New Brunswick ReCap

Well, I have just arrived to my old stompin' grounds of Wolfville, NS. No offense to any NBers out there, but there's nothing like the Annapolis Valley! Had a wonderful six days with my family in New Brunswick. A quick recap of what our week entailed:
-long drive from Halifax Airport to Miramichi on Wednesday and then another long drive today from Miramichi to Wolfville
-BBQ and chocolate cheesecake
-Trivia Pursuit Pop Culture game (quite fun!)
-shopping
-Kristen's graduation
-checking out cars at different dealerships
-holding a blue lobster (I swear- I have a picture!)
-visiting a peet moss plant
-watching the movie 'The Lake House'
So, it was a full few days but also kind of relaxing. So now I am just resting a little at my friend Joanna's place before tracking down the wedding folks to begin a very full week of events. I will try to post again soon. Will be spending a few hours for sure at the Acadia library once I receive my thesis from my supervisor so I will likely be able to post again soon from there. And my sister will be sending me photos of our time in NB so I will try and post some pics for you to check out.
'til next time,
Mel

Congrats to my sister on her graduation!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!!

Leaving, on a jetplane!

So in less than twelve hours, I will be on a plane heading for Halifax! Very excited! The last few days were spent finishing up some thesis revisions, finishing off my two jobs, and lots of errands. Went shopping today at Chinook Centre (huge mall!) which was very enjoyable- I rarely take myself shopping but let myself splurge (had to do something exciting with the tax return!) and got some nice summer clothes, sneakers, and such. I am very tired now, though, but am still busy packing and making sure I have everything done before heading out. Although I would have liked to have had a couple of weeks completely away from the work, my supervisor (who is in PEI at a conference) will be mailing my thesis to my sister's place for any other needed revisions (when I return, she will be in Malibu and so we're trying to do revisions through mail/email- hopefully it works!). But thankfully my time in Wolfville, although busy, will be work-free. I will try and post to let you know how things are going. And when I return, I will certainly try and post some pics as I am borrowing my sister's digital camera.
So, until whenever- take care and have a great couple of weeks enjoying the beginnings of summer!
~Mel

One week left!

Well, one week until I arrive at the Halifax Airport to meet my parents and begin my "vacation". Things have been quite busy the last few weeks with trying to wrap things up before I head east. My supervisor leaves for a conference on Saturday and I have to have everything re-edited for her so the next couple of days will be spent in front of the computer (not so different from the last month, really!:)). But, it's getting there which is a relief! Once I send the "finished" copies to her on Saturday, I am going to spend the following few days getting ready to go east: some shopping, a hair appointment, cleaning the apartment, packing....so it'll still be busy! Plus, I was just invited to a friend's b-day party on Saturday evening to a Thai restaurant (which surprisingly I haven't had yet during my time here in Calgary). I've known her for a little while (first from church and then through the FLT program I work with) but we don't really see much of each other. She lived with another girl I know from church (they were friends for like 20 years) but they recently had a falling out. I've never had a close friend for that long so I can't imagine what it must be like but I can tell that it's been hard on both of them. Hopefully they can work it out- it's a shame when you lose friends! I find it's easy to lose touch with friends but that's certainly different than having a falling out. In both cases, I think you always wonder if things will be the same again but I think with a falling out, it's probably harder to get back to where you were beforehand. Anyways, we'll have to wait and see!
Yesterday, I had a "retreat" with colleagues from where I will be working in September (oh, I guess I should say that I have 'officially' accepted the position with the 'Estelle Siebens Community Services Assessment and Intervention Team'). After yesterday's planning sessions, I think I will enjoy the experience. It's a small section of a private school right now but they are going to begin building a $10 million dollar extension for the Community Services next year which will mean we will all get offices if we stay on for a couple of years. It will also mean a little traveling for myself (just to different places in Alberta, really) which will add a little change in pace and continuing with social skills programs which is really becoming a passion for me. Also, two girls who completed my program last year (and are still finishing up their thesis work) will be working there so it'll be nice to have some "newer" colleagues to learn with and from.
Ok, must go do some work now. The end is coming near!

If you ever feel down, remember this

You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason.
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!

Busy,Busy,Busy

Sorry that it's been so long since my last post. The last week and a half has been pretty busy with tons of meetings and late nights working on thesis. It is now two weeks and a day before I fly east and there is a lot to get done before then! A few more late nights will be had, I'm sure! My two jobs are nearing their last few days which is kind of sad in many ways. But it looks like a new FLT group may start up later in the summer that I will be involved with. And my "supervisor" for the LDAA group wants me to do up a report about how that group is going so that will keep me busy when I return from out east (as will doing some training in a new assessment tool that he wants me to get familiar with before Sept). I met with him today, actually, and proposed a new way to run the group and now he wants me to present at a workshop next Tuesday for my potential colleagues. We continued our discussion about my working there in September and it looks like a go-ahead. Still thinking it through on my end but I am almost 90% sure that I'm going to take it which is very exciting. Anyways, here is a quick post of some of the things that have happened in the last couple of weeks and my thoughts:

ZIM dinner- Two Saturdays ago was the fundraising dinner for the group going to Africa (there are four guys from our church going this year). It was quite the event and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially exciting was the black and white photos from Africa that were used as place mats (Amanda and I took like six of them each!:)) and my winning of a $25 gift card for Christian Publications (one of the door prizes). It certainly doesn't stack up to the cheesecake that Amanda ended up buying for $40 at the live auction, though!:) The event certainly got me excited about the prospect of possibly going myself next year. The next day in church, something Steve said really got me thinking as well. He used a LOTR clip and was talking about how we should put other distractions aside and seek a truly intimate relationship with God- to put our fear aside and to move outside our "shires". I REALLY want to go but I think I'm still hesitating a little out of fear. Of what? Not sure. I do know that I want to make sure that I'm going with the right intentions and not just because of my own desires/pride.

Professional Softball player? Probably not! The South Meadows softball team played in a tournament over the weekend. On Friday night, Amanda and I were upgraded from cheerleaders to players. We actually didn't do too bad- we just need a little more confidence!:) I struck out twice, hit the ball twice, got one run to first base, and got one run! Not too bad for my first softball game, I think! And I don't think I would mind it if I had to play again this summer!

Purpose-driven life. I started reading this book again this past week. I originally read the book two years ago with a small group (as part of a large campaign within the church I attended) and it really helped as I ended one milestone and embarked on a new one (finishing Acadia U and moving to Calgary to do my Master's). I have found that I have allowed myself to get caught up in this past year's busyness so that in some ways I have forgotten my original reasons for getting into my career area. As I finish my Master's and am looking forward to September and a new job prospect, I thought it would be good to really ground myself in what my true purpose is. I will try and post some of my thoughts as I reflect on the readings.

I hate dentists! Went to the dentist tonight for a cleaning as it had been six months since my last one. I usually don't mind the cleanings that much but the girl tonight did a real number on me! I just had the scaling done and by the end, she had caused my gums to bleed (which hardly ever happens to me) and I am now feeling a bit of an ache in my jaw! Ugh, I thought all of that pain was over when I finished with the orthodontic work! I didn't even get the nice polishing with the minty flavour done as I have to go back to finish more scaling.

Anyways, I think that's all for now. Will try to post again soon.

Oh! I must send a shout-out to both Heidi and Giselle!:
Congratulations to Heidi for getting in to medical school! Dr. Heidi Brake! Way to go, girl!
And Happy 24th Birthday to Giselle! Don't party too hard! And good luck with your presentation at CPA!