Makes 'ya think . . .

My hubby and I had a date night tonight (which was fabulous as it's a rare occurence that we both get a night off together) and decided to go see the movie "Eagle Eye". It gets two thumbs up from me - not only for being just a great action movie and it makes for a fun night at the movies, but it really got me thinking about privacy and the government's right to gather information and how they go about gathering that information. In today's day and age, everything is automated and everyone and their mother has a cell phone, email account, uses online banking and is probably on facebook or has a blog or two. Everything is out there and information is so accessible. Technology advances so quickly that if you have the same computer or cell phone for two years, it's considered "old" and in need of an "upgrade". It makes me wonder what things will be like in five to ten years, or if "Big Brother" is already watching every move and listening to every cell phone conversation. Hmm . . .

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All sorts of inappropriate

I live at a church. Not actually in the church ('cause that would be odd), but in the house on the church property. I've only lived here for a few months, but at least once or twice a week so far I see a car parked in the church parking lot at night with people making out in it. Sometimes it's even no-holds barred nudity. Usually I see this at night while I'm out walking the dog with my hubby, and Chris has made a point to now go up and knock on the car windows and ask the people inside that if they're not here to pray they will have to vacate the premises.
I just find it hard to wrap my brain around the fact that people think it would be okay to behave this way in the parking lot of a church. I mean . . . a church? Is that not just completely disrespectful? Where's the rationale behind that? It's just all sorts of inappropriate . . .

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Current dose of randomness . . .

• I'm lovin' the weather right now - warm and sunny during the days and kind of chilly at night (cute sweater weather)!
• Sometimes I just want to stay home and watch movies all day - not because I'm feeling lazy but because I loooove movies. I'm not a huge TV fan (I don't think there's a lot of good-quality programming on tv right now), but movies are a whole different ball game.
• It's pretty hard to surprise me, but I do love surprises (when they're good ones)!
• I wonder a lot about what kind of mother I'm going to be
• I think everything happens for a reason, although it's sometimes really hard to remember that when things are hard
• I really love chocolate - like really, really love chocolate
• I'd like to write a screenplay
• I always want to sleep in on the mornings I have to wake up really early, but the times when I can sleep in, it's never quite as enjoyable as it seems to be on those early mornings
• I don't really have a lot of "favourites". Some people can name off their favourite band, actor, actress, movie or book as soon as you ask them - I'm not one of those people
• Some people say your teenage years are the hardest or the most "angst-filled" years. For me, my twenties have been much harder and way more "angsty" - not a word I know, but oh well
• I have a love/hate relationship with songwriting - sometimes I think that's why it's what I should be doing for a living
• Sometimes I spend way too much time watching funny videos on YouTube
• I think my dog is the cutest dog in the world and sometimes let him do things he's not supposed to just because it's so darn cute
• I like to have really early lunches - I hate breakfast food so sometimes I just skip it and then have lunch at 11am
• I used to think that "fear of success" was just a lazy person's excuse for not doing what they want in life, but now know that it's probably one of the biggest barriers most people will face during their life
• When I'm at home, I dance and sing a lot.
• I'm thinking of cooking a full-on Thanksgiving dinner this year, even though I don't really cook and certainly have never cooked a turkey or baked a pie in my life!

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YMCA!

So I'm joining the Y. I will soon be a member of that group of people who flocks to their local YMCA to get their daily dose of exercise. I've been contemplating it for a couple of weeks now, and finally went in the other day to have a look around and see what they have to offer. It's actually a pretty good deal - for a pretty minimal payment each month you have tons of equipment, an indoor track, 2 pools, and unlimited classes available to you. The best part though is that there is no contract and you can pay monthly! As I am hugely adverse to gym contracts, this is a huge draw for me. It also happens to be located right across the street from my work, so it really doesn't get any more convenient than that.


There's a couple of reasons that I'm joining up (exercising = toned muscles, more energy, better sleep), but the two main ones are:

1) I'm going to be outside doing a lot of physical work while in Uganda and I want to be ready and have the strength for it

2) Next summer I will be fulfilling a goal of mine by competing in a triathlon! I hope to complete two actually - probably the Subaru Series Sprint triathlon in Muskoka in June and then one of their full triathlons in August in Orillia.

I love that I can do all the training I want and need at the Y to get me ready for next Spring/Summer! I'll be starting at the end of this week so stay tuned for some training updates over the next several months.

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Here comes the fall!

Happy first day of Autumn! On my way home from my parent's farm this weekend, it was actually pretty great to see that the leaves were starting to change. While I am not a huge fan of winter (I'm definitely a hot weather kinda gal), I do quite enjoy the fall and all the gorgeous colours it brings. I'm hoping to take a drive up to Muskoka in the next few weeks to see the colours in all their glory and take a bunch of pictures. I meant to last year but never quite got around to it so this year it is back on my "to-do" list.

This weekend was a lot of fun - we had a surprise party for my dad's 60th birthday and it was a huge success. He had no idea and lot's of people came out to spend the day on the farm and enjoy lot's of food, company, great music, and fabulous weather! My mom had been planning this surprise for the last several months, so kudos to her for pulling it off without a hitch!

Next up on the agenda is Thanksgiving weekend, and our plans for that weekend seem to change every day. I may end up going away for that weekend for a short get-away with the hubby. The African Children's Choir is singing at the church that Sunday morning though and we really want to see them, so we'll have to see if we can fit that in there as well. (If you've never heard of them, check them out on youtube or on their website - they're amazing).

Speaking of Africa - only about 5 months left to Uganda! Now that fall is here it seems even closer. Can't wait until I'm boarding that plane!

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Walking a new path

I am on the cusp on something new.

I don't know what and I don't know how, but I know that a change - it is a comin'. Not something physical, not something materialistic, but something more internal. I've felt for the past six months or so that there is something in store for me. The feeling is like knowing that there's something great waiting for you around the next corner, but for some reason the road you're on keeps getting longer and longer and you just can't reach that turn.

The past few weeks have been two things for me:

1 - extremely difficult: I'm been through a bit of a rough time recently and have hit some "lows" that are pretty uncharacteristic for me. I'm usually a really upbeat, perky kind of person who bounces back from things really quickly, but lately things just seem to be pushing me lower and lower.

2 - the biggest blessing I can remember in the recent past. At 28 years old, I am finally coming to a realization that has been a long time coming. Things that I want in life, things that I want to do, how I want to be as a person - none of that will happen on it's own. No one is going to knock on my door one day and say "Congratulations Suzanne - here is the life you always wanted. Enjoy!" I have to go out and do the work, both external and internal, to become the person I want to be. I have to dedicate myself and my time, because no one else will - no one else can.

In the past several weeks I have asked for "divine intervention" on numerous occasions. Jokingly of course, but there was truth underneath it. I feel like a child in the sense that I want to be told what to do: "You will do this, then do that next week and that next year and then you will find the happiness you search for." How easy, how simple. But if that's the way it was supposed to be, then that's the way it would be. And it's not. Instead you have to make your own heart, your own voice strong enough that even in the darkness times you can hear your voice, you can feel your strength and follow what your heart is telling you to do.

This is a journey I am on. As I stated at the beginning of this post - I am on the cusp of something new. I can feel that things are different now. All the times in my past where I've had an inkling of "Am I following my passion? Am I the woman I always pictured I would be?" These feelings don't even hold a candle up to how I feel now. I feel like everything in my life, everything I've said, everything I've done, has prepared me for this moment in my life. I feel a determination like I've never felt before in my adult life.

I can say with true conviction - Watch out, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

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Thoughts on Prayer

Here's a great quote from a movie that I've been thinking a lot about lately:

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" (From "Evan Almighty")

My hubby reminded me of this awhile ago when I was complaining to him about something work-related. I think it's such a great quote because it reminds you that are an active participant in your life. It's also kinda' funny because I always find myself praying to God for strength - strength to get through the day, strength to remain positive when I'm facing negativity, and strength just to be the best possible version of myself at any given moment. And of course, I am always finding myself in challenging situations where I'm facing negative people or difficult customers, or I find myself slipping into "woe is me" mode when I should really be saying "Thank-you" for all that I have. Indeed I am getting exactly what it is I am asking for - situations and opportunities where I can be strong, where I can strive to be a positive role model.

I think though that I am going to try something new for the next little while. Instead of praying for things or praying for certain character "traits", I am only going to pray with gratitude (again - my hubby's idea). I am simply going to thank God for all I have, and thank him for the great day I have ahead of me (I usually pray in the morning as soon as I wake up). If I pray from a place of gratitude, instead of a place where I am asking for something - perhaps I will only be given more things to be grateful for. I do this not in a selfish way, but simply from a place of realizing I may need a bit of an attitude adjustment and perhaps could stand to start seeing some things a little differently from now on.

On a lighter note though - here's another quote from that movie that I find almost as great:

Evan (on the ark, addressing a big crowd) "People! The flood is imminent! (everyone looks around, bewildered, and up at the sunny sky. Evan addresses the heavens) "Is it too much to ask for a LITTLE PRECIPITATION?"


:) 'till next time . . .

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Back to Life - Back to Reality

Back to life indeed. I took a bit of a break from emails and my blog in the month of August (mostly 'cause I was on vacation for awhile and then just too busy at my new store). Now that it's September and I've had a few weeks to get settled in at work and back to my routine at home, I feel like I actually have some time now to blog and start answering some long overdue emails!

My new store is great - definitely a lot bigger than the old one and it has a much faster pace, but I can now remember where everything is and have finally memorized everyone's names! It's been really great working so close to home - it only takes me about 5 minutes to get to and from work, so it's a lot easier both on me and on my car! I also have a lot more energy now when I get home so I can do more with my evenings and not just want to come home and crash on the couch.

Our vacation in August was fabulous! Mount Tremblant is gorgeous and I'm so glad we got away for a few days as we really needed it. We then spent some time at my parent's house and that's always fun as it's really rare that the whole Brimley family is at the same place at the same time. Definitely looking forward to the next get-together soon! I also got a chance on my vacay to visit Susan and Lance and meet their wee one Ainsley (who is the most beautiful thing ever and fell alseep on me for awhile - too cute)! Once again though, summer went by wayyy too quickly. At least this year I feel like I actually got to do a bunch of exciting things and don't feel like it passed me by without me taking advantage of it. I also have a really exciting year to look forward to (6 months 'till Uganda), so I'm hoping the winter will speed by and hopefully it'll be spring before you know it!

In case anyone is wondering why the heck I have a "Hobbit" themed blog-page now - I am currently in the midst of re-watching the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and felt the need to make my blog a little "hobbit-ish". I'm a huge fan of the movie (and Tolkien's books) and I watch the whole trilogy at the end of every summer (not just the movie, but special features and the whole kit and caboodle). I find these movies hugely inspiring and can't wait until "The Hobbit" movie comes out in 2011! (Peter Jackson is writing the screenplay so I know it's going to be amazing).

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