Week-end.

Okay, so I forgot to post anything last night. I was enjoying time with my bf- I really did mean to write, it just escaped  me….along with time and studying…ack! Well, I can’t say I sat on my butt all week, but I can’t say I learned a lot of chemistry or stats. You’d think I would get more studying done. I mean seriously, I have a relatively easy job, and its only 6 hours per day….

Next week will be better…

A day gone by…

Well, hi there! I’m just popping in to update how my studies are coming, as per my post yesterday, Blogging for success!. I really don’t have much of  interest to say, and I probably won’t most days, but I hope the overall picture will be one of improvement!

Today, I woke up a bit later than I had hoped(shortly after 8am). I did the usual, let the dogs out, got breakfast and a cup of hot coffee/chocolate combination. I was determined to get something studied before going to work at 9:30. I did  a few questions on a Stats assignment… After arriving at work, I had 45 minutes to spare, so I used that time as well. Work went by as it does..and on my way home I grabbed a slice of pizza at the supermarket, and went home to let the dogs out. Then it was off to my 3 hour class…

I realize that I’m really running out  of time to study, both in this week and for the courses themselves(I started them in September. I have till the end of Feb ’14 to complete them, but had hoped to be finished by January). I worked for an hour or so after getting home from the class. Now, its 12:30, and I should go to bed, so I can actually get out of bed when I wake up!

Blogging for success!

I’ve been pretty discouraged lately with myself. Why can I not get “more done”? I am *trying* to study basic Chemistry and basic Statistics while working. I see some friends on Facebook posting their weight loss/workout goals online, and giving updates on a regular basis. I thought what a great idea- once you post a goal for people to see, most people would be more likely to stick with it. Peer pressure- the good kind. I know I really enjoy reading of other people’s successes (and failures). It helps me to know other people are going through something similar, plus I can get good ideas to incorporate in my own life.

So, what I have in mind is to write a little bit every day I can on here, and update how my journey in school work is going.. Some days I might just write a line or two or post a photo.

Right now, my goal is to noticeably improve my study habits and routine in the next two weeks.

White Oleander …..and pink and red …and bougainvillea of all colours

I sure enjoy the different types of plants, trees and flowers that grow here; mounds of bougainvillea flowing over walls, oleander shrubs everywhere.. Less than a month ago i was working in the garden center, and trying to keep little pots of those same plants alive.

JeT~LaGGeD..,..,..

You realize you must be jet lagged when you CAN NOT fall asleep, and are energetic until something-after-five in the morning! We woke up late and rushed to meet friends for breakfast; three and a half hours of chatting later and we came back to cottage, and back out to do some quick shopping to get a bite to eat. Nine o’clock and we headed back to get some sleeeep!    I have a few places I want to visit while I am here; Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, Robbin Island, perhaps penguin Island, and I’d like to go up Table Mountain again.  The weather has not been great for touring the last couple days in any case as there has been lots of rain; some places are being evacuated due to flooding I heard…

 

Travel to Suid-Afrika

Groete uit Suid-Afrika! This is now the end of day three here, and it will be the 2nd night in a real bed here. Two nights sleep got lost in travellation..

We had a good flight over, and I enjoyed sitting next to the window from home to Montreal; I even managed to spot my house from the air! Food at the Montreal airport wasn’t bad, but it has to be the most expensive airport food I’ve seen yet- $9 CAD for a sandwich. Then off to London, where we window shopped at bit in the airport, and reveled in Marks & Spenser’s food. Mmmm…I was so happy to eat that again.

Arriving in Cape Town, I realized I had come slightly under-prepared for the weather here. In winter, it is anywhere from 4-18 deg. Celsius; sort of like September/October in the Maritimes. Most trees retain their leaves, but some have shed them, giving the place an autumn-like feel to the place (except for the beautiful hibiscus and other plants that are still green and lovely.

Today we ate lunch at  Melissa’s and then at Ocean Basket for supper. At melissa’s, I had rooibos  cappuccino for the first time ever- and loved it! After telling the barrister I was from Canada, I convinced him to tell me some tips on making it; can’t wait to give it a try.

Well, I will try to update this as the vacation progresses!

First of a series of fifteen-minute posts—McDonalds and Maple Sugar

Today, I started working at McDonald’s. I’ve never worked at a fast food place before, and I do not particularly like their food. But I wanted a part-time, flexible job, and thought that the experience might be interesting.The first four shifts are all just training; today I basically just went over policy and basic chores like sweeping, so it wasn’t really interesting. I am offered a job at a garden center, and I believe I will take. I have till tomorrow to decide though, so I will be able to “sleep on it”.

Last Saturday, I went to a maple sugar camp with a couple of my friends, and tasted syrup poured on snow and still-warm maple cream(after watching it being made).

Both of the above mentioned foods are not particularly healthy-at least not when consumed excessively-, so it is a bit ironic that I will now mention that I am looking into studying to become a nutritionist or a dietician.  Ahh…decisions!

Below is a shot of maple cream being made- thick syrup, stirred until it is cold and opaque. Mmm!

Ever think of how one can always enjoy something more when they have participated in it? For example, I don’t enjoy hockey, likely in part  because I have never played it and do not really even know the rules. I never really was interested in shows like “dancing with the stars” but now that I have done a bit of salsa dancing, I believe I could appreciate it more. Probably the other way around is true as well; if you enjoy something you will be more likely to participate in it. I’ve always been a big reader, and even though I have never written, I have the desire to write to create what I love.

Speaking of salsa, tonight was the first class of a beginning salsa/merengue class that we went to that is a repeat of last year’s class. It is not too beginner for me as I I was dancing with a beginner guy and the instructor commented ” don’t you remember your footwork?” Er…apparently not as well as I’d like to say I can.  Well, practice makes perfect, and I haven’t had much really….

Hope to have a more interesting blog soon, but since I’m aiming at producing several per week, I may not always have the thoughts or time to say much.

New post

Well, here I am again. I did not mean to be absent for so long, but alas, I was. I hope that I’ll be able to keep more regular posts for a while.

My new-found inspiration for writing this blog came from a book called “the happiness project” by Gretchen Rubin. Some of you may have heard of it before; I was introduced by a member of a creative writing group at the library that I went to last Saturday. The book chronicles the year in the life  of the author as this mom of 2 delves into the idea of “happiness” and, more to the point, how she can live her life in a way that allows her to be happier. Okay, so the whole idea might sound a bit “gimmicky”, but I am finding it to be on the whole, an encouraging, enjoyable read. Check it out! (she also is on Facebook) If you are looking to read a book that encourages you to get off your butt and do some things around the house, and perhaps change your habits, this is a good one.(well it did that for me anyhow)

The creative writing group and the book club that I joined at the library will hopefully get me to write, read and experience things that I otherwise would not. In other words, challenge me and stuff like that! I currently have considerably more free time right now, so it will be more of a challenge to write later. So far the book club has gotten me reading; I’ve now read 216 pages of the 245pg novel “The Forgotten Garden“, by Kate Morton, which I am quite enjoying. A girl, found on a dock in 1913, raised by the people who found her; a girl told that she is not who she is; a woman searching for her past and a woman tracing back her grandmother’s search…all combined to make an interesting tale.  If I could, I would love to write stories one day, and I believe that regularly meeting with like-minded people will greatly assist that goal.

In other news….well, in December, I went on holiday with my bf Francis and we could say that we saw 5 english speaking countries in less than 3 weeks. Those being, Canada, USA, South Africa, Mauritius, and England. Quite a trip, quite the experience! Jam-packed full of fun events, commuting, minor stresses and great food. More on this another time…dun da dunn!

Lately, I’ve been hibernating from the chilly Canadian weather indoors, though its been more often than not warmer than typical winters here. Poor dog (oh yes, the house is now occupied by German Shepherd. Completely, from your nose to your toes, its there. Dog. Hair.) ..poor dog has not been walked nearly as I’d planned before he came to the apartment. Oh well… On the other hand, I did get and follow through with the inspiration of ice skating. I saw people skating and really had the urge to skate so I went on good ‘ol Kijiji, and found myself a pair, then went to the local park where they’d flooded a patch for skating. Well, I knew I wasn’t THAT good of a skater, but I’d forgotten just how little I knew. Result: falling on my knees several times. Ouch! Knee is blue for now, but it was totally worth it because I love the gliding feeling of being on the ice. Speaking of gliding…I’ve been more or less learning salsa dancing in the past few months. I say on and off, because it certainly has not been consistent, however I have learned quite a bit. Here is a link to a vid of one of the places I danced in Capetown…. The guy is John Morrison, owner of Que Pasa and a great teacher. I had one private lesson from him and I felt like I learned a lot in that short time.

Well, I think this will end my first post in a long time. More to come! (Soon!)

Peace, Liz

Its about time!

Wow TIME! What a relative concept. Sometimes a month feels longer than a year and sometimes a year flies by like a month. Well, I’m sitting in Starbucks blogging and my laptop says that it is 8:07, September 26th 2011.  (Can one get any cooler than sitting in Starbucks blogging and sipping on a Tall Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuchino?) It has been a long time since I’ve posted anything on here, but it feels like much longer in a way- the past month and a half has been CRAZY! Well …relatively anyhow- I haven’t discovered any new scientific phenomenon or climbed Kilimanjaro. To the average outsider the past month likely wouldn’t seem very interesting, but to me its been full. I find it interesting how time seems to speed up the older one gets. I remember feeling that a day or two was a significant amount of time,  and that 6 months sounded like forever . The 4 years between 6 and 10 seem more packed than the past 14 years have been in a way, yet time is really constant right? In a way I want to re-discover whatever it is that makes time so stretched out as a child. Do children appreciate things more? Or perhaps its because a child experiences almost everything for the first time and an adult does almost everything routinely. Work…eating, sleeping…working…blah…blah…*yawn*

Time is one of the most precious commodities we have; money can buy goods & experiences, work can earn money, but never can one earn more time, and those goods, experiences and work can only happen with time. Time- how can a person use it wisely? Can one truly “waste” time, or is it always of benefit somehow no matter how it was “spent”?  I have difficulty getting everything done that I want to in the amount of time I have ( which incidentally is the exact same amount of hours in a day as everyone ever has)

Hmm….this blog is rather lame, but I’m going to post it anyhow, because I don’t have time *gag*  to work on it more. I want to post something now, and *cough* post something every week. I’ll insert a verse regarding time here( most ppl are probably familiar with this one) :

2 Peter 3:8⁸   “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance .”                                                                                         New International Version (NIV)

**Upcoming blog alert***

I will post lots of foodie blogs in the coming weeks hopefully!! Yummm!