JerAmy

I Love Pizza

2012-01-06T17:03:00.001-07:00

I love pizza so much. And I especially love it when a 70 year old cute Mediterranean man takes the order on lined school paper and makes it himself and uses a register that looks like this. Best.

Sleep Cycle

2012-01-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

I am been really interested in getting the Phillip's Wake up light recently. Especially after moving to a place where our bedroom is in the basement, a dark dungeon where it is so DIFFICULT for me to wake up and feel rested. The light slowly brightens to simulate the sunrise and a more natural way of waking up. Problem is it is 120.00.

Until then, I have learned of a neat app from my brother, which monitors your movements during the night and can attempt to wake you up in a lighter sleep phase to avoid the mega groggy feeling when you awake from a deep sleep. You have to be willing to wake up in a range in which it will alarm. I also like looking back on the graph on the night. As you can see my sleep last night wasn't so great :)

Curb-Side Pick-Ups

2011-12-20T16:28:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite things I am finding about Toronto is furniture finding. I have a few great circuits of Thrift shops and used furniture stores that I love going to. But even better than that are the wonderful things I have picked up on my block on garbage day. This morning I was walking home from the subway after doing a double shift, evening and night (16 Hours).I was so tired but when I spotted these dressers, I had to have them. There was no one around to help me so somehow magically I mustered up the strength to carry them across the street and up the stairs to my home myself! I can't wait for summer when I can sand and refinish them. The only problem with my new found hobby is that unlike miniature collections or something of that nature, there comes a time when you just can't fit any more furniture in the house! I think Jeremiah probably thinks that time has long since passed. He will be surprised to come back from the holidays to all my new finds! ( I also picked up some great chairs since he left for Calgary,and will post a pic soon!!)

Toronto Christmas Market 2011

2011-12-17T22:24:00.001-07:00

At the Distillery Historic District

At night spent with friends enjoying coffee and the festivities of TO.

2011-12-14T22:05:00.002-07:00

Glee Christmas Episode Excerpt 2011

(Door Opens)

Everyone: It's Itchy the Holiday Elf!!!!

Kurt: We asked our friend Itchy to stop by and read us a light-hearted, heart warming upbeat happy Christmas tale, Frosty the Snowman.

Itchy: Actually I was going to read that... but I searched my heart and I am going to read one from a different book. I think it is something that is going to remind people what the true spirit of Christmas really is.

Rachel: Are you sure you don’t want to read Frosty? We all REALLY want to hear frosty!

Itchy: Dim the Lights.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them and the angels said unto them fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour, which is Christ the Lord and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace and goodwill toward men."

Welcome Otto

2011-12-11T15:17:00.001-07:00

I guess something worth noting is the new 4 legged addition to our family...Otto. He is the cutest short haired tabby. He is 5 months old now and very teenager like. Active, friendly but wants to approach us on his own terms. I feel like I have turned into the crazy cat lady friend, but I love the Ottmaster!!! I can only imagine what it will be like to have a kid as I take like 20 Instagrams a day of Otts. Mostly when he is sleeping because he is so cute and finds the most creative places to take a snooze. I promise you he is awake a lot of the time. So anyways, here is an overwhelming amount of Otto pictures for you to view. I have to say that there probably will be more, so if you dislike cats, JerAmy may not be the blog for you!
Have a wonderful day!

Back Again

2011-12-11T15:05:00.001-07:00

Well thanks to Shannon's encouragement, me loving Instagrams and the fact that I learned I can update my blog from an iPhone App may just make me update it more. So here's hoping that I may give my
Blog some love once again!

2010-10-11T11:18:00.007-06:00

Fall Veggies

I have always wanted to be a person that really gets into "fall" type veggies like the squash family. So instead of daydreaming about fall veggies, which is usually the extent of my attempts, I decided the other day I would actually try out a soup recipe from a cookbook I have that I like. It is a butternut squash pear soup. It was really successful and Jeremiah and I enjoyed two and a bit large soup meals from the recipe. It was so good when you dipped bread in it! Yum. So I am going to share the link with you all. Let me know what you think if you try it. It does take a bit of prep and cooking time, but if you have a day where you are at home, you can get other things done while the squash and pears are cooking! Oh and a little hint, if you use a full upright blender to mix the soup instead of an immersion blender, make sure the soup has cooled or do it small amounts at a time making sure the hot air can escape somehow. This will prevent a hot soup explosion which I learned from experience when I made soup awhile back. Do not do that! Also it doesn't really say when to add the cream, but I added when I mixed the soup. Makes sense I think!

Happy Cooking!

I can't get the link to work so just copy and past the following into your web browser! Hope that works:

http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/butternut-squash-and-pear-soup

2010-10-06T12:52:00.002-06:00

Milk in a Bag and a Few New Changes....

Well for those who are unaware, recently Jeremiah and I have made the big move to TO. After a couple years of trying to figure out where to go, Jeremiah has decided to attend Wycliffe College for his Master's Degree in Religion. So it was with excitement and with much sadness we left our humble beautiful abode & family in the rolling hills and prairies, to head out east. (Though thankfully for us we have good friends Andrew & Halyne with us, and they drove out with us too).

We have been here just over a month now. It feels longer though in a way. Jeremiah is busy with school and I am currently waiting for my nursing registration to come through so I can job hunt. I can tell that I clearly have time on my hands because our place is usually quite clean, including the dishes...(something that can be rare when I am busy), as well as I have found myself reading some of Jeremiah's textbook on Christian History. I would have never imagined I could be in a conversation where terms like Monophysite, Nestorian or Zoroastrian would be thrown about, but in reality I have found that learning about my religion's history, is actually quite fascinating.

Toronto is quite the place. I have enjoyed being surrounded by many cultures. We live in the heart of "Greektown" so there are many restaurants and variety stores nearby with a Greek flavour. Once Jeremiah masters biblical greek, he will have to learn modern Greek to truly embrace this area. The old buildings are amazing as well, not excluding Wycliffe College, which celebrated its 133rd year on Sunday.

I miss everyone though, and am definitely glad for skype and I am anticipating my sister & mom's visit very soon. If anyone feels like a trip to TO, please let me know. We have an even more humble abode here, but would be glad to house anyone willing to stay with us.

I want to embrace my blog again, something I always try to do, then fail at doing. But I figure my blog is forgiving and will always welcome me back. I will link posts on facebook, so please feel free to have a read.

P.S. I am not convinced about milk in a bag. A Toronto friend here tries to stick up for it, but I have yet to be convinced. Please send me your thoughts. Oh also HST... not a big fan ;)

2010-02-23T17:02:00.002-07:00

Day of Firsts

Today we had a day of firsts. At 5am we experienced our first temblor, a small earthquake. But enough that we woke up in the night. There was one again at 9am at school. My teacher took me outside. It is strange to not have sturdy ground, but we are glad to have that out of the way. We also experienced our first "chicken bus" ride. They got their name because they are known to transport chickens on top of them, and today we noticed that they also are brought on board. They are painted school buses that are very cheap and kind of crazy. We went with the school up to the mountain pueblo San Andres. To get there, besides the chicken bus, we also had another first, we were packed like cattle in the back of a pick-up, riding up the mountain standing the whole way. That is something you don´t do in Calgary too often. It had an amazing view and a very old colonial spanish Catholic Church there. It was incredible. So we are getting more accostomed each day "cada dia" to la vida aqui. We are starting to speak a lot of Spanglish and hopefully we will soon be able to speak closer to actual Spanish. That is all for now. I think we went over our half hour free internet, so we will donate a few Quetzales now. One Canadian Dollar is about 7 Q. We are able to have a coke now and again for about 35 cents which is a nice treat. In the cool glass bottles too! Adios.

2010-02-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Amy´s Note

It is 1pm on monday. Jeremiah and I just finished our first day of class. My teacher name is Vilma. She is nice, but intense. It takes a lot of patience and attention to make it through class. I am very tired now. This is going to be a very interesting time for sure. Our flights went quite well. Connections were good. Our lay over in Mexico City felt like forever. But we played lots of crib and walked around, even splurged on a starbucks. 44 pasos. On our flight to Guatemala, there were so many young kids from Quebec on a humanitarian mission, so we were surrounded by french the whole time. Not what we expected. But seeing all the young people made us feel like we could survive this trip if they can! We stayed in Dos Lunas the first night. Victor picked us up. It was dark and we were terrified. Our hotel seemed so ghetto in the dark and we could not picture where we were. Jeremiah eventually fell asleep, but I couldn´t so I felt lonely, but eventually I fell asleep. The next day we had a nice breakfast there and things seemed a lot more cheerful the next day. I didn´t feel as scared. We were met there by Jose who took us by taxi to the bus station. Drivers are crazy here. The bus trip went well, but was very curvy through the mountains. I am happy we didn´t get sick. We arrived in Xela at 2pm, and went to the school. We met our host family and then walked us to their house, it is only 2 blocks from here. When we entered the house we immediately were surrounded by so many family members because it was Sunday. It was intense. So much spanish and little kids! But we survived. We walked down to the central parque. It was quite nice. We took out some money for tuition and we terrified of getting robbed but it didn´t happen so that is good. We will pay for this week´s tuition and do the same next week. This city is very different from anything I have ever seen. I am still just trying to take it all in. It feels very surreal. It was so interesting learning about the history of Guatemala today. So eye opening. I think this will be a very positive and challenging time for us both. I couldn´t ask for anyone better to share this time with!

Mom, thanks so much for all your little notes in our stuff. it is very encouraging. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. We will enjoy getting your emails and messages. Email and facebook will be the best tool for communication. We will try and figure out a way to phone too. This week there are a few planned trips so we are now moving forward from being terrified to being excited, which is a good thing.

I enjoyed reading a verse in the bible last night that ël Senor is el Senor de todos¨ it made me feel an instant connection to the people here even though in so many ways I feel very disconnected from them. It was a pleasant reminder to me.

Love you all and we will write more later. Adios!

Jeremiah Note

Hola familia, ¿como estas? Things are going pretty good here. We arrived late to guate city and things looked a little scary. When we arrived we stayed in a little hostel type place with barbed wire surrounding the yard. From our bedroom we heard lots of shouting and I think there was some sort of party because we heard that creepy vampire-club music in the background. But next morning we caught a bus with a guy named Jose who helped us get to Xela. Yesterday we walked around the city square and took out some money from a sketchy bank machine, making sure that no one was watching us too intently. There was a crazy festival going on yesterday where many of the roads were blocked off and there was a parade going through town with guys in purple robes. It was pretty interesting. The woman I am staying with told me that it was how they celebrated corpus Christi here in Xela. Things are a bit lonely here at times as no one speaks your language and you have no distractions (accesible internet, tv, etc) but I think we will get used to it. Thanks again for taking us to the airport Josh - I know it was early. Hope you are all well. Love you guys

Jeremiah

2010-01-25T17:27:00.003-07:00

Guatemala/El Salvador Excursion

On February 20Th, 2010, Jeremiah and I have decided to take off to Central America. We have always been interested in the Spanish language and culture and are looking forward to getting to experience it first hand. Since currently the job market isn't great in Alberta for registered nurses, instead of dwelling on it (though it is stressful) we thought this would be a good opportunity to make this trip as I am not tied to a position, we don't have kids, Jeremiah hasn't begun future studies yet, and we live with my in-laws, who have graciously made it possible for us to go as we can be rent free during our time away, making finances much less burdensome.

Our trip will consist of flying into Guatemala City late on February 20Th. We will then be spending 3-4 weeks in Quetzaltenango or Xela (pronounced Shay-La) studying Spanish at a school called Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco. We will study about 5 hours a day with a one-one tutor. The afternoons are spent participating in local activities and there may be some volunteer projects as well to take part in. There are often scheduled activities on the weekends, so we may get to do a bit of tourism in the area as well. We will be doing a home stay the first week and if it goes well will continue to do a home stay for the rest of our study time, as that way we can really fully immerse ourselves in the language and hopefully learn more. If the home stay isn't satisfactory, you can get placed in a new home, or there is a nice hostel across the street.The school has a service where you can have a guide direct you by bus and taxi from Guatemala city to Xela as it is about 4-5 hours away from where we will fly in. The school has recommended some places to stay near the airport that have pick up service as well, so we are deciding on where to stay the first night we arrive in Guatemala. The guide will then meet us the next morning (Sunday) and take us to Xela. We will start orientation and school on the Monday. Here are a couple websites to check out if you are more interested in where we will be going.

http://www.hermandad.com/
http://www.guatemala365.com/index.php?link_school=plqe

Following our time in Guatemala, we are very excited as we will go to see Uncle Brian Rude in El Salvador. We will go there after our study time, so either 3-4 weeks into our trip. With Brian, we will take part in his ministry and are very excited to see his work with the people of El Salvador. There will be commemoration events for Archbishop Oscar Romero going on when we will be there, so we hope to take some of that in. We will also be there for Holy Week and look forward to taking that in, and worshiping in various ways during those celebrations. Perhaps Brian will give us a bit of some touristy excursions as well!

In preparation we are trying to learn as much Spanish as we can to get the most out of the experience. Jeremiah is very dedicated to learning and loves language so he has done very well in his preparation. I like the idea of knowing Spanish, but find myself not as motivated at times, so I have been benefiting from Jeremiah's sometimes forced languages learning sessions at our chalkboard conjugating verbs, or through the ipod vocabulary memorization program.

We ask for your prayers as we embark on this journey. We have never travelled outside of Canada/USA so this will definitely be a new experience for us both. We feel blessed to have the opportunity and are thankful for all your support!

We should have some Internet access, so please do check the blog from time to time as we hope to put some updates on here!

God Bless

2009-12-04T23:48:00.002-07:00

imovie

Here is my first attempt at making a mini movie with imovie. For most of this day I was getting very frustrated with imovie. I thought mac's were supposed to be very user friendly that way. I realized though that part of the problem is that I just don't have much patience, especially when it comes to watching tutorial videos. Had I spent more time just watching the tutorials than trying to figure it all out myself, this one minute movie could have taken a lot shorter to complete. As least it filled my day, it is very cold and blizzard like out today so we couldn't leave the house anyway.

2009-11-30T22:51:00.002-07:00

Craft Time!

Here is a great video on how to make a simple gift box for smaller gifts as well as a pretty paper bow. It is a great way to add a nice touch to a Christmas gift. I am sure there is a way you could figure it to make the box different sizes. I am just not good at figuring out the math so I just trimmed mine down to make them a bit shorter.

2009-11-22T23:31:00.003-07:00

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

Though American Thanksgiving has not yet come and gone, I have still decided that I am in the mood to start my Christmas decorating and that it isn't the end of the world to start this early. I love paper crafting and developing the perfect colour schemes. I love a certain colour called, according to http://www.yaelf.com/colour, turquoise pale. I wasn't sure how to incorporate this colour into the christmas theme but my exprimador (jeremiah and I have been learning spanish lately, and I find that sometimes I am thinking of the spanish word first) also know as citrus juicer has that colour in it and I decided that it will just have to work. After discovering some scrapbook paper with the colour in it as well as the perfect christmas ball ornaments (they were the last box of the perfect colour at Wal-Mart, I just needed a tall man to help me reach them !!) the scheme began to work.

I am excited to eventually get the tree, and get into the advent season and start to really reflect on the true meaning of the season! I hope you are all looking forward to this blessed holiday in your own special ways!

2009-11-10T18:34:00.002-07:00

Remember

I have always loved paper crafts, though I don't do them that often, I always love the idea of them. Especially paper flowers. Today I decided I would try and make a paper flower. So I turned to the Martha Stewart website, which always has great things on it to learn and I discovered a video/instructions on making a paper poppy. So I started crafting and realized that my craft was turning into somewhat of a memorial craft. Here are a few pictures of how it turned out and the website I got it from.

Let us all remember those involved during the wars for their loyalty, dedication and sacrifice so that we may be blessed with the freedom we have today. Thank you.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/giant-paper-poppy-flower-decoration?autonomy_kw=Giant%20Paper%20Poppy

2009-10-14T16:10:00.002-06:00

Stooping to New Lows...??

So, as mentioned in an earlier post I had one day decided to humour Jeremiah and play age of empires 3 with him. However, I now I have come to realize that it is now often me asking him to play with me. Does this then mean that I am a true lover of Age? I am kind of afraid so. On one hand I feel somewhat embarrassed about this new love and way to spend some free time, but on the other hand, I wonder in reality is it any different than say watching tv, being on the internet, or other unproductive things like that. I am not so sure. Anyway that is where I am at. Thankfully I learned that 5 out of 5 of my Sorenson cousins in one family all play age, and are on way higher levels then me, meaning they too devote their time at one point or another to the game.

2009-10-08T17:20:00.005-06:00

Winter is Officially Here I'm Afraid

Well today it looks like this outside our window:

I can hear wind blowing deck furniture around like crazy above us and we now have to use our space heater. Yes, I think winter is creeping its way on in. I can't say I am a big fan of winter, or the cold. In fact I really get quite frustrated by it. However, I guess there is really no use trying to stop it. I tend to try to wear my sandals as long as possible as if for some reason it'll put a moratorium on the inevitable season ahead, however I think I may consider retiring them for now. Yes instead of resisting, I decided it it best to think about the things I am thankful for about the upcoming season, especially since it is thanksgiving this weekend.

One thing about fall/winter that I love is the spirit of thanksgiving, halloween and especially the advent/christmas season. There is something magical and awe inspiring about the change of colours in nature. I like the eerieness of an outside storm, while being cozy inside with my wonderful husband and a london fog by my side. I like wearing duffle coats, (especially when they were only 50$) and mongolian scarves (thanks Kara). I love being surrounded by family and friends and stuffing myself with turkey and all the fixings. (I will miss your skilled carved Turkey this year Nate). I like digging out the halloween box and decorating. I like making festive cards and crafts. I like a reason to update my chalkboard. I like when Christmas music starts to play in the stores. I like pumpkin pie and carving pumpkins and attempting to make pumpkin seeds that never seem to turn out right, but it is fun anyway.

Now, there are many things I dislike about the upcoming cold season, but I will leave them be. In reality all these things just wouldn't be the same if it was summer all year round.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Try to find the good in the weather as I will try to do as well. Enjoy family and friends, good food and fellowship.

2009-09-18T12:55:00.006-06:00

Theology Books, Hobbies, Chalkboards, LCD Screens, Star Wars, Corn Fever, Age and New Beginnings

Well I have succeeded again at avoiding my blog for endless amounts of days. But to be fair I always do come back. This post will be a mish mash of info and updates and due to this i am going to adopt Sheena's way of doing a nice jot list of it all...

-So we never ended up moving to Vancouver. Many of you may already know this. To me and Jeremiah this is a rather anti-climatic event, bittersweet if you will. House searching in VAN took its toll on us and we thank our good friends for all the support during the multiple trips down broadway in search of the perfect suite. Due to tuition costs and living costs and being unsure of it all, we decided in the end VAN was not for us, not for now. One problem with this decision was that we fully had intended to move and as such, had trucked Jeremiah's theology library across the rockies to the west coast. Not staying resulted in us trucking those books across the border, washington and oregon, which was quite a feat which the Saturn did not prefer. Anways it is with sadness we will not get to experience VAN and all the good people we love there, however it is with hope that we re-evaluate things and stay in Okotoks for awhile.

-Since we didn't have the excitement of moving to a new place, we figured we owed it to ourselves to have something new and exciting for our "new" old place in Okotoks. This resulted in a flat screen T.V. and mac mini. There is just something about commercial goods that sometimes seem to mend a troubled heart. So now Jeremiah and I enjoy both being able to be on the computer at the same time with no squabbles, as well as watching movies on a decent size screen....bye bye macbook for media entertainment purposes. Another addition to our house was a chalkboard which we made together. I have always thought chalkboards ruled and I am excited to now have one!!!! It has already been very useful as you can see in the photo, as we were able to publicly document the recent Star Wars marathon we had, including movies ratings and favorite characters...so definitely very useful :)

-Recently I have been realizing that I don't have a lot of prominent hobbies. I definitely have things I enjoy, but nothing that really seems to be my thing...This was made more evident to me yesterday as Jeremiah was busy with school (he is taking an online course) and I was just lulling about the house, with what seemed like absolutely no idea what to busy myself with. Jeremiah says to me, "why don't you just find something that interests you and do it". Hmmmm good idea, but what do I like to do. That is the question. Feeling a bit bad that I don't seem to have any current hobbies, I up and took a jewelry making class, which resulted in 5 semi-nice pairs of expensive earrings, but also a new skill I guess which was fun.

The Five First Pairs

-Has anyone else realized that sometimes eating just corn and corn type products for a meal is the perfect thing? We like to call it CORN FEVER and definitely recommend it.

-Age of Empires. Heard of it? Well I have, mainly because I know that it is the game that can keep my husband from snuggling me at late hours once in awhile. However this game took on a new meaning last night, as I gave in...and I played it with him. Now this is hard to admit, and though I know I will likely not development a type of addiction to the game I can now see a glimpse of admiration for the game. Cons of playing: Very sore neck, I was terrible and I actually had a full out dream that I was battling all night leading to unrestful sleep. Pros of playing: I can now be included in Jeremiah's love for age. Kind of nice I think.

Ok, that is enough randomness for now. But for those of you that are still faithful to blogging, I am still here and please drop in from time to time.

2009-07-14T13:09:00.002-06:00

A Little Motivation from Jamie!

Jeremiah and I have an interesting cooking style. Though we both enjoy cooking fun/cultural/tasty meals, it doesn't seem to happen that often. I think the combination of being busy/lazy in regards to the time it takes to cook and the effort to keep a clean and organized kitchen is somewhat of a deterrence. Jeremiah recently discovered Jamie Oliver's new book Food Revolution, and now there is a new hope for an Overland kitchen revolution. Jamie teaches that you can actually eat nutritional, cheap meals that take little time to prepare. Wow. Sounds great. So we made tasty chilie con carne last night, and are going to try Jamie's spaghetti with simple tomato sauce (with way less salt than store bought sauces). One thing I am excited about is this revolution has motivated me to tackle my spice storage. I have always disliked how my spices are stored...if you need a teaspoon of oregano for example, you try to shove the teaspoon in the small spice shaker with so much force that eventually spices are are all over the counter. I have tried to think of a solution. My brother Josh, has his spices wonderfully arranged in ikea jars, which was my dream, but I was trying to think if there was a cheaper solution. Then I saw an add on kijiji for baby food. The lightbulb came on and I figured these jars would be perfect as a teaspoon fits in (because the baby eats out of a jar)! So I called up the ad people, and found myself meeting up with a random husband man in wal-mart to rid him of his baby food. A very random excursion. But I think it has worked out quite well! Hopefully we will continue to be motivated and mac'n cheese, Mcdonald's and chunky's will be the type of "cooking" that won't happen that often!

2009-07-12T11:09:00.001-06:00

Anyone else hate snuggies?? Do you know what I mean, those totally lame awkward monk suits that claim they have the alternative to the already perfected blanket... well then you will like this one. Enjoy

2009-05-04T01:01:00.002-06:00

Inspirational Girl

In reading some online news tonight I read about a young teen girl from Southern Alberta who just passed away from a rare aging disorder. Intrigued by the disorder (progeria) and her story I read a bit about her and have been blessed and inspired by a video made by this girl Ashley. Sometimes when life feels/is tough, it is amazing to see what others have been through and the positive outlook they have had on life and the role model they are to others. I hope you can feel blessed and encouraged by this young girl's life and this video.

2009-04-23T17:29:00.002-06:00

Where To Go

As many of you are aware, Jeremiah is planning to do a graduate degree in the fall for biblical studies. This is very exciting, however the difficult thing for us right now is figuring out where to move to accomplish this. Just as we think we are narrowing it down, new reasons come up as why to reconsider the other options. Currently the options are Toronto, Vancouver & the newer option of Fergus. By June 1st we should have an answer. So stay tuned for the official posting of where we will go. In the meantime we welcome all prayers as we try to figure out where God is leading us to for our new adventures in life.

2009-04-22T20:18:00.002-06:00

Does Spring Even Exist?

So I have been having a somewhat off day today and haven't really been able to pin point down the reasons as to why. However with a bit of thinking I believe a lot of how I feel is reflected directly by the weather we are having here in Calgary/Okotoks. Now my sister-in-law can attest to the fact that there was no snow anymore in our yard today and I was excited about this this morning. The problem is, that we will finally get rid of the snow, get excited about putting on our flip flops and the summer activities that can begin, only to find another massive dump of snow on its way in. It is very frustrating. Lets hope this doesn't last too long...however that is also what we said of the last downfall.

PIctures of The Blooming that was happening and the now back yard..... arg.

2009-04-12T19:48:00.003-06:00

Done...!!

After 7 years of post-secondary school (CLBI 1 year, MRC Disability Studies 2 years & Nursing 4 years) I can now say that I have completed my student career. Nursing school has had its challenges, but I believe there has been a divine force at work that has kept me going. I am now done all my requirements to receive my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing which I will get at my graduation on June 5, 2009. I want to thank all of you that have supported me and prayed for me along this journey. I ask that you continue to pray for me as I prepare to write my RN exam and make the transition to being an autonomous nurse. I am very nervous about this and am hoping and praying that I will find my place in the big scary nursing world. Right now I have interest in public health, senior's health, mental health and palliative care and no interest in internal medicine, ER, ICU etc, so we'll see where I will end up. For the summer I will be working a casual position on a senior's rehabilitation unit in Calgary at the Rockyview and also in public health in Okotoks/Black Diamond.

My last couple months in nursing have been a good experience. I had a really great and supportive preceptor in public health in Okotoks/Black Diamond as well as a inspirational faculty mentor. It was a special way to end this program. On the final day of school we were presented with a rose and a certificate to commemorate finishing the final course requirement to graduate! When I got picked up by friend Mel and her sister I was surprised by a unexpected silly string attack, which I cleaned up due to my conscience and apparently my loyalty to Mount Royal College.

So I say farewell to being student nurse and say hello to hospital nurse and rural nurse as the titles of dearly loved Cherry Ames nursing novels would put it.

2009-03-17T20:36:00.003-06:00

Funerals

Just last week, Jeremiah's grandfather passed away. A very last minute decision had me joining the family on a 17 hour trek in the Buick leSabre to Minnesota to be there for the funeral.

Though I find funerals very sad, I also seem to enjoy the bonding and fellowship that is created when family comes together. Though I barely knew many of these family members, I felt immediately a part of it all. I am glad I was able to go along, support my husband and in-laws during this time. Also funerals for me, bring me back to the fact that there is meaning to this life and hope for the world to come.

These are pictures that Josh, Jeremiah and I had fun taking near the church, as well as brothers laughing & the beautiful cemetery.

2009-02-04T18:44:00.002-07:00

Big Love

I have recently been watching a show that airs on HBO called Big Love. It is on its third season, but I am just starting the 2nd. It is about a family who practices polygamy, but are separate from the compound which some of them were raised. A big part of me doesn't know why I feel compelled to watch it, as during some episodes I find myself so angry at their lifestyle choice, but then another part of me is intrigued and gets pulled into the drama (plus I love Ginnifer Goodwin). Polygamy is something that though looked down on highly in the US, it is still practiced in a number of countries around the world. Thinking of this makes me feel blessed that my husband can share his whole self with me, his one wife...

However if it weren't for sharing a husband, polygamy could have its benefits, for example I would probably be able to have a girl's night every night that Jeremiah is working (like tonight). Right now I would probably be watching a movie, eating popcorn and not writing this blog. Just a thought.

~Amy

2009-01-19T12:48:00.003-07:00

Quarter Century

Yesterday marked a big milestone in my life. It was the day that I turned a 1/4 of a century old. Up until now, I haven't really thought much about my age when my birthday has come around. However, this year I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that I am closer to 30 than 19, and in fact I am on the road to true adulthood. I am encouraged by friends and family who have turned both 25 and made it past, and show true youthfulness. There is hope for me. I think I still feel young at heart, and I hope I will for years to come.

I had a lovely birthday surrounded by family and friends. My dear husband organized our friends to play curling, which was very fun and something different. I was reminded that I actually met Jeremiah for the first time at a curling rink during LCBI years. I was cut from the team, but got to go along to a curling meet as an alternate. I remember sitting by Jeremiah when his team wasn't playing, and I said "I like your shoes." Little did I know, those same shoes would find a home in OUR home in years to come.

Following curling, we had a lovely supper at my old place the "girl's house" provided by all my friends. The cake was made by brother-in-law Joshua and Melody. The cake followed the theme of "curling", however a main joke of the evening revolved around the likeness of the curling rock handle to a... :)

It is wonderful to have friends and families who care and want to celebrate me. Thanks to all the phone calls and facebook messages that made my birthday not only bearable but memorable.

Thanks!

P.S. I also won settlers which was a perfect ending to the day!

2008-12-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hello All. Since being in Hawaii I have been using my family's Hawaii blog to make things easier. However I am missing my own blog and am feeling sorry for it and that I have neglected it. So here is a quick hello. I am doing well and Hawaii weather is amazing. Thanks to my lovely sister in law I was able to update the look of my blog, which I am happy with for now.

I hope all is well with the blogging world and that you are finding yourself enjoying the advent season, with Christmas very soon. I am off to lunch now for some mahi-mahi, a type of fish that is really quite delectable! Yum. Jeremiah is in the kitchen now serving it, I am sure, so I will give him a greeting as I go through the food line. He has a hard job and I am proud of him. Tomorrow, we have work off and get to sit in on a DTS class and see what the students are learning. This will be fun for us both.

Talk to you soon.

2008-11-15T23:50:00.002-07:00

Hawaiian Update

For those of you that check out my blog, and haven't heard yet, I am now in Kona, Hawaii, about to volunteer as a Mission Builder at YWAM. I am here with Jeremiah, my mom and brother Jesse. We will be volunteering for 5 weeks and spending Christmas here with my Dad and sister Kara too. While here, I will be posting mostly on our Hawaii blog as it is hard to keep up with two. The link is on my page: Ywan Hawaiian Adventures. Please do check it out and post comments. We'd love to hear from you. There are pictures from our San Francisco layover and will soon be pictures from our first day here. It is warm and beautiful here. I will be working in the Go Centre, cleaning as well as doing food prep in the kitchen. Jeremiah will be in the kitchen, so I will spend a couple hours each day working with him!

If you want to make a comment on the YWAM blog and don't have a gmail account to loging just use the following:

user name: ywamhawaii
password: friendsandfamily

2008-11-11T23:31:00.006-07:00

Cars Cars Cars

So today marks a day where we begin the relationship with yet another car. Jeremiah and I have been through our fair share of cars, with us usually ending up with bad luck somehow........

Car 1: Jeremiah had a sweet old oldsmobile at CLBI maybe a late 80's car. Unfortunately hit a deer. Tragic Death.

Car 2: We somehow took over Josh's old brown mazda 626 '88. We had it maybe a year or less, when I was cruising Macleod Trail and the strut fully punctured the tire and it wasn't able/ worth it to be fixed.

Car 3: We took over Jer's parents buick, which was a luxury mobile by our standards, maybe a 92', but alas an intense maybe 2000$ fix was necessary, so it was not worth the fix.

Car 4: For 200$ donation to the church (sellers request) we got the 1992 Nissan Sentra. It was a good little rusted car that required me to learn standard, a skill I am happy to now own. Though it made a good trek to Florida when Jeremiah and Josh went, in just over a year it needed a new clutch for over 1000$, and being the rust bucket it was becoming, it again was not worth the fix.....which led to car #5

Car 5: This was the first car we truly looked up ourselves and decided to buy. We thought it was an ok deal, $2500, for a cute little toyota tercel with low milage. Unfortunatly turns out it was all rusted out and the engine finally died in less than a year from when we bought it, when Jeremiah was cruising into Calgary one day. Another 2000$ fix, not quite worth it for this car.

Car 6: This is our most newest car to add to the bunch. It is a 99' Saturn. We bought it at a family member home auction. On the day of the auction it actually ended up being in the shop, which caused, we think, us to get it for a bit less than they wanted as others weren't able to actually see the car. Then it turns out they had to do a major fix on it, and pay a cut to the auction company. In the end they got a lot less for it, which was unfortunate for them, but I guess you could say helpful for us, as this major fix was done and we got a reasonable price.

Anyway, as you can see we have been through 6 cars in 6 years. We are hoping this one will make it a little bit longer. We are grateful to the sellers for selling us the car, even though given the circumstances, had they went with a private sale could've gotten much more. It is a true blessing.

Here are a couple picks of us with the old car and the new saturn. Can you tell we like mint-ish green?? :)

2008-11-04T20:07:00.002-07:00

My New Love- Vinyl Lettering

Lately me and Jeremiah have been helping his parents out with various projects at both the church and at home. One project that we are quite proud of, is one that we just finished at the church. There was this band that stuck out around the doorway, that was plain old white and we thought how nice it would look if it was painted and stood out a bit. That led to us painting it a few tones, and then ordering vinyl lettering that said "Go in Peace and Serve the Lord". It looks so beautiful now. Vinyl lettering is such a great material to work with. It went on so easy, and looks so professional. There are many companies out there, but I ordered mine through You-Said-It, which has a link on my blog to their site :) So do check it out. I think words and phrases add so much to a wall/room.

So, the boring white band above the door is now a wonderful piece of art which enhances the mission of the church. Yay.

2008-11-04T14:05:00.002-07:00

Hawaii Here We Come!!!

So, next Friday (Nov 14) Jeremiah, my mom, Brother Jesse and myself will be talking of to Hawaii to volunteer at YWAM in Kona for 5 weeks. After that my dad and sister Kara are coming to meet us in Hawaii for some Christmas fun and relaxation. I am very excited for this change, as I have been cramming paper after paper in the last few months. On my list of blogs, you will see a link to our Hawaii blog, so I encourage you to check that one out as we will post pictures and stories for you, our family and friends to check out.

I ask for your prayers as well as we serve at YWAM in whatever capacity they need, and also as we grow spiritually through meeting believers from all over the world. I think they have great internet access, so I will be sure to keep up with all your lovely blogs as well.

Peace.

2008-11-01T22:10:00.001-06:00

ROBOTRON-2008

A mini taste of my robo suit.

2008-10-29T21:00:00.002-06:00

Sorting

So, I decided to tackle some "junk boxes" tonight, you know the ones that are so random and have just tons of this and tons of that. I wouldn't call myself a total pack rat, but I do manage to collect things over time. I am just unsure of how to get rid of things, what to hold on to etc.

Maybe you readers can give me some tips, how do you sort your lives out? What do you do with kind cards from people that are really old.....you can't truly keep them all can you?

Help Me!

2008-10-22T20:38:00.006-06:00

Oh the Country!

As I am very busy trying to get all my online courses done before we head off to Hawaii November 14, 2008, I find myself spending much of my day on the couch in front of the computer. Unlike at our old place, where we were mostly underground and I could only see the legs of people walking by on the sidewalk, in Okotoks, I sit on my couch and look out upon hills, Okotoks in the not to far distance & a beautiful sunset each night. This view makes studying a whole lot more bearable. It has been a blessing to be here and get the sniff of fresh mountain air on a daily basis. Very refreshing!

View From Our Bedroom

Beautiful Sunset Just Outside our Door

2008-10-17T22:57:00.002-06:00

A "Fair" Treat At Home

I have recently discovered that I am a big fan of kettle corn. I think I may have disliked it at one point and I am not sure why now. There is something about that sweetness, with a bit of salty going on that is just pure bliss! One time at our old place I decided to try make it. It tasted ok, besides a lot of it being burnt and the very unsafe environment of making it,ie: hot oil bubbling out of the pot and splattering on me. It has been a little while since that disaster, and since Jeremiah and I love it so much, I decided I would brave it and try again...this time with the wonderful assistance of you tube. I found this video of the classic mom teaching how to make kettle corn. She looked like she could hold her own in the kitchen, so I decided to follow her every move. It worked! Hurray. Now I will always make it alongside this wondermom of kettlecorn. Hopefully I won't need to always follow her steps, but if I do, its just a click on the internet away.

I brought some up to the father in law as well...I wonder if this receipe has won him over :)

2008-10-15T22:32:00.003-06:00

The RANCILIO "Miss Silvia"

Jeremiah has wanted for so long to make specialty coffees at home. He loves his Starbucks white chocolate mocha, and has tried various ways to recreate it, without the help of an espresso machine. Needless to say it couldn't be done. And so, after the failure of our $9.00 Wal-Mart espresso machine, and much research, Jeremiah made the splurge and got us the Rancilio Silvia and Rocky grinder a.k.a. "Miss Silvia". We had it sent to Portland on our trip so Jeremiah had fun learning how to create the perfect shot for us all....it took 20-30 tries, as there are many factors to creating the perfect espresso, such as tamping, the grind, the roast, the temperature etc.

The thing with buying it in the States, was that with them being so heavy we had to buy extra luggage to ensure all our bags were under 50lbs. Also we made sure to figure out a way to not pay taxes at the border. We made it through ok...no tax paying and no lies even! yay.

And now we have it set up nicely in our cute kitchen! I even found a way to tie in my vintage HALL teapot and tea box. I love it. I look forward to many great coffees and earl grey lattes from my love. And if you come by, I am sure he'll make you one too.

2008-10-10T01:04:00.006-06:00

Seattle

We have enjoyed a couple days in Seattle with Josh and Mel and visiting the Overland relatives. Here is a little photo series shot in our ghetto parking lot near Pike Place. You can create the story!

2008-10-06T22:04:00.003-06:00

The 2 guys in my life

Spending time in Portland has been wonderful. We have be able to spend a great deal of fun times with Shannon and Steve...and the wonderful Bennett.... aka B, Beans, the Benster, Benito. I have totally fallen in love with this little man. We are both proud to be his auntie and uncle. It is going to be sad to leave him, but now with my new mac mail set up I will easily be able to receive lots of new pics of him growing up. We can't wait to meet his little brother.

This trip has also had me falling in love again and again with my beautiful husband Jeremiah. I have no real blog-like stories to share regarding this, but simply wanted to express my love for this man!

B and Auntie Amy (aka "Mimi" by Bennett)

Me and my LOVE

2008-10-01T01:43:00.002-06:00

HALL

Today me and Shannon went to the Goodwill in Portland. Jeremiah's mom always has good luck finding great things there when she would visit, and we were lucky too, to come away with a few great items. (See Shannon's blog, i am sure she will post too about her finds too :)

Anyway, one of my finds was this really pretty teapot...unfortunately it didn't have a lid, but I still loved it. When I got it home, I noticed the HALL stamp on the bottom. This led to some investigation about the teapot. It ends up that it is a collectable teapot. Perhaps not worth a great deal, especially without the lid, maybe 30.00-50.00, but could be from as early as 1930. I found a fun website online of HALL teapot fans who had pages of teapots from a 1935 catalogue and mine is the french style, 2cup in canary. This kind of stuff really interests me. I wonder if someone in 1930 enjoyed a morning cup of tea in this exact pot I will now use as a lovely decoration. Fun to ponder.....

So pretty

The Hall Stamp

The 1935 Hall Catalouge

2008-09-30T00:53:00.001-06:00

A few more "crawl space" pics

2008-09-30T00:42:00.003-06:00

Time to Descend

During our stay in Portland, Jeremiah has been helping his brother in law work in the "crawl space" of their home, putting up insulation. Since I like to be with Jeremiah, I decided to descend below...and face my fears of spiders and the like to help him, when he was going to go down solo. It was an adventure. I tried to make sure I knew where all the spiders and creatures were at all times, so I didn't get a shocker! I don't like surprises.....I think all in all I was a pretty good helper. And there weren't very many surprises until just before we took a break for supper...when we discovered slugville. Eeek. I was happy to break after that discovery.

2008-09-25T17:13:00.005-06:00

Binyons!!!!!!

We are currently in Portland Oregon, visiting Jeremiah's sister, brother-in-law and cutest nephew ever! The night before we left on an early 0730 flight, we realized that my glasses were pretty much thrown in the wendy's dumpster!!! STRESS. However, the stress led me to the discovery of BINYONS!!!!!! It is the greatest glasses place ever! Such good deals. So good that Jeremiah got his first eye exam ever.....well maybe he got one when he was very young, but he didn't remember. Jeremiah realized one day he may need glasses when he tried mine on and realized he could SEE :) He said wearing my glasses was like living in HD and not analog. So....now he can always be in HD in his cool trendy new frames!

2008-09-17T12:37:00.000-06:00

A Few Pics of Us at the Wedding Last Weekend

2008-09-08T01:59:00.002-06:00

Fun Easy Useful Recycled Craft

I am not sure if I thought of this craft, or saw it somewhere, but it worked out well.

All you need to do is save your tin cans, wash them, take off the label, pick a fun paper to cover them with, use the straight edge of the paper and glue it around the side of the tin can, I used a glue stick and reinforced the seam with a hot glue gun, then you trim off the excess paper,add some ribbon if you like and.... voila....very cute storage tins for your craft area or somewhere in your home!

2008-09-05T02:34:00.001-06:00

A Video of Our New Place in Okotoks

Pictures to follow maybe tomorrow, the internet is uploading very slowly...

2008-08-30T23:01:00.003-06:00

Baths

I never used to take baths, unless I had cramps, but lately I have discovered the beauty of taking a great bath, with candles & bubbles. So relaxing. One thing I had thought was how great it could be if you could have some wine, or a nice cold drink in the bath, and maybe read a book or magazine...and then I discovered this item, on the new blog I posted about....

...wow its great! I may be behind the times about discovering this item, but I am excited to see that they exist. This one is a bit pricey, but at least now I can keep my eyes peeled for a similar invention.

2008-08-30T20:43:00.002-06:00

HGTV meet Internet

So, I love being on the computer, but I have found that I really only spend time on 3 main sites, hotmail, facebook & the blog, which can get boring if you aren't getting emails, or facebook chatting or viewing any new blog posts, or feeling creative or energetic to post yourself. Since the internet has such a vast array of sites and knowledge I thought about what I love to do. A main thing that came to mind was watching home shows on HGTV...so this made me think, maybe I should check out their website... and sure enough it led me to much excitement. In particular there is a great blog, which I now have linked in my blog, which posts frequently on various home decorative ideas and the like. If you are at all like me you will enjoy this site, especially if you mainly spend your time on facebook, hotmail and blogger. This will broaden your horizons to include 4 sites in an internet window at a time. Woo Hoo.

2008-08-30T19:40:00.002-06:00

We Did it We are Official Out.

Wow. Moving is hard work...but we made it and we are alive and well. I didn't even cry when we left our first home. I am kind of nostalgic that way, however I think I am so tired now that maybe the tears will come later. Anyway here are a few photos of our last night and day in our place.

2008-08-29T01:02:00.003-06:00

Moving

The past few days Jeremiah and I have been working hard as we are officially to be out of our place by Saturday. Moving is so much work...and we are tired and greasy. Its sad to be leaving our first place as a married couple as we have some fond memories here, however there are certain things about it that we won't miss like the expensive rent and moistness/darkness of its basementness.

We have decided to move to Jeremiah's parents basement suite indefinitely. We were originally going to move there until after we get back Hawaii in January, as they were going to relieve us from rent for the fall Sept-Dec, however we have decided to stay when we get back too as it will be nice to not have to struggle and move again in Jan, plus we are getting a nice deal on rent! Thanks rents! The suite is so new and cute, and I will post some pics when we get settled in.

Here is us tired and greebly, and some pics of the old place. We have much to do still, carpet guy will be here tomorrow at noon. Ahhhhh.

2008-08-25T02:08:00.003-06:00

GOOD NEWS COMBINED WITH CRAFTS AND GIRL TIME = GREAT FUN

I am not sure if I am allowed to officially post this yet....so I will leave names out, but my cousin got engaged this weekend (that'll probably give you a hint :) ). So this is very good news!!! And with good news comes opportunities to craft together fun cards. Today my friend Mel was over, so I shared my love of paper and fabric with her and helped her make a beautiful card and a cute decorative pillow. It was great. Sometimes I go whole days without accomplishing much...like maybe being on facebook all day, which I like... but today I rediscovered crafts, and I LOVE them. So hopefully I can split my time between my two loves: computer & crafts... well maybe three loves, I guess I should include the love of my life, Jeremiah. Anyway, if anyone feels like crafting, or making fun cards, let me know. I'll hook you up. Have a creative day.

2008-08-23T02:18:00.001-06:00

HELP

I figured out how to add this clock as a post, but I can't seem to add it to my actual blog, anyone know how?

2008-08-14T18:55:00.002-06:00

DISHES

This is not a picture of my kitchen...but unfortunately this is what it often looks like. The problem being is I hate doing dishes. Once in awhile when my parents come to visit, they always clean up my house and do my dishes. It looks so beautiful...and for awhile I do well, doing the dishes everyday almost making myself believe I love doing dishes...but soon enough life gets busy and I remember...I HATE DISHES. We don't have a dishwasher, which I believe would solve many a problems.

Not only do I hate dishes, but I HATE when you bring yourself to do the dishes and the sink is full of nasty water...so I bring up the courage to drain it and wash the sink to begin the horrid task of dishwashing only to find a massively clogged drain!!!! GRRRRRR. So I go to the INTERNET. I love the internet because it can solve so many problems.

I discovered the pouring baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar move, which you then let sit for 15-20 minutes and pour down boiling hot water to de-GUNK-i-fy!!!!!

It actually kind of worked. I feel pretty proud of myself. I wish someone were here to be proud of me too.

So if you find yourself in my situation, #1 you are not alone #2 Try this sweet baking soda trick if you didn't already know about it! It's great!

P.S. In 3 weeks we are moving to Jer's parents basement apartment suite....and I must NOTE they have a dishwasher down there..... Hmmmm dreamin :)

2008-06-23T15:16:00.002-06:00

Room Update

One downside (one of many) about renting, is the inability to paint, and renovate to taste. I however the last few days, got inspired to change things up a bit in our bedroom. I got a sewing machine the other day, which I am so excited about. (it was a birthday present from Jeremiah, finally picked it out), so I made a curtain to cover the tiny closet, and a couple throw pillows. Just a side note, I picked a cushion pattern called sewing for dummies. I figured since I have minimal experience with sewing I could at least follow a sewing for dummy pattern. It was however not EASY, their directions were badly worded and they kept telling me to just throw in things like whip stitches etc...luckily we live in the days of wikipedia. I also painted my "free from the dump" dressers to a richer brown, slighlty more modern, and swapped a greenish color I had in the room before to a more tealish color.

As I am getting more and more eager to get into a place of our own at list these mini updates may tithe me over for the time being:)

PS. My goal is to keep the room clean:) That may be the biggest update of all!

2008-06-22T01:51:00.003-06:00

Anniversary!

Just this past week (june 16) Jeremiah and I celebrated our first anniversary! It was really exciting. It is amazing how fast time flies. We were quite busy on the actual day with school work etc, but we found some time to enjoy each other. We made key lime pies together, had some great nachos and home made margaritas, followed by a movie. Here are a couple pics of our day!

2008-06-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

More Family & Wedding Pics

2008-06-01T22:40:00.002-06:00

Halyne's Wedding!!!!

This past weekend was a very BUSY but wonderful time celebrating our good friend's Halyne and Andrew's wedding weekend in which I was a bridesmaid. Here are a couple shots of the weekend. I will put more on facebook eventually. It was also a nice time to be with family & friends!!

2008-05-27T21:42:00.001-06:00

Wow! THis Bird Rocks! Literally

I loved the video Shannon put on her blogg about the talking parrot. This led Jeremiah to show me the videos on this lyre bird. Just watch what sounds it can copy! Crazy!

2008-05-11T18:40:00.005-06:00

Mother's Day

Today Jer and I enjoyed a nice afternoon at the Overland's celebrating Mother's Day! It was very special. A Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out, there and especially mine, who I didn't see today!! I love you.

.

2008-05-08T21:38:00.002-06:00

Welcome Back Amy to Your Own Blog

Wow, so once again I have neglected my poor blog. Tonight I feel it is time to write a little note in here. Tonight's been a good night. It's one of those nights where you enjoy being home alone, cleaning up the house (this doesn't happen too often for me, but I have enjoyed it tonight), pop in P.S. I love you and watch it by yourself and cry, then clean some more, and finish up by loving your own macbook and all its features, like photo booth, where you then take a million pictures of youself. So here are couple of the photos I took of myself. I have new glasses and cut my hair the other day. Its kind of short now, which makes me kind of sad, but I was developing severe OCD with my split ends, (ask Jeremiah), so it had to be done. The sad thing is though, I noticed I still have TONS of split ends, so I figure unless I shave my head, I will just have to accept the fact, that my hair is SPLITSVILLE. Anyway that was a tangent. If anyone ever checks blogs out anymore, hopefully this post finds you well. I will try to do better. I do love my blog...really!

2008-02-24T20:53:00.002-07:00

"falling slowly"

I just wanted to express my excitement that the song "Falling Slowly" from ONCE (see previous blog) won Best Song at the 2008 Academy Awards. When I saw this movie, there was just something about that captured my heart. It is amazing that a movie made in 3 weeks, for less than 100,000$ was able to stand up against major motion films. It was wonderful to watch small screen artist's dreams come true! And they sang it live SO nicely!!!!!

2008-02-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wine Time

Last year Jeremiah and I had the fun experience of making our own wine for our wedding. This year we have the pleasure of making wine for our good friends Halyne and Andrew's Wedding!!! This is an activity Jeremiah and I have found we really enjoy doing together! Here are some photos of the process!

2008-01-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

My Birthday!

Here are a couple pictures from my party yesterday! I will post some more later. We had a Grey's Anatomy/Nurse's Theme so it was a good time. It was funny seeing the boys in mine and Melody's nursing scrubs!

2008-01-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

American Idol Brightening the Day

So, I am not one to follow American Idol much, but tonight I have been attempting to study for a mid-term and was very open to being distracted by television. There were so many funny and horrid auditions. Where do they find these people. Anyway here is one that made me laugh. It's almost painful to listen to. Now what is your thoughts on this....could it be possible that American Idol pays these people to add the ridiculous factor for viewing rates??? How else could they get past the pre Simon, Paula and Randy judges? Or has everyone already figured this out? Please let me know your thoughts:)

2008-01-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

"Once"

Tonight Jeremiah had the opportunity to go to the Flames game with his brother. Now, I cannot lie, sometimes when I have an envisioning of spending a relaxing married couple evening at home, and things come about different I don't always deal well with it. However, after a fun soup-making session with Jeremiah before he went (I will blogg the recipe later, because it is "brilliant") I begun to decide to embrace this night to myself, something I don't do enough.

And so they were off. I curled up in our new mini ikea couch, which just barely fits me snuggly, after connecting the macbook to the TV (which Jeremiah so kindly showed me how to do before he left) and began a movie which I have wanted to see for a bit now...called "Once".

Having recently been very let down from movie Atonement, which I had been so pumped up about only to realize it wasn't all I imagined it would be, I have been nervous to put myself out on the line for movies I anticipate. However as I journeyed through this film, I was captivated. The music, the characters, the story, the struggles, the laughter, the lyrics. It is a true gem. Now I don't mean to get anyones hopes up, or want to convince you that is it the best movie ever, that you just have to see, because I know what it is like to have a movie let you down. But I will say, if you find yourself a night, where you're at home and ready to be open to what film has to offer...spend a night with "ONCE". It's a true, refreshing gem of a film!

2007-12-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

New Look

So we decided it was time to update the blog. It is nothing fancy but something new to look at anyway. Hopefully 2008 will bring more more postings to you all. We really feel it is time to re-visit the blog. Facebook has far too much power. Time to be creative and reflective this 2008. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and we wish you a Happy New Year!!!
LOVE AMY & JER

2007-12-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

More Pics

2007-12-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Beginning to Decorate for Christmas!
It will be fun to enjoy our very first Christmas together! We will head up to Camrose around the 20th and be back to spend a couple days with his family afterwards. It will be nice to relax some from school and enjoy the Christmas festivities!

2007-12-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

New Washer and Dryer for US!!!

Jeremiah and I were getting flooded with clothes to our heads since our free w/d combo were failing us. His parents however were so KIND to find a good deal and bring us new ones. Yay clean clothes and a clean floor:) (well sometimes a clean floor)

2007-12-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

It Has Been Forever Since We Posted!!!!!

I am going to put up a few new pics. Lately Jeremiah & I have been sooooo busy with school. Jeremiah just finished 4 essays in 2 weeks and now has to hermatize to study intensely for 2 tests. I am so excited to be almost done clinical!!! Yay! Anyway, the first pic is us chilling with Josh (Jer's brother) and Melody. It is always nice to see them. The rabbit ones are of our rabbit friend who always came to visit. But he hasn't been around since it's gotten cold. Sad day!

2007-11-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

A New Car For The Overlands!

We bought our very first used car:) We've always been given free old cars before so this was a big step for us. We settled for a 94 toyota tercel with 131000 kms on it. We hope it will last us awhile....and will actually be a car worth fixing. We were waffling between this one and a 91 nissan sentra, but it turns out Jeremiah's brother bought that one, so we will see who made the better choice:)

2007-11-09T21:28:00.001-07:00

NEW HAIR COLOR

2007-11-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

A Paper Bag Princess Halloween!

It was a pretty low key halloween this year, but I couldn't resist dressing up. My friend Nicole agreed to go trick or treating with me and we got TONS of candy! It was great. Later Jeremiah and I went to the SCARIEST haunted house. Wow. It was Fun!!!

2007-10-10T23:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving With the Sorensons!

Square Dance Takes on A New Element

2007-09-22T11:50:00.001-06:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

The Happiest Discoers

2007-09-22T11:45:00.001-06:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

A Perfect Movie

2007-09-22T01:37:00.001-06:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!For those of you unaware of the identicalness of Bry and Max Weinberg, this will sure convince you. Thanks Shannon for introducing us to this site:)

2007-09-22T01:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, who would've guessed Sesame Street would've met James Blunt. This is great:)

2007-09-08T20:15:00.000-06:00

Transitions

School started this week and I am finding myself struggling to adjust. I am watching the leaves as they turn color, and fall. Instead of appreciating the beauty of autumn I find myself dreading what I know follows. Months of cold. Transitions are always hard. It takes effort to re-orientate onself to new things and new people. However new things and new people are what shapes and molds a person, so transistions are a necessary phase to go through. I guess we have to commit to transistions, perservere through, and look forward for whats ahead. Remind me of this when I have to roll out of bed at 7am to make my 8am day long class:)

2007-08-28T01:05:00.000-06:00

A Few More Photos

2007-08-28T00:12:00.000-06:00

A Post From the Ones Who Never Post:)

So we are back in Calgary after some adventures working fair...mainly fighting off wasps and angry customers in the candy stand:) Our house is starting to come together...yay. Well actually mostly just the living room, so these are the photos that you will see, we'll add more of the other rooms for those interested as they get cleared out....

So when thinking of a theme for the room we decided to make it a MAC friendly room. So we went with White furniture (the only color that slightly compliments our struggling brown Renter style home carpet.) Also we added the table behind the futon to act as a nice breakfast type bar and a nice place to surf the WEB...we still need some sweet bar stools for it, which we will keep looking for a nice bargain! We hope to eventually get an IMAC which will replace our retro Red TV...imported from Russia we think. The channels on the top are letters not numbers. I think it may be the TV on the old episodes of Full House if anyone remembers...We want the IMAC to be a second computer/TV. Jeremiah and I find that we are both wanted to use the computer at the same time...so figure we'll benefit from the second computer:) There are a few more key items still needed in the room such as curtains etc..but it is coming. I wish I had a before picture...it looked so bad, but just pretend you saw a picture of a really horrible room, and these photos will look amazing:) So yeah we hope you enjoy some of these photos and can give our blog another chance. Now that we are back in Calgary...and catching FREE wireless waves from our neighbor we should be looking in good shape for some Blogging action....

2007-07-08T00:38:00.001-06:00

Help From Albertan Married Women!

So this is along with my previous blog, but I am just needed some help...How did you all go about changing your name over??? I got my license changed, but what do you need to change over your SIN # etc??? Did you all legally change your names for the $200??? Just wondering what my plan of action should be. Thanks!

2007-07-04T01:10:00.000-06:00

What's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet

So today I made the BIG move of beginning to change my name over at various institutions. My driver's license is on its way with the new name of Amy Overland....Weird. At the registry place they asked me to sign my new name, then and there. All of a sudden it hit me, this was the moment that Amy Sorenson was no more. I hadn't thought of how to sign this new name, but I quickly scribbled something which is now my lifelong signature. Now don't get me wrong, I am very proud and excited to take on my new husband's name, however something deep inside me felt sad. It's almost like I must have a funeral or tribute to the existence of the Sorenson name, to properly make the switch. After deep breathing and kind coaching from Jeremiah however I was able to recover from my anxiety of this life changing moment in my life. But it is happening, my email, facebook and banking have made the switch. More than that, I was shopping at a great scrapbooking store, which I haven't been to before and they asked me (for purposes of their customer database) "What's your first name?" I replied quickly "Amy". They then followed with the inevitable second question "Great, and what's your last name?" I hesitated slightly, but knowing what needed to be done, I stood tall and boldly proclaimed "Overland!" So this it, scrapbookers paradise can prove it...I am Amy Overland, hear me roar!

NOTE: The title, (though maybe out of context, as my knowledge in Shakespear is limited), somehow gave me comfort that though my name has changed (which is beautiful, I love my husband's name) I am still ME, AMY, and a name, just like the rose which would smell sweet no matter what it be called, does not change who I am....so if I am called Amy Sorenson, Amy Overland, James, Stika, Swazi, even Jason (random nickmames) I am ME! yay. I feel better now. But I still may need to have the memorial service :)

2007-06-30T16:50:00.000-06:00

Honeymoon....coming to an end

Jeremiah and I have had a great time in Florida for the past week. The weather wasn't always great, but it has been warm and so fun being able to hang out and BE married! It is very nice. Right now we are at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. We are very early. Airports can be a drag...but we discovered free WIRELESS so that is pretty sweet for me, and Jeremiah has his good ole N.T. Wright book, so he's content. We look forward to getting back to Calgary and getting the house set up. I have been watching lots of HGTV so I have been getting ideas and am itching to decorate and renovate...!!!!! We have a way smaller budget than the HGTV people use but maybe we can swing a few cool updates..... Anyway I don't know much of what to say, but wanted to say hi, and that it'll be good to be seeing you all soon....through internet or the Calgary connection. Here are a couple pictures...

2007-06-22T00:43:00.000-06:00

We Did It!!! We Got Married!

On June 16, 2007 at 1pm in the afternoon, Jeremiah and I actually got married! It was such an exciting time! The ceremony, was beautiful ( I am somewhat biased I suppose) but we received many pleaseant compliments from our guests! Huge thanks goes out to people involved in the wedding. Amanda Wig, Kara (my awesome sis) and Jesse (my sweet bro) played so nicely as I came down the aisle. My uncle Brian Rude played "My Father's World" a beautiful piano arrangement by Chris Rice, Lance Odegard sang so awesomely during communion. We were so blessed to have him with us. Kristel and Caleb sung together beautifully as well. We had so many friends and family come together and work together to make the weekend just perfect. I won't name them all here, but THANK you friends and family!!!!! We love you so much.

We are now settling into our new Calgary (rented) home. Jeremiah has his last day of work tomorrow before we take off for a sweet week long Floida Va-cay! IT'll be nice to relax and enjoy each other. You kind of go in wedding withdrawal though...there is so much that goes into planning the day, and then it is gone in a flash. IT was beautiful though and we have great pics (Thanks Avey) and video (thanks messiah team and Laverne) to remember it! It was a blessing to have so many people we love dearly all together. True blessing!

Well I am now a wife...and Jeremiah a husband! Today we took on fairly traditional roles, Jeremiah worked a hard long day (physically) and I stayed in the home, cleaning house, organizing and even cooking supper for the guys! Wow. Life will get busy and I won't always have time to be home all day, but for now it is fun. Jeremiah is my best friend and I couldn't ask for a better roomate and life partner! So here's to our life together! Jeremiah is sleeping soundly as I write...I will go to bed soon too! I just wanted to say a quick hello, and update our blog as it has been awhile. We love you friends and fam! Thank you for being you.

2007-05-11T01:20:00.000-06:00

OUR FIRST HOME

This past week, Jeremiah and I have been on the hunt for our first home. We were getting really down at the crazy increase in Calgary rental prices. We looked at a few suites in the 1000$ range that were not that great AT ALL. Who can pay 1000$ a month....anyway we were not in house looking mode, but decided to go for a drive and came across a for rent sign. Seemed like a great area so we made the call...and it paid off. We were the chosen ones according to our new landlord. Thanks all for praying for us. We think we will really enjoy this place. It'll be fun setting up our new place with our stuff. We were unable to take any photos when we met our landlord, but here are a couple of outside ones. We are in the left lower suite. Can't wait to post pics that will be of us moving in :) The wedding is only 1 month away....:)

2007-05-11T01:16:00.000-06:00

Wine Making Done!
This past week, Jeremiah and I have been able to get lots done in prep for our sweet day coming up. One being the bottling, filtering, corking and sealing our home made wine! Here are a few photos of our fun time with the process!

2007-05-11T01:07:00.000-06:00

JER CAME HOME

On thursday Jeremiah came home from the Florida adventure. He drove it alone in 3 days. Surprised me 2 days early which was AWESOME!

2007-04-21T15:49:00.000-06:00

Explanation of First Video

I am talking about how I think I am more stable that my roommate was when she underwent oral sedation. I am not so sure I believe myself from watching this video:) Thanks by the way everyone for thinking of me and praying for me. All went fairly well. Do check the blogg later, I will put on a more swollen picture of me for all to enjoy:) I look quite square!

2007-04-21T15:28:00.000-06:00

My Dental Sedation Adventure
On April 20th I went under oral (pills) sedation. Fun times. My mom was kind to come out and be my caregiver, which was much needed. It's crazy because from the time I sat down in the dental chair to waking up in a comfy nest in my living room I remember NOTHING. Which is probably for the best I don't think it would of been very comfortable to feel 3 wisdoms get yanked and 6 fillings get done. Anyway I gave my mom permission to take some videos of how I acted under sedation so I could see myself. Here are a couple clips, and pictures. I will put a couple new ones on later, as my cheek is a lot more swollen. Jeremiah, how do you like your love?? You are kind I know you love me. (P.S. For the record while I am doing all this Jeremiah is in Daytona Beach Florida, am I jealous..???) No I am happy you are having fun! I love you.

2007-04-13T00:32:00.000-06:00

Calgary Rent is Out of Control
I have been looking tonight online for places Jeremiah and I could move to...sad for us we are living in the wrong city...Everything is outrageously priced! Grrrr. So mad. All I want is this cute house below. It is under 100,000 to buy in Fergus Falls. I wonder if I could finish my Nursing there...

2007-04-11T21:34:00.001-06:00

A fun video Jeremiah made when they went crab fishing!

2007-04-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

More Pics: So beautiful, can't say exaclty where these are, I believe in Georgia as well. Look at that pie. Looks so tasty. So weird to see our car and think that it is way out there somewhere:) Jeremiah and Josh made it safely to Florida though. They are going to start work tomorrow. I am happy because I had a really great video Sypke call with Jeremiah tonight. Do all look into it. It's a great thing that Skype. I do miss that boy. Very excited for him to come back so I can marry him. Yay.

2007-04-05T23:52:00.000-06:00

Soaking Up the Nice Weather in the Southern States!!

Here are some more pictures Jeremiah sent me. They stopped in Georgia, and saw a neat lighthouse and visited John Wesley's church. Great history there!

2007-04-01T18:57:00.000-06:00

Jeremiah and Josh are spending some nice days in Washington D.C. on their way down to Florida. Here are a couple pictures Jeremiah sent me. In the meanwhile we are left in Calgary in a snowstorm.....Good April Fool's Joke Weather:)

2007-03-31T03:04:00.000-06:00

OCD?

So it is 3am and I just experienced a "checking" OCD moment. I was trying to sleep, thinking about the day as usual, and then I had the constant thought that I didn't sign off my night meds on my clinical shift. I thought and thought and thought about it and then I finally had to call the unit to confirm my obsession. Well it turns out I did sign off my meds, thankfully, because not signing them off it a NO NO in nursing. However I am wondering if this will be a trend. I'm hoping it's just a reminder to make sure to double check my documentation and won't turn into full blown OCD...we'll see. I'll fill you in if I have any more "episodes" :)

2007-03-30T00:37:00.000-06:00

I am really excited because I just got some pictures emailed to me from Jeremiah! They made it safely to Washington DC. Jeremiah is really excited to tour there tomorrow. I hope to be more organized about posting pictures, but here are a few for now. They consist of ones of me and Jer before he left...and yes my eyes are teary, Jer with dad Jon, Josh and kindest aunt ever Crystal in Fergus Falls, and a beautiful Cathedral in St. Paul. Jer really enjoyed visiting there.

2007-03-28T01:09:00.000-06:00

I just had to take a moment to make a tribute to the sandwich. I don't know about you but I just realized that they are highly underrated....sure they take some time, which is partially why I forgot about them, however when you take the time to put some love into it, IT IS THE BEST THING EVER. I am so pleased with one I just made. Everyone take the time to make yourself a good sandwich. You won't be disapointed:)

2007-03-25T02:15:00.000-06:00

The Guys Are Off

This week on Wednesday Jeremiah and his brother Joshua left for their trek down to Florida to work for a month. They are going to drive first to Minnesota, then down the east coast. Jer said he would email me photos, so I hope to post some on the blog here now and again. I miss Jeremiah a lot, but it will go by fast I know....Jeremiah set me up with SKYPE video phone before he left which was the nicest thing ever....and it RULES. All should try it out if you haven't yet. It is on the computer and FREE, and you can see your far away loved ones. Ingenious!!! Anyway please pray that Jeremiah and Josh have safe travels. Thank you. I'll keep you updated on their adventures when I find out more:)