Long Talks With Best Friends

So (the title already gave it away! Rats.) today I had a good long talk with one of my bestest friends in the whole world.
I realised that I haven't been the bestest friend in the whole world, and that I'm also a bit of a hypocrite.
As 'A' mentioned in a previous post, sometimes the truth hurts, but I am so glad we had a good 'ol heart-to-heart. I heard some things that I needed to hear.
We've noticed that as life goes on (which it tends to do) people change.
We grow apart as we grow together. We lose friends, we make enemies.
But luckily, somewhere along the way, we become the person we were meant to be.
I'm not that person yet, but one day I will be.
We all have different ideas, different dreams and ambitions, different plans.
It's called diversity I guess.

When we are very young, we learn that the best way to be 'normal' is to be the same.
Sad how those two words are so often confused.
Society teaches us to be replicas of each other, but then they tell us to be someone different, someone unique.
When we realise what kind of future is ahead of us, and the choices we have to make, we suddenly change. Change ourselves into what we need to succeed.
It's so sad. But so... advanced.
Humans are so complex, it's almost intriguing.
It's amazing how the person you were when you were young is so different from the person you become, the person that you are. I see my own changes in my reflection.
And I'm not even done changing yet.
I'm scared for the future. I'm not going to lie.
I fear what I am, and what I have become.

I am a butterfly.
I am a chameleon.
I change to what I need.
I am a creature of adaptation.
But do you ever stop changing?
Is there a point when suddenly you stop?
What happens then?

I hate the idea of growing apart.
Moving away from my best friends in the whole world.
I'm scared of leaving, but I can't wait to go.
I want to be something.
I want to change the world.
I want to be something unique.

But there, deep inside lingers this self-destructive doubt.

I want to be free.
I want to run in slow motion through fields, under a dusk sky in the middle of August.
I want to fly and I want to run.
I want to skip and dance without a care in the world.

I'm thankful for long talks with best friends.
Deep thoughts.
And realisations.

Goodnight.
J

The Easy Squeeze...

Yes, the title of the most awesome post ever (this one) could be interpreted as something mildly erm.. carnal... but try not to be so pious and let me justify myself! Jeez!

I feel like I'm back in the zone now. I will admit, this last week I haven't felt good about my blogging.
It's not like I wasn't thankful for things, I just felt like I couldn't express them as well as usual, but don't fret, J is BACK! I know you all missed me and my kooky, droll, behemothic words. ;)

Now, back to the focus of this post (it's not something raunchy)!
I'm thankful for brand new tubes of tooth paste, and being the first to use them.
Now you all go 'Ohhh'.

You know when you get down to the last bit of toothpaste and you have to squeeze, push, pull, roll, tug, and do the old 'press-it-really-hard-on-the-corner-of-the-counter'?
Well call me weird, but I despise that (though I must admit, there is ALWAYS more toothpaste in the tube, it's kind of awesome).
So as you can imagine, getting to open the new box, and being the first to squash a perfect squiggle-shaped glob of toothpaste onto my toothbrush is a bit of a treat, and I like to savour these moments.

The first glob of toothpaste is up there with:
The first bit of butter for your toast
The first spoonful of peanut butter from the jar.
The smoothness of a newly opened nutella glob.
The first sip of maple syrup on your pancakes (if you're Canadian, you get this).
New cheese, before it gets all gross.
Fresh milk.
Soda pop, before it loses all its fizzy bubbles.
Drinking ice cold water after a hot shower...?
I do that...

There's something about these things that is so... refreshing.
They give us a chance to really treasure simple things.
Simple new things.

So there you have it.
New toothpaste.
Goodnight!
J

I Am A., Hear Me Roar! (or squeak)

Today I am thankful for my voice, which is still not mine to use, but I'm still thankful that I've had it to use for the last __ years (you can fill in the blank - be kind!).  I've been without a voice for five days now and it really is quite an inconvenience!  I have to send others to do my yelling for me or chose to stay quiet instead of insisting on having my voice heard.  I'm sure somewhere in this whole experience there is some profound lesson to be learned (like "silence is golden", or "if you don't have anything nice to say ...") but I'm just going to be thankful for the many days I have had a voice and hope that I get it back to use again soon.  A.

Television

Its lame.
Mind numbing.
Hilarious.
Awesome.
Whatever it is, I'm so thankful for it.
I love TV, and I'm having a horrible time writing this post because I'm so distracted by it.
I'm also thankful for Adobe Photoshop, the reason I haven't blogged in two days.
It's really fun.
A little complicated, but super cool.
So that's all I have to say; Lily and Marshall are about to meet each other in the airport and Barney and Ted trying to open a bar.
Ciao.
J

There's No Place Like Home

No matter how wonderful time away is, you know your home is truly a home if you can't wait to get back to it.  I had a phenomenal weekend with my girls but it's so good to be in my familiar surroundings with my boys and my man.  I'll sleep well tonight in my own bed and eat food out of my own fridge tomorrow.  I'm thankful for the bags of things I have to unpack - I'm so blessed!  I'm thankful for Costco from whence came many of those goodies :)  As my fellow princess would say, I am evermore thankful.  A.

so much thankfulness, so very tired

What a day!  Day two of girls weekend and day two of "wow, what a conference!!!".  I'm thankful for gifted musicians and speakers and words from Above (challenging words - so challenging), and for my arms and legs (one speaker had neither) and for white mochas when you need to wake up and for improv teams who make you laugh till you cry and for my three men at home who I can't wait to get to.  So.... very.... tired.  Good night!  A.

Vertical-ness

First of all, I like the side tag thing, J.  Good explanation :)

Today was to be the first day of an amazing girls only weekend.  Well my body decided to get a horrible cold and I'm not sure I slept more than 30 minutes last night.  Despite the lack of sleep, a head so stuffed that I couldn't take more than one piece of information at a time without messing everything up and a nose that is running like the road runner (not the best choice of words but like I said, extremely stuffed head), I was able to stay upright for a great day of shopping and an amazing evening with an inspirational speaker, heart pounding music (literally - bass so loud it felt like it was affecting my heart beat) and being a part of a 15,000 voice choir (okay, I just listened because every time I tried to sing I erupted in a fit of coughing).  Alright, after all that whining, I'm thankful that God gave me the strength to still enjoy this day and I'm looking forward to another great day tomorrow.  A.

Dear A,

So I am super excited about this, and you may just have an epiphany when you notice it but:
I added an "about us" tab thingy! It's on the right of the page and its called "A tiddly-bit of information"
I'm sooo excited about it!
YIPPEE KYE YAY!
J
p.s. GO LOOK

Hot Baths and Loud Music!

Just a short post so I'm not a guilty non-blogger for today.

I'm thankful for hot baths and loud music.
Today I did my last of three exams.
You could say I've had a stressful week, but that would be a colossal understatement.
Anyways, tonight after dinner, I stepped into a steaming bath, blasted my newer music and just chilled... well not literally obviously!
It was decent. To say the least.


And now, I'm ready to start fresh. A whole new semester awaits me and I'm actually kind of excited!
And as an added bonus, it's going to be the easiest semester ever.
I'm talkin' a free block, gym, and English.. oh and french socials.
Oh baby.
I can't wait for summer, and yeah, I'm already thinking about that.
*sigh*
I live the good life, and I am Evermore Thankful.
J

Choices & Girl Only Weekends

This will be a quick post.  Our internet is down again (AARGH!!!) so I had to run over to my dad's so the princess wouldn't get on my case about missing too many days. 

Yesterday I was going to write about choices.  I'm thankful that we have so many choices.  I actually heard a documentary the other day that experts (whoever they are) feel that too many choices are actually making people in developed countries depressed.  We would be happier if we had less choices (according to THEM).  However, I'm quite happy that I can go to the grocery store and choose from orange juice, apple juice, wildberry juice, cranberry juice, fruit juice, etc.  (Can you guess what princess J and I were doing last night?). 
The other thing I'm thankful for today is that I get to go on a girls only weekend trip to the city with my sister, her daughter and my daughter.  Watch out malls, here we come!  I'll bring my laptop but I don't guarantee that I'll keep up to date.  A.

This Is The Life, This Is The Life

So today is irrelevant title day, my title is a lyric from my current favourite song, while my post today is about: (drum-roll please) ORANGE JUICE!

Orange juice (as I said earlier to A) is like drinking liquid sunshine, without the harmful effects of wrinkles and such if you get too much.

I love orange juice though, it's my favourite beverage, alongside Dr. Pepper and special coffees.
See one of my (many) pet peeves is that we never have juice in the house. EVER.
I am a frequent juice drinker... and... well... I like my juice!

I am making a vow, right here right now:
My future family will always have access to juice. Always.

Orange juice is special though, I don't know why I love it so much... I don't even like oranges that much. It's just so... ORANGE.

Maybe that's why I'm so ginger.
I over-consume on orange foods.
Dried mangoes.
Goldfish crackers.
Kraft Dinner.
Cheese.
Doritos.

Yeah, I have problems...
Thanks for reading!
NIGHT!
J

A Message, A Moment... and a ... MMM!

If you're mildly confounded about the headline of this post: DON'T WORRY! You will soon understand young padowan! I don't actually know what a padowan is, my friends say it a lot..?
So here it goes:
Part One - A Message:
To my fellow princess/adopted mother/bestfraan: I am sorry for not blogging yesterday, as I've already told you, I had absolutely no morale to blog yesterday, and I just had no inspiration. Also, your post reminded me that we have a starbucks in our teeny little town- go there next?

Part Two- A Moment:
One of the two things that I'm thankful for today is (as you may already know) a moment. A very special and seldom moment, it's the moment when you just finish a big exam, you take a huge gulp of air, crack your back, flex your muscles (BIG muscles), and streeeeeetch as far as you can. It's bliss. And suddenly all the stress is lifted off your chest like a spent storm cloud floating away.
Wow. That was poetic.
I'm not even in English this term.

And Part Three- A ... MMM!
The second thing I'm thankful for is BACON.
BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON.
I am going to be 250 pounds one day. Swear to it.
I could eat bacon with chocolate ice cream. Or fudge. Or ... sushi...
I've never eaten sushi.
It's on my bucket list!
Wellll..... thank you!
GOODNIGHT!
J

Aqua, H20, Sustaining Liquid

For today's post, you need some background information.  We live in a rural area where we have to truck our water in.  Don't get me wrong - we're not in the middle of nowhere or anything.  It's only twelve minutes to Starbucks!  (Believe, I know!).  But we happen to be in an area that hasn't been developed for water piped into the acreages and we have never forked out the $30 000 to drill our own well.  One other small piece of info you need to know is that we have an "alarm" system rigged into our cistern so a light goes on when the water level gets too low.  So now onto today's thankfulness scenario ...
Last week was cold - really cold.  Our alarm system froze in the "you've got plenty of water" level.  So today when I went to wash dishes and nothing came out of the tap, we were quite surprised to hear the pressure pump running (and smoking - must add that part).  Apparently it had been running for quite some time with no water running through it.  I'm told that's a very, very bad thing.  What should have happened is that the pump should have been toast (wrecked, no longer alive, finished, gone to the other side).  But after we paid over double the usual amount to get water trucked out after hours, we (being my husband only) managed to get the old thing working and I can now: wash dishes, go to the bathroom, take a shower, brush my teeth, run the dishwasher ...  One really takes running water for granted until you don't have it!  I am SOOOO thankful for water.  (Sorry for the long post but would it really have made any sense without all the explanation?).  A.

Exercise or Fun???

Today I finally got to take my class cross country skiing.  It has finally snowed enough and is warm enough that we could head outdoors for an hour of exhilarating fresh air and sunshine.  On the way back to the school, I had some kids mention that cross country skiing wasn't actually a fun activity, it was more just exercise.  Balderdash!!!  (Have you ever used that one before, J?)   What a great way to skim across the fresh snow with minimal effort and enjoy the surroundings while you're at it?  So today I'm thankful for cross country skiing (hold on - have to see if Wikipedia is back up and running so I can find out who invented this.... turns out it originated in Fennoscandian countries in prehistoric times.  How about that?).  Tomorrow I won't be thankful because I'll have a class full of sore, whining pre-teens but for today, I thoroughly enjoyed my outing and can't wait to get back out again.  Viva la cross country skiing :)  A.

Cheers To My Mates and Music!

Thank you A, for that heart touching post!
Today I am thankful for a few things (see above), I'm thankful for Sundays - God's special day for us to relax and recuperate from the hard week behind us (and prepare for the the quickly approaching one), for my chums - and time spent with them, and of course: MUSIC - and the making of it!
Today was spent doing just that: after church today there was a sort of luncheon (to say goodbye to our beloved Pastor *sniff sniff*) and once we got a little... erm... restless my companions and I raced on upstairs to play some good 'ol tunes!
We probably spent a good hour jammin' out, and it was so... excellent!
I love my friends, so much, but making music brings a whole new level to friendship - sounds cheesy, I know, but it's true.

Another short post... it's so weird.

Exams tomorrow, better head to bed!
Later gaters :)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

I'm being told that today I should be thankful for my daughters.  And of course, it's one of my daughters telling me to be thankful for her.  Don't get me wrong, my life would not be anywhere near as rich without my two princesses.  (Of course, I would be far richer monetarily without any princesses around but that's not what counts, right?  Right?!).

For princess #1 (first one in my life), I'm thankful for her "stop and smell the roses" attitude.  Since she could speak (and even before) she had all the time in the world to stop and enjoy every little caterpillar and every small distraction.  She will never have ulcers!  I'm thankful for her love for others and her love for God.  I'm thankful for her passion to have fun no matter what others think.  I'm thankful for her work ethics and her desire to do well in life.  I'm thankful that she still confides in me and asks my advice (not often, but it happens).  She's an amazing kid and I'm thankful for her.

For princess #2 (second one in my life), I'm thankful for the joy she brings into my life.  I'm thankful for her wittiness and passion for everything.  I'm thankful for her concern for others and her desire to do big things in this world.  I'm thankful for her many, many abilities and her desire to better herself everyday.  I'm thankful that she relies on the one true God, even though it can be difficult sometimes.

My two daughters definitely bring lots of sugar and spice into my life and I'm eternally thankful for them.  Love you forever T and J.

I Deserve A Round Of Applause!

Today, when I was bitterly awoken by my television (yes, I fell asleep with it on, yes, I know it's my fault) I bitterly remembered that I had to go to work today... for 7.5 hours.
Yes, many people would scoff at this, seeing as they do that every day, and I - just once a week, but it's HARD to sit at a desk with nothing to do but browse the Internet and eat the popcorn from the machine.
At least... for me it is...
Today however, was a bit different from a typical Saturday at work, because today I took my homework with me (ooh)
Now, if you know me, you might have heard me say that I always just do my homework on Saturdays... but if you really know me, then you would know that this is actually quite far from the truth.
Like I said above, I mostly just aimlessly browse the Internet.
Today though, I did my homework (technically, I studied - same thing.)
and when I say did I really mean-
DID-LIKE-A-FLIPPIN'-BOSS.
I read my math textbook. Cover to cover.
I took notes, and I feel totally prepared for my provincial.
Have you ever read a math textbook?
I hope you never have to.
It is antagonising.

But that moment... I closed my textbook, I stood up and stretched... and it felt great.
So today, another day in this journey called life, I am thankful for that moment when you finish a really big task, and you feel like you can just conquer the flippin' world. 
*yawwwn*
I'm gonna go have a bath.
Goodnight world!

Science Fair Projects

Yes, I said it - I'm thankful for Science Fair projects.  As a teacher, they are one of the greatest opportunities ever for students to explore and expand their horizons and knowledge base.  As a parent, they are the bane of my existence.  If I have to tell someone how to spell "hypothesis" one more time...!  However, this year our household (because truly, who does a Science fair project all by themselves?) is working on a spud launcher.  Did you hear that pop?  It just went off.  I'm not entirely sure what the actual experiment is yet but the cannon is made out of pvc pipes (I learn so much from doing these projects) and one of the launched potatoes has already destroyed the dog house siding from 200 feet away.  This thing can do damage!  The thankful part?  Yes, I'm getting to that.  The thankful part is that my two boys have explored different options for hours on the internet, drawn diagrams and agreed and disagreed on the best way to build this thing.  And my husband is totally right in there with them, giggling like a little girl as they add the igniter stuff before the bang.  I'm thankful for little boys (and big boys) making Science fair projects together, blowing things up and hopefully fixing that dog house before it gets any colder again.

My Cozy Cocoon

Today I'm thankful for my sleeping bag.
The one thing I love about winter, (okay, that's an overstatement... winter isn't so bad, it's just too long)
is my sleeping bag. I love heading to bed, and curling up, and just being warm. It is the best feeling :)
During the winter months, I can toss my industrial, -40º sleeping bag onto my bed, and just snuggle up and it is... it is heavenly.


Well... this has been nice. Do it again sometime?
Shortest post ever? Think so.
Good night, sleep tight :)
Like me!
J

Shortcuts

Yesterday I got thinking that since I had the time, I should write a whole bunch of "thankful" entries on a Word document and just save them so that on the days I don't have much time, I could cut and paste one and make my princess J happy.  However, my oh so healthy conscience would not let me do this ever practical, time-saving exercise.  The point of this blog is to find the rose among the thorns each and every day.  So here I am, thankful for the thought of having a shortcut available to me, even though I promise I am not, and will not use that shortcut.  Love you J.
A.

Oh Nostalgia :')

Today was a long day... *sigh*
So like any mediocre day, I came home from work and cleaned my room.
Because you, reader, most likely don't know me, I will notify you:
I very seldom clean my room. Very seldom.
Haha, typical, yet not-so-typical teenager.

Have you ever tried to clean your room, but got distracted by all the cool things you find?
That was me today!
I found that old blue sweater of mine, it was the hoodie that I saved for special occasions.
Yes, I am the type of girl to wear a bunnyhug on special occasions.
It smelled a bit like orange juice (yum!) and... memories...
You know what I mean!
Boy, it was soft. Like, "I wish I could stuff you in my sleeping bag"
Yeah. That soft.
If your not a northerner, maybe you've never experienced sleeping in a sleeping bag when it gets too cold in your room. Yes, we do that.

On this fine evening, I'm thankful for old baggy sweaters, and the accompanying nostalgia :)
J

Shape Up Or Else!

Okay, today I'm thankful for real people who are willing to tell it like it is.  I read an article this morning written by a person who feels certain people are not living up to their God-given expectations.  There was no "if you feel like it" or "think about it".  It was straight up and straight to the heart.  I appreciate that.  I also appreciate certain princess' who nag when promises aren't being kept (if I knew how to put a heart right here I would - teach me, J!).  I think when it comes down to it, a true friend (or a person who really, truly, honestly has your best interest at heart) will tell you what you need to hear, even if sometimes it hurts or isn't what you want to hear.  As long it's done with sincerity and love from an honest heart, people need to hear the truth and I'm thankful for those people who have the guts and compassion to do that.  A.

Hallelujah! It's Raining... Reds?

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!
Curious about the title of this post?
Me too!
So today, I had the wonderful joy of having my hair done. I love having my hair done, love it. Sometimes, the people who sit behind me during classes just randomly play with my hair! They braid it, they tie it, they twirl it, and comb it with their fingers.. sounds weird right?
I never noticed how strange it was until I wrote it down...
Whatever! I still love it. I love when people play with my hair.

Because you're all so curious, I had my blonde highlights died to a slightly darker colour than my natural hair.
Oh right...
I am a FLAMING ginger, naturally.
Then I was a not-so-flaming-ginger-with-blonde-highlights.
But now? (dun DUN DUHHHN)
Now, I am a SUPER-ULTRA-CRAZY-RAGING-VIVID-BLAZING-GINGER.
And I am lovin' it.
(not like McDonalds, but I love that too)
So obviously, I'm thankful for hair, hairdressers, and people who play with my hair.
Tata for now!
J

P.S. I can't help but notice how A has not been keeping up with our blog. *tsk tsk*

Let's Get Creative!

Welcome readers, to the most flabbergasting-shock-inducing-most-bewildering-perpetually-AMAZING blog to ever reach the web since the days of yore.

Aren't you glad that you just stumbled onto this site? (not referencing StumbleUpon)

Are you ready to get creative?
*warning*
Green is NOT a creative colour.
(now I AM referencing a youtube video)
*ahem*
Right!
green is not a creative colour! why?
It's my favourite colour.
Thus making it the official ADHD colour.
MWQHAHAHAHAH.
Q?

I'm thankful for creativity today! Think about it!
Where would we be without creativity!?
We wouldn't have that side of youtube.
We wouldn't have little children to be amused by (not to be a pedophile, but they are amusing).
There would be no books.
No movies.
No crappy rendition of movies based on books.
No video games.
No creepy children's TV shows.
I think I could live without those last three (video games, just because I'm REALLY bad at them, except in dance central, in dance central I am the uppermost governer of dance.)

Let's get creative!
In the spirit of creativity, I'm going to list off the first ten things that come to mind and then you're going to check out the two videos listed below (I'm not a frequent endorser of internet shenanigans, but these are quite... uh...
well to be quite honest they're weird.
but creative nonetheless).

Ten Things:
Hand Sanitizer
Mustard
Leopard
Weasel
Glitter
Seven
Pine cone
Zucchini
Peppermint
Turkey Bacon

I promise you those were the first ten things.
Baaaaaaaaacccooonnn
Now go check out these videos:
*warning*
These videos should not be viewed if:
1.You have a heart condition.
2.You are below the age of... well ask your parents.
3. You are over the age of 65 (see 1.)
4. You are currently at work, or a place where mildly disturbing videos should not be watched.
5. a) If you are related to Severus Snape in any way. (see 5.b)
    b) If you have no sense of humour.
6. If hysterical laughter is not permitted (assuming that you already adhere to rules 5.a and 5.b).

Here they are: (watch them to the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZ2Sh5-XuM

Bye! :)
J

Whiteboards vs Chalkboards

I got a whiteboard in my classroom to replace the chalkboard 3 years ago and I'm still thankful almost every time I write on it.  It's cleaner, you can use so many brilliant, vivacious colours (two people can use a thesaurus, princess J!) and when I wash it, the kids all comment on the clean fragrance (probably gassing them with chemicals in the special cleaner but hey, my board is clean!).  Plus my hands don't get all dried out from the chalk dust.  Win, win situation!  (Except the whole chemical warfare with the students but I find it calms them down - almost a sleep inducing type circumstance!).
So thank-you Martin Heit for your invention of the whiteboard (and thank-you Wikipedia for quick, almost always factual information).

Do you wanna dance, and hold my hand?

Wouldn't It Be Nice?
We could Dance, Dance, Dance!
to Rock And Roll Music?
I've got Good Timin'.
I Hear Music, and Good Vibrations.
I mean, God Only Knows!
So Don't Worry Baby, Come Go With Me, Darlin', and we'll have Fun Fun Fun.
In... Kokomo...?

If you didn't get what that was all about, you mostly likely got something very different out of that, and you are most likely not from the 60s or 70s.

I was born in '96, just to notify you all.
So anything is possible I guess.

So WHAT exactly am I thankful for!?
It's obviously (drumroll please)
The dudes of the surf.
The men of the shore
The waterfront chaps.
The seaside gentlemen.
The beaus of the coastline.
The fellows of the blue.
The saltwater sirs!
I like that last one :)

If you STILL don't know who it is... well, you have some serious cerebal dilemmas.
= mental issues
= DER.

So, if you lack culture (and it's okay, even the most culturally adequate can screw up.)
[Except me, I'm pure awesome]

They are known as The Beach Boys.
Don't bother going to Wikipedia, I have it right here:
"The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine."

And in case you really wanted to know,
these guys used to be babes. 
Used to.
Once.
But I mean like
"DAYUM BOY! What's yo numba!?" 
The Beach Boy Babes. That should be their name.
Back then, I mean.
Now though, (and no offense) they're kind of like old wrinkly leather purses.
Don't worry, I qualified that with 'No Offense'.

But even better than their (long since) good looks, is their music. I love listening to them, all hours of the day... and all hours of the night too.
(no one ever mentions the dusk to dawn hours, they need amity too.
seriously though, everyone ALWAYS forgets twilight!
and no, I don't mean the Stephanie Meyer books, or the Robert Pattison/Kirsten Stewart movies.
Ugh.
I'm not sure if I spelled those names right.
I'm too lazy to check.
That does NOT happen often.
FYI.)

Anyways!
Back to The Beach Boys!
I really do love them, and I think everyone should listen to their music at least once.
I don't know,
I'm not some crazy hipster who burnt their tongue because they drank their tea before it was 'cool'.
oof. that was a stereotypical joke (lol)
not being rude.
not trying at least.
but I don't exactly listen to everyday Pop, Hip-Hop, and whatever is classified as 'popular'.
Last year, at Grad, one of my pals and I requested 'My Sharona' (a song from the 70's).
No one else there knew the song. 
But we rocked out.
I'm talking head bangin'.

Right! Sorry!
You know, a family friend of mine (who is a certified doctor) firmly believes that I have ADHD.
of course I've never been tested, what's the point anyways?
CRAP.
Rage quit.
Just kidding. 
But I keep getting sidetracked.
Sorry.


I know that this is a long post, I'm sorry.
My focus is just not where it's at today.

I'm thankful for The Beach Boys.
End of story.
J

Family

This is actually yesterday's post and if I knew how to hack in and change the date so a certain princess couldn't find out I missed yesterday, I would do it instantly.  But since I don't know how to do that, I'll have to write two thankful things today.

Today (yesterday actually) I'm thankful for family.  And not just my biological family or in-law family - I'm thankful for my church family.  Some people choose not to go to church because they say Christians are a bunch of hypocrites.  To me, Christians are a bunch of humans who make mistakes just like any other humans.  We just know where we're going to end up!  But I digress ... I absolutely love being around my church family and hearing about their joys and sorrows, knowing that even though we may not be going through the same things, we go to the same God to dish it all out.  There is nothing like singing and laughing and crying together all in His name.  So thank-you for my church family!

And today (real today)?    Hmmm, today I'm thankful for whoever invented the new material hoodies and blankets are being made of.   At -30 outside, I'm really appreciating my warm hoodie today.  I think J. said the aliens took care of this amazing material.  So I'm thankful for alien clothing!  A.

Phillippians 4:13

Today was what I would consider a "should-be" Sunday.
I went to church.
Came home.
Practiced piano. ( I really do enjoy it, I know a lot of people don't)
Made lunch. (Bacon tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, like the culinary master that I am.)
Goofed around on the piano some more.
And then began to study!
Maybe on most Sundays one would do homework, but (as I'm sure everyone knows) there are exams coming up. Blek.
After dinner, my little sister and I cleaned the kitchen and I journeyed downstairs to study some more.
Upon running out of television to watch, I put on the movie Soul Surfer (I actually wanted to watch Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, but it wasn't working)
It's a good thing that happened though, because on this spectacular film, is something I hadn't noticed before.

If you haven't seen the movie yet and plan to, I suggest you just skip this little part.

The part when she's in the hospital at night and she's all like:
"OMG when can I go surf again!?!? :O"
and then her and her dad ramble on for a minute.
BUT THEN.
Her father says something...
something wise.


What he says actually happens to be my favourite verse of all time,
It always has been, and since it applies everywhere in life I'll often find that during the bluer times, I'll repeat this verse over and over again to myself.
He says (and I paraphrase)
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
Above is the original verse, what he says is slightly different because he is telling this to his daughter.
It's Philippians 4:13
I seriously love this verse, it's...
so...
divine.
It's funny because divine either means 'awesome' or 'God-like'...
and I meant it both ways. Rebellll.
I see you're not laughing.
I don't really care.
Ha.

I think if I were to ever get a tattoo (and I will, it's on my bucket list) it would be Philippians 4:13.
Just saying.


This day, I am indebted of the verse Philippians 4:13.
And of course, its empowering divinity.
Catch ya on the flipside ;)
J

Tears.

Today started off as mediocre. A typical Saturday: go to work, do some homework, browse aimlessly on the internet and be bored. However in the last ten minutes of my shift things took a turn for the... frightening? It seriously wasn't really a big deal... but let's just say it involved a co-worker that I never want to see again. Ever. I'll spare you the details, but I was quite shaken up from it.
Later, driving home with my mom, she told me some really sad news.
Apparently my dog is getting sick.
He has a back/spine condition.
He's only nine.
He's my boy.

When I got home I headed directly to my bed.
And I collapsed.
I cried so hard.
I just curled up into a ball and cried.
I cried so hard that my head hurt.
Sobbing lamentably.
I felt kind of pathetic, just sitting there, mascara running down my face like some kind of pitiful dramatic girl. Ugh.

Tears are a good thing though.
Did you know that they actually release one of the chemicals that makes you sad?
Crying actually makes you feel better!
So there, I'm thankful for tears.
Peace out.
J

P.S. I think it's tooshie FYI.

Seat Warmers

Winter has officially arrived today and I had to head into town for an early hockey game (really early!  9:30!!!).  I have scoffed them in the past and I deemed them completely unnecessary when we bought our most recent vehicle, but there is nothing quite like a warm tushie when the wind is howling and the snow is blowing.  Today I am thankful for the seat warmers in my mini-van.  A.  (How do you spell tushie, J??)

Too Legit To Quit.

Today has been a great day.
Great.
What a lame word!
I need to spend more time with the thesaurus..

Today was exceptional. I found myself being thankful for a lot of nice things, and since I don't want to forget them, I might as well write them all down.
Ugh, nice. Another lousy word.

Here goes.

Aunt Jemima Breakfast Croissants. Delicious.
Orange Juice. Also delicious, and orange.
Being ready on time. So you have time to goof around of course.
Warm Mukluks. If you're not a northerner, then be aware that mukluks are boots made from animal skin and fur. Mine are rabbit, they are like walking on sunshine.
When you miss a day of school and you aren't behind at all.
When you get a lot done in class and you feel productive.
When you get work done faster than you expected. More time to goof off, yay!
When your teachers show you undeserved kindness.
Getting slushies in the middle of winter. With your bestfraan of course.
When your teacher makes slightly inappropriate references during lectures. Hilarious.
When you laugh so hard you cry.
When you cry so hard you laugh.
School supplies. 
That feeling when you remember you can sleep in since it's the weekend.
Staying up late, since it's the weekend.
Doing nothing but watching TV all weekend.
When your (new) favourite show comes on just as you turn on the TV.
Eating waffles, french toast, pork dumplings and pizza for dinner. Meal of champions.
When your hair feels soft. :)
Studying, while watching movies.
Texting.
And of course, alien blankets of pure comfortable fleecy goodness. Aah.

Oh,

And eating way-too-old-to-be-injested candy canes.

Sweet Dreams Sillyheads!
J

History - but not ancient history (well, okay - ancient history too)

Today I'm thankful for great memories.  For Aslan - my stuffed lion I got when I was probably in single digits and it is still lying in my bedroom.  For friendships that have lasted decades and friendships that only lasted a short time.  For holidays I will treasure for a lifetime and holidays I couldn't wait to get over with.  For family I lived and loved for far too short a time period and for family who are still my best friends.  I'm thankful for the ability to look back and glean the wheat from the chaff and learn from each of them.

May The Force Be... In Your Bed!

Good morning readers, bloggers, teachers, doctors, dogs, cats, rodents, aunts, uncles....
And good morning to everyone else!
Happy Friday the 13th!
Be careful today, if you see people running around with hockey masks on you might just want to turn the other way and walk briskly!

I have a problem, a dilemma, if you will.
I love sleep, I love it too much.
I have a perfectly functional alarm clock, it's even across my room so that I'm not tempted to press "snooze" (however some mornings I just get up, walk across my room, press snooze and then go back to bed lol).
This isn't my problem though.
My problem is that in my bed, gravity is stronger than everywhere else in the world.
No matter what I do, I'm pretty much glued to my bed in the morning, which normally results in rolling or crawling to escape.
And that isn't even the worst part, see it's even harder to want to get out of bed when you have the coziest blankets in the history of cozy blankets. 
I'm pretty sure that they weren't actually made on earth.
No way are we that intelligent.
At all.
Yup, alien blankets and gravity changes are hindering me from waking in the morning..
and I love every second of it :)
Admit it, the best part of the day is when you just wake up, you're still half delusional from your dreams, the soft stupor of slumber still lingers around you, and you are perfectly warm.
but then...
"I'm just waking up, my mouth tastes like rust. I think I'm still drunk.. and my head is a snare drum. The breeze past the window, has got the curtains all dancing like ghosts..."
That's not me, by the way.
Those are the lyrics to the song I woke up to this morning.
I'm no party animal.
Most days.
The song is "If Raymond Carver Were Born In The 90's"
Library Voices.
Obviously.
I'm so in love with this band. 

Oh right,
*facepalm*
I get distracted so easily!
Today I am thankful for that moment mentioned above,
When all is perfectly peaceful just as you wake up,
That moment.

J

P.S. Here's a line for you, A.L.

Stereotypes Are Bad..

Hello Blog World!
In case you didn't read the title of my post, this post is called "Stereotypes Are Bad",  and if you did read my post, well.. now you know it twice.
My post actually has little to do with stereotypes (well kind of, but not really), the reason for the title is because I wanted to call it something else, but realized that some people might find it 'politically incorrect'. The title of this post was supposed to be 'I am so ready for university'.

Why?

Because today I realized that I am perfectly capable of surviving off of ramen noodles, kraft dinner, microwave pizza and all other according silliness.

I've heard that a lot of people hate this kind of food (mainly boring old adults and high maintenance children), I, on the other hand would rather eat it than pretty much anything else (excluding seafood).

Though it may be unnecessary to mention this, I have caught and ate frogs in the wilderness.
It was a school project.
Don't judge.
Secretly I thought it was awesome and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Just saying.

Oh right! There was a point to this post!
Today I'm thankful for cheap, easy, preferably microwaveable food, because it is cheap, easy, microwaveable, and delicious.


I am also thankful for that moment when adults are cool, even if just for a second.
See today, upon concluding the end of the day announcements, someone (who knows who?) puts LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem' on the PA system.
It was partly hilarious.
Partly bizarre...
and completely awesome.
No one even tried to stop it!
So yeah, good job adults, keep it up!

I've noticed that we got a LOT more readers today!
I don't know why..?
*cough cough* facebook *cough cough*
but I'd like to say thanks to all of our readers!
Hey, maybe I'll write a post about you guys tomorrow!

Bye now,
J

It's Harder to Come up With Thought Provoking Titles Than it is to Come up With Things to be Thankful For!

I'm wondering if princess #1's coffee addiction was started by our "every-other-week" coffees?  Should I be proud or shamed?

Today I'm thankful that I live in a small community.  I like that I can run into people I know whether it's at the grocery store or out for a run.  I like that people wave even if they don't know you just because you're passing on a small side road.  I like that we can take our families out to pond hockey this weekend and watch the community have fun together outside.  And I'm also thankful for coffee - but only if it has lots of syrups, foam and sprinkles!  Off to start my phenomenal day - A.

Need A Bit Of POW!?

HELLO BLOG WORLD!
The past thirty six hours of my life have FLOWN right on by!
Guess why!?
Guess. Do. It
Do it now.
Maybe because I've had 5 hours of sleep..
Maybe.
Maybe!?
Perhaps because I've had WAY to much coffee to handle!?
MAYBE >:)
ANYWAYS 'erybody: I am thankful for CAFFEINE!
Nothing gets ya through piles of homework quite like the stuff.
YAY.
YAY INDEED SON.
yay.
J

Oh Canada!

I am so far behind my fellow princess!!!  I may be excommunicated from the kingdom!  Sorry J :(

Today I am thankful for being Canadian (and not just for the music - although I will definitely check out that band later, J).  We had friends over last night who have spent the last four or five years in Afghanistan.  So today, here is what I'm thankful for:
*As a woman, I can have my head, face, and even arms and ankles bare if I feel like it!
*I don't have to start deforming my children from birth on so that I have a better chance of getting money from sympathetic tourists later in life.
*I can go shopping, out for a walk or anywhere I want all by myself and I won't be accused of being a prostitute just because I am alone.
*I can go out for a date with my husband and not worry about our restaurant being bombed because there is a white person inside.
*I can leave my house at the same time every day and park in the same place at work everyday and not worry that I'm being watched for routines - again, fear of attack or kidnapping.
*I can go for walks in the countryside without staying on the "white rock" path because that's the only guaranteed mine-free area.
*I can leave my house without checking in with three different experts to see which is the safest route to drive today (least likely to be attacked/ kidnapped/ bombed).
*I can come home whenever I want and I don't need to check in with any organization to say that I am safe in my locked in compound at 7:30 pm.
*I am not part of the 80% who have been sexually assaulted.
*I am not part of the 25% of females who will die because I got married off at 10 years old and had a baby at 12 years old with a body that couldn't handle it.
*I can leave my children with friends, neighbours, family - pretty much anyone and know that they will be safe and not assaulted, kidnapped or killed.
*I have a future - I have an education, a loving trusting network of friends and family and a country where I am free.  I AM CANADIAN and I am thankful :)  (Stand and sing the national anthem now)

Update Aujourd'hui

It is very possible that I'm slowly becoming addicted to blogging... but I thought I ought to mention one thing before the end of today...

Though the previous post may try to tell you otherwise, I must admit, today was not COMPLETELY terrible. Though I wouldn't exactly say that my first day back was a success, I will say that today ended on a good note.

Here is a little story to tell you...
On this fine evening, upon arriving home from work I realized I had piles of overdue math homework, and no idea how to do it. I was completely clueless. It just so happened that at that particular moment I was texting a good friend of mine, a friend in university. So I just asked him what to do, thinking he might give a half explanation that might sort of partly half-ways explain how to do it, but no. No no, my friend spent some of his own time to thoroughly write down instructions AND draw a diagram, which he then took a picture of and texted to me. Wow.
Wow. Wow.
Maybe for some people this is a common occurrence, but to me it was a pretty big deal. How can you not love the people who do those kind of things for you? I was (and still am) touched by it.

So one more thing to really be thankful for today is good friends. No... great friends. No...
Amazing friends? I don't think I can actually express how thankful I am for this one, but hopefully, reader, you have someone in your life like this, and you understand what I'm trying to say.

Love Always,
J

It's Good To Feel Good!

Here I present to you a mini-post, mostly because I'll feel guilt if I don't... also because I'm a bit pressed for time, so here goes:

Today I'm thankful for feel-good music.

Some days, like today, suck. Today sucked, really bad. One of the best things to get through it all is feel good music. Sunny, bright sounding music is just... nice.

So yeah.

I recomend The Beach Boys, Train, Sweet Thing, and (of course) Library Voices.

Later Gaters ;)
J

*Insert Creative Title Here*

As if the title of this post didn't already give away EVERYTHING that I had to say, today I'm exuberantly thankful for something genuinely demiurgic (I would google those words if you're speculative).

Not.

By the way, the meaning of the word 'demiurgic' is creative.

Lo and behold, today, I'm not thankful for something sensationally stupendous (alliteration, did you catch that?), I'm thankful for something a little more humdrum. However, I would like to take this time to note that no matter what, every little thing we do, big or small, grand or somber, is what contributes to our overall happiness, and, well, that IS the goal... right?

So more to the point of our story: today I am thankful for cool showers.

I love a good hot shower (showers ARE nature's autotune, after all, and I do delight in carrying a tune whilst rinsing), but there is something different about a nice cool shower. Maybe it's because I can pretend I'm somewhere else, tropical preferably, with cool water and sandy beaches. Maybe it's because hot showers are SO last year. Maybe I just get really thirsty while showering?

Whatever the reason for cranking big 'ol that handle from red to blue, there is no denying that it is miraculous, every dying second. 

Speaking of dying seconds, I heard this super funny lyric today, and I felt somewhat compelled to share it with all our (non)readers, right here:
"You spend your whole life working on your health, until one day your atoms disassemble, and go on to form something else, try telling that to your therapist."
So I don't really know what the point of sharing this was, but I SWEAR I had an epiphany upon hearing this!
It's from the song 'Generation Handclap' by Library Voices. Now something else that's 'cool' about this post (other than my showers) is that Library Voices is a Canadian band (if you noticed the italics, your awesome, I just figured out I can use italics - this blog is about to become more interesting...). I love Canadian bands, mostly because I'm Canadian, but also partially because I just like our music better, so yeah.

One last thing to say, aimed at fellow princess 'A' (spittin' out rhymes, did you catch that?) is that although I had some pretty mint encounters with the aussies *wink, wink*... no really, one winked at me... I'm still pretty sure that I'm marrying the entire race. I know how you love to play matchmaker and do weddings and all according shenanigans, so I figure you can just get that all figured out for me, eh?

Uhm.. yep.. that's all!
Now go take a cool shower (for cool kids only)!
J

Sunshine loving princess #2

It's Jan. 9 and I just finished my run wearing only a T-shirt (well pants too of course!).  As much as I wouldn't mind some snow so we could go ski-dooing, it was pretty awesome to run in winter and have to take my coat off because it's too warm.  So today I am thankful for sunshine in winter.
I'm also looking forward to going to an Aussie wedding - any plans when it might be, princess J?  Are we talking one Aussie boy in particular or the whole race? 

The Obviously Unobvious

As I sit here, in the bed of our condo at Chilcoot Logde in Silver Star Ski Resort, and try somewhat unsuccessfully to write a post on my iPhone, I contemplate what to post about. Not because I don't know what I am thankful for, but because I can't decide which one! Since we started this blog, I have realized more and more little things everyday to be thankful for. So here are my top two:
1. It's a bit obvious, and still totally unobvious. We use it everyday, and it sustains life. It's a compound (I think, I never really pay attention in Chemistry) and it covers the majority of the earth. Yes, today I am thankful for water. Just think, where would we be without the stuff!? There would be no snowboarding, no swimming, and worse- no mud-puddle-jumping (*gasp!*). It's true magic. Oh yes, water is my drug.
2. The second one..? Well? Austrailian boys. With their AMAZING accents and charming smiles, how can you NOT thank God for creating such extraordinary beautiful creatures?
I must marry one, it's inevitable. Oh, I love them so :).
Love from Princess J
<3

Can you be thankful and hateful at the same time?

Our internet has been down for the last two days.  I don't like how dependent of it I am!  I think it's time for another technology fast!!!  (Three exclamation marks means I'm very serious).  However, not having readily available internet made me dig into my old cookbooks to figure out what to do with the chicken breasts and crab meat that was on sale (crab meat on sale?  Probably not a good sign!).  Crab stuffed chicken breasts came from my old fashioned searching.  I also got some scrap booking done since I couldn't update my blog or answer emails.  So, while I'm very thankful for the ease of surfing the web and the wealth of information it holds, I'm also thankful for the tried and true ways of utilizing my days b.i. (before internet).
Miss you princess J.  I hope you're having a phenomenal time snowboarding!  xo

A Not-So Typical Teenager

If you have ever watched the 'much music' channel, you may have seen their "What Are You Listening To?" pieces. If you haven't, i'll bring you up to speed: basically, all they do is walk up to someone on the street (who is wearing headphones) and ask them what they are listening to, which is normally followed by an awkward stare or the typical response of a mainstream song.

My dream is to be caught by these mystery music questioneers, not so I can do something silly, like speak another language, or yell 'Hi Mom!' or to just be bizarre, oh no. I want to be caught on camera so that I, a teenage girl, can proudly hold up my head and say 'I'm listening to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, the full version.'

I don't know what it is about classical music, but I love it.

A somewhat bizarre habit of mine is to blast my classical playlist as loud as it goes while cleaning. There's something a little more thrilling about sweeping to 'Blue Danube Waltz', or washing windows while listening to 'Ode To Joy', but I must admit, my personal favourite is vacuuming with 'O Fortuna'... epic.

So today, if it weren't obvious enough, I am thankful for classical music, and all the joys it brings me.
J

So Thankful For ...

It's impossible to be as deep or profound as my dearest partner princess so today I'm thankful for milk.  (with cheescake, cereal, toast, cookies, even pork roast!)  'Nuff said! 

A Thankfulness Inception...

Princess 'J' here! Today my post is a little out-of-the-blue, a little different from your everyday oh-so-mediocre post, so to all readers and bloggers alike: beware.

Today I am thankful for thankfulness.

And in that tiny little chuck of thankfulness, I am thankful for thankfulness, and in THAT tiny little chunk of thankfulness, well, you get the point.

Ahh, here we observe the thankfulness inception in its natural habitat, creating confusion among those who ever attempt to understand its bizarre behaviour.

Well. That is all.

Jan. 3 - things are looking up :)

Today I found out from the princess in charge that apparently we didn't agree to write on this every day.  Yeah, sure!  What's the point in finding something to be thankful for if you only write on the days you're thankful?  Chew on that, princess!
Two things to be thankful for today - school tomorrow (yes, school tomorrow - and I'm thankful for it) and some good decisions made by a dear friend of mine which should make her life so much more rewarding and rich.
Thanks for your prayers, J.  Love you deeply :)

Back To Reality *sigh*

Today, January 2, 2012 (woah, 2012!!) concludes the second most extravagant time-period of the year - winter break. Though I'm a little bummed to be heading back to education (I know, it's sooooo important, blah blah) I'm also super excited, I've missed my friends (Tyra - my soulsister/soulmate) and even my teachers (big surprise).

Luckily, two days from the recommence of my seemingly life-sentence, I'm leaving on a jet plane (though I'm pretty sure I WILL be back again) to the happiest place on earth - Kelowna (bet you were thinking disneyworld, weren't you?). Five days of pure snowboarding await me, looking foward to that, I can presumably survive the coming two.

Henceforth, today I, princess #1 am thankful for vacations, preferably ones that take place DURING the school year.

P.S. To princess #2, I've heard the wistful news, I'm praying.
xoxo
J

Thankfulness being test on Day 1? No Way!!!

I heard some really rotten news today.  But if the friend who is going through a life altering change right now can see goodness and be thankful that God has everything under control, then so can I.  I'm thankful that we never need to worry or doubt.  We just need to hang on for dear life and trust!  Happy New Year :)