Happy (Early) Christmas

On Saturday night Harmel was SinterKlaas at his churches Christmas party.
One of his friends is Zwarte Pete.
Here's what happened when we left them alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LENGsXmPkvs

VS

So in lou (spelling?) of my wedding I'm really hoping to whiten my teeth a little

I think that due to my binge coffee drinking last year (okay, I still do it sometimes) my teeth turned a little yellowish (ew)

Anyway, I've decided to take up drinking diet coke.

Does it make a difference?

Wedding Junk

Harmel and I are well on our way with the wedding :)

• Hall, church, photographer, DJ, pastor = booked
• My wedding dress is ordered
• We've finished the majority of our invitations
• The girls dresses are ordered
• Sheet music is ordered for the pianist
• Wedding bands are bought
• Centerpieces are done
• Favors are ordered
• We're doing flowers on Saturday
• Harmel's taking the boys for tuxes next week
• We've started looking for a honeymoon :)

Wee Ooo0

:(

I've applied for 12 jobs...

...and I haven't even gotten a call back yet.
I'm giving up.

Welcome Home :)

My favorite cousin and one of my best friends in the whole world moved back home this past week. She was living in Calgary for school over the last 2 years, and yeah, I saw her on holidays and stuff, but now she's living at home for a few months. It's awesome, I missed her so much and I love having her home.

Job Searching

I applied for 2 jobs the other day.

Aren't you all so proud of me?!
Now I get to wait for a response.

Happy TG

Alright, so it's a little late...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

At least I'm posting, unlike some people I know
**cough**Katie**cough**
Did I just say that?

So Many Dresses...

For any of you out there who are married, do you remember wedding dress shopping?

For me it's still recent. I only purchased my dress about 3 weeks ago. And I still go and try it dress on at the shop probably once a week to make sure that I still like it. And I do like it. A lot. I love it.

However, the day after I bought it I found some pictures of the other dresses I was looking at, and I started wondering if I actually got "the one". I was so undecided and nervous and even a little scared that maybe I didn't. I felt bad and I felt like maybe I rushed into it a little. After all, I plan on only ever having one dress, therefore I only get one chance at getting the right one. There's so many dresses to pick from and so little time. I wish I had started looking when I was 10, instead of 20.

I'm starting to not feel that way so much anymore, but I still bad for feeling that way in the first place.

Tired

So I've been working at McDonalds's for almost 3 and a half years now. I'm a manager and I get along with everyone there pretty good (I also like to think that I'm well-liked, but enforcing rules doesn't sit well with most kids).

But I'm tired. I'm tired of being short staffed, I'm tired of people not showing up for their shifts, I'm tired of getting up at 4:00 am, I'm tired of woring 9 or 10 hour shifts, I'm tired of being paid nothing, and I'm tired of the greasy smell on my clothes when I get home.

So why haven't I quit? First of all, I haven't found another job (I've been looking!), and I know my wedding isn't going to pay for itself. Secondly, I feel a sense of responsibility, and I know if I left, they'd be totally screwed and they wouldn't have an opening manager anymore. Also, knowing this and quitting anyway would make me feel really, really guilty. So until I find another job what do I do?

I just know that I'm not lovin' it anymore.

Squared

Harmel was talking about square watermelons the other day and I didn't believe that they actually existed. I had to find out for myself...

Personally, I think it's a little creepy, and un-natural, not to mention pointless... obviously someone has too much time on their hands...and now probably too much money as well. These babies go for about $50 a piece...ON SALE!!! although they're primarily available in Japan right now. Apparently the whole idea behind it is that it's easier for storage purposes.

Whatever.

Bye Bye Momma

My mom left for the Netherlands yesterday...FOR 16 DAYS!

I miss her already.

I don't think I can cook that much.

Enemy

Wow, I wrote this poem in Gr.10. And I still remember who it's about and why I wrote it. That's crazy.

Enemy

She opens her mouth
Her words are a knife
The words she says
A storm that wrecks my life

She is a fire
Looking for wood
She finds what she wants
Opposing all good

Her mouth is a snake
Spreading rumors of hate
Hissing wildly
She is my fate

She is a truck
Unstoppable and low
She is a green light
Thinks all is a go

She is a jail cell
Locking me in
She is my death
My life can’t begin

She is an eagle
Watching moves I make
She is a robber

Seeing what else she can take

(Not) Back to School Blues

It's times when I see old pictures like this that I wish I was still back in High School

(left to right: Nicole Schenk, Pamela Schenk, Jodi Schenk)

It's Done!

Okay...

So...

I bought my wedding dress!

(that's a lie, my mom bought it)

Potvin Camping

I completely forgot that I went camping with Harmel's family last week. We had a good time! the weather sucked but we found things to do! We went to Cross Lake. Here are a few pictures!

Central Park

Harmel and I have been trying really hard not to spend too much money because we're trying to save for a house, a wedding, a honeymoon and whatever else. It's not easy for either of us to find things to do that don't cost money, especially when the weather isn't that nice.

However, yesterday was beautiful. Harmel and I went to SuperStore and bought 2 cheese buns, 2 banana's and a disposable camera.

We spent the afternoon at Central Park in Spruce Grove. It's not huge, it's not amazing...but it's beautiful and it was cheap! And we had a lot of fun :)

Berries & Oma

Last week my friend Amy and I went out to Harmel's farm to pick Saskatoon berries. I dropped Amy off at her house and when I got home my Opa and Oma were visiting.

I needed to wash the berries right away because I was giving them to someone at work the next day so I dumped them all in the sink (2 whole icecream pails full) and set to work sorting through the good and the bad. Oma came over right away to help me. It was so nice. I don't get to see my Opa and Oma very much anymore because they're gone a lot of the time, so any chance to spend with them is great. Thanks for the help Oma :)

Wedding Countdown

9 MONTHS

Long Lake

Last month I think my blog and I had a bit of a falling out...

...I was too busy. SORRY!

Anyway, my family and I just got home from camping this week and we had a great time!

Aside from the fact that we had rain every night it was a wonderful family trip to Long Lake (my last family trip before I get married!!). The days were hot, we burned, we bought a boat, we ate ice cream, we went paintballing, we went swimming, we went tubing, we got lots of sleep, we ate banana boats and smores, we played Yahtzee, and it was amazing.

As for the picture above. I was afraid my nose was going to peel so I took extra care to make sure it was properly moisturized.

(Wee Ooo Wee Ooo...new boat!!)

It was great that Eric and Katie could join us for a few days too. I can't wait to go camping again next year!!

Happy Canada Day

HAPPY CANADA DAY...

...now this is what I call a celebration

Wedding Dresses

I tried on my first wedding dress.

It was white.

IT WAS EXCITING.

That's all I can say cause sometimes Harmel reads these things...

Billy

Just to let you know who everyone is:

Desiree = Charge Nurse

Annie = My Preceptor

Peter = Nurse

Billy Brown = 56-year-old patient suffering from manic depression

Billy came to the desk one morning for his meds from his nurse Peter. While he was at the desk he started talking about how he's a Scot and so he has huge eyebrows, ear hairs, nose hairs, and so on. He asked me if he could borrow a pair if scissors, and although I was reluctant he assured me that he wasn't going "to go and murder anyone or himself with them" and Peter said it would be alright as long as he stayed at the desk. So I handed the scissors over...

...and he started trimming his arm hairs on the desk right in front of me!

He continued to talk about how he used to have an army knife that he could do these kind of things with and then he informed us that he was contemplating going Japanese style where his eyebrows where concerned.

We were all at a loss for words. Annie ran into the bathroom, Desiree ran into the conference room, a Peter went to help someone else before they all burst out laughing at him. I was left alone with the crazy dude!! He talked to me for another 10 minutes or so before I finally just got up and walked away from him...

That was the first of many crazy experiences to come.

The Psych Ward

Alright, I do have to say one thing about my practicum...
...it was frickin' interesting.

(You can almost see my parking spot!)

I was scared my first day, and right now I'll say that I'm sorry that I didn't keep the blogging world more up-to-date with my day to day happenings, but by the time I got home every day, I was so exhausted that I didn't even want to move my fingers.

At first I'll admit, I was pretty sceptical about how interesting Unit 91 would be, but after the first day or so I knew that there would never be a "normal" day. After all, these aren't normal patients.

I dealt mostly with the doctors, because that's what a unit clerk does, but of course there were patients there all the time, they lived there, ate there, did their laundry there, everything. And I was in charge of making sure they all got the right meds at the right time.

I saw patients ranging from depression, all the way to paranoid delusions. It was a little creepy at times. I'll write about one or two patients specifically at a later date. Maybe in the morning.

All in all I will miss Unit 91. I'm glad my schooling is over and that I can start a real career for myself. It's exciting to know that I can finally be part of something bigger, I'm going to be dealing with peoples lives, not just their stupid food and that makes me happy.

Done, Done, and Done.

I'm finished, done, terminado, fini, afgewerkt, finito.

No more tests, no more assignments, no more projects, no more teachers...

EVER!!

Sad News

I have some sad news everyone...

Harmel's baby mini horse is gone.

They can't find it anywhere.

Last week Saturday they went to check on it and it was gone.

They think the coyotes got to it.

It's so sad...

Farm Life

This is for everyone who doesn't get to experience the farm life...

From left to right and top to bottom: Me with the mini horses. The black alpaca. Harmel, his cousin and the mini horses. Harmel and Marcel getting ready to shot the potatoe gun. Harmel and the brand new baby mini horse! Me kissing the donkey. Harmel and me and the donkey. Me and the brand new baby mini horse. Me kissing the brand new baby mini horse.

P.S. I think the male donkey is in love with me. He follows me everywhere.

Lovely Flowers

Collection

That's right.

I'm an amazingly good employee

(See Crew Person of the Month pin)

Long Weekend!!

Another May Long over.

It was a great success. Between all the driving back-and-forth between Harmel's house and the cabin it was all a good time. It's nice to sit back, relax, eat some potatoes, and light some mini fires sometimes. I wish every weekend was a long weekend.

100 Things

You might not know about me.

1. I'm 20 years old
2. Sometimes I'd rather be at home alone than spending time out at the bar or with friends
3. I like spending quiet time with myself
4. I love reading
5. I'm only 5'2"
6. I've been this tall since Gr. 6
7. It makes me sad that I'm only this tall
8. But sometimes I like it because then I feel small beside Harmel cause he's 6'
9. I don't have voice mail because I always forget messages right away anyway
10. I love to go for long walks in the River Valley
11. Harmel proposed to me in the River Valley
12. It's also where we had out first kiss
13. I'm scared to sleep with the closet doors open
14. I had a night light until I was 16
15. I don't like to be home alone when it's late
16. I'll sleep on the couch until my parents come home if it is late
17. I'll read or play on the computer til I can't keep my eyes open if I'm staying home alone over night
18. This scares me for when I get married
19. Sometimes my basement smells bad, and I think it's because there's dead people down there
20. I have a bad habit of biting my nails
21. I work at McDonalds
22. I've been there for more than 3 years
23. I'm a manager there
24. I've been to Africa
25. By myself
26. I want to go back now
27. I have tons of clothes
28. I have probably 150 shirts
29. I don't have a lot of shoes
30. I'm in school at Grant McEwan
31. I'm taking Medical Office Assistance
32. I want to have 5 kids
33. I want 4 boys and one girl
34. Harmel said we're only having 4, which means my last pregnancy WILL be twins
35. I love painting rooms
36. I don't have an abundant amount of friends
37. I want to have a beautiful garden when I have my own house
38. Sometimes I'm impatient
39. I'm trying to work on it
40. Sometimes I cry or get upset for no reason
41. I'm protective of my friends and sometimes it gets me in trouble
42. I didn't overly enjoy high school
43. I have 2 brothers
44. I'm in the middle
45. I wish I had a sister to talk to about things sometimes
46. I want to travel before I have kids
47. I worry about having enough money for a house
48. I drive a '91 Dodge Shadow
49. It's been stolen
50. It's gotten a hole in the gas tank
51. It doesn't start in cold weather
52. It doesn't start when there's only 1/8th of a tank left
53. My car is basically a piece of crap
54. I only paid $400
55. I'm scared of driving
56. I love watching Grey's Anatomy and Heroes
57. I used to be obsessed with Josh Harnett and Leonardo DiCaprio
58. I still have photo albums, and scrapbooks, and folders filled with their pictures
59. I love to eat salad
60. I also love diet coke
61. Now that RUTR is over, I don't drink nearly as much coffee
62. I used to have pet roosters
63. My birthday is on January 23
64. Eric's is on January 24 and Harmel constantly tells me that I "stole his thunder"
65. I'm almost 7 months older than Harmel
66. I just did a handwashing test at school (like 1 minute ago) and I didn't have any germs!
67. I'm an amazing hand washer
68. I don't mind doing laundry
69. Sometimes I love to clean the house, or my room, or my car
70. I love to listen to music (loudly) when I'm getting ready for school or work
71. I try to drive the speed limit, even when I feel like an idiot because people are passing me
72. I'm getting married on May 10, 2008
73. This will be exactly 4 years, one week, and one day after we started dating
74. I bought my bed sheets in Africa
75. I get butterflies everytime I think about seeing Harmel
76. I worry that my alarm won't go off in the mornings when I work at 5 because I'm the only one there and if I don't get there on time we won't be able to open at 6
77. I won't go in the freezer at work if I'm the only one there
78. I love watching home decorating shows
79. I don't have cable
80. Which means we don't have TLC
81. I have a lot of regrets
82. I'm scared that I won't be a good cook
83. I love family and spending time with family
84. It doesn't matter if it's mine or Harmel's
85. I love to play board games
86. Or any game really
87. A Sunday isn't complete if you don't play a board game
88. I've had tubes put in my ears
89. I had stitches in my knee because I knelt on a heater while playing Hide-and-Seek with my cousin, Steve, at my Opa and Oma's old house
90. I love fishing
91. I can drive a fishing boat and start the motor without help from a man
92. I hate shopping for pants because I have the most massive hips in the world
93. I'm hoping that will help in childbirth because Harmel has a fairly large head
94. I'm learning to love everything
95. I'm trying to live for the day
96. I want to take advantage of life while I'm young
97. I want to be a good wife and mother
98. I doubt myself way to often
99. I sometimes take 3 hour long baths after a long day at work
100. I've started loving green tea

Food Fights...

Just a little story about work this weekend.

Saturday morning was busy, as usual.

We had a new boy named Pablo working on the til, and he's maybe 15.

A group of kids who had just graduated from JD Bracco came into the restaurant for breakfast, which was fine. However, one of the boys in the group (we'll call him Tim) started causing a rucus. Tim began swearing at Pablo because his debit card wasn't working and he blamed it on Pablo. Finally, after numerous tries Tim's card worked, he got his food, and he sat down. That was all fine and dandy, until he started watching us and swearing at all the people who were working, for no reason.

I decided to let it go...

When the kids got up to leave I walked over to where they were sitting to make sure they had cleaned up their stuff (I don't believe that picking up someone else's garbage is in my job description) and they hadn't. They had squished their food all over the floor and the tables and the benches, and their trays, and wrappers, and bags were all over the place.

So I said to Tim as he walked out the door, "Could you please clean up your garbage."

And this is what I get back, "F*&^ you, you stupid b&^%*."

He left and so that was fine with me, I thought he was going to be gone for good. However, he came back in to go to the washroom. And once again, I asked him nicely to clean up his garbage. I also explained to him that it wasn't me who made the mess and so I shouldn't have to clean it up. He continued to curse a blue streak at me, and when I asked him a third time to clean up this was his response, "Shut the f*&^ up, and give me your managers name, your harassing me!"

I told him, "I am the manager."

His response, "You f*&^in' liar!"

And he turned around and threw his orange juice at my face from across the lobby and left the restaurant.

Luckily, I dodged it and it hit the window behind me.

There were about 6 of our regular customers there, and they all helped me clean up the mess, one of them went outside and got Tim's liscence plate number and told me I should call the police. I didn't cause they don't generally help with these kinds of things. I was shaking so bad that I just wanted to sit down and cry...

Of course it was longer and more involved, but really, where do kids these days get the idea that it's okay to talk to someone that way or treat someone like that. I think it's a little ridiculous, and that kids these days don't have a whole lot of respect for others. It's so sad.

Sweet Feta

crumbling, soft feta

you are my one desire.

upon romane you lie in wait,

italian dressing is your fate.

when i crave, my needs you meet;

you satisfy me like a treat.

you give your life in place for mine,

when i'm hungry and when i dine.

far beyond my deepest wishes,

i crave your taste in all my dishes.

School Days

Two weeks ago I graduated. Crazy, it feels like yesterday I started, and now I'm finished already!!!

NOT.

I still have a whole semester.

That's pretty lame.

I'm so scared for my practicum.

BABY

Congratulations to my soon-to-be brother & sister-in-law, Mern and Andrea, with the birth of their second son!

Gabriel Guy Schiedl was born on April 12 and weighed 6 lbs 14 ounces. He's lovely.

I love babies.

Tagged

Tagged

Three Things I'm afraid of:
1. Being home alone
2. Being at work alone
3. Scary movies

Three People who make me laugh:
1. Harmel
2. Ben
3. My mom

Three things I love:
1. When my PJ pants roll up around my knees when I'm sleeping
2. Taking walks
3. Playing games

Three Things I Hate:
1. Fish
2. Boogers
3. Trying new things

Three Things I don't understand:
1. Why bad things happen to good people
2. Politics
3. Why people need to swear

Three Things on my desk:
1. My laptop
2. CDs
3. A lamp

Three things I'm doing right now:
1. Watching Greys Anatomy
2. Hearing Harmel talk about our new nephew!!
3. Filling out this survey thingy

Three Things I want to do before I die:
1. Be successful
2. Have a happy family
3. Write a book

Three Things I can do:
1. Clean my room (REALLY WELL)
2. Make nifty cards
3. Rollerblade

Three Things I can't do:
1. Not brush my teeth in the morning
2. Go to bed on time
3. Get taller

Three Things I think you should listen to:
1. Your mom and dad
2. Snow Patrol
3. The sound of rain on a tin roof

Three Things you should never listen to:
1. Trina Stelmaschuks lectures
2. People who put you down or call you names
3. Mathew

Three Things I'd like to learn:
1. How to cook really well
2. How to raise children
3. How to have an amazing garden

Three Favourite Foods:
1. Slop
2. Salad
3. Chicken

Three Shows I watched as a kid:
1. Arthur
2. Mr. DressUp
3. Star Bright

Three Things I regret:
1. Not taking advantage of the college life
2. Eating lots of Easter chocolate
3. Not doing sit-ups this morning

Three People I'd like to tag to do this post on thier Blog:
1. I DONT KNOW ANYONE!!!
2. I DONT KNOW ANYONE!!!
3. I DONT KNOW ANYONE!!!

tee hee

January 23

Your Birthdate: January 23

You're not good at any one thing, and that's the problem.You're good at so much - you never know what to do.Change is in your blood, and you don't stick to much for long.You are destined for a life of travel and fun. Your strength: Your likeability Your weakness: You never feel satisfied Your power color: Bright yellow Your power symbol: Asterisk Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

More in Coffee News

Alright. So now that we all know about my not-so-secret addiction...

Every morning before work I stop to get a coffee at Tim Horton's because **gasp** they have better coffee than McDonalds...This means that I'm a Roll Up the Rim player! Woohoo!

So far I think I've purchased 16 coffees...and I've won twice!! (double exclamation marks for the double win). I won a coffee and a donut! Harmel and I are both hoping that I win the car so that we can sell it and pay for our wedding and start paying for a house...lol. I think I'll cross my fingers on that one.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

So I open the McDonalds restaurant 3 days a weeks. Tuesdays before I go to school, and then Fridays and most Saturdays. That means that I'm up around 4:00 a.m. Let's just say that I need my coffee. I usually have one coffee before work and then 2 more within the first 3 hours.

And I'm starting to get into the habit of drinking a cup or 2 before I go to school. At 7:30 I really wanted coffee so I went and woke my mom up to ask her if I could make some and she asked me if I was addicted to "The Stuff". I told her that I just really liked it...thinking about it now...addicted might be a better word.

Is that a bad thing?

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

The Lovely Bones

This is the latest book I'm reading. It's called 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold. It's seriously one of the best books I have ever read...and I've read a lot...

The novel begins in horror, the rape and murder of Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl, at the hands of a neighbor who is a serial killer, although no one in the neighbourhood knows it. Susie herself narrates the story, from her perch in a personalized version of heaven; it looks like the high school she used to dream of attending, and all the textbooks are fashion magazines. She has a friendly roommate, an "intake counselor" (a former social worker whose reward is to finally be appreciated for it), lots of dogs to play with and a gazebo from which she can watch her family, friends and murderer go on with their lives. Susie narrates life on earth as it continues without her, and through the novel you see her sister grow up, her parents grow apart, and her murderer live on...

This book was so amazing...I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read. It's not really all that suspenseful because you know immediatly who killed her, but I supposed it's more about the chase, and about finding him and about how deeply parents love their children.

I own it for anyone who would like to borrow it!