A new spin on things

... I clearly was not getting a lot accomplished with this blog. Not quite sure what direction I'm headed in now but hopefully one that's a bit more personal and a lot more positive :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Everyone!

2 Turkey feasts did not let me down this year...yum

Things I am thankful for each and everyday:
My Family (+ puppy)
My Boyfriend
My BFF
My Health
It feels good knowing that I have so much in life to be thankful for...


On another note, if you ever need a delicious Thanksgiving Dessert, check that one out! It was delicious, cheap and simple enough to make.
note: instead of their icing recipe, I opted for a basic cream cheese icing

Hoping that everyone had a great day full of love,  

stuffed bellies, and things to be thankful for!

xo

hmd

Happy Mother's Day to all the mammas out there!

I got mine some bath treats and cream from Lush

busy bee

Ahh my life is seriously running193247467864 miles an hour! I've had no time to do anything... including updating my blog. Here, I was thinking I would have so much free time on my hands once exams were done. I hate to admit it, but wow I was wrong.

This is my May schedule. Pink is the days I'm working. I think every day has something going on haha!

Updates 101:

• Momma and I have started a cake decorating class! I think it's going to be so so so fun! I can't wait. The first class was a little dry - it was just a lesson on basic baking knowledge but I'm looking forward to the rest of it!
• I started my new job on Monday and have had 2 shifts. It is amazing!
• I'm leaving for a mini-vacation/family reunion on May Long to BC yay!
• Don't buy this dog toy:
  It's called the Dog Scrambler or something like that. Every review online says that it's an amazing toy and that every dog goes wild over it... every dog except mine. Seriously, she sniffed it, pushed it around a bit then looked at me like I was retarded for buying it and ran away. She was more interested in the packaging. Maybe it's just my dog but this toy was a waste of my time, in my opinion.

That`s all for now! I`ll leave you with a cute picture of my puppy. Every time I leave the house, she watches me get into my car. Cute. 

how cute is this

My mom and I are starting a basic cake decorating class tonight! I think it`s going to be so fun! I`ve wanted to do this forever! Apparently, my mom is just as excited as I am!

A Note she left me this morning:


Have a great day. See ya tonight yeah!! I`m excited for cake decorating.
Love Mom.

perfect

exams are done, work has started and summer is on it's way!

I love my life :)

my logic

For some reason I thought that getting my nails done tonight was a better idea than studying for my exam tomorrow... I don't know what goes through my head sometimes, but damn, my nails look great!

me & my puppy

We're in love <3

best feeling in the world?

... when hospital patients thank me for volunteering,

                                            so cute! I love it!

can't wait to try

The first time I heard of his nail polish it was from my grandma... haha adorable, she's a cutie. 

I'm excited to try this out.

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

These questions have no right or wrong answers.
Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22. Why are you, you?
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25. What are you most grateful for?
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32. If not now, then when?
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/

had to share

precious story

Dear Abbey
From a kind soul working in the dead letter office at the US postal service
joe-ks.com

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could, so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, “To Meredith” in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called,“When a Pet Dies.” Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I am wherever there is love.

Love, God

so adorable

 I totally put my bf on the spot last night and asked him 3 things he loves about me. I wasn't expecting him to be able to come up with anything but he surprised me and told me like he had it rehearsed.

He said:

1. I'm smart

2. I'm beautiful

3. I'm independent

that was the sweetest thing he could have said :) and in the perfect order <3

Updates

Here are some updates to my life...
I'm keeping myself busy, busy, busy with the following:

• Semester's coming to an end - that means it's crunch time. Time to study and get some assignments done! Looking forward to exams being finished as of April 29.
• Full-time summer job will start in May. I'll be a pro personal assistant by the end of summer haha!
• Also, I agreed to be a "nanny" for 3 kids for a couple of days in the next few of weeks. This is going to be fun haha...
• BSD April 15 =)
• Start getting in shape for summer - bikini body here I come! Hit the gym at least 3x/week and watch what I eat starting now.
• Kendra & I are starting a big, big project! Have a meeting this Thursday to pitch our plans - more details to follow.

On another note, how cute is my puppy?

I love coming home to this <3

That time of year...

I'm at that point in the school year where I don't want to do anything. It's driving me crazy!!!! I have absolutely NO motivations. Uggghhhhh! I have papers due on Monday and Tuesday and then a project due on Wednesday so I really need to get a start on things....

love.dreams.friends.hope.

All you need is Love, Dreams, Friends & Hope.

new!

I got a new bed today! I realize that is a pretty lame thing to be excited about, but in my defense I have been waking up every morning from back pain (car accident) - so I am hoping the new bed puts an end to this. I upgraded to a queen bed and got a $1600 mattress for $700 so I was pretty excited about that too. Apparently it has all the latest in bed technology so I scored a pretty great deal. Tonight will be the test! [ Thanks mom <3 ]

This has also motivated me to put my room through some spring cleaning (appropriate for the first day of spring) and re-decorate. I'm excited to change things up a bit in my room and shop for some new decor. I'm also excited to get some zzz's haha!

Good night and sweet dreams, xo

Prayers for Japan

I know it has been a few days since the earthquake hit Japan on Friday but the effects of the natural disaster are as devastating as ever - especially with the nuclear crisis getting worse each day. My heart goes out to everybody affected by the earthquake.

This event has personal significance to me. Being born in Japan, it was my home for the first few years of my life. Last night I was able to talk to a few family friends and was relieved to hear that everyone I know is ok and doing well. It becomes so much more real when you hear about it from someone in Japan rather than on TV or in the newspaper. This really put things into perspective for me, I'm feeling so lucky right now to have a place to go home to at the end of the day.

I realize that it's not in everyone's budget to donate but please do what you can to help. Money, prayers, wishful thinking... it all counts.

confused

It’s still tough to smile, but I’m not frowning. I’m not looking ahead but I’m also not looking back.  Nothing is clear, but it’s not really blurry either. I’m not ready to fight but I’m not ready to quit. Nothing is right, but nothing is wrong. 

But everything happens for a reason, right?

just a little reminder

Happy Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day
I got spoiled today <3
and it was perfect

Birthday girl

Look how spoiled I was <3 I had the best day! I woke to breakfast and presents from my mom then went to school. Kevin picked me up for lunch and we went for Peter's burgers and to the mall where he bought me a cute birthday outfit :) after school all my friends came out for wing night and I got more presents! The best was definitely a Pandora bracelet from my BFF and a Barbara Rihl purse from my daddy.  

I love being the birthday girl!

127 hours

I have been waiting to see this for so long...

`` 127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crushes his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in
Canyonlands National Park of Utah. ``

Ralston says the rest of the movie is
"so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama."

Most effed up movie I've seen in a long time, the fact that it's a true story just makes it so much crazier. It didn't have that much of a story line to it. It was pretty much just watching a guy stuck in a cave for 5 days with a few flashbacks and thoughts in between but I guess that's what makes it so realistic. James Franco was absolutely amazing in it, he made the movie so much better and played the part to a tee. His acting was so believable that when I walked out of the movie I literally wanted to cry and puke.I could feel his pain and agony throughout the movie.  

I wouldn't watch it in a theater again but it would for sure be a good one to rent. If you want something different that's not your same old movie, watch this one.

you're all i think about these days

It's so crazy when someone you know dies. Even if you weren't close, even if you were barely friends at all, it still breaks your heart. 

I recently found out that someone I had been close to in the past has died and he is all I have been thinking about for days. We honestly had not said a word to each other in over 3 years and it would have probably remained that way. Our friendship ended kind of awkwardly and to be honest, I pretty much completely forgot about him until I heard the news that he passed away. It's sad when things go this way- that we don't ever think about or remember a person, that was so close to us at one point, until they die and are gone forever. 

I want to encourage myself to revive lost friendships while I can, before it's too late, and remember all the special times I have had  with somebody because I want to, not because they are gone and that's all I can think about.

Mend the delicate fibers of a friendships while you still have the time and appreciate every second you have with someone close to your heart - that's what I've learned this week, I learned it the hard way. 

Rest in peace Trevor, thinking of you <3

Welcoming the new year with open arms.

Hoping that 2011 will have a much better start than 2010 did. I'm feeling good that I ended 2010 on a positive note, volunteering at the hospital on new years eve. 

These aren't really resolutions but more things that I want to work on throughout my life starting now.

New years resolutions:

1. Be nicer to people.
2. Stop judging until I know all the facts.
3. Stop being so superficial and basing so much on appearance, in both myself and other people.
4. Stop getting jealous of other people.
5. Do my best in school.

6. Don't get so discouraged when something doesn't go my way.
7. Volunteer more of my time to good causes and give back when I can.
8. Be a better friend to everyone important in my life.
9. Tell the people I love that I love them.
10. Stop taking so many things for granted.