New Years Resolutions

Did you know that my face is heart-shaped? I actually have a pointy chin. I couldn't cut ice, like some chins I've seen, but it definitely comes to a point, like the bottom of a heart.

Only you can't tell because of the roly-poly-olyness that's underneath my chin. Which brings us to New Years Resolution (NYR) number 1: to find my pointy face. Instead of making some vow to myself to drop 60 pounds by the end of next year, I would rather have a more tangible goal, one that I can see myself actually working to attain. So I will reach for my pointy face, and hopefully get it (because I've never really had it).

This is the only one I'm going to give you right now. I'm going to think of 5 resolutions for this year, and that's it. Any more than that is unrealistic and hard to follow, and any less is too easy, which means easier to get off track with. I'll think of 4 more between now and New Years. Any suggestions would be helpful.

So anyways, since it's been a really long time since I last posted, I'll get you hep to what's been going on since then:

On the 4th I got a gorgeous new haircut, which I am totally loving, and then ran to campus to hand in my last assignment of the year. After that I proceeded to totally veg out, do some housecleaning, organize some stuff, and plan my holiday baking.

I brought home a pretty little Christmas tree, which my sister and I decorated, and we're having a really nice Christmas dinner on Sunday night before my mom goes to Ottawa for a few days to visit my Auntie Jule.

I prepared a presentation on the human face of Fair Trade for my mentor, Ms. Morris's, grade 12 World Issues class, and then got sick the day before I was supposed to present it, but trucked ahead and did it anyways, despite the roads being a mess from the "storm of the century" that graced us with its wrath on Sunday (the 16th). On Monday (the 17th and the day I did the presentation) we had a few new windows installed, 3 in my mom's bed and bathroom and the main window in the living room. They're gorgeous and an energy efficient. Woohoo!

Anyways, that basically brings us to today, when I baked gingerbread cutout cookies and the pieces for 2 gingerbread houses all day. It was fun.

Here are some pictures to enjoy. Enjoy!

-Laur

Snow, ice, and all things winter

I failed my second shot at my G2. I have to start back at the beginning now. Awesome.
Anyways, the weather in Toronto is literally frightful. This morning I came out of my house thinking that yes, of course the salt trucks have been by, didn't they know that it freezing rained on top of the plowed sidewalks yesterday and now they're all a solid sheet of ice?
It was not so.
25 minutes and a whole new world of swearwords later, I arrived at the bus stop at Clark and New Westminster. 30 seconds after that, the bus came. At least I didn't have to wait in the cold for very long.
But you know what? The horrendously boring classes I had to endure once arriving at school, even the painful trip home with my friend Lia to bake Toblerone shortbread cookies was all worth it because this evening I had the LOVELIEST dinner with my friends. We went to the Pickle Barrel Grand at Yorkdale and just sat and drank pina coladas and ate delicious food and shmoozed for 2 and a half hours, and it was wonderful. This is why I like being a grown up. And this is why I'm thankful that I have such fantastic friends.
I hope December is full of fun surprises this year. Tea dates with friends, baking bonanzas, latkes and Christmas dinner all promise to make this month quite memorable, and I can't wait.
Cheers!

-Laur

The Adventures of Laura in Edmonton

I'm doing a presentation on blogging and travel in my Studies in Popular Culture class in a while. I don't have a travel blog but I think this summer I'll start a separate bit to this one about my experiences in Edmonton and the surrounding areas. Yay! Folk Festival here I come!
-Laur

The bitter taste of...

So, as you may or may not have gleaned from my internet silence, I bombed my G2. I won't go into the petty details, so let's just say I did it to myself and will not be making that one fatal mistake ever again. I have another date set up on the 27th, and hopefully I will come to school triumphant that day.
It's funny how quickly things happen; the other day it got cold, and I mean COLD. Like bone-chilling, finger-numbing, lung-stinging cold. And you know what happened? All the leaves fell off the trees like a scene out of a cartoon season montage. I could almost imagine the "whumph!" noise as I watched them steadily cover my neighbour's car in a sea of brilliant yellow. I wish I had taken a picture.
We're past the midpoint, the point of no return, and I can't wait for December to get here.

We've started answering the phone with "Season's greetings" at work. It is upon us.

-Laur

On the road

Tomorrow morning I go for my G1 exit test, which means that if I pass I will have my Ontario G2 licence. That's a pretty big deal, because for a while there nobody, including me, thought I would ever get my G2. I was pretty scared of driving for reasons that now amuse me, but no more. Thanks to an awesome instructor, I'm more comfortable than ever.
Wish me luck, and watch the streets!

-Laur

Mount Fashion

I need to put my laundry away, ASAP. I think I started it on Tuesday. I'm fairly sure, in fact. It is now Saturday night, and there is this colossal mountain of laundry in a basket threatening to topple over on my bed and send shirts and jeans and a few bras (eeeeek!) sprawling all over the floor. I'll get to that. Soon.
To tell you the truth, I haven't been in my house all that often this week. Monday I was barely there at all, same with Tuesday. Wednesday was probably the only day I spend a really long period of time in the house. I borrowed Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now: the complete dossier" from SMIL at York because I skipped the screening of it in Filming Lit last Friday to do some other homework. I'm watching it because it is the film adaptation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" that my prof chose to use. Watching it took most of the afternoon. It was a stunning, heart wrenching, mind-boggling film. I don't think I'll ever watch it again, but I'm really glad that I did see it.
Thursday I had a driving lesson after practicum. It was snowing. What an experience! Albert said I did fine, but I was definitely uncomfortable. I have my road test this Wednesday, so I hope his faith in me pays off!
Yesterday I wasn't really home either, I went straight from school to work. And then after work I was inexplicably ill. It was really bad. Maybe my job is finally making me sick to my stomach. Oh dear.
Anyways, this blog is just another distraction that is keeping me from putting away my laundry. I'm going to put on some music and fold and hang up and stash in drawers until my room regains some semblance of order.

Oh, and by the way, I went to the new Wal-Mart on Wednesday before my movie viewing. It was pretty awesome.

-Laur

Hmmmm, the past can sure haunt us...

http://lauraadventure.blogspot.com/2007/05/wa-ma.html

Read this post from May. It is now November. Wal-Mart opens on Wednesday, and there is no Chapters/Indigo building in sight, though the Super Shoppers is gorgeous. Bathurst and Centre is going to become nigh on unnavigable as of Wednesday.
Tempus fugit, yet again.

-Laur