5.) The sunsets in Canada are absolulty amazing!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
More on Canada...13 Thursday
4.) The butterfly sanctury has some amazing looking butterflies from all over the world!
5.) The sunsets in Canada are absolulty amazing!
5.) The sunsets in Canada are absolulty amazing!
More on Canada...This is Harder Than I Thought!
6.) There are beautiful flowers all over the place! I stopped and saw these on the side of a road while driving into Whistler.
7.) This was an awesome stream on the way up to Whistler. I loved the fact that I never knew what I would encounter!
8.) Some wild horses that some friends and I saw on a daytrip while we were on our way to somewhere else.
9.) This was a flamingo pond at the butterfly sanctuary. The butterfly sanctury also housed birds and other animals and plants.
7.) This was an awesome stream on the way up to Whistler. I loved the fact that I never knew what I would encounter!
8.) Some wild horses that some friends and I saw on a daytrip while we were on our way to somewhere else.
9.) This was a flamingo pond at the butterfly sanctuary. The butterfly sanctury also housed birds and other animals and plants.
Ok,you guys, I am figuring out that I really don't know much about posting multiple pictures! Help me out fellow bloggers! This is WAY too much work for me and probably the first and last time I am going to do this!
The Last Things I Love About Canada (Finishing 13 Thursday)
10.) People feel free to express themselves and their political beliefs all over the city. This was a "Peace Car" that had messages all over it and even had a running water fountain inside! People just stop and appreciate different messages whether they agree or not!
11.) This close up shot of the car is one of my personal favorites!
12.) Canada has some truly amazing parks that are relaxing and beautiful to hang out in.
13.) What's a Diva without a parade? The gay pride parade in Canada is not just for gay people but everyone is welcomed. Tons of different types of people come out and show support and no one thinks its the least bit strange!
Well, I survived doing my first Thirteen Thursday and I don't think I will do it again for a LONG time unless I can learn an easier way to do this! Blogging can be a lot of work! I feel good that I was at least willing to finish what I had started because I was almost ready to quit! I have the utmost respect for all you who do really creative blogs! It is definitely time consuming.
After going back through these pictures, I cannot wait to go back to Canada. The next spot I want to go to is Eastern Canada particularly Ontario. The underground art, music and film scene is supposed to be mind blowing! I hope anyone who has never been to Canada considers checking it out as its really a beautiful place.
Peace,
Diva
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Still Sick...I feel like S*&%!
I am not much of a complainer but I feel awful! I missed Open House tonite and am behind on grading due to feeling so bad. I have a major headache and sinus issues! At least my boss told me I could stay home. I wish I had a mom today! I am also in a funky depressed kinda mood and I don't really know why. I thought my mood would go away after I took a nap but I still feel like hell! Every now and then I have a day where I wish I would have stayed in bed. Today is one of them!
Diva
Diva
Monday, April 28, 2008
Feeling Under the Weather...Allergies SUCK!
I have been feeling really under the weather the last week or so. The weather out here changed from mid-temperature where you could wear pants to super hot and humid! I feel like I am in the south or back east. I feel awful and need to get some rest but my body is really achy and my nose is either totally congested or dried up from the allergy medication. I guess I will survive for Open House which is tomorrow night at my school. Today I really wish I was married so I had someone to take care of me and feed me chicken soup. For whatever reason a menthol cigarette has sounded really good today but I just tell my head, "thanks for the suggestion" and keep on doing what I need to do. Thank God for blogging and Chantix!
Peace,
Diva
Peace,
Diva
Sunday, April 27, 2008
You Never Know What You Will End Up Doing In Life...
If you would have asked me when I was 20 what I would be doing when I was 40, I would have told you I would have been dead. I am not being sarcastic or looking for sympathy when I say that...I am really just telling the truth. As many of you know, I never really thought I was going to make it past 21 or 22 and lived my life like a rock star so to speak...until I hit the bottom and I managed to get cleaned up. Even after cleaning up, I have continued to do stuff like smoke cigarettes even thought I knew the consequences and continue to eat badly. In the last year, I decided to work on some of that stuff and have seen great results just by being willing or at least a little bit willing to do some things differently and not think that I know it all. Does this mean I totally have it together? Not even close! I am more willing to change than I ever have been who knows what the future holds for me.
Anyway, as I was told every week by this one professor that I took classes from last year was "You never really know what you will end up doing in life so live it like there is some sort of purpose and try to learn as much as you can." This guy Dr. Foster used to tell us that he never in the world thought he would be teaching people about art (or how to get some common sense but that is a whole other blog!) He used to tell us that he was just was willing to take advantage of whatever opportunities that arose when he was offered an opportunity to grow and he learned stuff he needed to retire early and create his own business and help people at the same time. He basically told us that most people never go for what they want and sit around thinking that opportunities are going to come to them, not the other way around! He bluntly told us a few times to get off our asses and make something happen if that was what we wanted and quit putting everything in life before ourselves. He was like, "How can you be a good teacher if you are so stressed out you can't function?" or "How are you supposed to be able to give anything to kids if you treat yourself like you should be last?" I had to really think about that. Many people in caretaker positions, like teachers and moms are usually so busy doing stuff for others that they do not really take care of themselves and a lot of times they they can't figure out why they are so tired or burned out. I spent a year out of my life drawing pictures because Dr. F said it would bring down the stress levels and would be like meditation. I never could draw and had no real desire to learn and at first I really thought he was completely insane! He is one of those types of individuals that you either love him or ya hate him, there is no in between! I wasn't really sure what to think I just figured that drawing would be better than writing YET another paper which is why I didn't want to go back to school and take classes or get another degree. Besides, I realized that it didn't matter what I wanted at that point I really needed the salary points to move up on the pay scale. I had been teaching for a lot of years and was still at one of the lowest places you could be on the salary scale! In that year, I really heard a lot of truths sitting there drawing pictures...stuff like why it was important to invest in 403B's, have an emergency fund and how to write off all these expenses on my tax return! I also learned how much money I had lost by not going back to school sooner and just by avoiding taking classes I was making a lot of people happy because I was going to do the same job whether I took classes or not. He used to tell us that if I didn't care how much money I made, why should the school? (When you are a teacher your salary is directly linked to how much education you have and how many years you have worked) Anyway, this guy made us think about the reality of the situation and it was one one the best things that happened to me. It made me get off my ass so to speak and think about the future and be willing to go for what I wanted in life. I mean, truthfully the only person who cared if I got a raise was me....so it was up to me to go back and take the classes I needed to take...tired or not.
Speaking about going for things, I recently applied for a couple of summer fellowships and was accepted for one through a historical institute and will be studying at Harvard University in Boston this summer. I am actually still amazed about the whole thing. I applied never thinking I would be going but figured what the hell, the most that can happen is I am denied. I filled out the on-line application and sent it off. I never really thought that I would be accepted because anything that has to do with studying at an Ivy League school with their professors is super competitive! I just went online, applied and figured nothing would really come of it. Amazingly enough, I was accepted and I am going to study with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who has done all of this amazing research about genetic lineage and "has been the host and co-producer of African American Lives and African American Lives 2 in which the lineage of notable African Americans is traced using genealogical resources and DNA testing." (Wikipedia oneline) I saw the series on PBS and was simply blown away! I am really interested in the new technology used in genealogical research so it really is a great opportunity. If anyone out there knows anything about what to do in Boston, let me know.
Peace,
Diva
Anyway, as I was told every week by this one professor that I took classes from last year was "You never really know what you will end up doing in life so live it like there is some sort of purpose and try to learn as much as you can." This guy Dr. Foster used to tell us that he never in the world thought he would be teaching people about art (or how to get some common sense but that is a whole other blog!) He used to tell us that he was just was willing to take advantage of whatever opportunities that arose when he was offered an opportunity to grow and he learned stuff he needed to retire early and create his own business and help people at the same time. He basically told us that most people never go for what they want and sit around thinking that opportunities are going to come to them, not the other way around! He bluntly told us a few times to get off our asses and make something happen if that was what we wanted and quit putting everything in life before ourselves. He was like, "How can you be a good teacher if you are so stressed out you can't function?" or "How are you supposed to be able to give anything to kids if you treat yourself like you should be last?" I had to really think about that. Many people in caretaker positions, like teachers and moms are usually so busy doing stuff for others that they do not really take care of themselves and a lot of times they they can't figure out why they are so tired or burned out. I spent a year out of my life drawing pictures because Dr. F said it would bring down the stress levels and would be like meditation. I never could draw and had no real desire to learn and at first I really thought he was completely insane! He is one of those types of individuals that you either love him or ya hate him, there is no in between! I wasn't really sure what to think I just figured that drawing would be better than writing YET another paper which is why I didn't want to go back to school and take classes or get another degree. Besides, I realized that it didn't matter what I wanted at that point I really needed the salary points to move up on the pay scale. I had been teaching for a lot of years and was still at one of the lowest places you could be on the salary scale! In that year, I really heard a lot of truths sitting there drawing pictures...stuff like why it was important to invest in 403B's, have an emergency fund and how to write off all these expenses on my tax return! I also learned how much money I had lost by not going back to school sooner and just by avoiding taking classes I was making a lot of people happy because I was going to do the same job whether I took classes or not. He used to tell us that if I didn't care how much money I made, why should the school? (When you are a teacher your salary is directly linked to how much education you have and how many years you have worked) Anyway, this guy made us think about the reality of the situation and it was one one the best things that happened to me. It made me get off my ass so to speak and think about the future and be willing to go for what I wanted in life. I mean, truthfully the only person who cared if I got a raise was me....so it was up to me to go back and take the classes I needed to take...tired or not.
Speaking about going for things, I recently applied for a couple of summer fellowships and was accepted for one through a historical institute and will be studying at Harvard University in Boston this summer. I am actually still amazed about the whole thing. I applied never thinking I would be going but figured what the hell, the most that can happen is I am denied. I filled out the on-line application and sent it off. I never really thought that I would be accepted because anything that has to do with studying at an Ivy League school with their professors is super competitive! I just went online, applied and figured nothing would really come of it. Amazingly enough, I was accepted and I am going to study with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who has done all of this amazing research about genetic lineage and "has been the host and co-producer of African American Lives and African American Lives 2 in which the lineage of notable African Americans is traced using genealogical resources and DNA testing." (Wikipedia oneline) I saw the series on PBS and was simply blown away! I am really interested in the new technology used in genealogical research so it really is a great opportunity. If anyone out there knows anything about what to do in Boston, let me know.
Peace,
Diva
Almost six Months off smoking....Smoking Update!
I just thought I would post quickly and let people who read this that I am coming up on six months of being smoke free! I never thought that I would be able to function without Nicotine for even a day but amazingly enough, the days have turned into months! Even when I think about smoking it is just a thought that passes in and then out of my head pretty quickly. I owe my success to taking Chantix, support which consisted of blogging with others who are doing the same thing and going to a program where I was forced to look at the habit part of my smoking and start doing things differently. (I actually only went to the program originally to get my Nicotine patches and then the Chantix for the insurence co-pay price) This process has really changed my life. I hope everyone is doing well and even if a person slips and smokes or goes back to cigarettes/other Nicotine delivery devices, they will give it another shot. I quit MANY times (not for very long either) before I wanted to be a non-smoker more than I wanted that cigarette.
I keep blogging about smoking and my time away from cigarettes just because I have encountered so many cool people and feel that its really important to remember where I came from. One day my brain will tell me to smoke when something stressful happens and I want to have it firmly engraved in my head all the reasons I do not want to go back to smoking. Besides, one day someone may look up Chantix and read this blog and I want it to be as hopeful as the first blogs I read when I was considering using the drug. Speaking of Chantix, I am almost tapered off of it completely and should be by the time I hit my six month mark.
Peace,
Diva
I keep blogging about smoking and my time away from cigarettes just because I have encountered so many cool people and feel that its really important to remember where I came from. One day my brain will tell me to smoke when something stressful happens and I want to have it firmly engraved in my head all the reasons I do not want to go back to smoking. Besides, one day someone may look up Chantix and read this blog and I want it to be as hopeful as the first blogs I read when I was considering using the drug. Speaking of Chantix, I am almost tapered off of it completely and should be by the time I hit my six month mark.
Peace,
Diva
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