how to decide what to do with your life

[after reading some tedious articles online re: this, i have come up with my own recipe.]

1. put on something fancy
2. watch clouds float by for 1 hour
3. eat 1 medium apple
4. sing "ba ba black sheep" at the top of your lungs
5. twirl around in circles until you fall down

and then you will just know.

Challenger!

This weekend phil and i had the pleasure of taking part in a survivor-type challenge thing put on by the lovely Redekop girls! There were points for the top 3 of every round, and sometimes -1 for the last place or if you didn't finish. Here's what we did:

#1 - a relay: first you tied another opponents roll of hockey tape to their stake, then you untied your own, and had to use the tape to attach your pieces of wood to the bottom of your shoes. THEN you had to run down a hill to the boardwalk (morden beach), and then back up and grab whatever numbered stake was left (to determine places). I think i got like 9th or something. (out of 12) phil got 3rd!

#2 - i couldn't remember this one for the longest time and now i know why: i'd blocked it from my memory: sit-up endurance: basically, everyone does situps til there's one person left. i did 13 LOL.

#3 - slurpee eating contest: we all had extra-large slurpees (mine was red, phil got cotton candy lol!!), and had to eat them as fast as we could. Most people opted not to finish theirs, i got..4th or 5th i think. phil got 2nd or 3rd. i should've just pushed past the chest-freeze. oh and we couldn't use our hands.

#4 - beach race: we had to use 2 wood blocks to get across the sand, then dig a hole under a plank, crawl under the plank, cut a key off the plank, use the blocks to crawl across the sand to the digging spots, dig for a treasure box, unlock the box, eat the gumball (the huge ones), then go back the way we came. i think i got 6th. i don't remember what phil got.

#5 - torch building: we had to answer a series of math problems, which would lead us to another problem, but also instructions to make our torch. we used wood stakes and cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol and water (wrapped around the stake), lit with matches. I got 2nd and phil got 1st!

_end of day 1 (friday)_

#6 - rescue race: to start, we had to put on a tiara, a boa, fairy wings, and carry a sword. we rolled an exercise ball across 2 balance beams, then through a barrell, up that huge flight of stairs, to bob, who needed to be rescued (a full-size dummy). then you had to come all the way back, but this time carrying bob. anything you dropped or any part of bob that was lost was a time penalty. i made it back to the 1st balance beam and tried that about 7 times and gave up. yes, i am a quitter. i think phil got 4th by like 3 seconds. oh no wait, they gave him 3rd cuz bob's shoe was already off when he went to pick him up. lol.

#7 - squats endurance: we all stood with the backs of our legs against the boardwalk, and sat down/stood up when Shannon yelled "up!" i beat out...3 people i think, phil got 5th.

#8 - food: there were 3 stages: snails, liver & onions, and seafood salad. it was a LARGE can of snails. like twice the size of a normal tuna can. I ate half the can and then threw up in my mouth. the thought of swallowing the puke back down was grosser than thinking about eating the second half of the can, so i turned around and hurled. that disqualified me (oh well!) if any of you know phil, you will know that he did not participate in this challange :D the liver in the next stage was like a paste, and the onions were pickled. i'm sure glad i did not finish those snails. the seafood salad had octopus, squid, muscles, some peppers & carrots, but basically a bunch of cartilidgey blech. But three people ate it!

#9 - baby oil toss: we were in 2 teams, and had 2 bags of water and 4 boce balls to toss down the line and end up in our bowl. And everything was greased with baby oil. i was at the start for my team, and we won! phil was unfortunately on the losing side :(

#10 - agility race: agatha said they actually use this in some sort of training. anyways, it was basically run to a post and back, then weave around some posts and back, and then up to a post and back, and then back the way you came. we scored the guys and girls seperate and i tied for 1st! (out of 3 girls but who cares?)

#11 - puzzle: we were in pairs, and we had to each take a turn walking blindfolded out to a ceramic jar hanging from a tree, carrying a bat, with your partner guiding you. smash the jar, run back to your partner. after both jars were smashed, you went to retrieve the pieces. then you assembled the puzzle. my team won!

#12 - sudoku - I got 2nd. after phil announced to everyone that all i do all day is do sudoku at work. thanks phil.

#13 - grappling hook - retrieve three plastic rings (all varying distances away) with a grappling hook, then turn around and throw the rings at a stake (they had to hit). i don't think i placed in this one.

#14 - food: garlic bread! except garlic, and bread. we each had a roasted BULB of garlic to eat. i had one clove lol. phil stuffed them all into the bun and was almost done when he decided he couldn't eat anymore :( i didn't finish cuz i didn't want to smell like garlic all week, but phil doesn't, so i'm kinda bummed i didn't try harder.

#15 - planking (endurance): i beat all the girls, and even a couple of the guys i think! they said if i beat all the guys i would get 20 points, but i'm not that strong. and after seeing how long they actually went, i'm glad i didn't try!

#16 - balance on one leg: we did this as a bonus challenge, for some goldeyes tickets darren had. it was hard to keep the non-standing leg against the standing leg! i did not win the tickets. buuut i also don't like baseball :D

it was a GREAT time, and i'm so proud of myself for eating all those snails!

coldplay

best concert ever! balloons and butterflies falling from the ceiling, EXcellent musicians, all the best songs sung heartily, even some tears during "Fix You". probably one of the best times of my life.

do yourself a favour:

take a tortilla shell (definitely NOT a tomato or pesto flavoured one), spread half with peanut butter, and half with nutella. Slice some banana and arrange them somewheres in the middle of the tortilla, roll up, and eat for the rest of your life.

pithy

"Pith!" is over :( i had a thought on Sunday, before our last show. I was thinking about how we've been trying our darndest to get people to come out and see it. I made my Twitter, Facebook, and blog advertising spots for the show the entire week leading up to our performances, and i sent out a mass text and email! I was completely focused on getting the word out. why? because it really is a wonderful show, and we honestly didn't want people to miss out on the experience. We put a lot of effort into making it what it was; a lot of hours spent trying to create something the public would find enjoyable, even thrilling. i hate to say it, but it was disappointing to see a less-than-half-full theatre every night.

here's the comparison (maybe you saw it coming):

God's got a pretty good thing in the works for us. He's been working pretty hard, making a lot of plans, and He knows it's something we'd find enjoyable, even thrilling. The problem is, people either don't know, or don't care. They don't know anything about it, and so why would they put any effort into going? That's where we come in. We've got a taste of how good it is, and we can tell them that they're gonna miss out if they don't come along. We don't even have to just tell them. We can show them by how we live. My new favorite quote is from St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words".

i can't think of anything else to say.

Pith!

As you may or may not know, i'm going to be performing in the show "Pith!" this weekend at the concert hall! It's the story of a woman who's husband disappeared 10 years ago in South America, and she hasn't come to terms with the inevitable. Don't let that fool you though, it's a serious production by no means! The woman's companion and a just-landed sailor take her on an imaginative journey to the place where her husband was last seen, and their adventures are nothing short of hilarious! I encourage you all to come see this fabulous show! Tickets are $13 for adults, and $9 for 12 and under. Shows are Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm. Please come out and support local theatre!

hawaii!

here is my attempt to recap my trip to hawaii 2 weeks ago:

we landed in hawaii 3pm local time on Saturday, which was 8pm at home, so we weren't really up for much. But we did go to a local burger place and ate burgers the size of my head! (no exaggeration!) the place had about 40 different kinds of burgers; mine had avacado and swiss cheese on it - mmmmmmm! then i'm pretty sure we just unpacked and went to bed. We stayed in a sweet condo that had a pool about 20 feet from our deck.

the next day was sunday, mothers day, so Dana and i made pancakes for breakfast! we went to a gorgeous beach that day, there was a rock reef that separated the lagoon from the ocean, so no waves, just crystal clear water! you have to watch out for the sea urchins though.

the next day we spent a bunch of time at another beach, where Dana got beat up by the waves, and some creepy locals tried to pick us up, but we were not having it lol. i think we had mahi mahi for supper that day, and blue marlin? i'm not sure, but it was fish and it was GOOD. (we bought groceries at costco and made most of our meals at our condo.)
next day we went shopping at the shops near the Hilton resort, and i bought a necklace from Tiffany's!! I'm pretty pumped to finally own something from there.

went to Bubba Gump's Shrimp for supper, right on the ocean, great time.

The next day we went in search of a green-sand beach, which is green because of a mineral called olivine that was created when magma cools (if i understood correctly). anyways, we thought it would be a short walk, but it took an hour to hike there, and i was wearing a dress, a bathing suit, and flip flops. if we'd had a jeep we could've driven there, but instead we trekked like the isrealites. here's the beach and my feet after walking there!


next day was volcano day!! on the way, we stopped for malasadas, kind of like a boston cream donut, but warm and filled with chocolate cream. so good! we also stopped to see akaka falls. then we drove to the...summit(?) of the volcano , saw a lot of steam vents, and finally the main...hole i guess, itself.

after that we walked through a lava tube (tunnel created by flowing lava), and lastly went to the site where the lava flows into the ocean. we went there just before dark, and as it got darker you could see the clouds glowing redder and redder. we didn't see any actual lava sadly, and our guides said last time they were there it was a lot more active. i bought a sweet picture off a guy who has a boat and goes dangerously close to the flows.

the next day we got up unnecessarily early to go to a bay in an attempt to see dolphins in the wild. We kayaked around the bay a bit, didn't see any dolphins, and visited the painted church before heading back to our condo. In the afternoon, we went snorkeling!! i LOVE snorkeling!! we were barely into the water and we could already see fish all around us! it was extremely cool. we also touched sea turtles, which is apparently illegal. oops!

the next day we just hung out at the pool and lounged until a luau! we got lei'd, drank mai tai's (love 'em!), watched dancers, and ate the best pork i have ever had! (roasted under the leaves in the sand of course)

the next day we went to the Hilton to see dolphins (in captivity). we just walked right in! the hotel/resort is so big, they have a train and a boat to take the guests around. we took a boat tour on our way back ;)

this was also the day we had to fly home :( we stopped in to visit dana's brother dustin and his wife cherie at the ywam base where they were helping with a "skate against drugs" skate comp. we got free pizza! lol then we packed, went to the airport (which is completely open-air by the way), and began the l-o-n-g trip home. hawaii was wonderful and i will definitely be back!

eight

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
- moving this weekend
- my new house
- coldplay in june
- hawaii in 2 weeks!!
- las vegas in july!
- luke & krysten's wedding
- clear lake in august
- quitting all jobs - whenever that will be
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
- worked
- went to a worship meeting at church
- helped my dad install a kitchen (i nailed on kickplate!)
- ate cereal for nightlunch
- improvised making mac and cheese in the microwave cuz all our dishes are packed!
- went for a run with Lori ♥
- downloaded the last episode of the Amazing Race
- shopped for new couches online
8 Things I Wish I Could do:
- dance
- design & sew my own clothes
- run a marathon
- bungee jump
- eat ice cream and cake every day
- see Paul Mcartney in concert
- wear fancy dresses out to events
- make biscuits properly (it's so frustrating!!)
8 Shows I Watch:
(I don't have tv.... but I occasionally watch if we're at our parents' places)
- Survivor
- Amazing Race
- The Office
- Biggest Loser
- ANTM
- 30 Rock
- What No To Wear
- Jeopardy
8 Favorite Fruits:
- navel oranges
- gala apples
- bananas
- anjou pears
- pomegranates
- saskatoons (NOT blueberries)
- raspberries
- strawberries
8 Places I’d Like to Travel To:
- New Zealand
- Egypt
- Isreal
- Australia
- Newfoundland
- Spain
- Minneapolis (i just wanna go shopping!)
- Alaska
8 Places I’ve Lived:
- Winkler (in 3 different houses)
- Abbotsford, BC
(haha that's all folks!)

good friday

this is what has struck me about easter this year:

you know that all the sins of the world were put on Jesus when he died on the cross, but i thought of it in a different way this year. the lie you told yesterday, the things you'll say behind someone's back next week, those particular things were put on Jesus, and he paid the penalty for them. it's not just a vague "everything in the world", it's every individual thing that any one person has ever said, thought or done. that is a LOT of people, and a LOT of sin. why did He do this? we don't deserve it, and we certainly can't ever pay him back. it's hard for me to comprehend that kind of love, that not only did he know all the horrible things we would do, he took them on Himself and paid for them. He loves us enough to offer us unconditional grace when it comes to sin. these thoughts may be a little here and there, but i think you get my point. happy easter everybody.

25 things about me

i've been tagged by a couple people now, and i've been meaning to do this. be forewarned, if you thought i was strange before, you haven't overestimated me.

1. i do not step on cracks if i can help it. lori, i don't know if you've ever noticed how i take wierd, quick steps over the railroad tracks when we run, but that's why :P i also have a counter going where if i skip a step on stairs, or step over a crack etc, it counts as positive points, but if i step on a crack or step on all the stairs, it counts as negative points...the goal is to always have a positive balance...i can hear you dialing the nuthouse...

2. my fashionista side is dying. i don't even match my underwear to my clothes anymore! did i say that out loud?

3. i stole phil from his then girlfriend. i kissed him, and made him be mine. the rest is a complicated history, but it has turned out fabulous for me ♥

4. i ran a 5K this summer! i have never been remotely close to athletic, so this was a major success for me!

5. if i have to have a job, i like my job. if i didn't have to, i wouldn't miss it.

6. i downloaded and watched all 4.5 seasons of the office over christmas break :)

7. i am afraid of children, and also having them.

8. i LOVE cereal. cereal is my favorite. Kashi GoLean Crunch w/ saskatoons is particularly excellent.

9. i have been to England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and Mexico.

10. when it comes to food, i suck at self control :(

11. i like to know everything, even things that aren't my business, and i am working on that.

12. it wish i was more important to people. sometimes i wonder if it's them or me.

13. i think the original hummer is sexy.

14. i really like wearing glasses!

15. i think about excercise so much that i actually think i've done it.

16. i gave a stranger a ride home this winter.

17. i had a fresh start to my relationship with God in October and it's going really well. I'm learning a lot.

18. i....don't remember the last time i cried.

19. i LOVE classic rock. off the top of my head "Kashmir" (Led Zeppelin), "Oh Darling" (Beatles), anything by Queen...

20. i try not to worry about all the books i won't have time to read in my lifetime.

21. i have a spending problem :)

22. after 24 years, i don't know how much more winter i can take.

23. i think me and Stacey London would get along GREAT.

24. i just want to go travelling. specifically to Egypt, New Zealand, Greece, and Australia (short list).

25. i'm getting old and don't want to stay up late anymore :P