talking to my best and describing how I was feeling a little cranky. Her response was "I must be oblivious because I never notice when you are cranky" then she paused thoughtfully "....or maybe I just assumed that was your normal personality"

change of plans

before I even had a chance to be employed, I am now unemployed again.

I called my credit card to ask them to up my limit so I could pay off some debts from school...the first question they asked was "are you presently employed?" I laughed and said "no....I guess that means you won't give me more money!" (I suppose I should have thought of that before I called, but you if you never ask....)

anyway..getting back on track....I will not be working at LD afterall.

Get this..we are moving to Harrison..as in the hotsprings...where the old people live!

I am opening a store with my sisters (and father). Crazy!

a glowing reference.

So, as you may have heard...I am now employed. Yes, it is true, I applied at the old standby...London Drugs.
This is where my sense of responsibility overrode my sense of pride. Don't misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with working at LD as a photo chick. It's just that when you complete a year long intensive design program only to be transported back 4yrs ago...well, you know.

Okay, but really it's not so bad. I am actually truly thankful. It's no secret that I had a pretty rough time last week as the enormity of the situation hit me. And I couldn't sit around waiting for paid freelance design work to come my way...

So I gave it all up, my employment, my trailer, everything. I believe God gave me the LD job b/c it was something I was comfortable with and it would allow me time to focus on The Pura Vida Project (what is that? you may ask....you'll have to wait)

I also have no idea what how many hours it will be or what days it will be...but I will take it b/c it has been provided for me....and that is a very good thing.

I was also flattered to hear that my former employers gave a glowing review and told LD to snatch me up! So I don't even have to go through the hiring process...they simply called and offered me a job...without even meeting me.(see that kind of stuff happens to Liz, not me...)

There are bigger things yet to plan for and to pray for...I will update that later.
But right now, I am very grateful for extra income!

playing tourist with my favourite person.

after a year of Saturdays filled with homework, Andrew and I were able to spend the day together. Andrew chose Gastown as the destination. he has a love for cheesey souvenir shops (he inherited that from Pama.

Even though the skytrain was not necessary to get to our destination...it was a day of fun, so I couldn't say no.

after gas town we headed to canada place, and decided we needed a vacation






and oddly....while the passengers were boarding, and the captain was welcoming everyone onboard over the loudspeaker....this was going on.....

while putting away my favourite perfume

in the cabinet above the toilet, I felt it slip out of my hands and was horrified at the ker-splash that occurred soon after.
It had fallen in the toilet, the toilet that had not been flushed.

And I had no choice but to retrieve it.

the best laid plans

I had a perfect plan.

I would move to Vancouver, go to school for a year, sell my trailer this summer to my renters (who had said they wanted to purchase it), pay off my student loan, pay my good friend who continually bails me out, thus allowing me to spend time being mom again, taking Andrew to school, picking him up, and freelancing during the hours he is gone.

It was my perfect plan.

my plan.

key word..."my"....


all was trucking along fine. until my renters decided not to buy and then moved out. yikes!
so now I am in a financial pickle, paying for rent in Vancouver and a mortgage in Deroche...holding a trailer that is not selling.

hmmmm.....how did it all go so wrong??

there is one thing I have learned in my life, that no matter what plans I make..there is someone making their own plans.


And oddly, it always seems to work out..

hard to say really..

was it when my nose ring came out when I sneezed?
or when I tried to put it back in and it got stuck halfway.

now it won't come out or go in....

nice

sheer inspiration

I have two weeks left of school.
hard to believe...2 weeks and too many projects. So much so, that I am completely blank when it comes to creativity...like searching for water in a dry well.

On top of the projects, I also agreed to take on the task of designing a logo for a church in Ottawa. Seeing as I'm stressed out from school and have less than a week to build my personal website..this may not have been a fabulous idea.

They are expecting the logo proposal tomorrow morning.


So this week, as I struggled with the logo....I handed it to God...and waited. I was mildly concerned when at 5pm tonight I still did not have a solid concept.

it's now 10pm...and I am thrilled to say that not only is it complete, but I am oh so happy with the result!

I'm not sure why God likes to do this to me...push it as far as it can go, just before I freak out. Probably to teach me a lesson on trust or something.....

scott's post

festiny

my friend Matt describes festiny as when fate and destiny collide (followed by a lengthy lecture of you can not deny festiny). I may not believe fate in the traditional sense, but I do believe that things happen for a reason.

last month I finally got my place organized after almost a year of being here. As soon as I could see my bedroom floor for the first time....I had the thought 'I'm going to move soon..'

it seems that whenever I settled in, get comfy, get attached, things take a turn and I am packing again!

what amazes me is how it always seems to work out. Last time it was the german ladies out for a walk on 54th ave, this time it was running into an aquaintance on the corner of Broadway and Ash.

And it all fell into place....

the start of a really great project

mom mentioned awhile ago about an idea to raise money to build houses in Amparo out of concrete blocks.
And so, after giving it some thought, I have decided we need to jump in and just do it. I am excited that I am able to combine some school projects with this campaign.

Today I received an email for our contact. He and his wife have been trying to figure out how to get their house built, he feels we are an answer to his prayer, which only confirms that this is something we need to do!

So the official financial word is: the monthly average family income is $155 cdn
new house is $10, 000 cdn for materials and labour.

I won't lie....it's a daunting task. But I'm pretty excited about it!

this very crazy interface...

http://www.wefeelfine.org/

finding a 4 sided pyramid of TP rolls in the middle of my bathroom

it seems my son views himself as a sculptor of sorts and is constanly rearranging the TP into intricate works of art.

What have a learned this week? 1) my body is not as resilient as it used to be 2) Tylenol 3's are way over rated......

finding time to blog!

Ben Franklin is responsible for alot of great things....

Daylight Savings is not one of them.

I didn't have too much trouble getting up this morning, I pushed the snooze button a few extra times. Andrew didn't fair so well. He was a lump on the living room floor, responding only in grunts to my queeries about breakfast.

I had one of those walks this morning where I was aware of my legs moving, but couldn't perceive making any actual progress. Normally by the time I reach the main campus I pick a vehicle travelling west on 49th and attempt to beat it to Cambie St. It's this little bit of competitiveness that gets me to pick up my pace in the mornings.
This morning I hid under my umbrella and trudged along in my own little foggy world.

I didn't pass any of my usuals...the jogger, the supermodel, the fake smiler or the kid who rides his bike with no hands.... leaving me wondering if I was late or early (although my late is still 10mins early instead of 20). At the pace I was travelling, I was pretty sure I was late......

more to follow

receiving canucks tattoos and a terry fox bookmark for Valentines Day.

The other good thing was the utter relief of finishing the worst project in the history of stupid projects.....

finishing my video project just in time.

And my other favourite part of today was the care package I received from "home". MMMMmmm...yummy.

not finishing....oh wait, no...not even starting my video project that is due on Monday.

Hitting a creative wall...big time.....

This must be what writers feel like....

Probably how reality tv started....




I got nothin'......

hearing that Shirley passed away yesterday. That sounds like a terrible thing to bring a smile to my face but I couldn't help but picture her in Heaven, complaining about the food. I am excited for her, I suppose that is a weird response, but after all she has been through, what a homecoming that must have been!
She will be missed downtown, yelling at cars and walking her cat...her smiles and hugs....
I can't wait to meet up with her again.

the illusion of summer that graced my morning walk.

while walking to school in the pouring rain, my pants soaked up to my knees, my fingers chilled to the bone and my back aching under the weight of my backpack. I stood at the crosswalk, after being splashed by a bus, and eyed the dry, warm commuters sipping their lattes in their heated leather seats. I thought to myself.."I am 30yrs old, I had a house, a yard, and nice new warm car to drive to work in, and I gave it all up for this?"

And then I smiled.

"Yes, I did."

And it was worth it.