Day 21

This was a Jenn get organized day!!!


It was great to have a day where you get absolutely everything done that you need to. I work 9-6 almost every single business day and it gets a little bit hard to get done the things that need to be done during the day.


One thing that was really on my mind was my passport. The government recommends that you don't travel if your passport is going to expire in 6 months. I go to London in June and my Passport was due to expire in February 2012... so Im playing it safe and decided to get my passport renewed. The entire last week I got all passport things together!..... passport pictures taken..... docoments filled out... birth certificates found, and off I went. I thought in my head that it would only take a half an hour or so... but boy oh boy was I wrong. I ended up being at the office for almost two hours! I played a ton of angry birds while I waited and I made it through 25 levels! And then finally it was my turn!!!! I got my passport renewed and am so relieved that its all been completed!


So next thing on my to-do list. Collect all my T4 slips... last year I worked at 3 different places... crazy hey? One place I only worked at for a week and it was right when I was leaving, after I had spent 2 years there. The next place.. earls... I switched locations so needed 2 T4 slips. And then I moved.. so had the wrong address and none actually made it to me!!! So I drove from location to location picking up all my T4s. When I got to Dalhousie they said they didn't have one for me! Boy was I upset. Being at earls on my day off to pick up a T4 and then it wasn't there was kind of depressing! So I drive home.... call Tara (My fabulous office leader) and get her to check again. And then... they found it!!!!! So I had to drive all the way back and retrieve it!




By now its 6:00pm.... And my day was over.


I was thinking in my head.. man I feel like I wasted a day... But thinking back on it now Im happy that I accomplished so much and achieved everything that I needed to get done! The next day (which I am soon going to write about) ended up being a very relaxing day because I had nothing on my mind!


Its amazing how your mind can think... and over think about all the things that you have been putting off getting done. If there is one thing I have learned its that it creates stress... which is completely unneeded! And as soon as I got all my emergency activities done I felt like a free spirit!!!

Day 20

Today I went to go check out the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. This was the first time I had ever been to the museum and it was my moms idea to go. Very exciting stuff. There was an exhibit by the photographer Karsh as well as a Asian, African, and all the Alberta exhibits. 


So my mom and I took off for a day at the museum. The Karsh exhibit was very very cool!  We learned in the morning that this Canadian photographer had taken a photo of my great great Aunt. She was the first Canadian women to ever be a member of parliament. It was cool to see photos of Walt Disney, and Audrey Hepburn, as well as Jackie Kennedy, athletes, writers, sculptures and many more! THe Karsh exhibit was my favourite part of going to the museum. 


We walked around the entire asian section which was very cool to see all the different buddas and sculptures. There was also a big shrine which was very interesting.




By the end of the day I was quite tired!! It was good to spend the entire day with my mom and doing an activity together that we don't normally do. So does going to the museum make me happy?? I could not do it everyday but it definitely was interesting!! Always makes you think when you learn different things!

Day 18 and Day 19

The Dog Days are over.






One of my favourite songs but also the reality of the day. Last Night was the last night that I spent with Juno, Oliver and Zeus.. We had a relaxing night at home.... watching dirty dancing, cuddling and then went to sleep pretty early!


One of the interesting things about this project is that in this road to find myself I have been spending a little bit more time alone. Thats exactly what I did on Saturday! Basically more or less I took the one night or rest to prepare for today!


Today is the day that everyone resturned home. First my parents- who I got to see this afternoon and with that I got to see My sister, Peter, Charlie, my Brother Chris, and his girlfriend Kristen. What a great day to have my entire family back! The weather was beutiful, I took adventage and took the dogs for walk and met up with my sister for lunch,


Cool purchase of the day-- I got Katy Perry "shatter" nail polish.. and oh boy is is very cool! I attached the photo.. so what did I do... I painted my nails had pizza with the family and am now waiting for Chelsea and James to return home.. then off to my parents house for a sleepover.


I don't work this week.... so that means the posts will be pretty exciting.. An "in Calgary" vacation.... so Im going to try to get some local sights under my belt in the city I live in!






For some reason Im having trouble uploading photos... so photos to come.. sorry guys. stay tuned!

Day 17

Sorry this post is almost one full day over due. But trust me after you read this you will understand that I have my hands full.


So.. on Tuesday I moved into my friends house to take care of her three puppies while her and her fiance went to Palm Springs..... I went into the experience being very convenient knowing I could handle three dogs! 


Day 1- Pretty awesome we went to the dog park, we cuddled and watched a movie, we played XBOX Connect.. which of course left me feeling pretty good about the whole week ahead of me! Chelsea was very nervous when I left... I thought she was more nervous about me not taking care of them... but really she was more nervous about me. With a text message on the way to the airport she says... "You know Marley and me when they go away and have a dog sitter come in and Marley goes Crazy. And the sitter hates her life" So in my head I was thinking... oh great, what have I got to look forward too? But overall Day 1- successful 


Day 2- Juno gets me up bright and early about 6 aclock and we go outside... and then I decide to get back into bed and let all three of them join me back in my bed (Juno and Zues slept in a kennel all night) Quickly they all go back to sleep. Feeling good.... I have three dogs almost on top of me but feeling good. Get ready for work... go to work.. and then I come home! So 6:00 is dinner time.. I get them all set for dinner.. we all go upstairs to change and then I put the puppies outside. So now this is first not so good babysitting experience.... I look outside and Juno breaks through the front gate. Naturally I freak out. I know Chelsea would murder me if anything happened to her dogs (did I mention she is my boss too?!?!) So outside I go... thankfully Juno and Oliver listen pretty well.. and come barreling up the street at me... but where is Zues?! I have tears in my eyes.. Im thinking the worst of the worst... Zeus is just a little ten pound dog... what if he gets run over.. where did he go???  (I know Chelsea is having a complete heart attack as she reads this right now... Im so so sorry!)  So Im screaming Zues's name... I start crying..... I put the other two dogs inside the house and run upstairs to get my shoes... and then there is Zues. I forgot to pick him up off the bed when we went to go outside and he is to little to jump off!! So turns out I actually just left him upstairs and didn't lose him outside. Rookie move. I feel like a bit of an idiot now. So finally I get over the fact that I didn't lose a single dog and then I got really nervous about putting them outside. So what happens?? Juno pee's down the stairs. My question is.. why the stairs?? Probably the most difficult place to clean up... but hey at least I didn't lose her... 


Day 3- Normal day much like the first. The dogs get to know me a bit more and Juno gets a bit more crazy... I now get tumbled over when I let her out of her Kennel.... overwhelming... shes crazy!




and that brings me to Day 4....  right now! What's currently happening... we just had dinner and we are getting ready for the dog park... I figure the walk is what makes all the difference. Tire them out!! Maybe they will all sleep through the night. Tomorrow Chelsea comes back and I think we are all excited to see her.


So would I give up this experience??? Definitely not! I had tons and tons of fun! Although dogs are like children they also brighten up the day!! So I will leave you with a list of things that make me smile....


1. James, Chelsea's Fiance brought up 5 bottles of wine for me... basically I could drink a bottle of wine a day. Quite entertaining as I work for them... and if I chose to drink it all I probably would not make it to work! I should have had a wine party... but I didn't. 


2.  I've never had a bath and a glass of wine at the same time.... very relaxing and will do it more often. Juno trying to eat bath bubbles... priceless


3. Volcano rocks???... Put in the dogs water dishes... it didn't matter how many times I took them away they always showed up! I woke up in the morning cuddling a rock... I would leave for work and it would be sitting outside. The rocks followed me everywhere...Im going to have nightmares about those rocks... and are the hit toy for all three of the dogs.


4. Never leave any sort of dog outside unattended. Must watch them like a hawk. Never want to feel like how I felt when I thought I lost them ever again!!


5. Must get an Apple TV.. while staying at the Bed and Breakfast of C and J... I got to play connect, watch Apple TV and learn there high tech TV system.  Intense system but very cool!


So no I wouldn't give this up for the world. I have three new best friends and Im officially Auntie Jeni.


Well off to the dog park now!!


xo

Day 16

So its Thursday day, and this morning I took a step back to look at my life and then to also re read my blogs. 


When thinking about my blog, I really want to make the commitment of blogging every single day for 365 days. I started off extremely strong and my life sounded very exciting. The last couple of days have been tough. Looking back I had a great couple days but a busy couple days and what ended up happening is that my life looks kinda boring!  The difference between the last couple of days and the beginning of this whole project... I didn't take the time to enjoy myself, or at least I didn't take the time to blog about it! With real life happening it makes it a little bit harder to take a step back and smell the flowers. But this morning I realized its something that I need to take the time to do! When it comes down to it thats what my blog is all about, step back and think about different activities that are going to make me happy and make me think... and then reflect about it. In reality I would like to become a better version of what I already am. (Im pretty awesome if I do say so myself) So do do that I need to log it out and think about all the things I do during the day!


So what new task am I doing today? Well Im currently training a shift leader at my work. Im the day manager and Im training Kale so that I can have some extra helping hands on the floor. (also... maybe take a vacation which is what I am going to do next week) He use to shift lead at a different earls so basically this is a week for us to get to know each other again and for him to get on board with my vision! (Vision is very very important to me.. hehe) A mini refresher course! So today I get to take the step back and watch him do my job! This is a very very very hard thing to do. Sit back and watch and not step in? It also gives me the opportunity to see where things need improvement or are not functioning the best way that it can! What I am doing today is what I am also spending my year doing. Taking a step back and looking and listening to what my life is all about. 


Today it will be hard to watch as Kale works through his own problems when I know I could go and do it/ or help him. It will be my opportunity to impact another human being. This is how I also want to impact myself. Take a step back and listen and look at what I am doing. Have a good balance of life and enjoy myself.


Wish me luck... I have a whole day of staring at my computer.... watching my business being run by someone else.. and get some well needed office work done... pay close attention to my tweets you will probably get some great updates!   :)






P.S- Update on the week! I budgeted myself 40 for eating out. Today I went to starbucks and spent 5.50... so I have 44.50 left of my budget and have no plans to eat out!  Congrats Jenn!

Day 15

Skype Date!


I Skyped for the very first time! I was happy to see that Amanda (from Day 3) got my letter!! It really didn't take that long to reach England... I thought it would at least be two weeks, but turns out I was wrong!


The best part about the whole thing is that I got an e-mail that she had commented on my post. I was so excited that I got tears in my eyes. So immediately I needed to talk to her. Right away I texted my sister and my mom! So then I finally talk to Amanda through Whatsapp on my blackberry and her i phone. And because I had a day off we decided to have a skype date! I can not believe that we had not skyped before! I got to see a tour of her little flat in London and she got to see my cute little character house that I moved into while she was gone!


It was quite funny because its the first time I had seen her since she left in August. She gave me a tour of her place which is kind of funny when you walk around with a computer. And while she was giving me a tour some little British man came to the door so I got to here a real english accent! So then I did the same thing for her. I walked my computer around the house and gave her a tour of where I lived. It was really cool and we had a conversation for about 45 minutes! We caught up on each others love life's which are basically both non- existent.  I guess there is no cute boys in London. Sucks for me since Im going in July. But when I look at... that just means there is no reason for her to stay there right? Maybe persuade her to move to Calgary and not back to Edmonton.  Hehe wouldn't that be fun!


I got to catch up on her teaching job and about all the interesting slang words she has learned. And then she learned all about my exciting job! We  decided we need to skype more often. Could be more like a weekly activity. Good idea right? What else was funny?? I basically rolled out of bed when I talked to her... so she got to see me in my best form.... I have bangs right now so if I don't do them I look like the girl in "something about Mary"... at least I made Amanda laugh. 


Well now Im off to bed. I will have an exciting blog tomorrow about my new babysitting job I have for the rest of the week. Today was definitely an adventurous day for me and my new family, Zues, Juno, and Oliver. Thats right three dogs people.....

My friend Amanda while we skyped. She probably will be upset that I posted this but what can you do? Look how happy she is to talk to me!?!

Day 14

Today was Toms a day without shoes! Unfortunately I work in a restaurant and so going a day without shoes is not an option. So what did I do instead?? Well I made it it starbucks two blocks alway from my house. Its crazy, when I think out loud it sounds stupid that I only made it two blocks away and then another two blocks on the way home. Let me say.. my feet were frozen!!! 

But I live in Calgary where there is snow all over the ground and the cement was about 0 degrees. This task was a lot harder then I thought it was going to be.... but definitely makes you think about all the people that do go without shoes every day. I put myself in there position and realized how grateful I am to own all the shoes that I do own. A couple of my favourite pairs being toms....

So what we have decided to propose to our restaurant for next year?? Since its a health code violation to not where shoes... what about an entire day with the entire staff wearing toms?!?! Sounds like a good idea to me!!!

Since buying my first pair of Toms about two months ago I now have two pairs of Toms. Who else has some? Tara my office leader at work, my sister, my niece, my mom, and a couple friends here and there! Check out this picture that Tara and I took while we were at work celebrating our one day without shoes in the office!!!!!

Enjoy and if you don't have Toms... get out there and buy some!!!

xo

Day 13

Sorry this post it a little bit late.  As you can tell by my short posts from the last couple of days I have been a little bit busy (with the exception of Saturday when I was perfectly fine doing nothing) 


So what happened yesterday. My drink when through the prelim competition at earls Dalhousie. My drink is a combination of flavoured vodka, basil, mango, honey, and yuzu juice. (Yuzu is a hybrid fruit from Japan made out of tangerine and grapefruit) Im not telling you what kind of vodka or how I made it. I still don't want to ruin the surprise. Cause... my drink made it to the finals!!! I now have only two weeks to work on preparing it (I need to make 5 drinks in 5 minutes using the exact muddling method required) and that is going to take some work. 


So yesterday morning right as my work day was starting we held our in house bartending competition. The  finals was between Joel and I. We had five minutes to set up our stations and then we had five minutes to prepare our drinks. Our drinks were completely different!! Joels drink was espresso, cream, raspberry, and ice cream. Where as my drink was basil, mango, soda. Its tough competing against Joel cause he has some crazy charisma! 


But sure enough my drink came through. So in two weeks on Palms Sunday I get to go and compete in the earls Calgary region Bartending competition. Its going to be an amazing experience. Not only is it a bar competition but its also a culinary competition. Scott my sous chef at work is going to compete as well. They are setting up a free standing kitchen right in the middle of the room and then 7 bartenders will also make there drinks. I think we might make our drinks in the morning as well and then 4 people make there drinks at night. The cool thing is that in the afternoon I also get to go to a seminar with some of the top people from earls Head office! All in all its going to be a good day!!


And get this.... if I win I get to go to Napa Valley. I know I have talked about this before but Napa valley is my most favourite place in the entire world!! I get to spend 4 days with people from all over Canada who work at different earls. What an amazing experience!!! I also get to try some great wines along the way! I bet you cant wait for Palms Sunday now??


As for the eating out goal I set the day before... didn't eat out last night... saved my money and ate in! What did I have hummus and crackers... and some cashews! Yumm... I guess I will have to make a trip to the grocery store!

FINAL DRINK

Day 12

What a Sunday Funday I had!!


After doing nothing yesterday I was well rested to get up and do something today! I woke up bright and early at 8 AM and headed out of the house... after church, lunch, and then a walk in the park with 3 cute puppies I ended up catching up with the roommate Lane who I had not seen in a couple of days! After spending Saturday completely alone with know other human contact being able to have a conversation was very exciting. So what do I decide to do? I log on to my online banking and decide to manage my accounts. If you read blog "Day 4" you would know I said this is something I might not do. But I did it and boy did I learn alot!!!




You know whats interesting? I always complain that my bills are way to high and that thats where the majority of my money goes... boy was I wrong. Basically a wake up call. My bank basically put my life into a pie chart for me and where does most of my money go to? Eating out.... hmm funny.. I work in a restaurant, how come Im eating out all the time... don't I do that enough everyday I am at work? Turns out my cell phone bill shouldn't be that big of a deal when I spend twice that on eating out in a month! So thanks Darren for the wake up call... and now maybe I will learn how to save a little bit more!




So my friends that brings me to this up coming week. The week of not spending a single extra cent on eating out. Tomorrow I have budgeted myself 40 dollars for any small groceries I might need for the week. (Im sure I will have family dinners here and there) but that is all Im spending!!


Im going to basically minimize that number and put the rest of my dollar bills towards saving for Europe! Wish me luck!


JC

Day 11

What did I do today??? Basically nothing interesting. I live in a city that can not decide if it wants to be spring or winter. 


This is the first Saturday I've had off in a very long time! All week I thought about all the exciting things I could do today. And then what happens this morning? I wake up and have a look outside the window and it has snowed all day. Somehow my day turned into not leaving the house once. This is something I have not done in a very very long time. I watched 127 hours, Stick it, Mean girls, and currently I am watching Yes Man. I took a bath and I slept.


So how do I feel? You know that feeling when you feel tired because you have over rested?  Thats me right now. Its now 9:30pm and I am now wide awake! So whats going through my mind? Do I make up for it and venture out tonight? Or do I wait until tomorrow? But then do I really need to make up for doing nothing? No! Today was a perfect day to nothing... and not only that but I don't work tomorrow either which means tomorrow I definitely need to have a fantastic Sunday Fun day.


Well back to resting to get ready for tomorrow! 

Day 10

Fancy Fridays called for Fancy things!! This Friday I spent two hours of my day preparing for a bartending competition Im entering at work. So what did I get to do all day?? Whip up some cocktails!!


I get to enter the preliminary competition on April 12th and then if I get through that I get to go to the finals a week later! This program is put through my work... and what do you win in the end? A trip to Napa Valley!!! 


I ended up with quite the drink! I used a few unique ingredients. So new task of the day was quite successful and I will keep you updated on the results of the competition!!


Wondering whats in it? Can't tell you! Will have to wait until after I win... don't want to give any secrets away!

Day 9

This week is down to earth week.

What a perfect day to watch a documentary. This morning I had a conversation with my friend Tara which actually started with how handsome we thought Bradley Cooper is (my future husband... how great does Jennifer Casey Cooper sound?? great ring to it.)... some how it got into how I liked Leonardo DiCaprio because A. He is an unreal actor and b. he is an environmental activist. I am most recently a "new founded" environmentalist. So what do I do.. I hit up google to show Tara exactly what Leonardo DiCaprio has done... and what do I find, he has produced and narrated a film called The 11th Hour. And what did this documentary do... it brought be back down to earth. It reminded me of the bigger picture of how much of an impact we have on the world. What are the things I can do to make a change? What are some of the bigger things that are happening that need to be change? How does the human population have an effect on Natural Disasters? These are all things I think we think about every day.

Some people say.. why the environment? Why is this what you are passionate about? Well I answer this question almost every day. After setting up a new composting and recycling program at work I get to explain myself every day. Getting people to take the time and using a compost while they are busy is like pulling teeth. Changing there ways is difficult and you really need to be able to explain your ideas. So why is it important? Is composting napkins and chopsticks really going to make a change? What is the value?

Well let me share with you what I think. Some people will say... well Jenn still drives her car, or she owns gucci bags and a cell phone and an i pod. Being environmentally friendly doesn't mean I need to be a tree hugging- live in the jungle- and eat berries and fruit all day. What does it mean to me?? To live a life that I want to live well being sustainable to the place I live in. Being conscious of the purchases I make and what kind of effect they have on the earth when I am finished with them. But why can't we have both? You can.... this is the difference of well-being and well-wanting. If everybody took the time to show a little love, our generation could make a big difference. Using our natural resources instead of fossil fuels. Look at all the things that the human being can do?? Look at all the technology we have created. So why not use these brains we have to incorporate our lives around the planet we live in. 

So what are some things you can do in day to day life?

eat at local places, Calgary is great for local food! To name a few of my favorites... Notable, The coup, BoxWood, Deville.. If you have not heard of them.. look it up! Check it out!

Start a recycling program at work and at home. You name it,  I recycle it... We recycle everything from chopsticks to tea bags.. to cork... to paper... to to-go boxes for food. Start recycling.

Try to not use your cars. I know its tough even I have trouble with it... But start with walking to the grocery store... why drive? 

But really what can you do to make a difference??? Share your ideas with me and with others...what can you do to come back down to earth? Show it some love! Treat the earth with respect and it will show it back to us. 

Good night all... see you tomorrow on Fancy Friday!

Day 8

Todays post is a bit different from the rest. I wondered when this day would come. So far I have basically written about sunshine and rainbows, but life isn't always like that. Some days are harder then others. The first step is realization! Not that this has been an awful day... it hasn't, but is a day that made me ask a lot of questions. 


Todays task started off by me taking my first run of the year outside. Its the first real glimpse of spring and was a warm day outside. I always find the first day of starting to get back running is the hardest. I really had to pump myself up. A couple struggles I came across..... 


I live downtown... not such a easy place to run in... nervous about where to go... where not to go. So I decide to drive over to my parents place and go from there. Shows I like to be in my comfort zone right? So off I go... beautiful day.... nice spring smell.... but puddles everywhere! Needless to say my feet were completely soaked within the first ten minutes. I stick it out for a while longer.. but still unbearable. I call it quits. So now Im feeling guilty.... I didn't really feel like I made the effort to find happiness today. Was I sad? Did I not have a good day? No.... my day was fine, I set goals at work, I had a positive attitude, but there was just something missing that just wasn't there.


What do I do? First... I go to chapters. I buy a book.  Not satisfied. Second, I decide to go to a movie alone. This is definitely a first. I have never gone to a movie theatre alone. But why not? I watch movies at home by myself. Its not like you have a conversation with someone while your at a movie. I can spend time with just myself. So I get to the theatre, buy a ticket and sit down. Im overwhelmed. Why am I worried about what people think of me being alone at the movie? Why couldn't I find anyone to come with me? Why can't I concentrate on whats going on? And then of course, I start thinking about the past. I love movies and use to go to them all the time.... what changed and where is that person that would want to go with me? And then I think... well Im not happy. I want to cry. I want to leave. But I stay... of course I send some emotional text messages to both my sister and my mom who were then probably thinking... I wonder whats up with Jenn. I stick the movie out... I enjoy the movie but Im sad that I had no one to enjoy it with. And now that's what Im left to think about. 


I do have friends who go to movies alone.... but I don't think I can. Its not for me. I am proud of myself for going.. I've been wanting to see this movie all week. (Limitless, you should see it!) But going alone made me feel like Im missing something. It makes me question if Im happy or if Im missing something in life. Weird.... Im an extremely happy person.. but how do I get in moods like this? I guess this is the 365 day process to figuring out exactly who I am, these are things I need to tackle. 

(How can you be sad with this view right?!)

Not wanting to leave this post on a sour note... here are some pictures from my run, and also a message from a friend that I want to share. I also don't want people to think Im going to bed sad... I can only imagine the phone calls and texts I would get! When I got home, (something that brightened up my day) A message from a friend who told me he was proud of me and my blog, and that I am on the journey to find myself and Happy to hear how well I'm doing! Of course this puts a smile on my face... good job Myke!

Day 7

Today was a day off for me at work! Yesterday I made plans for my sister and Charlie to come over in the morning while my brother and law tried to get some sleep. (He is working nights so needs some peace and quiet in the morning) 


Task for the day.. Entertain a three year old at my not so child friendly house. Its not that my house is unfit for a kid... its just that I don't really have much to entertain any! Charlie is the one and only little one that has been over to our house! I had to wake up pretty early this morning which is rare for me when I have a day off.... I never get to sleep in. Immediately I got to work tidying up the place, deciding what to have for lunch, finding some sort of activity to do and got to work!

When Charlie first got here she would not even really leave her moms side. Slowly but surely... with bribes of course I get her to open up and live a little. It first took a popsicle (something Im very happy I went out and purchased that morning) a trip to starbucks... and then of course we made some jello! By this time Charlie was back to her normal self and happily running around. She drew pictures in my notebook, pretended to read a book, and then we had a picnic lunch in the living room. 

Charlie and her mommy

This picture makes me happy because she is pretending to read a book that a friend made for me that has quotes in it. I was funny watching her make up a story!

This was a bit of a first for me. Don't get me wrong, I spend time with Charlie all the time and we do fun activities together... but she never comes over to  my house. Usually we spend time together at grandmas or my sisters place. Goals for the future: Maybe have some arts and crafts. Get my sister to trust me alone with her for a couple of hours (hehe)... and Charlie just stay with me :)..... oh and maybe have her over for more then a couple of hours!!!

Best thing Charlie said all day.... "Thanks for the picnic" as she left in the afternoon!

Task.... successful.... and will probably be repeated... will need to buy some toys of course!

xx

Day 6

2 trips to Safeway, one trip to seven eleven, 6 bags of chocolate chips and 3 and a half hours later I am finally finished. Although all of the above things don't sound so exciting...(except for the chocolate chips part) the were the best three hours I have had in a long time. The whole time spent giggling and laughing with my roommate Lane. 


We most recently got a new oven and have been using it the last two days none stop! Last week a girl at work brought these cake pops in. They were absolutely amazing and she proceeded to tell me how easy they were to make and told me exactly how to make them. So tonight was the night I decided to try it out! Let me tell you.... not an easy task! The pictures are embarrassing! 

(this is me rolling the cake balls. As you can see... Im still sporting my very fun nail polish)

So from the beginning... I stop at Safeway to get all of the tools to make these cake lollipops! When I leave the grocery store I realize that I have already forgotten an ingredient.. milk! So I decide to stop at seven eleven down the street from my house. When I get home I immediately start baking a cake. This part is all very organized, I watch a bit of t.v with my roommate and soon the cake is finished! So the cake comes out... I let it cool... crumble up the cake, add icing... and roll it into pretty little balls. All this time feeling very proud of myself!!! This whole time Lane is debating if she should go to bed or not. She wants to stay up to see the final product but she also has school in the morning. So she decides to help me. I need to cut my skewers in half (make shift lollipop sticks) so Lane gets on melting the chocolate. Turns out cutting skewers is harder then you think. The house we live in is being renovated on the main floor. Lane suggests to go use a saw. I do... and it doesn't work. But definitely provided entertainment thinking it was a good idea.  When I come back upstairs to our kitchen, Lane is getting along well and she is getting the chocolate melted. We decide we should add milk to the chocolate to change the consistency. NOT a good idea! Pretty soon we just have a clump of white chocolate. So Lane says... why don't you just do this in the morning? And I just couldn't do that. I started the project and I needed to finish it. So I hope into my car and go and get 4 more bags of chocolate chips!  Come back and finally melt the chocolate!!! Although is still is not a consistency to stick to the cake mix well. It turn out to be an epic fail! My cake keeps breaking, I can't get the chocolate on smooth, the sprinkles are sticking to my hands. epic fail. 

(attempting to roll the ball in sprinkles)

Final product: Not good! But hey.... at least they have character. 

(final product)

Turns out making cake lollipops is not easy. I am very proud of anyone who can make them successfully. I am just not a baker. I guess if I ever have a craving for them I will have to find someone to make them for me!!


The best part about the whole experience...... the amount of times I smiled and laughed at my self. Although my cake pops are "flawed" they still taste amazing and I think they are extremely cute. I did get frustrated and only made 5 out of the 34 I was planing on making... but practice makes perfect and when my mom gets back in town... Im sure we will make some together! (Hers will probably be perfect)


Something that will not be added to the list in the about me section. Baker. Cake pops are not for me..... at least not without my moms help. 


See you at Day 7

Day 5

Wow! What a fun day! I was invited by the coworker and his wife last Sunday to a get together they were having on Sunday afternoon. I was really excited to go but unfortunately I did not even make it last week. Joel was very disappointed but we definitely made up for it today! I work with Joel about 6 days a week and we get to spend a lot of time together. We have known each other for about 4 and half years now but were never really close. We went from knowing each others names at work, to becoming Facebook friends... and now we run a restaurant together. Going off first impressions neither of us could imagine we could become good friends..... but hey, 4 and a half years later it happened. I'm very proud to say that I can have him, and his wife Shandelle apart of my life!


So today I went over to there place for lunch. So nice of them to invite me! I ended up staying from about 1:00 to 6:00 It was a fun afternoon of yummy stew and good conversation! Both were definitely needed! My parents are out of town and I usually spend Sundays with my entire family. This is something is greatly missed when they are not in the city. Having lunch with Joel and Shandelle made up for the fact I could not have dinner with my family.


So your probably thinking... what is so great or different about what she did today? Well even though I'm very extraverted and extremely outgoing I get shy and quiet around people I don't know. Part of the reason I didn't go last week is that there was going to be so many people I didn't know. So I "maned up" and put myself in a situation that I knew I would be  a little bit more uncomfortable in. So what did I learn?? Sometimes you have to put yourself in a place where your uncomfortable to learn and meet new people! And thats what happened today! Im happy to say that I now have two more positive people in my life and that I learned more about a person I work with everyday! Sometimes I think that friends are work don't always take the time to get to know each other in life outside of the building and Im glad to say that we have both made the effort! It was worth it.....




I also completed something off of "the list" today! I brought Joel and Shandelle flowers! Which I loved doing, and they were a very beautiful color! Something people should do more often. Flowers add life to the room and Im happy I could do that for them!


Tomorrow Im going to take my blog to the kitchen! Can't wait to tell you how it goes!


J

Day 4

Todays task was a little bit more silly then the previous things I've done all week. When I originally thought of doing this... I thought... I defiantly wont make it through the whole day with my hands looking like this. Even as I am typing this message it is making me laugh at myself. So a couple of months ago I painted Charlie's nails exactly like this, but come on... she is three, and I am twenty three.... what is fun and looks cute on a three year old doesn't mean it would look good on me. If this were true, I definitely would try to wear tutu's every day of my life. (kids clothing is a way more fun then adult clothing) Its a little bit different and I knew I would be getting some type of a reaction from people who saw it. 


So I originally thought this is not a good idea and was already thinking about taking it off. (I brought nail polish remover to work) So I get to work, half an hour early today to install some very cool new soap dispensers. I have to use my hands to show Darren the handyman exactly where I want them. Being pretty self conscious of my fingers I ask Darren what he thinks about it. He said "yeah, I was wondering.. why are your nails like that" So I told him about my blog.... and he replies with... "you should blog about how to manage your financials." Very Random and also very irrelevant. Weird to be that thats what he replied with!  He then goes into a twenty minute shpeal  about why I should do this, why it will benefit me and how great it is. Well I'm sure it is great... and Im sure when my mom reads this post she is probably thinking that thats what I need instead of pointlessly painting my nails all different colours. But mom---- my nails ended up making me very happy today, as well as all the people who work for me. (I will save my financial blog for another day, how exciting will that one be........not)


So turns out... I might actually start doing my nails like this. Every time I looked down at my nails and obviously I see them loud and clear right now as Im typing they make me laugh. Not only that but they made other people laugh. I bet when I show up to work on Monday at least two girls will have there nails painted like this. Look out Calgary.... a new phenomenon is coming our way. Definitely was great to hear people laugh and giggle all day at work, one of the great joys of my life that I get to work in an atmosphere were laughing happens all the time! One comment I got is that this is the new thing to do on the runway.... apparently in all the magazines.... so the new word Im adding to my list for the day... hipster. Thats right.. I am now a hipster. I set a new trend today and its going to take off. I feel very proud of myself.


I challenge everyone to do one silly thing a week that makes people laugh. Silly Saturdays maybe?? 


until Sunday


xo

Day 3

Day three of blog writing. The funny thing about today is that I was excited to come home and write this blog!!! It might actually be the highlight of my day. I guess blogging makes me tick (maybe I should write blogger to the list of things "about me"....or it could be premature as it is only day 3) so this blog is either getting me excited...... or I just had a horrible day. Probably a little bit of both! Those of you who know what kind of a day I had at work..... will know that I didn't have the best day! Its a good thing I am so passionate about my job!!!


Soo..... what new thing did I decide to do today? I sent snail mail to one of my best friends who is currently living in London, England. This is something I don't ever remember doing, so if I have sent snail mail, it was done far before I was a teen.... and with that being said, Im sure my mom did it for me!


My friend, who is living in London has never read this blog, its only been two days and I have had not had a chance to tell her! I've decided Im going to hold off on telling her, and wrote about my blog in the handwritten letter I sent her. How fun is that? Not only does she get to receive a letter in the mail... but then she also will have like twenty whole days of blogging to catch up on!!! (So Miss Amanda, you better be sending me a whats app message as you read this!!!!) Those of you who don't know me or her.... we have pretty much been inseparable since 7th grade. With the exception for the fact we lived in different cities for a couple of years and now that she lives in London. ( A bit of a contradiction hey?) We went to junior high and high school together, and while in grade 12... we lived together for half a semester! Pretty great experience living with your best friend while your still in high school! We have traveled North America together.... seattle, portland, hawaii (all with our high school cheer team) as well as Houston on a family trip! Most of my memories include her and I'm sure we will be friends for life. Defiantly a bridesmaid if I ever get married. And in exactly 3 months and twenty days I can say we traveled Europe together. That is right Im going to London!


So back to my new "task". I wrote Amanda a snail mail. Some interesting things I noticed while writing this letter.........


1. I can't spell, and I rely on spell check
(as I just wrote that I asked my roommates boyfriend how to spell "rely")
2. I wrote the envelope about 5 times before I wrote on the envelope in a satisfying way
3. When putting stamps on the envelope, I had no idea how many to put on
4.I guess when you send mail to europe you actually have to go to the post office (who knew?!?)




So what an experience that was! A lot of hard work! I noticed how much I rely on technology and how much apart of my life it is.... thinking about it now, I should send more letters in the mail. Thinking how it made me feel writing the letter and how Amanda will feel when she gets to open it?? This is definitely a task I will try to add to my every day life!


So today I learned... I can't spell... nothing new.. I say it almost everyday... that taking time to put more emotion and care into a letter is far more liberating then sending an e-mail. Everyone should try it! (will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside)


So things that make me happy.... writing letters!


Can't wait for tomorrow.... tomorrows task.....pretty fun!