A Child's Christmas

The Christmas season carries lots of fond childhood memories for me and once in a while I find it fun to think back and let the warm fuzzies take over.

One of the main things I love about December is that it is also egg nog season, and I love me some egg nog. I know very few other people who actually like it too, but to me egg nog always reminds me of my grandma's house as a kid. She had this black side by side door refrigerator and she always had egg nog during the holiday season. That and polish pudding but unfortunately my love of that has die out with age.

Something else that has died with age is getting up before dawn to open gifts. I can't believe how early I was up some years. I didn't even have siblings to encourage the excitement. Of course that also meant that every year I got lots of gifts from Santa and was totally spoiled, which is really a great benefit of being an only child.

One of my classic memories that I frequently think of still to this day was when mom, dad, and I were out (I think) getting our tree and I had my arms inside of my coat. Mom always told me not to do this and not to run because I'd slip and not be able to catch myself. Well little Jessica apparently didn't heed those warnings because on that fateful day I wiped out on the pavement and only had my face to break my fall. I learned the hard way, but it was a lesson well learned because I don't think I've ever made the same mistake since.

Another thing I liked to do during holidays growing up was decorate my room. Thinking back to amount of effort I would put into it I have to say, I was a pretty creative youngster. I remember one year I made a fireplace out of construction paper and put it on my bedroom wall. It seems like it must have taken quite a bit of time to do, but I guess time is not really a factor in a child's mind.

I'm grateful to have had a loving, easy childhood because now that I'm older it's nice to look back on. I know that not everyone is so lucky, and I find that so unfair because every kid deserves to live a happy, care-free life. Christmas can be such an exciting time when there's no school, Santa, treats, and presents to look forward to. I wish I could make sure that more kids out there would get to have the same fortune that I did/do.

Oh the difference a couple of years can make...

So this past week I've been doing contract work for the Women's Centre. I've been going to different schools/grades around the county holding focus groups with young women to try to figure out what programs they feel they would most like to see in Pictou County. So far I've done three out of six focus groups: one with grade 6's, one with grade 8's, and one with grade 11's.

I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?

The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.

The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.

So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.

Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)

Must... not... give... up....

I have like 10 other things I should be doing instead of blogging, but here I am. Just thought I'd share a little tale with you all tonight.

So one of my buds who is taking biology with me is doing a portfolio project which requires volunteers (enter me) to do 30 minutes of physical activity that gets the heart rate up to at least 70%. I must do this for at least 2 weeks (I think... memory is a bit foggy on this detail... could be longer). I tried to start doing this last Saturday. Then I was in so much pain for the rest of Sunday and Monday that I fell out of it and must now start again. So I did, tonight. I did something like 80 jumping jacks and a 20 minute run. The problem is that I'm terribly out of shape for this kind of activity. My yoga practices give me good breaths but don't really condition me for endurance in running. Meaning I basically die after jogging for 5 minutes straight. Needed a new strategy. Started doing run one minute, walk a minute. Much more achieveable this way, but not sure if I'm still meeting the requirements for the study. Will have to clarify at the next meeting. I also don't think my heart rate is getting all the way up to 70%. I'm getting up to somewhere like 130 beats per minute, but I need to be at 159. This poses a problem for me because my heart is already beating out of my chest at 130ish and my breath is pretty much maxed out. This makes me wonder if I'm just counting wrong and missing some beats or something. If anyone out there has any suggestions for improvements, I will gladly accept them!

What have I been up to?

My lovely aunt reminded me today that I need to update my blog! Thanks for the reminder... easy to update now that I have a day off to sit for a while and think about what I want to write.

So last weekend I did two main things that I'll write about: The Ten Thousand Villages sale and my overnighter to Cape Breton.

All I can say about the Ten Thousand Villages sale is... AWESOME! I was so excited to be there I think I may have peed a little. Okay, not really, but I was still really thrilled to attend. I was surprised by how busy it was there. I didn't realize how many people would be interested in such a thing. As you may have seen on my autocorrect blooper pic on facebook yesterday, I got a Christmas gift for my dad at the sale, but it wasn't a thong as my text message to my mother may have suggested! Next year I think I will get some gifts for other people as well. It's a great place to find some unique items, and I always love giving a unique gift! Other than what I bought for faja, I also bought myself a woven market basket which I plan on using when I go to the grocery store instead of having to take one of those nasty plastic baskets they provide for you there. Guess what, I see the range of people who touch those, and I would prefer not to have to handle the baskets after them. Chris told me I'm going to look like a weird hippie chick but I am A-O-K with that! Hippie chick is actually a pretty good word to describe me in general, I think...

My market basket. If you wet it you can re-shape it however you want. Neat!

So, after my Ten Thousand Villages adventure I hit the road to CB. A solid three hours later and I met up with my girlfriend Rebecca at her CBU dorm. After I presented her with my gifts of homemade chocolate chip cookies and a box of Halloween cheesies, we headed over to the mall for a little shopping (and by little I do mean I only bought three things... must manage self when self has no money...). After that we went to Don Cherry's for supper (thanks cuz for the directions!) and it was SO GOOD. Mmm... will be going there again for sure. Fast forward to the next day... Rebecca and I go to Mickey D's for breakfast and who do I see at the gas station next door? My mudder and fadder! Three hours from home and I still run into those nuts. A little while later I take off for home, and thus complete my long weekend.

So what else have I been up to this week? Well Chris and I checked out some new apartments being renovated approximately 30 seconds from where we currently live. Very nice and new but lacking a living room and enough space for all of our furniture so no go on those. Thursday night I went to an advanced screening of Twilight with my friend Katie, and tonight I'm going again with my other friend Lesley. Twilightttttt <3 Such a nerd, but I just enjoy it so damn much.

Speaking of books turned movies, Yvonne (linked ya twice in one post, practically famous?) got me thinking about the book, and soon to be movie, The Hunger Games. I've seen the movie previews on TV lately and it looks interesting, so I downloaded the ebook last night and will probably start reading it today. I'll let ya know how it is. Now if you'll excuse me, there is a little kitty snuggled in next to me and I think she looks like she needs some cuddles. Enjoy the weekend!

Let's talk about something else...

So today I'm getting pretty pissed off with people and their ignorant rumours. In case you haven't heard, the remains of the missing girl I had posted about before were found, and it is now being investigated as a homicide. I could rant about this forever, but I decided to do myself a favour and write about something positive on here today instead. Pictou County has been filled with enough negativity lately as it is.

So, what am I going to write about instead? Things I am actually looking forward to in the next while:

1) The Ten Thousand Villages sale happening at a local church this Saturday. In case you don't know what Ten Thousand Villages is, I've been gracious enough to include a link here for you! Twice in fact ;)Definitely check it out... it's right up my alley. I better bring a wad of cash with me because I suspect I'll want to buy everything. My only challenge is figuring out where the church is...

2) Going to Cape Breton after I stop by the sale on Saturday to spend some quality time with my friend Rebecca. Maybe some shopping, Don Cherry's, and who knows what else yet. What I do know is that it should be a good time.

3) The advanced screening of Twilight that my friend Katie and I are going to next Thursday. Loved the books, enjoyed all the movies thus far, and the tickets for the screening were an amazing deal because we got them through the college. Eight bucks for the movie ticket, which also includes a popcorn and drink. What a steal, I tell ya.

4) Finishing up some of my courses. I've already gotten the university application out of the way, now I just have to push through and finish these pre-req courses. One is almost done... two are about half way... then two more full ones to go... I will be glad to see the end... marks are fantabulous so far though! They'd be crazy not to want me to be a nurse :)

5) Being almost done of my Christmas shopping, and then it being Christmas. I have almost all of my shopping done already. I'm on fire this year... I started very early and was very successful in all of my purchases.  My biggest task ahead of me is finishing a scrapbook all about Sadie, which I'm giving to Chris's sister, Rachel. So far it's lookin' some good if I do say so myself!

6) My little kitty Willow getting settled and becoming more fond of us. She's getting there now, and I love it. I adore kitty snuggles!

Those are the main things on my mind lately. We'll see what comes after that! Enjoy the long weekend and try avoid all the negative vibes floating around!

Practically a profit

So today had the potential to be a very expensive day, but it turns out I ended up with more money than I started with!

To start off, Chris and I have adopted a little 18 month old kitty who we named Willow. She was under Brian&Lesley's deck crying for a week, so they felt really bad for her and took her in. They couldn't keep her though, and she seems like such a nice little kitty, so Chris and I finally said we would adopt her.

Today was Willow's appointment to go get spayed, since we all thought she wasn't. I got up bright and early to take her in to the vet, where I said my temporary goodbyes and leave her with the professionals. Back to home I go, and to my surprise a little while later I get a phone call from the vet. Turns out Willow is already spayed. Score! No charge for a fixed kitty. It did make me worried that she actually does belong to someone though, so once I got back from picking miss Willow up, I called the local spca. No one had reported a cat missing fitting Willow's description, and the woman on the phone seemed to think it sounded like maybe Willow was a "drop off". What a sin... not sure how anyone could do that to an animal.

On a side note... there was an article in the paper today about two puppies that were found with their throats cut, left on the side of the road. The woman who found them rushed them to the vet and it looks like they're going to make it! That is good news indeed... but it is disturbing that people do such things to helpless little animals...

Back to my original topic - After all my shenanigans with Willow were over for the day, I got ready to go to class for the afternoon. I put on a coat I haven't worn much lately, and when I got down to the car I put my hand in my pocket and found $10! I love finding money I didn't know I had!

Just to remind you of the math in case you haven't been keeping up, I:
Didn't spend $100's
Found an extra $10

Which is practically a profit in my mind! Good day.

Small town murder

Sometimes I don't know what to write about on thing darn thing. I suppose I'll follow my recent theme of talking a bit about current events. Missing girl has still not been found. So unfortunate. Latest happening in Pictou County was a murder in Trenton last night. Super! Let the havoc begin.

Let me mention something I also mentioned on facebook earlier today. Someone's status was about the shooting being an isolated incident, and that Pictou County is no more dangerous than anywhere else. A lot of people commented saying that there's been shootings in lots of other places, so it's basically no big deal, and that there's really nowhere any safer. I had to disagree with that. Here's why:

To the best of my knowledge, it is quite likely that the shooting was related to drugs. Mainland Nova Scotia has six hot spots for injection drug use. Four of those are in Pictou County - Trenton, New Glasgow, Pictou, and Stellarton. The other two are metro Halifax and Amherst. It is not uncommon for people to get pissed about drugs/money, which can lead to violence.  It's easy to pin a shooting as an isolated incident, but people can get caught in the crossfire. It doesn't take much for an innocent person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

All this leads me to suggest the idea that moving to an area with less drug use actually could be safer than living in Pictou County.  Now, I'm not saying that people need to shit their knickers about it and pack up and move... in that way I believe that some of my fellow facebookers were correct. That being said, I don't believe that being apathetic about it isn't really the answer either. Why is it acceptable for people to be shot and killed in our community, no matter what the motive or reasoning behind it was?

Oh society, how you disappoint me.

So I guess it seems as though this blog has turned into more of a "weekly" posting rather than daily or really anything less than a week. Oh well, priorities call, especially during the school year.

As an update from my last post, the missing girl has not been located yet. Very unfortunate... hoping they find her alive and well very soon. It has really disturbed and disrupted the entire community. It's nice to see people banding together in a time of need, but I also find myself realizing how much I dislike society and, more specifically, the individuals within it. In terms of society, it really digusts me that in today's world, women are forced to be limited in their indepence and must depend on either A) a man or B) a group of other women for protection and safety. How ridiculous is that?! There really needs to be a shift in terms of people's socialization and what is deemed and defined as appropriate.

Referring to a recent news story from Halifax... men need to realize they they do not have the authority and power to dominate women. Grabbing a woman strangers behind is 100% not appropriate. This is also not just a women's issue BY THE WAY. Men need to react and respond to other men. That is how change will come about. I could really go on about this forever.

Anyway, back to my original topic... I find I am getting very tired of the general public lately. One girl goes missing and suddenly everyone's a top notch CSI agent in their own minds. Let the police and trained professionals do their jobs and stop speculating and drawing false conclusions. There is no need for anyone to decide to spread rumors or tear down the missing person posters. If you can't be useful, just mind your own business. If you're that kind of person, hopefully someday you'll go missing and no one will find you.

This really turned into a rant I suppose. Sorry... but recent events have been grating on my nerves and my patience is thinning. Might as well vent on a blog that hardly anyone reads! ;)

Missing

For those of you not from Pictou County or Nova Scotia, maybe you haven't heard that there is a girl from our one of our local towns missing since early Sunday morning. I was out searching for her today along with some of my family, and our luck appears to be on the same level as the rest of the town: nothing found yet. It's almost as if she vanished into thin air after she walked away from the bar.

This is disturbing to me for many reasons, but the main one is that it is one of my biggest concerns realized. As much as I hate it, I truly feel unsafe walking alone at night, even though I generally think I am being mostly unrealistic in my concerns. Walking in a well-lit frequently travelled main street? Pfft, surely how unsafe could that be in a small town? Apparently very unsafe is what we should be saying now! It doesn't seem right that we (women in particular) should have to be in almost constant awareness and some level of fear for ourselves. I know the general stats: people are most afraid in these modern times even though crime is at it's lowest. Somehow that really doesn't make me feel any safer though, especially not now that this young woman has gone missing.

I hope this doesn't turn out to be some kind of prank or cry for attention from this girl, but I also hope that she returns home safely and soon. I hate to believe that she is in some kind of danger right now.

The wrap up.

Once again, my blogging has dwindled due to a busy week. To make up for it, let me tell you what was so important that it kept me from keeping you updated.

Monday - Classes and work.... until a new baby girl was born into the world! My precious little niece (in-law... Chris's sister Rachel is who had the baby) came into the world at 2:37pm on Monday, September 26th with a healthy weight of 7lbs and the name Sadie Jo. Sadie is the smallest, sweetest little person I've ever seen/held. Whenever I told people about her everyone would say "I bet you want one now!". I can honestly say it made me realize that someday I probably do want one of my own, but also that now is totally NOT that time. I'm 100% content to just hang out with Sadie for the next 7-8 years.

Tuesday - Classes again (YAWN) and then out for supper with Chris, Brian, and Lesley. Mmm... chessecakeeeee. Oops, distracted thinking about chocolate cadillac chessecake. Anyway, after supper we all went over to the hospital to see baby Sadie and her mommy and daddy again. Later that night we went over to Brian and Lesley's to watch Tosh.0 (hilarious show). See how busy I was?!

Wednesday - Classes (notice a pattern?) and then Chris and I brought a lasagna we made over to baby Sadie's parents because the trio was now settled back at home. After that I went to an aqua zumba class with Chris's sister, Natalie. Aqua zumba is interesting, but I didn't feel much of a burn doing it in the shallow end so we might move on up to deeper waters next week and see how that works out (hoping I don't take in too much water and/or drown... my treading water skills are pretty rusty).

Thursday - No classes (surprise! bet ya didn't see that coming) but I did work all evening.

Friday - Classes (back to pattern). Out and about all evening and basically just doing other things than interneting. Went to that mall which was depressing because I am beyonddd broke but I'm craving new, more supportive sneakers. So sad.

Saturday - Work all day and then once again doing things other than interneting all evening.

Well that bring us up to today, and I've got a whole lotta nothing happening. Well, except cleaning the apartment and doing some schoolwork. Maybe I should clarify and say that I am doing nothing that I actually want to be doing. Ah well, at least I feel content that I have completed my blogging for the day! Enjoy staying inside cozy and warm on this rainy Sunday.

Don't do it!

I drove by a woman sitting on her doorstep wearing pyjama pants in the middle of the day yesterday and it got me to thinking. When I see someone wearing PJs during the day my perception is that there is something negative going on with that person. Sick, depressed, lazy, low self esteem maybe, etc etc. I should also probably clarify that I mostly only think this if I see the person wearing PJs IN PUBLIC. It hardly matters what you wear if you're staying at home all day. Although, I do think it boosts a persons motivation and self image if you take the time to clean yourself up and put on "day-time" clothing. In fact, I think there must really be some scientific correlation there. I once heard that it's important to set up a "study area" for yourself when you're in school because if you just flop on your bed to study, your brain associates that with where you go to sleep, so you tend to be less focused on actually learning. Maybe wearing PJs all day is kind of like that too.

Anyway, I'm sure there are "PJs in public" wearing people out there who would read this and say "There's nothing wrong with me! I just choose to wear this because it's what I'm comfortable in!" but I think those people should probably take a closer look at themselves and their reasons for choosing to wear that specific attire. Also, I think people should perhaps be more aware of their public image for other reasons as well. I doubt it would make you look too good if you came across your boss, potential employer, etc. out somewhere and you were wearing pyjama pants with some kind of animal/food/stripe on them.



I don't even think these are pyjama pants... but they certainly have the same effect...

 

Maybe I should get these ones...?



Ahead of the game.

I love when I realize that I am way more organized and ahead of myself than I thought I was. Maybe you know the feeling. It usually involves a few seconds of concern and dread, and is then promptly followed by the realization and relief that you had prepared yourself properly.

Yesterday I was heading up to Wicker Emporium to pick up a bookcase I have bought the day before. After I had already left my apartment, I thought to myself "Uh oh... did I leave the receipt for the bookcase on the kitchen table after I cleaned out my purse?" I thought I'd better check before I got any further away, so out my wallet comes and I unzip the main compartment only to see the desired receipt neatly folded and placed inside. Relief! And surprise... pleasent surprise because I had already thought further ahead of myself than I expected. I notice these types of incidences happening all the time to me. I'm not sure if it displays the fact that I am sometimes unorganized (because I had to stop and try to remember where the jesus I put the receipt) or rather the fact that I am actually quite organized (because I had the foresight to put the receipt in a convienient place for when I would need it).

Nonetheless, my bookcase is now home and sitting beautifully in the living room about half full with books. Still lots of room to aquire more, although I did just get a Kobo for my birthday from me Mudder and Fadder. I'm sure I will still buy real books from time to time, and even if I don't I have no doubt that I will be buying more than enough textbooks over the next four years to fill the rest of the shelves. Maybe I will even post a picture of my new bookcase for your viewing pleasure later on today!

Do I risk it?

For anyone who has never been in my apartment in person, you should first know that we have a fishtank in our living room that currently has nothing living in it. We used to have two newts (RIP Rodd+Todd), but they died and we have not replaced them with anything since. Sometimes it freaks people out because they wonder what kind of creature is in there and where it's hiding. That part is fairly satisfying for me as the owner.

The point is, I've been thinking about getting some angel fish ever since I saw the two new ones that my mama put in her gigantic tank. The only problem is that Chris has not been agreeable to this. Why? Because he says I have too much of a tendancy to kill things. This is not untrue. Plants, fish, newts, etc. To be fair I do still have some plants that I have not killed yet though. I just find that things get tricky sometimes... I certainly put in the effort... but things happen. I over-water... over-feed... don't make the tank secure so the damn things can not escape, you know... the usual... I just find that pets like cats are easier to care for. It's easier to see when they are sick or hungry/not hungry. Anyway, all this has not deterred me from wanting some new fishies... will have to work on boyfriend some more, I guess.

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for me on caring for fishies? I could probably use some...!

One good, one bad

Looks like I'm not paying for books this year! Couldn't be happier about this. Managed to get all three books I need from the library. They are an edition behind the current textbooks, but I can deal with that as long as I think about the fact that I'll be saving 350+ dollars. Textbooks are SO overpriced, which I find incredibly unfair considering the fact that everyone knows how poor students usually are. Companies totally take advantage of the fact that students are obligated to somehow buy their product.

On another note, tonight is my first night back working for Sobeys. I tried to avoid it, but it was really the best decision for now. No point starting a new job and dealing with that stress when really I'll only be there for a few more months probably. So back to the grind I go. I really hope no one feels the need to go buy groceries tonight. It's rainy... stay home, snuggle up and eat whatever's already in your cupboard instead of coming to Sobeys and making me do more work than I want to. That's all I ask...

Bitch, get out the way.

FYI, when you're doing 80 on a highway where I can't pass you, don't glare at me as if I'm tailgating you. If road conditions are ideal, I expect you to drive the limit. It's not my fault that you're causing traffic to build up behind you, so don't look at me in your rearview mirror as if it is. Oh yeah, and passing lanes are for PASSING not continuous driving.


Road rage on my first day back at college? Great start to the year, I'd say!

The New Leaf Experience

Now, just to start, New Leaf is a men's intervention program for men who have been abusive in their relationships. I did an eight week placement there where I got to work alongside the facilitators and run the group sessions. The following is a reflection I wrote based on my experiences there.

During my eight week work practicum in the spring of 2011, I had a truly eye opening experience in many ways at New Leaf. Getting to know both the facilitators and clients, as well as external contacts, helped me to gain a more holistic insight as to what New Leaf is really about, and how this agency provides safety and the opportunity to change for the male clients and their families. To better explain my experience, I thought it would be most effective to list my key learning points.

1)      One of the first things I was told by the facilitators at New Leaf was to remember that there is always more to the story. The men I worked with at New Leaf often tell the facilitators things that leave us wondering, what’s missing here? I believe that this is probably the case in many different non-profit agencies, especially those that clients are generally mandated to attend. People only disclose the bits and pieces that they want you to know, which may result in rather important facts being left unknown to you. This may be because clients want you to perceive them in a certain way (such as a “good guy”), or perhaps they simply do not realize the importance of full disclosure. This leads me into my second point.

2)      People can be very good at manipulation, and the men involved with New Leaf are certainly no exception... they may have even created the standard. In this kind of environment, you have to be very observant and aware of what clients are saying (or not saying) and doing. Sometimes you can catch little hints of their manipulation and continue to try sussing it out further, but other times it can catch you completely off guard. It is these times that knock you slightly off balance, because it redefines what you thought you knew. These men have been practising and perfecting their manipulation skills for years in their personal relationships; I learned to understand that it is not me who is to blame when I am fooled by this

3)      To support these men without encouraging or enabling their manipulations, I’ve found that often the best reaction is no reaction. I began to learn that these men can be quite perceptive, and often they may say or do things with the expectation that you will present a particular reaction. Reminding yourself that is it best to give none helps curb the mind games that some of the men may try to play.

4)      While there is plenty of manipulation and incomplete information within the client circle at New Leaf, there is also the opportunity for men to change. While safety is a more prominent priority, the opportunity for change is still there. It is a slow and sometimes uncomfortable process, but it seems that there is often a point that these men reach where the resistant shell starts to crack. Of course, this is not the case 100% of the time, but it happens often enough for the facilitators to realize the benefits of this kind of work. Men often initially come in with the idea that “This is just who I am. I’ve been this way my whole life. I can’t change now.” That idea is simply untrue, and there are men of all ages who have gone through New Leaf over the last 25 years who can vouch for that.

5)      With the understanding that it is possible to change, it is also important to understand that the men who come to New Leaf are rarely truly bad people; they have simply made some bad choices. These are regular guys; it could be your co-worker, brother, neighbour, father, and so on. They don’t fit the stereotyped “wife beater” image. They aren’t monsters... they look as average as any other man you may encounter on the street. Most of them have regular jobs, friends, houses, and lives. They make poor decisions out of anger, ignorance, or sometimes both. This was a lesson I learned directly from the men... it is this they specifically wanted me and others to know about them.

6)      As for myself as a person, I learned that I am more open minded than I ever thought. I didn’t feel disgust or anger at the men like I thought I might after I learned what they had done to their partners. I was able to accept them as they are... probably because I know they have a great opportunity and are in the right place at New Leaf. They look and sound so unbelievably average that I found that I would sometimes have to remind myself why they are there. Going in, I had prepared myself for the bitterness and anger I thought I would experience coming from the men. But they aren’t like that... or at least not usually (of course, there are the exceptions). I was not alienated as a young woman during my student placement, and I rarely felt uncomfortable sitting around the circle with everyone else. I’d probably hate to know what was said during the smoke breaks outside, but for the most part I felt accepted.

                Doing my work practicum at New Leaf was a priceless experience for me. I often find myself referring back to lessons I learned there even now that my placement has long since been over. I understand so much more about the men who go to New Leaf and the opportunities they have there for safety and change. I would say that it may not be the right placement for everyone though, as it takes a certain type of person to offer the kind of support the clients at New Leaf need. Perhaps reading my experiences and lessons learned will help you decide if New Leaf is right for you...

NOOOOO.

August is over, which means summer is over. So sad. I'm really not ready for autumn, winter, and spring yet. I need more quality beach time, but I guess that proooobably won't be happening. Tomorrow is the last day of my summer job, I start my courses next Tuesday, and I also start back to work at Sobeys this month. The only good things are that my birthday is in just under two weeks, Rachel's baby will be coming soon, and in October I will be doing a bit of work for the Women's Centre again facilitating self-esteem groups. Oh yeah, and I renewed my drivers license today and the picture isn't half bad! I've definitely seen worse.

On a another note... I'm trying to figure out the name of a book I loved when I was a kid. I used to get it from the library all the time, but I haven't checked there or asked the librarians about it yet. I have no idea what it's called, but I do know that it was about this little girl mouse who was a new big sister and she called the baby the Peanut. It was hardcover and yellow. Sound familiar at all? Anyone? Darn.

Well, belly's growling so I guess I should scrounge up some lunch for myself. I have a post idea for later, and just to warn you... it's a long one. I wrote a reflection on my experience at New Leaf during my placement, and I thought it might be interesting for people to read.

Mmmm...

... chocolate cheesecake truffles. Droooool away folks. This is what I spent some of today making.

Lesson of the day for me - white chocolate is harder to work with than I expected. Good to know.

Doesn't my life sound full and exciting?!

So, as per usual I'm sorry I haven't blogged since last week. I've actually been fairly busy, which I'm enjoying. After my blog post last week, I was busy preparing supplies for the day camp reunion BBQ that I was holding on Sunday. Saturday was beautiful so I beached it with mama and papa bear, and Sunday was the day of the BBQ so that was somewhat hectic but really fun. The BBQ went off without much trouble and everyone really enjoyed themselves, so all my hard work was well worth it. I took Monday and Tuesday off work, so Monday I went shopping in Truro with mama bear and Tuesday I took a quick trip to Metallifax with my boyfrand who hates shopping for long periods of time. All we did in city was stop at Town Shoes to pick up my birthday boots and then went to Toys R Us in the MicMac Mall to buy Rachel a baby gift.

Rachel's baby gift! A Moses basket and some supplies.

The card I made for Rachel's stepdaughter. We also got her a gift but I don't have a picture of that...

Mission accomplished, so we headed back home. Yesterday I worked and then volunteered all evening doing three hours of face-painting. I can't even begin to count how many kids I face-painted... it was a lot. I was getting damn good at it by the end though... spiders, butterflies, Boston Bruins symbols, the Hulk, dogs, frogs, and sooo many more. I couldn't believe how good the kids were at sitting still for me. I was really impressed... I can only think of one that was hard to do but that was only because she was under the age of two and didn't really understand why she had to sit still so long anyway. So anyway, you can now clearly see why I would not have time for such a silly thing as blogging in the midst of all that! Don't count on another post this weekend either... tonight Chris and I are helping his brother and brother's girlfriend move into their new apartment (exciting for them!) and tomorrow I'm heading up to Antigonish after work to enjoy some party rockin' with my girlfriend Rebecca. Saturday I'll probably be hungover and we all know that no significant thoughts other than "TV is goooood." and "Why do so many of my body parts hurt?" will be happening that day. Maybe on Sunday I'll blog about my job prospects for the fall. Won't that be exciting for you all! :) Check back in then...

Clients deserve better.

Today I'm thinking about how much it scares me that certain people are able to work in the helping field. Psychologists, counsellors, nurses, etc. There should really be more criteria to be met before you are even allowed to enter the education institutions for these types of careers... like, I don't know, a lifelong interview? I'm thinking of some people I know of who are on the path to a career involving helping people, and the only way you would really know how unsuitable they truly are for the job would be to know them for years and see their personal lives. But, to the general population they appear capable and they can pay the cost of education, so they're in!

What scares me the most is that once these people have careers in the field, they will be working with a pretty specific population. That population is People Who Need Help. That sort of population is not always at peak levels of critical thinking, especially for those facing crises. Impaired judgement may render them unaware that their helper may not really be qualified to help them in the ways they really deserve. A helper who is self absorbed or seeking validation from the clients should not be norm. I wish I knew how to make this more common knowledge for people, but alas, I do not have that kind of power in this life.

NOTE - This post is not a reflection of my experiences at the Women's Centre. It comes from my own education and experiences over the last couple of years.

I doubt you're that popular.

Today a thought popped into my head while I was on facebook. I've had this thought many times on facebook, so today I figured I might as well express it via blogger.

Why is it necessary for people to have so many friends on facebook? Almost everyone I check has over 400 friends. Some people even have thousands. GET REAL. There is no way in hell that you actually have 400 friends in your life. Maybe you have met that many people, or they could be distant acquaintances, but they are not your friends and I'm pretty sure you don't need them on your facebook friend list.

I frequently go through my friends list and clear out anyone I don't talk to on a regular basis or wouldn't be able to have a conversation with if I saw them in person. I just checked, and I currently have 88 people, some of which will still probably get cut out in the upcoming months. Even that number is excessive. Do we really need so many people to be able to access us or for us to access them? I don't think so. If I don't feel the desire to know you enough that I would befriend you in person, then I don't see the purpose in having access to your personal life via facebook. Sure, sometimes I'm nosey and like to see what people are up to, but facebook has become excessive in that it becomes a competition for some people. If you don't have a lot of people on your facebook, you must not be popular, right? At a cyber-bullying workshop I attended the Community Policing Officer told us that there is a sort of fad happening with youth where it's like Facemon instead of Pokemon - Gotta get em all.

This all may sound fairly hypocritcal considering I'm blogging on the big old world wide web here, but to be honest the only reason I continue to blog is to give myself an outlet for my writings, and also for the people that I know in life outside of the internet who enjoy reading it. For some reason the friending craze on facebook just seems to bother me. Maybe it's because I hate that people put on such facades in their lives, and it is now spilling over onto fcebook as well.

To be clear, I don't expect anyone else to necessarily feel the same about this whole rant, or to rush over to facebook and delete half of your "friends". This is my blog, and these are simply my ramblings. Enjoy it for what it is.

I am not a vegetarian.

So yesterday evening I had an experience that I probably could have done without. Chris and I went over to his parents house after supper to see how the building of their deck is going. As we drove up their driveway, we noticed a raccoon laying in the middle of the parking area. First thought: Is he dead? Did the cats really manage to take down a raccoon during their late night hunts? But anyway, he moved his head and looked at us so obviously he wasn't dead. But he was sick. Chris's dad told us that he had been around since about 4:30am and he had seen him fall out of a small tree and take convulsions at around 8am. The poor raccoon had been stumbling around all day like he was drunk. A while after we got there the poor thing took more convulsions so it was decided  that it was probably time to put it out of its misery... and out came the handgun. Great. This type of thing does not sit well with me and I prefer to have no part in it, so I went in the house with Chris's mom and Lesley.

Now, just to be clear, I am not against killing animals. And by that I mainly mean for food or out of necessity. I understand where my meat on my dinner plate comes from and I can accept that. The problem I face is in the actual moment of the killing of an animal. I am uncomfortable with someone being responsible for that moment of death. I can handle life or death separately, but I dislike the moment where life turns into death.

A couple of summers ago I was driving from my parents house late at night and Chris was in the passengers seat. I rounded a dark turn and a bunny was in my path. I struggled in my split second decision. I thought there was a car behind me (turns out he had turned off anyway), and Chris was there so I was unwillingly to slam on the brakes and risk the safety of the people around me. So I hit the bunny. It was awful. I drove a few hundred feet and then had to pull over because I was pretty much hysterical at that point. I was afraid he had a bunny family that he was leaving behind, I was afraid he suffered, and I was afraid to have to drive past him everyday because I frequented that road so much. Chris told me to calm down and he walked back in the dark trying to find where the bunny had been, and he picked it up and threw it in the woods for me. That's love for ya folks. Picking up dead bunnies that your partner just ran over over. Doesn't get much more romantic than that.

But anyway, I felt awful about being the cause of that moment between a life and it's death. Sometimes I even feel bad when I either intentionally or unintentionally kill plants. I guess Serial Killer is off my list of potential careers. Oh well!

Sports analogies are hard.

So just as a continued update from my last couple of posts... I totally scored a hat trick. Except it in no way involved anything remotely athletic. Finished all three books in a series in three consecutive days. One book per day. Pretty nice, I'd say. Except that whipping through books like I do ends up costing me quite a chunk of cash. The good news is that I'm now onto reading a book that a co-worker lent me, so that's free plus it's a bit of a thicker and in-depth read so it might take me a little bit longer to finish. Unless the story is really good... then maybe I'll have read four books in four days by this time tomorrow. What sports term means four in a row? I have no idea... sports are obviously not what I'm best at, which might be obvious considering that this is probably the first and only time I have mentioned anything sports related in this blog. Anyway, it hardly matters. It's another dreary day in the neighbourhood so off I go to pursue my usual challenging work day of interneting and reading novels.

Stop it.

I sit at my desk for 7 hours a day waiting for the phone to ring to give me something to do. Then, when I decide to go to the bathroom I often find myself thinking "I hope the phone doesn't ring cause no one else is available to answer it right now...". But nature is calling, so off I go to use the bathroom. Of course, during those couple of mintues when I am not eagerly available and waiting to answer any and all phone calls, BAM the phone rings and no one answers it.

This is a cruel game and I do not understand who my opponent is, but I don't like it anyway. I can only pee so fast!!

Nerd Alert!

* Okay so just as a note, I began writing this post on a Tuesday and am now finishing it on a Wednesday. If there's any disconnect, that's why.

I am such a bookworm. Between waiting for three hours for my car to get fixed yesterday and an extremely slow work day today, I've officially finished two books in two days. It'll probably be a hat trick by 4:30pm tomorrow.

This prompted me to think about how much I love reading and learning. I'm not really one of those people who loves to read anything with words... some things I find uninteresting or I just hate learning it. Like math. I can be good at it if I try... and it can be useful... but I so hate to do it. English is my cup of tea though. I used to literally get excited for my English exams in high school. Couldn't wait to challenge my creativity and skills. I kind of miss getting to take English courses. My college program had Writing Skills but it wasn't quite the same. I am wondering if Nursing requires any kind of English course... seems like probably not... more like Writing Skills again I suspect. Report writing... snore.

Another thing I am slightly (aka massively) OCD about is grammar and spelling. I sit on the board for a local non-profit, and at our last meeting I had a whole bunch of corrections to mention about a letter that had been sent around for us to proofread. We had a little debate about the use of a word, and the librarian who had written the letter (along with some other board members) thought that he was right in his usage. I disagreed. Even so, he said that he was glad to see a young person take an interest, because he generally feels concerned about the younger generation and their awareness of proper grammar these days. So anyway, a few days later we all get this email from him saying that I had been correct after all. Moral of this story? I win. And I rock at editing. ;)

All that being said... please don't judge my grammar or writing abilities based on these blog posts LOL. Mostly I just throw these together when I'm bored, so I really care a lot less about how they turn out.

Sometimes I wonder if I would have liked to work towards becoming an editor of some kind. I think I'd prefer doing that over writing my own pieces. Or maybe both, I don't know really. I can see myself enjoying proofreading and editing newspaper or magazines articles, or maybe books. Who knows... I could still wind up doing it... I seem to have a long career as a professional student left ahead of me...

Quack

Sad news, loyal followers. My Fossil purse purchase might have to wait until richer times. Darn priotizied responsibilities. Took my car in to get checked out thinking I would probably leave with a new wheel bearing... turns out I did but also had to purchase new parts for my brakes as well. Bummer. Wish Mr. Mechanic Man had been correct in his initial idea that maybe my brakes were just dirty...

So that consumed my whole morning today... started and almost finished a new book in those three hours. Might stop by the book store and invest in the next book in that series after work today. A new book is rather cheaper than a new purse, sadly. As for right now, I am sitting at work wondering what to do with myself. At some point I have to do my WHMIS and OHS courses online... but I'm not feeling terribly motivated to do that today.

That reminds me, I paid my tuition last week for three academic level courses that I need in order to apply the nursing program I'm interested in. I paid $550 to take three courses I could have gotten for free in high school. Awesome. Really ahead of the game here, Jessica.

Well, that's all for now. Summon your inner duck and enjoy the weather!

eenie meenie

So now I found Fossil purses on ebay. Uh oh! Might have to invest in one. But which one? Here are my top choices:

Which one should I consider buying?!

Crop it all the way to the garbage.

Today was a Me Day. Go me! I took myself shopping in Halifax, or Metallifax as we now like to call it since seeing Metallica there.

Shopping was good... spent more than I intended but whatever. Could have been worse if I had bought the $165 Steve Madden booties I wanted. I figured I'd wait on them since I DO have a birthday coming up soon... hint...HINT HINT. Actually I've already told Chris straight up that I want the boots for my bday gift. No sense beating around the bush! Might end up with some sort of slippers or electronics if I'm not clear about what I'm getting at. Hehe... actually, to Chris's credit he is quite good at pinpointing things that are in my taste. Boots are possibley out of his league though... so I might casually find the boots online and make it my desktop background... you know, just as a little reminder for when the time comes... ;)

I did face some level of disappointment during my shopping experiences today though. For one, I was getting bored with talking to myself in my head. That wasn't too upsetting though, as I think it was evened out by the fact that I could take as much time as I wanted with no complaints from fellow companion(s) to worry about. The major dismay of the day was realizing that the "in" style right now is cropped shirts. Gross. It was bad enough that for the last couple of years the "in" thing was extra long shirts, which obviously doesn't go over well with an extra short girl. Not like I wanted to look like I have legs or anything... Anyway, at least with long shirts I could alter them or tuck them up or whatever to make them fit me accordingly. What the hell do you do with a cropped shirt to make you not appear like some sort of 80's flashback human rectangle? It's just not working for me, so therefore I once again pass on another fashion fad. Sorry... looks like you'll all have to continue living with me in my grandma-esque sweaters for a while.



This style was in every store today.



Chris says I like grandma clothes... he's not wrong.


There you go Yvonne! Hope this post was worthy of your continued loyalty ;)

blah de blah

What a blah day today is. It's a Tuesday but it really feels more like a Monday since yesterday was a holiday. I have a three day work week this week and yet I still want to go home early. I don't know why they pay me to be here sometimes. I'm totally unmotivated... would prefer to take a nap but I'm guessing that would be crossing some line about workplace etiquette. Just so hard to keep my eyes open today though... sleep was not my friend last night apparently... felt like I was in dreamland but don't feel very rested from that trip. In three more hours I'll be able to go home and veg out in front of the tv and doze off. Now, to just find something to do until then...

Where is it.

TV remotes need those little pager button things like cordless phones. I lose my remote a lot more than I lose my phones. Inventors of the world, get on that.

ready set go

Here's the deal. I need to get more fit and healthy.

So... today was Day One of my new exercise regime. I am going to try to commit to doing 4 basic exercises 5 nights a week for the next two weeks. My 4 basic exercises are a sort of modified push-up (from the knees but bring one leg toward your upper body with each push-up... works the abs more apparently), sit-ups, squats, and hula hooping (mostly for fun but also feels like it's working my core). We'll see how it goes... but I'm trying to get Chris in on it too so maybe I'll be more likely to do it with a partner.

I'm also going to work on creating more healthy eating habits. This will most likely be more challenging than sticking to my exercises. Healthy eating is a real drag for me. Eating in general, really. But, nonetheless, I'll give er a hook. Any suggestions on how to make this easier for myself? Or some foods/recipes that taste junky but are actually good for you???

No glitter allowed.

Overall, today was a good day.

Successful completion of facilitating another day 1 of day camp... Check!
Successful completion of providing myself and my male counterpart with proper nourishment... Check!
Successful impulse purchase of two enticing summertime novels... Check!
Successful completion of necessary household chores... Whatever; who wants to be an over achiever anyway?

Yeah, so basically you can see that today was a pretty productive day. Now it's time to sit back, blog about things that won't make my blog popular with the internet world, and get tense watching people cook their brains out on Masterchef. And maybe eat some Cheesies with a fork. Cause that's the best way to do it... don't even try to tell me it's not. Test it out just once and you'll be on board with the J Hodd OCD Train. Wooooot wooooot... keep your hands to yourselves and no glitter allowed aboard (that shit gets everywhere). Please store your belongings alphabetically in the colour coded totes provided for you. Thank you and enjoy the rideeeeee!

Summer Lovin' Memories

There are so many wonderful things about warm summer weather and time off. Yesterday I visited mudder and fadder who are camping at the classic Elm River, and then we also took a bit of a day trip to Oxford to see other family friends who are camping there. I got to do some romping through the forest and tubing down the river. There was a bit of a negative point where I think I got too much sun or something and kind of wanted to empty the contents of my stomach and then pass out... but thats all water under the bridge now! Still a great day in my books. Camping is one of those things that always reminds me of good times when I was growing up. I think most people have those types of nostalgic memories... you know what I mean, the memories of childhood that give you a warm fuzzy longing for the past. I know that Chris's are of spending time in the woods exploring and building, etc. Mine are mostly of camping and making imaginary food out of mud, leaves and unedible berries.

The part I find saddening about memories from childhood is when years go by and then time takes a toll on something you used to enjoy so much. For example, growing up there was a ballfield owned by a local company just up the road from my parents house. In the summer, we would walk up to the field after supper and watch the company ballgames. If there was a foul ball, whoever found it got to keep it... so my trusty doggy pal Maggie and I got plenty of softballs. There was some playground equipment, crab apple trees, and wooden stands to watch the game from.  Since I was younger, the company that owns the field has gone through many owners, and it happened again this year. When summer hit, I decided to take a little visit up to the ballfield. I was slightly horrified and very disappointed to see that the field has now been neglected. The field is thick and grown in, the stands look like a broken leg just waiting to happen, and even some of the crab apple trees have gotten old and been damaged in storms. The playground equipment is long gone, and from the looks of the debris in the parking area, hormonal teenagers are the only consistent visitors. Such a let down. If I lived within a closer distance and owned a ride on lawn mower, I would totally whip that field into shape. But I don't. So it seems I just have to settle for my positive memories and let go of things I cannot control!

Who are you wearing?

Hi, my name is Jessica and I might be addicted to lululemon.

Now, just to start off, I'm not much for designer brands. I don't care who made it... if I like something, I like it no matter where or who it's from. Same thing for items I do not like. It's insane how obesessed people get with designer brands... and then it's no longer unique because everyone started buying it. Also, I mostly hate designer purses. I think a lot of Guess and those types of brands purses are ugly. Maybe there's something wrong with me... I just want things that are attractive to me and fairly unique. Farmers Markets and local vendors are best for this in my experience.

Okay, so I put all that out there for you. But I am guilty of one addiction... lululemon. I just want to buy everything... seriously. It's costs way too much but I love it anyway. So incredibly comfortable and great designs/colours. Everyone has stuff from lulu now but that really hasn't deterred me like it did with Bench clothes. I hope it sticks around for awhile and they continue to entice me with their products... I see it as my one real splurge store. Too bad someone from their head offices won't read my blog and send me free stuff... I'd be so into that. Guess I'll just have to continue spending my own dough!

Gifts Galore!

Gifts! Gifts are awesome. I've been thinking about this lately because my girl friend Lesley just had a birthday, and Chris's sister Rachel is having a baby girl pretty soon.

Obviously I love getting gifts, but I also really LOVE buying and giving for other people. I put a lot of thought and care into the gifts I give, and I take pride in it. Some people do gifts half-ass, without really thinking about the reciever and what he/she would really enjoy. I think that's lame. I always enjoy gift buying like a sport... be creative, think out of the box, what temptation would the person resist buying for themselves? Unique gifts are the most fun, and I love when I come across something very different. Sometimes I have to sort of reign myself in, because I could easily spend a lot of cash on making presents as fabulous as possible.

Unlike others, I rarely stress during gift giving events or season... with one exception. That exception is Dad. For how many years is it acceptable to consistently buy one person books, tshirts, and chocolate for holidays? Someone needs some new hobbies that I can support...

Maybe I'll just put all my energy into buying stuff for Rachel's baby girl, cause I can totally see an addiction happening there for me. Me + An excuse to buy adorable baby items = Trouble. Baby stuff is just so damn cute! And god knows there will be no little person popping out of J Hodd's bod any time soon. That mental image is a true nightmare... I prefer to ogle over something that I really have no responsibility for and do not have to grow inside my own body for several months. Gross. Much better to enjoy someone else's efforts and then leave it with them after you've spoiled it and gone home child-free :)

Going Solo

Wow, I'm kind of on a roll here. Two posts in one weekend? A miracle. It's probably because I actually thought of something I wanted to write about today.

This blog post idea stemmed from various conversations with people over time. It seems that many people do not like doing most things alone. Eating out alone, shopping alone, going to the movies alone, etc. This intrigues me because I do a lot of things alone. It really doesn't bother me, maybe because I grew up as an only child. Or maybe it's just my personality... who knows. Before I realized that a lot of people don't do so, I never thought much about the things I do by myself. I just figured that if no one was available or close at hand, I'll just enjoy my activity alone. I eat at restaurants alone (although there are some exceptions... eating at places like Jungle Jims alone is not much fun to me); I do almost all of my shopping alone; I travel out of town alone;  I go to meetings, fitness classes, and events where I don't know anyone; and so on and so on. Maybe I've just gotten used to it over the years, so now it seems natural. Of course, there are some things I prefer to do with company, like going to the movies and eating at certain restaurants. Also, drinking alone is bad. Some things just seem like they are meant to be enjoyed with others as a social activity. And some things aren't safe to do alone. Like walk to the bank at night........ I think...

Anywayyy, I just thought I'd share my surprise at this difference between me and some of the people I know. It really doesn't matter what you prefer as long as it's working for you. And doing things alone works very well for me... less problems when I'm not depending on others. With that said, I leave you with my chuckle of the day:



Maybe I wouldn't eat here alone...



Might go loopy if I have to do this again... OH WAIT, I do.

PHEW. One busy week done. Too bad I get to repeat most of it again soon. It was certainly filled with lots of stimulation... not all of which was the pleasant kind.

Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday:
Day camps. Are. So. Stressful. I don't know why I always put myself through this. To be fair though, it wasn't really the kids that caused me stress this time... actually, most of the girls were really great kids. The problem was that some people seem to have trouble upholding their committments. I understand that things come up and you may be busy, but if that's the case then why can't you tell me straight up, so I can plan accordingly? Instead, I got stuck with 2 1/2 hours to kill by myself with nine pre-teen girls, on a rainy day. Awesome, thanks so much for that. I could rant for days about all the things that pissed me off within those three days alone, but instead I will work toward being a stronger woman and move on. Must try to learn from experience and make changes... some of which I have already put in motion, and things are looking up! Go me!

Thursday:
Seven. Hours. In. The. Rain. Freezing cold rain and wind I might add. Good god, I wish the weather people had warned me with these special little details, maybe then I could have better prepared myself in an effort to avoid shivering so much I got neck spasms, which is what really ended up happening. Oh yeah, and we got a $25 parking ticket. Halifax, you rock, thanks.  Anyhow, I survived (barely) and Metallica was pretty awesome and surreal. Also, the lead singer of Coheed and Cambria has mesmerizing hair. Look it up. Not a huge fan of the music, but couldn't stop watching the hair. He reminds me SO MUCH of Animal from the muppets.

Friday:
AM - Dead. No energy. Burnt out.
PM - Worked for half a day, then mooched supper off the fam, came home and mostly did nothing productive.

Saturday (AKA today):
Dyed my own hair again... SUCCESSFULLY! This was really a risky endeavor and it usually ends badly... but today I got smart and sat in the bathtub with a mirror propped up, and everything turned out well! Horray! Then I cleaned up and went to the mall seeking a bday gift for a friend... also successful. Tonight will involve partying to celebrate the afore mentioned friends bday. Tomorrow will probably be a repeat of this past Friday AM. Oh well!

That's all for today reader people... sorry I am lacking in posts lately... will try to improve this when I am not busy entertaining and educating stacks of attitude in the form of pre-teen girls.

stats seem pretty accurate...

Mumble Jumble

A busy week almost behind me... another busy week ahead though. Next week I'm running a day camp for pre-teen girls. I have enjoyed organizing it for the most part, but I don't always like running them. The pre-teen age range is in no way my favorite age group. Why? They are generally obnoxious at that age. I'm sure I was equally obnoxious during my own time, but now that I'm older it just DRIVES ME CRAZY. Here's hoping I somehow end up with a lovely, obedient, and subdued bunch of girls next Monday. I won't hold my breath though... oh well. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out. In any case, the girls will most likely enjoy themselves as I have organized some pretty enjoyable activities for them. It's too bad that people aren't always aware of the amount of work and thought and detail you have put into something for them. For example, I spent many hours this week creating the pins featured in the picture below. I didn't mind doing it, but I hate to think that these pins will just end up lost or thrown in the reject pile once the girls take them home.

These flowers actually have hot pink in them, but I find it looks red in these photos.

Other than my day camps happening next week, nothing much spectacular is happening in this little girls world right now.

Locked myself out of my apartment yesterday, mama came to the rescue with my spare key... thank you mama.

Lobster Carnival this weekend, but that doesn't affect me much other than maybe going to the parade and watching fireworks.

Still working on creating healthier eating habits, but finding it hard because I hate to have to over-think things in the summer. Will see how it seems to be going for me in a couple weeks time.

Successfully keeping outdoor planters alive so far, very pleasing indeed. Hopefully I can make them last until the end of the season.

Yep... that's about it! Enjoy these sunshine-y days! Don't they make you feel good inside? :)

Could go for one of these...

While laying out under this....

Actually found one of these at the beach the other day! Love finding them.

A Dreamer's Life

Blogging has taken a back burner to my new temporary online addiction... Baking Life! It's a Facebook game where you create and run your own bakery. Right up my alley! I am almost embarrassed to admit that I feel somewhat committed to this pretend business, and I actually feel pleased when it flourishes. Maybe this is because I truly do love to bake in real life, and owning a successful bakery would probably be one of my dream jobs. This reminds me of a recent blog post by my fellow blogger friend Yvonne, which was about dream jobs. There are probably a lot of jobs I would call a dream job for me. Mostly they are not extravagant or unrealistic though, and most of my dreams for life are not. A few jobs I would be happy to have would be: owning a bakery (but I would not be the one to decorate cakes... because I dislike that part), hula-hooping for money, writing a children's book, a yoga teacher, an editor, full-time beach babe, etc. Some of these are obviously more achievable than others, although I doubt I will end up doing any of them. Except maybe becoming a yoga teacher. Cause that would be a pretty great side job... getting paid to do something you'd be doing anyway. Nice!

source

Other than the previously mentioned jobs, my dream life would involve a medium sized, beautiful home with a loveable cat and maybe a smallish well-behaved dog, lots of yard with trees and few neighbors. I would have a sweet hubby to grow old with, and maybe some kiddies at some point. My vehicle of choice would be a jeep and maybe something more practical for winter. Maybe I would travel, but sometimes traveling is only good for me in theory and not in practice. I would have a room with lots of shelves filled with books that I will have read, and a kitchen with all kinds of baking supplies and tools. These are some of my life dreams.... I'm sure I will gather more as I go... maybe some that are more adventurous... but for now I like my idea of a happy life, so I'm stickin' with it! :)

Save the drama for... actually, just throw that shit out!

So much drama everywhere... yuck. It's in workplaces, families, friend groups, etc etc etc. I have some amount of trouble understanding why people can't just go about their own business and not make trouble for others. Just relax! No need to cause a stink over everything. Half the time it seems as though the issue has nothing to do with the person causing the drama anyway.

Now, I'm not perfect. I'm sure I've been the cause of, or at least involved in, a fair share of drama over the years. But as I get older, it becomes less and less appealing all the time. I've given up long-term friendships because of it... which can be hard, but also a relief when you look back on the situation. That being said, I do have to admit that I tend to enjoy hearing drama stories from other people... as long as I am in no way involved, or could become involved by enabling the storyteller. It's entertaining when it doesn't involve me, and that's probably why people continue to be dramatic. It creates excitement in an otherwise uninteresting life.

So... moral of the story for today? Get a new hobby and calm down.

Under the Covers

Not sure if anyone will really be interested in this, but boyfriend and I were discussing cover songs on our drive home tonight, so I thought I'd share three of my favorites here on my blogadoodle. I'll also include the originals below each cover for your easy reference.

1) Whiskey in the Jar

Cover by: Metallica
Original by: The Dubliners

2) Billie Jean

Cover by: Chris Cornell
Original by: Michael Jackson

3) I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Cover by: These Kids Wear Crowns
Original by: Whitney Houston

And just for good measure...

Misguided Attempts by All

Accomplished a dreaded task today, glad to be done of it. Got up at 5am to drive alone to Halifax to find a location unknown to me, so I could go to a meeting with people I don't know. The good news is that it is all paid for by work. The bad news is that I have a horrible sense of direction, which makes travelling alone a concern for me. After a few U turns and google map/GPS confusion, I made it to my destination without too much hassle. The return trip did not go as well, unfortunately. I had hoped to make it to the mall before heading back, but it seems that I was not headed in the right direction, and ended up in places I didn't really want to be. I suspect I missed some desired exits, and when I ended up on the highway headed toward Truro rather than on the other side headed toward Dartmouth, I surrendered and gave up on going to the Mic Mac this day.

Instead of shopping in Halifax, I stopped in at Truro (a place which I am now able to navigate with general success, after a few years of getting lost in the town and occasionally ending up at the NB border rather than in New Glasgow). Got a cute top and bottoms, though they were not as cheap as they should have been. Also had an interesting experience while browsing in La Senza. Shoplifter alert! Ah, but the capable security guards seemed to take care of it, and the police arrived just as I was leaving the mall. It's a shame really, because they had some pretty nice items on for $6.99 and $9.99. Hardly worth risking shoplifting charges for. Perhaps she chose one of the more fanciful and expensive items in the store though, in which case I have to say that I can almost understand the offenders desire to have the nice item, without paying the unnecessarily high price. Shoplifters don't seem to put enough thought into their endeavours though. I can think of many ways to properly conceal and sucessfully leave the vicinity with many different types of items (clothes, groceries, etc.). People get lazy and don't think this through enough. If that girl today had promptly left the mall instead of hanging around, she probably would have been successful. Same idea with people who attempt to steal from Sobeys. Maybe I only know this from years of working in the industry though. I'll add this to my list of "Jessica's Useless Knowledge and Skills". Should fall into place right between hula hooping, and knowing too much about Star Trek.

Good prevention tip.

Enjoy the week folks. It's officially summer and I regretted not wearing mittens on my walk tonight. Ain't Nova Scotia grand!?