63. Get my ears pierced

Completed: November 24, 2011

When I was growing up, I never had a desire to get my ears pierced. All through elementary school, I didn’t care to have it done. Elise had her ears pierced when we were quite young. She was about 10 or 12. I remember sitting in the waiting area of my mom’s hair salon. Elise promising Joe that she would get both ears pierced no matter how much the first one hurt. Then there was the loud sound of the piercing gun; then there were screams, then some tears and then a combination of the two. I remember distinctly going all the way home with Elise crying her eyes out. It was traumatizing…

And from that point forward, I was afraid of piercings.

I went through high school and a lot of people didn’t notice that I didn’t have my ears pierced, and it never bothered me that I didn’t. People who did notice were a bit awestruck by it and I’m sure some of them thought it had something to do with my strong religious beliefs… But it actually had a lot to do with a childhood trauma.

My sister went to Calgary, Alberta to live for a while. And when she came back she was 100% out of her tomboy phase. Which meant really cute outfits… with really cute earrings. That I couldn’t wear. There were so many times where I looked at a pair of earrings and longed to pair then with a certain shirt, or dress, or scarf. Oh, I wanted them so bad. But I was so scared of the actual piercing that I didn’t go for about a year.

After my best friend was married and I didn’t have great earrings to show off with my tied back hair, I told Elise that I wanted to get them done. That way, I could wear earrings to her wedding (whenever it may be…)

Elise and I decided to spontaneously have a sister movie night. Just as we were about to walk out the door, Elise said to me “Hey, why don’t we go get your ears pierced tonight?” And I was like, “Ha………… Okay.” Elise had spotted a place next to our nail salon that does tattoos and piercings. A lot of people, since I’ve had it done, have asked me why I decided on a tattoo parlor over Claire’s or some other store in the mall. My answer would be that because this is something that could seriously damage my ears, give me a really disgusting infection and even just hurt a lot more than necessary, I wanted someone who does this as a living to do it for me. Not someone who had a crash course on it after  learning how to sell cheap jewelry to pre-teen girls.

Unfortunately, our nail salon is in one of the sketchiest plazas in my town. Which did make me a little nervous about my decision to “see a professional in the field.” (You’d think I was picking a doctor or something…) But I walked into the parlor and said to the tatted and pierced employee. “I, uh… want to get my ears pierced?” She could definitely tell I was nervous because I could not stop talking. It was just a never-ending fountain of words coming from my mouth. My sister obviously thought it was hilarious. Then Lexie, the name I just made up for her, cleaned my ears, and placed a black dot on my ear lobes. She asked me if I liked where they were placed. I looked in the mirror and I was never more terrified in my life. Lexie then took a piercing needle (see below) and shoved it through my ear. It was just a bit of a pinch but because she was piercing on my ear, I could actually hear the flesh tearing. That was special…

Then Lexie left the needle hanging in my ear for 30 seconds, which was the weirdest feeling EVER. She did that while she got my new extremely fashionable (ha…) earrings all set to put in my ears. (See photo below.) Then Lexie did the other ear and it was done. Elise and I left and went to the movie. Throughout the entire movie all I could feel was my heart beating in my ears. It was actually more painful after the piercing than during. I honestly didn’t think that that would be how it worked out but… I guess having an inanimate object hanging out through a piece of flesh would hurt a little bit more than it going in. The initial shock wouldn’t hurt as much. (This is coming from Dr. Bee, who has an official degree from Grey’s Anatomy school of Medical Science.)

Since that night, Elise bought me a pair of lovely Swarovski earrings. Plain in design, but they are honestly so pretty and I love them so much. I just started wearing them. I was really excited that my ears were finally ready to take on a new set of earrings, so I decided on valentine’s day that I was going to spice up my life and wear my cute new earrings. I also decided that I would change my earrings for the first time by myself… Yeah, I had to call Elise at work to talk me through it because it was so difficult! She laughed at me. And told me to put my ugly earrings back in.

It has been great fun! Now I am on the hunt for the perfect pair of feather earrings. (I am very picky!) Let me know where you have found yours!

January: A Summary

My life has become so hectic. I don't even know when it got so busy. Or the last time that I was this busy.

Regardless, this month didn't do so well on my goals. Let's review.

17. Read 15 general conference talks - No... I have been reading my Book of Mormon though!
97. See 2 “cultured” events in Toronto - YES! See posts on this soon!
87. Write myself a letter to open in 10 years - No, although I feel that this would be appropriate to do soon.
80. Replace the photos in my room with new ones - I'm going to start collecting photos for this today.
70. Reverse pick-pocket someone - No...
59. Get my G license - I tried to set my appointment but it won't work on my MacBook for some reason...
29. Stop having fast food for a month - This FAILED. I love fast food.. Dang it! But I did cut down a lot. Maybe next month?
30. Drink only water, real fruit juice and milk for a month - YES!
38. Make a ridiculously good-looking dessert - No.
39. Direct a piece in choir that I love - I have the music, now just to actually do it! I'm so excited!
32. Sign my organ donor card - I really need to do this. I've been watching Grey's anatomy and I really, really want to do it.

The 2 Yes's of this month will have posts done for them... This week? I hope!

My days are just so filled lately. I work at noon everyday and then get off at 7:30pm... It's late, I know. I have the whole morning to blog and what not. But I've been going to the gym (and seeing results!!!) and then getting ready for work. I like to take things easy in the morning, it's just nicer that way. 

Some exciting news/events/etc from this month:

1. My ears are almost healed. Which means that soon enough I will (finally) get to wear the Swarovski earrings my sister got me for Christmas! I am so excited about this.

2. I've been going to the gym almost every day of the week. And I can see that I'm losing weight. Now the scale is not showing it yet. But seeing the inches go is just as fun! Any tips on workouts and fat burn? I need to work on my diet this month... I seriously just eat whatever I want, as much as I want, whenever I want it. Which, in case you didn't know, is usually not good for your body.

3. I got my photos! The ones I came home from Ottawa to take way back in August. They are so freaking beautiful. I can't even pretend that I don't think so. I just want to stare at myself all day long... I'm so vain.

4. I am planning a trip to Arizona for the summer. I have a jar full of cash that is hot glued shut. I am so serious about this trip. I am so excited!

5. I am going to school in the fall! I've been accepted to not one, but two colleges. So the way my educational path is looking right now... 2 years of college. Followed by an advance standing in university. Ideally starting there in a 3rd year of a Social Work program. Then a Master's. Then EMPLOYMENT! I am going to be so poor... Oh my goodness.

6. I got my hair done! After taking photos, I realized how much longer it is now than it used to be... See photos below:

Then. Note: So much shorter!

Now. P.S. Am I the only one who can see that I've lost weight in my face? Is that just me? SO EXCITING!

I just thought I would catch you all up on my life. 

So now, I just have to commit to blogging more often. And let's bring back funny fridays. Oh my goodness, I miss those.

Have a great weekend!

The Updated 101 List

It has been several months since I made a post about upgrading my list. I have put a lot of thought into this. At first, I wasn't sure if upgrading was cheating on the list. Of course, there are no rules but I didn't want to suck at completing my goals. I had been toying with the idea for weeks. There were just so many things on it that I just didn't feel a drive to do anymore. There were a lot of over ambitious goals that, in all honesty, had a lack of funding. Europe, Washington, Nova Scotia AND Alberta? How did I ever think I would be able to afford all of that travelling? 

In the end, I decided to revamp my list.

I must admit that I love this new list and I've also devised a way that I can finish without crossing all of them in the last couple days. 

The first of every month from now until November (the last month of my list, that is so quickly approaching) I'll post my goals that I'm going to try to cross of that month and follow up on the goals from the month before. I must say, I think this is mildly brilliant. It will also help as I've only completed 28 of my 101 goals. 

My dad always taught me to set smart goals. Not just intelligent, it's an acronym. 

Click on the hyperlink for a better explanation of SMART Goals!

Specific - Answer those basic questions. Who, what, where, when, how, etc. You need to know these things so that you can know when you have most certainly crossed off this goal.

Measurable - I love this one. I see so many people making goals like "Pray." WHAT IS THAT?! If you pray one time, do you get to cross that off? If you're not praying 24/7, do you not get to cross it off? Make it measurable. "Pray every day for 22 days." Measurable goal, check! (22 days is how long it takes for humans to form a habit. FACT.)

Attainable - Pick something that you can actually do. If you have not stepped foot off of your couch for the last 15 years, do not make it your goal to run a marathon next week. You will become extremely discouraged! This is just a way of life, you must take baby steps to make a achieve goals that work for you.

Relevant/Realistic - Why would I ever need to learn Setswana? I would never need to. Why set a goal to do something that you have no use for? Set a goal for something that is of great use to you. Becoming more organized, spending more time with your family, etc.

Timely - When will you be done this goal? There has to be a time limit, or it's just a wish. Deadlines are what make this world go round, I swear. You have to be able to sit down on X day and evaluate how you're doing with your goal or you'll just have a dream goal that is recycled every new years. (This is why people don't think new years resolutions don't work.)

I want you all to set a couple of goals for 2012. It's supposed to be a great year!

Here is my new list with crossed off completed goals. Some of them don't have dates and that is because I don't know what the day was. Sometimes I forgot to document it... I'm human!

Start Date: 7 February 2010

Finish Date: 3 November 2012

Financial:

1. Save $5,000

2. Get a scholarship

3. Save $3,000

4. Get a full time job

5. Put 1$ in the travel jar for every task completed

6. Pay all my bills on time until November 2012

7. Donate 1$ for every goal I do not complete

Education: 

8. Get into university

9. Keep a minimum of a 75% average

10. Take a recreational class

11. Attend university

12.  Finish an assignment a week in advance

13.  Upgrade a high school credit

14. Make a list of 10 books I want to read

Spiritual:

15. Read the Book of Mormon

16. Get in the habit of daily prayer

17. Read 15 general conference talks

18. Make a list of those talks in the order of which affected me most

19. Mark my scriptures at least once every day for 3 weeks

20. Learn about another religion

21. A-Z reasons of why I love being Mormon

22. Spend an entire day reading the scriptures

23. Read my PB weekly for 2 months

24. Graduate from seminary

25. Read a book by a General Authority

Health:

26. Get a pool/gym membership

27. Get to my goal weight

28. Run a race

29. Stop having fast food for a month

30. Drink only water, real fruit juice and milk for a month

31. Give blood

32. Sign my organ donor card

33. Do the hundred push up challenge

Performing/Artistic Skills:

34.  Do a DIY project

35. Sing a solo

36. Paint a painting

37. Learn to play a song that I love on the guitar

38.  Make a ridiculously good-looking dessert

39. Direct a piece in choir that I love

Travel/Sight Seeing:

40. Go on a trip with friends

41. Go on a trip with siblings

42. Have a travel fund jar in my room

43. Go to the beach for a day

44. Visit the Grand Canyon

45. Visit a friend outside of Ontario

46. Make a picture book with pictures from my vacation

47. Spend a day in Ottawa’s Parliament

48. Go geocaching with my family

New Skills:

49.  Spend a day picking strawberries and making jam

50. Learn to cook a fancy meal

51. Keep room clean/organized for 2 weeks straight

52. Make cookies and deliver them to someone

53. Learn how to make sushi

54. Take an hour to read a book every day for a week

55. Do a photo shoot of someone

56. Make a nice dinner for some people I love

57. Memorize a Shakespearian passage

58. Take a picture of myself everyday for 50 days and make a video of it

59. Get my G license

60. Get a pair of jeans on sale

61. Learn how to bake a pie

62. Learn how to make apple sauce

Personal Challenges:

63. Get my ears pierced

64. Go out of my way to be nice to someone who dislikes me

65. Get artwork for every song on my computer

66. Write 5 letters to people who have changed my life

67.  Write a missionary once a month for 2 years

68. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy

69. Cast an educated vote in my first election

70. Reverse pick-pocket someone

71. Spend a day with my grandparents

72. Wear my hair straight everyday for 1 week

73. Unplug for a week – no cell phone, laptop, TV or facebook

74. Keep a gratitude journal for a week

75. Keep a dream journal for a month

76. Make a list of my favorite 25 qualities

77. Do my laundry biweekly for 3 months

78. Keep in touch with one of my high school friends

79. Make my bed every day for a week

80.  Replace the photos in my room with new ones

81. Buy a camera to document every task on this list

New Experiences:

82. Buy a lotto ticket

83. Do one of the following: hot air balloon, sky diving, bungee jumping

84. Try 3 foods from different countries

85. Watch the sunset and sunrise in one night

86. Have a slumber party (3+ people, planned)

87. Write myself a letter to open in 10 years

88. Leave a letter in a library book

89. Pull an all-nighter

90. Go ATVing

91. Go horseback riding

92. Send a secret to PostSecret

93. Buy something on Etsy

94. Go to a professional sports game and buy a shirt

95. Go to a concert with a family member

96. Get a mani/pedi

97. See 2 “cultured” events in Toronto

98. Go on a picnic

99. Volunteer in the social work field

Organization Skills:

100. Post on my blog for every task I complete

101. Keep an up to date calendar for 2 months

My Goals for January:

17. Read 15 general conference talks

97. See 2 “cultured” events in Toronto

87. Write myself a letter to open in 10 years

80.  Replace the photos in my room with new ones

70. Reverse pick-pocket someone

59. Get my G license

29. Stop having fast food for a month

30. Drink only water, real fruit juice and milk for a month

38.  Make a ridiculously good-looking dessert

39. Direct a piece in choir that I love

32. Sign my organ donor card

I just have to do 2 or 3 of these a week. How easy is that? This is going to be awesome!

What are some of your new goals for 2012?

The 101 List Update

I've had my 101 list for over a year now, and as I read through it from time to time I think the 17 year old me was far too ambitious for her next 1001 days. So, for the last few months I have been toying with the idea of updating my 101 list.

Why?

Because every time I look at my list there are things on there that I don't want to do any more, or simply can't do in the next 411 days. It's mostly my travel section that needs to be downsized. It is really expensive to travel and I don't think my little self realized that when I made the list. Also, when I made the list, I anticipated myself being in university when I was finishing up the list, not beginning it.

All I know is that time is ticking, and my list is looking far too intimidating for me to be able to complete it.

So what do you think? Upgrade? No upgrade?

47. Spend a day in Ottawa’s Parliament

Completed: September 1, 2011

When I was making my list, I always imagined what it would be like to complete each of the items on my list and it seems that they never go the way I anticipated. This particular goal was so different because I had been living in the Ottawa area for 3 months, and I had not gone into the Parliament or even to the grounds until late July. I must say, once I had been, I fell in love with the beauty of Parliament Hill. Seeing it and walking the grounds made me feel so patriotic.

I had gone to Mosaika with Jenna for her birthday and my mind was absolutely blown. I felt SO proud to be Canadian, they displayed our history in such an amazing way that could be appreciated by all ages. I'm going to post a video so you can understand how amazing this was...

After I had gone to Mosaika, I knew it was time to go inside the parliament buildings and do a walk through. But when? I worked every day. So, I decided to meet up with, Jenna, who is going to school at OttawaU and go there with her and my brother on my moving day. This was a very bad idea.

I spent the entire morning packing all of my stuff into the car at my grandparents' house. Then I drove the 45 minutes to downtown Ottawa, met up with Jenna, walked to Parliament. It had already been a long day. I was sleepy just driving to Ottawa. But as we toured the building, I got really excited!  We went around the back of the building first to look at the bridge and the look off I went to with Jenna the last time I was there.

You can barely see it, but to the right of the bridge above the cliff looking thing, there's a statue. You can walk there and look at the parliament buildings from behind. Absolutely magical at night.  

I went to put my arm around Jenna for a photo and ripped skin right off my arm! OUCH!

We're cute. :)

We only went to the Peace Tower and the Memorial Chamber. Going to the top of the Peace Tower was so nice, just because when you get to the top you can see the entire surrounding area. I learned a lot going into the Memorial Chamber. I love history, so this was exactly the sort of thing I love. The Memorial Chamber is for any soldier who has ever died in the service of our country. They have all of their names beautifully inscribed in books and each page is displayed at least once a year. They had a book for each war that Canada has been involved in. It's basically the paper equivalent of Arlington Cemetery. They had beautiful quotes and inscriptions on the walls, with stained windows. There is definitely a special spirit in the Memorial Chamber.

It was originally made for the soldiers lost in World War I, but as time passed, there were more wars and more men and women lost. They've assembled books for each of these.

The names are all hand written... I need to work on my handwriting.  

The WWI Memorial, which was placed in the centre of the room.

At the entry of the Memorial Chamber, there are sculptures on the arch of the animals who helped in the wars who would often help our soldiers by carrying the soldiers, their belongings, going to see if the area was safe, etc. Most of the animals would die in service. It made me smile that our government took the time to remember the service rendered to us by animals.

Reindeers, donkeys, pigeons, horses and dogs.

All in all, it was a great day. As we were leaving the Parliament buildings, we stopped by the boutique. We really weren't planning on buying anything but Colin and I decided to splurge on matching rugby sweaters. Which have proven to be great purchases.

We're huge losers... But it was so much fun being a tourist in downtown Ottawa. I want to go again and go to all the museums there!

96. Get a mani/pedi

Completed: July 8, 2011

After an eventful Thursday home, Friday was meant to be a little more chill. I went out with my friends, Ali and Andre, for McDonald's and a late afternoon show at Cineplex. We saw Horrible Bosses which actually wasn't even close to horrible. It was actually really funny. Definitely worth seeing if you're looking for a funny movie! Jamie Foxx plays a small, but hilarious role in it. It totally just slayed me. "You think I know how to kill a man because I'm black?!" Not a word for word quote, but still hilarious.

Elise had texted me that day asking me if I wanted to get a mani/pedi. With the list in mind, I graciously accepted. I was honestly so pumped to get pampered the day before Edgefest. She then told me about this nail polish called Shellac. Basically, the nail polish is painted on but will only dry under UV light. Then it stays on for 14 days with out chipping or scratching. I was so excited because I love doing my nails but since I've started lifeguarding again, I haven't been able to do them. Why? Because the chlorine at my pool disintegrates top coats. (I know, intense. My hair goes in that water.)

Once we got there, we went over to the side of the "salon" where they have all of the nail polish on a shelf and you can pick which colour you want. Now the reason I put "salon" is because it was really one of those majorly sketchy salons in the sketchiest part of my home town. Sometimes the ladies doing my nails would ask me a question about my nails, and I had no idea what they were saying. I would just look at my sister and give a face that said, "HELP ME!"

When Elise and I had picked out our colours, we handed them to the ladies doing our toes. Then we realized that we had picked the exact same colour! Without even realizing it! Looking at them, you really could not tell them apart, we even got the same design on them. The only difference was that Elise's was a smidge darker than mine. But aside from that, they were exactly the same.

Then off I went to get Shellac, it was really cool. I'm not gonna lie! I hit my nail on the UV light though when I went to place it in the little spot for your hand. This is why my mom gets all mad at me when I say "Mom, I can't. I'm doing my nails." Because it actually takes me ages to do my nails and not mess them up. The Shellac polish was actually fantastic for a lifeguard! It lasted only 5 days, but considering how often I got in and out of the water made it extremely impressive. And I kind of forced it off too... WOOPS!

Elise ended up getting fake nails, which was not her intention. But she got them, and when I asked her she said that she really liked them. Fake nails are not usually something we Bee girls are into. Why? Because not being able to pick up spare change is annoying and when you try to get an itch with fake nails, for some reason it's never fully satisfying. And they hurt when they get knocked off!

After we got home, we did a facial and watched a movie. It was a perfect night hanging out with my sister. I miss her so much living away from home. We had just got to this nice spot in our relationship where we actually like to hang out and get along like 98% of the time. It's been a nice change!

Love you, Elise!

HOW CUTE ARE WE?! Awww.

90. Go ATVing

Completed: 1 July, 2010
It was a beautiful summer's day, Canada day, to be exact. When I went out to a friend's farm to go ATVing. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared for this adventure. I only knew that we were going there for the day, not that we would be doing all sorts of outdoor activities. So, I wore flip flops. One of my less intelligent decisions. Once I was finished work, my sister's friend, Sarah came to pick me up and off we went to the farm outside of the city.

Once we got there, we were greeted by some other friends who had also come for some fun on the farm. My sister was already there and ATVing her little heart out. Bryan offered to let me go on the dirt bike. Another bad decision. I ended up going through part of the field and wiping out on the pavement. Sarah was obviously in hysterics. Sigh. The life of a klutz. I got up and tried to go at it again... And fell again. After a few more failed attempts, Bryan took me on a ride around the farm in attempts to show me how to ride the bike properly... I still sucked.

After giving up on the dirt bike, I hopped on one of the ATVs. It was probably a million times easier just because balance was taken out of the equation. I also drive a standard car so I found driving the ATV a lot easier. After we were done with ATVing for the day, we went to the beach and watched the fireworks with a bunch of other friends from church. After the fireworks were over we drove back to the farm and sat around the campfire until the wee hours of the morning.

It was one of the most fun days of my summer and I can't wait for this summer to start for a whole bunch of new adventures!

P.S. You can now like my blog on facebook!

4. Get a full time job

Completed: June 3, 2010

Our hot uniforms...

I expected this goal to be completed much later on in the 101 process and not the summer immediately after making this list. But my dad came home from work one day mentioning to me that Canada's Wonderland was still hiring lifeguards for the summer. I decided to apply because I thought it would be a fun summer - getting tanned, watching people swim and generally doing absolutely nothing. A nice contrast to my job at Cineplex Odeon where I'd cleaned up popcorn, spilled drink and other miscellaneous body fluids. 

I applied on a Tuesday, had an interview the following Friday and had the job by the end of the interview. Did I mention my brother Colin had applied as well? I had also told one of my friends James to apply as well because I knew he was looking for a job and that he was a lifeguard. We all got the job and decided it would be best to carpool so that we could split gas.

There was training and then working for the first week in a heat wave. It was brutal. People think that lifeguarding is easy. Let me tell you, it wasn't. We had inservice once a week at 8am. To simply be there on time, we had to be out of the house at 6:30am. Then once we got there, we got in the water. Imagine for a moment that you've been up for about an hour and a half driving to work in rush hour traffic, may or may not have had breakfast, walking twenty minutes to your work station and THEN you have to get into the 68 degree water. Not pleasant.

The thing that I loved about wonderland was the people and how many ridiculous things happened on a daily basis. Here are a few of my favourite wonderland memories:

1) I was standing at an in water guarding position once when I noticed something odd going on over at James's guarding station. There were a group of them and one of them were crying. James jumped in and escorted the girl out of the pool. I asked James what had happened when we were on break later that day and he told me that the woman who was 19 years old, had dislocated her toe and needed James to help her out of the pool. James was SO peeved. Because, if you are a lifeguard, you know that your #1 goal of the day is to stay dry as long as possible. He still gets rattled about it to this day.

2) One day, only a few minutes before close, I looked down into the water and saw... a tampon applicator. Yes. That's right. A tampon applicator. Now, you may be wondering what on earth would that be doing in a wavepool? Well, my dears, I still to this day have no clue.

3) Another day, a few minutes before closing, I was sitting next to James, yet again. I never wore a watch while I was guarding because it would give me a nasty watch tan - gross, and it would make the time pass slower. I knew it was almost time to close, so I asked James what time it was. He told me it was 6:55pm. We closed at 7:05pm. I was psyched. A few minutes later, I asked again. He told me it was 7:05pm. Now... No one was closing the pool. So I was getting impatient. Let's get a move on, I want to go home. I asked James again. 7:15pm. By this point, I'm whistling at my supervisor being like "GET A MOVE ON, DUDE. I WANT TO GO HOME." I ask James again, 7:20pm. Now, I'm just pissed. The pool finally closes and I walk up to James and I'm like what the heck was that?! He just laughed and said "It's just 7:05, you have no sense of time!"

4) The final memory that I'll share is when Colin, James and I were sitting in James's car, enjoying Tim Horton's before work. James decided that he was going to throw all of his garbage into the parking lot, instead of leaving it in his car. Little did he know that there were custodians sitting directly in front of us. They walked over to the car and started yelling at us and told us that if we ever did that again that they would take our license plate number to employee services and report us. James looked at them square in the face and said, "Man, littering is just something I don't do. Like that's so wrong. I just don't do that." After the men left, we laughed and on James's last day of work, he saved up his Tim Hortons wrappers for a week and put them all on the group for those custodians to pick up.

The final Splashies! (click to enlarge)

Overall, it was a great summer. I made a ton of money, made a ton of friends and got a flawless farmer's tan that is still apparent today. This summer I think I might work in Ottawa lifeguarding, but who knows what life will bring.