Emotional Roller Coasters

Today was definitely an emotional roller coaster ride! I'm not going to get into it... but I'm finishing the day feeling mostly okay, a little bit afraid/nervous, and yet quite hopeful that the future will turn out okay after all. Anyways... I'm mostly writing because I have a.........

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Well, at least if Halifax burns down, you'll be able to get across the bridge." -Peter

Check Out That Hick!

Well, for those of you who don't know, I went to Erin's house last weekend and got my hick on! Here is a photo journal of the event! :)

Day 1: Frenchy's, bracelet making, silly sunglasses, basketball, Pearle's Takeout (SO GOOD!), and the WII!! Wii's are crazy fun! Seriously.. I want one so bad! They are awesome!

Day 2: FOUR WHEELING BABY!!! Check out these pics!! I have honestly never been muddy before in my life! Crazy, I know... I have definitely been initiated with the mud now, though! Thanks, Peter... Driving through every mud puddle as fast as possible really helped. :P haha Seriously though, four wheeling is SO MUCH FUN! I cannot wait to go again!!!!

Day 3: Really getting my hick on!! Cutting down trees, climbing trees, conquering brush piles, tromping through mud! Good times, good times!! Thanks for an AMAZING weekend Erin, Alex, and Peter (and associated parents)! I had the best weekend ever!!!

I WIN!!

I would just like to announce that FINALLY, for the first time in my WHOLE life (even after buying a coffee nearly every day for the past few years!), I have WON at Roll Up the Rim to Win!! HOORAY!!! This girl is getting a free coffee!! YES!!

Something More

Have you ever noticed that once you achieve something, you enjoy it for a little while but inevitably start to wonder what's next? Like, you reach the top of the corporate ladder and then have a mid-life crisis because you don't know what else there is to life? Okay, so that might not be something I've personally experienced since a) I don't have a corporation whose ladder I could climb and b) I'm not in the mid-life stage yet, but you get the idea. The point is that humanity's got eternity written on our hearts. We want something more. Whatever we get is never enough, we want to keep going. Will we ever be satisfied?

"Jesus said, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'." -John 4:13-14

Take the Lime Out of the Coke

It all started about a month ago when I sent Peter to the grocery store to get me some Diet Coke with Lime. There was none to be had at the first store, so he went to two others before he finally found some. He bought two cases because it took such a long time to find. Well, Peter, thank you because that may be the last Diet Coke with Lime I will ever drink! After not being able to find it at my SuperStore for the second time, I did some investigating. It is official, folks. This is straight from the Coca-Cola website. Coke with Lime has been DISCONTINUED. I am heartbroken, saddened, in shock. WHAT will I drink now!? WHAT will my new favourite pop be?! Having to decide on a new favourite pop at this stage in life is not something I had anticipated! *sigh* This is a sad, sad night in my life... I will treasure every last can that is left in Peter's fridge! THANK YOU FOR BUYING TWO CASES!!! You're my hero!

Dance

"When you take dancing lessons, you learn steps and you learn steps and you learn steps. It can go on for a long time. And then one day, you just learn to dance, and it's so different." -Bill Austin

Trends

Have you ever said, "Ugh... I will never be seen wearing that!" when a new trend comes out but several weeks later find yourself either desperately wanting that very style or actually wearing it?? I find myself doing that all the time. Here are a few examples:

1. Gauchos - Hated them when they first came out, bought a pair before last summer, love them.
2. Sweats with "Dal" on the bum - Okay, not exactly a trend, but definitely used to hate them and definitely now own them, love them, wear them with pride!
3. Skinny jeans - First thought: "Yuck!" Now: Kind of want some... Hey... they look great with boots and ballet flats!
4. Side bangs - Thought they'd be annoying... definitely have 'em and love 'em now.
5. Knee-length shorts (aka. Bermudas) - Too HCA-esque for me! Or not....

However, there are a few that I managed to not succomb to! Some of these are UGGS (or other ginormous furry boots), the gigantic "Tarana bump" with the hair (sorry to all my TO readers... but I think those are the girls that brought this look to Hali), leggings, and big strings of beads.

But seriously... what is it about trends that make us at first think "Ew!" and then go "Yum!"?? I don't get it... Actually, I do... but it's only because I've taken marketing. I still don't get why I follow that mindset even though I know the tactic behind it!

Rock Star Josh Miller!!

What Else Does One Do Whilst Sick??

Your Love Song Is

Yellow by Coldplay "Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah they were all yellow" You're so in love, it's like a drug.

What Love Song Are You?

Your Perfume is Glow

Fresh, sexy, and clean. You're real, intimate, and exciting. Your lush sensuality appeals to men... And you're as sexy as Jennifer Lopez. Power scents: Orange flower, grapefruit, and citrus.

What Perfume Are You?

Your Beauty Element is Earth

You are the epitome of a natural beauty. Your look is definitely effortless. And while you shy away from a lot of make-up and accessories, you're no granola girl either!

What's Your Beauty Element?

You Are a Lace Bra!

Dreamy, romantic, and ultra-feminine You're a womanly woman who makes guys feel like men Your perfect guy is strong, determined, and handsome With a softer side that only you can draw out

What Kind of Bra Are You?

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist. People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you. You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words. Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

What Flower Are You?

Wheeeee!!

I would just like to announce that the most exciting moment of my life happened last night. I stood up in Alex's SUV with my head out the sunroof and was driven down the street. It was just like in the movies! I think I can die happy now. hahaha

Today's Highlights So Far

Memorable Moment:
Erin squeezing her hand cream so that it shot straight into the air and landed all over the desk and herself.

Quote of the Day:
"When you die, are you going to be emballmed or casterated?" -me (embarassing, I know!)

Yay! Moment:
Getting my belly button ring changed! My new one is silver with a pink flower. It's pretty. It's feminine. It doesn't resemble a staple.

Can You Relate??

heehee I got this forward from my Auntie today and thought it was blog worthy! Enjoy!

"The Public Restroom Experience"

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter. The wait has been so long that you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty.

You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly, drape it around your neck (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance." In this position, your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance." To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!"

Your thighs shake more.You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail. Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. "Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT.

It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get." By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too. At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting. You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this."As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

***As a side note, my crop top for my dance show came in the mail today! It's cute, it fits, and I love it! Hooray!***

Theme Song of the Week

Kutless - More Than It Seems

Is my imagination running away?/Or is all this really happening to me?/Am I a prince in a far away land filled with fantasy?/Where is reality?/And what are the actions that will define who I am?/I am holding on to the visions I've seen of what I could be/It's what I should be

More than it seems/These dreams inside blur reality's line/If I could believe that/Dreams aside, I am capable of more than it seems/More than it seems

Passing through the darkness into my own world/Will I be more than when I left?/Never letting go of the lessons I learned/This will make a change/A change within me

More than it seems/These dreams inside blur reality's line/If I could believe that/Dreams aside, I am capable of more than it seems/This time I won't run away/I've found the strength to face life's long days/This time I won't run away

More than it seems/These dreams inside blur reality's line/If I could believe that/Dreams aside, I am capable of more than it seems/More than it seems these dreams inside (show me the way to these dreams) blur reality's line ('til there's nothing that's left of me)/If I could believe that/Dreams aside, (show me the way to these dreams) I am capable of more than it seems

'Til there's nothing left of me/Show me the way to these dreams...

***Side Note: I decided on this song before I taught my hip hop classes tonight. Since then, I have had the chorus of "I Will Survive" running through my head... Two weeks to go... Two weeks to go... I seriously want to shoot myself in the foot. However, I felt a bit better after realizing that I have a Michael Buble cd to listen to and 3 belgian chocolate shells filled with praline (ahhh... amazing stuff!) to eat.***

Dance

Dance seems to be consuming my life as of late, so I figure I should write/rant about it. Dance is something I love... pretty much in any form. Anytime I see dancing, I want to do dance too, and most of the time when I don't see people dancing, I still want to dance... I seriously have an "Amarea's Life Soundtrack" in my head that plays about 90% of my awake time, and I want to dance to a lot of it. hahaha Anyways, I went to Indisa Night last night, which made me REALLY want to dance, but I couldn't, so that was a bit disappointing. However, I rehearsed the choreography for my belly dance song in my head for a bit, and that helped. Speaking of belly dance, my showcase is next Sunday (March 11) at 7pm at the Cohn. Tickets are available for $6 from the Dal Arts Centre box office. You should come. Seriously. It's going to be AMAZING. And my dance is really cute. And yous hould come. Okay, enough of the plug for that one...

One part of dance that I can't stand is "dancer's attitude". If you've done dance, you'll know what it is. It's when a dancer is so infatuated with a) the dance, b) her/himself, and c) getting it perfect that it turns him/her into a complete snob, usually accompanied by overt rudeness. Many, many people in my belly dance class have a severe case of dancer's attitude, and it was sooo annoying. I'm talking mouthing off to the teacher because our costumes are different colours than their coin belts so they can't wear them and omigosh I just HAVE to wear my royal blue coin belt because if I don't I'm pretty sure I'm going to die or just not dance. *sigh* It was pathetic... and annoying... Most of the kids in my hip hop class also have dancer's attitude. I'm thinking of two girls in particular that say, "I'll go through the song once with the rest of the class. Oh, don't worry. I know it. That's why I don't need to practice. They need to practice." *sigh* What does one do with this?! And then there's the older class where they turn every move I teach into some form of pole dancing/striptease. They are like eleven!!! Come on, people!!!

Okay... enough ranting... Despite my annoyance with dancer's attitude, I really do love to dance, and I've had the attitude more than once myself, so I really shouldn't complain. Granted, I do keep my attitude in my head so no one knows, which really, is the best way to have it, if you've got to have it at all. Okay... ranting again... back on track... I love dance. I find it incredibly moving to watch. It speaks to me. And I am excited for the day when I can spend eternity dancing before my King.

My Five Things

Okay, so I got tagged by Deb to write 5 things about myself that people don't know. Well, that's a little difficult, since it's hard to find something that NO ONE knows, but here's 5 little known factoids about yours truly:

1. Despite owning an original Nintendo System and spending an unusually large number of hours playing Super Mario Bros., I have never once beaten the game. Why? Because everytime I was fighting Bowser in the last level (Level 8, I believe), Shayne (my step-brother at the time) would turn the thing off... EVERY TIME. Now, you may be wondering, why is it that he was always around when I was playing it? Good question... No idea!

2. I have had an irrational fear of getting the back of my skirt caught in my panties and walking around with it stuck there in public ever since reading about a story like this in the "Embarassing Moments" of YM magazine when I was like 11...

3. Speaking of skirts, when I was younger, I refused to wear pants. Seriously. I was a dress/skirt only kid for a long time, and when I did break into pants, I refused to wear jeans... Sweat pants only! haha

4. There are several words that I still cannot say at age 21. Among them are animal, ambulance, cemetary, and cinnamon.

5. I have very serious texture issues with food. Namely, if I find the texture of a food weird, I'll throw it up and won't eat it. Some foods I can't handle include whole wheat bread, most vegetable pizza toppings (mushrooms, peppers, onions, pineapple), tapioca pudding, and squash.