Adventures in the Harbor

Summer is over!

2011-08-15T17:33:00.004-03:00

It's interesting hearing everybody getting ready to go back to school. Even radio ads are targeting parents for school lunches and local charities are doing their school supply donation. At church on Sunday, we prayed for all the students who would be leaving for university for the first time. I was getting excited.... but.... wait. I've been in school since May! Where did summer go? :)

Massage therapy school is going very well. At first it was a lot of basics and anatomy, which I had already taken in university. Now we are getting into kinesiology and the muscles, as well as our business class and continuing to grow in our massage techniques. There are nine other people in my class, which makes a nice even number for trading off. There is such a range of people - law students, retirees, and moms - all with the common interest of healing by touch.

The first month after practical work started, my hands and wrists did not know what to do with themselves. They were stiff in the mornings and would send spitting pains if I tried to pick things up at a weird angle. They're doing a lot better though, which is a relief. The rest of my body is doing fine. A lot of the pressure for massage is actually found in the legs, but luckily I spent much of the last two years walking. I do miss that aspect of my lifestyle though.

In other news, I am engaged! My amazing boyfriend proposed and is now my amazing fiancé. We have been putting off wedding planning because he is starting up an insurance agency and wanted to see how it would go, but are probably going to be making some decisions in the next month or so. I'm excited about where all my life is going and what I've been through to get here.

A Synopsis of My First 101 in 1001

2011-03-15T20:12:00.003-03:00

Well, that deadline went whooshing by. :)

Just last week, my 1001 days were up to complete my 101 tasks, and it has been an awesome experience. I'm a big fan of lists as it is, and to be able to look back over the list, and remember meeting the goals is a neat digital keepsake. Of course, tons of things didn't get done. I have yet to sew a dress or plant a tree, but several of the things I didn't get done were replaced by experiences I wouldn't replace. And the ones I did do were even better.

I didn't just graduate high school... I'm a month away from graduating university.

I didn't just apply to work at Pine Cove... I spent five intense, exhausting weeks as a Baby Ruth.

I didn't learn basic Latin... but I learned enough Classical Hebrew to read unedited Old Testament text.

I didn't read Brothers Karamazov... but I read Anna Karenina and 54+ other books.

Each of these experiences have a story with them. And even though my list has a 37% success rate, I'm going to do it again. Something I found was that, over time, my goals changed. And you know what? I was fine with that. I don't have to meet all of my goals, but at least I can try, right? This list has been a trial run of sorts, to see what makes a good long term goal and what doesn't.

So stay posted. I'll be compiling a new list, and hopefully have it up before my graduation!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-01-25T10:46:00.002-04:00

A backyard harvest

In a large field? Or your apartment balcony? Or maybe grocery store shelves?

When I was little, my family had a little garden plot behind our garage. I'm sure none of my friends even saw it. We had some tomato plants and peppers, but the thing I remember most was the massive rosemary bush. I remember convincing my mom to get me a little 2'X8" garden box once. I was going to plant carrots. That never happened, and I sort of lost interest in any sort of gardening, but for the last month, I have had the song "Oats, Green Beans, and Barley Grow" stuck in my head. It poses an important question: Do you or I or anyone know, how oats, green beans, and barley grow? Nope. Not in any sort of detail at least. I don't think it has much to do with stamping and clapping, as the song suggests, but I thought I would do something about it.

I picked up from the library (and quickly finished- it's not a difficult read) City Farmer, by Lorraine Johnson. It is an interesting book exploring different aspects of farming in the least expected place: anywhere there is land. Usually we feel edible plants must be found outside of the city boundaries. Picture pumpkins growing in New York. It just does not seem to jive well with our concepts of urbanization. However, Johnson argues that cities are some of the best places to grow your food.

First of all, it's where the people are. Sure, those people can go to grocery stores, and there will always be some need for that, but home grown food is so much tastier, healthier, and gives us a connection to our health.

Second, there is a community. Gardening is a lot of work, and goes by much more quickly if you are doing it with friends. Schools are major part of urban development, and gardens on school land provide educational opportunities.

Possibly the most important argument for urban agriculture is the amount of land available. At first it may seem disguised, but the stats reveal a lot. About one third of Detroit is abandoned land. My favorite passage from this book is one that describes the amount of land available in Vancouver, BC. A man named Michael Levenston calculated out how much of its own food Vancouver could grow. He took the amount of land available, adjusted it (for example, not everyone is going to want a garden in their backyard, and some land is too shady), and approximated yield. What he found is that Vancouver can produce a surplus of vegetables for their population. Crazy.

Johnston suggests just plant something. Anything. It doesn't have to take up your whole yard, or even part. It could be as simple as a few potted herbs or a tomato plant. It is weird to be thinking of gardening this time of year in Nova Scotia. There is no green in sight, except for stop lights and green painted houses. Everything is a gloomy white, but soon spring will be here. It's worth a thought, though.

Picture by Lynn Szwalkiewicz. Creative Commons Copyright license, some rights reserved.

Statistics taken from City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing by Lorraine Johnson, 2010.

My Coming Year: Doula Training

2011-01-21T11:51:00.002-04:00

It used to be that when a woman got pregnant and had her baby, the "women of the village" would come and help her work through this change in life. Young women would go with their mothers, watch and learn, and then when it was their time, other women would come help them. Unfortunately, now people don't know what to do with a baby. That's where a doula comes in. They are essentially non-medical support for women during the pregnancy and postpartum period. They aren't midwives or doctors, but work with those professionals to assist the woman in her day-to-day life. Some women have a postpartum doula for a couple hours, just to answer a few questions. Some women, especially those with twins or triplets, may need more time adjusting and can have 24-hour doula support for weeks (the doulas rotate shifts).

My training was done by Rosemary Mason, who is such a sweet, energetic woman. You can tell she loves what she does and has buckets of experience behind her. There were four women in the class with me, one of whom was a birth doula already. The format was relaxed but very educational, and though I don't plan on advertising postpartum doula services (though I can certainly offer them on occasion), the material is incredibly useful for a pregnancy massage therapist to know.

The next step is my massage therapy certification. Last summer, I looked into some schools in the Houston area, and about a week ago made my final decision. Unless something unforeseeable changes, I will be studying, starting April, at the Texas School of Massage Main Campus. It means a lot of driving (if anyone knows Houston, picture Katy to Clear Lake...during rush hour... twice a day) but I do love driving. After that is some sort of pregnancy massage program. They are a little harder to get into, because of the recent increased interest, but most consist of prenatal, postnatal and labor massage classes, as well as certification to teach infant massage. There is one in Houston that includes an internship, as well as several around the country.

Like I said last time, I have really enjoyed my time here at university, but I am so very much looking forward to studying what I actually want to do.

My Coming Year: Front Page News

2011-01-21T11:16:00.005-04:00

I stopped in a local coffee shop this morning on my way to school (a rarity for me... especially before an 8:30 class) and the Metro newspaper on the table caught my eye: "Mothers rally for midwifery" read the headline.

In Canada, midwives are covered in the government funded healthcare, which is sort of bittersweet in my opinion. Midwives=good. Government healthcare=bad. I digress... in Halifax, they seem to be lacking. Currently, the IWK [local hospital] has suspended all the midwives because of a labor shortage.

At this point you are probably wondering why on earth I am writing about midwives.

A year and a half ago, when I graduated high school I was utterly lost. Since I had grown up in the suburbs of west Houston I was supposed to go to university, but had no idea what I wanted to study or do afterwards. I like science, I like heath, I like babies, but I really did not want to be a nurse. I wrestled with such a range of jobs: linguist, statistician, and yes, even owner of a bed and breakfast. Then, through some late nights scouring the internet for ideas, it struck me: pregnancy massage therapy. Ever since then, everything has come together beautifully. I really can't explain it. Since I can remember, I have had a great sense of awe for pregnant women, and something that cannot be described in any other way but a passion to serve them. I'd just not known what to do with it until then.

Yes, I am at university studying mathematics. I do like math after all, and a degree is handy, but I have had a very interesting experience here, because unlike my fellow math students, I have no intention of having a job in this field afterwards. There are some math subjects, like analysis, that you would use constantly in employment. Others, like cryptography, you would use if you somehow got a job with the CIA. So while my fellow students are filling up their schedules with analysis, I fill up with game theory and cryptography (also useful topics, but not the kind that get you employed). I have also taken Biblical Hebrew, Nutrition, Anatomy, and History of Scotland, and I have loved it.

However, through all of this, I have been itching to start with the massage therapy. When the opportunity came up in November (three days before the class started...) to get my postpartum doula training, I jumped at it.

To be continued...

The Vegan Experiment

2010-11-10T14:49:00.003-04:00

This semester I am taking a nutrition course, which has been really interesting. In the western world, we place meat on the pedestal of our meal, and accompany it with sides of vegetables and starches. One thing I have discovered is I eat way too much protein. How much, you ask?

About twice as much as I need.

Imagine what I'd look like if I ate twice as much fat as I needed. *Gulp*. Our professor is a dietitian who treats people daily in the "real world", and she stresses balance and habit. You don't become overweight over night. You have to make eating properly a habit. Likewise, eating all the iron you'll need for the week in one day is a bad idea.

For our current assignment, we are supposed to "test drive" a diet. In this sense, diet means what you eat, like "the diet of a lion," not "drop 10 pounds". The options were Mediterranean Diet, Celiac Diet, Vegan, Hypertension Diet, and Local Diet. The point is to see what sort of limitations other people face, and see the financial impact of these diets. Ideally, with careful planning, they should not cost more than you usually spend. Our trial diet is supposed to last 2 weeks.

I am now on day six of my Vegan experience. Vegetarianism and Veganism isn't something that I would support because of moral grounds- I think eating animals is a perfectly moral option, so long as they are treated ethically. The diet was tempting, however, because of the amount of meat I eat. I wanted to see what sort of alternative dishes I could prepare, and what tofu tastes like, again.

So far, it's been a good experience, even though I made some bloopers on a couple days. My "family" (boarding hosts) is joining me on this adventure, and we have had Squash and Lentil Curry; Beans and Rice; and I made myself a stir fry (featuring tofu) one night. Tonight, I am making Peppery Red Wine Capellini... it looks so yummy! Another one I want to try is Stuffed Red Peppers.

One surprising thing is the things you can eat, as a vegan. I was scanning PETA's "Accidentally Vegan" list, and found Oreos. Who would have thought...

Eventually, when I get in the position where I am cooking all the meals, I would like to try to incorporate some vegan or vegetarian dishes. They are full of vitamins and minerals because of the diversity in fruits and vegetables, and cost about the same as featuring a meat dish. They also offer some diversity in the weekly routine of cooking.

The Chase Building

2010-09-17T15:13:00.004-03:00

Do you ever have one of those moments where you feel like you're in a movie? I've had a couple of those recently, in one class in particular.

The math building at Dalhousie (also called the Chase Building) is currently under renovation. It started with a little upkeep of the stone work. Next it turned into updating all the windows. Then a pipe broke and ruined all sorts of mathematical journals (some of you may find this a good thing... most here don't). There's really only one classroom in the Chase Building that can fit more than 10 people, and so many math students never actually have a class there. It's just a place to relax, a campus-home, if you will. There are a lot of offices and study areas with comfy chairs.

Anyway, I have the privilege this year of having my Optimization class there. And each morning, we hear this thump, bang, or brrrrrrrr from the open window. And if any of you have seen A Beautiful Mind, you'll remember when Professor Nash starts to teach a class, and closes the window to muffle the jackhammer outside, ignoring the sweltering students. Jennifer Connelly's character coolly gets up and politely asks the construction workers to do something else for the time so they can get enough fresh air to think.

Well, I sort of feel like being Jennifer Connelly, because even with the windows closed, they're drilling into the building. It is loud. And it's hard to optimize with brrrrrr going on.

I think I could pull off the hair too. And she has the cutest dresses.

I love math movies.

Picture from A Beautiful Mind, (2001).

Goodbye, Earl

2010-09-07T15:30:00.005-03:00

Shortly before I got to Halifax, I got the memo that I should be expecting a hurricane. On the days leading up to the hurricane, it was hot, still, and humid. I had a tea party at a friend's house, and it was just charming! Hot tea is actually not that bad in hot weather- supposidly it makes your body temperature hoter, which makes the air around seem cooler. The company was great too. There were about eighteen girls in attendence, and we chatted for a while over scones, and then went around and shared our summer and worries for the coming year and praying for each other. It was great.
The other days surrounding Earl I read a lot! I finished Julie and Julia, Grace Abounding, and Columbine. I also baked an apple pie and focaccia bread, which was surprisingly easy! I've made bread before... this was incredible and delicious! So good!

Now that Earl's gone, the weather has cooled. I have helped friends move into their appartments, and have gotten settled back in my room. Unfortunately, I wasn't as content with my class list as I would of liked (I'm not sure what inspired me to take Shakespeare for fun, even though I do like him), and am now trying to scramble my many, random interests into a class schedule. Two days before school starts. *Sigh*

Quilting Myths Debunked

2010-09-04T18:49:00.001-03:00

I think there's this myth out there that in quilting, 90% of your time is spent sewing- probably because that's the obvious outcome of all your work. Depending on the quilt, this amount varies a little, but I would say only 35% of your time is actually sewing patchwork together. Another 30% is quilting. That's really all the sewing.

Besides that, I would estimate 2% of the time is washing, 25% of your time is ironing, 15% of your time is pinning, and 15% of your time is cutting. Oh, and don't forget 8% of your time spent scratching your head, staring at instructions.

And I know that adds up to 130%. That's because it always takes longer than you'd expect.

Fitness Goals

2010-09-01T15:06:00.001-03:00

I am not fit. I used to be. No longer.

It's sort of sad. I don't really look it. I'm not especially self-conscious about my appearance- I don't look overweight. I just don't have physical endurance to run or do an exercise program. I'm not taking care of my body. And losing a little fat and gaining muscle never hurt anyone.

The scary thing is, I'll be 20 in January (eek! aah! yipe!). Then it gets harder to start something like this. My uncle, who is in his 40's and started working out several years ago told me that it is something he wishes he had started sooner.

Last year I was a little more fit than I have been in the past couple years. I walked a lot in my day, just on my way to school and between classes. I love walking through downtown Halifax. I took a dance class in the fall, which was good. It wasn't particularly challenging, but it got me out doing something. I also started the couch to 5k program and 200 sit-ups program, briefly. It was a first step... but I also drank a lot of hot chocolate, as my wonderful Halifax family can attest. And I still feel like a dweeb when exercising. Not only can I really not do much, but I just haven't been the tank-top wearing, headband sporting girl. I feel really out of my comfort zone, like everyone's looking at me and thinking, "you call that jogging?".

This year, I want to take advantage of what my school fees are going towards. We have a gorgeous workout facility that I used more for exams than exercising last year, even though I am required to pay membership. I would like to do a couple free group classes this year, particularly Aquafit and Yogaflex.

I like the idea of Aquafit because I just need to get started. I have a feeling once I start exercising, it will come easier rather quickly, but as it is, I get discouraged by the feeling that my knees hurt (those aren't muscles?) and I can't keep up with my breathing. I hope Aquafit will allow my muscles to strengthen enough that my joints are protected, and give me a jump start into cardiowork.

I like the idea of Yogaflex (note, not yoga... more fitness focused than spiritual focused) because it will further tone me and make me more flexible. I used to be really flexible, and kept it for years after I did cheerleading somehow. And though now I am probably still more flexible than I deserve, I'm starting to feel tighter. I love my flexibility and how I feel after a good stretch.

So, those are my plans. I would also like to finish the couch to 5k and 200 sit-ups programs this fall. We will see what the winter brings. I only hope that my classes allow for these other programs, in particular the two group ones I would prefer. And hopefully I'll have a wonderful partner in crime join me- my boyfriend and I talked a lot this summer about how we should start working out. We both feel we should be more health conscious, and doing it together would be good support and motivation.

Pies + Jars = Cuteness + Yumm!

2010-08-30T18:18:00.005-03:00

I found this cute cute party favor idea on Etsy and thought to myself, "Self, I bet you can do that!"

Sure, you can always spend $10 to have a cute pie-in-a-jar made for you and shipped overnight, but isn't it sooo much more scrumptious to make it yourself? (Not to mention a little more budget friendly, especially considering the amount of jars my family has around)

In my quest for a recipe, I discovered that they can be frozen before baking, and then pulled out at a moment's notice! What a great idea for single people or empty nesters- no obligation to eat a whole pie. You just bake enough for one and don't finish off more than your share of sugars for the day. So I thought I'd try it out. Originally I was going to freeze it, but then I figured, what the heck. It's not every day I make apple pie. So yummy!

Then over the last week I made a trip over to Brooks, Alberta. My grandma had some of my aunt's famous pie crust in the freezer, and some of her famous cherry pie filling. Now, I am my grandmother's granddaughter, and acquired her sweet tooth, but my grandfather has diabetes. So I whipped up some jars to prevent them from trying to finish off a pie too. My grandmother was thrilled.

Sweet Dreams

2010-08-23T08:00:00.002-03:00

Check out this neat video. Talk about artistic vision. I would love to be part of a project like this. The detail of her hair is so neat, as well as changing the sheets. Watch out for the jellyfish!

I Gave In

2010-08-18T19:28:00.003-03:00

I have made a couple trips to Chapters over the last several weeks. I love bookstores. They are such a safe haven. Statistics show only 50% of people bought a book in 2008. And only 45% of people read a book. (Hmmm....) Luckily for the publishing houses, that low amount buys enough. Some people are book people. I am one of them.

I have enough books- I really do. I should probably start learning to use a library card. Or let go and sell some of the ones I will never read again. They are few and far between, but I know deep down they exist. So I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more this year (except textbooks). My shelf in Halifax is packed. "No more books!" I told myself before leaving. I've been pretty good about it too.

But I guess I risked temptation one too many times. I left Chapters today with not one but two books! Oh the misery. I'm trying to save! I'm trying to reduce my belongings! But you see.... this book I've been eyeing all last year finally came out in soft-cover. And this other book I found is exactly what I've been looking for (my step-father has declared that I love food. I'm not sure if that's good or bad). I'm determined to make educated decisions about my lifestyle habits, like diet! I'm not sure how school shootings fit into that... maybe a defense for homeschooling. In any case, not only are these 894 pages [total] now calling my name, distracting me from Anna Karenina (which I really would like to finish in the next two weeks), but they are going to be taking up space in my suitcase and on my bookshelf.

Perogies

2010-08-17T20:16:00.004-03:00

I know it seems like I've done a lot of cooking recently, and that is for a couple reasons. First, the rest of my life has been frustrating. For instance, today I drove all the way downtown and then realized I forgot my wallet... which only reminded me that the reason my wallet was out of my purse was because I spent all morning talking to banks on the phone and trying to get my "American" bank network to communicate with my "Canadian" bank network... so I just went back home. Cooking calms me. Just follow the directions. Even if it goes wrong, it's not like the house is on fire (unless it's gone really wrong). Make a note on the recipe and try again another day.

Another reason is I found this adorable blog. I enjoy perusing it, and it in turn inspires me. Bet you didn't know I started a cooking blog once... my dream was something like that one. It never really took off- I just didn't cook enough last year.

And lastly, my mommy likes it. (Hi mom!) :)

Oh, and lastly lastly, I like taking pictures. And food pictures are awesome.

Yesterday, my buddy Rae was talking about the suppers she had made, and on the list was perogies. Not only have I been hoarding the ingredients around this house, wanting to make them, but it's on my 101 in 1001 list. This afternoon, after I drove home from downtown, I decided today was the day.

I used the Canadian Living recipe, which I have used before making it tried and true. By the way, all of you non-Canadians or non-Ukrainians, what are perogies, you ask? They're amazing mashed potatoes, cheese, and onion stuffed into pockets of dough. They resemble dumplings, sort of. You boil them, to cook, and saute them with onion, and serve with a dollop of sour cream. Yumm!

Seafood Linguini

2010-08-13T15:25:00.003-03:00

From when I was little, my favorite meal of all time has been what my family calls "Seafood Linguini" (known to the ladies of Best of Bridge as Linguini with White Clam Sauce). It is so rich and the most unhealthy thing my mom would make, boasting a whole block of cream cheese. It is just so good! On our birthdays, we were able to request the meal, and this was always my pick.

I was planning on making it the other night, but I realized my family's conversion from white to red wine has left the selection of white wine downstairs lacking. Yesterday, I stopped by the store in the pouring rain to pick some up. I had debated making it without the wine, but it's an ingredient! And by that I mean, if I want to make it to taste the way my mom makes it, it needs wine. I would rather put it off for a day or two and make it the way I remember, than have it now in an unpure form. :)

Following the recipie

Yummy cream cheese

If you want the recipe, it's is available in The Best of the Best, page 157. Most libraries actually have a good selection of cook books.

Pecan Pie

2010-08-10T22:12:00.004-03:00

Recently, being at my mom's and not at school, I have had ample opportunity to work on my culinary skills, which I LOVE! I have made sweet potato carrot soup, cream of broccoli soup, broiled tilapia parmesan, banana bread, peach and blueberry cobbler, southwest corn casserole, blueberry buttermilk pancakes, loads of cucumber salad, scalloped potatoes, chicken pesto drumsticks, and tuna stuffed tomatoes (surprisingly my favorite yet!). Tomorrow's plan is Samosas! (phyllo-wrapped potatoes, peas, and ground beef). But yesterday I was craving to cook in the early afternoon- too early to start supper. So I pulled out two pie shells, and after a bit of thought, took a stab at pecan pie.

Something I love about cooking is trying new recipes. I think I inherited this from my mom. Her favorite time to try something new is when she has invited guests over- something that some people find hilarious. I can relate though, in a way. I mean, I like to know it's going to work out, so I pick a recipe that looks reliable, but some of the best recipes (like the tuna stuffed tomatoes) are surprises. Out of all the meals I listed above, there are some I will probably try not to make again (the Canadian Living scalloped potato recipe I used leaves something to be desired, though it was healthier than most variations), but you would never know unless you try.

So, without further ado, here is the simple, yummy recipe I used to make two pecan pies yesterday (yes, I doubled it). Warning: reading the recipe may add an inch to your waist.

1 unbaked 9" single-crust pie shell

3 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

2 Tablesp. butter, melted

1 teasp. vanilla

1 1/2 c pecan halves

In bowl, stir together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla; stir in pecans. Pour into pie shell. Bake in bottom third of 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is just firm to the touch, shielding edge with foil if browning too quickly (mine was in there more like 55 minutes).

The Lost Art of Conversation

2010-07-27T00:33:00.003-03:00

I was reading Anna Karenina the other day, and came across a chapter where a character invites guests over for dinner. Offhand, that sounds like nothing special, but it was described so intentionally, that I couldn't get over it.

The dinner was what could almost be considered a party. It was 8 individuals or so, who weren't part of the same circle of friends. They weren't all one chummy group. Some were related. Some were acquainted. Some were political rivals. However, the host arranged it all so that the dynamic characteristics of each of his guests would be on display. He intentionally invited certain people to introduce them, because he knew they would get along greatly.

Then, during the party, he would mingle between guests, bringing up topics he knew they would find interesting. He encouraged conversation. He knew how to avoid touchy subjects. It was incredible.

In our day, things like this just don't happen. In a sermon by John MacArthur that I was listening to yesterday, he was talking about how people are becoming more and more individualized, and don't see values in relationship. We don't see dependence on others as a good thing. We like to be autonomous. We take pride in the fact that we can get along on our own, without help from family or friends. Now, I'm not saying you should be a burden on someone, or that working to provide for yourself is wrong. Not at all. My point is that we lack that link that generations before us found vital.

If you were to invite eight people over for dinner, who would it be? They couldn't be of the same group- your basketball team, your Bible study. Just eight people who you think could thrive off of each others experiences and conversation. I don't think I know eight people's personalities well enough to know what sort of things they would have in common with my other friends. It's quite sad.

Another experience I had recently was a stop I had on the way back from a family vacation. We spent two nights at my Aunt and Uncle's house in southern Alberta. I have always loved talking to my aunt, and this time, I wanted to figure out why. Why is it I feel so comfortable with this woman who I really only see twice a year at the most?

She makes you feel she's listening. She asks intentional questions. She cares about what your goals and dreams are. She never questions "how can you afford to do that?" or "is that really the best use of time?". She's genuinely excited about your life, and what you're excited about. She knows how to create these sorts of conversations where you can really meet someone. I don't feel I know her quite as well as she knows me, but I feel that's my fault. I haven't been intentional about asking. I haven't developed that skill.

That's something I really want to work on. People usually love to share themselves, but we're too busy trying to get our point across that we miss the experiences they're trying to share with us.

Lessons from Emma

2010-07-06T18:38:00.000-03:00

I have had a wonderful time in Texas this summer. I arrived at the beginning of June, and unfortunately will be off next Wednesday, but there have been some great memories, wonderful relationships created, and many things to look forward to next year.

One of the things I have done while down here was read Emma, by Jane Austen. My reading has been a little scattered recently, with multiple books progressing slowly, and I have to admit,Emma took me a little bit of reading to get into it. She is just so purely annoying! Emma Woodhouse is the kind of snobbish person I want little to do with in ordinary life. (Which has caused me to spend a little time evaluating myself...) However, something that I admire about her is she takes criticism from those she respects and grows from it.

At the beginning she is very selfishly motivated in all her daily activities, even in charity. She doesn't assist others out of love, but out of how it makes her appear and expectations those around her have. She takes Harriet in because she feels she, with her superior position, can introduce Harriet to society (ironically, Emma takes it as an insult when Mrs. Elton offers to do the same thing for her). Honestly, Harriet was much more tolerable and respectfully humble before Emma got to her.

At one point, she makes some painful remarks to Miss Bates. Mr. Knightly, her brother-in-law who she has known since her youth, tells her, bluntly though respectfully, she is in the wrong. Immediately Emma recognizes and attempts to repent by heart-fully attending to the Bateses. It's a change that is apparent to only the reader because nothing changes outwardly. She still visits frequently, as always, but her inward thoughts, her private notations and observations, change greatly.

It's something that I know I need to work on myself. It's so easy to get wrapped up in doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and though it's not observable to others, it eventually becomes noticeable in attitude or work ethic. Even today, I found how I take criticism from certain people as a personal attack, rather than an opportunity to grow and develop better habits- something I can work on continually.

Amazing Artists

2010-05-28T21:34:00.002-03:00

Check out this amazing video found courtesy of Rifle Paper Co. It's about hand painted billboards in a fast paced world. A really incredible story to watch- definitely worth the time.

There's something inspirational about it. Maybe it's the amount of training it takes, or the risk these artists challenge. Or maybe it's their perseverance to remain dedicated when their job prospects really aren't looking too high. You can definitely tell they love what they do, and it's refreshing to see, when you look at so many students who are willing to sacrifice passion for security.

Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday (Part 1)

2010-05-19T17:15:00.005-03:00

My dearest Kassi is getting married SATURDAY!!! So exciting! I thought I'd share some of the festivities with y'all. It's my first time being in a wedding party, so I'm doing a lot of observing and note taking, trying to figure out how things are done and how I can help.

A couple weeks ago, the bridesmaids and one of Kassi's other friends made a day trip out to Banff for her bachelorette party. We wanted her to enjoy the scenery and complete an amusing scavenger hunt. Items on the list were things like "Take a picture with a 'Matt'" (the name of her fiance) and "find the most romantic book title". Then we headed to the Grizzly House which is a rather unobtrusive shack on Banff Avenue. None of us had eaten there before, but I highly recommend it! We were surprised when we walked in at the character of the place! It is a fondu place that specializes in exotic meats (rattlesnake, shark, ostrich) as well as the fondu regulars. We erred on the safe side and got beef, chicken, and prawns for us to share. The meal was delicious and the evening was full of entertainment. You'll have to check it out to see what I mean! My only caution is to save it for special occasions. Even for Banff Avenue, it is pricey, with most meals over $40, before drinks.

Then we went to the hotsprings to settle our full tummies, and had a great swim and wonderful conversation. The evening ended with a trip back to Calgary and watching Father of the Bride at Kassi's apartment. We all got much too little sleep, but Nadine was a trooper and woke up to make the rest of us waffles, complete with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. It was a very enjoyable event, and got Kassi realizing how close she is to the big day!

The Dirty Dozen

2010-05-18T14:55:00.004-03:00

Since I've been back in Calgary, I've been doing the grocery shopping for my mom. I actually really love it! It's like shopping, but for necessities. And it's a game to figure out the best prices, and the best apple in the pile.

One thing I've had trouble with was deciding to buy organic or not. Of course, organic is no doubt healthier, but some things hold more pesticides than others anyways. Wouldn't it be great to know what fruits and vegetables were worth the extra financial cost?

The day after I was mulling this over, I found this adorable cheat sheet! It's available to be printed off, and has the good produce on one side and the "dirty dozen" on the other, complete with illustrations for the illiterate.

I've got to go grocery shopping, because I've been slack in my duties the last couple days, what with the two weddings I am in over the next two weeks. :)

Quilt Canada

2010-05-07T01:45:00.012-03:00

Last Thursday (a week ago) my wonderful grandmother and her quilting crew took me to Quilt Canada, a large quilt show that sets up in a different chosen city each year. The last time it was in Calgary was 1988, joined by the winter Olympics. The show included a judged section, auction, displays, shops, and an antique quilt area (our favorite part).

One thing that stood out to me when wandering through the professional judging section was the purposed usage of quilting. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the terminology, the pieces of fabric are "pieced" together, and the "quilting" is the stitches that join the front and back of the quilt. Its main purpose is to keep the "batting" (white fluffy stuff in the middle) in place, and to flatten out the quilt. Otherwise, it's more of an air-filled pillow) In my last quilt, I did quilted "in the ditch" (along seams) and diagonally, as well as some free loops on the border. The quilts I saw usually didn't have straight quilting seams. Sometimes, the quilting was used to add to the picture. It was all very fascinating, and hard to explain.

There was a good deal of inspiration. I am interested in doing some applique, (where pieces of fabric are hand-sewn onto another, background fabric, as opposed to joined to it) and hand quilting (as opposed to machine quilting). Here are some of my favorite pieces from the show.

The most incredible quilt- all hand quilted!

Close up:

Continual Blessings

2010-04-19T12:02:00.004-03:00

I have completed four final exams, and have two left at this point. My most recent exam was Linear Algebra. That course has been a mess so far.

It all started with enrollment. Everyone starts with Math 2030: Matrix Theory/Linear Algebra in the fall, which I did. Then there are two options for the second course in the winter. The first is the natural continuance, Math 2040: Matrix Theory/Linear Algebra 2. There is also Math 2135: Linear Algebra. I don't think it's ever explicitly stated in the course description, but it is the honors Linear Algebra. I was aware of this when I signed up for it, but I couldn't take Math 2040 because it conflicted with Cryptography, so I thought I would just suck it up and start the hike up the mountain of proofs.

I don't quite remember the situations surrounding the midterm, but I got a 48%. I was pretty miserable. I had totally skipped over one question, which automatically lost me 20%. It just wasn't a good time. Luckily, he took the grade out of 20 rather than 25, which boosted my grade to a 60%, but still... not the sort of thing a math major wants on her record.

The rest of the course was a little more application centered rather than proofs (though there were still plenty). With the final coming up, I was dreading all the studying I was going to have to do to make up for my midterm grade. Then our professor mentioned that he had an alternate grading option. Typically, the final would be worth 50% of our mark, and assignments and midterm are each worth 25%. However, if the final exam grade alone was higher than that composition, your grade would be taken as 100% final exam. Yahoo! The nasty midterm could be forgotten! But now the stress was on. I was aiming on clearing the slate, and to do that I wanted a really good final exam grade.

I spent a decent amount of time studying. My eighth grade science teacher, Mr. McHatton, was right. If you don't know how to study for university, you're toast. I think I'm still learning how to study, because I never really had to in high school, and that makes me put off studying even more! I hate the idea of it, but something I found when studying for this course was as I studied, it made sense. And suddenly, I didn't need to memorize tons of things- just the building blocks. I could come to the conclusions of the proofs myself if I just learn the basic properties. I didn't have to memorize a lot of theorems, and really, there weren't that many anyways.

Then the morning of the test day, I went to Coburg Coffee early early. I got a bowl of soup (for breakfast? I know. But it was really good soup) and pulled out the practice problems. I went through everything and then went to beautiful Becca A's room. She gave me a card with Eph 1: 18-21 on it, had me review, and sent me off.

...that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Eph 1:18-21 NKJV)

The test went wonderfully. I mean, I don't know how I did yet; it will be a couple weeks before I get the results back. But it's been quite the adventure. In the last two weeks I've discovered what wonderful friends I have and how, even though we're studying totally unrelated topics, we are there to help each other as best we can. Even though at the end I was starting to enjoy the material, I'm sort of glad that class is over. I'll update with the results when I get them.

Passchendaele

2010-04-09T21:44:00.002-03:00

I was cruising the library yesterday before a final exam (I call it cramming) and found Passchendaele, which is by the director and main actor of the movie Passchendaele that came out in 2008. It was sort of odd, the concept of a book made off of a movie. You could sort of tell when reading it, but it looked good, and I haven't read anything like it recently.

I was pretty pleased with it all. I mean, there were some stuff that it could have done without, but the plot was good. It was about the 10th Regiment of Canadian soldiers in WWI, and in particular, one soldier's story. He had been to the trenches once before, and after being sent home to Calgary with a diagnosis of shell-shock, he sneaks his way back in. There's two love stories woven in through there, but it's an interesting perspective. It allowed me to glimpse into the thoughts of a woman who was in a relationship with a soldier and how it changed him, which, Lord willing, I will not experience.

Historically, it reminded me a lot of All Quiet on the Western Front, which makes sense. I mean, there's really not too much to write about other than trenches. WWI is a pretty unique war, in some regaurds. It was sort of a bridge between old and new fighting technique. At least that's how it seem summed up to me, the unhistorical mathematician.

If anything, it helped me to realize that my fear of war isn't so much people dying. We all die eventually. It's people coming home completely changed, especially in they don't deal with issues that they're faced with properly. It's hard to deal once you get home because your civilian company has no concept of the experience. My grandfather, who lied about his age to fight in WWII, still doesn't talk about it. In a way, that would seem worse to me than losing someone, because they continue to remind you of the past, while never being the same.

Anyway, it was a quick read. Probably 3.5 hours.

Guilty Conscience

2010-04-08T14:17:00.002-03:00

Guilt is an interesting phenomenon. It's beneficial because it means we recognize our sin and the tension we have with goodness, but sometimes it can pop up when we are not actually doing something wrong. I mean, we're always sinful, but sometimes we feel we should have done something when in actuality, we made a perfectly justifiable decision. Sometimes it's because of something someone else has said, but usually, it just nags.

If you ever want to make someone feel guilty, I'm a pretty easy target. This last week I've had a couple situations rolling around in my head: "I should have spent more time with her... I shouldn't be pestering him... I should have worked harder on that." Guilt is so effective because it is true in some respect. I remember a sermon once, talking about Satan's devices. One point was it works because it's [potentially twisted, manipulated] truth! Sure, I should have spent more time working on that assignment, but does pining over it help? The trick is to move on and not make the same mistake again

What I'm slowly learning each day is that Jesus died for our sins. Sounds like a Christian should know that, but I don't think we realize what that means each day. If I do something wrong, it's over. It's pointless trying to punish myself for things that He has already been punished for, if the guilt is caused by authentic sin. As Paul said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?... Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died- more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." (Rom 8:31b, 34)

Two Year Overview

2010-04-07T22:39:00.005-03:00

You know it's bad when your own mother, who you call every day at 10:30 sharp says "you haven't been updating your blog recently." Either I need to start calling her more, or updating.

The truth is, I've had an emotionally taxing couple of weeks, and now finals are upon me.

Something I have noticed recently, when looking at my 101 in 1001 list, is how much I've changed in the last, approximately 650 days. Sure, that's two years, but it's interesting how much my life plans have changed and new opportunities have been brought to light. The funniest, I feel, is my goal to graduate high school in 2009. Not only will I have graduated high school in the 1001 days, but will be about a month away from my bachelor's degree at the end. :)

It's looking more and more like Latin is not going to happen, but that's fine. I took a logic course instead (I wanted some classical education) and really enjoyed it. Also, I'll be taking a course on Shakespeare, and reading more Tolstoy that I can fathom next year. Overall, I've enjoyed university so far. I'm really really excited about my Number Theory and two Game Theory courses next year, but that's just the inner math nerd in me.

The photography goals have basically been shot, but I do still enjoy venturing out with my camera. I just feel awkward taking pictures of people who I don't know because I'm worried that they'll think I'm creepy, and of people I do know, because they think I'm annoying. So that restricts the pictures to general landscapes or still life, which is fine. But I have also learned to knit and really really enjoy geocaching, and those things aren't expressed on the list at all.

I also need to work on organizing, but that was obvious before this list was created. That being said though, I have coped really well with having my own place away from home, and managing my school work. I think I just try to fit my work into methods that other people use, but don't have the motivation to do so because my own twisted ways work. For example, I have my planner, and a dry erase board in my room with a running to-do list. I own more books than I need, but all of them I either really like, or haven't read yet (but plan to), or feel like I will use them in the future (think homeschooling). In any case, the shelf in Calgary is all alphabetized, and the one in Halifax is sorted by topic.

I will reveal that the personal: dsumrwm is code (hah) for "don't screw up my relationship with Matthew". Again, I have to admit that early on in our relationship, I was concerned my past track-record was dismal (and it was). I figured I would do or say something stupid or hurtful, and that would be that. I probably have said stupid and hurtful things at some point or another, but he's been gracious and we've grown so much over the last two years. We actually had our third "anniversary" (complicated reasoning there) on Sunday, and it was incredible to look back. Long distance relationships aren't easy, but in some ways, I almost thing they're better if you can't get married anytime soon. They force you to take things slower and talk through a lot more. And it's not like we never see each other. So that's been awesome. In any case, I think it's safe at this point to say that's completed. I have overcome that fear, and things are looking very interesting in the next 360 days, much less thirty years.

Bible reading is also going well. I am in Romans now, and I have found that the bus is the best time to include that reading. Most mornings (with the exception of some Tuesday and Thursday mornings, for some reason) I pull out my little pouch as soon as I manage to make my way to a vacant seat, and get a couple chapters read. If I've had an exhausting day, but it's not really late (again, not sure why, but if it's dark, I just feel like staring out the window) I read another couple chapters on the way home. It's not like I have much better to do for my daily hour commute, and it's a wonderful way to start and wrap up the day. I will likely finish Revelation by the end of May, and then it's back to Genesis. I'm really enjoying it. And I'm taking a history of ancient Israel course next fall, so that will probably include some Old Testament readings.

The memorization isn't going as well, but I found a great scripture memory list that I'm working on, and I actually got one nailed down last week. This week is Psalm 16:11.

Anyway, so much for me studying tonight. I have continued my mentality of "If God wants me here, there's no way I'll fail out, and if he doesn't, there's no way I can pass." Not that I've been slacking off. I just don't take exams too hard, and the theory has served me well so far. Everything's lined up to graduate in approximately 350 days. I should start a real countdown... I should get some sleep though... I do love my sleep. That hasn't changed in two years. :)

Moods

2010-03-16T00:03:00.002-03:00

It's incredible how circumstantial we are as people.

Like right now, for instance. I just finished talking to someone who "wasn't in the mood" to do something.

I'm in the mood to be confrontational, but I'm also in the mood to be really easily wounded and weepy (hmmm.... ya).

I think I need to challenge myself this week not to allow my mood to be used as an excuse or crutch, and to not allow it to take control over my conversations with others. My hope is that I maintain a consistent, smiling heart, which can be nurtured by reflecting on all the blessings I have in my life. Not to be a moody

Anyway, that's all. Just an observation.

Fresh Blood

2010-03-11T08:36:00.005-04:00

I'm having trouble with the book report. The first issue was finding a book along the YLCF themes (ie. not math). The next issue is reading it. I think I"m on chapter 2, and the month is half done! I'll do a report on it once I'm finished, though, even if that's not in March.

On Monday, I was walking next to the Student Union Building when I saw a blood donor truck being unpacked. It's something I've always wanted to do, so during an hour break I had in my day, I rushed over and got in line (in hindsight, give yourself more than an hour; there were three people in line, and it took me a full hour ten minutes).

The first thing they did was ask me if this was my first time. I said yes, and the nurse said, "Ah, fresh blood." That made me laugh, which probably quelled the butterflies and jitters I had for about 0.7 seconds. I also got to wear a sticker that said "1st time donor" so that other nurses would know to explain things to me as they happened, which was nice. I got my basic name and address information taken there, then sent to fill out a medical form concerning my health.

The first fourteen questions I got to fill out myself. They were amusing. One was something along the lines of "Did you live in France for more than six months between the years of _ and _." Lots about where I've lived and the blood transfusions I've gotten.

The next group of questions, a nurse had to read to me and bubble in herself. I had read them over before hand and they seemed to be geared towards discovering if you have HIV ("Have you recieved a blood transfusion in Africa since 1977"), and from the questions, I knew that I was going to answer all of them no. So she started reading and I started shaking my head and she sped up. Let me tell you, that lady was the fastest, most accurate reader I have heard. Granted, she probably had the questions memorized, but she didn't even pause before questions, and she was simultaneously bubbling answers. It was incredible. She also took my blood pressure, which is always ridiculously low (I am my mothers child) but I was so nervous that it was actually on the low end of normal! So that was exciting. Then she handed me four bags, each a liter. My eyes bugged. I know the average woman only has 5 liters of blood. They were going to drain me dry. But she explained they were going to only fill up one bag, and then after it was tested, they would separate it out into the other bags.

Then I headed over to a lawn-chair-style-bed in the middle of the gym, surrounded by other beds with other students. Just as they got the cuff around my arm for pressure, the guy I was facing started to black out. There was a little flurry of nurses with cold rags and juice boxes around him, and his feet were propped up and head lowered, hence the lawn-chair. He was fine and my nurse was back in five minutes, but it was a rather interesting thing to see seconds before I was supposed to get stabbed.

Once I was hooked up, it was fine. I had a little squishy ball I was supposed to squeeze occasionally, and my arm fell asleep, but besides that, it was relatively painless. I passed the time watching the nurses test the blood on the table at the far side of the gym and chatting with the nurses. They were all very friendly and funny, and extremely grateful. They kept saying thank you, and I thought that was very nice of them, but really, it's something that somebody needs to do. As the motto of Canadian Blood Services says, "It's in you to give."

I wrote this so that anyone who is considering giving would know all that's involved and feel comfortable going in to the procedure. I didn't feel exhausted at all afterwards, and it was nice to know that I helped someone who might not otherwise get that help if everybody felt it was someone else's job. So yes, I would do it again.

Photo taken by Abhishek Jacob, http://www.flickr.com/photos/abhishek_jacob/3331425437/ .

Get Ready

2010-02-24T12:37:00.001-04:00

Not sure what I'm going to write about yet, but hopefully it will be good!

This Week

2010-02-22T14:18:00.003-04:00

I don't usually like to post in this format, but it seems so much happened and there's not much to say about each, so here it goes.

Last week I:

Had a snow day Wednesday! We got a bit of a surprise dump on Tuesday night, and so Dal and King's were closed. I'm glad, because I had a midterm Wednesday morning, and I would have been sooooo stressed about arriving late because all the traffic was backed up. Unfortunately, I was ready for it and it was a little frustrating to put it off till Friday, but it turned out ok. The snow day helped enable me to get all of the following finished!
Took four midterms. Some were intense, some were fun, all turned out relatively well.
Started working out! I went for a two mile jog on Tuesday (while it was still gorgeous), which I don't think I have ever done. I also started a push-up and crunches program, to get me to a level I want to be. The goal is to be able to do 100 pushups and 200 crunches in a row, and to have jogged 30 miles before April 12. I'm contemplating the squats program too, or something for my legs, but jogging may be enough. We'll see.
Bought new tennis shoes (unrelated, but relevant to the previous point) because my old ones, which I've had about 30 months, have a nice hole in the toe. I actually bought the same ones, Nike Pegasus+, because I really like them, and I've noticed the updated version has an extra thick layer over the toe, so it seems that was an issue. Those shoes have been through lots, including a vat of barbecue sauce, and they've held up. Anyhow, that was my spending spree this week... :-/
Went to a young homeschoolers science fair with the A's. Lauren and Sarah entered projects on buoyancy, and did a really nice job of their experiment. The atmosphere was non-competitive, and we had a great time. I actually learned a bit from some of the projects, which was cool!
Knitted a Bible case from start to finish. My ESV was getting beat up in my backpack, so it now has a little lime green sweater. I really like the way it turned out. :)
Listened to 1 Peter sermons by Mark Driscoll on authority. Here: authority. Here: ungodly authority. Here: wives. Here: husbands. Pretty good. A lot of people don't his style, but the last one was the edgiest I've heard him, at least at the end, and... ya. I think it had truth and was necessary to hear, but not sure about the method of delivery- from the pulpit. Mr. Dave pointed out that when your authority gets public criticism from those higher up, it's harder for those lower down to respect them... definitely see two sides. I really respect what he has to say though. Good message.
Finished a web design project. We had to make a webpage for a school club. Check it out!

All in all, it was a good week. And now it's reading week!!! So exciting! Though I have a lot of things I need to do, including get caught up on everything I put off because of midterms last week. I also want to finish the Old Testament and get into Matthew this week, which is definitely do-able. I'm at Habakkuk now, so that's 31 pages in my NIV or 21 pages in my ESV (just different print sizes). All the rest are short books. I'm going to keep up the workouts, and Wednesday is Andrew's birthday- the big "oh-four" ;) I also want to finish Contact by Carl Sagan, if possible. It's pretty good so far, but I've been putting it on the back burner, and it's getting burned from sitting there so long.

Love Sucks

2010-02-18T21:01:00.003-04:00

...at least according to a shirt I saw on the bus. It was bright red, hard to miss, and the message was encircled in a candy heart. The young man wearing it was definitely making a statement, but I had to think about if he was just under the weather from a lonely Valentine's Day, or if he didn't understand what love is.

What's really ironic about this whole scenario is as he walked on the bus, I was listening to Sanctus Real's song, Don't Give Up. It's about the cultural norm of casual love that doesn't last. Unfortunately, today more married people have been or will be divorced than not. I had to laugh at my iPod for shuffling this way, but I really paid attention to the lyrics, and something stood out.

Your restless heart won't win, 'cause you take, but you don't give.
And you'll keep movin' on till you learn what love is.

Bam.

I'm learning more and more that the key to every single relationship is giving. It's putting another before yourself, giving of your time, attention, talents, money, and otherwise- it's different for the needs of each relationship, be it friend, sibling, parent, or spouse. But one thing is consistant- giving. After all, that's what God did for us. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:7-10 ESV).

Sure love is hard, but it's a sad world that rejects even the idea of it.

Joy and Simple Gifts

2010-01-30T12:16:00.004-04:00

My birthday was earlier this month, and before I left for Calgary, we had a discussion here about what sort of cake I wanted. My friend, Catherine, and I had grown up with our birthdays one day apart, and we always had red velvet cakes (at least as I recalled at the time. Photographic research since has shown Catherine always has the red velvet cake, and occasionally I'm a copycat). But in any case, that's what I was after. Mrs. Gina was busy at the time with various things, so I opted for the box version, and began to hunt for Red Velvet Cake. Sobey's didn't have it. And there ended the hunt, because I don't have a car, so getting to grocery stores is a little complicated.

I ended up having a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, which is basically a red velvet cake without being red, and I had a lovely birthday. My friend, Jenna escaped residence life and slept over, and we watched an "inspirational Christian sports movie," aka Facing the Giants. I got generous gifts from all the kids (including one of Andrew's picture books. :) talk about generosity) and spent some time that night thinking about the last 19 years. What a gift in itself.

Then, a week later, I went out for supper with Jenna, and she surprised me. She had been to Starbucks earlier that day, and lo and behold, they have Red Velvet Cupcakes!!! So she got me one. Isn't it incredible how the most simple gifts are sometimes the best? The cupcake and I had a photo shoot before it got devoured. Starbucks, I'm willing to sell the rights to the photos. ;)

Sunshine's Dark Side

2010-01-21T20:53:00.002-04:00

Today I was back in the McCulloch Museum. You may remember my post, just two weeks ago about the joyful yellow tang fish that caught my attention. Well, today he had a friend. It was a little wrasse, fluttering about.

While I was reading next to them, the professor who cares for that tank came in and was talking to another student about them. The three of us watched them flutter about, and the professor was telling us about the alpha characteristics of the yellow tang. He said that last Saturday, they had introduced a blue tang into the tank, and the next time he checked, there was not a trace of it! My eyes must have bulged. Our dear Sunshine! A cannibal!

It made me think though, about pets and how I hardly know that fish and think it's cute, but have no knowledge of the species as a whole. It happens a lot with dogs. People see this cute puppy they want, but have no real sense of the discipline and patience it takes to train a dog.

I've been thinking a bit recently if I want to have a dog when I'm "all grown up." Part of me does. I've always had one, and I appreciate the company and security. It's an excuse to go for walks, which I don't do enough as is. And I can definitely see me sitting by the couch at night, listening to my husband talk or read, petting a happy, sleeping dog.

But part of me knows the work. And the hair. Oh my goodness, the amount of hair my mom vacuums. And dogs are expensive.

One thing is for sure though, I would get a bigger dog. I love my dear Lacey and Ziggy, but they're so easy to spoil because of their cuteness. I don't know. There's a dog show in the middle of February, so I think I'll go and bring my camera and talk to some breeders for future reference.

...Insects?

2010-01-16T23:26:00.001-04:00

A fun quote from my Anatomy reading:

"Cerumen [earwax] in the external auditory canal provides a sticky barrier that prevents the enterance of foreign bodies, such as insects." (p.130)

SICK!

Sorry, that caught me so off gaurd when I was reading it, I cracked up. Thought I'd share the joy.

Really though, insects???

Excerpt from Principles of Human Anatomy, 11th Ed. Tortora and Nielsen.

Photo by Chris Gin http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_gin/3427532199/ Some rights reserved.

Learning to Knit

2010-01-13T22:59:00.004-04:00

Something that piqued my interest recently is all the handmade goods for sale in Halifax. There's a lovely shop called Love, Me that sells locally crafted clothes, papergoods, and art, among so many other things. I love looking around that store.

From economics, we know that where there's a demand, the smart thing is to produce a supply, so there are also lots of neat craft stores. I first went into The Loop because I was after embroidery patterns. Well, if we're honest I went in because of the color and the interesting looking contraption in the window (later I discovered it's to spin the balls of yarn). Their shop has shelves of wool yarn from all sorts of animals and beautiful examples of different techniques. They also offered classes.

The class I took was called Knitting for Absolute Beginners. It's not entirely accurate, since my mom has taught me how to handle needles, and in the back of my mind, I do actually remember one night that I stayed up till midnight, learning to knit from the internet (successfully- I just never did it after that!) but I wanted to start from scratch. The instructor's name was Cathy, and the class was composed of six girls, around my age and very eager to learn.

Well, in the proceeding three hours, we learned it all! We learned how to cast on, knit, pearl, cast off, and after several jokes about holes and "cat bums," she taught us the proper way to add and subtract stitches to create lace! I really enjoyed it and am busy working on my project: a simple scarf composed completely of knitted stitches (no pearling patterns). But once it's finished, I can move on to all sorts of things- i.e. lace. :) Cathy was a wonderful instructor and maybe next fall, once I'm more comfortable with all the stitches, I'll try another of The Loop's courses on circular knitting (hats, socks, mittens, etc).

[Photo is not my scarf. Just an example of "lace" so you know what I'm talking about.]

Photo by Sally http://www.flickr.com/photos/sallypics/289583941/ Some rights reserved.

Sunshine

2010-01-07T12:36:00.003-04:00

So I'm back at school. Things have been really dreary around here, weather wise. The first day I was back, I was awfully jet lagged. I was also home alone for about 24-hrs, and had no visual human contact (just phone) so I had a little bout of depression. I was discontent and moody and just fussy at life.

Needless to say, things are a better now. I'm a little concerned about how I'm going to be once I'm out of school, because I don't seem to do well when I'm not busy. However, I suppose I'll be busy enough- just no vacations! :P

I have signed up for six classes (another symptom of my love of school) and one of them is a correspondence class in Anatomy through the school. It's quite simple. Read the textbook, take online quizzes, take open book midterms and finals, yes. I will do well. Especially since it is mostly a review from biology. Plus I'm motivated because the subject area interests me. I don't know how someone could take this class with no interest, just for the A for example, because it's all individual reading of a huge textbook. But alas, I like that sort of thing.

My friend Jenna is taking it with me. We had planned on taking it together this summer, but it fit into her schedule now, so here we are, in the Dal McCulloch Museum surrounded by stuffed birds. She's reading the course outline, and I'm writing on my blog about my new friend.

See, the McCulloch Museum is connected to the science department here at Dal. It's full of stuffed birds, from ducks to bald eagles. There are also conch shells and aquariums. This is where Sunshine lives. He's quite shy, but this is probably the quitest room in the school to study, so I've spent a couple hours now, watching him flutter about. He gives hope that winter will end soon, with his neon yellow glow. What a cheery fish. :)

Picture by Nathan Drupert, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/4108981273/ Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, Non-derivative Licence.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-01T02:50:00.000-04:00

Don't worry. I'm doing something better tonight than blogging, probably involving fondu. Happy New Year everyone!

I don't take New Year's resolutions as seriously as some. I think many people feel they can change their life cold turkey. I like to think of myself as more reflective and gradual, though that may be inaccurate. I don't know. In any case, I always have trouble coming up with goals worthy of the title, "resolution." But here it goes- Resolutions for 2010:

1) Be more consistent in my blogging and journaling. It seems that area of my life has gone on a bit of a hiatus the last few months, but I do miss it and appreciate the insight it gives myself and some others into my life. Also, I'm still not taking an English class, so some writing will do me good.

2) Memorize more. I have been working on this a little with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, but I want to work on my memory more. Again, math doesn't lend itself to this area of my development because it is more important to understand than just memorize, but I think it's an important part of learning. Maybe memorize a passage or a poem every now and again.

3) Vary my reading. As I have mentioned before, I feel like I've been reading a lot of theology and math, which is all well and good, but I want to change things up a bit. Maybe throw in some Jane Austen or Tolken, and the book my uncle got me for Christmas that seems to fit in the sci-fi category (he agrees I need to vary my reading).

4) Establish myself as a geocacher. I think I made the impression from my last post that I am wary of this geocaching thing or reluctant about my commitment. Not at all. I'm all in. I really enjoy this sport/activity/thing and would like to do more. Right now, I've found 14 caches, and I think if I put some effort into it, I could get 50 more by next year. It will just take some time, and hopefully the company of people who would like to join me.

5) Finish my double wedding ring quilt. This will be the only resolution that is pass/fail. I would really like to get it done this summer, but it's going to be the most challenging and large (king) quilt I've done. It's got twists and curves, where all I've really done before is straight lines. Eeek! But I should probably get a good start on it soon. I starting the washing and ironing with Grandma last week, and it's going to be pretty once it's finished!

Geocaching: An Addiction?

2009-12-29T03:09:00.003-04:00

In the past I have made the call as to whether I am addicted to something or not by if I can't fall asleep because it is on my mind repeatedly. I am not quite at that point... but I may get there soon with this geocaching thing.

The first one we found was on the way back from a family reunion. It was a challenge. Luckily, there were some fellow geocachers who were also on the hunt and gave us a hand. They were more experienced and we were just digging through a pile of rocks. (If you've ever been to Frank Slide... no further explanation required).

If you don't know what geocaching is, it's a GPS-oriented "game" where other geocachers hide a "cache" (usually a camouflaged tupperware or hide-a-key) and log the coordinates online for others to find. Depending on the size of the cache, there are sometimes little trinkets to trade or geocoins to pass along to the next cache.

Since the first find, I have marked code down. Many a battery has been drained from my iPhone as the GPS and compass features have been utilized. Everywhere I go, they're around! In a way it's exciting, but at the same time overwhelming!

It also doesn't help that I'm not extremely good at it. Especially this last round at them, it was so frustrating. It didn't help that the entire province is under snow, but even some of the ones designated as winter friendly gave us a bit of trouble. Of the nine I have attempted since arriving in Calgary, I have found two. Never the less, they are fun and adventurous. I saw some country that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

I will share one such adventure with you. On the way back to Calgary from our Christmasing, there was one just off Hwy 1 on the west side of Chestermere. We pulled over (in the dark) and walked along a snow covered road to an inch of wood sticking up. I thought it may be hidden underneath, so we started digging. Then I fell through the snow up to above my knees. We kept digging. Spencer fell through too. Keep in mind, it's dark and we're holding flashlights, digging at the snow along a highway. I'm sure people thought we were burring a body or something (that's the one thing I don't like about this sport when done in public- it makes you look suspicious, like you're making a drug trade or something). Eventually we gave up and got back in the warm car. When I got home, not only did I look up a picture of the location and realize that tree stump is the hight of a small child, but I realized there were two winter friendly caches just meters away. *Sigh* :) It just means I'll have to go back...

People also create ridiculous challenges that are so inspiring I think I may just try one. Like the Texas County Challenge. The goal is to find one cache in each of the 256 Texas counties. It will make for quite a road-trip, but that's what summer vacations are for. And years and years of caching. There are people out there with 3000+ finds though. They must have such good eyes, or an incredible amount of perseverance!

Callipygian

2009-12-19T18:31:00.003-04:00

I played Cranium with my mom, Spencer, and Carley last night. It was loads of fun, drawing with your eyes closed and trying to come up with a way to use the word "callipygian"... we can't figure out if it's a noun or adjective. (This post is titled such by Spencer's request).

My flight went really well. I got lots of reading done (started and finished a 100 pg book, and got 93 pgs into a 200 pg one) and watched Julie & Julia and Postgrad (which I wasn't as impressed with). I definitely like Julie & Julia though. I had actually gone to see it in theaters with my dad. He suggested it and was one of the only men there, but it was fun, and I think he enjoyed it. I like the blogging aspect and cooking aspect, as well as the history. Julia Child's character is hilarious. Good movie, all around.

Today I got up pretty early and Mom and I went to Market Mall for some Christmas shopping. I finished everyone up that I had left, and helped mom with some gifts for Courtney and me. So yes, I know what I'm getting. But I don't mind. I found that when people spend money on me and either I really don't like it or it doesn't fit or whatever the issue is, I feel guilty that they spent "so much," even if it was just a little.

However, my mom won't let me have my presents yet! That part is awful! Because one of them is a Christmas piano book, and I want to practice... there's no point in practicing Christmas music after Christmas. Sigh... :)

"Home" Is Where... the Bills Go

2009-12-17T20:19:00.003-04:00

I'm going home to Calgary tomorrow morning!

It's just sort of weird though. I only lived in Calgary for about 18 months, and I have been there about two months total this whole year. It doesn't really feel like home. Except my mom and sister are there of course. And my puppies. I am excited to see them all.

Exams have gone decently. I suppose I'm writing this sort of depressed, because if you had asked me yesterday, I would have said they have gone incredibly, but Calculus sort of did me in today, and I'm still recovering. This break will be good, but it's sort of started on a sour note, compared to if it had begun yesterday. Maybe once I get my grades back it'll look rosier.

I was talking to one of my friends about what she wants to get out of the next two weeks. I think my big goal, aside from seeing family, is doing some reading. I feel like I haven't read for a while, which is totally inaccurate. I finished the Numerati this morning, and have been quite consistent about my Bible reading, which always makes me feel more humble and content, so that's good. I just feel like I've done a lot of math and Scripture, so I'm not sure why two of the books I have picked out are about math and Scripture... maybe I'll pick something else up first. Like Jane Austen. Hmmm. :)

I also want to come up with some sort of detailed itinerary for "THE Road Trip." It was originally concocted in the summer of sixth grade, and I feel that in order to get a little more support, both from parents and potential co-trippers, it needs a little more structure. And maybe my marathon trip that I dream of is a little lengthy and I'm oblivious like everyone is secretly thinking. Some planning will help me realize it. So I got the Discovery Channel's United States on the Road book, as well as 1,000 Places To See Before You Die in the USA and Canada. Maybe that will be my fun flight activity for the long day ahead of me tomorrow.

Ice Skating Pictures

2009-12-12T15:32:00.002-04:00

Wednesday morning, Mrs. A, Sarah, Lauren, and Andrew took me ice skating. They all did extremely well, especially Lauren who, as we discovered once we came off the ice, was wearing her skates on the wrong feet!

Mrs. A used to ice skate a lot when she was younger, so she was doing all sorts of spins and twirling Andrew around on the chair. It was all lots of fun to watch! I got tons of pictures of

Andrew, because he was moving rather slowly, but the girls were harder to get. The lighting was also awkward to work with because of the light tones and all the ice, but I managed to take a couple good ones.

Sarah and Lauren

Andrew, trying out this skating thing.

The chair is much more fun!

The Numerati

2009-12-10T15:21:00.002-04:00

I love finals weeks. They are my kind of weeks. I think this is mostly because I don't stress out over exams. I look over the material, sure, but I learned long ago that math isn't something you can "catch up" on at the last minute, so I make sure I learn it as we go through classes. Then, when tests come, life is a whole lot easier.

It means I get to do other things this week. Yesterday I went ice skating with the A's (see next post). Tomorrow we're going to the Nutcracker. And today... aside from looking over geometry... I am reading The Numerati. Call me a nerd (one of my friends did) but I like math books. They motivate me.

The Numerati is about that classified group of employees that makes us into math. I had no idea what sort of industries were out there that blend computer science and mathematical analysis, but they range from political polls, to advertising, to matchmaking sites. The Numerati are the people that take all that data and feed back results to companies so they know what to do with it. For instance, Umbria Communications has computers that read millions of blogs just like this one, and read "customer reviews," along with targeting the demographic of the writer. They then send the information back to the company. So Canon knows I like my Rebel... now. They don't have to wait to check sales projections because blogs are updated constantly. Scary. There's a whole lot of scarier things in this book, but they're a little more complex than that example. I would recommend it to people who are interested in a mix of sociology, computer science, and statistics. There is a disappointedly little amount of math in it, for the title, other to say that math is used. Still, I find it interesting and a quick read. Back to geometry!

Welcome, Clara Cannon!

2009-12-07T13:46:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, dear Clover Cannon, my Rebel XTi broke Newton's laws and disappeared last Spring. I am still at a loss as to where she is, but I finally figured it's time to move on and started researching cameras a couple weeks ago.

I finally took the plunge and got a sweet little Rebel XS. She's quite the dear. Basically all the same features as my XTi, plus a little extra quality. Like I can take pictures in black and white (which I may have been able to do before but never figured out). And there's Image Stabilizer.

What this means for me: I get to take good pictures again!

What this means for you: You get to see my pictures again!

Win-win. Or in the world of Michael Scott, win-win-win.

Mr. Matthew Tumnus

2009-12-04T22:23:00.004-04:00

It snowed today in the great land of Southern Texas, and the natives did not know what to do. However, it appears that a foreigner, one who is familiar with snow, was around to help. He's not sure how he got there, or how he'll get home to Narnia, but he looks at home.

Have I mentioned that I have the most amazing man in the world? What a sense of humor.

Reflections on the First Semester

2009-12-03T17:14:00.003-04:00

As quickly as it came, the first semester is nearly over. Today I had my logic final exam. I remember the first day of university- running blocks because the bus had a construction detour and nearly being late for my class (I walked in as the professor was introducing himself). I remember my first Calculus class, being near tears as the professor did what was supposed to be a quick "review" of what we should know so that he can move on to the new content, and not recognizing any of it. I remember meeting new friends and my first midterm... and today, my first final. I think out of all of it, a couple things have stood out.

First, we're not as smart as we think. Even if you graduated at the top of your class, there is someone, actually a whole lot of people, who are smarter than you. Deep down, we all know this (I hope), but the reality hits when you fail assignments that you spent hours on, while the person sitting in front of you gets A's. Or when you listen to different conversations going on at the school coffee shop. Or when you peruse midterm answers posted on bulletin boards in the math building, and see fourth derivatives. There's a whole lot out there to learn. It's humbling, which is good. Apparently I needed that.

Second, water can grow things. Not water and soil. Just water. In a glass, that sits on your desk for a couple weeks. First it gets hazy near the top. Then it sort of gels up. Next, there's a white fuzz layer. All this to say, if you know me, you know I'm not the cleanest person on the planet. I have greatly improved. Because one day, you have to deal with that glass and the three next to it, and it's just not a fun day. Plus, if your door is kept closed throughout the day, and there's no air circulation, things start to smell funky.

Third, subjects are incredibly interrelated. I remember one day, very early on in my year, when all of my math classes used vector cross products in the same day for three different things. The truth tables for my logic course were used in the if statements of Java programming. And when helping a friend with her Life Science calculus, I discovered the relation between carrying capacity and limits. Neat stuff going on in the world.

All that to say, I'm enjoying university. I'm looking forward to my classes next semester, as I think they will be equally challenging, but I feel a lot more prepared now that I know what to expect and have released the stress of perfection. It's almost less stressful than high school, because in high school, you are always trying to get the marks to get to university. Now that I'm here, it's nice to just sit back and learn.

Andrew MacCatechism

2009-11-28T15:59:00.003-04:00

Sorry for my absence. Hopefully, business as usual from here on out...

There's a little man who has stolen my heart and his name is Andy Mac. He's the smartest three year old I know. He stands across the room and says, "You can't get me!" and when I run across and start tickling him, he says, "That's enough, Chelsea! Hehehe! That's enough!" He likes he equator and all sorts of random ideas. He knows how to say "regeneration" and "chasten" and knows the meaning of both. And apparently, we're getting married.

I love the family that I'm staying with. The A's have been so welcoming to me and very accomidating. Sure, my treck to campus is lengthy, but I can't imagine not having Bible Times at night or Sunday night pancakes. I haven't been around young children much at all to see how they're raised, so it's very new, watching them grow up. It's fun watching the girls learn how to cook and play the piano. I've tried teaching them ballet, and I've learned that physical grace is not equally distributed to everyone. :)

Bookstore Review

2009-09-17T12:28:00.003-03:00

Back on Thursday I decided to take a detour on the way to school and stop off at John W Doull Booksellers, a second hand bookstore on the corner of Barrington Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I stepped in and smelled books. I'm not entirely sure if that's a bad or good thing, but it was there. Posted around the store are floor plans of the store in the fashion of London Underground maps, and they are definitely necessary! JWD is two stories of bookshelves stacked floor to ceiling, dusty boxes backed with books, and piles teetering haphazardly. I sold the book I had brought for some pocket change, and began my search.

I spent an hour literally digging through their collection. The most amazing thing I found was a "window" that was cut into a shelf! I can't post the picture because of copyright, but really, check it out! They seem to have glued large books in place to hold the shelves, as well as the sliced books. I stood an marveled for a good five minutes!

Unfortunately, they didn't have the two books I was looking for. One was Euclid's Elements, or some version of it. I was in the math section, on my way back downstairs, when I passed a room labeled "Travel". The shelves inside looked interesting, so I took a step forward. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, a mouse scurried across the floor and dived into a pile of books.

I have to say that did it for me. It's true that Doull has an amazing selection, and I know they are trying to go for the disaster-yet-organized look, but cleanliness has its values. I may go back if the need comes, but I will be sure to stomp very loudly before I peek into a room!

Picture of JWD Booksellers by Miss A, http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_a/9994353/

Baby Ruths (said with a sing-song voice)

2009-08-20T13:13:00.004-03:00

The prodigal blog writer has returned with stories of camp!

From July 4th to August 8th, I participated in the Baby Ruths program at Pine Cove. Basically, I was assigned to a camp (the Timbers) with five other girls. We were placed under the authority of a "Mama Ruth," Sheryl. During the five weeks we worked to keep the camp as spic-and-span as possible, mostly with the aid of the cleaning chemical Spic-and-Span. We also helped with dishes and kitchen responsibilities and ran the tills at the camp store.

We participated in an intense Bible Study called the Gauntlet, ran by Jeff and Jason, where we studied women of the Bible, character traits, and memorized scripture. There were also mentorship opportunities with the director's wives, and practical skills learned along the way.

If this post seems dull and undetailed, it's because it has to be. A large component of the program is not knowing where you're going till you get there, or what you're doing till you're doing it. Half the time our mama would wake us up, so we didn't even know how much sleep we would get when we laid our heads down at night. It was a great experience, learning to let go of control and trusting in the program. To be honest, the first week I slept horribly because I was so anxious about what the next day would bring, but then I realized, they wouldn't make us do anything dangerous. They wouldn't make us do anything we couldn't physically do, or something they wouldn't make their own daughters do. If we were hungry, we would be fed on schedule, and if we were hot and nasty sweaty, we would be inside by the end of the day.

I was thinking on the way home about the opportunities I had this summer. I was invited to participate in a student leadership conference in Prague. I also had the opportunity to go to Greece with my family. I would enjoy visiting those places one day, but I'm glad I didn't miss out on this opportunity. I learned more about community and myself, and more about who I want to become than any other experience I could have chosen. Yes, it was exhausting and frustrating at different points, but what I gained by serving was worth it.

Pine Cove

2009-07-04T12:11:00.002-03:00

Hey all. This blog will be down for the next five weeks. I will be serving at Pine Cove Timbers from July 4- August 8 with six other lovely girls as Baby Ruths.

If you'd like to mail, the address will be

Chelsea [Last Name] - Baby Ruth

Pine Cove Timbers

PO Box 9055

Tyler, Texas 75711-9055

I will write back if you send an address. :)

Halifax: What I'm Looking Forward To

2009-06-29T16:06:00.000-03:00

On September 2, 2009, I will be packing up my things and shipping out to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I will be spending my next three years. It just struck me the other day that I have a high school diploma. This is where some people stop- as far as they go. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to continue learning and recieve recognition for it, because quite frankly, I don't feel prepared at this point to survive off of all the knowledge I've accumulated thus far.

When I get to Halifax, I will be staying with the "A" family. They have three children, and the wife was a math major from Dalhousie. I'm looking forward to getting to know their family and that sense of community. I've really weighed the decision of residence life vs. boarding, and I think I would miss a home too much. I want to be able to cook and sit in a living room to read. Granted, I will be spending a lot of time on campus anyways, but I like the idea of returning home, rather than living at school. Plus, it will get me off campus more. I'll be forced to master the bus system, so I will not put off exploring the city.

Next, I'm looking forward to my classes. Right now, it looks like I'll be taking waaay too many math classes this year, so I'm glad I enjoy it! Hopefully I won't become overwhelmed, and thanfully they're all in different areas (calculus, statistics, computer science, etc). However, once I get these basic classes done, I will be ready for the more advanced and interesting options next year (game theory, number theory, cosmology, etc). I'll also be taking a class on Arthurian legends in the winter.

I'm looking forward to having access to the Dalplex, the gym on campus. They have a large indoor pool that I anticipate using a great deal. I've been looking for a regular fitness program, and I think this year may be the start of it. There's a nice gap in my schedule Monday afternoon, and available spaces on Tuesday and Thursday.

Likewise, I plan on joining the Dalhousie Swing Dance Society. They give lessons at different levels each semester, and host dance events. This will be another great way to exercize, and meet new people.

I'm also looking into the campus's chapter of Habitat for Humanity. They do trips each year on reading week, and HH is always something that I've been interested in getting involved with, but felt too young to participate in. Now, I can!

So that's what I'll probably be doing starting September!

The Jon and Kate Debacle

2009-06-25T01:43:00.001-03:00

Well, since every tabloid is getting nosy, I'm going to take advantage of this somewhat unsurprising event to give my opinion on "Jon and Kate Plus 8." I have watched the show twice. I know one of my readers is (or was, not sure what her opinion is now) a die hard fan.

Let me preface by saying that when I was babysitting several months ago, a young girl wanted to watch "Jon and Kate" and her parents always let her, etc etc. I said no. You can watch it with your parents when they get back, but I didn't feel it was appropriate for her to be watching at her age. First off, from the, maybe forty minutes I have seen of the show, I was very disappointed. The family is advertised as being a Christian family (If you'd like to argue that, then why is their biography in Christian bookstores and the Christian aisles of secular bookstores?), but I do not have a sense of peace when watching them. Sure, they have eight kids. Sure, that causes stress and tension. My family is a perfect example of faulty relationships. However, if you know your family needs to work on its character traits of patience and peace, then why invite a camera crew in to broadcast every dramatic scene? It appeared to me, quite frankly, to be a family that wanted to be in the spotlight and was willing to foster drama to get there.

Now, on the topic of their separation, I think the reasons given are beautiful goals, but the execution is wrong. They both stated in video interviews that they were getting separated because they wanted to give their children a peaceful environment. Separation does not create a peaceful environment. It creates a void in the children's life. Sure, they still have a mom and dad, but they do not have parents. They don't get to witness the interaction between two grown adults on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, bitter feelings eventually create resentment. Just because the two parents aren't there to bicker in front of their children does not mean there will not be bickering. Bitterness seeks out common areas to take a stance, and for them, this will be their children. Even if they say they won't, they will try to gain the preference of their children at the cost of the other. My parents said they wouldn't (and I can tell they tried not to for a long time) but after being separated for five years, the jabs just get worse.

Next, the arrangements that they have made for their children seem to shine the spotlight on their weakness of placing their children before their marriage. They have decided to keep the children at one house, and each live their on their separate days. They referred to it as the "children's house". Whoa. Does anyone see the world these children are being raised in? They are being taught that they are the center of their world.

This show (both before and after the announced separation) has turned me completely against reality TV (not that I was a fan before this show appeared). I find it absolutely revolting what people will do for fame and money. Apparently, Jon mentioned that he was annoyed with paparazzi following the family's every move, but both have agreed that the show will go on... through the divorce. Hopefully people will watch it long enough to see what a messy and depressing solution divorce is to their problems.

Michael and Evie Get Hitched

2009-06-19T16:20:00.001-03:00

Last weekend, I was in Portland, Oregon attending the wedding of my best friend's cousin. It was the second wedding I've been to (that I can remember) and I learned lots about the chaos of wedding activities.

The rehersal luncheon was Friday on Mt. Hood. There was still snow around, which was exciting. Everything tasted lovely and there were some really great toasts. There was family from Alaska, California, Texas, and Alabama present.

There was a little bit of an issue with the flower orders and florist arrangements, so Saturday afternoon, seven other girls and myself learned how to make boutonnieres, corsages, wreaths, bouquets, and table decorations. I must say, they looked awesome. The flowers were daisies (yay!), roses, and lavender.

I got to meet the famous Anna B who I had heard so much about (don't worry, you lived up to your reputation). I roomed with her and the lovely Katie M for the weekend, and we had some great times, involving "legal U-turns," target shopping carts, and late night shopping expititions.

Finally, the day arrived and we rushed off to the church. After a couple detours around downtown, the whole party was there, the men looking handsome in their suits and ladies in their silver dresses. The ceremony was beautiful, and the message was well prepared. Then we went on to the reception and had a great time. I met Alex and Brett Harris, and Alex gave Alex P and Anna B a nice Viennese waltz lesson with his sister (those boys are amazing dancers). There was also a little "Cha-cha Slide" and "Sweet Home Alabama" thrown into the mix.

Overall, the weekend was a success. The happy couple was married, and the families got to spend a lot of time blending and meeting new people. Us girls had a fun time touring and helping with the flowers, and the boys had a fun time getting into trouble. ;) Weddings are fun.

My favorite "Brian" in the world

Daniel getting in touch with his feminine side

Michael and Evie rehearsing

Alex and Anna at the rehearsal luncheon

All Pictures by Daniel Campbell's Camera (so... Daniel and Katie)

Who Would of Thunk?

2009-06-17T15:51:00.003-03:00

Well, you learn something new every day...

I'm reading The Know-It-All, the memoir of a A.J. Jacobs who read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. It's such a lofty goal... though I must say it sounds more entertaining than the complete Oxford English Dictionary, which was read by Ammon Shea, though it is just over 10,000 pages longer (EB: 33,000 pgs, OED: 21,730 pgs).

Anyways, today he's talking about Mr. Daniel Fahrenheit, creator of the Fahrenheit system of measurment. Students always wonder what Daniel Fahrenheit was thinking when he set his temperature up. According to The Know-It-All, here's what happened:

First he set the freesing point of a 1 NaCl: 1 H2O solution at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This would then make the freezing point of H2O 30 and the body temperature 90. Only he botched it, leaving us with funky numbers (32 and 98.6 respectively). Crazier things have happened...

I'm contemplating taking on this challenge myself. The first problem is I don't have an encyclopedia, nor the space to keep one if I did get one now. I think the first two things I'm going to buy/ask for when I move into my "own" house is a Encyclopaedia Britannica set and a Britannica Great Books set. I would get them now, but I'd have to pack them all around the continent before I settled back in Texas.

Warning for those who are considering reading this book: It's got language sprinkled throughout it.

Oh Dear

2009-06-09T12:24:00.004-03:00

It seems my blog has suffered an untimely death, just at the start of summer. Poor blog. Nevertheless, it the words of the miracle worker in Princess Bride, "It's only mostly dead." There is still room for rejuvenation. Keep an eye out, and I do apologize for those of you who check back here. I recommend an RSS feed.

More Beautiful You

2009-05-02T11:16:00.004-03:00

This post is written mostly for girls from a girl's perspective, though there is a bit at the end for guys to read.

Something I've realized in the last couple months is something concerning body image. Our culture surrounds us with magazines and movies that we can never live up to. It even seems at school or work all the other girls have it together. However if everyone else around you is so beautiful, chances are you are too. Sure you've seen days when your hair has been better, but that doesn't make or break your overall appearance.

First and formost, you were made by God, and he doesn't make mistakes. Second, and this is a big one, self-confidence is much more attractive anyways. Think about the girls you know who are "beautiful." Isn't there a confidence about them? Imagine them shy and withdrawn. Doesn't some of that beauty disappear?

When you relate to guys, your beauty should not be his motivation for the relationship, so if a relationship breaks off, it's not because you're not beautiful. If a guy is interested in you, it's tempting to try to help him along by showing off your body a little more. However, is that the kind of guy you want? Really? A good guy will be interested in you for your personality and lifestyle- not a short skirt. This is a surefire way to attract the wrong guys. If some of our male readers want to leave comments about their opinion on this matter, please do.

I've never had severe body issues, but I don't think many women see themselves as truly beautiful. I actually have a good friend who has been dealing with an eating disorder for the last couple years. I think the first thing is to let go of culture's expectations and realize that there can be beauty in both straight and culy hair, skinny and not so skinny, tanned and glowing white skin. Beauty isn't something that can be ranked like sports, though tabloids and beauty pagents give us that idea.

Guys, you can help too. Your words make a bigger impression than you know. Don't make pointed remarks about a girl's looks, even if you are joking and she would know it. We all really have self-image issues to some degree or another (and if we don't, your comments will create one). If you have a sister, when she dresses up tell her she looks nice. Compliment us when we earn one (ie. not an empty compliment). Furthermore, when you're married, you should believe your wife is the most gorgeous person on the planet. To help you believe it, don't compare her to culture's standards. Don't spend time looking at picutres of other "beautiful" computer enhanced "women" (you know what I mean.) That just kills a woman who loves you, because she feels that she isn't beautiful enough for your time. Start those habits now, while you're unmarried, or it's going to be very, very hard to stop.

To end, here's a clip of Jonny Diaz singing "More Beautiful You." It's a very uplifting and inspiring song. And if you like this one, let me know because I can email you my playlist of "beautiful" songs. :)

[Anti]Bailout Commercial

2009-04-29T22:15:00.001-03:00

My friend Matthew has entered a video competition, and the more views he gets, the better chance he has of winning (the top 20 viewed entries are judged). Here is the link. Here are some shots taken by his sister and mom from our filming a couple weeks ago.

That's Matthew behind the camera, me behind the record/stop button, and Scott in the suit.

April Showers

2009-04-18T14:50:00.002-03:00

I love Texas rain... I really do. It's one of my favorite things. It just pours, and the sky is as dark at noon as it is at 8:30 pm. It makes for sleepy days, for sure.

However, after 36 hours of Texas rain, I start to feel a little like Noah. I can't imagine what he did with his time... played lots of chess with Mrs. Noah, I'm sure. Not only did it rain for forty days, but then the boat rocked around for another hundred and fifty as the waters receded and the Grand Canyon was carved.

Hm... we're in a break of the weather. It's still cloudy, but the rain has paused for a moment. I wonder if the rain ever paused in the flood, and they wondered if it was over...

Our pool is green and has overflowed, the drains are clogged up with mulch so the gutters are backed up onto the patio, and the street is nearly covered over.

In one week this is going to be one green city.

Commitment

2009-04-17T02:47:00.003-03:00

Last night and today, I was dealing with this question:

What aspects of commitment are expected, what are appreciated, and what are overbearing? Basically, if I'm in a relationship, what's the minimum amount of involvement expected, and what is considered "clingy." I know it varies person to perosn, but what is your opinion?

"Miss Chelsea, May I?"

2009-04-08T17:22:00.005-03:00

This last weekend I was in Austin, Texas babysitting for family of my friends. There were three children, whom we shall call B, A, and J: B is an eight year old girl, A is a four year old boy, and J is a two year old boy. Lets just say, Emily (who helped me out incredibly) and I learned a lot.

First, no matter how much we say we won't, we will sound like our parents. I'm not even a mother yet, and I found myself quoting my mother's favorite mantra, "This is not a restaurant."

Also, kids need to be constantly reminded. Every time we'd go outside to ride bikes, we'd have to remind them to put on their helmets. We'd have to remind them to brush teeth before bed. We'd have to remind little J (who was potty training) to think about if he needed to use the washroom. We'd have to remind them to not hit/bite/kick/call names. We'd have to remind them to say please and thank you. Part of that is growing up. Part of it is rebelious human nature and seeing how far they can go before they get in trouble. I had to constantly remind myself I do the same thing with God every day... He has to remind me to listen to Him. He has to correct my behavior and remind me of seemingly obvious truths. It's a perfect illustration of how adults react to God.

I learned that kids are so so so much work, but also so much fun. They're amazngly impressionable, and form strong attatchments. Emily and I were woken up more than once a night with cries for mommy. Then today I got a message from their mother, saying that they had missed us. It's very heartwarming knowing I can make an impression on three lives like that.

More Marriage Thoughts

2009-03-31T00:10:00.003-03:00

I finished reading The Mystery of Marriage last night (erm... early early this morning) and I really do enjoy it. Here are a couple highlights:

"A marriage is not the joining of two worlds, but an abandoning of two worlds in order that a new one might be formed." p. 103

"In marriage, a wife's imperfections are not something a husband can afford to hold against her, but neither can he afford simply to overlook them. Rather he must bear them with her as part of his cross, just as she bears with him. To live with her in love is to experience at close quarters the way she herself struggles with her own humanness." p. 175

"It is not that we are fooled into thinking that our partner is a perfect person... Rather, it is simply that we become willing to see this person as a perfect wife or husband, even as the perfect wife or husband: that is, the perfect one for us, the very one we need." p. 178

My favorite chapter was on Vows.

My only critique of this book is the chapter on submissiveness. While he does a good job of exhausting the topic of mutual submission out of selflessness, he did not expand on the Biblical submissiveness of wives to husbands as outlined in Eph. 5, except to say that it is secondary to the command to submit to one another. While I get what he's saying (sort of) I'm not sure I'm that far over on the spectrum.

Besides that, awesome book. Five stars.

Thought of the Day: Fidelity

2009-03-14T22:00:00.000-03:00

One of the oh-so-many books I'm reading right now is called The Myserty of Marriage by Mike Mason. It was written in the mid-80's by a man who had only been married for a couple years, and was mainly composed of his journal as he was in a period of engagement. I'm almost halfway done, and so far it reads a lot like The Four Loves. Rather than being a how-to, or step-by-step guide, it's simply observations and meditations. A lot of the points he makes he connects back to the parallel of our marriage to Christ, and I think the constant switch from husband-wife marriage to Jesus-church marriage exposes details in both relationships that are worth grasping.

Anyways, a quote that I read, reread, underlined, then read again is as follows:

"Certainly, if we cannot be faithful to a living person we can see and touch, how will we ever be faithful to an invisible God?" (p. 92)

Wonderful question, Mike. The fear of infidelity in marriage is becoming more and more real in many relationships today. Does this correspond at all with the straying of people from God? Likely. Being unfaithful to your spouse, even before you marry them, is like giving up hope, and seeking after other gods.

More on this later... of to Alabama tomorrow!

My Sincerest Apologies

2009-03-13T17:57:00.003-03:00

This blog has been all but abandoned. I really have no excuse, for over the last ten days I'm sure there is something I could have thought of to be of interest to you all. For instance, right now, I'm reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, baking peanut butter cookies, and preparing to attend a Bible study tonight. Furthermore, I haven't written about my trip to Panama, or the other fifty books I'm reading. I haven't mentioned the sermon series on Esther my pastor is teaching on Sunday nights. I haven't publicly meditated on my parents, which I have been doing a lot recently (though I probably won't, since it's private). I haven't expressed my excitement/anxiety/frustration as I prepare for university in September, or even Pine Cove in July. I haven't mentioned my trip to Alabama on Sunday and my aversion to being a passenger on long car rides (it involves nausea and an all around yuckiness).

All in all, I've been a blogging failure. I think I just burned my cookies too.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get them out of the oven, and my next post will hopefully be timely, interesting, and significantly less reminiscent of a pity party.

An Ode to Laundry

2009-03-04T02:00:00.004-04:00

I know I have posted about air drying and ironing before, but laundry in itself is another step- at least for the sake of this blog. ;)

Some of you may notice the time of this post (midnight) and wonder, "Chelsea, what are you doing up at this hour?!?" Well... I'm out of clean clothes. It's really a process, this whole growing up thing. At Mom's, we sort of rotated doing laundry, but when one person did blacks, you did blacks for everyone, saving on water and such. At Dad's it's every man for himself. I, still determined to save water, like to have as big of a load as possible, and since I still like color sorting to keep my clothes the right shade, it means I have to go through my whole closet until I get piles big enough to wash.

Well, it's either that or wear only back for a week, then only red, and wash as I finish a color. But that's just sad.

In any case, tonight, once I had gotten in my pj's (allowing me to wash today's clothes) I realized I have nothing to wear tomorrow except basketball shorts and a button-up shirt. That just wouldn't do.

I really like doing laundry though. I love sorting- both the process and the finished outcome of color-coordinated piles. I usually have a blacks/dark blue, gray/light blue, red/khaki, and white. I like folding the warm clothes when they come out of the dryer, and knowing that I am preparing someone's next couple weeks for them, even if for now the only loads I'm doing are my own. I look forward to the day when I can help my husband by ensuring he has fresh clothes in his closet- though hopefully it will not be at midnight.

In any case, my blacks are ready to be transferred to the dryer, so I ought to go. Good night, all! :)

Picture by Rachel K: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimonomania/3078224754/ Creative Commons license: Attribution, Noncommercial, Share-Alike License.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2009-03-02T09:55:00.002-04:00

I love how Google trades in their trademark logo on random occations for artistic, purposeful ones. Today, there are Dr. Seuss characters spelling out the page title. It reminds me of an art project I did in grade five- a Prismacolor portrait of Theodor Geisel, aka. Dr. Seuss.

When I was younger, we had the One Fish Two Fish VCR tape, which entertained us for hours. We had The Cat in the Hat, The Foot Book, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and Green Eggs and Ham. At my grandmother's house, there was another great collection. Even today, at the graduation point of my life, speakers read "Oh, the Places You'll Go" to the audience, as mothers wipe tears. He was a unique author, and has been a great literary inspiration to many children over the years.

Sorry my posts are becoming less frequent. Hopefully they'll pick up soon.

Letters to a Young Mathematician

2009-02-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

"... [Paul] Erdős reckoned that in Heaven, God has a book that contained all the
best proofs... In his view, a mathematicians job was to sneak a look over God's
shoulder and pass on the beauty of his creation to the rest of His creatures." (p. 93)

Ian Stewart's book, Letters to a Young Mathematician, is a series of mentoring letters to a girl named Meg as she journeys through her mathematical career- undergraduate school, then graduate, then as she becomes a professor herself. I picked it up because I wanted to be sure of the path I'm headed before I start university.

After reading the book, I'm more sure than ever. As he explains, secondary school math is more accurately named arithmetic in comparison to the real mathematics that explore nature. It's necessary, but unfortunately not as awe-inspiring as the golden ratio. A lot of people have asked me why I'm interested in studying mathematics, and I have a hard time explaining to them which parts interest me, because I have not yet been exposed to too much. However, what I have... I like. In it he spends a great deal of time focusing on mathematical appearances in everyday life, proofs (in particular, Wiles's proof for Fermat's Last Theorem),

So, to all my friends, if you'd like to understand me, read this book. In my copy, I've circled the chapters that would explain my reasons to non-mathematicians (but if you're not really interested in mathematics, the others would likely put you to sleep). It even has a neat chapter about Houston's bayous (upon which I went on a glorious walk the other day). I think it's a pretty well written book, and it helped me feel more secure in my decision, so mission accomplished.

Unique Valentine's Situations

2009-02-14T12:00:00.006-04:00

I have had an extremely stressful week full of tears and misunderstandings, but it seems to be getting a lot better. I am so thankful that today, on Valentine's Day, I will have an undoubtably delicious dinner with a young gentleman that will distract me from that for a couple hours.

In any case, here are a couple links I have found in the last couple days that deal with the issues of love and this day that many people do not know what to do with. It's unfortunate when married people play this day out through obligation, or single people reject it because they do not see a connection to their lives. Hopefully these links will help avoid that.

General

From Mars Hill's Resurgence, an article on the history of Valentine's Day.
My own review of The Four Loves on YLCF and on this blog.

Marriage

From Young Ladies Christian Fellowship, two articles on how to be a good wife, and one on being a good husband.
From Bounless Webzine, an article for men on romance.
From Ben Stuart, a sermon on the dynamics of marriage. (Takes time to download)
From Mars Hill, the homepage for the Peasant Princess sermons on marriage, with links to the ten sermons along the bottom- highly reccomend.

Singleness

From one of my friends, a personal opinion, full of wisdom, on her singleness.
From Young Ladies Christian Fellowship, an article on contentment in waiting.
Again from Young Ladies Christian Fellowship, my favorite poem that explains purpose in waiting.
Also from Young Ladies Christian Fellowship, a collection of articles meant to serve as encouragement through singleness. One, Two, Three, Four.
From The Scriptorum Essays, a quote on singleness:

""Thus the bachelor is on the defensive. Not only does he seem to be surrounded by couples, but he feels that he must show his couple-potential by being seen with a woman, even if he’d rather stay home and read a book.” Those words by Sheldon Vanauken come from his book Under the Mercy (pp. 152-62). He laments the decline of the nobility of bachelors, “men who are so wrapped up in some mighty ambition that they don’t have time or freedom for marriage. A monk or a priest in the service of God. A scientist or poet reaching for the stars. A naval officer for whom the Fleet comes first. An explorer or adventurer… there are, in fact, a great many reasons for bachelorhood, and perhaps fewer reasons for marriage than there used to be… There is a great deal to be said for calling oneself boldly a bachelor. It is a strong, independent-sounding word and suggests a deliberate choice. A way of life. ‘Unmarried’ is a bit like ‘unemployed’ or ‘unfed’—negative and crippled. ‘Single’ (‘one-legged’) isn’t much better. But bachelor makes a statement, and it conjures up a tradition…”"

(For citation purposes, here is the link, but I do not want to promote all points in this article.)

My point is, work on it from where you are. If you're single, take advantage of that time and do not be ashamed of your opportunity. Take Valentine's Day to show your love for someone else. If you're in a relationship (dating/courtship or marriage) then use this day to bless your significant other. Make them feel special and loved, however that looks for them. Everyone can always better their relationship with attention. Happy Valentine's Day!

Little Chelsea Lamb

2009-02-09T12:05:00.009-04:00

I saw this picture this morning, and so many thoughts rushed to my head that I had to write about it. First off, it's at face value a powerful image to being lost and the metaphor of the Good Shepherd:

"I myself will tend my sheep and have them lay down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak..." (Ezekiel 34:15-16a)

In the photograph we can see the youth of the lamb. Perhaps he's still enjoying his adventure away from the others, but we can begin to see fear creep into its face. He feels lost and alone. He doesn't understand what's going on. He's looking around and doesn't see his mom. We know the Shepherd has a more aerial view, and can see the rest of the flock in the distance. He can bring the little lamb back.

Once I read the verse in Ezekiel, I thought about the common association the Christian community has with lamb and lost. It's probably because most verses deal with salvation (Psalm 119:176, Isaiah 53:6-7, Matthew 25:32). We have all heard that God "searches for the lost and brings back the strays," that He rejoices in the one found sheep (Matthew 18:12-13). The metaphor is usually used with evangelical undertones. However, the verse continues to say he "will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak." I myself don't think of him as a Shepherd often when I'm still in the flock.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:1-4)

There's no mention of being lost. Read it again, closely, especially if you've heard it before. The Shepherd is actually "with me". I feel with God right now- maybe not 48 hours ago, but yes, now. I had run ahead of the shepherd, and I'll be back in that green valley one day, but next time with His presence and blessing.

What I'm dealing with now is missing the valley. It is a good valley- why not go now? Why do the other sheep insist on sticking around here for so long? That is my valley. However, I hold onto the faith that my Shepherd knows what he's doing- and has the power to guide those sheep too, if he feels it's best. No matter how amazing that valley is (for it really is), it's not worth being there without my Shepherd.

Photograph by Matt Blakemore, http://www.flickr.com/photos/simpologist/142876597/in/set-1587781/ . Creative Commons licence: Attribution and Non-commercial.

A JPG Submissions

2009-02-07T18:48:00.007-04:00

There's a photography magazine called JPG that relies on reader submissions for its content- photojournalism articles, portraits, anything. They have a couple topics open for each issue, and one of the current open themes is "House." Here's a picture that I have submitted, as well as the link to vote, if you'd like.

Click here.

Isn't That a Candy Bar?

2009-02-06T13:56:00.002-04:00

Great news! I applied for a position at Pine Cove a couple months ago in the Baby Ruth program. It's a staff position for girls during the summer between high school and university (the boys' program is called Young Guns). While we're not in charge of a cabin, we're responsible for the support work around camp (cleaning, cooking, decorating for theme nights, etc). It's also a time for the Ruths to grow together and prepare for life on our own.
Anyway, I got in! I don't know which camp I'm at yet (there are several), but I know from July 4- August 16 I'll be at one of them. I also know one of my friends that I went to camp with, Kelsey, was accepted for the same weeks. I know that whatever happens, I'll be taken out of my comfort zone for six weeks and will undoubtably grow through that experience.

Another Patience Tester

2009-02-03T21:11:00.002-04:00

One of my jobs around here is tutoring my little step-sister in math. I just sat down for my first hour with her, and I don't know what to make of it. She's scatter-brained. She verbally says one thing and writes down something completely different. She tries to apply identical principles to completely unrelated problems. She writes down an answer, I explain which part of it is wrong, so she erases it... and writes down the same thing again... twice.
The saddest part (or possibly the most hopeful for her) is that it reminds me of me. I hated math in grade 5. When we had "Fast Fact" quizzes every week (addition/subtraction/multiplication/division memory tests) I would get 40%, even when I came in at lunch to do them to reduce test anxiety. In grade 7, I got a C in math. It all sort of changed with Algebra I in grade 8, but till then, I was a math mess. Now, I love it. I love the order. I love how Ian Stewart puts it: "Your entire life bobs like a small boat on a vast ocean of mathematics." So lovely and peaceful and ordered.
I hope it turns out that way for my sister.

Compare and Contrast

2009-02-02T23:21:00.002-04:00

I spent the day with a twelve year-old girl today. She watched as her brother and I played chess, and cheered me on as I was the foosball victor. :P As I read Calculus, I listened to her mother teach her the Biblical account of creation and later peeked in and watched her work on her lapbook. I listened to her practice the harp and reherse her finger-plucking, ready for her sister's lesson. All day she was smiley and jumpy and full of hugs.

I came home to another twelve year old girl. She has a boyfriend named John, but she's not sure if she likes him so she doesn't want to make a big deal about it in case they break up tomorrow. However, she asked her mother if she could borrow a "cute" shirt to wear to school in the morning. For her birthday, she wants an iPhone because her best friend has one, and a girl at school called her a [not-good-word-I'm-not-going-to-repeat].

I bet you the first twelve year-old has never even heard that word.

Yesterday, I Saw a Gun

2009-01-31T12:52:00.002-04:00

The running joke is, everyone in Texas has a gun. While it's basically true, I'd never seen one, except the occational BB-Gun, Airsoft, and Paintball. I'm a little skittish around guns. I've seen enough of CSI and Law and Order to know what guns do [or rather, what people do with guns]. However, I was over at my friends' house yesterday, and one of them was proud of his new purchase and showed me a semi-automatic, black gun (those are the only technical terms I got, though I know he also told me the brand and whatnot). So, yup, I have seen a real gun. Now I just have to get over whatever it is that is holding me back from learning how to use one.

In the meantime, here is an awesome video clip (which I also was shown yesterday) that summerizes my opinion of guns, and the true purpose of the second ammendment. Enjoy.

Goals for the Next Four Months

2009-01-29T00:01:00.005-04:00

I made it to Texas safely. If you haven't noticed, I'm a rather list-oriented person. I decided on the plane that there are a couple basic things I need to do to make this time the most productive. Here they are:

1) Develop patience, living with my dad. This is probably the least quantitative, but something I need to put a conscious effort into, or else it will not happen.

2) Study for my four AP exams in May: Literature, US History, World History, and BC Calculus. If I pass them, those four plus my AP Biology (from last year) will complete my first year of university. This means a lot of reading and independently driven study.

3) Get to know the Campbell family better, which means spending a lot of time with them at church, home, and their home.

4) Save up at least $2,500 by diligently catering/hostessing/expoing at the best Italian restraurant on this side of the Atlantic. Or at least Mississippi River. :P

5) Read five of the Jane Austen novels (I've already read Pride and Prejudice). This goes hand-in-hand with #2, but it's a lofty goal for me, so we'll see how it goes with all the other reading.

*Edit: for #4, make that waitressing... : /
*Edit: for Edit on #4, make that catering :)

A New Method of Packing-Procrastination

2009-01-27T17:20:00.004-04:00

A photo tag from over at The Gilgours.

Tag rules:

1. Go to where you store your digital photo folders. Open the fourth folder.

2. Go to the fourth picture and post it.

3. Explain the picture.

4. Tag 4 people.

Well...

This picture was taken very shortly after I got my camera. I collect spoons (like, the tourist-y ones) and decided to catalogue them. This one's from Washington D.C. and was given to me by my dear friend, Bianca Z.

My four blog friends: Allison S, Rae L, Kevin L, and Ken C.

Upcoming Blog Changes

2009-01-25T22:00:00.001-04:00

I have really enjoyed the outlet that this blog has given me to share what I am learning and experiencing with those who wouldn't otherwise find out. It's great to have the opportunity in this sort of technology to (cautiously ;) ) meet fellow bloggers and learn from each other's lives. I plan on continuing this blog for a long time, though I don't know what sort of directions it will take in the future. It will always be found under this address as long as Google and Blogspot provide the service.

However, I realize there needs to be a change in name occationally. Though millions of Canadians will continue to have adventures in the GWN, I will not be one of them. In four days (gulp) I will be moving to the Lone Star State. Ergo, "Adventures in the Lone Star State" seems like a more appropriate title.

It's possible that there will be further changes in June, but that is yet to be seen...

Adventures in the Great White North will return in September with the start of the school year in Halifax.

The HUB @ Camp Caroline

2009-01-18T22:11:00.008-04:00

Our church's college/young married ministry (which I am included in- long story) had a weekend retreat to Camp Caroline, a peaceful multi-acre facility just south of Caroline, Alberta. I went to take a break from the city and rest. I had my Math 31 final Friday morning, and wanted to get away. Once there, I found several friends that I just don't see enough of and we picked out a room (the cozy one above the boiler room) :) . The speaker for the weekend was Steve McCready from Northern Ireland, and he did an amazing job going through the book of Jonah and discussing some of the heart issues that Jonah went through in his transformation. The rest of the time we had to play games, swim, tube down a snowy hill, and go on walks. I wouldn't call it restful (last night, a group of about 18 of us played water polo from about 11:30 PM -1:30 AM and have the bruises to prove it), but it was very relaxing to get outside and be responsible for nothing but myself. I met lots of new friends and got lots of practice with my camera. Here are some pictures from the tubing hill and from a walk around camp. Thank you everyone for a great weekend! :)

Old Blue Jeans

2009-01-10T16:37:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure if it's the same for guys, but for girls, I believe it's next to impossible to find a pair of blue jeans that fit just right. I find blue jean shopping days make me never want to shop again because they're so discouraging. Either they're too long or too tight or falling off or a weird color or itchy or... something. Thus the four pairs of jeans I have now, I have owned for over a year, and one for three years. Unfortunately, jeans do wear out- especially if they're a daily part of your wardrobe like mine are. It was coming up to jean shopping time for me...

So you can imagine my interest when mom brought home a bag of clothes from her friend that contained jeans that looked like they might just fit. Well, let me tell you, one pair is a little low riding for me, but the other two are the best fitting jeans I've ever owned. They're the perfect length and fit (usually jeans are too long and tight for me). Aaah! So exciting! No jeans shopping for another year! And they're free! :)

It's been a good day, and this afternoon I have three friends coming over for some board games and supper. And cake. Great fun!

Growing Up

2009-01-07T14:59:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've been absent. I had a major project due today that I had procrastinated too long for, and ended up completing it within 48 hours. I'm still suffering a little sleep deprivation, but it is finished. Moving on...

With my 18th birthday on its way, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be an adult. It's weird thinking I'll go to sleep a girl and wake up as a woman (in a legal sense). I'll be able to vote. I'll be able to sign documents. I'll be able to leave the country without a letter from my parents. Though I won't often take advantage of the privilege, I'll be able to buy alcohol. This weekend, when my family goes out to supper I could buy a drink. That just blows my mind. I'll be able to get a credit card. I'll be able to buy a house (if I had the money and current desire). It's just weird thinking that with one sleep, I'll be able to gain all these privileges.

I'm almost having Peter Pan Syndrome. For the first time in my memory, I don't want to grow up. I mean, I do. I want to go to college and get married and have a family, but it happened so quickly. It's sad to realize that my childhood is gone, especially without my reaizing it. My mom was talking to someone the other day, and she said, "She hasn't been a 'kid' for a long time." It makes me wonder if I missed out. It's a weird feeling.

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-31T16:23:00.003-04:00

I am back in the frigid tundra. I kind of missed it a little. I'm not sure where I want to be, but anyways... that's not the topic at hand.
The topic is New Year's Resolutions.
It's curious how successful resolutions are. How much impact do they really have on our behavior? They are really just the first step- identifying goals. This is also the easiest step. It's hard to follow through and change our behavior. Nevertheless, here's my first step:

1. In the coming year, I'm going to have a lot of changes. In under a month, I'm moving down to Texas to stay with my dad for several months. Then I'm moving out to Nova Scotia. I don't want my environment to negatively shape me. I want to remain strong through the changes and grow from them, rather than compromise my morals as I have seen college do to some of my friends.

2. I want to make a stronger effort to do my devotionals. I have two books I want to go through, I want to finish reading through the Bible, and I want to find a church community in Halifax. I want to make God a bigger priority

3. I want to find a healthy balance between schoolwork and socializing. I can easily see myself getting wrapped up in school and not meeting many people. I am introverted, but I also get lonely, so I want to join a couple clubs and figure out how to prioritize my time.

4. I want to continue on my 101 in 1001 list. For this year I want to take a picture every day, just to practice. I also want to continue the reading I've done this year. I like that I made an effort to take the time to do that, and would like to continue. I want to finish my quilt in January.

5. I want to make a bigger effort to listen and be supportive rather than self-centered.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:44:00.002-04:00

Hey guys, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. It's hard this time of year to relax because there's always something to do. Just remember to savor the time with family and loved ones, and remember the reason for the season. Whether you're in four feet of snow or in a tshirt, I hope you have a marvelous day! I am in Texas until the 30th, when I will resume my regular blogging.

A Wonderful Book: Original Sin

2008-12-17T22:24:00.004-04:00

I just finished Original Sin, by Alan Jacobs (HarperOne, 2008) who is best known for his biography of C.S. Lewis (which I have been meaning to read). Amazing book. The key is the title description: "A Cultural History." Though the book is a chronological look at the history of the theology, most of the sources aren't known Christian specialists. I would describe the book more as a philosophical history with a strong emphasis on the Christian aspects. The book goes into fascinating viewpoints, always careful to show both sides. Though Alan Jacobs's opinion is obvious, he does not force his conclusions upon the reader, but allows them to draw their own based upon the mountains of research he has done.
The book is essentially a look at the natural instinct of humanity and the different figures who have advocated for both the saints and sinners.The book starts with Augustinian beliefs and the ancient church, but quickly moves on to examining Milton's Paradise Lost and the fall itself, frequently referencing Genesis, but paying attention to the language that notable poets and authors have used. Over the whole of it, Jacobs focuses on genetics (Is goodness/badness inherited? What are the implications of the conclusion?), slavery (Are we all equally bad? If those of different races are equal in morality, how can we justify slavery?), education (Should children be raised with strict discipline, or left to nature's whims?), and economics (If Marx believes in the good of society collectively, and Smith believes in the individual and the invisible hand, aren't both essentially saying humanity will make the best choice? Is there an alternative?). I've found the book's conclusions to be fascinating, and Jacobs has compiled it all with witty humor and tasteful jabs at historical figures.
The most important thing I am taking away from it is that history has proved through countless acts of violence and deceit that humanity, left to its own, is sinful. Jacobs points out that this drives many people away from it, or those who accept it feel there must be more to it. Many people who have advocated against the doctrine of original sin did so to deter complacency among the congregation; they were worried that people would use their "nature" as an excuse for their behavior. However, the acceptance of that doctrine should only encourage those who are struggling that they are not the only one. Furthermore, it only emphasizes the grace of God.
Again, I highly recommend Original Sin:A Cultural History. It's easy enough to understand if you have a mediocre grasp of world history and significant events/literary works (basically everyone I know...). I found it at the Calgary Library, so I'd recommend checking a local library. If you do take my advice, let me know what you think! ;)

Pro-Life's Shadowy Past

2008-12-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

I'm reading a book called Fatal Misconception and it's probably the most challenging read I've had in a long time. It's written in a very cynical voice, and at first, it appeared like the author was edging towards the pro-choice stance. However, after reading on, I see why. See if any of these phrases create a picture for you:

"After 1936, [the Soviets] withdrew contraceptives from the market, made abortion illegal, and offered mothers cash incentives to bear large families" (p.79-80)

"Women who failed in their duty to produce healthy workers soldiers, and settlers were also targeted..." (p.79)

I think the reason that people have diverged to the opposite extreme is because of motive. Obviously, though children are a blessing and abortion is murder, banning contraceptives and abortive surgery was not done on a moral belief- it was done to "benefit the state." There has to be a moral foundation for a law, otherwise people do not understand its benefit.

Likewise for feminism. I love love love the movie, Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio. It's based on a true story of a housewife in the 50's and 60's, and how she provided for her family of ten through entering poetry contests and jingle competitions- very encouraging. It's also a highly accurate representation of the times. The director found old footage of television clips, and intertwined them through the scenes. At one point, they ask a Miss America competitor, "If a woman was running for president, would you vote for her?" and she responds along the lines of, "I would not because women are emotional." Women may be emotional, but men are aggressive. Neither is essentially bad; they both have their place. However, men are designed to lead and they have God-given authority over their families. It would be wrong for a women to be president if it meant putting herself in authority over her husband.

The point of, the conversion to a pro-choice and feminist society was in rebellion to irresponsible beliefs. Banning contraceptives and abortions for one group, while eugenically discriminating against another only serves to benefit the state. Its racial preferance would naturally create tension. Similarily, saying women shouldn't lead because they can't is inacurate. I know plenty of respectable women who would probably do an equally decent job as some past presidents we have had. However, they love their place at home, and understand it's not for lack of ability, but a desire to serve elsewhere, that they do not hold that position.

I'm not sure if this makes sense. It's just something that has stood out to me as I have been reading this book. The ends don't justify the means, because the ends mean nothing without the means.

Sigh Oh, Canada

2008-12-02T13:07:00.002-04:00

I'm a little ticked at the whole democratic system. We had an election. Conservatives won. Now the opposition is forming a coalition and taking over. They claim Canadians aren't happy with Stephen Harper's economic plan. Well, then why would they vote for him!??! Everyone knows he's a conservative and wasn't going to spur on the economy. Not much has changed in the last couple months. It's "a slap in the face to all who voted in October."

They're leaving the decision up to the political candidates that usually vote with their party anyway. Insane!

Here is a good editorial.

Good Morning, Beautiful!

2008-11-30T01:37:00.000-04:00

What's this?

Comfortable, Lacey?

What are you doing sleeping on the clean clothes, ma?

The Value of a Kiss

2008-11-27T23:33:00.006-04:00

I recently had an interesting conversation about the value of a kiss. Too frequently people undervalue this great gift and either waste them on people who aren't worthy or they themselves are unworthy of taking it at that point in their life, and have other things to work through first (or both- a bad combination). I would like to point out that I think this is a decision that people have to come to on their own; I would not say someone who has a different opinion than me in this area is wrong, but I would say that if they have an opinion that they have not fully thought through, then they are wrong. It's something that needs to be addressed, especially if you're in a relationship.

It's not a big deal

The most important evaluation that has to be made about a kiss is if it's a "big deal". If it's not, then why does it matter? This conversation is a waste of time. However, I would say most people wouldn't walk up to a stranger and kiss them. It is somewhat a big deal, and takes a certain degree of intimacy before people take that step. But how big of a deal is it?

Let's look at a married couple. Is it a big deal if they kiss someone else? Yes. And the fact of the matter is that some day most people will marry. So, as you are kissing someone, you are kissing someone who one day will be a husband (or wife) to someone.

Well then, when?

However, I also believe that intimacy is an important part of any relationship. I don't think it's good to have a set-in-stone rule that it's a sin to kiss until you are married. However, it takes commitment. I believe that kissing someone who isn't, at least one day, your spouse, is nearing the line of cheating on them. Therefore, the way to avoid this is wait until you know they will be your spouse- engagement. Though it's not a marital covenant, engagement is a commitment and promise, and therefore should only be broken in "extreme situations."

Emil Ludwig (1881-1948) said, "The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because the kiss already has within it that surrender." I would add that surrender, done without commitment, is a dangerous emotion that frequently ends in people getting hurt and having regrets.

There are alternatives

As I stated before, intimacy is important in a relationship. Some people argue that kissing is a way to show affection, and I would agree. However, there are alternatives. A sweet note telling them how you feel shows affection. So does holding hands. The danger with kissing too early is kissing leads to other things. My roommate puts it comically (completely joking): "Kissing leads to stuff, and stuff makes you explode." She does have a point though: kissing is designed to lead to other stuff. A Chinese proverb says that, "Kissing is like drinking salt water: you drink and your thirst increases." Basically, I believe that it's important to keep things simple and uncommitted until there is a commitment.

Again, I understand that there are several different opinions on this, but I wanted to share where I am coming from. I would love to hear your comments, annonymous or named and welcome any discussion-sparking questions. I will withhold publishing if you'd like by mentioning that within the note.

Another good perspective here.

Picture by julpi http://www.flickr.com/photos/julpi/487152184/. Creative Commons liscence: Non-profit and non-derivative.

My Sternocledidomastoid

2008-11-27T20:08:00.005-04:00

I got home from school today, and was talking to my mom. I jerked my head slightly to the left at one point and OW! It kind of hurt. So later, I was lying on my mom's bed on the phone and it happened again! It hurts when I lift my head, turn it, sometimes even when I swallow and definitely when I laugh. My kinesiologist roommate thinks I pulled my sternocledidomastoid muscle (aka neck muscle, but that sounds so much cooler). :P
All this, on thanksgiving, has made me realize three things: 1) I am thankful for my duel citizenship and the benefits it offers, 2) I am thankful for the normal use of my neck and my health, and 3) I am thankful for those who care that my sternocledidomastoid hurts (especially those who offer massages!)

Update: November 28th
My other kinesiologist roommate offered to give me a massage, and it felt wonderful. I woke up this morning feeling rested and loose, but sort of a dull pain, so I looked in the mirror and the back of my neck is actually bruised. Hah. No ponytails today!

Air Mattresses and Frenchies

2008-11-23T18:39:00.004-04:00

There's a lot going on in our little house on the icy road. This week, Aberhart High School is hosting the National Seminar for debaters, and since I was in debate last year, I volunteered two beds for billeting (mine and Kassi's). OH YA, KASSI'S HOME! :P
So we've been sleeping on the air mattress, in the game room. It's awkward to sleep with someone else on an air mattress, because with each move, the whole bed goes up and down (Newton's laws of physics and all). However, we're managing.
The girls that are here are both from Montreal and are very sweet. I watched one of them debate yesterday [in English] on direct foreign aid, and she had a good handle on the concept. I also listened to way too much French for my own good. It really is exhausting listening to an incomprehensible foreign language for hours. Today the girls have four debates, all impromptus (two British parliamentary and two Canadian parliamentary style).
As for myself, I have been working through 1 Corinthians, 1 Chronicles, and Fatal Misconception (historical narrative on population control). At first, I didn't know what to think about Fatal Misconception because it is written with so much bias against both the pro-life and pro-choice side. It sorta ticked me off. I mean, pick one side. I don't know. We'll see- I'm only on pg 64. I'm also on section 4 of my Princeton Review AP Calculus Study guide, and that's going really well. I ought to get off this and do some Calculus and Social homework. Procrastination is such a pain.

Models Wanted

2008-11-20T19:47:00.002-04:00

I really want to work on my photography in general because it's something I would like to get serious about in the future. I find it easier to do nature shots like landscapes and scenery because I hate putting people in an awkward position where they are the only focal point. Plus, then people feel like they have to pose, and it looses the candidness.

I understand how awkward it is to have someone take lots of pictures of you, especially if they pose you in a certain way (prom, church grad, my sister, etc). I understand that you're self-consciously thinking about how the pictures are going to turn out. I am equally guilty of shying away from the camera, especially when certain people become shutterbugs (I am working on it). However, I really want to take more shots of people and expand in that aspect. Not even so much in social groups, but one-on-one or couple shots. Looking back over my shots of people, they're all group pictures or children, who could care less if they have a lens in their face.

To do that, I need supportive friends... who want to model. I'll give you all the electronic copies you want, and even take it upon myself to get a few prints if you're interested. I would really appreciate the practice. If anyone wants to take advantage of the offer, please let me know. :)

Photo by Anne Ruthmann, Creative commons licence: Attribution, Non-commercial, Non-derivative licence. http://www.flickr.com/photos/annemarlow/2809277825/

Halifax: Trip to Lunenburg

2008-11-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

Here's the route for Lunenburg. The yellow arrow, pointing the yellow dot, is Peggy's Cove from the day before. The red dot is Lunenburg, home of the Bluenose, and the green dot is Mahone Bay (the bay, as well as that town, is called "Mahone Bay"). This trip was a bit longer, and involved some extreme map examining (I'm still not sure the exact route we took coming back). We also got to view Lahave, Upper Lahave, Lower Lahave, the Lahave ferry, and Eastern Lahave, all within a thirty minute timespan. They really liked to name towns Lahave.

Anyway, Mahone Bay is a little town, known for the view of its three churches. We stopped at a couple little craft stores, as well as watched a demonstration of pewter crafting. Then, in Lunenburg, we stopped for fish and chips and wandered to the ports. This is where the Bluenose I (and subsequently, Bluenose II) were built. It was in port being winterized, so we caught a glimpse but couldn't get much closer. Mostly, we just explored small towns, which is lots of fun. :)

Halifax: Trip to Peggy's Cove

2008-11-14T14:47:00.003-04:00

The map does not do the trip justice, especially since I don't think you can read the names. :) The red line was our route, heading southwest first, and continuing clockwise. One afternoon, we decided to take a trip out to Peggy's Cove. It's about a two hour drive on the route we took. Peggy's Cove is a very tiny town that is known for its lighthouse and big rocks (basically...). The view is supposed to be spectacular if it's clear, which it wasn't. However, it was still fun climbing around on the rocks and avoiding large waves. We also went into the town (which is basically a circle of houses, clustered around the harbor) and walked around the boats. There were TONS of lobster traps. Here are some pictures from that voyage.

Come to Canada

2008-11-12T15:32:00.001-04:00

Because we're number 2! :P

Halifax: The City

2008-11-12T14:19:00.004-04:00

I've made it back safe from my trip. Halifax is such a unique city. It is still small- less than 400,000 people, and has several universities within its limits. This results in a very young population. At one point, the average age within the city was 28. It's also very Scottish. Some of the older population still has a very strong accent, and all the town names are Scottish. There are also a lot of pubs, and I love pub food, so that was very nice. :) A lot of the jewelry we found had a celtic design. Just little things like that. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

The only downside is the weather. When it was nice out, it was beautiful, but that didn't happen often. It was mostly rainy and foggy. While I like rain and fog, my skin feels gross after a day of humidity. We shall have to figure out a solution to that, because I think that's where I'm headed. :)

The school itself was beautiful. I have decided to go to Dalhousie, which is one of the top schools in Canada. It was actually the first English-speaking University in Canada, founded by looted American money after the War of 1812. :P That will give you an idea of how old the campus is. It's located streets from the ocean, and has an really well-rounded mathematics program. I actually took a calculus class on Friday, and throughouly enjoyed it, as weird as that sounds. The amount of content that was covered is at a good pace for me. Here are some pictures that we took around Halifax itself. The first is the Math and Stats building at the University. The second is inside the Halifax Citidel, the old fort that was built there. The third is by the clock tower at the Citidel. You can see how cloudy it was for the second two.

First Snow Pictures

2008-11-05T14:54:00.006-04:00

I took Ziggy and Lacey outside to get some fun shots in the snow. Not many turned out, as I am still trying to figure out how to deal with the lighing issues that snow creates, but here are a couple good ones.

And some not so good ones (so you can see the fun we had). If anyone knows how to fix this dull, seemingly underexposed look, let me know. It may have to do with ISO. If you'd like the settings that the picture was taken under, let me know.

Update:
I messed with the histograms (somehow?) a little, and liked the effect. Then I cropped the last one, so here's the updated version:

Mars Hill Church: Seattle, WA

2008-10-31T02:02:00.002-03:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a favorite sermon podcast of mine- Mars Hill Church. The style is modern, but the theology is sound. Some consider it too old-fasioned, but I believe it's very Biblical. They are also currently ranked #3 on iTunes podcasts under Religion and Spirituality, so congratulations! :)
You can check them out there, or get their current sermon series at www.marshillchurch.org
... I would consider the current series for high school students and up (that means not you Emily!) but they also have all their old series up as well.

Crazy Busy

2008-10-29T19:23:00.004-03:00

The Crew:
35 bags for one house! Wow!

Nicole and Jen

I have been rediculously busy recently, but now that things are calming down, I figure I should do a personal update for those of you that rely on this blog for those sorts of things.

-I "resigned" from my job, due to various causes that I cannot elaborate on here because of papers I signed.

-I figured out what university I am going to, got accepted, and am heading out to Nova Scotia to check it out in exactly two weeks. If anyone knows anything about me and universities in Nova Scotia, you can probably connect the dots... pop over an email if you'd like details.

-My friend Kim and I organized a leaf raking charity for our school. We raked leaves around the neighborhood for Operation Christmas Child, and raised over $250. (Pictures are above)

-I only have two real months of school left! Yay!

-My wonderful mommy finished her nursing exams! Now all she has is her practicum!

-I bought an external harddrive that was priced beautifully for the size. What this means for you: more pictures at a better quality!

-The quilt is scheduled to be finished within a month. Look out...

Step It Up, Dudes!

2008-10-26T00:16:00.001-03:00

It's a sad, state of affairs out there...

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=102408A

PhotoLife Contest

2008-10-13T22:40:00.005-03:00

Hey guys! Hope all you Canucks had a happy Thanksgiving, and you Americans had a happy Columbus Day. Today was the [extended] deadline for Photolife's Image International contest, and above are the photos I entered. Hope everyone has a wonderful week! [Notice I took Hazel out of the photo with Paige. Oh lovely Photoshop]

Reflections on Me, Myself, and Bob

2008-10-08T20:12:00.009-03:00

How many of you have heard of VeggieTales?

I'm guessing at least 90% of my readers have.

How many of you loved VeggieTales?

I'm guessing if you raised your hand the first time, you did then too.

I remember our first [and only] VeggieTales VHS. It was "Are You My Neighbor?" and my mom bought it second hand back in the garage sale days. My sister and I loved that movie. I can still hear Larry say, while he is stuck upside down in a hole, "Uh, I'm a cucumber!" While I glimpsed other episodes at friends' houses, the adventures of the Gourd brothers have stayed with me.

Me, Myself, and Bob is the autobiography of the creator and original producer of Big Idea and its most popular show, VeggieTales. It's a wonderfully written saga of the rise and fall of arguably the most successful series in Christian film producing.

I honestly don't know what I was expecting when I picked up this book. It was sitting on a shelf at the library, and it had Bob on it. That right there attracted my attention, because I had heard rumors of the Veggie platter sinking. I picked it up, looked at the cover (yes, I'm shallow when it comes to picking out random books), read the back, and got it. I started reading it last week and it's such an amazing story. Granted, when I was little and watched VeggieTales, I didn't appreciate all the work that went behind any sort of movie, but I didn't realize that at the time, the creation of a computer anamated character of that quality was rare. VeggieTales was among the first of its kind. The story only further enhanced my love for this adorable series.

Furthermore, it was created by a man with no university education (Bible college drop-out) on a self-taught basis. The first Veggie episode that aired was thirty minutes long and completely created by a team of about three guys. The voices were provided by those three and acquaintances. It was inspiring to see them overcome the struggles they encountered and the different ways God expanded their ministry.

As Phil Vascher walks his readers through his [rather familiar sounding ;) ] goals and beliefs on media, it is inspiring to see the motivation he had. Many of the facts he discusses are still true. Children spend more and more time in front of the TV. Disney is still responsible for Cinderella and Desperate Housewives. Large media companies are interested in making a profit and not positively impacting the youth of America/[Canada]. Phil's dream was to change that, and his dream is to still change that.

You know that question, "If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?" and people usually say George Washington or Mother Theresa. I think Phil Vischer would be one of the first invitations out.

I Haven't Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

2008-10-01T22:29:00.006-03:00

I've just been reading like crazy. Anything and everything. Here are my current library check-outs (plus Vanity Fair). Fatal Misconception is a non-fiction on the shifts in social demographics after the introduction of contraception. Me, Myself, and Bob is the biography of the inventor of Veggie Tales. Classics for Pleasure is a series of essays on famous classics. I don't plan on reading it all- just the ones that interest me. I like to see what other people's opinions are on what I'm reading, and they usually have some excess background knowledge or insight that helps me develop my own opinions. Finally, the Redemption of Sarah Cain is the idea for a wonderful movie, Saving Sarah Cain. It's a novel about an aunt of orphaned Amish children, and how all their lives adjust once she gains custody. And it's by Beverly Lewis, which is generally a good thing. :) I also finished I Chronicles two nights ago, and so I'm working on II Chronicles. In small group we're reading Crazy Love.

I've also been taking some beautiful pictures of the fall. Calgary is so beautiful this time of year- especially when the temperature decides to stay up! Keep your fingers crossed, because we haven't had snow yet! Here's one of our window ornaments. I loved how the leaves in the background matched the wings, and the sky further exaggerated the blue.

Cameras Galore!

2008-09-24T17:21:00.001-03:00

My school's photography club is all old-school, film, dark-room. Which is great! Except I didn't have a film camera. Notice, the past tense. :)

Yesterday I bought a Pintax MEsuper for $25. Amazing, I know. Especially after I cruised $200 ones on Ebay.

Pintax's birthday: somewhere between 1977-1984, aka older than me.

Also, I have decided to name my cameras, because I'm a girl and we like to name things. So I went to babynames.com. I decided the Pintax should be a boy, and the Canon should be a girl.

Lovely pictures that Clover took of Plato (no, I would not do that to my own children).

I would post the picture that Plato took of Clover, but it may take a few more minutes to process... :P

The funniest part: It has no battary. I took 15 pictures, trying to figure out how to adjust the shutter speed before consulting the manual (yes, I'm slow). Once there, it said that it was adjusted in the screen, through up and down arrows. I pushed, but nothing happened. So I read on, and apparently it works at a 1/125 speed on default without battery. I opened it up, and alas! I had just assumed it was working because it took pictures! Which kind of stinks, because I don't think any of my pictures were bright enough for that speed, but THAT'S SO COOL!