gracias a tí hoy soy feliz

I realize I haven't blogged in a while. Things have been nuts! I am currently waiting to hear from the Lethbridge College to see if I am accepted. For this application I had to fill out the application, send  my transcripts, write the Accuplacer Assessment test, and answer a ton of interview questions. The interview questions were interesting, required a lot of work, but it really made me think. Why do I want to be a Child or Youth Care Worker? What different qualities do I have that can help me? Once filling out all the questions it got me kind of excited. I can't wait to learn this stuff and eventually help kids! They deserve so much better then they have.

I still have been keeping up with my criminal minds, kind of letting flashpoint go, but you gotta love criminal minds. Along with watching Criminal Minds with Cory he's been helping me with my Spanish (though I am still pretty bad). He showed me this song and I decided to listen to it today on my break. I REALLY like it. Once you understand what they are saying, the meaning of the song is really nice too.

Winsin y Yandel- Gracias A Ti

It seems like I have been crazy busy but it hasn't really been things out of the ordinary. Last Monday, Charmaine, Shuling, the Elders, and I went to the gym at the university and played basketball & volleyball. I definitely need to work on my sports skills, I was really bad. 

As per usual I worked on the weekend. It was great fun though. The store has a new sound system so we play pretty sweet music. I get to dance around when no one is in the store. 

We also had YSA family home evening. We (as always) had food, and we tried to plan some upcoming activities. As an effort to try to get people thinking about the importance of service I played Pres. Thomas S. Monson's talk on Service, from the October 2009 General Conference. No matter how many times we are told how important service is I think that a reminder is always in order. 

"We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.......

My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us."

Pres. Thomas S. Monson (General Conference October 2009)

And last but not least. Charmaine and I took an adventure to the Confederation Court Mall at lunch. The majority of stores in the mall were having "Sidewalk Sales". So we decided to check things out. Here are a few pictures from our outing:

(Charmaine's favorite purchase of the day: Soundtrack for Princess and the Frog [30% off])

Our good deed for the day. The next lucky person will already have money in their meter :) 

Quo Eye Shadow= $3 (wooohooo Visit Teaching present), Bizou flats= $2.99 (so Charmaine bought two pairs [red and teal], luckily for me I can borrow them)

So now that would be everything. I am finally caught up. 

Hasta Mañana!

Back to School..

So Sunday turned out to be a lot busier then expected. Along with going to church we had our home teachers come over at 4. After they left the Elders came for supper at 5:30. Boy was supper delicious. It was actually incredible. Roast beef (that was in the slow cooker all day), mashed potatoes, peas, corn, gravy, and homemade rolls or biscuits and for dessert I made brownies and a pumpkin pie. I was actually proud of my pie. I'll post a picture later for your viewing pleasure. And to make the evening even more lively, we had a YSA Family Home Evening. It was a good time I believe. I brought some of the brownies I made earlier, ate some popcorn and played................................

APPLES TO APPLES! 

This by far has become my favorite game. It is absolutely hilarious! 

And once the fun and games were all done I headed home to get some sleep due to the fact that my classes Monday morning started at 8:30. That is one thing that I do not like! 

Because of the lovely breaks I have during class, and considering I have received any good assignments yet I sometimes use my breaks to catch up on some TV shows. Its interesting to look at the TV shows I watch, they are definitely all in the same category.

Gotta love Criminal Minds

I think my favorite characters in the show are either Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), or Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness)

 

Next show that I am starting to watch a lot...

Flashpoint!

Favorite Character..

Jules Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson)

Definitely a fan of these two shows right now, and when Cory and I get into an argument this is how we "rekindle our relationship". Gotta love brothers. 

Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend has been quite delightful. Went to class 9:30-10:20 (SPANISH!!), went to get transcripts from the Gray (nice little reunion), went to the mall, purchased a new phone, went to PAT AND WILLY's, then to work, all on Friday. Then this morning, off to work again. Luckily for me I got out of work 2 hours early :) I spent a good hour trying to figure out how to put music on my phone. (no luck). Then to the branch family council we go.. That was interesting. Knowing the church there was obviously food. :) Potluck to start. Then they talked, and talk. haha. There were some pretty interesting and goals put forward.

(my new phone)

(best place ever!!)

The past few days I haven't gotten to blog, but heres a quick update. Thursday night: Swiss Chalet, chillin' and then... Cut Cory's hair! That was definitely a learning experience. and no. I didn't wreck his hair, it actually looks good. Wednesday: school, school, school, and institute. Institute was awesome as always. We talked about Testimonies and the importance of sharing them, along with other things. Also, the Elders joined us. They gave us a good pep talk on sharing the gospel. It really kind of gave me a better look at things, hopefully I'll be able to make a difference, and help some people out.

Tomorrow: Church! This will be the first Sunday in atleast 6 weeks that I will actually get to go to Sunday School, sadly my primary teaching days are over for now. Also, the Elders are joining us for supper tomorrow night too, should be a good time.

"I ask you to make institute a priority" (President Thomas S. Monson)

I encourage everyone to take a look at the new Institute Website as well. (just click on the link)

Have a great night, and make sure to use your Sabbath to its full spiritual capacity!  

 

Almost Halfway Done!

It seems that this week is going on forever. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but yet it seems like it is super busy. I love university but I think I have made a little mistake. I never thought I would say this, but I think one of my university classes are WAY TOO EASY! I don't want to sound proud, or bad but when you are sitting there and thinking that you were taught this math in grade like 10, there is a huge problem. The only bright side of this is that I will get a really good mark which will bring up my GPA. Also, I will be the master of it.

Last night I took a chance and did something I have never done before. I made a chocolate cake using the microwave. Probably isn't the healthiest or safest, but hey, it was pretty neat.

Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold water or cold brewed coffee

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the liquid ingredients. Stir both together till well blended. 

Pour into a lightly oiled 9 inch square glass or pyrex pan or a microwave tube pan. Cook high heat (use turntable) 6 to 8 minutes or until cake tests done in center. 

Cool completely in pan. Store airtight. 

To serve, cut in pieces and serve with a chocolate pudding or sauce over the pieces.

Serves 6.

Interestingly, for Relief Society Enrichment tonight they did Yoga (I didn't attend) and like an information part on eating healthy. (I did attend) I thought it was really thought provoking . Here are  a few of the things I found:

When going to a restaurant..

1. Always drink 500 mL of water before ordering your food.
2. Eat an apple ( that way you aren't starving, and if takes away your sugar cravings)
3. Salad Dressing on the side!
4. Tighten your belt on your pants before eating. (no stretchy pants!)
5. Always start with your vegetables/salad ( It fills you up and gives you the nutrition you need)
6. Slow down! Chew your food 20-25 times

Remember it takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to brain connection to realize you are full. 

• Eat every 3-4 hours!
• Drink 2-3 L a day
• One cream (like amount in a coffee) = 2 strips of bacon
• Sugar suppresses your immune system

And last but not least, a quote from one of our apostles..

“The old saying, ‘The Lord is voting for me, and Lucifer is voting against me, but it is my vote that counts,’ describes a doctrinal certainty that our agency is more powerful than the adversary’s will. Agency is precious. We can foolishly, blindly give it away, but it cannot be forcibly taken from us.

“There is also an age-old excuse: ‘The devil made me do it.’ Not so! He can deceive you and mislead you, but he does not have the power to force you or anyone else into transgression or to keep you there.” (President Boyd K. Packer)

So remember, we make our own choices, if we don't like something, change it. No one can stop us from changing our circumstances except for ourselves.

Remember that the glass is always half full and you'll be surprised with how much more joy fills your life!

Good night!  

Weekend! :)

This was officially the first weekend of the semester. I definitely kept myself busy.

Work Friday 3-9, and Saturday 10-5.

As soon as I got home from work on Saturday I got changed and headed over to my aunt and uncles house for the birthday part of the year. Isaac's first birthday! It was quite the event. There was people everywhere! There was great food, pretty cool presents, and an amazing cake. The Elmo cake was spectacular, sadly I didn't get a picture.

After the majority of people left Cory, Drew and I stayed to play some games. 

First was Aggravation.

 (on a sweet homemade board)

Lets just say I think there was a little aggravation going on during the game. There was a little "helping" going on. 

Second was some games on the xbox kinetic!

 

This thing was freakin awesome! I loved it! 

And to end the night: Crazy Eight Countdown.

This game definitely lasted a while, but it was pretty fun.
The night was very full and as soon as I got home I crawled right into my bed.

Church today was quite interesting as per usual. It was my last Sunday to teach my lovely Primary class. But nothing makes a Sunday without having an awesome supper. Roast, and roasted potatoes, carrots and peas. Delicious! Due to weather I had to cancel our get together at the church for the Single Adults Broadcast. I was quite disappointed. Though it may not look bad, I heard the roads were not too pretty.

After bugging Cory over and over again Cory finally cut Drew's hair. It was quite the spectacle. It looked like he was turning into a bear, the hair just kept on multiplying on his back.

 It's not too bad :p

And to finish off the night...

Doctrine and Covenants 78:18

And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

Lets all be cheerful! 

Night! :)

Time to take a Moment

It is finally Friday, a lot has happened during the week, school started and now I work for the weekend. I think that before we continue on with our weekend celebrations and routines I think we should stop. Stop and think about a few things.
1. Think about how blessed you are, and what you are grateful for.
2. Think about how amazing you are.
3. Remember how important you are, the potential you have.

I think that we need to remember D&C 18:10:

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God"

I think that we need to remember this video. We are blessed so continually, and we are watched by our Father in Heaven all the time, He loves us, and cares for us.



SPANISH!

In Spanish class today I learned how to spell my name and give my phone number! (Therefore I learned the alphabet and numbers) I feel like I am actually achieving something already! I love seeing progress!

Adiós amigos!

Hola a todos! Me encanta español!

Buenas Noches!

Ladies and Gentlemen I am in love with the language of español! 

Sadly I didn't get to post last night due to the fact that everyone was huddled around my laptop watching the hockey game. My response to the game last night is this: Congrats Canada on a silver metal, a job well done. (With absolutely no sarcasm at all). I am proud of my country and everything it does. Even though Canada didn't win the junior's game last night to get the gold they still played really well and got a silver metal. I think that anyone who complains about us not winning needs to put on some skates, get a stick, and go play against some Russians and you tell me how you make it. They played the best they could and we should all be proud! 


First day of classes yesturday went quite well. Sociology will be just as hilarious this semester as last, and my history class will be interesting. The highlight of my day was most definitely Spanish class. It's for sure going to be awesome, the only thing that I need to get past is the fact that the text book is like $180! I am crossing my fingers that I will get a second hand book. I've also decided that I am going to keep my book after I am done the class, for future reference. 


After a lovely day of classes I had the privilege of going to Institute. It was amazing as always and I learned a lot. We paid particular attention to the pattern talked about in Doctrine and Covenants 52. I never noticed it as much, but its a formula, a way that we must pattern our lives after.

14And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations—

 

15Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances.

 

16He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances.

 

17And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom,according to the revelations and truths which I have given you. 

18And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits,even according to this pattern, is not of me.

So... 

Follow the pattern = not being deceived.  

And finally in the spirit of education and formulas I found an awesome quote by Elder Russel M. Nelson:

“Your mind is precious! It is sacred,”

“Therefore, the education of one’s mind is also sacred. Indeed, education is a religious responsibility. Of course, our opportunities and abilities will vary a great deal. But, in the pursuit of one’s education, individual desire is more important than is the institution you choose; personal drive is more significant than is the faculty."

Education is a religious responsibility, I hope we all realize the responsibility we have to learn and to continue our education.

Hasta Mañana!

Chao!