A few of my favorite things...

fruit and nut chocolate bars...yummers!

my roomates berry crisp with breyers vanilla ice cream...

making beds...I know...laugh it up mum...but when I get paid to do it...

laundry...need I say more...

peppermint tea....seriously I used to hate this stuff and now it's like crack...

arrested development...glee, and so you think you can dance...my summer shows...

walking in the park...

clepto-ing left beind stuff like laundry detergent, garbage bags, and so much more...

the mcc pile of give away trash in the laundry room...I am there a lot cause I love doing laundry and then I get free stuff too...so great.

my retail therapy gap dress that I got on sale...luv it so much...now I just need to find an event so I can actually wear it...the therapy part is a must, we all know how much i need therapy...

sitting and looking at fire burning, watching water...basically...camping...

and I thought of these in like 3 minutes...I must love a lot of things...

oh and the fact that my new roomate grew up thinking that a loin cloth was really a lion cloth...cause it was made out of lion fur...I know...pretty much made us laugh alot last night...reminds me of when I used to always mix up the words shoulders with soldiers...I used to refer to my broad shoulders as my broad soldiers...

Vereneke

I would like to thank dream for his unending support and the fact that he owns a mac and loves all things technical. I would like to thank dream's grandparents for providing the farmer sausage that I proceeded to cut all wrong and make look ugly...hence no pictures but what would vereneke be without farmer sausage...I also need to acknowledge the random american 'seminary student's' (who actually aren't seminary students at all we found out over dinner)...my supportive roomy Stefanie who encouraged and appreciated my efforts to create a mennonite meal thanks so much, without your affirmation I would have thrown it all out...also the jam idea totally killed...Raquel, thanks for making the greek salad to add health to an otherwise nutrient non existent meal...to my heritage, without the mennonites commitment to white flour, butter and oil and pork sausage...I would be a different person, these affinities have influenced who I have become...where would I be without vereneke...well, I would hate to even think about that possibility. so thank you menno simon's.
Mostly I would just like to add that it takes a whole community to support my first vereneke making experience...to this community I am forever grateful. Thank you CMU, thank you hosting staff, thank you summer cleaners...

you are all my inspiration....

I'm sorry, I love you, I forgive you...goodnite
as you lay across from me,
I softly recite...
familiar words covering
like a worn blanket,
it snuggles us.
a soft lullaby we hear
before bed every nite


I forgive you, I love you, I'm sorry...goodnite
I don't really mean it,
I know that I'm right.
I'm biting my tongue,
around an unfinished thought
like a forced hug
to ease a tense night
we're fighting

I love you, I'm sorry, I forgive you...goodnite
wherever you are,
close or so very far...
I'm tucking you in,
in this world we call home
the sky for a blanket
wherever you lay your head,
I'm whispering,
I'm sorry,
I love you,
I forgive you,
goodnite...

"Hey, cleaning lady!"

I was racing out of the dining hall to turn off my oven and stove because I had forgotten about the supper I had cooked for tomorrow while enjoying a free meal at the caf...while at the caf i had enjoyed sitting and chatting with some of my co-workers when a french fry flew right at my head...one of the hockey coaches/councellors threw a french fry at us and sat there grinning...I took a good look at him and then said, "I just swept that floor today"...looking dually humbled he got up and tried to find the forbidden french fry but to no avail, he was let off the hook because he was married to one of my coworkers cousins and so he had actually been throwing the fry at Rob but almost got me instead...I found this out after Rob told me the connection, which then humbled me cause I was like, maybe he had been throwing the french fry at me...you know..."how you doin'" and all that.
Anyway, the thought did cross my mind so I was just kinda humbled cause I realized that I had thought it and wonder'd if he was hitting on me...and well, I felt stupid for even thinking it...
then,
then,
yes, after all that...I all of a sudden remember my cooking food and race out the caf, only to hear this,
"Hey, cleaning lady!"...I wasn't even wearing my staff shirt, I was off shift and just chatting with friends at the caf eating my free dinner and I get a false 'hitting on me' moment and now I am really actually trying to get back to my apartment and deal with my forgotten cooking...but I stop running, turn around to face...you guessed it, married french fry throwing hockey councellor and he is smiling..."One of my guys used the toilet and it overflowed, can you come clean it up?" I look at him and mumble something about a french fry and now a toilet and then tell him, "Sure I will get there soon, I just have something to do first." He shouts 2cd floor, as I hurry towards my burning rice...and I think, do I have a sign on my head that says I love plunging toilets! pick me!
I get to the bathroom in question and the councellor is leaving with all his kids to go have some fun swimming, and he points to the stall and says, "I don't think he even used it, it just over flowed..."
And I'm thinking, really? you really think that gonna fly? that I will believe thats what happened? cause toilets just love to overflow all by themselves...really?? after the floor clears of all people hockey related I face the poop filled toilet and scream...yup, just screamed...and really there was alot of poop in that toilet...he didn't use the toilet my foot!
copious amounts of bleach later and a rage filled blob about my awkward, humilating, poop filled experience...I still am fuming about the whole insult to injury of first being humiliated at supper and then being humiliated because he didn't even see me as a girl, just as a cleaner...I might as well be covered in poop for how attractive I feel at this point in my life...

I used to like this job, poop on that...poop, poop, poop....

Before I blog about my fab camping trip...

There is a hockey camp here, on campus...it is full of little children who dream of beating eachother to a pulp with sticks...fun.



Anyway, what i didn't know is that it's a Christian Hockey Camp...so basically when I was walking to the public washrooms to pee this morning, I passed the morning devotional and this is what I heard...the leader was talking about things that people shouldn't do. And one of them was adultery...and then I heard two prepubescent voices pipe up...



whats adultery?



how do you spell adultery?



and then the leader hummed and hawed and then I heard, well, it's a-d-u-l-t....and then a pause...



poor man, one too many hits to the head...but it did fascinate me to see that hockey camp is about Jesus too...and adultery...

an assortment...

you know, like the generic assortment of 'pot of gold' chocolates packaged in a cute box with a legend. Then you read the types of chocolates inside and wonder what they put into the chocolate. I mean what's marzepan anyway, so after trying a few foreign language chocolates later you end up sticking to the milk chocolate piece with the 'pot of gold' on it and trashing the rest of the box. So here is an assortment from my last two days, you may or may not find a pot of gold in it.

I got my hair cut by oscar snailsley, his real name was Patrick but he goes by Oscar Snailsley, even his nephews call him that. We were talking about interests and hobbies and being creative, cause he sews, and draws, and tailors his own clothing...then he asked me, so what do you do? What are you good at...and little me, with my big mouth blurted out...well, I blog?!?...I felt so much pressure to measure up to his talent that I told a complete stranger that I blog...so basically the rest of the time he cut my hair he bugged me about blogging, and I teased him about being awkward, cause he was always apologizing after he would say something like, so you going to blog about that? so is that blogworthy?

Today Germany lost to Spain in a long drawn out 'chess game' as the commentator coined it...as soon as he said it I knew I was watching the wrong game...the spaniards are the chess players, but the Germans, they play soccer. I am heart broken so with that in mind I have decided to encourage my favorite little German player...
Dear Mesut Ozul,
I like it that when people pass the ball to you, sometimes you have to slow down or back track to get it cause your just that fast. So I was thinking that you should get married to someone who is also fleet of foot and create the next generation of top football/soccer players. Don't worry that wouldn't be me, I am just about the slowest person on the planet, but I thought my idea was at least noteworthy...or maybe just unique. So basically, have lots of fast children...and thank you for being one of the most exciting players to watch during the 2010 World Cup...
respectfully,
someone who has the best interest of the future of German soccer at heart...

I am going camping tomorrow...la, la, la....

One of my fellow co-workers...the one who shall not be named...makes it a peculiar goal to make me laugh my shreak of death pretty much the entire * hour shift at work...his current strategy involves pulling his pants up to his underarms and dancing...basically it's like watching Steve Urkle on crack...my abs hurt...

my dad sent me this the other day and it has given me peace...

school can teach you knowledge, life gives you experience, but wisdom only comes from God.

the end.

Viva la Fifa

I have been working non-stop as they say...and have only managed to find time to squeeze in as many fifa matches as possible. Other than that I have just worked. The matches are giving me a hernia, seriously. For Japan's shootout with Paraguay it was so hard. I later found out the player who missed his shot for Japan had the nickname 'Lucky' so ironic...then Ghana's shootout with Uruguay literally broke my heart, good thing it also touched Nelson Mandela so the team was later invited to his mansion for a pep-talk... the Netherlands beating Brazil, I haven't even really been keeping track of the Netherlands yet so for me they came out of left field...crazy...as well as Artentina's meltdown against Germany....don't get me wrong, I was kinda cheering for Germany but after they had 2 points I thought that Argentina should at least have one to make it easier on their pride and then Germany got two more and I was like, there is no pity on that German squad...they just kept playing and taking it to the Argentinian's which was so different from the Dutch playing Brazil...the Dutch went defensive right away after going up one goal and then when it was getting close to the end they started shouting at the ref to call times up...
Yesterday I missed the Spain vs Paraguay game cause i was at Safeway...and at safeway I can't even check internet on my break so i was literally asking all the customers...it was kinda like, "Do you have your club card or phone number handy? Do you have airmiles? Would you like a hand out with your groceries? Do you watch world cup?"
unfortunately most were like, "what???"
and then I'm, "You know, Fifa world cup?"
and they're. "Fifa, is that a sport?"
and I'm, "Soccer?"
and they're..."We don't know anything about soccer, but the Bombers won their game today."
and I'm, "Thanks" inside thinking, how can you not know anything about the world cup if you own a TV, watch the news, or read the paper...maybe they really don't own a TV and can't read...
so finally after the other staff heard me asking a bizillion times one guy phoned his friend who is into soccer and then told me the score so i would calm down and stop pestering all the customers...
sadly, Paraguay lost...by one goal...scored in the final minutes of the game...the rest of the shift just kind of passed while I contemplated this and thought, how I am going to face Micha and Lillian on Monday...

I am sorry for your loss...so so very sorry...

I'm wearing an orange shirt and drinking out of a red snowflake mug...

Today is national holiday. Happy Canada Day. Usually it's all hyped up about how you will celebrate the nations birthday...of Independence...of rebirth you might say...ok...What everyone forgets to mention is who you will celebrate the day of all days with. Canada Day is about being a Canadian with other Canadians...friends and parties or family Bbq...previous years have held lots of both kinds of events. Usually pretty laid back affairs, not too ostentatious or crazy...maybe wave a little flag or say a little prayer of thanks for the ole homeland...but always together.
Which is why today being alone...I am feeling somewhat un-Canadian...I mean if I were all the way in Indonesia I would feel very Canadian right now. If I were in Alberta right now...I would feel very Canadian. But I am not. I am in Winnipeg cleaning toilets and wiping walls and vacuuming floors and feeling very little national pride.
So to dredge up some sort of Canada spirit I put on the orange shirt Andi sent me last month, and i am drinking out of my Christmas mug from Tris and Leigh, slowly, I am starting to feel alittle connected...if we were all together right now. Leigh and Yase would be Bbq-ing and 7 crazy kids would be running around, with one mother chasing them and another one feeding a toddler. I would be sitting on the deck watching it all...worrying that it's all going to dissappear too fast. And become a memory. Knowing that sometimes life takes you far away from 'together'. So, while I am celebrating Canada today, I am missing two of my favorite Canadians...Andi, Tris...maybe next year ok? (I was going to say, next year in the promised land...but that is Jewish and talking about Isreal so doesn't really fit with the Canadian themed post...and seriously in our family where is the promised land...)

PS Ry it's bear mace...seriously, the other night 'John Smith' went on night patrol and was shining a massive spotlight into my room at midnite...apparently chess players are under threat of bombs as well...thats the latest we have heard from the security detail...seriously...