Just Like Vacation

Finally done math!  Well one of four that is...three to go.  But I finished with an 88% final grade and couldn't be happier!  I had a week break from the pool between lesson sets as well so I've only been working my regular full time job and have had free evenings and weekends which has felt like a mini vacation to me!  There is a lot going on, we started my time off by deciding to live together for two weeks (while I was out of school) to see how it would go, it was incredible!  I had the best time with Lo at everything we did.  It was officially one year since our very first date on April 25th, neither one of us can believe it's gone by so fast.  We celebrated by going to Comic Expo and then the Keg for supper...Comic Expo was super neat, I can't wait to go again next year!

I did my nails like a Super Nintendo Controller for the Expo!

 

Logan got the signatures of the Starship Troopers

 

We got a bunch of really cool swag (including Dan Parent's signature for me and a Yoshi t-shirt)!

 

I got a "Star Fox Coffee" pin heh heh heh...

 

Logan met Michael Beihn (from Aliens and Terminator)

A couple weeks later we went to Cirque Du Soleil (we gave tickets to Evan for his Birthday and got a couple to celebrate our Anniversary).  It was really amazing and we had a great time.  Although they do a good job with the tents here, I would still love to see it in Vegas one day.

We're heading over to the tents

 

After the show

Last weekend was Becky's Bridal shower, seems like there have been a lot of weddings lately!  I used a lot of the same games I had planned for my cousin Julie's shower, they were a big hit.  Also my dress had come in for the wedding so I brought it there to model for Becky and she showed me how she wants me to wear my hair (sock bun), which I have also youtubed to figure out how to do, it's super easy even though it looks tricky!

Becky had a professional photographer which I'm glad about because

I didn't have any time to snap any pictures myself! 

Can't wait to see more of the photos!



Tonight I'm trying out a new type of yoga, it's more about breathing and de-stressing.  I figured this would be a good way to start off spring semester for school, I am going to try to go to this type of yoga once a week until spring semester is over to keep my "zen" throughout.  I am almost through another year of University, so I can't give up yet!  Today was also my first "weigh in" for my next project, project healthy.  Time to detoxify and get back on track.  I've gained an extra weeknight and once I'm through with my spring semester I'll have a LOT of free time, I'm going to try a bunch of different things to bring my energy level back up so I can become more productive, although I do accomplish a lot in a week I do it while half asleep/exhausted, time to be able to gain back that energy so I can appreciate the hard work I'm doing while I do it so it is a less painful task!

Another cool little tid-bit, I'm teaching a Bronze Medallion course for the very first time!  Seven years at the pool and I've never taught one before.  This course is step number one to getting your lifeguard certification, there are two classes after this one.  This one mainly focuses on fitness level, I remember back when I took it I fould that this was the hardest course for me.  So far I am absolutely loving it and have no idea why I was so nervous to teach it in the first place.  I am co-teaching as it is quite a bit of work for one person and it's always an option to have a co-teacher.  I think I might be able to take the full course on my own after I've had the experience of teaching it with another instructor first.  I am actually looking forward to our next class on Saturday!  We always have them practice a time swim, I'm thinking of hoping in the water to practice with them next time.

Until next time, cheers!

On the Move

So Easter is creeping along and I've been getting pretty excited to go out to Lethbridge.  I'm super excited to see my family, I've missed them so much since we went out to BC for New Years.  I'm going to be a busy beaver this week what with trying to get all my school work done (new math project) and getting ready for Lethbridge, I need to find an egg craft and recipe for an appy to bring along.  I'm not too sure how much I like having the Friday as opposed to the Monday off...I'd almost rather the Monday off instead (since I don't have classes that night)!

Today we moved to our new offices at work, 35 storeys above ground!  That's not the only special thing going on, today marks 11 months of being together with Logan.  I can't believe a year ago around this time I was calling up the IT department at work talking to Logan on the phone without a clue we'd be dating!  It's pretty crazy.  Everything has been getting better and better with this blondie!  He continues to surprise me at how great he is at being a boyfriend...I know, I know, mushy mush but it's all new to me, something I have never experienced before, and I gotta say, I could get used to this!

Cheers to you blondie. 

Thanks for making every day a little more special!

Ordinary Day

Lately I've had a Great Big Sea song stuck in my head, "Ordinary Day."  Particularily the part "and I said way-hey-hey it's just an ordinary day and it's all your state of mind."  This couldn't be more true.  Throughout our lives we have fewer "un-ordinary" days than ordinary days so how do we make the ordinary days special...well I like the way Great Big Sea puts it, it's all your state of mind.  Your day will turn out however it is you choose for it to.  You don't realize it but each and every day you are setting yourself up for how your day will turn out by your state of mind.  A trick I try is to continually change my state of mind if I begin focusing too much on the negative or begin getting too overwhelmed by my busy schedule.  More often than not at this time of year the winter blues try and see you out and it's up to you to catch yourself being blue and change it.  I find the weather plays a toll in this as well.  Stormy, cold, gloomy days are usually ones where I find myself continually trying to change my state of mind back to positive.  The nice thing about Calgary, or Alberta for that matter, is that you know the sun will come out to shine at some point no matter how cloudy, us Albertan's always get a bit of a break throughout the winters with our chinooks and sun-shiny days.
 
But until those days come about I love to allow myself some comfort time, and lately it has been jumping back to my childhood and playing Super Nintendo on gloomy days.  Logan is slowly moving more and more game systems over to my house (only ones he knows I like), along with the games that go with them.  One cold gloomy night Logan and I hooked up the Super Nintendo and started playing away, it brought back so many memories for me and my childhood "state of mind" which was exactly what I needed.  It's exactly what I do need to escape my busy world and jump back to a simpler time.
 
Both Logan and I have been busier than ever lately.  Logan is currently completing another IT certificate (I know it has something to do with microsoft and networks but it's really kind of over my head), then you know me...studying away for my Bachelor of Science Degree.  So the two of us needed a bit of a break, and letting off a little steam with some Nintendo seemed to do the trick, all that was missing was a couple slurpees and bag of 7-11 candy!
 
Logan has been keeping busy with little projects as well.  My friend Colton asked Logan to build him a PC, so Colton sent some money Logan's way and Lo got to work.  Now I know that Logan puts PCs together as his hobby but I had no idea he could do it so fast...within a week and a half he had Colton's PC finished and ready to go, under budget as well (he seeks the deals like I do, plus for me!)
 
Here's his finished product:
 

 

For me, I haven't had a lot of "down time" especially considering I only have one weeknight off each week (which I usually use to do homework all night), and then it's the weekend which I cram full of chores and try and get some Lo time in there.  But a hobby for me lately to keep me from going insane has been painting my nails.  I've really loved experimenting with different nail polishes and fun ideas.

 

Here was my "sponge paint" idea for St. Patrick's Day, I used green and blue....

 

 
And although I know the next month of my life will be a little crazy there is one thing I'm excited for that is coming up soon, I'm going to Lethbridge to visit my cousin Julie!!!  I haven't seen her or her husband for like 6 months, since my cousin Amber's wedding.  That's a long time for us to go, something more exciting, we're going to be working on the Drink Club scrap book, which hasn't been worked on in FOREVER!!!  One thing though...I've decided (yet again) to give up drinking until I pass my Pre-Calc exam (April 22), so that means the weekend I come out to Lethbridge will be a sober one, which isn't a bad thing, but it means the drink club will need to be virgin style!  Julie and I are also going to be colouring Easter Eggs, something neither of us has done in years!  I'm pretty excited for some catch-up time.  We will also be going into Taber one day for a visit with our other cousins and Uncle/Aunt, can't wait!

Logan and I were shopping at Sobey's the other day and came across this which got me all excited for Easter!

 It's a wall of pop cases spelling out Happy Easter!!

 Anyways, signing off once again - 11 days sober, 36 days to go.

We All Know Geology Rocks!!!

Calgary's weather lately has been like a woman's hormones...you never know what to expect.  Just Wednesday my mom and I were shopping without coats on, today...another blizzard!  At least you know when the weather gets cold and stormy in Calgary it usually isn't around for very long. 

So I am about half way through my semester at school, the next half I'm sure will really fly by.  My math grade is still in the 90's which is awesome but I know that I still have yet to write my final exam as well as one more unit test and a project...a little bit scary.  All I care about is getting that 60...or C- I want this to be the last time I take this course once and for all, pre-calculus sure isn't easy!  With my English course I'm starting up my final project.  We're putting together booths similar to a trade show but our theme is different types of travel.  Our instructor gave us a list of topics to choose from which we were meant to choose a subject for, the category I chose was "Learning Travel" and my topic will be Geological Field Trips.  I'm putting together a poster and booth showing the variation of field trips offered to people in the industry.  I myself have been on two, one to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, the other to Grassi Lakes near Canmore to see the Leduc Reef.  Grassi Lakes is just gorgeous, check it out:

The water is so green because of the reflection of algae.

 

 

 Here are some rock climbers, I am rather fond of this photo. 

I plan to do this one day for sure!

 

My sister excited we've climbed so high

 

Climbing the rickety rock staircase, was pretty cool.

 

Here is the rock I am studying, was actually a coral reef back in it's day. 

This one is a large chunk of the Leduc reef from the Devonian Period.

 



Hope this project comes along nicely!!

A New Leaf

So now that you're caught up to speed here are a few pictures to catch you up on my year (although not exactly in order, here goes):

 

Here's my blue-eyed blondie

  

 The day we were supposed to go to comic expo but couldn't get in.  Logan wanted to get his keyboard signed, yes that is a backpack meant for a skateboard...but when you're an IT guy I guess it's for your keyboard.

 

Amber's wedding, all us bridesmaids getting ready to put on our dresses. 

 

Heading out to BC to meet Lo's family 

 

A night out for a fancy dinner in Banff

 

The Husky Christmas Party 

 

The Long View Christmas Party - Photobooth.  Was such a blast. 

 

We got props to wear at Lo's Christmas Party.  Plus they had a bunch of cool things there, a spray on tatoo parlor, a candy bar, this photo booth, and the girls got maskarade masks to wear, the guys got top hats. 

 

New Year's in BC.  This is the igloo Lo's cousins made for their little daughter.  It's hard to see but that is a little table with a snow chair. 

 

Us at the Silverstar Ski Hill in Vernon BC 

We went tubing down the mountain that day, such a blast!

 

Christmas morning at my parents house, this is a geeky math t-shirt Logan got me. 

 

Logan is an awesome cartoonist in his spare time.  I composed up a book full of his drawings for him for Christmas. 

 

The pool Christmas Party, bustin' out the moves! 

 

Halloween.  Logan talked me into going as a couple characters from the Dragon Ball Z anime cartoon. 

 

I met Lanny McDonald at a Hitman game one night (while the NHL players were on strike).  He's a retired Flames player for those of you that don't know.  He was very friendly.

 

Plenty of girls nights, here's all us girls getting dolled up for Kas' 20th Birthday party. 

 

Took kayaking lessons with Kas this past summer, was a blast! 

 

Logan and Sam's Dragon Ball Z themed Birthday party thown by yours truly and Sam's wife. 

 

The science centre!  We got a couple cool pictures by the colourful backdrop.

 

Stampede 2012.  We're at the chuck wagon races, going to watch the fireworks and Grandstand show after.  This was the 100th year for Stampede.  Can't wait for Stampede this year! 

 

Drinking on the patios around Calgary.  Such fun summer dates. 

 

 

The Taste of Calgary.  Was also such a cool date. 

You buy tickets and can try samples of different food and drinks all over the grounds. 

Their samples are sometimes the size of full meals!

 

Pub date night - was "name that tune" night.  We had fun guessing all the different songs.  Logan's roommate is amazing at that game and can guess a song withing a few seconds! 

 

Zoo lights - me with the flamingos, just loved them! 

 

Ice sculptures at Zoo Lights.  Logan's petting the bear! 

 

I'm actually running in this picture but we have such

an awesome camera it can snap pictures without the blur!! 

 

 

Well that should sum up most of my year.  Although more awesome events did take place, more on that later on.

 

Until then...live long and prosper.  Signing off for now.



The IT Guy

So I've been avoiding this blog for a while, not really sure why.  Not going to use the excuse of not having the time because I know you make time for things you want to do...I wasn't intrigued with writing on here, didn't feel like I had anything going on worthy of talking about....but things have definitely changed!  Looking back to the beginning I seen the original reasons I created this blog, one was because it was on my project zero list, which is now completed.  The other reason I stated was I created this blog for ranting, which I find particularly funny because when you're ranting about something why would you want it up on the internet?  But there was also another reason I created this blog I didn't mention.  It was a way for me to keep in touch with my family, particularily my cousin Julie because I think she's the only one that reads it.

Since it's been so long since I've been on here I'm trying to figure out how it works all over again...but from what I've come to discover throughout life, re-learning a skill you have in the passed tends to come back faster than learning it for the first time. 

There is now a fourth reason I have this blog, to practice my writing skills for the English classes I've been taking in school.  Yup, finished up the Geophysical Certificate I was taking at SAIT, now I'm back to working on my Bachelor of Science Degree at MRU.  It's really a lot of work.  I'm taking two courses right now, a pre-calculus course (realitively difficult) and an English/Social studies course (painfully boring, but it's a must take GEN-ED class so I have no choice, I have to complete ten GEN-ED's for my degree.  So far I've completed one).  When I look at the past couple years of my life I sometimes wonder if I'll EVER be done school. 

So there have been a lot of changes in my life since January 2012, although I wasn't far off to predict that it would be one of the best years of my life.  It certianly had its speed bumps, but I ended up meeting the most amazing person along the way.  Before I get to that you need to know about my promotion with Husky.  Around February last year I was approached by one of the geophysicists in another department.  Their geophysical tech was going to be retiring and they had their eye on me as a replacement.  I had a bit to consider, a geo-tech job is very technical and can be pretty difficult on certian days.  Especially when doing geophysical work, there are formulas to use, very technical computer skills, databases, data manipulating, etc...basically it would be like starting a brand new job from the beginning having no experience.  Although I had finished all of my certifications I wasn't sure if I was ready for such a huge challenge, I contemplated this for months.  Eventually I decided to hand in my resume, I sumbitted it online to the manager looking along with one of my papers on The Big Bang theory from school, just for him to get a bit of a chuckle out of.  Needless to say, I wasn't very serious about this interview.  There were 21 other applicants, two of which were interviewed as well, they ended up loving me and offered me the position.  I took it, and man was it ever a climb.  There is SO much to learn, I've been doing it for nearly a year now and still have so much to learn.  I'm excited for the most part but it is a bit difficult to balance this job with my school workload.  Learning all day at work then going to school to learn more all night can be exhausting, but I make it work.  Sometimes it gets to be too much and by Thursday night I'll calm my nerves with a couple brews after I get home, but that might also be because I'm taking two classes this semester as well, so I'm in school 3 nights a week.

So back to this amazing person.  Well my first day in my new position called for me to have a bunch of installations done on my computer for all the new programs I would be using.  I called our IT service desk and a pretty cute-sounding guy answered.  I told him all the installations I was going to need done and he began helping me out.  We ended up being on the phone for 3 hours while he remoted into my computer and completed each installation one at a time while I watched him work from my end.  To kill some of the time we steared our conversation to the way of where we grew up, our favourite beers, school, and more.  Things really seemed to click with him while having this conversation and before I knew it the day was ending.  It was 5pm and we had to finish up the installations the next day.  So he called back and we continue the next day, it was about another 3 hours of remoting into my computer finishing up his jobs.  I was beginning to get a bit sad when he finished up all the jobs because we would have to let each other go on the phone and I'd probably never talk to him again.  I had found out he worked for an IT company that contracts to Husky, he did not work in my building.  Something in my gut told me if I didn't jump at this now I'd never get a chance to talk to this guy ever agin...so I went for it and awkwardly asked if he wanted to meet up for a beer sometime after work...he kind of hesitated at first but ended up agreeing and we both quickly hung up the phone.  This was the beginning of the Easter long weekend in April 2012.  I went the entire weekend feeling like I made a mistake, but my girl friends and sister assured me that it was brave of me and said "good for you" like they were proud.  So I just went with it.

The IT guys and I tried to meet up a couple times which never played out too well and eventually settled for meeting after work on April 25, 2012 for drinks at an irish pub downtown on 8th Avenue, James Joyce.  I chose this day because I was on my semester break with school, no class for a week.  Now originally we were going to leave this as a blind date but in this day and age we decided to add each other to facebook so we knew what each other looked like.  I was really not expecing a blue-eyed blondie.  He was super cute but not what I would have considered as my type.  So when I first walked in to the bar and seen him playing around on his phone waiting for me to get there I wasn't really sure if it was him.  I gently kicked the bottom of his foot as a playful "hello" and he looked up at me.  I was all full of energy and all excited...being my jumpity self.  Back then I would have never known this but the look he was giving me was his "I love you" look (pointed out by friends of his later on to me in different situations when he gives me that same look).  Before I left to meet him I remember Scott at work told me to talk slower (I tend to talk a hundred miles a minute when I'm excited about something).  That's exactly what ended up happening.  I don't think this IT guy got a word in edgewise for about the first half an hour.  Our conversation eventually turned to things that we have in common we didn't expect to...and somehow we began talking about the flying dragon/dog in The Neverending Story and were trying to remember it's name, I had to text my sister to find out...Falcor.  We were both still so nervous and each time he left the table I'd ask our waitress if she thought it was going well, I'd ask her if it looked like he was into me.  I was pretty uneasy because I had just gone on a horrible date a few nights before that was just a disaster.  The waitress played it cool and said he looked like he was into me, she thought he was having a good time.  Little did I know this IT guy was asking the waitress the exact same thing each time I left the table, so I'm sure she must have gotten a kick out of it because she didn't let on, and eventually at the end of the night we both confessed to each other we'd been asking the waitress if she thought the other was into us...too funny. 

We really clicked on our first night out, the next date was a bit different.  We had wanted to go to the Comic Expo on Saturday but there were way too many people at it that the fire marshall of the BMO centre said no more people were allowed in the building, so with that plan scratched we went to a pub off of 4th Avenue which looked to be what a lot of people ended up doing.  Comic Expo in Calgary is kind of like Halloween, a lot of people dress up as their favorite cartoon character to attend the expo, some years they have contests, some costumes are so elaborate.  Needless to say we seen batman and quite a few other characters at the pub since no one could get into the expo.  We were a bit disappointed we didn't get to go get a bunch of signatures at the expo but tried to enjoy the back up plan best we could.  So anyways, the cute IT guy was on call with work and happened to have to fill a few calls, so he pulls out his laptop and chugs away on it while continually appologizing to me...it was too funny because I really didn't care.  I was enjoying my beer and doing some people watching.  After he was done working we ended up jumping right back into our conversation from the other night...and that branced off into a few others.  I felt as if we'd known each other a lot longer than two dates, we kind of did in a way.  We had been texting for about a month before we went on our first date.  We got to know each other a bit that way and better prepare ourselves for meeting each other.  It was kind of cool.  In the late afternoon I ended up having to leave (I was going to a friend's kids school fundraiser that evening - it was a silent auction with a "chocolate" food theme on the side, they call the fundraiser death by chocolate, in which case there really was a lot of chocolate).  So anyways, we had to cut our second date a bit short, and although we didn't get to go to the expo we still did get to do a bunch of getting to know each other. 

The following week we went to a movie mid-week, this was when I started feeling like things were moving a bit fast...I hadn't really inteded for this to turn into something serious, and while we were there I definitely felt like we were boyfriend and girlfriend, I didn't think I was ready for that in the least.  I ended up telling him I needed a bit of a break, some time to myself to figure out if I was ready for this sort of thing....we didn't see eachother for about a month until the May Long weekend.  Now I know this is a big step for couples, the meeting of the family.  Because of how family oriented I am I didn't really think of it as him meeting my family at first but rather more just including him in on my plans.  We spend the weekend with my parents, sister & her boyfriend, and my Uncle Cal and Auntie Louise (who where the first extended family members to meet my new guy).  The weekend turned into quite the success. 

This blue eyed blondie was really growing on me.  Eventually we took the big "I love you" step.  My friends tried to convince me to let him say it first, which was what I intended.  Then it just popped out of my mouth one shopping trip at the mall.  We were looking for neon themed costumes.  My sister and her boyfriend were throwing a neon party for their 5th anniversary.  We just happened to be walking along and my blue eyed blondie says to me some sort of  joke then "I...." with a bit of a lull in it, I didn't let him finish I just blurted it out, I love you too.  He was pretty shocked because what he was planning to say was some sort of joke and I just jumped to conclusion.  He was pretty stunned so we sat down for a second, it was kind of cute.  He then replies I love you and have been wanting to tell you but didn't want to scare you off.  I had been experiencing the exact same thing so I definitely knew where he was coming from, I kept wanting to take things slow, but me myself...well I wasn't doing anything slow at all!  Inviting him to big family events, saying I love you...it all felt so right.  I was very hesitant for a while because I wasn't sure I wanted to be in a serious relationship (after the last one I had).  It turns out that it was one of the best things to happen to me in 2012, meeting this IT guy.  Logan.  My blue eyed blondie.  My Lo.  He loves the nick name I gave him.  He has nick names from everyone in his family, Logish, New, Logie, and the list goes on.  But he tells me that no one has ever called him Lo before.  It was my very own special nick name for him.

So from this long story I'm guessing you could easily guess that we've been together since.  It's been ten and a half months and we're every growning stronger.  I finally understand that whole "dating your best friend" scenario.  I never got that before but finally I'm with someone that I have so much in common with.  We have fun no matter WHAT we're doing and if it's just the two of us that's ok too.  We have fun just the two of us, which is also something I've never experienced.  I used to think you could only have fun with big groups when being in a couple.  Logan is so helpful around my condo, he does tons of regular chores all the time without me having to even ask him.  He's just so wonderful.  He supports me in any way he can, when I need that pick me up after a bad mark on a test or just a stressful day he gets me back up on my feet feeling great again.  He has been such a complementing part of my life and I couldn't be happier that he's in it. 

So concluding with some advice from How I Met Your Mother, "Sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things."  I find this to be a quote to sum up my 2012 because although it started all shattered and broken, it lead me to one of the most miraculous parts of my life...my Lo.  And I just couldn't be happier!!!

Fresh Start

So there have been some bumps, scrapes, and bruises the last couple months but I'm working towards getting back on my feet again.  School didn't go exactly as I planned...love life kind of whomps as well...break ups are never easy but it really does feel good to be free.  You don't realize what you've gotten yourself into until it's too deep.  Let's just say, I couldn't be happier to be rid of that disaster.

But 2012 will only be full of positivity from the start to the finish.  I've been making great progress with myself and I intend to continue this so forth!  So let's just forget about the past couple months, here's my monthly focus  - "Keep the lesson, release the rest" - and now it's time to focus on right now.  Not yesterday, not tomorrow, now.  "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Ralph Waldo Emerson, and if what lies within us is not happiness, how can we lead a happy life outside if there is no happy inside?  If I keep worrying about tomorrow how can I be happy today?  If I am not happy today, how can I be happy tomorrow?  So there are a few focuses for the new year for me.  

So here it is, plain and simple...

2012 New Years Resolutions

1. Strive for happiness and love for myself.  I will continue working on this through and through.
2. Buy myself a Dr. Seuss book every month.  This helps me to read between the lines and his words seem to speak to me in a way I can understand them.

And that's it folks!

As for my regular monthly goals (forgetting about the past - moving straight forward to 2012), here goes:

January 2012

Monthly Goal

• Build on my Dr. Seuss collection, I have the Lorax now - I've given Oh The Places You'll go to someone that needs it more than I do now, but I plan to again buy that one.  Also I wish to get myself a new one, which one depends on the mood I'm in when I get it and where I am on my path.  This will be great.

Physical Goal

• Try bootcamp.

I actually already have completed my physical goal, and next class is tonight.  Kickboxing is much more fun though...at least in my eyes.  I think it's because you're learning a skill, with bootcamp you are just doing what they tell you, not really learning a skill, I find I enjoy activities more if I'm learning the skill...like soccer - have a game Saturday, hope it's grand, ended 2011 with a killer game playing my best so here goes...everything!!!

So cheers to 2012!!

Auntie Louise Margarita - great way to start it off!

(and a water, don't want to over do it just yet)