It's been a while since I updated my blog, bad me! Well, I am presently at Pat's house and he's watching hockey, so I figure I might as well write.

This past weekend was very packed with stuff. We had two Halloween parties, one for Ken's birthday, and one that Pat's sister hosted. They were both very fun, but working at 9 am on Saturday morning just sucked.

Guess what?!?!?!?! My sneeky little friend Julie has gotten engaged with her longtime boyfriend Ken! Can you believe that she kept this secret for 2 long months while they were waiting for the ring to arrive (long story, too complicated to rant about here)!? I was so shocked when they announced it at the party. I have pics to show you all but I unfortunately don't have them on Pat's computer. I am so happy for them and I can't wait to help with all the planning.

Happy Halloween everyone!

should be studying but a five minute break won't kill me (it will actually keep me sane and i recall some random tidbit of info, probably from school, that studying in small increments works best). so there you go. i don't feel like using capitals right now, so i'm not gonna. who cares since nobody reads this blog anyways besides my future children (since i'm assuming they'd think it's cool to know about the daily life of their mother when she was younger).

i have 2 midterms this week and one lesson plan. then next week i have another midterm, and the week after i have an article review. so much fun. i just can't wait for it to be over so that i can have more free time blocks and less zits caused by stress (apparently that is inevitable). did you know that the federal government plays a minimal role in education? okay, i will stop reciting the notes that are right in front of me beforing boring everyone to death.

the scrapbooking salon was fun, although i was overly hot and in consequence, irritable the majority of the time. in exciting news, my scrapbook centrale bill was surprisingly low for the amount of stuff i purchased, and julie had her layout selected as one of the top 25 for the ruban rose contest! how exciting! people had to vote on their fave, and there's a chance she could win 1500$ to spend at la scrapbookerie. i told her that i'd better get a commission if she won, considering i was promoting her!

in other news, my super amazing boyfriend made me a personalized hypno-relaxation tape, and it's awesome. i listen to it before bed and i'm ultra relaxed and feel great. thank you my lover like no other ;)

Sleep will not come to this tired body now....

For the past few nights, I have had so much trouble sleeping. I toss and turn for what seems like hours, and my injury is really bothering me. All summer it was fine, and now a month into school and it's acting up again. I have been doing the regular (applying rubbing alcohol, using heat pads, etc) and still no relief. I think it is a combo of lifting babies, typing notes for school, scrapbooking bent over without realizing, and forcing myself a little hard during my workouts. I am trying to "rest" it by not taking it easy with training, but this has resulted in the familiar "I'm a balloon" syndrome. Anyways, enough on that.

SCRAPBOOKING CONVENTION ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet all my online friends in person and to see all the new goodies on the market. It will be hard to limit myself to a certain amount of money. If all goes well (in terms of studying), Julie and I will be cropping Saturday afternoon after a morning of training at the biblio.

Alright, off to do my morning stuff, i.e. train, study, do laundry, put away dishes.

Here are some new pages:

Today is a Friday so I am happy (even though I have school and have to work this weekend). Fridays always have that feel of freedom and escape, so that is why I like them. Presently I am spending time on the Internet instead of working out and then practicing Math problems. My back injury is really acting up today, so I don't know how much of a good workout I'd even be able to have. I might scrap it altogether, although I know I should try to do something.

Today I thought I'd share some insights with you. They are not my own, but my boyfriend's. I think he is a wonderful, philosphic writer. We had this deal where we were to write a thought/observation/insight/whatever every day for 1 month, and then at the end of the month, we would share them with each other. So yesterday I received all of his thoughts in one big email attachment. (I'll be honest, I wasn't as loyal to the task as he was. I missed many days - sorry Pat!). So here are some of his uplifting thoughts:

If you can read, then write
If you can hear, then speak
If you can feel, then touch
Never limit the ways you can say I love you

If you can’t do a good action voluntarily for yourself or others in a given moment, then pretend you are someone who can. In the end it doesn’t matter how you come to achieve positive things; those you influence will never know the difference.

One coherent thought destroys absolute entropy. If a doorway of escape appears in a maze of absolute self destructiveness, please take it. Some things are not worth second guessing.

Why do we tell others that what we do so easily is easy? Is that not ignorance of everyone’s uniqueness?

If you choose to walk your own path without shoes or socks, do not be so quick to run, or you will step on the shards of others' broken dreams, and will be forced to live their pain as your own.

Pretend to smile and you will soon forget you are pretending.

If a monk is forced to live in the city, by his own means, can he still feel the same peace of mind as in the monastery?