Not Having to Go to School March 31, 2008

I woke up this morning to the worst feeling in the world. I have the flu. So I am giving myself the right to be cranky today and not do much at all. I still need to keep up on my school work though, so here I am posting on this blog…

I am not happy at all right now!

The only thing that I can think of that brings me some happiness is that I get Monday’s off school so I don’t have to miss any of my classes. I just hope I’ll feel better tomorrow morning because I have to drive down to Lethbridge and I have an exam tomorrow.

Argh…I hate feeling sick!

Off to Invermere March 28, 2008

Today my family and I are off to British Columbia. We are all packed and heading to the mountains for a weekend with a birthday party and fun with friends.

We plan on doing the “touristy” stuff in Invermere and going to the Fairmont and/or Radium Hot Springs.

I love getting out of the city and am looking forward to this weekend.

America’s Next Top Model March 27, 2008

Another thing that brings me joy is America’s Next Top Model. I know that some absolutely hate the show and what it stands for, but there is just something about it that makes me want to watch it every week.

Every week the contestants complete a fashion challenge in which the winner(s) get prizes that models love like merchandise and photo shoots and trips to exotic places. They then have a photo shoot and the judges decide which girl they are going to let go.

The show is hosted by Tyra Banks and has celebrity judges like photographer Nigel Barker, runway coach J. Alexander and Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova.

I love this show and make sure that I watch it every Wednesday night. If I miss it though, all of the episodes are loaded on YouTube.

Juice It March 26, 2008

Another thing that brings me joy is smoothies. I don’ t have them that often, but I love them when I do. I don’t usually make them myself because I’ll admit that I’m lazy, but I do like to buy them every now and then.

I went shopping today at Park Place Mall and stopped at Juice Fare to pick up a smoothie. I figured that if they always had a line up, it should be good. I picked a flavour and a wrap because I was hungry and I was impressed enough to decide to write about smoothies!

The most popular places to go for smoothies these days are probably Booster Juice and Jugo Juice. Did you know that both franchises began in Canada? Booster Juice began in 1999 in Sherwood Park Alberta and Jugo Juice came in 1998 with their first store at the Eau Claire Market in Calgary.

Both places have a diverse menu of smoothies, fresh juices and food. They both use fresh fruit in their products and offer fresh healthy food. Once you pick your flavour, you are given the choice of Booster or Shots to add to your smoothie or juice. I remember just skipping that part because I didn’t know what to pick. Since looking at the websites of Booster Juice and Jugo Juice, I realized it’s not so scary. They are just powders packed full of nutrients and herbs that give you a boost. You can get them for energy, to boost your immune system or to give you added protein. They aren’t scary, so try a smoothie and add a Booster.

My favourite drink at Booster Juice is probably the Mango Hurricane and at Jugo Juice I like Passionate Perfection.

Can I Give You A Hug? March 25, 2008

Let me go on a bit of a rant for a moment . . .

Have you ever ran into a good friend or a family member and your immediate reaction is to go in for a hug? The anticipation of a gesture that shows someone that you care about them, missed them, or are just happy to see them becomes so great that you stretch out your arms and walk towards them. You meet your friend or family member face to face and embrace them tightly only to receive . . . nothing. No squeeze, no embrace, no squishy feeling of love. You realize that you might as well be hugging a stick or a limp noodle.

There are a little number of things that are worse than a limp hug. Although, when you get a good one they are fantastic!

I don’t know if it is because my family is a “touchy” one if that is why I love hugs so much, but give me a good hug any day and I’m happy.

If you are unsure about how to hug someone, or are a male concerned with their masculinity, take a look at this video for some simple steps to giving and getting a great hug.

As a side note, you may have heard about the Free Hugs Campaign. It was a campaign started by the name of Juan Mann and was a mission to hug random strangers to pass happiness around. The idea spread quickly and Juan ended up with getting his fifteen minutes of fame on Oprah. Since then free hugs have been offered all around the world.

Spending Time With The Little Ones… March 24, 2008

This Easter weekend was spent with family which means time with a lot of little kids. Almost all of my cousins are a lot older than me and they all seem to be having kids.

On Saturday we spent the day at my aunt’s house for my uncle’s 60th birthday. My cousins kids totaled five running around and three little babies. My sister and I didn’t know a lot of the people in the house, so we hung out with the younger ones. We held babies and played throw the cards and wrestled with the “older” kids. There was Julie(4), Nathan(3), Ben(3), Lana(2), India(almost 2), Elias(4months), Matthew(3.5months), and Kendal(3months) to hang out with and hold.

This picture is the kids cleaning up the mess of Lego that we made.

Playing the game of put the cards in the barn, take them out, put them back, take them out . . .

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Then on Monday my cousin and aunt came over for the evening. It was so nice to see them because we don’t get to see members from my dad’s side of the family that often. Little Amber came along as well and she is so cute!

Good Friday March 21, 2008

Today is Good Friday and it’s a family tradition of ours to go to a city wide Mennonite service in the morning. It’s a day that we remember the day that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us on the cross.

Why did Jesus have to die you may ask. Well it’s a question that is central to Christianity. He was sent to earth knowing He would die for all of the people He came into contact with and for all of those that lived after He did. He lived a life of no sin to take all of our sins on Himself when He died on the cross. It is only through Jesus Christ that we have life and can life eternally with Him in Heaven.

Don’t you think it’s strange that we call it Good Friday? Why would we celebrate a day that Christ died? It is a day when Jewish leadership took their hatred out on the Messiah. Jesus suffered greatly, but through that gave us eternal life. Yes, it may seem like a sad day, but it is one that brings me joy because I know that without this Friday we would never have the opportunity to enjoy God as Savior. Without this day there would be no hope for future joy, no point to existence, no point to celebrate on Sunday that Christ rose from the dead.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

How Do You Find Joy? March 20, 2008

I think that joy is an individual thing for people. What makes me happy won’t necessarily make you happy.

So, what brings me joy in any given day?

Every day is different. There are days that are just good days, where I wake up on the right side of the bed and everything seems to go right. On those days I can find joy in almost everything, like the blue sky, the grass, birds chirping and even going to school! On other days everything makes me annoyed or angry and it’s hard to find the joy in even waking up in the morning. It’s those days that I find great difficulty writing anything happy down in my journal or posting anything on this blog. I am happy to say that those days are few though. I seem to find happiness in most days. It’s hard for me to go a day without laughing or smiling or talking to anyone that will listen about my day.

What brings you joy? How do you find it?

You may have heard about a man who recently divorced from his wife in Perth, Australia. He admits that he may be going through a mid-life crisis, but feels that he needs to change his life to find a new happiness. He is changing his lifestyle to find a joy that he feels he lost. What Ian Usher is doing is he is selling his entire life on Ebay on June 22, 2008. He is selling his house, his vehicles, his job, his friends, everything! He is being completely honest and just wants a change. He plans to leave Perth with any money he has and seek a new life with new joy. His website is www.alife4sale.com if you want more information. Would you go as far as this man to find joy in your life?

Facebook… March 19, 2008

Yep, Facebook brings me joy.

There is just something about this social networking website that I love. There is so much to do on Facebook that you could spend hours wasting time on it.

I have almost all of my friends in one place that I can talk to any time I want.

I can message someone on there wall or send them a little note personally and others do the same for me.

I can post unlimited pictures from my life and look at all of my friends pictures.

I can update my status to something really funny or serious.

I can post a note about my thoughts or take a quiz for all of my friends to see.

I can post a really funny video and all my friends can comment on it.

I can stalk my friends and their friends and their friends . . . but I don’t do that . . .

I can find friends that I haven’t seen in years.

I can create events and invite all my friends to them.

I can find out when my friends start dating, who they are dating and when they break up.

I can spend my free time trying to take the perfect shot for my profile picture!

Oh Facebook, you are so amazing!

Check out these videos which I think explain Facebook so well. I couldn’t just pick one, so here are a couple that I found.

Matt Costa March 18, 2008

It seems about time for another music video.

I have recently started listening to Matt Costa and I love his music!

He grew up in California and became dedicated to skateboarding. He even went pro, but in 2003 he shattered his knee in an accident. This turn of events made him switch his attention to music. He learned the guitar, started writing songs and began recording his home-made demo tapes. Tom Dumont (the guitarist for No Doubt) heard about Matt and started mentoring him. Matt wrote songs and Tom encouraged him and recorded them.

In 2005, Matt Costa toured with Jack Johnson as the opening act and his popularity took off from there. His most recent album is titled Unfamiliar Faces and was released in January of 2008. The following video is of his single from the album called “Mr. Pitiful”. Click here to check out his website.