Kriiiiiistal..........I'm waaaaaiiiiiting...........I want to hear news about your baby and you're taking forEVER to post something! Hurry it up, already! Our Canucks lost in a shootout tonight, so I need some good news :(

Hockey, as usual, and other stuff

So here's the deal, my Canucks started playing the Minnesota Wild a few minutes ago, so I'm going to listen on CKNW 98, their Vancouver radio station, and write out some thoughts to steady my heart rate!

I have never been one to expose my personal struggles to the whole world, especially where the internet is concerned, but I feel the need to tell you about my recent events. I have been feeling restless in my life, as I've posted before, but I have not been sure what can be done about it. When I graduated from high school, I had a full plan for my post-secondary pursuits and goals. My friends may remember that I was going to go to Briercrest for 2 years then university for 4 years to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree before I would think of getting married. Due to a series of circumstances, that didn't happen and now I am 26 and an Administrative Assistant in our church.

Earlier this month, Lee and I decided that if there was a part-time nursing program, I could register for some classes while still being able to work. A house mortgage kind of has a way of preventing full-time studies, you know? Well, here begins my stress. The school I would like to go to does not have a part-time option, but one other school does. The problem with this school is that the program goes over 3 years and is only an LPN level. This is not so much of a problem in that there are ways to upgrade from there, but my issue comes from my age. I know 26 is not old, but since I can't start until next January, I won't be finished until I'm 30!! This would be great and all, but my crisis is that I will be 31 or maybe even 32 before we can have our first child, and I'm not certain that this is the right path for me to take.

My mom and I were talking on the weekend and she was encouraging me to pray more for God's peace in this process, and so all last weekend I focused on getting my spiritual life back in line with God's plan for me and by the time Monday morning rolled around I did feel peace...finally. I'm still not certain that this is the perfect situation for me, but I have come to realize that in order for God to be able to give me direction, I have to take a step of faith so that He has something to work with. I've done my part to register and I will study and strive to do well, but a door can close or an "accident" can happen, so I'm just going to have to do my best and wait on God to lead me through this.

Anyway, the Canucks and Wild are tied 1-1 at the second intermission, so I'm going to listen to the rest of the game and unwind before bed.

I am an Espresso??

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Things are fun in fours

Friends are really a huge wealth of information, especially when it comes to blog/email type things. I mean, I would never have started a blog if people like Kristal would not have said it was easy and fun! Well, Kristal posted this short, fun-fact type thing on her blog and I was one of the 4 people she tagged and thought might reply, so here goes...

Four jobs I've have had in my life:
1. Receptionist/Admin Assistant at Beulah Alliance Church
2. Jack-of-all-trades at Scott's Parable Christian Store
3. A variety of different restaurants
4. More baby-sitting than I can remember!

Four movies I would, and DO watch over and over:
1. Anne of Green Gables (OBviously!)
2. Pride & Prejudice (the A&E mini-series)
3. While You Were Sleeping
4. Emma

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Criminal Minds
2. CSI
3. Corner Gas (quality Saskatchewan humor!)
4. American/Canadian Idol (I can't help it...it's addicting)
***as an aside, I have to pay tribute to a show that I miss, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman***

Four places I dream of going on vacation:
1. Prince Edward Island & Green Gables
2. Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England
3. Italy, Florence and Venice in particular
4. Antigua

our web sites I visit daily:
1. The Official Canucks Homepage (it's my homepage at work)
2. Google
3. NorQuest College
4. Canada Post (for work, hardly exciting but a definite necessity!)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Anything Italian, I love pasta!
2. Lots of Mexican foods, especially Tacos and Quesadillas
3. Easy Enchilada Casserole (thank you, Nikki!)
4. Lori Hafermehl's yummy and oh-so-spicy chili! (If it doesn't make you sweat, it's not spicy enough!)
***editor's note - Chocolate goes without saying***

Four of my favorite sports to play or watch:
1. Ice Hockey
2. Road Hockey
3. Volleyball
4. Football

Four reasons I don't like mornings:
1. I like my sleep and can never have enough
2. The air is too cold in the house
3. I'd rather stay cozy in bed than go to work
4. I don't want to have to drive and get my car dirty and deal with Edmonton drivers!

There's a brief summary of me. Who's next?

Hockey Battles

It's late and I have to go to bed, but I just HAD to say how much I love my Canucks!!!! They beat Edmonton tonight in a shootout (ahem, take note Brent!!), they have 82 points and are tied for 6th in the West! Woohoo :)

That's about all I have to say on that topic, other than...

Go Canucks Go! (Can you tell I'm sort of a fan?)

OK, So it's been awhile?!

Alright, so I haven't posted anything in about a week and I have a bit of catching up to do, so here goes...

1. My friend Shannon had her baby on March 11th!! This is a very exciting 3rd addition to her and Donnie's family.

2. Lee had his grade 10 boys small group over 2 Friday nights ago for a big all-nighter of movies and video games - I'm still recovering.

3. I'm waiting, waiting and waiting for my friend Kristal to have her baby, and so far nothing on her blog yet...

4. I received a parcel in the mail on Friday. It contained the textbooks and syllabus for a course I'm taking starting on May 10th. I registered for Anatomy & Physiology I at a university in Edmonton, and I'm excited about it!

5. It has snowed here LOTS and I'm getting a little bitter. It's almost spring, and now we have winter weather when I want spring weather. Why couldn't we have had this in January when it's normal! Well, in Alberta, snow in May doesn't surprise me (sense the pouting?)

Hmm, I thought I had more to write after a week, but apparently I have either missed out on the action or else a very short memory! My niece Caedyn and sister-in-law Nikki's birthdays are coming up this week so I have to make sure I get cards mailed out tomorrow. I cannot believe that Caedyn is a year old already!

I'll try to post more than once this week...

By the way, Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!!! I trust you were all wearing green, but if you weren't, here's a big **PINCH** from me!

What a Weekend...

Wow. I am so glad that last weekend is over! It was so chaotically busy that it was not restful in the slightest. Ah well, Bus Stop Day went well and the kids remembered most of their music cues, but it was still an emotional few days. The theme for March is Hope which is really good but it couldn't help but make me think of who I've lost in the last couple of years.

Anyway, the balloon animal teaching deal went pretty well, but it turned into much more of a crash course than I expected. I thought I'd have an hour with each group to go over the process, but it ended up being 25 minutes and really quick! I think the youth all caught on pretty well, once they got over the fear of balloons exploding in their hands :) I haven't even tried to make anything in so many years, but it wasn't hard at all to pick it up again. Just like riding a bicycle...!

So, this afternoon at work I'm sitting at my desk around 4:30 pm, and I look up to see my parents walking into the church! They came up from Three Hills to see a friend of theirs from Briercrest who is battling cancer, actually my sister-in-law's mom, and they came to surprise me at work and go for supper with Lee and I. It was so sweet of them and completely unexpected, but such a lovely treat :) I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like to, but at least they don't live too terribly far away.

My brother Scott and his wife Carla celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary yesterday. It is so weird that it has only been that long...it feels like Carla's been in the family forever! What's more bizarre is that I was still 13 (almost 14) when they were married, so how old does that make me?! I think I realize now just how young I was then, and soooo immature! I'm glad they loved me enough in my early adolescence to involve me in the wedding - it was SO special to me!!

Happy 12th Anniversary Scott & Carla...I love you!!

I Love Weddings!

I just received an email from my bible school roommate, Cathy, today and she informed me that she is engaged!! How completely exciting! She may kill me for posting this on a blog for all to see, but that's too bad... She has been dating a long-time friend, Scott, who we also were at Briercrest with, and I am so totally delighted for them!

Thank you to all my friends who have been commenting on my last post, I decided to take a risk and if I find out that it worked you will be the first to know! I really do have awesome friends, I'm so blessed.

My Uncle Bill passed away this morning just before 6 am. It is really hard on my Mom because she wasn't able to get out to Ladysmith to see him, he went so quickly. We just found out he had cancer of the liver not long ago, and this is really hard to deal with. He's the first family member that we'll never know this side of heaven if he made his life right with Christ. It makes it really hard.

This weekend's church services are our monthly kickoff in Children's ministry, it's called Bus Stop Day, and so I'm going to be there a lot. It makes for a long, busy, draining and exhausting 2 days, but it's still fun. Did you know that I volunteer in children's ministry? Anyway, on Sunday afternoon, our youth Mexico missions trip team have their weekly meeting, and somehow I was recruited to teach them how to make some basic balloon animals for when they're down south. I've been practicing and trying to remember for a few days now and man, it brings back memories! Right now I really wish I had Erin here to teach them with me, 'cuz she was so much better at it than I was! Care to offer a satellite seminar??!? C'est la vie...

Quarter-Life Crisis

I feel restless. I feel dissatisfied with parts of my life and am looking into my options and debating what move to make next. I would love to explain it but until I figure this out I don't want to delve into details just yet, but I guess I would love for you to pray for me once in a while for some divine direction and open or closed doors. I think I may have lost an opportunity so I'm praying that God will allow me a second try.

I love my friends and I am so grateful that our paths have crossed!