Live Like No Tomorrow

My eyes felt like lead last night, closing as soon as my head touched the pillow. They didn't open until 9:00 this morning, resulting in a 11 hour sleep that hasn't occurred in a year...or so it feels like. I awoke with a fire burning in my heart, a spring in my step and found I was restless laying in bed listening to Jack Johnson. Getting up I couldn't help but smile for what I had planned for the day. Out of the five things on my list of things to accomplish today I was only excited for one...that being memorize John 1.
As you all may be aware I was on a retreat this weekend with the church I attend. It was a wonderful time to get away from the city and enjoy some time relaxing with friends and getting to know people better. And as is usual for me after a great weekend retreat I came back passionate about my relationship with Christ and excited. This week is lent, an annual season for Christians. Not all recognize this season and that's perfectly fine in my opinion, but a few years ago I decided to start recognizing it to challenge myself. In the past I've given up things like food items, but this year I'm going to give up something a little different. I have the material aspect still, giving up Facebook and online TV for the 40 days, but I am also going to make a goal. That goal is to not use the word "hate" in the sense "I hate this" or "You could hate that". Now remember I said this is a goal...not a must. I know we all have horrible and negative days, something some people have more often than others. But I've come to realize how negative everyone around me is and the last thing they need is another negative influence in their life. So I'm going to be that one light as I'm supposed to be and try not to burn out.
I've realized a lot this past weekend along with going to different group sessions at our counselling service at the university. Negativity gets us no where and it effects those around us dramatically as well as ourselves. It's unhealthy and in a day and age that's obsessed with health it's one thing people seem to forget. It's not just their fault though, it's in their sinful nature as we aren't made perfect.
I'm happy to say I have the Lord to lean on through these 40 days and hope to make a good habit of being more positive. I feel without the distractions of social media and media I will have more time to focus on God and my goal to memorize the gospel of John. Don't panic either, if I'll keep you all updated through this blog in those 40 days which automatically is posted to Facebook. You know how to contact me otherwise.
God Bless.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." 

(Psalm 73:26)

S'more Mushroom Tops

Well winter has surely hit the rock and my roommates and I find ourselves buried beneath a good pile of snow I can't see over standing beside. Classes are in full swing as are midterms and assignments while the midterm break is just around the corner. A storm "looms" over the Atlantic provinces this evening and I am fully expecting a hurricane tomorrow despite it being many months after the season.
The smell of bread rising and S'more cupcakes fills the air of our apartment and I sit in the kitchen now writing this blog while I wait patiently for 11:00 to strike so that I might bunch down the bread once again before forming it into rolls. I was at first skeptical about the S'more cupcakes, but in the end they turned out quite alright, not too sweet and not too bad over all. However the buns might be a different story, I'll be sure to update sometime in the future.
And now before I forget I figure I should probably write out the idea behind the psychedelic pancakes I made a weekend or so ago. It was quite simple, using the pancake recipe I usually use I traded the chocolate chips for M&M's. When stirring them into the batter I found the dye spreading throughout the batter and was left with the colourful pancakes. Hope that clears any suspicions as to how to make them :)
I've found baking to be my escape from everyday stresses and after an extremely stressful week it was nice to bake some cupcakes and start buns. Even now as I sit here at 10:30 I happened to glance over to the dough on the oven and cannot believe how much it has risen. We're going to have buns coming out from every hole in this house after tomorrow morning.
Besides baking, life has been nothing but an uphill climb towards a wonderful peak of happiness and joy. It's been a long recovery since my fall during the holidays but it's coming along and each day I've grown stronger with the Lord's help. I miss all of you who are far away dearly and am glad I know those of you who are with me here in NL. I will be attending a retreat next weekend which I am thoroughly excited to be going on. Expect a post after that weekend.

Guten Nacht.

January's Last Attempt at Winter

The white out was as bad as it looked. The snow was absolutely stunning yesterday morning when I walked to the bus and stood waiting. There was hardly any wind and had I had a pen and paper I would have scrawled out quite a scene or beautiful poem. It reminded me of the question "have you ever seen the wind" and how I would answer that question if I was asked. The way the snow moved as one, like a living being, when the wind picked up was amazing, the huge flakes moving in unison before settling back into a straight falling pattern. I knew we were going to get snow...I just wasn't sure if it'd let up or not within an hour or so.
Two hours later, sitting in my NL linguistics class someone brought up that it looked like we were in a cloud. Upon looking out the window one could see the comment was suitable for the time. It was a complete white out, the only thing visible besides a cloud of snow was more snowflakes falling closer to the window. Another hour later and I was walking home in a blizzard. The wind whipped the snow about violently and I wasn't quite sure whether or not it was snowing or it was just the snow coming off the ground that'd fallen earlier that morning. Coming home I figured I'd get the 15 cms off the driveway before we got another 15 cms, shoveling as fast as I could. Needless to say 2 hours of my day yesterday consisted of me digging out the drive and attempting to pile it up on the mountain of snow that was taller than Liz and I.
Now the first thing I want to bring up after describing this is...oh you guessed it...plows. I've come to realize you sick people get joy out of my hatred. There aren't a lot of things that I hate in this world...but ever since I've moved here I cannot begin to explain my loathe for the plows. It never struck me that they could be such a nuisance, in Saskatchewan they didn't even have plows to plow the streets (or so it seemed) and in Red Deer we were far enough away from the main street they didn't bother you at important times used for sleep. And I'm sure by now you've all ready my jumble of letters of a status that I post at 4:00 am in complete fury at being woken up.
However...I am not here to rant about them waking me at 4:00 am. I knew better than anyone that those plows would be out all night last night, not just starting at 4:00 am. I could even hear them when I attempted to lie down at 10:00 pm last night, though their beepers weren't on for some odd reason. So being wiser than I had been in quite a time I plugged my headphones into my ears and kept my ipod on in hopes it'd drown out the sound. It wasn't long till I realized I would probably get less sleep due to being uncomfortable from my headphones than I would if the plows woke me up for 2 hours at 4. Frustrated I put the ipod on my stereo and did my best to fall asleep trying not to think about the 4 am wake up call.
It never came.
At 4:00 my body woke me up, my eyes flickering to my phone to check the time. Anger tore through my veins as I anticipated it had been the plows that had caused me to awake at such an unearthly time. But there was nothing. No beeping, no train in the backyard. Nothing. Calming myself I found I fell asleep, awaking at 6:30 am to hear my roommate before I heard the plow's beepers. That was okay, I was fine with 6:30...it could've been worse.
Frustration did course through my mind however when I stepped out the front door and saw the moderately sized pile of crusty/hard snow the plow had plowed onto our shoveled drive. Just for once I'd thought the plow and I had had some unspoken realization of our hate for each other and were going to compromise. But no. That's not how it's going to be. This is war.
Besides the plow...no I am not sick of all the snow. There's your answer. Ask me in a month. I'm thrilled to see snow in the 2 week forecast and no rain. -crosses fingers- One can hope it doesn't change. I don't know how to shovel anymore snow off the drive when it comes as I can't reach the top of the hill in our yard. I might have to invest in a sled by which I can put snow on and then pull it away to somewhere else and dump it. More ideas will be coming soon.

Stay tuned.