Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee

The intermediate school I volunteer at in the mornings recently purchase and installed a brand new 50 inch flat screen tv in the cafeteria. They were installing it on Friday when I was there so this morning was the first morning I have been there since it became functional. Much Music was blasting Rihanna and Ke$ha while their music videos consisting of barely dressed women dancing around randomly was playing on the screen. I have never ever seen the cafeteria so quite in all the mornings I've been volunteering. Instead of the usual happy chatter that slowly gets louder and louder as the cafeteria fills up closer to the bell, there were about 70 pairs of eyes starring in silence at the tv. Eyes wide, mouths open. Kids watch enough TV already, do they really need more opportunities at school? Not to mention how much TVs cost. In my experience as a student, I can think of a long list of things that a school could spend money on that would be more beneficial than a television in the cafeteria. Text books? Gym equipment? Music department? School sports teams, choirs, bands? I can't say I really understand the purchase, but it would have had to be approved by numerous people within the school and on the school board. If any one out there has any rational reasons why a middle school would need a giant flat screen tv, I would love to be enlightened.

Today is our last Wednesday of the year, and one of my classes is having a potluck/snackluck to celebrate. The class is Nutrition and Dietary Behaviour, and we have discussed reasons why we eat what we do and how family, media and other factors affect food selection and consumption. The idea was to bring something that was kind of significant in some way. I couldn't really think of what to bring, but having had to explain my cupcake tour of New York to the class when I got back, I decided to make cupcakes. One skipped class and 40 butterfly cupcakes later, they are dunzo and turned out ok. Not quite Martha worthy but good enough. Age made these adorable iced easter sugar cookies in egg, bunny and chick shapes, and Sam made cornbread. We will probably be the best represented house in the class! I actually have a feeling not very many people are bringing stuff, but between the three of us we should have more than enough for everyone to have at least something.

Just Keep Swimming

I swam again for the first time since New York today and I won't lie, I was not exactly excited about it. Despite having not swam in so long, and despite the fact that I love swimming, the thought of jumping into a cold. chemical ridden pool that will leave me cold and itchy and dry skined is not appealing what so ever. It always takes a solid few minutes of standing on the pool deck in swim suit, goggles and swim cap, staring at the water, thinking about how cold it is and how much the first 50 meters is going to suck before I actually jump in. But once I'm in and swimming, I am ussually loving my life, as was the case today. Cindy prepared us a nice solid 3 km reintroduction to the aquatic world which took us about an hourish to complete. If we hadn't planed to swim together there is no way I would have gone on my own. I realize this makes me lazy but I'd so much rather be hot and sweaty from a run than cold and and chloriney after a swim. Swimming today made me really excited for next swim season though. I am going to try my very best to actually swim more than once this summer so that I can actually feel somewhat prepared to race next season. Swimming is awesome, and I am already excited for next Wednesday's swim sesh with Cindy.

After I got back to the island yesterday, I headed to Brackley for a nice leisurely stroll. Sunday beach trips are officially my new favorite and are quickly becoming a habit. They always somehow manage to include sliding down a dirt wall or scaling the sand dunes to get there though. Yesterday's trip also included a boardwalk face plant by yours truly. Finally a reason to love being on the island! Don't get me wrong, the island has it's perks, just not very many of them fall between September and June when I am here. Although I hear July and August are pretty awesome...maybe one day once the beach house is built I'll be able to come back and enjoy the island's prime time.

I have come to the conclusion that in order to make it even fathomable that I will be able to do my honors without flunking out of school, I would have to give up swim team and volunteering in order to make time for the research project. T minus less than 36 hours to make up my mind and potentially write an application letter.

Weekend Get-away in the Mary Kay

I finally went on a long overdue trip to Sackville and Amherst to visit my sister and my grandparents for the weekend. I drove down on Saturday morning and after stopping in quickly at Alex's place to pick her and the other Alex up, we headed for Amherst to see my Nannie and Grampie. To make things less complicated, Alex the boyfriend will officially be dubbed Big Al. It was Nannie's birthday last weekend and it's Easter next weekend so this weekend was kind of a smooshed together celebration of everything all at once. I have 5 exams next week and decided that it would probably be unwise to spend the weekend before being unproductive so unfortunately I won't be going back for an Easter supper (or is it Easter dinner? these east coasters are all backwards with those two terms). So on Saturday we ate some egg salad sammy's (Nannie's specialty) and then wandered around the mall before heading to Tim Hortons and then to Jungle Jims. We basically spent the whole day hanging out and eating which is pretty much exactly how I like to spend my days when possible. Visiting Amherst means meeting about a million people, half of whom I am related to distantly in one way or another. I have yet to visit without being introduced to, at the very least, 5 new people. My grandparents have to be the most social people on the planet.

After dinner/supper, me, Alex, Big Al and Nannie went glow bowling. The glow part was just a coincidence, but you can never go wrong with some neon paint and black lights. To make it interesting we teamed up and played 2 out of three games and the looser had to buy ice cream. Turns out that Alex kind of sucks and Nannie is a sniper with a bowling ball. Needless to say we all got our butts kicked by her, really really badly. Lesson of the day: never underestimate a grandmother with a bowling ball.

After bowling I attempted to try learning how to drive standard. Alex's new car Speeder is a standard and her and Big Al drove me out to the Sackville industrial part and tried to teach me. Driving standard is super super fun! I wasn't exactly a champ but I was doing ok until I had to start at the bottom of a GIANT hill and then wasn't really moving and the car was making all sorts of loud revving noises and then I screwed something up, (still have no idea what I did or didn't do) which was followed by the most dreadful smell ever. Not exactly a smell that can be safely associated with a moving car anyways. Luckily we were basically on their street so I didn't have to put the car through much more pain before conceding defeat.

We rounded off the night by watching Toy Story and went to church and McDonalds this morning before I headed back to the island. Road trips are awesome. I need to take more of them. If only it didn't cost so much to leave the island! Plans are being made for Alex and everyone to come visit me here on the island in April or May so I am getting pumped already!

Third Times the Charm

Houdini has officially been captured and will no longer be eating all of my shredded wheat. I informed our landlord of the good news this morning when I saw him on campus and apparently mice have been a big issue in PEI this winter since we've had so little snow. He's going to come by soon and place screens on all our vents to prevent further infiltration. We're hoping that Houdini was the last but at this point it seems like a never ending battle so I'm not holding my breath. maybe the warm weather will encourage the other mice to do whatever it is that mice do in their natural habitat outside.

I THINK I may have decided not to do my honors. I can't think of any possibly way I can fit 75 page thesis paper, several 30 page lit reviews and the analysis of the data into the schedule I had this year. I also can't think of anything I did this year that can be dropped. But I'm sure I will change my mind again tomorrow so we shall see! I will likely be flip flopping a few times a day between now and Wednesday when the application letter is due. Does this count as procrastination?

Blood Guts Bruises Cuts

Day two of rain here on the island and I must admit I am kind of loving it. It's not cold, just cozy.

Houdini got away again last night, this time somehow managing to drag the entire trap with him to another shelf in the pantry. We talked to the land lord today and he is suggesting maybe we try sticky traps. Basically it's a really sticky strip that he'll get stuck to when he tries to walk across it. All three of us here are really hating that idea. It sounds like a horrible way to go, slow and painful...poor little guy. I noted this morning that he seems to like processed foods best-having previously snacked on multiple types of cereal and pancake mix, but yet all of my fruit and veg in the pantry was untouched. I spoke too soon because he managed to eat half an apple. Half! Maybe the exponential growth of his belly will slow him down and make him easier to catch (crossing fingers!). On the bright side, at least we know he doesn't have scurvy from lack of vitamin C.

Nothing else very exciting is going down. I'm trying to decide whether or not to do an honors next year. It would entail a research project and a 75 page thesis paper throughout the school year. I would be analyzing a completed government funded research project about seniors in the Maritimes and the barriers and challenges they face accessing food. Essentially assessing food security for seniors on the east coast. I'm torn because I am not sure that I really want to take on the additional work load, this year was stressful and busy enough and I didn't have all this extra work to worry about. They strongly recommend that students doing an honors do not have a part time job, which isn't an option for me. Not to mention Swim Team time obligations I will have. I know it will open doors for me in the future, and having the research experience will be irreplaceable but I can't possibly fathom how I could have fit anything else into my schedule this year. I am worried that taking on this extra workload with be setting myself up for disaster despite being incredibly advantageous for Grad School applications. Anyways, I have until the 31st of March (only one more week!) to decide and have a formal application letter written requesting to do my honors. So hopefully I figure it out soon!

I started training for a half marathon yesterday. I am going to be running the Fulton Campbell Memorial Half Marathon in Montague on June 26th. It's the day after internship ends and I think it will be a great way to end my summer in PEI. Plus it will give me something to train for which is always nice versus running aimlessly. The best part about just starting to train is that this week consists only of two 4km runs and a 6km run on the weekend. Now that I've thrown my intentions out into the vast abyss of the world wide web I can't back out. Tomorrow is run # 2 and I am already excited. I haven't had a nice rainy day run in a while! Perfect for ending at a cozy coffee shop for a post run Americano, assuming I'm not too stinky.

Speaking of running, I have a new favorite band to run to. I was introduced to them two years ago by my friend Joey. It's a band from his hometown of Calgary called The Dudes. I think they're worth checking out...

Escape Artist Extraordinaire

I forgot the mention that a certain celebrity PEI Chef came into the pizza place I work at on Friday night. For all you food network junkies that know Micheal Smith, it may interest you to know that he doesn't like mushrooms. He walked into the restaurant with his son and I got really excited but none of my coworkers even knew who he was. Whether you know him or not he's hard to miss! He had to duck to get through the doorway because he's so tall. Anyways, he came in, sat down, ordered some pizza and that's about it. I tried to play it cool and not be a lame super fan, but I probably turned bright red every time I brought them food/drinks etc. He might also have noticed me texting like a madwomen to inform everyone I know if the encounter from behind the cash.

I'm not really one to fuss over celebrities, but I did get a little jittery and terrified of messing up when serving him. Our culture has developed to idolize celebrities despite not actually knowing anything about them other than what the media portrays. Why is this? Why is it that we a so willing to blindly love people we have never met simply because their profession makes them recognizable to the general public? And vice versa; why do we find ourselves so often hating people we have never met because the tabloids say they are sleeping with so and so's wife (or sleeping with everyone if you're Tiger). I won't lie, I have been found reading perezhilton every once in a while, and I am just as guilty as the next person at getting sucked into wanting to know what the latest Hollywood scandal is, but I still have no reason why.

So Mousey is a clever one. Despite setting traps, he has escaped death with a belly full of peanut butter three times now. I kind of want to give him a high five...I mean that is pretty freakin' impressive! This little guy has more lives than a crazy cat lady's house. Although, I may change my mind about the high fives and fist pumps when he starts eating my food and not just Adrienne's. But for now I am going to celebrate by referring to him as Houdini form now on.

Since I originally started this blog in the hopes of blogging about internship, I suppose I should provide an update! Getting your hands on up to date immunization records from another province is a massive pain the the butt. First I had to contact Mississauga Public Health and have my immunization record faxed over-that part went pretty seamlessly. However, turns out this record was not up to date at all and the millions of shots I had prior to going to Kenya were not on this form. Plus, since I don't have a PEI health card, I had to wait an extra TWO WEEKS to get into Public Health here in Charlottetown. So anyways, I went this morning for my first of 4 required visits to get tuberculin testing done. And the nurse tells me I need like 4 more shots because there is no record of me ever getting them on my out of date form and that I also need blood work done to test for immunity against Chicken Pox, but I have to wait another 10 days before I can get any of this stuff done. So apparently there is now a chicken pox vaccine...so kids just don't even get it anymore? This blew my mind a little..isn't getting the chicken pox some kind of right of passage? (one that you hope you are to young to remember) Anyways, I went to the campus clinic to get blood work done but they only do it on Wednesdays, so on Wednesday I have to go back to public health so they can tell me I don't have Tuberculin and then I have to go the campus clinic where they'll take a whole bunch of blood, send it to Halifax to get tested for chicken pox immunity and then eventually in about 2-3 weeks time will tell me I have had chicken pox already. In the meantime, I'll probably have to get some more random shots.

On the bright side, my mother happened to search for my immunization records from the travel clinic I went to before Kenya and has acquired those records and will be mailing them to me shortly, which will hopefully reduce the number of new shots I need to get. I don't mind needles, but paying for them really sucks, as does scheduling time to go to the clinic and get em done.

Moral of the story is to a) keep really good track of your immunization records, and b) avoid needing your records while out of province.

Bowling, Bees and Boardwalks

The last few days have been awesome. I have yet to do any significant amounts of school work this week, which I am sure will bite me in the ass really soon but for the first time in probably ever, I was actually loving the weather here on PEI. I would have never ever before this year said that spring was my favorite season, but this week is making me have a change of heart. It's been sunny and warm and there haven't even been any winds of death like usual. The board walk in Victoria Park has been packed with dog walkers, power walkers, lovers strolling hand in hand and fellow runners every time I'm there. Although I miss Florida (specially today since it's yak for a stak!), I realized today while walking outside in 12 degree, sunny weather, that missing spring for the last 6 years has actually kind of sucked. By the time we normally get back from our month in Florida, we don't appreciate the spring days because it still feels extremely cold compared to the Florida heat. What a shame I've been missing out for so long!
On Thursday night, the FANS (family and nutritional Sciences Department) all went out glow in the dark bowling. It was so much fun! Michelle and I have decided to join a bowling league next year, and I think I am going to hold her to it because I love bowling apparently. I hadn't been 5 pin bowling since my grade six graduation trip to the sketchy blowing alley in the basement of the beer store with Mr Bain and the other Whiteoaks Public School graduates. As many of you know, I can be a tad spastic at times, which is why I am normally the worst 10 pin bowler of life, but for some reason I kind of rocked at 5 pin. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Since it was glow in the dark, the third years (all 6 of us who went) decided we should deck ourselves out in glow in the dark attire so one of the girls brought wigs that had white tips that showed up great in the dark. Needless to say we had a hoot and will be going again in the near future.
I am fairly confident that if it weren't for our mouse issue, this blog would have about half of it's current followers. Since we spotted Mousey the other night, we have set a trap filled with peanut butter and put it in the cupboard, which is the same way we caught the other mice. This one, however, seems to be a little too clever for us. There have been no more sightings, but 2 traps (he escaped with the peanut butter once) and a box of pancake mix later, Mousey is still roaming free. After having been offered to borrow a cat about 12 times now, Age had the brilliant idea to train Earl as our very own mouser. She even drew up a quick sketch of what he could look like with a bit of hard training:
Full props to Adrienne for the geniusity. Mousey won't know what hit him.

In other exciting news, the spring weather means that the bees are buzzin! My dad harvested two big jars of honey this weekend which I am beyond pumped to taste! I won't be home until July but Alex is going to bring me some back when she road trips home in April. Speaking of bees, I can't help but notice nad read every single article I come across related to bees. In the Globe and Mail, there was recently an article exclamation the fantastic news that New York City has officially (and FINALLY!) made beekeeping legal! Its interesting to read about the specific challenges they face in NYC in term of beekeeping-since most beehives are kept on rooftops, it's important that the bees have a clear line of flight, and that this path doesn't intersect with any neighbor's doorways or open windows. I love how dynamic apiculture is, I think that's one of the reasons I find it so incredibly cool. I am hoping to use some of my spare time in July at home to learn more about the bees-it's basically my dad who does everything but hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have interned both with dietitians and with Poppa P's Bees Inc. That's not actually the name-we don't have one yet-but suggestions are welcome!

For all of you interested in saving the world, check out Bees Without Borders! I stumbled across the site today and think it's awesome. I am already a HUGE fan of food and agriculture, so personally I think that teaching poor individuals and families a sustainable way to earn an income is awesome. Plus it's environmentally friendly, teaches skills that can be passed down for generations, and with colony collapse disorder affecting apiaries world wide, a few more bees couldn't hurt!
Not to mention wild animals attacking the entrance to their hives (as illustrated above)

The last few days have been awesome. I have yet to do any significant amounts of school work this week, which I am sure will bite me in the ass really soon but for the first time in probably ever, I was actually loving the weather here on PEI. I would have never ever before this year said that spring was my favorite season, but this week is making me have a change of heart. It's been sunny and warm and there haven't even been any winds of death like usual. The board walk in Victoria Park has been packed with dog walkers, power walkers, lovers strolling hand in hand and fellow runners every time I'm there. Although I miss Florida (specially today since it's yak for a stak!), I realized today while walking outside in 12 degree, sunny weather, that missing spring for the last 6 years has actually kind of sucked. By the time we normally get back from our month in Florida, we don't appreciate the spring days because it still feels extremely cold compared to the Florida heat. What a shame I've been missing out for so long!
On Thursday night, the FANS (family and nutritional Sciences Department) all went out glow in the dark bowling. It was so much fun! Michelle and I have decided to join a bowling league next year, and I think I am going to hold her to it because I love bowling apparently. I hadn't been 5 pin bowling since my grade six graduation trip to the sketchy blowing alley in the basement of the beer store with Mr Bain and the other Whiteoaks Public School graduates. As many of you know, I can be a tad spastic at times, which is why I am normally the worst 10 pin bowler of life, but for some reason I kind of rocked at 5 pin. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Since it was glow in the dark, the third years (all 6 of us who went) decided we should deck ourselves out in glow in the dark attire so one of the girls brought wigs that had white tips that showed up great in the dark. Needless to say we had a hoot and will be going again in the near future.

I am fairly confident that if it weren't for our mouse issue, this blog would have about half of it's current followers. Since we spotted Mousey the other night, we have set a trap filled with peanut butter and put it in the cupboard, which is the same way we caught the other mice. This one, however, seems to be a little too clever for us. There have been no more sightings, but 2 traps (he escaped with the peanut butter once) and a box of pancake mix later, Mousey is still roaming free. After having been offered to borrow a cat about 12 times now, Age had the brilliant idea to train Earl as our very own mouser. She even drew up a quick sketch of what he could look like with a bit of hard training:
Full props to Adrienne for the geniusity. Mousey won't know what hit him.

In other exciting news, the spring weather means that the bees are buzzin! My dad harvested two big jars of honey this weekend which I am beyond pumped to taste! I won't be home until July but Alex is going to bring me some back when she road trips home in April. Speaking of bees, I can't help but notice nad read every single article I come across related to bees. In the Globe and Mail, there was recently an article exclamation the fantastic news that New York City has officially (and FINALLY!) made beekeeping legal! Its interesting to read about the specific challenges they face in NYC in term of beekeeping-since most beehives are kept on rooftops, it's important that the bees have a clear line of flight, and that this path doesn't intersect with any neighbor's doorways or open windows. I love how dynamic apiculture is, I think that's one of the reasons I find it so incredibly cool. I am hoping to use some of my spare time in July at home to learn more about the bees-it's basically my dad who does everything but hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have interned both with dietitians and with Poppa P's Bees Inc. That's not actually the name-we don't have one yet-but suggestions are welcome!

For all of you interested in saving the world, check out Bees Without Borders! I stumbled across the site today and think it's awesome. I am already a HUGE fan of food and agriculture, so personally I think that teaching poor individuals and families a sustainable way to earn an income is awesome. Plus it's environmentally friendly, and with colony collapse disorder affecting apiaries world wide, a few more bees couldn't hurt!

Not to mention wild animals attacking the entrance to their hives (as illustrated below)

Why did the mouse cross the cupboard?

To steal our noodles!

Here I am, strolling casually into the kitchen, looking for a snack and so naturally I open the cupboard. While glancing around trying to decide what to eat, I happen to look down and what do I see? A mouse, sitting quite comfortably on top of a box of Kamut noodles! I wasn't really sure what to do so I quickly slammed the door shut and made a weird squeal and alerted Adrienne. After snapping the trap shut on my fingers, Age took over and now there is a very nice peanut butter filled trap awaiting Mousey's return. I'm half expecting to hear it go off any second actually.

Today is National Dietitian's Day, but also St Patrick's day. In celebration, Jess and I went out for breakfast and tonight a bunch of us girls are heading to 42nd Street, a martini bar downtown. Hopefully while we're enjoying a delish drink, Mousey will be enjoying some yummy peanut butter (muah ha ha ha). The problem with seeing him is that he is just too darn cute! Which is why Age has become the official mouse trap emptier. Mad props to her for taking on the task.

Mid-March Movie

The City Cinema is quietly tucked away behind Queen Street here in Charlottetown and plays mostly film festival flicks and less mainstream titles. It's pretty old school; slanted floor, not very many seats, and a smaller screen then you typically see but it's also a few bucks cheaper. After grabbing a coffee with Cindy downtown, we headed to the cinema to see Mid-August Lunch. I really liked it, it was the first movie I've seen in a while that seemed to fly by so fast I was surprised when it was over. It's about this guy who is taking care of his mother and ends up also having to take care of 3 other elderly women for a weekend. It was funny and cute and I definitely recommend it if you want a light, feel good movie that will have you leaving the theater with a smile.

For the first time ever, I waited on a table last night that contained quite possibly the rudest people on the planet. There were two families with a total of 8 people. They spent their entire meal screaming at their kids and disrupting the entire dining room...which was packed and I was the only waitress on staff. I had just dropped off drinks to their table and was taking drink orders from a second table when one of the mothers from the table of 8 stands up and yells at me for taking this second tables order before theirs. Of course the ENTIRE dining room turns to witness me getting yelled at. I'm not sure where my patience came from-but I calmly took the tables order and somehow managed to remain quite chipper. The table continued to scream at each other and disrupt every one else eating in the restaurant but eventually they finished their meal and left. Needless to say they were not big tippers. But on the bright side, the rest of the tables felt so bad for me having to deal with these awful people, and were impressed that I didn't shove a pizza in this woman's face that they tipped extra.

So the lesson of the day is to always be nice to your waitress or waiter, because I'm sure we all have to deal with tables like that one, and I think I've just gotten lucky enough to have not had one until now.

For all of you reality TV fans out there, aka fans of The Hills, The City etc, there is a new show that's based on a clothing shop called Jacflash on Queen W in Toronto. It's called JacLife and follows a group of 20 somethings who own and run the clothing store, have their own clothing line etc. Right now I'm pretty sure it consists only of webisodes but worth checking out. It's basically the exact same as every other MTV show, but its based on Toronto and produced by Slice. If you need a break from life and want to rot your brain a bit check out Jaclife.com

I Just Wanna Play

Turns out that I am the worst lazy person ever. I had planned to spend all day in bed doing nothing yesterday but quickly realized that that plan is actually quite boring. As soon as I felt recovered from the night before I was itching to get outside and do something exciting. I called up Cindy and we ended up going for a nice long walk at Canoe Cove followed by an even longer coffee date. Canoe Cove is actually the location of the Diabetes Summer Camp I am going to be interning at for a week in July, and since the road to get to the beach is closed in the winter, we had to walk almost through the camp to get there. I'm pretty pumped, it's gorgeous up there. Minus the running around after a bunch of little kids part, it'll be like going to a cottage for the week!

When I went to pick up Cindy on campus there were a bunch of guys outside in the field beside residence playing football. It made me realize how awesome it that guys of all ages play. Football, soccer, hockey...guys will decide at random times to just simply get together and play. Girls on the other hand, will go for coffee or shopping or for a walk, but rarely do you see a group of women older than 20 playing outside. I think everyone could use a little more play in their lives.

Speaking of play versus work, I have officially decided to come home for the month of July. I was torn between going home or staying on the island and trying to make the decision was really stressing me out. There is a lengthy list of pros and cons for both options and as soon as I thought I had figured out what I wanted, I would change my mind again a few hours later. This process is quite exhausting and so I finally chose to go home and I refuse to think about it any more. Post contemplative, I can now start to plan for my return to Ontario. Although it may not be the most responsible choice, I think it will make me the happiest, so I decided that it was the winner. And now that I've made up my mind, I can start saving up for the road trip and the month without work. I think I made the right choice because I am beginning to get really excited to go home, even though it's still like 3 and a half months away.

Poppa P's Bees

Here is a video of my Dad's beehive to enjoy on this glorious lazy Sunday. Sundays are not normally lazy for me, in fact, I'm a little unsure as to what this lazy term even refers to. But a late night last night with some friends has convinced me that bed is the best place to spend the entire day. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Here Comes the Sun (do do do do)

I love sun. After an entire winter of typical PEI doom, it finally seems as though spring is at least trying to come. Somehow everything is just better when it's sunny out. At home I don't have a window in my bedroom, which means that when the door is shut, there is absolutely no way to tell what time of day it is. Great for those mornings you want to be able to sleep forever. My room here at school has a big window that when left open, has been waking me up at about 7 am every morning this week with a face full of sunshine. Probably my favorite way to wake up, definitely beats the alarm clock and I can't tell the sun to snooze so it gets me happily out of bed.
Last night Lydia hosted a sushi party at Mia's. I had to work late until about 11:15 so I met everyone there for a bit after work. Mia lives out in the country so I was a little bit nervous about finding the place. It wasn't to hard until I got to Mia's road and somehow managed to not write down her actual address. And of course, there was no cell service at her place so everyone who was there that I tried calling was " the customer you are calling is currently unavailable, please try again." Eventually I got a hold of someone who wasn't there but had the facebook invite and she checked the address for me. Turns out I was basically pulled over at the end of her driveway. The road trip outta town last night made me really excited for the summer. I had not seen that many stars since I was camping in Algonquin Park last, and I couldn't help but think of how awesome of a bike ride it would be out there on all the winedy back roads through the country. The sushi was unreal, Lydia is officially my new favorite sushi place-way better than Zen was earlier this week.

Another Saturday morning is upon us, and for the first time in a very long time I have no obligations for the day other than working tonight at 5:30 which I am kind of excited for already. I like working, as much as it's a pain sometimes to try to fit into my schedule, I do legit like going to work. So I am going to enjoy the weather and head to the Farmer's Market, and since I'm a huge wimp and -8 seems chilly, I am going to wait until it's above zero and go for a lovely run along the board walk in Victoria Park this afternoon. I went for a walk there yesterday with Lexy and it was gorgeous! Everyone came out of hibernation yesterday and were walking their dogs and walking with friends and generally just loving life and the glimmer of hope the sun provides at the end of a long winter.

Coffee Tour of New York?

Yummm..coffee.
I might have to make my next trip the new York City all about coffee instead of cupcakes. Unless of course, there are cupcakes to be had at these shops WITH my coffee...

New York City Coffee Tour 2011?

Potluck Lovin'

One of the nice things about being a nutrition student is the faculty potlucks. There are normally one or two a semester, and although they don't elicit a huge crowd, there are usually enough students and staff to fill the dining room and way more food then we can eat. Pot lucks are awesome because you get to try things you would never normally make and you get to make something to share that you might not necessarily make just for yourself. The only problem with potlucks is restraining yourself from eating everything in sight. It's hard to not take a little of everything, and my eyes are always bigger than my belly (well bigger than my belly going IN to the potluck, probably not bigger than my belly coming OUT). It's been proven in research studies that the more food made available to us, the more we eat. So basically, the bigger the movie theater popcorn bucket we buy, the more we eat despite satiety cues. The craziest part is that even with a group who acknowledges this fact and is aware of it, the same phenomenon still occurs. Which is bad news bears because our portion sizes and even the size of the dishes in our kitchens just keep getting bigger.

Speaking of overindulging in food (story of the week it seems!), a handful of the swim team members went out to the new sushi place downtown called Zen last night. It's the city's first sushi place and it seems to be doing well because after waiting 40 minutes for our food, a table still wasn't available and we ended up having to take it back to a fellow swimmer's apartment to eat. Less than ideal but sometimes you just gotta roll with it. Despite the super long wait for food and not being able to get a table, I would definitely go back because it was delish. Partly because it had been so long since I had had sushi (probably not since the summer) and partly because by the time we actually got our food I was starving! If slash when I do go back, I will make sure it is at a less busy time...although who would have thunk a Tuesday night would be so packed? Most of the teams on campus basically only hang out with each other, the swim team is the exception. Very few of us actually hang out outside of the pool, so it's always nice to get together while we're dry and not in swim suits. Surprisingly, Tuesday night was the very first time I had seen one of the swim team members in something other than a swim suit or the UPEI sweat suit.

School has wound down for a bit...at least it has given the illusion of calming down. I'm sure it's really just a big old trick and then BAM a million assignments will pop up again. But for now I am enjoying the down time and am hoping to get some little things finished up way before they are due to get em over with. It's the first time all semester I've had time to think ahead instead of just frantically getting things done the day before they are due. Being ok with this has been really hard for me to learn, I hate doing things last minute and until this semester, haven't had to do that in my University career. It's hard to accept that sometimes, just finishing something has to be good enough.

This time next month I will have just finished writing my last exam and will be dancing around my kitchen in celebration of summer, probably with a drink in my hand and something really lame blasting from my itunes (at the moment my embarrassing play list includes way more Miley than is healthy to be exposed to) . That thought is what's getting me through this last month. If the first two years of University had been like this year, there is no way I'd still be here. I would a) be weaving baskets in kenya, b) teaching english in Asia somewhere or c) be a the leader of the first ever New York City Cupcake Tour.

My summer plans are still all up in the air. I want to go home for a week in April after exams but I have no idea if that'll happen yet, and I don't know for sure where my internship placements are, and I'm not sure if I'll be coming home in July for 3 weeks before coming back to the island for a week of diabetes summer camp or just staying on the island until the end of camp. It's the first time in a very long time that I haven't already had my entire summer planned out in September. Until this year I always knew that summers would be spent on the river or creek, probably coaching and attempting to get speedy fast. It's weird having no clue where I'll be when or what I'll be doing while I'm there. It am going to miss training for sure, specially while working full time for free for two months.

WHEW!

The last two weeks have been the biggest whirlwind of life. I can't believe that a) I made it out alive, b) it's humanly possible to get that much done in only 2 weeks and c) it's been two weeks since I had a chance to blog.

The last few days in New York City were busy, awesome and delicious. The trip concluded with more cupcakes, a trip to Max Brenner Chocolate for a Chocolate pizza with Rach and her roommate Nicole, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and a lot of walking and seeing fabulous things. And ALOT of snow and slush and wet feet. Although Rach taught me a few coping mechanisms: feet in plastic bags in hiking boots. I learned that it is never safe to leave home with out a pair of wellies.

There was a HUGE snow storm while I was in New York and I could not believe how many people use their umbrellas for snow. By the end of the week, after rain and snow and slush and basically every possible form of precipitation, there were broken umbrellas everywhere. Umbrella's are basically the roadkill of NYC. You see a clump of something on the side of the road ahead of you and you can't really tell what it is but for some reason you are sure it will be slightly unpleasant. As you get closer, you see broken metal spokes, smushed, ripped fabric (always black, the only color umbrella that exists in NY) and multiple sets of tire tread covering it. Here, you see broken feathers and smushed guts...much more unpleasant but elicits a shockingly similar response.

The highlight of the last couple days was definately the Museum of Natural History. I LOVE dinosaurs. I'm not sure why, I think it might be because it's the first topic I actually remember learning about in school. Mme Larochelle taught me all about them in grade one. Good times.
Here are some pictures from the last few days! There is so much to write about that it would actually be impossible.