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    Thursday, May 31, 2007
    Hello from Granville! I am happily enjoying my time here with my parents. I got in yesterday, Craig comes Saturday, and we'll be home Tuesday. Not too much time, so we're going to fill our days with lots of plain ol' hanging out goodness. Yesterday we ate Chinese take-out, took a walk, and I helped my dad upgrade to firefox (about time!). Today we ate breakfast, hung out, ate lunch, hung out and watched some SVU, went out for Mexican, and then celebrated my birthday since I wont see them until August. I was allowed to open presents during the commercials of Smallville..hahaha... seriously though ;) It was fun. Here's some pics from my time here. I was also greeted with a new sight in the living room ---- check out the flat screen HD TV!! So cool!

    Tomorrow we'll go to Athens, Ohio, to visit my brother at school. He still has a few weeks left so he wasn't able to come home this week. Looking forward to that!

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    posted by jamie @ 9:07 PM   2 comments
    Tuesday, May 29, 2007
    I'm Sick
    I'm sick..ugh.... sinus infection, stuffy nose...yuck yuck yuck. give me pity..

    thanks. Okay so...I spoke with my advisor today about picking classes. Looks like my one semester of school I did after high school will all transfer! That's 15 credits...meaning that if all goes well, I could graduate in 3.5 years instead of 4! That's not too long... And I've began to narrow down the classes I want to take this fall. I have submitted my ideas to my advisor, who will then look them over and give me feedback whether or not the classes are a good idea for my degree (Bachelor of Arts in Human Development).

    Oh and an interesting fact for all you ywamers, The Project Funding Office (formerly Donor Services) has now moved to the basement of the Parizeaus (pam/ange/louise's old room). It's quite a bit bigger than the old office, though now there's 4 of us working in there so it's a bit tight. Not bad though. I'm happy that we're out of the main floor of the house..less traffic and distractions. I'll try and remember to take some pictures.

    Okay that's all for now. peace. jamie

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    posted by jamie @ 12:00 AM   3 comments
    Saturday, May 26, 2007
    A New Home for Cactus

    I have finally re-potted the Cactus. It has lived in a teeny tiny little pot since I got it, back in 2002. I have wanted to re-pot it for some time now, as lately it's taken to growing crooked due to it being to tall and heavy for it's pot. How it survived the past few years like this, I have no idea. I would leave on 2 month outreaches and not even think about getting someone to look after it, though thanks to my office buddies I think it did get watered a few times while I was gone. Yet it has survived, though after seeing the roots (or lack of roots), just barely. Hopefully now it will enjoy it's new home with new fancy cactus soil. And even more than that, hopefully it will endure the 7 day drive we're taking to St. Catherines in July... Well if it's lasted all these years neglected and without much water or good soil, a little road trip can't hurt, right?

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    posted by jamie @ 5:14 PM   1 comments
    Friday, May 25, 2007
    A New Me...again
    New look once again, my friends... as you can tell, I get bored reeeally quickly with my templates... and the more I learn, the more I want to play around with it.

    Good news - I am going to OHIO to visit my family in just 4 days! Yay! I haven't seen my mom or brother in 10 months (my dad visited in Nov.) and this is the longest period of time that I've gone without visiting them. So I am very excited..we found incredibly cheap tickets on www.skybus.com (seriously, like $10 one way and then $75 back...a special!) from Bellingham, WA, to Columbus, OH. I am going for a week, and Craig is joining me on the weekend. That's one thing I miss about the freedom of working in YWAM. You can go away for a week to visit your family and not worry about missing work days!

    Well, not much else to say... Congrats to my friends Audge and Ralph who are engaged! Being married is pretty much the coolest thing ever, I'm excited for you guys.

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    posted by jamie @ 11:53 PM   3 comments
    Wednesday, May 23, 2007
    My Final Review
    Well last night was SVU's season finale. It was okay, though it was a continuation of a different story line that happened earlier in the season which I barely remembered...so that kind of sucked. Basically everything came crashing down, and the end of the episode left us wondering:

    a) if Captian Cragen will resign due to pressure from his bosses

    b) what Elliot's going to do now that his wife is pregnant with his baby, but they are going through a divorce (!)

    c) Will Olivia get charged for giving money to a fugitive (her brother)

    d) Will D.A. Casey Novak get fired for losing a huge case

    So many questions... I get the whole "leave us on the edge of our seat" thing that the TV shows want to do in the finales, but why does it seem like the majority of the time, it's all bad stuff? Why not leave you with an ending where it's so exciting and fun and leaves you hanging? Not the whole "build everything up and then tear it down" thing that I've seen.. Oh well, just TV I guess. Now what will I do in the evenings??

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    posted by jamie @ 9:47 PM   2 comments
    Tuesday, May 22, 2007
    My Reviews
    The past week has been full of season finales of all my shows. It's been a great season for me this year... a few new shows, a few of the same ol', and a few dropped.

    Firstly, the ones that have remained strong: Law and Order: SVU, America's Next Top Model, 24
    Second, the new ones: Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters
    Ones that I dropped this year: American Idol, ER (though I caught about half the season, I wasn't able to keep up this year)

    Here are my reviews of the finales:

    Grey's Anatomy (SPOILER, don't read if you didn't see it)
    Dang...talk about ripping our hearts out this season! My goodness... I seriously think Shonda Rhimes has issues with happy couples..maybe she got really hurt or doesn't believe in marriage or something..either way, this season she successfully hooked everyone up with someone, only to have each one fall apart in the finale. Not too impressed with how she left things, though I was extremely impressed with Sandra Oh's performance! Amazing...

    24
    This season was a bit rocky and dramatic, though I am actually pleased with the finale. Jack has decided to disappear once more, so that will be interesting to see where he pops back up again in season 7. There were a few things left unfinished for me though, especially with the death of former Pres. Logan..I mean, if Bill Clinton were killed, I think the world would be talking about it. Logan's death was not brought up once after he was killed, and I was disappointed with that. All in all, pretty good... I was surprised with where they left Audrey. But I'm glad she and Jack didn't walk off into the sunset...that would've been too much.

    Brothers and Sisters
    So far, my favorite finale. Not sure of anyone else in the world besides Craig and I that actually watch this show, but it has continuously been good TV. Not overly dramatic, or boring - it's been very real, actually. I really like it. The youngest son has just been shipped off to war though, so not sure if that means he's off the show next year, or what..?

    America's Next Top Model
    I'm a farely new watcher of this show..last season was my first. It is quite addicting, really. Not much to say except that I don't think Natasha the Russian should've made it that far at all...and I think out of the final 3, Renee' should've won. Oh well.

    Lastly, SVU. Hasn't happened yet, but it's tomorrow night, so I'll let you know then.

    Good seasons everyone!


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    posted by jamie @ 2:02 AM   5 comments
    Saturday, May 19, 2007
    Blogger's Block
    Ahh blogger's block.......How I despise thee!

    Today we had a wedding shower/party for Dawn, one of our YWAM staff who recently got married. It was really a very nice party. It was good to see everyone again, whom I rarely see now that I don't work at the office, and there really isn't much of an office anyway. And it was GREAT to see Steener, who by the way, is nearly half her physical self these days as she looks AMAZINGLY thin...way to go steener, you are an inspiration to my post-marriage-heavy self!

    I just realized I never posted pics from our camping trip last weekend. It was really nice....a little cold at night, but a great time. Here's some pics from the first 3 hours of our trip, as the camera batteries ran out right while we were still exploring the site... dem's da breaks I guess.

    *update*

    I forgot to mention... i had another JW (Jehovah's Witness) come to my door this morning. This brief encounter with "Caroline" (I think) left me feeling 'icky' all day...I just couldn't shake it. I hate how I feel powerless when they come - like all of the sudden I forget how to stand up for myself. They are so determined and so trained as to anything a person could say to them - especially a christian. I just spent the past half hour researching other people's advice as to how to respond to a JW when they start quoting scripture out of context at you. Most believe that it's not worth debating, as it will not get you anywhere. They are on a mission - they truly believe that unless they are able to go around converting people, they will not go to heaven. They do not believe we are saved by Grace.... so, they don't care if they are offending you, or making you feel uncomfortable. Maybe next time I'll just say "No Thanks" and shut the door....? What do you think?

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    posted by jamie @ 10:27 PM   2 comments
    Wednesday, May 16, 2007
    funny...

    Haha...funny


    Anyway, just wanted to say things are going pretty well. I took my first 'class' at Empire State last night, which was the orientation. I've been able to participate in the discussion boards and learn the system a bit. I think it's going to be great!
    posted by jamie @ 4:10 PM   0 comments
    Monday, May 14, 2007
    Happy Mother's Day
    To the coolest mom ever


    Happy Mother's Day!!
    posted by jamie @ 1:24 AM   1 comments
    Saturday, May 12, 2007
    Hasta La Vista!
    Craig and I are going camping tonight out in Maple Ridge. Gotta test out the new gear! We'll be back tomorrow, pray that I don't get eaten by a bear!! Think we got enough beverages for one night? Hehe..

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    posted by jamie @ 2:23 PM   0 comments
    Friday, May 11, 2007
    For All Y'All
    Hello dear friends, I made this video for all you who are missing Van and the 'old' days. You better tear up atleast once ;)

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    posted by jamie @ 2:06 AM   7 comments
    Wednesday, May 09, 2007
    Indoor Adventures
    For Christmas, Craig and I got money to buy camping stuff from his parents so tonight we went on a camping shopping spree! It was great... Craig found this tent at Sportsjunkies for nearly half of what you would pay at MEC, and it was brand new! Here's some pics from testing it out in our living room ;)

    We are thinking of taking it out into the real world this weekend... I'm scared of bears though. I tried to get Craig to let me buy "Bear Bells" at Canadian Tire but he said no...hmmm......

    Well I wasn't going to talk about what I thought of Grey's last week, but due to popular demand, haha, I'll give you a lil' snippet.

    I was dissapointed at the lack of actual grey's characters.. when you add it all up, it was maybe 25 minutes. The rest was just trying to hook us into Addison's new show. I didn't like that.. they advertised this big "2 HOUR GREY'S" special and really it was just the pilot for the new show... hmm... But all that said, if they do make a spin off, I would most likely watch it. I like the cast they got. I'm curious to know what others think. Let me know!

    Take care all...
    peace

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    posted by jamie @ 12:02 AM   1 comments
    Saturday, May 05, 2007
    Provoked
    Came across this photo randomly in some facebook group. I thought it was quite thought-provoking.

    Who are we, really, to judge? To hate? To protest? I'm not sure. It reminds me of a time, about 6 years ago, when I was really into the whole "Rock for Life" movement. They are a pro-life, teen oriented, punk rock goth hippy post modern organization that, among many other things, makes T shirts and buttons and patches that say things like "Abortion is Murder", "Abortion is Homicide", "Face it, Abortion Kills", etc (I must admit, I kind of like the shirt that says 'Former Embryo", that's pretty clever).

    Well anyway, in my late teens I wore some of this stuff. And when I was in Vancouver, doing my DTS with YWAM, I had a revelation. I was sitting on Commercial Drive, with my baggy pants and my "Abortion is Homicide" patches, and I suddenly thought, "what if a girl walked by me, who had had an abortion, and saw my patch....and then later I see her again and try to tell her about the love of God?" I realized at that moment, that she would never listen to me..that I was speaking a message far more damaging than I could imagine, that her first impression of me would be that I was judging and condemning her. Why would she listen to me? I'm not saying it's not true or that we shouldn't stand up for what we believe.. But I do know that I was changed that day. And since then, I've definitely thought alot more about things before I took my stand.

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    posted by jamie @ 2:07 AM   3 comments
    Thursday, May 03, 2007
    What's it Worth?

    This is how I know I am ready to go back to school.

    I read this entire manual, cover to cover, for Empire State University. I never would've done that before.

    My choice is becoming more easy by the day. Let me tell you the pros of Empire State:

    1. I don't have to commute at all, I can take my entire degree from the comforts of my own home, or just do the first year and then transfer to a Canadian school if I want.

    2. it would save a lot on gas money

    3. it wouldn't put my permanent residency application in jeopardy by the border crossings

    4. it's way cheaper

    For those of you concerned about the whole 'online' thing, this is how it works and why it would be okay:

    Each class is designed for around 15-20 students to be taking it at the same time. You 'take the class' by going to it's own web page, where you watch and listen to lectures, get your assignments, talk with the professor and other students taking the class, take tests and quizzes, participate in discussions, hand in your work, etc. Some classes require you to all take the class at the same time, especially in the case of foreign language, so you can practice speaking it with each other. (And by the way I am soo excited to take Spanish again!) Other classes just require you to participate on a discussion board a minimum of 4 times a week. You are graded on not only your assignment scores and grades, but your class participation as well. You are very accountable as each student has their own advisor who is their main contact with the school. So there wouldn't be the issue of just not reading the material or anything - you actually have to 'show up'.

    I have also really enjoyed going through the list of classes offered to me. I am so excited at the thought of learning and lecture again. Also, I was looking at the cost and it got me thinking. It's approximately $725 per class... and I thought, "wow that's a lot of money just for education" but then I had a mini revelation - I am so lucky to even have the opportunity for an education. Some people in countries where it's not available to everyone, would give anything to be able to learn. So I think $725 is worth it.

    Well that's all for now. I have to give my final decision in about a week but I feel pretty good with this right now.

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    posted by jamie @ 1:15 AM   4 comments

    About Me

    Name: jamie
    Home: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
    About Me: I am an American living in Ontario. I've just recently started going to school again for a BA in Human Services. I like mexican and indian food and watching tv way more than the average individual. I absolutely love talking to my parents on the phone and my brother is one of my best friends. I'm married to a great guy whose pretty much the exact opposite of me but he loves me and makes laugh and we have a lot of fun. I didn't always feel this way, but these days I'm feelin' pretty good. That's my life, welcome to chaos and order.
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