Goals for the summer...

* things added to the list after the original post are in italics *

Summer in the city??? This is the first summer in 6 summers that I have not been up north at Muskoka Woods working for the summer. I have been a guest or a staff member there for the last 16 summers, so the idea of spending a summer in the city is a very foreign concept to me. I am already feeling like I might go insane. So to prevent insanity I have decided to set some goals for things I would like to do this summer. They are as follows:

1- Learn Sign Language (and not just the alphabet, I mean really learn it and become capable of communicating through it)
2- Read at least 10 books
3- Go on at least one road trip
4- Learn to play 3 songs on my guitar (I am still learning the cords as of now)
5- Paint ... I am not sure what yet, I guess I'll wait to be inspired
6- Take my new puppy, Daisy, to obedience class
7- Finish drawing my "captivating" book
8- Mail my best friend Amanda, who is up north at camp for the summer, a letter/card every week
9- As well, every week randomly send someone else up north a letter/card
10- Visit Muskoka Woods at least 3 times
11- Reconnect and hang out with my friends who live in the city
12- Every day that I am home, go for a run or do lengths in my pool
13- Cross stitch 2 pictures
14- Start volunteering in some way with my church's neighborhood connections program
15- Attend church every week and spend time daily doing devotions
16- Do my school placement, and do it well
17- Stay in touch with friends who live far away
18- Visit other people who have stayed home from Muskoka Woods this summer
19- Find a quiet place, within 1/2 hour of my house that I can go to get away and hopefully see the stars at night (that the city lights inconveniently drown out)
20- Hang out with Erica and Grant (my Godson) a lot
21- Journal daily
22- Spend a day at a spa
23- Go to the zoo
24- Go to a butterfly conservation area
25- Spend a day antique shopping/browsing
26- Go on a walk above the trees (Scenic Cave Nature Adventure (?))
27- Get a part-time job (?)
28- Have Jay visit me
29- Go horseback riding
30- Swim with the polar bears (Polar Bear Habitat)

As the summer goes on I may find new things to add to this list, but for now I think the things I have listed will definitely keep me occupied. If you have any suggestions on things I should do feel free to let me know!

For those of you who are spending the summer up north, have an amazing time and appreciate everything up there even when you are tired and the "well-off" children are driving you crazy.

Blessed...

There is a wonderful blessing that comes when you have the opportunity to reconnect with old friends. For the past week I have been doubly blessed. My friends from YWAM, Kathryn and Vinjelu, arrived here in Ontario on June 14th and stayed with my family and I for the week. I was nervous about them coming. It had been two years since I had seen them both, and a lot of things had changed in those two years. For starters they started dating, got engaged and married! I had only known them when they were friends so I didn't know what to expect. What I got however exceed anything I could have expected. I loved every minute of time spent with Kathryn and Vinj. Our friendships picked up right off where we left them when I left Alberta 2 years ago. I loved watching the way they love each other, and it was an honour to be reminded of how much they loved and still love me. Through many conversations and time spent together these two blessed my life so much. They never fail to compliment me or tell me I'm beautiful, or speak such truth into my life. At first it was weird to hear because friends that do those kinds of things are so rare these days. It makes me want to be that kind of friend to people, to be able to help someone feel better about their selves. Below are some pictures of my time spent with Vinj and Kathryn. How I love them both. I am excited already to go out west sometime in the fall/winter to spend more time with them. Thank you to Kathryn and Vinj for everything you bring to my life, I hope you know what a joy it was to have you both here with me. I miss you both already.

Weddings...

Ahhh, my friends are starting to get married! I all of a sudden feel old. My friend Simon got married on May 27th in Petawawa, on the army base there. It was a 5 hour drive to get there and then home again. The sunset on the way home was so beautiful. It was worth the drive. The weather that day was amazing with the sun shining everywhere. Once I got there I was excited for himself and Tera (his now wife). They seemed so happy which is always fun to watch at weddings and you can always count on the best man to give a speech that ultimately makes the bride’s father worried, but oh man was it funny. I loved getting to see a lot of the guys that I have grown up with, but have not seen in a long time. I laughed so much with them. I thought I would post some of the pictures I took. Enjoy!

What I have learned these past seven months...

I did it! I made it through my last two weeks of school. (And they were only a little bit as bad as I thought they would be) Last Friday I officially wrote my last exam. I am pretty confident that it went really good so now I am just waiting for my marks back. I have taken some time since Friday to think about my past seven months in class and have comprised a list of the top 10 things I have learned, some through observation, some from personal experience...

10- Teachers are hired because they really do know what they are talking about and we should listen to them
9- The girl that everyone else thinks is mean at first glance can end up being one of your favourite people
8- In every classroom you need a few allies, people you can really talk to without holding back
7- Every person has their off days where they are emotional and crazy and that is allowed
6- You truthfully don’t have to like everyone, but you have no excuse to be cruel to them
5- The no eating in the classroom rule only counts if the teacher actually catches you disobeying it
4- Participation marks really can make or break your grade and actually doing homework reading assignments and studying for tests can be very beneficial to your grades as well
3- You go into a classroom expecting to learn only about the topic at hand, and in turn you wind up learning more about yourself, others and life then you ever thought you would
2- Every person deserves the opportunity for you to take your time to get to know them and to let them get to know you, no matter what anyone else thinks about them
1- Talking bad about someone and/or behind their back gets you absolutely no where, but learning to speak out of kindness and love, gets you everywhere

So to Anelita, Azeb, Bev, Dana, Donna, George, Holly, Jackie, Jenelle, Julie, Katie, Luc, Maria, Matt, Robert, Sonali, Soraya, and Steve, thank you for all the memories of the past seven months. It was a gong show, but I still loved it and appreciate every one of you for your place in my journey through life.