awkward and awesome

awkward:
- me trying to tell stories. especially when i dont remember all the information.
- a guy in my class making me a cd entitled "christine's mix" and dropping it on my desk during school (-okay i guess the fact he made it is not awkward.. i think the name/dropping it on my desk in the middle of class was awkward)
- commenting about how they should remove all smoking shelters near building in front of someone who smokes..(definitely found out she smokes 10 minutes after i said that)
- friends getting twitter.. now i have to take the link to this blog off my twitter account 
- i was told when you are talking to someone its always good to make eye contact.. but if you are talking to someone and you start focuses on keeping eye contact and thinking about it too much it just gets awkward and i think i end up looking away more than remaining contact


awesome:
- going to milestones for my friends birthday, ordering a mocha (because i was driving, no wine) and their credit card machine wasn't working properly... it was taking like 10 minutes. so they said its on the house, dont worry.. sweet! free $4 mocha!
- getting ahead in school work.. im done two of the three assignments i have due next monday and 80% complete on the project due next thursday
- a friend at work is going to teach me how to snowboard this winter! soo excited!!
- santa clause parade and chocolate calendars
- starbucks eggnog lattes and peppermint mochas!

santa came to visit

its only mid november and i know there is no snow.. but it is that time of the year again. the time when santa clause makes his appearances in all of our cities. he comes to our malls and our work christmas parties and yes he also marches down the streets in parades fully dedicated to jolly old santa.. well technically he doesn't march, thats for the bands.. he gets carried on his overenthusiastic float following mrs clause in her unfairly decorated float.. 
so yup.. this sunday santa was roaming the streets of downtown toronto and i went to see him.. (apparently he was also at limeridge mall here in hamilton.. but hes allowed to be in two places at once.. hes magic right?!)
i dragged a few of my friends along to the parade with me.. i may have bribed them with starbucks (sunday still had the buy one get one free holiday promotion thing on - otherwise i wouldn't have offered)..

 its the i love turtle man! (ps: i hate those chocolates, love the turtle)

 i actually dont know what some of these floats were advertising

due to the fact that i couldn't see!

 pretty sure this is my favourite float.. i love penguins

 tim hortons house of donuts

 mrs clause

santa!

he was skinny which disappointed me

after santa passed us, meagan and i decided we wanted a picture with santa clause. since we couldn't interrupt the parade and ask him, we ran and tried to get a picture with him in the back ground.. that failed pretty badly..

we asked peter to take it.. 

and he managed to get santa in with us

life with a doggie

guinness is almost 7 months, this i can't believe. i got him when he was 10 weeks old and 6 lbs (here) and despite me living life almost 24 years without a pup, i cant imagine how life would be without him now. he is 23 lbs and curlier than i ever imagined he would be.. im more attached then i thought id be to an animal. i guess once you have a dog you get used to the little areas in your life he fills with his wagging tail, his excited foot prints and his "pay attention to me" barks. 
when i come home from school, he wants me to pick him up (even though he is too much of a fatty for me to pick him up) and greet him. when i do he sits contently in my arms. when im ignoring him because i dont want to play, he stares with his puppy eyes and when i have time to play, he has his puppy smile on.. he snuggles by my feet at night and he wakes me up seconds before my alarm. he has the same love for iams puppy biscuits as i have for red velvet cupcakes, and im pretty sure he even knows how to spell treats. hes my puppy and im one of his family members..
this pup is also there to greet my dad when he comes home from work, with his tail wagging so fast he cant even walk. hes so sad to see my mom go for her daily morning walk that he lazily lays down on the jacket she has placed our living room chair, to prevent her from leaving.. he knows she needs that jacket. when my sisters come home every once in a while from school, guinness doesn't keep his eyes off them (while he practically ignores my parents and i who he sees every day).. 
when some of us hop in the car guinness jumps right in.. as much as he may not like car rides, he would rather be with us then be without us.

i'll disregard that fact..

yesterday i was in the car with my friend and my dad called. i had a normal conversation with my dad and when i finished the conversation my friend asked who i was talking to.. when she found out i was talking to my dad shes like.. what! are you always that nice to your parents?!.. umm yeah?! why wouldn't i be? then she asked me if ive ever had a fight with my parents.. i thought i had before, but then i started thinking about it more.. i really dont think i have.. ever.. either with my sisters. actually i dont even think ive ever had a fight with a friend. i guessin answering this question it kind of depends what you consider a fight... but my friends impression of a fight was a full on screaming argument, a lack of conversation for a couple of days (in other words; the silent treatment) or insulting the other in some way.  and for this definition.. no ive never experienced this with my parents, sisters or friends. ive never insulted my parents/sisters or friends with the intention of hurting them, ive never ignored them or yelled in a condescending way, never have physically fought with or screamed at them. sure.. ive had minor disagreements with these people and ive definitely experienced the whole "i really cant be around you right now because i may say something i will regret later".. but never had a "fight" in a way that coincides with my friends definition of the term.
i dont like confrontation. i avoid it. im easy going and i like being that way. if i dont like the way someone is acting i will leave, if i dont agree with what they are doing/saying.. i may calmly state my opinion or disregard the information, through silence or ignorance. im opinionated but i can often sense when my opinion may cause confrontation and if there is a risk of that.. i wont express it..
i build strong friendships and i have an amazing relationship with my family. i think this is because im contra-confrontational.. yup thats me :)

my kind of friday

HAPPY FRIDAY!

its my friday today..

handed in a major project worth 30%, got out of class early, went to walmart to get the cd ive been looking for and they had it!

suns shining.

i only work 5-9 today, art crawl is on tonight, my sisters are coming home for the weekend!

wearing my most comfortable sweater.

drinking hot chocolate from my favourite mug.

hanging out with guinness and my new cd

its november and cold out.. so im allowed to listen to christmas music!

 michael buble and i are hanging out today

bring on the christmas tunes

 teasing guinness with his toy.. he poses well that way

 few of my favourite things

he thinks im crazy.. singing to him

november video post

a while ago my friend suggested id like a band called florence and the machine. i'd never heard of them, or her.. at the time, and by the time i got home that night i forgot what band he mentioned. anyways, i heard a song on the radio this morning, loved it and realized it was florence and the machine..
so heres a video post.

words to live by

starting yesterday in the hamilton spectator there is a 5-part series called "words to live by". its about women and their voice. voice, not as in their ability to produce sounds through the thin flaps of their vocal cords, rather, voice as in their personal expression. through art. through writing, drawing and photography. writing blogs, poems, lyrics and stories. the group of female writers being featured in the hamilton spectators 5 part series are recovering addicts, some alcoholics, some drug addicts. despite all recovering from addictions they all share something else in common; their love of writing. these individuals hit "rock bottom" and while feeling lost, found their way through writing. each day the series introduces you to a different writer. with each writer, a different perspective, distinct experience and unique words.
this series is exciting! expressing your own thoughts through words and photography is one reason i began this blog. to some blogging is a hobby, to some its a method of coping with the daily. to many its a journal of our thoughts. the author in the hamilton spectator described it well, "words move quickly from head to heart, through to pen and paper." (or in this case; to text on screen). often although writing can inspire others, it is personal to the writers.
you can read the spectator 5 part series sunday through to this thursday    

they say when you're not lonely alone, there's something wrong..

solitude is defined as the state of being alone, the remoteness from

 habitation or a lonely unfrequented place

despite the stated definition, this picture/quote makes so much sense to me. when willingly in solitude, sitting on a bench at my favourite lookout or sitting in a small coffee shop before anyone else has woken from their nights peaceful sleep, i feel far from alone, even though by definition, i am alone. id define solitude more as peacefulness; without distraction or interruptions; clearheadedness and simplicity.

id more likely feel alone when in a place far from remote, in a popular place and surrounded by people.