100 Things About Me

1. I don’t know if I can come up with 100 things!
2. I like orange juice
3. It IS possible to overdose on chocolate
4. That happens to me around Halloween every year!
5. But boy it takes a lot for that to happen
6. I’m a very optimistic person (most of the time!)
7. Sometimes I drive my friends crazy trying to see the good in things
8. Sometimes I do dumb things
9. Often I do dumb things
10. I guess that depends on who you ask!
11. I like to be silly
12. I do a mean monkey noise
13. I have pulled out all the nails on the Capilano Suspension Bridge
14. I love kayaking
15. I majored in French at UBC
16. I have lived up north in town of less than 5000 that is 2 hours from any other town
17. I have skied in minus 35 degree weather
18. I have had to keep my face moving so my balaclava/ice shield didn’t freeze to my cheeks
19. I have had a student unhappy with his quiz mark so he ATE his quiz
20. Oh yeah, I am a teacher!
21. I did Elementary Education at UBC
22. I specialized in teaching French as a second language/French Immersion
23. I now teach music grade 5 grade 1/2
24. I lose my voice constantly!
25. I teach taught music K-7 in French and in English for three years
26. I am SOO grateful for my job (hmm… most days!)
27. God dropped my job in my lap two weeks into my first year of teaching!
28. This is my second third fourth fifth year of teaching
29. I played the clarinet from grade 5 to first year uni
30. I played the alto sax in jazz band at high school
31. I was in a marching band for about 6 years
32. I have had a dog named Lucy :(
33. She lived at my parent’s place, but she was still “my” dog!
34. I have a brother and a sister
35. I have six toes on my left foot
36. Just kidding (is that cheating?)
37. I like country music
38. I like most other music, too!
39. I once slept through a car accident when I was a baby
40. I once ate a slug
41. That was a loooooong time ago, ok?!!?
42. I have been a Christian since before I remember
43. My faith became my own at summer camp when I was 14
44. I love summer camp!!!
45. I’ve gone every summer until 2002 (as both camper and staff) since I was 8, except for 2000.
46. I’m 26 27 28
47. I share my birthday with a day dedicated to rodents! *sigh*
48. I love the movie Amelie
49. “Sometimes I’m clueless and I’m clumsy”
50. “But I’ve got friends who love me”
51. I’m running out of ideas
52. I like to wear silly socks
53. I have socks with monkey, duck, and frog pom poms on them
54. I am inspired by nature
55. I think that sounds cheesy
56. Creation puts me in awe of God
57. I love the ocean
58. Being land locked is not a good situation for me!
59. I have to drive to the beach from where I live now, it drives me crazy
60. It’s not a long trip
61. (ha ha… the trip to the beach OR the trip to crazy!)
62. I LOVE my church
63. I went there as a kid
64. We changed churches when I was in grade 4, now I’ve been back for about 4 5 6 years
65. My PARENTS went there as kids
66. I’m excited to see what God has planned for me!
67. I hope I’m awake/obedient enough to know and do it
68. I need to learn to slow down
69. When I was in grade 6 I protested the Gulf War
70. I forgot to tell my parents I wasn’t going to be home after school
71. My dad found me leading a chant: “What the hell do we want? (peace!) When the hell do we want it (now!)”
72. He didn’t get mad, just talked to me about inappropriate language
73. That was the last of my “activism” attempts!
74. I tend to do things that get me teased/harassed/bugged by my parents and/or friends
75. It’s OK, though, I can definitely laugh at myself! (Most of the time it IS pretty funny!)
76. I like to tell stories
77. I love taking pictures
78. I want to take a photography course
79. On a two week road trip around the Maritimes, my dad and I took 14 rolls of film!
80. Thankfully I now have a digital camera!
81. I am very grateful for my family
82. My parents are awesome
83. It’s pretty clear pretty quick that I’m a pretty wacky person
84. I like to have fun
85. When friends who have known me a while meet my dad, they always go, “AHHH! Now I understand!”
86. Seriously! That happens all the time!
87. I once put a cat in the fridge (again, a loooong time ago!)
88. I thought it wanted to be alone
89. I don’t know if I’m going to be a teacher forever
90. I could eat a big container of yogurt in one sitting
91. Me and some co-workers once measured our mouths (yes, we were very bored at work one day!)
92. My mouth was 40% bigger than anyone else’s (3.5 inces compared to 2.5!)
93. My friends all laughed their heads off saying that now they had scientific proof for what they had been telling me all along!
94. So I like to talk! So what?!?!
95. I think I’d like to try skydiving one day and learn to scuba dive. Not at the same time.
96. I once repelled down a cliff in order to pull weeds
97. “I love this crazy tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life!”
98. My favourite colours are blue and green (they reflect the outdoors!)
99. My goal: To know God, to glorify Him, and to share Him with others
100. With regards to my goal… boy, am I ever grateful for GRACE

Which Homestar Character are you?

Not sure I'm too thrilled with this... uh, I mean "Bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble"
(At least I'm not the poopsmith!)

Which HomestarRunner.com Character Are You?

PS. Check out the sidebar, I've added some new pointless (but fun!) games :P

Yikes...

OK, is my life so boring right now that I really have an entire post about FUNRITURE? What can I say, it's the simple things that make me happy, apparently! :D

It's Hammer Time

Well, I set out tonight to set up my new entertinment unit. The TV I got for my birthday needed an appropriate home, and so did all the stuff in random corners and piles in my living room! So like a grown-up, off I went ot buy my first piece of new furniture... and like a grown up in the new millenium, I bought it online. It's a very nice addtion to my living room, I must say.

Even better is the fact that I put it all together with no problems at all - even with all those pre-drilled holes and strange hardware peices that look like they're leftovers from when ET's spaceship crashed and weird picture directions and everything. There are a whole lot of parts left over, though... I'm just gonna assume they gave me extra! ;)

Here's the progression of my TV situation, from "Redneck setup" to "What the heck am I going to put this giant thing on" to "Yay! A real live grown-up living room!"

......

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"Leapfrog," eat your heart out!

Ok, I must say, I miss my speak and spell! I loved that thing! Even after the raised buttons kinda broke and I had to push the button really hard and kinda wiggle my finger around for it to register. I distinctly remember learning how to spell "neighbour" on my speak and spell. How weird is that?

I ask you, where are the quality toys like that these days?

What was your favourite toy of the Eighties?

Escaping with my pride (mostly) intact

Ah, it's a good thing I've had lots of practice embarrassing myself, or yesterday would have been a whole lot worse. :p

"Busted" would be a good word for it.

I was out at Regent College yesterday for a meeting, and then decided to stay and do some marking (too many distractions at home!). I was pretty much falling asleep over my books, so I decided to take a walk around UBC to clear my mind and help me wake up a bit. As I was walking, my friend Dave caught up with me. He was heading over to one of the libraries across campus so I went with him. While at the library, he found his book and I checked my email. I decided to check one of the accounts I don't check very often (nobody emails me there anymore) and was surprised to see one new message waiting for me in my inbox. Well, guess who it was from?

Internet boy.

Subject: Hello Hillary Lynn/Walking Cartoon

*GULP*

I was busted. bus-TED. He had found me out!!! Not that I was trying to keep myself hidden, play games, etc. It was just one of those things that was maybe kinda sorta odd at first, but when mixed with a lot of time, got to seem a whole lot worse. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Read the story here and then the follow-up here) Anyway, he didn't seem mad or anything, and had apparently suspected me for a while. I think he was kinda weirded out a bit, but at least my "confession" on the blog was honest. Anyway, what eventually made him put the pieces together was that he decided to check out my website again, to see if I had updated it at all. Well, he saw the link to my blog, started reading, and it was only a matter of time...

I was pretty much mortified. I knew I had to either email him back or call him, and I thought calling would be better, cause there's tone of voice and some interaction that can happen, too. So it took a few goes, but I finally bit the bullet and dialed the whole number. We chatted, I explained myself and apologized, and while awkward, it was good. He was very gracious about it, laughing about it. He said he understands, believes me when I say it had nothing to do with him, and doesn't think I'm a freakaziod! :D We ended up chatting for quite a while, catching up, etc, and I think it's all good. He invited me to stick around the site, too. I don't know if I will or not. I guess we'll see.

Whew, I'm glad that's all over with! Even though it makes fro a pretty hilarious story (boy I'm glad I don't take myself too seriously!), there'll be no more secret identities for me!

Grade 4 Vocabulary Activity

There ARE times when marking kid's work is fun...

Students had a list of words. They had to find the context the words were used in in the novel, look up the definition, and then use the word in a sentence. Here are some gems:

gully:
- My gully is over filling.

derringer:
- All of the cops has a derringer to shoot and kill people. [Parent has crossed off "to shoot and kill people" and has written "protect." Funny they didn't catch the verb, though!]

legal:
- It's all legal to Sue a girl.
- I heard weed is not legal. (grade 4!!!)

ricochet: the dictionary said "the skipping or jumping motion of an objects as it goes accross a hard surface." No wonder some kids got confused...

- Ricocheting is the thing I do best.
- The cat ricochets accross the room.
- My pee ricocheted off of the toilet and on to the floor.
(Well, at lease he gets the meaning of the word!)

I love this city!

It's been beautiful all week! I was driving to work this morning and noticing the blue sky, the new snow on the mountains, the rising sun reflecting off the buildings downtown... Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Things like that just put me in the best mood! And, to top it all off, I had a great day at work. Kids were receptive, lessons worked, fun was had by all.

I've been doing some wandering around lately around Kitsilano and near Canada Place the last few weekends and have been taknig some pictures of this beautiful city. Sometimes I can't beleive I live here! There's really no place like home.

Enjoying a lazy Saturday at Kits Beach

View of English Bay and the West End

Andrew is also my hero

He got me all hooked up with some more fun HTML tricks. But this is probably of no interest to you. I just figured I'd give Andrew credit, too!

(By the way... Andrew, I don't have any pictures of you... if you want a better one than this, you gotta send me one! :))

Brad is my hero!

Yay for Brad for helping me (yet again) with my various website woes! I now know how to put pictures on my blog (scroll down to see some)!

Hip hip hooray for Brad! (Roll your mouse over the picture)

Well now, THAT'S a first!

Man, you just never know!

I was at Resonate last night, our church's young adults meeting. I do the announcements and send out the mass emails, so often people know me better than I know them (or at least they know my face and my name!). There are lots of people I have those "in the lobby after church/after Resonate" conversations with - you know the kind: "Hey, how are you, how was your week," stuff like that. Small talk. It's kind of fun, cuase I get to know lots of people that way. Like J. J came up last night after Resonate to say hey, how are ya, that kind of thing. I'd talked to him a few times - maybe 3 or 4? - in the lobby. I don't know him very well at all. Two or three of those times I had to ask him is name cause I kept forgetting! :( Anyway, he then proceeds to tell me that I've been popping into his thoughts a lot lately, and would I mind giving him my number and going out sometime?

Woah!!!

It was all I could do not to fall over from surprise! It's funny, cause he had never even "entered the radar" (arg, what an awful expression!). I thought, ah, why not? So we were talking for a bit with another guy, and then I went to help with the clean-up. J came to help, too, and then asked if I wanted to do somthing that night, like coffee or dessert or something. It wasn't too terribly late, so again I thought, hey, why not? We went out and talked for maybe an hour and a half or so. He even won me a purple stuffie dog from one of those "insert-a-quarter-to-guide-the-claw-to-the-stuffie-you-want-and-hope-it-picks-it-up" thingies. (ha ha, it felt like I was at the PNE or something!) He definitely made no secret of the fact that he's interested and wants to get to know me!

I'm not saying all this to be like, "Ooh, ooh, look at me," it's more like I'm in total shock! :P I don't know what to think or to do about it. It's not like I was interested in him before and he's finally asked me out! He just litterally tapped me on the shoulder and asked for my number! I have no idea how I feel about him. I don't know him! Very surreal. I guess we'll hang out a bit and get to know eachother.

Wacky!

The End

You know you've done too much surfing when you reach the end! (Thanks Zenon)

Yay for God!

The "After Christmas Crunch." We all know it. This month was looking reeeeally tight, thanks to the Christmas mastercard bill. I was doing my budget last week, and was somewhat alarmed that I was going to be short a very large chunk of money. Like a few hundred dollars short. I was thinking that I was going to have to use some of my summer savings money to make ends meet (you have to understand here that that money is sacred. I don't get paid in the summer, so I have that money to through the summer). BUT, today at work, another teacher gave me a receipt I had passed on to her before Christmas. Basically, I had bought something for her class and I hadn't yet been reimbursed for it. So that sparked my memory that I had a few other receipts that needed to be submitted (two from last year, when they didn't have money to cover it, and one from September). Also, I ordered a music resource in December, and when it came, it wasn't what I thought it was, but didn't know if I could return it. So I called today, and yes, I could. And I'm submitting receipts from two professional development workshops I went to that I'll be paid back for. PLUS, I got a cheque in the mail yesterday or the day before from my medical plan reimbursing me for my glasses...

I added all this stuff up today, and GUESS WHAT??? It's about $30 more than the amount that I was going to be short!!!

YAHOO for God providing just what I need at just the right time! He keeps doing that (one day I'll have to post my crazy story about what happened the first September I was out of school)! I really have no need to worry about money. He always provides a way.

YAY GOD!!!

Procrastination and birthday tidbits

Why on earth can I not get anything done? I have stuff to mark, worksheets to prepare, all for tomorrow, and yet here I am! Bah! May as well make the most of my procrastination! Click the bold text to see pictures.

So I had one of those "warm fuzzy" moments on Wednesday (on WEDNESDAY?!?! you ask... "But I thought you hated Wednesdays!" Funny, I know! Normally I do, but this Wednesday was amazing!). After my grade 4's had come in and settled down, a bunch of them were wishing me happy birthday (I don't know how they knew!). They all started singing to me. They were all off key and singing at various different tempos, and it was wonderful! Then two girls have me a card. Cards from kids are the best!

Even my afternoon was great. The kindergartens were (relatively) calm, and the nasty grade 6 class was (relatively) good. I learned how to get one of the ringleaders to smarten up, and boy did it work. So the day on the whole was great!

AND, to top it all off, I got a copy of my "wish list" (about $300 worth of various instruments for the music program) in my box from the PAC, with a note telling me they'll cut me a cheque next week! YAAAAAY! It's like Christmas! Ummm.... or my birthday. Heh heh.

The fun continued at small group with yummy birthday cheesecake...

(Check out the stylin' sockies!)

... and a surprise gift. The chairs from my dining room table set are getting old. That's not an issue, really, except for the fact that twice now at small group someone has been sitting on them, and they've broken! I must be giving my friends complexes! Poor Steve was the lastest victim last week, so he got the idea to go out and get me new chairs. The one he found are incredibly like the ones that are slowly breaking. It's uncanny! Could they have been separated at birth?

Old Chair ^

New Chair ^

A few of us went out to Baru, a great Latino restaurant out near UBC, for drinks afterwards. Very funky.

My Birthday Margarita

Ole!

Spelling police beware!

(taken from somewhere in cyberspace...)

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my blog, I'm allowed to be shameless! Happy birthday to me, and Happy Groundhog Day to all of you! :D

Check out my birthday present from my family! (click the bolded text)

Invisibility and confusion

Well I had all these plans to get some stuff done today.... have I done anything? No! Ah, but Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest, right? (Hmm... don't know if my students will buy that excuse if I don't have their stuff marked. OK, so I have to do a LITTLE bit of work today).

I had an interesting experience at lunch today. I went to Reno's, a super swanky establishment of fine dining (HA! Try super duper sketchy greasy spoon), after church today with some folks from the young adult crowd. Most were fine, but I had a few moments that made me kinda sad. I'd start saying something, and I guess one girl just wasn't interested in what I was saying or something, cause she'd start talking over me, and then the conversation would kinda turn to whatever she was saying... it was weird. It was like I didn't exist! I'm pretty sure she didn't do it on purpose, but man, it's kinda odd to just have to trail off cause nobody's listening to what you were saying! I really felt like I was invisible. Oh well... things like that just make me more aware, I guess, so I can be sure not to do that to others!

I got home and have basically just been kicking around all evening... I talked to a friend of mine who just got back from Ireland. She's engaged!!!! I'm not surprised, I was fully expecting her to come back from this visit (her boy lives in Ireland) with a ring. But I'm kinda disappointed, cause she was telling me that they're going to get married in Hawaii in June, just the two of them and their parents. I dunno, I'm disappointed that none of our gang will be able to go to the wedding. She doesn't want a big deal, and doesn't want to plan it, and it's way cheaper to do it that way, but I can't help feeling kinda odd about it. I don't know. Is that selfish of me? Maybe it's just weird cause only three of us (us being our group of friends from university) have ever even met him, and all that was was a tour of a brewery and dinner. Maybe it's just that any of my other friends who've gotten married, I've known the spouses. I guess I'm concerned, partly, too, cause it seems to be a very independent relationship. They met while they were both traveling in Australia, so they don't really know eachother's friends (though she's been to Ireland twice now for visits) and they both don't really talk to their parents too much about stuff... It just seems that the choice of a marriage partner is a big decision, and it seems like, while obviously it's a choice that has to be made by the people involved (DUH!) there should be some kind of input from family and friends. I don't know. Maybe I'm way off. Even as I type that I'm second guessing myself. I don't know why I feel kinda weird about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm SOOO glad that she's happy, and I'm excited for her (even if it does mean that she's moving to Ireland for two years or so), but there's just something nagging at me. It seems like she's isolating herself from friends and her family, I don't know why. Again, maybe I"m way off base. I just love her so much, and want God's best for her! Arg! Why do things have to be so complicated?

Typical!

I went to Missions fest today. It was pretty good. I went to a session about being a Christian teacher in the public school system and one of the plenary sessions. Meh, it was alright. Ran into about a bazillion people I knew, many of whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Honestly, that's one of the best parts about Missionsfest! One person I ran into, however, stands out. 'Member the post about my secret identity on internet boy's forum? Well I ran into him today! I knew he might be down there this weekend, but honestly... among how many people and how many different venues?!?!? Of course, I suppose I forgot this is ME we're talking about here! Lil' Miss Run-into-Everybody! So we chatted for a bit, got caught up a bit on what's been gonig on, that kind of thing. But holy awkward, Batman, I already KNEW half the stuff whe was telling me from reading it on the forum!!! I thought about dropping a hint about Walking Cartoon, but then thought better of it. It would have been funny to have seen his face, though! On the other hand, maybe I would have just seen the back of his head as he ran away screaming. Really, I don't know why I even worry about it! GAH! I'm not crazy, I promise! :P

I did stop by at the Camp Kawkawa booth (ah, what a wonderful place!). I think I"m gonna go up for a week, maybe two this summer as a cabin counsellor. It's been two summers now that I haven't been up at all, and I miss it. It's such an amazing time every time I go. It's a place where I can jsut see God working so much clearer. He does AMAZING things in kids in that place. I love to be a part of it. Yay God!!!

What a difference a day makes!

YAY for Thursdays! Days like today, I can see myself at my school long term. I enjoy what I do, and while I'm not yet where I want to be (will I ever be there?) in terms of my teaching and all that, I can see how I've progressed, and also some steps to take to improve. I can see, too, how it would be so great to be at the school for a bunch'o'years and build up some consistency in the music program. Who knows. You can see just from the past week and a bit how different my thoughts are on my job! Maybe God will drop a big neon flashing sign in front of me saying "DO THIS".



Or maybe not.

Google'd

Wow! Google found my blog. I must be cool. ;) Type in the title of my blog and there ya go! I'm the first one that pops up! Crazy!

Wednesdays suck!

I hate Wednesdays. Or more specifically, Wednesday afternoons. I have the two most challenging classes in the whole school back to back, right after lunch: the French Kindergarten class, and an english grade 6 class. They're insane. The K's are awfully cute, but there about about 6 firecrackers in that class who have NO CONCEPT that there are any other human beings on the planet other than them! No I know, I know, they're only 5, they're supposed to be that way... but not like this. This is so beyond normal it's scary. For example. One boy goes to the bathroom (bathroom breaks are a whole 'nother issue!) with his buddy and when he comes back, the class is in the middle of a song. Half the class is sitting in a circle singing, one student is in the middle playing the tambourine, and the rest are dancing around the outside of the circle. Can we say, MUSIC CLASS IN PROGRESS. This boy comes in, goes straight to another student, starts yelling at him for something, and they start a punching match!!! Now while I go over and deal with that, the other 4 or 5 firecrackers start up. AAAHHHH! Then there's the grade 6 class. There are so many kids in the class with legit issues - major major ADHD and no longer on meds, psychological problems, zero impulse control, etc etc etc.... - and then those who are just acting up. ARG! I won't even go into the ridiculousness I dealt with today. I still have one class after them who by comparison aren't that bad, but still a challenge. I end up every Wednesday feeling like my head is going to explode! It's ridiculous. Ridiculous, I tell you!

OK, so yeah, I'm ranting and raving a lot here. Sorry 'bout that. I just got home and have to get it out before my Bible study gets here... my poor friends, they always get the brunt of it, cause they're here every Wednesday!

AH, but I LOVE Thursdays. Take Wednesday, think the total opposite, and you have Thursday. Sweet Thursday. Glorious Thrusday. Then there's only 4 hours on Friday and the weekend! AAAHHH. I"m relaxing already.

PS. I really do enjoy my job, most of the time! Even Wednesday mornings! They're fine. You're jsut catching me venting. By the time you're reading this, I'm over it, and have moved on to brighter and happier things! Unless of course you're reading this after school on a Wednesday! :P

Walking Cartoon says the jig is (almost!) up

Ah... cyberspace anonymity. It can be very fun. Though I'm debating revealing my identity. My only dilemma is that if I do, people may think I'm a creepy stalker lady... which I'm not, of course!!! Read on for the story...

Many moons ago (like in October) I was chatting with someone who I had met online. A few times he sent me a link to this website that he and a bunch of his friends are members of. It's kind of a forum/message board thing. He sent me the link to some jokes he posted, and I continued to browse the forum, just to see what was there, that kind of thing. We eventually stopped writing, but I checked the site every now and then, cause it was kinda interesting to see what people had to say, and also to read the daily jokes that my former pen-pal posts. Sooner or later, I got to thinking it would be fun to post a few replies myself, so I signed up as a member.

BUT, thinking it would be kinda strange for me to just appear on the site, I just made up a knickname (as many of the people on the site have) and kept my info fairly general. I posted here and there, not too often. What I didn't immediately realize, though, was that everybody knows everybody else on the site, so when I started posting, they were curious as to who I was (at first they thought I was someone they knew in disguise). I got a whole thread/topic devoted to "Who is this person?" Well, I couldn't just ignore it, but I also didn't want to use my real name, cause the guy would then know it was me! Aaaw-kward!

Now here is the point I should have just either left the forum or told who I was, but I didn't! I used my middle name (not that bad!) and told them I lived in Vancouver (which I do!). How did I find the site, they asked. Just by fluke I told them. What a lame-o answer. Actually, I said I was trying random URLs (insert your laughter at me here!). Lame lame lame! But that was that, and life continued on.

Now there's no particular reason that I need to divulge my identity. I don't know any of these people (well, except the guy), and I haven't given any info that might make the guy put two and two together. But the more time that passes, the more I feel weird about it! (In kind of a hilarious, what the heck have I gotten myself into kind of way! :D ) Twice now people have suggested that I go hang out with them some time, cause they think it'd be fun to meet me (well, I am a fun person to meet! ;) . They haven't been specific invitations, more like an idea put out there. So I have yet to respond to it. But you can see my dilemma! Oh, and I should mention here, too, that the guy and I met up for coffee once after work, so he would know me if he saw me. Imagine the scenario! "Hi, I'm ___" and the guy goes, "No you're not, you're Hillary! That was YOU?!?!" Like I say. Creepy stalker lady. Except I'm not! (actually, I have no interest in the guy at all! ummm, that sounds mean... he was a nice guy, but not a match for me, and I'm not looking for anything now anyway, simple as that!)

I hope that you are rolling on the floor laughing at me by now! It IS pretty funny. I suppose I could tell them that I'm moving to Iceland and so can't hang out with them. Or that I'm confined to bed because I have some infectious disease. But really... where does the web of lies stop? :P

Ah, the adventures in the world of Hillary! Hmmm... it occurs to me now that all this is because I jsut couldn't keep my mouth shut! I had to say something on the forum instead of just keeping quiet! hahahahahahaha!!! Typical me!

Put yourself in my shoes! What would you do? Anything?

And PS. If by some crazy fluke you are a member of this forum and are reading this going, "Oh my goodness, Oh my gooness, Oh my goodness!" Yup, you found me out! I'm all for hanging out if you're not totally scared of me now! Hee hee!

Phew! It feels good to get that all off my chest! :D

Does anyone even read this thing?

So as I'm typing out random thoughts and snippets of what's going on in my life, I'm wondering who's actually out there reading it? So comment away! Who's out there? Don't be shy, say hello! :D

Boats and other musings

Lately I've been reading a book called "If you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat." (ha ha) You know when you read something and it's just so bang on it's scary??? Yeah. Bingo. I really don't want my life to just drift by... go to work, come home, eat supper, watch TV, retire, and die. For a long time now, I've been thinking that I want to live on purpose, to live the crazy adventure God has up his sleeve for me. I read my friend Jamie's updates from YWAM, and SHE is living it... there are unknowns all over the place, and no guarantees, but man, does she live her life with a sense of purpose, and she has a wild ride doing it! So my big questions now, are, "what's my boat?" What is it that I'm not willing/afraid to give up in order to go where God's calling me? And WHERE is God calling me?

Here are some questions that Ortberg (the author) poses in chapter 2...
- What is my deepest dream?
- How much passion do I experience in my daily life?
- What do I want my epitaph to say?
- How much am I growing these days?
- How often do I take risks that require a power greater than my own?
- If I had to name the "one true thing" that I believe I was set on this earth to do, what would it be?
- How clear is it to me?

I guess part of this all stems from the fact that I don't know if I want to stay in teaching. There are lots of things that I like about it, but I dunno... maybe I'm lazy or something, but I don't think I want a career that eats up so much of my life. Of course, that leaves me wondering, "now what???"

So, yeah. That's what I'm thinking about these days... I'm sure more questions will come as I read more of the book and keep thinking about where I want (or rather, where GOD wants) my life to be headed!

Staving off boredom

Well, it's been 4 days holed up at home feeling crappy... I've been going insane! (hee hee, my insanity isn't WHY I was holed up, just a by-product... yeah yeah, leave me alone! :) ) Anyway, I was sick, but I'm feeling better, yay! We'll see how long this cough lasts, though. I've been doing lots of TV watching, though... I forgot how AWESOME Mr Dressup is! Where are the quality shows like that nowadays, hmmm?

My mom bought me chicken soup yesterday... awwww! Moms are the best! AND she helped me un-decorate from Christmas - my house looks so sad and empty now! LOL, better sad and empty NOW than sad and empty in MARCH, which is when I finally got around to taking down my decorations two years ago! Whoops!

So I actually got out of the house last night... I went to go see the Aviator with my friend Brad. What a crazy movie! Howard Hughes (poor guy!) was not exactly the most sane guy around! Made for a good movie, though.

So, what's on today? I think I"m gonna go for a walk before it starts raining for two weeks straight (ah, Vancouver weather is back, baby!). Then who knows? Oof.. I have a mountain of marking to do! That's what happens when you miss 4 days of work. Sigh. Off I go...

Breathing a sigh of relief

Ahhhhhh! My house looks SOO good (if I do say so myself!). I've been re-organizing, re-arranging, and getting rid of lots of stuff - clothes, knick knacks, and especially paper... two and a half rubbermaid laundry baskets full, to be exact, and that does'nt count the boxes! It's so nice to feel liek things are all in their place, and that they actually have a place to be in! Much more calming. There's still a bit to be done, but the big big jobs are finished. No longer do I have to bar people from even peeking in my room, wahoo!

I've got plans now to paint and re-do my room. Thank goodness for trading spaces - man, I've learned some decorating tips from that show (and others like it) and a plan is starting to take shpe in my head for what I want... we'll see if it gets there!

"Brilliant American" Quote of the Day...

So I was watching CNN and the continuing news coverage of the relief efforts after the tsunami... the anchorwoman was talking to James Lee Whit, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the States. He made this genuis quote, not once, but TWICE:

"I think it's going to take more than just the United States to help [the countries affects by the Tsunami], it's going to take the whole world"

You THINK??? Oy!!!

Up to date

OK, Steve... here ya go... a post just for you, now I"m up to date!

Comptine d’une autre été

As I listen to track 4 of the Amelie soundtrack, a strange kind of nostalgia sets in... not the warm fuzzy nostalgia of Christmasses as a kid, but kind of a sad, longing nostalgic feeling... part sad, part wistful, part just simply tired of the runaround and the daily grind. It's Christmas eve in 3 hours, I still have so much to do. I just want to be at home with my family right now, but there's too much to finish here first. I ordered pizza for dinner cause I have no groceries (I mean, NO groceries!) and thought of everyone at home having homemade pizza... yum. Yet there I was by myself eating Panago out of a box. Yuck! That's not what Christmas is supposed to feel like. I think I"m getting tired of living by myself. I crave interaction way too much. But it's highly unlikely I'll get a roommate - that would involve moving, etc etc etc... too much work. But boy, someone around would be nice. *sigh* Well, off I go... I'm bound and determined to get home tonight. That may mean arriving at midnight, but so be it. Once I'm at mom and dad's I'm officially on vacation... no more cleaning, no more "stuff I've gotta do." Just time to enjoy Christmas. Merry merry. Man, why does it have to go by so stinking fast?

In the blink of an eye

Listening to Mercy Me tonight...

You put me here for a reason
You have a mission for me
You knew my name and you called it
Long before I learned to breathe

Sometimes I feel disappointed
By the way I spend my time
How can I further your kingdom
When I'm so wrapped up in mine?

In the blink of an eye, that is when
I'll be closer to you than I've ever been
Time till fly, until then
I'll embrace every moment I"m given
There's a reason I am alive
For the blink of an eye

And though I'm living the good likfe
Can my life be something great?
I have to answer this question
Before it's too late

If I give the very best of me
That becomes my legacy
So tell me what am I waiting for?
What am I waiting for?

In the blink of an eye, that is when
I'll be closer to you than I've ever been
Time till fly, until then
I'll embrace every moment I"m given
There's a reason I am alive
For the blink of an eye

Who says you can't do all your shopping 3 days before Christmas???

Well, I'm done-du-du-done! I started my Christmas shopping 9am Tuesday, and finished it at noon on Wednesday. Not somehting I"m gonna try again, but in a crunch, it can be done. Now comes the wrapping... oh MAN! Ribbons and tape and paper are eveywhere!

In among all the shopping frenzy I had lunch with a friend of mine... I re-learned a very good lesson through that... don't jump to conclusions and make assumptions (I think that's gonna be a life long lesson, *sigh*)! I had a momentary lapse of my usual "assume the best in everybody" outlook on Monday, and it made for not a happy me. Dunno what happened there. A good chat over lunch cleared everything up and I'm back and as happy-go-lucky as ever (and a teensy bit wiser, which is a good thing!).

Lemmie jsut say, I am SO grateful for my friends - every one of you! You are all wonderful people who each add so much to my life, and who are often God's voice to me. Thank you for encouraging me, listening, and yes, even for giving me a kick in the pants when I need it! You're the bestest!

Well, I suppose this sap-fest is a little off the original topic, but it's MY blog, I make the rules! (Can you tell this is still new ofr me??? *tee hee*)

Merry Christmas!

Stepping into the world of Blogs

Woo hoo! My first Blog post! Finally a place to rant and rave and put it out there for all to see.... uhhh, yeah. Well, we'll see how often I use it, but why not try!