Pirates and Ethnic Potlucks

I can't believe that it is almost May already. Where has the time gone? It seems as though this whole year has just flown right by. This past weekend flew right by too. I spent the weekend at my parent's place, which was good.

Friday night my mom, grandma and I went to the MBCI musical "Pirates of Penzance". The musical was phenomenal. A lot of the leads were in grade 9 or 10 and when I saw that in the program, I have to admit my expectations were not high. Then these characters opened their mouths and sang and my jaw dropped to the floor. I hadn't heard voices like that in a very long time. They were phenomenal. The whole production was amazing. The musicals have definitely improved since I had been there.

Saturday I sat on the deck in my parent's backyard and studied, enjoying the gorgeous weather. I am now a nice shade of pink, but it's not too bad. Hopefully it will turn into a nice base tan. Ok, nevermind, who am I kidding? I don't tan. It's my wishful thinking though. Perhaps this summer I won't remain quite so pasty as I have in past summers. Saturday night after church our young adults from church had an ethnic potluck at Steph's place. The food was amazing. There was everything from thai chicken curry to spicy noodles to Australian pub fries to wareneke (cottage cheese perogies). I think we need to do this more often because the food was just that good. I had planned to take some pictures of the spread, but I was so concentrated on eating that I forgot.

Sunday I just lounged around all day. It was so nice not needing to do anything. Technically I could have stayed in my pajamas all day and that would have been ok. I could have spent more time studying, but I just didn't. It'll be a busy week.

In fact, that's what I should do right now before I need to be at school for 11:30.

Facebook and School

I have a problem! I am now addicted to Facebook. I had an account on myspace awhile ago, but because I found myself spending so much time on there, it was not worth it, so I decided to delete my account. Now a bunch of my friends have this facebook thing. I told myself I would never do that again, but I have subcumed to the temptation. I will say that it is kind of fun to see where old friends are that you went to elementary and high school with, but other than that its just another thing to eat up my time and that's probably not what I need right now. We'll see how long it lasts before I decide to let it go.

On another note, I have 2 more exams to go until midterms are over. I have a final exam tomorrow (hydrotherapy) and then in 2 weeks from today I have my anatomy exam, which I am extremely worried about. I am starting to study for it already tomorrow. I cannot wait for school to be over. I have exactly 2 months to go until June 27th. I am finding it so hard to study when it is so incredibly beautiful outside. I would much rather be sitting on a patio down Corydon sipping a fun drink than inside reading notes.

Well that's all for now. I should get back to reviewing Hydrotherapy.

Totally Devoted - Grown-Up Backstreet Boys Groupie

Ok so most of you know that I really Love the Backstreet Boys. Yup, that's right and I am not ashamed of it. My friend Aimee sent me this video and I thought it was hillarious. However, I am NOT nearly close to the extreme that this guy in the video is and I never will. Talk about crazy! If I ever do get to that point, somebody please tell me.

Cake Decorating

For Easter my mom put a beginners cake decorating kit in my brother's girlfriend and my Easter baskets instead of the normal pair of socks and skittles. So today I took upon the task of making a birthday cake for some school friends for tomorrow and experimenting with different designs. I have been wanting to take a cake decorating course for a long time now, but I either don't have the time or when I did sign up a month ago, the class was cancelled because there weren't enough people. Perhaps one day I will have the opportunity to take a class, but for right now I guess I'll just have to experiment on my own. I don't know if I am all that good at decorating cakes, but I sure do love baking them, so perhaps this is a skill that I can improve upon in the years to come. I thought this cake turned out pretty good though. See for yourself!

Birthday Celebrations

March and April have been filled with so many birthdays for friends. It's been kind of crazy. Last night was no exception. 3 of my friends from school celebrated their birthdays this past week so a bunch of us went out to celebrate last night by doing some bowling at Academy Lanes.

I have determined that bowling is a game of pure luck. One game I bowled I did awesome and then the next I got a terrible score. Go figure!

It was still a lot of fun even if bowling is not the greatest sport in the world.

The Birthday Girls: Crystal, Emma & Carmen

Me and Carmen

Emma and David making music with their empty bottles!

Erica and I

Adam and Erica

Bring on Summer!

What an incredible weekend it has been. For the first time this year it has felt like summer is finally on its way. I couldn't be more happier (although it makes studying A LOT harder).

Here is what has been happening in my life over the course of the weekend.

Friday after school Cole and I went swimming at Pan Am with some friends, Ella and Sophie and their Grandma and Grandpa. It was a lot of fun and watching the 3 of them together was so cute. At bedtime when I was putting Cole to bed and saying prayers I asked him if he wanted to thank Jesus for anything. He was pretty much asleep, but with a smile across his face and his eyes closed, he just responded with "Ella". I just thought that was the cutest thing ever.

Saturday morning I woke up and enjoyed the beautiful morning air by going for a run. My running has been going alright. I have a long way to go yet until I feel like I am in just a little bit of shape. I am running approximately 2 km right now and everyday that I go, I am able to run 1 block further without needing to walk. I know for those of you out there who are runners that seems pretty insignificant, but let me tell you, It's a big deal for me right now. I feel so invigorated when I come home and feel like I can actually sit down and study. It feels so good. What an awesome way to start out the day.

The weather on Saturday was so gorgeous, I spent all afternoon outside at the park. The park was packed with kids and their parents. I guess everyone was dying to be outside. I know I was. After church last night a bunch of us headed over to Josh and Laurie's to watch the hockey game and just hang out. The guys all sat and watched the game while us girls talked. It was wonderful to hang out with friends.

Today was great. BRING ON THE FLIP FLOPS! It was the first official day of the season that I wore flip flops outside. It was glorious. I went over to my parents this afternoon and just sat in the backyard in the sun. The wind was a little chilly, but I just let the sun soak upon me. I had brought along some homework to prepare for an exam on Tuesday, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Bad me! My mom's tulips are coming up already. There is nothing more refreshing than seeing new life after winter.

So instead of studying, my parents and I walked to the drugstore and Sobeys to pick up some things and went for ice cream to Sub Zero. Apparently everyone else in North Kildonan thought it a good idea to go for ice cream because the place was packed! My oreo cookie flurry was well worth the wait though.

I suppose I should go and attempt to do some studying before another busy week comes upon me.

The New Do

So today I had a craving to do something different with my hair. I am usually the kind of person who thinks things through, but I called up the hairdresser and told her that I needed a change. She could do whatever she wanted with my hair. I am still in the process of getting used to it as I have only had it for less than an hour, but I think I will like it.

Hawaiian names, workout, exam and slurpees

A friend of mine from school's parents went to Hawaii for vacation and found out what their hawaiian names were, so a bunch of us thought it would be fun to do the same. My Hawaiian name is Kala. Ahh how nice it would be to sit on a sandy beach with a Long Island iced tea by the ocean in Hawaii right now. Although I can't really complain about the beautiful weather we have been getting.

Yesterday was the begining of the "Kara's attempt to get into shape plan". It has been about 2 or 3 years since I last ran, but I decided that this year I was going to get into shape before Ultimate season starts so that I don't look completely ridiculous out on the field and having to have a break 2 minutes into the game. Well apparently I thought myself much better at running than I actually am. I decided that I was going to do 5:1 minute intervals between walking and running. Well I made it 3 blocks (approximately 2 minutes to run) before I needed to walk. I then decided that I was going to doing 2:1 intervals instead. That seemed to go over much better although I am pretty sore today. I am going to go and try it out again tomorrow.

Well some of you have been asking if I got my big anatomy exam back yet. Well I did today. I'm feeling pretty bummed out cuz I didn't do very well at all. I still past the first module, but I did not do nearly as good as I had hoped. So right now I am feeling pretty discouraged with my anatomy class, but hopefully this next one will be better. Thank goodness America's Next Top Model is on tonight cuz I could use some good cheering up! Thanks to all of those who where praying and hoping that I would do well on the exam. Next exam in May I will have better results for you!

After class today and receiving my very disappointing mark, I decided that I was in desperate need of some happy juice (a.k.a. - slurpee). My friend Annick from school usually walks with me home since she lives right behind our house and she felt that she could also use a slurpee. As we were coming out of 7-11 this guy approached us and said he was from CBC radio getting some info for tomorrow's sound bite on the warm weather. He asked if he could record us talking about the weather and how we are enjoying it and the wonderful slurpees we were having. Well it totally made my day! So if you listen to CBC radio in the morning be sure to listen for me as I talk about my enjoyment of an especially good slurpee on a warm day :)

Happy Easter

Christ has Risen! He has risen Indeed!!

I wish you all a wonderful Easter

Happy Easter

I came across this song this weekend in preperation for tomorrow morning when we can finally say with joy and conviction that "Christ has Risen". I thought the words were pretty powerful. I love to listen to the old hymns around this time of the year because the words speak so clearly and capture emotion like songs these days don't seem to do in quite the same way.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,

When I was sinking down, sinking down

When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.

To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;

While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;

While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;

And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

"Greater love has no one than this,

that he lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

EASTER FESTIVITIES

This afternoon Cole and I headed over to my parents for a bit. Cole quite likes going there, especially if my brother Derek is home cuz that means he gets to play Xbox with him.

My mom decided to put me and Cole in charge of putting all of the eggs together. It was quite the task as it was more of a one chocolate goes into the egg, one chocolate goes into my mouth sort of process.

He was pretty proud of all the eggs he put together. I wanted to take a picture of my dad and Cole with all of the eggs they put together, but just as I snapped the picture, Cole ducked out of the way. Apparently he got a little camera shy. It makes for a very funny picture though.

For supper we all headed over to my Grandma's place for an Easter gathering. Last year he came with me and really enjoyed the Easter egg hunt. He has been asking for the last couple of days if he gets to come with me to my Grandma's house to do the hunt again this year and how do you say no to a face like his?

Unfortunately because of it being so cold, we couldn't go on the hunt outside, but that didn't seem to matter to him. As long as he got his eggs with chocolate, he was happy. My Grandma's condo was actually the perfect size for an easter egg hunt.

As soon as we arrived, Cole wanted to begin looking for eggs, so we had to distract him somehow. My dad found a set of binocculars that he gave to Cole so he could look out on the river to watch the geese.

LET THE HUNT BEGIN!

Winding down the day with some milk and a movie

After Cole was in bed, some family members decided to get a game of Cranium going. Even Grandma got into it.

I decided to sit it out (I'm not a huge fan of the game) and instead did some studying for my Sports Injuries exam on Monday.

Carrie and I

The excitement was almost too much for my dad. He fell asleep on the couch.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter.

Happy Birthday Deanna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEANNA!!!!

All the best in the upcoming year. I am so blessed to call you my friend.

Cheers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIMEE!!

Happy Birthday to Aimee!!

Here's to many more years.

Love you lots!

Cheers!

So Long to Spring Break

The week has just seemed to fly right by. My week off was much too short, but yet so welcomed. It has been a busy week. Monday I spent the day looking after Cole and his friend Sam. The two play so well together that I felt kind of useless. Oh well, it gave me the opportunity to do some school work and catch up on some house cleaning.

Tuesday I spent almost the entire day in bed. What a glorious day! I had gone and rented 3 movies, "Little Miss Sunshine", "Snow Falling on Cedars" and "Babel", all of which were fabulous movies by the way. Since school I have had a hard time justifying going to rent a movie because I feel like I should be doing something more productive with my time such as studying. It was very freeing to know that I could spend an entire day in bed watching movies with no guilt attached. In the evening, Sabrina and I went for slurpees and a walk to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. I have missed going for evening walks. Then to end off the day, I watched yet another movie before bed, "The Devil Wears Prada", by far a favorite of mine.

Wednesday and Friday this week I got to go and help Botanical PaperWorks with some stuff. I have missed being there. Sometimes I wonder why I chose school when I could go to work and then come home and leave everything behind, but then I remember that I am in school for a career that is going to bring me so much joy and that will allow me to use the gifts that God has blessed me with. It was good to be back at Botanical though. The people there are wonderful and I have missed them.

Thursday I ended up sleeping until 2:30pm. Yup, that's right 2:30 in the afternoon. I guess I was tired. I did not go to bed late, however I guess I just needed to catch up on some much needed rest. I had made a list the previous night of all of the things I had wanted to accomplish on Thursday, so when I woke up and realized the time, I very quickly hopped out of bed and began working through my list. I accomplished more in 2 hours than I did all week combined. I did some serious cleaning and got supper ready for Laurie and I.

Laurie came over for supper and then I gave her a massage as a birthday gift and then we proceeded to walk over to Starbucks for some coffee. I tried the Green Tea Latte and I was thinking that it would be a green tea bag with steamed milk and coffee (sort of like a London Fog), but I was greatly surprised when they called out my drink and it ended up being GREEN! Yup, green! It took awhile to get over the fact that I had a green drink that left a weird film on my teeth, but slowly the drink started to taste better. It wouldn't be a drink that I recommend. I guess that's what I get for trying something new. You should stick to what works in terms of coffee. There is no need for trying new things.

Saturday, Jess, my mom and I headed out to Grand Forks for the day to do a little shopping. We had about 4 1/2 hours to shop and were extremely successful. Target was my friend yesterday. I found so many great pieces; it was wonderful. It was nice to spend the day with Jess and my mom too. We cranked Backstreet Boys in the car and enjoyed singing at the top of our lungs and getting some pretty strange looks at the border while waiting in line. It was good to laugh.

Last night after church, Sabrina, Kristy and I went for coffee to Starbucks and enjoyed wonderful conversation and a good drink this time. These are 2 amazing girls and we discussed some very interesting subjects along with how God was working in our lives. It was definitely my definition of time well spent!

Lately I have prompted to ask myself the question, how much is too much? What does living simplisticly and living for God's kingdom mean in my own life. It's kind of a scary thing to think about looking at my life and wondering what things need to go and what needs to be added in order to live in the way God has called us to live. Are there things in my life that prevent me from drawing closer to God and if so, what can I do in order to change that? In my opinion, those are some pretty tough questions. I enjoy shopping very much. Not necessarily to make sure I have all the latest fashions, but rather it's more of a therapeutic thing. I shop best when I am stressed. I probably did not need the things I bought yesterday in Grand Forks. I don't want to justify the reasons why I buy unnessarily things, but rather I want to question my own life and the choices I make that are supposed to bring me contentment. What does living in content really mean for Kara? I'm not trying to say that I should sell all of my belongings and become a Mother Theresa or travel to third world countries bringing the news of Christ to people there because that is not what God has called me to be (at least I don't think so), but rather keeping Christ at the center and living every moment in the presence of Christ. Perhaps I shoud start my changing my own life here before I go and tackle big things like becoming a missionary in Africa or something. Like I said earlier, that is a scary thing to think about because living in a "kingdom world" often requires going outside of our comfort zones and in past experience has required me to do some pretty "scary" things for Christ. As I have been reading this lent season I am constantly reminded of how especially through the Gospel's Jesus' ministry was anything but comfortable. He asked his diciples to do some pretty crazy things, so why is it that we assume that living according to Christ's Kingdom should be a cushy thing? God calls us to think and travel outside the box in order to live fully in the presence of Christ everyday. So what does living simplisticly and in the presence of Christ mean for Kara? Well, I have not quite figured that out, but I am starting with asking the questions and letting God do some leading and guiding in my life. I will keep you posted on where that takes me.