special day...

a very low key day for a very special person. he didn't want to do much. breakfast at one but must have small wait times, ice cream cake, and a game of settlers of catan. seriously, when a guy asks for so little how can you not give in? and we did...(plus threw in an added bonus of some presents).

so happy birthday markness! a day of relaxation is probably what we all needed!

love you!

its here! :)

well the day is finally here! everyone is sleeping and i am waiting...i hope you all enjoyed my little countdown. i had a lot of fun doing it. sometimes it took a bit of time to find a bit of christmas spirit in a day. i may not have succeeded all days but overall it was fun trying! plus an added bonus was keeping my parents constantly informed about this christmas twinkie in between our endless phone calls! 

i just have one more thing to say:

   WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON. ALL THE BEST IN THE NEW YEAR!

love

1 more day...

because its christmas eve and i am lazy and enjoying the relaxation i thought i would give you one of my favourite poems to read during this wonderful holiday season. have a great one!

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

by Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

love

2 more days...

i don't have a christmas thing as of yet...but yesterday mark and i did this:

i know...i posted a similar picture of this already. but this one is my own. the visit to the legislature grounds is one of my favourite things to do around christmas time. they play music in the speakers, the lights are gorgeous and everyone seems so peaceful walking around.

mark and i chose to go last night. rather late and cold...but we did manage to get this blurry shot:

happy christmas...two more days!
love

3 more days...

three more days people....eek!!! getting excited??? i am. everything is all together, i just have to buy a few grocery items and some wrapping paper as i ran out. but other than that i am really just counting down the days till the big guy comes!

today i attempted my first workout in (i don't even want to recall) how long. it felt fantastic and i am hoping to get back into the routine as i really do value what exercise brings to me.

in terms of christmas-y things. i went to my old job's christmas concert to see my former clients perform in all their christmas glory. they did fantastic and i must say i really do miss those guys. luckily i am able to go back for a bit of relief work this year and next. it was a fun day to hang out with them and all my former co-workers. YOU ALL DID SO AWESOME! :)

till tomorrow!!
love

4 more days...

the best thing about christmas time and the holiday season is something that many people don't have the time to do. relax. rest. sleep. that is what i did today. i managed to finish three spreads in my scrapbooking....one is right here. and i watched a bit of t.v, had a nap, and listened to christmas music. seriously best day ever. i keep telling myself i must get to the gym but sometimes lazy is so much fun! :)

tonight mark and i are doing a pub grub night. nachos, jalopeno poppers, mozza sticks, popcorn chicken and beer. its all for the hockey game...that i may watch! :) he he he

love

5 more days...

the baking continued today...and ended. i now have a new appreciation for mom making the things i just did and continuing to make more. it is hard work! but atleast the work is tasty and delicious! :)

i decided to take on mocha cake duty this year. from what i hear they are in many grocery stores in the maritime's but here nada. so i guess i am taking a bit of my background into christmas. messy but fun. and i am no longer the little red hen as mark rolled them in walnuts and coconut.

next up was the cherry flips. this has become my own personal tradition to make. i started making them because case's mom had them at her house and i loved them. got the recipe and started the process. they have now become my dad's favourite (and still mine). mark iced these as well! i really can't complain! ;)

now it is time for a bit of relaxation before work commences in a little bit! happy days!
love

6 more days...

i know i have written BUT this post is what i have done today. AND believe me...it has been a christmas filled! in the am we had a christmas brunch with some family friends that i have been celebrating christmas with since i was very very very young (proabably 20 years???). we exchanged presents, had wonderful food, and wonderful company...really i couldn't have asked for more!

next i decorated our beautiful tree with the billion ornaments i possess. mark was amazed as he didn't think we would have enough for the tree. little did he know... here is our picture:

while decorating the tree i had to watch a bit of christmas joy of my own. that entailed WHITE CHRISTMAS. my ultimate favourite christmas movie of all time! LOVE THAT ONE. mainly because i always think of my grampie and well up every time the soldiers come together in the end.

finally remember the cookie monster cookies...i decorated them tonight!

like the little red hen i am...he he he ;)

 love

7 more days...

whether it is at my place, your place, her place or his.

whether we have turkey, ham, fondue, roast, desserts, or appetizers

whether we play games, watch movies, go to candy cane lane, or just plain goof off

whether i can come, you can come, i am absent or you are

our christmas party always seems to go on after (i think) ten years now!

i love how we are all friends after this long (about 16 years now)!

since i don't have the pics from last nights festivities yet...here is a glimpse of past ones (and no i only went back four years)

2009

2008

2007

2006

love

p.s. i know this post is late but i did the dinner yesterday (on the seven day mark). what can i say, i am too busy celebrating christmas to post ;)

9 more days...

tonight is the last night of my first (long) clinical rotation. wow. what can i say. i have learned tons about myself, and my future job. but i am tired. assignments, research, and work really has me looking forward to the christmas break (plus i will only get so many more of these fantastic school breaks, right??).

today i managed to do some christmas baking. i did butterscotch squares. everyone seems to enjoy them. here is the recipe if you are interested:

 

1/4 cup of butter/margerine

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1 package of butterscotch chips

1 bag of mini coloured marshmallows

1 cup of rice krispies.

melt butter and peanut butter in a large saucepan over low heat. stir in chips till all are melted. cool until you can hold your hand onto the bottom of the pan. add marshmallows and rice krispies. stir until coated. pack down in a 9*9 pan that has been greased. refrigerate. cut in squares and enjoy!

AND i prepped the beginning of the cookie monster cookies. this is a recipe my mom got when i was little and she has been making it ever since. great recipe for easy cookies that one can decorate later. i will keep you posted on that one!

have a good one!

love

10 more days...

going through my old photo albums brought me to these little christmas items...

do you remember sitting on santa's knee?? i do...in fact it wasn't too long ago...

2003

2006

love

11 more days...

so i am stuck at home with the continous christmas cold. this time fevers, chills, throat pain...oh my! luckily i wrote a post yesterday about christmas-y things since today i am feeling a little grinch like (the cold and going to the doctor...grrrr). so here it is....

lights, camera, action!

i love christmas lights. some people go crazy, some go subltle, so have their own little style, while others follow the same suit. regardless i love it all. it makes me happy and i feel festive. back in the day when i worked in the mall my favourite time of day was that walk back home on closing shift. everything was quiet, no cars in site, except for christmas lights. they just make me so happy.

i didn't take any pics of ours...as i am not a great photographer when it comes to night time shots...but here are some lovelies to help you feel what i feel...

 photo credit

 photo credit

photo credit

photo credit

love

12 more days...

he he he...i know i missed a day. i told you it would happen. i really have no excuse. my assignments are done, i have no research to do this weekend but everything just got the better of me.

i must say i had a bit of the christmas blues this weekend. it hits me at times. sometimes it is just really hard to be away from my parents. everyone here is so great and supportive but a girl just misses her mom and dad once in awhile. luckily for me, calls are great and skype (er...well) is there.

but alas i have the most incredible, sweetest friends in my life (who i saw on sunday) to keep me laughing and listen to my sob stories. AND i have another special person in my life that constantly listens to my sob stories...and then i have my lovely mother who is there always to make me feel better.

so thanks girls, guy, and mom! i love you very much. you helped push the christmas-y blues out of my mind and focus back on the christmas season.

love

15 more days...

wow...15 more days??? are you guys ready for the big day??? i certainly am not. got a bit more shopping to do, lots more sights to see, many parties to attend, and tons of baking to commence. but i guess this is what the countdown is for!! ;)

today, what is my christmas thing?? well i was suppose to go to my first christmas party of the season. not only that, but i was going to see all my former colleagues from my old job. yes it was the staff christmas party!! i was pumped. i hadn't seen or talked to many of those ladies and gents in ages (only the occasional drop-by now and then). sooooo it was going to be fun. plus there was dancing, dinner and i would get to dress up...what more could i have asked for???!!

unfortunately, i caught a christmas bug. without going into too many grotesque details, i am sick. so i am going to sit with my christmas blankets and catch up on sleep. not a great one but a christmas-y thing all the same!

love

16 more days...

a christmas story:

a small little family of a young mom, young dad, little girl and little boy moved far far away.

they handled it well, keeping up with people from their hometown through letters and phone calls.

however as the christmas season approached, the little family got lonely. the young mom would make calls to her mother and father often during this time. this helped her and her young family in aiding the feelings of homesickness.

the father of the young mom took matters into his own hands. he went outside, looked at his lot of beautiful trees and cut one down. he wrapped it up as tight as can be and sent it in the mail.

the young mom received a wondrous surprise. her father had sent the young mom's family a little bit of home with that beautiful tree.

it was a wonderful christmas...and as tradition went: my family received a christmas tree every year from my grandparents up until they passed away.

this was the last tree we got:

love

17 more days...

i had an idea of what i would write about but this came in the mail...

christmas parcels! i love mail AND who doesn't love a parcel! :) eek!
and with that parcel...

sweets and with those sweets....

huge sweets!!!! ahhh seriously weight will have to be my friend this christmas!
love

18 more days...

in my car i brought out the christmas cd's. it is a 6 disc set with a of variety artists. i have already told you of one...here is that and some others...enjoy!







love

19 more days...

so i wasn't going to post today. no reason in particular, only to say i didn't think that i would be doing anything particularly christmas-y today. then a not-so-secret reader told me that i will be posting today as she needs it. i managed to figure out something....thank goodness for the grocery store! :)

so robyn....this is for you!!

christmas oranges and egg nog. unfortunately for me i don't think i bought enough egg nog as mark can drink endless amounts! hopefully the 4L i bought can hold him over for a week (at least i don't drink it). the oranges on the other hand i can't stay away from...

yum!
happy christmas days!

20 more days...

even with birthday celebrations yesterday, i still managed to sneak in a little christmas cheer. whether it was this gift i received from my mom:

...yes that is right. a christmas shower curtain. the bathroom now has a bit of cheer! :)

or getting out of the restaurant with mark and jimi, and walking towards the fantastically decorated tree at city hall. a tree whose lights look to be crying. OR as jimi says, "the tree is weeping because he can see that all his friends are books". yeah the library is across the street...lol

or listening to bony m pumped ever so loudly in the car with jimi and i bopping our heads while poor mark wonders how he ever got involved in this family...he he he

i heart you christmas season!

also: a heartfelt thanks to all those people that took me out to dinner, sent me facebook messages, phone calls, texts, and skypes. you truly are great friends and you made me feel so very special on my special day!

love

21 more days...

ahhh you really cannot escape the christmas food and going to the store yesterday was no exception. i found almond and cherry hershey kisses....so here is to christmas candy!

note also the most fabulous christmas mug right there...from my grammie. her christmas started when she brought out her christmas kettle...mine starts when i bring out my mug!

love

22 more days...

okay so i am kind of cheating...but i found this link to my favourite show...gee i wonder what that is?? he he. enjoy them singing christmas songs!!

love

23 more days...

what have i done that is christmas-y today (and yesterday)???

put the ornaments on my advent calendar...

love

24 more days...

christmas countdown is on. remember this? i wanted to do something special on my blog to celebrate my favourite season...christmas. i got to thinking and the countdown won. basically i will say something that i have done to celebrate christmas on a regular basis...or atleast i will do my best to make it regular....i mean i am still in school (p.s. mini countdown on that 17 more days!).

of the things i have done for christmas thus far:

-decorated the house for the lovely holiday season...minus the tree
-chritmas shopped and completed half the people on my list (parcel is already at my parents place)
-watched the family stone and my personal fav, miracle on 34th street...the natalie wood version (accept no substitutes)
-planted lovely christmas flowers (or atleast that is what i consider them)
-mark's dad put up our lights...i will officially turn them on now!!

the frenzy has begun...i am excited!
love

grey cup

this is my boyfriend...

this is my boyfriend on grey cup...

any questions??

love

the adventures of baby-sitting

yesterday i had the pleasure of some small company. she arrived shorty after 6:15 am and didn't stop till after three. although a power nap was needed (by both of us 3 hours into the morning). there are a couple things i learned from this little one.

- babies are politically active. for instance this little one decided to take on a hunger strike at breakfast refusing to eat, in protest of all those who do not have food. who knew?? the hunger strike ended at lunch...i mean, she is a growing girl.

- babies are physically active. this one is quite motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle. constantly moving about, working up a sweat and helping the two in this apartment keep in shape by running after her. added bonus: she motivated dear kitty to hop onto the exercise bandwagon as she chased him around.

- babies are great at cleaning. she helped me find the spare change out of mark's pockets, the remote controls, the cell phones, the cat toys, the little bits of paper around my desk, my shoes...she kindly showed me the ways of cleaning...i have so much to learn.

- babies have great moves. the dancing skills i have yet to learn, this one could show...for free. that is right, i got free instruction on how to shake my head, wiggle my hips and move up and down to the music.

jokes aside...it was a fun day, but a friendly reminder of why i am not a mom just yet. let's face it, its hard work and i was exhausted! thanks for the visit little one! see you again soon! :)

love

what's new bug-a-boo?

school, school, school! yikes! tonight was the first night i had where i did not have to do research that lasted longer than two hours and quite frankly i don't know what to do with my time! i am thinking a bath...a long hot bath with lots of bubbles...

saw harry potter on sunday. LOVED IT! really i don't know how much my opinion counts because i really do love all the movies no matter what. there was one thing that irked me...BUT it was quite small. mark on the other hand is different. he is a more avid reader than i when it comes to harry potter, and knowing all the small details gets ever the more frustrated when it does not translate onscreen. the best was when i was nervous regarding one scene and he whispers, "you know what happens, you read the book." in return i say, "i don't remember what happened". his response, "i could tell you the next line." hardy har har.

the rest of my week has been pretty uneventful. just the usual tv decompressing, reading texts and reading leisurely. i am hoping (cross your fingers for me) to get some assignments done this weekend to decrease the stress i may feel when they come due in the upcoming week(s). BUT i do have special company on saturday (check out the cutie here) so i will see how much of my time i will be spending on that.

okay must go. my office stinks at this very moment. sometimes it is hard to share an office with an animal's bathroom, lol. time to give the little guy some dignity and scram.

love

a successful brunch

the steps to a successful brunch:

1. having a coordinator (aka myself and carleen): a person who calls/conferences/chats/facebook messages the people to make sure that a date works, figure out what to eat, if it is okay to eat certain things after twelve verses before twelve, make sure a time works, and to change the time 2 days prior to the event to make it works again.

2. having a navigator (aka mark): a person that can recognize when you make a wrong turn and that you are headed towards fort saskatchewan instead of sherwood park, and fix it with little fights to be had...especially when the driver is slightly hungry and may become irritable.

3. having endless stomachs (aka jimi, mark, and two other special boys...whom i forgot to ask permission to publish about): people that have the capability to eat endless amounts of food like fruit, whip cream, sausages, bacon, eggs, pancakes, syrup, cinnamon buns, cheesy hash-browns, tea, juice, and coffee. AND they come out smiling!

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS:

4. a wonderful host (aka carleen): a person who volunteers her house and cooks with her most excellent cooking skills (seriously most excellent). not to mention the most excellent company she provides. definitely an honorary aunt!

thanks for the brunch!
love

weekend fun

a finished week at my last clinical. new things to learn, new things to get oriented to. so far there are things that i am really happy about...mainly because i take great comfort in knowing them from previous jobs. we will see how long that comfort lasts, right guys?? he he he

great weekend is before me. getting together with friends today, working out, and potentially throwing in a bit of christmas decorating if i can....tomorrow a brunch and this....(fingers crossed!)



love

favourite glee musical last night! i love singing in the rain. great movie!



love

have a spectacular day

to my mom. its your birthday and i hope you enjoy it. i hope you do something you love, like reading a book, quilting, going to a movie, see some friends, shopping or going out for lunch. you deserve it and so much more!

i love you so much. you are always there to listen and help me get through tough times and make me laugh in the process. have a most excellent birthday!

love

family time with a dash of skype

yesterday was the day jimi and i did our christmas wrapping. i know christmas is more than a month away but dealing with a robertson for a father, we must get the parcel mailed before december 1st as the prices start to jump. and being a robertson daughter, i agreed! so we wrapped our presents and watched a (semi) christmas movie: the family stone.

mark decided to take it upon himself to cook dinner. he actually happened to make one of my most favourite meals that my dad used to make for me...lemon chicken.

and as you can tell by the way it looks, it was delicious!! as good as dad's. thanks again mark for making dinner...much appreciated!

after dinner mark decided to make a skype call. 1. because i promised to call my mom on skype on her birthday. 2. he is trying to change my feelings on skype...

what are my feelings on skype?
i do understand the appeal of seeing who you are talking too. however, using the telephone for me is just as easy. AND it gets rid of that whole "fishbowl" thing. as with my skype experiences so far, we finish talking and we just sit in silence watching one another, like being at an aquarium. PLUS, a telephone doesn't cut out...i am just saying.

however i digress.

we did the skype thing. we saw my mom unwrap her birthday presents (even if it is early...but we all happened to be there). we got to sing happy birthday and even placed candles in a bun. and i did get some laughs as she pretended to blow out the candles (really this skype thing has some amusing points). so i will try not to be a grandma about this whole thing and try to change my ways.

but i will still be using the phone! :)

love

kangaroo rock

since i really have nothing to write about today. another trip down memory lane is in order. this was in oz at the steve irwin zoo. similar to the petting zoos here...but in australia its kangaroos. this guy doesn't seem all that impressed however...

love

movies and books

with my rotation all wrapped up as i head into my last one, these are a few of the indulgences i had to de-stress:

movies
- robin hood: that would be the second time i saw this movie...and probably a bad time to rent it as like the first time (when we saw it in the theatre i might add) i fell asleep. i really do want to see it because mark keeps telling me how good it is...
- finding nemo: this was from mark's brother's connection. we didn't want to go out, but really wanted to do something mindless so i chose this one. i really can never get enough of this movie...so cute
- role models: along with finding nemo, we borrowed this one because mark had never seen it and i knew he would love it...i was right!
- killers: two words: skip it
- get em to the greek: personally this is not my choice in movies...it was definitely mark and i think he went alone on this one to rent...he liked it :)...meh for me.
- karate kid: okay i know this is a kid's movie but i seriously LOVED this movie and (surprise) it totally made me cry. he he he. so cute
- due date: i wanted a date night. this is what we went to go see. a little mindless but i laughed and enjoyed it...great escapism
- toy story 3: i have to admit i am really loving the kids movies lately and this is no exception. awesome movie and once again i cried. but i really don't feel that bad because jeaninne did too when she saw it. that's right, i am not the only suck.
- life as we know it: cute movie with some laughs. i enjoyed the company i was with too! :)

those movies along with my obsession with supernatural fulfills the television focus of my entertainment.

books
in terms of books, i have been reading (roughly) a chapter a night. therefore, i finish the book in about a month. i am done the book of negros. that has probably been one of my favourite reads this year. great, great, great book. i picked up twenties girl. a total chicklet book: light and funny something i really needed. currently i am reading mennonite in the little black dress. its a memoir and so far, quite a humorous one.

that's it for now
love

a million thanks

- with all the stress that i have underwent these last five weeks.
- with all the new skills i had to learn to perform
- with all the anxiety i have given myself (and possibly others)
- with all the second, third, and fourth guessing that has occured
- with all the routines i had to learn
- with all the days/nights of homework, reciting, relearning i had to do

there have been some fabulous people who:

- have been there for me
- have listened to my tiring rants
- have helped me to de-stress
- have given me advice
- have helped me with coping strategies

and to you:

- mark (you put up with so much, helped me so much, made sure i ate, kept me sane)
- mom (you lend me an experienced ear with fabulous advice, i have learned so much from you)
- dad (you give me words of encouragement, always cheering me on)
- jimi (you and your visits allow me to quit school for a bit and just enjoy the moments)
- my numerous nursing friends in my clinical and seminar (you all have shown me that i am not alone and we are doing this together)
- the hope lady (you listen so well, especially with (the said) tiring rants)
- my wonderful friends (you "force" me have fun and cut loose from the school side)

I THANK YOU FOR THE NURSING YOU ALL HAVE GIVEN ME!

(ready to do this again for another five weeks *wink wink*)

love

seriously...

i may not get my broadway everyday...or every week, month, year....but i have this! love it!



love

brownie cookies

i had to laugh friday night. mark and i went to a pub for some quick eats because we were both starving. little did i know that an oilers game was on and our server appeared to be one serving many.

as we waited for our supper to arrive i caught a glimpse of two little girls. more specific: two little girls dressed as cookies. more specific: brownie cookies! immediately mark passed me some money to buy the original cookies that we both love so much (him vanilla, myself chocolate). after all, they had to have them because they were dressed like cookies.

as i walked towards the girls, there expressions were priceless at the potential sell. "i'll take two boxes please," i said. as they passed me the two boxes in their hands i realized a drastic mistake. these were not the originals. they were the mint. i do like the mint, but mark does not. therefore, i definitely don't need two boxes worth. i asked if they happened to have any originals. sold out. sigh, looking at their faces, and both already expressing their gratitude i went back to our table with two boxes of mint thins. i explained to mark, that i too was a brownie once, and brownies don't let brownies down. he just laughed.

my cookie purchase led me to a little research to track down the elusive originals. sigh...website said: released spring 2011. something to look forward too.

love

pumpkin pie

thanksgiving was a little different this year. nothing bad, but it was different. with no parents and no brother, i was the only representing robertson to participate in the holiday...atleast from where i was! :) i worked the whole weekend and sat down with mark's family for a great dinner, with great eats! it was really wonderful. i then talked to jimi, he too had a bit of a thanksgiving dinner up north. BUT since we never got to spend it together...i thought (today) that i would recreate a little bit of it by making pumpkin pie. pumpkin pie AND taco salad, he he he. it turned out great. jimi brought the whipping cream, mark hand whipped it up, jimi added the sweet ingredients AND there you have it...our post thankgiving dessert....delious

love

shopping in nyc

in the spirit of some shopping i did today, i thought i would post a little picture montage of some shopping we did in nyc. i know, i know, a lazy post, but i really have enjoyed making picture collages as of late...

so i have to mention macy's. not so much for the store itself (crazy big and crazy busy) but for my mom. every christmas we would watch miracle on 34th street with natalie wood. still one of my favourites (i don't even touch the remake). so i took the top pic (and middle bottom pic) for her. the other top pic was me, trying on a ridiculous feather dress for about 3000$. tried it on, because i could, and i wanted to see what expensive clothes looked like. what i found out...i would never pay 3000$ for a feather dress...because who wants to pay that much to look like a bird??? :) ooo and the other two bottom pictures on the left and right are the purchases of a week's worth of shopping with jeaninne and tracey...no comment.

this place was a must for me. fao schwarz. basically the best two store in the whole wide world! :) and if you are a fan of the movie big, you can check out the fabulous foot piano. too fun. everything in that store is divided into sections of toys that i have never even seen before (like harry potter, muppets, stuffed animals, costumes, doll houses...couldn't get enough of that section...). definitely a place for the adult-kid. oooo and the gumball tub was a candy bar (a two story candy bar) called dylan's. basically i was in heaven....

okay so this place has no collage aspect to it. it is, kate's paperie, a place devoted purely of paper. i basically thought it was beautiful to look at, hence the picture. although i did not buy anything at this location (gasp, shock).

till later...love ya!

a little bit of life, little bit of fun, little bit of everything

3 more shifts. that is all i have for this placement and then on to a new one. i can't believe how much i have done in such little time. although i am not completely comfortable (nor do i want to be as i just want to keep learning as much as i can) i am finally getting used to the routine of how things are run. now for the tricky skills like critical thinking...

with that end, draws an end to my assignments as well. that means nothing this weekend but friends, scrapbooking, dates, and christmas shopping. i am very very excited.

on a quick note...i just finished watching oprah. her show was about old teen heart throbs. i am so happy i watched it as she had my teen heart throbs on, the backstreet boys. i found it quite amusing as there were super fans that were performing the dance routines to their songs. yes, that is something i fondly remember doing at jeaninne's AND performing it infront of all our other friends. seriously what were we thinking?  this then got me thinking about the other teen group, the spice girls and how 5 of us dressed up like the spice girls and went to the movie. AND may have preformed more music videos (this time) in front of a camera (no one must get a hold of that tape)  ;) the whole thing made me laugh. so in honor of that, click here to listen to my favourite (at the time) backstreet boys video. nick carter i heart you and your bowl cut...he he he

love

happy birthday....

although i am one day early i just wanted to say...wishing you a great day and year!

love

happy halloween!

this year i did not get organized enough to have a costume. however, i do have to say, i love dressing up when i do get the chance. i have been a rabbit (a costume my mother worked so hard on and managed to get down to my brother to wear for halloween), a nurse, many princesses, a hologram (from jem)...best costume by the way because my mom and dad made it without resorting to the store bought ones), a ghost, a gypsy, cowgirl, black cat, a 60's gal, a fairy, and many times over i have been a hippie. i loved it. and i loved the candy!

so happy halloween everyone!! hope everyone has a fantastic time and gets TONS of treats!!

stay puft marshmellow...cat

i know mark gets mad when i say it but don't you think this guy looks sort of like a marshmellow?? all big, puffy, and white...especially when he spreads out like that?? he he he

love this guys

love

snow, snow, snow

so we had our first little snowfall this week. not a ton, but enough to force me to bring out the uggs and mitts. and enough to get me thinking a little bit about christmas. i guess i should rephrase that...a little more about christmas. already, jimi and i have plans of packing a parcel up for my parents. we are told that we should deliver before december 1st or the prices go up. with these thoughts i am thinking of doing something special on my blog about the christmas season (stay tuned). it only makes sense since it is my favourite time of the year. hopefully i will be able to do it as it may take some time and i am finding my clinicals very busy (what's working out, again???).

in terms of other things in my life: going pretty good.

- pretty busy this week with night shifts. its funny because i could eventually run into days where i won't see mark, because of shift work. this week, i drove him to his placement so that we could atleast talk about the days we had, and i called him on my breaks. i guess we have to find the small moments sometimes.
- i finished one (pretty big) assignment this week and it always seems to be a great feeling to have one of those down (even when you are up till 2:30am to finish it and up at 7am to present it...the downside of night shifts and homework).
AND THE SUPER FUN THING THIS WEEKEND:
- tomorrow i will be celebrating jeaninne's birthday part II. so all in all, can't complain.

love

i'm off

well i am off for another week of clinical...with an assignment looming i am seeing a lack of glee in my future (*gasp)! i know...mom and robyn (if you are on here too) you will have to tell me how good it is as i won't get till it till the weekend. but i have to say...i am pumped about the rocky horror picture show. especially since i did that one year at the garneau theatre. good times.

till next time
love

a tale of two chocolate stories

i feel that i am becoming slightly obsessed with chocolate as of late. however, with halloween to be commencing in less than 7 days i must say...i have tried to be strong. nothing in the house even resembling a mini-chocolate bar has been allowed to pass. until yesterday, grocery shopping, observing the pretty colourful boxes of chocolate, each one exclaiming, "buy me". yes, you heard it here...i cracked. and i cannot even say i was buying it for trick or treaters because we don't get trick or treaters at our place...sigh. and in terms of what i bought...my go-to-candy bar...anything with a combination of peanut butter and chocolate...that includes crispy crunch, wunderbar, peanut butter cups, etc.

this brings me to another story, of an australian variety. when i was in oz, i became obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate. why??? because that kind fails to exist in the land down under. weird as it may seem, i scoured every store from the east coast, to the outback, to the northern point and to no avail. so what did i do to crave my urge of this delicious combination:

yes...i would bought a jar of peanut butter, and would dip plain chocolate bars into it...not quite as good but enough to satisfy! :)

have a great day.
love

its a wrap...a weekend wrap, with chocolate

hello. let's talk about chocolate. chocolate doughnuts. AND to be more specific italian bakery chocolate doughnuts. it all started on friday night. mark and i had planned a date night. big plans of staying out late with dinner and a movie. well we made it through the dinner part (which was delicious by the way) at indian village. after dinner we drove to west ed to go see the town. with an hour wait we dropped by chapters to look at books (and maybe get some christmas cards, wink wink). that was when mark announced his exhaustion. i, feeling quite peppy, agreed to watch a rental at home. half an hour into...i was sleeping like a baby....so now you may ask what is up with the chocolate doughnuts??? well i went to bed at 11, AND got up early enough to make it to the bakery and buy doughnuts (they are usually sold out by 1030). wonderful surprise for mark...and wonderful eating by me...i will not tell you how many we ate yesterday! ;)

it has been a very emotionally charged week for myself. i have called it the longest shortest week of my life. the days pass by quick with tons to do, while the nights are filled with research. i have done some new skills and managed to do them okay! :) BUT I MUST REMEMBER as i have been told by several people that i HAVE to stop being so hard on myself. i am a student, learning, and i really can't expect myself to be perfect at everything, even if i try my hardest! he he...its a hard concept to accept for myself, but i am trying! :)

jimi is home again in our life. it will be good to see him again. our sunday night dinner tradition shall continue as of tonight. AND speaking of family, i was able to catch up with my parents on friday night...p.s. to the parents: do you know i was on the phone with you guys for an hour and half???? crazy....i am sure i talked your ear off! :) i was laughing after getting off the phone with my dad as i was telling mark/jimi. my dad's questions: how are you? how is mark? how is jimi? how is the car? i don't know why it makes me smile but it seems that the car is a priority question for my dad....love it! :)

that's it from me!
love

what would you rather be doing today?

as i sit here on this dreary day willing myself to do my assignment, my mind dazes of things that i would rather be doing...

1. eat something sweet (although i suppose chocolate doughnuts count)

2. surround myself with nature

3. a beach will do too!

4. see, smell (maybe pick) some beautiful flowers

5. go to the market, grocery store (any place) to find some wonderful fruit

6. go to a carnival

7. and ride a merry-go-round

8. go to an art gallery or museum and wonder/ponder...

9. ...have fun

love