Sponsorship :)

so, today i started sponsoring a five-year-old girl from Honduras, her name is Paola Alejandra Pasadas Olivera. I'm really excited to be sponsoring her, and really excited to get to know this little girl! I feel so good about what I am doing, and even though I can't really afford this, I felt like this was the time for me to start my sponsorship, and it's something I've wanted to do ever since I could remember. In order to be able to sponsor this little girl, I am giving up chocolate milk and Tim Horton's. I'm looking forward to having a relationship with Paola and hearing from her as she grows up, and maybe someday getting a chance to meet her.

FML

Too much stuff has been going on lately. I'm just tired of it all.
First off, Hayden dying drained my energy for a few days, and then my dad had to have surgery this week, yesterday actually, and i'm just so drained from that, with the stress of the surgery first of all, and then people coming at me from all directions wanting me to pass on their well wishes and love and prayers and all that and i just cant keep up with it! and i'm so busy right now anyways, with school, and volunteering for the Salvation Army, and it looks like i'm going to be getting a job next week or the week after, and Christmas is coming up, and I'm trying to get everyone bought for for that, and I'm just so tired. all i want to do is go home. I NEED to go home, but I'm going in (hopefully) two weeks for a Christmas vacation. I'm so tired. so very tired and sleep doesn't seem to help, and i don't get enough to begin with, and the kid next door yelling all night sure don't help me to get more.
Life right now is not working in my favour. Besides all that, my best friend here has swine flu, although he is getting better, i drove home with him on friday, and he had it then, so i've been exposed so that makes matters worse too because if i get it, well, i'm just fucked because i can't go home and infect my father right after he has heart surgery.
fml.

My Christmas Wish

Dear Santa,
Here is what I would like to have this Christmas. The idea partially comes from a couple songs I've been listening to lately, but mostly from my own wishes. This year you can not 'make' what I wish for because it is not material items.
I wish for peace on earth, where each child can play in the park with their friends, and not need to worry about pedophiles, stalkers, or kidnappers.
I wish for the next generation to not know what drugs are, and to know how to drink in moderation, if they drink at all.
No more drunk drivers, no more deaths caused by them.
No more war. No more gangs.
I wish racism would disappear, and the disgraceful names that come with racism, to disappear with it.

RIP Hayden

So, tonight my dad called me and told me a dear friend and former neighbour of ours passed away today. THAT was a shocker. I can't believe he's gone, but I'm glad he isn't sufferring any longer. He has suffered for so many years, he's earned his peace now.
It was hard to adjust to him not living up the road from us when he and his wife moved over town, but this is harder. No longer can I just hop over town to say hi, or greet him along with our other friends over coffee in the morning. He's just not there anymore and that hurts me deeply. I loved him almost as the grandfathers i never had and barely remember. now i truely have no grampy, or grampy like figure left in this world.
I Love you Hayden, RIP!
xoxox lisa

The Rules of Rural New Brunswick

THE RULES OF RURAL NEW BRUNSWICK ARE AS FOLLOWS...

(Listen up City Slickers & out of province Tourists)

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap right, your head isn't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight; it's called a 'dirt road.' I drive a
pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're
going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

4. They are cattle. They're live steaks. That's why they smell funny
to you. But they smell like money to us. Get over it.

5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 tractors.

6. So every person in Rural NB waves. It's called being friendly. Try
to understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while an 8-point buck and 3 does are
coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you
don't have it up to your ear at the time.

8. Yeah we eat beans & brown bread. You really want sushi & caviar?
It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a
religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

10. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless of age.

11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak. Or
you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham &
turkey.

12. When we set a table, there are three main dishes: meats,
vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and
ketchup.

13. You bring 'coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice.

14. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how
to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.

15. NHL and Minor Hockey is as important here as the Leafs and Habs,
and more fun to watch.

16. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it
spooks the fish.

17. Colleges? We have them all over. We have Universities and
Community Colleges. They come outta there with an education plus a
love for country, and they still wave at everybody when they come for
the holidays.

18. We have a whole ton of folks in the Canadian Forces. So don't mess
with us. If you do, you will get whipped by the best.

19. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't
music, anyway. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see
your boxers. Refer back to #1.

20. 2 inches of snow isn't a blizzard - it's a vacation. Drive like
you got some sense in it, and DON'T take all our bread, milk, from the
grocery stores. This ain't Alaska, worst case you may have to live a
whole day without croissants. The pickups with snow blades and
Tractors with Snow Blowers will have you out the next day.

The Poppy Story

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
between the snow white crosses;
we here at home a poppy wear
in memory of those losses.
We've set aside one special day
Eleventh of November -
When grateful people of this land
can show that “We Remember,”
In churches and at cenotaphs
we gather on that day;
observe the silence, lay our wreaths
and thus our homage pay.
That little Poppy that you see
so bright in each lapel,
must serve another purpose yet -
of this I'd like to tell
We Legionnaires have made a pledge
a worthwhile one indeed -
assisting veterans, wives and heirs
in times of strife or need.
Ou rpoppy campaign is the means
by which out work is done;
to be successful it must have
support from everyone.
Let's grumble not about the cost,
instead just think of him -
the man who made that flower or wreath
may lack sight – or a limb.
The torch from flailing hands they threw
to comrades – you and I -
that those ideals for which they fought
might never dim and die.
We should recal that legaion prayer
well known to every vet;
“Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet
Lest we – Lest we forget.”
Author: “Wet Vet” from Andover, N.B.

insanity?

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom.
Don't Disguise Your Voice !

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write 'For Marijuana'

6. Finish All Your sentences with 'In Accordance With The Prophecy.'

7. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

8. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

9 . Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go.'

10. Sing Along At The Opera.

11. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.

12. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

13. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

14 . When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

15. Tell Your Children Over Dinner,'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

16. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity:
Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.

It's Called . THERAPY

i got this from a friend of mine on devianart :) thanks krista :)

A Man on a Rampage by LISA KEOUGH

It took just 10 minutes to kill 13 people and wound 30 after a shooting in Fort Hood, Texas on
Thursday.
Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at aproximately 1:30 p.m. on the worlds largest military base, killing 12 military personnel and 1 civilian, and wounding 30 others.
Major Hasan was a psychiatrist with the American Army who was due to be deployed to Afghanistan later in the month where he would be working with soldiers coming off the battlefield.
“He was taking care of soldiers with behavorial problems,” said U.S. Army Chief, General George W. Casey Jr. in a speech Friday at Fort Hood.
General Casey said he heard about medics who were sitting in a graduation in the building next door to where the shooting took place, who, upon hearing the gunfire, ran towards it in their caps and gowns.
“Because they knew there would be wounded.”
Soldiers who were at the scene have reported hearing Major Hasan shout “Allahu Akbar” or “God is great” before opening fire, said General Casey, but officials have not been able to confirm this yet.
The brother of slain soldier, 21-year-old Private First Class Michael Pearson, Kristopher Craig, says he doesn't understand why something like this would happen.
“It's unfathomable.”
Craig said he told his mom there was no way somebody could have got on base and shot people.
“Unless it was one of our own. Not a half hour after I said that, it was on the news that it was one of our own soldiers.”
Every parent thinks their child is perfect, said Craig, but Pearson, who never drank or smoke, was.
“It's the same old song and dance. But he was... everybody loved him.”
His green eyes filling up with tears, Craig praised his little brother's work ethic.
“Guitar and work. Best work ethic of anybody I knew.”
For Craig, the fact that his brother was shot and killed by one of his comrades is hard to accept.
“I don't understand it.”
U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh praised Fort Hood soldiers for their quick thinking during a speech on Friday, and said the soldiers and the victims are in the thoughts of the entire army family.
“These were soldiers who were preparing to do what they loved for the country that they loved.”

Afghanistan veteran says remembrance is important By: LISA KEOUGH

An Afghanistan war veteran says Remembrance Day is the most important day of the year to anyone in uniform. Master Warrant Officer Doug MacDonald, a 26-year veteran of the Canadian Forces recently spent six months in Afghanistan and knows first hand how important remembrance is.Being in Afghanistan, you get to see stuff first-hand, says MacDonald.“It just hits home that much more.”MacDonald says people should talk to the veterans and learn what they had to go through during the war.“Go up to them (veterans) and shake their hand, and say thanks to them, I'm sure it must mean a lot to them.”Since the war in Afghanistan began on Oct. 7, 2001, 133 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. MacDonald says it's hard to imagine living during the First and Second World Wars where there were nearly 100,000 people were killed.“You just can't comprehend that now. We're looking at a little over 100 have died in the Afghan conflict in the last nine years.”Working in a headquarters while in Afghanistan, MacDonald never suffered any hardships like those who fought in other wars, and says that the more miserable the day on Remembrance Day, the better.“I think that is excellent, because, you know, the more miserable you are on parade, and you're sitting there listening, listening to the Last Post, and you're hearing the guns go off on the 21-gun salute, and you're cold and miserable, I think that puts it a lot more in perspective than a nice warm, sunny day.”MacDonald says he's embarrassed when he meets a veteran on the street, and doesn't have a poppy on.“When you see a veteran walking on the sidewalk, if you've switched jackets, and you don't have a poppy on, I'm almost embarrassed, I'm like 'oh no, I've switched jackets.'”Veterans are no longer just the aging men we see, says MacDonald, they can be 20-years-old.“People are coming back now, 20, 21-years-old with their first tour down, and they're veterans, and they're getting ready to go back.”For most Remembrance Day ceremonies, you won't find MacDonald in the parade, he is usually in the background firing the Howitzers for the gun salute.“You almost have to take it upon yourself to do your own Remembrance ceremony because I really miss them. I'm usually in the background.”To MacDonald, and most Canadians, the poppy symbolizes remembrance for the soldiers who have died. He says another soldier from the Regiment keeps a poppy in his vehicle year round, and when asked if he just doesn't clean his truck, he said it's there for a reason.“He answered, 'No I keep it all year round, to remember, rather than just one season of the year.'”As a citizen, MacDonald says it's great how much public support there is for veterans.“It must do the veterans good, you know every year there's so many fewer of them obviously for World War Two, theres very few left.”History is doomed to be repeated if we don't know our past, said MacDonald.“If people don't remember the past sacrifices, and if you don't know history, you're doomed to repeat it, so a lot of people think twice before doing something that would further cause a conflict if they remember, or if they were involved in the past ones. And people don't have to do a lot to remember. Just remember the sacrifices people made, its a big 'thank you' to the people who went over.”It is important for young people to remember too, MacDonald says. “If somebody is willing to go and to put down their life for freedom, for a cause they believe in, then its a very small sacrifice that someone can make at home, is to remember them. And not just on Remembrance Day.”

Steryotypes

I'm SKINNY, so I MUST be anorexic.
I'm EMO, so I MUST cut my wrists.
I'm BLACK so I MUST carry a gun.
I'm BLONDE, so I MUST be a ditz.
I'm JAMAICAN so I MUST smoke weed.
I'm HAITIAN so I MUST eat cat.
I'm ASIAN, so I MUST be sexy.
I'm JEWISH, so I MUST be greedy.
I'm GAY, so I MUST have AIDS.
I'm a LESBIAN OR BISEXUAL, so I MUST have a sex-tape.
I'm ARAB, so I MUST be a terrorist.
I SPEAK MY MIND, so I MUST be a bitch.
I'm a GAY RIGHTS SUPPORTER, so I WILL go to hell.
I'm a CHRISTIAN, so I MUST think gay people should go to hell.
I'm RELIGIOUS, so I MUST shove my beliefs down your throat.
I'm ATHEIST so I MUST hate the world.
I don't have a RELIGION, so I MUST be evil and have no morals.
I'm REPUBLICAN, so I MUST not care about poor people.
I'm DEMOCRAT, so I MUST not believe in being responsible.
I am LIBERAL, so I MUST be gay.
I'm SOUTHERN, so I MUST be white trash.
I TAKE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, so I MUST be crazy
I'm a GUY, so I MUST only want to get into your pants.
I'm IRISH, so I MUST have a bad drinking problem.
I'm INDIAN, so I MUST own a convenience store.
I'm NATIVE AMERICAN/CANADIAN, so I MUST dance around a fire screaming like a savage.
I'm a CHEERLEADER, so I MUST be a whore.
I'm a DANCER, So I must be stupid, stuck up, and a whore.
I like WEARING SKIRTS, so I MUST be a slut.
I'm a PUNK, so I MUST do drugs.
I'm RICH, so I MUST be a conceited snob.
I WEAR BLACK, so I MUST be a goth or emo.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH A MARRIED MAN, so I MUST be a home-wrecking whore.
I'm a TEENAGE MOM, so I MUST be an irresponsible slut.
I'm POLISH, so I MUST wear my socks with my sandals.
I'm ITALIAN, so I must have a "big one".
I'm EGYPTIAN, so I must be a TERRORIST!
I'm PRETTY(so all my friends say), so I MUST not be a virgin.
I HAVE STRAIGHT A'S, so I MUST have no social life.
I DYE MY HAIR, so I MUST be looking for attention.
I DRESS IN UNUSUAL WAYS so I MUST be looking for attention.
I'm INTO THEATER & ART, so I MUST be a homosexual.
I'm a VEGETARIAN, so I MUST be a crazy political activist.
I HAVE A BUNCH OF GUY FRIENDS, so I MUST be fucking them all.
I HAVE A BUNCH OF GIRLS WHO ARE FRIENDS, so I MUST be a player.
I have BOOBS, so I MUST be a hoe.
I'm COLOMBIAN, so I MUST be a drug dealer.
I WEAR WHAT I WANT, so I MUST be a poser.
I'm RUSSIAN, so I MUST be cool and thats how Russians roll.
I'm GERMAN, so I must be a Nazi.
I hang out with GAYS, so I must be GAY TOO.
I'm BRAZILIAN, so I MUST have a BIG BUTT.
I'm PUERTO RICAN, so I MUST look good and be conceited.
I'm SALVADORIAN, so I MUST be in MS 13.
I'm POLISH, so I MUST be greedy.
I'm HAWAIIAN so I MUST be lazy.
I'm PERUVIAN, so I MUST like llamas.
I'm a STONER so I MUST be going in the wrong direction.
I'm STRAIGHT EDGE so I must be violent.
I'm SINGLE so I MUST be ugly.
I'm a SKATER so I MUST do weed and steal stuff
I'm a PUNK so I must only wear black and date only other punks.
I'm ASIAN so I must be a NERD that does HOMEWORK 24/7.
I'm CHRISTIAN so I MUST hate homosexuals.
I'm MIXED so I MUST be screwed up.
I'm MUSLIM so I MUST be a terrorist.
I'm in BAND AT SCHOOL, so I MUST be a geek.


sad part of these is, a lot of people actually think this way. what has our world come to?

What would it cost you?

Whatwould it cost you to say "thank you"?
What would it cost you, on Remembrance Day, to kneel and silently give thanks at one cross, orheadstone, or cenotaph?
What would it cost you to approach a veteran,or a veteran's widow or widower, or his or her children, or parents, and solemnly take their hand and offer quiet words of gratitude?
What would it cost you to go to an old soldier, offer to buy him a coffee or a beer, and just sit with him for an hour?

A Baby Blanket for Jaydee

This weekend I learned how to crochet. Sorta. I learned how to chain, and I'm coming on the next step. It's difficult, but I'm coming! Haha! My friend Chelsea is teaching me how to crochet and hopefully by the time I go home Thursday, I'll be well on my way to making my new baby cousin, Jaydee, a nice blanket for his first Christmas :) I'm spending Tuesday evening with Chelsea so I can learn how to get past the chain part of crocheting :P I'm really excited to be learning how to do this, and I'd love to make something special for my little cousin that he'll (hopefully) have for many years to come. :)

Wish me luck with my newest project!!

Was That My Grandfather??

I'm not really a believer in the paranormal stuff, but I think my Grandfather, who I never met, came to me in my dreams. I had a dream a while back about the first day of school, when I met this sweet, gentle old man, who I felt a close bond with immediately when he spoke to me. Wait, I'll start at the beginning.
It was the first day of school, and Wayne (my instructor) sent us out to take pictures of people in the community. So I took my camera and went out. I came across a church, beside this church was a small strip of woods, so I went into them. Just past the woods was a nice old house, outside was an old man working away at something. I felt attracted to him before he even noticed me. Not attracted to him physically, but, as though he was someone I knew from a long time ago. He looked up a minute later from his work and noticed me. Immediately he smiled and called out to me to come talk to him. I became nervous and wary, and moved back a couple steps. His smile grew bigger and he again called to me. This time I came to him, and he smiled lovingly down at me. Not romantic 'lovingly' but, as a father would smile at his child, and I felt safe and secure in his presence. I introduced myself to him as Lisa, and a Holland College Journalism student, and told him why I was outside with my camera, and asked him if I could take his picture. He obliged, and I did, and he gave me his name, which I don't remember, Mr. something. Then he invited me into his house to have tea and cookies. I grinned and said yes. He put his hand on my back and led me inside, poured me a cup of tea - in a tea cup that much resembled the ones my Granny used to have- and put a plate of cookies on the table for us - again, like my Granny.- We had a lovely time talking and drinking our tea and eating cookies. Eventually I remembered that I had to go back to class and stood up to go, but I promised I would come back soon, because I'd had a lovely time with him. He smiled, and escorted me to the door, hugging me before I left and kissed my forehead.
A few days later in my dream, I tried to find my way back to the old man's house, but I got lost and forgot how to get there. I was very upset because I missed my newfound friend.
A few weeks later, I had a dream about him again.
In my dream, I remembered my way back to his house! I was so happy. I knocked on the door, and he came, looking very sad, but when he saw me, he smiled brightly and hugged me, saying how much he missed me.
I smiled and told him I was sorry I hadn't been there in so long, but I'd forgotten the way, but that I'd remembered again, and wouldn't forget it this time. He invited me in for tea and cookies and we again sat at the table and talked for hours before I had to go, but I promised to come back again very soon.
When I woke up that morning after my dream (cut short by my alarm) for some reason I looked at a picture of my Granny and Grandfather, and realized that the man in my dream, looked identical to my Grandfather. If it was indeed, he was a very sweet man, and I hope he visits my dreams often, and maybe he'll have Granny in one of them!! One can hope, right??


* To see an old man in your dream, represents wisdom or forgiveness. The old man may be a archetypal figure who is offering guidance to some daily problem.

My Diary

So, this blog is mostly for my own use, sort of an online diary for me I guess, really. But I suppose if you're real special, you can read my diary lol! But you have to be real special ha ha and there are certain people I have in mind already who won't be granted access to my online diary. No names need be mentioned.
Super excited for next Thursday!! I'm going home!!! Oh I can't wait! I'm so homesick right now. I knew before I left that I'd miss home, but I hoped I wouldn't get homesick. But I did well, I guess, to make it two months before I got this way. Oh well... a nice visit home should do it :)

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! Its home from here I go!

Alright! Its the weekend! Woo Hoo! And it's about time too! Oi! It's been a long week, folks, and I plan to make the best of it by relaxing! On tonights menu- pizza :D I haven' t had pizza in so so long, and I've been craving greasy food like crazy. This pizza is going to taste some good!
Good news! I'm going home next weekend with my editor who is coming over to talk to my journalism class :) I'm super excited! This time I hope to see more of my parents and my friends and maybe some from my cadet corps ;) Duhn duhn duhn! return of Warrant Keough haha and Sarge to my home paper the Bugle-Observer :)

Clearing My Mind and Asking For Prayer

Alright! I'm seriously wayy stressed out right now! I'm falling behind in school because I have to leave school somewhat early (I don't have classes in the afternoon) every day, just to get home at a halfwhat reasonable time for me to make my supper. Plus my dad has to have a double bypass here anytime, and it really sucks not being at home, or even in the same province as him, because I am the stereotypical "daddy's girl." I dote on my father and him me. And this whole "living on my own" idea, is seriously getting to me. Sure I enjoy my freedom, but I miss the security of living with my parents. Oh, and I don't like the bills I get in my mailbox that I can no longer just toss aside for my parents to pay. But yeah. Being this far away from my dad is really getting under my skin, especially with this major surgery coming up. I know this is something the doctors do all the time, and my dad is no stranger to surgery, but it still bothers me that I'm not going to be there.... even though the day he goes in there is absolutely NO way I'm coming to school! I'm a worry-wart. And being daddy's girl doesn't help this situation much. Please pray for me and my dad! I seriously need your prayers right now to get through this.

I'm writing this as I'm at school because my teacher told me to "Clear my mind" before I started my work, so, thats what I'm doing here.. clearing my mind. Hopefully this blog will help me to get everything thats on my mind off, so I can really buckle down and concentrate... because I'm hungry :(

This afternoon, once I've cleared my mind, I have to write a news story on a speech that Jean Chretien did. How fun. But I'm excited for tomorrow, because it's Friday, and I can go back to my apartment and just relax for the weekend. That will be enjoyable! And then next week, I only have to go to class on Monday to write my mid-term test, and on Wednesday afternoon for the advisory meeting--I'm excited for that because the editor for the Bugle-Observer is coming in! Its going to be SO nice to see a face from home again!!! Then hopefully on Thursday I'll get to go home for the weekend so I can see my family! And my kitty- cause I miss my kitty too. <3

I guess my mind is cleared for today... although its really not. But I must get my work done so that I can go home and relax for the night. I'm not even going to take my "Textbook" home. I've said it before, and it still went home .. but tonight I refuse!

Secrets and Homesickness

There are some things in life, i just dont want to know about. my best friend and my ex boyfriend know something about my relationship with my former boyfriend, that I apparantly don't know. I'm pretty sure that it is that he cheated on me. I know he always wanted sex and I wouldn't give it to him, and he complained about that, so it wouldn't really surprise me if thats what it is, this "Secret" that is being kept from me. But frankly. I don't want to know, nor do I care. If I were still dating him, then I would care. But I'm not. So I don't. Now if he got the other girl pregnant, I might mind a bit. But I don't think he could keep that a secret, if he was going to be a dad again. He wants a family really bad, so there's no way he wouldn't say something.
Right now I'm getting a little homesick. College life is getting to me, and I miss my parents, and my cat, and my family in the country, and all that became familiar to me in my 18 years of life. Right now I want it all back. I'm a daddy's girl, and being away from him for so long is really hard. If that makes me weak, I want to be weak. I want to go home to the country, and see my grammie, and my uncle, and meet my new baby cousin. I want to go out in the pasture and play with the animals, and have homecooked meals every night instead of this prepared crap I'm eating now. I want to feel my Grammies loving arms hug me again, and go home to spend time with my dearest friends. I want to go to sleep at night and have my kitty laying beside me, purring contentedly. Oh what I would give to be home right now! I've had enough of experiencing life on my own. I want to go home.