitting on my couch as my psycho dog rips a dasani water bottle apart, he loves playing with plastic bottles, i'm not quite sure why, but they make him so happy. So i am writing this to you over the crinkling noise of the plastic bottle. It feels nice to be sitting right now, i was standing most of the day b/c i was helping my great aunt make jam all day, which really means that i was her slave :) and did most of the work b/c she is 85 and can't really do everything she used to be able to. But it was actually quite fun! I got to spend alot of quality time with her. I've been helping her al week and we've made 3 different types of jam, so if anyone needs help making jam just let me know, I AM AN EXPERT!! Tonite, i as supposed to babysit for my 3 favorite girls in the entire world, the Fryza girls, but about an hour before i was supposed to leave, they called to cancel because the mom is sick, i'm kinda disapointed b/c i wanted to see the girls again before i leave, i'm really going to miss them!! So now, i don't really have any plans for tonite as of yet, but this gives me a chance to call some of my other friends who i haven't seen in awhile and hang out with them.

Last night i went to youth at my church, it was my second last friday night. How weird is that!! But anyways, i lead worship and we kinda had a few complications, such as half the band showing up 45 mins late. But we made it through, and even with the minimal practice we had i thought the set went well. We had some of the youth leaders play so it was more expereinced musicians playing and it just makes it so much easier. I actually find it hard to lead worship without playing an instrument, because it's hard to steer the music the way you want to go when you are only singing. But with the band last night it was nice b/c they followed where we were going really well! I'm excited for ywam, where i will be learning guitar, so hopefully in time i will be able to play guitar and lead. Last night we talked about things that seperate us from pressing into God, and one of the things that was mentioned was not feeling good enough. We all split up into groups and we ended up giving examples of how we struggle with this in our own lives, and i mentioned to my group that when i'm leading worship i sometimes feel that i'm not a good enough singer, or a good enough musician to be leading worship, but that i know it's just the devil trying to get me down, becuase those thoughts are so not from God. But you just have to remember that this is for God, and he thinks it's beautiful, he loves it. I think that's amazing, god doesn't care how we sing, or how we play. He just loves the fact that we're singing to him! Last night i really felt a freedom during worship and i had a truly awesome time of worship :)

The Day Has Finally Come!

2005-09-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the day, the new Switchfoot Cd has been released!! I'm very happy about this, because i have been waiting forever for it to come out! So this morning in my excitement, i got up and went to Walmart to buy it, but for some reason, Walmart didn't have the cd yet, i was so disapointed!! But i didn't feel like wasting alot of gas to go to polopark to find it, so i am without the cd, (sniff) :( But today is my first day not working, in along time...my last job finished yesterday, so now i have nothing to do!! I've been so bored all day, i seriously don't know what i'm going to do for 2 weeks until i leave. I can't even hang out with my friends because they are all in school right now! So today i've done a couple errands, and that is about it! i hate being bored and alone...it's pretty much just me and my dog all day, i can't wait until my friends are back from school!! There are times in my life when i don't mind being alone, but i'm going through a social stage, and i really just need to be with people!! But i think i'll go read a bit of a book and then take my dog for a walk at assiniboine park. Later Gaters!

Backstreet's Back Baby!

2005-09-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is me and my friend Chantelle last night!
Me, Shannon, Lindsay and Andrea at Youth Camp
Me being a dork as usual :)

Well i thought i'd put some new pictures on here, because a picture is worth a thousand words and i don't feel like typing...just kidding! But back to the reason for writing..on wednesday night, i went to the backstreet boys concert, it was really good!! I'm not even kidding, but it was one of the best concerts i've been too!! Apparently (according to hot 103) their pyrotechnics were comparable to KISS! I thought that was neat! So i've now decided to go to every tour they do, even if i have to travel to go to it! So today it's 30 degrees out and stinking nice!! I've been working outside all week, and the weather has been amazing, i hope it continues until i leave..only 3 more weeks!! It's crazy how time flies. Today i went to MPI (autopac) because of my accident with my old car, so i had to drive my old Tempo...ohmigoodness!! It is such a hunk of junk!! After driving my camry for over a month, i don't think there is any way i could go back to that tempo...but i won't have to because it got written off! Yay! The wicked awesome thing is that the people who we got it from probably had the car written off before we bought it because of hail damage and the adjuster asked us that and we told them the truth that we didn't know for sure but we thought it probably had, and then my mom asked if that would affect the amount of money we got for it and he said yes, but that he just wouldn't check to see if it had been written off! So now i'm going to get more money than i would have for the car!! Wohoo!! I still don't know how much, but at least i'll get somthing and the car will be out of my life forever!

So last night i went out with my friend Chantelle and we went to ASsiniboine Park and got ice cream from Sargent Sundaes, it was really good, and then we ended up just walking around and talking for a couple of hours..she's a really good person to talk to, i can talk to her without feeling judged!! Which is an amazing thing to have in a friend! I appreciate that with Megan too..she never judges me!! It helps that they are both Christians so they understand where i am coming from! But that's all for now!! Later Gaters!

An Update

2005-09-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

I thought i'd just write a quick update for all you fellow bloggers. My week has been filled with work and friends, but it's been good! Right now i feel a little sad because my trusty friend Megan is no longer around! (I miss you megan!) But i also feel happy because yesterday i was talking to this girl Tracy, who is also going to California with me and she's from Winnipeg! Anyways, we talked for over an hour and i really like her, so that's a relief knowing that i'll for sure have one person there that i get along with super well! Also, we decided for Christmas break, we're going to go camping down the coast! How awesome is that going to be!! That will definatly take the sadness of not being home for christmas away! So i'm super excited. I'm also happy because today after work i went shopping at old navy and i bought a pair of capri pants for $13.99!! And the sweater i wanted was on sale for $14.99!! How awesome is that!!! So i'm on a bit of a shopping high! That's all for now...Later Gaters!

My Week!

2005-09-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me and my friend Lindsay at youth camp playing cards...i stole it from one of the campers Amber...thanks Amber!

Well, after i last blogged, i went to "The Link" at Calvary Temple which is the young adults night. It was a good time, everyone there really presses in for worship, and apparently it wasn't as intense as it usually is..i was pretty impressed! Afterwards, a bunch of people went to the Forks and i got to walk along the river, it was nice and then we went to Salsibury House on the bridge...i'd never been to that one before, but it was supernice compared to the other ones i've been to before! Tuesday i worked at my other job, lifeguarding..it was uneventful, i still haven't had to save someone there...maybe next time...

Tuesday evening i went to bible study at the Powells and they made dinner for us all, it was really nice. I was glad i got to go, becuase i got to see my friend Aimee one last time before she leaves to go to Edmonton for school..i'll miss her. Then after bible study my trusty friend Megan came over and my new/old buddy Brock came too and we had a bonfire...well a fire..i'm not very good with fires, so Brock took over when he came...but that's fine with me. It was a good time...swinging chairs, smores and a fire are a VERY GOOD combination if you ask me! I could do that every night, the only thing that makes that better in my head, is adding a guitar and singing some songs...especially a little p+w session(praise and worship). One day when i'm good at playing guitar that will be a reality! soon hopefully!

Wed..i had a pretty uneventful day, worked and then cleaned, ugh! But then last night i went to go see the movie CRash with my friend Ashley. I hadn't seen her in such a long time, it was so nice to hang out with her again...the movie was about racism and it really just made me think about how pointless it is and how sad it is that people actually feel that way about someone else, just because of their skin colour, it's unbelievable! It makes me so sad to think how that happens everyday!

This morning my mom woke me up and asked me to go shopping so obviously i was in! We went to this store called Borders Anonymous, (my brother wanted new shoes) and i ended up finding a wetsuit!! WOHOO! What makes this so exciting is that i need one for California and i went to costco to look for one and they were discontinued, but they were super cheap there, $39.99 and earlier in the summer i saw some at Superstore for $49.99, but of course they didn't have them anymore...apparently i waited too long! So i thought i was going to have to spend alot of money..i'm talking $90+, but i found one for $50!!!!! THe thing is that is was regularly $150! So it was an amazing deal! And super good quality....it was the only one there and it fit perfectly..talk about a God thing!! I also bought jeans and a shirt and a pair of green bermuda shorts, something i've been looking for all summer, and they were on sale!!! But it's suppertime, so i'm going to go! Until next time....

An update!

2005-08-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! I just spent the last couple of days at youth camp down at Manhatten Beach camp, it was an awesome time! The worship band was rocking and there were some amazing times of worship, the speakers and sermons were really great and i got alot out of the weekend. I had fun meeting alot of new kids, and forming friendships with them. Those 3 days went by super quick. So i got home last night and i was pretty pooped, so i pretty much just went to bed b/c this morning i started my new job, I was hired as a telelmarketer. It SUCKED! big time...i only made it to lunch, i was so bored...all i did was read the same script about 150 times and get hung up on. My supervisor told me i was too nice and that i had to be more pushy, and all this stuff, and i was like Oh man! So i pretty much promised myself that i just had to make it to lunch and then i would quit. So that's what i did. Here is my summary of working as a telemarketer: DON"T!! But i have to go to my other job now, at least this one i like!! But i am excited to see my buddy Megan tonite, we are going to hang out, and it's going to be AWESOME!!! So until next time....

I'm sick!

2005-08-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Lately i've been more into blogging..i can't seem to get away...today i decided to write because i'm sick:( i have a soar throat and my whole body aches...so it's not very comfortable to talk, but the thing is i still have alot to say and blogging is a way that i can get that out of my system!
Last night my trusty friend Megan came over and we had a fire and made smores! They were very good! We talked about Life and Love...(It was too cheesy that it couldn't remain unspoken!) and had a little bit of an adventure...I am not the bravest person, especially at night...we were going to sneak up on my neighbour and scare them, but we pretty much chickened out..but it was a fun experience..my brother actually did most of the work for us, but then we activated a motion light, so it was ruined...maybe another time we'll get them...hey Megster! But at least we panty mooned them, right!! (Never forget that Megan!!)

Today i went to the eye doctor again, all is well..and i had to work, but at least it was outside in the sun, and i rejuvinated (no clue how to spell that!) my fading tan...but now i feel like crap, so i'm gonna lay down because i need to get better before thursday when i am going to youth camp...i'm excited about that and i don't want to be sick...last year it was so much fun!!

My friend Megan!!

2005-08-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pics of me and my buddy Megan...who is very special to me!! I don't know what i'll do when she goes back to school and we can't hang out all the time!! The top pic has my almost cousin Chantelle in it too!
Megan, only you will get this....

...hey friend..
...hi.....oh! i get it!!!

Good times!!

2005-08-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Monday, the start of a new week! Camp is over and i''m pleased to say that it went extremely well, i'm sad that it is over, but hopefully i'll get to do more of that sort of thing during my ywam days! I just love working with kids and seeing them excited about God! ya know! THis weekend after camp i had a relaxing time....saturday i did pretty much nothing...well that i can remember, i think i was just so tired that everything has become a blur! All i remember is quickly stopping at the mall and buying a new sweater from american eagle and it's beuatifully brown! Sunday is crystal clear, at church we had serengeti sunday and all the kids from camp came to church and talked about camp and also performed 3 songs!! it was great! Then in the afternoon i went to my buddy Laura's place...we just hung out all afternoon...oh and i baked a cake for a goodbye party/potluck we were invited to that evening! Can i just say that I LOVE POTLUCKS!! There is so much variety!! It's wonderful! It was such a beautiful day yesterday that Laura and i walked to Superstore to buy the ingredients for the things we were making and it was a pretty walk...we walked along this path surronded by trees and there was a stream..and a blue sky...blue sky's make me happy! I don't care what the temperature is outside, as long as there is a blue sky i'm content! Today i had to go to the doctor's to get my shots for ywam, but i'm not actually getting them until tomorrow, ugg! But after the doctor's i went to go look for a job, and i got one...i have now become what everyone despises...a telemarketer ;) As much as i said that is something i never wanted to do, it is good hours, good enough money and easy to get out of an deasy to get into...so i guess i can handle it for a month! Well i think that's all form me now, Walmart is calling my name....adios all!

Camp update!

2005-08-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today was day 3 of camp...and i'm quite excited with the outcome of today...in the afternoon we have a "MANE" event...get it...haha...anywayz and as i was leading the worship...i just felt God telling me to give an alter call of sorts...so i did..and this afternoon 7 kids came to know Jesus! I'm so excited...when the kids went forward i got all choked up..and i had all the kids and leaders cheer for them..i hate when accepting jesus is done "with everyone's heads down and eyes closed" i think that accepting Jesus is soemthing to be celebrated and the most important decison someone will ever make! So i loved being able to have the kids boldly step forward. That way we can celebrate with the angles in heaven!! So needless to say. I totally feel like God is going to do amazing things during the rest of the week at camp...I'm so excited to be apart of it and see whats going to happen.... even though today was a super long day (i was at camp for 8 hrs. and then to my other job at Pan am for 4.5hrs.) i don't feel that tired, and i'm super pumped! wjich is clearly God's doing! But that's all for now, i'll keep y'all updated! Thanks to everyone who's keeping the camp in their prayers!!

Serengeti Trek

2005-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today was the second day of our summer day camp..i think it went much smoother than the first, but i guess that's typical! I'm the music leader for camp, and can i just say that kids are my favorite group of people to lead...they get so involved with the music and give everything they've got! THere is no holding back with them it seems! It's so encouraging for me to witness that...to hear them singing louder than the music and doing the actions and smiling! THis afternoon after i had finished my last song one kid yelled out "ONE MORE!!" and my heart nearly burst with happiness because it makes me so happy to see them so into the music and more importantly excited about praising God!! After leading worship for the sr. youth at my church for the last couple years, seeing something like this is very encouraging...God must have known this is what i needed!! I'm soo pumped for the rest of the week...i know God has awesome things in store for each and every kid coming...so for any of my brothers and sisters out there reading this...plz keep our camp in your prayers! That's all for me now, more later!!

Decisons, Decisions

2005-08-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well, not too much to report here, but i thought i'd check in with all you regular viewers...right now i am house sitting for my trusty friend Megan!! It's been a pretty good time, but by the second day i had already managed to get myself locked out!! I couldn't believe it!! But the klassens gave me directions to their spare key so i didn't have to break in!! haha! So right now i am staying at their house, when i came "home" tonight their dog Max was so excited to see me that he was running around..i've known Max along time and tonite was the first time i've ever seen him run! i couldn't help but think Megan would be proud!! I've also managed to somehow pull a muscle in my neck which is quite painful! I don't even know how i did it! Today i got an interesting phone call asking me to be a youth counsellor at youth camp at Manhatten...so now i'm torn, i was thinking about doing it again this year, if some youth from my church were going, but they're not..so now i have the opportunity to go anyways, but on the other hand that is the weekend that my mom and grandma are going to alberta and i could go see Basma and Jerad...decisions, decisions...which leads me to this thought...today we had a leader meeting for this day camp we're doing at church, Pastor Darren gave us a pep talk and was talking about in 2nd samuel chapter 24 about David building an alter. David goes to build an alter and the man he tries to buy things from to build it offers him everything for free, but David says to the man, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."
Darren went on to mention that we need to ask ourselves what helping out with the camp will cost us...and this transferred over to youth camp for me...do i really want to only go if it fits perfectly with my schedule, or should i offer myself as a counsellor despite my plans as a "sacrifice" to God. So many times I find myself helping only when it fits into my plans, or when i have the time and energy, but i'm thinking God appreciates it more when it costs something. I'm not saying that i wouldn't have fun at camp, i totally would, and i want to go, i love camp and i had an awesome time last year as a counsellor. But that means not seeing my best friend one more time before i leave for school...but maybe God has plans for me that are bigger than that...maybe he wants me to make a sarifice that costs me something...

Jr. Youth

2005-08-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

My week so far has been consumed with work, but it does make the time fly by! Last night i went to the cheapseats with my brother to see The Longest Yard, a good movie if anyone is wondering...some parts are a little sketchy, but don't most movies have those parts nowadays? I find it funny that i can see a resemblance in the characters to some of the people in the youth group at my church...

Today we had Jr. Youth at church, it seemed to go pretty well, although i definatly didn't feel the usual amount of enthusuiasm about the service part...i guess that could possibly be chalked up to summer, but it was disappointing to find them disengaged and not singing praise and worship to God when i know God has so many awesome things in store for them! After our devotion every week we have an activity, this week we went swimming...i really found that part of the afternoon encouraging because i got a chance to really get to know some of the youth and start building relationships with them! The challenge i'm faced with is that I'm naturally drawn to people who are outgoing, if i talk to 2 youths, 1 outgoing and talkative and 1 shy and reserved, i will 9 out of 10 times focus more of my attention and sadly sometimes all my attention on those outgoing people...my challenge is how to connect with the quieter more reserved youth..but i guess almost every youth leader must struggle with that...it's weird to think about being a youth leader...i mean i still feel like a kid alot of the time and i'm by no means completely mature (probably more towards the immature side of the spectrum!) but these kids..i mean youth...they look up to me..it's a weird concept..and they think i'm cool...WEIRD! (but true!) I was having this conversation with a friend of mine awhile ago..we were sayign how we rememer those people or youth leaders in youth when we were youth that you thought were so cool and you totally looked up to them and now we've become those people! ALSO WEIRD!! Well i think i'll leave y'all with that thought..peace!

The New Car!

2005-07-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

There it is! The new Car!

This week has been quite interesting, it started out badly but wrapped up very well! It all started Monday, as i was driving from work at the church to go to Pan Am to work yet again, i got in an accident. Luckily it wasn't that bad and i'm fine. I was following a big black truck down the church road and right before the end of it the truck decided to stop, so naturally i stop behind him, i couldn't pass him because there was oncoming traffic. After the cars went by his brake lights went off but much to my surprise he started to reverse towards me, i at first thought that he was just going to reverse a little, but no, he started to spped up towards me. I started to panic because it was a big truck and i drive a tempo, so i tried to shift into reverse and get out of his way but there wasn't enough time..he hit me! Pretty hard to! The whole night afterwards i had a sore chest and nausea, but i think i was probably in shock. The man who hit me was about 80 years old and he could barely walk as i discovered when he got out of the truck, and he didn't even realize i had been there obviously. It turns out that he doesn't want to go through autopac and just wants to pay me for the repairs...but that 's a whole other story. (My car isn't the best one, it's old with alot of miles on it and not worth alot of money, so going through autopac would probably mean it would be totalled, and i still need a car until i leave for school, so i am fine with that.)

So i was talking with my Great Aunt Betty who is 85(today!) and just had surgery and she offered to let me drive her car until i leave for school...it just worked out perfectly...she has a 95 toyota camry with barely any miles which is in mint condition! I just got it yesterday and i'm so pumped..its worlds better than my tempo..the other exciting part of the story is that she will sell me the car when i get back from school...so it's pretty much my new car!! I've been on cloud nine all yesterday and today!

In other news, on wed. i went to go see the sisterhood of the traveling pants with my trusty friend MEGAN!...it was a very good movie..i cried in it, and i don't cry in alot of movies..tear up yes, but not cry! Now i need to read the book and all the books that follow, because it was so good! After the movie, megan and i decided that since we are going to be so far apart this school year..(California and Saskatoon) we are going to start our own sisterhood...it will be awesome..we're also going to get some of our old friends from CGT..(Basma and Jill)to join us since they are also far apart..Basma is in Edmonton and Jill is moving to Virgina for school! I'm very excited about this brillant idea! But that's all for now...God Bless!

My Long Weekend

2005-07-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures!

Me and Chevy normally!

Me and Chevy Swimming!

Hey everyone! Well i am in better spirits today...i've gotten over my missed weekend...i ended up having a pretty good weekend anyways! On thursday night me, my brother Nathan and my adorable dog Chevy went to my Oma and Opa's house! They live in Pointe Du Bois, right on a bay and it's an awesome place to be able to go to and it's just under a 2 hr drive! I love going there! So we went up thursday night and then we spent all day friday there b/c i had the whole weekend booked off from work. It was 29 degrees and beautiful, we went canoeing and swimming and tanning..it was really good. My dog chevy doesn't like to go in the water when he can't touch the bottom anymore and actually has to swim, so i decided to try getting him to stand on my brother's boogie board and then pushing him out into the middle, he liked it for a bit and then decided that he would stand on my back while i was on the board and swimming..it was pretty funny, so my brother took a picture! I'll post it on here for y'all to see...
So sat. i got up and decided to head to the beach, i went with my sister, brother and his friend. We went to birds hill park which is about 3o mins away. When we got there we had a delightful surprise...FREE ADMISSION!! can i just tell you all that i love getting things for free or for a deal, so that made my day!! It was the perfect beach day, 31 and sunny, but with a breeze so you didn't die just cooked sitting in the sun! The only problem with the sun is the sun burn that comes with it! I have rather fair skin so i burnt pretty badly even though i was wearing sunscreen, just not enough clearly! All 3 of us burnt, except for Quincy my brothers friend..so when we got home we all took turns spreading aloe vera lotion on each other!!
Sat. night i went to my friend Danielle's house and we watched Coach Carter (good movie which made me want to play basketball) after we went to a friends (Kyle's) to hang out because he was having people over...i was hanging out with people from high school and who i haven't hung out with in awhile, it was kinda an eye opening evening for me, to see how far i've drifted from these people..the night was filled with alot of swearing and drinking and talking about how much they were drinking...it really made me sad and as much as i know i should still hang out with these people and try to show them God's love by living my life as an example i just don't want to anymore b/c they are so different then who i am, and from who they were in high school...it makes me so sad, and also makes me appreciate the few good christian friends i have! The thing is, it's not just enough for me to just go and not drink/swear and be like them, i just don't feel like i'm doing enough...i mean at the end of the night do they even notice that i'm not? did i even make a difference? Now i'm left wondering how i can really show these people God's love? How can i make a difference in their lives? It just makes me sad to think that this is how they spend their lives, trying to find contentment in alcohol, sex, and each other when there is so much more to life! But how can i make them see???
So sunday, i ended up sleeping through my alarm and missing church, which really sucks, but it turns out that it was a good thing b/c my 86 yr. old great aunt was in the hospital and she had to go in for emergency surgery and they didn't think she was going to make it..so me and my mom went to the hospital to see her, but they had already taken her into the OR when we got there :( I was supper worried about her and it's funny how you don't realize how much you care about someone until they are almost gone!! But Praise God, she made it through the surgery and is doing really well! I'm so relieved! So i basically spent the whole day lounging around the house, waiting for news and in too much pain from my sunburn to move too much! But tonite after we heard about my Aunt Betty, i went to the new Cheap Seats with my friend Megan and her boyfriend Collin..we went and saw Sahara..i thought it was quite good! One of the guys was really funny...the new theatre is really nice too! I'd been waiting and anticipating the opening for so long, i'm glad i got to go!! Goodnight All! Talk at you later!

So I'm getting married...

2005-07-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Current mood: Very Bummed!
Today i made a decision, I need to get married...the reason behind this is then i would always have someone to do things with and i would never have to worry about them ditching me!! I am unfortuatly not married and as a result not going to Sonshine..which sucks alot! No one can go with me! I had thought my sister or brother or someone could come with me, but it was just to short notice with work schedules and such. So now i am not going..even though i bought my tickets and took the days off work! But i'm beginning to wonder if i just really wasn't meant to go..i mean is God trying to tell me something becuase all the signs are pointing to me not going and nothing is working out..it makes me wonder....my mom is thankfully paying for half my ticket which is good, because tickets are expensive and i don't have that much money! So i really appreciate that. Instead this weekend i think i will go to the beach or something...it will hopefully be a good weekend anyways...But this will be a short blog, i just needed to type/express my disappointment...my next post will hopefully be more upbeat...talk at you later.

There was blood...

2005-07-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

The day has come...today i treated my very first person at work for first aid and there was blood!! Everyday i go to work thinking that something might happen, and so far nothing ever has, but today it finally did! Some of you might think...Jaime, you've been working at Pan am for 2 years and this is your first time treating someone? and i would respond to that by telling you that i usually teach swimming lessons and it wasn't until recently that i began to lifeguard more often. All of the classes and hours of practice have lead up to this...a bloody nose! It might not sound like alot to some of you, but let me assure you it was a gusher!! But i knew what to do and i'd like to think i saved the day! Although i must admit i got a little queasy at the sight of the blood, which kinda surprised me, i guess it's a good thing i'm not going to be a doctor! Today was i think the hottest day of the year! It got to 32 but with the humidity it felt more like 40, but at least there was a breeze, inside at work there was no breeze and it was so hot, it was insane! So that made my day at work seem even longer! On a side note, i wore bermuda shorts today, and can i just say they are so awesome! So on my way home from work i stopped at Old Navy to buy another pair in a different colour because somehow i convinced myself that if i waited another day they wouldn't have any left and i would loose out! I think the heat was getting to my head! But i got them and they are blue and lovely! THen when i got home i phoned my friend Ashley and i got some very sad news...i'll set the story up for everyone...For about 2 months me and ashley have been planning on going to SonShine festival in Minnisota, a couple of weeks ago i bought the tickets and i was counting the days until we could go...but apparently her mom has now decided that she can't go, because she doesn't want the 2 of us driving alone in the states because it's not safe...(which is odd to me becasue she was fine with Ashley and i going to Edmonton on our own in feb. which is twice the distance away!) So now i'm super bummed...because me plans are all ruined. I wanted to go so badly! THe funny thing is that when i found out i tried to call some of my friends because i was so bummed and i just needed to talk to someone and noone was home or answering their cell phone. Which caused me to go for a walk alone and i ended up having a talk with God, which really made me think about a couple things...
1) God should be the first on the list of who i run to
2)maybe god is using this situation to show me that i need to rely more on him and stop trying to make everything happen on my own
After my walk i'm not going to lie and say everything is ok and i'm not bummed anymore, it's not, I still don't know who to go with and i'm still super bummed..but i know that i'm closer to God now then i was before this happened...which is all i can ask for right?? Cause what is the point of doing anyhing if it doesn't bring us closer to God...

Basma's back in town

2005-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

So...My bestest friend ever-Basma is here in Winnipeg this weekend! Her mom got married yesterday so whe's here for that and for a little visit. I've been glues to her side this whole weekend, we've been doing almost everything together! Alot of our time has been spent on wedding preporations, decorations, and clean ups but i've also been just one of the family and hanging out with her sisters and their husbands and children too. Both of her sisters have babies..Innam has a daughter -Layla who is 1 and Reno has a son-Miguel who is 5 months old. Reno is from Vancouver so it's also been nice to hang out with her again. But this week it's been awesome to just hang out with Basma and her husband Jerad again like old times! All 3 of us grew up together and were friends growing up, but Basma and i have been best friends for years, we went to school together and we used to spend all day everyday together! I'm so happy that Basma and I have one of those forever friendships where we can just pick up where we left off, no matter how long its been since we've seen each other last! It makes me sad though that she doesn't live here any more and now that she's here, when she leaves i'm going to miss her alot when she's gone! It's weird how your life changes as you get older, it seems that the older you get the more complicated your life gets too. I was talking with my sister and she was venting about her friends and their problems, and i know they matter alot to her right now and they seem really important, but while i was listening to her and trying to help her out, i couldn't help but think, this stuff doesn't matter. I mean i would give almost anything to have my best friend back in my life on a regular basis, in a couple of years when they are done high school and some of them move away i guess they'll understand my feelings on this! I think what i'm trying to say is; don't take your friendships for granted and make the most of every day with your friends! i make it sound like someone has died, but in someways it seems as though that part of my life has died...don't get me wrong, my life is great now and it will only get better as i get older but i just miss hanging out with Basma all the time!

where has all the time gone?

2005-06-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! It's been a little while since i've written...where has all the time gone...as a good song says... "The days pass me by just like moments"...(anyone know what song that is?!?) but the silence ends here! Alot has been happening in my life over the past little week or so. I'll give you the update..i've started working at the church, it's been good so far. This week I'm working by myself because the person i'm working with is still in high school and hasn't finished yet, he'll start next monday, so i've doing office work and helping the secretary out...so far it's been good! Also, as far as the other job, lifeguarding outdoors...it's definatly improved! I now like the job, i'm glad i stuck it out..i guess first impressions aren't everything..i've now decided that getting paid to get a tan and sit in the hot sun all day isn't so bad! It's just been awesome to see how God has been totally answering my prayers! I was really worried about working out scheduling for 3 jobs, but everything has worked out and my whole summer is set!

Hmm..what else can i tell you...on monday night i hung out with my trusty friend megan and we went to a concert, there were 5 bands playing. Yes i said 5! So that made for a long evening. It would have been ok if all the bands were good, but the first 3 bands were bad! There was the jr. high punk band that couldn't sing...(but in there defense, they would have potential if they changed singers!) they were followed by 2 heavy medal bands with screaming...can i jsut say that i don't like screaming...it's scary! It sounded like the devil's music, even though they were Christian bands. The whole time i was sitting there wondering if any of the songs actually had words! But the 3 bad bands were followed by 2 good bands, Threadline and Farsighted. They redeemed the evening for me! Then after the concert, we went back to megan's house and the guys from farsighted came over and we hung out with them..it was a good evening all in all!

Tonite, i went and saw Mr and Mrs Smith...i had to see it after all the hype... and i must say i liked it! It was very entertaining and i got very involved in the movie! I love going to the mioves! It's one of my favorite things to do! Me and my friend Ashley are movie buffs, together we've established that
a) the cheapseats have the best popcorn
b) Grant park has the most comfortable seats
c) Silvercity is too expensive and should be avoided!
d) don't listen to what other people say about movies, check them out for yourself because everyone has different taste!

I must admit that i'm getting very excited for next wed. my best friend Basma...(who left me and moved to Alberta to get married!) is coming to visit for a whole week!! Her mom is getting married, so it will be an eventful week! Oh! I'm singing at the wedding, and the song her mom asked me to sing is "Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon...for those of you who haven't listened to it...DON'T! It's a very cheesy song, so i'm going to go try and play it and make it less cheesy, but the chances aren't very good of that happening! But i'm also singing another song, "From This Moment On" where i will be able to redeem myself...but the thing is that i sang that song for Basma at her wedding and it doesn't seem right that her mom wants the same song...am i alone with that opinion?

Well this has turned into a very long post..but once i get started, my fingers are flying over the keys and i can't seem to stop! But all things must come to an end, even good ones like this, so with that i will say Goodnight!

My New Job

2005-06-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today i started my new job...at the condo complex...finally!! I was supposed to start May long weekend, needless to say this job is not shaping up to be what i expected! This morning, it was 12 degrees and i went to the pool for my first shift. It was freezing..and the health inspector was there when i got there...but we passed the inspection, so that was a relief! Anywayz, i only worked for 2 hours but i was so bored! After an hour of standing around i was taught how to vacuum the pool! yes i said vacuum..i hate vacuuming! Out of all the chores to do, vacuuming is my least favorite! Plus it took FOREVER to do!! Also, may i add that when i finished vacuuming, the guy who taught me how to do it was nowhere to be found, so i took it upon myself to figure out how to take it apart and put it away all by myself! He finally came back as i was finishing, and gots this scared look in his eyes, and asks me exactly how i did it, apparently there's a specific way to put it away, but luckily i did it the right way. If it's done wrong you can ruin the pump which costs alot to replace!! ahhh! that scared me, too close for comfort! Thank the Lord i did it right, can you imagine if i did it wrong! great first day of work, ruin thee pool! Then i had to sweep the deck which may sound easy but not this deck..it's interlocking bricks, so all the dirt gets stuck on each stone and the broom i was using was definatly not meant for this kind of sweeping! Not fun! So as i drove home i contemplated quiting...but after a nice lunch/shopping excursion with my good friend Ashley, she convinced me to stick it out a bit longer, after all it was only my first day.

Tonite after work i finally bought my tickets for Sonshine festival this summer! I'm so excited! It's going to be an awesome weekend!! I'm so pumped to see all the bands and especially Switchfoot, They are one of my favorite bands!! Plus, after the festival since we're so close to Minniapolis (2 hrs.) we're going to drive there for a day and hit the mall of america!

So at Bible study lately we've been studying 1 John, which is basically on Love and Fellowship. One verse that really stood out to me i was 1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us just stop saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions." It just made me think about things in my own life, and ways that i deal with people..for example, how many times do we say "hi, how's it going?" i say that pretty much whenever i talk to someone! But my question is how many times do we/i listen to the answer? There are so many hurting people in this world. I really want to do a better job at showing God's love to the people around me in my life. I want the people around me to notice God's light shining through me.

The Beginning

2005-06-05T01:15:00.000-07:00

Well thanks to my trusty friend Megan I've decided to join all the fun of blogging!! Believe it or not, I had no idea this even existed...I live a sheltered life! So now it's my goal to introduce this to all my friends! So here I am on a Satrday evening at home...I know, not very exciting...but i've been having a pretty busy week and i just needed some alone time to relax! I guess I'll start by telling you about my accident.

On Monday, i had to go to the church to talk to Pastor Scott so i decided to ride my bike, i've been trying to ride it everywhere close because i'm going on strike because of high gas prices!! Anywayz..as i was riding i decided to be adventerous and try to go over a jump...fine it was a bump! anywayz to make a long story short, i ended up falling off my bike..and not just a little fall, head over heals over the handle bars..don't even ask how i managed to do that because i've been trying to figure that out all week as i nurse my wounds! I have 5 bruises and a huge scrape on my leg...not pretty. But i walked off the pain and my battlescars are healing now. The funny thing was that i had my dog with me, but it wasn't even his fault i fell, it was all on me! I started taking Chevy on bike rides, he has a harness and he just gives her when he gets outside, i don't have to peddle at all, he just pulls the first couple of minutes!! He's like the energizer bunny, he just goes and goes! But anywayz, the rest of my week was filled with work and such, nothing super exciting happend to tell about.

This morning i had to work, and after work my mom met me at the pool and i gave her a swimming lesson...i've been trying to teach her how to swim, and today i got her to go off the diving boards! it was awesome!! I love swimming! Speaking of swimming, i'm starting a new job next week working as an outdoor pool as a lifeguard. It was supposed to be for the whole summer, but i got offered the summer job at my church that i did for the past 2 summers and i can't turn it down, so i don't know what will happen with the other job..i'm hoping arrange everything, because i need to save a bunch of money this summer!

For those of you who haven't heard, I'm going to be doing YWAM this fall! I just found out i got accepted a couple of weeks ago! My training will be in California and then I'm going overseas somewhere for a missions trip for 2 months. I'm super excited to go...I'm doing the DTS program, so i'm pumped to go deeper with God, and find out what he has in store for me!! But i'll let you know more about my trip when i find out!

Well since i started writing this, Megan K came over and we hung out and watched the Secret Window with Jonny Depp. It was kinda twisted...it was good, but different then i expected! I'd reccomend it, not one of the best i've seen but definatly not a bad movie! Speaking of bad movies..the life aquatic was definatly a bad movie, i saw it this week and it was pretty boring and very random!! But hey, to each his own!