I'm hungry.

But I'll live. Well there are just 6 days left until I leave for Belize. I have SO much to do yet, but trying desperately not to stress myself out too much. I've been having stupid nightmares of planes falling from the sky (I've only ever flown twice), plus I still have another $500 to give the church for the rest of the trip... Not to mention the ever-growing list of things I still need... And to top all that off, I just found out yesterday that I lost my job! BUT, I'm not even going to worry about that until I get back from Belize. It's just not important yet. And it really isn't all that bad, it's definitely manageable.

So, looking onward optimistically towards my trip... all stress/nervousness aside, I'm VERY excited. We were all separated into 3 ministry teams: a work team, a puppet ministry team, and a kids club team. The work team will be doing construction for the most part of their trip. We're building cabins for a camp in the area, and also I believe we are adding to the existing church building in Roaring Creek. (All the teams help with the work in the mornings) The puppet ministry team will be having puppet shows, as well as teaching the older youth in the area how to do it themselves. The puppets they have made are super-cute!! We are leaving the stage and all the puppets there for them to use after we leave. The kids club team (that's the one I'm on) is holding a short version of our church's Vacation Bible School. It has a Canadiana theme, with skits, crafts, games, etc. Besides all of these main ministries, we are also visiting a school to share testimonies, and talk to the kids there. Another day we are going to be visiting orphanages and reading to the children, and just basically loving them and spending time with them! Somewhere in between this crazy schedule we have laid out, we are also doing a few things for ourselves, like visiting some Mayan Ruins, and Goff's Caye, and Belmopan.

This is going to be an incredible experience...

Sometimes I just want to sing...

but there are always people around. When I move out I'm going to buy a karaoke machine. My neighbours will love me.

A Friday Five on a Monday :)

Well, I keep meaning to do this on a friday, but I always forget. But I suppose late is better than never.... (questions are from www.fridayfive.org)

At this moment, what is your favorite...

1. ...song?
I'd have to say right now... um... well honestly I've just been listening to a lot of my cd's lately, mostly Coldplay, Jack Johnson, and Dave Matthews band in a sort of rotation... they're all so good I can't pick a favourite.

2. ...food?
Lately I've been eating way too much junk food. But my all time favourite food in the world is lobster, second is roast beef and roasted potatoes, and yorkshire pudding. mmm... And I guess I HAVE to put lasagna. I eat enough of it for it to qualify as a favourite food...

3. ...tv show?
Friends, Survivor, and the Apprentice! Thursday nights! :)

4. ...scent?
Roses, Lilacs, and boy. well... just Jason, not just any random boy.

5. ...quote?
...couldn't think of a quote right now, but the quote of the day at work is "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today" ~ Ben Franklin

Sisters are funny

So I forgot my keys were in my bag I took to Victoria this weekend... I had to knock for my sister to let me in. After somewhere between 5-10 knocks and ringing the doorbell once or twice, she finally gets up off the couch, opens the door that's about 4 feet away, screams in my face "where are your ***** keys you ***** ******?!?" and slams the door in my face. I walked in, and she proceeded to scream at me about how she can't wait until I move out, and, contrary to what I believe (know), my mom is actually kicking me out by moving. (my mom has been planning to move to an easier to handle place for a while now. we've talked lots about it, and she's moving around the same time that I'm moving out to go to school... that's hardly kicking me out...) Well sometimes I'll come back at something like that in the totally WRONG way and scream back at her, but today I just laughed and told her that she wasn't going to bother me. But I am glad I have a place like this to vent! :) I feel better now!

I just want to sleep ...

I am really tired today. I just want to go home and sleep for the afternoon, but I can't. I'm going to fake and bake (so I don't burn on my trip) at 4:30, and then I have a Belize meeting at 7:30. Maybe I'll get a power nap in between... I went to Victoria this weekend, and Jason was a sicky, so I am really trying not to get sick in the next 9 days or so. I'd rather not be distracted by being sick while I'm down there. Besides Jason being sick, the weekend was great. It was really nice to not have to do anything - or rush anywhere - for an entire weekend. Very relaxing. We rented 3 movies, watched them all, walked around Victoria, and just hung out. Nice and quiet. Which I had hoped might prepare me for the week ahead of me that looks to be super busy, full of last minute details, etc. But I'm exhausted and it's only Monday... Anyone know of any good tips for fighting illness?? I know lots of liquids, etc, but has anyone tried that echinacea stuff? Does it actually work?
And now for something totally random... my mum and I saw a very strange sight while she was driving me to the ferry... We were driving near the hospital in New West, and we saw some guy in a hospital gown running down the street. He looked like he was escaping. My mom locked the doors. I thought it was funny.

From the mind of a 21 year old...

Well it's official, I am an adult everywhere in the world. I don't feel older... I don't even know how to be an adult... but I guess that comes with experience. Bring it on world!

This weekend was mucho fun! Friday night Jason came home, and we went over to some friends' of ours for a murder mystery party. Everyone dressed up in the characters assigned to them on their invitation. I was Clair Voyance, the fortune teller. It was awesome, everyone went all out. They all surprised me by getting me the game Cranium for my birthday! I wasn't expecting anything from them, as I haven't really known them that long, and kind of assumed that they were just being friendly because I'm going out with Jason... (I think I have self esteem issues...) so I was touched... plus it's Cranium!! The best game ever!!

Saturday was the day my adulthood became official. My mum gave me a new dressy watch. It's one of those italian charm bracelets (I saw them recently and really wanted one), where you change out the links with ones that have different things on them. My sister gave me a charm, it's got a cross on it. It's great! Jason got me UVIC sweatpants (with the UVIC on the bum - ubercomfy) and a picture of him in a forest making a funny face... the best part of the picture is the frame! It's a really nice frame, which he got engraved with "Dippy the Goof" ... (it's a bit of an inside joke... I laughed a lot...) Erin (BFF!haha) gave me a really nice RipCurl sweater and a cleavage top... hahaha! Well that's what she called it. It's pink! yay! My dad gave me $100... not a whole lot of thought but MUCH appreciated, especially before my trip. I'm going to be buying a digital camera at the end of this month (yay pictures!) so I will put it towards that.

That evening a bunch of us went to Rossini's in Gastown for dinner... This woulda been better had the reservations I made at the beginning of the week actually gone through. They sat us at a taller table with stools... It was still ok though. After this we went to Blarney Stone. I had a lot of fun... I didn't have to pay for my dinner or my drinks at either place, which was super nice... Especially with my trip coming up, I can't really afford to spend that much. At around 11:30 we decided to head towards home and go to Rooster's. I love Roosters, it's got a way bigger dance floor, and they play country music. It was fun fun fun.

Sunday was pretty good, I got my birthday dinner (roast beef, roasted potatoes, veggies, and of course, yorkshire pudding!! mmmm - so bad for you but sooo tasty) I tried to go biking but my rear brake pad is totally worn out so I couldn't go... I got all the way there too and THEN figured this out. So I sat in the truck while Jason and his dad went biking. Mind you, his dad didn't get too far before it started to pour so he came back. Jason of course braved the weather and came back soaking wet but happy with his ride.

I added my Saved by the Bell quiz. hahaha!

The FUN Campaign

People at my work have noticed that apparently we don't have any fun. I try to make fun out of everything I do, but it is kinda true that when we walk into this building we are faced with white walls, and no colour, and in general things just are quiet and slow. So a couple people in the morning at the beginning of this week decided to do something about it. We ended up having a staff meeting to try and see what kinds of things we can do to boost moral.. Well so far it's been working pretty well actually... I mean it's only been a couple of days and today IS Friday (who wouldn't be happy on a Friday??) But it's definitely been a happier place to be this week, without a doubt. I even got flowers today!! Ok ok, that has less to do with the "FUN Campaign" as it does with the fact that it's my birthday tomorrow, but hey, it made ME happy! And being happy is fun!

Wow.

I just bought the sweetest pair of comfy pants. They have Curious George on them. Wow. So neat. Tee hee!!

T.G.I.A.F.

That stands for Thank Goodness It's Almost Friday. I figured I'd take the optimistic route of looking at the week as almost over, as opposed to looking at it like I still have 2 days left til the weekend. So far I think it's working alright. I was in a really bad mood when I got here this morning, but as the day's gone on, it's been getting better. I treated myself to food from the catering place down the street.. YUM! Chicken club with real chicken and fries... It's all about the food.

22 days and counting...

I am in such a good mood today! Everything is fun, even filing! Ok, "fun" may be a stretch, but it's bearable at least, and I don't feel that yucky about actually doing it. The reason I'm so happy today is because I had a meeting for my missions trip last night. I am so excited about it! I have never gone off the continent before, let alone on a missions trip... 24 of us from my church are going to Belize on February 4th, for 10 days. While we are there we are going to be building cabins, hosting a kids club through the week, having family nights where we play videos (possibly Finding Nemo!!!! :D) on a big screen outside, and in between seeing some sights. It is going to be amazing! We are also doing a puppet ministry and leaving the puppets we made and the stage we made down there for them to use. I am so excited... There is still a lot of preparation to go along with it though and I am trying not to stress about it. But it will be a life changing experience I'm sure... So anyways, the countdown is on, 22 days left...
I am coming back from Belize on the 13th, (more like the 14th) very very early in the morning... Which leaves me with the fact that I will be gone for 10 days before Valentine's Day. I would like to do something or get something special for Jason before I go, and perhaps find something in Belize. But I have to figure out what that would be... we've talked already about going to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra that night, but I would still like to get him a gift of some sort. So if anyone happens to stumble across my blog here, ideas would be helpful, to get my brain rolling!! :)

Suddenly Monday...

This weekend was awesome! Friday after work my Mum and I drove to Tsawassen to pick up Jason from the ferry. There is a lot of truth to the statement "Absense makes the heart grow fonder"... It was a long drive, with a lot of David Bowie tunes (my mom's Christmas present from me) but I was very happy to have my guy back home with me! When we got back we decided to go to Rooster's, as it was a friend's birthday party that night. It was pretty fun, but after about 2 hours we'd had enough and went home to watch a movie.
The next day we went to Coquitlam Centre... I was pleasantly surprised that Jason didn't mind me dragging him around the mall. I helped him pick out a new shirt too... I bought 4 pairs of dress pants for $10 each! I am such a good shopper. haha. I was having an absolutely splendid shopping trip until I got to Fairweather. I really like this store, good deals, and nice clothes... I wanted a new sweater to go with my new pants, and they had a deal around the store for certain items - buy one get TWO free... so I picked out some sweaters in my size, and stood in line to pay for them. Keep in mind I was in a rush... So I stood in line for a while, waiting for this cashier to get to me... She was moving slow but I tried not to let that bother me. I finally got to the front of the line and when I put the items on the counter, she wouldn't let me buy them without trying them on. I understood full well that they were a final sale, and when I acknowledged that fact, she should have let me bought them. But she didn't, and I didn't have time to try them on. So she lost that sale, and I didn't get the neat sweaters I wanted. :( Oh well, another day. I was on worship team at church that night, so I got to sing! After church we went to the Bourbon St. Grill with a bunch of friends, had dinner and listened to live jazz... I am just getting into jazz lately, it's awesome! If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!! After this we went home again to watch yet another movie... We started watching "Underworld"... but after 20 mins of vampire vs. werewolf fighting and no dialogue we decided we'd watch 'A Beautiful Mind' instead. I forgot how good that movie is!
Sunday morning was church again, 2 services of singing and hanging out with kids in Sunday School. fun fun fun! After this we went out biking at Bear mountain. It was a lot of fun, I made it to the top before Jason and his dad... I was cooking though, I ran up the last part. Later on that night I went over to Jason's aunt's house for his Grandma's birthday. It was fun. I love hanging out with his family... They give me hugs, like I belong there! I wish I had my family around... they all live so far away! :(
Anyways, my eyes are getting blurry from computer screens all day, so I am going to read the rest of my book (the Hobbit) and go to a meeting about my missions trip (in 23 days!!)

Why is it that whenever I try to wake up early, I end up waking up later than usual?? I normally am up at 7:30 to get to work by 8... (having to walk at 7:50) It's always a mad dash to get dressed of course, but I really don't care what I look like at work, as long as I'm not wearing my pajamas (although that would be nice...) and my hair is out of my face. Today however, I wanted to be up at 7. I wanted to make myself look b-e-a-utiful because I am going to pick up Jason right after work, and I wanted him to be like "wow!"... yeah I don't know if that's gonna happen now. (I guess it might, but it will take relying on my personality... and that takes way more energy!! haha) I woke up at quarter to 8, with no sign of a Mum to beg for a ride... I straightened my hair and found something a bit more decent to wear (which is jeans and a nice black top - I hope my coworkers don't fall over in shock that I "dressed up") (ok sorry that's a huge exaggeration...) Anyone who knows me outside of work knows I like to dress myself up... BUT that's outside of work, I really don't dress up for work. ... Anyways. I think that's enough about my vanity...

OK Well I haven't fully decided which online journal I like the best, so for now I think I will alternate between the two of them... Until I decide to learn html I suppose, as this website allows that! (if any of you have any beginner advice, let me know!!)
I'm sitting at work right now, on my lunch break. I was filing invoices all morning, which is not the most exciting task and I'm not looking forward to getting back at it. If you read my other journal you'll learn that I talk alot (probably too much) about my boyfriend, Jason. He is the light of my world, I love him very much. He's coming home to visit tomorrow (He's at school on the island - 4 or more whole hours away from me!!) and I'm very excited.
As for things I like to do in my spare time... I am an active church-goer... Call me what you will, I believe in Jesus Christ as my saviour, so I call myself a Christian. I teach sunday school for grades 5-7 and I also sing on the vocal team (not choir...) every few weeks. Other than that, I mountain bike frequently, although lately not as frequently as I want... Snow tends to limit my excursions a bit... although snow riding is a LOT of fun! (I'm going this weekend!) I also play the bass guitar, although not very well, and never really in front of people. More as a hobby, I like to pick songs and learn them, just so I can pretend I'm a rock star by myself in my basement. Pathetic, I know. ;)
There's a lot more about me, but my lunch is over so I unfortunately have to get back to work. Drop me an email if you read this, just to say hello! I welcome the distraction!! :) (aboudreau_11@yahoo.ca)

Hello and welcome to my blog... I am trying to decide on a web journal... for now I am using livejournal.com, so if you care to read, go to www.livejournal.com/~crazyfunme