Day 3: The Morning Routine

If I don't do/have this in the morning, it offsets my entire day!

I'm all for that extra five minutes of sleep in the morning, so I tend to do a lot of things at night. For example, I shower and blow dry (sometimes even straighten) my hair at night. I pick out my clothes for the next day (even if it's just mentally), I (usually) pack my lunch the night before or at the very least plan for it. Basically, I try to get everything done the night before so I am not rushing in the morning.

My morning routine is very typical when I have to work. I get up, go to the washroom, brush my teeth, put my contacts in, listerine, and wash my face. Then I get dressed and do my makeup (should I choose to wear some that day). After that, I plug in the kettle and wait for my Green Tea while I make my lunch. Then I'm out the door! There's no time for me and dawdling in the morning. Most of the time, I eat my lunch in my car or on my walk to work.

It's simple and basic and the way that keeps me functioning.

Day 2: The 2011 To-Do List

Is there anything specific you would like to accomplish this year? Where are the places you would like to visit? What do you hope to check off your bucket list?

When I made my 2011 goals, I made sure that they were things that I actually wanted to accomplish. Being healthy both physically and financially are two things that I would really like to accomplish this year. With that being said, there are also a number of things on my Day Zero list that I would like to accomplish. While I still have two and a half years to accomplish the things on my Day Zero list that are on there, these are what I would like to accomplish this year:

* Get into Teacher's College
* Learn basic sign language
* Exercise three times a week for two months
* Purchase a pair of TOMS shoes
* Attend a NHL Playoff Game
* Go to NYC and/or take a roadtrip the the Western Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia)
* Make one new recipe a month for a year
* Read the Bible

These are in addition to my goals for 2010 of living a healthier lifestyle and being more financially responsible. While it seems like a lot, I believe that I will be able to accomplish these goals (and maybe more!).

I'm looking forward to this year and the journeys that it has in store for me.

Day 1: Resolutions

What is your resolution for 2011? Do you often make a resolution and not keep it? What is the longest you have kept a New Years resolution? What is your most often chosen New Years resolution? What do you think about New Years resolutions?

This year, I decided to move away from resolutions and move towards themes. I believe that these themes will allow me to make SMART goals that will be much more attainable.

01. Health - This year, I am determined to be more healthy through a variety of ways.
* Don`t sweat the small stuff - I am going to work towards letting the small things go and choose my battles carefully. I will work towards removing additional stress from my life.
* Be physically fit - I am going to become more fit through three ways.
a.) Complete Jillian Micheal`s 30 Day Shred
b.) Complete Couch to 5K
c.) Sign up for and complete a 5K race.
* Eat Healthier - I am going to eat better by:
a.) stop drinking pop for at least thirty days - then only occasionally.
b.) Do a Detox and then continue to eat healthy foods
c.) Log what I am eating through my `Lose It`app

02. Financial Health - I am determined to put myself in a better place financially then I am right now.
* Pay off all debt - This is excluding student loans. I know that it is not attainable for me to pay off my student loans especially since I am planning on going to school this year.
* Pay off at least 25% of my student loan - I should be able to attain this and still save for school. This is why I have chosen 25%.
* Set up an RRSP and contribute to it regularly - It is so important to prepare ourselves for our future. I will complete this within the year.
* Save $1,000 for the use of a trip - Once all the above goals are completed, I will save $1,000 to reward myself with a trip to the destination of my choice.

They say the road to heaven might lead us back through hell ...

The last month of my life has literally been one of the worst that I have experienced. There's a little bit of back story that needs to go with this story.

In June 11, 2008, my Aunt Brenda was diagnosed with terminal cancer called adenocarcinoma. When they found it, the cancer had spread but they were unable to find the source of the cancer. The doctors gave her four to six months without palliative treatment and eight to ten months with palliative chemo. She decided to proceed with the chemo until she felt that her quality of life deteriorated.

On April 1, 2009, the Doctors said that she was cancer free. For those who are not familiar with cancer, being cancer free is different then remission. Remission means that there is an absence of active cancer and there is the possibility of it to return. Being cancer free means that there are no cancer cells and it is not expected to return. As you can imagine, we were over the moon excited about this. We believed it to be truly a miracle and thought that our worries were over.

The Winter of 2009, my Aunt fell ill again and went into the hospital. In February 2010, my mom told me that the cancer was back but was treatable. My aunt then went on chemo again and responded to it well.

InSeptember 2010, my Aunt got a blockage in her stomach. Upon going into the hospital, she was told that the cancer had spread to her abdomen. The cancer cells were creating a blockage that was not allowing food or drink to get to her stomach. The doctors said that they could put a stint in that would allow her to eat and drink again but the cancer would only create a further blockage. They also said that the cancer is untreatable. This was on September 14, 2010. For a week, she was getting nourishment from something called Saline Solution through an IV. They have since taken her off the IV and now gets her nourishment off of needles. As you can imagine, she cannot survive off of this for much longer. She is now in a Hospice where she will spend the reminder of her days.

To say that the last two and a half years have been a roller coaster for her and our family is an understatement. My Aunt has been so strong through all of this. While she is significantly weaker and sick beyond words, she continues to be strong for our family.

Seeing someone that I love in this kind of pain and suffering leaves me to question so many things in my life. One thing that I have not questioned is the bond of a family. Through all of this, I have seen my family come together and truly be there for each other. We are already a very close extended family and without each other to lean on, I don't think any of us would be able to get through this.

Change Your Mind ...

The average Generation Y'er changes their career 29 times throughout the course of their life. Maybe I am about to embark on that journey. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do in life and what I want to accomplish. When I was a little girl and all throughout elementary and high school I've wanted to be a teacher. Then I went to University and at some point in my first year, I decided that I didn't want to do that anymore. I didn't really have any reasoning behind it - I said I didn't like kids but in reality, I love them. I also said that I didn't want to deal with the kids that have no desire to learn but I truly think that is where I would derive a lot of my passion. In reality, I think it's because I was afraid. I knew the competitiveness of getting into Teacher's College and I knew that I didn't have the greatest grades throughout high school and really did not think that I could do it.

Lately, I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about how much I yearned to be a teacher and make a difference in children's lives. I always wanted to be that teacher that Mr. Tabone was to me. So influential and one of the reasons that I believed I could get into University.

I made a decision today after talking to my friend, Nicole. We sat down and talked about how difficult this year has been for me and how I need to make a radical change and do something that I want. I mentioned to her that I always wanted to be a teacher while I was growing up. Once I got past the whole wanting to be a vet so I could play with animals, it was always teaching that I wanted. She told me that she thinks I would be an amazing teacher, that I would be great for kids who struggle and kids who don't want to be there. That I won't put up with shit but I will make the learning fun. I started crying because I realized how badly I really want it.

I feel like I'm at this crossroads now. I really love the HR field. So do I apply for Teacher's College in Decemeber? Meaning it would put off a full time job for two more years? Meaning I would be 27 before I found full time employment? That's not even including the time I would put in as an Occasional Teacher. Do I want to put up with another year of shcool? Or do I suck it up and stick with the HR field? Stick with something that I will be content in. I mean, I may not even find full time employment in HR for another two years. It's already been over a year for me and I haven't found the right fit.

I told my mom today that if I don't have a FT HR position by December that I am going to apply. So we'll see what happens.

The Politician In Me ...

When I was waiting to pick up my mom from St Joe's today, Jack Layton was doing a tour there. It was surprising to see him there so close to me. I could've easily walked up to him (through the media) and spoken to him. He seems approachable enough to be able to do that. It got me thinking about what I would like to see from our Government.

* More Resources for New Graduates - Upon graduating from my post-secondary education, I noticed there was a lack of resources for new graduates to find employment. Many of the people that I went to school with (in many different industries and professions) have struggled finding full-time employment in their specialty. Whether it is provided through the post-secondary institutions or through the government, there should be something more concrete in place to assist these students. We spends years and thousand of dollars to attend school and then struggle to find a well-paying job so we can begin our future.

* Better Healthcare - Yes, I am aware at the "wonders" of our Health Care System in Canada. That being said, I have never had to worry about healthcare as I had full benefits all throughout my education. However, what about the people that do not have insurance. Medications can cost hundreds of dollars. In fact, when I was still in school (and thus insured), I was on a medication that cost $110 each month. Thankfully, I did not have to pay this price because I was covered. However, what about those who are not covered. It's unfair to make people who already struggle to make ends meat pay for these kind of medications. I understand that there may be other venues that can be taken but I think they should be more widely publicized.

* Unemployment - I guess this one kind of goes hand in hand with New Graduate Assistance and in a way it does not. Has anyone else noticed that our unemployment rates went up again in July 2010? Granted, many of the full time jobs have been converted to part time jobs so it hasn't been a complete loss of jobs but there is still a hit. Something needs to be done about this. I understand that we're in a recession and we need the economy to bounce back but at this point, we're not going to get a band-aid fix. We need to do something that is going to help us in the long run so we don't see this again in the near future.

That being said, is anyone else aware at how difficult it is to get Unemployment Insurance? It's a headache and I've only just looked at the application. Yes, I am aware that the Government needs to be thorough. Yes, I am aware that there are restrictions and guidelines in place. But it's a pain - something needs to be done so people can easily apply for this. People who have lost their jobs are under enough stress and don't really need the additional stress of this application. Not to mention the waiting time is ridiculous. They say it takes up to twenty-eight days for it to go through, however, I have seen many people wait even longer than this timeline for theirs to be processed. In fact, I know one person who was approved and never received a payment. She was out of work for four months!

All of this being said, I am aware that there are probably gaps and biases in my opinions. I just think that the Government needs to change and it's time for that change.

* I will be the first person to admit that I am neither well-versed or experienced in politics in any shape or form. The opinions of this blog are that of my own and do not represent any specific political party.

A lil' Country

So it's been awhile since I've updated. I have even set this site on my bookmarks page to update regularly. I just don't seem to have much to blog about lately. Let me tell you about an artist that I recently fell in love with, Luke Bryan. He is a country artist from Georgia. He originally caught my eye with his song "Do I" and I knew that I had to listen to the rest of his music. I picked up "Doin' My Thing" and fell in love instantly.

Here's my favourite song from his album, Doin' My Thing.



Check out his site at http://www.lukebryan.com