Speaking fast, still moving slow

For My Husband...

2007-12-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

We are in New York visiting Mom and Dad and my dad's side of the family for Christmas and I couldn't be happier. I love my family, and I haven't seen them in months. I haven't seen Mom since August and Dad since July. Crazy! I am really hoping we get to go into the city while we're here. Both Ryan and I want to visit it and neither of us have been. I hope it works out. I hope everyone else is having a great Christmas as well.

Fall is Here: And other Random Musings

2007-10-09T21:16:00.000-03:00

Once again it's been forever since my last post. Maybe no one is even reading my blog anymore, and that's okay, but for anyone who still is, here's some new stuff for you.

Fall is here! It happened so quickly I almost don't feel ready for it. The other day I could have been wearing shorts and flip flops and been comfortable; today, I almost needed more than my sweatshirt to keep me warm. Not only are the days getting cooler, they're getting shorter too. I ride the bus to work in the dark now, and it was dark by 7:30 tonight. Crazy! There are good things about the change too. The leaves are changing which I love, and things like sweater weather, warm comforting food, and Christmas are coming soon.

Things have been interesting in our lives lately. A lot has changed for us this year and I don't think I've really realized how much it is affecting me/us. I feel weird right now. I'm not even really sure how to describe it. So much is going on and I feel anxious, excited, hopeful, nervous, and so much else, all and once.

Right now is one of those times that I really need to trust that God is in control!

Well, this was kind of random, but at least there's something new to read.

It's been a long time

2007-08-18T23:05:00.000-03:00

Wow! I didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted.

I started to post a little bit ago about Speak, Oh Lord, a song written by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty and performed by Keith and Kristen Getty. It's one of my new favorite songs. If you look it up on You Tube you can find the New Song Cafe from WorshipTogether.com where I first heard it. Such a beautiful song with a powerful message. Anyway, I started to say all that in my previous post, but my computer got turned off accidentally and I lost it. Sadness.

So, I'm posting now. There is not much to say, random stuff really.

A week from now I will see my mother at my cousin's wedding and that is so exciting to me. Even more exciting is that she is going to be coming back to Halifax with us and staying for a week I think. This makes me VERY happy!

Work is going well. Never did I think that I would work in the world of dentistry but it's great. I really love the people I work with too so that also helps.

Naomi moves out about a week from now, and while I won't miss the piles of things from the office in the living and dinning room, I sure will miss having her around. I have loved being able to see her everyday, hang out, go shopping, whatever. I'll miss ya Na!

Not much else going on really. Just thought I would update because I hadn't in a while.

Weather Reversal

2007-07-11T22:18:00.000-03:00

I haven't posted in awhile and lots has gone on so I thought I would. First though, it's crazy that while we were in Seattle the temperature was rarely below 80, and today Ryan's brother told us it was 90, and in Halifax today, it was overcast, cool, and misty/rainy. Crazy!

Speaking of Seattle, vacation was great! We did so many things like watching amazing 4th of July fireworks from Kim and Keith's new boat; visiting Ryan's grandmother; meeting Jackson our nephew for the first time (he's so cute!); visiting Kurt and Courtney in Portland and going to the Oregon Zoo; going to the Seattle Aquarium; supper with Aunt Pat; a BBQ with many of the extended family; a birthday lunch with Ryan's mom; seeing Transformers with Brent; many, many, many great eating experiences; Pochies Bubble Tea and Wii playing with George and Carly; lunch with the Microsoft crew; breakfast with Shon at The Brown Bag Cafe and with Travis and Alexis at Tom's Pancake house with "The waitress :)"; and there is so much more! It was great to see people, do things, and have a break!

Now we're back and I started my job yesterday. It is going really well! I know the girl I am working most closely with (she is from my church), and she has been really encouraging so that has been great. Of course it can be a bit overwhelming at first, but I hope to get the hang of things quickly. Well, it's late and I need to get up early in the morning so good night!

A Late Night Chat

2007-05-11T00:15:00.000-03:00

It's late, but I feel like posting so I will. I am often inspired to do things late at night. So let's have a late night chat. I guess chat implies that there is interaction, which this does not really allow for, unless you comment I guess.

Work is going quite well. I was excited when I first started, then I was discouraged when I thought things weren't going well, but now I am hopeful again. I think this will be a good thing. Plus, it will pay the bills, and that is what is most important. Ooo, exciting side note, we got a raise. Yay! And how great is it to get tips? I love the instant gratification that is cash tips.

Do you want a Starbucks preview? Of course you do! We had a meeting today and they are introducing an Orange syrup for the summer, with the featured drink being an Orange Frappuccino Light Blended Creme. I haven't tried it yet, but I guess it tastes like an orange creamsicle, and it's light to boot! Also, you can get an Orange Mocha Frappuccino Blended Coffee that apparently tastes like a Terry's Chocolate Orange. I am very excited about both of these. There are other things you can do with the orange syrup, but these are what I am most excited about.

I am loving hanging out with friends recently. Last Sunday we got to spend time with Lynn and Natasha as they were in Halifax (well, their engagement was in Dartmouth really), for an evening service. You can read their blog for more details about that. It was soooooo nice to see them and have a chance to talk and catch up. Also, the wonderful Jen Ochej is in Halifax for the summer and we have had the chance to hang out with her twice since she's been here, and it has been wonderful, especially because I know we will continue to hang out!

Speaking of hanging out with Jen, the first night she came over was crazy because there was a hostage situation in an apartment building in our cul-de-sac. It was really interesting. Everyone from the surrounding buildings, including us, gathered to watch what was going on. It was crazy. I guess I guy barricaded himself in his apartment and they thought he had access to firearms. They interviewed Ryan and a kid from our youth group which was neat, and the guy from the youth group made it on TV, and Ryan made it into the newspaper, although he wasn't thrilled with how they represented what he said. But oh well, I guess that's the risk you take right?

I am starting to get tired so I am going to head to bed. My day tomorrow is full. Working in the office in the morning; working at Starbucks from late morning to evening, and then from there to a Bowl-a-thon that the kids in the youth group are doing to raise money for May Rally. This should be fun. I love bowling.

Okay I'm going to bed now. Goodnight.

An Update

2007-04-16T17:43:00.000-03:00

I don't think many people read my blog anymore but for those who do here is an update about what is going on.

I started training at Starbucks on Tuesday of last week and things have gone very well so far. I am catching on quickly to everything and everyone is very helpful which am glad for also.

Ryan and I graduate in two weeks which is crazy! I still don't think of it as being that soon, but it is and it is very exciting!

We just starting watching the TV show Heroes (Ryan downloaded some of the first episodes), and it is sweet!

That is all for now...

It's kind of hurry up and wait right now

2007-04-04T19:12:00.000-03:00

Are you wondering if I got the job? Well I did, but it was kind of bittersweet because right after the manager offered me the job, she told me she was going away to Florida for two weeks and would not be doing training until she got back. So I waited. This past Tuesday, the day I was supposed to start my training I got a call from the manager. She had fallen while away and needed to go in for x-rays so she couldn't do the training. Also, she wanted to train me and another girl she was hiring together so my new training date is this coming Tuesday, the 10th. I think I will really enjoy working at Starbucks once I actually start :)

You may be calling me Barista soon!

2007-03-16T20:25:00.000-03:00

This week has been crazy! Daylight Savings Time happened quite inopportunely this past weekend and I had already been tired from staying up late with a dear friend (although I do not regret it at all), so the loss of an hour really affected me.
This week was our VBS at church, and because I still do not have a job I agreed to help out. One day I taught the lesson, another I manned the games, and other days I simple helped out wherever needed. The week turned out to be a lot of fun, but I had to get up earlier than usual and with the time change already affecting me it made it that much harder.
Because this week is March Break for the teens we decided to do something special and have an all-nighter in place of youth group this week. It was last night and it was a lot of fun, but as is expected, it takes a lot out of you.
So, what does this have to do with being a Barista? Well, as you may know if you have been reading my blog I am looking for a job. I heard from a friend this week that Starbucks was hiring and because Ryan's dad works in the Starbucks corporate office I knew I had a great reference, and maybe a good chance at getting a job there. I brought in my resume and dropped it off, and then it was the waiting game. In the mean time though, Ryan's dad mentioned my search to a lady in the company who proceeded to send my resume to the head guy over the Canadian affiliate of Starbucks responsible for all their Canadian stores and he gave my resume to the manager of the location I was looking to work at. Now, I'm not sure if it was because of that or not, but yesterday I got a call from the manager and got an interview for today at 10:30 am. And here is where the too meet.
A long tiring week, and an all-nighter with little sleep the night before an interview may not be the best recipe for a successful interview but I actually think it went really well. I thought she seemed positive about everything throughout the interview and I think that I answered all of her questions well so I am staying positive about it. She said I should hear from her on Wednesday as she has other interviews to do and is making decisions then. If you think about it I would really appreciate your prayers. I'm still nervous about things, like can I do it, (although I know I can), will the pay be enough, etc., etc., but I know I need to trust the Lord. So, next time I see you, I may be a Barista!

Yay for Friends!

2007-03-12T00:48:00.000-03:00

We had some dear friends visiting this weekend. Amy Smith, her mom and dad Joyce and Byard, and her brother Grant were all down for a visit and it was wonderful! We enjoyed great food, both out and at home, some good movies, and most importantly great fellowship (to use an old fashioned church word). I love it when you can not see a friend for awhile and when you do see them it's like you've never been apart. That was the case this weekend. I wish I had pictures to put up, but you can go to Amy's blog and she has some there. I take horrible pictures. Oh well, that's beside the point. So yay for friends, and I am so glad I got to spend my weekend with one of mine!

All Glory to God in the Highest!

2007-02-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I am supposed to be studying for my His and Dis exam tomorrow but before I do, I just have to give praise to God for his goodness in our lives!

Here's the story:
After finishing my internship I began looking for employment as the student loan money was quickly running out/had run out. Unfortunately the process was and is slower than I would like, (read: I would like a job yesterday), and financial deadlines were fast approaching, (read: rent and bills). It came to a point where even if I was to get a job before the money was due I wouldn't receive any money in time to pay anything.

At first I was really discouraged; what were we going to do? Then I had this overwhelming sense of hope; if there was nothing I could do about it, then that means only God can, and he will. But then I began to doubt again, what if we had been unwise with our money? I didn't think we had, but if we had, would that make a difference? Would God not help us? Then I began to wonder if I could trust God for the miracle we needed. Was there something that I was supposed to do that I wasn't doing? I knew God said in his word that he would provide for us, but I was still having a hard time putting complete trust in him because I was afraid that I would and then be let down. It sounds awful to say, but it's true. But in the end I had to cling to his promises and trust that somehow, though I may not know how, some how, he would provide for us. And guess what...

He did!

Tonight I received a call from someone saying that someone else has given us an amount of money that is enough to cover our needs. Praise the Lord! All the glory has to go to him on this one because there was nothing, and I mean nothing, that we could have done to make this happen ourselves.

Lord, thank you for providing for us even though we don't deserve it, and thank you for being faithful to us even in our doubt and fear. All honor and glory and praise goes to you!

I am no Longer an Intern!

2007-01-30T10:40:00.000-04:00

That's crazy to say, but it's true. Now, that doesn't change much for me, at least not for now; I came into the office 9:00 am today like usual, we are having staff meeting as is usual on Tuesday, and I will be working on various church related tasks, as I normally do. Soon however I will hopefully have an outside job so that we can afford to still do what we were doing on our internship. All I can say about that is looking for jobs is tedious work but hopefully I will find something good. I am trusting that the Lord will lead me to the right job, one that works with what I am doing at the church, and provides the income we need. You'll probably see a post from me soon about the job I end up getting. If you could pray with me until then that I get the right job that would be great.

I Rule at Making Banana Bread!

2007-01-20T14:50:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know this sounds really conceited but it's true. I must say however that the credit really goes to Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen who produced the best ever cookbook aptly titled The Best Recipe and the updated version, The New Best Recipe (we have both). They will do as many different variations of a recipe as it takes to find the best one and it really pays off. The recipes are always excellent; they even get into the science of cooking like why you should put the butter in your mashed potatoes before the milk. If you can only get one cookbook I would recommend this one; at the risk of sounding sacrilegious it is the Bible of cookbooks.

Why am I talking about banana bread? Well, it all started when I bought yogurt only to realize when I got home that I had almost a whole container in the fridge. Ugh! But, all was not lost as we have been finding ways to use yogurt all week. One of my favorite ways to use yogurt is in banana bread so I bought bananas at the store and made it today. I am including the recipe so you can all experience the goodness that is this banana bread. It is moist, fluffy, banana-y (I realize this is not really a word), and just so good! If you like banana bread I guarantee this will be the best you've ever eaten.

P.S., It says to adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position but I find that makes the bottom a little dark. I leave the rack in the middle and it works great. It calls for unsalted butter but I usually use margarine and it tastes great. It also calls for walnuts but Ryan doesn't like walnuts so I leave them out usually. I think the flavor is really enhanced with them in so I would recommend using them but if you don't use them it will still taste really good!

The Best Recipe for Banana Bread
Makes one 9-inch loaf
For best results, be sure to use a loaf pan that measures 9 inches long, 5 inches across and 3 inches deep.

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, dark speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and walnuts in a large bowl; set aside.
4. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

I'm making a change

2007-01-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure that there are a lot of people left who read my blog, and of those who still do there may be an even smaller amount who care about this but I just have to say that I am making a change. One of the things I have been known for is being "in the know" about a lot of things in culture. Whether it's fashion, home decor or food, I am up on what's going on and this due in large part to the amount of TV I watch. I've always been proud about this; pleased that I know so much in so many areas, but recently the Lord has been showing me that it's not as great as I think it is because you see, as I have been getting more and more knowledgeable about food, fashion and decor, I have barely increased my knowledge about the Bible. And, while my relationship with my TV and the people on it has strengthened, my relationship with God and my family and friends has suffered. So, as much as I can hardly believe I am doing it, I am going on a TV hiatus. It might seem a little extreme but it's what I need to do. I'm hesitating calling it a New Year's resolution because I don't know how long it needs to last and somehow calling it that seems to cheapen it. My prayer with this change is that my new found time will be put to better use deepening my relationship with God and my family and friends and, of lesser importance, be put to use keeping my house looking the way I would like it to. A few more things which I would like to develop this year which could probably be called New Year's resolutions are drinking more water, eating less food that has little nutritional value and more healthy, whole foods, and getting into a routine of regular exercise. I hope that you all find ways to better yourself this year and that the Lord challenges you greatly and blesses you immensely. Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Time is Here...

2006-12-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

I started to write a long post about how Christmas has really snuck up on me this year but then it started to get too complicated to explain so I decided not to write about it. I also started to write about how I wanted to put up a picture of our tree but didn't have any good existing ones and was too tired to take more but I deleted that as well and decided to just do it. The ones I took of the whole tree didn't turn out very well so I just put up the detail shots. Enjoy!

Gobbles!

2006-11-22T16:53:00.000-04:00

Okay, so since it's been nearly a month (again), since I've posted, and I again am posting about food. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving (American) and we are deep frying a turkey and having friends over again this year. It's not the same friends :( (I miss you all), but I am really excited about who is coming. :) I am also excited for a sweet potato casserole recipe that I found with a pecan topping. Yum, yum! I am also excited that after tomorow I will finally be able to decorate for Christmas. "It's the most, wonderful time, of the year." Happy Thanksgving to those for which it applies, and happy Novemeber 26th to those for which it doesn't.

An Adoration for Apples

2006-10-26T23:29:00.000-03:00

I haven't posted in forever! In fact, it's been over a month. Sometimes I've thought of posting but I haven't had anything I've really wanted to say. I'd like to post something of substance, but I haven't had the energy to so instead I will express to you all how much I am loving apples right now. I know, it's kind of a weird post but oh well. Here's how is started: A week or so ago now the administrative assistant at our church brought some apples she and her family had picked at an orchard. They were Spry. I guess I've never had this kind of apple before because these were like no apple I've ever tasted and they blew me out of the water. They were so crisp (a must for me with apples), and so tart! I puckered and loved every minute of it. I ate three in one day I think. Yumm! Today there was two huge containers of apples from the Annapolis Valley in the grocery store. One was Cortland apples, one was Honey Crisp. This is a kind I had never heard of until we were in Seattle the last time and Ryan's dad asked us to pick up some. I had never tried them before and man are they good. Just the right amount of sweetness, crisp, and they're a beautiful color. So while they're in season you should get some apples. They're delicious.

As well today I got three beautiful squashes. One is orange, one is green, and one is yellow with orange and green stripes. I love produce that is as good to look at as it is to eat. Right now I have them sitting on my covered glass cake stand in the dinning room. I'm weird I know, but I think they're beautiful and I want to display them.

Okay, now you at least have somthing new to read, whether or not it's interesting.

Living Free...and Fashionable

2006-09-16T22:27:00.000-03:00

Today was a great day as I attended a retreat put on by a ministry called Living Free which is headed up by a woman from my church, Stephanie Robbins. She has recently expanded this ministry, and I think she might be taking it on the road so I'll give you a heads up. If you hear about this ministry or Steph, and have a chance to book/hear her, do it! She's great!

Today we drove 30 mins outside of town to a house right on the ocean with breathtaking views. Immediately my spirit was calmed as I looked over the deck to the serene water, trees and rocks. The day included the following: two times of worship led by Emma, a wonderful, spirit led and filled woman, two sessions with speaking from Stef, and a fashion show which I got to organize. Everything went really well. We were drawn into the Lord's presence during the times of worship, then Stephanie challanged us both times she spoke with truth from the word.

Along with times of spiritual growth, we also had great times of fellowship and a fun time with the fashion show. This was my baby, and it was SO much fun to do. Steph had been in contact with Reitmans in the Bedford Place Mall, and we were able to use clothes from there for the fashion show. I chose three models, then I went in and scouted out the clothes I thought would work for them, and we all came in later so they could try on their outfits. We made a few changes, but in the end, they all looked fabulous. It felt weird walking out of the store with an armful of clothes I didn't buy, but also felt so great at the same time because I was able to have fun with the clothes without having to spend money on them :)

I don't know if anyone who reads this blog and lives in Canada watches the show Cityline, but it's a talk show based out of Toronto, and every Friday is Fashion Fridays where one of two stylists they work with comes on and shows looks from different stores. I felt just like one of those stylists. I made cue cards for myself, I hade the models come out one by one, and then they stood there and modeled the outfit while I explained what they were wearing and why it worked. The weekend was called Dress for Success, (hence the reason we had a fashion show), so I showed work/office appropriate outfits, but then I also told them how they could take different pieces of the outfit and make it work for evening and weekend wear as well. I also tried to give a few tips, and tell them about some of the trends of the season. I had a blast, and the women really seemed to enjoy it too.

All in all, I'd say the retreat was a huge success. I have more I'd love to say about it but that will have to come later because I've said too much already. That's all for now.

It Only Happens Once A Year

2006-08-24T21:32:00.000-03:00

and no it's not Christmas. It's me posting pictures on Flicker. I just posted one today and that was my first one in over a year. Isn't that sad? Well, maybe not. I'm not the photographer in the family. I really like it though so check it out and tell me what you think.

We're Moving Again

2006-08-21T23:46:00.000-03:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, but it's not because I've had nothing to post. I guess I just haven't been in the mood. Well, I'm in the mood (No, not that kind of mood, get your minds out of the gutter ;). No seriously, lots has been going on. We have been in the process of looking for a new apartment for awhile now as it has become obvious to us that the apartment we are in now doesn't work for us. We were blessed to have it for as long as we did, it was a sublet, and the guy we subletted from was only charging us half rent, but at the end of August the rent would go back to full price, so we decided to look for something else. We did basically all our looking in one day, looking at 8 apartments, and we found an apartment we really liked. It's in an older building, but the inside was completely rebuilt only 2 years ago, so the apartment is new, which is nice. Usually we go for the old apartments wth character, but the newness of this apartment is a large part of what drew us to it. I will post pictures once we move in, which is this weekend! Officially the move in date is September 1st, but the apartment is unoccupied right now so the guy said we could move in, (or our stuff at least), beginning this weekend which is great. We're really excited about the move for several reasons: We'll be closer to the church, so less commute, the living room is larger so we can entertain more people and fit the youth better on youth nights, it has an actual specified dinning area, so we can actually use our dinning table and have real dinner parties, it has more and bigger closets, and best of all, it has a dishwasher! Yay! We were really hoping to find a place that had a washer and dryer too, but that really ups the price so we decided we could live without that. What is also great about the apartment is that it is only $50 more a month then the price we would pay if we stayed where we presently are, and we like it sooooooooo much better. So that's a huge thing that's been going on.

But that's not all folks (Say in cheesy game show host voice). I preached this past weekend at church. I was nervous for several reasons: preaching itself is a bit nerve wracking because it is such a huge responsability, plus I was leading worship as well, (as usual), and I didn't want it to be Sarah overload. But the Lord was faithful and everything went really well. I even had people tell me that the message was just what they needed to hear, which is so encouraging.

I guess those are the big highlights. Packing begins again. Hopefully that goes smoothly. Well, it's late and I am going to bed. More things are swirling around in my head now that I could say but it's too late. I'm off. Maybe next time.

A Nice Break

2006-08-06T16:14:00.000-03:00

We were going to go away this weekend to visit our dear, dear friends Michael and Rebeckah in Portland. Unfortunately it didn't work out for us to go (I've cried my tears, I'm over it now). Because I had already arranged for someone else from the church to lead worship I didn't change it. I didn't even put myself on as a singer. As a result I was able to be on the other side of the worship for a change and just take in the music rather than having to be aware of what was going on, how everything was going, what was coming next, etc. I have been feeling recently that I needed and wanted a time where I could just be in the body worshipping rather than leading the body in worship. I know I am still worshipping when I do that, but somehow it is different. So, I am glad I got that oppurtunity today.

Dad's message today really spoke to me as well. He talked about reaping what you sow. He really challanged me to rexamine my thoughts and actions, because as he noted, "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action reap a habit; sow a habit reap a character; sow a character reap a destiny". Who do I want to be? Do my thoughts and actions line up with that? Say I want to be a woman of God, (which I do), I can't expect to be that way if I am not sowing Godly things. Sowing in the Spirit as opposed to sowing in the Sinful Nature as he put it. It convicted me because I haven't been spending the time with the Lord that I need to recently, and I can't expect to grow to be more like him if I spend no time with him.

The message also challenged me on a not spiritual but still important level as well. It's back to being the kind of person I want to be. I know how I ideally want to be in my life, (active, oraganized, engaging my mind, and the list goes on), but right now I am not doing the things that would make me that way. Instead, I'm inactive, disoraganized, (although I am getting better with that), a mindless television watcher, and the list goes on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that from now on I want to be intentional in my thoughts and actions so that I will have good habits and a godly character here on earth before I reach my heavenly destiny.

Those are my thoughts for now.

Good Bye Metro Transit!

2006-07-20T11:38:00.000-03:00

It is official! Ryan and I are the proud owners of a 2002 Ford Focus ZX5 Hatchback 4 Door. This isn't a great picture of it, it was one Ryan took quickly yesterday to show his Dad, but I thought I would share it with all of you because even a not great picture is better than no picture at all. This car is such a blessing from the Lord. There are several reasons why it is.

1. We would never have had the money to purchase a car ourselves, but Ryan's Dad was so gracious and decided to give us an early graduation gift, knowing a car is quite necessary for us on our internship.

2. Ryan had been looking and looking since we got here for something in the price range his Dad gave us, and everything was really old and crappy, but this is newer than anything else we had seen and is in really good condition. Plus, it was 2,000 dollars cheaper than what the Blue Book average said we could expect to pay for as car that old with that many miles, etc., etc.

3. Not only is it everything we need, but it's alot of what we want too. The Lord didn't need to bless us like that but he did. I guess that's why they're called blessings :)

Okay, here are the details: It's a standard, or manual if you prefer to say it that way which Ryan really wanted cause he finds it more fun to drive. I don't know how I'll fair with it because some of you may know I still don't have my licence yet, (I know, I am a sad individual), and to learn on a stick, I don't know, but Amy Smith, I am looking to you. You conquered the stick shift and I am using you as my inspriation to say I can too :) (P.S., I wish we could have hung out more at beulah) Okay, back to the features of the car. It has power doors and windows, air conditioning, cruise control, a CD player, and the seats fold down in the back so you can fit more things in which will be great for us and all the stuff we transport to church and youth. And I'm sure there are more features that I don't even know about yet.

It's got a good history too. It was owned by a doctor, then he traded it in, and the guy who sold it to us, his wife dove it for awhile, but she is getting a new Jetta, so she gave it up. It has a fair bit of kilometres on it for it's age, but they were mostly highway miles, or so the guy says, although I know, I know, you can't really trust a used car salesman, although we think this guy may be the dealership owner from the way he was talking. Anyway, we are really excited. Plus, we got it checked out and the mechanic gave it a clean bill of health.

So goodbye Metor Transit, (well once we get all the details worked out and can acctually drive it), you've served me well, but I'm moving on.

Happy Fourth of July! (To all who Celebrate this Holiday)

2006-07-04T12:11:00.000-03:00

It is the fourth of July today which is Independance Day for all those in America, and all those who keep America in their hearts. I have family in the States so I always remember this day.

In other news, Mom and Dad have left for Beaulah today but we won't be going until this coming Sunday after church. :( I will miss opening night, but oh well. At least I will get in on the weekdays. I am really looking forward to Beulah this year. I have always loved Beulah, but this year it's different. There are so many people that I haven't seen in awhile that I am so looking forward to seeing. Ryan and I are both looking forward to it. It was funny; a little while ago Ryan said he now understands one of the draws of Beulah now, (he didn't have the privilage of growing up there like I did), it's seeing all your friends you haven't seen all year; and it is true!

I had to laugh at myself the other day. I post this big post saying I'm coming back!, and then I don't post anything after that for days. I don't want to post things just for the sake of posting though, so that is my excuse.

Okay, here's something of substance for you. Well, as you may or may not know, we are on our internship at Metro Wesleyan and I am in charge of the worship for Sunday mornings. It was a scary thought at first, but now I am really glad that I am doing that because I need a push to do things and knowing it's dependent on me (Well, humanly speaking, because it's really all dependant on God, but you know what I mean), is a great motivator. The Lord has been incredible, blessing me beyond what I could imagine, and working in ways that still confound me. This past Sunday was an example of that. We have a lady who calls people to remind them of their duties for Sunday. I've called the people on the praise team myself a few times if I thought I needed to but for the most part I have left it to her. Well, this is nothing against her, but I am going to need to start calling people myself because this past Sunday was interesting. We have one guy who has been playing accoustic guitar during the year, but was supposed to be away for the summer at camp. I was fretting about that when I found out because the other two men who play acoustic guitar chose to step down for various reasons. I was reassured however when he told me he would be back on the weekends. Phew! That was a relief to hear, and we put him on the schedule for this past Sunday.

Fast track to Sunday morning. I show up; no one's there but I'm early so I don't panic. After awhile, the drummer and electric guitar player show up. Ryan is playing bass, I'm all covered there, but there is still no sound guy or my accoustic player. I start to feel slightly paniced. I check the schedule, realizing I wan't sure who was even supossed to be on sound, and it's one of the regular guys. If he were on, he'd be here by now. Same with the accoustic guitar player. I'm really starting to get worried. I get word that the sound guy may have switched with someone else, but the guy I'm being told he switched with would also have been here by now if he were on. I call his house. No answer. I leave a message. If he could come early that would be great. I then move on to calling my guitar player's house. His Mom answers, and when I ask for him she says he's not there and could she take a mesage. This isn't sounding good. Well, it's just Sarah calling from the church. Does she know if he's planning on being here today. No, didn't I know he was at camp? Well, yes, but he told me he'd be home on the weekends. Oh, well not this weekend, they have to clean for an event. Great. To make matters worse, Ryan tells me that this guy has the only bass amp, and if he doesn't come, Ryan can't play. As I take stock of the situation around me a realize I have a band that consists of drums and an electric guitar. I break down. Drums and an electric guitar does not a band make. After a few tears I am reassurred by my Dad that things will be alright. How hard are the songs? Perhaps he could play the piano. And in fact he did. Now we had a band. One of the youth who sometimes helps with sound has come early with his sister. he starts setting everything uo without me even asking. Thank the Lord for his illing ness to do this. Closer to service time, the guy who was orininally scheduled shows up. they were planning on being away but decided to stay. Again, praise the Lord!

The Lord works in mysterious ways you know. We've been planning the services around a theme. It's been working really well. The message ties in to the songs being sung which ties in to a drama, or a video. It just helps everything connect, and it reiterates the point that is trying to be delivered. This week the theme was going to be generous giving. Not monetary, although it could include that, but of your time, efforts, etc. The message was going to be upbeat so it was preferable that the songs were as well. Well, if you know worship choruses at all you will know the time I had trying to find songs that spoke of giving, and were upbeat; most of them are slow. I finally found ones that worked. They were more about giving your life to God and trying to live for him but they worked. When Dad got up to preach, it turns out he felt to preach about something else, and although it wasn't totally unrelated to the songs I had chosen, I could think of other ones that would have fit better. One of the passages of scriptures he quoted was even a passage that has been taken almost word for word and made into a song. We could have sung that I thought. But then I thought about it, and the songs we ended up doing were easier, and not quite as new, and Dad was able to play them with no problem. Had I known about the change, the new songs I would have chosen would have been too hard, and then what would I have done?

I still felt hesitant about how everything went though. I had tried to get the drummer to play a different beat on one of the songs and it ended up not working out all that well. I didn't feel great about the whole situation. After church was over however a lady came up to me and told me that she had really felt lead to worship and that she had really needed this time with the Lord. Later in the day another woman told me that she felt similarly. Their comments weren't about the style of the worship, or the ability of the band; it was about sensing God, and worshipping him. I felt so blessed, and so in awe of God that he could take a situation that I humanly thought had gone horribly wrong, and make it something that worked so well in the right way and for the right reasons. I am learning more and more that it truly is in my weakness that God can work the strongest.

Sorry to have babbled on so long. I guess that was just what was on my heart to share, and I'm too much of a detail person to leave anything out of the story.

Until next time...

Back in the Saddle Again

2006-06-26T11:54:00.000-03:00

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe that it has been over a month since my last post. I've been busy though with moving and starting an internship, so I guess I can blame it on that. I have been really enjoying reading friends' blogs recently, and I thought if I am enjoying reading their blogs, they might enjoy reading mine. I should post again. So I am. I will try to be more regular. It is true that much has happened since the last post. At that point we were packing to move, now we've moved and are unpacking.

Things are going really well. We love our house, (I will try to get some pictures up soon), it is an apartment in the main floor of an older house with a lot of charm, and is not unlike our house in Sussex. We are in a great part of town near the Halifax Shopping Centre for any of you who know Halifax, and the train runs right by our house which we love!

Things are going great at the church as well. We are doing a revamp of the service structure, and the Lord is moving and it is incredible! AJ Thomas has agreed to be my internship supervisor (it was thought that Dad might be a bit biased to his daughter :)), and I am so pleased about that.

So things are underway and going well. I will be posting more regularly and will keep you all up to date, so for those of you who put in on a list you don't check as often, put me back on you regular one, because I'm coming back! :)

The Packing Begins!

2006-05-17T01:42:00.000-03:00

I haven't posted in an insane amount of time. Sorry.

So packing begins today. I dread this. We were blessed with a basement in our house, but now I fear it could be more of a curse because it has allowed us to accumulate more stuff. We are going to have a yard sale before we leave to try to get rid of some of that stuff. Hopefully I can be as ruthless as I need to be. I am a horrible pack rat; I hate to part with things.

We have secured an apartment in Halifax which is a relief, and it is going to be very cheap which is a blessing. We're subletting, so it will only be $350 a month for 3 months. After that we can take on the rent ourselves ($675, which is not bad for Halifax), or look for somewhere else. Right now what worries me is that we still do not have a car. It is really an essential for an internship, especially since our apartment is not near the church. I don't know how it can happen, but I am trusting God that he will make it happen, or provide in another way. Please pray for this if you think of it.

That's all for now.

Pick Pickler!

2006-02-16T18:19:00.000-04:00

I am unashamedly a fan of American Idol. How can you not be? Especially this year when they have such cute contestants on like Kellie Pickler. If you havn't been watching, why not?, and to fill you in, she is a really sweet southern girl whose mom abandoned her when she was a baby, and whose dad has been in and out of prison her whole life. She lives with her grandfather, and this is her dream. She is good too! It was so cute last night when the judges told her she had made it through to the next round. She cried, and they kept telling her how much she deserved it. And she does. Another person I think deserves it is Paris Bennett. Her grandmother is a famous singer, and boy did this girl inherit the gift. Her singing is mesmorizing. Another girl I am rooting for is Katharine McPhee. Her mom is a voice teacher, so you know this girl knows her stuff, and she is also very sweet.

As far as guys go, I like Will Makar, who in his picture on the website looks like Ben Savage from the Wonder Years (I was looking at the website to make sure I had their names right). I am also a fan of Elliot Yamin's voice, even though he does not look like your typical American Idol. Another person who doesn't look like your typical American Idol is Kevin Covais. He's cute, but he doesn't have the vocal ability in my opinion.

Okay, so it is pretty cheesy that my first post in almost a month is about American Idol, but oh well. It was on my mind for some reason.

Okay, I must get back to filling out my internship application (Ugh!)

Not Sleepless in Seattle

2005-12-30T21:01:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone. I am having a blast out here in Seattle, and I am anything but sleepless. With all the connections we had to make to fly here it ended up taking 24 hours, so we were pretty beat once we arrived. I've been sleeping in, and loving it! I have also been to some really great resturants, which you know I love, and tonight we're going to a wedding. So exciting! Anyway. I have to get ready for the wedding, I will try to write again soon. Bye

Oh Christmas Tree...

2005-11-30T00:21:00.000-04:00

We finally got all the ornaments on our tree tonight. Ryan has his youth group small group at our house Tuesday afternoons, so I try to make myself scarce so they can really fell free to talk. Today, I decided to take a trip to the store for ornaments. Ryan has left the decorating up to me and rightfully so, as I care way more about it than he does.

This summer we got the great idea to paint our living room walls orange. It's a beautiful vibrant color that really makes the room come alive, and goes quite nicely with our retro brown furniture. It seemed so perfect, but of course, we were not thinking about Christmas at that time. Severeal weeks ago a panic came over me. "How am I going to decorate for Christmas in my orange living room!?" Thankfuly I am not a person who has to be traditional, and so a color scheme of orange, rust, silver and brown emerged. it may sound odd in print, but in reality it is stunning. I may have to put a picture up if I can.

I found these wonderful balls at Home hardware in rusty orange and brown that are so beautiful. One is glittery, one shinny, one matte, and one has a waterdroplet pattern on it almost. they are great. We found three really cool silver ornaments that are like a ball, but not filled in, rather it is like silver metal twisted into the shape of a ball. Hard to explain, but really cool. Then I got some plain silver balls as well, and the whole thing is quite stunning.

So I was wondering what do you all prefer? Do you like the traditional tree with ornaments from your childhood, and colored lights as old as you are, or do you like, as I do, to match you tree to your decor? Or maybe you are somewhere in between. Let me know.

Moving Really Slowly

2005-11-29T01:33:00.000-04:00

So I've been moving even slower than usual when it comes to posting and I apologize for that. To anyone who still reads this thing thanks for sticking with it.

Of course lots has happened in the THREE MONTHS since I posted last. I can hardly believe it has been that long.

Life has been really busy. Ryan and I are in no classes together this semester, and that is worsened by the fact that we both have evening classes, but of course, not on the same night. His is Monday, mine is Thursday. We are both working with the youth group of course, but again here we are separated as he is working with the senior high, (basically leading it), and I am working with the junior high. Along with youth we are both doing small groups. Mine meets on Monday night, his on Tuesday afternoon. I lead the junior high band, and he plays base for the senior high one, and my practice is Monday night before small group, and his is Tuesday night after small group. It is crazy!

I am so glad that Christmas is almost here, but I can't believe that the semester is almost over. We are going to Seattle for Christmas this year which is very exciting. I will miss my family of course, but Ryan hasn't been home in so long, that I am glad he will be able to be home finally. I am also really excited to see his, now my, family and friends.

Speaking of Christmas, we put up our tree the other day, thanks to Dani :), and put lights on it. We only have three ornaments on it so far because when we saw them we couldn't pass them up, even though we had bought no other ones yet. I love the soft glow of the Christmas tree. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and really says to me that Christmas is coming.

Well, I must be off to bed now. Thanks for sticking it out with my blog even though there was no apparent light at the end of the tunnel. I will try to be better.

Oops!

2005-08-24T01:24:00.000-03:00

Sorry, I published that post twice. I didn't think it posted the first time so I did it again, but I guess it did. Sorry

Hi, I am still here

2005-08-24T01:22:00.000-03:00

So, it's really late, and I need to get to bed because my mom and sister are coming tomorrow and we are going to Saint John to see the apartment she will be living in in the fall, and then to see my Grandmother and Aunt, and I have to be ready when they come. It should be really fun! I can't wait.

On a note that is very exciting to me I have become a Pampered Chef consultant. I am really excited about this because they are great products, and this will be a source of income for me in the fall. Anyone who lives close to me who is reading this and who wants to host a show, just call or e-mail me and we will set it up. You would really be helping me get my business off the ground, and it would be great for you too because hosts get really good deals, and even free stuff. It really is awesome.

My house is a disaster, I just have to say that, and it is driving me up the wall.

On another bright note though, Chris and Rachel are back from their honeymoon and moved in their apartment. We visited them tonight with a bunch of other people and it was so good to see them. I am excited that there will be so many newly married couples at school this year. I hope we all hang out lots!

Okay, I must be off to bed. Just wanted to post cause I haven't posted in forever.

Hi, I am still here

2005-08-24T01:08:00.000-03:00

Two Fire Trucks and an Ambluance for a False Alarm

2005-07-24T23:00:00.000-03:00

Not much exciting happens in Sussex, so when I saw a fire truck drive past my office window tonight, I had to go out and see what was happening. It seems the other neighbors on the street had the same idea I did, because pretty soon the street was filled with curious onlookers. Some were in their lounge clothes, they obviously had not planned to leave the house again tonight. One lady was not from our street. She lived just around the corner. She had gotten in her car when she saw the fire truck pass her street, not knowing how far they would go. She was feeling a little silly when they stopped not even one street over. I'm sure the people in the household the vehicles were called to were also feeling silly when word got out that two fire trucks and an ambulance came for a fire in a barrel, a result of a marshmallow roast gone awry. None of the neighbors seemed to mind. it was something exciting on our otherwise average street. I also enjoyed seeing all the neibors together, even if it was as a result of a fire. As far as I know no one was hurt so othert than the lose of time for the firemen, no one was worse for the wear.

So long since I've posted, so much to say. I should try to make this a daily thing, even if I basically say nothing, that way I wouldn't have such a volume of things to say each time.

My sister visited for an extended weekend and it was wonderful to have her. She came Friday afternoon and left tonight. She has not taken a real vacation from work this summer. She works a four days on, four days off schedule, but even then she is always taking extra shifts so she really never has four days off. She was taking her full four days this rotation though, and making her trip here a mini vactiuon of sorts for her. Talk about pressure. I think she she thought it was worth it though. The visit happened to coincide with a babysitting comittment we had, but it all worked out. We were babysitting Josh forbes, and since he is the cutest child on earth, (my sister's word's), the two visits went spendidly.

I fear that my blog is one of the ones referred to by my dear friend Jo in a post awhile back. Shje was lamenting over the fact that girls tend not to post about veryt intellectual things. It is eaither all about weddings, (guilty there), babies, (not there yet thankfully), or other typically female things. Only the men she concluded post about meaty issues, or even just gender neutral ones (It's been awhile since I read that post, so don't shot me if I'm not quoting her exactly). I would like to rectify this by posting about something that is meaty and gender neutral: The gay marriage issue. So much has been said, that I feel like I could just be muddying the waters further with my basically-the-same-as-everyone-else's-already-been-said-opinon. I have lots that I could say, but for the above mentioned reason, I will keep it to one statement that I have not heard anywhere else. Ypu need some backgroud before I say it however. The day of district conference during Beulah, an idea was brought forth by one of the district pastors of pastors in the district handing in their marriage licences. This means, their right to preform marriages in the eyes of the Canadian government. What they would be able to do would be marry people "in the site of God". Many insights were brought forth by many people on this issue. One that I initially agreed with was the question of the marriages that they did. if they could only marry in the site of God, how would one keep track of these "In the site of God" marriages? How does that differentiate the couples they marry from common-law couples who are also not recognized as married in the eyes of the law. Now we would say they were living in sin. Could the same be applied to us if we were to go that route? I know that the difference lies in the fact that we are having a service in the eyes of God, but something about that doesn't sit right with me. I guess it's because having both a legal and religious ceremony has been the way it has always been done. After the discusseion at Beulah I have heard a few people say that the solution to that problem is easy; Anyone who wants to be married by a minister who has turned in their licence, but also wants to marry under the law, can go to a justice of the peace and get legally married, and then go to the minister and become one under the biblical definition as well. This seems to be the answer at first. It even solves the problem of keeping track of who is married and who isn't, an issue brought up by one of the ministers at the conference that is created if the government is taken out of marriage. To me however, the idea seems a bit contradictory. If a pastor does not want to marry people under the Canadian law because of it's definition of marriage, why would he encourage a couple to get married under that same law? it doesn't make sense to me.

Well, This post would be longer, but lucky for you I am heading to bed. More to come in the next post.

I Love Married Life!

2005-06-25T10:52:00.000-03:00

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. That's not good. We just recently got our wireless hooked up though, and I've been busy at work, so I'll use those as my excuses. Thanks for all the congratulations posts! It's nice to know that people love you and care how you are doing.

Married life is wonderful! We are staying in Sussex for the summer because it's easier than moving somewhere else and then having to come back in the fall. At first I was a little worried because as any Bethany student knows, there is not much to do in Sussex, but I've been pleasently surprised. Sussex really shines in the summer. More things are open, the weather is gorgous, and as previously mentioned, work is keeping me pretty busy. I am working at Sussex Wesleyan Church for the summer, spliting my time between secretarial work and work with the youth.

We are living on Floral Ave, in a really cute red duplex. For those of you familiar with Sussex, it's right across the street from the school library. It's the street you turn on, off of Main, if you want to get to Sussex Wesleyan. For those of you who know Tim and Dani, it was the last place they lived while they were here. It is really cute, and filled with lots of character. Here are some of my favorite things about it: Hardwood floors everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom, and no carpets at all, which I am so happy about. The door and window frames are substantial, which I love, and some of the inside doors have glass knobs. We're allowd to paint, which we are going to do, because the paint colors would not be our first choice. I'm having so much fun "setting up house". Things like furniture placement really make me excited. We are getting settled in, and the place is really feeling like home, and I am so thankful for that.

Okay, I promised info on the honeymoon last time, so, here it is:

We went to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was beautiful. Very hot! We stayed at the Sharaton Old San Juan, a beautiful hotel that had been recently upgraded. Our original room booking had been in the smoking section with two double beds. Not the best for a honeymoon, but the travel agent had said that once we got there they would probably upgrade us, and they did! We were on the seventh floor, in a corner suite. The living room area was the first thing you saw when you walked in the room. It was very nice. Turning slightly you walked through a hallway of sorts that had the desk and closet. Another slight turn led you to the balcony. The Balcony was through french doors. Because we were on the seventh floor it was a nicer, filled in balcony, rather than just a metal railing like the other floors. We had a great view; looking one way we could see the bay, and looking the other way the city. Inside, in the nook by the balcony, was a table with chairs. Turning the corner a final time you came to the King sized bed, beautifully made with lots of pillows, (I loved that), side tables of course, and another full size TV on the dresser. The bathroom was on the left, with beautiful tiled floors, and a shower with great pressure. The furnishings were in very tropical tones of yellow, green, and chocolate brown. The pinapple was used a lot in the room, a traditional symbol of welcoming.

It may have been hot outside, but in our room, it was cold. The airconditioning was on full blast when we got there, and we had to turn it down it was so cold. Being so hot outside, but so cold inside, had made all the mirros, glass and metal surfaces fog up. It was pretty funny. It was nice most of the days we were there, although it did rain a few days too. It wasn't like the rain I'm used to though, because it was a hot rain. Very interesting.

We were very relaxed the whole time, and it was great. We didn't put ourselves on a schedule, and I liked that. We acctually stayed in the hotel room a fair bit. We bought a DVD player, (something we didn't have), Ryan bought the boxed set of the original Star Wars, and we rented some chick flicks, (like the Bridget Jones set), and we watched movies. It was fun! Ryan was really excited to see the new Star Wars, so after we had watched the original trilogy, and episode two on TV, we went to the nearest theater to see Star Wars with Spanish subtitles. It was funny.

One of our favorite things that we did was to visit two old forts in the city, one of them dating back to the 1500's. They were so cool. They were the main defense of the city for years, and was used up until WWII.

If you know Me and Ryan, you know that we were looking for good places to eat as well. We didin't have a whole lot of money, but the hotel helped with that. Another perk about being on the seventh floor was access to the club lounge which had free breakfast, and free appitizers from 5:30-9:30pm, Monday to Friday.

We tryed a burger place one day called Flammers. (Yes, I laughed at the name too). I was hoping it would have kind of a tropical flare, but it didn't really. It rememinded me of a Harvey's acctually, (for those of you who know what that is), because they dressed the burger right in front of you. Here's the best part of the whole experience though. We ordered burgers and onion rings, and when it was time to cook the onion rings, the guy took out a box from the freezer, and it was McCains. Can you believe it? I go to Pueto Rico and find onion rings from New Brunswick. It was pretty funny. Speaking of familiar things, we were walking around one day and as we turn a corner what do we see but a Scotiabank. Again, can you believe it? There were commercials on TV for it alot too, and it was funny to see commercials for Scotiabank in Spanish. For those of you who don't know, Scotiabank is the updated name for Bank of Nova Scotia, a Canadian bank.

Back to food though. The one place that was really memorable was a place called The Parrot Club. It was Tropical food with a twist, with a menu that was printed in Spanglish. It was so good we went there twice. I loved the fried yuca, (kinda of like potato), and the lemonaide (so tart).

Well, now that I have made you fall asleep with all my details, (Sorry, I'm a detail person), I will leave you with something more exciting: Wedding pictures! Our photographer was Luke Pittman, for any of you who know him, and I think he did an awesome job. Enjoy!

I am now Mrs. Wiedmaier!

2005-05-26T16:54:00.000-03:00

Hi everyone!

I haven't posted in forever! I have had little bit of stuff on plate lately though.

The wedding went wonderfully! As is to be expected, there were a few things not exactly perfect the day of, such as the ring bearers pillow not getting made, and so, he had no pillow, and no rings, but it was okay.

I know I'm probably biased, but I think the ceremony was the nicest I've ever heard. We combined two ceremonies, a traditional one, and my parents. I love the combination it made, and the emphasis on God that there was. I love how reverent and sacred the ceremony felt, and was.

The reception was a different story! It was a lot of fun! Not that the ceremony wasn't fun, but the reception was the party! I think the dancing, which I worried that people wouldn't get into, may have been the highlight of the reception.

The whole day went by in a blurr, even as much as I tried to take it all in. There are some things I will never forget though:

~ Seeing Ryan as Dad and I walked down the aisle. He looked so good, and I was so excited to see him having not seen him all day, and also so excited to be marrying him! :)

~ The moment before I walked down the aisle with Dad, knowing that this was my last time with him before I officially gave my heart to another man. (I'll always be him little girl though)

~ Katherine Hutton, our flower girl, getting us to kiss by singing the Barney song (So cute!)

~ How beautiful all the bridesmaids looked in there dresses, with there hair all done. I don't think any bridesmaids have ever looked so good!

~ Walking down the aisle and seeing all the people who had come to support us, and feeling so loved!

There is more great stuff about the wedding, but I must run, so I will end this post for now, and I will be back soon with another one about the honeymoon, which was also wonderful, and in San Juan, Puerto Rico, if anyone didn't know but wanted to.

Okay, I'm gone. Bye

Don't wake me I plan on sleeping in

2005-04-19T22:48:00.000-03:00

Today was the last day of classes for the semester, meaning no more 8:00 classes! Tomorrow, (Wednesday), is reading day, and a bunch of us are planning breakfast together. It should be fun!

We had our final chorale practice today and to celebrate the end of the year we combined it with a cheesecake party. Oh my, was it ever good! I think my favorite was the turtle cheesecake that Chelsea, Aza and Candice made. It started out with a pecan crust, topped with a layer of caramel. Next came the cheesecake layer, and topping that was a chocolate sauce, and crushed pecans. It was sinfully delicious! Ryan helped me make a Torte del Fromaggio de Lemon, which tranlated into English simply means a lemon cheesecake. We adapted a recipe that he had from the Italian resturant he used to work at, hence the Italian name. It turned out very well.

Well, this isn't a very long post, but I just felt like writing something. More later :)

Happy (belated) Birthday Lauren!

2005-04-18T16:04:00.001-03:00

If any of you know Lauren Lee, you know that this post is rather late, but I promised her a birthday post, so here it is.

I have been rather deficiant in posting lately, but I make no apologies because I have been very busy and stressed, and this blog is for fun, and posting at that time would not have been fun, so I didn't do it. Deal with it folks, it's my blog. I say this in all seriousness, although the frankness may be a bit in jest, lest you think I have become rude during my posting hiatus, which I have not.

So, school is coming to an end and I could not be happier. Not only will I be done with another year of school (which is always so satisfying), but also because school being over means that I am that much closer to my wedding. I am so excited, you have no idea! (Unless you have already been married, and your spouse is as wonderful and perfectly suited to you as Ryan is to me) I just love him so much, and each day it grows. I find more things to love about him, and I appriciate more the things I about him I already knew.

For those of you not here at school, you may not know that we have secured housing for the summer and next school year. Anyone who knows Sussex and has ever been to the Sussex Wesleyan church will probably know Floral St. It is the street across from the chapel that runs perpendicular to Main St., and you take it to get to the church. The first building on the left is a very cute red duplex, the second section currently being occupied by the oh-so-wonderful Tim and Dani Shaw. As they are leaving the weekend of the wedding to travel to Delaware where Dani will be interning and Tim working, the Lord worked it out for us to be able to move in. God is so good! He is providing housing, furniture, a job for me for the summer, it's incredible.

It was even cool the other day because walking by their house we saw them and they invited us in. After awhile we had to go, and as we were leaving the father of their landlord pulled in the yard. The landlord (his son), had been wanting to meet us before we moved in, and we wanted to meet him, so the dad called his son and he came by to meet us. It was great because then we didn't have to try to schedule another meeting. Even in the little details the Lord works.

I am so excited to make this house our own with paint, our minimal furniture, VERY little money, and our imaginations. It won't be perfect, (as I would like it to be), but it will be our first house, and we won't have another one of these ever so I am very excited. Speaking of our house, I wish we were living there now, for many reasons of course, but especially tonight because Ryan is not feeling well, and I just want to take care of him. Instead, I am in my dorm and he is in his, and while I know he will live and be okay, I just wish I could help.

So, on a completely different note, I have no idea where Ryan and I are going on our honeymoon. I thought it would be fun if Ryan surprised me, and Ryan being as he is, and loving surprising me, liked that idea too. Now I wonder where my head was when I made that decision. In a sense I like the suspense. It's kind of fun not knowing, but on the other hand I really want to know. I know it will be great though. Besides the fact that I will be alone with my new husband for a week ;), I trust him to pick someplace nice.

What I know:

1. His parents used some connection they have to get it. (Intriging)
2. It is not in Canada (This good)
3. It is not in Switzerland. This came about as we were discussing the other fact that...
4. It is not in the mountians
5. It is not in Russia or Syberia
6. It is not in Cuba
7. It is not in Fiji. He wanted that, but the recent tsunami posed a few problems
8. It is not in London. This was also an option but we both agreed there was too much we wanted to do there, and that it would be better left for another trip.
9. It's not in South Dakota (This is Trish's honeymoon local preferance. Why? Because there is nothing to do there ;))

So that's all I know, and it's driving me crazy! I try to get him to say it accidently using my not- so-subtle tricks like randomly asking him where it is in the middle of a sentence. What can I say? I try.

Okay, that is enough for me tonight. I'm tired and going to bed. Lovely to write to you again.

P.S. ~ If anyone ever felt like commenting I wouldn't complain. In fact, I would enjoy it. A post with no comments gets pretty lonely. It's needs something to keep it company. You can help with that. Come on, take the risk, leave a comment. You will never know the difference it can make in a post :)

Happy Birthday Trish!

2005-03-22T15:13:00.000-04:00

It's Trish's Birthday today, so Happy Birthday Trish! Also, I went to hear her preach in her expository class, and she did a wonderful job, so kudos there as well.

I have to apologize to the readers, because I know some of the links in the last post didn't work, but I was already late for supper, so I didn't fix them, and then I didn't get back to it to try again. Sorry.

I have an assiginment I am supossed to be working on right now, but I really don't want to do it. Especially because it involves going to the library, and that involves more work.

Okay, so on to more fun things; namely the fashion tip of the day!

Here is a trend that I like:

It is the look of a cropped jacket (very in right now), over a long flowy top.

I have seen it many places and I think it looks really cute. It of course has to be done right for it to be effective. I tried it with some stuff I had, but the jacket was too long, and the shirt too short, so the jacket really needs to be cropped, and the shirt quite long, like past the hips.

I know everyone has a different take on things so you might not find it as appealing as I do, but for what it's worth, I say try it if you want.

Well, it's time for me to begin working. Have a wonderful day!

Our Weather is so Wierd

2005-03-19T17:17:00.000-04:00

I have experienced a sun shower many times, but never sun flurries until today. It was bright and sunyy out, and suddenly it started snowing. Not hard, just flurries. Then, only minutes after it started it stopped again. And the whole while it was abnormally bright and sunny. Wierd.

Oh my goodness, I just have to say something. I came in from walking to the grocery store with Ryan, and decided to sit for a bit with my glass of Diet Dr. Pepper, the glorious drink that it is, and perhaps watch a bit of TV. I happened to catch the end of What Not to Wear, one of my favorite shows, and it was an episode I had not seen; the $50,000 episode to be exact. I was glad because I had wanted to see that episode when it was on and hadn't. My goodness was it incredible. They were in Paris, the first fabulous thing about it, and when I came into it, they were on their third day of shopping, and headed to Christian Lacroix, one of only about ten designers in the world who can use the label Haute Couture. I nearly died. To add to it, they had reserved the upper room for her, and picked out one of everything in her size for her to try on. Plus, she had 4 attendents from the store helping her, and as is the case in all upscale stores, they were serving them drinks and things. It was incredible just to watch. That day she had to spend $12,000 , and she did. No problem. I know I am not suppossed to covet, but I wanted to be in her shoes so badly at that moment. Oh well.

Speaking of fashion, it's time for today's tip of the day. I must say, I was a bit hesitant about this at first. I wondered if people would acctually find it interesting, or think it was dumb and boring. I also wondered if people would think I was being pretentious, but I am really only trying to have fun with this. I was encouraged last night however when dani seemed interested in it, so maybe there are a few others as well. So, for what it's worth, here it is.

Fashion Tip of the Day:

Bags are of course an essential for every girl, and happen to be a bit of an obession for me, so that's why I love Lucky magazine and it's Bag Guide. Here are some of my favorites of what they say is hot for spring and summer:

Clutches are one of my favorite types of bags because they are truly form over function, and they are just so cute. Here is a cute one from Old Navy at quite a resonable price.

if you can believe it, straw bags are back in style, but as with everything, there is a little twist. The straw bags this years are tailored, with a slightly 50's feeling. Perfect with a sunny, printed spring skirt, and a cute tee. Here again is a very reasonably priced one from, who'd have guessed it, Payless.

Big, bright, and bamboo, are all elements that are also key in bags this spring. Here is a great bag from Banana Republic that combines all three. I realize many of you reading this don't have access to a Banana Repuiblic, and neither do I, but that gives you an idea of some elements to look for in other bags you see.

Some honorable mentions, sorry, no pictures for these, are:

~ Embellished bags. Beading is big here. Think leather and metal for rock-star glamour, or wood and suede for an updated and refined hippie feel.

~ Florals. These are big for spring and summer, the key here being to keep the print large and the bag simple.

~ Crochet. This is continuing the reinvented Grandmother trend that has been popular. So, raid your Grandma's house, and you might find something :)

Happy shopping!

I love lamp

2005-03-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

So I didn't think I had anything to say, but I realize I really do.

Firstly, I am overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do. I wasn't really thinking about all the work I would have due when I got back from Chorale tour. Now I feel so swamped, but oh well, what can you do? In that same vien, did anyone else notice Proff Branscombe limping in class today? (Anyone from school that is). I felt so bad, cause you could tell he was trying not to make it obvious, but it seemed painful, or at least annoying. Poor Clinton :(

Speaking of Clinton, who is a member of the Sussex Wesleyan Church, that reminds me that the new Sussex Wesleyan directory is out. And why is that important you may ask? Well, it just so happens that there is a picture of the Wiedmaiers in there. Yes, that's right, Ryan and I are listed as Wiedmaier, Ryan and Sarah. Isn't that exciting? it only made sense really, because the directory will not be updated for another 5 years, and we'll be married in 57 days! Another thing about that that really excited me was that our picture was very good, especially for us, cause we're not very photogenic.

Speaking of pictures of me and Ryan, Luke Pittman was visting a little bit ago, and he took some pictures of Ryan and I so he could get familiar with the camera, and they acctually turned out quite nice. I have one up as my MSN Messenger display pic, and will be changing it out with others from that day periodically. You know, if you have a burning desire see one :)

Speaking of MSN, that makes me think of hotmail, and the wierd fact that if I sign into my account from Firefox, (My new browser), my account doesn't really work that well, so I have to sign in from Internet Explorer. Isn't that wierd?

Speaking of e-mail, one of my dear friends who e-mails me quite often, Lauren Lee, is in PA because her Pappy (Grandfather) died. She is very sad, as would be expected, so if anyone feels like praying for her and her family, I know she would appriciate it. Thanks.

Speaking of Lauren, that makes me think of Refuge, the Sussex Wesleyan youth group, of which Lauren is a part. We are having an event at the church tonight called Friday Night Live, (Not to be confused with the comeday show put on by the many talented comedians at Bethany last semester). It will include sports, movies, board and video games. It should be fun. I don't know why I am telling you this, but whatever.

Speaking of things you may not be interested in but I am, I am adding a section to every post from now until I get tired of doing it or people complain lots. It is going to be a fashion advice section. I know, we have What not to Wear, and Makeover Story, and all the rest, but do people really apply those principles to their own life? I'm thinking that maybe if it came from someone who was a little more down to earth and realistic, it might be heeded. Now, as a disclaimer, as anyone who knows me knows, I am not a model for fashion, but I am addicted to the magizines, so I do have the knowledge, even if I don't always put it into practice. Plus, I'm not doing this really seriously. I just wanted something fun, like Dani's word up and sound off. So, here it goes...

Today's Fashion Tip is:

The success of an outfit has a great deal to do with the confidence of the person wearing it. So, whatever you wear, where it with confidence, and you will probably be able to pull it off.

See, I'm buttering you up before I hit you with something harsh :) But seriously, this is true.
The more I think about this idea, the more I see it ending in a week, but we'll see. Okay. Bye.

"I am bursting at the seams"

2005-03-04T18:36:00.000-04:00

This is what I said to my dear friend Lindsay yesterday at the fabric store after I realized what an amazing deal we were getting on the fabric we chose for the bridesmaids dresses for my wedding. (Pun intended in the comment by the way :))

God was with us at the fabric store yesterday. Yes, I know that's an odd sounding statement, but it is true. The first fabric we found, we thought was on sale, but when we got up to the counter the lady informed us that it wasn't. What seemed like a set back turned into a blessing however, when we found another fabric that we liked better, on sale for even cheaper!

The first fabric was $25.00 a metre, and the sale we thought applied to it was buy one metre, get two free. This would have made it roughly eight dollars a metre, and 75 dollars total for the fabric, which is really not a bad price as fabric goes. The second fabric was regular $9.99, and it did have the buy one metre get two free deal applied, so, we got each metre of fabric for $3.33. In total we got 9 metres of fabric, so that is about $30.00 In case you aren't familiar with the going rate of fabric, (I wasn't), this is an unbelievable deal. "You just can't get fabric that cheap!", Lindsay keep saying.

The next thing we had to buy was a lining for underneath the dress. Lindsay said the lining may end up being more expensive than the fabric because we got such a good deal on that. Sure enough, the lining we chose, (the cheapest there), was still $4.99 a metre. That's okay we thought, we got a really good deal on the fabric. When we got up to the counter and the girl started to unroll the lining, she realized that someone has wrapped a different color of lining on the roll, so what we saw and wanted wasn't what that was. She went out back to see if they had anymore of what we wanted, and we held our breath. She found a roll of in the back, but she couldn't find a price on it. When she did, it was only $2.99! It was so exciting!

The fun was not over. The lady started to unroll the material, and she wasn't sure if there would be enough. I said a little prayer, (literally), and when she measured it out there was exactly 9 metres. No kidding. It was amazing.

There were other little things too: We got the last two spools of the pink thread we needed, and the last four spools of the pink serger thread we needed as well. Also, I had only brought 100 dollars with me, not really thinking, and in the end, when we got everything for all four dresses, it came to just under 100 dollars! That's about 25 dollars a dress, which is insane!

I know this was a long post, and maybe boring for some people, but I just had to blog about this because I found it so amazing! I hope you all find it as interesting as I do.

Okay, I've rambled enough. Bye

Happy Valentines Day!

2005-02-15T02:46:00.000-04:00

By the time everyone reads this, Valentines Day will probably be over. In fact, it technically is right now, seeing as it is 2:00 am. Oh well, Happy Valentines Day anyway.

Much to my shagrin, I have come down with a cold, even though I stayed away from germ infested Bethany for the weekend. I guess I wore myself out with the relentless but oh so fun wedding planning and lack of sleep due to late nights spent talking with my Mom or sister. I did get lots done though. The invitations are finalized, so is the cake, and the food is being settled, which is wonderful . I am so excited. Only 88 days you know. That really isn't that long. That means that any of you who are stressing about school can take heart that really, it is almost over. I am so glad that the time is passing quickly, but I also wish I could stop it for just a bit, so I could have the time to do my assignments, my voice lessons and practice, my Choral commitments, and still get home most weekends to plan.

Speaking of going home for the weekend, as previously mentioned, I was home this past weekend. I love going home, but I hate taking the bus. This time was not so bad because it was a weekday morning so there was far less passengers than when I travel weekend evenings. The only thing that doesn't change about the bus ride is the time and the price. The time, like the seating was quite good this time, because even though it was still a six hour trip, I had Ryan's minidisc player to pass the time. Ahhh. The price is another story. It costs 50 some dollars and change to ride the bus. I don't know if that is reasonable as buses go, but reasonable or not, I hate paying it. I would like to get home more weekends this semester, but many weekends at that price and I'd be broke. Oh well, I gues that's life.

Back to the day at hand. I know some people don't like Valentines Day, as evidenced by the dark ensemble worn by one girl today. I love it though, and I don't care what anyone says. Even when I was not dating I still loved it. The only year I felt bad about Valentines was the year in elementary school, I think it was grade 3 or 4, when the teacher decided that she was going to break with tradition, and instead of everyone giving everyone else in the class a Valentine, you could choose who you did and didn't want to give Valentines to. I was crushed when I didn't get Valentines from everyone in the class, and I thought my pile looked skimpy compared to most. it was a sad day that year. But every other year has been great.

Last year was probably the best Valentines Day ever. For those of you who know and remember, it was the day Ryan proposed to me. It was so romantic! I loved it. This year is either tied, or a very close second. I took the reins this year, and it was fun to do the cooking for a change ;) (By the way, that doesn't mean I want you to stop cooking for me Hon). I like Valentines this year because it feels more real to me. The wedding is exactly 3 months from today, the 14th that is, and the more time that passes, the more the reality of it sinks in. I don't mean that in a negative way at all. In fact, it's very positve. It's knowing that God has given me the perfect man and that I get to spend the rest of my life discovering all there is to know about him, and he about me, and to see how we work together as a team. I couldn't be more happy.

Well, it's late, and I think that's a good place to end. I hope all who read this experienced wonderful Valentine Days as well. Bye

I had no idea!

2005-02-01T15:46:00.000-04:00

I had no idea so many people I knew had a blog. I also had no idea that I was a link on some of those people's blogs. That makes me happy. I would link to people, but I don't know how. If anyone reading this knows and would like to share their knowledge with me that would be much appreciated. If not, I will just ask Ryan. He's smart. I'm sure he'll know.

It's been awhile since I posted, but I'm not going to apologize for it, because it seems I start out every post with, "Sorry I haven't posted in awhile." I probably shouldn't have even mentioned the fact that I haven't posted in awhile. Oh well. Not much is new with me. I had an enjoyable afternoon walking down to the bank and post office today. It is such a nice day today! The sun is shining, it's not too cold. It was the perfect day for a walk. I stopped at Subway on the way back because I hadn't had lunch yet, and I had nothing in my apartment to eat. I need groceries. It was very nostalgic for me. I used to walk downtown last year and especially the year before a fair bit, and if it was over lunch, I would stop at Subway. So I thought I would keep that going. I like walking downtown by myself. If I see people, and they know I'm walking by myself, they usually get concerned, or feel bad that I have to walk alone, but I don't mind. In fact, I quite enjoy it. It's my time to think, be alone with God, and enjoy His creation.

As most of you reading this blog know, my fiance is an amazing photographer. He is part of photoblog, a site where people can put their photo's and he often gets the coveted picture of the day award. I am so proud of him! I have always enjoyed photography, but I haven't really ever tried my hand at it, other than using a disposable camera every now and then. But the other day Ryan took me out and showed me the basics of using a real camera, (as opposed to disposable), and I really liked it. I'm just starting really, but I am excited to see what I can do in awhile.

I am going home weekend after next to do more wedding stuff, mainly invitations, so that is very exciting. Number one, it will be good to go home. I love going home, being with my family, and being out of Sussex, and number two, it will be good to work more on wedding stuff.

Well, I think that's all for me right now. I'm off. Bye

Oh, I just realized; it's the first of February. That means Ryan and I have been dating one year and four months. How exciting is that? Okay. Now I'm really off.

111 days!

2005-01-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I started a post but I didn't finish it. I saved the draft, but as I was looking at it, it's way outdated so I'm not even going to attept to save it. I will start fresh. Whenever I think about a fresh start I always thing of a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. That is so appropriate in the Maritimes right now as we are getting hit with a blizzard. It's crazy! It's just too much snow for me.

So, what has happened since the last time I wrote? Well, I found my wedding dress. It is so exciting! I obviously won't describe it here, because Ryan reads this and he's not seeing me in my dress until I'm walking down the aisle, but suffice to say that it is gorgeous and I love it. It was funny how I acctually got it. I wasn't sure where I was gonna look next, and then my Aunts in Fredericton suggested I look there because it's close to Sussex and they could pick me up for fittings and stuff. We had all been visiting my Grandmother in Perth-Andover, and my Mom and sister and I were the last ones to leave, so we decided that we would stop in Fredericton on the way home and bring my Grandmother, and my two Aunts and my cousin would meet us, and we all go dress shopping. I was nervous at first, because everything I read says the less people you have the better, but I couldn't object, and in the end, I ended up acctually enjoying it. It was fun to be a big entourage invading bridal shops; and all the ooo's and ahh's weren't bad either ;) I wasn't sure how I would know which dress was the one; I am so indecisive as it is. But it was pretty clear when I came out: everyone gasped, Mom started to cry, and I felt so beautiful (and thin, which is important). I was pretty sure that it was the one, but we went to another shop just to be sure. Nothing else was as nice as this one though. There were other things in its favor too. It was discounted because of a smudge on the back, but it is removable and they will do the cleaning, and as it was discounted, it was right there and didn't have to be ordered which was nice because ordering took 5 months and I only had about 4 1/2 at that point, and it was one size too small. This might not seem like a plus, but to me it is. My Aunt is a seemstress, specializing in bridal alterations, and she was delighted to think she could contribute in that way. Also, even though she ensured me that she can alter it to fit me the size I am now, I am using the dress as motivation, and hoping I can lose enough weight to have it fit without alterating it. Encourage me in this if you see me (I need it).

Well, seeing as there are other things besides a wedding going on in my life, I will talk about those. School would be the big thing. The semester has not started well for me. I don't know why, but I felt like I was dropped in the middle of it when I cam back from break. My friend Patricia has made the astute observation that it's harder to adjust to coming back to school in the winter than it is in the fall, because you don't have as much time to adjust, and it's true. In the fall, you have a few days of registration and the like before classes acctually start, so you have more time to get used to it. But in the winter, you come back from break, and in some cases, mine included, you start classes the next day. I think that is the reason I am feeling so overwhelmed. I just don't want to do poorly this semester. I had grand visions of doing everything early, and so far, this has not happened. I am still pushing the limits like I always do, but I can't do that anymore. Oh well, the semester has just started so I think I can still get my act together. I pray so.

Many of you reading this know Tammy and Michael Hutton. He is a pastor at the Sussex Wesleyan Church. They have just had a baby boy, Graham, and he was in church today and both Ryan and I got to hold him. I have always wanted babies, and was sure that if the Lord allowed I would have them once I got married. With the wedding little more than 100 days away, the prospect of this is more real than ever. We want to wait awhile before we have kids. We want sometime together alone, getting to know each other, growing closer together, and having fun practicing making babies ;), but it was so sweet to see Ryan holding Graham. He looked so natural, so at ease and at home with it, and I was so excited to think that in a few years that could be us. Ryan is going to be an amazing father. I look forward to those years with great anticipation.

Well, I am really supossed to be reading for a quiz I have tomorrow, and seeing as I am endevoring to improve my grades this semester I guess it would be a good thing to acctually do the work. I will try to post more often. I know I say that every time, but I do know how frustrating it is when bloggers don't blog so I will try to be better.

If you are in this blizzard, stay inside. It's not fit for man nor beast out there :) Blog you later

I'll be home for Christmas...wait, I am home for Christmas

2004-12-21T21:43:00.000-04:00

It's good to be home! I must start this long overdue post by saying that I love my family, and it is so good to be home! At school I have Ryan and all my friends who I am missing dearly, but there is no substitute, really, for your family. I'm glad that Ryan and I can be with our family's this Christmas because this is the last single Christmas we have.

Speaking of being single no more, wedding plans are coming along swimmingly if anyone was interested in knowing. I had been so busy this semester that I had hardly any time to plan. I felt like I should be getting things done, but I also felt I had too much to do to devote a great deal of time to it. As a result I got stressed out over it, which is crazy, because it is seriously one of my favorite things to do. I haven't planned an actual wedding yet, but I do plan at least one everytime I get a new wedding magzine. I love weddings! In addition to being busy, I was very overwhelmed with all the choices I had before me. I love so many different colors schemes or flowers, or foods that I found it hard to narrow it down to just one. But yesterday I was helping my Mom do some Christmas baking, and I felt like a fog lifted. I could see clearly a lot of things that I was hazy about before. (I know, I'm singing the song too..."I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way") Alot of the things I decided on were things I had been thinking about for awhile, but I had to mull over all my options before I could come back to them and be sure. (I'm so bad at decision making sometimes). So, I feel good about that, it's only 143 days away if you can believe it, and I want this semester to go really fast, (but still have lots of time to plan), because I am so looking forward to being married to the man of my dreams.

Well, that's enough wedding talk I guess. Although it is one of my favorite subjects these days :) Onward to how things have been since I got home. Things have been going well. I have really enjoyed spending time with my family, and getting ready for Christmas, including lots of yummy Christmas treats, some of which I mentioned before. My new favorite cookie this year Mom has nicknamed haystacks. I know we have the real name somewhere, but I don't know where. They are a combination of Chinese Chow mein noodles and peanuts in milk chocolate, and they are really good. It may sound like an odd combination, but they are quite tasty. I like the crunch of the noodles and the peanuts and the smoothness of the milk chocolate. They are a hearty cookie too, and I like that. Plus, they're not too rich. I went to the eye doctors today and got my eyes checked. Not much has changed which is good, but I'm getting new glasses anyway because I have had my current ones since 1999. That's 6 years! That's a long time I think. They have started to get worn out, plus, they are really not in style any more. They have served me well, but I am happy to see them go. I am also going to go back to contacts a bit. I used to wear them years ago, but I stopped for no particular reason other than I think I ran out and didn't refill them. Isn't that crazy? Anyway, I have always said that I don't want to wear glasses on my wedding day. No offense to anyone who has or will, but I just don't like the look of it. I would prefer contacts. So, I have a sample pair to try and see how I like them, and if I do, I will get more. I'm not sure I'll wear them every day, but I do want to get used to myself in them, and give others a chance to get used to me in them too. I don't want to wear glasses the whole time up to the wedding, and then suddenly switch to contacts and have it look wierd to people because they're not used to seeing me in them. Along with my check up I also had a dialation procedure done. I had never even heard of it until the other day at school when Jess Tot said she had just had it done. Ryan said he also gets it done because there is the danger of his retina's detaching, and that's what the procedure checks for. It was neat, because when he started talking about it, I understood what he was saying, because I had just been talking about it with them. I guess if you're really near-sighted, and I am, there is the danger that something can happen to your retinas, so they do this procedure to check for that. I was fine thank goodness, and I didn't even get many side effects from it. First they give you these drops that dialate your pupils. I didn't know it was happening really, except that my vision was getting a little burry, but not bad, then I asked my Mom when it was going to happen, and she said it already had, and couldn't I tell. I said not really, and she told me to go look in the mirror, that my pupils were "wildly dialated" as she put it. So, I looked and sure enough they were. It looked really funny. I just looked in the mirror and they have gone down a lot which is good. The worst part of the whole thing was having a very bright light shone in my eye while it was fully dialated. Not very fun. But it was over quick so that was good. I came home and didn't have that much blurring, and the light wasn't bothering my eyes that much really, so that was good too. That has been my excitement for the day.

Well, this post has gone on long enough, and you are proabably bored already, so I will end it. I should try doing smaller posts more often, instead of big posts with lots of time in between. I will try to be more diligent in this. To all who read this blog, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas if I do not blog or talk to you before then.

Maybe some good can come from Church History

2004-12-03T01:32:00.000-04:00

Many of you know the struggle I had with my recent Church History paper. I left it to the last minute, (no surprise there) and ran out of time. My 3,000 word paper ended up being 1,800 words, and it was not the most refined paper shall we say. I was sad about this for a number of reasons:
1. I do not like to do assignments poorly, especially when I know I am capable of doing them well, and I know, had I had more time, I could have done very well on this one.
2. I didn't think about asking for an extention because by the time I clued in that I could use one, I thought it would be too late. This is only to have someone tell me that they asked for an extention the day of! and got one. I'm happy for them, really I am. I just feel sick, because it makes me think that had I been smart enough to ask, I could have gotten one too. (I had just as much of a case for one as they did). I guess I just wasn't following the "Ask and ye shall recieve" policy, and I take full responsibility for that. It's just too bad is all.
3. I really enjoyed my topic. Ryan actually suggested it; although he only did that because he thought it would be cool if I got someone to re-enact the deaths. But when I got to the library to actually pick a topic, I thought, "Why couldn't I do martyrs? They would be interesting (minus the death scenes of course). And so it was. I did end up finding a wealth of interesting stories about people who endured such horrible things, yet managed to continue to serve and praise God through it all. I was brought to tears by some of the accounts I read, and I longed to delve in further. To hear more of the people who made the ultimate sacrifice. It blessed, and at the same time convicted me. It is so easy to neglect praising God, and I have it good. These people could praise him through the worse of circumstances. I was humbled. I've been struggling lately with giving God my all, and consciously living for him every day. I have to ask myself, "If I won't give up my will, would I really give up my life?" The quotes in one of the books I had (Jesus Freaks: dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs) were particularly powerful. Here's one that really challenged me:

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart was to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be written on every piece." ~ Ignatius. A student under John. Devoured by wild animals in Rome. 111AD

I almost don't know how to respond to that. I feel lacking when I read that statement. Lacking in my passion, lacking in my commitment. I need to change something. I said that this assignment was going to be a wake up call to me that I can no longer procrastinate the way I have been and expect to do well. I have decided to change. And I think this should be a wake up call for me spiritually as well. I can't keep living the way I have been. I need to change. Maybe some good can come from Church History.

I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working

2004-11-28T21:42:00.000-04:00

So, I'm really supposed to be working on a paper I have due tomorrow, but it seems to be at times when I have other things to do that I feel I most want to write. Plus, haven't written in a very long time. I should be better at keeping up with that, especially considering how I hate it when I go to someone's blog, only to find the same post that was there the last time I checked. So, against my better judgement, here I go.

A lot has been going on lately. Not the least of which is that I have opened up my own bed and breakfast. I haven't really done that, but it does feel that way. I guess it only stands to reason that when you have a spare bed, there is the possibility that people are going to sleep in it. I just didn't think it would be this many people. Now, having said that, I don't want any of you who have stayed with me who might be reading this to get offended, because I have loved having each and every one you, but listen to this and see if you understand. My sister came and stayed with me for Booster, which I was thrilled about because even though we live closer to each other this year, I think we see each other less. Then, my dear friend Liz who just got back from being on her internship in Swaziland Africa came and stayed with me and it was so wonderful to spend time with her. Not long after that Tina, who has taken the semester off from school, but will be back and rooming with me next semester, came to visit and I got to have her in my room. It was so nice to see her again, and make the arrangements to stay together. I'm quite excited. It was only yesterday that Tina left; bright and early at 8:00am , and then that evening I got a call from Liz saying she was in town again, and could she stay with me for the rest of the weekend, to which I happily replied yes, and silently thanked the Lord that I has already put the sheets from the bed in the wash. I'm getting a little taste of what it must be like to be a maid at a hotel. Day in and day out making beds, washing sheets, cleaning bathrooms, taking out garbage. I don't think I would enjoy that. All this has happened since the beginning of November. It's been a busy month.

Well, there's more I could say, but I'm eating into my paper writing time, and I need all the time I can get. I am rejoicing that the deadline on one of the papers that was due tomorrow has been moved to Wednesday. This makes me a very happy girl! To all the readers of this silly blog, stay tuned for the next installment of the life of Sarah Brown. She's crazy, but she's cute. Bye for now.

Welcome Christmas!

2004-11-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know we haven't even had American Thanksgiving yet, but It snowed (I mean really snowed) for the first time today and that puts me in the holiday mood. I have popped in my favorite Christmas tape, (that's right I said tape) Amy Grant's Home for Christmas. It's a wonderful tape that has a mix of old favorites, very well arranged, and some that have become new favorites, (well, they would be old favorites now too seeing as the tape was released in the mid 90's I think).

There is just something about Winter. It's especially nice when you can veiw it from inside your warm house, snuggled up by the window with a cozy blanket and cup of hot cocoa. Sigh, so nostalgic.

Well, that was really the only reason I wanted to post, just to say how excited I was that Christmas is coming. Happy First Day of Snow to everyone who lives in Sussex, and I hope you are able to enjoy the wintery weather.

Been a Long Time Talkin' Bout My Troubles Here Below

2004-11-09T01:15:00.000-04:00

So, it's been a really long time since I posted! I didn't realize how long til I just looked right now. Sorry to anyone who acctually reads this. It hasn't been for lack of things to write about that's for sure. I could fill a book telling you what's been going on in my life lately. Speaking of books, my wonderfully talented fiance is attempting to write a novel in one month as part of National Write a Novel Month. As of right now he seems to have hit a wall. Maybe I should be the one writing a novel ;) Nah, I'm just kidding. I think he's gonna do great!

Random Note: I'm supossed to be reading for my class tomorrow morning and I'm not. Oops

Most of you who read this would know what's been going on with me lately so I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say that it's been a pretty stressful week. If you have no clue what I'm talking about just ask me in the comments and I'll tell you. Add to that a busy weekend complete with 12 people staying in a three person apartment and you will understand when I say I am stressed and tired.

I hate to only complain to you though, especially with this being my first post in awhile, so, on a lighter note, here's a quote from my grandfather that I found on his website today.

"Why do people say 'I slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours?"

Cute isn't it?

Well, I think that's gonna have to be it for me tonight. I must read before I am too tired to focus.

Adieu

I should really be in bed...sigh

2004-10-21T02:13:00.000-03:00

So, I should really be in bed, but I was reading some blogs and I felt compelled to post. Acctually I just realized I hadn't posted today or yesterday so I thought I should.

For any of you that don't know, I work with the Sussex Wesleyan Youth Group. It is an awesome youth group, with awesome leaders and awesome teens, and an awesome sense of the Lords presence whenever we get together, and that's awesome (I realized a trend and decided to go with it..meh). Tonight was an awesome night - my girls acctually payed attention to the lesson rather than telling stories, they contributed to the discussion, we hit on some issues in our lives that we all need to work on, it was all around good. I was blessed by the worship band as usual. I love those guys! They rock out, and they are so real and on fire for God, it's great. As well, Matt Keith delivered an anointed message that hit the teens, and the leaders for that matter, right where we needed it. Ryan has very exciting news about this night but I'll let him share that with you. All I'll say is be on the lookout in Chapel tomorrow ( I guess it's today now :))

I also had a very interesting but good experience tonight. You may or may not know that since I've some to Bethany (and before really) I've struggled with knowing the plans God has for my life. I claim Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" That's the easy part however. It's the fact that I never know the plan that is frustrating. I know I need to trust God, but as I'm sure many of you can attest to that is easier said than done.

So now you will know why I find what I'm about to say so amazing. After youth was done one of the leaders (and also my friend) came up to me and said that as she was praying I came to her and the Lord told her to tell me that I was suppossed to be a Music teacher. Now, I know you can't always go 100% on what other people say, but I do also believe that God uses godly people to speak through, and she is definitely a godly person, so I am wondering now what I should do with this information. It's kind of exciting that maybe I have just recieved my "mission" if you will, but then in another sense it doesn't seem possible that is could come so easily when I've struggled with it for so long.

I just remembered an interesting thing - I can be a little hard of hearing when it comes to God so I have often said that if he has something to say to me if he could please hit me over the head with it it would be much apreciated. Maybe the Lord indulged my request. How cool would that be? Does anyone have thoughts on this? Advice? Whatever.

Well, my night is fleeting fast and I already think I'm getting sick so a lack of sleep would only make it worse. That's it for me. Good night.

"That is the ultimate in procrastination"

2004-10-18T12:17:00.000-03:00

I wish I could remember exactly what he said, but this is very close. In case you are confused, that is what Jared said to me as we were walking out of music theory class. This was after I told him that I had done my music theory homework 1 1/2 hrs before music theory class.

This may seem like a long time, but when you consider the assignment was choosing a Psalm and putting it to an original melody, having it written on staff paper with words, phrasing, breath marks, correct rythm, and at least legible enough that she could read it, it begins to take on a whole new meaning.

Now, having said that, I had already chosen my Psalm. It was a passage that I happened to read alot lately, and it had a great line that stuck out to me _ "...even at night my heart instructs me..." I don't know why I like this so much. I guess I think it is so neat to think that even as we sleep the Lord is still working on us. No time is wasted with the Lord. As well, I didn't have every single element present in my written work, but none-the-less, I think that's pretty good for an hour and a half.

It's sad really how disorganized and how much of a procrastinator I can be. And it's not like I didn't try to do it earlier. I sat in one of the practice rooms for an hour before supper yesterday playing different melodies, trying to find one I liked, but no such luck. Sometimes it's as if I can't do anything unless I have the pressure of the deadline fast approaching.

Oh, and you may say, set a new deadline, make the assignment due earlier on your calander so you still get the same effect, but you have it done in time. That is a very good suggestion, but I've tried that, and I still know in the back of my head that the assignment isn't really due till whenever it is really due, and the motivation is gone. It's just like when you set you clock 5 mins fast hoping to arrive to things earlier. It sounds like a good idea at first, but inevitably you always remember you set your clock fast and you adjust accordingly in your head. So, it seems rather pointless all these faux deadlines and fakes times.

While I'm on a rant, I have to rant about something else. I don't remember ever being as busy any other year as I am right now. I know that as the years pass, the work should be getting harder and longer so I guess it's natural, but I don't like it. Maybe I'm too used to being a slacker, so this having to work all the time is just an adjustment for me, but is it normal to feel like you have no free time, that you have to go from one homewrok assignment to the next, from one comittment to the next, with not even a chance to breath hardly? I don't know, I just don't like it.

Yesterday was good though. I ignored the things I needed to do ( my music theory homework being the primary thing), and I watched two wonderfully suspenful movies.

The first was Along Came a Spider with Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter. Monica Potter is one of those actresses that looks really familiar, like you've seen her in a bunch of movies, but you can't remember which ones. We were talking about that last night acctually, and none of us could agree where she was acctually from. So, for anyone who wants to know, I give you the IMDb. Otherwise known as the Internet Movie Database it will tell you every movie or TV appearence a celeb has ever done. It's amazing!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005321/

This is the one for her.

So, back to the movie, it was suspensful, and had a bunch of twists, and it had Morgan Freeman, and I love his acting, and it was all around very good. Plus, I was watching it with great friends of mine who I do not hang out with enough so that was also very good.

The next movie was Sleeping with the Enemy - Julia Roberts. This movie is a classic! I love it. I know this movie, so theoretically I should not be scared when the scary parts come up, but this time I was. Maybe it's because I had just watched the other rather suspensful movie, I don't know. But at the end, which I will not disclose in case some of you have not seen it, I have never jumped so high, or screamed so loud at a movie. I was so scared I started to laugh. Reverse coping mechanism perhaps?

Well, this post has gone on long enough, and I need to get to lunch so I can eat some cafeteria crap and have a lovely chat with my fiance. I do so love him :)

Bye for now ya'll ( that's my fiance rubbing off on me)

So soft!

2004-10-14T18:02:00.000-03:00

Can I just say how much I love Nivea Soft? I guess I can do whatever I want, it's my blog! If you have never tried it, it is a really amazing lotion by (no surprise here) Nivea. It is light, and has a very refreshing scent. The commercial says that it feels like summer rain on your skin and I didn't believe them at first, but now I know it to be true. It is just very nice. In Canada it's pricey - 10 bucks for a tub which is only 200ml, but I think if you live States-side you can get it for half that amount. I'm sorry if you are a guy or just not interested in this, but for anyone who likes beauty products I highly recommend trying this.

My fiance's a goof, but I love him...

2004-10-13T01:17:00.000-03:00

So, Ryan hijacked my last blog. It's my fault I guess, I left the page open on his computer.

We were in Halifax this weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving and it was very nice. I love my family. I also love a break from school. It was back to the grind today, but it was a good first day back.

Side Note: The school year is moving very fast and it doesn't seem possible. Mom told me today that we only have 7 more weeks until we're home for Christmas break. Isn't that crazy? I guess I should enjoy the semester before it's gone.

Well, I gotta get to bed. It's late and I have an 8:00 class tomorrow morning. That's all for me.

P.S. I really am going to try to write more often. What I didn't fully say in the last blog is that I forgot Ryan put on his blog that I now have a blog so I thought no one was reading this yet. Maybe no one is. Sorry if you are and are getting bored. This is new stuff anyway.

It's good to be home...

2004-10-09T19:28:00.000-03:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I hadn't really told many people about the blog so I figured no one would be reading and it didn't matter when I posted next. (But now I've hijacked her blog... Muhahahaha! Except I'm not all that creative and I can't think of any witty phrase to come up with to spam her blog with... She is beautiful and wonderful and amazing though eh?)

Getting in on it

2004-10-03T04:36:00.000-03:00

I don't know why, but tonight while I was reading other people's blogs, I suddenly had the urge to create one myself. And so I did. I can't promise you that I will post alot, or that what I say will be very interesting, but here are my thoughts for what it is worth.

Well, let's not waste any time. I have stuff to say already. Firstly, I am VERY busy. My load has been lightend a little since I passed in my paper for Church History on Friday which required 10 hours of reading (of the writings of an ancient church father) as a pre-requisite. Now all I have to do is finish an inductive of the book of Genesis before Tuesday at 8:00 am and I'll be sitting pretty. While working all day without any breaks is no fun, I think the thing I'm most sad about is that I haven't had any time to do wedding planning, and there is lots to be done.

On that subject, do you know how hard it is for a girl who had her heart set on a Fall or Winter wedding to choose colors for a wedding in May? I always assumed that I would be able to work it out that I would be married in Fall or Winter, and I was set for either one, but it did not work out that way so I am having to rethink things a little. It's not that big of a deal though. I have enough wedding magazines and enough ideas in this brain of mine that I should be able to come up with something. It will be a challenge, but a challenge will be good for me.

Well it's late and if I'm not going to do school work I should really be in bed so I will end this my first post as a blogger. I feel so with it now. Watch blogging go out tomorrow or something. Ha.

Hope anyone who reads this enjoys it!

P.S. About my name, Beth is my middle name for anyone who doesn't know, and I was called Sarah Beth alot when I was younger. As for why I chose to go with that, I was gonna put something that had my future last name in it, but I'm not that last name yet, and I thought about something with my current last name in it, but I didn't want to have to change it once I got married (lazy, I know). So, I decided on the two names that aren't changing. Maybe you don't care to know why I chose my name and I'm sorry to bore you if you don't, but I wanted to explain. Oh, and another random note; I chose the font cuz it's the same font we use for the bulletin at my church at home. Kinda makes me feel connected in some small way.