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

glee

been pretty busy and unfortunately for blog posts i really can't post about it because it's all confidential...but on a fun note: here is something that truly excites me! :)



till next time!
love

morning date

the business of school, night shifts and work last weekend, has left an absence of "date night" for mark and i. so, i decided to make a morning date yesterday (much to mark's dismay). woke up early (for him) and did a couple of errands, i.e. voted, went to mec to return some very broken hiking poles (that they did...seriously the best store ever!), did some christmas shopping (yeah you heard that right, have to have those parcels mailed before december hits), visited a craft show (okay, we know that was for me...but remember mec...) and then went to maria's place. this restaurant is a reminder of pam's for me (a place that used to be in stanley), and small alberta restaurants for mark. great breakfasts and as for other types of fare the selection is wide from green onion cakes to perogies. it also has a special place in my heart as it was one of the first places that we went out to eat when we were first dating. AND of that memory, i remember spilling orange juice all over the table and onto the floor, much to mark's horror and embarrassment. he he he. so we came and went. once again, a fabulous breakfast (no spilling included), great service, and a good morning date! :)

love 

short little note

ahhh for such a short week it has been a long one. orientation at school, a little bit of research, and a whole lot of myself getting worked up about my new clinical has stated the obvious. i hate change. something that would come as no surprise to my family. my family laughs but apparently at three years old when we made the big move to alberta the movers were slowly packing and i was so distraught that i was slowly unpacking....sigh.

however (and i know it too) getting worked up always tends to make me a fool the next day as i am usually okay, having survived. the first day was a nice ease. i was incredibly nervous but there was so much support. plus, its very scheduled! yes, i am lame (and slightly type a) but i do love organization. its busy, and i am trying to absorb as much as i can. added bonus is the workers are extremely friendly and nice. on a first day, i really cannot ask for much more than that! :)

happy friday!
love

it starts all over again

i have started my new clinical rotation today. as the previous one, i feel slightly overwhelmed with all that i am to accomplish (not just skills, but so much experience to take in). but like last time, i did manage to finish everything and learn so much more about care, comfort, and skills so i am trying to de-stress.

with that said, i must say how much i really loved this long weekend. i did absolutely nothing school related (and as of yet) don't feel any guilt about it. i saw some friends, ate junk, had pumpkin pie (my favourite), played games, worked, did some shopping. all and all a marvelous weekend. only bad part: i had just bought the seasons of supernatural and at the place that i work, i had a mini-marathon at night...in an apartment...that makes noises...and i was alone...with no one to talk to...because your client is sleeping....ahhh, scary! :)

well that's about it!
love

family photos

to end this weekend of thanks and family i thought i would share my little wall of love. this used to be in the living room but in all fairness the vast majority was my family (not that mark isn't family but you probably get the drift). so i put it in my office so that my family and extended family pictures are around me when i work. one of my favourite things...

hope everyone had a marvelous thanksgiving weekend!!!
lots of love

special day for thanks

so today is 10/10/10. apparently a very lucky day (according the edmonton journal) so i knew i had to post...with no other reason but to acknowledge this day and to give thanks. with celebrations today and tomorrow i thought i would say what i am thankful for:

- wonderful family. yes i am one of those people. i call my parents as much as i can. they are always there in laughter and sadness, in anger or frustration and continually support and love me. you guys are awesome! included in this wonderful family is my brother. even mark can attest how awesome and special my brother truly is. he shows lots of love, is always there to listen and give his words of wisdom in a jimi kind of fashion how can i not heart this guy??

- mark. he truly is the bestest guy to have around! always up for anything or nothing at all. it sure is nice to have a partner that wants the same adventures in life as you do. no other can i joke with, have thoughtful discussions, passionate debates and bug as much as him! he has been exceedingly great this past month and a bit with the changes in my life (leaving my job and doing something very new for school). i am truly grateful and lucky to have a person that listens and helps me when i am stresssed. i  am definitely thankful for him!

- mark's family. with my parents so far it really is nice to have some parents close by, quite literally. i can vent small frustrations, talk about things that make me smile, share food, and joke around about mark. ooo and i enjoy the saucy jokes...the ones that get mark all abashed shouting, "mother"...yes that is you wendy. one really cannot have too much laughter in their life!

- my beloved friends. people i really don't see truly enough AND so lucky to see them when i do! i heart all of them! i have friends from different bits in life (high school, university, nursing, work, etc.). each one of them are truly special and help, love, support, listen, laugh, and just be plain goofy with me! happy thanksgiving to all of you! :)

there really are so many things to be thankful for but before i get too sappy i will stop.
have a most wonderful thanksgiving!!
love

fall leaves

i have been chiding mark about how alberta lacks a fall. i don't know this from experience but just from what i am told. the times when my mom really got homesick for the maritimes was in the fall. she said it is an experience like no other on the east side. the oranges, reds, yellows, bright, dark, all of different varieties. not only that, but the leaves stay on for longer than a week. i have added my own little taste in there for mark. the weather is never warm, it snows the second week of october, and really does alberta even have a fall because it seems so short?

mark chided back. the air has changed to a crisp coolness indicating autumn. it changed in september...it is now october. the sun is out in this second week of october (and has been for a couple weeks now) filling our days with warmth. the leaves although off the trees on friday (i know i raked some one day working) stayed on for atleast two weeks. and although we don't have the reds we do have a wide variety of yellows and oranges to make alberta a pretty place to live, especially when walking in the river valley parks.

so with all the chiding i must say thanks to mark. mainly to appreciate what i have instead of vying for what i don't!

happy thanksgiving!

craft night revisited

in one more sleep a day has come that i have been looking forward to in weeks....guesses????

no it has nothing to do with my clinical rotation (although i happen to be 1/3 complete...as long as i pass).

anymore guesses???  

CRAFT NIGHT!!!

this is something i hold very near and dear to my heart but subtly and tragically it drifted away from me. it started off with my mama b (this gals mom). my friend, christine and i wanted to do a most fantastic christmas present for our moms. so mama b offered her services as a quilter and set us to work making our mom's a quilt. we started in july working every month...then once november hit working every two weeks....then once december hit working every week (and maybe days near the end) but we did complete it. to my dismay my mom did not cry (something i had been trying to do for ages at christmas) but she loved it and it got her thinking about her crafty skills. so she, recruited mama b as her tutor in the making of quilts. i, having finished my quilt wanted to get back to my first love scrapbooking. i had endless pictures of my trips to australia, and new zealand that needed an album, not to mention my pictures of friends and family. mama b's other daughter looked on at my scrapbook and her interest became piqued. she had just finished a vegas trip and felt the need to put them in an album of artistic nature. just as mama b did for me, i offered my services (or shopping skills) to advise her with all she needed to scrapbook. in the meantime, casey came over to her mom's house to quilt (and believe me, she is magnificent at it), christine continued to make quiliting crafts and jeaninne joined in with her embroidery. thus our traditional wednesday night craft gig started!

i don't know how it officially stopped. i finished my travel albums and one wedding album (seriously casey i will finish the other one, one day!!! i love you!!!) i know that i began to get slightly bored with scrapbooking every week (and everyone laughs) but i was having trouble finding inspiration. i tried a bit of embroidery, but as everything that involves a thread and needle, i would get mad, frustrated, finish the project and swear it off. i began having excuses not to go and eventually i stopped. like i said, it was tragic...BUT

i just recently visited my beloved mama b. casey was there and we all talked about it. mama b said that it was sad that all of us girls stopped doing it....both me and casey looked at each other and knew that it needed to happen again. its funny how i would think i am currently busier than ever and attempting to do this but nah....i love my friends. i need my friends. and i can't think of a better thing to do with my friends! :)

so tomorrow (basically i am going to case's when i am done my evalutaion) i am crafting....how exciting is that??

love

lime green

so i have a favourite colour. i really love anything of this colour. green. right now, in particular, i am really loving lime green. just a little spot of my house that i have dedicated to lovely lime. yes this includes some of my summer projects i painted (wall mural, and cd case)....i love limes (just like amy from little women!) or lime green for that matter....

love

kitty grass revisted

remember this: click here.

well here it is today:

it really is true. i can't keep a plant to save my life. mark comes into my office every so often and looks at this poor kitty grass in dismay. i think he is still trying to salvage what little remains...i will keep you posted on the progress...

love

SURPRISE!!

i just came back from a fabulous day/night of birthday festivities. my lovely friend had a surprise 29 year/11month old birthday today. there was a blow up castle, boxing gloves (and yes mark totally took me down), a movie, and tons of food. she was definitely surprised and had a great time.

now i am sitting here thinking about the surprise parties in my life...wow. i am definitely so different! lol

1. i don't know how old i was for my first surprise but i do remember not handling it well. i was at a restaurant with my mom and her friend. her friend told the waiter it was my birthday. i seem to recall they came out singing happy birthday which freaked me out a little (okay i think i cried)...more freakish was i think there was some weird hat i had to wear...mom knows more but i remember not being pleased.

2. now i am 14. sleeping soundly in my bed on a sunday morning. suddenly 5 girls bound in wearing their pajamas. who were they? the girls from my CGIT group shouting, "We are going to Wendy's and you cannot change!" mortified, near tears, i left my house in my pajamas. the last look i had was for my mom and it was not just a look...it was a glare. cut to finding out Wendy's was actually my CGIT leader's house as she was a wendy....relieved yet still horrified i think i didn't talk to my mom for a week. after all she knew about the surprise the whole time...

3. (yes there is a number 3) my friends attempted to throw me a surprise party when i was 15 years old. one girl (isn't there always one) spilled the beans prior and got me in a huge frenzy. let's face it...as you can tell by now i hate surprises. i don't know why...but they freak me out and i hate being the center of attention...especially that much focus. worse at 15 when you are in the stage of teenage life and all your friends are whispering behind your back you feel a little worse for wear. EVEN when they are doing something super nice and all talking behind your back for such a special reason! in the end, i still ended up being mad at my mom...because again she knew about it....poor mom.

4. i know i can't believe people haven't learned. but this one is kind of a joke. 16 years old and at the keg. basically, you can't go to a restaurant on your birthday and expect them NOT to sing to you. well that was my dad's analogy as he told the waiter and out came the cake and the tinfoil hat. funnily i didn't get mad this time...and don't think mom let it go unnoticed that my father did not get any blame while she had to put up with so much the years prior...again poor mom.

needless to say my mom stopped getting involved in all surprises. and anyone that approached her regarding them for her daughter she set them straight...TRACEY DOES NOT LIKE THEM.

that is what i thought about tonight and tonight i saw a lady thouroghly enjoy hers...i guess that is what the other side looks like....;)

so i must say thanks to my mom who i love so much and so glad she put with so much!!! loved talking to you tonight....i needed my mom today and got her! lots of love.

sweet pics

it has been a long and stressful week (and day). so i decided to wander on over to my mom's page on facebook and look at some of her old photos...these ones made feel better and put a small smile on face.

 little....

and big (or grown-up)

love