Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Studying, Singing, Shopping, Shakes

This was a newfound studying area last week at the Westminster Quay. Nice because barely any people and it had a beautiful view of the Fraser river.


Here's my diligent set up of school work!




The other day while waiting to get my car serviced and checked out (6 hours later), Jocelyn and I sat at Wendy's and Timmy's that whole time studying! It actually felt really good to get stuff down and crack down!
Sandy and I went for dinner at the Keg on Thursday and then went to see West Side Story which was fantastic! It was fun to hang out again and to try and figure our way around the streets of New Westminster.. hehe

Yesterday I got a lot of stuff done in prep for my trip! I had a lot of little things to buy, so lots of stops, but now I actually feel far more prepared to go!! Now I just need to figure out when to pack and such! :)
Last night I took my Omi to dinner at White Spot and a movie (Nim's Island). All the other movies didn't seem grandma appropriate and although i wasn't sure what this one would be like, it was all right. Afterwards, I went to the airport to pick up Leslie and Rachelle who are visiting from Edmonton! Lots of fun times to come and fun pictures to be sure!
Leslie and I have a running joke with our names.. She called me ness once and I called her less.. then we realized our names were suffixes.. and we could put it to the end of anything.. sadlessness, boringlessness, etc. we think it's pretty funny.. and we decided that we are TEAM Less Ness!! When we're together we're a team and when we're apart, we experience teamlessness.. hee hee.. we think we're pretty clever. Well, Leslie made me a hat to match hers with my name and teamlessness on the back!! I LOVE it!! Pretty excited to wear it although I'll wonder why random people will know my name!! hahahaha
More pictures of the next few days to come after the fun is had!!

Updated Countdown:

4 days until Guatemala and Belize!!!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Finished, Fulfilled, Finito

NO MORE EXAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finished my last take home exam-all 16 pages of it (don't even get me started... would prefer a sit down exam any day!!)

YAY for being done the semester and all my work!! Feels SOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!

Tomorrow I will begin summer semester (dang-no breaks here). I have a book to read before saturday and a presentation to prepare. EEP! hehe.. oh well, i'm sure it will get done, it always does!

So crazy that Guatemala and Belize is coming up soon! I am just realizing how much schoolwork there is associated with it. Haha.. dang. By the way, if any of my faithful blog readers want me to send you a postcard from somewhere, email me your address to vanessamsiemens@gmail.com (don't forget the m in the middle of my names.. everybody forgets the m..) But I would love to send you a postcard as I love to send postcards! Just tell me which country you want one from!! (either Guatemala, Belize, Ecuador or Peru). I love getting fun mail and I'm sure you guys do too so I'd be happy to send you one!!! don't be shy!

Countdown:
1 day until Leslie comes
5 days until I leave for Guatemala and Belize (school related)!
28 days until I go to Peru and Ecuador and Galapagos Islands (from Guatemala)!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Zoo, Zany, Zillions

Hi friends! Sorry for the delay in blogging! I have actually had this post started like five days ago with all the pics, I have just been too preoccupied to actually type in words to go with the pictures!! haha! So here are some pics from Desiree's and my trip to Seattle from Monday to Wednesday. There will be videos coming in a future post hopefully!

We enjoyed eating at the Cheesecake Factory for the first time!! It was fantastic!

We bought from Fruity Pebbles at Costco to relive our childhood fun and because they dont' have it in Canada anymore. So here's a picture!
The lions started growing crazily upon seeing us! They were fun to watch!
Hippos!! We started singing a random song about hippos and later a little kid started singing it-it was pretty funny! Oh what a great influence we are on young children!

Komodo dragon!!

Creepy and very very LARGE bat!









We spent one afternoon coloring our book from the zoo!! How fun and therapeutic and relaxing too!

We enjoyed wandering around Pike's Place Market on Wednesday morning too


Okay, here's the latest countdown:
1 more exam!
2 days until Leslie comes!
6 more days until I leave for Guatemala (AHHHHH!)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Unemployed, Umbrellas

To commemorate my last day at Starbucks, I thought I would snap some photos!! It was a great last shift. It was Sunday morning so there were extra staff there putting away the order which made it more fun. i got to work drive-thru as well, which is my favorite! So here are a few pics of me an my co-workers on my last day ever working at Starbucks!! (hopefully.. hehe)

Louis and I

Laura and Kylie working the drive-thru

Louis making my last partner beverage!


Sarah and I

Kylie and I

Laura and I

After my shift, it felt so good to be done!! Nice to have a chapter close on my life. it was good while I was there and I had a lot of great times, but I am definitely glad to be done. After work, I went home and got changed and headed out to Walnut Grove for Guatemala meeting. We got to hear a bit more about what we are going to be doing on our trip and it sounds like it will be amazing! We're actually going to be going to Belize for a bit as well! i went there about ten years ago and I'm excited to go back, because it was an amazing and breathtaking country! Beautiful-especially the beaches!!

I left my Guatemala meeting early to go to church for a worship team practice. I got to be part of a band that led worship for MBMSI's Missions Celebration Night. It was so much fun! Lots of people came out as well as a variety of people from different generations. it was encouraging to see everyone worshiping together! Afterwards my friend Heidi came over for night. We watched 'Take the Lead' and then enjoyed a nice lazy morning this morning. And now I must get cracking on some schoolwork.. gulp.

This afternoon, Desiree and I are off to Seattle. We're staying there for a couple of nights for her birthday! We're going to the zoo tomorrow! Oh how I love the Seattle zoo-i have an annual membership and love to go! So I'm sure I will have some fun pictures when I get back. Hopefully it doesn't rain, but we will bring umbrellas just in case!

Here's an updated countdown:
A few more hours until I go to Seattle!
8 more days until my last exam
9 more days until Leslie visits
13 more days until I leave for Guatemala!!

And here's the quote of the day:

The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Lists, Laziness and Labyrinths

Yesterday I was feeling unmotivated to do much and so I made a list of all the things I need to do in the next two weeks so I can stop worrying about it and know that it's down on the paper. That way I don't have to think about it anymore and it's on the paper where it needs to be. Oh how I love lists!
Last night Chrystal and I went to see Mamma Mia at the Q.E. We went for dinner first which was pretty fun. The musical was great- so much fun! It was better than I remember it being the last time I saw it. Chrystal then stayed for night which was pretty fun. Always funny how you can be exhausted up until the point you get into bed and then suddenly you're wired and can't stop talking.. Okay, maybe that's just me. I was a little sad this morning to go and see that my car had been keyed down both sides of it. Huge white streaks and gouges in my doors are not nice sites. Argh.. makes me angry at the people who somehow think it's a funny thing to do.
Last night we got home to this sight.. haha.. The DVD playing was super loud that I could barely walk into the room.. yet all three of them were fast asleep!! So I thought I'd snap a picture for fun. :)

This morning and early afternoon Chrystal and I were feeling pretty lazy. Didn't really feel like doing anything so we kind of just hung around.. but that was nice and relaxing. My body was feeling pretty sore after riding bike yesterday for the first time in a while!! So after Chrystal left I decided to try and make my body a little bit more sore...


Last summer I went on a retreat course about Psychology and Spirituality. This is where I first introduced to the labyrinth. Most people don't really know the significance of it as I did not, and it's kind of hard to explain, but I will try a little farther down. Anyway, while taking the course, we had the chance to go walk a labyrinth up in the woods. I found it to be a really neat way of connecting with myself and with God and wanted to do it more. So, I decided I wanted to build one at home in the woods next to my house. I put it on my list of 100 things to do before I die (which I will call my Bucket List) and have not yet done it.

Today because it was so sunny, I decided to go brave the outdoors and start building it! I decided to build it with whatever I could find, which ended up being large rocks, pieces of wood, trees and pipes. So my day consisted of cutting down trees, digging up and carrying big rocks and big chunks of trees. I was out there for about five hours and it was fantastic. I was full of dirt and bugs but that added to the fun! Needless to say, after five hours, when I stopped, my body suddenly realized what I had done to it and suddenly everything hurt and I was exhausted!! A nice dip in the pool felt good but my body is still pretty sore-can't wait til I wake up tomorrow!Above is a picture of your classical labyrinth. They come in all different designs and can be found in a lot of cathedrals in Europe and in some gardens. A labyrinth is like a maze, except for the fact that there is only one path. The path ends at the center and then you must turn around and go back out. It is something that has a ton of history and has been used for hundreds of years (history that i'm not too familiar with, because i have only recently been looking into it). Anyway, it's a practice of spirituality, and it's really neat. Here's a couple of quotes from a book called "Labyrinths" (go figure on the title).

"The labyrinth is an archetypal image of life, a mirror of the soul. In the labyrinth I rediscover myself on my path through life. At birth I'm invited to enter upon this path. I'm led to turnings and challenges in order to persevere through them, equipped with an unquenchable longing for the center. I'm led to the center yet forced to turn away from it again and again in order to move ahead. I experience desolate frontiers and doubts and the recurrent feeling that this path will never get me anywhere. Nevertheless the center holds me fast; it won't let me fall out of its orbit."

"The labyrinth is a sacred tool for knowing; an image that connects us to God, the world, and ourselves. There is something of mystery in it, and at the same time a fascinating clarity and perfection. It reveals something of our mysterious being to ourselves and offers us a glimpse of the beauty and harmony of the universe in which we are cradled." -Gernot Candolini

And so continues my journey of life and my journey with the labyrinth. If anyone ever wants to come check it out, let me know!! :)

Updated Countdown:
14 days until I leave for Guatemala
10 days until Leslie visits!
9 days until exams are done!
1 more day until I'm done with Starbucks forever! (YAY!)
Be sure to swing by from 5:45am -12:15 at Mt Lehman if you want to say hello! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful evening! I'm off to make my list a little longer and to journal and then sleep before work tomorrow!! Adios!